1 Kings 11:4-8 - His wives turned his heart after other gods

11:4

“As Solomon grew old ...” God had warned that marrying foreign women would lead to one being led astray to worship other gods. As Solomon grew old , this happened. Solomon’s heart went after other gods, and he was no longer “fully devoted to the Lord”. David also sinned in the sexual area, (though not to the same extent as Solomon), but he never went in for idol worship.

11:5-8

Some of the false gods that Solomon went after are named. Molech was associated with child sacrifice. “So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. The phrase “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” is one that will appear many times in 1 and 2 Kings. Solomon built high places for these “detestable” idols. He seems to have made offerings and sacrifices to the gods of all his wives. The text makes clear that these gods were “detestable”.  Solomon was active in worshipping idols, building high places for the false gods.

Mark 13:20-22 - Do not believe it

13:20

The Lord cut short the number of days of the siege. The siege lasted “only” five months. This was quite long enough, but sieges could go on for a lot longer than that. If it had gone on much longer then no one would have survived. Why did God cut the days short? “For the sake of the elect”. Note that in all this while men are taking actions, ultimately it is the Lord who is in control. This should induce both fear and hope. Fear because God is a God of judgement, and judgement comes. Hope, because God is also a God of mercy. If we focus on only one of these aspects we will not have a complete or accurate picture.

13:21,22

When there are times of great crisis people are desperate for an answer, so are particularly prone to believe “answers” proffered by all sorts of people. Jesus warns the disciples that “at that time” false messiahs will appear. Schnabel reports a number of false messiahs and false prophets who appeared in the time leading up to AD70. People will also be looking for a messiah. Jesus also says that the false messiahs and prophets will “appear and perform signs and wonders”, with the intention of deceiving the elect. Now these people claimed various things were signs, but were not great at doing wonders! These words also apply to the very end, for Revelation also speaks of the beat out of the sea performing signs and wonders (Rev 13:12-14).

1 Kings 11:1-3 - Solomon loved many foreign women

11:1,2

We now come to the absolute downfall of Solomon. He had sinned earlier by marrying Pharaoh's daughter, and we have seen his excesses with regard to wealth and horses and chariots. We now see that Pharaoh’s daughter was only the start. Solomon “loved many foreign women”. These included women of Israel’s enemies, and the Lord had warned the Israelites not to intermarry with.  The Lord had also given them the reason for this warning, for “they will surely turn your hearts after their gods” (Deut 7:3,4). “Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love”.  The words here imply that these were not mere political marriages, but that there was a much deeper connection.

11:3

The numbers are simply staggering! 700 wives and 300 concubines. Solomon was a deeply disordered man. I find it amazing that a man who on the one hand was so wise, was, at the same time, an utter fool. He did everything to excess. I think it is also worth noting that the scale of his sacrifices were also excessive. He did everything to excess. 

Mark 13:17-19 - How dreadful it will be

13:17,18

Jesus remarks on how dreadful it would be for “pregnant women and nursing mothers”, and presumably for the old and infirm. Remember that Jesus is talking, in immediate terms, about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, things that the people held dear. “Pray that this will not take place in winter”. Things would be bad enough for the weaker people, but would be even worse if they occurred in winter. So Jesus urges them to pray that these events would not happen in winter. This actually implies that while these events would certainly occur, the prayers of the people could have some influence on what God did.

13:19

“Days of distress unequaled from the beginning ... until now”. It is always difficult to compare terrible events, but the days of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were certainly terrible. At one point the Romans were crucifying up to five hundred people a day in front of the city walls in an attempt to persuade the people to surrender. Josephus claimed that over a million people died, now these may be exaggerated figures but still indicate the size of the suffering. “Never to be equalled again” is a hyperbolic statement (Schnabel) pointing to the continuation of history.

1 Kings 10:23-29 - King Solomon was greater inriches and wisdom

10:23-25

Solomon became the richest person on earth, though that actually means the region they lived in, rather than physically the whole world, for the writer did not know about the whole world. However, it is possible he was actually wealthier than anyone else on earth. The people of other nations did know that Solomon’s wealth had something to do with the God of Israel. People brought more gifts to Solomon.

