Podcasts about chief priests

Title: The Lawyer Vs. The Tentmaker Text: Acts 24:1-21 FCF: We often struggle defending ourselves with wrong motives or beliefs. Prop: Because God's providence includes wicked people accusing His children falsely, we mut not fear for ourselves but defend the gospel against attack. Scripture Intro: ESV [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 24. In a moment we'll begin reading in the English Standard Version starting from verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last time we saw Paul delivered safely from a plot on his life. Now this Roman prisoner has been transported to Caesarea to face his accusers before the governor of Judea, Antonius Felix. But Paul is still not out of danger. What will the apostle face in this trial? Will Felix be reasonable? Will his accusers even show up? Let's look. Stand with me to give honor to and focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Creator and Designer of the Universe and all that is within it, we humbly come before You today to seek clarity. We often face the ridicule, mockery, and disdain of those who are deceived. We often are slandered and maligned, labeled with unkind and unfair labels. Yet we confess and believe that You, our Lord, are the Designer and Maker of all that is. We confess that You have promised that all things work for the good of Your people. And so we must confess that even these things are for our good. Help us Lord to learn from Your servant Paul today. Help us to trust Your infallible plan. We pray this in Jesus' name Amen. Transition: Let us get right to the text this morning to find out what happens to Paul in Caesarea. I.) God's providence includes wicked people accusing His children falsely, so we must not fear false accusations. (1-9) a. [Slide 2] 1 - And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. i. Although the Chief Priests, the Elders, and the Sanhedrin were ready to execute a scheme to kill Paul with very little preparation, to actually bring a Roman suit against Paul would be far more difficult than simply killing him. ii. Paul stayed in Herod's Praetorium for 5 days while Ananias gathered some Elders who would go with him as well as one other important member of their entourage. iii. Although the ESV calls him a spokesperson here, more likely, as other translations indicate, Tertullus was an attorney specializing in Roman Law. iv. His name is Latin, so we recognize that he is probably not a Jew. Certainly not a Jew from Judea. v. So, in the 5 days between Paul's move to Caesarea and his accusers actually arriving, they have been quite busy. vi. They have hired an attorney and have formed their Roman case against Paul. vii. So, what is their case? viii. Well before we get to hear about that, Let's spend some time talking about Felix. Afterall, that is how Tertullus starts his prosecution of Paul. b. [Slide 3] 2 - And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 - in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 - But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. i. Although it would be easy to see this as Tertullus' attempt to butter up Felix, we should recognize that Tertullus is a professional orator and attorney. Nothing he says in these opening remarks are without some purpose. ii. Certainly, part of that purpose would be to ingratiate Felix to their cause. iii. We actually still have some of this in our legal system. We refer to the judges as “Your Honor” and it is generally wise to be on the good side or at least not be on the BAD side of a judge even in our legal system. iv. But Tertullus has built a legal case against Paul and everything he says to Felix about Felix is designed to bring stark contrast between the judge and the accused. To the extent that for the judge to find Paul guilty is because Paul is the opposite of Felix. v. In the text we see a great many things spoken that present Felix in quite the positive light. vi. But what do we know about this man? Was he really a good governor? How long did he serve? And what was his track record? vii. Much of what we know about Antonius Felix is taken from the Roman historian Tacitus and the Jewish historian Josephus. viii. Although their accounts of the man are not completely consistent on some details, the fact of the matter is that largely both historians agree on a few key facts. 1. First, Felix was formerly a slave along with his brother Pallas. a. Pallas was a friend and confidant of the Emperor Claudius and was freed from slavery by Cladius' mother. b. Along with Pallas Felix too was freed. c. So his freedom was given on account of someone else. 2. Second, Felix married three times in his life. And because of those marriages he advanced in power and authority. a. His first wife was the daughter of Marc Antony and Cleopatra and his third wife was Drucilla the daughter of Herod Agrippa the First. b. So, once again, because of others he advanced into positions he did not earn. 3. Third, in the situation we spoke of a few weeks ago where Ananias, the high priest of Israel, was sent to Rome for excessive brutality against the Samaritans – you guessed it, Felix was in the middle of this too. a. The man who was governor of Samaria at that time took all the blame instead of Ananias. He was exiled. And guess who took his place? Yep. Felix. b. Again, he was given a position, he did not earn. 4. Finally, both Josephus and Tacitus agree that Felix' governing of the province was marked by increasing unrest and brutality. a. Tacitus says “with savagery and lust he exercised the powers of a king with the disposition of a slave.” b. In AD 55 he put down an Egyptian man who claimed to be the Messiah. We've already talked about this some since Paul was thought to be that man by Lysias. c. Felix put down this Egyptian with mercilessness and brutality. d. And generally speaking, the Jews hated Felix. He continually did things to frustrate them and took rather liberal approaches to their laws. This infuriated especially the Pharisees who had a rather conservative view of scripture. ix. So, in light of this background, what are we to make of Tertullus' words about Felix? x. He says that they are thankful to Felix because he has brought much peace and many reforms. xi. Either Tertullus is just lying or, what is more likely, is that this just shows us the cunning and wickedness of Ananias and the spiritual leaders of Israel. xii. Even though Felix was merciless, savage, and brutal being recognized by even Roman historians as being barbaric – Ananias had no issues with his rule. And that is kind of that problem, right? xiii. Ananias and Felix are two peas in a pod. xiv. Furthermore, the attributes ascribed to Felix are the exact opposite of the charges they are about to bring against Paul. xv. So, what are those charges? c. [Slide 4] 5 - For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world i. Felix is described as a bringer of peace, but Paul is described as a plague. A blight. One who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world. ii. This first charge against Paul is a rather unfair assessment of Paul's history over his missionary journeys. iii. Paul certainly had been involved in a number of riots and angry mobs but we can accurately say that he never instigated them nor did he perpetuate them. iv. In many cases we see Paul leave a city, many times by his own choosing, in order to avoid further unrest. v. We also would point out that it was actually the Jews in every case who started the aggression then hunted Paul down following him from city to city in order to continue to stir people up against him. vi. So, this first charge is exactly backward. Paul incited no riots… the Jews simply hated what he said so much that THEY stirred up people against him. vii. And there is a good bet that Felix knows that this is actually the way it was. Why? viii. The Jews were notorious for causing riots and issues in the Roman Empire for decades. Since before the Romans even controlled Judea. ix. We should also observe how absolutely insignificant this charge is to Paul or Felix at this particular time. x. Even if it were true that Paul started riots in various parts of the Roman Empire, that really has no bearing on this trial before Felix. xi. Even if Felix wanted to find him guilty, he would have to investigate reports from various locations about these incidents. xii. This is why Paul's defense focuses on what has happened in the last few days not in the last several years. Because that is all Felix can really focus on anyway. xiii. But this charge has done its damage. It has compared Felix the peacemaker to Paul the troublemaker. xiv. Paul is starting riots everywhere and Jerusalem is just another in a long list. xv. As we know, Rome doesn't look too kindly on rabble rousers and riot makers. That he is a riot-starting-plague is a serious charge against him. xvi. What is the next charge? d. [Slide 5] and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. i. A second charge brought against Paul is connected to the first. ii. Paul instigates these riots among the Jews because he is the ringleader or peddler of the heresy known as Nazarene. iii. This charge comes somewhat closer to being an issue Felix must deal with since Rome had granted Judaism a special status among religions that could be practiced in the Roman Empire. iv. If the Nazarene teaching of The Way is indeed a heresy of Judaism, then it would not have the same freedoms that Judaism had been given. v. But is Paul really the ringleader? vi. As Paul will go on to testify in future trials, the ringleader is very clearly the Risen Jesus of Nazareth. He is merely a servant of this Jesus. vii. But the fact that he is the leader of this heresy is actually a secondary matter. Paul will go to great lengths in his response not to combat the idea that he is the leader of this group but to deny that it is a heresy of Judaism. We'll get there in a few minutes. viii. Tertullus said that Felix had, through masterful providence, designed many reforms which reinterpreted cultural and religious laws for the better of the people. But Paul is charged with being a leader of a heresy that leads to nothing but riots and unrest. e. [Slide 6] 6 - He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. i. Here is the final charge laid to Paul and it is also related to the previous two. ii. Paul is a plague and incites riots among the Jews because he is the ringleader of the Nazarene Heresy and the proof of that is that he tried to profane the temple with his heretical teachings. iii. This is the charge that could really get him killed. iv. Roman practice throughout the empire was to support the worship of local deities and the prevention of the desecration of any temples or gods. v. They were remarkably syncretistic. And although the Romans did not generally allow the Jews to execute their criminals. When it came to temple desecration the Romans would allow them to execute those who violated their law. vi. So here we see the Jews are fighting for their right to protect their own temple and enforce their own religious laws. vii. This is what is at stake. viii. Felix knows this. ix. If this charge is proven to be true, and Felix does not allow the Jews to execute Paul… then tensions would no doubt continue to rise between Rome and the Jews. x. This is as much a political move as it is a legal one. xi. Of course, what they failed to bring with them is evidence and witnesses… something Paul will point out in his defense. f. [Slide 7] [We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. 7 But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.] i. Every word on the screen is omitted from most modern translations of the bible. Some put the text in brackets with a foot note explaining that there is doubt about the inspiration of these words. ii. It boils down to textual criticism and understanding how we harmonize manuscripts from different times and in different manuscript families. iii. Within the discipline of textual criticism there are several rules or guidelines we follow to determine which manuscripts are closer to the original autographs. iv. [Slide 8] In this particular case, every rule points to this section not being written originally by Luke. v. Most likely it was added in at a later date to attempt to provide commentary on how the Jews may have seen the events unfold. g. [Slide 9] 8 - By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” i. The final point that Tertullus makes is to abdicate their role as accusers to produce any evidence for their claims and grant that to Felix. ii. This is actually not all that uncommon in Roman cases. iii. As we study Roman culture, Felix would have had absolute authority to not only do the work of Judge and jury but also to do the work of detective. iv. And Tertullus is saying that if Felix cannot substantiate their claims against Paul by interrogating him, then it is Felix's failure to interrogate him properly. v. And here we see some subtle pressure put on a man that everyone knows doesn't deserve the position he is in. h. [Slide 10] 9 - The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so. i. Again, this clues us in to the fact that Tertullus is probably not Jewish. ii. If he was, we are left to wonder who these Jews are. iii. But because he wasn't, the Jews present at this trial are the High Priest and the Elders who had made the journey to Casarea to accuse him. iv. In any case, it seems like the case is closed. v. There are three charges, all of them with serious consequences if they are found to be true. vi. All Felix has to do is say the word and Paul will die. i. [Slide 11] Summary of the Point: What is God's will for Paul? It has been revealed to him by Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus came to him that night in the barracks of the Anatolian Fortress, just after the debacle of the Sanhedrin trial. Jesus told him that he must have courage because just like he bore witness to the gospel in Jerusalem, he must go and do the same in Rome. God is getting Paul to Rome. And yet we see in this text a top-notch attorney has just laid out three charges against Paul all of which could earn him serious penalties and even death. Paul's life hangs on a thread. But we know better. It isn't just that God will prevent this from keeping Paul from going to Rome… but my friends as the weeks go on we will see that these charges will actually serve to get Paul to Rome. Once again, we are reminded that the providential and sovereign hand of God is always working all things according to the counsel of His will. There is nothing that happens that He has not already foreordained. So what does that mean for us? We must not fear what wicked men say about us when they slander us and accuse us falsely. Transition: [Slide 12 (blank)] So what does not fearing men's false accusations look like? If Paul is given a chance to speak, will he just quietly say, “I am trusting the Lord to bring me to Rome safely.” And then sit down? Let's see what Paul does. II.) God providence includes wicked people accusing His children falsely, but we must make a defense of the hope that we have in us. (10-21) a. [Slide 13] 10 - And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. i. Paul is invited by the governor to speak. Felix needs to hear his side of the case, especially since Tertullus invited Felix to examine him. ii. Paul begins by acknowledging Felix's last decade of service in the area. iii. Because he has had such a long tenure, Paul feels confident and even happy to bring his defenses before him. Hoping that he will be reasonable. b. [Slide 14] 11 - You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12 - and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. i. Paul pivots and exploits the failure in the first charge against him. ii. Their charge was he had caused riots all over the Roman Empire with Jews. iii. However, Paul points out that he did not do so in Jerusalem only 12 days ago. iv. In this he recognizes that Felix has no jurisdiction or concern about things that have happened in the distant past in other provinces. v. What he is concerned about is what has happened most recently in his province. vi. And most recently, Paul did not cause any issues in the temple, in the synagogues or even in the city itself. vii. Further Paul invites Felix to verify this. viii. There is some question about how to interpret Paul's 12 day comment. We can talk about it more on Thursday, but the best way to see it is as if Paul was saying, “I only spent a total of 12 days in Jerusalem, which isn't enough time to start a riot.” ix. In this way, Paul effectively defeats their first charge. x. They say that I am a plague and a riot maker among the Jews. xi. But I spent 12 days in Jerusalem and neither had time to start a riot nor can they produce one witness to accuse me of stirring up crowds in the temple, the synagogues or even in the city itself. xii. In other words, if this is all related to me being some kind of heretical religious zealot, I am doing a pretty poor job at peddling my beliefs. c. [Slide 15] 13 - Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. i. Paul confronts the other two charges against him with the same general statement. ii. They are unable to prove anything that they have accused him of. iii. They cannot prove that he is the ringleader of the Nazarene heresy, nor can they prove that he attempted to desecrate the temple. iv. But Paul doesn't want to allow them to get away with calling those who follow Jesus, heretics. d. [Slide 16] 14 - But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 - having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 16 - So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. i. This is actually a brilliant defense used in some of the more famous Roman cases we have documented. ii. The person without admitting to a crime does confess something about themselves that vindicates them. iii. What is Paul saying? iv. Although I am certainly a follower of The Way, The Way is not a heresy of Judaism, but is rather the next step in Judaism. v. It is verified by the law and the prophets which spoke of this time in Judaism where the Messiah would come and give a New Covenant. vi. And a key part of that New Covenant is the belief that both the just and the unjust will be raised from the dead. vii. Now it is clear that Ananias would not believe in the resurrection. He was a Sadducee. viii. But some of the Elders Ananias brought with him no doubt were Pharisees. ix. Really his defense here is that he has not created a heresy of Judaism or another faith altogether, instead he is following what has been prophesied… the real Judaism is following Jesus of Nazareth because He died and rose again just as He said He would. x. And in this way Paul's conscience is clear. He is not doing this for money, for power, or prestige, but because the Fathers of Israel and the prophets spoke of this long ago. e. [Slide 17] 17 - Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. 