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A day great provocation and confrontation to provoke them to crucify Him
Fred R. Coulter—March 2, 2019
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[Transcript begins at 1:02]
Greetings, brethren, welcome to Sabbath services.
This is more like a Bible study, word for word. So, if you have your Harmony, turn to page 225, because this is where we will begin. This is only the third time in 54 years that I've given this.
I think we need to grasp what was really happening, especially on this day of provocation. Let's see what we are dealing with, and how the religious leaders responded to Christ and how Christ responded to them, how He talked to them.
I imagine there would be a lot of people today, just like back then, that would be offended if they heard what Jesus said, and the way He said it. Remember the one where the man who said, 'I'll follow you, Lord.' If you Looking for followers you'd say, 'Oh yes, but I got to go bury my father.' Well why don't you do that and catch up with me a little later.
What did Jesus say? 'Let the dead bury their dead.' Think of how all the 'politically correct nuts' would go crazy over this kind of thing. He talked very straightforward. In the John 5:30—after He explained a little bit about the resurrection and so forth, and this is what we need to keep in mind with our selves.
Remember what Paul told the elders from Ephesus when they came to Miletus to see Paul for the last time, he said, 'Take heed to yourself.' So, here is a good verse for us to understand take heed to ourselves, that whatever we have we received; there's nothing that we didn't receive from God even in the physical realm.
So, here's Jesus, Who was God manifested in the flesh, Who could do anything He wanted to do if He wanted to do it. But His choice was this:
John 5:30: "I have no power to do anything of Myself... [that means out from within My own self, My own thoughts] ...but as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father Who sent Me. If I bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the testimony that he witnesses concerning Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the Truth. Now, I do not receive witness from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved" (vs 30-34).
He's talking to the religious leaders, all the priests. Remember that He healed the man who had been infirm for 38 years. Here's a man going around carrying his sleeping bag. They said, 'You're carrying a burden on the Sabbath!' He said, 'The man who healed me….' Who healed you? He didn't know! Later, Jesus found him, then he went and snitched and told all of the priests.
So, here they are all around right at the temple. If you really understand how these things were going on, it's quite a really big deal indeed.
Verse 35: "He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works that the Father gave Me to complete, the very works that I am doing, themselves bear witness of Me..." (vs 35-36).
In other words, look at the man that was healed. Why aren't you rejoicing? I mean, 38 years. Isn't that long enough to be infirm? Way too long!
"...the very works that I am doing, themselves bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me" (v 36).
Now they understood The Most High. And in a series we did on that—The Lord God and The Most High—we know in the New Testament, that's the Father.
Verse 37: "And the Father Himself, Who sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice nor seen His form at any time."
Today we can think of it as if this were going on at St. Peter's Basilica during a conclave of the pope and all the cardinals and all of that thing.
Verse 38: "And you do not have His Word dwelling in you..." What did they have dwelling in them, in their minds? Their authority, their traditions, their hierarchy!
"…for you do not believe Him Whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures... [How many times did Jesus say, 'Have you never read?' or 'Didn't you read this?'] ...for in them you think that you have eternal life... [they didn't] ...and they are theones that testify of Me. But you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life" (vs 39-40).
The rest of this is really about as sharp a two-edged sword coming out of Christ mouth that you could possibly want.
Verse 41: "I do not receive glory from men; but I have known you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; but if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How are you able to believe, you who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, in whom you have hope. But if you believed Moses, you would have believed Me; for he wrote about Me. And if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?" (vs 41-47).
Very interesting verse, right there the last one. People say, well the Old Testaments is all done away. What do you know about that; if you don't believe Moses, you can't believe Jesus.
I tell you, for the apostle who was the one whom Jesus loved, you would think He would write some really nice wonderful things. But all of these are recording the Truth of Jesus' ministry to the hierarchy and those in the in Jerusalem and the priesthood. They kept saying, 'We're Abraham's seed, and that's why we are what we are.'
