Chapter 2.7
Why the Jews
Reject Jesus
Jesus; Liar, Lunatic or Lord
Drink m Blood – Eat my Flesh – Bad, Mad or God
The Legend – Con Artist – Trickster – Philosopher
Sorcerer – Guru – Mystic – Fanatic - False
Prophet
First Word
A man called Jesus was
born of a woman just like all humanity; worked as a carpenter, felt tiredness,
got dirt under his fingernails, got hungry, had emotions of angry, got agitated
and wept. It is hard to conceive that He
could be GOD and die on a cross a criminals death.
He could have been a PHILOSOPHER or a MORALIST who was a great moral teacher or perhaps a SAGE or even a PROPHET, but surely not
a criminal who deserved to be crucified.
Perhaps He was a SORCERER who could curse
fig trees so that they died, and could persuade demons to infest the bodies of
pigs and cause them to kill themselves.
Possibility Jesus was a GURU, believing everything is divine including
Himself. – Jesus did said He was God, but not everyone else was god. - He
taught prayer, not meditation. - He taught about sin and God’s grace and
forgiveness, but not reincarnation.
Maybe He was a MYSTIC who dealt in
"illusions" of individuality, but He spoke of God as a person, not an
illusion.
Logically speaking, it is certainly
possible that Jesus's claim to divinity could have resulted from sincere
reasoning which was just a GOOD-FAITH
MISTAKE.
He was SINCERELY
WRONG. He might have been a FANATIC who claimed to possess the ONLY WAY to Heaven and threatened all who rejected
His claims with everlasting fire in Hell; a
Nut, a
Fruitcake.
Perhaps it was just a practical JOKE, a fantastic hoax that some Jews invented
for fun and it just grew framing the whole elaborate, incredible lie of
Christianity. This turned into a LEGEND that got out of
hand and became so strong that the followers of THE
WAY were
persecuted, whipped, tortured, imprisoned, mauled by lions, killed for sport by
gladiators and some even crucified. Many
Jews and millions of Gentiles lost their Political privileges, Social standing
as well as their possessions and devoted their lives to THE WAY, believing in Him and died for a Joke.
R.C. Sproul says that there are
only TWO POSSIBILITIES: Jesus either
speaks the truth or not.
If He speaks the truth, He is God and the case is closed.
If only a mere man who wants you to
worship him as God is either morally or intellectually a BAD person.
If He actually knows that He is NOT God, then He is a LIAR trying
deliberately to deceive you into blasphemy.
If He does not know that He is NOT God, but sincerely thinks He is, then He
is intellectually messed up; cognitive dysfunction; He is a LUNATIC.
He could have just been a LEGEND that was passed down orally within
communities of Faith that bubbled up with ever multiplying embellished layers
of distortions at every turn.
Matthew 16:13-17 – Who do you say I am; THE MESSIAH
13 When Jesus came to the region of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“WHO
DO PEOPLE SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS?”
14 Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah,
and others say Jeremiah
or one of
the other prophets.” Then he asked them,
15 BUT WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? Simon Peter answered,
16 YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, the Son of the
living God.
17 Jesus replied, “You are
blessed, Simon son of John, because
my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.
YOU
DID NOT LEARN THIS FROM ANY HUMAN BEING. (NLT)
A
little Background
C.S. Lewis said,
Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded
and self-deceived,
or He was Divine.
There is no getting out of this trilemma;
it is inexorable. Jesus behaved as if He
had always existed as God; had the authority to forgive sins and intended to
come back and judge the world at the end of time.
I would like to paint a picture of the Church leaders during the time of
Christ; the Sanhedrin,
the Scribes,
and the Pharisees
and Sadducees.
This bunch of folk’s mission in life was not only to live a Godly life
according to the Laws of Moses, but to
teach the Laws from your birth to your death and strictly ENFORCE them. Saul,
whose name was later changed to Paul, was THE
ENFORCER
of the LAW, dragging people out of their homes in
chains and imprisoning them.[1] He was
a Roman Citizen, a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee; he was a ZELOTE devoted to the Jewish Law.
Unlike today, the Hebrews had
tremendous interest in the things of God; not that they got it right all the
time, but they put forth an EXTREME effort to live their lives according to
the 613 MOSAIC LAWS that were
intended to bring honor and worship to
the ONE true God of Israel.
