The Four Kingdoms
The Four Kingdoms
Why did the Jews kill Jesus?
Jesus said the following to His Apostles.
Jn 7:7 "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil".
People forget that Jesus died at the hands of the Jews because Jesus had told them their actions were evil.
Jn 5:37 And the Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness to Me. His voice you have never heard, His form you have never seen;
5:38 and you do not have His word living inside you, for you do not believe Him whom He has sent.
5:39 You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to Me;
5:40 yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.
5:41 I do not receive glory from men.
5:42 But I know that you have not the love of God within you.
5:43 I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.
5:44 How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.
5:46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, because he wrote about Me.
5:47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Jesus told the Jews that God's word was not inside them. These are the kind of statements that made the Jews hate Him. Jesus was an ordinary man to most of the Jews. They heard Jesus say that they did not love God. The Jews were furious when they heard such things. Hearing that Moses would accuse them was also insulting to the Jews. For the Jews regarded Moses as God's servant. And if Moses was going to accuse, then God would feel the same way. The Jews didn't believe any of this because they felt they were doing God's will. But Jesus had a problem with their hearts. The Jews were applying the laws given to Moses, but their hearts that represent mercy, compassion and charity were not applied to their daily lives.
Jn 7:1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee; He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.
7:2 Now the Jews’ feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
7:3 So His brethern said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that Your disciples may see the works You are doing.
7:4 For no man works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”
7:5 For even His brethern did not believe in Him.
7:6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.
If a person does not testify to the world that its works are evil, the world will not hate you. On the other hand, if you tell the world its works are evil, the world will hate you. This is a huge problem in the Catholic Church. The Bishops and priests are saying little about sin because they want the world to like them. The word "brethern" used in the above verse does not mean Jesus has brothers. The protesters called Protestants say Jesus had brothers, but we as Catholic know this is not true. Jesus had cousins, but no brothers.
Jn 7:16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me; 7:17 if any man’s will is to do his will, he shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on My own authority.
7:18 He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
7:19 Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill Me?”
Jesus is making no friends when he tells the Jews they are not keeping the law. Jesus also knows by telling them that their actions are evil that their response will be anger.
One of the reasons why many people will not stand up against sin is because of the verse in which Jesus says "do not judge". They think by saying nothing about sin is applying "do not judge". It's amazing how people know about this verse and use it in arguments, but most of the bible they know nothing about. But in reality people want the world to like them and thus they will say nothing when it comes to sin.
Jn 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin.
8:35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever.
8:36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
8:37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because My word finds no place in you.
When people prefer evil they will reject the word and hate the person that reveals the word.
Jn 8:43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word.
8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
8:45 But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
8:46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?
8:47 He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
Jesus tells the Jews their father is not Abraham but rather the devil. I am sure this made the Jews angry. To be told you are not of God but rather the devil will cause great hatred.
Lk 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
People use the above verse as their excuse not to confront sin.
Jesus cures a blind man on the Sabbath which made the Jews mad because no work is to been done on Sabbath. The cured blind man is brought before the Jews to answer their questions.
Jn 9:15 The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
9:16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was a division among them.
9:17 So they again said to the blind man, “What do you say about Him, since He has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
9:18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight,
9:19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
9:20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
9:21 but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.”
9:22 His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
9:23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age, ask him.”
9:24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner.”
9:25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
9:26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
9:27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become His disciples?”
9:28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
9:30 The man answered, “Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where He comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him.
9:32 Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind.
9:33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
9:34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
The cured blind man told the Jews that Jesus was a prophet and that God does not listen to sinners. If Jesus was not from God, He could do nothing. Notice the reaction of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were angry and told the cured blind man he was a sinner and how dare he try and teach them. The parents of the cured blind man were afraid of the Pharisees and chose not to say anything to make them mad.
Jn 10:22 It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem;
10:23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 10:24 So the Jews gathered round Him and said to Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness to Me;
10:26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to My sheep.
10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
10:28 and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
10:29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
10:30 I and the Father are one.”
10:31 The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
Jesus has no trouble calling the Jews "not His sheep". This only makes the Jews angry.
Jn 10:33 The Jews answered Him, “It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
10:34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
10:35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and Scripture cannot be broken),
10:36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
10:37 If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me;
10:38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father.”
10:39 Again they tried to arrest Him, but he escaped from their hands.
Jesus said to the Jews that He was God's Son and the Jews accused Him of blasphemy. (Blasphemy means disrespect for God.) But the Jews also didn't like how Jesus was telling them they were evil. Because a mere man didn't have that right to call them evil. Jesus responded by saying men were "gods". The verse Jesus was referring to is Psalms 82. (See to the right) When God shares His Seven Spirits with a man, God says this man is a "god". Sharing in God's Seven Spirits, that man will have knowledge and understanding and walk in the light. Such men have an obligation to speak out against sin. In Psalms 82, God is complaining how those who are invited to share in God's Seven Spirits are not speaking out against sin, but rather are commenting sin. Instead of walking in the light, they walk in darkness.
Ps 82:1 God takes His stand in the divine assembly, surrounded by the gods He gives judgement.
82:2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? [Selah] (God is speaking out to the gods.)
82:3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
82:4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
82:5 They (They refers to the gods.) have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
82:6 I say, (God responds to the gods.) “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
82:7 nevertheless, you shall die like men,
and fall like any prince.” (The gods are the Jews first followed by Christians. Because of their sins they will die like other men of different religions.)
82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; or to You belong all the nations!
Jesus said the following to His Apostles on the night Judas betrayed Jesus.
Jn 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
15:20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
The world loves their own. If we are speaking out against sin, the world will hate us.
In the Gospel of Mathew Jesus is very clear in revealing their sins.
Mt 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.
23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you traverse sea and land to make a single disciple, and when he becomes a disciple, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
Mt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
23:24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and greed.
23:26 You blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
23:28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and sinfulness.
23:29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
23:30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
23:31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
23:33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
23:34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
23:35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
23:36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation.
23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
23:38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate.
Just imagine being told that we were whitewashed tombs, serpents and vipers? And to be told we are guilty of killing the prophets. People today who hate people that tell them they are committing sin are guilty of killing all the past prophets.
From all the verses above, it's easy to see why they killed Jesus.
Questions
1) Why did the Jews kill Jesus?
2) Jesus tells the Jews that the ______ of God is not in them.
3) Jesus said to the Jews that He would not accuse them but rather _______ would accuse them.
4) If the world hates you, it's because you have told the world it's works are _______.
5) People do not stand up against sin because they use what verse?
6) Jesus told the Jews that their father was the _________.
7) "We know that God does not listen to _________, but if any one is a worshiper of God and does His ______, God listens to him".
8) The blind man in which Jesus cured concluded that Jesus was from God because He could do no miracles without God. The reason why the Jews could not see this simple reasoning is because the Jews _______ Jesus for telling them they were ________.
9) What animal did Jesus use as an example for those that follow Him?
10) Jesus called Himself the Son of God and the Jews hated this because it made Jesus God. But Jesus used the Psalms to use as evidence that men are _______.
11) Mankind is invited to share in God's Seven Spirits and this makes mankind ______.
12) Jesus said that the world loves its own. How do you get the world to hate you?
13) Jesus tells the Jews they have neglected the more important parts of the law. What are the three parts?
14) God's justice says we are ______ of murdering prophets when we grow angry with those that tell us about sin.
Email
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