Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 27 – 31
• Truly the depth of depravity of creation is felt by Jesus. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” What’s done to Him is awful. He’s been scourged…so Jesus is unbelievably wounded…and yet a Garrison gathers…only four soldiers or so would be required to prepare Him for crucifixion, but Matthew says a Garrison gathered around Him…many joined in on this…and here is the depth of depravity > none of them chose to see the innocence of Jesus…none of them cried out for mercy…
• None of them considered that He was just like them…a Man…none of them brought to mind that He was once a child, little and innocent. None of them considered His intense hurt or His intense need. None of them cared for His tears, or for His pain, or for His state of such great loss…I mean on display, right now, happening to Jesus…is the full brunt of the brutally blackness of heart that has become of man because of sin…
• Just a few weeks ago in Florida, this same numb brutality appeared in that a group of teenagers laughed and filmed with their phones as a man, Jamal Dunn (31), drowned…the video is ultra-disturbing…his body being found days later…
• They stripped Jesus and put a scarlet robe on Him. Kings and rulers wore this color because at that time it was very expensive…this was meant to be some sort of cruel irony…and Jesus looks down at His mangled skin that He wrapped Himself in and sees the scarlet…reminding Him of the offering required by man to bring to the sanctuary of God in Exodus 25, the thread used to make the tabernacle, the veil, the screen opening to the tabernacle, the breastplate of righteousness, the garments of ministry (Exodus 25, 26, 27 and 39).
• The Book of Leviticus speaks of scarlet being required as well as cedar wood and hyssop to cleanse a person or a home…He would think of Rahab who flew the scarlet cord in her window for the salvation of her family…all of these things would rush into His mind as they mocked Him with this color…and His own words would ring still true in this moment, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” (Isaiah 1:18)
• And so He accepts and embraces the display of the true condition of man…hopeless brutality…and they twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head…thorns which were not there from the beginning…only fruit and vines and creation profitable to us…but out of the ground came thorns after Adam sinned…
• And a reed they placed in His hand…kings hold scepters…instruments of great beauty and authority but a thin, week reed is given to Jesus to mock Him…to declare to Him that He is powerless…and then they bowed.
• This is a scene that fully encapsulates the loss that is resident in the hearts of all men…that in the presence of Jesus, a God who thought them, created them, loves them, has come for them, to save them, to bring right back … they mock and they abuse…even in the light of His great wounds, suffering and innocence. But pause the scene for just a minute…those that claim the presence of Jesus in your life…be careful that you do not go down the path of this blinded battalion.
• What do I mean by that…? You know the Word of God, you attend church and fellowship with the saints…but have you also fallen prey to your own heart in that this pattern shows up in your own life? First they put a false/fake robe of a king on Him…not to respect or fear Him…then they put a crown on Him but that crown is not of gold or silver (precious and perfect) but thorns (as marred as us/you)…In your mind, have you crowned God with the thought that His commandments hurt you…are burdensome to you? Are you in faith now that His commandments are…perfect and precious…?
• Then they gave Him a scepter to rule them but that scepter is weak, flimsy, loose, powerless…do you have a form of godliness…love God, believe His Word and yet your life pattern doesn’t walk in obedience to Him…having a form of godliness but denying its power…and finally, is that the Jesus you bow to…the one that His Word hurts you, His robe offends you and His scepter has no power over you? Watch out for this Christians…We ought to simply bow…He already had a robe…He already had a crown…He already had a scepter…they just refused to see…We ought to just bow > start there lest we be ourselves in danger of being lost to our own darkness…the Bible would call that self deceived.
Matthew Chapter 27 Verse 32
• A Roman cross in its entirety would weigh upwards of 300 pounds but this was probably only the crossbar which was probably around 100 pounds…at any rate, Jesus was so very weakened that He could not bear the weight and so Simon comes into the scene…now this is interesting. Mark tells us that Simon was the father of Rufus and Alexander and then Paul mentions Rufus “chosen in the Lord” in Romans 16. And so it could be that because of this interaction, Simon becomes a prominent early Christian…
Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 33 – 34
• Think about this…this is along a road entering into the city…how many times did Jesus pass by or near this place in His lifetime…haunting isn’t it…this place, in Latin it’s called “Calvary,” and being about to be crucified they tried to give Him something to numb the pain…but He refused.
