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Bible Commentary for Matthew 18 thru Mark 5

Matthew Chapter 18

Jesus’ disciples were probably having a heated discussion about which of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens. (Mark 9:33, 34) They decided to ask Jesus to answer the question for them. He brought a child and stood him in front of them and told them that unless they developed the kind of humility that a child has they would not enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore the greatest in the kingdom is the one that has cultivated the greatest humility. Those who are humble are to be welcomed into the congregation and no one should do anything to stumble them by trying to discourage them. Anyone who does this will be better off if he tied a large millstone around his neck and drowned himself in the sea. Stumbling blocks will come but the person through whom they come will suffer destruction. A person may save himself from this destruction if he is able to remove from himself whatever problem he has that would cause him to be so insensitive to others even if it is something as dear to him as a foot, a hand or even an eye.

Jesus warned that a disciple could not despise one of these child-like ones because Jehovah’s angels are continually keeping watch over them. Jehovah is always concerned about what happens to these sheep-like ones and if one of them is lost, Jehovah would, just as a shepherd does, go and look for this one sheep and rejoices when He finds it.

Jesus advises that when a brother commits a sin against another, the offended one should go to his brother privately and in humility tell his brother what he has done wrong. If he agrees that he has committed a wrong and accepts the counsel, then he has been saved. If he refuses the counsel, then the offended brother can take one or two others with him to talk to this brother. The counsel at Deuteronomy 19:15 will be applied that states: "by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every fact may be confirmed." If he does not listen to these brothers, then the matter can be taken to the congregation; if he does not listen to the congregation then he is to be treated as a pagan or tax collector.

Jesus told his disciples that they would be in a position to make determinations about whether a person was worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven or not and their decisions would be backed by Jehovah and Jesus

The disciples may have had Jesus’ words recorded at Matthew 6:14 in mind when they came to him and asked him how many times must they forgive their brother who sins against them. Rather than just seven times Jesus recommended that they do so as often as their brother approaches them asking for forgiveness. He gives them a parable to illustrate what he means. He likens the kingdom of heaven to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he is doing so, he finds that one of his servants owes him ten thousands talents, more that he would ever be able to repay in his lifetime. When the servant was brought to him, the king ordered that he, his wife, his children and all of his possessions were to be sold to satisfy his debt. But the servant begged the king to be patient with him and he would repay the debt. The king felt compassion for that servant and canceled all of his debt.

The servant then went and found a man who owed him one hundred denarii, a meager sum in comparison to what he owed the king, and he demanded that he repay him. Because he could not repay the debt, the man begged the servant to be patient with him and he would repay him, but he refused and had the man thrown into prison. This act was reported to the king who had this servant brought to him. The king told him that he was wicked because he had been shown mercy in the case of his indebtedness but was not willing to be merciful to his fellow servant. The king had him put into jail until all that he owed could be repaid. This Jesus said would be the way Jehovah would treat any that did not freely forgive his brother from his heart.

Matthew Chapter 19

After saying these things, Jesus left the region of Galilee, crossed the Jordan River and went into Judea where he continued curing people of all of their ills. The Pharisees, still bent on finding something wrong with his teachings, asked him if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason. They had in mind the scripture at Deuteronomy 24:1. Jesus directs their attention to Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 showing them what Jehovah’s original intent in reference to the marital arrangement was. They then asked him why Moses allowed a man to divorce his wife. Jesus said that Moses permitted it because of their bad hearts.

A comment from the NIV Bible Commentary, Volume II, page 88, says this: “If Moses permitted it, he did so because sin can be so vile that divorce is to be preferred to continued ‘indecency.’ This is not to say that the person who, according to what Moses said, divorced his spouse was actually committing sin in so doing; rather, that divorce could even be considered testified that there was already sin in the marriage. Therefore any view of divorce and remarriage (taught in the OT or NT) that sees the problem only in terms of what may or may not be done already overlooked a basic fact-divorce is never to be thought of as a
God-ordained, morally nuetral option but as evidence of sin, of hardness of heart.”

Divorce was never a part of the marital arrangement as Malachi 2:16 assures that Jehovah ‘hates a divorcing.’ Jesus therefore put the matter in line with Jehovah’s thinking and stated that the only basis for a divorce was marital unfaithfulness. The Greek word used in this verse is ‘porneia,’ which covers a wide range of sexual sins including adultery. If a person is divorced on any ground other than fornication, and he remarries, he can now be considered an adulterer, as well as the person who marries him or her, because the first marriage was not concluded in Jehovah’s eyes. The disciples thought that if this is the case then it would be better not to marry at all. Jesus was not advocating celibacy but said that there were some that remained single for various reasons. Some may have been born with cthe apability to remain single, others may have had this situation forced upon them by men, and others would remain single or be a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom. Each individual makes his/her own decision on this matter.

Jesus again uses children to make his point concerning the attitude a disciple must adopt if he is to enter the kingdom of heaven. As he was laying his hands on them and praying for them, his disciples were telling the parents that they should not bring their children to Jesus. However, Jesus told his disciples not to do this because their humility and faith were what adults were going to have to imitate. (18:3, 4)

A rich young man came to Jesus and asked him what good thing must he do to get eternal life? Jesus said that he was not an authority on good but only his Father was. But if he wanted to gain life he had to keep all the commandments. They young man said that he was keeping all those that Jesus mentioned, so what else was necessary. Then Jesus told him that he needed to sell all of his possessions, give to the poor, then come and follow him. This did not please the young man as he was very wealthy which led Jesus to say that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom. The disciples thought that if a rich man could not be saved, then who could. Jesus said to them that Jehovah's means of salvation transcends anything that humans can do.

Peter then asks Jesus what would they, who had given up everything to follow him, get in return. He told them that, at the regeneration or restoration of all things, they will sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Anyone that left houses, fields, or family for his sake will received these a hundred times over and will also receive eternal life. He ends by saying that those who may believe that they will have preeminence in the kingdom will find that they may be relegated with those who have the least importance in the kingdom.

Matthew Chapter 20

Jesus now compares the kingdom of heaven to a landowner that hires workers to work in his vineyard. He hires them at various times of the day, the workday being divided into twelve one-hour segments. He agrees to pay the workers a denarius, which is the wages paid for a day’s work. He hires throughout the day and the last ones hired were brought into the vineyard at the last hour, or the eleventh hour, or 5 p.m. At the end of the day, he told his foreman to pay the workers their wages beginning with the last ones hired. The workers that began the day in the first hours were surprised to find that those who worked only one hour were being paid the same wage as they were. They began to reason that if they worked longer than the others, they should have been paid more. But when they approached the owner of the vineyard with their complaint, he told them that he had not been unfair to them, they had received the wages that he had promised them. If he chose to be generous with his money, it was none of their concern. Jesus used this parable to further emphasize the point that he was making in chapter 19 verse 30.

