BIBLE STUDY OUTLINES (2025) – REALITIES MINISTRIES

BIBLE STUDY OUTLINES 2025

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 16:1-20 | WEDNESDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2025

MEMORY VERSES: ““Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”” (Mark 16:6NIV)

BACKGROUND
In our last study in this gospel, we saw the injustice that led to the death and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. And with His death, it looked like everything about Him and the movement He had started had already ended. But as we also saw in our last study, some among the women that had been following and supporting His ministry took note of where His dead body was laid by Joseph of Arimathea. And they did that so that they could go and dress His corpse, as it was their custom, before He would be completely left in the grave. As Mark shows us, they did not do that the day He was buried because they were supposed to prepare for the Sabbath, which was supposed to be the day after. So, their intention was to go the day after the Sabbath, which would be the first day of a new week, and attend to Him. That is why the last chapter of the gospel, chapter 16, begins by showing us the steps these loving and bold women took in giving their Lord honour even after His death.

THE RESURRECTION
Now while the boldness and effort of these women must be commended, they were also a revelation of their unbelief. In what way? The Lord, as Mark shows us in this gospel, had severally told them that He would die and be raised on the third day. But they did not believe that He was going to die. Yet He died right before their eyes, just as He had predicted. And that ought to have been enough reason for them to believe in His resurrection. But they did not believe. So, none of them was looking forward to meeting an empty grave or a risen Lord. All that they had their focus on was taking care of a dead body. (Cf. Mark 8:31; Mark 9:31-32; Mark 10:33-34)

Nevertheless, the Lord did not require their faith to rise from the dead. His own faith in God was enough for Him to experience His resurrection. And we should learn from that. We need to possess our own faith to experience the fullness of God’s power for the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives and not rely on the faith of anybody, however close the person may be to us and however spiritual they may appear. That is because the faith of those around us, even the closest ones to us, may not be at work at all or enough to help us in a moment of need.

Well, the Lord rose from the dead, as He had told these unbelieving disciples. And look at what Mark has to say about that:

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” (Mark 16:1-8NIV)

Can you see that the women that went to the tomb of Jesus did not go there because they were hoping to meet a risen Lord? Rather, they went there just to honour His dead body. And they went, not even because they had any strength to roll the stone at the mouth of His tomb away but because they were just passionate about Him. So, even though we may not have enough faith to receive certain things from God, if we are passionate about Him, there are things He will reveal to us that He may never reveal to those who are not eager or passionate for Him.

Well, because of the passion of these women for the Lord, they were the first to learn of His resurrection. They met an empty tomb. And in the empty tomb was an angel of God waiting for any of Jesus’ disciples that would come there, so that he might inform them of His resurrection. So, any of them could have seen that angel and learnt from him about the Lord’s resurrection. But it was those who went there that saw him. So, again, there are things we will never see or learn or know about the Lord, if we do not have enough passion to drive us to do certain things for Him or to take certain steps about knowing Him.

Now it was natural for those women to be alarmed to hear that Jesus was risen. And it was natural for them to be alarmed in that way because, as I pointed out before, they also did not believe that He was going to rise from the dead. But having been told about His resurrection, it was up to them to believe it and begin to act accordingly, even though they had not yet seen Him face to face. And did they believe? Yes, they did. They did because they went and inform other disciples of the Lord about what they had seen and heard, as we have in the closing chapter of this gospel.

But then, there are bible scholars that do not believe that the last verses or passage of the gospel of Mark was originally a part of the gospel. They think it was later added by someone. And they may be right. But whether that is true or not, the face remains that these last verses are not at all in disagreement with what other gospel writers penned down for us about the resurrection and ascension of our Lord. So, it is safe to for us to consider what is said there and to take it very seriously. And here is what is said there:

“When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16:9-20NIV)

Judging from how this passage starts, one may indeed want to agree with those who say that it was not originally a part of Mark’s gospel. That is because it begins by telling us again what we have already been told in the beginning of the chapter in a different way. But then, it could also be a postscript added by the author himself, just to properly close his thoughts in the gospel.

Whatever the case may be, it is clear from the passage that even though she was not the only woman that went to the tomb of Jesus on the day He resurrected, Maria Magdalene was the first to see Him. And John, another gospel writer, confirms this (John 20:1-18). Also, from the passage, it is clear that the Lord appeared that same day to two other disciples, something that Luke, another gospel writer, confirms (Luke 24:13-35).

Furthermore, it is clear from the passage that those that these people who had seen the Lord reported the matter to did not believe. Why did they not believe? Their hearts were stubborn. He had told them that He would surely die and rise on the third day. But they would not believe until He died. Also, they would not believe until they saw His resurrected body face to face. And that is showing us that regardless of what some people hear from God, they will not believe until they see it in manifestation.

Unfortunately, there are things we will not receive from God unless we believe and act on His word, irrespective of what we see or do not see or what we hear or do not hear or what we feel or do not feel. The Lord Jesus will not show Himself physically to everyone in order to make them believe Him. So, if you are waiting for Him to show Himself to you in order to believe Him or certain things He has said, you may wait forever.

In any case, the Lord rebuked those disciples for their stubborn refusal to believe Him and those He had sent to them. Then He commissioned them to go and preach the gospel to all nations and peoples. And as He pointed out, those who believed their message about Him would be saved, even though most of them would not have the privilege of having Him appear to them. Also, He said that those who believed their message would experience certain supernatural signs in their lives that would make men know that what they had believed was not ordinary but of God.

Now did they act on the command of the Lord or not? They did. And when they did, He also confirmed His word to them by performing all kinds of signs, wonders and miracles through them. So, when we act on the word of the Lord, He will confirm it in our lives and in our affairs. It is not enough, then, for us to say that we believe in the Lord. We must prove that we believe in Him by acting on whatever He tells us. And it is as we act on what He tells us that we will experience the benefits of doing so.

CONCLUSION
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus came as a surprise to all His disciples. And that was because of their unbelief. The fulfilment of the word of God in our lives also may come as a surprise to us, if we are unbelieving. So, we need to rid ourselves of unbelief by choosing to embrace and act on whatever God is saying to us in His word. Otherwise, apart from the fact that the fulfilment of His word may come to us as a surprise, we may not enjoy the benefits that should have come to us for embracing His word and acting on it.

QUESTIONS
– How helpful can being passionate about God be in our walk with Him?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

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TOPIC: CAIN | TEXT: GENESIS 4:1-24 | WEDNESDAY 8TH OCTOBER 2025

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MEMORY VERSES: “Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” (Gen 4:1NIV)

BACKGROUND
Among the bible characters that are worthy of studying is a man called Cain. Who was Cain? What kind of life did he live? And what are the lessons we can put together for ourselves from the life that he lived? These are the things we are going to be looking at in this study. I pray that the Spirit of God will open our eyes to see the truth He seeks to communicate to us by putting this man’s story in the bible for us. Not only that, may He also strengthen us to act on the lessons to be drawn from the man’s life. Amen.

WHO WAS CAIN?
Now, to begin with, who was Cain? Well, here is the introduction we are given of him in the bible:

“Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.”” (Gen 4:1NIV)

So, Cain was the first child of Adam and Eve. Incidentally, they did not give birth to him until after their fall in the Garden of Eden. Maybe if they had given birth to him before their fall, he would have been a different person altogether. He may even have been the second Adam, if he did not partake in the sin that led to their fall. But they gave birth to him after their fall. So, he fully shared in their fallen nature. What a shame?

In any case, even though Cain was given birth to after the fall of humanity, his parents still acknowledged that it was through God’s enablement that they were able to conceive and give birth to him. And that reflected in the name that he was given, which means, ‘acquired’. So, though they had fallen, they still continued to see God as their source.

But how many people see God as their source today? And how many people recognise His involvement in their ability to conceive and give birth to children today? If we recognise that without Him we cannot conceive or give birth to any child, then, we learn to be thankful to Him for every child that comes into this world. Also, we will learn to entrust every child to Him for safe-keeping and for the fulfilment of His good purpose.

It is also of interest to know that it was Eve that named Cain, not his father, Adam. So, any of a child’s parents can name the child. What is important is not who names the child but what the name reflects or communicates. Does it communicate an acknowledgment of God as man’s source or not? If it does not, then, it does not matter who names the child or how sweet the name sounds, a bad job has been done.

HIS PROFESSION
Now the next thing we are shown about Cain in bible accounts is that he gave himself to some honest labour when he came of age. Look at what the bible says about that:

“Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.” (Gen 4:2NIV)

As we see here, it was not only Cain that gave himself to an honest labour; Abel, his brother, also did the same. They were not unduly dependent on their parents for survival but worked with their hands. Why? They were raised that way. They were raised by their parents to take work seriously and not to go the route of laziness. And that was because even their father, who was started his life in a garden already cultivated by God, was told to work right from when he was brought forth. He was not allowed by God to sleep or play around all day. Otherwise, he would not be able to govern the earth and beautify it as God had commanded him to do. (Cf. Gen 2:15)
At any rate, all this is in agreement with what is revealed to us about the will of God for us in other passages of the bible. We all, as long as we are not bedridden or handicapped in any major way, must be involved in some legitimate labour. Otherwise, we will be living less than a human being. (Cf. Acts 20:33-35; Eph 4:28; 1Thess 4:11-12; 2Thess 3:6-12)

So, we must train ourselves to love work, hard work. And we must raise all our children to love and respect work. Working hard, of course, is not synonymous to being rich or prosperous in life. God’s blessings as well have their roles to place in that. However, God’s blessings must have something to work with in other for us to experience the right measure of prosperity in life. And if we are not going to work and work hard, God has told us that we have no moral right to expect Him to feed us or do anything for us (2Thess 3:10).

Well, from what we see in the bible, Cain was a farmer. Who chose his profession for him? He must have chosen it for himself. Yes, his father also started out in the Garden of Eden as a farmer. And if he engaged in any other thing apart from farming, we would not know. But it is clear that he did not choose farming for Cain as a profession. That is because Abel was not reported in the bible to be a farmer as well. Rather, he was reported to be a keeper of flocks. If he too had been a farmer, then, it may have been safe for us to say that their parents chose their vocations for them. But they chose their vocations for themselves.

Now what informed their choices? What led Cain to choose farming and Abel livestock rearing? Was it a prophetic instruction? No! Did they spend some time to pray and fast about it? No! Instead, they chose those professions based on their natural inclinations, abilities and circumstances.

Of course, someone may get to know what vocation they should go for in life through prayer, a prophetic instruction or some divine revelation. But that is something that happens only once in a while. The best way to choose any vocation is to choose it on the basis of our natural inclinations, abilities and circumstances. Unfortunately, we rarely do this. We basically choose vocations based on what we see others do or based on what others are telling us to do. No wonder many people fail at what they do. And until we change our approach to this, we will not stop producing failures or people of average performance in our various fields of life.

HIS SACRIFICE
Now, as I pointed out before, Adam and Eve did not stop acknowledging God as their source after their fall in the Garden of Eden. And that reflected in the name they gave their first child. It should not surprise us, then, that their children, their first two children, would someday bring God offerings from the fruit of their labour. They too must have been taught by their parents to continually acknowledge God as the source of every good thing they had. And how did they express this? One of such ways was by bringing Him an offering. Look at how this is rendered for us in the account:

“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.” (Gen 4:3-5NIV)

Now we are not told in plain terms in the bible that Adam and Eve brought God offerings at any time. But the fact that their two sons did so shows us that they too must have been bringing Him offerings. Not only that, it shows that they must have taught or raised them to be doing so. If we also want any good thing we are doing to remain in our homes or to become a culture in them, we must teach it to our children. And we must not just teach them to be doing it but also teach them the relevance of doing it. Otherwise, their commitment to it may not be true and total.

Well, as we are shown in that text, Cain and Abel, at some point, brought offerings to the Lord. From where? From the fruit of their labour, of course! They did not bring offerings to Him from what was stolen from someone else but from what they both worked for. Also, they did not borrow to give to the Lord, even though that may not have been wrong. Instead, they brought to the Lord from what they have worked for, from what they had. If we too, then, want to give to the Lord, we should give to Him from what we have legitimately earned, not from what we have stolen from others. Otherwise, our giving will not be acceptable to Him.

Also, in giving to the Lord, we should give to Him what we have and not what we do not have. Cain and Abel brought to the Lord what they had and not what they did not have. Yes, some have said that Cain should not have brought God a bloodless sacrifice. But we are not told in the account that they were commanded by God about what to bring. Rather, we are told that they brought Him offerings. That means what they brought to Him was brought out of their own volition. So, it could have been anything they had. What would be important, then, was the quality of what they brought and the heart with which they brought it.

The bible says: “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.” (2Cor 8:12NIV) Did you see that? As long as we are giving to God willingly and cheerfully, He will accept whatever gift we give to Him according to what we have, not according to what we do not have. And He does know what we all have. So, we cannot deceive Him at all where our giving is concerned.

Now because we cannot deceive God at all where our giving is concerned, He is able to justly reward us for whatever we give to Him. And we see this illustrated for us in the way He treated both Cain and Abel and their offerings. He looked with favour on Abel and his offering. But He did not look on Cain and his offering with favour. Why?

Well, some have said the reason was that while Abel brought fat portions of meat to God as his offering, Cain brought Him some rotten and bad produce of his farm. Is anything like that mentioned in the account? No! Also, as I already pointed out above, some others have said the reason was that while Abel brought God a blood sacrifice, Cain’s sacrifice was without blood. Again, is anything like that mentioned in the account? No! So, those who said these things just read their minds into the bible.

What, then, was the basis for God’s judgment? First, we can see it in the account. There we are told that while God looked with favour on Abel and his offering, He did not look with favour on Cain and his offering. So, His judgment wasn’t just based on what they gave but also on who they were. And who were they?

As we see in the bible, Abel was a man of faith, a righteous man. Look at what is said about him:

“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.” (Heb 11:4NIV)

Did you see that? Abel was a man of faith in God. In other words, he was someone that took God seriously in his life. So, he did not give to God simply because his parents told him to do it; rather, he gave to Him because he believed it was the right thing to do. That was why God testified that he was a righteous man.

Then we have this said in the bible about Cain:

“Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.” (1John 3:12NIV)

What do we see here about Cain? We see that he belonged to the evil one, that is, the devil. And because he belonged to the evil one, he was given to evil acts. Yes, as we will soon see, he would later kill his brother. But the killing of his brother was just a single action – it did not represent all the actions he took in life. He had been doing evil before he killed his brother or gave God that offering. Therefore, God could not accept him or his offering.

What is the point we are making? It is that the main reason God did not accept Cain’s offering was that He did not accept the life that he was living. If He had accepted the life he was living, He would also have accepted his offering. But since his life wasn’t acceptable to Him, his offering too could not be acceptable to Him. That is to show us that God cannot be bribed with our gifts or service. If we are not living right before Him, then, it does not matter how much we are giving to Him in money or service, it will not be acceptable to Him. That is because obedience is better than sacrifice, as far as He is concerned. (Cf. 1Sam 15:22-23)

HIS WICKEDNESS
Now was Cain indifferent to the fact that God did not accept him and his offering? No! He could have been indifferent. But he was not indifferent. Instead, he was angry and unhappy. The bible says this about his reaction and God’s response to it:

“But on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”” (Gen 4:5-7NIV)

Why was Cain angry and unhappy? First, it was because he cared about God’s view of what he did. If he did not care, then, he would not bother. Second, it was because, in his own estimation, he did what was right. That means he believed that what he gave to God was huge and of high quality. If he had just given God some rotten things, as some would have us believe, he would not have gotten upset that God did not accept him and his offering.

Well, getting to know what God thought of him and his offering stirred up something in Cain. But how many of us are interested at all in knowing what God thinks of us and our service or giving to Him? And even when we are confronted with the truth of what He thinks of us and what we are doing, how do we respond to what He is saying to us?

Cain was very angry that God would not accept him and his offering. And even though God could have ignored him, He did not. Instead, He addressed him about his folly and told him of the possibility of getting worse, if he would not deal with the problem in his life. And that is something we must keep in mind about the nature of error or sin. One sin that is not adequately and appropriately taken care of will give birth to another sin. And that is how people become entrenched in sin.

