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Tag: disciples

  • The Glory of Christ Jesus – 2

    The Glory of Christ Jesus – 2

    John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

    Christ Jesus! The Very Glory of God – in the flesh: a son of man, the Son of God!

    And the man, Jesus, was witnessed by many men and women from all walks of this temporal life; yet in some places the glory of God was witnessed personally by a few and written as the good news of the Gospel for the generations of these last days.

    The glory of God and of Christ is recorded in the Gospels.

    John 2:

    On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

    … 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

    Certainly every miracle, healing, casting out of evil spirits from the flesh of men, and many other acts of Jesus could only be attributed to the power and glory of God.

    The Disciples, after having witnessed many of these public miracles, would also witness Jesus on more than two occasions from fishing boats. They could not fathom the glory of God as they would see  in their friend and Teacher, Jesus.

     Matthew 8:

    18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

    19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

    20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
    23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

    Here is witness after Jesus has healed many. Crowds… Paparazzi… amazed spectators, witnesses of the glory and power of God in this Son of Man.

    Jesus gets into a boat to escape the spotlight. His Disciples join our Lord in the boat and they depart for another place without crowds; where, by the way, Jesus will cast out evil spirits from a man under the power of Satan.

    24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

    StormBeforeTheCalm_sRGBThen he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

     

    Jesus’ Disciples witnessed a glory of God from a wind-battered boat on the Sea of Galilee and they could only marvel that even the winds and the sea obey the Command of Christ Jesus.

    In another time on the troubled sea their witness was of another even more glorious appearance of God in the Person of their friend, Jesus. But first, just a reminder from Scripture the Apostles would know well:

     Genesis 1:  In the beginning,

    God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters…

    6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so…

    9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good…

    26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea…

    And Jesus’ Disciples wondered in awe: ““What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

    Genesis 3: 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…

    Who IS this God who walks with man as a friend? Who IS this Jesus who commands creation?

    Yet another witness of the glory of Christ Jesus:

    Matthew 14:

    3 Now when Jesus heard this [of the beheading of John the Baptist], he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick…

    22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray…

    Time passes. The Disciples again are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, a familiar place for these fishermen. Jesus goes to a quiet mountain place to be with God the Father in prayer, a familiar place for the Son.

    When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night [between 3 a.m. and dawn] he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.

    27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

    … 32 And when they [Peter and Jesus] got into the boat, the wind ceased.

    33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

    To be continued…

     

  • Stronger in the LORD

    Stronger in the LORD

    They will continue to grow stronger,
    and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.

    – Psalm 84:7 NLT

    What made weak followers of Jesus stronger after his resurrection and ascension?

    How is it that the faith of eleven remaining Disciples and a few former followers grew into a boldness in Christ that could not be silenced even by threat of death?

    Acts 2:

    40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

    42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…

    Acts 3: Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour…

    Acts 4:4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

    5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 

    [They are referring to a lame man present healed by a miracle of God.]

    13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

    It is one thing to have been with Jesus. It is quite another to have the power of Jesus with you.

    And for you and me, even now, it is one thing to know about Jesus. It is quite another to have the boldness of the Spirit with you.

    These humble followers of Jesus, weak vessels of flesh who would even deny Jesus as they crucified Him, now seem fitted for the battle; and the battle is the LORD’s.

    “REPENT! and be baptized,” is the battle cry of the believer.

    Turn from your sinful ways and receive the permanent change of the Spirit of God. This is the invitation of the Lord to sinners everywhere and in every time… this mortal time of our sinful flesh and perishing souls.

    It would seem that these Disciples were now well suited in an armor even more threatening to a chosen nation of conquered men.

    A letter to the church at Ephesus from a soon-to-be converted Saul of Tarsus (the Apostle Paul):

    The Whole Armor of God

    Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

    roman in armor14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

    16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

    To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

  • Until He Was Taken Up – 3

    Until He Was Taken Up – 3

    It’s evening. Cleopas and another disciple of Jesus have left Jerusalem, broken bread with a fellow sojourner in Emmaus. The risen Jesus is revealed in the breaking of the bread. They return to Jerusalem with the Good News.

    Luke 24:

    And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

    (Women have seen the empty tomb. The women ran to the Apostles Simon Peter and John with the Good News the empty tomb. They witnessed the empty tomb and embalming linens, then returned to their own home. Mary has wrapped her arms around her risen Lord, whose crucified body she had partially wrapped in the linens of death.)

    35 Then they (Cleopas and the disciple who had stopped in Emmaus) told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

    36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”

    37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

    38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.

    Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

    40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

    41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.

    44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

    45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them,

    “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

    48 You are witnesses of these things.