JOSEPH of Arimethea
risked to approach Pilate for Jesus' body
the afternoon of His crucifixion.
Pilate was surprised that Jesus had already died
and asked for confirmation.
The centurion that had witnessed Jesus' final breath
acknowledged that Jesus had indeed died,
and Pilate consented to Joseph's request.
Joseph bought linen in which to wrap Jesus' body,
took the body from the cross, wound the linen cloth tightly around it,
then placed it in a tomb cut out of rock.
He rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
It was a way of showing his love.

The Sabbath had begun and Jesus' followers rested
(as Jesus was now doing).
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices
so that they might go to the tomb as the sun was rising
to anoint Jesus' body.
They wondered who would move the large stone
that covered the entrance
but discovered that it was already rolled aside
and the body of their Jesus was not there.
Their bodies were immobilized, their minds running rapidly,
searching for explanation.
Then they saw an angel and heard him
addressing their concerns, answering their unspoken questions:
he sought to quiet their fears,
he acknowledged Who they were looking for (their crucified Lord),
confirmed His earlier presence and present absence
(He was risen!),
and told them to “go, tell His disciples and Peter”
that He was going ahead of them and would meet them in Galilee
(as He had promised).
Their bodies now trembling and their minds bewildered,
they left the scene, saying nothing to anyone,
until Mary Magdalene located the mourning disciples
and delivered the message of His resurrection.
They did not believe what she told them.
Even when Jesus appeared to two of them personally
as they were walking in the countryside
and they believed,
the other disciples did not.
Then, Jesus appeared to all eleven of them as they were eating,
rebuked them for their lack of faith and stubborn refusal to believe
those who had seen Him after His resurrection.

To ponder:
Who in this account do you most closely identify with?
When we, who have known and loved Jesus,
live in ways that deny or cast doubt on His presence and power,
what is it that Jesus would say to us?

Twila Charles Leichty

PEOPLE-PLEASING PILATE
and the
PRINCE OF PEACE

Pilate was a governor commissioned by Rome,
and his primary responsibilities were to maintain peace
and collect taxes in Judea.
Pilate was amazed during Jesus' trial
that Jesus made no answer when wrongly accused.
(If Jesus made no defense, Roman law demanded that Pilate pronounce against Him.)
note under Mk. 15:4 in Archaeological Study Bible
When asked by the crowd to do for them according to his tradition,
of releasing a prisoner of their choosing,
Pilate thought they may be asking for release of Jesus,
since he knew that it was for reason of envy
that the chief priests handed Jesus over to him.
But the crowd responded to the stirring of the chief priests
and sought Barabbas' release.
Then, in an effort to satisfy the crowd, the verdict was delivered.
Pilate released Barabbas. Jesus was flogged and handed over to be crucified.

To Ponder:
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, does not seek to please man,
but seeks to reconcile man to God.
When man is reconciled to God, there is a peace within.
That is the kind of peace that Jesus knew
throughout these dark days.
It has an anchoring, stabilizing influence.

Twila Charles Leichty L-24

THE CRUCIFIXION

Jesus was hanging on the cross.
Those who were passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Him.
The chief priests and teachers of the law mocked Him among themselves.
“He saved others, but He can't save Himself!
Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross,
that we may see and believe.”
Those crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him.

What people saw was reason for the derision.
It was what they did not see, however, that held the truth
they so much needed to see:
He could have come down from the cross;
He could have saved Himself.
The nails weren't holding Him to that cross.
It was not He that needed the saving.
He chose to stay on the cross.
People were seeing what they believed.
The chief priests had seen much in Jesus' years of ministry
and still had chosen not to believe.

To ponder:
Our responses reflect more on what we believe than what truth is.
Are my beliefs in line with truth?
What is it that I am seeing?
Am I open to seeing truth,
when it does not agree with what I've always believed?

Twila Charles Leichty

-------------------------------------------

JESUS
crucified, dead and buried (asleep), resurrected

On Thursday night, Jesus prepared Himself to be the sacrificial Lamb,
when He went to Gethsemane,
honestly wrestling with His will and the Father's will,
then choosing submission, out of love and obedience,
to taking the sin of the world upon Himself
and allowing His life's blood to cover the door posts of our hearts,
a sign that we are His.
He “paid-in-full” the debt we had incurred by our sin.