The religious leaders were NOT expecting a
messiah that spent time with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes, one who
claimed He was God and could forgive sins. They
were expecting someone who would come and set up an earthly kingdom NOW. It did not fit.
THE
SETTING; Rome
had overrun the Nation of Israel, and the Hebrews had very little say in
governing their own affairs. They were
forced to register in a census in their hometowns so as to PAY TAXES to Rome.
From childhood All of Israel had been taught to expect a MESSIAH, a victorious Political leader, a
descendent from the “House of David”, one who would be a deliverer, one who
would set up a POLITICAL
KINGDOM that
would liberate Israel and deliver them, putting an end to the oppressive
bondage of Rome and restore Israel to Her rightful place of honor.
James and John; two of the most inner circle of the 12 disciples,
expecting a political kingdom asked Jesus to let them sit at the place of
honor; one on His left and the other on His right hand of His reigning throne.[2] They did not understand the Two Kingdoms
of God; the one that was right Now and the one Not Yet; the one that was to
come.
The
expectations for the Messiah was one that was a victorious POLITICAL LEADER, so the idea of
a suffering Messiah, one
that had been scourged, broken, bleeding and nailed to a cross like a common
criminal, was totally unlike anyone’s expectations including His disciples.
It’s
in the Book
The
Zealots
There was an SECRET underground
resistance movement known as THE ZEALOTS original led by Judas the Galilean which was in existence at the birth of Jesus;[3]
and within this underground resistance was another Radical Group that was greatly feared.
They were known as The Sicarii (the dagger people) which was indicative
of their tactics.
The Sicarii were devoted supporters of God and His laws and secretly
engaged in acts of intrigue, violence, force, deceptions including ASSASSINATIONS of Roman soldiers and would assassinate anyone else that
opposed the Zealot resistance in order to keep it from achieving its liberating
goals. During festivals they circulated
among the crowds and killed Roman sympathizers with daggers that they concealed
in their clothing.
The Zealots took the position that no one
should be honored as Lord or King, but Jehovah God. So they rejected the foreign rule
of the Romans; to pay taxes to an Emperor was considered Idolatry and
blasphemous to God. Their mantras was; “NO RULE BUT THE LAW, NO KING BUT GOD”.
Israel had hope for a MESSIAH that would overthrow the Roman Government
and restore the kingdom to Israel. Two
of Jesus’ Twelve Disciples; Judas
Iscariot and Simon the Zealot
held the same “political views” and believed that Jesus was “The Man” that had come to restore
Israel. It was Judas that hatched a plan
to force Jesus to bring down His angel armies and begin the liberation fight
against Rome and as a BONUS get paid for
it.
The
Pharisees were
offended by the blasphemous teachings of Jesus and connived to get Him
connected with The
Zealot Resistance Movement by asking
him the TRICK question; “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar”?[4] They were all hoping His answer would label
Him a secret
Zealot
and Rome would “TAKE HIM OUT” as well as
disperse ALL of His followers; the sect became known as “THE WAY”. (Jesus had said He was THE WAY to
God the Father)
Blasphemy
upon
Blasphemy
The RUB:
Jesus began to do the unthinkable; He began to make claims about His own DEITY, by calling God His OWN father; He said He was the SON
OF GOD and was the promised Messiah. He said He
was LORD over the SABBATH, putting
Himself on equal ground with God.[5]
Judaism: The Messiah
will be a “Mortal
Man” in the linage of King David, NOT A DEMI GOD.
Christianity: The Messiah is
called “The Christ”.
The concept of the Messiah in
Christianity certainly originated from the Messiah of Judaism; He was all
man and all God.
The RUB: Jesus
said there is only ONE
WAY
to get to heaven and “THE WAY” was through
Him. THE
WAY
became the name of the sect that followed Him.[6]
Judaism: The Jews felt
it seemed somewhat EVIL that a person would be damned to hell FOREVER because they
rejected the teachings of Jesus. They had the promises of the Torah, the
promises of THE BOOK OF THE LAW.
Christianity: Jesus said, “I am the
WAY,
and the TRUTH, and the LIFE.
No one comes to the father except
through me. His healing miracles were a
sign from Heaven of His authority.
The RUB: Jesus was forgiving SIN. Isaiah the prophet said GOD ALONE could FORGIVE SIN. [7]
Judaism: No one on
earth had the authority or right to forgive sins, yet here was Jesus LYING to the people,
telling them their SINS WERE FORGIVEN; blaspheming against
God.
