Serendipity Blog: Luke

Showing posts with label Luke. Show all posts

Friday, April 18, 2014

Jesus Between the Criminals

April 18, 2014 by Stephen Witmer Topics: The Death of Christ

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/jesus-between-the-criminals

Crucifixion in the ancient world was intended to take as long as possible. No vital organs were damaged, so it took two or three days to die, often from shock or asphyxiation, as muscles used for breathing grew weak.

Luke 23:39–43 is a conversation between Jesus and the criminals crucified alongside him, and it is in the Bible because crucifixion was slow. There was time to talk. This conversation is surely one of the most extraordinary in the Bible. It shows us the similarities of these three dying men, and yet, at the same time, how very different Jesus is.

The First Criminal

The first criminal speaks to Jesus with bitter sarcasm: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

His words betray a terrible misunderstanding. When he tells Jesus, “Save yourself and us!” he’s talking about salvation from the physical agony of crucifixion. But he doesn’t understand that it’s precisely by staying on the cross and not saving himself that Jesus is able to save others from God’s judgment, a fate far worse than physical death. Saving himself is the one thing Jesus must not do. Instead, he must surrender himself. He must bear God’s wrath if we are to avoid it. His death doesn’t call into question his claim to be the Messiah. It proves it.

The Second Criminal

The second criminal rebukes the first. He points out how all three men are the same: “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?” They have all been condemned by Rome to death. But there is also a crucial difference. The two criminals deserve to die, while Jesus doesn’t: “this man has done nothing wrong.” Even though Jesus is suffering the same Roman judgment and the same physical pain as the criminals, he is the sinless one who doesn’t deserve it.

But Jesus is different in another way, too — one that the second criminal misses. Jesus’s sentence of condemnation goes way beyond Roman punishment. On the cross, Jesus is condemned by God himself. He is “smitten by God,” and “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The two criminals bear Rome’s judgment. Jesus bears Rome’s judgment and God’s judgment. Though his sin is infinitely less, his punishment is infinitely greater.

Jesus

Finally, Jesus speaks. The second criminal had said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replies, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus decides who goes to heaven. And it turns out to be very good news for this criminal that Jesus is so different from him. Because Jesus is innocent and bears God’s judgment (not just Rome’s judgment), he can make a way for the criminal to be with him, forever. Their difference is the criminal’s salvation. Jesus dies so the criminal can live. He bears hell on the cross so the criminal doesn’t need to bear it forever.

The Results

What’s the result of this conversation between three crucified men?

The first criminal bears Roman condemnation on the cross and then God’s condemnation forever. And he deserves both.

The second criminal bears Roman condemnation on the cross but no condemnation from God forever. He deserves the first, while the second is a free gift.

Jesus, though he deserves neither Rome’s condemnation nor God’s condemnation, bears both on the cross. And so he secures for the second criminal — who is every bit as bad as the first — the free gift of eternal life.

The Greatest Prayer in the World (Maundy Thursday)

April 17, 2014 by John Piper Topics: The Life of Christ

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-greatest-prayer-in-the-world-maundy-thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday. The name comes from the Latin mandatum, the first word in the Latin rendering of John 13:34, “A new commandment (mandatum novum) I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

This commandment was given by Jesus on the Thursday before his crucifixion. So Maundy Thursday is the “Thursday of the Commandment."

It is Thursday, the night before Jesus’s crucifixion. This evening has been laden with teaching (John 13–17), shocking with foot-washing by the greatest for the least (John 13:3–20), epoch-making with the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:20–30; Mark 14:17–26; Luke 22:14–20), and pivotal with the departure of Judas (John 13:30).

Now Jesus and the eleven have gone to the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1; Mark 14:32). Here Jesus prays the greatest prayer in the world. What hung in the balance was the glory of God’s grace and the salvation of the world. The success of Jesus’s mission to earth depended on Jesus’s prayer and the answer given. He prayed with reverence and his request was given.

The question I would like to try to answer is: How does Hebrews 5:7 relate to the prayers in Gethsemane? Hebrews 5:7 says, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” He was heard. He got his request. What does this refer to in Jesus’s life?

Loud Cries in the Garden

Nothing in Jesus’s experience comes closer to this description than the prayers of Gethsemane. “Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears,” corresponds emotionally to Luke 22:44, “Being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” “Loud cries and tears” is a description of the “agony” of Jesus.

