Daily Lesson for Monday 26th of August 2024

In the morning, coming from Bethany, only about two miles (a little more than three kilometers) from Jerusalem, Jesus was hungry. Seeing a fig tree in leaf, He went to it to find perhaps some early fruit. This action would not be considered stealing since according to Old Testament law, one could eat food from a neighbor’s field or orchard to assuage hunger (Leviticus 19:9, Leviticus 23:22, Deuteronomy 23:25). But He found no fruit and said to the tree, “ ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ ” (Mark 11:14, ESV). It was a very strange and atypical action for Jesus, but what follows right after becomes even more striking.

What happens next likely occurs in the Court of the Gentiles, where selling of sacrifices took place (recently begun by Caiaphas). Jesus clears away the sellers from the courts so that quiet worship may return. His action is a direct affront to those in charge of the temple system.

Jesus links two Old Testament passages as a scathing rebuke of the unholy traffic. He insists the temple is to be a house of prayer for all people (Isaiah 56:7), emphatically including the Gentiles. Then He says the leaders have made the temple a den of robbers (Jeremiah 7:11). Then, at the end of this amazing day, Jesus leaves the city with His disciples (Mark 11:19).

The next morning, going back to the city (see Mark 11:20-26), the disciples are astonished to see the fig tree withered from the roots. Jesus makes a lesson about prayer and forgiveness in His explanation of what has happened. What does all this mean?

These two stories are the fourth sandwich story in Mark (see lesson 3). In such stories, dramatized irony occurs with parallel characters doing opposite actions or opposite characters doing parallel actions. In this story the fig tree and the temple stand in parallel. Jesus curses the tree but cleanses the temple, opposite actions. But the irony is that the religious leaders will now plot to kill Jesus, and that action will spell the end of the significance of the temple services, which were fulfilled in Jesus.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-09-a-cursed-tree-and-a-cleansed-temple/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 25th of August 2024

Half of this story involves Jesus sending two disciples to a nearby village to retrieve a donkey for Him to ride on into Jerusalem. Why is so much time spent on this account?

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The answer is twofold. First, it demonstrates Jesus’ prophetic powers, enhancing the dignity of His arrival and linking it to the will of God. Second, this aspect of the story links to Zechariah 9:9-10, which speaks of the king as riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. It is reminiscent of the entry of Solomon into Jerusalem on a donkey (1 Kings 1:32-48), when Adonijah tried to usurp the throne, and David commanded that Solomon be immediately crowned.

“Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel. This prophecy is now to be fulfilled. He who has so long refused royal honors now comes to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David’s throne.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 569.

Jerusalem is located in a hilly region at an elevation of about 2,400 feet (about 740 meters). In Jesus’ day its population was perhaps 40,000–50,000, but this swelled at Passover. The city covered only about 250 acres, but the temple mount covered about 37 of those acres. The beautiful temple complex dominated the city.

Jesus entered from the east, descending the Mount of Olives and likely entering through the Golden Gate onto the Temple Mount (a gate now bricked shut). The entire city was stirred by His entry, everyone recognizing the significance of His symbolic action. The crowd that accompanied Jesus shouted “hosanna,” a term originally meaning “save now” but eventually coming to mean “praise to God.”

The time for secrecy, which Jesus had insisted throughout most of Mark, has passed. Now Jesus openly enters Jerusalem using a well-known royal symbolic action. He enters the temple, but because it is late in the day, He simply looks around and then retires with the twelve disciples to Bethany. What could have turned into a riot or revolt instead ends with Him quietly retiring. But the next day will be different.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-09-the-triumphal-entry/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath Afternoon 24th of August 2024

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study

Mark 11:1-33; 1 Kings 1:32-48; Zechariah 9:9-10; Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11; Mark 12:1-34.

Memory Text:

“ ‘And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses’ ” (Mark 11:25, NKJV).

A series of five controversies between Jesus and the religious leaders are recorded in Mark 2:1-28 and 3 (see lesson 3). In this week’s lesson, when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, He has a series of six controversies with the religious leaders. The two sets of controversies are like bookends of His earthly ministry. Each set deals with important issues in the Christian life. Jesus’ instructions, even in these polemical situations, help guide believers both in fundamental issues of faith and in practical issues of everyday experience.

The religious leaders come to confront, confound, and defeat Jesus, but they never succeed. Part of this week’s lesson will include analyzing just what it is that brings people into opposition to God and considering what Christians can do to break through prejudice and speak to the hearts of those resisting the Spirit’s call.

In Mark 11:1-33, Jesus’ ministry will be in Jerusalem for Passover (March to April). Mark 11:1-33; Mark 12:1-44; Mark 13:1-37; Mark 14:1-72; Mark 15:1-47; Mark 16:1-20 covers little more than one week; the narrative time has slowed down markedly. The first 10 chapters cover approximately three and a half years. This slowdown points to the importance of these closing scenes.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 31.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-09-jerusalem-controversies/

The Mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an opportunity for us to understand the needs of others and share in supporting them. Please click on the image below to watch the Mission Spotlight presentation for this week:/p>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-august-24/

Inside Story for Friday 23rd of August 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Father kept his word about organizing Sabbath worship services at home in Armenia. Having prohibited Mother and their daughter, Anush, from going to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, he called them to the living room on Sabbath morning. For Sabbath School, they studied the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and prayed together. Then Anush preached a short sermon.

The worship services continued for months. Father, who had never visited an Adventist church, was so serious about the worship services that, if guests were visiting, he invited them to the living room, opened his Bible, and said, “Welcome to our worship service. Today is the Sabbath, and you can join us.” This was not the Armenian way. In Armenia, hosts leave everything to entertain guests. Guests were shocked and wondered what was going on.

As the family worshiped together, Father realized that he didn’t know the Bible. In Matthew 4:1-25, the family read how Jesus met every temptation by Satan with the words, “It is written.” Father was impressed. He saw that he wouldn’t know if Satan was tempting him if he didn’t know the Bible. From that day, he began to read the Bible daily. As he read, he also sought answers to why he and his family were worshiping on the seventh day, Saturday, while many Christians in Armenia worship on the first day, Sunday.

Father had vowed that Anush and Mother would never return to the Adventist Church, and he wanted to keep his word. Anush very much missed church services, but she hid her feelings because she understood that her duty was to love her father and wait for God to bring him to repentance.

But when she learned that the Adventist house church in their town was preparing for a Communion Sabbath, she asked Father for permission to go. Armenia is a largely patriarchal society where many fathers are the decision-makers of the household. “Would you allow us to take part in the communion service?” she asked.

“Communion?” Father said. “You know, I can lead that ceremony, too.”

Nobody went to Communion that Sabbath.

Then Father and Mother became grandparents. Anush had an older sister who had gotten married and left home, and she gave birth to a baby. Mother learned that the baby and the rest of the family had been lifted up in prayer at church. “They prayed for us in church, and I want to take something sweet to them as a thank-you gift,” she told Father.

Father’s heart was touched by the kindness of the church members, and he allowed Anush and Mother to return to church.

Part of last quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering went to open a center of influence for families like Anush’s in Yerevan, Armenia. Thank you for helping spread the gospel with your offerings. Next week: Father starts going to church.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-08-inside-story-home-turned-into-a-church/