John 21:18-25. Look to Yourself!

Jesus had met up with seven of his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. At first he reminded them that they had been chosen and trained to be ‘fishers of men’ Then Jesus told Peter three times, ‘Feed my sheep’. The shepherd would feed the sheep mainly by passing on and explaining God’s word.. Note the flock would not be Peter’s but the Lord’s.

“Feed my sheep.” John 21:15,16,17

The foundation of God’s church

The Roman Catholic church has used this passage to try and support the primacy of Peter and his successors over God’s church. Peter had been told that the founding principle of God’s church would be faith in Jesus as God’s Christ.

When Jesus had asked Peter,

“ ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. . . .” Matthew 16:16

Jesus then replied,

“ . . .And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church’” Matthew 16:15-18

In the Greek there is a play on words. The word Peter means ‘rock’. But when Jesus says ‘on this rock’ he used a subtly different word ‘petra’ . This has caused much debate by scholars, some of whom have suggested that this means a ‘rocky ledge’. However the original conversation was in Aramaic and there the word for rock is feminine. It is therefore likely that the same word was originally used. When translated into Greek, a man’s name had to be in the masculine case whereas an idea could be feminine. The revelation, conviction and confession on which Christ’s church is built is the open acknowledgment of Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. That this is what Jesus meant is clear by the use of the word ‘this’. Jesus was talking to Peter, yet he says ‘on this rock’, that is ‘on this belief and confession. He would not have used the word ‘this’, if he meant ‘you’

The rest of the New Testament confirms that Peter did not have more authority than other shepherds of the early church. All shepherds should reflect both the authority of a leader or overseer but at the same time a meekness and humility. Meekness is ‘power under control’, such as demonstrated by a stallion that has been broken in. For example, Paul said to the Ephesian elders,

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.. Be shepherds of the church of God which he bought with his own blood.” Acts 20:28

Here Paul stresses that it is God’s church and the elders were just his temporary sub-leaders who are ultimately responsible to him. It is the Holy Spirit of God who appointed them!

Peter’s destiny

It appears that Jesus and Peter went off for a stroll to have a personal conversation about the future role Peter was to play.

“Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.” John 21:20

Did John overhear the conversation Jesus had with Peter or did Peter tell him about it later? We don’t know. After Peter’s proclamation about his love for Jesus, he is given a warning. Did he remember the previous warning he had been given,

“Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times.” John 13:38

It appears that Jesus is again referring back to that episode. He uses the same introductory phrase and then distinguishes the independence of youth with what will happen when Peter is old.

“I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” John 21:18

One commentator has suggested that the phrase, ‘Stretch out your hands’ referred to the practice of placing the cross-piece, or patibulum, of the cross onto the condemned man’s shoulders, tying the outstretched arms to this, before forcing him to ‘carry his cross’ to the place of execution.

John confirms that this was Jesus’ meaning in the following verse.

“Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.” John 21:19

What a profound statement this is. The apostles remembered when some Greeks had asked Philip for an introduction to Jesus and that Jesus’ response on being told this was that his death was imminent.

“Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” John 12:23

The sacrifice of Jesus by willingly dying on that cross as ‘the lamb of God’ to ‘take away the sins of the world’ was the purpose of his life, it was the glory of the life of Jesus. His death also meant that he could return to live in heavenly glory with his Father in heaven. In both senses Jesus’ death brought glory.

Peter’s death would also bring glory to God. How would this be? Surely by his resolutely staying the course and not denying his God and Saviour. How we die can indeed glorify God.

I well remember an elderly lady called Alice in my ward who had advanced cancer and was in for terminal care. On a teaching ward round attended by junior doctors, medical students nurse and physios we came to her bed. I sat down on the bed and held her hand and asked how she felt. She looked at me straight in the face and asked,

“Mr. Palmer, how long will it be before I can go home?”

“Alice,” I replied, “Do you really think you are well enough to go home and cope on your own?”

I will never forget her reply,

“No, I don’t mean that. When will I go home to live with the Lord Jesus?”

The conversation at the post ward-round coffee time was all about what Alice had said.

On October 16th 1555 two of the great leaders of the Biblical reformation of the Church in England were burnt at the stake as the Roman Catholic queen Mary, bloody Mary, did her best to turn back the tide of biblical thinking. Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were moved from the tower of London to the town prison in Oxford, where they were to debate in public with Roman Catholic theologians. Ridley defended his beliefs with particular brilliance. There were mounting defections from Protestant ranks as the pressure mounted. Heresy trials began in January 1555. John Rogers was the first to be burnt at Smithfield in February. Ridley wrote of his death,

‘And yet again I bless God in our dear brother and of this time proto-martyr Rogers.’

Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were all condemned to die in the flames. Latmier and Ridly were killed first, Cranmer being forced to watch. As the flames were kindled, Latimer said,

‘Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as shall never be put out’.

The historian Eusebius tells us that this remark was first said by Polycarp as he was being martyred in the second century AD.

There are many ways in which a person’s death can glorify our Lord but the most important one is for us to remain faithful to him whatever pressures we are facing.

Peter came to recognise that Christians would go through many kinds of suffering but that this would be an opportunity to demonstrate as well as experience the glory of God.

“But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” 1 Peter 4:13-14

Follow me

After warning Peter about how he would die, Jesus insists that from then on his commitment to himself must be resolute.

“Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’” John 21:19

That phrase, ‘Follow me,’ must have again given him that feeling of ‘deja vu.’ When Jesus had first summonsed Simon and his brother Andrew to be trained as his disciples he had said,

“ ‘Come, follow me . . . and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” Matthew 4:19-20

Whenever we are told embarrassing or difficult news there is always a temptation to change the subject and Peter was no exception. Peter saw John following them and he asked,

“Lord, what about him?” John 21:21

Jesus’ reply was short and sharp, essentially saying ‘that is none of your business.’

“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” John 21:22

How important this reminder is. The pronoun ‘you’ here is in the singular and is emphatic in the Greek . Each of us as individuals must make up our minds and make living in obedience to the Lord the priority of our lives. It is so easy to look over our shoulder and see others who have different gifts, privileges and opportunities to ourselves. Jealousy or pride are utterly destructive. We have been placed where we are now. Our present position may partly be because of foolish or wise decisions we have made in the past, but that is in the past. We are to live in the present with our eyes on the future. We must obey and live for the Lord, wherever we are, from now on.

“You must follow me.”

A decision is needed. It is a big decision, similar to deciding whether to get married to someone. The relationship with God will last into eternity. We must make a decision. To defer without good reason may result in the opportunity disappearing. The church is the bride of Christ. God speaks to us both through the inner voice of his Spirit speaking through our consciences, and the Bible’s message delivered by his church. At the end of the Bible comes this plea to all people,

“The Spirit and the bride say ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Revelation 22:17

Looking at others

Visiting other churches, with their wonderful buildings and large numbers in their services, can be depressing if that is not what you are seeing in your church. Many new churches do not even have a building and are not always finding life easy. Older generations used to talk of their church building as ‘God’s house’. We know what they mean, it is a building that means much to them. But they are wrong. The building is not God’s house, the building is not God’s church. Christians don’t go to church to worship any more. That is Old Testament, old covenant religion. Now we are the church. True Christians, whatever their nationality or denomination, are united together round the cross of Christ. Our foundation is the apostolic gospel found in the word of God.

There are many videos and books telling us how to do church better, make our services more attractive to outsiders, be better pastorally, how to attract more young people and how to be more effective in evangelism. We are offered slick solutions to these all too common problems. It is so refreshing to hear Jesus say to me,

“What is that to you? You must follow me.” John 21:22

Obviously there are areas that we can all improve how we do things but we should never let Satan get under our skin about our weaknesses and failures. He is a past master at lying and disinformation and we must not listen when he attacks us.

Peter had just been given a bombshell, he will also be crucified, he will be killed painfully. His first thought was to compare himself with John. It’s not fair. What about him? Will John have to suffer in the same way. Why shouldn’t I live to a right old age?

Today people ask similar questions. Why can’t my ministry be as successful as others? Why can’t I preach as persuasively as Dick Lucas did? Why can’t I get to understand the meaning of Scripture as John Stott did or Don Carson does? Why aren’t I as successful in winning people for Christ as Billy Graham, Roger Carswell, J John or Rico Tice? There may be areas that I can improve in what I do but this should never be at the cost of letting Satan get me down. Jesus will not judge me on whether I am better or worse than others. Jesus has a work for just me to do and simply calls me to follow him to the best of my ability, with the limited gifts I have been given. The Lord has given each of us the grace we need to fulfil his work. We have been called by the Lord Jesus ti walk with him in great freedom. What he wants is for us to persevere to the end.

There was a village school linked to a church mission in Uganda. The children were asked to write and recite a poem about the Christian life. One young lad stood up in front of the class and recited his poem. He said,

“If you would be a Christian, Go on,

Go on, go on, go on, go on,

Go on, go on, go on, go on,

Go on, go on, go on, go on, . . . “

And so the poem went on – but the truth he was sharing was profound. If we are Christians we must have a mindset to ‘Go on, Go on, go on . . .”

Testify

The need for all Christians to talk about the Lord Jesus, to testify, is a very common Biblical theme. At the end of the book ‘The Duty of a Disciple’ many of the passages in the Bible that emphasise the importance of speaking about Jesus are written out. At the end of his book, John reminds his readers that he has set an example in this,

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down.” John 21:24

What a helpful reminder this is. We do not testify just by speaking to people about our Lord, we can also write to them. I have just watched a short video by the evangelist Roger Carswell in which he shares how being housebound because of the Covid-19 shut-down has not restricted his sharing the gospel with others. He writes cards to people - and includes a leaflet that explains the gospel. He has sent several hundred cards to people and has had many grateful replies. We can write letters to friends and members of our family and include something to remind them of what really matters.

We are not telling people our views, we are sharing God’s truth. John confirms that his evidence about Jesus is really true.

“We know that his testimony is true.” John 21:24

This is why everyone must be a follower of Jesus Christ – it really is true what Jesus said about our need to be born again, to start a new life with him as our Saviour and Lord.

There has been some speculation about whether John was still alive when this book was written. Notice that the tense used is the present tense – ‘he who testifies’, his testimony is true.’

John finishes by reminding us that what he has written down for us is just a selected brief account of the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. What he has written is enough evidence for all of us to recognise that this is the truth. If we were members of a jury looking at even just this selected evidence we would have ample evidence to make a judgment on Jesus and whether these witnesses are telling the truth. John concludes,

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25

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John 21:15-21. A Final Encouragement – to Shepherd

On October 26th 1963, one month before he died, C.S.Lewis wrote a letter to a little girl which contained these words of encouragement.

“If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you, and I hope you may always do so.”

How wise these words are. Loving Jesus, living for him is the heart of Christian experience.

