The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 160: Jesus Warns the People (2023)

Episode Date: June 9, 2023

Fr. Mike guides us through Jesus' warning of persecution to the people of Israel as we near the end of Mark's Gospel. He also touches on how Jesus' behavior in the Garden of Gethsemane should serve as an example to us, and explains why Judas' betrayal was so heartbreaking. Today's readings are Mark 13-14 and Psalm 68. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 160, and we are in the last four chapters of the Gospel of Mark. We're in chapters 13 and 14. There's two more to go.

That's tomorrow. We're also praying Psalm 68 today. As always, the Bible translation that I'm reading from is the Revised Tender Version, the Second Catholic Mission. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast in whatever app you listen to podcasts, and you'll be able to be subscribed. It's great. Unless you're listening on an app that doesn't

have that. As I've mentioned the last couple of days, because recently people have told me, Hey, by the way, father, where I listen, we can't subscribe. You keep reminding me and it keeps making me feel bad because if I could, I would, but I can't. So I won't. No problem. You don't have to. It's just my invitation. As I said, it's day 160. We are entering into the last hours, the last days of Christ's life on earth. We are journeying with him and his passion here in Mark chapter 13 and 14, as we pray Psalm 68. The gospel of St. Mark chapter 13, the destruction of the temple foretold. And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Look, teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.

And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, tell us, when will this be? And what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished? And Jesus began to say to them, take heed that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying, I am he, and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place,

but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. This is but the beginning of the sufferings. Persecutions foretold, but take heed to yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils and you will be you up to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear testimony before them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak,

but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. And children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. The Desolating Sacrilege But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be, let the reader understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down nor enter his house to take anything away. And let him who is in the field not turn back to get a coat. And alas for those who are with child and for those who are nursing in those days, pray that it may not happen in winter. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created

until now and never will be. And if the Lord had not shortened the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened the days. And then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ or look, there he is. Do not believe it. False Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed. I have told you all things beforehand. The coming of the Son of Man. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. The lesson of the fig tree. From the fig tree, learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. The necessity for watchfulness. But of that day or that hour, no one knows,

not even the angels in heaven nor the son, but only the father. Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house will come in the evening or at midnight or atcrow, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to all, watch. Chapter 14. The Conspiracy to Kill Jesus. It was now two days before the Passover, and the feast of unleavened bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, Not during the feast, lest there be a tumult of the people.

The anointing at Bethany And while he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table a woman came in with an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard very costly, and she broke the jar and poured it over his head. But there were some who said to themselves indignantly, why was the ointment thus wasted? For this ointment might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor, and they reproached her. But Jesus said, let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you will always have the poor with you,

and whenever you will, you can do good to them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burying. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. Judas agrees to betray Jesus. Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve,

went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him, the Passover with his disciples. And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover? And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. And wherever he enters, say to the householder, the teacher says, where is my guest room where I am to eat the Passover with my disciples? He will show you

a large upper room furnished and ready. There, prepare for us. And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he came with the twelve, and as they were at table eating, Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, Is it I? He said to them, It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread in the same dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. The Institution of the Last Supper And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, Take, this is my body. And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Peter's denial foretold. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

And Jesus said to them, You will all fall away. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him, Even though they all fall away, I will not. And Jesus said to him, truly, I say to you this very night before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times. But he said vehemently, if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said the same. Jesus prays in Gethsemane. And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I pray.

And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch. And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, the father, all things are possible to you. Remove this chalice from me, yet not what I will, but what you will. And he came and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them,

are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. The son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise. Let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. The betrayal and arrest of Jesus. And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I shall kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away safely. And when they came, he went up to him at once and said, Master.

And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled. And they all deserted him and fled. And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. Jesus before the council.

And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes were assembled. And Peter had followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council sought testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, and their witness did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands,

and in three days I will build another not made with hands. Yet not even so did their testimony agree. And the high priest stood up in their midst and asked Jesus, Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But he was silent and made no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest tore his clothes and

said, why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, prophesy. And the guards received him with blows. Peter denies Jesus. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said,

You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus. But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what you mean. And he went out into the gateway, and the maid saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, this man is one of them. But again, he denied it. And after a little while, again, the bystanders said to Peter, certainly you are one of them for you are a Galilean. But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear,

I do not know this man of whom you speak. And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times. And he broke down and wept. Psalm 68, praise and thanksgiving to the choir master, a p exult before God, let them be jubilant with joy. Sing to God, sing praises to his name. Lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds, his name is the Lord, exult before him. Father of the fatherless and protector of the widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to dwell in. He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. O God, when you went forth

before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God. Yon Sinai quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad, you restored your heritage as it languished, The Lord gives the command. armies, they flee, they flee. The women at home divide the spoil, though they stay among the sheepfolds, the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with green gold. On the scattered kings there, snow fell on Zalman. O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan! O many peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! Why do you look with envy, O many peaked mountain, at the mount which God desired for his abode? Yes, where the Lord will dwell forever. With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands,

the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place. You ascended the high mount, leading captives in your train, and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up. God is our salvation. Our God is a God of salvation, and to God the Lord belongs escape from death. But God will shatter the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways. The Lord said, I will bring them back from Bashan. I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, that you may bathe your feet in blood,

that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe. Your solemn processions are seen, O God, the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary, the singers in front, the minstrels last, between them, maidens playing timbrels. Bless God and the great congregation. The Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain.

There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead. The princes of Judah in their throng. The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. Summon your might, O God. Show your strength, O God, you who have wrought for us. Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings bear gifts to you. Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute.

