Musing - Holy Week, or Mark’s Wartime Gospel

Hebraic Musing - Holy Week, or Mark’s Wartime Gospel

Holy week starts next Sunday, called Palm Sunday.  During Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Passover and Resurrection Day, Mark’s gospel documents Jesus’ activities with military precision.  Mark’s gospel is a wartime gospel revealing the times, the culture, and most important, the political and spiritual condition of Jerusalem and the temple practices.  Jesus’s symbolic actions and parables are generally interpreted individually, but taken as a whole, Jesus’ actions and words proclaim how the already present kingdom of God is pitted against the kingdom of Rome.  The Jewish high priests were in collaboration with the Roman domination of Jewish Israel.  For a clear example of Rome’s dominion, Rome changed the high priests many times, whereas God appoints each great high priest for a lifetime.  The Roman appointments were corruptly acquired, and the people knew it!  Consider these events (in CJB) in light of the corruption:

·         Mark 11:1—(Palm) Sunday: “When they were approaching Jerusalem …” Jesus enters on a donkey with the people cheering him wildly.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate was entering in a regal procession in order to be present and quell any uprising that may occur during this major Jewish feast of Passover.  Palm Sunday starts with a declaration of war by God’s kingdom against Rome’s dominion by mocking the governor with Jesus’s parade.  The friction between righteous people and Rome’s priestly appointees was already building.

·         Mark 11:12—Monday: “On the following day…”  Jesus says to a fig tree, “may no one ever eat fruit from you again.”  Thus He cursed the symbol of Israel and Jerusalem by pointing out the lack of fruit.  Why?  The high priesthood was controlled by Rome; the sacrificial system was corrupted; the temple was built by Rome; and God was no longer in charge.  Then He symbolically desecrates the temple by turning over the ‘money changers’ tables.  He calls the Temple a “den of robbers.”  A den is what robbers call home and where they hide out and feel safe.  The authorities were using the temple as a hiding place for their misappropriation of authority.  In Mark 11:19, He and His entourage have to get out of Jerusalem.

·         Mark 11:20—Tuesday: “In the morning …”  The fig tree has withered.  Jesus talks to His disciples of “throwing a mountain into the sea”.  Could this be reference to Mount Zion, Jerusalem, which needs to be moved through serious prayer?  The corrupt leaders challenge His authority, and He in turn rightly challenges theirs for good, godly reason.  In Mark 12:1–12, He indicts the temple leadership with a parable of the wicked tenants.  (Read it in that light.)  It’s frequently preached as a foretelling of the beloved Son’s coming; but that message misses Jesus’s indictment of the tenants, stewards, and authorities in the temple who were greedily using their positions for their own aggrandizement.  In Mark 12:13–17, the ruling party tries to trap Him on the issue of paying taxes.  He responds , “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”.  The people were forgetting to distinguish between, or choose sides between, God and Caesar.  Then in Mark 12:18, He starts to attack the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection.  (That is why they are “sad, you see.” [pun])  In chapter 13, He says, “Not one stone will be left on another” which is prophetically forty years before Jerusalem was utterly destroyed.  Then he discourses on the end of the age.

·         Mark 14:1—Wednesday: “It was two days before Passover…”, the priests and scribes were out to get Him.

·         Mark 14:12—Thursday: :On the first day of Unleavened Bread when they slaughtered the lamb for Pesach…” over their seder (feast meal), He says His good-byes, shares the cup, prays, and gets arrested by the corrupt Sanhedrin, members of the leadership body.

·         Mark 15:1—Friday, 6 a.m.: “As soon as it was morning…” some of the Sanhedrin “reached a decision …”.

·         Mark 15:25—Friday, 9 a.m.: “It was the third hour when they crucified him”. The worst possible curse for an Israelite is to be nailed and hung naked on a stake.

·         Mark15:33—Friday, noon: “At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.”  I wonder what the corrupt leaders were thinking then.

·         Mark 15:34—Friday, 3 p.m.: “At the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice …”   In v.38, the curtain of the temple was rent from top to bottom.  Was that Father God tearing His garment in mourning for His Son?

·         Mark15:42—Friday, 6 p.m.: “It was Preparation day, the day before a Sabbath…”  And Joseph of Arimathea, one of the righteous leaders who had become a disciple, claimed Jesus’s body and to bury Him before sundown, which began the Sabbath.

·         Mark16:1–2–Sunday, “early”: “When the Sabbath was over … very early in the morning they were on their way to the tomb…”   A good Jew would not walk that far or go to a tomb on the Sabbath.

I hope and pray that we will all read Mark’s gospel during Holy Week, with fresh perspective, and be inspired to identify the dominions that we are called to protest in today’s world.   

The dates used in this Insight are the ones traditionally understood.  Next week’s Musing, “Three Days in the Grave?”, will spell out an alternative and more logical dating which differs from tradition.