Christianity: Jesus said the Book of the
Law could not save them, The Law only pointed out the need for a
Savior, and that’s why He was sent from God His Father to save them.
The RUB: Jesus
performed healings on the SABBATH day.[8]
Judaism: Breaking the SABBATH
LAWS PLUS the fact of His LYING blasphemy claiming that He and God were
One and the only way to get to Heaven was through Him REQUIRED the church leaders to STONE HIM.
Christianity: Jesus is Lord
of the Sabbath
Liar
Lunatic
Although the Jews thought
that this man Jesus was SINCERE, they thought He was also WRONG; He was SINCERELY WRONG.
Actually He was
not just sincerely wrong, He was a plain out LIAR or worse, He was a LUNATIC. God’s
NAME was so reverenced that they would not
even say the name; YHWH, Yahweh;
Jehovah. Out of respect, the scribes would use CIRCUMLOCUTION and alternate names which would substitute for the name of God like “Adonai”
or “Elohim”;
instead of saying “Kingdom of God”
they would use a term like “Kingdom of Heaven”.[9]
The Levitical Law said anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY MUST
STONE HIM.
It’s in the Book [10]
The RUB: The Mitzvoth refers to the 613 commandments given in
the Torah
and says that these commands REMAIN BINDING FOREVER. Jesus
comes on the scene and begins to teach things that seem to undermine
or displace a few of the 613 Mosaic rules or laws.
Judaism; anyone who
attempts to CHANGE the Torah is a FALSE
PROPHET.
Christianity: At every point
Jesus was “Raising
the Bar” of expectation by teaching; to love and pray for your
enemy, forgiving so many times that you lose count; and to help and show
compassion for those in need whether it was on the Sabbath or not.
The RUB: Jesus was just plain CRAZY telling the crowds that the Scribes,
Pharisees and Sadducees, were Blind Guides and Blind Fools and if the people expected to enter the Kingdom of
Heaven they must be MORE
RIGHTEOUS than
them;[11] HOW COULD THAT BE?
Judaism; These were the
very people that were teachers of holiness; and how to keep the 613 laws.
Christianity: Jesus said their religious leaders were filthy, full of greed and self-indulgence Blind Guides leading
the blind. They
were like Whitewashed
Tombs, clean on the outside, but filled with all sorts of Impurity on the inside and full of Hypocrisy and Lawlessness; they were nothing but SNAKES; a Brood
of Vipers.[12]
The RUB: If Jesus is not Lying then He must be
a LUNATIC, because no one
would say things like this knowing it would get them killed.
He
told His followers to DRINK HIS BLOOD AND EAT HIS FLESH and they would
live forever. Many followers thought He
was nuts, crazy,
LOONEY TUNES, a LUNATIC and THEY ABANDONED HIM.[13]
Plum Crazy
Jesus
has gone plum CRAZY. Scripture usually depicts the family minus
Joseph who must have already died, standing far off in the distance, partly
because of the crowds. Then at some
point just after Jesus was casting out demons; His Mother, His brothers and
sisters all went down to find Jesus and TAKE
CHARGE of
the situation and REASON with him because they
thought HE WAS LOSING HIS MIND.[14]
None of the brothers believed what Jesus
was saying and the town’s people were ready to throw Jesus off a cliff. Interestingly the Jews thought the same thing
about the Apostle Paul, that he too was INSANE that his much learning had driven him CRAZY.[15]
Note: I firmly believe, because
of the Angel’s prophecy that Mary & Joseph both believed that Jesus was the
Messiah, but because of the times, the family just simply didn’t fully
understand and were confused, timid and even afraid to be seen around Jesus
because the town’s people wanted to Kill Him.[16] I think they wanted to believe; and
eventually their timidity would be replaced with boldness and belief because of
the testimony of Jesus half-brother James who Jesus appeared to after His
resurrection.[17]
The whole family would later be found numbered among the 120 present in the
upper room when the
Holy Spirit fell on them on the
day of Pentecost.[18] It’s in the Book
Con
Artist
The RUB: Jesus
Himself said that He is the Son of God and the Messiah and His signs and great
miracles proved it, BUT today there is still as much suffering, pain and
tragedy in the world as there ever was before Jesus came on the scene.
