–Pastor Ward Clinton
Excerpt from “The Holy One of God,” by Pastor Ward, available at amazon.com:
The holy one of God healed, He did not harm, those who rejected Him.
Injil Markus 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
They must not always be studying in the academy of Christ Jesus to merely obtain knowledge but they must be doing something with the knowledge which they have acquired. They had received in order to give, learned that they might teach. Although they were not yet as well trained and accomplished as they were to be, yet, according to their present capability, they must be set to work and make further improvements upon their ability afterwards.
The purpose of going in pairs may have been to bolster their credibility by having the testimony of more than one witness as well as providing mutual protection and encouragement.
They were empowered to shake the strongholds of Satan’s structures and set souls free and introduce them to the gospel of Jesus the long-awaited Messiah. They did not amuse people with curious matters, but told them they must quit their sins and turn to God wholeheartedly. Jesus may have even bestowed upon them special divine favor for this first solo flight of theirs. Later they will have to learn to pray for that themselves.
6:8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
6:9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
6:10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
6:13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
6:14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Herod feared John while he lived, and feared him even more when he was dead. The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a ghost therefore Herodias’ triumph was short. It is better that sinners persecute ministers now for faithfulness, than curse them eternally for unfaithfulness. It is possible that some may even be brought to Christ by our faithfulness.
A person who has a sin in his memory can never be sure when that ghost will suddenly reappear. The most trivial of things can arouse the sleeping conscience. The forgiven saint is sometimes reminded of his past, not by his conscience so much as by the enemy in an effort to lessen his effectiveness, but the follower of Christ Jesus can confidently claim the forgiveness provided by Him for confessed sins and tell the adversary, “You may know my past but I know your future and it is because of Christ Jesus, the Holy One of God, that you’ve lost and I’ve already won the victory.”
Injil Markus6:1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
The people from His hometown knew of His carpentry skills and He had not been gone long enough from them to have attended “university”. It seems they were amazed at His teaching ability even as they looked down their noses at Him. Plus, they said, His family are just ordinary folk from around here and they use this as their excuse for their obstinate disbelief. On the other hand if they knew nothing of His pedigree would they have had any greater respect for Him? Probably not. As an example, those who were in Judea used, “We don’t know where this fellow came from” as their objection leveled against Him. Obstinate disbelief will always find an excuse to continue in its disbelief. If it has to invent contradictions in the Scripture to justify itself, it will. Impugning the character of those who regularly attend a Bible-believing church in order to justify their own failure to obey God and attend a Bible-believing/Bible teaching church is a very common smoke screen. But God is not fooled at all by that.
Injil Markus 6:2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
No doubt, they had heard of things Messiah Jesus had done elsewhere and they probably thought if He really were capable of doing those things they surely would have seen Him doing those sort of things during the years He had lived among them. Jesus partly excuses them. This is the town where He had grown up.
Mohammad did not trust the corrupted in character “Christians” who came to him but he failed to take notice and listen to the uncorrupted ones who had been sent to him by the, compassionate and merciful, one true God. Instead Muhammad chose not to walk the holy path of Isa, therefore, according to the Koran, Isa will return to earth. Now, if you have “eyes to see,” then you should clearly be able to see who “The Prophet of Allah” is.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
Yes, I know Hanukkah has already ended this year. It is a celebration of light and so is Christmas. May this Christmas be especially blessed. –Pastor Ward Clinton
“The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton:
Injil Markus 3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
3:2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3:3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
3:4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
3:6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
This, 3:1-6, is a demonstration of the truth proclaimed in 2:28. The Pharisees were plotting evil against Jesus while Jesus was ready to do good therefore it is obvious who was guilty of breaking the Sabbath although the people probably did not realize it at the time because of the erroneous teaching they had long listened to. (What if Abu Bakr did not teach accurately?) What if the one who compiled and created the Quran was a friend of Iblis and the jinn and was sent to deceive and empower himself under the guise of preserving truth? We are told he faithfully re-produced the accurate words but where is the proof?
