John | Kyle Weir | 2023-2025


John 17:20-26 | Sunday October 27, 2024

We started studying the upper room back at the beginning of Chapter 13. Today we reach the conclusion 5 chapters later. We have seen Jesus heart and care in trying to prepare the disciples for His departure. He washed their feet (13:5), warned them about a betrayer in the group (13:21), gave them a new command to love (13:34), predicted Peter’s denial (13:38), promised to go prepare a place for them and to one day bring them there (14:3), promised the Holy Spirit (14:16), taught them how to abide (15:4), warned them about coming persecution (15:19), taught about the ministry of the Holy Spirit (16:8), offered them His peace because He overcame the world (16:33), and lastly He has been praying for their protection (17:15). Jesus has poured so much into these 11 men on His final night. It is was His last chance before the cross to teach them and He has not wasted a moment. This is what makes our passage today so incredible. Jesus’ love and care extended past these 11 disciples.

John 17:9; 20-26 ESV

(9)  I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.

(20)  “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word,

(21)  that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

(22)  The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one,

(23)  I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.

(24)  Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

(25)  O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent Me.

(26)  I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

This prayer has always astounded me. On His final night Jesus looked forward through time and prayed specifically for you and I in the church. We are the believers who have trusted in Jesus through the disciples word. When Jesus spoke this prayer none of the New Testament had been written, and their was no such thing as the church. It was through the disciples word (logos) that we have come to know and believe Jesus the Word (Logos) who became flesh. Just as He wanted to prepare His eleven disciples for His departure, He wanted to prepare you and I. As His death was imminent we were on His heart!

John 17:21 ESV

(21)  that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

His Prayer for us seems so simple and yet it is tremendously profound. He asks for us to be one. This verse is often misrepresented as to what Jesus was asking for. Usually it is used to encourage church to church and denominational unity. The fact that Christianity as a whole is splintered into so many groups is held up as a challenge, and we are encouraged to seek unity and cooperation. Unfortunately this unity that is sought after is usually at the cost of truth. Yet this interpretation misses the true purpose of Jesus prayer. Jesus was not praying for you and I to be seek out or maintain unity. He is praying to the Father. He is praying for all believers throughout history that have come to believe in Him through the word of the disciples. This prayer is larger than church unity in our life, it is a prayer for a universal unity throughout all ages of the church. 

Jesus is asking for the Father to bring believers in the church into the unity of the trinity. As connected and unified the Father is with the Son, Jesus asks for believers to have that same type of unity and connection with them “ that they also may be in Us”. As gentiles this was a relationship that we had no access to. The unity Jesus is praying for could only be accomplished through His death. This oneness is not found by finding the lowest common denominator that we can all agree on. It is found in His blood!

Ephesians 2:13-22 ESV

(13)  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

(14)  For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility

(15)  by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

(16)  and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

(17)  And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

(18)  For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

(19)  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

(20)  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,

(21)  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

(22)  In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We have been brought near and into this unity through the blood of Jesus. His death broke down the division between Jew and Gentile. The wall between God’s covenant people and us, the others. He brought us together into His body. The oneness Jesus is praying for is fulfilled within His body, within the Church universal. It is through Jesus in the Spirit that we have access to the Father. We have been invited into the closeness that is only possible with the triune God. This mystery of the church is built on the foundation of the apostles, the prophets of the Old Testament and ultimately on Christ. 

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 ESV

(12)  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

(13)  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

(14)  For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

Jews and gentiles are unified in the church within the body of Jesus. It doesn’t matter, our nationality, our religious background, gender, hobbies, if you believe in Jesus then you have been brought into His body, into an amazing unity. The moment you believed the Holy Spirit baptized you into the body of Jesus. 

John 17:21-23 ESV

(21)  that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

(22)  The glory that you have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one,

(23)  I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.

This unity that Jesus enabled in the church is a testimony to the world. If Jesus was not sent by the Father then His death would not have near the impact that it has. The unity that is possible within the body of Christ is only possible because sin has been perfectly paid for. The salvation of believers throughout history proclaim to the world what Jesus has done, and it is deserving of glory.

Revelation 5:9-10 ESV

(9)  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

(10)  and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

I encourage you to take time to meditate on what this day will be like.

We will be in the throne room of God, worshipping our risen messiah. Praising and giving glory to Jesus for what His blood has accomplished. As you look around you will be surrounded by people from every tribe, language, people and nation spanning human history. We will be surrounded by Noah, Enoch, Ninevites, Rahab, the Woman at the well, people from every generation and background; only the blood of Jesus could accomplish this. It is an amazing thought that we are involved at all with something that is so glorious. This is what Jesus means when He says in verse 22 “ The glory that you have given Me I have given to them.”

Ephesians 1:18 NAS95

(18)  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

The church is part of Jesus’ inheritance. This group of people that could only be united and one through His blood is part of His glory and reward. The fact that we are a part of it means we get to share in that glory and inheritance. 

Romans 8:16-17 ESV

(16)  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

(17)  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

We are invited to share in the inheritance of Jesus as an heir. We have been called to walk with Him and suffer with Him and enjoy His glory and inheritance with Him. Often we think too little about what the church actually is. We reduce it to a building we show up to for an hour, once or twice a week. We loose sight that being apart of the church is a testimony to the world of who Jesus is. The Church is a glorious inheritance of Jesus that we have been given the opportunity to enjoy with Him! 

John 17:23 ESV

(23)  I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.

Perfectly means to bring to completion, it is written in a way to show a permeant state that results from a prior action. Jesus death and resurrection is the prior action that enables the church to be one. As the church continues to grow throughout History the oneness is continually brought to completion. This will show the world that the Father has loved us in the church as He has loved the Son. By the nature of the church, that we are in the body of Christ, God is declaring His love for us to the world. To explain what an extravagant love this is He compares it to the love that the Father has for the Son. We should worship Him and marvel at what He has done for us in letting us be apart of the body of Jesus.

1 John 3:1-3 ESV

(1)  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

(2)  Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

(3)  And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself as He is pure.

The Father has loved us as His children. Being in the body of Christ as a believer means we have been made a child of God. God loves you as His child. For believers that is true right now! Words fail to describe what a tremendous love that we have received. His love has filled the upper room. The word love was used 8 times in the first 12 chapters of John, and in the upper room (13-17) it is used 31 times. If we could grasp just a little bit more of how much He loves us we would change. We would live out our hope and desire a purified life getting ready to see our amazing savior. We would be motivated by God’s love. Everything will change when we see Him, and Jesus even prays for that moment.

John 17:24 ESV

(24)  Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

When we see Jesus face to face, the lamb who died for us we will be changed. It is not an accident that to grow here we are called to abide in Jesus, and to focus on Him. In heaven the thing that will fully change us is when we see Him. He is the focus! We don’t fully understand His love for us and do not fully look like His children yet, but we are. We will be with Him, and we will get to see His glory! These 11 disciples had seen His humanity, with the one exception of the mount of transfiguration. He wants them and us to be able to really see who He is. To see Him in His true glory, surrounded by the love of God the Father that He has had before the foundation of the World.

Titus 1:2-3 ESV

(2)  in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

(3)  and at the proper time manifested in His word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

This is beyond our comprehension. That this plan for Jesus to receive honor and glory, to pay for sin, to offer eternal life, for Him to unite all things was set before the ages began. God is outside of time and before the ages even began, Jesus had the Fathers love and was to receive glory for what He would accomplish on the cross. We cannot fathom this. 

Hebrews 4:3 ESV

(3)  For we who have believed enter that rest, as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.

I don’t understand how this can be true but trust it is. Jesus works were viewed by God as completed, fulfilled from the foundation of the World. Here He is in the upper room hours before the cross. Hours until the moment that was set from eternity past. Jesus is praying that we would be with Him and be able to see His glory. He love us so deeply.

John 17:25-26 ESV

(25)  O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent Me.

(26)  I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus revealed the Father to us and even after He goes to the cross He will continue to do so. He desires for God the Father’s love to be in us, and for Him to be in us. So many question if the unity Jesus prayed for has been answered. We see the factions and splits within the church and wonder what happened to this prayer. We know from 1 John 5:14-15 that if we pray in God’s will, He will answer our prayer. Jesus perfectly walked in God’s will. So yes Jesus’ prayer has been perfectly answered and will continue to be. As a believer today you are brought into the Church the amazing oneness in the body of Christ. Being in His body, the Fathers love for the Son is also for us. The upper room started with a declaration of Jesus love.

John 13:1 ESV

(1)  Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

It is fitting for the upper room to finish with love. We are apart of an amazing love story that began before the foundation of the world, and culminates with us seeing Him face to face, in His glory. So much of this present life will not matter or last once we are face to face with Jesus! Love will continue. We will get to experience His love for all eternity.

1 Corinthians 13:11-13 ESV

(11)  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

(12)  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

(13)  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

John 18:1-12 | Sunday November 3, 2024

As we have studied the gospel of John we have seen the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus. I am the bread of life (6:35), the light of the world (8:12), the door (10:9), the good shepherd (10:11), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, and the truth, and the life (14:6), and the true vine (15:1). In each one Jesus teaches us about His character, purpose, and ministry. Each one offers us a hope and reassures our hearts about who our savior is. Each one draws us into relationship with Him, who alone can offer satisfaction, and truth. These statements, and every other promise Jesus made would be undone if the next 4 chapters were not here. If there was no death and resurrection then His ministry and teachings would have been disproven. The great news is that Jesus was willing to go to the cross and become the payment for sin and conquer death through His resurrection. Everything He claimed to be, all of the I Am’s are confirmed by His obedience and sacrifice in the next few chapters.

John 18:1-12 ESV

(1)  When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered.

(2)  Now Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with His disciples.

(3)  So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

(4)  Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

(5)  They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I Am He.” Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.

(6)  When Jesus said to them, “I Am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

(7)  So He asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

(8)  Jesus answered, “I told you that I Am He. So, if you seek Me, let these men go.”

(9)  This was to fulfill the word that He had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

(10)  Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)

(11)  So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given Me?”

(12)  So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

Each Gospel writer was led by the Holy Spirit to share specific things. Not one includes all of the story. As Jesus leads His disciples into the garden we notice the pieces of the story John left out. Jesus praying in agony to God the Father, and sweating drops of blood as the disciples fall asleep are not mentioned. John portrays Jesus as the Word made flesh, the great I Am who is in perfect control of the events that are unfolding.

The brook Kidron only had water during the rainy season and would have been dry for this time of the year. Jesus leads the disciples to the garden of Gethsemane. Jews observing the Passover had to stay within the extended city limit, and the garden was within this limit. He had been spending the night there all week (Luke 21:37). This is how Judas knew where to find them.

John 18:2-3 NAS95

(2)  Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.

(3)  Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

This crowd of soldiers, Jewish officials, and pharisees is much larger than most of us imagine. A roman cohort is a tenth of a legion and would have 600 foot soldiers. The Jewish leaders and Judas did not want to leave anything to chance. Jesus had slipped through their hands so many times, so they came prepared. During the Passover is a full moon, but they came with lanterns and torches just to make sure He could not hide. Matthew 26:47 calls it a great crowd with swords and clubs. Humanity came in the darkness with artificial light to arrest the light of the World. They came with all the weapons and power the world had to offer. Yet Jesus was perfectly in control.

John 18:4 ESV

(4)  Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

Jesus is not surprised by anything that was happening. His hour had come, He was there to willingly lay down His life. He doesn’t hide from the moment but comes forward. This was God’s perfect plan being orchestrated through the sinfulness of man.

Acts 2:23 ESV

(23)  this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Acts 4:24-28 ESV

(24)  And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,

(25)  who through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?

(26)  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against His Anointed’—

(27)  for truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

(28)  to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.

Our God is sovereignly in control. Jesus’ arrest, trials and death were perfectly executed according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. It was predestined to take place. Jesus had to pay for sin. He knew all that would happen to Him. This makes His willingness to go the cross even more amazing. It is one thing to be willing to do something if you don’t know everything that is involved. Sometimes our ignorance lets us volunteer for things we never would have if we knew what it would actually be like. Jesus knew every bit of pain, suffering, and anguish that was about to happen to Him. He knew what taking on sin would cost Him and He was still willing.

All of this was happening according to God’s plan at the hands of sinful man. It was truly Judas’ own choice to betray Jesus. Each person that played a hand in these events were doing so as a result of their own will and rebellion to God. They were raging, and plotting against God and His anointed. Only God is big enough to make both of these truths fit together, man’s choice and God’s plan.

John 18:5-6 ESV

(4)  Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

(5)  They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I Am He.” Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.

(6)  When Jesus said to them, “I Am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

They were looking for Jesus of Nazareth. God Himself, the bread of life, the way the truth and the life was there in the garden but they were looking for Jesus from a place nothing good could come from, Nazareth. When Jesus answered He declares, I AM. There is no “He” in the Greek, the translators add that for the sentence to read smoother. Jesus answering “I Am” was no accident.

Exodus 3:13-15 Legacy Standard Bible

(13)  Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

(14)  And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

(15)  And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation.

