The Messiahship of the Lord

8/9/2019 The Messiahship of the Lord

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Copyrighted Material



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The Messiahship of the Lord

Introducing a New Perspective on the

Resurrection of Jesus Christ



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Copyright Christian Nseka, 2009. All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the publisher.

Millennial Mind PublishingAn imprint of American Book Publishing

5442 So. 900 East, #146Salt Lake City, UT 84117-7204

www.american-book.comPrinted in the United States of America on acid-free paper.

The Messiahship of the LordDesigned by Jana Rade, [email protected]

Publishers Note: American Book Publishing relies on theauthor's integrity of research and attribution; each statement hasnot been investigated to determine if it has been accurately made.

The author and publisher specifically disclaim any responsibility forany liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred

as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and applicationof any of the contents of this book. In such situations wheremedical, legal, or other professional services may apply, pleaseseek the advice of such professionals directly.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58982-562-8ISBN-10: 1-58982-562-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nseka, Christian Kita, 1967-

The messiahship of the Lord : introducing a new perspective onthe resurrection of Jesus Christ / Christian Kita Nseka.p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN-13: 978-1-58982-562-8 (alk. Paper)ISBN-10: 1-58982-562-4 (alk. Paper)1. Jesus Christ--Person and offices. 2. Jesus Christ--Messiahship. 3.

Jesus Christ--Crucifixion. 4. Jesus Christ--Resurrection. 5. SecondAdvent. 1. Title.BT203.N74 2009

232.8--dc222009025192



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Special Sales:These books are available at special discounts forbulk purchases. Special editions, including personalized covers,excerpts of existing books, and corporate imprints, can be createdin large quantities for special needs. For more information email

[email protected].



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The Messiahship of the LordIntroducing a New Perspective on the

Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Christian Nseka



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Authors Note

Scripture quotations, unless otherwiseindicated, are takenfrom the New International Version of the HolyBible.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEWINTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973,

1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Usedby permission of Zondervan Publishing House.All rights reserved.

The NIV and New International Versiontrademarks are registered in the United StatesPatent and Trademark Office by theInternational Bible Society. Use of either

trademark requires the permission of theInternational Bible Society.



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Acknowledgments

For starters, thanks and gratitude to thereaders who gave me feedback after readingMessiahship: A New Perspective, the firstedition of this book. I have taken yourcomments to heart and have elaborated furtheron the topic of resurrection as pertaining to

Jesus Christ. I pray that you find it moreilluminating and inspiring than the briefexplanation found under the former title.

I would like to present special thanks andgratitude to God, Jesus Christ, and the HolySpirit for choosing, inspiring, enlightening, andtrusting me with this precious and pricelessmessage.

Special thanks and gratitude also to Rev. and

Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, my True Parents, fortheir love and sacrifice for the sake of God andhumanity, and for giving me my wonderfulwife.

I thank my wife, Nikki, for loving me, forwalking this thorny and narrow path with me,and for the two wonderful children we share,

Nelson and Margueritte (Maggie).



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I thank my children for being good andhelping me understand and experience a bit ofGods heart.

Thanks to my editors and American BookPublishing forbelieving in me and for giving me the chance topublish this book. I wish you success so thatyou can give more writers the chance to havetheir books published.



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Preface

This book is a compilation of my lifeexperience with God, His will and His word. It isnot written to convert anybody; it is written toenlighten the reader about the mission of theMessiah centered on Jesus and the SecondComing, and also to enlighten the reader aboutGods word and will, and humanitysresponsibility in relation to the Messiah.

As a member of the Unification Church, andas a prior teacher of Gods word, I have cometo understand deeper the relationships amongindividuals, among churches, and betweenhuman beings and God.

Using the inspirations I have received fromheaven together with my humbleunderstanding of the Bible and the teachings of

the Unification Church, I have put together thisbook to help anyone, Christian as well as non-Christian, religious as well as non-religious, tounderstand the mission of Jesus, his heart, hismessiahship, his rise from the dead, and more.

I am not implying that I understand Jesusmission, heart and messiahship fully, but that

somebody out there may benefit from the littleI know and may make the most out of it.



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Given that this book is of a religious nature, Ihumbly askevery reader to have an open mind while

reading it. Having an open mind should be veryhelpful especially since there are a fewquotations from other religions within this book.Despite those quotations, this book focusesonly on the mission of the Messiah, and it iscentered on Jesus and the Second Coming.

In reading this book, you will certainly

encounter something new that you probablyhave never thought about before or somethingthat will take you a little more time and effortto digest.

This book is primarily my own inspirationsthat I support with the Holy Bible and theDivine Principle (the main teaching of theUnification Church). Given that some of theviews expressed herein are not the exact viewsof the Unification Church rather my ownperspective developed out of personal studyand inspiration, I take full responsibility for anylack of clarity. Please do not blame it on God,

Jesus Christ, Reverend Sun Myung Moon (thefounder of the Unification Church), theUnification Church in particular or Christianityin general.

I also would like to thank you, the reader, fortaking the time to enlighten yourself by readingthis book. May you read it with a desire to

understand what God wants to convey to you



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the way He wants to convey it to you. Have adeeply enriching experience.

