He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul

Christ was nailed to the cross on Good Friday and crucified between two thieves. There He suffered and He died. (Matt. 27:32-56; Mark 15:21-41; Luke 23:32-49; John 19:16b-37) 
Christ was buried in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea, who wrapped Christ's body in clean linen, placed Christ in the tomb, and rolled a stone over the entrance. The tomb was sealed, and guards were posted. (Matt. 27:57-66; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42)Christ remained in the tomb on Friday and Saturday. 
On the third day, Sunday, He arose, just as He said. (Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-9)

1 John 1New International Version (NIV)

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Footnotes:

1. 1 John 1:4 Some manuscripts your
2. 1 John 1:7 Or every

The Lily of the Valley | Charles W. Fry

1. I’ve found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
   He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
   The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
   All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
   In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
   He tells me every care on Him to roll.
   • Refrain:
     He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
     He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
2. He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
   In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tow’r;
   I’ve all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
   From my heart and now He keeps me by His pow’r.
   Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
   Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal.
3. He’ll never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
   While I live by faith and do His blessed will;
   A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
   From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
   Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessed face,
   Where rivers of delight shall ever roll.

He Is Risen (Mark 14-16)

 Mark 14 (quoted in parts)

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.

¹² Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”..
 ¹² Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb,..
¹⁶ So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
¹⁷ In the evening He came with the twelve. ¹⁸ Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”

²² And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat;^[b] this is My body.”
²³ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new^[c] covenant, which is shed for many. ²⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
²⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night,^[d] for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered.’^[e]

²⁸ “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

 ³² Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 

⁴¹ Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”..
⁴³ And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 
⁴⁶ Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.

⁶⁶ Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. ⁶⁷ And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”
⁶⁸ But he denied it, .. ⁷² A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Mark  15 (quoted in parts)

 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. ² Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”
 ⁹ But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.
¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. ¹² Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
¹³ So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”
¹⁴ Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”
But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”
¹⁵ So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.
 ¹⁶ Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 
  ²⁰ And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

²⁵ Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. ²⁶ And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁷ With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. ²⁸ So the Scripture was fulfilled^[j] which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”^[k]

²⁹ And those who passed by blasphemed Him, ..Even those who were crucified with Him reviled H
³³ Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”<sup>[m]

37</sup> And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.
³⁸ Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last,^[n] he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from afar, 

 ^{Mark 16 (qouted in parts)}

He Is Risen

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. ² Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. ³ And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” ⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. ⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

⁶ But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. ⁷ But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”
⁸ So they went out quickly^[o] and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

⁹ Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. ¹¹ And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

¹² After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. ¹³ And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

 

The Great Commission

¹⁴ Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they^[p] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Christ Ascends to God’s Right Hand

¹⁹ So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.^[q]
 

Walk with Jesus : last ten days on earth prior the cross

There are ten days to the cross. This year’s Easter falls on 29th-31st March. The watchman is led to read Matthew from chapters 19-28 daily one chapter with Jesus.

He invites everyone who wants to walk this journey with the Lord to join in. Today the reading is for spiritual background covering chapters 16-18. 

The goal of the entire reading is to walk with Jesus on His last journey to Jerusalem, to Calvary, to the cross, and finally to the resurrection. Know Him as the Son of God. 
What are His last concern while on earth? His last concern is all about His disciples. His own. Will they learn to be led by the Lord, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ) after He left this earth (as a human, Son of Man)? will they see and understand spiritual matters and set their mind on the Spirit (the unseen and can only be discerned in the spirit) and not on the flesh (what they can see in the physical)? Will they mind the things of God and not the things of men? 

This is a unique spiritual journey. Only the Lord Holy Spirit can bring us along and guide us all the way. Angels too will line up and minister to every disciple / follower of Jesus. (Hebrews 1:14)

BACKGROUND: WHO MAY WALK WITH JESUS? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WALK WITH JESUS?

Chapter 16 JESUS WANTS HIS DISCIPLES TO REALLY KNOW HIM BEFORE THEY COULD WALK WITH HIM TO THE CROSS

verses 15-17 MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHO JESUS IS

Jesus made sure His disciples knew Who He really was. He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered correctly, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Then He knew they could hear God after all and He was ready to go. He described this ability to hear God ‘blessed’. Then He explained, “My Father in heaven revealed this to you. You did not know this from any human being.”

Ability to respond according to God’s view point is called, “blessed”. (Today, believers and followers of Jesus have the Holy Spirit Who tells us
God’s viewpoint. No excuse not to know or understand what the Bible is saying to each of us!)

v 21-28 EITHER BE BLESSED OR BE CURSED

v21-23 BE CAREFUL TO SEE JESUS IN GOD’S VIEWPOINT  (Peter’s example)

Only then He began to tell them His readiness to go to Jerusalem where He would suffer, be killed and on the third day be raised from the dead.