It was right of Cain to be concerned about God’s thought concerning him and his offering. But it was wrong of him to be angry with God or anyone else because he was rejected. What he should have done was to repent and amend his ways. That way, he would be able to give God acceptable offerings and sacrifices in the future.

In like manner, it is right of us to want to know what God thinks of us and whatever we are doing for Him. But are we going to be able to accept what He will tell us? Our attitude towards whatever He tells us, whether favourable or unfavourable, is what will tell whether we will become better in living to please Him or get worse.

Now did Cain humbly accept what God said to him? No! The bible tells us to humbly accept the word of God that is planted in our hearts, for it is able to save our souls (James 1:21). And if Cain had done that, his soul would have been saved from murder. But he did not do that, for the bible says:

“Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” (Gen 4:8NIV)

Who led his brother to the field? Cain! Why did he lead him there? He led him there for the sole purpose of killing him. But why did he kill him? Did he offend him in any way? No! Was it his brother that rejected him and his offering? No! Or was it his brother that told God to reject him and his offering? No! What justification, then, did he have for killing him? None! He just killed him because he was jealous of his good life; he was jealous of his relationship with God.

But could he not have the same relationship with God or even something better? He could! Why, then, did he not labour to do so? He did not because he was not really interested in doing so. He was a man of the flesh. He was a man that believed in what he could accomplish for himself apart from God. And since God had rejected him and favoured his brother more than him, he felt hurt and humiliated. So, perhaps in an attempt to punish God for hurting his feelings, he decided to get rid of the man that was making God happy.

So, it is not a new thing for wicked people to persecute righteous people that have not offended them. And it is not a new thing for those who are failing in life to persecute those who are succeeding, even though the ones who are succeeding are not reason for their failure. It is a symptom of jealousy. And it came with the fall of man.

Well, there is another lesson for us in all this, which is that we must be watchful around anyone that is not living to please God, even if they are our closest friend. That is because they do not need any justification for attacking and destroying us. The fact that our lives are right and theirs are not right is enough justification for them to want to destroy or harm us.

If Abel had not been too trusting, if he had not ignored the unhappy face that his brother Cain was wearing, he would have been on guard and probably saved himself from untimely death. But he was not on guard. So, he was killed by his brother. And God did not save him or protect him. It is not every time, then, that God will step in to protect the righteous from the wicked. If the righteous will not be on his guard or ask God for protection, He may not just protect them from the wicked. And you should keep this in mind for your own safety.

HIS JUDGMENT
But then, even though God may sometimes not protect the righteous from the wicked, He will surely judge the wicked for their wickedness. And they will not be able to escape His judgment. Yes, of course, it is not every time that God’s judgment of wickedness is immediate. So, people may think that He is not paying attention or that He is totally inactive. But He is paying attention to what all of us are doing. And He will act in judgment when the time is right for Him to do so.

In Cain’s case, God acted in judgment immediately. Here is what the bible says about it:

“Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel? “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” (Gen 4:9-16NIV)

What do we learn from the way God judged Cain? First, as I pointed out before, we learn that nothing we are doing in life escapes His attention. He sees and hears everything, regardless of how hard we try to cover it up. He saw what Cain did. Not only that, He heard the voice of the blood of his brother that he had shed. So, things can speak. Peoples’ blood, people’s sweat, people’s pains and even people’s wages can speak to God, as we see in the bible. And when they do, He will hear and act in justice. That is why we ought to watch ourselves against any form of injustice to others, for it will not escape God’s notice and judgment. (Cf. Ex 2:24-25; James 5:4)

Second, we see that God is the judge of all mankind. And as a righteous judge, He will surely give everyone justice, as their deeds deserve. Third, we learn from the way God judged Cain that only He knows all the consequences of our actions, good or bad. As He told Cain, he was supposed to be Abel’s keeper and protector. So, he was supposed to know his whereabout. But he killed the one that he was supposed to protect. Therefore, he brought himself under a curse. That was the consequence of what he did.

Now how would the curse work against Cain? First, it would make a failure of him as a farmer. The ground had been doing well for him, yielding abundant crops for him whenever he cultivated it. But since he had polluted it with the blood of his brother, the ground would no longer respond to his hard labour in farming with fruitfulness. So, as far as being a farmer was concerned, he could only be a failure, however hard he worked. Yes, he could prosper in some other vocations, as we will later see. But farming became a curse for him the moment he murdered his brother.

In the same vein, there are people that have brought themselves under some curses because of their wickedness. So, they cannot prosper in certain trades or vocations, regardless of how hardworking they are. And unless they are brought some divine revelations about this, as it was the case with Cain, so that they may repent and seek God’s face for mercy, they will continue to be under those curses till they die.

The second way the curse on Cain manifested was that it made a wanderer of him. How! It took peace of mind away from him. In other words, he found himself being haunted by the thought of his killing of his brother. How this affected him is really hard to say. It may be that he could not sleep well. It may be that he kept hearing the voice of his brother in his head.

Finally, from the way God judged Cain, we see that He is a merciful God. Yes, He is a God of justice. But He is also merciful. And in judging Cain, He revealed Himself as merciful. But then, Cain did not receive God’s mercy automatically. He actually asked for it. Think about that. He was a murderer, one that had no moral right to ask for mercy. Yet he boldly asked for it. And God showed him mercy. God protected this murderer by putting a mark of protection on him. What a merciful God!

Now all of this is why the word of God says to us, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb 4:16NIV) Cain, a murderer, boldly asked God for mercy in his time of need, in the hour of his judgment. And if a murderer could do that, how about those of us who are God’s sons and daughters?

Of course, we too may have done things as bad as what Cain did. Yet God is asking us to come to Him boldly for mercy. Why? The reason is that He is a loving and merciful God. And because of that, He has paid the price for our sins, so that He would be able to show us mercy. If we, then, are not shown mercy by Him, it will not be because He does not want to show us mercy. Rather, it will be because we will not seek Him for mercy when the opportunity is there for us to receive it.

HIS RECOVERY
Well then, since Cain received God’s mercy for protection from anyone who may want to kill him, he went away from where he had been to wander in a place called Nod. And did he just use all the remaining years of his life to wander? No! Here is what the bible says about his life afterwards:

“Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.” (Gen 4:17-18NIV)

What do we see here? First, we see that Cain did not use God’s curse on his life as an excuse for wasting away in life. Yes, God placed a curse on him. But He also showed him mercy, so that he may live. Why would God want him to live, if He did not want him to do something meaningful with his life? He surely wanted him to do something meaningful with his life. Also, He wanted him to use that opportunity to repent and return to a life of faith in Him, something that he did not consider at all.

Well, thought the curse truly placed some limitations on him and on what he could accomplish in life, all he needed was to recognise those limitations so that he may know how to work around them to prosper in life. And he did just that. How?

Well, first, we see that Cain got married. The curse on his life did not say that he could not get married. So, he got married and had children. Second, we see that Cain built a city. That’s organisation and government. And did the curse say that he could not do that? No! The curse only said that he could not prosper as a farmer and that he would be a restless wanderer.

Now whether Cain stayed long in the city he built or not is not a matter of importance to us. What is important to us is that the man did not just wander with the rest of his life. Instead, he did meaningful and productive things while wandering around. And if that man could still accomplish great things in his life, despite the curse on him, what will be our excuse for wasting our lives, despite the fact that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus? (Cf. Eph 1:3)

The point we are making is that even though Cain came under a curse for killing his brother, he still recovered and found a way to make sense out of the remaining part of his life. Yes, he was continually haunted by what he did. And that was because the blood of Jesus had not yet been shed at the time to cleanse him of his unrighteousness and guilty conscience. Also, it was because he never sought forgiveness and restoration from God. Nevertheless, he went on to prosper to some degree in life.

So, regardless of what you may have done, as long as God has kept you alive, don’t waste the remaining days or years of your life blaming yourself for your sins or errors. Yes, you may not be able to do anything about the consequences of your mistakes. Yet don’t waste your life going on guilt trips and making yourself useless to God and the people around you. Instead, turn to God for mercy, as Cain did, and let Him open your eyes to see how you can still make sense out of whatever is left of your life.

HIS GENERATION
Well, because Cain did not allow his life to stop because of his sin, he was able to raise a generation of people after him, fulfilling God’s command to humanity that says, “Multiply and fill the earth.” Here is what the account says about that:

“To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” (Gen 4:18-24NIV)

What do we see here? First, as I said before, we see that Cain’s curse did not stop him from raising a generation of people after him. That means the curse was not meant to cancel the blessing of fruitfulness with children in his life. And it did not.

Second, we see that the curse of Cain did not stop his descendants from prospering in life. Why? The curse was on him and not on his descendants. So, as long as his descendants would put their hands to work, they would prosper. And they did put their hands to work. Each of them chose their vocation and worked on the basis of the abilities deposited in them by God. So, again, we see that it was not difficult for people at that time to know or choose their vocations. That was because they paid attention to the abilities given to them by God and made the most of them. No wonder they became civilised enough at the time to build cities.

But then, we must also understand that though God wants us to multiply in number here on earth, He is equally concerned about the sort of people we are multiplying the earth with. He actually tells us that what He seeks is godly offspring (Mal 2:15). But can we raise godly children for God, if we ourselves are not godly? No! God would have to step in and raise those kids Himself, if that would happen. Otherwise, ungodly parents can only raise ungodly children.

Sadly, that was the case with Cain and his generation. Because Cain did not take God seriously as a person, he could not raise a generation of people who took God seriously. After he destroyed Abel, Adam had another child that he called Seth. Then Seth had a son of his own that he called Enosh. And it was during the time of Enosh that people began to pray to God. Whose generation began to teach the need to pray to God? It was the generation of Seth, Adam’s third son, not the generation of Cain. (Cf. Gen 4:25)

What, then, do we see in Cain’s generation? First, we see polygamy. Lamech, the fifth man from Cain, was the father of polygamy. He married two wives. Where did he learn that from? From Satan, of course! If he had been raised to take God seriously, he would not have been open to that kind of wicked thought. But he was not raised to take Him seriously. So, Satan was able to use him to initiate the evil called polygamy. And only God can tell what sort of damage this evil has done to humanity as a whole.

Then, apart from the introduction of polygamy into the world Cain’s generation, we also see the second case of murder in his family line. It was Lamech again who killed somebody. And while Cain made no excuse for killing his own brother, Lamech said he did his own thing in self-defence. Was it really so? We would not know until the day of judgment. But we do know that this man expected God to protect him as well, since he protected murderous Cain. What is that? Self-justification!

Well, the bible does not tell us how God responded to Lamech’s self-justification. But it shows us these things to let us know that if we refuse to deal with certain evils or bad behaviours in our lives, they may become generational. And that is how a generation of vipers is often birthed.

CONCLUSION
The story of Cain is given to us in the bible to teach a lot of things about how to please God, the consequences of not humbly accepting God’s word, God’s justice and the power of God’s mercy. How we respond to these things, then, will tell whether we too will end up like Cain or not.

QUESTIONS
– How was Cain different from Lamech?
– Cain’s descendants made tremendous advancement in technology, even though they were not raised to take God seriously, for the most part. What lessons can we pick from this?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT:MARK 15:1-47 | wednesday 10TH SEPTEMBER 2025

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MEMORY VERSES: “And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”” (Mark 15:39NIV)

BACKGROUND

In our last study in Mark’s gospel, we saw how Jesus, contrary to the expectations of His disciples, was arrested, molested, tried and condemned by the leaders of the Jews. And as He had predicted, all His disciples abandoned Him for safety. Nevertheless, He did not shrink back from doing the will of God. Instead, He went on, against all odds, and did what God had sent Him to do. Why? One main reason was that He gave Himself to prayer, that is, to the very end. And by doing that, He was able to receive sufficient strength to do the will of God, even though His flesh wanted something different. The point of this, in any case, is that if we will not devote ourselves to prayer, regardless of how tired, distressed or frightened we may be and regardless of how confident we may be, we will not be able to stand firm in doing the will of God.

THE GREATEST INJUSTICE

Now, in chapter 15 of this gospel, Mark leads us to the trial and judgment of Jesus by Pilate, the then Roman governor of Judea. The religious leaders of the Jews had already condemned Him to death. But since they had no right under the Roman law to put anyone to death, they had to take His case to Pilate (John 18:31). And what did Pilate discover in this matter? Look at what Mark has to say about it:

“Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:1-15NIV)

From interrogating Jesus, it was easy for Pilate to realise that He was just another victim of the jealousy of the religious leaders of the Jews. The man could not just place his fingers on any serious crime the Lord committed to warrant the clamour of the leaders of the land to have Him executed. So, he began to labour to release Him.

Mind you, the Lord Jesus could have defended Himself on this occasion. He had the right to do so under the Roman law. But He did not do so? Why? If He had done so, the will of God for Him to die for us would not have been accomplished. That is because Pilate would have had a very just reason to set Him free. But despite the fact that Pilate gave Him an opportunity to defend Himself, He would not do so. And that was to fulfil the Scripture that says:

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isa 53:7NIV)

Did you see that? Jesus was fulfilling the word of God by not opening His mouth to defend Himself before the one that had the right kill or spare Him. And as I pointed out already, He did that for our sake. Now it takes one who understands the will of God for his life, as Jesus did, to act like that, to give up his rights. We always want to exercise our rights and privileges in life. But as we see in Scriptures, it is not every time that the exercise of our rights will accomplish the will of God in our lives and in our world. And if we don’t know where God requires that we give up our rights, we will find ourselves working contrary to His plans, while we are trying to take for ourselves what we believe is rightfully ours. (Cf. 1Cor 6:1-7 & 9:1-18)

In any case, because Jesus would not defend Himself before Pilate, He put this governor in a position where his character as a judge was put to the test. Yes, the accused would not defend Himself. But His accusers also did not have any sufficient proof to have Him executed. So, it was up to the judge to maintain justice. And did he maintain justice? Not at all!

Truly, Pilate tried to save Jesus by asking the people if they would allow him to pardon Him, as it was his custom during their Passover festival. But their religious leaders would not have that. Instead, they incited the people to ask for Barabbas, a criminal. So, while an innocent and flawless man was being dragged to death, a criminal was released to go and continue enjoying his life. That, of course, had a spiritual meaning. It denoted the substitution God made to save us, the just for the unjust, that we might be brought to Him. (Cf. 1Pet 3:18)

All this, however, does not mean that we can exonerate Pilate. He carried out the greatest injustice of all times. He knew Jesus was innocent. He knew that He did not deserve to die. Yet, in order to please the people, in order to go in the direction that everyone was going, He gave the order to have Him executed. And this was to confirm what Jesus had earlier declared to His disciples that men loved darkness instead of light. That means that the natural man would naturally choose darkness, even when he had no reason to do so. What a shame! (Cf. John 3:19-21)

Well, after this, Jesus was taken away by Pilate’s soldiers to be molested, harassed, flogged and crucified. And they did that joyfully. Think about it. They all must have been aware of what Pilate was aware of, which was that Jesus was being unjustly killed. So, they could have killed Him with dignity, even though they could not change His fate. But they did not. They just saw killing people as fun, regardless of whom they had to kill, whether the person was guilty or innocent.

In addition, Mark shows us that they even forced an innocent man that happened to stumble on them when they were taking Jesus to where they would crucify Him to carry His cross. And that was showing us something about the character of humanity. We have lost ourselves. So, it does not matter how little our authority may be, we are likely to abuse it. And we might do so happily. No wonder we needed the redemption of Jesus so seriously. And if God had not obtained it for us, we all would have been lost forever and already. (Cf. Mark 16:16-24)

Now the next scene Mark takes us to is the crucifixion scene. He does this to show us that His enemies continued to harass Him until He gave up the ghost. Look at how what he says about all this:

“It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “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. At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”-which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”” (Mark 15:25-39NIV)

Did you see that? It was not only the Roman soldiers that abused and molested Jesus, His own people and their leaders also did the same. So, both the Jews and the Gentiles had a hand in His unjust death. Even the criminals that were crucified along with Him, as Mark notes, also heaped insults on Him. Luke, of course, would tell us in his own gospel that it was actually one of those criminals that abused Him – the other did not. What does it matter, what had been done had been done – an innocent and just man had been brutally killed. And all of us were responsible for His death. (Cf. Luke 23:39-43)

But then, Mark is also careful to share with us some very striking things that accompanied the dying of our Lord Jesus on the cross that day. First, he tells us that darkness came upon the entire land for three hours, from 12 in the afternoon to 3. That should have told all the people something about their injustice. But did they care? No! Why? They did not know what they were doing. They had been blinded to what was right and just. May we not be blind to what is right and just. Otherwise, we can only perish suddenly and without remedy.