Judaism: Personal revelation of being the Messiah is a very weak basis for claiming Messiahship, as multiple religions have
claimed this throughout history and some tricksters and con artist have
been granted special powers just to TEST the people of
Israel. Perhaps Jesus could cast out
demons because He was possessed by Satan.[19] Judaism
was not borne out of miracles to a FEW, but to ALL of Israel as witnesses at the bottom of Mount
Sinai when God spoke out of the thunder and smoke.
Christianity: Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and healed ALL that came to Him that were sick and even raised
some from the dead as well as fed some 4,000 to 5,000 people twice. He has authority over Satan
and is more
powerful than demons which are
subject to His commands; a characteristic
of God and God alone.[20]
The RUB: Unlike the concept in Judaism, the Messiah in
Christianity is the Son of God; coming as a suffering servant.
Judaism: Isaiah
relates at least eleven times that ISRAEL is known as the
“Servant of God”; the scriptures in Isaiah are about Israel being bruised and crushed and
suffering, NOT about Jesus. Besides that,
the Messiah will be a King, a Powerful
Political Leader, leading an insurrection; NOT a “Suffering Servant”.
Christianity: The Messiah comes as the “Suffering Servant”
as prophesized by the Prophet.[21]
Trickster
The RUB: A
Virgin will conceive a child called Immanuel meaning “God is with us”.[22]
Judaism: The word “Virgin” is mistranslated, it actually means A YOUNG WOMAN, not a
virgin. This idea comes from the PAGAN BELIEF of mortals being
impregnated by the gods.
Christianity: The Virgin Birth is a sign to the world that
God is Sovereign even over what we think is impossible.
The RUB: The Messiah will be called the “Anointed One”,
anointed with perfumed oil by a woman. [23]
Judaism: The Word “ANOINTING” refers to the
ritual of “consecrating someone” by pouring Holy Oil upon their head by the
Levitical Priest. God would never use a woman to anoint
someone; only a priest could do this.
Christians believe that
Jesus was ANOINTED with Oil as was
prophesied when a woman poured an
alabaster jar of expensive perfumed oil over His head.
The RUB: The Messiah will be a king that
will lead the nation of Israel out from under the oppression of Rome.
Judaism: Jesus only led Himself to die a criminal’s
death on the cross and led the nation into confusion.
Christianity: Jesus died on
the cross as the FINAL sacrifice for
all that would believe in Him and receive the gift of
eternal life. He became the King of the
Jews;[24]
He was Prophet,
Priest, King and the awaited Messiah.
The RUB: Elijah the
Prophet will return preparing the way for the Messiah
Judaism: Elijah did not return, John the Baptist even
said he was NOT Elijah.[25]
Christianity: Jesus the Messiah said John the Baptist had
the Spirit of Elijah even though he did not know it. Christianity does not support re-incarnation; having lived before as another
person and coming back, but does support the “spirit” of doing what others have
done before. John was the voice of one
calling in the wilderness to prepare THE WAY for the Lord just as
the Prophet Isaiah spoke.[26]
Lie
- Second Return
The RUB: The
Messiah will gather all of the Jews back from the ends of the earth to
the Land of Israel and will build the Third Temple when He returns.[27]
Judaism: Jesus did not gather all the Jews back; rebuild
the temple nor re-establish temple worship.
Christianity: Jesus the
Messiah will establish all of this at the second part of
His coming.
The RUB: The
Messiah will usher in a NEW era of world peace when He
returns, no more war; ending hatred, oppression and suffering. Bringing quiet, peacefulness, confidence of
safety; violence will disappear from the land; the desolation and destruction
of war will end. No more training and
preparation for War.[28] A Kabbalistic tradition within
Judaism is that Messiah ben Joseph, (a son of Joseph) will gather the
children of Israel around him and lead them to Jerusalem. After overcoming the hostile powers in
Jerusalem, He will re-establish the Temple worship and set up his own dominion.
Then Messiah ben
David (a son of
David) will usher in a
time of FREEDOM and PEACE.
Judaism: Jesus did not bring world peace and end
violence, destruction and war.
Christianity: Jesus
the Messiah will do ALL these things at
the second part of His coming
The RUB: The
Messiah will spread knowledge of the God of Israel worldwide, UNITING ALL of humanity in
the worship of the one true God.[29]
Judaism: Jesus did NOT cause the
knowledge of God to be spread worldwide nor cause the One Jehovah God to be
worshipped universally.
Christianity: Jesus
the Messiah will accomplish this at the second part of
His coming.
