03/25/2023
Jesus challenged the power structure of his day, those who ruled Jewish religion, politics, legal system, their economy, their trade, their medicine and their culture. He exposed corrupt religious leaders and politicians for being murders of Old Testament Prophets. Jesus rebuked phony religious blasphemers; those who taught religion in the temple as a means to make themselves rich; all those in leadership in Jewish culture, Jesus spoke to.
At 30 Jesus called disciples and he started to preach. Jesus was the kingpin in introducing to the world Kingdom Theology. The Jews didn't like his preaching and they concluded that Jesus had to be stopped. He was viewed as a heretic by most of the religious teachers from the beginning. The Jewish clergy's power over the people was threatened if they let Jesus go on. They knew they would one day be abolished, once Jesus Kingdom ruled over the people.
The Jews tried several times to kill Jesus, but he always found ways to slip away. Jesus' teachings were a direct threat to the survival of the rigged law, the foundation of Jewish society.. The Jews theology of a works based religion, as the only way to please God, was exposed by Jesus. Rabbi Jesus taught the people with authority. The Lord's teachings about forgiveness, love and justice made him a marked man. The Lord violently drove out the money changers and merchants who bought and sold wares, and who made His Temple a place of commerce, instead of a House of Prayer.
Jesus went everywhere preaching the coming of the Kingdom of God. He faced down the devil, through staring into His darkness and casting out demons. Jesus showed us how he would use us to free our world from spiritual bo***ge. The Lord taught us how to have good relationships, solid families and good marriages. He taught us how to live pure lives, unpolluted by the things in this world.
Jesus redeemed people right where they lived. He befriended sinners, He freed those enslaved to addictions, He helped people overcome hang ups, and Jesus dealt with sin by offering forgiveness in his name. Jesus was a defender of women, a friend of pr******tes and tax collectors, and he loved children. He taught his disciples how to pray like he does and he showed them the meaning of God centered worship.
Our Lord told His disciples bad news as well as good, that he would one day go up to Jerusalem, and there he would be crucified, buried and raised up and his followers would not understand his plan and why he had to go away. Jesus washed his disciples' feet, he taught his followers to love one another as he loved them, and he initiated the Lord's Supper, where his friends in the Church would have a very special way that Jesus could be remembered. Whenever Jesus' followers meet around his table. Jesus promises to meet us there.
Jesus trained his disciples to be Kingdom radicals, who were out to change their world for Christ, by sharing the Good News about His coming. Jesus showed in his ministry, great power and great might. He demonstrated the Son of Man who came to search and save the lost. The Lord's followers love their enemies and do good to those who use them. Jesus taught us to go the extra mile and not worry about our lives, because Jesus would take care of us. He told us to set your hearts on building the Kingdom of God, and all other things would be added to us. Jesus promised to be with us. He told us when we went before rulers for His name sake, we were not to worry what to say, Jesus would give us the words we needed.
The Lord Jesus was all about revealing God. One day Jesus took with him his inner circle for them to know even greater truth about God. At the Mount of Transfiguration they witnessed God's Glory. There Peter, James and John saw the supremacy of Christ. Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah. Then there was only Jesus, standing in a glorified state. HIs body reflected heaven. Then the voice of the Father rang out:' This is my Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him".
Our Lord the night he was arrested, ate the Passover meal with his disciples, and then He shared in the Lord's Supper. Jesus broke the bread and blessed it and he said this is my body. broken for you. He gave it to his disciples. Then Jesus took the cup of wine, and he blessed it and he said this is my blood in the new covenant broken for you, drink all of it; when you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Good News.
Jesus left the upper room and he took his inner circle of friends, Peter, James and John, and entered the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He asked his friends to pray too, that they would not be tempted. Then Jesus fell on his face a few yards from them, and in deep anguish He sweated drops of blood. Jesus begged the Father to remove this cup from me, if there is any other way. God heard His prayer and He answered the Lord. He sent angels to minister to Jesus, right when the Lord was most vulnerable. In his flesh Jesus wanted a way out. But Jesus obeyed the Father, enduring the Cross. In the Garden, Jesus showed us the true meaning of prayer. It's all about obeying God. Yet his disciples appear to have missed this lesson, His closest friends grew weary and they fell asleep. ,
Throughout Jesus' three years of public and private Ministry, he declared the coming of the Kingdom of God. His ragtag army of social outcasts, Jesus sent out in twos, to preach in the villages and towns the Good News that the Kingdom of God had come. These followers had deep convictions about the life changing power in the Gospel. They preached the Good News and the Lord gave them authority over demons and demonic oppression, they also healed the sick and cast out evil spirits in Jesus name.
