A MESSAGE FROM THE CROSS, Matthew 26:36. Luke 22:19

 MESSAGE FROM THE CROSS 

Matthew 26:36, Luke 22:19

REMEMBER ME

Jesus spent the week before his death teaching in the temple. On Thursday He celebrated the passover meal with His disciples. Jesus established the first ordinance of the church, the passover celebration.

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 And the cup in like manner after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, (even) that which is poured out for you.

 After the meal He went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray.

PRAYER BEFORE ANY ACTIVITY

Matt 26:36

36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray.

Matt 26:

39 And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Before any major decision Jesus set the example of Prayer. Communication with Father in Heaven ought to be our first desire. He planned to die on the cross for the sins of the World. This choice that Jesus made changed the world forever. It was His eternal plan, but He trusted the Father to carry Him through it. 

There will be some things God will require of us that may not be to our liking. The passion weekend would be a horrible time for Jesus' disciples. They would see Him taken into custody, tried by the religious leaders, lied upon and wrongly sentenced to death. Jesus stepped down out of heaven for this reason.  But to endure the pain of it He called on the Father. He accepted what He knew He had to endure for our sake. Not my will He said but your will my Father, 

Mahelia Jackson said this in song; Don’t move the mountain but give me the strength to climb it .   Often we do our will and askGod to bless the results. It should be God’s will first then what we do will be blessed.

The seven last statements Jesus spoke from the cross speaks volumes to His mission and purpose for us

1. Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Forgiveness is a key reason to Jesus’s sacrificial death.  When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden the plan of redemption was set into motion.   God had to make a way for mankind to return to fellowship with Him. It required a perfect sinless sacrifice. Jesus volunteered for the job. Jesus took the sins of the world upon Himself.

Forgiveness is an element in God’s grace and mercy. Without forgiveness there is no redemption.  With God’s forgiveness. your sins are separated from you as far as the east is from the west. 

God excuses our ignorance. Who were the ignorant. The religious leaders knew the scriptures concerning the coming Messiah. They were the ones who had access to the written Word.  They studied and taught the Word of God. They had copies of the Old Testament Scrolls. 

It was the common everyday working Jews who were misled by the religious leaders. They were required to study and memorize the Word, but never given the spiritual truths of the Word. The Religious leaders substituted their tradition as authority over the Word of God

Matt 15:6 . And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition.

Jesus knew in advance what the religious leaders were planning concerning His death. Yet, He still asked the Father to forgive them. Jesus had the power to forgive sins, but ask the Father to forgive

2. Luke 23:43, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

It was their lucky day. Two thieves were selected to die on the cross with Jesus. The thief on the cross to the right of Jesus confessed his sins and asked Jesus to remember Him. He was  judged for what he had done, humbled himself before Jesus and asked in his way for forgiveness.

Notice the thief's forgiveness was immediate upon asking. He did not have a chance to do any good work. His repentance gained automatic forgiveness. Jesus said today you will be with me in paradise. 

Notice the message is it is never too late to come to Jesus. Don’t ever give up on anyone. Before their last breath they can ask for forgiveness and it will be granted.

The thief on the left of Jesus had the same opportunity for forgiveness. But he chose to deny Jesus as Lord and Savior.

I would suggest that the thief on the left of Jesus had the same information. He chose to ridicule Jesus' position and authority as useless. He chose hell rather than the heaven he was looking at.

If we are looking at percentages, 50% of the people in the world will reject Jesus as Lord and Savior.  50% will choose heaven. We are not given this information to make any judgement.  We are given this information to have compassion on the lost. Our job is to the plant the seed of salvation with words from the Lord.

3. Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Some say this was a complaint to the Fathers, others say it was a cry for help.  I believe it was a question for you and I to consider. In the BEGINNING was Word and the Word was God and the Word was with God.  

Jesus is the author and the finisher of the Word.  He planned this event. He planned every detail of His death. This was not a surprise , but a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy, Psalm 22:1 It was a fulfilment of His planned suffering. 

You and I have the answer to this important question. 

This  was for our sake, for our salvation, for our way back to God. Why did God abandon Jesus? He had to allow Jesus to carry the weight of sin for all times.

 Had the Father stepped in, there would be no salvation. 

Had the Father stepped in there would be no perfect sacrifice.

 Had the Father stepped in there would be no atonement for sin. 

Had the Father stepped in there would be no Grace and mercy covering our lives  

I have heard it said often that God turned away from Jesus because He could not look at sin. If that is the case, why did God invite Satan to a meeting with all the angels (see the story ofJob)? Why did God allow Satan into the Garden of Eden to deceive Eve?  If that is the case why did God have conversion with Satan in the Garden of Eden?

Jesus who is one with the Father dealt with Satan and His demons throughout His ministry. After His baptism by John, He was led by the Holy Spirit who is one with the Father to be tempted by Satan, the origin and master mind of sin.

