Author Archives: Mark

Jesus Knew and Told the Disciples 

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Jesus knew He was to be sacrificed and told His disciples about it frequently. If you want to do your own study, I used search words like: reject, suffer, third day, decay, raised, resurrect, crucify (ide), deliver, and lifted up. These are NIV words, so KJV and other translations may be different. After much thought, I am going to list references and clues of the verses from the different writers. Yes, there will be an overlap in the stories or settings, but I hope this is the best way to make a reference work. A separate post on “God Raised” is in the works and will follow very soon.

Christians, writers, and moviemakers all seem to have an opinion about the disciples and how they act at Jesus’ last Passover. I will say this the matter of His crucifixion was not a hidden topic, Jesus taught them. He also said several times that the disciples were to go to Galilee and the mountain after He was killed. It took them a while to act on that also; even after two personal visits from our risen Lord. To be fair, I am not sure I would have been any better.

Matthew  

  • 16:21 – This is the tell all of the predication verses. They are in Caesarea Philippi (north of Lake Galilee) and Jesus ask the disciples who He is? Jesus clearly states He will be killed by the Sanhedrin and three days later He will rise to life again. The group travels to the “mountain of transfiguration”.  
  • 17:9 – Jesus, Peter, James, and John are in the presence of Moses and Elijah during the transfiguration. They were coming down and the disciples were told not to speak of this until He has been raised from the dead. 
  • 17:22,23 – There may have been some R and R because they come together in Galilee and Jesus adds that He will be betrayed (delivered), killed, and rise in three days. They are going to the East Bank to prepare for the trip into Jerusalem and Passover.
  • 20:18,19 – On the East Bank, Jesus teaches about the kingdom and adds that He will be handed over to the Gentiles (Romans) mocked, beaten, and crucified before being dead three days and coming back to life.
  • 21:42 – Jesus quotes Psalm 118 in His silencing of the leaders. On the Temple Mount, who were challenging His authority. This is about the stone being rejected but it was needed to build the Temple. 
  • 26:2 – This is the same day, Tuesday of Holy Week, and Jesus and the disciples are on the Mount of Olives. He has given them a series of parables on the kingdom and the end times. He tells them His death will be in two days. 
  • 27:64 – Even the Sanhedrin knew Jesus had prophesied that He would be killed and raised to life in three days. The leaders were talking to Pilate. 

Mark

  • 8:31 – This is the same as Matthew 16.
  • 9:12 – The same as Matthew 17:9.
  • 9:31 –   The same as Matthew 17:22,23.
  • 10:33,34 – The same as Matthew 20:18,19.
  • 12:10 – The same as Matthew 21:42.

Luke 

  • 9:22 – The same as Matthew 16. SEE PSALM 88 + 89.
  • 9:44 – The same as Matthew 17:9. Luke changes or adds that Jesus told all of the disciples after the boy was healed, but the meaning was hidden from them.
  • 13:32 – No one else has this story. Jesus has been told that Herod (the fox) is looking for Him. The reply is that He will reach His goal on the third day.
  • 17:25 – This is with several teachings about the kingdom and end times. Jesus uses Noah and Lot as comparisons to how it will be.
  • 18:32,33 – The same as Matthew 20:18,19 or at least set on the east bank or Mount of Olives.
  • 20:17 – The same as Matthew 21:42.
  • 24:7 and 24:46 are given after the fact. 24:46 says that He opened their minds to understand what happened.

John 

In keeping with John’s mission to show Jesus as the Son of God many of his references are out of the above timeline. He also likes the phrase “lifted up” because it identifies with Moses.

  • 2:22 – This is more about the disciples believing the scriptures about Jesus’ death.
  • 3:14 – Jesus talking to Nicodemus about Moses’ bronze serpent.
  • 8:28 – Jesus is talking to Pharisees and says He will be lifted up then they will know the father spoke to Him.
  • 12:32 + 34 – A voice from heaven had spoken and said He would die and bring people to Him. The crowd then questions why the Messiah would die.

Some of the Scriptures that are about Jesus’ suffering, death, and rising to new life.

  • Psalm 16:10
  • Psalm 49:9
  • Psalm 22:24
  • Psalm 42:10
  • Psalm 55:3
  • Psalm 88:15
  • Psalm 119: 50 + 107 +153
  • Then there are the types and shadows of Jonah, Joseph, and Isaac. 

