© 2010 Jasper Life Publications 1st Edition in English – June 2010 1st Edition in Portuguese – August 2009 The Greatest Suffering Of Jesus Translated from Portuguese with permission of Editora Árvore da Vida All rights reserved by Jasper Life Publications Jasper Life Publications 725 Viscount Road London, Ontario, Canada N6J 4G9 Phone: (519) 472-6620 www.jasperlife.com info@jasperlife.com ISBN 978-0-9739285-6-5 All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.
Contents Foreward.................................................................. 5 The Birth, Life, and Ministry of Jesus.................... 7 The Precious Ointment.......................................... 23 The Passover......................................................... 43 The Feast of Unleavened Bread............................ 63 The Prayer at Gethsemane..................................... 79 The Greatest Suffering of Jesus............................ 99
Foreward Almost everyone today knows that Jesus suffered, even those who don’t read the Bible. In fact, Jesus lived a life of sufferings. He suffered at His birth and also while He was growing up until the time He became an adult and started His ministry. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about Him saying, “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” and “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows” and “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:3-5). Jesus not only suffered much while living as a despised man in Nazareth, He also passed through the worst and most unfair kinds of mistreatments that anyone went through in human history. In the end, Jesus was judged and condemned to crucifixion on a cross. This was the most cruel kind of death penalty at that time. Such a penalty was meant to be only for thieves and murderers. In this book, you will find out the reason why Jesus passed through these kinds of sufferings. You will find out, when Mary anointed Him, why He highly valued her act of pouring on Him what was most precious to her. At the same time, among His disciples, one would betray Him for thirty coins, another 5
would deny Him before a servant girl, and almost all the others would abandon Him at the most critical moment of His life. You will also understand why His death had to be on the day of Passover, and what is the relationship between this day and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. You will surely be impressed with the content of His prayer at Gethsemane, while His soul was deeply grieved and sad to the point of death. Even more, you will find out what was the greatest suffering of Jesus. We hope the reading of this book may change your life, increase your fellowship with the Lord, and help you to no longer live for yourself, but for Him who died for us and rose again (2 Cor. 5:15). May you be part of the fruit of His suffering as Isaiah also prophesied: “He shall see [the fruit] of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isa. 53:11 ASV). Enjoy! São Paulo, August, 2009 The editors
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Chapter 1
The Birth, Life, and Ministry of Jesus Scripture reading: Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 6:9-13; 13:24; 16:18-19; 24:14 The death of Jesus is a great mystery. This is revealed in the whole Bible. It was prophesied in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the New Testament, and it will remain as a memorial through all eternity (Isa. 53:3-12; 1 Cor. 15:3; Rev. 22:1). Although His death was determined by the Father from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), Jesus spontaneously laid His life down on our behalf (John 10:18). As the Lamb of God, He was wounded and slain, and by His death, we have the redemption of our sins (Eph. 1:7). Moreover, His death required many sufferings. It is difficult for us to understand such sufferings. However, these had the goal, not only to save us from our sins, but even more, to save us completely and bring us into His kingdom and glory (1 Pet. 1:10-11). His death was not common, for Jesus was not a common 7
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person. He was both God and man. First, let us see something about His birth, life and ministry.
Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah “But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain” (Rev. 5:5-6a). The Lord Jesus is God. He became a man. He came to the earth and His ministry was to establish the kingdom of the heavens. Matthew starts his gospel saying, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). God had promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation; a great kingdom (Gen. 12:2). The Lord Jesus, the son of Abraham, came to the earth to be the King of the kingdom of the heavens. Besides that, in order to show that Jesus was a king, Matthew put in His genealogy that He was the son of David, a king from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of kingship (Matt. 1:2; see also Gen. 49:9-10). The Lord Jesus came from Judah (Heb. 7:14) and was called “The Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5).
