AUGUST 07 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

 AUGUST 07  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?””  (Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Your WORD is TRUTH and if we but listen and apply Your WORD to how we live then we will know the WAY to Eternal Life, the Way You have shown us by the LIFE you lived in the flesh that we may know the Father. It is only by knowing the Father that we can know MERCY, FORGIVENESS, and GRACE, for GOD IS LOVE! The Gift of God is HIS LOVE, Graciously Bestowed on all that BELIEVE that “God so Loved the world that He GAVE His ONLY Begotten Son that whoever BELIEVES in Him shall NOT perish but HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE”!!! Give me this day, my daily bread and teach me Your Truth that I may know the Father’s LOVE!!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has been addressing the problem with living our lives based on the doctrines of men instead of developing a personal relationship with our Creator — Jesus has been Teaching all along that God has a Plan for each individual and that God desires a personal relationship with us. Early Lessons have been to help us understand that each individual has “spiritual value” (JQ#10) and that we should review our “spiritual expectations” (JQ#11) which Jesus then tied into the very important issue of letting the doctrines of men dictate our perception of God as Jesus asked “Who decides what is legal, God or man?” (JQ#12) Jesus has made it very clear that our personal responsibility to God is to know and understand God and specifically our obligations to God when Jesus asked “Why do you transgress the Commandment of God because of your traditions?” (JQ#16) The question of listening to those in our generation who claim to know what God “really” means has been addressed specifically with JQ#22 “Is it not lawful for [God] to do what [He] desires with [His Creation]” All the while Jesus has been living His own life as an example for us as He time and time again confronts the “legalists” of His time on earth called the “scribes and the Pharisees” as they try to prove that what they believe about God is the Truth and what Jesus is claiming about God is blasphemy — and now that Jesus is coming to the end of His time on earth and is approaching the final Passover in Jerusalem, He is Teaching the Final Lessons at places that are most significant in understanding that it is the “commands of God” and not the “doctrines of men” that should be our guide for living our daily lives and for worshipping God Himself in Spirit and in Truth. JQ#24 starts with Jesus sending two of His disciples “into the village opposite to you” and there they would “find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.” (Matthew 21:2) and the disciples were instructed to take them to Jesus. Jesus gave the disciples instructions that if “anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘the LORD has need of them’, and immediately he will send them.” (Matthew 21:3)  These actions and instructions are one of the most revealing Lessons on the Truth of God that Jesus will teach but to understand what that Truth of God is, we must know the significance of not only what Jesus is doing but the location as well, for when these circumstances, actions, and location are put together they are monumental in all the Lessons Jesus has been teaching His disciples thus far in His earthly ministry and  this Lesson reveals the main problem existing in the Jewish religion at that time! That same problem is now prevalent in our current generation, a problem that Jesus not only addresses with His actions but then Jesus pronounces Judgement and a curse on the Sanhedrin who was the root of the problem when Jesus pronounced His curse on their “authority”. The first important location is the village that Jesus sent the disciples to for the donkey, the village named “Bethphage”, a walled village built by the Sanhedrin located just east of the western summit of the Mount of Olives. The Sanhedrin built the walled village of Bethphage at this location close the entry of the East Gates of Jerusalem because of its historic religious relevance in the area known as  the Mount of Olives which was one of the most important religious centers of that time and still holds religious significance today. The Sanhedrin had two main locations, one inside Jerusalem and the second was in the walled village of Bethphage — the Bethphage location was reserved for specific decisions of the Sanhedrin such as death sentences for rebellious leaders of the nation. After Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin and taken to Pilate to obtain Roman permission, He was then taken to the Mount of Olives to await the final sentence of death which was handed down by the Sanhedrin at Bethphage! So once the significance of Bethphage is understood and when the long and valid history of holiness associated with the Mount of Olives is added to the equation then the scriptures themselves will throw additional light on why Jesus, as He “drew near to Jerusalem” sent His disciples into Bethphage to get a donkey.  JQ#24 starts taking on great significance as we consider that the Question addresses the origin of True Authority and Power for spiritual matters and spiritual doctrines and the Question is quickly bringing into focus the Truth of God that we must consider all our “choices” as being either “from heaven or from men”. Food-for-thought about JQ#24 ———“If our automobiles aren’t running and not taking us where we need to go, we don’t call a plumber  TO GET US BACK ON THE ROAD — so why should we consider learning about ‘heavenly’ things from ‘earthly’ resources — especially worldly  resources that insist abortion is legal because of a decision of 7 men?”