Ezrahite-Ethan and Heman

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This study started with Psalms 88 + 89. The authors are Heman and Ethan the Ezrahites. I thought a quick look in Bible Gateway and Strong’s and it will be done quick-wrong. Please note that the names of Heman and Ethan are used many times in Scripture and they are not the same people. We normally associate those names with two descendants of Levi who led worship for David and probably Solomon in the First Temple. This took some time to sort out the Ezrahites appear to be from the tribe of Judah. 

Ezrahite—This name appears to originate with Zerah, the second son of Tamar and Judah (Genesis 38:27-30). Perez, the first twin out, is the one in David and Jesus’ lineage (Matthew 1, 1 Chronicles 2:10-12). Reference Strong’s #250 Hebrew. They must have been very intelligent because King Solomon in 1 Kings 4:31 is said to be wiser than them. 1 Chronicles 2:6 list the same names and calls them the sons of Zerah. Mahol could be an “unnamed father” who was not important in the family tree, they did things like that in making these lists. 1 Kings could give the idea that they were contemporaries of Solomon, while 1 Chronicles 2 gives the impression that they are much older, like Moses or before. To add to the possibilities, Heman was a seer for King David and Psalm 89 (Ethan) mentions David (more on this later). I will hold on to the older idea and offer some ideas why.

Heman (Psalm 88) – The “title” to this Psalm is imposing. It is a song. It is a psalm. (Yes, those are slightly different according to Strong’s.) It is for the music director. No one is sure what mahalath leannoth really is, and Heman wrote it. To me, that just seems like it had been around a while by the time it got to David. There are no timestamps in this psalm, as far as I could tell. So, trying to place it in history by the association with events or names is hard.

I think it has a somber tone, but many of the entries in Book Three are “dark”. I have felt that way in my life. If Heman wrote it during a period of struggle when nothing seems to be happening in his life, the tone is understandable. Verses 8-18 are very Messianic and show what Jesus endured starting in the Garden and going through the statements He made on the cross.

On a different note-Heman means faithful, and Ezrahite is cherished. It is the only psalm identified as belonging to Heman the Ezrahite, so he must have been special to have had it included in Scripture.   

Ethan – The meaning of Ethan is permanent, so is extended out to be the idea of a chieftain. According to Strong’s, the word is translated as strong or strength.

This Psalm seems to be in the time of David because it uses his name and the promises of God to David seem to be repeated in the psalm. Okay, I am stepping out on a limb here without a lot of proof. David, as a Hebrew word, is very special. If you convert the letters to numbers, it adds up to fourteen (see Matthew). It also means “beloved”. There are many websites, Jewish and Christian, that explore the meaning and etymology of this name. So, if you replace David with beloved and refer the passages to Israel/Judah, it still seems to make sense. Yes, that is weak at several levels, but it works. 

This psalm also has some negative parts and a section 26-37 that are Messianic and refer to the time Jesus was on the cross.

Well, studies may not always answer questions, but I learned many things doing this. So, my time was well spent and I hope you got something from reading this post of Heman and Ethan the Ezrahite.     

The Sermons on Two Mounts-Son of Man

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As Jesus preached His sermons on the mounts, He said things to trigger responses from the audiences. One from the Mount of Olives was “son of man”. The Chosen series uses the phrase a lot, just as Jesus did according to the four Gospels. The Chosen, however, shows a very irate response from the Pharisees. Why was this so infuriating to them? A point for me to ponder from Tuesday of Holy Week is that Jesus did not use “son of man” on the Temple Mount. He said other things that I would label as “fighting words”-

  • The Parable of the Two Sons and the landowner’s vineyard were against the religious rulers, and they knew it. Matthew 21:45-46.
  • Matthew 22:18 Jesus called them hypocrites.
  • 22:29-32 Jesus said they were in error and did not know the Scriptures.
  • Matthew 23-the seven woes and denouncing the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. That would include the Sadducees. Part of the woes is 23:33, where the leaders are called snakes and vipers.

Son of Man—On the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24 -26:1 NIV) Jesus refers to Himself eight times as the Son of Man. The Chosen referenced Daniel 7:13 as the verse for the son of man as the Messiah. A genuine issue with this term is that it refers to the Messiah and to sons born to women (Daniel and Ezekiel are just a few). Because of my study about the Kingdom, I came to this conclusion a while ago-The Son of God became a son of man, so that children of man can become sons of God. Because Jesus’ blood covers us, all the Father sees when He looks at us is Jesus.

This study will not have many of the types and shadows that reveal Jesus, like Joseph, carrying the wood to the sacrifice. My study of Water and Blood led me to the beginning.

Messiah

  • Genesis 3:15 Her (Eve) offspring will crush the head of the serpent.
  • Isaiah 9:6 A child is born to us; a son was given, and the government was his. He would have the names of Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
  • Isaiah 11:1 A shoot or Branch would come from Jesse and bear fruit. The Spirit would rest upon Him. 
  • Psalm 80:17 The son of man that was raised up would be at the right hand of God. 
  • Daniel 7:13 The son of man was on the clouds of heaven being led into the presence of the Ancient of Days.
  • Acts 7:56 Stephen looks up and sees heaven, with the Son of Man (Jesus) at the right hand of God. Think why the Sanhedrin was mad-Jesus and His miracles, Pentecost, and the Apostles doing miracles.
  • Revelations 1:13, 12:5,14:14 All references to the son of man or male child being the ruler. 
  • Hebrews 2:6 is a reference to Jesus being a son of man.

Men 

  • Daniel 8:17 refers to Daniel himself.
  • Ezekiel has over ninety times God calls him the son of man. 
  • Psalm 90:3 sons of men returning to dust (by Moses).

Water and Blood in Passover and Easter

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Water and blood are key elements in the “Passover to freedom” story and in the Easter story. Their connection with the act of birthing was also poured into this study. This inquiry sprung out of the writings of John the Apostle. John was a young fisherman, who got the title of “Son of Thunder”, and reported seeing blood and water flowing from Jesus’ side (John 19:34), he had the love and the bravery to be at the cross when others did not. 1 John 5 has this theme discussed in verses 26-28 when he links to water, blood, and Spirit agreeing about Jesus and His coming. The birthing connection is in verse 26 where it states-He did not come by water only, but by water and blood (NIV). The “come by water only” statement needed investigating. I have heard and read dramatic preachers get graphic, and probably a little weird, on this topic. I will try to keep it in good taste and leave the drama out, but just list facts with a few opinions.

The “coming of water” is normally linked to His birth through Mary. But looking at the whole story and history of Passover it just seems like Mary in a stable is not the only “birth” experience. There are many verses that highlight women and birthing in the Bible. Even the trip through the Red Sea is viewed as a birthing experience because Israel was freed as a nation on the other side. The water and the path of dry ground provide some of the imagery, but I would add the dead Egyptians were the “blood” in this story. The water and blood of the Nile River (Exodus 7:17) also gave birth to freedom over the Egyptian gods. The blood on the doorpost needs to be added into this scenario, but here God is passing through the land taking out the cult of the firstborn. So, Jesus’ Christmas arrival is important, but in view of His mission to bring together God’s plan, He had other water and blood experiences. His baptism in the Jordan by John and His blood poured out by the Jews and Romans is the major one. I can narrow His trip through the Jordan even closer to Passover because in Matthew 19 He is on the east bank of the river and had to pass through the water to get to Jerusalem. This same route was also taken by Joshua, David, and Elisha who are types and shadows of Jesus.     

ATONEMENT, BORN AGAIN, and BIRTHING

The three elements in 1 John are not always together in a story or verse. That does not nullify their importance in any particular story or verse.

Atonement – Atonement is because of sacrifice and those, especially in the Old Testament, normally have blood and water involved in the ceremony. You may not agree with some of these, that is fine. Please let me know why. I will list some examples of “water and blood” before the Law was given. It is possible that there is some stretching in these:).

  • Genesis 3:21 – God made them clothes of skins (some sheep died) and those may have been washed in the river in the Garden.
  • Genesis 6 – People and animals died by water in Noah’s Flood. The Flood cleansed the world.

Water and blood are parts of many specific sacrifices in the Law. The ones I want to highlight are in Leviticus 14: 6 and 51. These are birds (doves or young pigeons) that are being killed over a jar of water. The water and blood mixture then has the bird, hyssop, scarlet yarn, and cedarwood dipped in it. On a practical note, the yarn and hyssop probably made a “brush” to deliver the sprinkled water onto the thing being atoned. The other metaphors are the bird being the Spirit, cedarwood maybe the cross and it makes it fragrant, hyssop was used at the cross with the wine vinegar, and the yarn could represent Jesus’ body. 

Hebrews 9: 19 (NIV) also has these elements- When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. And Hebrews 9:22 (NIV) brings these thoughts together- In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Birthing – Birthing and baptism may overlap depending on how you read the story. Someone higher than my paygrade made it that way, sort it out as needed, and talk to Him.   

