Jesus 3 1/2 years of public ministry was an extremely busy time. I have had this "picture in my mind" of Christ always seeking to get by Himself to pray, and then coming into daily situations that He simply responded to...people getting healed, questions about Eternal Life, and the challenges of the Jewish religious hierarchy.
Yet, as I read and study more on Christ Jesus...I think He was much more aggressive in the daily affairs He addressed in His life on earth...like He almost "looked for trouble", or at the least never shied away from it. Evil had its "hands full" everyday Jesus lived His life here...and it must have been "one wild ride" to have been called by Christ Jesus Himself to be a disciple.
I can only imagine waking up each morning being a disciple with Jesus. The first thing the disciples probably did was to see if He was there with Him...I could just hear them "Ok..where is He at now?"or..."O man, what is He up to today?"
It had to be one day after another of unexpected surprises! I was just pondering the other day about the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus and the disciples fed the 5000. The disciples had run up to Jesus and said, "Jesus, all we have are a few fish(sardines) and a little bread that some kid has brought...and there are 5000 people here.. and they are all hungry." In fact, in John 6 Jesus asks Phillip; "Where are we going to get enough bread to feed all these people?" Now I know Jesus knew exactly what to do, He was just seeing how the disciples would react to His question. Now I am thinking the disciples have the thought in the "back of their minds" of what He had done at Cana...turning the water into wine. Maybe He would do a similar act here with the 5000.
Then, only a few months later..."deja vu."It happened again. This time it was 4000 people. And what did Jesus say to the disciples?...."You feed them."
My first response if I had been one of the disciples?..."Great...just great (sarcastically), not again...and how in the world are we to do that?"
Yea...following Jesus...not exactly a life where everyone sits cross-legged and chant "words of wisdom." In fact, any dictionary found in heaven probably does not even have the word "boring"...I am convinced of one thing..Jesus was full of surprises...daily!
Gleanings from Mark 11:18-33
" In the meantime, the scribes, teachers of the Jewish Law, and the high priests themselves were getting "wind" on all the things Christ had been doing in the last couple of days. Christ had drawn attention with His entry into Jerusalem, the spreading of palm leaves by the crowds in respect and honor to who they believed He was....the new King of Israel. Along with that, the fig tree was "incoming news", and of course the disruption in the Temple.
So, a decision was made. They had to find a way to get rid of Him. These leaders of the Jewish Law made plans and actually design a plot to destroy Him...for good.
Here was the problem in all this: the people of Israel. The Leaders of the Jewish sect were afraid of Christ and particularly His influence on the people...especially if they found out they had designed a plot to get rid of Him. The people of Israel had fallen in love with Jesus and were amazed at all He had done, and were drawn to His way of teaching...defining the true meaning of living out their lives by having faith in the Lord God.
So, once again, when the evening had come, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city of Jerusalem, to get away from the crowds that had come for the yearly Passover.
The next morning as they were returning to Jerusalem, the disciples and Jesus passed by the fig tree that Christ had addressed the day before and had said: "Because this tree has no fruit, it will never bear fruit again." The disciples now noticed this very fig tree had withered...and it had withered from its very roots.
Peter remembered what Christ had spoke and said aloud;" Look Master, the fig tree...it is totally withered...it has shriveled from the roots up and is dead!"
Jesus replied to Peter's comment, addressing all the disciples and said:" Learn to put your faith and trust in the Lord God, and His Way of Life...the True Life He has for each one of you. When you see daily practices that do not honor God, when you see the poor being taken advantage of, and when you see leaders that have no concern for their people...don't think for even a moment these things will hinder the Way of True Life God has for His people.
Even when it appears these wrongful ways of life are hurting others...and it would seem it is just too much to come against...looking like a large mountain to your very eyes...put your trust in God. Trust Him, for I tell you right now you can speak to this "large" mountain, these selfish abusive ways of life that is against the God-embraced Life and say: " You mountain that comes against the Lord God and His Ways....be pulled out...from the very roots of your foundation...and find your new home...in the depths of the Sea! Your evil control of God's people has been exposed...and now you will find your perverse ways...gone!....into the depths of the Abyss."