18 - While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— i. Again, Paul is just clearly proclaiming that he is Jewish. ii. After several years being away, he came to give to the poor (probably the financial relief package he had collected from Asian and Greek churches to bring to the church of Jerusalem). iii. It was while he was being a good Jew, having been purified, in the temple, a place he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to do, that they found him. iv. And there were no crowds around him or tumults at all. v. Until what? vi. Until some Jews from Asia. vii. But that's the problem right. viii. Paul actually interrupts himself here… f. [Slide 18] 19 - they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. i. Absent from these witnesses are the Jews who actually stirred up the crowd against Paul. ii. Where are they? iii. Tertullus wasn't in the temple that day. Ananias wasn't in the temple that day. The Elders of Israel weren't there. iv. Where are the Jews from Asia who were there? Why are they not present to make an accusation? v. Why indeed. vi. Paul is aiming for the dismissal of the case here. vii. How? viii. In Roman law, a witness who abandons their responsibility to bring an accusation against someone in court would actually be guilty of a crime themselves. ix. In that case the charges levied without a plaintiff are dismissed and in most cases the trial is dismissed as well. x. But if the charges against him weren't seen personally by the Jews present, what is their experience with Paul? What crimes have they observed him do? g. [Slide 19] 20 - Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 - other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.' ” i. Paul points out that these men should speak concerning what they found him guilty of at the trial before the Sanhedrin. ii. And there lies the rub. iii. That trial was a debacle. iv. They broke out into a theological dispute and brought NO charges against Paul except for theological disagreements. v. Disagreements where SOME OF THEM even AGREED with Paul. It can't be heresy if some of the ruling religious council of Israel agree with what he says. vi. Certainly, at this trial of the Sanhedrin, they did not mention any of the charges which they brought to Felix this day. vii. The only thing they had against him was what he had said bout the resurrection of the dead. viii. Paul points out that the only reason he is on trial is because they want Rome to solve this sectarian dispute between the Jews and the Christians. ix. And that is a great defense… because Rome has no interest in doing that. x. Paul deftly points out in his defense that none of the charges he has been formally accused with were personally witnessed by anyone present at the trial that day. xi. What does that mean? xii. It means that this should be… case dismissed. It is actually a fairly easy decision for Felix to make. xiii. But… we'll wait until next week to find out what he decides. h. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: God is working in this trial. God is using the false accusations against Paul and really against Christianity to move Paul down the road to Rome. But Paul does not sit idlily by and trust the Lord passively. Instead, he actively trusts the Lord by giving a defense for the hope he has in him. Tertullus made a huge mistake, guided by God's hand. That mistake was to bring into the trial the reputation of followers of Jesus. If this trial was only about Paul… perhaps Paul remains more passive. But Tertullus makes this about the church and if he makes it about the church, he makes it about the gospel. Paul defends the gospel. He flips the script and explains how the followers of Jesus are rooted in the same scriptures and prophets that the Jews also claim and shows how he has not been the cause of trouble but that these Jews are making accusations that they are unwilling to back up in a trail setting. Thus, Paul provides a positive example that when we are falsely accused, we must give a defense for the hope we have in us. We must contend for the gospel. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today and how then shall we live? Whare are some basics of faith and practice we should observe through this. Basics of Faith and Practice: In many ways, knowing how the book of Acts ends helps us to understand the primary point of teaching or doctrine that Luke is revealing throughout all the events of Paul's journey to Rome. But verse 11 of chapter 23 is the interpretive guide for how we are to apply that doctrinal truth. God's providential hand is guiding Paul through many twists and turns to arrive in Rome at precisely the right time. Meaning that even this strong case against Paul raised with false accusations by a professional attorney is part of that plan God has for Paul. But Jesus' words to Paul help us to know what to do when we are in situations where we don't know the details of God's plan but do know the end of God's plan. God's plan for us, His children, those who are in Christ, is to save us from death and resurrect us to life eternal in His Son. And so our response to every threat, every false accusation, every bad thing we face must depend on those promises which the Lord has given us. In the text today we recognize two specific responses. First is to not fear false accusations of men. Other New Testament writers encourage us to continue living godly lives so that these accusations will bring shame to our accusers and glory to our God the Father. The second response is to defend the gospel from misrepresentations or false accusations. But let us seek to apply these things more specifically this morning. 1.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God's providence includes false accusations from wicked people. a. Through the church age, the forces of darkness, working in conjunction with man's natural wickedness, have levied countless false charges against God's people. b. Even a cursory reading of John Foxes' book of martyrs displays that through every age of the church wicked men have hunted down and within the legal government system brought to bear against God's children charges which they did not commit. c. Many times, this led to imprisonment, torture, and even death. d. If God is all knowing, He would have known of these plans of the wicked. e. If God is all powerful, he could have orchestrated events to keep His people from being in such a position. f. If God is all good, he would be highly motivated to not allow injustice to be executed upon His people. g. But because all these are true, we must conclude that God's hidden plan, which He has made since before the foundation of the world, even includes when people falsely accuse us of wrongdoing. h. Once again, I won't belabor the point, because it will continue to come up… i. But the only option we have as bible believing people is to affirm that God providentially orchestrates all events in our lives to accomplish His hidden will. j. Because we know He is all powerful, all good, and all knowing, this must be true. k. What does this mean for us? 2.) De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must not fear what wicked men may do through false charges and injustice. a. We as Americans have a particular hatred of injustice, impingement on our freedoms, or being labeled as guilty when we aren't. b. That is why our legal system was designed to assume the innocence of a person unless it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that we are actually guilty. c. Our culture is shifting to declare guilt and innocence by popular opinion rather than by a court of law, but there is still a tenacious desire in us to defend or prosecute those we feel are innocent or guilty. d. Along with this we might grow fearful or even angry when we are accused of something that we did not do. e. We have all heard stories of people who were convicted in a court of law for doing something which earned them a life sentence or even the death sentence, only to discover 20 years later new evidence that the person did not actually commit the crime. f. Stories like these fuel the fear that we might be misrepresented or even slandered for doing something we didn't do. g. But affirming that God providentially moves in all the events of life to accomplish the counsel of His will allows us to take a step back and do as Jesus instructs in the sermon on the mount. h. Rather than expressing fear or anger over false charges, we should instead rejoice for suffering these false accusations against us. We should rejoice for having the opportunity to suffer for the sake of Christ. i. We don't need to fear what men may do to us or what crazy schemes they may concoct to cancel us. j. We need only to trust the Lord who knows all our ways and has a plan that He has already accomplished to save us from this life and resurrect us to life eternal. k. Of course, God's sovereign decrees dwell in the paradox of human responsibility. And that is the nature of our next application. 3.) Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that trusting God's sovereign providential hand means to do nothing. a. Paul rises in defense here. b. We'll get to why he does this in a moment but for now let us just recognize that Paul acted. c. Paul did not sit back and decline to speak because he knew he would get to Rome since Jesus said it would be so. d. If God told us that we would go to Africa tomorrow and lead someone to Christ, but we never booked a flight or did anything to get ourselves there, well that is just plain disobedience. e. God telling us what will be does not give us liberty to do nothing. f. Instead, just like it always does, belief that God is telling the truth requires us to obey as if it is true. g. Because of this, if we are in the same position as Paul we must… 4.) Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must be ready to give a defense for the hope we have in us. a. While I cannot say that it is morally wrong or a sin to defend ourselves against false charges, I can say that we don't see that happening here for Paul. b. Not really. c. Paul doesn't debate that he isn't the ringleader of the Nazarene Heresy. He doesn't debate that he was involved in riots. d. But he does debate the charge that Christianity is opposed to God's law. Because that cannot be allowed to go unchecked. e. Paul very clearly outlines how he as a follower of Christ did not start a fight in Jerusalem, he was in the temple following the law. f. He says that The Way is rooted in the same Fathers and prophets that all his accusers believed in too. g. For the sake of the gospel and the reputation of Christ followers, Paul makes his defense. Certainly, this vindicates himself to some degree, but it is obvious his aim is greater than that. h. We too must be laser focused on what is important. i. Again, I do not think it is wrong to defend ourselves or even make a legal defense for ourselves if we are accused falsely. But, our primary goal in every instance in life is to make much of the gospel of Jesus Christ and if necessary, contend for it. j. Sadly, oftentimes we care more about defending ourselves than we do the gospel or our gospel witness. k. Natural man is well equipped to defend himself. And this is often our default setting. l. But it takes a spiritually mature person to defend themselves righteously and also prioritize the Kingdom of God in their defense. m. Paul strikes that perfect balance in our text today. And we must strive to emulate him. 5.) Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” In God's courtroom all men are judged by a perfect and just God. a. Though our courts have some of the fairest rules in place to assure that only the guilty are punished for their crimes, the fact of the matter is that the judicial system, even in this nation, is full of injustice. b. It may happen in our lives that we will be falsely accused and though we make a strong defense we are imprisoned or even killed for something we did not do. c. But the Christian worries little about this life. They know that in God's courtroom, the only courtroom that really matters, they will be declared righteous, not of themselves, but on the account of Christ who became their sin so that they might become the righteousness of God. d. We find comfort in the kingdom that is coming… not in the kingdom that is. 6.) Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” The gospel produces a law keeping and blameless church. a. Paul finds it especially necessary for followers of Christ to be known as people who follow the law of God and draw their teachings from the Fathers and the Prophets. b. In our time the gospel has been reduced to a magical prayer that you pray which God is somehow obligated to honor because you said the right words. c. But Paul defends the godly and noble character of the church. Why? d. Because God's true children are godly and holy people. e. In Matthew 7 Jesus talks about those who in the midst of being cast from his presence object on the grounds that they had done mighty works in his name. But Jesus still rejects them because as He says, I never knew you. f. And then the clincher… you lawless ones. Or you lawbreakers. g. You see although the gospel certainly tells us that we cannot earn God's grace or forgiveness and that only Christ can purchase our salvation…. The gospel also clearly teaches us that those who are truly saved are being conformed into the image of Christ. We are, as I said a moment ago, the righteousness of God. h. The fact of the matter is that no man will enter the kingdom of heaven if they purposefully continue to violate God's law. i. So, my friends, if you are here today and you have prayed a prayer – but your life is still lived intentionally violating God's law… then you must realize that you have no hope. j. Those whom the Lord has set free are free indeed. Meaning free not only from the penalty of sin but from its power as well. Let me close with a prayer recorded in the Didache (did-ah-kay) which is a very early record of church worship and teaching. We give thanks to you, Father, for your holy name which you made to dwell in our hearts. Thank you for the knowledge, faith, and immortality which you made known to us through Jesus your Son. To you be glory forever. You, Lord Almighty, created all things for your name's sake, and gave people food and drink for their enjoyment, that they might give thanks to you. And you have blessed us with spiritual food and drink and eternal light through your Son. Above all we give thanks to you that you are mighty. To you be glory forever. Remember your church, Lord, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in your love, and gather it together in its holiness from the four winds to your kingdom which you have prepared for it. For yours is the power and the glory forever. Let grace come and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If any one is holy, let them come! If any one be not, let them repent. Maranatha-our Lord, come! We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Benediction: May the Lord of Hosts be with you So that you will become greater and greater still, Until you receive that crown of life Which the Lord has prepared for those that love Him. Until we meet again, go in peace.

