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JOHN 21:1-11 JESUS SAID TO THEM, CAST THE NET ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BOAT, AND YOU WILL FIND SOME

John 21:1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No." 6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught." 11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.
  The Purpose of chapter 21 The Conclusion Or Epilogue
This Chapter is here for 5 reasons:
Helps us understand Peters prominent position in the church
How are we to relate to the risen Christ
Give us a Balance between Nurturing the saved and winning the lost
Refutes the false rumor that Jesus coming back before John died
Clear expression of how to love Christ. If you love me keep my commandments
We are blessed by Laboring with the Lord.  The disciples have learned how to cooperate with one another and how to obey Jesus. What examples for us to follow as we seek to “catch fish” for Jesus Christ! There are “fish” all around us. If we obey His directions, we will catch the fish.
The expression, "By hook or by crook," originated from the 21st chapter of the Gospel of John. A hook is the symbol of a fisherman, while a crook is the symbol of a shepherd. Here then in this chapter are symbolized the two ministries of the church: fishing and shepherding. That is how the work of God goes forward.
Chapter 21 contains instruction for those who have come to faith in Him and explains how they are to serve Him as they carry out their mission (20:21-23). Many of the prominent themes in the rest of the Gospel recur here.
"Some critics have argued that this chapter is anticlimactic after the great conclusion in chapter 20, and therefore was written by another (anonymous) writer. But the language evidence does not support this notion. In addition, other great books of Scripture have appendixes after reaching a grand climax (cf. e.g., Rom. 16 following Rom. 15:33). Thus John 21 is neither without value nor out of harmony with other Bible books."
The structure of this chapter is similar to the rest of the Gospel. John first narrated an event (vv. 1-14) and then related Jesus' teaching based on that event (vv. 15-23). Finally he concluded his Gospel (vv. 24-25).
In many ways, “frustrating” also describes what it must have been like for the disciples during that 40-day interval between Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension. With few exceptions, the disciples had spent three wonderful years with Jesus. They traveled together, ate together, camped out at night together, and shared a common purse. Their private, relaxing times together were exceedingly few and far between, but at least they were continually in close contact during the time of our Lord’s earthly ministry.
The last few hours our Lord spent with His disciples before His arrest were private and uninterrupted. After the horror of our Lord’s arrest, trials, and crucifixion, it would be tempting to think of this 40-day interval as a time of wonderful fellowship for our Lord and His disciples, but this was not really the case. For one thing, the disciples expected Jesus to immediately commence His kingdom, but it quickly became evident that this wasn’t happening. For another thing, the disciples were not really seeing a great deal of their Lord. After Jesus appeared to them, and they were convinced that He was alive, they were filled with joy. But if the disciples were thinking they would now be spending a lot of time with Jesus once again, they were wrong. Things had changed. This change was first indicated to Mary by our Lord, when He appeared to her after His resurrection:
John 20:16-17 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’” (NIV).
Jesus informs Mary that things are no longer going to be as they once were. Jesus was not going to be with His disciples on earth much longer, but was returning to His Father, as He had indicated earlier. He promised that after His ascension, He would dwell among them, and in them, through the Holy Spirit, but at the time they had no idea what He meant.
And so the disciples found themselves relating to Jesus in an entirely different way during this 40-day period of time. They were formerly with Him day and night. Now, they only saw Him from time to time. Eight days passed from the time Jesus first appeared to His disciples (John 20:19-23) to the time of His second appearance (John 20:26). He appeared to them only a handful of times in those 40 days (see 1 Corinthians 15:5-7). He came and went in such a way that they never knew when to expect Him. And He did not always look exactly the way He once did—there was something different about Him, which sometimes caused them to wonder whether or not it was really Him (see Mark 16:12; Luke 24:16, 31; John 21:12). I’m sure the disciples wished for the “good old days,” when they enjoyed much more intimate fellowship with Him. Jesus, however, was “weaning” them from those days, because He would no longer dwell among them as He once had. He was soon to ascend into heaven to be with His Father.
There were other things that made this time difficult. These were perilous days. The tomb of Jesus had been sealed and was under Roman guard, by order of Pilate. When Jesus was raised from the dead, the Jews and the Roman soldiers agreed on a cover-up. They sought to explain the resurrection and the empty tomb by circulating the story that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His body. This would have been a serious crime. The disciples could have been the targets of a manhunt. No wonder they were hiding out in a locked room when Jesus came to them (John 20:19, 26).
In addition to this, there was really very little the disciples could do during these 40 frustrating days. They were told to wait until they were given power from on high. The Holy Spirit had not yet come, because Pentecost was still a few days away. These men were not yet transformed, nor were they supernaturally empowered to heal the sick, raise the dead, or proclaim the gospel. The kingdom was on hold, there was little for them to do, and Jesus was seldom seen or heard from.
It was not an easy time for the disciples at all. I can imagine that Peter could have gone home, only to find Mrs. Peter standing in the doorway, with her hands on her hips. “Peter,” she might have said sharply, “we’ve got bills to pay and mouths to feed. When are you going back to work? How long are you going to wait around, wondering what to do with yourself?” All of the disciples must have been thinking similar thoughts. They had families to support. They had to do something. They couldn’t just wait around …
Why would we be surprised that it was Peter who decided to do something? Why would we find it unusual for Peter to speak out? This is precisely where the final chapter of John’s Gospel takes up.
Command - vs 1-6- Manifested or Revealed Himself to the Seven Disciples
1 ¶ After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:
John recorded still another post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples. It undoubtedly occurred during the 32-day period between Thomas' confession (20:28) and Jesus' ascension (Acts 1:9).
Same as the sea of Galilee.  Called different names depending on where they are, Emperor Tiberius officially named it that. Evidently most of his original readers would have known it by this Roman name.
They were to learn something new about Him from this revelation.
 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Mt 4:21; Joh 1:45
The exact number may be another detail designed to add credibility to the account,  or  John  may  have  been  hinting  that  a  complete  number  of disciples was present. Seven was a number that symbolized completeness to the Jews (cf. Gen. 2:2-3; et al.). He may have been implying that the lesson that Jesus taught here was applicable to the full complement of disciples.
Book starts with 6 disciples and ends with 7? Anything to do with the completeness now of the work being done?
Peter is always named first
His name expresses the grace of God, He was impetuous, vacillating, moody, sees us as who we can be
Thomas called the Twin
Nathanael of Cana in Galilee
The sons of Zebedee – James and John
and two others of His disciples - Probably Andrew and Phillip
 3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
Some expositors have interpreted Peter's words as a renunciation of his calling as Jesus' disciple. They believe he meant that he intended to return to his former occupation as a fisherman permanently. However there is no basis for this conclusion in the text. Indeed when Peter learned that Jesus was standing on the shore he jumped into the water to get to Jesus as quickly as he could (v. 7).
Mt 26:32 "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."
Mt 28:7 "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."
 Mt 28:10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."
 Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.
Mr. 16:7 "But go, tell His disciples--and Peter--that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."
For the third time in John’s Gospel, our Lord appears to His disciples. This time He reveals Himself to seven of His disciples as they are fishing on the Sea of Tiberias — the Sea of Galilee (John 6:1). Most of these men were fishermen by trade. When Peter informed them that he was going fishing, they knew he was not planning to go out and do a little fly fishing on the Sea of Galilee, hoping to catch a fish or two. They understood that Peter was going back to work as a fisherman. They all must have had financial obligations they needed to meet. In addition, they needed to eat. And so those who were with Peter agreed to go fishing with him. There seemed to be nothing better to do. I do not find this decision to go fishing something unbefitting for a disciple. It was better for them to be doing something productive than nothing at all.
The first miraculous catch of fish came fairly early in the ministry of our Lord. Jesus was teaching beside the Sea of Galilee, and the crowds were pressing in on Him. There were at least two boats pulled up on shore nearby. One belonged to Peter and his brother Andrew, the other to James and John (and apparently their father—see Luke 5:2-11). These men had been out fishing all night, unsuccessfully, and were now washing their nets. Jesus got into Simon Peter’s boat and asked him push out from shore, so that He could use the boat as His speaker’s platform. When Jesus finished teaching, He told Peter to launch out into deeper waters and to lower the nets for a catch. Peter gently protested, informing Jesus that they had just spent the entire night fishing, without success. Nevertheless, Peter did as his Master instructed. As the nets were drawn in, it was evident that they had a huge catch of fish, so large that the nets were beginning to tear. Peter and his brother gestured to their partners, James and John, who came alongside with their boat. They filled both boats so full with the fish that they began to sink. Peter fell at Jesus’ knees (they were still in the boat) and said, “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord!” (Luke 5:8). Jesus comforted the men with these words, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (5:9). It would seem that from this point in time, they ceased fishing for their livelihood and followed Jesus wherever He went.
In John 21, we read of a very similar miraculous catch of fish. It is my opinion that it took place at virtually the same place, with the same boats, and most of the same fishermen. You will recall that before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that He would go ahead of them to Galilee (Matthew 28:7; Mark 14:28). Then, after His resurrection, Jesus instructed His disciples to meet Him in Galilee (Matthew 28:10; Mark 16:7). The disciples who have gone fishing with Peter may very well be in Galilee because they have done what Jesus instructed them to do—go to Galilee, where He will meet them. This took them out of Jerusalem and Judea, the source of the strongest Jewish opposition. Like most of the disciples, Peter was a Galilean. These were his old “stomping grounds.” If they had been waiting for some time, Peter might well have concluded that they may as well occupy themselves by doing something profitable. And so he announced to his colleagues that he was going fishing.
 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Joh 20:14
Likewise the breaking of this new day is perhaps symbolic of the new era that was opening up for them as Jesus' disciples, though they did not realize that yet. Jesus' instruction would change the course of their lives forever.
 5 Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No." Lu 24:41
Much of the fishing in the Sea of Galilee was done at night in those days as it is yet today. Fishermen used torches to attract the fish to the boat and then netted them. But although they were expert fishermen, the disciples had labored throughout the night and had caught nothing. That must have been a rather unusual experience for them. Yet as this account makes clear, it was the Lord's intention that they catch nothing on this occasion.
Now the question that Jesus asked is a number of observations. First it's framed expecting a negative answer. What the expected answer? "Well of course not," And that's exactly the way Jesus has framed the question.
"Haven't you caught any fish?" "You haven't caught any fish, have you?" That would be the English equivalent. "You haven't done so well, have you?" I think their answer is sort crestfallen. "No."
Failure is a very demoralizing thing. Some of you have tried hard to accomplish something. Like these fishermen, you have expended much energy and utilized all your resources but gained nothing in return. But although failure is a painful experience, valuable lessons can be gained through it.
Here is what one writer said about this failed night of fishing:
The night of failure was not without its lessons and its benefits. We can do worse than fail. We can succeed and be proud of our success. We can succeed and burn incense to the net. We can succeed and forget the Hand whose it is to give or to withhold, to kill or to make alive.
People who think they have done it all themselves are common today. Every now and then I meet someone who claims to be a "self-made man." I have discovered, however, that most self-made men worship their creator! Yet nothing is more revealing of human ignorance than the claim to be a self-made man. That is to take for granted all that has been provided for them all throughout their lives, without giving a thought for Who provided it. Yet, were it not for God's providing hand, we would have neither the opportunities nor the resources to begin with.
Success -- yes, even spiritual success -- can be a snare and a ruin, while failure can be an unspeakable benefit. Failure is often the only test by which the real worth and quality of a man or woman can be tried. It is in failure that a man begins to think, to wonder where his failure comes from, to look around and seek for the reasons, to put into his work double watchfulness and double energy, and to look upwards to Him who can turn failure into a glorious achievement.
John goes on to show what God can do with a night of failure.
Now many of your translations, unfortunately, render the word "friends." The word is not friends. The word is children. In fact it's a diminutive term. It's “little children.” And I think when the translators gloss over it and call it "friends" it is unfortunate because you want to see Jesus Christ here as coming on the scene as a fatherly, loving, compassionate friend of theirs. And it's sort of like the Brits would say, "Lads. Or boys in our language"
Or if you're a dad with three or four sons, and they might even be grown sons, and you would say, "Sons." There is a real endearing and graciousness in the tone of the word. "Little children." Who else uses the phrase "little children" in the NT? John in First John. Little children. Little children. Little children. It's caring and compassionate and rich.
One can sense the discouragement and mild embarrassment in the disciples' "no." Jesus was in the process of teaching these men their personal inadequacy even in the type of work they knew best and had most experience with. It was important that they articulate their failure.
 6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they In the Luke 5:5 account, Simon tries to pull them in and the nets are breaking, remember? They almost make the boats sink, remember? So these two are two different stories. Luke 5:5 account says: "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets."
Maybe there was a little hint of that again; There's enough differences in the stories that we know these are two different incidents; one early in the disciples' life and one right prior to Christ's ascension. In verses seven to nine the disciples recognize Him: they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Lu 5:4,6-7
Their nets had been hanging over the left-hand side of their fishing boat.
The unknown authority on the shore now promised that if they would cast their net on the right-hand side they would catch some fish. Such a suggestion must have seemed ludicrous to these seasoned fishermen. The idea that such an insignificant change would accomplish anything was laughable. Yet amazingly the disciples followed Jesus' orders.
Nevertheless it seems clear that even after they obeyed the unknown armchair fisherman on the shore this dark morning they still did not realize that He was Jesus.
The reason for the disciples' obedience is not as important as the fact of it. Had they not obeyed Jesus' command they would have failed to catch any fish. However because they obeyed, they experienced overwhelming success, success far exceeding their natural ability.Jesus knew that these men had worked all night and had caught nothing. I am tempted to think that Jesus actually orchestrated things so that these men would not catch anything. Anyway, Jesus let the fishermen know that He knew they had caught nothing. He then instructs them to cast out their nets on the right side of the boat, assuring them that when they do so, they will find some fish. I don’t know why these weary fishermen did it, but for some reason they were willing to make one last effort. When they drew in their nets, they did not contain just a few fish, or even a lot of fish. Their nets were virtually filled with fish.
These men would reflect on this experience and realize that Jesus had been teaching them how important it was to obey His word. Obedience to Jesus was the key to supernatural success. Indeed obedience to His word even though they did not know it was His word yielded an unbelievable reward.
It was at this point that John seems to have realized what was happening
 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. Joh 13:23; 20:2
Again John realized something about Jesus before Peter did (cf.  20:8).  Probably  he  sensed  that  a  miracle  had happened,  and  he  remembered  that  a  few  years  earlier  Jesus  had performed a similar miracle (Luke 5:1-11). True to the pictures we have of them in the New Testament John exhibited quick insight and Peter quick action.
Now the identity of Christ is no longer obscure. They know who He is and they can see Him. This incredible catch quickly reveals to John that it's the Lord. Peter connects the dots and before we know it characteristically he's thrown himself in the water.
Apparently he wanted to get to Jesus faster than his boat and net now full of fish would allow. He showed no concern for the fish; he willingly let them go. His only desire was to get to Jesus.
This was not the first time that Peter had met Jesus after the Crucifixion. Jesus had appeared to Peter evidently on Easter morning (1 Cor. 15:5) and undoubtedly on Easter evening (20:19-23; cf. Mark 16:14). Peter had also seen Jesus the following Sunday when Thomas made his profession of faith (20:26-29). Therefore we should not conclude that Peter would have been reluctant to see Jesus now because of his denial in the high priest's courtyard. Peter's moment of reconciliation with Jesus had already passed. Now there's a little bit of a question if you read the text carefully. He's stripped for work. I don't think he's naked but I think he's down to the bare minimum of what he could have on. He's going to gird himself with something and jump into the water. Now if you've come to the edge of the water you take as much off as you can before you jump in not to be encumbered by your shoes or your coat or whatever else you have, right? So why is Peter putting something on? There are a couple of little hints in the text that are kind of fun. This is the same word only found in John thirteen where Jesus girds Himself to wash the disciples' feet. And so now we see Peter girding himself. I think Peter is sort of, if you will, working hard and sweating and so he's probably hot and smelling like fish, certainly like the lake water. And so he puts on the minimum amount of clothing when he comes out of the water to see Christ. John wants us to see these little connections about Jesus and girding up to serve and Peter girding himself as he goes to see his Lord, his friend and starting to put this thing together. When the disciples had followed Peter to go fishing, they don't follow him to jump in the water. It's about one hundred yards to the shore according to the text. It's a pretty good measurement.
Fishermen usually worked in their light undergarments (Gr. chiton, not underwear). Peter evidently put his outer garment (Gr. ependytes) on so when he reached land he would be properly clothed albeit soaking wet. Normally people take unnecessary clothing off before going swimming. Peter's somewhat irrational behavior seems to be another indication of his strong desire to get to Jesus quickly. He was again demonstrating his characteristic extravagant loyalty to his Lord (cf. 20:6).
So we have the boat, some think there are two boats, a larger fishing boat and a smaller like dingy type boat. We can't know for sure. Instinctively, he knew that the man on the beach was Jesus. And now that he knew, he told Peter as well. That was all it took for Peter. He tucked in his outer garment and plunged into the sea, swimming to shore to see Jesus.
Someone has remarked that what we find here is typical of both Peter and John. John was the first to understand; Peter was the first to act.  We cannot be sure that Peter actually arrived on shore first. One thing does seem certain: Jesus must have personally forgiven and restored Peter on His previous, private meeting with him (see Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). Peter certainly shows no reluctance to see Jesus face to face here!
8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish.
If I were one of the other disciples, I would have been perturbed with Peter for leaving me behind with a full net and an unsecured boat, still several hundred feet from shore. They seem to have learned from the miracle in Luke chapter 5 that it was unwise to try to empty the net full of fish into the boat—since their two boats nearly sank on that occasion. And so they simply drug their bulging nets behind the boat and made their way to shore, with their nets still in the water, teaming with fish.
Jesus supplied the original fish and all we have originally comes from the hand of the Lord.  James 1.17
 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
John's narrative sort of creates a setting here of a number of things. He mentions a charcoal fire. If you've been with us in the study only one other time in the New Testament do we have the phrase charcoal fire. Do you remember where it is? It was with Peter's denial. Why does John, with an eyewitness touch, mark this little detail of charcoal fire at the denial and now he marks it again. What's about to happen? Peter's restoration. We can almost smell the smoke of the fish and a charcoal fire. First there's a charcoal fire as they're warming themselves and he bitterly denies Christ and breaks down and cries and now there's a charcoal fire with fish on it that Jesus prepares for him. Now they're about to be restored with a threefold question, "Do you love Me, Peter?" There are interesting eyewitness touches that John gives us
Jesus was setting the stage for a lesson He was about to teach the disciples and especially Peter.
Bread and fish were common staples, but again they recall earlier miracles that Jesus had performed. He had miraculously provided meals for 5,000 and later 4,000 males plus women and children with bread and fish.
Notice that He had already provided some fish for them before the disciples got out of their boat and pulled the fish that they had caught to shore.
Several things here have parallels in the work of fishing for men. Notice that Jesus supplied the original fish and bread for this breakfast. When the disciples landed, the charcoal fire was already lit, and fish and bread were lying there. This is indicative that all that we have come from the hand of God. We did not provide this world or the food that is in it. We do not provide the opportunities that come our way. Many of them come to us right out of the blue. Behind all of this the hand of God has already been at work. He has already put us in the right place, leading us into situations we could never have designed ourselves. We operate by his grace and according to his efforts.
Before His crucifixion, Jesus had served His disciples by washing their feet (13:1-17). Now He continued to serve them as their risen Lord by providing them with a warm fire and breakfast (cf. v. 13).
Jesus invites us to labor with them,  Little boy brought his fish and bread, they caught it and hauled it in.
The “fire of coals” would certainly remind him of the fire at which he denied the Lord (John 18:18). It is good for us to remember the past; we may have something to confess.
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught."
Even though there was already one fish (Gr. opsarion, singular) on the fire Jesus instructed the disciples to bring some of the fish (plural) that they had caught. He would not provide for their physical needs by multiplying the food miraculously as He had done in the past. Now He would use the product of their labor to satisfy their need. Nevertheless it was clear that their fish had been the result of His miraculous provision. Perhaps this was all symbolic of how Jesus would carry out His mission through His disciples in the future compared with how He had done it during His pre- cross ministry.
But notice that Jesus then invites the disciples to bring the fish they have caught. This beautifully suggests the way God works with man. As I read through the Scriptures I am continually astonished at the privilege given us by God of being co-laborers with him. Human labor was involved in almost all of the miracles of Jesus. For instance, our Lord multiplied the bread and fish which the boy had to feed the multitude, but he first sent the disciples searching through the crowd to see what they could supply. The wonder of this is that God, who could easily do it all himself, nevertheless gave them the great privilege of being co-workers with him.
What he invites you to do may be a very simple thing. You may have opportunity to share your faith with your neighbors. While that may seem an insignificant thing now, when history has come to an end and we are all gathered on the shore with Jesus this may well become the greatest thing you have ever done. We will see ourselves as tremendously privileged to have worked with God in what he was doing in this world.
 11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.
A spiritual lesson here is that great blessing comes to one’s efforts when he follows the Lord’s will.
Peter either organizes the landing of the fish or he's the one who hauls it in. Now, if you've ever been in the water playing with your children when they're small, you can have two or three of your small children kind of hanging on you and you can still get around the water, right? Because the buoyancy displacement makes them not as heavy as if you were on land. On land you might be able to move a step or two but you sure can't haul them around the water, right? So you envision Peter. They can't get over the gunnel of the ship because it's so heavy, but he can sort of man handle it in the water up to the side and then the disciples would organize the getting of all the fish out before they could slip back into the Sea of Galilee. Why 153 fish? Well it's almost comical, commentators write pages of what the number 153 means. They have spiritualized allegorizations into all kinds of things in the Bible and it's almost comical to read, but unfortunately they happen to believe the stuff they write. I am one hundred percent convinced that it means there were 153 fish. And if you know anything about fishing, what does any good fisherman do? You count your fish. Notice the text says large fish? No one ever says, "I caught 153 little fish.  John tells us it was 153 large fish. Much has been made of the number 153, but it may be enough to note that the author knew the exact number of fish caught, and that it was a great quantity. Such details give credibility to one’s testimony, and John certainly provides us with details.
There have been many symbolic explanations of the meaning of the 153 fish. One of the more credible of these is as follows. Jesus formerly told His disciples that they would become fishers of men, an obvious metaphor (Mark 1:17). If the fish here represent the converts that Jesus would miraculously provide for His disciples to "catch," perhaps their large number represents many converts and the fact that Jesus is the one who is responsible to bring the converts in to us.
Mt 13:47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
48 "which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,
Mt 25:32 50 "and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
The fact that the net did not break may symbolize the capability of the gospel to "catch" many people without failing.
We are blessed by Laboring with the Lord
They have much patience and persistence, and they will not quit. They know how to cooperate with one another, and they are skilled in using the equipment and the boat. What examples for us to follow as we seek to “catch fish” for Jesus Christ!
We are indeed “fishers of men,” and there are “fish” all around us. If we obey His directions, we will catch the fish.
But the main emphasis in this account is: success cannot occur without the recognition that the power of God is needed. This is not new truth. In Psalm 127 the psalmist said, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. Except the Lord guard the city, the watchman watches in vain," (Psalms 127:1 KJV). But it is very common in the church today to see people rely on strictly human methods, with no recognition of the fact that God must supply.
Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL REACHING FOR THE PRIZE PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14

Hi, I’m Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries.  To sum up Phil 3:12-14,  Paul said I have not already attained, nor am I perfect; 13 but one thing I do 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  The goal is to be like Christ here on earth, the prize is to be made like Him in Heaven.  Many have died climbing the Alps, one grave reads he died climbing . Are you continually climbing one step at a time with the goal of being like Jesus?
12 Not that I have already attained,[a] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [b]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 20:24-31 JESUS SAID TO HIM, "THOMAS, BECAUSE YOU HAVE SEEN ME, YOU HAVE BELIEVED. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE BELIEVED."

John 20:24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" 27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
 
The disciples keep on telling Thomas that they have seen the Lord, but Thomas refuses to believe unless he sees for himself.  Remember he is only asking for what the others have already experienced.  So, we will see Jesus make a personal appearance eight days later so that Thomas can see Him and believe. Jesus offers for Thomas to put his finger in His side and in hands where they have been pierced by the nails that held him to the cross.  Then Thomas makes that greatest of all confessions of faith when He says My Lord and my God.  Jesus tells Thomas he is blessed because He saw and believed, but there is a greater blessing for those who just take it by faith that He rose from the grave. He finishes up the chapter by giving us the purpose statement of the whole book of John. He wrote about the seven signs that we might trust in Christ and have eternal life forever because of Jesus.
John's previous pictures of this disciple present him as a loyal and courageous, though a somewhat pessimistic, follower of Jesus. His more common identification as a doubter comes only from the present event. Thomas had no doubts that Jesus had died. This is another evidence that Jesus really did die.
The Greek text clarifies that the other disciples kept saying (Gr. elegon, imperfect tense) that Jesus was alive. In spite of this repeated verbal testimony by those who knew Him best, Thomas refused to believe (cf. 4:48). He had become so thoroughly convinced that Jesus was dead, as evidenced by his references to Jesus' wounds, that he could not see how Jesus' crucifixion could be overcome.
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. Joh 11:16
How much Thomas missed because he did not meet with the other disciples on the Lord's Day
Heb.10:22-25 
He had to endure a whole week of fear and unbelief unnecessarily.
 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
The disciples seem to have been convinced of our Lord’s resurrection, except for Thomas who was not there. He did not see the resurrected Lord, nor did he behold the Savior’s wounded hands and side. And so it was that when Thomas was told that Jesus had appeared to them, he refused to believe. He insisted that in order for him to believe, he would have to see Jesus with his own eyes. He would have to personally inspect the Lord’s nail-pierced hands and His pierced side. Only then would he believe. Before we become too harsh with Thomas, let me remind you that the other disciples did not believe until they saw, either. Thomas is really demanding to see the same things that convinced the others. He is not asking for anything more than what the others saw.
Eight days passed. Apparently Jesus did not appear to any of His disciples during this period of time.
 26 ¶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"
Jesus again materialized in the presence of these disciples as He had a week earlier (v. 19). He also repeated His benediction (v. 21). Perhaps Jesus did these things because the disciples had told Thomas that He had appeared this way and had said these things. This would have bolstered Thomas' faith.
 27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." 1Jo 1:1
Jesus knew what Thomas had said even though He had not been physically present when he had said it. This is further proof of Jesus' deity. The purpose of this test was not just to satisfy Thomas' curiosity, however. It was to bring him to faith that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah.
When Jesus appears to Thomas we have this road of unbelief that goes into a road of belief.  And, again, John’s whole effort is to show how people come to faith and believe in Christ.  Thomas had heard the report.  In fact, the text, the word “see” is a very important verb all the way through this whole story.  They had seen Him.  They had seen the Lord.  “I’m not going to believe until I can see.”  It’s like I’m putting the finger in the nail print.  Until I can see, I won’t believe.  That’s the whole context that John’s setting up for us.  Thomas is a thoroughly a skeptic.
Now, we often call him “Doubting Thomas” and we want to be careful with that.  We want to be careful of overstating the case of any of the disciples.  I’ve encouraged all of us not to sort of wail on Peter and we’ll see Peter one day.  And I don’t want to wail on Thomas because we’re going to see Thomas one day; and I think Thomas is given to us for all of us who have that little skeptic, unconvinced - Thomas is the spiritual Missouri.
 “Unless you show me, I’m not going to believe you.  I’ve got to see it with my own eyes before I believe it.  I don’t believe this thing.”
 And the Sunday after resurrection Sunday, the disciples are together, Thomas is now with them, they’ve tried to convince him, “He still won’t believe.”
 I think the more profound part of this is not when Jesus says, “Reach here.”  Not that He shows Himself to Thomas.  I think the profound part is He knew what Thomas had said.  In one sense, that’s more profound than the miracle, if you will.
 Now, play this one out if you want to get a little nervous.  If Jesus Christ knew Thomas’ doubt, does He know yours?  Does He know the sin that you and I toy with?  Does He know the fears and the skepticism and the lust of our heart and the lust of our eyes and the pride of our life?  Seems to me it’s a pretty good case for omniscience.  I don’t necessarily like it, but I believe it and I believe that’s one of the main lessons He wants us to see.
 Well, Thomas’ confession is really unrestrained.  He just sort of blurts out, “My Lord and My God!”  And there’s nothing in the text that tells us what he did.  In other words, we don’t know if Jesus took his hand and poked his finger in His own hand.  Or if Thomas said, “Okay, let me check this out.”
In fact, I think the text is intentionally blank with Thomas’ physical process because whatever you’d have done, that’s what he did.  In other words, Christ is sort of meeting and condescending to Thomas and I think He does to you and me, too, in our doubts.  So, we don’t know precisely what he does, but his response is powerful.
Immediately, Jesus turns His attention to Thomas. He summons Thomas to come and to put his finger where the nails had pierced His hands, and to feel His side where the spear had pierced it. He challenged Thomas to forsake his unbelief and to believe.
Since John does not tell us that Thomas actually felt the wounds of our Lord, it may well be that after seeing Jesus alive he no longer required this proof. It may have taken this sight to convince Thomas, but once convinced, Thomas got it right. He does not merely profess a belief that Jesus has risen from the dead. Thomas professes to believe in what the resurrection proved—that Jesus was God, and that He was Lord (verse 28). Thomas now has it right.
 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
For a Jew to call another human being "my Lord and my God" was blasphemy under normal circumstances (cf. 10:33). Yet that is precisely who Thomas believed Jesus was. It is also who John presented Jesus as being throughout this Gospel. Both titles were titles of deity in the Old Testament. Thomas had come to believe that Jesus was his lord in a fuller sense than before, and he now believed that Jesus was fully God.
In fact, it is perhaps the climax of the entire Gospel of John, that one sentence.  “My Lord and my God!”
 The first person pronoun is unusual when you talk about my Lord and my God.  In fact, you won’t find it in the Bible, except under Thomas’ declaration.  It’s one of the greatest “Aha’s” in all the Scripture.  And it serves a wonderful purpose the way John orchestrates His Gospel and puts it all together.
The  repeated  pronoun  my  does  not  diminish  the universality of Jesus' lordship and deity, but it ensures that Thomas' words are a personal confession of faith. Thomas thereby not only displays his faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but points to its deepest meaning; it is nothing less than the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. The most unyielding sceptic has given to us the most profound confession."
Now Thomas believed as his fellow disciples had come to believe (cf. v.25). His confession is a model that John presented for all future disciples. It is the high point of this Gospel (cf. 1:1, 14, 18).
John's witnesses to Jesus' deity
John the Baptist “This is the Chosen One [literally, “Son”] of God” (1:34)
Nathaniel              “You are the Son of God” (1:49)
Peter                             “You are the Holy One of God!” (6:69)
Martha “You are the Christ, the Son of God” (11:27)
Thomas                             “My Lord and my God!” (20:28)
John the Apostle    “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (20:31)
Jesus                            “I am the Son of God” (10:36; see also 4:26; 8:58)
Nobody has previously addressed Jesus like this. It marks a leap of faith. In the moment that he came to see that Jesus was  indeed  risen  from  the  dead  Thomas  came  to  see something of what that implied. Mere men do not rise from the dead in this fashion.  The One who was now so obviously alive, although he had died, could be addressed in the language of adoring worship."
I want you to notice Jesus’ response to Him.
 29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 2Co 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.;
It confirmed the reality of Thomas' belief, and it prepared for the beatitude that followed (cf. 13:17). "Blessed" (Gr. makarios) does more than just describe the person in view as happy. It also declares him or her acceptable to God (cf. Matt. 5:3-12).
Jesus pronounces a blessing upon those who don’t get to see and yet have faith in Him.  Jesus is saying, “It’s a good thing that you believe, Thomas, as a result of the sign.  But it’s a blessed thing if you believe and you don’t get to see the proof of the thing that you want proven.”
And so we see God in His grace condescending to Thomas but also God in His grace telling us that not all of us are going to get to see the things that would cast our doubts aside.
Most believers have believed on Jesus because of sufficient evidence without the physical confirmation that Thomas required (cf. v. 8; 1 Pet.1:8-9). Those were the people whom Jesus had in view when He made this statement. This beatitude does not make believers who live after Jesus' ascension superior to those who saw Him in the flesh. Rather it guarantees their blessing by God.
When Jesus makes that blessing statement, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe,” He Absolutely had us in mind. He’s thinking of those who throughout the centuries would believe without seeing the resurrection.
"Thomas's declaration is the last assertion of personal faith recorded in this Gospel. It marks the climax of the book because it presents Christ as the risen Lord, victorious over sin, sorrow, doubt, and death. It also presents the faith that accepts not only the truth of what Jesus said but also the actuality of what he was—the Son of God. In the experience of Thomas, the writer has shown how belief comes to maturity and how it changes the entire direction of an individual life."
"The growth of belief depicted in the Gospel of John thus moves from an initial acceptance on the testimony of another to a personal knowledge marked by loyalty, service, and worship; from assumption of the historicity and integrity of Jesus to a personal trust in Him; from an outward profession to an inward reality; from practicing His teachings to acknowledging His lordship over life. Full belief may not be attained instantly; yet the initial and tentative belief is not to be despised."
Based on a story of faith.  Based again on the intrinsic power of the Gospel story.  That He lived, He died, He was buried and He came back from the grave.  And those who trust in that are extraordinarily blessed. There is compelling evidence for the death, burial and resurrection of Christ; but ultimately, even with all of that evidence -
It comes down to faith.
Reviewing what it would take to cover something like this up.  It’s impossible, to cover something like that up.  And to think about these eleven inept men who’ve run away at the fear of being somehow associated with Jesus a couple of days before are now so emboldened to steal the body and cover it up.  Talk about the extraordinary leap of faith.  It takes more imagination and fiction to think they could pull that off than that Christ really came back from the dead.
And the Gospel writers don‘t say it, but we have to be sure that there were many who had a compelling desire to produce the body and demonstrate that this rumor going around that Jesus had been resurrected was just that, a rumor.  But no one was able to demonstrate.
 Well, from Caiaphas on down, the most powerful, political religious group of men could not produce a body.  And you know what?  No one ever will.
Think about Lee Strobel, the Chicago journalist who has written a number of books to provide evidence for the reality of Christ, the truth of the Scriptures.  And he wrote a book on the case for the cross where he examines the evidence.  And as wild as it may be to consider it, there’s no conclusion you can come to that makes any more sense than that Jesus is who He says He was and He was raised from the dead.  It’s just one piece of evidence after another.
1Pe 1:8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.
Although you’ve not seen Him, you love Him.  You don’t see Him now, but you believe in Him.  And this is Peter.  This is the Peter who ran away and three times denied His Lord.  And I’ve got to believe Peter is in the room when He appears again with Thomas.  And I wonder if in the inspired movement of the Spirit of God when these words are penned, if all is not meant for us to piece together. “You’ve not seen Him, but you love Him.  You’ve not seen Him but you believe in Him.”  And you’re blessed in that process. 
If you add up the Synoptics you have thirty-five miracles, little debate on the exact number, but thirty-five miracles, signs, that Jesus performed, John records only seven key ones.
Now get the flow of the book.  It’s very important.  They’ve not seen the risen Christ.  They’re looking for the body.  The Christ appears resurrected.  The fear is turned to joy.  Doubting individuals are convinced.  Their doubt is now taken away.  He really believes and Jesus says, “When you go out, you proclaim forgiveness as part of this gospel message.  You teach the people that the covenant, the new covenant, provides for forgiveness.  That’s what this is all about.”
 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;  Joh 21:25
 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. Lu 1:4; Joh 3:15-16; 5:24; 1Pe 1:8-9(NKJV)
It’s okay if you saw and believed, but you’re blessed if you believe and you didn’t get to see.  And then John says, “These signs that Jesus has done, a lot more of them happened, but these were written so you’ll believe.”
What does he want for us to believe?  The signs.  John the Gospel writer has said now for twenty chapters, he said, “I wrote all this so that you’ll believe.  And I punctuated it with these miracles so that you’ll believe.”
Jesus even said, “If someone comes back from the dead they won’t believe.”
But John says, “I want to record these signs so that you’ll believe.”
When Jesus Christ performs a miracle it’s always for a purpose.  The word sign is a stem of signifying.  The sign signifies something.  Take for example the blind man, John nine.  He’s blind from birth.  What’s the point?  Jesus has power over creation.  Sure.  That’s not the real point.  The real point is all of us are blind and we need new sight and Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.  I am the one who gives you new sight.  I create new hearts.  I create new eyes.  I create new people.”  That’s what Jesus’ message is.  So the sign of the blind man being cured, being given new eyes, is not just a, “Wow!  He cured somebody.”  It’s, we’re all spiritually blind and we need curing.  Are you with me?  So John says, “All these signs signify something about Christ and our condition and they’re written so you and I will believe.”
A SUMMARY OF THE SEVEN SIGNS IN JOHN
Sign
Significance
Belief
Unbelief
Reference
Changing water to wine
Jesus' power over life,(source)
The disciples
 
