Category: theology

Jesus was born of Mary in the line of King David. Church tradition tells us that Matthew’s genealogy follows Joseph’s line while Luke follows Mary’s—still citing Joseph since Jesus was born only of a woman, yet Jewish genealogies in the Bible trace fathers.

In the week before his crucifixion, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey—the way a triumphant king would enter Jerusalem after returning from a victorious battle. After only three years Jesus’s reputation in Israel as the promised Messiah and Eternal King of the Jews was believed throughout Jerusalem.

In the three years leading up to Jesus triumphal entry, the people believed Jesus was their king because Jesus acted like a king and taught like a king.

After Jesus midnight trial, when the Pharisees brought him to Pilate, Pilate thought he was questioning a criminal, but actually Jesus brought counsel and understanding to Pilate. Even Pilate believed Jesus, nailed his confession of Jesus as King of the Jews above him on the Cross, and the early Ethiopian Church even recognized “St. Pontius Pilate” before the Catholics took over.

Pilate had no choice but to crucify Jesus, firstly because it was necessary for God’s plan, but secondarily because the ruse from the Pharisees and the tyranny of Caesar Tiberius would have crucified Jesus and many more, including Pilate and his family, if Pilate hadn’t done something to keep the Pharisees from starting a riot. By crucifying Jesus with the sign “King of the Jews” above Jesus’s head, Pilate had that last political word on what type of people the Pharisees were.

Jesus himself took the gospel to Pilate because no one else could speak to the questions of a ruler’s heart like one ruler speaks to another. Jesus’s counsel was kingly, not only in the eyes of the people, but also in the heart of a ruler like Pilate.

A king is servant and friend of his people. He is judge, commander of armies, head of families, and chief of commerce.

Jesus rules in Heaven and will return to rule from Jerusalem. He leads with justice, self-sacrifice, gentleness, and wisdom, but also employs sharp words and protective wrath. Jesus is our Eternal King.

2 Samuel 7:4-17, 1 Chronicles 17:11–15, 2 Chronicles 6:16-17, Matthew 1:6-17; 21:9, Luke 3:23-38, John 18:33-38; 19-22

From the first stages of civilization, including Israel’s time after Egypt, the first branch of government to be raised is that of the judge.

Moses served as a judge to settle disputes after crossing the Red Sea. He didn’t plan it; it just happened. His father in law suggested a court hierarchy to decrease Moses’s burden, which proved less exhausting.

Joshua also led Israel and it’s a good guess that the judicial hierarchy set up by Moses was also kept by Joshua. After Joshua died, God raised up “judges”. This would be very easy and could work without needing to instruct Israel because Israel had the judicial hierarchy explained in the Book of Exodus.

In a “Biblical theology” up into the Book of Judges, there is little to nothing describing the Messiah as a king or the promise of King David. The only government Israel knew was that of a judge. If those seven books of the Bible were your only Bible, studying about the judicial system would take up most of your time. After the judicial system of Moses in Exodus 18, much of the rest through Deuteronomy is the “Mosaic Law”, the rest interacts with Israel as they obey or disobey God. Joshua leads Israel into battle, according to justice, then we have Judges who settled disputes, guided morality, and led military conquests against invaders who took the domestic peace.

The next book, Ruth, begins the line leading to King David. Before Israel’s king was established, the role of the judge was well known. So, when Saul and David became kings, Israel knew that they would fulfill the very necessary role as Israel’s Judge. Samuel the prophet was the last judge and anointed both Saul and David.

As a king, Jesus will settle the disputes of the all nations across the world, just as Moses did. When people are foolish, Jesus will explain specifically how and why they were foolish, instruct them on how to get back on track, then lead them through whatever work or battles they must fight to push back the oppressors.

Jesus is also your personal judge who can guide your heart, call you to repent, and set you aright.

Exodus 18, Judges 2:16-23, Isaiah 2:4, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Micah 4:3-5, John 5:25-32, Revelation 19:15

The most consistent illustration and description of Jesus in his relationship to Christians and to Israel is the bridegroom.

Don’t make the novice mistake of thinking that this is literal—whether reading about Jesus as the bridegroom in the Bible or reading an article about Jesus as the bridegroom in the Bible. It is a figurative relationship, not at all erotic, and a good Bible student should easily recognize it as such. Jesus does not literally marry any of us; he had no wife or literal romance during his life on Earth according to the Bible, only in ancient, demeaning fiction written by non-Christians.