What was the content of Jesus’s “prayers and supplications” in Hebrews 5:7? If we assume the content was: “Remove this cup from me” (Mark 14:36), then what would it mean that “he was heard because of his reverence” (Hebrews 5:7)? Hebrews teaches that, precisely because of his “godly fear,” Jesus “was heard,” that is, he received his request.

But the cup was not removed. He suffered the fullness of physical pain and divine wrath. So in what sense was Jesus “heard because of his reverence”?

His First Prayer and the Angel’s Help

Both Matthew and Mark portray Jesus as praying three separate times, and each time returning to the sleeping Peter, James, and John. Luke, on the other hand, gives a single summary description of Jesus’s prayers, and includes a detail that points to an answer to our question, namely, the visitation of the angel. Luke writes,

He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41–44)

Before the angel came “to strengthen” him, Jesus prayed that the cup be removed (Luke 22:42). Then the angel came, “strengthening him.” Strengthening him for what? Presumably to do what he had to do. In other words, the angel was God’s response to Jesus’s first prayer. The angel bears God’s message that there is no other way, but I will help you. Do not turn from your mission now, in spite of the terrifying prospect. I will help you. Here is my angel to strengthen you.

Then the question is: What was the content of the prayers that followed? Luke 22:44 says, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly.” Does this mean he kept on saying: “Remove this cup from me,” even more earnestly? That assumption would be unworthy of Jesus. What then was he praying? And is this different prayer what Hebrews says “was heard because of his reverence”?

He Prays a Second Time

According to Matthew, when Jesus went away a second time to pray, he did not say the identical words as the first time. The first time he said, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” The second time he said, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matthew 26:42).

May we not assume that the angel had come to Jesus the first time he prayed, and had made plain to Jesus that it was, in fact, not possible for the cup to pass from him, but that God would help him drink it? Which is why, in his second prayer, Jesus does not ask for the cup to be removed, but instead asks for God’s will to be done in view of the revealed fact that “the cup cannot pass”: “If this cannot pass unless I drink it [which has now been made plain to me by the coming of the angel], your will be done.”

When Mark says, of the second prayer of Jesus, “And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words” (Mark 14:39), it need not contradict this, as though only the same words were spoken all three times. “The same words” may simply refer to, “Your will be done,” which indeed Jesus prays each time.

If we are on the right track, then the content of Jesus’s supplications after the angel came was not the same as before. He did not go on praying: “Let this cup pass from me.” It says, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly” (Luke 22:44). If he was not praying more earnestly for the cup to be removed, then what was he praying?

His Greatest Act of Obedience

Hebrews 5:7 says, “Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” If “save his soul from death” does not mean, “Remove this cup from me,” what does it mean? For he was certainly heard and received this request.

Jonathan Edwards answers,

This was the greatest act of obedience that Christ was to perform. He prays for strength and help, that his poor feeble human nature might be supported, that he might not fail in this great trial, that he might not sink and be swallowed up, and his strength so overcome that he should not hold out, and finish the appointed obedience.

He was afraid lest his poor feeble strength should be overcome, and that he should fail in so great a trial, that he should be swallowed up by that death that he was to die, and so should not be saved from death; and therefore he offered up strong crying and tears unto him that was able to strengthen him, and support, and save him from death, that the death he was to suffer might not overcome his love and obedience, but that he might overcome death, and so be saved from it. (“Christ’s Agony”)

Jesus did not go on praying for the cup to pass. He went on praying for success in drinking it.

When Paul says, of Jesus’s resurrection, “Therefore, God has highly exalted him” (Philippians 2:9), the “therefore” refers to Jesus’s unwavering obedience unto death: “Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore . . .” (Philippians 2:8). God saved Jesus from death because he was obedient. His prayers were answered.

The Father’s Answer

If Jesus had not been obedient unto death, he would have been swallowed up by death forever and there would be no resurrection, no salvation, and no future world filled with the glory of God’s grace and God’s children. This is what Jesus prayed for “to him who was able to save him from death” — that is, save him from a death that would not succeed its saving mission.

“He was heard for his godly fear.” God did save him from the threat that such a death posed to his obedience. Jesus did succeed. There is salvation for all who believe. There will be a new world full of the glory of God’s grace and God’s children.

