Session 6
| In this session, I would like to ask you about chapter 14 and verse 43 where the Bible says, "and immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders." Why did they send this large crowd to arrest the Lord Jesus, for He was one person and known to be a rather peaceful man? |
| None
of the chief priest or the people could properly understand the Lord Jesus.
The natural thing for any man, however, weak or peaceful he is to resist those who come to arrest him. They knew the Lord Jesus to be of strong will and character. He rebuked the Pharisees and the priests with strong words to bring them back to the knowledge of God. They were scared of His resistance, and they knew He was not alone but He had eleven other people with Him defending Him. They also knew that He was loved by the multitudes. They were afraid that the news would spread hence they would face stronger resistance from the public. Therefore, they made sure to arrest Him during the nighttime and to use a great number of people. |
| Why did they choose to arrest Him during the nighttime, and why would Jesus and the disciples surrender that easily without any sign of resistance to those numerous soldiers? |
| Because they were scared of people's resistance and of the disciples. As for Jesus He showed no apparent sign of resistance and why would He resist? This was the hour He came for. The mission of the Lord Jesus was not to establish an earthly kingdom or a nation that subdues other nations. His mission was not just healing the sick and raising the dead and changing corrupt human nature, but His mission was the cross to redeem men. He did not need any resistance. He stood up and addressed those who came to arrest Him and told them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the scriptures must be fulfilled."(Mark 14:48,49) |
| What did He mean by those words, but the scriptures must be fulfilled, and what were the books He was talking about? |
| The books were what was written or came about the Lord Jesus in the books and by the prophets. And to fulfill the books meant to fulfill the prophecies. |
| Dr. Nagy did Jesus mean that there were prophecies written about the cross before it takes place? Can you please give us some examples for these prophecies? |
| Of course the Lord Jesus, all knowledgeable, had the words of God the law, and every thing that was written in the Bible, in His heart. Once He was resisted by the Jews He said, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39) For examples of prophecies in the Bible about the cross of Christ, before His death there were prophecies that described in amazing details the events of the cross to the point. That if no one read about the cross in the New Testament but studied the Old Testament, they could have inferred the events of the cross as it already took place and tells the story accurately. The examples are many. Some are inclusive and others are explicit examples. |
| Can you please give us some inclusive and explicit examples? |
|
Some inclusive examples were ones that came in the Old Testament implicitly. This is reflected in the feast of the Passover where a lamb was slain. This ritual started when the Jews came out of Egypt, and it was a symbol of Jesus in the Old Testament. Christ offered Himself on behalf of men as The New Testament states clearly in 1Cor 5:7 that Jesus is our Passover lamb. |
| What would be the explicit examples of prophecies? |
| There
are So many explicit examples of prophecies that literally took place in
the cross of Jesus. One of them would be in the book of Psalms written before
the birth of Jesus of almost 1000 years. In psalm 41 verse 9 the Bible says,
"even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has
lifted up his heel against me." It basically says that one of the close
friends of Christ is going to betray Him. Another prophecy in the book of
Zechariah says that the Lord Jesus is going to be traded for thirty pieces
of silver and this is what Judas did. A third prophecy says that the silver
is going to be refunded and this took place literally. Fourth prophecy would
be that false witnesses are going to show up. This took place literally
in the book of Mark chapter 14 and verse 56. "For many bore false witness
against Him, but their testimonies did not agree." A fifth prophecy
is about the silence of Jesus before His persecutors. It came in the book
of Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 7 and it took place in this chapter we are
studying. A sixth prophecy said that He was going to be crucified with transgressors.
This came in Isaiah 53 verse 12 and took place in Mark 15. The examples
are so many, and we will mention some more in our next session. |