The Good News Bible says, “God has shown us how much He loves us. It was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us... We are justified by His blood”( Romans 5:8-9). “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

Prophetic Revelations of Christ’s Agony and Glory

Because of the hypocritical behavior of the Pharisees and Sadducees, our Messiah from Galilee suffered profoundly. Jesus suffered because of their character assassinations and self-righteous machinations. He suffered because of the evil-hearted imaginations of His hateful persecutors and false accusers who were under Satan’s domination They accused Him of perjury, sedition and blasphemy. He suffered because of the abominations of every generation and from unjust condemnations. Our Lord of Love, Light, and Life suffered psychological torture, violent assaults, physical abuse, and verbal insults. Christ suffered mental anguish during His unfair trials, and kangaroo court-like Examinations in the Judgment Halls of Spiritual Alienation and Stagnation.

Money-loving, judgmental Judas betrayed King Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, a slave’s selling price, on that bright moonlit Passover night. Before the cock could crow twice, impetuous Peter had denied Christ thrice. And yet, through it all, our loving Lord was patient, forgiving, and kind.

Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, Herod Antipas, and Pilate were the presiding judges of our divine Sin-Bearer. Some priests and elders persuaded the people to ask Pontius Pilate to condemn Jesus to death. According to Matthew’s Gospel they said, “Set Barabbas free. Crucify Christ! Let His blood be on us, and our children.” The Roman soldiers scourged and flagellated Jesus twice. Hardly no one treated Him nice. His bruised and bloody body was disfigured from those cat- o’-nine-tails’ lacerating stripes, and from the nails driven into His hands and feet. A crown of thorns had pierced His bloody temple with excruciating pain all for our gain. Christ’s loss was our gain! “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:6 NIV).

Oh! How soon the multitudes had forgotten the Beatitudes of our innocent, righteous Savior. This same Jesus had raised Lazarus from the grave in Bethany. This same Jesus had cast out devils, and healed the sick and decrepit in tender mercy. This same Jesus had fed tens of thousands of hungry Truth-seekers by the Sea of Galilee. This same Jesus had agonized in prayer for a lost world of sinners in the Garden of Gethsemane. This same Jesus with His awesome power has liberated sinners from man-made traditions, and torn down the ethnic and religious walls of partition. Our self-less Lord of Compassion was condemned to die as a common criminal at Calvary. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before he shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth”(Is 53:7 NIV).

King Jesus could have said in self-defense: “I revealed in the prophetic scriptures My first advent, My anointing by the Holy Spirit, My agonizing death and glorious resurrection, and My world-shattering Second Coming Event; But your false prophets and the children of darkness could not understand. Only the spiritual children of light understood My plan. My kingdom of grace and forgiveness is already at hand, and My kingdom of glory and everlasting righteousness will soon be fulfilled in My plan. Only the wise who read God’s Word will understand. My mission, sufferings, agony, and glory were all testified beforehand through the visions of the holy prophets throughout the land. My patience and passions were foretold.

I Am your Creator, Life-Sustainer, and Savior. I Am the God of Adam, Enoch, and Noah. I Am the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. I Am That I AM! I AM the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings, and when I return in all My of Glory, the trumpets will sound while the angels sing. Every eye shall see Me, and bow down and worship God Almighty. My saints will be translated incorruptible with immortality, but all unrepentant sinners will be destroyed by the brightness of My Glorious Coming. When the holy city, the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven to the New Earth, “The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (Rev 21:1-27). But there was silence! Christ said nothing in self-defense!

Simon from Cyrene, Africa, helped Christ carry our cross up the hill to Calvary. We are all guilty of killing Jesus Christ! We are all guilty of shedding His innocent blood! He died for our sins the death we deserve; The Man of Sorrows was treated as we deserve, but He did not treat His persecutors as they deserved. Jesus laid down His life for us! The Divine Son of God bore our sins in His own body. Jesus tasted the second death, and faced the wrath of God for us while nailed to a cross at Calvary. Some rebels thought that Christ had faced eternal elimination by His painful crucifixion termination. But Prophetic Revelations had predicted that Christ would rise again in the Resurrection. Satan didn’t want King Jesus around, but he couldn’t keep Him in the ground. The Son of God is not dead! God is alive! Our first love will revive, and we shall survive.

On the third day King Jesus arose from the tomb! Now, we don’t have to live a life of gloom! Jesus is alive! Our Blessed Hope is real. We can claim His efficacious death as our atoning blood sacrifice! Alleluia! Rejoice! Jesus is our Divine Substitute, and no pest or pestilence shall leave the righteous begging for bread or destitute!

Our Grace-giver and divine Sin-forgiver was hated and despised by many selfish spies, wannabees, and scribes. Our sinless Savior validated and vindicated God’s holy character and His Moral Law. Christ had no faults or flaws. If He could have changed the Moral Law, then He would not had to die on a cross! But He ratified His new covenant with His own blood on that first Good Friday. Faith in Christ’s perfect grace and righteousness can save us. Jesus suffered and died for all of us because all of us caused Jesus to suffer and die. Are you willing to die to sin, and to live for Him, and to be just like Him? In His humanity, He humbled Himself, and obeyed God’s moral law of love. Christ’s Mission was to save sin-sick sinners from their sins, but not in their sins. Repent, believe, and obey His divine Gospel as you Go and Tell the Gospel.

Are you a born-again Christ-like Christian? Now there is a real big difference in just being a religious person, and in being a spiritual person. Any false prophet, any racist, any neo-Sadducee, any Anti-Christ, or any hateful warmonger can claim to be a religious person. But a true Christian reflects and represents the lifestyle of Jesus Christ. True Christians are Christ-like Truth-seekers who love all their neighbors, regardless of their race, religious creed, skin color, or occasional misdeeds. A true Christian imitates and tries to emulate the moral character and loving personality of Jesus Christ. We must all be willing to take up our cross daily, and resist the Devil and all evil. Our divine Redeemer was willing to pay sin’s Ultimate Price with His all-sufficient, Atoning Sacrifice. There is still life-changing power and grace in His precious blood today. Christ’s Mission was to seek and save the lost; He is the only Solution to all Moral Pollution!

Jesus prayed this sincere and serious prayer: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”. This prayer of hope and forgiveness opens up the door of mercy and grace to every penitent sinner willing to confess and repent of their sins. But do not procrastinate or wait until it is too late! When God’s Door of Mercy closes, He passes His righteous judgments on to unrepentant sinners.

The Good News Bible says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hurtful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tenderhearted to one another and forgive one another as God has forgiven you through Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Hate begets hatred! Violence begets violence. Revenge killings beget retaliatory killings. Bigotry begets bigotry; But love begets loving-kindness, and generosity melts away animosity.

Christ tasted and experienced the death we deserve so that we could inherit eternal life, and escape the final destination of Satan and his followers, which is the second death in the fiery lake of damnation.

Many standing at the foot of Calvary’s Cross had seen the awesome miracles, healings, and acts of restoration by our Divine Physician, but they had rejected His divinity, love, incarnation, and His Plan of Salvation. Are we any different? Some of you might be on a guilt trip, a fear trip, an ego trip, or a power trip mission, but Christ wants you to share the Gospel Commission! Are you sharing the Gospel, or are you spreading gossip? Are you spiritually anointed or are you disjointed? The Holy Scriptures mention the transforming power of forgiveness just as much as it mentions the healing power of a loving spirit. I believe that our Prince of Peace and our High Priest-Intercessor is still saying to us today: