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First! - Luke 17:25

"But first, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be killed by the people of this time." (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

Before Jesus can reign as King, he must first suffer and be rejected! Jesus' glory will come after the Cross. Our deliverance comes only at the cost of Jesus' rejection. Our salvation depends upon Jesus' sacrificial suffering. We are saved, we are made a part of God's eternal Kingdom, and we are given glory at a terribly high price. Yet Jesus willingly pays that price for us and redeems us from sin and death! Jesus suffers first. Jesus is rejected first. Jesus dies first. Jesus loves first. Only then does God come and ask us to bow before him and confess him as Lord.

Today's Prayer

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Father, thank you for going first. Thank you for not waiting until I honored you to sacrifice for me. I realize that my love for you, my submission to you, and my sacrifices for you come only after you have given me everything. Please accept my love, submission, and sacrifices even though they are but a poor reflection of what you have already done for me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the kingdom of God come?" Jesus answered, "God's kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you will be able to see with your eyes. People will not say, 'Look, God's kingdom is here!' Or, 'There it is!' No, God's kingdom is inside you." Then Jesus said to his followers, "The time will come when you will want very much to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not be able. People will say to you, 'Look, there it is!' or, 'Look, here it is!' Stay where you are; don't go away and search. "{You will know it} when the Son of Man comes again. On the day when he comes he will shine like lightning flashes across the sky. But first, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be killed by the people of this time.

— Luke 17:20-25 (ERV)

Christ died for us while we were still weak people. We were living against God, but at the right time, Christ died for us. Very few people will die to save the life of another person, even if that other person is a good person. If the person is a very good person, then someone might be willing to die for that person. But Christ died for us while we were still sinners. In that way God showed us that he loves us very much. We have been made right with God by Christ's blood (death). So through Christ we will surely be saved from God's anger. I mean that while we were God's enemies, God made friends with us through the death of his Son. So surely, now that we are God's friends, God will save us through his Son's life. And not only will we be saved, but we are also very happy now. We are happy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we are now God's friends.
Romans 5:6-11 (ERV)

The true Light was coming into the world. This is the true Light that gives light to all people. The Word was already in the world. The world was made through him. But the world (people) did not know him. He came to the world that was his own. But his own people did not accept him. Some people did accept him. They believed in him. He gave something to those people who believed. He gave them the right to become children of God. These children were not born like little babies are born. They were not born from the wish or plan of a {mother and} father. These children were born from God.
John 1:9-13 (ERV)

This is how God showed his love to us: God sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. True love is God's love for us, not our love for God. God sent his Son to be the way that God takes away our sins.
1 John 4:9-10 (ERV)

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HEARTLIGHT^® Magazine is produced by Heartlight, Inc. HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. PO Box 7044, Abilene, TX, USA 79608-7044. Copyright © 1996-2008. Heartlight is supported by Westover Hills Church, Southern Hills Church, and loving Christians from around the world. Scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. Used by permission. All rights reserved.