Jesus is the great I Am. The only definition that truly sums up who God is, is Himself. He is the one who has always existed and will always exist. The crowd was there to arrest and kill the great I AM.

He is God and in this moment He declares Himself to be God. At this declaration, the mass crowd with their lanterns, torches and swords fall backwards to the ground. Can you imagine the chaos that ensued? Jesus let just a little bit of His divine power of who He truly was show through for a brief moment. When people are still in this physical body see the true glory of Jesus they are undone. In Acts 9 Saul falls to the ground as the bright light from Jesus hits Him and is blind and won’t eat for three days. Daniel falls down and has no strength left in Him in chapter 10 when He has a glimpse of Jesus’ glory. Even the apostle John who walked with Jesus in His humanity, is taken aback by His true glory.

Revelation 1:17-18 ESV

(17)  When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I Am the first and the last,

(18)  and the living one. I died, and behold I Am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

John knew Jesus so well and yet His glory made Him like a dead man. Each of these examples is someone in there flesh seeing Jesus glorified. When we see Him face to face we will have on a new resurrected body. We will not fall down as dead men but worship our amazing savior. In the chaos of the garden, with a huge crowd seeking His arrest, a friend betraying Him, and the tired disciples panicking, Jesus reminds everyone that He is the great I AM. In the chaos and confusion nothing is out of his control.

Isaiah 54:10 ESV

(10)  For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Everything else in this world may leave, or be taken away but our God will not be changed. His steadfast love will never leave nor forsake us. Even in the garden as humanity shows the depths of our sinfulness, Jesus is the I AM.

John 18:7-9 ESV

(7)  So He asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

(8)  Jesus answered, “I told you that I Am He. So, if you seek Me, let these men go.”

(9)  This was to fulfill the word that He had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

It took some time for the crowd to regroup after being knocked down. Even after that display of power and glory, they were still focused on arresting and ultimately killing Jesus. The nonbelieving heart is calloused and refuses to see the truth. Jesus takes care to make sure the disciples are not arrested with Him.

It is important to see that Jesus did not leave the disciples in the safety of the upper room. He brought them with Him to the garden. He wanted them to see Him submit to the will of God the Father and willingly lay down His life. Judas and the soldiers did not sneak up or overwhelm Jesus. He wanted them to know that this was an act of love and service. Jesus making sure they were safe fulfilled His prayer in the upper room 17:12. It also appears that this is the moment that Judas points out Jesus and betrays Him with a kiss.

John 18:10 ESV

(10)  Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)

All of this has been too much for Peter. Something has to be done. Someone has to stand up and stop this crowd. Peter being the excellent swordsman He is, tries to behead the high priest servant and is only able to cut his ear off. Peter starts to think like the world. Judas, the religious leaders, and the soldiers are relying on swords for their protection so Peter thinks Jesus should as well. Jesus predicting Peter’s denial also had to be ringing in his ears. He is overly zealous to prove himself. Peter trying to protect himself is not the problem. In Luke 22:26 Jesus tells the disciples to make sure to have some swords for how difficult the days will become. The issue is Jesus does not need to be defended. He is in full control, He even stops to heal Malchus.

Luke 22:50-51 ESV

(50)  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

(51)  But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And He touched his ear and healed him.

At each stage in the garden I am amazed at how hard our hearts can become. They are claiming He is leading a rebellion yet He stops His followers from using force. He has the power to reattach and heal an ear, and yet they still want to arrest Him. We will not understand the garden if we just look at it through a physical lens.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV
(12)  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

There was a tremendous spiritual battle that was taking place in the garden. This helps explain the hardness of heart of the crowd. They refused to acknowledge what was right in front of them. There is a spiritual battle around us whether we are aware of it or not. The crowd and Peter were just reacting not realizing the true spiritual issues that were at hand. We need to ask God for a spiritual eyes and ears. We need the Holy Spirit to give us insight past the physical and into the spiritual reality that is around us.

John 18:11 ESV

(11)  So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given Me?”

Jesus is fully aware at what is at stake in the garden. The second Adam has an opportunity to walk in obedience.

Romans 5:18-19 NLT

(18)  Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.

(19)  Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

Jesus is in a garden and is going to set right the sin that came in through Adam’s disobedience. Adam thought he knew a better way to live and relied on himself. Jesus instead chose to submit to the Father’s will. He did not accept this cup lightly.

Matthew 26:39 ESV

(39)  And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

He asked for God the Father to take the cup from Him. Even in this prayer He was willing to accept the will of the Father. He walked in obedience, where Adam pursued his own will. The cup that Jesus prayed about and is willing to accept is a horrendous thing.

Psalms 75:8 ESV

(8)  For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

Isaiah 51:17 ESV

(17)  Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.

This cup is full of the wrath of God that was meant to be poured out on the wicked. It is full of the punishment and judgment that sin deserves. Jesus fully knows what is in the cup and He is willing to accept it. He is willing to accept our sin and experience the wrath of God. Our savior willingly offered Himself. What do we have to fear and worry about when Jesus has loved us this much and paid for our sin. The I AM loves us and paid for our sin. What more can we ever need?

John 18:12 ESV

(12)  So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

John 18:13-28 | Sunday November 10, 2024

The events leading up to the death of Jesus reveal so much about human nature and the depth of what Jesus was willing to do. We saw last week the world came against Jesus in all its power and might but the great I AM was in control as He has been since eternity past. Peter started thinking like the world, and the very thing that would bring life he tries to stop from happening. Jesus stopped Peter and willingly goes with the soldiers. Jesus is calm and in control even in these moments of confusion and chaos, He was willing to drink the cup of God’s wrath.

Mark 14:46-52 ESV

(46)  And they laid hands on Him and seized Him.

(47)  But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

(48)  And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture Me?

(49)  Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.”

(50)  And they all left Him and fled.

(51)  And a young man followed Him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him,

(52)  but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

As Jesus lets the soldiers arrest Him the disciples flee. Even this was in God’s plan as He wanted to protect the disciples. Again chaos breaks out, and some of the 600 soldiers try to detain the disciples. We have this young man who in order to get free has to leave his clothes behind. We think this was Mark. Jesus wanted the disciples in the garden, and He wanted them to reach safety and that is exactly what happened.

John 18:12-14 ESV

(12)  So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

(13)  First they led Him to Annas, for He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

(14)  It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

Jesus did not need to be bound because He was trying to resist or get away. He was willingly laying His life down as the sacrifice. Just as Issac was bound by Abraham, and the sacrifice was bound to the altar:

Psalms 118:27 Legacy Standard Bible

(27) “Yahweh is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.”

The perfect sacrifice was being led bound. Caiaphas had more insight then He knew. One man would die for the people and He was going to be the perfect payment for sin. Verse 13 starts the first of the 6 trials that Jesus will go through. In each trial the justice of the legal system will be ignored. His first trial was before Annas. Annas was the High priest from AD 6-14. God instructed that the role of High priest was for life, and yet Rome had made it a political position and moved men in and out of it. At this time Caiaphas, Annas’ son-in-law was the high priest recognized by Rome. Yet Annas was the real power behind the scenes. After fleeing in the garden Peter and John turn back.

John 18:15-16 ESV

(15)  Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,

(16)  but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.

John has some connections that Peter did not. John is able to enter into the courtyard and watch this sham of a trial unfold. Peter was left behind at the door. He is physically exhausted, He has been up all night and morning is coming. He is terrified that Jesus was arrested. He is embarrassed and confused about what was wrong with using a sword. He is ashamed He ran in the garden. He was bold enough to come back but know does not know what to do. John sends a servant girl to go bring him into the courtyard.

John 18:17-18 ESV

(17)  The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

(18)  Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

This servant girl who was sent by a friend asks Peter if He was one of Jesus disciples. She says it expecting a no in reply. Her question is non conformational, and Peter’s emotions take over. He denies Jesus. Jesus in the garden reminded everyone that He was the “I AM” and Peter denial states “I am not.” His weakness and sin show through. As Peter is outside denying Jesus, Jesus is inside standing up to Annas.

John 18:19-21 ESV

(19)  The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.

(20)  Jesus answered Him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.

(21)  Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them; they know what I said.”

Annas wants to know about His disciples, how many are there? What threat do they pose? What has He been teaching? Is their a conspiracy or plot they don’t know about? Jesus tells Annas there is no hidden plot. He taught openly. He had been in the temple courtyard and declared He was the light to the world. The fact that Annas is questioning Jesus was illegal. The proper way was to interrogate the witness who was bringing a charge against the person. This helps explain Jesus’ answer. “Why do you ask Me?” This is illegal instead you should be talking to those who heard Me teach.

John 18:22-24 ESV

(22)  When He had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”

(23)  Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”

(24)  Annas then sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

It was illegal to hit a captive who was under trial. This officer thought Jesus had disrespected the High Priest. A similar situation happened to Paul in Acts 23.

Acts 23:1-5 ESV

(1)  And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”

(2)  And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

(3)  Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”

(4)  Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?”

(5)  And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

The high priest thought Paul had been disrespectful and order to have Him hit. Paul was human and had a sin nature and let it show right here. He speaks disrespectfully of the high priest. When it is pointed out He admits that He was wrong. It is so easy to forget these men in scripture have a sin nature just like ours. Paul reacts quick and has to repent. Jesus on the other hand has not misspoken. He has not sinned in His response to Annas. Even in these unjust trials, Jesus is without sin. He does not back down to Annas and stands on truth. John then reminds us of the scene happening outside. As Jesus is showing His holiness, through His responses, Peter is doing the exact opposite.

John 18:25 ESV

(25)  Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”

Peter is outside, tired, afraid and cold. He is standing by a fire warming himself. Trying to make sense of what is happening. He is asked again if He is a disciple and again Peter denies it. The question is again asked expecting a no. The crowd is not that accusatory yet, but that is just about to change.

John 18:26 ESV

(26)  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”

Unlike the other two questions this one expects a yes answer. This last question escalates. It is a relative of Malchus who Peter tried to kill. This relative also had been in the garden, meaning He saw Peter’s attempt with the sword. Peter has to wonder if this man is carrying a grudge or is seeking vengeance.

John 18:27 ESV

(27)  Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

Peter denies Jesus for a third time. This was the most conformational and dangerous of the accusations. This time Peter not only denied Christ but was emphatic about it.

Mark 14:71 ESV

(71)  But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.”

Peter not only denies Jesus but swears that He was not a disciple. He even invokes a curse on himself if He was lying. Just a few hours ago Peter could not imagine denying Christ even once.

Luke 22:31-34 ESV

(31)  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

(32)  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

(33)  Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”

(34)  Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Peter was under a tremendous spiritual attack. We must see that satan had to ask for permission. Satan is anti-God and yet does not have the power to override Him. Peter had pride in his life. He could not imagine denying Jesus. He meant every word and yet within hours He is cursing that He does not know Jesus. We are so frail and weak. Sin is crouching at the door of our heart closer then we care to admit. This sifting was needed for Peter’s growth and maturity.

It is amazing to see that Jesus is praying for Peter even when he doesn’t know he needs it. Jesus wanted to build up Peter and let Him know that his denial did not end his story. Before Peter fell Jesus is already talking about His return! We must come to the end of ourselves and our strength. It is only there that we can see how great Jesus’ grace is. We need His power to work through us. If we think we are something, we are deceived. If we think there is a sin we are not capable of we are deceived.

1 Corinthians 10:11-13 ESV

(11)  Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

(12)  Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

(13)  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

The Israelites constant failure is meant to be an example to us. They would learn to trust and walk with God and then start relying on themselves again. This is who we are. If we think we stand we are near a fall. We will always be undone when we rely on ourselves and walk in pride Our temptations are not unique to us, they are common. God is promising to be faithful. Not giving into temptation is not found in human effort or bold declarations. Resisting temptation is found by walking in humility and relying on the grace Jesus offers. He knows who we are and how we are tempted. He loved Peter.

Luke 22:60-62 ESV

(60)  But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

(61)  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

(62)  And he went out and wept bitterly.

As Peter is invoking a curse during the final denial, Jesus is being moved from being questioned by Annas to Caiaphas and He makes eye contact with Peter. I want to encourage you to think about this moment. What does Jesus’ face look like to you? Your answer will give you tremendous insight into how you view Jesus in your life. Peter is undone, humiliated, and emptied. He has sinned in a way he thought was impossible. What was Jesus’ reaction? I will remind you, He was not surprise by this and had already prayed for Peter’s renewal.

Psalms 103:13-14 ESV

(13)  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him. (14)  For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

He knows we are dust. He was the one who created us from it. We forget who we are, He does not. We tend to turn to so many things in trying to not act like dust. We rely on ourself, our rules, legalism, yet none of these work. The religious leaders serve as the example as how fruitless rules and legalism are to a walk with Jesus.

John 18:28 ESV

(28)  Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.

As the religious leaders take Jesus from one unjust trial to another, they are worried about becoming ceremonially unclean. As they are trying to unjustly have someone murdered, their rules had to be followed. Rules and legalism have no value because they do not engage the heart.

