Jurisdiction

Tuesday, August 20 \ Devotions: Ps 120-27; 2 Sam 18:9-18; Acts 23:12-24; Mk 11:27-12:12 In my distress, I cry out to YHWH: Deliver me, Lord, from lying lips and deceitful tongues. I live among war-mongers, though I seek peace. So I look up for help, to the everlasting mountains; my help comes from the Lord, YHWH Sabaoth, Creator of heaven and earth, sky and land. He Is ever vigilant; He Is my Keeper! He protects me from all that is evil; He preserves my life for ever. So I am always glad to be summoned to God's house for worship and praise. I am awed by the Holy City—Jerusalem, where God's footstool rests. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem and all her peoples; I seek the well-being of all people, for each is my neighbor, under God. Lord, I lift my eyes and my heart to You; have mercy, Lord; protect me from the animosity, earned or not, that I experience from others who hardly know either You or me. I am sated with the scorn of the easy, the contempt of the proud. If You had not been with me, I'd long ago have perished altogether, swallowed by the flood of hostility, the raging waters of contempt. Blessed is YHWH, Who has not given us over to those who plot our destruction. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so YHWH surrounds and shelters His people, for ever. Let God do good to those who are good; and let Him be Judge over those who refuse to do what is right. Let God's peace rest upon His people and His creation. Whenever God has delivered me, I have been delirious with joy. He has done great things for me, and I am blessed. Lord, restore our fortunes, like watercourses in the Negev; let all who sow in tears reap with cries of joy on the homecoming way. Vanity is seeking to live by our own wits and strength; there is peace and prosperity in letting YHWH be Master in my life. My family is God's greatest blessing to me; by their love, I am guarded and guided; by their prayers I am blessed. May I see the joy of my grandchildren, and live in God's presence for ever. After his attempt to seize the throne, David's son Absalom chanced to meet David's forces. He was riding on his mule, and as his mount passed under a low-hanging oak branch, Absalom's long hair got tangled in the tree, and he was left hanging between sky and earth. Joab came and put Absalom to death, though David had charged his captains to protect Absalom. Joab and his armor-bearers killed Absalom, threw him into a pit in the forest, and built up a mound of stones over his body. Then the forces dispersed to their home, while word of the prince's death was carried to David by two runners. Paul had been taken into custody in the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, and in a vision, Jesus had told him to take courage: 'As you have testified about Me at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at Rome.' Meanwhile zealous Jews were plotting to murder Paul as he was conducted to a hearing before the Jewish council. One of Paul's nephews overheard the plot and carried the news to Paul and then to the tribune commanding the Roman garrison. Then the tribune dispatched two centurions, with foot and calvary forces, to conduct Paul to the custody of the Roman governor Felix in Caesarea. Jesus had entered Jerusalem to the acclaim of the crowds and was walking in the temple when the chief priests, scribes and elders approached and asked Him: 'By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?' Jesus replied, 'I'll ask you a question, too. And if you answer My question, I'll answer yours. Now: John's baptism: was it from heaven or from men?' The Jews realized there was no good answer: if they said John's baptism was from heaven, Jesus would ask why they had not accepted John and his message; and if they said it was a human device, the people would be angry with them, because many revered John the Baptizer as a great prophet. So they replied to Jesus, 'We don't know.' So Jesus answered, 'Neither will I tell you by what Authority I am doing what I do.' And Jesus told them this parable: 'A man planted a vineyard, set a hedge around it, erected a winepress in its midst, put up a guard tower over the facility, and rented it out to tenants. Then the owner set off on an extended journey in another country. When harvest time came, the owner sent a man to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants beat the man and sent him away empty-handed. The owner sent several others, but in each case the tenants wounded and shamed the emissaries, and even killed some. Finally, thinking the unruly tenants would surely respect his own son, the owner sent his son. But the tenants decided that if they did away with the heir, they'd have full possession of the vineyard and its facilities. So they killed the son and cast his body outside the vineyard. Jesus concluded: 'What will the owner do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give his vineyard to others. I know you're familiar with the Scripture that says, “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”' So the Jews tried to arrest Jesus, because they knew He had told the parable against them. But they feared the multitude, and so they left Him for the time being, and went away.