Passover

Sacrifice Day 7 The Blood Path: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
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The Questions

1) Why would Jesus say the bread is His body? (verse 22)

2) Why would Jesus refer to the wine as His blood of the covenant? (verse 24)

3) What does Jesus mean that the blood is poured out for many? (verse 24)

Mark 14:22-24

As they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Original Intent

1) Why would Jesus say the bread is His body? (verse 22)
Mark 14 depicts two Jewish feasts, The Feast of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, commonly celebrated together as one 8-day holiday. Passover commemorates when God “passed over” the homes of the Hebrews who covered their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, saving their firstborn children from death. (Exodus 12:12-13) The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:17-20) commemorates Israel’s exodus from slavery in Egypt. David Guzik explains, “When the bread was lifted up at Passover, the head of the meal would say, ‘This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let everyone who hungers come and eat; let everyone who is needy come and eat the Passover meal.’” At the Passover just before His crucifixion, which we call the Last Supper or the Lord’s Supper, Jesus “took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.” (Mark 14:22) Jesus explained the bread of Passover as representing the sacrifice He was about to make in taking the world’s sins upon Himself at the cross. Jesus associated the bread with His body to symbolize what we learn in Colossians 1:22, that “now He has reconciled you by His physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.” Kenneth Wuest suggests “the bread symbolized Him as the spiritual nourishment upon which a sinner may feed and have eternal life.” Jesus called Himself “the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51) Whenever you take bread at Communion, remember the incredible sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for us all!

2) Why would Jesus refer to the wine as His blood of the covenant? (verse 24)
As part of Jesus’ observance of and participation in the Passover, He lifted a cup of wine. Brian Bell explains that Passover “requires 4 cups of wine, 2 before the meal and 2 after. (…) The cup of wine that would have been raised during the meal that is now remembered when one commemorates the Lord’s Supper was the cup of redemption.” Raising the cup, Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” (verse 24) The “blood of the covenant” referred to the way the Jews made covenants with one another and God. (Exodus 24:6-8) Kevin Williams explains, “In the [first five books of the Bible] and throughout the ancient world, covenants were sealed and confirmed with blood. This is no less true in the Gospels. Symbolically with the cup and literally through His blood shed at the crucifixion, the Messiah proclaimed the beginnings of a new covenant predicted by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34)” Jesus’ shed blood on the cross would mark a new covenant with those who would place their full faith in Him. Through faith, Christ forgives sins (Ephesians 1:7), indwells believers with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) and guarantees eternal life (John 3:16). His blood poured out in sacrifice demonstrated the loving commitment He made to redeem the world. Hebrews 9:22 declares, “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” By shedding His own blood to make a new covenant with us, Christ paid the price to cleanse us from our sins and present us blameless to His Father. (Ephesians 5:27)

3) What does Jesus mean that the blood is poured out for many? (verse 24)
When Jesus raised the Passover wine and stated, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (verse 24), He was signifying the sacrifice He was about to make for the whole world to be reconciled to God. Just a short time after this declaration at the Last Supper, He would hang on a cross, pour out His blood, and take on the sins of all humanity. ”The idea of poured out implies a violent outpouring as did in fact occur on the Cross. For many speaks of the millions and millions of souls who have placed their faith in Christ and His fully atoning blood shed on Calvary” (Preceptaustin.org) Father God’s rescue plan to vanquish sin and death was to make Jesus the sacrificial lamb, effectively atoning for the sins of every person on the planet. (John 1:29) However, only those who embrace Christ as their personal Lord by faith and surrender can experience the benefits of total atonement and eternal forgiveness. The prophet Isaiah foretold that God would punish Jesus for the “iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6) and the Messiah would bear the sins of many when He came (Isaiah 53:11-12). Jesus said of Himself that He came to seek out the lost and save them by giving His life as a ransom for many. (Luke 19:10) 2 Corinthians 5:15 tells us, “Christ died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.” Jesus’ blood was shed so we could live a life free from sin and death! (Romans 6:23) I rejoice to be “one of the many” set free by His sacrifice, and I purpose to let others know the Good News!

Everyday Application

1) Why would Jesus say the bread is His body? (verse 22)
In my childhood church, the Lord’s Supper consisted of grape juice and tiny wafers, passed down the pew by an usher. I looked forward to taking communion from the shiny silver tray as it passed by me. I understood we were thanking God for dying on the cross for our sins, but the idea of the little square of bread symbolizing Christ’s body (Mark 14:22) didn’t really impact my young mind as we gave thanks for the elements. Once I grew older I would grapple with the concept of the Word (Jesus) becoming flesh and dwelling among us. (John 1:14) It’s astounding that God would send Jesus to earth as fully God and fully man (Colossians 2:9), especially knowing the pain and suffering Jesus would endure in His body and spirit when God’s plan of salvation unfolded at Calvary. (Luke 23:44-49) D. Edmond Hiebert notes, “The bread which had been given them, after being broken, stood symbolically for His body, or rather the sacrificial giving of Himself for them.” Understanding more about this sacrifice, this willingness of Him who knew no sin to be made sin for us (Romans 8:3) makes taking communion more impactful for me as an adult. Author Ann Voskamp, in her book One Thousand Gifts, says of the Lord’s Supper, “In a very tangible, physical act, aren’t I enacting my thanksgiving for His pain? In a very real way, in a digestible, consuming-oneness way, I’m celebrating greater gain through great loss”. (pg 37) Though I may never fully comprehend the depth of God’s love and the greatness of His sacrifice on this side of Heaven, these days I give deep thanks for His saving grace when I stop to observe the Lord’s Supper.

2) Why would Jesus refer to the wine as His blood of the covenant? (verse 24)
I am a bit squeamish about blood. I cover my eyes when there is a surgery on TV, and I look away during blood draws for lab work. I feel blessed to buy meat at the grocery without needing to butcher animals myself. Given my aversion to blood, reconciling myself to the idea of a blood covenant in the Bible proves challenging. I sing about the blood of Jesus, but do I understand what it signifies? In the Bible, making a blood covenant was a serious matter. “In covenant, the shedding of blood demonstrated as nothing else could the intensity of the commitment. By cutting covenant the two parties were bound for life. Thus, the shedding of blood in the cutting of covenant established the gravity and binding nature of this transaction.” (Preceptaustin.org) By pouring out His blood for us, Jesus evidenced His great love and enduring faithfulness. Making this sacrifice was no easy thing. Twice Jesus asked His Father to “let this cup pass from Me”. (Matthew 26:39) Not only did He know the physical horrors He would face on the cross, but the perfect, sinless Savior was about to be made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21); this was the real agony of the cross. However, Jesus chose God’s will over His own and embraced God’s plan of sacrificing His only Son to reconcile sinful people to God. (John 3:17) That precious blood He spilled was given out of a love so deep I cannot fathom. I can only happily and humbly accept the grace He gives, love and trust Him in return, and share about His great gift with those I encounter.

