Ezra 1:7

Ezra 1:7 says, Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;  Not only did Cyrus authorize the rebuilding of the Temple, he returned all the vessels of the Temple that Nebuchadnezzar had seized and put in the temple of his gods.  Though these vessels of God had been held by a pagan king and probably used in the worship of pagan gods, they were still preserved. People may seize the things of God today and use them in the worship of other gods, but they can never permanently destroy them and one day they will be returned to God. For example, some people misuse God's word to promote ideas that are in opposition to their meaning, but we are told and thereby should know that God's word will never change in its meaning. Like these Temple vessels, it has been preserved for us for centuries. Sometimes, we just need to reclaim it in its meaning as revealed by God. 

Verse eight adds, Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. Cyrus returned these vessels to Sheshbazzar, after having the treasurer number them.  Matthew Henry points out that Sheshbazzar, which he says means joy in tribulation is the Babylonian name for Zerubbabel which means a stranger in Babylon.  I can say that we as Christians should have joy in tribulation that comes from those people who do not believe in God because of our relationship with God and that we will always be strangers in this world.  The next three verses simply list the items returned. 

Verse nine says, And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, 

Verse ten adds, Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. 

Verse eleven concludes, All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.  This was quite an expensive amount of vessels that somewhere along the line could have been melted down just for their monetary value, but God had preserved them, and Cyrus willingly returned them.  God will always preserve what is His, and that especially means those who are His by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

Ezra 1:1

Ezra1:1 says, Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,  This was after the Babylonnians had been defeated in fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy. These had been very bleak years for the people of Israel under the harsh rule of Nebuchadnezzar. They had no king and no Temple and if they sang hymns of praise they were mocked.  Still, as Matthew Henry points out, they had prophets. We today sometimes face ridicule for worshipping God and in some places in the world it is unlawful to worship God at all.  Now, this time was coming to an end.  We are told that the Spirit of the Lord stirred up Cyrus, the king of Persia, even though Cyrus did not really believe in God.  God can and does work through those who do not even believe in Him.  

Verse two adds, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. We were told that Cyrus made a proclamation, and here we are told what it was.  Cyrus said that the Lord of heaven had given him all the kingdoms of the earth which would acknowledge God's sovereignty. This occurred in his first year of reigning over Babylon, and not his first year ruling Persia.  Cyrus said that God had charged him with building Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.  We do not need to question how God accomplishes His work, but we only need faith that He will.  

Verse three continues, Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.  Cyrus asked who there was among them who was willing to do what their God was commanding.  We as God's people need to go where God sends us when He sends us. Cyrus said that those whom God called should go to Jerusalem and build His house there.  Hopefully, when God's work needs to be done, He will not have to use non-believers to get Christians to moving to do His work.  

Verse four states, And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.  Cyrus did not leave those who were not going out of the work.  They were to supply silver and gold, beasts and goods and freewill offerings to help those who did go.  We may not all be able to go to where God's work needs to be done, but we can all help support those who do.  Some will be able to help more than others, but we can all do something under the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  

Verse five adds, Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.  Those that God called, the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and Levites, and all that God's Spirit moved, left for Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. Once God calls us, we need to move as the Holy Spirit directs us. 

Verse six adds, And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.  Those who didn't go willingly gave to help those who did.  God never forces us to give to support His work, but if we cannot go, I believe He expects us to willingly give to support those who do.

Mark Review

Mark does not deal with the birth and childhood of Jesus but starts with the beginning of His ministry.  Mark has been called more of a book of action than some of the other Gospels.  Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist which he points out was a fulfillment of a prophesy.  John preached and baptized people to prepare them for the coming Messiah, whose sandals he said he was unworthy to even unlatch.  We are still just as unworthy.  Jesus came to John to be baptized, and as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove, and a Voice came down from heaven saying, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all present, because They are One.  Jesus was immediately tempted by the Devil, but He was victorious.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can expect to be immediately tempted to try and keep us from making Him our Lord as well.  We have a record of John the Baptist being beheaded. We have the record of Jesus calling His disciples, not all at once but over time.  We are not all called to follow Jesus at the same time.  We have a record of the miracles Jesus performed, and of the times that the disciples doubted or became self-centered, and this can still happen today.  We have a record of Peter’s great faith and later great denial of even knowing Jesus, because he as yet did not know the resurrected Lord.  Until we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we at best will waver in proclaiming our faith in Him and denying Him the next time trouble comes.  We have a record of Jesus’s agonizing prayer in the Garden while the disciples with Him, Peter who was named the Rock for his faith and James and John who wanted to sit on Jesus’s right and left hand in His kingdom couldn’t even stay awake for an hour. We have a record of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper, and of His betrayal by Judas shortly thereafter.  We have a record of Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection on the third day, and of the women finding the empty tomb and receiving the good news of His resurrection.  Then, we have a record of the ascension of Jesus into heaven and the disciples going to preach the Gospel to all men.  This is our task today.  This is not all that Mark tells us, but it is a few of the points that we find in Mark.  Next, we will look at Ezra.

