Saturday, July 18, 2009

MkITN XI, Verses 1 - 11

1. As they neared Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples ahead.

2. And He gave them very specific instructions, saying, "I want you to go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find a young colt tied which has never been ridden by anyone. When you find it, I want you to unfasten it and bring it here to Me.

3. If anyone should ask you, 'Why are you taking this animal which doesn't belong to you?', just say to them, 'The Lord needs it, but He will send it right back here when He's through with it.'"

4. So they went on their way, and, sure enough, they found a colt tied at the door of a house as soon as they entered the village, and they went right up to it and loosed it.

5. And some who were standing there said to them, "What do you think you're doing? Why are you untying this man's colt?"

6. And they said to the people exactly what Jesus had told them to say...and it worked! The people allowed them to go without saying another word.

7. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and started throwing their outer garments on it, creating a sort of festive, makeshift saddle...and He sat on it.

8. And many of the people who were around took their cues from the disciples and began to spontaneously spread their garments on the road. Still others joined in with the impromptu decorating, and scattered a layer of leafy branches which they had cut from the fields along the route on which He would be travelling.

9. And still others formed a parade of praise, preceding Him on the road and crying out, joyfully and triumphantly, "Hosanna! Save, Lord! Praised and infinitely blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!

10. Praised and blessed in the name of the Lord is the coming Kingdom of our father David! Hosanna! Save, Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

11. And this is the way Jesus entered into Jerusalem. Once He was inside the city, He went into the Temple enclosure. Walking in, He looked around, surveying everything...taking it all in...and He made some serious observations about what He saw there. But it was getting late in the day, so He went out to Bethany together with the Twelve.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

V.11..."made some serious observations"
Once again MkITN gives us some literary foreshadowing...building a bridge to the next verses, and keeping a natural flow to the scriptures.
I like how it helps to keep them in context instead of disconnected sound bites!

Pastor Nancy said...

To me Bishop, my favorite thing you say on any given Sunday morning is "Open your Bibles"....

Thank you for the beautiful paraphrase...it makes everything SO CLEAR

Looking forward to the service!!

Erik said...

The point that strikes me in these verses is the colt. I think of the assignments we are each given, I think of my own. Go and get the colt, and what to say to ensure passage.

The task is generally very doable and the words are clear to those who understand. … “The Lord needs it, but He will send it right back here when He's through with it.'"

The colt so easily obtained was present throughout the experience described.

I think about the colts in my life I have been asked to go get, and the words supplied to assure safe passage.

Larry Usher said...

Just a thought:

"Necessity is the mother of revelation."

Bro Lar

...and you shall make the crooked ways straight...

karl said...

Just got back from Augusta Bishop.
Natasha was feeling awful but made it through the day...lots of pain.

We just got through having tea and cookies, everybody up late...was praying for you earlier today.

May we all see the Kingdom in the morning...God bless!

ps. enjoying some of the music here.

Anonymous said...

I am new to Gospel teachings like these so I Googled Hosanna. Because the word itself always made me feel good. Here is whatI found. Q: What Does “Hosanna” Mean?

A: “Hosanna” means … “Messiah Save Us!”
That was my cry. Now I know that is a done deal.

Izumi/JOY said...

God morning, beloved Universe!

Here's what I gleaned from today's reading: They neared the Foundation of Peace, the Possession of Peace, the holy city, and arrived at the "house of the unripe fig". And, "house of dates"; the house of song. The house of affliction at the o live garden.

2. It's probably absurd to associate this verse with the restoration of Gen. 3:7.

And, fulfillment of Matthew 21:19, 24:32. Mark 11:13, and 13:28.

It's interesting how colt (huios) translates to "son". Also, look -a reference to camel:

http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?type=getTopic&topic=Colt%3B+Foal

Wouldn't it be amazing if the two disciples Jesus sent ahead, were Moses and Elijah? (check out verses 4, 6 & 7)

"Infinitely", in v. 9 would support this. (just messin' with ya)

I like how studying it makes me wonder. Thank you, Bish!

DoubleBack Alley said...

Sahib,

Please pardon the sciensce nerd in me, but the moon landing was on July 20, 1969. I too, remember the "wow" uttered by Walter Cronkite. I remember most his shedding of tears for Kennedy's assassination. We seem to be losing icons of the media past. Are we making room for the communication greats of the future?

Ain't God Good?

Ebony said...

