Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Harmony of the Gospels


138. The grain of wheat- John 12:24-26

 

-Jesus explains why it is necessary for Him to die in an immediate sense (His hour had come, John 12:23), but this also has significance for us in the Christian walk. The seed analogy is used often in Scripture as an illustration of something which has died but has life in it inside which bursts forth with abundance and multiplicity (Zechariah 8:12, Matthew 13:18-32, 1 Corinthians 15:35-57, 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 3:9) *Application* The teaching is that we must hate our life in this world (the sinful, natural man) if we want to keep our souls intact for an eternity with Him. If we love our sinful, natural, and physically temporary life we will lose it. If we are servants of the Most High, we must serve Him by laying down our lives just as Jesus did on our behalf. Where He is, there we will be also as His servants. Serving the Lord will bring His honor. Don’t you want to hear, “Well done good and faithful slave (Matthew 25:21, 23)” at the end of the journey? Die to self and live in His resurrection power!

 

Verse to Memorize- John 12:25

 

139. Jesus’ authority questioned by chief priests- Matt. 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 20:1-8

 

-As a part of the inspection process of the Lamb of God, the chief priests, scribes, and the elders confronted Jesus with questions about what authority He had to do the things He was doing (teaching, preaching the gospel, miracles, etc.) and who gave Him this authority. Jesus knew the intentions of their hearts and responded with a question of His own that revealed their hearts and at the same time actually answered their questions. He referenced the baptism of John as to whether it was from man or Heaven. They could not answer this because of their unbelief on one hand and their fear of the crowd, who regarded him as a real prophet, on the other. So they were stymied and could not answer, which gave Christ the right not to explicitly answer their questions as well. Jesus’ response did however reveal their unbelief towards the things of God and demonstrated His authority over the schemes of man (1 Corinthians 1:19-2:5). *Application* God is wiser than anything we can conceive in our finite minds. Don’t ever find yourself questioning God or His authority in your life. He has complete control and wisdom to handle any of your life situations. Never fear He is always near and will be your source of strength and wisdom in this world (Matthew 28:20).

 

Verse to Memorize- Luke 20:2

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