Jesus' Ministry, per Matt, Mark & Luke (part 11)

• For the entire itinerary, see page Ministry Itin'ry;
• In (parentheses) is the location per today's geography.

[18] in Galilee; along the border of Galilee & Samaria; in Judea;

[19] 3rd time in Jerusalem-- mid-fall, Feast of Tabernacles:

1. in Jerusalem-- halfway through the Feast, to the Temple courts;
2. to the Mount of Olives (south-central West Bank)-- for 1 night;
3. back in the Temple courts of Jerusalem;
4. Jesus spoke again to the people; as He went along...;

B. cont'd. (after the 2nd time in Jerusalem)

  51. Jesus again (for the 3rd time) spoke of 'light' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 11:33-36 Like the last topic (the sign of Jonah), this is a repeat-of-a-repeat about 1 subject-- light: It is also directed to the Judaic crowd, though originally it was directed to the disciples in Galilee, & repeated to the crowd by the Lake (& explained to the disciples in the house)-- for the original see Sermon1 Sermon teaching #1-- Salt & light; for the repeat, see Parable1 1.(2nd pt.): No 1 lights a lamp & puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good [properly on stance], your whole body is full of light. But when they are bad [not properly on stance], your body is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your eyes are properly on stance & your whole body is full of light, & no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, like as when the light of a lamp shines on you.

  52. Jesus told how to clean the inside-- & pronounced 6 woes [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 11:37-54 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to eat with Him; so He went in & reclined at the table. But the same Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not 1st wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord  said to Him, Now then, You Pharisees in general clean the outside of the cup & dish, but inside You are full of greed & wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the ONE who made [created] the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside [e.g., joy] to the poor in spirit, & everything will be clean for You-- & as I've heard recently, elevator-snippets of the Gospel together just might add up to others' being cleansed. Now the woe-pronouncements [3 to the Pharisees & 3 to the experts/teachers of the Law:
  1. Woe to You Pharisees [religious leaders], because You give GOD a 10th [tithe] of Your mint, rue & all other kinds of garden herbs, but You neglect justice & the Love of GOD. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone [while continuing the former].
  2. Woe to You Pharisees, because You love the most important seats in the synagogues & greetings [recognitions] in the marketplaces [public places]. You're perpetual condescending attitude has a certain odor-- & yes, I'm referring to some individuals today.
  3. Woe to You Pharisees, because You are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.
  4. 1 of the experts in the Law answered Him, Teacher, when You say these things, You insult Us also. Jesus replied, And You experts in the Law [supposed know-it-alls, as many profess to be now], woe to You, because You load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, & You yourselves will not lift 1 finger to help them.
  5. Woe to You experts in the Law, because You build tombs for the prophets, & it was Your forefathers who killed Them. So You testify that You approve of what Your forefathers did; They killed the prophets, & You build Their tombs. Because of this, GOD in HIS Wisdom said, I will send Them prophets & apostles, some of whom They will kill & others They will persecute. Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar & the sanctuary-- in Matt 23:13-26 (after his donkey ride into Jerusalem) we shall see these woes being repeated/enhanced. Matt 23:35 has Zechariah being murdered between the altar & the Temple; 2ndCh 24:21 has by order of the king They stoned Him to death in the courtyard of the LORD'S Temple. Yes, I tell You, this generation will be held responsible for it all.
  6. Woe to You experts in the Law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, & You have hindered those who were entering.

When Jesus had left there, The Pharisees & the teachers of the Law began to oppose Him fiercely & to besiege Him with questions, waiting to catch Him in something He might say-- no longer looking for something he might do.

