Lord, turn us from this
capitalistic evil in this nation and the world. This most educated nation in
this world denies truth and trust in our own self-righteousness.
Lord, tell us how we are completely
evil over and over again until we understand and know that we make our own
trouble worse than ISIS... Help use to stop
our acceptance and lack of responsibility for what we do in the name of a god
of money and greed!
Lord,
show us how to learn to be accountable and responsible in this worldly valley.
Lead us to action on this earth so we no longer wait for the end of time.
Strength comes when we stop giving in to evil in this world; because we know,
we can trust, you will not give us burdens we cannot bare.
Lord,
direct our actions to shut the mouths of the snakes amongst us. When they do
not listen; we will let You decide in righteousness how and when to crush their
heads.
We will
display actions that show us properly following the promise of; “I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me!”
Mark
14 New
International Version
Jesus
Anointed at Bethany
Now
the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and
the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus
secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people
may riot.”
While
he was in Bethany,
reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an
alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar
and poured the perfume on his head.
Some
of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of
perfume? It
could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the
poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
“Leave her
alone,”
said Jesus. “Why are
you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you,
and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.
She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body
beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you,
wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will
also be told, in memory of her.”
Then
Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to
them. They
were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for
an opportunity to hand him over.
The Last
Supper
On
the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to
sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us
to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
So he
sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will
meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is
my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make
preparations for us there.”
The
disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told
them. So they prepared the Passover.
When
evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at
the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is
eating with me.”
They
were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
“It is one of
the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with
me. The Son of Man
will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the
Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
While
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
Then
he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all
drank from it.
“This is my
blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink
again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
When
they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus
Predicts Peter’s Denial
“You will all
fall away,”
Jesus told them, “for
it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
But after I have
risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
Peter
declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
“Truly I tell
you,”
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.
Gethsemane
They
went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John
along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and
keep watch.”
Going
a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour
might pass from him. “Abba,
Father,” he said, “everything
is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you
will.”
Then
he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch
for one hour? Watch
and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but
the flesh is weak.”
Once
more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again
found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to
say to him.
Returning
the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?
Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of
sinners. Rise! Let us
go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus
Arrested
Just
as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd
armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the
law, and the elders.
Now
the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man;
arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said,
“Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus
and arrested him. Then one of those standing
near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his
ear.
“Am I leading a
rebellion,”
said Jesus, “that you
have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in
the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be
fulfilled.” Then
everyone deserted him and fled.
A
young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they
seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
Jesus
Before the Sanhedrin
They
took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the
teachers of the law came together. Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard
of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the
fire.
The
chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus
so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against
him, but their statements did not agree.
Then
some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will
destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another,
not made with hands.’” Yet even then their testimony
did not agree.
Then
the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to
answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and
gave no answer.
Again
the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting
at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
The
high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the
blasphemy. What do you think?”
They
all condemned him as worthy of death.
Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded
him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him
and beat him.
Peter Disowns
Jesus
While
Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest
came by. When
she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
“You
also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.
But
he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said,
and went out into the entryway.
When
the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This
fellow is one of them.” Again he denied it.
After
a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them,
for you are a Galilean.”
He
began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re
talking about.”
Immediately
the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had
spoken to him: “Before
the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Matthew
15 New
International Version
That
Which Defiles
Then
some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break
the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
Jesus
replied, “And why do
you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and
mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been
used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you
nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
You hypocrites!
Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with
their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”
They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”
Jesus
called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not
defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Then
the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were
offended when they heard this?”
He
replied, “Every plant
that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are
blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Peter
said, “Explain the parable to us.”
“Are you still
so dull?”
Jesus asked them. “Don’t
you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of
the body? But the things that come out of a person’s
mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For
out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft,
false testimony, slander. These are what defile a
person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
The
Faith of a Canaanite Woman
Leaving
that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre
and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that
vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My
daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
Jesus
did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her
away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He
answered, “I was sent
only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The
woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He
replied, “It is not
right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes
it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
master’s table.”
Then
Jesus said to her, “Woman,
you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed
at that moment.
Jesus
Feeds the Four Thousand
Jesus
left there and went along the Sea of Galilee.
Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him,
bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid
them at his feet; and he healed them. The
people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the
lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus
called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already
been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them
away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
His
disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to
feed such a crowd?”
“How many loaves
do you have?”
Jesus asked.
“Seven,”
they replied, “and a few small fish.”
He
told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when
he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in
turn to the people. They all ate and were
satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces
that were left over. The number of those who
ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat
and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
We Claim
these things with the Power in the Name of Jesus; Christ the Messiah. Amen.
Footnotes:
- Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Purchased Product License 01/09/2015
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