Jesus Silence During his Trial

The chief priests accused Jesus of many things but he answered nothing. Here as human beings we would stand up for ourselves and try to defend ourselves. Silence and solitude as a means of getting closer to God. In Christs ministry here on earth he always talked to people and answered their questions. Many times the pharisees, elders and scribes wanted to arrest him and find fault. They did this by asking questions and he always answered. He never kept silent to anyone but despite all this they still rejected him. There comes a time when Christ has done everything to reach hearts but they don't let him in. The last resort he can give them is silence. Silence is powerful and it is a sign of judgment.If we feel the silence and this silence does not lead us to Christ then nothing else will. In Jesus trial he did not answer a word to Herod or try to defend himself against accusations. These men had already hardened their hearts and had already chosen to kill Jesus. No word from his mouth would change their minds. Every word Christ said
was meant to draw people closer to him and to change hearts and when he said nothing it meant that no word would change them. His silence was for the chief priests and pharisees who had rejected his saving grace.

When we use silence on our fellow being this can pierce hearts. It means that the person we are not talking to is not worthy of communication. Every time we use silence on someone it means we are pronouncing judgment on them that they are not worthy to be talked to. If a brother or sister annoys you and makes you angry do not use silence on them, Jesus says we have to point out their fault. Keeping quiet until they shape up is not the right way to treat someone who has wronged us.
No matter who that person is, we should find a way to make peace because silence is not good. If someone else does not talk to us and turns a deaf ear towards us, it is our duty to talk to them.

Questions;

1. Why did Pilate marvel at Jesus silence.

Answers;

1. Pilate marveled because he deeply knew that Jesus was innocent. He also knew that Jesus was sure he was innocent yet he did not understand why Jesus would let people kill him knowing he was innocent. Imagine this, the chief priests tried to have Jesus killed because they claimed that he
was saying he was the King of the Jews. Pilate asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews meaning the earthly King of Jews at that time and Jesus clarified everything but telling Pilate he did not mean an earthly Kingdom but rather a heavenly one. Pilate understood Jesus explanation and found no fault in him. Then he told the chief priests Jesus is innocent but when they realized they had to reason to accuse him, they started to falsely accuse him. Pilate saw their envy because Jesus was well known among the people and more people were starting to love him. They desired this position and power Jesus was having among the people. So Pilate noticed all the false accusations and he knew that Jesus also understood well that he had done nothing. Yet Jesus did not defend himself. So he told Jesus aren't you going to say anything now that you see they are falsely accusing you( paraphrasing) and he answered nothing. This marveled him.

There Shall Meet You A Man Bearing A Pitcher Of Water

Mark 14:12-13

And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

Every part of the Bible is for our learning, and every little story has meaning. I was reading about the last supper and I just had to look a little deeper into this part where the disciples were directed to a man bearing a pitcher. At first it did not seem that important but later on I learned that In those days men did not carry a pitcher of water so this man was doing something weird.

To other people he was insane and of course he stood out of the crowd. The pitcher had water and water is a symbol of the holy spirit. He was carrying a vessel containing the holy spirit. When we believers have the holy spirit in us he will work in us to do Gods will. We will always stand out from the rest because he will do things differently in us.

Our lives will not be led based on Tradition but rather by the word of God.The tradition was that carrying water was the work of women.I have a feeling the holy spirit has revealed to this man that carrying water can be done by anyone. Therefore as he walked in newness of life he stood out of the crowd. As you can see while walking in the spirit Jesus was able to use him.


The same applies to our lives, God will use us when we let his spirit guide us.

Jesus Curses The Fig Tree

To understand this story we have to go back to Luke 13.

Here the apostles told Jesus that there were some Galileans who were slain by Pilate. In the ancient days, when something bad happened to someone or a disaster happened to them it meant that they person killed or destroyed were big sinners. Jesus told them that is not the case, and if they did not repent they too would perish the same way.
In this case Jesus was saying if you did not believe in Jesus as messiah and turn away from your sins you too will die the second death meaning no resurrection. Remember the only way we can have eternal life is through believing and accepting Jesus as our Saviour.

The Jews had rejected Jesus as the messiah and Jesus gave them a parable in Luke 13:6 -9
Here Jesus was referring to the Jews, he had walked among then and ministered to them 3 years but they did not accept him and he gave them a little more time to repent and was saying if they don't repent he will give them up to the devil to do as he pleases. It was in 70AD that he gave them up to their conceptions and ideas of the messiah. As a result Rome who represents the devil came over and destroyed Jerusalem. No stone was left unturned as he has told them before.