When that payment was made,
the curtain of the temple was torn in two by God Himself,
from top to bottom.
Jesus Christ became our High Priest,
taking His blood directly into the Holy Sanctuary in heaven
and placing it on the mercy seat.

Yes! Jesus was mortal, subject to all that man is.
God breathed life into Him just as God breathed life into each one of us.
And, the Bible says that “with a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last.”
Mark 15: 37
And then He slept. His earthly work was done.
Yes, He rested on the Sabbath, keeping the command of God,
just as man was instructed to do.
And, God restored life to Him.
Jesus was resurrected after the Sabbath, to continue His work,
showing Himself to those who believed in Him,
and to whom He would give the great commission:
...“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Mark 16:15

Twila Charles Leichty

Read MARK 14: 43-72 and 15:1-15

Jesus knew the people in His life space:
He knew His disciples – their hearts,
their intentions, their weariness, their fear and self-protective behaviors,
and yet He loved them;
He knew Judas – the one who had traveled with Him and His other disciples,
whose interest in following Jesus had shifted
because of his own selfish interests,
and yet He loved him;
He knew the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders –
those whose righteous toes He stepped on
as He traveled the circuit in ministry,
those who were jealous of Jesus' following and seeking His death,
and yet He loved them;
He knew the crowd that would be stirred and urged to chant “Crucify Him!” -
and yet He loved them;
He knew Pilate – who sought to find a way of releasing Jesus,
then sought to satisfy the crowd by releasing Barabbas
and handing Jesus over to be crucified,
and yet He loved him;
He knew Peter – who would curse and swear,
repeatedly denying that He knew Jesus,
and yet He loved him.
He knew the soldiers – who struck Him and spit on Him,
mocked Him by bowing before Him and calling Him “King of the Jews”,
and yet He loved them.

Jesus knew people ~ and He loved them,
irregardless of their status in the world,
in spite of who they were and what they did.
While He knew them and loved them, not all of them knew themselves.

But, Jesus said to His captors: “Am I leading a rebellion,
that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?
Mark 14: 48,49

While He knew them and loved them, not all of them knew Jesus.
Some thought He was the kind of person who would fight back in some way.
They were ready with swords, clubs, and false witnesses.

Yes, God loved them. The Bible tells us so:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have everlasting life.
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world
but that the world, through Him, should be saved.
John 3:16,17
And Jesus prayed His consent:
“Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”
Mark 14:36b

That's LOVE!

Twila Charles Leichty

GETHSEMANE

The word Gethsemane means “olive press.”
An olive press is a pit wherein there is a millstone.
After the pits have been removed,
the olives are put into the press
and the millstone is used to press the oil from them.

Jesus went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane
which was on the Mount of Olives.
He had to spend some time with His Father.
He asked His disciples to wait and keep watch
while He went further and He poured out His heart to God,
wrestling with what He knew was ahead of Him.

Feeling the weight of His upcoming encounters
with the arresting officers, guards,
the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law,
the Jewish crowd, the high priest, and Pilate,
before singularly shouldering the sin of the world,
He agonizingly asked His Father for some other way.
But obedience, borne out of love, brought Him to the place
of relinquishing His will to that of His Father's.
He got up from His knees, returned to His disciples and found them sleeping,
something that underscored His aloneness in the press!

To ponder:
I wonder how often the “oil of joy” promised by God
is delivered to us through “olive press experiences”,
those times when we feel as though we are being crushed,
when we relinquish our will and submit to God's will.

Isaiah 61:3
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD,
that he might be glorified.


Twila Charles Leichty, L -14

“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them...
Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
...”I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, today – yes, tonight -
before the rooster crows twice,
you yourself will disown me three times.”
But Peter insisted emphatically, “ Even if I have to die with you,
I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same...
...Then everyone deserted him and fled.
MARK 14: 27a, 29-31, 50

We all like to think of ourselves as strong and loyal.
We want to be; we intend to be.
But we are human. We get scared.
We run. We hide.
Sometimes we fail miserably at the things we want so much to do well in.