And all of this is owing to the greatest prayer in the world. Every hope of the gospel succeeds because of Jesus’s reverent earnestness in prayer, and the answer of the Father. “Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly . . . and he was heard because of his reverence” (Luke 22:44; Hebrews 5:7).

Evidently, by the time Jesus was done praying in Gethsemane, the Father had not only made clear that there is no other way than the cross, but also that this way would succeed. The Lamb would have the reward of his suffering. He will “see his offspring; he will prolong his days; the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he will see and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:10–11).

Surely this is why Hebrews 12:2 could say, “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross.” Beneath the terrors of present agony was the taste of future joy. The angel had come, “strengthening him” — clarifying, confirming, connecting the coming joy.

This is the fifth post in Desiring God’s 2014 Holy Week series “The Final Days of Jesus,” inspired by the new book of the same title by Justin Taylor and Andreas Kostenberger. Holy Week illustrations provided in partnership with Crossway Books and Adam Greene. Previously in the series:

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books.

The Escalating Conflict (Tuesday of Holy Week)

April 15, 2014 by Justin Taylor and Andreas Köstenberger Topics: The Life of Christ

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-escalating-conflict-tuesday-of-holy-week

It is now Tuesday morning, March 31, A.D. 33. The disciples point to the withered fig tree that Jesus had cursed the day before. Jesus gives his disciples a simple lesson from it: have faith in God. In particular, he says, if they have undoubting faith they can throw even the mountains into the sea.

Now if the disciples had ears to hear they would recognize that Jesus is talking about more than seemingly magical powers that can curse trees and crumble mountains. He is talking about realities bigger than this.

Note that he closes this mini-lesson on mountain-moving, undoubting faith by saying, “whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). Jesus is reminding them that failing to forgive looms as a bigger obstacle to answered prayer than a mountain. The disciples will soon face great challenges to their faith and their ability to forgive. Will they remember this withered tree on the road from Bethany?

As they approach the Holy City, the events from the day before could not have been far from their minds. As Jesus enters the Temple Mount, crowds gather to hear him teach (Luke 21:38), and the chief priests, scribes, and elders waste no time in making their move. They will try to lay four traps to ensnare their adversary.

Trap One: Whose Authority?

By whose authority, they demand to know, had Jesus carried out his actions the day before (Mark 11:28)? Jesus doesn’t take the bait. Instead, he turns the tables on them with a question of his own: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” (Mark 11:30). If they respond “from heaven,” the next question is obvious: Then why don’t you believe the one about whom John testifies? If they retort “from man,” they risk alienating the crowds that hold John in high esteem as a prophet.

Jesus then offers three parabolic stories (about two sons, murderous tenants, and guests at a wedding feast), all driving home the point that they are rejecting grace and truth in the service of hypocritical self-righteousness.

Trap Two: Whose Allegiance?

The leaders try a new tactic. They send Pharisees (a Jewish sect known for its zeal for the law) and Herodians (those loyal to Herod’s dynasty) to ask him a question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17; Luke 20:20–26). If he answers “yes,” he shatters people’s expectations of him as a Messiah who will overthrow Roman rule. If he says “no,” he can be arrested for fomenting revolt.

But Jesus deftly evades the either-or dilemma: the denarius has Caesar’s image on it; as long as Caesar is in power, it is appropriate to pay taxes to him. And we are also to give God the things that are God’s; since we are made in God’s image, we owe everything — all that we have and all that we are — to him. Pay your taxes and worship God.

Trap Three: Whose Wife in the Resurrection?

After Jesus has silenced the Pharisees and Herodians, the Sadducees (a Jewish sect denying the end-time resurrection of the dead) try to ridicule Jesus’s belief in resurrection by asking a trick question about marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:23–33; Mark 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–40). Jesus tells them they do not understand the Scriptures (there is no marriage in heaven) or the power of God (God’s self-affirmation in Exodus 3:6, 15–16 shows that he is a God of the living, not the dead). Like the others, their smirk turns to marvel as they grow silent.

Trap Four: Which Commandment?