2:1-11
Healing the official's son
Jesus' power over distance
The official and his household
 
4:46-54
Healing the paralytic
Jesus' power over time
The paralytic?
The Jews
5:1-9
Feeding the 5,000
Jesus' power over quantity
Some people in the crowd
 
6:1-15
Walking on the water
Jesus' power over nature
The disciples
 
6:16-21
Healing a man born blind
Jesus' power over creation and misfortune
The blind man
The Pharisees
9:1-12
Raising Lazarus
Jesus' power over death
Martha, Mary, and many Jews
The Jewish Authorities
11:1-16
His presentation of Jesus as the divine Son of God certainly has universal application.
"There cannot be any doubt but that John conceived of Jesus as the very incarnation of God."
John's purpose was not academic. It was not simply that people might believe intellectually that Jesus is the divine Messiah. It was rather that they might believe those foundational truths so they could possess and experience the life of God fully (cf. 10:10). This divine life affects the whole person, not just the intellect. Moreover it affects him or her forever, not just during that person's present lifetime.
Let’s look at a couple of lessons
John's clear purpose statement concludes the body of this Gospel.
The graveside can bring incredible grief in life, but the faith of the believer moves on beyond the grave.
We’re separated and we miss people bitterly because we love them.” That’s what death is, a separation, right?  And we long to see them.  And it’s very common for people to dream about a reunion and I think Mary is sort of that person.  She’s hanging on and she’s hurt and Jesus says, “Mary.” And she turns.  The point of that:  turn away from the graveside and see the resurrection.  Turn away from your grief and see life is beyond the grave, right?  And we must do the same as we process through our grief.  Grief is tough, it’s not meant to be simple.  It’s tough.  But the believer in Christ has hope that the world doesn’t have.
Suffering is universal, misery is optional.” Some of you know the name Charles Wedemeyer.  He was a very successful coach who is now a quadriplegic and can’t even speak.  One hundred percent dependent upon other people.  And he says, through her interpretation, “Suffering is universal, misery is optional.” And, you know, all of us are going to suffer and hurt and grieve in life, but to remain miserable is an option and the believer in Christ must look beyond the circumstances and say, “You know, this earth is a rotten place sometimes.  My faith is in the next life.”   God’s peace only comes through Christ.  John fourteen to John sixteen Christ had gone at length to say, “My peace I leave with you.  Not as the world do I give, but my peace I give to you.  Peace be with you.” Earlier it said his spirit was troubled and He says, “I’m going to give you peace.”  Three times in this text, “Peace be with you.  Peace be with you.  Peace.”
They’re afraid of the Jews, they are fearfully grieving their loss.  “Peace be with you.  Peace.”  He’s dispelling their anxiety. 
Isa 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
Ps 4:8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Phil 4:6-9 Paul says a peace that surpasses all comprehension that will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.  How many of us have never even come close to understanding that?  And that’s the resurrection peace that Christ gives. 
Jesus Knows Everything - If Jesus Christ knew Thomas’ doubt, does He know yours? Does He know the sin that you and I toy with? He knows the fears and the skepticism and the lust of our heart and the lust of our eyes and the pride of our life?
"Thomas's declaration of personal faith marks the climax of the book because it presents Christ as the risen Lord, victorious over sin, sorrow, doubt, and death. It is our example. Romans 10.9-11
What proof do you seek? 
See, the reasons we don’t believe, the reasons we doubt are not because we’re so smart or clever.  The reason we doubt is because if we believe, we therefore must submit and obey.  And that’s not fun.  It’s not fun to do the right thing when sin wants to do the wrong thing.  But the believer in Jesus Christ submits and he says, “You know, God, I don’t understand it all, but by Your grace and kindness I’m going to follow You even when I can’t see to believe, I believe You.”
Mark chapter nine.  The man who has brought his seizure ridden epileptic demonized son to the disciples who can’t do anything for him.  Jesus comes back with Peter, James and John from the mount of transfiguration.  An extraordinary passage, where the man wants to believe but what great honesty.  “Help me in my unbelief.  I want to believe you.” And Jesus doesn’t condemn him Or shame him or anything, Or say, “What kind of faith is this?”  In fact, the message is really a double-edged message because He says, “Oh unbelieving generation, how long will I be with you?”  That precedes His comment to the father.  I think His primary target is the disciples.It’s like when you discipline one child in front of your whole family.  You’re telling them all the same issue, but the one’s on the hot seat.  And Christ is saying to you, “Don’t you get it?  This is not your power.  This is not you.  You have to move beyond that.” And with a few words the Lord does a miracle of healing.Would we say to Jesus, “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.” I hope so.  I often do.  I want to believe Him, I hope to believe. And belief and faith are not the little engine that could.  It’s not, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can,” and if I exercise enough of that faith, then God will come through.  Faith is confident assurance of things hoped for.  Meaning, I want this outcome.  With a conviction of things not yet seen.  I don’t know the outcome, I don’t know the verdict.  So I’m trusting Christ, I’m believing in Him, I’m hoping for this outcome.  I’m convicted in the sense I’m planted, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.And ultimately your faith is not in the outcome, it is in the one who controls the outcome
 Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL 1 JOHN 1:1-4 NOT JUST RELIGION BUT TRUE SALVATION

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--  2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
In 1 John 1:1-4, it speaks of the fact that Jesus was seen and heard by the disciples because he came in the flesh.  John says Christianity is not just another religion, but a relationship with a living God who came and died on the cross for our sins.  But there is also a fellowship with other Christians and God that results from that relationship called salvation.  We also need to realize that the final result is that our joy may be complete.  Joy is a deep down settled feeling of peace and satisfaction that we can have no matter what the circumstances.  Do you know this Jesus I am talking about?
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 20:22-23 JESUS SAID IF YOU FORGIVE THE SINS OF ANY, THEY ARE FORGIVEN THEM; IF YOU RETAIN THE SINS OF ANY, THEY ARE RETAINED

John 20:22 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 retain the sins of any, they are retained."
 Jesus is saying that when His disciples went to others with the message of salvation, as He had done, some people would believe and others would not. Reaction to their ministry would be the same as reaction to His had been. He viewed their forgiving and retaining the sins of their hearers as the actions of God's agents.  If anyone believed the gospel, the disciples could tell the believers that God had forgiven their sins. If they disbelieved, they could tell them that God had not forgiven but retained their sins. Jesus had done this (cf. 9:39-41), and now His disciples would continue to do it. Thus their ministry would be a continuation of His ministry relative to the forgiveness of sins, as it would be in relation to the Spirit's enablement. This, too, applies to all succeeding generations of Jesus' disciples since Jesus was still talking about the disciples' mission.
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
In His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus does not ask the Father to send the Spirit, which He has promised in chapters 14-16. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is not even mentioned in this prayer! How can this be? I believe that while our Lord prepared His disciples for the coming of the Spirit in the Upper Room Discourse, He did not intend to send the Spirit until after His ascension. In other words, the Holy Spirit would not come until Pentecost. Some suggest that in our text Jesus is temporarily bestowing the Spirit upon His disciples, until Pentecost comes. I don’t agree.
In the first place, John does not report anything out of the ordinary happening as a result of our Lord’s actions. The disciples are not transformed, as they will be at Pentecost. The gospel is not preached. In fact, the next thing to happen in John’s Gospel is that some of the disciples go fishing. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit was immediately bestowed upon the disciples at this moment, as a result of what Jesus says and does. I believe Jesus is symbolically bestowing the Spirit upon His disciples, although it will not actually take place until Pentecost. Jesus will have ascended to the Father then, and so this gesture indicates to the disciples that when the Spirit comes at Pentecost, it will be as a result of what Jesus had promised earlier, and symbolically indicates here.
   I wish to be very clear here, both as to what I am saying, and as to what I am not saying. I am saying that our Lord is here symbolically bestowing His Holy Spirit on the church. This symbolic act will literally be fulfilled at Pentecost.
Jesus wants it to be clear that it is He who is sending His Spirit to indwell and to empower His church. I am not saying that the Spirit is given at the moment Jesus breathes upon His disciples. I am not saying that this is a temporary bestowal of the Spirit, until the permanent coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.
Specifically, I believe that what Jesus is symbolically bestowing is the coming of the Holy Spirit upon His disciples as those who will act as His apostles. Earlier, Jesus outlined some of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. For example, the Spirit would call Jesus’ teaching to their minds. He would convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. But here, none of these ministries seems to be in view. Here, the Holy Spirit is given to the apostles so that they can either proclaim the forgiveness of sins, or the retention of sins. I do not think this text justifies some priestly hierarchy, who hears confessions and grants absolution from one’s sins. Instead, I believe Jesus is giving the apostles the authority to declare men and women to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe we see an example of this in the Book of Acts: Acts 11:1-18,
Furthermore there is no evidence that when Thomas returned to the scene Jesus gave him the Spirit as one would expect if the Spirit's presence was essential for the disciples then (v. 26-29)
It also explains why this event had no changing effect on the disciples. Evidently there was only one coming of the Spirit on these disciples, and that happened on Pentecost.
The ‘breathing’ of the Spirit is John’s way of describing the commissioning of Jesus’ disciples. This is John’s version of the great Commission given to the Apostles
The disciples are now apostles — those who are sent to pioneer and protect the church. [i]
He breathes on them and this raises another theological host of questions that is a great area of study on your own.  We know that when the disciples were on the earth they were His representatives.  They had His power at times.  We know that from the Gospel accounts that He sent them out and they performed miracles empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We know in the Old Testament that Saul had the Holy Spirit removed from Him and David even prayed after His own tragic sin, “Take not your Spirit from me.” Right?
 So we know the Holy Spirit could empower and indwell believers, but the Holy Spirit was not a permanent resident until Pentecost, or Acts chapter two when the birth of the church and that fulfills the New Covenant and the Holy Spirit comes and indwells the believer.
 So what’s happening here is a great field of study.  I think a number of things are going on.  I think when you go back to Genesis 2:7 and I believe Jesus Christ, as a theophany, has made a dirt Adam on His hands and knees.  That’s my sanctified imagination.  He’s from the dirt of the ground.  He’s formed a man in His image.  He breathes life into that dirt and it becomes a living man.  And Adam is made in His image, a bearer of His image.  The animal kingdom was not, Adam was.  This first Adam.
 The second Adam, according to Romans two, is Jesus Christ without sin.  And now the second Adam has been buried and resurrected and He breathes on, imparting the new life of the Spirit that is only possible from the Holy Spirit from Christ.
 He has to go to the Father to be able send the Spirit permanently.  So what’s happening here seems to be not unlike how He empowered them perhaps in their ministry.  But pre-resurrection He somehow is imparting His Spirit to them in a unique way and then it’s tied to this issue of the forgiveness of sins.
Ezekiel 37:5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 
This is possibly an Aramaic idiom meaning “he gave them courage.” That encouragement was in the form of a promise of the Holy Spirit.
It takes a monumental work of God to convince the Jews that God has purposed from eternity past to save Gentiles (see Acts 22:21-23). Our Lord had promised to send the Spirit, which He did at Pentecost. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit directed Peter to go to the house of a Gentile and to proclaim the gospel to those gathered in his house. The Spirit then came upon all those who had come to faith, thus indicating that the gospel (the forgiveness of sins) was not just for Jews alone, but for all who believe, Jew or Gentile. It is difficult for Gentile believers today to grasp how hard it was for Jews to accept the salvation of the Gentiles. Even the apostles found this difficult. As the Spirit came upon the apostles, this truth was embraced, proclaimed, and defended by them. By means of the Spirit’s guidance and illumination, the truth that the gospel was for Jews and Gentiles was declared by the apostles, and particularly by Paul:
Ephesians 2:11-22
23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Mt 16:19; 18:18
This relates both to those who share the Gospel and to those who respond by faith. Someone with the gospel knowledge chooses to share it and someone hears it and chooses to receive it. Both aspects are required. [ii] This verse does not give arbitrary authority to clergy, but wonderful life-giving power to believing witnesses!
“Their sins have been forgiven them” The grammatical construction implies God’s forgiveness, is available completely through gospel proclamation. Believers have the keys of the kingdom (cf. Matt. 16:19) if they will only use them. This promise is to the Church, not individuals. This is theologically similar to “the bound and unbound” of Matt. 18:18.[iii]
Matthew 16:19 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth 8will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  John 8:32 set free
This was a metaphor for gaining entrance. The keys are the proclamation of the gospel with an invitation to respond.[iv]
Matthew 18:18 18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 
Forgiveness of sins Jesus mentions in verse twenty-three I do not think empowers an individual to absolve people of sin.  I think what He’s saying here is that the message of the resurrection is forgiveness and when you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ raised from the dead, you must preach forgiveness. 
Essentially what Jesus is saying here is the Gospel message must, in this context, include the issue of forgiveness.  And that we as believers are the only ones who have the proclamation of the forgiveness of sin.  Apart from Christ there is no forgiveness for our sins, that’s the message, and only in Christ, only understanding the resurrected Christ, will you have the forgiveness of sin, according to the New Covenant.  Well, the disciples are to proclaim this and that’s part of the mission that they will have.
The Great Commission not only requires supernatural power to carry it out (v. 22), but it also involves the forgiveness of sins (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Matt.26:28). In the similar passages in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, the context is church discipline. Here the context is evangelism.
The second part of each conditional clause in this verse is in the passive voice and the perfect tense in the Greek text. The passive voice indicates that someone has already done the forgiving or retaining. That person must be God since He alone has the authority to do that (Matt. 9:2-3; Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21). The perfect tense indicates that the action has continuing effects; the sins stand forgiven or retained permanently.
Jesus appears to have been saying that when His disciples went to others with the message of salvation, as He had done, some people would believe and others would not. Reaction to their ministry would be the same as reaction to His had been. He viewed their forgiving and retaining the sins of their hearers as the actions of God's agents.  If people ("any" or "anyone," plural Gr. tinon) believed the gospel, the disciples could tell the believers that God had forgiven their sins. If they disbelieved, they could tell them that God had not forgiven but retained their sins. Jesus had done this (cf. 9:39-41), and now His disciples would continue to do it. Thus their ministry would be a continuation of His ministry relative to the forgiveness of sins, as it would be in relation to the Spirit's enablement. This, too, applies to all succeeding generations of Jesus' disciples since Jesus was still talking about the disciples' mission.
All who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearer accepts or rejects the Lord Jesus as the Sin-Bearer."
Who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7) All that the Christian can do is announce the message of forgiveness; [v]
This resurrection appearance has threefold importance in John's Gospel.
It validated again Jesus' bodily resurrection
It provided the setting for the commissioning of Jesus' disciples.
It also provided the background for Jesus' appearance when Thomas was present and Thomas' climactic statement of faith that followed (vv. 24-29).
Lessons
Trust God in every situation
2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Ro 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
god has given us peace and joy
vs 20 Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.  21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you!
Romans 5:1-11 We have peace with God and the Peace of God and His Joy
god has left us here to fulfill a mission
Vs 21 As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
We are called to go tell others about Jesus and what He has done for us and give them peace, joy and freedom too
 

LUKE 11:2 PRAY FOR OUR WORLD AND OUR NATION

Hi, I ‘m Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries. In Luke 11:2 Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. I would like to ask you to pray every time you hear this devotional or think about it to please pray for our world, our nation, it’s leaders, and for us to come back to God.  That God would be glorified because of the way we live for Him, that people will be saved, and that we would live in obedience to God’s Word so that He is pleased with our lives. That is His will being done.  Will you do that with me?
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 20:19-21 SO JESUS SAID TO THEM AGAIN, "PEACE TO YOU! AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, I ALSO SEND YOU."

 John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, 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 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
The seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, commemorates God's finished work of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). The Lord's Day commemorates Christ's finished work of redemption, the 'new creation.' God the Father worked for six days and then rested. God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested. The Jewish Sabbath is associated with the Law: six days of work, and then you rest. But the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, is associated with grace: first there is faith in the living Christ, and then there will be works. We also see how our Lord transformed His disciples fear into courage. First, not only did Jesus come to them, but He reassured them. He showed them His wounded hands and side so they would know it was Him, and they would know He had risen from the grave. Lastly, Jesus gives them a new purpose.  The purpose of Jesus' incarnation was the spiritual salvation of the world (1:29). That also is our purpose.
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
Mr. 16:14; Lu 24:36; 1Co 15:5
John moved his readers directly from the events of Easter morning to those that happened that evening.
There were at least five Resurrection appearances of our Lord on that first day of the week:
“the first day of the week” Sunday was the first work day, like our Monday. This became the meeting day of the Church to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection. He Himself set the pattern by appearing in the Upper Room three Sunday nights in a row (cf. vv. 19, 26; Luke 24:36ff; Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:2).
The first-generation believers continued to meet on the Sabbath at the local Synagogues and at the Temple on set feast days. However, the rabbis instituted a “curse oath” that required Synagogue members to reject Jesus as the Messiah. At this point they dropped the Sabbath services but continued to meet with other believers on Sunday, the resurrection day, to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection.[i]
Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the church epistles, but the Sabbath commandment is not repeated.
"The seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, commemorates God's finished work of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). The Lord's Day commemorates Christ's finished work of redemption, the 'new creation.' . . . God the Father worked for six days and then rested. God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested.[ii]
"For centuries, the Jewish Sabbath had been associated with Law: six days of work, and then you rest. But the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, is associated with grace: first there is faith in the living Christ, then there will be works."
It was on the first day of the week—the same day that Mary saw Jesus—and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors. They were afraid of the Jews. They were disciples of Jesus, and He had just been crucified for sedition. And now, the story was circulating that they had stolen the body of Jesus (Matthew 28:11-15). Remember that the tomb was sealed by Rome, and guarded by Roman soldiers. The disciples may have felt in greater danger here than on any previous occasion. They must have been deeply troubled by the reports they had heard that Jesus was alive. What were they to think of all this? What were they to do? They did not know.
And so the disciples met together behind locked doors. The PLURAL implies that both the downstairs and upstairs doors were locked. This was mentioned to (1) accentuate Jesus’ appearance and (2) to show their fear of arrest.
The disciples' initial reaction to Jesus' unexpected appearance was terror Lu 24:37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not I am with, be not dismayed, I am your God, I will help you”
He told them 3 things in Chapter 14 and other comforting things in Ch. 13-17, if they had only listened and believed, they would not be hiding and afraid as they are now.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.
Mark 16:12-14 - 12 After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 14 Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected .
We are told that one disciple was missing—Thomas. What we miss when we do not assemble with the believers like we ought to. Heb 10:24-25.  We are not told why he was absent. There is no particular blame cast on him for his absence. In some miraculous way, Jesus enters the room, even though the door is locked. We do not know what the disciples saw, but John certainly leaves us with the impression that our Lord’s entrance was unusual—one more proof of His resurrection. Our Lord twice repeated the words, “Peace be with you” (20:19, 21). This certainly reminds us of what Jesus had said earlier to these men:
Jesus would have appeared to Mary and the other women by now, and they have already announced to the disciples that Jesus was alive. But the disciples refused to believe. Then, the two men who talked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus arrived to tell the disciples of their encounter with the risen Lord. Once again, the disciples refused to believe:
Jesus' greeting was common enough (i.e., Heb. shalom 'alekem). However, He had formerly promised His disciples His peace (14:27; 16:33). Consequently He was imparting rather than just wishing peace on them. This seems clear because Jesus repeated the benediction two more times (vv. 21, 26). "Shalom" summarized the fullness of God's blessing, not just the cessation of hostility
But the wounds meant more than identification; they also were evidence that the price for salvation had been paid and man indeed could have “peace with God.” The basis for all our peace is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He died for us, He arose from the dead in victory, and now He lives for us.
Rom. 5:1; Phil. 4:7
"'Shalom!' on Easter evening is the complement of 'it is finished' on the cross, for the peace of reconciliation and life from God is now imparted . . . Not surprisingly it is included, along with 'grace,' in the greeting of every epistle of Paul in the NT."
Ephesians 2:14–18 He [Jesus] himself is our peace, who has made us both one [Jew and Gentile] and reconciled us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. John 16:22
How did our Lord transform His disciples’ fear into courage? For one thing, He came to them. [iii]
Not only did Jesus come to them, but He reassured them. He showed them His wounded hands and side and gave them opportunity to discover that it was indeed their Master, and that He was not a phantom.
John apparently focuses on the piercing of Jesus’ side more than the other Gospels (cf. 19:37; 20:25). His feet are not mentioned except in Luke 24:39 and Ps. 22:16. Jesus’ glorified body retains the marks of His crucifixion (cf. I Cor. 1:23; Gal. 3:1).[iv]
He gave them a purpose a commission to fulfill
21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." Mt 28:18; Joh 17:18-19; 2Ti 2:2; Heb 3:1
Jesus repeated His benediction (v. 19). He then commissioned His disciples for their mission from then on. He expressed this commission in terms of the relationships that John recorded Jesus teaching extensively in this Gospel. Jesus was sending His disciples on a mission just as His Father had sent Him on a mission (cf. 17:18). The emphasis here is on the sending and the authoritative person doing the sending. Thus Jesus' disciples became apostles (lit. sent ones) in a new sense.
Jesus uses two different terms for “send.” In John these are synonymous. This is clearly seen in chapter 8, where pempō is used of Jesus’ being sent by the Father (cf. 8:16, 18, 26, 29), yet apostellō is used in 8:42. This same thing is true of chapters 5 and 6. hath sent (send on a mission )me, even so send (send) you.
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that of One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.  
Jesus apparently gave this commission on at least three separate occasions.  The reader of the Gospels can scarcely escape its crucial importance.  It expresses God's will for every believer in the present age.
Some Christians believe that Jesus intended this commission only for His original disciples. They point to the fact that the writers of the New Testament epistles never referred to it.
However even though they did not refer to it explicitly they clearly presupposed its validity for the whole church. They simply cast it in different terminology (e.g., 2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
The universal scope of the commission also argues for its continuation. ( Go into all the world)
Third, the repetition of this commission five times suggests that Jesus intended all of His disciples to carry it out.
Finally, this was the last charge that Jesus gave His disciples before He returned to His Father (Luke24:46-48; Acts 1:8). This fact also suggests that He intended it for all succeeding generations of disciples.
Clearly on this occasion Jesus was presenting His mission as a model for His disciples' mission. Just as He left His home to go on a mission, He was asking them to do the same.  Many Christians have concluded, therefore, that what characterized Jesus' ministry must characterize the church's ministry. They see this mission including healing the sick, casting out demons, and feeding the hungry.  They believe that the church's mission is much broader than just preaching the gospel, baptizing, teaching, and planting churches.
However the emphasis on Jesus' mission in John's Gospel has been primarily that Jesus always carried out God's will in perfect obedience (cf.5:19-30; 8:29). Even before His crucifixion Jesus stressed the importance of the believer's obedience as the fulfillment of this paradigm (15:9-10). The purpose of Jesus' incarnation was the spiritual salvation of the world (1:29). That is also the believer's primary, though not our exclusive, purpose
Ga 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.).
As Jesus always operated in dependence on the Father with the Spirit's enablement, so should His disciples (cf. 1:32; 3:34;
4:34; 5:19; 6:27; 10:36; 17:4). As He was a Son of God, so are His disciples sons of God (cf. 1:12-13; 3:3, 5; 20:17).
       Since believers no longer belong to the world (15:19), it was necessary for Jesus to send His disciples back into the world. Our mission does not replace Jesus' mission, however.  He carries out His present mission through us.
We must consider all the versions of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to understand our mission correctly, not just this one. The first recorded commission chronologically was evidently the one in Mark 16:15-16 and John 20:21-23. Matthew 28:19-20 appears to be another account of a later event. Likewise Luke 24:46-48 and Acts 1:8 seem to be two versions of one incident, the last giving of the commission.
               What is central to the Son's mission—that he came as the Father's gift so that those who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life (3:16), experiencing new life as the children of God (1:12-13) and freedom from the slavery of sin because they have been set free by the Son of God (8:34-36)—must never be lost to view as the church defines her mission."
“Lord” This title is used here in its full theological sense which relates to YHWH of the OT (cf. Exod. 3:14). Applying an OT title for God the Father to Jesus was one way NT authors affirmed Jesus’ full deity.
Jesus and John reminded all disciples of these central issues in the verses that follow (cf. vv. 23, 30-31).
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
 

WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO YOU HAVE?

“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built." (Luke 6:47-48)
I pray that your life is built on that Rock which is Jesus Christ.  He is the one who died for your sins, paid your debt, and either has or can set you free from the penalty of sin, death, and hell.  If you were building a house hopefully you would build it on a solid foundation so that it stand the test of time and all that comes against it.  It is the same with your life, if you are not trusting in Jesus Christ and Him alone for your salvation you will never make it to heaven. Is your faith one that is based on works (what you have done) or one of what Jesus has done?  When the storms and tough times of life come your faith will stand if it is based on Christ alone, if not it will all come tumbling down.  What kind of faith do you have?
    John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 20:10-18 JESUS SAID TO HER, "WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU WEEPING

John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, 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, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'" 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
 Note that our Lord’s first appearance is not to one of the 11 disciples, but to Mary Magdalene. She will never be one of the apostles. She will never write a Gospel. She will never become a great preacher or leader. Nevertheless, our Lord chose to manifest Himself to her first. Why do you think this was? First, she had a great love for her Master, as He did for her. Second, she seemed to be the one with the greatest measure of grief. “Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). There is a third reason: Mary was there first. Jesus revealed Himself first to the one who was there first. Mary came to the tomb early, because of her great love, and her great grief, and Jesus revealed Himself to her, first. Fourthly, I think that it was because she was a woman and He always appears to those who are the most downtrodden. An important lesson this text teaches us is when we come to see things as they really are, we will find that many of our tears were unnecessary.
 
Probably the best known quote associated with St. Augustine is the quote at the beginning of his confession where he says, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”
And there is something about coming to the Scriptures and saying, “That which I don’t fully understand I’m still going to believe.” That does produce a peace that passes understanding.
In the Christian life the why questions will plague you all of your life.  We can have such great confidence in so many things and I think maturity is when you quit worrying about the whys and focus on the what.
We do not really know a great deal about the time between our Lord’s resurrection and His ascension. When you stop to think about it, a significant portion of each of the Gospels is taken up with the events of the last week of our Lord in Jerusalem. And yet, the 40 days following our Lord’s resurrection gets very little attention in comparison. The material we do have about this period is not meant to satisfy our curiosity about all that happened during this time, but is recorded to prove one important fact: Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father!
Of the details we do find regarding our Lord’s ministry after His resurrection, a number of them are recorded only in Acts and 1 Corinthians. I did not realize how much of my understanding of our Lord’s ministry after His resurrection is based upon New Testament books other than the Gospels. Some of the most important details come from Acts 1 and 1 Corinthians 15:
10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
John had taken the mother of Jesus to his home (19:27) and so he now hurried home to tell her the glorious news as he believed.[i]
Note that they go back home without proclaiming the message of the risen Christ. Mere intellectual evidence alone will not change people. We must meet Christ personally.
That is what happened to Mary: she lingered and met Christ. How many times it pays to wait! (See Prov. 8:17.) She saw two angels in the tomb (Luke 24:4 calls them “two men”) but was too taken up with her grief to let them comfort her.
Well, when Jesus appears to her, it sort of sets off a number of questions in all of our minds because Jesus’ appearances after the resurrection are interesting in and of themselves.  Let me show you a number of observations.
First there is this tangible part of the body of Christ.  That when he comes back from the dead, that when He’s resurrected, He’s still tangible, He’s still corporal, He’s still flesh and blood.  He bears the marks of His crucifixion.  He shows them His wounds.  He shows them where the spear went in His side.  He cooks and He even eats fish, so there is this physical nature, this corporal body of Jesus that’s still there.
But we also have this resurrected body that raises some of the questions.  He’s resurrected through these grave cloths.  He’s resurrected through the closed, sealed tomb.  And then He appears and manifests Himself in this upper room, or this locked room, on two occasions that we know of. So we have sort of this physical side, still there, but it’s a resurrected body and He can do some unusual things in this resurrected body.
Mary’s distress
11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.
Mr. 16:5
She had not yet realized what John did. John must not have yet told her that Jesus was risen. He probably was too stunned and puzzled to say anything significant. [ii]She now peered into the tomb for the second time
Proverbs 8:17—'I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me.
Psalm 30:5, 'Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
She had devoted herself and her livelihood to following Jesus and supporting Him, along with some other women. She had watched helplessly as Jesus was tried, convicted, and crucified. She looked on as His body was laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Now, she believed that the body of her Lord had been taken. It was almost too much to bear.
 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Evidently Mary had seen them earlier (Matt. 28:5-7; Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:4-7). The angels' white apparel distinguished them as angels (cf. Acts 1:10), but Mary apparently did not recognize them as such. She responded to them as she would have responded to human beings, maybe because she was in the shock of grief and was weeping.  But often in the Bible, angels simply look like men, so that their appearance alone would not reveal their true identity (see Genesis 18 and 19; Acts 1:10-11; Hebrews 13:2). It would seem that the two angels made no effort to identify themselves as angels, nor even to inform Mary that Jesus was not there. Perhaps it was because our Lord was going to do this personally.
The description of the angels in v. 12 reminds us of the mercy seat in the holy of holies (Ex. 25:17–19); the risen Christ is now our Mercy Seat in heaven. It is as though God is saying, “There is now a new mercy seat! My Son has paid the price for sin, and the way is open into the presence of God!”
Exodus 25:17–19 17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat.
13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
The angels asked Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping?” The inference is that her tears were not really called for. They were tears of love, and of sorrow, but they were also ill-founded. In Mary’s mind, this was the darkest moment of her life, and yet her tears were based upon false assumptions: that Jesus was dead; that His body had been stolen; that she would not be able to find His body. If Mary had known the real reason why the tomb was empty, she would not have been crying. Weeping was inappropriate in view of Jesus' resurrection.
She still doubted the Resurrection in spite of the angels' earlier announcement that Jesus had risen from the dead. That earlier announcement had produced some initial enlightenment and joy (Matt. 28:6, 8; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6,
8). Mary still wanted to mourn over Jesus' body but did not know where it was. Perhaps her inconsistent behavior is more understandable if we remember that many people in that part of the world still express their grief almost uncontrollably.
 14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
Mt 28:9; Mr. 16:9; Lu 24:16, 31; Joh 21:4
Some have suggested that the angels gave a look of recognition when they saw Jesus behind Mary, maybe they bowed and worshipped Him outside the tomb. We do not know why, but for some reason Mary turned around to gaze at the risen Lord. She saw Him, but she did not recognize Him
Some suggest that Jesus’ appearance was changed; others say she had a temporary “blindness” as did the Emmaus Road disciples who “were kept from recognizing Him” (Luke 24:16) until His act of disclosure.[iii]
Luke 24:16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 
I think John shows us a number of things in the text, verse fourteen, “she’s turned.”  It seems as though she has her back to this apparent gardener, and then in verse sixteen she turns back.  And the word probably is meant more than just the physical aspect of her features.  She’s turning in her understanding of what’s happening to the Gospel of Christ.  She’s turning, understanding what this means.
No Jewish author in the ancient world would have invented a story with a woman as the first witness to this most important event.
 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
Jesus  addressed  this  heartbroken  disciple  by  respectfully  calling  her "woman" (Gr. gynai), as had the angels
Jesus asks Mary the same question the angels had asked her moments earlier: “Woman, why are you weeping?”, but He adds a further question, “Who are you looking for?”. Jesus knew why she was weeping. He knew that the empty tomb caused her great grief. He knew that she was seeking His body. His words indicate to Mary that He knows something about her dilemma. Mary’s grief still blinds her to the truth, but she nevertheless seems to discern that this “gardener” holds the key to her quest for the Lord’s body. She pleads with Him to convey any information He may have to her:
There seems to have been something about Jesus' resurrection body that made immediate recognition of Him difficult for many people (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:16; John 21:4; cf.1 Cor. 15:35-49).
Mary’s delight, see John 20:16-18.
 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).
When she first recognizes Him, He calls her “Mary” and that’s sort of the trigger.  And my mind at least goes back to John 10:27 where He says, “"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
So, through, perhaps tearful eyes, she doesn’t recognize Him, but then when she hears the voice and her name she connects it and that’s her Friend, her Savior, her Lord, Jesus.
"Never was there a one-word utterance more charged with emotion than this."
The title Rabboni is used in only one other place in the Gospels, Mark 10:51 (in the Greek text “Lord” is “Rabboni”). “Rabbi” and “Rabboni” were equivalent terms of respect. In later years, the Jews recognized three levels of teachers: rab (the lowest), rabbi, and rabboni (the highest).
We know from our Lord’s words that Mary has already locked Him in her grasp. It is as though she intended to keep holding on to Him, so that He would never leave her again. And it is because of this that Jesus responds,
17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"
Ps 22:22; Mt 28:10; Joh 16:28; Ro 8:29; Eph 1:17; Heb 2:11
These words spoke of a new relationship, new relatives, and a new responsibility.
In a few days He’s going to tell Thomas to put his finger in His hand and put his hand in His side, so why does He tell Mary to “stop clinging to Me.”?
Some translations say here Do not touch me. This is hard to translate, but I disagree with this wording
One view is that it was inappropriate for Mary to hold Jesus since He had not yet ascended to the Father, but it was appropriate for Thomas to touch Jesus (v. 27). Therefore Jesus must have ascended to the Father and returned between His appearances to Mary and Thomas. Yet there is no biblical evidence that Jesus ascended to the Father and returned from Him between these two appearances. Moreover it is unclear why ascending to the Father should make any difference in the disciples' physical contact with Jesus' body. It is not that Jesus could not be touched. In but a few verses we will read, “Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe’” (John 20:27). Why would Jesus tell Mary not to touch Him, and instruct Thomas to do so? In Matthew 28:9, Jesus allowed the women to take hold of His feet and worship Him.
Second, the tense of the imperative is present, and this grammatical construction often conveys the thought of ceasing to do something.  Jesus is not trying to prevent Mary from touching Him; He is trying to make it clear to her that He is going to leave this world to return to His Father. She should not suppose that by clinging to Him she can prevent His departure.
 This best I can figure out on my own, and you could probably improve on this in your own study of Scripture, is that Mary’s still hanging onto a body.  She’s still hanging on to Christ before the resurrection.  She’s looking in a tomb for her friend and she sees Him alive and she grabs Him and holds on.  She’s holding on to the past, as it were.  She’s holding on to who He was and He’s trying to teach her that who I was has changed and who I am.  And, “I’m no longer here like I was, I’m going to ascend.  You go tell My friends, My disciples, what’s happened.”
 And so the relationship is changing.  “I’m going to ascend to the Father.  The relationship is going to be different than the way it was.”
The reason she should release Him was that she would see Him again. He remained on earth for forty days after His resurrection and often appeared to the believers to teach them spiritual truth (Acts 1:1–9). Mary had no need to panic; this was not her last and final meeting with the Lord.
A second reason is that she had a job to do—to go tell His brethren that He was alive and would ascend to the Father. “
Only in heaven would it be possible for loving believers such as Mary to maintain contact with Jesus forever. Rather than remaining with Jesus from then on Mary needed to carry out a mission. She needed to inform the other disciples of Jesus' resurrection. This was the time for telling good news (i.e., the gospel), not for remaining with Jesus ceaselessly. This view makes good sense of the text and harmonizes with Jesus' invitation to Thomas (v. 27). Thomas needed to touch Jesus to strengthen his faith. Mary needed to release Him because He would not depart immediately, and Jesus had something else for her to do.
The message that Mary was to carry to the disciples was that Jesus was going to return to the Father. She would obviously report that Jesus was alive, but Jesus wanted her to communicate more than that. Jesus had spoken of His ascension before (e.g., 7:33; 14:12, 28; 16:5, 10, 17, 28). His disciples needed to understand that His death and resurrection had not wiped out these earlier predictions.
Some feel that Jesus did return to the Father on that morning, and that was the ascension He was referring to; but no other New Testament passage corroborates this interpretation. To say that He was fulfilling the symbolism of the Day of Atonement and presenting the blood to the Father is, I think, stretching a type too far (Lev. 16). For that matter, He had no blood to present; He had presented that on the cross when He was made sin for us. In His resurrection glory, Jesus was “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39), not “flesh and blood.” The Resurrection itself was proof that the work of redemption had been completed (“raised because of our justification”—Rom. 4:24–25, nasb). What more could He do?[iv]
Jesus described the Father in a new way. He was Jesus' Father, but He was also the disciples' Father. Jesus did not say "our" Father. He and His disciples had a different relationship to the Father. Nevertheless they were all sons of the Father albeit in a different sense (cf. 1:12-13, 18; 5:19-30). Therefore Jesus called the disciples His "brothers" here. The context clarifies that Jesus was referring to the disciples and not to His physical half-brothers (v. 18). Likewise Jesus' relationship to God was similar to, though not exactly the same as, the disciples' relationship to God. The emphasis in Jesus' statement was on the privileges that His disciples now shared with Him because of His death, resurrection, and ascension (cf.
Ro 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,;
Heb 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."
Galatians 3:26 Sons and Heirs 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Jesus said, in effect, “This (the physical contact) is not My real presence for the church. A new relationship will begin with My Ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church.” Jesus then explained the fact of the new relatives. He called His disciples His brothers. Earlier He had said they were friends: “I no longer call you servants … instead, I have called you friends” (15:15). Believers in Jesus become a part of Jesus’ family with God as their Father (cf. Heb. 2:11-12; Rom. 8:15-17, 29; Gal. 3:26).
Mary’s new responsibility was to testify to His risen presence. She was the recipient of four special graces: to see angels; to see Jesus risen; to be the first to see Him alive; and to be a proclaimer of the good news. Christians today are also the recipients of special grace; they too are given this new responsibility to witness to the world (cf. Matt. 28:16-20).
Jesus’ words, I am returning to My Father indicate His unique sonship. Mary and the other women told the news to the disciples, but according to Luke, they did not believe her or the other women “because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:11; cf. Luke 24:23).
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
Mt 28:10; Lu 24:10
As an obedient disciple, Mary went to the other disciples and told them that Jesus was alive plus the message that Jesus had given her. Again "the Lord" probably meant "Jesus" to her at this time, but she spoke better than she knew. Later she would understand more about the implications of that title.
John does not include the command which Jesus gave to Mary, though it is clear that He instructed her as to what she was to tell the disciples (20:18). She who was the first to go out to the tomb was the first to see the risen Lord, and apparently the first to be privileged to share the good news of His resurrection with others.
Mary not only shared the fact of His resurrection and that she had seen Him personally, but she also reported the words that He had spoken to her. Again, we see the importance of the Word of God. Mary could not transfer her experience over to them, but she could share the Word; and it is the Word that generates faith (Rom. 10:17). The living Christ shared His living Word (1 Peter 1:23–25).It is good to have faith that is based on solid evidence, but the evidence should lead us to the Word, and the Word should lead us to the Savior.
Before we go on to the next appearance of our Lord, I would like to make a comment or two. I would like you to note that our Lord’s first appearance is not to one of the eleven disciples, but to Mary Magdalene. She will never be one of the apostles. She will never write a Gospel. She will never become a great preacher or leader. Nevertheless, our Lord chose to manifest Himself to her first. Why do you think this was? I would call your attention to three important factors. First, she had a great love for her Master, as He did for her.
Second, she seemed to be the one with the greatest measure of grief. I am reminded of the words of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). In the context of this sermon, Jesus did not promise blessings to those who were the greatest, or the most powerful, but to those in the greatest need, with the greatest desire for spiritual things.
There is a third reason: Mary was there first. Jesus revealed Himself first to the one who was there first. Mary came to the tomb early, because of her great love, and her great grief, and Jesus revealed Himself to her, first.
Fourthly, I think that it was because she was a woman and He always appears to those who are the most downtrodden.
I would also like to point out an important lesson which this text teaches us: When we come to see things as they really are, we will find that many of our tears were unnecessary. To put it in different words, Many of our tears are ill-founded. Both the angels and our Lord questioned Mary as to why she was weeping. The reason she gave was that her Lord’s body had been taken, and she did not know where to find it. The truth of the matter was that Jesus was not dead; He had been resurrected. And beyond this, His body was not missing at all, and no one had taken it. Jesus did not need to be found by Mary; Jesus found Mary.
We know that in heaven there will be no more tears: Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist anymore—or mourning, or crying, or pain; the former things have ceased to exist”.
Why will there be no more tears in heaven? The first answer is because there will no longer be those things which cause us to cry—no more suffering, no more sin, no more injustice, no more death.
But the second reason is that we shall then see all of our sorrows in an entirely different light. We shall see them in the context of the perfect work God was achieving through the things which caused us to weep.
When you and I get to heaven, we will see things in a very different light, and when we do, we will discover that many of our tears of sorrow were as groundless as Mary’s tears were. I am not saying that Christians should not cry. What I am saying is that a good deal of our sorrow is the result of our inadequate knowledge of what God is doing in and through our adversities. When Christians get to heaven, they will see the entire picture, and thus they will find that everything that has ever happened to them is for their good and His glory. No wonder there will be no tears in heaven!
Our comfort and joy may not come as quickly as Mary’s did, but it will be just as great, just as real, and it is just as certain.
What will you do with the evidence?
All died for this truth, would you die for a lie?
If Jesus didn’t really die, then these Roman soldiers who dealt with death missed it
If they stole the body, why didn’t they produce the body to prove that it wasn’t true with the guards there?
What are the implications for my life?
What will I do with this truth? What will I do about it?
 Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
 
