Partakers Christian Podcasts

Investigating Jesus Part 34 Jesus’ Last Night: Jesus plans (Luke 22) A lot of businesses and a lot of churches have mission statements. Here we have what is clearly Jesus’ Mission statement and after 3 years of ministry from that point, Jesus has preached the good news of God’s salvation. He has healed the sick. He will release the oppressed by his death on the cross. His mission will be fulfilled at the cross. Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles were the three most important feasts in the Jewish calendar (Leviticus 21). All Jewish men were expected to visit Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). The Feast of Passover was to commemorate the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and it was a time for remembering and rejoicing (Exodus 11-12). In Luke 22, we come to Jesus’ last night before he goes to that cross. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

Partakers Prayers - A prayer of Patrick (c389 - 461AD)   We pray together and when Christians pray together, from different nations, different churches and different denominations - that reveals Church unity! Come! Let us pray together!   Our God, God of all people! God of heaven and earth, seas and rivers, God of sun and moon, of all the stars, God of high mountain and lowly valley, God over heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven. ~~~~~~ He has a dwelling in heaven and earth and sea and in all things that are in them. He inspires all things, he quickens all things. He is over all things, he supports all things. ~~~~~~ He makes the light of the sun to shine, He surrounds the moon and the stars, He has made wells in the arid earth, Placed dry islands in the sea. ~~~~~~ He has a Son co-eternal with himself... And the Holy Spirit breathes in them; Not separate are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.   Amen   Right mouse click or tap here to save this Podcast in MP3. Click on the ap

Investigating Jesus Part 33 Jesus’ Last Prayer: Jesus prays for all disciples (John 17:20-26) Now Jesus prays for all those who, through the work of the disciples, will become his followers. As such, it brings all Christian disciples into intimacy with Jesus and a part of a dynamic relationship with Him. What does Jesus pray for his church of followers? Jesus prays for unity. That is unity is on various levels. Firstly, it is unity on the invisible, supernatural level (John 17:21-22). The life of all Christian disciples is inextricably linked to each other, through the love and obedience of God the Son and God the Father. Christian disciples are united because Jesus imparts upon them, the glory given to Him by God the Father (John 17:22). Secondly, this unity is also physical, in so much as through a visible unity, people will come to know Jesus personally and take up the offer of reconciliation with God (John 17:21, 23). This unity is also physically seen, through the telling of the message of reconcil

Investigating Jesus Part 32 Jesus’ Last Prayer: Jesus prays for his disciples (John 17:6-19) In this part of the prayer, Jesus prays for his disciples. Note how he describes them: they were chosen by God Himself, seen God in Jesus and have received God’s words and obeyed them (John 17:6). John 17:6, 9-10 tells us that the disciples were in the safe possession of both the Father and the Son. John 17:7-8 shows what the disciples know. Despite misunderstanding frequently what Jesus was talking about, the disciples still grasped that Jesus had come from God. Having taught that they will endure persecution and suffering because they are his followers, Jesus prays for their safety. They will be safe, not because of their own cunning, character or conduct. They will be safe because of God’s care and protection (John 17:11-12). As they are God’s possession, God Himself will ensure that they are watched over and protected. This security is also born from glorifying God and being witnesses for Him (John 17:10).

Investigating Jesus Part 31 Jesus’ Last Prayer: Jesus prays for Himself (John 17:1-5) After his final teaching on his last night before his death, Jesus now turns to prayer. Firstly, praying for Himself, then for his twelve disciples and then finally for all disciples that will follow, the church. This prayer is probably the pinnacle of revelation in John’s gospel. Here we see Jesus’ very words, revealing an unparalleled intimacy with his Father. We get a glimpse into the very heart of their relationship and see the intimate bond between them. Jesus prays for Himself (John 17:1-5) Central to this part of his prayer is glorification. That is the glorification of Himself in order that God the Father who sent Him will be glorified. Glorify is rarely used outside of church circles today. If ever it is, is usually in the context of somebody pretending to be better than they really are. Glorify means, in a biblical context, to have the person’s true nature disclosed. In effect, Jesus is saying in John 17:1: “M

Investigating Jesus Part 30 Jesus’ Last Teaching: Disciples will have resources in the kingdom The prime resource that Christian Disciples have is, as we have already seen, God the Holy Spirit. He is the real evangelist. In conjunction with Him, the Christian Disciple has other resources which are available for us to use: counselling, discipling and proclaiming, . Counselling (John 16:8-11): As well as proclaiming about Jesus, the Holy Spirit speaks to people’s hearts, personally – one to one. He convinces people hearing God’s Word of three things: their own sin (John 16:8); their separation from a righteous God (John 16:10) and in regard to the judgement of satan and all who follow Him (John 16:11). In these three things, a person is led to the Cross in order to confess their sin and need of Jesus Christ and the salvation only he can give. Discipling (John 16:12-16): Once brought to faith, the Holy Spirit performs several tasks for the Twelve Disciples: he will guide them into all truth and develop what