10:26-29

Solomon also accumulated chariots and horses. All of this was in direct contravention of Deut 17:16,17 where the Law says:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

As we see, Solomon broke everyone of these prohibitions. We haven’t had much mention of the wives yet, but we will soon see that he broke that one in a big way. At the beginning I wondered why God gave Solomon wealth. Perhaps the case was that God gave him wealth, but then Solomon just wanted more and more and went to all sorts of lengths to get it.

Mark 13:14-16 - The abomination that causes desolation

13:14

Now we come to the interesting bit! Of course, all this chapter is interesting, but this part causes all sorts of debate and problems, “the abomination that causes desolation”. Let’s start on solid ground, there are three references in Daniel that this is referring to: Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. The term “abomination that causes desolation” is a translation of a Hebrew term that means “detestable thing”, and standing where it does not belong means standing in the temple. 1 Maccabees 1:54 refers to Antiochus Epiphanes IV erecting a desolating sacrifice  on the altar of burnt offering in 167 BC. Josephesus tells us that pigs were sacrificed. The immediate fulfilment may have been in August of AD 70 when Roman troops made sacrifices in the temple court. However, this is contested. Other possibilities can be seen in Schnabel. This does not mean that related events would not happen later.

13:15.16

The “let the reader understand” in the previous verse shows that the people of the time would, or at least could, understand the meaning.The warning in v14 was not an esoteric comment on the book of Daniel, but a very practical warning, and in these two verses they are warned that when these things happen there is no time to lose. They will need to flee, and it will not be an orderly departure. There will be no time to gather up one’s possessions.

1 Kings 10:14-22 - The weight of gold

10:14-17

Gold features prominently in this section. The amounts of gold seem enormous, but are comparable with figures found in  other records of the region and time. 666 is of course the number of the beast in Revelation, but that is probably coincidental. The gold came from far and wide. Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold. One might comment that he had nothing better to do with the gold, and is just accumulating wealth for its open sake.

10:18-22

Solomon also made “a great throne”. We get more details of the things he did with the gold. We are also told about the size of his merchant navy, and the journeys they went on. On these journeys they brought back gold, silver and ivory, along with apes and baboons. Again I note that none of this is actually achieving much good.

Mark 13:11-13 - Brother will betray brother

13:11

The prospect of being hauled before councils and others is not in itself a very enticing one. But there are two things they needed to bear in mind, as do we if we ever find ourselves in a similar position. One is the purpose, and it is God’s purpose. It is not us doing something and hoping God shows up. Rather it is God involving us in what He is doing. The second is that the Holy Spirit will help us. On our own merits and abilities we are not up to the task, but it is not about us doing things in our own strength. And note that God involves men and women in all that He does.

13:12,13

However, Jesus makes no attempt to sugar-coat the issue. Jesus is utterly realistic, both about the cost, and about the purpose. We need to have both in view, to focus on just one or the other is a half-truth. So Jesus warns that “brother will betray brother to death”. Schnabel says that there was limited evidence of “brother betraying brother” before AD 70, but so what? There certainly was persecution, for we read about it in Acts, and trying to see things purely in terms of events leading up to AD 70 is, in my view, a mistake. There was partial fulfilment in the events leading up to AD 70, and to ignore that is foolishness, but so is trying to see it all as pertaining to AD 70. Children would rebel against their parents and have them put to death. “Everyone will hate you”, this is hyperbolic, though it may seem as if everyone was against them. And there are many Christians today who encounter such things.

1 Kings 10:6-13 - I did not believe these things

10:6-9

The queen had heard the great reports, but did not believe that they could be true, until she came and saw for herself. What she saw was even greater than the reports she had heard. She believed that the people and officials must be very happy.She accredited the well being and wealth of Solomon to the Lord. She was also impressed with Solomon’s ability to “maintain justice and righteousness”. All peoples desire “justice and righteousness”, though many individuals and groups will be less keen on this if they gain power.

10:10-13

The queen gave Solomon 120 talents of gold. Reports from the time indicate that these vast amounts were not that unusual. There were also large quantities of spices and precious stones.Hiram’s ships brought more gold, and also almug wood. This wood was used for the supports for the temple, and for the royal palace. Solomon also gave many gifts to the queen, and she eventually returned to her own country.

