Brian’s Quiet Time Thoughts.

​ The crowd Jesus always had people around Him. I know of three times when Jesus was alone. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ “When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭47‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ “Then He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭35‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ When He was alone He was Praying.  But the crowd was always around. The crowd made Him and His disciples so busy they could not eat at times. “Then He went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ At times the crowd was so much that they had to get alone in the middle of the lake to rest. “So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, but many saw them leaving and recognized them. People ran

​ The Herodians The Herodians were Jews who stood with the rule of the Herods. But who were the Herods? “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem,” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ King Herod AKA Herod the Great was the first. In the Bible, we see him in contrast with the wise men from the East and Jesus’s family. He was the one responsible for all the deaths of the babies in Bethlehem. But he is also known for helping in the second temple and building up some of the western wall of the temple complex. This made him favorable to the Jews. But then he instituted his priests from Babylon in the second temple. Which made him hated by the Jews. In the end, they hated him more than they liked him. “But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ Archela

​ The Pharisees The Pharisees are the ruling spiritual leaders of Jesus’ day. Second and very similar is the Sadducees. The major difference between the two is the Sadducees do not believe in any resurrection. Often the Pharisees would complain about Jesus doing something on the Sabbath, the seventh day. “By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ “Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭31‬:‭14‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, o

​ The next Character is Levi son of Alphaeus AKA Matthew. Yes, that Matthew who wrote the first gospel in our Bibles. “As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me! ” So he got up and followed Him.” ‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬ ‭HCSB‬‬ What do we know about Matthew? He was a tax collector. This would make him a traitor in the eyes of most of his fellow Israelites. There was a certain group called “The Zealots” that was particularly against Israelites being tax collectors. Jesus picked one of them to be his disciple too, Simon. “Andrew; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot,” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭HCSB ‬‬ More on him in another post. Second, we learn Matthew was hospitable. “While He was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also guests with Jesus and His disciples, because there were many who were following Him.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭15