Mark 2:17

If it were not for sin Jesus would not have sacrificed His life. 

The truth is that sinners, of which I am greatest, required the exchange of the perfect Lamb in propitiation of our sins. Without this we would be without hope. We have no right to withhold forgiveness from any person who ask. We have no basis for arrogance or pride. We can only be extremely humbled that God loved His creation so very much that He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place.

Praise and glory belong to the King of kings, the Lord of lords.

In this instance Jesus was speaking tongue-in-cheek when He used the word righteous. None are righteous, though some, such as the Pharisees, fancied themselves as such. Instead, Christ came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus did not condone the activities of sinners, but required repentance—a change of mind that recognizes the need of a Savior and recognizes Jesus Christ as the only Savior. NKJ Bible.

Mark 2:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ When Jesus heard it, He said to them,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Matthew 9:13 (NKJV)

¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Luke 7:40-50

Those of us who have been forgiven so much are so thankful for the salvation given in JESUS THE CHRIST. We truly understand the depth of the love the TRIUNE GODHEAD has for sinners. We love Him so. 

God loves Donald Trump as much as he loves Barrack Obama.

Rather than making the point Himself, Jesus prompts Simon to give an answer that condemns his own attitude. The woman, who appeared to be in great need of forgiveness, expresses her love and appreciation more than the Pharisee, who likely thought that he needed little or no forgiveness.

Jesus often recognizes faith as the catalyst for healing and salvation.

Jesus’ point is that the amount of love showered on the Savior will be in direct proportion with one’s sense of the gravity of the sins that the Savior has forgiven. The woman knew she had been forgiven much, and as a result she would love much.Jesus contrasted the actions of the woman with the actions of the Pharisee Simon, implying that the woman knew more about forgiveness than Simon.

Faith is the human channel for receiving God’s gifts.

Luke 7:40–50 (NKJV)

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Luke 18:9-14

How we treat others matters to God. In the manner that we treat them we will be treated in eternity. Jesus cried with those who cried and rejoiced with those who were rejoicing. He loved people simply because they were created and loved by His Father. 

God hates arrogance and pride!

Jesus’ humanity and compassion are repeatedly stressed by the author. This, coupled with Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’ sinless perfection, set up his logical conclusion. Because Jesus is the only perfect person born of a woman and because He identifies compassionately with the plight of suffering sinful people, He alone is qualified to carry our sorrows, bear our sin, and offer us the priceless gift of salvation. NKJ Bible

be merciful (Gk. hilaskomai) (18:13; Heb. 2:17) Strong’s #2433: The Greek word means “to be propitious” or “to be favorably inclined.” The term is used only one other time as a verb in the NT, and there it describes how Christ made reconciliation possible between God and humanity by His sacrifice on the Cross. Jesus is called “the propitiation for our sins.” Jesus, as our sacrifice, propitiated God concerning our sins; that is, He appeased God. This tax collector, well aware of his sinful condition, was asking God for reconciliation.

Luke 18:9–14 (NKJV)

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

A shocking role reversal—especially since Jesus could be telling this parable to Pharisees. The character who would have been perceived as righteous is rejected by God, while the character known for wickedness receives God’s acceptance. This teaching no doubt enraged Jesus’ audience.

Jesus identified the contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector as one between pride and humility, between those who exalt and those who humble themselves. God will bring down the proud and will exalt the humble.

The tone of the prayer reveals the Pharisee’s problem. He uses the pronoun I five times in two verses. The Pharisee’s attitude seems to be that God should be grateful to him for his commitment. The man obviously looked down on other people and was proud of his fasting and tithing.

Perea "Beyond the Jordan"

God chose a rugged, wild area mostly inhabited by Gentiles to bring salvation into the world. God is just, merciful and gracious to all of His creation.

New Testament commentators speak of Jesus' "Perean Ministry", beginning with his departure from Galilee (Matt 19:1; Mark 10:1) and ending with the anointing by Mary in Bethany (Matt 26:6) or his journey towards Jerusalem commencing from Mark 10:32.

PEREA was a land inhabited by the tribe of REUBEN the eldest son of Jacob with Leah...The tribe of GAD, the seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid…And the tribe of MANASSEH,  Jacob’s grandson, born in Egypt to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, daughter of the priest Potiphera.

It is ironic that the gentiles, the Jews viewed with disdain, would be offered salvation in this very area. The firstborn Son of God, rejected by the Jews, would be the Messiah and the salvation of the world. Christ within is the hope of glory.

Numbers 32:1 - Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place [was] a place for cattle;

Numbers 32:33 - And Moses gave unto them, [even] to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, [even] the cities of the country round about.

