Sister Sharron Sunday School 3/29/15

Sister Sharron Sunday School 3/29/15

He that shall endure unto the end shall be saved.  Jesus is our perfect example.  What does it mean to endure?  To undergo hardship without giving in.  Continue in the same state, remain firm in suffering without yielding or giving in.

Pontius Pilate was a supreme judge under the emperor.  His job was to retain law and order.  He was the type that if he had any trouble with that, he would use brute force. 

Pontius Pilot is told in history to have committed suicide.  He was in trouble on an issue and fell on his own sword and took his life.  In one account, the Roman emperor preordered this suicide. 

The soldiers divided His garments and cast lots for a seamless robe. 

Luk 23:27  And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

Jesus had followers there; not just a few, there was a great company.  They were weeping and grieved with the whole situation. 

Luk 23:28  But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Jesus was the only one that could take away our sins.  We cannot take the sins of anyone else.  We know in part.

Luk 23:29  For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

Luk 23:30  Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

Luk 23:31  For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

Luk 23:32  And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.

Luk 23:33  And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Isa 53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

It was prophesied that He would be numbered with the transgressors.  He made intercession for them. 

I had a time in my life where I had the thought, “I will forgive you totally but there will be a day of reckoning.”  God spoke to my heart, “That is not the example that Jesus left.”  He didn’t say, “I forgive you but one day you will have to deal with my father.”  No, he said, “Father forgive them.”

It is only through God’s mercy that we can have this attitude.  If we are going to make it to heaven then it will take God. 

Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Luk 23:35  And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.

Luk 23:36  And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,

Luk 23:37  And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

Luk 23:38  And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

They had this written in several languages so that everyone there knew exactly who Jesus was. 

Luk 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

This man was looking for someone to bail him out.

Luk 23:40  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

Luk 23:41  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

Luk 23:42  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

Luk 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

This guilty man had a better understanding and a different heart than the other.  You can see that the fear of God had come upon him.  There are two different pictures of repentance here.  The one wanted to get out of his present distress and the other said, “I am guilty.” 

Sometimes people want to get saved because they want to just get out of their present trouble.  This other man said, “I am guilty.  Lord remember me.  I am not trying to get out of this present distress.  Remember me when you go to heaven.”

The second one had a fear of God.  The fear of God is a wonderful blessing.  He truly repented in a way that was acceptable to God.  He acknowledged Jesus as Lord. 

He said, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”  He was dying, God had to have given him some insight.  What faith he showed!  All of them were dying yet he said, “Remember me when…”

Luk 23:44  And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

Luk 23:45  And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

It was dark for three full hours.  We have to look past the hardship to what is ahead.  That is the true test of faith and enduring, if we look to what is ahead.

Joe 3:15  The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Mat 27:45  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Mat 27:47  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

Mat 27:48  And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

Mat 27:49  The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

Even in the darkness they held that unbelief and were in a mode of making fun of Jesus.  Even if we didn’t believe there would still be some of the “What if?” in our heart.  It is a sign of the great unbelief that can get a hold of souls. 

Mat 27:50  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Exo 26:31  And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:

Here we see that the veil of the original temple was 50 to 60 feet and was a finger’s width in thickness.  It was not just a single cloth but was made at least four inches.  It was so strong that two horses could not pull it apart.  Only God could have done what happened. 

What significance to us!  Before then, we had no access to God.  It was not only a miracle for the veil to be rent in two but it took the wall between the Gentiles and Jews it did away with it.  It did away with us having to go through a priest to get to God.  We can go to God.

It was a miracle because of the strength and the way it was made, it didn’t just come apart.  It was made strong and thick.  That didn’t even stir the ones that were tormenting Jesus and had done wrong by Him.  It did nothing.

When we get into sin there is no end.  I ended up in places where I never thought I would have gone. 

In the burial of Jesus they wrapped Him in linen.  Joseph was a rich man; people have the idea that riches are a detriment to our faith.  But riches can be used for God.  He had probably bought this for himself.  He had a tender heart.