The waters of Creation (Genesis 1:2), the Red Sea, and Joshua crossing the Jordan can be birthing examples. The blood in the Red Sea and at the Jordan were people dying-Egyptian army, first-born, and the peoples of Jericho and Ai. At a Jewish Passover celebration, they give honor to the crossings by mixing wine and water together in the four cups they drink during the meal.

Ezekiel 16 is an allegory of Israel’s birth and its rejection by the world and how God claimed her, and then how she ignored God. 

Waiting is a part of birthing. The child has to grow inside of the mother. She gets to feel the movement of the baby and she experiences changes. As a father, I got to watch those changes, but I could not feel my wife’s discomfort and pain. Time is part of birthing stories- 430 years for the Red Sea, 40 years for crossing the Jordan, and Mary had the nine months waiting for Jesus. 

Born Again – The story of Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3 is the cornerstone of teaching for the born-again experience. Other New Testament references for the born-again experience are: 

  • 1 Peter 1:23 where the seed is the living and enduring word of God.
  • Ephesians 5:26 Christ gave Himself for the Church and cleansed her by washing with water through the Word. 
  • Titus 3:5 Jesus saved us through washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
  • Romans 12:1+2 Part of this Rebirth is offering ourselves as a sacrifice in spiritual worship and being transformed and renewed in our mind.  
  • Colossians 3:9+10 We have put on “the new self” and it is being renewed in knowledge of its Creator (NIV). 

A thing that is apparent is that the Father likes, what we call “types and shadows”, to announce in His first covenant what will be in the second covenant. In the “birthing’ section are many examples that show baptism-Noah’s Flood, Red Sea, crossing the Jordan. So, I had to look for a rebirth shadow, which often looks like a birthing shadow. I so wanted to use Joseph coming before Pharaoh as a rebirth example. The issue was he was shaved and changed his clothes, but no water was mentioned. Those two acts are more associated with ending the Nazirite vow. (Shaving has become a whole other topic.) If I may, here is what I think shows rebirth, with water, and the cry from people’s hearts for the “re” experience.

  • Jonah being thrown into the sea, changing, and finishing his mission. (Granted he had a bad attitude.)
  • Naaman and Elisha in 2 Kings 5:13+14; Naaman was cleansed by the water and left changed.
  • Asaph in Psalm 80 ask three times to be restored to God. Okay, we can play with the translation of Hebrew into English but the sentiment is there. 
  • David in Psalm 51:10 (NIV) Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me.
  • Isaiah 40:31 Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
  • Jeremiah in Lamentation 5:21 Restore us so we can return and renew our days.

That is a lot of “re” but to have a rebirth, or be renewed, or restored we had to have some measure of those things before. Matthew 12:35 (NIV) gives us a glimpse- A good man brings good things out of the good stored in him.  

There are other mentions of water and blood in the Bible. I tried to keep this post about Passover and Easter and the topics that water and blood are a part of in our redemption story. 

This is a good article from the Jewish perspective, on natural and metaphorically birth.

article

Giving Birth
Giving Birth

Gershom and Eliezer the Sons of Moses

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Moses had two sons-Gershom, the first-born, and Eliezer. There is not a lot of information about them, but Moses’ family line is still mentioned in the time of David. It is not easy being the child of an overachieving parent, especially someone who was used so mightily by God. So, to talk about the boys and their mother, we should frame this study with Moses.

Moses was about forty years old when he murdered the Egyptian and ran for his life. He was eighty when God called him to the burning bush. Popular thought and movies have the boys as very young, like pre-teens. Exodus 4 certainly makes them sound young, but they could have been teenagers to thirty years old. It is obvious someone knew about the requirement to circumcise Hebrew boys, and Moses just did not do it. Either way, there were two unhappy boys on the way to Egypt. The Study Continues The narrative in Exodus 4:21 has the Lord talking to Moses; compare this to verse 27 where the Lord is talking to Aaron. The conversation is about Israel being the Lord’s firstborn son and putting to death Pharoah’s firstborn son.

Verse 24 is where the Lord meets with someone and is about to put them to death. Was this Moses or a son? Exodus 4:24 Hebrew Text Analysis I am not sure, and I have no desire to guess, and the Hebrew text does not offer any clues. So, was it Moses, Gershom, or Eliezer that was about to die? Who sinned? Who needed to learn a lesson?