In this last section of John’s gospel, Peter, who had recently denied Jesus three times in succession, is commissioned afresh, together with the other disciples, to lead God’s people. The chapter emphasising the need for all Christ’s people to be,

a. Fishermen – that is fishers of men or evangelists

b. Shepherds – or pastors

This summarises the calling of all Christians. It was not just for the apostles or the clergy, it is for all Christians, both then and now.

Jesus’ Great Question

What qualifies people to serve Christ? Surely it is in the questions that Jesus puts three times to Peter,

“Do you love me?” John 21:15,16,17

When Peter assures Jesus of this, three times Jesus replies,

“Feed my sheep.” John 21:15,16,17

There is a subtle variation in the Greek of the words for ‘love’ used by Jesus in both his question and in his commission but now most recent scholars, Bible commentaries and Bible translators think that there is no significant difference in meaning. The Greek should not be translated,

“(Jesus) Do you love me? - (Peter)I care for you.”

Modern translators are therefore reasonable in saying,

“(Jesus( Do you love me? - (Peter) You know that I love you.” John 21:15,16,17

The threefold question surely reminded Peter of his threefold failure in the courtyard of the high priest when he denied that he knew the Lord Jesus.

There is however a variation when Jesus asks this question the first time ,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15

The address, ‘Simon, son of John,’ was only used on one other occasion. This was when Peter was first called to be one of Jesus's disciples. Then Jesus had said,

“You are Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas (which when translated, is Peter).” John 1:42

They were speaking in Aramaic but John’s gospel was written in Greek.

Jesus is taking Peter back to that day when he was was first called by Jesus to follow him, when he left his boat and left his family in order to spend the rest of his life following Jesus.

The other question is what Jesus meant by the last part of the phrase,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15

This is probably another response to the proud boast that Peter had made in the upper room.

“Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” Matthew 26:33

This claim that Peter loved Jesus more than the other disciples must be questioned and rebuked by Jesus. Jesus is now asking,

“Peter do you really love me more than the other disciples?”

This was a humbling beginning to the conversation.

“Do you love me?”

Although very simple, this is a very searching question, both for Peter and for us. We may know a lot about the Bible, be very busy in church work, give much and even talk much about Jesus. We may make a big show of our religion, but still lack a deep love for the Lord Jesus. Belief in Jesus means a love for Jesus and without this love, this deep-seated commitment to him, there can be no vitality about our faith. We are no better than ‘painted statues or stuffed animals in a museum’ or, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:1, ‘a resounding gong or a clanging symbol.’ Such people are those who claim to be Christians but have no love either for Christ or for other Christians. The great bishop, J.C.Ryle wrote,

“Knowledge, orthodoxy, correct views, regular use of forms, a respectable moral life – all please do not make up a true Christian. There must be some personal feelings towards Christ.”1

Feelings by themselves may be here today and gone tomorrow, but if genuine and based on facts they will result in a determination to live a changed life. However an entire absence of feeling for Christ is an ominous symptom. A love for Christ must overflow into what we think, say and do. A Christian has the Lord Jesus at the centre of their life. Paul wrote,

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

Peter’s Great Answer

Three times Peter replies,

“You know that I love you.”

On the third occasion Peter was really hurt. He probably felt as if Jesus was doubting him. But surely Jesus knew exactly what he was doing – he was pricking Peter’s conscience and teaching him a solemn lesson. If it was painful for Peter to be questioned like this, how much more painful was it for Jesus to have be denied by Jesus. Surely this answer of Peter’s is one that all true Christians can say, to Jesus

“You know that I love you.”

We may be weak, fearful, ignorant, unstable and fail in so many ways, but at least we are sincere in our love for Jesus. We do love him.

What is the secret of loving Jesus? It starts with a realisation of how God sees us, what we are really like. Only then can we see how much God loves us and is calling us to turn away from our independence and become his people – that is repentance.

Surely Jesus knew that, in spite of Peter’s foolish self importance, he did love him.

“Lord, you know all things. . . ” John 21:17

Of course Jesus knew that Peter loved him. He knows the state of the heart of all of us that are reading this article. We don't really know the true state of our hearts; so often our thinking is blown around by our feelings, but the Lord does know all about us

Note that Jesus does not deny that Peter loves him.

Matthew Henry's Bible commentaries (started in 1706) are treasured by many of us, but surely he has missed the point here. He suggested Jesus meant,

“Peter, I've come to suspect your love, for if you loved me, you would not have been ashamed or afraid to confess me.”

Is there a better way to understand what is going on in this dialogue? Jesus knew of Peter’s love for him, but he also recognised his weaknesses. Though we are weak and frail, though we fall away and deny Jesus, he knows that, deep down, we love him.

Consider Sarah, the daughter of a lovely Christian family. In a Scripture lesson at school the class all had their Bibles out. Sarah’s Bible was covered on the outside with stickers such as ‘Jesus loves me’, that many children love. There was a short break in the lesson and both the teacher and Sarah left the classroom. When Sarah returned she found her classmates mocking her Bible and laughing.

“I bet that’s Sarah's Bible,” one girl said.

The mocking got to Sarah and she blurted out,

“No, that’s not mine.”

When Sarah went home she felt wretched. There were floods of tears, she was inconsolable. She'd been quite off-balance and denied her love for her Lord and Master - just like Peter. This didn't mean that she didn't love Jesus. No, the tears meant she did love him.

Their problem was not a lack of love, but the lack of self control.

There are some modern Christian songs that express a devotion to Jesus in very exaggerated terms. Examples are, “I will forever stand . . .” or “I surrender all.” Some of these make me cringe. Do we all really mean them when we sing such songs or are they just words? Some old hymns are much wiser. William Cooper was a depressive but he wrote glorious hymns that are so real, such as,

“Lord, it is my chief complaint, that my love is weak and faint.

Yet I love you and adore.

O for grace to love you more . . .”

That is true Christian realism. The Scottish preacher Andrew Murray said,

“Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds you abased and empty, His glory and power flow in.”

So Peter is humbled but only to be privileged.

Peter’s Great Privilege

Peter was told three times,

“Feed my sheep.”

So Peter was commissioned, in spite of his failure, to care for the Lord’s most precious possession -his people. The Lord Jesus was soon to depart this world, into whose hands will he pass on this responsibility? He chose to use members of his church, weak people.

A senior clergyman said at the clergy conference,

“You must never talk about your church as your people. They are not your people, but Christ's people.”

Notice what Jesus said,

“Feed my sheep.”

He could have given this responsibility to others, perhaps angels, they might be more efficient, but he has chosen to give this responsibility to Peter, as a representative of fallen Christians. This is an awesome, breathtaking privilege that God has given to us. Most of us who are active for Christ have, at some stage and in some way, been deeply humbled. That is how he fits us for the tasks of fishing (evangelism) and shepherding (pastoring).

If we are to persevere in these tasks for the rest of our lives, only a love for the Lord Jesus will suffice. People will be ungrateful, say unkind things about us, misunderstanding us; it is only a love for Jesus that will keep us strong. Calvin, the great reformer in Geneva, said in his commentary on John 21,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” By these words Christ means that no man can faithfully serve the church, and employ himself in feeding the flock, if he does not look higher than to men. The office of feeding is, in itself, laborious and troublesome, since nothing is more difficult than to keep men under the yoke of God - among whom there are many who are weak, others who are wanton and unsteady, others who are dull and sluggish, and others who are slow and unteachable. In addition to this, we must take into account the ingratitude of many, and other causes of disgust. No man will steadily persevere in the discharge of this office unless the love of Christ shall reign in his heart in such a manner, that, forgetful of himself and devoting himself entirely to Christ, he overcomes every obstacle.”

Let us apply this lesson to three kinds of people,

1. The humble Christian

He is conscious of failure and may be on the brink of despair. Peter is in this group but Jesus knows of his love for him, that he was spiritually willing - but his flesh was weak. Be reassured, if God is humbling you through your experiences and failures, it is because he is willing to, and intends to, lift you up. The psalmist understood this,

“If you Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who can stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” Psalm 130:3-4

A child falls over into a puddle of muddy water. He can just sit there, cry and bemoan his fate or alternatively get up, go to his parent, get sorted out and press on. To get up and get on is what Christ wants us all to do.

2. The young, gifted, ambitious Christian.

These people can be a great encouragement but there are potential pitfalls. They mustn't think too highly of themselves, they mustn't compare themselves with others, there must be no boasting, there must be no sense of spiritual superiority, no nonsense that they deserve the privileges that God is giving them.

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

3. All ordinary Christians.

These are those who are seeking to serve Jesus according to their gifts and abilities. How important it is to make love for the Lord my constant priority. Remember what happened to the church in Ephesus? They were hard-working and doctrinally sound, but God said about them,

“Yet I hold this against you: ‘You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did it first.” Revelation 2:4-5

We are each called to consider what is blocking out our love for Jesus. Is it pride or some other sin? Whatever it is, we must repent and turn back to Christ for forgiveness. Then, on the positive side we have to restart doing those things that foster our love for Jesus, we need to think of how best we can serve him.

The world will always be hostile, it will mock us, it will condemn us, it will do everything to try to stamp out our enthusiasm and zeal. The world says, “Is it really worth it?” The world tempts us saying, “You'll have more fun doing other things. You're missing out, spending your time and money on pleasing your Jesus!” In contrast the Bible says to us,

“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” Romans 12:1

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:11

We Christians love the Lord Jesus, “because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19-21)

“Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.” John 21:17

Jesus said to Peter, ‘Follow me’. Don't look to other Christians, just be concerned about yourself. Jesus says to each of us,

“You! (Greek)must follow me.” John 21:22

BVP

1 https://img.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/article_pdf.php?aid=32790

John 21:1-14. A Final Encouragement – to Fish

This last chapter in John’s gospel appears to be an appendix but it is a vital addition. Just as we now know that the appendix in our bodies has a function, so does this appendix to John’s gospel. The scene has shifted from Jerusalem where Jesus was executed. Later he appeared to his disciples in Galilee. They had undoubtedly gone there because they've been told to do so, firstly by Jesus towards the end of the last supper,

“But after I have risen I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Matthew 26:32

And again, when Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Clopas (sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus) met an angel at the empty tomb, they were told,

“Then go quickly and tell the disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ ” Matthew 28:7

The Ring of Truth

This passage was clearly written by an eyewitness - there are so many details that give it authenticity. The question needs to be asked why is this extra chapter here at all? Chapter 20 ends neatly,

“Jesus performed many of the signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Matthew 20:30

After this comes this appendix, but as we will see it's a very important reminder about the purpose of Gods church.

Encouraged to build God’s Church

The scene starts with the disciples fishing; they were, after all, fishermen. But then the scene shifts to the conversation Jesus has with Peter where he is told to, ‘Tend my flock,’ (John 21:15-19).