Points to Ponder

Is He the same yesterday, today, and forever?

What dominions are we called to protest in today’s world?

“…your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey,…” Zechariah 9:9

BTW - Next Sunday will be Palm Sunday!

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   April 8, 2025
Author:  Biblical Marriage”    Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com

Note - This ‘Musing’ is reprinted from Insight #64 in “Hebraic Insights – 95 Messages Exploring the Hebrew Roots of our Faith” by Yosef.  Available from Amazon.

Musing - Could you be Deceived?

 Hebraic Musing - Could you be Deceived?

(an April Fools Day message)

The word ‘deceived’ and its variants appear about 70 times in our bibles.  Jesus himself expressed concern and frequently warned us not to be deceived.  Matthew 24 contains the ‘Olivet Discourse” in which Jesus is dealing with eschatology and one of His final and desperate messages to his beloved disciples.  

Note Yeshua’s expressions of concern re ‘deception’ in Matthew 24:3-26 NIV   As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"  Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. . . .  8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.  Then you will be handed over to be persecuted . . .  10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. . . .  15 So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' . . . .   23 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible.  See, I have told you ahead of time.  So if anyone tells you, 'There he is…..’ do not believe it…  

And here are three more familiar examples of deceptions:

·      “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction…”  Galatians 6:6-8 NIV

·      “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived…” 1 Cor.6:9

·      Lest you think deception is New Testament only, consider a very early event for mankind.  “Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’  The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’" Genesis 3:13

The bible is the Manufacturer’s Operating Manual.  Any other source of information could lead to deception.  Other sources, while valuable, should not be allowed to take precedence over the Holy Scripture itself.  For example, a minister recently told me of a lady that thanked him for studying the bible and sharing an insightful teaching because that way she did not have to read the Bible herself.  What do you suppose went through the minister’s mind?

Personally, I try not to read more than one book by any one author and/or avoid focusing on one preacher, evangelist, televangelist or commentary for fear of picking up and mentally rehearsing an error that any one man might introduce.  After my salvation experience, I became an avid reader of Christian books.  After one year, the Lord spoke to me and asked “Are you going to read books about me, or are you going to read my book?”  For the next five years I read nothing but the bible.

Points to Ponder

Who are the Saints that Satan wants to ‘deceive’?

Are you satisfied with the amount of time you are in God’s own word,
instead of digesting someone else’s interpretation?

In what ways are we being deceived today?
Where do you get your news and entertainment?

Don’t be an “April Fool”.

“Don't be deceived, my dear brothers” James 1:16                                                                          

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                 April 1, 2025    (April Fools Day!)             
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Originally published August 11, 2010 as an Hebraic Insight

Musing – What’s the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?

 Hebraic Musing – What’s the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?

Or, what’s the difference between the first half and the second half of our beloved Bible?

Before God made the Old Covenant through Moses, he made a promise to his people through Abraham.  This promise was a prophecy in Genesis looking to the New Covenant where God concluded with - He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Genesis 15:5 NIV

Later in the Old Testament, long before Jesus was born, Jeremiah wrote a more direct prophecy about the new covenant as declarations from the LORD: “The time is coming, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them.  This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time.  I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31–33 NIV

Key difference, because in the old covenant, God wrote his law on tablets of stone.  Now, under the new covenant, given through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit writes His law on the hearts of His people.  Jesus instituted the new covenant at the Last Supper when he told his disciples - “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:20 NIV

The old covenant wasn’t defective, it just wasn’t meant to continue forever.  There was something greater coming, the new covenant through Christ’s redemptive work.  The old covenant was given for a limited time and purpose.

And I like Paul’s clarification.  “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Galatians 3:2   So the purpose of the Old Covenant, or the law was to lead us to Christ.  It was like a schoolmaster, teaching God’s people to look ahead to Jesus and the promise of the gospel.  Now that we have the promise—the reality—in Christ and the new covenant, we are no longer dependent on the old covenant.

God’s moral law, summarized in the ten commandments, always binds people.  But the symbolic sacrifices, rituals and civil laws that were part of the old, mosaic covenant are gone.  We’re not under Moses; we’re under Jesus Christ.  That’s the beauty of what we were told to expect in Jeremiah 31:3-4 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.  I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.”  And it is fulfilled in the New Testament.

Jesus fulfilled the law in our place, so we are free from it.  The moral law guides our lives, but the gospel tells us that, through his perfect life and sacrificial death for us on the cross, Jesus fulfilled the law, He did everything the old covenant required.  Therefore, we are justified in Christ.  And we’re free from the condemnation of the law.  That’s what makes the new covenant new and better!

Hebrews 8:6-8 provides us with a clear description of the purposeful differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.  “But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.  For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.  But God found fault with the people and said: ‘The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.’”  The problem was not with the old covenant; the problem was that God’s people broke the covenant and needed a superior covenant.