3) What does Jesus mean that the blood is poured out for many? (verse 24)
One criticism against Christianity is that it’s too narrow with too many rules and requirements. The argument is that all roads (should) lead to Heaven, not just the narrow way of the Bible. (Matthew 7:14) I argue that Christianity is probably the least narrow religion because literally everyone is welcome. Jesus poured out His blood to save many, not just a select few. True, not all will accept His offer of total forgiveness and new life, but their decision doesn’t negate His offer. While there are commandments and directions on how to live like Jesus in the Bible, salvation is a free gift to anyone who believes the message of Christ. (Ephesians 2:8) Acts 10:34 tells us God doesn’t show favoritism. He doesn’t invite just one gender, race, or nationality to become children of God, but He gives that right to all who receive Him and believe His name. (John 1:12) 2 Peter 3:9 assures us the Lord “does not want any to perish but all to come to repentance.” Romans 10:13 promises salvation to everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. Ann Voskamp suggests “Christ rises with His scars because your name is written right into His scars and He can’t bear to leave you behind—He means for you to rise too.” Besides inviting anyone and everyone to follow Him, maybe the most amazing thing is that Christ gave His life for us to become His children while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8) He died to redeem every person on the planet, whether or not they would ever choose to accept His amazing gift. This kind of love is staggering and should be shouted from the rooftops!

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Pause V Day 7 Feasting

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Pause V, Day 7

One of the hallmarks of the Jewish faith is the festivals commemorating significant events in their history. Two of them, the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, are prominent in John 6 and 7.

Before the Passover, Jesus fed five thousand people with just five barley loaves and two fish. The next day the people were back again looking for another sign. Instead of seeking Jesus, the producer of the signs, they were simply seeking the gift. In light of this heart attitude, Jesus proclaimed:

“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.  (John 6:34)

All the signs Jesus performed pointed to Himself as Savior, the One who, empowered by the Father, could save souls and offer eternity. All anyone needed to do, must do, is believe in Him as the Son of God.

At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus taught in the temple. He proclaimed Himself as the source of Living Water, which would quench every thirst. It was a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit, given to everyone who believes in Jesus as Savior.

Jesus was always pointing to the Father as the source of His authority, teachings, and signs. Jesus was the way to be rescued, not for temporal things, but for eternity. This is still true today. Jesus I,s and always will be, the Bread of Life, the Living Water, the Way to eternity.

I leave you with the words of Peter (John 6:68-69). As you ponder them, may they resonate in your spirit and turn you ever closer to Jesus.

“Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Today's Invitation

1) Pull out your Bible and read John 6 and John 7 fully through 3 times. Read slowly, emphasizing different words each time. Let the words of Scripture wash over you as the Spirit speaks to your heart.

2) Each time you read, write down everything that pops out at you, makes you curious, or wonder “why?”. When you’re finished, go back through and you’ll be amazed at the new things the Spirit is leading you into knowing about Him!

3) Write out a prayer of thanks to God for being the Bread of Life and the Living Water. Ask Him to help you to live focusing on Him as our source of life here and in eternity.  Praise Him for all the ways He shows Himself to you.

4) Memorize John 12:25-26

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John 6

After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for He himself knew what He was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.

12 When they were full, He told His disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

14 When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, “This truly is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 Therefore, when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take Him by force to make him king, He withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.

16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 A high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. 19 After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading.

22 The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat. They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone off alone. 23 Some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.”

28 “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.

29 Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.”

30 “What sign, then, are you going to do so that we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

32 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again. 36 But as I told you, you’ve seen me, and yet you do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41 Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

43 Jesus answered them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father.

47 “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, 55 because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?”

61 Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some among you who don’t believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning those who did not believe and the one who would betray him.) 65 He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted to him by the Father.”

66 From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”

68 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was referring to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray him.

John 7

After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since He did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him. 2 The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works that you are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)

6 Jesus told them, “My time has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it—that its works are evil. 8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.

10 After His brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving the people.” 13 Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

14 When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. 15 Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned, since he hasn’t been trained?”

16 Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent Me. 17 If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. 18 The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. 19 Didn’t Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

20 “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who is trying to kill you?”

21 “I performed one work, and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. 22 “This is why Moses has given you circumcision —not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers —and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities know he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”

28 As he was teaching in the temple, Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me is true. You don’t know him; 29 I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”

30 Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done, will he?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent servants to arrest him.

33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time. Then I’m going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

35 Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he? 36 What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David’s offspring and from the town of Bethlehem, where David lived?” 43 So the crowd was divided because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 Then the servants came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”

46 The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”

47 Then the Pharisees responded to them, “Are you fooled too? 48 Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”

50 Nicodemus—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”

52 “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

How Does “Pause” Work?
1.Each day, Monday through Friday, for 3 weeks, we will provide you with an invitation to get away with the Savior. Each one is designed for you to engage with the Almighty in a deeper way and perhaps in a new way than you have been recently.

2. Having a journal is a must! You’ll want to take notes as you walk this special Journey of Pause.

3. Each week focuses on one or two passage of Scripture and we walk with you as you study and flesh these out for yourself. As you write your thoughts, read His Word, and pray, questions might come up. That’s Perfect! Ask a trusted fellow believer, a pastor, or send us an email as you work through them!

4. Jumping in at the middle? No problem! Here is the entire Journey Theme.

5. Connect with others on Facebook by visiting our GT Community Group!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Pause V Week Two!
Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies
in Pause V!

Nations Day 12 The Daily Pressing: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out The Daily Pressing!

The Questions

1) Why did Mark mention Passover in this passage? (verse 1)

2) What is the significance of Jesus visiting the house of Simon the Leper? (verse 3)

3) Why did the woman pour her expensive perfume on Jesus’ head? (verse 3)

4) Why did Jesus say, “the poor you will always have with you”? (verse 7)

Mark 14:1-11

1It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a cunning way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2“Not during the festival,” they said, “so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”

While he was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper as he was reclining at the table a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head. 4 But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her.

