31th May 2010

Mark 14:27-31 – Jesus predicts Peter’s Denial

• Jesus predicts that all will fall away but Peter’s pride is significant.
• He sees himself separated from three things:
• The other disciples. Even thought he has just drunk from the one cup signifying entering into a communion with the group – a communion relationship that said “we will share one destiny for good or ill”. He immediately decides he will have a separate destiny.
• The Scriptures. Jesus quotes from Zechariah. That book predicts that the Messiah; would be sold for 30 pieces of silver, be betrayed for the price of a potter’s field and would be forsaken by His Talmidim. The passages leading up to the bit Jesus quotes refer to mourning for the one they have pierced. Jesus is quoting from a book that is full of Messianic prophecy and yet Peter’s pride refuses to allow himself to be part of that story.
• The superiority of Jesus. He flatly tells Jesus He is wrong. His pride is ironic; “I believe in your so much that I don’t believe you”.
• Pride comes before a fall but does separation come before pride?
• What am I separating myself from?

28th May 2010

Mark 14:12-26 – The Lord Supper

• The disciples come to Jesus and ask Him where they should prepare His Passover meal. This again reminds me of the master-servant nature of discipleship that has now been lost in our modern Christianity. Serving their rabbi [master] was a way of displaying their passion to learn God’s Word and love for God. They saw their service to God by serving their spiritual leader.
• When Jesus offers the wine it is in one cup that they all drank from. This although I might have hygiene issues was actually really important to the ceremony.
• Sharing one cup in that tradition meant entering into a communion with a person – a communion relationship that said “we will share one destiny for good or ill”. This is why Jesus’ comment that one person would betray Him was in no way random; it was the correct time for Him to point this out. He is basically saying – one of you is lying.
• No ordinary bread was to be seen - leavened bread was where a little old raw fermented dough was added to new dough. It would rise quickly and then rot & decay. The puffiness reminded the Jews of pride and hypocrisy.
• Jesus lifts up this kind of bread and says “this is my body”
• A piece was broken off and hidden – why?
• It was said that the whole bread represented the Jews and the messiah was broken off and hidden away.
• When Jesus holds up the bread – he is also declaring himself the Messiah.
• Praying today that I will realize more and more how Jesus is calling His disciples to be one and to commit to share a common destiny not an individualistic one.
• Am I pursuing my own destiny or a shared one? And how would that change my goals and ambitions?

27th May 2010

Mark 14:1-11 – Jesus is anointed at Bethany

• Jesus is Anointed
• He was not arrested because over the religious holiday the people in the city went from the usual 50,000 to several thousands. It was awash with people and especially pilgrims. The religious leaders would not have wanted to air their dirty linen before so many who possibly admired them from a distance.
• Some general notes on anointing - Oil was not simply used to signify the Holy Spirit but was used for medicine – as I realize that I think of how we are told to get the elders to pour oil on the sick.
• We have perhaps over simplified the meaning of this rather than over spiritualized it. The act of pouring oil was symbolic not just of the Holy Spirit but also of partnership – they would pour ointment on a person and to me at least this speaks of partnership. Partnership of us doing our bit believing that God will do His.
• Perfumes were used for
• Embalming
• Aphrodisiacs
• Medicine
• Hygiene and bathing.
• They were used to anoint Kings.
• They were also were used to send a message. There was a sacred formula of perfumes only used on the priests – it gave them as special aroma that would people would smell when they met or were around the priests of God.
• These perfumes sunk into the skin – they were highly potent and did not easily wash of – they only came off after time.
• Jesus was anointed and everyone he met during the next few days; the people He taught to the people who crucified Him, would have smelt that message.
• He is King,
• He is Holy,
• He is Clean,
• He is precious,
• He will die!
• We are now to be that aroma!
• I am to smell like someone prepared to die.
• Do I?
• Or do I smell like someone planning to be around a long time and heavily invested in this world?

