They came to His place of prayer to arrest Jesus. He did not show any evidence of guilt in the way He reacted. When the armed mob approached Jesus, He did not try to escape. Instead, He stepped forward, and His captors fell backward in fear (John 18:6). When Peter defended Him with a sword, Jesus stopped and rebuked him (John 18:10-11). Then, Jesus healed the man whose ear Peter had cut off (Luke 22:50-51). Jesus would not quit doing good to those who hated Him! At His trial by Jewish religious leaders, false witnesses attempted to convict Jesus of wrongdoing, but their accusations did not agree (Mark 14:55-59). Finally, the ultimate question was put to Jesus. He freely answered it, confessing that He was the Christ, the Son of God (Matthew 26:63-64). That was enough for the high priest. The court made no attempt to hear evidence in support of the claim Jesus had made. Their decision was immediate: “He is deserving of death” (Matthew 26:66). It was not the testimony of false witnesses, but His own confession that brought the wrath of the religious court down upon Jesus. Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, later came and told the religious leaders, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). The Roman governor Pilate also repeatedly declared that he found no fault in Jesus. Herod examined Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate uncondemned. Pilate’s own wife believed Jesus was innocent, and she tried to persuade her husband not

“…I have a question in my mind that if Jesus Christ was the Son of God, incarnation of God, why He was crucified. People would cure from the diseases by getting the mere touch of Him. He emancipated many persons from troubles and miseries. How He was crucified? Was the king mighty [mightier] than Him? Why Jesus not showed any miracle at that time? — J.N. (New Delhi, India) These are very important questions. What does the Bible say about the reason Jesus died? Did Jesus Desire to Die? Jesus was the Son of God, but He was also human like you and me. He did not desire to suffer the agony of being whipped by Roman soldiers. He did not desire the torture of being nailed to a cross and left there to die. It was a bitter “cup” for Him to drink. In the night before His death, Jesus prayed, “‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:42-44). He “…offered up prayers and supplications [earnest requests] with vehement [strong] cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death…” (Hebrews 5:7). Jesus did not enjoy suffering, but He chose to obey the will of God and “endured the cross”

A person “sins” when he disobeys any law of God: “sin is lawlessness”(1 John 3:4). To every mentally developed person, God has given a limited knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-24). God has also revealed His law in its completed form in the Bible. The Old Testament portion of the Bible was God’s law for Israel until Jesus died on the cross. The New Testament portion of the Bible is now God’s law for all people (Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 9:15-17). A person sins when he disobeys the basic knowledge of good and evil, and he sins when he disobeys the laws of God written in the New Testament. To “tempt” means to test or to examine. James writes, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:13-15). This passage shows us that temptations come to us through our desires. Some desires are sinful in themselves. For example, the desire to take a person’s life is an evil desire. Other desires are not sinful in themselves. God created humans with several kinds of natural desires. For example, the desire for food and the desire for a mate are not evil desires in themselves. These

Can you imagine yourself in Stephen’s situation? From among the thousands of Christians in the city, the Christians in Jerusalem had chosen him and six other men to serve in a very special way (Acts 6:1-6). The apostles themselves had appointed him to his new work as one of the deacons. Along with the other six men, it was his responsibility to supply food to poor widows every day; and he had to be careful to do it in a way that was fair for all of them. His faithfulness in this work helped lighten the load of responsibilities that the apostles were carrying. It helped them give their full attention to teaching and preaching the Word of God. As a result, many more people were led to Christ (Acts 6:7). Now, the enemies of the truth were throwing stones at Stephen (Acts 7:57-59). The pain was terrible, and death was near. He had served God well in relieving the suffering of other people, but God did not choose to spare Stephen from suffering and death at the hands of these wicked men. It is reported that an atheist once asked a Christian, “If there is a God, why didn’t He help Stephen when his enemies stoned him to death?” The Christian replied, “God did help Stephen—by giving him the grace to pray for his murderers.” The Lord does not promise to totally protect Christians from all problems and pains on earth. Sometimes, He does remove the trouble, and yet,

The religious leaders had worked very hard to have Jesus executed by the Roman government. He was finally in the tomb, and they were determined to keep Him there. With the permission of the Roman governor Pilate, the enemies of Jesus sealed His tomb and placed soldiers there to guard it. However, early on the first day of the week, some of those soldiers came to the religious leaders and disturbed them with the “bad news” that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. The leaders quickly decided to try to cover up the truth by giving the soldiers a bribe. They “…gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, ‘Tell them, “His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.” And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.’ So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day” (Matthew 28:12-15). The religious leaders could not keep the tomb of Jesus sealed and occupied. So, they tried to seal the lips of the soldiers. Notice how ridiculous their “cover-up story” was. There was no dispute at all concerning the fact that Jesus of Nazareth actually lived, that He died on the cross and that His tomb became empty. Even the bitter enemies of Jesus did not deny these facts. Instead, those enemies tried to explain how His tomb became empty. Their ridiculous “cover-up story”

