JESUS PREPARES FOR the SERMON on the MOUNT
In this Episode we find that Jesus is preparing for a great sermon. Thousands are expected to attend. He explains that everyone has an important part to play in the preparation. Matthew has all the details. Jesus says that “The Why” of the sermon is the most important thing for everyone to understand. The sermon is not intended to make their presence felt. The people already know of Him and are coming because of all the signs and wonders. What’s important is… each individual person that attends. Jesus asks Philip and Andrew about John the Baptist and what makes his sermons memorable. Philip says it is because he spoke to the crowd as individuals. His preaching was personal. Jesus explains that he will be giving them something far more valuable than signs and wonders. He will be giving them TRUTH. Truth is what will define their entire ministry and that’s what they need to focus on.
“I am the way, the truth and the life.” John 14:6
“…And the truth will set you FREE.” John 8:32
THE PHARISEES
Shmuel goes to speak to an old friend, Yosef, another Pharisee. He inquires about the Ethiopian woman who was a witness to Jesus healing the paralytic at Zebedee’s house. Shmuel believes she could provide evidence for his case against Jesus.
Yosef tries to redirect Shmuel away from focusing on Jesus, but is unsuccessful. Shmuel goes to the Romans to provide information about Jesus, but they aren’t interested. They disclose that Jesus will be arrested within the next day or so. Shmuel is surprised and asks to speak to Jesus when he is arrested but again, he hits a brick wall.
BOYS will be BOYS
Simon, Andrew, James, and John have a rock throwing contest to see who will fish and who will return to camp. Simon and Andrew loose and a heated discussion between the two brothers occurs on the boat as they try to fish.
SIMON, ANDREW, FEAR and ANGER
Andrew is still upset about the arrest of John the Baptist. He is angry at Mary Magdalene for running off, leaving the group unable to leave the area until she is found. Andrew has a long list of worries and complaints. He rants about how John the Baptist was arrested, Mary took off, and they were left starving and with no food. He claims that when Mary left it brought attention to them. He says Mary should have gone to Jesus for help, and that he will go to Jesus if he is ever tempted to return to his old habits.
He claims that John’s arrest and Mary’s disappearance made Jesus so upset that he purposely went to the temple just to stir up the Pharisees. The result of their temple visit was that Jesus performed another miracle on the Sabbath, they worked on the Sabbath by harvesting and eating grain from the field, Jesus called himself the Son of Man (again) and made the local Rabbis furious. Andrew is afraid that if word of this gets back to Jerusalem, EVERONE will be looking for them. Andrew blames all of this on Mary Magdalene running off and getting Jesus upset.
Simon tells Andrew that it is Andrew’s FEAR that is talking. Simon stands up for Mary. He says that she went through a lot, made a mistake and that she handled the situation the best that she could. He reminds Andrew that Jesus is the Messiah and eating the grain on the Sabbath was apparently ok with Jesus. He tells Andrew that Jesus knows how to defend himself. (Andrew laughs at Simon because Simon has always wanted to defend Jesus).
Andrew says he would prefer if Jesus didn’t ALWAYS make a big scene. He wishes Jesus would use more common sense if He knows what will anger the religious leaders and that Jesus should be smart about what he says and does.
Simon says Jesus seems to be an ‘uncommon sense’ kind of guy and jokingly suggests that Andrew wants Jesus to be smart like Matthew and Thomas. This is the first compliment Simon gives Matthew. Simon sees the soldiers on shore, and they scurry frantically to get to Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Fear and anger do not come from God.
JESUS is ARRESTED
Atticus goes to Quintas and tells him about Jesus and where he is at. Atticus and Gaius (Matthew’s friend) head out to bring Jesus in for questioning. Atticus informs Gaius that the area they are going into is filled with Pharisees, Sadducees, and protestors against Rome. They decide to go the long way around to get to Jesus. When they arrive, Gaius asks Jesus to come quietly and for his followers to drop their weapons. Jesus knows that Gaius is curious about Matthew and how he is doing. Jesus tells him Matthew is ok. Gaius asks what it is that Jesus has to offer Matthew. Jesus asks if another time would be better for them to discuss Matthew and what Jesus has to offer. Jesus goes peacefully, says goodbye to his mother, tells all of them not to worry and that he will be back.
JESUS meets with QUINTUS
There is a good deal of banter that goes on between the two men, some of which is almost comical.
Quintas is surprised Jesus doesn’t look crazier looking with wild hair and animal skins. He thought Jesus would look more like John the Baptist, all dirty and scruffy. Quintas tells Jesus that the first time that he heard about Him, was when he supposedly overfilled a boat with fish. He said he couldn’t believe the story. He asked Jesus if he had ever been to the Far East. Tells Jesus a fish story and compares Jesus’ actions to the meat, skin, and bones of a fish.
Quintas reviews how Jesus has upset his world. He points out that Jesus took Matthew away from him, caused a stampede in the streets which caused damage to property and that the riot in the streets gave his childhood nemesis ammunition against him. The incident had scarred his reputation. Quintas then proceeds to tell Jesus that his so-called Miracles were causing people from Syria to come into his area, which causes more crowds in his streets and more problems. Quintas says he doesn’t know what to make of Jesus. Quintas likes him, would hire him if he was not a Jew and begs Jesus not to make him kill him.
He asks Jesus to promise to stop all the disruption and tells him he is free to go.
