The mind of Christ - Psalm 118

If one reads carefully in chapters 19 and 20 of Dr. Luke's gospel, one finds several references to Psalm 118, including Jesus making a razor sharp explanation that concludes His parable of the vineyard.

But he looked at them and asked, "What then does this scripture passage mean:

The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

YOUCH! The two-edged sword is sharp as sharp!

That being the case, it behooves us to dip backwards and take a short look at this mighty psalm, Psalm 118. Here are a few questions on this psalm:

1. In the first four verses, the psalmist exhorts
   1. Israel,
   2. the house of Aaron, and
   3. those who fear God
   tp give thanks to God. Is there a group of human beings that are permanently outside this set of three groups?
2. Is the psalmist in danger? Is he a weenie or is he brave? What kind of danger was Jesus heading into?
3. What was the thing about Jesus that most scandalized the Pharisees?
4. Was the Lord Jesus ever encircled during the betrayal and crucifixion? Did he ever cut anyone off?
5. Was the Lord Jesus chastised during the betrayal and crucifixion?
6. How did shouts of deliverance sound during the betrayal and crucifixion, if at all?
7. Can you see Jesus joyfully exclaiming, "Open for me the gates of righteousness! I shall enter them and thank God"?
8. How does this view of Jerusalem square with what Blessed John saw in the Revelation? Sneaky peek: Rev. 21.
9. What does the Church teach about the Lord’s Day? Which day is THE day that the Lord has made?

We will study this Thursday in Psalm 118, and, in that, seek to "learn him," seeking as always to become doers of the Word.

James 2

Questions for chapter 2 of James:

1. 
   Why are good works an essential part of Christian faith?
2. James remarks in v. 19 that even the demons believe. What does that mean for a Christian who seeks to be obedient to God?
3. If faith without works is dead, then is it similar to bodily death?

The curious incident of the dog in the night time

We occasionally refer to fictional works like the Shack during our study of the Bible, and today is another case of that: we will refer to a famous passage in a Sherlock Holmes story, "Silver Blaze," by Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes has unraveled a mystery for one Colonel Ross, in the rustic Dartmoor region of southern England, delivering the answer with this conversation between Holmes and Inspector Gregory...

Colonel Ross still wore an expression which showed the poor opinion which he had formed of my companion's ability, but I saw by the inspector's face that his attention had been keenly aroused.

"You consider that to be important?" he [Inspector Gregory] asked.

"Exceedingly so."

"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"

"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."

"The dog did nothing in the night-time."

"That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes.

We find other mysterious situations in Matthew's 27th chapter. Let's ask a few questions:

1. The curious incident of the Messiah before Pilate: Pilate repeats the accusations of the chief priests and elders, to which Jesus makes no reply, stunning the Roman governor. Why would this silence be so stunning, so curious, to Pontius Pilate? What does it tell us?
2. At the Crucifixion, the passersby railed at the Messiah, and flung the words of Jesus back in His face, words about rebuilding the Temple and saving others. Obviously some of them had seen Jesus at work and listened to His words, yet another curious incident. How should they have reacted to seeing the innocent man voluntarily being crucified?
3. Yet another curious incident: Judas does not change his mind when Jesus is first captured, but only later. What was the factor that made Judas change his mind and throw the blood money back into the Temple?
4. After Judas returns the silver pieces, he ends his actions permanently, but the chief priests and elders continued. What was different about the chief priests and elders, that they could continue?
5. Did the chief priests and elders know they had purchased murder?
6. Is Jesus Christ willing to be served by the gold and wealth coming from covetousness, crime and duplicity?
7. What should be the true currency of the Church?

Let's start our study this morning with these questions, asking the Lord for clear eyes to see His Word.

Finish ch. 24, dip forward to ch. 25 of Matthew's gospel.

We will take one more look into chapter 24 of Matthew's gospel early this Thursday morning, and then we will dip forward to chapter 25. Here are a few questions to use for studying and thinking ahead:

1. Is the fig tree here in chapter 24 a parable or something else?
   
2. Does this sprouting of the fig tree occur before, during or after the destruction of Jerusalem?
   
3. What would it be like, to be in the Lord's summertime?
   
4. Do fig trees always behave in this manner, sprouting leaves and so forth? How does that help Jesus form the Twelve?
   
5. Jesus is the Lord, the Alpha and the Omega. All time and all the ages belong to Him. Yet how is it that Jesus does not know the hour and day of His coming to the gates?
   
6. "A person who is damned to hell is damned because of the entire history of his entire family." ←← True or false?
   
7. "A person who is damned to hell can actually be damned accidentally, through no fault of their own." ←← True or false?
   
