Grace be unto you, peace from God the Father,and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter Twelve
The home in Bethany was a place where Jesus loved to be. There He enjoyed sweet fellowship with Lazarus,Mary, and Martha. In coming to Bethany at this time,He was, humanly speaking, exposing Himself to danger because nearby Jerusalem was headquarters for all forces that were arrayed against Him. In spite of the many who were opposed to Jesus, there were still a few hearts which beat true to Him. Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with the Lord, and Martha served. Each time we meet Mary, she is at the feet of Jesus. Here she is wiping His feet. Needless to say, Mary herself would have carried the fragrance of the perfume for some time after this. Thus when Christ is worshiped, the worshiper themselves carry away something of the fragrance of that moment. No house is so filled with pleasant aroma as the house where Jesus is given His rightful place. Here the flesh is seen intruding into the most sacred of occasions. The one who was about to betray his lord could not stand to see precious oil used in this way. Judas did not consider Jesus to be worth three hundred denarii. He felt that the perfume should have been sold and given to the poor. but this was sheer hypocrisy.
That anyone could follow Christ as a disciple for three years, see all His miracles, hear all His teaching, receive al His hand repeated kindness, be counted an apostle,a and yet prove rotten at heart in the end, all this at first sight appears incredible and impossible! Yet the case of Judas shows plainly that the thing can be. Few things, perhaps are so little realized as the extent of the fall of man. Because of Lazarus, many of the Jews...believed i Jesus. Lazarus was therefore an enemy to the Jewish establishment, and he must be put out the way. Those who bring others to the Lord are always made the target for persecution and even martyrdom.
Palm branches are token of rest and peace after sorrow. The word Hosanna means save now, we pray you. Putting these thoughts together, it would seem as if the people were acknowledging Jesus to be the One sent from GOD to save them from the Roman cruelty and to give them rest and peace after the sorrow of their long years of Gentile oppression. If we refuse to be corn of wheat falling into the ground,and dying; if we will neither sacrifice prospects, nor risk character, and property,and health; nor when we are called, relinquish home,and break family ties, for Christ's sake; then we shall abide alone. But if we wish to be fruitful, we must follow our Blessed Lord Himself, by coming a corn of wheat, and dying, then we shall bring forth much fruit.
Again the Lord Jesus warned His listeners to believe on Him while there was still opportunity. By doing so, they would become sons of light. They would be assured of direction through life and into eternity. The purpose of Christ first coming was not to judge the world but to save. He did not sit in judgment on those who refused to hear His words or believe on Him. This does not mean that He will not condemn these unbelievers in a coming these but that but judgment was not the object of His first advent.
Seven distinct signs or miracles are recorded, each one illustrating an experience which result when a sinner puts his faith in Christ. Changing the water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. his pictures the sinner who is a stranger to divine joy being transformed by the power of Christ. Healing the nobleman's son. This picture the sinner as being sick and in need of spiritual health. Healing the cripple at the pool of Bethesda. The poor sinner is without strength, helpless,and unable to do a thing to remedy his own condition. Jesus cures him of his infirmity. Feeding the five thousand. The sinner is without food, hungry, and in need of that which imparts strength. The Lord provides food for his soul so that he never needs to hunger. Calming the Sea of Galilee. The sinner is seen in a place of danger. The Lord rescues him from the storm. Healing a man blind from birth. This man pictures the blindness of the human heart until it is touched by the power of Christ. Man cannot see his own sinfulness, or the beauties of the Savior, until enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Raising Lazarus from the dead. This, of course, reminds us that the sinner is dead in trespasses and in sins and needs life from above.
Chapter Thirteen
In chapter, the Upper Room Discourse begins. Jesus was no longer walking among the hostile Jews. He had retired with his disciples to an upper room in Jerusalem for the final time of fellowship with them before going forth to His trial and crucifixion. Washing the guests feet was always done by the humblest of the servants. It was considered menial task. Perhaps Jesus had waited for one of the disciples to perform this task, but they were evidently debating who should be the greatest. The purpose of the action was to set an example, not to establish and ordinance. He said, do as I have done to you, not do what I have done to you. It was a lesson on humility and service they sorely needed.
