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JOHN CHAPTER 19 - 21 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Jn 19,1-4 (19k) Sin >> Actions that contradict your words will twist your mind – Pilate was conflicted; he had Jesus scourged though he found no guilt in Him; he was not an evil ruler but a man with a conscience. Pilate tried to appease the Jews and avoid a riot, as though allowing a riot were worse than scourging an innocent man. He was looking after his own interests, protecting his position as governor of Jerusalem; a riot in his jurisdiction would have stained his record, making him appear as one who could not control the people, and the report would have come to the attention of Caesar, possibly taken part in a decision to replace him. Jn 19-1 (17h) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Passing judgment without seeking truth -- This verse goes with verses 4-6 (76h) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Living by a double standard -- This verse goes with verses 4-6 (169j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than the approval of God >> Fearing their religion -- This verse goes with verses 4-6 (188e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Suffering >> Suffering the will of God in your life – Verse one may contain the harshest words in the Bible. When we think of the hatred the world has for God, focused all on one man in a single event, the brutality of His torture must have been unimaginable. When we think of strong demons possessing the soldiers who swung the whips, the superhuman strength they must have had while striking our Lord ceaselessly (thirty-nine times), which was a near infinite number when it comes to being whipped by a Cat O’ Nine Tails, multiplied by the number of strands on the whip, multiplied again by the number of bone fragments and pieces of glass that were knotted into the strands that tore His flesh to ribbons. It was the will of God that Pilate took this case; he had no choice in the matter; he was predestined by God to condemn the Lord to death. (242h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >> World pressures you to forsake your convictions -- This verse goes with verses 4-6 (244j) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal manifestation of God’s word >> His cross is the manifestation of truth -- This verse goes with verse 16 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 19,4-6 (17h) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Passing judgment without seeking truth -- These verses go with verses 12-16. Pilate is an example of us all, in that we all get ourselves in predicaments; we have all found ourselves in no-win situations. So what is the lesson for us in Pilate? He should have followed his conscience. He did to an extent, but these things are easier said than done according to Pilate's example in that he compromised his convictions. This is the first time he saw the Lord; realistically, how could he risk his career and possibly his life for someone he didn't know? We are looking at the story from a much loftier position (the Scriptures) and then judging Pilate based on our standpoint, which is not fair. Since we are judging Pilate unfairly, this suggests that we may have judged Christ unfairly too, just as Pilate did, since the people didn’t give him an opportunity to investigate the matter. Maybe if he knew more about Jesus, he wouldn’t have crucified Him. (76h) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Living by a double standard -- These verses go with verses 12-16 (79c) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Compromising your convictions -- These verses go with verse 9. The thing about Pilate, it was predestined from the foundation of the world that Jesus should die for the sins of the people, so in that sense, the decisions were already made for Pilate. That is the difference between his story and ours. The end of our story has not yet been written, and God has handed us the pencil with an eraser to finish it however we see fit. We are in control of what we do, and we have the sovereign choice to follow our convictions or to sacrifice our conscience. It is our choice to do what is "best" or to do what is right. Pilate could have repented afterward, and the same is true for us. We can sacrifice our conscience instead of doing what is right and then repent of it later to retrieve our conscience in God’s forgiveness, but we don’t know the consequences of our actions. There can be serious consequences for compromising our convictions, but there can also be serious consequences for doing what is right. So the question is, do we want to live with the consequences of our sin or with the consequences of doing what is right, with our conscience intact or in tatters? (126e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> Peacemakers >> Peacemakers avoid unnecessary confrontation – It must have been difficult keeping the peace in Jerusalem (literally translated it means “City of Peace”). After Pilate met Jesus, he realized that no amount of money was worth his job, for all hope of peace and normalcy disappeared after the decision of crucify the Lord of peace. Pilate was stuck in possibly the worst predicament of all time. In a game of chess it is called checkmate. There was not a move he could make that would have led to anyone's advantage. We read the story from hindsight, which was a point of view that Pilate did not have. (169j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than the approval of God >> Fearing their religion -- These verses go with verses 12-16 (239d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachable students >> The teachable submit to the word – The Jews saw Jesus as conflicting with their methods of Judaism, calling Him an instigator. Although Pilate didn't believe in the existence of Truth, he did publicly confess that Jesus was innocent of any wrongdoing, which was highly significant in the eyes of God. Pilate looked at Jesus apart from what other people were saying about Him and formed his own opinion of the case, which was really big on his part. He questioned Jesus alone; His demeanor and words led Pilate to believe He was being falsely accused. To Him, Jesus was a charismatic religious miracle worker, and there is no law against that. (242h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >> World pressures you to forsake your convictions -- These verses go with verses 12-16. Pilate said about Jesus, “I find no guilt in Him.” If he found no guilt in Him, then why did he deliver Him to be crucified? He did it to preserve his place in the world. However, that doesn’t make Pilate a worse culprit than the others involved in His crucifixion; in fact, Jesus said that those who delivered Him to Pilate (the religious establishment) had the greater sin. Hollywood and others depict Pilate as a terrible villain, yet someone else in his position may have agreed with His enemies and trumped-up charges as an instigator. Instead, Pilate admitted that he condemned an innocent man, not a good way to get ahead in life, but it was the truth and the truth mattered to Pilate, though he admitted he was a little foggy about the notion of truth. Jn 19,5-8 (185b) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of lawlessness >> Having no grounds for your hate >> Hating Christ without a cause -- These verses go with verses 12-16 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 19,6-16 (155d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God >> Knowledge of evil testifies against our deeds (197j) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithfulness >> Unfaithful to your own conscience Jn 19,6-12 (175b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Using religion as a front – Pilate cared for His own interests, having Jesus crucified to avoid a riot; being governor he sought Caesar's favor as an effective governor and controlling the people. This was Pilate’s sin, and Jesus said his was less than the Jews. The Jews knew in their hearts that Jesus was the Son of God, though they refused to believe it, whereas Pilate first learned about this at the time. The fact that the Scriptures depict Pilate fearing God also contrasted against the Jews. Jn 19,6-8 (86d) Thy kingdom come >> Belief demands a response Jn 19-6 (63i) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Sarcastic from being emotional >> Frustrated – Pilate was being sarcastic when he told the Jews to take Jesus and crucify Him themselves, because he knew the Jews had no authority to do this, since they were under Roman rule. Besides, if it were up to the Jews, they would have stoned Him, being their manner of execution, being far less gruesome than crucifixion. Jn 19,7-16 (168h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world listens to itself >> The world hears it’s own words – Had a another man come whom the Jews accepted as their Messiah, he would have been the antichrist, a man of the world who spoke as they did. The antichrist would have found no fault in the Jews but confirmed the chief priests and Pharisees as exemplary leaders of Israel. The Jews would have believed in him, but the true Christ they didn't want. Had God sent His Son to begin His thousand-year reign, the competitive nature of the religious establishment would have competed for His throne throughout the entire process, and in the end it wouldn't have worked. That is why God chose to deal with sin before He establishes His kingdom. Jesus came as a humble servant and spoke a language that the Jews did not understand, a language that was not of this world, and the Jews hated Him for it. Jn 19,7-9 (90a) Thy kingdom come >> God convicts us >> Conviction leads us in the way of righteousness Jn 19-7,8 (88h) Thy Kingdom Come >> Fear of God >> Fearing the judgment of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Fear the sovereign hand of God on your life – To say Pilate was more afraid means that he was already afraid, suggesting that Pilate feared God, which is more than what we could say about the chief priests, the Pharisees and Herod. He was afraid he was about to make a poor judgment, namely that he was about to crucify the Son of God. Meanwhile, the Jews had no fear of God at all, though they were Israel's leaders. He was familiar with the religious establishment in Jerusalem, that they were depraved hypocrites, and this was by no means his first controversy with them; rather, they regularly pestered him with their incessant quibbling as the Roman arbitrator of their city. Pilate had grown accustomed to expecting the truth to be opposite of whatever they said, so when they argued that Jesus was not the Son of God, Pilate immediately suspected that maybe it was true of Him, just because they didn’t think so. The chief priests and Pharisees knew He was the Son of God but refused to believe it. (199j) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Unwilling to receive Christ >> Rejecting Christ as the Messiah – The chief priests and Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus because they knew He was the Son of God. Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted; they preferred someone rough and tumble who would take on their adversaries and overcome the Romans and make the Jewish nation a world empire like Rome at the time, and they wanted to rule with Him. However, Jesus never came close to doing anything like this. Satan’s goal is to be like God, and the chief priests and Pharisees were his servants who had the same sentiments and goals, so even if Jesus was the type of Messiah they wanted, they still would not have accepted Him, because they could not accept anyone greater than themselves. Had Jesus intended to establish His kingdom, His influence would have increased, quickly overshadowing the chief priest and Pharisees, and their positions would have become obsolete. This was the real reason they wanted Jesus crucified: they were trying to protect their position. How many times have we seen this in today's world, people protecting their positions at the cost of the truth? They didn’t even bother to consider the truth; all that mattered to them was their power and prestige in society. Jn 19-7 (166a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Man’s wisdom excuses his sinful nature >> Man’s wisdom rationalizes his sin (173j) Man’s Religion (Key verse) (173k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s Religion >> Deeds that are not initiated by God >> Traditions of men – Jesus was seen as introducing a new religion to the Jews, and Moses taught that anybody attempting to dissuade Israel from following their law was committing a sin that was punishable by death (Deuteronomy 13,1-5). The sin of the chief priests and Pharisees was not putting Jesus before Pilate but refusing to recognize Him as their long awaited Messiah. Jesus did not introduce a contrary religion but He corrected their old one, and at the same time fulfilled the law, and by that introduced a new covenant that Moses would have endorsed. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 19,9-11 (94g) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective >> His perspective on the sovereignty of God (241d) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Ask but don’t receive >> Getting an answer that is not in your will – Jesus was waiting for Pilate to ask him a good question, behaving like a king and choosing the questions He would answer, though He was in front of a man who was about the condemn Him to death. Anybody else would have been more congenial. Jn 19-9,10 (175l) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Lack of knowledge – Pilate knew less about Jesus as a miracle worker and far less about Old Testament that prophesied about a man who would come and demonstrate many of the characteristics that Jesus portrayed. The plethora of Old Testament prophecies about Messiah were divided between Jesus who came 2000 years ago as the Lamb of God and Jesus' second coming at the end of this age, two different periods separated by millennia. Yet, the chief priests and Pharisees saw the Scriptures as describing a single event. One set of prophecies depicted a man of humility coming in weakness, while the other set of prophecies depicted the Messiah as a great conqueror. They didn't know how to reconcile these two sets of prophecies, so the fixated one set and completely ignored the other. Jesus can be the lowly Lamb of God and a great conqueror because God is many-sided; He wears many hats, and chose to reveal one side of Himself before He revealed the other. He separated the events by thousands of years to punctuate the difference between His humility and His power to subject all things to Himself. Instead of expecting us to merely accept the fact that this man is a great conqueror through His humility, He showed us, and then he called us to assume these same attributes that we might practice the personality of Jesus. He wants us to understand that He is a mighty conqueror through His humility and lowliness of heart. He could not conqueror his enemies without these attributes; otherwise He would be just another ogre like Satan. God is revealing to us that He is the exact opposite of Satan, that He overcomes His enemies by their own wickedness. He overcomes evil with good. Jn 19-9 (79c) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Compromising your convictions -- This verse goes with verses 12-16 (222g) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> God does not speak to dogs – What was Jesus supposed to say? Had Jesus confessed to be the Son of God, Pilate simply would not have believed Him. Actually it was more convincing of Him to say nothing, since that is what a king would have done. He didn’t need to defend Himself, for doing so would have shown weakness and evoked contempt. Pilate had no choice but to crucify the Lord, unless of course he really believed in Jesus. It would have taken Pilate a lot of faith: a riot would have resulted; Jesus would have been murdered anyway, and he would have been fired. It was a lose-lose situation; all his work to get this far would have been for nothing. Pilate didn’t even know Jesus. How was he supposed to sacrifice his career to protect Him under those circumstances? Jn 19-10,11 (217b) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> No one can tell God what to do – Now it was Jesus’ turn to be incredulous to Pilate. Jesus told him that he would have no authority unless God had given it to him, which is a universal statement that is true about all of us. Pilate was a special person prepared by God to take on Jesus’ case. He was placed in a position of consternation to condemn the Son of God from ignorance and in great contention with the Jews. Jn 19-11 (48h) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your type of sin – Jesus told Pilate that the chief priests, Scribes and Pharisees had the greater sin, who arrested Him and brought Him to Pilate demanding His death, trumping up charges against Him. This indicates there are levels of judgment. God is the judge of all creation, and He has appointed His Son to judge the world in righteousness, and this will happen on the day of the White Throne Judgment when the wicked dead stand before Him and are judged for the sins they have committed against God, sins against His authority and against His sovereignty and position as king of creation. They did not give Him His rightful place in their lives or in their hearts, so to the degree that they rejected Him and held Him in contempt as their creator is the degree of their judgment. (66k) Authority >> Lordship of Christ >> Jesus’ authority >> He has authority over man (71h) Authority >> Ordained by God >> Ordained by His sovereign will >> God chooses to work in you – The statement Jesus made to Pilate, that he 'would have no authority over Him unless it had been given him from above' was humiliating to say the least. It suggested that Pilate was just a pawn in God's hand, and he was destined to be in that position at the time to give a ruling, not as a result of anything Pilate did but according to God's sovereign choice. Pilate obviously had certain talents that placed him there; he could pull strings and make things happen; yet in the end, God was responsible for Pilate’s authority over Christ. This was Pilate’s main purpose in life to condemn Jesus to the cross. The ruling turned into a choice between the Lord and Barabbas, and he allowed the people to choose, so it was not Pilate’s decision. Pilate in that sense was not at fault. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 19,12-18 (209j) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus is the lamb of God >> The Great High Priest offered up Himself – Jesus was the Passover lamb that each family killed and ate, commanded by Moses for the long journey in exile from Egypt. They smeared some of its blood on the doorpost for protection against the angel of death that passed over each household without killing its firstborn. It is significant that Jesus died on Passover and not on the Day of Atonement, when they used one lamb to cleanse all Israel from sin as a nation, whereas Passover was far more personalized and intimate. Each member of the family ingested the lamb that would give them life through their long journeys though the wilderness, as Jesus said, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him" (Jn 6-56). It says they ate the lamb quickly; there wasn’t much time; God was about to deliver Israel from the Egyptians; the moment had come for their freedom, so they took Jesus and immediately nailed Him to a cross. Passover was the next day, and they were not allowed to keep bodies hanging on any tree, so they took Him down dead, and the very next day they ate the lamb in their own homes. When they celebrated Passover, did anyone make the connection between the imagery of the celebration and what they did to Jesus the day before? God made a way for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea on dry land, and on the other side was about a week’s journey to the promise land with God supplying their needs. The Christian has the blood of Christ smeared on the entrance of their hearts. That word “smear” is associated with the anointing, for the word literally means to smear. We smear the blood of Jesus on the doorpost of our hearts, and it shows in the windows of our soul. That is, we can see the blood of Jesus applied to our brothers and sisters in Christ, for the evidence is in their eyes. We are on a journey from a previous life of bondage to a new life of freedom, and in-between is a vast desert. We are directed by God, not wandering aimlessly through disobedience, but on a beeline to the promise land, flowing with milk and honey, the freedom of the Spirit. All these things Jesus did for us, and God the Father planned it all through His great love. Jn 19,12-16 (17h) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Passing judgment without seeking truth -- These verses go with verse 1. Pilate placed the guilt of innocent blood squarely on the head of the Jews, making them first confess that they had no king but Caesar, essentially disavowing their own Messiah that they had hoped for so long would come. The Jews' statement must have shocked Pilate to the point that he just gave Jesus to them. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing from the chief priests, who had so little concern about a man who met all the criteria of their Messiah. They had preconceived notions about Him, and when Jesus did not meet those notions, they rejected Him. Jesus came as a servant of man, whereas the Jewish leaders were looking for a deliverer. Actually, Jesus was a deliverer, only not of Israel's physical enemies but of the world's spiritual enemies, that of sin and the essence of sin—Satan. Pilate on his part was in favor of believing that Jesus was the Son of God, by evidence that it struck fear in him when he heard this about Him. Pilate viewed Jesus outside the Jewish community as one having a more objective opinion, and it allowed him to be more open-minded. (18i) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Unable to distinguish between good and evil >> God’s purpose is evil (75l) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Being manipulative >> Creating a no-win situation (76h) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Living by a double standard -- These verses go with verse 1 (79c) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Compromising your convictions -- These verses go with verses 4-6 (160j) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Temptation to walk in unbelief >> Tempted to abandon your convictions (168c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to the world >> Do not conform to the world’s rejection of God – The Jews might say that God terrorized them ever since He chose them to uphold His name, but the fact is God would have blessed Israel beyond their wildest imagination had they complied with Him. They wanted a God that would condone their lusts and desires and accept their murderous hatred and their petty jealousies. They wanted a God that would fight for their causes instead of having to fight for His. They were tired of God telling them what to do and how to live, commanding them to relinquish their visions and aspirations and adopt His vision and aspirations. God wanted a nation who believed in Him like Abraham, who would go to bat for Him and do anything He wanted without question. This is basically how God had been treating Israel since Abraham; He inducted them into service without asking their permission. God in turn promised to protect them and provide for them everything they would ever need in order to accomplish His objectives, and they would be happier for serving the Lord. They pledged their allegiance to Him, but they never gave it, and in the end Israel rejected their own Messiah. However, God had a plan. He knew they would do that, and so instead of using Israel's obedience all those centuries, it turns out He was using their disobedience. Things are going to be different in the last days; He will use their obedience as He has always wanted, electing them to lead a Great Endtime Revival that will incorporate millions of people, and God will finally have His way with them. (169j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than the approval of God >> Fearing their religion -- These verses go with verse 1 (174j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the truth -- These verses go with verses 19-22 (185b) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of lawlessness >> Having no grounds for your hate >> Hating Christ without a cause -- These verses go with verses 5-8 (199h) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> The world rejects God >> Rejecting Christ to keep the world – Pilate must have been flabbergasted by the words coming from the Jews, essentially condemning their own souls and disavowing their own Messiah, recanting any semblance of faith, just so they wouldn’t have to serve a God they detested, as though their rich heritage throughout the centuries never happened. The Jews made the statement that if God whom their nation had been so-called serving for the last millennium had been like Jesus, then maybe they would have accepted Him. The fact is they rejected Christ, not because He contrast against the Old Testament but because He contrasted against their interpretation of it. In other words, they didn’t like Jesus or His Father, who chose Abraham and his descendents. They acted like a people who had no history with God. (242h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >> World pressures you to forsake your convictions -- These verses go with verses 19-22 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 19-12 (23b) Sin >> Pride can blind your eyes (165e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not partake of the world >> Do not desire the treasures of the world Jn 19-15 (195b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> You can only serve one at a time – Israel has always wanted to be like the world; they never acted like they wanted to be God’s chosen people. Someone who has billions of dollars will not be like everybody else; it’s okay to be different, but to be different by living for God seems something nobody wants to do. People are willing to be different so long as it doesn’t involve a change of nature. People feel the need to integrate their inner self with their outer self, their souls knitted to their flesh and their flesh knitted to the world, but to be different in nature makes them conspicuous, which makes them feel vulnerable. Essentially, it makes them feel like a freak. People will get Mohawks, color their hair in strange pastels, get piercings all over their bodies, tattoos, etc., all to look conspicuous, so why don’t we want God to make us a peculiar people? (1Pet 2-9). They don’t like contrasting natures warring against their flesh but are willing to wait hand and foot on their fleshly, whimsical desires. Man loves war; they take up arms and shoot one another for the smallest reasons so long as it is rational to their fleshly minds, but why don’t they want to get involved in the good fight? The Pharisees, the scribes and the chief priests all refused to believe in Jesus but were ready to worship a God that allows them to live according to the dictates of their flesh. They