The Palm Sunday Prophecy (Fulfilled)

The Palm Sunday Prophecy (Fulfilled)                                                By Kelly Durant 3-24-24

 

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

 

2. How many of you have been around young people when they get excited about their favorite group coming to town? I recall Renee a few years ago talking all the time about the British band ‘One Direction’, how I had to take her to see them, how they were the greatest, and on and on! (She will probably hate me now for mentioning it since that was ages ago in her mind!) The visit of a rock star, a movie star, a sports star, or of someone of political fame seems to always draw cheering crowds. People love to celebrate those that bring them some kind of inspiration or some kind of words of hope in this life! Isn’t that true? The sad part about praising people though is often people cheer only to get a huge let down once their true self is exposed!

 

Let’s go back about 2,000 years, who were the rock stars then for the people of Jerusalem? It certainly wasn’t any political leader with ties to Rome! They were the enemy, the cruel oppressors! As with many of the world leaders today! Music, sports, and movies were not marketed so what was left? Any prophet or teacher that could bring them hope, a hope of establishing them into power, to be free from the dominance of man, a supernatural person that could bring them honor, salvation, and healing! That was Jesus for them then but He still brings hope, happiness, and inspiration not only just to Jerusalem but to all in the world! The final fulfillment of a world full of love and peace will be in the New Jerusalem Kingdom of God when Jesus returns! 

 

Like an urban legend news about Jesus in Israel had spread from town to town and it spread into Jerusalem that He was the new savior, an amazing miracle worker, a wise teacher, and He even was fulfilling the prophecies of being the expected Messiah! For years and years the Jews were desperate for the Messiah to come and the Rabbis combed over each and every prophecy and the common man got the news that Jesus fit the description of what Zechariah prophesied! And Jesus was arriving in Jerusalem, how world-changing!

 

3. Every Palm Sunday year after year we face the reality that Jesus through His birth, life, and death fulfilled many dozens of prophecies! This is why I could never be a non-believer: the dead Sea Scrolls and unexplained fulfillment of prophecy prove there is a supernatural God behind the scenes who cares for each of us. The prophecy I am focusing in on today is a little one in Zechariah 9:9 but it has great implications.  The Jewish Rabbis and students were familiar with all prophecy; throughout the ages they each learned that the Messiah would fulfill every detail mentioned by every major and minor prophet throughout all the sacred scrolls recorded by their ancestors.

 

So what can we do with this one verse today? Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. 

 

This is a very specific verse with 5 points of fulfilment. For those who think the Messiah has not come, then they should rethink how difficult each of these points are to duplicate in concert with one another, especially if you were to try to replicate it in today’s world. The prophetic points are 1) Rejoicing, a shouting and worshipping of happiness for His arrival 2) The entrance of the awaited Messiah specifically going into Jerusalem 3) He is exalted as the King, an implication that He is recognized as the King of the Jews, the chosen Messiah 4) He is just, having salvation, and lowly, all of which means He is a humble man who is fair to all bringing salvation of the soul 5) And finally He is riding on a colt, which is a very unusual specific action strange for an honored King. 

 

4. Let’s explore this more in depth. Matthew 21:1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him[d] on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

 

This report written by Matthew includes the prophecy we are focusing in on today. It is the record of how Jesus obtained the colt (notice that no one yelled out, ‘hey you are stealing my colt’! I doubt that today any person would even be able to go into modern day Jerusalem on a colt with all the traffic! Before I get into the 5 points, let’s consider all the details here. 

 

A separate prophecy was being fulfilled here as well, the one of shouting “Hosanna” at the sight of Jesus. That was a praise to Him and a recognition that He was of the required lineage of David. (Psalm 118:25) Amongst the studious Jews there was no doubt, Jesus was the Messiah. 

 

5. One more thing before getting into the 5 points in the verse. Stand up everybody, yes get up, now take off your tunic or coat…now imagine spreading it out in front of a man on a colt! What an expensive and radical gesture to show honor, right? The rocky and muddy streets of Jerusalem were not too pretty! I doubt the dirt would have even washed out after the tunics got hoof prints and mud embedded in them. 

 

Now imagine laying down the palm branches…this was a gesture of bowing down to share a small gift, a token gesture of honoring a person with the green carpet treatment (before the red carpet came into fashion, ha!).  The entire city was there to see what was going on!

 

As mentioned here in verse 10, “all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” The ones who knew “who He was” were shouting and praising God with all their lungs! The rest of the city had never seen such a welcoming! The welcoming of a Roman leader was done out of formality and obligation, but never had people seen such a positive welcoming like this one!

 

6. So the rejoicing of the people of Jerusalem was unprecedented! This praising is the first point, now on to the second one, how is it that this explosion of praise happened in such a small city as Jerusalem? Why didn’t God and His Son not decide to enter into Rome, the capital of the world at that time?  First of all, Jesus was a Jew who came to reach those of God’s own house first, but we know now that His love was intended to extend into all the world, to every tribe, tongue, and race as well. (As it soon did and continues to do) Jerusalem historically is a sacred city, a chosen city, the City of David, the place of peace and blessings. 

