FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE FIRST
PRINCIPLES - IX
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles
of the doctrine of Messiah, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward IAUE,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and
of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal
judgment.
RESURRECTION
OF THE DEAD - 1
The
concept of a resurrection of the dead is prevalent in the world, today;
primarily due to 2,000 years of preaching the message of Christianity. Even the pagan and the non-religious tend to
believe in an afterlife. The Scripture
says of mankind that IAUE placed “eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11
NASB). There
is an innate awareness that this physical life is not the totality of man’s
existence. Many acknowledge it. Many refuse to acknowledge it, because to do
so would necessarily require belief in IAUE; and if we believe IAUE exists,
then we have a responsibility to behave toward Him as He would instruct; and
that is unacceptable to the selfish flesh-based existence of human life. It is this unwillingness to relinquish
control of our lives to an omnipotent being that has given rise to all
religions and philosophies, both old age and new age.
A
belief in the resurrection was not uncommon among the Hebrew people.
Acts 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,
neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
What
was
uncommon was a belief in the resurrection of Messiah. More specifically, there
was no understanding that Messiah would die.
Mark 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many
things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes,
and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 And he
spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
Mark 9:9 And as they came down from the mountain (of
transfiguration), he charged them (Peter,
James and John) that they should tell no man
what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with
another what the rising from the dead should mean.
Mark 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man
is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he
is killed, he shall rise the third day.
32 But
they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
John 2:19 Yahushua answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in
three days I will raise it up.
20 Then
said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou
rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When
therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said
this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Yahushua
had said.
Matthew 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in
three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of Elohim, come down from the
cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes
and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of
Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
As
Yahushua was dying, the people, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders
all mocked him because both he and his disciples had professed him to be the
Messiah. There was no place in their
theology for Messiah to die. According to their understanding of Scripture, the
very fact he was dying disqualified him from being the Messiah, and made the
whole of his ministry for the prior three years to be a joke. The death and
resurrection of Messiah was a mystery hidden by IAUE until the time for it to
be revealed. The Scripture says had this
mystery been understood, they would never have impaled (crucified) Messiah.
1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of IAUE in a mystery, even the
hidden wisdom, which IAUE ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which
none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not
have crucified the Master of glory.
How
could the Jews believe in the resurrection of the dead; but not in the death
and resurrection of Messiah? The key is
in the prophecies of Elijah (Eliyahu).
After
the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John asked a
question.
Mark 9:11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elijah must
first come?
Peter,
James and John were not learned men.
They were not studied in the Scriptures.
They relied on the instruction they received from the scribes and rabbis
to know what the Scripture taught (much like most believers today who are
dependent on what is preached from the pulpit for their understanding of the
Scriptures). Remember what the priests and Levites asked John, when he came
immersing in the wilderness?
John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he
saith, I am not…
If
John was preparing the way for the Messiah, in their mind, he had to be Elijah.
Why? Because Malachi the prophet said
that Elijah would come first. No Elijah
= No Messiah.
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of IAUE:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse.
The
forerunner ministry of Elijah was well known among the Hebrews. Elijah was going to come and turn the hearts
of the people; then Messiah would come and deliver a restored Israel to
international prominence, as Messiah took the throne of David and ruled the
whole world from Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). The very idea that the Messiah would come and
not only die; but die at the hands of the people he was coming to redeem, was
abhorrent and utterly unacceptable; and yet…
Matthew 27:41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes
and elders, said, 42 He
saved others; himself he cannot save. If
he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we
will believe him.
(The chief priests, scribes and elders could not
discredit the Yahushua for the works he had done; but if he died, they believed
he would discredit himself.)
43 He trusted in Elohim; let him deliver him now, if he will have
him: for he said, I am the Son of IAUE.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same
in his teeth.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land
unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Yahushua cried with a loud voice,
saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
that is to say, My Elohim, my Elohim, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 Some of
them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elijah.
In this moment, though we are not told, I believe that
fear spread through the crowd like wildfire.
They had scourged and impaled, taunted and mocked a man who had
performed countless miracles among them for three years; and now he had cried
out loud; and the people thought he called for Elijah. If Elijah appeared at that moment, the people
would have been in utter despair for the horror of their mistake in impaling
the Messiah. I believe they waited in
terror to see what would happen.
48 And
straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and
put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
(One onlooker seemed to be hedging his bets by performing
this act of kindness, while they all waited to see if Elijah would appear.)
49 The rest said, Let be, let
us see whether Elijah will come to save him.
(They were hoping against hope that Elijah would NOT
appear.)
50 Yahushua, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up
the ghost.
He
that would be King was dead; and everyone mocking him sighed a sigh of relief;
and went to their homes confident of their rejection of this man; for it was
impossible in their minds that Messiah would come and die. They did not know that it was a mystery hidden
in IAUE until the time for it to be revealed.
Next
week: The revelation of the Resurrection
of Messiah.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance
of the will of IAUE.
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