Thread: The Power of Jesus: Even unto Death

Matthew 26: 20-22

Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

Notice that all of the disciples thought it was possible that they could be the one to betray their Lord. Then later after they had consumated the passover dinner...

Matthew 26:30-35

And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all [men] shall be offended because of thee, [yet] will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Jesus tells the disciples that they will abandon him and their immeadiate reaction is no way! We will die first! I wonder how many Christians would die for their faith when they can't even talk about that faith without fear of criticism? Then Jesus takes them into the garden to pray knowing that his time was short.

Matthew 26:36-41

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.


Peter and the disciples say they will die for Jesus...but then they can't even stay awake and pray with him! Then after catching them sleeping two more times the army comes and takes Jesus...

Matthew 26:69-75

Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before [them] all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another [maid] saw him, and said unto them that were there, This [fellow] was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto [him] they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art [one] of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, [saying], I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Peter, the rock, denies Jesus three times. You might say this is the man that Jesus is basing his church on? These 11 disciples who openly doubt their ability to betray Jesus, sleep when asked to stand with Jesus, and curse and deny him....How will the Christian church survive?


Then something miraculous happens....the disciples are filled with the Spirit at Pentecost and their hearts are revolutionized for Christ. Before their following was one that lacked substance...like many who sit in church pews across this country...they know Jesus but do not have the power of the Holy Spirit. Each of these same disciples, after being filled with the Spirit, go on to serve Christ in power. They are preaching, getting ridiculed, beaten and eventually all die for their faith.

Matthew-Slain in Ethiopia for preaching the Gospel.

Mark-Dragged to death in the streets of Alexandria for preaching the Gospel.

Luke-Hung on an olive tree in Greece for preaching the Gospel.

James-Be-headed in Jerusalem for preaching the Gospel.

Phillip-Hung up against a pillar in Hyropolis and stoned to death for preaching the Gospel.

Barthalamew-Flayed alive upside down on an "X" shaped crucifixtion device for preaching the Gospel.

Jude-Shot to death with arrows for preaching the Gospel.

Andrew-Bound to a cross and left to die of exposure and dehydration for preaching the Gospel.

Barnabas-Stoned to death for preaching the Gospel.

Thomas-Run through with a lance in southeast India for preaching the Gospel.

Peter-Crucified upside down for preaching the Gospel.

Paul-Beheaded in Rome for preaching the Gospel.

For those of you who call the name of Jesus your own but lack the power of the Spirit...pray now to be filled and begin to prclaim the name of Jesus with power. For those of you who don't know Jesus...ask for his forgiveness of your sins and experience the power of forgiveness

I thank Jesus every morning, every day, every night. I just don't call him Jesus and I don't think of him as a person or a God. I just have a general sense of gratitude that I am alive, and I don't really worry about who deserves that gratitude. I suspect if there is a supreme being, they are a big enough "person" to be satisfied that I am grateful for my life. Since I have no information on the matter, I don't really care anyway; it doesn't seem like it would do much good to pretend I know what's going on when clearly nobody does, neither the Christians nor the atheists.

For those of you who call the name of Jesus your own but lack the power of the Spirit...pray now to be filled and begin to prclaim the name of Jesus with power

Yes The power of Jesus is great.

*falls asleep reading this thread*

Hmmm. Getting yourself killed because of faith. That's something to cherish and be pround of! Yea!

Honestly, for all those "devout" Christians, I see not why they really care if their followers are killed. They are all going immediately to Heaven anyway, according to their silly ideas. By killing them, you are doing them a favour, really, by sending them to paradise early so they can be "one with God in eternity."

You think they wouldn't want to be separated from God! Or perhaps..they like life on Earth more than their bullshit faerietale.

Yes, I thank God every day that my daughter is healthy, smart, talented,..........you know, basically perfect!! But that doesn't mean I believe in that fictional character. It just sounds better than saying, "Thank Obi-Wan Kenobi my daughter is healthy, etc.........."

But but...he's our only hope! if God doesn't exist, then man will surely delve into utter chaos and we will rape each other, eat babies, and...OH THE HUMANITY---piss on the sidewalk.

Originally Posted by conservative

[IMG] For those of you who don't know Jesus...ask for his forgiveness of your sins and experience the power of forgiveness

Well...I know who Jesus is (or is supposed to be) But - no offense intended, Con - I'm going to take a pass on asking his forgiveness.

I am sure my rabbi would approve.

I'm sure my Druid ancestors in pre-Roman England would also approve. In fact, I think they would be horrified to watch their descendant hand his soul over to Jesus! Gadz, man, what a nightmare! First the Romans come and wipe out nearly a generation of men. Then they take your women and rape them, and teach their offspring to worship their god... as if all of that isn't bad enough, their tortured souls have to watch their descendants continue to swear allegiance to this so-called "Jesus" for centuries?! Presumably, these tortured souls were also taken out back and kicked in the nuts, as per the Vegas Vacation incident with the blackjack dealer.

No, I think I'll give a nod to my ancestors of Ireland and England and Germany and the Netherlands, and Just Say No to Jesus.

bwhaha whoever neg repped me for saying I fell asleep reading this thread didn't bother to read the initial post about the apostles falling asleep when they were supposed to be doing yada yada stuff with hey-sus.

I guess jokes fall on deaf ears when people have no sense of humor.