Mark 15:7-15 Don't Crucify Jesus!

Mark 15:7-15  Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.  A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.  The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.  “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.  “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?”  Pilate asked them.  “Crucify him!” they shouted.  “Why?  What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.  But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”  Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.  He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. 

In the release of Barabbas over Jesus, we see the culmination of evil not only in the Jewish religious and political elite but in the people too.  In one accord they chose to release Barabbas, a murderer--one who destroys life rather than one who saves life.  They chose death for Jesus rather than life.  Loudly, with passion, they proclaimed: “Crucify him!”  This shout to destroy clearly illustrates God's thoughts about man in the time of Noah: The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  (Genesis 6:5)  There are of course many reasons the chief priests stirred up the crowd to destroy Jesus.  Pilot understood that their hatred of Jesus spawned out of jealousy; they were losing their position of authority with the people if Jesus' teachings were believed and followed, for He was telling the people that only through believing in him could people have peace with God.  Of course the chief priests taught that only through their intercessions for the people and following the law could people find a right relationship with God.  They stirred the people up because they hated Jesus for his teaching about himself: “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)  But in reality, the people would have never followed the priests if their hearts would have been good, for they would have recognized Christ's message of life and light.  "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”  (John 3:19-21)

Jesus was oftentimes very harsh with the religious elite.  He even challenged them about their basic belief: their claim that because Abraham was their genetic father, they held a special position as God's children.  But Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here.  I have not come on my own; but he sent me.  Why is my language not clear to you?  Because you are unable to hear what I say.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!  Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?  If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?  He who belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”  (John 8:42-47)  Jesus was telling these religious elite that they were not following the true Father of heaven but their own evil desires.  We see who their true father is when they stir up the crowd to murder Jesus.  They fulfill Jesus' words, You belong to your father, the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning.  They were so angry with Jesus' words that they go on to say He is demon-possessed or completely controlled by the devil.  "I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me."  (John 8:49)  They would say anything to discredit Jesus.  They carried out their father the devil's wishes when they had Jesus crucified and agreed to this terrible act.  

Why were the people so easily persuaded to kill Jesus and to release a murderer?  Why did they not reject the chief priests' claims?  We know that earlier as Jesus entered Jerusalem the population greeted him as a hero, as a king.  How could their adoration so easily turn to hate, their shouts of "Hosanna" to "Crucify him"!  Maybe they were disillusioned by the fact that their hero, their supposed Messiah, was now in the hands of the hated Romans.  Jesus probably seemed powerless to them now.  How could a savior sent from God be unable to free himself from the grip of the Romans?  Maybe this stark reality of Roman power juxtaposed with Jewish weakness brought on these raw emotions to kill this helpless Jewish man who claimed to do the Father's will.  They had forgotten the one who said, "For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”  (John 6:40)  They wanted power now: at least, Barrabas was strong enough to lead an insurrection, to kill his hated oppressors.  Maybe that was why they wanted him released, not Jesus.  Regardless of the reasons, they wanted Jesus killed that day.  In the past we held public executions.  For many reasons we discontinued them, but we know people used these ghastly events as a chance to celebrate.  The people would gather to view the executions, not with sorrow, but with a certain amount of ambivalence to the cruelty of the event.  Maybe in some ways, these events of the past correlate with how we watch events of death on our televisions and video games.  Not really appreciating the sanctity of life but looking for a thrill, we watch one person after another killed, meeting a tragic or gruesome end.  Yes, Jesus was murdered on that day.  People shouted, "Crucify him!"  Yet we must wonder, how easy it is for people of our day to change our minds from desiring light and peace to watching scenes of murder and mayhem, all for our enjoyment.  We must pray that when the Lord looks at us, He does not conclude: The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  Draw our hearts toward home, Lord.  Teach us your ways; lead us we pray.     

Mark 15:1-5 Was Jesus Subversive?

