A trial or a circus?

Mark
What a joke!  That's what the supposed 'trial' at the Sanhedrin was that Jesus had to go through.  I was reading in William Barclay's commentary on Mark 14:53-65 that the Jews had very specific rules about how to conduct a trial in the Sanhedrin, which is the supreme court of the Jews.  For one thing, they were supposed to meet in their own building, allow one night to pass before delivering a judgment, question the witnesses separately and take their testimony only if they all agreed.  Well, upon reading the passage in Mark, we can see that the Sanhedrin met in secret in the middle of the night, the false witnesses couldn't agree on the testimony to bring against Jesus, and the court pronounced a judgment almost instantly.  Indeed, they had really decided beforehand what verdict they would come to.
These people were so intent on calling Jesus a law-breaker and a sinner that they themselves were breaking laws to condemn him!  The truth was clearly on Jesus's side.

A mission from God

Mark

When Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from his mission (dying on the cross), Jesus said to him: "Get behind me, Satan!"
This statement seems awfully strong at first, but after I read a commentary by William Barclay, I understood more of the situation that occurred in this passage of Mark 8.
We can be fully intent on following our mission.  In fact, if it is a God-given vision that we need to carry through, we should stick to it wholeheartedly, regardless of the cost.  Jesus said in a later part of Mark 8 that we have to take up our cross and follow him, if we truly want to follow him.  Since he has already led the way, we can follow him with assurance that he will see us through.  However, it may still be difficult or painful at times, and our nearest and dearest friends might try to help us avoid the trials in our way, with good intentions at heart.  Peter was trying to help Jesus avoid this painful struggle he had to endure, and Jesus himself struggled with the idea of handing himself over to die (as evidenced in his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane).  How close to his heart would these words from a friend come, and how tempting to follow them?  Peter had to be rebuked quickly, so as to avoid even more temptation.
We have to be careful of advice from our friends.  It may seem like wise counsel, to avoid difficult situations, but if you truly have a mission from God, you need to follow through whatever the cost, knowing that Christ is on your side.

The feeding of the four thousand

Mark
The feeding of the four thousand is not discussed as frequently as the feeding of the five thousand.  I read something interesting about this story however.  William Barclay suggests the following.  The word used for 'basket' in Mark 8 refers to the kind of basket that Gentiles usually use, whereas the word for basket in Mark 6 refers to the basket that most Jews would carry with them.  Barclay suggests that perhaps these two events speak to the fact that Jesus came to give the bread of life to both Jews and Gentiles.  Further support is given to this hypothesis in that the crowd of four thousand was located in an area with a larger Gentile population.  With this in mind, we can take heart that God has come to rescue all mankind, and that his gift of life is open to all who would hear his voice.

Feeding the five thousand

Mark
The story about the feeding of the five thousand is a a wonderful retelling of one of Jesus's many miracles.  As I read it today, I thought about how the disciples must have been surprised to see the bread and fish just keep being dished out to the crowd.
Then I read William Barclay's commentary on this passage (Mark 6:30-44) and realized that this is the only story that is retold in all four gospels.  This particular miracle certainly did have a great impact on the lives of the twelve disciples since the four gospel writers found it necessary to include it in their books.
If this story is so important, what can we learn from it?  Barclay suggests an answer to this question.  Jesus so easily took the little food that was available and turned it into an abundance.  In the same way, he can take what little you have to offer him and do great things with it.  If you give him your life, imagine what amazing things he could accomplish, especially if he was able to take five loaves and two fish and and feed more than five thousand people.  I think that if you let him, he'll be able to do more than you could ever imagine with your life.

Speaking in parables

Mark
Mark 4:33-34 is curious:
33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Why would Jesus specifically use parables?
Gill suggests that Jesus spoke in parables because the crowd would have up and killed him directly if he hadn't cloaked his message.  William Barclay, another theologian, suggests that Jesus spoke in parables to ensure that only the devoted followers would stick around to truly find out what he was all about.  My take is somewhat along the lines of Barclay's, that they wouldn't have accepted his message if he had just outright said it.  So, parables make some sense!  They require that the listener actually think about what was being said and work out the message that is hidden within, rather than taking the message at face value and probably forgetting about it soon after

Here is a link to sermon on Mark 4:33-34 by Charles Spurgeon (click here).

Jesus on divorce

Key verses

Psalm 42:1, 11 - As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Matthew

In Matthew 19, Jesus talks about divorce.  Interestingly, this passage is also found in Mark and Luke, but both of those books do not include an exception to the rule.  Matthew suggests that divorce is wrong, except for situations of marital unfaithfulness, but both Mark and Luke say that divorce is prohibited.  As William Barclay states, I think we have to go with the interpretation in Mark and Luke, and understand that Matthew's exception was included at a later date, and was derived from the evolved practice of the church, and not on what Jesus himself said.

Innocent of the blood of all men

Acts 20:13-38
I must admit that when I first read Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders, I thought that for some reason, the Ephesians were arguing about Paul's previous life of persecuting the Christians.  When Paul said that he was innocent of the blood of all men, I thought that referred to the people he had killed before he became a Christian.  I read a few commentaries on this passage though, such as William Barclay's, Matthew Henry's, and Barnes's notes, and I found out that Paul was actually just saying that he preached the gospel with such dedication in Ephesus that if people weren't saved, it was through no fault of his own.

I hope we can say the same for ourselves.  I was reading Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Church this morning and he was saying that faithfulness does not exclude fruitfulness, rather, it requires fruitfulness.  Jesus said a number of times that bearing fruit is of utmost importance.  In fact, he even cursed a fig tree that didn't have fruit as an example to his disciples about the importance of bearing fruit.  Am I being faithful?  If I believe the answer is yes, is there evidence of my faithfulness?

The resurrection

Peter talks about the resurrection of Jesus in his speech to the large crowd in Acts 2.  I just read about this passage in a commentary by William Barclay.  Barclay wrote that the resurrection was at the heart of the "early preachers' sermons" because that was what the Christian life was all about.  As a Christian, I know this to be true, but somehow, it's so easy to get caught up in Jesus' birth (especially at this time of year) and his life's ministry.  In the end though, none of that would be worth anything, except in light of the fact that he conquered death.  Because Jesus came back to life, the rest of his actions mean something.  The resurrection is the central point of Christian faith.  Without it, we have nothing.  Thankfully, God did send his son as a baby who was meant to die for us, but not only that - to come back to life!  That's why Christmas means anything at all, because Jesus was born to die... and then live.

God of love

Today's reading in John was interesting.  Here is what I am referring to (John 16:25-28):
“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
I decided to read about this passage in a commentary, one by William Barclay.  He mentioned that this passage is important because it shows that Jesus was not the one who turned God into a God of love.  Jesus is telling his disciples that they will be able to ask in his name because God himself loves them.  God in the Old Testament seems to not be so loving, with all the judgment and punishments meted out on the Israelites.  When Jesus came, it seemed like he changed God.  However, Jesus didn't just show God's love after he died, his entire life on earth was a testimony to the fact that God loves us.  Jesus wasn't changing God's attitude, he was changing ours, so that we would understand just how much God loves his people.  All of God's actions toward us were in love.