I believe it is a misinterpretation of Habahhuk 1:13 

Hab 1:13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?  NLT

I believe that there are some questions God wants us to meditate and research before He leads us to the answer.

What we do know is Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. He resides in our hearts as long as we abide in Him

4. John 19:26-27, “Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother.”

Jesus looked down from the cross and saw John and Mary huddling together in agony and grief watching this horrible injustice. Jesus had other brothers and sisters who were not there at the cross. Jesus made sure that His mother was taken care of according to the commands of scripture (Exodus 22:22-24).

Ex 22:22  Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23 If thou afflict them at all, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

John 19:26  And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own (home).

We cannot be sure that Mary’s other sons would not have provided for her. James the Lord’s half brother became a disciple and a preacher/teacher. Yet Jesus, knowing this,  did not assign the job of taking care of Mary to him. Jesus was the eldest son, so the job of taking care of His mothers was His. 

We do not see any objection from Mary. God knows best for us when the future is uncertain. This does point out to us that we are responsible for our mothers when the father dies or deserts the Wife when she is a widower indeed. The blessing is clear, honor your mother and your father that your days may be long.

5. John 19:28, “I am thirsty."

Jesus having been nailed to the cross from early in the morning until the afternoon would have thirst for water.  I do not believe Jesus was thirsty for water but for other reasons. 

John 4:14 but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.

I believe Jesus' thirst was for lost. He said those that the Father gives me I lose none.  In plain view of Jesus were His people who were lost.

I believe Jesus thirst that the Father be glorified 

I believed that Jesus thirst for the fulfillment of the prophecies 

I believe Jesus thirst to be back on the throne to make intercessions for all believers

I believe Jesus thirst for the opportunity to answer our prayers

I believe Jesus thirst for the opportunity to give us peace and Joy

I believe Jesus thirst for the testimonies that believers would give to encourage others in the goodness of the Lord

6. John 19:30, “It is finished.”

Jesus finished the work that the Father gave Him

Jesus became the author and finisher of our faith

Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies concerning Him 

Jesus fulfilled all of His commandments (some say 613) 

Jesus open the door for all who believe to enter heaven’

Jesus is the atonement for all sins, past, presence and future. 

Jesus finished the foundation of His Church

Jesus is our one and only High Priest

7. Luke 23:46, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Jesus’s spirit exited the fleshly body He took on to live on earth

And returned to the Father

Jesus took on mortality to become man,  but returned to immortality

All power over heaven and earth was given to Him 

I don’t know where the spirit of Jesus went after it left his earthly body before His resurrection. It was three days of activities as time is never waisted. 

     He may have visited the place of the dead who died in faith and   

     proclaimed victory over death.

1 Peter 3:18 Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.

Jesus set the example of Hope for all believers

2 Cor 5:8 we are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

Man is composed of a body, a spirit and a soul. The body will rot in a grave, but the spirit in some way floats to another place

Eccl 12:7 and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.

God is the keeper of our spirits which He will judge. Some will be judged for heaven and some judged for the eternal hell

2 Cor 5:10 For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things (done) in the body, according to what he hath done, whether (it be) good or bad.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE MESSAGE YOU GAVE FROM THE CROSS

MY HOUSE IS A HOUSE OF PRAYER Matthew 21:12

 

MY HOUSE IS A HOUSE OF PRAYER 

Matthew 21:12

SUNDAY MORNING

On Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with worshippers

From every nation under the sun claiming Him as the KIng who came in the name of the Lord. The Jewish religious leaders ask the question, who is this.? The crowd responded,  Jesus of Nazareth.

THERE IS A TIME TO SPEAK AND A TIME TO BE SILENT

According to Mark 11:12, Jesus went into the temple on Sunday and looked around.

Because it was evening time, He returned to Bethany.  Let me suggest Jesus did not clean the Temple on Sunday because the Jewish leaders were already in an uproar and maybe He didn’t want to destroy the celebratory mood of the crowd. 

At the beginning of His ministry, just after the Wedding at Cana, He entered the Temple and cast out money  changers and the sellers of animals;

John 2:13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 and he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money, and overthrew their tables;

16 and to them that sold the doves he said, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise.

Jesus knew the spiritual conditions of the Jewish nation who came  of the Temple to offer sacrifices because He was in the Temple for the Passover festivals throughout His life and ministry on earth. He established His authority of the Holy Activities at the beginning and the end of His ministry. Notice Sunday was the day of His resurrection and Monday would be the first Work day under grace. Jesus set the standard of what we must do in our own lives.  Keep our temple clean

MONDAY MORNING

THE POWER OF THE WORD DEMONSTRATED

On Monday morning, Upon leaving Bethany Jesus was hungry, He saw a fig tree with leaves that had no fruit. He cursed the tree and said may you never bear fruit again. The tree withered and died immediately. The disciples ask why. Jesus responded with faith you can do the same thing and more if you do not doubt. This is also a warning and an encouragement to believers. No faith, no grace. Much faith much grace

Matthew 21:12-13

 And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; 13 and he saith unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers.  (Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11)

I believe Jesus grieved over the hardened hearts of the nation of Israel, their rejection of the gospel of peace and their commercialization of worship.