This will help us understand Mark 11:12-22

Jesus had entered Jerusalem riding on a colt, an animal which simplified peace. The Jews still rejected him and were not happy with him. The next day he left Bethany and on the way he was hungry and saw the fig tree. This fig tree had leaves and usually if a fig tree had leaves it automatically meant there was fruit. No leaves no fruit, so as Jesus moved closer he noticed there was no fruit. Now Jesus was God incarnate but he did not use his power to predict from afar off if the fig tree had fruit. Just like you and me he moved closer only to realize there were no fruits. Then we are told in verse 14 he cursed it so that no one ate fruit from it again.

Remember Jesus and his disciples were on the way to Jerusalem the city that had rejected him as the messiah. He had revealed himself to them 3 years and more but they did not believe. In the previous parable in Luke 13:6-8 Jesus said if it does not bear fruit after one more year then cut it down. With that in mind Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem and curses this fig tree that is no bearing any fruit. In the olden times when something was cursed it meant that thing was judged to eternal death. If a person was cursed it meant that he would never have hope of going to heaven or eternal life. Therefore when Jesus cursed the fig tree he was saying you will never bear fruit and will be lost completely.

The fig tree in this story was a symbol of Jerusalem, Christ was saying that Jerusalem has already been cursed or judged. It had already passed the period of probation and was now condemned to destruction. The fig tree in Luke 13 had been tendered by the gardener one more year but it did not bear fruit and we are told in Mark that Jesus cursed it. Jesus was patient with the Jews in Jerusalem to believe he was the messiah but they hardened their hearts. From afar off you would see the rabbi, pharisees, civilian Jews and the chief priests claiming to obey God and strictly keep his laws. but as you moved closer there was no fruit and he cursed it. If you continue reading on you will notice when Jesus goes to Jerusalem he chases out the people selling and buying in the house of God.

I hope this has opened up your eyes a little about what the cursing of the fig tree was about.

Blind Bartimaeus Healed!

Beggars are people we often see in almost every city we go to. Most of us usually pass by these people and not even glance at them. Jesus was walking to Jerusalem with his disciples and a large crowd followed as was always the case. As he walked down the street crowds of people were pressing against him and there was some noise. Through the noise he heard someone shout " Son of David, have mercy on me".

This same Jesus who saw Nathaniel under the tree knew who was calling and what he wanted. He chose to pass this road that day for a specific purpose and that was about to be revealed. Bartimaeus went on shouting at the top of his voice that this seemed to annoy the crowd. The all knowing God clothed in humanity stopped and called forth the blind man to come. This man had probably been begging at this spot for many years and most probably no one ever stopped to give him this much attention. No one ever stopped to ask him what do you want me to do for you.

Jesus looked at him as a father looks at his son who is in pain. His heart broke so see his creation suffering and he longed to free him of his sufferings. By asking " what do you want me to do for you'? Jesus gave us a perfect example of a servant. A few verses prior to this one he had asked Peter and John the same question and their answer was quite different from this one of Bartimaeus.

The sons of thunder had requested to sit on the right and left had side of Jesus in his kingdom. Jesus did not grant this request however Bartimaeus requested for something of greater value, eye sight which he recieved. How many of us are blind today? How many of us sit and don't bother to ask for help. Jesus is willing to open up our eyes that we may behold him. He wants to give our life new meaning but we are too reluctant to ask. Jesus says, " He who comes to me, I will in no way cast out".

For most of us it takes a desperate situation for us to realize we really need Christ in our lives. As long as we have money, a good job, good health and enough friends, we don't see the need of Christ. Peter and John were not able to see their need of Christ because they were with him almost everyday. I have noticed that it is very easy for me to think I don't need to fully rely on Jesus. As a Christian who is already growing in Christ I sometimes think it's OK Jesus I can handle that, however this is when I start to sink. It doesn't take long for me to cry out and say with Bartimaeus, son of David have mercy on me.

In our lives here on earth as a baby grows, it becomes more self reliant. The child starts to walk by themselves, eat by themselves and so on. However as a Christian it is the opposite, we become more reliant on Christ. We commit everything to God and let him lead us. He does everything on our behalf and this is the Christian walk we all ought to follow. The more we know Christ the more we become like children, relying on our father. That reminds me when Jesus said, unless we become like children we cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Be blessed!