Julu

  Parable of a growing seed   Mark 4:26-29 『 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And he should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 』 Here, the kingdom of God is  “ he basileia to deu ”  ( ἡ   βασιλεί α  το ῦ   θεο ῦ ), meaning the kingdom of God the Father. God the Father gives the kingdom of God to  “ saints who have built a new temple in their hearts. ”  Man means God. Land means people made of dust. God created the shape of the earth and poured the Spirit into it. So, the shape of the earth became  “ a person with the image (temple) of God. ”  However, due to the sin of leaving God, the image of God disappeared. ...

  Those who reject a life of self-denial   Matthew 16:24-25 Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life (pshken  ψυχ ὴ ν ) shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 』 The word self is life, psyken (soul).  『 Whoever loses his life (pshyken) for my sake ( α ὐ τή ν ) will find it (yuresei). 』  Although the word  “ that ”  has not been translated, in meaning it is the soul. am. Yuresei has the meaning of discover, have, and obtain in addition to finding. Therefore, we can see that the lost soul (Psyken) and the soul gained (Psyken) are different things. In the Bible, this soul is expressed as either the old self or the new self. The soul that must be lost is the old self, and the soul that is gained is the new self. This old man must be crucified with Jesus on the cross.  “ Carrying one ’ s cross ”  m...

  Parable of the woman who found her lost drachma   Luke 15:8-10  『 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does she not light a candle, and sweep the house, and diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 』 This is the second of Jesus' parables. The first parable is about a shepherd losing one of his hundred sheep, and the shepherd goes out to find that one sheep. It is not that the sheep has lost its way, but that it has lost its shepherd. So, the story is about a shepherd leaving ninety-nine in the field and going in search of one. This indicates that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, abandoned his throne in heaven and came to this earth. And, the second parable is a story about a woman looking for a lost...

  Jesus came to find the lost sheep   Luke 15:1-7  『 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it ? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance  』 Regarding the background of Jesus telling this parable, the Pharisees and scribes were dissatisfied when they saw  “ Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinn...

  What kind of life is pursuing righteousness?   During their sermons, church pastors say,  “ Salvation comes by the grace of God, not by the law. ”  A person who believes in Jesus  “ has his sins imputed to Jesus Christ, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer. ”  So, although he was a sinner before, he became righteous because of Christ. It's not wrong. What is the problem? First, most pastors do not say to believers, "In order for believers' sins to be transferred to Jesus through Jesus' atonement death, they must become dead in union with Jesus Christ who died on the cross." Since pastors say that sins are transferred by believing in Jesus, they think that all they have to do is believe in Jesus. Second, most pastors do not say that  “ those who died in union with Jesus on the cross are now resurrected with Jesus. ”  Those who are currently resurrected with Jesus are recognized as holy by God's grace. Because they do not kno...

   Parable of the woman who found her lost drachma   Luke 15:8-10  『 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does she not light a candle, and sweep the house, and diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 』 This is the second of Jesus' parables. The first parable is about a shepherd losing one of his hundred sheep, and the shepherd goes out to find that one sheep. It is not that the sheep has lost its way, but that it has lost its shepherd. So, the story is about a shepherd leaving ninety-nine in the field and going in search of one. This indicates that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, abandoned his throne in heaven and came to this earth. And, the second parable is a story about a woman looking for ...

  Parable of the woman who found her lost drachma   Luke 15:8-10  『 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does she not light a candle, and sweep the house, and diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 』 This is the second of Jesus' parables. The first parable is about a shepherd losing one of his hundred sheep, and the shepherd goes out to find that one sheep. It is not that the sheep has lost its way, but that it has lost its shepherd. So, the story is about a shepherd leaving ninety-nine in the field and going in search of one. This indicates that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, abandoned his throne in heaven and came to this earth. And, the second parable is a story about a woman looking for a lost...

   Jesus' death on the cross   Mark 15:33-37  『 And when the sixth hour came, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calledeth Elias. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 』 The Jews thought that Jesus was their Christ and welcomed him into Jerusalem with great enthusiasm. But Jesus exceeded their expectations. The "Christ they were waiting for", they thought, should be their king who would save Israel, not a defendant on trial before Pilate. When the Jews' expectations were not met, their welcome turned into betrayal. If they did not ...

  Parable of the Ten Virgins   Matthew 25:1-2  『 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 』 It is very important to know to whom Jesus spoke the words of the text. Chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew is a connection between chapter 24 and what will happen in the last days. The original text of the Bible did not have chapters and verses, but chapters and verses were introduced around the 16th century to make reading easier. Therefore, believers must remember that chapters 24 and 25 are connected from the perspective of the original text. Chapter 25 includes not only the parable of the ten virgins, but also the parable of the talents and the parable of the sheep and goats. Therefore, the object in Jesus' parable of the ten virgins is the same as the object in the parable of the talents or the sheep and goats. As in the analogy of 10 pounds, ...