 

There were many prophecies over Jerusalem, one is that they were being like a rebellious chick that the Father wanted to protect under His wings but they refused and rebelled (Psa 91:4). Jesus knew the Jerusalemites would reject Him despite their initial praise and acceptance. Notice what Jesus cries out here,Matthew 23:37  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”  God wanted them to see the light! They were given the first chance with the sign of loud rejoicing.

 

Jerusalem was where the blessings flourished with God’s chosen bloodline, but it also was where God’s blessings of peace (Salem=peace) ceased. Jerusalem about 40 years after Jesus entrance fell to their enemies, and then many times over were invaded and occupied by others dozens of times over in the past 2,000 years! Jerusalem has seen more war than peace and this conclusively is connected to their rejection of the King or Prince of Peace! (See Isaiah 9:6)

 

7. Now on to point 3, (‘Behold your King’) He was exalted as the King of the Jews there on that first Palm Sunday. The whole city proclaimed it! What was written on His cross by Pilot? Matthew 27:37 “And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” At first they accepted Him as King in truth, but later they retracted their praise accepting the lie of the false leaders instead!

 

The act of crying out the word “Hosanna” was special as it was a Hebrew word to express a deep worship and praise. No Hebrew should have worshipped any man this highly, only God, so the fact that all shouted “Hosanna” to Jesus indicates that they knew He was the true anointed Messiah or King. Otherwise, what they were doing would have been considered blasphemy!

 

We know today that Jesus, by His life, death, and resurrection is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords! In Jerusalem they worshipped Him as King fulfilling prophecy, recognizing Him for the fulfilment of the prophecies and for the miracles He had done. For a moment they instinctively knew He was King! But Jesus was not finished in demonstrating His power and authority. The ultimate miracle proving His worthiness and Kingship was His resurrection!

 

8. Point 4, The Messiah needed to possess certain characteristics, those of being just, having salvation, and being lowly. For one, Jesus was not elitist, claiming to be of blue blood, or of a special class imposing His superiority and arrogance (contrary to the world’s rulers back then and today). He was the most fair and loving person ever offering justice and equality of salvation and healing to everyone without discrimination. How shocking He was as He even offered healing and salvation to the despised Sumerians and gentiles!  Today he still saves “whosoever will”; all one needs to do is worship and accept Him as savior and as the Son of God, as the King of Kings! 

 

Lowly means humble and Jesus was the ultimate example of it! It hurts me to observe some Christians today who desire riches, praise, or arrogant power. They are damaging the cause of Christ and in my view do not know Jesus! Jesus served all without discrimination not just Jews. He mixed with publicans and sinners, forgave prostitutes, washed the feet of His followers and did unprecedented acts of humility that no other priest or man of God had ever done before. 

 

For me any follower of Jesus must exemplify humility! Some pastors will not even take out the trash!  Serving one another in love to me proves the authenticity of Christlikeness in a person!   

 

9. The final 5^th point, Jesus rides in on a colt to fulfill this prophecy. How many of you ever rode on a colt, raise your hand? We all know that donkeys have a reputation for being stubborn, right? They will buck you off!  How would a small colt act then with a big 180 pound body  (about Jesus size?) on it? The expected is for it to kick and fight don’t you think, especially if no one had ever ridden it. 

 

The Roman rulers would ride into cities on elegant horses or in carriages so to imagine Jesus, who is being hailed as King to be on a humble small colt is actually laughable! What humility he had! Jesus didn’t need to always use words to teach with, His actions taught us volumes as well.

 

The other lesson here is that Jesus obviously was not wealthy to purchase a nice horse or animal, but rather He got this colt by appropriation and it appears by the verses the appropriation of the colt was by divine design. Matthew 21:3 “And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” No one said, “Hey you’re stealing my colt!” When God has a job for you, it will all happen in His design, He always supplies by surprising ways, and it may be with something that ministers to your humility.

 

10. As we celebrate today with our palm branches as was done over 2,000 years ago, let’s focus in on what it means for us personally. We are to obey Jesus in all His ways. Here are some questions I have for you just based on the 5 point prophecies in Zechariah.

1) Do you get excited, worship and rejoice when Jesus becomes the subject matter of attention? All nature praises Him! Luke 19:40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

2) Is the spirit of the true Jerusalem worshippers where there is unity with others, present in your heart? Revelation 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (a future Heavenly Jerusalem awaits as we learn here from Revelation)

3) Is Jesus the King of your life? In other words, are you not ‘living as you please’ but living to please Him with Him ruling all things in your life? Romans 14:11 For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.