Now the Pharisees send forth an expert in the law to question Jesus: Which of God’s commands is the greatest (Matthew 22:34–40; Mark 12:28–34)? Jesus summarizes his answer in a word: love (to God and for neighbor: Deuteronomy 6:4–5; Leviticus 19:18). But Jesus discerns something different from this questioner, so he commends and implicitly invites him: “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34).

Now it’s Jesus’s turn to initiate some questions with those who are trying to trap him. When he asks them a question about Psalm 110:1 and how the Messiah can be David’s Lord, “no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:46). Jesus then launches a lengthy, scathing critique of the scribes and Pharisees, pronouncing seven woes of judgment upon these “hypocrites” and “blind guides” (Matthew 23:1–39; Mark 12:38–40; Luke 20:45–47).

This full-scale verbal assault removes all doubt concerning Jesus’s intentions, agenda, and aims. He has no desire to ally himself with the current leadership. He has come to overthrow their authority. There’s no way both sides can survive the escalating conflict. Either Jesus will assume power, or he must die.

Grace and Truth in Every Trap

With another tension-filled day behind them, Jesus and the disciples begin to head back to Bethany. They stop on the Mount of Olives to rest, giving them a wonderful view of Jerusalem as the sun begins to set behind it in the west. The disciples marvel at the size and the grandeur of these impressive buildings, but Jesus tells them that a day is soon coming when not a single stone will be left upon another. He goes on to explain that his followers will experience increasing persecution and tribulation, leading up to the final Day of Judgment. But their task is to remain vigilant and persist in faith.

Tuesday is now done. But Friday is coming. This is not the flannel-board Jesus some of us learned as children. This is the real, historical Jesus: fully in control as he responds with grace and truth to traps on all sides. He knows what he is doing. And he knows what is coming. Every word and every step is for the fame of his Father’s name and the salvation of those willing to pick up their cross and die with him.

This is the third post in Desiring God’s 2014 Holy Week series “The Final Days of Jesus,” inspired by the new book of the same title by Justin Taylor and Andreas Kostenberger. Holy Week illustrations provided in partnership with Crossway Books and Adam Greene. More on Holy Week:

Justin Taylor is Vice President of Editorial at Crossway Books and an elder at New Covenant Bible Church in St. Charles, Illinois. He blogs at Between Two Worlds and is co-author of the newly released The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived.

Andreas J. Köstenberger is Senior Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is co-author of the newly released The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived.

The Problem of Palm Sunday

I found this series through a post on Facebook. I wanted to share it here. The links to the site are included with each post.

The Problem of Palm Sunday

April 13, 2014 by Jonathan Parnell Topics: The Life of Christ http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-problem-of-palm-sunday

It was the palm branches that made this day unique, and then again, it wasn’t.

For centuries, the church has memorialized today, the first day of Holy Week, as Palm Sunday because of the palm branches and cloaks that the people spread out before Jesus as he entered Jerusalem.

The Gospel writers tell us a crowd gathered, gushing with excitement, and lined the road in front of Jesus as he slowly rode into the city. As he made his way, one step at a time by the beast of burden on which he sat, a sort of carpet was being sewn together ahead of him. Fresh, green palm branches, presumably picked from nearby trees, and thick, worn clothing, likely from the backs of the crowd, formed a tapestry of endearment toward Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.
And according to the Pharisees, this was a problem.

What the People Said

But actually, it wasn’t the palm branches that were the problem so much as what the people were saying.

Luke tells us that as Jesus entered Jerusalem the people began rejoicing and praising God, shouting,

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! (Luke 19:38)

Some Pharisees try to get Jesus to make the crowd stop. They ask him to rebuke the people for what they’re saying — the whole “Blessed is the King” bit.

The Pharisees get it, you see. This just isn’t any phrase. This is the kind of welcome reserved for Israel’s Savior.

It’s a phrase found in the Hebrew Scriptures, going back to Psalm 118, a psalm that rejoices in the Lord’s triumph. By verse 22 of this psalm, the rejected stone has become the “cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). This is a marvelous work — by God’s doing — which then launches the day of salvation (Psalm 118:23–24). This day of salvation is the long, anticipated deliverance that Israel thought might never come. But it will, it does, and Psalm 118:25 captures the hope: “Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!”

