Sanhedrin

How big do you think the Sanhedrin was? Somehow I pictured the Sanhedrin as a small group of leaders that put Jesus on trial. But from reading A Visual Guide to Bible Events (VGBE) and The Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC) I found out that there were 71 men that made up the Sanhedrin. That's not the small group I was thinking it was.

They met in the Temple complex and were known as the Great Sanhedrin. "Great" probably because it was actually composed of three courts made up of 23 members. Each member, like any court system today, had to know the law very well. They also had to have a good reputation, be over thirty and married. (Thompson Chain Reference Bible)

According to VGBE, in order to have a trial leading to the death penalty there had to be 23 members of the great Sanhedrin present to hold court. Interesting.

According to the BKC, Jewish law requires that a trial be done during the day. Also interesting. So in writing about the cock crowing three times we not only get the story of Peter's denials but we also see the start of a new day and the start of the official trial against Jesus. (Matthew 26; Mark 15)

A Yearly Promise

Spring. The time of year when the promise of beauty enters into our boring yet chaotic life. While I've heard of places that never see grass go dormant, here in Texas we look forward to the season when we can once again have fields of green grasses. But before we see green, we have color.

You see, just when the brown has become too much to bear there pops up out of the ground the most colorful view. Each spring Texas has some of the most beautiful landscape due in part to weeds. Only in Texas, a place known for its wild and tough nature can the beauty of a wild flower be anticipated.

By nature wild flowers are just that - wild - popping up in small groupings, even singly. Here in Texas you have to think big. Our wild flowers can be thought of as hallway runners, throw rugs or even carpeting to the ground they cover.

The prominent color being the blue to purple hues of the bluebonnet. Add in some reds, whites and yellows and the design of the new ground cover becomes even more breath-taking. Coloring the roadsides like no where else I've been.

The carpeting affect throughout the hill country of Texas brings the promise that there is life brewing beneath the dull brown. The splashes of color speaking statements of a promise that things will get better and life will go on. 

I hope when the brown days of life seem to be overtaking my thinking and zest for life that I will remember that there is coming a promise that life does go on and the beauty of color will enter in at some point. I just have to hang tough.

Just How Bad Does It Get?

"Youth today. Going to ruin in a hand basket." It's a line from the movie Thoroughly Modern Millie. While it's meant to be funny in the movie, it came to mind recently. I have to wonder if today I would be the old lady saying it. Perhaps it's just my current study of the book of Revelations that has influenced this thinking.

But the other night I had the opportunity to watch The 700 Club for only a few minutes and my stomach was sickened at the news of the widespread problem of child prostitution in Brazil. I don't watch the news often enough to know if it's happening in other countries. I do know I haven't heard of any story like this being presented in mainstream news. You have to ask, how many other dreadful things are happening? 

The fact is most of what I see is news focused on wars and rumors of wars. You know, the building of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea, the threats to Israel and the U.S., the awful drug-related shootings along the border with Mexico. (So many innocent lives are being lost there. It's just craziness.)

So, when I think other things could be happening one question comes to mind, are we the only country that has people losing their minds enough to go into buildings and shoot at the innocent for the strangest of reasons, or are there other countries dealing with this? It makes me think of the second seal in Revelations 6. (Again my current focus may be playing into this.)

And while there is so much talk about the rapture occurring at the start of the tribulation I beg to suggest, what if we are already there? One might ask, isn't God suppose to spare his children of the earthquakes and plagues? But then I remember all the plagues the Hebrews had to endure before they were released from slavery in Egypt. It didn't harm them but they still had to endure it. Nuts. I guess this means we may have to endure the seals after all.

But on the other hand, if we haven't entered the tribulation times yet I have to wonder. . .just how bad will it get if this isn't the start of the tribulation? If it's not bad enough yet, how bad is it going to get?

In any case, the best thing we can do is to keep our eye out for the bridegroom. Keep our hearts praising him and seeking his guidance every day. I love reading Psalm 91. It offers so much promise of protection from plagues and illnesses that attack the crowds. It brings me comfort.

The Last Chance Supper

I'm sorry for the delay in writing about the last supper, but jet-lag and allergies got the best of me the last two weeks. Sunday I was blessed with a wonderful reminder of just how much God the Father loves me. Well, all of us really. The death of his only son, so that I can be with him in eternity, is so much more than I can fathom. But I accept it. And it doesn't stop there, it gets even better. Death couldn't hold on to him. He's still alive. His love just never gives up or dies.

