Beware

We'll turn with me and your Bibles to Mark chapter 12. We're going to finish up chapter 12 this morning as we continue to work our way through the gospel of Mark looking at the cross-shaped life We're going to look at verses 35 through 44 and it's on page 1080 of the blue Bibles underneath the chair in front of you if you're using one of those this morning Mark chapter 12 35 through 40 for here now God's holy and true word And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, how can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? David himself in the Holy Spirit declared the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet David himself calls him Lord, so how is he his Son? And the great throng heard him gladly and in his teaching he said, beware of the scribes Who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplace and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts Who devour widows houses and for a pretence make long prayers they will receive the greater condemnation And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box Many rich people put in large sums and a poor widow came And put in two small copper coins which make a penny and he called his disciples to him and said to them Truly I say to you this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box for they all contributed out of their abundance But she out of her poverty has put in everything she had all she had to live on It's the word of the Lord We pray with me Heavenly Father, we do thank you that we have this time to be together to worship you to sing your praises To acknowledge your grace and your forgiveness of us. We pray now that as we look at your word that we would experience the love and the protection of our King Jesus and We pray that you will just use this time to equip us to run with the gospel To our neighbors and to the nations For it's in Jesus name that we pray Amen if you're a Basketball fan you probably know that there's a feeling that you get occasionally when you're watching your favorite team play and It's that feeling when your team has been on defense for a little bit and the other team keeps shooting But they keep getting their own rebounds and you're just kind of like waiting and waiting and then there's that moment Where your team gets the ball and now we're charging down the court. You know that moment? That's a fun moment because now we're on offense right and that's kind of what we see here in this passage this morning Jesus has sort of been on defense For a while now and now he's on offense and so it is a very sweet thing to see what Jesus is after when he goes on offense What do I mean by that if you think about what we've seen lately in the last several weeks Let's say the last time Jesus was on offense was when he had his triumphal entry and then when he went into the temple And he was flipping tables and driving people out and he basically said that the the the temple had become a corrupt place It was run by corrupt people through the things that he quoted from the Old Testament and Then at that point Things shifted and they started coming to him the the leaders of the temple the leaders of the Jews came to question him Remember and so so basically for the last few weeks now He's sort of been on defense first. They came and they asked him where does he think he gets the authority to do what he's done Then the the Pharisees came they try to take their shot and they come asking him about taxes Hoping they can get him stuck on a political question But they fail and then the the Sadducees are up so they take their shot and they ask him about the resurrection a Theological question, but that doesn't get Jesus stuck either and then last week a scribe comes up and asks him a question about the law a legal question and Jesus is able to give a beautiful answer to that as well in fact it almost seemed like there was Some agreement between the the scribe and and Jesus, but then what it says at the end of the The the passage that we looked at last week is that no one dared to ask him any more questions in other words They're they're not on offense anymore now Jesus is on Offence and he is it's very interesting to think about what he's doing here and why he particularly points out the scribes Because he's just had this interchange with a scribe in which it seemed like there may have been a little agreement, you know He asked him what was the greatest commandment in the law Jesus answered and the scribe said you're right And so you could almost Wonder is there some compatibility between the scribes ministry and Jesus ministry and that's exactly Why Jesus goes on offense here and and just tears apart the scribes So that his disciples knew that even though there were some similarities The ministry of the scribes was not compatible at all with the ministry of Christ and the way that we can see this is important today is there are ministries Teachers and ministries today That present themselves as Christian ministries and teachers, but they are not compatible with the true ministry of Christ. So that's what we want to focus on this morning as Followers of Jesus Christ. There are corrupt teachers and ministries that we need to avoid For the sake of the gospel and for the sake of our society as well. So let's take a look at this this morning Talking about three things. We'll talk about corrupt theology And then corrupt motives and then corrupt effects on society corrupt theology corrupt motives and corrupt Effects on society

