Mark 10:1,17,32,46; 11:1: Calvary Roads (1)

 (It is time now to return to the Gospel of Mark.  If you want to review, the last post was on June 4, 2025.)

 

You should know from this Blog that I am a real believer in studying the “geography of the Bible.”  The main reason is because our God, the God of the Bible, raised the importance of geography by coming to earth, visiting us in the Incarnation.  Unlike other supposed “holy books” the Bible deals with real places in real times.  What the Bible says about geography is just as inspired as John 3:16. 

Having said that, let’s take a couple of posts to describe the geography of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem. 

          Following the raising of Lazarus Jesus and the Twelve escaped to Ephraim, a city of Judah right on the border with Samaria (John 11:54-55, blue marking).  When He left Ephraim, He went north, through Samaria where He healed 10 lepers (only one returned to give thanks), until He arrived at the main road that would bring Passover celebrants from Galilee to Jerusalem.  This would bring Him to the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River (Mk. 10:1, red marking).  Various events happened and teaching was given as He went along the road with the growing number of fellow-travelers (10:17,32).  They came to Jericho (10:46, green marking) and then turned west to take the Ascent of Adummin through Wadi Qelt up to Jerusalem (gold marking).  Jesus did not take the shortest route to Jerusalem but the route that connected Him with the many people going early for Passover.

 You will note this map has been borrowed from websites that will take you on a hike of the path Jesus took from Jericho to Jerusalem.  You will notice there were three springs (Hebrew is “ein”) on this route.  It was a rugged climb, a 3300 foot gain in elevation in about 15 miles.  But travelers were blessed with what we could call some great “rest areas.”  “Wadi” is the term for a river-bed canyon or “coolee” as we say in Montana.

St George Monastery

Beginnings of the road coming out of Jericho

 Here is a panoramic view of the area between Jericho and Jerusalem, followed by pictures of the three springs.  There is a reference to the Good Samaritan Inn.  It is a museum located just off Highway 1 today, and a reminder that this path was the location of the parable Jesus told about what it means to love your neighbor.  You can imagine that there would be a problem with thieves along this road: lots of corners in which to hide.

 

Ein Qelt

Ein Maboa

 

Ein Pratt

Ein Pratt

As for the family in the pool, we can tell you from experience that Jewish boys and Arab families enjoy a dip in the spring.  Why not?

On the hiking map you see there is an Israeli National Park in this area.  That is one of the great things about Israel, that many important Biblical sites have been preserved by their NP system. 

 

Ps. 73:23-28, New Year with the God Who is Near!

Greetings!  We wish you a happy and healthy New Year!  Although I would prefer you have a New Year where you follow the leading of our Master and Savior with a degree of faithfulness unlike you have ever experienced in your life to this point!  And if that means you, and I, must have times that are not “happy” or “healthy,” so be it!  Enough of that.

In today’s post I want to share what the Lord impressed on my mind and heart as I read a couple days ago.  I have started through the Bible again, as is my custom.  I do an OT reading (so started at Gen. 1-2).  I do a NT reading (I am starting with Revelation this time; I asked the Lord and He laid that on my heart; the connections between Revelation and Genesis can be edifying.)  And then I start a slow trip through Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.  So, my reading for Tuesday, Dec. 30 was: Gen. 3-5; Prov. 1:7; Rev. 2.  Here are some gleanings that will help me as I begin the new year.

·       Gen. 3:1: “The serpent was more cunning than every beast of the field which the LORD God had made.”  Yes, Father!  Remind me of this now and throughout the year.  Remind me that faith in anything that can be called the “wisdom of this world” is a foundation that will crumble.  Cause me to be afraid (yes, Paul had a FEAR of this in 2 Cor. 11:3), lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so (my mind) may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  I don’t what to put my trust in science, the medical profession, educators, theologians, therapists, investment counsellors, news broadcasters, or religionists.  The serpent must not be underestimated.  I want to love God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength (Deut. 6:4-5). I want to love His word more than my necessary food (Job 23:12.)

·       Prov. 1:7: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”  Don’t let me fall into the thought that I should not fear You, Father!  Let me ever remember that You know me, see me, are aware of every thought and intent as well as word and action.  Without that, I am a FOOL!

·       Rev. 2:2 (and 2:9,13,19; 3:1,8,15): In case you think that since we have Jesus, and God loves us, that under the New Covenant we no longer need to have a fear of God, that we have somehow outgrown this.  JESUS SAID TO EVERY ONE OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES. I KNOW YOUR WORKS!  And that fact that He said that is prof that He is also interested in my works, and He, the judge of all men, will hold me accountable for my works.  I understand: “perfect love casts out fear.”  To fear God is to know that He is ever near (Ps. 75:1; 85:9).  I don’t want to forget that!  That is a wonderful thing to know.  And sets my God apart from any other God that men ever invented!

