Not Superficial but TRUTH!
“As to this salvation,
(The First Letter of Peter 1: 10-12 NASB)
the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you
made careful searches and inquiries,
seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating
as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
but you,
in these things which now have been announced to you
through those
who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—
things into which angels long to look.”
- What do we do with what we have been given?
- Do we share it, hide it, proclaim it, or bury it?
- Who do we tell of the things to come?
- Should we tell our unbelieving neighbor OR
- Should we tell our skeptical family sitting across the table?
What are we to do? & Who do we tell?
- The Gospel is NOT a stagnant message, for the Gospel transforms!
- The Gospel is not superficial but TRUTH!
On the night when Jesus was betrayed and arrested, he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Fully in control of the actions to come, Jesus knew the Father’s will was upon Him as He said—
“Get up, let us be going;
(The Gospel According to Matthew 26: 46-47 NASB)
behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”
“While He was still speaking,
behold, Judas, one of the twelve,
came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs,
who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.”
Anything superficial remains insignificant, unchallenging, and possibly unengaging. When we come to things such as this, we can easily walk away without another thought. However, when faced with blatant TRUTH, we cannot easily walk away unaffected, for it is the TRUTH of which the prophets of old have spoken. This Gospel message has been the ongoing narrative and continues to be what the world desperately needs to hear.
- JESUS KNEW!
- JESUS KNEW JUDAS WAS THE BETRAYER!
- JESUS KNEW HIS CRUCIFIXION WAS HIS FATHER’S WILL!
- JESUS KNEW HE CAME TO DIE FOR OUR SINS & YET, HE CAME ANYWAY!
- JESUS KNEW HE WAS THE EMBODIMENT OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH!
“Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying,
(The Gospel According to Matthew 26: 48-50 NASB)
“Whomever I kiss,
He is the one;
seize Him.”
Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said,
“Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
And Jesus said to him,
“Friend, do what you have come for.”
“Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.”
We live in a time of misinformation, a troubling season when one never knows (for sure) if what he is hearing is false or TRUTH. Even as the presidential election nears, mass media outlets scramble to prepare fact-checkers and avenues to indicate if details proclaim TRUTH or lies. For as long as humanity has walked the face of the earth, he has questioned—
- Do the words of God speak TRUTH?
- Can I believe the Word of God?
- How can I discern TRUTH?
On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Jesus Himself explained how we can answer these questions—HOW WE CAN KNOW THAT WE KNOW!
“And behold, one of those who were with Jesus
(The Gospel According to Matthew 26: 51-54 NASB)
[Simon Peter]
reached and drew out his sword,
and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.
Then Jesus said to him,
“Put your sword back into its place;
for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.
Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father,
and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled,
which say that it must happen this way?”
- The TRUTH is that we who believe are made in the image of our FATHER.
- The TRUTH is that we belong to the FATHER.
- The TRUTH reminds us WHOSE we are.
- The TRUTH speaks—“You belong to the KING of kings.”
BELIEVE THE TRUTH!
The Gospel message proclaims Jesus’ death, burial & resurrection is not a superficial TRUTH!