Jesus knew that He spoke truth.
He knew that He would be walking this final part of His earthly journey
alone,
without the company of those who'd traveled with Him
for the past thee and one half years.
He knew they would give in to their fear.
He knew they would discover soon enough how weak they were,
how wrong their statements had been.

He needed time to pray, time with His Heavenly Father.
He headed toward Gethsemane,
a garden on the Mount of Olives, a place they'd frequented before.

It was late, but communicating with the One who knew
all that He was facing was needful.
His disciples were left to wait and watch
while He went further, wrestling with His will and that of His Father's.

Upon His return, He found the disciples sleeping
and awakened them to witness the arrival of the arresting officers
sent by the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders.
Judas identified Jesus with the prearranged signal of a kiss.
Shortly thereafter, Jesus was abandoned by those
with whom He'd shared the bread and the cup
during the evening meal.

To ponder:
What commitment have you made with full intention of keeping it,
only to discover you were not the person you'd hoped to have been?

Twila Charles Leichty, L-13

Read MARK 14:1-11

It was a gift for the Lord.
Other people were present when she delivered it.
They talked to one another about the wasteful use of money.
Then they rebuked her harshly.

But Jesus, the receiver of the gift, interrupted them.
There were things He knew that they had no way of knowing.
He knew that her gift was prompted by a heart
that had searched for some way to express the gratitude she felt,
her devotion to the One she was now honoring.
He knew that He would soon be crucified,
that those who were condemning Him here and now
were only part of the larger crowd that would cry,
“Crucify Him!”

He knew the coins that would be handed over by the chief priests,
payment to Judas for a kiss of betrayal;
He knew that the nard spilled from the alabaster jar upon his head that day
was an extravagantly expensive, imported perfume,
a gift not unlike the gift He would be giving
when His blood would be spilled upon the ground in the days to come
the price tag for forgiveness of our sin.

He knew there would be many people who would consider
the freely offered gift of His life's blood a waste,
and He knew they would condemn those who realized
the cost of that divine gift,
gratefully and joyously accept it,
and consider nothing too great a sacrifice
in expressing their love and devotion in return.

Yes, Jesus saw far, far more than what was happening
in the home of Simon the Leper that day!

Twila Charles Leichty - L20

~ EASTER ~

JESUS made possible
what was impossible.
He replaced defeat with victory,
evidencing for all time
that the hopelessness we feel
in our present situations
is but the result of
not seeing the complete picture.
Our hopelessness
simply provides God
with the quietness and space
through which He will bring into our lives
an unanticipated blessing,
amazing us (and the world around)
with His presence, power, and love.

May you revel in the beauty of EASTER.
Use this day to reflect on God's past faithfulness
and grow in the confidence
that He who brings the changes
is Himself changeless
throughout all time.
Enjoy this day
and all that it means in your life!

Twila Jean Charles - 2006

VALENTINE DAY

Love is a commitment
to look out for the best interest
of the one loved,
to give sacrificially and one’s best
to the relationship.

God demonstrated His committed love
when Jesus entered our world,
experiencing life as a man,
relating to us in our brokenness,
so that He could provide us
with the costliest gift of all time,
His death in our place,
His life’s blood as payment-in-full
for the opportunity we now have
of accessing
a forever relationship with God,
something we forfeited
by our willful ways.

My love has been a less committed love.
It’s reeked of selfishness when I’ve
not consulted Him about my dreams,
complained about His modus operandi,
questioned His timing,
insisted on my way,
failed to express my gratitude,
shirked my responsibility to share Jesus
with those in need,
not sought to spend time with Him
or learn from Him…

I wonder why
He continues to pursue
a relationship with one so fickle,
so distracted by other promises
of things that do not satisfy.
I wonder why my response to Him
falls so short of total embrace,
full-hearted surrender,
and
loving obedience?

It’s His faithfulness, not mine,
that provides me with
another opportunity
to take His hand and say “I do”
to His invitation
of a forever relationship.

