#27 - ALIVE With LIFE?
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(English Standard Version)
Mt 28- Resurrection - Report of the Guard - The Great Commission
Mk 16- Resurrection - Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene - Jesus Appears to Two Disciples - The Great Commission
Lk 24- Resurrection - On Road to Emmaus - Jesus Appears to His Disciples - The Ascension
Jn 20- Resurrection - Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene - Appears to Disciples - Jesus and Thomas - The Purpose of This Book
Jn 21- Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples - Jesus and Peter - Jesus and the Beloved Apostle
COMMENTS and QUESTIONS
by J Neil Evans:
God’s eternal desire is to have loving fellowship with the people He created so that they could enjoy Him by displaying the Glories of His Being. In order for that to happen, God’s enemies in the universe needed to be defeated. God’s enemies are Satan and all who follow him in selfish, proud rebellion against God. Satan led the rebellion of a myriad of spirit beings like himself who sought equality with God. And when God created mankind Satan took the first opportunity to lead them in that proud rebellion as well. When Adam and Eve fell for the temptation to “be like God” they too became enemies of God and objects of His Righteous and Just Wrath.
Thus, in the Old Testament God reveals both mankind’s need for a Savior and God’s plan and preparation to be the Savior we need. The Gospels of Matthew Mark, Luke and John reveal the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God’s Promises to be our Savior. The Gospels end with Jesus giving, to His small band of followers, the monumental task of taking the Good News of Who Jesus is and what He has done to the entire world.
So now, we move on to the rest of the New Testament to learn what more God wants us to know about the “Abundant LIFE” (John 10:10) God offers to all who desire to “…become His Children, by receiving Him and believing Him.” (John 1:12)
All down through history God has dealt with people according to His Perfect Character. The contrasts between God and men have been always evident. God is Righteous, Just, Merciful, and all other Perfections in Infinite degrees. Man is unrighteous, unjust, unmerciful and imperfect in every degree. Any seeming goodness in man that is not inspired and empowered by God is rooted in selfishness and pride.
The penalty of rebellion is death and it must be paid in order for Justice to be accomplished. In addition, there must be a transformation of character. The proud, selfish and sinful heart must be changed. To pay our own death penalty is eternally fatal. To transform our own character is impossible. There needed to be another way. God chose to satisfy the demands of Justice by Mercifully paying the penalty Himself. From the beginning God planned to become a human being and live sinlessly as no other human being could do. God, personally and fully, paid our death penalty so He could give His LIFE to anyone who would accept the gift of His sacrifice in their place.
The Old Testament, in addition to revealing the background to this amazing story, demonstrates both our need for a Savior and how a Substitute can satisfy the demands of Justice. Every “saint” of the Old Testament was a sinner. Every person, no matter how seemingly good, had their sinful flaws. The Laws God gave were impossible for any person to keep. So, God instructed them to kill unblemished animals as substitutionary sacrifices to atone for their sin. People offered those sacrifices over and over, because they sinned over and over. The sacrifices of animals were illustrations of the Sacrifice God Himself was to make in the Person of Jesus Christ.
While the animal sacrifices were insufficient, many people blindly thought that trying to keep God’s laws and making sacrifices was what God required. So, in their efforts, they believed they were earning God’s favor and forgiveness. But they returned week after week, month after month, year after year, with sacrifices and renewed covenants for the guilt they continually carried. God’s response was: “this people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” They proved that they could not gain God’s approval simply by keeping His Laws.
During their time of experiencing God’s disfavor, under the oppressive hand of Rome, God became a man in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus became the Perfect Sacrifice that fully paid for, atoned for, substituted for our sin. What all the animal sacrifices could not do, Jesus did for all mankind. All God required was for individuals to embrace what God said about Himself and about themselves. This requirement was the exact struggle presented in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus claimed to be God become a man and demonstrated it by living perfectly in word and action. Some people believed and loved Him, others called Jesus a blasphemer and hated Him to death. In the climactic proof of all Jesus claimed, He rose from the dead as He had promised.
In the brief days after the Resurrection, Jesus launched His Church, not based on keeping laws but on believing and trusting in the Perfect Sacrifice Jesus had made on our behalf. God never intended for the sacrifice of animals to atone for our sin, but for them to illustrate the coming Sacrifice of The Perfect Jesus on behalf of all mankind. Old testament believers were not forgiven because of their animal sacrifices but because of the Sacrifice that Jesus would give when He came as The Promised Savior.
So as we have finished reading the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we see God transitioning from using Israel to using His Church to demonstrate and declare His love for the world. Both groups have done so imperfectly, which is not God’s failure but the fault of individuals who “honor God with their lips, but whose hearts are from Him.” God knows us perfectly and so as He began to establish His Church He appointed faithful men to teach others significance of what Jesus accomplished in His Life, Death and Resurrection.
