The Passion Week - Good Friday

Religious Persecution

Let us first look at the events that transpired after Christ’s arrest on Thursday night.  There were three hearings before the Jewish authorities.  The first is before Annas.  John 18:13 “and led him off to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year.”  The account before Annas is in John 18:12-14, 19-23.  Annas was high priest from AD 6-15 and was followed by Caiaphas.  It seems that bringing Christ before Annas would have been out of respect for his office and Jewish law stating that the position is for life (Annas is even called “High Priest” in verse 19).  Jesus asks for evidence and witnesses (John 18:20-23) and is then sent to the High Priest Caiaphas (John 18:24).

Between the “trials” before Annas and Caiaphas, we have the account of Peter’s denials.  Peter and an unnamed disciple seem to have been the only disciples to follow Jesus (John 18:15).  Jesus had previously told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.  We have the account in John 18:25-27: 

In the meantime Simon Peter was still standing, keeping himself warm. Some of them said to him, "Surely you too are one of his disciples, aren't you?" And he denied it and said, "No, I am not." Then one of the High Priest's servants, a relation of the man (Malchus) whose ear Peter had cut off, remarked, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"  And again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crew.

The “trial” before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin that night was not official.  The Sanhedrin could not have a proceeding on the night of a Feast Day.  The proceeding with Caiaphas in the evening is reported in Mark 14:53-65.  They could really find no reason to prosecute Jesus, and their witnesses even contradicted each other:

Mark 14:55-56 - Meanwhile, the chief priests and the whole council were trying to find some evidence against Jesus which would warrant the death penalty. But they failed completely. There were plenty of people ready to give false testimony against him, but their evidence was contradictory.

Jesus’ reply to Caiaphas in Mark 14:62 had some strong implications - And Jesus said, "I am! Yes, you will all see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, coming in the clouds of heaven." 

Part of Jesus’ statement is from Daniel 7:13-14.  The other content of those verses would surely cause the Sanhedrin to see Jesus as claiming to be more than human.

Daniel 7:13-14  ‘I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, with the clouds of the heavens as a son of man was one coming, and unto the Ancient of Days he hath come, and before Him they have brought him near.  And to him is given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages do serve him, his dominion is a dominion age-during, that passeth not away, and his kingdom that which is not destroyed.

Mark 15:1 The moment daylight came the chief priests called together a meeting of elders, scribes and members of the whole council, bound Jesus and took him off and handed him over to Pilate.

They could now make an arrest legal.  It seems that the Sanhedrin quickly called together enough people to make a legal arrest.  We do know that there was not a unanimous vote as attested in Luke 23:50-51, but we will look at that later.

Civil Persecution

Since the Sanhedrin could not pronounce capital punishment on a person, they handed Jesus over to Roman Authorities. (John 18:31)  The only answer that Jesus gave Pilate was “Yes, I am” (Mark 15:2).  The priests kept accusing him and Pilate did not fully believe them.  Pilate had been warned by his wife, from a dream she had, that Jesus was innocent and that Pilate should have nothing to do with him (Matthew 27:19).  Pilate then sent Jesus to Herod when he found out that Jesus, being from Galilee, would be under Herod’s jurisdiction.  Herod, coincidentally, was in town for Passover.  Well, Herod questioned Jesus but Jesus did not respond.  So Herod and his soldiers mocked Jesus and put a beautiful robe on him before sending him back to Pilate.  As a side note, Pilate and Herod became friends after this.  (Luke 23:6-12)

Luke 23:13-16 - Then Pilate summoned the chief priests, the officials and the people and addressed them in these words. "You have brought this man to me as a mischief-maker among the people, and I want you to realise that, after examining him in your presence, I have found nothing criminal about him, in spite of all your accusations. And neither has Herod, for he has sent him back to us. Obviously, then, he has done nothing to deserve the death penalty. I propose, therefore, to teach him a sharp lesson and let him go."

However, in the end, Pilate fell to the whims of the masses.  He even washed his hands of the mess (Matthew 27:24).  He freed a prisoner and imprisoned an innocent man.

Via Dolorosa – “The Sorrowful Way”

“Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripelike lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion, his wrists were nailed to the patibulum and, after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post (stipes), his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly death resulted primarily from hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Jesus' death was ensured by the thrust of a soldier's spear into his side. Modern medical interpretation of the historical evidence indicate that Jesus was dead when taken down from the cross.” - William D. Edwards, MD; Wesley J. Gabel, MDiv; Floyd E Hosmer, MS, AMI 

Reprinted from JAMA - The Journal of the American Medical Association
March 21, 1986, Volume 256
Copyright 1986, American Medical Association

http://www.cga94.com/contributors/stuff/crucifixion/

Jesus hung on the cross for three hours.  He had seven last “words” on which we will focus.

1. "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
2. "I tell you truly, this day you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)
3. "Look, there is your son!" And then he said to the disciple, "And there is your mother!" (John 19:27)
4. 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Mark 15:34; Psalm 22:1)
5. "I am thirsty." (John 19:28)
6. "It is finished!" (John 19:30)
7. "Father, 'into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46; Psalm 31:5)

There were then some events that happened after the crucifixion.  First of all, there was a strange darkness that overcame the land (Mark 15:33, Julius Africanus – Greek Papyri 10.89).  The centurion at the cross is also convinced of Jesus’ innocence (Luke 23:47).  An earthquake occurred (Matthew 27:51), and tombs were opened and saints walked around (Matthew 27:52-53).  Jesus, by Jewish tradition, had to be buried before sundown, so Joseph of Arimethea got the corpse and buried Christ.  Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin and was not one who voted to condemn Christ (John 19:38).  Also accompanying Joseph was Nicodemus, from John 3 (John 19:39).  Was Nicodemus also a believer?  Had his heart been softened by being near Jesus on a couple of occasions?  Did the forthcoming resurrection convince him?  We don’t know.  He could have just been glad to see Jesus gone, but we cannot attest to that either.  Finally, the tomb was sealed (Matthew 27:62-66).  Surely Christ was in the tomb when they sealed it, but just a while later they tried claiming that the body was stolen (Matthew 28:11-15).  Good try, but He is risen!

