The Messiah’s Secret – Jesus and the Cross

 

Above a cross made out of olive wood.

Short study Luke 23: 26 - 31

Trees.
In the book of Genesis Moses inspired by the Holy Spirit placed the creation of humanity in a garden, with trees being a focal point: the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. Genesis 2: 9   

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

Adam and Eve were instructed by God not to eat anything from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they fell into temptation by the devil and ate some fruit from this tree, as a result they became separated from God.” Genesis 3: 1-7

The tree of life

Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden of Eden. God placed a Cherubim at the entrance to the garden bearing a flaming sword, he blocked the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3: 24. 

       

The wooden cross

Jerusalem must have very busy with those who had travelled from far and wide to celebrate the ‘Passover.’   After Jesus had been condemned by the crowd outside the Praetorium (Judgement Hall) he was scourged mocked by the soldiers and led away to be crucified. However, Jesus was so weak by the violence against his body that Simon of Cyrene was seized by a soldier to carry the cross for him.

Simon had just arrived in Jerusalem coming from Cyrene the capital of Libya.  Mark wrote that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Mark 6: 6-15. 15: 21. Acts 4: 27  

Above Jesus started out carrying his cross until Simon carried it for him..         
When Jesus spoke about his suffering, death and being raised on the third day, he went on to say that anyone following him should deny himself daily taking up their cross. Luke 9: 22, 23.

Simon of Cyrene did it literally he followed behind Jesus carrying his cross. We don’t know how Simon felt about carrying Jesus’ cross, but Mark wrote that his two sons became disciples, so it would seem quite likely that Simon became a follower of Jesus.

For us today denying ourselves to carry our cross daily for some sadly, tragically means being persecuted, imprisoned or losing their earthly life. For others it means putting Jesus first and foremost on an everyday basis in serving Christ in practical ways as well as prayer, study and witnessing about Jesus. Some Christians are called to missionary work abroad and that can be really hard to do, leaving family and friends behind.

At that point Jesus summoned the energy to speak to the wailing women who followed them.

 “Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck. Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us and to the hills “Cover us.”

Jesus had earlier on his triumphant entry into Jerusalem wept over Jerusalem as he foresaw its destruction, so here he reiterated his earlier prophecy in telling them that their tears for him would not change what was to befall Jerusalem. Luke 19: 41-44.

“For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry.”

“For if they do this when the wood is green,” Jesus in the midst of the living dead, having come under man’s fallen nature and judgement from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

 “What will happen when it is dry.” After he died, he found life from the dryness of the tomb  God resurrected Jesus from the dead, would the people believe when they heard? 

Jesus the green olive tree that was to be felled because of the sin of Israel also bearing mankind’s sin.

The Olive tree is spoken of as a green tree.

“The Lord once called you, (Israel) A green olive tree, fair and goodly fruit: but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed.”Jeremiah 11: 16

Jesus bore the sin of the nation and took the punishment under law.

The prophecy to Ezekiel: “Prophesy against the forest of the Negeb, say to the forest of Negeb hear the word of the Lord, “Thus says the Lord God, behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched.” Ezekiel 20 : 45-48.  A fire within them speaks of judgement

“And if a man committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God; you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.” Deuteronomy 21: 22, 23.

Jesus fulfilled every law, he was taken down from the cross before nightfall by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus and buried the same day.

“What will happen when it is dry?” After he died, God resurrected Jesus from the dead, would the people believe when they heard?  God raised Jesus bodily from the dead, his resurrected body the new living temple, God in Christ.

God left his temple at Jerusalem before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD

When the veil in the temple was torn in two the way to the tree of life was made open. Genesis 3: 5, 24. Matthew 27: 51. 
Below the empty cross

Jesus the Tree of Life. 
The way into God’s Kingdom is through Jesus’ death and resurrection, prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures through an incident on the Israelites way to the Promised Land, fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus.  
The Israelites journeyed towards the Promised Land, they were desperate for water, they came upon a pool of water, but it was undrinkable, as it was bitter. The people complained, so Moses prayed to the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree and he threw the tree into the water. As a result the water was sweet and drinkable. Exodus 15: 22-25.