(English Standard Version)
Mt 28- Resurrection - Report of the Guard - The Great Commission
Mk 16- Resurrection - Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene - Jesus Appears to Two Disciples - The Great Commission
Lk 24- Resurrection - On Road to Emmaus - Jesus Appears to His Disciples - The Ascension
Jn 20- Resurrection - Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene - Appears to Disciples - Jesus and Thomas - The Purpose of This Book
Jn 21- Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples - Jesus and Peter - Jesus and the Beloved Apostle
COMMENTS and QUESTIONS
by J Neil Evans:
God’s eternal desire is to have loving fellowship with the people He created so that they could enjoy Him by displaying the Glories of His Being. In order for that to happen, God’s enemies in the universe needed to be defeated. God’s enemies are Satan and all who follow him in selfish, proud rebellion against God. Satan led the rebellion of a myriad of spirit beings like himself who sought equality with God. And when God created mankind Satan took the first opportunity to lead them in that proud rebellion as well. When Adam and Eve fell for the temptation to “be like God” they too became enemies of God and objects of His Righteous and Just Wrath.
Thus, in the Old Testament God reveals both mankind’s need for a Savior and God’s plan and preparation to be the Savior we need. The Gospels of Matthew Mark, Luke and John reveal the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God’s Promises to be our Savior. The Gospels end with Jesus giving, to His small band of followers, the monumental task of taking the Good News of Who Jesus is and what He has done to the entire world.
So now, we move on to the rest of the New Testament to learn what more God wants us to know about the “Abundant LIFE” (John 10:10) God offers to all who desire to “…become His Children, by receiving Him and believing Him.” (John 1:12)
All down through history God has dealt with people according to His Perfect Character. The contrasts between God and men have been always evident. God is Righteous, Just, Merciful, and all other Perfections in Infinite degrees. Man is unrighteous, unjust, unmerciful and imperfect in every degree. Any seeming goodness in man that is not inspired and empowered by God is rooted in selfishness and pride.
The penalty of rebellion is death and it must be paid in order for Justice to be accomplished. In addition, there must be a transformation of character. The proud, selfish and sinful heart must be changed. To pay our own death penalty is eternally fatal. To transform our own character is impossible. There needed to be another way. God chose to satisfy the demands of Justice by Mercifully paying the penalty Himself. From the beginning God planned to become a human being and live sinlessly as no other human being could do. God, personally and fully, paid our death penalty so He could give His LIFE to anyone who would accept the gift of His sacrifice in their place.
The Old Testament, in addition to revealing the background to this amazing story, demonstrates both our need for a Savior and how a Substitute can satisfy the demands of Justice. Every “saint” of the Old Testament was a sinner. Every person, no matter how seemingly good, had their sinful flaws. The Laws God gave were impossible for any person to keep. So, God instructed them to kill unblemished animals as substitutionary sacrifices to atone for their sin. People offered those sacrifices over and over, because they sinned over and over. The sacrifices of animals were illustrations of the Sacrifice God Himself was to make in the Person of Jesus Christ.
While the animal sacrifices were insufficient, many people blindly thought that trying to keep God’s laws and making sacrifices was what God required. So, in their efforts, they believed they were earning God’s favor and forgiveness. But they returned week after week, month after month, year after year, with sacrifices and renewed covenants for the guilt they continually carried. God’s response was: “this people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” They proved that they could not gain God’s approval simply by keeping His Laws.
During their time of experiencing God’s disfavor, under the oppressive hand of Rome, God became a man in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus became the Perfect Sacrifice that fully paid for, atoned for, substituted for our sin. What all the animal sacrifices could not do, Jesus did for all mankind. All God required was for individuals to embrace what God said about Himself and about themselves. This requirement was the exact struggle presented in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus claimed to be God become a man and demonstrated it by living perfectly in word and action. Some people believed and loved Him, others called Jesus a blasphemer and hated Him to death. In the climactic proof of all Jesus claimed, He rose from the dead as He had promised.
In the brief days after the Resurrection, Jesus launched His Church, not based on keeping laws but on believing and trusting in the Perfect Sacrifice Jesus had made on our behalf. God never intended for the sacrifice of animals to atone for our sin, but for them to illustrate the coming Sacrifice of The Perfect Jesus on behalf of all mankind. Old testament believers were not forgiven because of their animal sacrifices but because of the Sacrifice that Jesus would give when He came as The Promised Savior.
So as we have finished reading the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we see God transitioning from using Israel to using His Church to demonstrate and declare His love for the world. Both groups have done so imperfectly, which is not God’s failure but the fault of individuals who “honor God with their lips, but whose hearts are from Him.” God knows us perfectly and so as He began to establish His Church He appointed faithful men to teach others significance of what Jesus accomplished in His Life, Death and Resurrection.
Check out these LINKS:
Watch Bible Project video about Matthew
Watch Bible Project video about Mark
Watch Bible Project video about Luke
Watch Bible Project video about John
Read "Bible Words to Ponder" related to this week study
Read "The Gospel"