Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

 John 19:1-11

Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” John 19:11

I continue my study of John and today I focus on John 19:1-11, where we see Pilate flogging Jesus, showing the beaten Jesus to the Jews, once again questioning Jesus, and then asking the Jews what he is to do with Jesus.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: Jesus willingly submits to His flogging, and the shame (and pain) of Pilates' soldiers striking Him and putting on Him a crown of thorns - vv1-3.  Pilate further shames Jesus by making putting Him on display (to the Jews) wearing a purple robe (typically reserved by earthly royalty) - vv4-5.  Although Jesus is not guilty in Pilates' eyes, the Jews do see Him as guilty of blasphemy - vv6-7.  Jesus at first does not answer Pilate's question  - v9 - but in vv10-11 Jesus responds to Pilate's arrogant claim of authority by sharing that authority is given from the Father, and that He sees the Jews as guilty of a greater sin for delivering Him over to Pilate.       
• What do we learn from the text about people?: The Jews should have known better by seeing Jesus as the Promised Messiah but their arrogance, pride, etc. blinded them to the gospel message and they would not repent so they stand guilty and condemned.  Pilate is guilty of a lesser sin and perhaps on par with Peter who out of fear did not question the crowd that arrested Jesus.  Yet Peter of course has repented of His sin (including His denial of Jesus) and Jesus restores Him (see John 21:15-19). 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid twisting scripture as the Jewish elders did to focus on your own view of God's Word.  Claim the promise that Jesus is King of Kings and has authority and providence over all.  Follow the example of Jesus who willingly submitted to a brutal, shameful, beating and ultimate crucifixion - so that others would have life to the full now and for eternity.  Pick up your cross, deny oneself and follow Jesus.  

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that willingly submitted to a gruesome and painful torture and death - so that I could have freedom from sin and death.  Thank You Jesus - the greatest gift of all time!  I am not deserving of such a gift.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Mark 12:13-17 

Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Mark 12:17

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 12:13-17:, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God is the ultimate authority of the universe.  At the same time, He places people of authority over us in our churches, workplaces, and in the government.  There is no conflict - God created these roles for the orderly function of our lives as He holds all things together (Colossians 1:15-20).  We are to follow these earthly authorities and God at the same time - but not when there is conflict and we are asked to follow an earthly command that conflicts with what God calls us to - there are many examples of believers who stood on scripture to follow God instead of man.  
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Once again, we have more of the Jewish elders (and Herodians who presumably benefited from their alliance with the Pharisees and Caesar) who seek to trap Jesus into sharing His allegiance to either His Father (even though they questioned whether He was truly the Son of God) or Caesar - which is not a zero sum game as it is more nuanced as yes we serve God first and foremost (above all else) but we also serve earthly authorities.  This is another example of twisting our faith and God for our own benefit - which is what the Pharisees were doing, serving (and preserving) their own status and position.  We also see how people recognize Truth.  They sought to trap Him but failed and instead were amazed by Him (v17)...of course we know they ultimately reject Him despite being amazed by Him.  
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We are called not to question or put "God to the test" - see also Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7.  See this post for a good explanation of the sin we are to avoid here. We are to render to God what is God's (v17)....for example, we are to pay taxes to our government while at the same time we are to tithe to our church.

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves, provides, and saves...thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of such mercy and grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Daniel 11

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

I continue my study of Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 11:21-45 as I lean on my commentary for this text.  The commentary's main idea for this text is that "God reigns sovereign over the greatest enemies of his people and even uses those enemies for his own purposes."  It shares two primary divisions for this text:

I. God Raised Up a Contemptible Person to Refine, Purify, and Sanctify His People (11:21-35): Here, the commentary discusses how Daniel's vision prophecies the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (who reigned from 175-163 BC), and how his wicked and sinful reign led to great suffering of God's people. Yet as we see with other periods of suffering throughout scripture, it is in response to sin and used to purify and sanctify God's people. 

II. God Will Raise Up the Antichrist, Who Will Exalt and Magnify Himself as God (11:36-45). This section of scripture is discussed by the commentary as being markedly different in terms of redemptive history, as the commentary shares that the antichrist highlighted here and the ensuing conflict is reflective of end times.

The commentary urges us to see Jesus in all scripture and here is no exception.  We are urged to see the contrast between Antiochus/Antichrist and Jesus and provided the below table to highlight the differences.  Once again, take heart that God overcomes (John 16:33).

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace, compassion, and You save!  Thank You for how You speak to me and all believers and give us peace and confidence knowing that You have already won the victory over sin and death!  I am not deserving of how You save.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Daniel 11

 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:1-2

I continue my study of Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 11:1-20 as I lean on my commentary for this text.  Here the commentary focuses on how God orchestrates the rise and fall of kingdoms; in particular - Medo-Persia, Greece, Egypt and Syria - for His glory and purpose. It refers to the broader historical context around the subject of Daniel's vision/prophecies as the "four hundred silent years" - during which God is silent (in terms of God speaking to the people - i.e. through a prophet) - approximately from when the book of Malachi is written to the incarnation of Jesus.  Despite the focus on conflict and the rise and fall of earthly authorities, the commentary seeks for us to understand how God reigns and is sovereign, and how we should look to Him, not the world for who to follow.  The commentary shares these key points as it wraps in its examination of this text:

•  "Our God is sovereign and omniscient, knowing the future to the smallest detail. He can predict the future with pinpoint accuracy.  [E]arthly rulers are mere pawns in the sovereign hands of an omnipotent and providential God."
• "Man in his depravity, pride, and sin has a bloodlust for power and possessions. This is the story of human history since the fall, and it will continue to be our legacy until the return of God’s King and the inauguration of his kingdom."
• "[God's] kingdom is not a fly-by-night empire that is here today and gone tomorrow, an empire and kingdom that is little more than dust in the wind!"
• "In Christ pride gives way to humility, and wanting more and more gives way to giving and serving others. A passion to build my kingdom gives way to a passion to build God’s kingdom! Learn from the mistakes and sins of men and women from the past who pursued earthly gain and not heavenly reward. Avoid the pitfalls of pride and greed; instead, pursue Christ and his traits of humility, generosity, and service."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves and who has saved me...and You provide for all of my needs, never leaving of forsaking me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving Jesus of all these blessings...my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

[S]ome of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

Daniel 11

 [S]ome of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. Daniel 10:35

I resume my study of Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 11 and my unaided observations of the text.  The dominant theme is a vision from the same angel who appeared to Daniel in chapter 10.  The vision includes great conflict within the land, including Israel (referred to as the glorious land in v16 and 41), neighboring countries, and throughout far away lands (referred to coastlands in v18 and elsewhere in scripture).  Kingdoms are described in rising and falling away and there is great evil, blasphemy of the One True God (see v36), and idolatry.  We see God's hand and providence in this conflict as the word "appointed" either as "time appointed" (v27, 29) or "appointed time" (v35).   We also see "the end" mentioned (v27, 35, 40) in the context of it not being the appointed time for the end (27, 35) and at the time of the end (v40) - all implying end times yet there are no reference points to explicitly tie any of what is going on to the end times as described in other accounts specifically Revelation.  There is more to understand regarding context and history of what this vision and prophecy refers to and how it comes to pass - but for now I can take comfort in knowing that God reigns and He has already defeated sin and death - thank You Jesus!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You save - thank You Jesus for my salvation!  I am not deserving...not one bit.  My sin continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.