419th Post Why did Jesus Have to Die on the Cross? - My Comment.

Why did Jesus have to die, and just what did it accomplish? Has been one of the most asked questions through out history. Jesus Said "I am the Resurrection and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me." This statement has troubled people since Jesus Said it. The battle Jesus had with Himself in Gethsemane over the "Cup", gives us a clue. What did this "Cup" symbolize? God created the world and made it perfect. The world became imperfect because of sin. God created us with free choice, and it is this free choice that gets us into trouble, because we always pick the wrong choice. Our inability to do what is right on our own, proves that we need a "Savior" to save us from our sins. In order for us to have eternal life we must have a Savior. Jesus is that Savior! The "Cup" represents this sin. How then did Jesus save us? We humans being born in sin and in need of saving. Needed someone to get rid of this sin. The Bible teaches "The wages of sin is death." God is perfect, and in order to come into His presents, you must be perfect also. Us plus our Savior, make us perfect in God's eyes. The "Cup" represents our sin, plus something else. What else? This is God's Righteous Wrath, earned through our disobedience to His Word. In order to pay our debt, Jesus had to be perfect and free of sin. In order to take away our sin, Jesus had to become "All OF OUR SIN" and absorb it and stay pure. Jesus hates sin just as much as His Father, but in order to save us; He had to take all of our sin upon Himself, and get rid of it. This is why Jesus had to suffer and die for our sins. Jesus paid this price on the cross, you know this because Jesus said "It is Finished." Before He died. I will comment on the Resurrection in next post.

418th Post Jesus On Predictions Con't. - His Resurrection Con't. - John 2: 19

John 2: 19
Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
This was spoken by Jesus very early in His earthly ministry. Jesus had not yet called all of His disciples yet. Jesus said these words in Jerusalem in the Temple, just after Jesus had cleansed it according to John's account. The other Gospels say that Jesus did this just before he was arrested to be killed. This looks like a contradiction or an error. The Bible is God's Word, and as such it can not lie or contradict itself. So that means the Gospel accounts and this one in John have to be true. That means there have to be two different times Jesus Cleansed the Temple. This makes sense and answers the question why the other Gospels don't have this account. When Jesus said these words, He only had two to four disciples called. When Jesus talked about the Temple, they thought, He was talking about the Temple Herod was working on. The Temple, Jesus was talking about was His own Body. This was the first time Jesus prophesied, concerning His death. These words troubled the Jewish religious leaders, they could not understand what Jesus meant by these words. Jesus own disciples, would not remember this until after Jesus died and rose again! Jesus had just started His ministry, and already He was causing quite a stir within Israel. When you come face to face with Jesus, you have to make a decision, do you believe He is Who He Said He was? Or, Is He a Liar? Only you can answer this question for yourself. Who is this Jesus? Son of God? Or, is He a fake? What do you think?

417th Post Jesus on Predictions Con't.; Resurrection Prophecy Con't.- Matthew 26: 32

Matthew 26: 32; Mark 14:28.
But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.
This was spoken on Maundy Thursday, before He told Peter that soon He would deny Jesus three times. Jesus was telling them where they could find Him after He had risen from the grave. Jesus told the disciples many things that night, but it seems they did not remember them. Jesus also told the disciples that He would rise from the dead several times before this time, and they seemed to forget that also. Jesus said that "I will go before you to Galilee." When Jesus appeared to His disciples soon after He was raised, He told them to wait in Jerusalem until He could send them the Helper (Holy Spirit). The Resurrection, is probably the hardest thing for us as humans to understand. None of the people Jesus or the prophets had raised, had undergone so much physical punishment. The "Cross" was the Romans most extreme punishment for enemies of the State of Rome. It was meant to make a statement of the convict's death, and be very painful and final! This is what helped the disciples to think that Christ rising as being impossible. Impossible for man, yes; but impossible for God, No! Jesus always knew who He was, and what His destiny was. Only Jesus could have fulfilled this request made by His Father!! Do you believe??

416th Post Jesus Said Predictions Con't. His Resurrection Con't. - Matthew 17: 9.