Colossians 2:23 ESV

(23)  These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

When God says they have no value He means it. What Peter was walking through was messier, yet God was working on His heart. God was showing Peter the depths of grace. Peter could confess and walk fresh, and so can we. Peter was learning to rely on Jesus and not himself. The religious leaders seem pious and yet they are filthy sinners who don’t even see their heart issue. As believers we still have a wicked flesh that is at war against us.

Romans 7:15-18 ESV

(15)  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

(16)  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.

(17)  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

(18)  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Paul understood who He was. Nothing good dwelt in his flesh. This is why walking in the Spirit is so important.

Romans 7:24-25 ESV

(24)  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

(25)  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

John 18:29-40 | Sunday November 17, 2024

Annas questioning Jesus was the first of His six trials. In the face of the scrutiny Jesus remained faithful, while Peter was outside denying Christ. Jesus was showing the depth of His perfect obedience and Peter was showing how weak we are as humans. What happened to Peter was not unique to Him but shows us our own sin nature. We are weak sinners who need to rest in our perfect Savior.

John 18:27-40 ESV

(27)  Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

(28)  Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.

(29)  So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”

(30)  They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered Him over to you.”

(31)  Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”

(32)  This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death He was going to die.

(33)  So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

(34)  Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?”

(35)  Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to Me. What have You done?”

(36)  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But My kingdom is not from the world.”

(37)  Then Pilate said to Him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”

(38)  Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in Him.

(39)  But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

(40)  They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

After Annas, Jesus is then tried by Caiaphas (Mat 26:57-68), and then by what appears to be the whole Sanhedrin (Mat 27:1-2). John does not describe these trials. The Jewish leaders then brought Jesus to Pilate. If He were to die on a cross they needed Pilate. The hypocrisy is glaring, as this trial happens outside so they can remain ceremonially pure.

Pilate was the procurator meaning it was His job to ensure Romans law and Order in Israel. He normally lived up in the north at the coastal town of Caesarea because it had a beautiful climate. He would travel to Jerusalem for the Passover to make sure the Jews stayed in order. Pilate hated the Jews and had a history with them. One incident was during the first year of his reign when during the night He brought Roman flags and images into Jerusalem. The Jews rebelled and demanded they be removed. Pilate had a ambush waiting for the protestors and surrounded the Jewish leaders threatening to kill them if they did not back down. Josephus describes the Jews response “But they threw themselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said they would take their death very willingly, rather than the wisdom of their laws should be transgressed.” (Antiq. 18.3.1). Pilate eventually relented. There are many stories like this. This was not the first time the Jewish leaders and Pilate had interacted. He had been in power less than 7 years before Jesus stood before Him.

John 18:29 ESV

(29)  So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”

Verse 28 mentioned it was early morning, this was at daybreak, between 3-6 AM. He is already disgruntled with them and wants to know what they want now, what did they have against this man? The Jewish leaders had to ask Pilate for the Roman guards they used in the garden. He knew they were going to arrest Jesus. He had tried to appease them by letting the soldiers go with them but the situation keeps snowballing.

John 18:30 ESV

(30)  They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered Him over to you.”

They try to use their reputation and get Pilate to just go with the flow. They wanted Pilate to just trust Jesus needed to die and not ask many questions. Instead He opens His own trial and wants to know what the accusation is.

Matthew 27:18 ESV

(18)  For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up.

Pilate knew these leaders hated Jesus. Yet he needed to be careful not to upset them.

John 18:31-32 ESV

(31)  Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”

(32)  This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death He was going to die.

The Jews had convicted Jesus of Blasphemy. In Jewish law this meant stoning a person. We see a Jewish mob carry this out in Acts 7 when they stoned Stephen. The Jews wanted Pilate to execute Jesus so that He would be killed on a cross. Even as evil men plotted and tried to do the worst things they could imagine to Jesus everything was unfolding to God’s plan. God can work through evil and is not responsible for the evil. Jesus taught many times that He had to be killed on the cross. He was to be lifted up as the snake in the wilderness (John 3:14). None of His bones could be broken just like the Passover lamb, (Ex 12:46). The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to be cursed by God.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 ESV

(22)  “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

(23)  his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Ancient governments would use impalement of criminals to serve as a gruesome billboard for how law and order worked in that city. Their death served as a warning. Being killed and displayed this way was a curse by God. Even this fulfilled God’s purpose.

Galatians 3:13 ESV

(13)  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

He became a curse, and accepted the wrath of God for sin. Each of these details fulfilled God’s will. Not only did Jesus have to die, but it all had to happen in specific, prophesized about ways. He had to become the curse. The Jewish leaders knew the charge of blasphemy was not enough for Pilate to kill Jesus so instead they charge Him with being an insurrectionist, a threat to Rome.

John 18:33-35 ESV

(33)  So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

(34)  Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?”

(35)  Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to Me. What have You done?”

The Jewish leaders told Pilot that Jesus was claiming to be a King therefore He was a threat to Rome. Jesus uses tremendous wisdom in answering Pilate’s question. He does not lie or deny that He is a King but is careful not to incriminate Himself to Pilate. Pilate is tired of these ongoing Jewish problems and just wants this problem to go away.

John 18:35-36 ESV

(36)  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But My kingdom is not from the world.”

The fact is that Jesus is a King and has a very real kingdom. There are so many misunderstandings about what Jesus’ kingdom will be like and how it will be accomplished. Pilate was no different He had assumptions the moment he heard Jesus talk about His kingdom. Jesus declares that His kingdom is not of this world nor from this world. It is not apart of the world system and will not be accomplished through worldly means. If it was He would not have stopped Peter from wielding the sword. There is a growing teaching that it is our job as Christians to usher in the kingdom. That we are to change this world and make it ready so Jesus can bring in His kingdom. This teaching directly violates, what Jesus just taught. If this was true than His kingdom would be from the world and He clearly states it is not. The kingdom is a huge concept in scripture. As believers we have been made part of His kingdom.

Colossians 1:13-14 ESV

(13)  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

(14)  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

When we trusted in Jesus we were delivered, rescued from the darkness and sin and were transferred into Jesus’ Kingdom. This is true about us right now. Jesus offers us redemption and the forgiveness of sins. We are no longer defined by our sin and under the darkness judgment. We have new life in Jesus. This kingdom is not just spiritual. We must note that Jesus does not say that His kingdom will not be in this world at all. Jesus is in control and He is ruling and reigning and eventually that reign will come to this earth. His kingdom is not of/from the world but it will be in this physical world.

Daniel 7:13-14 ESV

(13)  “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.

(14)  And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

God the Father, the Ancient of Days gave God the Son, Jesus the authority to rule this Kingdom. His dominion will not end and His kingdom will not be destroyed. Revelation 19:11-20:6 describes Jesus coming to usher that kingdom physically here on earth. His Kingdom is not from this world because He brings it from heaven and makes this world submit to it.

Revelation 20:6 ESV

(6)  Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Our future is so amazing! You and I as believers will ride on white horses behind our King who will establish His kingdom here on this earth. We will reign with Him for a thousand years. We make so many plans for our future, our next vacation, retirement, etc. I want to encourage you to plan for the kingdom. Live this life looking forward to reigning with Jesus on this earth. His kingdom is not from the world, but for a 1,000 years it will be on this earth and Jesus is going to set every injustice right.

1 Corinthians 15:24-26 ESV

(24)  Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

(25)  For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

(26)  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

At the end of the thousand years Jesus will deliver the completed Kingdom to God the Father. At that moment Jesus has fully accomplished all He set out to do and every ruler, sin, and enemy has been fully defeated. Death will be permanently destroyed. Then God will set up the new heaven and new earth for us to enjoy His kingdom, His presence for all eternity.

John 18:37 ESV

(37)  Then Pilate said to Him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”

Pilate has missed it entirely. The kingdom Jesus is talking about is grander and more magnificent than anything Pilate can imagine. Jesus came for this purpose, to bear witness to the truth. The truth about who God is and how to have a relationship with Him. The truth about how to be a part of His kingdom that the Father gave to the Son. Jesus came to share truth that He would die and His blood would let us be born again into this Kingdom. Truth is based on God’s character. All of this is only true if God is actually able to accomplish it. These truths are spiritually understood. Only believers of the truth, who are in His kingdom are able to listen to His voice. This is why Pilate could not make sense of Jesus’ answers. Pilate was not of the truth. He had not believed.

Matthew 13:43 ESV

(43)  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

I am so excited to find out what it means to shine like the sun! You must have a spiritual ear to hear these truths. The Holy Spirit has to teach us.

John 18:38 ESV

(38)  Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in Him.

Pilate asks one of the most profound questions in the Bible, “What is truth?” The tragic thing though is that he does not wait for an answer. Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life is standing in front of Pilate and he does not want to know what truth really is. This is how evil our human hearts are. We do not want truth. We want our opinion. We want to be the one to define the terms and how things work. Accepting Jesus has in it a humility of accepting His truth. Humanities issue is not that truth has not been revealed to us but that we would rather ask about it and leave before we get an answer.

Pilate declares Jesus innocent. He is a king but Pilate does not see Him as a threat to Rome. It was important that Pilate find Jesus not guilty, because the Passover lamb had to be without blemish.

Exodus 12:5 ESV

(5)  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,

Jesus was holy, perfect and even in these illegal trials the perfect lamb was shown to be blemish free, ready to be offered as a sacrifice.

John 18:39-40 ESV

(39)  But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

(40)  They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Pilate looks for a way out and yet the Jewish leaders are relentless. They would rather have Barabbas released. Barabbas was a terrorist, murderer, an insurrectionist. Jesus was falsely accused of being a threat to Rome, and the crowd wants a legitimate threat to Rome to be released instead. Barabbas means “son of a father.” It is a tragic that we as sinners want the “son of a father” released and not the true “Son of the Father.” As sinners we run from truth, as believers let us rest in the one who reveals truth to us.

Psalm 86:11-12 ESV

(11)  Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. (12)  I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your name forever.

John 19:1-16 | Sunday December 1st, 2024

Jesus has stood trial before Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, and Pilate. Pilate does not want to get involved, so when he finds out Jesus is from Galilee he sent Jesus over to be tried by Herod. Jesus does not answer Herod’s questions, so he is sent back to Pilate. Pilate tells the crowd:

Luke 23:14-16 ESV

(14)  and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining Him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against Him.
(15)  Neither did Herod, for he sent Him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.
(16)  I will therefore punish and release Him.”

Two weeks ago, we saw Pilate ask “What is truth?” and leave before Jesus could answer. We are studying some of the most important truth in the Word of God. Jesus who is holy, without sin, perfectly innocent is being condemned to die. He has done nothing deserving death and yet He is willing to become sin and accept its punishment.

John 19:1-16 ESV

(1)  Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged Him. (2)  And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head and arrayed Him in a purple robe. (3)  They came up to Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck Him with their hands. (4)  Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” (5)  So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” (6)  When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” (7)  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law He ought to die because He has made himself the Son of God.” (8)  When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. (9)  He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. (10)  So Pilate said to Him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?” (11)  Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered Me over to you has the greater sin.” (12)  From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” (13)  So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. (14)  Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” (15)  They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” (16)  So he delivered Him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,

We struggle to understand Pilate’s actions. He declares Jesus to be innocent, so does Herod, and yet he has Jesus flogged. Pilate was walking in compromise. Each step took Him further than he anticipated. He had Jesus flogged to try and incite sympathy from the crowd and Jewish leaders. Pilate hoped that their wrath would be satisfied by having Jesus severely beaten. Luke tells us that Pilates plan after having Jesus flogged was to release Him. Pilate hoped this would be the end of it.

Romans had three types of floggings each increasing in its severity. There is a chance that this first one was the light version with the severe one coming after the guilty verdict. Flogging was brutal. Jesus would have been stripped and tied to a post. Several torturers would have used whips with bone, lead, or metal in the end until they were exhausted. Many died from flogging. During the flogging the soldiers also mocked Jesus.

John 19:2-3 ESV

(2)  And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head and arrayed Him in a purple robe.
(3)  They came up to Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck Him with their hands.

Many of these soldiers would have been in the garden and knocked over by Jesus when He said “I Am.” They dress Him up as a mock King. The true king of kings and Lord of lords is being ridiculed. His crown being full of thorns is no accident.

Genesis 3:17-18 ESV

(17)  And to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
(18)  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

Thornes are a direct result of the curse of sin. They are a reminder that humanity rebelled and sin is in the world. Jesus is being crowned with sin.

Isaiah 50:6-7 ESV

(6)  I gave My back to those who strike, and My cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not My face from disgrace and spitting.
(7)  But the Lord GOD helps Me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Jesus did not hid from any of the mockery or pain. Matthew 27:30 even tells us the soldiers spit on Him. Jesus put His trust in God and set His face like flint. He trusted that the beatings, mockery, and ultimate separation from God would all be worth it. This is what had to happen for sin to be fully paid for. He had to accept the crown of thorns, the crown of sin before He could reign as the King of Kings.