Another thing that happened was that Jesus cried out that God had forsaken Him. And when He gave this cry, He was actually declaring what was written about Him in a psalm of David (Ps 22:1). But the point He was actually making was that our sins, the sins of the world, that He was bearing on that cross made God turn His eyes away from Him. This was someone that had always enjoyed the love and fellowship of the Father. But when He became sin for humanity, even His loving Father could not behold Him. That is showing us how evil sin is in the eyes of God. So evil is it that it must be judged by Him. Thankfully, He already judged it for us in Christ Jesus.

The third striking thing that Mark mentions here is that the temple veil was torn from top to bottom when Jesus gave up the ghost. How did that happen? No one could explain. But that veil was what separated the Most Holy place from the Holy place. Beyond that, it was what indicated that not everybody could freely or easily access God. But since it was torn from top to bottom that day, showing that its tearing was not the work of any man, it became clear to those who had understanding that access to God had been made available to everyone through the death of Jesus. (Cf. Heb 10:19-20)

The fourth thing that happened in that hour that Jesus died was that the Roman centurion that supervised His execution believed that He was indeed the Son of God. What made him believe? The things he had witnessed that day, from start to finish. But he was not the only one that witnessed these things. How come he was the only one that believed. That is to show us that faith is a gift of God. And if you are not given, it does not matter how much signs and wonders God brings to you, you will still not believe.

Finally, Mark shows us how Jesus was buried after His death. He shows us those who participated in ensuring that He was given a proper burial. Look at how he puts it:

“Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.” (Mark 15:40-47NIV)

Did you see that? Some of the Lord’s disciples still stayed with Him to the end. But they were mostly women. And that was probably why the soldiers did not harass them. Whatever the case was, these women stood by Him to the very end. And as Mark shows us, they also had been the ones mostly responsible for supporting Him and His ministry financially. So, women don’t have to take the back seats in ministry or in serving the Lord. That is because the Lord has not said that they must be behind.

Well, while these women must have been wondering what would become of the dead body of Jesus, a secret disciple of the Lord showed up and boldly demanded for His body from Pilate. Interestingly, he too was a prominent member of the Jewish council. And evidently, he could not do much in preventing his people from killing the Lord. But he did what he could. He boldly used his influence to collect his body for a proper burial. And that request was granted.

What is that showing us? It is that we must learn to use our office or position or wealth to do whatever we can do to promote God’s righteous cause. We may not be able to use what we have to save everyone that is in trouble or to do good to everyone we come in contact with. That is because there may be forces against us that we have no answer for. But whatever we can do with what God has given to us in promoting righteousness and peace where we are, we should do it. And God will honour us for doing so.

CONCLUSION

Even though Governor Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, he still passed a death sentence on Him. And that was because he wanted the praise of men. We must, therefore, be careful of the praise of men. That is because it may lead us to commit the highest form of injustice ever known by mankind.

QUESTIONS

– What lessons can leaders learn from the way Pilate judged Jesus’ case?

– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 13:1-37 | wednesday 9th june 2025

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MEMORY VERSES: “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.” (Mark 13:35NIV)

BACKGROUND
We have come to the thirteenth chapter of the gospel of Mark. And in this chapter, he shares with us some very significant prophetic revelations and instructions given by our Lord Jesus Christ to His apostles, just before He went to the cross. What were these revelations and instructions about? They were about certain trials that the Jewish nation would suffer after the ascension of the Lord and also about the things that would characterise His return. And we will do well to pay attention to them, as those saints of old paid attention to them and were kept from being misled or deceived by false prophets and false Christs.

CONCERNING THE END TIME
Now what led the Lord to giving the revelations and instructions He gave to His apostles about the end time? It was their calling His attention to the magnificence of the temple. Look at how Mark puts this:

“As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”” (Mark 13:1-4NIV)

Did you see that? Jesus began to speak to His disciples about what would become of their temple and the Jewish nation in the near future because they drew His attention to the magnificence of the temple buildings. And the first thing He told them was that all the buildings they were looking at would someday in the future be brought down. Why? Evidently, it was because their enemies would attack them and see to the demolition of those temple buildings. And history tells us that this actually happened in AD 70, when Titus, a Roman army general, attacked Jerusalem and sacked the city.

Now we must remember that the temple that Solomon built was also thrown down by King Nebuchadnezzar. Why? First, it was because the people were not living in the will of God, even though they were still using the temple for His worship. Second, it was to show the people that God never lives in any human building or structure. So, any human building or structure that we build in honour of Him will only be considered useful to Him to degree that we ourselves honour Him with our lives. (Cf. 2Chro 36; Isaiah 66:1-2)

In like manner, the temple that the Jews were using in Jesus’ days also was going to suffer the same fate, as predicted by the Lord to His disciples. That, of course, was because it was equally no longer serving God’s purpose. In fact, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ were all meant to end the need for any human temple built for the worship of God. People will, then, constitute the only temple that God will recognise and dwell in afterwards. (Cf. 1Cor 3:16&6:19)

Well, after the disciples had heard Jesus’s prediction about the temple, they were moved to privately ask Him questions about when His predictions would be fulfilled and also about the signs that would characterise the fulfilment of those predictions. And did He answer them or not? He did! But He did not tell them exactly when the events that would result in what He had predicted about the temple would happen. He only told them about the signs that would characterise their happening.

Also, He proceeded to tell them what would characterise His own return. Why? He did not want anyone to confuse them about His return. He did not anyone to use the ordeals the Jews would face when their enemies attacked them and destroyed their temple to confuse them about His return.

When we had the outbreak of COVID-19 in the world, people began to wonder whether that was the end of the world. Some, in fact, asked him if that was the end of the world. And I remember telling a group of believers that I was teaching at the time that even though God destroyed the world of Noah’s day with a flood, leaving only 8 people alive, it was not the end of the world. The world also had witnessed world wars. Yet none of them brought the world to its end.

So, we must not mistake any worldwide calamity or trouble for the end of the world. But we will mistake it for the end of the world, if we will not pay attention to what our Lord Jesus shared with His disciples at that time. And what did He share with them:

“Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong — let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now — and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect — if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” (Mark 13:5-23NIV)

Now from what the Lord shared with His disciples on this occasion, it is clear that He was more concerned about their being not deceived and misled than their knowing what would happen in the future. So, it is not enough to have divine revelations about the future; it is also important that we know how to handle those revelations. Otherwise, we may use the same divine revelations that are meant to guide us to mislead ourselves.

Trouble was indeed waiting for the Jews of the times of these disciples. And exactly when it would come was not something the Lord was going to tell His disciples. However, He did give them a hint from the book of Daniel. Daniel had spoken severally about an abomination that would be set up in the temple of the Lord. And Jesus told His people that once they saw the setting up of something abominable in the temple, they should take it as a sign of the its demolition and the trouble that would attend it. (Cf. Dan 8:13; Dan 9:27; Dan 12:11)

However, as the Lord went on to warn these disciples, because of the trouble that would attend the desolation of the temple, there would be people that would want to use the situation to deceive them. In other words, there would be false prophets and false Christs, each claiming to have brought salvation to them from the Lord and confirming this with all kinds of false signs and wonders. But these events should not be taken as characterising the end of the world or the return of the Lord. They were just things that were ordained to happen to the Jews.

More so, as the Lord pointed out to His disciples, all kinds of terrible things would be happening in the world and to other nations of the world as well. Wars, rumours, famines, earthquakes and other terrible things would be happening in the world. There would also be intense persecutions of the Christians. Yet these things must not be taken as the end of the world, even though they were all bound to happen. Therefore, they were not to allow anyone to use them to make them follow a false Christ. As we all know, when the world is quaking with all kinds of bad occurrences, people, including Christians, will be looking forward to relief. And that is when they are most vulnerable to deceit. If we, then, will not pay attention to these instructions, we are bound to be deceived and misled.

Well, can we know anything about the end of the world and return of our Lord Jesus? Are there signs that can help us to know these things and be prepared for them? Yes, there are signs that can help us to know if the end of the world is already with us or not. But the signs given by the Lord are just to help us to know that we are in the season of His coming; they do not tell us anything about the exact day or hour He will come.

Therefore, what the Lord wants us to be more concerned about is our readiness for Him and not the exact time He returns. He will surely return at the time God has set. But that could be any time for us. So, our focus should not be on when He will return but on how prepared we are for Him. And look at how Mark reports what the Lord said about this:

“”But in those days, following that distress, “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!'” (Mark 13:24-37NIV)

Did you see that the Lord actually tells us some things about the things that will characterise His return and the end of the world? He says that the sun will be darkened, stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. That means His return will not be a secret. It will be visible. But the exact day and hour this will happen is what we do not know. Nobody knows it, not even Jesus Himself. Only the Father knows it. So, again, the Lord says that our focus should not be on when but on our preparedness. Otherwise, we may be found sleeping when He returns.

CONCLUSION
Without doubt, the last days will be days characterised with all kinds of troubles and alarming events. However, these things do not mean that the end of time has come. When the end of time comes, all men will see it and know that it is the end. So, we should not allow any happening in the world to get us carried away and be misled by lying prophets or false Christs. Instead, we should give ourselves to living lives that are well-pleasing to God, in spite of what we may be facing in the world. That is what should be most important to us.

QUESTIONS
– How helpful to you are the things Jesus shares about His return?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE HEROES OF FAITH|TEXT: HEBREWS 11:32-34 |SERIES: BUILDING UP YOUR FAITH| wednesday 25th june 2025

ALAYTHIA BIBLE CHURCH
BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE AND COMMENTARY
WEDNESDAY 9TH JULY 2025

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER TEXT: MARK 13:1-37

QUESTIONS
– How helpful to you are the things Jesus shares about His return?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC:THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 12:1-44 | WEDNESDAY 28th May 2025

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER

TEXT: MARK 12:1-44

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MEMORY VERSES: “Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?”” (Mark 12:24NIV)

BACKGROUND
Chapter 11 of Saint Mark’s gospel ends with the questioning of Jesus by the Jewish religious leaders concerning the right He had to do things He was doing. Why? They just wanted to discredit Him at all cost. Unfortunately for them, they could not deny the results He was getting. And that alone upset them. But they were not ready to give up. So, as Mark shows us in the twelfth chapter of his gospel, which we now want to consider, these wicked religious leaders kept on coming around to quiz Jesus in order to find a way to ensnare Him. But because they could not handle the wisdom with which He functioned, their hypocrisy and ignorance were revealed each they came to quiz Him. Eventually, they had to stop bothering Him, having realised that doing so would only result in more open disgrace for them. This, of course, is showing us the need to take seriously the Scripture that says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1Peter 3:15-16NIV)

QUIZZING JESUS
Now, before we begin to look at the various lessons we can learn from the questions the religious leaders of the Jews asked the Lord Jesus and how He answered them, as reported by Mark in this twelfth chapter of his gospel, let us look at a parable He told these wicked leaders and their response to it. And here is it from verse 1 of Mark 12:
“He then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.” (Mark 12:1-12NIV)

What was this parable aimed at showing the religious elders of the Jews? It was aimed at showing them how unprofitable they had been in leading the people to bear fruit that delighted God’s heart ever since He brought them into the Promised Land. Before He brought them into that land, there were people living there. And He told them that it was because of the sins of the people living there that He was driving them out of it and giving it to them. Why did He tell them this? It was to let them know that if they too would not bear fruit that would make Him happy, He would eject them as well from the good land. (Cf. Deut 9:4-6)

Sadly, they too would not honour God by bringing forth fruit of righteousness and love in the good land He had given them. And though He sent many prophets and sages to warn them, they would not listen to Him. Instead, they treated all those people shamefully and continued in their stubbornness, even though they had to go into exile at some point in their history.

Now, as the Lord points out in this parable, the last main messenger God was going to send to these people, the Jews, as a nation was His only beloved Son. And would they honour Him and listen to Him? No! Instead, they would kill Him too and try to completely make themselves independent of God. Therefore, they would be punished severely and the privilege they had been enjoying would be taken away from them and given to those who would cherish it, that is, the gentile nations, who would come to embrace Jesus as their Lord.

Well then, through this parable, the Lord is first showing us that God expects us to be profitable with whatever privilege or opportunity He gives to us in life, starting with our privilege to live. And if we fail to be profitable with what He has given us, at some point, we will be judged for our unprofitableness. Then the privileges and opportunities we have wasted or are wasting may just be given to some other people.

Furthermore, through the parable, the Lord is showing us that He Himself is the most important and cherished messenger, not Moses, Elijah or any one that men regard as a prophet, that God would send to the nation of Israel and, of course, to all mankind. Why? For their redemption and reconciliation to God! Therefore, even though Israel, as a nation rejected Him when He first came to them, they and all the world of men would someday realise that He is the stone that builders rejected but which has become the capstone. In other words, Jesus is not someone you can reject or escape. Whether you like it or not, a day is coming when you will realise that you cannot avoid Him but must stand before Him to give an account of yourself. How sad will it be on that day, then, for all those who would have nothing to do with Him here on earth?

Unfortunately, despite the fact that the Jewish leaders heard this parable and understood what Jesus was saying to them through it, they would still not humble themselves and repent of their wickedness. Instead, they began to think of how they might kill Him. And this is showing us that regardless of what opportunities and time God gives to some people to be saved, they will not utilise them and be saved. Why? They are born to be damned. My hope, in any case, is that you have not been born to be damned. But if you have been consistently rejecting the truth that God is bringing to you, even though you claim to be a Christian, it may just be that you have been born to be damned.

Now, moving away from this parable, Mark begins to give us some of the questions these religious leaders of the Jews threw at Jesus, in their attempt to discredit and destroy Him at all cost. Look at the first one he gives to us:

“Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “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?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.” (Mark 12:13-17NIV)

What were these people trying to accomplish with this question? Well, they were trying to show Jesus as one that was not law-abiding. But He amazed them by showing them that God’s people must be law-abiding. And one of the ways they are to show that they are law abiding is by paying their taxes. God, as we see in Scriptures, recognises government, for it is His instrument of maintaining peace and order among men. Therefore, He commands His children to duly pay their taxes, for these taxes are meant to aid the government in carrying out its functions. (Cf. Rom 13:1-6; 1Pet 2:13-14)

But then, Jesus did not answer the question they asked Him about payment of taxes directly. Instead, in manifesting Himself to them as God’s wisdom, He asked them to bring Him a coin and to tell Him whose portrait and inscription were on it. And when they told Him that they were Ceasar’s, He told them to give to Ceasar what belongs to him and to God what belongs to Him. In other words, don’t use God as your excuse for not honouring a duly established human government, just as you must not use any human ordinance as your excuse for not honouring God, your maker.

Sadly, we now have people who use what Jesus said on this occasion as their excuse for giving bribes to those demanding for it or for engaging in some idolatrous or immoral traditions of some places. Jesus never means that we are to give to anybody or any government what is not their right to take from us. Also, He never means that we are to disobey God in order to honour anybody or any government. What He means is that we are to give proper recognition to the place of God and to the place of human governments in life. Anything besides this, then, is of the evil one.

The second quizzing of Jesus, as Mark records in this chapter, came from the Sadducees, that religious sect of the Jews that did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Now the Scriptures these people were given by God clearly teach that there is such a thing as the resurrection of the dead and, of course, eternal judgment. But somehow, these people found ways to ignore the truths of the Scriptures about this subject. And in order to justify their stand against these truths, they came up with a very funny story to quiz Jesus on the matter. Look at how Mark renders this:

“Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising — have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”” (Mark 12:18-27NIV)

Now these Sadducees must have felt that they had Jesus corned by their story and question. But they did not realise that they were dealing with the very wisdom of God made flesh. So, there was no way they could have Him corned. In any case, in answering the question that came out of their story, the first the Lord told them was that their reasoning was faulty. Why was it faulty? It was faulty because they were not well acquainted with the Scriptures or the power of God.

