| Blessed and broken.. bitter or better! Luke 22: 14-20 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. From the time of Moses to Christ: For some 1500 years prior to the Lords supper the practice of the Passover meal was celebrated by the Jews. It consisted of bitter herbs, the Pascal lamb, bread and 4 individual cups of wine. Some facts regarding the Passover meal: The 4- cups of wine represented the four I will’s based on the Covenantal agreement with God as found in Exodus 6: 6-7 Notice the progression from one cup to the next. 1. I will bring you out: Represented by the cup of Sanctification. Typology for us is Holiness. 2. I will rid you of bondage : Represented by the cup of praise. Typology for us is Worship and adoration. 3. I will redeem you : Represented by the cup of Redemption. Typology for us is Grace and salvation. 4. I will be your God and take you for my people. Represented by cup of Acceptance. Typology for us is Glorification and presentation.. But when Jesus came along he changed the meal. Why? Notice, It became the Lords meal and no longer the pass over meal. 1. The bitter herbs which represented the bitter hurts and brokenness he would endure was replaced by his body which would be beaten, broken, and bitterly abused. A body now represented by the broken bread. 2. The Pascal lamb which represented a life sacrificially given in innocence was replaced by the ultimate sacrifice (Jesus Christ himself) his life and blood which would be shed and given for our salvation. Now represented by the wine. Hence now all that would be needed was the blood and the wine. Before this meal he gave a discourse on the end times. Known as the Olivet Discourse. Where he spoke of sorrowful events to take place. “ the world will rejoice but you will lament and weep but your sorrow shall be turned into joy..” John 16: 20- 21 This meal was followed by an intense time of prayer at the place called Gethsemane. 38 “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matt 26: 38-41 Notice the cup he mentioned here represented Gods will, pain, humiliation, and death but his will represented the easy way out, humanity’s ways. Bt notice when he merged his will with the FATHERS will the end result was redemption, Salvation and glorification. Yes life can either bless you or brake you. There are no promises that life will be easy, our world is filled with hurt, pain and misery. It is evident all around us that we live in a sin craze world. People are selfish and self centered. Egotistical and carnal, perverted and cruel, without natural affection or compassion. Hopeless and helpless, concern less and burden less. But the choice is yours to become BITTER OR BETTER? Then there was Judas: Remember him? He chose to become bitter and vengeful. Don’t be like Judas. The bible saids he found no place of repentance, though he sought it with many tears. You have to be sorry not because it didn’t go your way or because you got caught but because your sincerely sorrowful. NOTICE: The bible saids just 6 days before the Passover he became bitter and betrayed the Lord. In other words he missed salvation by a split second so to say. Only 6 days before the full price and final redemption was paid for our salvation he lost it all in a wild gamble. Matthew 26:7-14, John 12: 1,4-8 The implication is Don’t gamble with Gods grace. Paul said of another character by the name of Demas. “ Demas having loved this present world hath forsaken me..” We are not told exactly what happen to make Demas leave Paul. But we do know that he must have at one time shared in the rich rewards of ministry. Likewise he must have also encountered the opposition and persecution that came with that ministry. And it turned him bitter rather than better. Or could it have been he was tainted by greed and desire for more of what the world had to offer as compared to what the ministry had to offer. Then there was Jesus. Who in the beginning was blessed with royalty, and riches, clothed in Divinity and Majesty, yet he chose to forsake it all, all for broken sinful humanity, worthless humanity, stiff neck and rebellious humanity, ungrateful and despicable humans that we were. Yet he came to redeem us, to ransom us, to reconcile us, can anything be more amazing? More astounding, to think that he would give his all for those who wouldn’t care at all! Those who wouldn’t give at all. Life handed him some real discouragement and disgrace yet he still refused to give up or strike back. Not bitter but better. He came not as a prince but a poor pauper. not in a palace but a filthy fly infested urine smelling manger. Wow what a story! That’s just it for some that’s all it is, is a story. Some interesting facts regarding his crucifiction: For one before his ordeal he had very little sleep, and hardly anything to eat for 2 days and 2 nights. He was so busy praying, caring, and ministering to others to even take time to care for his own needs. The Roman Crucifiction : The Roman authorities were notorious for breaking Jewish custom hence it is probable that Jesus received more than the usual 39 stripes. The practice of crucifixion was learned from the ancient Carthinians and later perfected by the Romans. It was one of the most cruel and inhumane forms of death to suffer. Reserved only for the lowly and those considered subhuman. Jesus was first scourged This was known as the Half death! Because most persons were left half dead by the time they were finish with the preliminary flogging prior to being crucified. The instrument used was called a flagellum or cat of nine tales. An elongated piece of wood