From the Word Of GOD, the Story of Salvation...
He rode into town to a Kings welcome and fanfare, the
crowd was ecstatic to see Him, they hailed and praised Him. It was a wonderful
and glorious scene, they appeared to Love this Man, wanting Him to be their
King… My goodness, how the hearts of men and woman can be swayed, for by the
end of the week, this wonderful blessed man was beaten bloody, kicked, spat
upon and mocked.
It started when a few of unscrupulous men in Religious
Power, a group called Pharisees, the
Sanhedrin, decided that this young man’s miracles, good deeds, and love for the
people challenged their own influence. They were afraid that this man had a
great impact on “multitudes” of people through His preaching and teaching and
was gaining great favor with the people. He on more than one occasion called
these Pharisees a “brood of vipers”,
“hypocrites” and “serpents”; he called them out as untrustworthy or
deceitful leaders in front of the very people they were to lead.
He had sternly, intentionally, and authoritatively
overturned tables of moneychangers, and sellers of wares and doves in a court
of the religious temple of this town. He recognized the false teachers, corrupt
religious leaders, scam artist and evil of all kinds, and called them such.
Leaving in His wake, a growing number of unrighteous enemies, all of whom would
want to see Him destroyed.
Then, one from His own circle sold his loyalty to the
Religious Leaders of this town that feared the power and influence this man was
building. So it was settled, His friend would betray Him for 30 pieces of
silver. The mode of identification on that fateful night would be that of a
“kiss” on the cheek of The One they feared. He was then kidnapped and falsely
accused by the Religious Foot Soldiers and taken off to a Religious Council
held in the dark of night.
This was a plot, a conspiracy of great proportion and
they knew it must be carried out with great precision… For the people truly
liked this man, so they decided not to kill him themselves, for this may truly
turn the people against them, instead they must influence others to do their
dirty deed. For it is told, in Matthew 26:4 of the Holy Scriptures “Then the
chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the
palace of the High Priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus
by trickery and kill Him". This indeed was a plot, and Caiaphas was at the
center and knew how to play events to keep above the ripples. The record shows
that they had decided not to kill Him “during the feast, lest there be an
uproar among the people”. They painted this man as a blasphemer of Almighty God
that ultimately deserved death. Knowing
that Rome agreed to honor their Religious Laws, and that blasphemy brought a
death sentence, they would use Roman authorities to do their dirty evil deed...
In the Gospel of Matthew we see that when Jesus the
Christ was brought to the Sanhedrin, “The Chief Priest, the elders, and the
council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death” (26: 59-61),
and found several. Jesus’ own words were found sufficient to condemn Him to
death. For, in the morning, “...all the chief priests and elders of the people
took counsel against Jesus to put him to death” (27:1). Later, when Pilate
tried to release Jesus, they fervently insisted He had to be crucified, and the
angry crowd that was present, as well as the priests, finally prevailed (Luke
23: 23). Based on the scene at hand, our knowledge of the corrupt lengths these
men would go to get their way, the angered crowed was probably handpicked.
So it was settled, this wonderful, kind, righteous, holy,
perfect man would be destroyed at the hands of the Religious Right of the day.
That this man, the TRUE SON of GOD, was to be crucified over the fear of losing
power! It is this writer’s belief that Caiaphas carried out this deed with his
eyes wide open. His heart was not of GOD! Yet, it is the writer’s belief that
He knew this was the Christ, but just as Satan is under the delusion that he
will overthrow God’s people – Caiaphas thought He could destroy the Son of God
and retain his power and influence over the Jews.
Those of us that claim HIM as our own, and have received
the Holy Spirit as His Comforter and guiding influence, know that HE is raised
this day - HE IS ALIVE !!! He has conquered both sin and death on our
behalf. He now sits at the right hand of Almighty God, our Heavenly Father,
poised to stand and come quietly and take His Bride to the Father, for a long
awaited Wedding and Feast… For the Church – The Bride of Christ is waiting and
watching for His return. For Faith come by Hearing, and Hearing by the WORD of
GOD. That FAITH is even a gift of GOD, and He Freely gives it to those He Calls
out from among this sin laden world. If you have heard His Voice, the tug on
the heart by His Spirit, then separate yourself from the ways of the world.
Follow Christ, take up His Cross, and share the Good News with those that are
seeking. Time is short, He will soon come to take His own, and there will be no
other opportunities. For once He takes His Church away, the age of Grace is
over, and all that is left is Judgment and Damnation.
God Is! He Is! He created all that you see; all that you
know was formed by Him. Even YOU! The first step to salvation is to recognize
GOD! He is Righteous, Holy, Sovereign and all powerful. He as the Creator
created man, to walk and commune with Him in the cool of the evening. He gave
us free reign over all that He laid before us with one exception. One thing was
forbidden, the rest was ours for enjoyment and learning. BUT, an evil one
cursed through the ages influenced that first couple in the Garden. The woman
was deceived, and her husband, disobeyed the Heavenly Father with his eyes wide
open. For he knew it was wrong, and he decided to disobey regardless of the
outcome.
God, found them naked in their sins, and cursed the
action as well as the earth. At that moment their Spiritual Lives were snuffed
out, and while God had designed them to live eternally with Him their physical
bodies would now die. Through the ages, God gave the decedents of that first
couple numerous opportunities to walk righteous and holy lives, but they
continually chose not to. God then sent His Son, this young man named Jesus,
the Christ that you read about previously. He came to earth with one simple
purpose, to tell of His Heavenly Father, to show the people the path to the
Father and Righteousness. For He told them and us, that “God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe on Him, would
have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That “gave” is the Gift of His Life for
ours, a payment for the sin that we on our own are not capable of providing.
“For the wages of sin is death (physically and eternally); but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:32). Christ told us,
there are not many ways to God, unlike what the world wants you to believe
today. There is but one way to God… “For I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,
no man cometh unto to the Father but by me” (John 14:6)!
Dear readers – the choice is yours, and it is a choice –
that you make voluntarily. Remember one last thing “For God sent not His Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be
saved”. It is God’s will for you to choose Him over the offerings of this
corrupt, cruel and dying world. Please make the right choice, before it’s too
late!
