Matthew
I found the third test that Satan tempted Jesus with while he was in the wilderness very interesting and thought provoking, theologically. Satan offered Jesus all the Kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would fall down and do an act of worship to Satan. What Jesus did not say here, I found just as interesting as what he did say. In that, Jesus never once denied that Satan possess all these kingdoms that was offered. Jesus did not say, "What are you talking about Satan, these kingdoms are not yours to offer." However, Jesus not replying in such a manner implies that he concurred that the "kingdoms of the world and their glory" was Satan's to offer. The point I'm trying to make is that 6,000 years or so, of recorded human history seems to bear out that Satan has a great influence in the kingdoms of the world and their governments especially, in considering the events of the 20th century.
Pg. 26 - concerning when Jesus was speaking about who were his brothers, sisters and mother.
It seems to me that Jesus was speaking of those who were and are now his brothers, sisters and mother, spiritually. These would be any who does the "will of God" as Jesus explained in at Matt. 12:50, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."- [ESV]. Not everyone is doing God's will and therefore, would not be a spiritual brother, sister or mother to Jesus or to any of his followers, then or now. John 6:40 helps to explain what the "will of God" is but I'll save that for a later lesson.
Pg. 42 – here at Matt. 19:21, "Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."- [ESV].
Jesus was not condemning the man because he had many possession and great wealth. For possessions and wealth are not bad things in themselves however, it is how the man felt about his possessions and wealth in his heart. Jesus could see that his wealth was an idol to him, his "Golden Calf". That is way Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give it to the poor. I think, it falls under the metaphor of, "if your eye offends you, puck it our…"
Pg. 45 – tells of Jesus' triumphal entrance into Jerusalem with all its exultation, hosannas and palm branches being laid in his path. This is how a king is treated.
I think this entrance symbolically depicted Christ the King entering into the Kingdom of God, in heaven, after his earthly ministry was done. What also is interesting is that, the same people who were cheering Jesus' entrance like a king was shouting for his crucifixion less than a week later. The fickleness of people is astounding.
Pg. 46 – Concerning the story of the fig tree and why Jesus would strike a tree that produced no fruit.
It would not have been unusual for Jesus to expect to find figs on the tree at that time of the year. In Judea, the first fruits appear as early as Passover, than the main crop of fruits ripen. When Jesus came to that particular tree, it was barren of the first fruits and therefore, an unproductive tree. Anyone who has orchards knows that an unproductive fruit tree is simply eliminated just as this particular tree would have been eliminated. However, Jesus used this particular tree to make a point with his followers, which was, any followers of his that did not produce spiritual fruits, proclaiming the good news of God's Kingdom and making disciples would like that tree, dry up. Only in their case, the drying up would have been spiritual and not literal.
Pg. 63 – Here at Matt. 27:20, the Jewish religious leaders, chief priest and elders, incited the crowds to scream for the release of Barabbas and for the crucifixion of Jesus. In spite of Pilate's plea at verse 23, "And he said, `Why, what evil has he done?' But they shouted all the more, `Let him be crucified!'"- [ESV]. In another Gospel, the chief priests tell Pilate that, "We have no king but Caesar."- [ESV].
Here the Jewish religious leaders were making a public declaration to the denunciation of God's plan of salvation for not only themselves and for the Gentiles as well. That is why Jesus told them that their house has been forsaken to them and they would no longer be God's chosen people. From then on, all people would be blessed to God as long as they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Jesus told them that,"…I tell you, you will not see me until you say,' Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"
Book of Mark
Pg. 74 – tells of Jesus forgiving a sinner of sin. The religious leaders could not understand, thinking that it was blasphemy for him to say what he had said.
This is a sure indication that the religious leaders did not understand who Jesus really was, who had sent him and why. The prophets of old foretold of the coming of the Messiah and they certainly were in expectation of the Messiah's coming, but when he stood before them, they refused to believe in him. They dismissed the many signs Jesus had performed as the work of the Devil; saying he receives his power from Beelzebub.
I don't believe many of the religious leaders, who call themselves Christian, today would act much differently than the religious leaders of Jesus' day.
Pg. 75 – concerning the laws not making sense or perhaps being out of touch.
My take on this is it's not the law itself that doesn't make sense it is how the religious leaders were applying the laws. The sanitation laws given to the Jewish people in the Mosaic Law were given for the people's protection. The religious leaders were not really concerned about whether Jesus and his disciples were in violation of any part of the law, they only wanted to find fault with Jesus and his disciples so they could condemn them. Jesus told them that they were invalidating God's word through their traditions. [See Mark 7:13].
Chapter 7 – tells about eating without washing ones hands or washing foods.
This ties in with the above comment, Jesus did observe the sanitation laws found in the Mosaic Law. If he had not, it would have been a sin for him and the Bible, at Heb. 4:15, tells us that he was "without sin." Washing the hands up to the elbows is not specifically proscribed by the Mosaic Law. Jesus point was that having unclean hands does not make one unclean before God, but having an unclean or impure heart does. The religious leaders had unclean hearts. Their hearts was full of corruption and greed. Jesus called them on it many times and they resented that. [See Matt. 23:27].