Jer. 23:30-40, False Prophets and Teachers (5)

·       23:30-32: “I am against the prophets,” says the LORD.  What strong words.  And why?  Because they not only get their message from dreams; they also “steal My words every one from his neighbor.”  What they preach, which they claim to be from the LORD, are words they have heard in the neighborhood.  They are the common ideas one might hear in any group of men who are sitting around talking politics.  How can we ever know the difference?  One way is by the word of God, already given to us in Scripture.  In Jeremiah’s day, the difference was between Jeremiah, a man approved by God, who spoke God’s word, and regular men who could only spout the common knowledge of the day.  If a person claims to speak for God, he better be telling the truth, because God is against those who claim to speak for Him while only speaking for themselves. 

o   Paul dealt with this kind of thing in 2 Thess. 2:1-2.  Someone sent a letter to the church claiming to speak for God.  But their message was contrary to Paul who had been in the presence of Christ.  Paul was given the message of the “mystery of God,” to share it with the Church (Eph. 3:1-13).  What that revelation did was to make perfect sense out of the OT which Paul had studied.  When this false teacher told the Thessalonians that the “day of the LORD” was already past, Paul knew from the OT that this was not true.  Paul knew God’s plan for the “latter days” (cf. Jer. 23:20) and he understood.  If your teaching of the NT is based on the belief that God did not mean what He said in the OT, literally, then you need to know that God is against you!  The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29).

·       23:33-40: Thus, the conclusion of Jer. 23 is: quit claiming to speak for God if you have not been in the counsel of the LORD!  It is amazing how things have not changed today from the way it was in Jeremiah’s day.  The popular way to preach was to announce, “I am about to declare to you the oracle of the LORD.”  The word “oracle” in this passage is literally the “burden” of the LORD.  The message was a heavy one.  God is going to pour out His wrath on adulterous, idolatrous Judah.  That message is a “burden.”  It is even a burden to the LORD.  He does not delight in disciplining His chosen people (Lam. 3:33), people He chose because of His love for them and for Abraham (Deut. 7:6-8).  Further, we need to remember that what God was doing in the day of Jeremiah did not originate with Jeremiah.  God had warned His people, clear back in the beginning of the nation in the time of Moses, that continued disobedience would result His anger and fury (Lev. 26; Deut. 28,32).  He was repeatedly gracious and merciful with Israel, but He always was true to His character (Ex. 34:6-7) and His word. 

What we must have in our own day and time is preaching that is according to the word, from men who have stood in God’s counsel, rather than preaching that accommodates the sensibility of unbelievers who happen to drop in on our Church gatherings.  Not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts (1 Th. 2:4).  Not using flattering words, nor a cloak of covetousness, nor did we seek glory from men (1 Th. 2:5-6). 

Jer. 23:21-29, False Prophets and Teachers (4)

·       23:21-22: The LORD had not sent the false prophets.  They sounded like prophets, but they were not sent from the LORD.  They had not stood in My counsel (23:18 and 22).  How do we know?  If their message was true, then the result in the people would be that they would turn from their evil ways.  But they did not do that.  Since the message was in sync with what they wanted to hear, there was no urge to repent, to change their ways.  It’s that simple!  If you have been in the Presence and received your message, which means you have been in the Word of God and in the prayer closet pleading for the power of the Holy Spirit to pervade the preaching, you will have a message that has power to change the lives of those who hear it. 

·       23:23-29:  But if you have not stood in My counsel you have a week, ineffective message that is like chaff.  God’s word is like fire and a hammer.  Those are powerful things, and God’s word can burn away sin, it can be a fire that changes the lift of those who hear.  It can break in pieces the resistance and the false-hoods of Satan that keep one from believing.  Chaff does nothing.  It just blows away.  Remember Psalm 1!  The one who walks in the say of the sinners, affirming their philosophy, is like chaff.  The one who delights in the las of the LORD and who meditates in it day and night, that one prospers in the life that God gives him.

o   And note where the message comes from that is preached by the false prophet: he got it in a dream.  Did he really?  Or did he not?  Who knows! The point of a dream is that it makes the dreamer sound authoritative, at least to some people.  It’s supernatural, extraordinary, giving those who listen the idea that they should listen.  This must be something special! 

o   I remember back in the Promise Keeper days.  I attended 2 such gatherings with men from our Church.  The second and last time was in Portland, OR.  Speakers were decent, coming from the Scriptures.  Then, the last speaker of the day, the “coach” who started it all, began his message by telling us the Lord had given him the message in a dream while laying on his bed one day.  The message was: have all the pastors in the crowd come out on the baseball field so the crowd could give them a thunderous round of applause.  Oh, what a nice thing to do.  No!  What a great move to tempt men with the pride of life.  When did Jesus ever suggest this kind of thing?  What prophet of God ever asked for people to do this?  The NT calls for the church to honor leaders by their obedience to their ministry of the word (1 Th. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:7,17). 

