Easter 2021: Message and example of Jesus more powerful and meaningful than ever, Persecution continues, Christians must openly defy evil and lies
“12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were
buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the
money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called
a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.”…Matthew 21
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”…Edmund Burke
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”…Jesus, John 8:32
There is nothing new under the sun.
In the days of Jesus and for hundreds of years following his death,
Christians were persecuted and killed and forbidden from practicing
their faith.
In the pre WWII years in Nazi Germany, Christians and Jews were
persecuted and killed.
Evil reigned.
Today, under the guise of public safety, Christians and Jews
have been prohibited from gathering to worship.
Millions of people are silenced for speaking out.
It is the duty of Christians to speak out and defy evil and
lies.
Don’t be confused about the “Prince of Peace” narrative.
Jesus was the antithesis of passive.
He spoke the truth and defied evil.
From The Rutherford Institute March 29, 2021.
“Stand Up to Tyranny: How to Respond to the Evils of Our Age”
“In every age, we find ourselves wrestling with the question of how Jesus Christ—the itinerant preacher and revolutionary activist who died challenging the police state of his time, namely, the Roman Empire—would respond to the moral questions of our day.
For instance, would Jesus advocate, as so many evangelical Christian leaders have done in recent years, for congregants to “submit to your leaders and those in authority,” which in the American police state translates to complying, conforming, submitting, obeying orders, deferring to authority and generally doing whatever a government official tells you to do?
What would Jesus do?
Study the life and teachings of Jesus, and you may be surprised at how relevant he is to our modern age.
A radical nonconformist who challenged authority at every turn, Jesus spent his adult life speaking truth to power, challenging the status quo of his day, pushing back against the abuses of the Roman Empire, and providing a blueprint for standing up to tyranny that would be followed by those, religious and otherwise, who came after him.
Those living through this present age of government lockdowns, immunity passports, militarized police, SWAT team raids, police shootings of unarmed citizens, roadside strip searches, invasive surveillance and the like might feel as if these events are unprecedented. However, the characteristics of a police state and its reasons for being are no different today than they were in Jesus’ lifetime: control, power and money.
Much like the American Empire today, the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day was characterized by secrecy, surveillance, a widespread police presence, a citizenry treated like suspects with little recourse against the police state, perpetual wars, a military empire, martial law, and political retribution against those who dared to challenge the power of the state.”
“Jesus—the revolutionary, the political dissident, and the nonviolent activist—lived and died in a police state. Any reflection on Jesus’ life and death within a police state must take into account several factors: Jesus spoke out strongly against such things as empires, controlling people, state violence and power politics. Jesus challenged the political and religious belief systems of his day. And worldly powers feared Jesus, not because he challenged them for control of thrones or government but because he undercut their claims of supremacy, and he dared to speak truth to power in a time when doing so could—and often did—cost a person his life.
Unfortunately, the radical Jesus, the political dissident who took aim at injustice and oppression, has been largely forgotten today, replaced by a congenial, smiling Jesus trotted out for religious holidays but otherwise rendered mute when it comes to matters of war, power and politics.
Yet for those who truly study the life and teachings of Jesus, the resounding theme is one of outright resistance to war, materialism and empire.”
Read more:
You can’t get more real than Jesus.
The ultimate example.
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Unimaginable suffering explained, Worst form of death, Traumatic hemorrhagic shock
Even if you are a believer, you need to have a better understanding of the suffering that Jesus endured.
Here is a small sample of the scourging impact revealed by the shroud.
If you have not seen the History Channel documentary on the Shroud of Turin, I strongly suggest that you do.
Got your attention?
Is this the face of Jesus?
More here:
Citizen WElls 