The last week before the Crucifixtion

If October flew by, this is a great place to jump in. (invite a friend to jump in)

Click here to print the timeline

Look at the timeline.  This weekend we are about to begin the last week of Jesus’ ministry. Some call it the Holy week, others call it the Passion Week.

The next 2 weeks are going to be deep.  If you have read some, most, or all of the Bible in 2020 it has been eye-opening.  Years ago,  I thought the Bible was individual stories in a bound book.  I never knew it was one chronological book with no gaps!  It is pretty amazing.  Reading it in chronological order,  I think is the best thing I ever did to strengthen my knowledge of who God is and His full complete plan.  The next 2 weeks are:

Nov 1: Matt 20-21
Nov 2: Luke 18:15-19:48
Nov 3: Mark 11; John 12
Nov 4: Matt 22; Mark 12
Nov 5: Matt 23; Luke 20-21
Nov 6: Mark 13
Nov 7: Matt 24
Nov 8: Matt 25
Nov 9: Matt 26; Mark 14
Nov 10: Luke 22; John 13
Nov 11: John 14-17
Nov 12: Matt 27; Mark 15
Nov 13: Luke 23; John 18-19
Nov 14: Matt 28; Mark 16
Nov 15: Luke 24; John 20-21

John 11

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• GOOD MORNING

This is the turning point for Jesus.  After this read, there is no turning back.  This is the 7th sign in John: Jesus had presented Himself as the Water of Life, the Bread of Life, and the Light of Life. Now He revealed Himself as “the Resurrection and the Life.” This was the seventh and last of Jesus’ miraculous signs that John recorded, and it was the most powerful revelation of His true identity.  It shows Jesus’ authority over humankind’s greatest and last enemy: Death.

Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Then Jesus purposely waits 2 more days.  Jesus has brought others back from death but this time there will be no mistaking it.

Jesus makes sure his disciples truly understand the situation at hand:

¹⁴ So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

The sign will be the clearest demonstration of Jesus’ identity so far and would convince many people that He was God’s Son.

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²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Ok, we already know that Martha believes in a resurrection, but that is not what Jesus is asking.  He is saying “I AM the resurrection.”  It is about believing in WHO Jesus is.  Without Jesus, there is never a resurrection.

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³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Many believed the one that healed the blind could have kept Lazarus from dying (maybe that was there an assumption of the daughter of Jarius or the son of the widow from Nain that he brought back to life since they were just newly dead).  This will be “proof”.

Then Jesus speaks out loud.  He doesn’t have to.  He gives a profound message:

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

and it worked!!  Many saw who He was and who HIs Father was…good news.  Many believed.

We said in the overview the theme of the Book of John is to “Believe”.  He uses that word 98 times.

⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Sadly, it said many…not all.

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 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. (The chief priests were the Sadducees). Typically they hated each other…but they came together because they hated Jesus equally.  Caiaphas was the son-in-law of the former High Priest.  Dig into your memory bank: a high priest held their position for life and then it was passed down to their heir.  Here is the deal, Caiaphas was placed as the high priest by the Sadducees as a political figurehead.  (They still consulted his father-in-law, Annas who was in the good ole’ boy club.

Caiaphas basically says “let Jesus die. When Rome hears about this ruckus, they are either going to kill him or us…let it be him!” As long as the Jews did not cause trouble, Rome left them alone. (They were concerned about their status and their $$)

Finally….we are headed to Jerusalem for “The Passover”.  Time is coming.

⁵⁵ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.⁵⁶ 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?” ⁵⁷ But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Luke 17:11-18:14

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The 10 Lepers:  What is the point of this story?  Well, first let’s talk about Obedience.  This is the one thing Jesus has been talking about for 3 years to the crowds and the Pharisees.

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

This wasn’t a healing and THEN obey.  It was their faith and obedience.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Mark specifically pointed out that the one that Praised God was the Samaritan.  We can assume that the other 9 were Jews.  The Jews had more knowledge about the Messiah and His coming than the foreigners. They should have recognized who Jesus was and expressed their gratitude as well. Their lack of responsiveness was typical of the Jews in Jesus’ day.

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The coming of the second kingdom will not be unrecognizable.  It will be obvious!  In speaking to the Pharisees he speaks “their language” by recalling the days of Noah. Both in Noah’s days and toward the end of the Tribulation just before Jesus returns, people were and will be unresponsive to preached warnings of coming judgment.