Take a look at verse 35 through 37. Let's talk about corrupt theology because ultimately corrupt theology is it's from unbelief You know Jesus has already declared Basically and what he's said that the the leaders of the temple are Their unbelievers basically and so what we're seeing here is that they have very flawed theology Take a look 35 he's teaching he says how can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David which is obviously something that they were teaching and that's Right because the Old Testament did Say that when the Messiah came when the Christ came he would be a son or a descendant of David But then Jesus turns to Psalm 110 which is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament and He says this verse 36 David himself in the Holy Spirit declared Posit right there just Notice what's happening there Jesus is showing his Belief the truth of the divine inspiration of Scripture. You see that Jesus is showing that as David was writing this The Holy Spirit was carrying him along. Okay, so just a plug for an errancy and in fallibility of Scripture Jesus believed in that. Okay, let's keep looking 36 so David himself said in the Holy Spirit declared The Lord said to my Lord Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet David himself calls him Lord So how is he his son and the great throng heard him gladly? So that's ultimately the question that Jesus is saying how can it be that this human descendant of David can also be David's Lord Right, and the describes taught that this Messiah with the Christ when he came he would be a human descendant of David the only logical Answer to this question is that the Messiah is Both fully man right he is a son of David a descendant of David, but he's also fully God He's also fully God. He is the son of God as we know and so he's both fully God and he's both fully man That's what the Old Testament was telling the Jews what happened that's Jesus is using someone 10 to show that the teaching of the Old Testament Truly is that when the Messiah would come he would be fully God He would be fully man, but the scribes had only taught that he would be a man So Jesus is exposing a massive flaw in the theology of The scribes and really helping us understand why they don't believe that he is Devine So the scribes New a lot of scripture But their unbelief prevented them from having an accurate understanding of God and of the Messiah people can know a lot about what the Bible says But unbelief prevents people from actually seeing the truth and being able to teach the truth which affects their entire ministry Do you remember when I told you that I put a boat through the back of an SUV one time? Do you remember that awkward moment when I shared that with you? I'll tell you another story about that boat I was on that boat with some friends and we were out in the middle of this lake and it was time to go in So I put the key in and try to start it and it didn't start so So I I took a moment to think okay, well what could possibly be wrong? And I knew one thing is it's got to be in neutral. It can't be in gear when you start it or the engine won't start And so I made sure that the throttle was in neutral and then I tried it again. Well, it's still in work So then I thought okay, maybe there's a battery issue and so I'm checking the battery and I'm noticing that there's power on The dashboard and all that stuff it indicates that there is power and battery life So I'm thinking okay, well, there's battery. It's in neutral. Let's try again nothing and So then I'm opening up the back part where you can get to the engine I'm looking for loose wires. I'm smelling for gasoline and I'm trying to figure out what is going on I'm going through all the steps and doing everything right But it won't start so my friends Give up on me naturally and they start waving at other boats and This boat comes over and they say are you guys in trouble and they said yes This our friend can't get the boat started And so they offer to tow us in so they throw us a rope and they start driving across the lake takes about a half an hour of shame and Then when we get to the dock They basically they angle it right so we can kind of coast into the dock and then they wave and they drive off and right as we're approaching the dock I notice this little red thing underneath the throttle it says kill switch and Ultimately what was happening is on a in a boat There's these kill switches. You're actually supposed to be tied to it tethered to it In case you fly out of the boat it'll kill the engine so the boat doesn't keep on going and I didn't really understand that and I didn't realize I had actually somehow bumped the kill switch and so the reason that the engine wouldn't start is because the kill switch button was engaged and Therefore we were totally dead in the water. I was doing everything right Except for that one thing that left us totally stranded and that's what we have to realize Jesus is showing that there's a mage there's a massive incompatibility between the ministry of the scribes and the ministry of Jesus because even though they know a lot of the Old Testament They can tell you what that Old Testament says. They're missing an absolutely fundamental piece of Accurate biblical theology and therefore they are dead in the water So one of the things that we see then is that theology actually is really important You know for followers of Christ we really do need to know theology The one of the best defenses against being taken advantage of by corrupt theology is to know Sound theology sound doctrine just dozens of calls in scripture for us to make sure we know theology In fact, that's pretty much the main reason that we are using the new city Catechism in our worship so that we're each week learning accurate theology sound theology so that we are protected But here's the thing so we see that there's this corrupt theology and If that's true if we know that the the warning is that there is corrupt theology then we have to as Christians We need to be thinking about that that there are ministries there are teachers out there that have bad theology and that we should be avoiding them Because what else the other thing Jesus shows us here the next thing we see is that the scribes not only had flawed or corrupt theology, but they also had pretty messed up Motives for doing the things that they were doing so let's take a look 38 through 40 Let's talk about corrupt motives because corrupt theology is very often a sign of corrupt motives as well The scribes were not serving God they were serving themselves take a look 38 and in his teaching he says beware of the scribes Who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the market places and have the best seats in synagogues and the places of honor at feasts Look at that word beware. It is literally in the Greek. It's a word that means see Jesus is saying see this about the scribes see these things Look at the way that they they love to be dressed really fancy so that they appear a certain way look at the way that they love the the greetings in the market place Look at the way that they they enjoy being honored and lifted up he wants them to see that about them To see that their motivation is in large part they want social prominence But then he says in verse 40 look at this. He just it's almost like it jumps out of you suddenly he says who's who devour widows houses And then he says that for pretence they make long prayers they will receive the greater condemnation so that in reference to the prayers He's saying for appearance is sake it literally says it's something like that like for appearance is sake They're making these long prayers, but that key phrase there they devour widows houses. What is that about? Basically, he's saying that they take advantage of the very people that they should be taking care of Devouring widows houses the scribes were Basically part of the Pharisees who were experts in the law and so they were the lawyers And so if you needed somebody to help you with a legal manner you would go to the scribes and the scribes Are actually pretty well known for taking advantage of people one of the things that they would do as lawyers as they would charge excessive fees that people could barely afford Another thing that they would do is they would people would make them Trustees of their estate because you know their lawyers so they figure they can manage the estate well And so there's records of scribes intentionally mismanaging the people's estate so it somehow ends up belonging to them Okay, and then the worst and what Jesus is referring to by saying they devour or they literally eat up Widows houses is the scribes would take pledges from people Take houses, I mean on pledge for unpayable debts. Here's what I mean by that So let's say a widow lost her husband there's some outstanding debt a scribe might go and say look I'll pay your debt for you and just you pay me back in the meantime. I own your house But they would never be able to pay that debt back and so the scribe would collect more and more houses from some of the most vulnerable people in The community so no wonder Jesus as they will receive the greater condemnation right? They were supposed to be these rigid religious leaders They were supposed to be taking care of people and they were actually taking advantage of them So their motives very clearly were corrupt social prominence material gain you name and anything other than really the glory Of God and the benefit of their fellow people of God and so it's about looking Jesus wants them to look and see examine So that you can see the problems and this is in line with so much of what we see in the New Testament There's lots of warnings to be aware of certain people in fact in Matthew 24 11 Jesus says that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. That's another warning watch out who you listen to Peter says in second Peter 2 verse 1, but false prophets also arose Among the people just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive Heresies even denying the master who bought them bringing upon themselves the swift destruction John also says in first John 41 beloved do not believe every spirit but test the Spirits to see whether they are from God in other words whether they truly align with scripture um for many false prophets have gone out into the world and then here's the part that's so frustrating You can't tell you can't always tell if you don't really look You can't always tell this is what Paul is saying listen to this in second Corinthians 11 13 through 15 Paul says For such men are false apostles deceitful workmen disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ and no wonder for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness their end will correspond to their deeds