Mark 13:9,10 - You must be on your guard

13:9

The things mentioned in 13:6-8 were general, affecting everyone. Jesus now turns to things which are more personal, and affect us because we are Christians, “on account of me”. They would be “handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues”, and we read of these things happening in Acts. Today Christians in many places face persecution. If they were not Christians they would not be persecuted, but there is a purpose in the persecutions. They would “stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them”. In the trials of Jesus it was ostensibly Jesus who was on trial, but in reality it was the Jewish religious leaders, the Roman authorities and, indeed, all of us, who were on trial.

13:10

The purpose went much further than the immediacy of Judea, but “the gospel must first be preached to all nations”. This matches up with the Great Commission in Matt 28:18-20. The first disciples undoubtedly did not appreciate the full extent of the world, and therefore of the meaning of “all nations”, but God certainly did! God’s purposes are greater than ours, or as it says in Is 55:5,8.

1 Kings 10:1-5 - The queen of Sheba

10:1

We are now gently on the downhill slope for Solomon. At this stage it is probably safe to say that it is the deceptiveness of wealth that is the snare for Solomon. Now remember that Solomon did not ask God for wealth, but for wisdom. This does raise the question, to which I don’t know the answer, as to why God gave him so much wealth, knowing it would be a snare for him. Perhaps it is a demonstration that we all need to be born again, otherwise we cannot handle God’s blessings. Whatever the case, the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame, “and his relationship to the Lord”. So the world sees a man of God, and the blessings of God, yet the man is actually heading for a fall. We do not know for sure where “Sheba” was, possibly near modern day Yemen. The queen may have been the ruling queen, or the king’s partner. Again, we do not know.

10:2-5

The queen went to Jerusalem to see if all the talk of Solomon was true. She went there with a great caravan and many precious items. She had come to test Solomon with questions, and he answered them all. The queen was mightily impressed with Solomon’s wisdom and his wealth, and also the burnt offerings he made at the temple.

Mark 13:7,8 - Wars, and rumours of wars

13:7

The AD 30-70 period was a time of relative peace, but even so there were a number of conflicts in that period. Every period in history has “wars” and “rumours of wars”, and our age is no different. Jesus tells us that these things must happen, but the end is still to come. There can be a natural tendency to view our own times as the most dangerous times there have ever been. This is natural because they are the risks that we face, and so are the most real to us. But Jesus tells us “do not be alarmed”. This does not mean that these things do not matter, but does affect how we are to react. We do not “head for the hill” in panic, but react calmly, seeking to help where we can.

13:8

“Nation will rise against nation”. This clearly goes beyond the immediate situation that the disciples would face. The world is unstable, for it is a world that has abandoned God,a world run on human lines, not godly lines. Today we see kingdom rising against kingdom. We see America, China and Russia rising against each other. We see Iran and Israel rising against each other. We see kingdoms like “wokism” seeking to exert its power, and we see counter kingdoms rising against “wokism”. We may rejoice when we see “wokism” being exposed for the nonsense that it is, but we should also be careful about what might be seeking to replace it. There are also natural disasters like famines and earthquakes. We must not be alarmed.

1 Kings 9:20-28 - Three times a year

9:20-23

The land had not been completely cleared of non- Israelites. Various groups of people are mentioned, though there is no mention of the Girgashites or Canaanites. These people were conscripted into slave labour. The text does note that “the Israelites could not exterminate” these people, though it does not say why they were unable to do so. It notes that no Israelites were enslaved, though they were appointed to other duties.

9:24-28

Pharaoh’s daughter came to the palace that Solomon had built for her, and he then constructed the terraces. We are then told that three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offering and fellowship offerings at the temple. So we see Solomon observing the form of religion, though his heart is drifting away. Solomon also established a navy, and it seems that the rift between Hiram and Solomon had been healed.

Mark 13:5,6 - Watch that no one deceives you

13:5

Jesus, as was often the case, took a slightly different tack. They needed to beware of being deceived. Throughout history there have been false predictions of the return of Christ, none of them proving to be accurate! We sometimes ask the wrong questions, or are concerned about the wrong things. Now look at the disciples' question. It was natural for them to want to know when these things would happen, even sensible for them to want to know. But in fact, that was not the most important thing, they had work to do in the meantime. We too can be concerned about the wrong things, when God has something different He wants us to be concerned about.