When you stand firm and believe this is entirely possible, then you will see things happen....captives set free and they will see clearly for themselves..the True Way of Life God has for them. Trust Me, God will stop at nothing...to free His people!
That is really what prayer is all about...when you have others as your primary concern...for it is in that frame of mind you are able to pray about anything...believe what you ask for...and it will really happen!
Just remember, when you are praying, and your focus is on others, do not hold grudges against anyone...failing to forgive one another.
If you find yourself in that state, here is the first thing you must do: forgive others, and let go of any grudges you hold against others...instead giving all this to God. That way, God, who is now your very Father in heaven, can forgive you.
If your decision is not to forgive what others might have done to you...then how can you ask the Father to forgive you?...for He is quite aware of the things you have done to offend Him.
Now Jesus was in Jerusalem, and He had entered the Temple, and was walking through the Temple. It was there the High Priests, the religious scholars, and leaders of the Jewish law confronted Him. They walked up to Jesus and demanded: "By whose authority are You doing all these things? What credentials do You have that gives You the right to exercise these things like turning over the money changers tables...right here...in front of everyone...during the Passover?!"
Jesus, upon hearing the questions they had addressed Him, responded in this manner: " I'll tell you what, I will answer your questions you have about Me...if you will simply answer one question I have of you?"
So, these Jewish leaders agreed and Jesus asks them this question: " In regards to John the Baptist..and his credentials: Was John authorized to baptize from Heaven's Command, or did he seek you "guys" out to get permission to baptize people?"
Then, the leaders of the Jewish Law, including the High Priests, backed off from Jesus for a moment, and spoke among themselves...quietly...they did not want anyone to hear their discussion. They whispered: " If we answer John's authority came from Heaven itself...He will "nail us" with this comeback answer "Why do we not believe then what John had preached to everyone? And, if we say John's preaching had been approved by us...then all these people gathered here for Passover will get upset because they all believe John was a prophet..sent straight from God Himself, not needing any approval from us or anyone."
So, the leaders thought and finally agreed, the best answer to give Jesus was: "We really don't know...we don't have an answer for You."
Jesus, then replied to them: "Then, if you don't know the answer to my question...how could you even begin to understand My answer to your questions...so, I will not reveal to You the Authority that has been given Me."
Yet, as I read and study more on Christ Jesus...I think He was much more aggressive in the daily affairs He addressed in His life on earth...like He almost "looked for trouble", or at the least never shied away from it. Evil had its "hands full" everyday Jesus lived His life here...and it must have been "one wild ride" to have been called by Christ Jesus Himself to be a disciple.
I can only imagine waking up each morning being a disciple with Jesus. The first thing the disciples probably did was to see if He was there with Him...I could just hear them "Ok..where is He at now?"or..."O man, what is He up to today?"
It had to be one day after another of unexpected surprises! I was just pondering the other day about the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus and the disciples fed the 5000. The disciples had run up to Jesus and said, "Jesus, all we have are a few fish(sardines) and a little bread that some kid has brought...and there are 5000 people here.. and they are all hungry." In fact, in John 6 Jesus asks Phillip; "Where are we going to get enough bread to feed all these people?" Now I know Jesus knew exactly what to do, He was just seeing how the disciples would react to His question. Now I am thinking the disciples have the thought in the "back of their minds" of what He had done at Cana...turning the water into wine. Maybe He would do a similar act here with the 5000.
Then, only a few months later..."deja vu."It happened again. This time it was 4000 people. And what did Jesus say to the disciples?...."You feed them."
My first response if I had been one of the disciples?..."Great...just great (sarcastically), not again...and how in the world are we to do that?"
Yea...following Jesus...not exactly a life where everyone sits cross-legged and chant "words of wisdom." In fact, any dictionary found in heaven probably does not even have the word "boring"...I am convinced of one thing..Jesus was full of surprises...daily!
Gleanings from Mark 11:18-33
" In the meantime, the scribes, teachers of the Jewish Law, and the high priests themselves were getting "wind" on all the things Christ had been doing in the last couple of days. Christ had drawn attention with His entry into Jerusalem, the spreading of palm leaves by the crowds in respect and honor to who they believed He was....the new King of Israel. Along with that, the fig tree was "incoming news", and of course the disruption in the Temple.