Wash one another feet: Jesus is merely setting an example, not establishing an ordinance. There is little evidence that the early church practiced foot-washing, except as a social custom. One of the disciples whom Jesus loved was JOHN. Peter beckoned him to ask Jesus to identify the betrayer. Peter was carrying a sword. Perhaps he intended to use it on the culprit on this occasion. A host would often distinguish an honored guest by giving him choice morsel dipped in the sauce and placing it on his tongue. The Lord Jesus is about to engage the forces of darkness.
The badge of Christian discipleship is not a cross worn around the neck or on the lapel, or some distinctive type of clothing. Anyone could profess discipleship by these means. The mark of a Christian is love for his fellow Christians. This requires divine power, and this power is only given to those indwelt by the Spirit. During His absence, they were to be governed by the commandment of love. This commandment was new in other ways.It was new because the Holy Spirit would empower believers the Holy Spirit would empower believers to obey it. It was new in that it was superior to the old. The old said love your enemies. It has been well said that the law of love to others is now explained with new clarity, enforced by new motives and obligations, illustrated by a new example, and obeyed in new way.
Chapter Fourteen
The Father's house refers to heaven, where there are many dwelling places. There is room there for all the redeemed. If it was not so, the Lord would have told them; He would not have them build on false hopes. The Lord went to Calvary to prepare a place for His own. It is through His atoning death that believers are assured a place there. But also the Lord went went back to heaven to prepare a place. He was going to heaven, and they knew the way to heaven, for He told them many times. Apparently Thomas did not understand the meaning of the lord words. Like Peter, he may have been thinking of a journey to some place on the earth.
The Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the way to heaven. He does merely show the way: He is the way. Salvation is in a Person. Accept that Person as your own, and you have salvation. The Lord Jesus is not just one of many ways. He is the only way. No one comes to the Father except through Him. The way to God is not by the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rules, ordinances,church membership-it is through Christ and Christ alone. Today many say that it does not matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. They say that all religions have some good in them and that they all lead to heaven at last.
Lord Jesus predicted that those who believed on Him would perform miracles like He did,and even greater woks. Doubtless it was to the world-wide proclamation of the gospel, the salvation of so many souls, and the building of the church that the Lord referred to by the expression greater works, It is greater to save souls than to heal bodies. When the Lord returned to heaven, He was glorified,and the Holy Spirit was sent to earth. It was through the Spirit power that the apostles performed these greater miracles. The Lord would pray the Father to send another helper. he word helper (Paraclete) means one called to the side of another to help. It is also translated Advocate.The Lord Jesus is our Advocate or helper,and the Holy Spirit is another helper-not another of a different kind, but another of similar nature. He dwells within you, and will be in you. Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon men and dwelt with them. But since Pentecost, when a man believes on the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up His abode in that man's life forever. The prayer of David, do not take Your Holy Spirit from me, would not be suitable today. The Holy Spirit is never taken from a believer, although He may be grieved, or quenched, or hindered.
The real proof of one's love to the Lord is obedience to His commandments. It is useless to talk about loving Him if we do not want to obey Him. In one sense, the Father loves all the world. But He has a special love for those who love His Son. Those are also loved by Christ, and He makes himself known to them in a special way. The more we love the Savior, the better we shall know Him. The Judas mentioned here had the misfortune to have name as the traitor.But the Spirit of God kindly distinguished him from Iscariot. He could not understand how the Lord could appear to the disciples without also being seen by the world.
Person who is about to die usually writes a last will and testament in which he leaves his possessions to his loved one. Here the Lord Jesus was doing that very thing. However, He did not bequeath material things but something that money could not buy- peace, inward peace of conscience that arises from a sense of pardon from sin and of reconciliation with God.