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth with a very surprising message for a young virgin named Mary. She would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God! After the Bible was written, two prominent false teachings arose about the virginity of Mary. One false teaching says Mary was not a virgin when Jesus was born. This teaching claims she had physical relations with a man and conceived by him. However, the Bible clearly teaches that Mary was still a virgin when Jesus was born. Matthew says that a prophecy, which we find in Isaiah 7:14, was fulfilled in Mary. “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23). Through a dream, an angel told Joseph that the child within Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-21). Joseph believed that message. He refrained from (avoided) physical union with Mary and let her remain a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. Joseph “…did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matthew 1:25). If a person denies the virgin birth of Jesus, he has denied that Jesus is the Son of God. That would be a denial of the foundational fact of Christianity (Matthew 16:15-18). Another false teaching

Jesus suffered the agony and humiliation of public execution at “a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull” (Matthew 27:33). The religious leaders had labeled Him as an enemy of Moses. The civil government, by consenting to the crucifixion, had labeled Him an enemy of Rome. After the nails were driven through His flesh and He had been raised high above the crowd, Jesus pleaded, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). If Jesus of Nazareth had been an impostor, the crucifixion would surely have exposed that fact. The agony of the cross revealed His true character and grace. Instead of retaliating, He appealed to His Father to pardon His murderers. The execution, which His enemies had hoped would end His influence, became the very means by which He draws people unto Himself  even today (John 12:32). In the early days of His ministry, Jesus preached a sermon in which He had said, “…pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Through the cross, we can see that those were not empty words. The message He preached on that mountain in Galilee, He practiced on mount Calvary. If our Lord could forgive His persecutors in the very midst of His agony, can we be excused for bearing grudges and bitterness over the small abuses which come our way?

Question: “What are the differences between the teachings of Old Testament and the teachings of New Testament?” The basic meaning of the word “testament” in the Bible is “covenant” or “contract.” The first 39 books of the Bible are commonly called The Old Testament. The first book of the 39 books teaches us about God creating the world, man’s early history and the beginning of the nation of Israel. The remaining 38 books of the Old Testament primarily teach us about God’s covenant with the nation of Israel and about Israel’s history during the time of that first covenant. The last 27 books of the Bible are commonly called The New Testament. The first four of these books teach us about the birth and earthly work of Jesus Christ. He revealed the New Covenant, which is God’s covenant for people of all nations today. The remaining 23 books of the New Testament teach us about people obeying the Gospel and living according to the new covenant. There are many differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The following comparison can help us see some of the differences. Old Covenant New Covenant

Jesus told us to be humble (Matthew 23:12). Did He practice what He preached? Consider some examples from His life. He left the glory of Heaven to come to Earth. Jesus had the very best home, the ultimate “comfort zone”! Yet, He left it for us. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men”(Philippians 2:5-7). Can you leave your “comfort zone” to serve God? Who provided your “comfort zone” (James 1:17)? He chose a lowly birth. He was not born in a king’s palace but in a stable, and He was laid in a manger (Luke 2:1-7). He was born into a poor family, and He had to help them by working as a carpenter (Mark 6:3). Do you envy other people who have more things or more expensive things than you? He obeyed His parents during His childhood. He “was subject to them” (Luke2:51). Is it always easy to obey your parents and honor them? Obeying your parents “in the Lord” is always right, and it is pleasing to God (Colossians 3:20; Ephesians 6:1-3). He did not seek riches, houses and land. He warned one man who wanted to follow Him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”

We often see religious leaders wearing such titles as “Reverend,” “Right Reverend” or “Father.” Is this practice in harmony with the teachings of the Bible? The word “reverend” is found only once in the King James Version of the Bible. The psalmist glorified God by saying, “…holy and reverend is His name” (Psalm 111:9). The word “reverend” in that verse means that the name of God is worthy of respect, fear and awe. The New King James Version translates it, “…holy and awesome is His name.” “Reverend” is never used in the Bible as a title for a mere human. The scribes and Pharisees loved religious titles. Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees for loving the “…greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’” “Rabbi” meant “Teacher” or “Master.” They loved to wear that term as an exalting title. Jesus continued by warning His disciples, “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (Matthew 23:7-8). All who are truly Christians are equal with each other as brothers and sisters. No Christian should desire a religious title that exalts him or her above any other Christian. It should be enough of an honor to wear the name “Christian.” Jesus forbid using “Father” as a religious title. “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). This command is very clear. Yet, many people use “Father” as a religious