Mark 15:1-5  Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision.  They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.  “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.  “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.  The chief priests accused him of many things.  So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer?  See how many things they are accusing you of.”  But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

The chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin accused Jesus of treason so that the Roman government would put him on trial for sedition and eventually execute him.  And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation.  He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.”  (Luke 23:2)  They knew the Romans would not execute Jesus because of religious reasons such as blaspheming the name of God or undermining the religious leaders' control over the Jewish people by asserting the true way to God was through Jesus.  “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”  (John 10:33)  So, to convince the Romans that Jesus deserved death, they accused Jesus of leading a rebellion against the Roman occupation of Israel.  Of course, leading an insurrection was worthy of death in the courts of the Romans.  Pilate addressed this accusation of the Jewish elites immediately with Jesus: “Are you the king of the Jews?”  Jesus responds with "Yes, it is as you say."  Jesus understood fully what He was saying, for He was not only the king of the Jews, He was the king of kings of all people who have ever existed on Earth.  But Jesus did not, as Pilate assumed in his interrogation, think of himself as a potential political leader of the Jewish nation.  When Jesus answered yes to Pilate's question, Jesus was expressing that He, as the Christ, the Son of God, had authority over all that is or ever will be.  He was not a mere man, ready to be judged by the Jewish and Roman authorities, He was God incarnated in the flesh; Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God.  He knew all men would someday bow at his feet, none would escape his authority or judgment of the Lord of Lords.  As Peter wrote: But they (those who choose to live in sin) will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.  (1 Peter 4:5)  

As with Pilate, Jesus does not have to answer to any of our accusations or complaints against him.  We might want to accuse him of not being on time when we needed him when we were stressed.  We might think of him as lacking power in our lives, not able to come to our aid because we do not receive the answers we want when we want them.  We might blame him for not changing situations or conditions in our lives.  We might even claim He is unfair, blessing others, but not us; rewarding others for their faithfulness to Him, but not us.  We might criticize him for his lack of involvement with our lives, seemingly abandoning us to the vicissitudes of this life.  We might assert many things about Jesus, railing about his shortcomings in our lives; but Jesus does not have to answer any of our accusations.  He is God.  He is the one who has made us: He molded us out of clay.  We are his work, not that He is our work.  As Paul told the church, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  (Ephesians 2:10)   Sometimes we treat Jesus as some super hero who is supposed to be on duty to our call whenever we have a need, a want, a desire.  He is supposed to rescue us from every situation, freeing us from every trial and hardship.  But Jesus is not a mere man: He is God, the Creator of all things, the judge of all things.  He is Lord.  As Lord of all, He knows his children should rejoice in tribulation because tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  (Romans 5:3-4)  In today's passage, Jesus' lack of defense leads him to the cross.  Even though He was without sin, even though Pilate knew He was not a seditionist, even though He was as harmless as a lamb, He was led to the slaughter.  Jesus said,  I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  (John 10:10)  ETERNAL LIFE: THE GIFT OF GOD!  

We sometimes use Jesus as a support to face life's many hardships instead of as Lord of our lives.  Jesus does help us in all things, and He has sent the Holy Spirit as a comfort and a guide.  But Jesus is much more than the One we turn to in trouble.  He has our destiny in his hands.  Yes, life is hard and sometimes gets harder.  Facing  the finiteness of our lives, watching the unjustness of the world, experiencing wrong, falling under the temptation of the world are all hard; but Jesus is much more than the one who sees us through all of this difficulty and perplexity.  He Is God, the one who said to his disciples, But not a hair of your head will perish, after He told the group He was talking to they would be persecuted and some would be killed by the authorities of this world.  How could He go on to say not a hair on your head will perish, when He had just said some of them will be killed?  Surely, the hair on their heads would perish after death.  But Jesus was telling a truth that goes far beyond what most of us expect in this life.  This world is not home, not where we will reside eternally.  Our troubles, anxieties, and fears will not all be answered here on this journey.  For us we think the hairs of our heads are perishing through what we are experiencing.  The Bible says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  (James 1:2-3)  Jesus the Creator tells us, "You are mine: I take care of what is mine.  Your hair will never perish, your countenance will never fade from my presence.  You will be with me eternally, in the presence of the Father."  No, Jesus did not answer his accusers, his complainers.  He knew who He was.  I AM THAT I AM, remains the eternal answer of God to the world.  The King of all things ever made, the Light of Heaven came to the people who sat in darkness.  Jesus said that if you love the darkness, you will hate the light, But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.  (John 3:21)  Walk in the Light of the Lord today with persevering faith, for He loves you with an everlasting love and has prepared a place for you!    