Jesus was now on his way to Jerusalem and he speaks to his disciples again about the things that he was going to have to suffer. (16:21) He tells them that he would be betrayed to the leaders who would condemn him to death. They would turn him over to the Gentile rulers and they would put him to death. But he would be resurrected on the third day. We will learn that even though he gave them details about this, they would still not fully understand what he meant until these things had occurred.

The mother of James and John, sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus if her sons could have the positions of favor in the kingdom, one sitting at his right hand and the other at his left hand. Jesus asked the brothers if they believed that they would be able to undergo the same experiences that he was to undergo? They answered yes, they could. But they had no idea of what was involved in drinking from this cup because they still had no idea of what was going to happen to Jesus. Jesus told them that, in fact, they would have to drink from the same cup as he did, but the one who assigned the positions in the kingdom was his Father not him.

The others, when they heard what these two had done, were upset. Jesus calmed them by telling them that if they expected to be great in the kingdom of heaven, they were not to exhibit the same attitude that those of the Gentiles did who thought that the more who served them, the greater they were considered to be. But for his disciples, their byword was that they were to serve others and not be served by them. This, Jesus said, was his main purpose in coming to the earth that he should serve others and give his life in behalf of many.

As he and his disciples were leaving Jericho, two blind men call out to him to have mercy on them. The crowd tried to quiet them but they shouter even louder. Jesus asked them what they wanted him to do for them and they said that they wanted their sight restored. Jesus compassionately did so and the two men after receiving their sight began following him.

Matthew Chapter 21

As Jesus and his disciples were going towards Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and Jesus sent two of them into the village and told them look for a donkey that was tied along with her colt. They were to untie both of them and bring them to Jesus. If anyone said anything to them, they were to say that the Lord needed them and they would not stop them. Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a colt in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. He would, in a peaceful manner, be presenting himself to the city as their king designate. (Isaiah 62:11) This reminds us of the time when Solomon was presented to the Jews as their next king. (1 Kings 1:32-34)

When Jesus began riding on the colt of the donkey, some of the people spread their outer garments on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road ahead of him. The crowds began shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD [Jehovah]!” and “Hosanna in the heights!” When he came into the city, everyone wanted to know who was causing this uproar. The crowd said that it was Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth. (Psalm 118:26)

Jesus immediately went into the temple area probably through the north gate and immediately began overturning the tables and benches of those who were buying and selling in the temple. He then quoted to them the words recorded at Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 and applied these verses to them. He continued healing the people that were brought to him. There were young children, infants and babes, crying out in the courtyard of the temple, “Hosanna to the son of David!” and when the religious leaders heard this, they became indignant and asked Jesus why were the children doing this? Jesus asked if they had not read the words recorded at Psalms 8:2? Jesus left the temple and went to Bethany to spend the night.

The next morning when he was returning to the city, he was hungry and he went to a fig tree to take some fruit from it but he found nothing on it except leaves. Usually when the leaves of the fig tree appear, the fruit appears at the same time. He then cursed the tree and it withered immediately which caused much amazement among his disciples. They wanted to know how could such a thing happen so quickly. He spoke to them about the importance of having strong faith in Jehovah and not doubting the power of such faith. The nation of Israel could be likened to this fig tree that gave all the appearance of being fruitful but were in fact barren of fruit relative to producing what Jehovah wanted from them.

The elders and the chief priests came to Jesus as he was teaching and asked him who gave him the authority to do all of the things that he was doing. They had reference to his activities of healing. He told them that he would answer their question if they would answer one for him. He asked them who authorized John to baptize, God or men? After discussing the matter between them, they decided to plead ignorance. So they said that they did not know the answer to his question. Jesus knew that they would not answer the question correctly because it would mean that they already knew the answer to the question that they asked. Since they refused to answer his question, he could rightly refuse to answer their question.

Jesus then asks them to listen to what he was going to say and give him their opinion. He related to them the parable of a man who had two sons. He told one of them to go and work in the vineyard and he said that he would not go but later changes his mind. The father then goes to the other son and tells him the same thing. He says that he will go but does not do it. He then asks the men which of the sons obeyed the father. They answered that it was the first son. Then Jesus told them that they were like the second son because they did not repent when John came to show them the way of righteousness. The ones that they despised and looked down on were more like the first son because they believed John and repented in response to his preaching. Even now these leaders were still unresponsive.

Jesus relates another parable to them. He told them of a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it to keep out animals, dug a winepress in it to squeeze the juice from the grapes on site and built a watchtower to be used to guard it against fire and theft. The owner was going away on a journey so he rented the vineyard out to farmers to tend it. When the harvest came, he sent his servants to collect what was due him. These tenants showed themselves to be very callous individuals. They beat, killed and stoned these servants until finally the owner decided to send his son hoping that they would be more respectful towards him. But they concluded that if they killed the son, they could claim the vineyard as their own. So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Jesus then asked the elders and priests what would the landowner do to those tenants when he returned? They answered that he would take the vineyard from them, destroy them and rent the vineyard to those who would give him what was his due. Jesus then reminds them of the words of Psalms 118:22 and applies them to himself as the stone that they have rejected, but who has become the corner stone of the New Covenant. He then reminds them of their own words spoken in response to his query to them. The kingdom will be taken from them and given to a people that will produce the fruits that Jehovah is looking for. The chief priests and Pharisees recognized that Jesus was referring to them but they could not do anything to him at that time as the people viewed him as a prophet and they were afraid to take action against him in front of the crowd.

Matthew Chapter 22

Jesus now gives another parable that illustrated the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. He said that the kingdom of heaven was like a king who prepared a marriage feast for his son. He sent out invitations to those who had been invited but they refused to come. He then sent more servants to the invitees urging them to come to the wedding banquet but they still refused to come preferring to spend this time in their own personal pursuits. The servants that the kings sent to the people had been mistreated and some of them were killed. This enraged the king and he sent his army to destroy these people and their cities. He then told his servants that since the banquet was ready and those invited originally were not worthy to come, he wanted them to go to the street corners and invite anyone they found whether good or bad. By this means, the banquet hall was filled with guests. When the king came into the hall to greet the guests, he found a man there who was not wearing the appropriate apparel. The man was unable to explain how he got in without having the right garments so the king had him thrown out of the hall into the darkness outside where he would weep and gnash his teeth.