The Lord Jesus reproduced himself in his followers. Jesus called forth his disciples to leave their jobs as fishermen, a tax collector, a terrorist and a pr******te, and live with him and learn to do ministry full time. He told them to leave everything, take up your cross and follow me.
Jesus promised those who obeyed his call, that he would make them fishers of men, and He would be with them no matter what happened, until the end. Through his disciples, Jesus established His Church on the rock foundation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. His Church is known as the Body of Christ. Our Lord continues his work on earth, through the Holy Spirit, and we as His Body continue Jesus earthly ministry.
The journey for Jesus was not an easy one. The night Jesus was arrested, his best friend, and leader of his band, Peter, denied three times that he even knew Jesus. One of His friends, Judas, led his enemies to the garden where Jesus prayed and they arrested Jesus. Judas knew where he would find the Master. Then Judas kissed the Master's cheek to signal to the leader of the arrest mob which one was Jesus.
Jesus was framed in his arrest and railroaded through a shame trail! He had no lawyer to defend himself, He endured the mocking from the Jewish mob who were his only jury. All night long Jesus was whisked away before magistrates and priests. and politicians. It's what we would have to describe as a "kangaroo court". Jesus was on trail for his life, but he was powerless to defend himself. They tried to reduce Jesus' influence to a pawn, batted back and forth between Pilate and Herod and the High Priest. All these leaders conspired against Jesus, the Jewish religion leaders were determined to put Jesus to death.
Pilate and Herod were determined not to be pressured by the High Priest into killing an innocent man. They had no love for Jesus but why get sucked into a religious struggle. They hated the Jews and the Jews hated them. Pilate knew the Jews were plotting to put an innocent man to death. The Jews set out to force the Romans to bid their dirty laundry for them. In the mock trial and in his illegal arrest, the Jewish high priest and ruling council held all the cards. They decided Jesus must die.
The Jews pulled the strings over the puppet government of Pilate and Herod. The Jesus drama unfolds in two worlds; the corrupt political/religious world where the Jews were calling the shots. They sought to kill an innocent man through making the occupying state, the Romans, actually kill Jesus. And we see Jesus the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, in full control of everything happening to him. The Jews lacked legal authority in Roman law to kill anyone. Their plot to manipulate Pilate was their only way for the Jews to get to Jesus and it was a well planned out murder conspiracy.
The crowds demanded Jesus be crucified! The High Priest said Jesus must try to appease the Jews, Pilate had Jesus whipped with a cat of nine tails that ripped open his flesh. Pilate hoped that by scourging Jesus, the high priest and Pharisees would satisfy their thirst for blood and the demands to kill an innocent man would be dropped, and the angry mob would be dispersed. But the mob was whipped into a frenzy and threatened to become more out of control and vicious. They demanded Pilate Crucify Jesus! But Pilate found Jesus to be innocent. There was no reason to kill this man. Pilate desperately wanted to find a way to release Jesus, and defuse this hostile crowd of angry Jews while somehow saving face with the Jewish leaders.
Pilate asked Jesus, are you King of the Jews? A no answer would have meant Pilate could let Jesus go free. Jesus ignored Pilate. Jesus just stood there, not opening his mouth. A second time Pilate asked Jesus: What about this Kingdom Jesus? Jesus then answered Pilate; my Kingdom is not of this world. Pilate then tried another ploy. He offered the Jews the chance to free a political prisoner, and the Jews took this as a favor. Pilate hoped by playing the Barabbas card, it would get him off the hook and the Jews would back off. Jesus could be let go, the crowd would disperse and everything would get back to normal. But the crowd became even more uncontrollable.