The bitter water representing sin.
The tree- living we died (representing eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.)
The cross – dead find life (all of humanity’s sin borne by Jesus on the cross, the way is opened to the tree of life)
The sweet water- representing sins forgiven, resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

How amazing God is, the revealed plan of salvation as the Israelites journeyed towards the Promised Land. 
Below: Olive Tree

St Paul wrote that the natural branches (Israel) broken off because of unbelief. The Messiah’s calling was to the nation first and then to the world. The Gentiles have been grafted into the olive tree by faith in Jesus. Romans 11: 24.

The Messiah’s Secret
At Pentecost and after was the time for the nation’s leaders to accept Jesus as their Messiah. Not before Jesus’ death as I was brought up to believe. In 1996 the Lord revealed to me that it was impossible for the nation of Israel to receive, install Jesus as their King and Messiah before his death, resurrection and ascension. Jesus had to die for the sins of the whole world and universe, all things cleansed by the blood of the lamb of God, including the devil who held the power over death was defeated by the blood of Jesus.

Three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood.
John the Apostles wrote in his first letter. “This is Jesus who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree. 1 John 5: 6, 7.
Water is something that we all use for cleansing purposes and when we add a cleansing agent to it, stubborn stains, dirt and germs are removed. 
So when we think of Jesus' baptism: the water together with the cleansing agent the blood of Jesus applied to our heart, we can understand the implications, it removes sin and its causes, things that spoil our relationship with God and other people too; selfishness, pride, envy, covetousness, rivalry, deceit, fornication, slander, lies, licentiousness and theft. 
So the water of the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ blood cleanses us. We are made alive by Holy Spirit, a new creation, born again into the kingdom of God. Having received from God the Holy Spirit, one experience is worth a thousand arguments.

The Real Jesus.

Jesus is risen, he is alive, and he is real today. Lives are transformed by him as the Trinity indwells the believer, the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us. 

God is Spirit; God is love, love that is patient, kind, forgiving, just, tolerant, truthful, peaceable, fervent, generous, grateful, thankful, joyful, fun and faithful. Wise and discerning in knowing when to speak and when to be silent. Wanting the best for others and to be content in every circumstance.

Given grace to be yourself and at peace.

When we come to Jesus in faith he accepts us as we are. His indwelling presence changes the way we think and our attitudes, this takes effect immediately, but continues over many years as the Holy Spirit gives us fresh insight about ourselves.

The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus through the written word, especially his promises, here are four: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. . . . .  how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11: 9-13.

The Holy Spirit is at work in the world and often at work in people’s lives without a person knowing him personally. He enables an unbeliever to be touched with the words about Jesus, in order to give every person the opportunity to make a choice to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour.

“All things are possible to them that believe.”Mark 9: 23. 

A friend reminded me of this when I was sharing this word yesterday. I was grateful for his word to me, he said, “Noah knew the dove had found dry land when it brought back an olive leaf to him, it’s like when we reach out to people with an olive branch telling them about Jesus.
We speak of giving or receiving an olive branch as a token of forgiveness, of peace. Genesis 8: 11.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, may the leaders of nations in their conversations with each other have opportunities today to hand an olive branch of forgiveness and peace and may we too have opportunities to do the same. Help us to serve you with willing hearts and to put into practise carrying our cross today. In Jesus’ name.

                                                                                                      

The  Messiah’s  Secret – Bethany

 Evening  Lectionary: Exodus 6: 2-13.  John 12: 1-8 

Someone wrote – “Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish one’s growth without destroying one’s roots.”  

In our reading in Exodus Moses was being criticised unfairly as he sought to be obedient to God's will by the people of Israel for being unsuccessful when he went with God’s message to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” Pharaoh refused to let the people go, instead he made the people work harder by having to go and collect the straw to make the same number of bricks.

The people complained to Moses concerning their suffering, but God was in their suffering, and we know now that God had to fulfil his purposes through Moses and Aaron, God would be victorious over the gods and magicians of Egypt, eventually releasing the people of Israel as a nation from their bondage to Pharaoh.

At last Tuesday’s Lent Bible Study we were discussing suffering “Why does God allow suffering? We looked at John 11 were Mary and Martha had sent for Jesus when their brother Lazarus was seriously ill, but he did not come and they must have wondered why, but in the purposes of God it was intended that Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead.

In our own situations we may find ourselves being criticised for not responding to someone's need, there may have been a misunderstanding or forgetting to pick someone up, a mix up of some kind and as a result causing suffering. We may be doing too much and as a result a gentle word to point out that there is a need to re-asses their situation and looking carefully at their commitment in other areas of their ministry, and by prayer handing everything to the Lord in faith believing that his will be done.  