Surely people have to be blind not to see what this is saying.

a. Fishing represents evangelism - win men and women for Christ.

b. Shepherding represents pastoral care – building up and feeding God’s people by teaching them.

Christian conversion, turning to Christ, is not the end but just the beginning. When a person becomes a Christian, when Jesus is accepted as Lord and Saviour in response to God’s word to them, they have been chosen both to go into society to fish for God and then to follow people up, which means to feed them with God’s word. This is the role of every Christian, not just church leaders. All Christians are committed to a lifetime of service, both fishing and pastoring.

There is a contrast here between Christianity and all other world religions. Religion tells us that we must enter their particular philosophical system in order to have any hope of being reconciled to God and escaping the pressures of life. Adherents to religions then have to live in such a way that when they die, they hope they have reached a high enough standard to be acceptable to God.

Unfortunately Christianity can be presented like that. Join up, be baptised, be confirmed and live a good life so that one day you may be worthy of heaven. In this religious view, life is for earning God’s pleasure.

The gospel’s message is utterly different. Christ has already faced that judgement for you and me. He and he alone is able to put us into a right relationship with God. When we turn to the Lord Jesus and accept his forgiveness and his rule in our life, we are granted his pardon, we are forgiven for all we have done and all we will do that offends him. So in the gospel we are freed from self absorption, we don't need to worry “Am I good enough, will I be saved?” If I belong to Christ Jesus, he has already saved me, my judgment took place on that cross. This is wonderful news.

However, being forgiven, given a new start in life, is just the beginning - there is much work to do, both fishing and pastoring. Churches will need ‘all hands on deck’ in order to turn the tide of a godless society. There is much work to be done. Every Christian will need to put their energy into being hospitable, helping with the church’s children and youth work and especially in inviting others to hear the gospel. Unfortunately there are many church members who are ineffective and unproductive for the Lord Jesus. Peter reminded the church that each person has much work to do if we are not to be ineffective and unproductive.

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge . . . If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:5-8

Being perceived as good, genuine, caring people is vital for ministry. Being efficient is not the same as being effective. Are we all praying about how we can be more effective at winning people for and back to Christ? Remember enthusiasm and warmth are much more attractive than truths or correctness.

Hippies, young people who were dropouts, practised a form of Buddhism by trying to drop out of everything. There is no place for politics or religion, just escapism. Some want church to be like that, quiet, peaceful, beautiful music, just passive and relaxing.

But Jesus Christ insists that his church makes a priory of evangelism, of fishing. If we know that Jesus is the Son of God and we have tasted something of his love, won't we long to share this news in any way we can? Do you remember the Great Commission given by Jesus himself?

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

The problem is that people don't want the gospel to be taught. I remember taking a group of students to lead a Christian camp in Samara in Russia. We landed at the airport in a rickety, old, turboprop Aeroflot plane but then we were not allowed through customs. We were asked why anyone would want to come on a tourist visit to Samara! After many hours sitting on the floor we were allowed in - but only after a group of Russian students persuaded them.

A Christian who does not pass on what he knows and values soon finds that there is little he knows and little he values.

The disciples let their fishing net down again and this time pulled up 153 large fish. If this catch is then left alone they will rot. The fish must still be cared for so that they can be useful. Similarly, after evangelism, pastoring is needed; the metaphor changes but not the love and care.

This is surely why everyone who becomes a Christian needs to become active in a Bible teaching church. They need to attend that church regularly to hear the Bible being taught well, they will also need to get involved in a home group and also decide which of the church’s ministries suits them and the church best for them to serve in. All Christians must become committed to working for Christ through the local church. Both entrepreneurs and workers who prefer routines are needed. There will be tensions and personality problems but we all have to work through these.

Encouraged by the Love of the Lord Jesus.

After Jesus’ resurrection, he could have stayed with his Father, basking in the glory that was his by right, but instead, he chose to continue his work of encouraging and teaching his disciples.

William Arthur Ward wrote,

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you.

Criticise me, and I may not like you.

Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.

But encourage me, and I will not forget you.”

The Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under, but he got things done! Brilliant and demanding, he did not want to shower compliments on his subordinates. But in his old age, a young lady asked him,

“What, if anything, sir, would you do differently?”

Wellington thought for a moment and then replied,

“I'd give more praise!”

Here we see Jesus, coming to encourage his demoralised and defeated team. There are many Christians who, like Peter, have fallen guilty of some particular sin – sometimes this is serious and they feel so ashamed. Doubtless Peter felt a complete failure when that cock crowed and Jesus looked at him. No words were needed.

We can also, like Peter, feel defeated and useless. But one of the Lord's great characteristics is that he never sees our failure as final.

Mark recalls that when the angel appeared to the two Mary's and Salome at the empty tomb, he said,

“He has risen . . . but go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.” Mark 16:7

Peter must have been so encouraged by this message. He might not have gone to Galilee with the others without it, as he would have felt so ashamed. I suspect that when he reached Galilee he still wondered,

“Will I be trusted again?”

But look at verse 3, his confidence is clearly returning. Ideas are returning and he is beginning to lead again. He suggested that they go fishing and the others followed. The best time to fish was at night and the disciples had fished all night but the result was that they caught nothing.

Then a voice called out to them from the shore,

“Friends, haven't you any fish?” Jesus clearly knew.

“No,” they answered.

“’Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to hold the net in because of the large number of fish.” John 21:6

Talk of ‘déjà vu’. Surely the penny must've dropped. They must have recalled what happened when they were first called by Jesus. On that occasion, Jesus was also on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and wished to preach to the crowds. So he borrowed a fishing boat, Simon Peter’s boat, to use as a pulpit. Sensibly he preached seated! After the sermon Jesus said to Peter,

“Put out to deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon had answered,

“Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will . . . ” Luke 5:1-11

What a great line that is for every Christian to keep repeating,

“But because you say so, I will”

They obeyed Jesus and the result was that they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Peter was afraid of Jesus and said,

“Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.”

But Jesus was not going to leave Peter and the others, but replied,

“Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luke 5:10

So they left everything and followed Jesus. Peter’s realisation that he was a sinner in God’s eyes was not a cause for him being rejected by God, indeed that realisation is an essential qualification. This is so encouraging, people who know how sinful they are can be used by God for his purposes.

On that day Peter and others were commissioned to become fishers of men. Jesus had proved that he can help them catch fish, so presumably he could help them, and us, to catch people for God. What a day that was. He had felt himself a sinner, a failure, but God had accepted him to be trained for ministry.

Imagine what Peter felt as this scene was repeated and he came to realise that the Lord Jesus wanted to use him again.

The scene is so eloquent – there was no recommissioning service, that was unnecessary, but Jesus, by all he did, was saying,

“Yes Peter, you did fail me, but I'm ready to use you again. I want you to fish for people.”

How encouraging that day must have been for the disciples. They must have been impressed with the master that they serve, one full of grace.

As we read the Bible, it will always bring us back to the wonder of the grace of Jesus. Many of us have made starts to the Christian life but have then failed. Some are overwhelmed by their failure and may even wallow in self pity, but Jesus says to us all, let's fish.

How wonderful is the way that the Lord Jesus treats all of us.

A dentist was working in East Africa and was treating an elderly bishop. He was fitting him with some new false teeth. After fitting the teeth, the Bishop went to a mirror while the dentist was washing his hands. The Bishop then said aloud,

“Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.”

The dentist was somewhat shaken by this response, but the Bishop turned, smiled at the dentist and said,

“I've not been able to see that precious name for 20 years – without whistling.”

For a Christian it is unthinkable to use the name of Jesus as an expletive. His is a precious name, he is our saviour and our Lord.

Do we all regard the Lord Jesus in this way?

Encouraged to evaluate our work

Most Christians today, if asked how many fish they have caught, would have to answer, ‘Not any’ or ‘Not many.’ In this story two answers are given,

a. None at all

This is how many fish they caught before Jesus appeared. Without the leading of Jesus Christ these disciples, in spite of being expert fisherman, and highly skilled, caught nothing. Similarly, when Christians are fishing for men we need the leading of Jesus. Without him we can achieve nothing. When Jesus had given his final briefing to the disciples in the upper room, he had said,

“I am the vine – apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

If we are not seeing any people becoming Christians, we must ask ourselves, “Is Christ with us?”

b. 153 large fish

What are we to make of this large catch after following Jesus’ directions? The early church fathers had a wonderfully imaginative time giving possible explanations. Cyril of Alexander suggested that 100 represented the Gentiles, 50 represented the remnant of Israel and the 3 must stand for the Trinity. Jerome suggested that there were 153 kinds of fish. There are many more such implausible explanations. Isn’t it more likely that John mentioned this number because there was such a massive catch that they had bothered to count it?

Isn't the message that God wants us to learn that when we are abiding in Christ, living for him, seeking his will, we will be effective for Christ?

May I finish with two questions?

a. If we are Christians are we being effective and productive for Christ? Is God enabling us to help win men and women for Christ and then build them up? A good passage for study, for those who are concerned about their ineffectiveness, is 1 Peter 1:5-8. Here Peter suggests what we can do to become more productive for Christ.

b. If you are not a Christian, will you let Christ encourage you? He wants us to be members of his Kingdom, to be forgiven all that we have done wrong in the past and give us a purpose to live for in the future. Will you pray for the courage to commit your lives to the Lord Jesus today? Ask him to lead you in the same way that he led his first disciples and ask him to help you live for him.

BVP

John 20:19-31. ‘Stop Doubting and Believe’

These words were said to Thomas and to all of us, ‘Stop doubting and believe.” The original Greek work literally says, ‘Do not be faithless but faithful.’ Doubt is, according to the Oxford dictionary,

“A feeling of uncertainty, an undecided state of mind.”

Thomas wasn’t uncertain, he knew that resurrections don’t happen! Jesus was a dead man. He said dogmatically to the other disciples,

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” John 20:25

In spite of his having witnessed so many of Jesus’ miracles, this was one too many for him. He was determined not to believe. Possibly he understood the implications of believing. He is like so many today, hope is gone, they don’t want to rely on fantasy, what is needed is definitive proof.

Remember that John wrote his book to help those who, like Thomas, find it hard to believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. Jesus may have taught sublimely but did he really do those miracles, and especially did he really rise form the dead?