The nation of Israel showed contempt for Jehovah’s provisions because they did not accept His invitation and so were considered unworthy of joining in the celebration and would be destroyed. Some that did respond to the invitation had not developed the necessary discernment, or works of faith, pictured by the wedding garments, to gain the king’s approval. So they would be thrown out of the feast and would become very angry at those who were able to remain in the feast. Many would be invited but only a few would be chosen.

The Pharisees were still intent on trying to trap Jesus into saying something that would give them reason to hand him over to the governmental authorities. They sent some of their followers to him with a question that they were sure he would not be able to answer without alienating the people or the authorities. Many Jews were chaffing under Roman rule and they hated paying taxes to them. So they asked him if it was proper to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus knew what they were up to so he asked them to show him the coin used to pay the taxes, the denarius. He asked them whose picture was on the coin and they said ‘Caesar’s.’ He then said to them to pay to Caesar what belonged to him and to God what belonged to Him. Jesus’ answer to them was so logical and reasonable and was in harmony with Jewish teachings that they had no response so they left him alone.

Later that same day, the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, came to him also with the intent on trapping him with a question on the Law. They said that Moses taught if a man died without producing children, his brother had to marry the widow and produce a child for his brother. (Deuteronomy 25:5, 6) Now, there are seven brothers and none of them is able to produce a child by the widow while they live. In the resurrection, to which of the brothers will she belong to as his wife since she was married to them all? The parallel account recorded at Luke 20:27-40 helps us to understand Jesus’ answer. Here Jesus shows that those who take part in the resurrection will neither marry nor be given in marriage because they will be like angels in heaven. In Luke’s account, he states that they will no longer die and in this respect they are like the angels. They will be called God’s children because their resurrection would be a heavenly one. Heavenly creatures do not marry as earthly creatures do. These are the benefits of the Christian Covenant for first century believers.

The NIV Bible Commentary, Volume II, page 100, has this interesting point regarding the purpose of the question these men asked Jesus. It says: “Though the case brought by the Sadducees could have happened, it is most likely hypothetical, fabricated to confound Pharisees and others who believed in resurrection. Their question presupposes that resurrection life is an exact counterpart of earthly life; and if so, the resurrected woman must be guilty of incestuous marriages or arbitrarily designated the wife of one of the brothers. And if so, which one? Or - and this is the answer the Sadducees pressed for – the whole notion of resurrection is absurd.”

But Jesus assured these religious leaders that there would most certainly be a resurrection of the dead. He cited to them the words that Jehovah spoke to Moses about Himself in the desert. He told Moses that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Exodus 3:6) Jesus told them that Jehovah was the God of the living, not of the dead. In Jehovah’s eyes these men are as good as alive because He will resurrect them. Thus Jesus showed that these men did not even know the scriptures otherwise they would not have been ignorant about the resurrection and the power of Jehovah. The crowds were astonished at his way of teaching and the Sadducees had no other questions to ask him.

Now then the Pharisees got together and came up with a question that they were sure would stumble Jesus. They had one of their experts in the law test Jesus by asking him which was the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 where the first and greatest commandment is to love Jehovah with ones whole being and the second is to love ones neighbor as he loves himself. He stated that these two commands are the basis for all other scripture. These two commandments are also interrelated to each other because without the first one the second one is not possible and the second one cannot stand on its own without the first one. (1 John 4:20)

While the Pharisees were together, Jesus posed a question to them. He asked them whose son was the Christ? They answered that he was David’s son. He then said that if this is so then why did David, under inspiration, call the Christ his Lord, quoting the scripture at to them? If the Christ is his Lord, then how can the Christ at the same time be David’s son? They had no answer for him and so did not question him again.

Matthew Chapter 23

Jesus now begins to openly denounce the religious leaders before the crowds. He identified the Pharisees as the ones who were teachers of the law and successors of Moses. They also laid claim to being the only ones who understood the Law and therefore the only one qualified to be teachers of it. Jesus told the crowds that because of their positions, they would have to obey them, but they did not have to copy their example as they did not practice what they taught. They burdened the people with numerous rules and regulations that the people had to follow that had nothing to do with Jehovah’s requirements. (Isaiah 28:13)

They made a show of all that they did so that they would be given honor by men. According to the NIV Bible Commentary, page 103, “The phylacteries were small leather boxes that contained four scriptural texts (Ex 13:2-10,11-16; Dt 6:4-9; 11:13-21) and were worn on the arm or tied to the forehead. To show their piety to the world, these leaders made large, showy phylacteries. The same ostentation affected the length of tassels, worn by all Jews (including Jesus, 9:20; 14:36) on the corners of the outer garment (cf. Nu 15:37-41; Dt 22:12).” They took the best seats at banquets and in the synagogue and they loved to be called ‘rabbi’ or teacher. Jesus warned his disciples that they were not to be like these men but were to take the role of a servant and Jehovah would exalt them.

Jesus pronounced seven woes of judgment on the religious leaders because of their failure to give proper leadership to the people. First, they are condemned for not being interested in entering the kingdom because they refuse to recognize Jesus and then standing in the way of others who were trying to enter. If any of the people were beginning to recognize Jesus as the messiah, these men would go out of their way to make Jesus look bad in front of them. (9:33, 34; 11:19; 12:23, 24) Jesus condemned them for going out and making converts to Judaism and then not turning their attention to the Law but to their own brand of teaching. This would mean that they too would not accept Jesus as Jehovah’s representative thus putting them on the road to destruction.

Jesus condemned these men for making a mockery of oath taking. Jesus simplified the matter in the sermon on the mountain (Matthew 5:34-36) where he said that all a person needed to do was to let his ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and his ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ They were condemned because they gave too much attention to the minor things of the law and missed out on the more important things such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The expression ‘straining the gnat and swallowing the camel’ is very appropriate to their actions. Something as large as a camel can get by them but they expend a large amount of effort keeping out something as tiny as a gnat.

Jesus condemned them for overlooking the need to make changes in their personalities, to rid themselves of the greed and self-indulgence that they exhibited. Their main concern was with how people saw them outwardly. In verse 5, Jesus said that ‘everything they do is done for men to see.’ They were like whitewashed tombs that looked good on the outside but inside was filled with the bones of dead men. They, like these tombs, looked clean on the outside, but inside they were full of wickedness and hypocrisy.