Jesus seems to toy with Quintas and tells him he is glad that his appearance disappointed him. He says that Quintas’ disbelief in His miracle was usually how things go. Jesus points out that they both have a common theme…fish. Jesus says he has never visited the Far East but that He has received visitors from there (referring to the wisemen at his birth). Jesus says he is sorry for causing so much confusion about the meat and bones of fish. He tells Quintas that not knowing what to make of Him seems to be a common problem among many people. Jesus ends by telling Quintas that He can’t promise anything but that now they both know what promises they can and cannot keep. Quintus brings up John the Baptist and asks Jesus if he knows what he is getting into. Jesus does not respond but says it was great talking to him and leaves.
There are many Christians today, defending their faith and standing up for what they believe. Many are being arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and even dying for their faith. We need to Pray for them.
Don’t worry what you will say if or when someone questions you about what you believe. Be confident that the Holy Spirit will give you the right words to say and the strength to face any circumstance or evil. Who are we to think that we would have it any easier than Our Lord did? Be ready. Be confident, and put on the armor of God.
THE GROUP REACTS to JESUS’ ARREST
Simon and Andrew join the group and they all discuss/argue about what should be done about Jesus being arrested for questioning.
Andrew is swallowed up in fear. He desperately needs to go after Jesus and petition for his release. He is afraid that Jesus faces the same fate as John the Baptist. He has already lost John and is afraid he is losing Jesus too. He fears that everything, including the plans for the big sermon, will be ruined if Jesus is put in jail. Andrew is angry that Mary may have caused Jesus to be arrested. He storms out of camp.
Philip is levelheaded and goes with Andrew because he has experience with John the Baptist getting arrested.
Simon the Zealot wants to fight or break Jesus out of jail. Instead, he guards the camp against other Roman intrusion and watches out for Andrew, Philip, and Jesus to return.
Jesus’ Mother, Mary is naturally upset and chastises all the Disciples, calling them boys because they are all acting like children.
Simon defends Mary Magdalene and her actions. He tries to settle Andrew down. He agrees with Mary and Mary Magdalene to remain calm and do what Jesus said.
Matthew defends Mary Magdalene.
Mary Magdalene admits she was wrong for leaving and reveals that she was also wrong for relying on her own observations and her own understanding when she took things into her own hands and left the group. She says she was wrong, never should have tried to do things her own way and never should have left. She reminds the group that Jesus said not to worry and that He would be back, and she believes he will.
Which character do you relate to? How would you react in this situation? Do you ever try to fix things yourself? Is it easy for you to admit when you’re wrong like Mary Magdalene did or do you sometimes blame others like Andrew? Are you levelheaded and calm in a crisis like Philip? These are all good questions. I personally, am a little bit like each of them.
Anger and fear can be overwhelming and can cause us to act and say things we may regret later. Not being in control or being able to fix something can lead to anger, frustration, and fear. None of which come from God.
Jesus told them all not to worry. Don’t you think that Jesus already knew what was going to happen? Do you think Jesus planned for Simon and Andrew to be out in the boat when the soldiers came? Do you think He purposely made sure that Simon the Zealot was busy elsewhere? What do you think would have happened if Andrew (who was already angry), Simon (who believed he always needed to protect Jesus) and Simon the Zealot (who is ready to fight at the drop of a hat) were all there with Jesus when the soldiers came?
We already know from Scripture what Simon Peter did in the garden of Gethsemane and in a previous episode we saw that Simon the Zealot had already been in the throngs of an assassination attempt on a Roman subject. The thought of the two of them being with Jesus when the soldiers came is a scary one. This whole incident could have turned out much, much worse if the boys had been there, but obviously Jesus had everything under control.
Jesus knows what’s going on in our lives as well. He tells us not to worry about yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Worry, anger, and fear do not fix anything. Let Go and Let God have it all. Turn the problem, situation, sin, fear, and anger over to Him and remember He promised we will never be alone. “He’s coming Back.”
JESUS RETURNS
Jesus returns just as He said he would but apparently doesn’t come back to camp right away. James asks why. Jesus tells them he needed time to pray and to prepare for his sermon. James is upset and tells Jesus they were all worried about him. Jesus reminds them that he told them he would be back and to continue to do what he had asked them to do. He tells them that they will all have to learn how to continue regardless of whether things are good or bad. Jesus tells them things are only going to become more difficult as time goes on and they can’t just shut down when they are afraid. (He’s talking to us too.)
Jesus asks what they are going to do when he is no longer there. Simon and John both said they are still learning and will do better. The Disciples then ask Jesus to teach them to pray the way he does when he is alone.
Jesus instructs them to begin by acknowledging God the Father in heaven and His greatness. He then teaches them the Our Father.
Even Jesus needed to pray and talk to His Father. How much more do we need to do the same. Our Father in heaven wants to hear from us just as we want to hear from our family and friends… especially when they need our help. Follow the example of The Our Father and if nothing else, just talk to Jesus like you would talk to your best friend… because He is.
YOSEF and the ETHEOPIAN WOMAN
Yosef warns the Ethiopian Woman and the paralytic from Zebedee’s’ house, who has been healed by Jesus, that Shmuel is looking for them and they need to escape. Yosef tells the woman that, although her testimony does not count, (because she is a woman), Shmuel will twist her testimony to suit his own needs to capture and convict Jesus of Blasphemy and disobeying the Law. She decides to go with Andrew and Philip.
JESUS WAKES UP MATTHEW to HELP WITH THE SERMON
Matthew asks Jesus if what he intends to say will make things worse since he was just arrested. Jesus assures Matthew He is there to make things better.
I pray you have been blessed by this study of episode7. There is one more episode. Next week we will discuss the finale of Season 2.
Thank you to the chosen for this episode and any photos used in this blog.
Blessings, VICTORIA
Believing Outside the Box 