 

Jesus In the Old Testament - Where is Jesus

Using Luke 24:27 as a foundation for our methodology of study, We seek to find Jesus Christ in the Old Testament: "Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

HAVE WE PRAYED FOR AND THANKED GOD FOR OUR DAILY BREAD

In the United States I don’t believe we think too much about this anymore, we take these things for granted, but we shouldn’t. He first wants us to understand that we are dependent on God for everything we have and need. Food is a blessing from God and so are the many other things we could consider daily bread. He means give us and keep on giving us about all the things we need to get through the day. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. It is a privilege and a blessing to be able to read and know the word of God.  Many places today it will cost you your life or your freedom to own a bible or assemble to hear the word taught. Then how about a job, or good health, or a place to live.  I don’t know if you have really thought about it but all of the things we take for granted could be gone in a minute.  Have you asked God to supply what you need today and have you thanked Him because you have it?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM

In the midst of all the craziness going on we have seen that many areas are shutting down everything except essential businesses. My wife saw that liquor stores are considered essential. I made the comment that the world cannot get through a crisis without something that comes in a bottle, a pill or liquor bottle or some other crutch. We who are believers have something way greater. Jesus said in John 14:17 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. We have the promise that He is enough even though the world may be falling apart, we must not let the world make us anxious or stressed. Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.… Paul said in Philippians 4:6-9 to not be anxious about anything but take it all to God and the peace that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds. He also said not to think on and fill your mind with the bad things but to dwell on what is good. That is the cure for all the craziness going on.
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 20:8-9 THEN THE OTHER DISCIPLE, WHO CAME TO THE TOMB FIRST, WENT IN ALSO; AND HE SAW AND BELIEVED

John 20:8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
John believed Jesus had risen from the dead, by the sheer force of the evidence, not because he thought he was supposed to. What an incredible event this must have been. There, in the darkness of that tomb, John “saw the light.”
Lessons from John 19 and 20:1-81.  First of all, faith in Christ is never meant to be a private matter. The regular team—the eleven disciples—have been called off the field, and a number of substitutions have been made (to speak in sports terms). Among these are Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and Mary Magdalene. Who would have expected such folks to play a key role in the burial and resurrection of our Lord?
Again, I think their faith is growing. Nicodemus came at night; now he comes at the dawn. When Arimathea went to Pilate, he came out in a big way.
it takes courage to come out for ChristI have just a few observations about these secret disciples; they do something very dangerous, very costly and for no personal gain. They risk a great deal. The text says, "For fear of the Jews they kept their faith in secret." They risk a great deal.How often we are like the eleven disciples of our Lord, so frightened and lacking in faith that we do nothing, or like the women in our text who are preoccupied with fears about how we can move a stone. How foolish these fears seem to us, and yet is it not our own fears that keep us from attempting what our Lord has commanded us to do?
God provides. God provided. Neither the stone, the seal, nor the soldiers kept Jesus in the tomb—or the disciples out. God always provides for the fulfillment of His promises. He does so by the instruments of His choosing. He does so in His time. The human instruments were those we would not have chosen, people we would never even have considered.
God is at Work all the Time
God was at work in the hearts of these two men—Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus—and at just the right time, He used them for His glory, and their good.
The resurrection is a foundational truth for the Christian. Saving faith is resurrection faith.
God always uses just the right instrument to accomplish His purposes in the right way at the right time.
It was the turning point for men and women like Joseph, and Nicodemus, and Mary Magdalene, not to mention Peter and John and the other disciples.
Devotion and love for Christ is increased when we know our origins. Go back to the ditch from which God pulled you out of." I hope you wonder about this as much as I do, but I wonder, "Why in the world did He save me?"9. We don't get we are to be living for Him. Your life and mine should be a thank you back to Christ for what He did for us on Calvary and the message of the resurrection is the core of our faith. 10.  When it comes to the most important issue of your eternal soul, what will you pin your hopes on?  And for man to pin his hopes on humanism or agnosticism or some “ism” of “ology” is a fascinating thing.  That something as profound as a resurrection of life from death would keep us from knowing Christ.
John’s Belief
8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.
The third word John used “to see” in the past tense, one is in verse five the other in verse six and now he uses a different one and this word is "to put it together" or "to perceive something." So first John takes a glance, blepo; then Peter theorizes and then John, the beloved disciple, perceives.
“He's gone. They didn't just take His body; He's gone!”
And he believes, John the Gospel writer tells us about John the beloved disciple.
It is incredible that some would conclude from this statement that John “believed that Mary was right, and that Jesus’ body was gone.” That would be to state the obvious. It seems to me what John wants us to grasp is that while Peter was still pondering the evidence, John had reached his conclusion. John had come to believe that Jesus really had somehow risen from the dead. John “saw” and he “believed.”
9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
John commented (v. 9) that even after a long period of teaching by Jesus the disciples still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead (cf. PS’s. 16:10-11; 110:1, 4; Isa. 53:11-12).[i]
Ps 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. Ac 2:25-31; 13:34-35
Mt 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
Three years of being with Jesus Christ and umpteen times He told them about His suffering, umpteen times He told them about being delivered over or handed up, umpteen times He told them that He would die on a cross, the Scripture of the Old Testament.  They should have known and we say, "Why didn't they get it?" Have you ever thought that? Are these guys that thick and dull?It's unfair because we know the story far differently than they know it. In fact I think the failure for the disciples to understand is not an indictment about them at all. I think their failure to understand is an illustration of God's grace of their fledgling faith starting to take root. Because he saw it, he theorized and then John believed. I don't think the Gospel is intending us to think, "These idiot disciples." I think he's trying to show us how their faith is growing because what's the purpose of the Gospel of John? That you might believe. And John tells the story so that when we read it we’ll believe the story.Many Scriptures that I've given you there you can track down on your own if you wanted to, but I want you to notice the way John writes it. “That He must.”  It's not that Jesus would rise from the dead. Jesus must rise from the dead because if he does not our faith is not only worthless, it's foolishness. It's foolish to call yourself a believer in Christ if Christ did not raise from the dead.Why does John tell us this here and now? I think the reason is very simple, and very important. The disciples were not predisposed to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. It was not something which Jesus suggested to them, so that when His body was found to be missing, they would jump to the conclusion that He had truly been resurrected. John is telling us that he came to believe in the resurrection of Jesus before he even realized that he was supposed to do so.
John is telling us here that he became a believer in the resurrection of Jesus before it was understood to be a necessary part of the Christian faith
Ro 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
John believed Jesus had risen from the dead, by the sheer force of the evidence, not because he thought he was supposed to. What an incredible event this must have been. There, in the darkness of that tomb, John “saw the light.”1.  Some lessons. First of all, faith in Christ is never meant to be a private matter. When Joseph and Nicodemus are sort of finding out who Christ is, Nicodemus comes at night in chapter three and in chapter seven he says "Well shouldn't we basically do a fair trial?" And they call him a Galilean in which in our language would be, "You idiot! Of course we don't want a fair trial. We want to kill the guy. What's your point?" And now we find him securing spices. There are a number of things which catch my attention in our text. The first is that there is a clear change of players. The regular team—the eleven disciples—have been called off the field, and a number of substitutions have been made (to speak in sports terms). Among these are Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and Mary Magdalene. Who would have expected such folks to play a key role in the burial and resurrection of our Lord?
John tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple; a crypto disciple. Is he telling us that to sort of criticize these guys? Again, I think their faith is growing. Nicodemus came at night; now he comes at the dawn. When Arimathea went to Pilate, he came out in a big way.
it takes courage to come out for ChristMark says, "He gathered up his courage and went to Pilate to ask for permission to take the body of Jesus." That took a lot of courage. I don't think it was a secret anymore. It would run quickly through the ranks of the Council and the Sanhedrin what Arimathea had done. The same for Nicodemus.
In Mark sixteen some versions say, "He boldly went before Pilate." A better rendering is "He gathered up his courage and went to Pilate." I like that. He gathered up his courage because it takes courage to come out for Christ , doesn't it? It doesn't keep a lot of other people from coming out; it seems to keep Christians from coming out.
So on the one hand the open disciples who follow Christ have all run away and hidden and the secret disciples are now coming out to bury the body. Isn't that interesting? We think they'd sort of show up and say, "Okay we'll take the body now" but they don't. These three other people we don't know that much about.I have just a few observations about these secret disciples; they do something very dangerous, very costly and for no personal gain. They risk a great deal. The text says, "For fear of the Jews they kept their faith in secret." They risk a great deal. So it's dangerous, and it costs Joseph of Arimathea a lot of money to do this. It was his own crypt; his own tomb and it warranted no personal gain. They weren’t going to get anything out of it. In fact they were going to get in trouble most likely, right? I start thinking about their actions I asked myself, "Self, when have you done something that was dangerous, cost you a lot of money and there was no personal gain?"How about you? When have you done something for Christ that involves some danger? I don't mean stupidity danger. That doesn't count. But you've done something that took a risk; you came out for Christ and it was dangerous and it might have taken your money and your time to do it and you would not gain. 
How often we are like the eleven disciples of our Lord, so frightened and lacking in faith that we do nothing, or like the women in our text who are preoccupied with fears about how we can move a stone. How foolish these fears seem to us, and yet is it not our own fears that keep us from attempting what our Lord has commanded us to do?
There is another lesson to be learned here: God provides. I am reminded of the story of Abraham, when he took his son Isaac up Mount Moriah to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Isaac asked his father where the animal to be sacrificed was, and Abraham assured him that the Lord would provide the sacrifice. And God did provide. Our text is another demonstration of God’s faithful provision of all that He has purposed and promised. He provided a rich man’s burial for Jesus, who should have been buried on “boot hill.” He provided a place near the cross, within a very narrow window of time. He provided, not through the expected means, but through a man whose name (Joseph of Arimathea) we have never seen before in the Gospels, and through another (Nicodemus) whom we would never have expected to help bury the body of our Lord. The women who followed Jesus wanted to be able to anoint the body of our Lord, but the barriers to entering the tomb seemed insurmountable. A large stone covered the tomb; it had been sealed by Rome, and soldiers were there guarding the tomb to make certain it was undisturbed. God provided. Neither the stone, the seal, nor the soldiers kept Jesus in the tomb—or the disciples out.
God always provides for the fulfillment of His promises. He does so by the instruments of His choosing. He does so in His time. The human instruments were those we would not have chosen, people we would never even have considered. It never occurred to me that, among the members of the Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus to die, there would be some who believed in Jesus, who opposed the plan of their peers, who managed to obtain the body of Jesus and give it a rich man’s burial.
God is at Work all the Time
God was at work in the hearts of these two men—Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus—and at just the right time, He used them for His glory, and their good.
As I read through this text describing our Lord’s burial and resurrection, I am impressed with how unlikely it all seemed at the time. It looked impossible to secure the Lord’s body and to properly prepare it for burial before nightfall. It seemed impossible to find a burial place. There seemed to be no one who would be able to secure the release of our Lord’s body. And once the body of our Lord was discovered to be missing, there seemed to be no way to recover it. Much of what occurred in our text was contrary to the expectations and desires of those who were present. It does not seem as though Joseph really intended to have Jesus buried in his burial place, but as time ran out, it became the only thing he could do.
For John, at least, there is an unavoidable conclusion: God raised Jesus from the dead. All these things were orchestrated by God, at just the right time, and in just the right way, so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.
This was not a conclusion John felt he was obliged to reach, based upon our Lord’s prophecies of His resurrection. John had completely forgotten about these prophecies. He believed in the resurrection of Jesus because there was no other explanation.
The resurrection is a foundational truth for the Christian. Saving faith is resurrection faith. Christians do not believe in the resurrection simply because they feel obliged to do so; they believe in the resurrection because it is true, and there is no other reasonable explanation for the events which we find described in our text, or in the rest of the Bible.
By bringing about the fulfillment of prophecy in the way He did, God gave compelling proof of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The disciples and followers of Jesus believed in the resurrection because the evidence was convincing. That’s the way God wanted it to be. That’s the way God caused it to work out. He arranged for the body of Jesus to be placed in a hewn tomb, the entrance of which was covered by a great stone, sealed with the Roman seal, and guarded by Roman soldiers. The open and empty tomb was compelling proof that the claim of our Lord to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews, was true.
God always uses just the right instrument to accomplish His purposes in the right way at the right time.
As I think of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, I am reminded that these were men of position and power, and at least Joseph was a man of wealth. I would never have imagined God would have used them to provide for our Lord’s royal burial, but this is precisely who He used. While it is true that God uses the weak and foolish things of this world, it is also true that He sometimes uses the rich and the powerful, as He does here in our text.
As I have reflected on this passage, I have come to realize that it describes one of the great turning points of all time. Our Lord is put to death, and His body is placed in a tomb, only to be raised to new life on the third day. This event turned the disciples’ sorrow to joy, their weakness to strength, their fears to boldness and courage.
It was the turning point for men and women like Joseph, and Nicodemus, and Mary Magdalene, not to mention Peter and John and the other disciples.
It is by His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus Christ saves us from our sins, and from the penalty of death. Have you trusted in Him, in His death on the cross of Calvary for your sins, and His resurrection from the dead, so that you may have eternal life? Let me invite you to do so this very hour. May the truth of this text be a turning point in your life, to His glory and to your eternal good.
Read Romans 3:16-258.  Another lesson - devotion and love for Christ is increased when we know our origins. Go back to the ditch from which God pulled you out of." I hope you wonder about this as much as I do, but I wonder, "Why in the world did He save me?"Do you ever really wonder about that if you're a believer in Christ? Why did He love the likes of you and me? Why would He save us? Why would He save Mary of Magdala a demonized, sick, sinful woman? Why would He save a rich Joseph of Arimathea? Why would He save a secret disciple like Nicodemus who sneaks around at night asking questions? Because God loves no matter the person. He's no respect or persons. Whether you're a throwaway prostitute or a filthy rich man in a community, He's no respecter of persons. He loves you because He loves.One of the ways we keep our intimacy with Christ; our seeking Him constantly is that we come back to the miry pit from which we were dug and we do not deserve His grace. Don't ever think you do and live as if you don't because the moment you begin to believe you deserve it, you become a Pharisee and you become self-righteous and your behavior.These guys are trying to figure out the resurrection and you and I are trying to figure out the resurrected life. How do we live it? The only way I know is to beg God to somehow take this stinking body, mind and soul and to transform it into the image of Jesus Christ and to use it in spite of it.Galatians 2:20 that says, "I am crucified with Christ; therefore I no longer live. Jesus Christ now lives in me and the life I now live In the flesh I live by the power of Christ.
We don't get we are to be living for Him. Your life and mine should be a thank you back to Christ for what He did for us on Calvary and the message of the resurrection is the core of our faith. Why do we pin our hopes on this? Because if He is dead and buried then go eat, drink and be merry because you're going to die. 10. When it comes to the most important issue of your eternal soul, what will you pin your hopes on?  And for man to pin his hopes on humanism or agnosticism or some “ism” of “ology” is a fascinating thing.  That something as profound as a resurrection of life from death would keep us from knowing Christ.
Jesus' Post-resurrection Appearances
Easter morning
to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11; John 20:10-18)
to other women (Matt. 28:9-10)
to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5)
Easter afternoon
to two disciples on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:13-32)
Easter evening
to about 12 disciples excluding Thomas (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23)
The following Sunday
to 11 disciples including Thomas (John 20:26-28)
The following 32 days
to seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-23)
to 500 people including the Eleven at a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16-20;1 Cor. 15:6)
to His half-brother James (1 Cor. 15:7)
to His disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8; 1 Cor. 15:7)
to His disciples on Mount Olivet (Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-12)
 
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
 

GET IN THE BOAT! Mark 4:39

And Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL RESPONDING TO GODS WORD

Proverbs 6:23 says For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:) Someone told me after hearing a sermon that they never knew it could feel so good to have their toes stepped on.  That is what the Bible, the Commandment does for us and to us.  It shows us the right way to live by the light it gives to walk in the ways of God and it also tells us when we are doing wrong.  Are we sensitive to the Word of God and the Spirit’s leading when it tells us to do something or not to do something?  May we ever be diligent to hear the word of God and respond to what it says.  Amen.
    John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 20:1-7 FROM FEAR TO FAITH (MARY SAID TO THEM, "THEY HAVE TAKEN AWAY THE LORD OUT OF THE TOMB, AND WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY HAVE LAID HIM)

 John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.On this first day of the week Mary goes to the tomb and seeing the stone has been moved decides that they have stolen the body of Jesus. She goes and gets Peter and John and they come running. When they get there John glances in, Peter looks a little harder and is puzzled because he sees the grave wrappings lying there in their proper place. This is a day that seems to be the worst ever in that not only has Jesus died, but they have stolen His body too. It is actually the best day to ever have happened, because this is the day that Jesus rose from the grave, proved He was God, and showed that He had done everything necessary to pay for the sins of the whole world. This is the Good News, the Gospel, that Jesus died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose the third day according to the Scriptures (1Corinthians 15:3-4).
In a 24‑hour period leading up to and including His death on the cross there were 28 specific Old Testament prophecies fulfilled to the letter, and in addition to that, there were many types fulfilled. Now as we see Jesus Christ conquer death, we are going to see some additional fulfillment of prophecy doubly verifying to us that He is in fact God.
The fact that John continued his account and shared the excitement of the Resurrection miracle is proof that Jesus Christ is not like any other man. He is, indeed, the Son of God."
This is The best news ever told. Most important news in human history. ‘He is not here. He has risen’ see Matthew 28:6. His death, burial, and resurrection will affect the destiny of us all! Gospel: power of God for salvation. The Gospel challenges the intellect, challenges emotions and challenges the will.
"For John, as for all the early Christians, the resurrection of Jesus was the indisputable fact upon which their faith was based; and their faith in large part depended on the testimony and transformed behavior of those who had actually seen the resurrected Jesus. Their Master was not in God's eyes a condemned criminal; the resurrection proved that he was vindicated by God, and therefore nothing less than the Messiah, the Son of God he claimed to be .
Romans 1:4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
1Co 15:14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
Ro 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
We are at the climactic point in John's Gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and in fact we're looking at the Sunday morning event, the first day of the week. I know there's been some talk throughout history about the three days that Jesus was dead. Did He die on Friday? Did He die on Wednesday? What is your take on how we understand the chronology of the events? 
Roman versus Jewish calendar, Sabbath begins at twilight on what we would call Friday. And so the crucifixion takes place sometime Friday afternoon and so that would be day one. So we have the one day and then the second day is Saturday and then the third day is technically Sunday. The first day of the week is when He is resurrected.
So when He says "Tear down this Temple and in three days -- I'll raise it up again," that doesn't necessarily mean 72 hours.
I just think it's the way they view a calendar. We think of 72 hours, but to them a day was the course of what happened during that time frame, so Friday, Saturday and then the first day of the week, Sunday; three days.
Before we concentrate on John’s account of the burial and resurrection of our Lord, allow me to call your attention to the contribution of the Synoptic Gospels. Matthew’s Gospel has some especially important information, which enhances our study in John. Matthew informs us of the request the Jewish religious leaders made of Pilate after the death and burial of Jesus. They remembered that Jesus claimed He would rise from the dead after three days:
Matthew 12:39-40- 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” ( also Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; John 2:19).
Even though the disciples had forgotten our Lord’s words about His resurrection, the Jewish religious leaders had not:
Matthew 27:62-66 -62 The next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “Take a guard of soldiers. Go and make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went with the soldiers of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
In my mind’s eye, I can see the smug look of satisfaction on the faces of those who had brought about the death of our Lord. What could be more perfect? The body of Jesus was in a chamber hewn out of rock, with a very large stone sealing the entrance to the tomb. Once the stone was “sealed,” no one would dare to try to steal the body of Jesus, to make it look as if He had been raised from the dead in fulfillment of His own prophecies. And to be doubly sure, guards were posted at the tomb so that no one could gain access to the body of Jesus. These guards would terrify anyone who dared to attempt to gain entrance to the tomb.
Matthew’s account shows how useless these efforts were to “contain” the Son of God:
(Matthew 28:2-4) 2 And there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled back the stone, and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him.
Did the Jewish religious leaders hope to strike terror into the hearts of our Lord’s disciples to prevent them from attempting to steal the body of Jesus from that tomb? It was not the disciples they were opposing; it was God. The guards were no match for the angels, and a sealed stone was no match for an earthquake. In an instant, every barrier to that tomb was removed. And to think that the women had wasted their time worrying about how they would remove that stone (see Mark 16:3)! It was the Roman guards who were “all shook up” by the earthquake. They were petrified with fear at the sight of the angel of the Lord.
I don’t think you need to be reminded of this, but that stone was not removed so that Jesus could get out of the tomb (see John 20:19). The stone was removed to make it completely clear to those outside that Jesus was not inside—that He had been raised from the dead, just as He had said.
"In each of the following [resurrection appearances] we will discover a pattern with the following features: (1) The beneficiaries of the appearance are engulfed in a human emotion (Mary, grief; the disciples, fear; and Thomas, doubt). (2) The risen Christ appears to them in the midst of their condition. (3) As a result, their condition is transformed (Mary, mission; the disciples, gladness; Thomas, faith)."
"With Mary, the emphasis is on love; with the ten, the emphasis is on hope; and with Thomas, the emphasis is on faith."
1. Mary’s Distress, Love, and Devotion
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Mt 28:1; Mr. 16:1; Lu 24:1
"The first day of the week" was Sunday. It is interesting that all the Gospel writers referred to the day of Jesus' resurrection this way rather than as the third day after His death.
Now the first day of the week is Sunday and so Sunday morning this group of women, John records Mary Magdalene only, but there's a group and she'll use a plural pronoun here that will tip there's a group there, but the Synoptics talk about a group of women. She probably beat them there. All Synoptics indicate she was the first one on the scene. So Mary of Magdala appears.
Although John’s Gospel does not state the purpose of Mary’s visit, Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56 mention that several women (cf. v. 2) came early to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Apparently they did not know of Joseph and Nicodemus’ anointing or thought it needed to be supplemented.[i]
Perhaps John mentioned Mary Magdalene and none of the other women because of the testimony that she gave after she had seen Jesus (v. 18).
Her devotion to Jesus Christ was probably born out of the fact that she was delivered of seven demons and that she had been a very oppressed individual. From whom much is forgiven, there is much love in this story. She has a great love for Jesus Christ and so the Gospels, all of them, say, "Look she was the first one to go to the tomb early in the morning."
Lu 7:47 "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
This tomb had been closed with a large rock door (Mark 16:3-4) and had been sealed by the authority of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27:65-66). The women were amazed to see an open and apparently empty tomb. [ii]
So we see her love. In Mark sixteen, the women are worried about who's going to move the stone. Of course if you know a little bit of the harmonization, an angel has descended, an earthquake occurred, Matthew twenty-eight, and it says the angel lifted up or moved the stone and sat on it.
From the other gospel accounts we have one in the tomb as well who talks to them. So we have some issues of timing and chronology that John does not detail. We have no guard; the guard is gone. The stone is removed, an angel has shown up to tell them and he says, "Go tell His disciples and Peter."
 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." Joh 13:23; 19:26; 21:7,20,24
Mary was to experience a far greater blessing than she could have imagined at this dark moment in her life, no doubt the darkest she had ever known. She had been delivered from bondage to Satan. She had been privileged to follow her Lord and to help support Him and His ministry. She had placed all her faith and hope in Him, and yet He had been put to death as a criminal. That was bad enough, but now she thought that she would not even be able to honor His memory by properly anointing His body for burial. It couldn’t get any worse—or so she thought. But the truth was that it could not get much better. How slow we are to see God’s richest blessings in the things which appear to be great adversity!
Mary first assumed that grave robbers had stolen Jesus' body. Evidently robbing graves was not uncommon around Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 28:13-15).
But it's very typical of what a hewn tomb would look like. You go inside and you see this sort of shelf that they've carved and you see this area and when their hewing the rock, it would make sense that you would want to remove as little room material as you have to, right, because it's stone you're dealing with. So leave ledges in place to lay the bodies on. That would be a very typical First Century stone hewn tomb that Jesus might have been buried in. Well they don't understand the story yet. They don't understand what's happened. They haven't figured it out. In fact they think the body has been stolen. That's the implication from all the texts.
 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. Lu 24:12
4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.
 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Joh 19:40
“stooping” The tombs of this period had a low entrance about 3 to 4 feet high. One would have to bend down (cf. v. 11) to enter the cave/dugout.[iii]
I want to point out a number of things here. We have Peter and his personality running in the tomb. Some presume John is younger so he wins the foot race. In any event, there's three words that John the Gospel writer uses for the word, in English, “saw“; to see something, past tense. I want to show you these words because they're all different in the original language and John does this for a wonderful point.
So first of all they run into the tomb and John gets there early and the tomb or the hole was probably low to the ground, so he stoops in and takes a quick glance. The word is blepo. It's like a little quick peek. He glanced. And then maybe he leans back and stands aright waiting for Peter to catch up. If grave robbers had removed the body, they would have undoubtedly taken the expensive cloth with which Joseph and Nicodemus had prepared it for burial. John may have assumed that Jesus' body was still there since the light was bad at that hour. Perhaps John did not enter the tomb because he did not want to violate its sanctity or incur ritual defilement.
2. Peter’s Perplexity
 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,
Peter, as was his personality, huffing and puffing runs right in the tomb and he's looking around.
Notice in verse five you have the word "sees" meaning he took a quick glancing look, but in verse six the word is theoreo, which in English is to theorize or to make a theory. So where John takes a quick glance, Peter goes in and we kind of see him scratching his head. He is absorbing the information. He is developing a theory based on what he sees. So John takes a quick look; Peter takes a longer studious look.
When Peter arrived at the tomb, he barged right in, probably because he wanted to know exactly how things stood regardless of the consequences. He also beheld (Gr. theopei, beheld intently) the linen burial clothes (Gr. ta othonia) but also the cloth that had covered Jesus' face (Gr. soudarion, cf. 11:44). Evidently John could not see this from his vantage point. It's distance from the other clothes and the care with which someone had positioned it were unusual. Jesus was obviously not there, but someone had been there.
Lying there means - Undisturbed and in their proper place
 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Joh 11:44  Head piece resembles a ball of cloth that was wrapped around something that was no longer there
The orderly arrangement of everything in the tomb marks the absence of haste and circumstances in the awakening and rising from the dead.
When he arrived, he seems to have entered the tomb without giving it a thought. Peter came out scratching his head, so to speak. It was a mystery to him, one that he couldn’t reason out. The body of Jesus was definitely gone, but the scene inside the tomb was not what one would expect if the grave had been robbed. And where were the guards? Who had moved the stone? What was going on? Peter simply didn’t know
According to Luke 24:12 Peter went away “wondering” still.
Lu 24:12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
What we do know from the text are two things. The body is not there and the wrappings are. If you were a grave robber kneeling down into some stone hewn crypt to bring out a body, would you go to the trouble to unwrap the sticky gooey substance and leave the wrappings in and neat pile and take a naked corpse out? That by the way has been scourged and hemorrhaged and bleeding and stuck with a spear in the side, don't forget.
If you are a grave robber, it's a lot neater to pick up the package, isn't it? So what John wants you and me to see is that the body's not there but the wrappings are. So we sort of scratch our head along with Peter and with John. Look at verse eight: It was not the scene of a grave robbery, for no robbers could have gotten the body out of the grave clothes without tearing the cloth and disarranging things. Jesus had returned to life in power and glory and had passed through the grave clothes and the tomb itself!
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
 

JOHN 19:38-42 SO THERE THEY LAID JESUS, BECAUSE OF THE JEWS' PREPARATION DAY, FOR THE TOMB WAS NEARBY

John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being 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 the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 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 there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
 Here we see the secret disciples come forward when all the others have forsaken Jesus and are hiding. These guys come at the perfect time so the last of the prophecies can be fulfilled Isaiah 53:9 And they made His grave with the wicked-But with the rich at His death. These two men give Jesus a burial fit for a King using 100 pounds of very expensive spices, because He is King Jesus and one day will come back to rule and reign. They are running out of time to get Jesus in the grave before the Sabbath starts and also so the 3 days and 3 nights can be fulfilled, so they use the closest available tomb which happens to be Joseph of Arimathea’s. It is done, it is finished, all that is left is for Jesus to come out of the grave and show that He is truly God as if all the miracles He has done is not enough. Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
 