John 8:37: "I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you are seeking to kill Me, because My words do not enter into your minds. I speak the things that I have seen from My Father, and you do the things that you have seen from your father.' They answered and said to Him, 'Our father is Abraham.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children..." (vs 37-39).
He said, "I know that you are Abraham's seed..." What's the difference between seed and children? The children obeyed! The seed Esau did not!
"...'If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me..." (vs 39-40).
Remember the first healing recorded (Mark 3), the man in the in the synagogue with the withered arm? When Jesus healed him, they were all mad and they got together and said, 'How are we going to eliminate this guy?' So, this is all building up and it's all building up to this one particular day, Sunday, the first day of the week, Nisan 11. And it has almost as many Scriptures as it does about the Passover, crucifixion and resurrection.
What we're going to read when we finish here is going to be mightily important.
"...a Man who has spoken the Truth to you, which I have heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father.' Then they said to Him, 'We have not been born of fornication.... [everything about Jesus was known] ...We have one Father, and that is God.' Therefore, Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. For I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why don't you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words. You are of your father the devil…" (vs 41-44). Try that with Sabbath with a staunch Sunday-keeper. You get about the same reaction.
Now stop and think about this for a minute: Where does the devil like to come all the time? At the top! When the temptation occurred, it was Satan and Christ. And one apostle was picked because he was of Satan to betray Christ. How does Satan like to do? Come in and change the teaching, the interpretation!
"...and the lusts of your father you desire to practice. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the Truth because there is no Truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I speak the Truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you can convict Me of sin?…." (vs 44-46).
Let's come back to the Harmony here, page 225. All of these are very deliberate things to come against the religious leaders there, to provoke them to crucify Him. This is all done in public and they couldn't take Him, because the people thought Christ was a prophet and they would stone them, etc, as we saw.
A Harmony of the Gospels, pg. 225—Nisan 11—Sunday, April 2, 30 AD
Section 295—The Parable of the Vineyard
Mark 12:1: "And He began to speak to them in parables: 'A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a wine vat, and built a tower, and leased it out to husbandmen, and then left the country.'"
Compare Isa. 5—Israel and Judah were compared to a vineyard that he planted. When he came for fruit he found wild grapes. So they knew, they knew exactly what He was talking about!
Verse 2: "And at the harvest season he sent a servant..."
Then he sent many servants. Finally He sent his son and they killed him.
Verse 7: "But those husbandmen said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.' And after seizing him, they killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. Therefore, what will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen..." (vs 7-9).
Matthew 21:41: "They said to Him, 'Evil men!...."
talking about themselves
"... He will utterly destroy them, and he will lease his vineyard to other husbandmen…'"
Luke 20:16: "He will come and destroy these husbandmen..."
Very interesting indeed! They knew that this was about them.
Matt. 21:43—notice what Jesus is saying, because here is what they were looking for: When the Messiah would come He would be human, He would come and join the hierarchy of the priests and set up a kingdom to rule the world from Jerusalem. He didn't do this. But that's how they were looking at it. So, He tells them:
Mathew 21:43: "Because of this, I say to you...
Imagine that here are the most important people in the Old Testament religion, and the temple and the authority and the leaders and the elders.
"…the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and it shall be given to a nation that produces the fruits of it" (v 43).
Now you read in 1-Peter 2, that we are 'a royal priesthood, a royal nation.' So, he's talking about all of those who would come into the Church; they would receive the Kingdom, not the ones who thought they already had it in their hip pocket.
Verse 44: "And the one who falls on this Stone..."
Jesus is talking about Himself, because that was mentioned in an earlier one.
"...shall be broken; but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (v 44).
A prophecy of what was going to happen to Jerusalem.
Section 296, pg. 226—The Priests and Scribes Seek to Arrest Him
They knew!
Matthew 21:45: "Now, after hearing His parables, the chief priests and the Pharisees knew that He was speaking about them. And they sought to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the multitudes, because they held Him as a prophet" (vs 45-46).
