Sermon Title: WHO IS LORD HERE?
Sermon Text: MARK 12:35-44
Sermon Series: THE JERUSALEM MINISTRY: THE KING CONFRONTS EMPTY RELIGION
By: PTR NIC SY
Mark 12:35-44 ESV
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 marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense 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.”
SERMON NOTES
We all have a throne. And the question is: Who is sitting there?
I. DON’T SHRINK JESUS TO FIT YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Knowing the lordship of Jesus is not the same as encountering his authority.
Reflect: Have we become over-familiar with Jesus that his Lordship no longer means anything to us?
II. DON’T MEASURE YOUR LIFE BY WHAT OTHERS SEE
“beware” | Greek blepó | “to behold, perceive, take heed.”
“devour” | Greek: katesthió | “to consume, to eat up, to eat completely.”
Reflect: What are you performing?
Proximity to holy things does not equal surrender to the Holy One.
What you show is not what God sees. Stop performing for the wrong audience.
III. TRUST THE LORD WITH YOUR WHOLE LIFE, NOT JUST YOUR LEFTOVERS
“watch” | Greek: katesthió | “to behold, to consider, to look on.”
“live” | Greek: bios | “life, living; the present state of existence.”
You can give to a system out of obligation. Or you can give to the Lord out of trust.
God is not impressed by the size of what you give. He’s looking at what it costs you.
Reflect: Are you giving from surplus or from surrender?
The widow didn’t give what she wouldn’t miss. She gave what she couldn’t afford to lose.
Reflect: Does my devotion to God ever cost me something?
We love the idea of Jesus as Savior but we hesitate at Jesus as Lord.