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being 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 the body of Jesus.
Mt 27:57; Mr. 15:42; Lu 23:50; Joh 9:22; 12:42
All four evangelists mentioned Joseph of Arimathea but only with Jesus' burial. The Synoptics tell us that he was a God-fearing rich member of the Sanhedrin who was a follower of Jesus and who had not voted to condemn Jesus. Only John identified him as a secret disciple who feared the Jews, namely, the unbelieving Jewish leaders. Jesus had warned His disciples about trying to hide their allegiance to Him (12:42-43). Finally Joseph "broke his cover" by courageously requesting Jesus' body from Pilate.
Jesus'  corpse  would  have  ended  up  in  the  grave  of  a  common criminal but for Joseph's intervention. Pilate probably granted his request for Jesus' body because he realized that Joseph wanted to give Jesus' an honorable burial. That would have humiliated the Jews further.
Joseph's courageous act doubtless alienated him from many of his fellow Sanhedrin members. We do not know what the ultimate consequences of his action were for him. Evidently it was Jesus' death that made him face up to his responsibility to take his stand for Jesus.
I think that he worked up the courage to request an audience with Pilate and then made his request, but not with the arrogance and smugness with which the Jewish religious leaders had dealt with him. His was a humble request, but a reasonable one. Unlike the crucifixion of our Lord, it does not appear to be something that Pilate begrudgingly granted. Indeed, if he felt guilty over condemning an innocent man, he may have felt good that Jesus (this “righteous man,” as Pilate’s own wife had referred to Him—Matthew 27:19) was given an honorable burial. And if the other religious leaders happened not to like it, so much the better.
Gave him leave. According to Roman law. Ulpian, a Roman jurist of the third century, says: “The bodies of those who are capitally punished cannot be denied to their relatives. At this day, however, the bodies of those who are executed are buried only in case permission is asked and granted; and sometimes permission is not given, especially in the cases of those who are punished for high treason. The bodies of the executed are to be given for burial to anyone who asks for them.” Greedy governors sometimes sold this privilege. Cicero, in one of his orations against Verres, has a terribly graphic passage describing such extortions. After dwelling upon the tortures inflicted upon the condemned, he says: “Yet death is the end. It shall not be. Can cruelty go further? [i]
39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Joh 3:1-2; 7:50 This was usually the amount used for a King and He is King Jesus
Can you imagine the cost for that much spices?
The contrast is marked between Nicodemus’ first and his second coming.[ii]
40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
While the Synoptics speak very favorably of Joseph, John is not quite as complimentary in his description of this man. John does not mention that Joseph was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin or that he opposed their efforts to kill Jesus. John describes Joseph only as a disciple who kept his allegiance to Jesus a secret, for fear of the Jews.
It looks as though John wants us to view Joseph as a pretty unlikely candidate to bring about what the Scriptures require, so far as our Lord’s burial is concerned. Added to this is the fact that Nicodemus is just as unlikely. Who can pull off what is required here, and in such a short period of time? From what I know of Nicodemus, and from what little I know of Joseph of Arimathea, these two men would not be at the top of my “most likely to be helpful” list.
So far as their loyalty to our Lord in the past is concerned, these two men are not impressive. But so far as their ability to accomplish the task (of burying Jesus in a kingly fashion), they are well qualified. This is not the time for a family member or a close follower of Jesus to request His body for burial. But Joseph of Arimathea is a member of the Sanhedrin and a very wealthy man. He offers Pilate the opportunity to rid himself of the responsibility for burying the body of Jesus.
Joseph of Arimathea is not alone in his efforts to obtain the body of Jesus and to give Him a proper burial. He is working with Nicodemus, another very prominent member of the Sanhedrin. These two men must have begun their association as colleagues on the Council of the Sanhedrin. When Nicodemus objected to the way the Council was proposing to deal with Jesus, Joseph must have taken notice. They may have talked privately and discovered that they were of like mind regarding Jesus. They may have attempted to support each other as they objected to the course the Sanhedrin seemed bent on taking. While Jesus was being crucified, they seem to have mutually agreed upon a plan to obtain His body in order to give Him a proper burial.
One cannot discern from the Gospels just when Joseph and Nicodemus agreed to work together, or when they commenced their efforts to prepare for the burial of Jesus. It may be that Joseph agreed to ask Pilate for permission to remove and bury the Lord’s body. At the same time, Nicodemus could have begun to acquire the necessary spices and material to prepare the body of Jesus for burial. Working together, these two men are able to accomplish something that none of our Lord’s family or His eleven disciples could achieve—they are able to gain access to Pilate and to gain possession of the body of Jesus.
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.
John is the only evangelist who recorded that there was a garden and an unused new tomb near the place of Jesus' crucifixion. The tomb was probably an artificial cave in the limestone, many examples of which are observable in Palestine. Matthew noted that the garden and its tomb belonged to Joseph (Matt. 27:60). John's mention of the garden prepares for his reference later to a gardener (20:15). His reference to the tomb being new and unused prepares for the Resurrection in which no other corpse was in the tomb (20:8, 12).
"The fall of the first Adam took place in a garden; and it was in a garden that the second Adam redeemed mankind from the consequences of Adam's transgression
Look at Isaiah fifty-three verse nine.  His grave was assigned with wicked man, Yet He was a rich man in His death, because he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
We might even say that Jesus was given a burial “fit for a king.”
In his account of the burial of Jesus, John gives us some very important details. He not only mentions Joseph of Arimathea, he tells us about Nicodemus. It is only from John’s Gospel that we even know of Nicodemus. No other Gospel mentions this fellow. Nicodemus is the same man who “came to Jesus by night,” as we read in John 3:1-2, and as he reminds us in 19:39. It is John’s mention of Nicodemus in chapter 7 of his Gospel that now catches my attention. You will remember that Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (7:1-10ff.). The Pharisees and chief priests decided it was time to arrest Jesus, so they sent the temple police to bring Jesus to them (7:32). When these men returned empty-handed, the Pharisees were incensed. The officers explained that they had never heard anyone speak as Jesus did (7:45-49).
Nicodemus then sought to speak a word (cautiously, it would seem) on Jesus’ behalf. He did not openly defend Jesus and His teachings, but he did question his fellow Pharisees about the legality of the method by which they proposed to deal with Him.
John 7:50-52- 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of the rulers, said, 51 “Our law doesn’t condemn a man unless it first hears from him and learns what he is doing, does it?” 52 They replied, “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet comes from Galilee!”
In today’s legal terminology, Nicodemus is objecting that Jesus is not being given “due process of the law.” Jewish law required that charges against Jesus first be substantiated and, after this, that Jesus be given the chance to speak in His own defense. This had not been done, Nicodemus pointed out, and no one seemed to be heading in the direction of making things right. His peers were not at all gentle in the way they responded to his objections. Here was a highly respected teacher of the law, a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, and yet he was dealt with as though he were an incoming freshman. “You are not a Galilean, too, are you?” This was no compliment. It was like saying, “How could you be so ignorant?” And then, adding insult to injury, they challenged Nicodemus to look into this subject more carefully, implying that his grasp of the issues was shallow and superficial.
I must admit that I had nearly written Nicodemus off in chapter 3, but after reading about Nicodemus in chapter 7, I had totally given up on this man. I assumed that he just sort of wilted under the criticism of his peers, never to be heard from again. I now must rethink my hasty conclusion. I believe that Nicodemus rose to the challenge. I think that he did investigate more thoroughly and found that the Scriptures did point to Jesus as the Messiah. Furthermore, I think that as Nicodemus became more convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, he spoke out more openly, and at least one other person on the Council agreed with him—Joseph of Arimathea. I am willing to go even farther. I wonder if it was not because of the objections of Nicodemus (and perhaps Joseph as well) that the Sanhedrin felt compelled to modify the way they sought to deal with Jesus, so that they at least appeared to be following Jewish law. Is this why Jesus was first brought before Annas, and then Caiaphas, and then finally brought before the whole Council? Is this why the assistance of Rome was requested? If this is the case, then Nicodemus contributed greatly to the process which led to our Lord’s crucifixion rather than to death by stoning, as the Jews seemed to prefer. It would also seem that the Sanhedrin voted to hand Jesus over to Pilate, but not without hearing objections from both Joseph and Nicodemus (if, indeed, they were both present). This act of requesting the body of Jesus and giving Him a proper burial may have been a public protest on the part of these two members of the Sanhedrin. All of this would mean that Joseph and Nicodemus were not as passive in their disagreement with their peers on the Sanhedrin as assumed.
It is John’s Gospel alone that informs us of these two men’s lavish use of spices in their preparation of Jesus’ body for burial (19:39-40). From the accounts of the Synoptic Gospels, we might have assumed that our Lord’s body was not even properly prepared for burial. We read there only that the body of Jesus was “wrapped in a clean linen cloth” (Matthew 27:59; see also Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53). We read also in the Synoptics of the intent of the women to return to the tomb and to prepare the Lord’s body with spices (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:55-56; 24:1). It was almost as though the women were unaware of the fact that 100 pounds of spices had been used by Joseph and Nicodemus. Or, perhaps they just felt they could not trust these men to do it right, and they would have to come back later to improve on the work of these two men.
The thing that strikes me in John’s account is that no mention is made of the fact that the tomb in which Jesus was laid was the one that Joseph had custom-built for himself (Matthew 27:60). From a reading of John’s account, one would assume they were carrying the Lord’s body away from the cross and through a garden (only John mentions the garden). It was getting late, and they had no time to lose. There was an available tomb nearby, in the garden, and they made use of it. It appears the reason for using this tomb was not because it belonged to Joseph, but because it was close, and it seemed expedient to use it because they had run out of time.
This makes sense to me. The question which the reader must ask is, “How was it possible for Jesus to be given a rich man’s burial, when none of His eleven disciples were present, and when the time was so short?” Putting together all of the data from the four Gospels, I would conclude that something like this occurred. Joseph and Nicodemus had opposed the Sanhedrin’s plan to kill Jesus. At some time during the crucifixion process, they determined to acquire the body of Jesus to give Him a proper burial. Joseph went to Pilate and obtained the body while Nicodemus acquired the necessary spices and cloth. They both went to the cross, took down the Lord’s body, and wrapped it in a clean linen sheet. They were carrying the body through the garden, noting the lateness of the hour, and wondering what they should do. Joseph may have looked up and seen the freshly-hewn tomb which he had acquired for his own burial (and perhaps for the use of his family as well). Realizing they were out of time, Joseph told Nicodemus that they would stop right here and bury the body of Jesus in his own tomb. There was no time to do anything else.
I am assuming here that Joseph had intended from the beginning to give Jesus a proper burial, but that he had not necessarily planned to bury Jesus in his own tomb. As nightfall approached, Joseph realized that he was in trouble, time-wise. He looked about, and his eyes fixed on his own personal burial place. There was really no other choice, given the time, and so this is the place where they chose to lay the body of Jesus. John tells the story in such a way that the reader sees, once again, the sovereign hand of God, orchestrating these events so that they fulfill the prophecies of old. Jesus was put to death with criminals, but in the final analysis, He was buried with the rich. The One who seemed destined to be buried on “boot hill” is now buried on “snob hill.” And in so doing, prophecy is once again fulfilled.
Note, incidentally, that John does not tell us every time that a prophecy is fulfilled. Three times in his account of our Lord’s death he indicates that the details of Jesus’ death fulfilled prophecy. But here he does not tell us that the Scriptures were fulfilled, even though they were. I believe John expects his readers to figure some things out for themselves. A good teacher does not give the student the answer to every question. A good teacher teaches the student how to find the answers to his questions. John is a good teacher.
42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby. Isa 53:9; Joh 19:31
Preparation Day - the day immediately before the Sabbath and other Jewish festivals. Preparation Day always fell on Friday among the Jewish people, because all religious festivals began on the Sabbath, or Saturday (Matt. 27:62; John 19:14, 31).
With a week of holidays ahead, the Preparation Day for the Passover was especially busy. The details for preparing the Passover supper had to be completed by afternoon. Preparations included baking the unleavened bread, gathering festive garments to wear for the occasion, and taking a ceremonial bath.
But above all, the Passover lamb had to be slain. Slaughtering began an hour or more earlier than for the usual daily evening sacrifice. At the Temple, the priests slaughtered thousands of lambs brought in by the people. Their blood was poured at the foot of the altar. Then the lambs were roasted whole in preparation for the Passover meal in each home that evening.[iii]
The chronological reckoning between John’s gospel and the Synoptics presents a challenge, especially in relation to the time of the Last Supper (13:2). While the Synoptics portray the disciples and the Lord at the Last Supper as eating the Passover meal on Thursday evening (Nisan 14) and Jesus being crucified on Friday, John’s gospel states that the Jews did not enter into the Praetorium “lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover” (18:28). So, the disciples had eaten the Passover on Thursday evening, but the Jews had not. In fact, John (19:14) states that Jesus’ trial and crucifixion were on the day of Preparation for the Passover and not after the eating of the Passover, so that with the trial and crucifixion on Friday Christ was actually sacrificed at the same time the Passover lambs were being slain (19:14). The question is, “Why did the disciples eat the Passover meal on Thursday?”
The answer lies in a difference among the Jews in the way they reckoned the beginning and ending of days. From Josephus, the Mishna, and other ancient Jewish sources we learn that the Jews in northern Palestine calculated days from sunrise to sunrise. That area included the region of Galilee, where Jesus and all the disciples, except Judas, had grown up. Apparently most, if not all, of the Pharisees used that system of reckoning. But Jews in the southern part, which centered in Jerusalem, calculated days from sunset to sunset. Because all the priests necessarily lived in or near Jerusalem, as did most of the Sadducees, those groups followed the southern scheme.
That variation doubtlessly caused confusion at times, but it also had some practical benefits. During Passover time, for instance, it allowed for the feast to be celebrated legitimately on two adjoining days, thereby permitting the temple sacrifices to be made over a total period of four hours rather than two. That separation of days may also have had the effect of reducing both regional and religious clashes between the two groups.
On that basis the seeming contradictions in the gospel accounts are easily explained. Being Galileans, Jesus and the disciples considered Passover day to have started at sunrise on Thursday and to end at sunrise on Friday. The Jewish leaders who arrested and tried Jesus, being mostly priests and Sadducees, considered Passover day to begin at sunset on Thursday and end at sunset on Friday. By that variation, predetermined by God’s sovereign provision, Jesus could thereby legitimately celebrate the last Passover meal with His disciples and yet still be sacrificed on Passover day.
Once again one can see how God sovereignly and marvelously provides for the precise fulfillment of His redemptive plan. The MacArthur Study Bible. 1997 (J. MacArthur, Jr., Ed.) (electronic ed.).
DOCETISM : a belief opposed as heresy in early Christianity that Christ only seemed to have a human body and to suffer and die on the cross
God is not interested in outward religion
Mt 15:8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
 Mr. 7:6 He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
You must decide whether to choose the favor of God or of men
Joh 12:43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Joh 7:13 However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews
Is Jesus the real Messiah
You have to decide, there are 300 plus prophecies fulfilled.  The evidence is overwhelming.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[i] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Jn 19:38). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[ii] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Jn 19:39). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[iii] Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary. 1995 (R. F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, R. K. Harrison & Thomas Nelson Publishers, Ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL HAVE YOU REDEDICATED ALL YOU ARE AND ALL THAT YOU HAVE TO HIM?

In our last devotional we talked about how Moses instructed Israel to build a monument with God’s law written on it and it was a picture of them remembering how good God had been to them in spite of their sin and how His love and faithfulness would continue in the future. They were swearing their allegiance to Him to live for Him from now on.  Have you stopped recently and thanked Him today for the mercy He has shown to you in your sin and the strength and grace He has given in the tough times of life. Psalm 136:2 says “Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.” Have you most importantly rededicated all you are and all that you have to Him, especially the areas of your life where you have strayed?
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 19:28-37 SO WHEN JESUS HAD RECEIVED THE SOUR WINE, HE SAID, "IT IS FINISHED!"

John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 31 ¶ Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should 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 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was 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 immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
 Here we see the final prophecy being fulfilled as Jesus knows all else has been fulfilled, He says I thirst. He has completed everything else He was supposed to do and then He fulfills one last Scripture by saying He thirsts and they give Him the sour wine. He says it is finished and gives up His spirit. It is finished is an accounting term that means your debt has been paid in full. Jesus paid for all our sins on the cross. He suffered 3 hours spiritually when it was dark and He was taking our hell for us as our substitute during that time period. That is why the old song can say Jesus paid it all. There is nothing left for you and I to do but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved Acts 16:31. Have you done that? If not, you need to because no one will make it to Heaven unless they trust in what Jesus did on that cross and add nothing to it to be saved. It was the day before the Sabbath and the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross so that they might not defile themselves. These people cared more about their rituals than about killing Jesus. Lastly we see that the soldiers came and fulfilled two more prophecies by piercing Jesus side and not breaking his legs. We see the water and the blood comes out and it proves without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is dead. To find out about the symbolism behind the water and the blood you will have to listen to the message..
 I am amazed at the words of verse 28. Jesus knew that everything was completed. He was no helpless victim, powerless, and therefore subject to the whims of those who had arrested Him. Jesus was aware of every Scripture that spoke of His atoning death as the promised Messiah. In the last few weeks especially, Jesus has been orchestrating events so that His death would perfectly fulfill all these prophecies. In the final moments of His life, Jesus takes note of the fact that every prophetic detail has been arranged for so that He now may proceed to complete His mission, in a way that fulfills the remaining prophecies concerning His death.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"
Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished.
Now how did He know that? Why, He knew it because He had omniscience. He knew everything. Jesus Christ was on a divine schedule with an omniscient eye moving step at a time and fulfilling every detail of prophecy. He knew exactly where He was; and He was saying to Himself, Well, I know that all things are now accomplished, except for one Scripture, Then He says at the end of verse 28, "...I thirst," Jesus, in total awareness of every fact in the universe, knew that in God's plan everything was done except one Scripture was left unfulfilled. Psalm 69:21 was that Scripture. Psalm 69:21 said of Christ in His death, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.." He knew that that had not yet been fulfilled. At the beginning of the cross they had tried to give Him vinegar. Really, gall, which is a sedative; but He wouldn't take it so He could suffer without any kind of deadness but suffer the total pain, But now He knows that Scripture needs to be fulfilled, so He says, " I thirst." Jesus refused this because He insisted on drinking the “cup of God’s wrath” to the full (John 18:11). Now the soldiers didn't have to respond, they did because they were under divine motivation; God was moving to fulfill the prophecy.
29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. Mt 27:48
The hyssop reference may simply be a detail in the testimony of an eyewitness to Jesus' crucifixion. However, 1 Cor. 5:7) it's interesting that hyssop, a long reed with kind of a little more bushy end is what they used on this occasion because hyssop is very famous to all Jews, It takes them immediately back to Exodus 12:22. You remember that the angel of death was going to pass over Israel, and God said to the people of Israel, You take hyssop and take the blood and sprinkle on the doorposts and the lintel. Any time hyssop appears to the Jewish mind it's reminiscent of the great sacrifice of the Passover lamb, How fitting that hyssop should be the tool at this sacrifice of that final and greatest Passover Lamb. So they give Him to drink, and with that Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy. He was in full knowledge of every detail; He was in full control of everything He did and everything the soldiers did
The “wine” Jesus now accepts is a cheap wine. It did not deaden any of His pain. Our Lord’s thirst and His partaking of this “wine” seems to have served a two-fold purpose. First, it fulfilled Scripture:
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death (Psalm 22:15, NKJV).
I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God Psalm 69:3,
There’s a spiritual thirst.  And I believe this, of course, is what Christ is screaming out and shouting out; that He’s thirsting spiritually. 
Second, it would seem as though the vinegar-like wine served to help clear the throat of our Lord, so that He could end His life triumphantly, with a shout. So far as John informs us, the “shout” is not, “It is completed,” but rather as Luke informs us, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). These two statements must have come in close proximity to each other, however. The words that John records were no doubt spoken first, and then were followed by the words that Luke records. John simply tells us that Jesus “said,” “It is completed.” Jesus declares that His work is completed, and then He gives up His Spirit.
30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Joh 17:4
"Papyri receipts for taxes have been recovered with the word tetelestai written across them, meaning 'paid in full.
Paul would write in Second Corinthians 5:21, “He became sin for us.  He was made to be sin for us to finish that work.  Nothing more needs to be done.”
It really has been completed, hasn’t it? Everything for which John has been preparing us in this Gospel has now been accomplished by our Lord. John 1 declares that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who called the world into being. He is the One sent to earth by the Father, in order to reveal Him to men. He is the One who “came unto His own place and to His own people,” and yet those who were “His own”—the Jews—rejected Him. He was “lifted up” so that He could draw all men unto Himself (3:13-18). He came to do His Father’s will (4:34) and has now completed it. He came to declare His Father’s Word, and He has proclaimed it (8:26-28, 38; 12:49-50; 14:10). He came to glorify the Father, and on the cross, He has done that (12:23, 28, 41; 13:32; 17:1, 4). It truly is finished; His task has been completed.
And because all of His prerequisite work has been completed, our Lord can now die. His life is not taken away from Him; He voluntarily gives it up, just as He had indicated earlier:
John 10:14-18 - 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold. I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. 18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is the commandment I received from my Father”
The phrase “bowed His head” is also a marvelous phrase.  It’s found in Matthew 8:20 and in Luke 9:58.  The phrase “bow His head,” you go back in your mind when they asked Jesus where He’s staying.  And He says what?  “The foxes have holes, the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”  Same phrase.  The one place Jesus found to finally lay His head was on Calvary and He does it willfully, He does it obediently.  He does it in control.
The phrase “gave up” I’ve mentioned to you a number of times as we’ve gone through John for a deliberate reason.  The word “delivered, handed over” and the word used for Judas when he betrayed Him, when he delivered Him up.  “Delivered, handed over and/or betrayed”:  paradidomi.  Same word Jesus says here.  He delivers up His spirit.  What looks like a betrayal, what looks like handed over to the police, handed over to the Roman guard, handed over to the Jewish authorities.  What looks like He’s being delivered up, He Himself delivers up His spirit.  And I believe John uses this to illustrate, again, Christ is in control.  Nobody else is pulling the strings on this deal, Christ is the one who delivers up His spirit. 
Notice there is darkness, separation, and intense thirst, these all will be found in hell.
Simon Greenleaf years ago wrote a collection called The Testimony of the Evangelists. He was an attorney and, a student challenged him.  He was sort of notorious for vilifying Christians and how stupid they were; and some student challenged him, “Why don’t you use the same case law analysis that you teach to prove or disprove the resurrection?”
And this was sort of a novel idea and evidently Greenleaf took some time off from teaching, spent two years of his life tracking this thing down; and at the end of it, again, he wrote the book Testimony of the Evangelists saying that if the death, burial and resurrection of Christ was put on trial today there would be more than enough evidence to convict it.  In other words, to prove, that it actually happened and it brought Simon Greenleaf from an antagonistic person toward to Gospel to belief in Jesus Christ.  And there’s a Simon Greenleaf School of Law.
We have a faith built on the inspired Word of God, notice the prophecies.
It is a finished faith;.
A cry of victory
This set of verses is unique to the fourth Gospel
31 ¶ Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should 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.
De 21:23; Mr. 15:42; Joh 19:42 These Jews considered sundown the beginning of a new day. In this case the new day was a Sabbath. This Sabbath was an extra special day because it fell during Passover week. The Jews wanted to get the bodies down off their crosses so they would not defile the land. The Mosaic Law instructed the Jews to allow no one to remain hanging on a cross overnight because this would defile the land. Such a person was under God's curse (cf. Deut. 21:22-23; Josh. 8:29). To allow someone to remain overnight on a Sabbath would be especially offensive.
De 21:2 "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 "his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.
Time was running out for The Jews. They had been forced to go through the formalities of a trial and to obtain Pilate’s cooperation in the crucifixion of Jesus. They were still under great time constraints because this was the day of preparation; they must be done with this crucifixion by evening so they could begin to observe the Sabbath by evening. Normally, death by crucifixion would take much longer, and this was no problem to Rome. While the Romans liked to leave the bodies of those crucified exposed for some time, to serve as a warning to all, the Jews could not allow these bodies to remain exposed after nightfall. The men would have to die more quickly than normal so that their bodies could be taken down.
Rome had a solution for this situation.  A heavy hammer was used to crush the bones of the victims’ legs. This would make it impossible for those being crucified to push up with their legs in order to facilitate the breathing process. Once their leg bones were broken, the victims died within a short time. The soldiers therefore set out to break the legs of all three. For some reason, they started on the outside, waiting to deal with Jesus last. (Is it possible that having seen and heard the events of that day—such as the three hours of darkness—they were now reluctant to do further bodily harm to Jesus?) When they came to Him, it was apparent that He was already dead. There was no need to break His legs.
32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was 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 immediately blood and water came out. 1Jo 5:6,8
One of the soldiers must have wanted to make absolutely sure that Jesus was dead, so he thrust his spear into our Lord’s side. Immediately, both blood and water gushed out, a fact to which John gives special significance
Ex 17:6 "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
And much is made of this whole issue of blood and water.  Some think it has to do with the sacraments; others see a mystical reference to it.  All sorts of things. I do think the one thing John wants us to know for sure is that Jesus Christ really died.
I think, that John evidently intends to describe the incident as something entirely unexpected and marvelous, and that this explanation better suits the solemn asseveration of ver. 35. That the fact had a symbolic meaning to the Evangelist is evident from 1 John 5:6.[i] 6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1Jo 5:8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
There may also be a symbolic meaning: the blood speaks of our justification, the water of our sanctification and cleansing. The blood takes care of the guilt of sin; the water deals with the stain of sin.[ii]
The blood and water illustrate two aspects of salvation: blood to atone for the guilt of sin, and water(symbolic of the word) to wash away the stain of sin. The blood speaks of justification and the water of sanctification. The two must always go together, for those who have trusted the blood of Christ to save them should live clean lives before a watching world.[iii]
Eph 5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
Tit 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
In the baptism of Christ He identified with sinners, didn't He?  He identified with sinners.  You see, baptism was baptism of repentance.  It was baptism of repentance.  He didn't have anything to repent of.  But there in that most unique way He told John, "You have to baptize Me."  John said no, the reverse is true.  And He said, "No, you have to baptize Me.  I need to fulfill all righteousness."  And there He was in His baptism identifying with sinners and defining the reason He came.  And the Father gave witness, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."  Jesus arrives from Galilee where He's been with His disciples and desires to be baptized by him, by John. Even though there is no sin for Jesus to repent of, and there's no need for Jesus to be washed on the inside, God requires this of all His people and I will do all that God requires.  I will do it in order to fulfill all righteousness.  Whatever it is that God requires of His people, I will do."  He was fully human and He obeyed God's Law in full.  That was the perfection of His life, which by the way, as we know was imputed to our account.  And so He says, "I must fulfill all righteousness. the gospel of John, I always think it's an interesting note, chapter 1 verse 32, "And John the Father says to him, "The one on whom the Spirit descends, this is the one who is coming to baptize with fire."
 And the second divine testimony was given at His blood, as it were, or at His death, that at the end of His ministry...at the end.  That too defined His ministry because as He had identified with sinners in going into the waters of a baptism of repentance, He fully identified with sinners at the cross by taking their punishment.  Those are tremendously defining events, two monumental experiences bracketing His ministry of redemption.  And so the Father says, "I gave testimony at His baptism, testimony at His death."
Second half of verse 6, quite interesting, just in case you missed it, "This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and with the blood."  Well what a strange thing to say.  Why, did You think we were going to deny the second one?  Did You think we were going to say that You only gave testimony at His baptism, that only at His baptism did You identify with Him?  Only at His baptism was He Your Son?  Only at His baptism did You say, 'This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,' and that You didn't affirm Him, You didn't give testimony to Him, You didn't witness to Him at His death?  Did You think we were going to say that?  And is that why You said, "With the water, not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood?"  Exactly right...that's exactly what I knew you'd say. By the end of the first century when John wrote this, sometime after 90 A.D., a serious heresy had already developed which said that Jesus was God's Son at His baptism, but not at the cross.  That the Christ's Spirit descended on Him at His baptism and left Him before the cross so that Jesus came by water, the Christ's Spirit came by water, not by blood.  That is that His baptism was a revelation that He was the anointed of God but the Christ who was baptized was very different than the Jesus who was killed.  The Christ's Spirit who came upon that man at His baptism departed before the cross and the Jesus who was crucified was nothing but a mere man.
35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. Purpose is John 20:20-21
1Jo 1:1 ¶ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—
2Pe 1:16 ¶ For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
Same in 1 John 5 The purpose of God's witness, God's witness through the water & the blood, , the purpose of all of God's witness that essentially is the New Testament, is that you might have eternal life and this life is in His Son.  Go down to verse 20, right toward the end of this epistle, "We know the Son of God has come."  How do we know that?  Because of the testimony of God now recorded on the pages of the inspired Scripture.  "And has given us understanding in order that we might know Him who is true and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ, this is the true God and eternal life...and eternal life."  It's always about eternal life.
36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."
Ex 12:46; Nu 9:12; Ps 34:20
Once again, John wishes us to see that the things which took place at Calvary were the very things God had prophesied.  Jesus, by giving up His life earlier than expected, was spared from having His legs broken. John sees in this a fulfillment of prophecy. Though the Old Testament text that is fulfilled is not indicated, very likely it comes from Exodus 12 or Psalm 34:20, or both:
Exodus 12:43-46, 43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones”
Nu 9:12 'They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.
Psalm 34:20, He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken (NKJV).
37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced." Ps 22:16-17; Zec 12:10; Re 1:7
What a profound prophesy.  They’re going to see the Christ crucified, the One they’ve pierced, the only begotten, the One and only and they’re going to mourn.  And then John, when he writes the Revelation writes in Revelation 1:7:BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, . . . every eye will see Him,
Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn”.
The piercing of the side of our Lord was prophetically necessary, since Zechariah 12:10 refers to the Messiah. And so what John describes is what Zechariah foretold. Everything was truly going according to God’s plan. Not one prophecy failed to be fulfilled.
I am sure that the events which occurred at the cross had a great impact on those who witnessed the death of our Lord. The centurion was convinced from what he saw that Jesus was the Son of God. Some of those who heard Peter preach at Pentecost may well have witnessed our Lord’s death at Calvary. Luke 23:48 tells us that the multitudes, when they beheld this sight, went away beating their breasts. It was a horrible day for those who thought it might be entertaining. I wonder how many of these folks were later saved.
If you are a Christian, you should be stirred in your soul every time you read of our Lord’s death. We should never tire of remembering Him and His death, as our Lord commanded (see Luke 22:19; cf. 1 Corinthians 11:23ff.). We should take every temptation to sin seriously, knowing what our sin cost Him at Calvary. We should never cease to preach Christ crucified, for this is what the gospel is all about.
Thirty years later, on this very spot, judgment was pronounced against some of the best citizens of Jerusalem. Of the 3,600 victims of the governor’s fury, not a few were scourged and crucified! Judas died in a loathsome suicide, the house of Annas was destroyed some years later, Caiaphas was removed a year after the crucifixion, and Pilate was soon after banished to Gaul and there died in suicide. When Jerusalem fell, her wretched citizens were crucified around her walls until, in the historian’s grim language, ‘space was wanting for the crosses, and crosses for the bodies.’ The horrors of the siege of Jerusalem are unparalleled in history.
In the Synoptic Gospels, we read a great deal concerning the mockery of the crowds, of the Jewish religious leaders, of the Roman soldiers, and even of the two thieves. But John passes these matters by. Why? I think there is a good reason, one that makes a lot of sense once you stop to think about it—John wants our Lord Jesus to be central and preeminent in his account of the death of the Savior at Calvary. Jesus is center stage in John, as He ought to be. Calvary is about a cross, the cross of Jesus Christ. It is He alone, through His cross, who saves sinners. Let us never lose this focus. We need to see that the punishment that He took is the punishment that we deserved. Totally.  Every time a sacrifice occurred in the Old Testament, even up until Christ’s time, I think there’s great importance in putting your hand on that animal and slaying him.  That should be you.  It should be your blood.  You should pay for this.  And He did it for us.  Therein is, I think, the compelling part of the human conscience.  Someone else took my penalty.
Lu 23:49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Mr. 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[i] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Jn 19:34). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 19:31). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[iii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (265). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL SETTING ASIDE TIMES TO REMEMBER HOW GOOD GOD HAS BEEN TO YOU

Moses instructed Israel to build a monument with God’s law written on it when they entered Canaan (Deut. 27:1-8). This is a picture of them remembering how good God had been to them in spite of how they had acted and His love and faithfulness that would still be there in the future. They were swearing their allegiance to Him to live for Him from now on. Do you have any times in your life that you have set aside to remember how good God has been to you? All of us no matter who we are have done things that God doesn't approve of and also there are times in our life when God has sustained us in the toughest of circumstances. Let us remember that and thank Him today Amen!!
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 19:24-27 JESUS, KNOWING THAT ALL THINGS WERE NOW ACCOMPLISHED, THAT THE SCRIPTURE MIGHT BE FULFILLED, SAID, "I THIRST!"

John 19:24 They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things. 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" 27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
 We see more Scripture being fulfilled through Jesus and all that He does and has done to Him while on the cross. These cold callous soldiers are gambling for His garments as He is on the cross suffering the most cruel death ever devised up to that time.  All they can see is we are getting some material goods out of this deal.  Meanwhile Jesus is paying for the sins of the whole world. There are 4 soldiers who are cruel and they are contrasted by 4 loving women who have been there for Jesus and still are as He dies. The last thing Jesus does as He is dying is to give us the example to take care of the widows. He tells His mother to treat John as her son and for John to take care of His mother as if she was his own.
 It is John’s Gospel which most emphatically underscores the fulfillment of prophecy in the events surrounding our Lord’s death. Three times in our text John specifically informs his readers that prophecy has been fulfilled (verses 24, 36 and 37).
24 They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things. Fulfills Ps 22:18 They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots” (NKJV). they divide His clothing even before He's dead.
What John does stress throughout the Gospel, and it heightens as we go through the Passion narrative and Crucifixion, is the fulfillment of Scripture, verse twenty-four: to fulfill the Scripture.
Now fulfilling scripture is an important part of John assembling the evidence that Jesus Christ is who He said He is; He's going to die as He said He would die. Remember John says, "Glory comes from suffering."  So for Christ to find glory, He must go through the suffering of the cross.
 Look at it another way. Jesus Christ isn't dead yet and they're dividing His clothes. From a human standpoint, the poor guy is still alive and struggling and they're arguing over His clothes. They're doing what comes naturally to soldiers who do this thing. It's customary for them.
 But from the other side of it, Jesus Christ's life is hanging in the balance by His own will until Scripture is fulfilled. He's in control of the whole situation and He knows that they're going to do this thing and He knows that they're inadvertently just doing the details of throwing lots to figure out who gets what and they are fulfilling the Scripture. John doesn't miss the detail. I'm not denying the tragedy and the pain of it physically, but the physical suffering of Jesus Christ was nothing compared to the deeper fact of the cross."
When you go back and look at the Gospels, even the Synoptics, what do they say? "There they crucified Him." They don't go into details about the horizontal bar and the hanging between earth and heaven and the excruciating pain. We get some details. We're going to get more details in the text in the future, but not to the extent with which we are captivated by the crucified victim Christ on the death mechanism called the cross.
 So, if that's true then how do you and I when we come to the crucifixion, do we step aside our presuppositions and our sort of story ideas about this and look at the sufferings of Christ? Spiritually? That He was separated from God the Father; that He willingly, volitionally obeyed the Father to the point of death, even death on a cross; that the God of all eternity hurls all the abuse of His wrath on His only Son, and feeling that wrath, Christ calls out, "Why have You forsaken Me?"
The physical things of the earth and the curtain and all that we know and love in the storyline are all important pictures, no doubt, but lest we miss the spiritual separation of Jesus Christ from His Father. He died on that cross not just endure the physical punishment, but he died for you. He died for me.
They appear to be oblivious to the suffering of the three men hanging on their crosses. According to Luke (23:36), the soldiers joined in with the others who mocked Jesus, virtually daring Him to come down from the cross to save Himself. John characterizes these four soldiers using this one scene. As Jesus hung there, beaten and bleeding, the soldiers were down on their knees. They weren’t praying; they were casting lots. They were, so to speak, rolling the dice to see which one of them would get the one-piece tunic. I can almost see one of the men shaking the dice in the palm of his hand, saying, “Com’ on, snake eyes …Yes! It’s mine!”
It almost sounds as if these soldiers were bored. Perhaps they had carried out this duty so many times they were just mechanically doing their job. There was nothing new or unexpected here, not yet, that is.[i] From experience, these soldiers must have felt they knew almost exactly what would happen over the next few hours. Their ears very likely tuned out every moan and cry. They may have learned not to even look at their victims. If there is going to be any excitement for them at all, it will be in the casting of lots to see who wins the garments the dying men will leave behind. I cannot think of any way John could have better captured the cold-heartedness of these four men than by seizing upon this moment in time as they huddle together on the ground, casting lots for our Lord’s garments. They see nothing to gain from Jesus but some item of clothing.
As He hung there on that cross, shedding His precious blood for guilty sinners, all they could think about was our Lord’s tunic. When Jesus was “rolling away the burden of our sins” (as the hymn celebrates), they were rolling the dice.
Yet, let us not be too quick to judge these soldiers. They are no different, in heart, than many today. They ignore the atoning work of Jesus and look to Him only to meet their material needs—not the need for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life—but for their physical needs. Even we who name the name of Christ as Savior and Lord all too often only look to Him to care for our material needs. Our prayers sound more like shopping lists than serious petitions for our spiritual needs and those of others.
That Jesus died naked was part of the shame which He bore for our sins. At the same time He is the last Adam who provides clothes of righteousness for sinners." Romans 5:12-21
Now many of your Bibles have a paragraph, sort of a hard break return if you will, at verse twenty-five “a.” Some of them run it together and do not break the text there. I would opt to break the text there with sort of a paragraph return for a number of reasons.
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Mt 27:55; Mr. 15:40; Lu 23:49; 24:18
It is interesting that John did not identify his own mother by name or as the mother of Zebedee's sons. His mother’s sister, Salome, the mother of James and John[ii] He evidently wanted to play down his mother's identity as well as his own since he did not mention himself directly in this Gospel either. By referring to his mother as the sister of Jesus' mother, John prepared for Jesus' action in verses 26-27. John was Jesus' cousin on his mother's side. As such, he was a logical person to assume responsibility for Mary's welfare. Evidently Jesus' physical half- brothers did not become believers until after His resurrection.
Do not confuse Mary Magdalene with the “sinful woman” described in Luke 7:36ff. Jesus had delivered Mary Magdalene from demons (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2), and she used her resources to assist Jesus in His ministry. Salome had asked Jesus for thrones for her two sons James and John who wrote this book (Matt. 20:20–29), and He had denied her request. You wonder what she was thinking about as she stood there and beheld Jesus dying on the cross. The scene must have rebuked her selfishness.
Clopas has been identified with Cleopas, probably Joseph’s sister to whom the risen Lord appeared on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:18) and with Alphaeus, the father of James the Less. Mary is the name of all who are named; Mary means bitterness.
Start a new thought. We have four soldiers in the previous section; now we'll have four women and John is setting up a beautiful contrast in the narrative about, "Look at what these four men did. Now look at what these four women do to the body of Jesus Christ."
In stark contrast to the four male dice-rolling soldiers are the four dedicated women John identifies by name. The soldiers seem to have no appreciation for who Jesus is. They may never have seen Him before. They have no compassion on Him, even though He is suffering beyond words. These four women linger as close to the cross as they can get. They are among those women who followed Jesus, supporting Him from their own means (Mark 15:40-41; Luke 8:1-3). They did not look upon His death as a means of gaining some of His possessions (as was the case with the soldiers), but as the greatest loss they had ever suffered. Was it one of these women who gave Jesus the seamless garment for which the soldiers gambled?
26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Joh 2:4; 13:23; 20:2; 21:7,20,24
John is the only one of the apostles with courage enough to take his stand with the women by the Cross.
John never names his name but calls himself "the one whom Jesus loved," I can just hear him saying that. I kind of can imagine his whole heart just about to burst and he’d say, you know me, I'm the one that Jesus loves. I mean, that's a kind of exciting thought, isn't it? I mean, he didn't say, I'm the one that loves Jesus; no, he gets more excited about His love for him than his own love for the Lord,
Woman means grandmother or old woman, it is a form of respect such as Ma’am here in the south.
It was as Jesus was hanging there, half-naked, on that cross that He made arrangements for the care of His mother:
27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
Ps 69:21; Joh 1:11; 16:32
He gave Mary a new son. You see, from the moment of His death He would cease to be the earthly Son of Mary so He replaced Himself in Mary's life with John.
There are some beautiful thoughts in this. As He dies, Jesus, the King of love, selflessly cares for those who stand at His feet. It is almost incomprehensible because here is Jesus occupied with the most stupendous task in the history of the universe, here is Jesus Christ under a burden which no one could possibly have sustained or endured, here is Jesus Christ enduring in a matter of several hours what it will take all individuals through all eternity in all of Hell to endure; and in the midst of it all, He thinks not one thought of Himself but cares only for His Mother and His beloved disciple.
William Barclay says, ‘There is something infinitely moving in the fact that Jesus in the agony of the Cross, in the moment when the salvation of the world hung in the balance, thought of the loneliness of His mother in the days when He was taken away. Jesus never forgot the duties that lay to His hand.’ Earlier in this Gospel we are told that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him (7:5), and we may fairly infer that they were out of sympathy with Mary. So it was important that there should be somebody who would look after her when Jesus was no longer there.”
the Fourth Gospel focuses on the exclusiveness of the Son, the finality of his cross-work, the promise of the Paraclete as the definitive aid to the believers after Jesus has been glorified, and correspondingly de-emphasizes Mary by giving her almost no part to play in the narrative, and by reporting a rebuke, however gentle, that Jesus administered to her (2:4). With such themes lying on the surface of the text, it is most natural to see in vv. 26-27 an expression of Jesus’ love and care for his mother, a thoughtful provision for her needs at the hour of supreme devastation. … To argue, then, that this scene is symbolic of a continuing role for Mary as the church comes under her care is without adequate contextual control. It is so anachronistic an interpretation that [it] is difficult to imagine how it could have gained such sway apart from the developments of centuries of later traditions.  Jesus' act also placed Mary under John's authority,
The common Protestant interpretation of this incident is that Jesus, knowing He was about to die and to return to the Father, made arrangements for the long-term care of His mother.  This “long-term” element does raise some questions. We are told in Scripture that it is the responsibility of the immediate family to look after their own:
1Timothy 5:3-4 - 3 Honor widows who are truly in need. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to fulfill their duty toward their own household and so repay their parents what is owed them. For this is what pleases God, Why, then, would Jesus assign the responsibility of caring for His mother to John, who is not one of her sons? The answer most would give is that none of her other sons were believers (see John 7:5). This is true, of course, but not for long. We know that within days or weeks, James, Jesus’ half-brother, will come to faith and eventually become a prominent leader in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19). Why would Jesus assign the long-term care of Mary to John, knowing that James, her son, will soon come to faith?
I would suggest that our problems are solved if we see Jesus providing here for Mary’s short-term care. Surely we would agree that Jesus knew James was one of the elect. If James is one of our Lord’s “sheep,” then Jesus would know it and would not act in a way that was contrary to this knowledge. I would suggest to you that Jesus was providing for the care of His mother for the next few days or weeks. We know that John immediately began to care for Mary, because he tells us so in verse 27 (“from that very time”—literally, “from that hour”). There are those who believe that John (or his family) may have actually owned a home in Jerusalem. This could explain why John (“the other disciple”) was known to the high priest and to the servant girl at the gate (18:16). Mary, like the disciples, could have been in danger and would certainly need to be looked after for a while. John would have been the one most able and willing to carry out this task.
The next few days were going to be pure agony. We do not know for certain that Mary’s other sons were present in Jerusalem (though we would expect so—see John 7:1-9), but if they were, can you imagine what kind of comfort these unbelieving sons would have been to their believing mother?  I can almost hear James trying to comfort Mary after the death of Jesus: “Mom, you know I told Jesus to give up His insane talk about being the Messiah. He must have been out of His mind. And now, all of this foolishness was for nothing, except to shame us.” I believe that Jesus assigned John to care for Mary because he was the one closest to the heart of our Lord, and because he was the first disciple to believe (see John 20:8). He also seems to have had the means to do so. Who better to look after Mary in the next dark and difficult days than John?
 Mr. 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[i] Something changed all this, as we can see from the statement of the centurion (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39). The three hours of darkness must have had an impact on them all, not to mention the unusual way in which Jesus died, followed by the violent earthquake of Matthew 27:51ff.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 19:17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

