Mark 14:53-56 - Many tetified falsely

14:53-55

This “court” was highly unusual, meeting late at night. All the Jewish religious leaders were involved. Peter had followed at a distance and had even gone into the courtyard. He was warming himself by the fire. The Council (the Sanhedrin) wanted to find an excuse to put Jesus to death. When fear and self-interest get a hold our thinking becomes very warped, and here the Council was totally blind to how wrong their actions were, effectively contemplating murder. We can always wonder how others can be so blind. Many of us are amazed at how pro-abortionists can be so blind to the fact that abortion involves killing a human being. But we must always be aware that we can be blind to our own sins. That is part of the reason we need the Holy Spirit, and that we need each other. For God will often use others to make us aware of areas of our lives that need to change.

14:56

In seeking to achieve their aims they could find many willing to bear false witness, but their testimonies did not add up. We should be aware of how evil works. There will be elements where evil seems to succeed, but because of the inherent contradictions in evil it will always ultimately fall.

Mark 14:53-62 - Many testified falsely against Him

14:53,54

Jesus questioned his captors as to why they needed to use force, for he was not leading a rebellion. They had had ample opportunity to arrest him, but had not taken these opportunities.At this point everyone fled. A young man is named who fled naked. his anonymity if preserved possibly for his own safety. 

\The chief priests and elders were all gathered together/, they were united in their efforts ro have Jesus killed.Peter had managed to get into the courtyard probably thinking he was fulfilling his promise to stick with Jesus.

14:55,56

The chief priests and the sanhedrin were determined to find a way to have Jesus put to death, but they could not find any evidence. The evidence of those who testified against h\im did not agree. They used a misinterpreted statement of Jesus, but even these did not agree. The HIgh Priest was getting frustrated because Jesus was nor answering the so-called charges. Jesus did give an answer, but it annoyed them all the more, for He did claim to be the Messiah.

14:57-61

We now get the nature of the false accusations, namely that Jesus would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Mark does not record the precise words that were the basis of these accusations. Mark 13:2 could well be the basis for the destruction part. Though Jesus’ words in John 2:19 could well be the basis for the whole accusation.

14:62

Jesus knew who He was, and this was the basis for his mission, likewise the foundation for our mission must be who \jesus is. At this point the priests and guards attacked jesus.

Mark 13:63-72 - Why do we need any more witnesses

14:63

The High Priest knew that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, as far as he was concerned they had all they needed.They all agreed on this. They had all the evidence they needed

14:64,65

Jesus’ words if 14:62 were considered to be claiming equality with God, and so were considered to be blasphemy. Therefore, as far as the religious leaders were concerned the vase was over and Jeus deserved to die.

14:66

Peter now begins his denials.  A servant girl confronts Peter, asking if he was with Jesus, implying that she had seen him with Jesus.Peter quickly denied this. \why did he do this, maybe out of fear, maybe our of just not thinking, not being prepared.

14:67-72

Peter may have thought he was escaping scrutiny, but there was no escape. Another servant girl saw him and studied him closely, she recognized that he had been with Jesus and told him so. Again, Peter denied it yet again Peer tried to escape, and yet again failed.  The more accusations, the more vehemently  Peter denied knowing Jesus. Then the cock crowed s second time and peter remembered Jesus’ words . Peter realised what a failure he was, and broke down and cried bitterly.

Mark 12:19-24 - There were seven brothers

12:19-23

They address Jesus as “Teacher” since they are asking a theological question, though they may well have been using the term in a mocking way, thinking that they were about to demonstrate that Jesus was not so clever after all. The question they raise is a reductio ad absurdum type argument. They did not believe in the resurrection, so their question assumes that there is a resurrection, but then seeks to demonstrate that this leads to nonsense. They refer to Deut 25:5,6 that instructs that if a man dies without a son, then his wife should marry within the family so that the man’s name can be continued. They then extend this to an imagined scenario involving seven brothers, finishing with what they see as the clincher. “At the resurrection, whose wife will she be?”

12:24

We see here an example of presuppositional apologetics. Rather getting involved in a silly argument accepting the assumptions of the Sadducees argument, Jesus attacks the underlying assumptions of what the Sadducees are saying. In fact Jesus does not hold back, and strongly rebukes the Sadducees. “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” The Sadducees who considered themselves to be worldly wise, were actually rather stupid. The same can be said of many of the so-called clever people of today, especially those in the church.

1 Kings 8:24-26 - Let your word come true

8:24

The commitment of the Lord to His people and His covenant is demonstrated in His keeping of His promise to David. The love of the Lord, both His love towards us and our love towards Him is demonstrated in very practical ways, and it is a relationship. Emotions etc on their own are worthless, but actions without emotions are lacking as well.

8:25,26

Solomon then looks to the future, asking God to keep His promise for his father David to always have a successor on the throne of Israel. This promise was conditional on the people walking faithfully before the Lord. Solomon asks that this word comes true, which it did. Israel did not walk faithfully before the Lord, and were thrown out of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. But God Himself became the faithful king in Jesus Christ.

Mark 12:16-18 - Give to God what is God's

12:16,17

Then Jesus asked them whose image was on the coin. The answer, of course, was “Caesar’s”, as was his inscription. Jesus then gives His famous answer, “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s”. By using the Roman coins they were tacitly acknowledging that Caesar had some authority over them, and that they owed him something. But the more important part was rendering unto God what is God’s. Were the Pharisees or Herodians (or any of us, for that matter) doing that? It is easy for us to question the right of the government, or some other authority, to exercise power over us, and all of them do it badly to some degree. But our first concern should always be are we seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? (Matt 6:33)

12:18

The second question comes from the Sadducees. As Mark notes, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. They only accepted the first five books of the Bible, i.e. the “Book of Moses”, neither were they keen on angels or miracles. In fact, there wasn’t that much that they did believe, and they were opposed to the Pharisees. In some ways they were very much like many of the current hierarchy in mainline denominations such as the Church of England or Church of Scotland. They came with a question, no doubt what they considered to be a very clever question, designed to illustrate how foolish Jesus was. It is likely that the high priests at this time were Sadducees.

1 Kings 8:20-23 - The Lord has kept the promise He made

8:20,21

Solomon declares that the promise is now being fulfilled, and that it is fulfilled through Solomon. Solomon is now on the throne, and he has built the temple. In building the temple Solomon had “provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord”. The ark contained the ten commandments, these were the basis for the old covenant. The rule of God was the basis, the “problem” with the old covenant was that it relied on man being able to keep it, something man could not do (Heb 7:19; 8:7). In Christ the rule of God is still central, but this time is not dependent upon our ability, but on Christ, God’s Son.

8:22,23

Solomon now prays to the Lord, standing before the altar. The start of the prayer is focused on how God has been faithful to David, after declaring that there is no god like the Lord. The Lord was faithful to His covenant of love towards his servants “who continue wholeheartedly in your way”. The hallmark of the people of the Lord is a wholehearted commitment to the Lord. The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is geared towards producing an ever greater commitment to the Lord.