4) Are you fair to all? Do you serve in humility without discrimination? Do you offer others salvation as Jesus did?  How humble and lowly in heart are you? Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

5) And finally, to suggest you mount on a colt to imitate Jesus would not serve much of a purpose!  But think of it this way, do you do actions that may put you a position to appear ridiculous to the world? Will you do that if your deeds are humbly fulfilling God’s purpose? 1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time

 

Jesus entry into Jerusalem brought us all these lessons! Let’s pray that we can be as He wants us to be on this Palm Sunday and for the rest of our lives! Praise Jesus, and love Him for His Kingship, salvation and humility! Do you know Him? Let’s pray…

John 17 Capture the Unity & Depth

John 17 Capture the Unity & Depth                             by Kelly Durant 3-17-24  

 

John 17 (Whole Chapter)  

2. Today you and I will take into account Jesus' longest prayer before he goes on to his death and resurrection. He will challenge our epistemology! His prayer makes no sense to the unbeliever. You know “Our Father” is only about 3 minutes long but prayers have more to do with the quality of content than they do with how long they are! Let’s explore the importance of Jesus prayer, glory, power and connection to the Father, and how that relates to those of us who believe Him.

 

Before anything, I think we all love puzzles, right? With every statement someone makes, we discover, like an onion, there are many layers behind the statement. For example, if someone says, “My toes are black and blue because of my wife”, the biggest problem we have is that most listeners just form an opinion and believe what’s in their own mind about the matter and this is what creates disunity and communications problems! The average unwise reasoning person is not guided by truth, or God, or the Holy Spirit, but by their own imaginations which almost infallibly are false impressions! When someone is “assuming” something, please correct them! Discernment and reasoning gifts are necessary!

 

The statement above could mean that the wife dropped the iron on the toes or she stepped on them and they are bruised, or it could even mean the man kicked the wife and bruised his toes in the process! It could imply an accident, or something malicious, but you do not know until you learn more by asking questions, and by also taking into account the persons past record. It could even mean that she painted his toenails with black and blue nail polish as a joke! Do you see how no statement should go past you without a deeper inquiry to learn the truth! We have already witnessed that some people leave the church because they only listen to their own minds and not what is actually the truth being told!

 

3. Here is something I want you to learn, when reading the Bible, together with praying and asking the Holy Spirit to guide you, learn to capture the depth of the inferences of what was set up in the past, and what is deeper between the lines.  

John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

For one, why is Jesus asking His Father to glorify Him? Hasn’t He already been glorified in his birth, in his baptism, in the miracles, and in everything up until this point? So why does He ask to be glorified? This is the question?

 

God inspires answers. I see it like this, if a person trains to win a competition, this person could win on the state and the national levels, but despite the victories and accomplishments this competitor is not content because the focus is on the final prize of winning the Gold medal to be the best in the world! What Jesus is inferring is this, He has already been glorified but not totally yet, He is aware He still has to endure more: the death on the cross, and then return in an ultimate glory never witnessed before, the glory of being in His resurrected body! 

 

4. 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

 

What is understood here? It is inferred that Jesus is confirming that God is delegating His authority of the future fate of all humans to Jesus so that after being glorified, He will then have total power to decide whether a human spirit after death can have access to heaven through eternal life or not: Eternal life that is tangent upon the acceptance of Himself (Jesus). It was only He that broke the curse of death and He was sent by God to break it and the glory is… He did it! 

 

It is confirmed in scripture many times that Jesus is the one (only one) who gives eternal life. How did Jesus gain this ability? He was the chosen one, but He also did not fail in “His obedience and by the things He suffered”. Hebrews 5:8

When you review the Old Testament you discover that none of God’s men, His prophets, or chosen ones (Moses, David, etc.) were perfect enough to come back to life, granting them the power to control this eternal life power by being the first one to dominate it. Death was brought in as a curse, and many of you know about curses, but it was undone by Jesus, so only He has the authority and control! Only He decides who gets eternal life and who not! You and I love Jesus but we also must fear Jesus’ authority as He has access to heaven or hell!

  

5. Jesus accomplished what no one had ever done before, and neither has anyone ever since Him ever gotten close to resurrecting like Him! Some people, however, believe they are gods but they are far from it and like the bumper sticker that says, "The next time you think you are perfect, try walking on water!" 

It resonates true that none of us, not one of us of the human race will ever be so perfect, so close to God that we will do miracles or have power over eternal life in the way that Jesus did! 

 

Divine yet human Jesus, by living obediently, righteously, and Holy, having the ability to do miracles, by his suffering, death, and resurrection, gained the status of being God’s right hand ruler and this means that He is over all humanity: Every person is subject to Him! No preacher, no wealthy star, no president, no dictator should ever be honored because all honor is due to Jesus!  Philippians 2:10

 

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;” The name Jesus is synonymous to His power of resurrection and it is the proof that He revealed His Father’s glory to the world.

 

6.  John 17:4 “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”  First Jesus asks to be glorified, then he is claiming to have finished the work, what does this mean? 

Jesus is talking in past tense, in other words, He is inferring He completed everything up to this point and the next step He counts as if it is done already. He has so much faith he is counting on the future as if it were past! Time is His!

 

That is confidence and strength! All of us have trials and tribulations but imagine if God revealed to you that you will die a horrible death, as He did with Jesus, would you still have faith and unquestionable obedience to God despite your fear and anguish and say to God, “Not my will, but yours be done?” 