JOHN 19:17-23 NOW PILATE WROTE A TITLE AND PUT IT ON THE CROSS. AND THE WRITING WAS: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS

John 19:17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'" 22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." 23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.
 In a 24‑hour period leading up to and including His death on the cross there were 28 specific Old Testament prophecies fulfilled to the letter, and in addition to that, there were many types fulfilled. When Jesus came to earth, He fulfilled over 300 prophecies and the probability that one Person could do this is impossible, unless you are God as Jesus is. Jesus is placed in the center as He is the focus of attention. It is amazing how many three’s there are in the Bible. There are three being crucified and three titles for Jesus over His head which are actually the crime He was being killed for. The three titles are written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin to show that all of us are guilty of sin and thus all of us put Jesus on that cross, meaning we all need a Savior. The Jews get upset about the title 'The King of the Jews', but Pilate is really telling us who Jesus really is.  Have you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  If not, why not today?  Rom 10:9-13 - Ro 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
 
Romans 8:32 says this, "God who spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all." Who delivered Jesus up? Not only the governor of Judea, but the governor of the universe. You say, "Does that mean Pilate and God are working together?" That's exactly what it means. And in no way does the vileness, unbelief, cowardice or sin of Pilate alter the plan of God. God's plans are on schedule, be they operating through sinful men or holy men. God is the author of history.
it says they led Him away. That means He willingly without resistance followed. That's what it means. There was no panic, there was no struggle. They led, He followed. Our friends, that fulfills a very specific and very minute prophecy. In Isaiah chapter 53:7 the prophet said hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born, when he didn't even know in his brain what crucifixion was, or if it existed, the prophet said, "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter." You see, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah said when He goes to His death He will not be driven, He will not be dragged, He will be led. Jesus fulfilled that exactly. And like a sheep, you can't drive sheep, you can drive cattle, you cannot drive sheep, you lead sheep and thus was He led.
Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Do you see the order right there? It says that when He dies, He'll go from prison to judgment to death. That was not normal. Normally He went from prison to judgment to prison for two days, to death. Isaiah prophesied He would go directly from His judgment to His execution, something the Romans never did but they did it this time because God said that's how it is to be done. And so, Jesus fulfilled that prophecy.
John was also the only Gospel writer to record Jesus' care for His mother (vv. 25-27) and His sixth cry before His death (v. 30).
John omitted the detail that Simon carried Jesus' cross (Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke
23:26),  which  might  have  detracted  from John's  presentation  of  Jesus  as  the  divine Savior. He also made no reference to Jesus' sufferings on the way to Calvary that Luke, who had a special interest in Jesus' humanity, stressed
17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,
Nu 15:36; Mt 23:31, 33; Mr. 15:21-22; Lu 23:26, 33; Heb 13:12
All the Gospel writers identified the place of Jesus' crucifixion as "the place of the skull." All but Luke gave its Aramaic title, namely, skull the transliteration of which is Golgotha. Why the place bore this name remains a mystery.
John’s statement that Jesus “went out, carrying His own cross” (verse 17) does not contradict the account of the Synoptics, which inform us that Simon of Cyrene carried our Lord’s cross to Calvary. Jesus must have taken up His cross in Jerusalem and carried it as far as outside the city. Then, at some stage of the journey to Golgotha, it must have become evident that Jesus could no longer bear the weight of His cross. He appears to have been beaten more than the two others who were crucified. It may also have been a matter of time. Time was now short, and there was pressure to get on quickly with the crucifixion. If someone were to carry our Lord’s cross for Him, they would get to Golgotha more quickly. Simon of Cyrene was on his way to Jerusalem from out in the country and was drafted to carry our Lord’s cross for Him.
In one verse (17), John takes us from the judgment seat of Pilate to the “Place of the Skull.” John does not belabor the process of crucifixion, though we know it was the most cruel form of execution devised by man.  The two robbers (whom Luke calls “criminals”) are crucified with our Lord, one on His left, and the other to His right. It seems significant that Jesus was placed in the center. Surely He was the focus of this event, as everyone seemed to know, and as those who passed by could figure out for themselves.
In Genesis chapter 22 there is a man who is a type of Christ, an Old testament type. His name was Isaac. Isaac was a type of Christ, he was a picture of Christ for Isaac was to be given as a sacrifice, just as Christ was. The beautiful thing in the story of Isaac is that you have two types of Christs, both Isaac and the ram are both types of Christ. Now notice this, Genesis 22:6, remember Isaac is a picture of Christ. "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son." Did you know that Isaac bore his own wood to his own execution? And Jesus did too or the type would have been destroyed, Jesus fulfilled it to the very letter. This is divine inspiration, my friends. This is how verbal and typical prophecy predicted to the very tiniest point the death of Jesus Christ.
Exodus 29 verse 14, "But the flesh of the bullock and his skin and his dung shall thou burn with fire outside the camp, it is a sin offering." In other words, a sin offering had to be taken outside the camp of Israel.
In the very next book, the book of Leviticus in chapter 4 and verse 12, the same thing is indicated. "Even the whole bullock shall be carried forth outside the camp unto a clean place where the ashes are poured out and burned on the wood with fire, where the ashes are poured out shall it be burned, or he be burned." Then in chapter 16 of Leviticus verse 27, it says, "And the bullock for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place shall one carry forth outside of the camp and there be burned."
In other words, the sin offerings in the Old Testament were taken outside the camp. Who then was the ultimate sin offering? Jesus Christ. Where then in order to fulfill that typical prophecy did Jesus have to die? Outside the camp. There was no way that He could ever be stoned or executed within the city walls for God had designed Him to be the perfect fulfillment of every Old Testament sin offering and they were all taken outside the camp. And thus does the writer of the book of Hebrews say in chapter 13:11, "For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp," then he said this, "wherefore Jesus also that He might sanctify the people with His own blood suffered outside the gate."
Do you know why they executed Him outside the city? Jesus had to fulfill prophecy.
In John 3:14 Jesus said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." You see? "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Jesus said, "I have to be lifted up.
Crucifixion has even been predicted in an exacting sense for in Psalm chapter 22, the psalmist portraying the coming death of Messiah, describes what it is like to be crucified. And he didn't have any idea of crucifixion at this point. "I am poured out like water," verse 14, "My bones are out of joint." Certainly what happens in crucifixion. "My heart is like wax, it's melted within Me." He says, "My tongue cleaves to My jaws," He's dry." And then at the end of verse 16 it says this, direct prophecy, "They pierced My hands and My feet."
The horror of His visage in His face would be nothing to look at. And that also fulfills Scripture, for Isaiah said, "There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He has no form or comeliness." And Isaiah in 53:2 when he said that was talking about His death. Isaiah predicted that He would be in an ugly presentation in death and indeed He was. Again fulfilling Scripture.
18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Isa 42:1; 49:3; 53:4-5; Joh 17:3; Ro 5:15-19; 2Pe 1:3; 1Jo 2:1
This mode of capital punishment was reserved for the lowest kind of criminals, particularly those who promoted revolution. Today, we think of the cross as a symbol of glory and victory; but in Pilate’s day, the cross stood for the basest kind of rejection, shame, and suffering.[i] It was Jesus who made the difference.
All the Gospel writers mentioned the men crucified with Jesus (Matt. 27:38, 44; Mark 15:27, 32; Luke 23:32-33, 39-43). They were evidently robbers (Gr. lestai) and terrorists, such as Barabbas (cf. 18:40). John may have mentioned them to remind his readers of the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12.
Is 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Their mention also prepares the reader to understand John's description of the breaking of their legs but not Jesus' legs (vv. 32-33).
Pilot had failed in releasing Jesus Christ and so he hands Christ over to be crucified. The phrase "hand over" continues John's play on the word "delivered, betrayed and hand over." We're continuing the same word he uses to show that it's a betrayal. If you know enough of the story, you know that Jesus carries His own cross. John underscores that with the word "His own" but the Gospel writers tell us also that Simon of Cyrene helps Him. So put together and harmonize it that Christ carries it for part of the time and Simon of Cyrene comes along and carries it another of the duration. Due to the scourging He's faced on His back, undoubtedly the wounds are gaping and it would be difficult for Him to manage that so Simon is enlisted to help
The word "Place of the Skull" is a word in Greek, cranion. It sounds like our English word cranium and that's exactly where it comes from. The Hebrew is Golgotha and ancient legend says that Adam was buried in that place. It preaches great, but it's just a legend. The Latin word for the Greek word is calvaria.  So when the Latin vulgate translated the Greek word cranion, they came up with calvaria and that's where we get the English word Calvary.
Crucifixions took different forms. We typically think of a lowercase "t" shaped cross, but a tree in a form of a "Y" or an "X" could also be used to crucify a victim. The horizontal bar that Christ carried, the Latins called it a patibullum and that would be the one beam He would carry. He probably did not carry the traditional cross like we even reenact here; the dragging of this whole apparatus. He just carried this horizontal beam. The beam then would be laid on the ground, the victim made to lay down on the ground and then either tied or secured with nails.
 There was also a block or a small saddle-like device on the vertical post that would already be in place at the Place of the Skull and so the victim was secured to this and then hoisted up on the vertical beam. The nails would not go through the Palm, but the wrist. Many of us would be familiar with carpal tunnel syndrome. Well that's about the area where you put the nail through. If you put in through the palm it would just tear through the hand and so this area would be far more substantial for the victim and it would hold him up there.
Archaeologists have also discovered what they call the crucified man from Giv'at ha-Mivtar, a twenty something-year-old male and they found pieces of a crucified individual. The notable thing is the heel, probably both heels put together and the nails driven through both heels. There's lots of ways you can crucify a victim but at least with this one there is archaeological evidence that proves that this is the way this particular person was crucified. Crucifixion was brutal. Cicero called it "the cruelest and foulest of punishments. We should perhaps notice also the words of the Jewish writer Josephus who spoke of it as ‘the most wretched of deaths." The victim is stripped naked, beaten, scourged and could hang suspended in agony between life and death for days.
 Going back to the garden, that the result of the curse was that thorns were going to be produced. Now we have the image of those thorns and Christ paying for that curse when they are jammed up on His head. We also have a naked issue here. Remember, when Adam sinned, he and the woman hid themselves. "Well why did you hide?" "Well we heard You coming. We were naked. We were ashamed so we hid." "Who told you you were naked?"
 So once they have the knowledge of good and evil from sin, they are ashamed of themselves so they hide. Well, Christ now in full shame will take that shame and die on the cross for your sin and for mine. So the crown part of the curse, the naked shame part of the curse and Christ is fulfilling those and taking them on Himself.
 The mechanism of the crucifixion, if you were tied or nailed, the problem of crucifixion was breathing; not just the torture of the way you're on the cross. The body would often be at an angle and hunched over and bent.  So to breathe, they would have to pull themselves up with either wrist and push with the feet to take a breath and then the weight of the body would of course exhale the air. This is how the person asphyxiated. If they were just tied, this could go on for days. They could die of the exposure, the dehydration, the exhaustion, and eventually would asphyxiate or would suffocate in a way, not being able to breathe.
If you are nailed, then you have the wound issue and the aggravation of pulling yourself up and down on those wounds would be unexplainable, apart from experiencing such a pain. You also had the added exposure that’s going to go along with that, so when Christ dies rather quickly that's sort of a surprise to the attending. The pain that He would endure would be excruciating and the most brutal of ways to kill a person.
In verse eighteen John mentions that two others are crucified with Him, one on either side. John does not record the dialogue that these men have with one another and with Christ, but the Synoptics do. And so we read it and we say "Why didn't John record it? That's such a great interchange."
 John has different purposes. He leaves out certain things and he includes things that the Synoptics don't. John's stress is so that you may believe. John's stress is so that the Scripture will be fulfilled. John is marshaling forth in his Gospel proof that Jesus Christ is who He says He is. John is using everything he can to prove his point that He really lived, He really died, He was really buried and He really came back from the grave so that people will believe. And when we look at verses thirty-two to thirty-six we’ll see how the criminals and the breaking of the legs play into that fulfillment of Scripture as well.
19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Mt 27:37; Mr. 15:26; Lu 23:38
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
This sign would serve as a placard either mounted on the top of the cross or sometimes around the neck of the victim. This particular one is written in three languages. This crime identified to onlookers why He was being killed and it also would serve, would it not, as a warning. So it would serve as a warning and it would also serve to identify the crime of the individual.
Hebrew is the language of religion, Greek of philosophy, and Latin of law; and all three combined to crucify the Son of God. But what He did on the cross, He did for the whole world! In this Gospel, John emphasizes the worldwide dimensions of the work of Christ. Without realizing it, Pilate wrote a “Gospel tract” when he prepared this title; for one of the thieves discovered that Jesus was King, and he asked entrance into His kingdom.[ii]
Remember, it's Passover week. Thousands have converged upon Jerusalem. It would not be exaggerating to say that thousands of people walked by and saw the Christ and those two criminals. He was probably not, as artists often render Him, way up high in the sky. He was probably just a foot or two above ground because all you're trying to do is get the victim's feet elevated so he can't be on the ground on that vertical post and you want to show people the exasperation; the cruel treatment that a criminal gets. The most effective way to do that is up close and personal, not way high where people can't see it. That's how the Romans would have done it, it's a warning to each segment of the population.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"
This is a deliberate insult. Pilate has been humiliated by them now he is going to humiliate them. It's clearly abuse on Pilate's part. Remember, they brought the Christ for Pilate to rubberstamp and say "Sure, crucify Him."
 But Pilate was trying to follow the Roman process for civil government. They didn't like it so in that exchange they go back and forth and finally he says,  "Fine, it's your problem." Of course they can’t carry out the crucifixion so as a last insult he sticks them in the eye with his finger and says, "King of the Jews. I'm firm. I'm not going to change that. "
 Now in this warning it continues to serve a number of things. Think about it, Pilate has condemned Jesus Christ from the governmental aspect; Caiaphas has condemned Jesus Christ from the religious aspect.
Is it not interesting that both Caiaphas and Pilate find themselves unwittingly bearing witness to the fact that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, the King of Israel?
Caiaphas gave the unconscious prophecy, remember? "It's expedient for one to die for the nation."
 Well now we have Pilate giving an unconscious prediction that He is the King of the Jews. So on the one hand while it serves as a warning to would-be criminals to the Roman empire, it also proclaims the truth. He is Jesus from Nazareth. He is the King of the Jews. And this Gentile, would-be king, Pilate, who has condemned this Jewish king Jesus, will have that role reversed one day in one of the five to seven judgments of our New Testament when the ungodly nations who do not follow Christ will be judged. I think Pilate will be among them, Pilate and Caiaphas both having their unintentional prophecies; unintentional declarations. The chief priests and the Jews are angered at what Pilate has written
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
It is interesting to note the variety among the Gospels as to the exact wording of the charge placed over Jesus’ head on the cross.
Matt. 27:37 - “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”
Mark 15:26 - “The King of the Jews”
Luke 23:38 - “This is the King of the Jews”
John 19:19 - “Jesus, the Nazarene, the King of the Jews”
Each one is different, but basically the same. This is true of most of the variety of historical detail among the Gospels. Each writer recorded his memories in slightly different ways, but they are still the same eye witness account.
The Gospels all give a slightly different inscription. Perhaps what Pilate really wrote was the sum of all these variations, and the Gospel writers each just quoted a part of the whole. Another possibility is that the Gospel writers may not have been translating the same language since Pilate ordered the charge written in three different languages. However, his trilingual notice was God's sovereign way of declaring to the whole world who His Son really was, the Jewish king whose rule is universal.
By identifying Jesus as the Jews' king and then crucifying Him, Pilate was boasting Rome's superiority over the Jews and flaunting its authority.
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. Mt 27:35; Mr. 15:24; Lu 23:34
It was customary, it was typical for the attending soldiers to divide the spoils of the victim and so we have a headpiece, we have a belt, we have an outer garment and we have sandals being the four pieces that would be easily be distributed. But then we have this one piece tunic and there's no modern equivalent to the underwear type apparatus.
In other countries the men will wear sort of a long shirt underneath their outer garments. It might have a button up nice collar, but that's really the undergarment; what they put over their more decorative clothing and their suits. So it's something like that.
At least the most valuable piece of Him is that it is one piece; it's seamless. It's a very nice fabric; it's a nice piece of cloth. You wouldn't want to ruin its value by cutting it into four pieces so they agreed, "Let's roll some die and get a lot here and figure out who gets it."
 There are lots of symbolic and religious metaphors of what the importance of this seamless garment might be. The one that I have a little reference to is in John thirteen. You remember Jesus Christ strips Himself to the waist to wash His disciples’ feet, remember? Now He's stripped completely beyond His undergarment, not just to wash their feet, but to die for their sins and if anything, I think John in his wonderful narrative shows in chapter thirteen He did a "small" thing and then He washed their feet. And He says, "You don't know what I do to you. Now I'm completely stripped to die for your sins.  The shame of humanity now seen on Me and My nakedness as I die in your place with this one-piece garment." He lays aside His glory to go through the suffering; to go to the cross.
"The cloak was without seam woven from the top throughout." What's the point of putting that in there? Who cares? What's the difference?" Do you realize that in the Old Testament the garment of the high priest made of linen had to be without seam? Did you know that? That was a symbol of his total purity, there could be no seam in the garment of the high priest. Guess who is the final and faithful high priest? Jesus Christ fulfills to the very letter the symbol of the high priest, even by the note of John that He wore the garments of His priesthood.
Re 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Hanging upon that cross naked as He bore our punishment for sin. After man first sinned, nakedness became shameful (see Genesis 9:20-27; 2 Samuel 10:1-5; Isaiah 20:4). Can you imagine the humiliation our Lord endured as He hung upon that cross, with hundreds of people looking on? It is no wonder that David wrote of our Lord: “For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me” (Psalm 22:16-17, NKJV,). Our Lord bore the curse of nakedness for us, so that we might be clothed in His righteousness. Isa 61:10 ¶ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
It is John’s Gospel which most emphatically underscores the fulfillment of prophecy in the events surrounding our Lord’s death. Three times in our text John specifically informs his readers that prophecy has been fulfilled (verses 24, 36 and 37).
 Mr. 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
 
[i] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 19:17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 19:17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

JOHN 19:7-16 JESUS ANSWERED, "YOU COULD HAVE NO POWER AT ALL AGAINST ME UNLESS IT HAD BEEN GIVEN YOU FROM ABOVE.”

John 19:7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." 8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, 9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" 11 Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." 12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar." 13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" 15 But 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 ¶ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away.
 The Jews have backed Pilate into a corner at this point. It is a matter of Jesus claiming to be King and there can be only one King in Rome. He can either save his soul or his life. If He turns Jesus loose, he loses his life, if He crucifies Him, it will be his soul. So, Pilate asks where Jesus is from, but Jesus knows it is too late for Pilate, he has already said he doesn’t care about truth and so He does not answer him. It is a bad place to be when you have rejected God for so long, that He refuses to speak to you anymore. Pilate lets Jesus know that he is powerful and can let him go or he can have him crucified and Jesus speaks one more time. He lets Pilate know that He only has power because God has granted it to him. Then He lets Pilate know that his sin is less than that of the one who delivered Jesus up and I believe He is speaking about Judas. The Bible speaks of degrees of sin and degrees of reward. Hell won’t be the same for everyone, just as Heaven won’t. Read 1 Corinthians 3:8-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10. 2 John 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.  Revelation 22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
 7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." Le 24:16; Mt 26:55,65; Joh 5:18; 10:33
Now what the Jews are going to do is they’re going to put these things together in an accusation that’s going to cut both ways and it will notch it up so far that Pilate has to do something about it.  In Leviticus 24:16 it was blasphemous for a person to call himself a king in Judaism.  Under a theocracy for you to say you were a king when you weren’t a king was guilty of death.  That’s a religious law under a religious system under Caiaphas.  A political law, if you call yourself a king, you’re fighting against Caesar as the true emperor king.  So both of these charges now of treason raise it way high and Pilate’s going to have to do something about it.
 If Pilate won’t condemn Jesus for treason, perhaps he’ll condemn Jesus if he understands that both sides of religion and the civil law would work to his benefit to see Jesus executed. 
Now, Pilate well knew that law. What was that law? Pilate knew that the Jews didn't tolerate any false gods, right? Two times Pilate had brought in the image of false gods to Israel, hadn't he? On his standards when he arrived there, on the shields that he hung up in Herod's palace, both times it had caused a revolt among the Jews, hadn't it? It had caused such a reaction among the Jews that he got word from Caesar himself to remove those things or he'd be removed. And Caesar was watching Pilate because Pilate had a problem with this same issue every time. That is, dragging, or letting false gods exist in Israel. Now the Romans weren't stupid. They knew in order to subject the people; you give them enough freedom to make them content. You don't violate their religion. And so the Romans let them worship as they wanted and they did not offend them with outside gods. And so, the Jews are saying ‑ Hey, Pilate, you remember that law about false gods? Remember that one? See. The one that almost cost you last time? Yeah, well here it comes again, Pilate, He's claiming to be the Son of God, we don't believe in false gods.
That just cuts because this is right exactly where Pilate's blown it twice before. Now they are sharp. They've got this plot, down to a science, they know what they're doing. And so, what they're doing is putting the pressure on Pilate to get rid of another false god. And the last two times he didn't do it, the first time it cost him his whole rule there, really, because he had to give in to them. The second time it almost cost him his life. Now they're saying to him, in effect, ‑ You going to let this one get by again? You're not going to execute what we believe to be a false god? You're going to let a false god run around among us again? You going to do this again? Guess who we'll report you to? Hmm? You know, so we'll tell Caesar.
And so, the threat is too much. And they know where to hit him
8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,
That leads us to Pilate's fatal panic in verse 8.
Verses eight through eleven ask and answer the question who’s in control of all of this mess:
This is the first time the word fear comes into the storyline.  Pilate’s been acting a shrewd politician, now he’s scared.  Why is he scared?  Well, two very good possibilities.
As if it's not bad enough to put Pilate in the spot that he can't get out of, when they said to Pilate ‑ He is making Himself to be the Son of God ‑that would automatically turn on something that Pilate well knew. The Romans were very superstitious. And the Romans believed that the gods, and demigods, often came into the world and moved among men, see. And the Jews when they said to him ‑ He makes Himself the Son of God ‑ he wouldn't have thought of that in the Jewish context, he would have thought of that in a Roman context. And he would have thought of it in a pagan context. And he would have understood it that this is ... this is a man who is claiming to be a son of a god. And then he would have thought to himself ‑ If He is, I'm in real trouble, right? I've just flogged the son of a god.
The Romans were superstitious. For example, in Acts chapter 14 when Paul and Barnabas came into town and they said: Hey, these guys are terrific, we think they're gods come to earth. And they started calling them Jupiter and Mercury, remember that? That was a common superstition. Acts 28 has it again. They believed that the gods came into the world.
Remember, his wife has a dream, too, in Matthew twenty-seven that sort of sets him back a little bit.  Now Pilate's got this thing in the back of his head to add to all the rest of the stuff that's scrambling his brain. Maybe I've been beating up the son of a god, little did he know. That it was God Himself, the only true God.
9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer.
Isa 53:7; Mt 27:12,14
You say, "What's he saying? Does he want to know His address in Nazareth?" No. He knows where He's from. He is asking Him if He's the son of a god, that's what he's asking Him. Where did You come from? Are You earthly or are You from up there where the gods are?
Before the flood God said: "My Spirit will not always strive with man." The Bible tells us Pharaoh hardened his heart, Pharaoh hardened his heart and then it stops and it says: "And God hardened Pharaoh's heart."
There comes a time in the life of an individual who willfully rejects Jesus Christ that all of a sudden it becomes impossible. And God in Christ knew Pilate. He knew it was over. He knew Pilate had gone past the point of return. You see, back in chapter 18:36, Jesus had even said to him Every one that is of the truth hears My voice." He had given him an invitation. He declared who He was. He told him He was a King from another realm, not the world and Pilate wouldn't buy it and Pilate kept going further and further and further and further and Jesus just knew it was over.
10 Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?"
It's a shocking thing when you study in the Bible the silence of God. You say, "Why was Jesus silent?" Well, He was silent, I think, in response to prophecy. Isaiah 53:7 says: "As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth." In a sense He knew He was fulfilling prophecy in silence. But, let me give you something even greater than that. Jesus knew Pilate's heart. And Jesus knew it was over with Pilate...it was over. Nothing that Jesus said anymore would have mattered to Pilate. So, He didn't say anything. You know, it's a shocking thing to realize that a man can come to the place in his own experience with God that God stops talking to him. But it can happen.
 11 Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." Lu 22:53; Joh 7:30
You say, could anybody ever be that guilty?" Yes, anybody who knows the truth and rejects it, according to Hebrews 6 is guilty of crucifying the Son of God afresh, putting Him to an open shame. And men today are just as guilty as the people who screamed for His blood then when they reject Him, willfully knowing the truth.
And so, it's hard for me to conceive of anymore guilt than Pilate but there's more guilt than what he did in ignorance. Much more on those who should have known the truth. Theirs was the greater sin. And that shows you there's degrees of sin. It only takes one sin of the smallest degree to condemn a man to hell, but the hottest hell and the severest punishment is reserved for those whose sin is a travesty on what they know to be true. Like Hebrews says of how much greater punishment shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the blood of the covenant, the Son of God. The greater sin is that.
Now, the one who’s delivered Him raises several questions.  Who?  It’s a singular verb, a singular pronoun.  The one who delivered.  So He’s talking about one person.  Is it Judas?  Is it Caiaphas?  Is it Satan?  And I don’t have a clear answer.  Caiaphas is representing Judaism at its worst and Pilate is representing Roman civil law and these are the things colliding in the charges right now.  Some would lean towards Caiaphas as the one.  He says, “He has the greater sin,” because under the religious theocracy, he should know.  “He came into His own and His own know Him not.”  He should know who Jesus is and he’s going to deliver Him over to get rid of the problem because it’s expedient that Christ die for the nation.
John’s expression, “handed over,” is used 11 times previously in this Gospel (6:64, 71; 12:4; 13:2, 11, 21; 18:2, 5, 30, 35, 36). In its first 8 occurrences (6:64–18:5), this verb is consistently rendered “betray” by the NASB, and in each case, it clearly is used in reference to Judas. The next 3 instances of this verb (18:30, 35, 36) are found in the context of Jesus’ trials, after His betrayal and arrest, and thus they are rendered “handed over” by the NASB. I would have to conclude that when this verb is used here, it may be referring to Judas.
why would Jesus mention Judas to Pilate? And why would Jesus’ reference to Judas strike such fear into the heart of Pilate? From Matthew’s Gospel, it would seem that Judas may already have died by his own hand (Matthew 27:3-10). Is it possible that Pilate knew about Judas’ role in all this, and also that Judas had already killed himself? That might give Pilate pause for thought!
Jesus has pointed out that Judas was guilty of a great sin. Judas is now dead, by suicide. While Judas may be guilty of greater sin, Jesus implies that Pilate will also be guilty, of a somewhat lesser sin. Now we begin to see why Pilate is getting more and more uneasy about condemning Jesus, and why he wants so much to release Him. Pilate seeks to instill fear in Jesus, by trying to impress Him with his authority. Instead, Jesus instills fear in Pilate, by reminding this governor where his power comes from, and by indicating that any harm done to Him is God’s will. Even though the death of Christ is God’s will, it will also be the result of Pilate’s sin, for which he must someday give account. No wonder Pilate is getting nervous!
Now, technically we all know that sin is sin.  We don’t like that, but if you steal a pen from the office, or some Post-its or whatever you rip off from your office, that is somehow as bad as murder and rape and plunder and mayhem.  Now, in our view of things, well of course it’s not the same.  But from a purely technical theological stance, sin is sin, right?
 Even the Scripture attempts to deal with sins differently in the Old Testament.  Certain sins were punishable by more severe punishments.  So we can say there are sort of degrees of guilt, degrees of the scope of a crime; but is that really what’s going on here?  If Pilate is going to be a pawn in God’s program and convict Jesus Christ to die a Roman crucifixion, then how is that lesser than the one who’s delivered Him? 
Lu 12:48 "But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
So, we see then that Pilate says ‑ I can do what I want. And Jesus says ‑ You couldn't do anything except God gave you the power.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar." Lu 23:2; Ac 17:7
Now, if you think it was bad before, it's bad now. Cause now they're saying ‑ We're going to report you for letting this political threat to Rome go unpunished. Now you know they were clever enough to twist it around and Pilate knew it would be the end of his life. Pilate knew to tolerate a traitor was the end. Tiberius would never permit to tolerate a traitor. And this did it. He chose in favor of his neck not his soul. They’re saying, “You’re no friend of Caesar if you don’t kill this man.” It’s blasphemous under the religious law for Jesus to make Himself out to be a king and it’s treason for Him to call Himself king when Caesar is alive.  “If you don’t do something about this, you’re not a friend to Caesar.”
And Pilate’s relationship with Caesar and Tiberius are ticklish enough that he understands now that he can’t do anything about this.  He has been painted into a corner and there’s no way for him to win, even though he continues to maintain Christ is innocent.
 Now, look at it from his picture for just a moment.  Who’s he going to fall on the sword for?  This shredded human, Jesus?  Or Rome?  And if he takes it on the brow for Christ and says, “No, I’m releasing Him,” then his career as a political appointment is over.  He might be murdered.  So from a political standpoint, he commits suicide if he doesn’t turn Christ over to be crucified. 
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Gabbatha - This word is not elsewhere used. It comes from a word signifying to be elevated. – the one who is lifted up should not be, but Jesus should be and will be on the cross.
Php 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
The judgment seat in the text is the stem word “bema.”  If you know your New Testament, you know about the Bema Seat.  They bring out Pilate’s bema and they put it on the pavement.  It’s the Lithostrotos stone.  You can go and walk on these stones.  Those stones are beautiful, enormous, huge pieces of rock that for centuries have been walked over and within a stone’s throw, envision a chair of some judgment, throne-looking apparatus being brought out of Pilate’s house, sat down on these stones.  He sits to render judgment.  And, again, the layers of irony in Johannine literature.  I mean, who is going to have the Bema seat?  Who will sit on the throne judging man?  All these layers.  Here’s the God of the Universe being condemned by this little pawn, Pilate, on a stupid little chair on a stupid little rock.
 And the God of the Universe will be the King of the Universe on the throne of God, judging righteously.  Can’t miss the layers and layers of Johannine irony.  “Behold, your king.”
14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" Mt 27:62
But he won’t miss the opportunity to mock them, “Behold, your king.”
I don't know what he meant by that. I don't know whether it was cynical, whether it was desperate. I don't know what it was. By this time the man has lost his senses. By this time he is in a corner, he is cringing, he is panicky, his heart is beating, he is sweating, he just wants out. He's remembering that Jesus may be the son of a god. He's remembering the warning his wife had in a dream which connects up that whole divine possibility. He's remembering that Jesus is innocent. He knows the hatred of the Jews. He worries about the pressure of Rome. He's trapped. He's pounded down. He's ripped. He's got nowhere to go. And he says Behold your king. In other words, the emphasis may be on the "your," you decide. "And they cried out, Away with Him, crucify Him. Pilate said unto them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar."
15 But 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!" Ge 49:10
Our king does not live in a house on the corner, our king does not sit on a throne on this earth; our king is other-worldly.  Lest we love our country too much to displace our Christ as our King, be very careful.  And we see the Jews doing just this.  “We have no king but Caesar.”  And if they could do it, it would be easy.
Samuel goes to God and they have this great discussion.  He says, “Give them a king, but let them know what’s going to happen.  He’s going to take their children and their land and their animals and a percentage of their crops and he’s going to extort the people to support his kingdom so they can be like everyone else.  And warn them and warn them and warn them.”
So, you know, the king’s inaugurated, the whole story.  We now come full circle.  We want to be like all the other people and have a king; and the bitter, better kingdoms, and divided kingdoms and the time of the judges and all the cycle down and now they’re exiles and the remnants are scattered.  And now they’re coming back to Jerusalem, a handful of Jews.  It’s Passover.  There’s a lot of them, they’ve kind of got their confidence up a little bit.  “We have no king but Caesar.” And this is the high priest for goodness sakes.  “No king but Caesar.” How far he’s come from his mission as high priest.
 16 ¶ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. Mt 27:26, 31; Mr. 15:15; Lu 23:24
Applications:
We must be careful not to displace Jesus Christ and put the government first.
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
God’s sovereignty never lessens an individual’s responsibility. Man’s not a puppet.  At the same time, God is sovereign.  The evil that occurs with Judas and Pilate and Caiaphas and Satan is not somehow on the fringe of God’s sovereignty.
God would say, I planned that Jesus will die for you.”
 Jesus’ death on Calvary was not an afterthought because evil got, sort of run out of hand of God’s Sovereignty.  The minute we say that God is Sovereign, and these things occurred, we say, “Well, how could God allow these things to happen?”
I mean, after all, why couldn’t He have dealt with Judas and Pilate and Satan and all those things?  Well, he could have.  And if God wanted to be a puppeteering Creator and just sort of relegate men the way He wanted to, He could sure do that.  Somehow in this context man is a moral agent who works and lives within the Sovereignty of God.  You and I have choices all the time.  Well, does man have a free-will?  Does man have a choice?  Can man make decisions?  Yes and no.  That’s the answer.  Under the sovereignty of God a lot of evil goes on. 
If your view of man is basically good and a free moral agent, then you have a huge problem.  If your view of man is basically, essentially evil and wicked and depraved, it makes great sense.  That God is sovereign even as man is depraved.  So both exist.  If God’s sovereignty somehow dismantled human responsibility, then Christ did not need to die.  Christ only died because it was part of God’s eternal plan to save man from his wicked estate.
Who is responsible or guilty for the death of Jesus? Think about the disciples all running away.  Didn’t Matthew know one good attorney?  He was a tax-collector for crying out loud.  He ought to know a couple of good, shrewd attorneys.  How do we help Jesus out here?  They all run away.
And people around the world who are Jewish are incensed with the whole notion that any way shape or form that Jews are responsible.  Men and women, the text says that Jewish leaders were behind this but they were not solely responsible.  All humanity was responsible.  You see, it wasn’t just the Jews.  The Jews were His chosen people.  They are the ones that sort of incensed the thing.  You read, go home today, and read two verses in Acts.  Acts chapter two verses twenty-two to twenty-three, actually two passages, and Acts 4:27-28.  Acts 2:22-23, Acts 4:27-28.  Peter preaching saying, “All of us are guilty.” It wasn’t just the Jews who nailed Christ to Calvary.  It wasn’t just the Jews who conspired, because all men are guilty, all men are evil and there’s not one righteous, no not one.  Every one of us put Christ on Calvary.  So we say, well, “Couldn’t God have used someone besides Judas and besides Pilate?”
 Sure, He could have done anything He wanted.  He chose before the foundation of time as far as you and I know it that part of His predestined plan, He was going to use these men as pawns.  If that gives you trouble, I can’t help you.  What should give you trouble is that He would love the likes of you and me.
The God of the Universe threw everything at His Son because He loved you and He loved me.
Are you going to please God or man?
Eph 6:5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
How do you look at the death of Christ
Is it a martyrdom or
Is it a substitutionary death for our sins
You say I’m not like Barrabbas
I’m not a murderer – you and I helped kill him because it was our sin that put Him there. Our hard hearts that pounded in the nails, Is He was pierced through for our transgressions. James says if you speak badly of people you are a murderer
Not a robber or thief – you steal every day because you do not give God the glory He deserves, stealing His rain and sunshine and not using the gifts He gave you to serve Him
Not a rebel – Every day you don’t submit to God as your Lord you rebel against Him
You finally have to decide what you will do with Christ, no decision is a decision to reject Christ.
Who do you believe Jesus to be, and what will you do with Him?
The answer of the Bible is this: Acts 16:31 “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved”.
What about it? What is this saying to us? Listen to this. It's saying this. I don't care who you are, I don't care where you live, you've got to make a decision about Jesus. And the whole point that I want to emphasize to you is first of all this: Pilate attempted repeatedly to get rid of Jesus. You know what? He couldn't do it. You know why? No man can do it. If you think you can wiggle out of a commitment to Christ and a final decision, you are wrong. No decision is a decision with Pilate.
What are you going to do? You going to go for your soul or your neck? Your soul or your body? You want eternal salvation or do you want to go for the things of the world now and live it up? At least you think you live it up. You don't really live it up till you meet Christ and find out what livings all about. That's your choice. And God wants nothing more than to put you in a corner and force you to make that decision. But I say to you with all the love in my heart, make it before it's too late and you find that Jesus is silent and there aren't any answers anymore. And don't do what Pilate did. Don't pass the buck. Don't compromise. Don't run away. Pilate said that and you have to say it too. What shall I do with Jesus? And the only wise thing to do is accept Him as Savior and Lord.
Mr. 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
 