Mark 16:14

Mark 16:14 says, Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. Mark says that Jesus appeared to the eleven as they were eating after his appearance to the others that was already mentioned. We might think He would have appeared to them first, but He appeared first to those who were out and at least going about life instead of hiding away, as the disciples were. We cannot be successful in sharing the gospel if we are hiding away in fear. Jesus chastised them for their unbelief and hardness of heart for not believing the good news that had already been brought to them. We can never be saved if we do not believe in the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, and until the disciples encountered Him personally after the resurrection, they did not believe. Likewise, until we encounter Him personally and accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we will not be saved. Verse fifteen adds, And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Jesus then commissioned them to go and do what He had been preparing them to do all along, and that was to go and preach the gospel. The time for hiding away in fear was past. As Christians, God has called us to share the gospel, and He has also called us for a specific purpose in the church, and we can be certain that He has prepared us to do what He calls us to do. Verse sixteen continues, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Jesus said that those that believed and were baptized would be saved. Of course, believing in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord is all that is necessary for salvation, and baptism is simply a sign of our identifying with Jesus and our obedience to His command after we accept Him. This is made clearer in the second part of the verse when it says he who believes not will be damned, and not he who believes not and is not baptized.  Verse seventeen states, And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Jesus then speaks of some of the signs people will see that will be performed by His followers.  Jesus said that they would cast out devils, and when people accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, all devils are cast out of that person.   He said they would speak with new tongues, which I understand to mean they would be able to communicate with people who spoke different languages by power of the Holy Spirit.  On this point, and the next few, Matthew Henry says the same thing.  Verse eighteen adds, They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  Matthew Henry says that in the early church Christians were often given poisonous drinks, and they did not hurt them, and we still serve the same God.  Taking up serpents does not mean willingly grabbing a serpent simply to test God, but means as was the case with Paul if we are bitten while doing what God calls us to do that He will protect us.  Jesus said that Christians would lay their hands on the sick and they would be healed.  I personally believe that we have to understand this as meaning if it is God’s will.  Sometimes, we lay hands on people or pray for them, and they are not healed physically, but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care.  If they are a Christian, they are already healed forever.  Verse nineteen declares, So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.  After Jesus spoke these words, He was received into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God, where He will be until He returns in victory to claim His people and bring them home to heaven with Him.  Verse twenty adds, And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.  They disciples went forth to preach the gospel everywhere, under the power of the Holy Spirit.  God affirmed their work by the signs following them.  This is where we as followers of Christ are today.  We need to be at work until Jesus Christ returns or until we leave this old world through death.  

 

Mark 16:9

Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. After Jesus arose from the dead, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene. She had a very good reason to be upset by Jesus's death. He had cast seven devils out of her. This should teach us that there is no one that is beyond redemption when they put their faith in the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ. Verse ten adds, And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. The disciples at that time were mourning and weeping when Mary Magdalene came to share the good news with them. She said Jesus was alive, and this is the message that we as followers of Christ have for the world today, and it is the most important message that we can proclaim. We as Christians have encountered the resurrected Lord spiritually, and we should have an urgent desire to share this good news with the world. Verse eleven continues, And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. When the disciples heard Mary Magdalene's report, they didn't believe her, and many people will not believe us when we share the gospel today, but that should not keep us from doing so. The disciples were those closest to Jesus, whom He had spent a lot of time preparing for His coming death, burial and resurrection, and yet when it happened, they still didn't believe it. Being around the church and even reading and being taught about the Bible is not going to save anyone. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will. Verse twelve states, After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. Jesus next appeared in another form to two disciples who were out walking. They were not gathered together in a place of worship with other believers, and people can still encounter Jesus that way today. Jesus Christ does not appear to all who meet Him today in exactly the same way. We must accept by faith that Jesus is Who He says He is when He calls us to Him. Verse thirteen adds, And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. They also went and told the disciples and once again they refused to believe the report. In order to come to know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, the reports of others are not enough. We must come to Him personally when He calls and accept Him as our Savior and Lord.

 

Mark 16:1

Mark 16:1 says, And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome came to prepare the body of Jesus for burial.  They had brought sweet spices to anoint Him, but they still did not understand Who Jesus really was.  They fully expected to find His body in the tomb.  If we are looking for Jesus today, we will not find Him in a tomb nor as just a historical figure.  He has risen, and lives eternally.  Verse two adds, And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. They got there at sunrise.  They had been forced to wait until then by the restrictions of the Sabbath.  Today, there are no restrictions on our coming to Jesus, so we should never put off doing so.  Verse three continues, And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?  They were wondering how they would get the stone rolled away in order to anoint His body.  The stone was large, and they didn't think they could move it.  Whatever stands between Jesus and us today, it is nothing that He can't move.  Verse four concludes, And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.  When they looked, the stone was moved away.  It still is today.  Verse five states, And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.  When the women went into the tomb, they didn't find the body of Jesus but found a young man sitting on the right side clothed in a long white garment, and they were afraid.  This was not at all what they were looking for, nor why they were there.  People today are still looking for Jesus in the wrong places, but He is still sending messengers to tell them the Good News.   Some may even be angels.  Verse six adds, And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.  He told them not to be afraid, because Jesus Christ had risen.  Because Jesus has risen, if we put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, we have no reason to be afraid.  Verse seven continues, But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.  The young man, or angel, told them to go their way and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus had gone before them to Galilee, and they would see Him there, as Jesus had already told them they would.  I believe He singled out Peter because he was likely feeling very unworthy at this time after denying Jesus three times.  We, like Peter, may have denied Jesus at some time or another, but if we have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, we are still His, and He still calls us to come follow Him.  Verse eight concludes, And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.  When the women left the tomb, they were very afraid and said nothing to anyone on the way to tell the disciples.  We cannot allow fear to keep us from sharing the gospel with everyone today if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and if you haven't, my prayer is that you will do so now.