GuineaField

Turns out if you want to put someone to death legally, you have to jump through quite a few hoops and layers of red tape. And so, as the Jewish leaders put Jesus to death, they go through several phases. Each author, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John chooses which scene to develop in their Gospel. Luke’s is the most full. John picks up a couple things the others do not. Mark’s account is the briefest. And yet the both include the primary sentencing from the religious arm (the Sanhedrin) and the secular arm (Pilate). Along the way they go through six different trials or we could say questionings.   Of course, if you want to murder Messiah you have to do so according to the Law. Perhaps one of the saddest sentences in this whole Bible is that the Pharisees would not go into Pilate’s house because that would cause them to be unclean. And so the trials literally take all night long as they try to gather the Jewish Senate together to put Jesus to death legally. 1.    ...

  A wise woman uses a great illustration to appeal to David to put the past in the past and reconcile to others in the future. Let's learn from 2 Samuel 14:14 woman in 2 Samuel 14.

Each account of this event from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John has small differences. Matthew and John were there, and yet Mark probably heard firsthand from Peter and Luke took firsthand accounts from many eyewitnesses, so it’s not difficult to consider that each person wanted to bring out different parts of the event as they shared it. And yet, these differences do not contradict; they give a fuller picture of what happened as you look at the big picture. By taking all four Gospels as the inerrant Word of God, we gain a four-dimensional, stereo-sound quality to the event. But it is very important, also to harmonize the accounts to know exactly what happened.   1. How often did this event occur?   Question Raised: Luke gives very different details from Matthew Mark and John that appear to contradict.   Answer: As you read Luke’s account, these differences point to an entirely different event. It is in a different house, time frame with major characters as different peop...

  Your commute to work or home may be short or it might be long. Compared to your whole week, the commute is a short space of time. But whether it is short or long, it is true that you do not live for that commute, you live for the destination after the commute.  In fact, we feel sorry for those who live on the commute with all their goods. We have empathy as we see how difficult life can be! Spiritually, Jesus has a similar feeling of empathy for those who live as if there were no eternal destination. They are amassing wealth and experiences as if the commute was all there is to our existence. Jesus calls them a fool.  Follow me from my commute to a very important spot to consider your life's commute and what Jesus teaches about being prepared for eternity. Life is fast, learn this important lesson!

Difficult tasks are easy, one drop at a time. I don’t know if you have tried to build a waterfall. I have, and drilling through rock takes good tools, strength and a lot of time. Drilling through stone is so difficult!   But then I look at the Great Falls of Patterson, NJ, just a 45 minute drive from NYC. Water has gently, patiently carved out a beautiful scene drop by drop falling patiently on granite—hard stone after hard stone. And voilà, a masterpiece! When you look at your life’s mound of difficult tasks today, don’t shrink back at the difficulty or strenuous effort needed to complete all of them. Just take the next step, always looking unto Jesus the of the Author and Finisher of your faith. He will give you the strength, one step at a time, one drop at a time to finish the race. Keep plugging friends!

Every time I read through my Old Testament, I’m amazed again at how often Jesus Christ appears. Not only does He speak and bring all things into being in Genesis 1, He often appears in human form to walk and talk with what He has made before taking on human flesh (at incarnation). I want to pass along a list of these to you because I’m afraid we often don’t see Christ in the Old Testament as we should. That is not a new problem. Following Jesus’ resurrection, His conversation with His followers included several rebukes and corrections. The harshest one should be one that should be echoed from this article through churches today. Listen to Him on the road to Emmaus:   “And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scri...