Mark 13 and 14

Chapter 13

Many of the awful things that will happen prior to the second coming are listed in this chapter.  1 Nephi 22 should be read with this chapter because in Nephi, the Lord says numerous times how he will protect the righteous and the righteous do not need to fear.  The righteous will be in the midst of the calamities and will experience them, but they will understand what is happening and why, and will know how to stand in holy places where they will be protected.  Many of these things that were predicted are already in progress and we shouldn't be surprised that they are.  But we should be wise and aware.

It's important to remember that no one knows the time of the second coming.  I remember some were predicting that the year 2000 would be the time.  Now, 2012 is the big prediction.  I think we're a long way from it.  But we should be prepared as if it is tomorrow.

Chapter 14

It's interesting that Mary anoints the Savior's head in preparation for the atonement and crucifixion.  The men chastise her for wasting precious ointments.  Once again, it's the women who are sensitive and understand spiritually while the men are being their usual practical selves.  Women are so much more sensitive to the Spirit than men and men would be wise to recognize it and rely more on them.  For some reason, it seems like this little incident is what sent Judas over the edge.  He was in charge of the money and after this happened (he could have been the one complaining) he went to the chief priests and made the arrangements to betray the Savior.

It was the tradition during the passover to eat unleavened bread and wine and have prayers over them.  It must have been a deeply moving experience as the Savior turned the prayers into the first sacrament prayers for remembrance of the physical and spiritual suffering he was about to experience.

The Savior knew what he was going to go through.  But the Greek translation says  that he was amazed, awestruck, astonished at the intensity of what he was suffering.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, it appears that he suffered in these ways:

1.  He had never sinned, so he had never experienced guilt.  He knew what guilt was.  Now he felt the weight of guilt (the suffering those in hell feel) the same as a someone who committed the smallest of sins as well as that of a murderer, a child molester, a sexual deviant.  He was perfectly pure, but now he became the most impure of all by taking all of the sins of all people on him and experiencing the guilt for all so that IF they repented and they would be spared the justice of eternal judgement.  Ezekiel 18 says that if the wicked turn to righteousness, none of their wickedness will be mentioned to them.

2.  He suffered the pain of every possible physical, mental and emotion illness and stress so that he would understand perfectly our pains.  When we suffer a loss of a loved one, he understand perfectly.  If we're bi-polar or depressed, or severely mentally ill, he understands because he experienced it.  If we have intense pain from cancer or other illnesses, if we are fearful, he understands.

3.  Both of the above he experienced far more than we ever will so that no one will experience something he will not have and not understand.

4.  He suffered the loss of the Father's presence.  This is a far greater suffering than we realize and it's hard to understand how powerfully awful this was for him.

It is no wonder that he prayed three times asking the Father if there wasn't some other way this could be done so the suffering could end.  He addressed the Father as  "Abba Father" which is a very intimate term similar to "daddy."

When Judas betrayed the Savior, he just didn't lead the authorities and the priests to him and point him out, he gave the ultimate insult by betraying him with a kiss, an act that in those times was reserved for those who were loved and revered the most.

There wasn't a single time that anyone, the priests, rabbis, scribes, could come up with one single piece of evidence to convict him.  Pilate reaffirmed this when he said that he found no guilt in him.