The ploy didn't work. Barabbas was set free, but Jesus was sentenced to be crucified. Pilate could not set Jesus free. He also didn't know how to stop a riot from happening. So Pilate copped out. He washed his hands of Jesus. He complied with the Jewish demand for Jesus' blood. His last question to Jesus was: What is truth? This question alone tells us about Pilate: he was a morally bankrupt politician and he was in charge of the entire situation. Pilate could have saved Jesus and not made an innocent man to die, but Pilate had no courage, he was afraid of his enemies and he refused to do what was right. Pilate wanted to be free from killing Jesus, but the Lord's innocent blood fell on his hands as well as on the Jews.
The real reason Jesus was crucified was because Jesus claimed to be God. The Jews saw this as blasphemy, and they threatened Pilate with the charge of treason against Caesar, if Jesus didn't die. Pilate was told he was no friend of Jews and Pilate knew the Jews would eventually get even with him one day. If Pilate won that day and Jesus was let off death row, Jesus would never have died for the sins of the world. You and I would be lost forever. The salvation from the sin world never happened. Everything hung in the balance in what happened to Jesus the day he died. Jesus was in total control.
Pilate even tried to reason with Jesus, and he reminded Jesus that he holds powerful cards. He was determined to let Jesus live, but Jesus would have to help him out. Compromise. Cut a deal. Pilate didn't want Jesus' innocent blood on his hands. When Pilate caved in Jesus told Pilate he had no power over Him, except that which was given to him from above. In other words, Jesus told Pilate he was a pawn in this game of deceit that Pilate inherited. The Jews were the players.
I picture Jesus being the world's greatest International Grandmaster playing championship chess on the world stage, and then there was Pilate who knew nothing on how to even play the game. The Jews had Pilate in their pocket, but they belonged to their Father, the devil. It was Satan who was the unnamed player in this death match.
Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. Herod viewed Jesus as a circus clown, the one he had heard all about but never met, Jesus performed miracles. Herod wanted to be entertained by Jesus, he wanted his wife and friends to see the show; Jesus, the great Jesus Christ, miracle worker, right here in Herod's palace, Jesus do us a miracle. Herod waited to see Jesus perform. Herod made a mockery of Jesus spectacular. It was the "big show'" the "greatest show on earth.'' put together on a fly. Herod might as well have sold tickets. Come and see Jesus walk across my swimming pool. Herod then suddenly realized that Jesus wasn't going to dance. Herod didn't know why Jesus, not perform. Don't you know I can set you free, what am I to do with you Jesus? Jesus wouldn't dance, Jesus wouldn't sing, so Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.
The Jews kept calling for Jesus' crucifixion. Pilate washed his hands of Jesus in front of the angry mob, He turned Jesus over to the Roman ex*****oners, to be crucified. Their orders: crucify this innocent man. Jesus was not long on death row when his ex*****oners went forward with His ex*****on.
A crown of thorns was smashed onto Jesus' scalp, mocking him as King of the Jews. His beard was plucked. He was hit repeatedly from behind by temple police and he was told prophesier Jesus, tell us who hit you? The sins of the whole world were laid on Jesus and he had been beaten up so bad that day, he could carry his cross no further. Our Lord Jesus was made to carry his own cross all the way up the hill called Golgotha. The weight of its beams ripped into Jesus flesh, and with every step he took; Jesus looked to collapse in pain. Was Jesus tortured? I would say so. The sins of the whole world were laid on His back and until he could go no further.
The angry crowd jeered my Savior. They were mesmerized by their own brutality. When the soldiers saw that Jesus could carry his cross no further, a man named Simon, who happened to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, was tapped on his shoulder by a Roman soldier and he was ordered to carry Jesus' cross. Simon walked Jesus that last distance to Golgotha. When they reached the summit, Simon threw down Jesus' cross and escaped.
Jesus was spread out over his cross. He was hammered by a professional ex*****oner, armed with a mallet and railroad spikes; that Roman soldier drove nails through Jesus' hands and through his feet. Jesus cried out! Then the soldiers flipped the cross with Jesus on it to hammer the end of the nails to the tree. Then the Soldiers lifted my Jesus, halfway between heaven and earth, they suspended him in darkness, and they dropped the trunk of his tree into a hole ceiling His fate and Jesus died a slow agonizing death.
