Holy Week and the Gospel of our Salvation

 

Holy Week and the Gospel of our Salvation

 

The Holy Week began with the marking of the entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem as Israel was beginning the annual observance of Passover. The Week would end with the Lord’s crucifixion, death, burial and Resurrection. Most important for Christians today is our understanding of the meaning of the events that took place at the end of the Week. They are the key to our eternal salvation.

At the beginning of the Week, the Lord’s disciples and many other followers in Israel were anticipating the arrival of their Messiah. Some threw their garments, others threw palm branches and leaves in His path and cried out: “Hosanna, Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the LORD.” (John 12: 13;  Matthew 21: 8-9). But knowing what the next days would bring through their (Israel’s) rejection, the Lord quietly lamented, saying: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”  (Luke 13: 34)

The Lord knew that the Jews required a sign before they would believe.  However, they would not believe, even after His many miracles and signs and wonders throughout the three years of His Earthly Ministry to prove that He was truly the Son of God. (John 6: 2; 12: 37-41; 21: 25; 1 Corinthians 1:22) 

The Omniscient / All-Knowing Lord knew the many forces at work that restrained Israel’s belief in Him. However, He still must have felt regret that the sins of man had compelled this step to restore man to God. Remember that it was the first man Adam’s unbelief and the resulting sin against God that led to this situation. (Genesis Chapter Three)  The scripture would later reveal to us through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans the following: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11: 25)

That reference to Israel’s blindness has direct implications for us as Christians today. Through the scripture we learned that Israel will continue to be “blinded” to the fact that our Lord Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, and that He is going to return as their King. (Psalm 2: 1-8; Isaiah 9: 6-7; Daniel 2: 44; Revelation 19: 1-16; and others.) As a result of Israel’s rejection, the Lord turned to Saul / Paul of Tarsus to bring the message of salvation directly to the Gentile world. (Acts 9: 1-16)  [You recall that the message of salvation through adherence to God’s Moral Law was to have been delivered by the Nation of Israel acting as “priests” on behalf of God. (Exodus 19: 1-8)  But human weaknesses and their sin-nature inherited from Adam blocked their efforts.]

The scripture’s note of the duration of Israel’s blindness “until  the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” refers to the completion of the full complement of Gentile believers that will fill the Lord’s spiritual body , called the “Body of Christ” (https://www.gotquestions.org/body-of-Christ.html ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_of_Christ )

Today the path to salvation for both Jew and Gentile alike is that we recognize and embrace who our Lord Jesus Christ is (the Son of God); and what He accomplished during those last three days of Holy Week. Many Christians haven’t studied the specific steps of what was accomplished by the Lord during each of those days. However, God didn’t want our salvation to be a difficult task requiring intense study.  The following two scriptures show that He asks only that we believe…have faith in the Gospel that leads to the eternal salvation of our spirit / soul:

·      1 Corinthians 15: 1-4

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

² By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

 

·      Romans 10: 9-13

 

⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

¹¹ For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

¹² For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

This Week Christians mark the terrible suffering that the Lord endured because of our sins: His mental anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane; His scourging and other torture of His body at the hands of the Roman soldiers;  His Crucifixion and death on Calvary’s Cross.; His burial; and then His triumph and victory over death demonstrated through His Resurrection on the third day.  Through His shed blood, He was able to pay for the sins of all mankind. (Hebrews Chapter Nine, especially Verse 22; Galatians 3: 13-14; 1 John 2:2; )…but a person has to believe the Gospel to receive their eternal salvation.

May you have a very blessed weekend, as we look ahead to the day we will one day be in the presence of our Lord Jesus, to personally thank Him for redeeming us.

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com/

God Described Himself So We Might Know Him Better

 

God Described Himself So We Might Know Him Better

 

Background:

Christians and other Bible students are aware that in several parts of the Bible, God reveals Himself to man so that we might better know Him. As the incarnate, visible image of the invisible Triune God, our Lord Jesus both created and spoke to man. (John 14: 6 - 11; Colossians 1: 15 – 20;  2: 8 – 9)  Also for example, even in His pre-incarnate form He spoke to Abram / Abraham and Moses. ( https://countingmyblessings.com/god/ )

Even after His Crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection, one of His first priorities was to confirm for His disciples then (and us today) that the Old Testament scriptures had many relevant prophecies concerning Himself.  Remember the pilgrim disciples on the Road to Emmaus? (Luke 24: 13 – 35)

How God shares how He sees Himself is of great importance to Christians, because the Bible confirms that Believers in the Gospel are “in Christ, and He is in us.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Christ-in-us.html ; https://blog.biblesforamerica.org/8-verses-showing-jesus-lives/ ) Christians have various opportunities to serve our God and Savior in this fallen world before we leave it to join Him in eternity. The Bible reminds us that we are His husbandry  / laborers. ( 1 Corinthians 3: 9 – 15; https://www.gotquestions.org/husbandman-in-the-Bible.html ).  Because He now sits on the right-hand of the Father, and we are “in Him”, our citizenship is in Heaven. (Luke 22: 66 – 69; Romans 8: 28 – 34; Colossians 3: 1 – 2)   As a result, we are ambassadors for Christ to serve Him in this fallen world. (2 Corinthians 5: 13 – 20; https://www.gotquestions.org/ambassador-for-Christ.html

To prepare Christians for these roles, the Holy Spirit has endowed us with spiritual gifts. Collectively we form the “Body of Christ” and our individual gifts complement each other. (1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12: 1 – 8;  https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/what-are-the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit-scripture-meaning.html )

 

How We Are to Use This Knowledge:

The Bible tells us that the long-suffering of the Lord was for the salvation of man. (2 Peter 3: 15). He is not willing that any should perish. (2 Peter 3: 9)  Believers are to aid Him in pursuing those objectives.

