Category Archives: Bible Study

Miracles, People, and Teachings Before Palm Sunday

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The miracles, people, and teachings of Jesus’ trip before Palm Sunday need to be combined with Holy Week’s activities and His work from Passover to Pentecost to have a solid look at what the Church needs to be doing in the world today.  Lately when I have focused on a small block of time I have a lot of questions as to the content of the teachings and the miracles.  But I come back to the fact that the Gospels were written by the Holy Spirit and just put on paper by men.  So, try and look at these not as individual stories and events but as a unified collection of activities that are to show us more of how we should be living.

The hashtags and numbers refer to my attempt at a chronology order in The Triumphal Entry.  (As a study this may not be super detailed as you would like so you make it your own, then let me know and the post may be edited.)  

Miracles

  1. Matthew 19:2 healed them (the crowd). Matthew list no other miracles other than the prediction of his death. #1,7. Matthew wrote for the Jewish reader.  Since they usually demanded “signs” you would think he would have included more miracles.
  2. Ten Lepers #1. Luke was writing as a witness to a Gentile.  One of the ten was a Samaritan.
  3. Lazarus #3,5,10,11 This is one of the miracles John uses to prove Jesus is the Messiah, He could defeat death.
  4. Bartimaeus #8 I do wonder if he became important to the Church in Jerusalem.
  5. Zacchaeus – knowing he was there and stopping #9 Jesus’ ministry was to Israel, no matter how hard they had become.
  6. Predicts His own death #7 This prediction was to prepare the disciples for Easter Sunday.

People

  1. #1,11,12,13,15 Large crowds with healings- Matthew 19:1, 20:29. John 11:41+42 miracles believing. Mark 10:1 taught them.
  2. #1,3,4,5 Pharisees, Caiaphas, and his prophecy 
  3. #1,6 Little Children
  4. #6 Rich Young Man
  5. #6 Peter – “we have left everything”
  6. #7 The Twelve Disciples – predication of death 
  7. Mother of Zebedee’s sons – James and John, the Ten (with Judas)
  8. #3,5,10,11 Lazarus, Mary (anointed Jesus with Nard), and Martha 
  9. #8 Blind Men (Bartimaeus)
  10. #9 Zacchaeus
  11. #12 Two Disciples for the donkey (Peter and John?) We do not know which two disciples Jesus sent but these two as part of the inner circle would be a good guess.

Teachings 

  1. Divorce
  2. Receive the Kingdom like a little child 
  3. End times/leaving and getting/Workers in the Vineyard.  Luke 17:20 – 38 more in-depth
  4. Pray and the widow, Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Three Servants and Money (only Luke)  
  5. Teaching about His death
  6. Who is great among you

Places 

Across the Jordan #2

Ephraim (only in John) #4, This is the name of Jospeh’s second son who was “made first son” by Israel.

Mark 10:10 has them in a house.

Jericho #8,9

Bethphage and Bethany #3,5,10,11

Mount of Olives #12,13 The Mount is first called this in 2 Samuel 15:30 and Zechariah 14:4 connects it to Jesus’ Second Coming. 

The Triumphal Entry Ending in a Palm Sunday Ride

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The prophecy below heralds Jesus’ Palm Sunday triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (KJV)

But this is just the last leg of His tour de force procession that leads to His Kingship.  I see His journey starting in Luke 17:11 (healing ten lepers) because in Luke 19:37 the people are praising Jesus because of the miracles they had seen. The verses below chronicle the miracles that were done as Jesus traveled to His sacrifice as the Lamb of God.  His location is important as well as the teachings and other events that are written in the Gospels.     

Jesus is following a path (from the Jordan to Jerusalem) that was first marched by Joshua when he crossed the Jordan River and started the conquest of the Promised Land (Joshua 3).  Elisha in 2 Kings 2:13 walked roughly the same route after his anointing from Elijah.  

Note #1 – Because of the length I have a separate post on just the miracles, people, and teachings.