But these people spent every one of their days studying Scriptures. How, then, could Jesus say that they were not well acquainted with it? The reason must have been that they were selective in handling the Scriptures. In other words, they gave themselves to studying only those parts of the Scriptures that suited them, instead of studying all the Scriptures and allowing these Scriptures to interpret themselves. In like manner, if we don’t want to be missing God’s will for us in the Scriptures, we must give ourselves to it in its totality and not be selective in handling it. Then we must allow them to interpret themselves, instead of trying to read our own meanings into what they are saying. Otherwise, even though we are known as bible college doctors, the Lord may still see as nothing but ignoramuses, as far as the knowledge of biblical truths is concerned.

Another thing that made the reasoning of these Sadducees faulty, as pointed out by the Lord, was the fact that they were not well acquainted with the power of God. That means they had no idea what the power of God could do in raising the dead and giving them life to live in glorified bodies. So, they underestimated Him. And we too will continually underestimate God, if we will not settle down with Scriptures to meditate on His power.

At any rate, Jesus went on to tell these people that there would be nothing like marriage at the resurrection of the dead. That is because those who partake in this resurrection will be like the angels, who neither get married nor are given in marriage. Besides, people’s spirits don’t die but always live, whether they are in their mortal bodies or not. That is why Jesus says God is not the God of the dead but of the living.

Now what we know and understand about these things has a lot to say about where we will spend our eternity. And the point of it all is that we need to be well acquainted with the word of God and His power. Otherwise, we will be living on the basis of faulty reasonings and philosophies of life.

Interestingly, while all this quizzing of Jesus was going on, there was a teacher of the law there who was listening. And having seen that Jesus had answered them correctly and adequately, he too decided to quiz Him about what He considered to be the most important of all God’s commandments. But why must they quiz Him? Why could they not just settle down to learn from Him like the so-called sinners in the land? The reason was that they were finding it hard to accept the fact that He knew what they did not know and was living well the righteous life that had been impossible for them to live. (Cf. Mark 12:28)

Well, Jesus answered this man and told him that loving God wholeheartedly and loving humanity as we love ourselves are the most important of all commandments. And did man agree or not? He agreed. Therefore, Jesus told him that he was not far from the kingdom of God. And of course, nobody dared to ask Him any more questions from that time on. (Cf. Mark 12:29-34)

But then, what Jesus said to this man is thought-provoking. He told him that he was not yet in the kingdom of God – he was only close to it. Why? The reason was that he had not yet submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ in order to be born again. So, regardless of how close he might be to the kingdom of God, he would not be able to enter it.

Besides, as Luke tells us in his own account of the same incident, this man further tried to justify himself by asking Jesus to describe who his neighbour was to him. Remember that Jesus had told him that the second most important commandment of God was for him to love his neighbour as himself. He should, then, have gone ahead to do exactly what he had been told. But in trying to justify himself by asking Jesus to tell him who his neighbour was, he showed himself as someone that was still filled with pride and did not see himself as lacking in any way. And unless he humbled himself, he would not be able to take advantage of the grace of God to be saved. (Cf. Luke 10:21-37)

In like manner, there are some today who are also close to the kingdom of kingdom. That is because they believe in God and take Him seriously to some extent in their lives. But unless they humble themselves, lay aside their good works and accept God’s testimony about His Son Jesus Christ, they will remain lost. Then all their good works will go to waste. I pray that none of your good works will go to waste. But you must understand that your good works cannot save you – only faith in Christ Jesus can.

Well, having dealt with all the questions of these opponents of His, Jesus too decided to expose their limited understanding of the Scriptures by pointing a statement of error that they regularly made. Look at how Mark reports this:

“While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ‘David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight. As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” (Mark 12:35-40NIV)

Did you see that? The so-called teachers of the law could not interpret correctly a passage as simple as the one Jesus quoted on that occasion. Therefore, they could not give their Messiah His rightful place in their history. Also, their so-called religion was overloaded with hypocrisies and lies of all kinds. That was why they continually preyed on widows and other ignorant and weak people.

If Jesus, then, had wanted to spend His time exposing their errors, He would most likely have had nothing else meaningful to do with His time. But He had a lot of better things to teach the people and to do with His time. And the people loved Him for this. In fact, we are told that they listened to Him with delight. That, of course, is how it should be with everyone handling the word of God. He should handle it in such a way that people will be delighted to hear it, not because he is using flatteries or human wisdom but because he is communicating the truth with the wisdom of the Spirit of God.

In closing, Mark gives us another account to show us that the Lord is always paying attention to what we are doing, even if it appears insignificant to men. Look at it:

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money 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. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on.”” (Mark 12:41-44NIV)

From this account, we see that God does not rate our good works as men do. Those that we think are doing great things in the kingdom of God may after all not be doing as well before God as we think they are doing. What determines the measure of our greatness in the sight of God is the heart with which we serve Him. The Lord, as we see in the account, does not condemn the rich for giving to God out of their abundance. So, we must never condemn the giving of the rich, as long as they have given it in faith to God.

However, we must also not despise the giving of the poor, regardless of how little it may seem. That is because if the poor have given to God in faith, He will accept their gift in accordance to what they have and not what they do not have (2Cor 8:12). And it might surprise us that the little the poor have given to Him in faith may outweigh the great that the rich have given. So, do not hold back from God anything you are in a position to give to Him, simply because you think it is too small. That is because that small gift may just be what will place you in a great position in His eternal kingdom.

CONCLUSION
Though Jesus was severely persecuted and quizzed by His opponents, He was ever ready to answer them appropriately and adequately and without bitterness. We too must always be ready to give those questioning our faith in God answers by the wisdom of God and without bitterness. But we have to give ourselves to the word of God to be able to do so. Otherwise, we may find ourselves often being disgraced by those who know nothing about the will of God.

QUESTIONS
– What is the place of understanding Scriptures adequately in dealing with opposition against the gospel?
– What is the most important lesson for you in the study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 11:1-52 | WEDNESDAY 23RD APRIL 2025

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER TEXT: MARK 11:1-52

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MEMORY VERSES: “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”” (Mark 10:27NIV)

BACKGROUND
We have come to the eleventh chapter of the gospel of Mark. Here Mark begins to lead us into the last moments of our Lord Jesus here on earth. Remember that in chapter 8, after he shares with us about Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, he tells us that Jesus, from that time, began to plainly tell His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer from the hands of the religious leaders of the Jews, die and be raised from the dead on the third day (Mark 8:27-33). And now he wants to begin to show us step by step how everything that led to the death of the Lord unfolded, beginning with His grand entry into Jerusalem. So, this chapter is a revelation of Jesus Christ to the public as Lord and Saviour.

LORD AND JUDGE
Now, as I already pointed out, the first thing Mark leads us into in this chapter was the grand entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This was not His first time of coming to Jerusalem. But on this occasion, when He was already getting ready to be sacrificed for the sins of the world, He came into the city in a grand style. Look at how Mark reports this:

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'” They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 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 11:1-10NIV)

Did you see that? Jesus was deliberate about His grand entry into Jerusalem on this occasion. First, by divine revelation, He told His disciples exactly what to do to get Him the donkey that He wanted to ride into Jerusalem. And they met things exactly the way He had told them. Then, when He rode the donkey into the city, there were many people to welcome and hail Him. And for the first time, there was a general and public acknowledging of the fact that He was sent of God.

Now, of course, Mark does not tell us why Jesus, who all along had been ministering almost quietly, decided to go public on this occasion. But Matthew tells us why in his own gospel. He says:

“This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'” (Matt 21:4-5NIV)

So, Jesus did not go public in a grand way like this simply because He wanted attention or the praise of men. He did so because it had been written in the Scriptures that He was to do so. This is teaching us that we must not do things merely because we feel like doing them or because everyone is doing them; rather, we must do whatever we do because it is what is written about us in Scriptures. In fact, as we see in the bible, when Jesus was speaking to some of His disciples after His resurrection, it was the Scriptures that He used in explaining to them everything that happened to Him (Luke 24:13-27). That means the things He experienced in life were the things the word of God had said that He was going to experience.

But can we say the same thing about ourselves? Can we say that our experiences in life are consistent with what the Scriptures say about us? Do we even know what the Scriptures say about the kinds of experiences we are meant to have in life? If our experiences are contrary to what is written in Scriptures about us, then, it is clear that we are not living in the will of God for our lives as we should.

The next incident Mark picks up, having informed us in this chapter of the grand entry of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, was the cleansing of the Temple by Him and how the religious leaders of the Jews responded to what He did. Look at how he way he puts this:

“Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. The next day as they were leaving Bethany, 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.” And his disciples heard him say it. 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 allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'” The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.” (Mark 11:11-18NIV)

Now, before Mark tells us in detail how Jesus dealt with the abuse of the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on this occasion, he first mentions something to us that the Lord did, which he later speaks again about in the chapter. And that is the cursing of a fig tree by the Lord. But why would the Lord curse a tree? As we see all through the gospels, the Lord never cursed anybody. On the contrary, even when He was dying, He only prayed for forgiveness for those who were hurting Him. Why, then, would He curse a tree that was incapable of offending Him or hurting Him?

Well, even though the Lord could have chosen not to curse that tree, He did so to indicate something of the judgment that would come on every unfruitful life. The bible says:

“Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” (Heb 6:7-8NIV)

Did you see that? God is not only concerned about the fruitfulness of human beings; He is also concerned about the fruitfulness of everything He has created. So, even if it is a land that shows itself as unproductive for those labouring on it, that land will be in danger of being judged and cursed. And if God is ready to judge a land for being unfruitful, a land that is inanimate, will He not be more ready to judge human beings who have been created in His image and likeness, if they are not productive and serving His purpose for their lives? He will.

That, again, is what we see in the cursing of the fig tree Mark mentions in that account. According to him, the time in question was indeed not the season for figs. Yet there was this fig tree that the Lord and His disciples saw, which was in leaf, giving them the impression that it had fruit on it. And on getting to it, the Lord, who was hungry at the time, realised that there was no fruit on it at all. The tree had deceived Him. The tree was hypocritical, promising those afar something that it did not possess.

But that was just a tree. So, the Lord could just have ignored it and moved on with His life. But as I have already shown you, any creation of God that is unfruitful is in danger of being cursed by Him, even if that thing is inanimate. And to teach His disciples this, the Lord chose not to ignore that fig tree. Instead, He cursed it, saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And by doing that, He revealed Himself to them, not just as the Lord of all things but also as the Judge of everything.

Then, as the one appointed by God to be the Judge of all, our Lord Jesus went further, as Mark shows us in that text, to judge the wickedness going on in the temple in Jerusalem at the time. Why? It was because the temple was no longer being used for the purpose God intended it for. According to the Lord, God wanted that temple to be a house of prayer for all the nations of the world. In other words, He wanted the Jews to live in such a way that people from all over the world would be drawn to His worship, as the living God. And the temple should be the place where people from all over the world would converge to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

But that was not what was happening during the time of Jesus. The religious leaders of the land had allowed the temple to be messed up. How? They had turned it into a trade centre. Of course, as we see in the Law of Moses, worshippers who came to Jerusalem may have need to change money or to buy certain things that they needed for offerings or sacrifices. But they could as well have done that before coming to the temple for worship. And it was the job of the religious leaders to teach them that. (Cf. Deut 14:23-26)

However, because of the quick and unjust profit that they were making through the various exchanges of money and sales of animals and birds, they allowed the temple to become a den of robbers. So, the focus of many of the people was no longer on the worship of God but on money making. And someone had to stop that. But who would that be? That was where the Judge of all things came in. Jesus came in and, in a most shocking manner, ended the nonsense going on in the temple. He flogged and drove those behind the nonsense out. And He did that as one man.

So, Jesus was not a weakling. He was strong, physically fit. Then, even though He was gentle and kind, He would also not tolerate nonsense as God’s righteous judge. And this is showing us that we must not mistake gentleness for moral or spiritual weakness. We must not use gentleness as our excuse for tolerating evil in our lives, in our homes, in our workplaces or anywhere around us. Otherwise, we may end up receiving the same judgment as those committing the evil we are tolerating. (Cf. Rev 2:20-26)

On the other hand, we too need to remember that the real temple of God is our lives. And we have to use it solely to worship God and to draw all men to Him. But if our lives have become a den for all kinds of evil and impurity, then, we are abusing and destroying the temple of God. And if we do not want God to destroy us, for the bible says God will destroy anyone that destroys His temple, we need to allow the Lord Jesus to cleanse us and drive out all the wrong things going on in our lives. (Cf. John 15:1-3; 1Cor 3:16-17)

But then, it is not only from our personal lives that Jesus needs to drive out everything that is an abuse of the temple of God, He also needs to do the same in our various Christian assemblies. There are assemblies that have become nothing but a den of robbers. They have become a trade centre where all kinds corrupt and sharp practices are being carried out by both their religious leaders and members. So, we see those who need spiritual help bargaining on what to pay in order to see church leaders. And we see all kinds of things like soap, water, oil and so forth being sold even for higher prices than what are obtainable outside church meetings. And if we fail to address this, a time will surely come when the Lord will step in and flog out all those involved in this nonsense. Who, then, knows how hurting that will be?

As Mark goes on to show us, when the religious saw what Jesus did in cleansing the temple, they were angry and began to seek how to kill Him. And that is typical of what we see today, when those who know the truth begin to speak against the wickedness and corruption going on in the church. Corrupt religious leaders and their followers start persecuting them, even to the point of killing them. But when the time is ripe, the Lord will judge them all. (Cf. Mark 11:18)

Now, having treated this matter, Mark returns the issue of the fig tree that the Lord had cursed. And remember that he tells us that when the Lord pronounced that curse on the tree, everybody with Him heard what He said. Yet nothing obvious happened to the tree. It still remained as it was. And that, of course, may have left all of them wondering if Jesus had not gone too far in dealing with the tree in that manner.

But to their surprise, when they saw that same tree the following morning, it was already dead. In other words, the curse on it was effective immediately. It only took a day for it to become obvious to everyone seeing it that death had come upon it. And when the disciples expressed their shock about the matter, the Lord used to moment to teach them some very important truths about faith in God. Look at how Mark puts this:

“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. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”” (Mark 11:20-25NIV)

What was Jesus’ response to the expression of surprise of His disciples concerning the cursed fig tree? Have faith in God! In other words, what He did was done on the basis of faith in God. Someone once told me that he felt that what Jesus did on that occasion was a manifestation of His humanity and His ability to err. But that is contrary to what we are told in Scriptures about Jesus. What we are told is that He never erred, even though He was tempted at every point (Heb 4:14-15).

Now we can see from what He Himself said on this occasion that the cursing of that fig tree was done by faith in God. And faith in God is based on what God has said about Himself or about any matter of life. So, Jesus did not curse that tree to just show that He had authority and could do just about anything He pleased. Instead, as I pointed out before, He cursed it because it was the will of God for any unfruitful tree to be cursed.

Based on this, then, the Lord wanted His disciples to know that they too could do even greater things, things like making mountains move. And what would it take them to do that? Faith in God! In other words, as long as what they were acting on was the word of God, mountains would move for them, if they would speak to them and not doubt. So, the idea was not just for them to start telling any mountain they saw to move. Rather, the idea was to address mountains, whether physical or symbolic, on the basis of what God had said about them.

Can we too do the same? Yes, we can. Everything the lord said at the time was said for the benefit of all those who have faith in God, all those who live on the basis of His word. So, all that we need is to know what God is saying about our mountains and to say the same to those mountains, in agreement with God. And as long as we maintain our stand on His word and will not change our minds, those mountains will have no choice but to respond.