Up To Jerusalem - Teaching 17 Scripture: Luke 23:26-34, Mark 15:21, Hosea 10:8, John 19:19-27, Mark 15:29-32, Luke 23:39-43, Matthew 27:45-49, Psalm 22, John 19:28-30., Luke 23:46, Psalm 31:5, Matthew 27:50-54. Today we take a look at a moving, powerful and emotionally packed teaching on the subject of Jesus' crucifixion.  We will explore the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion using all four gospels as each gives us unique details and special insights. Jesus' crucifixion was painful, prolonged, humiliating and demeaning, but the four gospel writers do not dwell on the sufferings of Jesus. What they dwell on is what He won for us and what He offers to each of us. Our story opens with Jesus' walk to Golgotha (Hebrew word - translates to “Place of the Skull” - Calvary - is the Latin word for ‘Place of the Skull.”) As Jesus was brutally beaten, tortured and whipped He is exhausted, weak, in great pain and unable to carry His cross to Golgotha, so Simon of Cyrene is forced to carry Jesus' cross. Jesus' first words from the cross were “Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing.” A display of His love even from the cross, even in extreme suffering and incredible pain, He cries out on behalf of others. Don't ever doubt God's love. No matter how we've fallen, our God loves us dearly! The enemy likes to make us think that God is the bad guy, but the truth is - if you want to know what God is like and want to know how He feels about you, then all you have to do is look at Jesus, the One who is the visible image of the invisible God - and He says, Father, forgive them.” He offers mercy to all of us - we all are sinners and we all need a Savior and that's who Jesus is! Our story continues with Pilate making a sign in 3 languages: Hebrew, Latin and Greek. The sign says, “King of the Jews.” The way Romans announced the crime for which the individual was being executed was to post it over their heads on their cross. When Pilate had the sign placed above Jesus' head the Chief Priests became upset. Pastor takes time to dig into some truly interesting insights into why the sign made them so angry. The next words Jesus says are to His mother and the disciple next to her at the foot of His cross. He says, “Woman, here is your son.” And to the disciple He says, “Here is your mother.” Jesus' second set of words from the cross were again for others and of showing his deep love and concern for His mother. Jesus was crucified between two criminals, one of them joins the crowd in mocking Jesus. The one not joining the crowd says to the one that was, “Don't you fear God? This man has done nothing wrong,..” Then turning to Jesus he says, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Jesus replies, “I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” This criminal displays great faith in asking, Jesus, who is beaten, brutalized and nailed to a cross, “Remember me!” This man saw what is unseen - He saw into heaven. He saw what is true.  Again Jesus' words are for others, these comforting words of promise given this man hanging on the cross next to Him. The promise is for all those who believe in Him, that we will be with Him and we will see His kingdom in all its glory and fulfillment. As we continue with the story, darkness came over the land in the middle of the day and Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus endured the judgement of God for us - He became sin for us. Pastor talks about these very words of being forsaken having been written in Psalm 22, 1000 years earlier, and they were words that every Jew was familiar with. Pastor shares how that would have impacted those around Him hearing Him say these words - they were a testimony to who Jesus is! Then Jesus says, “I am thirsty.” And He is offered wine vinegar on a sponge on the end of a hyssop stalk. Pastor shares insight into this prophetic action of using the hyssop stalk being lifted to Jesus to drink from.  When Jesus had the drink, He said, “It is finished.” Meaning PAID IN FULL. The debt for sin was paid. The price for our salvation has been paid in full. Jesus drank the cup of the wrath of God, He is the sacrificial victim - the Real Passover Lamb, who offered up His blood for us all and His blood covers our sin. And then Jesus' speaks, “Father, into Your hand I commit My Spirit.” And He dies.     ⁃    The price is paid     ⁃    The battle is won     ⁃    The victory is assured At Jesus' last words the curtain of the Temple is torn in two. Why?… This was a massive curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies where a High Priest went once a year before God making atonement for the sins of the people. Now all of a sudden people, not just the High Priests can look into the Holy of Holies and have access to the Living God. God dealt with human sin in the very Person of His own Son. The curtain is now open and the way to the Father is exposed - all are given access into the place where only a High Priest could go because Jesus open it through His sacrifice on the cross. Our time together ends with the words of the centurion guarding Jesus on the cross as the day turned dark, as the curtain tore, as the earth shook, rocks split and people walked out of tombs, the centurion exclaims, “Surely, He was the Son of God!” What a shocking day this was!  This was the day the Savior gave His life for all! And it changed everything because now - He offers life to all who believe in Him. Join us next time as we discover that Jesus is our Victor! Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01 Up to Jerusalem is a study of the final weeks of Jesus' ministry. The earth shakes concluding with His resurrection and ascension, using the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John together with material from ancient sources and recent discoveries. Up to Jerusalem is part five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Up To Jerusalem is the story of the plan of God to redeem the world, and the story of a Savior willing to obey the Father's plan. As we study Jesus' final days, we will be impacted as we discover the Love of God for each one of us.  This study is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time.

By what will your life be shaped?  The situations and circumstances in which we find ourselves (wether they be thrusted upon us or by our own making) can carry the most weight in our life.  Especially when these circumstances and situations are difficult.  This was certainly the case for the Israelites in Egypt,“Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.” (Exodus 5:9 ).  However, the story of Exodus culminates in the climax of “the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.”  Over everything else, the Lord and His presence with His People was to carry the most weight in their lives.  In other words, the Lord being with His people was to shape their lives.  As the story of the Bible unfolds, we see Jesus show up as the Same God of Exodus, working the same plan of redemption for His people, but in Christ this plan is fully accomplished.  The veil was torn and removed so that God's people can see the glory of the Lord embodied in Jesus.  Jesus also prepared the way for the Holy Spirit to indwell, not the Tabernacle, but the people of God as living stones.  We now, with unveiled faces to God's glory and the presence of God in us, are empowered to be shaped into God's people.  We finished looking at the parable Jesus told to the Chief Priests and Elders in Matthew 21.  Two sons were told to go work in their father's vineyard.  One said, “yes,” but didn't go.  The other said, “no,” but changed his mind and went.  This parable forces us to ask, “Which son am I?”  Am I giving lip service to God, but reflecting different loyalties in the way I live my life?  Or, has Jesus moved the glory and presence of God into my life?  If we claim the latter, then we must be willing to confess and repent from those wayward loyalties. The Israelites carried the story of Exodus with them.  It is the story that defined them.  The story of Exodus shaped the way they lived.  We have been ingrafted into Israel.  The Church is the fulfillment of Israel.  Exodus is our story, too.  However, our story is greater, because we have the greater mediator, Jesus the Christ.  Jesus saved us and He continues to shape us by moving the glory of the Lord into our lives through His finished work and the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, by whom we are empowered to live like God's People—Because that is exactly who we are.  By what will your life be shaped?  

* You can get the sermon note sheet at: http://family-bible-church.org/2025Messages/25May25.pdf * Jesus has entered into Jerusalem and has been teaching the people in the Temple. We are in the midst of a four day period when the Passover Lamb would be finely examined to make sure that it was a worthy Sacrifice. The religious unknowingly are fulfilling this prophetic requirement of YHWH (cf. Exodus 12:2-7). * Two weeks ago, we considered the Chief Priests' and Scribes' attempted to find a blemish in Jesus by asking whether it was lawful for Jews to pay taxes to Caesar. * Last week, we saw the Sadducees seek to trap Him by asking him who wife would a woman be (in the resurrection) who had been married consecutively to seven brothers. Jesus responded to them by drawing attention to the fact that they truly did not believe the Scriptures that they supposedly held in high regard. * Jesus took the moment as an opportunity to teach - both the Scribes and His Disciples - with authority. The first being a call to expositing the Word of God faithfully and the second a call to beware of pretentiousness. * This message was presented by Bob Corbin on May 25, 2025 at Family Bible Church in Martinez, Georgia.

Unyime Akpan - May 25th 2025 - The ‘Final Days' of Jesus - The Last ‘Weeks' of the Most Important Person that Ever Lived On the Road to Jerusalem Jesus Predicts His Trials, Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection Luke 18:31-34, Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:32-34 Matthew 20:17-19 Jesus' Predictions: Delivered to the Chief Priest and Scribes (Jews) Condemned to die Delivered to The Gentiles (Non-Jews) Mocked, Flogged and Crucified Crucifixion and Death Resurrection Daniel 9:25, Isaiah 32:1 Luke 1:31 Jesus Delivered To The Chief Priest and Scribes Condemned to Die Meditate On Jesus Christ, the Son of God Words/Attitude/Actions Humility/Humiliation Suffering Love Courage Power Matthew 26:1-2 Matthew 26:3-5 Matthew 26:6-9 What Triggered Judas to Betray Jesus? The Love of Money “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”  John 12:4-6 What Did Judas Do? Matthew 26:14-16 What Role Did Satan Play? Luke 22:3-6; John 13:2,27 Jesus is Arrested in the Garden. Why? Luke 22:52-53; Matthew 26:47, 55-56; John 18:11 Jesus is Arrested in the Garden. Why? It was the sinners' hour, and the power of darkness (Satan) hour To fulfill Scriptures To Drink the Cup of Suffering from the Father Suffering for our sins Jesus Before Annas –The ‘Grand High Priest' John 18:19-24 Matthew 26:59-62 Caiaphas, High Priest, to Jesus Are You the Christ, the Son of God? Life's Most Important Question Do You Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? John the Baptist and the Pharisee's (John 1) How did I recognise the Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God? Nathaniel to Phillip (John 1) Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Jesus' response Nathaniel's confession Jesus to the Disciples (Matthew 16:13-20) Who do you say I am? Simon Peter Jesus to Martha (John 11) Do you believe this? Matha's answer Jesus to the Pharisees in the temple (Matthew, Mark, Luke) Whose Son is the Christ? Pharises's answer Jesus' response Apostle John to You and Me (John 20) The reason I write the Gospel of John Matthew 16:13-10 John 11:17-27 Matthew 22:41-15 John 20:30-31

* You can get the sermon note sheet at: http://family-bible-church.org/2025Messages/25May18.pdf * Jesus has entered into Jerusalem and has been teaching the people in the Temple. We are in the midst of a four day period when the Passover Lamb would be finely examined to make sure that it was a worthy Sacrifice. The religious unknowingly are fulfilling this prophetic requirement of YHWH (cf. Exodus 12:2-7). * Last week, we considered the Chief Priests' and Scribes' attempt to find a blemish in Jesus by asking whether it was lawful for Jews to pay taxes to Caesar. * Today, we see the Sadducees try to draw out a doctrinal flaw in the Messiah by a presenting Him a riddle regarding a woman who - by law - was married to seven different brothers and died childless * Like last week, we see Jesus respond in a manner that silences His critics! * This message was presented by Bob Corbin on May 18, 2025 at Family Bible Church in Martinez, Georgia.