Christian Nseka



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Table of Contents

Passages from DifferentReligions ............................................ i

Chapter One: The Heart and the Mission ofJesus Christ .... 1

I. The Worlds Major Religions and the Messiah.............. 1

1. The Role ofChristianity.......................................................... 12. Christianity and OtherReligions........................................... 2

II. The Connection of theHeart .................................................. 3

1. The Meaning of the Connection of the

Heart................ 32. Jesus and His MainApostles.................................................. 83. The Providence of theCross ............................................... 15

3.1. A King withoutServants............................................... 153.2. Simon from

Cyrene........................................................18



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3.3. The Criminals atGolgotha............................................ 183.4. The Difference between the Two

Men ...................... 203.5. The Path toParadise......................................................243.6. The Outcome of the Providence of theCross ......... 26

4. Jesus and MaryMagdalene .................................................. 27

5. Jesus andPeter ...................................................................... 30

III. Associating with theMessiah................................................ 32IV.Miracles..................................................................................... 35

1. HeavenlyConnection............................................................ 352. An Insight on Miracles performed by JesusChrist ..... 373. Christianity andMiracles ...................................................... 41

4. PlanB ...................................................................................... 44

V. The Mission of JudasIscariot ................................................ 49

1. The Predicament ofJudas.................................................... 492. Judas as One of the

Twelve.................................................. 51



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VI. Calling uponSaul.....................................................................54

VII. Lessons from the Era of Jesus Christ........................... 56

Chapter Two: The Messiahship of theLord............................ 59

I. The Meaning ofMessiahship ................................................... 59II. The Next

Adam......................................................................... 62III. Principles andPatterns.................................................. 66IV. The Value of theMessiah....................................................... 70

1. Gods Ideal and theMessiah ............................................... 702. The Messiah and the Kingdom ofHeaven ....................... 73

V. The Purpose of Finding theMessiah .................................... 77

1. The Purpose of theMessiah ................................................ 772. Gods

Heart ............................................................................ 793. TheAntichrist......................................................................... 81

VI. Being a Friend of theMessiah............................................... 84VII. Ask, Seek, and

Knock........................................................... 86



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Chapter Three: A New Perspectiveon the Crucifixion of JesusChrist............................................. 93

I. The Crucifixion and the MessianicMission .......................... 93II. It IsFinished ............................................................................. 98

Chapter Four: A New Perspectiveon the Resurrection of Jesus

Christ .................................... 101I.Resurrection ............................................................................. 101II. The Resurrection of JesusChrist ......................................... 103

1. Did JesusResurrect? ........................................................... 1032. The Resurrection ofLazarus ............................................. 1053. The Apparition of Jesus to the Apostles................ 1074.Paradox..............................................................

.................... 1105. The Apparition of Jesus toSaul ........................................ 1136. The Lord ofResurrection...................................................115

III. SpiritualDeath....................................................................

... 118



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1. The Meaning of SpiritualDeath............................... 1182. Understanding Spiritual

Death.......................................... 124IV. SpiritualResurrection .......................................................... 127

1. The Meaning of SpiritualResurrection............................. 1272. Understanding SpiritualResurrection .............................. 128

3. EternalLife........................................................................... 130

V. PhysicalResurrection ............................................................ 132

1. The Process of PhysicalResurrection .............................. 1322. The Resurrection of the HolyPeople .............................. 134

VI. A New Perspective on Rising from theDead ................. 137

1. The Process of Jesus Rising from theDead ................... 1372. The Benefits from Jesus Rising from the

Dead ............ 1402.1. The Holy People asBeneficiaries............................... 1402.2. Mortals asBeneficiaries ..............................................141

VII. HumanReality .................................................................

.... 146



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VIII.Salvation............................................................................... 150

IX. Jesus and theTemple ...........................................................153X. Resurrection:Conclusion ......................................................155

Chapter Five: The Second Coming of the

Messiah................ 161I. IndividualResponsibility ........................................................ 161

1.Trust ...................................................................................... 1612.Attitude.................................................................................. 1633.Faith ...................................................................................... 165

II. The Second Coming of theMessiah .................................. 168

1. The Coming of a NewAge................................................ 1682. Gods Work Centered on

Jesus ........................................ 1713. Satans Mode ofOperation................................................. 1734.Symbolism.........................................................

.................... 176



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5. The Messiah and thePeople............................................... 1816. The Lord of the Second

Advent ....................................... 184Appendix.................................................................................................... 187Bibliography................................................................................................ 191Index......................................................................................................... 195About the

Author....................................................................................... 201



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Passages from Different Religions

Christianity

I saw heaven standing open and there beforeme was a white horse, whose rider is called

Faithful and True. With justice he judges andmakes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, andon his head are many crowns. He has a namewritten on him that no one knows but hehimself. He is dressed in a robe dipped inblood, and his name is the Word of God. Thearmies of heaven were following him, riding on

white horses and dressed in fine linen, whiteand clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharpsword with which to strike down the nations.He will rule them with an iron scepter. Hetreads the winepress of the fury of the wrath ofGod Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh hehas this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.(Rev. 19:1116).



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Judaism

The great benefit of that time is that we shallbe redeemed from the subjugation to thewicked kingdom, which hinders us fromacquiring all the virtues. Knowledge willincrease, as he [Isaiah] said: For the earth shallbe full of the knowledge of the Lord. Civil strife

and wars will cease, as he [Micah] said: Andnation shall not lift up sword against nation.Whoever is alive in those days will attain muchperfection and be elevated to the life of theworld-to-come. The messiah will die, his sonwill succeed him, and then his grandson. Godhas explained that he [the messiah] will die. Hesaid: He shall not fail nor be crushed until heestablishes justice in the earth, etc. Hiskingdom will last an extremely long time. Theduration of life will also increase, because withthe removal of grief and hardship the durationof life increases. It would not be surprising if hisdominion lasted for thousands of years. For thewise men have said that if the virtuouscommunity comes into existence, it is unlikelythat it will disintegrate.

(Ethical Writings of Maimonides, pp. 166167;Unabridged Dover (1983) republication of theedition published in 1975 by New York

University Press)



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____________

Islam

It was narrated that Ab Huraira said: TheMessenger of Allh [may peace be upon him]said: By Allah! The son of Mariam will certainlycome down as a just judge . . .

It was narrated that Ab Haraira said: The

Messenger of Allh [may peace be upon him]said: How will you be when the son of Mariamdescends among you and your Imm is onefrom among you?

(Sahh Muslim. Volume 1, book 1, no. 391-392, pp. 246 247)

Buddhism

Many Buddhist traditions, while acceptingthat the Dharma, once manifested, will decay,speak of ways in which it will be restored orrefreshed. Prominent among these is the beliefin the appearance of the BoddhisattvaMaitreya, known in Theravada countries asMetteyya. Maitreya, it will be remembered, wasappointed by Shakyamuni to be the next

Buddha, and he is said to be living now in theTushita heaven awaiting the time when it will


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be right for him to descend. It is thereforepossible for some Buddhists to assume that,whenever the teachings of Shakyamuni are

endangered, Maitreyas appearance isimminent.