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL WE NEED TO USE THE GIFT OR GIFTS GOD GAVE US

Hi, I'm Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries.  In 1Timothy 4:14 Paul said  Do not neglect the gift that is in you.  Romans 12:4 says there many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function.  The Bible says if you are saved you have at least one spiritual gift.  Do you know what your spiritual gift or gifts are and are you using them?  If not you are hurting your church.  Just as a person that is sick or hurt cannot function properly, the church can't either, without the use of your spiritual gift.  One day God will hold you accountable for what you did with the gift He gave you
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 18:39-19:6 PILATE SAID TO THEM, "YOU TAKE HIM AND CRUCIFY HIM, FOR I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM."

John 18:39 "But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" 40 Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber. So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands. 4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him." 5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" 6 Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him."
 Here we see how the Romans would pacify the Jews by releasing someone convicted of crimes to them on the Passover.  Pilate hopes he can finally get Jesus set free and His blood off his hands.  But the Jews have outmaneuvered Pilate again and they have told the crowd to ask for Barabbas the robber.  Pilate scourges Jesus, mocks Him, puts a crown of thorns on His head, and a Kingly purple robe on Him and yet the crowd still will not feel sorry for Jesus, they want him killed.  He finally tells them to behold the Man, in other words look at this pitiful fellow, don’t you want Him to be released and they cry out Crucify Him, Crucify Him.  Then for the second time Pilate tells them I find no fault in Him.  Jesus has done nothing wrong for Him to be convicted of and especially crucified, so Pilate says if you want Him crucified, you do it.
 And then we come to verse 39 and John picks it up from there. And this is the story of Pilate's inability to get rid of Jesus. May I make a spiritual point at this time, and I'm going to remind you of it at the end? You have here exactly what every man has to face, listen to it, an ultimate decision about what to do with Jesus Christ. Pilate tried every single thing he could to get rid of Jesus and he couldn't get rid of Him, God forced him to make the decision himself. And so he will every man.
In Leviticus 24:16 it was blasphemous for a person to call himself a king in Judaism.  Under a theocracy for you to say you were a king if you weren’t a king was guilty of death.  That’s a religious law and a religious system under Caiaphas.  A political law, if you call yourself a king, you’re fighting against Caesar as the true emperor king.  So both of these charges now of sedition raise it way high and Pilate’s going to have to do something about it. 
So, Pilate's really got two options on his hands. Now he's a man of some justice. He's not any kind of average commoner, this guy's a pretty sharp guy or he wouldn't be placed in such a position by Rome. And to his benefit we should say that he's got some sense of justice. They bring to him an innocent man and he's faced with two options. All right, the man is innocent, I could let Him go. That would be right cause He's innocent. But I let Him go, I've got a Jewish revolution, word goes to Caesar and I get either removed or my head removed because Tiberius didn't tolerate messing around. Tiberius Caesar was quick. And when he saw something he didn't like, it was over and he happened to be the emperor at that time. And so, Pilate had the option of doing what was right and losing his job and maybe his head because the Jews would undoubtedly revolt, or he had the option of doing what was wrong, executing an innocent man, and therefore cross‑graining all the Roman justice and judgment that he had ever learned and crucifying his own soul because in some sense he had a morality. So he had two choices ... either save your soul or save your neck.
Now, there's something kind of vague about your soul. There's nothing vague about your neck. Right? So when it gets down to the nitty‑gritty, chances are you'll go for your neck. You know, that's what's going on in our world today? And Jesus said: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?" Fools, people live for money, pleasure, sex ... whatever. And they crucify their souls.
Well, that was Pilate's option. And his neck was so tangible, you know. And so they had him where they wanted him. And with that in his mind, he has just tried to get this thing over with by saying to the Jews ‑ I find no fault in Him. But then he's faced with another problem. He doesn't know what to do with Jesus. He can't give Him back or he's going to have this whole problem on his hands, so he now begins a process of figuring out schemes to get rid of Jesus, see, out‑the‑back‑door deals. First thing he thinks of ‑ Oh, let's see, this is Luke 23 and this is the second phase of the trial which John skips, but Luke picks it up. He says ‑ Jesus is originally from Galilee, right? Nazareth of Galilee. Herod is the chief cheese in Galilee. Herod also happened to be in Jerusalem at this time. Pilate says ‑ I'll pass the buck to Herod. So Luke 23 verses 4 to 12 says he sends Jesus over to Herod. Herod looks at Jesus a while, soldiers mock Him, beat Him a little bit, then Herod says ‑ Take Him back to Pilate. And Pilate is stuck again.
All right, as we move into the trial in verse 39, I'm going to show you three things: Pilate's failing proposals, Pilate's fatal panic, Pilate's final pronouncement. And here we see the absolute dissipation and destruction of a human being. And by that I don't mean Jesus ... I mean Pilate. By the time this deal is over you're going to see a raving maniac, a man who has momentary insanity ... Pilate. He completely loses it.
 39 "But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" Mt 27:15; Mr. 15:6; Lu 23:17
Hoping to strengthen this suggestion, Pilate offered to bargain with the Jewish leaders. It was a custom at Passover for the governor to release a prisoner and please the Jews; so, why not release Jesus? Or, he could release Barabbas; but why would the Jews want Barabbas set free? After all, he was a robber (John 18:40), a notorious prisoner (Matt. 27:16), a revolutionary and a murderer (Luke 23:19). Who would want that kind of a prisoner turned loose?
Incredible as it seems, the crowd asked for Barabbas! The people were persuaded by the chief priests and elders (Matt. 27:20) whose religious convictions did not motivate them toward justice and equity. National feelings always increased during Passover, and a vote for Barabbas was a vote against Rome. Even though Jesus had been a popular figure among the people, many of them no doubt were disappointed that He had not led a popular uprising to overthrow Rome. Perhaps they had even hoped that His “triumphal entry” a few days before would be the start of Jewish liberation.[i]
At this point, Pilate seems to have an inspiration. Perhaps they would settle for a victory in principle. Pilate could appease them by declaring Jesus guilty, and then graciously releasing Him to them, as was his custom at Passover. In this way, Jesus would not be put to death, but He would have been declared guilty. It was a sort of compromise, which gave both sides (the Jews and Pilate) a token victory. The Jews could boast that Pilate had declared Jesus guilty; Pilate could be at ease that he had not crucified an innocent man. And so he put the matter before the Jews. Should he release Jesus to them on this Passover? If Pilate expected this ploy to work, he had greatly underestimated how determined the Jews were to kill Jesus. In John’s Gospel, the name “Barabbas” seems to appear out of nowhere, mentioned first by the Jews. One senses that some orchestration has already occurred behind the scenes.
Now, there was a custom evidently that Pilate had with the people. It may have begun before Pilate was the governor; that every year at Passover they would release from the jails of the Romans one Roman prisoner, a Jewish criminal who had been taken by Rome in prison. Now it is very obvious that this was a concession on the part of Rome to the people because the other gospel writers tells us that the people had the right to choose who it was that they desired to be released. And so Pilate in his little brain begins to think ‑ Aha, it's Passover time and they get to choose whomever they will to be released. And he thinks here's my out. I'll offer them Jesus.
When the Jews approached Pilate, to request the release of a prisoner, he leaped at the chance to release Jesus in this way, but they immediately rejected this proposal, insisting rather that Barabbas be released to them. I do not think that all of this happened spontaneously, but rather that it was planned by the Jewish leaders, and then the crowds were persuaded by their leaders to carry out this plan. It may have appeared spontaneous to Pilate. It was probably designed to look this way. But from the beginning, the Jews sought to gain the release of Barabbas, knowing that Pilate’s desire was to release Jesus. In my opinion, they were skillfully removing this option.
They don't want Barabbas. Barabbas was the scum of the earth. I mean, nobody wanted Barabbas. I mean, this wasn't any little petty guy, this guy was a real notorious criminal. And besides that, the other Gospels tells us that he was a revolutionary, he had been involved in an revolution. The other writers also indicate to us that he had murdered and here it says in verse 40, at the end: "...Barabbas was a robber." And the Greek word is bandit. This guy was a highwayman.
Likely, the highwaymen always frequented the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. And you go down that road, it's just a steep road going down into the desert where Jericho is, and the highwaymen always hid along ‑the way. This guy was a bandit, murderer, rebel, the whole routine. And so Pilate puts him up there with Jesus.
Even Mark’s account leaves room for the view that the idea of releasing Barabbas originated with the Jews, rather than Pilate.
Mark 15:6-15 During the feast it was customary to release a prisoner to them, whom they requested. 7 A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder in a riot. 8 Then the crowd came up and asked Pilate to carry out the custom for them. 9 So Pilate asked them, “Do you want the king of the Jews released to you?” 10 (For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12 So Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?” 13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14 Pilate asked them, “Why, what has he done wrong?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” 15 Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then he had Jesus flogged and handed over to be crucified
 40 Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber. Lu 23:19; Ac 3:14
It is interesting that some manuscripts refer to Barabbas as “Jesus Barabbas,” and thus the question of Pilate, as rendered by the NET Bible: “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” (Matthew 27:17).
If you could do a black and white image of Jesus, you would see the negative and positive image in the person of Barabbas.  Even the name is a word play.  Barabbas means son of the father, not really the son of the Father, but of the Devil, delivered up the Son of THE Father
Suffice it to say this, Barabbas is guilty of the very charge they falsely weigh against Jesus Christ.  So even in their release of the prisoner Barabbas we see redemption occurring, because Barabbas deserved to die.  Jesus is innocently dying.  Jesus is falsely accused.  Barabbas is accurately accused.  The irony in the Gospel of John continues to unfold at many levels.
Barabbas is a very, very important individual because, you see, he exemplifies to us the depravity of man. Here is the best in the universe, God incarnate, and the worse in humanity and whom to men choose? The worst. So typical.
 Well, Pilate’s going to try another tact.  That one didn’t work, so he’ll try another one and he’s going to punish Christ and see if that sort of takes the sting out of the Jew’s attitude toward who this Jesus is. 
You see, this is the fickle mood of the mob and this is exactly what you have right here in Mark chapter 15, it tells us what happened. I'll read it to you. Mark 15:11 says: "But the chief priests stirred up the people that he should rather release Barabbas unto them." Guess who stirred the people up? Religious leaders ... Barabbas, Barabbas, Barabbas ... you know. That's people for you ... sheep, witless, following their leaders. What does the Old Testament say? "Like people, like priest," Hosea, that's what he said. So the chief priests, supposed to be the leaders, we want Barabbas. And all the people chime in and they want Barabbas and Pilate can't believe it. So typical of men.
Well, why did they choose Barabbas?" Well, Barabbas was insurrectionist, the Bible tells us that. And it is very possible that they wanted Barabbas released to start an insurrection. Maybe they figured this was their leader, possible. Kind of interesting that they brought Jesus to be condemned because of His insurrectionist and then wanted an insurrectionist back so they could have an insurrection. Well, needless to say, Pilate is dumbfounded at this point and in Matthew 27, fitting in the slot right here, Matthew says "Pilate looked at the people and said, What then shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?" And you want to know something? That's a profound question. And you know something? That wasn't just a question on Pilate's lips, that was a question that came out of his aching torn heart. What do I do with Jesus? He had to release Barabbas and he's still stuck with Jesus...failing proposal. And when he said ‑ What do I do with Jesus? ‑ The Bible says they screamed in frenzy ‑ Crucify...crucify... crucify.
John 19:1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. Mt 20:19; 27:26; Mr. 15:15; Lu 18:33
Pilate is sinking at this point. His dilemma is unresolved.
So he comes up with another proposal, verse 1: "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged Him." Now this is an effort at compromise. Luke 23:16 tells us that Pilate had said before this ‑ I will chastise Him and release Him. That's good intentions. So now he says ‑ I'll scourge Him. This is a great example of a coward, isn't it? What are you going to scourge Him for, what did He do? Why you going to beat Him, what did He do? What's His crime?
No crime, I'm just going to do this to pacify the people so I can get rid of Him. You see, he figured if he beat Jesus up and mutilated Him that the people would say ‑ That's enough, that's enough. And if he beat Him up and mutilated Him and made Him look like anything but a king, maybe they wouldn't hold on to that accusation that He was a king. And so, the Bible says he scourged Him.
It's hard for us to imagine scourging. A Roman scourge was a stick, thick and it was wrapped in leather. At the end of it were leather thongs of some length and in the end of those leather thongs were held bits of brass and lead and bone filed to sharp points. The victim was then either stretched flat on the ground with his back up, or tied to a post, hanging, or strapped suspended from the ground. And then the man who was accustomed to doing it and knew how well to do it would lash the back 40 times with the scourge. And from what we understand, the back was torn and lacerated to such an extent that even the deep seeded veins and arteries and sometimes even the entrails and the inner organs were exposed. It was a total shredding of the back.
This was such a horrible torture that no Roman citizen, no matter how great his crime, could ever undergo scourging. It was forbidden. And it gives us some indication of why Jesus died so soon upon the cross, because He was beaten so raw before He ever got there and the loss of the blood before He ever made it to the top of that hill with His cross would have made His death much more rapid than it would have otherwise. And so, Pilate thinks if he does this it will pacify the people, but he doesn't understand beast of prey, does he? He doesn't understand that when you wave a little blood in front of them, that doesn't pacify them that only makes them more hungry.
The flogging was done with a whip-like device and on the many tongs of the whip were embedded pieces of metal and/or bone.  There are three levels of scourging and flagellating a person and we would see a bare backed person tied to a post and he’d be whipped.  A flagellation is not like a whipping in the west.  A flagellation would shred the flesh and muscle tissue clear down to the bone.  All the way around the abdomen it would often disembowel a person and many people died just from this scourging.  This is not a little whipping.
 You know the verse in Isaiah 53 “By His stripes you were healed” and when you cut across a scourge on the back of a person the first time, you lay red ribbon shreds of blood and tissue right away.  By those stripes you and I are healed.  He’s a bleeding hemorrhaging mess when He comes out of this scourging.
Isa 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.
The crown of thorns, then, is put on His head.  Typically, depending on how you grew up, you saw a picture of Jesus Christ carrying a cross with maybe one or two inch thorns in His brow and blood sort of down His face in different degrees.  That’s partly true, but there’s at least two more things we don’t often think about.
 The first is Genesis 3:18, the thorn is the result of the curse.  And so now Jesus Christ who will be cursed on a cross is beginning to pay for the curse with the very crown of thorns on His head.  So He breaks the curse that happened back at the fall. Ge 22:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
And secondly, and more importantly, and frankly probably obscure to most of us, is then the oriental kings, if you look at old pictures, art works, you’ll see oriental kings with these spires off their head with radiant coming off the top of their head.  And typically they’ll be larger in the middle and sort of taper off.  That’s their deity, their god deity type things, their human gods on earth as a king. And so we have a palm thorn, which would be very different than the crown of thorns we think of that would be up to 12 inches long, and again, it’s a mock crown.
 So we have this shredded, hemorrhaging Christ, then a purple robe’s going to be put on him.  And so we have the crown, is jammed on His head, this mocking Him as this would-be king.
 3 Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.
Now you see, if you can even imagine this kind of thing. In Fort Antonius where Jesus would have been, the very pavement that they believe is the base of the fort, is well preserved, on that floor are etched little Roman figures in the stone. And they're there, because the Romans use to play a game. When they had all these prisoners waiting down there to be crucified, they teased them. You see, the Romans had always played games about kings. They had a game, Flaccus tells us, that they played with idiots and imbeciles. They would catch them and they would dress them up like kings and they would sit them up on places and they would mock‑worship them and they got great entertainment out of making fools out of idiots. And the Roman soldiers liked to play this game, too, where they'd take one of their prisoners and they'd make a king out of him and his great crowning event would be when they nailed him to the cross and dropped it in its hole. And so they're playing the game with Jesus and it fits because He claims to be a king and Pilate's going to use it and so he lets them play it. And they get Jesus down there and they cram the thorns into His head, it's a mock crown and they throw and old faded robe on Him and they tell Him He's a king and they stick a phony scepter in His hand and they sit Him up. And then Matthew tells us they walked by and first of all they spit all over Him. And then when they've done that they beat Him in the face with their fists. And they made a caricature of Jesus as a king. The irony of it is that they just didn't know, did they? That indeed He was a King. King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
You say, "this is so horrible. Why did Jesus have to suffer all of that?" Number one, I think the fact that He claimed to be God was one great reason why they couldn't let up on and they went to such extremes and punishment because, you see, Romans 8:7 says: "The carnal mind is hostility against God." You see, an unsaved man despises the fact of God. And men are opposed to God. And so, you have here this violent reaction against Jesus' claim to be God.
Another reason He suffered so greatly is because men are such vile sinners. you read Romans chapter 3 if you want a good identification of humanity. They're throat is an open sepulcher with their tongues they have used deceit, their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways. How do you like that for a definition? Jesus suffered because men are cruel and vile.
Thirdly, Jesus suffered so greatly because this is Satan's hour, the hour of darkness. Don't you remember that why back in Genesis, the Bible tells us the serpent was going to bruise His heel? And don't you remember that Jesus said in Luke 22 verse 53, He said: "This is your hour and the power of darkness?" Who's the power of darkness? Satan. This is Satan's hour and he was giving all his shots.
Fourthly, I think Jesus suffered so greatly because He was bearing punishment for our sin and He ... and our sin deserves every possible punishment conceivable, and He bore it all.
Read Isaiah 53
 4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him." Joh 18:38; 19:6
Again Pilot tries to appease the crowd.  He’s going to bring out this beaten, pathetic figure with a purple robe mocking royalty on Him and this ridiculous crown of thorns on His head and he’s going to tell them, “This is what you’re worried about?  This is the threat?”  And that’s why he has Him scourged.
 5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!"
Dripping with sarcasm.  Who is Jesus Christ?  The man-God incarnate.  “Behold the man of God!”  No, “Behold the man that I’ve shredded to nothing and, let me jab you one more time, your king of the Jews.  He’s no threat to anyone.  I find Him innocent.” Well, Pilate’s efforts don’t work.  Verses six and seven, it enrages them.  They are unhappy and they scream out, “Crucify, crucify!”
6 Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." Ac 3:13
Then verse 6, in desperation Pilate says unto them: " You take Him and crucify Him," "for I find no fault in Him."  It really says Yourselves, you, take Him, I, I, even I find no fault in Him per the Greek
Pilate says ‑ You kill Him. Pilate gives them the right of execution in a Roman fashion now. Desperately wants to get rid of Jesus. But you see, they don't want him to get rid of Jesus cause that lets him off the hook and they've got Pilate right where they want him and they're not about to let him get away. And so, Pilate's effort doesn't make it. " You take Him and crucify Him," and for the fifth time he says, "I find no fault in Him."
They don’t want justice, they don’t want a fair court, they don’t want a fair hearing, they want Him dead. 
Now, Pilate’s response is interesting, because he knows they can’t crucify Him, so it’s clearly a taunt.  “Well, if you don’t like what I’ve done, you bring Him to me with the deck stacked, you want me to just sign off on your condemnation and execute Him, then you go crucify Him.”
 He continues to taunt them and mock them all the way down.
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[i] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 18:39). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

JOHN 18:31-38 JESUS ANSWERED, "YOU SAY RIGHTLY THAT I AM A KING. FOR THIS CAUSE I WAS BORN, AND FOR THIS CAUSE I HAVE COME INTO THE WORLD, THAT I SHOULD BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTH.

John 18:31 Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," 32 that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die. 33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?" 35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You 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 fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." 38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.
 We see Pilate still trying to get out of crucifying Jesus, but the Jews will not be persuaded. Jesus is then questioned by Pilate as to who He really is.  We know that Pilate’s wife has had a dream about Jesus; he knows they delivered Him up for envy and so he is still desperately trying to find some way out.  Jesus then puts Pilate on the hot seat and even while He is under threat of the cross, He is still concerned with Pilate’s soul.  Jesus wants to know why Pilate is asking the questions He asks.  Jesus admits He is a King, but of a heavenly realm, not earthly.  He then tells Pilate the reason He came is to bear witness of the truth and poor Pilate responds what is truth. Jesus realizes Pilate is not going to trust Him as Savior, so He ends the conversation and ultimately refuses to speak to him anymore.  Pilate’s fate is sealed.
 The purpose of this lesson is to consider the condemnation of Jesus as John portrays it, so that we see the guilt of Jews and Gentiles alike. No one but our Lord comes out of this looking good.
Verse 31, again, their minds are made up, “We just want you to execute him.” Now the Jews are in a predicament. The Sanhedrin wants Jesus dead, but if they’re given Jesus back, they can’t execute Him. So, they had to play ball with Pilate, and they don’t like this.
I find it very difficult to believe that Pilate is as ignorant and uninformed about Jesus as he lets on to these Jews. I believe there must have been the equivalent of what I would call “the Jesus file” in Pilate’s possession. Think about it for a minute. Today, the CIA, the FBI, and who knows how many other federal agencies make it their business to keep track of any person or group that seeks the overthrow of our government. The identity and activities of every known enemy, as well as all those even suspected, are closely monitored, and all of this information is kept on file. So each possible enemy of the state would have his or her own file, containing all kinds of information concerning their statements and their activities.
Do you think it reasonable that Rome and Pilate kept track of anyone who was popular and had a following among the Jews. Such people had the potential of leading the Jews in rebellion against Rome. Every time Jesus made an appearance in Jerusalem, there was some kind of commotion or disturbance. Surely Pilate was aware of this and kept track of Jesus’ activities. When the Jews brought Jesus before Pilate, it is difficult to believe that He was unknown to the governor, at least by reputation. Pilate no doubt knew what Jesus had claimed, and how the Jewish leaders reacted to Him and His teaching.[i] But Pilate is initially playing out this trial “by the book,” and so he insists that they declare formal charges against Jesus.
31 Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,"
Crucifixion itself, a Roman form of execution, was forbidden by Jewish law because it was torture.
Since the Jews did not charge Jesus formally there was nothing that Pilate could do except hand Him back to them for discipline in their courts. The Jews' response explained why that was an unacceptable alternative. They wanted Jesus executed, but they did not have the authority to execute Him themselves.
Be that as it may, they could have killed Him if they wanted. But they wanted the blood to be on Rome’s hands. Which is another layer of irony, as you know how the story progresses, and the blood is on their hands. Okay? Full of layers of irony in this section. We know from Deuteronomy 21:23 and Galatians 3:13 that cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree. Prophecy in Deuteronomy is shadowing ahead the kind of death Jesus is going to face.
"The Pilate disclosed in the [ancient] historical documents almost certainly acted like this not so much out of any passion for justice as out of the ego-building satisfaction he gained from making the Jewish authorities jump through legal hoops and recognize his authority."
John noted that the Jews' admission that they could not put anyone to death was in harmony with the sovereign plan of God. Jesus had predicted that He would die by crucifixion, not by stoning (cf. 12:32-33). The Romans were the only ones who could condemn a person to death by crucifixion. The Jews did stone people to death for blasphemy (e.g., Acts
6:11; 7:58), but these seem to have been instances of mob violence rather than independent legal action. They probably wanted Jesus crucified too because the Mosaic Law regarded such a death as proof of God's curse (Deut. 21:22-23).
"Ironically, the death that the Jewish hierarchy regarded as a final negation of Jesus' claims became the means of justification apart from the law
Ga 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
32 that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die. Mt 20:19; John 12:32-33
John the Gospel writer, while center-stage is crowded with this experience in the Praetorium with all these religious leaders and Pilate, John puts this parenthetical “By the way, time out” verse in the record.
"It was necessary for three reasons for Jesus to be crucified by the Romans at the instigation of the Jews: (a) to fulfill prophecies  (e.g.,  that  none  of  His  bones  be  broken;  cf.19:36-37); (b) to include both Jews and Gentiles in the collective guilt for the deed (cf. Acts 2:23; 4:27); (c) by crucifixion,  Jesus  was  'lifted  up'  like  'the  snake  in  the desert' [3:14] . . ."
Luke 23:1-2, 1 Then the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus before Pilate. 2 They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation, forbidding us to pay the tribute tax to Caesar and claiming that he himself is Christ, a king”
 33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Mt 27:11
the Greek says, "You, are You the king of the Jews
The Jews' accusations motivated Pilate's question. He asked Jesus if He was claiming to be the King of the Jews.  Messianic  expectation  was running high in Jesus' day, and many people were saying that Jesus was the Messiah. The Jewish leaders had charged Jesus with claiming to be this king (Luke 23:2). Now Pilate wanted to hear if Jesus Himself claimed to be this king.
Are you king, not of a slice of geography; are you king of this people called the Jews? Are you king of this rag-tag group?”
 And I think there might be a little distain, astonishment and disgust in Pilate’s voice when he looks at this bound Jesus Christ before him.
 “Are you the king of the Jews?” with some astonishment. “You’ve got to be kidding! You? Are you the king? You don’t look like a king.”
 Fast-forward, how he mocks them, “Here’s your king. This is what your king looks like to me.”
 34 Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"
The Synoptics reported that Jesus replied, "It is as you say" (Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3). John also recorded that Jesus gave that answer (v. 37), but he included additional conversation first. This added material included Jesus' explanation of the nature of His kingship
Jesus asked Pilate His question to determine how He would answer him. If his question had arisen from his own understanding and curiosity, Jesus presumably would have dealt with Him as a sincere inquirer. If he was merely trying to clarify the essence of the Sanhedrin's charge, Jesus would need to answer differently.
It would surely appear that Jesus was gently probing Pilate, testing for any spiritual interest on his part. Our Lord knew who His sheep were (John 10:14, 26-27; 13:18), but even so He sought to encourage Pilate to seek Him.
If Pilate meant, "Are you a political king conspiring against Caesar?" the answer would have been, "No." If he meant, "Are you the messianic king of Israel?" the answer would have been, "Yes." The object of interrogation, Jesus, became the interrogator temporarily.
 35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?"
Pilate’s answer effectively shuts off this line of conversation: It ticks Pilate off and in verse thirty-five, he responds to Him, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own people delivered you to me.”
Pilate's reply clarified that he had no personal interest in Jesus' kingship, and he was indignant that Jesus would suggest such a thing. He simply wanted to understand what Jesus was claiming in view of the Sanhedrin's accusation. Beyond that, he wanted to discover why the Jewish leaders were so intent on doing away with Jesus. His question, "Am I a Jew?" sarcastically denied that Jewish matters such as Jesus' kingship were of any interest to him personally.  Ironically Jesus was Pilate's King.
Pilate's comment about Jesus' own people handing Him over to him confirmed John's statement that Jesus came unto His own, but His own did not receive Him (1:11).
The word delivered is very important to John. It’s the same word for betrayed when Judas delivers Him. In fact, every time in the Gospel of John, the word delivered, lifted up, handed over, and betrayed are the same word. It’s just the context that tells us the meaning. Just like Judas betrayed Him, just like His own people, the Jews, betrayed Him to Rome, just like He’s going to be delivered up, or lifted up.
And I think the human, incarnate side of Jesus Christ bristled when He heard that remark, because He knew that He came into His own and His own didn’t welcome Him.
Jesus stands there and Pilate says ‑- What have You done? Now we come against the same problem we saw two weeks ago. In the Jewish court and the Roman court the judge had no right to ask that question. Remember that? Under no circumstances was a man to be condemned at the word of his own testimony. It's like the Fifth Amendment. He could not be incriminated by His own testimony. So, Pilate is asking an illegal question and you will notice that Jesus does not answer it. What hast Thou done? Jesus doesn't answer that. Jesus just takes off in verse 36 and starts talking about His Kingdom. He never answers that. Why? It's an illegal question. He did the same thing to Annas, the same thing to Caiaphas; He'll never capitulate to illegalities. And thus He indicts them because of those illegalities. And so rather than answer the question He just explains what kind of a King He is. Now Pilate understands that He is no political King so He says ‑- Now I'll explain to you what kind of King I am.
 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Da 2:44; 7:14; Lu 12:14; John 6:15; 8:15; 1Ti 6:13
Jesus is telling Pilate, “Look, I’m not the kind of king you think. I am not a king who brings armies together and rebels against existing governments and takes over land and controls by subversion. I’m a king of another world. My kingdom is not of this earth.”
He’s also telling Pilate implicitly, “Don’t worry about me as a threat to Rome. I’m not here to threaten your assumed kingship role with Rome’s imperial government.”
Jesus was not denying that His kingdom was an earthly kingdom. He was not saying it was only the spiritual rule of God over the hearts of His people. He was not saying that His kingdom had nothing to do with this world either. This should be clear from Jesus' other references to His kingdom as being an earthly kingdom. His point was that He and His kingdom were not a threat to Rome (cf. 18:10-11). The reason was that God had postponed the messianic kingdom due to Israel's unbelief, though Jesus did not explain this to Pilate.
Now, Pilate was right when he saw nothing in Jesus to resemble an earthly king, but he was wrong when he then concluded that Jesus wasn't a King. He was a King, indeed He was a King. And in Revelation 11:15 it says that He shall reign and rule over every nation and that He shall be King of kings and Lord of lords.
 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." John 8:47; 1Jo 3:19; 4:6
Pilate did not understand the distinctions between Jesus' kingdom and his own that Jesus was making. He did understand that Jesus was claiming to have a kingdom. Consequently he next tried to get Jesus to claim unequivocally that He was a king
The Kingdom of Christ is a spiritual Kingdom. And so, Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:13: "I commend thee in the sight of God who maketh all things alive, and before Christ Jesus," who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession." What confession did Jesus make before Pontius Pilate? "Which in His times He shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords." That's the confession Jesus made before Pilate. That He was indeed a King.
This is talking about God coming into human form. Jesus is claiming to be incarnate God. It's a powerful claim. I love the fact that John makes sure we know that He said: "I came into the world." Before the world began, He was there. Jesus claims to have come into the world. Paul says in Philippians 2, "Christ thought it not something to hold onto to be equal with God, but let go of it, came into the world, humbled Himself, found in fashion as a man," right? God coming into the world. So, in a brief statement, Jesus claims eternal preexistence.
He’s saying, “Yeah, I’m a king. [Change subjects.]  For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world.”
To be king? No, to testify to the truth. You see where I’m trying to make the distinction? It’s not the antecedent. It’s what follows. He’s not saying, “I’m a king, for this I was born,” which would be true. That’s not His point. His point is, “I have come and have been born into the world to testify to the truth.”
Our Lord’s response informs Pilate that he is right to understand Him to mean that He is the King of the Jews. But Jesus wants it to be clear that His purpose in coming is revelation, not revolution. He has come to testify to the truth. Those who belong to the truth pay attention to His words.
The main reason Jesus had come into the world was to bear witness to the truth. By this He meant that He came to reveal God (cf. 14:6). Jesus made subjects for His kingdom by revealing God, by calling on people to believe on Him, and by giving them eternal life. This prepared them to participate in His kingdom. Everyone who truly wanted the truth followed Jesus because His teachings had the ring of truth. Jesus' words were an invitation for Pilate to listen to Him and to learn the truth. Jesus showed more interest in appealing to Pilate than in defending Himself. This desire for the welfare of others marks all of Jesus' interviews in the fourth Gospel.
I came into the world to bear witness to the truth." What truth? The truth about God, the truth about men, the truth about sin, the truth about judgment, the truth about love, the truth about holiness, the truth about life, death, the truth about everything. And when you know Jesus you know the truth ... because Jesus came to proclaim the truth.
verse 37: "... Everyone that is of the truth hears My voice." A lot of people claim to know the truth, you know that? A lot of people claim to have answers. Everyone who really knows truth hears the voice of Jesus Christ. What does it mean "to hear?" The Greek word is to listen intently and obey. There's no such thing as knowing the truth unless you obey Jesus, for He is the truth. He is God revealed to men and there's no truth outside of Him.
 38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all. Mt 27:24; Lu 23:4; John 19:4, 6
Obviously Pilate was not one who truly sought the truth. He turned away from Jesus' offer to reveal it with a cynical comment that implied that the truth was unknowable. Undoubtedly Pilate's experience as a Roman official to whom others constantly lied and his personal desire to use the truth to accomplish his own ends accounted for his cynicism. The very idea that someone would aim his whole life at revealing truth was both foolish and improbable from his perspective.
Other views of Pilate's statement interpret it as despairing, impatient, or sincere. However the context seems to imply that it was facetious and mocking. Pilate turned away from the One who claimed to reveal the truth without waiting for an answer.
Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” What does Pilate mean by this question? It echoes down humanity’s hallways. What is truth? What is truth? What is truth?
 Well, is it this sort of wistful desire, “You know I really wish I knew the truth.”?
 Is it this philosophical distrust with knowledge, “Well, what is truth? Hmm. Let’s think about that.” That would be the Starbuck’s conversation, “What is truth?”
 Is it an indifference to something so impractical? Is it some jaded politician, “What’s truth.  Who cares about truth?”
 Or is it irritation, “What’s truth?” And then he turns and he’s going to declare Him the first of three times, innocent, to the audience.
Now, the interpretation of Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” I don’t know the answer to, but I make two observations. One, the question remains. It’s a great question. What is truth?
Secondly, I think what John the Gospel writer wants you and me to understand with this question is, Pilate lays it out there, but then he walks away. He turns away from the question. He turns away from the One who was born and came into the world to testify to truth. Remember in John 1:29, John the Baptist says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who comes to take away the sin of the world.” The innocent one comes. And here Jesus says, “I came, I was born, I came into the world to testify to the truth.”
Let’s try to make some application from this. First of all there are three applications.
The first is that Peter denies Christ. We looked at his denial last week, the three-fold denial.
 Secondly, the Jews want to destroy Christ. Their clearly stated objective is to kill Him
And Pilate is going to dismiss Christ. At any layer of this story, I think this is a pretty good snapshot at how men and women, look at Jesus Christ. You can deny Him; you can want to destroy Him. And if you don’t think there are people who’d like to destroy the Christian faith, you’ve been in a Christian bubble a little too long. The largest populations of the world don’t merely tolerate, or dislike, or hate Christianity. They loathe it. They would love to destroy what Christ stands for.
 And then of course, there’s the apt politician’s statement in a worn-out sarcastic politician’s viewpoint. That he just dismisses it, “What’s truth?”
Those are pretty good responses that people could have toward Christ, aren’t they? They could deny it, they could try to destroy it, or they could sort of dismiss it, out of hand.
Now, I don’t know how much you as a believer in Christ sort of get your mind out of this Christian experience. Some Churches, have a pretty clear understanding of authority and of truth. Now, you may have to take that by faith, but take it by faith. If you travel around at all and visit other churches, and talk to other believers in Christ, you will discover very quickly that if you hold to the things the truth, and when we talk about this Book the way we talk about it on Sunday mornings, you’re a pretty narrow-minded, bigoted person. If you think this Book is truthful and authoritative, you think it’s the Word of God and He did not stutter when He gave it to us. You think it is an authority and you should submit to it and follow it, you are a rare breed.
This text is about the King of the Universe being accused of treason. About the God of the Universe in man’s court, being alleged to be an evildoer, a person who makes Himself out to be God and treasonous in threatening the world government.
 You now, in a way, the last two are true. If you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, men and women, Jesus Christ is your King, and you salute Him and say, “Yes, Sir.” If you call yourself a believer in Jesus Christ this is the authoritative, truthful Word of God and you do not play with it, but you submit to it. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, this world is not to be Heaven. This world is not your home. This world isn’t to be better and better, and God has a wonderful plan for your life. Yes, He may well bless you and it seems to me He loves to bless us, but that’s not the posture of the believer. It is reporting for duty, that, “You are my King. You are my God. You are the Master of the universe. You are the Master of my soul and I am here because you are Truth, and I submit to your truth. Amen.”
You know, this penetrating question of Pilate’s, “What is truth?” is the question that has echoed through the ages, both among Christians and in the popular culture. I mean, that question of “What is truth?” is a central question for all of us today, isn’t it?
In the post-modernity of America has just muddied this.  You know, it’s whatever you want it to be. I hear young college students out of Christian homes saying, “Well, if that’s truth for you…”
And it just takes us back to the fact that there is one Truth, and it is Christ and His Father, and we must submit to the Word, not to our own opinion.
And when you stop and peel it back and say the question, “What is truth?” what you’re really asking is, “What’s your source of authority? Where does truth come from for you?”; because everybody has some source of authority in their lives. It’s either your own opinions and your own ideas or it’s something outside of you. And when Pilate says, “What is truth?” Jesus is already answered it. He has said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”
The sin nature of man is always trying to make it into his truth. Clear back to Adam and the woman. From Cain all the way down till today. We’re trying to make God in our image. We resist authority. We resist truth.
So, we come full circle and Jesus is as pure at the end as He was at the beginning. There's nothing to hold against Him. He is the perfect man, the prophetic God, the supernatural King, the preincarnate One, the proclaimer of truth, the personal Savior and the proven faultless. I hope you see Him that way and I hope you respond to Him differently than Pilate did.
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[i] For example, we read in Matthew 27:18 and Mark 15:10 that Pilate knew the religious leaders had delivered Jesus to him “out of envy.” This would seem to be information he had discerned or obtained before this trial.

