Category Archives: Easter/Holy Week

Our Wonderful Counselor

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The Son will be called Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6).

I am writing this between Easter and Pentecost, this period of time for Jews is known as Counting the Omer, and the Catholic Church is in an “Easter season” on their calendar. Either thought still is the fifty days from Passover to Pentecost. Historically, it is the time from leaving Egypt until the Children reached Mt. Sinai. Some things are recorded that Jesus did in this season, but I believe we were not told half of them. I think this time was the Master’s mini-lesson for His leaders. Yes, He left (ascended) after forty days.

Hebrew Mentions of the Counselor

The Complete Jewish Bible, the Orthodox Jewish Bible, and the concordances I use all seem to have a slightly different take on how to spell things. (God bless translators!) That can take a little getting used to but the message is the same and very clear. The idea of counselor really hit this home.  

H3289 is yaats or yoetz and ish etzah H 6098 are terms I ran across in this study. Besides Isaiah 9:6, I spent some time with 40:13. 40:13 is quoted by Paul in Romans 11:34. All of this highlights the importance of wisdom and advice in the Jewish culture.

The Tree of Life Biblical | Tree of Life in Bible – Hebrewversity  One takeaway from this article was tree or etz is very much like the word etzah or advice, H6098.

The Hebrews who wrote the New Testament had the same values; they were just writing them in Greek. In Romans 11:34 Paul used the word symboulos G4825 for counselor or advisor. Yes, it looks like our word symbiote, so it implies a long-term relationship.

Parakletos or Paraclete

Pentecost is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit. It is also the birthday of the Church or the beginning of gathering the Bride of Christ. The Apostle John uses Paraclete five times in his writing: John 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7, and 1 John 2:1. Strong’s Greek: 3875. παράκλητος (paraklétos) — called to one’s aid (biblehub.com) This article mentions three Gospel references of when Jesus states that the Spirit will do what John declared on Thursday of Holy Week: Matthew 10:19 + 20, Mark 13:11, Luke 12:11 + 12. These tell when Jesus said that arrests were coming, but the Holy Spirit would speak through them. In other words, He would be their lawyer, counselor, or helper. Back to John. 

John 13 is the beginning of Jesus’ last meal on Thursday. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 are in the Upper Room or in the Garden outside of Jerusalem. They contain important teachings about the Holy Spirit. It is better to read the verses in context so as to get the full effect.

  • c+17 Jesus will ask for the Spirit of Truth to be sent to believers.
  • John 14:26 + 27 This Counselor will instruct us and give us peace. The Father will send Him in the name or power of Jesus.
  • John 15:26 He will testify the truth about Jesus.
  • John 16:7 If Jesus does not leave (dies on the cross, resurrects, and ascends) the Paraclete will not come. Verses 7 -16 explain what the Spirit will do. Verse 15 has a word in it that John uses thirty-two times in his Gospel, emos. It is translated “mine” and is associated with Jesus giving things to us.
  • 1 John 2:1 This verse is about Jesus advocating for us before the Father.

The Holy Spirit is here on earth helping us to do the work here. Jesus is in Heaven helping us there.

Our Wonderful Counselor is for us, is here to help us, and has a good plan for us. The thing I have found about counselors, they can only help if you let them and follow their advice. This implies that you have to let Our Wonderful Counselor in so He can get close, and you get to know Him.

RESURRECTION

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This post is about the resurrection of Jesus, it is an extension of Saturday of Holy Week- A Day of Rest and Born Again or Born from Above.

With His earthly life and “forty months” of ministry about to end, can you imagine all of the thoughts that swirled around Him? Jesus’ metamorphoo and the time spent with the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) signals His ride into Jerusalem, so He can pay the Bride’s price for His Church. But the time between “Who is it you want?” (John 18:4) and “Woman, why are you crying?” (John 20:15 NIV) changed so much. Types and shadows were about to become bold clear light. The Prophet’s words were being fulfilled and rejoiced over in the Heavenlies. Our redemption from the sin that claimed us was gladly being paid. The Way back to the Father and His Garden was opened, if we choose that path.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday could be Work, Rest, and Begin a New; okay, that activity could go on for a while:)

Resurrection or rise, arise, risen, and several other ideas are expressed with two Greek root words (for the most part). Anastasis G386 and egeiro G1453 are those root words, yes, they can have prefixes and other tenses.

ἀνάστασις | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

ἐγείρω | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

ἔγερσις | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

G386 – anastasis – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv) (blueletterbible.org)

G1454 – egersis – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv) (blueletterbible.org)

Old Testament

Hosea 6:2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. (KJV) In Hebrew, the third day is Tuesday or Yom HaShelishi.

Yom ha-sh’lishi: The THIRD DAY – Hebrew Word Lessons

Examples of being raised from the dead.