The Pharisees believed that they could distance themselves from their forefathers, who were guilty of killing the prophets, by building monuments to them and saying that if they had lived during the days of the prophets, they would not have acted in the same way as they did. But Jesus told them that simply admitting that they were descendants of these men was an admission that they would do the same thing as they did. They were certainly showing the same characteristics as their forefathers by the way that they were treating him. Jesus told them that he would send prophets, wise men, and teachers to them and they would treat them just as their forefather had done. In this way, they would be charged with the blood of all the prophets beginning with Abel down to Zechariah and Jehovah would be justified in bringing His wrath upon them.

In Matthew’s account, Zechariah is said to be the son of Berekiah. Many scholars believe that this is a scribal error because this Zechariah, who wrote the bible book that bears his name, was not been killed by the Jews. (Zechariah 1:1) It more likely the one who was the son of the high priest, Jehoiada, who Joash, king of Judah, put to death in the courtyard of the temple. (2 Chronicles 24:21, 22) Since the books of Chronicles were the last books in the Hebrew Canon, Jesus would have been including the first prophet and the last one mentioned in the scriptures that they used.

In his concluding words in this chapter, Jesus said that Jerusalem was the place where the prophets and all those sent to her were killed. As the capital city of the nation, it represented the nation as a whole. His desire was that he would have been able to offer shelter to all of her people but they did not want this. They instead chose to cling to the Pharisaical teachers putting themselves in opposition to their God, Jehovah. The final judgment is pronounced; the temple will be left to them in a desolated condition, Jehovah will not be there. (Jeremiah 12:7) Jesus then quotes Psalms 118:26 to them and tells them that until they recognize the one that Jehovah will send to them at a future time, he would have nothing else to do with them.

Matthew Chapter 24

Jesus was on his way out of the temple, when his disciples drew his attention to the buildings of the temple. The temple was the focal point of the nation. Jesus told them “Do you not see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down”. The temple would at a future time be utterly destroyed, and Jesus wanted them to understand this.

While sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and asked him a question. It is interesting to note that they connected the destruction of the temple, his second coming and the end of the Jewish system of things together in their question to him. They asked “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

He told them to watch out for false christs who will come on the basis of his name, and will mislead many. We know that the word Christ means “anointed one”. In our time, we will see many who will come on the basis of the Christian Covenant and will say “I am anointed” and will mislead many. Then Jesus mentions that they would hear of wars and reports of wars, and but they were not to be terrified, for these things must take place, but the end of the Jewish system of things was still in the future.

His next words can be applied to our modern day where he mentions the fact that nation would rise against nation and kingdoms against kingdoms; there would be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. This is indicative of the ride of the horsemen of the apocalypse, with a major war imminent, WW III. All these things are but a beginning of pangs of distress or "birth pangs."

During this period of "birth pangs," there would be much tribulation for God’s people. They would be delivered up, they would be objects of hatred by all the nations on account of Jesus’ name, and they would even be fighting among themselves, betraying one another and hating one another. There would be many false prophets arising and misleading many. Because of the increasing lawlessness, their love, agape, would cool off. The use of the Greek word, agape, shows that this is applicable to God’s own people, as they are the only ones that can reflect this type of love, and not the world in general. This lawlessness is of a religious nature as it is a defying of God’s laws and not mankind’s laws. So there will be much trouble for God’s people. But the one that has endured until the end is the one that will be saved.

Now Jesus states that the good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. This statement will be fulfilled by the YORWW Congregation that will have the responsibility to preach the good news of the kingdom that is described in Daniel 2:44. This will be an earthly kingdom and all the nations will hear this message before Jehovah brings an end to His modern-day people.

Conditions that will exist before the great tribulation are now being described in some detail. The disgusting thing that causes desolation will be found standing in a holy place. When those with discernment saw this they should begin fleeing to a place of safety. (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) The event that made fleeing possible was the revealing of the Watchtower Society as a NGO in association with the UN. This revelation signaled the fall of Babylon the Great and the way was now open to flee. At that time, discerning ones became aware that this was a devastating situation for God’s people and they took steps to seek out the truth. They wanted to know and understand how Jehovah would work out His purposes in connection with His people. They did not at that time sever their relationship with this organization, but used the time wisely to discover ‘living waters’ in associated with the YORWW Congregation. Here they began to understand the meaning of the war described in Daniel 10:1 and its significance, so that they would take the appropriate steps when the war occurred.

Once they saw the war, there would be a great sense of urgency created to flee to a place of safety. They would know that they would not have time to go into their houses to bring any goods out, or even to pick up a garment. The Great Tribulation will be hard on the heels of this war bringing great distress to all caught in it. This will be a very difficult time for the pregnant woman and those nursing babies, the elderly and others who have special circumstances. The distress that will be experienced at this time will be unlike anything that has ever occurred and will not be repeated and if those days were not cut short, no flesh would be saved but on account of the chosen ones, those days will be cut short.

For those caught up in the Great Tribulation, there will be much confusion. There will be many saying ‘look, here is the Christ or there is the Christ,’ but these ones will not have any answers. The warning is not to follow them because false Christs and false prophets will arise and give great signs and wonders. Satan is behind the activity of these false christs because it is his intent to mislead all including the chosen ones. There will be many others who will claim that they know where the son of man can be found. They are not to be believed either for just as the lightning comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, his coming will be so bright that everyone will see it.

After the Great Tribulation on modern-day Israel is finished, the leaders of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses will have no explanation for what has happened to God's people. It will be as though the "sun was darkened, the moon did not give its light, the stars had all fallen from heaven and the powers of the heavens were shaken. This corresponds to what is described in Rev. 6:12-17 where the destruction of Babylon the Great is foretold.

The sign of the Son of man is now visible for all the world to see. (Revelation 14:14-16) The tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send forth his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to their other. The kingdom of the son of man is now ready to take over the rulership of the entire earth. (Revelation 11:15; Psalms 2:2; Daniel 7:13, 14) Every one of earth’s inhabitants will now have to take a stand either for or against this kingdom because they will have been given all the signs that they need to make the right decision.

Beginning in verse 36, Jesus’ discussion reverts back to events that he spoke of at the beginning of his discourse. He now describes how the kingdom over Israel comes into power, something that he had not initially said anything about. In Luke 17:20, 21, he describes this kingdom as coming without any advance notice or observable signs so that people could point to it and say ‘here it is or there it is.’ This kingdom is different than the one described in verses 30 and 31 which is accompanied by signs.

Therefore, he stresses the need for God’s servants to be on the watch because they would not know the day or hour. Just as the flood came suddenly upon the people in Noah’s day as they were busy with their everyday lives, so would the kingdom of the ‘son of man’ occur. Many of God’s servants will, at this time, be so involved or engrossed in their everyday lives that this kingdom will slip upon them. Because of not being on the watch they would find themselves abandoned or left out.

