Tag Archives: resurrection

The Beginning of an Unfinished Work Part 4 – Judaism meets Jesus (Acts 4)

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Judaism Meets Jesus – Acts 4

Part 4 in the Series – “The Beginning of an Unfinished Work”

With the birth and establishment of the Church (Acts 1-3) now on clear footing; the Jewish “religious leaders” begin to take notice. The Holy Spirit is working in the lives (through conviction) of both the religious leaders as well as the common person. Some will fully embrace Christ while others will continue to reject Him. Many of the religious leaders didn’t agree with the message that the Apostles were declaring but were paralyzed to do anything.

The cornerstone message that the apostles were teaching was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The apostles were witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus and for 40 days after that they listened to him teach about the kingdom, they ate with him and fellowshipped with him. They were compelled to proclaim the message that Jesus rose from the dead. This caused enough concern from the religious leaders that they decided to arrest Peter and John and convene a meeting of the Sanhedrin to determine if this healing of the crippled man (Acts 3) was valid and by what authority they could perform this miracle.

Peter set out to preach another sermon where he once again reminds the religious leaders that their authority to heal this man rested in the Name of Jesus Christ – the One they crucified! It was Jesus that granted them the authority and power to heal.

“Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:1-8)

The beggar (who was crippled) now stands before them in good health and complete wholeness of which the religious leaders could not dispute. Peter declares to them that the only way to cure their problem was to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. The religious leaders lacked faith, and they had no response for the crippled man walking in their midst because they didn’t believe in Jesus. They couldn’t prove Peter or James had done anything wrong and thus were unable to punish them for anything. The best solution they could produce was they told them to stop teaching about Jesus.

“It is particularly striking that neither on this nor on any subsequent occasion (as far as our information goes) did the Sanhedrin take any serious action to disprove the apostle’s central affirmation – the resurrection of Jesus. Had it been possible to refute them on this point, how readily would the Sanhedrin have seized the opportunity! Had they succeeded, how quickly and completely the new movement would have collapsed! (F.F. Bruce – The Book of Acts [Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1971 page 102)

Peter and John are subsequently released and they return to their brethren and continue to preach and teach about Jesus. In addition, we are told they continue to perform more miracles and wonders. This results in the church expanding to well over 10,000 people. They are unified in their love for one another, and they care for each other’s needs. They will face more persecution but that won’t stop them from declaring the truth that Jesus is the only way to God!

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

When Judaism Meets Jesus (Acts 4)Download

Three Years That Changed the World – He is Risen Just As He Said

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Three Years That Changed the World – Lesson 22

He is Risen – Just as He Said

(Jesus in John 20)

When Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and subsequently arrested by representatives of the chief priests and elders, He voluntarily submitted to be taken to trial before the Sanhedrin (The governing body of Jewish Temple). Jesus did this as it was a fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets spoke of (read – Isaiah 53). This was all a part of God’s plan. The initial accusations and charges didn’t rise to the level of requiring death, but when the high priest asked Jesus; “are you the Messiah, the Son of God? It was His response that provides the answer to Why the Resurrection? “You have said so, Jesus replied. But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). To the Jewish leaders who heard this response by Jesus, they considered it blasphemy, for to them Jesus was declaring himself to be equal with God. However, their method of punishment for such a claim was to stone the person to death. This was not the plan of God but instead Jesus would be presented before a Roman governor named Pontius Pilate who ultimately would pronounce judgement to crucify Him. As such, hundreds, if not thousands would witness the horrendous punishment inflicted by the Roman soldiers upon Jesus (a fulfillment of what the prophets foretold) and ultimately nailed Him to the cross because God willed it so. At any point, Jesus could have called the entire host of angels to stop such a cruel punishment, but He voluntarily submitted Himself to die for the sins of the world. Jesus was nailed to the cross and there were sufficient witnesses to that fact – four gospel accounts, 27 New Testament books, hundreds and probably thousands who witnessed the crucifixion and death. After His death, Jesus was placed in a tomb. The religious leaders went to great extremes to ensure His body stayed there and even had a stone rolled in front of the opening of the tomb to ensure his body could not be stolen. Well, 3 days later Jesus rose from the dead, because He is God and to fulfill what He told His disciples He would do. Now, there have been plenty of doubters and skeptics from then until now who claim it didn’t happen. To deny the resurrection doesn’t mean it didn’t happen but the evidence that it did happen is overwhelming! You will have to read the attached lesson to see for yourself and if I didn’t cover it thorough enough – read the Bible for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Consider this:

Why the Resurrection? Because that was always God’s plan to redeem fallen man and ransom us from eternal separation from the One who created us. All He asks is that we trust and believe Him.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18)

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10)

He is Risen Just as He Said – Jesus in John 20Download

Three Years That Changed The World – “I Am the Resurrection and the Life”, Jesus in John 11

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Three Years That Changed the World – Lesson 13

Jesus – I Am the Resurrection and the Life

(Jesus in John 11)

This chapter (John 11) introduces the story of Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha. All three of these individuals have a very close relationship with Jesus and in addition to what John records here in chapters 11 & 12, Luke has a short narrative about Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. The chapter (John 11) begins by mentioning that Lazarus was very sick and quickly succumbs to whatever ailed him and he subsequently dies. Lazarus is not the focal point of this story but the events surrounding him, his sisters and his ultimate death will bring about a miracle in which Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead.

There was a total of 4 days that passed before Jesus went to the location where Lazarus was. By the time Jesus arrives – Lazarus had already been dead. Jesus knowing what he was going to do (raise Lazarus from the dead) declared that himself and God were to be glorified through this, and the delay in the time of his arrival had nothing to do with Lazarus and everything to do with God’s plan.

Jesus knew full well that Lazarus was dead and that he would raise him from the dead (something the disciples would witness) to bring glory to God and to confirm himself to be equal with God (only God can raise someone from the dead).

Jesus uses this moment to reveal to Martha that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. Martha, though she believed in Jesus, may not have fully understood what Jesus was about to do. Jesus boldly declares the 5th of the 7 “I am” statements recorded in the Gospel of John – “I am the resurrection and the life”. Each of these “I am” statements are claims of deity (Jesus declaring himself to be God) and will cause some to believe in him and others to reject him.

The purpose of raising Lazarus from the dead extended beyond seeing Lazarus alive again. This was a sovereign act of Christ, designed to glorify himself and the Father by putting his resurrection power on full display to not just Martha and the others at Lazarus’ tomb but to all who read John’s Gospel.

The whole purpose for why John wrote his Gospel account is this: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31). My hope is that you too will believe and in doing so will have eternal life in the presence of God.

Part 13 – I Am the Resurrection and the Life – John 11Download