  • 1 Kings 17:17-24 is where Elijah raised the widow’s son.
  • 2 Kings 4:29-37 is the telling of Elisha raising the Shunammite’s son.
  • 2 Kings 13:21 Elisha is dead and another dead man is thrown into his grave and touches his bones and was revived and stood up (he was resurrected). This event brings to mind the verse in Jude, where Satan is trying to take Moses’ body. Why did he want it? I am pretty sure it was not for a trophy. We have to know he was up to no good. A popular idea is that Satan wanted to make Israel stumble and sin by going into idol worship over the corpse. HOW ABOUT he took it because he feared it would act like Elisha’s bones and cause people to fear God? HOW ABOUT #2 Satan did not want it to be available for the transfiguration. Moses was there and with a “born from above body”.
  • In Hebrews 11:17,19 the faith of Abraham is relived when he sacrificed Issac. He knew God could/would raise him from the dead.
  • Martha knew Lazarus would rise in the resurrection on the last day, John 11:24. I do believe this was a Hebrew idea that Matthew writes about.
  • In the Sermons on the Two Mounts the Sadducees are baiting Jesus on a woman who had seven husbands. This must a been a point of discussion in their Torah studies. (Matthew 22:28) Jesus instructed them about physical state of being in Heaven.
  • John 5:29 may also be an Old idea with an upgrade. Good deeds people have a resurrection of life and bad deeds people have a resurrection of judgement.

New Testament

This is a spot check through the New Testament, there is a lot, but my focus will be Matthew, John, and 1 Corinthians.

Matthew’s contribution starts in Chapter 22 and goes to 27. There is an interesting shift in Matthew’s terms. Before Jesus’ physical resurrection (Chapter 22) he used anastasis G386 in Chapter 27 he used egersis G1454. I wonder if it is an Old-to-New shift in thinking. This is the only time G1454 is used in the Bible. Anastasis is used many more times in the New Testament.

Jesus knew what was to happen to Him in that Passover, He would be sacrificed like the lamb in Exodus. The thing that caught my attention for this post was His physical body. He had also been teaching about that as we will see in John. First, we should take a look at the revelation that Paul received on the topic.

1 Corinthians 15 is Paul’s class on the resurrection to the Church. Verse 35 starts his discussion on the body. Verses 42 to 46 describe what happened to Jesus, His natural body was put into the earth but a spiritual body came out (44). I termed this His born from above or born-again example. Yes, at the last trumpet, we who are living will get this new body and it will be quick (52).  

John’s purpose in writing his Gospel was to show Jesus as the Son of God. He highlighted the miracles Jesus did, for some reason only seven have got a lot of press. He did more in John’s Gospel and taught about some miraculous things that would occur. Here are some about His resurrection.

  • John 3:6 The Spirit gives birth to spirit.
  • 11:25 He tells Martha He is the resurrection and the life.
  • 12:24 Jesus gives a multi-level explanation of a seed producing a harvest. Unless He died, His harvest would not have happened.
  • 16:16 He tells the Disciples that He will die but that they would see Him again (palin, G3825).

These are posts I have done on the work of Jesus and His resurrection.

Saturday of Holy Week – A Day of Rest

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For years I have thought and written about what Jesus did between the Cross and the stone being rolled away. Here are the verses I have used in the past in my post of Saturday, Easter 2015, Jesus Preached, and Dark to Light – Jesus in the Tomb.

  • Psalm 68:18
  • Matthew 27:62 – 66
  • Ephesians 4: 7-10
  • 1 Peter 3:19

I often limit my thinking and forget to look at the really big picture of what happened on this Passover. I have heard it and said it, and have written it, but today being still before God I saw His GREATEST act of love and mercy in a different light.

Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law and opened the curtain so we could go to the Father through Him. There were legal issues that had to be addressed as He got the Keys back. He set examples for us to follow so His Kingdom would come.

Jesus died because of (our) sin. He came out of that tomb a new creation and with new heavenly powers and abilities. Today, we might call that being born again.

The thought of the silence and stillness of that rock tomb added another dimension to what was going on. Jesus finished His work, just as God did in Genesis 1. So, the right thing to do was to REST. With respect to all of the other posts and the Scriptures I have used; Jesus was resting from His labor. I am so glad He finished the work and took my place, so I can be with Him in His place.

His Easter meetings: the women, the road to Emmaus, and walking through a closed door into a very private dinner party were to show He was victorious and had conquered Sin and Death. He took the next forty days to reteach and prepare His followers for their “personal trip” up “Mount Sinai” and their meeting with the Holy Spirit. His journey from victim to victor came with a day of rest in between them.