Chapter Fifteen
In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was depicted as a vine planted by God. But the nation proved unfaithful an unfruitful, so the Lord Jesus now presented Himself as the true vine, the perfect fulfillment of all the other types and shadows. God the Father is the vine dresser. The branch that bears fruit is the Christian who is growing more like the Lord Jesus. Even such vines need to be pruned or cleansed. Just as a real vine must be cleaned from insects, mildew, and fungus,so a Christian must be cleansed from worldly things that cling to him or her.
The cleansing agent is the word of the Lord. The disciples had originally been cleansed by the word at the time of their conversion. Just as the Savior had been talking to them, His Word had a purifying effect on their lives. Thus, this verse may refer to justification and sanctification. Their love should be of such a nature that they should be willing to die for one another People who are willing to do this do not fight with each other. The greatest example of human self-sacrifice was for a man to die for his friends. The disciples of Christ are called to this type of devotion, Some lay down their lives in a literal sense; others spend their whole lives in untiring service for the people of God. Servants are simply expected to do the works marked out for them, but friends are taken into one's confidence. To the friend we reveal our plans for the future.
Jesus predicts the world hatred. Men of the world love those who live as they do-those who use vile language and indulge in the lusts of the flesh, or people who are cultured but live only for themselves. Christians condemn them by their holy lives, therefore the world hates them. In hating Christ, they hated His Father also. The Two are One. They could not say that they loved the One God sent. They were not only responsible for having heard the teaching of Christ; they also saw His miracles. This added to their condemnation. The Lord compares all their sins to this one sin, and said that the former were as nothing when placed alongside the latter. Because they hated the Son, they hated his Father, and this was their terrible condemnation.
This Spirit would testify directly through the disciples. They had been with the LORD from the beginning of His public ministry and were especially qualified to tell of His Person and work. If anyone could have found any imperfection in the Lord, those who had been with Him the most could have. But they never knew Him to commit a sin of any kind. They could testify to the fact that He was sinless Son of God.
Chapter Sixteen
The helper would not come until the Lord Jesus went back to heaven and was glorified. Of course, the Holy Spirit had been in the world before this, but he was coming in a new way-to convict the world of sin and to minister to the redeemed. The Holy Spirit would convict the world in respect of sin,and of righteousness, and of judgment. This is generally taken to mean that He creates and inward awareness of these things in the life of the individual sinner. The Holy Spirit condemns the world by the very fact that he is here. He should not be here, because the Lord Jesus should be here, reigning over the world. The Spirit convicts the world of the sin of failing to believe on Christ. He was worthy of belief. There was nothing about Him that made it impossible for men to believe on Him. But they refused. And the Holy Spirit' presence in the world is witness to their claim.
Sorrow turned to joy. His disciples were confused. The reason for their confusion was that the Savior had said, I go to My Father and you see Me no more. Now He said, a little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while and you will see Me. They could not reconcile these statement. They asked each other the meaning of the world"a little while." Strangely enough, we have the same problem. We do not know whether it refers to the three days before His resurrection, the forty days before Pentecost, or the more than 1900 years prior to His coming again. Their sorrow would be turned into joy,and it was-first by the resurrection,a and secondly of the Spirit. Then, for all disciples of all ages, grief will be turned to rejoicing when the Lord Jesus comes back again. Nothing is more remarkable than the speed with which a mother forgets the labor pains after her child is born. So it would be with the disciples. he sorrow connected with the absence of their Lord would be quickly forgotten when they would see him again.
The purpose of the discourse with the disciples was that they might have peace. When they would be hated, persecuted, falsely condemned,a and even and even tortured, they could have peace in him. He overcame the world at the cross of Calvary. In spite of their tribulations,they could rest assured that they were on the sinning side. Also, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they could have new powers of endurance and new courage to face the foe.
