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  Paul Explains Jesus' Death and Resurrection to King Agrippa   Acts 25:1-3 "Three days after Festus arrived in his post, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. The chief priests and the leading Jews were accusing Paul, and they asked Festus for a favor and to have him transferred to Jerusalem, so that they could lie in wait on the way and kill him." It begins with a scene where Festus, who succeeded Felix as governor of Judea during the reign of Emperor Nero, goes up to Jerusalem. The high priests and the high-ranking Jews accused Paul. The high priests and the Jews asked Festus, who had been entrusted with authority, to do them a favor. They wanted to send Paul, who had been imprisoned for the past two years, to Jerusalem. The high priests and the Jews must have had many requests and discussions with Festus, but seeing that they brought up the plot to kill Paul first, we can guess how much anger and rage they had toward Paul over the past two years. Festus sai...

  The Pharisees and the Yeast of Herod   Mark 8:14-20 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And Jesus warned them, saying, “ Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of the yeast of Herod. ” But they began to murmur among themselves, “ Because we have no bread. ” But Jesus, knowing this, said to them, “ Why are you murmuring because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or understand? Are your hearts dull? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? Do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? ” They said, “ Twelve. ” And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? ” They said, “ Seven. ” Jesus performed the miracle of feeding four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and two fish. The Jews who saw this miracle should have believe...

  Healing the Sick   John 5:1-9 After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate there was a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, which had five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed [waiting for the stirring of the water, for an angel of the Lord went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. The first one to step in after the stirring of the water was made well of whatever disease he had.] A man was there who had been infirm for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been in this condition for a long time, he said to him, ‘ Do you want to get well? ’ The man answered him, ‘ Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, someone else steps down before me. ’ Jesus said to him, ‘ Get up, take up your mat and walk. ’ Immediately the man was made well; he took up his mat and wal...

  Calling and Election   (1) Calling Calling means that God, through the words of the Bible and revelation, reminds us that we are originally God's people. In the kingdom of God, the spirit of an angel who committed a crime was trapped in a body and became a human, but it makes us realize that humans are originally God's people. This is calling. If we use the world as an analogy, the Exodus is like this. It is a story of God saving His people through the cries of the Israelites who were trapped in Egypt. They were originally God's people, but they became slaves in Egypt. They were originally angels of the kingdom of God, but they became human beings living in the world. When people seek God, God approaches them. That is why people come to believe in God. This is the meaning of calling. The people who left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea can be said to have been called. It is estimated that there were about 2 million of them. However, only two people had the faith to...

  I have lived in all good conscience before God.   Acts 23:1 "But Paul, looking intently at the council, said, 'Men and brethren, in all things(panse) (agade) I have lived in good conscience(shineidesei) before God until this day.'" Agadeh is not translated. Agadeh ( ἀ γαθ ῇ ) means good. The concept of good is to benefit people. In other words, it is a good thing to spread the gospel and lead people into God. Ultimately, entering into God means entering into the original kingdom of God. The word “ suneidesei ” ( συνειδή σει ) is a compound word of “ shu ” (together) and “ eido ” (to know). The word translated as “ conscience ” means a heart that is with God. Therefore, it does not mean that one serves God according to one ’ s moral conscience, but that one lives a life with God (Immanuel). 『 I have lived in good conscience (syneithesei) before God in all things (agathes; the basic form is agathos) until this day. 』 If we retranslate this part, it woul...