Note #2 – Some locations and timings are hard to place, especially John 12:1+2.  The distance from the Jordan to Bethany/Jerusalem is not great.  So, I can see Jesus walking to and from it several times.  That is however for you to decide.

Matthew 19:1-21:12, Mark 10:1-11:11, Luke 17:11-19:44 (18:31), John 10:40-12:19

All references are from the King James Version of the Bible. The bold and italics are added.

  • #1 Luke 17:11+12 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers
  • #2 Matthew 19:1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan

                        Mark 10:1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

John 10:40+41 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.

  • #3 John 11:18 (The story of Lazarus) Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off
  • #4 John 11:54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.
  • #5 John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
  • #6 Mark 10:17 And when he (Jesus) was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? (The Rich Young Man) Added explanation. Matthew and Luke also have a version of this story.
  • #7 Mark 10:32+33 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, 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

Matthew 20:17+18 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death

Luke 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go    up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

  • #8 Mark 10:46 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.

Luke 18:35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging

  • #9 Luke 19:1+2 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

                        Luke 19:11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

  • #10 John 12:1+2 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.  There they made him a supper
  • #11 John 12:9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus
  • #12 Matthew 21:1+2 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her

                        Mark 11:1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples

Luke 19:28+29 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives

  • #13 Luke 19:37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen
  • #14 Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it
  • #15 John 12:12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem

Melchizedek in Hebrews

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The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews did a tour de force presentation of Melchizedek as a type of Jesus.  As a Book, Hebrews beautifully joins the Old Testament to the New Testament. The main topic in chapters one through ten is Jesus as the new High Priest of God and His superiority above all priests and other apostles or “sent ones”.  This is shown by His personal commission from the Father and by His sacrifice and His blood.  But why spend so much time dealing with Melchizedek?  (A reference source I used is pages 406 – 438 of The New American Commentary of Hebrews by David L. Allen.) He is mentioned only three times in the Bible.  

  1. His introduction is in Genesis 14 where he interacts with Abraham.
  2. Psalm 110 where his messianic typology is recorded by David.
  3. In Hebrews where His priesthood is expounded and compared with the Messiah, Jesus. 

Hebrews was written to exalt and “explain” Jesus.  Because Melchizedek, through David, had become a type of messiah we feel we must attribute many great things to him.  He is a type of Jesus, not a competitor.  So, “in the order of Melchizedek” is not a super-secret priest club.  He was a Canaanite king that was not in the family line of Terah, as far as we know.  He is associated with Jerusalem/King’s Valley because he has the title of “king of peace” and he was a priest of the God Most High.  (Jerusalem is a footnote in my Bible, it is not named until Joshua 10:1.) 

History 

  1. Canaan is the son of Ham, who was cursed by Noah in Genesis 9:25.
  2. Joshua 10:1 has Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem forming an alliance to attack Gibeon/Israel.  Adoni means lord and Zedek translates into righteous, but he did not act like Melchizedek.  His plan was to attack God’s chosen people, not bless and refresh them with a meal.
  3. The uncomfortable thought that God had connected with someone (Melchizedek) outside of Abraham’s family may offend many of our paradigms.  That, however, is the foundation of the greatness of Jesus’ Priesthood outside of the family of Aaron.  
  4. Balaam is not identified as a prophet or priest but as someone who worships God, hears the Lord speak, and had the Spirit come on him.  He walks in the promises of Abraham (Numbers 22:6).  I can see him as a descendent of Abraham through Keturah, his third wife, or even Ishmael his first son. (Numbers 24:2 and 22:18 are verses for his relationship to God.)  The reality of Balaam is he heard God and he did offer sacrifices, even if it was through divination and not relationships.  He also loved money and betrayed the Children of Israel.
  5. Exodus 19: 22 and 24 mention priests in Israel before Aaron, his sons, and the Law.  Were they inferior imitators of Melchizedek? 
  6. Gideon was from Manasseh, yet the Lord (Hashem) order him to build an altar and offer a sacrifice (Judges 6:25).  Was he acting as a priest in the order of Melchizedek?
  7. Job is identified as a servant of the Lord, nothing else!  In chapters one and forty-two he offers sacrifices for his family and friends.  He may have been a contemporary of Abraham but like Melchizedek, we do not know about his family tree.
  8. David does many things that are “priestly” in nature.  He could not be a priest after the order of Aaron because he is from the tribe of Judah.