All of this is building up and building up. I just imagine over Jerusalem there were thousands and thousands of angels. Remember what Jesus told the apostles? If you believe I'm the Messiah, what would you think if you saw angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man? There were a lot of angels there. Why? Because every prophecy about His life, the confrontation here leading up to His crucifixion, all had to be fulfilled! The angels were there to make sure that they would be fulfilled, and that Jesus would not be arrested beforehand.
Don't you think there was also Satan and demons? Yes! Don't you think the demons were right there pumping up all the priests and Sadducees and the elders and things like this? So, this was filled with trauma and tension this whole day. On the other hand, I like this section from John:
Section 297—Many Leaders Secretly Believed in Jesus
John12:42: "But even so, many among the rulers believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him..."
A good lesson for us! Don't be afraid! What is Truth is true. It strengthens you, and if it hurts the other person, that's too bad.
"…so that they wouldnot be put out of the synagogue" (v 42).
Now notice how this cuts to the quick of everything. That's what's so good about the Bible. It's not telling us a bunch of fairy tales It's not telling us lies, it's telling us the truth!
Verse 43: "For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God"
That's what we all need to keep in mind, too. What we are, we are to serve. Anyone who is in the ministry is to serve and to teach; that's why we're here. How can there be those who will taught with the Truth of God so they can mature and be brought to perfection, if they're not taught? Like Paul said to the Jews, 'You claim you have the Scriptures when you read them, but don't you teach yourselves?' We have to let the Word of God teach us!
Section 298—To Believe in Jesus is to Believe in the Father
Verse 44: "Then Jesus called out and said, 'The one who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him Who sent Me. And the one who sees Me sees Him Who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness'" (vs 44-46).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is called the Light 21 times. Twice John the Baptist. I'll let you search that out.
Verse 47: "But if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world…."
wait until He comes to judge
"…The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has one who judges him; the Word, which I have spoken, that shall judge him in the last day" (vs 47-48).
What was the judgment for those who didn't believe in Jesus, but professed His name, did works of power and did many wonderful things? What was Jesus answer to them the last day? Depart from me, you who work lawlessness. I never knew you! Quite powerful!
Nisan 11—Sunday, April 2, 30 AD
Verse 49: "For I have not spoken from Myself..."
Same thing! This is one of the biggest problems that faces ministers wherever they are. They get lifted up in their own vanity and carried away with what they think they know. And no one can tell them that they're wrong. They won't listen!
Verse 49: "For I have not spoken from Myself; but the Father, Who sent Me, gave Me commandment Himself, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, whatever I speak, I speak exactly as the Father has told Me" (vs 49-50).
All of these confrontations were occurring in the temple area. Of course, God made sure that there were thousands and thousands and thousands of Jews who came. And remember when it was the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7? The question was, don't the leaders know that this is the Christ?
Section 299—The Parable of the Wedding and the Wedding Feast
Where do we find the fulfillment of that? Rev. 19 and the wedding supper! What's that going to be like on the Sea of Glass, and the angels roll out the whole dining array? And we're all seated there!
Jesus said that He was going to go serve. So, here we are all sitting there, I don't know what kind of food we're going to get. I don't know what kind of food that spirit beings eat, but I hope it's not chicken! Heavenly birds! Ha! Jesus comes around with a wine flask and is pouring wine for us. Because He said, 'I will drink it with you in that day in My Kingdom.' That's going to be an amazing thing, isn't it?
There are two parts to this Section 299
Matthew 22:1: "And again Jesus answered and spoke to them in parables, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man who was a king, who made a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast; but they refused to come….
they refused Christ
…Afterwards he sent out other servants, saying "Say to those who have been invited, 'Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and the fatted beasts are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast.'" But they paid no attention and went away, one to his farm, and another to his business. And the rest, after seizing his servants, insulted and killed them'" (vs 1-6).
Didn't that happen to almost all the prophets? I mean, sometimes read the Prophets from the point of view of the prophet who wrote it, especially Jeremiah. He was so discouraged one time, there's one chapter you'll find. He says, 'Lord, I've done all of this and everybody hates me. This has been so bad, I've gone through so many difficulties.' And the Lord said in so many words, 'Now, Jeremiah, keep doing what you're doing. You're life will be your prize.' Right after that he's thrown into the sewer!