Jer. 23:15-20, False Prophets and Teachers (3)

·       A message that connects the grace of God with the things of the world is a call to spiritual adultery (23:14).  The LORD had heard this message preached in Samaria in the call to worship Baal (23:13).  Now He was hearing it in the prophets of Jerusalem (23:14).  Because of their “profane” message, “profaneness” had gone out into all the land (23:15).  Thus, the people were worthless (23:16; i.e. the call to ordinary religion made the worshipers ordinary, of no special value to the LORD that He should save them. 

·       23:16-17: Where did this message come from?  They speak a vision of their own heart.  The prophets were speaking out of their own sinful hearts.  To whom was this message given?  To those who despise Me … to everyone who walks according to the dictates of their own hearts.  Everyone agreed with them because everyone had the same sinful hearts.

o   This is the fallacy of the “seeker-sensitive” message that is often preached in evangelical pulpits.  In an attempt to “build a bridge” to the unbeliever the messenger (prophet; every person needs someone to preach the gospel to them, Rom. 10:14) adapts his message so as not to offend the unbeliever.  The problem is that the message of the gospel is ALWAYS offensive to unbelievers (1 Cor. 1:22-24).  There must be a call to repentance when the call to faith is preached.  There is no possibility of one without the other.  But that is what is offensive to unbelievers.  The Jews want you to give them something powerful, a sign, that fits their concept of what the Savior is like.  The Greeks want you to add to their wisdom.  Again, the problem is that to the Jews, the “Jesus concept of the Savior” is a stumbling block.  The “Jesus philosophy of the Savior” is foolish to sophists.  So they get offended at Jesus.  The problem is, of course, is that Jesus is the only Savior in whom they can be saved.  Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Cor. 1:24b-25).  If you adapt your message and give people what they want, you will give them hell!

·         23:18-20: In Jeremiah’s day the message of “peace, peace” fit better with the people’s ideas about God’s promises.  They knew they were the chosen nation, descendants of Abraham, citizens under the rule of the Davidic king, worshipers at the temple of Solomon where God said He would dwell with Israel.  To them it was inconceivable that God would remove them from the land, subject them to the kings of the nations, and permit “His house” to be destroyed.  The true message through Jeremiah was that the LORD was angry and would not stop until all those “privileges” were taken away from the people of Judah.  All the LORD could say was, In the latter days you will understand it perfectly. 

o   Paul preached a similar message to Israel, one that acknowledged their privileges (Rom. 9:1-5) but which also preached their rejection (Rom. 9:14-29).  As the prophets before him, so Paul acknowledged there would always be a purpose (9:19-24), a remnant (9:25-29), and that the rejection was temporary (11:25-32).  Eventually, “in the latter days,” all Israel would be saved.  This is evidence of the amazing wisdom of God that renders foolish the wise of the world (11:33-36).

God will always keep His word.  Jeremiah and Paul preached the word of God.  Even if it didn’t make sense to the wisdom of those who heard, those people needed to trust in the word of God, or be lost!

Psalm 83 (2 Chronicles 20:1-30)

The amazing prayer in Psalm 83 seems to be based in the equally amazing story of 2 Chron. 20 when Jehoshaphat prayed “nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (20:12).  The situation is very similar, being a threat from Judah’s neighbors: Moab, Ammon and others, 20:1 … Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir, 20:10.  Ps. 83:5-8 mentions this confederacy in even more detail as involving not only the three primary nations but also the Hagrites (Arabs, possibly taking their name from Hagar whose name meant fugitive, people from whom the Trans-Jordan tribes had taken their land, 1Chron. 5:10,18-22), Gebal (a people from the north around Mount Hermon, Josh. 13:5) and Amalek (descendants of one of Esau’s grandsons that lived in southern Canaan, Gen. 36:12).  The motivation of Israel’s neighbors is the same: to remove God’s people from the land promised them in the Abrahamic Covenant, cf. 20:11 and 83:4,12.  The situation was similar to some of modern-day Israel's Wars since 1948 when Israel again became a nation. 

