“And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon Him with the elders, and spake unto Him, saying, ‘Tell us, by what authority doest Thou these things? Or who is he that gave Thee this authority?’ And He answered and said unto them,
‘I will also ask you one thing; and answer Me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?’
And they reasoned with themselves, saying, ‘If we shall say, ‘From heaven;’ He will say, ‘Why then believed ye him not?’ But and if we say, ‘Of men;’ all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.’ And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them,
‘Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.’ ” Luke 20:1-8
Chief priests
Words Of Jesus; Son Of God, God The Son – 080720
“And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked Him, saying, ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ And Jesus said unto him,
‘Thou sayest.’
And when He was accused of the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.
Then said Pilate unto Him, ‘Hearest Thou not how many things they witness against thee?’ And He answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.” Matthew 27:11-14 (KJB)
Words Of Jesus; Son Of God, God The Son – 073020
“And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him: and the third day He shall rise again.’ ” Matthew 20:17-19 (KJB)
The Teaching of Jesus
“And He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.” Luke 19:47-48 (KJB)
During the final week of the life of Jesus as the God-Man walking among men He spent His days teaching in the temple, going out at night to the Mount of Olives to rest and pray (Luke 21:37).
In reading Luke 19 – 21 today I noticed many things about His teaching. He taught some new parables of the kingdom, some warning the religious rulers of their impending loss of the kingdom.
He also took note of the generous heart of a widow who gave more than all, because she gave all she had. People listened. They were attentive; you might even say they hung onto every word He said.
No man taught like this Man; neither do any of 2019 in any part of the world; though some probably think they do.
I tend to believe that those who were seeking to destroy Him were jealous of His power of conviction, passion for God and His word, and love for the people.
Do you love the teachings of Jesus? There might be some who will say, “But how can I hear the teachings of Jesus?” There is only one answer to that question. Pick up the Scriptures called the Holy Bible, and start reading, then you will hear the teachings of Jesus. If you are new to reading the Bible, then begin with the Gospels – Matthew through John. You will be drawn to Him if you have a sincere heart to know Him.
Jesus came to die for you and me. He died on the cross, was buried, and He rose again. Hear Him, believe Him, trust Him.
As They Followed Him They Were Afraid
“And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto Him,
‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles: and they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again.’” Mark 10:32-34 (KJB)
This was the final time Jesus and His disciples would be going up to Jerusalem. The disciples seemed to understand that, but not really understanding the coming consequences of this trip. They had heard Jesus mentioned His death; and they had seen the hatred of the religious leaders toward Him.
They probably were afraid of any coming backlash against them, because they were His followers; and of what would become of them following the worst they could imagine.
Verse 32 was my focus as I was reading chapters 10-12 today. There are times I am fearful. Sometimes it is a senseless fear. I mean by that it is something contrived in my own mind. Other times it comes from real time and life situations. When ever fear invades is usually when I am not expecting it. When I am afraid I choose to hear what the Master says, rather than what my fearful thoughts have imagined.
I have learned that I must question my fears; never my faith. I am still learning that.
Don’t you just love the way Jesus comforts, and encourages His disciples? He tells them the events that are going to happen; the ones they are fearful of; but does not leave them without the promise, “He shall rise again.”
Are you going through a fearful situation? Is it something too big for you to handle? Is it a contriving of your own mind? Either way remember He has risen. He died on the cross for the sins of the world; yours and mine; then, He was buried, and He rose again. He forever lives that we too might live and reign with Him forever.
Up To Jerusalem
The way to Jerusalem is always up. You never hear of going over to Jerusalem, down to Jerusalem; but always up. For Jesus this trek to the city would be His final one before He is crucified. Now He; one more time; tell His disciples what is about to happen…
“And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, ‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day He shall rise again.’” Matthew 20:17-19 (KJB)
He is willingly going to face the accusers, and the Roman governor, and giving His life for the world (John 3:16). The following is the commentary of John Gill on verse 19 of the above text…
“And shall deliver him to the Gentiles,…. To Pilate, an Heathen governor, and to the Roman officers and soldiers under him; see Joh_18:35.
To mock him, as they did, by putting on him a scarlet robe, platting a crown of thorns, and placing it on his head, and a reed in his hand; and then bowed the knee to him, and cried, hail, king of the Jews!
and to scourge him: as he was by Pilate, at least by his orders: Mark adds, “and spit upon him”; as not only did the Jews in the palace of the high priest, but also the Gentiles, the Roman soldiers, after they had mocked him in the manner before described:
and to crucify him: which, as it was a cruel and shameful death, such as slaves and the worst of malefactors were put to, so it was a Roman one; for which reason, the Jews choose to deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. The Persic version here adds, “and put him into the grave”: which though it followed his crucifixion, was not done by the Gentiles, but by Joseph of Arimathea, a Jew, and a disciple of Jesus; and that not in a contemptuous, but honourable manner
and the third day he shall rise again: this he said for the comfort of his disciples; but now, though these things were so clearly and distinctly expressed by Christ, and which show his omniscience, and give proof both of his deity and Messiahship, yet Luke observes of the disciples, “that they understood none of these things, and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken”: the words were plain, the grammatical sense of them was easy, but they could not imagine that they were to be taken literally; which was such a glaring contradiction to their received and rooted principles of the temporal kingdom of the Messiah, and the grandeur of it, that they fancied these expressions carried a mystical, secret meaning in them, which they were not masters of: and certain it is, that what our Lord now said, was so far from destroying, or weakening these prejudices of theirs, that it rather confirmed them in them; particularly, what he said about rising again, which seemed to have put them afresh in mind, and to excite their hopes of this external felicity, as appears from the following case.” John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible
Jesus went up to Jerusalem to die for you and me, so that we might be redeemed unto the Creator of all that is; and have fellowship with Him. Will you take up your cross and follow Him?
At What Price???
10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.
This text goes from one who, “Has done what she could”; to one who “takes all he can”, and gives nothing in return. The Gospel of John calls him a “Thief” (John 12:6). It is quite the contrast. On which side do we stand? On the side of giving all to Jesus; or taking all we can for self.
Notice the path of the betrayer. It was not an accident it was a planned, purposeful, plot for material gain. Judas went to the “Chief priests, to betray Him unto them”. He went to them. They did not come to him with words of deception, or a scheme to try and trick Judas into betrayal. It was in Judas’s heart. Then after they had received his offer he sought for a way to set it up – “he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.” (v. 11). Is this the heart of one who really loves Jesus? Is this the act of one who really believes in Him? I think not.
Some may think of Peter and his denial of Jesus, but Peter did not plan, or purposely plot to deny Jesus. When Judas betrayed Jesus did he seek forgiveness and repent of his action? No! He was sorry for what he did, but did not seek the cleansing of forgiveness, rather, the Gospel of Matthew and the book of Acts tells us he went and hanged himself (Matthew 27:3-5; Acts 1 17-19), and went to his own place. Peter sought the Lord’s forgiveness for His act.
The woman in verses 3 – 9 sought how best to serve her Lord. Judas sought how best to serve himself. Which one sought rightly? Which one will receive the Lords blessing, and reward? Which one will spend eternity in Hell? It is evident to those who know the Lord.
What is the worth of your soul? What is the worth of Jesus Christ to you?
-Tim A. Blankenship
Broken Pieces 