John, like a good barrister, has carefully selected the evidence he will put before us, the jury. In the twenty-one chapters of his book he only records what happened on twenty-one days. Three years ministry is condensed into three weeks. The last verse of the book confirms John’s selective but purposeful approach,

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Jesus appears to his disciples

John omits the story of Jesus walking the seven miles to Emmaus with Cleopas and his companion on the afternoon of his resurrection (Luke 24:13-35). Perhaps Luke, as a doctor was particularly impressed that Jesus could walk that distance, otherwise why did he mention the distance they walked, so soon after having a large nail through both his feet. The physical resurrection body of Jesus differed from in some ways his previous body. Neither Cleopas nor his companion recognised Jesus, although they obviously knew him and the disciples well, until he had a meal with them in Emmaus. Luke stresses that they quickly returned all the way to Jerusalem to meet up with the eleven, who excitedly said,

“It is true! The Lord has risen and appeared to Simon.” Luke 24:34

It is interesting that they do not mention that Mary Magdalene had already seen the risen Lord Jesus 20:1-18) as had some of the other women probably at the same time (Matthew 28:9). We do not know when Jesus met up privately with Peter but it was Peter who had managed to convince the other ten, Thomas being absent, that he had seen the risen Jesus. Now Cleopas tells them of their experience on the walk to Emmaus. Cleopas must have been so gratified that they had bothered to ask this stranger into their home for a meal; doing so changed their lives.

“Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognised by them when he broke the bread.” Luke 24:35

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he included a simple creed about the resurrection that must have been written very early aftyer the beginning of the church. He confirmed that Peter was the first of the disciples to see Jesus.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than twelve hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living . .” 1 Corinthians 15:3-6

In was on the Sunday evening, when the disciples were all together in a locked room, being afraid of the Jewish authorities, that Jesus suddenly joined them. John surely emphasises the ‘locked doors’ not because they were afraid and in hiding but to emphasise the miraculous appearing of Jesus in their midst. The disciples were ‘overjoyed’ at seeing the Lord Jesus; surely this must have been an understatement. Jesus’ opening words were a conventional greeting but in this context were especially poignant.

“Peace be with you.” John 20:19

Jesus repeated this greeting shortly afterwards and then again when he met with the disciples the following week,

“Peace be with you.” John 20:21and 26

Just before his execution he had promised his disciples that he would bequeath them his peace,

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

There can be no doubt that Jesus wants his disciples, and surely that includes us, to experience great peace as we pass through the problems that come from being his disciples.

This greeting, along with grace is included in all the greetings of Paul in the New Testament. ‘Peace’ is meant to be our constant experience.

The commission

Each of the gospels includes a commissioning of the disciples to continue Jesus’ work. In his final prayer for the disciples, in the upper room, he had prayed,

“As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” John 17:18-19

Now Jesus repeats this,

“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21

The Lord, the Great ‘I am,’ is commissioning and authorising his people to tell others about him and his death on their behalf. Jesus also healed the sick and helped the needy so this must also be part of the church’s remit, but always in the context of proclaiming Christ. How can people understand why Christians behave as they do, unless we explain the reason? Jesus had said,

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see you good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Words must be associated with actions. Paul also stressed that everything we do should be linked to our commitment to Jesus,

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him.” Colossians 3:17

This would be a daunting task, especially in their situation where they were scared for their lives. It is clear that the Christians’ task is to be the same as that of Jesus. The next statement is therefore highly significant,

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:22-23

Here we have another example of the Tripartite gospel, the three essential facts of the Christian message.

1. Jesus and God the Father are one. He entered this world with a mission – to save us.

2. Jesus can offer us forgiveness of our sin. Consequently we can be sure of going to heaven.

3. Jesus will give his people the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us to fulfil his wishes.

How many people today understand this, that they can be forgiven their sin and become members of God’s kingdom only because of what Jesus has done? How we have failed to get this vital message out. We can promise people, because of the word of Jesus, that if they are genuine followers of Christ, responsibility for their sins has been taken by Jesus on his cross. We must also tell people that there can be no forgiveness without repentance, starting a new life with Christ in control.

The Confession

Eight days later all the disciples were again together and Jesus joined them, giving the same greeting. He spoke to Thomas as if he had heard the comment he had made to the other disciples several days earlier,

“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out you hand and put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe.” John 20:27

It doesn’t seem that Thomas needed any more evidence. Thomas simply said to Jesus,

“My Lord and my God.” John 20:28

Throughout his gospel, John has recorded interviews with individuals that Jesus had met. There was Nicodemus (John 3), the woman of Samaria (John 4), the paralysed man (John 5) and the man born blind (John 9). They all become increasingly sure that Jesus was more than a mere man. For example, Nicodemus, the eminent Jewish scholar, had clearly grasped something when he said,

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” John 3:2

That was the lowest rung of the ladder. The woman of Samaria at first concludes,

“I can see that you are a prophet.” John 4:19

Later she says to people of the city,

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ John 4:29

Jesus stayed in that city for two days and there he taught them. The result,

“Because of his words many more became believers.” John 4:41

This is important – it was what Jesus said that convinced them about his being the Christ. There is a moral impact in what Jesus taught, which is itself convincing.

John’s interviewees are climbing higher and higher up the ladder of faith. The blind man was accosted by the Pharisees after he had been healed. His robust reply is wonderful,

“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” John 9:33

Jesus subsequently met this man and asked him,

“ ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked, ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact he is the one speaking to you.’ Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe and he worshipped him.’”

As we read further we are climbing the ladder even higher. Now we come to the great climax that Thomas expresses,

“My Lord and my God!” John 20:28

This is what all true Christians have said to the Lord Jesus. This is the basic Christian creed. It is eminently personal. Unless I can say this to the Lord Jesus, I am not a Christian. Many can say, “I believe in god,” but the word ‘god’ is virtually meaningless, meaning whatever you want.

C.S.Lewis wrote in his brilliant book, ‘Mere Christianity,’

“Then comes the real shock. Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time. Now let us get this clear. Among Pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God: there would he nothing very odd about it. But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God, in their language, meant the Being outside the world, who had made it and was infinitely different from anything else. And when you have grasped that. you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips.”

It is easy to overlook how shocking the statement and behaviour of Thomas was. He was a Jew, yet here is is worshipping a man as God. Note that Jesus congratulates him on this realisation – in no way is Jesus critical. Contrast how Jesus reacts to Thomas to the way that of his disciples reacted later.

A centurion, Cornelius, had a vision of an angel telling him to send for Peter. When Peter arrived Cornelius, a God-fearing man ‘fell at his feet in reverence.’ Peter was shocked and replied,

“Stand up, I am only a man myself.” Acts 10:26

When Paul visited Lystra, he healed a man who had been lame from birth - possibly due to ‘spina bifida’. The crowds who saw this miracle exclaimed, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form.’ The local priest of Zeus wanted to offer animal sacrifices to them, but this appalled Paul. He tore his shirt and ran out into the crowd, saying,

“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are telling you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God . . .”

Thomas’ action in worshipping Jesus was accepted; he was worshipping the one and only God.

It was certainly dangerous for anyone in the Roman empire to worship Jesus. We have recently seen how Pliny the Younger treated any who admitted to being followers of Jesus - they were executed. A little earlier, approximately when John was finishing this gospel, Domitian was Emperor of Rome (81-96AD). Domitian desired to exalt himself in order to unify the empire, so he initiated an ‘emperor cult’ and all people were expected to say about him as Caesar,

“Dominus et deus noster.”

This means, ‘Lord and our God!’ These words had to be said on pain of death! It is remarkable that Thomas said similar words about Jesus.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians (53-54AD) it is likely that the Christians in Corinth were facing a similar pressure. Paul wrote,

“Therefore I tell you that no-one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is cursed,’ and no-one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

In the early days, Jewish Christians would still worship in the synagogues. Can you imagine a young man sitting in a synagogue, who had recently recognised that Jesus was his Messiah. Then that horrible little Pharisee, Saul, who was travelling around synagogues acting as a personal Inquisition entered. Saul was determined to kill off this faith that Jesus as God’s Messiah. He would probably have gone round asking everyone in the synagogue, to say,

“Jesus is cursed.”

What would we think if he pointed at us and asked that question? The genuine Christians could not comply – they persisted in saying, ‘ Jesus is Lord,’ and suffered the consequences, knowing that their Lord would care for them both in this life and the next. Groups such as the Unitarians and Jehovah’s Witnesses have a problem with this verse as it points to Jesus as being God. One of their explanations is,

“So, Thomas may have addressed Jesus as ‘my God’ in the sense of Jesus' being ‘a god’ though not the Almighty God, not ‘the only true God,’ to whom Thomas had often heard Jesus pray.”

The problem with this explanation is that the Bible is clear, there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). No Jew would ever think otherwise. No, Thomas is recognising that Jesus is the incarnation of the one God. (For further study see Psalm 2:6; Luke 8:39; John 1:1-2,18; John 7:28-29; John 8:12, 19, 42, 58; John 14:1,7; John 16:27; Romans 9:5; Titus 3:4; Hebrews 12:23-24; Philippians 2:5-6 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 2:23; Revelation 21:3-7; 21:6 compared with 22:12-13 etc.)

Please note that Thomas uses the personal pronoun ‘my’. This is the mark of a true Christian, we have each bowed our knee before Jesus as our God. David had the same understanding, he wrote,

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” Psalm 23:1

Commentary

This is very important, the gospel writers never leave us to interpret the facts they have given us, they explain the fats for us. Many think that the Bible has to be interpreted by the church. In medieval times and even up till recently, ordinary people were strongly discouraged by the Roman Catholic church from reading the Bible for themselves. William Tyndale was burned at the stake in Belgium in 1536 for translating the Bible into English because he wanted every man to be able to read it.

The Bible has worried many world political leaders over the years because it teaches that the God revealed in Jesus is the highest authority whom people must serve. Their family and their state come after God. The bible is considered to be a dangerous book. A large shipment of Bibles entered Romania from the West, and Ceausescu's ( the dictator of Romania) lieutenants confiscated them, and shredded them into pulp. Then they had the pulp reconstituted into toilet paper and sold it back to the West.

Yet it is only by becoming students of the Bible that we will develop and become the type of people God wants. George Muller, who was known for his strong faith, confided.

“The first 3 years after conversion, I neglected the Word of God. Since I began to search it diligently, the blessing has been wonderful. I have read the Bible through one hundred times and always with increasing delight!”

John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress, testified,

“Read the Bible, and read it again, and do not despair of help to understand something of the will and mind of God, though you think they are fast locked up from you.”

Some have said that the Bible means little to them. Gipsy Smith, an evangelist in Victorian England was speaking to a man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had “gone through it several times.” “Let it go through you once,” replied Smith, “then you will tell a different story!”

This is why John wrote his gospel:

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, that are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31

The point is obvious, by learning the facts given by first hand witnesses, we can all make a decision about Jesus. That decision is our belief. Everyone has a belief about Jesus. Someone who says, ‘I cannot be bothered’ has a belief that Jesus is not worth bothering about. Those of us who commit ourselves to following Jesus as ‘my Lord and my God’ are given by God ‘life in his name.’ There is no eternal salvation without this commitment to Christ. That is a commentary from God’s word!

