February
26th Jesus predicts his
resurrection
32: And they were in the way going
up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they
followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell
them what things should happen unto him, 33: Saying, Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and
unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to
the Gentiles: 34: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall
spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
James
and John seek position
35: And James and John, the sons of
Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us
whatsoever we shall desire. 36: And he said unto them, What would ye that I
should do for you? 37: They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one
on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38: But Jesus
said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink
of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39: And they said
unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup
that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be
baptized: 40: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to
give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 41: And when the
ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42: But
Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are
accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their
great ones exercise authority upon them. 43: But so shall it not be among you:
but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44: And whosoever
of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45: For even the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many.
The
healing of Bartimaeus
46: And they came to Jericho: and as
he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47: And when
he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus,
thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48: And many charged him that he should
hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have
mercy on me. 49: And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And
they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth
thee. 50: And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51: And
Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?
The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52: And Jesus
said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he
received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Christ is on his last long journey
to Jerusalem and so he takes the time to explain exactly what will happen to
him there. It is nearly always forgotten that this was an outstanding prophecy.
None of these things were able to be orchestrated by Christ and yet in a few
days they will all come true. The most difficult prophecy for anyone to fulfil
would be their own resurrection. At this time the disciples are still so self
focused that they are planning to out manoeuvre each other into positions of
power in the kingdom. How little did they understand of what the future held
for them. Then when the rest of the disciples heard what these disciples had
asked they were very cross indeed. Why would they be cross? Because they wanted
to be in charge too. This was all about power over each other. Christ tells
then in no uncertain terms that it is the Gentiles who exercise lordship over
the common people but that they are not to act in this way among brethren. The
one that is greatest is the one that is servant of all. He then describes his
whole course in life - For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Christ came not to be
served but to serve and to give his life. Christian ministers are not to see
themselves in position of power over brethren but they are to see themselves as
servants. It’s not their will that’s important it’s the will of those they
serve that is important. On the road they pass Bartimaeus who calls out for
Christ to heal his blindness. Christ’s simple question is a question that comes
to us all. What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? His needs were many but
his problem was one single disability. Christ removed the disability and
Bartimeasus became a follower of Christ.
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