 

7. 5 “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was”. So think about what this infers. Jesus was around before our world was! It was His design with God to create our world and it was full of glory! There still is an amazing harmony of glory out there when you discover the vast amazing things in macro space, and then observe the vast complexity of the creation design in the DNA micro space. God’s glory revealed in the physical, measured with our modern instruments, proves He made and keeps maintaining a harmonious perfection in life & energy, a perfection that is quadrillions of light years beyond our creative capacities and understanding! 

 

What we must assume from Jesus statement is that God’s Kingdom (of another world) is perfect and full of glory and that it existed before our world did.  It is instilled in our nature to know that there is a spirit world that is glorious and never ending, and we conclude that each one of us are existing in a temporary world that is broken, full of life but also full of death and suffering. 

 

One can only appropriately assume that a certain glory has been lost in creation as we know it. Obviously in heaven with God on the throne, no glory has been lost in that realm, but here on our earth there has been a lost glory of the original creation because sin and death came into the world by disobedience. Jesus came to erase this sin and to undo the curse of death so God’s glory could be restored but it is only for those who believe and accept it through Him.

 

8.  The obvious pretention of Jesus is to restore glory to the souls of everyone! 

John 17:12 13

12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

 

Verse 12 refers to Satan himself. In other words, anyone, anyone can be saved except Satan who went too far because he brought death into the world so He has to be punished with his own curse, so he will never obtain salvation: but anyone else can! Jesus came not to condemn but to save whosoever will!

Verse 13 mentions that we will have joy and it is true, we have great joy in Jesus in this life because He forgave our sins, gave us peace, and filled our hearts with love! But in reality our joy will not be complete until we join Him in heaven!

 

9. John 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 

If you are following Jesus, then you are being rejected by those of the world like He was! We can’t do anything about living in this evil world, we are here and we have to interact with all kinds of people all the time, usually with people devoid of understanding, but the good thing is, if you and I stay close to Jesus, He will protect us from the world’s evil, keeping us strong in faith! 

What is established here is most people in the world are blind and evil, while we are other-worldly and heavenly. Our relationship will always be as oil and vinegar.  

 

10. John 16:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

As Salvationists we believe in sanctification, which is the lifelong process of becoming cleaned through the Holy Spirit, and the He speaks to you and me through the Word of God, which is the only absolute truth! Knowing Jesus as truth is the greatest blessing we can ever have in life because the majority of people are (2 Timothy 3:7) ‘Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth’.

 

You and I have to be careful because “lies” can appear to be “truth” because they come disguised in many ways. I reflect on my own personal mistakes: I believed I was gaining holiness, truth, life, and happiness at one time through the teachings of gurus. But there always comes a time when you will have to wake up and experience the real “truth”. No spiritual teacher (angelic or demonic), no politician, no person of glamour or power has any meaningful words at all compared to those of Jesus! Those who accept Jesus and are obedient to Him, who pray through Him, have a power that no human or demon can stop!   

 

You and I are similar to dumb sheep and we can easily be tempted by words of teachers or persons in power who entice us to become “enlightened”, and to gain a secret “wisdom” that only a few elect can have. How egocentric! But if you investigate deeper the rituals, the processes, and the false promises offered, they do not hold up under the light of truth which reveals their deceitful shallowness. 

 

11. History has taught us that no human can ever produce teachings that will bring you to a higher truth, or power above the truth and power of Jesus! But sadly, today people get misguided very easily by indoctrinators in certain cults or religions, by political propagandists, and by professors in ‘so called’ prestigious colleges fueling the mindless ‘endless trains of faithless’.    21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

What a tragedy that innocent people suffer consequences due to our society being severely divided by those who absorb and repeat lies instilling inconvenient immoral policies with no critical thinking applied. But Jesus expects his saved ones to apply analysis and critical thinking to fully absorb deeper truths so they will be preserved as one in Him until the end rejecting lies. The herds of the shallow misguided apply no depth of research to understand any consequences of what it is they live out and promote. 

 

Those without Jesus’ truth do not do any personal introspection (or if they did they would conclude that they are evil) as to why they defend popularized trends and positions. They become puppets of those with manipulative agendas intent on destructions! But true Christians have a “one-ness’ of thought, purpose, and mission and the “truth has set them free!”

 

12. John 17:22 “And the glory which Thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” Jesus prayer covers many more points than what we don’t have time for here but the main point in the end is that each of us to learn to be One with Him, Jesus believing in Him as sent from the Father. He is one with the Father being in part divine and human, and knowing Him provokes imitating His heart, mind and soul! 

 

The ultimate truth is we will never have unity with those of the world, but we must have it amongst ourselves because Jesus prayed for us to have it! The world is made up of 2 breeds, the sheep of Jesus, and the goats of those who “do as they please.” Goats butt heads all their lives! Those of us who have Jesus understand and walk in truth and see all lies for what they are, but the deceived ones, who are entrapped and slaves to their own passions, never make any sense of life or of anything! Confusion=hell

So what did you learn from this? That applying reasoning and questions is imperative to knowing truth! And that only Jesus has power over eternal life! We learned that worldly people haven’t learned anything in life at all: they are shallow by ignorance and choice lacking in depth for rejecting Jesus! And without Jesus as truth leading you and me into deep insights one exists purposeless, sad, and confused, not just for now but forever! Absorb all of Jesus, study well His prayers and He will change and enlighten you! He will save your soul as well!

