Tag Archives: withdrew

Popularity

Christian Life, , , , ,

 

POPULARITY

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard about all He was doing, many people came to Him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. (Mark 3: 6-8).

O-oh Jesus! So early in your ministry and you are already ruffling feathers!

Never had a rabbi caused such a stir in Israel. Look at the area His fame had already covered. People streamed to hear Him from as far afield as Tyre and Sidon – and that without Google or Facebook! Who needed the mass media when word of mouth worked just as well?

Why were the religious leaders already plotting murder? What had He done to them? They functioned on their man-made rules because it suited them. As long as they got their behaviour streamlined according to their human mentors, what went on in their hearts was of no consequence. Jesus challenged their heart and conscience.

They attacked Him for healing a man with a paralysed hand on the Sabbath. To them that was “work” and He had therefore violated the Sabbath. He responded by exposing their hearts. They had no compassion for the man and his suffering. They were only concerned about preserving the façade of their “righteousness”, whatever that meant. They had both misunderstood and misrepresented Torah, God’s instructions on the best way to live.

They believed that, as long as they performed according to the letter of the Law, and the many interpretation of the rabbis down the centuries, they had earned God’s favour, no matter how impure their hearts and motives were. The additions made by the sages, as far as they were concerned, carried as much weight as the Word of God itself. Not to obey them to the letter was culpable.

Jesus was not only a threat to their authority, He was also a threat to them because He pulled the covers off their evil hearts. Their concern was not so much for the honour of God as it was for their own honour in the eyes of the people. Every time Jesus showed them up, they lost the respect and obedience of the people. They were losing control and they didn’t like it. Control! That was the issue. They were the authority. They were the learned ones. The people were ignorant. They were the ones who knew and interpreted the Law and the people were to obey them. They could manipulate them through their religion.

Now Jesus comes along and undermines their authority by showing up their hearts. They were not interested in the truth or what was right. Only who was right mattered and they believed that they were right. The only solution for them was to eliminate the opposition. The seeds of murder were already in their hearts and Jesus watered them by His insistence on the truth.

What was Jesus’ take on the Law? He made it clear that His purpose for coming was not to do away with Torah but to show them how to live it out so that God’s heart of mercy would be revealed in the everyday application of the Law. In this instance, the issue was the Sabbath. When confronted with an opportunity to show mercy, what was one to do? The Torah said, “Don’t do any work.” What constituted work? The Pharisees insisted that healing a man on the Sabbath was “work”. Jesus countered their interpretation by overriding their laws with mercy. Showing mercy was not work.

Of course, the proof was in the action. Just as Jesus proved, on another occasion that He could forgive sins by healing a paralysed man, so now He proved that He was Lord of the Sabbath by healing this man on the Sabbath.

Imagine how frustrated these Pharisees and religious leaders must have been because they could not fight against His miracles! What proof did they have that they were right? None. They had only one alternative. Get rid of Him before they lost control altogether.

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

 

 

 

