Jesus' "The Sermon on the Mount" study, part 2

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Jesus speaking in Matthew 5:4.

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Paul writing in Romans 15:4.

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Paul writing in 2 Corinthians 1:3,4.

"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Paul writing in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Don't worry. You're grieving now but one day your joy at the reunion to come will be unspeakable.

Mark 15:15-21 comments: Pilate's political compromise

15 ¶  And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

 

Proverbs 29:25 ¶  The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

 

Pilate is a typical politician, pandering to the people. Even though he was not elected but appointed he is afraid of the people rising up damaging his position. All of them lie and are afraid of the people. Rarely do they have the courage of their convictions and usually too late after a long line of cowardice. It is very hard to be a Christian and a politician if you want to get re-elected. Politics is the art of compromise. Compromises can be good but many compromises, such as this one, are just hideous.

 

Scourging is a hideous whipping with a whip with bone and glass intertwined in it.

 

Christ was to be crucified. It was a bloody death but without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.

 

Hebrews 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

 

Blood is life.

 

Genesis 9:4  But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

 

Blood made atonement for the soul.

 

Leviticus 17:11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

 

He, God in the flesh, paid for us, those who believe and trust Him, with His own blood, not a sacrificial animal.

 

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

 

Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

 

Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

 

16  And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

 

The Romans put this robe on him. The robe is to make fun of him, a mockery of his kingship.

 

18  And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19  And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

 

Notice the mockery of Jesus.

 

Isaiah 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

 

Isaiah 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

 

21  And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

 

Alexander and Rufus must have been important Christians eventually. Rufus is mentioned in Romans 16. There are a couple of Alexanders mentioned. But the one in 1 Timothy 1:20 might be him.

Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" study

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Jesus speaking in Matthew 5:3.

Cross references for definition purposes based on the principle that a text must define itself whenever possible -

'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Psalm 51:17

"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." Psalm 34:18

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isaiah 57:15

A broken heart is synonymous with a contrite heart in the first passage and a broken heart is synonymous with a contrite spirit in the second which is synonymous with a humble spirit in the third.

Is your spirit poor? Do you realize that without Christ you are spiritually bankrupt? Are you sorry, not only for your sin, but the wicked sins of the world? The murders, the rapes, the cruel, abusive treatment of those without the strength to resist the powerful.

And you, are you not sad at what you've done to others and to yourself? Just think of the lies and the pain you've caused those you love and even your own self. To understand this is the beginning of blessings to come.

Mark, chapter 15: 1-14 comments: the rabble roused

1 ¶  And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.

 

Early in the morning, as Matthew Henry notes, “the Great Sanhedrin” met in a large committee to see how to put Christ to death.

 

A council almost always goes against the truth of the Lord. The Sanhedrin, even a church council, whether they met in Nicea or Carthage or some other great city of the Roman Empire, met to lead either the Jews or the mainstream Christian church further and further from God’s will. Beware of decisions made about pastors or members of the church body in meetings. Satan is the leader of most councils and meetings. Much evil has been done by them in Christian history.

 

These rulers are in subjection to the Roman governor. Outside of the Bible, Pontius Pilate  is mentioned by Jewish general/turncoat and historian, Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, the Roman historian Tacitus, and something called the Pilate Stone, archeological evidence of Pontius Pilate’s tenure as the Prefect of a Judea under Roman control.

 

2  And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.

 

A gentile like Pilate is only interested in who is going to be in charge. This was his first concern. Jesus says the equivalent of “you said it”.

 

3  And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.

 

You want to drive people crazy who are doing you wrong. Don’t say anything. Whenever I’ve had the moral courage to use it, it has done wonders. There is authority in silence. A person’s first impulse when being treated shabbily is to mouth off. Follow Christ’s example. Say little or nothing when you are wronged. Trust in God’s will for your life rather.

 

4  And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. 5  But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.

6  Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.

7  And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8  And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. 9  But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

10  For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. 11  But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.

 

The world will take a person who is guilty of murder over the sinless Son of God. That’s just the way the world is. Early Christian writers like Origen claimed that Barabbas’ full name was Jesus-bar-abbas which means Jesus, son of the father. Interesting.

 

Herein lies a very important point. The world honors men who conduct their revolutions with violence and death over Jesus Christ. The world will give praise to a Fidel Castro or a George Washington depending on what side of the political line they are on, just as the Jews demanded Barabbas, an insurrectionist and murderer, to be released. Even though Castro and Washington were successful on their terms, in fact, violent rebellions and insurrections are a dime a dozen in history and don’t usually change much other than substitute a “new boss” who is the same as “the old boss” if I may steal a thought from the 1960’s pop-music group, The Who.

 

And truthfully, the way God calls us to live through Jesus cannot be popular in this world ruled by Satan (2Corinthians 4:4). Men want to fight for their “rights” with a gun today as they did with a sword in those days. They have neither trust in God’s will nor respect for what He has called them to do. Even the modern, American Christian would prefer Barabbas over Jesus Christ any day.

 

Verse 10 tells us of the real motive of the chief priests. Envy.

 

Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

 

When you envy someone’s success, wealth, education, looks, possessions, or position you should think on what God has to say about envy in His Bible. It is wicked, but like all wicked things, perfectly natural.