3:7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
3:8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
The geographical list shows that people were traveling great distances, for that day and age, to see and hear the holy one from God. Will that generation rise up and condemn this generation at the last day for its lack of effort to seek out and learn Isa’s teaching? Many Muslims claim they respect and honor Isa but they are actually guilty of insulting Isa because they do not read or pay any attention to what he taught when he was healing and teaching the people. Mohammad said the Injil is not corrupt. The Quran says the Injil is not corrupt. Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas said the Al-kitab (Holy Bible) is not corrupt. Muhammad Abduh Sayyid Ahmad Khan (died 1905) said “As far as the text of the [Holy] Bible is concerned, it has not been altered.” Furthermore, Muhammad Abduh said the “charge of corruption of the Biblical texts makes no sense at all.” The problem with “the Al-kitab (Holy Bible) has been corrupted” argument is that those who make that claim are ignorant of first century history and/or the whole text of the Injil (New Testament portion of the Holy Bible).
It is not wise to insult Isa (Messiah Jesus as revealed by the Al kitab). He has the words of life from the one true God. It is true that many who claim to be his followers (Christians) are corrupt but that is because they do not truly follow his teaching as revealed in the Holy Bible but that is no excuse for not knowing and studying the words of Isa as preserved in the Injil.
The reason some of those who call themselves “Christian” don’t seem to know much about the Holy Bible or genuine Christianity is because they actually are not Christians as is evidenced by their lives. Even amongst those who actually regularly attend a Bible-believing Church one must look carefully to see how their life matches up to the teaching of Isa. So how can one know? First become familiar with the New Testament portion of the Holy Bible and then request, in prayer, to the one true God for assistance in knowing the truth; this is not done by using a memorized prayer. He’s listening because He does care about you. Because God cares about you, the Injil is not corrupt, it may be hard to understand, at first, but ask Him to help you and to direct you. Ask the one true God to help you find real followers of Jesus because they are the ones who know the way to the true paradise.
An excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton
I seem to remember a certain Church making as one of their mottoes “Start at the Heart.” All too often we followers of Messiah Jesus seem to forget the importance of relationship in the process of attempting to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples and we start with the head rather than the heart.
Food, Fellowship, and Fun
Now, in the first century, food and fellowship were intricately woven together; to eat together was to have fellowship. We do not need to suppose that all these people were sinners in the moral sense of the term. The word sinner here means a man who broke the moral law but it also means one who did not observe the scribal law. So that it was considered that the man who committed adultery and the man who ate pork were both sinners. The man who was guilty of theft and the man who did not wash his hands in the required manner before he ate were both sinners. Therefore the guests of Matthew probably included many who had broken the Mosaic Law but there is no reason to doubt that there were some whose only sin was that they did not observe the religious leaders rules and regulations.
The Pharisees and scribes provided the fun that day. In the Jewish religion there was only one day in the whole year that was a compulsory fast, the Day of Atonement. After the Babylonian captivity four other fast days were added (see Zechariah 7:5; 8:19) but the stricter Jews fasted during the day light hours on Monday and Thursday of each week. There is a good possibility that this party took place on a Pharisee fast day because of the interaction that took place. Perhaps the pleasant odors of preparation had wafted down the streets and tickled the noses of certain Pharisees in the public square and set their tummies to rumbling. Perhaps for some reason they had failed to rouse themselves that particular morning before the sun began to peek above the horizon and therefore did not get to eat their regular pre-fast meal. Now these tantalizing odors of a feast in preparation assaults their noses and demands their attention because they are about to have a divine encounter that will make them part of His story.
So, in this imaginary scenario leading up to the divine encounter, they find themselves led along by their noses and their bellies in hopes that not only would they find plenty of food but that the dwelling’s inhabitants would be super-thrilled to be so blessed by their presence and invite them to sit at or near the head table.