Now this salvation and success is nothing generic. It will come through a person — the Messiah of God — the one sent to rescue his people. So goes the shout, in the psalm,

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! (Psalm 118:26)

Without doubt, this rambling crowd in Jerusalem, taking its cues from Psalm 118, is declaring Jesus to be the Messiah. That’s why the Pharisees tell Jesus to stop the madness. Do you hear what they are saying? They think you’re the Messiah come to save us. Tell them to shut up.

Jesus doesn’t stop them, though. He says, instead, that if the people weren’t saying it then the rocks themselves would cry out. Of course, Jesus is the Messiah. He has come to Jerusalem to save his people.

And according to the crowd, this was a problem.

What the People Saw

But actually, it wasn’t the salvation part that was the problem so much as the way Jesus would bring salvation.

The people wanted salvation and success, remember. Which means, they wanted the Messiah to march into the city and do hard business with Rome. They wanted to be free from Gentile oppression, even if by force, even if by threats and plagues and a split sea, as they recounted so well in their history. They wanted another exodus, one that expelled the Romans.

Instead, what they got by Friday morning was a bloodied has-been, a man in Roman custody, rejected by their own leaders, standing next to an infamous criminal called Barabbas. They wanted an incomparable king, but they would see a beaten blasphemer. Or so they thought.

The sounds of the crowd this Sunday — this Palm Sunday — would later be betrayed by the sounds of their stony hearts. “Blessed is he!” would soon become “crucify him!” For this reason, there is something nauseating about today. We read of the response to Jesus, but because we know the story, we know it’s not real. It’s not right.

And as we feel the deep tragedy of their words, of their blindness, we shouldn’t expect that we’d have been any different. The Pharisees and the people had their problems, and so do we. If we know our hearts apart from grace, if we could listen in on this crowd, we’d hear our shouts along with theirs. We’d hear our praise, hollow as it were, and then, by Friday, “ashamed we’d hear our mocking voice call out among the scoffers.”

It is not the righteous, after all, who Jesus came to save, but sinners. Sinners like us.

This is the first post in Desiring God’s 2014 Holy Week series “The Final Days of Jesus,” inspired by the new book of the same title by Justin Taylor and Andreas Kostenberger. Holy Week illustrations provided in partnership with Crossway Books and Adam Greene. More on Holy Week:

Jonathan Parnell (@jonathanparnell) is a writer and content strategist at Desiring God. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Melissa, and their four children, and is the co-author of How to Stay Christian in Seminary .

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Good Morning Girls Devotional Week 3: Why Easter Matters

Welcome all to week 3 of our study! I am a little behind, so that's why this post is so late. But that seems to be the story of my life! This week we focus on Why The Resurrection Matters.

I inadvertently had already done the Sunday reading so it's already posted. It's entitled "The Story of Palm Sunday". However, I don't think the whole thing was taken from the book of Matthew. But that's fine because the story doesn't vary a whole lot from book to book.

Here is Courtney, from Good Morning Girls to explain this weeks theme.

Here is our challenge for the week...better late than never.

Wishing you all a blessed week!
Linda

Saturday, April 12, 2014

The Story of Palm Sunday

The story of Palm Sunday isn't one everyone is familiar with. It is the story of Jesus' entrance into the city of Jerusalem. These are the days leading up to His crucifixion.

Palm Sunday - Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

It was a springtime Sunday in about the year 30 A.D. The holy city of Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims who had come for the annual Passover celebration.

Jesus had spent many months traveling through the towns and villages of Palestine. He preached about the kingdom of God and healed the sick wherever He went. Now the time had come for Him to claim His title as the Messiah - the Savior that God had promised to the Jewish people.

Jesus knew His mission was almost finished. As they traveled to Jerusalem, Jesus warned His disciples that He would soon be put to death, and after three days He would rise again.

As they came near Jerusalem, Jesus told two of His disciples to go into a nearby village and bring a donkey that would be waiting there. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. Crowds of people spread their coats on the ground in front of Him. Some waved branches of palm trees, a sign of victory. The people shouted,

Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord- the King of Israel!

Only a king would be greeted this way (2 Kings 9:13), and the people wanted Jesus to be their king. Most of the people did not understand what kind of king Jesus would be. They expected their Messiah to be a great political and military leader who would free them from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. But the kingdom of God is not of this world. It is a spiritual kingdom that is now growing in the hearts of people who put their faith and trust in God.

