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Tag: Gospel

The Gospel is Good News to all who will humbly accept Jesus and listen to His teaching.

We refer to the four books of the Bible which tell the story of Jesus Christ as the Gospels. These books are named for their authors: Matthew, a Jewish Apostle; Mark, a disciple of the first generation who recorded accounts of Peter and the Twelve; Luke, a gentile Physician and disciple of the first century; and John, one of the Twelve Jewish Apostles chosen by Jesus.

For you will always have the poor – 5

Help the poor later or honor Jesus now?

Sell everything you have and follow me. Leave your hometown and follow me. Give up you job and follow me. These things Jesus had asked of his followers and for three years they all followed on foot.

The culmination of events, so it seemed, came two days before when Jesus entered Jerusalem like an anointed King. Then nothing.

Today is Tuesday and the Lord foretells his death to the Apostles, that which they have feared. Another choice.

MATTHEW 26

2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

Bethany and Jerusalem

In two scenes related by Matthew we see Jesus and the Apostles and learn of what Matthew would know later about the leaders of the Temple.

6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”

Recall that the Apostle John has told us that the ‘why this waste?’ question came from Judas Iscariot, though it seems others joined in.

In Bethany, near Jerusalem, notice first the anointing honoring Jesus takes place. Then discontent and criticism from those present, opposition no different than in Jerusalem from those who seek to crucify the Lord. As always, Jesus cuts to the quick with the truth.

The poor are with you always.

10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

How would you have responded to Judas?

Would I have said something like,

‘Come on, Judas, focus on the significance of the worship of Jesus, the Lord your God, here; will you?’

Probably not! And we dare not accuse the other Apostles for joining in on ‘save it for the poor.’ Jesus was not so abrupt here as you or I might have been, but you get the point.

We examined one incident prior to Palm Sunday where John dissects the motives of Judas. We began with the gospel of Mark reporting a second incident just prior to the trial of Jesus. Matthew adds some additional detail to this report. We judge these scenes of unfamiliar experience based on our distant understanding of practically nothing about these oppressed men and women of a conquered Israel of the first century.

After-dinner betrayal

14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?”

And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

The greatest story ever told does not end there. We know that.

The Gospel is Good News to us! Yet do we proclaim Jesus? Does our faith fade into our own hopes and not the calling of Christ?

[ctt title=”Casual \’christians\’ are no less vulnerable to Satan than Judas.” tweet=”Do you believe that? Is your witness of Jesus vulnerable? https://ctt.ec/tea44+” coverup=”tea44″]

Even knowing the ending, a glorious resurrection of Christ Jesus in the flesh, we offer similar excuse, don’t we?

‘I am saving up to help the poor.’

‘Someone else will have to help this mission.’

‘I may be the poor in my retirement.’

Worship or excuse?

How do I compare to when called on to witness Jesus?

A humble woman, lowly in station of life and offering a worship of her highest value, anoints the Lord Jesus. Are we too involved in something else to do the same? For you will always have the poor.

August 15, 2017
For you will always have the poor

Why mention the poor?

Once again, Jesus makes what appears to be an offhand remark about the poor. Jesus often criticized the leaders of Temple and Pharisees for their treatment of the poor; doesn’t this remark catch you off guard?

It would be easy enough to lose the context of Jesus’ apparent ambivalence toward the poor in the rush of events surrounding Passover week. Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem has many seemingly more important things going on than what to us would first appear to be a slip of the tongue (sort of like cursing the fig tree). Yet like in our previous series you may find some subtleties worthy of note that impact more than just the poor.

The Gospel Quotes:

Prior to examining Jesus’ point of the comment, which we will do later in this series, let’s begin quotes from the view points of three different gospel writers.

Mark 14:7

For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them.

Matthew 26:7

For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

John 12:8

For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The 5 W’s

Now to discover the context we must examine all three stories asking:

Who, what, where, when and why?

You will find some variation in the three Gospel stories and some similarities. We begin today with Mark’s gospel.

Mark 14:

It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”

We have the ‘when:’ two days before the Passover, which in this particular year with the Passover on a Thursday, was Tuesday.

3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.

4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Where? In the house of Simon the Leper, in Bethany, near Jerusalem.

Bethany is today el ‘Azareyeh (“the place of Lazarus”- the L being displaced to form the article).

Who is present? Jesus, of course; Simon, host of the meal (who Jesus had likely healed from leprosy; ‘some,’ likely the Twelve and others; and an unidentified woman who enters Simon’s home.

What happens? She pours out some very expensive oil on Jesus, an act of great humility and worship.

(More about her and her gracious act later.)

To be continued…

August 1, 2017
for it was not the season for figs – 1
Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honored.

– Proverbs 27:18

Consider the Creator of the garden approaching a fig tree before its season. Who will guard the Son of Man as He enters the Temple and fast-approaches the reproach of the Cross?
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Prologue to this series (in case you missed it)
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Mark 11: [ESV]

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

¹²On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.¹³And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

¹⁵And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons…

A triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as an anointed King of Israel. Jesus stays in a nearby town (Bethany) for the night, then returns to Jerusalem. A fig tree is not an uncommon sight along the rural roads leading to the gates of Jerusalem. He curses the tree with no fruit, then enters the Holy City, clearing the Holy Temple of unrighteousness.

The authorities will have to plot against this powerful and righteous Son of Man, lest their comfortable authority would be overthrown.

19 And when evening came they went out of the city.

Jesus leaves town.

Another night away from Jerusalem (probably once again with disciples in Bethany).

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

²⁰As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

²¹And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

²²And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

Another miracle (kind of a scary one, though). Jesus had cursed a tree and it withered and died in a day.

(Have you ever thought that your life could pass just as quickly?)

Now, in typical rabbi fashion Jesus makes a teaching moment from fulfillment of His curse.

²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25

“Even a holy week spent in prayer is of no value to the unforgiving worshiper. You with ears to hear, forgive ,” learn the lesson of the fig tree.

Forgive, “… so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
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Tend the tree of life and forgiveness. 
Bear the fruit of love. 
Guard the Lord, our Master and Savior.
He will curse the tree without fruit at the Judgment.
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Roger@talkofJesus.com
Scripture has much more to say about the fig tree. Jesus does not choose such an important symbol of Israel to curse without cause.

To be continued
June 21, 2017