So, a decision was made. They had to find a way to get rid of Him. These leaders of the Jewish Law made plans and actually design a plot to destroy Him...for good.
Here was the problem in all this: the people of Israel. The Leaders of the Jewish sect were afraid of Christ and particularly His influence on the people...especially if they found out they had designed a plot to get rid of Him. The people of Israel had fallen in love with Jesus and were amazed at all He had done, and were drawn to His way of teaching...defining the true meaning of living out their lives by having faith in the Lord God.
So, once again, when the evening had come, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city of Jerusalem, to get away from the crowds that had come for the yearly Passover.
The next morning as they were returning to Jerusalem, the disciples and Jesus passed by the fig tree that Christ had addressed the day before and had said: "Because this tree has no fruit, it will never bear fruit again." The disciples now noticed this very fig tree had withered...and it had withered from its very roots.
Peter remembered what Christ had spoke and said aloud;" Look Master, the fig tree...it is totally withered...it has shriveled from the roots up and is dead!"
Jesus replied to Peter's comment, addressing all the disciples and said:" Learn to put your faith and trust in the Lord God, and His Way of Life...the True Life He has for each one of you. When you see daily practices that do not honor God, when you see the poor being taken advantage of, and when you see leaders that have no concern for their people...don't think for even a moment these things will hinder the Way of True Life God has for His people.
Even when it appears these wrongful ways of life are hurting others...and it would seem it is just too much to come against...looking like a large mountain to your very eyes...put your trust in God. Trust Him, for I tell you right now you can speak to this "large" mountain, these selfish abusive ways of life that is against the God-embraced Life and say: " You mountain that comes against the Lord God and His Ways....be pulled out...from the very roots of your foundation...and find your new home...in the depths of the Sea! Your evil control of God's people has been exposed...and now you will find your perverse ways...gone!....into the depths of the Abyss."
When you stand firm and believe this is entirely possible, then you will see things happen....captives set free and they will see clearly for themselves..the True Way of Life God has for them. Trust Me, God will stop at nothing...to free His people!
That is really what prayer is all about...when you have others as your primary concern...for it is in that frame of mind you are able to pray about anything...believe what you ask for...and it will really happen!
Just remember, when you are praying, and your focus is on others, do not hold grudges against anyone...failing to forgive one another.
If you find yourself in that state, here is the first thing you must do: forgive others, and let go of any grudges you hold against others...instead giving all this to God. That way, God, who is now your very Father in heaven, can forgive you.
If your decision is not to forgive what others might have done to you...then how can you ask the Father to forgive you?...for He is quite aware of the things you have done to offend Him.
Now Jesus was in Jerusalem, and He had entered the Temple, and was walking through the Temple. It was there the High Priests, the religious scholars, and leaders of the Jewish law confronted Him. They walked up to Jesus and demanded: "By whose authority are You doing all these things? What credentials do You have that gives You the right to exercise these things like turning over the money changers tables...right here...in front of everyone...during the Passover?!"
Jesus, upon hearing the questions they had addressed Him, responded in this manner: " I'll tell you what, I will answer your questions you have about Me...if you will simply answer one question I have of you?"
So, these Jewish leaders agreed and Jesus asks them this question: " In regards to John the Baptist..and his credentials: Was John authorized to baptize from Heaven's Command, or did he seek you "guys" out to get permission to baptize people?"
Then, the leaders of the Jewish Law, including the High Priests, backed off from Jesus for a moment, and spoke among themselves...quietly...they did not want anyone to hear their discussion. They whispered: " If we answer John's authority came from Heaven itself...He will "nail us" with this comeback answer "Why do we not believe then what John had preached to everyone? And, if we say John's preaching had been approved by us...then all these people gathered here for Passover will get upset because they all believe John was a prophet..sent straight from God Himself, not needing any approval from us or anyone."
So, the leaders thought and finally agreed, the best answer to give Jesus was: "We really don't know...we don't have an answer for You."
Jesus, then replied to them: "Then, if you don't know the answer to my question...how could you even begin to understand My answer to your questions...so, I will not reveal to You the Authority that has been given Me."
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