Verse 7: "Now, when the king heard it..."
Who's the king? The Father!
"...he became angry; and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city" (v 7).
- first part, Jerusalem
- second part, preaching of the Gospel
'Go therefore into all the world and preach the gospel making disciples' (Matt. 28:19). Go to all nations, and that begins with:
Verse 8: "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy; therefore, go into the well-traveledhighways, and invite all that you find to the wedding feast.' And after going out into the highways, those servants brought together everyone that they found, both good and evil; and the wedding feast was filled with guests" (vs 8-10).
Now the next part is a little difficult for some people to figure out. But I'll try and explain it for you.
Verse 11: "And when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not dressed in proper attire for the wedding feast."
What is the proper attire for the wedding feast? Revelation 19:8: '…the righteousness of the saints." In other words, he tried to get in there without properly having the right clothes. Sounds a little like Cain bringing his offering, and God didn't accept it. This is what it's conveying. You're not going to get into the Kingdom of God if you do not do it God's way!. If you try, and think you're going to be there, you're going to be cast out.
Matthew 22:12: "And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you enter here without a garment fit for the wedding feast?' But he had no answer. Then the king said to the servants…"
This implies all of our personal works of righteousness and faith that we are to do. That becomes the potential for the wedding feast garments.
"…'Bind his hands and feet, and take him away, and cast him into the outer darkness.' There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen" (vs 12-14).
We'll end this section here by saying, remember this—and all elders and ministers remember this, too—God has called every one of the brethren, and He has called you! So therefore, you are actually under in your position to serve. Not over, for you to be served!
(go to the next track)
Nisan 11—Sunday, April 2, 30 AD—this day of provocation.
Section 300—Spies Are Sent To Entangle Him
Mark 12:13: "But they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, in order to entrap Him in His words."
Look at Matt. 22:15; notice the differences in the explanation, but those differences when you really put them together, adds a lot to what was going on with this confrontation.
Matthew 22:15: "Then the Pharisees went and took counsel as to how they might entrap Him in His speech."
Luke 20:20: "And they kept Him under surveillance, and sent out secret agents who pretended that they were righteous, so that they might catch Him in His words, in order to deliver Him up to the power and authority of the governor."
This same thing has occurred here in America!
Verse 21: And they questioned Him, saying, 'Master...'"
I kind of think they did it this way
"'...we realize that You speak and teach rightly, and do not accept any man's person, but teach the way of God in Truth. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?'" (vs 21-22).
Now here in America, there was a group who was saying that if you're a Christian you don't have to pay any taxes to the government. Well, he's now in jail! Same thing here! They wanted for Jesus to say that you don't have to pay tribute to the government. 'Hey, turn Him over to the authorities. Look, He is saying you don't have to pay tribute.'
Verse 23: "But perceiving their craftiness..."
Matthew 22:18: "But Jesus, knowing their wickedness…"
Mark 12:15: "…But perceiving their hypocrisy..."
Interesting: hypocrisy, wickedness, craftiness. Sounds like Washington, DC!
Section 301—Render to Caesar the Things of Caesar, and to God the things of God
Luke 20:24: "Show Me a silver coin. Whose image and inscription does it have?' And they answered and said, 'Caesar's.' Then He said to them, 'Render, therefore, the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God'" (vs 24-25).
That's something we need to really know and understand, too.
- What do we render to God? Our love, our faith, our obedience!
- How did Jesus express it in another way? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God!
There are some people who say that on the other side of the coin, you do not have to send tithes and offerings. You don't have to give those, because Jesus told the seventy to go out and preach the Gospel and you don't take anything. You only take one set of clothes and one set of shoes and your staff. So therefore, that's how you ought to run your ministry.
I actually had some people tell me that. But what did Jesus say later? Take your provision bag, take a sword, do the other things. That was a special one, as a lesson to those twelve and to the seventy, because he sent out the two groups, so that they could learn God will provide. Also, it was a sign, back toward Jesus, that He was the Messiah.