Have you ever been asked: “How do people who have never had access to the Bible receive Salvation?” The answer lies in the Scriptures.  No one has an excuse for missing God’s gift of the eternal salvation of their soul. (Romans 1: 16 – 21) Whether before the Bible was written or since then, wherever man has lived, he has not had to have Scriptural access to receive salvation. God chose to give each of us free access to knowledge of Him and the key to our Salvation…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  That access was provided through our senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. For the sake of brevity, I’ll limit this initial discussion to the sense of sight, through which man’s eyes have been “witnesses” of the Glory of the LORD since the Creation.

A detailed review of the significance of this concept from a biblical perspective can be found in: The Witness of the Stars, by E.W. Bullinger, published by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1967 (Reprint of the 1893 edition). However, I will touch on only five points from the Old Testament to attempt to make my point. (Remember, the scripture advises us that “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning…” (Romans 15: 4)

1.      Genesis 1: 14 -15 – “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons , and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.”

The first area underlined stressed that God knew man would need early signs of his salvation, following the fall of the first man Adam.  The second area underlined added that those signs would depict the coming source of that salvation. Later scripture notes that Jesus Christ would be that “…true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” (John 1: 9-10)

2.      Genesis 15: 5-6 – “And He (the LORD) brought him (Abram / later Abraham) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell (read) the stars, if thou be able to number (recount / rehearse) them: and He said unto him, ‘So shall thy seed be.” And he (Abram / Abraham) believed in the LORD; and He (the LORD) counted it to him for righteousness.”

Abram / Abraham was able to interpret the stars / constellations of the Zodiac. As a result, he was declared righteous in the eyes of God because he believed what God told him…that the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ would come through his “seed”.

3.      Deuteronomy 4: 12-19 – Please read this entire chapter, but especially these Verses.  Verse  19 states:  “And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon , and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.”

On behalf of the LORD, Moses was warning the people of Israel that even as they looked to heaven, they were never to worship or make graven images of what they saw. He specifically named beasts of the earth, creeping things, winged fowl, and fish. Note the images found in the stars / constellations:

https://gbible.org/tree-of-life-post/gosple-jesus-christ-written-stars/ https://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2005/zodiac.html

It was no mere coincidence that the Enemy of God prompted the people of Israel to make and “worship” a Golden Calf (resembling Taurus the Bull), while Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God. (Exodus Chapter 32)

4.      Psalm 19: 1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.”

This entire Chapter in the Book of Psalms, written by Israel’s King David, provides his view of the significance of the constellations in the heavens. He recognizes various key aspects of the precepts that would later be taught by our Lord Jesus, and closes by acknowledging who He is by calling upon Him: “O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Verse 20)

5.      Psalm 147: 4 – He (The LORD) telleth (counted / assigned / appointed) the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.

In this chapter, the Psalmist acknowledges the majesty of the LORD, as evidenced by a number of His natural gifts to mankind and the rest of His Creation, that make Him worthy of man’s highest praise and worship.

[EDIT: An important addition to the list of five Old Testament references above is found in the New Testament. The Book of Matthew, Verses 1 – 12, tell the story of the “wise men from the East” who travelled to Jerusalem…”Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him.” These men were Gentiles with no apparent affiliation with Israel.  They were learned, had studied the stars, and knew from their observations that following that star would lead them to a King worthy of their worship. They were wealthy, and able to not only travel, but to also bring valuable treasures as gifts to the young child, to help demonstrate the value of their worship.

These wealthy Gentiles and lowly Jewish shepherds were both drawn to the baby Jesus by “the star” in the heavens.]

Collectively, these and other scriptures and references aid Christians in answering the question raised above, that asked: “How do people who have never had access to the Bible receive Salvation?”  But another question arises.  What about those people who live in many highly populated areas plagued by “light pollution”, where the constellations of the heavens are generally invisible? The answer can still be found through the use of the sense of sight.

In man’s daily experiences, the evidences of God’s majesty are everywhere…man’s survival under adverse and/or extreme circumstances; plants morphing during changing seasons; falling snow and rain; large ships on the ocean;  skyscrapers that don’t fall in strong storms; birds and airplanes in flight;…and the list goes on. For those who have not been able to travel extensively, there are a variety of videos and movies that have captured the grandeur of the world’s natural phenomena (forests, mountain ranges, deserts, rivers and oceans, etc.). These additional resources have provided numerous opportunities to confirm His Greatness.

At your convenience, develop your own lists of daily experiences that include examples of how man’s other senses (hearing, smell, taste, and touch) have contributed to our knowledge and appreciation of who God is.  

As noted above, Believers are “in Christ, and He is in us.” We have evidence of God’s existence. We believe and honor what He has done to redeem us, bringing us eternal salvation by faith in His word, the Holy Bible. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13; Hebrews 11: 1-3, 6) With the knowledge of who Christ Jesus is, and that we are part of His Body, we willingly serve Him as God’s husbandry, and as ambassadors for Christ in this fallen Earth.

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com/