However, we too must not focus on what is obvious in dealing with any mountain we are addressing in the light of God’s word. Instead, our focus must always be on what God has said, which we too are saying. Otherwise, we will not be acting in faith but in unbelief. As we see in Jesus’ case, He did not pay attention to the fact that nothing was physically obvious about the death of that fig tree, having cursed it. Why? He knew that the fig tree was already dead the moment He spoke to it in line with the word of God. And a day later, what was not physically obvious to others about the death of the tree became obvious to them. So, as long as we are addressing our situations on the basis of the word of God, it does not matter whether we see any immediate physical and obvious change or not, they will surely respond to the word of God.

Then, as further shown us by Mark, the Lord goes on to show His disciples that speaking to their situations is different from praying to receive from God and is not a substitute to praying to Him. So, they must also learn to pray to God about whatever they want. And what are the rules applicable here? First, it is that they must believe that they have received whatever they ask of God and then it will be theirs. Second, it is that they must not hold grudges against anybody. Instead, they must forgive anyone that they have anything against. Otherwise, God will not forgive them their own sins too. And that will hinder their prayers.

Now are these rules applicable to us to, when we are praying to God? Yes, they are. First, we too must believe that we have received whatever we ask of God when we pray to Him in order for it to be ours. Second, we must forgive everyone that has hurt us. Otherwise, our prayers will be hindered.

No, of course, God does not forgive our sins today on the basis of whether we forgive others or not. It was those who sinned before the redemptive works of Jesus that He dealt with in that manner. But now that Jesus has already paid the price for our sins, God forgives everyone only on the basis of what He has done and not on the basis of what they do. However, if we fail to forgive others freely, having been forgiven by God freely of our own sins, our prayers will surely be hindered. Which of our prayers will be hindered? I cannot tell. But the word is very clear about the fact treating others badly is one of the things that hinder prayers. So, we need to watch ourselves and see to it that we hold no grudges against anyone. (Cf. 1Pet 3:7)

Finally, in this chapter, Mark shares with us something about the protest of the religious leaders of the Jews towards what Jesus was doing. And this time around, they came to confront and ask Him to know what right or authority He had to do the things He was doing? Did He answer them directly? No! Instead, He too posed a question to them. And this had to do with how they viewed the ministry of John the Baptist. He asked if they could tell Him where John’s baptism came from, whether it was from God or whether it was John’s own idea. And did they answer the Lord? No! Why? They knew that His question was a trap. They knew that He was going to win, whichever way they answered Him. So, they did not answer. And He too did not answer their question.

What is this showing us? Jesus Himself was the wisdom of God in person. Therefore, there was no way anybody could shame or disgrace Him through what He said or did. And now that God has made Him our wisdom, we too can function in the same way, functioning with that heavenly wisdom that is unbeatable (1Cor 1:30). How? It is by meditating on His word and living accordingly.

CONCLUSION
Our Lord Jesus is both Lord and Judge. He deliberately proved this to His disciples and to the Jews just before He went to the cross. And He did so because that was what is written in Scriptures about Him. We too should only live on the basis of what God has written concerning us in His word. That will be our demonstration of faith in Him. And that is what will lead us to moving mountains.

QUESTIONS
– How do you think the cleansing of the temple by the Lord at that time is applicable to the church of God today?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 10:1-52 | WEDNESDAY 12TH MARCH 2025

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SERIES: THE GOSPEL OF MARK
INTRODUCTION

In our last study in Mark’s gospel, we examined a number of things about how to do great things and also attain great heights in the kingdom of God. We also saw the need for us to be ready to deal ruthlessly, if need be, with anything that may want to take away from us our place in God’s kingdom or anything that may lead us to destroy the faith of others. Now we are moving into the tenth chapter of this gospel. And here we are confronted again with matters that have been treated before in the gospel and those that have not been treated before as well. Among the matters treated in the gospel earlier are the prophecy of Jesus about His death, burial and resurrection and the way to attaining greatness in God’s kingdom. Then we have fresh matters too, which include God’s rule about divorce, the place of children in God’s kingdom and the kind of opposition wealth could pose to those who have it in abundance, as far as being a part of the kingdom of God is concerned. And I pray that as we look at these things together, God will open our eyes to see all that He wants us to see and our ears to hear all that He wants us to hear. Amen.

WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE
To begin with, having come to the region of Judah and across the Jordan, Jesus began to teach the crowds of people that had come to Him, as was His custom. And it was at this time that some Pharisees came to test with a question on divorce. In other words, they did not come to learn from Him; rather, they came to see how much He knew about the will of God. Sadly, there are still people in different churches of God today that are like these Pharisees. They too do not go to their church meetings to learn but to test the knowledge of their preachers. And if they are not careful, even when it has become clear to them that their spiritual leaders are sound enough to feed them with the word of God, pride may keep them unteachable and rob them of the blessings of the ministries of these leaders.

Well, here is what Mark has to say to us about how Jesus responded to them:

“Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” “What did Moses command you?” he replied. They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”” (Mark 10:2-12NIV)

What do we observe from the way the Lord answered the question of these Pharisees? We observe that He took back to the word of God. In other words, He did not base His answer on anybody’s experience or on the culture of any land. Instead, He based His answer to their question on what is written in the Scriptures, their Scriptures. And that is to show us that He held the word of God as the final authority on every subject. Do we also hold God’s word as the final authority on every subject?

As for our Lord Jesus, God has already spoken about marriage matters. So, whatever anyone does must be in line with what He has said. And what has He said? He has said that both the man and his wife are one flesh, not two. So, it is on them to run their home on the basis of this principle; it is on them to see to it that everything they will be doing will promote the oneness that God has already bestowed on them. And where this is the case, no one will be talking about divorce.

But if it is just one of any two married people that will not function on the basis of this principle, there is every tendency that their being together in that home will not advantageous to either of them and even the people around them. And if care is not taken, at some point, divorce may be the only way to keep them from destroying themselves. But has the Lord not said that they cannot divorce themselves at all? No, the Lord has not said that. What the Lord has said is that they cannot freely remarry someone else, having divorced themselves in this manner. Otherwise, they will be committing adultery.

Isn’t that, then, a terrible burden to place on married people? Why should my life stop because I divorce someone that is dangerous to my life? Well, to say the fact, it is not a terrible burden the Lord is placing on us. Rather, it is a burden of caution. In other words, first, the Lord does not want us to marry carelessly, without duly considering what marrying whoever we choose may do to our lives and souls. Second, the Lord does not want us to see divorce as the only solution to any problem or challenge we face in our homes.

But then, we must understand that what the Lord says here cannot be taken in isolation. In other words, we must also consider what is said in other parts of the Scripture about divorce before drawing conclusions. And what do we have about divorce in other parts of the Scriptures? First, we are told that God hates it (Malachi 2:16). So, it does not matter what necessitates it, God hates it.

Why, then, did God permit it for the Jews under the old covenant? According to the Lord in that text, it was because of the hardness of their hearts. In other words, it was because of their stubbornness that He permitted it. He did not want situations in which people would be killing their wives or husbands in order to escape a life of misery with them. So, He said, “If you cannot work things out between yourselves, just go your separate ways peacefully.” That, however, does not alter the fact that He hates divorce and will always hate it. (Cf. Deut 24:1-4)

Then, another thing we are shown in Scriptures, is that divorce is equally permissible in a marriage between an unbeliever and a believer. And that is when the unbeliever is unwilling to live in peace with the believer because of their faith in the Lord. But that is not something a believer can do in isolation; other people of God must be involved as well. In other words, it must be common knowledge among the people of God in the life of the believer involved that their spouse does not want to live with them because of their faith. And where that is the case, such a believer is free to go and start their life afresh. But where that is not the case, anyone who divorces their believing spouse simply because they will not settle down to work things out between them must remain unmarried. That, of course, is in agreement with what our Lord shares in our text in Mark. And the underlying point in all this is that we must not choose our love partners carelessly. (Cf. 1Cor 7:10-16)

Moving away from that, Mark introduces something else about how Lord Jesus viewed children and their place in the kingdom. Look at the way he puts this:

“People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16NIV)

Why did the Lord’s disciples rebuke those bringing little children to Him? It was because they saw children as a nuisance. As far as they were concerned, there was no way Jesus would want to minister to children, when He had not even gotten enough time to minister to adults. But He had once told them that anyone who welcomes a little child in His name welcomes Him as well. And that should have given them some insight into what He thought about little children. But it did not. It did not because their minds were dull.

Well, when Jesus found out His disciples were standing in the way of those bringing little children coming to Him, He was angry with them. And He went on to rebuke and warn them not to hinder those children from coming to Him. Why? The kingdom of God belongs to children as well! Think about that. The kingdom of God belongs to all our babies as well. So, we should not shy away from bringing them to church meetings or exclude them from believers’ programmes because we think they cannot cope or understand what we are doing. We just need to present them to receive the blessings of God. And someday, those prayers, those words of blessings, those sermons that we think are not getting to them will begin to find expression in their lives and causing them to take their respective places in God’s kingdom.

Mind you, what the Lord says to His disciples about getting out of the way of little children can be applied to other similar circumstances as well. We just need to learn to get out of the way of those coming to the Lord. They may not be like us. They may not look like us. They may not be as educated as we are and know how to conduct themselves appropriately. But the kingdom of God belongs to them as well. Otherwise, God will not be drawing them to Himself by His Spirit. So, we should not hinder them from coming. We should not tell them that they cannot come unless they become like us. That will be a disservice to the kingdom, something that we will have to answer to God for. And some of us, especially those of us who like to talk about the number of souls we are wining into God’s kingdom, really need to begin to pay attention to our lives and to remove from them whatever we are doing to hinder others from coming to the Lord Jesus.

Now, right after this, as Mark shares with us in this gospel, a rich man came to the Lord Jesus Christ about his salvation. And his story is a very touching one. It is touching in the sense that it shows us how we ourselves can hinder ourselves from taking the places meant for us in God’s kingdom through our attachment to the things of this world. Here is Mark’s account of the incident:

“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”” (Mark 10:17-31NIV)

How does Mark describe this man that came to the Lord Jesus? He describes him as having great wealth. Now both Matthew and Luke supply us with further information about him. They tell us that he was not just wealthy but was also young and in a position of leadership (Matt 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30). So, we are looking at a very rich and powerful man. Yet this rich man was concerned about his salvation, about his eternity. In other words, he would not allow his riches, which he would definitely leave in the world someday, to blind him to the truth about his eternity.

Unfortunately, we have many rich and even poor today who are not concerned at all about where they would spend their eternity. They are concerned about the future of their children, businesses and enterprises. But they are not concerned about their own future after leaving this world. That, of course, shows that something is faulty about their reasoning.

Well, when this very rich man came to the Lord, he addressed Him with utmost respect, calling Him ‘Good teacher’. And the Lord’s response to that was, “Why would you call me ‘Good teacher’? Only God is good!” Many, sadly, have mistaken what the Lord said here to mean that He was denying His goodness. So, they use this as their excuse for not giving themselves to living upright lives. But the Lord was not denying that He was a good teacher. He was simply probing the man to see if he understood what he meant by referring to Him as good.

Why did the Lord take that route? It was because He wanted the man and others listening to know that only God is good. Thus, by referring to Him as good, the man was acknowledging that He was God. But did the man Himself know that? Did he know that he was speaking to God? If he knew that he was speaking to God, then, he would obey whatever instruction He gave to him, even if it was not convenient. Unfortunately, the man did not fully comprehend that. And because he did not, when the Lord told him what he needed to do, he was unwilling to do it.

Yes, as the man pointed out to the Lord, he had been an upright person in keeping the Laws of Moses. So, we are not looking at a cruel or wicked rich person; rather, we are looking at one who had a lot of respect for God and His word. And we see that the Lord did not say that he was lying, when he said that he had given himself to keeping the law since he was but a boy. Instead, as Mark reports, the Lord looked at him and loved him. Why? He was a sincere rich young man.

Nevertheless, something was lacking in his life, as the Lord showed him. And what was it? It was generosity, a kind that would make him have treasure in heaven. The man was indeed upright and God-fearing. But he was in love with his possessions. And in order for him to have treasure in heaven, the Lord told him to go and sell all his possessions, give to the poor and then come and follow Him.

Now observe that the Lord did not tell him to sell his possessions and give to the poor in order to be saved. His money could not save him. No one’s money or wealth could save him. Only faith in God saves. However, in order to have treasure in heaven, in order not to realise that we have lived an empty life when we get to heaven, we need to be committed to giving to others and helping them live meaningful lives. And that was what the Lord was drawing that young man’s attention to. But his heart could not take it because he had great wealth.

Until that time, it did not become clear to that man that he was in love with his wealth. No, until that time, it did not become clear to him that if he had to choose between God and his wealth, it was his wealth that he would choose. But it became clear to him that day that though he loved God, he loved his wealth more. Unfortunately, no one can love God and money at the same time. He will have to choose the one and leave the other. And that day, that young rich man, chose his wealth instead of God. Of course, he may have retraced his steps later and come back to the Lord Jesus, as some bible scholars would have us believe. But on that day and in that hour, it was his wealth that he chose.

Now it is easy to condemn that rich young man. But if I were to be in a similar situation, who would I choose? And who would you choose? It may not be about our wealth. We may not have issues with choosing God over our wealth. But don’t we have issues with choosing God over our parents, siblings or some ungodly friends? This calls for a careful and thorough examination of our hearts.

Well, after the young man had left, Jesus announced to His disciples that it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. He even went on to say that it is easier for the camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. That, of course, shocked His disciples, who said, “Who, then, can be saved?” And in responding to that, He made a very powerful declaration to them, one that is worthy of our attention and acceptance, which was, “With God all things are possible!”

What does mean? It means what it means, which is that what is impossible with man is possible with God. How, then, do we apply it? We can apply it in various ways. But of first importance, we must apply it to the subject of our salvation. Our salvation is impossible with us. Our salvation is impossible with our efforts or righteousness. But it is possible with God. In other words, the only one able to save us is God and we can trust Him to save us. So, we don’t have to worry about how we are going to make it to heaven. We just need to trust God to save us and act on whatever He tells us. And He will see to it that we are saved.

Is there, then, a place for giving up things or people for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God? Yes, there is. The disciples, as we see in the account, had just witnessed a man throw away his place or reward in the kingdom of God because of his earthly wealth. But leaving what they had, their possessions and families, wasn’t a hard thing for them. And that was probably because they did not have too much.

In any case, whether what they left in order to follow the Lord Jesus was much or little, the Lord made it clear to them that they would have their rewards, not just in heaven but also here on earth. The thing, however, is that those who think they are going to be ahead in receiving praise from God may not just be ahead but behind. Why? Well, we will be finding out why that is so, when the secrets and motives of every heart is laid bare before us on that glorious day of the Lord.

Now, as Mark goes on to show us in this chapter, the Lord, after this incident, began for the third time to talk to His twelve apostles about His death, burial and resurrection. In fact, Mark tells us that He actually pull them aside to say these things to them. But He assured them that He would rise again on the third day. And He did this to make it absolutely clear to them that the only way to accomplish His mission here on earth was to go by the way of death on the cross. He also did this to let it settle in their hearts that His kingdom is not of this world that is passing away but of the eternal age to come. (Cf. Mark 10:32-34)

Did His apostles, then, like to hear these things? No! Why? It was most likely because they did not initially think that everything would end in that manner. However, two of His apostles, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saw in all that the Lord was saying an opportunity to secure special positions for themselves in His coming kingdom. Look at the way Mark captures what they did in this gospel:

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Mark 10:35-45NIV)

Can you relate to what is happening here? James and John appeared to be first among these apostles to grasp the essence of what Jesus had been telling them about His eternal kingdom. They all had initially thought that it would soon be time for Jesus to save the Jews from their enemies and establish His earthly kingdom with them. But as the Lord began to talk more and more about His sacrificial death, burial and resurrection and the glory that would follow, these two brothers caught the message. They saw that there was nothing for them here on earth, as far as occupying important positions in the Lord’s kingdom is concerned. And since they had had the rear privilege of witnessing something of His glory on the mountain where He was transfigured, they proposed something to Him. They requested that He would let each of them sit with Him, one at His right and one at His left, in His glory.

Now one would have expected their request to anger the Lord? But it did not at all. Yes, the other apostles were really angry when they heard what they had done. And they were angry because they saw them as selfish and overambitious, wanting to be ahead of them.