Jesus uses a parable to stress the importance of staying on the watch. This parable deals with one aspect of this kingdom over Israel that occurs during and after the great tribulation. The master of a house put one of his servants in charge of his household to feed them their food at the proper time. If the master returns and finds this servant carrying out his duties, then he will be placed over all of his belongings. During the time that the master is away, a situation develops because the master does not return at the time his servants expect him to; he is delayed. A wicked slave arises who mistreats his master’s servants and begins to associate with drunkards. The master will return on a day that he is not expected and will take action against this slave throwing him out of his house where he will weep and gnash his teeth. The parable recorded at Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 is describing this same situation.

Matthew Chapter 25

In Jesus’ parable of the faithful and discreet slave, he mentions a period of time when his servants would say that their master was delaying. The parable of the Ten virgins takes up this theme. These virgins took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom so that they could take part in the possession. Five of these virgins are called foolish because when they came out to meet the bridegroom, they did not bring any extra oil with them for their lamps and those that are called wise did do so. Though no one could have predicted it, extra oil would be necessary because the bridegroom was delayed in coming and eventually all ten virgins fell asleep. This represented an undetermined period of inactivity.

According to the NIV footnote for verse 1, the torches that these virgins carried “consisted of a long pole with oil-drenched rags at the top. Small clay lamps would have been of little use in an outdoor procession.”

When the cry went out at midnight that the bridegroom was coming, all ten virgins woke up. When they trimmed their lamps, the five foolish ones noticed that they did not have sufficient oil to keep their lamps lit. They asked to share the extra oil that the other five had but they refused stating that they might not have enough to last until they arrived at their destination. The five foolish virgins now have to go to the merchants who sell oil and buy some from them. This oil then represents something that cannot be shared or transferred to others.

While they are gone, the bridegroom comes and the five wise virgins go into the banquet hall and the door is locked. When the others came later asking for the door to be opened to them, they were refused entrance because the doorkeeper does not recognize them. Those who do not make sufficient spiritual preparation that would enable them to stay on track will find that they will miss out on many blessings. The moral of this parable is that one must keep on the watch because he does not know when the master will arrive.

Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a man who calls his servants to him and turns over his property to them. He distributes his property in harmony with the abilities of each servant, that is, he gives one of them five talents of money, another gets two talents of money and another one only one talent. He then goes on a long journey. The one with five talents and the one with two talents of money are both able to double their master’s money but the one with the one talent digs a hole in the ground and buries it. The first two servants knew that they had been given a great responsibility so they immediately began to put their master’s money to good use so that it would grow. The third servant either did not want to work or he was afraid of taking a risk and losing the money so he hid it.

When the master returned and settled accounts with his servants, he praised the two servants who had used his money to earn more money. He also gave them increased responsibilities and they were to enter into the joy of their master. But he condemns the servant who did not increase his money as being wicked and lazy. This servant had also accused him of being a harsh man who exploited others. His master told him that if he believed that he was greedy then he should have taken his money to the bankers where he could at least have earned interest on his money. So he took the talent away from him and gave it to the one who had ten talents. What he had was now taken away from him and he was put out of the master’s house into the darkness where he would weep and gnash his teeth because of the situation that he allowed himself to get into.

The parallel account recorded at Luke 19:12-27 is different from this account in that the amount of the property distributed by the master is different. In Matthew’s account, the servants are given talents of money, while in Luke’s account, they are given minas. A talent is worth 6,000 denarii, an amount that would take a worker twenty years to earn while a mina equals a little more than three months wages for a worker. The parable in Luke’s account was fulfilled in the first century while the one recorded in Matthew will have a modern-day fulfillment.

The account that Jesus now relates is not considered a parable in the strictest sense, but deals with an event that will occur after the Great Tribulation has ended. The son of man will sit on his throne with all of his angels gathered around him and all the nations will be gathered before him. These nations are the ones that come out of the Great Tribulation so their judgment will be based upon what they did during the Great Tribulation. He will then separate them as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The criterion for the judgment is how these ones have treated him. Those who are judged to be sheep are not aware of having done anything to help the king personally so they ask when did they render these services to him. He tells them that they had acted in a helpful manner towards those who are his brothers and he considers it as having been done to him. Because they came to the aid of his brothers, the king tells them that they will inherit the kingdom. Those who did not render help to his brothers are called goats and they will go into eternal punishment.

Matthew Chapter 26

The Passover was now two days away and Jesus reminded his disciples that he would at this time be handed over to the religious leaders who would have him killed. At this same time the leaders of the people had assembled in the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas, and were plotting how they could arrest Jesus and kill him. They did not want to do anything during the festival because of what the people might do.

Jesus is in the home of Simon the Leper in Bethany and a woman brings a vial of expensive oil and pours it on his head. His disciples were upset because they thought that it should have sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus told them what the woman had done was in preparation for his burial and would be remembered for a long time. Judas at this time went to the chief priest and offered to betray Jesus to them for a price. They agreed to give him thirty silver coins, which is equivalent to 120 denarii. A denarius was the wages for a day’s work. (Zechariah 11:12)

Jesus’ disciples asked him where did he want them to prepare the Passover feast. He told them where to go and they went and made the preparations. While reclining at the table, he told them that one of them would betray him. They were all dismayed and each of them asked if it were either of them. Jesus said that it would be the one who dipped his hand in the bowl with him. The NIV footnote on verse 23 says this: “In that culture, as among Arabs today, to eat with a person was tantamount to saying, ‘I am your friend and will not hurt you.’ This fact made Judas’s deed all the more despicable.” Although Jesus would have to die as the scriptures foretold, yet for the one that betrays him, it would have been better if he had never been born. Jesus dismissed Judas from the meal after this. (John 13:27)

After Judas left, Jesus took some bread, gave thanks, then broke it and gave it to his disciples. He told them to eat it as it represented his body. Then he took a cup of wine, gave thanks and passed it around among them, and told them to drink from it as it represented the blood of the covenant that is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins. They completed the meal, sang a hymn believed to be from a portion of the Hallel Psalms (Psalms 133-118) and went out to the Mount of Olives.

On the way there, Jesus told his disciples that they would that night all fall away on account of him in harmony with the scripture at Zechariah 13:7. Peter vehemently denied that he would ever do this and Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed, he would deny him three times that night. None of them believed that they could ever do this. They went to a place called Gethsemane and Jesus had them to sit down and wait while he went a further distance away to pray. He took Peter, James and John with him asking them to keep watch with him. He then moved a distance from them and prayed to Jehovah. He was emotionally distressed and three times he asked if it was possible that he did not have to drink from this cup then He should take it away but only if it was in harmony with His will. When he returned to his disciples, he found them asleep. So he asked them if they did not realize that his betrayal was at hand. In his prayer, Jesus' concerns revolved around the fact that he knew the manner of his death would bring reproach upon his Father's Name and had nothing to do with himself personally.