Police In Edo Arrests Dethroned Juju Chief Priest With AK-47, Human 'Skull'https://osazuwaakonedo.news/police-in-edo-arrests-dethroned-juju-chief-priest-with-ak-47-human-skull/18/05/2025/#Nigeria Police Force #edo #Okhoromi #Police ©May 18th, 2025 ®May 18, 2025 4:55 pm Edo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force on Saturday says it has arrested the eyes or servant of the gods or Juju Chief Priest, known in Bini language as Ohen, Chief Ovbokan Igbinovia, the Ohen of Okhoromi with human skull allegedly found in his house, alongside AK-47 guns found with the said gang members of the dethroned Chief Priest, who was reportedly deposed as the Ohen of the Okhoromi community by the Oba of Benin, after series of allegations of land grabbing and alleged abuse of his administrative powers as the traditional ruler representing the Oba of Benin and overseeing the affairs of the Okhoromi community, this, the police said it has made the arrests after the disturbed and  troubled looking Juju Chief Priest went live on social media to accuse one of the prominent former motor park tax collectors in the state, Anthony Adun aka Tony Kabaka of using police to harass him, his visitors and family members while at the time debunking the state media reports that he has been suspended or removed as the Ohen of Okhoromi, saying, he went to the Palace of the Benin Monarch, he was told he has not been dethroned or suspended. #OsazuwaAkonedo

This Easter, Brandon talks to AJ about reflecting a bit on the interactions between Jesus, Pontius Pilate, and the Chief Priest. What do the earthly leaders reveal about themselves in their interactions with the Christ?

The Chief Priests and Elders plot to kill Jesus. A woman anoints Jesus with expensive ointment, and the disciples are concerned about it. And Judas sets out to betray Jesus. Have a listen. Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: Celebrate 2,000 Episodes of Christian History Almanac! The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley Ditching the Checklist by Mark Mattes Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi More from the hosts: Daniel Emery Price Erick Sorenson

Is it really over? Jesus said and done amazing things in His life. But He has been crucified. Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning had to be some of the longest, darkest hours for the disciples. The Chief Priests had won. Jesus was dead, it's all over. But when some women came to the tomb - merely to care for Jesus' dead body - they discovered it was empty. Jesus is alive, just as He said.

- Went back early to the temple to teach and preach- Jesus authority is questioned (Mark 11:27-33)- Jesus rebukes the religious leaders. (Matt 21:23-46) - Tax collectors and prostitutes would have a better chance of getting to heaven than them - Chief Priests had a plan to trick him.  - Even other people they sent to trick him were captivated by his teachings. - Jesus teaches on the parable of the vineyard (Luke 20:1-19) - Went to high priest Caiaphas house to plot how to kill him - Back to Bethany to sleep, expensive perfume broken and his feet washed.  TAKE AWAY: TuesdayREMEMBER – The attempts to trick Christ and convince others he is not God.THIS WEEK - Recognize Him in your life.

1 Corinthians 1:18:  John 10:14-18:  Luke 23   What would you list as the Top 5 dates in history?   - The Day Jesus was crucified on the cross.    "For the word (message) of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  (1 Corinthians 1:18)   - What did Jesus say about that day?               "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me              and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep.  I have other sheep, which are not of this              fold; I must bring also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.              For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.  No one has              taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.  I have authority to lay it down, and I have              authority to take it up again.  This commandment I received from My Father."  (John 10:14-18)   - What events took place in Jerusalem on that day?  (Luke 22:66-Luke 23)      - Jesus is questioned by the Council of Elders, Chief Priests, and Scribes.  (Luke 22:66-71)      - Jesus is questioned by Pilate.  (Luke 23:1-7)      - Jesus is questioned by Herod.  (Luke 23:8-12)      - Jesus is sentenced to be crucified and Barabbas is released.  (Luke 23:13-25)      - Jesus has his cross carried by Simon of Cyrene.  (Luke 23:26-31)      - Jesus is crucified between two criminals.  (Luke 23:32-43)      - Jesus died in such a way the Roman Centurion began praising God.  (Luke 23:47)      - Jesus has his body removed from the cross and buried by Joseph of Arimathea.  (Luke 23:50-56)

