The Book Of Mark # 56

Many liked the comparison he made with being a judge to being an umpire in a baseball game. He stated that he felt that as a judge, he is not a player of the game, but it is his job to call the FOULS and STRIKES!

All the evidence indicates that he will make a good chief justice. But that can not be said of all judges.

Illus: At the height of a political corruption trial, the prosecuting attorney attacked a witness.

• "Isn't it true," he asked, "that you accepted five thousand dollars to compromise this case?"

• The witness stared out the window as though he hadn't heard the question.

• "Isn't it true that you accepted five thousand dollars to compromise this case?" the lawyer repeated.

• The witness still did not respond.

• Finally, the judge leaned over and said, "Sir, please answer the question."

• "Oh," the startled witness said, "I thought he was talking to you."

Illus: I also think about another judge where a woman was being questioned in a court trial involving slander.

• The Lawyer instructed her, "Please repeat the slanderous statements you heard, exactly as you heard them."

• The witness hesitated. "But they are unfit for any respectable person to hear."

• "Then," said the attorney, "just whisper them to the judge."

The Senate Judiciary Committee is a very partisan committee made up of Republicans and Democrats. Possibly, if these men who were questioning John Roberts were put under the same scrutiny, some of them would be locked up for life.

As aggravating as it may be to watch this partisan committee (Senate Judiciary Committee), it is necessary that we have men like John Roberts investigated because they have been nominated for a high position in this nation.

A man might be charming but that does not mean he is qualified.

Illus: A man by the name of Frank Abagnale, Jr. has one of those charismatic personalities that enabled him to charm his way into virtually any situation.

That ability made Frank Abagnale one of the most famous con men in history.

• Before his 18th birthday, he had posed as a pediatrician for a year.

• He was a copilot for a major airline for a year.

• He was an attorney for a year.

• He cashed over $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in every state and 26 different countries.

• He was finally captured in France, and after spending five years in prison, he was released to become a consultant for the FBI.

Frank Abagnale has an extraordinary gift of being able to walk into any situation and take it over. He used this gift to live a life of adventure and deception.

Other people use the same kind of gifts to lead people astray into religious lies.

Illus: I think about people like cult leaders Jim Jones, David Koresh and Marshall Applewhite, founder of the Heaven’s Gate suicide cult. They all possessed a charismatic personality that made them leaders.

They were able to persuade the people around them to do things and believe things that under normal circumstances would seem irrational.

Whether you call people like this sociopaths, con men, or whatever, the world is filled with them.

The reason I mention these things is because when the Lord was here, this is how he was viewed. He was such a magnetic personality that He literally had thousands around Him leaving everything to be one of His followers. The religious leaders of that day believed He was a deceiver, a con man, a self-proclaimed messiah who was leading people astray.

Virtually every one who came in contact with Jesus during His public ministry on this earth, at some point asked himself, "WHO IS THIS MAN?"

Around Easter, we look at the events of what Christians sometimes call "Holy Week." Holy Week remembers the final week of Jesus Christ’s life on this earth before His death and resurrection. Today we’re going to look at the third day of holy week, as we see Jesus debate some religious leaders in the temple.

Let’s look at –

I. THE DEBATE

Look at Mark 11:27-33, we read, “And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”