ArchivedWhy do Christians Forget these Jesus sayings?Now..having read Matthew 20:23 look at Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel" So, to understand Jesus' words in Matthew 20:23, you HAVE to know He has already discussed this with the Disciples... they have all been assured of a place sitting on thrones with the Son of Man, by virtue of their faith in Him. Now John and James' mother comes and speaks on their behalf to try and provide for them a more superior position. Jesus asks her a very poignant question "You, don't know what you are asking" Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?". Now notice, Jesus then said the words you quoted in answer to their response "we can". He then tells all the disciples who are upset at the request that the one who wants to be great in God's Kingdom, must be the servant of all. This was the real meaning behind Jesus' words.. Jesus said "I have come, not to be served but to serve.. to give my life a ransom for many." As was Jesus way.. he used every opportunity to teach His disciples the truth of the kingdom of God.. Who were those who would be seated with Him? Those whose attitude was like His. Why would that be so? because it was ordained by God, before the foundation of time, that humans would sit in the throneroom of Heaven, because of the mediator.. the Son of Man, who came to be a ransom for many. The only way to assure yourself of a place there is to do as you said Abdullah. To turn to God and ask Him in the same attitude as Jesus and being willing to literally lay down your life, your desires, your way of doing things and believing and giving him total control. You are partially correct here Abdullah.. Jesus was asking that His Disciplew be brought to one ness in purpose as He and the Father were one in purpose. Physically it would be impossible for them to become one human, unless they started out that way in the first place. This is the way of the Father and Son... both were ONE in the first place and so when Jesus says "I and the Father are one", he meant in essence in this verse. He is speaking in a totally different context and meaning is different when referring to one ness. Did Jesus underplay His one ness with the Father in essence in John 17? No, not if you read John 17:1-5. This precedes Jesus' prayer for the believers and it also puts the prayer into it's perspective. Jesus begins first with a proclamation of WHO He is.. And now Father, glorify me, in your presence with the glory I had with you BEFORE The world began" Jesus did not have his beginnings in a stable .. Jesus as the second Person in the Triune Godhead, was with God and sharing the same glory as God, before the world began. Again, this highlights that Jesus' coming was part of the plan and purpose of God, before time and the world as we know it began. These words are those spoken by a loving God, who knows that those who follow Him are going to face persecution and death for the sake of their faith, and this is a beautiful prayer for strength and one ness in purpose, based on a knowledge of who Jesus is. If Jesus were not God.. why would any of His followers allow themselves to go through the agony and despair of persecution, just for uttering the name which is above all names?
Perhaps you already know what is meant by "Synoptic" Gospels or have heard the phrase. The word "synoptic" is from the Greek (syn + optic) and means "viewed together" or "taking the common or shared view". The first three Gospels, those written by Matthew, Mark and Luke, are called the Synoptic Gospels because they share a similar presentation of the good news ("Gospel") of Christ. The Gospel of John is quite different in the arrangement of material, as well as the selection of material comprising the narrative of Jesus' birth, life and ministry, betrayal, crucifixion, death and resurrection. As we consider Jesus' "I am" statements, we find that after beginning his Gospel with the marvelous declarations of Jesus' deity (Jn. 1:1-18), John the disciple and human author of the fourth Gospel does not describe Jesus' birth and childhood. Nor does he report on the actual ministry of John the Baptist, as do Matthew, Mark and Luke. All four Gospels relate how the leaders of the Jews sent messengers out to John the Baptist to ask whether he was the Messiah (Christ). And John the Baptist's answer is significant; he said (in so many words),"I am not he." And he added, "I am not worthy" to carry or tie His (Jesus's) sandals. John quotes the Baptist as saying, "I am not the Christ" and also "I am the voice of one crying in the winderness, Make straight the way of the Lord..." (Jn. 1:19-28). So John the Baptist's early negative "I am's" set the stage for Jesus's positive statements that He was and is the Christ (and more, as we shall find). Now, contrary to your comment.. Jesus did in fact refer to Himself as "I AM" in each of the other Gospels Jesus says "I am": In the Gospel of Mark 2 Times In the Gospel of Luke 2 Times In the Gospel of Matthew 5 Times In the Gospel of John 46 Times! and in the book of the Revelation He says of Himself 1:12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 1:14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 1:15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed hisright hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 1:18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." 22:16 "It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." Now, let's look at the purpose of the four Gospels and why and who they were written to, and this will give the very best reasons why they are similar and yet so different in the things they portray. The gospels are not biographies in the modern sense of the word. Rather, they are stories told in such a way as to evoke a certain image of Jesus for a particular audience. They're trying to convey a message about Jesus, about his significance to the audience and thus we we have to think of them as a kind of preaching, as well as story. They were writing their accounts on the life of Christ, based on who their intended audience was and what background knowledge that audience had of Christ. They were not eye witness accounts in the sense of four witnesses going to court to tell about something they all had seen. The Gospel is the good news.. it is the interpretation of the Gospel writer, led by the Holy Spirit and portrayed in such a way as to meet it's writers needs. Matthew and John were companions of Jesus, Luke was a companion of Paul and Mark was a companion of Peter. Matthew was a tax collector by trade, Luke was a physician, and John was a fisherman. Matthew as a Jew provides careful evidence of how Jesus fulfilled the words of the OT prophets regarding the coming Messiah and the coming King. Mark writes for the Romans , and reveals Jesus as a man of action, which appealed to the Roman psyche. It records miracles in abundance. Luke speaks to the Hellenistic world, and reveals Jesus as a historical rather than mythological figure, who is the ideal human as well as the Son of God. He does this by ensuring precision of times and dates, to place the historicity of Jesus forever unchallenged by speculation. John's Gospel speaks clearly against the Gnostic heresies of his time. His Gospel as a result is richly theological. It is for this reason , he focuses not on the miracles of the Christ, but on the teachings of the Christ. The basic belief structure of gnostism is , there is a true, ultimate and transcendent God, who is beyond all created universes and who never created anything in the sense in which the word “create” is ordinarily understood. While this True God did not fashion or create anything, He (or, It) “emanated” or brought forth from within Himself the substance of all there is in all the worlds, visible and invisible. In a certain sense, it may therefore be true to say that all is God, for all consists of the substance of God. By the same token, it must also be recognized that many portions of the original divine essence have been projected so far from their source that they underwent unwholesome changes in the process. To worship the cosmos, or nature, or embodied creatures is thus tantamount to worshipping alienated and corrupt portions of the emanated divine essence. John in His gospel set out to prove that Jesus was not just an emanation from God. Jesus was not a changed part of the divine essence. Jesus was and is forever God. this is a long answer Abdullah and maybe doesn't answer all your questions. Hopefully we can pursue it over the weekend as I will have plenty of time spare and would like to develop all this more. |
🌈Pride🌈 goeth before Destruction
When 🌈Pride🌈 cometh, then cometh Shame