Because Jesus carried in his body the sins from every man and woman who has ever lived, even the Father looked away from Jesus. Jesus cried out from the cross: My God My God, why have you forsaken me? The Lord's oneness with the Father had to be broken for a time. It was the only way for Jesus to save the world. Jesus became the world's sin bearer. Jesus bore every sin of every person who had ever lived, in his body on that cross. The Father had to turn his back on Jesus' sin filled Body, hanging on the cross. God had to forsake Jesus for a time. Jesus suffered alone.
Jesus hung on that cross several hours until the Roman executors decided to break his legs, so He could not breathe, and they could speed up His death. The Sabbath was almost on them, they wanted to be finished with Jesus. But Jesus had already cried out, it was finished and he took his last breath. In fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy, none of Jesus' bones would be broken. The Roman soldiers threw lots for his robe, his only possession. Another Roman soldier drove his spear into Jesus' side and pierced his heart to make sure Jesus was dead. They crucified my Lord, an innocent man, who never sinned against anyone, he met the same death row fate that was maybe fitting for the most revile murderer. But Jesus was a man of love.
The Old Testament law made no provision for setting people free from sin, because no one was perfect in the sight of God, all have sinned under the law. All of us were sinners in the eyes of God. But Judaism pointed us to our only hope, the coming of the promised Messiah, who would save the people from their sins. The temple sacrifices in the blood of animals were a big part of Judaism. The Jews tried their best to keep the Old Testament law perfectly, down to the very smallest detail. But in all they did, they always knew they fell short of the perfect requirements that the law demanded. That made them sinners in the judgment of a perfect God.
The Jews could not save themselves. The animal sacrifices in the temple, by the priest, only failed to deal with their root sins. The blood of lambs on the altar, only rolled back sins to a future date. Then Jesus came along. Jesus was born under the law and he kept the Old Testament law perfectly. Jesus lived a perfect life according to the law. He never sinned, yet he was just like us, flesh and blood. Jesus was made the perfect sacrifice to take away sin.
At the crucifixion, Jesus became the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Christ was that perfect lamb, spotless and unblemished. In the cross, Jesus was both perfect God and perfect man. When Jesus died He fulfilled the demands of the law. Sin would be punished as Jesus bore in his body the punishment for sin. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. He was a perfect man who was put to death to fulfill the atonement demands from the law. The law required temple sacrifices in animal blood, but they only rolled their sin back in time. Judaism was powerless to forgive sin. It took Jesus crucified for us to be forgiven and restore lost humanity
Moses delivered God's people from their captivity in Egypt. In the book of exodus we see the whole account of Israel’s journey to freedom. Once God set his people free, God continued to deliver His people. In the wilderness God fed his people manna, food from heaven, so they would not starve. God made water to drink through Moses striking his staff against a rock. A spring poured forth from solid stone.
When Pharaoh' s army pursued the Israelites to retake them into bo***ge, God stopped them. The Egyptians saw before them dry ground, right where the Red Sea had begun. They knew the Israelites had crossed over the Red Sea on dry land. God parted their waters and gave them their escape. When the Egyptian army pursued the Israelites over that same dry ground, God released the waters and drowned the Egyptian army. He saved Israel from their enemies. On the mountain God met Moses through a burning bush. God gave Israel ten commandments to anchor them as his people. Through the Jews, God promised the Messiah would come.
By the time Jesus appeared; Judaism had been reduced to a closed system of religion through which the Jewish clergy controlled the people and retained their power. Their legalist religion was cold and heartless, it replaced the good news that God redeems His people from bo***ge. Strict rules of men replaced the grace of God shown to the Jews by God delivering them from slavery.
The Spirit in the Jewish worship, revealed in Old Testament scriptures, had become in Jesus day, a mere set of rules made up by men and enforced by the powerful Jewish clergy. The religious sacrifices offered in the Temple were a matter of religious symbolism and had little effect on changing anyone’s hearts. Administration of the Temple based religion served to provide a good life for the priests, who knew no other way to make a living.
The Messiah would be born into Jewish culture. He would grow up as a Jewish kid from a normal Jewish family. He would learn his religion, the law and history in his Jewish synagogue from the Jewish Rabbi's. He would support himself by working as a carpenter. Jesus made friends by always being a guy they could count on. Jesus had other brothers. Once he got in trouble with his parents by getting lost in a caravan. Jesus was laying back in Jerusalem, hanging out in the Temple, learning all he could from the Rabbis and priests. Jesus decided to become a Jewish Rabbi, a teacher of Judaism.