Before he finished speaking to them, Judas came with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs. He came up to him and kissed him to signal that he was the one to be arrested. The men came forward and arrested Jesus but Peter took out a sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus told him to put his sword away because he could ask his Father and He would send twelve legions of angels to protect him but if he did this, the scriptures would not be fulfilled concerning his manner of death. At this time his disciples all left him and fled.

Jesus was taken before Caiaphas, the high priest and the 70 member Sanhedrin where many false witnesses testified against him but they were not able to get anything substantial against him. Two men came forward and testified that they had heard Jesus say that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. When the high priest tried to get him to answer the charges, Jesus remained silent. The high priest then demanded that, under oath before the living God, Jesus should tell them if he was the Christ, the son of God. Jesus was now legally bound to give them an answer to their question. He told them that it was as they had said. But they would from that time onward see him "sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." This was the evidence that they were looking for as Jesus had admitted to blasphemy so they condemned him to death.

Peter, who had followed behind them as they took Jesus to the high priest, was sitting in the courtyard with the soldiers when a servant girl noticed him and said that she had seen him with Jesus. Peter denied it. Two other people said that they recognized him as having been with Jesus but he denied it each time. After the third denial, a rooster crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him. One can only imagine the chagrin that Peter felt at this time.

Matthew Chapter 27

That morning, the chief priests and the older men of the people held a consultation or formal meeting in which they made a final decision to put Jesus to death. They bound Jesus and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. Pilate hated Jews, especially the Jewish leaders, and now the Jewish leaders from the Sanhedrin were forcing this situation upon him.

Judas, the one who betrayed him, knew that he had been condemned and he felt remorse, but that remorse was not the same as repentance. He tried to give the thirty silver pieces back to the chief priests and older men but they refused it. So he threw the silver pieces into the temple and went off and hung himself. Acts 1:18, 19 adds some details not included in Matthew’s account about his death.

The chief priests would not put the silver pieces into the sacred treasury because they said that it was blood money. They decided to use it buy the potter’s field where they would bury strangers. Therefore, that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this very day. The quote in verses 9 and 10 are attributed to Jeremiah but it is actually taken from Zechariah 11:12, 13.

The Coffman New Testament Commentary has this to say of verses 9, 10:

“’Jeremiah’ was the name of a larger grouping of the Hebrew Scriptures which contained both Jeremiah and Zechariah, along with other books including all the minor prophets. Thus, Matthew is guilty of no error in the use of the term "Jeremiah." An equivalent case today would be a quotation credited to "Romans" or to the "New Testament." Some commentators believe that Matthew quoted from some of the traditional sayings of Jeremiah, since it is not said that Jeremiah wrote the saying but that he spoke it. The quotation, exhibiting several variations from the words in Zechariah, may then be understood either as an exact quotation from Jeremiah, now lost, or a paraphrase of Zechariah. In any case, the objection is not important.”

Jesus now stood before Pilate and he put the question to him: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “You yourself say it.” But when the chief priests and older men had accused him, he gave no answer. Pilate asked him if he was aware of how many things they are testifying against him. Still Jesus did not answer him, not a word, so that Pilate wondered very much. In this manner, he fulfilled Isaiah 53:7.

Each year at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the governor would release a Jewish prisoner, one that had not yet been condemned or one that was condemned already, whichever the crowd decided. At this time, they were holding Barabbas, who was a notorious robber. Two others were also to be killed on that day. So, Pilate asked the crowd when they were gathered together, who did they want him to release, Barabbas or Jesus, the so-called Christ. He knew that he could use that amnesty custom to encourage the crowd to free Jesus and overturn the decision of the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus for he was aware that it was out of envy they had handed him over.

Pilate’s wife had earlier urged him not to have anything to do with Jesus’ death because of a dream that she had regarding him that had caused her much suffering. The chief priests and older men persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to have Jesus destroyed. So, Pilate asked them “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said Barabbas. Pilate then asked them “What, then, shall I do with Jesus the so-called Christ?” They all said “Let him be impaled!” He asked them why, what bad thing did he do? They still cried out all the more, “Let him be impaled!”

Pilate was aware that his attempt was doing no good and there was an uproar beginning, so he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying: “I am innocent of the blood of this man. You yourselves must see to it.” Now, this was not a Roman custom but a Jewish custom, which Pilate had picked up from observing the Jews. He now uses this same custom out of contempt for them, and wants them to know that they are the ones that will have to bear the guilt of this man’s death, not him. They agreed, saying “His blood come upon us and upon our children.” Then Pilate released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be impaled. “Among the Jews scourging was limited to 40 lashes (Deut 25:3; cf. 2 Cor 11:24), but the Romans were restricted by nothing other then their strength and whim. The whip was the dreaded flagellum, made by plaiting pieces of bone or lead into the leather thongs. The victim was stripped and tied to a post. Severe flogging not only reduced the flesh to bloody pulp but could open up the body until the bones were visible and the entrails exposed.” (Expository Bible Commentary, Volume 8, page 572) Flogging was used to weaken the prisoner before impaling him.

The soldiers then took Jesus into the governor’s palace and gathered the whole body of troops together. They disrobed him, draped him with a scarlet cloak, made a crown out of thorns and put it on his head and a reed in his right hand. They kneeled before him and made fun of him, mocking him. They said “Good day, you King of the Jews!” They spit upon him and took the reed and began hitting him upon his head. Finally after they were finished making fun of him, they took the cloak off and put his outer garments on him and led him off for impaling.

As they were coming upon the city gates, Jesus must have been getting weak and unable to carry the stake as he had had no rest since the night before he was arrested, as the soldiers forced a native of Cyrene named Simon to assume the load of the torture stake. They came to a place called Golgotha, located on a hill outside the city. They gave Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink, but after tasting it, Jesus refused to drink it as he did not want to be under the influence of any drugs.

Usually the Romans impaled their victims naked, but they may have allowed Jesus to wear a loin cloth in deference to Jewish tradition but this cannot be stated with any certainty. They cast lots for his clothing. (Psalms 22:18) Soldiers were left there to prevent any chance of rescue. The charge against Jesus was written in white letters on the stake that stated: “King of the Jews.” Two robbers were impaled alongside him fulfilling Isaiah 53:12.