AUGUST 06 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

 AUGUST 06  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?””  (Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, as I navigate my daily life I admit to the feeling that I am overwhelmed by the world and my changing circumstances  ——— my ability to provide for the well being of my family has been diminished again ——— Lord I hear the words written yesterday as You asked {Question JQ#23} “What do you want Me to do for you?”(Matthew 20:32) and I am torn between two emotions: the first is that You already have done so much for me and my family that on one hand I think that what You have given us already is more than “enough” but when I look at the bills piling up and my resources diminishing, the second emotion rises that says that “Now, more than ever” I need You, and indeed I know that from my own resources that I am unable to take care of everything by myself and that there is no place for me to turn but to You and Your Amazing Grace! Lord, I TRUST YOU to do with my life what needs to be done to keep me on the True Path. Forgive me Lord when I let the worries of the world rob me of the “Joy” of my salvation — let me not look to my needs but let me do all I can with what I have to address the needs of others, trusting that You will supply all my need! “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!”   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus moves us closer to the ULTIMATE TRUTH OF GOD with each Question and now we find that as Jesus lives out His life that He not only uses each circumstance to Teach the Truth of God, but Jesus also uses the places where He Teaches His Lesson to emphasize the importance of that Truth! Jesus had started the last Question as He “was going up to Jerusalem” and was taking “the twelve disciples” with Him (Matthew 20:17), and now as Jesus begins the next Lesson we read: “Now they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives…” (Matthew 21:1) If we do not stop and ask ourselves if there is any “spiritual” significance to these three locations then we will be making a monumental error by going ahead and reading verse 2 that tells us what Jesus did at this location and miss the Truth of God that is revealed not only by what Jesus did but the significance of Jesus doing what He did at this specific location that was “near Jerusalem” in the village of “Bethphage” and at the “Mount of Olives”. Jesus never asked a Question to gain knowledge for Himself for He is “All-Knowing” and in His great Wisdom He Teaches not only by asking Questions that make us aware of our relationship with God Himself but Jesus also used the circumstance and even the precise location to demonstrate by His actions the Truth of God by His Perfect Example. We cannot read names like “Bethany, Bethphage, Jerusalem, and Mount of Olives” in the Bible without paying close attention to the Spiritual Significance God placed on specific locations where God Himself had met with His chosen people and gave them Instructions on how to relate to our Creator! So before we get into the next Question it would be wise to consider the “context” of the JQ#24 Question (Matthew 21:1-32) and in this case the precise location where the next Question by Jesus was asked or we will miss almost entirely the “Spiritual Significance” of the Question itself and thereby we will miss one of the most significant “Truths of God” that Jesus has Taught with His Questions up to this point!  So let’s do a little homework and look at the locations mentioned in Matthew 21:1 and it will put a completely different “light” on the “Spiritual Significance” of the next Question (JQ#24) that Jesus asks! “Jerusalem” is fairly easy to figure out but the significance “Bethphage” is difficult without “digging for the Truth” but the location and activities at “Bethphage” are very significant to this next question (as well as “Bethany, Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives!”) so “Bethphage” is a good place to start doing a little extra study before attempting to formulate our answer for JQ#24!