The Passion Week - Thursday

Before the Meal

Mark 14:3-9 – woman anoints Jesus’ head with perfume. 

This part of the text actually happened a few days prior.  Mark is about to relate the treachery of Judas, and this passage demonstrates some of Judas’s greed.  Mark does not relate his name to us, but in the parallel passage of John 12:4, Judas is the one that suggested selling the perfume.

Mark 14:10-11 - Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. And when they heard what he had to say, they were delighted and undertook to pay him for it. So he looked out for a convenient opportunity to betray him.

Mark 14:12-16 – Instructions to prepare for Passover

Mark 14:12 - On the first day of unleavened bread, the day when the Passover was sacrificed, Jesus' disciples said, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

Mark 14:13-15 - Jesus sent off two of them with these instructions, "Go into the town and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him and say to the owner of the house to which he goes, 'The Master says, where is the room for me to eat the Passover with my disciples?' And he will show you a large upstairs room all ready with the furnishings that we need. That is the place where you are to make our preparations."

Mark 14:16 - So the disciples set off and went into the town, found everything as he had told them, and prepared for the Passover.

 

Timeline of the Meal

Mark 14:17-26 – Passover meal (Exodus 12; Lev. 23:4-8; Numbers 9:1-14; Deuteronomy 16:1-8)

Mark focuses mostly on the betrayal in his account of the Passover meal.  John gives some more detail, and in Luke’s gospel, we see that there was a dispute amongst the Disciples about whom would be the greatest.

John 13:1-20 – Footwashing

John 13:3-5 - Jesus, with the full knowledge that the Father had put everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from the supper-table, took off his outer clothes, picked up a towel and fastened it round his waist. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel around his waist.

They then sit and partake of the meal - the breaking of the bread symbolizing our Savior’s Body and the drinking of the wine symbolizing our Savior’s Blood.

Luke 22:19 - Then he took a loaf and after thanking God he broke it and gave it to them, with these words, "This is my body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me."

Luke 22:20-22 - So too, he gave them a cup after supper with the words, "This cup is the new agreement made in my own blood which is shed for you. Yet the hand of the man who is betraying me lies with mine at this moment on the table. The Son of Man goes on his appointed way: yet alas for the man by whom he is betrayed!"

Luke 22:23 - And at this they began to debate among themselves as to which of them would do this thing.

During the meal, Jesus shares with the disciples that one of them will betray Him.  They don’t seem to have any reason to simply think that Judas would be the one because they debate and question which disciple it will be:

Mark 14:19 - This shocked and distressed them and one after another they began to say to him, "Surely, I'm not the one?"

Jesus, however knew the exact one of His followers that would betray him:

John 13:26-27 - And Jesus answered, "It is the one I am going to give this piece of bread to, after I have dipped it in the dish." Then he took a piece of bread, dipped it in the dish and gave it to Simon's son, Judas Iscariot. After he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered his heart. Then Jesus said to him, "Be quick about your business!"

Also, see John 13:18. It is also very likely that Jesus only told John in an aside that it would be the one who was receiving the bread - as the remainder of the disciples still asked each other who would be the betrayer.

Then, an extraordinary thing happens.  It is almost as if the disciples just don’t get it!  What happens right after the meal and after the lesson on being a servant given through the footwashing?

Luke 22:24 - And then a dispute arose among them as to who should be considered the most important

Then Jesus has to teach them again about servanthood.

Post-Meal Activities

Mark 14:27-31 – Peter’s Denial

John records more of the events that transpired after the Passover meal.  See John 14:1-17:26 for these events.

The highlights include John 14:1-31 and John 15:5-33 about Christ’s departure and return.  The parable of the vine and branches (John 15:1-17), strong opposition from the world (John 15:18-16:4), and Christ’s Prayer for himself (John 17:1-5), his disciples (John 17:6-19), and later followers (John 17:20-26).  The time has come (John 17:1); Christ now knows the hour is at hand.

The story picks back up with Mark’s account in chapter 14.

Mark 14:32-42 is the account of Christ and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

Mark 14:32-42 - Then they arrived at a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to the disciples, "Sit down here while I pray." He took with him Peter, James and John, and began to be horror-stricken and desperately depressed. "My heart is nearly breaking," he told them. "Stay here and keep watch for me." Then he walked forward a little way and flung himself on the ground, praying that, if it were possible, he might not have to face the ordeal. "Dear Father," he said, "all things are possible to you. Please - let me not have to drink this cup! Yet it is not what I want but what you want." Then he came and found them fast asleep. He spoke to Peter, "Are you asleep, Simon? Couldn't you manage to watch for a single hour? Watch and pray, all of you, that you may not have to face temptation. Your spirit is willing, but human nature is weak." Then he went away again and prayed in the same words, and once more he came and found them asleep. they could not keep their eyes open and they did not know what to say for themselves. When he came back for the third time, he said "Are you still going to sleep and take your ease? All right - the moment has come: now you are going to see the Son of Man betrayed into the hands of evil men! Get up, let us be going! Look, here comes my betrayer!"