 Luke 19:41-42  And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hidden from thine eyes.

There is a time in our lives when we face the consequences of our action,

Israel would face destruction 70 years after the  death and resurrection of Jesus because of their unbelief. Instead of being a light, they had become an agent of darkness

LET US NOT GRIEVE JESUS

Some of the reasons suggested for Jesus grief of the nation of Israel

Are listed below.

Jesus called the Temple a "robbers' den" because religious leaders and merchants turned the sacred house of prayer into a marketplace, exploiting worshippers with extortionate prices for sacrificial animals and dishonest money changing. This commercialization, enabled by authorities, cheated people seeking God and prioritized profit over true worship. 

Key reasons for this description:

• Exploitation of Worshippers: Merchants sold animals necessary for sacrifice at highly inflated prices.

• Dishonest Money Exchange: Money changers took advantage of travelers needing to exchange foreign currency for temple-approved currency, charging exorbitant rates.

• Preventing Worship: By filling the outer courts (often the Court of the Gentiles) with livestock and commerce, they obstructed space meant for prayer, especially for non-Jews.

• Institutional Corruption: The high priests and religious authorities were involved in or profited from these corrupt practices. 

• Perversion of Purpose  The temple meant to be a house of prayer for all nations, but was converted to a place of business

JESUS DEVINE AUTHORITY

By overturning tables and driving out the money changers , Jesus was condemning the systematic corruption and restoring the Temple's true purpose of devotion 

By merging Isaiah 56:7 (house of prayer) and Jeremiah 7:11 (den of robbers), Jesus highlighted that the leaders had turned a place meant for spiritual connection into a refuge for greedy, corrupt individuals. 

From the beginning of the Nation of Israel, under Moses 1500  years

Earlier, God established the Levite priests as the Worship leaders.

Num 3:12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine: Num 3:32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, (and have) the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

Under King David there were 38000 levite men. David organized them into

24 orders to serve when Temple was built by his son. They were selected by lot to serve only 2 weeks per year.  This was a divine selection

Caiaphas the High priest at the time of Jesus was selected by the Roman government for Political control of the priest hood. He was not a descendant of Aaron, but a descendant of Maaziah, the 24th order. 

According to   Ancient Origins   

In 70 AD, the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans as a result of the Great Jewish Revolt. The destruction of the temple meant that the religious function of the Levites was greatly diminished. As a matter of fact, it was the rabbis who gradually took control of religious matters, and Rabbinic Judaism eventually became the mainstream form of Judaism

RACEISM IN WORSHIP PRACTICED 

In the Temple in Jerusalem there was a section called the Court of The Gentiles where non Jews could come for worship. This was the place where the money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals set up shop, It was a commercial money making supermarket that reduced the worship experience of non Jews.  

People from different areas had currency that had to be exchanged for the

Acceptable temple tax. People traveling long distances would bring money to purchase unblemished animals for sacrifice. The money changers and

Animal sellers were necessary, but they set up shop in the wrong place. They were motivated by greed rather than reverence to the Lord.

Jesus called them robbers and thieves because they were motivated by

The flesh rather than worship. 

 

WHAT WE LEARN

1. WE HAVE ONE HIGH PRIEST, JESUS UNDER GRACE

There were 38000 Levites priests at the time the Temple was being planned  They all had a job. Each assignment was important.  We each have been assigned good works by Jesus

2. Church is a place of worship, not a place of profit.

3. There is a difference between  religion and church

We have to be careful that worship of God does not become religion. Worship is what we do out of gratitude. Religion is what we do out of habit.

We have to be careful that we don’t confuse emotional excitement with the  joy of the Lord.  The Jews were excited when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, but quickly changed to resentment when He did not serve their purpose.

We have to look at our own temples to see that we have  not  defiled it’ with our own purpose. It is not our purpose that saves and changes lives. But Jesus Is the way, the truth and the life.

We need to be careful that we are not leading people away from the Lord with our attitude and actions.

You should never lose sight of God’s purpose for you because others do

We should never fail  to inform others of the right way of worship. Many Jews came to Jerusalem out of tradition and habit with no true worship.

Never forget that there will always be some who are for you and some who are against you. God is for you and more than all the world against you

4. Your job of teaching never ends.  Even on the cross, Jesus was still teaching and drawing others to Him.

          People are always following  you as you are led by Christ

Know what is supposed to be in your Temple?

  Get rid of stuff that should not be in your temple

5. God house is a House of prayer

   Pray for others

   Pray for our country

   Pray for ourselves

   Fellowship with like believers

   Conviction of our sins

6.    Draw others to Christ

   Get inspired by the Word

   Inspire others by living the Word as others read you