from which hung leather strips and attached to these leather strips were razor sharp pieces of bone and metal. Jesus was then placed over a carved stone specifically made for this purpose so his back would arch and the Flagellum would tear into his flesh. Which would then pull out strips of flesh and bone with each successive blow. Initially he was to receive 13 stripes and his right buttocks and another 13 stripes on his left buttocks, then 13 more on his chest and groin area. This was then followed by an intense physical beating by the Roman soldiers which left Jesus bruised and broken. Next his beard was savagely plucked from his face leaving only tender open skin. Blood oozed and mixed with the spit, and mucous that ran from his mouth as a result of the pounding fist and violent kicks to his face, stomach and back. Next he was crowned not with glory or a kings coronation but with a cruel crown of thorns. A crown made of entwined thorns some 2 1/2 inches long and razor sharp. This was then pounded upon his head with the flagellum. It was driven so deep into his scalp that it caused a jolt of agonizing searing pain which resulted in a throbbing migraine headache. He then had to carry his cross, up the road called the Via Della Rosa, a rocky, dusty, dirty, thorn strewn path. He wore no shoes, along this road he would occasionally stumble the weight being so heavy and unbearable, only to be kicked and mocked, ridiculed and spited. It was here that his blood would drip from his face and body and as that blood would fall to the ground he would picture me and you in our sin and despair, and whisper this bloods for you! No not a pretty picture of Calvary huh? There’s still more when he finally arrived at the top of the hill. It was then that the rusted nail spikes were driven into his hands in the metatarsal area of the tendons and nerves. An area of the body which according to medical experts; is the most severe and sensitive pain registering area of the body and nervous system. The open exposure soon brought Gangrene and inflammation to his wounds, which were covered with the dirt and vomit from the dry heaves. And what the dry heaves couldn’t do his kidney’s and bowels unable to function properly released fecal and urine matter that ran down his body and into the wounds. So here he was, naked and broken, humiliated and hurting for all the world to see. But there’s more, much more, the worst was yet to come, soon he would have tectonic spasm’s, charley horses, and more migraine headaches. It was here at this point that more blood flowed into the arteries than could be carried back into the veins from the Aorta, thus it flowed into the head and stomach causing the blood vessels to become compressed and swollen. This in turn caused the most unbearable pain imaginable some medical doctors say the pain is so great that many would wish for death instead. This was followed by symphatic fever then traumatic fever, followed by an intense thirsting, throbbing headache, violent convulsions, restlessness and anxiety, at this point suppuration sets in and the fever abates and if the wounds are dressed the misery may subside somewhat. However if as in this case the wounds were not dressed, the fever then takes a more hectic pace. The intensity of aggravation increases yet more. In most crucifixion cases death would result within 48 hours and in some cases up to 9 days. For Jesus today it would last some 6 lonely, agonizing, terrible, and painful hours. A footnote: There is some speculation by medical experts and historians as to whether Jesus died before he was pierced? Notice blood and water poured out mixed together, however at death blood quagulates. Prior to being pierced so much stress was placed on his heart, body and blood corpuscles which followed by a violent contraction of the one of the ventricles. Caused blood to be thrown into it by the contracting auricle and thus unable to return to its point of origin, because of an intervening valve. The blood can neither go forward nor backward hence it reacts against the ventricle causing it to burst open! The blood was then discharged into the Pericardium causing a Pericardial effusion. Stopping circulation it then compresses the heart from without causing intense pressure and pain internally. The heart eventually explodes and implodes from the pressure hence it literally breaks open. No not a pretty Calvary.! According to medical experts and ancient coroners reports : The cause of death is listed as; He died of a ruptured broken heart! He was Blessed and broken, better not bitter! So there it is my friend or foe, you can either let life’s sour circumstances make you or break you, bless you or bitter you? Your troubles and trials, problems and afflictions, can either be your triumph or your defeat, they can either bless you or curse you. Perhaps you feel broken today, hurt or devastated by some circumstance, person, or situation. Feeling empty and hopeless? So troubled and despaired, you need Jesus! You need new life! new hope! Lets settle it now we cannot earn his favor or his love. Its a free gift! Its called mercy and grace. Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Romans 3:10 ,23 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: John 3:1 -5 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. FOR WHOMSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED! Prepared by : George R. Nava 2170 e. Market St. Stk, Ca. phone 46-59731 My web page: http://www.oocities.org/some1caresforu/index.html |
| Welcome to the school of hard knocks other wise known as the school of kneeology. |