Matthew 17: 9
Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.
This was spoken by Jesus about 2 to 2.1/2 years into His earthly ministry. Just after His Transfiguration. Peter, James and John, were the disciples Jesus chose to be with Him to see this miracle. These disciples were there to witness Moses and Elijah meet with Jesus. If you read the account of the Transfiguration, you will see that Jesus' appearance changed, His body gave off light and His clothes became bright with white light. Moses and Elijah came and talked to Jesus. Both of these Old Testament prophets had had their run ins with the Jews, and their believing them. Who better than these two prophets, to come and give Jesus encouragement. They had also tried to deal with these stiff-necked people. Jesus had allowed these three disciples to witness Jesus' Godly side. The disciples witnessed this, but still did not really understand what they had seen. As Jesus was coming down the mountain, He tells His disciples not to tell anyone about what they had seen until Jesus rises from the dead. Jesus said this because these were His most trusted disciples and they could not process what had taken place. Other folks would totally not understand what took place in the miracle.

415th Post Jesus Said on Predictions Con't. Resurrection New Section.

Jesus told His followers many things to help them know who He was. One of the most fantastic things He told them is that He would rise from the dead! Except for the few that were raised by the Old Testament prophets and Jesus Himself; this resurrection would be the greatest. All of these mentioned were raised and died again at some time later. But Jesus, He would rise and not see death again! This would make Jesus' resurrection the most incredible. It has been over 2,000 years, since Jesus rose, there is talk that this never happened. The purpose of this Bible Study is to look at Jesus Words, and come to realize that all this is part of God's Plan. The Bible provides the explanations for the things Jesus said. We have learned that Adam brought sin into the world when he disobeyed God. This act brought separation between God and man. In order for man to be saved, this separation had to be resolved and restored. Jesus was brought into this world for just this reason. Jesus' disciples were working men and not Theologians (men who study God's Word). Jesus had to tell them things, because they would not be able to understand when the time came. This would have to be explained even to Theologians, because Jesus is the only one in History that was raised and stayed raised from the dead. This is what makes Jesus God! And He did this for us! Praise God.

414th Post Jesus' Resurrection - My Comment

We have looked at the purpose of the "Cup", and all that it entailed. Now why was it necessary for Jesus to rise from the dead? The "Cup" represents Sin, and the wages of sin is death. For Jesus to be the "Perfect Sacrifice", Jesus would have to be unblemished (without sin). The wages of sin is death. So that would mean the wages of non-sin is Life! This is why it was imperative that Jesus rise from the dead! Jesus also prophesied that He would rise from the dead. For Jesus to be the Son of God, He has to be Right. God can not lie, God's Word is True! If Jesus died only, and did not rise, He would not have defeated death. We would have no hope of life after death, without the Resurrection. Satan has no power to raise people from the dead, or send people to hell. Only God has this power. Satan felt he had won, when Jesus died. This is why he is working so hard to discredit the fact Jesus did rise. The longer time goes from the Resurrection, the easier it is for Satan to trick us. The anti-christ that is coming, is supposed to suffer a mortal wound to his head and survive. People will believe this to be the same type of miracle as what Jesus did when He rose. Satan is not as powerful as God, and has to achieve his ends through deception. This is why the Bible calls Satan the "Father of Lies". It is imperative that we as Christians remain strong in our belief and true to God to the very end. This is what God requires of us. Where do you stand??

413th Post the Purpose of the Cup in the Garden of Gethsemane- My Comment.

Why did Jesus seem to want to let this cup pass from Him? To understand this, you need to have a good understanding of the Old Testament, and the Gospels. The Old Testament provides the prophesies pointing to the Birth and Life of Jesus. Jesus came into this world to take the sin out, that was introduced by Adam in the Garden of Eden. When man sinned, he established sin's hold on this world. This brings up the question, if Jesus really cancelled sin on the cross; why do we still have sin in the world? This has been the burning question asked since Jesus died on the cross! Your knowledge of "The Cup" in Gethsemane will help you understand it. Jesus knows that the reason for His birth was to take sin out of the world. God's law had been broken, and someone had to pay for this, before man could be reinstated to God. This is what the "Cup" in Gethsemane represents. The cup not only holds the sin of man from the garden to when Jesus comes again; but also God's righteous wrath associated with that sin. This makes for one deadly drink. Jesus was perfect, free of sin, so how did sin enter Him?? Jesus hated sin, just as much as His Father, God. In order to save mankind, Jesus would have to become sin, to become the perfect sacrifice. Jesus was asking God through prayer, "If there was any other way, He could have this Cup pass from Him". He ends His prayer, "Not My will, but Yours be done." Jesus submits to the will of His Father.

