We hold many different understandings of love and views of those who receive God’s love. Perhaps no Image of God’s personal love imprints the minds of man more than that of the Son of Man, Christ Jesus.
Jesus embodies the Father’s love of others and God’s love of the world in so many ways.
During this brief season of Easter and until the occasion of Pentecost we will glance at God’s relational love for the Church.
Yes, EASTER is a season for the Church and not just one Resurrection Day –– a season of significance recognizing the risen Messiah and Lord who walked the earth as Jesus had prior to His Crucifixion for our sins. Jesus instructed disciples for fifty days after the Resurrection and He was witnessed by many saints soon to be built into His foundation of the Church.
We begin by returning to a scene just prior to Jesus’ Crucifixion at the tomb of Lazarus, who no doubt walked among those five-hundred witnesses until the day of Pentecost.
How God loved His friends personally
So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!”
It’s one of the tenderest lines in Scripture.
Roger@talkofJESUS.com – on witnesses of Jesus at Lazarus’ funeral John 11:36
When YOU die will you have even one friend observing a mourner saying, ‘See how he loved him?’ (or ‘see how she loved her?’)
Do you have any friend — any mortal soul who loves you that much?
I don’t think that I do.
But then again, I’m far from the man of compassion our Lord Jesus is as once again He shows here the extent of his personal love of Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
Throughout the Gospels — the Good News of Jesus Christ — the Lord’s Disciples and many others continually witnessed Jesus’ love for others both publicly and personally.
But Jesus IS God we rationalize, so you and I can’t possibly love real people that much. Yet aren’t Christians supposed to be built into His Image?
the Challenge of a personal conversation about Christ
Our public witness of Jesus (at funerals and other life events) may characterize Christ at times, yet away from these occasions we frequently fail to love others as we see Jesus do here at the funeral of Lazarus.
Some family, certain ‘friends’ and even a few from our ‘church’ convict me without mercy of the sins of all‘christians.’
Roger@talkofJesus.com
Dare I call Jesus Christ my Lord?
YES. (And I certainly plea for grace from you and any who willingly confess your own shortcomings in relational love of others.)
So many will compartmentalize ‘christians’ as those who hate certain things too much and love certain people too little.
Jesus Christ IS the Very Image of our loving heavenly Father modeling God’s Personal Love of us and for us. My desire in Christ is to love JESUS first and secondly to love those whose desire is to seek and remain in Jesus’ unfailing love.
Are you one of these so called, ‘Christians?’
When we want to talk of Jesus, we remain ‘Christians’ (capital ‘C’) in Him, even though many ‘christians’ (small ‘c’) conveniently claim ‘Christ’ on their terms and not His.
Relating to God personally provides the fruit of the Holy Spirit which connects Christ to His Church (as well as our heavenly Father).
THEN I ask you to respond personally to my opinion as a ‘CHRISTIAN,’ identifying yourself as part of one of two groups:
‘christians’ or
one who does not like ‘christians.’
Why not accept my challenge to your own hypocrisy (my fellow sinner)?
I too prefer not to associate with some ‘christians.’ For I also receive accusations or snubs by some ‘christians‘ impersonally distancing me in most unchristlike manners.
For those of you who do NOT like to relate personally to ‘christians’:
Just email me and make it personal, rather than judging me as ‘one of those closed-minded ‘christians’ shouting hatred and waving ‘Jesus’ signs in front of the cameras.’
For those ‘christians‘ who do NOT like to relate to other ‘christians’ from your ‘church,’ because they (I) won’t get involved in YOUR issue:
Maybe you’re one of them and really would like to talk to another Christian about your ‘ISSUE.’
Let’s talk. Email me. I’ll respond to you and that ISSUE so important to you personally.
As for our Christian community here on talkofJESUS.com, we will carry on conversations concerning our personal Lord witnessed in Scripture, Christ Jesus. We are Christians under construction by Christ.
So how did God love His friends?
I’m NOT going to give you the stock JOHN 3:16 answer, but it would apply.
Last year in A.D. 2020, we witnessed our Lord’s personal love of those He loves in the Gospel of John.
We begin this series on God’s Personal love with the example of the death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus. Observation of the Lord by their fellow Jews present for Lazarus’ memorial service was: ‘Jesus wept.’
Do you have compassion like this for most of your ‘christian’ friends?
Perhaps more importantly I ask you,
‘Do they know how much you love them?’
Again, as friendless as my own life would seem at times, perhaps they do not know.
My friends do not know how much I love them.(And that may include YOU, beloved friend.) So as you read the Good News of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave, consider His human love for a friend you may not have ever seen in our Savior.
Lazarus – God’s personal friend
Below you will find a link to most of the story of Lazarus, but before we continue in this series just a highlight:
So the sisters [Martha and Mary] sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he [Lazarus] whom You love G5368 is sick.”
And yes, phileō is the same verb the mourners used of Jesus when they remarked, “See how He loved G5368 him!”
With ‘love’ as we use in English we have some confusion, not to mention misuse of application of Scripture. There is, however, some overlap as you will see in this next quote related to the context of Jesus and Lazarus.