When Peter responded from his flesh (human view point), he was classified as ‘Satan’ and dangerous trap for Jesus. Here Jesus clearly stated that human viewpoint is equivalent to Satan’s viewpoint!

V24-28 TWO VIEWPOINTS, TWO RESULTS

Human viewpoint: always look out for self. The key words are: keep ‘my ways’, save ‘my life’, gain ‘my whole world’.

God’s viewpoint on your viewpoint: ‘your selfish ways’, ‘you cannot save your life’, ‘your gain means loss’. The loss will be terrible because Jesus said you need to exchange your world with your soul (life)!

Outcome: Only God’s way can save your life (soul), but you need to first give up your self, your ways and your life. Jesus’ demand is meant for all His followers, i.e. disciples.

Chapter 17 Jesus further made sure His disciples knew Who He really was and told them again what His mission on earth was

V1-13 TRANSFIGURATION: He showed three of the disciples Who He really was. God also testified from heaven just to make sure the three got the message. “This is My dearly loved Son Who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him.” (Up to that late time, they had not been listening to Jesus!)

v 22-23 Later Jesus and all His disciples gathered and He told them again that He would be betrayed, killed and on the third day He would be raised. (v23 “the disciples were filled with grief.” They were still not listening to Jesus.)

WALK BY FAITH VS WALK BY SIGHT

V14-20 BY FAITH: Jesus said, even mustard seed size faith can move mountain. Unbelief hindered faith in operation. Unbelief of disciples is due to walking by sight (seeing the evil manifestation in the boy under torment, the boy’s father’s exasperation, the bystander crowd).

V24-27 BY SIGHT: (regarding temple tax) Peter viewed Jesus as an ordinary man like any Jew who must obey the temple law to pay temple tax. Jesus brought up two spiritual points. In the spiritual realm Jesus was far above the man-made temple and even Moses law. Jesus is the Son of God. The second point is that only those who had been conquered need to pay tax to the conqueror. Jesus is the Conqueror and not the conquered!

(This is very relevant today: why are the citizens paying taxes? Because the citizens are actually the ‘conquered’ by the political and related ‘conquerors’ who receive the taxes /benefits from the taxes!)

Chapter 18 Jesus’ answer to “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

V1 The disciples asked the ultimate question of a human mind, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” In the human political system, physical (material) power and status are fought over naturally. Even the devil runs his subordinates with hierarchical levels of authorities ( Ephesians 6:12).

V2-14 Jesus answered in great details to make sure His  disciples knew how the Kingdom of Heaven operates.

HE WARNED THEM OF THEIR PRESUMPTIONS (V2-10)

1. Make sure you get into heaven first before you ask for heavenly positions. The requirements are: repent for your sins and humble yourselves.

2. Make sure you do not sin further. Just as heaven is real, hell and eternal fire are real. Jesus warned specifically of causing others to sin as well as sinning yourselves.

3. Angels (messengers of God) are always watching and making reports of what you do.

4. Don’t ever look down on the humble. In God’s view, they rank high!

JESUS TOLD THEM OF HEAVEN ACCOUNTING PRIORITY (BASED ON GOD’S WILL) (V12-14)

The number ‘one of them‘ is of great priority in Kingdom of Heaven’s accounting.  God’s will is ‘Not one lost’, ‘Not one perished’. Jesus made sure the disciples got their priority aligned with the will of God first! (distributing political / governmental post is of the least priority as Jesus clearly showed here).

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’S POWER COMES IN TWO FORMS: EXECUTIVE AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE (V15-20)

EXECUTIVE POWER: (v15-17) Jesus taught them how to operate this power which was an administrative authority. The goal was to gain back the erring or sinning brethren so his soul would not be lost.

SPIRITUAL POWER: (V18-20) Jesus also taught them how to use spiritual power in the heavenly realm. This power is used to release the captives and set the oppressed free from from spiritual imprisonment. Indeed Jesus had given His disciples this power and they had used it effectively. (Luke 4:18)

HOWEVER, JESUS KNEW WHAT HIS DISCIPLES NEEDED MOST AND HE WARNED THEM FURTHER! (V21-35)

UNFORGIVENESS IS A BIG ISSUE AND UNLESS THEY RESOLVED THIS MATTER THEIR ENTRY INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN REMAINED QUESTIONABLE.