John 19:4-5 ESV

(4)  Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.”
(5)  So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd, bloodied, beaten and mockingly dressed like a king. Pilate is mocking the Jewish leaders. Here is the Man you are so worried about. Here is the one you say is so dangerous. Look how weak and insignificant He is. Pilate’s declaration means more then He could ever know.

John 1:14 ESV

(14)  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This Man that Pilate presented was revealing the glory of God to us. He is full of grace and truth. The eternal Word made flesh. God who had no beginning was bleeding in a body that was breaking. This declaration also echoes what God had Zechariah prophecy.

Zechariah 6:11-13 ESV

(11)  Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
(12)  And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch: for He shall branch out from His place, and He shall build the temple of the LORD.
(13)  It is He who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on His throne. And there shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’

What is surprising in this prophecy is that the High priest is being crowned and not the king. This prophecy pointed forward to Jesus. Pilate echoes this phrase “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch.” Jesus is both the high priest and king. He is the one who will give His blood as the sacrifice and also reign as king. He will be the one to rebuild the millennium temple. He will wear a crown of Gold.

John 19:6-7 ESV

(6)  When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.”
(7)  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law He ought to die because He has made himself the Son of God.”

Pilate’s plane for the beating to appease the Jewish leaders had failed. They demand for Jesus to be crucified even as Pilate professes Jesus innocence.

The Jewish leaders kept changing the charges against Jesus. From accusations that He would destroy the temple (Mat 26:61), to claims that He taught against paying taxes (Luke 23:2), to finally the charge of blasphemy the leaders did not care what it took, they wanted Him dead. This last accusation scared Pilate.

John 19:8-10 ESV

(8)  When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.
(9)  He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
(10)  So Pilate said to Him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”

Pilate was Roman and had been taught all the stories of the Roman gods interacting with humans at various times. He did not see Jesus as the supreme God almighty but was terrified that Jesus was some god like all the roman gods Pilate believed in. Jesus does not answer Pilates question. If Pilate was seeking truth then Jesus would have answered (Mat 7:8-9). In response Pilate asserts His authority. By doing so He condemns Himself, Pilate can free Jesus but is too scared of the crowd to do it.

John 19:11 ESV

(11)  Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered Me over to you has the greater sin.”

Even as justice is being perverted Jesus is practicing the truth found in Romans 13:1.

Romans 13:1 ESV

(1)  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Jesus knew the Pilate’s authority was given to him from above. Pilate was not the leader that day by mistake. He also will be held accountable for His actions, just as the one who delivered Jesus over to him. This person has the greater sin. Notice that not all sin is the same (Luke 12:42-48). Various sin have various degrees of punishment. If human courts understand that sin should have differing punishments then why wouldn’t God’s perfect court operate this way. All sin deserves death, but not all sin will be punished the same.

The person with the greater sin Jesus is referring to is either Judas, Caiaphas, or all of the Jewish leaders. Each one had a hand in delivering Jesus over to Pilate. It is amazing to see that as Jesus recognizes Pilates God given authority He shows His true authority as judge of all. Jesus has the authority to classify which sin is worse than another.

John 19:12-13 ESV

(12)  From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
(13)  So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.

Pilate kept trying to release Jesus and yet he kept compromising. He had the authority just not the bravery. God even gave His wife a dream and she warned Him not to “Have nothing to do with that righteous man.” (Mat 27:19) The Jewish leaders used their most powerful weapon against Pilate, Caesar. Tiberius Caeser was very suspicious and any talk of Pilate supporting another king would lead to Pilates death. Pilate finally decides to give into their demands.

John 19:14 ESV

(14)  Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

Pilate brings Jesus out to the judgment seat to declare the death sentence. He even attempts to wash his hands of his role in the judgment (Mat 27:24). Again Pilate speaks more truth than he even knew. “Behold your King!” Jesus was sentenced to death, and because of His sacrifice He deserves to be exalted and will reign as King of Kings. Pilate presented Jesus bloodied and mockingly dressed as a king. Jesus will be revealed to this earth and even to those who killed Him as a true King in His full majesty.

Revelation 1:7 ESV

(7)  Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.

Revelation 19:11-16 NKJV

(11) I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war.
(12)  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself.
(13)  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.
(14)  The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
(15)  Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
(16)  On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of lords.

This passage of scripture excites me so much! King Jesus will be revealed. He is Faithful and True. He will bring perfect justice to this world. The many crowns He wears are from all of the kings that He conquers. He trades in His crown of thorns and starts collecting crowns from the kingdoms He takes over. He is the Word of God who died and will reign! We are riding behind Him on horses! We get to watch our King conquer. He carries the title of King of Kings because He has earned it through the cross and has the power to prove it. He stood before the Jewish leaders and was presented as a King and they hated Him and wanted Him to die.

John 19:15-16 ESV

(15)  They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
(16)  So he delivered Him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,

This final denial of Jesus is so tragic. It goes beyond denying Jesus as the messiah or their king but is a full rejection that there even is a king to come. Israel rejected God’s kingship over them throughout the Old Testament. They wanted an earthly king so they could be like all the other nations. The fact is they were not like all the other nations. The one true living God wanted to lead and guide them and they refused. Here they are again as a nation turning from their King. He is their savior and willing to die for their sin and they do not want Him. Israel shows us what is in our hearts. They show the depth of our sin. They show our deep need for a savior who accomplished it all.

Hosea 3:1-5 ESV

(1)  And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”
(2)  So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.
(3)  And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.”
(4)  For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
(5)  Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to His goodness in the latter days.

Our hearts are like adulteresses. Just as Israel kept turning away from God, we do the same. Yet God still loves. There were consequences for rejecting Jesus as a nation. They were without a king and without sacrifice for many days. This is where they are as a nation today. Yet God is so faithful to His promises, He still loves them and will restore them. Israel will return and seek out God and let Jesus rule as their King from David’s throne. We have such an amazing savior who will remain faithful to us even in our weaknesses and faults.

John 19:17-27 | Sunday December 15, 2024

Throughout the gospel of John Jesus has been presented as the Word who became flesh, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He has shown His power, deity, and care through miracles. He has revealed His character and identity through the 7 I AM statements. Everything we have studied to this point would be undone if Jesus did not continue to be obedient to God the Father over the next verses. Through fake trials He has been condemned to death. Israel has fully rejected Him and declared they have no king but Caeser. The events have been perfectly put in place, with countless prophecies being fulfilled and yet Jesus still had to make the sacrifice. He had to pay for sins.

John 19:16-27 ESV

(16)  So he delivered Him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,(17)  and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.(18)  There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.(19)  Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”(20)  Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.(21)  So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’”(22)  Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”(23)  When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also His tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom,(24)  so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things,(25)  but standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.(26)  When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”(27)  Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Pilate has compromised at each step. The Jewish leaders have manipulated Him perfectly and the outcome they so desperately demanded was given. Once Jesus was sentenced to death He would have been flogged again. Each beating Jesus went through weakened Him, yet His death had to come on the cross. During a crucifixion the Romans would have the condemned criminal carry the horizontal beam of their own cross out to the site of the execution.

John 19:17 ESV

(17)  and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

The site of the crucifixion was at The Place of a Skull. This was hillside that would have been easily seen, as these public executions were meant to serve as a warning. The hill itself looks like a skull thus its name. This term in Latin is where the word Calvary comes from. There are so many details in the crucifixion that point back to the Old Testament. These events were not random but the culmination of human history.

Genesis 22:6-8 ESV

(6)  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

(7)  And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

(8)  Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

Abraham had Isaac carry the wood for what was supposed to be used for Issac’s own death. Abraham trusted that God would provide the perfect lamb. Even in His weakened bloodied state Jesus carried His own cross for a time to His sacrifice. He was the perfect sacrifice that Abraham trusted God to provide. He is the lamb God provided for Himself. Then as Jesus reached the edge of the city He was too weak to continue.

Luke 23:26 ESV

(26)  And as they led Him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.

Simon was forced to carry the cross as Jesus physically weakened. This happened at the edge of the city as Simon came in from the country. Jesus had to die outside the city.

Hebrews 13:11-12 ESV

(11)  For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. (12)  So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood.

On the day of atonement the blood of the sacrifice was brought into the Holy of Holies but the body of the sacrifice was taken outside of the city. The author of Hebrews points out that this is why Jesus had to suffer outside the city. He is the perfect sacrifice.

John 19:18 ESV

(18)  There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

When they reached Golgotha the soldiers would have nailed Jesus’s hands to the cross bar that had been caried out to the site. The upright beam would have already been in the ground. Jesus would have been hoisted up and the horizontal bar was fastened to the vertical. His feet then were nailed into place. Once someone was affixed to a cross the long process of suffocation started. The person would push up in great pain to relieve stress on the chest and take a breath, and then would slump back down. This would go on until the person was too weak to push up or the solders intervened. There were at least two criminals who were killed alongside Jesus.

John 19:19-20 ESV

(19)  Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

(20)  Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.

The crime for which the person was being crucified was written on a placard and carried by the person to their execution and often affixed atop there cross. These public executions were meant to be seen and there was to be no doubt what caused the person to warrant a death like this. Pilate inscribes the charge, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” It was written in Aramaic which was the common language in Judea, Latin which was official language of Rome and its military, and Greek which was the common language of the Roman Empire.

John 19:21-22 ESV

(21)  So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’”

(22)  Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

Pilate has been compromising with the Jewish leaders all day and has finally had enough. This charge infuriated the chief priests of the Jews. They did not want Jesus to be identified as their King. Notice the separation, that the Jews rejection has caused. The chief priests are identified as being of the Jews, this is the first time this has happened. This points out that Jesus is the true Chief priest, not Annas or Caiaphas, or any of the other priest. Jesus is the only one who is able to offer the perfect sacrifice.

Hebrews 5:4-5 ESV

(4)  And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

(5)  So also Christ did not exalt Himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by Him who said to Him, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”;

It was the Chief Priest who offered up the sacrifice. Jesus has been appointed as the Chief Priest by God the Father. It is time for the perfect sacrifice to be offered. Jesus is the High Priest who is willing to offer Himself.

John 19:23-24 ESV

(23)  When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also His tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom,

(24)  so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things,

During an execution the Soldiers on duty were entitled to the clothing of the condemned. Clothing was handmade and costly and taking the clothes from the condemned was viewed as part of their wages. Even the Roman Soldiers were fulfilling prophy as they gambled for Jesus’ clothing.

Psalm 22:14-19 ESV

(14)  I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within My breast;

(15)  My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue sticks to My jaws; you lay Me in the dust of death.

(16)  For dogs encompass Me; a company of evildoers encircles Me; they have pierced My hands and feet—

(17)  I can count all My bones— they stare and gloat over Me;

(18)  they divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.

(19)  But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you My help, come quickly to My aid!

David wrote Psalm 22 about 1,000 years before Jesus was born and 500 years before crucifixion was even invented. Yet God perfectly describes the details of what happened to Jesus’ body as He died on the cross. His hands and feet were pierced and His bones were on clear display as He hung there. It is detailed even to describe the Roman soldiers casting lots for His clothing. The soldiers had stripped Jesus naked as the placed Him on the cross. Even in this humiliation scripture was being fulfilled. It points back to Adam and Eve in the garden. They did not have shame and know they were naked until they sinned.

Genesis 3:6-7; 21 ESV

(6)  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

(7)  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

(21)  And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Once humanity had sinned and fallen from God nakedness showed our sin problem. Adam and Eve immediately tried to solve their own problem. The leaves were temporary and not sufficient. God had to make a way for their sin problem to be dealt with. Something had to die that day. God offered the first animal sacrifice when He made the skins for them. Now Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that the animal pointed to. His blood would take away our sins. So He was stripped naked as He was on the cross and took the sins of the entire world. All sins past present and future were laid on Him.

John 19:25-27 ESV

(25)  but standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

(26)  When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”

(27)  Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Mary was most likely in her mid to late forties, and most likely a widow. She would have been dependent on her eldest son Jesus. Even in the moment of His greatest despair, as He suffered, He took the time to care for His mother. He entrusted Her to John. The Catholic church reads a lot more into this passage and says it was actually John who was entrusted to Mary. That she is the mother of the church. The passage itself disproves this, first by never naming Mary. John goes out of His way to keep fame from coming to her. Second notice that Mary came to John’s house and not the other way around. John help look after and care for Mary’s needs. It truly speaks to Jesus’s love and care that He takes time to care for His earthly mother in this moment. He tenderly entrusted her to the disciple He loved and not to his half-brothers. Not caring for their parents was one of the things Jesus had critiqued the Pharisees for.

Matthew 15:3-6 ESV

(3)  He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? (4)  For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ (5)  But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” (6)  he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

The Pharisees neglected the clear command in scripture to honor their parents and worse yet used giving to God as their excuse. They held their own traditions higher than the Word of God. Jesus stands as a stark contrast. He gives us an example that we are to honor our parents. This is a calling on our lives as believers that we should take seriously, because Jesus did. As Mary watched Her son on the cross she was grieving. This moment and her pain was foretold by Simeon when Jesus was presented as a baby in the temple just 40 days after His birth.

