They Failed to Seize Jesus

By Mary Vee
John 8 

Peter

Photo by Mary Vee. View from the Mount of Olives facing
the Temple area

My name is Peter, I am a disciple of Jesus. We are in the temple courts standing near the place where the offerings are placed.

Photo by Mary Vee, The top of
the Mount of Olives today.

The other disciples and I stood nearby when Jesus when a crowd gathered. They waited for him to speak.

Jesus turned to them and said, "I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

The Pharisees moved among the crowd. These were the same men who tried to test Jesus by bringing the adulterous woman for him to judge. They ended up walking away without throwing a stone at her.

They probably saw he crowd and rushed over to prevent them from listening to Jesus' teachings. They seemed ready to question Jesus again as they pushed toward the front of the crowd. One Pharisee said, "Here you are. You are acting as your own witness and that makes the testimony you share among these witnesses not valid."

Jesus said, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid. I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I was or where I will go. You judge me by your human standards. I pass judgment on no one. 

"But if I do choose to judge, my decisions are right. I am not alone. I stand with the Father who sent me. In your own Law, it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself. My other witness is the Father who sent me."

A Pharisee said, "All right. So, where is your father?" He looked around the temple. "Is he here?"

Photo by Mary Vee
On top of the Mount of Olives,
the Disciples Prayer is
posted in many languages.

Jesus said, "You do not know me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father."

As expected the Pharisees were not happy with Jesus. They tried to seize him but failed. Later I learned that this was not yet the appointed time. Jesus had more work to do.

What happened next? Next week I will tell you more. 

 Come back to read the next story.

*Author of blog's note: If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. I will see them and will answer as best I can or direct you to a source.


*********************************************************************************************

sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.
*Photos from my trip to Israel.

Double Standards

By Mary Vee
John 7 

Peter

Jerusalem
Photo by Mary Vee

My name is Peter, I am a disciple of Jesus.

The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles had already begun. Jesus' brothers left a few days ago. Before they went, they asked Him if He was going. Every Jewish man attended this feast. But they didn't ask him because they cared. They didn't believe Jesus was God's son. They thought Jesus would put on a good show with His miracles.

I soon saw why Jesus didn't leave that day. He had important work that had to be done then. Work that could not wait. I mentioned it the last time I wrote. Scroll down to the last post to read about it. When he finished the work, the other disciples and I went up to Jerusalem to the feast with him. 

He kept his presence a secret, walking among the people in the city and listening to what they said. It seemed the people were unsure about him.

After hearing this, Jesus said it was time to go to the temple court. The men standing there recognized him and gathered near, wanting to hear him speak. And so he did. He spoke from the Holy Scriptures like no other Rabbi. The listeners were surprised. They said, "How can this man speak with such knowledge when he hasn't studied?"

Jesus anwered them, "I am not speaking my own teachings. These words come from Him who sent me. He who speaks with his own thoughts does it to receive honor for himself. He who speaks for the honor of the One who sent him, speaks truth. Moses gave you the law. Not one of you obeys it. Why are you trying to kill me?"

The men shouted, "You're crazy. Who is trying to kill you?"

Jesus said, "I healed a man on the Sabbath. You judge me for doing this on the seventh day. You had no compassion for the man. Then you perform circumcision on the Sabbath and think you are right. You judge others based on what you see and think rather than what the Scriptures teach.

The men walked away and talked among themselves. 

What happened next? Next week I will tell you more. 

 Come back to read the next story.

*Author of blog's note: If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. I will see them and will answer as best I can or direct you to a source.


*********************************************************************************************

sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.
*Photos from my trip to Israel.

Nehemiah-Backyard Camping Feast

By Mary Vee
Nehemiah 8

From Nehemiah's Journal

Photo Courtesy

My name is Nehemiah. I had been a servant in Babylon for a long time. I was cupbearer to the king. 

The king of Babylon sent me to oversee the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. 

The walls are finished, Israelites are living in the city, businesses are growing. 

We brought all the Israelites together and held a meeting by the Water Gate. Ezra, the prophet, read the Book of the Law of God to all the men, women, and the children who could understand. The people wept as they heard the laws and rules we hadn't been obeying. We all realized how we had failed. We realized what we should have been doing. The sorrow in our hearts felt heavy.

As one of their leaders I told the people to go home. Eat. Rest.

Now the second day of the seventh month has begun. Ezra, the Levites, and I continued to study the Book of the Law of God and found the Lord had commanded through Moses that we should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. 

How exciting. We called the people back to hear these new instructions. Those who could come back gathered around the platform where Ezra stood. He read these instructions, "You are to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month and tell those who live in towns outside Jerusalem to go into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees. Also branches from myrtles, palms, and shade trees to make the booths."

The people left right away, combing the hillsides for the branches to make the booths. The booth was like a tent with an opening. The roofs of the houses were flat and made a perfect place for a booth. For those who didn't have room on their roof, they built booths in their courtyards, in the courts of the temple, and in the square of the Water Gate and Gate of Ephraim. 

Every family made a booth and lived in them for seven days. Sadly, from the days of Joshua until this very day, the Israelites had not celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in this way. We actually had a lot of fun. It was like the way you camp in your backyard. The children giggled. The adults praised God. Everyone sang and had so much fun.

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God for all to hear. The Israelite brothers celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day,  according to the rules in the Law all the Israelites in the area gathered for a meeting.

Come back next time to see what happens.
*********************************************************************************************

sources: New International Version, New King James Version