(The Vision of Buddhism, pp. 255256)

Hinduism

Krishna is the greatest human Avatar ofVishnu in the Mahbhrata and many laterworks. Before discussing him a word may besaid of the last Avatar, according to the greatepic. This is Kalkin, the Avatar yet to come. Thisfigure when first mentioned is predicted for theend of the terrible times at the destruction ofthe world. Then in the cycle of ages, sent by

Time, Kalkin will be born a Brahmin and willglorify Vishnu. Destroying all things will bring ina new age. As king of kings he will exterminateforeigners, and restore order and peace to theworld. At a great horse-sacrifice he will giveaway the earth to the Brahmins, and retire tothe forest, where people will imitate hisconduct. Kalkin will also roam over the earthand destroy thieves and robbers. Eventually he

is identified as an Avatar of Vishnu. Kalkin wasperhaps first Vishnu as a Horse and later Kalkin


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appears riding a white horse and holding aflaming sword. It has been suggested that theidea of a future deliverer, at least in later

forms, owes something to the Buddhist belief inthe coming Maitreya Buddha, or to Zoroastrianfaith in the future Saviour Soshyans, if not to

Jewish or Christian Messianic eschatology. Butthe Epic descriptions are probably earlier thansome of this, and the hope of a mightyVaishnavite Brahmin to inaugurate a new age is

not out of place.(Avatar and Incarnation, pp. 2627)


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Chapter One:

The Heart and the

Mission of Jesus Christ

For God so loved the world that hegave his one and only Son, that whoever

believes in him shall not perish but haveeternal life. (John 3:16)

I. The Worlds Major Religions and theMessiah

1. The Role of Christianity

As referenced on the previous pages(Passages from Different Religions), everyreligion that believes in God (or other deities)has the concept of the Messiah. Though theterm used to refer to the Messiah may differ

Avatar, Bodhisattva, Christ, Imm, or Maitreyathe concept is the same. The Messiah is the



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chosen one, anointed by God, to rescue thehuman race and the world from the grip ofSatan. Even though the term Messiah is mostly

associated with Jesus and Christianity, theMessiah comes neither for a specific group of



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people such as Jews, nor for a specific religionsuch as Judaism or Christianity.

As indicated in the Gospel of John (3:16), the

Messiah comes for all people. He comes to savewhoever believes in him. ApparentlyChristianity likes to hold on to the Messiah foritself. By keeping the Messiah for Christiansalone, Christianity has created a boundaryseparating it from other religions. With thisboundary, feelings of division and dislike have

developed among religious groups. And fromthese feelings, problems of all sorts haveemerged.

Since the goal of the Messiah is to bring all ofGods children back to Him, why then doesChristianity put a wall between itself and otherreligions? Even worse, why are Christiansbuilding boundaries within Christianity itself?

Being in the central position, Christianityshould serve as a bridge between Jesus Christand other religions. It should also witness theMessiah to atheists and serve as a model interms of believing in and attending to theMessiah.

2. Christianity and Other Religions

Everybody is Gods child. It does not matterwhether a person is an atheist, a Christian, a

Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, or afollower of any other religion. The focus here is


The Heart and the Mission of


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connection of the heart with either one personor a group of people.

Connection of the heart means providing

necessary and unconditional support when it iscritically needed. It does not happen all thetime, but when it happens, it lays a foundationupon which a goal, a destiny, an objective, arelationship, or a task at hand can be fulfilled. Itis a bond established at a deciding momentwith its effect carrying through until it is

compromised or until another connection of theheart is needed.

Imagine what happens when politicians arerunning for public offices. They have toconvince voters that they are the

_____________________* When printed with a capital H, Heaven

refers to the Kingdom of Heaven also known asGods Kingdom.best candidates for the job. In other words,they have to get voters to establish aconnection of the heart with them. Otherwisethere will be no victory.

Only the candidates most voters can connectwith will remain on the ballot and probably winthe elections. Candidates with fewer votes,those with less connection of the heart, willdefinitely lose the elections.

A connection of the heart can also be defined

as a critical bond established between twoindividualshusband and wife,


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parent and child, brother and sister, coach andplayer, boss and employeefor the fulfillmentof a common goal. Let us consider sports for

example. Think of a team in any sportsbasketball,

football, hockey, soccer, etc. There is only onething that is most important to a team engagedin a competition, and that is winning. In orderto win, it is necessary that all the playersestablish a connection of the heart with the

coach. Even if the team has not established theconnection of the heart with the coach, it isparamount, at the very least, that the teamscaptain does.

In this case, the connection of the heartbetween the captain and the coach will beestablished when the captain takes initiativeafter feeling the coachs heart andunderstanding the coachs vision, the state ofthe game, his or her teammates level ofenergy, the opposing teams strengths andweaknesses, etc. If he or she fails to do so, theteams vicecaptain has to step up and do it. Otherwise theteam will surely lose.

Now let us assume that the captainestablished a connection of the heart with thecoach by creating a bond with the coachsheart, desire, vision, desperation, frustration,and more. By establishing the connection of the

heart with


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the coach, the captain has established thefoundation upon which the rest of the team willsense the coachs heart, urgency, vision,

concern, desperation, etc. As a result, they willwork hard together to win the game.

This is of course a secular way of understanding the connection of the heart. Letus now examine it in relation to heaven.*

A connection of the heart can also be acrucial bond established between the leader,

such as Jesus, and the led, such as the apostlesand disciples, for the fulfillment of Godswill.

A connection of the heart is time sensitive.Given that it is a bridge that leads to heavenlyvictories, a timely connection can produce atimely blessing. A good biblical example of aconnection of the heart can be found in the Old

Testament. Itis written in the Bible:

The LORD said to Moses, Send somemen to explore the land of Canaan,which I am giving to the Israelites. Fromeach ancestral tribe send one of itsleaders.