AUGUST 05 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)

 AUGUST 05  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#23  “What do you want Me to do for you?”  (Matthew 20:32)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS no other Name can be called upon like the Name of Jesus. Lord when we think of all the names that have been called out throughout history there simply is no Name other than the Name of Jesus that so many have called out to for “help” and certainly no other Name that people call out to shower “praise” on. There just is no other Name ever spoken that speaks of Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness, Cleansing, Salvation, and Healing and that list is but a very small portion of the great things that Jesus has done for mankind, for generations past, for generations in the future, and for our daily needs of the generation in which we live — so I simply call out the Matchless Name — JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is using this Question to get us to think about what we believe that Jesus has the power to do in our lives. Jesus had just Taught that God Himself will decide our place in heaven and that we should not seek to be great but that we should seek to find our place in the kingdom where we will be able to serve others for the kingdom’s sake, and not for any personal glory! Jesus followed up that Lesson on humility and servitude as He continued on His trip to Jerusalem and just outside of Jericho where “a great multitude followed Him” (Matthew 20:29) that “behold, two blind men [were] sitting by the road, [and] when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” (Matthew 20:30) The “multitudes” told the blind men to “be quiet” and leave Jesus alone but the blind men kept calling out to Jesus asking for His mercy, declaring Jesus to be the “Son of David” (Matthew 20:31) It was at this point that Jesus asked JQ#23 of the two blind men calling out the name of Jesus, calling Him “Lord” and the “Son of David” which was reference to Jesus, God’s Chosen One, the Messiah, “so Jesus stood still and called [the two blind men] and said, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’” (JQ#23  Matthew 20:32). Before we see how Jesus responded to the blind men calling on Him to heal their blindness, we should note here that the “multitudes” were telling the blind men to be quiet and not to bother Jesus — to me this is just like our world today that tries to keep us blinded to who Jesus really is and what His Purpose is for our lives. We should be like the blind men - for the blind men had already recognized Jesus as the Son of God, the Chosen One, the Messiah so they did not let the world turn them from Jesus but they replied to Jesus, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” (Matthew 20:33) Jesus then Taught by His actions that it is the will of the Father that we call on the Name of Jesus and recognize that Jesus is the Only Begotten Son, the Christ, the Messiah, and believe that whatever we ask of Jesus, that if it glorifies God, then it will be done for us for Matthew writes how Jesus responded to the blind men requesting that their “eyes be opened”: “So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.” (Matthew 20:34) Therefore when Jesus asks us “What do you want Me to do for you?” we must not let the world keep us in blindness to the Truth of God that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that if we believe in Him that our blindness will be healed — we should take inventory on what we believe that Jesus can do for us and believe that He “can” and “will” heal us and certainly He will open our eyes to the Purpose God has for our lives, for when we ask Jesus for His help, He will have “compassion” on us and our spiritual eyes will receive sight, but we must first have enough “Faith” in who He is and what He can do to ask Him to supply our need! Where will you turn when you realize the world has blinded you and you cannot see God’s Plan for your life and who will you call on to restore your sight? Just remember Jesus came to “seek and to save that which is lost” and “to give sight to the blind” and He gently calls out to each and every individual, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

AUGUST 04 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)

