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LifeWORDS: "Go tell my brothers ...!" 6.28.09
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Core Thread

See the SCRIPTURES for this message.

Core Thread

See the SCRIPTURES for this message as well as Phil's article from earlier in the week.

Have you ever wondered when Jesus knew?

I've wondered when Jesus knew He would go to the Cross! I've also wondered when He fully believed that He would rise from the dead! When do you think it was?

  • When He ripped his skin open on a nail in the carpenter's shop?
  • When He visited the Temple at 12 and talked to the great teachers of the Law?
  • When He heard Psalm 22 read in the synagogue in Nazareth?
  • When He entered Jerusalem coming from Galilee and walked past Golgotha hill?
  • When He heard Isaiah 53 read in Jerusalem at Passover?
  • When He made all the religious leaders angry by cleansing the Temple or healing on the Sabbath?
I'm not sure when He knew and exactly what He knew, but I am sure that He did know!
  1. He knew from the Scriptures -- the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings all spoke about this! (Luke 24:25-27)
  2. He had repeatedly and more frequently told His disciples the closer He came to the Cross! (Luke 24:44-45 — See the scriptures section for a list of these)
But what difference does any of this make to you and me today? Don't we live in a much different and so far away from the time of Jesus?

Yes, He did walk among us as one of us many years ago, but I'm not sure our needs were all so different. This is what I believe:
  • He knew the Cross was ahead: Yet He faced it, He did it, He bore it, to honor God and to save you and me!
  • We can trust Him: He has demonstrated God's love to us in unmistakable ways so we know He has our interest at heart!
  • He knows what lies ahead: So He ensures reunion and our ultimate future with God!
Jesus Christ, our Lord, paid the ultimate sacrifice and win the ultimate victory so He could tell us what lies ahead, and that is reunion and victory (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:10).

This Week's Image
"I told you these things!"