Two thousand years ago: the setting in Judea, a leavened relic of a Roman province once known as Judah; in fact a thousand more years before, a respected United Kingdom of Israel. Yet Solomon’s kingdom was split, David’s power long lost, Moses’ Law long debated and Abraham’s history much distorted.
Temples destroyed. Temples rebuilt.
Religion becomes something of a unifying tradition of ruling God’s people with political compromise and Levitical leverage.
The faithful expected a Messiah in some generation. Jewish leaders beholden by tribute to Rome’s rich rulers gripped tightly the tenuous reins of the rule of Jerusalem.
Jesus, or for that matter any man making claim as the promised Messiah, was a threat to everything their traditions had accomplished and every high official with religious power.
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”
He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
The Messiah Jesus always had words of hope and blessing for the common disciples who received God’s word. Yet Jesus boldly disputed the motives of religious rulers. He challenged their traditions. Jesus knew them and exposed their hypocrisy before their followers, as had John the Baptizer before Herod had beheaded him.
Jesus challenged their self-serving interpretations of the Bible. He asked them if they knew their Bible? He told them that they were not like David, not like Moses and not like Abraham. Above all Jesus told the religious rulers that they did know know God, our heavenly Father.
Into a culture which lifts up the father as the revered head of the family this is high insult. Into a religious culture which claims one God as Father of their nation this borders on blasphemy – at least blasphemy against who the religious leaders claim as God as Father who gives them all authority over God’s people.
Jesus’ three earthly years of controversial teaching have nearly come to an end. Many miracles have proven this Messiah of God and no learned religious leader has been able to trip Him up. But once more they try.
21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
… 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” … 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me…”
30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Once again, Jesus gives hope to the disciples of His true teaching. But not all believe, especially the religious leaders who must bow down humbly before God and accept the truth of scripture.
What is it they do? Besides opposing the very Messiah to His face, they twist truth just as they do in their false leading of those who support their Temple – NOT God’s Temple, but Herod’s Temple; for it was Herod the Great, friend of Rome and only half Jewish, who rebuilt the Temple of tradition.
33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
If you are a religious leader who suspects you could be standing before the Messiah of God, is this the impertanence you offer before the Lord?
Further, is it even true what the Pharisees have claimed?
How can a Jew pretend to ‘have never been enslaved to anyone?’ The history of the Hebrew people proves more the opposite: in Egypt, in Babylon… Do these religious leaders claim to be offspring of Abraham and not know their own history?
Do you believe that Easter is a celebration of life like no other?
Lots of talk about resurrection; some even call it ‘Resurrection Day.’
‘So What’ skeptics of Christ’s Resurrection
As a kids we easily turned a phrase for things of which we were skeptical. My quick answer to a parent or someone in authority: “So what?”
What answer quickly rolls off my tongue? What reactive thought tumbles around in my head about things I choose not to think about?
“So what?”
As one finally bowed down before Almighty God who calls Christ Jesus my Lord, I contrinued to be a little surprised by the ‘so what’ look of so many wandering souls I encounter in my everyday mortal life.
Their non-consideration of Easter and frequent rebellion at even a mention of the name of Jesus affirms their ‘so what,’ as common era reaction to faint hope that the resurrection of Jesus is real.
These with hearts hardened to God will always turn against any hope that Christ’s cross and the resurrection are most real and relevant answers to sin. Judgment for sin and punishment of a second death are the furthest thoughts removed from the flesh of self-worshiping humanists.
Jesus was rejected and crucified by a religious establishment that made up their own rules about God. Jesus came to a world that did not seek God. Jesus came to save sinners. Jesus came as a sacrifice for our sin. And Jesus is resurrected from the grave, because He IS the LORD God! He came to man to show us the mercy required to save us from death with the grace of reward for eternal life we do not deserve.
for Church members:
The photo to the left & cover photo have been added to the original post along with some minor edits, including this question below from our earlier series on Doctrine of the Church.
SO WHAT if we do NOT insist that JESUS is the ONLY way of eternal life because of the Cross?
Gentle believer, fellow saint of Christ’s own body,
Our own sacrifice is small and our reward great for our touching of hearts with the healing love of Christ Jesus. Sure, the world says of the resurrection, ‘so what?’
Yet even in these last days of evil we have hope in the resurrection to share with others who also never believed that Jesus would die for them.
As long ago as the first century and first generation of witness of the gospel, men were still evil. Yet the letters of the Apostles spoke to the Jew and the nations alike, all who would listen about the Messiah Jesus.
Paul lived in Corinth for a time and wrote of the resurrection to the church, encouraging us in Christ. HERE is his answer to the so what skeptics and listeners in the public arenas of hostile crowds:
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
Mention Jesus Christ and you get a tough crowd, don’t you? And most with their face against God show you that ‘so what’ look.
It was no different in Corinth when Paul taught the gospel to the church there in person or by letter.
Even by the pagan standards of its own culture, Corinth became so morally corrupt that its very name became synonymous with debauchery and moral depravity. To “corinthianize” came to represent gross immorality and drunken debauchery… Like most ancient Greek cities, Corinth had an acropolis (literally. “a high city”), which rose 2,000 feet and was used both for defense and for worship. The most prominent edifice on the acropolis was a temple to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Some 1,000 priestesses, who were “religious” prostitutes, lived and worked there and came down into the city in the evening to offer their services to male citizens and foreign visitors.
CAN YOU THINK OF A 21ST Century of the Common Era CITY LIKE THAT?
CAN YOU THINK OF A TEMPLE TO GLORIFY US & our gods?
