The Road to Emmaus

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● Ps 110:4 . .The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a
priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

Now the interesting thing is: Mel's isn't a succession kind of priesthood like
Aaron's. Nor is it restricted to a particular tribe, viz: Aaron was of the Israeli
tribe of Levi, whereas Mel was neither an Israeli nor affiliated with one of
Jacob's boys.

Anyway; Mel was a high priest (Heb 5:10) which is a sacred trust exercised
by one man alone rather than a responsibility shared among a guild of
priests. And the position isn't something men win, viz; the high priesthood
isn't an achievement, rather, it's an appointment (Heb 5:4-6) In point of
fact, it is a lifetime appointment, i.e. the high priesthood is a position that
the man occupies till he's deceased.

Well; Jesus came back from death with immortality (Rom 6:9) so we need
not be concerned that he might some day be replaced. (Heb 7:23-25) In
other words: Jesus is the last of his kind; hence there won't be any more
after him.

Now, Mel was a high priest on Earth, whereas Jesus is a high priest in
Heaven (Col 3:1) which implies Jesus has direct access to God's ear-- a
tremendous advantage for folks for whom Jesus is their mediator between
God and Man.

● Heb 4:14-16 . .Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we
profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just
as we are-- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in
our time of need.

The Greek word translated "confidence" basically pertains to all out
spokenness, i.e. candid, man to man, heart to heart, and straight from the
shoulder, so to speak. So let's not be trying God's patience with rote prayers
when we are so strongly encouraged to just be ourselves.

● Phil 4:6-7 . .Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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[rrcn]

[Luk 24:27 KJV] 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Blue Letter Bible provides cross references to nearly every Bible verse called Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. For Luke 24:27 in has all of the below and contains a great number of scriptures that Jesus may have quoted as well as the fulfillment referenced in the New Testament.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/luk/24/1/t_corr_997027

Luk 24:44; Gen 3:15; Gen 22:18; Gen 26:4; Gen 49:10; Num 21:6-9; Deu 18:15; Jhn 5:39,45-47; Act 3:22; Act 7:37and all the prophetsLuk 24:25; Psa 16:9,10; Psa 132:11; Isa 7:14; Isa 9:6,7; Isa 40:10,11; Isa 50:6; Isa 52:13,14; Isa 53:1-12; Jer 23:5,6; Jer 33:14,15; Eze 34:23; Eze 37:25; Dan 9:24-26; Mic 5:2-4; Mic 7:20; Zec 9:9; Zec 13:7; Mal 3:1-3; Mal 4:2; Jhn 1:45; Act 3:24; Act 10:43; Act 13:27-30; Rev 19:10

 

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● Gen 3:15 . . I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Just about everybody on both sides of the aisle concurs that prophecy
predicted Christ; and in point of fact, the New Testament emphasizes a
woman brought Jesus into the world, viz: he didn't just appear on the scene
out of nowhere. (Luke 1:26-31, Gal 4:4)

FAQ: What are those "your offspring" spoken of in Gen 3:15?

REPLY: According to John 8:38-44 they're humans.

FAQ: How so?

REPLY: The Serpent (a.k.a. the Devil; Rev 20:2) has the power of death
(Heb 2:14) and the ability to tamper with the human body and the human
mind in ways not easily detected; e.g. Luke 13:16, Mark 5:1-5, and Eph 2:2.

FAQ: Are you suggesting the Devil tampers with people's conception so that
they come into this world with a demonic nature instead of a divine nature?

REPLY: Yes.

● 1John 3:7-8 . . Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who
practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who
practices sin is of the Devil; for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The
Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of
the Devil.
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● Gen 49:8-10a . .You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise; your hand shall
be on the nape of your foes; your father's sons shall bow low to you. The
scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a ruler from between his feet

That prediction looked ahead to Jesus' tribal affiliation.

● Heb 7:14 . . It is clear that our Lord descended from Judah

The pathway for Jesus' connection to Judah was via David; who himself was
of the same tribe. (Matt 1:2-6) The line from Judah to David can be easily traced
in the Old Testament by a patient researcher. It's a pretty interesting journey
as it takes Bible readers into and thru the little story of Ruth: an amazing girl.
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● Dan 9:25-26 . . Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth
of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall
be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore
and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,

Now, that last sentence, the one that says Messiah shall be cut off, has
somehow escaped the notice of a pretty good number of the Jews' rabbinical
scholars. And Daniel wasn't the only prophet to mention this; Isaiah did too.

● Isa 53:8 . .Who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living

In other words: Messiah was supposed to not only die, but also to die
childless.