Verse 36 is the striking reality that Christ is actually human.  “Please - let me not have to drink this cup! Yet it is not what I want but what you want.”  He doesn’t want to physically have to go through what he knows will happen.  Blomberg, in “Jesus and the Gospels,” asserts “this is also a perfect example of a prayer not answered in the manner preferred by the person making the request, but through no fault of the pray-er! Hebrews 5:7 will later reflect on this text and insist that Christ ‘was heard because of his reverent submission.’ But the answer to Jesus’ prayer was resurrection after death, not exemption from it. God may often answer our most fervent prayers to be spared hard times in the same way.” (339)

Mark 14:43-52 is the account of Judas delivering over Christ to the authorities.  “So he walked straight up to Jesus, cried, "Master!" and kissed him affectionately.”  The revelation that this was actually Jesus shocked the authorities (When he said to them, "I am the man", they retreated and fell to the ground - John 18:4-9).  Then Peter drew a sword and cut off Malchus, the High Priest’s Servant’s, ear and Christ rebukes him (John 18:10-11).  Then Jesus points out that it was always in His timing for this to be fulfilled.  (Day after day I was with you in the Temple, teaching, and you never laid a finger on me. But the scriptures must be fulfilled. – Mark 14:49) Finally, the utterly saddening portion of this passage is in Mark 14:50 – “Then all the disciples deserted him and made their escape.”  It would appear that they could not believe their Messiah could be taken. “The Fourfold Gospel” states “All the predictions of Jesus had failed to prepare the apostles for the terrors of his arrest. Despite all his warnings, each apostle sought his own safety.” (693)

The Passion Week - Wednesday

Note that there is nothing in the Biblical account of the Passion Week that Jesus (or others) can specifically be seen to have happened on Wednesday.  Perhaps this was just a day Christ spent with the disciples or even on his own.  But Scripture is silent.  One thing I left out of Tuesday’s portion is Mark 14:1-2 which seems to have occurred on Tuesday.

Mark 14:1-2 - In two days' time the festival of the Passover and of unleavened bread was due. Consequently, the chief priests and the scribes were trying to think of some trick by which they could get Jesus into their power and have him executed. "But it must not be during the festival," they said, "or there will be a riot."

With that behind us, how do we gently wade through the many events that happened on Tuesday?  Quotes in this section not noted are from Blomberg’s “Jesus and the Gospels” pages 318-328.  In Mark 11:27-33, the temple authorities thought they could trap Jesus, but Jesus trapped them.  They wanted to know the source of his authority, and he asked them to explain the source of John the Baptizer’s authority.  Well, to say that John’s authority was from man would be blasphemy to the masses and to say it was from God would make the authorities have to seriously question their entire worldview. Mark 12:1-12 is the parable of the tenants.  It seems to be “a clear jab at the leaders’ own authority.” (318).

Mark 12:13-37 shows that Christ was “the true fulfillment of the Passover.”  This is seen by the four sets of questions that correspond with Passover questions “(a) a question regarding a point of law…(b) a question with a note of scoffing…(c) a question by a person of ‘plain piety’…(d) a question by the father of the family at his own initiative.” (318) Also interesting to note is that in verse 36, Psalm 110 is quoted.  This is the Old Testament passage most quoted in the New Testament.

Matthew 23 was the second part of Tuesday’s events.  Just as Matthew begins Christ’s teachings with the Sermon on the Mount and 9 blessings, this last set of Christ’s teachings contains 7 “woes.”  This is said to be the worst curse a man could have placed upon himself.  Christ condemned the Jewish leaders 7 times.  Robertson, in his NT Word Pictures makes the point that “the Textus Receptus has eight woes, adding verse 14 which the Revised Version places in the margin (called verse 13 by Westcott and Hort and rejected on the authority of Aleph B D as a manifest gloss from Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47). The MSS. that insert it put it either before 13 or after 13.”

Jay Green, in the “Translation Notes for the Gospels,” expounds upon the word “hypocrite.”  “The word could be translated players, actors, pretenders shut up - from a word meaning key - they had grabbed the key, shut the door, and locked out everyone so that their interpretation could not be challenged - now modern versionists are seeking to do the same with our generation.”

Matthew 23:38 ties in with Christ’s prophecy of Mark 13.  It is a prophecy 40 years early of the destruction of the temple.  Mark 13 is also the chapter corresponding to Matthew 24.  The Temple was an awesome structure.  It’s reported by Josephus that some of the stones were 25x8x12 cubits – this is roughly 41x13x20 feet.  It was, indeed, “wonderful stonework.”

Mark 13:9-23 lists persecutions of the disciples.  Verse 9 could be extremely prophetic of a particular Apostle who was not even with Christ when he was going through these persecutions.  I am referring to Paul.  Verse 9 states:  “You yourselves must keep your wits about you, for men will hand you over to their councils, and will beat you in their synagogues. You will have to stand in front of rulers and kings for my sake to bear your witness to them.”  Going through Acts, note chapter 23:1 – “Paul looked steadily at the Sanhedrin [council] and spoke to them.”  Paul was also beaten, but he even fulfilled Christ’s prophecy if you look at Acts 26:11 – “Many and many a time in all the synagogues I had them punished and I used to try and force them to deny their Lord.”  Also, in Acts 24:24-25, Paul was before Felix and in Acts 26:2-3 Paul was before Agrippa.  These two were “rulers and kings.”  What was Paul doing other than “bearing his witness to them”?