(Now Jesus loved G25 Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.)
Quite simply, because Jesus loved His friends so much AND our Lord (if we really love Jesus as our Lord) commands His followers to love one another as He has loved us.
God is a RELATIONAL GOD! And in Jesus we know the Lord’s LOVE PERSONALLY. We are connected in Love to Him and to each other.
DEATH! Everyone must have had questions about the DEATH and life of Jesus now. Resurrection, though they had talked about it — even witnessed the dead coming to life like Lazarus and others — resurrection remained far from their minds.
John 11:43
The Messiah of Israel, authoritative rabbi, proven prophet, beloved shepherd, gentle lamb of God — Jesus, even the Son of God crucified on a shameful Roman cross, buried in a grave like any other man — Jesus, the Christ — dead. How could G-d allow it? For if any man or woman deserved DEATH, even shameful crucifixion hanging on a Cross, it was not this Son of Man, Jesus (shamefully mocked as King of the JEWS). He was so much more than that, but DEATH?
What meaning to our life if living like a Perfect Son was not enough to avoid DEATH?
Of course, Lazarus like everybody else will die again. But what then, without Jesus?
What does Scripture say about DEATH?
DEATH looms so LARGE in each of our lives…
A beloved wife or husband dies or even a child before their time.
My younger brother died before me; my mother’s older brother had died as a child — and for most mortals my age, one or both parents have already suffered DEATH by various causes.
Is life so meaningless that DEATH must conquer each mortal soul?
What does the Bible say about death?
And more to our hope from the ‘Easter story,’
What does Scripture say about life AFTER DEATH, that is: Resurrection?
DEATH after life
One of the first mentions of death in Genesis is by the wife of Abraham, Hagar anticipating the death of her son.
When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said,
“May I not see the boy die!”
And she sat opposite him, and raised her voice and wept.
God heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
The KJV translates Strong’s H4191 in the following manner: die (424x), dead (130x), slay (100x), death (83x), surely (50x), kill (31x), dead man (3x), dead body (2x), in no wise (2x), miscellaneous (10x).
The KJV translates Strong’s H4194 in the following manner: death (128x), die (22x), dead (8x), deadly (1x), slay (1x).
We see ‘death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead; to die, kill, be put to death (even like the Messiah Yeshua)innumerable times in the Bible — hundreds of instances of DEATH — hundreds.
“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers;
[KJV – ‘Behold, thou shalt sleep‘ – H7901 – šāḵaḇ – lie (106x), sleep (48x), lie down (43x), rest (3x) (some dual meaning here as well – RH)]
and this people will arise and play the prostitute with the foreign gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and they will abandon Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
We easily get caught up in his great battles against evil yet forget that the great prophet of the LORD raised a boy from the dead, as later the Messiah Jesus did at Nain.
more of the story of this resurrection by Elijah above
DEATH as a young man; and then RESURRECTION by the LORD and the prayer of Elijah.
Later a second great prophet Elisha witnesses Elijah at his DEATH.
And as they were walking along and talking, behold, a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
And Elisha was watching it and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see [fn]Elijah again. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Elijah, not like Moses, was taken up; yet still Elisha mourns. Even having witnessed NO death, he mourns the loss of his beloved teacher.
And Simon Peter, who loved his teacher, the Messiah Jesus also witnessed him (never giving thought to what must happen to the Christ BEFORE HIS RESURRECTION).
You may need to click the link above for common English if you have trouble following the
Orthodox Jewish Bible used by some Messianic Jews.
And after shisha yamim (six days), Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach took Kefa, Yaakov and Yochanan his brother; he brings them up to a high mountain in yechidus.
2 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was transfigured before them, and Moshiach’s face shone like the shemesh (sun), and his garments became brilliant like the ohr.
3 And hinei! There appeared before them Moshe Rabbenu and Eliyahu HaNavi conferring with Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
KJV 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
Glorious! Not unlike the LORD on Sinai.
Yet listen to what Jesus tells Peter and John who were present.
“..Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead… Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
Matthew 17:9b KJV, 12b NASB
Of course, even though the Twelve had heard Jesus say plainly and He must suffer and die, them be raised from the dead after three days, now after the Lord’s cruel crucifixion resurrection was far from their thoughts.
LIFE after death?
First:
You can not get to LIFE after death until you have dealt with sin.
.. death spread to all mankind, because all sinned—
And no man on earth can fully compensate God for the sin he has committed. No priest can intercede perfectly, save One.
Second.
The Messiah Jesus was left for dead in the grave of a man.
The Son of Man(born into Adam’s image) was witnessed through His many signs and miracles as the Son of God, incarnate of the Holy Spirit of the LORD. God IS His Father and Jesus IS our heavenly Father’s only Son, though all in Christ have become His children. (It is a great mystery rooted in love, mercy and grace.)
Third.
JESUS CHRIST was sinless. He lived the human life of a mortal for thirty some years. Yet God sent His Only Son to the CROSS!
So WHY was a SINLESS man executed, even the MESSIAH of God’s chosen?