Jesus style was confrontation when he stood up to religious teachers, the people who knew more. Jesus told the Jewish clergymen that they put burdens on the backs of poor people and then refused to lift a single finger to help them. The Scribes could not stop Jesus from teaching Kingdom values. They could not rebuke his incredible wisdom. They could not trap him with carefully worded arguments. They could not discredit his teachings. They opposed everything Jesus said. They questioned everything he taught. But Jesus just grew stronger. They could not ignore Him Jesus claimed to be King. He accepted worship as God. He forgave men of their sins as God. Jesus showed power over natural law as God. Jesus fed over 5000 followers in one place by multiplying a little boy's bag lunch. Only God could do that. Jesus challenged Judaism at its core.
God called the Israelites to come out from the pagan world and become a holy people, a people of God's own design, who would worship and live out the rule of God in their nation. The Jewish faith was based on the Jews having a relationship with God by following the law of Moses, they sought to become a holy nation. God sent them kings and rulers. But the Jews eventually rebelled against the Lord and fell into bo***ge to captive nations. They were enslaved and abused, forced to work long hours under impossible circumstances. Their religion was taken away from them. But God heard their cry for help.
The Jews were Abraham's offspring, the children God had promised Abraham; He would make them into a great nation, and they would dominate the world. Through Israel, the Messiah would be born into the Jewish bloodline, He would enter Jewish culture and religion, He would speak their language. Jesus was destined to be their King and to redeem all mankind from their sins. On the cross of Jesus, God the Father chose to unleash all his righteous wrath and bent up anger caused by sin, it fell onto Jesus body. God held nothing back. He directed his fury at Jesus' sin filled body, on the cross, where Christ received the punishment we deserve. It was our sin that caused Jesus to have to die on the cross. In his death, sin went on to make our Lord seem powerless.
I don't know about you, but I know I never deserved to have Jesus die for me. It was a display of amazing grace. I can scarcely take in. Jesus sacrificed himself for me. Jesus took on his body my punishment that I deserved. He got me off the hook. Jesus nailed all my sin to his cross. I receive from Jesus grace and forgiveness that I desperately need. We are forgiven only because Jesus walked in our shoes. He took on himself the punishment we deserved. Jesus came to suffer and die in my place, so he could redeem the world and get his friends off the hook. Jesus saved me and gave me eternal life. Sin seemed insurmountable. It could not be satisfied had Jesus not stepped in. We are reunited with God. Jesus sets us free. Thank you Lord for your amazing love!
The cross disarmed sin, when God raised Jesus to life, death and sin were defeated, through the resurrection of Jesus, once and for all. Our victory came only through the One who bore our sin on the cross. The world looked its bleakest when Jesus' body was taken down from the cross. Darkness covered the land. A vicious storm came out of nowhere. The earth quaked. Jesus was removed from his cross by his friends, and he was buried in a borrowed tomb. The Roman soldiers set a huge stone in the door to seal his tomb, so his disciples could not steal his body and manufacture a false resurrection.
Then on the third day the stone was rolled away! God raised Jesus from the dead! Jesus came forth from the grave and he appeared to His disciples! Jesus had risen from the dead!!! The Bible confirms that as many as 500 disciples at one time saw the risen Savior alive, after he had been crucified.
The Bible teaches that Jesus died in our place and he was raised in our place. It was my sins that made me the one who deserved to be crucified, not Jesus. It was my sins that separated me from a Holy God. Jesus died for me, he died in my place. Jesus stepped into my circumstances and he took on flesh and blood. On my friend Jesus, all my sins were laid. The punishment I deserved Jesus took for me.. We did not get what we deserved, we got what we needed. Jesus took our punishment for us, so we could be reunited with the Father. Jesus set me free. Thank you Jesus for such an amazing love!
The Bible also teaches that Jesus could have come down from the cross. It says He could have called a legions of angels to rescue him from the crucifixion, and they would destroy his enemies. But had Jesus copped out, the whole world would have been lost in sin and we would have gone straight to hell. It wasn't nails that held my Jesus to the cross; it was his love that kept him there.