The Bible dedicates two entire books to marriage, making it the most important illustration for understanding God’s Son.

The Book of Hosea records a living example of the steadfast love of a good husband—like God was—toward the unfaithful nation of Israel. This also applies to us as Christians who constantly make foolish and regrettable mistakes, yet God still loves us and works through circumstances to bring us to have a healthy, faithful love back toward Him.

Song of Songs uses the “superlative genitive” noun case—where “of” makes this mean “the greatest song of all songs that ever were and ever will be”. It is about love in marriage. But, combined with Hosea, what John the Baptist said about Jesus, what Jesus said about himself, and Revelation’s description of Jesus as the bridegroom, the Song of Songs was a foreshadowing picture of the personality of God’s great love for us. Whatever we feel about ourselves, no matter how insecure, God’s love for us is greater than we could ever convince Him to have.

John the Baptist describes Jesus as the bridegroom and talks about the “friend of the bridegroom”, which is wedding terminology. Jesus told multiple parables about wedding customs and gave us the Holy Spirit as a kind of wedding engagement gift, a down payment for his promise.

God is a ruling Father and His Son, Jesus, is a bridegroom “given” to us. Jesus has all the power and authority, yet he is our friend who loves us in a deep way that no human terms fully describe.

Song of Songs, Hosea, Matthew 9:14-15; 22:1-14; 25:1-13, Luke 5:33-35; 14:7-11, John 3:27-30, Revelation 19:7; 21:2 ; 22:17

The strength to love is a choice that must be made strong through practice, but, like food with exercise, it is fueled by the knowledge that our Heavenly Father loves us.

When you know you are loved by your Heavenly Father, all other fathers find their proper places in our hearts. When a father or leader lets us down, it doesn’t matter so much if he is not our biggest father. We can then expect less of them, as we should; we can more easily forgive them, as we ought; we can more readily love and help them, as they actually, also need.

Parents often look up to their own children. I don’t defend this behavior and, if you do that, then stop it and look up to Jesus.

But, more importantly, let children know about this!

When you’re helping children understand the normal things of life—teaching entry level problems, but talking in the tone and manner you would use addressing a 30 year old when you are 35, of course—include the lesson about role models…

For some reason, moms and dads are just really big and old children who still want to learn from mommy and daddy; sometimes they even try to learn from their children that way. So, when adults act stupidly, it’s time for you to honor them, but be the adult and encourage them. You are allowed to be more mature than the “older people”.

…and, that’s much easier if your biggest role model is Jesus and your true father is your Heavenly Father.

Parents who have Jesus as their older sibling role model and God as their Father won’t try to look to their children for encouragement. But, if you are the younger one and you find older people looking to you for encouragement, remember this: Those people are like drowning victims; 1. don’t let them hurt you (they can, they are ‘older’) and 2. it’s okay to be the mature adult in the room if you show respect and give encouragement.

When Jesus was born human, he genuinely entered our human situation. He literally is our brother. In his day, people looked up to him, young and old. You can too.

Proverbs 22:6, John 13:15, 1 Corinthians 11:1, Philippians 3:17, 1 Timothy 4:12, 1 Peter 2:21

When Jesus returns, he will enter through the a window to Heaven in sky and descend in glory and in force, leading an army of at least 2 billion super-powerful Christians who either came back to life or were teleported and given new bodies to be with him.

The Devil and his fallen angels know about this. Non-Christian fiction tries to twist this with lies that “the bad guy” descends through the “wormhole” in the sky to madly destroy everything, heartlessly kill innocent people, and wrongly seek to rule over Earth.

Actually, all of those bad qualities belong to Devil, his fallen angels, and people on Earth who serve him either in creed or merely in ill deed. Jesus is the righteous hero who will descend through the tear in the sky to rescue us from that evil, global suicide cult, controlled by elites, attempting to destroy Earth.

Heaven will invade Earth to confront every bad thing that we all hate. But, non-Christians—who don’t not regard the Bible as supreme, who make up their own self-made morals, and who invent their own fiction to describe reality only God could Create—already despise the return of humanity’s rightful, self-sacrificing, just, and fair King Jesus.

False religion doesn’t seem so bad. But, it is a rebellion against God and it is behind the injustices that both Christians and non-Christians protest in agreement. Once false religions merge, only Jesus will be able to save us from them.

When Jesus returns, it will be “terrible”, but in goodness, help for the needy, wrath against the oppressors, and will be a good thing.