John 16, Prophecy & Persecution in Today’s World

John 16, Prophecy & Persecution in Today’s World  by Kelly Durant 3-10-24

¹ “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, ⁵ but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ⁷ 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. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

2. The verses of today are some of Jesus last words before his soon coming arrest, execution, and resurrection. How many of you have ever heard a person share words of who was dying? Sometimes they tell all their family that they love them, and maybe they divide up the inheritance with the family.  Some parents die alone in some rest home with just a worker nearby. We really don’t know about how our circumstances will be!

 You should think about this as we enter into this time of Easter. What are the pages of wisdom you would prepare if you knew you only had a week before you would die? Who would you talk to? What wisdom would you share? Would you tell everyone you loved them, like Jesus did?

Before Jesus leaves this world, He left us a lot to think about. Four chapters in John say a whole lot, 14 to 17.  Also Matthew 23, 24, 25, which coincide with the other chapters in Luke & Mark. Notice how most all of them are full of many prophecies of the future and about Jesus’ return to reign forever and ever. About 25% of each NT gospel are Jesus’ words within the last week of his life! 

3. Leading up to Chapter 16 we have John chapter 15. In John 15 Jesus is the true vine that we must stay connected to, and this coincides with doctrine 9 of the SA, we must continue in obedience, maintaining our faith.  Jesus teaches us about divine love, about laying down our lives for God and others.  In other words, die for Him!

Jesus repeatedly mentions persecution too, which is something very much alive and ongoing today.  And very importantly, He also tells us of the Holy Spirit that will come to us after He is gone to comfort, guide, and teach us all truth.

In John 16 let’s look at these opening words which begin with prophecy. Some people think they always need to hear a word of prophecy from the church or the pastor for their lives, but people who think in this manner rarely are heard just teaching the prophecies of Jesus! 

There are too many modern-day prophets, people who think others will buy into them as being as supernatural and prophetic as Jesus who prophesied, but they have proven their selves to be powerless. For the future, follow only the Bible! 

4. When you hear words of prophecy, be careful who they are coming from and where the focus is: Is it really on Jesus?  Or is it to sweeten your ears and buy you and convince you that your life is extra special to be wealthy, or that some ministry, or some pastor, or denomination are the only ones with the anointing that you must obey since they produce such words? 

We are warned in 2 Timothy 4:3 ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

In the first verse of prophecy in John 16:2 He says those that kill you will believe they are doing God service! How can this be, people killing believers in Jesus thinking they are doing it in God’s service? How did it apply then as well as today?

Did that prophecy occur historically in the disciples’ lives? Yes, each one of them died as martyrs except John which lived by a miracle after being put in oil to boil. In fear, the Romans sent him to live in a lonely island called Patmos.  Historically there was horrible persecution of people killing the followers of Jesus in the name of their church, or pagan Gods, and today it continues as much as it did before.

5. A little over a decade ago, a report came out of the persecution of Christians in Ethiopia. About 20,000 people had to flee! Imagine if you had to leave your home with just a bag of what you could carry, and you are aware many of your neighbors are being killed by invaders. And worse your Christian church got burned down along with dozens of others!

To our horror, there are Communists, false religion followers, and violent terrorists in the world today that would love to burn down every Christian church there is in the entire world! Hundreds have been burnt just in the past few years! The hatred of Jesus and the persecution of Christians is more intense than ever! 

We need to pray for those everywhere and in Africa! Sadly today, as it always has been, hundreds and sometimes thousands die every single day for Jesus in the hands of people who believe they are doing God’s service by killing them! 

Imagine, we have a God that loves like no other; that lays down his son as a sacrificial lamb as a savior of all, but these murderers believe God wants them to kill anyone who will not accept God the way they follow according to their unsacred doctrines! Our God teaches us to love, but theirs teaches to kill!

6. Everyone who boasts spirituality must rely on prophecy as proof of Jesus’ truth. Satan wants to imitate prophecy, but he cannot! Why, because fulfilled prophecy is proof of Christ’s divinity! No one comes close to getting right His predictions!

The false religious followers often declare they have a prophet, but their prophet(s) has no fulfillments to prove anything, no dozens of future events predicted as Jesus did. They have some prophecies, but only are for a self-interested conquest. Khrushchev, the communist leader of Russia when I was a kid prophesied with his shoe banging the UN table that he would bury the United States.  But no book in the world from any man or from any religion has hundreds and hundreds of fulfilled prophecies as the Bible does! Khrushchev died, his words did not happen, but communists & terrorists are still working in the shadows to make it happen!

