Gtcotr/ss020920
In
the early spring of AD30, just 2 weeks before the Feast of Passover that year,
Jesus made His last pilgrimage with the 12 disciples from the city of Capernaum
in the Galilee to Jerusalem. Almost 40% of the Gospels, Matthew; Mark; Luke;
and John, are written about the things Jesus said and did during these last few
days before His arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection.
Each
of the Four Gospels overlay and complement one another to give us a better
understanding of the events in the life of Christ, from His birth to His
ascension. By the time we get to the accounts of John, chapter 12, Jesus is 33½
years old and only days away from the cross. Unfortunately, His disciples have
little clue as to what is about to take place. Jesus has tried to explain it to
them, but they have failed to comprehend the magnitude and meaning of this
Passover.
Each
Jewish Feast is but a dress-rehearsal for the real event. Even though the Jews
had been practicing for this Passover for about 1500 years, and although the 12
disciples had observed and participated in this yearly event all their lives,
they had somehow missed the meaning. All of the elements were present: the exact
day of the year; the full moon; the pharaoh of their time; and the Lamb without
spot … however, the disciples just didn’t recognize it.
It
is in this setting we find Jesus in Jerusalem teaching His disciples and all
those who were willing to listen. Let’s read:
John 12 NKJV
27 ¶ “Now My soul is
troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this
purpose I came to this hour.
32 “And I, if I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
33 This He said, signifying
by what death He would die.
37 ¶ But although He had done
so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
42 ¶ Nevertheless even among
the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not
confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
43 for they loved the praise
of men more than the praise of God.
44 ¶ Then Jesus cried out and
said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
45 “And he who sees Me sees
Him who sent Me.
46 “I have come as a
light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
47 “And if anyone hears My
words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the
world but to save the world.
48 “He who rejects Me, and
does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that
I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
49 “For I have not spoken on
My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I
should say and what I should speak.
50 “And I know that His
command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father
has told Me, so I speak.”
What
do we learn from these words of Jesus?
1.
Jesus
did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
2.
God
gave Jesus a command – what He should say and what He should speak … Jesus knew
God’s command – it was “Eternal Life!”
There
were 5 Original Commandments which God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
when there was no sin:
1.
Be Fruitful
2.
Multiply
3.
Replenish the Earth
4.
Subdue the Earth
5.
Have Dominion over all Creation
Then
there are The Ten Commandments which God gave Moses on Mount Sinai to guide the
Children of Israel away from sin and keep them safe in this world:
1.
You shall have no other gods before Me.
·
Beware, other things like money will make demands on your loyalty and devotion.
·
Don’t allow anything to become more important
than Me.
2.
You shall make no graven image to worship.
·
Be careful not to fashion a god of your own
making, in some other likeness … just let God be God.
3.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
·
Literally, do not use or invoke God’s name in
idle or vain speech.
·
It is sin to say “God said” when He didn’t or
to swear by His name.
·
It is offensive to God and to all the
heavenly hosts to hear someone use God’s name as a curse word.
·
There are consequences to taking the name of
God in vain.
4.
Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
·
Do not forget to set aside consistent weekly
time to honor, worship and serve the Lord instead of serving yourself.
5.
Honor your Father and your Mother.
·
Fairly self-explanatory … with great promise
of reward.
·
Your parents were the only way God could get
you here. There was no other way … it is sin to disrespect them.
6.
You shall not commit murder.
7.
You shall not commit adultery.
8.
You shall not steal.
9.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your
neighbor’s possessions, his wife or his servants.
·
All
of these are guides to guard us against the sins which diminish and destroy
lives.
Galatians 3
24 Therefore the law was our
tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after faith has come,
we are no longer under a tutor.
The
Ten Commandments are a safe guide and a safeguard for us to follow. They teach
us how to treat God, our parents and others.
There
were 5 Original Commandments given to Adam and Eve by God in the Garden of
Eden. There were The Ten Commandments which were given to Moses by God to help
guide the Children of Israel away from sin and keep them safe in a world
controlled by the devil.
Yet
there is only One Command God gave Jesus
to put an end to the power of sin. That one command:
· Eternal Life
– God
instructed Jesus to make every word and every message about eternal life.
When
Jesus stood only a few days from the cross, He recounted the call and the
command of God on His life. Once again, Jesus declared that His only mission
was to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)
John 3
16 “For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.
17 “For God did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might
be saved.
The
first 5 commandments were all positive. Sin was not in control; Adam and Eve
were right with God; God’s plan was for them to use what He had given them to
be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue their enemies and have
dominion over all the earth and everything in it.
The
10 commandments were mostly negative. Sin was running wild and destroying
lives, families and relationships. God knew His children needed guidance in
this world and so He gave them a few things to do and a few things to avoid so
they could live a very good life in a very bad world.
However,
the one commandment Jesus God gave to Jesus was to destroy sin and its power in
the lives of everyone who would accept Him as their Lord and Savior. This He
did through His death, burial and resurrection. God’s only aim in Christ was to
secure eternal life for you and billions of others just like you.
Once
we are born-again, once we are saved by faith in Jesus, once we believe in Him
and ask Him to forgive our sins and save our souls, we are freed from the power
of sin and from the clutches of the devil. At that moment we become right with
God and we receive the free gift of God which is eternal life.
Any
person who believes in Jesus and makes room for Him in their life and invites
Him in to be their Lord is instantaneously born-again by that same Spirit that
raised Jesus from the dead.
It
behooves every Born-Again Believer to pay attention to the 5 Original
Commandments as inspiration and direction in life, and to the 10 Commandments
so to avoid the most common sins that still destroys lives, families and futures.
As
well, we should all keep in mind the fact that once we have been saved and are
living in this world as a child of God, we too come under the one command God
gave Jesus. Jesus did His part and now it is our turn. We must keep our focus
on the fact that God did not save us to make us judges of others or to become
critical of others but rather to live in such a way as to lead others to
eternal life in Christ.
If
Jesus had no desire to condemn the world and no wish to judge sinners, why
would we?
Our
God-given goal is to lead others to salvation by faith in Jesus because of
God’s love for a world gone wrong. What is our commission? What is our command?
After
His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus gave us our one command. It’s found
in:
Matthew 28 NKJV
18 And Jesus came and spoke
to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 “teaching them to observe
all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age.” Amen.
God hopes we will hear His voice today and
begin living our call and following His command. We have eternal life to share
with all who hear us and believe in Him. Let’s go and tell …