Joshua 13:24 - And Moses gave [inheritance] unto the tribe of Gad, [even] unto the children of Gad according to their families.

Reuben or Re'uven (Hebrew: רְאוּבֵן, was the eldest son of Jacob with Leah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Reuben.It is said that God having witnessed Leah's misery, in regard to her status as the less-favourite of Jacob's wives granted her a son. Leah hopes that Reuben's birth will make Jacob love her. The rabbinical sources argue that the first cities of refuge were located in the territory of the tribe of Reuben, since Reuben (the individual) had tried to save Joseph from the mob of his brothers.

Gad was the seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid. He was the founder of the tribe of Gad.

Jacob’s grandson,Manasseh, for whom the tribe was named, was born in Egypt to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, daughter of the priest Potiphera.

Perea (Περαία, Peraia); Also known as “Beyond the Jordan” (עֵבֶר הַיַרְדֵּן, ever hayarden; πέραν ὁ Ἰορδάνης, peran ho Iordanēs). A region east of the Jordan River and south of Galilee that factors prominently in the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus. Perea was part of the kingdom of Herod the Great; after his death in 4 bc, it was given (along with Galilee) to Herod Antipas. Much larger indeed than Galilee, it is generally desert and rugged, and too wild for the growth of delicate fruits. In some parts, however the soil is loamy and prolific, and trees of various kinds cover the plains ; but the olive-tree, the vine, and the palm tree, are those principally cultivated.

Jews from Gilead were among those deported to Assyria (2 Kgs 15:29). Little evidence attests to further Jewish settlement in the region until the Maccabean period (second and first centuries bc).

With his death in 44 CE, Agrippa's merged territory was made province again, including Judaea and for the first time, Perea. From that time Perea was part of the shifting Roman provinces to its west: Judaea, and later Syria Palaestina, Palaestina and Palaestina Prima.

Perea remained under Agrippa II’s control until his death in ad 100, after which the region became part of the province of Syria.

The Christian Armenians who were deported from Armenia and forcibly settled in the New Julfa/Isfahan region of Iran named a major village "Perea" in honor of the important significance of Perea as the resting place of John the Baptist.

During the Old Testament period the region roughly equivalent to Perea—then called Gilead (Josh 12:2)—was divided among the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh (Josh 12:6; 22:9). The region remained under Israel’s authority during the monarchies of Saul and David and through 733 bc, when the Assyrians gained control.

Aside from some variant readings of Luke 6:17, Perea is not mentioned by name in the New Testament—referred to instead as “beyond the Jordan” (Matt 4:15, 25; 19:1; Mark 3:8; 10:1; John 1:28; 3:26; 10:40).

John the Baptist seems to have based his ministry in a Perean town—Bethany (John 1:28). John likely baptized Jesus in this area (Matt 3:13), and John’s disciples note that Jesus was with John “on the other side of the Jordan” (John 3:26).

Jews traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem usually traveled along a longer route through Perea to circumvent Samaria. Jesus seems to have followed this practice occasionally; for instance, during his final journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, he travels through the region on the other side of Jordan River (Matt 19:1).

Daniel 11:1-4

In the end times even the elect can be fooled. Please Holy Spirit direct and guide your church into God’s will. He will use whomever He chooses to accomplish His purposes. 

SOMETIMES LESSONS ARE HARD LEARNED.

Let Your will Father rule on earth as it does in heaven.

he will do as he pleases… Refers to unstoppable power. Alexander, Antiochus III the Great, and Antiochus share this trait.

All of these events were experienced by the Jewish people after Daniel’s lifetime. Faithlife Bible.

At the beginning of the Persian administration, the divine messenger stood up to confirm and strengthen Darius. This suggests that though the kingdoms of the world are under demonic control, their human rulers can be delivered from that control and used for a higher purpose by God as He sees fit.

Darius (under Cyrus) was followed by Cambyses (530–522 b.c.); Gaumata (522 b.c.); Darius I (522–486 b.c.); and Xerxes (486–465 b.c.), who was the richest king of all due to his conquest and severe taxation. The kingdom of Alexander was divided into four parts (8:22), but not among his posterity—that is, his heirs… his generals ruled the empire he had conquered. NKJ Bible.

Daniel 11:1–4 (NKJV)

11 “Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) ² And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. ³ Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. ⁴ And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.

Matthew

Matthew was a tax collector despised by most Jews simply because of his job. In truth he was most likely placed in this position by GOD to balance the scales of justice in a Roman dominated society.