Luke 2:25-35 ESV

(25)  Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

(26)  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

(27)  And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law,

(28)  he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

(29)  “Lord, now You are letting your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;

(30)  for my eyes have seen Your salvation

(31)  that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

(32)  a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”

(33)  And His father and His mother marveled at what was said about Him.

(34)  And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed

(35)  (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Simeon had the Holy Spirit and the moment he saw the baby Jesus He knew that this what the “Lord’s Christ.” Jesus was the long promised messiah, Jesus was God’s promised salvation. Through the cross He would be a light to the gentiles and glory for Israel. Mary and Jospeh marveled at this. Then Simeon specifically tells Mary about the pain that she will endure. Her own soul will be pierced. Her son had to die, to become the savior, even her savior. Jesus perfect payment is incredible divisive. It reveals hearts. For some it is their fall, their rejection of Jesus payment seals their fate. For others it is our rising, this word is resurrection. We have hope, and will be resurrected because Jesus paid for our sins!

Romans 8:31-32 ESV

(31)  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

(32)  He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?

John 19:28-30 | Sunday December 22, 2024

God’s timing is always amazing. We have been in a study of the gospel of John and have come to the pinnacle moment on the cross right at Christmas. This is a passage we traditionally think about at Good Friday and Easter and yet it has so much impact to consider at Christmas time. In all the parties and gift giving we aim to remember that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. Yet at times I wonder if we are remembering the reason the birth of Jesus is important. The angel that appeared to Jospeh was very clear as to why Jesus’ birth was important.

Matthew 1:18-23 ESV

(18)  Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

(19)  And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

(20)  But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

(21)  She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

(22)  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

(23)  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Mary and Jospeh were betrothed, which can be thought of as a legal form of engagement. His whole world would have been shaken when He found out Mary was pregnant. As he started making plans to divorce her in a way that would not shame her but also not ruin His own reputation an angel appeared. It is no accident that the angel calls Jospeh the Son of David. Jospeh had royal blood in Him and this is why Mary and Him end up having to go to Bethlehem for Jesus birth. The angel lets Jospeh know that Mary has been faithful, this Child is from the Holy Spirit. Then the angel gives Jesus’ purpose, “He will save His people from their sins.” This child has an extraordinary purpose that would have been hard to fathom for Jospeh. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14, God had come to dwell with man. The promise that was made all the way back in Genesis 3 was coming closer to being fulfilled.

Genesis 3:8-9 ESV

(8)  And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

(9)  But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Last week we saw the moment Adam and Eve rebelled against God for the first time. They became spiritually dead. Humanity now had a sin problem. As sinners Adam and Eve’s default was to run away and hid themselves from God. A separation had come into what once had been a close fellowship, but notice it is Adam and Eve that hid. And look at how gracious and loving God is. In a moment that deserved to be met by pure justice and wrath for sin instead God pursues. He is the one who called out to us! He is the one who went out looking for us. Often this is not how God is talked about. We emphasize His holiness and that He cannot be in the presence of sin. These truths do not represent the whole story. God had a plan that would satisfy His justice and His wrath toward sin while restoring the relationship He desired to have with His creation.

Genesis 3:10-15 ESV

(10)  And he said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

(11)  He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

(12)  The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

(13)  Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

(14)  The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

(15)  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Sin caused a close relationship to be replaced with fear. Adam immediately starts to shift blame and accuse both Eve and God of being responsible for his sin. Eve points out that she was decided by the serpent. As God starts to give the just curses that sin deserves something amazing happens, He gives a promise of hope. These curses, this separation and fear that Adam and Eve feel will not last forever. Eve will have an offspring who will defeat the serpent. To give the killing blow to the serpent’s head this offspring will be struck by the serpent in the heel. God was pursuing humanity and had a plan to restore fellowship. Humanity’s sin had to be paid for and the wrath it deserved had to be given out. This promise was finished on the cross.

John 19:28-30 ESV

(28)  After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

(29)  A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth.

(30)  When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Last week we looked at how many details of Jesus going to the cross pointed to the fact that He was the perfect sacrifice. We also saw Jesus take time to care for His mother and entrust her to John. Verse 28 starts out with “After This,” this refers to the 3 hours of darkness that took place right near the end of Jesus’ time on the cross.

Matthew 27:45-46 ESV

(45)  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

(46)  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

The sixth hour in Roman time to the ninth hour would have been noon to 3 p.m. What was happening in this moment on the cross was so divine, so private that God shut the lights off. It was a moment between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This cry was given at the end of the period of darkness. This was the holy and terrible moment when Jesus became sin and was separated from God the Father and God the Spirit. The separation that was created back in the garden was now being experienced personally by God the Son. After three hours of darkness, and after being forsaken, He then says:

John 19:28-29 ESV

(28)  After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

(29)  A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth.

This was the fifth of seven saying of Jesus on the cross. Even in this terrible moment as He has taken on sin and is separated from God, He is still obedient to the Word. Even in His great physical need He says “I thirst” primarily to fulfill scripture. The Psalm He is fulfilling gives an insight as to what truth was on His heart during this terrible moment.

Psalm 69:14-21 ESV

(14)  Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.

(15)  Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.

(16)  Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

(17)  Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.

(18)  Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!

(19)  You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.

(20)  Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

(21)  They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

David wrote this Psalm but its ultimate fulfillment is in Jesus. He pleads with God not to let the difficulty of the trial overwhelm Him but for God’s steadfast love to show through. He pleads for God not to hide His face, Jesus is in despair. For the first time in all eternity the unity within the trinity has been broken. Then in verse 21 is what Jesus fulfilled. He thirst and they gave Him sour wine to drink. This is the same Jesus who made this offer to the Woman at the well.

John 4:13-14 ESV

(13)  Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,

(14)  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

He made a similar offer to the crowd at the feast of tabernacles (John 7:37-38). Jesus is able to provide living water that would cause people never to thirst again. Being in fellowship with God satisfies unlike anything else. His physical thirst represented His separation from the Father. He had taken on sin and was separated from the eternal life that is found in fellowship with God. This sour wine He is willing to drink must be distinguished from a drink He was offered earlier, that He rejected.

Mark 15:22-23 ESV

(22)  And they brought Him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).

(23)  And they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.

This wine was mixed with myrrh, and was used to deaden physical pain. Jesus refused to let anything minimize or disorient what had to be accomplished on the cross. The sour wine on the other hand was a wine vinegar mixed with water that soldiers drank. It would have helped His thirst so He could say His last two statements and made Him more alert and aware.

John 19:30 ESV

(30)  When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

This one word in the Greek tetelestai speaks more truth then we can every fully understand. Tetelestai means something is complete, brought to an end, finished. In a narrow sense Jesus death was finished and the very next thing He does is give up His Spirit. Yet it means so much more. This term has actually been found on Papyri receipts for taxes and it meant paid in full. Jesus had perfectly paid the sin debt that stood against us.

Hebrews 9:11-12 ESV

(11)  But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)

(12)  He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

He had to offer His own blood as the perfect sacrifice. This was the only thing that could secure an eternal redemption. We are not called to believe in the mercy or grace of God to be saved. Meaning our salvation and forgiveness is not based on God feeling extra generous. His character would be violated if this were true.

Hebrews 9:22 ESV

(22)  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 10:4 ESV

(4)  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Sin cannot be forgiven without blood. Without death. Without God’s wrath and justice being perfectly dealt with. The animal sacrifices in the Old Testament were not enough.

There is no earthly sacrifice that could have done the job. No one in the Old Testament was saved by the blood of animals. It was always about what that blood pointed to.

Romans 3:23-26 ESV

(23)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(24)  and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

(25)  whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.

(26)  It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Jesus was the propitiation meaning He was the offering that appeased God’s wrath. His blood satisfied God. As a believer you will never experience God’s wrath. When Jesus says “it is Finished” He meant it. He took all the wrath of God for sin. All of the sins of the Old Testament were not paid for by animals, they were paid for on the cross.

The animals were a placeholder waiting for the real payment. Salvation is based on receiving Jesus by faith. It is trusting in His payment. Jesus suffered, experienced God’s wrath for sin and died not merely on our behalf but in our place.

1 Peter 3:18 ESV

(18)  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

The righteous took the place of the unrighteous. This is what it took in order to bring us to God. He became the sin bearer. These truths alone are astounding but that does not even come close to fully encapsulating what was finished. His final act of obedience through death on the cross finished His own perfect righteousness.

Philippians 3:8-9 ESV

(8)  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

(9)  and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of My own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

We are not made right by following the law. We did not have a righteousness of our own. We are given Jesus’ righteousness. His perfect obedience that was finished is then given, imputed to us. The sin debt was paid for by His blood and His perfect righteous life was then credited to our account. His death actually ended the law.

Romans 10:4 ESV

(4)  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The law shows us our sin, but we have been given Jesus’ righteousness that has no sin it. So because of what He finished we are free from the law. We have our freedom in Him! With all that Jesus finished on the cross what do you and I think we can add to that equation? If we try to add one work then it is no longer grace (Rom 11:6). God can show us so much unmerited love and grace because of what Jesus finished, because of His perfect life and His perfect blood payment.

John 19:30 ESV

(30)  When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

He laid His life down. It was not taken from Him. He had the authority to lay it down. It is Finished! This is a tremendous cry of victory. A truth that we will worship and praise Him all eternity for. The serpent’s head was crushed. The separation, fear, wrath, and pain that sin caused had been fully dealt with.

Matthew 27:50-51 ESV

(50)  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. (51)  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

God ripped the separating curtain from top to bottom we can have fellowship with Him again. He pursued us again. The best Christmas greeting we can hear is: It is Finished!

The seven sayings of Jesus on the cross:

1. “Father forgive them” Luke 23:34;

2. “today you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:43;

3. “Woman, behold, your son!” John 19:26-27;

4. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Mat 27:46, Luke 15:34;

5. “I thirst” John 19:28;

6. “It is finished” John 19:30;

7. “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” Luke 23:46.

Verses describing what was finished by Jesus on the cross.

Hebrews 2:9- He tasted death for everyone.

1 Peter 3:18- He suffered for sin so that He might bring us to God.

1 Timothy 2:6- The ransom payment for sin was paid.

Galatians 3:13-14- He became the curse so that the blessing could come to the gentiles.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19- We are fully reconciled to God.

Colossians 2:13-15- He canceled the debt that stood against us and defeated all demonic forces.

Hebrews 2:14-17- He destroyed the one (Satan) who has the power of death.

Ephesians 2:11-18- He brought peace between Jews and Gentiles, uniting us into His body.

Revelation 5:5-14- He became worthy to open the scroll.

Philippians 2:8-11- Through His obedience His name is exalted above all others.

 

John 19:31-42 | Sunday December 29, 2024

Since John 12 we have been studying the last week of Jesus life. John puts a tremendous focus on these final actions and teachings of Jesus. Last week we saw the death of Jesus. He was the perfect sacrifice who declared in victory “It is finished.” Sins’ payment was finished, His own righteousness was finished, the law was finished, and there are so many more. Yet this victory cry and all it accomplished would mean nothing if the story stopped there. It is estimated that 30,000 people were killed on Roman crosses, it is valid to ask what made Jesus’ death so unique? Anybody can declare “It is finished” but what verifies this claim? What proves He accomplished all He claimed to? The Resurrection. This week sets the stage for Him to be risen.

John 19:28-42 ESV

(28)  After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” (29)  A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. (30)  When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (31)  Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. (32)  So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him. (33)  But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.(34)  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. (35)  He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. (36)  For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.” (37)  And again another Scripture says, “They will look on Him whom they have pierced.” (38)  After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body.(39)  Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. (40)  So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.(41)  Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.(42)  So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Death on a cross was a slow agonizing process. Some criminals would be on the cross for two to three days before they died. One of Romes main goals of using the cross was its public nature so that it would be a deterrent to crime and uprisings. The Romans would let the person’s death drag out as long as possible. Then often the dead body would be left on the cross to start decomposing and to be eaten by the vultures. This common practice was not followed because the Jews were on a time crunch. It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was about to start. By Jewish thought this happened at sunset on Friday. This Sabbath was special because it was during the Passover Feast. So, the Jewish leaders made two more request of Pilate. They wanted the criminals’ legs broken (including Jesus) to speed up death and for the bodies to be taken off the cross, so that the Sabbath and Passover feast would not be defiled. (Deut 21:22-23)

John 19:32-33 ESV

(32)  So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him.

(33)  But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

Pilate agrees to the request and ordered the soldiers to break their legs. The Romans would use heavy mallet to break the legs of a crucified person so that they could no longer push up to get a breath of air. Once the legs were broken death was imminent. The soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus but saw that Jesus was already dead. Jesus had many beatings and floggings before He even reached the cross. Jesus alone had the authority to give up His spirit, these Roman soldiers could not take His life from Him. Yet, these soldiers had been given a direct order and failure to ensure Jesus was dead would have led to their own death.