Investigating Jesus Part 29 Jesus’ Last Teaching: Disciples will suffer for the kingdom John 15:18: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” We learn from this passage that opposition to Jesus’ message is unavoidable. The first opposition is that of the old nature attacking the new nature. Christian Disciples, Jesus said, were called out from the world (John 15:19). Christian Disciples upon conversion belong to a different place and are heading for a different place. Secondly, opposition is to be expected simply because of who Jesus is (John 15:21). Christian Disciples share in the life of Jesus and the way the world treats Jesus is the way the world treats all his disciples (John 15:20-21). Thirdly, opposition comes through revealing evil. Jesus, as the Light of the World, exposed evil and sin through his words (John 15:22) and works (John 15:24). At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus commanded all those who follow Him, to also be “lights of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Investigating Jesus Part 28 Jesus’ Last Teaching: Disciples must bear fruit for the kingdom Before he is crucified, Jesus is saying goodbye to his disciples and giving them some final teaching before he departs. Several times he has told them he is going away (John 13:33; John 14:3-4, 19, 28). “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2). As usual Jesus uses Old Testament language, for in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is often seen as a vine (Jeremiah 2:21; Psalm 80). However, as a vine, Israel had not produced fruit that God had expected as explained here: I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good

Investigating Jesus Part 27 Jesus Encounters a Woman caught in adultery Jesus, as all Rabbis and teachers did, was at the temple teaching and talking with people. It was also part of the role of the rabbi/teachers to ascertain what to do in certain difficult moral and legal situations. As part of this role, the Pharisees dragged in an unknown woman charged with adultery. Likewise, with the Samaritan woman, we don’t know this woman’s name either. The Pharisees lay a trap for Jesus. If Jesus said to stone the woman, then the Romans could arrest Jesus, for it was Roman law that any death must be conducted by them and not by others. If Jesus says to release the woman, then the Pharisees would say that Jesus is contravening Scripture and the Law of Moses. What does Jesus do? He writes in the dirt (John 8:6). We don’t know what he wrote, but from the Greek word for ‘write’, we understand that he was seemingly writing a report. Additionally, when Jesus says: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the fir

Investigating Jesus Part 26 Jesus Encounters the Samaritan Woman at the Well In John 4, w we come to see somebody who accepted Jesus for who he was. Jesus went via Samaria as it was the shortest route back to Galilee. It was hot. Jesus was thirsty and wanted a drink. His disciples had gone into town to get food. So, he asks a Samaritan woman to fetch Him some water from the well. That he asked a Samaritan would have been bad enough, but to also talk to a woman. What does this tell us about the woman? We don’t know the name of this woman, but by looking at this conversation between Jesus and her, we do discover several things about her. We can see straight away that she was a Samaritan. There was equal animosity between Jews and Samaritans, as seen in “For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.” (John 4:9) This could equally be translated as “for Jews do not ask any favours of the Samaritans”. The Samaritans were a mixed-race people of both Jewish and Assyrian descent from the time of the division of Israel

Investigating Jesus Part 25  We know Jesus spoke to and interacted with large crowds. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and the feeding of large crowds (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15) are just two of examples. We also have records of his encounters with individuals and their reactions. People who we talk to about Jesus, often have three reactions: rejection (either in sorrow or anger); leave with more to think about it; and acceptance. We are going to look at two encounters that we find in the Gospels, what Jesus had to say to them and their subsequent reactions. Rich young ruler As Jesus started on his way; a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.'" "Teacher," he

Investigating Jesus Part 24  Jesus - The "I AM" "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:7-8). Those are the seven “I AM” statements, which as well as equating Himself with God as the “I AM”, Jesus is also promoting his exclusivity as the only Saviour. He does not say I am a true vine; a way, a truth and a life. Nor does he say I am a resurrection and a life. He does not say “I am a door to life”, just as he does not say “I am a shepherd”, “a light” or “a bread of life”. No! We investigated together that Jesus said that He is the only way, the only truth and the only life. Jesus is the one great shepherd and the only door to life. Jesus is the only light of the world and the only true bread of life. As his disciples, currently in the Western world, we get shouted at and criticized for holding such exclusive views. But if Jesus was no