412th Post Jesus Said On His Rejection and Death Con't. - John 18: 11.

John 18:11
Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?
This was spoken by Jesus the night He was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter has just pulled his sword, and struck off Malchus' right ear. Notice what Jesus says to Peter here. "Shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given Me?" Clearly, Jesus knows who is responsible for what is about to happen to Him. Before Jesus was born, He knew this is the purpose He was brought into this world. Jesus has to die to restore man back to God. This fact has become lost to people the longer in time we get from that night. Understanding of exactly what Jesus accomplished on the cross is being forgotten. New Testament Christians, concentrate of God being love; but forget that God is also just. The Bible says "The wages of sin is death." There is a cost of sin. Even when the sin is forgiven, there is still a consequence for those sins committed. This is a truth that some Christians want to down play. The fact remains they (the consequences) are still there and need to be dealt with. This is why some Christians protest at capital punishment cases where a person is to die for committing the crimes, but in jail they found the Lord. Their coming to the Lord, had no basis on whether they should die for the crimes committed. They were sentenced to die for their sins (crimes). This is the wage of sin.

411th Post Jesus Said On His Rejection and Death Con't. - John 16: 16.

John 16: 16.
A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.
This was spoken by Jesus the night He was to be betrayed in the upper room. Jesus was prophesying to the disciples, concerning His upcoming death. He was telling them that in a little while they would not see Him, and then after His crucifixion and His resurrection from the dead, they would see Jesus again. This is not the first time Jesus told the disciples that He would die and rise again. After Jesus suffered and died there was no doubt in the disciple's mind that Jesus died. The Romans were very good at killing people, and the disciples had no question that Jesus was dead. The disciples felt that all was lost, that was why they were hiding from the Jewish religious leaders and the Romans. They believed that they would be gathered up and killed. When we look at the resurrection, you will see it took a lot to convince them that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. As time goes by, people have trouble believing that Jesus suffered and died, and that He rose! Only one Man can make this claim. Satan is going to try to mimic this feat. The only problem with that is Satan does not have the power to take life and give life. This is what makes God, God!

410th Post Jesus Said On His Rejection and Death Con't. - John 14: 30 - 31.

John 14: 30 - 31.
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.
This was spoken by Jesus the night He was to be betrayed in the upper room with His Disciples. Notice Jesus says that the ruler of this world is coming, God created humans with free choice; it is this free choice that always gets us into trouble. We always want to do the will of the world and not the Will of God. God destroyed the world by flood, to correct the balance of good vs. evil, that worked for awhile, then God sent His Son to conquer sin and correct it again; then Jesus will come again to finally do away with sin. Notice Jesus said the ruler of this world has nothing in Me. This is very important to remember that Jesus and Satan have no part with one another. God is Good, and Satan is evil; God has no evil in Him!! Other religions teach that God is both good and evil. This statement is false! I will post on this point right after I finish this section and before we look at Jesus' resurrection. Why does God allow sin to go unchecked? This is a great question, and is difficult to answer to satisfy us. God allows sin, so that we are free to turn from sin and come back to God. This is the point of this blog. Have you made a decision yet??

409th Post Jesus Said On His Rejection and Death Con't. - John 13: 36.

John 13: 36.
Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.
This was spoken by Jesus on Maundy Thursday, in the upper room the night of His betrayal. Only His disciples were with Jesus at this time. This was not the first time Jesus would tell the disciples that they could not follow Him. The first time was to James and John when they wanted to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus. Jesus prophesied to James and John that they could not follow in the same death as Jesus. Jesus is telling the rest of the disciples, that they also can not follow Jesus in death at this time. Many of them will follow this same path later in their lives. After Jesus is killed, He will be ascending to His Father in Heaven. They will not be able to follow until it is their time comes. When it comes to our time to die, Jesus tells us that we will follow Him. This is a promise He made to us. It is comforting for us to know that Jesus will come Himself, and take us with Him. Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore can not lie. That makes this promise all the more comforting. Heaven and earth may pass away but God's Words will never pass away. Jesus wants a personal relationship with all people. Do you have this relationship yet??