John emphasises that what Jesus did had been witnessed by his disciples. This is important because, as in a law court, the evidence of witnesses is vital. In this account of the resurrection we have the evidence of Peter and John (John 20 :1-8) who saw the empty tomb and the grave clothes lying where Jesus had laid, Mary Magdalene (John 20:18) who met Jesus face to face, the ten disciples (John 20:20) who were overjoyed when they saw the Lord, and then the sceptic Thomas who comes to say, ‘My Lord and my God.’ Thomas didn’t reply,

“Now I believe in the resurrection.”

His commentary on the facts was that Jesus was God and should therefore be worshipped.

None of these people were expecting to see the risen Christ. When they saw the empty tomb, their first thought was that the body had been moved. But then they saw Jesus alive and everything changed. Later in life, this same John wrote a letter to the churches which began,

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” I John 1:1-3

Note how John equates the Father and the Son!

Command

Today’s objector may conclude,

“That was all very well for Thomas, he eventually saw the risen Jesus. But I haven’t, so it is not so easy for me.”

Apparently Jesus doesn’t see it this way,

“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Jesus is here thinking both of those living at that time in different parts of the world and those of us in subsequent generations. They will all believe in the same way that Thomas might have believed when he was first told about the risen Jesus. The other disciples had believed what Peter had said, without seeing the risen Jesus. Thomas had every reason to believe his ten friends when they said they had seen the risen Lord. They could all give first hand evidence. In a Jewish court only two or three witnesses were necessary to substantiate a fact.

We have many other advantages to help us today. We can all read the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah. We have the advantage of seeing that modern science demands that there is a mind behind creation. We can see the changes that occur in the lives of those who commit themselves to Jesus. We have the evidence of the history of the church and its rapid expansion at the beginning. But most important of all, we know within ourselves that when Jesus talks about sin and righteousness and my deserving God’s judgment, he is right – all this resonates with what I instinctively know.

By committing ourselves to Jesus, because of the facts about him, we will be given eternal life. We will then begin to experience the power of God’s Spirit in us as we battle to live to please our Lord.

As a barrister commends his case to a jury, so John presents his case about who Jesus is and he askss us to make a decision; a decision that has far reaching consequences. We are all told to step off the fence and stop being unbelievers. It is wrong and unreasonable to go against all the evidence. Indeed it is foolish not to, when Jesus offers us life eternal.

It is Jesus who commands us all,

“Stop doubting and believe.” John 20:27

What is my response to him?

BVP

May 2020

John 20:10-18. What is Christianity?

There have been many views about religion. Napoleon said,

“Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.”

Karl Marx said of religion

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness.”

The apostle Paul described what religion can be,

“ . . . having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2 Timothy 3:5

The 19th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard identified two kinds of religion -- Religion A and Religion B. The first is "faith" in name only. It's the practice of attending church without genuine faith in the living Lord. Religion B, on the other hand, is a life-transforming, destiny-changing experience. It's a definite commitment to the crucified and risen Savior, which establishes an ongoing personal relationship between a forgiven sinner and a gracious God.

This difference explains why, for many years, the British author C.S. Lewis had such great difficulty in becoming a Christian. Religion A had blinded him to Religion B. According to his brother Warren, his conversion was,

“. . . no sudden plunge into a new life, but rather a slow, steady convalescence from a deep-seated spiritual illness - an illness that had its origins in our childhood, in the dry husks of religion offered by the semi-political churchgoing of Ulster, and the similar dull emptiness of compulsory church during our school days.”

Reason to Believe

How did the early disciples come to believe in the resurrection of Jesus? The gospel writers are clear that they were not expecting this to happen, but John explains how they grasped this fact – from being eyewitnesses. The truth gradually dawns upon them as the evidence accumulates. John repeatedly emphasises what the disciples ‘saw,’

20:8 John entered the tomb, ‘He saw and believed.’

20:14 Mary ‘turned round and saw Jesus standing there.’

20:20 ‘The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.’

20:25 Thomas is told, ‘We have seen the Lord.’

20:29 Jesus told Thomas ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

We are to be rather like a jury in a court of law who are presented with the evidence of the witnesses and are asked to make a decision. The decision will be made both on the weight of the evidence and the character of the witnesses, the personal bias of the juror should not be a factor. John goes out of his way to emphasise that they ‘saw and believed.’

Unfortunately, it is possible to see and not believe. Seeing is is not enough to change people. Unless people understand the meaning behind what they see they will not become real believers. Repeatedly throughout the gospels there are those who saw the miracles of Jesus but did not understand the implications.

Then there are those who understand that if they accept what the witnesses say there are radical implications for themselves, so they will do all they can to undermine the evidence of the witnesses. This account of Mary meeting the risen Jesus has been derided as being that of a hysterical, hallucinating woman who so wanted to see Jesus again that when she saw the gardener she mistook him for Jesus. But let us look more closely at the evidence.

Mary Magdalene’s Evidence

Remember Mary was probably a middle aged married lady who became a close friend of Jesus, his mother Mary and the other disciples. We know she was wealthy as she was one of those ladies who financially supported Jesus and his disciples (Luke 8:1-3). Her reputation has been besmirched by falsely confusing her with having been a prostitute, the reasons for this error were given in the previous article. She was certainly devoted to Christ and possibly this is why she was given the privilege of first seeing the risen Lord Jesus. It is surely true that the rewards we receive from Christ reflect our devotion to him.

After Mary Magdalene had gone to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning and seen the stone rolled away, she returned to tell Peter and John who themselves ran to see the empty tomb. Mary Magdalene then followed them back to the tomb in the garden. When John and Peter had seen inside the empty tomb with Jesus’ grave clothes lying there in place, they left, presumably to report back their findings to the disciples and their families.

However Mary stayed in the garden, crying.

“Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.” John 20:10-11

Mary was certainly devoted to Jesus. She stood by him, whatever the circumstances. She was a dogged and determined woman, being the first to go to the tomb that Sunday morning and staying around after Peter and John had left. One thing is clear, she was not looking for the resurrection, she was seeking a body.

Peter and John had seen enough to convince them that to look around the garden for the corpse of Jesus would be a waste of time. Something extraordinary had happened. That massive stone had been rolled up the slope, the tomb was empty but the grave clothes were lying there as if Jesus had just passed through them. John ’saw and believed’ (John 20:8). Perhaps some of what Jesus had said about being killed and rising again came back to their minds. They simply went home to share what they knew and await further events.

Presumably Peter and John told Mary what they had seen. She remained in the garden, drowning in her sorrows. Everything seemed to be going wrong. She could not even show her respects at his grave. She was wondering where Jesus’ body was. Yet her fears were groundless. She still hadn’t understood that she was asking the wrong question. How often our anxieties are the same. The majority of our anxieties turn out to be groundless. We must never let our feelings control our relationship with the Lord.

She then plucked up the courage to peer into the tomb for herself. What a surprise she had. There were two people dressed in white sitting on the slab where Jesus’ body had lain. They were separated, one being where Jesus’ head had been and the other at his feet. John calls them angels but clearly Mary did not grasp this. They asked her,

“Woman, why are you crying?’ John 20:13

This is surely a mild rebuke. To cry when someone you love has died is not wrong and when this is compounded with the grave being disturbed, is this not understandable? The angel is concerned that her persistent crying is preventing her from seeing what is really going on. Her thinking was still,

“They have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have put him.” John 20:13

These words were very similar to those she had said to Peter and John,

“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.” John 20:3

Mary was obviously thinking that the authorities had removed the body of Jesus, possibly so that his grave could not become a memorial to him.

The other gospels only mention one angel but if anyone has been involved in recording different peoples witness statements such a divergence only adds to the credibility. There has been no collusion over how to tell the story. Different witnesses always focus on something different. Luke adds more details about this encounter which must have been frightening. He adds that there were other women present who had also come with spices.

“While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Then they remembered his words.” Luke 24:4-8

John is telling the story from Mary Magdalene’s perspective. She was so focussed on finding the body of Jesus that nothing else made much impact. She doesn’t seem to be at all impressed with seeing these glowing angels. Then suddenly she notices someone else standing there.

“At this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.” John 20:14

It is striking that in the post resurrection accounts of Jesus he appeared the same, fully human with flesh and blood but was somehow different. Jesus suddenly joined his disciples inside the locked upper room later that day. The two disciples, who Jesus was shortly to join that afternoon as they walked the seven miles to Emmaus, were kept from recognising him until they all had a meal together. When Jesus met up subsequently with his disciples in Galilee something kept them from recognising him.

“Early in the morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise it was Jesus.” John 21:4

Then the light dawned on John, who said to Peter,

“It is the Lord.” John 21:7

When Jesus invited the disciples to join him for breakfast, John adds,

“None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.” John 21:12

When Mary saw another man standing behind her she thought it was the gardener. That is her testimony about how she was thinking. An atheist might try to say that Mary was so upset and consequently hallucinating, that she thought she saw Jesus standing there, speaking to her. That is the standard way that rationalists would try to explain away the resurrection appearances to so many people at different times.

But notice that Mary told the story the other way round. She didn’t see a gardener and assume, in a deluded way, that it was Jesus. No, she saw Jesus but didn’t recognise him and assumed it must be the gardener. It is hard to consider anything more unlike hysteria. Even when he spoke, she failed to recognise him.

“At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognise that it was Jesus.” John 20:14

Jesus repeats the same words as the angels,

“Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ John 20:15

She even fails to recognise his voice but still thinks she is talking to the gardener; when she sees the Lord of Glory she says to herself,

“It’s the gardener.”

She was probably thinking, ‘At last, here is somebody who can tell me where the body has been taken to.’ So she asked,

“Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” John 20:15b

This last phrase, ‘I will get him’ does strongly suggest that Mary Magdalene was a lady of considerable wealth and social standing. She expected to get things done.

Mary’s befuddlement was resolved by just one word. Jesus simply said her name,

“Mary.”

The relationship God wants with all people is always personal. I well remember talking to a stranger to our church; as we were walking out to have coffee after the service we started to chat. Eventually I said to him,

“I hope you don’t mind my asking but are you a convinced Christian yourself or aren’t you sure about these things?”

His reply was interesting,

“I would describe myself more as a convinced churchman, but my wife is a convinced Christian.”

He accepted an invitation to join us at a Christian Basics course and his life was radically changed. He became personally committed to Christ from then on. Jesus called him personally.

Mary’s immediate reaction betrays how she saw Jesus – he was her teacher, one she deeply respected and loved, but that was all.