The RUB: The
Messiah will purify the language when He returns. The whole world will speak Hebrew or an
unknown NEW pure language.[30]
Judaism: Jesus, did not bring the world to speak a new
pure language.
Christianity: The nations will no longer use vile and vulgar
language, repulsive and blasphemous talk, the nation’s languages will
become pure and wholesome at the second part of the
Messiah’s coming.
The RUB: When the Messiah comes He will not miss even
one point of prophecy.[31]
Judaism: Jesus
did NOT accomplish “ALL AT ONCE”, what was written in the Torah therefore He was REJECTED.
Christianity: The Messiah returns in TWO parts:
1)
The Old Testament Messianic
prophecies were fulfilled in the First part of
Christ’s coming through His Mission, His Death and His Resurrection.
2)
The remainder of
the Messianic prophecies will be fulfilled in the Second part of Christ’s
coming, specifically the prophecy of a FUTURE KING who would come
from the Davidic line and usher in a Messianic
Age and the New World to Come.
THE
BIG RUB: The Messiah’s appearance is in two parts.
Judaism: The
SECOND PART
THEORY is a LIE, just a flimsy excuse for getting around the
Messianic prophecies. The Messiah comes
only ONCE, not TWICE.
Christianity: The Messiah comes twice. It’s in the Book
Lord
Daniel the Prophet in
a vision, referred to Jesus as the Son of Man which
was a title that belonged to the Messiah. Jesus
referred to Himself some 80 times as the Son of Man. Jesus was not confused
about His Divinity, He confirmed it to the twelve when He asked them; who do
the people say that I am. They
responded; John
the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He then asked Peter point blank; but who do YOU say that I am… Peter responded, you are the Christ the Son of the living God.[32]
God
said His own name was I AM THAT I
AM,
and His son Jesus referred to Himself as I AM and if you didn’t get that; He said
straight up, The Father and I are ONE. When Jesus was placed under oath by the High Priest, He confessed that He was the Messiah, the
Son of God. No other leader
of any religion has ever claimed to be the Son of God.[33]
Two
Kingdoms
Jesus taught about
what the Kingdom
of God was like. Most of what He taught was in parables;
stories that have a second meanings. He
used metaphors,
something spoken of that also had other meanings. This was right down their
alley as the Hebrews spent their days discussing hidden meanings in the Torah, plus the stories of Jesus made the
teachings very easy to remember.
The Kingdom of HEAVEN is mentioned ONLY in the NT book of Matthew and is spoken of 32 times by Jesus
Christ Himself.
The Kingdom of GOD is mentioned 66 times throughout the NT presenting the question; is there two different
kingdom?
Two Kingdoms; The Kingdom of God and
The Kingdom of
Heaven are both the same kingdom;
however scripture speaks of a Present Kingdom;
where evil is defeated and sinners are redeemed, as well as a Future Kingdom where Satan and death are both defeated and
thrown in the lake of fire, and the believer lives and reigns forever in the
presence of God.
TWO
KINGDOMS: The NOW and the NOT YET
The Realm: Where God’s reign is experienced.
The People: The “redeemed” are the people of the
kingdom.
The Reign: The
reign of Christ “with believers” sharing in His reign.
The Present: The
kingdom is present
for believers to enter NOW and enjoy His
blessings.
The Future: The
kingdom is future,
when we enter into eternal life and reign with Christ.
We must enter into the NOW present kingdom in order to enter into the NOT YET future kingdom of “eternal life.” The believer accepts God’s reign in their present
lives; and reigns with Him in the future.
Blessings in the Present, even greater blessing in the future. We have
the present
kingdom now that will extend into
the future
kingdom. We must enter into the present Kingdom to be able to inherit the future Kingdom where we will be in the presence of Christ and
reign with Him forever, so I guess you could say there really is two kingdoms;
The NOW and the NOT
YET.
The people of Israel had the Ten Commandments and the “other laws” found
in the Old Testament. Christ’s teachings
“Raised the Bar” on what everyone
understood at the time. The bar was
raised to the point that NO ONE could live up
to its standard. The Salvation theology that Christ taught was
sufficient to condemn EVERYONE to eternal separation from God.
