SACRIFICED OR RESURRECTED JESUS

The disciples had walked with Jesus for over 3 years.  They had listened to His teachings, witnessed unbelievable miracles and now the end had come.  Just as He had warned the disciples, His mission was not to set up a Kingdom in this world but to become the sacrifice; the Lamb of God.  Matthew records that Jesus talked to them 3 times concerning His death, but always ended with the assurance of resurrection. 

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Matthew 17:22-23 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

Matthew 20:17-19 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

Just as Jesus had told them, the authorities led Him away, sentenced Him and crucified Him.  They watched Him die; the Lamb of God. They heard the thunder, saw the lightening and felt the great earthquake.  Perhaps they even saw the High Priest run out of the temple as the veil was torn in half, once again, giving all mankind access to the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies.  The women, who had followed him faithfully, looked on as a disciple named Joseph of Arimetha, claimed the body, wrapped it in linen, laid it in a tomb and sealed it with a stone.  They would be faithful; they would spread His teachings; they would continue to worship a Sacrificed Jesus.  But Jesus wanted to be so much more than just the sacrifice in their lives.  The sacrifice was just a means to bridge the broken relationship between God and man so that man could live a life full of power and abundance. 

His desire was and is to be worshiped as the Resurrected Jesus.

For 40 days, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared, talked and walked with the Disciples. Then it was time for Jesus to depart, but He was not leaving as the Sacrificed Jesus.  He wanted his disciples to see Him as the Resurrected Jesus who was sending back the Promise of His Holy Spirit so they could worship and live in Resurrection Power.  Acts 1:4-5 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  

Many have turned to Him in repentance, have accepted His forgiveness, had their sins washed away through baptism and may have even received the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as the disciples did on the Day of Pentecost, yet they continue to live a powerless life, serving a Sacrificed Jesus.  We trust Him as the substitute on the Cross for our sins then we leave Him in the tomb, when He wants to become the Resurrected Jesus in our lives.

  Acts 1:8 promises that we can live a resurrected, powerful life; “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  

 If you have not yet received the gift of the Holy Spirit, it is available and Jesus is waiting to fill your life totally with His power.  If you have received the Holy Spirit, allow it to become active in your life.  The price has been paid; your sins have been forgiven.  It is time to move forward from the Sacrificed Jesus and begin to live a life of power and abundance in the Resurrected Jesus.