JOHN 18:28-30 PILATE THEN WENT OUT TO THEM AND SAID, "WHAT ACCUSATION DO YOU BRING AGAINST THIS MAN?

John 18:28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. 29 Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?" 30 They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."
 In this section we see the Jews just assume that Pilate will kill this ”Man” Jesus that they want killed because of envy.  Pilate lets them know real quick that it isn’t going to be that simple, but asks what is He accused of? They come up with this general if He weren’t an evil doer we would not have delivered Him up to you. In other words, we want Him killed, don’t worry about the charges, just kill Him. The Jews have Pilate right where they want him and they are ultimately going to force Him to kill Jesus. We will see that Pilate has messed up three times in insulting the Jews and their God by some of the things he did. This is ultimately how they force him to do their will, because if he messes up one more time it is means the loss of his political position at the least and most like it will cost him his life.
 The Jews are going to make three allegations against Jesus Christ to Pilate. First they’re going to claim that He is an evildoer. He’s a wicked person. The second accusation is that He Himself has made Himself out to be the Son of God. And the third claim is treason. Anyone who makes himself out to be king is a threat to Rome. So, He is guilty of treason.
John reported much more about Jesus' trial before Pilate than did any of the other Gospel writers. He omitted referring to Jesus' appearance before Herod Antipas, which only Luke recorded (Luke 23:6-12). He stressed Jesus' authority, particularly His authority as Israel's King (cf. v. 36; 19:11, 14). John seems to have assumed that his readers knew of the other Gospel accounts of Jesus' passion. This assumption supports the view that this was the last Gospel written. The other Gospels stress the legal aspects of this trial.
John presented it more as an interview between Jesus and Pilate similar to His interviews with Nicodemus (Ch.  3), the Samaritan woman (Ch.  4), and the blind man (Ch.  9). It proceeded as Pilate asked four questions: "What accusation do you bring against this man?" (18:29), "Are you the King of the Jews?" (18:33), "Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?" (18:39), and "Where are you from?" (19:9).
My goal in this lesson is to focus on the “big picture” of our Lord’s trial before Pilate. Once this picture is clear in our minds, the details will be more easily grasped.
I shall attempt to set the scene by concentrating on four statements found in our text. The first is a statement by the Jews in verse 31: “We cannot legally put anyone to death.” The second is the question raised by Pilate in verse 38: “What is truth?” The third is the declaration of our Lord in verse 37: “You [rightly or correctly] say that I am a King.” The final statement is made by John in verse 32: “This happened to fulfill the word Jesus spoke, indicating what kind of death he was going to die.”
Before we turn to these four statements, I want to call your attention to a summary[i] of the sequence of events which occurred from the time the Jews decided that Jesus must be put to death, to the time when Jesus rose from the dead. This summary not only reminds us of the final events of our Lord’s life, it also points out the unique contributions of each of the Gospels. Allow me to call your attention to some of the unique contributions of each of the four Gospels.
MATTHEW. Matthew’s Gospel has several unique contributions. It is Matthew’s account that includes an account of the suicide of Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus and handed Him over to the Jewish religious leaders. This story is inserted into Matthew’s report of our Lord’s arrest. Matthew 27 begins with Jesus being brought to Pilate by the chief priests and elders of Israel (verses 1-2). Verses 3-10 then contain an account of Judas’ suicide. Then, at verse 11, the account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate continues.
It seems to me that Matthew wants his readers to know that in the midst of our Lord’s trials, the one who turned Jesus over to the authorities has already come to regret his treachery. The testimony of Judas is added to that of others, including Pilate: “Jesus is innocent!”
Matthew also records the intervention of Pilate’s wife, who had a sleepless night and therefore warned her husband not to be a part of the execution of Jesus, since He was an innocent man. Actually, she did not refer to Jesus merely as innocent, but as righteous (27:19, NAB).
Matthew is the one who includes an account of Pilate washing his hands (27:24), a symbolic gesture intended to indicate that he did not approve of the crucifixion of Jesus. This does not release him from his guilt for taking part in the death of Jesus. He gave Jesus over to the Jews to put to death, and he facilitated their plans by having Roman soldiers conduct the crucifixion. And this Pilate did, knowing that Jesus was innocent.
Finally, Matthew 27:25 records that incredible statement of the Jews: Let his blood be on us and on our children!
MARK. Mark has the distinction of being the shortest account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, a mere 20 verses long. Mark makes no unique contribution here, although he does join Matthew in telling us that Pilate had figured out that the Jews had turned Jesus over to him out of envy (Mark 15:10; see also Matthew 27:18).
LUKE. Luke’s account is only 25 verses long. Luke alone informs us that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who declared Jesus innocent as well, and then returned Him to Pilate (23:6-12). We also learn that these two men were at odds with each other, and that they were somehow reconciled in the midst of their mutual dealings with Jesus.
JOHN. John has the longest and most detailed account of our Lord’s hearing before Pilate. In John, we see an increasing sense of awe and dread on the part of Pilate. We are also told of his cynical remark, “What is truth?” (verse 38). But perhaps the most interesting contribution John makes is his record of the conversation which occurred between Pilate and Jesus. In the other Gospels, Jesus says almost nothing, either to the Jews, to Pilate, or to Herod. In John’s account, Jesus and Pilate do have a conversation of sorts. There is no contradiction here, however. When Jesus refuses to speak, it is (1) because the law does not require Him to testify against Himself, and (2) because He refuses to defend Himself. Jesus would not interact with Herod because he was merely hoping to see some miracle. If Jesus had defended Himself by speaking or performing miracles, it could have prevented His death. When Jesus refused to speak, it was when He was in the presence of the Jews. When Jesus did speak with Pilate, it was inside his residence, where the Jews would not enter. The conversation was not of His guilt or innocence, but about His identity and His mission. We might say that it was evangelistic.
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Mt 27:2, 27; Mr. 15:1; Lu 23:1; Ac 3:13; 10:28; 11:3
"They" refers to all the Jewish authorities
They led Jesus from Caiaphas in that he was the head of the Sanhedrin that had passed sentence on Jesus
The text tells us that it’s early in the morning. In fact, there are two night watches. This is probably about six a.m. Now that may seem like an early time to go to work. It was not uncommon for them to start early in the day.
If you put verse 18:28 and John 19:14 together, Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" you have the sixth hour of the day. What we have here is about six hours from the time that Christ appears before Pilate before He goes through the whole trial. Get a picture.  It’s six hours in length. It’s a very quick process through which Christ goes.
They don’t want to be defiled, but inside they’re wicked and defiled. They’re hearts plotting murder, but they want to look clean; not going into the Gentile’s house lest they be defiled for their ritual. He doesn’t comment, he just tells the facts. They are anxious to avoid external defilement in order to observe a festival whose real significance was that, as well as reminding God's people of the ancient deliverance from Egypt, it pointed forward to the true Passover Lamb, whose sacrifice would bring to an end all distinctions between what was ceremonially clean and unclean, and effect an inward cleansing; and it was the death of that true Passover Lamb that the Jews at this moment are anxious to bring about."
Why then were these Jews concerned that entering Pilate's Praetorium might preclude them from eating the Passover? Had they too not already eaten it the night before? The "Passover" was the name that the Jews used to describe both the Passover proper and the entire festival that followed it including the feast of Unleavened Bread (cf. Luke 22:1). Evidently it was their continuing participation in this eight-day festival that these Jewish leaders did not want to sacrifice by entering a Gentile residence.
There are six different trials taking place, and in each case nobody wants to take responsibility for this verdict.
Herod says, ”Well, it’s not my jurisdiction.”
2 The Jews say, “Well, we really can’t handle this. This has got to be the Romans who do it.”
Pilate washes his hands of the whole deal and even tries to work things out so that there can be the exchange with Barabbas. Nobody wants to be the one who the crowds look to and say, “You’re responsible for putting our prophet to death.”
27:1-2; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66-71). The Sanhedrin had condemned Jesus for blasphemy (Matt. 26:63-66; Mark 14:61-64), which was a capital offense in Israel (Lev. 24:16). However the Sanhedrin could not execute the death sentence for this offense without Roman agreement, and there was little hope of Pilate giving it. Therefore the Jewish leaders decided to charge Jesus with treason.
The word "Praetorium" identified the headquarters of the commanding officer of a Roman military camp or a Roman   military  governor's  headquarters.  Pilate was such a governor.  His normal headquarters stood at Caesarea, the capital of the Roman province of Judea. However during the Jewish feasts Pilate came to Jerusalem with Roman troops to discourage uprisings. His headquarters in Jerusalem was either in Herod's palace on the western wall of the city or in the Fortress of Antonia immediately north of the temple enclosure. The traditional  site  is  the  Fortress  of  Antonia,  the  beginning  of  the  Via Dolorosa or "way of sorrow" that Jesus traveled from the Praetorium to Golgotha.
The Jewish religious leaders appear to have incorrectly assessed the situation. They may have assumed that since Pilate had provided Roman soldiers to assist in the arrest of Jesus, he was giving them a “blank check” to deal with Jesus as they saw fit. Their appearance before Pilate early on this morning does not look like a humble petition being made by the religious leaders of a subject nation. The Jewish leaders boldly arrive at Pilate’s home in the early hours of the morning, with Jesus in their custody (verse 28). It may have been at the very first signs of light. Their arrival at this early hour could almost be characterized as “cruel and unusual.” They further insult Pilate by refusing to enter his residence. In their minds, to do so would be to defile themselves by entering the house of a Gentile. Consequently, they virtually force Pilate to come outside to speak with them. Such actions would not be unusual, if it were Pilate demanding such things of the Jews, but for the Jews to act this way toward Pilate is nothing less than insulting.
Pilate’s response to their demands caught the religious leaders off guard. They seem to have expected Pilate to “rubber stamp” their indictment of Jesus and to quickly authorize His execution. Instead, Pilate required them to declare formal charges against Jesus, charges that they had not been able to establish, even though they worked at this all night long (see Matthew 26:59-60; Mark 14:57-59). Before the Jews, Jesus had confessed that He was “guilty” of being the Son of God. They reasoned that this “confession” made Him guilty of blasphemy, and that because of this, Jesus must be put to death (Matthew 26:62-65, Mark 14:64). However, they were not able to substantiate any charges that would make Jesus worthy of death under Roman law. As they stand before Pilate, they find themselves in a real bind. They believe Jesus is guilty of blasphemy, and deserving of death, but they do not have any solid evidence that Jesus is guilty of any capital offense under Roman law; thus, they are hard pressed to convince Pilate that Jesus really should be put to death.
It wasn’t that the Jews never put anyone to death without Rome’s consent. We know from the account of the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7 that the Jews were more than willing to put someone to death, without permission from Rome. Stephen’s death was different, however. It did not occur during the feast, and it would seem that Rome was not even aware of what took place. It was very different with Jesus and with Pilate.
The words of the Jews in our text mean something like this: “We really want to kill Jesus ourselves, by stoning, but we can’t get away with that at the moment—not now anyway, during the feast, while all of your Roman soldiers are ‘on alert’ and watching us like a hawk.” If they could kill Jesus without Rome’s help, and even without Rome’s permission, they would gladly do so. But they are powerless to do so now, and they know it. Their words convey a feigned submission to Roman authority, but this is all hypocrisy, as Acts 7 underscores, and as Pilate surely knows.
It must have been their fumbled attempt to arrest Jesus in John 7 that convinced the Jewish religious leaders they needed all the help they could get if they were to arrest and execute Jesus.
Did they seek to employ Roman soldiers in this final attempt to arrest Jesus because they felt confident these soldiers would not be favorably impressed with the words of a Jew (as the temple police had been)? Many failed attempts to stone Jesus may have led them to conclude that they must go about this legally, so that the power of Rome could be enlisted in their efforts to be rid of Jesus. It never seems to occur to these Jews that their words to Pilate were a confession of failure on their part  to prove Him guilty and also an admission that our Lord was really in control.
Rome chose to give its subject provinces a fair degree of freedom, so long as they were submissive and cooperative. This meant that the Jews were allowed to govern themselves by making and enforcing laws, and by trying and punishing law-breakers. Rome could intervene at any time, at its discretion, but under normal conditions, they would not do so. The one exception came in the area of capital punishment. There was too much risk of abuse here, and so (in theory, at least) any execution required Roman permission and was normally carried out by crucifixion, at the hands of Roman soldiers.
Normally, Pilate would reside at his palace in Caesarea. During the Passover season, the population of Jerusalem would swell considerably. Pilgrims came from afar to celebrate this feast, and there was a very high level of messianic expectation and enthusiasm. Consequently, the chance of some kind of uprising was considered much greater at this time. Therefore, a sizeable force of Roman soldiers would be stationed in Jerusalem or nearby, and Pilate himself would temporarily reside in Jerusalem. Because of the season, Pilate must bear the burden of responsibility for dealing with the Jews and for determining the fate (humanly speaking, of course) of Jesus.
 29 Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"
The Jews are just saying, “Confirm our judgment.”
Pilate is going to insult them by starting a new trial. Pilate is going to say to them, “If you don’t like what I’m doing (verse 31) take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your laws.  If you don’t like my approach to rubber-stamping your thing, I’m going to start over here. If you don’t like it, you judge him yourself.”
 30 They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."
You don’t go into a court saying, “We want to kill the guy. We don’t want a fair trial. We don’t want a fair hearing. We don’t want you to hear it. Just execute him, that’s all we want from you.”
 Pilate won’t be easily manipulated. He won’t be swayed; he dispatched soldiers to arrest Him just a few hours before. He’s not ready to execute Him for some crime that he’s yet to see or hear. Readers of the New Testament are familiar with Pilate, who is not portrayed in a very favorable light. Luke’s Gospel informs us that Pilate was governor when John the Baptist commenced his ministry (Luke 3:1-2). Later in Luke, we read of his abusive and blasphemous treatment of the Galileans: “Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices” (Luke 13:1).[ii]
What we know of Pilate from history is not very flattering either. He made several major mistakes,[iii] which set the scene for what takes place in our text. Normally, when Roman governors arrived in Jerusalem, they removed their standards (a pole with a Roman eagle or an image of the emperor mounted on the top) because of the Jews’ disdain for such images.[iv] In spite of his awareness of these Jewish scruples and past Roman practice, Pilate’s troops marched into Jerusalem carrying medallions with the emperor’s image or bust among their standards. This precipitated a protest demonstration by the Jews lasting five days, and eventually, Pilate was forced to give in to public pressure by removing the standards.
A second incident occurred when Pilate later constructed an aqueduct to convey water from cisterns near Bethlehem to Jerusalem. This provoked a riot, not because of the aqueduct itself, but because Pilate funded the project with funds he took from the temple. Roman troops had to be used to put down the riot, and Pilate warned them not to use their swords. His instructions were not carried out properly, and there was bloodshed. Paul Maier enumerates some good reasons why Pilate’s actions may not have been as evil or as foolish as they seemed,[v] but this did not prevent the riot or the resulting bloodshed. It was yet another black eye for Pilate’s administration.
The straw which broke the proverbial “camel’s back” seems to have occurred when Pilate set up several golden shields at his headquarters in Jerusalem. These shields had no images, but only an inscription of dedication to Tiberius. Nevertheless, the people protested strongly, backed up by Herod Antipas and his brothers. This time, Pilate refused to back down. In other places like Alexandria, shields were tolerated by the Jews. This was Jerusalem, however, and this was a “golden” opportunity for Herod to make Pilate look bad to Tiberias. Herod wrote a letter of official protest to the emperor, who ordered Pilate to have the shields sent to Caesarea, warning him about offending the Jews by violating their customs.
All of this is to say that Pilate was none too popular with the Jews at this point in time. I doubt very much that he cared either, because his actions toward the Jews seem to indicate that he held a great disdain for them. You can imagine, then, how Pilate must have responded to the knock on his palace door early that fateful morning. “He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him” (Proverbs 27:14).
The Jews are in a hurry, and they need to dispense with the legal formalities as quickly as possible if they are to have this whole horrible thing finished by sunset (so that they can “worship God” at this Passover). They have been up all night with Jesus, preparing for this moment. Now, they demand to see Pilate, but they also refuse to “defile themselves” by entering into the dwelling of this Gentile pagan (18:28). And then, when Pilate asks them to indicate what formal charges they wish to press against Jesus, they are unable to articulate any charges which would make Him worthy of the death penalty. Instead, they come up with a pious sounding version of “trust me”: “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you” (verse 30).
They hesitated to bring the charge of blasphemy against Jesus because Pilate might dismiss it as unworthy of his consideration (cf. Acts 18:12-16). They evidently did not accuse Him of treason because this too would have incited His many followers, and they would have had difficulty proving it. Consequently they did not name the charge but assumed that it was serious and implied that Pilate should trust them and "rubber stamp" their decision. Perhaps the fact that Pilate had provided troops to arrest Jesus encouraged them to think that he had already judged Jesus guilty. They did not appreciate Pilate's question since it suggested that they would have to go through a formal trial from beginning to end.
John’s record paints a very shrewd politician who is very smart about the issues at hand, about his own position. So don’t always write Pilate off as sort of this mealy-mouth embattled governor. He’s a very shrewd, bright man. "It is possible that they were taken by surprise at Pilate's indication that he would try the case himself. They had had his cooperation in making the arrest; now they apparently expected that he would take their word for it that the man the Romans had helped to arrest was dangerous and should be executed."
Pilate realized that the Jewish leaders had determined to do away with Jesus (cf. Matt. 27:18), but he had no evidence that Jesus had done anything worthy of death
 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[ii] A study note in the NET Bible reads, “This is an event that otherwise is unattested, though several events similar to it are noted in Josephus (Jewish War 2.169-74; 2.175-77; Antiquities 13.372; 18.55-59; 18.60-62; 18.85-87). It would have caused a major furor.” The NET Bible (Dallas, TX: Biblical Studies Press), 1998.
[iv] This disdain was based upon their understanding of Exodus 20:4-5, which prohibited the use of engraved images.
[v] Maier, pp. 148-149.

JOHN 18:12-27 JESUS ANSWERED HIM, "IF I HAVE SPOKEN EVIL, BEAR WITNESS OF THE EVIL; - JESUS NEVER SINNED

John 18:12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. 13 And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. 14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. 15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. 16 But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. 17 Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." 18 Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself. 19 The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. 20 Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. 21 "Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said." 22 And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Do You answer the high priest like that?" 23 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?" 24 Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. 25 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not!" 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" 27 Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.
 This section has been called by some Jesus’ trial and Peter’s Denial. Jesus honors the Father by trusting in Him through every circumstance and Peter fails miserably.  Peter fails because He did not watch and pray as Jesus told him and the disciples to in the garden when Jesus went to pray. Mt 26:41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." They kept falling asleep and Jesus had already warned Peter that Satan desired to sift him as wheat earlier in Lu 22:31. Then He singles out Peter in Mt 26:40 Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? Peter fails because he thinks he can’t which contradicts 1Co 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Jesus stands strong because He has prayed and continues to trust the Father.  Peter fails because he is proud, he doesn’t pray for help, and lastly because He did not leave when Jesus told them to leave and let them just take Him. He was somewhere he should have never been. Remember 1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. God will make a way out if you trust Him.
12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.
The commander (Gr. chiliarchos, cf. Acts 22:24, 26, 27, 28; 23:17, 19, 22) in view was the officer in charge of the Roman soldiers. He was evidently the person with the most official authority on the scene. However the Jewish officers (i.e., temple police) also played a part in Jesus' arrest. Perhaps John noted that they bound Jesus in view of Isaiah's prophecy that Messiah's enemies would lead Him as a lamb to the slaughter (Isa. 53:7). Jesus' disciples abandoned Him when His enemies took him into custody (cf. Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50).
So begins 6 illegal trials – See Chuck Swindoll’s graph 3 Jewish Trials and then 3 Roman Trials
 13 And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year.
Mt 26:57; Lu 3:2
The words, They … brought Him first to Annas, provide information not given in the other Gospels.[i]
In the OT the high priesthood was for life and stayed in the lineage of Aaron. However, the Romans had turned this office into a political plumb, purchased by a Levitical family. The high priest controlled and operated the merchandising in the Court of the Women. Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple angered this family.[ii]
Both high priests evidently occupied the same building. One was Annas, the former high priest whom the Jews still regarded as the legitimate high priest since the high priesthood under the Mosaic Law was for life. He served as the official high priest from A.D. 6 to 15 when the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus deposed him. Five of Annas' sons plus his son- in-law, Caiaphas, succeeded him in this office. Consequently it was natural that the Jews regarded Annas as the patriarch and the true high priest and that he continued to exert considerable influence throughout his lifetime. The other high priest was Caiaphas, Annas' son-in-law whom the Romans had placed in the office in A.D. 18 where he remained until A.D.36. Annas was the first of the two men to interview Jesus.
 14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. John 11:50
John doubtless identified Caiaphas as he did here to remind his readers of the prediction of Jesus' substitute sacrifice (11:50), not just to identify Caiaphas. This identification also makes unnecessary a full recording of the  deliberations  that  led  to  the  Sanhedrin's  verdict.  That  record  was already available in the Synoptics and was therefore unnecessary in John's Gospel.
 15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. Mt 26:58; Mr. 14:54; Lu 22:54
This is a very strong term for “acquaintance” and seems to mean a “close friend” (cf. Luke 2:44 and 23:49). [iii]
There has been much discussion as to the identity of this other disciple: (1) the traditional theory has been that it is the Apostle John because of a similar phrase used of him in 20:2, 3, 4, and 8. Also, another possible connection is with John 19:25, which names John’s mother, who could possibly be a sister of Mary, which means he may have been a Levite and therefore a priest (cf. Polycarp’s testimony). (2) this may have been a local unnamed follower like Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea because of their association with the high priest and his family (cf. vv. 15–16).
As the other evangelists, John alternated his account of the events surrounding Jesus' religious trial. He described what was happening in the courtyard (vv. 15-18), then what was happening inside (vv. 19-24), then what happened outside again (vv. 25-27). This literary technique contrasts Jesus with Peter.
 16 But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. Mt 26:69; Mr. 14:66; Lu 22:54
 17 Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." She asked Peter if he was one too, expecting a negative reply, as the Greek text makes clear. Her question reflected some disdain for Jesus. Peter succumbed to the pressure of the moment and denied his association with Jesus (13:37). Perhaps what he had done to Malchus made him more eager to blend into his surroundings.
 18 Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.
Peter’s denial before the servant girl was a striking contradiction to his earlier boast to lay down his life for Jesus (13:37), and his show of offense in cutting off Malchus’ ear (18:10). Evidently the other disciple was also in danger (perhaps greater) but he did not deny Jesus. Peter stood by the fire … warming himself in the cold spring evening, Jerusalem being about 2,500 feet above sea level. This little detail about the cold evening is another indication that the author of this book was an eyewitness.
Peter not only denied Jesus, but He also stood with Jesus' enemies as they warmed themselves in the courtyard of the high priest's large residence.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 
 19 The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. John's version of Peter's denial is quite similar to those of the other Gospel writers, but His revelation of Jesus' interrogation by Annas is unique. None of the other evangelists mentioned it. He probably asked Jesus about His disciples to ascertain the size of His following since one of the religious leaders' chief concerns was the power of Jesus' popularity. Annas' interest in His teachings undoubtedly revolved around who Jesus claimed to be (cf. 7:12,47; 19:4). Both subjects were significant since many of the Jews suspected Jesus of being a political insurrectionist.
From our Lord’s answer it would seem that “His disciples” were understood to be some secret party. [iv]
20 Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Mt 26:55; Lu 4:15; John 7:14,26,28; 8:2
He ignores the first question so as to protect his disciples, takes the attention off the disciples and puts it on Himself
He was assuring Annas that His teachings were not subversive. He did not have two types of teaching, a harmless one for the multitudes and a revolutionary one for his disciples. He invited Annas to question His hearers, not just His disciples,  to  determine  if  He  had  indeed  taught  anything  for  which someone might accuse Him of being disloyal. The testimony of witnesses was an indispensable part of any serious trial in Judaism.
De 17:6 "Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
 21 "Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said."
This seems to imply that He saw the attempt to draw Him into self-incrimination, and resented it by falling back upon the right of every accused party to have some charge laid against Him by competent witnesses. [v]
He indicts them by showing they don’t care about justice by asking for witnesses which they don’t produce.
 22 And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Do You answer the high priest like that?" The Greek word rhapisma translated "blow" (NASB) means a sharp blow with the palm of the hand. Jesus' response to this attack was logical rather than emotional or physical. He simply appealed for a fair trial (cf. Acts 23:2-5). The man who stuck Him was not treating Him fairly. This was a case of police brutality. Jesus had shown no disrespect for Annas.  Jer 20:2; Ac 23:2
Isaiah 50:6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And lMy cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. 
 23 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?"
This shows that Mt 5:39 is not to be taken to the letter, but He did by going all the way to the cross.
It was easier to evade the truth or to silence the One who spoke the truth than to attempt to answer the truth. Truth has a self-evident power of persuasion and those who oppose it find it difficult to deny. Jesus pressed this point and exposed their hypocrisy. They knew the truth but loved error. They saw the light but loved darkness
 24 Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Mt 26:57
Annas  could  not  produce  anything  for  which  the  Sanhedrin  could condemn or even charge Jesus. Therefore he sent Jesus to Caiaphas. The descriptions of Jesus' hearings in the Gospels alternate between Jesus' interrogations and Peter's denials. It seems clear therefore that Annas and Caiaphas lived and interviewed Jesus in different parts of the same large residence or palace. Caiaphas had to interview Jesus to bring charges against Him before the Sanhedrin since Caiaphas was the current official high priest. John noted that Jesus remained bound as a criminal even though He had done nothing to warrant physical restraint.
John did not record what happened when Jesus appeared before Caiaphas and, later, before the Sanhedrin (cf. Matt. 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66-71). Perhaps he omitted these aspects of Jesus' religious trial because the earlier Synoptic Gospels contained adequate accounts of them. Maybe John considered the meeting of the Sanhedrin that he described in 11:47-53 as Jesus' official condemnation.
 25 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not!" Mt 26:69, 71; Mr. 14:69; Lu 22:58; 24:53
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"
Peter should not have followed at all since Jesus had gotten them out of trouble at the garden.
There is some discrepancy among the four Gospels as to who asked the questions of Peter: (1) in Mark, it is a maid who asked the first question (cf. Mark 14:69); (2) in Matthew it is another servant girl (cf. Matt. 26:71); and (3) in Luke 22:58 it is a man. It is obvious from the historical setting that one person asked the question around the fire and the others joined in (cf. v. 18).[vi]
Unlike the first two questions in vv. 17 and 25, this grammatical form expects a “yes” answer.
 27 Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed. Mt 26:74; Mr. 14:72; Lu 22:60; John 13:38
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 
If you live too close to the world, you will get burned by the  
He should have followed Jesus counsel and left.  He goes and denies Jesus 3 times, open to temptation
Luke records Peter sits down at the fire with the wicked
Lu 22:55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
No one is immune to failure, Even the mighty fall
1Co 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
This section Shows the Glory of God and the sinfulness of man
Robert Robinson was just a small boy when his dad died. In 18th century England, there was little in the way of a social welfare system and this meant that he had to go to work while still very young. Without a father to guide and steady him, he fell in with bad companions.
One day his gang of rowdies harassed a drunken gypsy. Pouring liquor into her, they demanded she tell their fortunes for free. Pointing her finger at Robert she told him he would live to see his children and grandchildren. This struck a tender spot in his heart. "If I'm going to live to see my children and grandchildren," he thought, "I'll have to change my way of living. I can't keep on like I'm going now."
He decided to go hear the Methodist preacher George Whitefield. To cover his "weak" urge, he suggested that the boys go with him and heckle the gathering. Whitefield preached on the text: "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7). Robert left in dread, under a deep sense of sin that lasted for three years.
Finally, at the age of twenty, he made peace with God and immediately set out to become a Methodist preacher himself. Two years later, in 1757, he wrote a hymn which expressed his joy in his new faith:
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.
This was printed the next year. At first people thought that Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon, a strong Methodist had written this. Eventually it was learned that Robert was the writer.
In the last stanza, Robert had written:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love Take my heart, O take and seal it Seal it for thy courts above.
Prone to wander Robert was. He left the Methodists and became a Baptist. Later on, having become a close friend of Joseph Priestly, he was accused of becoming a Unitarian. Priestly and other Unitarians denied the full divinity of Christ. However, in a sermon he preached after he supposedly became a Unitarian, Robinson clearly declared that Jesus was God, and added, "Christ in Himself is a person infinitely lovely as both God and man."
Robert died on this day, June 9, 1790. Had he left the God he loved? A widely-told, but unverifiable, story says that one day as he was riding in a stagecoach a lady asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. He responded, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[i] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Jn 18:12–14). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[ii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (162). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.
[iii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (163). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.
[iv] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Jn 18:19). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[v] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Jn 18:21). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[vi] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (164). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

JOHN 18:1-11 JESUS SAID TO THEM, "I AM HE."