The purpose of the Law was NOT TO SAVE, but to SHOW OUR NEED to be saved (among
other things). Jesus’ teachings AMPLIFIED the Law, and
made it even clearer, that we need a Savior.[34]
Since
Jesus set the Bar very high, who then can QUALIFY to enter the Kingdom of God; who then can be
saved? Jesus said; with man
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.[35] We need a Savior. We need the Holy Spirit to enable us to come
to God otherwise what we see and what we hear will be just foolishness. It was
only after Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross and then rose from the dead
defeating death that His followers finally “GOT IT”.
Jesus was prophesized to be
a suffering Messiah. As was
Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a
row he used the Scriptures to REASON with the people and explained the prophecies and
proved that the MESSIAH MUST SUFFER and rise from
the dead. Paul said, “This Jesus I’m
telling you about is the Messiah.”[36] Jesus
REASONING with them said;
“You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all
that the PROPHETS
wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the MESSIAH would
have to SUFFER all these things before entering his glory?”[37] It’s in
the Book
The Take
Away
I have given many scriptures found in the
footnotes, that brings you to the point that you must decide whether He was
either a
Liar, a Lunatic,
a Legend or Lord. It’s the
name of Jesus that millions CURSE and millions PRAY. When Jesus was before Pilate, a simple denial
of His Deity would have set Him free, but He chose to be tortured with
excruciating pain at His crucifixion. There
were many great moral teachers with wise teachings, Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi as well as Mohammed that became world religions, but none
claimed to be the “Son of God”; none performed miracles, healed
the sick, raised the dead, died and was resurrected and left His tomb empty.
There were many Empty Tomb
theories;
a)
The
Wrong Tomb,
the woman simply went to the wrong tomb.
b)
The Swoon Theory; Jesus did not die, He only
fainted and was resuscitated and the Disciples only thought He had risen from
the dead.
c)
Stolen
Body Theory;
the Disciples of Jesus stole His body to make it look like He had been
resurrected from the dead.
Then there was His appearance
theories; Hallucination
Theory, Physiological Illusions. The
sighting of Jesus was due to mental stress, and anguish based on the hopeful desires of His followers. All
the rational that was put forward was to disprove the SUPERNATURAL. Once you disprove the SUPERNATURAL concerning
His Virgin
Birth, His Miracles, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven; the faith in
“THE WAY” movement will
just fall apart.
There are indisputable facts about Jesus; He was a real historical
person whose life radically changed human history; even most calendars are
dated by His birth. He was a Nazarite
who was born of a virgin in Bethlehem as was prophesized. He was baptized by John the Baptist, preached
about the Kingdom of God and healed the sick.
He performed signs and miracles that included changing water into wine,
walking on water, feeding a multitude of 5000 and raising the dead. He was
persecuted by the Jews and was crucified, dead, buried and then resurrected.[38]
The Religious leaders COULD DISPROVE the
resurrection by just dragging His body in front of the Temple and throwing it
down on the steps; then everyone could see He was simply a LIAR and a LUNATIC. But they could NOT produce HIS body, and to make it far worse; for some
40 days, the resurrected Jesus appeared to His followers; He was seen by PETER and then by THE
TWELVE. After that, he was seen by more than 500 OF HIS FOLLOWERS at one time, then he was
seen by JAMES his half-brother and later again
by all the
apostles. All of the sudden;
the despair, gloom and doom was dispelled and changed to joy and excitement. HE’S ALIVE.
The Apostle Peter said that the Disciples were not making up clever stories,
but were reporting what they saw with their own eyes. Doctor Luke said he used eyewitness reports
that were circulating among the early disciples and carefully investigated them
and wrote down a careful account of the “ACTS” of Jesus.
We must enter into the
“NOW” present kingdom in
order to enter into the “NOT YET” future kingdom of “eternal life”. The
believer accepts God’s reign in their present
lives; and reigns with Him in the future. Blessings in the Present and even greater blessing in the future.
C. S. Lewis, the great
Christian apologist said, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of
things Jesus said would NOT be a great moral teacher. He would either be a LUNATIC on a level with the man who says he is a POACHED EGG or else He would be THE DEVIL OF HELL.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is THE SON OF
GOD:
or else a MADMAN or something
worse. You can shut Him up for a FOOL, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a DEMON; or you can fall at His feet and call Him
LORD AND GOD, but let us not come with any PATRONIZING
NONSENSE about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us and He did
not intend to”.
