AUGUST 09 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

 AUGUST 09  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, Lord and Savior, You know my heart and today I will let the Holy Spirit utter worthy praise to You. Jesus it is about You, it is about Your Love, it is about Forgiveness, it is about Repentance. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God and Satan prowls the earth looking for ways to deceive and when a saint gets close to truly serving God in a pure and acceptable way, then Satan increases his attacks — Lord You have victory over the world and You have promised that You would “keep us” so Lord I call on that promise!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was fulfilling prophecy when He got the donkey for it was from their location outside of Jerusalem in Bethphage that the Sanhedrin (the supreme Court of the nation) handed down decisions. In an article by Ernest I. Martin: “The Significance of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives”, Mr. Martin explains: “The reason that these types of decisions were to be made at this special village [Bethphage] on the east side of Jerusalem proper is because it was necessary that these decisions be made ‘at the entrance’ to Jerusalem. There were biblical reasons for this. Note Proverbs 31:23 which says ‘Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders’ also ‘Execute the judgement of truth and peace in your gates’ (Zechariah 8:16) In the case of Jerusalem, which was the capital city of the nation, the principle gate was on the eastern side just beyond the camp (that is, ‘outside the camp’) Thus the Sanhedrin had the village of Bethphage built just to the east of the city limits of Jerusalem proper. This village of priests was located just to the east of the summit of the Mount of Olives.” Mr. Martin continues on the significance of Bethphage, “The word ‘Bethphage’ means the ‘House of Unripe Figs.’” Mr. Martin says the village of priests was called Bethphage because tradition teaches that the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil was a fig tree so the Sanhedrin “were supposed to act as JEHOVAH’s judges and thereby were to be rendered free of sin in their judgements. This is why they named the village ‘House of Unripe Figs’… But there was a second reason for naming the village ‘Bethphage’.  Figs are always unripe at the start of the growing season. This place of Bethphage was the site where the Sanhedrin determined legal measurements for the nation. It was where they set the limits on sacred things (the size of the city, the Temple, the day to start the scared calendar, when to observe the festival day, starting the census, etc.) … In a word, it was from Bethphage where the measurements of the nation were enacted and legalized. It was also the place where the most rebellious of the elders in Israel were sentenced to die… There is even further New Testament significance to these matters. It was no accident that the Messiah told His disciples to go into Bethphage and obtain a donkey for him to ride into Jerusalem to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah about the Judahites adoring their king riding on a donkey. By getting this donkey at Bethphage was like saying that the Messiah went to the central Supreme Court area of the land in order to get his royal position for legal sovereignty approved.” Jesus knew what He was doing and Jesus knew what He was saying by getting the donkey at Bethphage and we read: “And all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Tell the daughter of Zion, behold your King is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Matthew 21:4-5) Jesus did fulfill all the prophecies of the Messiah so one has to ask, why would the Sanhedrin turn the people against Jesus, do you think it was because they knew that they would lose the “power and authority” that the traditions of men had given them? I see a major problem with this line of thinking because the Sanhedrin would not exist if it were not for God so they are making a major mistake going against God Himself to retain their position of power and authority that they had only because God had given His Commandments to men in the first place!?!?!?!?