Matthew 27:1-55

27 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. 3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced,10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.” 11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. 15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They said, “Barabbas!” 22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” 24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. 32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. 33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. 35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

Hey good people of The Way, I hope all of you are doing well and just wanted to give you some scripture to deal with today and tomorrow. Please pray for Justin Williams as he will be giving his testimony Sunday. Our testimony time has been awesome and I know He is seeking God, so pray God will empower his words and teach us all. Jesus did a great deal of teaching this week before He was crucified. In fact He taught with a fury. Some of His lessons are listed below. Please read them as they must have been very important to our Lord and Savior.

Parable of Two Sons Matthew 21:28-32
Parable of The Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1-14
Parable of the Wicked Vine Dresser Matthew 21:33-46
Parable of the Faithful and Evil Servant 24:45-51
Parable of the Fig Tree Mark 13:28-31
Parable of the Two Mites Luke 21:1-4

Jesus also taught at length about His return, Matthew 24:3-44. Read this and post questions or comments using the comment button on the web site or you can simply reply to the email. On Thursday the following is what Jesus experienced:

• Peter and John sent to make preparation for Passover meal
• After sunset, Jesus eats meal with the twelve; washes disciples feet; Judas departs
• Lord's Supper instituted
• To Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus' agony
• Betrayal by Judas; arrest by Sanhedrin
• Taken to the High Priest as Sanhedrin is convened
• Peter denies Jesus

A lot to read but what an important week. Than Jesus today for all He went through!



Reaching for Him,

Mark 11:12-14...Mark 11:20-24
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from 
Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”

And His disciples heard it.


20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

I have read many commentaries on this Biblical happening and the opinions on this matter range from Jesus teaching the disciples a lesson about the religious leaders of the day, to the lesson that if we are not producing fruit, then we will spiritually wither and die, to the power of faith in God. I believe there are many things the Holy Spirit can confirm about this story. I believe you should pray and ask God to reveal to you what He would have you take from this lesson today. Don't be surprised if next week or next month He teaches a new lesson with the same story. He is God. The Word of God is alive, it is powerful and it is constantly teaching. We must be constantly receiving and constantly learning. Here is what Jesus is showing me. Remember these are some of the last lessons Jesus is teaching the disciples before His crucifixion. I see it as an example of Jesus demonstrating to His disciples that he had control over life and death. Yes there is a lesson here that you and I must we absolutely must, produce fruit and yes Jesus was showing His disciples that the religious rulers of the day were like the fig tree donned with leaves and appearing to be healthy but fruitless and of no use for the advancement of the Kingdom. But what did Jesus choose to discuss with His disciples about the tree? In verses 22-24 Jesus tells His disciples to have faith in God. He says they will move mountains with their prayers if their faith is in God. Jesus chooses to talk to His disciples about how powerful their walk could be if they put all their faith in God. They had no doubt about the faith of Jesus. They had no doubt about where His faith came from. His faith healed the lame, calmed the sea, raised the dead, and now withered a tree. His faith was in God the Father. As we enter this week of Easter and we examine what Jesus faced during this week, where is your faith? Do you believe that through Jesus Christ that you can do anything, some things, a thing? I hope and pray that you believe you can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you! Not a thing, not some things, ALL THINGS. With that said seek Him, trust Him and walk with Him with every ounce of your being, believing that He is with you, in you both to will and to do for His good works. Live for Him today. Tomorrow do it again. He is almighty and He loves you and I. 


Reaching for Him,

Brother Big Daddy

Mark 11

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Triumphal Entry

11 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Today we will begin looking at what happened to Jesus the week of His crucifixion. On Sunday He entered Jerusalem on a colt as described in Zechariah 9:9  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
 Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
 Behold, your King is coming to you; 
He is just and having salvation,
 lowly and riding on a donkey,
 A colt, the foal of a donkey. We are foretold of the entry into Jerusalem by Jesus Christ and the prophecy was absolutely fulfilled. Please listen to the to the cries of the people, 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Many of these are the same people that will a few days later cry out Crucify Him! We must guard our hearts or we to will be tossed to and fro.

I think it is important to point out that in Luke 19:41:42 we see that Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” 

His love for His children was evident. Even though He knew what He was facing, He wept for their souls.

Mark tells us the next day (Monday), Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city. Before cleansing the temple Jesus dealt with the fig tree we will discuss this some more tomorrow. But pay attention to Mark 11:12-14 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.

The fate of the fig tree is not so good but we will discuss that tomorrow, as well as some of the teachings of Jesus before He laid down His life. I think it is important for us to consider that before Jesus died on the cross He cleansed the temple. He made sure the people understood that His Father's house was a Holy place. A place, a house of prayer. May we examine our temple regularly. may we keep the main thing the main thing. May we love Jesus Christ in His House. 

The following scriptures describe several events leading up to the crucifixion. Study to show thyself approved.

