It Out-Jesuses Jesus

“The first death of Covid 19 actually happened 2000 years ago,” the post continues. “The Bible tells us that Jesus took on every sin, sickness and every disease…Jesus bore it so you wouldn’t have to. Salvation provided forgiveness and healing…if you’ll believe it, you can receive it!”

"Then he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temples, and said to him, 'To prove you're God's son, jump off from here; remember, it is written "To his heavenly messengers he will give orders about you, to protect you," and "with their hands they will catch you, so you won't even stub your toe on a stone." '

And in response Jesus said to him, 'It is said, "You are not to put the Lord your God to the test." ' "

--Luke 4:9-12, SV

The church insisted in a previous post that it would follow safe practices recommended by the Centers of Disease Control, saying that canceling services would violate their religious beliefs.

“For us to not have services due to a virus would be for us to go against our extremely strong convictions of the power of God to protect and the power of God to heal,” the post reads. “Jesus knew the world He was sending us into contained sickness and disease. Instead of telling us to retreat from sickness, He told us to go into the world and to heal the sick.”

"The devil said to him, 'To prove your God's son, order this stone to turn into bread.'

Jesus responded to him, 'It is written, "Human beings are not to live on bread alone." ' "

Luke 4:3-4, SV

Chad Gonzales, the church’s lead pastor, said the decision to continue service was “gut-wrenching” and not made lightly, and he would have complied if the government required cancellations.

"But he saw through their duplicity, and said to them, 'Show me a coin.  Whose likeness does it bear? And whose name is on it?'

They said 'The emperor's.'

So he said to them, 'Then pay the emperor what belongs to the emperor; and God what belongs to God!' "

Luke 20:23-25, SV

I would add here that the biblical witness is that worship is for people, not for God.  Micah 6:8.  And I really don't understand people who think they need to out-Jesus Jesus.