The devil seemed to have had the last word in this drama for ages, when Jesus cried out "it is finished!" But the resurrection of my Savior gave us the ultimate victory. Jesus came forth from the grave. The devil was playing chess with Jesus, and the devil called check, I got you Jesus, when he nailed Jesus' body to that tree. Jesus died on that move. But Jesus was resurrected from the dead, he came forth from his tomb. He declared to the devil checkmate!!!. The game is finished. You are defeated once and for all through the resurrection of Christ, the one move the devil never saw coming.
Yet the "obey me" game plays out in every heart of every believer. In the heat of persecution, His disciples scattered for their lives. When Jesus was crucified it ended their world as they knew it; Their lives were shattered, the end had come. Those followers living in Jerusalem went into hiding behind locked doors, in fear of what the Jews might do to them, if it was discovered they were Jesus followers. All seemed lost. When Jesus died the mission they were recruited for was over, their very life became a lost cause. Some of the Apostles returned to what they knew best, they went back to fishing. Some decided to skip town and escape to Emmaus. But the RESURRECTION changed everything.
The Holy Spirit came on the scene. The followers saw Jesus alive. The resurrection of Christ is one of the most established facts in human history. The ones who preach the Gospel to the unreached are often unpaid radicals, who had been with Jesus and caught from him what He taught us. Some were leaders in religion and leaders in government or leaders in commerce or leaders in education or leaders in culture. Among those first to hear the Good News were Jewish Priests working through their synagogue to build their community.
Jesus came to give us life, more abundantly. Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. He also said you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit given to those who obey Him. The disciples spent quality time with Jesus, and they were trained for three years by our Lord, all before he sent them out to preach the Gospel and plant Churches. Jesus is the head of the Church. Through his Body, Jesus feeds the hungry, he heals the sick, he clothes the naked, he visits those imprisoned and He sets prisoners free. The poor have Good News proclaimed to them. We work together for economic fairness and we take care of widows and orphans. The Gospel message of justice, mercy, and peace fights back the world's injustice, war, poverty and the racism common on our planet.
Our Lord Jesus warns us: He did not come to save the rich and powerful among us, Jesus came for the poor, the least among us, those living humble lifestyles who answered the call of the Gospel and became little children in their faith. These are the kind of Kingdom residents God welcomes; people everywhere who fall in love with Jesus. The Lord also warned his Apostles saying, it's difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He told the rich young ruler, go and sell everything you have and give all your money to the poor, and then come and follow me. That man walked away from Jesus and he was very sad. The Bible said he had great wealth. The Bible warns us too that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Jesus taught us that it is impossible for a believer to serve both God and money.
The book of Acts is better titled Acts of the Holy Spirit. It's Dr. Luke's historical account of Jesus' life, volume two. It's a Jesus continuation. Jesus serves the world through His Church. In Acts the power of the Holy Spirit fell on believers and it powered the Church to witness the Gospel to the world. The Holy Spirit convicts sinners of sin and testifies to who Jesus really is. The Holy Spirit calls people into special service and sends out missionaries who take the Gospel across national, cultural, and racial barriers, over great distances to plant Churches. The Holy Spirit works to prepare people to obey the Gospel in their own culture and in their own language.
The Jesus followers in Jerusalem met together in one place praying, filling out their number, waiting for the promised power of the Holy Spirit to come, just as Jesus instructed them. Then suddenly, the day of Pentecost explodes on the world stage! In Jerusalem a sound of a mighty wind erupted in the streets and tongues of fire burst forth, landing on the heads of the disciples. The Holy Spirit fell on Christ followers, and in great power and awe, unbelievers beheld this strange event, they had no idea what was happening in their city.
Peter stood up before the crowd and he preached Jesus, crucified and risen and thousands of Jewish unbelievers visiting the feast of Pentecost responded.. The New Testament Church was birthed in the Holy City. New life in Christ turned Jerusalem right side up. The Good News of Jesus spread like wildfire. God's Kingdom stormed the gates of hell, and under threat of persecution, believers witnessed Christ to their neighbors, telling them about their new friend Jesus, who was crucified under Pilate but is now made alive!
