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Jesus with Peter
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Matthew 16:13-18 NKJV — When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
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Occupation seemed to be a regular theme in the land of Israel. Especially in the time that Jesus was teaching in the Holy Land. The Jewish people had longed for the glory days of King David and King Solomon. For over 400 years they had waited for the Messiah to arrive. Many had heard about and sought out this man from Galilee. Was He the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Prophets Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah or was He just another teacher? Who was this Jesus of Nazareth?
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God had revealed to Peter whom Jesus was and Jesus proclaimed where the foundation of the church would be built but where was His conquering army to overthrow the oppressive Romans? Wasn’t the Messiah going to establish His Everlasting Kingdom? Surely there must be a reason why this is not happening? The people of Judea had prayed for a deliverer as they did when God Jehovah had sent Moses to them while they were captive in Egypt. Then Jesus continued His message to Peter and the disciples;
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Matthew 16:19-28 NKJV — “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
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As Jesus continued teaching the 12 disciples the purpose for His arrival at that time, they began to understand that their desire for “regime change” was misplaced and that they should open their hearts to the message of His Gospel. Salvation and the Kingdom of God was at hand if only they and the people would just believe and accept Him as the Son of God. For the redemption of mankind and the atonement of sins, a sacrifice would have to be made on the cross at Calvary. For one of the twelve this could not be! The idea of being sacrificed for the sake of mankind was unacceptable. One of the inner circle, one who walked with Him daily knew that the Scribes and the Pharisees were watching every move Jesus made. Not only was the life of Jesus in danger but so were the rest of them.
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Judas Iscariot
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The expectation of “change” was not met by Jesus according to Judas Iscariot,
one of the twelve disciples, who would ultimately betray Jesus because of misguided expectations.
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Matthew 26:14-15 NKJV — Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
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A Triumphant Entrance
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The question many have raised is why Judas would do such a thing? Just a few days before He was betrayed, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey colt. Fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy;
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Zechariah 9:9 NKJV — “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
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Jesus had to be the promised King who would save the people from their political oppressors. Judas had seen Jesus in action. Healing the sick, raising the dead, walking on water, and even calming a furious storm with a single word. He knew that Jesus could do anything…including overthrowing the Romans. The kingdom about which Jesus spoke had to be the kingdom of Israel, restored to power. That’s why James and John asked to sit on the Lord’s left and right hands in that kingdom. Jesus was in Jerusalem. The crowds there had proclaimed Him as King. It was the perfect time for Jesus to assume the throne and lead the effort to overthrow the Romans. When Jesus didn’t act, his expectations were dashed. Disillusioned, Judas turned away from Jesus, betrayed Him and bitterly took his own life never repenting from the sin he had committed. Many theories have come forth and scholars have debated the reasons why Judas betrayed the Lord. Some believe that Judas was part of a plan or scheme orchestrated by Jesus and Judas but the four gospels do not indicate such a plan. Instead, Judas was influenced by Satan because Satan saw an opportunity to exploit a weakness in the character of Judas, the weakness of greed, power and recognition. A weakness many of us struggle with in a time of great peril.
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Expecting a Revelation
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In our current age of violence, political unrest and pandemics, do we find ourselves in the same situation Judas was experiencing? Facing lockdowns, isolation and abandonment we find ourselves betrayed by the system we have grown to rely on. Deliverance is becoming the common theme in this modern age. Who do we pick to bring us to the promised land? What seems to be a solo journey, we go to event to event and when we think we have found the next “big” thing, we latch on and will go to any lengths to prove that it was Divine Providence.
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Matthew 24:23-26 NKJV — “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. “See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
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Jesus tells us that in these latter days there will be many who will claim that they have the answer. Judas had no need to discern who Jesus was because Jesus proved that He was who He said He was especially when Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead. Then, there was absolutely no doubt He was the Son of God. We cannot say the same for some of those who claim to have God on their side. Because we are so desperate we ignore prayer and supplication forgetting that the gift of discernment is important in our current and future post COVID-19 era.
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Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV — Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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Being in control of our circumstances is always a top priority. Being played, hurt and humiliated can be a driving force to prove that you were always on the right side but to ignore the so-called stop signs can lead us to make devastating decisions that could cause us to lose our very own life. Many are leaving the faith, renouncing God and their belief in Christ as their Saviour. Betrayal of our beliefs is exactly where Satan wants us to be. No hope and no chance of redemption and if we refuse to confess and repent to the Lord then our fate will be eternally damned.
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Matthew 27:1-5 NKJV — When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.
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The Potter’s Field
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Regardless of why he betrayed Jesus, Judas forever will be remembered as a traitor. As Jesus foretold,
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Matthew 26:21-25 NKJV — Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”
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Judas was remorseful but he only confessed his transgression to men not to God, most importantly, not to the One he had transgressed against, the Lord Jesus the Christ. He could have repented but in his despair and grief he chose not to and in an empty field his fate was sealed.
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Calvary
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Because of the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross at Calvary, no sin, except for blasphemy against the Spirit, is beyond forgiveness. We must turn away from the cold and let the Son of the Living God warm our heart and bask in His Holy Presence. When we follow Jesus, we need to follow him diligently and faithfully, wherever he leads us and we need to pray for insight on what his plans are for us. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”
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