Follow the King

“Surely this man was the Son of God.” Those words were spoken by a Roman soldier at the foot of the Cross after Jesus laid down His life as the ransom price to set the guilty free.

“Save Yourself.” Those words were shouted in mockery by the religious leaders—missing the irony that Jesus could not save Himself and save us. “

Jesus is King.” That is the message Mark reveals through the Cross. What looked like a Roman execution was actually a divine coronation—declaring that Caesar is not King. Jesus is.

And we still need that reminder today: Jesus is King—and as our King, our lives belong to Him.

Today was a special day in the life of our faith family as we ordained three new elders—recognizing those Jesus has already been shaping to help shepherd His people.

After months of prayer, discernment, and preparation, we laid hands on Tim Jackson, Nate Judd, and Josh Stone and commissioned them to serve beneath the Chief Shepherd, Jesus.

This isn’t about status—but responsibility. And ultimately, it’s all about following King Jesus and making disciples.

Our failures do not get the final word. Jesus does.

Jesus knows our weakness before we ever fail—and our worst moments don’t catch Him by surprise.

What we think we’ve destroyed, Jesus is able to restore.

The lamb. The bread. The bitter herbs. The cups. For generations, the Passover table told Israel’s story of rescue.

Then Jesus sat at that table—and everything changed.

A new covenant. A greater rescue. And Jesus Himself, the Lamb of God who gave His life to set us free.

Gethsemane gives us a breathtaking glimpse of Jesus in His humanity. He knew what the cup would cost, asked the Father to take it away—and then faithfully chose to take it for us. Hallel-Yah!

Our hope isn’t found in the strength of our promises, but in the strength of the One who rescued us.

We can know we’ve been saved while slowly forgetting what we were saved from—and what it cost to set us free.

The bread and cup call us to remember the life Jesus, our Rescuer, gave for us.

And when we stand face-to-face with what He gave for our freedom, it changes what we’re willing to give to Him.

Have you ever looked at what was happening in your life and asked, “Jesus, what are You doing?”

 

The disciples did too. But what looked confusing in the moment was often Jesus preparing them for what they could not yet see. Faith isn’t believing Jesus will always make sense—it’s learning to trust Him when He doesn’t.

Jesus called Mary's anointing "beautiful"—but the invitation of the text is not to be like Mary. It's to sit where Mary sat: at the feet of Jesus.

Mary treasured Jesus because she knew Jesus.

How many of us know about Jesus—but don’t truly know Him? Seeing the beauty of Jesus changes everything.

We come to treasure Jesus deeply as we come to know Him fully.

This generation.

Jesus says, "All these things"—including the Son of Man coming on the clouds—"will take place in this generation."

What if Jesus wasn't delivering a timeline for the future—but preparing His followers to remain faithful no matter what the future held?

And that's helpful to know—because Christians spend an awful lot of time asking, "When is Jesus coming back?" While Jesus spends an awful lot of time asking, "What will I find you doing when I do?"

The disciples thought Jesus was preparing them for the end of the temple.

He was—but not in the way they expected.

What looked like the destruction of the temple was actually the beginning of something far greater: God's presence would no longer be confined to a building, but would dwell in His people through the Holy Spirit.