 ² “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me”. So many billions of people in the world following false hopes and false prophecies believe that their sacrifices, their self-induced sufferings, their long boring prayers, their dedication to kill others make them worthy to dominate the world. Evil ones always treat other people as their slaves. But since these people have not accepted, loved, and obeyed Jesus, they have not known our true God, our Father creator, and their dedication is in vain and a big waste of life and of their soul! Hell on earth and hell hereafter is for those who seek to murder, and impose lies in order to gain power and money.  

These persecutors may cause Christians to lose their lives, but these evil ones will lose their souls in hell! Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell”. We must fear God, never mortal men, be they ones in the government, of a huge religion, or of a secret world order.

7. In Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and in dozens of countries, it is against the law to preach Jesus! In these countries dozens of thousands have been killed, and notice that those that “live by the sword, die by the sword.”  

Who could ever imagine we would see the entire world in such turmoil and chaos in these past few decades? All of this coincides with Matt. 24 where Jesus says, “and nation shall rise up against nation, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars”.  

We should be watchful and pray more for the leaders of this world as war and turmoil is spreading here in the U.S.. After all, the Middle Eastern nations look upon America as the great Satan that invades and destroys them, so they want to destroy us. Communist countries as well. This last great Christian nation is being sold out by corrupt politicians, perverts in power, and by jealous invaders who speak hate.  

8. We should suffer in our spirits for our Christian suffering brothers and sisters in other countries. The Bible says a lot about Ethiopia and the Middle Eastern nations that they would have war in their lands for their sins which have lasted for millennium. Consider these:

11. Ezekiel 38:5
Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: (in other words they were in war, and keep repeating having turmoil)

Daniel 11:43
But he (the Antichrist world leader) shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

Zephaniah 2:12
Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword. (This refers to the ones who will suffer God’s anger for their sins in God’s coming judgment)

Now, imagine if I were to tell you, most of you will die within a few years for being a part of this Christian movement of God?! Put yourself in the disciples’ situation: the disciples had left everything to follow Him and now Jesus is leaving them with the bad news that they will be rejected and killed! But Christians died singing and praising God because Jesus left them, and you and I, the Holy Spirit! It was the blood of the martyrs that was the seed of the church in Rome and the blood thirsty Romans converted and became Christian seeing their love passion, and power.

If you do it right, Satan will fight! Who knows the future and if revolution arrives here in this country. We are peacemakers, but most people don’t want peace!

9. Never think that what happens over in Africa, the Middle East (Ukraine), and Israel could not affect you here! Millions of immigrants from everywhere are arriving here! At Easter every year we are reminded that every day we must read our Bibles like it is our last week to live, pray like it is our last week to live, and write to our families and share our love with them as if we had only one more week to live! We must take advantage of the Holy Week and invite our relatives & friends to church.

⁷ “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. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned”.

Jesus reassures us His Holy Spirit will be with us and that there will be a final judgment and God will condemn Satan and his followers. And the most wonderful thing Jesus says our sorrow will be turned to joy! The disciples were going to witness Jesus going away, but He is telling them, I am coming back (He meant after 3 days) ^20 “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy”. 

10. Jesus gives it a powerful meaning when he mentions the birth pangs of the woman, which refers to the end-times, and reaffirms we can pray to the Father and receive answers and have joy. He left and returned after 3 days, and now He will return very soon after all the world hears the gospel & the prophecies are fulfilled!

Jesus said the disciples would be disbanded, and end-time Christians will be as well, but we know Jesus will return to take us to heaven! 33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Do you have dying grace? Probably not yet because you are not dying yet! But remember every Christian martyr died with the Holy Spirit giving them the victory, praising even with their last breath.  How important the Holy Spirit is? It is our comfort; it is what will be present when we must die and leave here. That is Jesus’ Easter gift to us! Come ask God for more of his comfort, His Spirit, his power to witness in you in this special time of the year! 

 

Jesus: Forever Inspiring Love or Controversy

Jesus: Forever Inspiring Love or Controversy         by Kelly Durant     3-22-15 Re: 3-3-24

A study in John 15 concerning His relevant word to us before for His departure. John 15

¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

 

2. Did you know the Bolivians are descendants of the extraterrestrials? When one Indian meets another they do not greet each other as we do, and ask, “How are you?”, they say, “How’s the earth?” referring to the dirt, ha! (They actually do ask that but they are referring to the quality of the dirt and farm production in the area of their fellow brother!)

 

Well, as Christians, we always meet, shake hands or hug and ask each other, “How are you?” but maybe we should do it with the deeper context and ask, “How is your spirit”? How is the quality of your walk with the Lord, your purity, your production for Him? 

 

Today we will do a study on John 15 as a preparation to Easter. I love this chapter! We should read it, absorb it, live by it, and most of all learn to LOVE by it! I will comment after we read the verses. There are several concepts shared here and it is important we grasp each one.  

 

3. John 15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Here Jesus is confirming that He is the only true connection to God, and God is the caretaker, the one who makes his vine to grow by fertilizers and additives (the spirit) and pruning (removing the dead branches, symbolic to letting go of the past and bad influences) The ultimate purpose of our lives is to be producing the maximum fruit for God! His Kingdom is forever, so why waste time with gaining so much material stuff you are going to leave behind one day? 