and then you further saying a wolf in sheep's clothing That's Jesus's line. Okay, Matthew 715 He says beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves So what that tells us is that you know the way this is amazingly relevant today is that there are people who are claiming to be sheep they're claiming to be Christian they're teaching things about the Bible But we actually have to beware We have to avoid listening to their teaching because it is corrupt its poisonous and only when we really look Can we tell sometimes you have to really examine a lot of a person's teaching to see that But Jesus wants us to look There is a principle that I just learned recently The easy way from from books not the hard way from experience, but so in nature There are actually some foods Actually, they're not foods. There are some plants that look exactly like Foods I might even add yummy foods like for example Do you know what nightshade is? Have you ever seen deadly nightshade? Well, it looks a whole lot like a blueberry Fact people in history have been poisoned by eating nightshade thinking they were eating a blueberry Okay, very close very similar if you don't look close you might eat something that will make you sick or die Wisteria you know what wisteria is Wisteria is the reason that if you were walking along and you saw oh look green beans don't eat them Okay, there are this plant called wisteria. It looks very much like just a green bean But it has toxic contents inside Do you know what a horse nettle is? Do you like fried green tomatoes? Okay, well if you accidentally grab a horse nettle which looks exactly like a green tomato You would eat be eating fried green death because it's poisonous. Okay, so that that's another thing It looks just like a google that one a horse nettle you're like what that's a green tomato It's not okay, and then wild cherries this one's really scary wild cherries Actually are different than cherry cherries and wild cherries have a high content of cyanide Stay away, right? And so now the reality is at first glance these things look fine You know bon appetit But if we look close you can see the differences and you realize That this thing that looked like something that's healthy and good is actually toxic and poisonous That's one of the things that scripture teaches us that we have to be very aware We have to be careful about who we're being influenced by And there are a lot of huge churches and popular leaders that are Teaching things that really are not in line with scripture the the worst offenders of this are the prosperity gospel teachers And I'm not gonna spend time going through a whole list Although I may put something in the church email or something just so you have more information on that But this is an area where the prosperity gospel preachers are basically teaching that if you give money Then you will be blessed with more money and they're teaching that it God wants all your dreams to come true And then all your dreams are good Okay, and they it's very attractive it draws people in it gets people to cough up money because they think if I give Then I will be given to if I sow a seed. I will reap a harvest and it is Unbelievable the way it affects people and particularly the most vulnerable people

