Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
There are some facts that are so basic to one's understanding of the New
Testament books that without being aware of them, one cannot possibly understand
what the apostles wrote. Beginning today, I will present to you the essentials
with which every student of the New Testament ought to begin his study. Before
opening for the first time any of the books written by the apostles, one ought
to already know these things. Fathers, teach these truths to your children.
Pastors ought to teach these fundamentals to the congregation. These are foundations
upon which all right knowledge of the truth of Christ is laid.
The work of God in Christ Jesus was a mystery hidden in the heart of God from creation. No man knew beforehand what God would send Jesus to do. No prophet or wise man ever so much as suspected that God would send His own Son to suffer and die on a cross for the sins of the world. It was a grace and love and wisdom that was hidden from all men until after the work was accomplished. The fact that men understood nothing of God's plan until after the event was passed means that all the glory for that blessed event belongs solely to God. To God belongs all the glory!
After Jesus died, his disciples were discouraged, but with the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, God began to reveal to them that Jesus had succeeded, not failed, to fulfill his divine mission. On the day of Pentecost, when the holy Ghost filled the disciples of Christ with God's power and knowledge, Peter and the others began to realize and to proclaim the awesome, soul-saving work that God and His Son had accomplished.
It is of great importance that the student of the New Testament understand, in the beginning of his study, that no one who lived on earth during Jesus' earthly life understood what Jesus was here for. No one understood his mission. Such a thing had never been heard of, and no man could have believed it even if God told him. Jesus told his disciples very plainly on a number of occasions what would happen to him at Jerusalem, but their minds simply could not take it in. Nobody understood Jesus while he was here on earth. Some loved him, and some hated him, but none knew why he was really here.
Here are some Scriptures that demonstrate this Second Foundational Truth:
A.
The elders of Israel did not understand Jesus: Mt.12:22-24; Jn.3:1-10;
9:24.
B. The general public did not understand Jesus: Mt.13:10-17; Jn.6:9-15.
C.
Jesus' natural relatives did not understand him: Mk.3:20-21; Jn.7:1-5.
D.
Jesus' own disciples did not understand him: Lk.18:31-34; Mk.9:9-10;
Lk.24:1-21a.