I said two boys were not happy, but the text indicates one boy being circumcised. Exodus 4:25 Hebrew Text Analysis The jots and tittles with “ben” indicate one son was cut by Zipporah. That did not make her very happy. (Click on benah in the analysis to see everywhere that form of the word was used.) The one son phrase made me look and Eliezer is not mentioned by name until Exodus 18:4. Verse 4:20 does use the term banaw which does indicate two sons left to go back to Egypt.

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:11+14) and there is no reason to think Moses was not circumcised before he was put into the basket. (That may have been another clue to Pharoah’s daughter that he was Hebrew.) Moses was the scribe for Leviticus 12:3, probably before the People sent the spies out. However, something happened when the people had to wander thirty-eight years. Joshua, in 5:3, had to circumcise the men before any fighting started for the land promised to Abraham; it is possible that 38 years of males did not have their foreskin removed. Maybe, Deuteronomy 10:16 is an indicator of what happened, their hearts needed to be cut.

Another mystery – Exodus 18 has Jethro, the grandfather, bringing the boys and Zipporah to Moses. When and why did they leave? When-The best two places in my thinking were when they met Aaron and found out how bad it could be for them, or after the Red Sea, to save them from the harsh trip. Why-I want to be “light” on Moses with either explanation I just gave. It could have been a dark reason. The elders of the people did not like a leader having a non-Israelite wife with children. We saw that with Miriam and Moses’ second wife. The flip side of that dark thought is, why did Jethro bring them back? Was his community afraid of them and the miracles that happened in Egypt?

Events – They missed the first leg of the trip with the people testing God. They were around for everything else, including the complaining that got the thirty-eight years of going in circles. Moses, very probably, buried his sons and his grandchildren went into the Land. Since they were Levities they had a responsibility with the Tabernacle and not leading the people, like Joshua. Those two lived and saw a lot. Imagine having a father who glowed after his prayer time with God. So, if you read Levite in those first forty years, Gershom and Eliezer were there. (There was also a Gershon family in the Levites, they were not children of Moses.)     

Names – Exodus 18: 3+4 explains the boys’ names. I know a good amount of thought is put into naming children, this is seen throughout the Bible and is still done today. With that said I am sure the names reflect praise and thanksgiving to God. Gershom was named because Moses was a foreigner in a foreign land. Eliezer was named because God helped Moses and saved him from Pharaoh’s sword.  

If there is an “iah” or “el” in the front or back of a Hebrew name it is saying something about God. Those make good studies. Names got “recycled” and giving family names were/are a thing of honor. Be careful because it may look like they are the same people but check the Bible timeline, there may be hundreds of years in-between people with a similar description.   

1 Chronicles 23:12-17 deal with heritage and 26:24-28 cover job assignments. Again, they should be included when possible, in studies about people.

Gershom’s Family – Judges 18:30 is a dark side of this family that lasted for hundreds of years. When the tribe of Dan did not take their allotted possession of the land they went somewhere easier. Part of this includes stealing household gods and installing members of Jonathan, son of Gershom, as a priest. This lasted from the Book of Judges to the captivity caused by the Assyrians, which covers Samuel, Saul, David, and several of David’s grandsons. The Study Continues The 1984 Edition of the NIV has a footnote for Judges 18:30 that says it is a scribal tradition to name Jonathan as a grandson of Manasseh. The name Gershom is consistent with the name of Moses’ son. Hebrew Concordance: gê·rə·šōm — 12 Occurrences. If Jonathan is from the tribe of Manasseh, he could not be a Levite, which is why Micah recruited him to be his priest. The other option is there was an important unheard-of Levite named Manasseh who had a grandson. Was someone trying to protect Moses’ good name? The Study Continues A study into the name Manasseh is worth some time. It means “forgetting” and could add a twist into this verse. See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Manasseh.html. Do the scribes want to forget that worshipping the bronze snake continued for so long because of Moses’ grandson?

Shubael appears to be a family name as 1 Chronicles 23 has one as “first” and then 1 Chronicles 26 has one working for King David as a treasurer. This second Shubael recruited his cousins from Eliezer’s branch to serve with him.

Eliezer’s Family – 1 Chronicles 23:17 states that the first was Rehabiah and Eliezer had no other sons. But that Rehabiah had many sons. 1 Chronicles 26:24 list four grandsons.

            THOUGHTS

  • Moses interceded with God to not destroy the sons of Jacob. God offered a new people to come through Moses; would Gershom and Eliezer had been the start?
  • The bloodline of Moses may still exist today. 
  • The children of leaders do not always have a great life.