13:6

Jesus then goes on to warn them about the sorts of things that might seek to deceive them. It is worth noting that the things mentioned here did have a relevance to the immediate future, but also a much wider relevance. There were a number of false messiahs in the pre AD 70 times, Josephus mentions a few of them. And there have, of course, been many false prophets throughout the ages, and even today. We need to be careful who we listen to.

1 Kings 9:10-19 - At the end of twenty years

9:10-14

We now get a sign of things starting to not go well. Hiram had been on good terms with David, and then with Solomon, supplying him with much of the material for the building of the temple and the royal palace. However, things now start to break down. In return for his help, Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in Galilee. There is the question of whether Solomon had the right, in God’s eyes, to give away these towns. Whatever the case on that matter, Hiram was not pleased. The goods he had given to Solomon, including much gold, were truly valuable, but Hiram did not consider these twenty towns to be up to much at all. Hiram called the “Land of Kabul” (or Cabul, if you are reading ESV)., which means “good for nothing”. And they seem to have retained this title!

9:15-19

Solomon used a lot of forced labour in building the temple and the palace, along with other structures as well. Remember that Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh gave his daughter Gezer as a wedding gift, after he had captured it and set it on fire. So Gezer doesn’t actually seem that much better than the towns of Galilee.  However, Solomon rebuilt Gezer. Solomon was a master planner.

Mark 13:1-4 - Not one stone

13:1,2

The disciples are leaving the temple, and one of them remarks on the “massive stones” and “magnificent buildings”. The buildings were probably other parts of the temple complex. Jesus does not deny that the buildings were magnificent. However, He then goes on to say that the buildings would be completely destroyed. This did indeed happen in AD 70.

13:3,4

What Jesus had just said was quite momentous, and Peter, James, John and Andrew all wanted to know when these things would happen. They also want to know what the sign would be that these things were about to happen. They appreciated the enormity of what would happen, and wanted warning of them being about to happen. 

1 Kings 9:6-9 - If you turn away from me

9:6,7

We then get the alternative, what will happen if they do not walk in obedience? This, of course, is what did happen. The kings, Solomon included, did not observe all God’s commands, and did go off to worship other gods. In that case, then Israel would be cut off from the land, and God would reject the temple. There was no permanent commitment to the temple. Israel, instead of being the head of nations, would become the tail.

9:8,9

The temple would become a heap of rubble. Jer 5:7 warned them against putting a superstitious hope in the temple. And Jesus warned that the temple (the second temple) would become a heap of rubble (Mark 13:2). Israel would become an object of scorn. The nations would also recognise that these terrible things had happened to Israel because Israel had forsaken her God. One way or another, Israel would be a  sign to the nations.

Mark 13:1 - Look, Teacher!

13:1

This chapter contains the longest recorded speech by Jesus in Mark. With its apocalyptic tone it provides controversy and difficulty in interpreting it. I must admit that the problems do not seem to me to be as great as are sometimes made out. The passage refers to both the destruction of the temple, which occurred in AD 70, and to the very end times. There are some extreme views that see it referring predominantly to one or the other. The simplest outline sees vv 5-23 as referring to the destruction of the temple, and vv 24-37 to the second coming. A slightly more complicated pattern is 5-23 and 28-31 refer to the destruction of the temple, and 24-27 and 32-37 to the second coming. Schnabel (from whom I got the above information) simplifies this structure with 5-23 to the destruction of the temple, 24-27 to the second coming, and 28-37 with the consequences to the disciples of the destruction of the temple, and the second coming of Jesus. My own view is that while some parts clearly refer to one or the other, the two are related. With a number of promises in the Bible, and things like the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8) have both an immediate fulfilment and  also look forward to the greater and complete fulfilment in Christ.