What amazes me is the space that is taken up with non-sense discussions
about whether Jesus had warts, nocturnal emissions; wet dreams or lice in His
hair or did He poop; or can He make a rock that is too heavy for Him to lift or
how can he be homeless if He lives in our heart? Such
things are just distractions from the simple message that Billy Graham preached; BELIEVE on Jesus Christ
and REPENT of your sins
and be saved; or Turn or Burn.
Every person born of woman is born in sin and detached from God and their destination
is Hell fire unless they choose to change it. Jesus was sent to show us “THE WAY” back to the Tree of Life and re-attach
us to God.
Whether
you believe that He is an actual person in history or just a legend,
you cannot deny the effect that He has had on human history. Without Him, this world would be a completely
different place. The dilemma is simple, there are only two options; You
must either deny the information given about Jesus and denounce Him as a liar, lunatic and a
blasphemer or give Him your heart,
warts and all, and confess that you believe and embrace Him as the Messiah;
become a Christian and join a body of likeminded believers and worship Him.
The beauty of Christianity, is that you
don’t have to have it all figured out; you can come right where you are in your
faith and God has promised that He will conform you to
the Image of
Christ.
I came into the fellowship of believers at
the age of 10 with just the desire to get more of GOD and for 70 more years, I have continued to grow
through the Holy Spirit giving God more of ME
FIND
A CHURCH
and FELLOWSHIP with
LIKE MINDED BELIVERS
Many logs bonded
“together” on a fire burn warmer and BRIGHTER.
It’s in the
Book
[1] Acts 22:5 – Letters authorized Saul to bring Christian in chains to be
punished -- Acts 8:3 – Saul entered homes dragging men and women to prison
-- Galatians 1:13-14 – Saul violently
persecuted the Christians in order to destroy the sect known as THE WAY --
Acts 26:9-11 – Saul opposed and
condemned the very name of Jesus
[2] Mark 10:35-37 – James & John wanted to sit at a place of honor in the
new kingdom
[3] Acts 5:37 – Judas the
Galilean Zealot led a revolt against Rome -- Luke 2:1-3 – Romans decreed the
Jews must register in a census in his own home
town to pay taxes to Caesar
[4] Mark 12:13-17 – The
Trick; “is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not”
[5] John 10:30 - The Father and I are one
[6] John 14:6 – The ONLY WAY to God is through ME
[7] Isaiah 43:25 – God alone can forgive sins
says Isaiah the Prophet
[8] Mark 2:28 – Jesus is Lord over the Sabbath -- John 10:31-33 - It was Blasphemy claiming to be God – Stone Him
[9] Exodus 20:7 – Don’t use
the name of God flippantly -- John
[10] Leviticus 24:16 – Anyone
who God’s name in vain must be put to death by the entire assembly
[11] Matthew 5:20 – You must be MORE righteous than the scribes and Pharisees
[12] Matthew 3:7 – Jesus called the Pharisees and Sadducees a BROOD OF VIPERS -- Matthew 23:13 – Scribes and Pharisees will not enter the Kingdom of
Heaven -- Matthew 15:14 - They
are blind guides leading the blind, both will fall into the ditch -- Matthew 23:15-33 – Jesus
called the Pharisees Hypocrites, filthy and full of
greed, self-indulgent, Blind Guides, Blind Fools and Snakes, Vipers,
[13] -- John 6:51 - My Flesh is living bread
for the life of the world -- John 6:53-55 – Jesus told them to Eat my
flesh and drink my blood -- John
6:66 – Many followers though Jesus was LOONEY
TUNES
[14] Mark 3:31 – Mary sends word to Jesus to come outside and talk -- Matthew 12:47 – Mary’s family stands at a
distance -- John 7:5 – Jesus’ family did not believe at first -- Mark
[15] Acts 26:24 - Paul you are Insane, too much
learning has driven you crazy
[16] Luke 4:28-29 – The town’s
people were ready to Kill Jesus
[17] 1 Corinthians 15:7 – Jesus appeared to His half-brother James and He
believed
[18] Acts 1:14-15 – Jesus’ mother Mary, and all
His brothers and sisters believed and were part of the 120 in the Upper Room
[19] Mark 3:22 – Jesus must be possessed by Satan if He can cast out demons -- Acts 24:14 – I
admit that I am a follower of the sect called THE
WAY
