Jesus' Ministry, per Matt, Mark & Luke (part 14)

• 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...;

  73. Several repeats: 'Little ones', '7 times in a day', 'Faith as a mustard seed'-- plus, 'We have only done Our duty' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 17:1-10 Jesus said to His disciples:
  • Repeats of earlier accounts-- just after he began journeying to Jerusalem for the 3rd time (see PerMtMkLk9 B.36. & Sermon1 Sermon Teaching #4 (Mark 9:42-50): Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for Him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around His neck than to cause 1 of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.
  • Also a repeat of an earlier account-- also soon after he began journeying to Jerusalem for the 3rd time (see PerMtMkLk10 B.44.): If Your brother sins, rebuke Him, & if He repents, forgive Him. If He sins against You 7 times in a day, & 7 times comes back to You & says, 'I repent,' forgive Him.
  • Also a repeat of an earlier account-- but just before he began journeying to Jerusalem for the 3rd time (see PerMtMkLk8 B.34.): The apostles said to the Lord, Increase Our faith! He replied, If You have faith as a grain of mustard seed, You can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted & planted in the sea, & it will obey You. There is a minor difference-- it's still about personal faith, but the earlier account says 1 can speak to a mountain (as opposed to the mulberry tree). Now there are 2 other times when Jesus compared the kingdom of Heaven faith to a mustard seed that grows & becomes a tree (see Parable2 A.1. &  PerMtMkLk12 B.61.
  • As noted above, not a repeat: Suppose 1 of You had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would He say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now & sit down to eat' Would he rather not say, 'Prepare My supper, get yourself ready & wait on Me while I eat & drink; after that you may eat & drink.' Would He thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So You also, when You have done everything You were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; We have only done Our duty. Let's look at service for the Lord from another angle-- preaching. Some are called to be vocational preachers (to make a living thereby); all are called to be living testimonies. In 1stCor 9:13-18 Paul, the itinerant preacher that slam-dunked the band, said, Don't you know that those who work in the Temple get Their food from the Temple, & Those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the LORD has commanded that Those who preach the Gospel should receive Their living from the Gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that You will do such things for Me. I would rather die than have anybody deprive Me of this boast of serving). Yet when I preach the Gospel I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to Me if I do not preach the Gospel. If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am discharging the trust committed to Me. What then is My reward? Just this: that in preaching the Gospel I may offer it free of charge, & so make use of My rights in preaching it.

  74. Along the border-- 10 men who had leprosy [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 17:11-19 Now on His way to way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria & Galilee. As He was going into a village, 10 men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance & called out in a loud voice, Jesus, Master, have pity on us! When He saw them, He said, Go, show yourselves to the priests-- he respected the custom that the Jewish priests inspect healed lepers. And as they went, they were cleansed-- thus demonstrating faith. But only 1 of them,when he saw that he was healed, came back, praising GOD in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet & thanked Him-- & he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other 9? Was no 1 found to return give praise to GOD except this foreigner?. Then He said to Him, Rise & go; Your faith has made You spiritually well.

  75. 'The Kingdom of GOD is here now-- within You; the days of the Son of man will come much later' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 17:20-37 The vast differences between: the Kingdom of God already within the unconverted Jews; the kingdom of Heaven that soon became available to all when Jesus arose; & the much-later-occurring days of the son-of-man: Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of GOD would come, Jesus replied, The Kingdom of GOD does [will] not come with Your careful observation, nor will any people say, 'Here it is.' or 'There it is,' because the Kingdom of GOD is already within (among) You. Then He said to His disciples, The time is coming soon when You will long to see 1 of the days of the Son of man, but You will not see it until much later. Men will tell You, 'There He is,' or 'Here He is!' Do not go running after them. For the Son of man in His day will be like the lightening, which flashes & lights up the sky from 1 end to the other. But 1st He must suffer many things & be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of man. People were eating, drinking, marrying & being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came & destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating & drinking, buying & selling, planting & building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire & sulfer rained down from Heaven & destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of man is revealed. On that day no 1 who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no 1 in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, % whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell You, on that night 2 people will be in 1 bed; 1 will be taken & the other left. Where, Lord? They asked. He replied, Where there is a dead body, there the vultures gather.

  76. Parable: 'Because this widow keeps bothering, she gets justice' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 18:1-8 Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show Them that They should always pray & not give up. He said: In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared GOD nor cared about man/women. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear GOD or care about men/women, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' And the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. And how much more will not GOD bring about justice for HIS Chosen Ones, who cry out to HIM day & night? Will HE keep putting Them off? I tell You, HE will see that They get justice, & quickly. However, when the Son of man comes, will HE find faith on the earth?

  77. Parable: 'This man went home justified before GOD' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of Their own righteousness & looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 2 men went up to the Temple to pray, 1 a Pharisee & the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up & prayed about himself: GOD, I thank YOU that I am not like other men-- robbers, evildoers, adulterers --or even like this tax collector. I fast 2x a week & give a 10th of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to Heaven, but beat his breast & said, GOD, have mercy on me a sinner. I tell You that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before GOD. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, & he who humbles himself will be exalted.