Scatter the peoples who delight in war. Let bronze be brought from Egypt. Let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out her hands to God. Sing to God. awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel. He gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God. Father in heaven, yes, may you be blessed now and forever. You do, just like in Psalm 68, how you led your people from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion.

You led your people from Mount Sinai wrapped in cloud and wrapped in fire to Mount Zion, the temple and your temple and your holy place where you dwell with your Holy Spirit, where you were called. You called your people to worship you, Lord God. You bring us today even into worship of you. You bring us today to the place where you dwell. You bring us today where your presence abides even as we hear today from Mark's gospel about you giving us the last supper. You're giving us Jesus's body and blood, soul and divinity in the last supper.

Lord God, you've called us to worship you at the mass and we thank you for that gift. And we thank you for the gift of being willing to endure agony for us, endure humiliation for us, to enter into your passion for us. We don't deserve it. And yet your love led you to the cross, your love for us and your love for the father led you through Gethsemane. And we can only thank you with our prayers, but also our God with our everything, with our everything. May you be praised. In Jesus' name we pray,

in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Oh gosh, you know, it's powerful. This is so good. What a gift. You know, Mark races to the passion. He races to the cross. And then you might have noticed chapter 14 is I think his longest chapter because when he gets to this place of God's love poured out for us, he hovers and he waits and he pulls it out so we can see what's really happening. But in chapter 13, what do we have? We have Jesus warning the people like, here's what's going to happen. The temple is going to be destroyed. And not only that, but take heed yourselves, because if you follow me, you're going to be persecuted.

And this is a reality, not only for the early church, this is a reality for the church in every age and in every civilization that is hostile to the church. Sometimes you have, sometimes you have ages that are simply indifferent or ignorant of Christ. And that happens, that happens a lot. People or cultures or countries or whatever that are indifferent or ignorant of Christ. And that happens a lot. People or cultures or countries or whatever that are indifferent or ignorant of Jesus. But then you also have those times where the world around the church is hostile. And what you have is brother will rise up against brother and parents

will rise up against their children and children against their parents and put them to death. You'll be hated by all for my name's sake. In many parts of the world, that is the reality. Families are divided. And so, I mean, this is just the truth, isn't it? Is that over teachings of Christ, teachings of the church, there are families who will never speak to another, never speak to their parents again. They'll never speak to their siblings again over the teachings of Jesus. And you'll be hated. And if you want to follow after Jesus, there are many. Right now we live in an age that is not only ignorant and indifferent to Christ and to his church, but in some ways I'm hostile, not just where I'm coming from in the United

States, but also around the world. There are places like this and Jesus warned us. And so all our call is, is to love the people around us and to love the Lord as best we can, as best we can, to love the people around us and to love the Lord as best we can. There is a very specific prophecy though that Jesus gives in chapter 13. He says, when you see the desolating sacrilege

set up where it ought not to be. The Romans in the year 70 AD, they destroyed the temple and they destroyed all of Jerusalem. There was a rebellion against the Romans by the Jews in the 60s and by the year 70 AD, they destroyed the temple and they destroyed all of Jerusalem. There was a rebellion against the Romans by the Jews in the 60s. And by the year 70 AD, the Romans besieged Jerusalem and basically killed every single Jew that was alive in Jerusalem. And Christians got out because of this scripture that Jesus had already warned in a prophetic way. He warned the early Christians

by saying, when you see this happening, don't go get your stuff. Like just get out of town as quickly as you can. And that's what Christians did. When they saw these things happening, they escaped, they fled Jerusalem. And there's an early historian, I believe his name is Josephus. And Josephus tells the story of the awful things the Romans did to the people, the Jewish people in Jerusalem during that siege in 70 AD. Yeah, horrible. But also horrible is in chapter 14, where we have the story, the narrative of Jesus being anointed

and Judas betraying Jesus, the Passover with his disciples, where Jesus gives us, and we get our first taste, right? When we read John's gospel, we saw Jesus washing the feet of the apostles. But here in Mark's gospel, we have our first image, our first telling of when Jesus gives us the Eucharist. Remember in John chapter six, Jesus said, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life within you. And here at the last supper, he's saying very, very clearly, takes bread, take it. This is my body.

This is my body, truly my flesh. And take this blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. So, so important, so powerful, and so helpful for every single one of us to recognize and to realize that here is Jesus, who even in his last moments is thinking about us. He's giving us the greatest gift, just short of salvation,

possibly that anyone could possibly be given. One last note, when Jesus prays in Gethsemane, he says that Jesus began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he says, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. And he prays this, Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Remove this chalice from me and not I will, but what you will. And just, I just want to highlight this last piece, and that is how Jesus prays, is how we're all called to pray. Jesus has two characteristics of his prayer right here. He is honest, and he is trusting. His prayer is honest. Father, Abba, Dad, let this cup pass for

me. I don't want to go through this. This is not something that I'm looking forward to. At the same time, not my will, but what you will. He trusts him. And if our prayer could be like that, and every time we come before God, we trust him and say, okay, in all things, your will be done. And we're honest with him in the sense of being able to say, yeah, this situation, this moment is very difficult. We can be praying like Jesus at any moment. And so that's what I'm doing today. I'm praying for you with honesty and with trust, knowing that we're all in different places, and yet the Lord wants to bring us to the same place.

He wants to bring us to him, ever, ever closer to him. So I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. Let's pray for each other as well. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow, our last, our last day in the Gospel of Mark. God bless.