The book of Hebrews emphasizes the greatness of Jesus, and calls every believer to hold fast to their confession, firm to the end.

Jesus prepares his followers for the trials to come. They need to not be confused about what just happened, and they need to understand what it all means. Jesus does this through a series of dramatic appearances, combined with specific teaching, so as to sear into their memories what they saw and what they learned. These well-prepared believers will become an unstoppable force, spreading Christianity throughout the Roman Empire – and beyond.

After telling the thief next to Him that’ll he’ll be in paradise soon, Jesus dies. Everyone witnesses this and the Centurion declares His innocence. Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus but then Joanna and the two Marys find the tomb empty. Upon hearing this, Peter rushes to the tomb and finally connects the dots.

Pilate and Herod find Jesus innocent, but Pilate caves to the rabble and sends Jesus to the cross anyway.

Things are happening fast now. Jesus issues a final warning to His disciples. He prays, “Let this cup pass,” is betrayed and arrested, and heals the ear of the servant of the high priest. Then Peter denies Him 3 times, and a quick trial before the council determines that he’s claiming to be the son of God and so must be guilty.

The action really picks up as we approach Jesus’ arrest. Satan enters Judas and he plots with the authorities to betray Jesus. They eat the last supper and the disciples, clueless about what’s coming, get into a silly debate about who’s the greatest. Jesus turns this into a teachable moment, then predicts Peter’s denial.

Jesus gives a long and detailed description of the end times. Though parts of it are widely misunderstood, one part proves life-saving; He tells the disciples to flee to the hills instead of retreating within the city walls. The Roman siege of the city in 70AD was a slaughter. The Christians who fled survived.

Jesus frustrates all the attempts to trap Him with trick questions. Then he fires back with some harsh criticism. The disciples ask about the end times and Jesus launches the Olivet Discourse.

Jesus makes His triumphal entry and proceeds to shake things up, clearing the temple moneychangers and making prophetic connections people understand but don’t necessarily like. This causes the conflict with the religious leaders to heat up fast.

Jesus is marching to the cross, and tells His disciples this, but they don’t understand. He continues to teach about the Kingdom of God and people continue to miss the point, or even oppose things.

Jesus is directly asked by a ruler, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He knows the ruler’s heart, and knows his claims of goodness are bogus, so He answers with a command He knows the ruler won’t obey. But before this conversation, Jesus teaches some lessons on how to really get saved. You must receive the kingdom as a little child. You must humble yourself. You must pray incessantly. You must be always prepared, for no one knows when the end times will be.

The kingdom of God has arrived and is in the midst of them. The era of the law and the prophets is over. Everyone wants in, but they can’t see it because they’re looking for the wrong thing. Jesus preaches the kingdom, while performing the signs that prove it’s here.