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  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...

  The saints whose resurrection life has entered into their hearts are the kingdom of God.   Regarding resurrection, pastors in today's churches say, "Although believers enjoy resurrection life in reality, the time of complete resurrection has not yet come, and resurrection will be completed at the second coming of Jesus." Why do they say this? This is because they think of resurrection as the resurrection of a dead body. However, those who believe that they died with Jesus believe that they were resurrected with Christ. Resurrection is not a dead body, but a dead spirit coming back to life and taking on a spiritual body. If resurrection is the resurrection of a dead body, isn't Lazarus who died and came back to life, the daughter of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, who died and came back to life, and the son of the widow of Nain who died and came back to life, not resurrection? The Bible does not say resurrection about these three people who died and came back to...

  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...

He appointed twelve.   Mark 3:13-19  『 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordered twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into a house. 』 The meaning of twelve can be found in Hebrew letters. They are ten (yod:  י ) and two (ved:  בּ ). Yod means hand, and Bede means the house (temple) of God.  『 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained (Epoiesen  ἐ ποί ησεν ) twelve 』 mountain mea...

  Judah's Betrayal   Mark 14:10-11 『 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him. 』 Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver from a priest. He became a disciple of Jesus, but he betrayed and betrayed Jesus. Why did Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus, betray Jesus? Judas Iscariot was chosen as one of the twelve disciples, but unlike the other disciples, he did not use the title "Lord" toward Jesus. Instead, he called Jesus "Rabbi" and did not acknowledge him as anything more than a teacher. Therefore, it can be seen that he did not have faith in Jesus. In John 12:5-6, Judas became so consumed by greed that he betrayed the trust of not only Jesus but also his fellow disciples. Judas may have wanted to follow Jesus simply because he knew that Jesus had many followers and he beli...

Jesus' mother and siblings   In Mark 3:31-35,  “ There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. ”  And the multitude sat about him, and they said to him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seeking for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. 』 When Jesus' mother, Mary, and his brothers saw him performing his ministry, they thought he was possessed by a demon. So they came to Jesus, and Jesus emphasized that his family was a spiritual family. The obstacle to living a life of faith is physical identity. Physical identity is the self, and is established as a solid castle in the hearts of believers. Jesus told us to deny this. It is a spiritual war against oneself. Mark 10:26-30 『 And they were astonished ...

Controversy over the authority of Jesus   Mark 11:27-33  『 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there came to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things  』 When  “ Jesus, who announced the judgment of the temple, ”  appears again in the ...

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 coin. ...

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 list...