 AUGUST 04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#23  “What do you want Me to do for you?”  (Matthew 20:32)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Praise God from whom ALL Blessings Flow — Lord, my DAILY prayer will remain - “…not my will but Thy Will be done…” - You Lord have proven Yourself Faithful in doing that which is best for us, so Lord, regardless of the circumstances I will trust You and rise to the next level of Faith. Lord, for all those that prayed for me and my specific needs I pray BLESSINGS back to them, LORD, bless them and address their specific needs. You Lord Jesus are Gracious and I thank You that You have begun a good work in me, and when I stumble and fall back into “my worldly self” it is not because of any change in You, but a worldly weakness re-surfacing in me and I pray that You give me the strength to let go of my old weakness and let You change that “worldly” weakness into a “spiritual” strength, Your strength which always shows itself when I reach out to others.   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus certainly is the Master Teacher for how could a mere mortal use 9 words to express so great a Truth of God? In 2004 I wrote this prayer to Jesus, “Jesus, O Precious Jesus, You have blessed us so Graciously that if we were to start praising You now and continued throughout all Eternity, there would not be enough time or words to express our gratitude. How can one repay so great a debt? What gift could we give to the Creator that could equal the gift of God dying for us? Lord Jesus, You have not accomplished these great things in order for us to be indebted to repay You, for repayment of such a gift is IMPOSSIBLE for there is no “gift” equal to the gift of God giving the world His Only Begotten Son to die for ALL sin and through His Death reward repentant sinners with Everlasting Life!” (Written 9/3/2004) Lord Jesus, when I read that 2004 prayer and then look at Your question JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you?” all I can think of is: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) Jesus has truly “Paid it all” and there is nothing we can give in return for Jesus having already “done” ALL that needs to be done for our Eternal Salvation.  I then have to bow in utter humility and give my answer to Your JQ#23: “Lord I can ask nothing from You but Grace, and there is nothing more that You need to do for me other than what You have already done so Lord keep me always in a humble and thanksgiving attitude!!!”  I know that personally when I consider the Question “What do I want Jesus to do for me?” that my thoughts turn to looking at what He has already done in my life and I thank God that He has a Plan and that His Plan of Salvation has already been executed! The only thing left for us to do is to ACCEPT HIS GIFT of EVERLASTING LIFE !!! I find myself repeating a John F. Kennedy quote (paraphrased) “Ask not what can God do for me, ask what I can do for God.” As soon as I ask that question from my heart, Jesus speaks through the scriptures: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among [the followers of Jesus]; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave——— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:21-28) Quite often I catch myself marveling at how great a gift Salvation is ——— when you know God, then you know there is nothing that we can repay Him with except “repentance” and “obedience” to His Word!!! Therefore if you find yourself wanting “more” from Jesus perhaps you should stop and evaluate your personal desires and  and ask yourself, “just how much is enough?” —- Greed is entitlement —- Grace is enough!!!

AUGUST 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)

 AUGUST 03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#23  “What do you want Me to do for you?”  (Matthew 20:32)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS I come praising You for UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and Lord for all the prayers lifted up for our country in Your Name, the ONLY Name that heals and forgives. Lord, I know it is Your hands guiding our nation back to greatness again and Lord, even though there are still those who desire to control us with their lies and deceptions, I can see that when these issues are “brought to Light” then the quality of our lives will grow exponentially!  Truly “all things [do] work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”  Lord my prayer today is simply to grow our Love for You and for others.   IN THE NAME OF CHRIST  AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is always Teaching and then Jesus holds a pop quiz test to see if we are paying attention, this spiritual pop quiz is not to punish us ——— Jesus never spoke or did anything while on earth that did not have a purpose AND A PLAN FOR OUR GOOD associated with it — Jesus was and always is Teaching us about THE FATHER and each Lesson has “ETERNITY” written all over it! On a rare day that I miss my morning devotionals, I still commune with God throughout the day, hour by hour and minute by minute ——— by late in the afternoon I understand that living my daily life for Him is my best devotional and is “LIVING THE WORD!” God proves daily to us that He has a “Plan” designed specifically for all ——— Jesus is making us stop and think about “purpose”, not only God’s Purpose for our lives but also Jesus makes us stop and think about what “purpose” do we have for God! This is a very complicated thought because we are all about “me, me, me” and we are so lost in “me” that we overlook HIM and the Truth of God that God is not just a genie that suddenly appears to grant us “3 wishes” — for the attitude that God is a “genie” is the essence of “sin” in itself. God is not there at our “beck-and-call” to give us our petty selfish desires, no, God has a Plan for our lives and part of that Plan is for us to trust God to work out His Plan in our lives —hence, like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane  we should pray: “Father, if it is Your will, take this [trial] away from [us]; nevertheless not [our] will but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) I am amazed at how God will cause several seemingly unconnected different things to come together on a single day and make His point that He has a Plan for us and is in control of every second of our lives. For example in September of 2016 I ended up in surgery and it is obvious that in critical times we demand that God be on our side but we fail to see on the sidelines how everything is working together for good for on that same day of my 2016 surgery there was a man having the very same surgery, his surgery was done just before me by the same doctor went very well abut my surgery had some complications and we never plan nor pray for complications for ourselves! However, the man that had the successful surgery was in the bed next to mine and he observed my complications. The next day he was able to talk to me privately for he had previously experienced the same complications years earlier in his life and he shared with me what he had done to successfully resolve a 25 year problem that had been misdiagnosed by several doctors. The interesting result of my “complications” and the man’s “success” is that the same diagnosis the man several years ago is the same diagnosis that I am currently getting and I have been trying to resolve the same problem for 10 years now! The point here is that God had planned for both of us to have surgery the same day and God put us in the same room so that God’s will for our lives would be done — and now what was a “complication” is becoming (through GOD’S WILL) a “cure”. Also on Sept 1 Oswald Chambers wrote in his journal “My Utmost for His Highest” “…it is written, “Be holy, for I AM holy …” (1 Peter 1:16) and then Oswald wrote in his commentary: “We must continually remind ourself of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness…the only thing [in life] that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make [us] holy.” Oswald asks almost the same question Jesus is asking in JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you” (Matthew 20:32) when Oswald points us to an intimate, close-up and personal relationship with God as Oswald asks: “Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy?” Therefore we should keep our focus on God’s Divine Purpose for our lives and accept that God can use “complications” and turn them into “cures”!!!