Jesus is God with Us “ ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, 8
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‘God with us’ ” (Matt. 1:23). Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of Mary (Matt. 1:18). His conception established that He was the Son of God, who became a man to be God with us, the Immanuel (v. 23). Through Him, not only God could be with men, but also the divine nature could be added to the human nature. Moreover, He lived on the earth and passed through many sufferings in order to experience human living. Hence, He can sympathize with our weaknesses, for in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted (Heb. 2:18; 4:15). Through Jesus, God came to be with us so that men might also be with God. According to the determination and the purpose of God, He was baptized by John the Baptist, His predecessor. John the Baptist also preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matt. 3:2, 15-16). After He was baptized by John the Baptist, the Spirit of God descended like a dove, alighting upon Him. From this time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (4:17). He called a group of disciples to be with Him in order to fulfil His commission (vv. 18-22). Through them, many came to believe when they heard the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom (vv. 23-25). Among the many disciples who followed Him, Jesus chose twelve whom He also named apostles, which means sent ones. He sent them to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and to propagate (Matt. 10:1-5, 7; Luke 6:13). Before He sent them to preach the gospel of the kingdom and to fulfil their commission, the Lord showed them how the nature of the people of the kingdom should be. He taught them how to live and how to behave accordingly. In the gospel of Matthew, 9
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from chapters five to seven, the Lord Jesus went up on a mountain and started to teach His disciples about the pattern of the kingdom of heaven. If we endeavour to practice these words, our daily living will be according to the pattern of the kingdom (cf. Matt. 7:24).
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ ” (Matt. 16:16). The Lord Jesus used many different situations to teach the disciples. He used parables to speak about the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens (13:1-53). The explanation and revelation of these parables can be seen when we compare them with the letters written to the seven churches in the book of Revelation (Rev. 2-3). In Matthew 16, we see two great mysteries being revealed (Eph. 5:32). First, the Father revealed His mystery to Peter: Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 16). Then, Christ Himself revealed the church, which is His mystery, as we read in verse 18: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The word rock in Greek is petra, which means ‘a (mass of) rock’. Peter, as a stone, would be built upon the rock, which is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). We, who believe in the Lord also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, as we read, “Coming to Him [Christ] as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to 10
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God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:4-5). These verses refer to the building up of the Lord Jesus as the living stone, the cornerstone (v. 6), and of us as the living stones, being built upon Him, the foundation. As God’s life and nature grows in us, the church is built. The church is the gathering of the ones saved by grace and regenerated by the divine life. Moreover, the church has the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:19). This shows us that whatever the church, by its authority, binds or looses on earth, these are also bound or loosed in heaven. It is certain that the kingdom of heaven will only be manifested in the next age. However, the Lord is training us today in the church life. He wants us to have a living worthy of the kingdom of heaven. In this way, we will then enter its manifestation.
He Must Go and Suffer “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things [...] and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Matt. 16:21). After the Lord revealed the church, He began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day (Matt. 16:21). But until that day arrived, the Lord kept giving many teachings regarding the kingdom of the heavens to the disciples. When the time had come for Him, He set His face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). He knew that He had to die and be resurrected. As a grain of wheat dies when it falls into the ground in order to produce many grains, He also would release His divine 11
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life to many people. They would then gather as His Body, the church. There, they would be helped to grow in life by denying the soul-life in order to live the reality of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:24-28).
Whoever Desires to Follow Jesus “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me’ ” (Matt. 16:24). The above Biblical text shows that to follow the Lord is the most important point in living the church life adequately. The Lord did not emphasize the matter of the ground of the church, its meetings, or its administration. Neither did He mention the truths regarding the church as His Body. He, on the contrary, pointed out that the main aspect in the building up of the church is to deny the soul-life. Although all those subjects and truths mentioned above are truly relevant, the most important thing in living the church life is to deny the soul-life. To deny yourself means to deny your own opinion in order to fulfil God’s desire. If we want to follow the Lord and live the church life, we need to deny ourselves. We cannot use our opinion in the church. Many want to serve the Lord and build up the church, but according to their own way and their own ideas, trying to impose their opinions, acting in the same principle as Cain (Gen. 4:8-16). We can see that from the time of Genesis and throughout the Bible, the offerings and services that had their origin in the soullife of men were never accepted by God. In order to build up the church, we need to deny our 12
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soul-life, our opinions, our old way of life, and to be in spirit where the Spirit of God dwells. The Lord Jesus emphasized that to deny our soul-life is our responsibility when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me” (Matt 16:24). When we decide to follow Him, we will eventually save our soul, which will result in complete salvation. However, if we do not deny our soul-life, we will compromise the process of our salvation, as we read in verse 25: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” If we do our part, denying our soullife, we will receive complete salvation. This includes the salvation of our spirit when we believed in the Lord, the salvation of our soul, which is happening today, and the salvation of our body. When the Lord comes back, we will be transfigured. In Matthew 16:26 we read, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” In the past we use to apply this verse only concerning the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. It is certain that we should not lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, but in heaven (Matt. 6:19-20). But we gained more light from the Lord regarding this verse. We need to overcome not only our love for the things of the world and its deceitfulness, but also our soul-life (cf. 16:24-25). Even when we go out to preach the gospel, when we go out wanting all the people of the world to receive the gospel of the kingdom, we cannot do a work based on our soullife. Our heart must be one with the leading of the Spirit. Otherwise, we will be following the pattern of Cain. If this 13
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is the case, maybe we will gain the whole world, but we will be lost or destroy ourselves, losing therefore the salvation of our soul (cf. Luke 9:25).