Psalm 110 and David

Psalm 110 certainly extends the idea of a messiah for Israel being a military leader. I can see this psalm written in the timeframe of 2 Samuel 2:1 when David was made king in Judah.

Many times, Jesus was asked if He was going to “restore the kingdom of Israel” (Acts 1:6).  This was in part because of the legends that were built around Psalm 110 and “another David” who would lead Israel.   Matthew 22:43-45, Mark 12:36+37, Luke 20:42-44, Acts 2:25+34 are all verses about Psalm 110.  It is clear that David was not talking about himself.  

LORD VS. Lord – In Psalm 110 these two words are used and it can cause some confusion.  The Gospel references highlight these different terms.  LORD is Hashem (OJB) and means “the name” or God.  Lord is Adonai, this does mean lord but is used in a wide variety of references.  It can refer to God, a king, a husband, or your boss.  This is the point that is made in the Gospel references.  Verse one could be read – God says to my king.  In verse five, I keep feeling that has the king, Adonai, at the right hand of God.  Christians clearly see these as references to Jesus, which is what the writer of Hebrews is also referring to. 

A Kingdom of Priest

Exodus 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. (KJV)

Revelations 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)

In Exodus 19:6 it is clear what the Father wanted to do.  This is written before Moses starts his many coming and goings on the Mount.  God wanted a holy group of people who could act as priests.  This is still the heart of the Father and what the Church should be.  In Revelations, the thought is still there but it sounds like we have/are catching up to God’s original plan.

What About …

Is Melchizedek a supernatural being?  Is he an example of the pre-incarnate Jesus?  Is he a non-Hebrew priest of God Most High that we know very little about, especially his linage?  According to David L. Allen the phrase “without mother or father” indicates there is nothing listed/known about that part of his life.  So, a pre-incarnate Jesus is a possibility, or like Terah and Abraham, he had a heart open to God and chose to follow Him.

Personal Takeaway 

I have tried to explain why Mary must or could have had a priestly ancestor.  I have not done well with that thought.  Now, I know and understand that my striving was unnecessary.  Jesus’ priesthood does not depend on the Law.  When there is a change in the Law there is a change in the priesthood.  I believe I am correct in this thought – Melchizedek, no Law; activate the Law, Aaron; Jesus satisfies the Law and now the priesthood is in the “order of Melchizedek” like the writer of Hebrews explained.  Like Jesus, we are priests unto God in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus’ New Start

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            A new start! Jesus needs a new start?  What about Good Friday, “It is finished”, and an Easter sunrise service why would Jesus need a new start?  Growing up in a denominational church, which observed Lent and had grand Easter services I guess I always thought that Easter Day was it.  Everything was done by noon on Easter Sunday.  Jesus rose from the dead, He had the Keys back and His time on the cross settled everything.  HE DID ALL OF THAT AND MORE!  I believe that Jesus only needed to be the sacrifice for my/our sin ONCE.  His work on the cross is/was finished and He sprinkled His blood on the Mercy Seat Himself and it does not need to be done again. 

            The new start I am talking about is not dealing with His sacrifice.  He got several new titles and honestly the work of starting His Kingdom was not done.  What He did after the Resurrection is the work that was foreshadowed by Moses and Joshua.  Both of these leaders had work to do after their (first) Passovers.  Jesus stayed around for forty days because He had work to finish before His Ascension and the birthing of His Church (Pentecost).

The Shadows of the New Start

            Moses’ Passover, which birthed the nation of Israel brought them out of Egypt and started them to the Promised Land.  The first part of the trip became the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  The parting of the Red Sea (baptism) took them away from the swords and brickyards of Egypt.  The first true destination for Israel was to sacrifice and worship God at the Mountain.  It was here that Moses received the Law.

            Joshua’s Passover was held in the Promised Land, as the start of the Land of Israel.  The Ark and the people passed through the Jordan River (baptism).  After defeating Jericho and Ai, they traveled to the mountains of Blessing and Curses.  Part of the ceremony here was to build an altar, worship God, and Joshua copied the Law onto stone tablets.  He then had to lead the people in conquering the land and dividing it for the tribes.

            Elisha in 2 Kings 3 had a “passing through the Jordan” on his way past Jerusalem to Bethel and then to the mountain where Elijah had his great victory.

            Jesus had two very similar experiences with the Jordan.  The first was His personal baptism by John that was followed by forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 3 and 4).  Satan did take Him to a high mountain (4:8).  The second one was His final trip to Jerusalem and His death on Mount Calvary.

What Started New for Jesus

Some of these are very subjective on my part.

  1. His priesthood, that is like Melchizedek’s priesthood. Hebrews 5, 7 and 8
  2. He holds the keys of Death and Hades. Revelations 1:18
  3. He is the mediator of the new covenant. 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6, 9:15, and 12:24
  4. A new seat and footstool. Revelations 3:21 and Hebrews 1:13
  5. He has a new name. Revelations 3:12
  6. He gives authority. Revelations 2:26-27
  7. The Spirit could now come and be our Helper.

Hebrews and Revelation have more of these new things or things that He is now worthy to do.  I am going to add that He can now minister to the Gentiles.  Remember He was sent to the House of Israel.

A New Appearance

            In the Book of Revelations, His appearance is different. Shock, joy, or unbelief may have caused people to not recognize Him but here are the verses that lean toward Him appearing different: Matthew 28:17, Mark 16:12, Luke 24:16 and 40, John 20:14 and 21:4 and 11. I just have a feeling that His new appearance was between His first earthly appearance and what He looked like when He transfigured on top of the mountain.

Resurrection 

            There are many verses that proclaim Jesus as the Resurrection or talk about His resurrection.  Matthew 22:31 and 27:53; Luke 14:14 and 20:36; and John 11:25 are just a few of these verses.  In studying the word “resurrection” it seems our modern usage of it is centered or even defined by what Jesus did or what the dead will do.  This is great and I do value that resurrection is associated with Jesus.  But we need to remember that there was a transformation that took place.  Jesus was not restored to what He was before He was put on the cross.  He came out better or “new”. (Steven Furtick started some of this idea in his sermon on 2/28/21.) 

The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines the word resurrection as “a rising again”.  My Strong’s Concordance defines it as “standing up”.  I like that better because this shows me what Jesus did.  He stood up again.  Standing gives me the idea that He was about to start doing new things.  Let us look at a very important verse that Jesus said. 

John 12:32 (KJV) And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.  

This is a reference that Jesus made about how He would die on the cross.  But as our Master Teacher often does this term has another layer of meaning. The NIV has a footnote that the term “lifted up” also means to be exalted. The Orthodox Jewish Bible (OBJ) has the term “hagbah” for the term “lifted up”.  This is the word/term for the act of lifting up the Torah for the congregation to see as it is read during a service.  Jesus is the Word.  So, if we lift up or exalt Jesus, the Word, all men will be drawn to Him.  

Jesus was hagbah on the cross for our sin.  His resurrection, His new start, or Him standing up again, was so we would lift Him up.

Tree of Knowledge – Fear of Death

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Between studying the Tree of Knowledge and Jesus being a high priest like Melchizedek in the Book of Hebrews I saw a verse on the “fear of death” that tied the two ideas together.  Hebrews 2:15 – To free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (NIV). The verse is addressing Jesus as our High Priest but the “fear of death” is what caught me by surprise.

Where is this fear of death first mentioned or talked about?  This topic of fear and death (yes, I replaced of with and on purpose) made me look through the verses with the word fear in them.  (NOTE: This is a study blog, not a theology blog you can argue this elsewhere.). Fear is associated with death and punishment in most of the verses in the Bible.  Well, what about “the fear of God” that just means we are to reverence Him, not be afraid of Him.  Back to this later.