John 19:34 ESV

(34)  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

There can be no doubt that Jesus physically died on the cross. These soldiers were well trained in execution and knew how to verify death. When the spear pierced Jesus side, blood and water came out. There are multiple medical explanations of why this proves Jesus death. Depending on what exactly was pierced by the spear, this fluid came from Jesus’ heart and the fluid in the pericardial sac or from hemorrhagic fluid that built up in the rib cage and the lining of the lungs. This fluid separates out with a clear serum on top and a deep red on the bottom. Either way, physical death would have been confirmed for the Roman solider. The apostle John gives these details in part to combat false teaching that had arisen. Some taught that Jesus only seemed or appeared to have a human body. John gives these bodily details to help prove that Jesus had a physical flesh that really died on the cross.

John 19:34-35 ESV

(34)  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

(35)  He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe.

John was the only disciple who stayed and watched the crucifixion, the others had scattered before this. He was an eye witness and could attest to the authenticity and genuineness of what he was writing. Seeing the blood and water come out of Jesus made an impact on John. He even makes reference to it in 1 John 5.

1 John 5:6-8; 11-12 ESV

(6)  This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

(7)  For there are three that testify:

(8)  the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

(11)  And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

(12)  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

This passage has many layers, yet what is clear is that John says the Spirit, water and blood all agree in their testimony. Then he tells us what the testimony is, that Eternal life is found in Jesus. John can attest to seeing firsthand the water and blood coming out of Jesus. The word who had become flesh, Jesus, died. He is the perfect sacrifice, through His death He can now offer eternal life. It cannot be found in anyone or anything else. If you have Jesus, the Son, you have life. Even the details that happened after Jesus’ death were in perfect accordance to scripture, to further prove who He was and what He accomplished.

John 19:36 ESV

(36)  For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”

God had given so many prophecies pointing to Jesus. He was the perfect Passover lamb.

Exodus 12:5; 46-47 ESV

(5)  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,

(46)  It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.

(47)  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

Over a thousand year before Jesus came, God made sure to instruct Israel that the Passover lamb could not have a broken bone, the sacrifice had to be perfect. Israel will even be chastised by God in Malachi 1:8 for trying to offer lame and sick sacrifices. An unblemished sacrifice pointed to the perfect sacrifice. Jesus is our Passover Lamb (1 Cor 15:7)! The Roman solider had no clue that He was fulfilling prophecy as He pierced Jesus instead of breaking His legs.

John 19:36-37 ESV

(36)  For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”

(37)  And again another Scripture says, “They will look on Him whom they have pierced.”

I am amazed at the accuracy of the word of God. Verse 36 says that His bones not being broken fulfilled scripture, yet notice the word change in verse 37, “Scripture says.” This quote is from Zechariah and Jesus being pierced fits the passage but it has not been completely fulfilled yet, there is still a future piece left.

Zechariah 12:10 ESV

(10)  “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on Me, on Him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

This prophecy points to when Jesus is going to come back. The Jewish people will be restored and desire to have a walk with Jesus. The nation of Israel will realize what they have done, and how they missed their Messiah. They will mourn and weep bitterly. This is why “Scripture says” because this day is still to come. Jesus came as the suffering messiah but that is over. When He comes back He is the conquering King. The world will have to deal with the death of Jesus one way or another.

Philippians 2:8-11 ESV

(8)  And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(9)  Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,

(10)  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

(11)  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The world will look on the one who was pierced, the perfect payment for sin, the only way to have eternal life. He is worthy and deserves all praise and every knee will bow. For believers it is out of worship, for the world it seals who they rejected.

John 19:38 NAS95

(38)  After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.

If a crucifixion victim were to be taken off the cross then they were buried in a common grave for criminals. The Jews would not have allowed someone who was cursed by the cross to defile a family grave. Joseph of Arimathea intervenes and does not let the body of Jesus be taken to the criminals grave. Jospeh of Arimathea was rich (Mat 27:57), and a good righteous man (Luke 23:50-51) but he had a fear problem. Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the very group that helped condemn Jesus to death and He was a disciple of Jesus. Jospeh kept this secret because he feared the jews and what they would do if they found out that he believed Jesus.

We must read this verse carefully, Joseph did not become a disciple that night, He was one already. He just wanted to keep it quiet. Joseph wanted to follow Jesus and keep his life as untouched and unchanged as possible. There is one big problem with his plan, God works in believers lives.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

(6)  And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Once someone is saved God goes to work in their life. He wants to grow them and help them mature in their relationship with Him. He is faithful to this work even when we reject and rebel against Him. God will finish it perfectly, not on this side of the grave, but at the day of Jesus. Meaning when we see Jesus face to face in heaven, or at the rapture, our sin nature will be gone and we will have perfect fellowship with God. This is true even of the prodigal, who refuses to grow, God never quits working on them. God was working on Joseph of Arimathea, and he had a choice to make, would He fear God or men?

Mark 15:43 ESV

(43)  Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Joseph decided to live for the eternal and not the earthly. God was working on His heart and strengthened him to have courage and be willing to ask Pilate for Jesus body. This would effectively out Him as a disciple of Jesus and forever change Joseph’s life. I guarantee from this side of eternity Joseph has never regretted this decision. In the verse next verse we have another example of God continuing to work on someone.

John 19:39 ESV

(39)  Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee who out of fear came to Jesus by night. In John 3 Jesus taught Him how to be born again. Jesus taught that He would be lifted up just as the snake in the wilderness, and all who believe will have eternal Iife. We don’t know when Nicodemus believed but God had kept working on His heart, and here he is bringing an extravagant amount of myrrh and aloes to care for the body of Jesus. These were meant to help the smell of decomposition, and to care for the body with dignity. Nicodemus and Jospeh of Arimathea started to walk in what God had for them when they stopped fearing man and looked to Jesus.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

(10)  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We are God’s workmanship, His creation, a masterful poem. He has gifted each of us uniquely to walk in good works that He has prepared. He grows and matures us to be ready for each one and empowers us to walk in them. As sinners we can choose not to walk in what we have been called to. It is a tragic waste, and we will be held accountable. There is so much joy in watching a believer start walking in what they have been called to, a deepening walk with Jesus.

John 19:40-42 ESV

(40)  So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

(41)  Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

(42)  So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

The author of life was laid into a tomb dead. It is no accident that this grave was in a garden. This echoes the garden of Eden were man first fell and sin and death entered the world. He remained obedient as the second Adam when the first Adam had failed. His body laid in the tomb dead but what was accomplished was just about to be seen.

1 Corinthians 15:45-47 ESV

(45)  Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (46)  But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. (47)  The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second Man is from heaven.

John 20:1-19 | Sunday January 5th, 2025

This morning, we have come to an amazing passage of scripture. Last week we finished John 19 with Jesus’ body being taken off the cross. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus made arrangements and tended to the physical body of Jesus. They wrapped Him up with linen and spices, and laid Him in Jospeh’s new tomb. After secretly following Jesus, both men took a tremendous risk in publicly showing they believed in Jesus. Jesus had lived a perfectly obedient life and the sacrifice on the cross was finished. Yet, none of it matters if we do not have chapter 20. Without the bodily resurrection of Jesus, Christianity is a waste of time.

1 Corinthians 15:12-19 ESV

(12)  Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
(13)  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
(14)  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
(15)  We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
(16)  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
(17)  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
(18)  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
(19)  If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Some were teaching that there was no resurrection from the dead. Paul is very clear that this idea would undo Christianity. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, then there is not point to preach, and our faith is empty because it is not based on anything real. If Jesus was still dead then His claims of being the perfect sin offering would be undone. Without the resurrection we are still in our sins, meaning every believer who has died went to hell. If Christianity is just about this life, just about the morality and precepts of Jesus without the hope of eternity then we are to be pitied above all. Without the promise of heaven, eternal life, the resurrection then living for God is worthless.

Having an eternal perspective is not a side concept. The hope of the resurrection and eternal life is paramount. Jesus was not simply a moral teacher. Efforts to lift out the life, worldview, and morality of Jesus while leaving off His sacrificial death and resurrection are pointless. Thomas Jefferson edited the gospels with this intent. He included what Jesus taught, and His morality but left out what the death and resurrection would accomplish. His edited version finish with Jesus’ body in the grave. Paul would have been infuriated! Jesus’ life and teachings matter, because He was resurrected. He proved that His blood was the perfect payment by conquering the grave and being resurrected. Jesus did not come to teach a new law, He was not just a good moral teacher. The importance of Jesus’ resurrection cannot be over stated.

John 20:1-2 ESV

(1)  Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
(2)  So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

All four gospels describe the day of the resurrection as the first day of the week, Sunday. It is interesting that the resurrection is not marked as three days from the cross, but as the first day, God had accomplished something new. The other gospels tell us Mary was accompanied by a few other ladies but she was first to the tomb. Jesus had cast out 7 demons from Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2). She had followed Joseph and Nicodemus and saw where Jesus was buried (Mark 15:47). It was early morning at day break, the city was full of people there for the Passover, and a Roman guard was protecting the grave. She was full of emotions and fear. Mary felt an earthquake (Mat 28:2) and then saw the tomb was opened and takes off in a sprint leaving the other women. She goes to John and Peter and her assumption is that Jesus’ body has been taken.

John 20:3-7 ESV

(3)  So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.
(4)  Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
(5)  And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
(6)  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,
(7)  and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.

Peter and John take off in a sprint to check on Jesus’ tomb. John gets there first but only looks from the outside. Peter gets there and immediately goes in. The linen cloths and face cloth is what made a huge impression on John and Peter. If Jesus body was taken to another grave, then the linen clothes would not still be there. If grave robbers took Him, then they would not have left the expensive spices in the linens. If Jesus merely fainted on the cross and came to then He would have had the same problem Lazarus did.

John 11:43-44 ESV

(43)  When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
(44)  The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Lazarus needed to be unbound from the grace clothes. Jesus was not resuscitated, but resurrected. Jesus’ grave linens were undisturbed but without a body in them. The face cloth was folded up neatly and set to the side.

John 20:8-9 ESV

(8)  Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
(9)  for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.

John had stopped at the entrance to the tomb, now he goes in to see. The moment John saw the grave linens He believed. Verses 5, 6, and 8 all use different Greek words for “see.” In verse 5 John took a quick glance, then Peter in verse 6 carefully scrutinized, and finally in verse 8 John perceived what it meant. He believed yet notice how John clarifies He still did not understand how this fit scripture. Jesus’ resurrection was not optional, He had to rise from the grave. Listen to the clarity Peter teaches with once He has the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:25-32 ESV

(25)  For David says concerning Him, “‘I saw the Lord always before Me, for He is at My right hand that I may not be shaken;
(26)  therefore My heart was glad, and My tongue rejoiced; My flesh also will dwell in hope.
(27)  For you will not abandon My soul to Hades, or let Your Holy One see corruption.
(28)  You have made known to Me the paths of life; You will make Me full of gladness with Your presence.’
(29)  “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
(30)  Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
(31)  he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
(32)  This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

Peter knows where David’s tomb is. His dead body was put into it close to 1000 years ago and it has fully decomposed and seen corruption. Jesus’ body on the other hand never saw corruption. David is writing about the resurrection of Jesus. Once John saw the linens He believed but He had not connected all the scriptural dots yet. Jesus was bodily resurrected, this is more than just immortality. His physical body left the grave clothes and was refashioned into His resurrected body.

It is an indisputable historical fact that Jesus of Nazareth was condemned to a Roman cross by Pontius Pilate was buried and then His tomb was found empty on Sunday morning. From the eye witness testimonies found in the gospels to references by non-believers the historical evidences are overwhelming. Even the Jewish lie that the disciples stole the body (Mat 28:11-15) assumes an empty grave. The most secular historian agrees with these facts. No one disputes that the grave was empty the core issue is what happened to Jesus’ body?

John 20:10-12 ESV

(10)  Then the disciples went back to their homes.
(11)  But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.
(12)  And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

It appears that this is the first time Mary Magdalene looked into the empty tomb. When she saw the stone moved she took off running to get Peter and John. As she looks into the tomb she saw two angels. One is sitting where Jesus’ head was and the other is where His feet were. The angels are not sitting here accidentally their positions are pointing back to the Mercy seat.

Exodus 25:17-19; 22 ESV

(17)  “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
(18)  And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
(19)  Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
(22)  There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

It was between the two cherubim or angels with their wings outstretched that God would meet with Israel. God interacted with humanity over the mercy seat, so that we would not receive what we deserved. Now two angles were sitting on either side of where Jesus’s body had been laid and resurrected from. What the mercy seat pointed to was fulfilled. God could have mercy on humanity and have restored relationship with us, because of the resurrection of Jesus. Two angels marked the spot just as they had before.

John 20:13 ESV

(13)  They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

In her tremendous grief, as she is weeping, the angels are not even an encouragement. She is desperate to find out where the body of “my Lord” has been taken. Her language is more personal this time.

John 20:14-15 ESV

(14)  Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
(15)  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

I am amazed at how understated the resurrection is in the gospel of John. Up to this point the empty tomb has had the majority of the attention. The risen savior Jesus Christ is alive, and is standing in the garden talking to Mary. He had conquered the grave!