In Mark 13:21-37 Jesus is warning of false Christs as well as urging the disciples to “keep their eyes open” or “keep on the alert.”

Finally, Mark 14:1-2 seems to demonstrate that the plans of men sometimes fail and that, especially in regards to the crucifixion, that God’s timing will always overshadow the plans of man.  See Acts 2:23 and 4:28.  The authorities didn’t plan on doing anything during the Passover week, but their plans were not God’s plans.

The Passion Week - Tuesday

There were many teachings of Jesus that are recorded as happening on Tuesday of the Holy Week. However, is acknowledged that nothing is documented as occurring on the Wednesday, so I will add some commentary for Tuesday’s events in the Wednesday portion of this passion week.

For now, we will simply read the scriptures.  All scripture is from Mark except for the passage in Matthew 23 which is also attributed to Tuesday. All headings and sections below are from the Phillips NT in Modern English.

Jesus' authority is directly challenged

Mark 11:27-28 - So they came once more to Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, elders and scribes approached him, and asked, "What authority have you for what you're doing? And who gave you permission to do these things?"

Mark 11:29-30 - "I am going to ask you a question," replied Jesus, "and if you answer me, I will tell you what authority I have for what I do. The baptism of John, now - did it come from Heaven or was it purely human? Tell me that."

Mark 11:31-32 - At this they argued with each other, "If we say from Heaven, he will say, 'then why didn't you believe in him?' but if we say it was purely human, well ..." For they were frightened of the people, since all of them believed that John was a real prophet.

Mark 11:33 - So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." "Then I cannot tell you by what authority I do these things," returned Jesus.

Mark 12:1a - Then he began to talk to them in parables.

Mark 12:1b-11 - "A man once planted a vineyard," he said, "fenced it round, dug out the hole for the wine-press and built a watch-tower. Then he let it out to some farm-workers and went abroad. At the end of the season he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the vintage. But they got hold of him, knocked him about and sent him off empty-handed. The owner tried again. He sent another servant to them, but this one they knocked on the head and generally insulted. Once again he sent them another servant, but him they murdered. He sent many others and some they beat up and some they murdered. He had one man left - his own son who was very dear to him. He sent him last of all to the tenants, saying to himself, 'They will surely respect my own son.' But they said to each other, 'This fellow is the future owner - come on, let's kill him, and the property will be ours! So they got hold of him and murdered him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard is going to do? He will come and destroy the men who were working his vineyard and will hand it over to others. Have you never read this scripture - 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?'"

Mark 12:12 - Then they tried to get their hands on him, for they knew perfectly well that he had aimed this parable at them - but they were afraid of the people. So they left him and went away.

A test question

Mark 12:13-15a - Later they sent some of the Pharisees and some of the Herod-party to trap him in an argument. They came up and said to him, "Master, we know that you are an honest man and that you are not swayed by men's opinion of you. Obviously you don't care for human approval but teach the way of God with the strictest regard for truth - is it right to pay tribute to Caesar or not: are we to pay or not to pay?"

Mark 12:15b - But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, "Why try this trick on me? Bring me a coin and let me look at it."

Mark 12:16 - So they brought one to him. "Whose face is this?" asked Jesus, "and whose name is in the inscription?"

Mark 12:17 - "Caesar's," they replied. And Jesus said, "Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God!" - a reply which staggered them.

Jesus reveals the ignorance of the Sadducees

Mark 12:18-23 - Then some of the Sadducees (a party which maintains that there is no resurrection) approached him, and put this question to him, "Master, Moses instructed us that if a man's brother dies leaving a widow but no child, then the man should marry the woman and raise children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers, and the first one married and died without leaving issue. Then the second one married the widow and died leaving no issue behind him. The same thing happened with the third, and indeed the whole seven died without leaving any child behind them. Finally the woman died. Now in this 'resurrection', when men will rise up again, whose wife is she going to be - for she was the wife of all seven of them?"

Mark 12:24-27 - Jesus replied, "Does not this show where you go wrong - and how you fail to understand both the scriptures and the power of God? When people rise from the dead they neither marry nor are they given in marriage; they live like the angels in Heaven. But as for this matter of the dead being raised, have you never read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him in these words, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not God of the dead but of living men! That is where you make your great mistake!"

The most important commandments

Mark 12:28 - Then one of the scribes approached him. He had been listening to the discussion, and noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he put this question to him, "What are we to consider the greatest commandment of all?"

Mark 12:29-31 - "The first and most important one is this," Jesus replied - 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength'. The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself'. No other commandment is greater than these."

Mark 12:32-33 - "I am well answered," replied the scribe. "You are absolutely right when you say that there is one God and no other God exists but him; and to love him with the whole of our hearts, the whole of our intelligence and the whole of our energy, and to love our neighbours as ourselves is infinitely more important than all these burnt-offerings and sacrifices."

Mark 12:34 - The Jesus, noting the thoughtfulness of his reply, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God!" After this nobody felt like asking him any more questions.

Jesus criticises the scribes' teaching and behaviour

Mark 12:35-36 - Later, while Jesus was teaching in the Temple he remarked, "How can the scribes make out the Christ is David's son, for David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool'.

Mark 12:37 - David is himself calling Christ 'Lord' - where do they get the idea that he is his son?"

Mark 12:38-40 - The vast crowd heard this with great delight and Jesus continued in his teaching, "Be on your guard against these scribes who love to walk about in long robes and to be greeted respectfully in public and to have the front seats in the synagogue and the best places at dinner-parties! These are the men who grow fat on widow's property and cover up what they are doing by making lengthy prayers. They are only adding to their own punishment!"

