Podcast

Jesus leaves His disciples after the Last Supper and goes to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. This must have been the most stressful time for any human, since He knew the pain which He was about to endure and He knew that He could avoid it, simply by dropping you and refusing to die on the cross. The disciples, exhausted by the events of the day and drained from the heavy conversation, fall asleep and Jesus chastises them for doing so.

Judas returns with a group of people and gives them a prearranged sign by kissing Jesus. The men arrest Jesus, but Peter draws his sword and attacks the slave of the high priest, cutting off the ear. Jesus immediately stops him and heals the ear, suggesting that we are not the ones to police the Kingdom of God. The soldiers take this opportunity to avoid a riot and they get Jesus and get out.

Jesus is taken to the chief priests, and He refuses to speak, knowing that there would be no benefit. The priests then demand He speak, and when He does, the high priest tore his garment. They mock Jesus and send Him to Pilate, who had the authority to sentence someone to death.

During this time, Peter denies Jesus three times and Judas, remorseful and despairing, commits suicide.

Pilate, no friend of the Jews, initially doesn’t want to kill Jesus, but fearing a riot, lets the crowd do what they want. Jesus dies, and various miracles occur, including the bodies of the dead being raised and the sanctuary veil being torn in two. This causes one of the witnesses to declare that Jesus truly was the Son of God.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

Jesus tells His disciples that the temple will be destroyed and speaks in stark language about the coming times in the Olivet discourse. His disciples don’t fully understand what Jesus is saying, and expect that these events will come quickly. The chief priests and elders, also hearing the things that Jesus is saying, decide that they must arrest Jesus and kill Him. Jesus, knowing this in advance, prepares His disciples for the coming time.

At some point, either on Saturday, Wednesday or possibly both, Jesus is anointed with oil, and His disciples question this. Jesus explains that this is a good deed, and has prepared His body for burial. Judas is particularly upset by this and goes to the chief priests asking for money to turn Jesus over to them. He is offered thirty pieces, which recalls the 11th chapter of Zechariah.

Jesus and the apostles then go to the Passover meal. The Messiah was expected to be revealed at the passover, whence the origin of the cup for Elijah, and Jesus does indeed reveal Himself at this point, in the breaking of a portion of matzoh that has been hidden from the beginning of the meal. Judas was not present at this end of the meal, having ostensibly left for supplies sometime after Jesus identified him as the betrayer.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

Christ calls the Pharisees a “Brood of vipers!”; the lament over Jerusalem; glory departing; The Olivet Discourse and the end of the age; wise and foolish virgins; the talents; separating the sheep from the goats.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

In Jerusalem, Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees, who send their disciples and some Herodians to see Jesus. These disciples ask Jesus if it lawful to pay taxes in an attempt to ensnare Jesus, knowing that He will lose popular support if He pulls His punches and favors taxes and that the Herodians will take offense if He does not. Jesus tells them that civil authority has its place, but that the affairs of God take precedence.

The Sadducees later confronted Jesus on the matter of the Resurrection of the Body, which is strongly expounded in the New Testament. They present an implausible case of a woman who is widowed seven times and remains childless. Whose wife would she be in the Resurrection? Jesus tells them that there is no marriage in Heaven and that the Resurrection must be accurate, since God is the God of the living, and those who have died are still described in the present tense in the book of Exodus.

The Pharisees send in another to challenge Jesus: what commandment is greatest? Jesus responds that the first is ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and the second is ”You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The implication is that you cannot love God unless you love your neighbor. Both of these are part of the Jewish tradition, but after this, the two are very commonly linked.

Jesus then asks the Pharisees whose son the Messiah is. When they answer that he is David’s son, Jesus asks them why David calls the Messiah ”Lord” if a father would not call his son “Lord.” The Pharisees leave and do not dare to ask Jesus any more questions.

Jesus then speaks out against those who would claim titles like rabbi, teacher, or father for themselves. Some of these people lay burdens on others but do not act to move their own burdens. These have turned the law into a system of punishment, turned the things of devotion to God into things of ostentation, and turned gifts of God into personal aggrandizement. This is a strong argument against a certain type of clericalism, but it should not be considered the end of clerics. Indeed, there are clear examples of teachers and fathers in the Scriptures. Instead, all the teaching is the teaching of God and should be identified as such.

Jesus then lists several woes for the Pharisees. The Pharisees are locking people out of Heaven, stop others from going into Heaven, and the converts that they attract are twice the children of Hell than the Pharisees. Those who swear oaths liberally will be held liable to God. Those who obey the minutiae of the law or purify the visible but ignore the weightier matters or fail to purify the inner structures are ignoring what is truly important.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

When Jesus is preparing to go to Jerusalem, the mother of James and John asks Him to appoint her sons to prestigious positions in the kingdom. Jesus responds that this is not His to give, but only from the Father. He then goes on to say that those who want to be great should aspire to serve others.

Jesus then goes up to Jerusalem, meeting large crowds making a pilgrimage for the Passover. Along the way, He heals two blind men who recognize Him as the Son of David, a messianic title. This recognition becomes even more vivid as He comes into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people rush out to greet Him as a prophet, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.

After arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus drives out the money changers from the temple, and even continues His healings during this time, which leaves the scribes and priests indignant. Then we see a living parable of Jesus’ power of judgment when Jesus curses a fig tree, which withers instantly. When the people ask by what authority Jesus does these things, He asks them what authority John the Baptist baptized. When they refuse to answer Jesus, Jesus refuses to answer them. Jesus continues by giving several parables about who will be chosen in the time to come, and the Pharisees, sensing that Jesus was talking about them, plot a way to entrap Him in what He says.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

Jesus is asked again about marriage and divorce. He says that when two are married, they become one flesh, and incapable of separation. This is a difficult teaching and Moses allowed divorce because the people were hard-hearted. Jesus then goes on to say that there are men who are eunuchs from birth, who are made eunuchs by others, and who become eunuchs by devoting themselves to the kingdom. This includes not only priests, but others who are working for the kingdom.

Some children are brought to Jesus, but the disciples speak out against those who brought them. Jesus asks that the children be brought and He blesses them because their devoted parents have brought them, similar to how parents speak for their children in baptism.

After this, a rich man asks what he must do to have eternal life. The man already follows the commandments, but Jesus asks him to give up his possessions and follow Him. The man is not capable of showing such devotion, since he has many possessions and is not willing to give them up.

Jesus then tells another parable, about laborers in a vineyard. Some laborers work the whole day, but others are contracted later; all receive the same pay, causing the ones who worked longer to complain. The master tells them that they all have been paid fairly. God’s grace is similar: those who have been faithful all their lives receive the same reward as those who become faithful late in life.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

The Pharisees and Sadducees again ask for a sign, shortly after Jesus has performed many miracles, and Jesus refuses, calling them an evil and adulterous generation, and likening the Pharisees and Sadducees to yeast, which was a symbol of contamination.

Jesus names Simon Peter for his profession that Jesus is the Son of God, but then rebukes Peter for failing to realize that Jesus must suffer and die; Jesus also says that any one who wishes to follow Him must deny himself and take up his cross.

Six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a mountain, where He is transfigured and shines with an intense light and Elijah the prophet and Moses the lawgiver appear next to Him. A cloud overshadows Jesus and a voice proclaims Jesus as the Son. This gives these three stronger faith in the coming kingdom.

After this, Jesus rejoins the rest of His disciples and tells them that they must become like children. Jesus also tells the people that they must seek out those who are lost, and forgive those who have sinned against them.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

John the Baptist has been arrested, and as a gift to Herodias, Herod reluctantly kills John. Many of John’s disciples become disciples of Jesus shortly after this.

Jesus then performs the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, whereby thousands of people are fed by a few loaves of bread and some fish, illustrating that Christ has the ability to control matter, which He would do again at the Last Supper. When the people whom He had fed began to agitate to make Jesus king, He asks His disciples to sail from the shore. After Jesus quiets the crowds, He comes to the ship, walking on the water. When Peter sees this, he is cautious and asks Jesus to bid him to come. Jesus tells Peter to come, and Peter begins to walk on the water, but when he gets part of the way out, he becomes frightened and begins to sink. Jesus saves him and the disciples begin to worship Jesus as the Son of God. Only two chapters later, Jesus asks His disciples who they think He is.

Jesus is then confronted by the Pharisees because His disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat, but Jesus replies that this precept is a tradition of man, and not a commandment of God. After this, Jesus meets a Canaanite woman who asks that Jesus would cast out a demon from her daughter. His disciples ask Him to send her away, and He challenges her, saying that it is not right to give the children’s bread to the dogs, but she persists, and for her persistence, Jesus casts out the demon.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

Jesus begins to exorcise demons and some claim that He does not do that by God’s power but by the devil’s. Jesus notes that it would make no sense for the devil to drive out more of his own demons than the other exorcists are doing, and warns them not to take their declarations too far and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

Jesus then gives several parables, including the parables of the soil, the tares, the leaven, and the mustard seed. Taking some of the disciples aside, He describes the parables as a way to deliver knowledge to those who will hear, and then He explains the parables to the disciples.

Jesus then visits Nazareth and meets several of His kinsmen there who cannot believe that someone that they knew is capable of such wisdom and deeds, and for this sort of disbelief, Jesus does not do many deeds of power there.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

John the Baptist hears about Jesus’ deeds from prison and asks if He is the messiah. John’s questions do not belie a cynicism, but rather the actions of one who is seeking Truth and wants to confirm his beliefs. Like John, we should not be afraid to ask questions to make sure that we are not being led astray. Jesus responds that John should look at His works. Jesus then tells people about John the Baptist, who came in the power of Elijah, fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi, who foretold that Elijah would come before the day of the Lord.

Jesus then performs two acts on the Sabbath, about which the Pharisees ask him, and to explain why, Jesus comes as close as possible to declaring Himself the messiah as He can without actually saying it. For this, the Pharisees seek to destroy Jesus.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian’s Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com