Today we don't offer animal sacrifices, we take up offerings and tithes, most of it in paper or digital. So, there's an obligation to do both. As we saw in the other one, the man who came in without the proper clothes, he was what you could say much like Cain. What did Cain do? He just brought any old thing you wanted to. God says the tithe is His!{note sermon series on Tithing}
If you have questions about it, we cover it. I'm sorry that and in the Harmony, that these coins did not come out very clear. But these were actual brass coins with Caesar's image from that time.
Section 302—The Question Concerning Marriage In The Resurrection
And this still goes on. A man came up to me one time and said, 'You know what I believe? I believe that we will have sex as spirit beings in the Kingdom of God.' I said, 'Where did you get that?' And he kind of looked at me and 'um, um' So, we will see.
Luke 20:27: "Then some of the Sadducees..."
Notice, wave after wave… I imagine that they had their council group somewhere by themselves, and different agents would come in and relay what was going on. They would take a council again, and send someone else out to bring something else. Here are the Sadducees, this is the priest party.
Verse 27: "...who do not believe there is a resurrection..."
Interesting! Even in the priesthood, they didn't believe God! That's what Christ said.
"...came and questioned Him, saying, 'Master, Moses wrote to us that if anyone's brother who had a wife should die, and he should die childless, his brother should take his dead brother's wife and raise up seed for his brother'" (vs 27-28).
Therefore, there were seven brothers!
Now, isn't it always the way in argument, to bring up a proposition that is outrageous to try and get an argument? So, here it is seven brothers. Well, you know the whole story. First one died, no children, second one, third one, fourth one, fifth one, sixth one, seventh one. About that time you wonder what's wrong with this family?
So they wanted to know in the resurrection, which they didn't believe in, whose husband would take the wife for all seven.
Luke 20:34: "And Jesus answered and said to them, 'The children of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to obtain that age...'" (vs 34-35).
the coming age
"...and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; and neither can they die anymore..." (vs 35-36).
there's no need to have children
"...for they are as the angels..." (v 36).
Now why didn't he say God? He could have, because we're going to be the sons and daughters of God. Why did he say angels? So, they wouldn't grab Him and take Him and arrest Him ahead of time.
"...and are the children of God, being children of the resurrection" (v 36).
John 10—notice what happened when He told them that He was the Son of God. When He did tell them that the Bible says 'we are to be gods.' He had a lot of confrontations leading up to this.
We're looking at the confrontation just before His crucifixion. If you take all the confrontations and stack them up end to end, outside of the people believing in Him and coming to be healed and all that sort of thing, His ministry was a struggle! Even the first part of His ministry with the apostles, He even said, 'Oh you of little faith.'
John 10:23: "And Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, 'How long are You going to hold us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly'" (vs 23-24).
Verse 25: "Jesus answered them, 'I have told you, but you do not believe. The works that I am doing in My Father's name, these bear witness of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall take them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one has the power to seize them from My Father's hand. I and the Father are one'" (vs 25-30).
Whoa! Look at their response! You know, they didn't run and say, 'You're the Messiah' and bow down. No!
Verse 31: "Then the Jews again picked up stones so that they might stone Him…. [loving group] …Jesus answered them, 'Many good works I have showed you from My Father. For which of them are you about to stone Me?' The Jews answered Him, saying, 'We will not stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, are making Yourself God.' Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law, "I said, 'You are gods'"? If He called them gods, to whom the Word of God came (and the Scriptures cannot be broken)" (vs 31-35).
He's telling them If you don't believe the Scripture that makes no difference, you can't break it!
Verse 36: "Why do you say of Him Whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me. But if I do, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works; so that you may perceive and may believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him" (vs 36-38).
So, they, again, wanted to take Him, but He escaped away. I don't know how He did that. Jesus as you know can do different things. Remember, after the resurrection. He came across those two walking to Emmaus and they were all discouraged because they thought, well, it's all over. He says, 'What is this you are talking about?' They didn't recognize Him because He had changed His appearance.