So at the LORDs command Mosessent them out from the Desert of Paran.All of them were leaders of theIsraelites. (Num. 13:13)

When Moses sent them to exploreCanaan, he said, Go up through the


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Negev and on into the hill country. Seewhat the land is like and whether thepeople who live there are strong or

weak, few or____________________

* Except in direct quotes, when printed with alowercase h, heaven refers to the God-centeredenvironment of the spirit world where theangels and the many righteous spirits livecentered on God.

many. What kind of land do they live in?Is it good or bad? What kind of towns dothey live in? Are they unwalled orfortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile orpoor? Are there trees on it or not? Doyour best to bring back some of the fruitof the land.(Num. 13:1720)

According to the Bible, when they returned,ten of the twelve leaders gavecounterproductive reports. As it is written:

They gave Moses this account: Wewent into the land to which you sent us,and it does flow with milk and honey!Here is its fruit. But the people who livethere are powerful, and the cities arefortified and very large . . . We cantattack those people; they are stronger

than we are. And they spread amongthe Israelites a bad report about the


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land they had explored. They said, Theland we explored devours those living init. All the people we saw there are of

great size. We saw the Nephilim there(the descendants of Anak come from theNephilim). We seemed like grasshoppersin our own eyes, and we looked thesame to them. (Num. 13:2728, 3133)

Only two of the leaders sent to explore

CanaanJoshuaand Calebgave encouraging reports. As it iswritten:

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedownin front of the whole Israelite assemblygathered there. Joshua son of Nun andCaleb son of Jephunneh, who wereamong those who had explored theland, tore their

clothes and said to the entire Israeliteassembly, The land we passed throughand explored is exceedingly good. If theLORD is pleased with us, he will lead usinto that land, a land flowing with milkand honey, and will give it to us. Only donot rebel against the LORD. And do notbe afraid of the people of the land,

because we will swallow them up. Theirprotection is gone, but the LORD is with


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us. Do not be afraid of them. (Num.14:59)

The fact that Joshua and Caleb felt the heartof Moses, the fact that they felt the pain Moseswas feeling in dealing with and leading theIsraelites, the fact that they connected to thesituation of Moses, and the fact that they didnot sit silent but advocated for Moses and Godwas the expression of the connection of the

heart they established with Moses at thatspecific time and for that specific mission. Thatconnection extended to include a connection ofthe heart with God as well.

If Joshua and Caleb joined the other tenleaders in giving counterproductive reports, itwould have been impossible for God to lead theIsraelites into Canaan. And while it is commonto go with the majority, Moses sided with thetwo who gave the favorable report because heknew these two hadestablished that connection of the heart.

The Israelites were victorious because twoleaders hadmade a timely connection which resulted in atimely blessing.

Let us now examine the connection of theheart between

Jesus Christ and his apostles.

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2. Jesus and His Main Apostles

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a placecalled Gethsemane, and he said to them, Sithere while I go there and pray. He took Peterand the two sons of Zebedee along with him,and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed

with sorrow to the point of death. Stay hereand keep watch with me.

Going a little farther, he fell with his face tothe ground and prayed, My Father, if it ispossible, may this cup be taken from me. Yetnot as I will, but as you will.

Then he returned to his disciples and foundthem sleeping. Could you men not keep watchwith me for one hour? he asked Peter. Watchand pray so that you will not fall intotemptation. The spirit is willing, but the body isweak.

He went away a second time and prayed, MyFather, if it is not possible for this cup to betaken away unless I drink it, may your will bedone. When he came back, he again foundthem sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.So he left them and went away once more andprayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to

them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Look,the hour is near, and the Son of Man is




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betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let usgo! Here comes my betrayer! (Matt. 26:3646)

The above biblical reference gives an account

of Jesus

prayer in the garden of Gethsemane with three

of his apostles:Peter, James, and John.

Compared to others, Jesus had a shortphysical life lasting only about thirty-threeyears. His mother outlived him. His apostlesoutlived him. Most, if not all, of the chief priestsof his time outlived him. Furthermore he couldonly dedicate about three years of his physicallife to messianic ministry. Despite his shortministry, his teachings have lasted formillennia.

In writing this book I did not have anyintention of talking about what Jesus Christ didor did not do in his lifetime; I focused on hisheart and mission. For this reason I exploredhow his apostles and disciples connected withhis heart and mission. In the end I want us tothink about how we connect with the heart andmission of Jesus Christ as the Savior. Accordingto the Bible, Jesus had many disciples but only

twelve apostles. As it is written:


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was desperate to save at least one sinfulperson. This is the reason he took Peter, James,and John to Gethsemane.

The Bible says that as they got to the locationwhere Jesus wanted them to be, he began tobe sorrowful and troubled (Matt. 26:37). Sinceneither of the main apostles was blind, theycertainly should have noticed that somethingwas not right for Jesus to be sorrowful andtroubled. However they did not bother to ask

him if there was anything wrong. Jesus specifically took these three apostles

because he wanted them to make a connectionof the heart with him. He was not looking for anintellectual discernment at that point in time.He was hoping that at least one of them wouldconnect with his heart. Unfortunately, none ofthe three could get with the program. That didnot prove to be good for Jesus.

Not only was his physical appearancesorrowful and troubled, Jesus even said tothem, my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow tothe point of death. Stay here and keep watchwith me (Matt. 26:38). Did they get with theprogram at that point? No. Imagine Jesus, theirmaster, the one whom they had never seentroubled by anything, saying his soul wasoverwhelmed with sorrow to the point of deathand these

three still did not bother to deeply connect withhis heart. Can


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you imagine that?Furthermore, these three apostles saw Jesus

feed five thousand people when everybody was

troubled over what the crowd should eat. Jesuswas neither troubled nor concerned. He solvedthe problem as if he had snapped his fingers.

