Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.

Mark 14:26-52

Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled. Mark 14:49

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is per the commentary, the third division of the text from Mark 14:26-52 - vv43-52.  

• Using the Sword Bible Study Method focusing just on the text for today - vv43-52: (1) God in the text: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested by the temple guard; Jesus of course has an opportunity but does not stop his arrest, as we know from the other gospel accounts (John 18:1-11, Luke 22:47-53, and Matthew 26:47-56) that Jesus tells Peter (who struck one of the high priests with his sword) to “[p]ut your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”; He sought to fulfill scriptures - v50; (2) people in the text: Judas arrives with the temple guard, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders (v43); Judas is referred to as both one of the twelve and as the betrayer (vv43-44), perhaps alluding to how God seeks to give everyone many second, third, etc. chances to repents and be saved; those arresting Jesus "laid hands" on Him (v46) - ironically, scripture uses the same language we often use when we pray for someone we are sending out; consistent with his impulsive nature (seeking with good intent to protect Jesus), Peter strikes one the servants of the high priests but is told by Jesus to "back down"; Jesus knew this was the appointed time even as He rhetorically questions the timing - v49; the disciples flee in fear v50 (3) Sins to avoid, promises to claim, examples to follow, and commands to obey: we should see Jesus fulfilled scripture and we can rely on the veracity of the Word and how all of God's promises find there yes in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). We are called to follow Jesus' example to understand God's will for our lives and to follow His will.  

Excerpts from the commentary's third (of three) division: 

• The title of the second division (vv43-52) per the commentary is "The King Would Be Arrested and Forsaken Alone." 
• We are referred to OT prophecy from Isaiah 53:3-12 for how Jesus fulfilled the law.  
• RE: the young man in vv51-52: "[c]hurch tradition says the young man was Mark, the author of our second Gospel. So again, as it was in the garden of Eden, our nakedness is exposed as we desert the God who loves us and has graced us so abundantly with His kindness and good gifts." 
• "[Jesus] is arrested, and He is forsaken. He is all alone to face the wrath of men and the wrath of God. He will receive receive all that we deserve, that we might receive all that He deserves. The “Great Exchange” has begun."

Comment and discuss this post. 

My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God that willingly sent Your Son to die on the cross so that I could have freedom from sin in this life and for eternity.  Thank You!  I am not deserving of what Jesus did on the cross for me.  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. 

And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “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!”

Mark 11:1-11

And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “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!” Mark 11:9-10

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 11:1-11.  Excerpts from the commentary's fourth (of five) division (vv9-10):

• The title of the third division per the commentary is "Worship the One Who Alone Can Save."   
• The author of my commentary, Danny Akin, marvels at the shouts of those seeing Jesus enter Jerusalem.  He writes in the commentary: "I am fascinated by the shouts of the crowd. Their words could not be truer, but they could not have been more misunderstood by those who were shouting them. Only Jesus knew the full significance of what they were saying. “Hosanna” means literally, “Save, I pray.” It draws from Psalm 118:25-26 (from the Egyptian Hallels; Psalms 113–118) which says, “Lord, save us! Lord, please grant us success! He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. From the house of the Lord we bless you.” Passover celebrated the Hebrew people’s deliverance out of Egypt. Now the nation of Israel anticipates a messianic liberation and deliverance from Rome." 
• "'Blessed' draws from Numbers 6:24-27 which says, “May Yahweh bless you and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace. In this way they will pronounce My name over the Israelites, and I will bless them.” The One who is blessed, or better, who will be the blesser, is (1) He who comes in the name of the Lord, and (2) He who is 'bringing the coming kingdom of David!'"  
• The commentary emphasizes the following text and how Jesus' fulfills prophecy: 2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 9:1-7, Isaiah 11:1-10, Jeremiah 23:5-8, Ezekiel 34:23-24, Micah 5:2-4.  At the same time, the commentary notes how "prophecy was not being fulfilled in the way they thought, hoped, and believed it would be. They are right. He is their King. But He is not here to purge Israel of foreign domination. No, He is here to purge His people of their sin! They are looking and longing for a temporal, political, and military Savior. He, however, is bringing what only He can bring: a complete and eternal salvation of body and soul! They want and expect a Savior only for Jews, but He is a Savior for the whole world, for any and all who will believe on His Name." 
• We are referred to John 1:12, 3:16, 14:6, Acts 4:12, and 1 Timothy 2:5.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Jesus, You alone save!  And You saved me while I was still an enemy and hostile to You - I am saved not through anything I have done....thank You Jesus for my salvation.  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. 

“Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”

Mark 11:1-11

“Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” Mark 11:2-3

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 11:1-11, 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?: Jesus continues towards His death on the cross, fulfilling prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 where the text shares how "your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." There are no signs that He is not willing nor will He not fulfill all of scripture including His gruesome death.  Once again we have a faithful God - He says how He fulfills the law and He is accurate. All of the prophecies pointing towards Jesus and His crucifixion are about to all ring true.  2 Corinthians 1:20.  
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: The disciples are growing in obedience to Jesus as they grow closer to Him - they do what He asks without question more of the time.  Here they do not question Jesus' request to find and get the colt/donkey Jesus rides into Jerusalem.  Others initially question the act (v5) but ultimately obey hearing how it is Jesus who is requesting the colt/donkey (v6).  Some may question God but not Jesus - an appropriate response to Jesus' call.  Similarly we see those who greet Jesus as He enters with praise and worship (vv8-10) - again an appropriate response to Jesus.    
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): God wants to obey Him - to do what He requests.  Just as Jesus was humble, we are to be humble.  We can claim and rest on Jesus' faithfulness; just as Jesus fulfills all prophecy every other promise He makes will come to pass.  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and who is faithful - we can rest knowing that all of Your promises will come to pass - praise Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your faithfulness nor 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 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. 

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Revelation 1

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. v3

Based on very challenging previous solo attempts at reading Revelation, followed by a more fruitful study through Bible Study Fellowship, I've decided to study revelation with the assistance of an online study by David Platt - Revelation: The Hope of Glory (requires login which I have though my church).  This online resource is 13 sessions long and today I reviewed session #1.

My key takeaways from session #1:

• Revelation is an apocalyptic vision filled with symbols and imagery but more than anything it provides in David Platt's words a "grand portrait of God's greatness" and a "glorious picture of god's gospel".
• It is very important to understand both the historical and Biblical contexts for this book - what is God saying to the 1st century church who first heard these words and were suffering greatly and tempted to bend to the prevailing culture, or tempted to succumb to false teachers and/or to Roman culture with all of its focus on material wealth, earthly power, sexual sin, etc.; this approach to focus on historical and Biblical context first then on what the application is for our lives today is important not just with Revelation but for all of the Bible
• We should avoid falling into a trap to interpret this book based on various academic schools of thought which only divide the church but instead focus on a broader more important message God seeks to convey: God wants to give us in the words of David Platt "unshakeable hope" as God has defeated sin and Satan; He is in control, has conquered all, reigns now, hears our cries, sees our tears and will wipe all tears away and take away all of our pain; God also calls us to unwavering holiness in the face of a seductive culture 
• We are promised blessings but also warned about falling away; God loves us now and He reigns now - for both not just in the past and in the future but now

 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  Daniel 7:13

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Zechariah 12:10

 
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has transformed my heart and life - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of the blessings You pour out on me.  I sin...daily and struggle with temptation.  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.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Matthew 9

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” v16-17

John's disciples question Jesus why His disciples are not fasting as was part of the ceremonial law found in the Old Testament. Jesus explains that fasting typically accompanies mourning and there should be no morning while He is present in human form.  Jesus goes on to discuss how we have a new way of interacting with God - through His Son - and it requires following of the moral but not the ceremonial law as Jesus death on the cross fulfills all requirements of the ceremonial law.

Matthew 5:17 explains this further with: "[d]o not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them".

Both MacArthur and John Piper expand on this.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what an amazing God You are that You came to rescue me and You laid down Your life for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such an amazing act of grace - I am undeserving.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome such sin and turn from it 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.