Matthew 5:1-12
Sermon on the Mount
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus Did Not Sin
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Luke 24:13-49
Jesus on the Road to Emmaus
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 18:31-34
Jesus Predicts His Death for a Third Time
31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem,and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
John 11:17-37
Jesus Comforts Lazarus' Sisters
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God,who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
For me, Jesus' life and death is full of paradoxes...He died, yet He lives forever...
I find a great paradox in His teaching of the Sermon on the Mount...Jesus looked at life differently than others, and He is Truth...He says it is blessed to be poor in spirit, it is blessed to mourn, it is blessed to be meek, it is blessed to be persecuted...Most of us would think that is not good to be poor in spirit, to be mourning, to be weak and meek, and to get insulted and persecuted...I expect that those listening to Him heard the paradox of His teachings as much then as we hear and read them paradoxes today...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this of God's paradoxical ways...He declared, "He loves the lost, the forgotten, the insignificant, the outcasts, the weak, and the broken...Where men say, 'lost,' He says, 'found'; where men say, 'condemned,' He says, 'redeemed'; where men say, 'no,' He says 'yes.'...Where men look with indifference or superiority, He looks with burning love, such as nowhere else is to be found...Where men say, 'contemptible!,' God cries, 'blessed.'"...
The paradox is much in Jesus, both in His life and in His death...He lived a life without sin...How can One live a life without sin?...And He conquered death...Yet, when we look and think about death -we think of grief, weeping, remorse, pain, and avoid it as much as we can...And we do weep over death...But this is normal...Even Jesus wept with the sisters of Lazarus...Jesus by weeping shows us that it is natural to weep over the death of a friend and to share in crying with others, as we lament their passing and moving on...This sharing of weeping together in these situations is good for us, or Jesus would not have done it, with those He LOVED...
Resurrection was and is something we cannot grasp and understand...Jesus said He is the resurrection and the life...Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them about His death three times...“We are going up to Jerusalem,and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled...He will be delivered over to the Gentiles...They will mock Him, insult Him and spit on Him; they will flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.”...But the Twelve did not understand what He had just said...The Disciples did not understand any of this...Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about...So when the actual resurrection happened to Jesus and He is on the road to Emmaus to see His Disciples, He talks to two of His followers...And as we read about Him talking to His followers, we get no indication that any of His Disciples were ready for His resurrection...They were more stunned with His death on the cross, and were not thinking about His new and glorified state that He is now in...In fact, the two on the road to Emmaus miss even in seeing that it is their Teacher and Master walking with them...This new and glorious state after death, that Jesus is now in, seems to be a little different...He is not quickly recognized to be His old earthly self...The two Emmaus-road disciples only later recognize Him when He breaks bread with them...
Jesus' Disciples did not take His resurrection as something common or ordinary...They too were surprised to see Him...While His Disciples were talking about Jesus with His two other Emmaus-road disciples, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”...His Disciples were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost...The Disciples were having trouble believing who and what they saw...Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?...Look at My hands and My feet...It is I Myself!...Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”...When Jesus had said this, He showed them His hands and feet...And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”...They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it in their presence...After His death, Jesus wanted something to eat...Jesus ate broiled fish after His death in His Disciples presence...He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”...Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures...He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem...You are witnesses of these things...I AM going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”...
Jesus' time on earth was almost up...Death had came to Jesus and the Disciples and over the next forty days would understand both life and death better...They would also understand eternity better...His Disciples would no longer view death, and the fear of death as they once had...They would come to see death as something completely different in how they thought of it before His death and resurrection...Jesus had conquered death...His Father was neither startled, frightened, or doubting that Jesus had came back from His death...