Which is exactly I think what we see next so not only do we need to be aware of false teachers for our own sake So that we're not led into corrupt theology and things that are going to drive us away from God and and damage our relationship with him But also we have to realize the effect on society look at 41 through 44 And let's talk about the corrupt effects on society because the bottom line is that corrupt ministries victimize the most vulnerable people

take a look 41 through 44 They sit down. They're looking at the treasury people are coming and they're putting in money Some wealthy people are putting in large sums and then this poor Widow comes in 42 and she puts in two small copper coins which make a penny And Jesus called his disciples verse 43 to him and said to them truly I say to you this poor widow Has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box for they all contributed out of their abundance But she out of her poverty Has put in everything she had all she had to live on now A very common interpretation of this and I don't I'm not saying it's not a legitimate application Is very often we look at this and we think that Jesus is sort of praising this woman for being such a sacrificial giver You know like he's saying now they're the wealthy people They gave a lot of money, but they gave out of their abundance They could they could afford to do that so it didn't affect their lifestyle This poor widow she actually gives to the point where now she's destitute she gave everything she had And so sometimes you see this is treated in such a way where she's kind of the the star here And We should give sacrificially absolutely 100% that is a clear message in scripture But I actually don't think that's what we're seeing here. I agree with Passers and theologians like John MacArthur and who see something different here He says that what what we're seeing here is not Jesus praising this woman for her sacrificial giving rather What we're seeing is a widow being victimized by a corrupt system run by corrupt people with corrupt motives and a corrupt Theology being totally taken advantage of

Because somewhere along the line she got the idea that if she gives and gives and gives them God's gonna take care of her That's why God blesses you because you Give to him that's exactly with a prosperity gospel teaches