26th May 2010

Mark 13:32-37 – The Day and the our Unknown

• Why is the day & hour unknown?
• Today’s devotional makes me think of Matthew 24 36-51and the notyes I made that day;
• Very interesting notes on the second coming and the messiah.
• Remember [see Flusser book] that for the Jews the coming of the messiah & judgment would happen at the same time. In reality the Messiah came and is to come again.
• In this passage Jesus says that no one except the Father knows when, not even Him.
• He then says that He will come on a day when He is not expected.
• The JNTC in its notes quotes some thinking of the Jews on the coming of the Messiah;
• May the bones of those who calculate the end be blasted away!
• It has been taught that three things come when the mind is diverted: the Messiah, finding a lost article and a scorpion. It then says: So don’t postpone His coming by thinking about it.
• Using these thoughts in The Cloud and the Line – praying for more insight.
• We know that we can speed up His coming but here in Jewish writing it is suggested that we can also slow it down. Can this be true? And if so why?

20th May 2010

Mark 13:1-31 – Signs of the end of the age

• To fully go into this I would need to do a Bible Study but I want time to pray a little more this morning.
• What strikes me is how Jesus is thinking through the implications of what is going to happen to individuals.
• He is not just seeing this from an impersonal fatalistic angle but is obviously concerned about the impact on the people He loves.
• Many people don’t think through the implications of events to others; but Jesus does. It seems that in His mind He is acting out what will happen and has thought through the special problems it will case to some.
• The main initial sign happened of course in 70.A.D.
• This still reminds me of the fact that the rabbis believed we could delay the messiah’s coming by guessing its timing. It seems God wants us to be unconsciously conscious of His second coming… for obvious reasons.
• Praying that I won’t know what I know.

19th May 2010

Mark 12:42-44 – The Widows Offering

• In contrast to a warning about teachers of the law who rip off widows, Jesus now points a widow out as a true giver to God.
• The widow gave the cheapest coins ‘lepta’ or ‘lepton’ singular.
• These coins were old as they were probably the copper prutah, a cheap coin minted during the Hasomean period but still in use in Jesus’ day.
• They were worth one 64^th of a denarius – a denarius was worth a day’s wage.
• She would have put it into one of the 13 inverted trumpet shaped receptacles, These made a noise when money was put in them and was called ‘sounding the trumpets’ – the more money in – the louder the noise others heard.
• Mawunyo Debra the Pais:Ghana Director has just brought a word to the Talmidim Academy – in it she challenged us as to what we were really sacrificing to God. She said to us that because we are on Pais everyone thinks we are sacrificing but in reality for many of us it is just convenient. She used the story of the workers who were all given a denarius even though they worked different amounts of time. To some it is a sacrifice to some it is easy.
• The fact is that in God’s eyes and in the Kingdom of Heaven value is awarded in a different way than on the Kingdom of earth.
• On earth we value something by what is given for something; in Heaven it is valued by what is given up for something.
• God does not look at the money we give but at the money we have left after we have given. It is this that He judges our sacrifice by.
• Praying into Mawunyo’s challenge this morning.
• Note: I started to pray into this and got my mind turned around. I began by praying “Lord show me what it is you want me to sacrifice” and very quickly the ball was thrown back in my court when I felt the immediate answer come back; “it’s up to you”. Of course! God is not asking anything in particular but more He is letting me show Him what I am willing to sacrifice in order to show me your affection. Sacrifice is a better message of love when it is pro-active.

18th May 2010

Mark 12:35-41 – Whose Son is the Christ.

• Jesus starts off by posing a theological question.
• He quotes Psalm 110 – the most quoted part of the OT in the NT. All of Psalm 110 is considered Messianic.
• He is not ridiculing so much as opening people’s minds to a different possibility.
• How can the Messiah by the Son of David if David calls Him Lord? Obviously there is something going on that the teachers of the law do not understand.
• The teachers of the law were part of the Sanhedrin.
• Jesus had obvious issues with them for obvious reasons.
• Here Jesus is playing the classical role of a prophet when the priests are no longer leading the people correctly.
• I am a teacher and must be very careful that I do not use my role to rob or impress people. I must direct my heart to God not to men.

17th May 2010 [b]

Mark 12:28-34 – The Greatest Commandment.