Acts 2:24 ESV

(24)  God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.

Death could not hold onto Jesus. The perfect payment for sin had been given through Him. The penalty for sin was perfectly dealt with. He is risen! This is the core issue of the empty grave. There is no hidden dead body, Jesus conquered death and is resurrected!

We have such an amazing savior. Even the fact that the risen Jesus first reveals Himself to a women testifies to its truthfulness. This would have been ludicrous to the Jewish culture. The Mishnah is very clear about whose testimonies are valid: (Mishnah Rosh ha-Shanah 1:8) “The following are unfit to give testimony, as they are considered thieves and robbers: One who plays with dice [kubbiyya] or other games of chance for money; and those who lend money with interest; and those who race pigeons and place wagers on the outcome; […] This is the principle: Any testimony for which a woman is unfit, these too are unfit. Although in certain cases a woman’s testimony is accepted, e.g., to testify to the death of someone’s husband, in the majority of cases her testimony is not valid.”

Jesus revealing Himself to Mary first shows that this was not a fabricated story but real History. Even the other disciples struggled to listen to Mary.

Luke 24:10-11 ESV

(10)  Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,
(11)  but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

As we have seen Peter and John were willing to listen and took off in a sprint, the others dismissed Mary. All these details point to the fact that Jesus is risen. Everything He taught and claimed is confirmed.

John 20:15 ESV

(15)  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

Mary sees Jesus but does not know it is Him yet. Both the angels and Jesus ask Mary why she is weeping. This is such a gentle way of pointing out that she does not understand what is happening. She keeps looking for where the dead body of Jesus is but He is standing there resurrected. Jesus asks such an amazing question, “whom are you seeking?”

John 20:16 ESV

(16)  Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

She had turned in verse 14 to talk to Jesus and apparently is so frantic she has already turned away by the time He says her name. Jesus called her by name and she could see Him. Her response is heartfelt, and personal she calls Him “my Teacher.”

John 10:3-4 ESV

(3)  To Him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.
(4)  When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.

We have a person intimate savior who wants to call you by name. He specifically knows you. Jesus went before us and defeated death. He was the first one resurrected and made it possible for us to follow Him. Our future is amazing and we have hope and victory because of Him.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 ESV

(51)  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
(52)  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
(53)  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
(54)  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
(55)  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
(56)  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
(57)  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(58)  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

John 20:17-20 | Sunday January 12, 2025

It is hard to imagine the flood of emotions that the Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene experienced on the Sunday of the resurrection. The Sabbath had put a pause on events, now fear had set in not knowing if the Jewish leaders would pursue Jesus’ followers or not. Mary Magdalene was desperate to tend to the body of Jesus and then she found the tomb open. She ran to tell the disciples. As she came back to the tomb she kept looking for the dead body of Jesus. Her emotions were charged with fear, desperation, grief, sadness, and maybe a wonder if something else had happened. Then everything changed when Jesus said her name.

John 20:14-20 ESV

(14)  Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
(15)  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
(16)  Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
(17)  Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
(18)  Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that He had said these things to her.
(19)  On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
(20)  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus stood standing talking to Mary as she was looking for where He had been laid. She was overwhelmed when she realized it was Jesus. He is alive! She reached out for Him but then He gives her a very interesting warning, “Do not cling to Me.” Mary is the first person to see the risen savior. It makes sense that in her desperation she would fall down in worship and cling to Jesus. The problem with this translation though is this Greek word typically means, to touch, make close contact. In comparison look at what Jesus says, after His interaction with Mary, to another group of women. These are the women that Mary started out with, but she left them to run to the disciples.

Matthew 28:9-10 ESV

(9)  And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
(10)  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

These women are overwhelmed that Jesus is risen and they take hold of Him. This word is much more aggressive, and means to take control of someone or something, seize. Also notice that Jesus does not tell them to stop. He encourages them and gives them the instructions to go and tell the disciples. Which makes Jesus’ interaction with Mary all the more interesting.

John 20:17 NET (New English Translation)

(17)  Jesus replied, “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. Go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

If this is how the passage is supposed to read, Jesus telling Mary not to touch Him, then something unique is happening. Because it is clear that within the same day Jesus will be encouraging people to touch Him.

Luke 24:37-39 ESV

(37)  But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
(38)  And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
(39)  See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

Jesus goes out of His way to show that He is not simply a spirit, or some type of ghost. He is in a resurrected body, that can be touched. So why tell Mary not to touch Him? Jesus give Mary the reason.

John 20:17 NET (New English Translation)

(17)  Jesus replied, “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. Go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

Jesus tells Mary not to touch Him because He has not yet ascended to His Father. He goes on to tell her that He is ascending to His Father. I personally believe He is in the very act right then. Which explains why everyone after this can touch Him, He has ascended at that point. To make sense of why Jesus was ascending we need to understand where He went when He died. His physical body was taken to the tomb by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, but where did the soul of Jesus go?

Luke 23:43 ESV

(43)  And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

Jesus promised the thief on the cross that they would be in paradise together once they died. What is important to realize is that paradise was not the same place as heaven. No Old Testament believer had gone to heaven yet, because the sin payment had not been given. The were looking forward to it, waiting for the messiah. So God set up a temporary place for the dead until the blood payment was given.

Ephesians 4:7-10 ESV

(7)  But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
(8)  Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.”
(9)  (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?
(10)  He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

Notice it says that Jesus descended into the lower regions of the earth. So when Jesus physically died He descended into paradise. This place of the dead, had two sides to it. Paradise which is also called Abraham’s bosom was were believers went. Then there was hades where those who rejected a future messiah went.

Luke 16:19-23 ESV

(19)  “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
(20)  And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
(21)  who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
(22)  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried,
(23)  and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
(24)  And he called out, …

This is much more than a parable because proper names are never used in parables. When Lazarus who was a believer died He descended into paradise. The rich man descended into Hades and was in torment. The two sides could see each other and call out to each other but there was no moving from one side to the other. This is where Jesus descended to, Abraham’s side, paradise. He had a very important message to share.

1 Peter 3:18-19 NAS95

(18)  For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
(19)  in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,

Jesus made a proclamation when He descended. I think He declared what He had accomplished. The believers on the paradise side, rejoiced because He was the one they were waiting for. This proclamation sealed the rejection of those on the Hades side. No one transferred sides, this proclamation confirmed why they were on the various sides. This is where Jesus went from the cross and it is where He left on Resurrection Sunday. Then when He left paradise He emptied it out. This is what Ephesians 4:8 meant by “When He ascended on high He led a host of captives.” Those Old Testament believers could now go to heaven. Jesus had died on the cross. So when He left paradise He took them with Him, only leaving those on the Hades side. He ascended from paradise, and put on His resurrected body, and was headed to ascend to the Father. This is the context of what He tells Mary.

John 20:17 NET (New English Translation)

(17)  Jesus replied, “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. Go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

Jesus was ascending to the Father, with the Old Testament saints. He conquered the grave and sin had been paid for perfectly on the cross. Now was the time to go to the Father and present what He had accomplished.

Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT

(11)  So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.
(12)  With His own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

He ascended to Heaven and entered the perfect heavenly tabernacle that was not made by hands. He presented the blood payment. He secured our redemption forever. It is so unfortunate that teaching about paradise/ Abrahams’ bosom is viewed as complicated. Without it, then salvation of the Old Testament because a lot harder to understand. These Old Testament saints were waiting for Jesus, to make the payment of His blood.

They were waiting for Him to be resurrected. He was the first one. In fact His resurrection happening on Sunday had a lot of significance.

Leviticus 23:10-11 ESV

(10)  “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest,
(11)  and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

The day after the Passover started the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was a seven day feast and a special offering was to be given on the day after the Sabbath. Isreal was to present the first fruits of the harvest, and the priest would wave them up as an offering to God. Isreal was to give God the first fruits. Jesus is the first fruit of the Resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 ESV

(20)  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
(21)  For as by a man came death, by a Man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
(22)  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
(23)  But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.

Jesus was resurrected on the day of the first fruit offering. Resurrection Sunday, was the day after the sabbath, during the feast of unleavened bread. He was the first one resurrected and He presented Himself to God the Father. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice and offering on so many different levels. It is truly amazing how He fulfilled it all.

John 20:18-19 ESV

(18)  Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that He had said these things to her.
(19)  On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Mary went back to the disciples and gave them the tremendous news she had seen Jesus. It was not just an empty tomb, but He is resurrected. I find it so interesting that even with this news there is still a lot of fear in the disciples. That evening they met together with all the doors locked. Notice it is doors plural. Jesus in His resurrected body is able to appear without the doors ever opening.

Looking at the details about the resurrected body of Jesus gives us clues as to what our resurrected bodies will be like. He could be touched (Luke 24:39), still had His scars (v.20), yet could camouflage His appearance (Luke 24:16), could eat (Luke 24:43), was not bound by the laws of physics (v.19).

1 Corinthians 15:35-37; 42-44 ESV

(35)  But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
(36)  You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
(37)  And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
(42)  So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
(43)  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
(44)  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

The natural body like a seed that must die, in order to take on the perfect resurrected body. The comparison is amazing. This body is full of dishonor, and weak and our resurrected body has glory and power. It is a spiritual body, that can eat, be recognized beyond physical appearances, and go past locked doors. Seeing Jesus’ resurrected body should make us long to be with Him and have our resurrected bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4 ESV

(1)  For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
(2)  For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,
(3)  if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.
(4)  For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

This tent of a body is wearing out and temporary. We groan in it. These bodies keep finding new and creative ways to wear out. Our resurrected bodies, are eternal, a building that will not wear out. The mortal must be swallowed up by life! Jesus was showing His disciples what it meant to be swallowed up by life.

John 20:19-20 ESV

(19)  On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
(20)  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

The disciples who had abandoned Him and fled, were greeted by an amazing first word from Jesus, Peace. There is no chastisement or correction. His disciples can fully experience peace, because of what He has accomplished. He proves this by showing them His scars. They are the reason we can have peace.

Isaiah 53:5 ESV

(5)  But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.

John 20:21-31 | Sunday January, 19th 2025

Jesus is resurrected and after appearing to Mary Magdalene at the beginning of the day now reveals Himself to His disciples at the end of the day. Last week we focused on the events Jesus accomplished once He left the cross. From giving a proclamation in Sheol (the place of the dead), to offering His blood as the perfect sacrifice. There are various ways to put the timeline together, (of what He did when) but the most important thing is all He accomplished. Humanity had nothing to offer or contribute to Jesus’ conquering death and offering His blood. The 10 disciples felt tremendous joy when they saw the resurrected Jesus and yet there was much that they did not understand yet.

John 20:17-31 ESV

(17)  Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” (18)  Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that He had said these things to her. (19)  On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (20)  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (21)  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” (22)  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. (23)  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (24)  Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. (25)  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” (26)  Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” (27)  Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (28)  Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and My God!” (29)  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (30)  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; (31)  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

Jesus not only showed the ten disciples (Judas had committed suicide, and Thomas was not present) His hands but also His side. The other criminals who died with Jesus would have had the same marks on their hands, but He was the only one pierced in the side. Jesus went out of His way to distinguish that it truly was Him. Everything was happening just as Jesus had promised them during their last meal together.

John 16:22 ESV

(22)  So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

The disciples experienced tremendous sorrow, grief and fear when Jesus was killed. Then just as He promised they were overjoyed when they saw Him again. Each time Jesus fulfills a promise He made, it should give us confidence that He will fulfill His promises to us. Another promise that Jesus made repeatedly during the Last supper was the coming and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

John 20:21-22 ESV

(21)  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.”
(22)  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Any doubt the disciples had that their ministry or role was ending with Jesus’ death was erased. He was sending them out, just as the Father had sent Him. We cannot miss the order. He repeats for a second time “Peace be with you.” The apostles could be sent because of the peace they were given. They were not sent out to find peace. It was not their mission or acts of service that would provide peace. Being sent out was a fruit of their peace that is found in Jesus. We have been given the same ministry.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ESV

(18)  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
(19)  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Jesus was sent out with the ministry to reconcile the world. He came to bring peace, and pay for sin. Then what is truly amazing is that this precious message of what Jesus accomplished has been entrusted to us. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We get to share what Jesus accomplished. He could have used angels, writing in the sky, anything in all of creation but He chose the apostles and then us, to share this truth. We should not minimize this incredible gift. Jesus did not send them out without equipping them for this ministry.

John 20:22 ESV

(22)  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Many times during the last supper Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26, 16:7-15). We have to be careful though, because the full coming of the Holy Spirit wont happen for another 50 days.

Acts 2:1-4 ESV

(1)  When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
(2)  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
(3)  And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
(4)  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Pentecost was 50 days after the resurrection (50 days from the first fruit wave offering -Lev 23:15-16). The apostles were gathered with other believers, when the Holy Spirit came and filled them. This was the start of the church, the Holy Spirit coming and indwelling believers. To be clear what Jesus does in John 20:22 does not contradict the Acts 2 coming of the Holy Spirit or make it repetitive. We tend to lose sight of the transition that was taking place. The Old Testament was wrapping up and the New Testament was just starting. The ministry, role, and function of the Holy Spirit changed during the church age and this happened at His coming in Acts 2. Luke describes the same moment as John 20 on the same night and helps give clarity on what Jesus did for the apostles.

