Good morning. Jesus and His disciples are going up to Jerusalem. It's not that far as the crow flies, but it is all up mountain. That is part of the reason that Jesus was four days late to Lazarus' death. He tells them that He will be delivered up, condemned to death, delivered to the Gentiles, crucified, and raised on the third day. When He spoke to the disciples before, He said He would be killed not that He would be crucified. James and John's mother comes to Him. She wants her sons to sit on His right and left hands. He wants to know if they are able to drink the cup that He is about to drink. They say yeah man. Of course they don't really know what He's about to go through. He tells them that they will drink the cup He's about to drink, but it is not for Him to determine who sits on His left and right but rather His Father’s. This incident makes the other 10 disciples upset with the two. Others want to exercise authority over people; but that is not the way for them. Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. That is so not what they were expecting. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. If Jesus did that, then we should do the same as He. Next time we're going to look at an incident that probably happened because Jesus delayed two days before going to see Lazarus in the tomb. Father thank You that the reader is a servant to others; therefore You exalt him/her. Give him/her the strength and courage to face all of his/her problems.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed

  Good morning. We left John at the entrance of the tomb, stooping and looking in. “Shy” Peter then arrives following John, and enters the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there. So the other disciple, John, who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. It does not say whether or not Peter believed. For as yet they did not understand the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. I’m not exactly sure what it means by their own homes. They were originally from Galilee and would not have had homes in Jerusalem. Perhaps it means the homes where they were staying while in Jerusalem. Apparently, they were not staying in the upper room, or it would have said so. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped (just like John) and looked into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been l...
Read more

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and he granted permission. So he came and took away His body

  Good morning. After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and he granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pounds weight. Remember that myrrh was one of the gifts that the magi brought when Jesus was a baby. Also notice that he had 100 pounds of spices. Normally one does not have that much just lying around the house. Since most likely he was older, he may have been storing it up for when he himself was going to die. Or perhaps while Jesus was hanging on the cross, he went to the merchants and purchased it, because there was no time to do so after Jesus died prior to the beginning of the Sabbath. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. My Bible says that these were thin ...
Read more

Why are you timid, you men of little faith?

  Good morning. Remember that Jesus had given orders that they should depart to the other side (of the lake). While Jesus was asleep in the boat, there arose a great storm, so that the boat was covered with the waves. This was no afternoon shower; it was one of those “make the palm trees bend over and touch the ground" kind of storms. And Jesus just slept through it! He had confidence in His Father to protect Him. The disciples, however, were not confident. They were focusing on the circumstances and not on the word Jesus had given them. They awoke Jesus saying, “save us, Lord; we are perishing!” Jesus had told them to go to the other side; so they should've been confident that they would make it. They did not even think about all of the miracles that Jesus had just finished doing. But even if they had, they probably would've said “well that was one thing, this is something entirely different”. The same thing happens to us. God tells us to do something, and a storm arises....
Read more