1 Kings 9:1-5 - When Solomon had finished building

9:1-3

“The Lord appeared to him a second time”. This would imply that the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, as He had done on the previous occasion (1 Kings 3:5). This time the Lord assures Solomon that He has heard the prayers and pleas that we read about in the previous chapter. “I have consecrated this temple”. In Deuteronomy there was repeated emphasis on the importance of worshipping at the place that God would choose. God confirms that this temple is the place that He has chosen. God’s “eyes and heart” would always be on the temple.

9:4,5

The promise is conditional, and as Deuteronomy, and Solomon’s prayer, show, there was always the expectation that Israel would fail. “If you walk before me with integrity”.  The promise was conditional upon obedience. If Solomon and his successors obeyed the Lord, then they would continue to be on the throne of Israel. 

Mark 12:41-44 - A poor woman

12:41,42

Having seen examples of people who do not understand, or people who have far too high opinion of themselves, and are regarded highly in society, we now get the opposite. We encounter a person who was considered to be of little value by society, but is actually contributing more to God than all the “important” people. Many rich people were making large contributions, and everyone would know about it for the money would be checked before it was put in the temple treasury. Then there was a poor widow who put in two small coins, an apparently very meagre contribution. So the natural assessment of the situation would be that the rich people had given generously, but that the widow had given little.

12:43,44

Jesus gave a very different assessment of the situation. It was the widow who had actually given the most, for she had given “all she had to live on”, she had given out of her poverty. The others had given out of their wealth. Now this does not mean it is wrong to give out of our wealth, nor that it is wrong to be wealthy. The Bible contains a number of good wealthy people. What does matter is our heart attitude. If we are blessed with wealth we should give generously, but we should not think we are anything special.

1 Kings 8:62-66 - Offered sacrifices before the Lord

8:62-64

After all this many more sacrifices are offered. Again it is a vast number, though this time they are counted. Twenty two thousand cattle and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. The numbers do seem to be incredibly large. Thi was the culmination of the dedication of the temple of the Lord. Burnt and grain offerings were offered in order to consecrate the “middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple”. There is a recognition that the altar in the temple itself could not handle all the sacrifices.

8:65,66

The offerings were made in accordance with the requirements of the Law. It seems that all Israel was there. “From Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt” indicates the extent of Solomon’s empire. The whole event took fourteen days in total. The people were then sent away. The people blessed the king and they were “joyful and glad in heart”, and were grateful to the Lord. This was the high watermark of Israel, sadly things would soon go downhill from here.

Mark 12:38b-40 - Watch out for the teachers of the Law

12:38b-40

The teachers of the Law walked around in flowing robes, receiving greetings in the market-places. It was the custom that inferiors should greet their superiors. The teachers of the Law had a high opinion of themselves, and liked to milk their supposed status.  They took the best seats in the synagogues and at banquets. One might say that many bishops today like to wear fancy garments. 

In the Old Testament there are many commands to look after the poor, orphans and widows, and we are told that God has a special concern for widows. Instead of following these commands, the teachers of the Law “devoured” widow’s houses. Even using “legal” means to take their property. They also made lengthy prayers, boasting of how clever they were. Jesus assures the people that “these men will be punished most severely”. There are always individuals or groups of people who seem to get away with things, but no one can escape the judgement of God.

1 Kings 8:54-61 - When Solomon had finished

8:54-57

Solomon had been kneeling before the altar while he uttered all these prayers, and had had his hands “spread out towards heaven”. Then he stood and blessed the whole assembly. The basis for the blessing was that God had fulfilled all His promises made through Moses. Solomon asks that God would never leave nor forsake them. Sadly, Israel would leave and forsake the Lord.

8:58-61

“May He turn out hearts to Him ...” Israel would turn away from the Lord, but there will come a time when they do turn back to the Lord. The goal is that “all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God”. “And may your hearts be fully committed.” God’s purposes are a fully committed people, and His glory going throughout the earth. These purposes have not changed.

Mark 14:62-65 -You will see he Son of Man at thr right hand of the Mighty One

14:62

The latter point is brought out all the more clearly in Jesus’ reply. He affirms that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. Interestingly He also sticks with the title Son of Man as well. Then, as He often did, He makes the situation “worse”, ie far from compromising He makes the situation even more acute. Jesus tells them that one day they would see Him seated at the right hand of God. There is now no doubt about the situation.

