Jesus Christ Dying On the Cross by Ray Wegner
and Passion of the Christ
Bible translations recommended are Authorized King James Version or New King James Version.
Jesus Christ won an amazing victory on the cross. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. The Word, who was made flesh and born as the human being Jesus Christ came to carry out His Father's will. He willingly submitted Himself to a horrible death on the cross to carry out His Father's will, and offer Himself a sacrifice for sin. God in His weakness is stronger than man. This was not a defeat for Jesus, bleeding and dying there on the stake. It was a powerful victory.
Jesus Christ dying on the cross is God the Father's trump card in dealing with mankind, and with His enemies - a trump card He can thump down very powerfully, and we are forced to recognize the power there, and have to be quiet and humble before this sacrifice.
What Jesus Christ Accomplished on the Cross
I will try to list as many things as possible, but the accomplishments are awesome, and so all encompassing that it may not be possible for me to even list all the major achievements, but will do my best to explain as much as I can.
1. He won the victory over Satan and the Fallen Angels. He stripped Satan of the power the devil had over mankind - the power of death (Colossians 2:15) (Hebrews 2:14-15) (John 12:31, 16:11).
2. He won the victory over sin and death. He is the sacrificial lamb who makes atonement for our sins, by paying the price for our sins, which is death (Leviticus 16:1-5, 7-9, 15-17) (1 Corinthians 5:7) (1 Corinthians 11;23-26) (John 19:25-37). Christ defeated His enemies, but the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26).
3. He overcame the world (John 16:33). Through Him and our belief in Christ we too can overcome the world - it is done through faith (1 John 5:4-5) (1 John 4:4).
4. He established the New Covenant, which is based upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6-8, 7:22)
5. He changed the Priesthood, and became our High Priest in Heaven - after the order of Melchizedek. The earthy hereditary priesthood was eliminated by Christ, and Christ took over the Priesthood (Hebrews 7:11-18 or just read the entire 7th Chapter of Hebrews).
6. He made it possible for us to receive eternal life, and be born into the Kingdom of God (Romans 6:23) (James 2:5) (Hebrews 9:15) (Matthew 24:31) (1 Corinthians 15:50-54).
7. He fulfilled the scriptures and all the various prophecies concerning His first coming, and concerning the events surrounding and during His crucifixion - that were prophesied in the Old Testament (Luke 24:13-32). Allow me to provide you with a summary of some specific prophecies from the Old Testament pertaining to the actual crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
The Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:1-14). Christ crucified right on Passover Day (1 Peter 1:18-20).
The Passover Lamb was required to a male without blemish (Exodus 12:5). Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, and fulfilled this prophecy perfectly (1 Peter 2:21-22).
No bones of the Passover Lamb were to be broken (Exodus 12:46). When Jesus was crucified the soldiers broke the bones of the two thieves crucified with Him to hasten death, but none of Christ's since He was dead already - instead the soldier pierced His side (John 19:31-36).
Atonement Lamb chosen to die to atone for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:5, 8-9,15-19). Jesus offered Himself on the cross to make atonement for our sins (Hebrews 9:19-28).
Judas betrayed Christ to the mob for a bribe of thirty pieces of silver, but returned the money to the chief priests and elders and hanged himself - the Chief priests took the thirty pieces of silver and purchased a potters field to bury strangers (Matthew 27:1-10). This matter of the thirty pieces of silver was prophesied in Zechariah 11:12-13.
Prophesied to have His hands and feet pierced (Psalms 22:16). Jesus was nailed to the cross by his hands and feet (Matthew 27:35) (John 20:24-28).
Prophesied to be beaten so badly that some of His bones would be showing (Psalms 22:17) Jesus was ordered to be scourged by Pilate, which tore His flesh (John 18:19) (Matthew 20:19) (Matthew 27:26).
Prophesied that His persecutors would part His garments among them and gamble for His vesture (Psalms 22:18). When Jesus was crucified the Roman soldiers took Christ's garments and divided them into four piles among themselves, but cast lots for His coat (John 19:23-24).