Which shows us That if if this is if that is what we're seeing here then then as we look at her We see a victim we see someone giving all that she has to a religious ministry that would sooner take advantage of her Then take care of her And so it is absolutely tragic and it shows us part of Jesus motivation for going to the cross to stop these things from happening to people It's like look at the exact opposites between the scribes and Jesus the scribes Take advantage of the vulnerable Motivated by material gain and social prominence and Jesus is the exact opposite Jesus chooses to make himself Totally vulnerable even to the point of death on the cross Giving up everything especially social prominence motivated by love For these victims of a broken system and so that's what we can see that Jesus our king is not only our savior From saving us from our sins, but he also saves us and protects us From these corrupt ministries that will ruin us that will take advantage of us So he came not only to save sinners but to destroy these corrupt ministries With the truth these ministries that would victimize the vulnerable and what it reminds us is that God identifies with and cares for the poor That's why we want to have such a heart for the poor so we so you see then That Jesus wants us to look at her look at the way That they're taking advantage of her But also she she also points us directly back to him She also shows us Him and here's what I mean by that look at verse 44 Verse 44 says and he called I'm sorry for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had all she had to live on Here's what's interesting about the literal more literal translation of that verse in the Greek it literally says she has put in everything she had All her life Her whole life meaning that she didn't just put in a couple coins she actually put in her life. She's giving her whole life to this ministry. She's trusting everything Interesting everything in her life to this ministry and so Jesus is a picture Of this in the way that he chose to give everything in his life On the cross he gives his entire life But his his life as in he dies Right and so so because People are putting their whole lives into these corrupt ministries that take advantage of them Jesus chooses to give his life to save sinners and to destroy these corrupt ministries and stop them from victimizing people in the world I mean, this that's so amazing that he that's on his heart, right? That he wants to deliver the vulnerable from things like this He sees The vulnerable just like he sees you in me and he can choose to save himself or he can save us But if he's gonna save us, he's got to die

Sounds exactly like Story I just heard about about a young mother named Carissa bugle of Aurora, Colorado She gave birth to Declan J. Bugle on November 3rd of this year and he was seven pounds four ounces Happy healthy baby boy During the delivery the doctors recognized that Carissa had a Situation called amniotic fluid embolism And this was a tragic moment because While they're realizing this they're also saying that Declan was in great distress and and in danger of dying before being born and they explain to her that it's got to be you or him If we if we want to try to save you we have to focus on you and save you from the embolism or we can Focus on getting him out through a C section

And she doesn't even think for a second and she said get him take him You save him and so they take her to the operating room and they perform the C section They take out healthy and happy Declan and she dies

And so Declan will live his entire life knowing that his mother chose to give her life so that he could have his Right and that's what the cross is. It's a picture of Jesus seeing you and I in our sin As well as people who are vulnerable to be taken advantage of And he says if it's going to be me or them then I want to save them. I will give my life That's why we have to have our eyes on the cross So that we see this savior who chose to give his life so that you and I could have ours And then now as our king and the one who's proven that he loves us He says beware of these ministries that will lead you astray And also we know this is all true because after he died he rises from the dead The resurrection takes place and it's the proof That our king has paid our debt and that he's going to One day bring an end to all victimization

What a day that will be Until then let's Keep our eyes fixed on him In Jesus name Let's pray Father It's hard to Realize that there are people in the world ministries in the world that claim to be speaking for you and they're not There are there may be some of us in this room who wonder even now If we are being influenced by false prophets or false teachers I pray Lord that you would just give us a spirit of grace that we would be able to freely talk with one another And mention different influences and books and authors To see if we are involved in anything that's dangerous or heretical Please Lord Jesus continue to protect us tell us who to watch out for We want to heed your call to beware and Lord we want to help those Who are the most vulnerable and who would be the most taken advantage of by these corrupt ministries So give us eyes to see the corruption but also to see those who are tragically giving so much to ministries that Would take advantage of them, but not take care of them Let us take care of them As you've taken care of us in Christ. We pray these things in Jesus name Amen