Jesus was not impressed or seduced by a crowd that wanted to make him king (John 6:15). This crowd was willing to support Jesus as long as he gave them what they wanted – bread.
But Jesus wants to accomplish the will of the heavenly Father and not that of the people.
Some love Jesus for what he gives us. But he wants us to love him for who he is: the Son of Man (6:27) from heaven (6:29), with eternal life (6:27).
Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Good news. There is a way back into an active relationship with Heavenly Father. But it is also difficult to digest that the path to the Heavenly Father is only open to people who do not ignore God’s revelation. Continue reading The fourth surprising message from Jesus: The Way
The third surprising truth about Jesus is that he speaks about the resurrection and life after death. Our soul exists independently of our body. Jesus says in Matthew 10:28: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus was the first who speaks of heaven and hell. But over time we have imagined heaven and hell in an unverified way.
Many peoples have an idea of the continued existence of souls and have an ancestor cult. But in all cultures, there are also people who reject the continued existence of the soul (cf. Paul in Athens, Acts 17:32). Continue reading The third truth of Jesus – our soul exists independently of our body
Another surprise is God’s continued presence through the Holy Spirit.
At Pentecost, an acoustic signal is heard again as the Holy Spirit came. God is present in the people who receive him. God dwells in us.
Jesus said in John 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
God does not want to be far from us, not separate, not to visit us from time to time, but to be “God with us – Immanuel”. Father and Son are present and accessible through the Holy Spirit.
Another message, sweet as honey, yet difficult to grasp and a mystery of God (Revelation 10). Continue reading The second unexpected Jesus fact – God in us
Revelation 10:7 announces that with the seventh trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished. It’s sweet as honey, but hard to digest. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:2, “God’s mystery, which is Christ.”
The first unexpected fact about Jesus is that God meets us in him. Jesus did not receive a message from God. He speaks in the name of God. He was not exalted as a man, but through him God became man. God did not appear in human form but was born human. God can be in heaven and on earth at the same time. This was already visible in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible (e.g. Genesis 19:24; 2 Chronicles 7:1-2). Continue reading Unexpected Jesus Facts – God Among Us
Revelation 10 is about the sealed scroll of the seven thunders. It is the public proclamation of the mystery of God as a call to repent.
Of course, we would now like to know what the message of this scroll is. But it is sealed.
But there are important hints about this book. The mystery of God is sweet in the mouth like honey. But then it is heavy in the stomach.
The picture of “sweet as honey” and “difficult to bear” is also found in Ezekiel 3. Continue reading The Sealed Book of Thunders
In his message to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus emphasizes the steadfastness of believers and the faithful proclamation of the word of God. Jesus promises citizenship in the new heavenly Jerusalem to those who continue in the faith.
Jesus not only holds the key as mentioned in Revelation 1:18, but also closes and opens (Revelation 3:7). “ The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”
The teachers of the law, on the other hand, took away the key of knowledge. They prevent people from being forgiven. Jesus says in Luke 11:52, “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
Like in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:8-9), in which five have not to give away their oil, in Revelation 3:11 believers are asked to be careful that no one takes their crown of glory from them.
The Feast of Trinity is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
Jesus says, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
Some people say what God can, may, and should do. The Bible shows that God can do anything as long as he keeps his promises.
The Trinity is the logical consequence of divine revelation in the Bible.
God revealed himself in three personalities. He is father because a son was born. The son carries the father’s DNA and is not a lower being by virtue of sonship, but voluntarily submits to the father by virtue of sonship. God is present because he is spirit and can be everywhere trough the Holy Spirit and act everywhere at once. God is not human and therefore outside of our thinking.
Whoever receives the Holy Spirit also receives the Father and the Son (Whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. John 13:20). No of them does anything that the other wouldn’t do. A dimension of unity that we cannot understand. Jesus said, “Believe me” (John 14:11). We cannot comprehend this unity with our mind.
After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day, he met over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:5).
Although these encounters had an encouraging character, nothing earth-shattering happened. Jesus’ disciples went their own way again.
Jesus sent all the disciples back to Jerusalem.
The expectation of the disciples was great that Jesus would now set up the kingdom. But Jesus did not want to set a time for this and promised them divine power through the Holy Spirit, who would lead them into the whole world (Acts 1:6-8).
As Jesus ascended into heaven before their eyes on the Mount of Olives and disappeared from their sight through a cloud, Jesus opened a new chapter.
Jesus finished his first commission on earth. He went bodily to a real otherworldly place where he promised to prepare place to live for his followers (John 14:2).
He is now seated at the right hand of the heavenly Father (Mark 16:19 / Acts 7:56).
From there he will come again to set up God’s kingdom visibly.
Jesus taught his disciples that there is a real transcendent world and has now entered it. God’s presence is experienced anew through the Holy Spirit.
The followers of Jesus live in the expectation of being accepted into this other world. They look forward to the return of Jesus when he will set up his kingdom in glory.
Perhaps the Ascension Day has become a symbol that we too want to go to another world in prayer and then come back with new eyes.