Mark 11
The Triumphal Entry
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.' "
4They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"Hosanna![a]"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"[b]
10"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Jesus Clears the Temple
12The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.
15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written:
" 'My house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations'[c]? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'[d]"
18The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
19When evening came, they[e] went out of the city.
The Withered Fig Tree
20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
22"Have[f] faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."[g]
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28"By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"
29Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!"
31They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' 32But if we say, 'From men'...." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)
33So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."
Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
March 19, 2008
A Fragile Lamb
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READ: 1 Cor. 11:23-26
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. —Isaiah 53:5
After the Easter eggs were located and the Easter baskets had been opened, Uncle Jay felt compelled to find out whether the white chocolate lamb was hollow or solid. Without thinking of the potential consequences, he squeezed the lamb. Suddenly Jay’s whole body stiffened, as if he’d ingested some paralyzing poison. Finally his eyes moved to see if anyone had witnessed the deed. His thumb, however, remained stuck in the side of the lamb.
We waited for the reaction. A wail. A howl. A cry of anguish over the crushed chocolate candy. As the adults in the room scrambled for words that would soothe the sorrow of 3-year-old Jenna, she calmly spoke words that soothed us. “That’s okay, Uncle Jay. The lamb would have been broken when I ate him anyway.”
While we adults tried to make sacred memories out of Easter traditions, a 3-year-old made a sacred moment for us. She reminded us that Easter is about the perfect Lamb of God, broken so that we can be whole. Her youthful wisdom reminds me of the words we recall at communion: “This is My body which is broken for you.” May we taste and see that the life He offers is sweeter than anything we concoct for ourselves. — Julie Ackerman Link
See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown? —Watts
Nothing speaks more clearly of God’s love than the cross.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers:
March 19, 2008
Abraham’s Life of Faith
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READ:
He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8
In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.
Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason—a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.
The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day—in and day—out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith—a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. "Abraham believed God. . ." (Romans 4:3).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft:
Where the Buck Stops - #5528
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Few times in human history has so much rested on the shoulders of one man. That man was General Dwight Eisenhower, commander of the Allied forces in World War II. The responsibility: planning and leading the massive secret attack against Hitler's hold on Europe; the attack that would come to be known as the D-Day Invasion. It can be said that the fate of the world rested on the outcome of that invasion, launched on five beaches on the northern coast of France. And the ultimate decisions about that invasion rested with Dwight Eisenhower. He had said that they only had a plan for victory, and that's what they expected. But after giving the final "go" order and committing so many lives to that battle, he must have had some secret doubts about the outcome. In the back of a military vehicle, General Eisenhower drafted a letter that was only revealed years later. In it, he said something like this: "The invasion has failed, and I take full responsibility for that failure. No blame goes to President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, or any other commanders. I am fully responsible." The letter was never needed. The invasion, of course, succeeded. But that letter revealed the heart of a truly great leader.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where the Buck Stops."
Taking responsibility: That is a basic trait of a man or woman of character. And it is getting harder and harder to find. Sadly, there may not be any real progress or any real healing in your situation until someone is man or woman enough to take responsibility, and that someone needs to be you.
Unfortunately, we often don't let the buck stop with us. We're better at playing the blame game than taking responsibility. That started in the Garden of Eden when Adam blamed Eve for disobeying God and Eve blamed the serpent. When, in fact, each one was responsible for his or her own sin. Not much has changed over the years, has it? It's my wife's fault, it's my husband's fault, it's my parents' fault, it's my children's fault, it's society's fault, it's because of the people who wronged me, it's because of my boss, my job, my church. Round and round goes the buck, and never is there any healing and never any answers.
It's interesting to see the first place the Prodigal Son of Jesus' parable began to turn his life around. Apparently, he thought the reason his life wasn't what he wanted it to be was his home. So he asked his dad for an early inheritance so he could leave home and do his own thing. Eventually, he blew all that money on partying. Now he thought his problem was no money. Then friends who turned their backs on him when he ran out of money. Next thing you know, he's feeding pigs, and the pigs are probably the problem now. But in Luke 15:17, our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible says, "When he came to himself" he was finally ready to say, "I will...go back to my father and say to him: 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.'" At last, the buck stopped. He's gone down the list of all the people, all the circumstances he could blame, and finally he came to himself as the reason. And that's when the pieces of his life finally began to come together.
For you, there's not going to be any healing, any answers, any restoration, any peace until you finally say, "I'm responsible." Maybe you're not the only one responsible, but only you can fix the part that's you. That may mean a letter you need to write, a call, a visit you need to make, an apology, a confession you need to give, a bitterness or a grudge that you need to release. I know it's hard, but it's the only way something broken in your life has a chance of getting fixed. And it's for sure the only way you're going to get fixed.
Your pride can make you blind to the problem that’s right in the mirror and fill your life with so much unnecessary pain. And the hurt and hassle keep going because you keep passing the buck. Be a man or woman of character and integrity. Step up to your responsibility for the way things are. It's your first big step to finally being free.