So as we picture the scene at Bethany while Mary was doing this beautiful act of anointing Jesus. The moment was interrupted by Judas who criticised Mary he was annoyed that she had spent so much on the anointment, saying, “Why was this ointment not sold for 300 danarii and given to the poor.”

Judas Iscariot

Looking at the character of Judas he had spent three years in ministry with Jesus. Along with the other disciples he had taken out the message of the coming kingdom and he took on the responsibility to manage their finances.

However, John informs us in this reading that Judas was not to be trusted because he stole from their money box. How hard it must have been for Jesus to go through his ministry with a disciple who was not trustworthy.  

We know now that Jesus appointed Judas as one of his twelve disciples knowing that he would betray him, therefore perhaps we should not be surprised when John wrote “Not that he cared for the poor.” He was insincere, he betrayed Jesus for money. Judas was not close to Jesus, he was not there at the transfiguration.

The interpretation of the parables did not have any effect on him, 

Jesus I am sure loved Judas with an unconditional love and continually forgave him, turning his cheek, putting into practise his own words. After Judas made these remarks to Mary, Jesus diffused Judas’ criticism of her by saying, “Leave her alone, and let her keep it for the day of my burial.” 

In Matthew’s account Mary anointed both his head and his feet, and he remembered more of Jesus’ words “She has done a beautiful thing to me,” How privileged Mary was to do something personally for Jesus.

Mary of Bethany fulfilled the Psalmist prophecy concerning the plan of God in anointing Jesus for his burial. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body in order to bury him in a tomb.  Joseph and Nicodemus embalmed Jesus’ body in the tomb.

The Psalmist’ prophecy 23: 4,5 These verses amazingly speak of that night at Bethany.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; thy rod and staff are a comfort to me; Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.”  RSV Bible 

Six days before Jesus’ death on the cross he was comforted by his friends at Bethany over a meal, where one of them was his enemy Judas. Mary anointed Jesus head and his feet with oil, anointing him for his burial. His cup overflowed with kindness towards Mary. 

Just as God fulfilled his promise to Moses

In Exodus 6 verses 2-13 I counted seven ‘I will’ as God promised to fulfil his covenant and set them free. Jesus accomplished his task in his death and resurrection, fulfilling his Father’s will in setting us free from our bondage's so that we might live a Christ-like life.

Set Free from the bondage of drugs. 

At my sister’s church a former addict James met Jesus out walking his dog, he was preparing to end his life, when Jesus appeared to him in the park in the form of a brilliant light and he saw on the ground a rope going across the footpath and he heard the words, “Cross over that rope and you’re in eternal hell.” His thought changed, his addiction to drugs left him in an instant and today he is completely free and today he teaches and preaches the Bible.

Today the Lord is in every situation that we face and he will fulfil his purposes we may find out in due course or at some later date look back and see we need not have worried as the Lord had been directing our path.                                                                                                          

The  Messiah’s  Secret - Discernment. 
Evening Lectionary 
Hebrews 11: 1-3, 8-16. John 8: 51-59

The Bishop of Bolton Chris Edmondson  at a Readers Quiet Morning(2009) gave a talk on ‘Discernment’. He gave guidance through 10 points, I’ll read one of them: Learn to discern the difference between ‘the world’, ‘the flesh’ and ‘the devil’ so that the devil does not get ‘credit’ for what is a purely human phenomenon.

 What is the human phenomenon?

I have worshipped at churches where you were not encouraged to say anything other than the liturgy.
‘Church Chuckles’ “I would be grateful if the member of the congregation who keeps calling out, “Praise the Lord!” would kindly cease and remember that this is the house of God.” 

Friendly banter, “The church members were meeting to discuss raising money to repair the roof. A wealthy member stood up and said he would donate £5. As he sat down a bit of ceiling fell on his head. He rose again and said he would make it £50. Another member was heard to say, ”Hit him again, Lord.”  

‘Church Chuckles’  by Phil and Mary Mason. Publishers Monarch. 

In John Chapter 8 a heated conversation took place between Jesus and the Jews in the temple at Jerusalem. Jesus made a distinction between the spirituality of those born of the seed of Abraham and those born the children of Abraham.

The people who were talking with Jesus he described as being of the seed of Abraham they were Abraham’s descendants, having the covenants and promises, but they were in bondage, under the influence of the devil. 