• One of the problems we as Christians have created for ourselves in a simplicity when we think about sin and commandments. In our desire to explain concisely that all sin separates us from God we have implied that all sins are equal.
• That is not true.
• In basic Jewish thought there are three main categories of sin plus light and heavy commandments.
• Rabbis were often asked by their students for the crib notes, [cliff notes usa, York notes uk] – a basic summary. Not because they necessarily wanted to reduce the time to learn something but because these short summaries gave the rabbi an opportunity to sum up the key points.
• One student asked both Shammai and Hillel to teach him the law whilst stood on one leg. Shammai told him to go away; Hillel quoted the negative version of the golden rule.
• Students for example would ask their rabbis for a short summary of the daily prayer “teach us how to pray” – obviously they knew how to pray this was a way of asking “teach us the most important things to pray about” or “help us know how to pray in God’s will”.
• In the same way the teacher of the law asks this question I think genuinely to find out from Jesus what He believes is the most important basis of the rest of the law.
• Jesus says that God is one. In this sense it means – God is unique – there is no other.
• No-where in scripture does the P’shat say God is three in one. However; there are many remezim which are implied. Jesus invoked remez almost 50 times and so we have to understand the remez [hints] were are valid and authorative way of communicating truth.
• In Deuteronomy 6:4 that Jesus quotes there are two: the triple reference to God and the use of the word echad with often means multiple unity [ie ‘one’ cluster of grapes. instead of yachid which nearly always excludes multiple oneness.
• Genesis 1:26 – God uses the pleural “Let us make man in our own image”.
• Isaiah 48:16 – uses three ways of saying God; “there am I; and now Adonai God and His Spirit has sent me”.
• Lastly note: Jesus adds “with all your understanding” which is not included in the Hebrew of Deut 6:5. Without understanding of course, there can be no Kavanah.
• Praying for understanding.

17th May 2010 [a]

Mark 12:18-27 – Marriage at the Resurrection

• After the Pharisees and Herodians fail the Sadducees have a pop at Jesus.
• What is very interesting here [as I’ve already taught in the Talmidim series] is not simply Jesus’ answer but how He answers.
• You could say a drash in the Torah was worth 3 in the Tanakh.
• Jesus uses a Drash when there were far better examples of P’shat.
• Here He gives his interpretation of Exodus 3:6 rather than more obvious answers found in Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2 and Job 19:26. Why?
• Because the Sadducees only saw the Pentateuch as absolutely authoritative. They only believed these first five books of Moses as binding.
• The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, angels, immortality of the soul, the doctrine of reward and punishment and neither the authority of the rest of the Tanakh nor the validity of the oral law.
• So rather than use all the Tanakh, He instead points to what they know as true.
• Although the other passages He could have used were true; there was no point in using them. Unless, of course, all He was interested in was being right.
• I need to pray to love others enough to work at communicating things in a way they understand [or to grow their understanding],rather than just settling for being right.

14th May 2010

Mark 12:13-17 – Paying Taxes to Caesar.

• Jesus on temple Mount, He is in a region where taxes are expected – this question would possibly not have arisen if He was in Galilee.
• The religious elite who had now decided to plot to kill him based on the parable of the vineyard decide to send the Pharisees and the Herodians. That is interesting because normally these two would oppose each other.
• The Herodians a political party supported Herod and the Roman government.
• The Pharisees a religious party hated Herod and wanted freedom from Rome.
• However in their desire to get rid of Jesus, they united on one thing they did agree – taxes.
• The Herdoans obviously were supportive of the tax.
• Even though other religious groups such as the Zealots said no way; the Pharisees turned to the book of Jeremiah – where he says God gave Israel to Nebuchadnezzar – saying that God gave it to Rome. So they to some degree acknowledged the tax but in other ways did not.
• There is a difference here in some commentators saying that they had opposite views and some thinking they had similar views [JNTC vs RVL]
• What is for sure is they united in order to trap[ Jesus. If he said don’t pay taxes He would be in trouble with the Romans – if He said pay taxes He would be in trouble with many of the Jews.
• Jesus does not give an altogether straight answer but essentially answers with a principle.
• The better word for taxes is tribute. Paying this tax also was an acknowledgement that someone is Lord. Basically they are asking Him; should we give the money that says he is God as he is declared to be?
• Jesus asks – have you got a coin? Well if someone even had a coin it tells you to some degree where they stood. If the Pharisees had had one on them this would have been a little embarrassing for them.
• He asks them whose image is on the coin the coin of Jesus’ day – the coin with the new Caesar – Caesar Tiberius [the son of Augustus]. The inscription would be ‘a worshipped son of a worshipped God”. Specifically: Augustus Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus.
• He is saying give to Caesar what is Caesar but God what is God’s – in doing this He is importantly saying… there is a difference!
• Cleverly however – He also says pay the tax.
• He does three things here:
• Aligns himself with the Jews – He is saying that Caesar is Caesar but that God is God – a contradiction of the Imperial Cult.
• Does not break the Roman law. The coins with Caesars picture are returned to Caesar.
• Helps those genuinely struggling with the issue to see a way forward by giving them insight and wisdom.
• He is declaring only God to be God – his talmidim would die later, because of that one thing! They would serve Caesar in almost anything but they would not acknowledge him as God. What they truly valued was not seen by what they gave… their taxes, duty, responsibilities. It was seen but by what they kept for themselves nothing – not even their life.
• In the Kingdom of Heaven things are not valued as they are on earth. They are not valued by what you give for them but by what you lose for them.
• CR: above with David – I will not sacrifice to my God something that cost me nothing.
• Praying today for more insight on this principle. 