May we all, as believers, strive to have the mind of Christ.

mind (Gk. dianoia, nous) Strong’s #1271; 3563: Four separate Greek words account for nearly all instances of “mind” in the NT. They all mean much the same thing: understanding, thought, mind, reason. While today we think of a person’s mind in a morally neutral way, in the NT the mind was clearly thought of as either good or evil. Negatively, the mind may be “blinded”, “corrupt”, and “debased”. On the positive side, humans may have minds that are renewed and pure. They may love God with all their minds and have God’s laws implanted in their minds. Since Christians have “the mind of Christ”, they are instructed to be united in mind.

Matthew 22:34–40 (NKJV)

The Greatest Commandment is Love

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

³⁷ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 

Matthew’s Gospel serves several purposes beyond presenting a mere biography of Jesus. One purpose is to prove to Jewish readers that Jesus is their Messiah and promised King. The genealogy in chapter 1 points to Christ as the One who inherited God’s promises to David of an eternal dynasty. Jesus’ use of a familiar messianic psalm in Matthew 22:41–44 would have clearly implied to any Jew that He was the heir of the Davidic throne. Even though many Jews of Jesus’ time were blind to Jesus’ identity, Gentiles (such as the wise men) identified Him as Israel’s promised King when He was a baby. Finally, the charge that hung above Jesus’ head on the Cross clearly highlights His royalty: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS (27:37). But most important, the Book of Matthew proves Jesus’ legitimate authority by highlighting His wise teaching and righteous life (7:28, 29).

Another purpose of the book is to outline the characteristics of the kingdom of God, both for Israel and the church. Orthodox Jews would typically scoff at any assertion that Jesus is their Messiah, let alone their King. They would retort, “If Jesus is King, where is the promised restoration of the kingdom of Israel?” Many Jews of Jesus’ day rejected Him as Messiah, even though both Jesus and John the Baptist continually preached that the kingdom was “at hand”. This rejection of Jesus by the Jews is a dominant theme of Matthew (11:12). Because of this rejection, God postponed the fulfillment of His promises to Israel and subsequently extended His blessings to both Jew and Gentile in the church.

Matthew is the only Gospel writer who speaks directly of the church (16:18). He points to the Gentile composition of this church by including several stories of the Gentiles’ faith in Jesus: the wise men, the centurion, and the Canaanite woman. He records Jesus’ prediction that the gospel will be preached to all nations (24:14), and the commission to the disciples to “make disciples of all the nations” (28:19). Jesus’ teaching pointed to the blessings of the kingdom being extended to Gentiles. But one day, Israel will be restored to its place of blessing (Romans 11:25–27).

A final purpose of Matthew is to instruct the church. An obvious clue to this is in the Great Commission: “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (28:20). The discipling process involves instruction in the words of Christ, and the Gospel of Matthew revolves around five of Jesus’ discourses. Instead of emphasizing a narrative of Jesus’ life as Mark does, Matthew uses the narrative elements in his Gospel as a setting for Jesus’ sermons. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 22:41–44 (NKJV)

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

They said to Him, “The Son of David.”

⁴³ He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?

Matthew 27:37 (NKJV)

³⁷ And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS

Matthew 7:28–29 (NKJV)

²⁸ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Matthew 3:2 (NKJV)

² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Matthew 12:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Romans 11:25–27 (NKJV)

²⁵ For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,

And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

²⁷ For this is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.”

Matthew 28:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jonah Three Days in the Belly of a Very, Large Fish

It is never wise to go against the teachings of God or His plans for your life! His mercy and His grace extends to ALL nations…to ALL people. He wants no one, no not one, to live estranged from Him for eternity. Spread the Good News.

He died so that ALL could have the choice to live.

Jonah three days in the belly of a very, large fish!

Jonah is the only narrative included in the books of the Minor Prophets. It tells the story of God commanding the prophet Jonah to preach in Nineveh, but Jonah decides to run the other way by boarding a ship. After God orchestrates a storm and a great fish swallows Jonah, he obeys God’s command. But when Nineveh—a major city of the Assyrian Empire and Israel’s enemy—repents after listening to Jonah, he is infuriated. The book’s lesson becomes clear in the end: God’s care extends to all who call on Him—even those who previously stood against His people. His mercy is truly for all.

 The Book of Jonah challenges God’s people not to exalt themselves over others. The Lord, the great King, is free to bless, to be gracious, and to be patient with all the nations of the earth. More than that, He may show compassion even on the wicked. Indeed, His mercy extends even to animals.

Jonah’s view of God was too restrictive. He believed that God was the Creator of everything, but that He was compassionate only toward the elect of Israel. Jonah believed that since God had chosen Israel from among the wicked nations, He had to show mercy to Israel, even if the people were rebellious. Jonah had failed to appreciate that the Lord may be equally forbearing with other nations as He was with Israel.