But as I said already, Jesus was not angry with James and John for their request. And that is to show us that the Lord is not against our being ambitious. However, He is concerned about what steps we take in realising our ambitions. And the steps we take in realising our ambitions will, of course, be a reflection of the understanding we have about how to attain great positions in life.

As the Lord pointed out to James and John, both of them had no understanding of how to attain the positions they desired. What was it that they did not understand about it? First, it was that the only one who sets people in the positions meant for them, whether in this world or in the age to come, is God Himself. So, as the Lord further points out, even if we give our lives for Him in this world, it still does not mean that we will have the most important positions in God’s eternal kingdom. We can only occupy the positions God has prepared for us, which, of course, are the positions that are in agreement with His good and eternal purpose for our lives. Our focus, then, should be on living our lives in line with His will, so that we will not lose those positions prepared for us to some other people (Acts 1:15-26).

The second thing James and John and, of course, the other apostles as well did not understand was the way to attain greatness in God’s kingdom. In other words, there is actually a way to attain greatness in God’s kingdom. Yes, there is a way to occupy the most important of all positions in God’s eternal kingdom. And it is the way of service. In the world, as the Lord showed these men while He was admonishing them on these matters, those who are seen and known as great lord things over their subjects. That means what is taken as greatness in the world is occupying a position where you enslave others and run their lives for them.

But in God’s kingdom, that is not how things work. In fact, the Lord clearly points out to these men that the leadership that is employed in the world must not be employed among them at all. Instead, anyone that wants to be great among them, anyone that wants to be the first among them must be ready to serve others. That does not mean the person is to be the slave that everyone sends on errands. Rather, it means that person must humble himself to do whatever God requires him to do for the people in his life and around him to be what He wants them to be.

Now the Lord uses Himself to illustrate His point. He says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Did you see that? He came to serve all of us, so that we may inherit eternal life. And because He willingly gave Himself to do this, the bible says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11NIV) How did Jesus attain the highest and most important place in God’s kingdom? Through service born out of humility! And we are told to have the same attitude as He did. That way, we too will be able to attain the very positions meant for us in God’s scheme of things.

In closing this chapter, we are given an account of a man blind man that was healed by the Lord Jesus when they came to Jericho and on their way to Jerusalem. The man’s name was Bartimaeus, which means ‘Son of Timaeus’. But why does Mark include his healing case in his gospel? Evidently, he was not the first or only blind person Jesus opened his eyes. There had been several other blind persons whose eyes were opened by Him before this man. So, what was special about his case that made Mark include it in his gospel? (Cf. Mark. 10:46-52)

Well, one special thing about the restoration of Bartimaeus’ sight was the seriousness that accompanied his faith in order to be healed. This man surely must have heard about Jesus before this time things that built up his faith to receive the restoration of his eyes from the Lord. Remember that faith comes by hearing the message about Christ (Rom 10:17). And as God would have it, Jesus came passing by where he was one day. He, of course, did not initially know who it was that was passing by. But he could hear and feel the commotion going on. So, he asked what was happening and was told that it was Jesus that was passing by.

Now when Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus that was passing by, he knew immediately that his moment had come. But he was blind and could not tell which way to go to meet and speak to Him. To make matters worse, there was a huge crowd with Jesus as usual. So, even he could see clearly, being able to go through that crowd to get His attention was not going to be an easy task. Considering these hurdles alone was enough to make Bartimaeus postpone the receiving of his healing. And if he had done that, he may never have been healed personally by the Lord. That was because the Lord went right from that place to Jerusalem and then to His death.

But Bartimaeus refused on that day to recognise the obstacles before him. He refused to allow his healing pass over him that day. And what did he do? He began to shout on top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He kept on shouting like that until many of the people going with Jesus felt irritated and started abusing him, telling him to keep quiet. But did he listen to them? No! Instead, he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” In other words, he overcame the obstacle of people’s insults as well. And that is seriousness.

See, as the bible tells us, anyone who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly (seriously) seek Him. So, we must employ seriousness in our relationship with God, if we truly have faith in Him. Otherwise, our faith may just be as good as no faith at all.

Well, because Bartimaeus was serious and earnest in receiving the restoration of his sight that day, he kept crying out for Jesus’ help until the he got His attention. So, the Lord called him to Himself and asked him what he wanted. And when he was asked what he wanted, he did not mess up the opportunity. No, this man did not start telling the Lord useless stories about how he found himself in that condition. Instead, he simply said, “I want to see.” And the Lord said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately, he received his sight and began to follow Him. Wow!

You can see, then, that faith is the result of an action or a series of action. Faith is not wishful thinking. Faith is not merely a desiring of things. Faith is an expression of the desire of our hearts, the desire of our hearts to receive from God. Bartimaeus expressed his desire to receive from God by refusing to let his handicap and all the obstacles before him keep from meeting Jesus to be healed. And that is faith. If we too want to receive anything from God, we must go beyond desiring to receive from Him to taking the necessary steps in expressing that desire. That is what will show that we truly have faith to receive.

CONCLUSION
Walking with our Lord Jesus makes one truly alive to God and to those things that truly matter in life. Yes, sometimes, His words and actions may be confusing, shocking or disappointing. But as long as we maintain our faith in Him and humbly give ourselves to living on the basis of His word, He will make what seems impossible possible and fulfil His good and eternal purpose concerning us.

QUESTIONS
– What can you say about your own every day walk with the Lord Jesus?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: MOSES AND THE ISRAELITES’ FAITH | TEXT: HEBREWS 11:27-29 | WEDNESDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2025

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SERIES: BUILDING UP YOUR FAITH
INTRODUCTION
We want to continue where we left off late last year in our series ‘Building your faith’. The last characters we examined their faith were Moses and his parents, if you have not forgotten. Moses’ parents demonstrated their faith in God to hide the child because they believed he was not an ordinary child. Moses’ parents, being Levites, trusted God to protect the child and hid him for 3 months, even though the consequence was death. Moses as well demonstrated his faith in God by refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Instead, he chose to identify with his people, the Israelites, even though he had a choice to identify with royalty. We must learn from Moses and be careful of the choices we make in life. Just as Moses refused the pleasure of sin and the treasure in Pharaoh’s palace, we must learn from him as well to refuse the pleasure of sin and the ungodly treasure of this world.

MOSES’ FAITH IN LEAVING EGYPT
Now we will be taking a step further to study more about the demonstration of Moses’ faith and that of the people of Israel, as we have the account in Hebrews, chapter 11, from verse 27-29.

“It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27NLT)

Why did Moses leave Egypt, as we find in this account? It was because he had committed murder and had to run for his life. Otherwise, Pharaoh would have him killed. And what did he do? Well, even though we don’t find the account of what actually happened in the book of Hebrews, what happened can be found in Exodus, chapter 2, verse 11-15. Moses committed murder because he was angry to see the people of Israel suffer in Egypt and was passionate to free them. But he went about it the wrong way. So, he had to run for his life when pharaoh got to know and attempted to kill him.

Moses was only driven with passion to rescue his people from bondage. But he hadn’t been made fit or equipped for this task. Until God equips us or makes us fit to do His work, our effort to do his work will not become fruitful or produce good results.

In any case, when Pharaoh came for Moses, he had to run for his life. And the writer of Hebrews says that was an act of faith. It takes faith to escape death. We could have also said he escaped death by faith. The forces that came against him to have him killed were powerful. So, he needed God’ mercy to escape from pharaoh. And God showed him mercy. But if he didn’t make effort to run, death would definitely catch up with him. And when he left Egypt, his focus was on God. He kept his eyes on the one who is invisible, that is, God, and He honoured his faith

MOSES’ FAITH IN THE PASSOVER
“It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.” Hebrews 11:28NLT)

When the fullness of time came and when the people of Israel cried out to God to deliver them from their bondage, God had to assign Moses to do this great assignment. By this time 40 years had gone and Moses had become 40 years older. That makes his age at this time to be 80, for he was 40 years old when he left Egypt.

At this time as well, the pharaoh that sought to kill him was already dead. A new pharaoh had emerged. And when Moses got to this new pharaoh and demanded that he let God’s people go that they may serve him, he would not let them go, though Moses performed many signs before Pharaoh.

As we see in the account in the book of Exodus, chapter 12 verse 1 to 23, God told pharaoh that he would kill all the firstborn of people and animals in Egypt, so that he would be forced to let the people of Israel go. God said that He would send an angel of death to do this. And for the Israelites to escape this judgment, they needed to kill a lamb or goat and apply the blood on the doorposts of their houses. That way, the angel of death would pass over them.

Now Moses acted in obedience in doing this. And that was faith, taking God seriously! God’s instructions to us may not really make much sense at the moment. But if we will obey them and act in faith, it will mean health and salvation to us. Or what do you think would happen to the Israelite that didn’t take this instruction seriously, if there was any? Even though he was an Israelite, the angel of death would strike his firstborn child and the firstborn of his animals too. The only thing that could save any firstborn child in this instance was simple obedience, not even prayers.

ISRAELITES’ FAITH TO CROSS THE RED SEA
“It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.” (Hebrews 11:29NLT)

When pharaoh eventually released the people of Israel to go because of his loss and the loss of every Egyptians, they had to go in the direction of the Red Sea, as instructed by God. God could have taken them through another road, which was even shorter. But He didn’t do that because the challenges on that road could make them turn back, especially when they saw war.

“When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.” (Exodus 13:17-18NLT)

Did you see that? God was the one that directed the people of Israel to go in the direction of the Red Sea. And that must have meant that He already had plans of making them cross over to the other side. But in seeing the Red Sea and the army of Pharaoh charging at them, they were confused, afraid and wished they went back to Egypt. (Cf. Exodus 14:1-22)

When God eventually opened up the Red Sea, it even took faith to take the first step into the Sea. So the writer of Hebrews says it was by faith that the people of Israel matched through the Red Sea on the dry ground.

CONCLUSION
Even if it seems God is leading us towards the Red Sea and behind us are the armies of Pharaoh, charging at us, as we see in the case with Moses, people of Israel, He still wants us to demonstrate our faith in Him because He’s in charge. We can always express our trust and faith him because He’s ever dependable. He will never direct or lead us into destruction.

By Emmanuel Olarinre

TOPIC: FIRSTFRUITS OFFERINGS | TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 18:4-5 | WEDNESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2025

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TOPIC: FIRSTFRUITS OFFERINGS | TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 18:4-5 | WEDNESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2025

MEMORY VERSES: “You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep…” (Deut 18:4-5NIV)”

BACKGROUND

Among the things causing issues in the church today is the subject of firstfruits. And it is causing serious issues because many of our church leaders will not take out time to look carefully into the Scriptures to see what they say about the subject, so that they can faithfully teach it to their brethren. What are firstfruits? How are they to be given? Who is to receive firstfruits? What should be the attitude of the Christian towards firstfruits? These and other related things are what we are going to be considering in this study. And I pray that the Spirit of God will fill our hearts with understanding, as we do so, and also with sufficient strength to act on His truths that will be made known to us. Amen.

WHAT ARE FIRSTFRUITS?
Going by the things shared in the bible, firstfruits are the first harvest of anything planted or reared. They also apply to the firstborn of people. And we have Scriptures showing us what they mean to God and to the people of Israel who were commanded by Him to give them. For example, we are told this in the Scriptures:

“You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always.” (Deuteronomy 18:4-5NIV)

You can clearly see here that when the Lord speaks of giving firstfruits, He is clear about what He expects the people to give. He expects them to give the firstfruits of their grains, fruits, wine and oil. And these have to do with things that can be planted. Then He also expects them to give firstfruits of the wool obtained from the shearing of their sheep.

Now could this equally apply to the firstfruits of the milk obtained from the cows or goats of these Israelites? Maybe! But it is not expressly stated in the text that it does apply as well to the firstfruits of the milk gotten from their animals.

Furthermore, we have this said to us about the firstfruits of people and animals:

“You are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.” (Exodus 13:12-13NIV)

Did you see that? The first offspring of every womb belongs to God, as far as His relationship with these Israelites is concerned. So, every firstborn goes to Him. The first male also goes to Him. And it is only the first born of human beings and donkeys that the people can redeem. How? It is by offering to God a lamb in their place.

But why are to redeem the firstborn of people and those of donkeys? In the case of the firstborn of people, God does not want them shedding human blood or sacrificing humans. So, He commands them to redeem all their firstborn with lambs.

Then, in the case of donkeys, He commands them to redeem their firstborn because they are beasts of burden. They are useful for transportation and farming. So, God wants the people to keep the firstborn of these animals because of their usefulness. Isn’t that thoughtful of Him? It is.

In addition to those, we still have this said to us about firstfruits:

“This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head. You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always.” (Deuteronomy 18:3 -5NIV)

What sort of things are the Israelites commanded by God in this text to give as firstfruits? They are to give grains, new wine, olive oil and wool from the shearing of their sheep. Again, we can see that firstfruits here have to do with things cultivated and reared, that is, apart from the firstborn of people.

Well, the point we are making here is that when God speaks of firstfruits to the Israelites, He is referring to the firstfruits of people and of things planted and reared. Again, could this be applied beyond these things? Maybe! But no Scripture suggests any application of the term beyond what I have just listed. In fact, we don’t even have any mention of the firstfruits of birds. That is because that is hard to determine.

WHAT OF OTHERS NOT INVOLVED IN AGRICULTURE OR LIVESTOCK REARING?
That will be an appropriate question for this era, not bible times. What I mean is that during that period, it was rare to find those who were not involved in farming or animal husbandry. They may not be directly involved. But they would have servants or workers that would be managing their farms and animals for them, even if they were traders, artisans, kings, priests or soldiers.

Remember that even though the Egyptians of bible days did not like shepherds, as Joseph told his brothers and father, they still had flocks and herds and people who managed them for them. It was just that they did not keep them close by. In fact, one of the ways to know one who was truly wealthy at the time was the largeness of their farms, herds and flocks. (Cf. Gen 13:1-6; Gen 46:31-34; Job 1:3)

So, unlike today, nobody could tell God that the reason they had no firstfruits to give Him was that they had no farm or animals. Only the poorest of the land could say that. And they too would most likely have these things, if it was just for domestic consumption.

HOW ARE FIRSTFRUITS TO BE GIVEN?
Clearly, when dealing with the firstfruits of animals and people, we know that God is referring to the first offspring of every womb. And all the people need to do is just to release the first of their offspring to God as soon as they are ready to leave their mothers. Only the firstborn of man and donkeys are to be redeemed and replaced with lambs, as I earlier pointed out.

But when it comes to the firstfruits of things planted or things obtained from animals being reared, there are clear instructions given by God on how they are to be given or handled. For instance, the bible says this:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.”” (Leviticus 23:10-11NIV)

Did you see that? Speaking about grains, it is not everything that is first harvested on the farmland of the people that they are to bring. Rather, it is a sheaf of it that they are to bring. A sheaf is a bundle of harvested grains. The people would naturally have several sheaves after harvesting their crops. And it is a sheaf of these that they are to bring to the priest. And it will be accepted on their behalf.

In addition, the bible says this:

“From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:17NIV)

What are they to bring here as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord? Two loaves of bread of an exact quantity! Where should they get this from? Evidently, they are to get it from whatever quantity of flour gotten from the first harvest of their grains. So, you can see that it is not everything gotten from their first harvest that they are to bring. And talking about their first harvest, we are talking about the first crops to be the ready for harvest.

Furthermore, the bible says this:

“I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the Lord as the firstfruits of their harvest. All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.” (Numbers 18:12-13NIV)

Who is the Lord talking to here? The priests, Aaron and his descendants! And what does He give them? He gives them the finest olive oil, the finest wine and the finest grain brought by the people as firstfruits. So, from the first sets of kegs or drums of oil and wine, not just of grains, the people got from their fruit trees, they are to bring the finest to the Lord as firstfruits. You can see, then, that the giving of firstfruits is not just about quantity but also about quality.

Let me give you one more Scripture on this, which says:

“When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name…” (Deuteronomy 26:1-2NIV)

Did you see that? The people are to bring the firstfruits of all that the soil produces for them. And where are they to put it? They are to put it in a basket. That shows that it is not everything they are to bring. Rather, it is some of the first and best of their harvest.