AUGUST 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)

 AUGUST 02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#23  “What do you want Me to do for you?”  (Matthew 20:32)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer   

JESUS, what Peace it is to know that regardless of any earthly circumstance that we find ourselves in, that You are able to carry us through. As we move closer to You and our eternity, You have proven that You will give us the strength to face whatever situation we must face in this “valley of the shadow of death” as long as we keep our focus on You! Our strength comes because we know that You are right here with us and the Peace of knowing  that You are with us cannot be described by mortal tongue. Lord Jesus, I trust You in ALL THINGS and I praise You for Your very near Presence as I awoke today. Lord, my prayer is not for me but for those that are praying for me, bless them. Lord Jesus, keep us all drawn to You for You ARE PERFECT PEACE!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus made this very definitive statement about “who” He was and “why” He was on earth in response to a question Thomas (His disciple) had asked “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5) Jesus had previously Taught the disciples by example as John writes about the last Passover Jesus shared with His disciples: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” (John 13:3-6) Jesus could not have been any clearer in His Teachings to His disciples ——— Jesus had come to “serve” and to “sacrifice” Himself, Jesus did everything on earth because of God’s purpose for His earthly life and now Jesus was preparing His disciples to continue the work of the Father. Jesus had just told the disciples “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-4) Jesus has Taught by example that they were to “serve” others, Jesus stated that His work for the Father was to be “sacrificed” to reveal God’s Glory of the Resurrection from the dead on the “third day” and now Jesus says that He is preparing a mansion for them in “My Father’s house” and yet Thomas was so blinded by the world’s fear of death that Thomas pleads, “how can we know the way?” Jesus has always been patient with His disciples and here Jesus did not reprimand Thomas, Jesus simply reminded Thomas that “where I go you know, and the way you know…” (John 14:4) and “The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” (John 14:10) Now that Jesus has the disciples in Jerusalem again for another Passover, He is again Teaching them about His purpose and their responsibilities to His Teachings as He asks Question JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you?”  (Matthew 20:32) which after all the examples Jesus has set before them with His helping others and His willingness to “serve” others and to “Sacrifice Himself” for others and clearly stating that everything He does is the work of the Father, that this simple Question becomes paramount in the disciples lives and in our lives, for if we know that Jesus is the Son of God and that all His works are of God as part of God’s Plan of Salvation, then truly we should look into our soul and decide, “What do we want Jesus to do for us?”?!?!?!? Here is your chance — do you want to let Jesus “show you the way” to eternal life, do you want Jesus to tell you the Truth about God and His purpose and plan for your life, or perhaps all you really want is to be immortal but instead of eternal peace in heaven you desire to spend your immortality “lording” your supremacy over the weak in the world??? This really is a serious Question, “What do you want Jesus to do for you — really?”  But just remember this promise Jesus made about your requests: “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13) ——— so make sure that what you want from Jesus is going to glorify the Father when Jesus gives it to you!!!