  

Mark 14:66-72 Don't Deny Jesus!

Mark 14:66-72  While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by.  When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.  “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.  But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.  When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.”  Again he denied it.  After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”  He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”  Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.  Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.”  And he broke down and wept. 

Peter, a soldier for Christ, a defender of Christ, a man who left everything to follow him, finds himself in the courtyard of the high priest, confused and afraid.  He had watched Jesus deal with many crowds.  He probably helped to control the crowds that pressed around Jesus, either to harm Jesus or to receive a blessing from his hands.  For sure, Peter had faced many difficult situations during the years he had walked with Jesus.  But now, alone among violent and hostile people, amongst the crowd that had always wanted to kill Jesus, Peter was feeling the hopelessness of the situation.  His master might be killed, and everyone else who had been close to Jesus might be killed as well.  Therefore, Peter exclaims, I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about.  Peter, the man who affirmed first among the apostles that he would never abandon Jesus, now under pressure, asserts ignorance about knowing this man Jesus.  He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about."  In this heart-rending account of Peter's denial, the Holy Spirit reveals to us how weak the flesh is, how we will turn against our own words if the pressure is too great and the situation is too hard to face.  Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, we can become liars in our words and in our deeds.  Is it any wonder that Peter broke down and wept, for in his heart this is the same man who said, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”  (Mark 14:31)   

How often do we abandon Jesus when the people around us start to look closely at us?   Do we remain true, when they look at us to see if we are one of those people who still believes in this man Jesus who supposedly makes us right with a mythical God that few find relevant in our materialistic culture?  Are we still one of those crazies who believes in sacrifices for sin?  Are we still so primitive in our beliefs?  Don't we know the world has moved on in this scientific age where knowledge has freed us from such thinking?  What does blood have to do with cleansing the mind, the spirit, or the soul?  When people we care about, people we interact with daily, ridicule and define our Jesus as a mere man, do we defend our belief in Jesus or do we in actions and words abandon him, literally proclaiming that we don’t know this man, Jesus.  Under hostile, questioning or at gatherings, do we assert that Jesus is the Son of God who came to save sinners or do we capitulate to the crowd's desire to at best view him as being a good man, a teacher of peace and love.  How many of us forsake Jesus when we think we might be ridiculed or rejected?  How many of us fail to talk about him to friends because we might lose their respect or companionship?  Peter walked away from Jesus because he feared for his life, but how many times do we walk away from him just because we might lose a friendship, a promotion, a job, or the esteem of another person?  Jesus said, Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.  (Matthew 10:32-33)

Before Peter denied Christ, Jesus partook of the Passover meal with his disciples in the upper room: And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.  And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.  And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.  (Mark 14:22-24)  After speaking of his body and his blood given for them, they all go to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus says all the sheep will be scattered, but He will rise again.  Then Peter pledges his loyalty and says, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.  (Mark 14:29)  We can all praise the Lord for Peter's story.  We know that because of God's grace and mercy, 

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

 (Romans 5:8)  Jesus knew Peter loved him, yet He also knew Peter would betray him.  Jesus also knew that after He went to the cross and was raised from the dead, Peter would lead many to salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit after the day of Pentecost.  Jesus does not judge us according to our weaknesses.  We are new creatures, made perfect in him.  Sometimes the enemy reminds us continually of our weakest moments, our worst failures.  We need to tell him that our sins are buried under the blood of Jesus.  Jesus said, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  (John 8:36)  We do not have to carry our sins with us in a pack upon our backs.  Jesus has won the victory.  Peter did not have to go through his life under the guilt of knowing he had denied Jesus.  He could accept God's forgiveness, knowing the price Jesus paid was enough for every sin he ever committed.  John wrote, But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7)  This means his blood cleansed us yesterday, it cleanses us today, and it will cleanse us tomorrow.  Thank you, Jesus!  Confess him as YOUR LORD!      

Mark 14:61-65 Do We Strike Jesus?

Mark 14:61-65  Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”  “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”  The high priest tore his clothes.  “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked.  “You have heard the blasphemy.  What do you think?”  They all condemned him as worthy of death.  Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!”  And the guards took him and beat him.

