Monthly Archives: August 2015

A Well-planned Raid!

Bible Study, ,

A WELL-PLANNED RAID!

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything but, since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve . . .

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as He taught them, He said, ‘Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it “a den of robbers”.’

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching. When evening came, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city (Mark 11: 11; 15-19).

Did you notice how Jesus had checked out the whole situation the evening before? When He rode into the city on the donkey, He was making a powerful prophetic statement.

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zech. 9: 9).  

The crowd expected His to turn towards Pilate’s residence, to confront Pilate and throw down His challenge. But He didn’t. Instead, He headed for the temple and went inside. They crowd was puzzled. He was their king. He had fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy to the letter. Why did He go to the temple?

There was one thing they did not understand. In order to take His rightful place on the throne of the universe, there was an enemy far more sinister and powerful to conquer than Rome. Rome was only a puppet of this rival to the throne of God – Satan. The temple represented the presence of God among His people, but the usurper had invaded the hearts of those who had power over the temple – the religious leaders.

What Jesus saw in the temple was evidence of that invasion – evil and corruption going on inside the temple courts with the blessing and sanction of the religious hierarchy. They were the ones who should have disallowed anything contrary to the ways of Yahweh but instead, they were benefitting from the illegal trading and dishonesty which the merchants and money changers were perpetrating against His people.

Jesus’s anger festered all night, and with purposeful stride, He led His disciples back to Jerusalem and up the temple mount in the early morning. Was His little interlude with the fig tree also a prophetic visual aid for His disciples that Israel as it was under the leadership of a corrupt priesthood was also cursed and doomed to die, just as the fig tree, symbolic of God’s people, was about to wither and die at His word?

Jesus’ anger was not an outburst of uncontrolled emotion but a purposeful expression of His outrage against the wickedness of greedy men. And even worse, what they were doing was being carried out in the name of God! They were saying in effect, with the full sanction of the religious leaders, that God was like that – greedy and corrupt. What they were actually representing was the very reason why Jesus could not take His place as king to rule over His kingdom until He had dealt with the sin that ruled in men’s hearts.

Let’s examine the reasons for Jesus’ action in the temple. First of all, where was the trading going on? In the court of the Gentiles. This was the only place in the temple where Gentiles were permitted to go. It was intended to be a place of prayer for them, but how could anyone pray in the midst of a corrupt bazaar? Jesus made it clear that God had a place for Gentiles in His kingdom, but the Jews ignored, even despised God’s provision for them. ‘Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?

Secondly, what the merchants were doing was blatantly evil. The priests would examine for defects the lamb brought by a family of worshippers for their sacrifice. He would declare it unfit for sacrifice, sell them another lamb and then promptly sell their lamb to the following worshipping family. What a sly and lucrative way to conduct business – in the temple precincts! But you have made it “a den of robbers”.’

In his swift and decisive action, Jesus unmasked their thieving scheme and the religious hierarchy behind it – and they were not pleased. Unfortunately for them, they had no answer for His action. So what did they do?

Watch this space!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

A Fruitless Fig Tree

Bible Study, , , ,

A FRUITLESS FIG TREE

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then He said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And His disciples heard Him say it. (Mark 11:11-14)

Really Jesus! Why were you so peeved about a fig tree that had no fruit because it was out of season? Were you having a bad hair day? Did you have the sulks?

If He did have the sulks, it would have been the first time in His life. No, Jesus did not have the sulks. He cashed in on a golden opportunity to give His disciples another valuable lesson. But the story is still incomplete. This was much more than simply another example of His power over nature. Read on!

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig true you cursed has withered!’ Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’ (Mark 11:20-25).

There are two valuable lessons hidden in this story. Firstly, fig trees had symbolic meaning for a Jew. God often referred to Israel as a “fig tree”. Where was the fig tree first mentioned in the Bible? Way back in Genesis, it was the first tree mentioned by name in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve realised they were naked, they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. It was man’s first attempt to deal with his sin in his own way. Was this why God called Israel a fig tree? Israel’s greatest sin against God was their idolatry. They did not trust God for His solution for sin. They worshipped and served false gods and lived fruitless lives as a result.

In a wordless lesson to His disciples, Jesus demonstrated to them how useless it was to attempt to approach God their own way. Just as fig leaves could not cover the sin in their hearts, so their self-effort was useless to deal with sin. Would the disciples have got the message? Yes, if they understood the imagery. The fig tree was full of leaves but no fruit. God’s people were full of “good works”, but they were useless to deal with sin. The real fruit was repentance – returning to the way of the Lord and coming under His authority. Only Jesus’s sacrifice could bring them back into fellowship with Him.

The second lesson was far more visible to them. Jesus was not showing off by speaking death to the fig tree. He was showing them by a clear visual aid how powerful faith was. Faith is expressed in ad declaration. Why did the tree die? Jesus spoke to it. He declared His intention. The tree must die in order to teach His disciples a life lesson they would never forget.

Paul used this same principle when he wrote to the Roman church about experiencing the reality of salvation.

If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9).

Did you notice the sequence? Declare and believe.

Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

This does not mean, of course, that you can get God to do anything you want by simply speaking it out. Faith’s foundation is not what we want but what God has promised. His promises are a declaration of His intent, but we must activate them through faith.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God (2 Cor. 1:20).

We activate faith by our declaration – like turning on a light by flicking the switch.

Is Jesus tying these two ideas together? Our sin is covered, not by the “fig leaves” of self-righteousness, but by the forgiveness God offers us through Jesus. However, it must be received by the declaration of faith. From then on our walk with the Lord is a journey of faith, steadfastly speaking out God’s promises rather than our doubts and fears.

Let us not be like fruitless fig trees.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

A String Of Little Miracles

Bible Study, , ,

A STRING OF LITTLE MIRACLES

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say. ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back shortly.’ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, ‘What are you doing untying the colt?’ They answered as Jesus told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the cold to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, He sat on it (Mark 11: 1-7).  

Have you noticed how we tend to read this incident as a matter-of-fact account of something that was miraculous from beginning to end?

Take, for instance, the very fact that Jesus was nowhere near the village. He had no way of knowing that a colt was tethered in the doorway of a house on the outskirts of the village. How did He know that the colt was there and had never been broken in?

He instructed His disciples to help themselves to the colt without asking permission from the owner. Was this a usual practice in Israel? Wasn’t it tantamount to theft? And then He knew that some people would query their action and allow them to take the colt when they responded, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back shortly.’ No discussion, no questions asked! How could they be so trusting?

And then there is the matter of a young animal that had never been ridden. Wasn’t it risky for Jesus, a grown man, to climb on the back of a donkey that could bolt with Him out of fear? And yet, without a qualm, the donkey accepted this unknown rider as though they were old friends.

There is something supernatural about this whole event if one digs a little deeper. It’s as though it were all planned and rehearsed beforehand and went off smoothly and without a hitch. Was this one of those innumerable times when Jesus had communed with the Father, received His instructions and carried them out to the letter?

Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David! ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven,’ (Mark 11:8-10).

The atmosphere was electric with excitement and anticipation. How was it that many of the people were equipped with branches to spread on the road when Jesus entered Jerusalem? It’s almost as though they had received a tip-off that Jesus was about to set up His messianic rule in Jerusalem. They greeting Him and hailed His as their long-awaited Messiah. Finally their dreams were on the brink of fulfilment, so they thought. They were lavish with praise. The noise must have been deafening. People had gathered in Jerusalem from all over the land for the Feast of Passover. Thousands thronged the streets at that moment.

What was their expectation? When you listen to their words, you get a feeling of the intensity of their desire. All their hopes were pinned on this miracle-working prophet of God who said and did things that blew their minds. They had no doubt that He was able to send the Romans scurrying out of Israel in a heartbeat. There was no lack of evidence from their history that God could do this. Remember the Midianites whom Gideon defeated with only 300 men and no weapons? Remember the Assyrian host, all 186,000 of them wiped out supernaturally in one night?

Excitement and anticipation ran very high. The mob was whipped up into a frenzy of joy. At last they were going to be free of these pesky Roman soldiers who harassed them around every corner. God’s man had finally arrived and they were breathless with anticipation. What was about to happen? How was He going to handle this situation? They were ready to hound the Romans out of town and help them on their way if necessary.

But Jesus didn’t need their help. He could have called down the entire host of heaven to do the job for Him without lifting a finger. What was He going to do? Imagine the disciples’ excitement. Were they about to receive their commissions in this new kingdom of God? What places would each of them occupy? Which way would He go? To Pilate’s residence to throw down the gauntlet? To Herod’s palace to topple him from his throne?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

The Bleat Of A Lost Lamb

Bible Study, ,

THE BLEAT OF A LOST LAMB

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and His disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’

Jesus stopped and said. ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’

‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road (Mark 10. 42-52).

A well-worn story but so full of little surprises! Every child who ever attended Sunday school knows the story of blind Bartimaeus, but does every child understand the significance of the details? I don’t think so. Not even every Gentile adult understands the layers underneath the facts.

As a blind man, Bartimaeus was not permitted to beg without authorisation. There were many opportunists around who would rather beg than work. Therefore genuine beggars needed some sort of identification to be recognised as bona fide beggars. There was no tag identifying him as a beggar so he wore beggar’s cloak. An important detail in the story.

As a beggar, he was considered a “nobody” in society. In fact he was a nuisance. Notice how the people in the crowd treated him. ‘Shut up,’ they told him, as though he were nothing but a noisy intrusion. People were milling around, trying to get a glimpse of Jesus, not bothered with a smelly beggar. But the more they tried to shut him up, the louder and more insistent were his cries. From the crowds round about him he gathered that all the excitement was about Jesus of Nazareth.

Bartimaeus had heard of Him. Wasn’t He the rabbi who went around doing miracles and healing people? This was his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he was not about to let it slip through his fingers. There was no way he could get near to Jesus but he could shout. And shout he did! What did he shout?

‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Who was the Son of David? Solomon? No way! Solomon began his reign after David with such promise and ended up in failure. Jesus was definitely not a replica of Solomon. Who, then, was the Son of David? This was a Messianic term. Prophets in the Old Testament spoke of one who would come from the dynasty of David, from the tribe of Judah, who would be God’s Messiah and deliverer.

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit (Isa. 11: 1).

Was this unwashed, blind beggar, a reject of society and a nuisance to people, filled with a longing for the Son of David to come? Did he have a hope and a conviction beating inside of him that this man who healed people and spoke of the kingdom of God was the one God would send? His words, “Son of David” betrayed that desire.

Try as they would, the crowd could not silence him. And in the midst of the noise, Jesus heard his voice. Was His heart so in tune with the Father that He heard the bleat of the lost lamb? I think so. So He called him. Funny how the attitude of the crowd changed – from “nuisance” to “Cheer up, He’s calling you.” He was suddenly the focus of attention – from nobody to somebody!

Barimaeus’ cry touched the nerve centre of Jesus’s being. “Have mercy on me.” Was His mission not to reveal the true nature of the Father – one who was full of mercy and compassion? It was a cry He would never ignore.

How significant the blind man’s action – he threw his beggar’s cloak away! Why would he do that? In a symbolic act of faith he declared, “I will never need this again.” He would need a cloak but not one that shouted out his blindness. His action did not go unnoticed. It was his unspoken declaration of faith in Jesus.

The next step sealed it for him. Jesus’ question, ‘What do you want me to do for you,’ was not asked out of ignorance. It was the final step in Bartimaeus’s faith journey. “Tell me exactly what you want,” said Jesus. No beating about the bush. “I want to see,” was his terse reply.

And the rest, they say, is history. Jesus commended his faith. There were steps to his faith. He heard about Jesus. He came to a conclusion – Son of David. He heard that Jesus was there – he began to yell for attention. He refused to be silenced. When he was called, he knew it was his moment. He threw away his dependence on his old life. Never again would he need to beg. He knew what he wanted – and he got it.

And the outcome – he followed Jesus.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

The Way Up Is Down

Bible Study, , ,

THE WAY UP IS DOWN

Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.’ (Mark 10: 42-45).

Here’s another teaching of Jesus that did not sit well with His disciples. They belonged to the way of thinking that said, ’The way up is to stand on other people’s heads.’ Even as relatively uneducated men, they knew that this is what worked in the world.

But as usual, Jesus viewed life from another perspective. He took the inner life into consideration because it was the inner life that effected the outer life. It’s all very well climbing the corporate ladder by standing on other people’s heads, but what does that do to a person’s inside? Does it produce peace in the heart and harmony with one’s fellow human beings? I don’t think so. When one person gets ahead at the expense of others, it leaves a trail of disgruntled and discontented people.

The world views great people as those who are at the top looking down on others. Position, wealth, fame, prestige, popularity, visibility – these are all the qualifications needed to get to the top and to occupy the highest positions in society. ‘Not so you,’ said Jesus. ‘Things work differently in the kingdom of God.’

What prompted this discussion in the first place? James and John. They so badly wanted the places of honour next to Jesus when He took up His reign that they came and requested it outright, much to the annoyance of the other disciples. Why were they angry? Did they think that the brothers were being ‘unspiritual’ by asking for these positions? I don’t think so. I think they were fed up with them because they got in first. This kind of thing did not make for unity, did it?

People of the world and those who are citizens of God’s kingdom ought to have completely opposite views of greatness. For the worldly person, greatness is about what people think of me. I am great if other people look up to me as someone who has made it for whatever reason, or someone who has power to control other people. Wealth and position buy that control, and it makes me feel great when I can order others around especially when I know that they are afraid of me and will do what I tell them even though they might hate me because of fear.

Have you noticed, in your reading of the gospels, how people responded to Jesus? Did He lord it over them? What was the one thing the religious leaders kept on questioning Him about? What was it that the common people could not understand? His authority. Although He insisted that His authority came from God, they refused to believe Him. ‘He must be acting for the devil,’ the Pharisees decided, although that made no sense.

Strange, isn’t it, what people will believe when they refuse to give God the credit for what puzzles them. Take the origin of the universe, for example. Satan has successfully persuaded the majority of people in the western world to believe that it all just “happened” by chance. How much intelligence does it take to realise what nonsense this kind of thinking is? And yet people believe and accept it because “scientists” say so and they should know. Why? They do not want to believe that God created the heavens and the earth. If they do, they are accountable to Him. Bottom line. So they argue Him away – but He will not go way.

True greatness comes, not from climbing up but from bending down. The truly great person is the one who bends down low enough to lift others up. Worldly greatness stands on the head of others. True greatness in the kingdom of God sits down side by side with others. What happens on the inside of a person who bends down low enough to lift another up? Peace and joy. Satisfaction that I have done something good for someone else. And the outcome? Harmony. Togetherness. Bonding.

That’s what God’s kingdom is all about. Doing whatever it takes to restore harmony. Even if it means dying. It cost Jesus His life but was it worth it? A million times, yes. It’s the only way to live, really live!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com