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viltglance007
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Let me paint you a picture of Calvary from a slightly different perspective. The 12 disciples have spent 3 years of their lives with Jesus. They have seen Him perform many miracles, and have heard all His teaching. Jesus is arrested by a mob. The disciples know about the supernatural power of Jesus and are waiting for Him to triumphantly call down a posse of angelic warriors to defeat the mob. Instead, the most cruel form of torturous death is carried out on Jesus, and the disciples desert Him. Matthew 27:56 says, "Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." The soldiers leave their great General behind. Christianity, for all that we know, has just come to an end. The 12 people who knew Jesus the best on earth and were best trained to continue what He started are now gone! The rescue mission to save the world from its sins appears to have been scrapped, the disciples weakly retreat.
Please keep that scene in mind and let me fast forward a little bit. Here is an excerpt from the Bible; the book of Acts. This situation occurs about 2 months after all the disciples deserted Jesus: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus...Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, 'Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'" (Acts 4:13,18-20)
Doesn't seem like the same group of guys, does it? As a matter of fact all but one of the remaining disciples stood up for Jesus Christ so boldly that they were brutally killed for what they were saying. Given the opportunity to deny Christ and live, they all chose to stand boldly for the good news of Jesus Christ.
James was beheaded. Philip was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified in present-day Turkey. Matthew was slain with a halberd (a medieval weapon, comprising a blade and spiked points on a long shaft) in Nadabah, Ethiopia. James, son of Alphaeus, was beaten and stoned in Jerusalem, finally being killed by a hammer blow to the head. Matthias was stoned in Jerusalem and then beheaded. Andrew was crucified in present-day Syria. Peter was crucified in Rome, Italy. Jude was crucified in present-day Syria. Bartholomew was cruelly beaten and then crucified in India. Thomas was thrust through with a spear in India. Simon was crucified in Britain. John was the only disciple who was not violently killed. While in Rome he was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil before a mob, however God protected him from death and he was sent to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of revelation.
What was it about these 12 men that so changed their lives? All of them were transformed from deserters to courageous spiritual warriors. Did they throw a massive pep rally and decide to continue this Christianity thing at any cost? Did they hire a motivational speaker to come and convince them this following Jesus thing was worth dying for? Did they sit down and read "7 Habits of a Highly Effective Disciple?"
No, the answer is found in Peter and John's response in the book of Acts. "For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20) Jesus didn't just get brutally murdered, he also conquered death by raising from the dead. Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples after His resurrection teaching them more about His Kingdom. (Acts 1:3)
It is one thing to know about something like Christianity, it is an entirely different thing to personally know the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth. The disciples came to believe as surely as we know 2+2=4 that Jesus Christ, God incarnate, was exactly who He claimed to be. They believed Jesus so fully that they were willing to suffer any pain so others would know of the eternal life found through believing in Jesus Christ alone. Spending those 40 days with the risen Christ must have been so wonderful for the disciples that they became willing to live out the rest of their days for Him. Instead of just 40 days, how about spending the rest of your days with the risen Christ by talking with Him right now about your need for Him. The odds are high that you will not be brutally killed for trusting Jesus as your Savior like the disciples were. The odds are 100% sure that you will live for an eternity with Him in paradise. (Romans 10:13)
(If you'd like more information about this please click the cross on the upper right side of the screen or you can talk to someone 24hrs a day by calling 1.888.needHim)
Please keep that scene in mind and let me fast forward a little bit. Here is an excerpt from the Bible; the book of Acts. This situation occurs about 2 months after all the disciples deserted Jesus: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus...Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, 'Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'" (Acts 4:13,18-20)
Doesn't seem like the same group of guys, does it? As a matter of fact all but one of the remaining disciples stood up for Jesus Christ so boldly that they were brutally killed for what they were saying. Given the opportunity to deny Christ and live, they all chose to stand boldly for the good news of Jesus Christ.
James was beheaded. Philip was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified in present-day Turkey. Matthew was slain with a halberd (a medieval weapon, comprising a blade and spiked points on a long shaft) in Nadabah, Ethiopia. James, son of Alphaeus, was beaten and stoned in Jerusalem, finally being killed by a hammer blow to the head. Matthias was stoned in Jerusalem and then beheaded. Andrew was crucified in present-day Syria. Peter was crucified in Rome, Italy. Jude was crucified in present-day Syria. Bartholomew was cruelly beaten and then crucified in India. Thomas was thrust through with a spear in India. Simon was crucified in Britain. John was the only disciple who was not violently killed. While in Rome he was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil before a mob, however God protected him from death and he was sent to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of revelation.
What was it about these 12 men that so changed their lives? All of them were transformed from deserters to courageous spiritual warriors. Did they throw a massive pep rally and decide to continue this Christianity thing at any cost? Did they hire a motivational speaker to come and convince them this following Jesus thing was worth dying for? Did they sit down and read "7 Habits of a Highly Effective Disciple?"
No, the answer is found in Peter and John's response in the book of Acts. "For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20) Jesus didn't just get brutally murdered, he also conquered death by raising from the dead. Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples after His resurrection teaching them more about His Kingdom. (Acts 1:3)
It is one thing to know about something like Christianity, it is an entirely different thing to personally know the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth. The disciples came to believe as surely as we know 2+2=4 that Jesus Christ, God incarnate, was exactly who He claimed to be. They believed Jesus so fully that they were willing to suffer any pain so others would know of the eternal life found through believing in Jesus Christ alone. Spending those 40 days with the risen Christ must have been so wonderful for the disciples that they became willing to live out the rest of their days for Him. Instead of just 40 days, how about spending the rest of your days with the risen Christ by talking with Him right now about your need for Him. The odds are high that you will not be brutally killed for trusting Jesus as your Savior like the disciples were. The odds are 100% sure that you will live for an eternity with Him in paradise. (Romans 10:13)
(If you'd like more information about this please click the cross on the upper right side of the screen or you can talk to someone 24hrs a day by calling 1.888.needHim)