This second example of unexpected judgment (days of Lot) reinforces the first.  By comparing moral conditions on the earth at the Second Coming with “Sodom,” Jesus was picturing the worst kinds of evil running the earth. (I do think we see the signs of the time)

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.

Revealed: Revelation”= the translation is ‘apacolypse’.

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The Parable of the Persistent Widow-

In years past I didn’t understand these parables but now I do.  They are not comparisons, they are contrasts.  The ‘judge” is worldly, not The Lord.  We DON’T bother Him with our persistent prayers.  He desires them.

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The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

No explanation needed!

Oh my stars!

I am such a hot mess this week!  I am not blind to warfare, it is expected.  It is unbelievable to see how the enemy will do anything to keep me from reading as we close in on the cross.  BUT I am fighting the good fight and He is no challenge against the Word…BUT in the midst of my chaos, I read the wrong reading!  Does the enemy think that will be the last straw that will break my back..LOL.  No!  I laughed. So, I apologize for reading the wrong post.😩

Matthew 19 and Mark 10

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I am going to read Mark 10 first.  I love the way he writes 😁  We begin with the controversial topic of divorce.   The Pharisees TEST Jesus once again to find fault in him.  What a GREAT lesson in this story about how to approach hard questions.  When discussing what the Bible says or what God wants…REFER to the Bible!  He refers them to the scriptures Moses wrote in the book of Deuteronomy 24.  Click here to read.  Moses wrote this so IF a man divorced a woman she was given a certificate.  Deut. 24 was written for the protection of the woman so that she could be taken care of.

So what Jesus says blows me away because I never thought of doing it this way.  Instead of discussing divorce, Jesus flips it and looks at marriage instead.  What does God say about marriage?  What was HIS plan for us? He goes back to the beginning: Genesis

⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

What a great way to answer any question.  What was God’s plan for us?  However, God planned for men to love their wives just as Jesus loved the Church and he also planned for women to be self-controlled and a helper to her husband.  (give me a moment, I need to go delete this blog from my husband’s feed).

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The little children:

It was customary in the time that the people would earn favor with  Rabbi’s and would bring their children to the Rabbi’s and get blessed by them.  I have memories of my mom bringing me to her priest after mass and having him “bless me”.  Ummmm??  So the disciples rebuked the people for this because it was putting Jesus on the same level as the Rabbi.  Jesus said, “bring them to ME” (not the Rabbi). Totally makes sense now.

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The Rich Man- Notice that when Jesus quoted the 10 commandments he quoted the second set.  See, four of the 10 commandments are about our relationship with the Lord, and 6 are about our relationship with people.  Evidently, this man thinks he did not break the 6 regarding how he treated other people.  However, Jesus was pointing out that he was breaking the ones that were to honor God.  This man put money before God.  What are the other commandments?  Look at #1 and #2

His money was not bad, it was his love for money OVER following Jesus that was.  No one can live according to all 10 commandments.  Even with the best intentions toward other people.  So who can be saved?  It is impossible to do it on your own, that is why Jesus does it for us.  Sadly, the man walked away.  The invitation was given, and this man chose material goods (in his heart) over Jesus (in his heart).

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They were on their way up to Jerusalem, 

With each teaching, Jesus is making his way to the cross.  So for the 3rd time, He is foretelling the 12 what they need to be prepared for.  When Jesus predicted it in the past they either did not believe HIm or they rebuked Him for saying such things.  We see here that they are starting to “get it”.  HOWEVER, they did not fully understand the “kingdom”.  They believed He was the Messiah BUT they misunderstood the timing.  The person who sat on a ruler’s “right” hand side enjoyed the highest assigned position and the person who sat on his “left,” the second-highest. These brothers obviously believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and they thought He was going to establish His kingdom soon, probably when they reached Jerusalem.  Bless!

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Mark records his last healing:  Mark probably included this incident in his Gospel because it illustrates how Jesus would open the spiritual eyes of His disciples that were still shut. The two descriptions of Jesus in these verses reveal the faith of Bartimaeus. The crowds simply described Jesus as “the Nazarene.” Bartimaeus had obviously heard about Jesus and had concluded that He was the Messiah. “Son of David” is a messianic title.

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Prepare your hearts. We are heading towards Jerusalem

 

Luke 16-17:10

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I am going to break this down because I think this is a hard one to chew on.