 

14:63

The high priest knew exactly what Jesus was saying, there was no room for “interpretation”. So he tore his clothes, this is a common idiom in the Bible, representing repentance or horror at what one has done, or what someone else has done. In this case it was the amazing claims of Jesus.

14:64,65

In the eyes of the high priest Jesus had blasphemed, He had claimed equality with God. So the “court” was unanimously agreed that Jesus must die, He was deserving of death. So they mocked Jesus and spat upon Him, and He was beaten with many blows. All this was outside the proper functioning of the court. They also had the problem that they did not have the authority to actually put Jesus to death, which is why the Romans had to be brought into the picture.

Mark 12:36-38a - The Lord said to my Lord

12:36,37

Jesus quotes from Ps 110:1. Psalm 110 was accepted as being messianic, and it is oft quoted or alluded to in the New Testament. The key point used by Jesus here is “The Lord said to my Lord”, followed by “Sit at my right hand ...” The two figures here are treated as equal, and this Psalm was written by David. So David is referring to someone greater than his son, for he would not write about his son in such terms. “The large crowd listened to Him with delight”. Why with delight? Maybe because the teachers of the Law considered themselves to be so learned , and such experts in the Bible, yet here was Jesus clearly demonstrating that they were not as clever as they thought they were.

12:38a

Jesus continues His criticism of the teachers of the Law by saying “Watch out for the teachers of the Law”. When the teacher of the Law asked Jesus the question about the greatest commandment I remarked that he seemed a rather proud person, somewhat full of himself. Jesus did tell him that he was not far from the kingdom of God, so seems to have had a favourable attitude towards him, but clearly Jesus did not think much of the teachers of the Law in general.

1 Kings 8:48-53 - If they turn back to you

8:48-51

When they do wholeheartedly turn back to the Lord, Solomon calls on God to hear their cries for mercy. This is based on the original promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Solomon asks God to  forgive all their sins, and also for their captors to show them mercy. This happened in the Babylonian captivity. Cyrus sent them back to Israel, and Artaxerxes showed mercy by allowing Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem to organise the rebuilding work. Solomon reminds God of how He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. God has a long term commitment to Israel. We need to realise that God has a long term commitment to us, His favour is not based on a whim.

8:52,53

God being open to the cry of His people is considered essential by Solomon. Indeed, a repeated characteristic of people being in right relationship with the Lord is that they cry out to Him and that He hears them. The basis for Solomon expecting this is that God “singled them out”. God chose and formed Israel. We too have been chosen by Christ (John 15:16). We should expect God to hear our prayers.

Mark 14:53-56 - Many testified falsely

14:53-55

This “court” was highly unusual, meeting late at night. All the Jewish religious leaders were involved. Peter had followed at a distance and had even gone into the courtyard. He was warming himself by the fire. The Council (the Sanhedrin) wanted to find an excuse to put Jesus to death. When fear and self-interest get a hold our thinking becomes very warped, and here the Council was totally blind to how wrong their actions were, effectively contemplating murder. We can always wonder how others can be so blind. Many of us are amazed at how pro-abortionists can be so blind to the fact that abortion involves killing a human being. But we must always be aware that we can be blind to our own sins. That is part of the reason we need the Holy Spirit, and that we need each other. For God will often use others to make us aware of areas of our lives that need to change.

14:56

In seeking to achieve their aims they could find many willing to bear false witness, but their testimonies did not add up. We should be aware of how evil works. There will be elements where evil seems to succeed, but because of the inherent contradictions in evil it will always ultimately fall.

Mark 12:34,35 - You are not far from the kingdom of God

12:34

Despite my thinking the man is a bit full of himself, Jesus thinks he has answered wisely, which of course he has, but then says “You are not far from the kingdom of God”. The man may well have many right insights and views, but this alone does not save him. We all need to beware of thinking that because we have the right doctrine or views, then that makes us right.

“And from then on no one dared ask Him any more questions”. Luke does not have the greatest commandment encounter, and places this comment immediately after the confrontation with the Sadducees, which seems a more appropriate place for it in some ways. However, in Mark’s account it would have looked a bit silly there as the teacher of the Law then asks another question!