The Book of Jonah affirms God’s freedom, sovereignty, and power. God is sovereign because He is the Creator of everything. His power extends over all creation (the storm, the fish, the vine, the worm). God is free and He can never be bound by human misconceptions.

The self-righteous make the grave mistake of rejoicing only in their own deliverance and in God’s answers to prayer. They miss out by narrowing God’s grace and mercy to themselves. 

Like Jonah, they cannot share in God’s delight in saving the sailors and the city of Nineveh, including infants and even animals (4:11). They confess that God is Creator and King of the whole cosmos, but restrict His involvement to judgment, justice, and retribution. In this manner they do not see His acts of compassion, righteousness, and forbearance. The Lord’s final proclamation to Jonah (4:10, 11) sums up the prophetic message of the book: God is free to bestow His mercy on anyone and anywhere He wills. His concern and mercy extend to all creation.NKJ Bible.

Matthew 12:40 (NKJV)

⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Joel 2:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Who knows if He will turn and relent,

And leave a blessing behind Him—

A grain offering and a drink offering

For the Lord your God?

The Gospel of Luke

The Holy Spirit is the heart of the Triune Godhead. His purpose is to empower us to spread the Good News of the Gospel. We share His story of redemption and then He comes in to carry out personal salvation.

Luke was most likely a Gentile believer. As a Doctor and as a disciple of Christ, he used the gifts that he had been given to save others, both physically and spiritually.

Sometimes we need to take a step back to gain perspective. It is one thing for three of Jesus’ twelve disciples to write about the life of Christ; it is quite another for someone who did not know Him to write about Him. Luke never met Jesus, yet chose to follow Him. An obviously educated man he was a physician, Luke learned all that he could about Jesus and shared his findings with us. Thus his Gospel provides a “step back,” a unique perspective on Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. The author must have been a lately converted Christian who knew Paul and sometimes traveled with him. Colossians 4:10–14 seems to indicate that Luke was not “of the circumcision,” that is, not Jewish. If so, Luke would be the only Gentile author of a New Testament book. Tradition says that after accompanying Paul on some of his missionary journeys, Luke settled in Philippi, investing his life in the ministry of the Philippian church.

For Luke, Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of God, the Servant through whom God works, and the Lord who is called to sit at God’s right hand exerting His authority and giving the Spirit to those who believe. Though aspects of God’s plan are fulfilled in Jesus’ First Coming, other parts of the plan remain to be fulfilled when Jesus returns.

Luke wrote his Gospel to reassure Theophilus, a Gentile and a new believer, that God was still at work in the Christian community founded by Jesus. Luke presents God’s grace as revealed in Jesus’ ministry on earth. He emphasizes that this grace is available to Gentiles, even though the promises relating to Jesus’ ministry stretch back into Israel’s history.

The first two chapters of Luke emphasize the Old Testament and its promises of a Messiah, while 3:1–4:13 demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah, who can resist the Evil One. Then, 4:14–9:50 introduce Jesus’ power and teaching. In these chapters, Luke records Jesus’ claims to authority and the numerous miracles that supported them. 

Even with these miracles as evidence, the people rejected Jesus while the disciples’ faith in Him steadily grew.

There was a  growing rift between Jesus and the Jewish leadership. The book ends with Jesus telling the disciples to wait for the coming of the Spirit. By now, they should have realized that everything that had taken place in Jesus’ life was promised in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

Jesus is the promised Messiah. 

Forgiveness of sin can be obtained only through Him. The disciples were witnesses to this fact; their mission was to share this Good News with all nations, not merely the Jews. Jesus gave them this task, but He also provided them with the power to carry it out. Thus it is clear that Luke’s Gospel centers on God’s plan to provide salvation to the world. It closes anticipating the spread of the gospel that is recorded in its sequel, the Book of Acts.

Luke sensitively describes Jesus as One who reaches out personally and heals those who are mercilessly caged by devastating illnesses. As a person, He is concerned with people. Whereas Matthew likes to refer to Jesus as the Son of David and Mark refers to Him as the Son of God, Luke’s favorite expression is “the Son of Man.” 

Jesus’ humanity and compassion are repeatedly stressed by the author. This, coupled with Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’ sinless perfection, set up his logical conclusion. Because Jesus is the only perfect person born of a woman and because He identifies compassionately with the plight of suffering sinful people, He alone is qualified to carry our sorrows, bear our sin, and offer us the priceless gift of salvation. NKJ Bible.