Interesting to me was my looking again at Jesus on the cross, Jesus' last minutes of life, right before He died. Jesus sought to care for his dear mother, Mary. Jesus, still hanging on the cross, told the Apostle John, behold your mother. From the cross Jesus prayed: "Father forgive them for hanging me here, He said, "they didn't know what they were doing." Not long after Jews in Jerusalem were forgiven, Pentecost came over Jerusalem. 3000 residents at the feast of Pentecost heard the Gospel and became Christ Followers. That number exploded;Jesus even told the theft next to him; begging forgiveness; Jesus said you would be with me in paradise
Pardon from sin comes only through knowing Jesus. It's made available to anyone who repents and comes in faith to obey the Lord Jesus. At the cross we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sin and Jesus wipes our slate clean. From there we obey Jesus as Lord and seek to submit to his commands found in the Bible, beginning with being baptized and joining with a local Church. The Body of Christ is alive and well on planet earth. We serve a risen Savior who is in our world today. Together the poor and rich alike take part in the Kingdom of God. Justice and mercy flow through us. We commit to use every means at our disposal, to win to faith those who don't know Jesus as their Lord.
We see Jesus' disciples in Jerusalem, praying, filling their number, waiting for the Power to come, just as Jesus instructed them. Then suddenly, the day of Pentecost explodes on the scene! A sound of a mighty wind erupts and tongues of fire burst on to the disciples. The Holy Spirit falls on Jesus' followers, and in great power and awe, unbelievers behold the spirit's coming in the fullness of time as Jesus promised. On the day of Pentecost the New Testament Church was born. This new life turned Jerusalem upside down. The Good News spread like wildfire and God's Kingdom went on a mission. They stormed the gates of hell under a threat of persecution to be Jesus' witnesses. They changed the world forever!
The 3,000 new converts on Pentecost were many in the same crowd that cried out to Pilate: Crucify Him! Because of Jesus' resurrection, former mockers of Christ now love Jesus. His forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, a call to repent and a summons to obey, goes all over the world, Thanks to Jesus' first Church in Jerusalem, many new Churches followed. People from every tribe, tongue and culture now know Jesus who saved them from destruction. The Kingdom of God advances forth the influence of God over the direction of our planet earth. Jesus taught his followers to pray that HIs Kingdom be on Earth, as it is in Heaven.
That day in Jerusalem new converts came to know the Lordship of Christ and were added to the Church. The Holy Spirit exploded and the Apostles witnessed what they saw and knew about their Lord Jesus. Jesus was alive and He wants everyone to know Him before it's too late. New believers accepted the Good News about the resurrected Messiah, as they preached in great power, to convert unbelievers into a new community, and make them all fully devoted followers of Jesledus Christ and His Church. The Lord kept adding to their number those who were being saved.
The Disciples, led by Peter, but later Paul, shared the love of Jesus and they planted Churches. We read about Jesus in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. He never changes. In local cultures the news of the day, a sort of "the Jerusalem Times" held forth that Jesus was crucified in their city. Jesus is now alive. Praise God! Death has been concurred! Heaven's gates are opened wide, the Holy Spirit is at work glorifying God and drawing people everywhere into the Kingdom of God! On the day of Pentecost, lost people heard the Gospel in their own language, and they were cut to the heart; and cried out: Brothers, What must I do to be saved?
In Jerusalem supporters in the plot to kill Jesus, came to know this same Jesus as their best friend and they were changed. Peter preached the Gospel in the Church age and he told the crowd to become Jesus followers: "Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and you'll receive the gift of The Holy Spirit." New believers responded to the Gospel in family groups, they accepted Jesus by coming to Him with their friends, in their Jewish culture.
A new Church was planted in the world that actively fulfills the Great Commission to witness Christ in their culture. The Church makes for everyone access to Jesus who loves them and understands them. The early Church had one heart. Together, they went deeper into God, by learning the Apostles doctrine, by fellowshipping together, by breaking bread and through prayer. The early Church shared its material things in common, and lived in a radical Christian community. They took a stand for justice and called for the end of racism. The Kingdom of God lives today under the Kingship of King Jesus. But the Church became resistant to the Lord's call to; "go into all the world and preach the Gospel." It took God sending a persecution to scatter believers among the lost in Samaria.
