Religious Leaders Who Blaspheme

 

Welcome to a study of the Gospel according to Mark. If you followed our study of the Book of Matthew, you will be excited about this next cooperative effort of Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. In this study, observations about each chapter of Mark are followed by 10 questions. The answers may be found by scrolling to the bottom of the post.

Prepare for this lesson by reading Mark Chapter 3.


Let's begin with prayer.

Holy God, Lover of Mankind, illumine our hearts with the pure light of thy divine knowledge. Open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of thy Gospel teachings. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

While in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus restored the withered hand of a man. This action angered the religious leaders, leading the Pharisees and Herodians to plot His destruction.

Jesus withdrew from the city of Capernaum to the Sea of Galilee. There huge crowds gathered around Him. The people came from Galilee, Idumea, Judea, Jerusalem and other regions, seeking healing and deliverance from evil spirits. The crowds pressed on him to such a degree that Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for them to depart.

On a mountain in Galilee, Jesus appointed twelve disciples to preach, heal, and drive out demons. These are the original Twelve Apostles. Except for John who lived to an old age, and Judas Iscariot who killed himself, all were eventually martyred.

Jesus' family came to speak to him, fearing that He had lost his mind. The Jerusalem scribes claimed that He cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul, a deity that never existed. Jesus then spoke of how a kingdom divided against itself will fall and He warned about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

When His mother and brothers arrived, seeking to speak to him, Jesus spoke of the Kingdom as His family, stating that His brother, sister, and mother are those who do the will of His Father.

Questions

1. Who were the Pharisees and the Herodians?

2. Why did the Pharisees and the Herodians want to destroy Jesus?

3. Jesus and his disciples had a crowd control problem. What plan of escape did Jesus have while at the Sea of Galilee?

4. Mark is the only book of the New Testament that mentions Idumea, the "Land of Red People". Why is Idumea (also known as Edom) significant in reference to Jesus Messiah?

5. Who are the twelve men called by Jesus to be His Apostles? What does the name "Bartholomew" mean?

6. What specific ministries were the Twelve Apostles appointed to do?

7. The Jewish religious leaders claimed that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul. What does Beelzebul mean? 

8. Jesus defined blasphemy as sin against the Holy Spirit. How did the Pharisees blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?

9. Who were Jesus' brothers and sisters and what concerned them about Jesus?

10. How did Jesus define "family"?

Answers

1. The Pharisees were a strict Jewish sect that wanted to uphold Jewish religious traditions. The Herodians were Jewish politicians who were willing to compromise Jewish traditions to gain the favor of the Romans who dominated Galilee and Judea. The Herodians systematically marginalized the traditionalist priests, including some of Jesus' ancestors. An example is Herod's removal of a High Priest named Matthias, a descendant of David. The family of Matthias, once a favorite of Herod the Great, was ostracized from Jewish political life and came to have limited political influence with the House of Zadok. The name Matthias, or variant spellings of that name, appear 4 places in Luke's list of the ancestors of the Virgin Mary. Though the Pharisees and the Herodians differed in their goals and political loyalties, they briefly united in opposition to Jesus (Mk. 3:6).

2. The Pharisees regarded Jesus as a violator of their strict religious code. The Herodians saw Him as a threat to their political control. They feared that He would incite rebellion against their Roman overlords.

3. Wherever Jesus and his disciples went, crowds followed them. Jesus asked his disciples to have a boat ready so the massive crowd would not cause injury to them. Crowds can be stirred to sudden action that can result in people being trampled.

4. Idumea or Edom was Abraham's territory and the region of the Horite Hebrew rulers before there was a king in Israel. Genesis 36:31 says, "These were the kings of Edom before there was a king over the people of Israel." This detail in Mark's Gospel is significant because it means that people from what was Abraham's territory wanted to see Jesus. Abraham's territory extended between Hebron and Beersheba to the south. Both places are shown on the map.

5. The twelve Apostles were Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew (or Levi), Philip, James, Thomas, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas Iscariot, and Bartholomew. Bartholomew is the English version of the Aramaic Bar-Talmai, meaning "son of Talmai". The fact that he takes this name indicates that Talmai was a prominent Galilean Jew.

6. Jesus told the twelve Apostles to preach, heal, and cast out demons. These are the marks of the Apostolic ministry. They were not to demonstrate, organize rallies, promote their favorite agendas, etc.

7. Beelzebul means "Lord of flies" and was a play on the word Baal-zebal, used to mock Jesus. The word Baal-zebal means "Lord of the Heights". The Jewish leaders accused Jesus of casting out demons and healing by the power of a deity that existed only in Jewish folklore. However, their intention was clear. They attributed Jesus' power to the demonic. 

8. The Pharisees saw the miracles done by Jesus with their own eyes and maliciously claimed that Jesus was working by demonic power. Jesus knew their hearts were hardened against the power of the Holy Spirit. Rejection of the Holy Spirit's work makes forgiveness impossible.

9. Jesus was Mary's only child. The brothers and sisters mentioned in Mark 3 were Joseph's children by his other wife. They were Jesus' half-siblings. They came to fetch Him, having heard rumors about him that made them think that Jesus had become mentally unstable.

10. The Jewish leaders were proud of their national and ethnic identity. They regarded their blood kinship as the basis for their loyalties and most of their social obligations. Jesus redefined family as more than biological relatives. By His blood, all his followers are made His family. When his mother and siblings approached him, Jesus pointed to his faithful followers and declared them his family. He was speaking of a spiritual reality. All who are in Christ are his family and his kin. He makes us one people by his own blood, and we are his inheritance from his Father. 

Related reading: Mark Chapter 1: The Barmore-Linsley Study; Mark Chapter 2: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath; The Hebrew Were a Caste; Belonging to Christ is a Serious Matter

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

 

Jesus with his disciples in the field of grain.

The artist is Gustave Doré (1832-1883).

Welcome to a study of the Gospel according to Mark. If you followed our study of the Book of Matthew, you will be excited about this next cooperative effort of Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. In this study, observations about each chapter of Mark are followed by 8 questions. The answers may be found by scrolling to the bottom of the post.

Prepare for this lesson by reading Mark Chapter 2.


Let's begin with prayer.

Holy Father, you call each soul to repentance that we might have eternal life through your Son, Jesus. May our lives be consecrated to you day by day. Illumine our minds as we meditate on the Holy Scriptures. This we ask through Jesus Christ, your eternally glorified Son. Amen.  

INTRODUCTION

Mark chapter 2 recounts events that speak of Jesus' power and authority as the Son of Man, the Divine Bridegroom, and Lord of the Sabbath. The events take place in Galilee where Jesus first encountered opposition from the Jewish religious leaders. The first confrontation came when Jesus healed a paralytic, claiming to forgive the man's sins. Four men lowered a paralyzed friend through a roof to reach Jesus. Jesus first forgave the man's sins which provoked accusations of blasphemy from the scribes, and then he healed the man, proving His divine authority.

The second confrontation with the religious leaders involved Jesus' association with Levi, a tax collector in whose home Jesus dined. Jesus called the tax collector Levi (Matthew) to follow Him and then sat down to dine with tax collectors and social outcasts. When criticized by the Pharisees, Jesus stated that He came as a physician to help sinners, not the righteous.

The third incident involved accusations about Jesus' disciples who were not fasting as was required by the religious authorities. When asked why His disciples were not fasting, Jesus used the metaphor of a wedding feast, explaining that fasting is not appropriate while He, the Divine Bridegroom, is with them. He then spoke of why new cloth cannot be sewn onto old garments and why new wine cannot be stored in old wineskins.

The fourth confrontation with the religious leaders came when Jesus' disciples picked heads of grain on the Sabbath. They were criticized by the Pharisees for doing this. Jesus defended them by referring to when David ate the consecrated bread that was for the priests only. Jesus implied that David's hunger as a man hunted by King Saul, justified that action. Jesus then declared that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath," and he proclaimed Himself "Lord of the Sabbath."