Luke 19: 28 - 46 
Matthew 21: 1 - 17 
Mark 11: 1 - 11 
John 12: 12 - 50 
John 2: 13 - 15 

Reaching for Him,

Brother Big Daddy

1 Corinthians 5:11
11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.


This scripture will not please many readers. They will feel like they are being judged. They might even be bold enough to say it, don't judge me. If you use that statement, something is wrong! Why not judge you? Paul said imitate me as I imitate Christ. So here is my question, if I walk just like you walk, can I get to heaven? Don't get me wrong I am not writing this Blog proclaiming that I am perfect and that my actions are perfect. But I am writing this blog saying that it is ok if you judge what I do. If you look at my life and you say hey, this does not line up with the scripture, this is wrong. I am certainly not going to get all pouty faced and say, "don't judge me!" Judge me brother, judge me! If I don't measure up, tell me. I will pray and seek God and ask Him to confirm the error of my ways, and I will begin taking corrective action. Why do people say, don't judge me? Cause they want to continue doing what they want to do. When people do what the Word of God says they don't react with, don't judge me. For example, you come to Bible Study, participate, and have a great evening. A brother in Christ says, 'hey man it was great having you tonight' and you respond, 'hey man quit judging me!' That would be kinda goofy. Or how about this, you take a day off of work, and prepare some care packages for the homeless. You go to the bookstore and buy Bibles to put in these care packages and then you deliver them to the homeless. During your time with them you actually eat lunch with a few of them, you tell them about Jesus, and then pick three of them up for church Sunday. They enjoy service and want to come back. The next Wednesday you testify at church about what took place and a couple of your brothers and sisters in Christ say, 'man that is awesome God is certainly working in your life.' Immediately, you snap your head around with a deep grip of resentment and anger, you pierce at them with dagger eyes and say, DON'T JUDGE ME! People would think you were crazy, cause you would be. But when they pat you on the back and say man that is awesome, isn't that because they have judged what you did and see that it lines up with what God says? Haven't they believed in their hearts God is at work in you and they praise Him for it. But that is ok right, because they judged your actions and determined they where good. All smiles are in the house. See, what you really mean when you say don't judge me is, don't judge what I do wrong, just judge the good stuff. Sorry, doesn't work that way. Where your soul spends eternity, that is for Jesus Christ to decide. Whether your actions on this earth line up with what you claim to be, that is for the children of Christ Jesus to decide. You may not like it, but that is the way it is. The scripture tells us we will know a tree by the fruit it produces. So I am to look at what the tree produces, for example, an apple and know that the tree is an apple tree. This scripture says that if someone calls themselves a child of God yet is sexually immoral, a drunkard, an idolater, reviler, an extortioner etc. not to even eat with them. Now the previous verse 1 Corinthians 5:10 says if they do not claim to be a child of God and are all these things by all means sit with them, witness to them, show them the way, but if they claim to be Christians don't even eat with them. The life of Jesus Christ proclaimed this scripture. If it was ok to proclaim one thing and do another, then Jesus would have hung out with the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. They claimed to be one thing but in their hearts they were not. Jesus did not hang out with them. He hung out with tax collectors and sinners and proclaimed to them The Way, The Truth and The Life. If you are worried about people judging you, it is because you are doing things that need to be judged, or not doing things that need to be judged. My advice, get over yourself and do right, produce the fruit of a Christian Soldier and love Jesus with all your heart. If you read this and get mad, then change.  

Reaching for Him,

Brother Big Daddy

Philippians 2:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.


Jesus speaks to us through His Word and directs us so clearly that if we have any understanding, or fellowship with Him, we are to be like-minded. We are to be Christ like. We hear that term all the time as we walk down this path called Christian Lane. But what does it really mean to be Christ like? I think it becomes very clear at the end of verse one, simply put, 'have the same love.' He further says be of one accord and of one mind. We must understand, it all begins with love. you may think or even say I can't love the way Jesus loves. I don't have that kind of strength. I would agree with you, nor do I. However, something very powerful happened to me several years ago. The Holy Spirit breathed new life into me. He dwells within my heart, my soul lay restored by the presence of the Holy Spirit and thus I am equipped to love like Jesus. I will have to release some very self-centered strong holds to love like Christ, but if I release those strongholds my words will sound like this, "forgive them Father for they know not what they do." Our hearts will cry out, "forgive them Father they know not what they do." Are you allowing Jesus to love through you or are you trying to create His love in you by trying real hard to do certain things just right. It will not work. You see if you are following the lead of the Holy Spirit you will be surrendering to that part of you that says, forgive them and love them. If you are self-oriented you are listening to the fleshly side of you that says this pain will never go away, how can you just forgive them. In the end you can live in freedom or in bondage. Freedom when you surrender to love like Jesus. Bondage when you love like you. In verse three He says think of others more than yourself. Is that not what Jesus did when He said not my will but your will be done? You see Jesus had to surrender to the will of the Father and so do we. When we do God wins. When God wins we win. Love like Jesus today! With every ounce of your being love like Jesus. I think the question, What Would Jesus Do is a great question to ask. It doesn't matter if that doesn't line up with what you want to do. It doesn't matter if that is miles away from what you would do. DO IT AND DO IT NOW! Find the freedom that only exists in the presence and obedience of Jesus Christ, KING of KINGS, LORD of LORDS, God Almighty, powerful and true. That's my KING!

Reaching for Him,

Brother Big Daddy