 

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

12  And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? 13  And they cried out again, Crucify him.

14  Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

 

The power of the mob, always a problem when you bring men together, is rearing its ugly head. A mob is a beast with no brain, run on emotions, and controlled by an evil man or men. The chief priests moved this mob to action.

Mark 14:66-72 comments: Are you warming your hands over the devil's fire?

66 ¶  And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68  But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.

 

In opposition to nearly two millennia of Byzantine manuscripts, vernacular Bible versions, and the KJV given by inspiration of God, the modern versions, based on the two corrupt manuscripts of Alexandria whose names you all know by now, delete, “and the cock crew,” from verse 68.

 

Luke 22:61 adds that Christ looked on Peter.

 

61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

 

Think about this. Peter is warming his hands over the devil’s fire. He has placed himself in the position where the chance to deny his Lord presents itself. Have you? Are you warming your hands over the devil’s fire in your manner of employment, in your entertainments, or your hobbies, or the company you keep? Will Christ cast a glance at you one day while you’re at a NASCAR race with a huge beer in your hand and will you turn away and say you don’t know Him? Will He look your way while you’re playing Texas Holdem with your pals, telling dirty jokes, and smoking like Kaiser Steel and will you turn away and deny that you know Him? Will you be socializing with high-brow friends with several letters after their names who don't believe what you do only to deny you know Christ when His gaze rests upon you?

 

69  And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.

70  And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. 71  But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.

 

Once again, our modern versions, based mainly on the Alexandrian manuscripts of Vaticanus and Sinaiticus undercut another verse. Verse 70, in these versions, removes “and thy speech agreeth thereto,” which shows they knew Peter’s dialect.

 

Peter is with the wrong crowd. He has the wrong attitude. Now, he has gone so far to curse and swear. He has denied Christ. It doesn’t take much to go back to sins that he once held. Perhaps he hadn’t swore like a fisherman does for three and a half years.

 

72  And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

 

What will it take for you to deny Christ? Hanging out with the wrong crowd? Losing control of your emotions? Lying? How often, Christian, have you denied Christ with your behavior?

 

As mentioned previously, in Luke 22 we are told of another signal that gets to him besides Christ’s prophecy. At that point Peter sees Christ, who is looking at him.

 

Peter’s victory is his repentance. He wept. See John 21:15 to see the related conversation with the post-resurrection Christ.

Mark 14:53-65 comments: false witnesses

53 ¶  And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. 54  And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.

 

Do you follow Jesus from afar and are you warming your hands over the devil’s fire? Peter is taking the first steps toward denying Christ and what he had previously promised. How many times have I kept silent when I should have proclaimed Christ? Each time you don’t take the opportunity to declare your faith you get closer and closer to denying it.

 

55  And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.

 

Even the authorities find that Jesus is innocent.

 

56  For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

 

Their own witnesses can’t agree and can’t keep their lies straight.

 

Psalm 27:12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

 

Psalm 35:11 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.

 

57  And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,

58  We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

59  But neither so did their witness agree together.

60  And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

 

They obviously didn’t understand what He had said and they lied. Here’s what he said;

 

John 2:18  Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21  But he spake of the temple of his body.

 

The operative word is “this” in verse 19 referring to His body and “this” in verse 20 in which they are referring to the physical temple. This same mistake is made by at least one historical church here;

 

Matthew 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 

“This” rock refers to Himself, not to Peter.

 

1Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

 

You can also say that Peter’s confession that Jesus was Christ is the bedrock of Christianity and the foundation of our faith.

 

61  But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62  And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

 

Now, He has said it. This is an explosive statement.

 

Exodus 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

 

Daniel 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

 

He has claimed to be God and the Messiah. They had to make a choice now. Either they accept Him as their Messiah or they reject Him. Either Jesus is a liar or He is God. You have to make a choice.

 

63  Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?

64  Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

65  And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

 

Isaiah 50:6  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Mark 14:43-52 comments: the arrest

43 ¶  And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44  And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.

 

This was apparently a custom at the time. We don’t feel comfortable with this today but sometimes people will hug you. I, personally, don’t feel comfortable with such familiarity. A handshake or a nod or a smile are good enough for me. This is probably easier in a church under persecution. Perhaps, by necessity they must trust each other and be close.

 

Romans16:16  Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

 

1Corinthians 16:20  All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

 

2Corinthians 13:12  Greet one another with an holy kiss.

 

1Thessalonians 5:26  Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.

It is funny that fundamentalists who insist on long hair and dresses for women and no women preachers don’t seem to have a problem ignoring these verses. I don’t recall ever seeing a fundamentalist giving a “holy kiss” and doubt if they would even know what one was.

 

But beware of such a kiss.

 

Genesis 29:13  And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

 

2Samuel 15:4  Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! 5  And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.

 

2 Samuel 20:9  And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. 10  But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

 

45  And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.

 

This was the signal. Judas called him Master.

 

46  And they laid their hands on him, and took him. 47  And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

 

Jesus heals him as related in Luke 22:51.

 

48  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? 49  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. 50  And they all forsook him, and fled.

 

Zechariah 13:7 ¶  Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

 

51  And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: 52  And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

 

Commentators throughout history have tried to guess who this was. I’ve heard things so radical that this was an angel or that this might have been Paul as Saul. But, we don’t know who it was, really. I assume it was the apostle John, the youngest of the twelve.