Questions

1. What four titles in Mark chapters 1 and 2 indicate Jesus' all surpassing authority?

2. The phrase "Son of Man" could have more than one meaning. Why did Jesus use the phrase to describe himself?

3. How did the people react who witnessed Jesus' healing of the paralytic?

4. When Jesus first saw the tax collector Levi, Jesus told him "Follow me". What became of Levi after that?

5. What did Jesus say to the Pharisees when they criticized him for eating with tax collectors and sinners?

6. What did Jesus say to the religious authorities when they asked why Jesus' disciples did not fast?

7. What reality was Jesus pointing to when he spoke about new cloth and new wine?

8. What does Jesus' claim to be "Lord of the Sabbath" tell us about his identity?

Answers

1. Mark chapter 1 identifies Jesus as the Son of God. Mark chapter 2 identifies Him as the Son of Man, a Messianic figure in Daniel 7: 13-14. Chapter 2 also identifies Jesus as the Divine Bridegroom whose followers are his bride. He calls himself "Lord of the Sabbath" because the Son was with the Father before the Creation. These four titles speak of how Jesus' authority is greater than any other authority.

2. Jesus knew the prophesy in Daniel 7 about the Son of Man. Daniel had a vision of "one like a son of man" receiving eternal authority, glory, and an everlasting kingdom from the "Ancient of Days." Jesus understood that this prophesy described the relationship he has to his Heavenly Father and his authority on earth. It is also likely that Jesus used the phrase "Son of Man" to emphasize his full humanity because his miraculous acts stirred rumors that he was an angel, or an apparition, and not truly human. Christianity teaches that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. The Nicene Creed affirms that Jesus Christ is fully divine and fully human, which protects against early heresies like Arianism.

3. The common people who witnessed Jesus' healing of the paralytic were astonished, but the religious leaders were outraged that Jesus told the man that his sins were forgiven. They recognized that God alone could forgive sins. However, because Jesus is God, it was as easy for Him to tell the man you are healed, take up your bed, or your sins are forgiven.

4. After Levi became one of Jesus' followers, he became known as Matthew. Most scholars believe that this is the same person as the Apostle Matthew and the author of the Gospel of Matthew. As a tax collector, Levi was hated by the Jewish people because he collected taxes for the Romans who dominated Galilee and Judea. The tax collectors did not receive wages from Rome, so they earned money by charging the people more than the Romans required. Levi was obviously very wealthy because his house was large enough for a big group of people to dine together. Jesus ate there with his disciples and many other tax collectors. Mark 2:13-15 says, "While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him."

5. Jesus told them that he came to call sinners to repentance (Mk. 2:17-18), and he implied that the Pharisees who regarded themselves as righteous did not need Him. Jesus compared Himself to a doctor who treats the sick. 

6. Jesus explained that He is the Divine Bridegroom and being with him was an occasion for celebration. Fasting would not be appropriate at such a time. Jesus was drawing on a common Old Testament picture of the relationship between God and his people as husband and wife. An example is Psalm 45, a royal wedding song celebrating a Messianic King and his royal bride. This is interpreted by Christians and Jews as an allegory of God's covenant of marriage with his people. (Also see these passages: Isaiah 54:5-6, Isaiah 62: 4-5, Hosea 2:19-20, Ezekiel 16:8-13, and Jeremiah 31: 31-31.)

7. When Jesus spoke about new cloth and new wine (Matt. 9:16–17; Lk. 5:36–39), He was pointing to the incompatibility between the life of the Kingdom and the legalistic religious system of Judaism. So many religious rules had made the daily lives of the Jewish people burdensome. Jesus came to bring new life and liberty from sin, and this would be proved by his Resurrection.