Twila Jean Charles - February 2006

Freed by Jesus
from the debt that threatened to confine me
to an eternity of separation
from my Creator.
Freedom – a gift,
not license to do what I want
but a commission to serve:
to have a heart that beats with His,
to have the mind of Christ,
to be His mouth, His hands and feet.
Twila Jean Charles - 2004

The Passover

The celebration of Passover
was a time for remembering the “freedom train” experience of the Israelites,
God's mighty deliverance of His people from Egyptian bondage,
and the lamb's blood on each door post
that kept them safe the night the firstborn was slain.
It was also a time of anticipating the coming of the promised Messiah,
the sacrificial Lamb of God, whose life's blood
would take away the sin of the world.

This Passover that Jesus arranged to eat with His disciples
would later be known as The Last Supper,
for it was the last time that Jesus and His disciples
would share a meal together before His death.
Jesus knew that.
During the meal, He took bread, gave thanks and broke it,
then shared it, letting them know that it was His body.
He also took the cup, gave thanks, and offered it to them.
They all drank from it.
He said it was the blood of the covenant that was poured out for many.
They sang a hymn; then they went out into the night,
to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus was traveling a very different road that night
from the road He was paving for His disciples and the rest of the world.
What would take Him to death would bring life to the rest of us.
He walked it because of His love and out of obedience to His Father.

Twila Jean Charles - 2004
L - 13

“When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.
While they were reclining at the table eating, He said,
'I tell you the truth,
one of you will betray Me– one who is eating with Me.'
They were saddened, and one by one they said to Him,
'Surely not I?'”
MARK 14:17-19

I wonder how we would have handled things had we known
we were to be betrayed by one who was sitting at our table.
Jesus felt no need to name the betrayer-to-be.
He allowed him to reveal himself.
It might have been easy for the disciples to look around,
to see whether they could identify the disciple about whom Jesus spoke,
but they did not.
I wonder what made the the disciples respond individually with “Surely not I?”

We struggle to understand both why and how Judas did what he did.
But, when honest, we know ourselves to have made decisions
that have led us away from the God we serve.

We hide many things from ourselves.
We like to see ourselves as self-aware, honest, and loyal to our God,
and yet, sometimes self has a way of showing up,
perhaps unwanted but present.

Healthy self-examination is good,
but a God-examination is best,
for He sees into the heart.

We all need to pray with the psalmist:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23


Twila Charles Leichty - L12

Read Mark 12:28-31

One of the teachers of the law,
noticing that Jesus had given them (those who asked a previous question) a good answer,
asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the MOST IMPORTANT?”

There were ten commandments given the children of God.
They were presented in a prioritized manner
when God wrote them on the tablets of stone for Moses to deliver.
Acknowledging God as God alone,
that there is but one God
is written first.
Obeying and worshiping Him is our duty.

Knowing Him intimately implies not only factual knowledge of who He is,
but experiencing Him in relationship by spending time with Him,
listening to Him through His Word, choosing (willing) to do what He says,
placing our confidence and trust in Him and all that He says.
Honoring Him means de-throning anything that compromises His position in my life,
for He is a jealous God; He shares His place with no one and nothing.
He is God and, as God, has a right to command what He does.
His commands are good.
They keep us in our rightful position with Him and with each other.

So important is the relationship between God and us that He commands us
to rest and use the Sabbath to focus on Him, remembering all that He has done.
He knew that we would forget, that other things would crowd into the space
He alone was to occupy in our lives.
And He knew that unless the relationship between God and each of us was right,
our relationships with others would be flawed.

When we have learned and follow the this commandment,
we will find the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives,
necessary if our relationships with others
are to grow in healthy, God-honoring ways.

“Well said, Teacher.”
That was the conclusion and response of the teacher of the law
who posed the question:
“You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him.
To love Him with all your heart,
with all your understanding and with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Jesus then responded with: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
MARK 12:32-34

Why do you think Jesus made that statement?