Those passing by mocked him by hurling insults. They said if you are the son of God, let’s see you save yourself, and other such words. (Psalms 22:7, 8) Even the two men alongside him began reproaching him although Luke 23:39-43 brings out that one of them did put faith in him.

Between the sixth hour and the ninth hour, darkness settled over the land. Amos 8:9 says Jehovah will cause the sun to go down at high noon. About the ninth hour, Jesus quotes the scripture at Psalm 22:1. Many thought he was calling for Elijah. He was offered wine vinegar to drink in fulfillment of Psalms 69:21.

At the moment of his death the two temple curtains ripped. The Expositors Bible Commentary, Volume 8, page 580 says of this: “There were two temple curtains, one dividing the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place and the other separating the Holy Place from the court. Tearing the latter would be more public, but tearing the inner veil could hardly be hushed up.” The tearing of the curtains and the earthquake happened at the same time. The army officer and those with him became very afraid because of the things they saw and they said that certainly this was God’s son.

A rich man from Arimathea named Joseph asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Pilate commanded it be given over. Joseph took the body and wrapped it up in clean fine linen. He laid it in his new memorial tomb that he had quarried in the rock mass, rolled a big stone in front of the tomb and left. The manner of Jesus’ burial was foretold at Isaiah 53:9.

Because Jesus had stated that he would rise after three days, the Jewish leaders thought that the disciples would come and take the body and claim that he had been raised up. So they had the tomb secured by placing soldiers at the tomb.

Matthew Chapter 28

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and Mary went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. An angel had come and rolled back the stone and the guards were in shock at seeing him. When the women came to the tomb the angel told them that Jesus was not there as he had been resurrected. He told them that they could come and see where he had lain. Then they were to go and tell the disciples that he had been resurrected. While they were on their way, Jesus met them and he told them to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee.

The soldiers reported what had happened at the tomb and the chief priests, who did not believe in the resurrection, paid them a large sum of money to say that his disciples had come during the night and had stolen his body while they were asleep. They agreed to say this and this story circulated among the Jews for a long time.

When Jesus met his disciples in Galilee, he told them that he has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He is now commissioning them to go to all the nations to find disciples from among them, baptizing these in the name of the Father, son and holy spirit. They are to teach them everything that he had taught them and he would be with them until the end of the age, that is, the Jewish Age. Their sphere of disciple-making work was now to be expanded to include both Jews and Gentiles

***©2005 by YORWW Congregation

Mark Chapter 1

John Mark was a disciple of Jesus, though not one of the twelve apostles and was the writer of the book that bears his name. His writing style was different than Matthew’s in that he wrote more of what Jesus did than what he said. His mother’s home in Jerusalem was the meeting place for many of Jesus’ disciples. (Acts 12:12) He accompanied Paul and Barnabas, who was his cousin, on many of their missionary tours. (Acts 12:25; 13:3; 2 Timothy 4:11) He also had a close relationship with Peter and it is likely that he received his information on the early ministry of Jesus and John from him. (1 Peter 5:13; 1 John 2:1, 7)

Mark begins his writings by quoting Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, applying them to the work that John the Baptist was doing. John wore an outer garment of hair that was girded with a belt. His diet consisted of honey and locusts. He preached and baptized in the wilderness and all the people came out to him to be baptized in repentance of their sins against the Law. In his message he drew attention to Jesus and the work he would do which would be a continuation of his work. (Matthew 3:1-11)

Jesus came to him to be baptized and after he came out of the water, John saw the heavens open up and God’s spirit in the form of a dove alight on Jesus. He heard a voice say, ‘You are my son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.” Jesus then went into the wilderness where he stayed for forty days during which time Satan tempted him. The angels ministered to him and protected him from wild animals. (Matthew 3:13- 4:11)

After John was imprisoned, Jesus began to preach this message, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” He begins to pick his disciples. He was walking near the Sea of Galilee where he saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing. He told them to follow him and he would make them fishers of men. Further along he saw James and John, sons of Zebedee, also fishing. He called them to follow him and they did. (Matthew 4:12-22)

They went to Capernaum and Jesus went into the synagogue and began teaching there. The people could see the differences between the way Jesus taught and the way their scribes taught. Jesus’ authority came from God but the scribes had to quote other men to back up what they said. A man possessed of a demon cried out in the synagogue saying that he knew who Jesus was. But Jesus told it to be quiet and to come out of the man. When it did, the people were so amazed that they wondered who Jesus could be because the demons obeyed him. This news spread very quickly through out Galilee.

They then went to the home of Simon and Andrew and found that Simon’s mother was ill and Jesus healed her. Later he healed many others of various sicknesses and drove out demons but he would not allow them to speak because they knew who he was. Early the next morning, Jesus went to a lonely place to pray but his disciples found him. He told them that he needed to go to other villages so that he could preach there as this is why he had come. So they went throughout the whole region of Galilee preaching in the synagogues and healing those in need. (Matthew 8:14-17) He healed a man with leprosy and told him to go to the priest and offer the sacrifices necessary in accordance with the Law for his cleansing. He was not to tell anyone what had happened to him but of course he could not keep it quiet. (Matthew 8:2-4)

Mark Chapter 2

Jesus returned to his home in Capernaum and many gathered in the house where he was staying filling up the entire room. Four men brought a paralytic to Jesus to be healed but they had to go up on the roof, make a hole in it and lower the man into the room. Because of the faith they were showing, Jesus told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. The scribes that were listening thought Jesus was blaspheming because they reasoned that only God could forgive sins. Their teachings did not allow even for the Messiah to be able to forgive sins. Jesus knowing their thoughts pointed out to them that there was no difference between forgiving sins and healing the body therefore letting them know in no uncertain terms that he had the authority to forgive sins. He told the man to pick up his mat and go home. All who saw this gave praise to God. (Matthew 9:2-8)

As Jesus walked along, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus siting at the tax collector’s booth and he told him to come and be his follower and he did so. Later when he was dining at Levi’s house along with his disciples and others, the Pharisees used this opportunity to chide Jesus about the kind of people he associated with. According to the NIV Bible Commentary, page 148, “Sinners denotes those people who refused to follow the Mosaic Law as interpreted by the Pharisees.” Jesus quickly corrected them in their thinking as to why he had come. Since the healthy did not need a physician, he had come to call sinners, not the righteous. (Matthew 9:9-13)