8. As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus is revealed as Creator of the cycle of days leading up to the Sabbath. For the Jews, the Sabbath was from Friday evening through Saturday evening. Sunday was regarded as the first day of the week and it was on the first day of the week that Jesus rose from the grave. This indicates an entirely new cycle of days, not to be confused with the old cycle, just as the new cloth cannot be sewn into the old cloth or the new wine stored in old wineskins. God the Father desires Sabbath communion with us through the Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.

Related reading: Mark Chapter 1: The Barmore-Linsley Study, Shrines, Temples, and Synagogues; Officers of the Synagogues in Ancient Rome – International Catacomb Society

Belonging to Christ is a Serious Matter

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Some Christians fail to show Christlikeness in spite of listening to sermons intended to help them live as Christians. In part, this is an effect of our fallen state. It may also be an effect of the Church's failure to teach about authority and the biblical understanding of purity. This post considers both topics.

Authority

To live as a Christ follower, the individual's will may not be the highest authority. The highest authority must be God Father, God Son, and God Spirit. Sermons that are weak on the authority of the Trinity may contribute to the individual's failure to respond to all three persons of the eternal Godhead. 

The Church may need to remind us to recognize and respect the temporal authority vested with rulers, heads of governments, and people who uphold the laws of the land. All are due respect for the office they hold even when one disagrees with their policies. The Apostles taught obedience to civil authorities alongside obedience to God's greater authority. Paul develops this in his writings, especially in Romans 13.

The individual may need to learn about the three types of authority in the Bible. They are derived authority, attributed authority, and achieved authority. 

Derived authority rests on individuals called by God to perform a specific ministry. This may include clergy, prophets such as Deborah and John the Baptist, wise teachers, and divinely appointed rulers. In the Ancient World derived authority was based on a close connection to the divinely appointed ruler. The closer the individual’s blood relation to the high king, the more prestige the person derived. In the time of Solomon, when genealogical archives were kept in the Temple, some Israelites became obsessed with records of their ancestors. They hoped to derive authority by proving that they were close relatives of the king. In modern society derived authority comes when an official takes of oath of office to serve the established authority. 

Attributed authority rests on people recognized by society as righteous. John the Baptist is an example. The people came out to him in the wilderness because they recognized that he was a holy man. Attributed authority came with the offices of king, judge, prophet, and priest. Consecration was done in a ceremony not unlike the sacramental ordination found in some churches today. Only men served as priests in the various ranks, each with its unique and limited authority. Each priestly rank and position was inherited. The greatest authority rested with the chief priest known as the “High Priest” in the time of the Second Temple (c. 560 B.C. - 70 A.D.). Most of the junior priests served at smaller, less prestigious temples and shrines until the time of King Josiah who wanted the Temple in Jerusalem to be the only temple. He ordered the destruction of other temples, even some that were dedicated to the High God (Deut. 12:1–5). In modern society attributed authority comes to those who have been recognized for their expertise in a certain field. This includes regularly ordained clergy, fully licensed physicians and medical specialists, lawyers, and judges.

The Hebrew men whose names begin with the Y represent attributed authority. The Y-names are based on the early Hebrew symbol of two feathers. The two feathers were a symbol of a man who judges and measures. Hebrew men with Y-names include Yitzak (Isaac), Yishmael (Ishmael), Yacob (Jacob), Yosef (Joseph), Yehuda (Judah), Yeshai (Jesse), and Yeshua (Jesus). The name Yeshua is derived from the earlier Nilotic name Y-Shu which referred to šw (Shu), meaning light. This referred to the first act of the Creator at the beginning (Gen.1:1). This is not the light of day. It is the eternal, uncreated light associated with the High God's son Y-shu (Yeshua), as proclaimed in John's Prologue.

Achieved authority comes from societal recognition of a person's righteousness or holy living. The biblical person who best exemplifies all three types of authority is John the Baptist. John's strict asceticism and denial of all worldly pleasures was widely recognized by the Judean population. His spiritual authority was such that many traveled into the wilderness to consult him or be baptized by him. His divine appointment is indicated by the Y in his Hebrew name, Yohanan. John embodied all three types of authority. No wonder Jesus claimed that he was the greatest of the prophets (Matt. 11:11; Lk. 7:28).