Suddenly, there they are and the hand washing stations are properly placed and the food looks to be plenty and luscious and… Oh, dear… ready too early because the sun is not yet set. But the crowd is large enough to be a wedding feast and if that is the case then they will be freed from the obligation to wait until sunset to break their fast. So they begin to scan the crowd to see if they can find the likely couple. Then, to their dismay, they begin to recognize some faces of Publicans and other assorted sinners with whom they would never associate even as their stomachs rumble in protest at their unyielding obstinacy. Then they spot Jesus and His disciples in the midst of these people and He looks in their direction and smiles, almost as though He has been expecting them. Now they are really annoyed and they are not going to simply slip quietly away. Oh no, they’re going to use this as an opportunity to cast doubt on the character of The Christ in the minds of His friends and followers. With a frontal assault? Of course not; they’ve chosen to use the more sinister indirect assault which has long been the preferred methodology of all of those who oppose Messiah’s teaching.
Injil Markus 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
Not all the teachers of the law were Pharisees and not all of the Pharisees were hypocritical even though it seems that way to us as we read the Scripture that the majority of those whom Jesus came into contact with were that way.
Injil Markus 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Jesus calmly responds directly to the Scribes and Pharisees. A self-righteous (self-justified) person does not recognize his need for a savior. There are many sin-sick souls who have no clue regarding their actual situation. We find the self-righteous everywhere but the one place we rarely find them is in Church. An admitted sinner does tend to recognize his need for a cure. Part of truly living righteously does include showing mercy to others who seek righteousness. Although we followers of Christ do need to be very careful in how we keep company with ungodly men lest we become re-corrupted. We do need to show and have love for their souls while attempting to convince them they also need to join us in the journey of following Christ. Our good Physician had the power of healing in Himself and was in no danger of contracting the disease of sin. However, we need to keep in close contact with Him to avoid sin.
For unfortunately there is more hope for a fool than for one who is wise in his own conceit (see Proverbs 26:12) Even when such a one is on the side of truth he remains as fickle as the children of falsehood.
Injil Markus 2:18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
John’s disciples may have been fasting because he was in prison. It certainly had nothing to do with obeying their tradition as they were falsely attempting to imply.
Injil Markus 2:19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
An excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton:
2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
Slowly but surely the synagogue door was shutting on Jesus He could have smoothed things over but He is forcing the guardians of Jewish orthodoxy to make some personal decisions and take sides. He is going to keep stirring things up and He is the one who is actually in control, not they. Now He is teaching by the lakeside and letting the Synagogue simmer.
As He was walking by the lakeside He was teaching. This was a common way for the Jewish Rabbis to teach. As they walked the roads from one place to another their disciples grouped around them and walked with them and listened as they talked. Therefore Jesus was doing what any Rabbi might have done.
The tax collector’s booth where Jesus found Levi was on the major international road that went from Damascus through Capernaum to the Mediterranean coast on to Egypt.
It was a saying that “Judea is on the way to nowhere; Galilee is on the way to everywhere.” The great Road of the Sea led from Damascus, by way of Galilee, through Capernaum, down past Carmel, along the Plain of Sharon, through Gaza and on to Egypt. Another road led from Acre on the coast across the Jordan out to Arabia (Petra not Mecca) and the frontiers of the empire, a road that was travelled by the regiments and caravans.
Capernaum was by its very nature a frontier town; because of that it was a customs center and the import and export taxes were collected there. That is where Levi worked. While it is true that he was not like Zacchaeus, working directly in the service of the Romans; he was working for Herod Antipas, and therefore he was a hated tax-collector, also referred to as a publican.
Levi was not a good person or he would not have been a tax-gatherer. Still Isa choose to call this person to be part of His core group. This does serve to demonstrate to us that Isa can change the character of anyone if they will only commit themselves to Him. The Scripture tells us about another person who was also chosen by Jesus but who offered excuses for waiting until a more convenient time and therefore he lost out on his unique opportunity. Levi did not risk the chance of having the offer pass him by to become a disciple of Jesus but responded immediately, wholeheartedly, and without reservation.
2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
In 1st Kings 19:21 Elisha gave a farewell feast for his friends when he went to follow Elijah.