John’s disciples came to Jesus asking why his disciples did not observe the regular fasts. Jesus answered that for them this was a joyous time as he, the bridegroom, was with them. When he was taken away from them, then they would fast. This was obviously a new idea for these men so he gave them a parable to illustrate his point. One would not use a patch made of new material to patch an old garment because of the differences in the two material nor would one put new in old wineskins that had been stretched to their limit. He was emphasizing that his teachings were new and would not fit into the same mold as the current Jewish teachings. (Matthew 9:14-17)

On the Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were passing through a grain field and they picked some heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees saw them doing this and they asked Jesus why did his disciples break the Sabbath. Jesus reminded them that others had done unlawful things, such as David eating the consecrated bread, but they did not condemn him. He told them that they had made the Sabbath a law unto itself and Jehovah had not intended it that way. Anyway he was the one who knew what was and was not lawful to do on the Sabbath as he was lord of the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-8)

Mark Chapter 3

Jesus and his disciples entered the synagogue where there was a man with a withered hand and the Pharisees were watching him closely to see if Jesus would heal this man on the Sabbath. He anticipated them and asked them if it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. They did not answer so he proceeded to heal the man. Now the Pharisees knew that they had to do something about Jesus. People now began coming to him from all over Judea because they had heard about him. (Matthew 12:9-16)

Jesus now calls twelve of his disciples to him and appoints them as apostles. He would send them out to preach and he would give them authority over the demons. Four of them were fishermen and one a tax collector. Not much information is given about the occupation of the others. They were Simon, the one Jesus called Peter, Andrew, his brother, James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were also called ‘sons of thunder’ which may have described their dispositions. Then there was Philip, Bartholomew, which means, son of Talmai, and is not a personal name, Levi, or Matthew, Thomas, son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus or Judas, son of James, Simon called the Zealot and Judas whose name Iscariot means ‘the man from the place called Karioth.’

Mark mentions another point not considered by Matthew. When Jesus’ family heard about what he was doing, they were intent on taking him home because they thought he had lost his mind. Jesus now also has to contend with the Pharisees accusing him of driving out demons in the name of Beelzebub. He tells them that if this is true then Satan is working against himself, his house is divided and so will not stand. Jesus shows that he is able to defeat Satan because he can carry off his possessions. But the important thing is that when these men attribute the workings of God’s spirit to Satan, they are committing a sin that will never be forgiven them. When Jesus’ family arrived, they sent someone in the house to call him out. When he was told that they were outside wanting to see him, he asked ‘Who is my mother and my brother?’ Turning to the crowd he said that those who were doing the will of his Father were his mother, brother and sister. His family was not at that time exercising faith in him.

Mark Chapter 4

Because of the large crowd following him, Jesus decided to get into a boat on the lake so the he could teach them. This chapter is one of the two chapters that Mark gives details of what Jesus taught. Here Mark repeats the parable of the sower who scattered seed in that landed on various types of soils and the resultant growth in these areas. He then explained the meaning of this parable to his disciples. (Matthew 13:1-15, 18-23)

Many have questioned why Jesus got in a boat out on the water in order to speak to the crowd. Experiments have been carried out and men have learned why the crowds would have been able to hear Jesus from the water. One group discovered that “Among several coves near Capernaum, there is one that has recently been found to have just such sound characteristics of a natural amphitheater. Acoustical tests have been carried out on this site to show that ‘a great multitude’ of some five thousand to seven thousand people, assembling here, could indeed have both seen and clearly heard a person speaking from a boat located at a spot near the cove’s center.” See w88 6/15 pp.24-26, How Did the Crowds Hear Jesus?

Mark now related two parables that are not found in Matthew’s account. He tells them that a lamp is not lit so that it can be hid under a bowl or a bed. That which has been hid will be revealed and that which is concealed will be brought into the open. Keen listening ability will be needed to understand what he was saying. This parable may have reference to Jesus’ teachings, which at this time were not well known, but would eventually be made known to a much wider audience.

Jesus prefaces this next parable with the statement that a man should be careful of what he hears or how he listens because his spiritual growth will be affected. This parable compares the kingdom of heaven to a man who sows seed. As time passes, the seed sprouts and grows though just how the man does not know. It eventually produces the grain. As soon as it is ready, the man puts the sickle in and harvests it. Jesus highlights the need for all to be good listeners.

Mark now repeats the parable of the mustard seed recorded in Matthew 13:31, 32. Mark states that Jesus always spoke to the crowds using parables but when alone with his disciples, he would explain the meaning to them. Later that evening, Jesus and his disciples were in a boat going to the other side of a lake. A squall came up and the disciples were afraid that the boat would be overturned. As Jesus was asleep, they woke him up and said that they were about to drown. Jesus quieted the waves and the wind with a word and spoke to the men about the lack of faith. This incident served to show them that they really have no idea of who Jesus really was. (Matthew 8:23-27)

Mark Chapter 5

Jesus and his disciples leave the boat in the region of the Gerasenes. He encounters a demon possessed man that lived among the tombs. He was so strong that chains and irons could not hold him. When he saw Jesus he ran to him and begged him not to torture him. When Jesus asked him what his name was, he said ‘Legion’ because there were many of them. This information is not included in Matthew’s account. These demons did not want to leave that particular area so they asked Jesus if he would send them into a herd of pigs grazing nearby. He gave them permission to do so and as soon as they did, the herd rushed over the precipice and drowned in the lake. When the people heard what had happened, instead of rejoicing over the man who was now free of the demons, they came to Jesus and asked him to leave their region. Mark adds that the man wanted to go with Jesus but he would not allow it. Instead he told him to go and tell his family what Jehovah had done for him, how He had been merciful to him. The man spread the news through out the Decapolis. According to Harper’s Dictionary of the Bible, The Decapolis “was a federation of ten cities of Hellenistic culture in an area east of Samaria and Galilee.”

Mark now recounts the time that a man named Jairus came to him asking him to come and save his daughter who was dying. As they were traveling to his home, a crowd was following them. Among them was a woman who had a flow of blood and had been suffering with it for twelve years. She thought that if she could just touch Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. She did so and Jesus recognized that power had gone from him. He asked the crowd who had touched his clothes and this woman came forward and told him what she had done. He told her that her faith had healed her.

As he approached the man’s home someone told them that the girl had died and that he need not bother Jesus any longer. When Jesus entered the house he said to the mourners that the girl was only asleep to which they laughed at him. He had them all removed and he went to where the child was, took her by the hand and spoke to her in Aramaic, saying to her, ‘get up.’ Mark is the only writer who preserved this original statement. When she got up he told them to give her something to eat and they were not to tell anyone what had happened. (Matthew 9:18-26)


NOTE: The Bible translations used in this commentary are: the New International Version (NIV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

***©2005 by YORWW Congregation