Purity

Most Christians view Judaism as a religion of rules and laws. Jesus himself criticized the hypocrisy of the Jerusalem elites who required obedience to the many laws while failing to obey them. The legalism of first century Judaism represents a compounding of rules over many centuries. Originally, the rituals were to protect the Hebrew people from impurity. 

The early Hebrew (4200-2000 B.C,) lived before the emergence of Judaism. They were a ruler-priest caste for whom ritual purity was absolutely essential because any impurity made it impossible for the priest to serve in the temples and shrines.

Among the biblical Hebrew morality was about avoiding the defilement of themselves and sacred spaces. This is evident in studies of the ancient moral codes which were to guard people and places from defilement or from committing defiling acts such as stealing the bread offered to the deity.

Morality was directly related to the Hebrew understanding of divine radiance and purity which they associated with the sun, the emblem of the High God. The temple entrances and the inner sanctums were aligned so that the light of the rising sun would shine there. Only priests who had purified themselves could enter the temple precincts. Admission to sacred shrines also required prior purification. Purifying agents include the sun, water, and blood.

Regarding the Hebrew priests who served at biblical On (Heliopolis), Plutarch wrote that the “priests of the Sun at Heliopolis never carry wine into their temples, for they regard it as indecent for those who are devoted to the service of any god to indulge in the drinking of wine whilst they are under the immediate inspection of their Lord and King. The priests of the other deities are not so scrupulous in this respect, for they use it, though sparingly.”

It is significant that the terms for ritual purity in Sumerian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Hittite, and Ugaritic are related to the idea of radiance. (See Feder, Yitzhaq. The Semantics of Purity in the Ancient Near East. 2014, p. 5.) There also is a linguistic correspondence between words for purity and blood. The Hebrew root thr meaning “to be pure” is related to the Hausa/Hahm toro, meaning “clean” and to the Tamil tiru, meaning “holy.” All are related to the ancient Egyptian tr, meaning “blood.” Christians understand that we are made clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Among the early Hebrew priests, purification was a strict religious obligation, especially before entering the temples or shrines. The Hebrew priest was purified through ritual washing, shaving the body, fasting, and an intense period of prayer. Moses' half-brother Korah was a priest. His name means "shaved one." According to Numbers 16:17-18, Korah carried the censor to offer incense before God.

In the churches today one rarely hears a sermon on purity. One may hear that Christians are a holy priesthood, but that cannot be so where there is impurity. Pornography, obscene language, evil thoughts, harboring hatred... these impurities rule us while Christ calls us to walk in the light and be pure as He is pure.


Related reading: Why the Name Jesus?; The Hebrew Believed in a Messiah 6000 Years Ago; The Hebrew were a Caste

Mark Chapter 1: The Barmore-Linsley Study

 

The wings identify John the Baptist as a divine messenger, the “Evangelos” 

who proclaimed Messiah's appearance in the flesh.

Welcome to a study of the Gospel according to Mark. If you followed our study of the Book of Matthew, you will be excited about this next cooperative effort of Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. In this study, observations about each chapter of Mark are followed by 10 questions. The answers may be found by scrolling to the bottom of the post.

Prepare for this lesson by reading Mark Chapter 1.

Let's begin with prayer.

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

The Gospel of Mark is believed to be the work of John Mark who traveled with Paul and Barnabas and later assisted Peter (1 Pt. 5:13). The book does not mention the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, so most scholars believe it was written before that catastrophic event. According to Church tradition, Mark's account is the earliest of the Synoptic Gospels and was composed while the author was in Rome.

Mark's main message is about Jesus Christ, God's Son, whose Messianic ministry was characterized by mighty works of God and whose sacrifice on the Cross was for the redemption of the world. In Mark's account, Jesus seems to keep his identity as the eternal Son of God a secret. However, his power and authority are evident throughout his ministry as the "Son of Man" and fully revealed after His death and resurrection. 