Later we see Peter leaving Jerusalem to go to the home of Cornelius, a gentile living in Joppa. The Church, made up of Jews, wasn't initially compelled to obey the Great Commission and welcomed gentiles into the Body of Christ. In Jerusalem the Church had become inwardly focused and maintenance centered, they had lost their sense of mission. God wants lost people found, so He recruited mission minded believers who would "go" in Jesus name. The Gospel was preached to the Samaritans and they came to know Jesus as their crucified risen savior. People were saved. The Good News was preached in Judea.
God called Paul and Silas from Antioch to take the Gospel to people far away, behind cultural racial and linguistic barriers, who were lost in their sins. The missionary movement was born. People living great distances heard what Jesus had done for them. More people became Christians and new Churches were planted.
Jesus is coming again! Jesus, the Supreme Ruler of the Cosmos, the Lord of glory, creator of heaven and earth, will return and reign in his great power. It's God's plan for the Church, Jesus rule! This is the same Jesus who humbled himself and became a man, and came to the earth he created, and died on the cross, suffering its pain. Now God exalted Him and gave Jesus the name that is above every name, in heaven and on earth. At the mere mention of the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of the Father. God gave to Jesus all authority in Heaven and on Earth.
Our planet is made up of billions of people. Many are saved and make up the Church of Jesus Christ. That Church Jesus died to build is not an earthly institution, nor is it a building of stone where his people meet. The Church Jesus built is a living organism, a spiritual body, the Body of Christ. It exists across all denominations, cultures, languages and nations. It has in common a very diverse people who are drawn together by the love and grace of Jesus Christ, and the love for other believers. The church speaks with one voice the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord!.
Those who are washed in Jesus blood are made righteous through faith and make up God's Kingdom. The blood of animals never cut it when it came to dealing with sin. Only through Jesus' blood shed on the cross, are we allowed into God's Kingdom. We stand with God's children, the called out ones, saved from sin; we witness in one voice the Good News that Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead. We have the only message of hope that can save a lost world still in rebellion.
Jesus is Lord over child abusers, child neglectors, transsexuals, heterosexuals, homosexuals, those in prison, those who guard prisoners, those who have given up hope in finding a job, those who are just worn out, the broken, the oppressed, the lonely, the hungry, the proud, the confused, the humanist, the atheist, the bully, the manipulator; thieves, bank robbers, murderers; those who make a living cheating the poor; those in utter poverty, the who are weak, the voiceless, those who beat or enslave women; those who neglect or disown their children, those filled with hate; habitual liars; idol worshippers; those who mislead Churches with false teachings and seek to entertain God people with funny stories rather then preaching the Lord Jesus crucified; those who promote idol worship; those who take innocent blood and those given to violence.
Jesus is Lord over the arts and entertainment, those who rule in government, those in the military, those in the media, those who are wealthy; those in marketing, those who write books, the billionaires, the business tycoons, those who are neglected, the movers and shakers in culture, and the poor and powerless; students, clerks, waitresses, painters, auto mechanics, car salesmen, insurance agents, gas store attendants, IRS agents, international spy’s, war planners; housewives, singles, marrieds, postal workers, welfare agents and welfare recipients, those with autism, those with dementia, widows, widowers; those retired from careers; those who can't work, those who are too young to work. Jesus Lordship extends to them all! Every industry and interest known to mankind Jesus is Lord over. All authority in heaven and earth God has bestowed on Jesus!
Jesus is Lord over religion, science, education, politics, technology, invention, government, law enforcement, the FBI and ATF, the media, journalist, construction executives, recruiters, job coaches, company presidents, psychologist, shrinks, social workers, doctors, nurses, medical technicians, occupational therapist and physical therapist, judges, lawyers, secretaries, office managers, clergymen, Priests, computer programmers; fashion industry, those in the advertising industry, wireless communication; economist, stockbrokers, fund managers, bankers, professional sports stars,, coaches, counselors, college professors, pilots, airport personnel, security agents, people who carry guns, store managers.
Christianity has a message for sinners: Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come. Turn from doing evil. Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth! He died on the cross and was raised from the dead. Today is the day of salvation! God offers forgiveness to all who call on his name. He doesn't care what sin it is that entangles you. Jesus tells sinners everywhere to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins and they will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. He warns us to save ourselves from the wreath of the living GOD.
Jerry Mount