14th May 2010

Mark 12:13-17 – Paying Taxes to Caesar.

• Jesus on temple Mount, He is in a region where taxes are expected – this question would possibly not have arisen if He was in Galilee.
• The religious elite who had now decided to plot to kill him based on the parable of the vineyard decide to send the Pharisees and the Herodians. That is interesting because normally these two would oppose each other.
• The Herodians a political party supported Herod and the Roman government.
• The Pharisees a religious party hated Herod and wanted freedom from Rome.
• However in their desire to get rid of Jesus, they united on one thing they did agree – taxes.
• The Herdoans obviously were supportive of the tax.
• Even though other religious groups such as the Zealots said no way; the Pharisees turned to the book of Jeremiah – where he says God gave Israel to Nebuchadnezzar – saying that God gave it to Rome. So they to some degree acknowledged the tax but in other ways did not.
• There is a difference here in some commentators saying that they had opposite views and some thinking they had similar views [JNTC vs RVL]
• What is for sure is they united in order to trap[ Jesus. If he said don’t pay taxes He would be in trouble with the Romans – if He said pay taxes He would be in trouble with many of the Jews.
• Jesus does not give an altogether straight answer but essentially answers with a principle.
• The better word for taxes is tribute. Paying this tax also was an acknowledgement that someone is Lord. Basically they are asking Him; should we give the money that says he is God as he is declared to be?
• Jesus asks – have you got a coin? Well if someone even had a coin it tells you to some degree where they stood. If the Pharisees had had one on them this would have been a little embarrassing for them.
• He asks them whose image is on the coin the coin of Jesus’ day – the coin with the new Caesar – Caesar Tiberius [the son of Augustus]. The inscription would be ‘a worshipped son of a worshipped God”. Specifically: Augustus Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus.
• He is saying give to Caesar what is Caesar but God what is God’s – in doing this He is importantly saying… there is a difference!
• Cleverly however – He also says pay the tax.
• He does three things here:
• Aligns himself with the Jews – He is saying that Caesar is Caesar but that God is God – a contradiction of the Imperial Cult.
• Does not break the Roman law. The coins with Caesars picture are returned to Caesar.
• Helps those genuinely struggling with the issue to see a way forward by giving them insight and wisdom.
• He is declaring only God to be God – his talmidim would die later, because of that one thing! They would serve Caesar in almost anything but they would not acknowledge him as God. What they truly valued was not seen by what they gave… their taxes, duty, responsibilities. It was seen but by what they kept for themselves nothing – not even their life.
• In the Kingdom of Heaven things are not valued as they are on earth. They are not valued by what you give for them but by what you lose for them.
• CR: above with David – I will not sacrifice to my God something that cost me nothing.
• Praying today for more insight on this principle. 

13th May 2010

Mark 12:1-12 – The Parable of the Vineyard Tenants.

• Fairly obvious as to what Jesus is saying here.
• He describes a group of tenants who are obviously an analogy for the religious elite – chief priests, elders and teachers of the law. They are just stewards of what God has entrusted to them.
• They do not give back to God what they owe Him and when He has sent prophets to remind them to do this they either beat or kill them.
• So finally God sends His Son [Jesus] – when it says that the owner of the vineyard “thinks to Himself” – it is not suggesting that god was caught by surprise more that there was a sense of Him thinking “you would think that surely…”.
• The tenants kill the son expecting to inherit and grab hold of everything finally to themselves.
• Interestingly; the scripture that Jesus quotes is from the same Psalm that just a few verses later describes Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem a few days earlier.
• So there is a double whammy here for his questioners;
• Firstly the parable that tells them that they have killed God’s prophets and are about to kill His son.
• Secondly the remez where Jesus tells them basically look ‘You rejected me – the Son - I am the capstone – look at how I just got here – it was prophesied in advance!”.
• I need to be challenged as a leader that I can fall into the same trap that they did. Also that I must keep my heart soft because after all of this – after the very clear indications; they were so bent on power, status etc and their hearts were so hard that they still did exactly what Jesus was warning them about.
• Praying for a soft heart today.

