Heralds Digest

“So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:43-44‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.12.43-44.nkjv The response of Jesus to the release of the poor widow’s mites into the treasury teaches that life is not so much about what a man gives away, but actually much about what a man refused to give. This is all about the measure of life’s gift of gratitude. In times of great needs, many are tempted to throw unnecessary tantrums, protests, blame game, long faces, and provoke a peaceful atmosphere with unsolicited nuances. Whereas, the life of many people without may appear glamorous but loaded with hidden grief, disappointments, and begging for the salvage of any gracious touch. And for the poor widow, she chose to throw out all she had...

“For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’ Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:36-37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.12.36-37.nkjv If the treatment of interdependency based on earthly interrelationships is discouraged by the Lord on the subject of His lordship, believers’ interrelationships without heavenly considerations must be equally dangerous. Notwithstanding, even when the teaching of the scribes that Jesus is the Son of David is wrong, Jesus had gladly ministered and met the needs of people who addressed Him as the Son of David. However, it is important to note that the motives behind the same reference of Jesus as Son of David are different. While the reference from the needy was borne out of respect for authority, the reference from scribes suggested repugnance of His authority. Even today,...

“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:30-31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.12.30-31.nkjv The response of Christ to the scribe’s question on the greatest commandment of all shows that loving God is greater and deeper than knowing about God and His commandments. After Christ’s acknowledgement of the scribe’s wisdom and understanding of the priority of love, He said “You are not far from the kingdom of God”. Like the deferring scribe’s position on the interpretation of the law to the position of either the Sadducees or Pharisees, many religious people in life struggle with divergent views on different matters of life. But if loving God becomes the living lifestyle of everyone, it would be easier to accommodate these di...

“Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?...He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:24, 27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.12.24,27.nkjv The inability to place a human logical handle on certain miraculous events and supernatural manifestation in life will always explain the concept of divinity. Those who have been privileged to learn submission to the power of God understands how to appreciate the limits of humanity in dealing with the realities of life. Unfortunately, like the Sadducees in the matter of the resurrection, many often are mistaken in their unwillingness to accept the ability of God to change situation and circumstances within their sphere of influence, but that appears to be out-of-control. Resurrection from the dead, and literally including dead womb, dead financial situation, marital status, and career stat...

“Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words...And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marvelled at Him.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:13, 17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.12.13,17.nkjv Without prejudice to the numerous conflicts of interest in believers’ call to holiness and their service to humanity or civility, public figures are often caught in the battle on how to bridle their tongues. The scriptures posited that if a man do not stumble in his words, the same man is qualified as a perfect man. Obviously, Jesus Christ here, when He was tempted to stumble on words, demonstrated His qualification as our Model and epitome of perfection, by giving us the principle of a combined call to holiness and commitment to humanity: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. Unfortunately, it is always difficult to mainta...

“Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.12.1.nkjv Considering the fact that life’s demands are sometimes not straightforward, the level of preparation for a good life dressers are most times equally complicated. And whenever anyone finally appears to get a good handle on some life management skills, like good hygiene, commitment to body exercise, principled lifestyle and routines, breakthrough in career prospects, financial success, it becomes understandably strange for the mind to accept the concept of a leased life. Whereas, as Jesus shared the parable before the Pharisees and the carefully mastered religious people, life is not owned like a piece of equipment or electronics. Unfortunately, not many life planners do always consider the purpose of the Almighty Go...

“And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’...So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭11:31, 33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.11.31,33.nkjv Struggling for relevance and attentiveness is somewhat related. The more crowd a public figure is able to pull always appear to represent the significant test of his relevance and popularity. And being threatened by Jesus’ public appearances and the poll of public attentiveness, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the temple came with the question “By what authority are you doing these things? And Who gave you the authority to do these things?”. Fortunately, the response of Jesus exposed the major root of their problem: the unwillingness to submit their attentiveness to the authority of God. Likewise, the frequent cat fight over rel...