FEELING OUT OF JOY?

Try apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, with 17 appeals to be joyful!                                                              

“Paul, you’re writing under imprisonment in Rome, so whatever is there to be joyful about?”                  

Philippi is where the good news of Jesus Christ first reached Europe with a bang...   Remember the jailhouse singing at midnight, until earthquake struck?   

The gospel has now reached the seat of military power – the Roman praetorium, and even Caesar’s household.  Wow!

Is this just a letter about ‘the joy of faith’ though?  No way! 
Looking at the first 2 chapters let’s see what else we can find....

• Notice how Paul and Timothy regard themselves as slaves then address all, including the bishops (episkopos) and deacons – one man is not in control of the church like today.
• Paul very clearly does not believe in ‘soul sleep’ – his desire was to depart and ‘be with Christ’.
• We find two appeals to be of ‘one mind’ - that of humility seen in Jesus.
• All the way to the Day of Jesus Christ we are to be shining lights in the world and expect to suffer for His name’s sake.
• Paul gives us the profound ‘kenosis’ on how Jesus as God humbled (‘kenoo’) Himself as a slave, to face the death of the cross. 

NEXT..... Rejoice in the Lord always!  

NOW GET GOING!

Finally we reach the end of Matthew’s account... and he doesn’t disappoint!

Remember that Man facing crucifixion with ALL stacked against Him? Not only do we find Jesus the Messiah still in control but we see who He really is – God to be worshipped!  Alas some disciples still have doubts after Jesus had promised 3 times to rise from the dead.

Yes, Jesus Christ is not only omniscient (all-knowing in the fulfilment of prophecy) but now we see...

• “ALL power is given to Me in heaven and in earth” (omnipotent - all powerful) and...
• “with you ALWAYS, even to the end of the world”  (omnipresent)

Notice where Matthew leaves the rejected Messiah - in Galilee, waiting for His people Israel to accept Him.

In the meantime, where does that leave us?

"I baptise you in the Name..."

• Get going guys!...
• “teach ALL nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”  ...and here’s the bit that gets overlooked...
• "Teaching them to observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you”
  Yes, there’s to be some discipline too!                                                      

HE IS RISEN! GO! GO! GO!

Exactly what happened on Resurrection morning? 

The raising of Jesus Christ!                                              

We could try harmonising the gospel accounts, only to get ourselves tied up in knots and miss the whole point...or we could just see what we’re meant to learn from Matthew. (ch 28)

The scene pictures utter defeat. The Lord of the Sabbath has been lying in death - on the Sabbath, His body in a sealed tomb guarded by Roman soldiers. Nothing is happening, until....
...suddenly, on the first day of the week - a 2^nd earthquake!

So who arrives to see the sepulchre? Those two despised Jewish women again. 

But where are those disciples? Not here.                

What about those soldiers? They’re like dead men!  

More to the point...But where is Jesus? An angel from heaven tells them:

     “He is risen, as He said!...
He is risen from the dead!”

"He is risen from the dead!"

Now it’s time to GO! GO! GO! and why not?? This is the best news in all of history!       

The angel: “Fear not....Go, tell His disciples...”          

On the way, Jesus says: “Fear not....Go tell my brethren...” (first reference to ‘brethren’)

What mixed emotions for these women, from terror (phobos)  but then great joy (chara), and what a greeting He gave them as they held Him by the feet: “Cheers!” (chairo)                     

In the meantime, how do the Jewish elders react to the news? ...with great joy? No, with lies and money.

Yes, there’s one more GO that we’ll keep for our next post: “Go, teach all nations...”

JESUS the MESSIAH...DEAD??

Yes, He’s dead! (in Matt 27:57-66)                            

The Messiah the Jews have been waiting hundreds of years for, now hangs from nails in a ghastly bloody mess while hardened Roman soldiers cower in fear, saying: 

“Truly this was the Son of God!”

What now? Is this how it’s all meant to end – in utter defeat?  Isn’t there any glimmer of hope?                                  

Yes, one brave man emerges – Joseph of Arimathea – to beg Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body: a Jew has to beg a Gentile governor for the body of the Messiah!

Jesus had borrowed a manger to be born in, He has borrowed a cross to die naked on, and now He borrows a rich man’s tomb.                 

What did Isaiah say?

“He made His grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was there any deceit in His mouth”

God’s prophetic word wins again!

Notice...only two women attend this funeral, but those chief priests and Pharisees are desperate – telling the Roman governor to secure the tomb of their Messiah!          

He dismisses them with “...make it as sure as you can”

Let’s see if their guard will be good enough...

CENTREPOINT of HISTORY

Really?? A young man crowned with thorns, nailed up naked between two thieves...outside some remote city of the Roman Empire...  This is the centrepoint of history??

 

Jesus the carpenter turned rabbi, is rejected by His own people the Jews, mocked and abused by Gentiles, and is now even abandoned by God the Father! (Matt 27:45-56)

Come watch with these faithful women, this miraculous but bloody event...

"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?"

• The Jewish Passover is celebrated at Full Moon so a natural solar eclipse for 3 hours is impossible – the horror of darkness in the middle of the day engulfs ALL the land!
• Twice Jesus cries out with a loud voice – humanly impossible during crucifixion!  Perhaps the Jews thinking Jesus is calling for Elias aren’t so wrong – Elijah means ‘God of Jehovah’    
• Even brutal Roman soldiers recognise this ‘King of the Jews’ is the SON of GOD, who still in control has ‘given up the ghost’...just as the lamb is offered in the daily sacrifice!
• The veil in the temple was ripped in two from top to bottom.  How thick was the veil? About 4 inches.   
• Earth quaked and rocks were rent!
• Many saints arose (coming into Jerusalem after Jesus resurrection)  

Yes, this crucifixion is exactly as prophesied centuries earlier. 

This has to be the centrepoint of history.

NAKED under a CROWN OF THORNS

So far we have seen...

• All the disciples dump Jesus                                       
• ALL elders and priests conspire to put Jesus to death         
• ALL the people beg for His crucifixion

Now ALL the Roman band gather to strip this innocent Man - after He has been flogged!

Whatever for?                                                     

To give Him a mock coronation with A CROWN OF THORNS, scarlet robe, slapping and spitting. (Matt 27:27-44)

It’s no wonder Jesus was unable to carry his cross all the way... but still he refuses a sedative.

Who is this Man, nailed up between two thieves who also give him ‘a kick in the teeth’?

“This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”

What did that prophecy say?

                        

“They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture”

Yes, Israel’s Messiah is naked under a crown of thorns, nailed up to be mocked by all.

WATCH THOSE HANDS!

Jesus is taken - bound - before Pontius Pilate the governor. Now listen to who says what...

The high priest has ordered: “Tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God!”

Jesus answered: “You said it!”

Now from Pontius Pilate: “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus: “You said it!” – then nothing more.

...but from Pilate’s wife: “Have nothing to do with that just man.”                                                                 

It seems God has graciously warned Pilate thru his wife’s dream. (Careful there, Pilate – after all, your wife Claudia Procula is grand-daughter of Caesar Augustus!)

ALL the people: “Let Him be crucified!...His blood be on us and on our children” (Matt 27:11-26)

• So ALL the disciples dumped Jesus
• ALL the elders and priests conspired to put Jesus to death
• ALL the people beg for His crucifixion

Now watch what Pilate does with his hands....

               

He washes them to pretend he is ‘innocent of the blood of this just person’ then it seems this Roman governor of Judaea personally flogs an innocent man before his soldiers crucify Him.