DEATH OF JESUS
Jesus' Death
Multitudes of people followed Jesus - hearing His teachings, witnessing His miracles. The religious leaders did not like Jesus getting so much attention so they devised a plan to kill Jesus, who was 33 years of age. They made false statements about Him in court and demanded that Pontius Pilate, the Roman judge, sentence Jesus to die. They screamed, "Crucify Him!" The Roman soldiers beat Him with a whip 39 times. His flesh was torn in strips and blood oozed down His back. These 39 stripes are for the healing of my body and yours. By His stripes we are healed. The Old Testament covenant required the death of a perfect sacrifice in order to take away the peoples' sins. Jesus was forced to carry His own cross up the hill, Golgotha. He was nailed to a cross of rough wood that was thrust into the ground. As He hung on the cross naked, people mocked and scorned him for calling Himself the Son of God. As He died Jesus declared, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they do." He pronounced, "It is finished!" as He died. By saying these words He acknowledged that He had done the work which the Father had sent Him to earth to do. He was an obedient Son. The instant he died the heavy veil of the temple was torn in half from the top down. The sky was darkened as night.
His Burial Friends
Friends of Jesus took His body off the cross and buried Him in a borrowed tomb with enough burial spices for a king. The Romans assigned soldiers to guard Jesus' grave because the Jews were afraid that Jesus' body would be stolen. To prevent this from happening, a very heavy stone was rolled across the tomb and it was sealed shut.
His Resurrection
After three days in the grave, Jesus came back to life. Because of His resurrection nearly 2000 years ago, Easter is still celebrated today. When some of Jesus' followers came to the tomb and found it empty they were afraid. Jesus then appeared to His followers outside the tomb. Jesus lived on earth for fifty days after His resurrection from the dead. More than 500 people saw Him and witnessed the events. He ate with some of these witnesses. He let one of his disciples, Thomas, touch his wounds. Because Jesus was resurrected from the dead you and I have the promise that we will also come back to life and live with Jesus if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
His Return to Heaven
After spending time with the disciples during the 50 days following His resurrection, Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven. Many people witnessed His departure from the earth as He ascended through the clouds into the heavens (Acts 1:9-11). As He was leaving Jesus promised to return again. Someday Jesus will return to take His believers from the earth. If you have believed that Jesus is the Son of God and have received Jesus as your risen Savior and have been forgiven of your sins, you will go to Heaven in this second coming whether you are still living on this earth or have died in the faith. You must pray to be ready for the return of Jesus.
Jesus Helps
Jesus is alive today and He wants to help anyone who will call upon Him. He sits on His throne in Heaven and is always ready to intercede for you when you pray and ask Him. Jesus will help you with your depression, sickness, disease, sin, guilt, or bondage if you will pray and ask Him. You can pray and be forgiven of your sins and become a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed to His Father in Heaven. He taught others how to pray. You can know Jesus as your personal Savior. When you accept Jesus into your heart you begin a new life spiritually.
The Character of God
- God is the Alpha and the Omega--the beginning and the end. One of God's names is "I am". He has no beginning or ending.
- God is the creator of the universe. For this to be possible He existed before He created the world.
- God is the supreme power and authority of all things. Nothing can happen without God knowing it and allowing it to happen.
- God reveals to us everything we know about Him. He is a God who personally makes Himself known. We do not know all things about God, but each of us can know some things about Him.
God Is Sovereign
We do not always know why some things happen, but God does. He has a purpose for everything.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
God created the world by speaking it into existence. God is not limited in His power. He knows all things. He is always present.
The main characteristics of God are His holiness and love.
- God is holy. He is unique, sinless, and completely different. God contains every moral perfection. Every goodness is represented in God.
- God goes beyond loving; God is love. Nothing He does is outside of His love. Because of His great love He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins.
The Creator God
God made the heavens and Earth as we now know them. God spoke to the elements and the Earth was formed. God loves to create. His highest creation is man, a free moral agent. God took some clay and made the first man whom He named Adam. God told Adam to name all of the animals, fish, fowl and other things He had created. God wanted Adam and his wife Eve to live in the beautiful Garden of Eden and take care of the animals and garden.
The First Sin against God
Satan is the first one known to have rebelled against God. Satan was an angel who wanted to take over Heaven so God removed him and sent him to Earth as a fallen angel. The spirit of Satan, in the form of a serpent or snake, came to the first woman Eve in the garden of Eden and tempted her to disobey God by eating from the tree of knowledge. She then invited Adam and he also ate of the forbidden fruit. As soon as they had eaten the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve noticed that they were naked. They felt shame and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. God had created man and women and pronounced this creation, good. When sin entered the world man perceived the body as bad. Adam and Eve were ashamed to be seen naked by God; they felt like they had something to hide. The sin of disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit caused them to be removed from the garden and they were estranged from the right to talk face to face with God. As descendants of Adam and Eve, we are all born with their sinful nature. Though they were tempted by the serpent, Adam and Eve willingly broke their covenant with God. Through their actions sin entered the world. The only way for the curse of sin to be broken was through a sacrifice of the perfect being.
Redemption
The purpose of redeeming humankind is to unite the communion that was broken by sin. God did not intend for the world to be the way that it is, but He has made a way for redemption.
God wants us to be His people and not have sin in our lives. During the first 4000 years or the Old Testament times, God provided a temporary sacrifice for people to receive forgiveness for their sins. Once a year the sins of the people were symbolically heaped upon a goat which was driven out of the community. This process had to be repeated yearly. The priest would listen as people confessed their sins. He would then sacrifice an animal and offer the blood for the remission of the person's sins.
Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the permanent sacrifice for our sins. The blood of Jesus provides forgiveness for our sins.
By sending His Son, Jesus, God made a New Covenant or New Testament with civilization. Only a perfect man could be the sacrifice. Jesus was the only person who could have ever fit the qualifications; He had been born without a sin nature.
When people are born they have a seed of rebellion within their hearts. It is referred to as the seed of Adam. As children grow, this spirit causes them to want to disobey or rebel against rules and authority.
God restored His relationship with mankind. The spirit within man also desires a relationship -- a relationship with a higher power, the Creator, God. The God who created the first man Adam from the dust of the earth placed this emptiness within the heart of every person that remains reserved for the Spirit of God to dwell in—the God-shaped vacuum. When the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside a person, He fills this void and the person experiences true peace and joy.
Many people resist the Spirit of God and try many other substitutes, but none of them satisfy very long. There is always a yearning for something to fill this empty spot. Alcohol, drugs, illicit sex, perversion, entertainment, gambling and the like are often tried by multitudes, only to realize that nothing will satisfy their need except God. To find God you must first acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God. You must pray and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.