Chapter Seventeen
The whole prayer is a beautiful illustration of our blessed Lord intercession at the right hand of God. Not a word against his people; no reference to their failing, or their shortcoming...No He speaks of them only as they were in the Father purpose, as in association with Himself with Himself, and as the recipients of the fullness He came down from heaven to bestow upon them. All the Lord's particular petitions for His people relate to spiritual things; all have reference to heavenly blessing. The Lord does not ask riches for them, or honors, or worldly influence, or great per ferments, but He does most earnestly pray that they may be kept from evil. separated from the world, qualified for duty,a and brought home safely to heaven. Soul prosperity is the best prosperity; it is the index of true prosperity.
he Lord explained why He was praying in the presence of His disciples. It was as if He said to them: these are intercessions which I shall never cease to make in heaven before God.But now I make them in the world, in your hearing, so you may more distinctly understand how I am there to be employed in promoting your welfare,so that you may be made in large measure partakers of my joy. The Lord gave word God word to the disciples, and they received it. As a result, the world turned on them and hated them. They had the characteristics of the Lord Jesus,and so the world despised them. They did not fit in with the world scheme of things.
Christians are not of the world, just as Christ was not of the world. We should remember this when tempted to engage in some worldly pastime or enter into worldly associations where the name of Jesus is unwelcome. To sanctify means to set apart. he Word of God has a sanctifying effect on believers. As they read it and obey it, they are set apart as vessels suitable for the Master use. That is exactly what the Lord Jesus was praying for here. The world failed to see God revealed inJesus.But a few disciples did, and they believed that God had sent Jesus. On the eve of His crucifixion, there were only a few faithful hearts in the whole of mankind-and even those were about to forsake Him.
The love of God which, before the creation of the physical world, had its adequate object in the person of the Son, finds it, since the creation of the new spiritual world, in all those who are united with the Son. That God desired in sending His Son here on earth was precisely that He might form for Himself in the midst of humanity a family of children like Him.
Chapter Eighteen
Jesus left the city and walked eastward toward the Mount of Olives. In doing so,He crossed the Brook Kidron and came to the Garden of Gethsemane,which was on the western slopes of Olive. Judas knew that the Lord spent great deal of time praying in the garden, He knew that the most likely place to find the Lord was in the place of prayer. The detachment of troops was probably Roman soldiers; whereas the officers were Jewish officials, representing the chief priest and Pharisees. They came with lanterns, torches,and weapons. They came to seek the Light of the world with lanterns. The Lord went forward to meet them, without waiting for them to find Him. This demonstrated His willingness to go to the cross.The soldiers could have left their weapons at home; the Savoir would not resist! The question whom are you seeking? was designed to draw forth from their own lips the nature of their mission,
This was the man who was the accredited guardian of the nations' soul. He had been set apart to be the supreme interpreter and representatives of the Most HIGH. To him was committed the glorious privilege of entering once every year into the holy of the holies. Yet this was the man who condemned the Son of God. History provides no more startling illustration of the truth that the best religious opportunity in the world and the most promising environment will not guarantee a man salvation or of themselves ennoble his soul.
O impious blindness! They would be defiled, forsooth, by a dwelling which was another, and not be defiled by a crime which was their own, They feared to be defiled by the praetorian of an alien judge,and feared not to be defiled by the blood of an innocent brother. Woe unto you priests,scribes,elders, hypocrite! Can there be any roof so unclean that of your own breast? Not Pilate' walls, but your own hearts,are impure. Is murder your errand,a and do you stop at a local infection? God shall smite you, ye white walls! Do you long to be stained with blood-with the blood of God? And do e fear to be defiled with the touch of Pilate's pavement? Does so small a gnat stick in your throats,while ye swallow such a camel of flagitious wickedness? Go out of Jerusalem, ye false disbelievers's, if ye would not be unclean! Pilate had more cause to fear, lest his walls should be defiled with the presence of such prodigious monster of iniquity.
it was common among the Jews at the Passover to request the release of some Jewish prisoner for the Romans. Pilate seized upon this custom in an effort to please the Jews and at the same time release Jesus. The scheme failed. The Jews did not want Jesus; they wanted Barabas. Barabas was robber. The wicked heart of man preferred a bandit to the Creator.