Last and First – Matthew 17 to 21

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Matthew 17 to 21 is what I call the Forth Block of Kingdom Teaching, and we will focus on the “first to last, leaders to servants, greatest to the humble” teachings Jesus gave His disciples. These chapters start with the Transfiguration and go to Jesus delivering His first sermon from the Two Mounts. I have used mentions of John the Baptist to frame the blocks of teachings about the Kingdom. Yes, there are other thoughts and teachings in this period. Three standout examples are: Jesus was questioned twice on divorce, He uses children several times in His teachings, and foretells His death twice. If I extend the block into His Sermons on the Two Mounts (the fifth block), He tells two parables about weddings. Jesus’ changes in physical locations are also worth noting.

This Last to First series of studies has already challenged some long-held paradigms. That is never comfortable; it is necessary but not pleasant. There are many first/last ideas in these chapters. After playing the tour guide of Jesus’ travels I will focus on three related kingdom thoughts.

His Final Pilgrimage – I will not go into great detail here, as I have done some of that in other studies. Even His movements have a “least to great” lesson in them.

  • He is on the mount where He is transfigured and meets with Moses and Elijah. (John the Baptist is mentioned here.)
  • Capernaum, for the last time.  
  • Jesus leaves the land of Naphtali and Zebulun (Galilee). He “goes over” the Jordan and to the area across from Jericho.
  • If you check with the other Gospels, He does several trips to the west bank.
  • He begins His final trip to Jerusalem by crossing the Jordan and going to Jericho. He is busy here and possibly was there for several days.
  • He travels to the Mount of Olives where He sends for a donkey.
  • Jesus does a “victory ride” into Jerusalem and inspects the Temple. (John the Baptist is mentioned in His first of two sermons on Tuesday of Holy Week.)

I know that I have a tendency to single out a story or thought. It seems that the Holy Spirit has grouped several separate lessons together to highlight a theme. In this block, the timespan is probably several weeks and completely different locations. The audience however is the Twelve Disciples and the others in His camp.

Children – Chapter 18 opens with the disciples wanting to know who was going to be the greatest (megas) in the kingdom of heaven. There is no doubt, in my mind, that they were asking about an earthy kingdom. I believe that Jesus planted the seed for this question when He asked about the Temple tax. The Master Teacher did a show and tell by using a little (mikros) child to focus on being humble (tapeinoō). The test for this teaching unit came in 19:13-15. The disciples did not make an “A” so Jesus did a quick reteach.

The Father then supplied an object lesson of a rich young ruler who did not want to become humble. This “righteous” child of Abraham, this megas, knew something was missing. Jesus quizzed him on Commandments 5-9, and he was good. I always find it interesting that Commandments 1- 4 were not mentioned. (Exodus 20) You may form your own opinion on that. His title and money had not brought him peace and he doubted his salvation. The young man did not like Jesus’ answer, he wanted a spiritual answer and was told to do away with his earthy hinderance. (I have not forgotten the l. Earthy = dust.)

Put a Selah in-between 19:22 and 23. Ignore the French printer’s chapter break and look at 19:23 to 20:16 as one whole, new lesson.

Last/First – The Spirit and Matthew changed terms in this new teaching, but the thought stays true. The “camp of disciples” saw the megas’ first (prōtos) position, and they knew he had salvation, because! Jesus segways from the earthy kingdom and moves to the Heavenly one in 19:28. The word/phrase is “palingenesia” Strong G3824. (All of the Greek is from Mounce.) It means renewal, new birth, or regeneration.

Your heart and vision will determine how you view first (prōtos) and last (eschatos). Your starting position is important. There is an interesting switch in last/first from 19:30 to 20:16, see my first post in this series.

John’s Eema – I have no doubt that John and James’ mother was in the camp that left Capernaum. There is no reason not to think that she had heard all of the teachings and witnessed the miracles that were done by Jericho. Like the young ruler, she asks a kingdom question. Was she talking about the earthy one or the Heavenly one? Jesus’ answer is about the Heavenly one. It is not settled in my mind if the disciples realized that Jesus was talking about a different kingdom than what they thought was coming. In verse 25, He meets them where they are and talks about leaders (megas) and servants (diakonos). See Paul and Slaves. Mom’s question makes you think about the disciples’ question in Chapter 18.

Jesus has told His disciples several times that He is going to Jerusalem to die. Did that sink in before the Garden? The questions and indignant feelings make me want to say no. But they heard and eventually lived the teaching, may we be able to say that also.   

Recap –

Before the Rich Man – In this series of teachings Jesus answers how to be the greatest or first in the kingdom. The lessons had a “least” action: finding lost sheep, forgiving someone, and helping little children come to Jesus. The last or least path is the way to go.

The Kingdom Teaching – Matthew 19:28 and 20:1 give this idea a heavenly setting. In between those verses, it is very heavenly. The parable in chapter 20 lends itself to the Earth. This really does need more study.

After the Teaching – John’s eema is an example of what not to be. Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem is an interesting lesson about the topic. Jesus rode into the city as a “great or first” and carried a cross out of the city as a “servant or last”. Then because of the shame-ridden cross, He became Lord and Master of all.