“She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means teacher).” John 20:16

How different this response was to that of Thomas when he met the risen Christ at the end of this chapter . He said,

“My Lord and my God.” John 20:28

Mary saw Jesus as her teacher yet Thomas now sees him as his God, his Lord. These responses are so different. It was the medieval Church reformer, Martin Luther who said,

“Many say Jesus is Lord, but only a true Christian can say ‘Jesus is my Lord.”

It would appear that Mary was mourning the loss of a good friend and teacher. She wanted the old relationship to be restored, but nothing more than that.

Mary approaches Jesus and puts out her hands, either hug him or to hold his feet but Jesus says to her,

“Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.” John 20:17

Jesus here tells Mary not to hold onto him physically. He explains that he is now going to be with his heavenly Father, Surely Jesus is saying that now their relationship must change because of who he is. He is the risen Lord, the creator and Saviour of this world. Mary was substituting something of the humanity of Christ for who he really is. She wanted the old relationship to be restored but Jesus wanted something more than being ‘Teacher.’

Mary did not yet understand the immensity of the gospel. That the God who created this world had entered it as Jesus the Christ. Peter and John still needed for their understanding to deepen also.

One Sunday evening a vicar asked his son what he had learned in Sunday school that afternoon.

“We learned that to be a Christian, faith has to drop a foot.”

“What do you mean?” the puzzled vicar asked.

“We were told that it is possible to have a faith in your head but not yet in your heart. That’s why faith must drop a foot.”

Mary’s commission

It is striking that the first order given to Adam and Eve was ‘Don’t touch’. Here the first order, given by the risen Lord Jesus, was again, ‘Don’t touch’. When we recognise who Jesus is we come under his command. Jesus had repeatedly said,

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14:15

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” John 14:21

“If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching.” John 14:23

“He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” John 14:24

The apostle John reminded his readers of this essential feature of the Christian life,

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” 1 John 2:3

The evidence that I am a true Christian, a converted person, is that my heart is set on living for Christ because I have recognised who he really is. There are many who like the moral teaching of Christ, like Albert Schweitzer who followed the ethic of Jesus to give his life as a doctor in primitive Africa. Even well meaning clergymen who are kind-hearted and caring may have yet to really see who Jesus is.

The Nature of the Resurrection

David Jenkins was a controversial figure who was appointed as Bishop of Durham. He described the resurrection of Jesus as ‘a conjuring trick with bones!’ He thought the resurrection was only spiritual, rather like some of the Gnostic teachers in the second and third century AD. However the apostles were clear that Jesus did rise physically. They could still touch him, speak to him and eat with him. However it was more than that. Lazarus had had a physical resurrection but he still had to die again.

Christian belief is to see Jesus for who he is and then to make him the Lord of our lives. We take up our cross and live sacrificially for him because, whatever happens to us here in this life we will live in service of him in eternity.

BVP

John 19:38-20:9. Dead and Buried but not for Long

‘Pieta’ by Michaelangelo

There are several key players emphasised in John’s account of the burial of Jesus. Jesus was killed in the most humiliating and dishonouring way. His disciples were hiding in a locked upper room but two men were willing to lose their reputation and their standing with those in authority by ensuring that Jesus was given on honourable funeral. Let us look at who stands out.

Joseph of Arimathea

Joseph of Arimathea only appears in the Bible on this occasion, though he is mentioned by all four gospel writers. Mark tells us that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews, Matthew tells us that he was rich and Luke says of him,

“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.” Luke 23:50

John adds that Joseph was a believer in Jesus but had been unwilling to ‘come out’ because he feared the possible consequences.

“Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews.” John 19:38

Something had caused this change of mind and undoubtedly it was seeing the cruel and ruthless execution of Jesus that compelled him to come off the fence. Doubtless he felt great pangs of guilt for not being more vociferous earlier. Joseph was clearly an honourable man and he was now willing, unlike Pilate, to go against the tide of public opinion.

He, with Nicodemus, was also willing to take on an unpleasant task in honour of their Lord

The historian Josephus tells us that the Jews provided a burial site for executed criminals well away from the city. Joseph used his senior position to gain an audience with Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Doubtless a degree of guilt for the fate of Jesus led him to comply with the wishes of someone who wanted to give him an honourable burial. Although the formal charge had been sedition against Rome, Pilate knew that this was untrue.

There are some Christians who, for fear of family and friends are not public about their belief. It can take a fresh understanding of the death of Jesus to enable them to publicly confess their allegiance to Christ, a confession that is a necessity for salvation. The apostle Paul wrote,

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and so are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

Nicodemus

Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin and doubtless knew Joseph of Arimathea personally. He came from a family of Jewish aristocrats. Of the gospel writers only John mentions Nicodemus and he does so three times. In this chapter John reminds his readers of the first meeting Jesus had with him. Nicodemus had visited Jesus at night because he had recognised that his miracles meant he came from God. Jesus had told him in no uncertain terms,

“I tell you the truth, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” John 3:3

John may be stressing his role in the burial of Jesus because it was an indication that he had stepped out of darkness into the light. It is surely significant that he had earlier questioned the manner in which the Sanhedrin was condemning Jesus without hearing his side of the story (John 7:50-51).

Whilst Joseph went to see Pilate, Nicodemus went to buy some embalming spices and he was not meagre in his contribution. He brought with him a large amount, 34 kilograms in weight, of a mixture of myrrh and aloes.

Although no Jews would want to defile themselves by touching a dead body, especially on the eve of the Passover Sabbath, these two senior men were willing to go and take Jesus’ body down from the cross and carry it to the new tomb that Joseph had had carved out of the rock for himself. To donate this to Jesus must have cost him a considerable amount, both in terms of money and in loss of reputation with the other ruling Jews. This tomb was in a garden near to where Jesus had been crucified. After the resurrection, John recalls Jesus was mistaken for the gardener who cared for this garden (John 20:15).

Myrrh was a fragrant resin that the Jews used in powdered from. They mixed this with aloes, which was a powder made from aromatic sandlewood. The purpose was not to preserve the body but to counter the smell of putrefaction. Jews used to wrap the body in a clean cloth in which the spice powder was packed around the body, and this would be all tied together with strips of cloth. This is what Matthew describes,

“Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and placed it in his own tomb.” Matthew 27:59

John confirms that the burial procedure used was ‘in accordance with Jewish burial customs’ (John 19:40)

The site of the garden tomb is almost certainly now marked by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Hadrian had built a temple of Venus on this site after he destroyed Jerusalem in 135AD and this was replaced by Emperor Constantine with ‘The Church of the Resurrection,’ which is the site for the present church.

Surely the main reason that all the gospel writers give so much detail about his burial is so that there can be no doubt that it was Jesus who was crucified and that he was really dead and buried. The other reason is to acknowledge that senior Jews ‘came out’ as believers in Jesus, as an example of what all believers should do. It was the cruel and wrongful treatment of Jesus that surely led them to make this decision and act accordingly.

It is no surprise that all four gospel writers spend so much time describing in detail the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus. The Christian message is that God has entered this world as Jesus, the Christ, that he died to bear our sins and that he rose again to confirm that God had accepted his sacrifice, to reassure all people that death is not the end and to remind us that, through the work of God’s Spirit in us a new life is possible.

Mary Magdalene

Few people can have such an unfair, besmirched reputation as poor Mary of Magdala. Magdala was a small fishing down on the west side of the Sea of Galilee halfway between Tiberias and Capurnaum. When we talk of May Magdalene we are simply saying Mary of Magdala, much as people spoke of Jesus of Nazareth. The English word ‘maudlin’, which means ‘over sentimental’ is derived from Mary Magdalene, unfairly it would seem.

Mary Magdalene is given a very prominent role in the resurrection stories of Jesus with good reason.

Mark specifically mentions that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and John were amongst those who followed this small burial party and saw where Jesus was laid. It was Mary Magdalene who, immediately the Sabbath was over, came at first light to the tomb to ensure that everything was done decently and to show her respects. She saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance and naturally jumped to the conclusion that somebody had taken the body away and dumped it somewhere, possibly in an unmarked grave. Now they would never know where his body lay. She was later to say to Peter and the other disciples

“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.” John 20:2

She said something similar to the two angels in the tomb,

“They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put him” John 20:13

Notice how, on this occasion she uses a personal pronoun, she says, as all true Christians can say, that he is ‘my Lord’. How she must have loved Christ to have followed him so devotedly. She was there watching at the cross and was first at the tomb. She longed to serve Jesus in any way she could.

Bishop J.C Ryle when commenting on her example asks,

“How is it that many who profess and call themselves Christians, do so little for the Saviour whose name they bear. How is it that many, whose faith and grace it would be uncharitable to deny, work so little, give so little, say so little, take so little pains, to promote Christ’s cause, and bring glory to Christ in the world? These questions admit only one answer. It is a low sense of debt and obligation to Christ, which is the account of the whole matter. Where sin is not felt at all, nothing is done; and where sin is little felt, little is done.”1

When Mary saw the moved stone she ran back to Peter and the other disciples to tell the news. They were obviously still all together, possibly having slept in that upper room that appeared to be their base. Peter and John ran back to the tomb, John out-sprinting his friend. When John peered into the tomb he saw the linen cloths lying there but didn’t enter. Then Peter arrived but he went straight into the tomb. He was also struck by the linen cloths lying where Jesus body had lain, as well as the cloth that had been around his head, lying separately. John then entered and his comment about his own reaction is startling,

“He saw and believed.” John 20:8

It was as if Jesus body has just passed through the linen wrappings. If anyone was to steal the body they would take it with the wrappings, not carefully remove them and then replace them carefully just as if the body had laid there. It was this evidence of the cloths that led John to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. He adds that other evidences had not yet made an impact.

“(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)” John 20:9

Who was Mary Magdalene and why was she so prominent in this story?

Mary of Magdala first appears in a group of wealthy women who financially provided for the ministry of Jesus and his disciples.

“The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” Luke 8:1-3

So how is it that such a loving sincere person has had her reputation so damaged over the centuries? We do not know of her age or family. She would almost certainly have been married as it was rare for young ladies not to have a marriage partner arranged for them. What these seven spirits were that cause so much trouble we don of know either. What we do know is that she was incredibly grateful to Jesus who she called ‘my Lord’. Three major happenings have caused her reputation to fall from what it should be.

a. During the second century AD the ‘gnostic’ movement sprang up. It was a mystical group who claimed some link to Christianity but were far from Christian. They had various doctrines but taught that Jesus was just a spiritual being with no physical reality. They denied the incarnation and the bodily resurrection of Jesus. They were a radically feminist movement and were strongly opposed to the male leadership of the apostles. They made Mary Magdalene as an icon of someone who was opposed to Peter and the other male apostles. This tension is foolish as the apostles honoured her highly, particularly in John’s gospel. John was a close friend of Peter. The faith of Mary Magdalene in Jesus was so different to that of the ‘gnostics.’

b. In 591AD Pope Gregory (the Pope who gave us our Gregorian calendar) preached a sermon of which we have a copy. He wrongly identified Mary Magdalene as being the sinner, (probably a prostitute) who washed Jesus feet with her tears in Luke 7:37. It was suggested that she enticed men by anointing her body with perfume and that the seven spirits represented the seven deadly sins and it was assumed that she had committed them all!. This was such poor biblical exegesis. There is no suggestion that wealthy Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. The belief in the seven deadly sins was a late Roman Catholic idea, not a Biblical one, separating minor venial (forgivable) sins from major mortal (deadly) ones. Mary Magdalene is not to be muddled with Mary of Bethany who also anointed Jesus with ointment (John 12:1-8).