Points to ponder

How would we recognize our need for the New Covenant
if it were not for the understanding revealed while living under the Old Testament?

Whenever we take the Lord’s Supper, we participate in the renewal of the New Covenant.

♫  I'm just a sinner  Saved by grace. When I stood condemned to death, He took my place.  ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                           March 25, 2025
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing - It only takes a spark to get a fire going!

 

Hebraic Musing - It only takes a spark to get a fire going!

The Holy Spirit brought this 1969 song to mind that was popular in the late ‘70’s, about the time I gave my life to the LORD in 1977.  Now I cannot get it out of my mind.  The title is “Pass It On” and it had a major impact on my discipleship and my appreciation of the gift of salvation that I was enjoying.    

In how many ways does this song speak to you?

♫  It only takes a spark to get a fire going,

And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.

That's how it is with God's love;

Once you've experienced it,

You spread His love to everyone.

You want to pass it on.

 

♫  What a wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding,

The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming.

That's how it is with God's love;

Once you’ve experienced it,

You want to sing, it's fresh like spring,

You want to pass it on.

 

♫  I wish for you my friends this happiness that I've found

You can depend on Him, It matters not where you're bound

I'll shout it from the mountaintop, (PRAISE GOD)

I want the world to know,

The Lord of love has come to me,

I want to pass it on.

The Lord of love has come to me,

I want to pass it on.  ♫

 

Although I missed kindergarten, I still feel compelled to “Share”.

Points to ponder

What’s the greatest gift you have ever received?  Do you want to share it?

With whom would you like to share it?   

In how many ways can one “Pass it on”!

♫  I wish for you, my friend, this happiness that I’ve found.  ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                           March 18, 2025
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Song first released in 1969 by Kurt Kaiser.

Musing – What’s the best way to lead someone to in the Lord?

 Hebraic Musing – What’s the best way to lead someone to in the Lord?

You may have a third way, but my two favorite ways are (1) Testimonies and/or (2) using Biblically classic “Romans Road”.   Here’s a few observations about each of these two popular methods, recognizing that you may have experienced variations of these. 

Testimonies

There are several ways that Testimonies can be used.  Your Personal Testimony can be best delivered in person, One-on-one; or you might publish it in Tract or other written forms.   Probably the most effective is your Personal Testimony delivered personally by you, as your own, and usually done in a three-step outline –
  What was your life before? 
  What were the circumstances and what happened at that moment of Salvation? 
  What has life been like ever since?

Testimonies can also be shared in a tract form which may be your account or that of another person.  But this is nowhere near as effective as your personal version delivered one-on-one.

Biblically (like “Roman’s Road”) NKJV

Using a Bible to recognize a series of key verses:

The Bad News:
Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  
Romans 6:23a – For the wages of sin is death,

But there’s Good News!
Romans 6:23b – but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 (Favorite) –  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

A Response…?
Romans 10:9 – that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  
Romans 10:13 – For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Conclusion and objective

After going through either of these presentations and
    they are ready to accept Jesus Christ as his/her Lord… Here’s a simple prayer. “Repeat after me…”
“Dear Father:   I know that I am separated from you.”   
“I believe that Christ died on the cross and shed His blood for my sins,”   
“And I receive your forgiveness.      “I am willing to turn from my way and go your way.”  
“LORD JESUS, I now invite you into my heart as my personal LORD and Savior.”   
“And I will follow you and obey you as the LORD of my life. ”     “In Jesus name…Amen.”
“Now let’s go tell someone what you just did!”

Romans Road is best in a church setting with Bible acceptance, whereas testimonies are a more personal “testimonial”!  Which method works best?  Let the Holy Spirit AND the circumstances decide.

BTW - These two methods are not the only ones; what other methods have you experienced?  Please share. 

Points to Ponder
People argue and/or deny the Bible, but nobody can deny or argue with your testimony.

Are you working with Bible-believers or relatively unchurched?

When does discipleship begin? 
(A third person observer can approach and ask “what caused all the excitement.”)

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:20

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                           March 11, 2025            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing - How could God promise the Israelites “none of the diseases…”?

 

Hebraic Musing - How could God promise the Israelites “none of the diseases…”?

God gave us the Torah, or Pentateuch (gr.), a teaching on how to live; and in it he said to us “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians." Ex 15:26   NKJV

The Hebrew nation, Israelites and/or Jews adopted many of the commands of God and were and still are blessed and healthy.  Why?

·         Lepers were quarantined as instructed in Leviticus.13:46.  The unclean have to dwell outside the camp.  Yet the concept of quarantine to control spread of disease is relatively new.

·         Washing hands to avoid passing deadly germs was not practiced by our medical profession until the mid 1800’s.  God told the priests in Numbers 19 how to cleanse themselves from the unclean after handling dead beings.