The Parable of the Unjust or Just Steward.

The text can be broken down into two parts: the parable (verses 1–8) and the application (verses 9–13). Luke identifies that Jesus is speaking to His disciples again, but others are listening in. It is important to know who Jesus is addressing this parable: the Pharisees.

The parable begins with a rich man calling his steward before him to inform him that he will be relieving him of his duties for mismanaging his master’s resources. A steward is a person who manages the resources of another. The steward had authority over all of the master’s resources and could transact business in his name. The steward is being released for mismanagement.

The steward, realizing that he will soon be without a job, makes some shrewd deals behind his master’s back by reducing the debt owed by several of the master’s debtors in exchange for shelter when he is eventually put out. When the master becomes aware of what the wicked servant had done, he commends him for his “shrewdness.”

Jesus is encouraging His followers to be generous with their wealth in this life. Jesus wants His followers to be just, righteous stewards. If we understand the principle that everything we own is a gift from God, then we realize that God is the owner of everything and that we are His stewards.

If one is faithful in “little”  then one will be faithful in much. Similarly, if one is dishonest in little, he will also be dishonest in much. If we can’t be faithful with earthly wealth, which isn’t even ours, to begin with, then how can we be entrusted with “true riches”?

“No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money”.   God is our Master, then our wealth will be at His disposal. In other words, the faithful and just steward whose Master is God will employ that wealth in building up the kingdom of God.

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The rich man and Lazarus.  We are uncertain if this is a real story or a parable but what we do know is Jesus is giving a strong message that Heaven and Hell are real  This story also states that once we die there are no second chances.  When believers die, they are immediately in fellowship with the Lord.  When unbelievers die, they are immediately in pain, suffering, and torment of hell.  Some (my mom) believe there is a middle ground called Purgartiry so that we all get a second chance.  This certainly is not true.

‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

The part of the story that hit me the hardest is that the Lord is clear that we have the Truth of reality at our fingertips.   We have the Bible.  It is very clear on all matters.

²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 

We have promises and warnings.  We have no excuse.

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Chapter 17 Hmmm.  A good reminder that we are never worthy.  This is why our salvation is called Grace-an underserved gift from God’s lo

¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

 

Luke 14-15

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I am sorry I am out of the habit of posting in the morning.  I am going to reboot and get more focused this weekend.  I just have some obstacles this week.

Luke 14:

I am sure you see the pattern that either Jesus is healing predominately on the Sabbath to make a point or they are setting Jesus up.  I think this man was placed in the house to test Jesus.  Hostility continues to build between the Pharisees and Jesus.

Two banquettes are discussed: The one refers to recognizing Jesus now and the Great Banquet will be His 2nd coming.    God will exalt those who genuinely humble themselves before him.   All this is being said IN the Pharisees house.  YIKES.

Many will refuse the “invitation” to the banquet: Jesus.  They will choose the “world”.

¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

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The cost of being a disciple.  The cost should be weighed.  To be truly invested in Him, everything else must come second.  Jesus speaks in exaggeration to make his point.  We MUST be prepared to put Him first at all costs. Furthermore, if you are not willing to be “salty”, you really aren’t worth it.  These are hard precepts to mull over…especially for the people pleasers of the world.

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Chapter 15- Could this be the BEST chapter in the Bible??  Three parables, all escalating in value.  Read these NOT from a human perspective but through the heart of God.  If you are a parent then you KNOW you would do ANYTHING for your child.  We look around and see the “lost acting lost” and forget that God loves that person the SAME as He loves you.

• The Lost Sheep
• The Lost Coin
• The lost Son

Read them like you have never read them before and I am certain a new detail will stand out to you. ❤️

Luke 12-13

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Luke 12- I never noticed before how big the crowd had grown:

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Who is Jesus talking to? “I tell you, my friends,…

Yes, there are thousands listening in, hanging on every word BUT He is talking to the ones that believe already.  You can see how Jesus will talk to both at the same time.  Picture the first one: (I split it by color)

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

I can picture Jesus talking softly to the disciples for they are on the road to be persecuted for the rest of their lives because of the Gospel.  He encourages them with beautiful words ❤️.  Then, I picture Him raising his head and voice higher and louder and saying for this massive crowd –⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear…

Listen, I am going to bite my tongue BUT if we share Truth without sharing Truth, then it is NOT Truth. (I am probably not making sense).

