The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – John 1:29-34 (day four)

John’s assignment was to prepare the way for the Lord.  He was to give witness to others of the Messiah.  In our passage, John is being faithful and obedient to his call.  John knew Jesus was the Lamb of God because he had been told by God that when he saw the Holy Spirit descend and remain, that would be the seal of divinity.  It was the work of the Holy Spirit to seal Jesus’ identity.

We are also sealed by the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 1:13 says, “In Him (Jesus), you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”  One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit is sealing us for the day of redemption.  When we believe in Jesus, we have the faithful promise of God that we are forgiven and saved.  That promise is sealed…we are sealed…by the Holy Spirit!

Re:Verse passage – John 1:29-34 (day three)

“I did not recognize Him.”

What’s the difference between John’s lack of recognition and the lack of recognition among the religious establishment? It’s this: John was watching for evidence of God’s activity, regardless of whether that activity contradicted his own criteria for how a Messiah ought to present. In fact, John’s inner conflict between his closely held messianic benchmarks on the one hand and the evidence of Holy Spirit activity on the other hand prompted a later crisis of faith in John. Does what you identify as God’s activity just happen to follow the standards that you already hold dear? The witness of the Bible seems to be that the Holy Spirit’s movement will offend and even upend your sensibilities. That which those most qualified to know claimed could not possibly be of God was in fact exactly the opposite.

Re:Verse passage – John 1:29-34 (day two) I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God. vs 34

John’s words are the essence of evangelism. You may not be able to speak in huge theological terms, although study of theology is beneficial. You may not be able to quote every element of church doctrine, although a familiarity  with what your church believes is helpful. Your knowledge of scripture may be developmental at best, keep developing. What you do have is a personal relationship with Jesus. This is what you are called to share. In your conversations recognize that you are still learning, but never shy from your duty to tell people what you do know. Testify to what you have seen, how you have seen him work, who Jesus is to you. These things can not be taken from you.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 11:11-19 (day seven)

Let’s do a crash course of post-exilic Israel; Persians conquer Babylon (remember Daniel?) and they allow a remnant of Israel to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The work is impressive, but the new temple does not live up to the expectations set by the previous temple. Something is missing. The people of Israel believe that it is the ornateness of the temple (see Ezra and Haggai). The people begin weeping and mourning over the temple, but God sends encouragement, “My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” (Haggai 2:5). It was not the architecture or grandiose of the building that made it beautiful. It was the presence of the Spirit of the Lord. 

Fast forward 500+ years. Jesus stands and looks around at the same temple. Something is missing again. The Spirit had been neglected for monetary profit.  The Incarnate presence of the Lord has come to turn the tables, both literally and metaphorically, and return the focus of the temple back to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord.

¹¹ So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything,…  Mark 11:11

Perhaps the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is conviction of sin. Before Jesus cursed the fig tree, and before he cleansed the temple, he came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple, observing and taking everything into account.

What Jesus did for Jerusalem and the Temple, the Holy Spirit does for the Christian. He observes, and after taking everything into account, exposes our own idolatry, sometimes harshly.

Conviction. Not always pleasant, but nonetheless it is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. It is also grace that He not only graciously exposes our sin, but also is the gracious means to put it to death.

…if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. Romans 8:13

 

Re:Verse passage – Mark 11:11-19 (day five)  He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
What was Jesus so angry about?  What was it about that tree which caused Him to curse it?  Jesus the Master Teacher was at it again.  He was using the tree as an object lesson. What was the lesson?  The danger and disgust of hypocrisy. There was a season for fig trees to bear fruit. However, scholars allow for some species of trees to bear fruit outside the normal season. So, the test for finding fruit was not the season, but rather the foliage of the tree. It “appeared” to be producing fruit when in actuality, it wasn’t. Jesus again uses an object lesson to communicate a spiritual lesson on hypocrisy. The same lesson He has taught over and over. See Luke 12:1, Matthew 23:27.  Jesus looks past the appearance and into the the heart of man. Leaves are not enough.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 11:11-19 (day four)

The Temple in Jerusalem was supposed to be a place of worship.  Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah when He said, “My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all the nations.”  Jesus recognized that sinful man had so distorted the function of the Temple, that it was no longer a house of prayer.  In His love for God and zeal for His house, he cleansed the Temple.

In our lives, we can let sin take over to the point that the Holy Spirit cannot even work through us.  Ephesians 4:30 says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”  Do we need to cleanse our lives as Jesus cleansed the Temple?  Do we need to overturn the tables of sin in our hearts so we can fulfill God’s plan in our lives?  Don’t allow sin to overshadow your life and cause you to no longer be of any use to the Kingdom.  Be imitators of Christ!

Re:Verse passage – Mark 11:11-19 (day three) 

“He said to [the fig tree], ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again!’”

In an agrarian society, it was not remarkable for everyone to know it wasn’t fig season. So why did Jesus look for them anyway? Because he saw a tree in leaf – not in bud – and from a distance it looked like an unexpected find. Mark’s gospel tells us that Jesus was hungry. A false fig signal enticed him and then disappointed him. We might even describe his mood as “hangry.” While he was still stewing over the hollow promise made by a leafy tree, he walked into the temple and in a moment of cosmic déjà vu, realized that just as the tree had falsely promised figs, the temple falsely invited people into an encounter with God. God takes seriously the promises we make to people.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 11:11-19 (day two) 

The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. vs. 18

The chief priests were likely angry at Jesus for the extremely public rebuke that he gave them, but look at their response. They began to seek a way to destroy him. Let’s be honest, we are the same. I doubt you would actively seek to destroy someone who challenges, chastises, or rebukes you, but we do it in our hearts. How many times, when challenged, do you begin to harden your heart towards the person and miss the message? Being corrected is hard, and we live in a world that does not value humility. It is far easier to lash out, to assassinate the other’s character rather than take an honest look at what brought about the correction in the first place. Jesus won’t always turn over tables, but you can bet he will challenge your sin nature. How will you react? How will this inform how you treat others?