A plumber friend once remarked that the teachings of Jesus Christ contain many paradoxes -- seemingly outlandish statements which upon further inquiry are found to be true.
Today is Good Friday which commemorates the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion upon a cross some two thousand years ago. There was death and yet we say that it was good for all mankind.
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| Photo taken by courtesy of www.goldenroc.com.sg |
Here are, among other things, some of Jesus' illumination:-
"Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." -- John 12:24 9 (NIV)
Okay, maybe that is easy enough to digest. What about the following sample.
Jesus said to His disciples:-
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." -- Matthew 16:24b (NIV)
In reply to a query by Nicodemus -- a learned Pharisees and a ruler of the Jews, on how to be born again (spiritually; the second birth), Jesus expounded and the renown John 3:16 verse came forth:-
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
(Ask the right questions to receive your nuggets!)
Jesus said to Martha and Mary whose brother, Lazarus, had already been entombed before He was resurrected by Jesus soon after:-
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” -- John 11:25b (NIV)
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| Photo taken by courtesy of www.goldenroc.com.sg |
God the Creator is holy. Mankind have turned against Him in their sinful ways and the punishment for sin can only be atoned by blood. Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, became that sacrifice which is acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins to those who believe. Faith is the currency to procure heavenly gifts (e.g., forgiveness, eternal life, righteousness, wisdom, healing, etc.) sustained by obedience and consecration.
"Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." -- Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)
Here then is a free gift and possibly the greatest paradox of all; you can be saved from the damnation of sins where death is already a certainty, but if you believe in Jesus and follow Him, you, too, will have your very own resurrection when Jesus comes again, as He said He would.
The choice is ours. Receive it, put it on the back-burner, but God forbids that we chuck Him aside like this discarded love-shaped basket.
May we be like Nicodemus who was spiritually-discerning and keen to find out God's perspectives regarding how we ought to run our life with wisdom from heaven.
To round up this short discourse, Jesus rebuked the the devil for enticing Him (yes, another paradox!) with these words:-
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” -- Matthew 4:4b (NIV)
Click here to hear 3-year-old Claire Ryann sings Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed into the hands of the Roman soldiers leading on to His death by crucifixion.
Have A Blessed Good Friday, indeed!
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