Your turn:  Can you see Him encouraging believers, but warning unbelievers at the same time

⁸ “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. ⁹ But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

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The next section is about possesions.  AGAIN, Jesus is encouraging His disciples who are going to be His missionaries and will give them words of encouragement BUT He has eavesdroppers and He provides a Word for them too.  I say all that because these may be familiar scriptures…that MANY people (me) have used out of context or use it as advice to make it “fit”. I am going to let the ‘possessions’ scriptures speak to you directly.   I don’t want to mess up any personal message the Lord has for you.

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Watchfullness-

The next parable is so harsh to hear that even Peter says:

⁴¹ Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”

This passage is about the interval between Jesus’s ascension and his return (the church age…us). While Jesus is absent all need to be ready and watching for His return, but we will not know the day.  By the time you get to Verse 43, Jesus focuses on our responsibility of taking care of each other.  Irresponsible behavior will be punished and responsible behavior will be rewarded.

⁴⁷ “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

All punishment will not be equal because those who are entrusted with more responsibility and knowledge are held to a higher standard.  WE live in a country that allows us access to the scriptures.  We know HIs will.   We are held to a higher standard.

Sharing the Truth will offend.  That is not an excuse for not sharing it with family.  I am guilty of that!  Knowing it will divide my family is the excuse.  Jesus warns us of that.

Jesus already told us that we will know not the day of His return so we must be ready BUT that doesn’t mean we ignore the fulfillment of the prophecies.

⁷ “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

If a person were going to a court, knowing he could lose his case and spend time in jail, he would definitely try to reconcile his offense on the way to court. NO DOUBT.  So if someone is under the fear of judgment they should reconcile with the Lord while there is still time!

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Chapter 13

So evidently Pilate had some people killed AT the Temple (not sure why they didn’t see the problem with that if they had read the Law of Moses….AND some people died from an architectural error.  They questioned, “did this happen because they were REALLY bad sinners”. Jesus is quick to say NO!  But then follows with the “Turn or Burn”. “Go Right or you will be LEFT”.  LOL.

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“Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”  Great question!

I have heard people say “We all take different roads that lead to God” meaning different “world religions”.   That is TRUE!  ALL roads lead to God because we will all see his face at the final judgment!

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.²⁵ Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

Luke 10-11 and John 10:22-42

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Luke: If you look at this outline you can see where we are in Luke.  Luke 1-3 was the advent of the Messiah.  Then we saw His identity through His Miracles.  Next, we will sit at his feet and listen to his teaching as we close in on his last 6 months. (yes, we are read some of these in other Gospels)

70 men are sent out (some manuscripts say 72). We had the 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament and Jesus sent out the 12 apostles with instructions to minister to the Jewish people.

Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Now Jesus sends 70 to the surrounding nations.

Luke 24:46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 

In Genesis, there were 70 nations established, 70 descendants of Jacob that went to Egypt, and then 70 Elders that were chosen to lead (in Numbers) which is where the Jewish Council got the number to have 70 leaders in the Sanhedrin.

They were sent in pairs for companionship, protection, and to adhere to the law of having a witness if needed.  After all, they were being sent to the wolves!  The message/advice given to the 70 was the same message given to the 12 so it may sound very familiar

• Go!
• travel light (God will provide for your needs)
• Be careful and aware of your surroundings
• Always offer Peace when entering a home
• If they promote Peace back: ’ ⁶ Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 
  • the food set before the disciples, in whatever town they might visit, could possibly include ceremonially unclean food. Jesus had already discussed what goes into our body does not make us unclean, but what comes out of our mouth.
• Heal the sick…THEN minister to them.

⁸ “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Jesus ends with these words as they are LOOKING at Jesus:

²³ Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

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The Parable of the Good Samaritan.  I hope now that you have all the context, you read this story with fresh eyes and look at the deeper meaning than “just be a good Samaritan”