6 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for me. 7 You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body in advance for burial. 9 Truly I tell you wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.

Original Intent

1) Why did Mark mention Passover in this passage? (verse 1)
Jesus stopped by Bethany (about two miles outside of Jerusalem) on His way to celebrate Passover. Passover is the annual celebration of God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Passover refers to when the Angel of Death “passed over” the homes of Israelites (and Egyptians) who put the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts according to God’s instructions to Moses. Egyptians (and Israelites) who did not obey God’s instructions experienced the death of their firstborn. Even as God gave the instructions for the Passover in Exodus 12, He commanded His people to commemorate their deliverance every year. “This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.” (Exodus 12:14)

2) What is the significance of Jesus visiting the house of Simon the Leper? (verse 3)
Simon lived in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem and the hometown of his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. The Gospel writer’s decision to include the description of Simon as “The Leper” is significant. Today, leprosy refers to a specific disease called Hanson’s disease affecting both skin and nerves, but during biblical times, leprosy was a generic name for any skin disease. When God gave the Law to Moses after the Israelites left Egypt, there were specific instructions for interacting with people with skin diseases like leprosy. Leviticus 13 explains how the priest examined people with skin diseases and isolated them for seven days. If the disease did not go away, they were excluded from the community to protect the people. “The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ He will remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45-46) Lepers were isolated from family and friends by their disease and were considered unclean. Coming in contact with a leprous person resulted in them also being declared “unclean”. Since Simon was healed, he was no longer unclean, and he could safely host people.

3) Why did the woman pour her expensive perfume on Jesus’ head? (verse 3)
John 12:1-8 explains this was Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Mary had a heart that desired to worship Jesus. Her gift was an extravagant display of devotion to Jesus. Pure nard in alabaster was exceptionally valuable. Nard comes from the Himalayan mountains in India, Nepal, and China; transporting it to Bethany would require a long, arduous journey from Asia to the Middle East. This gift was worth three hundred denarii, which was about a year’s income (minus the days not worked for the Sabbath and holidays) since a denarius was the equivalent of a day’s wages. Some commentaries explained that this alabaster jar of pure nard was probably Mary’s dowry. When a woman got married, her dowry was her security in case she was divorced. Mary desired to give her best. Jesus explained to the disciples that Mary’s gift was a noble thing. The Greek word translated as “noble” is defined as “good that inspires others.” Even to this day, we celebrate Mary’s precious gift. Jesus prophesied that “she has kept it for the day of My burial.” (John 12:7) People used burial spices and perfumes to mask the smell of a decaying body. Jesus knew that going to Jerusalem was His death sentence. He would soon be attacked like the obedient servant in Isaiah 50:6, and He would be led like a lamb to the slaughter as prophesied in Isaiah 53:7.

4) Why did Jesus say, “the poor you will always have with you”? (verse 7)
When Rabbis and teachers of the Law taught concepts, they often quoted parts of Scriptures because they knew their students would fill in the rest of the passage. When Jesus said, “the poor you will always have with you,” He was quoting Deuteronomy 15:11, “For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, ‘Open your hand willingly to your poor and needy brother in your land.’” He was urging His followers to give generously to the poor even as He was warning them of His upcoming death. At various times, Jesus specifically told His disciples He would suffer and die. “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death. Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill Him, and He will rise after three days.” (Mark 10:33-34)

Everyday Application

1) Why did Mark mention Passover in this passage? (verse 1)
Passover was a celebration of deliverance. Many Jewish people were eagerly praying for a Messiah to deliver them from Roman occupation. Here’s how David Guzik explains this, “The time is significant, because there was at Passover not only a great expectation of the Messiah, but Jerusalem was also crowded with these Messiah-expecting multitudes. Since Passover remembered a time when God raised up a great deliverer and freed Israel from foreign oppression, it was a time of great patriotic and Messianic anticipation. The Romans were on guard and ready for any hint of revolt.” The people in Jerusalem were eagerly looking for a military savior, but Jesus had come as a Lamb whose blood was to be shed for the forgiveness of sins. 1 Corinthians 5:7 calls Jesus “our Passover lamb.” John 1:29 proclaims that “Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Just as the blood of the Passover lamb protected the people from death, Jesus’ blood frees us from the penalty we deserve because of our sins. (Revelation 1:5)

2) What is the significance of Jesus visiting the house of Simon the Leper? (verse 3)
Fear of contamination did not keep Jesus from reaching out to people who were considered unclean. There are multiple mentions in the Bible of Jesus healing people with leprosy. Mark 1:40-45 tells how Jesus healed a man with leprosy in Galilee. When Jesus touched him, “immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.” Luke 17:11-17 also tells the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. In both Mark’s and Luke’s accounts, Jesus told the healed men to present themselves to the priest according to the requirements in Leviticus. After the priest examined the men, he would declare them clean and fit to assemble with the rest of the community. Jesus is our healer. Sickness and suffering (both mental and physical) can isolate us from community. We may feel unclean or unworthy of God’s love and grace, yet Jesus wants to heal us so our lives will be a testimony to His grace and healing power, just like Simon. Though Simon was still called “the Leper,” his life had been radically transformed by Jesus’ healing power. His sickness no longer isolated him, and he was able to host Jesus and all the disciples at his house. Like a leper, we can cry out to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) He uses healing to declare His victory in our lives, setting us free so we can bless others!

3) Why did the woman pour her expensive perfume on Jesus’ head? (verse 3)
Mary likely gave her most precious possession when she anointed Jesus’ head. Her act of devotion inspires us to give wholeheartedly. Are we giving our best to Jesus and His kingdom, or are we like Judas, who seemed to care about the poor, but only truly cared about himself? When John wrote about Mary anointing Jesus, he explained that Judas’ indignation wasn’t about caring for the poor but about helping himself. Judas “was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.” (John 12:6) Mark writes that some disciples expressed indignation and asked, “Why has this perfume been wasted?” (Mark 14:4) The Greek word translated “wasted” in this passage can also mean “destroyed” and is often used to describe God’s judgment in end-times. “Judas criticized Mary for ‘wasting money,’ but he wasted his entire life!” (Wiersbe) Mary’s extravagant gift and Judas’ petty response challenges all of us. Is our indignation about injustice a cover-up of jealousy and greed because we want more? Are we secretly envious of other people’s ability to give? Do we give only to receive recognition? Do we desire to give generously and not waste what we have been given? The greatest gift we have is our salvation; are we sharing it with others, or are we wasting the opportunities we are given to proclaim it and, in the process, devaluing Christ’s sacrifice? Mary gave the equivalent of an annual salary; would you think someone was a fanatic if they gave that amount to the church or help the poor? Would you wonder if they were wasting their resources? I have realized that if I am starting to answer these questions like Judas, I have lost sight of the value of Jesus and the privilege of giving all I have.