That first Easter was so incredibly unfair. Jesus – the innocent man – was crucified and Barabbas – the man guilty of murder – walked off Scott free. If you were God, would you have done things that way?   Let's Tarry a While It's interesting how when Easter passes us by we kind of quickly forget it and move on. It was a long weekend, it was a great time to have off and have a rest, have some chocolate. It comes, we eat chocolate, we have a long weekend, it goes, that's it, we move on, back to work, back to school, back to the empty house, whatever it is we do day after day and this week on the program and in fact over the coming three weeks we're going to dwell in Easter for a bit longer than just a long weekend. We're going to tarry and stay there a little bit longer. And today's program is the first message in a series that I've called, "The Price He Paid For You" and as well as talking about Easter over the Easter period we're going to do the unthinkable and spend the next few weeks after Easter doing it as well. Can you believe that because it's a big thing this Easter thing? Not as a religious holiday, I don't mean that, I for one am definitely not into religion, it just doesn't work for me. Not talking about religion, I'm talking about this big thing that God was up to at Easter. The thing that Jesus went through, the suffering, the persecution, the beating, the rejection and that death on the cross. You and I are so incredibly special to God which is what makes you and me worth dying for. He's handcrafted us, He's made us, He's set us free in this amazing universe, always loving us but with the freedom He gave us a free will to accept Him or reject Him and when it comes right down to this, according to God, He made us, He loves us, He gave us free will and the point of all of that was for us to know Him and have this fantastic relationship with Him here and now and for all eternity. But it doesn't matter which way we cut it each one of us in our own way we've rejected Him. I know I have, more often than we could ever imagine or count or recall and in doing that we miss the whole point. The whole point of creation, the whole point of life, the plan and the desire of God's heart. When we turned our backs on God and we all have, we miss the whole point of life, that's exactly what the Greek word for "sin" actually means. It means to miss the mark or as we might say today to miss the point. I know when I use the word "sin" people often write in or they call and say, "Come on, this is some kind of old fuddy-duddy concept, get with it Berni, get into today, sin just isn't relevant, it's something that priests or ministers talked about in the 1950's, get with it, it's old fashioned." I know, I know that some people think of sin that way but lets come back to Easter and the central point, the central problem of all creation is that we rejected God. We turned our back on Him, it's hard to come to grips with. People say, 'Well I'm not a bad person, I'm not that bad, I'm okay' but let me ask you, from the moment you were old enough did you put God first? Was God always first in your life? Did you live your life as though you belonged to Him? And the answer for all of us is, "No, we didn't." We've all done things; we've all turned away in our own way, in different ways; we've all turned our backs on God and at that Cross at a time that we now call Easter and we celebrate and we remember, on that cross God calls us home. The consequences, what we should have paid for rejecting Him, were paid for by His Son Jesus; He died to give us a new life. Okay God calls us to a life of sacrifice, God calls us to a life of giving, He gives us a fresh new life, a wholesome life with real joy and because out of His great love He reached out to us through Jesus, He opens the door to a real and dynamic and exciting and beautiful and wondrous relationship with God. At the heart of the message of Easter is the fact that Jesus paid the price of my sin and of your sin, of our rejection of God, our missing the whole point of creation and the fact that Jesus paid the price seems unfair don't you think? Let's have a read, we're going to go to the Bible, if you have one grab it, we're going to open up at John chapter 18 beginning at verse 38 and we're going to read through to chapter 19, verse 16. Here it is: What is truth, Pontius Pilate asked? With this he went out again to the Jews and said, 'I find no basis for a charge against this Jesus but it's your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release the king of the Jews? And they shouted, 'no, not him, give us Barabbas. Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged, the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head, they clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him and again and again and again saying, 'hail the king of the Jews' and they struck him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, 'I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.' And when Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe Pilate said to them, 'here is the man'. As soon as the Chief Priests and their officials saw him they shouted, 'crucify him, crucify him. But Pontius Pilate answered, 'you take him, you crucify him. As for me I find no basis for a charge against him.' But the Jews insisted, 'we have a law and according to that law he must die because he claimed to be the son of God.' And when Pilate heard this he was even more afraid and he went back inside the palace. Where do you come from?' He asked Jesus but Jesus gave him no answer. 'Do you refuse to speak to me?' Pilate said, 'don't you realise I have the power either to free you or to crucify you?' And Jesus answered, 'you would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin. From then on Pilate tried to have Jesus set free but the Jews kept shouting, 'if you let this man go you are no friend of Caesars. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.' When Pilate heard this he brought Jesus out and sat him down on the Judges seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement. It was the day of the preparation of the Passover week, about the sixth hour. Here is your king' Pilate said to the Jews but they shouted, 'take him away, take him away, crucify him.' 'Shall I crucify your king?' Pilate asked. 'We have no king but Caesar' the Chief Priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to be crucified. Pretty amazing story we're going to take a look at it in a moment.   An Innocent Man Not much regard for the rules of evidence if indeed there were any rules of evidence way back then. A good friend of mine by the name of Paul is a magistrate. Now, the more I get to know him, the more I realise how gifted Paul is to do that job. I've got to tell you, I'd hate to have to sit in judgment, this one goes free, this one gets locked up. And to make things even more difficult he's a magistrate in the children's court. Now Paul has this really balanced thing happening in his outlook. He weighs this against that in almost everything he does. I was saying to someone else recently that when I look at Paul, what I see is someone that I'm really comfortable with being a magistrate. I'm really glad that this guy is on the bench in the children's court because he's absolutely the right person to be doing it. When you look at the story of the crowd and Pontius Pilate and Barabbas and Jesus and this angry, ugly mob I see some of that in Pilate. When the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate and Jesus had been talking to him about truth, he says, "What is truth?" And he goes out to the mob and he says, "Look, I have looked into this man and I find no case against him, this Jesus." See he wasn't swayed initially in judgment by the religious leaders, who frankly just wanted Jesus dead because Jesus was threatening them. Jesus was going to the people and making sense to them and healing them and caring for them and loving them and standing up for them. That's why the religious leaders wanted Him dead. That's how poisoned that whole rule-based religion scene had become. See Pilate wasn't swayed by the same things that whipped up that mobbed. And all the way through this scene, over and over again, Pontius Pilate finds Jesus "not guilty". In verse 38 he says: ‘Look, I find no basis for a charge against Him'. Again in verse 4 of chapter 19: Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, ‘Look I'm bring him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him'. Verse 6 of Chapter 19: You take him, you crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him. And then again, down in verse 12: From then on Pontius Pilate tried to have Jesus set free. See he was a man who was fairly objective and he found no guilt in Jesus the Christ. Of course there's a marked difference between my friend Paul and Pontius Pilate in that ultimately Pilate was a weak man and he gave in to the crowd. He never changes his judgment mind you, but based on this tradition he just rolls over because of this angry mob. And ultimately he said, "Look, look at the life of Jesus, this man who healed people and who reached out to them and who cared for them, who taught them stuff about life that made sense, of course he's innocent." Innocent of everything except the fact that his goodness, his genuiness, stood out in stark contrast to the manipulation and the deceit of the religious leaders of the day. He threatened their power base, that's why they wanted him dead. Now the other player in this game is Barabbas. Barabbas is an interesting character. His name literally means "Son" which is what "Bar" means, "of the father" – "abba". "Barabbas" son of the father – Barabbas. We'll come back to that a little later. But he is a criminal. John tells us there in verse 40 that he'd taken part in a rebellion. If you go to Matthew's gospel chapter 27 verse 16, Matthew calls him a notorious criminal, so it was well known that this man was a crook. Mark Chapter 15 verse 7 and Luke Chapter 23 verse 19, they both tell us that Barabbas committed murder as a part of an insurrection. So here we have it. A well-known, notorious criminal, a murderer, Barabbas versus Jesus Christ superstar. This Jesus with rock-star status who healed the lame and the sick and the blind and stood up for the oppressed and the needs of the people against all of those of religious rulers from all that manipulation. He exposed the religious hypocrisy of those leaders. Huge crowds followed him, they listened to him, they saw him heal countless people, they saw miracles. The same crowds just a few days before, on the day we now call Palm Sunday, when Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, they threw down palm leaves, they were shouting praises literally calling him "King of the Jews" – their Messiah, their Saviour. Yet now, just a few days later whipped up by the religious leaders, manipulated by them again, here they are, baying for his blood. "Crucify him". What a brutal response. No wonder politicians say that the opinion polls are fickle. There's a great saying: "A week is a long time in politics." And it was certainly true then as it is now. Look at it again. When they're given a choice they say, "We want Barabbas! We want Barabbas!" And of Jesus, "Crucify him!" When Pilate asked them about Jesus they said: "Crucify him". And ultimately Pontius Pilate went against his own impartial judgment. He was weak, he was afraid of the crowd. He had Jesus beaten, he had him handed over to be crucified. Wait for it, instead of Barabbas who got set free. Do you get it. It's a switch, it's a substitution that's going on here. Barabbas the son of the father was the murderer. He should have gone to the cross, but instead he was set free and the innocent Jesus was crucified in his place. And here's what God's saying to us through what happened. Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man. "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." God said that of Jesus. Jesus was also man. He often referred to Himself as the Son of Man. He was human, He was God in the flesh, He was perfect without spot or blemish. He was totally innocent. The Son of God – Jesus; the son of the father, the son of dad – Barabbas. God is a loving Dad. There's a radical concept here introduced by Jesus. The Jews didn't refer to God as Dad but Jesus called Him Abba – Dad. And this man, Barabbas – Bar-abba, son of dad – is the one who gets set free. It's the swap over, it's the substitution. The "Son of God" and the "son of God". Both with the same name. Jesus and Barabbas. The innocent is substituted for the guilty. Jesus went to the cross for Barabbas; Barabbas deserved it but Jesus wore it. Barabbas was the murderer but Jesus was killed. Barabbas was the one who hurt people and yet Jesus suffered in his place. Barabbas – the son of the father – was guilty and he went free. Jesus – the Son of the Father – was innocent and He went to the Cross. And who judged Him? Not Pilate. Pilate wasn't the one that sent Him to the Cross, it was the angry mob and the religious leaders – the very people whom He came to set free, whom He loved, whom He healed, whom He taught. They were the ones that turned against Him. They were the ones who had Jesus crucified. So what does that mean for you and for me here and now?   Who is Barabbas Let me ask you something. Who was Barabbas? There was Pontius Pilate, there was Jesus, there was Barabbas. And then there was the angry mob in this story. To the angry mob, Barabbas was just that criminal and murderer and it was the Passover Festival. The Passover is the celebration of when God was releasing His people out of slavery in Egypt centuries before. He sent ten plagues on Egypt, on Pharaoh. And the final plague was the death of the first-born of all the Egyptians from Pharaoh's son through to a slave's son right through to the first born of all the animals. And yet here was the nation of Israel captive as slaves in Egypt. And God said to them: "Look, get a lamb, kill it, takes it's blood, smear it on the top of the door and the angel of death will pass over your house and you won't suffer that death – that death in the tenth plague." It was only visited on the Egyptians but not on God's people. And the way in which God's angel passed them over was by the seeing the blood of the lamb on the door posts. And so there's this tradition where the Roman Governor at the Passover Festival all these years later would release one criminal to the people. And this year that criminal was going to be Barabbas. Someone who had been part of an insurgency, an uprising; someone who killed multiple people. I mean, the worst sort of all criminals possible is who Barabbas was. Bar-abba – "son of the father", one of God's children. You see, you and I are Barabbas in this story. I said before that attitudes to sin vary enormously in our society and so many people see "sin" as an outdated concept. But the whole point of creation was us to have a relationship with God and to give glory to God but in our free will we rejected Him just as Barabbas rejected God, just as Barabbas went out and sinned. And when we did that we missed the point. And that's what God calls "sin". It's conspicuous, you can't hide it. We're all guilty of that and ‘the wages of sin is death'. See, God is wondrous and perfect and holy and awesome and a loving God and it's hard to imagine love and judgment in one person. Yet my friend Paul, the magistrate, I was talking about him earlier, Paul is a really fair and compassionate man, he's a great husband, he's a wonderful father, but he's also just. I look at him and it gives me some understanding at how those things fit together in God's nature. In His love, instead of letting you and me pay the price, in His love God sends Jesus, His Son, to die in my place. Now you and I might say, "Look, I'm no Barabbas. I haven't killed people. I haven't done all these horrible things." The point is, the moment we turn our back on God, the moment we reject Him, the moment we do one thing wrong – because God is holy, pure, perfect, clean – the moment we sin we deserve death. God's Word tells us "The wages of sin in death", and yet when we put our faith in this Jesus, in this Jesus who died on our behalf, we're forgiven. You too are one of the sons and daughters of Abba – Dad – God. We too are loved by Him and we too can put our faith in Jesus and believe with our hearts and with our heads that on this very first Easter, on that Cross, Jesus paid the price of our sin and when we believe in Him we have complete forgiveness. Finally, Pilate handed Him over to be crucified, so that the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross He went out to a place of the Skull which in Aramaic is known as Golgotha. Here they crucified Him and with Him two others, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. And Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the Cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews'. Many of the Jews read this sign for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The Chief Priest of the Jews protested to Pilate, ‘Don't write ‘King of the Jews' but that this man claimed to be the King of the Jews.' And Pilate answered them, ‘What I have written, I've written.' When the soldiers crucified Jesus they took His clothes off, divided amongst them in four shares, one for each of them with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in a single piece from top to bottom. Let's not tear it they said, let's decided by lot who gets it. This happened so that the Scripture might be fulfilled which said, ‘They divided their garments among them and cast lots for my clothing'. So this is what the soldiers did. Near the Cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there and the Disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son and to the Disciple, here is your mother.' And from that time on this Disciple took her into his home. Later, knowing that all was completed and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I'm thirsty.' A jar of wine vinegar was there and so they soaked a sponge in it and put the sponge on a stalk of hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When He'd received a drink Jesus said, ‘It is finished'. With that He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. That's the price, the price that Jesus paid for you and for me and Barabbas. And as much as we here in the 21st Century might have a cultural problem with the notion of sin, it doesn't change anything. It doesn't change God, it doesn't change who God is, it doesn't change why God created us, it doesn't change the reality that you and I have fallen short of the glory of God. You and I have both rejected God and it doesn't change the reality that He loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son. So many people in our society have this nagging sense of guilt, this nagging sense of inadequacy, this deep down sense that they're not good enough. And the reason is that we aren't good enough. And God comes to us to the Cross of Jesus Christ and cries out and says to us: I love you. You are my Barabbas, you are my child. I love you, I sent my Son to pay the price. Look at my Son, look at the Cross, put your faith in Him and you can have eternal life. A new life, a fresh life, a life that begins now, a life with me that goes on forever. When we believe Jesus we have the forgiveness that Jesus purchased. When we believe the door is flung open into a deep relationship with God, when we believe we have eternal life, we do. Anybody, the worst criminal, you, me even if he had believed … Barabbas.

“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death. . . .” — Matthew 20:18 Every good story includes interesting characters—including heroes and villains—as well as tensions and challenges. All of these elements serve a purpose. Even villains, who are typically disliked, serve an important purpose in the story. This is the case for the chief priests and teachers in the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Jesus had set out for Jerusalem, even though he knew what would happen there. He knew there would be confrontations with the chief priests and teachers of the law, who were looking for a reason to arrest and kill him. If he stayed away from Jerusalem, he might have avoided that outcome, at least for a while. But he had come to follow his Father's plan, and that involved going to Jerusalem, facing the religious leaders, and submitting to his eventual sentencing, torture, and death. It may surprise us that the religious leaders opposed Jesus. In many ways, sadly, they were responsible for his death. They thought they were in the right, but they were not. The lesson for us here is to make sure we do what is right. At times when we think we are following God's will, we are not. We might think we are close to Jesus, but we can be far off. Discernment is a difficult task, but it is one that we are called to every day. Let's pray for help in discerning what is right and who we are called to be. Lord, help us discern right from wrong. Help us to truly follow you in all we do and say. Amen.

Series: Easter People: Part 1 Title: The Religious (Jesus and the Pharisees and Chief Priests) Pastor: Doug Colby Scripture: Mark 2:6-3:6 https://www.venturamissionary.com/

2 Year Gospel Study - week 64 (Friday, 03–21-25) Up To Jerusalem - Teaching 6 Scripture - Matthew 21:45-46, Matthew 22:1-45, Revelation 7:9-17, Job 19:26, Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2, Exodus 3:6, Mark 12:28-34, John 14:6, Micah 6:8 Today's teaching centers on Jesus' encounters with the religious leaders in the temple as recorded in the 4 gospels and enlightened by some of the latest findings of archeologists and others who have uncovered things that have been hidden for generations but that clearly testify to the truthfulness of God's Word.  We will see the display of absolute brilliance as Jesus encounters the religious aristocracy, as He answers the critics and as He clearly demonstrates the Divine plan to redeem the human race. Jesus is in the temple courts teaching - This is where we start today - Matthew 21:45-46 “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.” They wanted to arrest Him but also saw that the crowds were listening to Jesus and receiving Him with joy. Normally the Chief Priests and Pharisees did not see things the same way, but they did as far as how they both felt about Jesus.  Their desire to eliminate Jesus brought them together. Jesus' Teachings     ⁃    The Parable of the Wedding Banquet  (wedding feast / resurrection life / our destiny as true believers in Jesus) This is a banquet we do not want to refuse to come to!  In this parable Jesus also predicts the ultimate destruction of the city of Jerusalem which would happen in 70AD. Pastor dissects the part of the story about the man at the feast that wasn't dressed appropriately, in light of the teaching of Jesus found in Revelation 7:9-17.      ⁃    Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar - following the Wedding Banquet parable the pharisees came together with the Herodians to lay out a plan to trap Jesus. Herodians were strong supporters of Herod's dynasty and of Rome and the pharisees hated Roman rule and their taxes. But the two groups unite to trap Jesus with this question that would force Him to choose either the Pharisees or the Herodians: “what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”  But to this hot button issue on Roman taxes - Jesus answers: “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought Him a denarius and Jesus asks, “whose image is this and whose inscription?”  Their response is “Caesar's” Then Jesus said to them, “give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is Gods” When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. Their trap had failed.     ⁃    Marriage at the Resurrection - this onslaught against Jesus comes from the Sadducees with the story of seven brothers and the law in the Torah and Jesus again avoids their trap by confronting them with wisdom and scriptures.     ⁃    The Greatest Commandment -  “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.” We are called to show love because God love us through His Son, Jesus. And then we read, “And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”     ⁃    Whose Son is Messiah? Now Jesus decides to ask a question, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David.” Then Jesus adds a quote from King David. “David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord:“Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”' David himself calls him ‘Lord.' How then can he be his son?”  Jesus is calling them to really think hard about what David is saying. Pastor shares an enlightened look at what David is saying and what Jesus is desiring for the crowd to understand. The teaching concludes with a look at some archeological  discoveries and a peek into next week's class. Our website –  https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01 Up to Jerusalem is a study of the final weeks of Jesus' ministry concluding with His resurrection and ascension, using the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John together with material from ancient sources and recent discoveries.  Up to Jerusalem is part four of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Up To Jerusalem is the story of the plan of God to redeem the world, and the story of a Savior willing to obey the Father's plan. As we study Jesus' final days, we will be impacted as we discover the Love of God for each one of us.  This study is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 30th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to the Gospel of Mark 9:40. Jesus says:”For he who is not against us is on our side.” Then we go to John 18:38:”Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.” In fact he said that twice. He said it again in John 19:4:“I find no fault in Him”. He who is not against us is on our side.We need to be very careful that we don't judge people. Pontius Pilate was an infidel. He was a Roman governor. He had more compassion for Jesus than the Pharisees and the Chief Priests. In fact, he tried to defend Him. Always keep the door wide open. I'm talking to a lady who's stressing because her husband does not want to pray the sinner's prayer with her. Keep the door open. He will come through, just keep praying for him. I'm praying for that young girl. Mom and dad are pulling their hair out. She just does not want to know about the Lord. Well, she's not against the Lord. She just feels, she doesn't need the Lord, at the moment. Keep the door wide open, she'll come home just like the Prodigal Son. Never judge a book by it's cover. What does that mean? Well, it might have a very nice cover on the outside and be quite boring on the inside. However, it might have a plain cover and be exciting inside.I want to tell you a little story. A very good friend of mine, Allan Kruger, was the manager of the huge Kings Park Rugby Stadium. I approached him to book that stadium for the very first big event we ever had, and when I came into his office, he was flat out so busy organising Michael Jackson coming and all kinds of people and he didn't seem to have too much time for me. He was trying to be kind but he was busy. Well, I want to tell you something now, eventually I persuaded him to hire it to us and then he said, ”Do you realise what's involved? You're going to have to have a disaster management committee.” He brought out a heap of forms. He said, ”But on second thoughts, I'll handle that for you.” He said then, ”Do you realise that you have to have your lighting system?” I said, ”Yes.” He said, “Well, I'll do that for you.” And he just went on and on. You know that that man organised everything for us. Yes, and he wasn't a Christian, as per se, but on the big night when it was all over, I stood with Allan Kruger on the twenty-two metre line of that rugby field, and the two of us prayed the sinner's prayer together. Never ever judge a book by its cover. Jesus says, ”He who is not against us is on our side.”God bless you and goodbye.

