Jesus the King

Matthew 21:1-17 and Zechariah 9:9

'The Son of David' was the name given to a special person who would come and bring in a new era for the Jews, and this was prophesied even right from the beginning in the book of Genesis.

Jesus rode the foal of a donkey into Jerusalem to fulfil the prophecy written in Zechariah. Was Jesus right to do this? He would have to be mad, or bad for claiming to be this Son of David... or He really was genuinely the one who would bring Salvation to all who believe in Him.

Jesus is a King... not like an earthly king, but King of all. Jesus kingdom is the Kingdom of Heaven. He was righteous - blameless of any sin - the only righteous man that has ever lived, and when He died He died to save us from our sin.

He saved us from our greatest danger. We are in danger of drowning in the consequences of our sin. Sin spoils every part of our lives and we are all in that danger. We can't save ourselves from sin. Some think that the little good we do will make up for our badness, but just as you can't make a rotten apple good, so it is with our sin. But Jesus died so that we can be forgiven and our lives can gradually begin to be more and more like Him.

Can you say that Jesus is your King and your Saviour?

Jesus Lord of the Sabbath

Matthew 12:1-13

Sabbath means rest. The Sabbath is a day of rest. God created the world in 6 days and on the 7th day He rested. He set the day apart for us for physical rest and spiritual blessing. We may wonder why Sunday is actually different because we look around and Sunday looks just like a Saturday. God made Sunday a day of rest and is important for rest, for family time, to avoid another day of shopping and material gain, but to focus on our creator and His great blessings.

Here we see the Pharisees trying to catch Jesus out by accusing Him of breaking one of the many laws they had made thinking they were being godly. But Jesus knew the Bible much better than they did. The Bible says that land owners were to allow the hungry to eat from their crop as long as they only took what they could eat at that moment. Jesus and the disciples were not stealing more than what was allowed by Bible law. So they tried to accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath. Jesus explained to them that the Sabbath was made for mans benefit, not to be worshipped in itself. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It was not given by God to be a burden, but as a blessing for us. We are not to stop eating because it's Sunday.

Our soul's relationship with God is far more important that the physical body.

Jesus Predicts His Death

Matthew 16:21-28

Jesus had to get His disciples to understand that he was the Son of God come to earth and not just a man. Then he had to explain the reason He came. Jesus was gong to suffer and die, but more than that, on the third day he would rise.

Many have known they may be put to death for something they'd done, or by those who persecute them, but no one except the Son of God could raise Himself from the dead and say exactly when He would rise from the dead.

Jesus came to give His life, for man's sin, instead of ours. If Jesus didn't come to save us, we would be rejected by God because we are sinful.

Peter didn't understand this. He even tried to tell Jesus off for even suggesting he would die. But Jesus put Peter straight. Peter wasn't thinking about what Jesus said, he was thinking things in his own understanding. He couldn't imagine that Jesus would have to die, but He didn't see Gods plan to save mankind through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Christians throughout the world and throughout time have had faced great opposition, ridicule and even death. As Jesus did, we must hand our lives over to God. This doesn't mean we lose our lives, it means that we find true life, what life is meant to be - real meaning and truth. It means denying sin and following God.

What good is it for a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul?

Jesus is gong to return and reward those who have 'carried the cross' - those who have walked in Jesus' footsteps - the plan of God.

Identity Unknown?

Matthew 16:13-16

Who was Jesus? Many thought He was one of the prophets who brought God's word to the people. The people had seen His miracles and heard His teaching and that's who they thought Jesus was. But Simon Peter knew Jesus was The Christ (The Messiah), the Living God.

The Jews thought that the Saviour would be someone who would physically rescue them from those oppressing them at the time. But Jesus came for a much greater reason. The eternal God (God The Father) sent Jesus (God The Son) into the world to save us. Jesus wasn't just a man, he was God Himself. Our God is not a remote being, He lived among us. The disciples knew this.

Who is Jesus to you? We all have an opinion.

It is historical fact that a man called Jesus existed and did what was recorded in the Bible (and many other reliable documents).

Maybe you think He was just a good person. But this can't logically be. He claimed to be the Son of God, if you don't believe He was God, then you must believe He was a liar - not a good man. Or maybe He was a delusional lunatic claiming to be God? Again, not a good person. The only thing that rings true is that He must be who He claimed to be - the living Son of God. We know it in our hearts when we read about His life.