The Messiah was prophesied to be a man of sorrows, sufferings and acquainted with grief, and to be wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:3-6). Jesus was persecuted and paid the penalty for our sins on the cross (1 Peter 2:24) (John 15:18-25).
Prophesied to be afflicted and to be silent like a Lamb before His persecutors (Isaiah 53:7). Jesus when sent to Herod by Pilate - did not answer Herod, but remained silent before Herod (Luke 23:5-11).
He was prophesied to be numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12). Jesus was crucified with two thieves - one thief on His left - the other thief on His right (Matthew 27:38) (Mark 15:27-28).
Prophesied to be given vinegar to drink (Psalms 69:21). Christ suffering on the cross knowing that all things had been accomplished and the scriptures must be fulfilled said "I thirst" and was given vinegar mixed with gall, and then died (John 19:28-30) (Matthew 27:48).
It was prophesied the Messiah would be buried in a rich man's grave (Isaiah 53:9). Joseph of Arimathaea was a rich man who asked Pilate for the body of Jesus and then laid Jesus in his own new tomb (Matthew 27:57-60).
David prophesied of the resurrection of Christ and that Christ's body would not rot and see corruption (Acts 2:29-36) (Psalms 16:10). Jesus was resurrected to life after being three days and three nights dead in the tomb - His body did not rot like David's did. For David is not ascended in to the heavens (Matthew 28:1-7).
8. He fulfilled the sacrificial laws, by sacrificing Himself on the tree (Hebrews 10:1-13).
9. He died right on Passover, thus fulfilling the Passover, being the Lamb of God, whose shed blood saves us from God's wrath. The Passover and the delivery out of slavery from Egypt of the children of Israel, and all it depicted and prophesied of was perfectly fulfilled by Christ. So perfectly that He died right on Passover day (Exodus Chapter 12) (Luke 22:7-20) (John 18:38-40) (John 19:15-18) (1 Corinthians 5:7). Egypt is symbolic of sin. Pharaoh is symbolic of Satan.
10. We are saved by His life - the verified fact that He rose from the dead, after being in the tomb three days and three nights (Matthew 12:38-40) (Acts 1:1-12) (1 Corinthians 15:1-20).
Luke 24:1-8 "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead ? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words,"
11. He is the first fruits, and the trail blazer (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) (Hebrews 2:9-18 note verse 10).
12. He paved the way for us to be born into God's family as the children of God at the resurrection. He made it possible for God to be the Father of many children. He became the husband of His bride the Church, whom He purchased with His blood, and whom He will marry after the resurrection, at the Wedding Supper. He was instrumental in creating a family for Himself and God the Father (John 1:1-14, 18 note verse 14) (Acts 20:28) (Revelation 19:6-9) (2 Corinthians 6:17-18) (Revelation 21:6-7).
13. He made it possible for us to enter into the Kingdom of God, and thus rule with Him in His Kingdom after His second coming. The Church will rule this world under Christ, after the resurrection, and this will be God's Kingdom established on the earth, a world ruling government, that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 2:44-45) (Daniel 7:13-14, 18, 27) (Revelation 20:4-6) (Mark 1:14-15) (Revelation 11:15-19).
14. After Christ died on the cross a Roman soldier stuck a spear into Christ's side to ensure He was dead. Blood and water poured out, and there was an earthquake at about that time - the rocks were rent and a crack appeared in the rocks. Down through this crack in the rocks leaked the blood of Jesus.
The late Ron Wyatt claims that he discovered the Ark of the Covenant while doing archaeology digs at Jerusalem. He claimed it is in a hidden cave about 20 feet beneath where Jesus was crucified, guarded by Angels, and he alone was miraculously allowed by God to find it and see it. He claimed to have seen the blood of the Messiah on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant, and was allowed to take a sample of this blood by the Angels.
He had this blood tested and it was not dead blood, but living blood, which when tested had only 24 chromosomes (a normal human being has 46 chromosomes - 23 from their Mother and 23 from their Father). This blood according to Wyatt had 23 chromosomes from the Mother, and only one Y chromosome from the Father.
