251 " If there is a dispute between men and they go to court , and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked , 2 then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten , the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt . 3 " He may beat him forty times but no more , so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes . 4 " You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing .
5 "When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son , the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man . Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. 6 "It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother , so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel . 7 " But if the man does not desire to take his brother's wife , then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say , 'My husband's brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel ; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.' 8 "Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says , 'I do not desire to take her,' 9 then his brother's wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders , and pull his sandal off e his foot and spit in his face ; and she shall declare e , 'Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house .' 10 "In Israel his name shall be called , 'The house of him whose sandal is removed .' 11 "If two men , a man and his countryman , are struggling together , and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals , 12 then you shall cut off her hand ; you shall not show pity .
13 " You shall not have in your bag differing weights , a large and a small . 14 "You shall not have in your house differing measures , a large and a small . 15 "You shall have a full and just weight ; you shall have a full and just measure , that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 16 "For everyone who does these things , everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God .
17 " Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt , 18 how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary ; and he did not fear God . 19 "Therefore it shall come about when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies , in the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess , you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven ; you must not forget .
261 "Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance , and you possess it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where e the Lord your God chooses to establish His name . 3 "You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.' 4 "Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God . 5 "You shall answer and say before the Lord your God , ' My father was a wandering Aramean , and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there , few in number ; but there he became a great , mighty and populous nation . 6 'And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 'Then we cried to the Lord , the God of our fathers , and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression ; 8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders ; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land , a land flowing with milk and honey . 10 'Now behold , I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord have given me.' And you shall set it down before the Lord your God , and worship before the Lord your God ; 11 and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household .
12 " When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year , the year of tithing , then you shall give it to the Levite , to the stranger , to the orphan and to the widow , that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied . 13 "You shall say before the Lord your God , 'I have removed the sacred portion from my house , and also have given it to the Levite and the alien , the orphan and the widow , according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments . 14 'I have not eaten of it while mourning , nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean , nor offered any of it to the dead . I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God ; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 ' Look down from Your holy habitation , from heaven , and bless Your people Israel , and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey , as You swore to our fathers .'
16 "This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances . You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul . 17 " You have today declared the Lord to be your God , and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes , His commandments and His ordinances , and listen to His voice . 18 "The Lord has today declared you to be His people , a treasured possession , as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments ; 19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made , for praise , fame , and honor ; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God , as He has spoken ."
271 Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people , saying , "Keep all the commandments which I command you today . 2 " So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime 3 and write on them all the words of this law , when you cross over , so that you may enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey , as the Lord , the God of your fathers , promised you. 4 "So it shall be when you cross the Jordan , you shall set up on Mount Ebal , these stones , as I am commanding you today , and you shall coat them with lime . 5 "Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God , an altar of stones ; you shall not wield an iron tool on them. 6 "You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones , and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God ; 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there , and rejoice before the Lord your God . 8 "You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very distinctly ." 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel , saying , "Be silent and listen , O Israel ! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God . 10 "You shall therefore obey e the Lord your God , and do His commandments and His statutes which I command you today ."
11 Moses also charged the people on that day , saying , 12 "When you cross the Jordan , these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people : Simeon , Levi , Judah , Issachar , Joseph , and Benjamin . 13 "For the curse , these shall stand on Mount Ebal : Reuben , Gad , Asher , Zebulun , Dan , and Naphtali . 14 "The Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice , 15 'Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image , an abomination to the Lord , the work of the hands of the craftsman , and sets it up in secret .' And all the people shall answer and say , 'Amen .' 16 ' Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 17 ' Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark.' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 18 ' Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 19 ' Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien , orphan , and widow .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 20 ' Cursed is he who lies with his father's wife , because he has uncovered his father's skirt .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 21 ' Cursed is he who lies with any animal .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 22 ' Cursed is he who lies with his sister , the daughter of his father or of his mother .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 23 ' Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 24 ' Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 25 ' Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person .' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .' 26 ' Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people shall say , 'Amen .'
27 And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away , because it is written , ' I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD , AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED .' 28 "But after I have been raised , I will go ahead of you to Galilee ." 29 But Peter said to Him, "Even though all may fall away , yet I will not." 30 And Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, that this very night , before a rooster crows twice , you yourself will deny Me three times ." 31 But Peter kept saying insistently , "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And they all were saying the same thing also .
32 They came to a place named Gethsemane ; and He said to His disciples , "Sit here until I have prayed ." 33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John , and began to be very distressed and troubled . 34 And He said to them, " My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death ; remain here and keep watch ." 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible , the hour might pass Him by. 36 And He was saying , " Abba ! Father ! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will , but what You will." 37 And He came and found them sleeping , and said to Peter , "Simon , are you asleep ? Could you not keep watch for one hour ? 38 " Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation ; the spirit is willing , but the flesh is weak ." 39 Again He went away and prayed , saying the same words . 40 And again He came and found them sleeping , for their eyes were very heavy ; and they did not know what to answer Him. 41 And He came the third time , and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting ? It is enough ; the hour has come ; behold , the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners . 42 "Get up, let us be going ; behold , the one who betrays Me is at hand !"
43 Immediately while He was still speaking , Judas , one of the twelve , came up accompanied e by a crowd with swords and clubs , who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders . 44 Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal , saying , "Whomever e I kiss , He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard ." 45 After coming , Judas immediately went to Him, saying , " Rabbi !" and kissed Him. 46 They laid hands on Him and seized Him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword , and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear . 48 And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber ? 49 "Every day I was with you in the temple teaching , and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures ." 50 And they all left Him and fled .
51 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked .
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest ; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together .
(Read Mark 14:22-31)
The Lord's supper is food for the soul, therefore a very little of that which is for the body, as much as will serve for a sign, is enough. It was instituted by the example and the practice of our Master, to remain in force till his second coming. It was instituted with blessing and giving of thanks, to be a memorial of Christ's death. Frequent mention is made of his precious blood, as the price of our redemption. How comfortable is this to poor repenting sinners, that the blood of Christ is shed for many! If for many, why not for me? It was a sign of the conveyance of the benefits purchased for us by his death. Apply the doctrine of Christ crucified to yourselves; let it be meat and drink to your souls, strengthening and refreshing your spiritual life. It was to be an earnest and foretaste of the happiness of heaven, and thereby to put us out of taste for the pleasures and delights of sense. Every one that has tasted spiritual delights, straightway desires eternal ones. Though the great Shepherd passed through his sufferings without one false step, yet his followers often have been scattered by the small measure of sufferings allotted to them. How very apt we are to think well of ourselves, and to trust our own hearts! It was ill done of Peter thus to answer his Master, and not with fear and trembling. Lord, give me grace to keep me from denying thee.
(Read Mark 14:32-42)
Christ's sufferings began with the sorest of all, those in his soul. He began to be sorely amazed; words not used in St. Matthew, but very full of meaning. The terrors of God set themselves in array against him, and he allowed him to contemplate them. Never was sorrow like unto his at this time. Now he was made a curse for us; the curses of the law were laid upon him as our Surety. He now tasted death, in all the bitterness of it. This was that fear of which the apostle speaks, the natural fear of pain and death, at which human nature startles. Can we ever entertain favourable, or even slight thoughts of sin, when we see the painful sufferings which sin, though but reckoned to him, brought on the Lord Jesus? Shall that sit light upon our souls, which sat so heavy upon his? Was Christ in such agony for our sins, and shall we never be in agony about them? How should we look upon Him whom we have pierced, and mourn! It becomes us to be exceedingly sorrowful for sin, because He was so, and never to mock at it. Christ, as Man, pleaded, that, if it were possible, his sufferings might pass from him. As Mediator, he submitted to the will of God, saying, Nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt; I bid it welcome. See how the sinful weakness of Christ's disciples returns, and overpowers them. What heavy clogs these bodies of ours are to our souls! But when we see trouble at the door, we should get ready for it. Alas, even believers often look at the Redeemer's sufferings in a drowsy manner, and instead of being ready to die with Christ, they are not even prepared to watch with him one hour.
(Read Mark 14:43-52)
Because Christ appeared not as a temporal prince, but preached repentance, reformation, and a holy life, and directed men's thoughts, and affections, and aims to another world, therefore the Jewish rulers sought to destroy him. Peter wounded one of the band. It is easier to fight for Christ than to die for him. But there is a great difference between faulty disciples and hypocrites. The latter rashly and without thought call Christ Master, and express great affection for him, yet betray him to his enemies. Thus they hasten their own destruction.
(Read Mark 14:53-65)
We have here Christ's condemnation before the great council of the Jews. Peter followed; but the high priest's fire-side was no proper place, nor his servants proper company, for Peter: it was an entrance into temptation. Great diligence was used to procure false witnesses against Jesus, yet their testimony was not equal to the charge of a capital crime, by the utmost stretch of their law. He was asked, Art thou the Son of the Blessed? that is, the Son of God. For the proof of his being the Son of God, he refers to his second coming. In these outrages we have proofs of man's enmity to God, and of God's free and unspeakable love to man.
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