In 1969 the Roman Catholic church quietly issued a statement exonerating Mary Magdalene from this accusation but the damage was done.

c. In 2003 Dan Brown published his novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’ which three years later came out as a film. He claimed it was based on historical truth but it followed on from the book, ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ which raises questions about the Bible’s teaching concerning Jesus by suggesting that he had an affair with Mary Magdalene, had a child, and did not actually die on the cross and was not raised to life. The book suggested that when Jesus died later in Palestine, Mary and her daughter Sarah emigrated to France. In this book Mary is the holy grail or chalice and Sarah is the holy blood. Sarah is said to have married into a French aristocratic family that eventually assumed the throne of France. All his is pure fiction or better ‘impure fiction’

Yet such stories influence many people. Someone who had read this book explained what they thought,

"In fact, I think the Knights Templar knew something about Jesus that the church has been hiding from us for years. I think Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and they had a child. There are lots of ancient documents that have been suppressed by the official church to prove it. The Holy Grail isn't actually the cup that Jesus drank from at the last supper—it's the hidden bloodline of Jesus!"

The ‘Da Vinci Code’ has publicised these fictional ideas even though no credible historian believes these views. The book has now sold more than 40 million copies, and film has become a world-wide hit. It is extraordinary how many people will believe almost anything, other than what Jesus taught. It is as if there is a spiritual battle going on to prevent people honestly looking for answers to the big questions of life.

Mary Magdalene was a sincere, genuine lady who should be highly honoured. The apostle John obviously thought so. She was generous with her money. She stood by Jesus through thick and thin. She watched him die on the cross and followed his body to its tomb. She was the first to visit the tomb on that Sunday morning.

It is a true statement that those who love Christ most are the ones who receive most from him. As we will see, Mary Magdalene was given the privilege of being the first person to see the resurrected Jesus.

The importance of reliable historical accounts about Jesus

This eyewitness account of the death and burial of Jesus given by John has all the hallmarks of being an authentic account. There are little details that would not appear in fiction. Jesus really did die, was buried and rose again. The grave clothes were still lying there. He was to be seen by all the disciples who talked, ate with him and touched him. Later he was seen by more than 500 people on one occasion (1 Corinthians 15:6). The eyewitness accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are just as true as the accounts of those planes that were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City on September 11th 2001. If Jesus did not die and rise again there is no basis for the Christian faith. It is only because this story is true that humanity can be confident of a future life after we die. Death is a natural enemy but Christ has now defeated death. It is because of Jesus that we know that evil will not pay and that people such as Judas, Caiaphas, Annas and Pilate and godless people today will have to give an account before the Lord God. The death of Jesus means I can be forgiven all of my sins and can have the power to live a different present life with the Lord in control.

Mary Magdalene experienced this freedom from her old way of life, the joy of living for her Lord This same forgiveness and power that gives freedom and joy is now available for all people. This story offers this to us all, there is an urgent need for us all individually to respond to Christ’s appeal ourselves and then to pass on this message to others.

The Lord says to us all,

“No eye has seen, nor ear heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 quoting Isaiah 64:4

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish . . .” 1 Peter 1:3-4

Do you remember those words Jesus said before raising Lazarus from the dead? They are read at most funeral services as the minister walks into the church in front the coffin.

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26

The minister nearly always leaves out the phrase which starts the second verse in the Bible passage. Although this is in all english translations. Jesus actually concluded this statement by then asking his listeners,

“Do you believe this?” John 11:26b

It may help some who attend funerals today if the minister stopped the procession at this point and, looking around at everyone present, asked them all poignantly,

“Do you all really believe this?”

Our eternal salvation depends on having this belief and commitment.

BVP

1J.C.Ryle ‘Expository Thoughts on the Gospels’, St John Vol 3, William Hunt and Co (1873) p. 390-391

John 19:23-37. Love Personified

Have you ever thought how to help someone to fall in love with youi? It usually starts by doing everything you can to show how much you like them. Smiles are so important as well as sharing little things, a letter always helps, as do presents. The important thing is to keep showing genuine interest in what pleases them and hopefully they will reciprocate.

Jesus, God incarnate, longs for us all to love him and he has done all he can to attract our interest in him.

C.S. Lewis wrote about the love revealed by Christ’s death on that cross:

“God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. He creates the universe, already foreseeing… the buzzing cloud of flies about the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the mesial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is time after time, for breath’s sake, hitched up. If I may dare the biological image, God is a “host” who deliberately creates His own parasites, causes us to be that we may exploit and “take advantage of” Him. Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the invented of all loves.”1

We have seen how the cross acts as a diagram of God's love for his world. He is placed at the centre of dying humanity and the sin of the repentant thief is transferred to Jesus who acts as he substitute or sin-bearer.

Nailed over his cross was a placard stating his status and not any crime. He is the king who rules from that cross. He is Lord of all and demands that we respond to him and all he has done for us. As the old hymn says,

"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."

Gambling for so little

At the foot of the cross the four soldiers who made up the quaternion of his execution party distibuted the meagre spoils taken from the naked victim. Most ordinary Jews had five pieces of clothing. There was a turban on his head to shield the heat of the sun, sandals on his feet, an inner garment, an outer garment and a belt. The inner garment was a seemless woven garment and therefore more valuable. Each soldier took one article, but they had to decide what to do with the undergarment and they opted to cast lots for it. Why was this detail included in John's record of the events. Surely it was because this was yet another example of the prophecies about the Messiah in the Jewish Scriptures being fulfilled. John adds,

"This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled which said, 'They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.' So this is what the soldiers did." John 19:24

This quotation is from Psalm 22 which gives many details about the death of the Messiah, yet it was was written by King David, Jesus' direct ancestor, about 1000 years before Jesus appeared on earth. Those soldiers would not have realised that they were fulfilling Scripture, but so many details about the Messiah's death by crucifixion had been foretold.

Man's Depravity

They were also demonsterating mankind in its lowest form. They were just doing a job, a macabre job maybe, but still just doing a job to get everything out of it that they could.

The psychologist Robert Ringer had this selfish view of life when he wrote,

"I pictured the earth as a giant poker table on which the game of business is played, with only a fixed number of chips on the table. Each player gets to participate for an unknown period of time, and the name of the game is to see how many chips he can pile onto his stack." 2

This is a cold view of our world, everyone being after what others have, for themselves. In 1904 Jack London published a 1904 psychological adventure novel called ’Sea Wolf”. A literary critic survives an ocean collision but comes under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, a powerful and amoral sea captain who rescued him. Wolf Larsen said,

“Life, it is of no value, of cheap things it is the cheapest, everywhere it goes begging. Nature spills it out with a lavish hand and its life eats lifer until the strongest and most piggish is left.”

Similarly, William Golding’s book ‘Lord of the Flies’, published on 1954, describes the behaviour of a group of English children who are marooned on an unihabited island after a nuclear catastrophy. They found it impossible to interact in a moral way with resultant bloodshed as one hounds another to death. Sanity only returns when a Bristish warship arrives on the scene! The message is that when we are left to ourselves the world is a cold place. Even leaders need to be under the controlof someone greater.

The Bible keeps repeating this message.

“There is no-one righteous, not even one . . .” Romans 3:10-11

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . “ Romans 3:23

This picture of man’s depravity is seen in the behaviour of the four soldiers at the foot of Jesus’ cross.

Christ’s love

In contrast to the four soldiers is the relationship Jesus has with the four who are named as grieving for Jesus at the foot of the cross. His mother Mary may have recalled when, forty days aftyer Jesus’ birth she had presented him to God in the templeMessiah to appear to save his people, met Jesus’ family and taking the child in his arms praised God that his heart’s desire had been met. He prayed,

“ . . . For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:30-32

He then turned to Mary and said,

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a soul will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:34-35

That baby was nursed and trained, as a lad he was loved, and he became the perfect man, but now, he was hanging on a cross before her. A sword was now piecing her innermost being.

Salome, Mary’s sister was also there at the cross. She was the wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John. Doubtless she, shared her sisters pain.

Mary Magdalene, from who seven devils had been cast out was also part of this small group. Her life had been radically changed through he love for Jesus. Jesus had been having a meal in a Pharisee’s house when she had poured ointment over Jesus feet, mixed with tears of gratefulness (Luke 7:38-50).

John, the disciple Jesus loved, was also there with his mother.

These four were all in extreme pain as they saw the one they loved being tortured to death on that cross. Yet Jesus,in his agony is till concerned about those he loves. From the cross he says to his mother,

“ ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother’ ” John 19:26-27

Such love and practical concern in such a situation is astounding. He is carrying the sin of the world yet he is still in control of himself in spite of the excruciating pain. A God who thinks about his own when in his extremity is a God we can approach with greatest confidence.

Legend has it that for the next 11 years Mary lived with John at the foot of Mount Zion before he embarked on his missionary work. Another strong tradition is that he later became the leader of the church in Ephesus with timothy as his right hand man. Mary still lived with him there until she died. Doubtless Mary told John much about the upbringing of Jesus. God recognises that we all need to be part of a family and if the church is not a close family it is failing.

When people are close to Christ they are given more responsibilities and life becomes harder as we share others burdens. If we are burdened we need to determine whether this is because of our stupidity or because of the responsibilities that God has given us to carry.

Some have questioned why Jesus addressed his dear mother in such an impersonal way he said ‘Woman’, whereas when he was then talking to John he calls her ‘your mother.’ Is he protecting her identity in that public place? Only on one other occasion Jesus do we know of Jesus addressing hios mother in this way. This was at the wedding in Cana in Galilee, when they had run out of wine and Mary had told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them. John recalls the words used then,

“Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” John 2:4

It could be significant that Jesus is reminding Mary of the beginning of his ministry. Here he repeats the phrase at the end. Could it be that he is stressing that in his redemptive ministry he has a higher relationship? The foundation of Mary’s comfort was, as for all people, from seeing Jesus as her Saviour. She knew that she was, like all of us a sinful person who needed God’s forgiveness, won on that cross; she, like all of us, needed a Saviour too.