When Jesus heard what hadhappened, he withdrew by boatprivately to a solitary place. Hearing of

this, the crowds followed him on footfrom the towns. When Jesus landed andsaw a large crowd, he had compassionon them and healed their sick.

As evening approached, the disciplescame to him and said, This is a remoteplace, and its already getting late. Sendthe crowds away, so they can go to thevillages and buy themselves somefood. Jesus replied, They do not needto go away. You give them something toeat.

We have here only five loaves ofbread and two fish, they answered.

Bring them here to me, he said. Andhe directed the people to sit down onthe grass. Taking the five loaves and thetwo fish and looking up to heaven, hegave thanks and broke the loaves. Thenhe gave them to the disciples, and the

disciples gave them to the people. Theyall ate and were satisfied, and the



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disciples picked up twelve basketfuls ofbroken pieces that were left over. Thenumber of those who ate was about five

thousand men, besides women andchildren. (Matt. 14:1321)

They saw Jesus troubleshoot that situationcalmly and with ease. And yet when Jesus saidthat he was troubled to the point of death,

none of them volunteered to see whether ornot there was anything they could do to help.

The main apostles were also among thedisciples who saw Jesus take control of anagitated lake when everybody else wastroubled and afraid of what was going tohappen in the middle of the lake. Jesus wasneither troubled nor concerned. He calmed thestorm as if turning off a faucet.

Then he [Jesus] got into the boat andhis disciples followed him. Withoutwarning, a furious storm came up on thelake, so that the waves swept over theboat. But Jesus was sleeping. Thedisciples went and woke him, saying,Lord, save us! Were going to drown!He replied, You of little faith, why areyou so afraid? Then he got up andrebuked the winds and the waves, and it

was completely calm. The men wereamazed and asked, What kind of man


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is this? Even the winds and the wavesobey him! (Matt. 8:2327)

Though they saw Jesus take control of theseincidents, according to the Bible none of themasked Jesus what was troubling him when theywere at Gethsemane. Were they not concernedabout Jesus?

The main apostles were present in all theabove mentioned circumstances. There is an

interesting symbolism to be found in the mainapostles involvement with these events; foreach of the main apostles represented acategory. It is my understanding that Peter, thehead of the disciples, represented the categoryof all married people. James, one of the sons ofZebedee, represented all who are neithermarried nor virgins. John, the other son ofZebedee, represented all who are unmarriedvirgins.

These three categories of people representedby the main apostles symbolized the whole ofhumanity. By taking representatives from eachcategory to Gethsemane and sharing his heartand concern with them, Jesus was symbolicallysharing his heart and concern with the whole ofhumanity. If the main apostles united with

Jesus at that time, they would have establishedthe needed connection of the heart andsubsequently brought victory to God. Thus it

would have symbolized the unity between Jesusand the whole of humanity.


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What do you want me to do for you?he asked.

They replied, Let one of us sit at your

right and the other at your left in yourglory.

You dont know what you areasking, Jesus said, Can you drink thecup I drink or be baptized with thebaptism I am baptized with?

We can, they answered. (Mark

10:3539)

While in Gethsemane, the sons of Zebedee,to whom Jesus gave the nickname Sons of

Thunder (Mark 3:17), should have proven theywanted to be on the right and left sides of Jesusin Heaven. Jesus was giving them a once-in-a-lifetime chance to prove that they were willingto drink from the cup Jesus was going to drinkfrom. Their plea to sit by Jesus in Heaven andtheir promise to drink from the cup meant thatthe Sons of Thunder were ready to enterHeaven even if it meant sacrificing their ownlives.

While in Gethsemane, Peter also should haveproven to Jesus that he was ready to die withand for him.

Jesus did not take the main apostles toGethsemane for a picnic. He took them therefor a reason. Unfortunately none of them

established a connection of the heart with him.



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I am not saying that the main apostles neverestablished a connection of the heart with Jesusprior to Gethsemane. However, none of the

three connected to the heart and situation ofJesus right then and there in Gethsemane.

When given the opportunity to prove hisdevotion, Peter fell away. When given theopportunity to take their so-much-desired positions in Heaven, the Sons of

Thunder fell away. How sorrowful Jesus might

have been at the end of his third prayer inGethsemane.

Jesus did not forget any of the main apostlespromises as indicated in the paragraphs above.Besides, Jesus knew whose heart was closest tohis among the disciples. Unfortunately it wasup to the disciples to respond with the type ofheart Jesus knew they had. As the apostlesbegan to distance themselves from Jesus afterhe announced he was going to die, Satanentered into the heart of Judas Iscariot. Satanknew Judas was one of the twelve and he usedthat to his advantage. Satan intended toconfuse and corrupt the other apostles.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John toGethsemane because it was the last chance forhim to connect the whole of humanity withGod. It also was the unique, final opportunitythrough which God would take the cup awayfrom Jesus. Unfortunately for Jesus, none of the

three apostles had a heart-to-heart connectionwith him. Sadly, none of the three could be


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connected with the heart of God either. As aresult, Jesus was arrested and later crucified.

3. The Providence of the Cross

3.1. A King without Servants

The failure of the main apostles to establishthe connection of the heart with Jesus while in

Gethsemane marked the start of theprovidence of the cross.* It also meant that allthe

_____________________* The providence of the cross is Gods workthrough Jesus from the time of his arrest inGethsemane to the moment he took his lastbreath on the cross.previous connections of the heart between theapostles and Jesus were compromised andconsequently claimed by Satan. As a resultthere was no base upon which Jesus couldconnect to and save humanity.

This is not to say that there was nobody whomaintained a connection of the heart with

Jesus, for there were people who undoubtedlycontinued to nurture a connection of the heartwith him. Mary Magdalene is definitely amongthe people who maintained such a connection.However, Jesus could neither connect to nor

save any of them because there was nofundamental connection of the heart


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established by the main apostles inGethsemane. Though there were people whocould feel the heart and pain of Jesus, though

there were people who could connect to thesituation of Jesus, it was ineffective given thatthe main apostles did not unite with Jesus whenthey should have.