In God's good time, we shall find out if what Ron Wyatt says is true or not, since he alone claims to have seen this. It is very interesting and intriguing though, and certainly would make sense, since no one has been able so far to locate the supposedly lost Holy vessels of the Temple, like the Ark of the Covenant, the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them, and so on.
There is speculation that Jeremiah had these treasures hid in a secret cave beneath Golgotha, sometime around or maybe before the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and the destruction of the Temple. The Babylonians were kind to Jeremiah, and basically let him do what he wanted, even to the point of cooperating with and helping him.
Jeremiah 39:11-12 "Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, Take heed, and look well to him and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto you."
Go to Ark of the Covenant for the details. Also you can link up to so some other very interesting videos on the same site like Sodom and Gomorrah, Mt. Sinai, Crossing of the Red Sea by the Children of Israel, and on Noah's Ark - please click on Noah's Ark for the details. This doesn't mean this here writer agrees with absolutely everything on the site, or on the videos, but have a look and judge for yourself. I especially found the video on the discovered ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah to be fascinating and frightening at the same time. The late Ron Wyatt did most of the ground work here.
Folks there were so many things accomplished by Christ on the cross, such great things - I do not think I could even list them all. God is so great and powerful, and does so much. Like in the words of John the disciple:
John 21:24-25 "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."
The Good Shepherd
Jesus Christ called Himself the Good Shepherd, and the Door of the Sheep
John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."
John 10:7 "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep."
The true church does not follow strangers. They know who their leader is, and they follow Him.
John 10:1-5 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."
Jesus Christ is the head of the true church.
Ephesians 5:23 "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."
Ephesians 1:22-23 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all."
Colossians 1:12-20 "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."
Yes but some might reason that we need a human leader, or leadership of the true church, since Christ isn't here to lead us. "Where is Jesus?" they might wonder. How can we follow Him when He isn't here? So they might reason that they need human shepherds to lead them.
In reality Christ is here right among us. He is present through His spirit. Christ leads and guides the true church through the Holy Spirit.
The true church is a spiritual organism consisting of those who have the Holy Spirit living in them.
Romans 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."
Yes but some might argue that we cannot understand exactly what Christ's will is, and where He might want to lead us through the Spirit, because there are so many conflicting ideas out there, and so many different churches. One says this and the other says that - so who is one to believe? So people might argue that we cannot know for sure what Christ wants for us, since Christ is not here. So how can we know His will? So we need a human church hierarchy to lead the church and set doctrine, because there will just be confusion otherwise - might be their reasoning.
Some might say that - if only Christ would come down to them and tell them plainly what He wanted them to do - then everything would be fine and they could understand God's will for them.
Actually Jesus did come down here to this earth, and lived right among us. He spoke openly to people, and taught people. And he left with us His instructions in a collection of books - it is called the Bible. The Bible is the inspired word of God. The very words of Jesus are right there for us in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
2 Timothy 3:15-16 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
My Bible says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and that includes the Old Testament.
2 Peter 1:20-21 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
Jesus Christ is the Word. The Bible is the word of God.
Christ leads and guides us through the Holy Spirit. Christ's very words are recorded for us in the Bible, which is the inspired word of God.
There are many ways that Christ and God the Father lead and guide us, and here is a partial list of the ways Christ shepherds the church:
- Through His inspired word the Bible.
- Through the Holy Spirit.
- Through His servants in the church - and Christ's true servants teach from the Bible, and have no authority to make up doctrines that are unbiblical, or to misrepresent what the Bible teaches.
- Through answered prayer.
- We can understand a lot about God by studying God's handicraft - the Creation. God is the creator of the natural world. So we can learn a lot about God by studying His work. Living close to nature helps us be closer to the Creator.