prefer to serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever (Rom 1-25). Jn 19-16 (244j) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal manifestation of God’s word >> His cross is the manifestation of truth -- This verse goes with verse 1 Jn 19,19-22 (89k) Thy kingdom come >> God convicts us of sin >> Conviction makes us conscious of sin (150ca) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing Jesus to be saved >> Confessing Jesus as the Son of God – Some say that we will never see Pilate in heaven because he had Jesus crucified, but in the mind of a secular governor, confessing Jesus to be King of the Jews was good as confessing Him to be the Son of God. We all needed Jesus to sacrifice Himself in order to be saved, and since it was the predetermined plan of God, the person in charge of the proceedings was merely doing his job. Jesus was predestined from the foundation of the world to be crucified, so was Pilate supposed to overturn God? Not even Satan can do that! No indeed, Pilate likely got saved that day as he did what he was supposed to do, the only thing that he could do. Pilate was not called to sacrifice himself or his career; he was called to sacrifice the King of the Jews, according to the inscription that he nailed above His cross. The Jews tried to make him change his confession, but he wouldn’t budge, his faith tested the very first day He believed. Paul said in Rom 10-9, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (156j) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> You will know them by their words – Pilate may have done a few things to make one wonder if we will ever see Him in heaven, but this inscription he placed on Jesus’ cross makes up for every blunder. In verse 3, when he asked the Lord whether He was the king of the Jews, He answered, “It is as you say.” It appears that Pilate actually understood what He was saying, writing the inscription above Him denoting his faith. So, he got it right. He transposed those two words "Are you" to “You are the king of the Jews,” converting his question to a statement of faith. (173j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice >> Penance of lip service (174j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the truth -- These verses go with verses 12-16 (242h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >> World pressures you to forsake your convictions -- These verses go with verse 1 Jn 19,21-22 (166c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Man’s wisdom excuses his sinful nature >> Man’s wisdom wants to earn his ticket to heaven Jn 19-23,24 (141f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ death -- These verses go with verse 28. The vast majority of Jesus’ cross was formerly written by the prophets centuries before it happened. For some, prophecy affords them strong faith to believe in Jesus; this is the purpose of prophecy, to increase our faith. Fulfilled prophecy points out certain events as acts of God and shows the greatness of God, in that He knows everything from the beginning. This strengthens our faith in that He exists and shows that He can help us. He always knows the best thing for us, and it is never what we expect, nor what we would do, which is the reason we need to consult Him about life-decisions, for if we decide on our own, we might do good things, but we won’t do great things. Even if we think our works are great, He won’t feel the same, because we didn’t consult Him or do His will. God considers us to achieve greatness when we do what He predetermined for us, because then we will have listened for the voice of His Holy Spirit and did what He said, and this is greatness in the eyes of God; the works themselves are secondary. What matters to God is that we bother to listen to Him and desire to integrate into His plan. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 19,25-27 (36m) Gift of God >> Adopted >> We are adopted in the flesh (73i) Authority >> Respect authority in the family >> Respect your mother and Father – Jesus trusted John with His mother and even more with His gospel. To take in Mary would seem an inconvenience, since John was rarely home; after all, he was a missionary. Mary was a godly woman, but in no way went with John on his missionary adventures. Although it doesn’t say that John went very far, not like Paul, no doubt he was often called from the home for lengthy periods in ministry, but Mary didn’t sit at home by herself with nothing to do, for there were other people there tending to her, while she stayed busy with her own ministry tending to the saints. John’s house was no doubt a hub for missionaries and other believers who traveled, and she would lodge them and feed them. John remained in Jerusalem until 70 AD, the time of the Jewish dispersion. We would think that living in John’s residence would be a risky endeavor, since the apostles were targets for both Roman and Jewish persecution, but who else better to take care of Mary than the disciple whom Jesus loved? The question of money is answered by the donations that people contributed to the cause of the gospel. People freely gave as they could, and since there was virtually no overhead back then, no church mortgages and no pastor salaries; virtually all the donated money was used in ministry, sponsoring the apostles and those who served fulltime. Jn 19-26,27 (130h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Commitment stimulates intimate bonding – In heaven wouldn’t it be nice to be someone that Jesus loved like John said about Himself, so that we occasionally received special attention from the Lord; to what extent would we commit ourselves to God to receive this kind of status in heaven? It would be worth this temporal life of 70 or 80 years! Many people in the Church shun heavenly rewards, but this is just an excuse to avoid committing themselves to their faith in Jesus. It was probably true that Jesus loved John the most, because he understood Jesus better than the other disciples. However Mary Madeline and Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus unquestionably understood Jesus better than any of His disciples, including John. They had a revelation of Him, and they took His identity to heart to the point of publicly worshipping Him. Mary Magdalene was like a groupie, like some groupies follow rock stars. She loved the Lord like no one else, but John took it upon himself and claimed that Jesus loved him like no one else. Jn 19-26 (208f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God through obedience >> We are His friends if we keep His commandments – Throughout John’s discourse he spoke of himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. This was a transparent effort to be humble, but in fact John was extremely proud of the Lord’s affections. When we think of God’s great love for mankind that He sent His only Son to die for us, yet to point out a certain person and say that He especially loved him, it must have felt like John's greatest accomplishment. When John claimed that Jesus loved him, he was referring to a phileo kind of love, the love of a friend (though when we look up the word, it reads agape). God loves everybody the same with His agape love, but Jesus loved John as a friend, and this tickled John so much that he had to brag about it to everybody who would read his gospel. Jesus said in Jn 15-14, "You are My friends if you do what I command you." John was the friend of Jesus because he was most obedient of the twelve, the most faithful and insightful, so John’s boast was not an empty one. He was also a participant of all the recorded disputes that the disciples had regarding who was greatest, and it appears this conquest between them never fully ended. John also was present amidst all the recorded special events, such as the Transfiguration and the prayer in Gethsemane; He was one of Jesus’ three closest disciples, despite his fleshly pursuit of greatness. After recognizing and appreciating the Lord’s choice of him, he was not about to make the foolish move of allowing pride to seep into his writing of the gospel, or did it? Jn 19,28-30 (44a) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> It is finished >> Fulfill God’s will – The sacrifice for the sins of mankind was finished, and now Satan is finished, and sin and its rule will one day be finished, and man in his corruption will one day be finished, and this natural realm will one day be finished. All things will submit to God as a direct result of Jesus’ cross and His power to subject all things to Himself (Phi 3-20,21). All things being subject to God has begun after He sacrificed His flesh for His beloved people. That is, when Jesus said, “It is finished,” in a way He meant, ‘It has begun.’ He finished the works that God had given Him to do, but the things He did started something else, the Church, and the Church represents the beginning of God’s kingdom on earth, a kingdom that will never end, and that kingdom is already here in the hearts of His people. Jn 19-28 (141f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ death -- This verse goes with verses 31-37. Jesus said, “I am thirsty,” so if He didn’t say that, then this prophecy would not have come to pass and this scripture would have been broken (Psalm 69-21), but when we read things the Old Testament prophets wrote about Jesus, we wouldn’t have known to attribute them to Him, because it doesn’t read, ‘The Messiah will say….’ How did Jesus know this passage was a prophecy about Him? He feverishly sought the knowledge of God, not just to prepare for his ministry, but being driven by the Holy Spirit, He dedicated His life to His Father at a very early age. Being the word of God incarnate, He had an affinity for the Scriptures. He knew precisely which passages He must fulfill and memorized them all and their locations; therefore in order to fulfill prophecy, He said, “I am thirsty.” Some people might call this "force-filling" prophecy, but Jesus would call it knowing what the Scripture says and doing it, and the prophets would call it knowing Messiah would one day read their writings and commit them to memory and fulfill them in their proper time. There was nothing wrong with the Him force-filling prophecy; had any one else fulfilled them, it wouldn’t have counted. This makes the prophecies special and unique, and no doubt Jesus said He was thirsty many times throughout His life and never fulfilled this prophecy until He was on the cross; then everything He said and did became significant. Point is, Jesus wasn't more responsible for fulfilling prophecy than sinners who nailed Him to the cross and gave Him a drink. See also: Jesus as a boy; Jm 2,14-26; 99e Jn 19-29,30 (184h) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Spending His grace on your pleasures >> Abusing the anointing – Jesus had been drinking wine during the breaking of the bread since the onset of His ministry. In the upper room He took communion with His disciples for the last time. Wine has always represented good times; it represents grapes, and grapes represent rain, and rain represents a land flowing with milk and honey. Drinking the right amount of wine can make the heart merry, and there is nothing wrong with that; in fact, the purpose of the wine at communion is to help us remember that the gift of the Holy Spirit makes us merry, "joy" being one of the fruits of the Spirit. Therefore, it is no surprise that at Jesus’ crucifixion they served Him wine, but sour wine, vinegar, representing the event of His death. Anyone’s death is sour; it is never graced with joy and happiness; it turns every household into mourning when a good man dies. Therefore, the vinegar they give Him at the moment of Christ’s death represents His anointing, the very reason they hung Him on the cross in the first place, and now it had gone sour. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 19,31-37 (141f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ death -- These verses go with verses 23&24. One of the benefits of scourging Jesus so severely was that He died early, so they didn’t have to break His legs, which fulfilled the prophecy about Him, “Not a bone in his body was broken;” rather, all of His wounds were to His flesh. The prophecy, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced,” has to do with those who stood around Jesus while He was being crucified, but it also has to do with the Jews who are alive on the earth at His second coming who will look upon Him whom their nation pierced. There is even a tertiary meaning, not that we must choose between them which is true, for all are simultaneously true. Those who were present at His crucifixion, whether they are in heaven or in hell, will look upon Him whom they pierced, who comes riding on a white horse in victory over sin to set up His thousand-year reign on the earth. Jn 19-31 (19j) Sin >> Self righteousness will twist your mind (174d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Trying to please God by your own good works Jn 19-34 (38a) Judgment >> Blood of Jesus >> God judged the devil through the blood of His son (111d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Water and the word – When they pierced his side and water came out with blood, this indicated that He was dead. Fluid surrounding the heart builds pressure so it can't expand as the heart tries to fill with blood and pump it through the arteries, a condition known as congestive heart failure, suggesting that of all the torture He endured, in the end He died of a broken heart. The water that exited the wound from the spear through the heart is symbolic of the anointing. The blood represented His earthly life and the water represented the promise of the Spirit that He would send at Pentecost as a direct result of the cross. Metaphorically speaking, even while still on the cross, his blood was already turning into water in anticipation of God’s vision of filling His children with the Holy Spirit and clothing them with His power. Jesus 2000 years ago fulfilled His 3½-year ministry preaching the gospel and performing miracles along the way, until He reached Jerusalem and sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world. After His resurrection and ascension He sent the Holy Spirit who took His place and revealed the Father to His people for the purpose of leading them into His will. The Holy Spirit is now with every Christian, Jesus present with us. Jn 19,35-38 (66j) Authority >> Jesus’ authority >> His words are the authority of God Jn 19,38-42 (14e) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Being in charge of the details (136e) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Jesus’ fleshly body >> The flesh of Jesus’ sacrifice (174a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s religion >> Good traditions (Exception to bad religion) >> Good customs – This topic is about good customs as an exception to bad religion. Jesus spoke against the traditions of men on various occasions and condemned them. People use the traditions of men like the cruise control on an airplane, once the pilot engages it, he can leave the cockpit for brief periods while the plain flies itself. However, this is not suggested, and nor should we use traditions like a cruise control to fly our faith. This doesn’t mean every tradition is wrong or bad; there are many customs and traditions that are good, and this passage is an example of one. The people came with their aloes and myrrh and knew exactly what to do to prepare the body for burial from customs and traditions taught for generations. Jn 19-39,40 (189a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> The smell of death >> Priestly anointing perfume of sacrifice – Before Jesus died, a woman broke an alabaster vial of very costly perfume over His head (Mat 26-7; Mk 14-3), so he had a fragrance shortly before He was crucified. 2Cor 2-15,16 says, “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?” Then, before they buried Him they added more fragrances to His body, so after His resurrection people could smell Him coming. This was partly how His disciples recognized Him after the resurrection, though He often changed His form whenever He appeared to them, raising the suggestion also that heaven has a similar fragrance, where Jesus was heading at His ascension. _________________________________ JOHN CHAPTER 20 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 20,1-23 (39d) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection -- These verses go with verses 26-30. It says that John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, beat Peter to the tomb, suggesting that He was in better shape, perhaps taller with longer legs, more of an athlete, whereas Peter may have been short and stocky. It says that John peered into the tomb and saw that Jesus’ body was not there, but when Peter finally arrived, He entered the tomb, and probably touched the bed where his body once laid and took the linen wrappings and facecloth in His hands and may have even smelled them, suggesting that Peter was a man who incorporated all his senses in the learning process; he had a kinesthetic leaning style. John only had to look and see for himself, meaning that he trusted his sense of sight (though he eventually entered the tomb also). Peter wanted to get all his senses involved in the final determination that Jesus was no longer in that tomb, because he didn’t want any questions later rising in his mind. Peter and John wanted absolute proof, and what do they say in a court of law? Based on two or more witness every fact will be confirmed! Peter was using each sense, the sense of sight, the sense of touch and the sense of smell as independent witnesses. After a person has been dead for three days, going on the fourth day, it said about Lazarus that there was already a stench. It doesn’t say, but there was probably no smell of death there, because everything about the death of Christ had been forgotten, even the smell of his would be decaying corpse was erased from time and memory. There was no longer a trace of Jesus having died, except the scars on His back, the nail holes in his hands and feet, and the hole in His side where they pierced Him with a sword. Jn 20,2-10 (78a) Thy kingdom come >> God ministers to people through the humble >> The humble are invisible to men, but God sees them (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship – John was Jesus’ favorite apostle, called "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Part of that was on an emotional level. They got along well; they were friends. More than that, Jesus loved John because he was interested in the person of Christ like no other apostle. This is evidenced by the other three gospels, which mostly spoke about Jesus' miracles and His parables. However, John spoke mostly about Jesus’ relationship with the Father. The other gospels told what Jesus said and did, while John examined why He went to the cross. Jn 14-6 encapsulates everything John loved about Jesus, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” Jn 20,3-6 (101c) Thy kingdom come >> Zeal >> For the manifestation of God’s kingdom >> Zealous for God’s works – After receiving reliable information that Jesus was raised from the dead, they had to go see for themselves, not casually walking to the cemetery; they ran. John was a better athlete and in fact lived to a very old age. Peter finally made his way to the tomb, seeing John standing in front of it, entered and immediately grabbed the linen cloths and probably held them to his face, smelling the anointing oil that was poured on Him, preparing Him for burial. Peter involved all his senses in the discovery of Jesus’ absence, indicating his type of learning style, very kinesthetic. Whereas, John saw that the stone placed in front of the tomb was removed and that the guards were gone and was satisfied to stoop and look into the tomb to see that Jesus wasn’t there. John had an analytical learning style that his first epistle confirms. While John was standing outside the tomb, he was no doubt thinking about all the things Jesus said to them about His death, burial and resurrection. He kept telling His disciples that He would be handed over to the chief priests and be crucified and on the third day rise again. He was probably thinking about these words that Jesus repeatedly told them, and for that reason, he didn’t need to go into the tomb, though eventually he entered with Peter. Paul talked about running in such a way that you may win; the disciples literally ran. Figuratively, they were running a race, holding the piton without dropping it, believing in Jesus’ blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. (194c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Running to meet Jesus prior to His visitation (233h) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seek His glory without wavering >> Seek His glory by faith KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 20,5-8 (41i) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Be godly in all your behavior – Jesus didn’t pitch his burial garb in a corner of the tomb, but nicely rolled the face cloth in a place by itself, showing order. They say "cleanliness is next to godliness;" though that is a fallacy, it shows association. Cleanliness does not cause godliness, but godliness causes cleanliness. Keeping your house clean does not guarantee you eternal life, but godly people should not live as slobs. Jn 20-9 (39a) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Resurrection of Jesus Christ – The resurrection is the miracle that God came to give mankind, the miracle of everlasting life, for that which God delivers from death never dies again. Jesus performed many miracles, but the only one that mattered was the miracle His Father performed, raising His Son from the dead. With Him, the Father will use to resurrect every body that was ever born, especially those who have believed in Him. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate manifestation of victory over sin and death. His resurrection represents the fact that Jesus never committed a single sin, which is how God was able to raise Him from the dead. The resurrection itself represented not just a theoretical victory over death, but a literal one. The finality of death has been overcome by the finality of the resurrection, its finality being defined by everlasting life, for we who partake of His resurrection will never die again. (141g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ resurrection (175f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Dodging the issue (willful ignorance) >> Evading the word of God – What was it about the resurrection that the disciples didn’t understand? Jesus stated emphatically while He was still alive in the flesh that He was destined for the cross and later to rise from the dead. Mk 8-31 says, “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Why didn’t they know about these things after Jesus told them? He didn’t talk to them in parables or in secret code or in a manner they weren’t supposed to understand but spoke plainly to them. In a sense they didn’t even hear what He said, though literally they did. They stood right in front of Him as he spoke; they saw his lips move and heard the sound of His voice, but could not perceive His words, why? There were demonic forces at work! It says this knowledge was taken from them like seed that fell beside the road in His parable about the sower (Mat 13-4). If this happened to them, then it happens to us too, and note that the demons were arrogant to do this right in front of Jesus to His own disciples, and He was helpless to do anything about it, why? The demons had every right to steal the word from their hearts if they were unwilling to believe it. The disciples were willfully ignorant, and it gave place for the demons to blind their eyes from the truth. It gets scary when we start wondering what we don’t understand about the Scriptures; what truth has spiritual darkness blinded us through our willful ignorance? For the disciples, it was the fact that their master was about to suffer and die; it was knowledge they didn’t want to know. What knowledge are we resisting in the New Testament to which the demons are blinding our minds? If there is anything, we can be sure the demons are circling overhead like vultures waiting for us to say, ‘I don’t believe it.’ Then the demons come swooping with their sharp talons and steal the word from our hearts, leaving us with no potential to believe. In this way there is lost knowledge of the Scriptures, things just as monumental as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we don’t understand about God that we should know. Jesus attitude about this was that His disciples would eventually figure it out, just like we too will eventually understand what we don’t know, only at a very high emotional cost, just as the cross was extremely traumatic for the disciples. It would have gone a lot smoother had they been willing to accept what Jesus was trying to tell them. There will be those in our day who will never understand, their willful ignorance winning the battle against the truth. Therefore, it would behoove us to open our minds to the possibility that there are things about the word of God that the demons are keeping from us, and to seek this lost knowledge with all our hearts. Hint: start looking here and here. Also see: Lost knowledge of the Scriptures (through Calvinism and Armenianism); 2Tim 2,1-7; 115c KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 20,11-18 (15f) Servant >> Angels are messengers from God >> They are sent to change our perspective Jn 20,11-15 (96l) Thy kingdom come >> Having a negative attitude about sin >> Having an attitude of unbelief -- These verses go with verses 24-29. Why did Mary look back in the tomb when she knew He wasn't there? It’s what we do; we stand over the problem and look into it, hoping a solution comes to mind, but there is no solution to death. When the people we love stop talking, stop moving, their animated bodies become inert like rocks and dirt. Mary was expecting to find rotting flesh that the earth was reclaiming, but instead she found no body at all. The question in her mind was who moved it, but she should have considered that His body moved on its own power. Mary was still believing in miracles, in that the Romans had posted a heavy guard around the tomb and assumed the gardener by himself had rolled away the heavy stone against the tomb entrance, but the miracles she was willing to believe were not for the truth but against it. She just couldn’t believe that this miracle worker who raised others from the dead could come back to life. In her mind she was thinking that a dead man cannot raise himself, but she had forgotten about the Father. Jesus raised Lazarus; why was it so unfathomable that Jesus rose from the dead? Why did it seem so absurd to them? It could be that He was beaten unrecognizable, and they didn’t want Him back like that, or that God couldn’t raise a man whose body had been so brutally disfigured. They were traumatized and afraid to believe in case they were wrong and had to reaccept Jesus’ horrific death as final. They weren't thinking straight; none of their enemies had a motive for stealing His body, who wanted Him in the ground at a specific gravesite so they could go to it and say, ‘Here lies the trouble maker of Israel!’ The disciples were the ones with the motive to believe He had risen from the dead, yet they found it impossible to believe. Their lives were over; they were afraid the Jews were hunting them like wild animals, and their Lord was murdered. During the Triumphal entry they entered Jerusalem with the hope that Jesus would take on the Roman Empire and turn Israel into the greatest nation in the world, and the disciples would become princes of an emerging Kingdom, but in a matter of days the circumstances were inverted, and they were standing at His tomb. They were retracing their steps over the last 3 years, trying to understand what happened. Was Jesus a clever magician; were they taken by a conman; where they the most foolish people of all time? A week earlier they thought they were the wisest of all, because they were following Jesus. All these things were swirling in their heads like a black tornado, and they were unwilling to believe anything. Jn 20-15 (63a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Righteous deception >> Jesus deceives His people Jn 20,16-18 (117j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Acknowledging the presence of God – As soon as Jesus said her name she recognized Him, not because she thought the gardener may have known her, but because she had been thinking all along in the recesses of her heart that Jesus had risen from the dead and she was suppressing it, like hoping to get a certain present for Christmas but fearful of being disappointed. Soon as Jesus said her name, she couldn’t deny it any longer; she knew He had risen from the dead. She grabbed Him and wouldn’t let go, and no one could blame her. He had been violently taken from her, the man she loved more than a husband or a brother or a father. Jn 20-16 (194b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Run to Jesus when He calls for you – Mary called Him Teacher, though she also knew Him as her Lord and Master, which is far above His role as teacher. Mary used the title that she valued most about Him, and she was ready to believe. When Jesus called her name, she immediately turned, denoting repentance from her disbelief. She didn’t know what to think or how to believe, until she heard His voice call her name, and then suddenly she knew everything she would ever need to know. We could say that she had an advantage over us; but the truth is, anybody who wants to know God can have this kind of readiness to turn when He calls her name. When we hear His voice, we know who is calling, for it is a voice that cannot be counterfeited. The devil may try to impersonate and give an intonation that may resemble the Lord, but Jesus said that those who belong to Him know His voice (Jn 10-4,5). Jesus lived in a fallible body that was destined to perish, yet at the same time He was indestructible, in that His Father had every intension of raising Him from the dead, never to die again, according to Rev 1-17,18. All these things happened to secure this hope for us, that He will one day raise our bodies from the dead and give us new life to inherit an indestructible body, and we will live forever with Him. Jn 20-17 (29i) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> Jesus is our brother – He told Mary to go and tell her fellow disciples saying, ‘We are brothers and sisters of Christ, and His Father is our Father!’ In heaven Jesus will be our brother, and God will be our Father; the angels cannot say that! We are sons and daughters of the living God and have a relationship with Christ. To the extent that Jesus has authority from the Father, so do we; the angels cannot say that; they are servants while we are sons and daughters (Lk 15,17-24). Take the level of authority that Jesus has and multiply it by the number of His brethren, and this equals the level of authority in heaven through us that God will reign over His creation forever and ever. To the extent that God is the Father of Christ, so He is our Father, and to the extent that Jesus is the Son of God, so are we His sons and daughters. We will never fully comprehend the level of blessing we have received. (224d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Children of God resemble their Father (237h) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The ascension >> Jesus’ ascension (253ec) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is God in heaven -- This verse goes with verses 27-29 (254i) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit >> Holy Spirit is life >> Spirit of Jesus – Jesus had to pry Mary off His resurrected body. Why was it that Jesus didn’t want Mary clinging to Him? Did He not want to get His clothes dirty, or did He not want the smell of sinful flesh on Him? He had a resurrected body; perhaps He didn’t want to take germs with Him into heaven? No, instead, Jesus was in the process of weaning her off his physical presence and training her to cling to His soon to be spiritual presence that He would give on the day of Pentecost. This spiritual presence that Jesus had in mind for the Church for the next 2000 years has become something that the Church no longer understands or even values. The Pentecostals and the Charismatics and some of the Prosperity teachers claim to understand the Holy Spirit, but so much of their teachings are in error, failing to demonstrate either by their teaching or their conduct that they understand Jesus in Spirit form. Most Christians get that the Holy Spirit dwells in them as the pledge of their eternal inheritance (Eph 1-14), but what many don’t seem to understand is that the Spirit God gave on Pentecost dwells on our outer form as an anointing; that is, He superimposes Himself upon our obedience. Jesus was a single person who could only be in one place at a time, so the anointing of Pentecost is the essence of Jesus, who avails Himself to every Christian regardless of ethnicity, country or continent. We don’t have to go find Jesus anymore; He dwells in our heart and He has clothed us with His power. Jesus couldn’t reveal anything to His disciples; He tried to tell them that He would die and be raised from the dead and they didn’t get it. In the process of learning His voice, the Holy Spirit automatically grants us understanding in all things from God. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 20,18-23 (13m) Servant >> Serve God faithfully Jn 20,19-21 (125k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> God is at peace >> The God of peace -- These verses go with verse 26. There are two things we can expect to hear at the salutation of an angelic visitation (except in the case of the apostle Paul’s encounter with the Lord in Act 9-4,5): Peace be with you and/or Do not be afraid. He comes in peace and doesn’t want us to be afraid. If we don't hear these things, either a demon is posing as an angel of light or in Paul's case He will expect the world from us. God visits us to impart peace into us; so what can we say about all the wars throughout the new covenant age, were any of them warranted? According to this verse, not after Jesus shed His blood for us. He first said, “Peace be with you” and then said, “As the Father sent Me, I also send you.” There are nine fruits, but there is one that is most important to the gospel, and that is peace. Part of the reason is that when we bring the gospel to the world, we will cause disturbances, and for us to get caught up in those disturbances will nullify the very gospel that we are trying to convey, and so God has called us to be peacemakers, demonstrating the power of the gospel in the face of fear and hardship. Jn 20-19,20 (224a) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Description of the resurrection -- These verses go with verses 26-29. Right after Jesus said He was our brother and that we are sons and daughters of the living God, He demonstrated His ability to walk through walls as though they didn’t exist. Since we are brothers and sisters of Christ, in heaven we will have this same ability to walk through walls, disguise our identity, essentially manipulate our bodies in any way we want. Perhaps we will even be able to merge with another person’s spirit. Remember, Jesus had not yet been glorified, so there remains another whole tier of mysteries awaiting us in heaven regarding our future bodily state. However, we must also keep in mind that He did some pretty amazing things before His death and subsequent resurrection, such as walked on water and performed innumerous miracles. Perhaps the only difference was that He had to be prayed-up before He could perform miracles; whether before or after His resurrection faith was the active ingredient. The nail holes in His hands and the hole in His side where the soldier pierced His heart indicated that He was living in the same body in which He died, but the glorified body will be different from the body that He had then. Paul called it a spiritual body (1Cor 15-44). This hits us like an oxymoron, according to our limited knowledge, in that by definition a body is physical and a spirit is not, so having a spiritual body is a contradiction in terms. The best definition of a spiritual body is one that is physical but also has spiritual properties, such as that it can never die. Jn 20,21-23 (13e) Servant >> Serve the body >> Promoting its health >> Serve as a covering for others Jn 20-21 (12m) Servant >> Jesus is our example of a servant (43e) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Conform to Christ’s ministry to the world – We have authority from Christ as Christ has authority from the Father. Consequently, children of faith who live and walk by the Spirit are ambassadors of the gospel. To the degree that Jesus received authority from His Father to preach the gospel, so do we. Jesus didn’t come on His own volition but was sent by His Father, who is greater than Him (Jn 14-28). Had He come by His own authority, it would have meant nothing, but now all of heaven is in agreement with His works and words. This depicts the power of the gospel. It is more than just a message, for it must be conveyed through His authority to be valid, not that we should lord ourselves over those we seek with the Gospel but proclaim it with all confidence to cast out demons and heal sickness and disease. If we want to see signs, wonders and miracles, take the gospel into the world and preach it to every creature under heaven, and we will see the finger of God at work to perform miracles, including and especially salvation. A person can be healed in his body, and his body will later die, but the promise of salvation is eternal life. (129c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Feed the people with the fruit of your walk – Jesus wants us to have a ministry similar to His own as an evangelist. However, not everyone is called as an evangelist, but every evangelist needs a support group. The ministry of evangelism sets its sights on making new converts. When Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me I also send you,” knowing there are only so many evangelists, though He was speaking to everyone, suggests that everyone should have a ministry and every ministry should have evangelism as its ultimate goal, even if it is indirectly involved in reaching the lost. When the evangelist brings people into the Church, they are coming to healthy people in body and mind, who can lead babes in Christ into maturity of faith. Jn 20-22 (238aa) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> Born again by the will of Christ – When Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” He was referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit whom we receive on the day of our salvation, which caused us to be born again. This means Pentecost was not about the indwelling Holy Spirit or getting saved (though many did get saved that day as a result). This suggests that the anointing of Pentecost, or as the book of Acts teaches baptism of the Holy Spirit, is designated specifically for evangelism, whereas the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that Jesus breathed into His disciples refers to salvation. (254j) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit >> Salvation of Jesus’ Spirit KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 20-23 (48k) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> God judges your enemies according to your faithfulness – The one who forgives knows something about God’s judgment and effects healing in himself, while t he bitter man who will not forgive judges himself. God's reproach against our enemies is far worse than anything we could ever do to them, as Paul said in Rom 12-19,20, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. ‘But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’” Vengeance comes in strange packages for Christians, in that when looking for vengeance on our enemies, we show them kindness. If they don’t appear to feel the burning coals of our kindness, that doesn't exempt them from the eternal flames that God intends to impose on them if they don't repent. (69k) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Executing God’s judgment by His authority – We know that God is the judge, yet in this temporal life He has given us authority to judge or enemies through forgiveness. Our actions have ramifications in this life that could change the outcome of eternity for us and the lives we touch. Jesus is identifying the benefactors of forgiveness as the one who forgives. If our enemies are standing close enough, the residue of God's blessing may rain on them too. The virtue of our forgiveness doesn’t mean God has forgiven them, since there is no mention of repentance in this verse. When someone wrongs us, it is meant to be a curse, and if we don’t forgive, that curse remains on us, but forgiveness breaks the curse, and the freedom we enjoy is one of many benefits of being the children of God. (81a) Thy kingdom come >> Prayer >> The priesthood >> We are a type of Jesus’ priesthood – Unbelievers think Christians are bitter because we consider the world to be evil; meanwhile unbelievers think they are living as they were intended, though their sin reigns over them with destructive power. People in the world accuse us of being negative, because we are frustrated that the world is evil and they refuse to repent, equating our frustrations with bitterness, but Christians are frustrated because they live in a world of evil that resists God in every conceivable way. The minute we accept the world in all its wickedness, we lose our ability to change it. (83k) Thy kingdom come >> We have the ministry of intercession >> Church intercedes for each other (120i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> Forgiveness sets you free – We are not able to forgive people like God can; He forgives us so we can go to heaven with Him, whereas our forgiveness does not qualify anyone for heaven. Jesus said that when we forgive someone, their sins have been forgiven, and we set ourselves free, but that doesn’t mean we should forget what they did to us; it only means that the power of their sin directed toward us has been neutralized. (190d) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Self-afflictions that are against the will of God – If we retain the sins of any, we have retained them in ourselves; that is, if we don’t forgive, the offense remains with us until we do. We need to forgive people and not retain their sins, for to become bitter is to make ourselves an accomplice of their sins, as though we committed the sins against ourselves. People who have a problem with forgiveness are self-loathing, and they tend to treat others the same way. Bitterness is a type of masochism, like the demoniac who lived among the tombs and bludgeoned himself with stones (Mark chapter 5). Forgiveness is not a measure of how much we love the offender but a measure of how much we love God who commanded us to forgive. If we forgive those who hurt us, we are truly victims, but if we don’t forgive, we become guilty of the very sins perpetrated against us. When we forgive those who offend us, we demonstrate our status as children of God and affirm our destiny in heaven. The stakes are too high to hold a grudge and the promises too great to trade for bitterness. Jn 20,24-29 (20b) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Unwilling to acknowledge the facts (58a) Paradox >> Opposites >> Your actions before and after the presence of Jesus (96l) Thy kingdom come >> Having a negative attitude about sin >> Having an attitude of unbelief -- These verses go with verses 11-15. Thomas voiced his unbelief, which is a type of faith, for unbelief believes something; it just doesn’t believe the truth. Had Jesus appeared to Thomas, he wouldn’t need to stick his fingers into the nail holes and into the hole that the spear made in his side as he asserted (he was kinesthetic learner like Peter). (167h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind does not receive the things of God >> It does not believe the word of God – We have bodies that have brains that work in complicated ways. To believe in God in this body is all uphill, because we must work against the programming of our minds. We find it difficult to believe in God because we view the world as real and faith in God as a fantasy, but the world has it all backwards. Faith is true knowledge, and the world contradicts God’s truth. His truth is real and the world’s truth is a lie; this is provable in that the world is temporary, and one day this world will cease to exist, and its truth will die with it, whereas God’s truth is eternal. This brings us to the statement: if it isn’t true forever, it isn’t true at all. For this reason we say that the world is lying, because it’s truth will one day perish, as opposed to God’s truth, who never changes, making His word forever true. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 20,26-30 (39d) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection -- These verses go with verses 1-23. Thomas received a major rebuke from the Lord, for he hadn’t met the requirements of faith. The disciples were doubtful of the report that Mary Magdalene brought from the tomb, claiming that he was alive, and that she saw Him and even talked with Him, though Peter and John opened their mind enough to see for themselves. They ran to the tomb and saw for themselves evidence indicating that Mary Magdalene was telling the truth, for the scene was exactly how she described it. Thomas had a scientific mind; he wouldn’t believe it until he saw Jesus with the nail holes in his hands and feet. ‘Seeing is believing,’ they say, yet there are magicians who make us see things that didn’t happen as they say. We are captivated and amazed that our eyes can be fooled, because we place so much stock in what we see as proof of reality. Thomas had a hard time believing Jesus was alive; he saw how He died, his mutilated body; blood everywhere, the goriest thing he had ever seen. Had it been a nice, tidy death, perhaps a sudden heart attack, it might have been easier for him to accept. How much they tortured Him, no one could ever live through that, much less come back to life, so he thought. His bloody death is what made it so hard for Thomas to believe that He was alive again; none of the disciples thought it was possible for God to raise such a body from the dead, but God intends to raise us too and many others who have died centuries ago. Jn 20,26-29 (224a) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Description of the resurrection -- These verses go with verses 19&20. We look to the Scriptures to get a view of the resurrected body and its capabilities. Jesus suddenly appeared in the midst of His disciples without opening the door, but before his crucifixion Jesus walked on water. This is something that clearly we don’t understand. The only thing that makes sense is that the resurrected body is able to perform these things, not because of its ability but because of our faith in God through our resurrected body. Jesus walked through walls and walked on water by the same means, through faith, which is how all thing operate in heaven. We will see God face to face, and we will have resurrected bodies that will naturally believe in Him. The Faith that we will enjoy in heaven will be easy as the knowledge the world enjoys about this life; for just as worldly people go by their five senses to determine what is real, so will we in heaven. By what we see, hear, feel, taste and smell we will be able to fly or walk on water or walk through walls just as easily as walking down the street. It will be so easy to believe in God that believing otherwise will be impossible! Everything will be turned on its head. Currently, the truth staring us in the face is the temporal reality of this world, and we are trying to believe in God in spite of it, but when we receive our resurrected bodies, we will naturally believe in God. Jn 20-26 (125k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> God is at peace >> The God of peace -- This verse goes with verses 19-21. Jesus came and said, “peace be with you,” in reference to their faith that brings peace. Sometimes we think we have peace until we actually have an encounter with God, and a sense of peace comes over us like we never knew. Then we come to realize that we all live tumultuous lives as Christians, until we look at people whose lives are so disturbed, we realize that God’s peace really is with us; we just don’t always see it. "Peace be with you" is equivalent to Do not be afraid, which is something that He always said, and also during angelic visitations. Fear is tumultuous as Jude compared it with the “wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam” (Jd-13), and as Proverbs says, “What the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted” (10-24). The antithesis of fear is peace. According to Proverbs, those who are fearful actually desire the things that make them afraid, for God gives a man his heart's desire. Compare a placid lake to the foam on the ocean waves along coastlines dashing against jagged rocks; it describes people without God. “There is no peace for the wicked” Isaiah 48-22 says; they consider God to be evil and make up stories about Him to excuse their own rejection of Him. (190h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >> Circumcision is a sign of obedience >> Circumcision is a sign of believing -- The custom of circumcision handed down by Moses dictated that every male Hebrew infant should be circumcised on the eighth day as a sign of faith, according to God's commandment to Abraham and his descendents. So Jesus visited His disciples on the eighth day of His resurrection and the eighth day of the disciples' new-found faith in Him, especially for doubting Thomas, who needed to be circumcised of his unbelief. Jn 20,27-29 (5n) Responsibility >> Jesus’ yoke of obedience >> Our obligation to believe God – What we believe affects everything we say and do. Thomas changed his tone after he saw the Lord in the flesh. Jesus expected Thomas to believe, based on the words He spoke to His disciples prior to His crucifixion, but Thomas never quite caught on until he saw Him after the resurrection. (226h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> Levels of reward >> God rewards us to the degree of our faithfulness – Jesus implicated that throughout the age of grace we who never gazed upon His form but believe in Him are in a way more blessed than His disciples, meaning that God will adorn us with blessing for believing in Him. Thomas needed to see Jesus in order to believe in Him, and there are many others whose faith could use a visual aid, but they probably will not get it. Jesus is in heaven, and He doesn’t come here to visit people, except in the case of the apostle Paul. We shouldn't expect a visitation from God, but use the faith that God has given us to believe in Him, so we can be blessed in heaven when we get there. The simple fact is we don’t need to see Jesus, for we don’t need any more evidence of God's existence than what we already have: the witness of the creation and the witness of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (252e) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Worship the Father through Christ (253ec) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father -- These verses go with verse 17 Jn 20,28-30 (64h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Weaknesses of God >> God subjects himself to human frailty >> His weakness is stronger than men KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 20,29-31 (107c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Word creates faith >> Word of God creates faith Jn 20-29 (104i) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see Jesus >> Being in the presence of Jesus – When Jesus said, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed,” He was talking about us and every generation after Jesus ascended to heaven. Now if anyone wants to relate to Christ, he will have to believe in Him. Jesus also said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The Bible talks about faith opening our eyes; we need light to see, and Jesus said that He is the light of the world (Jn 8-12). His light brings knowledge, and our faith is based on truth, which is written in the Scriptures. When we read the Bible and believe in Jesus and live by His example, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our hearts through faith, and we are born-again. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to a revelation of Jesus Christ and instructs us about His will, our knowledge being empowered by God Himself. This is what it means to see by the light of God’s word, not just the words that are written, but truth lifted off the page and placed in our hearts. We can spiritually see clearly as Thomas saw the physical presence of Jesus. See also: Spirit and the Word (Spirit reveals God's word); 2Cor 12-7; 109a (117c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Rest in His yoke by faith (118h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Giving God your attention >> Resolutely focus on the glory of God >> Focus on Jesus – The kind of faith the disciples had as they walked with Jesus in the flesh pertained to acting on their convictions. If our beliefs don’t motivate us to make godly decisions, and those decisions don't inherently change our character conforming to Christ, then all our believing is in vain. Jesus’ disciples were great men of God, though they had problems and faults; they were no different from us. The only thing they really had going for them was the fact that they were chosen of God, but so are we if we are born of Him. We don't have the world by the tail, but we have heaven and the hope of eternal life, which is far greater than the world offers. (212e) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> He is the creator >> Evolution (Defaming God) >> The scientific mind cannot know God – We all have a scientific mind to one degree or another. All the disciples thought with a scientific mind about Jesus’ death and the unlikelihood of His resurrection. Thomas put into words what they were all thinking, and Jesus called Him "unbelieving". We have never seen Jesus, yet we believe in Him. Many people don’t understand why we believe in God. They say we must suspend all reason, but in fact we believe in Jesus for the very reason that there must be a God, and Jesus fits in His shoes. He has explained God to us better than anyone else. We have the entire Bible; we have the history of Israel, the people of God according to the flesh, and their history goes back almost to Noah’s flood, which was the last beginning of man, and so we scientifically reason that God exists. None of the major religions of the world hold a candle to the reasoning of the Bible. God said, “Come now, and let us reason together” (Isaiah 1-18). The scientific mind cannot know God because it can’t trust Him at His word, yet we are not suspending reason when we believe in Jesus; on the contrary, we use our reason to relate to Him. God made man for the express purpose of knowing and understanding his creator, but the atheist claims just the opposite, thus desecrating the very purpose of creating man. Jn 20-31 (67g) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> The name of Jesus is the salvation of God – Jesus is our Lord and Master, the person we love and adore, our savior and the king of heaven. He will receive us into His heavenly kingdom on the day of our death, and not somebody else, not Mary, not Joseph and not even the angel Gabriel. No one else has authority to allow us into heaven, and for this reason Jesus is also our authority on earth. Jesus is the one who has cast out demons and healed the sick and performed miracles throughout the ages, and not the phonemes and letters that comprise His name. When someone calls my name and I turn to see who is addressing me, I demonstrate that I have associated my name with myself, but my name is not “me”; it only refers to me. I am a spirit who dwells in my body; not even my body is technically “me”, but merely represents me in a material world. So Jesus is not a name; He is a person, a spirit who lives in a resurrected body in heaven and we reference Him when we call His name. (86a) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >> Believe the word by obeying it – Those who believe obey and those who obey believe; these terms are one and the same. If we replace the word believe with obey, it reads, “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that [obeying] you may have life in His name.” (155j) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The word of God bears witness of the believer (208fa) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God through obedience >> We resemble Him through faith – Without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we cannot expect miracles in His name. Remember the account in Acts chapter 19, “Some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” What happened to the seven sons of Sceva? “The evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Act 19,13-16). The name of Jesus Christ refers to the person who has all authority in heaven and on earth to perform miracles through us, and ascribes the glory to Him. The name of Jesus does not accomplish these things; rather, it is the person of Christ. That may seem like a trifle difference, but it isn't; just ask the seven sons of Sceva. (253eb) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is the Son of God >> Authority of the Son of God (254d) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> We live because He is life >> God gives life to our faith in Jesus _________________________________ JOHN CHAPTER 21 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Jn 21,1-14 (39d) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection Jn 21,1-7 (238e) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> The new creation is our spiritual identity – Apparently the disciples got tired of huddling in a room together in fear of the Jews and attempted to resume their old way of life as fishermen, though they had seen Jesus alive. They caught nothing, which was fitting for the circumstances of a time when nothing happened as they expected. The fact that they were fishing shows that they still didn't know the significance of Jesus’ resurrection. Basically, they were glad that Jesus rose from the dead but didn’t see how it pertained to them. Jesus visited them a few times, and finally the last time they watched Him ascend into heaven, and it was during that last encounter that He told them to go back home and wait for the promise of His Spirit. Obviously Jesus didn’t have a problem with them fishing that day; He even helped them catch fish, yet they were lost as ever, implying that their knowledge of His resurrection did not help them very much, which says a lot about our own generation, for just as they didn't know what to do as Christians, neither do we in many cases. After we meet the Lord He doesn’t want us attempting to resume our old way of life, because it is time to turn the page of our journal and make new entries about our new life in Christ. This should sound familiar to many who are born of God, whose life has changed in highly significant ways by the subtleties of the Holy Spirit. (253cc) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the external qualities of the Father >> Outward appearance of Jesus Christ – Occasionally the disciples would see the Lord again, each time He disguised Himself in a different form, recognizing Him by faith, not visually. He did this for the same reason He told Mary to stop clinging to Him; He was weaning them off His physical presence, soon to become a spiritual presence. Jn 21,3-7 (169g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> God blinds their eyes Jn 21,3-6 (23g) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Tending to the needs of the poor (30d) Gift of God >> Prepare to receive from God >> God supplies our needs under certain conditions (34k) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> Receiving God’s blessing through obedience (115k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through obedience of faith >> Through diligence – This was obviously a miracle, and we know miracles are not readily explainable; otherwise they wouldn’t be miracles. Magic tricks are different; there is an explanation for them, though the magician usually refuses to divulge his secrets, but with a miracle there is no explanation. We could say Jesus simply knew the fish were there, or we could say He created them there, or the fish simply appeared in the net. The fact about miracles, it doesn't matter how we try to explain them, it still doesn't make sense. This was God at work; He is called the creator for a reason. He can create fish from nothing, and the beauty of God is that He can perform miracles any way He wants without constraint, except one—human will. Had the disciples refused to throw their nets, they would have caught nothing. God always involves some act of obedience whenever He performs miracles for us, and in that small token of obedience we are working (with) the grace of God. This is an extremely profound and ethereal truth of the Bible, yet it is virtually unknown. In fact, talk to many Christians and most will say that working the grace of God is heresy. No doubt miracles are paradoxical, and many will say that the grace of God and the works of men are two separate things that cannot be mixed, but this is absolutely false. God uses our works to perform His works, and when we look into the Scriptures, we see it continuously. Our contribution of obedience acts as permission for God to perform the miracle for us. The disciples permitted Jesus to perform the miracle of filling their nets with fish by casting their net one more time. (147d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> God exercises authority over every living thing (148h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage of being with Jesus (229k) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking >> Partaking of Jesus >> Partaking of Jesus’ ministry -- These verses go with verses 10-13 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 21-4 (63a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Righteous deception >> Jesus deceives His people Jn 21-5,6 (152f) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Prophets >> Jesus is a prophet >> Jesus prophesies to the Church Jn 21-5 (33g) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Children need a Father to care for them Jn 21-6 (76m) Thy kingdom come >> Desires >> Word is food >> Hunger for the word – God works in mysterious ways. What if the disciples had cast their net on the left side of the boat instead of the right as they were instructed? Probably they would have caught nothing! It would have been a difference of only a few feet; however, it was their obedience that God used to catch fish, not the act of casting the net. Obedience is the same as believing, meaning that had they cast their net on the left side, they would have disbelieved. They worked all night trying to catch fish in places where fishing was usually successful and caught nothing, but then let down the net where they were least likely to catch fish and pulled in so many that the sign of the fish is still popular today. Part of our problem praying for miracles is in trying to understand them. It is not a requirement to understand how God does things, any more than it is a requirement to understand our biology in order to live, but it is necessary to listen and do what He says so those miracles can happen. (215k) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> Suddenly >> Working quickly – The fish became the symbol of Christianity in the first century because of this miracle and others like it. Of all the miracles Jesus performed, this is apparently what impacted them most, probably because they were fishermen and because it may have been the last miracle He performed (the recency effect). He spoke the word and the fish appeared, as when He fed the five thousand. He kept putting his hand inside the basket and pulling out more food, and nobody knew how it happened. What if Peter said to the Lord, ‘I’ll be with you in a minute?’ How long would the miracle of fish waited for the disciples? When Jesus calls, we scramble! That is what He taught (Lk 9-59,60). God calls us when we’re ready, maybe not circumstantially but spiritually. For this reason when He calls, we must answer immediately, because it is the only time; but if we wait, it may be too late; these are the ways of God. He is funny about time, a real stickler about it. Although He has all the time in eternity, He expects us to act on His command. Jn 21-7 (78a) Thy kingdom come >> God ministers to people through the humble >> The humble are invisible to men, but God sees them -- This verse goes with verses 20-24 (88k) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God >> Revering God -- This verse goes with verse 12 (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship -- This verse goes with verses 15-17. Everybody knew Peter to be very zealous for the Lord, though his faithfulness and obedience often lagged. Nevertheless, Peter loved the Lord with all his heart, and Jesus honored that, even though Peter was a screw-up. He did all kinds of stupid things, the Scriptures pointing out many instances. Instead of helping his friends with the heavy haul of fish, he jumped into the water and swam to Jesus, letting the others manage the catch, and the disciples didn’t complain, because they knew Peter to be very emotional, and that fact seemed to offset some of Peter’s foibles. Jesus honored Peter, not his emotional state but his genuine love and sincerity of heart, by selecting Him and two others to come with Him to the mountain of transfiguration and showed them a small slice of His glory to Peter, James and John. Jn 21-8 -- No Entries KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 21,9-12 (12l) Servant >> Jesus is the servant of man – Jesus did everything for the disciples; He was responsible for the fish they caught; He made the fire; He set out the bread and fish; all they had to do was come with some of the fish they caught and fellowship with Him over breakfast. That is all He wants; He will do the rest; God loves to fellowship with His people. Last time they caught a net full of fish it was the beginning of His ministry when Jesus told them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. They were still living according to their occupation they had before they met Him, who had already risen from the dead, but they didn’t know what else to do. They sat in their boats, fished and tried to fathom the significance of His resurrection. (146l) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Evidence to trust Him – Chances are Jesus wouldn’t go through the trouble of asking someone for a loaf of bread on His way to the beach, finding sticks, rubbing a couple together to make a spark, catching a fish, cleaning and cooking it… instead, it all simply appeared, just like the fish appeared in the disciples' nets. There was no point is Jesus going through any more difficulties after His resurrection; He lived thirty-three years in drudgery and hardship, and that was all behind Him now. Jn 21,10-13 (229k) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking of Jesus >> Partaking of Jesus’ ministry -- These verses go with verses 3-6 Jn 21,12-14 (224a) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Description of the resurrection – Where does food go in a resurrected body? Later, Jesus didn’t go into the bushes to relieve Himself. The fish simply appeared upon the coals of the fire and in the disciple's net, and it simply disappeared in Jesus’ resurrected body into the realm of the miraculous. The Bible teaches that in heaven there are festivals and celebrations, and all these occasions will involve eating and drinking, yet there are no latrines in heaven. We eat food in this life primarily for our health and preservation but also for celebration. Jesus ate fish and bread though His body didn’t need