Later He walked through the door. Anyone who says they're born again (John 3) just like the wind, go wherever, walk through the door! If you don't like that, try the wall!
He did say it back in John 10, but He said angels here:
Luke 20:36: "...for they are as the angels..." [v 37]: But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed by his words at the burning bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; for He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live unto Him.' And some of the scribes answered and said, 'Master, You have spoken well.' And after that they did not dare to ask Him any more questions" (36-40). That is for a while!
Now look what happened as we come to the next section here. So, this day was really a day of great confrontation. We will see, it gets even a little more intense.
Section 303—The Two Great Commandments: Love God and Love Your Neighbor
Mark 12:28: "And one of the scribes who had come up to Him...
I wonder if someone said He hasn't seen you, go up and ask Him a question.
"...after hearing them reasoning together and perceiving that He answered them well, asked Him, 'Which is the first commandment of all?' Then Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is, "Hear, O Israel. Our one God is the Lord, the Lord"'" (vs 28-29).
Now that's reflective of Deut. 6. Because what does the Bible teach all the way through the Bible? There are two in the Godhead. Not a monotheistic, not tri-theistic, but a dual-theistic. The Lord!
Verse 30: "And you shall love the Lord your God..."
How much involved are we to be with God, and what God wants us to do? This is what it's all about. This reflects a complete commitment, complete faith and complete reliance on God!
Verse 30: "'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment."
You could take each one of those; the heart, the soul, the mind, the strength, and do a word study through the Bible. What do we read in the Psalms? The Lord is my strength, my rock and my salvation! This is how we are to approach it. It's not becoming a religious nut or fanatic. But that's what God commands. Why? Because he's going to give us eternal life!
Think of it that way. Every difficulty or trial we come across is an experience so we can grow in grace and knowledge. Some of them are very difficult. Some of them are very trying. But nevertheless, God sees us through it. So, we have to look at the end result.
Verse 31: "And the second is like this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'...."
- the third one is that you shall love each other as I have loved you!
- the fourth one is, you shall love your enemies and pray for those who despitefully use you.
You can pray many ways for your enemies. Like the rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof, keeping them far from us! Another one is, 'God deal with them and take care of them.'
I remember there was a man who came and was feigning wanting to work with us, but he wanted to do his own work and take everything away from what we had in the early part of what Christian Biblical Church of God was. He came to Monterey, and was going to go on a radio station and do his bit on a radio station. I didn't know that he was going to do that. I heard that he was in Monterey, but I didn't know anything about that. I knew that he was trying to get in and take everything, so I prayed about it, and just asked God to save us from this. Send him away.
Well, he exercised very heavily the night before he was to go on the radio, and after his exercise, he laid down on the floor had a heart attack and he was gone. I can't say God has delivered all of us out of all of our troubles in the same way, but that one particular one is one that I remember. I didn't even know that that happened until about two weeks afterward. Someone came and said, 'Did you know so and so died of a heart attack?' I was flabbergasted!
But God will take care of it. If we fall into the hands of the enemy, then we are to witness. Look at what John Gunether has done with all of the Waldensians and those in the Piedmont up there where God protected the people and they translated the Word of God into native languages, and so forth. They went to their death singing praises to God! Think about that!
Two comments were made: That the man who died of a heart attack in Monterey was also a false prophet, because he was preaching a lot of false things. They never came to pass. You see the reason why love is the first thing and love is the greatest, because from that comes faith, belief, hope, patience and understanding!
The understanding that we derive from the Bible is not because we have anything greater than any other human being. We don't! But God will give understanding if we are yielding to Him and continuously following His way and the Truth.
Mark 12:32: "Then the scribe said to Him, 'Right, Master. You have spoken according to Truth that God is one, and there is not another besides Him; and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.' And Jesus, seeing that he answered with understanding, said to him, 'You are not far from the Kingdom of God.'.…" (vs 32-34).
Question is, after Jesus' resurrection, did the scribe come into the Church to make it to the Kingdom of God? Don't know!
