In Jerusalem, during the week of Passover, a group of Greeks who had made a commitment to follow the laws of Judaism asked to speak with Jesus (John 12). Their request for an audience caused Jesus to declare: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). The deep interest of the Greeks was evidence that the world was ready for His redemptive mission to be culminated by His atoning death: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32) All men” — Greeks as well as Jews — this is the clear implication of these profound words recorded by John. The events of Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem bear eloquent testimony to the fact that He moved resolutely toward the cross. He entered the city on a donkey, in order to fulfill the prophet Zechariah’s prediction from the Old Testament of a king who would speak peace to the nations and whose dominion would be from sea to sea (Zech9:9-10). Then He went to the temple and found greedy religious businessmen taking advantage of those that had come to worship. So He cleansed this corruption from the court of the Gentiles (the outermost court of the temple in Jerusalem that could be entered by all peoples), declaring sternly, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” (Mark 11:17). Standing in the temple, He denounced the chief priests and Pharisees, the official leaders of the Jewish nation, for having failed to be good stewards of the truths of the kingdom which had been entrusted to the chosen people, and solemnly declared, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” When asked concerning the end of the age, Jesus said, in effect: “Don’t be misled. It will not be as soon as some think. For this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all nations, and after that, the end shall come” Concerning His return in glory, He was purposely vague, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows. The next evening in the upper room with His disciples, He sealed the new covenant with them, in anticipation of His death.
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Matt18:12/Luke15:4-from these passages we -understand- it is -Jesus- who leaves the 99. This is because he used short relatable stories to share deeper spiritual insights about Himself, His Father, and His Kingdom. The lost sheep parables are no different and point to considerable truths. To better understand these truths, we’ll need to take a closer look at the nature of parables and what is implied by the stories of the lost sheep. In Luke, the lost sheep, loving shepherd, and remaining flock, spoke so brilliantly and effectively to their respective situations. And they did so because the familiar points of reference added depth to what Jesus was trying to relay. Today, it’s a bit harder to relate to this culture of ancient Israel, so it helps to read these #parables with a little #context. For instance, Psalm 100:3 is one of many places where -God’s people- are referred to as sheep. It says, “Know that the Lord is God… we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” This theme of believers of Jesus, or Christians, being sheep is repeated all throughout (Matt10:6; Mark14:27; Isaiah53:6; Jer50:6), used again in both parables, among other places. These parables combined speak to the complete body of Christ. To the sheep who are already in the fold, and to the sheep who are yet to come. Both to the lost sinner, and again to the found saint. Most predominantly, we recognize this in the life of the “lost” sinner, “Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke15:4). While we were sinners, Christ died for us, (Romans 5:8) thus securing an eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12) and tearing the *curtain between us and God (Hebrews10:20) that from -His fullness- we can *receive #grace upon grace (John 1:16). The Shepherd goes after the sheep who are his(Matt18:12; Luke 15:4; 2 Timothy 2:19) amid the goats and the wolves(Matt25:33; Matt7:15). It is His sheep that hear and recognize their Shepherd’s voice (John 10:27), for they have been #chosen and #predestined to do so (Eph 1:4-5). What does it mean where the Bible says “a house divided cannot stand?”
What does this mean for us today? The House of Israel At one time, Israel was a kingdom that was not divided. Under King David, the nation of Israel rose to the zenith of its power, at least in this age. It wasn’t until after David’s son Solomon had died that his sons ripped the nation in half. Rehoboam was chosen to be the next king but after hearing of Solomon’s death, Jeroboam returned from Egypt where he had fled for a time and he came back leading a group of people to confront Rehoboam with a demand for a lighter tax burden. It was only after Rehoboam refused the demand that the ten of the tribes rejected Rehoboam as king and David’s dynasty of Israel began to crumble. One became the Northern Kingdom and was known as Israel. The Southern Kingdom was Judah and although they only had 2 of the tribes (Judah and Benjamin as well as the Levites) they were still a formidable nation. Jeroboam became the king of Israel (and the ten tribes) while Rehoboam became king of Judah. The nation became divided as prophecies by Ahijah as a judgment of God on David and the nation, showing that nations can suffer from poor leadership. The house of Israel was now divided and it will not stand for long. A Divided Kingdom As the Northern Kingdom split off from the Southern Kingdom, there were growing tensions between the two. Israel (the Northern Kingdom) increasingly fell into idolatry and even though Judah was not in complete obedience to God’s laws, they were not as idolatrous as Israel. When Israel finally went to war with Judah, Israel was soundly defeated. These tribes already had a long history of waring among one another (2nd Sam 3). Like the United States of America fought with the Confederate State of America, it threatened to split the nation in half forever. Thankfully, this didn’t end the nation but any nation that divides, like Israel did, is not going to be able to stand for very long. A Divided House Just after Jesus had healed a man the scribes accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Beelzebul) (Mark 3:22) and so Jesus replied “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end” (Mark 3:23-26). His point is that it could not have been by demonic power that Jesus cast out a demon because that is contrary to the way kingdoms operate, particularly Satan’s. If kingdoms did divide against themselves then they wouldn’t be around for very long and so why would Satan work against his own interests? The answer is he would not. It wasn’t the miracle they rejected, it was Jesus! The masses were divided against those who believed in Jesus and those who didn’t. The overwhelming majority of His followers would abandon Him at the cross. In fact, the very ones that earlier in the week cried out “Hosanna in the Highest” now screamed “Crucify Him!” The