Mark's Gospel is a fast-paced book. Jesus is always on the move, making his way over time to his destiny in Jerusalem, where prophets are killed (Matt. 23:27; Lk. 13:34). The connective tissue is the word immediately which appears more than 40 times in the book. An example is Mark 1:21 which states that Jesus and some of his disciples went to Capernaum "and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught."

Compared to Matthew's Gospel, Mark records fewer words from Jesus. Instead, Jesus is seen as a man of action.

CHAPTER ONE

The first chapter of Mark's Gospel opens with the ministry of John the Baptist (1:1–11). John was the son of the Jewish priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. John was preaching repentance in the wilderness, thus preparing the way for Jesus the Messiah. The people came out of the towns and cities to be baptized by John in the Jordan River.

Jesus traveled from Nazareth to be baptized by John. As Jesus came up out of the water the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven declared Jesus as God's beloved Son. At Jesus' Baptism the reality of the Holy Trinity was perfectly manifested.

The Spirit then directed Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days where He was tempted by Satan and where angels ministered to Him. 

After John the Forerunner was arrested, Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee where He proclaimed that the kingdom of God is near and called people to repent and believe. At the Sea of Galilee, Jesus called two sets of brothers to be his first disciples. All were fishermen. Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John left their fishing nets and followed Him.

The chapter closes with accounts of Jesus teaching in the synagogues, delivering a man from the oppression of an evil spirit, and cleansing a leper. By this time, Jesus was not able to move about as freely as before because news of his miracles brought out large crowds.

QUESTIONS

1. According to Mark's account Jesus began His public ministry in Galilee. How does this differ from the account in John's Gospel?

2. What activities characterize Jesus' early ministry in Galilee?

3. What was Jesus' relationship to John the Baptist?

4. What was John's message?

5. What central dogma of Christianity was made evident at Jesus' Baptism and why is this dogma to be preserved?

6. What was Jesus' main message after His temptation in the wilderness?

7. Who were the first disciples called by Jesus and what is known about them?

8. How did people respond to Jesus' teaching in the synagogues?

9. Mark's Gospel identifies Jesus as the "Son of God" (verse 1). What prophesies about the Son of God, or the Messiah, were fulfilled by Jesus' actions in this first chapter of Mark?

10. Why did Jesus command the evil spirits to be silent and why did he tell people not to broadcast how He healed them?

ANSWERS

1. According to Mark, Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee after John was arrested. In the Gospel of John, Jesus' public ministry began at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. 

2. Jesus' early ministry in Galilee was characterized by healing, teaching in the synagogues, and driving out evil spirits. 

3. Jesus and John were cousins. Both were descendants of the Hebrew ruler-priests who believed in God Father and God Son before Judaism emerged as a world religion. According to John's Gospel, Jesus regarded John as the greatest of all the prophets (Matt. 11:11; Lk. 7:28). John the Immerser personified all 3 types of authority: derived, attributed, and achieved. Read more about their relationship here: Jesus and John Fulfill All Righteousness.

4. John's message was to prepare the people to receive Jesus the Messiah by repenting of their sins and receiving the baptism of repentance by ritual purification in the Jordan River.

5. At Jesus' baptism, the central dogma of the Holy Trinity was made evident. The Son of God came up from the water. The Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and the voice of God declared that Jesus is the Father's beloved son. This is divine revelation to be preserved by all Christians. The term "dogma" refers to a teaching or belief that cannot be changed or eliminated because doing so would completely change the substance of the Christian Faith.

6. Jesus' main message was a call to repentance because the time of the Kingdom of God is at hand. 

7. The first disciples called by Jesus were Simon and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John. All 3 were Galilean fishermen. Simon was married. Jesus healed his mother-in-law of a fever (Mk. 1:30). James and John were the sons of a Jewish man named Zebedee. Jesus called James and John Boanerges which means "Sons of Thunder" (Mk. 3:17).