Matthew Chapter 27 Verse 35
• He was crucified…for what? The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is a historical fact (Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, the Babylonian Talmud, Lucian of Samosata, Thallus, Julius Africanus, Mara Bar-Serapion (Syrian philosopher), Phlegon, Suetonius, even historical figures from the first century writing hostilities against Jesus like Celsus > How about this one…Your calendar! HA)…a Biblical truth…and anyone simply observing today, not a follower of Jesus, ask yourself…for what? He had done no evil. No accusation had been found adequate. No insult, no complaint, allegation, denunciation, indictment…no crimination had found pay dirt with Jesus…nothing stuck. As He was questioned, He needed no defense. As He was scourged, He offered no confession. As His betrayer came clean, again Jesus was pronounced pure…so why was He crucified. The only answer…the answer that in light of the facts makes any sense at all…He was crucified for you…
Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 36 – 44
• Humiliation at its peak, right in the middle of two condemned, the literal midst of the center of human depravity…I love what Guzik says, “God descended all the way down the ladder to save us.” There is nothing God would not do for you…You may think otherwise…that you’ve been praying, wanting, waiting asking for so long…but you have to realize what He’s already done. You pray and beg for a morsel when you are starving…when He has already provided fullness for you for the rest of your life…and even into eternal significance…
• Spurgoen said, “Nothing torments a man when in pain more than mockery.” They said to Him, “He saved others, Himself He cannot save.” True statement…if He had saved Himself, all of us would be lost…but His choice…Himself or you? You…
Matthew 27 vs 27-44
Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek
July 30, 2017 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Matthew 28 vs 1-20
August 27, 2017 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 1 – 2 • Mark tells us that they were bringing spices to anoint the body, why? Because no doubt Jesus had been prepared for burial in a hurry due to the Passover and because of the quickly approaching Sabbath, and so they went to finish the job (if you will). But Mark also tells us that as they went, they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone?” They have a real problem in that statement! • It’s estimated that the stone used to seal the tomb weighed a couple tons! Certainly too big for the Mary’s to displace! I mean, I suppose they could have been body builders! Working that crossfit there in the temple gym…but even if they were buff, that boulder wasn’t budging! That’s not all though. Matthew told us in the last chapter that the tomb was sealed…so not only who is going to have the strength to move the stone, but who is going to have the insanity to break the seal!? That would mean certain condemnation by the Roman and the Jewish authorities (who by the way are definitely still there guarding the tomb! – I mean, this IS the third day!). • What’s my point? Crazy obstructions, disincentives, interference! But get this, they’re discussing it on their way! And note this, they’ve gathered spices…they’ve bought them…they’re invested…and they’ve risen early and they’re carrying those spices…they’re putting in work! This is the point that I’m getting to…we read the Word and we hear clearly the direction of God…often contrary to our reason and even our own expectations…BUT…that stone is not their responsibility. Neither is the seal…and neither is the Roman Guard…their only responsibility is to get to Jesus! • When we went through Mark I made this statement and I’m just as thrilled to make it again today, faith is often the denial of senses, sight and sentiment (emotions) for the sake of scripture! Every awesomely miraculous thing in your life or ministry or break through in your marriage or work or whatever will come with this kind of hope in faith…that in order to get to the Lord, man the path seems to be so very difficult…go…you may just find the rock rolled away, the seal removed and the guard passive and paralyzed…and perhaps even an angel waiting for you (then your only problem will be, “how do you talk to an angel!?” HA!) • One last thing here, never under estimate the importance and power of simply being there. The ministry of presence! Look at what God does just because these chose to be there!! So very important… Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 3 – 8 • One simple question I have for you. A question I love to ask and the answer I LOVE to teach…Who raised Jesus from the dead? God? Jesus Himself? The Holy Spirit? If you answered any of those then you know what? You’re right! The Holy and Eternal and Mysterious Trinity…the Godhead Three in One is expressed explicitly in the resurrection of Jesus Christ! • Want to see?