Friday, February 25, 2011

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday February 27, 2011

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN
(JESUS’ return is man’s only hope)
(Mark 13)

Mark chapter 13 begins during the middle of “Passion Week”, JESUS’ final week here on earth in human form, and just two days or so, before HE completed HIS mission by way of HIS death on the cross at Golgotha, by Roman method.
As JESUS was leaving the Temple that day, one of HIS disciples, who was, no doubt, filled with awe at the tremendous size, splendor, and beauty of the buildings that made up the temple area, which, by the way, covered about 1/6 of the city of Jerusalem, says to JESUS, “TEACHER, look at these tremendous buildings and the massive stones in their walls!” JESUS replied, “These magnificent buildings will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another”.
This statement by JESUS would later serve as a segue into the prophetic discourse that HE would deliver to HIS faithful followers that very same day on the Mount of Olives, located just across the Kidron Valley from the temple. In a very real sense, this ominous prediction can be seen as somewhat of a sequel to JESUS’ judgment of “clearing the temple” (Mark 11:15-18) when it was being grossly misused by the “money changers”. Remember, throughout Israel’s sorted history, GOD had often destroyed the temple as a form of judgment for HIS chosen people’s rebellious acts against HIM.
When they arrived at the Mount of Olives, JESUS sat down on the slopes, and, Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to HIM privately, and asked HIM, when would the things that HE had spoke of earlier come to pass, and, would there be any signs beforehand.
Now the temple complex that existed in Jerusalem during JESUS’ day was still under construction and wasn’t fully completed until A.D. 64, almost 40 years after JESUS’ ascension back into Heaven. The project was started by King Herod the Great, who died in 4 B.C., and was completed by the sons of his dynasty over the next several decades. The Herods built this religious complex to both, win the Jews favor, and, to create a lasting monument to themselves. It was considered to be one of the great architectural wonders of the world in its time.
Now, with that bit of information, one can imagine how startled the disciples must have been at this prediction by our LORD and SAVIOR, WHO said, “Before this generation has passed away, this whole complex will be leveled to the ground”. It is a prophesy that was fulfilled only six years after the temple area construction was completed (A.D. 70) when the Roman Emperor Titus, ordered his soldiers to demolish the entire city of Jerusalem, including the temple complex.
The conditions that were associated with the crisis that caused Jerusalem to fall in the latter half of the first century, actually foreshadow a similar crisis’ that we are faced with here in the twenty-first century. The thinking Christian can clearly evaluate that JESUS’ words and warning, which related of the signs of the times in that generation, still remain very relevant to us, who are facing similar critical conditions, in this day and age.
JESUS answered the disciples’ second question first, which was regarding the “signs”, and HE answered it in a two-fold manner. In the negative sense, JESUS warned them against the false signs that would come in the forms of “false prophets” and those who would claim to be the Messiah HIMSELF. In the positive sense, HE warned them of the wars, earthquakes, and famines that would only serve to usher in an even more horrific “tribulation period” unlike any other before, in all the history of the world.
This will be followed by a period of increased Christian persecution, that will present unprecedented opportunities for Christians to preach the Gospel to many nations, government officials, and heads of state, all over the world. And all the believer will have to do is follow the prompting of the HOLY SPIRIT, WHO will direct and instruct them as to what they should say, and when they should say it.
JESUS also says that during this time family members will betray each other to the death, and, believers will be hated simply because of their allegiance to HIM. However, those who are willing to endure their suffering for CHRIST until the end will be saved. In fact, in this passage JESUS likens these sufferings and pain to that of a woman’s labor pains, just prior to childbirth.
But just as a woman has to endure the labor pains that are associated with childbirth, before she can realize the joy of having brought a new generation of life into the world, so it is with those who are willing and able to endure the suffering that comes with one performing the “Great Commission” of CHRIST, in a world that is adverse to the will of GOD, in order that they can one day, have a new eternal life, with CHRIST, in HIS new millennial kingdom, whenever GOD calls for HIS return.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander


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Friday, February 18, 2011

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday February 20, 2011

JESUS CAME TO SERVE
(With HIS OWN life, JESUS teaches about serving others)
(Mark 10:35-45)