The Chief Priests and elders sent spies to trap Jesus with their questions. They appeared to be sincere, but Jesus saw through their questions. He answered them with remarkable insight and then turned the crowd's attention to an image of true sincerity. We take a closer look at how our own lives can be disguised by false sincerity. 

I. Don't overlook the diligent care of God for his people, v33. II. See the cruel, violent, and foolish nature of sinners bent on rebellion, vv34-39. III. Consider God's extravagant patience with Israel's leaders. IV. Consider the just judgment of God against those who do reject his Messiah, vv40-41. V. So then, embrace the Messiah by faith, and bear the fruit of true repentance, vv42-44

A God of Joy and His people Part 3: Today Holy Barrier: I wonder what the biggest fence, wall or barrier is that you have either seen! Perhaps one of the biggest walls in the world is the Great Wall of China. It is over 4000 miles long, about 25 feet high and up to 30 feet thick! It is huge!! I have seen it both up close and from the air! It was originally built to keep out invaders - for that is what walls and barriers do: Keep out enemies! However big the Great Wall of China is, there is one barrier that is even bigger! Just as it was for ancient Israel, it is for us today. The biggest barrier to exist is the one that separates God from all His creation. This barrier is holiness, for God is a holy God and people are inherently not! The prophet Ezekiel gives a vivid picture of the holiness of God and describes it as a fire, a bright light, radiance, full of glory and majesty. If that is holiness, what is sin? Sin is both a heavy burden. Sin is like also toxic virus of the soul and affects every person. It is more deadly than Ebola, HIV and Spanish flu - combined. Sin inevitably leads to death and sin is anti-God! Sin is disobedience of God. Sin is also not doing what is right! With God there is no big or small sin - sin size is a human construct! However, some sins do cause God to grieve more than others. Holy People: If only people declared holy can enter God's presence, how are we made holy? How can we, as mortal unholy people, enter into the presence of God and live? What does atonement, if anything, mean for us in the 21st century? Chapters 9 & 10 of the book of Hebrews are the best commentary you can find on Leviticus 16. In there we see that Jesus Christ is our scapegoat and takes the immense burden of our sins on himself! Aaron was a type of servant king but Jesus was the ultimate servant king! Aaron, as Chief Priest, offered sacrifices for the cleansing of sin, but Jesus Christ himself was both the sacrifice and the Chief Priest. Jesus Christ became sin! We see the annually repeated Day of Atonement becoming the unique Day of Calvary, as Jesus' death is an atoning and substitutionary sacrifice, which makes amends to God for the sins of the world. Jesus alone gives life and offers life to the full - a life borne from grace and not from Law. At the time of Jesus' death, the curtain to the Holy of Holies in the Temple, the Tabernacles successor in Jerusalem, was torn in two from top to bottom to symbolise that access to God was now open! The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin, as God never wanted sacrifices in the first place! God desired obedience over sacrifice - all the time! The sacrifices of Leviticus were only in situ because the ancient Israelites sinned, they were disobedient towards God and His desires! God wanted obedience, and obedience as we know, goes on to give praise to Almighty God and gives testimony to His goodness! Declared Holy: Lets now, quickly compare the Levitical Sacrifices and Jesus' Sacrifices! Levitical Sacrifices: Performed repeatedly by earthly priests who stood. Their work was unending as they laboured on earth and their sacrifices could never take away sin. Jesus' Sacrifice: He offered one sacrifice. Jesus now sits at God's right hand in power and glory with His earthly work now complete. His sacrifice achieved its goal of fulfilment and made his followers holy! At the cross of Jesus Christ on Calvary, the Old Covenant was fulfilled and the New Covenant ushered in! This New Covenant assures those who follow Jesus Christ have Forgiveness! Peace! Reconciled to God Declared right and just before God! Cleansed from sin! Free from the slavery to sin! Intercedes for us! Given the Spirit to dwell inside! Granted direct access to God the Father, through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit With His own blood, rather than that of an animal, Jesus became the only atoning sacrifice that is perfectly acceptable to God, and it's only by His blood that was shed on that hill of Calvary that makes people holy. While the Levitical sacrifices were needed to be done over and over again, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was a once and for all sacrifice - never to be repeated! Because of Jesus Christ's sacrificial death and His subsequent resurrection, we have access to God and we have been declared holy and innocent! But only if we have made a conscious decision to follow Him Perfect holiness, has been revealed in Jesus Christ, and Him alone. If you are a Christian, you have been declared holy because you now wear Jesus Christ's robe of righteousness! It was given to you as a gift of grace! That is because of what Jesus did on the cross and in His resurrection. Jesus Christ has broken down the barrier between God and humanity once and for all, by His sacrificial death. That's why we celebrate Jesus' death around the communion table and that's why the bread and the wine are only symbolic of His flesh and blood. If the bread and wine did turn into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ as some churches proclaim, then we would be sacrificing Jesus Christ all over again. If you are a Christian, you are declared holy, and therefore you are to live a holy life - a life worthy of Jesus Christ! Live Holy! As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is living inside you, changing and transforming you into the very image of the holy one, Jesus Christ. Your transformation into that image of Jesus Christ, is the greatest evidence, not only of the work of the Holy Spirit but also of you being a Christian living an obedient life to God. As a Christian, you are no longer an enemy of God but a friend of God and belong to God! As Christians, we are to live a life of obedience to God - casting off all that hinders and seeks to stop us. And if we fall into disobedience, we can confess our sin to the Father, through the name of the Son and in the power of the Spirit and get right back up again, knowing we are forgiven - totally amazing! As Christians, we are called to be joyfully obedient to the Lord, serving Him in every aspect of life! In doing so, our whole lives will be acceptable worship to God and not just at a Sunday meeting. Our worship is to be a lifestyle of conscious decisions, reflecting our devotion to a God with whom we are to be in a dynamic and intimate relationship with. This lifestyle will affect the way we work, rest and play! As instruments in God's orchestra of joy, we are to be loyal to Him - the joy giver! We are to obey with joyful, effervescent vigour and reflect a living God to a society out there, which is in darkness. They will know we are Christians by the way we act - actions of obedience to God, signified by the love we have for each other and them. Love in action by supplying people's needs, both on an individual and church basis. We are called to follow God and not to succumb to the temptations, which seek to mar our relationship with the God who lives inside us. Go into this week, to obey and serve the Lord with faithful obedience! But if you are not a Christian here tonight, then please do make yourself known to us afterwards and we would love to talk to you about becoming a Christian. While you have breath, it's not too late to start this life of joyful obedience to a loving God and enter into a living and dynamic relationship of true Joy with Him. Don't leave it so late that you incur God's judgement for your sins and have everlasting separation from Him and others! God does indeed love you and He is calling you to come into a dynamic relationship of true joy with Him today. Take the opportunity today - come and follow Jesus Christ. He is calling you to respond! Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 file

A God of Joy and His people Part 1 We look again in the book of Leviticus. Some of the words and phrases we commonly use come straight from the book of Leviticus. Words such as jubilee and scapegoat are commonly used today. And what husband hasn't offered a form of guilt offering to his wife! Leviticus does have important things to tell us about sin, obedience and holiness. Perhaps most importantly it tells of God dwelling with His people. So tonight we delve into Leviticus chapter 16, which is the centre and pinnacle of the book. So please do turn in your bibles to Leviticus 16. 1. Sacrifices & Atonement (Leviticus 16v1-10) Day of Atonement Chapter 16 describes the Day of Atonement! We know that God had chosen Israel to be His people and that they were to be a shining beacon of light and hope to the world! As part of the covenant made with their leader, Moses, God said that He would be their God and they would be His people! What a contrast to the nations around them that worshipped multiple ‘gods', made of stone and often thirsty for human sacrifice. The Tabernacle / Tent of Meetings Most of the activity takes place in the Tabernacle! What did the Tabernacle look like? The Tabernacle or as it is also known as, the Tent of Meeting, was a marquee divided down the middle by a curtain. There was the ‘public' side and the other side, beyond the curtain, we know as the Holy of Holies, where the Chief Priest could only enter once a year! Inside the Holy of Holies were these items, which all screamed how special this place was! Ark of the Covenant: the object representing God's presence with His people Mercy seat: the removal top of the Ark where the blood was sprinkled by the High Priest Golden censer: High priest used this to make the cloud of incense as he entered the Holy of holies! Golden pot of manna: symbolised how God had supplied the needs of His people. Aaron's rod Stone tablets of the Law: as given to Moses on Mount Sinai So what was the Day of Atonement all about? It was to be an annual event. The verses read give a summary but you can read the details in the rest of the chapter. To atone means to clean, make amends, and to substitute. Chapter 16 starts by referring back to the incident we looked at last week, with Abihu and Nadab. Through their death, the Lord states the fundamental principles for priests - only they could mediate for the nation before Him and they had to be spiritually and ceremonially clean. Lets look very quickly at 5 aspects: Offerings, Blood, Aaron, Scapegoat and the people! a. The Offerings! There were 5 offerings performed on the day of Atonement in order to cleanse and re-consecrate the Tabernacle. All included the death of an animal and therefore involved blood : 2 blood atonement sin offerings; 1 scapegoat sin offering and 2 burnt offerings b. Blood! But why was blood used to ‘cleanse'? Why not water? Did God need blood, to quench his thirst for blood? By all means, no! God didn't need blood but blood was used to show that sin had a cost - the cost was blood because life is in blood (Leviticus 17v11)! The death substitute of an animal, reflected a temporary covering or veneer, which is why it needed to be done over and over again. c. Aaron! So that's blood! What about Aaron? During his normal daily duties, he represented God before the people, and was dressed as king! A king with great honour and clothes would draw attention to his office of honour! Here, on this one day of the year, the Day of Atonement, he represented the people before God, he was dressed as a servant. Before the Lord Almighty, Aaron is stripped of honour and approaches God as a servant. So, to a certain extent, Aaron was a servant King! Before he could go into the most holy place, he had to create an obscuring cloud of incense in the Holy of Holies, to veil the glory of God so he could enter and live. No doubt the memory of his sons provided an extra incentive to follow God's rules meticulously! d. Scapegoat And all this talk of a scapegoat! There were 2 goats to be offered! One goat was sacrificed as a substitutionary sin offering for the people and its blood taken into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat. Aaron, laid his hands on the second goat's head, the one kept alive, and symbolically cast the burden of sins of the nation onto the goat. It was then driven out into the wilderness, far away from the camp and was never to return! e. The people! Lastly, what about the people? What were they to do? Just sit there and be bored while this all took place? No! They were not to be passive! But rather, they were to remember this day as an addition to their annual calendar by "humbling their souls" as one translation puts v31. This involved not doing routine things such as working and feasting. They were to ponder upon the awesomeness of their God who lived amongst them, and to reflect the cost of their sin. They were also trusting that the Chief Priest was being fully obedient to the regulations! Atonement done! On this day of Atonement, the one day of the year, Atonement took place between God and His people. God's holy dwelling place and things associated with it were cleansed. The sins and disobedience of the nation of Israel, over the previous year, had left impurities as stipulated in verse 16. The cleansing blood was to symbolise the great cost of sin. If the Day of Atonement did not proceed as regulated or was forgotten one year, God could no longer be present with His people, due to the stains of sin and uncleanness of His Tabernacle or dwelling place. Holiness is what separates God from all His creation. For God alone is holy, perfect and full of glory. Exodus 15:2 "Who is like you, O God, glorious in holiness!" Or Isaiah 60:25 "To whom will you liken me, or shall I be equal?" says the Holy One. But if God was holy, how was His nation to act holy? That's what we will be discussing in the next part after a break! Right mouse click or tap here to save/download this as a MP3 file

I. The Father's love for his two children. II. The Father's grief over his reluctant children. III. The Father's patience with his reluctant children. IV. The Father's kingdom is for his repentant children.