it. In heaven people eat just for the fun of it. Jesus said in Lk 22-15,16, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” So people do eat and drink in heaven, and there is no resulting waste material that needs to be eliminated as in this life. Jn 21-12 (88k) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God >> Revering God -- This verse goes with verse 7. “Is that you, Jesus?” Why do you suppose they didn’t ask that question? They were afraid to ask Him stupid questions! Jesus proved to be more in control of the situation than they had ever imagined, and if they asked stupid questions, they would likely get an appropriate answer. They knew it couldn’t have been anyone else, and they knew He wouldn’t have answered them with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Once God revealed Himself, that should be good enough. There were many instances when it sounded like Jesus was talking down to His disciples, but what choice did He have? KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 21,15-17 (129c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Feed the people with the fruit of your walk (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship -- These verses go with verses 20-24 (238i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers "remind" their students >> Prevention against forgetting – Peter loved the Lord, though he was a screw-up, being a very emotional person and always getting himself in trouble, more than the other disciples. He had a hard time living for the Lord, not so different from the rest of us. Jesus didn’t go to each of His disciples and give him a farewell address; He only picked on Peter, and Jesus was specifically charging him with tending His sheep, making Peter promise three times to tend His lambs. Turns out, Peter had a problem obeying the Lord, being the reason Jesus spoke to him about it. Paul later had to rebuke him for making distinctions among the sheep, catering to the Jews and neglecting the gentile believers (Gal 2,12-14). When Paul rebuked him, he probably remembered these words that Jesus spoke to him, and it probably hit him like a ton of bricks. (239g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers are construction workers >> God raises up teachers to raise up the body (240b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Pastor (Shepherd) >> Pastor has a shepherd’s heart – Jesus asked him if he loved the Lord more than the other disciples, and Peter agreed that he did. How could Peter know that? Jesus phrased His question according to the way Peter thought in his heart, that he loved the Lord more than the others. Peter didn’t understand the question, being why Jesus asked him three times, hoping to get through to Him that he needs to end this silly competitive game of who was greatest. He asked Peter three times, once for every time he denied the Lord. The disciples were known to compete with each other, and Jesus was addressing the problem of equating greatness with how much he loved the Lord. Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to Jesus as though He loved the Lord more than the rest, but someone had to stay with the fish and bring them to shore, or else the fish would have gotten away, and the Lord's miracle would have been carelessly wasted. Peter was emotional, but the other disciples were more responsible, and Jesus needed Peter to be more like them ( and perhaps the other disciples to be more like Peter in some ways). Jesus told him, “Tend My lambs,” indicating that He had every intension of making Peter one of the leaders of the Christian Church. The disciples were shepherds and the sheep ranged into the thousands, mostly Jews who would get saved primarily as a result of Peter’s ministry in the great ingathering of souls after Pentecost. Jn 21-18,19 (93g) Thy kingdom come >> Following Jesus >> Disciples follow Him (137l) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturing with our brothers >> Maturity is tested by our relationship with others (189e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Martyr >> Tested for faithfulness to the death – It turns out according to religious history (not the Bible), Peter was crucified upside down, and they stretched out his hands and nailed them to a cross, according to the word of Christ. This allowed Peter to prepare his heart to be martyred one day. He actually failed as a martyr the first time, but he wasn’t supposed to die then. Peter had time to settle this in his heart that one day he would have to give his life for his faith in Jesus. That makes for a sad world that people would kill their fellow man just because they believed in Jesus and offered a benevolent model of behavior to mankind. Jn 21-18 (105la) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Led by the Spirit into the wilderness >> Wilderness of pain – This is in reference to Peter dying as a martyr, and the other disciples assumed he would be the only one, but in fact John was the only disciple that wasn’t martyred, who wrote this gospel. It says that when Peter was young, he was happy and carefree and just did what he wanted with few repercussions. Isn't that true with us all when we were young in both flesh and spirit? We were given a pass. We got older and became adults, and now everyone has expectations on us. We are expected to act a certain way, provide for our family and be responsible for ourselves and others. Peter was martyred according to church history, his carefree attitude left him long before that, persecuted to the point of shedding blood, suffered prison terms before his death, his family members threatened and stalked. Peter stood fast, dodging the mistakes of his youth when Jesus was still alive. They followed Him so happily, living in ignorant bliss, not understanding the first thing about Him. They would learn soon enough what was truly God’s will for them, and it wasn’t going to be a bed of roses. The joy would come later; they were promised an eternity in the presence of God in paradise. That was worth enduring untold insults and injuries. Being hung upside-down on a cross was Peter’s greatest achievement in life, besides helping to establish a fledgling Church in a world of darkness that would survive for the next 2000 years on the coattails of the martyrs that would follow him in death. (215d) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> Fulfillment of God’s time >> Completion of a period of time Jn 21,20-24 (78a) Thy kingdom come >> God ministers to people through the humble >> The humble are invisible to men, but God sees them -- These verses go with verse 7 (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship -- These verses go with verse 7 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 21,21-23 (177l) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the will of God >> Presumption interprets God’s word – Now we understand mostly what Jesus said 2000 years later, but at the time the disciples were in the dark about most of Jesus’ sayings. If He were to answer any of our questions that we would ask Him today, we would probably be in the same predicament, becoming dependent on time to show us what He meant, so much time that our lives in the flesh would have ended long before his statements became clear. Jesus answered Peter’s question, and it was so complicated and difficult that His answer proved to be more valuable for us than it was for them, and so they learned to fear Him, even though they loved Him with all their hearts. Their greatest love for Jesus was the sense of security that He provided; they felt safe in His presence. Jesus may have been hard on His disciples and spoke mysteries in their ears, but they all knew He loved them like no one else could. Jesus cared about them in ways that only God could, and that is what kept them devoted to Him. Jn 21-21,22 (75g) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Being manipulative >> Questioning God from a good heart (89d) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Answers of wisdom – Jesus answered Peter’s question, even though his question bordered on gossip. Jesus probably answered his question for John’s sake, and His answer carried with it the implication that John would live to a ripe old age. The word “if” in His answer was a big one, and a little deceptive, showing that if we ask God for answers regarding time, He will either bluntly refuse to answer our question, or His answer will be so difficult to decipher that we may conclude that it would be better if we didn't ask. God is very sketchy when it comes to answering questions about time, though He is eternal, having all time at his disposal. He has devoted whole books of the Bible to prophecy; these were written giving the sequence of what will happen but never saying when. For instance, Jesus didn’t say that John would not die, and He didn’t say that His return would occur in his lifetime; instead, He said “if…” turning everything into conjecture, not really saying anything for sure. However, He did answer Peter’s question, that John would not be martyred; keep in mind that time itself gave us that answer in the religious historical records. See also: God is eternal; 2Cor 12-9,10; 9f (126k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Have patience for the return of Christ >> The physical return of Christ – Jesus didn’t actually say He would return in John’s lifetime, but He did highly suggest to Peter’s generation and to each succeeding generation after him that His return was imminent, and if it were imminent in Peter’s time, how much more imminent is His return in our own generation 2000 years later? Waiting for Christ’s return over the generations has had a buffering affect, making people afraid to sin in case Jesus returned and caught them red-handed. Each generation preparing for His return has kept them on the alert, which was His purpose in answering Peter’s question. (133k) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holiness >> Having an awareness of God’s holiness >> The fear of God makes us aware of His holiness – Note that Peter didn’t ask Jesus to clarify, since he was lucky to get an answer in the first place; they were afraid of Him in some ways. They knew if they pushed Him, he would tell them things they would not want to hear, cutting them to the quick. Peter frequently made this mistake until He learned not to push the Lord too far. What made it worse, after He finished speaking they still didn’t know what He said. For this reason they let it go and lived with the answer they got. They were happier to let Jesus speak about the things he wanted to tell them than to ask Him questions and get responses that were often filled with mystery and rebuke, and hearing truths that took a lifetime to understand. They discovered to keep their questions to a minimum or not ask at all. (214dd) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time is none of our business KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 21-23 (175j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Ignorant of what God means >> Ignorant of the meaning of God’s word Jn 21-24,25 (122a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence >> Confidence in God >> Confidence in the word of God – This again seems to be an outpouring of John’s pride who claims, “we know that his testimony is true.” This sounds like something a confidence man would say. Once a conman gains our confidence, he is able to say whatever he wants and we will believe him. What is keeping us from believing that John is not a confidence man? We know that John's testimony is true, because he was one of Jesus’ disciples, but so was Judas Iscariot. Do we have any other proof to guarantee that John was not a conman? Yes, in the way he lived we can have confidence in His writings, but more in the way he died. Nobody would give his life for the purpose of deception. Legend has it that the authorities tried him as a Christian and boiled him in oil, but it did not faze him, and everyone in attendance got saved, so they surrendered him to the Island of Patmos. He gave His life for the purpose of the gospel, and so he died for His cause. Someone can appear to live for a cause, but no shyster will die for any cause beyond his own selfish flesh. Jn 21-25 (63e) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Sarcasm >> Exaggerate the truth to make a point – Although there would be enough room in the world to contain all the books if every detail of Jesus 3½-year ministry had been written. He met so many people, did so many things, performed so many miracles and revealed so many truths that the New Testament is a highly condensed book about Him indeed. (239b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers "remind" their students >> Recalling the circumstances – John said that if all were recorded what Jesus did, the world itself could not contain the books that were written of that short 3½-year period of His ministry. In heaven we will learn about them all. There won’t be any movie projectors in heaven or television sets or DVDs, but God will have a way for us as a group to experience the life of Christ from beginning to end. It will be like a movie that is thirty-three years long, and we won’t need an intermission to stretch our legs, and it will be interactive. Perhaps we will discover our place in His-story. Maybe He will show us what we would have done and where we would have been in His life had we been born in His generation and citizens of Galilee. By evidence of being in heaven, we may have been part of the multitude looking for Jesus wanting to hear His word or taken part of His fish and ate his bread that He gave thanks and distributed to thousands from a single picnic basket...