4) Why did Jesus say, “the poor you will always have with you”? (verse 7)
When I first read this quote from Jesus, I felt it was very calloused. It seemed to me like Jesus was telling His disciples not to care about the poor. I didn’t realize it was a direct quote from Deuteronomy that Jesus was using to challenge His followers, and particularly Judas who “claimed” to care for the poor. Jesus was prodding each of them to follow Mary’s example of selfless generosity and “to open your hand willingly to the poor and needy brother in the land.” In Mark 10:21, Jesus challenged a rich young man to “give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven.” Jesus commended Mary because “she has done what she could.” (Mark 14:8) Each of us can learn from Mary’s sacrifice. She blessed Jesus by giving generously and sacrificially. God gives us gifts and resources so we can bless others in the same way. Martyr Jim Elliot wisely said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.” Like Mary, when we lavishly give all we have to Jesus, He will cultivate generosity in us towards others just as He gave Himself fully for us.

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

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Pray Together!
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This is Nations Week Three!
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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

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Word Day 4 Follow & Remove: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Follow & Remove!

The Questions

1) Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem for the Passover and why is this important to this passage? (verse 13)

2) Why did the actions of the people in the temple make Jesus so angry and why was His anger not sinful? (verses 15-16)

3) Why did Jesus not entrust Himself to them? (verse 24)

John 2:13-24

13 The Jewish Passover was near, and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

17 And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me.
18 So the Jews replied to him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.” 20 Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?”

21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made. 23 While he was in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival, many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust himself to them, since he knew them all

Original Intent

1) Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem for the Passover and why is this important to this passage? (verse 13)
Deuteronomy 16:16 instructed all men to appear before the Lord three times a year. The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which Passover is part of, was one of those times. Jesus would have made the journey to Jerusalem in accordance with this instruction along with all the other Israelite males as Jerusalem was the religious center of Israel. Therefore, the city would have been a bustling place full of travelers. The temple was located in Jerusalem and these travelers were also required to make a sacrifice while they were there. All of these details set up the scene we read about in this passage.

2) Why did the actions of the people in the temple make Jesus so angry and why was His anger not sinful? (verses 15-16)
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread would have brought many travelers into Jerusalem all of whom were required to offer sacrifices to God according to the Law. While some would have brought their sacrifice with them, several would have arrived needing to purchase an animal for the sacrifice. The people of Jerusalem had chosen to set up a marketplace in the Temple Courts to not only sell animals, but also offer money changing services as people would have needed local currency. These merchants sold for a higher price and took up the space in the Temple that would have otherwise been reserved for worship. Jesus shows up and is angry at what is taking place in His Father’s house. He is angered at the Temple being defiled and people being cheated out of their money. Not only are they defiling the Temple, but they are profiting from their actions. Jesus shows His anger by clearing out the Temple of the merchants. However, this anger was not sinful because Jesus was responding to sin, He was responding to His Father being insulted. Neither was He acting “out of control” in His anger as we read that He had taken the time to “(make) a whip out of cords” (verse 15) as He observed the defilement around Him. Therefore, Christ’s actions were coming from a place of righteous anger and were not sinful.

3) Why did Jesus not entrust Himself to them? (verse 24)
Being the Son of God, Jesus knew the hearts of those standing before Him. He knew when He was being misunderstood or when faith was not genuine. Many eyewitnesses, who followed Jesus and saw all He did during His time in Jerusalem, noticed He was different, but did not embrace Him as the Son of God. Jesus knew they thought He was a good teacher, or possibly a prophet, but they refused to recognize Him as the promised Messiah. As a result, Jesus chose to keep Himself at a distance from those who didn’t genuinely believe Him.

Everyday Application

1) Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem for the Passover and why is this important to this passage? (verse 13)
Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover which was customary in His day. There was a sacredness to these days and the Israelites took time to pause and remember what God had done. We could learn a lesson from the Israelites about slowing down and intentionally remembering what God has done in our lives. They spent time preparing their hearts by following customs designed to help turn their hearts to worship. While we aren’t bound by the same Law they were, it is wise to follow their example and set aside specific times in our calendar for remembering and celebrating what God has done.

2) Why did the actions of the people in the temple make Jesus so angry and why was His anger not sinful? (verses 15-16)
As New Testament followers of Christ, we no longer have a temple we are required to make pilgrimages to. However, Scripture is clear that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) In light of Jesus’ high view of the temple in Jerusalem, we should ask ourselves if we are conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of ourselves being called a temple. The Holy Spirit resides in all who have placed the full weight of their trust in Jesus and His sacrifice for us, therefore we should glorify God with our bodies instead of defiling them as the merchants defiled the temple. We can also think about these verses in relation to the church, which is God’s people living out His love to others on earth. We can bring disunity within the church and damage the church’s impact when we become distracted by anything less than worshipping our Creator. Likewise, we should remember there is such a thing as righteous anger. However, in response to sin and injustice, we must be careful to act within the authority we have and not assume the authority of Jesus. We should rise up against injustice and stand up for those who are treated unjustly. We should be angered by sin within ourselves and others. However, we are not called to be the judge and jury for those outside the Body of Believers. Instead, we are called to love the sinner and point them to Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:11-13)

3) Why did Jesus not entrust Himself to them? (verse 24)
Jesus knew the hearts of those around Him when He walked the earth, and He knows ours as well. He knows if we are genuine in our faith or faking it to the world around us. “Faith cannot be one-sided here any more than elsewhere. Christ gives Himself to those who give themselves to Him. They who so trust Him that He is sure they will follow Him even when they cannot see where He is going; they who trust Him, not in one or two matters which they see He can manage, but absolutely and in all things; to these He will give Himself freely, sharing with them His work, His Spirit, His reward.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary) There will be challenging days in our faith and we are called to trust Christ, not only when life is easy and we know where we are headed, but also in moments of uncertainty or when those around us waiver. When we choose faith, the reward is large. This past year of 2020, has been a year of staying faithful in the unknown and hard for many of us. However, even in those moments, we are called to genuinely believe and trust Jesus. Following Him won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth it!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Follow & Remove!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Word Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Enough Day 14 Sacrificial Lamb: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Sacrificial Lamb!

