Jesus' Ministry, per Matt, Mark & Luke (part 9)

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

  35. Jesus' 2nd telling of his death & resurrection [18] above-- this is the 2nd telling (during the journey to Jerusalem for the 3rd Feast); the 1st telling (before the journey to Jerusalem for the 3rd Feast) was in PerMtMkLk8 B.32.; the 3rd (after the 4th Feast) will be in PerMtMkLk16 C.5. According to all 9 accounts, he was talking exclusively to his disciples. Only in the Luke account below did he not mention about the resurrection.The seeming conflict below (to some anyway, who claimed nearly 1,000 contradictions in the Bible), about Jesus arising on the 3rd day "vs." after 3 days, will be resolved in PerMtMkLk16 C.5. 

• Matt 17:22-23 When They came together in Galilee, He said to Them, The Son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him & on the 3rd day He will be raised to life. And the disciples were filled with grief.
• Mark 9:30-32 They left that place & passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where They were, because He was teaching His disciples. He said to Them, The Son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, & after 3 days He will rise. But They did not understand what He meant & were afraid to ask Him about it.
• Luke 9:43b-45 While everyone was marveling at all Jesus did, He said to His disciples, Listen carefully to what I am about to tell You; the Son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. But They did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from Them, so that They could not grasp it, & They were afraid to ask Him about it.

  36. 2 answers given in Capernaum: So We may not offend them; Whoever welcomes a child [18] above

• Matt 17:24-27 Note the rationale Jesus used (out of consideration for the lost sheep of the house of Israel-- some of whom had the position of tax-collectors) for the disciples paying-of-taxes: earthly royal sons weren't required to pay taxes, but though the disciples' spiritual father was royal-in-heaven, they should pay taxes here-- wonder what he'd say (in consideration for the lost Gentiles) about those churches that have off-shore accounts for the express purpose of avoiding taxes. After Jesus & His disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the 2-drachma tax came to Peter & asked. 'Doesn't Your teacher pay the Temple tax?' 'Yes, He does,' He replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the 1st to speak. What do You think, Simon? He asked. From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty & taxes-- from their own sons or from others? From others, Peter answered. Then the sons are exempt, Jesus said to Him. But so that We may not offend them, go to the lake & throw out Your line. Take the 1st fish You catch; open its mouth & You will find a 4-drachma coin. Take it & give it to them for My tax & Yours.
• Mark
• Luke

1. Matt 18:1-6 This & the next 2 accounts together present snapshots of the big picture-- who is/was/would be the greatest: At that time the disciples came to Jesus & asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven? He called a little child & had him stand among Them. And He said: Unless You change & become like little children, You will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself/herself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. But if anyone causes 1 of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck & be drowned in the depths of the sea.
2. Mark 9:33-37 They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked Them, What were You arguing about on the road? But They kept quiet because on the way They had argued about who was the greatest.  Sitting down, Jesus called the 12 & said, if anyone wants to be 1st, He must be the very last, & the servant of all. He took a little child & had him stand among Them. Taking him in His arms, He said to Them, Whoever welcomes 1 of these little children in My name welcomes Me; & whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me only but the ONE Who sent Me.
3. Luke 9:46-48 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing Their thoughts, took a little child & had him stand beside Him. Then He said to Them, Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me; & whoever welcomes Me welcomes the ONE Who sent Me. For He who is least among You all-- He is the greatest.

  37. 'Whoever is not against Us/You is for Us/You' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark 9:38-41 Teacher, said John, We saw a man driving out demons in Your name, & We told him to stop, because he was not 1 of Us. Do not stop him, Jesus said. No 1 who does a miracle in My name can in the next moment say anything bad about Me, for whoever is not against Us is for Us. I tell You the truth, anyone who gives You so much as a cup of water in My name because You belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
• Luke 9:49-50 Master, said John, We saw a man driving out demons in Your name & We tried to stop him, because he is not 1 of us. Do not stop him, Jesus said, for whoever is not against You is for You.

  38. Salt [18] above

• See Sermon1 Sermon Teaching #4-- Lust & Temptation Mark 9:42-50 & Matt 18:7-9

  39. How Jesus was to be followed (#2); He sent messengers [18] above

We saw How Jesus was to be followed (#1) in Capernaum1 B.5. (before Jesus went to Jerusalem the 2nd time, in late spring for the Feast of Pentecost). The intent then (Matt 8:18-22) was for the benefit of his disciples. Here the intent is for our benefit (the disciples after his death, rising & ascension:

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 9:51-62 As the time approached for Him to be taken up to Heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for Him; but the people there did not welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James & John saw this, They asked, Lord, do You want Us to call fire down from Heaven to destroy Them? But Jesus turned & rebuked Them, & They went to another village. Take note that the following pertains to their going/following him then-- as opposed to our going/being disciples now: As They were walking along the road, a man said to Him, I will follow You wherever You go. Jesus replied, Foxes have holes & birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no permanent place to lay His head-- & neither will you if you do follow me. He said to another man, Follow Me. But the man replied, Lord, 1st let me go & bury my father.  Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go & proclaim the Kingdom of GOD. Still another said, I will follow You, Lord; but 1st let me go back & sat good-by to my family. Jesus replied, No 1 who puts his hand to the plow & looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of GOD.

