Is God Our Passion? Part III

⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
¹⁵ The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

²⁷ And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
²⁸ The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ²⁹ “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰ Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
³¹ In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
³³ Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! ³⁶ And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

³⁹ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of His own word.
⁴² Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”-John 4:5-42

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men,  “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

Consider this; this woman was an adultress. In those days adultery was punishable by stoning. She had probably come to draw water in the heat of the day because she was not welcomed to draw when the other women would be at the well. No doubt the men had little use for her as well. But she put her shame aside to go and tell the men in her town about Jesus.

News this good cannot be held to one’s self.

Who Is This Jesus Part V

“let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”” - Acts 4:10,12

Old Testament Prophecy

Today we will look specifically at passages in the Old Testament that point to Christ. In actuality, everything in the Old Testament points to Christ. There are quite a few passages here, and this is not even a complete list. I pray that you will read this in it’s entirety and see that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophesied Messiah.

¹ Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? ² The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ³ “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.  ⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure:  ⁶ “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”
⁷ “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.  ⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” ¹⁰ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth.  ¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹² Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.  -Psalm 2

Below are O.T. passages (printed) and the N.T. passages (Book, chapter and verse) that address fulfillment.  (taken from the Thomas Nelson King James Study Bible)                                                                        I apologize for some of the skips and spaces, mainly in regards to the Chapters and NT references. I could not get the text to set right. 

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” –Genesis 3:15    N.T. fulfillment: Galatians 4:4
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. -Genesis 49:10                    N.T. fulfillment: Luke 3:33

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
-Isaiah 9:7                                                                                                                                                       N.T. fulfillment: Luke 1:32,33

“ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” –Micah 5:2                                                                                                                   N.T. fulfillment: Luke 2:4, 5, 7

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. –Isaiah 7:14                                                                                         N.T. fulfillment: Luke 1:26, 27, 30, 31

 “I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. _Psalm 2:7“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. –Hosea 11:1                                                                                                                                                            N.T. fulfillment: Matthew 2:14-15             

¹ Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. ² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. –Isaiah 9:1-2                                                                                                           N.T. fulfillment: Matthew 4:13-16

¹ “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ² To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, -Isaiah 61:1-2                    N.T. fulfillment: Luke 4:18-19

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Isaiah 53:3                                                                                                                                                                 N.T. fulfillment: John 1:11;Luke 23:18

“ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. -Zechariah 9:9                                                                                                                      N.T. fulfillment: Mark 11:7, 9, 11

Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. –Zechariah 11:12                                                   N.T. fulfillment: Matthew 26:14-15

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. –Isaiah 53:7                                                                                                                                                      N.T. fulfillment: Mark 15:4-5

I gave My back to those who struck Me,and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. -Isaiah 50:6                                                                  N.T. fulfillment: Matthew 26:67

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12                                                                                                                                                   N.T. fulfillment: Mark 15:27-28

¹⁷ I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. ¹⁸ They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. -Psalm 22:17-18                                                              N.T. fulfillment: Matthew 27:35-36

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? Psalm 2:1                                                                                               N.T. fulfillment: Matthew 27:46

Please consider these things and continue to look closely at Jesus.   
                         
 If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact me. If you prefer to remain anonymous, I will not post your comment. You may also leave your email address and I will contact you. No personal information will be posted or used to for any other purpose than to reply to your question(s).

May God bless you and give you spiritual eyes to see His truth.

Who Is This Jesus? Part IV

Angels, Shepherds, a King, and Wise men

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. Luke 2:8-20

Shepherds were social outcasts in that day. Due to the vary nature of their job, they were unclean and not allowed in the temple. It is interesting that they were the first (outsiders, not members of the family of Jesus) persons to whom God chose to reveal that His long awaited Messiah was born. I believe this has a two-fold reason. 1.) God’s kingdom is open to all, and 2.) Jesus referred to Himself as a sheep (sacrificial lamb), and He also referred to Himself as The Good Shepherd.

¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
       ⁶ ‘ But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
      For out of you shall come a Ruler
       Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”              –Matthew 2:1-6

⁹ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.                       –Matthew 2:9-11

I believe this is an example of how God can make Himself known to those who are “outside” of the religious knowledgeable. By this I mean those who know God where general knowledge of Him is not preached. God can and does reveal Himself to whomever He chooses. These Magi/Wise men were obviously not Jewish but yet they knew this Messiah would not just be for the Jews. These men were obviously wealthy and of influence, yet they submitted to Christ’s authority.