12:35

Having been asked a number of questions, Jesus now poses His own question, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that the Messiah is the son of David?”. Now the greatest commandment questioner was a teacher of the Law, and if he was trying to show how clever he was, Jesus is showing that the Teachers of the Law were not as clever as they thought they were. We should understand that Jesus did not object to the term “Son of David” per se, for He had used it Himself, rather their understanding was very limited. The Messiah was much more than the “Son of David”. 

1 Kings 8:41-47 - As for the foreigner

8:41-43

God’s promise to Abraham was that all peoples would be blessed through him (Gen 12:3). We see here Solomon looking forward to that promise being fulfilled. How would it happen? The nations would hear of the great name of the Lord and what He has done. Then they would come to pray towards God’s temple. When this happens, Solomon calls on God to hear their prayers. Solomon sees everything focused around the temple, in terms of the temple representing God’s presence.

8:44,45

This prayer does not involve Israel’s sin! It concerns God’s people going out to war against their enemies. “Wherever you send them”, then “when they pray to the Lord”, with the temple again being mentioned. So here the people are acting in obedience to the Lord, In those circumstances Solomon asks God to “uphold their cause”.

8:46,47

We are back to sin! “When they sins against you ...” Solomon knows that all people sin, and Israel is no different. The Old Testament is completely clear on the sinfulness of Israel, and the whole of the world. Solomon also knows that this will result in God’s judgement upon Israel. He then goes on to consider the possibility of the people realising that they have sinned, and turning back to the Lord.

Mark 12:29-33 -Hear, O Israel

12:29-31

Jesus responds by citing the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One” and then going on to say that we should love God with all that we have (Deut 6:4,5). Jesus then goes on to say “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18). In Matt 22:39 Jesus says “and the second is like it”. 1 John emphasises the point that if we say we love God but do not love our neighbour, then our supposed love for God is a sham. Loving God can become very theoretical, loving our neighbour roots it in reality.

12:32.33

“Well said teacher ...” seems a little like the teacher is giving Jesus high marks, as though he is the one judging Jesus. He congratulates Jesus on saying God is one, and is above all. He then adds the comment that loving God and loving our neighbour is more important than “all burnt offerings and sacrifices”, and there is Biblical warrant for this in the Old Testament.

1 Kings 8:35-40 - When the heavens are shut up

8:35,36

Next is the case where there is no rain “because your people have sinned against you”. Again, it looks forward to the time when they turn back to God and repent of their sins “because you have afflicted”. We need to face up to the fact that sometimes God does afflict people because of their sin. The result asked for here is God sending rain back to the land.

8:37-40

Next come plagues, or an enemy besieging the cities. It then becomes even more general, “whatever disease or disaster may come”. Yet again Solomon asks God to hear their plea when they turn back to God and His temple, asking for help. Solomon recognises that God alone knows the hearts of all men. The goal is that the people fear the Lord (which is equivalent to knowing the Lord) and will live in the “land you gave our ancestors”. All the requests look to seeing God’s purposes being fulfilled.

Mark 14:67-72 - You were with Jesus

14:67-7

Peter may have thought he was escsping scrutiny, but there was no escape. Another servant girl saw him and studied him closely, she recognized that he had been with Jesus and told him so. Again, Peter denied it \\yet again Peer tried to escape, and yet again failed.  The more accusations, the more vehemently \ Peter denied knowing Jesus. Then the cock crowed s second time and peter remembered \jedSus’ words . Peter realised what a failure he was, and broke down and cried bitterly.

Mark 12:27,28 - The God of the living

12:27

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” God surely is the God of the living, there is not much point being the God of the dead! This also implies that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive and will be raised. There is no record of the response in Mark’s gospel, though Luke says that no one dared to ask Him anymore questions.

12:28

We now get another questioner, this time one of the teachers of the Law. This time the question is not hostile Schnabel posits the possibility that the questioner may start off as being hostile, but there really does not seem to be any evidence for this in the text. The questioner notices “that Jesus had given them a good answer”. This would suggest that the man was a Pharisee, or at least sympathetic to them. He then asks which is the most important commandment? Now why does he do this? It could be a further test of Jesus, or it could be the man trying to prove how clever he is!