AUGUST 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#23 “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)

 AUGUST 01  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#23  “What do you want Me to do for you?”  (Matthew 20:32)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, I find myself once again completely amazed at how You have brought all the circumstances of my life together into a single purpose and it is obvious that indeed everything in my life of following You will work together for the best ——— and the unspoken blessing is Your Unconditional Love that drives it all, Your Love is at the center of it all,  and Your Love is becoming my all in all — Lord, whatever happens in terms of earthly circumstances is of no consequence as long as it is Your Love consuming my old worldly self and the Light of Your Love is leading this old sinner down the paths of righteousness. Lord forgive me of all my earthly weaknesses that have caused me to worry and to take my eyes off the Heavenly Prize of Your Calling, even for a single second or even for a passing glance at my old life, keep me always singing Your Words that Your Holy Spirit gave to me as You led me to write these lyrics: 

Remember My Word, And all that you’ve heard, 

Believe that the Father sent Me, 

That I came to Save, Put Death in the Grave, 

My Blood won the Victory, 

Because I’m Risen, Your sins are Forgiven, 

For all Eternity, 

I drank the Cup that the Father filled up, 

And I died to set you Free ——— 

My Blood will Wash you Clean!” {Chorus from “Grain of Wheat”}.    

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus begins JQ#23 by once again telling His disciples that His purpose for His “living in the flesh” will be His “dying on the cross” so that the Glory of God will be demonstrated when Jesus the Son of God through the Power of the Holy Spirit is Resurrected on the “third day” by God the Father!!!   Jesus reminds us about the centerpiece of His Purpose and then immediately Teaches that how we respond to the Truth of God that Forgiveness of Sins is the primary mission of Jesus becoming flesh and how His Purpose impacts our eternity because the Resurrection of the Son by the Father and His ascension into heaven to intercede on our behalf is the cornerstone of our Faith! There is significance to the “Resurrection Prophecy” and to the place where the prophecy will be fulfilled, Jerusalem! Matthew records: “Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.’” (Matthew 20:17)  Jesus again Taught a very valuable Kingdom Lesson to the disciples who seemed to always turn to thoughts of their own glory every time Jesus revealed that in the Resurrection that it was God who would be glorified and not Himself and certainly not the disciples — in Galilee Jesus had reminded them that “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” (Matthew 17:22) Immediately the disciples came to Jesus and asked “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” and Jesus Taught that “unless you are converted and become as little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-3) Then later Jesus Taught the parable of the landowner after reminding the disciples that the Resurrection would be a “regeneration when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His Glory” and that it is God Himself who calls all the followers of Jesus to enter into His “Labor” (Matthew 19:28) and concludes the parable stating “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called but few are chosen.” (Matthew 20:16) But now the disciples are in Jerusalem with Jesus and when He says the Son of Man will die and be “resurrected on the third day” that the disciples again turn their thoughts to what are “they” going to get when Jesus goes to heaven? This time the issue was actually raised by the mother of James and John as she requested that Jesus allow them to “sit [with Jesus], one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” (Matthew 20:21) Jesus started His Lesson on what the disciples true responsibilities would be as He turned and asked the mother JQ#23a, “What do you wish?” (Matthew 20:21) and when she asked for her sons to be honored by Him,  Jesus replied, “…you do not know what you ask…” (Matthew 20:22) Jesus begins Teaching how we should respond to the Truth of God that even though His death on a cross was for the Forgiveness of our sins, that it should be viewed from the perspective that Forgiveness of Sins is in Truth all about the Glory of God in bestowing “Grace” on our undeserving lives, and certainly not to elevate us to a position of “honor” but should instill in us “humility”! Mankind has and always will try to take credit for ourselves instead of giving God the glory! Just stop and think then how important it is to look at our motivation for asking Jesus for anything at all, for He knows your thoughts and the desires of your heart so He will know the “Truth” when you have to answer Him when He asks you, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)