LARITY Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard about all He was doing, many people came to Him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. (Mark 3: 6-8). O-oh Jesus! So early in your ministry and you are already ruffling feathers! Never had a rabbi caused such a stir in Israel. Look at the area His fame had already covered. People streamed to hear Him from as far afield as Tyre and Sidon – and that without Google or Facebook! Who needed the mass media when word of mouth worked just as well? Why were the religious leaders already plotting murder? What had He done to them? They functioned on their man-made rules because it suited them. As long as they got their behaviour streamlined according to their human mentors, what went on in their hearts was of no consequence. Jesus challenged their heart and conscience. They attacked Him for healing a man with a paralysed hand on the Sabbath. To them that was “work” and He had therefore violated the Sabbath. He responded by exposing their hearts. They had no compassion for the man and his suffering. They were only concerned about preserving the façade of their “righteousness”, whatever that meant. They had both misunderstood and misrepresented Torah, God’s instructions on the best way to live. They believed that, as long as they performed according to the letter of the Law, and the many interpretation of the rabbis down the centuries, they had earned God’s favour, no matter how impure their hearts and motives were. The additions made by the sages, as far as they were concerned, carried as much weight as the Word of God itself. Not to obey them to the letter was culpable. Jesus was not only a threat to their authority, He was also a threat to them because He pulled the covers off their evil hearts. Their concern was not so much for the honour of God as it was for their own honour in the eyes of the people. Every time Jesus showed them up, they lost the respect and obedience of the people. They were losing control and they didn’t like it. Control! That was the issue. They were the authority. They were the learned ones. The people were ignorant. They were the ones who knew and interpreted the Law and the people were to obey them. They could manipulate them through their religion. Now Jesus comes along and undermines their authority by showing up their hearts. They were not interested in the truth or what was right. Only who was right mattered and they believed that they were right. The only solution for them was to eliminate the opposition. The seeds of murder were already in their hearts and Jesus watered them by His insistence on the truth. What was Jesus’ take on the Law? He made it clear that His purpose for coming was not to do away with Torah but to show them how to live it out so that God’s heart of mercy would be revealed in the everyday application of the Law. In this instance, the issue was the Sabbath. When confronted with an opportunity to show mercy, what was one to do? The Torah said, “Don’t do any work.” What constituted work? The Pharisees insisted that healing a man on the Sabbath was “work”. Jesus countered their interpretation by overriding their laws with mercy. Showing mercy was not work. Of course, the proof was in the action. Just as Jesus proved, on another occasion that He could forgive sins by healing a paralysed man, so now He proved that He was Lord of the Sabbath by healing this man on the Sabbath. Imagine how frustrated these Pharisees and religious leaders must have been because they could not fight against His miracles! What proof did they have that they were right? None. They had only one alternative. Get rid of Him before they lost control altogether. 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

Let The Games Begin

Bible Study, , ,

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

“Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead He withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples.

“When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, ‘What do you think? Isn’t He coming to the festival at all?’

But the chief priests and the Pharisees gave orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest Him. “John 11:54-57 NIV.

So this is what happens when a person does the right thing! Because He brought a dead man back to life, He was considered public enemy number one. In the eyes of the Jewish leaders He was dangerous and an enemy of the state. They siphoned all their personal issues against Him into this apparently legitimate reason for having Him caught and brought to trial.

For Jesus it was not a matter of if but when He would be executed. He had to be careful not to show Himself prematurely. He had to fit perfectly into His Father’s timetable and into the fulfilment of all the types and shadows and Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament so He remained out of sight until the appropriate moment.

The Sanhedrin had already decided that it should not happen during Passover because the situation was far too volatile (Mark 14:1, 2). Jerusalem would be filled with Jews from all over Israel and farther afield. Jesus was too well-known and popular to risk a riot at that time. But it was Judas who forced their hand by betraying His whereabouts on the eve of Passover. They might not get another chance to grab Him when He was not expecting it.

According to John they had issued an order to anyone who knew where He was to inform them. But Jesus was no ordinary fugitive. He was in charge. He would show Himself and give Himself up at the precise moment, no matter what their plans and instructions. There were things He had to do before He finally left His disciples. Whether they thought they had Him in their power or not, was irrelevant. He had already made it clear to His followers that no-one took His life from Him. He would lay it down for the sheep at the perfect moment.

So He played cat-and-mouse with them. After raising Lazarus and creating a furore, He remained out of sight in a village off the beaten track. Were the ordinary people aware of the Sanhedrin’s intention? As the worshippers assembled in Jerusalem for the ritual preparations for the Passover, He was the subject of their conversation and the object of their curiosity. Where was He? Would He dare show Himself in Jerusalem during the Passover? Would He risk another public standoff with the Jewish leaders? Tongues wagged all over the city.

The “Jews” laid their plans and waited. They could arrest Him and keep Him in custody until after the Passover when the city returned to normal – so they thought. As long as they had Him safely locked up, they could breathe easier.

But God had other plans and Jesus was in on them, waiting on the Father to reveal His hand in His time. The Lamb of God has to die at the precise moment when the high priest raised the knife to slaughter the first sacrificial lamb that marked the beginning of the ceremony. He had to ride into the city on a donkey as an indication of His claim to the throne of Israel, but not as they expected. He was asking for the allegiance of men’s hearts so that He could reveal the Father to the world through them.

Two kingdoms stood on the threshold of the greatest battle ever fought, the kingdoms of darkness and light, and the outcome was already determined from before the foundation of the world. Only Jesus knew what lay ahead and He was ready for it.