8. When Jesus taught in the synagogues, the people were astonished because he taught them as one having real authority and not as the scribes (Mk.1:22). According to Mark 1:38, Jesus did not stay long in any one town. He believed his work was to preach throughout Galilee.

9. Many prophesies about the long-awaited Messiah were fulfilled in the first chapter of Mark. In Isaiah 40:3 John the Baptist's preparation for Jesus' servant ministry is declared: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Jesus casting out demons and healing various diseases fulfilled the prophecies associated with the Messianic dawning of the Kingdom of God. 

10. Jesus commanded the evil spirits to be silent because He wanted freedom to preach and teach in as many places as possible without being hindered by large crowds. He told people he healed not to broadcast their experiences because the circulation of rumors would bring out crowds making it difficult for him to go about freely. Even with these precautions, Jesus spent much of his time in the countryside. Mark 1:45 explains that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town. Instead, He stayed out in the country. Even then, people found him, coming to him from every quarter.

Related reading: Mary Barmore's Testimony; John the Forerunner, the Greatest Prophet; A Disciple’s Guide to Bible Study; Formed and Informed by the Bible; A Living Faith Justifies; The Ethnicity of Abraham and David; Belonging to Christ is a Serious Matter

Sailing Life’s Storms

Hope Ellen Rapson

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2)

Life is filled with distressing issues or events that make us want to just give “up the ship.” We often cannot see beyond the waves of fear, anxiety, or hopelessness. Such storms break out threatening to sweep our resolve to stay faithful to God because in the struggle, we cannot see the calm shore or safe harbor ahead. Even when we put our whole strength to control the tiller and sheets of our lives we still cry out to the Lord, “Is this the right course? Does the Lord really want me to go through this? Isn’t there some other way?”

We are not alone in this rain of emotions and questions. Jesus, the God/Man experienced the same when he found himself alone among his sleeping disciples on the Mount of Olives. In full acknowledgement of the lightening that would soon strike him…arrest, abandonment, beating, crucifixion, and being completely split apart from his heavenly Father and guiding Holy Spirit, Jesus asked, “isn’t there another way?” He did not find it easy to say, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26-39) He even told his companions that He was so deeply troubled that He thought he could die. (Matt. 26:38) In prayer, He poured out the storm in his heart to the point sweating blood. (Lk. 22: 44) Would he hold the course, follow the compass, obey the chart through the storm to provide redemption for even those who would even kill Him? Three times he came to the brink, but three time his naked, storm-soaked will said, “I will hold this course!”

We find it hard to keep our prow into the wind, to battle with the will and emotions against the winds and waves that seek to capsize our lives. Even after we say, “I will hold the course,” the storms do not quickly abate, but they will not last forever. Because Christ, who was tossed and torn for us, knows who we are, where we are, and how we are, and why we are struggling. He did, too. We do not endure life’s storms alone and with the help of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, united now because of the death and resurrection of Jesus on our behalf, we can weather the storms here with eternal hope. Amen!

Related reading:  Get a Grip! Be Steadfast

Too Busy Dying

 

Alice C. Linsley

Recently a loved one died after a long life of caring for her family, serving her church, and enjoying life to the fullest. Shortly before her death, she told her daughter that she had never thought much about death. Her daughter pondered that remark and concluded that her mother was too busy living. What a wonderful way to remember the woman who lovingly raised you!

There is another excellent way to live, and that is to be too busy dying to self. This way of life takes seriously Jesus’ call to deny oneself and take up the cross (Matt. 16:24). St. Anthony of the Desert expressed it in these words, "Die daily if you wish to live eternally." Ignatius of Loyola said, "I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth."

In Christian asceticism, dying to self is referred to as "slaying the passions" of pride, anger, envy, gluttony, and greed. When our focus is on earthy things, we cannot rise above the passions or vices. Nor can we do so in our own strength. The gift of the Holy Spirit is needed to daily die that Christ might live more fully in and through us. The Apostles received that gift in abundance on the day of Pentecost.