The Questions

1) What boasting is Paul referencing in verse 6?

2) Why does Paul care about cleaning out leaven (yeast) and new batches of dough? (verse 7)

3) What feast are we to be observing? (verse 8)

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Original Intent

1) What boasting is Paul referencing in verse 6?
When we read Scripture, it’s extremely important we first read for context. What does the whole passage say? What is the main point? If we fail to do this, we will quite likely run away with a poor understanding of Scripture, of God, and even ourselves. Then we try to apply this mis-alignment to our lives and end up with a mess! The church in Corinth, who first received Paul’s letters we’ve cleverly dubbed “1 & 2 Corinthians” had major issues. They had serious conflict, bad beliefs, and were known for blatant sins that ran counter to Christ and His gospel of love and unity. Yet, they still felt justified in boasting about how great they were doing. Paul’s admonishment was meant to sternly call them out for their lack of love and inconsistency in holding to truth and what it really meant to follow Jesus as His Church. In this specific instance, a man was committing a gross sexual sin by sleeping with his father’s wife, an action not even condoned by Corinthian culture outside the Church. Yet, inside the church, they boasted on how loving they were by not calling this man out for his blatant hypocrisy and sin as he claimed to follow Jesus and love people. (1 Corinthians 5:1-2) They felt they were doing the right thing by ignoring this man’s sin. It’s also very important to note that Paul makes a distinction in verses 9-13; he did not intend believers in the church to cast judgement on people who were not Christ-followers. “I did not mean the immoral people of this world (…); otherwise you would have to leave the world!” Christians are not meant to judge those outside the church, only God can do that! “For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? (…) God judges outsiders.” (verses 12-13)

2) Why does Paul care about cleaning out leaven (yeast) and new batches of dough? (verse 7)
We don’t use the word “leaven” much in today’s world, but it refers to yeast one would use in baking. Why does Paul care about yeast? Well, he actually didn’t; he knew his audience understood “yeast” to be a symbol for “sin”. In the Old Testament, God had commanded His people to rid their houses of yeast as they prepared for Passover, a special festival commemorating God’s rescue of Israel from slavery to the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:14-20) When Paul states, “Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough?” (verse 6), he wasn’t trying to mock them for their lack of scientific understanding. Rather, he was illustrating the extreme potency of sin and its deadly affects. If Christ’s Church was like a batch of dough, even a small bit of sin (yeast) would quickly spread throughout the dough. Because the Corinthian church understood yeast to be a metaphor for sin, Paul’s point was abundantly clear, they could not just “ignore” sin within their local church body for eventually, the entire church would be consumed with sin. No one would hold them accountable for their sin because everyone would just “accept” a lower standard and justify each other’s sinfulness. Paul instructed the Corinthians to “clean out the old leaven” by confronting sin within their churches. He reminds them they are indeed a “new, unleavened batch” (verse 7) because Christ has died for them, declaring them righteous! Jesus paid for their sin, so they should respond by fleeing from it and following Christ in living holy lives that honor Him together as a whole church. Out of great love for one another and gratefulness to Jesus, they should encourage each other to reject sin’s allure and run instead toward the life of fullness offered in Christ.

3) What feast are we to be observing? (verse 8)
Imagine the churches of Corinth gathering together in the homes where they regularly met for worship and preaching to listen to Paul’s letter. Jews, Gentiles, men, women, and children all came together under the freedom Christ had come to give them. This was the New Testament church! They had complex lives with countless temptations to sin, worship idols, and pressure to achieve more just like us today. The Jews present, who were probably fewer than the Gentiles, were as familiar with Torah (Old Testament) Law as the back of their hand. Though the Gentiles hadn’t grown up with God’s Law, they were still familiar with Jewish practices, sacrifices, and feasts because they played such a prevalent cultural role. When Paul wrote, “Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us observe the feast…” (verses 7-8), everyone listening immediately understood the connection between Christ and the Passover lamb. Christ was the One crucified on a Roman cross and resurrected from the grave three days later. The Passover lamb was the animal slain every year by every Jewish family during the Passover feast which commemorated God’s rescue of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Paul was tying these two together as the same symbol. Christ had become the Passover Lamb. Once Paul made this clear, he urged the churches to go out and live everyday lives in light of this incredible sacrifice. “Therefore, let us observe the feast…” The audience recognized the feast as Passover, but Paul wanted them to go deeper and understand that feasting was now meant to encompass the whole of the Christian life. Believers were now to feast on Christ as the Bread of Life (John 6:35) who has no sin in Him and calls those who trust Him to also leave behind all sin (yeast).

Everyday Application

1) What boasting is Paul referencing in verse 6?
It’s so easy to justify ourselves, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s just me who is always running ahead with ready defenses for every action, thought, or word. I’d much rather point to the shiny, pretty things I’ve done and completely ignore those sinful patterns I keep right on living with. Shockingly, I was given another opportunity to confront my sin just a few days ago as my husband expressed his frustration with how I consistently interacted with him. Regardless of the suggestion, dream, or feeling he shared with me, I was oh so quick to shut him down with my own counter opinion or critique. As he talked with me about his frustration, the Lord opened my eyes and I realized my husband was right. I was stuck in a pattern of criticism and harshness, but I had justified my attitude and sharp words toward him as me being allowed to have my own voice. Expressing myself was never the issue, my willingness to listen and encourage him was where I was deeply lacking. I’m sure Paul’s sharp words were hard for the Corinthians to hear; facing our sin is generally painful. As difficult as it was, I am so grateful for my husband’s willingness to point out my sinful pattern and for the Spirit enabling me to recognize how I wasn’t loving my husband despite my lengthy list of justifications. Where is the Lord pointing out your sin patterns? Resist the urge to boast in your justification and surrender to His conviction! Maybe you see sin habits in a brother or sister who loves Jesus. Make the loving choice and confront them, calling them to recognize their sin and turn away from it! Our churches desperately need believers to hold each other accountable to following Jesus and loving others! 

