Lesson 910

(Lesson 910)(03-08-14) Mark:12:12-17

"And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way. And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him."

In this quote, Jesus simply confirms that we are obligated to pay our taxes to the government.

In the same statement Jesus also tells us to give to God the things which belong to Him. That means that, if we belong to God in faith, we are to give all of ourselves to Him.

There might be some who don't understand what "render unto" means, and there might also those who don't understand what "tribute" means. So that this is clear to all, "render unto" means to give to, or pay to, "tribute" is simply tax money. ~

Lesson 909

(Lesson 909)(03-07-14) Mark 12:1-11

"And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"

In today's lesson, Jesus told the scribes, priests, and elders, the parable of the "Lord of the vineyard and his husbandmen".

That parable is an analogy of the history of God's once chosen people, the Jews, and how they had failed and denied Him through their disobedience of Him and His laws.

The parable describes how that, every time God sent a prophet to deliver and heal Israel, that prophet wound up tortured and eventually, either chased away or killed.

The "Son" mentioned in the parable, represents Jesus Himself, the Son of God. The rebellious and denying Jews ridiculed and eventually crucified Him Just as Jesus said they would.

There are two individual lessons contained in today's quote, the first relates how the Jews had failed God many, many times.

The second concerns this part of the quote, "What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others."

Jesus very plainly tells us herein that the "chosen" relationship the Jews had enjoyed with God would be revoked, or taken away, ("he will come and destroy the husbandmen") when they killed (crucified) Jesus, the Son.

It also tells us, in essence, that the "chosen" status that once belonged exclusively to the Jews, would thereafter be taken from them and bestowed upon someone else. A further study of the gospel tells us that through the work of the Apostle Paul and others, the Gentiles inherited that "chosen" status through membership in His kingdom (The Church).

Ironically, there are many "Christians" today who still believe the Jews, as a nation, remain God's chosen people and that we should protect them at all costs. That assertion is simply and scripturally unfounded.

This parable clearly establishes that after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the Church would become, and would remain, the chosen of God.~

Lesson 908

(Lesson 908)(03-06-14) Mark 11:27-33

"And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things."

This lesson demonstrates the unwillingness of the Jewish authority to accept Jesus as the promised Messiah.

When the priests, scribes, and elders asked Jesus by what authority He taught, Jesus challenged them with a very important question, He asked, "The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?" The Jewish authority feared that John was a prophet of God and therefore their uncertainty wouldn't allow them to answer the question.

We should examine very closely the question Jesus asked in reference to the "baptism" of John.

Most "Christians" today would have you believe that when one of the phrases "the baptism of John" or "John's baptism", are used, they always imply the use of water. Nothing could be further from the truth. As is obvious by the reasoning of the Jews when they said, "If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, WHY DID YE NOT BELIEVE HIM? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people". One cannot "believe", or disbelieve, a water baptism. It either occurs, or it does not. However, one CAN believe a doctrine, or a preached message. Therefore, in the above quote, the phrase "the baptism of John", refers explicitly to the message, or doctrine of repentance John was ordained by God to preach. The term "baptism", as it is applied in this quote, had nothing to do with water.~

As we continue this study, we will find that the above mentioned misinterpretation of the term "baptism", or any of its grammatical variations as they are applied in the gospel of Jesus Christ, is prevalent among many "Christian" denominations.

Exposing the truth about those misinterpretations are paramount to understanding God's plan for the eternal salvation of our souls.~

Lesson 907

(Lesson 907)(03-05-14) Mark 11:19-26

"And when even was come, he went out of the city. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Today's lesson gives us the promise and assurance that if we prayerfully ask God for ANYTHING while having absolute faith that He will deliver, we are guaranteed to receive whatever we ask.

Jesus gave us explicit directions as to how we should pray in Matthew 6:6, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

For some unknown reason, every religious group I know of practices some form of open, public prayer. Most even have someone "lead" prayer. Jesus directly told His disciples not to pray publicly, and used the hypocritical Pharisees as an example of how not to pray.

When you carefully consider the undeniable effect of public prayer, you'll find it can serve no other purpose than to draw attention to the person doing the praying, just like it did with the Pharisees. One CANNOT "lead" prayer without drawing attention to him/herself. We should be praying to get God's attention, ONLY!

Also, if a group were all praying at the same time (while being "led" in prayer), the person speaking would be a great distraction to the others who were trying to pray. We don't need to hear the prayers of others, we couldn't answer them if we wanted to. ONLY God can answer prayers.

Jesus made another very important point when He said, "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

I do NOT mean to leave the impression that Christians should not praise God publicly (that's praising, not praying to), or offer thanks to God publicly (offering thanks is not praying, it simply demonstrates your gratitude). I earnestly encourage everyone to publicly proclaim God to all who will listen and to thank Him loudly for His grace and uncountable blessings.

I believe that if we wrongfully pray, or if we pray without having total faith in God through Jesus Christ, our prayers will NOT be answered. On the other hand, if we humbly pray IN PRIVATE and pray in the forgiving manner Jesus described, and if we have perfect faith in God to deliver on His promise, our prayers, no matter what they are for, will be answered.~

Lesson 906

(Lesson 906)(03-04-14) Mark 11:11-18

"And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine."

This quote tells us that Jesus cursed a fig tree because it did not bear fruit, only leaves that benefited no one. He then went into the temple and found the "money changers" doing commercial business therein. He cursed them also and said, "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves."

I believe that Jesus, at that very point, condemned the temple and Judaism as an unfruitful place and religion because the priests were only there to make money, and were not doing the work they, and the temple, were ordained of God to do.

Just as the fig tree produced no fruit, the temple no longer produced the fruit of God's labor for which it was ordained, therefore, Jesus cursed them both so the the new temple (His Church) could thrive.~

(The building itself was not yet destroyed, but it later would be, just as Jesus promised.)

Lesson 905

(Lesson 905)(03-3-14) Mark 11:1-10

"And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest."

In today's lesson, Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem as was prophesied in the old testament.

He was rightfully received as a king by those who believed in Him.
This lesson also marks the beginning of the sacrificial ordeal that Jesus would go through to remit the sins of all who would place their faith in Him.

As sad as that ordeal was, I am thankful to God for it because by, and because of His grace, I will spend eternity with Him.~

Lesson 904

(Lesson 904)(03-02-14) Mark 10:46-52

And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."

Todays lesson is another confirmation of the power of faith. Bartimaeus, a blind man, knew that if Jesus simply made the command, he would receive his sight.

If the "Christians" of today were to demonstrate even one whit of the amount of faith that was demonstrated by those who Jesus healed during His ministry, what a wonderful world we would be living in.

The New Testament is full of promises divinely inspired, and assured, to those who believe in Jesus Christ. The promise of eternal salvation is the greatest, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We find the explanation of how faith works to justify the sins of the flesh in Romans 4:4-8, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."

Most of today's "Christian" religions insist that once a lost soul has placed their faith in Jesus, they must also live a "sin" free life. As Paul tells us in the above quote, salvation comes through FAITH not through the "good" works men/women do.~