30th Mar 26 | 13:54
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Luke 24 36-49 COMMISSIONED TO BE HIS WITNESSES 16 30Apr2022 Luke 24 46 Suffering and joy
📖 Luke 24:36-49
16 – 30Apr2022 – Suffering and joy - Luke 24:36-49 - COMMISSIONED TO BE HIS WITNESSES - Bible reading: I Thessalonians 1:5-6
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are showing us what it means to follow You. The suffering and the resurrection of Christ are the basis for the gospel. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
These are the teaching and the instructions that the Lord gives His disciples as He commissioned them to be His witnesses.
Luke 24:46-49 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, (47) and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And you are witnesses of these things. (49) Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
We continue to consider why it was necessary for Christ to suffer and rise again. We are considering why this truth is integral to the gospel. ‘
It was the gospel of Jesus, because of which the Jews inherited the promise of God to Abraham. This was necessary for the Jews to understand.
Galatians 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Apostle Paul was speaking to a Jewish audience and He was enabling them to see how through the suffering and the resurrection of Christ, they inherited the promise of God to Abraham.
This promise of God included the Jews to overcome the barriers of Jew against Gentile, slave against free, male against female. These walls were serious issues with the Jews but in Christ, all of these fences were crossed and they truly inherited the blessing of Abraham.
God had promised Abraham that in your seed all the nations/families of the earth will be blessed. All had to come to God by faith in Jesus. This was how the Jews inherited the blessing.
The suffering and the resurrection of Christ, resets the whole community of people, on the earth. Jesus has made it possible that through Him all the man-made barriers between us are broken.
The disciples continuously preached the message that the gospel of Jesus included both suffering and joy.
Acts 17:2-3 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, (3) explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ."
We have discussed the core gospel, but for the gospel to become a reality in a person’s life, there is a need for suffering and joy. This is tied to the gospel. Preachers and teachers do not like to tell their audience that suffering is integral to the gospel but suffering and joy go hand in hand as we partake of the gospel of Jesus.
I Thessalonians 1:5-6 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. (6) And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
The word was received in much affliction and joy of the Holy Spirit.
The Christian life is not a drudgery but a paradox. There will be affliction and joy.
I Thessalonians 2:13-14 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (14) For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans,
This was continuously taught in the early church. The gospel included suffering and joy.
Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
What the Apostles taught was what they experienced themselves.
Acts 5:40-42 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. (41) So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. (42) And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
An integral part of the gospel message is suffering and joy. This should be the experience that is a reality for each of us. Let us also ensure that this is how we encourage and build up the body of Christ.
Thought to ponder
Ensure that the gospel that you share with people is not sugar-coated.