Mark 12:41-44 - Then Jesus sat down opposite the Temple almsbox and watched the people putting their money into it. A great many rich people put in large sums. Then a poor widow came up and dropped in two little coins, worth together about a halfpenny. Jesus called his disciples to his side and said to them, "Believe me, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. For they have all put in what they can easily afford, but she in her poverty who needs so much, has given away everything, her whole living!"

Matthew 23

He publicly warns the people against their religious leaders

Matthew 23:1-12 - Then Jesus addressed the crowds and his disciples. "The scribes and the Pharisees speak with the authority of Moses," he told them, "so you must do what they tell you and follow their instructions. But you must not imitate their lives! For they preach but do not practise. They pile up back-breaking burdens and lay them on other men's shoulders - yet they themselves will not raise a finger to move them. Their whole lives are planned with an eye to effect. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their robes; they love seats of honour at dinner parties and front places in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect in public places and to have men call them 'rabbi!' Don't you ever be called 'rabbi' - you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. And don't call any human being 'father' - for you have one Father and he is in Heaven. And you must not let people call you 'leaders' - you have only one leader, Christ! The only 'superior' among you is the one who serves the others. For every man who promotes himself will be humbled, and every man who learns to be humble will find promotion.

Matthew 23:13-14 - "But alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors that you are! You lock the door of the kingdom of Heaven in men's faces; you will not go in yourselves neither will you allow those at the door to go inside.

Matthew 23:15 - "Alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors! You scour sea and land to make a single convert, and then you make him twice as ripe for destruction as you are yourselves.

Matthew 23:16-22 - "Alas for you, you blind leaders! You say, 'if anyone swears by the Temple it amounts to nothing, but if he swears by the gold of the Temple he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools, which is the more important, the gold or the Temple which sanctifies the gold? And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar it doesn't matter, but if he swears by the gift placed on the altar he is bound by his oath.' Have you no eyes - which is more important, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? Any man who swears by the altar is swearing by the altar and whatever is offered upon it; and anyone who swears by the Temple is swearing by the Temple and by him who dwells in it; and anyone who swears by Heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by the one who sits upon that throne.

Matthew 23:23-24 - "Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you utter frauds! For you pay your tithe on mint and aniseed and cummin, and neglect the things which carry far more weight in the Law - justice, mercy and good faith. These are the things you should have observed - without neglecting the others. You call yourselves leaders, and yet you can't see an inch before your noses, for you filter out the mosquito and swallow the camel.

Matthew 23:25-26 - "What miserable frauds you are, you scribes and Pharisees! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, while the inside is full of greed and self-indulgence. Can't you see, Pharisee? First wash the inside of a cup, and then you can clean the outside.

Matthew 23:27-28 - "Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! You are like white-washed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and all kinds of rottenness. For you appear like good men on the outside - but inside you are a mass of pretence and wickedness.

Matthew 23:29-36 - "What miserable frauds you are, you scribes and Pharisees! You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate monuments for good men of the past, and then say, 'If we had lived in the times of our ancestors we should never have joined in the killing of the prophets.' Yes, 'your ancestors' - that shows you to be sons indeed of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead then, and finish off what your ancestors tried to do! You serpents, you viper's brood, how do you think you are going to avoid being condemned to the rubbish-heap? Listen to this: I am sending you prophets and wise and learned men; and some of these you will kill and crucify, other you will flog in your synagogues and hunt from town to town. So that on your hands is all the innocent blood spilt on this earth, from the blood of Abel the good to the blood of Zachariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Yes, I tell you that all this will be laid at the doors of this generation.

Jesus mourns over Jerusalem, and foretells its destruction

Matthew 23:37-39 - "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You murder the prophets and stone the messengers that are sent to you. How often have I longed to gather your children round me like a bird gathering her brood together under her wing - and you would never have it. Now all you have left is your house. I tell you that you will never see me again till the day when you cry, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Jesus prophesies the ruin of the Temple

Mark 13:1 - Then as Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Master, what wonderful stonework, what a size these building are!"

Mark 13:2 - Jesus replied, "You see these great buildings? Not a single stone will be left standing on another; every one will be thrown down!"

Mark 13:3-4 - Then while he was sitting on the slope of the Mount of Olives facing the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew said to him privately, "Tell us, when will these things happen? What sign will there be that all these things are going to be accomplished?"

Mark 13:5-11 - So Jesus began to tell them: "Be very careful that no one deceives you. Many are going to come in my name and say, 'I am he', and will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, don't be alarmed. such things are bound to happen, but the end is not yet. Nation will take up arms against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in different places and terrible famines. But this is only the beginnings of 'the pains'. You yourselves must keep your wits about you, for men will hand you over to their councils, and will beat you in their synagogues. You will have to stand in front of rulers and kings for my sake to bear your witness to them - for before the end comes the Gospel must be proclaimed to all nations. But when they are taking you off to trial, do not worry beforehand about what you are going to say - simply say the words you are given when the time comes. For it not really you who will speak, but the Holy Spirit.

Jesus foretells utter misery

Mark 13:12-13 - "A brother is going to betray his own brother to death, and a father his own child. Children will stand up against their parents and condemn them to death. There will come a time when the whole world will hate you because you are known as my followers. Yet the man who holds out to the end will be saved.

Mark 13:14-20 - "But when you see 'the abomination of desolation' standing where it ought not - (let the reader take note of this) - then those who are in Judea must fly to the hills! The man on his house-top must not go down nor go into his house to fetch anything out of it, and the man in the field must not turn back to fetch his coat. Alas for the women who are pregnant at that time, and alas for those with babies at their breasts! Pray God that it may not be winter when that time comes, for there will be such utter misery in those days as had never been from the creation until now - and never will be again. Indeed, if the Lord did not shorten those days, no human beings could survive. But for the sake of the people whom he has chosen he has shortened those days.