Whereas, the children of Abraham their spirituality would reflect the fellowship that Abraham had with God. Abraham sought to hear from God and he acted in faith and obedience. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “By faith Abraham went to Promised Land not knowing where he was going, and when he settled in Canaan he looked for a heavenly city whose maker and builder was God. 

Discernment  

Jesus said that those who were the children of Abraham would have listened and heard God in his words and received him in faith, they would have loved him  

Those listening their response indicated they neither discerned or heard what he said.  This fulfilled what Isaiah wrote “Go to this people and say, You shall indeed hear but not understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull' and their ears are heavy with hearing, and their eyes have closed; lest they should receive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.” Isaiah 6: 9,10.  

The Lent Course the study of Mark 10: 32 – 45. 

Jesus told his disciples that he was going to be killed at Jerusalem and after three days be raised from the dead. They did not hear what he was saying, instead they picked up the word ‘kingdom’ and asked who should sit on his left and right in his kingdom. They were coming from the seed of Abraham the flesh, pride, self determined life, position and power. Jesus said are you able to drink the cup of his baptism? 
They responded by saying, ”Yes, we are able.” They followed him on the journey to the cross, where two criminals where crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. This is what Jesus was pointing to when James and John would be baptised into Jesus' death and resurrection, crucified with Christ in dying to self determined lives, seeking the lowest place, not seeking positions of power and authority, instead “not my will, but Jesus your will be done. 
James and John suffered for their faith:  James was killed by Herod and John was exiled to Pathos. Many Christians are suffering today in Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Nigeria. Barnabas Aid asks us to pray today for the people of Eastern Nigeria who are being persecuted by Boko Haran.
  

We discussed the possibility that, “Surely having heard from Jesus of his death they would understand.” But in other scriptures Luke and Matthew's Gospel they confirmed that the disciples could not grasp what Jesus was saying, “And taking the twelve, he said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written of the Son of man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon; they will scourge him and kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hid from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” Luke 18:31- 34 

After God had revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus said that he was going to suffer and the third day rise from the dead. Peter said, "God forbid it Lord! This should never happen to you!"  Matthew 16: 13 - 23.

The prophesies in the scriptures were hidden by God  

Jesus’ parables as well as many of the prophesies were not discerned by the disciples as well as the Jews. Like the prophecy where Abraham took his son Isaac and laid him upon the altar and God provided the ram for sacrifice. Fulfilled in Jesus. 
Genesis 22 Isaiah 53. Hebrews 11: 17-19.  

Jesus said, “Abraham ‘Saw Christ’s day and rejoiced’.  Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus as he probably discerned that God had in mind of making an offering of his Son to suffer and die to make the final sacrifice for sin. 

Jesus words John 8: 51, “If a person keeps my words, they will never see death.” Christians  are born not of human descent, we are adopted by Jesus to become children of God. Adopted through the promise given to Abraham, therefore we are, inheritors of the kingdom of God.   

Scriptures Revealed. 

On the evening of the day of Jesus’ resurrection when Jesus appeared in the house at Jerusalem where his disciples were gathered and he breathed on his disciples the Holy Spirit and he opened their minds to understand the scriptures that the Christ had to suffer death and be raised up by God on the third day. It was only then was the scriptures realised. Luke 24: 44 – 48.  Some of those scriptures were included  in the Gospels. John 2: 21, 22. 12: 16. Matthew 8: 17  

The Incarnation

Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, or ‘I solemnly declare to you’ “ Before Abraham was, I am.”   

Jesus the word of God clothed in the flesh. John  wrote In the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  In his first letter he wrote describing Jesus’ presence among them, “We have handled the word of life.”  

Jesus honoured by God 

In heaven Jesus was honoured by his Father, the lamb that was slain he took the scroll from the right hand of him sitting on the throne. The angels and all the company of heaven said with aloud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honour, glory and blessing.” Revelation 4: 9 Jesus lifted high above all things.  

After Pentecost

Caiaphas the high priest had been given a prophecy from God that one man would die so that the nation would not perish. (be saved.) John 11: 47 - 53. 18: 14.

When at and after Pentecost the disciples witnessed to the resurrection of Jesus and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit prophesied by King David and Joel one would have thought that Caiaphas would have understood that the prophecy God gave him had been fulfilled, that God had hidden from their, the leaders understanding the Messiah’s death so that they would allow it to happen, and that afterwards he would be able to discern the resurrection being true, even though it was contrary to the Sadducee beliefs,  or was it because he was coming from the seed of Abraham.