The main apostles in particular and theTwelve in general did not understand the heart,mission and situation of Jesus according to

Gods will. Their understanding was influencedby their own greed, needs, struggles, desiresand ambitions (Mark 10:35, John 12:46). Thisis why they had difficulty understanding whatwas happening in the mission of Jesus when

Jesus faced the challenge in Gethsemane. Thenceforth he became a lonely leader fornone of the main apostles accompanied himwhen he was in front of the Sanhedrin or Pilate.

Meanwhile Jesus stood before thegovernor, and the governor asked him,Are you the king of the Jews?

Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied.When he was accused by the chief

priests and the elders, he gave noanswer. Then Pilate asked him,

Dont you hear the testimony they arebringing against you? But Jesus made

no reply, not even to a single chargeto


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the great amazement of the governor.(Matt. 27:1114)

The Jews insisted, We have a law,and according to that law he must die,because he claimed to be the Son ofGod.

When Pilate heard this, he was evenmore afraid, and he went back insidethe palace. Where do you come from?

he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him noanswer. Do you refuse to speak tome? Pilate said. Dont you realize Ihave power either to free you or tocrucify you? (John 19:710)

Why did Jesus not defend himself when hewas brought before the Sanhedrin, Pilate, andHerod?

Jesus did not come to defend himself; hecame to defend humanity. The fact that none ofthe main apostles established a connection ofthe heart with him in Gethsemane meant thathe could not initiate a salvific relationship withhumanity. This is because Satan totallyreclaimed humanity when the spiritual linkbetween Jesus and humanity was compromisedat Gethsemane. Since humanity was no longerdirectly connected to Jesus, the Messiah, therewas no humanity for him to defend. He became

a king without servantsa king without akingdom.



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This is why when Pilate said to him It wasyour people and your chief priests who handedyou over to me (John 18:35; emphasis added),

Jesus replied, My kingdom is not of this world.If it were, my servants would fight to preventmy arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom isfrom anotherplace (John 18:36; emphasis added).

Since the spiritual link between Jesus andhumanity was compromised at Gethsemane,

what made it possible for Jesus to victoriouslycarry out the providence of the cross?

3.2. Simon from Cyrene

As they were going out, they met aman from Cyrene, named Simon, andthey forced him to carry the cross.(Matt. 27:32)

It was not Jesus, but the Roman soldiers whoordered Simon to help carry the cross. TheRoman soldiers represented the camp of Satan.From the time of his arrest to his crucifixion,

Jesus did not initiate any interaction withanybody. He only spoke after he was spoken to.By contrast, before his trial he did not hesitateto initiate conversations or discourses.

Simon established the foundation to restore

the compromised connection of the heartbetween Jesus and humanity when he helped


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Jesus carry the cross on the way to Golgotha.Upon that foundation, it was therefore possiblefor Jesus to successfully carry out the

providence of the cross.

3.3. The Criminals at Golgotha

At Golgotha Jesus was crucified between twocriminalsone on his left side and the other on

his right. Jesus used the criminals who werecrucified with him as the representatives ofhumanity. Given that within humanity exist twonatures: good and evil, Jesus symbolicallylinked each nature to each

of the crucified criminals.Let me underline that it was not Jesus

decision as to which criminal was to representwhich nature. This was done by the criminalsthemselves. The criminal on the left qualifiedhimself as the representative of humanitys evilnature when he mocked Jesus. Consequently,the criminal on the right qualified himself asthe representative of humanitys good naturewhen he defended Jesus.

This is how the criminal on Jesus right cameto represent humanitys good nature and theone on his left humanitys evil nature.


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One of the criminals who hung therehurled insults at him: Arent you theChrist? Save yourself and us!

But the other criminal rebuked him.Dont you fear God, he said, sinceyou are under the same sentence? Weare punished justly, for we are gettingwhat our deeds deserve. But this manhas done nothing wrong. (Luke 23:3941)

Why did Jesus consider the criminals crucifiedwith him as the representatives of the whole ofhumanity? Though we may not think so, thereare many traits common to those criminals andhumanity alike. Firstly, the criminals crucifiedwith Jesus were lawbreakers; so are humanbeings. Can we say with confidence that weobserve all of Gods commandments accordingto His will? Secondly, the criminals were liars,sinners and deceivers; so are human beings.

Jesus called his contemporaries as well ashumanity in general children of the devil whenhe said,

You belong to your father, the devil,and you want to carry out your fathersdesire. He was a murderer from thebeginning, not holding to the truth, forthere is no truth in him. When he lies,

he speaks his native language, for he isa liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)


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Thirdly, there was disrespect, arrogance, andignorance on the part of the criminal on the

left. Human beings are no different. Wesometimes arrogantly accuse and blame Godfor our wrongdoings. Fourthly, there was somegoodness, decency, and a sense of discernment in the criminal on the right. Thesame traits are also visible in human beings.We defend the offended, we help the helpless,

and we sometimes do good for one another.Fifthly, it is easy to consider criminals asbelonging to Satan. However, it may come asan insult when normal law abiding and God-fearing human beings are considered asbelonging to Satan. As the providence of thecross enfolded, the contemporaries of Jesus,law-abiding as well as God-fearing, belonged toSatan, for they were under Satans influence.

This is why Jesus considered the criminalscrucified with him as the representatives of thewhole of humanity.

3.4. The Difference between the TwoMen

In both occasions mentioned aboveSimonhelping Jesus carry the cross and the criminalon the right defending Jesusthere were

individuals who stepped up for Jesus when hewas mocked and ridiculed. These two



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individuals, Simon and the criminal, were notapostles, but they both had

something in commonthey felt Jesus heartand pain, connected to his situation and cameto his aid. This is something nobody did for

Jesus from the time the providence of the crossstarted. True, Peter cut off the ear of one of theguards in Gethsemane. The difference betweenPeters act and that of these two men is that

Peter did not do it because he felt Jesus heartand pain. Furthermore he did not do it becausehe connected to the situation of Jesus. He did itbecause he was angry. It was out of anger andguilt that Peter acted as he did.