The thing is: the Jews were expecting a God-given immortal monarch who
would liberate them from foreign dominance and usher in the glorioius
theocratic kingdom as it's depicted by the prophets. Because he didn't do as
expected. quite a few modern Jews honestly believe they have sufficient
justification for refusing to consider Jesus.

● Luke 24:25-26 . . He said to them: How foolish you are, and how slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Did not Messiah have to
suffer these things?

Duh!
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● Isa 7:14 . .The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will
call him Immanuel.

The New Testament applies that prophecy to Christ.

"They will call him Immanuel-- which means "God with us" (Matt 1:23)

Well; there is no use in looking for a black and white example of the people
speaking of Jesus by that name because there isn't one. However, it isn't
necessarily an ID tag when it can also speak of divine patronage, for
example:

"And fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying: A great
prophet has arisen among us! And: God has visited His people! And this
report concerning him went out all over Judea, and in all the surrounding
district." (Luke 7:16-17)
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[rrcn]

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● Isa 7:14 . .The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will
call him Immanuel.

The New Testament applies that prophecy to Christ.

"They will call him Immanuel-- which means "God with us" (Matt 1:23)

Well; there is no use in looking for a black and white example of the people
speaking of Jesus by that name because there isn't one. However, it isn't
necessarily an ID tag when it can also speak of divine patronage, for
example:

"And fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying: A great
prophet has arisen among us! And: God has visited His people! And this
report concerning him went out all over Judea, and in all the surrounding
district." (Luke 7:16-17)
_

Isaiah used the name once more:
[Isa 8:8 KJV] 8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach [even] to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

Paul sums it up nicely:
[1Ti 3:16 KJV] 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

 

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● Dan 7:9-10 . . I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of
days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like
the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning
fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand
thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

That's very likely an early mention of the great white throne event depicted
by Rev 20:11-15 which will be supervised by none other than the man who
came into the world as a sweet little babe in swaddling clothes.

● John 5:21-23 . . Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all
judgment to the Son

● Acts 17:31 . . He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice
by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by
raising him from the dead.

* This next comment may not be an important note, but it caught my
attention that Christ will have white hair the same as the Ancient of Days in
Daniel's prophecy.

● Rev 1:12-14 . . And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And
being turned, I saw one like unto the Son of man, his head and his hairs
were white like wool, as white as snow.

Well; that white hair speaks of seniority, viz: Christ will be presented as an
elder; and according to the Bible, elders are worthy of respect-- not because
they earned it, but simply because the supreme being requires it.

● Lev 19:32a . . Rise in the presence of the aged; show respect for the
elderly: revere your gods. I am The Lord.

The elders among us aren't really divine, but the supreme being identifies
Himself with them that way because He's an elder too, ergo: disrespect for
elders down here is felt by the elder up there.
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The passage below isn't a prophecy per se, but it is prophetic in its own way.

● Gen 3:8-9 . .Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as
He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the
Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the
man: Where are you?

Due to the forbidden fruit incident, the rapport between God and the man
had broken down and it was God who sought to restore their connection; not
the man. That situation became more or less permanent.

● Luke 19:10 . . For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
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The Talmud teaches that the 53rd of Isaiah refers to Messiah. (Sanhedrin
98)

The Targum of Jonathan begins it with the words Ha yatslakh avdee
Mashikha which mean: Behold my servant the Messiah shall prosper.

Others believed the 53rd of of Isaiah speaks of the sufferings of Messiah,
e.g. Rabbi Moshe Kohen Ibn Crispin. (a.k.a. Ibn Krispin)

Rabbi Mosheh El-Sheikh (a.k.a. Alshekh) claimed: Our Rabbis with one voice
accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet [Isaiah] is speaking of King
Messiah.

So; not every Jew has had, nor has, a problem with that chapter, and in
point of fact, it wasn't till the Christians came along that a number of Jewish
scholars began doing all in their academic power to spin that chapter away
from Christ.

Anyway, the 53rd of Isaiah shows up in the New Testament at Acts 8:26-34
which says:

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying: Arise, and go toward
the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is
desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia-- an eunuch
of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the
charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship --was
returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit
said unto Philip: Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

. . . And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah,
and said: Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said: How can I,
except some man should guide me?

. . .The place of the scripture which he read was this: He was led as a sheep
to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not
his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall
declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch
answered Philip, and said: I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this?
Of himself, or of some other man?

. . .Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus.
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BTW: A portion of that incident along the road to Emmaus is one of the
New Testament's very useful texts for showing that Jesus' crucified dead
body was restored to life during the third day rather than after the third day
was over and done with.