- By keeping the weekly Sabbath in its proper spirit. The weekly Sabbath is from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. This is the same Sabbath Christ kept. This is a day that God has set apart - that belongs to God. It is a time when Christ and God the Father will teach you. So keep the Sabbath, and pray and then Jesus will teach you vital spiritual lessons on that day. Try it and you will find out this to be true.
- Keeping the annual Sabbaths in the proper way will help you understand God's plan. The Passover is very important. The others are customs, and it is not essential we keep them, but if we can we should try to do so. Why ? Because God will teach us during these times - and we need these spiritual lessons more than we need food. Also because they are God's customs, and Christ kept all of these Holy Days. These seven annual Holy Days are the following: Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day.
There are many, many other ways the unlimited Christ speaks to us and teaches us. However, remember that Christ has already given us so much in the Bible. Christ never changes, and the things He taught around 2,000 years ago are still the same things He will teach today.
The Passion of The Christ (a film by Mel Gibson)
Reviewed By Ray Wegner
I and my family saw the film The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson on Sunday Feb. 29, 2004 at the Globe Cinema here in Calgary. I had planned to do a review of the film, and kept notes while watching it. To insure I had not missed anything I went alone by myself to see the movie again on Tuesday March 2, 2004 - this time at the Sunridge Spectrum.
My first reaction to the production was quite different than my reaction when viewing it the second time. Amazing! Really truly amazing!
My assessment of the film hereby stated is as honest as possible. This is as straight as it comes. I am not politically correct. These are my honest feelings, and I consider myself an expert on the Bible, and biblical doctrine. You can go to my web site on the spiritual, which proves to you I know what I'm talking about. I was baptized 26 years ago, and have been a serious student of the Bible since age 14.
First Reaction To The Passion of Christ (a film by Mel Gibson)
I was very tense with a knot in my stomach before seeing the film, and in fact the whole day before - when the decision for our family to see it was made.
1. The film is inaccurate in many ways.
2. It is exploiting the suffering of Christ to make money.
3. Violent scenes have been added to the story, when there is no proof such violence ever happened. Therefore the film depicts a much more violent picture than actually happened.
4. The film paints a false picture of Jesus Christ. There is no proof Christ looked like the person in the film, who plays Jesus. The scriptures indicate Christ was not a handsome individual. There is no biblical proof Christ had long hair. Jesus very likely had a more swarthy complexion , but the film shows a very light skinned Christ. As well the movie depicts a false Jesus who couldn't endure pain stoically. The film depicts a masochistic Christ, but Christ was no masochist.
5. Roman soldiers are portrayed as totally brutal thugs, which is inaccurate.
6. The film is an insult to Christ, because it doesn't portray the whole truth according to the gospels; it projects a false image of Christ; it says virtually nothing about the teachings of Jesus; it portrays Christ as a helpless masochist; it exploits Christ's suffering and death for commercial purposes; it glorifies violence and in fact adds scenes of violence into the story that have no proof from the scriptures that they even happened; and the film is just a huge money racket.
7. There is no point in showing all the blood and gore, since we know this happened already. A few brief scenes of the suffering would have been sufficient. The film is a celebration of violence and should be thoroughly condemned.
Second Reaction to The Passion of The Christ (a film by Mel Gibson)
It dawned on me that this was a work of art - not the Gospel truth. Therefore the producer added certain scenes (that are not in the Bible) to illustrate very important points. This isn't the gospel - it is a work of art.
Yes Jesus never looked like the man in the film who played Jesus, but did it really matter in the film? None of us knows exactly how Jesus looked as a human being anyways. So why be so picky?
So it just came over me that I had been too picky, critical and judgmental when I viewed it the first time.
The basic message came through to me very powerfully. Christ had to endure a very horrible death, so as to carry out His Father's will - and give Himself as a sacrifice for sin. I had a greater appreciation for the sufferings of Mary as well.
All the various scenes took on new meaning for me. I could now see clearly the subtle points Gibson was making, and the thought that went behind the production.
So impressed was I that I took in the film a third time. The third time I took my children, and they were seeing it for the second time. Their reaction was almost identical to mine, when I saw it for the second time.
A very powerful and great film.