And before he showed his love for all of us, he did an incredible thing at the last supper. Jesus made a huge unspoken display of love for the one who would betray him. First, let me give you some background.

In reviewing a page in A Visual Guide to Bible Events and then remembering a lesson my brother taught me, I was reminded how many times we allow what we know today to influence what we know of God and the experiences of Jesus. How many depictions of the last supper have you seen with Jesus sitting in the middle of the table and the disciples evenly split to his left and right?

Well the truth is more than likely they weren't sitting. They were reclining. And, Jesus wasn't in the middle. He was in the second position in the seat of the host. The two highest places of honor were to either side of the host. The guests would sit in descending order of honor around three sides of the table.

I always figured Peter was close by, but he had to be across the table in order to gesture to John to get the rest of the details of Jesus' words. (John 13) The last position? How confusing is that? But if you read Luke 22 it talks about how the leader needs to be like a servant. So, Peter seeing himself as a leader of the group would naturally have volunteered to sit at the end of the table.

So, with John in one place of honor then who was in the other place of honor on the other side of Jesus? The book suggests Judas. That was a startling thought. But, he was close enough that Jesus handed him a piece of dipped bread. Of all things, Jesus giving his accuser a close place of honor, and with it a chance to learn what he was really about, a chance to feel the love of the Son of God one last time, a chance to say no to the pharisees before the unfortunate deed.

How much love is that? To love your enemy. (Matthew 5) He said it; he meant it. And he still means it. Awesome news for us.

Belonging

If you've ever moved to a new location, did you feel yourself fitting in right away? Did it take time? Did you have to prove yourself somehow before you were truly accepted? Maybe it wasn't a new location. . .maybe it was being part of an organization or church. I have to wonder if Abraham felt the same way.

Do you realize that he moved constantly? The only time the Bible mentions him having a piece of land to call his own was when he insisted on buying a burial site for Sarah. Even though the people respected him and he'd lived there for decades, he still called himself a foreigner to the people.  

And yet, centuries later his descendents saw this land as the place to return to. It was after all the land God promised to Abraham. And when they did return they fought for the land and won it. Of course, fighting for the land has never really gone away.

Over time, Abraham's family changed the nature of the people of the land. Oh, the land may be referred to once in a while as Canaan, but it is not thought of as the land of rough Godless people. No, the land and it's people in general are known to love God and desire to worship him as they did in days gone by.

Making a Memory

How many times have you hung pictures on a wall so you could remember something special? Like a wedding or a vacation. Each time you pass it in the hallway your heart and mind relive the joy of that moment. Nothing can compare to that.

Well, back in the day of Abraham they didn't have cameras or walls for hanging pictures. But they did have stones for building up altars and memorials to honor God and his promises. Through tradition future generations would have learned the significance of the stones and locations. And, how did the generations find these stones?

Well, they were actually put up along the road known as the ridge route.  I never gave it much thought until I read A Visual Guide to Bible Events. Even Abraham would have passed these many times as he moved his flock back and forth along the road in search of pastureland. Interesting. A bit like walking by a picture in the hallway, don't you think?

Even with these remembrances Abraham still made mistakes and in spite of that he continued to gain favor with God. I find this perplexing yet comforting at the same time.

Moving West

Have you ever had the urge to move west? Many cowboy movies associate moving west with adventure and discovery. And, back in the day I'm sure it was. What with trying to find water or land suitable for growing produce or raising cattle. Then having to fight marauders to keep your land. Living in wagons until houses could be built. It took certain personalities to make it work.

For many years I skipped over the part that mentions Abraham's father setting out for Canaan. But he never made it. Instead he settled in Haran.  I don't know if God called him to go or if he just thought to go there. But he never completes the trip.

Of course the story doesn't end there. God still wanted the family in Canaan. So he calls up Abraham to finish the trip. You might think this means that Abraham had what it took. That he was the perfect man, absent of any flaws. You need to keep reading the story of Abraham if you think that.

One thing he did do perfectly was to answer God's call to move west. He didn't tell God he was going to stay where things were easier. Instead, he moved away from the known green grasses of the Fertile Crescent. Away from the luscious rivers that fed the land. Away from family and friends to have over for dinner.

Moving west was a big step of faith. Would you have done it?

I know in some aspects I did it when I married a military man. Life away from family and in places that added to our cultural knowledge was not always easy. But in the midst of the struggles I grew in my faith and knowledge of God, just like Abraham did. For that I can never be sorry.