Unfortunately, God was no longer at the center, the temple was. And the people running the temple decided to play God. Therefore, we are to beware of falling in love with the outworkings of faith, to the point where those things overshadow our love for God. If we are to endure to the end, we must worship God in spirit and truth. Yes, we are to love the church, the gathering of the saints, but not more than Jesus. And I've learned that people who get the most out of church are those who come to church not for church, but come to church for God, to worship Him in spirit and truth.

Psalm 97:10 says "O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked."To love the Lord is to hate evil, because the Lord hates evil. A God of perfect holiness must hate evil, to remain in perfect holiness.Romans 12:9 says "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good."In our text for Sunday, Mark 12:35-44, we are shown that one of the greatest forms of evil is hypocrisy, because hypocrisy is evil masquerading as good, lies masquerading as truth, wolves in sheep clothing. 

Do you know God? Of course, to know God, you must know about God. But knowledge about God is never enough, certainly not for obtaining eternal life. Knowledge about God must translate into knowledge of God. Why? Because God isn’t a theorem. God isn’t a religion. God isn’t postulates and creeds. God isn’t Theology and God isn’t the Bible. God is living and God is loving. Since God is living, to know Him truly is to obtain eternal life. As the Lord Jesus says in John 17:3, "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." How do you know you know God? How do you know you have eternal life?

I remember one of my elementary school teachers describe New England weather in March by saying: "In like a lion, out like a lamb." What she meant was, when March starts, it's still winter, and by the end of the month, spring has begun. In Boston, this March seems to have reversed it. However, it seems appropriate, since this year, we get to celebrate Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday in a March that came in like a lamb, and is going out as a lion. Join us this evening at 6pm for a Good Friday service remembering the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.Join us Sunday as we rejoice in the truth that the Lamb of God rose as the Lion of Judah.

How does this appear in our lives, in our world? Well, it's when people start looking at reality and think, "I'm going to decide how reality is. I get to decide what truth is. I'm going to live my truth. I am in authority of the definition. These are the values that I've chosen for myself, the reality that I've created. It's my body, therefore my sexuality, therefore my moral code. I decide. I'm a master of my own fate, the captain of my own soul." And here, what Jesus is doing is exposing the sinfulness in our rebellious hearts, this desire to claim ownership. But to claim ownership of yourself, to live as if you are your own, you're usurping the owner.

As we meditate upon Holy Week, the most important week in History, we are given a front row seat to what happened when God became one of us. There was a popular song a few years ago, “What if God was one of us?” Well, He was. And we killed him. Just imagine the insanity of doing this. It's insane because it's impossible. We can't kill God. He's eternal.

This whole city that was so enthusiastic to receive Jesus Christ as a Messiah, a few days later, that enthusiasm will turn into savage bloodlust. Why? Because these people hadn't given the Lord their worship. And this was really the issue that the people of God stopped making God first, the people of God stopped making the word of God first. The people of God had lost the primacy of worshiping God. With the whole city before his eyes.

How does Jesus begin the most important week of his life? With a parade, basically. For Himself. It’s surprising, because to-date, we see Jesus withdrawing Himself from wide publicity. How often has he healed someone miraculously and commanded them not to tell anyone? Here, we see another side of Jesus. He appears to drop his private character, and through His own orchestration, calls public attention to Himself. He deliberately makes a public entry into Jerusalem, at the head of His disciples and followers. He voluntarily rides into the holy city, surrounded by a vast multitude, crying, Hosanna, like king David returning to his palace in triumph (2 Sam. 19:40). Why? Because the King has come for His Worship. The King comes to Jerusalem. The King comes to the Temple. What was the purpose of the Temple? It served as the place where people gathered to worship God. Make sacrifices to God. Pray to God. Learn about God. Learn about His Law. Ask for His grace.