Cleansing the Temple

Jesus went to the temple once He got into Jerusalem, and He didn't like what He saw. This most holy of places had been turned into a marketplace. Merchants were selling animals for temple sacrifices. Money changers were exchanging the pilgrims' money for special coins used in the temple. Many of these people were cheating the pilgrims who came to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.

Jesus turned over the seats of the merchants and the tables of the money changers, scattering their coins. He told them all to leave. He made a whip of some cords and used it to drive out the animals. He said, It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations', But you have made it a den of robbers!

Teaching and Healing

Jesus went to the temple every day. Blind people, crippled people and sick people came to Him, and He healed all of them. He told stories and parables to help people understand the kingdom of God and God's love for all people. The crowds of people who came to hear Him were spellbound.

An expert on the Jewish Law asked Jesus which of God's commandments was most important. Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is just as important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the other commandments and the teachings of the prophets are based on these two.

Trust in God and Christian love (kindness and respect) for all people are the basis for everything Jesus taught us. These are the things that are really important in life.

Conflict with the Chief Priests and Elders

Not everyone was happy that Jesus was preaching at the temple every day. The chief priests and elders of the temple were angry and upset. The chief priests had given permission for merchants and money changers to use the outer courtyard of the temple, but Jesus had driven them out. They were afraid of a crackdown by Roman authorities because of the large crowds who followed Jesus. Worst of all, the people were putting their hopes and trust in Jesus. The temple officials felt their authority slipping away.

These temple officials came up with a plan to trap Jesus with His own words. They came to Jesus and demanded to know by what authority he was doing all these things. If Jesus said His authority was from God, they would accuse Him of blasphemy. If He did not claim authority from God, they could say He was just a crazy man.

But Jesus knew it was a trap. Instead of answering the question, He asked them another question: "Did the baptism of John come from heaven?" The temple officials realized this was also a trap. If they said "Yes", Jesus would say, "Then why didn't you believe him?" If they said "No" it would make the people angry because they believed John the Baptist was a prophet. So, they refused to answer.

As usual, Jesus had defeated his opponents at their own game! But the temple officials were even more angry and began to plot to have Jesus killed.

Lessons

For the Jews, Jerusalem was the holy City of God. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy (Zechariah 9:9-10) and left little doubt that He was accepting the title of Messiah. Jesus was adored by the crowds of people who had come to Jerusalem for Passover.

But there was harsh conflict between Jesus and Jerusalem's religious leaders. They clashed on issues of prayer, holiness, life after death and paying taxes to the Romans. Above all, they clashed on the issue of Jesus' authority from God. These conflicts led to Jesus being crucified less than a week after entering Jerusalem.

Jesus did some of His most important preaching during this final week. He spoke of His second coming and told parables of the kingdom of God. Most of all He said we must put our total trust in God and put that trust into action with kindness for other people.

Questions

What is Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, is a celebration of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Some churches decorate with palms and distribute palm branches in memory of the greeting Jesus received from the pilgrims as He rode into Jerusalem.

Why Did Jesus Preach and Work His Miracles Among the Jews?

The people known as Hebrews, Israelites or Jews were God's chosen people. It was God's plan to bring salvation to the Jews first, then to the rest of the world through the Jews. Jesus was born a Jew and remained faithful to Judaism (the Jewish religion) throughout His earthly life. He worked and preached mainly among the Jews of Palestine, which is now the country of Israel.

Christianity began as a small sect of Judaism. It was only after many Gentiles (non-Jews) converted to Christianity that it emerged as a separate religion. God has not revoked His covenant with the Jews (Romans 11:25-29), but His salvation is now available to all people of the world.

What Does Messiah Mean?

Messiah comes from a Hebrew word meaning "the anointed one." In Old Testament times, important people like kings and priests were anointed with oil as a sign of their office. For hundreds of years, the Jews had expected God to send them a special king (Daniel 9:25-26, Isaiah 7:14-17,11:1-9, Micah 5:2).