So much to say, I wonder can I fit it all into one post. Here goes

1. MkITN is sounding incredible, then again, you're a gifted anointed writer so I would expect nothing less.

2. Today's service, from the worship, to the word was such a blessing to me, from the exhortation about respecting everyone's journey in the Lord, to not worrying so much about what others do. Funny thing about that, we think we are going to them in good Christian love, not judging or threatening, just giving a friendly reminder that the wages of sin is death, and the way of the transgressor is hard. But, if you "remind" them every time, you are not ministering the word, you are spreading the letter that kills. And, it has been my experience that the "lost" by traditional Christian terms have a sense that things in their life could and would be better if there was a more palpable presence of the Lord in their life, but because of a season in their life of anger, question or doubt or things they do or have done, they have no clue of even where to start to find their way back. It is our job to love them, and pray for them. Then the Spirit will bring them back. And the word about Joy. I really wish more sermons would be done on Joy, because it is something missing in the Body. And I love how you explained that "happiness" and "joy" are not one in the same. I see people who have fleeting moments of happiness, but joy is what they really want, because joy can remain when you are unhappy. "Happy" is a good day and comes and goes. "Joy" is when you can say "it is well with my soul" and "Hallelujah Anyhow" when everything around you is in chaos. When you are happy, the "this" can make you unhappy, but "Joy" reminds you "after this". Shirley Ceasar said it best:
"This joy I have the world didnt give to me ooh ooh
this joy I have hey hey hey the world didnt give to me
oh this joy I have the world didn't give to me
the world didn't give it
the world can't take it away oh yeah" and here's a clip of her and Kirk Franklin and the GA Mass Choir's "joy"

Shirley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BctAZ01xm8E

Kirk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm01qsHdQCo

And since "centa" was my word cerification, here's Richard Smallwood for good measure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LHD5KZEtX8

Son of Zadok said...

Hi Everybody!

Good to hear from you DoubleBack.

Very well said Ebony.

Izumi/JOY said...

Hey all,

About today's service: WOW!

The praise and worship; the Word. The anticipatory atmosphere. The presentation, confirmation, celebration, and revelation.

WOW!

The instruments and psalmists. Voices, and Voice. Holy, holy, holy...

God IS good!

Rejoice in the Lord, always! (times of refreshing - more of that Kingdom stuff, please!)

Izumi/JOY said...

... and again I say, again I say...

Iris said...

Joy without a doubt is one of those things that are a cornerstone for the complete presence of God in one’s life… without it, our lives run into the ordinary mundane gray walls that hold us back from discovering all that God is… it gives us the zeal and power to continue on through each place of exploration… with excitement we move though to see what God has in store for us next… Joy takes the grays and gives the world the vibrant colors making each part exhilarating and always wanting more…

Thank you Bishop for the word today…

Isaiah 12:3
Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 55:12
“ For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Joy is a cool way to explore the world…

Iris

Brenda said...

My prayer this morning was that service be an extension of last Sunday and that we just feel the presence of him and not anyone else but just him and you said it best Bishop when you said WOW!!

Larry Usher said...

The anchor of my joy is: "He who began a good work in you is able to complete it." This pulls me out of the pit, knowing my destination is not there but in the King's palace.
Funny today Bish and I definitely needed that! I am happy most of the time, but sometimes we have to fly through the storm "on instruments", not seeing the way out but trusting The Maker of the instruments. The "instrument" of The Word is the hammer that breaks the rock in pieces and clears our way along the path.
Joy is simply knowing that we are defined not by our circumstances but by our Creator and He and we have the last say.

Bro Lar

Unknown said...

Cool, Erik.
"Throwing their outer garments" which others noticed and did also...decorating the road...
Could they also have been responding in the only way they knew how to the "future" possibility that they could throw of their outer man and reveal the new?

Dear Holy Spirit, thank you for the LIFE that you are breathing into every word of Bible In The Now!

Unknown said...

Wordver: vesse
Wow...well, yes, and of course for the vessel that you are using to bring it to the earth...!

2nd ver: expluo

If that's a prophecy, I'm agreeing for your NOW Explosion!

Pastor Nancy said...

Wonderful yesterday sitting where the GLORY spout comes out!!

karl cobos said...

Read the blogs thus far...wow...everyone's insights have strengthened me, thanks everybody.

Love divine, joy unspeakable.

The colts in my life...necessity, the mother of revelation... hosanna...the wonder of scripture... the great communicators... the world didn't give the joy, so the world can't take it away!...
only the JOY BUCKET can adequately draw out water from the well...

the WORD instrument hammering the rocks in my path...throwing off the robe of the outer man (let it be trampled)... let there be explosions of praise in the now!

Anonymous said...

Also, Mike Keyes(guest pastor) ministered on JOY this past year, can't remember the exact date, though, I'll try to find it.

Karl said...

Bishop, I just posted this on my blog and thought it might bless you or someone here;

This morning I believe the Lord really wanted me to focus on JOY, and the main things that have leapt out to me are the following, including a paragraph from the last post;

Today I will draw water out of the wells of salvation with joy. A broken spirit dries the bones, so I will pursue every outlet of JOY that I can, giving no place to depression or sadness by my words, thoughts or actions. The joy of the Lord is my strength, and I make a decision to walk in Kingdom joy all day today, regardless of circumstances!

...He has become my salvation."...you will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation...
Isaiah 12:2,3

I am reminded of the woman at the well, who left her water jar, and embraced the possibility of the Messiah, and living water. Her jar(bucket) was not the right jar for drawing up living water. It wouldn't satisfy.
We now have that jar(bucket) within us called JOY that the Holy Spirit gives to us to draw and drink the living water from Him, the springs of salvation.

...they will not hunger or thirst...for their COMPASSIONATE ONE will guide them, and lead them to springs of water. Isaiah 49:10

...Anyone who hears should say, "Come!" And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift. Revelation 22:17

May righteousness, JOY, and peace in the Holy Ghost be your drink today! Amen!