It was most unjust for Pilate to scourge an innocent Person. Perhaps he hoped that this punishment would satisfy the Jews and that they would not demand the death of Jesus. Scourging was a Roman form of punishment. The prisoner was beaten with a whip or a rod. The whip had pieces of metal or bone in it, and these cut deep gashes in the flesh. The soldiers mocked Jesus claim to be a King. A crown for the King! But it was a crown of thorns. This would have caused extreme pain as it was pressed onto His brow. Thorns are symbol of the curse which sin brought to mankind. Here we have a picture of the Lord Jesus bearing the curse of our sins, so that we might wear a crown of glory. The purple robe was also in mockery. Purple was the color of royalty.But again it reminds us of how our sins were placed on Jesus in order we might be clothed with the robe of God righteousness.
The self-control of the Lord Jesus was remarkable. He was more calm than Pilate. he answered quietly that whatever power Pilate possessed had been given to him by God. All governments are ordained by God, and all authority, whether civil or spiritual, is from GOD. The one who delivered me to you: may refer to Caiaphas, the high priest; Judas, the betrayer, or the Jewish people in general. The thought is that these Jews should have known better. They had Scriptures which predicted the coming of the Messiah. They should have recognized Him when He came. But they rejected Him and were even now crying out for His life. Pilate was guilty, but Caiaphas, and Judas,and all the wicked Jew were more guilty. Pilate could not afford to have the Jews accuse him of disloyalty to Caesar, and so he weakly submitted to the mob. He now brought Jesus out to a public area called the Pavement, where such matters were often handled.
The Preparation Day of the Passover means the preparation for the feast that followed it . About the sixth hour was probably 6 a.m. but there are unresolved problems concerning the methods of reckoning time of the Gospel. behold your King! Almost certainly, Pilate said this to annoy and provoke the Jews.He doubtless blamed them for trapping him into condemning Jesus. The place of Skull may have received this name in one of two ways: the land itself may have resembled skull, especially if it was a hill with caves in the side of it. Such a site is "Gordon"s Calvary" in Israel today. It was the place where criminals were executed; perhaps skulls and bones were found in the area. though in light of the Mosaic Law on burial this is most unlikely.
In Hebrew, the sacred tongue of patriarch and seers. in Greek, the musical and golden tongue which gave a soul to the objects of sense and a body to the abstractions of philosophy. In Latin, the dialect of a people originally the strongest of all the sons of men. The three languages represents the three races and their ideas-revelation,art, literature; progress, war,and jurisprudence. Wherever these three desires of the human race exist, wherever annunciation can be made in human language, wherever there is a heart to sin, tongue to speak, an eye to read, the Cross has a message.
Seeing His mother, and John, the disciple, He introduced John to her as the one who would hereafter take the place of of son to her. In calling His mother "woman" the Lord did not show any lack of respect.But it is noticeable that He did not call her 'Mother". Does this have any lesson
for those who might be tempted to exalt Mary to he place where she is adorned? Jesus here instructed John to care for Mary as if she were his own mother. John obeyed and took Mary to his own house. They did not break His legs. We are not told why one of the soldiers pierced his side. Perhaps it was a final outburst of the wickedness of his heart.
Blood and water some take it as an indication that Jesus died of ruptured heart-but we have already read that His death was a voluntary act. Blood speaks of cleansing from the guilt of sin; whereas water typifies cleansing form the defilement of sin through the Word. Let the water and the blood, from thy river side which flowed be of sin the double cure save me from it guilt and power. The body of Jesus was put in the tomb. The Jews were anxious to have the body out of the way because of their feast that began at sunset. But it was all a part of God'sdetermination that the body should be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. In that connection, it should be noted that in Jewish reckoning,any part of a day was counted as a day. So the fact that the Lord was in the tomb for a part of three days was still a fulfillment of His prediction.