Jesus in Jerusalem “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!� (Matt. 23:37). When the Lord entered Jerusalem, the first thing He did was to purify the temple which was transformed into a den of thieves by the merchants and the money changers (Matt. 21:12-13). He was examined and tested by the chief priests, the elders of the people, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and at last He was confirmed as the paschal Lamb, for in Him was found neither defect nor blemish. Indeed, the Lord Jesus was totally qualified to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Matt. 22:46; cf. Exod. 12:3, 5-6). The Lord spoke also directly to the scribes and the Pharisees showing them their condition. He expressed His dissatisfaction towards them. He used this fact to warn His disciples to not follow their works (Matt. 23:3). He also showed them that whoever wants to be great in the kingdom of the heavens should serve the others (vv. 11-12). Moreover, as followers of the Lord, they should help the brothers, opening to them the way to enter the kingdom of heaven, and not shutting it like the scribes and 14
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Pharisees did (v. 13). After saying this, as He was rejected by the Jews, the Lord abandoned them, leaving the house of Israel desolate (v. 38). He said to them, “You shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’ ” (v. 39). After these words, in chapter twenty-four the disciples started to show the Lord the buildings of the temple which they admired (Matt. 24:1). But He spoke to them, warning them about the future of the buildings. Even though it took forty-six years to build them (cf. John 2:20) and it was a very great and beautiful temple, not one stone would be left there upon another that would not be thrown down (Matt. 24:2). The disciples then asked Him about when would these things be, and what would be the sign of the Lord’s coming, and of the end of the age (v. 3). The Lord warned them to take heed that no one would deceive them. He showed them all the things that would happen before His coming. He affirmed that before the end, the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations (vv. 4-14). He also presented to them what will happen in the great tribulation and His coming on the clouds (vv. 15-31).
We Need to Grow and Mature “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left” (Matt. 24:40-41). The ‘two men’ or ‘two women’ mentioned in these verses refer to the living saints who will be in the field or at the mill 15
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when the Lord comes. When He comes, only the minority of the saints will be alive, for the majority will be asleep in the Lord, that is, dead, as is revealed in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 (v. 5; cf. 1 Thes. 4:13-14). Among this minority of the living ones, only some of them will be raptured. Under this light, we need to ask ourselves: What is the condition of those who will be raptured? Certainly, because of the fellowship with the Lord, they learned how to watch, how to live in spirit, and how to deny the soul-life. In this way, they allowed the divine life to grow in them and the divine nature to be added to their being. They became the overcomers! That’s why the first thing that will happen when the Lord comes is the rapture of the mature saints (Rev. 14:4). The ones left, however, are those who didn’t allow the life of God to grow in them, nor the divine nature to be added to them. They were left in the great tribulation. At the end, if they don’t become overcomers, they will be gathered at the end of that period to be judged in the Lord’s parousia (Rev. 14:14-16; cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). Based on these warnings, the Lord concluded the subject saying: “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matt 24:42). We don’t know in which day the Lord will come, but we should watch, waiting for Him. In verse 43 we read, “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.” The Lord used this illustration comparing His coming in the hidden aspect, to the coming of a thief, who will not tell when he will come. The Lord also did not say when He 16
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will come. He wants us to keep watch. In verse 44 He emphasizes, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” To be ready means to be prepared. This preparation is our growth in life, that is, our constant denying of our soul-life so that we may be filled with the life of God. This will allow the divine nature to be wrought in our human nature. This is how we should wait for the coming of the Lord, for if we do not prepare ourselves, we will be surprised by His coming.