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew itand struck the high priests servant, cutting offhis right ear. (The servants name wasMalchus.) (John 18:10)

Though Simon and the criminal felt Jesuspain and came to his aid, only the criminalreceived the substantial benefit of helping theMessiah. One difference between Simon andthe criminal was that Simon helped a fellowman called Jesus. The criminal, however,helped a man who was more than just a man.

For example, assume you were walking bythe river and saw a young man who was

looking for a way to cross it. Out of thegoodness of your heart, you decided to help


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the young man cross the river. You took yourcanoe and paddled across the river. Once yougot him to the other side, the young man told

you that he did not have any money to payyou. You told him, A thank you would do justfine. The young man then said, Well, thankyou, good Samaritan. This is scenario one.

Now on to scenario two. You got the youngman to the other side of the river and he toldyou that he did not have any money to pay

you. You told him, Its okay; just rememberme when you get to your father. So the youngman might then say something such as, Well,good Samaritan, do you know my father?

In scenario one, the young man was astranger to you. You just saw someone whoneeded help and you decided to help himwithout expecting anything in return. Inscenario two, though you were a stranger tothe young man; you nevertheless knew who hewas. But still, that did not influence yourdecision in helping him, for you took him to theother side of the river without expectinganything in return. The fact that you told him toremember you when he got to his father toldthe young man that you knew whose son hewas. Since you knew whose son he was, youcertainly knew who the young man was. So ifhe chose to compensate you, the best way forhim to do so would be to get you to his father

and present you as the Good Samaritan whohelped him (the young man). Whether or not


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By taking a criminal to Paradise, Jesus provedonce and for all that he came to save the world.He came to turn the unrighteous into the

righteous. He came to turn evil into good. Hecame to bring humanity back to God. I trulyfeel in my heart that Jesus was desperate tohave at least one person to take with him tothe Father. It did not matter whether or not theperson was circumcised, or whether it was achief priest or a low-life. A connection of the

heart is what Jesus was looking for. Jesus finallywas able, at the end of the providence of thecross, to find someone who bonded with him.

Jesus said, Whoever acknowledges mebefore men, I will also acknowledge him beforemy Father in heaven. But whoever disowns mebefore men, I will disown him before my Fatherin heaven (Matt. 10:3233). Now guess what?

Jesus did just that on the cross. He promisedParadise to the criminal who defended andacknowledged him before men while on thecross.

The criminal on the right created a bond with Jesus while still on earth and that bond wascarried into the spirit world. Given that God islove, a connection of the heart, which was ofhigh importance when Jesus was on earth twothousand

years ago, continues to be important even

today.


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this because he felt it was the right thing to do.He did it because the criminal established acondition allowing Jesus to take him to

Paradise. Would you have died for Jesus? Wouldyou have sacrificed your reputation for Jesus?Would you have sacrificed your pride for Jesus?Will you be willing to sacrifice your pride and

reputation for the Lord of the Second Advent(the Messiah)?

It is easy to say that the criminal had nothingto lose. But he still had a reputation to protect.By defending Jesus and talking respectfully toand about him, he put his reputation of being avillain, ruthless, dishonest, disloyal, and alawless person on the line. As compensation forunconditionally putting his reputation on theline for the Messiah, Jesus took him to Paradise.

The criminal did not do it because he wantedJesus to reward him. He did it because he feltJesus was unjustly treated and put to death. Hedid it because he felt Jesus was misunderstood.He did it because he felt the heart of Jesus. Hedid it because he connected to the situation of

Jesus. Hence it was a criminal, not any of themain apostles, who created a connection of theheart with Jesus when it was desperatelyneeded.

Once again, the Messiah cannot pick oneperson or a few individuals to take to Heaven.

Any person in the position of the Messiah whowould take hand-picked individuals into Heaven


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will be judged by God, Satan and humanity.This is why, even though Jesus came to savethe people of the world, he could not just hand-

pick people to take with him into Paradise. Onehas to establish the condition that allows theMessiah to save him or her out of themultitude. This is also why, even though hehand-picked his apostles, Jesus could not takethem with him to Paradise simply because theywere his apostles. They had to distinguish and

qualify themselves.The Messiah opens the way; he is ready to

accept and save any- and everybody, but hecannot decide which person to save and whichone not to. The decision belongs to you andme. The Messiah shows us the path, but it isour responsibility to walk all the way through;not halfway. Now do you want tobe saved? Here is some advice, distinguishyourself. If you want to be saved, you have tobe ready to sacrifice your life, your pride, yourreputation; and everything precious to you forthe sake of the Messiah.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for me will save it.What good is it for a man to gain the wholeworld, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?(Luke 9:2425)


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4. Jesus and Mary Magdalene

When Jesus rose early on the first dayof the week, he appeared first to MaryMagdalene, out of whom he had drivenseven demons. (Mark 16:9)

Woman, he said, why are you

crying? Who is it you are looking for?Thinking he was the gardener, she said,sir, if you have carried him away, tellme where you have put him, and I willget him.

Jesus said to her, Mary. She turnedtoward him and cried out in Aramaic,Rabboni! (which means Teacher).(John 20:1516)

Why did Jesus appear to Mary Magdalenebefore appearing to any of the apostles? Whydid he not appear to Peter when Peter went tocheck the tomb after Mary told him that thebody of Jesus was removed from the tomb?

Early on the first day of the week,while it was still dark, Mary Magdalenewent to the tomb and saw that thestone had been removed from the

entrance. So she came running to SimonPeter and the other disciple, the one



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Jesus loved, and said, They have takenthe Lord out of the tomb, and we dontknow where they have put him!

