This Week With Jesus

Matthew 16:18 "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Peter had to be reinstated Jesus had called Peter the "Rock". Yet when the odds were against them, Peter ran away and denied Jesus. In his own eyes he had fallen, knowing he had betrayed as well. Twice he had shown his biggest weakness - fear. Once when he tried to walk on the water and again when Jesus had been taken away.  But if Peter had to become the rock of Christianity, Jesus needed to reinstate his position among the disciples as well build Peters self confidence. This was critical if this group of 12 or G-12 was to be successful. Note the following verses:  15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, ...

Earlier we talked about why Jesus stayed on after His resurrection. In 2000 years, 12 followers became 2.38 Billion! So those 12 had to be well equipped in faith, in strength and vision. They had to have a shared vision with Jesus. They had to have faith, which needed to be built. Live By Faith, not by sight. He had one unfinished task and that was to replace Himself with His disciples and friends. Yes he was risen, but he knew He had to go. Look at the question they asked Him "will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ''? They still had not grasped the fact that Jesus's kingdom was a different ball game! They still had a lot to learn and a lot to be taught, which He did at different times and places, throughout those 40 days. So what did He have to do? For one, He had to teach them to live by and be led by faith, something they did not know as He was hitherto been with them physically. Till now the disciples were used to seeing Jesus, interacting with Him a...

One week after He was crucified,  Pastor Rajiv talks about the Resurrection on Easter day. Is it valid today in 2022? 

He had to enable them for the Great commission with  Hope and Faith.  Read Hebrews Chapter 11  HERE , if you have not read that fantastic Chapter from the Bible.  Hope is the belief in what could be. Hope redefines what is probable and opens the paths to the impossible. Hope opens the door to even let yourself consider that there may be a way out of your problem. Our Christian faith revolves around hope and faith today, both going hand in hand.   But in those days after His crucifixion, hope had to be rekindled. There was no Paul and no letter to the Hebrews.  Jesus’ crucifixion had devastated His followers, just as it must have filled his enemies with pride.  In Matthew 19:27 Peter said to Jesus, “We have left everything to follow you.” And in John 6:68 Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life .”  Above all, in John 20:9 we also learn that they “did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise...

John 20:7 "and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself". Why would the Son of God, who had just conquered death, bother to pause and leave His tomb tidy? According to the tradition of that day, after a servant set the dinner table, he would wait, just out of sight, until the family had finished eating. If one of them was done, they would rise, wad up the napkin and toss it onto the table -- the signal to clear their setting. However, if they got up from the table, folded their napkin and laid it beside their plate, the message was "I'm not finished yet." The folded cloth served to whisper to those who listened, "I'm coming back!" And He did, as we all know. But why come back AND stay for 40 days? to do what? Jesus knew He had a lot of business to attend to, primarily to serve the singular objective of the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19–20 contains what this Great ...

The Heavenly Gazette Monday edition STING OPERATION SUCCESSFUL !  It is with a great sense of relief and joy that we report that the sting operation we carried out against Satan, headed by the son of God, is concluded with an immense victory against his satanic  forces.  According to our correspondent on Earth, God's son, Jesus, as He is known on Earth,  has succeeded in the most impossible task of standing in for the world's sins - past present and future, by offering Himself as the required sacrifice, ensuring the  humans down on earth can follow their original charter of being Gods people. Our correspondent has also been promoted and will remain on Earth after Jesus to ensure His work continues. He further reports that Satan, along with his cohort was laughing in delight on Friday, when silly and selfish humans killed Jesus, little realizing that Jesus would over come even physical death and rise again. Today they have realized that no force in the uni...