In stark contrast are the “chief priests and scribes.” They knew Herod and yet they willingly gave up the information knowing that he might try to destroy the Messiah.

Herod was the established ruler and had the Roman government at his disposal. Even if this baby was to one day be the King, how much of an immediate threat was he to Herod? Of course we understand that Herod’s fear came from Satan but I will save that for later.

In summary, God revealed Himself to the rich and powerful as well as the social outcasts. There are those on both sides that receive Him and reject Him. God is no respecter of persons.

Who Is This Jesus? Part II

John’s Witness: The True Light

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,  that all through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Becomes Flesh

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
¹⁵ John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
¹⁶ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

A Voice in the Wilderness

¹⁹ Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
²⁰ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
²³ He said: “I am  ‘ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “ Make straight the way of the LORD,”’

   as the prophet Isaiah said.”
²⁴ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
²⁶ John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
²⁸ These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ³¹ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
³² And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵ Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. ³⁶ And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

John the Baptist was the cousin of Jesus and no doubt he knew Jesus. What I find interesting is that John did not know Jesus was the long awaited Messiah until this point. Why did God not reveal this to John earlier?

My thoughts tell me if John had known his cousin was the Messiah, he would not have preached the way he did but would have sought to be a disciple of Jesus from the beginning.

God had a purpose for John preaching: “I am  ‘ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “ Make straight the way of the LORD,”’

John knew what God wanted him to know, he preached what God wanted him to preach, he recognized Jesus when God wanted him to. Sometimes God does His will contrary to the way we think He should. I wonder if John thought about the years he could have spent learning from Jesus. Maybe he had more than what is mentioned in the scriptures, but the bottom line is, The Spirit revealed this to John in His timing.

John’s whole life was about preparing the way of the Lord.

Is ours?

Who Is This Jesus? Part I

For the last two thousand years or so, this question has been a global one. Christians are not the only ones who believe in or talk about Him. Muslims believe in Him, atheists fight Him, many Hindu’s believe in Him, agnostics wait to see Him, Jews deny Him, Satanists reject Him, and demons fear Him.

Without a doubt, Jesus Christ has had the greatest impact on the world of anyone in history. Whether we worship Him, hate Him, or deny Him, He has had some impact on us. The intent of this writing is to present the Biblical account of who He is.

For the sake of time, I will not argue whether He walked on the earth in human flesh. There is too much evidence to deny this. My argument will be whether He was who He said He was/is.  

John 1;1-18 (New King James Version)

The Eternal Word

 ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There is the argument that Jesus did not come into existence until His birth to Mary. If we believe that the Bible is without error (inerrant), than this passage clearly states that Jesus was from the beginning as Jesus is the “Word”  that John  speaks of.

Vs. 3 says that all things were made through Him, and nothing was created without Him. If we look back to Genesis, we see something interesting.

 ²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;        -Gen 1:26a

If Jesus was not there, why would God say “Our?” I believe clearly God is referring to the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All of scripture is woven together and here is evidence of a meshing of Old Testament and New Testament. Everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus Christ. There is so much that I cannot possibly list every occurrence. However, I will list some passages.

In the account of Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 22), The Lord instructed Abraham to sacrifice Isaac his son (Gen. 22:1-2). Verses 7-14 describe what happened: 

  Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
⁸ And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
⁹ Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
¹¹ But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” ¹² And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
¹³ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

“My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” And indeed He did; namely Jesus. This passage is somewhat difficult to comprehend, but God was testing Abraham’s faith. Not only that, God was pointing to the day that He would send “His only Son” as the eternal sacrifice; the only sacrifice that could ever truly cover our sins.  

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! –John 1:29

John 1:4-5  states:

⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

This is John’s assessment of Jesus. Later on in his account, he quotes what Jesus said about Himself.  

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” –John 8:12

⁴ I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”-John 9:4-5

We will continue to look at other passages that support Jesus as the Christ over the next few lessons. If you have doubts or questions, I encourage you to pray earnestly and look through the scriptures. Jesus is the light of the world and He will light your path as you seek to know Him more.