Month: April 2014

The Crucifixion: Fulfillment of Prophecy

Matthew 27: 33-56 (NASB)

33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. 37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

38 At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 42 “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

55 Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him.56 Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Now here is the prophecy:

Psalms 22:11-18 (HCSB)

11 Do not be far from me, because distress is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me.
13 They open their mouths against me—
Lions, mauling and roaring.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed;
my heart is like wax,
melting within me.
15 My strength is dried up like baked clay;
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You put me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
people look and stare at me.
18 They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.

God Bless
Brian Mason

Women Witnesses To The Crucifixion

I find it interesting that the disciples fled the scene when Jesus was arrested, and only the women kept close enough to Jesus to see the crucifixion of Jesus Christ!

Mark 15: 40-41 (NIV)
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Mary Magdalene was there but we must be clear on a couple issues; The scriptures do indicate that she was a strong follower of Jesus however she was NOT married to Him! Jesus cast seven demons from her, which undoubtedly would add to her faith in Him.

Luke 8: 1-2 (NIV)
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;

She has also in some publications been accused of being a prostitute, but this accusation has no scriptural merit.

Women played a significant part in the reporting of Christ’s crucifixion. The status of women to the Jews was less than favorable, so it is a testament to the scriptures of the genuineness of the writings. If the scripture were to have been “made up” the scribes would certainly have made the reporters out to be men.

God Bless
Brian Mason

The Fear Of The Cross

Tomorrow is Good Friday, and as the secularist society celebrates the day as one that takes them away from “work” for a day making it a long weekend but yet still they are still fighting to remove the cross!

I will devote the next few articles on “The Fear Of The Cross,” and the non-Christian world’s attempts to remove it from view.

As John Stott wrote (a late Anglican clergyman), “We are not allowed to envisage (God) on a desk chair, but on a cross. The God who allows us to suffer once suffered himself in Christ, and continues to suffer with us and for us today.I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as “God on the cross.” In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who is immune to it?”*

God Bless

Brian Mason

*John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter varsity Press, 1986, pp. 329, 335.

Terminology Tuesday: Rapture

The actual word “rapture” is not found in the bible. The word is derived from the Latin raptus, meaning a “carrying off”. Rapture in terms of Christian doctrine says that at or before the return of Jesus Christ, the Christian believers who are still alive will be transformed into their resurrected bodies and “caught up in the clouds” to be with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15: 20-23 reads:
 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming.”

1 Corinthians 15: 51-52 reads:
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 reads:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

God Bless

Brian Mason

Christians Of The World: Push On!

I am saddened more and more each day. If it is not the “legal Murders” in the womb to the obvious disregard for human life and in fact leaning towards a CULTURE OF DEATH! Where has the youth of the world gone? In this “post-modern world, a fairly reasonably able University Student will say that there is no wrong! “If you think it is okay then why would I disagree” The Universities will kick you out if you don’t as a Professor Teach Evolution! (WATCH Expelled under this post) ) Macro-evolution is taught as fact even though there is no shred of evidence to buttress that guess! Maybe this is where “post-modernism takes over?
Christians Push On!

God Bless

Brian Mason

Buddhist Logic

“The Christian pities men because they are dying, and the Buddhist pities them because they are living. The Christian is sorry for what damages the life of a man, but the Buddhist is sorry for him because he is alive.”
Chesterton – Generally Speaking

Please pray for the lost Buddhist!

God Bless

Brian Mason

What Is “Justification” and “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”?

Beacon Apologetics

Since we are coming to the most important season in the Christian faith, that being the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, It seems very appropriate for the content and timing of this article. Going over the collection of writings on Beacon Apologetics I can only say to you that this is the most important message that I could ever write about; The truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The word “Gospel” is as defined by Dictionary.com:

“The story of Christ’s life and teachings, especially as contained in the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.”

Notice that definition includes the words “especially as contained in the first four books of the New Testament”? The reason that I bring attention to that is that the entire Bible is God’s Word about the coming Messiah Jesus and the message he brought.

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