 

Sometimes in our lives when we don’t get what we want in life and we may even get upset at God and others. But in our lean times, in our recessed times, we might take it that God might have cut us back and trimmed us. It is clear here that sometimes God will be trimming back the areas of our lives that are making us die, the deadening parts twisted up in dry pride and selfishness. It hurts us but it matures us to accept that God is in control and He shapes us how He needs us to be to serve Him best. Don’t just look at a pain or loss as undesirable, accept the fact that getting some things cut back is necessary, so we produce more and have a life more like He is and less how we want to be. We don’t like changes in our lives, but God permits them all our lives, so let go of the useless!

 

4. John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoke to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Have you ever felt dirty after being around certain people? The words, ways, and life of many people just reek of filth! Or have you ever felt dirty inside after doing something you realized was wrong? The purpose of Satan is to tempt whosoever will listen to get dirty by some sin and then He hopes to keep you separated from God after that, dominated by guilt and shame! Don’t let it paralyze you, Jesus cleans us just for the asking! 

 

The solution to freedom from unclean-ness is so simple it escapes many, even Christians, that all you have to do is get refilled back up with Jesus, absorbing His Words, and everyone must pray and confess anything bothering and then you and I are able to get cleaned up. It is like taking a shower; everyone of us needs to take one daily to be clean! Many people worry about being “holy” for Holy Week with clean new suits and dresses. That is not enough! The outside is only flesh, what matters is being clean spiritually, and it is Jesus’ words washes us clean!

 

We can be clean or holy and it is His work in us, and then this makes us apt to be able to remain in Him. Only staying connected to Jesus will allow the sap of his Holy Spirit to flow to the branches keeping you alive. 

 

5. John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

 

The people that love God and are in Jesus will always have good fruit as a proof of it; they will have converted friends, people who love Jesus as well near them. In another part in the parable of the sewer Jesus mentioned this, Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” This implies some people over their lifetime will convert this many (100) or this few (30). Think about it, how many have you converted so far? What is your fruit?

 

Verse 6 does invoke fear! He is referring to the final judgment when the ones not in Him, those who produced nothing, will be cast into the lake of fire.  These are those who are withered and dried up (spiritually, due to sin). Whose fault is that? Only the one who disconnects and goes their own way without being in Jesus. It is worse for you to have had the truth of Jesus and then you separate yourself. 

 

6. John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples”. How many of you have seen people who when they know a spiritual, righteous living leader is in the room, they prefer they pray when it is for a need of some kind? It just seems logical and natural that people know who has the connection and the power with Christ and who doesn’t.

 

Aren’t you as amazed as I am to hear about answered prayers! We pray, hope, and wait, but never know what God has in mind, and week after week we hear of victories and positive answers. When we prayed for someone and they got healed, we should be very thankful. Answered prayers is a blessing that others of the world do not understand that we have (They would not believe it!) how someone got a job, how someone else was freed from a problem, how if you are pleasing God, He returns the favor in many ways.

 

Jesus is speaking to all humanity for all time in John 15 but when he says, “so you will be My disciples”, His ultimate goal is that everyone who is in Him will become a disciple, which basically is a person who loves, follows, and spreads the good news of His love, Kingdom, salvation, and eternal life as His first ones did.

 

7. John 15:9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love”. The greatest need of every person born is love! Babies within a few months will die without love! I think some people who get depressed and die young are very sad people who live without love. One of the main reasons I have dedicated my entire life to Jesus, to love Him and preach about Him, is because I have always been shown a great amount of love and kindness by those that love Him!

 

In the Salvation Army in doctrine 9 “We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ”. Basically verse 10 says this same thing! But it refers to getting love and salvation from God the Father (inferred is continuously) by staying connected to Jesus. 

 

Jesus was, is, and forever will be pure love! If we want love from God (love from people is not eternal) then we must grasp the fact that we can only have it by going through the man of love, Jesus. 

 

8. John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you”.

 

Do you see the connection? To have any happiness in life, any joy whatsoever, you have to have Jesus Word in you! What did He just speak about? Love! Now here joy is defined as a consequence of love. Love is directly connected to joy! If we are in Jesus’ love, we will gain a continued joy which is a happiness light years beyond the momentary stimulations of excitement offered by the world. 

 

Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross, now that is a true friend! Who here has a friend that has saved your life, raise your hand? If you have a story of some friend running in front of a car to push you out of the way so they could die in your place, I want to hear your story! There are a few stories of heroism and of love in this world but not so many really! Jesus died for us and did for us what we could not do for ourselves, and that was to redeem our fallen nature back to restoration with God.  So that motivates me to obey His commands as I have never had a friend like this before!

 

9. John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you”. Today many people and groups in the world are the ultra-secretive with hidden agendas kind, but not so with Jesus. Our government, and the rich rule over others never revealing an iota of their plans. People hate the 1% rich, the WEF group, the Rothschilds, The Illuminati, the 300 Group, the Bohemian Grove Club, and the world’s most powerful and rich who pull the strings of the politicians changing laws and why are these evil ones hated?