I found the third test that Satan tempted Jesus with while he was in the wilderness very interesting and thought provoking, theologically. Satan offered Jesus all the Kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would fall down and do an act of worship to Satan. What Jesus did not say here, I found just as interesting as what he did say. In that, Jesus never once denied that Satan possess all these kingdoms that was offered. Jesus did not say, "What are you talking about Satan, these kingdoms are not yours to offer." However, Jesus not replying in such a manner implies that he concurred that the "kingdoms of the world and their glory" was Satan's to offer. The point I'm trying to make is that 6,000 years or so, of recorded human history seems to bear out that Satan has a great influence in the kingdoms of the world and their governments especially, in considering the events of the 20th century.
Pg. 26 - concerning when Jesus was speaking about who were his brothers, sisters and mother.
It seems to me that Jesus was speaking of those who were and are now his brothers, sisters and mother, spiritually. These would be any who does the "will of God" as Jesus explained in at Matt. 12:50, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."- [ESV]. Not everyone is doing God's will and therefore, would not be a spiritual brother, sister or mother to Jesus or to any of his followers, then or now. John 6:40 helps to explain what the "will of God" is but I'll save that for a later lesson.
Pg. 42 – here at Matt. 19:21, "Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."- [ESV].
Jesus was not condemning the man because he had many possession and great wealth. For possessions and wealth are not bad things in themselves however, it is how the man felt about his possessions and wealth in his heart. Jesus could see that his wealth was an idol to him, his "Golden Calf". That is way Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give it to the poor. I think, it falls under the metaphor of, "if your eye offends you, puck it our…"
Pg. 45 – tells of Jesus' triumphal entrance into Jerusalem with all its exultation, hosannas and palm branches being laid in his path. This is how a king is treated.
I think this entrance symbolically depicted Christ the King entering into the Kingdom of God, in heaven, after his earthly ministry was done. What also is interesting is that, the same people who were cheering Jesus' entrance like a king was shouting for his crucifixion less than a week later. The fickleness of people is astounding.
Pg. 46 – Concerning the story of the fig tree and why Jesus would strike a tree that produced no fruit.
It would not have been unusual for Jesus to expect to find figs on the tree at that time of the year. In Judea, the first fruits appear as early as Passover, than the main crop of fruits ripen. When Jesus came to that particular tree, it was barren of the first fruits and therefore, an unproductive tree. Anyone who has orchards knows that an unproductive fruit tree is simply eliminated just as this particular tree would have been eliminated. However, Jesus used this particular tree to make a point with his followers, which was, any followers of his that did not produce spiritual fruits, proclaiming the good news of God's Kingdom and making disciples would like that tree, dry up. Only in their case, the drying up would have been spiritual and not literal.
Pg. 63 – Here at Matt. 27:20, the Jewish religious leaders, chief priest and elders, incited the crowds to scream for the release of Barabbas and for the crucifixion of Jesus. In spite of Pilate's plea at verse 23, "And he said, `Why, what evil has he done?' But they shouted all the more, `Let him be crucified!'"- [ESV]. In another Gospel, the chief priests tell Pilate that, "We have no king but Caesar."- [ESV].
Here the Jewish religious leaders were making a public declaration to the denunciation of God's plan of salvation for not only themselves and for the Gentiles as well. That is why Jesus told them that their house has been forsaken to them and they would no longer be God's chosen people. From then on, all people would be blessed to God as long as they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Jesus told them that,"…I tell you, you will not see me until you say,' Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"
Book of Mark
Pg. 74 – tells of Jesus forgiving a sinner of sin. The religious leaders could not understand, thinking that it was blasphemy for him to say what he had said.
This is a sure indication that the religious leaders did not understand who Jesus really was, who had sent him and why. The prophets of old foretold of the coming of the Messiah and they certainly were in expectation of the Messiah's coming, but when he stood before them, they refused to believe in him. They dismissed the many signs Jesus had performed as the work of the Devil; saying he receives his power from Beelzebub.
I don't believe many of the religious leaders, who call themselves Christian, today would act much differently than the religious leaders of Jesus' day.
Pg. 75 – concerning the laws not making sense or perhaps being out of touch.
My take on this is it's not the law itself that doesn't make sense it is how the religious leaders were applying the laws. The sanitation laws given to the Jewish people in the Mosaic Law were given for the people's protection. The religious leaders were not really concerned about whether Jesus and his disciples were in violation of any part of the law, they only wanted to find fault with Jesus and his disciples so they could condemn them. Jesus told them that they were invalidating God's word through their traditions. [See Mark 7:13].
Chapter 7 – tells about eating without washing ones hands or washing foods.
This ties in with the above comment, Jesus did observe the sanitation laws found in the Mosaic Law. If he had not, it would have been a sin for him and the Bible, at Heb. 4:15, tells us that he was "without sin." Washing the hands up to the elbows is not specifically proscribed by the Mosaic Law. Jesus point was that having unclean hands does not make one unclean before God, but having an unclean or impure heart does. The religious leaders had unclean hearts. Their hearts was full of corruption and greed. Jesus called them on it many times and they resented that. [See Matt. 23:27].