12th May 2010

Mark 11:27-33– Jesus’ authority is questioned.

• Jesus was audacious in His teaching and His actions.
• The religious elite approach him and ask where His s’mikhah comes from. They had formularized and systemized the whole business of authority – especially in the area of teaching.
• To be able to teach halakhah you had to receive a certain type of authority. Especially if you were bringing new interpretation and authority as Jesus was doing. Three people [usually elders] had to lay hands on you and pass on this authority; one of them had to have received s’mikhah themselves.
• Three things to learn here.
• Firstly Jesus had received s’mikhah and it had come from understanding authority but not in the way that this spiritual Mafioso were demanding it had to be received. Authority is given by God to those who understand authority and to those who are honoring and submissive to authority. Jesus certainly did this. He mentions John which is poignant because in humility and submission, He was baptized by John – some say His S’mikhah was evidently given Him at His baptism.
• Secondly; Jesus was a prophet. In the OT especially God used two types of people to spiritually lead Israel; priests and prophets.
• Priests had religious duties of the nation, Holidays, sacrifices, observations, feasts & fasts. The Key to their service was regularity & regulations. They were qualified through blood & study. Traced their lineage through Aaron.
• At points however these traditions because dead and lifeless and at that point God rose up…
• Prophets. They often had no formal qualifications or particular bloodline. McClaren: The only credential they possessed was a kind of self-authenticating passion and unavoidable moral substance. They emphasized the heart not routine and spoke on behalf of God for the benefit of someone else: the poor, underprivileged, weak downtrodden. They always promised a new world order where these people would benefit.
• Those questioning Jesus had conveniently forgotten this fact and perhaps did not want to allude to Jesus being a prophet. But Jesus uses John to raise the issue as Jesus was commonly seen in the mold of a typical prophet.
• Thirdly; Jesus yet again refuses to be boxed in to a line of questioning that he knows will lead away from the real issue. The whole line of questioning is a red herring. A typical tactic of Jesus’ attackers were to ignore the big issues God was speaking about and waste time on minutia in order bring about their selfish purposes.
• But Jesus wasn’t playing.
• We need to learn that it is sometimes better not to answer the question. It forces people to take action based on their real motives.
• Praying for authority today.

11th May 2010

Mark 11:12-26– Jesus cursed the fig tree and clears the Temple.

• A fig in Jerusalem at that time would not normally have fruit but the unripe fruit would begin to show itself. A tree in leaf would have fruit. Plus it would also be see from a distance.
• In this ‘enacted parable’ Jesus curses the fig tree which of course is a symbol of Israel because it has the appearance that promises fruit but when you get close it has none.
• Then Jesus enters the temple courts. This was the first court as was the one where gentile ‘God-fearers’ were allowed to go into. But the space was being restricted by the business that was going on there. Animals were being sold so pilgrims could but sacrifices and money was being changed so they could pay their annual temple tax in the local currency.
• There were various courts in Herod’s temple. He had wanted to build something to compete with the huge impressive pagan temples but had to work with the Biblical specs of the old Solomon temple. So although he kept to the original size that was very small compared to the pagan temples, he built additions to give it a sense of vastness and size. So his Temple precincts were enormous. A succession of concentric courts each got holier as you go closer to the proper temple.
• Court of the Gentiles – open to Jews and god-fearing gentiles adhering to the Noahide laws who would be given a place in the kingdom to come. This had in it the merchants, stalls and money-changers. The beggars and blind were here and so were children.
• Court of Women – Only Jews men and women could go in here. These courts contained the chests for tithes and the poor widows contribution.
• Court of Israel – only ritually clean Jewish men could enter here. When Jesus had come the previous evening and had a look around – he got as far as this court.
• Court of the Temple/temple approach – only priests could go here. It was so holy there were golden spikes on the roof so that birds would not settle and defile it.
• Temple Proper – you first came to the Holy Place which contained the lamp stand, the table for the bread of presence and the incense alter. Then the Most Holy Place which was separated off by a heavy embroidered curtain. Here was a single rock where the High Priest offered incense and sprinkled blood annually.
• It was built from 20BC and finished in ten years but was decorated up until 63AD
• The Jews were very proud of this place even the disciples drew Jesus attention to it. At that time Jesus prophesied it would be destroyed and it later was.
• Then they leave to go and stay with Mary, Martha and Lazarus as they did each night that week. The next morning they went back and passed the fig tree which is now withered. Jesus tells them if they have the same faith  that they could do even greater things.
• Both the temple and the tree are similar and hold a lesson to me. Appearance is not as importance as function.
• Both promised much, both drew your attention to them but only closer inspection by Jesus they were both cursed for the same reason. The figs did not provide the sustenance they seemed to offer and the temple did not provide the house of prayer for all nations because that area was being used for other reasons; the money-changers and merchants who were using it as a short cut to the Mount of Olives.
• Praying for integrity today.