What would it mean to you to strike God with your fist?  In the original Hebrew text, the name of God was considered too holy to pronounce.  He was too immense and all powerful, so beyond human understanding, for his name to be uttered by mere men.  When we see LORD in the Old Testament it represents Yahweh, and it was not spoken or read out loud in honor and deference to God's holiness and man's insignificance.  Men from the beginning had a sensitivity to this Holy Being who had existed forever, a creator no one could adequately define or express in human terms.  No sound uttered from man's lips could sufficiently express the reality of this Blessed One.  But in today's text, as mere men dare to condemn Jesus, we see them spitting on and hitting Jesus the Son of God.  God allowed this to happen, and these events fulfill prophecy.  Isaiah wrote: all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.  But he went on to say, Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness, depicting the brutality Jesus would face at his death.  (Isaiah 52:10 & 14)  Yet these men seemed totally unaware that this man in the flesh was the Son of God.  They were man-handling Jesus as if he were but a man, abusing him emotionally, psychologically, and physically.  Arrogantly, they dealt with him, not understanding He was the Christ, so They all condemned him as worthy of death.  For sure, they knew not what they were doing, for they were abusing the Creator of all that is, was, and ever will be.   He who designed and made at least 200 billion galaxies, with each galaxy consisting of at least 100 billion stars, and each star having many bodies of material moving around it, such as our own planet.  They acted ignorantly and violently; but they were able to act only because the Father God allowed the Creator, his Son, to be struck that day.  The One that John 1:3 says Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

How often we view Jesus as just a superior, loving man--a man, yes, perhaps incarnated with divinity, but basically a person like we are.  Of course in his biological flesh, He was just as we are, experiencing everything as we experience life.  He had to experience the pain and the vicissitudes of living, the temporariness of life.  The writer of Hebrews says Jesus understands everything in creation and goes on to write, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.  (Hebrews 4:14-15)  Jesus experienced all of life so He could share in everything we endure and have compassion for us.  But Jesus' can never wear the same tag of mere human: He is the Son of God incarnated.  God confirmed this at Jesus baptism and again at the Mount of Transfiguration: While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.  Listen to him!”  When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.  But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.  (Matthew 17:5-8)  Jesus was the Word in the flesh: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  (John 1:1-2)  When they beat Jesus, we see his true identity hidden behind his biological weakness.  We see men who are stronger who are able take him under their authority and maltreat him because Jesus did not resist them.  It seems, we see the victory of wicked flesh over the spirit of goodness as exemplified in Jesus' life and ministry.  However, spitting, striking, ridiculing, Jesus, even putting him in the grave, was not the end of the story, but the beginning of new life and a new way to God's domain.  

When Jesus went to the cross and the grave, He gave all He had, his biological life.  He was the Lamb of God, innocent, led to slaughter.  The psalmist declared God would redeem his son from the grave: Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  (Psalm 16:9-10)  God sent the Holy Spirit to resurrect Jesus into new life, the same resurrection life that raises us from the pit of sin.  When we place our faith and hope in Jesus Christ and accept him as our Savior, we are resurrected with him to new life.  The men who persecuted Jesus thought of him as mere man and could not fathom He was the Son of the Blessed One.  But He was the creator of the life within them, the One who could show them the way to the Father's house.  If He would have taken their breath, their life, away from them in that hour, they would have fallen at his feet as lifeless bodies.  But He did not; He endured their abuse, for He did not come to condemn them.  When Jesus told people God loved the world and whoever believed in him would be saved, He also said, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (John 3:17)  With such a loving Savior, how then should we respond to him?  How often do we abuse Jesus?  How often do we fail to recognize who He really was and is to us today?  Sometimes, we are the ones who strike at him and dishonor his name by not putting him, The Creator, above everything in our lives.  We are blessed to just say his name, the name above all names.  Yes, He is truly so great, so mighty, so holy, that we mere humans should not even have the privilege to say his name.  But He honors us by allowing us to use his name to escape the land of the dead: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.  (Acts 4:12)  This is our day to exalt the Lord, to give him honor and glory!  Paul wrote: And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:8-11)  We bow before you, Lord! 

