Jesus’ preferred method of teaching His listeners is through parables with the sole intention to help them understand. It would seem that most of Jesus’ listeners were farmers, or that His work was centered in a society whose economy was heavily dependent on farming. So He used the lingo of the day that all could understand. In speaking of His death, He said that He would be glorified. Now this was a puzzle to His listeners because we all know that when someone receives glory, it’s a celebratory time of showing honor and respect.

Sometimes we hear a message, or might have read a passage, but the real meaning of what was read or said seems to have missed us. It might have been the same with the disciples then; but praise God, they eventually understood His messages. He came to be the sacrifice for all people; not just Jews. The hour came and Jesus Christ was glorified. When Jesus spoke of being glorified, He spoke of His death. He knew that only His blood was the true price for our ransom from sin.

Talk about bursting bubbles. They just crowned Him King. How could He speak about dying so quickly? It’s a time to live, to effect change, to free them from Roman occupation! They finally accepted that He is the Christ their prophets wrote about. Could it be that the Son of Man and this Christ are two different persons, or could they be the same? What was Jesus saying? Hence their question: “Who is this Son of Man?”

How is your belief in God’s words? Are you walking in light or in darkness? To walk in the light means to believe and obey His teachings: “line upon line and precept upon precept.” No man can change God’s words, and traditions cannot do away with His specific instructions. You cannot believe some parts of His word and refuse to believe other parts. It’s all or nothing.

We run the risk of our eyes being blinded and our hearts hardened when we refuse to believe God’s words. We are admonished that we should “Believe in the LORD your God; so shall ye be established. Believe His prophets; so shall ye prosper.” (2 Chronicles 20:20) When we refuse to believe God’s words, our behavior is comparable to Cain’s, Pharaoh’s, and all examples listed in the Bible. When we believe, our actions will ‘fall in line’. True belief is followed by acceptance and change. We will order our lives after God’s words.

I must believe that He has my best interest at heart. And just as He did, He bids me speak life over my situations. I will speak positive hope over my family and my job. I will speak eternal life over my life. I will not die here. There is hope. I’ve come too far to give up now. My dawn will be seen at the breaking of the day. I will live. Suicide isn’t a solution. I will hold on. I will stay the course. I will live and not die.

Have you ever experienced a misconstrued interpretation of your true motives? With all your sincere and genuine intentions, people still choose to believe different and hold you in suspicion. Well, you’re not alone. People with much to lose will always view you suspiciously and ‘knock down’ your suggestions and improvements toward something. The Bible is so true: Jesus really did experience all things that we humans do.

Like the Jewish nation of old, God has sent many evidences for you to believe in Him. If you reject the Bible, there is nature which speaks so loudly of the One, bigger than you and me, who holds this world in space. No scientist can explain God’s complex creation and maintenance system. The Darwin theory is just that – a theory... that has been pulled apart and found wanting. But God’s creation still stands a mystery to the most brilliant minds.

Yes, I believe supper time is a welcomed activity in most cultures; and it seemed to be so in Jesus’. He often enjoyed supper with His disciples. In fact, He was the server - He handed the food to His disciples. Such was the case when He sat with them for what turned out to be the last Passover Supper. His disciples didn’t know it; they were too self-centered to realize that deep meaning of His words. So much was happening with them all; but history only records what was happening in Judas’ thoughts as it served as the base for all that later transpired.

If you know you only had two days to live, what would be your final preparation? Would you be preoccupied with your impending demise or would the time be spent reinforcing some critical principle in your child/ward? Would you be busy putting your affairs in order or would you find the time to help somebody? Death is the only thing that’s certain in this life. The Bible teaches that the living know that they will die. Yet, not many made preparation for death.