Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 45
as Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of
Beji and Bethany on the Mount of Olives.
Jesus sent two of them on ahead, go into that village over there.
He told them, as soon as you enter it, you'll see a young donkey tied
there that no one has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone asks, what are you doing?
Just say the Lord needs it and will return it Soon.
The two disciples left and found the cult standing in the street
tied outside the front door.
As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, what are
you doing on tying that cult?
They said what Jesus had told them to say and they were permitted to take it.
Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments
over it, and he sat on it.
Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him
and others spread leafy branches.
They had cut in the fields.
Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all
around him were shouting, praise God.
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Blessings on the coming kingdom of our ancestor, David.
Praise God in highest heaven.
So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the temple.
After looking around carefully at everything, he left because
it was late in the afternoon.
Then he returned to Bethany with the 12 disciples The next morning, as they
were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
He noticed a F fig tree in full leaf a little way off.
So he went over to see if he could find any figs, but there were
only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.
Then Jesus said to the tree, may no one ever eat your fruit again.
And the disciples heard him say it when they arrived back in Jerusalem.
Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out the people buying and
selling animals for sacrifices.
He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those
selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the temple as a marketplace.
He said to them, the scriptures declare my temple will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.
But you have turned it into a den of thieves.
When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus
had done, they began planning how to kill him, but they were afraid
of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching that evening.
Jesus and the disciples left the city.
The next morning as they passed by the fig tree, he had cursed the disciples
noticed it had withered from the roots up.
Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and
exclaimed, look, rabbi, the fig tree you cursed, has withered and died.
Then Jesus said to the disciples, have faith in God.
I tell you the truth.
You can say to this mountain, may you be lifted up and thrown into
the sea and it will happen, but you must really believe it will happen
and have no doubt in your heart.
I tell you, you can pray for anything and if you believe that you've
received it, it will be yours.
But when you are praying first, forgive anyone you are holding a
grudge against so that your father in heaven will forgive your sins too.
Again, they entered Jerusalem as Jesus was walking through the temple area, the
leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him.
They demanded, by what authority are you doing all these things?
Who gave you the right to do them?
I'll tell you by what authority I do these things.
If you answer one question, Jesus replied.
Did John's authority to baptize come from heaven or was it merely human answer me?
They talked it over among themselves.
If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why We didn't believe John, but do we
dare say it was merely human for they were afraid of what the people would do because
everyone believed that John was a prophet.
So they finally replied, we don't know.
And Jesus responded, then I won't tell you by what authority I do these things.
Then Jesus began teaching them with stories.
A man planted a vineyard.
He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape
juice and built a lookout tower.
Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.
At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect
his share of the crop, but the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him
up, and sent him back empty handed.
The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him
and beat him over the head.
The next servant he sent was killed.
Others he sent were either beaten or killed until there was only one left.
His son, whom he loved dearly.
The owner finally sent him thinking, surely they will respect my son, but
the tenant farmer said to one another, here comes the heir to this estate.
Let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves.
So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?
Jesus asked.
I'll tell you.
He will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.
Didn't you ever read this in the scriptures?
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful to see.
The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he
was telling the story against them.
They were the wicked farmers.
But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Later, the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod
to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.
Teacher, they said, we know how honest you are.
You are impartial and don't play favorites.
You teach the way of God truthfully.
Now tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Should we pay them or shouldn't we?
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, why are you trying to trap me?
Show me a Roman coin, and I'll tell you.
When they handed it to him, he asked Whose picture and title or stamped on it?
Caesars, they replied.
Well, then Jesus said, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and
give to God what belongs to God.
His reply completely amazed them.
Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees religious leaders who say,
there is no resurrection from the dead.
They posed this question.
Teacher Moses gave us a law that if a man dies leaving a wife without
children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who
will carry on the brother's name.
Well, suppose there were seven brothers.
The oldest one married and then died without children.
So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children.
Then the third brother married her.
This continued with all seven of them and still there were no children.
Last of all, the woman also died.
So tell us whose wife will she be in the resurrection for all seven.
Were married to her.
Jesus replied, you mistake is that you don't know the scriptures
and you don't know the power of God for when the dead rise.
