Stop here and read John 5:31-38 in your own Bible.
Finally, the Scriptures, which at the time of Jesus’ public ministry included only the Old Testament, bear witness to him through the many Messianic prophecies that foretold his birth of a Virgin in Bethlehem; his death, burial, and resurrection; and his heavenly enthronement as the Son of Man. Ultimately, the key to accepting Jesus as the Savior sent by his Father is whether a person humbly loves God or not. Humble love allows a person to accept God’s Incarnate Word and Savior on God’s terms without demanding that God fit our expectations.
Consider
In summary, Jesus died so that all people in every place and at every epoch of time might be saved. Jesus Christ contended with sin and death and brought about a total victory by absorbing the full punishment for sin, even though he was a sinless victim who did not deserve it. Then he rose from the dead so as to defeat death, the very punishment itself. In that way, his resurrection empowers those sinners who believe in him to also have a saving hope that they will be raised from death as well.
Spreading the Message
After the Resurrection, the disciples understood the import of this message and made it the essence of their preaching wherever they went in the world. They spread the word from Jerusalem to Thessalonica, Caesarea, Corinth, Galatia, Philippi, Rome, and beyond. From these places, their message about the way God redeemed the world through his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, spread throughout the whole world and continues to spread. The next session will look at the ways human beings respond to this message.
The Sacrifice of the Lord
The following passages are some of the references in Scripture to the salvific action of Christ:
• Romans 6:10: “The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:14: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.”
• Hebrews 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.”
• Hebrews 7:27: “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”
• Hebrews 9:25-28: “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own; for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
• Hebrews 10:10: “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
• Hebrews 10:14: “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
• 1 Peter 2:24: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
• 1 Peter 3:18: “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”
Discuss
1. Why is death the punishment for sin? Do people believe that is true today?
2. Explain what “salvation is a relationship” means to you.
3. In what way is humility a key to accepting Jesus as Savior?
Practice
This week select one of the Scripture passages in this session that looks at the need for the Messiah to suffer and die on our behalf, and spend some time in prayer and reflection on it. What does this passage teach you? How can you make it become more “real” in your life? What changes do you still need to make in your life to fully appreciate this great sacrifice?
Session 2
Salvation, Repentance, and Faith
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”
— Mark 1:15
Jesus made the transition from his hidden thirty years of life, mostly in Nazareth, to his three years of public preaching, teaching, and healing by being baptized by John, followed by forty days of fasting and temptation in the desert. After successfully defeating the devil’s temptations, Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17). Note that after his resurrection from the dead, Jesus concluded his message to his disciples with a similar message: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:15-16).
Note that his words in Mark lay out the high stakes involved in the decision to believe in Jesus Christ or not — will a person be saved or condemned? Salvation offers hope of eternal life; condemnation casts a person outside of eternal fellowship with God.
Stop here and read Matthew 13:41, 43; 22:13-14; 25:30, 34 in your own Bible.
These are the highest stakes indeed.
Study
Let’s examine Jesus’ opening message at the beginning of this chapter in more detail, looking at its four components.
The First Component
First, Jesus announced that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” This part of his announcement goes back to a prophecy in the Book of Daniel.
Stop here and read Daniel 9:24-27 in your own Bible.
Jesus was well aware that the time of his ministry and salvation fulfilled this prophecy, and therefore the time of his birth, death, and resurrection were no accident of history but the foretold window of opportunity for the redemption.
Stop here and read Luke 4:16-21 in your own Bible.
“Seventy Weeks of Years”
“The seventy weeks of years” that are decreed for the holy city (Jerusalem) refers to a period of 490 years. Most commentators connect this prophecy with the decree by Persian King Artaxerxes I (465/4 B.C.) that gave the people of Judah permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 457 B.C. (see Ezra 7:1-28). The 490 years ends in A.D. 33, thereby linking the prophecy with the “anointed one”