Some people claim that Christ will return to earth to set up His kingdom and begin reigning on earth. However, they overlook one important fact: He set up His kingdom long ago. He has already been reigning almost two thousand years! In Mark 9:1, Jesus told His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” Jesus clearly told them that the kingdom would come very soon within the lifetime of some of the people who were standing there. Later, all of those people died, and they’ve been dead for many centuries. So, the coming of the kingdom cannot be a future event. In Colossians 1:13, Paul said this about God: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” This clearly shows that the kingdom of Christ had already been established before Paul wrote Colossians. In the first century, he and every Christian had already been “conveyed” (transferred) into the kingdom of Christ. Therefore, we know that the kingdom came soon after the words of Jesus in Mark 9:1, and before the words of Paul in Colossians 1:13. Every person who obeys the Gospel becomes a citizen of His kingdom (Philippians 3:20), a member of His body, the church (Colossians 1:18; Galatians 3:26-27). There is no need to guess when the kingdom of Christ came. Acts 2 shows that the kingdom

Infants and little children have no sins (Ezekiel 18:20; Matthew 18:1-4; 19:14). They are not able to understandthe differences between right and wrong, good and evil. As each person grows older, a time comes when he or she begins to understand right and wrong. When a person chooses to do what is wrong (what is against the will of God), he “sins.” There is no man or woman on earth who has lived a totally sinless life. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin separates us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Unless the guilt of a man’s sins is removed while he is living on earth, his soul will suffer eternal punishment and separation from God forever (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48). The Bible uses the word “death” to describe this punishment. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God wants us to be free from sin so we can have fellowship with Him. No man can remove his own sins. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ lived a

What happens when a person dies? On day six of creation, “…the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Death occurs when the “soul” or the “spirit” of a person leaves his body. “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). When Rachel was dying, the Bible says, “her soul was departing” (Genesis 35:18). James tells us very simply that “the body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26). After death, every soul goes to the waiting place called “Hades.” It has two parts: (1) a place of comfort for those who are saved, and (2) a place of suffering for those who are lost. The souls of righteous people go to the comfortable waiting place in Hades. Jesus told about a beggar named Lazarus who died “and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). He went to a place where he would enjoy close companionship with Abraham. Also, Luke 23:39-43 tells us about two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. After one of them repented, Jesus told him, “…today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43; see Acts 2:27, 31). The word “paradise” means “royal park” or “garden.” These verses show that the souls of righteous people go to a pleasant waiting place at death. The souls of sinful

One of the most vicious enemies of Jesus was Saul of Tarsus. He severely persecuted the church in Jerusalem and scattered it (Acts 8:1-4). Then, he pursued Christians to other cities, hoping to exterminate their faith (Acts 26:11). He also “…went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues [Jewish places of worship] of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2). However, the message which Saul actually delivered to the synagogues in Damascus was very different from the message he had planned: “…he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20)! What changed Saul’s mind and message? On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to him in a bright light, and he fell to the ground. After Jesus spoke to him, Saul stood up, opened his eyes and could not see. With the help of his companions, he went into Damascus. In that city, he did not see, eat or drink for three days—but he did pray (Acts 9:3-9, 11). Later, in his letters, he included himself with all “saved” people (1 Timothy 1:15-16; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Titus 3:5). So, where was Saul when he was saved? Many people teach that Saul was saved “by faith only” during that great event on the road to Damascus. One preacher even declared that Saul was saved as he was falling off his horse, before he hit the ground! However, the Bible does not mention a horse at all. In fact, Paul and the others

Jesus of Nazareth was not a mythical, fictional character created by men’s imagination. He was a real person like you and me. He was born about 4 B.C. and died about A.D. 29, according to the Gregorian calendar, which is widely used today. Was He merely an outstanding man? Or, was He more than a man? Consider the abundant evidence that Jesus was – and is – the Christ, the Son of God. I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, because of the prophecies. All of the Old Testament was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. It contains more than 300 prophecies about the coming “Messiah” (Hebrew language) or “Christ” (Greek), which means “anointed One.” It foretold things He would do and things His enemies would do to Him. When Jesus was on earth, there were copies of the Old Testament books in synagogues throughout the land of Israel. For example, the synagogue in Nazareth had a copy of Isaiah (Luke 4:16-21; Acts 8:28). Also, on a remote plateau near the Dead Sea, devout Jews at Qumran were busy preserving copies and making more copies of Old Testament books and other documents. Israel was literally full of copies of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. So, when Jesus came to earth, He did not need to carry a “passport.” The documents to show His identity had been sent on ahead! Between A.D. 1946 and 1956, hundreds of Old Testament scrolls were found in caves near