Chapter Twenty
The first two word are striking but Mary. Her again we have the love and devotion of a woman. She had been forgiven much; therefore, she loved much. She kept a lonely vigil outside the tomb, weeping because,as she thought, the body had been stolen, probably by the Lord enemy. The Savior of the world may be very near to men, and yet not recognized. He usually comes in lowly guise, however,and not as one of the great ones of the earth. In her answer,Mary did not name the Lord. Three times she referred to Jesus as Him. There was only one Person with whom she was concerned,and she felt it quite unnecessary to identify him further. Actually, she was still thinking of Him as the Great Teacher she had known. She did not realize that He was now more than her teacher. He was her Lord and Savior.
Then He told her to go to His brethren and tell them of the new order that had been ushered in. For the first time the Lord referred to the disciples as my brethren, They were to know that His Father was their Father, and His God was their God. Not until now were believers' made "sons" and "heir of God." The Lord Jesus did not day, our Father, but My Father and your Father. The reason is that God is His Father in a different sense that He is ours. God is the Father of the Lord Jesus from all eternity. Mary Magdalene obeyed her commission and became what someone has called "the apostle of the apostle." Can we doubt that this great privilege was given to her as a reward for her devotion to Christ?
But Thomas faith was not the kind that was most pleasing to the Lord.It was belief based on sight. More blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. The surest evidence is the Word of God. If God says a thing, we honor Him by believing it; but we dishonor Him by demanding additional evidence. We should believe simply because He said it and because
He cannot lie or be mistaken. Not all the miracles performed by Jesus are recorded. The Holy Spirit selected those signs which would best serve Hispurpose. John object in writing the book, It was so that his readers may believe that Jesus is the true Messiah and the Son of God. Believing,they will have eternal life in His name.
Chapter Twenty One
Severn of the disciples were together at the time- Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel,James and John the son of Zebedee, and two others whose names we do not know. Peter decide to go fishing on the lake, and the others agreed to go with him. This seemed to be a most natural decision, though some Bible student feels that the trip was not in the will of God and that they went without first praying. That night they caught nothing. They illustrated the uselessness of human efforts apart from divine help, especially in the matter of fishing for souls.
A great load of fish. So many that they could not pull in the net! This shows that the LORD Jesus had perfect knowledge as to the location of the fish in the lake. It also teaches us that when the Lord directs our service, there are no more empty nets.He knows where there are souls ready to be saved,and He is willing to direct us to them-if we will let Him. Just as Peter had denied the lord three times,so he was given three opportunities to confess him. This time Peter appealed to the fact that Jesus was God and therefore knew all tings. He said three time, You know that i am fond of you. And for the last time,he was told that he could demonstrate this by feeding Christ sheep.In this passage,the underlying lesson is that love for Christ is the acceptable motive for serving Him. When Peter was younger, e had great freedom of movement.He went where he wished.
Jesus predict Peter death. When Peter was younger, he had great freedom of movement, He went where he wished. But the Lord here told him that al the end of his life, he would be arrested, bound,and carried off to execution. Peter would glorify God by dying as a martyr. he who had denied the Lord would be given courage to lay down his life for Him. We can glorify God in death as well as in life. Peter saw John, the thought probably crossed his mind. The Lord answered was that Peter should not be concerned about John latter days. Even if he were to survive until the Second Coming of Christ, this should not make any difference to Peter. Many failures in Christian service arise from disciples being more occupied with one another than with the Lord Himself.
Jesus is God and is therefore infinite. There is no limit to the meaning of His words or to the number of His works. While He was here on earth, He was still the Upholder of all things-the sun, moon,and the stars. Who could ever describe all that is involved in keeping the universe in motion? Even in His miracles on earth, we have only the barest description. In a simple act of healing, think of the nerves, muscles, blood corpuscles,a and other member that He controlled. Think of His direction of germs, fishes, animal life. Think of His guidance in the affairs of men. Think of His control over the atomic structure of every bit of matter in the universe.
Yours In Christ,
Andrew Blackman
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