Luke 24:36; 40; 44-49 ESV

(36)  As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”
(40)  And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
(44)  Then He said to them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
(45)  Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
(46)  and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
(47)  and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
(48)  You are witnesses of these things.
(49)  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

When Jesus breathed on them He gave them the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament sense. The Spirit illuminated scripture to them and helped them understand how Jesus fulfilled it. Jesus sent them out to proclaim a message to the entire world. Humanity could repent, turn to God, and have their sins forgiven by trusting in what Jesus had accomplished. Jesus warned the apostles not to head out yet, until they were clothed with power from on high, this was the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. As Jesus gave the apostles the Spirit so they could understand scripture He clarified what they would be able to do as they go out.

John 20:22-23 NAS95

(22)And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
(23)  "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

This verse is taken out of context by the Catholic church and is used to teach that a priest, or the church can forgive someone’s sins. This is not what Jesus is saying. He used the passive voice, meaning the disciples are not doing the action, they are not the ones who can forgive sin, only God can. The Jews of Jesus day understood this.

Mark 2:5-7 ESV

(5)  And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
(6)  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
(7)  “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

The Jews were correct that only God could forgive sin. What they missed was that Jesus was God. So the disciples are not forgiving sin but Jesus gave them the authority to recognize whose sins had been forgiven. With Jesus resurrected they now understood how sins could be forgiven. Listen to what Peter declares to the gentile Cornelius.

Acts 10:42-43 ESV

(42)  And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
(43)  To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”

Peter declares that Jesus will judge the living and the dead. Peter did not claim to have the power to forgive sin, but he knew how they could be forgiven. Everyone who believes in Jesus has their sins forgiven. We do not have to doubt what secures salvation. We do not have to feel that we cannot recognize when someone’s sins are forgiven. If you believe in Jesus, your sins are forgiven on the authority of God’s Word!

John 20:24-25 ESV

(24)  Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
(25)  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.”

We are not told why Thomas was missing when Jesus revealed Himself to the other apostles. It is unfortunate that Thomas is remembered in an unfavorable light when He asked for the very thing the other apostles received. Thomas was courageous, a pragmatist and a little pessimistic. In John 11:16 as the Jesus wants to head back to Judea, where the Jews were trying to kill Him Thomas said “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” The disciples told and retold Thomas what they had seen but He was not convinced. He was honest about what he needed to believe, to see Jesus risen.

John 20:26 ESV

(26)  Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Thomas had not given up on the apostles or abandoned them. He was still there a week later (the Jews counted each day, so the next Sunday was called 8 days later). Even after seeing Jesus risen the disciples still had the door locked. Jesus offers peace once again.

John 20:27-28 ESV

(27)  Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
(28)  Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and My God!”

I am amazed by the fact that Jesus knew exactly what Thomas needed. We have no record of a disciple telling Jesus what Thomas had said. Yet Jesus is offering out His hands and side to Thomas. Jesus knows us and what each of us need in our walk with Him. Jesus shows such love and gentleness by not chastising Thomas’ doubt, but encouraging him to believe. We are to show this same heart.

Jude 1:22 ESV

(22)  And have mercy on those who doubt;

Doubt means to be uncertain, waver, to be at odds with yourself, to judge and rejudge. As believers we have been called to have mercy on those with doubts. To offer the same care Jesus shows Thomas. At some point we will all need to experience this kind of mercy. We all need to be reminded of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Thomas declares Jesus as God when He saw Him. Jesus takes a moment to encourage you and I in the church of a special blessing reserved for us because we cannot see Him.

John 20:29 ESV

(29)  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

We are called blessed, because we have trusted in Jesus based on the truth revealed through His word. We have not had the chance to see the risen savior in His resurrected body like Thomas and the other disciples.

1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV

(8)  Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
(9)  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We can have a tremendous relationship with Jesus and have a deep love for Him even though we have not seen Him. This also makes us long for the day when we will see Him, because seeing Jesus is what will change us.

1 John 3:1-3 ESV

(1)  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
(2)  Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.
(3)  And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself as He is pure.

As a believer we are God’s children, and yet who we truly are, is not fully seen as long as we are in these physical bodies. When we see Jesus we will be changed. We will fully see who He is. The more we focus on Jesus now the more we will be changed in anticipation for that moment. Do we live longing to see our risen savior face to face?

John 20:30-31 ESV

(30)  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; (31)  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

Jesus did so many things while He was alive. The four gospel combined record over 30 unique miracles of Jesus with countless more happening. John wrote these specific signs down so that we can believe. What specifically did He want us to believe? Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the savior who would come and deal with sin. He could do this because He is the Son of God, fully God and fully man who lived a perfectly righteous life. It is in trusting in Jesus as the Christ, and Son of God that we can have life.

Romans 10:11 ESV

(11)  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

John 20:30-21:14 | Sunday January 26, 2025

Thomas was missing when Jesus revealed Himself to the 10 disciples. He missed the chance to see the risen savior, yet Jesus was so gracious to Him. Thomas is not chastised or belittled, but is encouraged to believe. Jesus wants to help Thomas trust Him.

John 20:26-31 ESV

(26)  Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” (27)  Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (28)  Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and My God!” (29)  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (30)  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; (31)  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

I am amazed when Jesus takes the time to talk about you and I, future believers in the church. We were not born in the first century yet we have a special blessing. We can come to know Jesus through the testimony of those who saw Him, through the Word of God. John breaks from the story to tells us his purpose in writing down this gospel.

Jesus did so many things while He was alive. The four gospels combined record over 30 unique miracles of Jesus with countless more happening. John wrote these specific signs down so that we can believe. But what specifically did He want us to believe? Belief means nothing by itself, it finds value in the object of the belief. The first important thing John wanted us to believe is that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the savior who would come and deal with sin.

Isaiah 53:10-11 ESV

(10)  Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
(11)  Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the righteous one, My servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities.

It was the will of God the Father to crush God the Son. The Christ is the perfect offering for sin. We can be counted as righteous because He bore our sins. Christ is a title not Jesus’ last name. John wanted his gospel to help us believe that Jesus is THE Christ. The anointed one promised of the Old Testament. The title Christ explains what He did.

He could accomplish this because He is the Son of God, fully God and fully man who lived a perfectly righteous life. Son of God explains who He is. If Jesus was only God then He could not die and pay for sin. If Jesus was only man, then He would have His own sin nature to pay for. John is simplifying the gospel as much as he can. Then He gives us the outcome of believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.

John 20:31 ESV

(31)  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

When we believe in this truth. When we believe in who Jesus is and what He accomplished we have life in His name.

Romans 10:11 ESV

(11)  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

We are given eternal life and will never be put to shame when we believe in Jesus. Life is not found through our actions, and cannot be earned. We can have eternal life when we trust in Jesus. He is the perfect payment for sin, and His death gives us life. Some think the book of John should end here because it is such a great summary. Yet John lead by the Spirit has a few more things to wrap up.

John 21:1-2 ESV

(1)  After this Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and He revealed Himself in this way.
(2)  Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.

The Sea of Tiberias is another name for the Sea of Galilee. This is the same place where Jesus fed the Five Thousand and Peter walked on water. Seven disciples are listed as being together. Peter is listed first. He denied Jesus three times, and this chapter gives further insight into Jesus’ restoration of Him. Then Thomas is mentioned. I don’t think it is an accident that the list starts with two men who have struggled in different ways. Jesus’ grace is so big. Neither man was cast off or shunned after their mistake. As they were in Galilee, Peter had an idea to fill the time.

John 21:3 ESV

(3)  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Some try to overstate this verse and claim Peter is going back to His profession of fishing. In reality the disciples are exactly where the angel and Jesus told them to be.

Matthew 28:5-10 ESV

(5)  But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
(6)  He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay.
(7)  Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.”
(8)  So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples.
(9)  And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
(10)  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

If Peter was abandoning Jesus then he would not be in Galilee. Instead, this is a case of how he handled waiting. Peter does not know when Jesus is going to reveal Himself, so why waste a nice night of fishing. The disciples were walking in a unique waiting period. There are 50 days from the resurrection to Pentecost and the start of the church.

Acts 2:42-47 ESV

(42)  And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
(43)  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
(44)  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
(45)  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
(46)  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
(47)  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

After Acts 2 and the coming of the Holy Spirit, we do not see these men out fishing. God is not in a rush. Jesus is resurrected and content to wait 50 days to start the church and proclaim what He has done. It is after the coming of the Holy Spirit, when God starts to increase the number daily.

Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV

(28)  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.
(29)  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.
(30)  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
(31)  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

If we were writing the story, I don’t think we would have included a 50 day waiting period. Jesus would be resurrected and then gone to the mass crowds. God is everlasting, eternal, outside of time. What Jesus accomplished was ordained in eternity past. We struggle to wait on God’s timing, because our perspective is off. When God calls us to wait on Him He is asking us to trust Him. The disciples were in the right spot waiting on God’s timing.

John 21:4-7 ESV

(4)  Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
(5)  Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered Him, “No.”
(6)  He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.
(7)  That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.

This disciples fishing night has not gone well. They are willing to take the advice from a supposed stranger on the shore. In reality it is Jesus. John is the first to perceive who gave them the advice. Everything is happening very similar to the day Jesus called John and Peter to be His disciples in Luke 5. That time Jesus was in the boat with them and told them to cast into the deep. This time He was calling from the shore. As the net is full of fish John makes the connection. Peter is so excited, that he jumps into the water to swim to shore. This is not the action of a man who is ashamed to see Jesus. Jesus has had a private conversation with Peter by this point.

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 ESV

(3)  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
(4)  that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
(5)  and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Luke 24:24 also hints at Jesus meeting with Peter on resurrection Sunday. This was a private meeting of restoration. Our savior is so personal and loving, He seeks out Peter and meets with Him. It is another example of God pursuing us even in our sinfulness. Next week John gives us insight into Peter’s more public restoration.

John 21:8-9 ESV

(8)  The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
(9)  When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.

The resurrected Jesus is still serving and caring for the disciples needs. After a long night of fishing, He has a fire already prepared, with bread and a single fish cooking.

John 21:10-11 ESV

(10)  Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”
(11)  So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Peter had jumped off the boat in excitement, and now comes back to help with the net. It was too full to lift into the boat out in the water, but now Peter drags it ashore. Many commentators throughout church history have given explanations for why there are 153 fish and how this number is important. Cyril stated 100 stood for gentiles, 50 for the Jews and 3 for the Trinity. Jerome claimed there are 153 types of fish (which there is not) and it represented all the nations coming to Jesus. Augustine noted that 153 is a triangular (1+2+3+4…) of 17, and 17 points to the 10 commandments plus the 7 spirits of God. Still others tried to link the number to the numerical value of Hebrew words. My point in sharing all of this, is to caution us to be careful. We need to stay focused on the clear truth and not on connections that cannot be backed up through the Word of God. When in reality these fisherman are so amazed at the catch they give us the detailed count of 153 fish.

2 Timothy 2:14-15 ESV

(14)  Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
(15)  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

We have the Holy Spirit in us as believers who has promised to teach us and guide us into truth. We need to be careful to rightly handle, which means to guide the word of truth along a straight path. This should not intimidate us to not approach the word. We all have the Holy Spirit, and we all need each other’s Spiritual gifts. Let us study together and not get caught in a ditch.

John 21:12-14 ESV

(12)  Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
(13)  Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.
(14)  This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.

Jesus invited the 7 disciples to eat with Him. This was a special fellowship that He offered to them. This privilege was not lost on Peter, He even recounts it to Cornelius.

Acts 10:39-43 ESV

(39)  And we are witnesses of all that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,
(40)  but God raised Him on the third day and made Him to appear,
(41)  not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.
(42)  And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
(43)  To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”

Peter knew He had been called to be a witness to what He was privileged to see. Jesus showed Himself to many more people before His death than He did after. He was very selective as to who he revealed Himself to resurrected. In being selective Jesus also made sure it was a verifiable testimony, and Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that at one of the appearing’s there were more than 500 people. Peter marveled that He had been chosen to eat and drink with the risen savior. This was a unique closeness that He treasured. What amazes me is this kind of special fellowship with Jesus is still offered to us today.

Revelation 3:19-22 ESV

(19)  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
(20)  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.
(21)  The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.
(22)  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Jesus is speaking to the church of Laodicea. In context this offer is not about salvation it is all about fellowship. Jesus is active and working in the life of believers. This means He is correcting, guiding, and disciplining us. He desire a closeness and intimacy with us. He desires for us to repent and walk with Him. He is standing at the door knocking, offering fellowship. Do you realize this means that we will never desire a closer relationship with Jesus than what He is willing to give. He is all in and offering Himself to us. He wants to come in and eat with us. He wants to teach us how to be conquerors. To receive rich rewards for walking with Him.