First of all, thanks for the discussion. It always sharpens minds and makes us think.
Iron sharpens iron, etc.
If what you said is true, and I'm not saying it's not, I have two questions for now:
Why did Jesus die?
He died for all the reasons you already know.
But note, God dwells outside of time, so although he was slain 2000 years ago, he was slain before the world began.
Rev13v8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
I could go further, but will leave you to ponder first.
What did happen on the day of Pentecost, what changed?
What Jesus said would happen did happen.-
Acts1v8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Previously, they had only received Holy Spirit power when Jesus breathed on them and sent them out.
But they always depended on Jesus being in their midst. The apostles were still very carnal, viewing everything from their own agenda. That's why they wanted to know who was the greatest etc., and why Peter boasted that he would never desert Jesus. That's why, at the point of His departure they wanted to know if he was going to take the kingdom back and drive the Romans out.
They were still thinking like men instead of Sons of the Most High God, sold on His will alone.
Jesus clearly told them that the Holy Spirit was always there for the asking.
Luke11v13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Asking in the present tense not future tense.)
In fact, the constant references to
wisdom in the Book of Proverbs clearly indicate the Holy Spirit. Here is what she, Wisdom, promised them long before Pentecost.
Prov1v23 Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
Jesus told the apostles He had to leave otherwise the Holy Spirit would not come.
Jn16v7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
I believe the Holy Spirit would not come until the apostles died to their own agenda and their carnal attitude. And that's what happened in the upper room after Jesus departed.
The first thing the apostles did was to get themselves all organised and elect a replacement for Judas. Interestingly, we never hear of him again!
Then, "What's next on the agenda chaps? Er... who's in charge here........... who's going to do the coffee ....... etc."
Heeeeelp............weee caaaan't dooo thiiis.
Finally these guys repented of all their bombast and self reliance. They died right there in the upper room.
They looked at what Jesus had said, and realised that it was not them, but God the Holy Spirit doing the work through them, so long as they got right out of the way.
Then and only then, did they have faith to ask for God's full power instead of theirs.
Just as God had always planned, that coincided with Pentecost, and we can read the rest in the book of Acts.
You don't have to believe my back story, but it matches the rest of scripture rather than the traditional view.
Also, it is worth noting that in Matt 26:28 Jesus used the present tense when referring to his blood said, "...which is shed..." He used the present tense, not the future, like the incident with Nicodemus you mentioned. Surely his blood wasn't spilling all over the table and ruining dessert.
Starting at Adam, the blood of Jesus was past, present, and future tense, always applicable even when they didn't understand the how, why, and wherefore.
After his rebellion, instead of Adam dying as indicated in God's warning, Jesus slit the throat of a lamb, and draped the bloody skins around Adam and Eve.
In Greek: The present tense can either be continuous/ongoing or
undefined.
Greek Verbs Help Tutorial
But those ongoing present tense verbs must be ongoing from the present time. What matters is that they were not future.
In both verses, Matt 26:28 and John 3:5, the Greek verb is not in the indicative mood and is therefore in the undefined category. The link above explains the Greek verb in simple terms. If you are not familiar with Greek, don't be let it stop you from learning a few basics. The Greek language is considered the most precise language of all times. It often makes plain what what might be unclear in our English translations.
I'm no Greek scholar but I always use the online concordance (biblehub etc.) to check what I quote.
According to Strong's, both verses are in the Present Indicative Active.
But John3 is not just one verse, its a whole discourse in the present tense.
But the main thing I'm interested in is your answers to the two questions I asked, why did Jesus have to die, and what was the significance of Pentecost? Thanks...
I hope that goes some way to answer your two questions!