They will neither marry nor be given in marriage.
In this respect, they will be like the angels in heaven.
But now as to whether the dead will be raised, haven't you ever read
about this in the writings of Moses?
In the story of the burning bush, long after Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob had died, God said to Moses, I am the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
So he is the God of the living, not the dead.
You have made a serious error.
One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate.
He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked Of all the commandments, which
is the most important, Jesus replied, the most important commandment is this.
Listen.
No, Israel, the Lord, our God is the one and only Lord.
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul,
all your mind, and all your strength.
The second is equally important.
Love your neighbor as your yourself.
No other commandment is greater than these.
The teacher of religious law replied, well said teacher.
You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no
other, and I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all
my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself.
This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings
and sacrifices required in the law.
Realizing how much the man understood Jesus said to him, you are not
far from the kingdom of God.
After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple, he asked Why do
the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David,
for David himself speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?
Said the Lord said to my Lord.
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble
your enemies beneath your feet.
Since David himself called the Messiah, my Lord, how can the Messiah be his son?
The large crowd listened to him with great delight.
Jesus also taught beware of these teachers of religious law for they
like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings
as they walk in the marketplaces.
And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and
the head table at banquets.
Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be
pious by making long prayers in public.
Because of this, they will be more severely punished.
Jesus sat down near the collection box in the temple and watched as
the crowds dropped in their money.
Many rich people put in large amounts.
Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I tell you the truth.
This poor widow has given more than all the others who
are making contributions for.
They gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she poor as she is, has
given everything she had to live on.
As Jesus was leaving the temple that day, one of his disciples said, teacher,
look at these magnificent buildings.
Look at the impressive stones in the walls.
Jesus replied, yes, look at these great buildings, but they
will be completely demolished.
Not one stone will be left on top of another.
Later, Jesus sat on the mount of Olives across the valley from the temple.
Peter, James, John and Andrew came to him privately and asked him,
tell us when will all this happen?
What sign will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled?
Jesus replied, don't let anyone mislead you.
For many will come in my name, claiming I am the Messiah.
They will deceive many and you will hear of wars and threats
of wars, but don't panic.
Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately.
Nation will go to war against Nation and Kingdom Against Kingdom.
There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world as well as famines, but
this is only the first of the birth pains with more to come when these
things begin to happen, watch out.
You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues.
You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my
followers, but this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.
For the good news must first be preached to all nations.
But when you are arrested and stand trial, don't worry in advance about what to say.
Just say what God tells you at that time.
For it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
A brother will betray his brother to death.
A father will betray his own child and children will rebel against their
parents and cause them to be killed.
And everyone will hate you because you are my followers, but the one
who endures to the end will be saved.
The day is coming.
When you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where he
should not be reader pay attention, then those in Judea must flee to the hills.
A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down in the house to
pack a person out in the field.
Must not return even to get a coat.
How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days.
And pray that your flight will not be in winter for, there will be greater
anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world
and it will never be so great again.
In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a
single person will survive.
But for the sake of his chosen ones, he has shortened those days.
Then if anyone tells you, look, here is the Messiah, or there he is.
Don't believe it.
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and
wonders so as to deceive if possible, even God's chosen ones watch out.
I have warned you about this ahead of time.
At that time.
After the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened.
The moon will give no light.
The stars will fall from the sky and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the son of man coming on the clouds with great
power and glory, and he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones
from all over the world, from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
Now learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branches, bud and its leaves begin to sprout.
You know that summer is near in the same way when you see
all these things taking place.
You can know that his return is very near right at the door.
I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene
before all these things take place.
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen.
Not even the angels in heaven or the son himself.
Only the father knows.
And since you don't know when that time will come beyond guard.
Stay alert.
The coming of the son of man can be illustrated by the story
of a man going on a long trip.
When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the
work they were to do and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return.
You too must keep watch for.
You don't know when the master of the household will return.
In the evening at midnight before Dawn or at Daybreak.
Don't let him find you sleeping.
When he arrives without warning, I say to you what I say to everyone.
Watch for him.
This concludes today's immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.