Matthew 28 - The Great Commission

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:16-20.

The first followers to witness Jesus' resurrection from the dead were the women who ministered to Him. They experienced an angelic announcement to go and tell the other disciples, and then as they went in obedience, they had a personal encounter with Jesus! Think about that! As they were traveling back from the empty tomb to the place where the disciples were hidden away in fear, Jesus met them on the road. Jesus encouraged these women to continue believing and acting in obedience. He knew there would be doubts from some of the twelve (Thomas), but they were to press forward in faith and share the good news. Sadly, the disciples missed this divine opportunity that the women experienced.  

Matthew ends with the disciples returning to Galilee and experiencing their own personal encounter with Jesus. Even though there were some doubts, they accepted His mandate to go into all the known world surrounding Israel and share the Gospel with all nations. And the disciples (including the Apostle Paul) did just that. By the time Judgment Day came in 70 AD, the disciples and apostles had completed their task of delivering the message of Jesus and the New Kingdom, just as the Lord directed! 

Today, we the church, the body of Christ, are to continue that mandate - to share the good news of the Gospel and advance the Kingdom!

Links:
https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/unheeded-or-misinterpreted-signs-the-destruction-of-jerusalem-70ad/

http://bible.christiansunite.com/jos/warindex.shtml

http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com/

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eschatology-allthingsfulfilled

Matthew 27 - Delivered from the Pains of Death

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. Matthew 27: 50-54. 

The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus suffered greatly on the cross, both physically and spiritually. We considered Psalms 22 in other teachings, but one should also consider Psalms 116:3, which states that The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow, as well as Acts 2:24, which states that Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. There was a great suffering on that day that none of us who are in Christ will every experience, praise God. That suffering, along with His shed blood, were sufficient to satisfy the penalty for sin required by the Law, AND exceed it. God raised Jesus up as proof that death and sin no longer had power over Israel under that old, Mosaic, temple system. A new temple was being established, a spiritual temple, which was Christ (and His body - the church).

Another sign that the Law had been satisfied was the renting of the temple veil separating the Most Holy Place - it was split from top to bottom - not so that man could come in to where God dwelled, necessarily, but so that God could rush out to His people and dwell amongst them, a desire of His from the beginning of time. 

There were other signs of Jesus' divinity, which were witnessed by the Roman soldiers who had tortured Him and hung Him on the cross, as well as some of the women followers. We also see in Matthew that, after Jesus' resurrection, the graves of the saints were opened, and these saints went into Jerusalem and showed themselves to many. We do not have any additional evidence of this event in the Word or from historians, but we must believe it by faith. Just as Lazarus came out of the tomb in John 11, these saints who had died under the Old Covenant came out of their tombs after Jesus' resurrection. 

But there was a spiritual resurrection to come, when the entire Old Covenant, Mosaic temple system came to its finality in 70 AD and the New Covenant/Kingdom of God came. Jesus is here and lives in the hearts and minds of His people, the church! That is very good news!

Links:
https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/unheeded-or-misinterpreted-signs-the-destruction-of-jerusalem-70ad/

http://bible.christiansunite.com/jos/warindex.shtml

http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com/

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eschatology-allthingsfulfilled

Matthew 27 - Psalms 22 Fulfilled!

Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest itin three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Matthew 27: 38-44.

If one wants an idea as to what our Savior was experiencing while hanging on the cross, just read Psalms 22 - which, amazingly, was written by King David some one thousand years BEFORE Jesus was born in Bethlehem and BEFORE crucifixion was invented by the Roman empire. It describes the physical suffering as well as the spiritual suffering that He endured, AND it describes what propelled Him to stay there on the cross and to finish the work. Yes, He was obedient to what the heavenly Father required, but He also saw us, His brethren, the fellow sons of God, who would be born again IN Him and be partakers of the glorious kingdom that God would introduce to the world in 70AD. Like a loving parent who is willing to sacrifice for his or her children, Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, the children of God. (See Hebrews 12:2).

Psalms 22 is bookended by "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and "He has done it!" or "It is finished." It is no coincidence that these are the first and last words spoken by Jesus before He physically died. The heavenly Father has revealed to us through the Gospels that Psalms 22 is really the words of the Savior while suffering for us.

One additional comment on the thieves hanging on either side of Jesus on their respective crosses-- Matthew reveals that they both gnashed their teeth and cursed at the Lord while He hung there, suffering, but in Luke 23, it is revealed that one of them eventually repented and believed. This is an encouragement to us all not to give up on our friends and loved ones who are stubborn in accepting Jesus. The heavenly Father knows how to draw His children to Himself, and He will do it. Stay vigilant and keep praying and believing and God's plan will be fulfilled!

Just as the Father fulfilled His plan for Jesus set forth in Psalms 22, He will fulfill His plan for all of His sons of glory!

Links:
https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/unheeded-or-misinterpreted-signs-the-destruction-of-jerusalem-70ad/

http://bible.christiansunite.com/jos/warindex.shtml

http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com/

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html

Matthew 16 - Take Up Your Cross!

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:24-26.

Peter's wonderful revelation of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the Living God was somewhat short-lived. As Jesus began sharing His future persecution and death on the cross, Peter used his natural thinking, as all of us would under the circumstances, and was understandably confused. In a moment of pride, Peter turned to Jesus and rebuked Him. Jesus, in turn, spoke back to Peter and rebuked Satan, claiming that he had in mind the things of man and NOT of God.

Satanic thinking always desires righteousness with God based on MAN's WORKS and not on GOD's WORK. God's righteousness comes from Jesus' final and complete work on the cross!

At that moment, Peter was speaking from his natural thinking and not from his newfound spiritual revelation. Because he wasn't yet born again, he had no true revelation of the coming spiritual kingdom, and so Jesus' death and resurrection made no sense to him. The natural mind cannot understand the things of God, because God is spirit and requires spiritual revelation.

The plans of God are always better than anything we could plan for our own natural lives. At the time Peter rebuked Jesus, the cross sounded like the worst plan in the world! But the reality is that it was the BEST plan in the world! It would establish the church and bring forth a multitude of born-again children of God filled with His Holy Spirit!

To be part of this wonderful spiritual kingdom, all of us must lay down our earthly dreams and desires and live the life the Heavenly Father has planned for us. When we "lose our lives" and take up our cross to follow Jesus, we FIND our spiritual lives. The spiritual life is what matters, for it will live on forever!