Jesus avoided accepting the title Messiah until the very end because the people were expecting their Messiah to be a military and political leader instead of a spiritual leader. In Greek, the original language of the New Testament, christos means "anointed one", and that is where the word "Christ" comes from.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Good Morning Girls Devotional Week 2: Scripture Verse, Challenge and Video

Welcome to week 2 of our study. This week we're going to look at why the crucifixion matters. Our scripture for Sunday (4/6/14) is Luke 23:26-49.It is the heart breaking story of the crucifixion. I have seen several movies about the crucifixion and I always find those scenes the hardest to watch. But Jesus did it for us! He knew what would become of Him and why. He made the ultimate sacrifice. Keep that in mind while you are reading this.

This is from the GMG Blog, but I thought it needed to be shared here. Some important things to keep in mind.

1. We are ALL sinners

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way…”- Isaiah 53:6 (NIV)

We are all in need of forgiveness, mercy and grace. No matter how hard we try, we can NOT earn our way to heaven. Our “good works” are like filthy rags compared to God’s holiness. (Isaiah 64:6)

2. We can have peace with God because of Christ’s shed blood on the cross

Jesus died in my place….in your place. I NEVER want that truth to ever be taken for granted. My sins put Him on the cross and I want that realization to daily rock my world. I want to love, forgive and extend grace extravagantly because of the price my sweet Jesus paid on my behalf. Jesus suffered what was meant for me.

By shedding His blood on the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve and offered us His righteousness. When we trust Christ for our salvation, essentially we are making a trade. By faith, we trade our sin and its accompanying death penalty for His righteousness and life.- Chuck Swindoll

3. We are loved
I know we’ve all heard the saying,

“It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus on the cross, but His love.”

As women, I know we love watching movies where the hero of the story rescues the girl and saves the day from the evil villain and if we’re honest, as we watch these movies our hearts secretly wish we had someone in our lives who would love us like that. What we don’t realize is that we already do, Jesus. He has already fought the mighty battle for our souls by going to the cross and dying in our place.

Honestly, I don’t think our minds can comprehend what Christ truly went through on the cross, not just physically but spiritually as well. We don’t know what it feels like to be separated from God and bearing the weight of the world’s sins for all time. Past. Present. Future.

For those of us who have accepted God’s free gift of salvation and have asked Jesus to take control of our lives and come into our hearts….our eternities were forever changed by what Christ did on that old rugged cross. Instead of a future of hell, Jesus laid down His life and now we have a future of heaven to look forward to. No matter how hard life gets, because of what Jesus did on the cross, we have a glorious future to look forward to.

Week 2: Challenge:
Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, we are no longer slaves to the sins in our lives that so easily entangle us. We now can have God’s forgiveness of our sins, embrace the grace He extends and look forward to our hope of heaven. Despite what is going on around us in this world, we have a bright future to look forward to when we get to heaven. This week focus on what Christ’s crucifixion means to you and how you are going to honor Jesus with the new life, the second chance, you have been given. Write it out and share it with your group or a friend.

Week 2: Memory Verse

http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Shepherds visit the Christ child. Luke 2:15-18

Luke 2: 15-18

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.

Wow, those shepherds sounded so excited! Think about it. God promised that Mary would give birth to a Savior. Low and behold, He’s here!! Can you just imagine?!!? Think of that innkeeper who turned them away. Look what he missed out on. I’m surprised he didn’t run out and start renting rooms to whoever came into town! What a grand money-making deal he could’ve had!

As I drift here and there for ideas (I’ve had a long day and I’m beat), I came across a site with sermons from almost every Christian denomination. They all have a common theme. It is the miracle of Jesus’ birth.

Think of it, here are these shepherds, on a hillside where everything is quiet & peaceful. Suddenly, the sky is filled with heavenly light & you hear the news that the world has been waiting for a thousand years! At first, these angels scared the shepherds. I would’ve been scared too! It’s not every day that some spiritual being comes down from heaven to tell you that a Savior will be born.

But after the angels went back up to heaven, the shepherds decided for themselves to see what all the who-ha was about. After all, this was the Messiah promised by God! Could this possibly be?

Faithfulness. That’s what Mary and Joseph had when God told Joseph that his bride-to-be would give birth to a child who would one day change the world. Joseph knew that Mary was still a virgin even though she was “with child”. Mary stayed faithful to God’s word when He told her that she would be carrying His Son.

We need to trust in the promise of life everlasting with Jesus. We need to stay faithful to His words and His teachings. He will never let us down. Stay faithful in the true and pure love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He will always be there for us.