Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

6  Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested.   7  A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.   8  The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9  “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?”  asked Pilate, 10  knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.   11  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas  instead. 12  “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13  “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14  “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” Click Here to Read the Rest of Chapter 15 The irony in this passage is chilling.  Barabbas was in prison for doing something wrong.  He had killed a man.  Jesus is on trial for claiming to be the king of the Jews, but di

Jesus Arrested 43  Just as he was speaking, Judas,  one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. 44  Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”   45  Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!”  and kissed him.   46  The men seized Jesus and arrested him.   47  Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48  “Am I leading a rebellion,”  said Jesus,  “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?   49  Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts,  and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”   50  Then everyone deserted him and fled. Click Here to Read the Rest of Chapter 14 Though Judas was the one who "officially" betrayed Jesus, he wasn't the only one who betrayed h

The Day and Hour Unknown 32  “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.   33  Be on guard! Be alert [ e ] !  You do not know when that time will come.   34  It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants  in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35  “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.   36  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.   37  What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” Click Here to Read the Rest of Mark 13 There is no topic more debated, analyzed and interpreted like the topic of Jesus' second coming.  There are certainly differences among Christians all of all types and denominiations.  Even within denominations there may be disagreements about certain aspects of what we call &qu

Marriage at the Resurrection 18  Then the Sadducees,  who say there is no resurrection,  came to him with a question.   19  “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 raise up offspring for his brother.   20  Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children.   21  The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.   22  In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.   23  At the resurrection [ c ] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” 24  Jesus replied,  “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures  or the power of God?   25  When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Click Here to Read the Rest of Chapter 12 There were two major schools of teaching in

2 2  “Have faith in God,”  Jesus answered.   23  “Truly [ f ]  I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.   24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.   25  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”   Click Here to Read the Rest of Chapter 11 Here is yet another passage where we need to read carefully what Jesus is saying and what he is not saying.  Importantly, we need to keep in mind the way Jesus taught and the methods he employed.  One of Jesus' favorite teaching tools was called hyperbole.  It was also a common tool rabbi's used to teach in the synagogue.  Here is a brief quote: "If we are still in doubt that hyperbole is a legitimate way to express truth

The Little Children and Jesus 13  People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.   14  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. 15  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”   16  And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Click Here to Read the Rest of Mark 10 Jesus' teaching is consistently challenging the prevailing norms of his culture.  He turns things around so those who think they are special because of their position, and those who might seem like the outcast are lifted up. In this case like his often the case in our society, children were to be seen and not heard.   So Jesus' disciples thought he was certainly to busy to be troubled by these children. After all, he

The Transfiguration 2  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.   3  His clothes became dazzling white,  whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.   4  And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5  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.”   6  (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7  Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud:  “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” To Read The Rest of Mark 9 Click Here We often talk about the "mountaintop experience".  It is usually a time we meet God in a powerful way. It is an experience that sticks with us, and is transformational for our whole lives.  Today we read of a literal mountaintop experience for Peter, James and

Jesus Predicts His Death 31  He then began to teach them that the Son of Man  must suffer many things  and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,  and that he must be killed  and after three days  rise again. 32  He spoke plainly  about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33  But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter.  “Get behind me, Satan!”  he said.  “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Click on This Link to Read the Rest of Mark 8 There are many important verses to talk about in Mark 8, but none more important than this one.  In one verse, Peter gets the million dollar question right in answering that Jesus is the "Messiah".  And then 4 verses later when Peter tries to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross Jesus says to him, "Get behind me Satan, you do not have in the things of God but man."  I don't think Jesus is saying P

5  So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders  instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”  6  He replied,  “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:  “‘These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain their teachings are merely human rules.’ Click Here to Read All of Mark 7 Jesus continues to deal with the obstinancy of the Pharisees.  In this case, they cite a tradition that was not in scripture but was passed down by the rabbis.  Though priests were required to wash their hands before they went to perform their duties in the tabernacle according to Exodus 30, they added this additional cleansing for everyday, ordinary meals.  Here is what commentator says about this custom instituted by men,   "The biblical mandate that the priests had to wash their hands and feet prior to entering the Tabernacle ( E