2) Why does Paul care about cleaning out leaven (yeast) and new batches of dough? (verse 7)
How often do you think about “getting rid of” the sin in your life? Probably not often! If we look at our sin patterns, we can feel overwhelmed and weighed down with impossibility of breaking comfortable habits. We choose to sin because it’s easy and we enjoy it, but we like it because we have forgotten the far greater delight of following the ways of the Lord. Psalm 119 is FULL of declarations on how joy-full (Psalm 119:14-16), wise (Psalm 119:23-24), life-giving (Psalm 119:25), freeing (Psalm 119:45), and even delicious (Psalm 119:103) the commands of the Lord are to His people who follow them. Proverbs says the path of those who reject wisdom leads to death. (Proverbs 2:19) Paul knew, and had experienced in his own life, that Jesus was always the Better, which is why, when writing to confront the Corinthians of their sin, he turned their focus onto the Sacrificial Lamb. (verse 7) Only when we keep Christ, His love, and His sacrifice that we could never repay in focus, do we become repulsed by our sin instead of drawn toward it. When you think of “getting rid of sin” in your life, begin in prayer and ask the Lord to show you His glory, goodness, and righteousness. As we gaze on Him, His Spirit will stir within us a far greater love for God than for our sin. Only in Jesus do we have victory to break the deadly pattern of sin in our everyday lives! (Romans 7:24-25)

3) What feast are we to be observing? (verse 8)
We don’t have the same contextual benefit the first New Testament churches had when they read Paul’s letters. Most of us don’t celebrate all the Jewish festivals, and we have no concept of an annual Passover Lamb, let alone daily sin offerings through animal sacrifice. While the first century church had real life visuals for these concepts, 21st century believers need to work a little harder to understand the original culture and context. Nevertheless, Paul’s connection of Christ as the Passover Lamb and his urgent call for the early church to reject sin’s pull and move forward into living as God’s holy people is a message for us today! Sin isn’t a plaything, something to be ignored, or passed over as insignificant. Our sin is what cost the Savior His life. If it wasn’t for our sin, there would be no need for Jesus to sacrifice Himself on our behalf, but because He did, we are free to reject sin and love God and others around us! Consider your role in your local church body as you think about what if you had been one of the first believers in ancient Corinth. Would you hear Paul’s Spirit-led words and become an advocate for addressing sin in yourself, your family, and your church body? Would you hunger for the sinless “bread” of Christ, desiring to daily feast on Him through studying His Word and developing a deeper relationship with Him? It’s one thing to claim you’re a Christian, it’s quite another to take your relationship serious enough to leave your sin behind and feast on the holy life God has called us to enjoy together!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Sacrificial Lamb!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Enough Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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GT Weekend! ~ Hallel Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) To the Jewish disciples who sat around Jesus at the Passover meal, the Messiah had come for them. For the Jews. For God’s chosen people. Throughout His time on earth with them, Jesus had taught them it wasn’t about their lineage as Jews that granted them access to God, it was their hearts. Their inner selves required a re-birth and a new beginning available only through the Holy Spirit. But this idea of Christ coming only for Jews still held fast. He had healed Gentiles. He had blessed the faith of Gentiles, but still the disciples held so tightly to the belief of Christ being for them, as God’s special people, it left no room for others. Soon, when Christ would rise again, and when the Holy Spirit would descend upon these men at the day of Pentecost, they would understand the reality that Jesus Christ came to offer salvation to all! It may be easy for us to verbalize this truth, but take time to ask the Lord where you have inadvertently put up fences, deciding that someone is too far gone for the gospel. Maybe there’s someone who you deem too broken or too sinful to welcome the salvation of Christ. Remember, Jesus came for ALL!

2) Even though the disciples were awash in tidal waves of fear and uncertainty as they left the Upper Room following that final Passover meal with Jesus, there were anchoring truths to which they could cling. They had seen Jesus heal the broken. He was healer. They had witnessed Him calm the seas. He held all authority. They had been with Him as He wept over loss. He was human. They had heard Him teach over and over, touch over and over, sit in the middle of mess over and over. They knew He was love, and His love was God’s love, which endured forever. True, the times were dark, but God’s character had never once shifted; His love endured forever. What have been your anchors during difficulty in the past? What new things have you learned about God and His heart in recent times to help carry you through the next season of doubt and darkness? Take a minute to write these down, as many come to mind. Dwell on these. Praise God for His character and heart of love that endures forever!

3) Surely the closing words of the Hallel psalms were confusing for the disciples. How could they proclaim what the Lord had done in the wake of His death and seeming abandonment? Maybe you’ve experienced something similar in your own life. How can you proclaim the Lord’s goodness when death steals a loved one, when divorce breaks marriage, when sickness steals away the vibrancy you or a loved one once experienced. But Death did not have the final word for Jesus! He returned in victory, conquering death and bringing abundant life that would never end. He won for us what we could never accomplish on our own! His life won our victory. His ascension opened the doorway for the Spirit to descend on us with power to proclaim His gospel and His goodness. His coming return reminds us He is faithful and He is sovereign. The whole of the Hallel beckons us to keep trusting His heart even when we don’t understand. He is faithful! Write down your own declarations of truth and repeat them to yourself often this weekend. Face life with the assurance of Life winning over Death!

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Psalm 118:5-6 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

I called to the Lord in distress;
the Lord answered me
and put me in a spacious place.
The Lord is for me; I will not be afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?

Prayer Journal
It seems the reasons to run and be afraid and allow anxiety to overtake me are endless. Everywhere I turn there are more reasons to live in fear. Except for one. When I turn to You, Father, peace awaits. Courage is given. Purpose motivates me to love others well because You have loved me deeply. What can man, or a virus, or death, do to me? You, the sovereign ruler over all, hold my heart and my life. When I hide myself within the truths of Your love, fear flees. This is the spacious place for me to land. As I continue facing distress in real life, Lord, remind me, Spirit, to keep trusting You. Here, I will have no fear!

Worship Through Community

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Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Hallel Day 15 From Death To Life

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 118:17-29
Psalm 24:1-10
Matthew 26:36-56
Luke 20:9-18

Hallel, Day 15

I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord disciplined me severely,
but did not give me over to death.

The words came flooding like so much mockery as the events of the previous hours replayed again and again, unbidden, in my mind. These were words my lips had sung hours before in swirls of confusion beneath the dark sky of Gethsemane. It was the same garden, the same piles of rocks, the same swath of olive branches where I had sat with these brothers of mine for countless hours over the last three years.