Mark 14:55-60 Love Truth, Hate Lies!

Mark 14:55-60  The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.  Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.  Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.’”  Yet even then their testimony did not agree.  Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer?  What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin in the above excerpt were fulfilling Jesus' words about them: If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here.  I have not come on my own; but he sent me.  Why is my language not clear to you?  Because you are unable to hear what I say.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:42-44)  The religious elite on that night were exemplifying their father the devil by using lies to convict Jesus of leading an insurrection.  They chose to use Jesus' words about destroying the temple to validate these lies: I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.   They intended to display Jesus as a danger to society to get rid of him.  They wanted him dead; therefore, they used lies to discredit him and his teachings.  Jesus of course knew what they were doing.  He would not respond to their falsehoods when they asked him to do so.  Are you not going to answer? they provoked him.  The men in control that night knew the stories about Jesus were mere fabrications.  Nevertheless, they pretended they were true because they feared Jesus was becoming a threat to their powerful, hierarchal positions in the Jewish culture.  Every one of these religious leaders knew God's written Word said: Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.  (Psalms 34:12-13)  Yet they wanted Jesus put to death even if it took lies to accomplish this evil deed.    

What is truth?   What axiom is foundational to all truth, to all existence, to the meaning of life?  When Thomas wanted to know the way, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life."  (John 14:6)  When Pilate questions Jesus, He tells him He was brought into the world to testify to the truth.  Pilate asks him, What is truth?  (See John 18:37-38)  Because of their sinful lifestyle, these religious leaders chose falsehoods over the truth, accepting lies instead of recognizing the truth of Jesus' divinity.  They stopped their ears to Jesus' teaching.  They blocked the reality of Jesus' words from their hearts and minds and wanted to see Jesus as just an ordinary man.  Their blind eyes failed to accept his miraculous deeds, even though they knew no man from the beginning of time performed such miracles.  They thought they could deal with Jesus as a mere mortal.  By doing this, they lost sight of Jesus' divinity.  Instead, they grasped hold of THE LIE their father told them from the beginning: to disrespect the authority and will of God Almighty who reigns from heaven above.  “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  (Genesis 3:4-5)  God had validated Jesus as his Son by sending the dove and speaking over him at his baptism, by blessing his prayers, by giving him wisdom, by allowing him to have authority other the natural elements of this world and sin and sickness.  But the religious elite thought they could place their authority and power over the will of God.  As one, they agreed to lie about Jesus and his teachings.  Therefore, their behavior and words expressed accurately the will of their father, the devil, who is the author of all lies.  He was a murderer from the beginning; consequently, they became murderers, mimicking their father's nature.  However, they were under the false impression, just as their father the devil, that they could get rid of Jesus permanently.  They were completely wrong, for they did not fully understand Jesus' power and authority as God's Son.  Jesus would conquer death and the grave.  He would rise again and bring resurrection power to all who place their faith in him.  

Those who heard the false witness brought against Jesus should have rejected the lies people told.  But they did not examine honestly the spirits to see if they were of God, for they wanted to believe the lies.  The Bible tells us: Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)  Often, we have wondered why God is so harsh on liars, for He makes it clear in his Word that lying is a serious offense to him.  But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  This is the second death.  (Revelation 21:8)  How many of us haven't lied?  Surely there are few if any people on the face of this Earth who have never lied.  But the real liar who deserves death and not resurrection to eternal life is the man or woman who lies about who Jesus Christ really is.  And it is here we find our foundational axiom.  We cannot reject Jesus, for He is the foundation of all things in creation.  He is the beginning and ending of all that is--the express image of God.  If we claim to believe in anything else, we are a liar to the TRUTH.  FOR WHAT IS TRUTH?  Truth is that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to give eternal life to all those who believe in him.  We must be born again, and this new birth comes through Jesus the Christ, the Creator of all things.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  (John 1:1-4)  The truth is that nothing was ever made without his voice, without his involvement, his touch.  We who are here on this earth in temporal form were made by him.  Every child of God is a new creature by faith in Christ's grace and creative power.  REJOICE TODAY, FOR THE CREATOR HAS COME TO MAKE YOU WHOLE AND COMPLETE FOR ETERNITY.  Amen!  Love, Dad and Mom