8. "Hell is temporary." ←← True or false?
   
9. In America, we hold that all men are created equal. Does this apply to the talents that each man has?
   
10. Why does God give talents in the way that He does?
    
11. When you enter God's joy, what will you be placed in charge of?
    
    
    

We can look into the perfect Torah of freedom, God's word, by thinking over these questions and discussing it all early on Thursday morning.

Matthew 21

We now dive into Matthew's 21st chapter, which begins with Jesus formally entering Jerusalem to cries of praise. Here are a few questions to stir the pot:

1. Did the two blind men, now healed, follow Jesus into Jerusalem?
2. Had Jesus entered Jerusalem on other occasions, prior to this? Did he shake up the city?
3. Did Jesus previously teach the Twelve about giving up their possessions?
4. Did the owner of the ass and the colt make a complaint when giving up his property?
5. When do we sing the Jerusalem greeting, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" at Mass? Why then?
6. It pleased Jesus to hear the little ones singing words of praise for him. Would it have encouraged the Twelve to hear the little children singing out to the Son of David?

OK, let's get ready for the Jerusalem events here at the end of Matthew's gospel.

A set of questions, oriented toward one concept in Hebrews 4

The fourth chapter of Hebrews has a single concept at its center. Our questions, including two from last week, will grapple with that concept.

1. The author mentions the phrase "God's rest" in this chapter. What is the origin and meaning of that phrase?
2. Why does the author connect God's rest to the Exodus?
3. Our faith connects which sacrament(s) to the day God rested?
4. How does the Holy Spirit use the concept of time in this emphasized word, "today" in v. 7?
5. The author of Hebrews uses the Greek word σκληροs, skleros, in various places for the concept of hardness. What are the signs of a hardened heart?
6. What did Ezekiel prophesy about the treatment of hardened hearts?
7. Why does the text jump wildly from the concept of "entering his rest" in verse 11, to the completely different image of the double edged sword in verse 12?
8. Is there a connection between "entering into that rest" in v. 11 and "holding fast to our confession" in v. 14?

Let's think about these questions and be ready for the Holy Spirit to help us understand the perfect law of freedom tomorrow morning.

Comments concerning the house and falling away

We discussed the analogy of Jesus and Moses to builder and house, and how faith is the essence of being built up as part of God's household, living stones, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

In connection with the miracle of the Red Sea and the grumbling in the desert immediately after the Red Sea miracles, we discussed how it would be possible for us today to harden our hearts.

Here are some of the comments:

1. Ken: Life happens, although we discussed whether this is the same thing as hardening one's heart.
2. Len: When you avoid going to worship on Sunday, it is a way of pushing God away.
3. Joe:
   1. Exodus 31:12-18 makes clear how serious God considers the sabbath rest, which shows that it is God who makes us holy, a royal priesthood.
   2. Deceit of sin, like pornography, is how a man can harden his heart.

And this is where Ken pointed out that a man has got to know his limitations.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, make our hearts true and not hardened, and help everyone in our parish, and in this world, as YOU break the hearts of stone.

Jude and James

We read the letter of Jude this past Thursday, with its exhortation concerning faith. Jude asked the church to ignore the scandalous actions of a small group of interfering men, and build on solid rock with actions that show faith, such as the works of mercy.

This is entirely consistent with the Messiah's own message concerning the fig tree, which we studied in Mark's gospel recently. German, Ken, Len, Scott and Joe have a good explanations. Here are Ken, Scott and Len:



On Thursday, May 13, we will start studying the letter of James.

A river rises in Eden.

From Genesis, at the creation.

The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.

A river rises in Eden to water the garden.

The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.

Cf. Genesis 2:7-15

It is interesting that, in this account, God creates man before the garden. This rhymes with our comments Thursday morning, that to be a faithful steward over God's manifold grace, we must include our own heart: faith, humility and so forth.

It also parallels some of our thoughts about the fig tree, the faith of Israel, and our own faith, when we were studying Mark's lecture notes from Peter's school of evangelism -- i.e., the gospel of Mark.

Good detective work, everybody.

Keep watch.

We spent a long time discussing the meaning of keeping watch. Here are some words from Sal, Len, Joe and German.

Get ready a little bit.

This morning we discussed the action of the Holy Spirit in time of trouble, starting in Mark 13:9-11, with our own examples including this one from German.

A lesson from the fig tree

Len works his way with us through the main lesson of the fig tree.

Faith, the Temple and a fig tree

We discussed the anomalous fig tree. Jesus cursed it, even though it was not in season for fruit. What does that signify for us as we study the lecture notes from Peter's School of Evangelism?