… this is so cool! God raised Jesus from the dead! Acts Chapter 13 Verses 29 and 30 say, “Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead.” • Ok, hold that truth and look at this…Romans Chapter 8 Verses 10 and 11 say, “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” So the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead! • Let’s complete the picture – because indeed the Bible is clear…Jesus raised Himself from the dead! John 2:19, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up!” And in John Chapter 10 verses 17 and 18 Jesus said, “My Father loves Me because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again!” • And so how is it that Jesus raised Himself, yet God raised Him, yet the Holy Spirit raised Him? Because indeed they are all One God! A clear and awesome testimony of the Trinity in the resurrection that I wanted to show to you! Mark it down, remember it! Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 9 – 10 • Notice these women immediately, their response to Jesus, seeing Him after He was dead and now is alive again…their response is to worship Him! That is it, man! Your response to meeting Jesus is not to now be right in every argument or to take up your sword and defend Him…that’s an un-risen Jesus! (Like Peter in the garden!) The natural response isn’t to harden or close down or whatever…the natural response if you’ve truly encountered Jesus ALIVE is WORSHIP! • And this is so cool…An hour ago they were walking in the thought that everything was lost…Jesus is dead…now they are filled with awe, joy and worship because they know everything is gained because Jesus is alive! • Continue the scene – watch this! Jesus receives their worship…and His response is legend! You’re with Me now…no more fear…Go, and tell My brethren! Never before, throughout all 28 chapters, had Jesus referred to His disciples as His brethren…they’d always been His children, His creation, His friends, His disciples…but now, because of what Jesus has done, we share in the very eternal inheritance of the Son of God…being hidden in Him…, (and what grace is this! You’d think they would expect rebuke!). One other cool revelation… • Back in Matthew Chapter 25 Jesus said in verse 40, “In that day the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” This statement by Jesus to these women…go and tell My brethren…the King has come and in that the Kingdom has come! Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 11 – 15 • So let me get this straight…while you were asleep, you saw the disciples come and steal the body? Hmmmm. Any of you remember what happened last night while you were asleep? Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 16 – 17 • Matthew doesn’t give us the account of Thomas in that Jesus welcomed him to physically experience the wound left from the spear that pierced through His heart and the punctures left from the nails in His hands…and so that could be what he is referring to here but the word in the Greek is interesting. Its distazo…this isn’t a doubt of unbelief necessarily but rather of unfamiliarity! • Thomas or even some of the other disciples felt distant (distazo) in a way…this was so different…this was so brand-new…the implications of the whole scene were intensely overwhelming! What does all of this mean? And so the disciples, even those closest to Jesus, in the midst of worship…listen it can feel distant that God has given His grace…it’s not deserved, you haven’t earned it, you can’t walk into worthiness for it…you just simply receive! Matthew Chapter 28 Verses 18 – 20 • All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth…such an anemic translation…look at the Greek in your own time…What Jesus says is what was due to Me has been delivered…Death has bowed, the Law has acknowledged, the enemy has been defeated and sin has surrendered…it is finished…therefore…go (you don’t need power or authority…I have all of that…your only responsibility…go) and make disciples. • How? How did Jesus make disciples? Baptizing them? He baptized no one…How did He make disciples then…? Loving them and teaching them the truth. Remember that disciples are made…they’re not spontaneous… And when you love His people like He loves them…well, that’s when I’m most catching up to Him…that’s when I see Him the most clearly…as He promised…I am with you always!