● Luke 24:21-24 . .We had hoped that he was the one who was going to
redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early
this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had
seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our
companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but
him they did not see.
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Although Numbers 21:5-9 isn't a prophecy per se, it is prophetic in its own
way as Jesus appropriated that event to illustrate some of the spiritual
elements of his crucifixion.

● John 3:14-17 . . As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in him have
eternal life.

Long story short: Moses' people became weary of eating manna all the time
at every meal. But instead of courteously, and diplomatically, petitioning
their divine benefactor for a different diet, they became indignant and
confrontational; angrily demanding better accommodations.

In response to their insolence, and their ingratitude for His providence; God
sent a swarm of deadly poisonous snakes amongst them; which began
striking people; and every strike was 100% fatal, no exceptions.

After a number of people died, the rest came to their senses and begged
Moses to intercede. In reply; The Lord instructed Moses to fashion a replica
of the snakes and hoist it up on a pole in plain view so that everyone dying
from venom could look to it for relief.

The key issue here is that the replica was the only God-given remedy for the
people's bites-- not sacrifices and offerings, not tithing, not church
attendance, not scapulars, not confession, not holy days of obligation, not
the Sabbath, not rosaries, not weeping, not the golden rule, not charity, not
Bible study and/or Sunday school, not self denial, not vows of poverty, not
the Ten Commandments, nor even one's ideology of choice, i.e. it wouldn't
have mattered whether somebody was Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Buddhist,
Catholic, Protestant, Baha'i, Atheist, Agnostic, Pagan, or whatever-- the
replica was it; nothing else would suffice to save their lives.

As an allegory, the replica speaks of Christ's crucifixion for the sins of the
world as the only God-given rescue from retribution and perdition; and when
people accept it, then according to John 3:14-17 and John 5:24, they qualify
for a transfer from death into life. Those who reject his crucifixion as the
only God-given rescue from the sum of all fears, are already on the docket
to face it.

● John 3:18 . .Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the
name of God's one and only son.

FAQ: How might one go about looking to Jesus like those folks back then
looked to that replica?

REPLY: I recommend RSVP.

Find a quiet place; anywhere will do. Cover you face with your hands for a
sense of connection, and tell God-- under your breath or out loud if you like
--that you have never yet measured up to His standards and you're pretty
sure you never will. Tell Him you would like to take advantage of His son's
death to protect yourself from judgment; and thank Him for His time.
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[glf]

