Week 6 summary:
Mark 10:1b (which means the last part of verse 1) says (from
the Common English Bible translation):
“Crowds gathered around Him again and, as usual, He taught
them.” Most of the gospel stories are
about the crowds that gathered around Him.
Jesus didn't just make these times social events (although I am sure He
built relationships). His usual approach
to the crowds was to teach them! (The
Message paraphrase says it this way: “A
crowd of people, as was so often the case, went along, and he, as he so often
did, taught them.”)
In this week's readings, Jesus will
be entering Jerusalem for the last time on what we today call Palm Sunday. So what Jesus is teaching will be some of His
last teaching as the day of His crucifixion approaches.
Day 1: Matthew 19; Mark 10, Exodus 20:1-17
A [rich] man approaches Jesus in these passages and wants to
know what he has to do to have eternal life.
Jesus turns the tables and asks the man what the commandments say. Read and compare Matthew 19:18-19 and Mark
10:19. (Jesus is basically reciting
commandments 5-10 of the Ten Commandments.
These 6 commandments are the ones that relate to our horizontal
relationships with other people.) The
man says that he has been keeping those commandments, basically loving
neighbor. Note that the man says nothing
about the first 4 commandments that are related to our vertical relationship –
loving God. Jesus knew this man was
wealthy and knew his heart. The man
probably had allegiances to money that were getting in the way of his
relationship with God. For this man,
selling his possessions was the way to be perfect or complete as Jesus
said. You can't serve two masters, God
and money. It is important to note that
Jesus is not giving instruction to all disciples to sell all of their
possessions. He is speaking specifically
to this individual, at this time, knowing this man's heart. But, Jesus does call everyone to love God and
love neighbor. These commands probably
have an impact on how we should use our resources (time, talent and treasure).
Day 2: Matthew 20-21
One of God's many characteristics is His sovereignty (in
other words, God can and will govern as He sees fit – as long as what He does
fits in His overarching character). See
the parable of the workers in the vineyard – Matthew 20:1-16.
We are called to bear fruit – we are required to bear
fruit for the Kingdom. (See the story
about the fig tree in Matthew 21:18-22.)
Bearing fruit includes repenting of our sins and going in a new
direction – going toward Jesus. If we
don't repent, we won't end up in God's Kingdom (see Matthew 21:28-32). Those that don't heed the warnings given
through the prophets in past times and through Jesus (the Son) in the current
time will not enter God's Kingdom (Matthew 21:33-44).
Day 3: Luke 18:15-19:48
Luke 18:24 - “It is very hard for the wealthy to enter God's
Kingdom.” (CEB) When we have wealth and
are self-sufficient, it is hard for us to surrender ourselves and trust
God. Trusting God and knowing we need
Him requires humility.
But the good news comes in Luke 18:27 - “What is impossible
for humans is possible for God.” In
other words our salvation does not depend on us and what we do but is totally
dependent on God!
Day 4: Mark 11; Zechariah 9:9,
John 12
In John 12:27, Jesus says that He is deeply troubled. He knows what is about to happen to Him and
wonders out loud if He should ask God to save Him from this hour. But He answers His own question by saying
that it is for this reason that He has come into the world. He asks (again out loud) that He would be
glorified and He and everyone else hears a voice from heaven. Jesus says that He didn't need to hear the
voice. The voice was for everyone else
to hear.
John also says (in John 12:37) that Jesus did many
miraculous signs and yet people still did not believe. This fulfilled prophecy from Isaiah.
John's entire gospel was written so that people would
believe. The miraculous signs written in
the book are so that people would believe and be saved. And yet some did not believe. And some don't believe now.
Day 5: Matthew 22; Mark 12
No additional comments.
Day 6: Matthew 23; Luke 20-21
In Matthew 23, as Jesus talks to the crowds, He tells them
to do what the legal experts and Pharisees say, not what they do. They know the law but don't obey it
themselves. They make it look like they
do (on the outside) but on the inside, they are far from the law. They are like white-washed tombs – pretty on
the outside but full of dead bones and filth on the inside. (Matthew 23:27-28)
They do everything for show.
But the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. It is the heart (and our internal motivation)
that John Wesley would say needs to change in order to keep “going on to
perfection” (i.e., Christlikeness).
Day 7: rest