Here, I’d heard Jesus teaching the masses.
Here, I’d heard been confronted with truth.
Here, we had learned to pray.
And mere hours go, here is where my brothers and I had fallen asleep while…….
the sobs gathered with overwhelming force in my throat, choking me, as I called to mind my failings.

I ran aimlessly through the now empty garden.
I could not hold back the screams of agony.
Falling to the ground, my fists pummeled the soft earth, and I wished for death.

Here, just hours ago, I had watched Jesus heal a soldier’s ear from Peter’s reckless sword.
Here, I had been jolted awake from Jesus’ emotion-filled plea to please, please pray with Him. But I didn’t. I just couldn’t stay awake.

My hands reached up and grabbed at nearby olive branches in self-loathing and anger, plucking new leaves into my balled-up fists.

Softly, the words came again.
I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the Lord has done.

Proclaim?!
I scoffed!
Proclaim what??
That Yahweh had parted the Red Sea?
So what…
That He brought us out of exile?
That was centuries ago….
None of it was relevant now.
Our Messiah is… dead.

Anger overtook me again as my fingers dug into the dirt.

Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the Lord’s gate;
the righteous will enter through it.

The melody came like whispers.
As if Jesus Himself were singing the words, and my mind easily recalled the lusty sound of His voice, fraught with emotion, as He had sung those words while leading us here last night.

This is the Lord’s gate;
the righteous will enter through it.

What did any of this mean anymore in light of all the new happenings.
In light of death….
The only understanding hitting me hard on repeat was the knowing that I was not righteous. I was not righteous. I was not righteous. Too many sins, like the dirt pressed beneath my fingernails, my sin colored everything.
I knew the truth, I was not righteous.

Not like Jesus. Certainly not like Jesus. He was innocent. Holy. Pure.
And again, the tears flowed with the blatant injustice of it all.
Holiness murdered. Messiah dead. Hope gone…..

I will give thanks to you
because you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This came from the Lord;
it is wondrous in our sight.

My lungs held their air as the words seemed to wrap around me, insisting I gaze at them longer. My body trembled, but something about those words I hadn’t recognized before. I turned my head as if to hear the words sung again in Jesus’ voice. Was there a deeper message in these age-old lyrics?

You…have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This came from the Lord;

They were jagged pieces of a puzzle, but like a hazy fog gathering around me, realization was slowly creeping over me.
Salvation.
The stone the builders rejected….
This came from the Lord.

I inhaled sharply, suddenly remembering I had forgotten to breath, and my mind raced to the day Jesus had spoken those very words.
We were all gathered around Him in Jerusalem, walking around the breathtaking edifice of Herod’s Temple. He had told a strange parable, as most of them were, about the owner of a vineyard who, while out of the country, had sent a servant to gather fruit. But the tenants of the vineyard, whom the owner had left in charge, beat up the servant and sent him back empty handed. Three times the owner sent a servant, and three times the tenants abused the servants. Finally, the owner sent His own beloved Son, saying surely, the tenants will respect my son. But they didn’t. Instead they killed him. Then Jesus had quoted this portion of the Hallel, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”.

Soft rain began mixing with my tears as I lifted my face to the heavens.
Christ was the cornerstone.
Christ was the rejected son, killed by the ones intended to care for the Father’s people.
Salvation.
This came from the Lord.

“There must be more to the story, Jesus”, I felt my lips move, and peace began easing my clenched muscles.
I didn’t have the answers, but, here, as before, in this Garden, I was being confronted with truth.

The Lord is God and has given us light.

Yes, Lord, You are the giver of Light.
Jesus, He is Your light of the world.
But, God, they crucified Him!
My questions still hung in the air
His answer came with power as the words to the end of the Hallel opened my heart, “Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar…”

Jesus.
The bound sacrifice.
The cross was the altar.
Death traded for life!

I still had questions to be sure, but as I rose, dropping the olive branches to the dirt by my sandaled feet, I felt washed. I felt peace.
No, I didn’t know the answers. Christ was still in the grave, but there was more to the story, I knew it would be so because God has always, always been faithful, and always would be.

Yes, He parted the Red Sea.
Yes, it still mattered.
Yes, He set us free from slavery.
Because He has always brought Life out of Death.

You are my God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God; I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
His faithful love endures forever!

—–
As is the case with each of our first-person narratives at Gracefully Truthful, these stories of Hallel have been imaginative creativity based in the truth of Scripture. We don’t know what the disciples’ exact actions or personal internal wrestlings were after the final Passover meal, the betrayal, the denial, the flogging, and finally the crucifixion of their Lord, Jesus Christ. But, here in the Garden, we hope you find small pieces of your own journey with Jesus, and you, like the disciples, discover He is indeed faithful and true, as He always brings Life out of Death!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Hallel Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Hallel!

Hallel Day 13 Love That Frees

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 118:1-16
Exodus 15:1-3
Isaiah 53:10-11
Matthew 26:20-30

Hallel, Day 13

“His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1-4)

The truth of these words brought the disciples comfort as they walked to the garden, singing this refrain. It had been a strange and unsettling evening. What began as a joyous celebration commemorating God’s deliverance of His people from slavery had taken a much more serious turn over dinner . . .

Talk of betrayal and suffering,
bread being broken and wine poured out,
all pointing to death . . .

Something in Jesus’ manner was different tonight, and it left them uneasy. The comfort of these familiar words surely heartened them.

“His faithful love endures forever.”
Everything will be all right.

For Jesus, the words were a reminder of why He had come and what He had to do. God’s faithful love endures forever, despite humanity’s sin and rebellion, and He was about to demonstrate the depth of His love once and for all . . . at an incredible cost.

“I called to the Lord in distress;
the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place.”
(Psalm 118:5)

Freedom!

The disciples longed for freedom from Roman rule and they trusted Jesus was the promised Messiah, the One who would deliver their freedom. Just as God freed the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule so many years ago, surely He would do the same for them. If God was on their side, they would be victorious. There was no reason to fear.

Freedom . . . 

Jesus needed to focus on the reason why He was going through with this. It was for these dear friends walking alongside Him, and for many others who would believe through their witness.

His death and resurrection would set them free, liberate them from sin and death forever, and cast out fear of God’s judgement by making them righteous. True, eternal freedom for His beloved friends was worth all that lay ahead.