ARE THE CITIZENS AND VISITORS OF OUR BEST CITIES LIKE CORINTH?
Yet Paul preached to the church in Corinth (and all the other believers) about the resurrection:
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Are you like those without hope in the resurrection?
Does your earth-friendly, Christian-persecuting community “corinthianize” the pulpits of truth with compromises of false faith?
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com +
Guard against it, as Paul warned.
For we have Christ crucified, died and resurrected. We hold to certain hope of eternal life in worship of God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of the new heavens and the new earth without sin.
Christ has been raised from the dead!
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep..
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death…
The only ‘so what’ question
Are you looking to your own resurrection?
Do you share the Good News of Christ’s resurrection with others?
Do you even Talk of JESUS to anyone — even others in your gatherings ‘at church?’
“Who was Jesus?” they may ask; for the world hears little of our Lord in these last days.
This might be the only ‘so what’ question you ever get from your unbelieving friend or loved one. Jesus rose from the dead! Over five hundred witnesses. Furthermore, Jesus promised He will return for you and me, if you would like to have him as your Lord too.
Here's how Paul continued with the Good News of Jesus' resurrection to Corinthians of the 1st century:
35 But someone will ask,
“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body…
42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable;
what is raised is imperishable.
43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
I know resurrection is a lot to think about. Has a lot more to do with your body and soul than bunnies and eggs. Jesus has a lot to say about it. You should read one of the gospels about Jesus.
(John, for instance, tells us a lot about why God sent Jesus to the world.)
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. – Proverbs 20:11 KJV
The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Proverbs 23:24 KJV
Before we look at the role of children and a rather well-known interruption of Jesus, I would like for us to briefly consider the role of Jesus as Son of God.
GOD, the LORD Jehovah, is Creator of all men, Father of all mankind and Ruler of all creation.
I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. – Isaiah 43:15 KJV
In a sense we are all sons and daughters of God; yet Jesus IS God Incarnate, a begotten Son of God the Father by a woman born to man.
It hadn’t been so many years since Jesus as a young man had became known to the rulers of the Temple.
40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Just a couple of quick questions for you as a 21st century parent:
Do you spend time in the Bible with your children so that they will become strong in the Lord and filled with wisdom?
Do you regularly observe the teaching traditions of the church with your children?
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it…
Joseph and Mary trained up Jesus in the way He should go, that when the time came for a young man to seek the favor of God that their young adult would obey the Lord.
46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers…
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
The leaders would be older men with years of understanding from scripture and from life. Jesus is now just thirty years old, a relatively young teacher at the beginning of His ministry, who though not married is of age most other men have sons of their own. This iterate Rabbi is not the stately grandfather who sits in the Temple or Synagogues only to share their wisdom of age.
The Apostle John tells a story of how Jesus uses the faith of a young boy to bring many to faith.
Jesus is teaching the crowds. The Apostles are serving Him and ministering to the crowds. It has been centuries since the Kingdom of Israel. It has been centuries since the miracles of the Prophets.
Which generation will see the restoration of the Kingdom, the people ask? Which generation after all these will see the coming of the Christ?
The people followed Jesus to hear the Lord teach and to witness His righteousness and power and healing.
3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples… 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
Imagine that your son comes to you and says, “I want to go with the neighbors who are going to see Jesus of Nazareth teach on the mountainside.”
“Just a moment young man,” says the good Jewish mother. “Not without some food and water you don’t.” And the mom packs her son a lunch and sends him out with it and skin of cold water from their well for the long day ahead.
“Now off with you” the mother encourages her son, “and be back by dark.”
Returning to John’s Gospel:
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”10
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
It is no small role this young man who wanted to see Jesus played in the faith of the five thousand.
Another interruption: a father coming to Jesus for the sake of his young son:
38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child…
How many parents would willingly press through the crowds surrounding this Jesus Christ, a superstar descended from the mountain, just to have an uncontrollable child healed?
“… Bring your son here.”42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God.
How every loving parent would love to have the Lord give your suffering child back to you. Jesus is not here only to feed the five thousand on the mountaintop. Jesus is present for even a child in need. Jesus IS here even for you.
Jesus’ Disciples often thought of Him as a leader of men, here only to restore Israel and heal the faithful. How often we are wrong about the Messiah.
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
First century families and the religious establishment often thought the teaching of Rabbis was important only to men, especially men of learning; certainly not to women (let her husband instruct her) or to children (who were only to obey without understanding).
Jesus most often used the relationship of God as Father, a loving Father; therefore our Lord showed children the kindness of a loving Father in Heaven.
Is it not important for us to lead our children by the example of our compassion?
Jesus welcomed children to hear scripture, to receive healing, even to receive life. Children have so much value for a time that will last beyond a generation of our own.
Christ Jesus welcomes woman and men to God’s Kingdom with joy. He teaches us to have a simple faith. Let Jesus be your Lord, as a loving father would be your parent.
Men now relegate religion to the attention of the woman of the house ‘for the instruction of the children.’ Christianity is for children and moms, not working dads who know better than to bow down before anyone (let alone God). How sad for our broken homes that we would send children to Jesus and not hear the very Word of God for ourselves.
We are a hard-hearted and sinful generation in a way more lost than those to whom Jesus first came on the mountainsides of Galilee and in the hills of Jerusalem.
When was the last time you interrupted GOD with a childlike praise?
When will your week finally conclude with your reverent worship of our loving Father?
When will we humbly bow down to GOD our Father and have the pure joy of Jesus as our Lord?
How long, O man, will you count your days as if they are your own?
Mark 10:24
And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!
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