Twila Charles Leichty – L10

---------------------------------------------------

Jesus was an observer, a people watcher.
The Bible tells us so.
As Jesus taught, He said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law.
They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplace,
and have the most important seats in the synagogue
and the places of honor at banquets.
They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers...”
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put
and watched the crowd putting their offerings into the temple treasury.
Many rich people threw in large amounts.
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,
worth only a fraction of a penny.”
MARK 12:38-42

Jesus taught many things.
He taught us that we can learn many things about people by watching what they do,
that attitudes and motives can be discerned through repeated behaviors.
He taught us also to look at the whole picture, not to judge a behavior alone.
He taught us to be careful, wise in our observations, not hasty in our conclusions.

Integrity is not determined by external behaviors
but by how well the external behaviors match the attitudes and motives within.

Teachers do not always speak truth.
A generous person does not always give the most money.
A person who prays publicly is not always sincere.
The best-dressed person is not always beautiful on the inside.

To ponder:
When have you misjudged a person,
later delightfully discovering a real pearl hidden within a broken shell?
Or when have you embraced someone as a friend,
only to discover you'd been used as the means to another's selfish end?

Twila Charles Leichty – L11

History reveals the truth of these verses:
The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone;
the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Psalm 118:22,23 and Mark 12:10,11

Jesus,
from “despised and rejected by men”
and
“cut off from the land of the living”
(Isaiah 53:3,8)
to the chief cornerstone.

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
in whom the whole building, being fitted together,
grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22

As I was thinking about this verse,
I realized that many times there are experiences in our lives
that we would like to reject, not have to go through.
Yet, after we have gone through them,
we find that the experience has been pivotal,
providing something that we can now see as having molded and shaped us
into better instruments for His use
or opened opportunities for ministry that we had previously not seen,
and we are grateful, thanking God for that which we initially wanted to reject.

To ponder:
Was there some experience in your life
that you would have put on your “reject” (unwanted!) list,
but you have found it to be something
that profoundly changed the direction of your life in some way?
Perhaps it became a major teaching tool
or shaping instrument in your life,
or it may have it opened opportunities in ministry
you had not been aware of earlier.

Twila Charles Leichty – L9

Parables are stories created to share a truth.
The parable in Mark 12:1-12 is the story of a landowner who planted a vineyard,
built a watchtower and wall for protection,
provided a pit for the winepress, then left it all in the care of tenants.
With ownership came some privileges or rights, but all all were to benefit.
However, these tenants,
when asked to relinquish what was rightfully claimed by the landowner, refused.
Those who were sent as representatives of the landowner were beaten or killed.
Even the landowner's son was beaten and killed.
So the landowner returns, kills the tenants,
and gives the vineyard to another.

When Jesus finished telling this parable,
those who knew themselves to be the “tenants” were angry
and scheming His arrest,
but, fearful of the growing crowd of Jesus followers, they retreated.

God, show us in what ways we've “assumed ownership”
of that which was but entrusted to our care.
Have we, when asked to relinquish of our “holdings” by the Landowner,
refused and gotten angry?

Twila Charles Leichty - L8

“Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity.
You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are;
but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or shouldn't we?”
Mark 12:14

The Pharisees and the Herodians teamed up in presenting this question to Jesus.
They were an interesting mix,with the Pharisees being strongly opposed to Roman rule
and the Herodians being Jews that supported Roman rule through the Herods.
They acknowledged, in their greeting,
that Jesus' teachings were not influenced by people and that He spoke truth.
Then they asked the question: “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
They were looking for an answer
that would have supported one of their two opposing positions.
Jesus, who knows the heart of all, exposed their motivation,
then answered with truth that provided a directive they had not considered:
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.”
Now they had another issue to address: What is rightfully God's?

Twila Charles Leichty – L7

“...Have faith in God.
For assuredly, I say to you,
whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,'
and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that those things he says will be done,
he will have whatever he says.
Therefore I say to you,
whatever things you ask when you pray,
believe that you receive them,
and you will have them.”
Mark 11:22-24

(Though the above may look - and sound - like a genie's lamp, it is not!)