Join us as we dive into the story of the wise men seeking to worship baby Jesus during the first Christmas. We'll explore their journey, the meaning of worship, and King Herod's troubled reaction to the birth of Jesus. Learn about the roles of the chief priests and scribes, and why Herod felt so threatened. This video provides a deeper understanding of the wise men's determination to find and honor the new king, despite the dangers that awaited them. 00:00 Introduction and Christmas Season Reflections 00:25 The Significance of the Wise Men 02:49 Herod's Troubling Reaction 05:06 The Role of the Chief Priests and Scribes 09:08 Herod's Deceptive Plan 10:20 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Today, Pastor Steve teaches us how the Promise of Christmas was for all, but not all responded to the promise in the same way. He looks at Matthew 2 to see how the Wise Men, King Herod and the Chief Priests all respond. He encouraged us with a challenge to consider how, we are like King Herod, too often choose our own personal kingdoms over the greater kingdom of Christ and to consider how one day, all those who bow before Jesus will worship with believers from all nations. 

This teaching is from Matthew 26:1-28. As we come to these final chapters of Matthew we are exploring the final days of Jesus' ministry on earth; His time with the disciples, His suffering, His death, His resurrection.  These are days that truly have changed the world and that's not hyperbole - it's fact. In today's reading - Jesus tells the disciples yet again of His coming crucifixion. He continues to let them know what's coming and what's ahead so that when it happens they will remember He had told them these things and they can then begin to put the pieces together. In verses 3-5 we read of the chief priests and elders scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him. But they decide to wait until after the Passover festival is over to avoid rioting by the crowds that are in Jerusalem during the festival time frame. BUT something happens to change their minds from that decision to a decision of “let's do it now!” It is no coincidence the timing of what's coming for Jesus in the timing of the Passover Festival.  The day before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem - what we call Palm Sunday - Jesus is at a dinner at Simon the Leper's home. While Jesus is dining, Mary pours perfume on Jesus' head. When the disciples call it a waste of money that could have gone to the poor, Jesus says, “When she poured this perfume on my head and body, she did it to prepare me for burial.” Yet another way of letting the disciples know what's to come. Next we read about the reason the Chief Priests change their minds to arresting Jesus earlier than originally planned.  Judas, one of the disciples, comes to them and asks what they would give him for delivering Jesus one to them. He was given 30 pieces of silver and then began to watch for the opportune time to hand Jesus to them. As the day for the Passover meal approaches, the disciples ask Jesus where He wants to make preparations to eat the meal. They gather around the table of an upper room for the Passover meal at the place the disciples had secured according to Jesus' directions. During the meal, Jesus mentions more clues of what is to come, “My appointed time is near.” During the dinner Jesus announces, “Truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me” and gives a harsh word of judgement.  As the Passover meal continues, Jesus institutes the “Lord's Supper” as a New Covenant. He takes the bread and wine of the Passover meal and reveals Himself as the Passover Lamb, the body (bread) and blood (wine) of the Passover Lamb meal. There are multiple correlations between the Passover Festival activities and activities of Jesus during His last week on earth. Jesus is the perfect, unblemished Lamb of God. Visit our website here https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website https://www.awakeusnow.com/matthew-discipling Watch the video from Youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOxHZDaamNk9DaM7h7LejJj7 Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app. We invite you to join us for our Sunday service every Sunday at 9:30am CT (live or on demand) here: https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

I. Never be surprised by religious adversaries to the authority of Jesus, v23. II. Jesus always outsmarts and exposes the hearts of his adversaries, vv24-26. III. Jesus will reject his adversaries who are persistent in rejecting him, v27.

In His last week in Jerusalem, Jesus begins by facing off with each faction of the religious leadership of Israel... Chief Priests, Teachers of the Law, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. He does not hold back in revealing their hypocrisy. .

Read OnlineWhen they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” Luke 12:11–12Jesus lived this Gospel passage in His own life to perfection. He was arrested, interrogated, falsely condemned and questioned by the Chief Priest, Herod and Pontius Pilate. During His interrogations, sometimes He spoke and at other times He remained silent. In preparation for these interrogations, Jesus did not study each ruler ahead of time, trying to figure out what He should say and not say. He did not prepare a defense but relied upon His perfect union with the Holy Spirit and with the Father to be led at every moment in His human nature.Though it may be unlikely that you will be arrested for your faith and put on trial for being Christian by the civil authorities, it is possible that you will experience various other forms of interrogation and condemnation at times during which you are challenged to respond. And more likely, if you are judged by another, you may be tempted to defend yourself in anger, attacking back.This Gospel passage, when clearly understood and lived, should have the effect of calming you and reassuring you during any and every experience of judgment. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way” (# 2478). And though you must always strive to do this yourself, there will most likely be times when others do not act in this careful and truthful way toward you. Thus, if you are judged by another, even if what they say has truth to it, it is important that you not react with defensiveness and anger, unless the Holy Spirit has unmistakably led you to do so. The key message Jesus gives is that you must trust that the Holy Spirit will always lead you as you humbly and continually seek to follow His every prompting. This is only possible if you have built a firm habit of attentiveness to the Voice of God within your conscience.Because the experience of rash judgment, detraction, calumny and the like are painful to encounter, you must prepare your defense ahead of time by learning to only rely upon the Holy Spirit in all things. Jesus exhorts us to do so! Therefore, if you daily and humbly seek to fulfill God's will, hear His voice, and respond with generosity, then you can be certain that when the time comes and you experience these forms of judgment, you will be ready. The Holy Spirit will speak to you, inspire you, console you and give you every grace you need to respond in accord with God's will. Do not doubt this. Have faith and confidence in these words and this promise of our Lord.Reflect, today, upon the ways that you have responded in the past to the judgment of another. Try to call to mind specific moments when this has happened. Did you respond with similar judgments? Were you filled with anger? Did you brood over injury? Did you lose your peace of heart? If you have fallen into these temptations, then commit yourself in faith to believe what Jesus says today. Trust Him. Trust that He will be with you in those difficult moments in the future and pray that you will be graced to respond only as the Holy Spirit directs you.My innocent Lord, You were put on trial, judged and falsely condemned. Yet in all of that, You were the Innocent Lamb Who always loved and spoke truth with perfection. When I experience judgment in my life, please fill me with peace of heart and trust in Your promise that the Holy Spirit will be with me, inspiring me and leading me in accord with Your perfect will. Holy Spirit, I abandon myself to You now and always. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Christ in front of Pilate by Mihály Munkácsy, via Wikimedia Commons

The Chief Priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest Jesus, but they returned having failed.  The drama of this event is in our reading today in John 7. They are rebuked, “Why did you not bring him?” [v.45] and respond “”No one ever spoke like this man.”  We are given no detail of the scene, but we imagine these officers standing within the crowd of people who were absorbed in what Jesus was saying for “he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” [Matt.7 v.29]  No fiction writer could have invented the character of Jesus, it is impossible for anyone with a reasoning mind to read the Gospel records and not realize that these accounts have an overwhelming ring of truth about them.   So we picture the dilemma of these officers sent on their impossible task of arresting Jesus.   What was the real reason his arrest was sought?  Pilate realized the real reason; in Matthew's Gospel it says “he knew that it was out of envy they had delivered him up” [ch. 27 v.18] – and in the end, in order to secure his arrest they had needed the help of a traitor and the cover of darkness at the midnight hour coming “with swords and clubs” [Matt 26 v.55] in order to make their arrest.  Before the officers came on their unsuccessful mission the crowd had been debating who he was for “some of the people said, ‘This really is the prophet',  others said ‘this is the Christ' But some said, ‘Is the Christ to come from Galilee?” [40,41]  This debate continues to this day – and we recognise that it is the will of God that it should be so; his birth in Bethlehem had been concealed.  Why was this?  Are we going to complain because that which is true is not immediately made plain?  Are we going to use this as an excuse for not believing?  The character of Jesus and the impact he had – and then left on the earth after his death and resurrection – is in sufficient evidence for all who genuinely seek to find and believe.  Truly “no one ever spoke like this man” and we turn away from reading of what he said, and what his followers were inspired to write, to our eternal loss.

Right on the heels of cleansing the Temple, today on Sound Doctrine we find Jesus teaching in the Temple. It's here in Matthew chapter 21 that the Chief Priests and Elders call into question the authority of Jesus. And Jesus masterfully responds with a question of His own that would leave them flustered. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29

Scripture Outline (Mark 14:1-11)1.   Chief Priests and Scribes are Plotting to Kill Jesus. (Vs. 1-2)2.   Jesus is Anointed at Bethany. (Vs. 3-9)     a.   A woman anoints Jesus with perfume.     b.   Some of the disciples are upset at her wastefulness.     c.   Jesus rebukes the disciples, who are upset with her.          i.    Jesus honors her act of extravagance.          ii.   Jesus interprets her act to relate to his impending death.3.   Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus. (vs. 10-11)

Chief Priest of Myoshinji temple in 1994 Reverend Jiho Takahashi

Jesus heals a leper and tells him to go show himself the Chief Priests. A Centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant and Jesus simultaneously commends the Centurion's faith and rebukes the faith of His own people. And Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. Have a listen. Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: When You Meet Jesus | Gospel Encounters Conference Pre-order: Hitchhiking with Prophets: A Ride Through the Salvation Story of the Old Testament by Chad Bird 30 Minutes in the NT on Youtube Remembering Rod Rosenbladt Encouragement for Motherhood Edited by Katie Koplin More from the hosts: Daniel Emery Price Erick Sorenson

Verse by verse study through the book of John Chapter Twelve and Verse Ten

This morning we continue our study verse by verse through the gospel of Matthew. The plot thickens as Judas approaches the Chief Priests with a proposition to betray Jesus. The Lord's Supper is instituted as Jesus informs his disciples of his impending betrayal, effectively telling Judas that He knows everything that is about to happen. Scripture text is Matthew 26:14-30.

We are familiar with all those stories.  We are getting to the part of the Bible that we know.  Here is what I notice.  So much of this chapter is about us getting completely off track.  Religious leaders that have gone completely awry, disciples that miss the beauty of the anointing, the meal, the prayer time, and betrayal. I got stuck on Caiaphas and Judas. Caiaphas was the Chief Priest for goodness sake.  But he likely had a good relationship with Rome and Herod which would mean he didn't have a good relationship with the Jews.  He enjoyed a long tenure of being chief priest.  He gained a lot while in the position.  He had a lot to lose by what Jesus was trying to set straight.  He took everything Jesus did personally.  He was out for Jesus's blood.  He didn't just want him to be taught a lesson, he wanted him dead.  Money, prestige, power.  All things that would inspire the anger needed to plot death to a known innocent man. Continue reading the shows notes on our website Nothin' But Fine.---Check out the Nothin' But Fine blog and website.Follow us on social media: Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube Want everything in your inbox? Subscribe to the Nothin' But Fine newsletter!

Naira Abuse: Cubana Chief Priest Pleads Not Guilty, Granted N10m Bail --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ksspod/support

The Saturday following Jesus' crucifixion might be the most unique and overlooked day in the history of the world. It is the day between Jesus' death and His resurrection. Less is written in the Gospels about this day than any other in the scope of this week known as Passion Week. But what makes it so unique is this: it is the only full day in history where the body of the crucified Son of God lay dead and buried in a grave. The day before, He was crucified. The following day He would rise from the grave. But what happened on Saturday? Though we may not know much about this day, when we look at the few verses the Gospels give us accounting for it, we find it was by no means a forgotten day to the Chief Priests who had handed Jesus over to death. During His earthly ministry, Jesus said many times that He would die in Jerusalem at the hands of the Chief Priests, but on the third day He would rise again (Matthew 12:40, Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34). Of course, the Chief Priests scoffed at this. But they didn't forget it. On the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Jesus' prediction preoccupied their thoughts in such a way that they couldn't leave it alone. Matthew 27:62-66 tells us the strange story of how the Chief Priests simply could not dismiss the possibility that Jesus might have known something they didn't. They went to Pilate and explained that while Jesus was clearly an imposter, His disciples might try to steal His body and fake a resurrection. Pilate's response was laced with poetic foreshadowing when he said, “Here is a guard of soldiers. Make the tomb as secure as you can.” Already, two of the hardest people to reach or come to Jesus for salvation, the rich and those who are religious, have openly professed their faith in Jesus Christ, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. No doubt they both were at the council that had condemned Jesus but possibly did not vote with the rest to have Jesus crucified. But at the same time, we have no record that they spoke up for Him. I believe that they must have witnessed the Roman soldiers mercilessly scourged Jesus with a multi-lashed whip containing imbedded pieces of bone and metal with 40 lashings (Matthew 27:26).  And watched as they pressed the crown of thorns into Jesus' head, mock and spit on Him and ridicule him before they dragged Him to Golgotha. They witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus with the two thieves. They heard Jesus say, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” They saw the bright noonday sun go black…. And in that terrible darkness they heard the Savior cry out, “My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?” At 3pm in the midst of the darkness, as they stood nearby, they heard the voice of Jesus one last time as He cry out, “It is finished” and “Into thy hands I commit my spirit.” And He breathe His last! And they saw Jesus die!!!!!!!!! They felt the ground quake!!!! It is possible that they encountered each other at the cross when Jesus died and together decided to publicly take their stand with Him. Joseph might have said to Nicodemus, “I have a tomb nearby that Jesus can borrow for a couple of days, He said He would rise again on the third day, would you help me take Him down from the cross and bury Him?”   You can see why the Pharisees and the Pilate were concerned. That Saturday, as His body lay wrapped in linen in a grave, there were many around Jerusalem who sat with uneasy questions about whether or not there would be another chapter in Jesus' story. His uncommon strength, coupled with the supernatural darkness that settled over the land during His crucifixion (Matthew 27:45), set on edge those who wanted Him dead, even after they'd succeeded. A resurrection would only cause people to believe in Him more. Yes, it is Saturday, but Sunday is coming!!!! Today, let us prepare for Sunday and the celebration of the greatest day in human history, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! God bless!

Thank you to Pastor Jesse Powers for the message titled, -A Triumphant Entry- from Matthew 21-1-10. We learned about the prediction of the crucifixion and the presentation of the Christ.-I. The Prediction of The Crucifixion -1. There are many Old Testament prophesies concerning Jesus' death.-2. Jesus gave 3 predictions of the crucifixion -o Matthew 16-13-o Matthew 17-1-9-o Matthew 20-17-19-II. The Presentation of The Christ -1. The Christ - Jesus fulfilled the O.T. prophesy concerning himself. Zech 9-9 -Rejoice greatly, shout for joy. Behold your King is coming riding on a donkey's colt.- Jesus deliberately offered Himself as the suffering servant and as the Messiah.-2. The Crowds - The people are shouting -Hosanna to the Son of David--3. The Chief Priests saw the wonderful things Jesus had done and what everyone was saying, and they were indignant. -Matthew 21-15--Jesus came to serve and give His life as a ransom. The Resurrection is the hope and assurance for all believers. Eternal peace is within your reach. He is saying, -Come unto me. I will save you and give you peace.-

Thank you to Pastor Jesse Powers for the message titled, -A Triumphant Entry- from Matthew 21-1-10. We learned about the prediction of the crucifixion and the presentation of the Christ.-I. The Prediction of The Crucifixion -1. There are many Old Testament prophesies concerning Jesus' death.-2. Jesus gave 3 predictions of the crucifixion -o Matthew 16-13-o Matthew 17-1-9-o Matthew 20-17-19-II. The Presentation of The Christ -1. The Christ - Jesus fulfilled the O.T. prophesy concerning himself. Zech 9-9 -Rejoice greatly, shout for joy. Behold your King is coming riding on a donkey's colt.- Jesus deliberately offered Himself as the suffering servant and as the Messiah.-2. The Crowds - The people are shouting -Hosanna to the Son of David--3. The Chief Priests saw the wonderful things Jesus had done and what everyone was saying, and they were indignant. -Matthew 21-15--Jesus came to serve and give His life as a ransom. The Resurrection is the hope and assurance for all believers. Eternal peace is within your reach. He is saying, -Come unto me. I will save you and give you peace.-

Homily of Fr. Michael O'Connor from Mass on March 25, 2024 at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church in Bay St. Louis, MS Referenced Readings: Isaiah 42:1-7 John 12:1-11 If you would like to donate to OLG and her livestream ministry, please go to  https://olgchurch.net/give

Thank you to Pastor Jesse Powers for the message titled, "A Triumphant Entry" from Matthew 21:1-10. We learned about the prediction of the crucifixion and the presentation of the Christ.I. The Prediction of The Crucifixion 1. There are many Old Testament prophesies concerning Jesus' death.2. Jesus gave 3 predictions of the crucifixion o Matthew 16:13o Matthew 17:1-9o Matthew 20:17-19II. The Presentation of The Christ 1. The Christ - Jesus fulfilled the O.T. prophesy concerning himself. Zech 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, shout for joy. Behold your King is coming riding on a donkey's colt." Jesus deliberately offered Himself as the suffering servant and as the Messiah.2. The Crowds - The people are shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David"3. The Chief Priests saw the wonderful things Jesus had done and what everyone was saying, and they were indignant. (Matthew 21:15)Jesus came to serve and give His life as a ransom. The Resurrection is the hope and assurance for all believers. Eternal peace is within your reach. He is saying, "Come unto me. I will save you and give you peace."

In Mark 14, the Chief Priests and scribes are conspiring to find a way to secretly put Jesus to death. But in the middle of their plans comes the story of an unnamed woman with an alabaster jar. Her small act of kindness serves as a subversive act of goodness to counter the hatred of the Chief Priests' plans. And now, her amazing story calls us to join the revolution of kindness.

In Mark 14, the Chief Priests and scribes are conspiring to find a way to secretly put Jesus to death. But in the middle of their plans comes the story of an unnamed woman with an alabaster jar. Her small act of kindness serves as a subversive act of goodness to counter the hatred of the Chief Priests' plans. And now, her amazing story calls us to join the revolution of kindness.

In Luke 23 we meet several people whose different responses to the cross literally divide them for eternity. Who are you? 1. The Preoccupied, like Pilate? 2. The Superficial, like Herod? 3. The Religious, like the Chief Priests? 4. The Guilty, like Barabbas? 5. The Disciple, like Simon of Cyrene?

Sermon: The Parable of the Two SonsSeries: The Parables of JesusScripture: Matthew 21:28-32Teacher: Pastor Paul LawlerIn this sermon, Pastor Paul delves into the powerful message of repentance and its significance in our walk with God, using the Parable of the Two Sons from Matthew 21:28-32 as our guide.While teaching in the Temple, amidst a diverse crowd of disciples, Chief Priests, Pharisees, and religious leaders, Jesus presents the parable of the two sons. One son initially refuses but later repents and obeys, while the other son agrees but fails to follow through.We're invited to reflect on these two sons as symbolic of humanity's response to God. Are we like the first son who repents and follows God with a sincere heart, or are we like the second son, merely giving lip service without genuine surrender?The connection between this parable and the ministry of John the Baptist becomes clear as Paul explores why Jesus highlighted the religious leaders' rejection of John. John's message was one of repentance, a call to turn from sin and embrace righteousness. This message is echoed in the teachings of Jesus and is at the core of genuine faith.This sermon emphasizes that repentance is essential for anyone seeking a true relationship with God. Repentance turns our hearts toward Him and opens the windows of heaven over our lives. It's not about merely agreeing with God's words but surrendering our hearts to Him.We're given a clear call to examine our hearts, seek God's restoration, and pray for forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. Repentance, as illustrated in the Parable of the Two Sons, is the key to becoming a true follower of Christ.

When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” Luke 12:11–12Jesus lived this Gospel passage in His own life to perfection. He was arrested, interrogated, falsely condemned and questioned by the Chief Priest, Herod and Pontius Pilate. During His interrogations, sometimes He spoke and at other times He remained silent. In preparation for these interrogations, Jesus did not study each ruler ahead of time, trying to figure out what He should say and not say. He did not prepare a defense but relied upon His perfect union with the Holy Spirit and with the Father to be led at every moment in His human nature.Though it may be unlikely that you will be arrested for your faith and put on trial for being Christian by the civil authorities, it is possible that you will experience various other forms of interrogation and condemnation at times during which you are challenged to respond. And more likely, if you are judged by another, you may be tempted to defend yourself in anger, attacking back.This Gospel passage, when clearly understood and lived, should have the effect of calming you and reassuring you during any and every experience of judgment. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way” (# 2478). And though you must always strive to do this yourself, there will most likely be times when others do not act in this careful and truthful way toward you. Thus, if you are judged by another, even if what they say has truth to it, it is important that you not react with defensiveness and anger, unless the Holy Spirit has unmistakably led you to do so. The key message Jesus gives is that you must trust that the Holy Spirit will always lead you as you humbly and continually seek to follow His every prompting. This is only possible if you have built a firm habit of attentiveness to the Voice of God within your conscience.Because the experience of rash judgment, detraction, calumny and the like are painful to encounter, you must prepare your defense ahead of time by learning to only rely upon the Holy Spirit in all things. Jesus exhorts us to do so! Therefore, if you daily and humbly seek to fulfill God's will, hear His voice, and respond with generosity, then you can be certain that when the time comes and you experience these forms of judgment, you will be ready. The Holy Spirit will speak to you, inspire you, console you and give you every grace you need to respond in accord with God's will. Do not doubt this. Have faith and confidence in these words and this promise of our Lord. Reflect, today, upon the ways that you have responded in the past to the judgment of another. Try to call to mind specific moments when this has happened. Did you respond with similar judgments? Were you filled with anger? Did you brood over injury? Did you lose your peace of heart? If you have fallen into these temptations, then commit yourself in faith to believe what Jesus says today. Trust Him. Trust that He will be with you in those difficult moments in the future and pray that you will be graced to respond only as the Holy Spirit directs you. My innocent Lord, You were put on trial, judged and falsely condemned. Yet in all of that, You were the Innocent Lamb Who always loved and spoke truth with perfection. When I experience judgment in my life, please fill me with peace of heart and trust in Your promise that the Holy Spirit will be with me, inspiring me and leading me in accord with Your perfect will. Holy Spirit, I abandon myself to You now and always. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Jesus encounters the temple authorities: the Chief Priests. He says the "tax collectors and prostitutes proceed" them into the kingdom of heaven. Rev. Ben unpacks what this means for you and me...