He warns against false christs, and commands vigilance

Mark 13:21-23 - "If anyone tells you at that time, 'Look, here is Christ', or 'Look, there he is', don't believe it! For false christs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders, to deceive, if it be possible, even the men of God's choice. You must keep your eyes open! I am giving you this warning before it happens.

Mark 13:24-25 - "But when that misery is past, 'the light of the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light; stars will be falling from the sky and the powers of heaven will rock on their foundations'.

Mark 13:26-27 - Then men shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send out his angels to summon his chosen together from every quarter, from furthest earth to highest heaven.

Mark 13:28-33 - "Let the fig-tree illustrate this for you: when its branches grow tender and produce leaves, you know that summer is near, at your very doors! I tell you that this generation will not have passed until all these things have come true. Earth and sky will pass away, but what I have told you will never pass away! But no one knows the day or the hour of this happening, not even the angels in Heaven, no, not even the Son - only the Father. Keep your eyes open, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the time will be.

Mark 13:34-37 -"It is as if a man who is travelling abroad had left his house and handed it over to be managed by his servants. He has given each one his work to do and has ordered the doorkeeper to be on the look-out for his return. Just so must you keep a look-out, for you do not know when the master of the house will come - it might be late evening, or midnight, or cock-crow, or early morning - otherwise he might come unexpectedly and find you sound asleep. What I am saying to you I am saying to all; keep on the alert!"

The Passion Week - Monday

Let us continue with the events that occurred on Monday.  Mark relates these to us in Chapter 11 Verses 12-19.

Mark 11:12-14 - On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And 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. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Robertson, in his NT Word Pictures, states of verse 13 that “The early figs in Palestine do not get ripe before May or June, the later crop in August. It was not the season of figs, Mark notes. But this precocious tree in a sheltered spot had put out leaves as a sign of fruit. It had promise without performance.”

Mark 11:15-17 - And 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. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Of verse 15, the Geneva Bible Footnotes state that “Christ shows that he is indeed the true King and high Priest, and therefore the one who takes revenge upon those who do not show proper reverence for the holy function of the temple.”  Also, Christ had previously cleansed the Temple in John 2.  His words “den of thieves” in this passage were not as kind as those in His first cleansing.  In John 2:16, Christ said “Don't you dare turn my Father's house into a market!”  Verse 16 is interesting in that it appears that people were using the Temple as a thoroughfare – just carrying their “water-pots” or “vessels” through it.  Christ even stopped this.  He then quotes Isaiah 56:7 as the proclamation that the Temple (God’s house) will be open to all nations for prayer, but then declares that the path of Jeremiah 7:11 was taken and that now it has become a “den of thieves!”

Mark 11:18-19 - And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city.

Again, Christ has now angered the religious people.  This time, it was both Sadducees and Pharisees.  However, His teachings had gotten the masses on His side (they are still hoping He is the conquering Messiah). Although those who were praising him on Sunday would be asking for his crucifixion on Friday.

The Passion Week - Sunday

The week will begin with today, Sunday, with Christ's entrance into Jerusalem.  Mark's account is from Chapter 11 verses 1-11.  Background information may also be added for each day with the source noted.  Let us first look at the Scripture:

Sunday

Mark 11:1-10

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “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.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 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!”

Craig L. Blomberg, in his book "Jesus and the Gospels," states that "this ragtag band of followers accompanying a Galilean peasant riding a donkey would have looked like a parody of the standard welcome and fanfare for governors and generals astride their white horses with a retinue of soldiers." (314) The prophetic passage for the "triumphal entry" is Zechariah 9:9.  Note also 2 Kings 9:13 and 1 Maccabees 13:51 (And entered into it the three and twentieth day of the second month in the hundred seventy and first year, with thanksgiving, and branches of palm trees, and with harps, and cymbals, and with viols, and hymns, and songs: because there was destroyed a great enemy out of Israel.) for other historical accounts of the greeting of rulers.  Jesus was not on a warhorse like the messiah many would have expected, but He was riding a donkey - "an animal of peace and humility."  (Blomberg, 315)  The time for Jesus to ride on a horse will come later... (Revelation 19:11 ff.)

Was riding into Jerusalem the only thing Christ did on Sunday?  No, after His entry, note verse 11 -

Mark 11:11

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple and looked round on all that was going on. And then, since it was already late in the day, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus also went into the temple area.  Perhaps He was just seeing what he had to do on Monday.  (Mark 11:15-19)

An Adventure In Romans, Part 1 - Introduction

In January, 2011 I began the task of reading through some of the commentaries I have on Paul's Epistle to The Romans. The general plan was to read a section at a time in all of the commentaries and be completed with the task in 2011. Well, it's now February, 2012 and I'm just finishing up through chapter 8 (of the 16 chapters). So I'm hoping to now complete this by the end of 2012. I'm not discouraged with my progress, since I have been reading other things (see some previous posts I made at this blog) and Jen and I have also begun teaching Sunday School for the 7th grade class. It's been good to steadily plug along through the commentaries.

As Martin Luther once said, "We find in [Romans], then, the richest possible teaching about what a Christian should know."

In this first post, I would like to introduce you to the commentaries I've been reading. Then the following posts I will make will be of quotes I kept track of (and posted to Facebook along the way) during my reading with a post by each author. I plan on having 6 subsequent posts of these quotes by posting 3 from the first half of Romans and 3 from the second half.

