Apr 12 2015

The Lord’s Supper and the Arrest of Jesus – Luke 22

In Luke 22, the Feast of the Passover is approaching, and Jesus sends Peter and John in to town to find a room. He told them exactly in detail what they would find when they got there, and it is exactly what they found. Judas, meanwhile, had already made arrangements with the chief priests and officers as to how he would betray Jesus.

English: “The Judas Kiss”, (Mark 14:45) by Gustave Doré. Judas kisses Jesus in order to betray him to the guards. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In verses 14-23, Jesus instituted the Lord’s supper, and also revealed that one of them would betray him. In Luke’s account, their concern and inquiry as to which one of them would be the worst (in that respect) was followed quickly by an argument between them as to which one of them was the greatest. They still just didn’t get it, and Jesus told them that the least would be the greatest. Being in the kingdom was not about being lifted up before men. It was (and still is) all out serving others.

This long chapter (66 verses) has a lot of history in it. Jesus informs Peter of his impending denial, and then he goes to the mount of Olives to pray. Next comes his betrayal by Judas and his arrest. After Peter’s denial, he is mocked and beaten, and then he was brought before the council. He gives them very little in their questioning, saying “You say that I am” when asked if he was the Son of God. That was enough for them. They would take him to Pilate to do their dirty work.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Colossians and Luke

Luke 22, Luke 23, Luke 24, Acts 1, Acts 2

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 23 2015

Who Was the Naked Runner? – Mark 14-15

Mark 14 is the longest in his gospel and one of the longest in the New Testament at 72 verses. It truly demonstrate the fast pace of Mark’s writing we spoke of earlier, as there is a lot of history in the chapter. It covers Jesus’ anointing at Bethany, the institution of the Lord’s supper, prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, Judas’ betrayal, and Peter’s denial. This makes a detailed study of the chapter in this blog practically impossible. But there is so much to be learned from such a study, considering all of those events. Most of them have been covered in previous posts here.

Sunrise over the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane is to the left of the large building on the right.

That being the case, I want to focus on two verses that are almost always overlooked because of all of the other important details. When you read (or listen to) the chapter, pay attention to verses 51 and 52, which seem to be out of step with the entire chapter. The context is the arrest of Jesus, during which His followers ended up fleeing:

And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Why is this seemingly insignificant and strange account included in such a succinct gospel account? Does it have any meaning for us? There are some scholars who believe that the young man spoken of here is John Mark himself, and that the passage serves as a sort of signature for the author — somewhat like John’s reference to “the disciple that Jesus loved” in his gospel. That has a ring of truth, and well may be the case.

But it does serve to illustrate that Jesus’ captors did seek to arrest those who followed Him, and would certainly have loved to get their hands on the apostles. But this insignificant man was the only one they got their hands on — and he got away. The Lord had indeed guarded His disciples from harm in this ordeal. It was His will that they would not be harmed. Just one in a long line of examples that God’s will always gets done.

Chapter 15 is only 47 verses, but once again, it is filled with many important events. Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin, who send Him to Pilate, who has Him scourged (trying in vain to get the crowd to have him release Jesus instead of Barabbas). He is mocked and beaten and spat upon, and then led to be crucified. At His death, he utters the famous words taken from Psalm 22 — “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

After His death, it was a respected member of the Sanhedrin council itself who went to Pilate and obtained permission to take the body for burial. It was a truly courageous thing for a man in his position to do; and Mark tells us that he “was also himself looking for the kingdom of God.” As is so often the case, God used one of the most unexpected of people to see His will done. And that is always a reminder to us that everyone who seeks the Lord has the ability to do something meaningful in His kingdom.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jun 5 2014

Betrayed and Denied – Luke 22

English: “The Judas Kiss”, (Mark 14:45) by Gustave Doré. Judas kisses Jesus in order to betray him to the guards. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Jesus was still speaking in the Garden of Gethsemane, a crowd was approaching, with Judas leading them. As Luke reminded us earlier, it was His custom to come here, and Judas knew where He went to pray. It must have been quite a scene. Judas kissed his teacher as was customary. Jesus did not let him off easy for that, reminding him that he had just betrayed “the Son of Man with a kiss.”

When they realized what was happening, some of the apostles asked Jesus if they should “strike with the sword.” Peter, of course, did not wait for answer, but cut the ear off of one of them. It is only John who tells us that it was Peter who did this (John 18:10), and that the victim’s name was Malchus. Jesus stopped them from continuing in violence and healed the man’s ear. Then He chastised the chief priests who had come with the crowd, pointing out that they had not laid a hand on Him while He was with them everyday ion the Temple, yet now they come after him like He was a robber.

They took Him to the house of the chief priest, with Peter following at a distance. He settled in with a crowd who had made a fire in the courtyard. It was there that Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Luke tells us that a rooster crowed immediately, and that Jesus turned and looked at Peter. What a horrible feeling of guilt must have come over Peter at that moment. Despite all of his bravado, he had taken the cowardly way out in fear for his own safety. Now he must live with that knowledge, and Luke tells us that he did indeed go out and “wept bitterly.”

The kiss of Judas and Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Verses 63-65 tell us how the men that were holding Jesus mocked and blasphemed against Him. They also had Him blindfolded, beating Him, and they would tell Him to “prophesy” by saying which one of them had struck Him. Then at daybreak, He was led to the Sanhedrin, where they questioned Him about whether He was the Christ – the Son of God. Jesus’ answer “you say that I am” is a Greek expression that turns it back on the questioner, but the answer was clear. And that was enough for His accusers. They would deliver Him to Pilate, since they were forbidden by Roman law to execute Him themselves.

(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from Luke here
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from 2 Chronicles here

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog. All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility. When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.