So Peter and the other disciple startedfor the tomb. Both were running, but theother disciple outran Peter and reachedthe tomb first. He bent over and lookedin at the strips of linen lying there but

did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind

him, arrived and went into the tomb . . . Then the disciples went back to theirhomes, but Mary stood outside the tombcrying. (John 20:16, 1011)

Why did Peter and the other apostle return totheir homes leaving Mary behind by herself?Why did she stay at the tomb even after thetwo apostles left? Why was she concernedabout the whereabouts of the physical body of

Jesus? And why was Peter not as concerned asor more concerned about the whereabouts ofthe physical body of Jesus than Mary was?

There is only one answer to all of thesequestions. The answer is a connection of theheart.

Mary did not let go of how important andprecious Jesus was to her. She attributed a

higher value and purpose to his life. ThoughJesus was physically dead, he was still alive in


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her heart. Therefore she wanted to continue totend to her memory of her Rabboni as much asshe could. She venerated her Rabboni while he

was physically alive, and she was not about tostop just because he was physically dead. Thisis why she continued to venerate him evenafter his physical death. She maintained herrespect for and continued to show anallegiance to Jesus. Furthermore the physicalbody of Jesus was the only tangible thing she

could hold on to.Even though Jesus died physically, Marys

appreciation for Jesus for having driven sevendemons out of her (Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9), herresultant adoration of the person of Jesus, andher commitment to Jesus remained alive andstrong. Thismeans that Mary continued to nurture theconnection of the heart she established with

Jesus. Hence Early on the first day of theweek, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalenewent to the tomb to visit her lord Jesus (John20:1). She did not stop attending to the needsof her lord.

Peter left Mary behind because he and therest of the apostles lost sight of who Jesus wasand what he meant to them. The elevenremaining apostles were more concerned abouttheir own lives than they were about what hadhappened to Jesus. They were more concerned

about their safety than the safety of the lifelessphysical body of Jesus. It is written, On the


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evening of that first day of the week, when thedisciples were together, with the doors lockedfor fear of the Jews, Jesus came (John 20:19;

emphasis added).Just think about how heart-broken Jesus was.

None of the eleven apostles was around himwhen he faced physical death. They did notparticipate in the discussion involving hisburial, nor did they participate in the moving ofhis physical body from the cross to the tomb. It

was a disciple, Joseph of Arimathea, who wentto Pilate to request the physical body of Jesus.He and Nicodemus took the physical body of

Jesus from the cross to the tomb.

Later, Joseph of Arimathea askedPilate for the body of Jesus. Now Josephwas a disciple of Jesus, but secretlybecause he feared the Jews. WithPilates permission, he came and tookthe body away. He was accompanied byNicodemus, the man who earlier hadvisited Jesus at night. Nicodemusbrought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,about seventy-five pounds. Taking

Jesus body, the two of them wrapped it,with the spices, in strips of linen. (John19:3840)

After Jesus rose from the dead, he could notgo to his apostles directly because they

compromised the foundation upon which hecould interact with them. They compromised


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the connection of the heart between them and Jesus. Jesus did not have any problemappearing to Mary Magdalene, because she

was longing for him. She missed him so dearlythat she wanted to see him. She maintainedthe connection of the heart she establishedwith Jesus when he was physically alive.

Mary became the bridge Jesus needed inorder to reestablish the compromisedconnection of the heart with the apostles. After

being with the risen Jesus, she went to tell theapostles about him. It was after the faith-challenging encounter she had with theapostles that Jesus appeared to them. Bythemselves the apostles could not establish thefoundation to see the risen Jesus. Given hislove, his heart full of forgiveness and thevictory over the providence of the cross, Jesusfound a way to reestablish the brokenconnection of the heart with his apostlesthrough Mary Magdalene.

5. Jesus and Peter

After a little while, those standingthere went up to Peter and said, Surelyyou are one of them, for your accentgives you away. Then he began to calldown curses on himself and he swore to

them, I dont know the man!


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Immediately a rooster crowed. ThenPeter remembered the word Jesus hadspoken: Before the rooster crows, you

will disown me three times. And hewent outside and wept bitterly. (Matt.26:7375)

Even though he was no longer alivephysically, Jesus did not forsake thefundamental principle of the connection of the

heart. He did not give up his mission either.From the spirit world he continued to expresshis heart of love and demonstrated his desireto fulfill his messianic mission.

Ideally, in accomplishing his mission theMessiah is not supposed to leave any looseends. This is why Jesus promised the return ofthe Messiah. Knowing this, Jesus tried to solveas many issues as he could before returning tothe Father. The Bible states that Peter denied

Jesus three times before the crucifixion (duringthe providence of the cross). By denying Jesus,Peter compromised and severed the foundationupon which he could lead all of the disciples.He also compromised the foundation uponwhich he, as well as the rest of the apostles,could carry on their respective missionscentered on Jesus. In other words, he betrayedhis love of Jesus. Thankfully before returning tohis Father, as the opportunity presented itself,

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Jesus was very hurt when Peter disownedhim. Peter spent those few days with the guiltof disowning the Lord despite the fact that

Jesus warned him about it. Hence Peter couldnot freely fulfill his responsibility of leading thedisciples. To remedy the situation, Peter had toface his guilt and establish anew connection of the heart between him andthe risen Jesus. He could only do this by facing

Jesus.

Jesus gave Peter an opportunity to re-qualifyas the head of the disciples. In other words hegave Peter an opportunity to redeem himselfand wipe out his guilt. Jesus did this by askingPeter the same question three times. Peter hadto answer the same question three times withthe same mouth and heart that denied Jesus.Here is what happened between

them after Jesus rose from the dead:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said toSimon Peter, Simon son of John, do you trulylove me more than these?

Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I loveyou.

Jesus said, Feed my lambs.Again Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you

truly love me?

He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I loveyou.


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Jesus said, Take care of my sheep.The third time he said to him, Simon son of

John, do you love me?

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him thethird time, Do you love me? He said, Lord,you know all things; you know that I love you.

Jesus said, Feed my sheep. (John 21:1517)

Once again, the connection of the heart isvery important. No one can be saved without

establishing a connection of the heart with theMessiah.

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Documents

The Messiahship of the Lord