(He lived in human flesh but did not succumb to the sin of the flesh. – RH)
24 ..as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
Propitiation, a word to which 21st century culture cannot relate, is important (and not too complicated).
Jews of the first century understood it as did the Jews in the generations of Moses and Elijah.
READ its significance below & be convicted of what Jesus did for you on the Cross:
The Covenant of God’s chosen with the LORD was broken.
Propitiation – used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory
The required Blood of the Covenant was now met with Sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:42
The DEATH of the LAMB is accomplished. Sin is buried by the Sacrifice of the Sinless.
Resurrection – LIFE by grace
What were Jesus’ closest disciples feeling and remembering early that Easter morning?
They must have thought of His incarnate life extinguished so violently on a Cross last Friday and duty to complete the embalming of their Lord’s entombed flesh.
DEATH, then taken up like Elijah?
Would they have even thought back to what Jesus had said about Moses or Elijah — concerning His own death or resurrection?
Those near Golgotha would have recalled his CRY before death.
At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” which is translated,
Did they remember what some Jews in the crowds had mocked?
“Look! He is calling for Elijah!”
Mark 15:35b
No — the Lord Jesus was NOT taken up from the Cross in glory into a chariot of fire in heaven.
He died and hung there +++ only to be buried in a tomb.
Mourning Moses, yet not their Messiah
Jesus had invoked Moses and the Law as accusers of the Jews who would crucify Him, yet leaves room for grace. (For many of the Jews believed in Him publicly or privately.)
“Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.
Did they remember Jesus’ answer about the resurrection?
Joseph rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Luke 20:
“But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.”
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…
That’s really it, is it not? — It’s what we want to know about the resurrection:
..“Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?
6 He is not here, but He has risen.
Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.”
8 And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.
THEY DID NOT FIND THE BODY.
This was the miraculous scene concerning the Son of God who had performed MANY signs and miracles.
Will OUR BODY be there when WE go to the grave?
YES! But, we will NOT — for our Soul formed into flesh and bone will rise to the judgment or to the Lord our God. Our body returning to the dust of creation will also rise; but too many questions about our resurrections body to address here today.
Death + NOT THE END +
Luke 24:
38 And He said to them,
“Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in your hearts?
It’s a tough question when confronting death and life, isn’t it?
44 Now He said to them,
“These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are 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, and He said to them,
“So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things…
Are you? Even though you did not put your fingers into His hands and pierced side, DO YOU BELIEVE, my dear brother, beloved sister in Christ our RISEN Lord?
Do you talk of Jesus as if He IS – witness Jesus as if He is your Lord and Savior from your sin?
And what of LIFE after death. In Him and through Him, DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE RESURECTION?
Indeed, not only Jews have rejected their Messiah. And what Christian wants to believe the report that our Christ is a man of sorrows?
Which hopeful worshiper of God desires to embrace sorrows for this brief mortal life?
Not me. But it gets worse.
He is despised and rejected of men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
Isaiah 53:3a KJV
Despised?
Rejected by others?
Acquainted with grief?
WHY would anyone want to be like Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God, IF we must resemble any of these descriptions of man in God’s own Image?
AND it gets worse. For Isaiah continues with the expected reactions of other men to this tender shoot from the dust of the promised land:
.. and we hid as it were our faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:3b KJV
Acquainted with sorrows
Jesus was a Man of sorrows. And yes, more lately it seems that so am I.
For I too am a man acquainted with sorrows — and with DEATH.
We shudder to think about this inevitability and finality of our own mortality.
In fact, you too are a man or a woman of sorrows IF you dare think about sin and death. All see it.
We know those who have died. Some we love deeply: our mother, father, a beloved grandparent, a sister or brother who dies before us — even a wife or husband, a beloved lifelong friend…
They die…, one and then another, and leave us behind to grieve a great loss of love we embraced for so brief a time.
Sadly, I surmise: I am a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…
Why am I despised and rejected?
Some confession here: I have often felt despised by those who I thought mattered most in the world. Certainly I’ve been rejected by those holding the keys to power and influence in the world.
Aren’t most of us? (I always thought it was just me.)
Looking back though, I now see through the mist of life that each time I witnessed Jesus Christ as Lord to those who reject Him, I was hated. And look what Isaiah says about the Messiah:
..there is no beauty that we should desire him. ‘We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. – NLT
The scene we encounter is man hiding from the LORD in Eden – a scene of our sinful hiding from God every time we want to be like the Messiah – a second adam’ sent to atone for our sins.
Dear grieving worshiper of the Lord suffering the sorrows of your faith,
Do not despair over what the Sacrifice of the Savior has done for you.
מַכְאֹב makʼôb, mak-obe’; sometimes מַכְאוֹב makʼôwb; also (feminine Isaiah 53:3) מַכְאֹבָה makʼôbâh; from H3510; anguish or (figuratively) affliction:—grief, pain, sorrow.
He IS the sacrificial LAMB of G-d who takes away the sins of the world.
But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off from the land of the living For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due?
He was a man of sorrows
.. they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting,
“Hosanna!
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, indeed, the King of Israel!”
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