The Psalm itself is of great value to the saints of God in every age as it encourages us with the power of God available to His people.  The opening stanza (v1-4) lays this whole matter before God based on His relationship with His people.  Judah’s enemies are, in fact, Your enemies … those who hate You have lifted up their head (v2).  The reason is because we are Your people … Your sheltered ones (v3).  To shelter something/someone is to hide them in a secret place so that their beauty or uniqueness is not marred by the elements (cf. Psalm 29:5; 31:20).  These enemies have come speaking boastful words (v4); so the prayer is that God Himself would not keep silent or hold His peace (v1).  Oh what power we have with God when we remember what He has said of us.  For the believer who is in Christ it is even greater as we come to our Father in the name of Jesus, His Son (John 14:13). 

The third stanza (v9-12) contains another illustration of the power of God’s people in prayer, when they seek from God what He has provided in the past.  The Psalmist recalls the days of Deborah and Barak (83:9-10; cf. Judges 4-5) and of Gideon (83:11-12; cf. Judges 6-8; esp. 7:24-25; 8:18-21) when God brought deliverance from Israel’s neighbors that threatened their place in the land.  You may wonder why all these additional Scripture passages are mentioned, thinking you have no time for all this.  May we tell you clearly that to immerse yourself in the word of God is a key to your power with God, if you will.  To remind Him, who knows all things, of what He has done in the past is one of the greatest encouragements to your own faith!

The prayer concludes (83:13-18) with what is the greatest authority we have in prayer, and that is to ask God to do what will make His name known (v16,18).  To pray this prayer means the one who prays has not come into God’s presence with sin in his heart; he is humble in the presence of the Holy One.  Modern-day Israel must and will learn this.  After the regathering is complete, God will cleanse His people.  The greatest glory for our holy God is to be worshiped by His holy people.

  It also means that the one who prays realizes that the issue is not the comfort of Israel but the honor of the God who made Israel His treasured possession (Deut. 7:6).  This prayer reminds us of the many times in Israel we have heard the cry of little children to their fathers: abba, abba, abba.  We don’t know what they are asking for, but we know they have come to one they know who will answer their question and meet their need.  So with us!  Let us come to our Father, knowing that as His children we are His sheltered ones.  Our cry to Abba allows Him to display His glory by giving us His best (Matt. 7:7-11; Rom. 8:14-17).

Jer. 23:9-15, False Prophets and Teachers (2)

We are considering the false prophets in the days of Jeremiah.  What were they like?  What would be their end?

·       23:11-15: The prophets and priests were “profane.”  This means to be outside the temple, outside the sacred place (cf. Ex. 42:20).  They were not preaching what was consistent with the LORD whose dwelling was in the Holy of Holies.  We might say their preaching was “secular” rather than “sacred.,  or better, it was “common” rather than “holy.” They claimed that what was ordinary or common was godliness.  This had been seen in the prophets of the Northern Kingdom, and now it was brought into the religion of Judah.  This is the “adultery” the passage says was present: a mixing of worldly philosophy with the word of God.  Paul referred to heresy in his day as profane and old wives’ fables (1 Tim. 4:7) and profane, idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge (I Tim. 6:20; cf. 2 Tim. 2:16).  The writer of Hebrews called Esau profane for having sold his birthright for a pot of stew (Heb. 12:16).  In other words, he considered the birthright something ordinary, not of any value, whereas in God’s plan the one who had the birthright from Isaac was chosen and holy to the LORD.  This is what heresy does: it forsakes the word of God’s grace which can make you a sanctified, set-apart child of God (Ac. 20:32) and substitutes a self-exalting message of works which makes Christianity common, like every other religion. In the following note how the message of God’s grace is joined to profane, idle babblings and thus emptied of the grace of God.

o   We have seen in the Church, where the lust of the flesh is combined with Christianity: God loves me and therefore wants me to feel good.  I have been around parts of the Christian community where there is more concern with people’s physical healing than the salvation message. 

o   We have seen where the lust of the eyes is mixed with Christianity: God loves me and wants me to prosper materially.  The evidence of a person’s godliness is thus seen in the abundance of earthly possessions.

o   We have seen where the pride of life is mixed with Christianity where personal testimony has to do with personal accomplishments, bigger numbers in the church, self-promotion through writing of books and promotions of programs, self-hope approaches to the Christian life, and judgmentalism in preaching. 

o   In the case of Jeremiah, the message of the false prophets was “peace, peace.”  Jeremiah’s message was impending judgment, give yourselves up to the Babylonians and you can save your life.  That message was offensive to the king and his princes who saw it as unpatriotic and insubordination.  But the problem was: Jeremiah preached the truth!  The other prophets preached a people-friendly message.  They gave people with basic sinful inclinations a message that made them feel better.  Problem was: it was a lie!