Schedule Break

I am at the Talmidim Academy with some key Pais leaders over the next two weeks.


There will be no internet and so I will not be able to post my morning devotions. I will however collect them and post them on my return.

7th May 2010

Mark 10:1-11 – Jesus’ Triumphal entry

• Had to do a bit of cross-referencing here.
• The Jews shout Hosanna – which on the face of things seems to simply be praise but is actually a request.
• It literally means “Save, please!”
• John tells us in 12:13 that the branches were palm leaves. Palm leaves were highly symbolic and strongly linked to military victory.
• They were mixed with three other plants to create a lulab – an object that was shaken when Psalm 118:25 was recited.
• “O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.”
• John tells us these words were shouted as Jesus enters Jerusalem.
• Interesting this is the Psalm that Jesus is quoting when He says “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone”; Psalm 118:22
• He says this while he tells the parable of the vineyard. Is he hinting about who He is?
• NB: The failed revolution of Bar Kokba had a coin bearing a Lulab

• So basically as Jesus is entering Jerusalem the people are pleading with him to save them. The Zealots and others are waving branches totally associated with revolution. There is huge expectation and pressure here to rid them of the Romans and is almost an open act of revolution
• Interesting that the section finishes which Jesus pottering around the temple and there nothing going on so He immediately leaves Jerusalem and goes to Bethany for the evening.
• Anyway – just realizing how much pressure was on Jesus after three years of teaching – people had still not understood how He was going to do what He was going to do. He was going to answer their request but not in the same way they expected. Again goes back to the fact that sometimes you see God better when you don’t dictate what He looks like.
• Wonder where I’m missing Him because of that?

5th May 2010

Mark 10:46-52 – The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus [plus one].

• Again gives in insight into Jesus’ state of mind.
• Firstly on the surface there is a contradiction. This story is told in more than just Mark’s account but also in matthew and Luke. According the Matthew and Mark, Jesus was leaving the city of Jericho. According to Luke, he was entering it.
• Oh no! The Bible is wrong – lets all go become Buddhist.
• Well, not really. The fact is there were two Jericho’s. The Old Testament, ancient city built somewhere around 7000 bc that was no inhabited but pretty much in ruins. The New Jericho, a modern Roman Spa built by Herod.
• It seems Jesus was leaving the old Jericho and approaching the new one which was on the road from the old one to Jerusalem.
• And there’s the key.
• This road was a pilgrim’s way. What is significant about that? It was strewn with beggars. The blind, the lame the mute, etc would gather there to receive alms and help from those travelling on the religiously significant road.
• Yet Jesus passed them all by.
• Jesus was the most powerful passerby of all time.
• Along with most of all of Jesus miracles it was not Jesus who instigated the miracle but the one who received it. While others stayed quiet, Bartimaeus shouted out. It was audacious and brave and brash – but Jesus responded.
• He shouted out something very significant ‘Son of David’ – this was the title of the Messiah.
• A blind man could see what others were blind to… who Jesus is.
• The reason we cannot see Jesus move in our lives it not because we don’t know what he looks like but because we have decided in advance how He looks.
• Paradoxically; To see Jesus in my life I have to first become blind.