Investigating Jesus Part 23 Who did Jesus say that He was? The Vine "I AM the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. (John 15:1). In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was to be a vine or vineyard. “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? ‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: as I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.” (Ezekiel 15:1-6). Juxtaposed against Israel’s failure to be a vine, as we see here from our example

Investigating Jesus Part 21 The Way, the Truth, and the Life   Jesus said to him, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6). When Jesus issued this statement, the stress of the sentence automatically falls on the words “the way”. This is because Jesus is answering a question posed by Thomas (John 14:5). Jesus Christ has exposed the barrier of sin and death, which prevents a person from entering God’s presence. He explodes this same barrier when a person entrusts in Him for their eternal salvation. Jesus is, who he claims to be “the road that leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). Not only is he the way, but he is also the truth and the life. All of God’s truth is embodied in Jesus Christ who, as both fully God and fully human, was also the ever-living God. Nobody can claim access to God the Father, except through Jesus Himself. Other religions and other so-called paths to God may contain some element of truth about God, but there is no other way to God b

Investigating Jesus Part 21 Who did Jesus say that He was? The Resurrection and the Life 1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: my loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 ‘Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.’ 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the p

Investigating Jesus Part 20 Who did Jesus say that He was? "The Gate and the Good Shepherd"   “Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I AM the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:7-11, 14-15). Throughout the Old Testament, God is revealed as a shepherd and his people are the sheep of his keeping. The sheep are always God’s, even though he temporarily entrusted them to people such as Moses to care and tend them. Therefore, Moses and others like him, such as the true prophets,

Investigating Jesus Part 19 Who did Jesus say that He was?   "Light of the World" “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’" (John 8:12). Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles. One of the great symbols of that feast was Light. At the end of the feast, when the lights are extinguished, Jesus said that he was the light of the world. Throughout the Old Testament, light is an important symbol. There is the pillar of fire and cloud leading the nation of Israel on their journey (Exodus 13). In Psalm 27:1, the psalmist describes God as “my light”. The nation of Israel was to be God’s light to all the world. This is clearly seen in Isaiah 49:6. Why was this to be? Israel was to be God’s light to the world), so that God would be revealed as the world’s light (Isaiah 60:19-22). By referring to Himself as the light of the world, Jesus is saying it is he who shines light into people’s spiritual e

Investigating Jesus Part 18 Who did Jesus say that He was? We are now in Episode 18. In our last episode, we looked at who Jesus taught, and we have also seen previously what it was that he taught. Today, we start to look in more detail what Jesus taught others about Himself, and who he really was. 13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.[d] Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 1 Exodus 3:13-14 (New Living Translation) Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last. I alone am he.” Isaiah 41:4 (New Living Translation) 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” 57 The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?” 58

Investigating Jesus Part 17 Who did Jesus teach? The Gospel writers attributed Jesus as a teacher (Mark 5:35; John 7:15) despite his lack of formal requirements usually attained by rabbis. The Gospel writers also refer to Him as a prophet (Luke 7:16; John 6:14), and he was recognized as such by people (Mark 6:15; Mark 8:28). There were three main groups of people that Jesus interacted with and taught. The Crowds: When Jesus taught large gatherings of people, it was always based on evidential facts and it was always as Luke described “good news” (Luke 4:18), because God gave it to Jesus. Crowds recognized that Jesus had a confident manner of speaking (Mark 1:22). It must be noted that in the presence of crowds, Jesus didn’t actively reveal who he was (Mark 1:44; Mark 3:11-12; Mark 9:9). The Disciples: Many of Jesus’ recorded teachings were to his disciples, but also amid crowds, such as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1; Matthew 7:28). However, on more precise requirements of discipleship, or about H

Investigating Jesus Part 16 Jesus’ Teaching (Part 1) What did Jesus teach? Throughout the Gospels, Jesus appeals to the Old Testament scriptures in every facet of his teaching. We see that Jesus frequently used Old Testament Scripture in his teachings concerning morality and the Laws (Matthew 5:14-8), the historical stories (Matthew 24:27-29) and in his debates with the religious leaders. Quite possibly, the supreme example of his teaching can be found in what we call the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29). Whilst mainly speaking to his disciples, he allowed the crowds to listen. In this discourse, all of Jesus’ teachings are exhibited. Key themes from the Sermon on the Mount include: a Christian Disciple’s character, influence, righteousness, religion, devotional life, ambition and relationships. We look now at just 2 topics that Jesus taught. Firstly Regarding Himself: Whilst Jesus never directly claimed to be God, he did things only God could do. He claimed authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9:1