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Showing posts from July, 2024

Jesus came to find the lost sheep

  Jesus came to find the lost sheep   Luke 15:1-7  『 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it ? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance  』 Regarding the background of Jesus telling this parable, the Pharisees and scribes were dissatisfied when they saw  “ Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinn...

Jesus' death on the cross

  Jesus' death on the cross   Mark 15:33-37  『 And when the sixth hour came, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calledeth Elias. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 』 The Jews thought that Jesus was their Christ and welcomed him into Jerusalem with great enthusiasm. But Jesus exceeded their expectations. The "Christ they were waiting for", they thought, should be their king who would save Israel, not a defendant on trial before Pilate. When the Jews' expectations were not met, their welcome turned into betrayal. If they did not li...

Parable of the Ten Virgins

  Parable of the Ten Virgins   Matthew 25:1-2  『 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 』 It is very important to know to whom Jesus spoke the words of the text. Chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew is a connection between chapter 24 and what will happen in the last days. The original text of the Bible did not have chapters and verses, but chapters and verses were introduced around the 16th century to make reading easier. Therefore, believers must remember that chapters 24 and 25 are connected from the perspective of the original text. Chapter 25 includes not only the parable of the ten virgins, but also the parable of the talents and the parable of the sheep and goats. Therefore, the object in Jesus' parable of the ten virgins is the same as the object in the parable of the talents or the sheep and goats. As in the analogy of 10 pounds, ...

A woman with an issue of blood for twelve years is healed

  A woman with an issue of blood for twelve years is healed   In Mark 5:25-34,  “ a woman who had been suffering from an issue of blood for twelve years ”  thought that if she touched the hem of Jesus ’  clothes, she would give birth, so she came behind Jesus and touched the hem of his clothes, and the issue of blood stopped immediately. So when Jesus asked her who it was that touched her, she told everyone why she had touched her and how she had been healed.  “ Jesus said to her,  ‘ Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace. ’” 『  thy faith hath made thee whole; ( ἡ   πί στι ς   σου   σέ σωκ έ ν  σε ) 』 What does this mean? The Greek word for it is  “ healed. ”  It is an incurable disease that cannot be cured by human methods, but the sick person had a firm belief that Jesus could cure it, and this faith cured the disease. This means that God's power healed the sick through the sick's faith. So what is this fai...

Parable of the wheat and tares

  Parable of the wheat and tares   Matthew 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. , and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 』 Today, many churches compare wheat and tares; the wheat refers to those who ar...

Baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

  Baptize in the name of the Father and the Son  and the Holy Spirit   Matthew 28:18-20 『 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever, I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. There are many things Jesus said to his disciples. Since the Father gave Jesus himself all authority in heaven and earth, the disciples are to act based on all the authority of Jesus. First, disciples are to make disciples of all nations. A disciple is someone who teaches everything the teacher has. A disciple learns from a teacher and teaches it to other disciples. What must be taught is the teaching of the death and resurrection of the cross. If this is missing, the gospel falls into humanism, legalism, and gnosticism. Are today ’ s c...

Parable of the sower

  Parable of the sower   Mark 4:3-9  『 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And the other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 』 This parable tells the secret of heaven. In Matthew 13:11,  “ He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. ”  Here,  “ you ”  are the disciples. On...

Jesus prophesied the death and resurrection of the cross three times

  Jesus prophesied the death and resurrection of the cross three times   Jesus has already prophesied about his death and resurrection three times. As for the first prophecy, it occurred immediately after Jesus elicited from his disciples a confession of faith "the faith they have in him," and spoke of the church that would be built from them. Jesus announced to his disciples his impending suffering, death, and resurrection, and said, "Since they too will suffer the same fate in this world as Jesus suffered, they will be taught what kind of spirit and life they should live as disciples." In Mark 8:31-33,  “ And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that speaking openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee b...