Good News for All Nations

The Good News announced by Jesus offers salvation to men and women of every nation, ethnic group, and people . Jesus declared before his ascension to Heaven, “ All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations .” He then sent his disciples to announce the Good News of this salvation to the world. Following his Death and Resurrection, the  Age of Salvation  began in earnest.

The submission of Jesus to an unjust death is the pattern of the love and service to others that his disciples are called to imitate . The obedience of Jesus to his Father becomes the model for how we emulate him. His willing submission to death on the Roman Cross is the pattern for the conduct and attitude of his disciples. His elevation to the Messianic Throne resulted from his submission to “ death upon a cross .” Conforming our lives to this example is how we learn to “ follow him wherever he goes .”

Jesus proclaimed a new and different political reality, the Kingdom of God, and it bears little resemblance to the governments of this world . When Jesus first appeared in Galilee, he proclaimed the “ Kingdom of God ”: “ Repent, for the kingdom is at hand .” In his ministry, God’s reign began to invade the Earth. But his realm was and remains entirely different than the political systems of the present fallen age. On more than one occasion, Jesus refused that kind of political power, especially when it was offered by Satan who tempted him with sovereignty over “ all the kingdoms of the world .”

Миссия Мессии включала в себя страдания и смерть за других, и он призвал своих учеников следовать тем же путем, что и Он - Марка 8:31. Приближаясь к Иерусалиму, Иисус объяснил, что значит быть Мессией: страдания и смерть . Его заявление противоречило массовым мессианским ожиданиям, в том числе и тех его учеников, которых он также призвал взять Крест и последовать его примеру. В противном случае они могли бы стать объектами позора перед Господом Славы в Последний день.

Following Jesus means living a self-sacrificial life of service to others, especially to the weak and the insignificant . Jesus explained to his disciples what it meant to be the Messiah of Israel while on the road to Jerusalem. There, he would face his final confrontation with the Temple authorities ending in his unjust death at the hands of the Romans. Was not Jerusalem the appointed place where the prophets of Yahweh were slain, where the Messiah himself must suffer rejection and death, according to the Scriptures?