  53. Jesus advised to avoid hypocrisy-- & how to defend oneself [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 12:1-12 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many 1,000s had gathered, so that they were trampling on 1 another, Jesus began to speak 1st [all primarily] to His disciples, saying: Be on the Your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What You have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, & what You have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. I tell those of You, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body & after that can do no more. But I will show You whom You should fear [respect with your behavior]: Fear HIM who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw You into hell. Yes, I tell You, fear HIM. Yes, but love retrains the use of that power: Are not  5 sparrows sold for 2 pennies? Yet not 1 of them is forgotten by GOD. Indeed, the very hairs of Your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid: You are worth more than many sparrows. I tell You, whoever acknowledges Me before men, the Son of man will also acknowledge Him before the Angel of GOD. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit (attributes the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan) will not be forgiven. Now this last has been expressed by scholars, but I have to repeat a comment I made before, that it might be said that the Romans were responsible for Jesus' death (though the Pharisees & "experts" in the Law were more responsible in my estimation), but the idea is absolutely ludicrous that today's Catholics are "going to hell" as I've heard-- that generation, perhaps, but surely not the some 70 generations since. When You are brought before synagogues, rulers & authorities, do not worry about how You will defend yourselves or what You will say, For the Holy Spirit will teach You at this time what You should say.

  54. Parable: 'the rich man'-- he was not rich toward GOD, but was greedy [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 12:13-21 Someone in the crowd said to Him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus replied, Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbiter between you? Then He replied to them all, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kind of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And He told them this parable: The ground of a certain already rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns & build bigger ones, & there I will store all my grains & my goods. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink & be merry.'" But GOD said to him, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who store up things for himself but is not rich toward GOD.

  55. Jesus spoke specifically to His disciples about worry gendered by greed [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 12:22-34 Then Jesus said to His disciples: Therefore I tell You, do not worry about Your life, what You will eat; or about Your body, what You will wear Put this together with what we just saw (the parable of the certain rich man who did worry & was not rich toward GOD), & it's evident what been said by others is true, that he was emphasizing to his disciples not to worry-- not to become hippies & think the "world owes us a living", but to apply ourselves to becoming wise stewards & become rich toward GOD (otherwise stated as laying up treasure in Heaven). Life is more than food, & the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom, or barn, yet GOD feeds them, they have no storeroom or barn: yet GOD feeds them. Again, he was not advising them to become hippie-ravens, but to remain as created-- note the certain man was already rich & had crops & barns. We were created to be concerned about survival, to sow for the future; with God's help this concern will not progress to greed & obsession, but transforms to involvement with others-- to the extent of perpetual living testimonies. And how much more valuable You are than birds! Who of You by worrying can add a single hour to his life Since You cannot do this very little thing, add the hour, why do You worry about the rest? BTW, I once pointed out, via a letter-to-the-editor that everyone is destined to die, but you can radically enhance the quality of your latter years by how you live your youth-- eating a balanced diet & not smoking, for 2. Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin-- though even they put down root. Seems I heard once the advice about church attendance-- "bloom where planted."  Yet I tell You, not even Solomon in all His splendor, like unto the certain rich man, was dressed spiritually like 1 of these lilies. If that is how GOD clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, & tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will HE clothe You, O You of little faith! And do not set Your heart on [be obsessed with] what you will eat or drink: do not worry about it. For the pagans run after [are consumed with] all such things, & Your Heavenlt FATHER knows that You need them-- He will guide you how to root. But seek HIS Kingdom, & all these things will be given You as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for Your FATHER has been pleased to give You the Kingdom. Sell Your extra possessions & give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in Heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near & no moth destroys. For where Your treasure is, there will Your heart be also.

  56. Parable: 'the alert servants & wise manager', given & explained [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 12:35-48 Be dressed ready for service & keep Your multiple lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes & knocks they can immediately without embarrassment open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell You the truth, he the master will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table & will come & wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the 2nd or 3rd watch of the night. But understand this [lets look at this individually]: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming-- when any given servant would yield to temptation, he would not have left his house be broken into. So therefore You also must be ready, because the Son of man will come at an hour when You do not expect HIM. Peter the "solid" rock asked, Lord, are You telling this parable to Us, or to everyone? The Lord answered, Who then is the faithful & wise manager-- also a servant, whom the master puts in charge of HIS Servants to give Them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when HE returns. I tell You the truth, HE will put him in charge of all HIS Possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' & he begins to beat the menservants & maidservant under him & to eat & drink & get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect HIM & at an hour he is not aware of. HE will cut him to pieces & assign him a place with the unbelievers-- salvation will no longer be available. That servant who knows his master's will & does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the 1 who does not know & also does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has given much, much will be demanded; & from the 1 who has been entrusted with much, more will be asked.