Matthew 27 vs 52-66
August 20, 2017 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 51 – 53 • Certainly one of the strangest couple of statements in all of scripture. We don’t really know anything more about this event because no one else mentions it at all. Not any other Gospel, not Paul, not Jude (even in the midst of the creepy stuff he talks about)! So all we can do is take it at face value and move on. Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 54 – 61 • I love this squad, this cast of characters. First, we have Matthew talking about a totally spooky scene…that the dead somehow come out of the graves…and although the timing of that is at the resurrection (which hasn’t happened yet), that eerie account actually goes well with this squad. Why? Because the rough and hardened soldier, the centurion comes to life. He joins women like Mary Magdalene, the formerly demon-possessed woman who followed Jesus from Galilee. Joseph of Arimathea… • According to Luke Chapter 23 he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the group who called for Jesus’ crucifixion AND he was a very wealthy man…hold that thought. His buddy Nicodemus, confused and confrontational, conflicted and cowardly, coming to Jesus under the cover of night so as to not be discovered in John Chapter 3…Jesus had repaired all of them! • Restored them all, settled all of them and in that peace and power, they are now all one association. It is amazing, simply amazing, that the power of the touch of Jesus on a heart will always manifest itself in people of all different types, backgrounds and bents becoming family. Gentile killer (the centurion), demon-possessed prostitute (Mary Magdalene), harsh religious elitist (Joseph of Arimathea) and even the fearful (Nicodemus)… • The body of Christ, like the body of Christ actually being the body, should be unifying! Look at this cast of characters! Proverbs 6 talks about things the Lord hates and among the list is one who sows discord among brethren. Do you think a week before the cross Joseph of Arimathea would have been anywhere near Mary Magdalene? But now they are rallied around what Jesus has done! • Divisiveness, negativity, ill will, insult and all the like is not permissible within the body of Christ. That’s just all there is to it. But know this…it is SO easy. You know what’s hard? Unifying…gluing…bringing crazy different freaky and fault-ful people together…but here’s the shocker, each of you has the ability, capability and power to do it…what you lack is the worship! • Here’s your task, starting tomorrow because I can bet that many can’t start today…because it’s already happened…but do this tomorrow…say nothing negative, nothing…, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (Oh church, have we forgotten that commandment? That love thy neighbor thing, yea I really meant that! HA!) And at the end of the day, put a little mark somewhere, perhaps on your fridge to show you did it…and then do it the next day and the next…in no time at all you know what will change drastically? YOU! • Your attitude, your mood, your mannerisms, your heart, man…if you’re not imparting grace then you are DEPARTING it when you divide the body…and division of the body begins in the abundance of our dark hearts and our mouths simply sell us out! • A story is told of a couple in marriage counseling and after months of session after session they just were getting nowhere…they just couldn’t see past each other’s shortcomings. It was so seemingly hopeless that they were heading for a split. And so the pastor told them look, one last thing to try, for the next 2 weeks I want you both to complement each other every day and for the next 2 weeks I want you to not say anything negative in front of or about each other. • Sincerely do this…they agreed and he sent them away…they never returned…they killed each other…HA! NO just kidding…they never returned to counseling! Their hearts slowly changed…healed…got back in line with the heart of God who said “Father, forgive them! They are SO in sin but they are SO in need!” Their hearts changed, their faces changed, their affections changed…and it all began with attacking their own divisive hearts! If you are divisive, defensive, negative, critical and condescending…that ain’t Jesus in you…He brings all kinds of creeps into communication and companionship and complete peace!! • Back to the scene. Jesus is buried and He is buried by Josepth of Arimathea, a rich man. Can you be wealthy and be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Absolutely! And here’s the thing…this guy wasn’t just wealthy, he was crazy rich! He had a tomb carved out of the side of a mountain! I mean, talk about a non-essential! BUT, notice when it came to the Lord, he gave it to Jesus! If you have a lot, if you are wealthy, is that a good thing? Well, is it yours or is it His? Ultimately rich or poor, a lot or a little, no difference to the Lord…I mean come on…you’re either filthy rich or dirt poor, HA! Pretty much the same thing…but do you honor the Lord with what you have…that’s the real question. Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 62 – 63 • Isn’t that just interesting!? Back in Chapter 26, the false accusations against Jesus, one of them was that He would destroy the temple of God and build it again in three days…and they all looked at Him sideways and ridiculed Him…well here it is…they knew the whole time what He was saying. Isn’t that just interesting…folks can hear, they can even understand, but the truth is, they choose not to believe Jesus…is that your heart towards Jesus? To you, is He just a deceiver!? WOW… • And notice this…look at their statement to Pilate…, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive…” What does that mean? He is dead. That’s important because there are numerous heretical thoughts out there including what’s called the “Swoon Theory” that ultimately attempt to explain away the resurrection…but listen, without the resurrection then all is lost…and the truth of the account is that even the enemies of Jesus admitted, stated, witnessed Him dead… • A funny letter was written to a Christian Magazine on this topic…Dear Eutychus: Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered • Dear Bewildered: Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Eutychus. HA!! Matthew Chapter 27 Verse 64 • They’re not afraid of the disciples! They had all scattered. They’re not afraid of the body of Jesus being stolen! If the body was stolen and the disciples began to proclaim that He had risen from the dead, what are they going to do? Prop Him up with strings Weekend at Bernie style!? Leave Him hidden!? No one would believe them! • He is risen? Where is He then? What they were really afraid of is what if Jesus is the Truth!? They were really afraid of Him doing exactly what He said He would do…and that fear…which is still prevalent today…there is no quenching it…seal all you want…guard all you want…If Jesus is the Savior then there’s nothing that can stop Him from fulfilling His Word! Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 65 – 66 • This isn’t Pilate sending them away empty handed…this is him giving them a guard…they did have a way to guard the tomb themselves and they wouldn’t need permission for that…they wanted a Roman guard…the threat of death…and they got it…which, in the end, served to only make that much more certain that God raised Himself from the grave! The tomb was so well guarded that it can be certain that the body wasn’t simply stolen…way to go chief priests…thank you! HA! • And I love this…the stone speaks of a material obstacle…the seal speaks of a personal obstacle…the guard speaks of a societal, governmental obstacle…but nothing, nothing can contain or constrict the power of the Lord!
Matthew 27 vs 45-51
August 13, 2017 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 45 – 46 • We know from Mark Chapter 15 that Jesus was crucified around 9am. The sixth hour would be noon and so in total, Jesus was on the cross for 6 hours, from 9am to 3pm. Now, from 12pm noon (the sixth hour) to 3pm (the ninth hour) there was darkness over all the land. The word in the Greek for “darkenss” is skotos and it means darkness of night or darkness of sight. This is interesting…I’ve said this before and I continue to find this to be even more true Bible study time after Bible study time again…I think we, I, us, men, women, in totality have only begun to see and understand what happened at the cross of Calvary. • Hold the thought of darkness of blindness just for a moment…for three hours, the earth, in the Greek – the entire earth – lay under complete, spiritual and physical blindness…and at the ninth hour (3pm), Jesus cries out with a loud voice, “My God, My God.” Never before had He referred to the Father as “My God.” It was always, “Abba,” or Father…Daddy…but here, in this thickness of darkness, Jesus erupts…after three hours of silence…three hours of darkness…a voice is heard of a Son that is lost. What on earth happened? What in heaven happened? • John Chapter 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In the arche the beginning without beginning…the infinite, the eternal now…always was…always was this way…the Word, the Logos, the Word that became flesh, Jesus the Son was with God, God the Father and the Word WAS God. Somehow One. Somehow there is and was distinction of Personhood and yet at the same time, Oneness of unity. Always was this way, from the beginning without beginning. • And the Word, still in perfect unity with the Father, became flesh and dwelt among men. Perfect Son and Perfect Father in Perfect Oneness just as had been ever since ever…but Jesus had a job to do. For the Father so loved the world that He sent His only Son to secure for His creation, salvation unto eternal life. To lead the coup against sin, man’s ever present patriarch and to overthrow the power of sin, the right and reign of sin….which is death. • 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that this Perfect Son, this Jesus the Christ of creation, “For our sake He who knew no sin was made to be sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” And so the weight, the whole, the consummation, the complete kingdom of sin was present at the cross as Jesus faced the penalty of sin…death…and yet was without sin Himself. The substance of sin met face to face with the glory of God, (check this out, man) hidden from the eyes of man as darkness was upon the earth and as Jesus accepted the penalty of sin, in that acceptance, He accepted the responsibly, the liability, the culpability, the ownership for every sin as well…He who knew no sin, became sin. • And He cries out for the first time in all of eternity, never before anything like this from the arche and never again will there ever be…He cries out in the greatest of