Having faith in God,
confidently trusting Jesus and believing that what He says is true,
enables us to experience answered prayer.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
John 15:7

Abiding in Jesus refers to an intimate relationship,
a connection that has life in it.
(There is an experiential knowing that goes beyond factual knowledge.)
It is like a couple on the ballroom dance floor,
the partner's attentive responses in dance flowing from the leads of the other.
With practice, the dance has become graceful.
The movement of two having become as the movement of one.

As we abide in Jesus, we move with Him.
Our desires are molded to His, as His were to the Father's.
Our prayers are not to be for selfish purposes.
They are for His glory!
And God knows what it is that will bring Him glory!
It is others knowing Jesus and me knowing Him better.
It is the fruit of the Spirit growing abundantly in the lives of His children.
It is sensitivity to His direction, a heart of obedience.
It is a grateful attitude.
It is expressing our thoughts and feelings, likes and dislikes, to God,
then relinquishing our will and submitting to His,
as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane!
Though sometimes painful, it is what we really want!

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him,
that if we ask anything according to His will,
He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us,
whatever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
I John 5:14

God, help me to examine what it is I am really asking from You.
Help me to understand and practice abiding in Jesus.
Help me to submit my will to Yours, as Jesus did.

Twila Charles Leichty – L6

“And whenever you stand praying,
if you have anything against anyone, forgive him,
that your Father in heaven
may also forgive you your trespasses.
But if you do not forgive,
neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25,26

God does say He won't forgive us unless we forgive.
He knows us well.

Pride is the biggest barrier to forgiving.
Our desires to look good and to be right are pride-based
and they often keep us from admitting our wrongs
and insist that we focus on another's wrong.
Sometimes it is our response to another's wrong that is our sin.
But it is only as we realize our need for forgiveness,
acknowledge our wrong, express our sorrow, and change our way
that we will be able to forgive others.

Forgiving is a requirement if we want to be forgiven.
It is humbling to acknowledge our wrong to another,
to ask for the forgiveness that we need,
but it is that brokenness that God desires.

Unless we are broken,
aware of our sin and its eternal consequences,
we have no need for God, His forgiveness,
and the healing that that brings to us and our relationships.
We forgive more readily
when we realize how much we have been forgiven!

Twila Charles Leichty - L5

"...Jesus was hungry.
Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf,
He went to find out if it had any fruit.
When He reached it, he found nothing but leaves,
because it was not the season for figs.
Then He said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."
Mark 11:12-14

When one is hungry, it is right to expect figs from a full-leafed fig tree.
When there are none, there is rightful disappointment.
(Similarly, there is the expectation that those who say they are God's people
will show the fruit of the Spirit in their walk and talk.)
Jesus response to the fig tree's lack of fruit
is a statement about the fig tree's future.

Jesus is able to see and know what is within the hearts of people.
His mission, to bring healing and wholeness to people,
is short-circuited
when His diagnosis of hypocrisy is not accepted.
Continuing to hide behind the foliage of self-effort, right words and good behaviors,
leads to our eventual death.

"In the morning, as they went along,
they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.
Peter remembered and said to Jesus,
'Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!'
'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered."
Mark 11:20-22

Peter was quick to speak his mind.
He seemed amazed that death had come so quickly and completely
to the fig tree that, the day before, had been in full leaf.
"Have faith in God" was Jesus' reassurance to this disciple and the others.

Perhaps it was not so much that Jesus cursed the tree
as that He saw (before others) its demise and imminent death
because it was not rooted in truth!
Jesus was a teacher. His words were truth.
What Jesus said could be counted on.

Twila Charles Leichty – L4

“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area
and began driving out those who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers
and the benches of those selling doves,
and would not let anyone carry merchandise
through the temple courts.
And as He taught them, He said,
' My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
But you have made it a den of robbers.'”
Mark 11: 15-17

Those who were buying and selling in the temple area
had their excuses for doing so:
people needed animals for sacrificing,
money needed to be changed so people could pay the temple tax.
Perhaps they said, “Needs needed to be met,”
thereby seeking to explain their desecration of the temple.
(Never mind that it was taking advantage of the poor
and pushing the Gentiles from their place of worship in the temple.)
And it was “business as usual” until Jesus entered the scene.
He called them thieves, those who were there for selfish gain,
interfering with the purpose of the temple court,
a place of prayer for all people.