In 1 Corinthians 15:31, Paul explains that he dies daily. To the Galatians, he explained that he has been “crucified with Christ,” and no longer lives because the version of Paul that God never intended has been surrendered so that Christ might live actively in him through faith. 

Finally, we have this assurance: "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, no longer dies. Death no longer rules over Him. For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 6:8-11)

Related reading: Blessings of Dying to Self – Reina Beaty

The Glorious First Easter

 

This is the final chapter of our study of Matthew's Gospel, a collaboration between Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. To prepare, read Matthew chapter 28. When you have finished, answer the 8 questions. Scroll to the bottom to check your answers.

Introduction

Matthew 28 recounts the resurrection of Jesus, beginning with women coming to the guarded tomb. An earthquake occurred and an angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone at the entrance to the tomb. The guards trembled with fear. The angel greeted the women and announced that Jesus had risen. Jesus appeared to them, instructing them to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee. The chapter ends with the Great Commission where Jesus commands his followers to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He promises to be with his people to the close of the age.

Questions

1.When did the women come to the tomb?

2. What did the angel say to the women?

3. How did the women react to the angel's message?

4. What did the women do when Jesus met them?

5. What did the chief priests and elders do when the guards came to report what had happened?

6. How did the eleven disciples react when they saw Jesus in Galilee?

7. Why did Jesus say, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me"? (v. 18)

8. What liturgical formula is essential to baptism as Jesus commanded? (A liturgical formula is a prescribed form of words or prayers used in public worship to perform specific religious acts such as the Lord's Supper and Baptism.)

Answers

1. Two women named Mary came to the tomb very early in the morning on a Sunday. They came toward dawn. John 20:1 indicates that it was still dark. Sunrise Easter services are a way of acknowledging Jesus' resurrection which happened before dawn. Among the early Hebrew (4000-2000 B.C.) the Son of God was associated with the sun. He was said to rise in the morning as a lamb and to grow to the mature strength of a ram at sunset. He rode with the Father on the solar boat. The boat of the morning hours was called Mandjet and the boat of the evening hours was called Mesektet. While the Son was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed form. You will recall that God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Abraham would have recognized the ram as a symbol of the Son of God yet to come.

2. The angel told them not to be afraid and explained that Jesus had risen. The women were invited to see the place where Jesus' body had been laid. They were witnesses that He was not there. The angel then told them to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead and that he was going before them to Galilee where they would see him.

3. The women left the tomb immediately. They felt fear and great joy. They ran to tell the disciples as Jesus had instructed them.

4. When Jesus met the women, they took hold of his feet and worshipped him. There was no doubt in their minds who the man was. They became firsthand witnesses to the reality of Jesus' resurrection.

5. The chief priests and elders paid the guards to spread a lie that Jesus' disciples had come and taken away the body by night.

6. When the disciples saw the Risen Lord Jesus in Galilee they worshipped him, but some still had doubts.

7. By his death and resurrection Jesus took complete authority over sin and death and over the Evil One on earth. He receives all authority from God the Father who will make all God's enemies Christ's footstool (Ps. 110:11). Acting on his supreme authority, Jesus authorized his disciples to go into the world and encourage others to be obedient to the Gospel.

8. Christian baptism requires that the person be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a trinitarian faith. Jesus' early Hebrew ancestors believed in God Father, God Son, and the life-generating Spirit of God long before Judaism emerged as a world religion. The Christian faith is summarized in the Apostles' Creed (often recited at baptisms) and the Nicene Creed. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are foundational summaries of the Christian faith.

Mary and Alice are thankful for the wide readership of our study of Matthew's Gospel. We pray that what we have written will be a blessing and will strengthen your faith. May this Bright Week be a time of rejoicing because Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!

In May, we will begin our study of Mark's Gospel. Please join us!

Related reading: Christ's Third Day Resurrection; "Easter" Eggs in Antiquity; What Abraham Discovered on Mt. Moriah; Matthew's Testimony Concerning the Empty Tomb