 

Because these people and their groups in their pride have the idea they know what is best for you! They will choose the laws for you; we the people are only the peons. They create double standards and insulate their selves from the common man so they lord over all people. Political powers are all abusive, yet some more murderous than others, but it is in our God given nature to reject lordship and to be subjugated as servants by murderous greedy perverts totally corrupted by pride being full of Satan. 

 

Also, all the world’s religions (except true Christianity) exercise lordship and oblige submission to their laws and customs (often having no logical sense). Some even literally mean submission! I redundantly reject any idea that God wants me under Him by means of any oppression and slavery! Jesus liberates us, from sin and from oppression and deceivers! Satan’s subjugated oppressed followers are murderously jealous over our freedom in Christ! Jesus is our friend, not our slave master! He is the world’s first wise teacher, and only Son God, and He clarified to His followers that you and I would not be kept in the dark on agendas as some subjugated servant. All of Jesus’ preaching was an invitation to the Kingdom of God and His prophecies reveal the future, so He keeps back nothing from us!    

 

10. John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

 

Have you ever been to party and then the hosts say, “Okay, it’s time to dance, everybody get up!” I never learned to dance, but I always will go along with it because it is asked of me. Can you relate to this type of situation? In this verse of being chosen, basically Jesus is saying that everyone is chosen to do his will by appointment. But don’t you hate to see party poopers rudely rejecting the will of the hosts acting upset when everyone else is doing what’s requested and being happy? What is it that Jesus just did by ordaining or appointing? We just read it, to bring others to Him bearing fruit, and to get us to love each other! It is simple and direct, but many will not obey this even though they were chosen. Both commands actually are somewhat sacrificial to do, both require hardships and humility, both will involve embarrassment and persistence, but His Holy Spirit gives us power to do it and we gain joy when we accept the appointment!

 

And once again Jesus affirms that if we are in His will, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” Getting prayers answered is the privilege that those who bear fruit get to have! But the fruit must remain, meaning we must disciple others as well, right? And a second time here we are commanded to love one another! God is love! We must love Him and others! People who never love are of Satan!

 

11. John 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

 

Look how the world is hating Christians today! Has it ever been so bad? Actually it has! From the beginning the Romans murdered in horrific manners a few million Christians! The Roman system still permeates politics & religion. Christians have been hated and murdered ever since the beginning! Who has murdered Christians throughout history and why? When you think of motives, think of Satan’s pride and jealousy. Christ haters go into a murderous rage when a person will not bow down to them, to their ideology, to their despot self, or submit to their enslaving leader. But a Christian will never stop proclaiming that they love Jesus above all things!

 

Consider the politics of Nero. He set fire to Rome so he could rebuild it with his own architectural plans (a personal agenda) and then he falsely blamed the Christians for doing what he actually did so he could arrest and murder them! His crimes and hypocrisy became exposed along with his extreme cruelty and supposedly entertaining way of killing innocent ones. For people like Nero, for fallen angels, along with countless Satanic others, we comprehend why God is justified in allowing the existence of a burning lake of fire hell for souls of those that deserve it. Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

Who persecutes Christians? Those who do not know God the Father (even though they may claim they do), those who refuse to honor Christ, and the result is they share the same sentiments as the murderous followers of Satan! These horrible abusers have always killed children, raped and tortured women, and done horrific crimes. But Christians will be safe in heaven one day leaving this hell and their eternal hell behind!

 

12. John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

 

Isn’t it amazing how some people actually “hate” Jesus? The basis for His rejection seems unjustifiable and illogical. Why reject a healer, a lover, a teacher, a sacrificial man? Jesus is purity, love, and freedom but His power by authority in Word and in deed shines with a scorching light of truth deep into the dark places of the human soul. It is unrepentant people who want to continue deceptions in the dark, who want to keep on benefiting by propagating lies to others, who want to manipulate followers for gain, who are stubborn in their pride and selfishness, are those who fiercely reject allowing Jesus in their lives! 

 

Pray for each other here! You never know but some spouses give their mates hell over coming to church or doing good for others! Many divorces have happened because one mate accepts Jesus and the other one does not. But one thing is clear, once a person learns about Jesus they at that moment then have a choice, to recognize their sin and repent, or reject Him and the Father and the hate Him without a cause.

13. John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

 

How do Christians keep having superhuman strength to overcome in the world? Because Jesus left with us the Holy Spirit! It is an unexplainable force that gives Christians the ability to remain faithful to Jesus, to be able to love the unlovely people and bear fruit for God, to endure persecutions and even death. 

 

You and I have the conviction of Jesus being real and true as our spirit connects with His spirit! He is not controversy to us and hated, Jesus instead is love and power! He created you and I to stay with Him forever, and if we can make it through the tests and trials of life with Jesus’ help, He has reserved for us a mansion in heaven (But that is in John 14, which is a whole additional study!) Do you need power in these trying times? Let’s pray for the “helper”, the Holy Spirit to empower you.