The first is a standalone volume by WH Griffith Thomas. This is a gem of a commentary from the mid-20th Century. It is labeled as a "devotional commentary" and it is great to read. I picked up a 1956 edition many years ago and have really enjoyed reading it. I had never heard of Thomas, but basically he was an Anglican Dispensationalist who was also one of the founders of Dallas Theological Seminary. There is not a lot of emphasis on linguistics in this commentary. While it is easy to read and Thomas does have a lot of devotional/application material, it also does provide good depth into Romans.

The second is part of the Tyndale New Testament Commentary series by FF Bruce. This is truly a wonderful volume. Bruce may perhaps be my favorite author. He was a professor at University of Manchester and was aligned with the Plymouth Brethren denomination. I have read a lot of books that he has written, and this commentary on Romans is really good. It's laid out a little differently than many other commentaries I've read in that Bruce will often provide his own translation/paraphrase of a section of the scripture followed by a walk-through that may include some information about the Greek as well as references to other ancient writings (such as Dead Sea Scrolls, etc...) and then he will follow it with short comments on individual verses.

The third is from the Crossway Classic Commentaries series by Charles Hodge. Hodge, the great Presbyterian Princeton Preacher. This is by far the most technical commentary I'm reading out of the three. There really is a lot of information that Hodge provides. In some cases, such as with Romans 3:20 and the topic of our justification, he will spend 6 or more pages on a theme from that single verse.

Here are links to all the posts in the series:
Part 2: WH Griffith Thomas on Chapters 1-8
Part 3: FF Bruce on Chapters 1-8
Part 4: Charles Hodge on Chapters 1-8 
Part 5: WH Griffith Thomas on Chapters 9-12
Part 6: Charles Hodge on Chapters 9-12

Quotes from JB Phillips' Your God Is Too Small

I was introduced to JB Phillips many years ago. He is probably most famous for his New Testament in Modern English (a somewhat paraphrased translation of the New Testament, but very well done with a great story behind it!). You can read it online here. But he also wrote a short (140 pages) book titled Your God Is Too Small. I read most of it a few years ago and a little over a month ago I picked it up and started it again. The first half of the book is about many of our misconceptions of God. The second half of the book, though, does not set out to provide a list of proper views of God, but instead Phillips discusses how God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to give us a right understanding of God's nature. If you get a chance, it's a great read. Below are around a dozen quotes that I liked as I was reading through it for myself. I believe all the quotes stand on their own without any further explanation, but if you have any questions please let me know.

We can hardly expect to escape a sense of futility and frustration until we begin to see what He is like and what His purposes are.

To speak the truth was obviously to Him more important than to make His hearers comfortable: though, equally obviously, His genuine love for men gave Him tact, wisdom, and sympathy. He was Love in action, but He was not meek and mild.

So far from encouraging them to escape life He came to bring, in His own words, "life more abundant," and in the end He left His followers to carry out a task that might have daunted the stoutest heart. Original Christianity had certainly no taint of escapism.

[Some Christians] prevent themselves from growing up. So long as they imagine that God is saying 'Come unto Me" when He is really saying "Go out in My Name," they are preventing themselves from ever putting on spiritual muscle, or developing the right sort of independence quite apart from the fact that they achieve very little for the cause to which they believe they are devoted.

God will inevitably appear to disappoint the man who is attempting to use Him as a convenience, a prop, or a comfort, for his own plans. God has never been known to disappoint the man who is sincerely wanting to co-operate with His own purposes.

It is refreshing, and salutary, to study the poise and quietness of Christ. His task and responsibility might well have driven a man out of his mind. But he was never in a hurry, never impressed by numbers, never a slave of the clock. He was acting, he said, as he observed God to act - never in a hurry.

All poetry and music, and art of every true sort, bears witness to man's continual falling in love with beauty, and his desperate attempt to induce beauty to live with him and enrich his common life.... Is it the eternal spirit in a man remembering here in his house of clay the shining joys of his real Home?

We can visualize a beautiful thing, but not beauty; a good man, but not goodness; a true fact, but not truth.

It was the motive and attitude of the heart that He called on men to change, for once the inner affections are aligned with God the outward expression of the life will look after itself.

Further, many people who have a vague childish affection for a half-remembered Jesus, have never used their adult critical faculties on the matter at all. They hardly seem to see the paramount importance of His claim to be God. Yet if for one moment we imagine the claim to be true the mind almost reels at its significance.

But let a man once see his God down in the arena as a Man, suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized - finally dying a criminal's death, he is a hard man indeed who is untouched. 

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7 ESV) - He knew very well, for example, that the followers of His own day would very quickly collapse when the support and inspiration of His own personality were removed by death. He therefore promised them a new Spirit who should provide them with all the courage, moral reinforcement, love, patience, endurance and other qualities which they would need.

Confessions of St. Augustine

Finally, among all of my other reading, I've gotten through reading Confessions completely after starting (again) to read it again back in July. It's definitely a book that you should read if you haven't - I've learned a great deal not just about Augustine's background but also seeing how that has influenced his theology. I don't want this post to be a review of this classic, but instead I just want to post some of the things that stood out to me as I read through it. These are things that I posted to Facebook during the course of my reading. So, here are some things that stood out to me enough during my reading that I would like to keep track of the quotes. I'll preface each one with a thought or two.

This quote reveals how Augustine saw that God was drawing him and persuading him to Himself and then how God continued to lead Augustine after his conversion.

