Kingdom Disciples

Contrary to the claims of politicians and even church leaders, Jesus is the “light of the world,” not any nation, government or political ideology .  Politicians routinely invoke “god” to validate their agendas and authority, and the most popular religion is employed to do so. Just as today’s officeholders pay lip service to “Judeo-Christian values,” so the emperors of Rome appealed to their traditional gods for divine approval. Patriotism and religious faith become synonymous, and any lack of nationalistic fervor becomes heresy - [ Photo by Vladimir Fedotov on Unsplash ].

God’s previously hidden mysteries are now revealed in Jesus, and especially so in his death and resurrection .  The Bible speaks of the “ mysteries ” of God, His ways that are hidden from human wisdom and defy our expectations. In his teachings, Jesus declared that not everyone can understand the “ mysteries of the kingdom .” It is God who reveals the deep and obscure things to whomever He pleases. And in His Son, He has done so for all who have “ eyes that can see ” - [ John 3 Photo by  Benjamin Elliott  on Unsplash ]

The promises of the Hebrew Bible are fulfilled in the Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth .  The promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. “ IN HIM ,” all His promises are “ yea ” and “ amen .” The things that were “ hidden ” in the past have been revealed in the life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation of God’s Son, the one in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible have become real. All His mysteries are laid bare in Christ - [ Photo by  Simon Hurry  on Unsplash ].

Just as the unprepared were destroyed by the Flood, so unrepentant men and apostates will be overtaken by destruction when Jesus returns .  Jesus compared the final years before his return to the period leading up to the Great Flood. “ As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be .” Some take this as a prediction of a return to the same conditions that existed in Noah’s time, the repetition of the moral anarchy and violence that prompted God to send floodwaters. The final days will be marked by chaos and catastrophes - [ Floodwaters Brazil - Photo by M. DiFulvio on Unsplash ].

SYNOPSIS   -   Only in his sacrificial death can the identity of Jesus and the nature of his messiahship be understood   -   Mark 15:29-39 .  Threaded through the  gospel of Mark  is an ironic storyline - Until his crucifixion, no one recognized who Jesus was or acknowledged him as the “ Son of God ” - Except the demons that he exorcised. In  Mark , the only man or woman who acknowledged Jesus as the “ Son of God ” was the Roman centurion in command of the execution squad at Calvary. - [ Photo by Sangia on Unsplash ].

The deception of Christendom attempts to invoke God to validate national institutions and perverts the gospel of Jesus Christ .  Invariably, the mixing of church and State leads to the association and even the identification of Christianity with specific nations, cultures, and political ideologies. And when church leaders employ terms like ‘Christendom’ to distinguish one country from another, they replace the biblical faith with a false and even antichrist religion - [ Photo by  Greg Rosenke  on Unsplash ].

To be the Messiah means suffering and death, and he summons his disciples to follow the same path  –  Mark 8:31 .  As Jesus approached Jerusalem, he explained exactly what it meant to be the Messiah of Israel, namely, suffering and death, an expectation contrary to popular expectations and those of his disciples. And he also summoned anyone who would become his disciple to take up the cross and follow his self-sacrificial example. And failure to do so would render one an object of shame before the Lord of Glory - [ Cross - Photo by DDP on Unsplash ].