nation was deeply divided over Jesus so this nation came crashing down around them in AD 70 when the Roman’s destroyed Jerusalem. Warnings about Blaspheme Jesus knew that they were attributing His miracles to Satan’s power and so warned them in a very serious manner that “all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:28-20). This sin was especially applicable to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day because, as Nicodemus said, “we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). They knew he had no evil spirit in Him and He did much good by healing so many. All of the miraculous signs confirmed that He was the long awaited Messiah, yet they hardened their hearts and credited His powers to Satan. They also knew the Scriptures and understood the signs that Jesus did and should know better. They also had heard from John the Baptist, a man they were afraid to deny was not sent from God and how John spoke of Jesus being the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Knowing all of this, they blasphemed God the Holy Spirit because they resisted Him, willingly, rejecting the stark reality of Who Jesus was and accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan when they absolutely knew better. Conclusion If you have continued to reject Jesus time and again, you’re hardening your heart. Every time you hear the gospel which is the need to repent (forsake and turn away from sins) and trust in Christ, and then reject it, you are pushing the witness of the Holy Spirit further and further away until finally “God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (Rom 1:28). If that is you, you are standing on the thin ice of eternity from which you won’t get a second chance. The author of Hebrews writes “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Heb 3:15) and even better “now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2nd Cor 6:2). God’s Plan for Israel God’s plans for the earth and humanity are in motion. His purposes are clear and never coincidental. But to understand God’s heart for mankind, we must acknowledge the unique role God gave to His people Israel. Because His love knows no bounds and is never changing, the covenant-keeping God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob watches carefully over all the nations. A significant leg of His journey with mankind has been in the land of Israel. There, He walked with Abraham. He revealed His laws to Moses. And He sent His Son to this same geographical space in Jewish flesh. In the first verse of Isaiah 53 we see that Israel, for the most part, would reject the Messiah who came to die for her sins. Yet, a future salvation of Israel is promised by God. The day is coming when the eyes of the Jewish people will be opened to see in living color that Jesus of Nazareth is their only Messiah and Savior.
The Son of Man title (from Book of #Ezekiel) showed how Jesus emphasized his perfect humanity. In #Daniel, it depicts his #identity as the #Messiah — the anointed One from God and #promised #deliverer #foretold in the Hebrew Bible. Jesus- the perfect God-man would bring in God’s everlasting kingdom for both Jew and Gentile. Jesus had a deep conviction of special mission to the Jewish nation, who were God’s treasured possession (Exodus 19:5). He expressed this so strongly; and careful consideration of his words reveals his strategy: As Paul expressed-His mission was “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom1:16; 2:10). Jesus’ concern for Israel was shown in the instructions to the 12 disciples as He sent them on their first preaching mission. “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles,” He said, “and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). His ministry was restricted primarily, but not exclusively to the Jews (Matthew 8:1-13). Indeed, in the very same -context- is the prediction that the preaching ministry of the disciples would be extended to the Gentiles; “You shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.” Luke’s Gospel tells of a later preaching mission in which 70 others were sent out two by two (Luke 10:1). -Just as- the 12 apostles symbolically represent the 12 tribes of Israel, the 70 -symbolize- the Gentile nations (In Genesis 10, the descendants of Noah are listed, #70). Rabbinical tradition presumed that this was the total number of nations scattered over the earth after the Tower of Babel, and referred to the “70 Gentile peoples.” #Jesus used this means of #symbolizing his long-range #purpose. (The 12 were sent to heal the sick and announce the #nearness of God’s kingdom. The 70 were sent later on a “training mission” in preparation for their ultimate mission- to the whole world).
Bible Cross References 🕊❤️🙏❤️🕊
Israel is identified as God’s “firstborn Son” (Exod.4:22–23). In context, Yahweh calls Israel as his firstborn son. What follows in Exodus is competition to see who is God’s true son. In #delivering children of Abraham from #Egypt, God shows who is the true Son of God. Later revelation identifies exodus where God became father of Israel (Deut. 32:18; Psa. 80:15; Jer. 31:9; Hos. 11:1.) this identification explains how Israel is like Adam—Israel is a “corporate Adam.” What began with Adam is carried on in Israel until it comes to Christ. Matthew identifies Jesus as the True Israel (Hosea11:1, Matt2:13–15) “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” By applying isreals title to Jesus, he explains how Jesus is God’s Son. When Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days he repeats the events of Israel, signifying the son Jesus is- like Israel. But Jesus will not disobey his Father like Israel did; he will prove himself obedient unto death, thus becoming the firstborn -from- the dead. Jesus lived a sinless life, something incapable of humans. God promised a house (dynasty) for David and a son who would sit on an eternal throne and be the son of God- “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” In the immediate history of Israel, Solomon fulfilled this by ruling with wisdom and justice, bringing peace and blessing to the people by leading from #Zion. Solomon turned away from God to serve #idols... later, David’s heirs broke covenant with God and lost their right to sit on the throne. Still, the mold for a Davidic king who was the son of God was set, as the Prophets lamented the fall of David’s house, they promised a son of David whose #righteousness would #restore the “kingdom to Israel.” In the NT, Jesus is the #son of #David, whose #righteousness under the #law proves he is God’s true son, which brings all the #promises of the new covenant to #fruition. Its instructive that the gospel message is based on promises to David (Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8). Christ Messiah=delivery from bondage. Yahweh’s identity=in christ=Israel’s identity is redemption in christ=zion. (Yahweh begins in exodus and ends in redemption in christ messiah facilitation Zion).