The Beginning of Sorrows “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). Before He entered as a King into Jerusalem to be crucified and killed, the Lord Jesus went about all the cities and villages preaching the gospel of the kingdom (4:23; 9:35). This is the gospel the Spirit has commissioned us to preach today (3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 24:14). We were saved in our spirit when we believed in the Lord Jesus and received His redemption. The salvation of our body will happen in the second coming of the Lord when He will give us a resurrected body (John 3:5-6; Eph. 2:1; 1 Cor. 15:51-54). But in order to us to receive the complete salvation, we still need to be saved in our soul (1 Pet. 1:9). This depends on our cooperation in denying our soul-life (Matt. 16:24). To save his soul, Peter used all the situations where he was exposed in his natural being. When he denied himself, he was being purified by the sanctifying fire of the 17
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Spirit. All who deny their soul-life will be approved with praise at the Lord’s coming. They will enter into the glory of the millennial kingdom and will be worthy of reigning with the Lord. Hallelujah! (1 Pet. 1:7b; Matt. 25:21, 23) God prepared the kingdom of the heavens for men. That’s why we cannot lose our focus or forget about our goal. We should persevere in the burden the Spirit gave us of preaching the gospel of the kingdom. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be preceded by many tribulations and calamities that will fall upon the earth before the end of the days (Matt. 24:38). The Lord mentioned this to His disciples when they showed Him the buildings of the temple (v. 1). It was really beautiful and it took forty-six years to build it, but the Lord said that in one day it would be destroyed (cf. John 2:20). The disciples asked the Lord when these things would be, and what would be the sign of His coming, and of the end of the age (Matt. 24:3). Jesus answered and said to them, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (vv. 4-8). These happenings refer to the external calamities. In the following verses we see what is going to happen within men: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My 18
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name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (vv. 9-12). All these facts will take place because many will be discouraged and confused, and the love of many will grow cold. We, however, need to respond to the Lord’s warning and endure to the end in order to be saved from these happenings (v. 13). Then the Lord said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (v. 14). To preach the gospel of the kingdom must be our burden until the coming of the Lord Jesus. This will help us to endure firm until that day.
Life and Service “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Matt. 25:1). There are two things we must deal with in order to enter the kingdom of the heavens. One is related to life; the other is related to service (Matt. 25:1-30). The Lord Jesus will judge whether we will receive a reward or be disciplined according to these two aspects: our growth in life and our service. In chapter 25 of Matthew, the Lord wisely put the parable of the ten virgins which deals with the matter of life first, then the parable of the talents which deals with our service or our work. Regarding life, we should be as the wise virgins who took oil in their vessels with their lamps, 19
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that is, they have the Spirit in their soul as well as in their human spirit, indicated by the fact that they took oil in their vessels, not just in their lamps. In the parable of the talents related to service, we see that the Lord gave talents to all. Here, we should pay attention to the matter of trading the talent to at least double it (vv. 20-22). If the one that received one talent had traded his talent and given two to the Lord, he would have entered into the joy of the kingdom (vv. 26-30). This is a warning to us. If the Lord gave us a talent, He also gave us the capacity to trade it. We need to go out to preach the gospel of the kingdom in order to trade the talent we received. The Lord will only come back when this gospel of the kingdom has been preached to the whole world as a witness to all the nations (24:14). The one who received one talent hid it in the ground. When the Lord came to settle accounts, the Lord gave his talent to the one who had ten (25:27-28). This aspect also deserves our attention, for, if we are faithful to trade our talent until the Lord comes, besides the ones we received by trading, we will also receive the ones we didn’t trade. We cannot sit down and wait or act as if we were retired after we have traded the talents we have received. The authority we will receive in the kingdom will depend on how we trade our talents today. The Lord took the talent that was not traded from the wicked servant and gave it to the one who had ten (v. 28). We need to encourage one another to exercise our gifts and trade our talents for, the Lord told us that “to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away� (v. 29). 20
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The Judgment Seat of Christ “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10a). As the judgment begins at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17), in His second coming Christ will establish His judgement seat in the air to judge firstly His sons (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10). At the end of the great tribulation, the beast – which is the antichrist – and the false prophet will be cast alive into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:19-20). When the thousand years are completed, Satan and the nations deceived by him will be also cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (20:7-10). Finally, at God’s white throne, all the dead unbelievers will be judged according to their works and anyone not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire (vv. 12-15). The judgement of the believers, therefore, will be before the millennium. Each one will be judged according to what he has done, for He will reward each according to his works (Matt. 16:27). This is mainly related to how we denied our soul-life, and is not a matter of sins. That’s why we need to deny our soul-life today so that we may participate in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. To prepare us to enter the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord put us in the church. We are in the church life so that we may be perfected and may have the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today. This will happen through our growth in life and through the adding of the divine nature into us. When we deny the soul-life, the life of God has space to grow. While we are in the church 21
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life, the more we deny our soul-life, the more the life of God grows in us. Today, we are the many grains produced from the one grain that fell into the ground and died (John 12:24). As the Lord Jesus lived always denying Himself in order to do the will of the One who sent Him, today we must deny ourselves so that the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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