Then Thou, O Lord, little by little with most tender and most merciful hand, touching and composing my heart, didst persuade me. These things I thought on, and Thou wert with me; I sighed, and Thou heardest me; I wavered, and Thou didst guide me; I wandered through the broad way of the world, and Thou didst not forsake me.   - Confessions  6.7.

Here, we see Augustine stating that anything good that he does is only through God. And the evil deeds he did are his own. He adds that we breathe freely with the one [the good deeds] and sigh at the other. We sing hymns or we weep. And asks God to be pleased with the incense offered via the right acts. 

My good deeds are Your appointments, and Your gifts; my evil ones, are my offenses, and Your judgments....and no way forsaking what You have begun, perfect my imperfections.   - Confessions  10.5 

 This one is simple, yet profound - what is happiness in life? Rejoicing to, of, and for God!!

And this is the happy life, to rejoice to You, of You, for You; this is it, and there is no other.  - Confessions 10.32

Along the same lines is the confession of Augustine's heart -  may we have this same hope!!

This is my hope, for this do I live, that I may contemplate the delights of the Lord. - Confessions

Powerful thoughts are in this quote! We often don't pray as we should or comprehend the amazing promise of Romans 8:31 that isn't just a trite promise given to us as believers but carries great weight due to what God has done for us (and what God has done for us is found in Romans 8:28-30 directly before verse 31)!

We hold the promise, who shall make it null? If God be for us who can be against us? Ask, and you shall have; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks shall it be opened. These are Your own promises; and who needs to fear being deceived, when Your truth promises?  - Confessions  12.2

This one reminded me of John 4:13-14 - Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

And now, behold, I return in distress and panting after Your fountain. Let no man forbid me! of this I will drink, and so live. - Confessions  12.10

Here Augustine tells us that we're nothing without God - both inside and out. Anything the world sees as "abundance" is emptiness if it isn't from God.

This only I know, that woe is me except in Thee: not only without but within myself also; and all abundance, which is not my God, is emptiness to me. - Confessions  13.9

I really like this one! Augustine's prayer is that God's work will reflect His majesty to the end that we would love God and that those works will reflect His majesty because we have loved Him. It's very closely related to one of his other famous passages from Confessions. "Grant what Thou commandest, and command what Thou dost desire." (Confessions 10.29)

Let Your works praise You, that we may love You, and let us love You that Your works may praise You. - Confessions 13.48

Augustine ends Confessions in a twofold manner. First, he states several ways we relate to God on a daily basis - asking, seeking, and knocking. He asks that those things shall come to pass - that for which we ask shall be received, for which we seek to find, and that the door be opened when we knock. All of that with an Amen and a Thank You God! This is also very similar to the quotes from 10.29 and 12.2 above.

Let it be asked of Thee, sought in Thee, knocked for at Thee; so, so shall it be received, so shall it be found, so shall it be opened. Amen. GRATIAS TIBI DOMINE - Confessions 13.53

Will I Have a Mansion in Heaven?

What do you think of when you hear the word "mansion?" If you're anything like me, you would think of a large estate someone would have with a huge house. Maybe something like Biltmore? In fact, you would probably have in mind the first definition of "mansion" in the dictionary: "a very large, impressive, or stately residence."


But what does this have to do with Heaven? Do I get a mansion in heaven?


You probably know the verse John 14:2 by heart. And you probably learned it from the King James reading - "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

It's not that there is anything wrong with this reading - especially when you consider that it's from a now 400 year-old English translation (from 1611). In Webster's 1828 Dictionary, "mansion" had a more simple meaning of "Any place of residence; a house; a habitation." But today, we just don't use the term mansion for "a habitation". More modern translations refer to "mansions" in this verse as "dwelling places" (NASB/HCSB) or "rooms" (ESV/NIV) The Greek definition of the word used in this verse is here.


The problem here is with continuing to use the word "mansions" knowing good and well the definition that modern people will have in their mind for that term. The problem is furthered when you have preachers saying things like "some of the greatest mansions in heaven will be the property of unsung heroes here on earth". (Yes, a preacher I know of has said that within the past couple of months...)

Jesus says what he does in John 14:2 to let us know that we would be spending eternity with Him. He wasn't implying that he was going to make us a huge house to live in (and he certainly wasn't stating that there would be different levels of mansion-hood in Heaven!!). Rather, he was saying that he was going to prepare a room for us in the Father's house so that we could be where Jesus was as well! This is part of the hope that we find in this passage - the other being that Jesus will send us the Holy Spirit! Unfortunately, too many people still focus on the "mansion" (whether explicitly or implicitly).

I guess this seems a little random to post about this, but there are a couple of reasons I have done so. One was, of course, the horrible quote above about the "greatest mansions in heaven". Another reason was due to my stumbling on this word being used in a book published in 1937. You may have heard of it - The Hobbit. When they're discussing early in the book about how Smaug acquired his wealth we read "Then he went back and crept in through the Front Gate and routed out all the halls, and lanes, and tunnels, alleys, cellars, mansions, and passages." Reading that made me think about how we still get this verse wrong in the Church today. Clearly Tolkien wasn't referring to the dragon going through all of the huge houses under the mountain in the context of tunnels, cellars, and passages. Neither was Jesus stating that we would all have large houses in heaven! So this example just proves that as recently as 1937 "mansions" was being used to refer to rooms in popular writing.

Oh yeah, one other thing I thought of was the Audio Adrenaline song "Big House". It's a fun little song, and I'm not sure that we'll be playing football in Heaven, but they got this part right in singing "It's a big, big house with lots and lots of rooms."


What do you think?