GRINDIT podcast

Jesus has been flogged and now he is crucified. It has happened just as he told his disciples on several occasions. Jesus was beaten beyond recognition, he was so weak he couldn't carry the cross so Simon had to help, he was nailed to there cross and put on public display to be humiliated for six hours. He would struggle to breathe in so much pain and agony when he cries out for the last time and dies. Joseph of Arimathea comes to Pilate and asks to bury the body of Jesus. Why did Jesus die such a cruel death on a cross? He died for my sin and your sin, so you and I could have our sins forgiven and have a relationship with the Father. Thank you Jesus!

There were two guys names Jesus when Jesus the Messiah was on trial before Pilate: Jesus the Messiah and Jesus Barabbas. Jesus Barabbas' name means "Son of the Father" which is ironic when Jesus the Messiah is THE Son of the Father! Jesus Barrabas was a murderer for he had risen up against the Roman government to over throw it but was unsuccessful in his attempt; captured and jailed for killing. Jesus the Messiah was 100% innocent, he has done nothing wrong, and the religious leaders has been hurling accusations at him while Jesus stood before Pilate in silence. There was a custom in that day to release a prisoner so Pilate asked the crowd, "Who should I release?" The crowd yelled, "Release Jesus Barabbas and crucify Jesus the Messiah!" Pilate was shook and taken back; he tried to get out of it but couldn't because the crowd was getting restless, for they had been persuaded by the religious leaders to choose Jesus the Messiah. Because he feared the crowd and wanted to plead them, Pilate released Jesus Barabbas and crucified an innocent man, Jesus the Messiah.

All of the religious leaders have been vocal about Jesus for three years now. They don't like him, in fact, they hate him nd want him dead. From the time he started working miracles and the crowds started following him instead of them, they started plotting to kill him. They finally have their chance thanks to Judas, and they have stayed up all night hurling accusations at a mock trial they have conjured up. They have delivered Jesus to Pilate trying to convince him that Jesus deserves to die but everything they accuse him of doesn't stick. Their silence behind the scenes will soon turn deadly because they finally get their way and Jesus will be hung on a cross by the morning.

Jesus and his disciples have finished the Passover meal and are headed to the Garden of Gethsemane so he can pray about what is to come. On the way there, he tells the disciples they will all deny him and Peter makes the infamous statement, "I will die with you and will never deny you!" and Jesus tells him, "You'll deny me three times before the rooster crows." When they get tto the garden, Jesus asks them to watch and pray but they fall asleep...three times. I know we all want to believe we would never deny Jesus but would we? Do we? When we are faced with persecution, would we be able to stick with Jesus? Peter and the rest of the disciples did not! They all denied him just as Jesus had said.

Jesus is having his last Passover meal with his disciples. He will be dead in a few days and it will totally blow their minds. Despite having told them many times, they just never got it, they didn't understand. While he is in the home of a Pharisee, a woman comes in and pours oil on his body and some of the disciples are indignant. They couldn't believe this woman had wasted so much money on this oil and the should have spent the money on the poor. Yet, before the night is over, one of them will betray Jesus in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. The time has come...

The sermon I preached at Authentic Church from our Revelation series. I was assigned Revelation 16-18 so I brought out several points from those three chapters:

As we see wars going on today, as we hear of earthquakes and crazy weather patterns, people point to the return of Jesus Christ. In Mark 13, the disciples are in awe of the Temple and the beautiful buildings but Jesus blows their minds when he tells them, "This building will soon be destroyed and not one stone will be on top of another." What's crazy is, the smallest stone that was used to build the Temple weighed at least 2 tons! These stones were ginormous!!! Jesus gives the disciples some signs to watch for as to when all of this will take place, then he shifts to his coming. Are you ready?

The religious leaders thought they were bold and courageous but as we see Jesus march into Jerusalem and expose them for who they really are, cowards, the one who is actually bold and courageous shows out, Jesus. He has went to the Temple, cleansed it out by overturning the money tables and driving the people out that was selling the animals for sacrifices for profit, and now he tells a story about an owner of a vineyard who sent servants in to gather some of the crops and money but the hired tenants killed them, including the owner’s son! Jesus was talking about them and they knew it and they wanted to kill him but they feared the crowd. Jesus challenges the Pharisees and the Sadducees in chapter 12, then uses a widow lady that threw 2 coins in the offering plate to show what the heart of God really looks like!

Jesus goes into Jerusalem with no fear and faces his enemies, the religious leaders, head on. He cleanses the Temple from their greediness, and they want to know where he is getting his authority from. Jesus asks them a question and they don’t answer it and therefore, Jesus doesn’t give them an answer to their question. Mark points out that Jesus came to the Temple and observed what was happening. Again, nothing gets past God, He sees everything and knows everything. God was walking around in His Temple and the religious leaders had no idea yet God knew everything they were doing and he would come in to clean house! There’s a day of reckoning coming and we better be ready!

Jesus goes into Jerusalem with no fear and faces his enemies, the religious leaders, head on. He cleanses the Temple from their greediness, and they want to know where he is getting his authority from. Jesus asks them a question and they don’t answer it and therefore, Jesus doesn’t give them an answer to their question. Mark points out that Jesus came to the Temple and observed what was happening. Again, nothing gets past God, He sees everything and knows everything. God was walking around in His Temple and the religious leaders had no idea yet God knew everything they were doing and he would come in to clean house! There’s a day of reckoning coming and we better be ready!