Paul speaks of Christ receiving the title “Son of God” at his resurrection. Vrs3–4, “concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This passage is best understood of Christ’s exaltation in his resurrection. While Jesus is God the Son throughout his human life, his resurrection assigns him the title “Son of God.” (Acts 13:32–33, Hebrews 5:5–6). Jesus has proven to be God’s true son and worthy of an eternal throne. It is after Jesus’s humanity is “perfected” (through Israel’s unity with him) that he receives the title, “Son of God” (Heb. 5:5–6). This was necessary for the Son to learn obedience through #suffering- (Christ rose from the dead and ascended to the Father’s right hand (fulfilliPsa. 110:1), all creation was put under his feet). In his exaltation, Jesus received right to rule over heaven and earth as the son of David, who is the son of God. What Adam, Israel, and David failed to prove their sonship—Jesus has done. His resurrection proves to be his coronation. Paul identifies the core of the gospel message- God in Christ unites all things in heaven and earth(Eph. 1:10), as the eternal Son of God is recognized as the Son of God to whom redemptive history has been pointing. “When the time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5). When the divine Son took on humanity he came to fulfill the role marked out for him by Adam, Israel, and David. The #eternal #Word took on #flesh #dwelt among us (Yahweh holy spirit manifesting through Christ’s earthly mission) John identifies Jesus as “the only Son from the Father” and John 5:18 identifies the Son as “equal” with the Father, which led the Jewish leaders to desire Jesus’s death, they didn’t agree. In the Gospels, we find Jesus is not only the son of God, according to his humanity; he is the Son of God, according to his deity. #Jesus #is God’s Son, the one to whom all Scripture *leads, and the one -who is- God and man. “Then I looked, and behold, a #lamb standing on Mount #Zion, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Rev-14.1 It is the same for we who are spiritual residents of the kingdom of heaven – the heavenly Jerusalem-#dwelling place of christ #messiah. (Rev14:1) Zion is where Yahweh, the God of Israel, dwells (Isaiah 8:18; Psalm 74:2), the place where he is king (Isaiah 24:23) and where he has installed his king, David (Psalm 2:6). In the Bible, the Land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem are both referred to as Zion. The name refers to both a hill in Jerusalem and to the city itself — also used to mean "holy place" or "kingdom of heaven." After Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, the Israelites could not forget Zion (Psalm 137), and, in the prophecy after the Babylonian Exile of the Jews, Zion is the scene of Yahweh’s -messianic- salvation. It is to Zion that the exiles will be restored (Jeremiah 3:14), and there they will find Yahweh (Jeremiah 31). After the crucifixion, the 2nd temple *falls to destruction from the pagan romans. This is when the same *context of OT scriptures in Judaism and christianity diverge interpretation. The collections of scriptures in the Hebrew cannons were -displaced- of chronological -order- of context and storyline. Because of the destruction of the temple- This Hebrew canon, though somewhat fluid up to the early 2nd century BC, was finally -fixed- by a council of rabbis at Jabneh (Jamnia), now in Israel, c. AD 100. The Oral Torah, transmitted orally, explains the Written Torah- untill written after 70AD. Though scripture is all of the above- because of the reordering and transmission it is only being *seen as being about people, god and land, which in its -entirety- and -order- depicts the unifying picture of *humanity, salvation and *redemption. The Prophets in the Protestant canon include Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel from the Hebrew Latter Prophets. The Minor Prophets (The Twelve) are treated as 12 separate books; thus the Protestant canon has 17 prophetic books. Here- Zion #symbolizes a longing by wandering or lost people for *returning to their safe *homeland -with- God.
The Roman-Jewish Wars were a series of conflicts waged between the Roman Empire and Israeli rebels in AD 66—70, 115—117, and 132—135. These wars were devastating for Israel, resulting in immense Jewish casualties, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the expulsion of Jews from their homeland. The Jewish people would not reestablish statehood until 1948 when the modern state of Israel was founded.
The basics of Jesus’ teaching are profound yet simple enough for a child to understand; they are spiritual yet relevant to everyday life. Basically, Jesus taught that He was the fulfillment of messianic prophecy, that God requires more than external obedience to rules, that salvation comes to those who believe in Christ, and that judgment is coming to the unbelieving and unrepentant.
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