“The Lord is my helper. Therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.” (Psalm 118:7)

Perhaps the disciples’ voices grew louder, more confident, as they pondered these words.

Jesus had spoken of enemies tonight, but they wouldn’t have the final word. Against all odds, the Israelites had triumphed over Pharaoh and his army. God had shown His power, and He could do it again. Surely the Lord was for them.

But did Jesus’ voice grow fainter as He sang, wrestling inwardly with what was to come?

“I know there are many who hate me.
They will do their worst.
Death will look like defeat.

O Father, help Me endure.
I know this is necessary, and I know it will be worth it.
I know death will not have the final victory.
I know this will be a mighty triumph over the powers of hell for eternity . . .
but I also know it will be painful and bloody.
Please give me strength.

And help My brothers, Father.
My death will seem like a crushing defeat to their faith.
Please give them strength to endure.”

“All the nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.” (Psalm 118:10)

No matter what comes against us, no matter what enemies surround us,
we can defeat them in God’s power.

“Very soon, I will be surrounded by enemies, whipping and spitting, mocking and jeering, rejoicing in My demise. Already, the true enemies, the spiritual forces of evil and darkness, invade My mind, urging Me not to go through with it, to use My power to break free.

And I could . . . but I will not.

Only through My death will these enemies be truly destroyed, and My children set free. O Father, give me victory over the temptation to quit. Help Me be strong.”

“The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”  (Psalm 118:14)

As they echoed the Israelites’ song of victory after crossing the Red Sea, praising God for His mighty power, hope rose in the disciples’ hearts. God was with them. Victory was sure . . .

As for Jesus, He looked to the suffering awaiting Him, knowing through His death, He would become their salvation. It was the only way.

Only in death would they, and all who would believe, be set free to embrace eternal life . . .

Great suffering lay ahead; Christ must hold onto hope, and cling to the truth that death would not have the final word:

“I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done.”  (Psalm 118:17)

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Halle Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Hallel!

Hallel Day 11 For All Peoples

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 117
Psalm 148
Hebrews 10:11-25
Romans 15:7-12
Revelation 22:12-17

Hallel, Day 11

Judas left the Passover supper suddenly.
Only Jesus knew why, but He didn’t say anything . . . aloud.
In His heart and mind, He cried out,
“Father, I know where I’m going.
In my humanity, I am hurt by the betrayal of one I love.
‘Woe to him for his actions (Mark 14:21), even if they were necessary to extend the offer of redemption to all those We love.”

With the meal ending, Jesus and His disciples began singing before leaving the upper room.

“Praise the LORD, all nations!
Glorify him, all peoples.”
(Psalm 117:1)

As they finished the first verse, the disciples were unaware of Jesus’ pain, and their town expectations filled their minds. These men, who spent three years with Jesus, believed He was the Messiah. They believed He came to overthrow Roman rule and bring Israel’s freedom.

“Surely we should praise Him because He is the Messiah, our long awaited Savior!”

They’d heard the reading of Isaiah 9:6 in the temple and as they thought through the characteristics listed, they saw ample reason to praise the LORD.

“He has indeed been a wonderful counselor! Look at the way He has taught through His many parables. And I remember the counsel He gave Martha.”

“Mighty God definitely applies to Him. He’s performed incredible miracles, from healing to  casting out demons and even resurrecting Lazarus from the dead! Yes, He is mighty and worthy to be praised!”

As Jesus sang, His heart soared with the knowledge His life, sacrificial death, and resurrection would elicit praise for the Father not just from His disciples or even His chosen people, the Jewish nation.

No, the praises would come from all peoples.

Jesus foresaw Paul’s letter to the Roman church, demonstrating how passages from the Tanakh, sacred Jewish scripture, speak of the Gentiles praising Christ (Romans 15:7-12).

As Jesus surveyed His disciples, their heads bowed and voices raised in song, He pondered, “They do not yet realize I am Messiah for all people. They sing words without full understanding. But when revelation comes, they will lead multitudes in praise.”

As the disciples recited promises of the Prince of Peace, on whose shoulders the government would rest, they were filled with expectation.

Yes, they would praise Him as King.
Surely, they believed, such a King would rescue them from Roman rule.
He would take the government on His shoulders and all would bow to Him.

For generations, they’d waited for the Prince of Peace to establish an earthly throne and rule over a glorious Jewish kingdom. Now, they were certain, He was here to accomplish it.

But Jesus came to claim a kingdom much larger than a single nation.
And He came to defeat an enemy much more powerful and deadly than the Romans.

“I have shown my faithful love throughout the ages.
My fulfillment of My Father’s redemptive plan will demonstrate the depth of my love.
My followers think I’m here to rescue them from Rome . . .
But My love runs deeper.
I am here to rescue them from sin and death.
I love them too much to stop at the temporary.”

As they each relished their thoughts, Jesus and the disciples continued on to the second verse of the short, but powerful hymn.

“For His faithful love to us is great; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Hallelujah!”
(Psalm 117:2)

As those words lifted to heaven, the disciples recalled Jesus’s statement,
“I and the Father are one”. (John 10:30). And their thoughts swirled.

“If He and the Father are One, was Jesus the flaming torch passing between the divided animals to make the covenant with Father Abraham?

Was it Jesus who kept God’s promise to rescue the Israelites from Egypt, and did so by parting the Red Sea? Was it Jesus who brought our ancestors back from exile in Babylon?

If so, His love has been faithful and surely, it will endure forever.
We must offer our praises for His enduring love!”

Jesus, knowing their thoughts, felt both joy and grief.

His joy stemmed from His faithful love and the deep assurance it would never, ever fail. It would indeed endure forever, through the creation of the new heaven and the new earth, and beyond. His faithful love would hold Him to the cross the next day. 

But the thought of the personal cost to Him brought grief. The impendng betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter, and the physical torture were burdens to bear.

Even heavier was the weight of the sin of every single human settling in darkness upon His spirit, and the consequential separation from the Father. This was soul-crushing grief.

“But My love never fails. My faithfulness endures forever.
I will seek the Father, but I know to love this world, I must save it.
This is my great joy, to love this way.”

And for the joy set before Him, Jesus led His disciples to the Garden, yet another part in the greatest love story about the greatest King who is faithful and loving, forever.

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Hallel Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Hallel!