Living Bible 1 Cor 15

Now let me remind you, brothers, of what the Gospel really is, for it has not changed—it is the same Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is squarely built upon this wonderful message; and it is this Good News that saves you if you still firmly believe it, unless of course you never really believed it in the first place.
I passed on to you right from the first what had been told to me, that Christ died for our sins just as the Scriptures said he would, and that he was buried, and that three days afterwards he arose from the grave just as the prophets foretold. He was seen by Peter and later by the rest of “the Twelve.” After that he was seen by more than five hundred Christian brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then James saw him, and later all the apostles. Last of all I saw him too, long after the others, as though I had been born almost too late for this. For I am the least worthy of all the apostles, and I shouldn’t even be called an apostle at all after the way I treated the church of God.
But whatever I am now it is all because God poured out such kindness and grace upon me—and not without results: for I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet actually I wasn’t doing it, but God working in me, to bless me. It makes no difference who worked the hardest, I or they; the important thing is that we preached the Gospel to you and you believed it.
But tell me this! Since you believe what we preach, that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying that dead people will never come back to life again? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ must still be dead. And if he is still dead, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless; and we apostles are all liars because we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, and of course that isn’t true if the dead do not come back to life again. If they don’t, then Christ is still dead, and you are very foolish to keep on trusting God to save you, and you are still under condemnation for your sins; in that case, all Christians who have died are lost! And if being a Christian is of value to us only now in this life, we are the most miserable of creatures.
But the fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead and has become the first of millions who will come back to life again someday.
Death came into the world because of what one man (Adam) did, and it is because of what this other man (Christ) has done that now there is the resurrection from the dead. Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, being members of his sinful race, and wherever there is sin, death results. But all who are related to Christ will rise again. Each, however, in his own turn: Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again.
After that the end will come when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. For Christ will be King until he has defeated all his enemies, including the last enemy—death. This too must be defeated and ended. For the rule and authority over all things has been given to Christ by his Father; except, of course, Christ does not rule over the Father himself, who gave him this power to rule. When Christ has finally won the battle against all his enemies, then he, the Son of God, will put himself also under his Father’s orders, so that God who has given him the victory over everything else will be utterly supreme.
If the dead will not come back to life again, then what point is there in people being baptized for those who are gone? Why do it unless you believe that the dead will someday rise again?
And why should we ourselves be continually risking our lives, facing death hour by hour? For it is a fact that I face death daily; that is as true as my pride in your growth in the Lord. And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those men of Ephesus—if it was only for what I gain in this life down here? If we will never live again after we die, then we might as well go and have ourselves a good time: let us eat, drink, and be merry. What’s the difference? For tomorrow we die, and that ends everything!
Don’t be fooled by those who say such things. If you listen to them you will start acting like them. Get some sense and quit your sinning. For to your shame I say it; some of you are not even Christians at all and have never really known God.
But someone may ask, “How will the dead be brought back to life again? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! You will find the answer in your own garden! When you put a seed into the ground it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it “dies” first. And when the green shoot comes up out of the seed, it is very different from the seed you first planted. For all you put into the ground is a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you are planting, then God gives it a beautiful new body—just the kind he wants it to have; a different kind of plant grows from each kind of seed. And just as there are different kinds of seeds and plants, so also there are different kinds of flesh. Humans, animals, fish, and birds are all different.
The angels in heaven have bodies far different from ours, and the beauty and the glory of their bodies is different from the beauty and the glory of ours.The sun has one kind of glory while the moon and stars have another kind. And the stars differ from each other in their beauty and brightness.
In the same way, our earthly bodies which die and decay are different from the bodies we shall have when we come back to life again, for they will never die. The bodies we have now embarrass us, for they become sick and die; but they will be full of glory when we come back to life again. Yes, they are weak, dying bodies now, but when we live again they will be full of strength.They are just human bodies at death, but when they come back to life they will be superhuman bodies. For just as there are natural, human bodies, there are also supernatural, spiritual bodies.
The Scriptures tell us that the first man, Adam, was given a natural, human body but Christ is more than that, for he was life-giving Spirit.
First, then, we have these human bodies, and later on God gives us spiritual, heavenly bodies. Adam was made from the dust of the earth, but Christ came from heaven above. Every human being has a body just like Adam’s, made of dust, but all who become Christ’s will have the same kind of body as his—a body from heaven. Just as each of us now has a body like Adam’s, so we shall some day have a body like Christ’s.
I tell you this, my brothers: an earthly body made of flesh and blood cannot get into God’s Kingdom. These perishable bodies of ours are not the right kind to live forever.
But I am telling you this strange and wonderful secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be given new bodies! It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky, and all the Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies that will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have new bodies too. For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die, must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live forever.
When this happens, then at last this Scripture will come true—“Death is swallowed up in victory.” O death, where then your victory? Where then your sting? For sin—the sting that causes death—will all be gone; and the law, which reveals our sins, will no longer be our judge. How we thank God for all of this! It is he who makes us victorious through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So, my dear brothers, since future victory is sure, be strong and steady, always abounding in the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted as it would be if there were no resurrection.

What a terrible translation!

 

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The 2nd chapter of the book of Daniel tells of a rather curious statue
constructed with a variety of materials representing a number of
significant Gentile empires.

It's my understanding that the several empires represented by the statue
have come and gone except for the one down at the bottom represented by
an aggregate of iron and clay.

The thing to note is that a world controlled by Gentile emperors will finally
and conclusively be ended when a mysterious stone, quarried by the hand of
God, smashes the statue to pieces; which of course will include that one last
empire down at the bottom yet to be identified.

It is very, very tempting to assume the stone quarried by the hand of God
represents Christ, but in my estimation it's far more likely the stone
represents the empire that Christ is destined to rule.

● Dan 7:13-14 . . In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was
one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the
Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory
and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language
worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass
away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Now, the kingdom described in that passage won't start out big at first but
instead will start out relatively insignificant.

● Dan 2:34-35 . .While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by
human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed
them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were
broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor
in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the
rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole
earth.

The rock destined to become a huge mountain begins its journey to
greatness with David's little pee-wee realm in the land of Israel.

● Luke 1:31-33 . . You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are
to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of
the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and
he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.
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[phil36]

Great topic 👍

"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”. Hosea 11:1"

"So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”. Matt 2:14-15"

 

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● Isa 42:1-2 . . Behold My servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom My
soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street.

That prophecy came to pass at Matt 12:16-21 where it looks to me that
Jesus did not want people to go about advertising him as a thaumaturgist,
which is often associated with occult practices, especially magic.

* Not long after that incident; some of Jesus' opponents began to accuse
him of sorcery. (Matt 12:24)
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