5th May 2010

Mark 10:32-45 – The Request of James and John.

• I’m beginning to see a real thread here in Jesus’ life and leadership.
• To fully understand what is going on here we have to cross-reference this story with the Matthew account. Mark is the briefer stripped down version.
• Matthew explains that the two young men approached their mother who asked on their behalf. This was not really cowardice but custom. It was the etiquette of the day that if you were to ask for something it might seem crass to ask for it directly. Going through this third party allowed the person to say no to the third party and therefore no one would loose honor [similar to Asian customs now].
• What is interesting is that even though the mother speaks both accounts teach us that he did not answer the third party, the mother, but instead addressed the real source; the brothers.
• This is similar to yesterday – Jesus always addresses the real source or problem. He often ignores the customary manners of the day to do this.
• Its odd because yesterday I was chatting with Rob about the importance of leaders hunting down issues and confronting them when weaker leadership often ignores issues or deals with them through a third party.
• Also reminds me of George Bana at a recent conference saying that the best leaders look for issues to resolve whereas poor leaders only react when they are forced to.
• Also leading up to this Jesus is leading the disciples into Jerusalem – they are astonished and worried and so again Jesus confronts the real issues [v 32-34].
• Need to continue to pray for courage and also insight. Plus maybe contact the Pais ND’s and help them think this through.

4th May 2010

Mark 10:13-31 – Jesus speaks to the rich young ruler.

• A lesson in having the courage of your convictions.
• Jesus yet again responds to a question: what must I do to inherit eternal life?
• He does not have a standard answer to this. Jesus never really uses the 4 spiritual laws. Instead He seems to see into the heart of a person and ask for the one thing that they have made god. In this case, wealth.
• Interesting; if I preached that you could gain eternal life by giving your money a way to the poor I’d get shot by Christians J.
• Anyway; the point is not really that generosity leads to eternal life  but Jesus seeing the thing inside the man that is presently elevated over God.
• Although the man is a ruler and has power and although he is wealthy and has potential resources to help Jesus on His mission; Jesus does not in any way compromise.
• It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
• More recently this phrased has been dumb down slightly by pseudo-archeological commentary. It is said that in the large doors of the middle east made to allow large animals to enter a courtyard, a smaller people-sized door was cut out for convenience and these doors were called Needle’s eyes. It has also been said that even larger doors uses to allow caravan’s into a city had smaller doors and that a camel could get through if it got down on its knees and therefore Jesus was emphasizing humility.
• Problem is; the name for these doors came after Jesus’ statement not before it.
• The name of the doors did not influence Jesus’ message but it seems his message has influenced the name of the doors.
• I must not be tempted to tone down the truth that I know. Especially when it could appear that if I do I could receive support for the mission I am on.
• The end does not justify the means.
• Praying for courage today.

3rd May 2010

Mark 10:1-12 – Jesus answers questions on divorce.

• Several different things to think/pray about here.
• First, Jesus tells us that the reason the law was given in Deuteronomy 24 is because the people’s hearts were hard. The law was about justice; previous to that a lot of people did unjust things and so the law came in to set just boundaries. In this case it forced men to divorce their wives only if they found ‘indecency within her’.
• The problem is – as per usual – that is open to translation. Hillel said that burning a meal was grounds for divorce. My guess here is that even them he was probably referring functionally to more than just one meal but a poor or incompetent cook [perhaps due to lack of appropriate care/laziness?]
• Shammai interpreted indecency as unchastity.
• Jesus sides with Shammai. Which is interesting for a couple of reasons:
1. He often sides with Hillel. Hillel was about 30 years older than Jesus and Jesus uses Hillel’s 7 rules of exegesis in his teaching. It is one of the things that gave his teaching authority as Hillel’s techniques were cutting edge and recognized as legitimate in the days of Jesus.
2. There was/is a Jewish tradition that in the times of the Messiah that the stricter rules of beit-shammai [the house of] would become the standard.
• This is another example of Jesus tending to give halakhic teaching only to questions. He leads with Haggadah but responds with Halakha when pressed. I am convinced that He was much more prone to want to discuss the heart of the matter than the rules./ He would happily discuss the rules but only after He first taught understanding as to why they were there in the first place.
• I need to pray that I become like that!
• I don’t want to be the rules person but the heart person but to do that I need to be in love with Jesus not simply His rules.