[20] Matthew 4:24 – Jesus healed ALL
of the sick, epileptics, paralytics and cast out demons. --
[21] Isaiah 53:1-12 – JESUS
was the Prophesized a Suffering Servant that was despised and rejected, pierced, crushed, beaten, whipped,
oppressed and condemned -- Psalm 44:9-19 – ISRAEL is the Suffering Servant of God; rejected, humbled
plundered, devoured, sold, disgraced, shamed, crushed and scorned
[22] Isaiah 7:14 – The Virgin will conceive a child called Immanuel, meaning
God is with us -- Exodus 29:1-7
– A Priest consecrates by anointing with Oil on the head
[23] Matthew 26:6-12 – A woman prepares Jesus’ body for burial by
anointing Him with Oil. -- Mark 14:3-9 - Jesus was anointed with Oil for burial by a woman
[24] Matthew 27:37 they put up over His head the accusation
written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS
[25] Isaiah 40:3 – It is Elijah that will come and prepare the way of
the Lord -- Matthew 3:3 – The Prophet
Elijah through John the Baptizer would prepare the way for the Lord -- Matthew 17:12 – Elijah
has already come, but was not recognized --
Matthew 11:14 – Jesus said that John
the Baptizer has the spirit of Elijah -- John 1:21-23 – John did NOT know he possessed the spirit of Elijah
[26] Isaiah 40:3 – I am the voice of one crying
out in the wilderness: prepare the way of the LORD
[27] Isaiah 43:5-6 – The Lord will gather ALL the Jews back to Israel -- Amos
9:13-15 – The Messiah will bring His people back to Israel -- Micah 4:1-4
–Zechariah 8:23 – The World will seek out the God of the Jew’s Isaiah 2:2-3 – All Nations will stream to the
Lord’s house worship the God of Israel -- Ezekiel 37:26-28 –The Messiah will re-build the Temple
[28] Isaiah 2:1-4 – The Messiah will usher in World
Peace – No more training for war -- The Lord will teach us His ways and
we will walk in His paths of PEACE -- Isaiah 32:15-18 – The Messiah will usher
in quietness, confidence, safety, rest -- Isaiah 60:15-18 – The Messiah will
end violence and make peace; desolation and destruction will disappear
[29] Jeremiah 31:33-34 – Everyone will know the God of Israel -- Zechariah
8:23 – Everyone will know that God is with Israel -- Hosea 2:20-22 – The
World will know God and He will answer
[30] Zephaniah 3:9 – No more vile vulgar or blasphemous repulsive speech
[31] Luke 24:44 – The Messiah must fulfill the Prophecies
[32] Matthew 16:13-17 – You are the Messiah the Son of the living God --
Daniel 7:13 – The Prophet Daniel calls the Messiah the Son of Man -- Luke 22:48
– Jesus referred to Himself as the SON OF
MAN
-- Luke 22:69 – Jesus the Son of Man is seated
at the right of God
[33] Exodus
[34] Romans 8:3 – The Law of Moses COULD NOT SAVE showing
us we need a savior --
Matthew 4:17 – The Kingdom of Heaven is
near, repent and turn to God -- John
6:44 – No one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father
[35] Matthew 19:25-26 – Who then can be saved? with
God all things are possible
[36] Acts 17:2-3 - Paul REASONED
with them, that the messiah would be a suffering servant.
[37] Luke 24:25-26 – Jesus REASONED
with them that it was clearly predicted that the Messiah would suffer
[38] Galatians 4:4 – When the time was right God sent His Son the Messiah
-- Luke 24:44 – The Messiah must
fulfill the 100 percent of the Prophecies -- John 5:46 – Moses wrote about Jesus the Messiah -- Acts 3:18 –
The Prophets foretold the Messiah must suffer -- 1 Corinthians 15:3-9 – Jesus appeared to Peter, the 12, then 500 and then
to Paul and later to His half-brother James -- Genesis 3:15 –The very first Prophecy; Satan will strike the heel of
Christ and Jesus will crush his head. -- Isaiah 7:14 – The supernatural birth of a Virgin is a sign of the Messiah
-- Isaiah 40:3 – The forerunner for the
Messiah was John The Baptizer -- Malachi 3:1 – My messenger John the Baptizer
will prepare the way for the Messiah -- Matthew 2:4-6 – Prophecy – Messiah will be born in Bethlehem -- Luke 1:1-3 – Luke gives an eyewitness full
report, investigating from the beginning -- 2 Peter 1:16 – They were not making up clever stories, they were eye
witnesses -- Hebrews 10:25 –
Many logs make a fire burn warmer & BRIGHTER
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