WHO IS TO ACCEPT THE FIRSTFRUITS?
The only people authorised by God to receive firsfruits among the Israelites are the priests, the descendants of Aaron. Look at the following Scriptures again:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.” (Leviticus 23:10-11NIV)

Who is to receive the firstfruits, as shown in these Scriptures? The priests! And they are to receive them on God’s behalf. Why? The reason is that they were the ones chosen by God out of all the tribes of Israel to stand and minister for the people in His name.

It follows, then, that anyone who was not a priest, one of the descendants of Aaron, must not be found collecting firstfruits from the people. That person would be in very serious trouble, if he was caught. In fact, nobody in the land would even be dumb enough to give their firstfruits to one who was not a priest. That is because they would both be condemned by the leaders and the people.

HOW DO FIRSTFRUITS APPLY TO CHRISIANS?
As we see in the bible, the law of firstfruits was given only to the Israelites by God and not to any other nation or group of people. Therefore, to put it frankly, it does not apply to Christians at all. The Christians are not under the law of Moses and should not be forced by anyone to get under it. Paul has a lot to say about this in his letter to the Romans and also in his letter to the Galatians.

Mind you, if you want to obey the law of firstfruits, you have to obey it to the letter. And have you been doing that? If you are rearing animals, have you been giving their firstborns to the Lord? If you have a farm or farms, have you been giving the best of you first harvests to the Lord? What about your firstborn child? Did you redeem the child with a lamb?

More so, who have you been taking your firstfruits to? Or let me say who do you intend to take your firstfruits to? Your pastor? Is your pastor a descendant of Aaron?

Read the bible, and you will see that the apostles of old did not collect firstfruits from anybody. It could not even have entered their minds to do so. That is because there were priests in the land at the time that were lawfully collecting these things. So, for them to try to collect firstfruits from the people would be to be impersonating the priests in the land. Try, then, to imagine the kind of trouble that would have brought on them.

Well, if the apostles and leaders of the church of bible days would dare not take firstfruits from the brethren, no church leader today has the right to ask any of their brethren to bring him firstfruits. It is wrong. It is unbiblical.

WHY DO CHURCH LEADERS TODAY INSIST ON TAKING FIRSTFRUITS?
First, they do so because they are ignorant or have chosen to remain ignorant of the word of God about firstfruits. If they want to know what the word of God says about it, they can learn. And the Spirit of God will surely teach them.

Second, they do so because they are inconsiderate and greedy. Those who are insisting that their brethren should bring them firstfruits are hardly concerned about the welfare of those brethren. Otherwise, they will not be asking them to do something that God has not commanded them to do, placing on them burdens that God has not placed on them. If they are concerned about their welfare, they will make effort to learn the truth of Scriptures about firstfruits and how they are to be given. And by that, they will have even seen that firstfruits do not mean all of someone’s first salary for the year. But they just want what they want. And they have seen taking firstfruits from their brethren as a means to making cheap money. So, they will do all that they can to get them.

Third, many of God’s people are stingy. Almost every church leader would have learnt by experience that if brethren are not tricked, pressured or threatened to give to support them, they will not freely do so. So, they will use whatever method they can to get them to give to them. And taking firstfruits from them is just one of those methods.

Think of it yourself. If your pastor does not ask you to bring your first salary of this year to him, will you on your own think of giving something to him to specially appreciate him for his spiritual care for you? That is for you to answer. My point, at any rate, is that as long as we continue to be stingy towards our church leaders, many of them also will continue to come up with ways to exploit us.

Is our stinginess to them, then, an excuse for them to be exploiting us in this manner? No! God will surely hold them responsible for exploiting His people, every one of them that is involved in doing so. But He will also not hold us guiltless for stealing from them by not supporting them adequately and appropriately, as He has commanded us to do.

I JUST BELIEVE I SHOULD GIVE ALL MY FIRST SALARY AS MY FIRSTFRUITS. WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Well, that is okay. But there are three things that must be in place, if you want to do that. First, you have to do so willingly and cheerfully. In other words, you are not doing so because someone is forcing or tricking you. Otherwise, there will be no reward from God for it. (Cf. 2Cor 9:7)

Second, you have to be sure your doing so is not going to make you appear irresponsible to your family. Remember the bible says that the one that does not take care of his family is worse than an unbeliever and has denied the Christian faith. So, if giving all your salary as firstfruits will surely make it impossible for you to care for your spouse, children, parents and any other person depending on you, you will be doing the wrong thing. (Cf. 1Tim 5:8)

Third, you have to be sure your doing so will not make you irresponsible to those who are offering you certain services. For instance, you must not use your giving of firstfruits as your excuse for not paying your house rent or for not repaying those you owe and are in serious need of the money you owe them. The bible tells us not to owe anybody anything except love (Rom 13:8). And while circumstances of life may sometimes put us in situations where we are in debt, it is ungodly for us to be using the same God that commands us not to owe anybody anything as our excuse for not taking care of our debts.

So, while, as a mature and free person, you are free to give all your first salary of the year to your church leader as, you must understand that what you are giving him is not firstfruits, as firstfruits are described in the bible. Then in doing so, you must do so as an act of genuine faith in God and love for Him and also in a manner that is worthy of the Christian faith.

CONCLUSION
The giving of firstsfruits is indeed a biblical command. But it is applicable only to the Israelites under the Law of Moses. Christians, then, are not obligated to obey it. And if anyone should want to give their first salary of the year to their church leader, they should do so in faith and in love, not as a law to be obeyed. Otherwise, there will be no reward from God for their giving.

QUESTIONS
– How has this study affected your view of firstfruits?
– How relevant do you think this study is today?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 9:1-50 | WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY 2025

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TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 9:1-50 | WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY 2025

MEMORY VERSES: “Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”” (Mark 9:7NIV)”

BACKGROUND

In our study in the eighth chapter of Mark’s gospel, we saw that our Lord Jesus was ready to carry the cross God had ordained for Him. We too, then, must be ready to carry whatever cross He has ordained for us. Otherwise, it cannot be said of us that we are His true disciples. Now, just about the time He shared with disciples the need for them to be ready to carry their various crosses and follow Him, He also proceeded to tell them that some of them would actually be given the privilege of seeing that the kingdom of God had already appeared with power. That, of course, is where Mark continues his testimony from in chapter nine of his gospel book. And in this chapter, he shows us how some of the disciples were given the privilege to have a taste of the glory and power of God’s eternal kingdom and also what the Lord teaches about how to become great and significant in this kingdom.

ATTAINING GREATNESS IN THE KINGDOM

Now who among the disciples were given the privilege of tasting something of the glory and power of God’s eternal kingdom? Mark answers that question in this manner:

“And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”” (Mark 9:1-14NIV)

As we well know, Jesus left this world for heaven a little above two thousand years ago. And as we also well know, all of the disciples with Him at the time already died – none of them is alive today. So, when He said that some who were standing with Him at the time would not taste death before seeing that the kingdom of God had come with power, He definitely meant that they would witness something special about God’s kingdom while they were still alive. He did not mean that they would be alive here on earth to witness the full establishment of God’s eternal kingdom. If that was what He meant, then, He lied to them, for the kingdom of God is yet to be fully established here on earth, even though we are looking at two thousand years after His ascension.

But the Lord did not lie to those disciples at all. What He said to them was confirmed, as Mark shows us in the passage above, six days after He had said it. Six days after He had said it, He took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John with Him to a high mountain. We are not told what mountain it was. But it was a high one. And while they were there with Him, He was transfigured before their eyes. What they saw Him become, of course, was too much for them to describe. But it was something glorious, something that was beyond this earthly realm.

Then, not only was Jesus transfigured before these disciples, they also saw Moses and Elijah discussing with Him. How did they know that the men they saw were Moses and Elijah? They just knew. They knew because they had been transported in the spirit to a different realm, a realm of glory, a realm of clear and perfect understanding. And so glorious was what they saw that Peter said, “Let us just stay here, Lord. It is just fine over here.”

Now what was Peter thinking when he said that? Clearly, he had forgotten about everything earthly. He had forgotten about his wife and kids and also forgotten about his family members, friends and other disciples. That means when we come in contact with the glory of God’s eternal kingdom, nothing of this earth will come to our minds again. This, sadly, is what many who are not looking forward to God’s eternal kingdom don’t know or appreciate. Yes, it is what many who call themselves Christians and who still don’t want the Lord Jesus to return yet do not understand. They don’t know that nothing of this earth compares to the eternal home God has prepared for us. So, they want to hold tight to a world that is passing away, a world that can only be lost. What a shame!

In addition to all that, Peter, James and John also heard God’s voice clearly and audibly, saying of Jesus, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” God said that to them and to all His creation, seen and unseen. And this is the second time He would testify openly like this about Jesus being the Son that He loves. But this time around, He adds something else to it, which, “Listen to Him!” So, anyone who will not listen to Jesus is disobeying a clear order from God. And that will surely come with consequences.

All this, then, is showing us that God always freely testifies about His own. He testified about Jesus. He testified about Job. He testified about Abraham. And He is also testifying about you and me. He may not do this in a spectacular way for men to witness, as He did in Jesus’ case. And men may not accept His testimony about us. But He will never fail to identify with His own people before His creation and speak of His love for them.

But then, why did Moses and Elijah show themselves to Jesus in this manner? Mark does not mention it in his gospel. But Luke tells us in his own gospel that they actually came to talk with Him about His departure from the world (Luke 10:30-31). And did Peter, James and John hear their conversation? No! They were not brought there to be a part of that. Rather, they were brought there to simply witness something of the coming glory of the Kingdom of God and of His saints. And having witnessed that, they were so overwhelmed by it that they fell facedown (Matt 17:4-6).

Well, on their way back, the Lord warned them not to say anything to anyone about what they had seen until He had died and had been raised from the dead. Why? I believe the reason is obvious, even though Mark does not state it. If the other disciples had been told that, if they had been told that Jesus had just met with Elijah and Moses, they would have gone crazy with the news. And the Jews, who had been looking for an opportunity to crown Jesus king, may have proclaimed Him king immediately. Imagine, then, what the Romans, who were their overlords, would have done to the country? Then the enemies of the Lord, the religious leaders of the Jesus, would just have said, “We have been right all along about this man. He is nothing but a rebel.” How good, then, would that have been for God’s plan of redemption for mankind? Terrible!

So, it is not everything that God shows us that He wants us to publicise. And if we publicise what is meant to be kept as a secret, we will surely work against His purpose for us and for others in our world. So, next time you receive a revelation from God, take out time to pray to know whether it is something for sharing or for keeping.

Then there was something else that Peter, James and John brought up with the Lord as a result of that encounter. It was the subject of the coming of Elijah back into the world. And one of the strongest arguments of the teachers of the Law against the acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah was that Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah, as stated in the Prophets. So, Jesus could not be the Messiah, since Elijah had not yet shown up. (Cf. Malachi 3:1 &s 4:5-6)

But in few words, the Lord made it clear to His disciples that Elijah had already come and the people had treated him as they pleased. In other words, when the prophets of old said that Elijah would come before the Messiah, they did not mean that it was the man that was caught up to heaven in the days of Ahab and Elisha that would return to the earth. That man was gone and would not return to the earth again in the flesh, for it is appointed for man to come into this world and also exit it only once. After that, judgment is what will follow (Heb 9:27). So, the Elijah that was to come before the Messiah and prepare His way was just another person with the same ministry character as Elijah. That person, of course, was John the Baptist, as Matthew clarifies in his own gospel (Matt 17:13). All this shows us that the subject of reincarnation is not upheld anywhere in the Scriptures.

Now, before moving on to show us what Jesus teaches about how to attain great heights in the kingdom of God, Mark quickly shares with us an incident that we might refer to as an interlude between what happened on the mount of transfiguration and the things the Lord afterwards taught His disciples about the kingdom of God. And it was the healing of a boy that was possessed by a demon that had made him dumb.

But why did he not leave the account out? If he had left it out and just gone straight to share what Jesus taught His disciples after the happening on the mountain, the flow of his report would still have remained perfect. But he shared it to let us know see that it was not every time that the exercise of the faith of the disciples of the Lord worked. And this occasion was one of those times in which their faith failed to work.

Now look at some of the things Mark reports about the incident:

“When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”” (Mark 9:14-19NIV)

What was the problem here? It was that the disciples could not drive out the demon that was afflicting a boy that had been brought to them by his father. And observe that the problem was that they would not drive the demon; rather, it was that they could not. That means they actually tried to drive out the demon afflicting the boy. But the demon was not going to leave him.

Why would they even attempt to do that? Why would they not tell the man that had brought the boy to wait for their master to come? They attempted to do so because they had been driving out demons before. Remember that that Mark tells us in chapter 3 of this gospel that one of the reasons Jesus called the twelve apostles to Him was that He might give them authority to drive out demons. Then he also tells us this about these apostles in chapter 6 of this same gospel: “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” (Mark 6:13NIV) Did you see that? They had driven many demons out of many people before this time. How? In the name of Jesus!

So, wanting to drive out the demon in that boy did not seem unusual or out of place for them at all. Yet when they told the demon to come out of him, in the name of Jesus, the demon did not come out of him. You can, then, imagine how embarrassed they must have been. To make matters worse, some teachers of the law, who were nothing but enemies of the Lord Jesus, were there to witness the incident. So, they just saw that as an opportunity to discredit them and the ministry of Jesus.

Thankfully, the Lord came back to them in time, just before the man could take away his boy with the impression that Jesus probably did not possess the kind of authority people claimed that He possessed over demons. And the first thing He pointed out as responsible for the inability of His men to drive out the demon in the boy was unbelief.

Whose unbelief was it, then, the disciples’ or the boy’s father’s? Well, it was largely the unbelief of the Lord’s disciples that was responsible. Yes, the boy’s father too had his own measure of unbelief, which he prayed that the Lord would help him overcome. But it was really the unbelief of the disciples that made it impossible for them to drive out the evil spirit in that boy.

Now Mark does not clearly express this in his gospel. But Matthew does in his own account. Look at how he puts it:

“Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”” (Matt 17:19-20NIV)

Did you see that? It was faith problem. The faith of the disciples was too little to drive out the demon in that boy. That means even though they attempted to drive the demon out of the boy, they did not fully believe that he would obey them and come out of him. Why did they not fully believe that the demon would listen to them, in the name of Jesus? We are not told in the account. It may be because of the tantrums the boy was throwing when he was brought to them. As the account shows, even when the boy was brought to Jesus, the demon threw him into a convulsion, causing him to roll on the ground and to foam at the mouth. And did the Lord pay attention to that? No! He simply drove him out by a word of command and told him never to enter the boy again. And did he obey or not? He did. And interestingly, the force with which he left was so great that the boy was violently shaken up and thrown on the ground, looking like a corpse. (Cf. Mark 9:20-27)

So, it may be because the demon frightened the apostles that they could not demonstrate sufficient faith in driving him out. Whatever the case is, the point we need to note is that if we will exercise our God-given authority over demons, we cannot afford to entertain any form of doubt. That is why we need to keep feeding ourselves with the word of God. The word of God builds up faith. It makes our faith strong and great. But that is not going to happen overnight. In other words, if we will not daily give ourselves to God’s word, so that it may build up our faith moment by moment, our faith will not be ready to deal with certain challenges of life when they show up. (Cf. Acts 20:32)

In addition to that, we must also give ourselves to prayer. That is because prayer is not simply an expression of our faith in God, it also builds up faith. Through prayer we are able to receive revelations from God on the exact thing to do when confronted with life challenges. Also, through prayer, we are able to activate the power of God that is already working in our lives, so that our words and actions will be backed by power. (Cf. Col 1:9-12; James 5:16)

Now we see that the Lord also mentioned this to His disciples, when they came to ask Him why they could not drive out the demon in that boy. Look at how Mark reports this: “After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”” (Mark 9:28-29NIV) Now there are some English bible translations that add ‘fasting’ to what the Lord says here. And that is okay. But while nothing is wrong with fasting, fasting itself is not praying and cannot take the place of praying. Also, fasting is for us and not for God. Fasting is to make us concentrate while praying and studying Scriptures to learn from God or to receive from Him. And if we can concentrate in prayer and in studying the word of God without it, it is still all good.