But, we do not need to wait for Jesus’s Second Coming in order to bring Heaven to Earth. We can help our neighbors, love all people as we love ourselves, pray for people who try to injure us, spread the value of morals from above, clarify the truth about the Good Creator God in Heaven—such deeds bring Heaven’s virtues to the world around us.

These things are all of what Jesus will bring when he descends in wrath and in glory in order to save humanity from consolidated false religion. In the meanwhile, bring Heaven nearer.

Daniel 7, Matthew 24, 1 Cor 15: 50-57, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 11-13; 14-17; 20

Jesus had insight, not only into “soft power”, but further into “weak power”. It seems like an oxymoron, but that’s precisely the point: Everything has its unfair advantages, especially the underdog. Exploit the unfair advantages of your situation.

This involves shrewdness, something Jesus celebrated. “Vicious as snakes, yet innocent as doves.” Viciousness—shrewdness—is a vital virtue of the kingdom. Religious cultures often revere hyper-honesty to a point of naivety, where they easily succumb to charlatans and con artists. This is another man-made system of morals. Don’t buy it.

Be cunning. Be shrews. Be vicious. Be plain and powerful. Just don’t be dishonest. This is the teaching of Jesus.

Let wicked people’s imaginations fill in the gaps as their creative listening wants. Herod did that with Jesus, thinking him a “fool” because he wouldn’t speak.

Jesus’s “shrewd servant”parable celebrated a sell-off to make lasting friends.

Jesus taught to carry a soldier’s weapons beyond the legal one-mile limit he could force upon a civilian: Carry it two and watch his popularity sink. Do the same if someone sues for your cloak—a greedy move—, give him your tunic also, stand trial in your undies.

The key to shrewdness is a willingness to make sacrifices yourself, sell-off your own property, get your hands dirty, break a sweat, and do some hard work. Consider a few modern day scenarios.

If someone steals your intellectual property, go open source rather than lawsuit; they won’t be able to compete. Thieves don’t know how to invent things, you do. Going open source will turn the guy tho stole your stuff into free advertising for your next invention.

Gandhi sparked India’s independence one person at a time. England invaded Scotland, then the Scottish burned their own cornfields, England hurt more. When the US government insisted ketchup companies no longer use chemical preservatives, Heinz invented the idea of vinegar and sugar for modern ketchup, the others fought the government and went out of business, ketchup was remade.

Reinvent yourself, use “weak power”, walk the miles, don’t fear taking a hit just to survive. This is different from going nuclear or kamikaze and a much better way to get out from under a bully.

Proverbs 25:21-22, Matthew 5:38-48; 10:16, Luke 16:9, Romans 12:20

Jesus was wise in ways we cannot fully know. Even working as a carpenter had its wisdom. John writes that Jesus did so many things that the world couldn’t contain enough books to tell it all. From what we do know of Jesus’s life in the New Testament, much of his wisdom shows in his conversations.

In prayer and study, Jesus came to understand God the Father in personal fellowship. Don’t think that Jesus’s knowledge and wisdom were downloaded to his brain—that would not be perfect. Jesus was perfect and a perfect human is a human who never stops learning.

Humans must expand and study, pray and grow. The Bible says that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. As a perfect human, as he pursued God through Scripture and prayer, God would reveal to him who he was.

In this way, Jesus sets the example for all of us. Through persistent prayer and daily Bible exposure, God will reveal to you who you are. You will know your mission, purpose, gifting, calling, abilities, uniqueness, and even choices in your heart that you are unaware of.

Heaven rejoices over you because of your uniqueness, but you will only know why if you pursue Heaven’s knowledge through daily prayer and Bible. This is the beginning of wisdom and it is the reason Jesus was so wise as he was.

With the religious teachers and their word traps, Jesus cut to the heart of the matter. He knew God the Father and the Pharisees never could because loving God is necessary to know God.

When the Sadducees asked about the resurrection, Jesus explained what Heaven is like and that the error in their question showed that they neither understand God’s Word or God’s power.

When the Pharisees asked about the greatest command of Moses’s Law, Jesus explains the two Great Commands that sum up Moses’s Law as well as the Old Testament Prophets. Jesus knew this, but the Pharisees never considered it because, though they may have Moses’s Law memorized, they don’t know what it means.

Jesus didn’t answer these ways because he was cute with twisting arguments, but because he truly understood the issues.

Matthew 21: 23-27; 22:23-46, Luke 2:52