Author: Pastor Curt

Matthew 21:8-9 (LSB) 8 And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 And the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were crying out, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

As Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to the Passover Celebration, the crowds gathered along the road and welcomed Him as a king, laying their garments and palm branches on the road.

He was, in fact, the King; the long-awaited Messiah who had been prophesied for centuries.

His arrival, and the enthusiasm of the crowds, stirred people inside the city to ask who this was who had made such an entry!

Matthew 21:10-11 (LSB) 10 And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Despite the triumphant entry, Jesus wasted no time in clearing the temple of the “money changers” and those selling inside the temple area.

This display of power and authority angered the Jewish leaders even further. And they could stand no more.

Ultimately, they called for His execution. And, just as had been prophesied for centuries, He was nailed to a cross where He died for the sins of humanity under the guise of being a dangerous rebel who refused to bow to the authority of the Jewish leaders.

So, was Jesus a rebel?

Did He live a life that deserved that label?

Well, yes and no.

Jesus doesn’t fit the classic definition of a rebel.

He did, however, stand fearlessly in the face of the tyrannical religious leaders and speak bold truths that exposed their darkened hearts.

He did break the mold of what had been expected of the long-awaited Messiah, coming in humility and service, not with great military power and might.

And He did much more; more than can be listed and broken down here.

Suffice it to say that Jesus was not a rebel. Not in a political sense, or in any other way for that matter.

Did He oppose the status quo? Yes.

Did He stand face to face with corrupt leaders and expose their hypocrisy? Yes.

But He did this for spiritual reasons only.

It was not for show, for popularity, or for power.

He was God in the flesh, not a mere man with a motive, acting in the flesh.

Jesus did what He did, not to rebel, but to expose darkness and lies, and to bring truth and light.

His heart was pure, and His motives were holy.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this series, and that it has shown you the value of looking deeper into the word of God for answers to your questions.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Luke 8:1-3 (LSB) 1 And it happened that soon afterward He was going around from one city and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager, and Susanna, and many others who were ministering to them from their possessions.

As we continue to look at why Jesus was considered a rebel in the eyes of the religious leaders of His day, the verses above add yet another reason for them to do so.

He treated people with respect regardless of being male or female, rich or poor, accepted or rejected by society.

Not only did He spend time with tax collectors, who frequently invited Him to dine with them at their homes, but He also treated women in a way that a patriarchal society had trouble comprehending.

Jesus did not view women as inferior to men. He ministered to them, and many of them, in turn, ministered to Him and His disciples—supporting them with their own resources.

This was unheard of in Jewish culture at the time, and it caused those who already viewed Him with suspicion to become even more critical.

And in keeping with His constant labeling of the leaders as hypocrites, Jesus emphasized humility and service instead of religious or social status.

This was all so new to the Jews that they simply could not understand it with their natural minds.

He was teaching on a spiritual level they had no understanding of.

Their hearts had become so hard and rigid that it enraged them—so much so that they wanted to kill this “rebellious” Rabbi who was making them look like fools in front of the very people they were appointed to lead.

In the process of all He did while on earth, He never once encouraged anyone to resist or stand against the Roman government.

In fact, He rejected the notion or idea of a military style rebellion against them. And this fact frustrated and angered some of His followers who were waiting expectantly for the Messiah to come in great power and rescue the Jews from Roman oppression.

Like the frustration seen in the Jewish leaders, those who followed Him who had little spiritual understanding also grew frustrated that He showed no interest in overthrowing the government of that day.

So, was He or was He not a rebel?

Did He deserve the labels that the religious leaders had placed on Him? Had He earned the scorn with which they looked upon Him?

Join us tomorrow as we conclude this study!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Matthew 23:15 (NLT) 15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

The scripture above is a perfect example of the words that Jesus used when confronting and exposing the religious leaders of His day.

He did not fear them. And they knew it.

His brazenness, and His persistence in rebuking them increasingly drew their ire.

Today, let’s look more closely at specific things that reinforce the fact that the religious leaders viewed Jesus as a rebel.

They accused Him of breaking the Sabbath.

John 5:18 (LSB) 18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

He constantly confronted them and accused them of being nothing but hypocrites. As proof of this, Matthew 23 gives examples of many “Woe to you” statements. This caused them to view Jesus as subversive and a threat to their authority.

He shocked the religious leaders by frequently eating with tax collectors, who were seen as traitors; reprehensible in their corrupt behavior.

Further, lies were propagated, accusing Jesus of speaking out against the Roman taxes, causing Him to be viewed as politically dangerous.

Luke 23:2 (LSB) 2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

He frequently “re-interpreted” Old Testament Law with the phrase, “you have heard it said… but I say to you.”

In these, Jesus would add more depth and address these laws in a way that caused people to examine their heart, and the motives with which they did these things.

No longer was this about rote reactions but about allowing God to touch the heart and change it, making it a heart that moves out of love for Him, not blind obedience to leaders who care nothing for people.

Let’s continue digging into this tomorrow.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Isaiah 53:12 (NLT) 12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Welcome back.

Above is the verse that Jesus referred to when He spoke of being “counted among the rebels.”

Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday and learn some more together.

We have already determined that the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ time were hypocrites, caring more about appearances than their actual duties as shepherds of the Jewish people.

They spoke eloquently, and they dressed in beautiful, ceremonial robes, priding themselves in their appearance.

And their outside appearance was nearly flawless. But on the inside, they were dirty, caring only about their traditions and rituals, and not about the condition of their hearts.

It was because of this that Jesus stood so firmly against them and railed against their calloused hearts and hypocritical ways.

And as He walked out His ministry, there were few among the Jewish leadership of that day that He did not offend or anger in some way.

To be clear, His goal was not to infuriate them. It was to expose their darkened hearts.

It was His persistent hammering away at their hypocrisy that caused Him to be labeled by them as a rebel; a friend of sinners who kept company with tax collectors, prostitutes, and others who were equally undesirable in society.

Jesus challenged the religious authorities frequently enough to earn the moniker of rebel (transgressor), at least in their eyes.

And as His ministry progressed and grew, drawing crowds numbering in the thousands, this rebel reputation among the religious leaders was growing, slowly pushing Him toward a death sentence that only rebels of that day received.

Let’s continue tomorrow.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Luke 22:37 (NLT) 37 For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among the rebels.’ Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.”

Was Jesus a rebel?

This is an interesting question. One that deserves our attention. So, let’s take a look and see what the word of God shows us.

First, let’s define rebel.

1. a person who is opposed to the political system in their country and tries to change it using force.

2. a person who does not like rules or authority, and shows this by behaving differently from most people in society.

We can determine without any doubt that Jesus was not a rebel as defined in definition #1.

Definition #2 also does not describe Him.

But here is what we know from God’s word.

Jesus opposed the incumbent Jewish religious leaders of His day. He vehemently disagreed with a large percentage of what they did, and He spoke plainly about it directly to many of them.

It is important to note that He did not oppose what they taught. They taught the Law correctly.

They did not, however, walk it out as they taught others to do.

And Jesus railed against them constantly for their hypocrisy, telling them bluntly that that they did not enter the kingdom of heaven, while also not allowing others to enter.

Matthew 23:13 (LSB) 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

What did He mean?

He was referring to their constant insistence that people follow an increasingly impossible number of traditions to “meet God’s requirements.”

When, in fact, these were not God’s requirements at all. They were manmade requirements that even they did not abide by.

Let’s look at this more tomorrow as we work to determine whether Jesus was a rebel.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page.