Well then, the point the Lord is making to us here is that there are some kinds of things we cannot do for God or men, if we are not devoted to prayer. And how can we know those things? Well, we may not know them until we are confronted with them. Remember that Jesus told His disciples, just before He went to the cross, to watch and pray, so that they would not fall into temptation. And He said because He knew that if man would not give himself to prayer enough, there are certain situations of life that he would not have enough spiritual strength or revelations to deal with. So, if we will be able to handle any challenge we may be confronted with in life, we must be given to prayer.

Now, moving away from this incident, Mark moves on to report to us certain important things that the Lord Jesus shared with His disciples before the end of His earthly ministry. Look at how he puts them:

“They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”” (Mark 9:30-37NIV)

What is the first thing we see here? We see the Lord teaching His disciples privately. In fact, Mark is careful to note here that He did not want anyone to know where they were. Why? He did not want them to be distracted. So, in order to make people learn and be fruitful with the word of God, we must do all that we can to minimise distractions.

Then Mark goes on to show us that the Lord again emphasised to His disciples what was going to happen to Him shortly. He had told them before that He would be killed and that He would rise to life again. And they did not receive that well. So, He had to go over the same truths with them again in order to let them know that they were unavoidable. Preachers too must learn to do the same with truths that their brethren are failing to grasp or refusing to embrace. They must go over them again and again until they see that God’s truths are unavoidable. If you refuse to deal with them now, you will surely have to deal with them when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Furthermore, Mark reveals to us something of the nature of attention our Lord Jesus paid to what was happening around Him and especially among those ministering with Him. It is unfortunate that many ministers today don’t pay the right quality of attention to what is happening to and in the lives of those ministering with them or under them. They may pay a close attention to those that they suspect to be unfaithful to them, so that they can easily flush them out of their lives and ministries. But they hardly open their spiritual eyes to see what is truly going on among those with them. And because of this, they allow bitterness, dissension, immorality, greed and other evil things to become entrenched among God’s people under their care. Dealing with these things, then, may not happen without the faith of some people being injured.

Well, as Mark shows us, these disciples had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest and the Lord had also acted as though He did not hear them. But when they settled down at home, He called them together and, using a little child, He illustrated to them how to become great in God’s kingdom. And from what He taught them, it is clear that God is not against our desiring to be great in His kingdom. But He is concerned about our knowledge of how to attain greatness in His kingdom.

How, then, do we attain greatness in His kingdom? Well, according to the Lord, greatness in the kingdom is not attained through association, politics, backbiting, killing or inheritance. Rather, it is attained through service done in humility. The Lord, of course, would later share more with them on this same subject before His death, burial and resurrection. But on this occasion, He made it very clear to them anyone who would be first in the kingdom must be a servant of every other person. That’s how He inherited from God the name that is above all names, by serving all humanity through His death for our sins. And if any of us too will amount to anything at all in His kingdom, we must function with the same spirit. (Cf. Phil 2:5-11)

Now what the Lord shared with them on this occasion prompted John, one of His disciples, to draw His attention to something that had happened behind His back and how they had handled it? What was it? Well, it was that they had seen someone driving out evil spirits in the name of Jesus and had tried to stop him. Why? It was because he was not one of them. They had felt that they were the only ones authorised to use the name of Jesus to do good works because of their closeness to Him. But when Jesus told them that greatness in the kingdom of God had nothing to do with closeness to even to the Son of God but everything to do with service, John immediately sensed that they must have been wrong by trying to stop that man. And they were wrong, as the Lord went on to show them. Look at how Mark puts that:

“”Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. “And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ Everyone will be salted with fire. “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”” (Mark 9:38-50NIV)

Did you see that? Anyone that is for the Lord Jesus is not against Him. So, even if the person is different from us in every way, as long as He is on the Lord’s side, He is accepted by Him. We will do well, therefore, to accept that person as one of us. Another point we should note here is that regardless of what we think we are doing for the Lord, we are not the only ones working for Him. He has several people all around the world doing His work. And it is when we eventually stand before Him that we will know who is who and what place each one truly holds in His scheme. (Cf. 1Kings 19:18; Rom 11:2-4)

What the Lord shared with the apostles on this note must have made them see that they may have been overrating themselves and their positions in His kingdom. It made them see that they were not the only ones working for Him or serving Him. There were others as well. And they would not know how much those other people did for Him until everybody stands before Him on the day of judgment.

Furthermore, the Lord goes on to show these men that even those who do nothing but act in generosity towards His servants are serving Him and will receive their reward. So, instead of thinking of ourselves as something because of whatever we believe we are doing for the Lord, we should humble ourselves and desire to serve Him more and better, as the opportunity comes. Otherwise, while we think of ourselves as being the first, we may just be the last.

Now, in closing, the Lord draws the attention of these disciples something else that is equally important. And it is the need to for them to watch themselves so that they will not be contributing to anybody’s fall. Yes, there is reward for those who serve Him well. In fact, serving Him well is the only way to attain positions of greatness in His kingdom. But we can so focus on our attention on what we are doing for Him that we will overlook those things that we may be doing to ruin His works in other people’s lives or in our own lives as well. Yes, we can be talking about how many souls we are winning for the Lord while, at the same, time driving some souls or even more souls away from Him.

So, He warns of the need for us to equally pay attention to anything that we are doing that may make others fall or anything in our lives that may ruin our faith. And once we recognise such things, we must deal with them ruthlessly. Observe that the Lord uses terms as strong as plucking out our eyes and cutting off our legs in dealing with things that may make us or others fall. And this does not mean that we are to literally cut off our legs or pluck out eyes. Rather, it means that we are to take whatever righteous measure, however extreme it may seem, we can take in making sure that we are not responsible for anybody’s fall or our own destruction. That, of course, may look like a baptism of fire for us. But it will be a safeguard for us. Otherwise, even though God has made us salt here on earth, we may just lose our saltiness and become useless to Him.

CONCLUSION

Faith and a heart of service are important, if we are going to do great works for the Lord and attain great heights in His eternal kingdom. But without giving ourselves to prayer and the word of God, we cannot build our faith to be strong and great enough to serve Him. And without paying attention to our lives, we may end up ruining them or others’ lives through all kinds of sin.

QUESTIONS

– What are the three main themes Mark uses the things he shares in the ninth chapter of this gospel to set forth?

– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

BIBLE STUDY OUTLINES 2025

TOPIC: FAITH IN POSSESSING JERICHO | TEXT: HEBREWS 11:30-31 | WEDNESDAY 30th APRIL 2025

TOPIC: FAITH IN POSSESSING JERICHO

SERIES: BUILDING UP YOUR FAITH

TEXT: HEBREWS 11:30-31

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In our last lesson, we learned about Moses and the people of Israel’s faith in crossing the Red Sea. The Bible says that by faith the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were walking on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned. God performed an outstanding miracle by causing the Israelites to walk through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground, to show that He was with them. God deliberately led them through the path of the Red Sea and not through the shorter route because of the wars they would have encountered. However, this did not prevent them from facing some other challenges. This teaches us that challenges are inevitable in life, even when God is leading us. Therefore, the demonstration of our faith is necessary, if we want to walk in victory over all our challenges. (Cf. Hebrews 11:29)

FAITH IN POSSESSING JERICHO
Now in this study, we are going to look at the faith of Joshua and the people of Israel in possessing the land of Jericho, as well as the faith of Rahab.

Hebrews 11:30 (NLT):
“It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.”

In this text, we are not given detailed information about how the walls of Jericho came down, other than that the people marched around the city for seven days and the walls fell. To understand this better, we need to look at the book of Joshua.

Joshua 6:1–2 (NLT):
“Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the LORD said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors.”

After Joshua and the people of Israel had crossed the Jordan River, God instructed Joshua to prepare to conquer Jericho. However, at this time, there was no way they could attack the city directly because the gates were tightly shut. The walls and gates of Jericho were not like the ones we are familiar with today. Historically, city walls were as tall as residential buildings and were built mainly for protection against invaders, especially during times of war.

With the gates shut, there was no way the Israelites could enter to fight. Yet, God gave Joshua divine instructions on what to do. What God asked Joshua and the people of Israel to do did not seem logical. The instruction was to march around the city of Jericho once each day for six days, and on the seventh day, they were to march around it seven times and then shout (Joshua 6:3–11). And as they obeyed, the walls collapsed, and the Israelites conquered Jericho, destroying everything — both humans and animals — except for Rahab the prostitute and her family, who were spared.

RAHAB’S FAITH
Hebrews 11:31 (NLT):
“It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”

Why was Rahab, who was a prostitute, saved during the destruction of Jericho? It was because she believed in the God of Israel and demonstrated her faith by giving a friendly welcome to the two spies sent by Joshua to spy out the land.

Joshua 2:8–11 (NLT):
*Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the LORD has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.”

CONCLUSION
First, we must understand that there will always be situations or challenges that may stand as obstacles to accessing God’s provisions for us, just like the walls of Jericho stood before the Israelites. At such times, we must demonstrate our faith by acting on God’s Word. As we do so, every wall of hindrance shall be pulled down in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Second, Rahab, though she was a renowned prostitute, believed in the God of Israel when she heard about Him and demonstrated her faith by protecting the two spies sent by Joshua. When it comes to salvation, the state of a person’s heart matters most to God, especially toward the end of their life. That is why our faith in God must remain steadfast from start to finish. If anyone believes for a while but later turns away from the Lord, that person would not be saved. So, just like Rahab — who was once a well-known prostitute but eventually believed in the God of Israel and was saved — God expects our faith to endure from beginning to end.

By Emmanuel Olarinre

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 11:1-52 | WEDNESDAY 23RD APRIL 2025

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER TEXT: MARK 11:1-52

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MEMORY VERSES: “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”” (Mark 10:27NIV)

Now, of course, Mark does not tell us why Jesus, who all along had been ministering almost quietly, decided to go public on this occasion. But Matthew tells us why in his own gospel. He says:

Well, even though the Lord could have chosen not to curse that tree, He did so to indicate something of the judgment that would come on every unfruitful life. The bible says:

QUESTIONS
– How do you think the cleansing of the temple by the Lord at that time is applicable to the church of God today?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 10:1-52 | WEDNESDAY 12TH MARCH 2025

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SERIES: THE GOSPEL OF MARK
INTRODUCTION

Well, here is what Mark has to say to us about how Jesus responded to them:

Moving away from that, Mark introduces something else about how Lord Jesus viewed children and their place in the kingdom. Look at the way he puts this:

QUESTIONS
– What can you say about your own every day walk with the Lord Jesus?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: MOSES AND THE ISRAELITES’ FAITH | TEXT: HEBREWS 11:27-29 | WEDNESDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2025

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“It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27NLT)

By Emmanuel Olarinre

TOPIC: FIRSTFRUITS OFFERINGS | TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 18:4-5 | WEDNESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2025

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TOPIC: FIRSTFRUITS OFFERINGS | TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 18:4-5 | WEDNESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2025

MEMORY VERSES: “You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep…” (Deut 18:4-5NIV)”

BACKGROUND

Furthermore, we have this said to us about the firstfruits of people and animals:

In addition to those, we still have this said to us about firstfruits:

In addition, the bible says this:

“From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:17NIV)

Furthermore, the bible says this:

Let me give you one more Scripture on this, which says:

WHO IS TO ACCEPT THE FIRSTFRUITS?
The only people authorised by God to receive firsfruits among the Israelites are the priests, the descendants of Aaron. Look at the following Scriptures again:

More so, who have you been taking your firstfruits to? Or let me say who do you intend to take your firstfruits to? Your pastor? Is your pastor a descendant of Aaron?

QUESTIONS
– How has this study affected your view of firstfruits?
– How relevant do you think this study is today?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 9:1-50 | WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY 2025

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TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 9:1-50 | WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY 2025

MEMORY VERSES: “Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”” (Mark 9:7NIV)”

BACKGROUND

ATTAINING GREATNESS IN THE KINGDOM

Now who among the disciples were given the privilege of tasting something of the glory and power of God’s eternal kingdom? Mark answers that question in this manner:

Now look at some of the things Mark reports about the incident:

Now Mark does not clearly express this in his gospel. But Matthew does in his own account. Look at how he puts it:

CONCLUSION

QUESTIONS

– What are the three main themes Mark uses the things he shares in the ninth chapter of this gospel to set forth?

– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

BIBLE STUDY OUTLINES 2025

TOPIC: FAITH IN POSSESSING JERICHO | TEXT: HEBREWS 11:30-31 | WEDNESDAY 30th APRIL 2025

TOPIC: FAITH IN POSSESSING JERICHO

SERIES: BUILDING UP YOUR FAITH

TEXT: HEBREWS 11:30-31

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FAITH IN POSSESSING JERICHO
Now in this study, we are going to look at the faith of Joshua and the people of Israel in possessing the land of Jericho, as well as the faith of Rahab.

Hebrews 11:30 (NLT):
“It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.”

By Emmanuel Olarinre

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 11:1-52 | WEDNESDAY 23RD APRIL 2025

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER TEXT: MARK 11:1-52

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MEMORY VERSES: “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”” (Mark 10:27NIV)

Now, of course, Mark does not tell us why Jesus, who all along had been ministering almost quietly, decided to go public on this occasion. But Matthew tells us why in his own gospel. He says:

Well, even though the Lord could have chosen not to curse that tree, He did so to indicate something of the judgment that would come on every unfruitful life. The bible says:

QUESTIONS
– How do you think the cleansing of the temple by the Lord at that time is applicable to the church of God today?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 10:1-52 | WEDNESDAY 12TH MARCH 2025

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SERIES: THE GOSPEL OF MARK
INTRODUCTION

Well, here is what Mark has to say to us about how Jesus responded to them:

Moving away from that, Mark introduces something else about how Lord Jesus viewed children and their place in the kingdom. Look at the way he puts this:

QUESTIONS
– What can you say about your own every day walk with the Lord Jesus?
– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: MOSES AND THE ISRAELITES’ FAITH | TEXT: HEBREWS 11:27-29 | WEDNESDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2025

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“It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27NLT)

By Emmanuel Olarinre

TOPIC: FIRSTFRUITS OFFERINGS | TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 18:4-5 | WEDNESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2025

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TOPIC: FIRSTFRUITS OFFERINGS | TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 18:4-5 | WEDNESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2025

MEMORY VERSES: “You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep…” (Deut 18:4-5NIV)”

BACKGROUND

Furthermore, we have this said to us about the firstfruits of people and animals:

In addition to those, we still have this said to us about firstfruits:

In addition, the bible says this:

“From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:17NIV)

Furthermore, the bible says this:

Let me give you one more Scripture on this, which says:

WHO IS TO ACCEPT THE FIRSTFRUITS?
The only people authorised by God to receive firsfruits among the Israelites are the priests, the descendants of Aaron. Look at the following Scriptures again:

More so, who have you been taking your firstfruits to? Or let me say who do you intend to take your firstfruits to? Your pastor? Is your pastor a descendant of Aaron?

QUESTIONS
– How has this study affected your view of firstfruits?
– How relevant do you think this study is today?

By Johnson O. Lawal

TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 9:1-50 | WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY 2025

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TOPIC: THE GOSPEL OF MARK-CHAPTER BY CHAPTER | TEXT: MARK 9:1-50 | WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY 2025

MEMORY VERSES: “Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”” (Mark 9:7NIV)”

BACKGROUND

ATTAINING GREATNESS IN THE KINGDOM

Now who among the disciples were given the privilege of tasting something of the glory and power of God’s eternal kingdom? Mark answers that question in this manner:

Now look at some of the things Mark reports about the incident:

Now Mark does not clearly express this in his gospel. But Matthew does in his own account. Look at how he puts it:

CONCLUSION

QUESTIONS

– What are the three main themes Mark uses the things he shares in the ninth chapter of this gospel to set forth?

– What is the most important lesson for you in this study?

By Johnson O. Lawal

BIBLE STUDY OUTLINES 2025

BIBLE STUDY OUTLINES 2025

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