Section 304—How Is Christ the Son of David?
Matthew 22:41: "While the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus questioned them."
So, it goes back the other way.
Verse 42: "Saying, 'What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?' They said to Him, 'The Son of David.'"
Gotcha!
Verse 43: "He said to them, 'How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet'"?'"
How are you going to answer that? Next page at the top, second column:
Verse 45: "Therefore, if David calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?' And no one was able to answer Him a word, neither dared anyone from that day to question Him anymore" (vs 45-46).
Now then, here we come to the great provocation and condemnation. This is, if you would, compare when we get to Mark 12, loving God, and then how Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees. This was the great confrontation, which I think really infuriated them. And this was deliberate, because they were to be infuriated. And they were frustrated, because they couldn't arrest Him, they couldn't do anything to get Him. That's why Judas. We'll see that in a little bit.
Section 305—A Warning Against the Scribes and Pharisees
Mark 12:38: "And He said to them in His teaching, 'Beware of the scribes, who take pleasure in walking around in robes, and in salutations in the marketplaces.'"
I never will forget this; I can still I can still look down and see it happening. I was at the University of San Francisco, which is a Catholic institution. That was before I went to Ambassador College. I couldn't get in there that year, but I was going to take a business course, so I went from College of San Mateo a junior college to University of San Francisco. Catholic!
Here I am getting the Plain Truth magazine for the first time, all about Satan's Great Deception; all about those things; how the Catholic Church was what it was. So, I'm on the third floor, and it's my fifth week there. My first week, guess what the first mandatory class was? Study of Philosophy!
I thought, why aren't they studying the Bible and creation. Here the fifth week and I have all of this, and here's statue of this person and statue that person, and a cross in front of every room and so forth. I'm standing up here looking out the window down, and between the buildings they had a big lawn area with sidewalks going through. Here are the Jesuits with their cossacks on, walking in the morning, reading their prayer book. The students come by and say, 'Good morning, father.' I thought, I just read that in the Bible or in an article, whichever one it was.
That is the day I decided I must leave. So, I did. I went down to the registrar's office, opened the door to walk in and guess what I saw? A huge picture, it must have been four feet by six feet, of a very melancholy looking Jesus, with the crown of thorns on His head and a big drop of blood coming down.
I said, 'Oh, I've got to get out of here.' So I did; I got out that very day, because that's what they're like. Now Delores could tell you some stories about archbishops and cardinals coming down to a land development company that she worked for. Once a year they would come down, and the three brothers, who were partners in that company, dreaded them to come because they always extorted $100,000 or more from each of them. If I recall right, one of them hid in his office for two hours, but he finally gave up and came out, and the cardinal left with his bundle.
Verse 39: "And in the chief seats in the synagogues and the chief places in the feasts; Who devour the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers. These shall receive the greater condemnation" (vs 39-40).
We can see that everything was planned out and worked out by God:
- confrontation between Christ and the religious leaders
- the angels of God
- the demons
- Satan the devil
So we'll see how all that comes together to bring about the crucifixion!
Scriptural References:
- John 5:30-47
- John 8:37-46
- Mark 12:1-2, 7-9
- Matthew 21:41
- Luke 20:16
- Matthew 21:45-46
- Matthew 12:42-43
- John 12:42-50
- Matthew 22:1-14
- Revelation 19:8
- Matthew 22:12-14
- Mark 12:13
- Matthew 22:15
- Luke 20:20-23
- Matthew 22:18
- Mark 12:15
- Luke 20:24-25, 27-28, 34-36
- John 10:23-38
- Luke 20:36-40
- Mark 12:28-34
- Matthew 22:41-46
- Mark 12:38-40
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Mark 3
- 1 Peter 2
- John 7
- Isaiah 5
- Matthew 28:19
- John 3
- Deuteronomy 6
Also referenced:
Sermon Series:
- The Lord God and The Most High
- Tithing
Book: A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter
FRC: po/bo
Transcribed: 3/10/19
Copyright 2019—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.