To ask for a place of honor in JESUS’ glory is a requisite to requesting to share also, in HIS suffering. Inherently, you can’t have one without the other. For JESUS, the only way to glory was through the cross, and so it must be, for those who choose to follow HIM. In the Gospel according to John Mark, in chapter 10 taking up at verse 35, two of JESUS’ original disciples, James and John, unwittingly evoke a lesson in “Servant Leadership” from the SON of GOD.
In the biblical Greek the word used for “servant” is “diakonos” (dee-ak-on-os), and it describes “one who serves in a menial capacity”. In JESUS’ response to the request by James and John to be given seats of honor in HIS coming Kingdom (Mark 10:35-37), JESUS replies in summation that, “Whoever wishes to become great among you, shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you, shall be servant to all”.
Here in this passage, John Mark exposes something very human about the disciples of JESUS, after all, they were just simple and ordinary men with no theological training. But when JESUS set out to overcome the death and sins of this world, it was with just such men that HE chose to do it. This passage not only gives us a peek at James’ and John’s ambitiousness, but it also reveals their selfishness and pride. It shows us that they had not, at least to this point, understood JESUS’ living earthly examples, over the past 2 ½ years, of what servant leadership was all about.
However, one good thing does seem to stand out in this passage, and that is, as confused as the two men were about how they could obtain honor from GOD in the coming kingdom, they were sure that there would be a coming kingdom, and so we see from that point of view, that their hearts, at least, were in the right place.
This story also tells us a lot about JESUS’ standard of what greatness is. In verse 38, JESUS uses two well-known biblical metaphors. First HE asks James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?”, and then HE asks them, Are you able to be baptized with the baptism, with which I AM baptized with?”
“Drink the cup” is the Jewish expression that means, “sharing one’s fate or destiny”. The “cup” can be used as a symbol of both “joy” and “suffering”. In the Old Testament, it often symbolized GOD’s wrath against sin. The term “baptism”, here in this passage, symbolizes someone deeply immersed in pain and troubles.
Ultimately, as we now know, both James and John did “drink the cup”, and, were “baptized with the baptism” of CHRIST. Acts 12:2 tells us that James went on to become the first of the original disciples to be martyred, as he was ordered to be slain with the sword, by King Herod Agrippa I, the son of Herod the Great, circa A.D. 43.
And as for John, he lived a long life of persecution and suffering before, and after, being exiled to the Greek island of Patmos by the Roman Emperor, Domitian, where he later penned the Book of Revelations according to the visions he received from CHRIST JESUS very late in the first century A.D.
In the biblical Greek, the word used for “ransom” is “lutron” (loo-tron), and it describes something that is used to “set free” something else, and it is also “the cost, or price to redeem”. The use of this word in verse 45, perhaps, makes it the key verse in John Mark’s whole Gospel account, because it clearly states the reason for which JESUS came into the world, and that reason, of course, is to redeem us from sin and death.
The book of Mark was written explicitly to make men see and understand, through JESUS’ miracles, that HE truly is the SON of the LIVING GOD. HE came to serve us by dying as the vicarious sacrifice for our lives on the cross by Roman method, when no one else, and nothing else, would do. And by doing so, HE became the ultimate “SERVANT LEADER”, and the ULTIMATE ROLE MODEL for all who wish to “serve” in a leadership capacity, especially within the Christian Faith.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander


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Friday, February 11, 2011

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday February 13, 2011

THIS IS MY BELOVED SON
(We must acknowledge who JESUS is)
(Mark 9:2-13)

In the biblical Greek, the word used for “affirmation” is “bebaiosis” (beb-ah-yo-sis), and it means “to be steadfast and sure in one’s assertions”. GOD wants us to understand and believe in our hearts that JESUS is HIS only begotten SON, and that no person can enter into the kingdom of Heaven, unless they first, acknowledge WHO HE is, and accept HIM as their personal LORD and SAVIOR. When Peter pondered the question from JESUS, Who do you say that I AM? (Mark 8:29), he already knew that all human categories failed to describe just who JESUS was.
Six days following their visit through Caesarea-Philippi, JESUS’ “Transfiguration” on Mount Hermon (Mark 9:1-10), was staged by GOD, to help place “affirmation” of JESUS’ majesty upon the hearts of men, for all time. GOD spoke from the clouds that day to Peter, James, and John, to forever affirm, to them, and to us, that JESUS truly is the only way to GOD. And HE used the images of Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophet, two towering figures in Jewish history, each of whom, no man had seen die, and they were there to bear witness to this distinctive act of GOD, and to represent all of the resurrected Old Testament saints who had gone before them.
And when GOD removed the images of perhaps the two greatest men the Jews had ever known prior to JESUS, with the exception maybe of Abraham, HE was divinely sending a message from above that not even they could hold a candle to JESUS, WHO is, our LORD. From that moment on, JESUS was to be the only ONE that they should listen to. And as I said in the last lesson, for Peter, James, and John, they, in a very special sense, had themselves, become witnesses to the Glory of CHRIST. And now, they had the story of that Glory embedded in, and etched upon their hearts for the remainder of their lives, to use as a testimony to all mankind.
The voice of GOD that came to the ears of the three stunned disciples on that mountaintop overlooking Caesarea-Philippi that day, was the same voice that was heard by the crowd of people who were present at JESUS’ baptism in the River Jordan some time earlier (Mark 1:9-11). These two divine events represent GOD’s personal testimony of JESUS CHRIST’s legitimacy, and the legitimacy of HIS three-year ministry here on earth. In both instances the Heavenly FATHER not only affirms JESUS’ divine Sonship, but HE also testifies of the depth of HIS OWN matchless love for HIM.
On that day, GOD successfully impressed upon Peter, James, and John that they should listen to and obey the commands of the SON, and, in doing so, they would automatically be obeying the FATHER WHO sent HIM. GOD wanted there to be no mistaking that Moses and Elijah could be on an equal plane with JESUS. This Heavenly affirmation confirmed that JESUS held all authority over both the Law (Moses), and the Prophets (Elijah). And after their mountaintop experience had ended, it was now time to descend and to get about the business of defending and advancing the Kingdom of CHRIST.
Through the seemingly hopeless situations that we as a people now find ourselves in on a regular basis, GOD, through HIS unparalleled mercy and benevolence, sent us HIS only begotten SON, so that whosoever believes in HIM, will not perish, but rather, will obtain an everlasting life in Heaven, with HIM. JESUS was sent to provide us with a living example of how we need to live our lives here on earth, in order to achieve and maintain a Heavenly peace, even now, as we wait on CHRIST’ return.
Through JESUS, we can establish a deeper relationship with GOD the FATHER than people could have ever imagined before HE came. GOD wants us to follow JESUS’ command, and examples, and that is all that HE asks of us. And just as HIS, now famous, Transfiguration demonstrates, JESUS really does hold all power in Heaven, and, on Earth, because it has been given to HIM, by GOD the FATHER.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander


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Friday, February 4, 2011

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday February 6, 2011

JESUS IS THE MESSIAH
(Who do you say that HE is?)
(Mark 8:27-9:10)

In Mark chapter 8, verses 27-30 John Mark relates the account of JESUS’ 25-mile walk with HIS disciples from Galilee to Caesarea-Philippi. We soon see that it is no accident that JESUS chose this particular time and area to pose the question to HIS faithful followers, “Who do men say that I AM?, and subsequently, Who do y-o-u say that I AM?
In JESUS’ day, Caesarea-Philippi had already long been known as a “mecca” for idol worship. There were no less than fourteen temples of idol worship in the immediate vicinity where they now stood. First of all, the Syrian gods had their worship center there. There was a mountain in Caesarea-Philippi which contained a deep cavern that was said to be the birthplace of “Pan”, the “Greek god of nature”. In fact, Pan is the source of Caesarea-Philippi’s original name, “Paneas”, which was changed to Caesarea-Philippi by Philip the Tetrarch, one of the sons of Herod the Great, in honor of Caesar Augustus.
Herod the Great had also constructed a huge white marble tower, which was the most imposing edifice in all of Caesarea-Philippi in those days, and had also dedicated it to Caesar, who, himself, was also considered by the Romans to be a god.
Caesarea-Philippi is also the place where the Jordan River begins. We all know the Jordan River as the place where John the Baptist did most of his baptizing. In fact, he even baptized JESUS there at the beginning of HIS three-year earthly ministry.
And so, it is against this very backdrop of Greek and Syrian gods, this place where a piece of the history of Israel also crowds men’s minds, that we see this former carpenter from Nazareth stand and pose the question to HIS young disciples, “Who do men say that I AM?”
It seems as if JESUS has intentionally and deliberately set HIMSELF against this background of the world’s religions, in all of their history and splendor, demands to be compared to them, and then, fully expects the verdict to be rendered in HIS favor! Nowhere else in scripture does JESUS call attention more clearly to HIS OWN deity, than what we see right here, in this passage.
In the biblical Greek, the word used for “affirmation” is “bebaiosis” (beb-ah-yo-sis), and it means “to be steadfast and sure in one’s assertions”. When Peter pondered this question from JESUS he already knew that most human categories would fail to describe just who JESUS was. This passage of scripture serves to show us that our discovery of JESUS must be a personal one. Remember, JESUS also asked the question, “Who do you say that I AM”? This question hints that our knowledge of JESUS must never be “secondhand”. Christianity does not consist of knowing about JESUS, but rather, it consists of knowing JESUS. JESUS always demands a personal verdict. When JESUS asked this question HE was not just asking it to HIS original disciples, but rather, it is also a question that comes to us, from across the spans of time, in hopes that we too, can answer it favorably.
JESUS’ “Transfiguration” (Mark 9:1-10), which in all geographical likelihood, occurred on Mount Hermon, nearly 2000 years ago, was intended by GOD, to place “affirmation” of JESUS’ majesty upon the hearts of men, for all time. GOD spoke from the clouds that day to Peter, James, and John, to forever affirm to them, that JESUS truly is HIS only begotten SON. And HE used the images of Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophet, two towering figures in Jewish history, each of whom, no man had seen die, and they were there to bear witness, and to add a touch of affirmation to this divine event. And as for Peter, James, and John, they, in a very special sense, had themselves, become witnesses to the Glory of CHRIST. And now, they had the story of that Glory embedded in their hearts, so that they may go out and tell all mankind that JESUS truly is the SON of the LIVING GOD.
We today, may never be able to witness an event such as the one that occurred on that mountaintop overlooking Caesarea-Philippi that day, but certainly, we can all follow the instructions of JESUS, as they were laid down to Peter over in John 21. There, JESUS posed yet another question to HIS leading disciple, following HIS all important “Resurrection”. And on that occasion HE asked Peter, three times, “Do you love ME” (John 21:15-17). If we love JESUS, each of us can help someone else guard against going astray. And, if we love JESUS, each of us can also love one another. And, if we love JESUS, each of us can feed JESUS’ sheep (each other), with the nourishing spiritual food, that is, the “Word of GOD”.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander


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