Of all the disciples Matthew is the one who gave up the most at the very outset in his making the commitment to follow Jesus. Matthew in giving a farewell feast for all his friends shows thereby that with cheerfulness and thankfulness to God he has committed himself completely, and without reservation, to Christ.
Andrew and Simon and James and John could easily go back to their boats but Matthew had burned his bridges behind him as far as his livelihood was concerned and could never go back. He left everything but his pen. He did try to invite his friends to join him in the journey and maybe some of them did later on but probably not at that particular point in time. Some of Matthew’s friends may have been among those converted at Pentecost; we won’t know until after our own arrival in heaven. His friends were no doubt curious and some of them would have tried to talk him out of this move even as they may have themselves wondered whether there were any hope for them and Jesus’ presence and demeanor at the feast no doubt gave them a glimmer of hope that they also were eligible to be included in God’s forever family.
Do not be a disbeliever in Messiah Jesus
–Pastor Ward Clinton
An excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton:
2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?
In Jewish theology even the Messiah could not forgive sins and they were sure that Jesus was committing shirk. However if He really is who He claimed to be then disbelieving is the worst type of shirk of all. Al-Masihu-Isa (Jesus) is kalimat Allah and wadjih (worthy of esteem in this world and the next) according to the Quran.
2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
Since they believed that a person’s sins needed to be forgiven before they could be healed He has chosen to force them to engage their brains. One purpose of the miracles was to testify to the people precisely who Jesus truly is.
2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Jesus saw their faith, He may have smiled as he looked at a faith strong enough to overcome the obstacles and then He looked at the Scribes – the ones who should have had faith. Now, in part, these fellows were doing their job; they were scrutinizing this itinerant Rabbi to make sure his teaching was okay. But these were sitting there watching for what they considered to be the slightest mistake so they could blow it all out of proportion rather than allowing themselves to be moved by the working of God which was happening right before their very eyes.
The religious leadership made a connection between sin and disease, not entirely unfounded, but they were a bit misguided. To them a sick man was a man who had sinned. They had already heard Jesus preach; they had already seen Jesus heal. Still they seemed quite unmoved. Now Jesus won’t allow anyone to remain neutral towards Him. He has decided to up the ante, therefore he said, “Child your sins are forgiven.” He has just challenged them head on with that phrase. They were of the belief that the sin had to be forgiven before one could be healed. But anyone is capable of saying “your sins are forgiven” and how can it be proved whether the statement was effective or not? Now on the other hand, to tell the man to get up and walk would demonstrate then and there the authority, effectiveness, and reliability of His word. Therefore in the tenth verse Jesus lets them know they have to make a choice to either believe in Him or disbelieve. He has hoisted these experts in the law on their own petard. It is on their own traditions and stated beliefs this man could not be cured unless he was forgiven. In effect Jesus has said, “you say I have no right to forgive sins? You believe that if this man is sick, he is a sinner and cannot be cured until he is forgiven? Okay, watch this!” Jesus spoke the word and the man was cured, therefore he must be forgiven and Jesus’ claim to be able to forgive sin must be true.
Jesus probably left them in a baffled rage. Here was something that had to be dealt with; if this were allowed to continue all their rules and regulations would be turned on their head; maybe even worse, proven to be completely out of step with their Holy Scripture. So, with this incident, Jesus has signed His own death warrant and He is fully aware of it. However He is also trying to correct their understanding of God.
They had the Torah (the uncorrupted holy word from the one true God), they knew that God will not let sinners remain unpunished, but they had forgotten that the Torah also showed them a God who desired to exercise mercy and forgiveness. Remember the pouting prophet in the Old Testament who whined, “I didn’t want to warn those people because I knew You are a merciful God”?
Today, most seem to know that God forgives but they forget there are conditions that must be met… God is holy and just, as well as merciful and forgiving. He calls us into a holy, loving relationship with Himself which requires that sin be shunned, not embraced with a “Oh well, I’m only human” shrug of the shoulders.
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