  40. The Lord appointed 72 others; sent Them 2 by 2 [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 10:1-12 After this the Lord appointed 72 others & sent Them 2 by 2 ahead of Him to every town & place where He was about to go. He told Them, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord if the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field. Go! I am sending You out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; & do not greet anyone on the road. The misunderstanding that these were specific instructions for those 72 leads some to consider themselves above paying taxes, & above considering the laws of the land where they go (as some did in claiming/emmigrating the Haitian children).When You enter a house in the countryside, 1st say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, Your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to You. Stay in that house anyway, eating & drinking whatever they give You, for the worker deserves His wages. Do not move around from house to house. When You enter a town & are welcomed, eat what is set before You. There heal the sick who are there & tell them, 'The Kingdom of GOD is near you.' But when You enter a town & are not welcomed, go into the streets & say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to Our feet We wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The Kingdom of GOD is near.' I tell You, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

  41. 'Woe to you, Korazin!; Woe to you, Bethsaida; And you Capernaum' [18] above

• Matt 11:20-24 Placed in the Bible as it was, this Matt account seems to have occurred shortly after the 12 apostles were appointed-- however it does appear that it occurred as it was placed in Luke (after the 72 were sent).  Korazin was not mentioned anyplace in the Bible, & Capernaum was only mentioned 1x prior to the 12 appointed, but with the exception of the specification that Philip, Andrew & Peter were from Bethsaida (see BeforeMinistry Also prior to Jesus' ministry), Bethsaida was mentioned only 1x before the 12 were appointed-- it was however mentioned several times before the 72 were sent: after the feeding of the 5,000+ (before He walked on water) it was said that the Jesus/disciples went to Bethsaida (Mark 6:45-46 & Luke 9:10-- see SeaOfGal 2 F.1. & PerMtMkLk6 B.20); a blind man was healed there (Mark 8:22-- see PerMtMkLk8 B.30). As we shall see, there was 1 last mention of Bethsaida: shortly after Jesus rode into Jerursalem on a donkey, some Greeks went to Philip-from-Bethsaida (John 12:20-21): Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre & Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth & ashes. Recall there were no lost tribes of the house of Israel in Tyre & Sidon (see PerMtMkLk7 B.26.). But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre & Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day-- Sodom's fate, that it would not be part of Israel & would be judged, was self-determined long ago: when Abram & nephew Lot went their separate ways [Lot pitched his tent in Sodom (see PART I, D 3. a.vii.)] & more to the point, what transpired in Sodom [see PART II C.1.(3rd pt.)] . But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you
• Mark
• Luke 10:13-16 Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre & Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth & ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre & Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. Speaking now to the disciples: He who listens to You listens to Me; he who rejects You rejects Me; but he who rejects me rejects HIM who sent Me.

  42. Jesus again spoke of 'these little ones' [18] above

• Matt 18:10-14 We just saw (beginning in 35. above) Jesus journeying through Capernaum of Galilee (having left the Mount Of Transfiguration area); he went on through Galilee & Samaria on his way to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Now Matt only briefly covers this time in Galilee & Samaria (briefly in comparison to Luke, as we shall see), so that it's not obvious when he referred to these little ones again (as he had in Capernaum)-- soon in Galilee or later in Samaria: See that You do not look down on 1 of these little ones. For I tell You that their angels in Heaven always see the Face of My FATHER in Heaven. What do You think? If a man owns 100 sheep, & 1 of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills & go to look for the 1 who wandered of? And if he finds it, I tell You the truth, he is happier about that 1 sheep than about the 99 that did not wander off. In the same way, Your FATHER in Heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
• Mark
• Luke

  43. 'If Your brothers sins; if He refuses to listen to the church'

• Matt 18:15-20 If Your brother sins against You, go & show him his fault, just between the 2 of you. If he listens to You, You have won Your brother over. But if he will not listen, take 1 or 2 others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses. If he refuses to listen to Them also, tell it to the church; & if he refuses to listen to even the church, treat him as You would a pagan or a tax collector. I tell You the truth, whatever You bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, & whatever You loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven. Again, I tell You that if any 2 of You on earth agree about anything You ask for, it will be done for You by My FATHER in Heaven. For where 2 or 3 come together in My name, there am I with Them.
• Mark
• Luke