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
was followed by this reminder that He was not yet
Lord of the lives of all who gathered in the temple.

As Jesus walks into my life and looks around, what does He see?
Are there things I am doing in my life
(my home, my mind, my time, my church...)
that would cause Jesus to judge me a thief,
misusing what He provided, ignoring His mission,
and seeking to justify my actions?
What does Jesus need to do, or say, to get my attention,
to bring about a change in my modus operandi?

Twila Charles Leichty - L3

“Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest!”
Mark 11:9,10

Those who were Jesus' followers
knew His identity the day He entered Jerusalem on the back of a colt.
They shouted “Hosanna!”, a Hebrew expression that means “Save now!”
Their anticipations about His kingdom were based upon what they knew.
They expected this King to set up His kingdom as any other king.
What He had shared with His disciples about His impending death
seemed to have been forgotten.
They appealed to Him: Hosanna!
And save He would – but not in the way they were envisioning.

How often we expect God to speak powerfully,
to show His strength and might in some dramatic way,
and He enters our world in more humble, quiet ways,
defying our limited expectations
to show us the greater work of sacrificial love,
His death,
the sacrificing of His will so that whosoever will may be saved.

Twila Charles Leichty - L2

“...Go into the village...find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden...bring it here.
When they brought it to Jesus...He sat on it.
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple.”
Mark 11:2,7,11

The account of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a colt, heretofore not ridden upon,
is recorded in each of the four Gospels.
(Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-15)
While horses were ridden by those who served as warriors
and were associated with battle and national pride,
the donkey, with its smaller build and different disposition,
presented a contrasting picture,
one of humility and gentleness.
In the near east, donkeys were historically the animal on which kings rode.
(It's interesting that a donkey carried Jesus' mother to Bethlehem.)
Riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey at the time of the Passover
was the same as announcing that He was the long-awaited Messiah.
And the people responded with “Hosanna!”,
the meaning of which is “save now!”

Twila Charles Leichty - L1

STRUGGLING

When the disciples saw Jesus crucified, their hearts must have sunk. They may have wondered whether they’d “heard” Him right, felt bitter disappointment that their dreams of His setting up a kingdom here on earth were dashed, been angry that Jesus had allowed Himself to be “captured” by His opposition and crucified. They took to hiding, convinced that they would likely be hunted down next. They were fearful and struggling with their mountain of doubt and weighed down, their backpacks filled with worry and concern!

Then Easter morning, they struggled again… All that they had known (crucified people, those who had been brutally tortured and hung upon trees had never come to life again…dead men had never come to life EXCEPT when Jesus told them to or said they would – and He was now buried in a tomb) played through their heads. Their hopes and dreams had seemingly been hung upon the tree Jesus died on and they were cradling their hurting hearts – when some woman told them she had seen Jesus – alive! Whoa! I’m sure they had doubts and yet there was enough belief to cause them to go to check out such a report. They did not see Him - and yet the tomb was empty. Yes, they must have struggled to wrap their understanding around that evidence. But things were starting to make sense out of things they’d previously heard Jesus say. The pieces of the puzzle were being fit together…

We’ve entered history at a different time than they, but we have our own struggles. What has been “secure and certain”, a part of our everyday lives, something we have counted on, what our hopes and dreams have attached to and we have depended on – has vanished. Color has drained from our world; hope has slid into doubt and despair. We are no different than the disciples.

We need to be reminded of JESUS, that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We need to maintain our focus on Him. He is our SALVATION. He redeemed us. He can and will bring LIFE as we believe in Him and all that He has said (for it is TRUTH!) He shows us the WAY to an eternal relationship with our Creator, LIFE! The pieces that are scattered and seem to fit nowhere will be fitted together by God – and when we see the completed puzzle, we will know/see that every piece had its place! And, we will wonder at both its beauty – and the ability of the God who put it together!

When things are dark in our worlds, we are drawn toward the Light!

Twila Jean Charles