The first place where the “fear of something” and death are together is in the Garden.  No, not when Adam and Eve were afraid because they heard God and they were naked – that is the second time.  You may call it another phobia but Eve wanting the fruit, I believe, is associated with the fear of not knowing what God knew about death. It is clear that Adam and Eve were superior, intelligent humans but I am not sure that everything made sense to them. They had never seen death or anything die, not that we know of.  The first recorded death is their son.  So, MAYBE the serpent mixed her not knowing death with a nice-looking piece of fruit and his assurance that nothing would happen and we now have FEAR.  I know most preachers call Eve’s action stemming out of lust, but lust is really fear that someone has something you do not have.  This still makes me wonder how long those three had been talking together and did all of the animals talk.  Talking to the devil about a fear instead of walking with God, could be a problem.

Adam expressed their fear of God because he was waiting for the “you will die” to happen.  With the knowledge of good and evil came what we call fear.  You can fear for good reasons and you can fear for evil reasons. 

So, back to the fear of God.  Do you fear Him for good reasons or for bad?  We know we should fear God.  Is the softening of the word fear by calling it reverence, really a good thing? We need to hold God as important but in my Strong’s Concordance reverence is part of the definition of the word fear and it still means “fear”. 

This line of thinking will quickly lead to the argument of “once saved always saved” or “God never unsaved someone”.  No matter your thoughts on that topic we are still to fear God.  What about 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4:18 where perfect love is casting out fear.  That is true, perfect love will cast out fear, and Jesus, our perfect love, will cast it out.  If I may, as an example of softening the thought of fearing God for good reasons.  1 Corinthians 13: 10 “when perfection comes” has been misused to be talking about the King James Version of the Bible, and not Jesus.  Grace is given to us by Jesus, our perfect love, to help us not live in fear of what God could be doing to us because of our sin.

Hebrews 2:15 and Proverbs 14:27 – The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death (NIV), talk about death holding us or being a snare.  That fear was put into humans in the Garden by Satan and we pass it on to our children.   

The Tree

My thoughts of the Tree of Knowledge are changing.  We know what eating the fruit did for mankind.  What about touching it? How about the branches, trunk, and roots?  The whole conversation between Eve and the snake now seems even stranger.  Was the snake talking about the “touching” part when it said, “You will not die” and then slipped in the eating phrase to finish off his lie and deception?

In Eve’s mind even touching “knowledge” would bring death.  When she did not die why not taste it and see what happens.  The immediate “death” that happened was they now knew there was a “good” and an “evil”, that is why they hid and made “religious” or fig leaf clothes.  They could finally see that God was holy (good) and now they were not (evil).  The whole time when He would walk in His garden, and they enjoyed perfect fellowship with a perfect God they had no fear of Him.  For them to see a difference must have been horrible. Sorry for such a simple thought – The rest of the Bible is about bringing man back to walk with God and enjoy perfect fellowship again.

Branches and Roots

The root of Jesse, the root of David, the branch of David is taking on new and different meanings for me now.  Paul says we are grafted into the stem so we can enjoy the life-giving sap.  I will pass on the roots of the Tree of Knowledge but will marvel that Jesus is the root, the fruit, the branches, and the leaves of the tree they should have eaten from.

I can see fear sitting in the branches of the Tree of Knowledge. It is waiting to jump on the knowledge you have chosen to focus on.  Good fear will bring you to obey God and want to follow Him because He has the power to do mighty things. Fear of evil will have you blaming God for things that do not fit in your paradigm. Is fear a neutral thing?  Does it depend on what we do with it?

Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes 12: 13 Fear God and keep his commandments. (NIV). Through the Tree of Knowledge, we got the fear of death but the fear of God was not far away.  Fearing God is not bad and is needed in today’s society.

Special pic is from http://clipart.christiansunite.com/1613648461/Bible_Characters_Clipart/Adam_and_Eve_Clipart/Adam_and_Eve009.jpg