  John 18:1-11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?"
John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" 5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way," 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none." 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 the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?"
 After Jesus finishes praying, He goes with His disciples to the garden. John leaves out the fact that Jesus prays again and sweats great drops of blood and His disciples sleep when they should have been praying also. John does this because he is focusing us on the greatness and supremacy of Jesus as the God Man. He wants to show us that the Jews have brought anywhere from 200 to 1200 plus people to get one MAN. The MAN that they could not get no matter how hard they have tried in the past to kill him or capture Him. Jesus shows His authority and power by stepping forward and confronting them with the question who do you seek instead of drawing back and running when they come for Him. They tell Him Jesus of Nazareth and He says I AM; I AM God, the self-existent one, YAWEH. They all are knocked down due to the power in that name. He surrenders Himself so that His disciples will not be killed and to fulfill that scripture that He lost none who were given to Him by the Father. Lastly Peter draws a small sword and whacks off Malchus’s ear and Jesus says put up your sword, Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me? In other words shall I not go to the cross and take all humanity’s sin by taking their place and suffering their hell while on the cross. That is why Jesus came and that is why He had to go to the cross. John 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Now, you see, Matthew, Mark and Luke had different purposes. Theirs was not so directly to present Christ as God and thus they include the agony in the garden where we see Him breaking down from the sin and the anticipation. They include the anguish and the sorrow and the crying and the sweating, as it were, great drops of blood. And they include all those things that make Jesus so humiliated. They include the things that humiliate Jesus and make Him suffer. And they make much of that because that's important. But John's purpose is to present deity so you don't find the anguish in the garden, you don't find the crying in the garden, you don't find the sweating and the great drops of blood, you don't find anything degrading or debasing or humiliating at all in John's gospel. In fact, it's just the opposite. Everything that goes on at the arrest of Jesus as John points it out glorifies Christ.
Jesus Christ is in control of the context and the setting of all the events that are going to transpire
and it ought to be a source of great comfort for us to be reminded that God is in control, but we seem to want to step in in the middle of all kinds of things and say "Now wait shouldn't we do it this way? Shouldn't it happen this way?" We don't like surrendering control to anyone, even the God of the universe, right?
 And when things seem so clear, Peter's a good illustration of it, he’s going to protect and prevent his Lord from being arrested. How often we go off halfcocked. We just run into a situation. Ready, fire, aim. There's a great tendency for all of us to try and control things and sometimes we just need to take a pause and step back and say, "What does the Sovereign have going on here and how do I respond?"
 The arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of those events that if any of us had been there we would have thought, "Oh my, things got terribly out of control."
It is interesting to note that the arrest took place in a garden. Christ, the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), met the enemy in a garden and triumphed, while the first Adam met the enemy in a garden and failed. Adam hid himself, but Christ openly revealed Himself. [i]
1 When Jesus had spoken these words; He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2Sa 15:23; Mt 26:36; Mr 14:32; Lu 22:39
The Kidron Valley formed the eastern boundary of Jerusalem. The Kidron was also a wadi or dry streambed that contained water only when it rained hard. The Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane lay across the Kidron to the east.
The parallels between Jesus' experiences and David's at this point are striking. Both men crossed the Kidron having been rejected by their nation and betrayed by someone very close to them, and hangings followed both incidents
Another thing you don't find the text, but it's fairly good evidence that during Passover they’re going to slaughter 200,000 plus lambs. That's a lot of butchering and in antiquity, to deal with the blood there was one way in the Temple complex, but as they got more and more in production, they believe they actually dealt a ditch or a slew that went from the base of the Temple area into the Kidron. So we can't be sure of this, but there's a pretty good indication that when they're crossing that's a muddy, bloody river bottom. And they go up then to, John says, the garden. There was a garden.
 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Lu 21:37; 22:39
Judas the betrayer is reintroduced to us in this text. Eight times you'll find him mentioned in the Gospel of John. Eight times you'll find the word betrayer. Six times it's attached to the word Judas. The other two times it’s implied. He is known as the one, the son of perdition, who betrays his friend and he's brought back into the storyline.
 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Mt 26:47; Mr 14:43; Lu 22:47; Ac 1:16
Only John mentioned the presence of Roman soldiers. They carried lanterns and torches to find Jesus. Apparently they thought He might try to hide. They also had weapons to restrain anyone who might oppose their plan to arrest Jesus. Judas served as their guide. He had no authority over them.
John alone mentions the torches, the lanterns and the swords, so if you get this valley in mind, this picture in mind, and Passover always took place when the moon was full, and let's just say there are two hundred carrying torches. It would be a pretty eerie parade from the fortress of Antonio, around the city, across the Kidron Valley, into the garden. And you could probably see those torches coming a long way from the garden side of that ravine. I think the irony is touching that they're bringing torches and lanterns at night to apprehend the Light of the World.
Why so many? Well, you got the crowds and you got the press of, "Messiah could be coming." Probably more importantly though, back in John if you remember, they didn't quite get Him. He slipped away and the Jews were going to do all they can with Rome's help to apprehend Him this time, lest they look foolish going out and trying to find Him. It sounds like a problem we're having right now, doesn't it? We want to find him. Let's send out a big detachment to make sure we can get him.
They were armed with torches, swords, and even clubs. (I doubt that the Romans allowed the Jews to bear arms, so it is likely that the club-bearers were Jews.) It would seem they had prepared for the worst. They expected Jesus to attempt to escape, or at least to resist arrest. They came with torches, ready to pursue Him into the darkness if He attempted to evade them.
 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?"
Jesus in John 6:15 is unwilling to let the popular crowd make Him King. He fights that. Now in John eighteen He's willing to be the sacrifice for them. Jesus seems to do things upside down an awful lot. They wanted to make Him King and now they want to crucify Him and He willingly submits to being apprehended. What you're going to look at in this garden, in my estimation, is the most incredible, powerful, dramatic story in the Bible. What's happening here on the edge of the cross is rich, full of irony and drama, of what's going to happen in the lives of His friends and in His own life.
 Jesus came. They were prepared to take Him by force, but they were totally unprepared for what Jesus is going to do because Jesus is going to control even His arrest.
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth.
 See the words "went forth?" That word "went forth" is a singular verb that is going to have a word play in a minute. It's a third person singular. He went forth. Now drop down to verse six:
 So when He said to them, "I am [He]," they drew back.
 See the word "drew back?" The word "drew back" has the same exact tense and parsing but it's a third person plural. In other words, get the picture here, the grammar tells us a story. They're coming out -plural- to arrest Him. He should do what? He should retreat because He is about to be apprehended. But what John tells us is that Jesus came out -singular- and they drew back. It's a very important part of John's pen. He's in control of the situation. He is not going to let them apprehend Him on their terms. He is in command of this context.
 5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.
Both times He answers with the two little words in Greek, "I am." Judas is present. I want you to notice John, the way he crafts this story and Judas is standing with them. If you go back to Psalm 1:1 in your mind:
 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path
 And now we see Judas with the path of those who are going to arrest Christ; the betrayer.
 6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.
 7 Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
 8 Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,"
 John is fond of double meanings so when we find the word "I am" in the Gospel of John, our mind goes to what? The seven "I am’s." I am the Bread of Life. I am the Light of the World; the Way, Truth, and Life; the Door; the Good Shepherd. All those we've looked at in detail, right? If you were with us in the Gospel of John earlier, we went back to Moses' discussion with God and the burning bush, remember?
 "Who shall I say sent me to Pharaoh?"
 And God says what? "I am." YHWEH.
 So when Jesus uses the words "I am" they call Him a blasphemer because He's made Himself out to be God. Well, He is God. That's the point of the "I am’s" all through the Gospel of John. So on the one hand, Jesus could just be saying, "I'm the guy you're looking for. I'm Him." Or He could be saying, "I'm God. I am." I vote for the latter. You can do what you want, but I like the picture here that He's saying, "Who are you looking for?"
 "Jesus."
 "I'm God. I am."
He said, "I am." whoosh. "Lest you misunderstand you Jewish, Roman, political, religious officials; lest you misunderstand, I can lay you down. I'm God," Jesus said. "Who are you looking for? I am."
I wonder if the second time they braced themselves, you know? It's the darkest hour in our lens, but He's deity. It looks like the thing is unraveling, but it's according to plan. He knew everything that was about to come upon Him. He is not taken by surprise. 
This is important. John 10:11 says the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. We have the doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement. Sometimes we think doctrine is sort of dry and dusty and for people who live in seminary towers. Doctrine is very important. It's very important. Why we believe what we believe is essential especially when you look at this Book. The Bible teaches Substitutionary Atonement.
Listen, Jesus didn't just die for them; He dies instead of them. He doesn't just go and take the sting away for a while, sort of at bay when they're going to face their issues. He dies instead of them and He says, "They're going to be protected. I'm going to care for them."
 Here is the God man facing crucifixion and He is concerned about His friends.
 "I'm the one you want. Let them go."
 Who's in control? Jesus Christ.
Jesus could have just thought them away, if He can lay them over with a word.
9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none." John 17:12
This was all for a purpose. By throwing the authorities off balance (pardon the pun), Jesus was now able to make a request that they might not have otherwise granted—the release of His disciples. Think about this for a moment. If one of the charges against Jesus was that He was a revolutionary, then His disciples would have been, in present day terms, terrorists. Do you think that under normal circumstances the authorities would have intended to let Jesus’ disciples just walk away? I don’t think so. But Jesus had them so rattled they didn’t attempt to arrest anyone else. Jesus had twice asked them who they were seeking, and twice they answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.” It was as if Jesus had asked them if they had an arrest warrant, and if so, whose name was on the warrant. Only His name was on the arrest warrant, as it were. So Jesus reasons that if the warrant is only for His arrest, surely His disciples must be free to leave.[ii] And so they did.
John also tells us it's a fulfillment of Scripture. The word fulfill here rings our ears, just like a prophet spoke and the Word was fulfilled; Jesus speaks and the Word's fulfilled but John the gospel writer is going back to John 6:39 when he says this. So here's an unusual fulfilling. Usually a prophet says something and it comes true at some point in time or maybe in the New Testament it comes true. Jesus says it and a few days later it comes true.
 He is the God man who can speak the Word of God because He is God. No word is ever going to fail that Jesus spoke. I hope as we study more and more about the Christ and the Gospel of John that you and I learn the lesson that Jesus Christ is in control. He is not going to fail.
Nothing He has ever said will fail, men and women. He will never leave you nor for sake you. He will never revoke His promise to hold you eternally secure if you've trusted Him. If you've trusted Christ, you will see him face-to-face; not because of what you do but because of what He's done.
 He will never abandon you. If anything Jesus said could fail, it doesn't matter what He said. Nothing He ever said will fail because He's who He is.
Rome may have required the equivalent of an arrest warrant from the Jewish authorities. Only our Lord seems to have been named. While the Jews would have been tempted to arrest everyone there (especially after Peter’s use of his sword), they felt powerless to do so in the light of their interchange with Jesus, which underscored the fact that they had been authorized to arrest only Jesus.
Jesus controls the context, He controls the setting, He controls His arrest, He's in command of that situation, and lastly He's in control of His suffering. Look again at your text. Let's read verses ten and eleven of John eighteen.
 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. Mt 26:51; Mr 14:47; Lu 22:49-50
The small sword (Gr. machaira) that Peter used was probably little more than a dagger. His action was foolish, but it illustrates his courage and commitment to Jesus
In using the sword, Peter was definitely disobeying Christ. Christ does not need our protection; the weapons we are to use to fight Satan are spiritual ones (2 Cor. 10:4–6; Eph. 6). Peter used the wrong weapon, had the wrong motive, acted under the wrong orders, and accomplished the wrong result! How gracious of Jesus to heal Malchus (Luke 22:51) and thus protect Peter from harm. Otherwise there might have been another cross on Calvary, and Peter would have been crucified before God’s time had come[iii]
this is an apostle of Jesus Christ.
 When he denies Christ, don't say, "What a fool. You know, I'd have never done that." He was an apostle. God picked him as one of the eleven and then later the twelve cornerstones of the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ. Don't make him something he's not but don't minimize who he is. He's an apostle of Christ. You need to give Peter the benefit of the doubt.
 John thirteen and Matthew twenty-six he swore he'd die for Jesus. I think he meant it. I think he really thought in his heart of hearts, "If it came to it Lord, I'll die for You," and although inept, here's a demonstration of it. I don't think he was showing off. I think his instinctive reaction was, "I'm not going to let this happen. I'll stop it."
Luke twenty-two tells us that Jesus touched Malchus and healed him. Now, if I read the text right, the ear has come off. That's sort of gruesome. He does not kneel down and pick up the ear and put it back on Malchus' head. Maybe I'm reading too much into the story. It just says, "He touched him." And He just touches him. I think He created a new ear. The other question I can't wait to see the answer to is, "Do you think Malchus will be in heaven?"
 It would be a neat story to hear if he is, won't it?
 "Yeah I was there that night."  Talk about an eyewitness account.
 11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?"
Mt 20:22; 26:39,42
 The Gospels, all four, include this story, but only John tells us the name "Peter" and the name "Malchus." It gives us sort of the air of the detail of an eyewitness. Well, Jesus' response is compassion towards His enemy. He knows these poor eleven guys are totally outgunned. There's no way in the world they're going to win. He says, "Put the sword away."
Peter's brave though misdirected act showed that He still failed to realize that Jesus' death was necessary. Zeal without knowledge is dangerous.
Romans 10:2 Paul says: they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
 Peter had zeal for God, but he didn't understand and so Jesus is going to explain it to him. Now, John the gospel writer does not include the Gethsemane agony. We're talking about the agony in the Garden; the agony in Gethsemane. He doesn't include that and many people say, "Why didn't John include that? He left it out."
Can you imagine what the normal reaction would have been, once Peter had his sword out and was lopping off the ear of the man nearest to him? This was like striking a match in a room filled with gasoline fumes. How quickly and easily both Jewish and Roman arms could have been employed, so that the situation would have gotten completely out of control.
But before anything like this happened, Jesus intervened. It looks like Peter got in only one stroke of his sword before Jesus rebuked him. Our Lord’s words stopped Peter in his tracks: “But Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath! Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?’” (John 18:11).
Jesus is in the middle of securing the release of His disciples when Peter draws his sword. One wonders if any of the Jewish authorities sought to protest the disciples’ release. Someone might have said, “Wait a minute. We can’t let these men go; just a moment ago, one of these Galileans assaulted one of us with his sword. He even cut off this man’s ear.” I can almost hear the Roman commander respond, “Which ear? So far as I can see this man has two ears.” The commander then goes over to Malchus and inspects both of his ears more closely. “I don’t see any missing ear, nor any blood; not even a scar. Let’s turn these men loose and take Jesus into custody. He’s the one we were told to arrest.” I know it was an intense moment, but there must have been some humor in what took place. Few, if any, were laughing at the time, however.
Peter had a sword in his hand, but our Lord had a cup in His hand. Peter was resisting God's will but the Savior was accepting God's will."
 Well I think he does when he says "the cup" that He has to drink. The word "cup" does not mean a literal cup; that He has this chalice that He's going to use and give to Peter and so forth and so on. He doesn't mean that there's some wooden or Gold cup that's going to go through. The figure of speech is called a metonymy. It's the same in the Lord's Supper; this cup. He's not saying we have a cup in the Lord's Supper; it's what in the cup. It's the content of the cup. That's called a figure of speech.
 So when He says "this cup that He has to drink" he's talking about what is in there that He must consume and go through and this is the wrath of God. Jesus Christ says God the Father is going to pour out His wrath against sin, against man's pride, against man's arrogance, against Adam's fall in all humanity. He's going to pour out the wrath of His holy nature that He must justify that wrath and He must unleash it and His Son is the candidate.
The drinking of a cup is often used in Scripture to illustrate experiencing suffering and sorrow. When Babylon captured Jerusalem, the city had “drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling” (Isa. 51:17). Jeremiah pictured God’s wrath against the nations as the pouring out of a cup (Jer. 25:15–28). There is also a cup of consolation (Jer. 16:7) and the overflowing cup of joy (Ps. 23:5).[iv]
The image was a familiar one to His disciples, and it is not an unfamiliar image today. To “drink the cup” means to go through with a difficult experience; and “not my cup of tea” means saying no to a certain course of action. The fact that some trophies are designed like cups suggests that winners have been through demanding experiences and had to “swallow a lot.”
Jesus was able to accept the cup because it was mixed by the Father and given to Him from the Father’s hand. He did not resist the Father’s will, because He came to do the Father’s will and finish the work the Father gave Him to do. “I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8). Since the Father had mixed and measured the contents of the cup, Jesus knew He had nothing to fear.
This is a good lesson to us: we need never fear the cups that the Father hands to us. To begin with, our Savior has already drunk the cup before us, and we are only following in His steps. We need never fear what is in the cup because the Father has prepared it for us in love.[v]
He says, "Don't get in the way of what God the Father's doing. I've got to drink this cup. Don't try to stop it."
 What is John the Gospel writer's picture of glory? Suffering is the way to glory and I think it's ingenious the way the Holy Spirit and the Gospel writer John put it: "I have to drink this cup. I've got to go through this Peter, you don't understand it." We have a zeal, but not for God.
It seems as though Peter can do nothing right. Here he is, trying so hard to prove to Jesus that he will follow Him to the very end, even unto death. And he is right in one sense. He is willing to die. It is he alone who draws the sword and seeks to prevent the arrest of his Master. But in so doing, he is wrong; in fact, he is resisting the plans and purposes of God. His use of his sword would appear to endanger the lives of the Lord and all the disciples. It implied the opposite of what our Lord would later claim before Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would fight to prevent me being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But now my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). Peter endeavors to save the Lord’s life when He is committed to voluntarily giving up His life in order to provide “the way” to the Father. Jesus is about to “drink the cup” which His Father has given Him, and Peter would (so to speak) thrust it out of His hands.
This theme of the deity of Jesus Christ, and of His control over all things, is constantly reiterated and reinforced in John’s Gospel.
Well, three people at least in the text try to control Jesus. Number one we have Judas trying to control the situation. His motivation is to control for money; for monetary benefit. We also have the Jews and the Romans and they're going to control God. They're going to control Jesus as a show of power.
 "We're in control. We're going to bring two -1200 hundred+ out to apprehend this guy. We're in control."
 That's pretty impressive control in my book. Then we have Peter and to a lesser extent the disciples.
 "We're going to control it" and they pull out a sword and whack off a poor guy’s ear.  “We’re going to control it.”
 All three attempts at control failed. Jesus is in control of His own arrest. Jesus knows everything and He's in control. Let me give you four or five lessons here about how you and I can sort of deal with this. I can't help the people in your life and mine who try to control you and me but I can ask us who are control freaks, I can help us a little bit with learning how to deal with that tendency.
Number one, we need to prayerfully develop a firm resolve to accept what God gives. We need to prayerfully develop an attitude that says, "You know, when this thing comes along and my personality wants to make it happen.  To take charge, to make it work, to right the wrong, to right the injustice.  When that happens, maybe I just need to prayerfully resolve to accept what God's giving.”
 Lack of promotion, unfair treatment with money, some disappointment in life, some injustice. Instead of the love to say, "I'm going to make it happen. I'm going to use the force of my personality to fix this thing."  Maybe the first pause is to prayerfully resolve. "God what am I supposed to accept from Your hand here?"
 I think one of the marks at least in my struggle with the Christian life, and maybe yours, one of the marks of kind of growing up in a Christian life is to realize there are some "why" questions I'm never going to have the answer to.
I think one of the marks at least in my struggle with the Christian life, and maybe yours, one of the marks of kind of growing up in a Christian life is to realize there are some "why" questions I'm never going to have the answer to. Why I can't have children; why I can't find a husband or a wife; why my husband or wife won't be the way I want them to be; why my kids won't follow Christ. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why didn't I get promoted? Why didn't my stocks go right? Why did this injustice happen to me?
 You know men and women, when you hang onto that "why" it'll rot your soul. I'm not saying you don't wrestle with it. I'm not saying you don't pray through it. I'm not saying you don't learn from it. I am saying that there may be a time when you have to set that why question over here and go on with life. I think that's part of growing up in the Christian life. Some whys are never going to find an answer.
Secondly, how do we deal with being control freaks, I think we need to channel our desire to control other people and channel that control fondness back to our own soul and say, "Father through Your Holy Spirit, can You control me?" So when your Type A boils up and your temperament and your Myers-Briggs justifies your existence on this world and you can be that way because you are an E or whatever, you know? And you've got the power and you've got the money and you've got the experience and you've got the whatever and you say, "I can do this thing." Well, maybe. You need to say, "God, You need to control me because my ego is way out of line here."
Thirdly, don't try to prove your faith by the sword. I'm not saying we're not going to mess up and fail in the Christian life. I'm saying the tendency is, "I'll pull the sword. I'll play the Trump card. I'll use the force of my position, my rank, and my experience. Because I'm the parent and you're the child I can just bark at you." Don't pull the sword to prove your faith. when you and I pull the sword to prove our faith the Malchus's of life never get their ear back.
Lastly, true power and true control is when you and I are in submission to the will of God. You want to be in control? Then you submit and obey God. You want to be controlling the power? Then you submit to God's authority for your life. Jesus Christ is the most powerful man who ever lived and He is submitting to a higher authority; He is submitting to His Father and He's going to take the wrath of hell for you and me.
Here it is in summary form. I've got to relinquish my control, I need to ask His Spirit to help me be controlled and I need to rest in the outcome no matter what happens because Jesus Christ knows everything and He is in control.
You know, if there is an opposite of this control issue, it's got to be contentment. I think of Philippians chapter four where Paul says, "I've learned the secret of being content no matter what my circumstances are. I've learned I don't have to be in control of even my environment. I’ve slept in nice beds and I’m right now in a hole in the ground a grate over the top of me and I'm content in whatever circumstances I find myself."
And you know that word contentment means enough; that you come to a place when you say, "This is enough. I have enough."
 It's a wonderful application of the passage that you and I in the course of our life are going to have all kinds of trauma and trial and things go awry with our kids, with our grandkids and we're going to try and rescue and rush in. Yes, we help. Yes, we come along side, but to take a deep breath and say, "He is in control. I am not. I'm responsible for my response to Him but there's not a lot I can do about many of the trials of life."
And it doesn't mean we won't weep in the midst of times of weeping.
 It just means that we understand that God is in control.
 If your tendency is to draw the knife, just take a breath and wait and see what He will do.
I was looking at a passage in Luke's Gospel recently where Luke talks about Jesus instructing Peter to throw out the net even after Peter's been fishing all night. It doesn't make any sense to Peter to do this and yet he says, "Master, at Your word I'll do it." He does object a little bit. He says, "You know Lord, we finished all my and we didn't catch anything, but at Your word we will do what You say." I think that’s a good word for us.
There are times when we look at what God calls us to and we say, “You know this doesn't make any sense to me," but do we respond with that kind of committed obedience? Do we trust and obey? That's a key theme in John's Gospel.
It is an amazing thing to read the first verses of John 18 and to realize that Jesus made no effort to save Himself, while at the same time He was saving His disciples. He saved their physical lives by His deeds and words in the Garden where He was arrested; He saved their spiritual lives (and ours) by His death at Calvary. Peter momentarily put his trust in his sword, rather than in his Shepherd. Only Jesus can save anyone from their sins, and from divine condemnation. Have you trusted in Him for the forgiveness of your sins? He is the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep.
May God grant that you are one of His sheep, and that you will rejoice in His salvation, and in His sovereignty. What peace there is in knowing that the Good Shepherd is the Sovereign Son of God, whose promises and purposes always come to pass. In a day when there is much chaos and danger around us, how good it is to know Him Who is in control.
 
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
 

JOHN 17:21-26 JESUS SAID FATHER, I DESIRE THAT THEY ALSO WHOM YOU GAVE ME MAY BE WITH ME WHERE I AM, THAT THEY MAY BEHOLD MY GLORY WHICH YOU HAVE GIVEN ME;

John 17:21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
(NKJV)
 
In this section we see Jesus saying He has given us His glory that we will be one. The earthly sufferings of our Lord are part of His glory (John 12:23; 13:31-32; 17:1). And it is this glory—the glory of servant hood and of sacrificial service, which our Lord has given to us, His disciples. As Jesus was glorified by His coming to this earth, being rejected by men and put to death, so His disciples are also given the same glory, the glory of suffering for the sake of Christ: Secondly, He prays for us to have the same love that the Father loves the Son with.  This is a love which will prompt one to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
 
At the end of verse 21, it's a purpose clause in Greek, .. in order that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." to whom did Jesus come when He came to this earth? To the world, right? Why did He come? Did He come that men might believe in Him? Yes He did, didn't He? Do you think Jesus wants men to believe on Him? Do you think He does? Do you think He meant what He said when He...when He wept and said -- You will not come? Do you think He meant it when He said -- You will not come unto Me that you might have life? Do you think He meant it when He said -- Believe? And receive Me? Do you think He meant that? Do you think He really loved the world, do you? I do. Do you think He really wants the world to believe? I do. Do you care that He wants the world to believe? Do you care that He does? If you do, you'll be one. Because it is oneness that makes the world believe. You see, it's right there. In order that the world may believe. Believe what? That Thou hast sent Me. They must believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And right there in a nutshell you have the salvation gospel.
The purpose of unity is evangelism.
 22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
Joh 14:20; 1Jo 1:3; 3:24
Christ indwells the believer, the Father indwells Christ, we’re to be one with them. 
The goal of this unity in these verses is two-fold.  That the world believes God sent Jesus Christ and that the world will see the love God has for Christ and for others. And again we see this message of Christ being sent, that’s a very important part of the Upper Room Discourse and the prayer.  That they will see His divine mission.
The power and the potential for oneness is there, it's all there, you see, for a wholly, loving oneness, it's all present. There is no basic reason in terms of our nature as Christians for division within the body, there is none. Consequently, all division that comes is contrary to the Christian's new nature. All division that comes is then classified in I Corinthians 3 as the mark not of spirituality but of carnality because if we all have commonness at the point of existence in the new nature, in the indwelling Spirit, common glory then the only excuse for division would be sinfulness violating the principle of the new nature. And that's why Paul hammers on it so hard and calls it carnality. Division is always carnality. Whenever there is division, strife, envy, it is not of the Spirit; it cannot be because that is not what God designed us to be. He designed us to be one
"And the glory which Thou gave Me, I have given them that they may be one even as we are one." Now look at that verse again. You know what He said there? In effect, He said this -- Father, I gave them the ingredients so that they may be one ... now I pray that they will be, right?
What were the ingredients? What is it that we have that makes us one positionally? The beginning of verse 22, the third word, what is it? Glory. What is the glory of God? It's all of His attributes, all of His essence and all of His life put into us. You say -- You mean I have the life of God, the essence of God, the attributes of God in me? Yes you do. In whom? The Holy Spirit ... the indwelling Christ. You say -- You mean that I have the glory of God? That's right and the glory which Thou gave Me, I gave them that they may be one. You know what is the basis of our positional oneness as Christians? That we'll have the same glory. Right? We all possess the same Spirit, the same indwelling Christ, the same divine life, the same divine nature, the same divine essence has been planted in us and that's the basis of our unity. Do you see it? Positionally we are one because we have common glory ... the common Spirit. And you'll notice this fantastic thing in verse 22, the glory which You gave Me, I have given them. God manifest Himself in Christ. Christ manifests Himself In us. In John 1:14, it says: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory." And whose glory was it? The glory as of the only begotten of the ... of the Father's glory ... in Christ.
Colossians 1:27 says: "Christ in you the hope of glory.
You say -- Well, surely, we didn't receive the glory of God. Listen to this. John 1:12: "But as many as received Him, to them gave The power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name." All right, we believe, we receive the right to be children of God.
John 1:16 "And of His fullness have all we received." Did you hear that?
You say -- You mean to tell me that God in His own life, in His own essence, in His own glory abides in me?
Peter said in II Peter 1:4 that we have been made partakers of the divine nature. We are to be glory bearers to the world, Christ in us.
John 17:10 it says: "All Mine are Thine and Thine are Mine and I am glorified in them.
23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Col 3:14
Let me address a very practical application about this.  I think sometimes we get theologically out there, but the fellowship that’s going to occur in this prayer, remember John writes first John also?  And one of the key topics is fellowship.  This prayer is praying that we will be one in God, one in Christ, we will be as Him so that the world will know that He was sent.
Now, a very practical way to look at that is:  Your friendships and mine within the body of Christ, the intimacies that we enjoy with other believers, is a huge invitation to the world.
But when you talk to your friends in the world about your friendships with other Christians, there’s a hole in their heart that beats.  They’d love to have authentic friendships.  They’d love to have real people they could trust.
 And they look at you and me with sort of a sense of awe and dismay.  How in the world can you have a friend like that?
Now the world isn't even going to know where Jesus came from and the world isn't even going to understand the love of God unless they see oneness.
And so, the gift of divine glory unites us into one body, all tied together by the common divine life, all tied together by a common salvation, a common indwelling Spirit. And you know something? If there's not oneness in the body, it goes against God's very design as well as the prayer of Jesus.
If we are not one, if we do not exist as one, then the world has been given the right by God to determine two things. And here they are: if you and I don't live together as one, number one, the world can look at you and say -- You are not a Christian. Right? Sure. They're not about to evaluate us on our doctrine, they don't understand doctrine. But if they hear that Jesus preaches love and they watch you and you don't live it then they're going to say -- You are not a follower of Jesus. And God gave them the right to say that because it says right here in our text that we are to be one that the world may believe that we really belong to Him.
In John 13:35 Jesus said: "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples if you have love one for another."
Number two, the world may say you are a Christian, but they'll follow it up by this -- Christianity is meaningless. You see, the world can judge two things if you're not one and I'm not one, if we're not one in the body, the world can judge two things -- number one, we're not followers of Jesus at all; number two, being a follower of Jesus is meaningless. Right? Meaningless.
God has given the world the right to determine whether Christianity is valid or invalid on the basis of your oneness with other believers
 24 ¶ "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Joh 12:26; 14:3; 17:5; 1Th 4:17
Every Christian who dies goes to heaven because Christ prayed that this might be so (v. 24), and the Father always answers His prayers (11:41–42).
Christ prays that the disciples will see His glory.
He prays; for our eternal fellowship. He prays for our oneness and then for our eternal fellowship.... You say -- you mean that Jesus Christ wants to spend eternity with me? And it is hard to understand, isn't it? You mean He wants me around forever? I mean, that's love.
verse 24, one of the most thrilling statements that a Christian will ever read: "Father, I will or desire," and that word is a deep rich word, it means "I have total pleasure in, I delight in my high desire is that they also whom Thou hast given me," that is all believers, "be with Me where I am." Is that a fantastic prayer?
 I want to be with Him, but He also wants to be with me.
Jesus' desire is that we be with Him where He is to see His glory. Now wherever it is that He is, it's going to be where He displays His glory, right? So it's not just a prayer for this group of disciples to walk with Him down to the garden, you know. That's not it. Wherever it is it's going to be where His glory is on full display. So, it's going to have to be after His earthly life is over because when He came to earth; His glory was veiled, wasn't it? It was veiled. And Philippians 2 tells us that He humbled Himself, that He emptied Himself. That is, He set aside the free use of all of His attributes and restricted Himself to obedience to the Father's design and He came into earth with His ... with His glory veiled. Only one time did He unveil a little bit of His glory on the mount of transfiguration, He pulled His flesh aside and they saw
That means, the believer must be in the presence of Christ when He is in full glory. That's Jesus prayer.
First of all, just the fact that He says that they may be with Me where I am is fulfilled in a spiritual sense even in this life. Is Christ with you all the time? Why sure. Didn't He say: "I will never leave you or forsake you?" Didn't He say: "Lo, I am with you always?" Always. Is there any time in the life of a Christian on earth when Christ is away from him? No
All right, so Christ is here but what He's talking about here is being with Christ in glory. That is when Christ is in full glory after He's been exalted at the right hand of the Father. Now, there are four aspects to this
First of all -- death. You don't ever really get to be with Jesus and see His full glory until you have the wonderful privilege of dying.
In Luke 23:43, I think it is, Jesus said to the thief on the cross: "This day shalt thou be with Me in paradise." The key to that's not paradise, the key to that is with Me," see. That thief, from the moment that he received Jesus Christ, was to be with Jesus Christ.
Second Corinthians 5:7-8 lays it right down simply and clearly, it says this, verse 8: "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."
Philippians 1:23, he loved the Philippians and he said it would be nice to come and see them, but I've got another desire. Verse 23: "I am in a straight between two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better." Having a desire to depart and be with Christ. That's what happens when a believer dies ... instantly into the presence of the glorified Christ and beholds His full glory.
2nd, the rapture - John 14:3, remember that verse? "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself that where I am there ye may be also." That's the rapture. I'm going to come and get you, you're going to be with Me.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
there's a third area, even in the kingdom. You say -- There's some who had the view that we go to heaven and then when Christ comes back to the kingdom we stay up there for a while. Not so. If Christ is coming back here, we're coming with Him because we're going to be with Him where He is, wherever it is.
He didn't say in the prayer I want them to be with Me in heaven -- cause that wouldn't do. He's going to be back on the earth and He's also going to create a new heaven and a new earth. He just says - Father, I want them where I am -- and so we just go where He goes, see. And if it's the kingdom, we'll be there.
Jesus always promised presence whether in heaven, whether in the kingdom, whatever it was.
the eternal state is the fourth one. What about eternity, the new heavens and the new earth, are we still going to be with Him?
Revelation 21:3: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men." And certainly if you compare that with John 1 you find out who it was the tabernacle with men, it was Jesus Christ. "And He will dwell with them and they shall be His people and God Himself shall be with them and be their God." It goes on to talk about what God will do. The presence of God, God with us, Emmanuel. Who is Emmanuel? Jesus Christ. In the eternal state pictured in the new heaven and the new earth, we will be with Christ.
In My Father's house are many dwelling places." And they all are in the Father's house. You have a room in the Father's house. The focus is on Christ and you're with Him. Not 8 blocks down and 4 blocks to the right ... you're with Him.
it's exciting to realize that you will be the constant companion of the glorified Jesus for all the eternal ages
Psalm 16:11, the Psalmist said: "In Thy presence is fullness of joy at Thy right hand are pleasures forevermore."
The security of the believer is also in view here as He prays for all that the Father has given Me, that they be with Me where I am. If you were a love gift given to the Son by the Father, you will be where He is forever.
1John 3:2: "We shall see Him as He is, we shall be like Him." We shall be like Him. Oh. What a fantastic thing. When Christ who is our life shall appear, Colossians 3:4, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.
the confidence in His prayer.
Verses 25 and 26 are just a long "Amen" that's what they are. They're just a long "so let it be, Lord." The requests are ended and the last two verses just breathe the confidence that Christ knows the Father will hear and answer
The Triune God was active in redemption even before creation.[i]
 25 "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.
Joh 7:29; 8:55; 10:15; 15:21; 16:3,27; 17:8 Vocative O  means have mercy, O Lord
This is referring to Jesus’ revelation of the Father’s character and plan of redemption for mankind (cf. vv. 6, 11, 12). The term “known” is used five times in vv. 25–26.
He is pleading His right to pray and our right to God's blessing.
 26 "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." Joh 15:9,15; 17:6 (NKJV)
This is the perpetual mission of Christ to make the father known
This either refers to (1) the continuing revelation of Jesus through the Spirit who clarifies His teachings; or (2) the salvation (Passion Week) events about to occur. The context of the passage implies #1. Salvation involves a person and a message, a decision and a lifestyle, an initial faith and a continuing faith. It involves both the Greek connotation of “know” and the Hebrew connotation of “know.”[1]
He has asked the Father things for 25 verses and now He says -- Father, let it happen, we're Yours, and then, Father, I close with this -- I know You're going to hear and answer and I'm going to continue to do My part as well. Do you see it there? I have declared Thy name unto them and will declare it, will continue to declare it. Father, I'm going to keep on doing my part. This is Christ's promise to continue the work of salvation. It's a pledge to God that Christ will redeem those that the Father gives Him. He asks the Father to respond to His requests and then He says I'll be faithful to My part.
This is a beautiful look at what prayer should really be. It's praying and asking the Father to do what He's promised to do and then saying and I'll continue to do what I know You want me to do. It's not really very fair to pray to God and ask God for this, that and the other thing when you're not willing to do what you know God wants you to do. It's not really fair to spend all your time praying for your unsaved friends when you're not willing to walk over to them and share Jesus Christ with them. Jesus says -- I'm not just asking for You to do it, I'm going to do My part to redeem them.
In v. 26 Christ promises further revelations of the Father, which He gave to the apostles through the Spirit. He asks that we might enjoy the love of the Father in our daily experience (see 14:21–24).[ii]
We may summarize the major parts of this prayer as follows:
In vv. 1–5, Jesus emphasized salvation and the gift of eternal life (v. 2). In vv. 6–19, He dwelt on sanctification: “I have given them Your Word” (v. 14, NKJV). Verses 20–26 focus on glorification—“I have given them the glory” (v. 22, NIV). These gifts take care of the believer’s past, present, and future.
Note also the wonderful assurances of the eternal security of the believer in this prayer: (1) Believers are the Father’s gift to the Son (v. 2), and God will not take back His love gifts. (2) Christ finished His work. Because Christ did His work completely, believers cannot lose their salvation. (3) Christ was able to keep His own while on earth, and He is able to keep them today, for He is the same Savior. (4) Christ knows we will finally be in heaven because He has already given us His glory. (5) Christ prayed that we might be in heaven, and the Father always answers His Son’s prayers (11:41–42).[2]
 
 
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
 
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
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Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
For twitter We spread the gospel to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. 
 
[1] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (158). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (259–260). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
 
[i] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (158). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (259). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.