·         God instituted ‘circumcision’ among His men.  While there are many Spiritual reasons being taught, it is a fact that in Israel, cervical cancer amongst the women is very rare.

·         Also, God required ‘circumcision’ to be performed on the 8^th day.  It seems that God, our creator, also knew that was the day the clotting capability of a boy’s blood is at its best.  And science only discovered that recently.    But our omniscient God knew!

·         God has often been accused of not being with the times re sexual freedom.  Yet He had strict rules regarding virginity and selection of marriage partners.  He already knew the harm to befall us by exercising sexual freedom.  We are learning this in the rampant rise of STD’s and Aids in our increasingly promiscuous society; and we are losing the Sanctity of the marriage bed.

·         How many times did God say, “but do not eat the fat.”?   God already understood Arterial Sclerosis!

·         God wants us to avoid unclean foods, like pork and other of the world’s natural ‘scavengers’ as these food groups been documented as the prime cause for many of today’s ills – diabetes, cholesterol, obesity, heart disease, food poisoning, etc.  The Jews and followers of the Torah are known for their Kosher diet as-well-as for their health.    

·         “God loves a cheerful giver.”  Did you know that a highly nervous, fearful person’s blood clots in about 1/5^th the time of a cheerful, happy person.  Blood clots are the cause of coronary thrombosis, the most common form of heart attack.

·         Causes of Psychosomatic illnesses – Anger, Stress, Hate, Grudges, etc. – things the Christian should not have to deal with. 

Deuteronomy 28:1 says “if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD” you will be blessed; and verse 15 says “if you do not obey…” you will be cursed.  Maybe we have uncovered just a few examples of why we are blessed or cursed in very natural ways when we obey or disobey God’s advice in our lifestyles.  He commanded us as a loving parent.  So, whether commanded or advised, let’s pay attention to all His Word.

Points to ponder

Does our Father God want us to live a long and healthy life?

Do His Holy Scriptures provide us with practical/daily living advice?

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you,
   even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                         March 4, 2025

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of Christian Faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

P.S. These topics are described in detail in S.I.McMillen, M.D.’s book “NONE OF THESE DISEASES”, which I highly recommend to appreciate how our Loving Creator tried to keep His Hebrew children healthy – like a good parent should.

Note – Edited reprint of Hebraic Insight #14; published April 2009.

Musing - The Challenge of our Competitive Spirit.

 Hebraic Musing - The Challenge of our Competitive Spirit.

To prove the existence of a devil and hell, all one has to do is point out one major ungodly characteristic in EVERY human's makeup that wasn't there at the creation of man:  The Competitive spirit.

Competition is simply the desire to subvert other humans under us or under another human or group of humans.  It's an innate and mysterious characteristic.  Man is not like animals who are struggling in the perpetual "survival of the fittest" food chain (I am NOT a subscriber to Darwin's theories!).  Man is not under pressure to compete unless it is done voluntarily or promoted by the society he lives in.  In the case of modern man, we have taken the survival aspect of competition and blended it into entertainment and the drive for "success" in the marketplace, accumulation of possessions, pride stoking by the accomplishments, etc. 

Almost every aspect of our daily lives involves resisting someone's desire to control our lives.  We deal with on-the-job competition with fellow workers by finding strategies to "win" by finding loopholes in the Laws & Rules.  We have major industries centered around sports.  We are bombarded daily with advertising which reminds us that we fall short.  In all its forms, competition always requires a "winner" and a "loser."

On the world scene, any one nation seems incapable of being satisfied with who they are and what they have.  They seem driven to take property and resources from other nations either by negotiation or war.  Why is this?  From whence did this seemingly inbred desire to take from and control others derive?  The answer is, as always, plain and simple and found in Scripture – The Fall of Man!

How does one remove oneself from this humanist drive to obtain, expand, and increase materially?  How does Jesus provide the answer?  Paul found out how to avoid all this greed-driven acquisition paradigm, and he found it in the treasures of Christ and being satisfied with them, rich or poor.  “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

The challenge to all governments and to all people is to realize that no matter how much they control, no matter how much they obtain, no matter how much they "win," they will never know what "enough" is and stop seeking more. 

BTW “Enough” appears 96 x in the NIV!  Why are people so concerned about having “enough”? 

·      Proverbs. 30:15  “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!': the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!',  The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.”

·      Proverbs 25:16 “If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.”

·      Ecclesiastes 5:10 “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”  

·      Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.                                                               

Conclusion - You must know what your "enough" is before you'll be able to know the "more than enough" that God promises each of us.

Points to Ponder

Hasn’t God given you “enough”?

Why do babies (& adults) keep saying “More, More”?

Is the competitive spirit a spirit of Love?

“Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’” John 14:8

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd               February 25, 2024            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”