• Jesus was being tested by an “expert in the law” so we know his question was a trap
• So Jesus turns the question back on the “expert”
• ALL the law can be summarized as“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Look at the 10 Commandments, they are divided into- honoring God and honoring others.
• So Jesus says:“Do this and you will live.”  
  • The whole point was Jesus was saying “you can’t”. Go read the 10 commandments and cross off all the ones you have personally broken. We all  Oh my…were more crossed off than not crossed off. Romans:23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
• I feel like this parable sounds like a joke you would tell “A priest, a Levite,  and some you don’t like to walk into a bar…😂  Anyway, after this awesome parable, PURPOSELSY using a samaritan in the example because the Jewish “experts” hated the Samarians.
  • I have all the past scriptures about Loving your enemy running through my brain…
  • A priest and a Levite were used in this account because they had created just a legal system of making laws to protect the laws that they thought they really COULD safeguard about ever breaking the Law.  EVEN if they protected the laws that we do on the “outside”, how can someone be sinless in their heart or their thoughts?  I mean could we go a day (or an hour if you were me) without a thought of judgment, jealous, idolatry…
• Now go back and read that section again:  WHO is the Good Samaritan?? (By the way it’s not me or you, sorry)
  • took pity
  • took care of his wounds
  • anointed him with oil
  • paid for him
  • says he will return
  • 🤔

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Mary and Marth-in Bethany.  Look at both maps.  You will see that Bethany is just 2 miles Southeast of Jerusalem.

 

The home of Mary and Martha.  Have you heard a sermon on this?  Now read it.  Sit quietly.  Listen for God to bring a thought to your mind about where you are in this story.  😍

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Luke 11:  When you turn the page and you see that we have read the synoptic gospel in the same account what should you do?  READ IT CLOSER.

• its a great time to say “Hmm I don’t understand that, I better research or ask
• you might say “that is amazing in context now
• you WILL see things you didn’t’ see in last week’s reading for sure
• now it might be less educational and more personal to you

Did any particular WOE stop you in your tacks??  Feel free to write in the comments 😒   use a fake name if you have to!

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John: Start paying attention to His presence in Judea, being accused of the crime of blasphemy (who He is), and then retreating to ‘safe’ territory.  It was a crime in Judea to claim He was God, but not outside the region.  So he retreats to a region He cannot be arrested-because the time has not come.  BUT if Jesus came first for the Jew and then for the Gentile, He will need to be accused from both.  So what will the crime be in the Gentile region? If you don’t know then I guess you will have to keep reading.  He dies for both so He will be accused by both.

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Have a wonderful day.  I am glad you read today even if it days or weeks behind schedule.  I leave with this wonderful scripture from John:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

 

John 9:1-10:21

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Two accounts today

• Jesus heals the blind
• The good shepherd

If you go all the way back to the book of Job (seems like a lifetime ago we read that) you will remember one of his friends accused Job of sinning and his circumstance was a “punishment” for it.  You can see that false teaching still existed.  (still today).

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Skip to: ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

The Law was never to be more important than the miracle!  Then they called Jesus a sinner for it.  Sometimes we can’t see the forest in the trees.

His own parents did not support the healing because they were too afraid of being excommunicated from the Synagogue.  The reasons people were kicked out were: insulting a learned man; calling a fellow Jew a ‘slave’; keeping an object or animal that could harm others, like a broken ladder or a rabid dog; taking God’s name in vain.  The parents did not want to insult the elders of the Jews. (I want to know why they thought it was even ok to allow him to be a beggar??

THEN: The best scripture ever (today):

²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

Yes, this is where the Amazing Grace hymn comes from.  A terrible man named John Newton, who was a slave trader,  became lost at sea.  He called out to God and was shipwrecked.  When he was rescued God sent another storm at sea.  During Newton’s conversion, these words spoke to him.  We now have this beautiful song that we can all relate to.

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The good Shepherd.

Not sure if you read or remember my post about the “Sheep Gate” (the healing at the pool of water) But ohhhh how this adds to the account!    When people came to the Temple, they would bring their sacrifice to the Sheeps Gate.  The shepherd could ONLY enter through the sheepfold (a stone fence).  If one came in without permission they were a robber.  Honestly, I just assumed the sheep were “tagged” so they knew whose were whose.  However, when a sheep had a good shepherd, they would make a distinct call, and the sheep knew the sound so well,  that only his sheep would come to him.

This parable deepens our understand of Jesus that he is the good Sheperd, and His sheep will recognize His voice BUT we also see here He is the Gate, the Gatekeeper,  and the Shepard

^{Matthew 7:13} “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

John 10:3. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep…

¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Jesus was NOT killed.  He gave up His life.  He is the gate, the gatekeeper, and the Shepherd.  (If we dug deep I wonder if we could see the Trinity in this?  Thoughts?)