loss…, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” What happened? Jesus was forsaken. Why? Psalm 22, begins with this prophetic proclamation, and goes on to say, “It is because You are holy,” and Habakkuk 1:13 and Isaiah 59:1 both announce, “You of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.” • Darkness fell upon all the earth. Blindness. Here is a depth of glimpse perhaps further today than before at that cross on the hillside. All men forsook Him. All men, all women, all creation, all the earth, covered with darkness of blindness. Jesus disappeared, He became nothing to all of creation…and for a moment in time, as sin charged the very heart of the Savior and the confrontational convergence caused even the earth to quake, the Father in complete and undefiled holiness, withdrew Himself from His Son and Jesus became nothing to all of heaven and nothing to His Father. Never before and never will there be someone so alone in all of eternity…and Jesus is broken. Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 47 – 50 • Jesus made seven statements while on the cross. “Father forgive them, for they know now what they do.” “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” “Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother.” “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” “I thirst.” “It is finished!” “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” • Matthew gives us only one statement and its crazy, some of those who stood there thought He was calling for Elijah!? What He did was quote Psalm 22. What He said was Eloi Eloi, not Elijah, Elijah…but some standing by never get past one word…I mean He said, “Why have You forsaken Me?” Not, “Come to save Me!” So they get the message all wrong. They miss the meaning completely. They miss everything really! • Maybe for some but not for me and man I pray not for you either, this simply will not do. There are so many talking heads out there and especially in the “church” that have position or power or some sort of jurisdictional force because of their name and I respect that, they’ve been running this race, but one word from Jesus? Half heard. Can’t do it man. I’m going in. I am going in to see Jesus, myself. And here’s the thing…the dangerous thing in that…I’ve got to have the non-stupidity to do it comprehensively and thoroughly. • God help our younger generations and any folks for that matter who have been disenchanted with the church or organized fellowship and so they take it upon themselves to doctrinally go it alone…WAY MORE WORK…no direction, guidance, authority or corrector in their lives? They have to put in work or they will be tossed around by all sorts of half truths and junk theology…and end up graceless…most likely towards the Body of Christ…no NEED to say, “Father forgive them…” • Many end up holiless! (New word!) Their lives won’t resemble paradise as promised by Jesus in John 10, caring for themselves intensely because man they’re just always trying to recover…feeling forsaken at times…thirsting…and never coming to the peace that is there when sin is finished and living in the constant spiritual presence of God because you’re actually like Jesus but, “oh man that’s just legalism,”…that statement is a mess…one word won’t do…I’m going in…I’m going thoroughly after every word! • And you know what I’ve found? That love does win. Love is everything and all of God. And I’ve found that THAT love is only found in relationship…a relationship that I have a part in and my part is humility and brokenness. Believing from WITHIN Jesus. • So are the reformed folks right? No. Are the legalists right? No. Are the bad pastors and bad churches right? No. Are the good churches and good pastors right? No. There is no one right, not one upon this earth. Jesus alone is right. But love is His way. Forsaking of Himself is His path and passage. Love and courage and honesty and humility is His and the truth. And believing from within Him, thoroughly going in is where there is life! So many live and stake their claim on one word…just like these around Jesus…but you heard wrong… Matthew Chapter 27 Verse 51 • Can you imagine the priests and the people in the temple that day? No one could see or go behind the veil or they’d be goners…only once a year could the high priest go alone and that was a gamble! Now the veil rips and they are essentially in! There is no room separation anymore! They see it all! Terror must have flooded their hearts…then after a moment or two…, “Hey, we’re not dead!” And perhaps a few moments later…well, there’s really no reason now for the high priest to do his thing again…we’re all in now…It’s like it’s finished…the covering of sin…the lawful appeasing of God year after year…what now then? • Everything else pauses, all talking heads muted, time for everything to stop…no more figuring out, no more condemnation of self, no more exaltation of self, no more darkness, no more thirst, no more trying to recover, no more feeling forsaken…press stop on all that noise…it’s all finished because of Jesus…and you, you’re welcomed, acceptable, adequate, admissible…so…go in. You’re world may shake and the rocks you’ve set up as foundational stones may split…so be it…that’s a good thing…what if you heard wrong? • In a moment, on the cross, God the Father went from Dad (Abba) to God for Jesus so that for all of eternity, He could go from God to Abba (Dad/Father) for you…