Dear Explorer,
Read Mark 15:28
And
Read Luke 22:35-38
Mark 15:28 may not be in your Bible because it is not found in earliest manuscripts. Since it is a duplicate of Luke 22:37, we'll cover it here.
Jesus is talking to the 11 apostles and possibly other disciples in the room. He tells them that unlike the mission trip they completed earlier, they need to be prepared for the coming persecution. He knew it was going to be very dangerous for them, and I think Jesus was already planning for what they would need.
But there's something else here. Do you think that Jesus was considering fighting back?
I don't know, but it certainly looks like He was considering defending Himself. That makes me remember that He was truly human. Jesus knew what was about to happen (see Luke 22:37) and He had to decide whether to submit to God's will or to devise a plan of His own based on SELF.
I want you to know that even if you have been 100% obedient to Jesus up until right now (and I doubt that!), we will constantly, always, did I say constantly, constantly be having to decide again whether to listen to SELF this time or to obey the Holy Spirit's instructions. This will be true until the day we enter Heaven.
Some people believe that Jesus was only tempted that one time by Satan in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry. I say there's a Greek word for that: BALONEY! I believe that this is just a reminder to us that Jesus was constantly, always, did I say constantly, constantly having to figure out Who to listen to – His SELF or the Holy Spirit inside of Him.
Notice, temptation is not a sin. You cannot keep Satan from tempting you. The goal is to deal with temptation wisely. We'll see in later studies whether Jesus succeeded in being obedient to the Holy Spirit or whether He gave in to SELF. Of course, you know the answer – but we'll leave it there for now.
Because He was fully human, we can be assured that He knows how we feel when we see something coming and we're not sure whether we want to do God's will or trust our SELF. He's been there. He knows!
In His service, dale
Next study