May 21, 2023 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John (2SoJ)
Jesus Failed…
There is little doubt; no, there is no debate at all that ‘Jesus’s disciples believed that Jesus failed!’ When a leader claims to be the Son of God, performs miracles, and when He spoke people’s lives changed, but then He was arrested, convicted of treason in a trial, and then put to death leaving no hope for the fulfillment of His teachings nor hope for a bright future. What would you have done? Of course, you would have believed ‘Jesus failed’ and doubted He was the Son of God. (We see this today—Christians being convicted of crimes when no crime was committed and society says, ‘they failed’.)
Because the disciple’s unbelief was so great, Jesus had to show up a few times after His death, each time looking different, talking differently, and doing miracles in order to encourage and admonish His disciples to believe and not be faithless. (Read the last chapters of the 4 Gospels.)
There are only two followers of Jesus that displayed any ethical character and moral strength, Josepha of Arimathea and Nicodemus. The Bible states, “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.He was accompanied by Nicodemus,the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.Because it was the Jewish day of Preparationand since the tomb was nearby,they laid Jesus there.”(John 19:38-42) These men are my heroes and role models.
I find so many parallels today, far too many to mention, among church people who claim to believe in Christ, but their works display only unbelief and faithlessness. To have faith that works one must believe in Christ first. Then and only then does or can a person respond in faith (no longer faithless) to the will of God—respond to God’s purposes and action plans. If you believe in Christ, then act like you are a Christian—respond to the will of God and be a person of faith.
I am blessed, the Bible says, because I believe even though I was not there at that specific time in history when Jesus was seen by His disciples. I choose to believe and by faith, I respond to the words of Christ today. In fact, my faith is greater than the disciples because I believe even though I have not seen Christ in the flesh. Yes, Jesus failed but only to unbelievers. Thank you, Jesus, for turning all my failures into successes because you did not fail me.
(using Google or other search engines)
http://www.twitter.com/wwjwmtd
WWJWMTD
What would Jesus want me to do?
Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com
This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately.
wwjwmtd 