Keep letting Him have His way with you. Let Him work in—then work out what He works in—all for His glory.

This is what is said about Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8), “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.” The inspired Word of God declares this woman was a “GREAT” woman. Why? Because our Lord knew her character.

Did you notice the words “angels with a great sound of a trumpet”? Why is this significant? Because there are those who claim that this passage, along with 1 Corinthians 15:51,52, are the same event—namely the rapture. Why is this Matthew 24:30,31 not the rapture even though it mentions the “trumpet sounding”?

The answer is because a careful study of both passages indicates several truths: The passage in 1 Corinthians 15 is a message to the Church; whereas, the message in Matthew 24 is to Israel, before the Church was established, which is found in Acts 2. Therefore, one would conclude that the rapture passage—“the trumpet sounding” in 1 Corinthians 15:51,52—can be compared with 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17, which clearly states the dead in Christ are going to be resurrected at the sound of the trump.

Apparently, Zechariah’s prophecy is describing the events after the second coming of Jesus when the battle of Armageddon takes place. At the millennium, during the reign of Christ, trumpets will be sounding at the feast of Tabernacles. That means Paul’s writing to the Church of Corinth—“the last trumpet”—was not literally intended to mean the very last trumpet.

Introduction: Tracing the last steps of our Lord Jesus reminds us of His ultimate mission for coming to this earth. He went from CELEBRATION in the Upper Room, to DESPERATION in the Garden of Gethsemane, to CRUCIFIXION on the cross, to RESURRECTION from the grave, and to His coming REVELATION in the clouds!

John writes, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Rev 1:7-8).

The songwriter penned these words,

1. Jesus’ CELEBRATION with His disciples at the Last Supper was marked with HUMILITY!

He used the “broken bread” and “poured out juice” commemorating the Passover which was initiated by the Lord in the book of Exodus. The elements (bread & juice) are used symbolically of His broken body and shed blood as a sacrifice on the cross. Although at the moment the disciples did not fully understand the meaning, later they were able to grasp its significance. Therefore, it radically transformed their lives….and this writer, to0.

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (Matt 26:26-30).

2. Jesus’ CRUCIFIXION on the cross was marked with AGONY! (John19:16-19) – “Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

3. Jesus’ RESURRECTION from the grave was marked with VICTORY! (Luke 24:1-6) – “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee.”

4. Jesus’ “SECOND COMING” will be marked with GLORY! (Rev 19:11-16)

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

• To Forgive!
• To Love!
• To Keep!
• To Bless!
• To Comfort!
• To Accept!
• To Empower!
• To Come Again!

Next, the formal trial began early in the morning, during which Jesus was sent to Pilate. Some suggest that the Jewish trial verdict could not have sentenced Jesus to death; therefore, He was sent to be sentenced before the Roman court headed by Pilate.

Please do not overlook the word “malefactor.” Why? Because it perhaps explains some of the charges brought against Jesus. The word “malefactor” is κακός, which means bad, evil, wicked, and even harmful.

Get the picture. Jesus had just finished the Passover meal with His disciples, with one who was a devil, and while explaining His death—which they were oblivious to—the events concerning the “cup” would transpire in just a few hours. Nonetheless, after washing their feet, He rises from the table and makes His way to a garden—not any old garden, but the one called Gethsemane.

By the way, the word Gethsemane is the Hebrew equivalent גת שמנא (gath shemanim), which directly translates to “oil press.” What a graphic description of God the Son’s will being pressed out. Do you think our will needs to follow His?

Did you know our Father has a purpose for you? In other words, we are not on earth just to take up space! Instead, our purpose is to be made more like Him. Why? In order for those who do not know Him, that they will not only come to know Him, but will also love Him, and then in turn, serve Him.

While those who do not know the God of the Bible are running day after day in their own world, eternity is the destination of every human being. Sadly, some will miss heaven. Blinded by the god of this world, many are chasing their own dreams, pursuing their own desires, and living only for the present and forgetting eternity.

However, according to the Bible, a rude awakening is ahead for those who do not have time to make things right with God, or do not have any concern for the things of God.

Are you a part of the family of God? If so, remember, we have a “CUP” to drink from before our CROSS we are to carry.

1. Water Baptism is an “Outward Demonstration” of an “Inward Revelation”! (Rom 6:1-5) – “……3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”

2. Water Baptism is an “Outward Demonstration” of an Inward Appropriation”! (Rom 6:6-11) – “6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

3. Water Baptism is an “Outward Demonstration” of an “Inward Manifestation” (Rom 6:12-13) – “2Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”