When she went to tell her cousin Elizabeth, already pregnant with John the Baptist, having been told by an angel that she was expecting a supernatural baby, the Son of God (Luke 1:22) hadn’t she said in those magnificent words we call the Magnificat,

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” Luke 1:46-47

In the Old Testament even God’s people were burdened because they did ‘evil things’. They were idolaters, joined in pagan festivals, were sexually immoral, kept ‘testing the Lord’ and on top of that they grumbled (1 Corinthians 10:6-10). Paul wrote to the troubled church at Corinth,

“These things happened to them and were written down as warnings for us, . . . So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall. No temptation has seized you except what is not common to man. And God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:11-13

The foundation of our joy and peace is that we have a Saviour, the Lord Jesus. It is a harsh world out there, people are out to get what they can from us, to get our chips and more, but at his cross Jesus comes to us with his love and his substantial atonement.

Darkness

The other gospels tell us that darkness came over the land from the 6th till the 9th hour. That is from midday till 3pm. Why did this happen. In the bible darkness is werever ther light of God is absent. Nicodemus, the respected member of the Sanhedrin came to see Jesus whilst he was in the dark. In Jewish thinking a curse separated someone from God, whereas a blessing brings the presence of God. Jesus has only known the presence of his heavenly Father but now he bore the sin of the world and experienced the curse that this brought with it and consequently he was separated from his Father. Hence the darkness. Paul wrote later,

“Christ redeemed us form the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Curse is everyone who is hung on a tree. He redeemed us that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.’” Galatians 3:13-14

This explains why Jesus cried out,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” Matthew 27:46

People joke about hell and say that it is just separation from God, but separation from God is hell, a permanent and complete separation.

Thirst and Hyssop

As the dehydration experienced by crucified people set in,

“Jesus said, ‘I am, thirsty.’ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus lips.” John 19:28-29

Paul later wrote,

“Christ died according to the Scriptures . . .” 1 Corinthians 15:3

There is so much symbolism in the words used here. One of King David’s Psalms describes the distress that God’s Anointed King, the Messiah, would face.

“You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” Psalm 69:19-21

Jesus had prayed in Matthew 26:42 (NIV), “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” The cup of sour wine Jesus drinks at the crucifixion, just prior to his death, represents the cup of God’s wrath which we all deserve to drink because of our sins. Jesus took that cup and drank from it on our behalf.

Hyssop is also significant. King David wrote Psalm 51 after he had been confronted over his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. He knew he needed God’s forgiveness. He wrote,

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7

Hyssop was used to lift up the sponge at Jesus’ crucifixion. In Exodus 12:22 hyssop is used at the first Passover to spread the blood around the door frames. In Leviticus 14:4-7 the hyssop and the blood are used in the ceremonial cleansing of the leper. In Numbers 19:1 hyssop is used for cleansing someone who has touched a dead body. Essentially the hyssop branch is a means by which the blood of the sacrifice was transferred to the sinner to cleanse them of their sin.

This wine representing God’s wrath was transferred to Jesus on the hyssop branch. The hyssop plant and the wine vinegar together are symbolizing the substitutionary death of Jesus on our behalf. Jesus died in our place. Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath that we were supposed to drink. And it was as if God ordained that a hyssop branch was used at the crucifixion to remind everyone that all those symbolic rituals in the Old Testament were symbolizing this moment. Hyssop Represents the Freedom and Forgiveness of the Gospel about Jesus Christ.

God was saying to everyone, “It wasn’t the blood of the lamb spread of your door frame with the hyssop that allowed the angel of death to pass over you when you were leaving Egypt. It wasn’t the blood of animals that Moses sprinkled on you with the hyssop that appeased my wrath. It was my Son’s blood. I did that. I lead you out of Egypt. I paid the price for your rebellion. Look at the hyssop and remember my son. Look at this Old Testament symbol and now look at the one it was symbolizing.” Sin is not forgiven by the ritual sacrifice of animals, these were only symbolic, looking forwards to the one definitive act of substitution and forgiveness that the death of God’s Son would give us.

It is finished

John tells us that after he had received this drink he said,

“It is finished.” John 19:30

He then bowed his head and ‘gave up his spirit’. These final words are also the final words of Psalm 22 which describes in detail the death of God’s Messiah. Jesus knew that he had at last completed the task his Father had given him to accomplish.

Luke records how Jesus took onto himself the responsibilty for the sin of one of the thieves crucified with him and Jesus assured him,

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

Only those who have Christ’s righteousness given to them can ever enter heaven.

Matthew records that at that moment the massive curtain that separated the Holy of holies in the Temple from its ante-chamber, the Holy place was torn ‘from top to bottom’ (Matthew 27:51). This was a sign from God that the old covenant had been replaced by Jesus. Access to God’s presence, membership of his kingdom, is now available to all people because this has been made possible by the substitutionary death of Jesus. There is now no curtain blocking our access to him.

Luke tells us that Jesus then declared with a loud voice, and he died shortly afterwards.

“Father, into you hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46

Death confirmed

On 27th April 1991, the British newspaper ‘Today’ ran a startling article on its front page with the headline ‘JESUS DID NOT DIE ON THE CROSS’. The article proposed that Jesus was still alive when taken down from the cross ands that placing him in a cool place revived him. Such an attempt to get around the resurrection appearances of Jesus to so many people just will not stand when investigated. Jesus had been flogged to such an extent that he could not carry the patibulum or cross piece of the cross. Jesus died at 3pm on the Friday and that sunset the special Passover sabbath began, so the Jews wanted the bodies to be removed so as not to break the law. The two thieves were still alive. It was a capital offence for a Roman guard to leave if the victim was still alive. If they wanted to bring on an early death one of the Romans would hit the lower legs with a mallet so as to break the bones. The pain, blood loss and inability to push up any more to continue breathing soon resulted in death. This practice was called ‘crurifragium.’ The Jews asked Pilate to break the legs of the crucified men so their bodies could be removed.

“The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found out that he was already dead, they did not break the legs.” John 19:33

However, just to be certain,

“Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” John 19:34

John himself was there at the time and saw this actually happen.

“The man who saw it has given testimony and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies that you may believe,” John 19:35

Out of the spear wound came a flow of first blood and then water. This must have collected in one of the body cavities of Jesus. We do know that the blood of animals and humans that are tortured to death does not clot (this is due to circulating anti-clotting chemicals called ‘fibrinolysins’). When blood is left to stand, it separates into the red cells which drop to the bottom, leaving the clear plasma above. There seems to be no other reasonable explanation of what John saw, other than that the spear pierced a large cavity which had filled up with blood just before Jesus died and that this blood had separated into the red cells and plasma. It would take at least half an hour after death for this separation to occur. It could not have occurred if Jesus had swooned.

I am interested in which cavity the spear could have hit. The inside of the heart itself is too small to contain enough blood to produce this effect. The only other possibilities are the cavities around the lung (pleural cavity), and the cavity around the heart (pericardial cavity). Just before Jesus died, He ‘cried out with a loud voice’. When people have a pleural cavity full of fluid, they are gasping for breath - so this does not fit. The only viable possibility is that, just before he died, there was a tear in His heart which led to a rapid filling of the pericardial space with blood. This itself would rapidly stop the heart due to what doctors call ‘cardiac tamponade.’ It is interesting that Jesus did die a ‘cardiac type’ death - He was not comatosed but awake when He realised something was going wrong, and said ‘It is finished’, and suddenly died. It therefore seems likely that Jesus literally died of a broken heart!

From all the information that we have, from several sources, there can be no doubt that Jesus did die on that cross.

When the Jews ate the Passover lamb they had to ensure that none of its bones were broken (Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12) just as this ultimate sacrifice would die without a bone of him being broken.

John, in tune with all the apostles was keen to show that every detail of jesus’ death was in tune with the old Jewish Scriptures. He finishes this section with a quote from Zechariah, written around 500BC.

“They will look on the one they have pierced.” John 19:37 and Zechariah 12:10

What love must have led a man to voluntarily go through all this so that we can be forgiven by God. Jesus gave up his loving spirit for us, but asks us to give up our selfish spirits and turn to him for forgiveness of our sin against him.

BVP

1 C.S. Lewis, “Herein Is Love” in The C.S. Lewis Bible, NRSV (New York: HarperOne, 2010), 1105.

2Robert Ringer, ‘Winning through Intimidation’ Skyhorse publishiong 2013 p. 23

John 19:16-24. The Crucifixion

The crucifixion of Jesus has become sterilised and clean and we tend to be desensitised to its horror. It was an excruciating torture that resulted ultimately in death. Our word ‘excruciating’ is derived from this torture, ‘crux’ being Latin for ‘cross.’

In the same way that people become desensitised to videos showing suffering children in Africa or animals on the brink of extinction, so we are in danger of desensitisation of the most crucial event in the world’s history. Note again that our word ‘crucial’ is also derived from the Latin word ‘crux.’

The excruciating death of Jesus, the Christ, was horrific. It was not just the physical aspect, at that time Jesus also bore the weight of the sin of the world in himself and for the only time in his life experienced what it meant to be separated from his heavenly Father.

To suffer unjustly is particularly painful and that is what had happened to Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was extremely worried as he voluntarily faced the unfair prospect of a false trial and then crucifixion. He knew this was imminent, he could have run away, but instead he stayed the course that had been planned since eternity for him. He literally ‘sweated blood.’ Haemahidrosis is the medical name for this. It is a condition in which capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture, causing them to exude blood, and this can occur under conditions of extreme physical or emotional stress.

Then Jesus was interrogated, humiliated and struck in the face when held captive by Annas and then Caiaphas, the former and current High Priests. He was transferred to the Romans. Pilate had him flogged which itself was a vicious treatment, particularly when he could find no fault in him. The victim was stripped naked and their hands tied to the top of a post. Then one or two soldiers repeatedly struck the back, buttocks and thighs with a ‘flagrum’. The flagrum was a type of ‘cat o’nine’ tails with a handle and nine leather thongs. The Roman flagrum had bits of bone, bronze or iron sewn at the end of the thongs which inflicted the damage. These cut the skin and underlying fat and muscle. There were reports of internal organs such as kidneys being exposed. There was much bleeding as blood vessels were damaged. Occasionally victims died from such a beating. Our English word ‘flagellate,’ meaning ‘cut to ribbons’ is derived from the flagrum.

Following this, Jesus was dressed in a purple robe, which was only allowed to be worn by senior Romans, had a crown of thorns thrust onto his head and then had a reed put in his hand as a sceptre so he looked like a comic king. The soldiers then went up to him again and again saying,

“‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ and they struck him in the face.” John 19:3

After this, Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd of Jews, insisting that neither he nor Herod had found Jesus guilty of any crime. ‘Ecce homo’, ‘Behold the man’, Pilate said. There was the God-man standing in front of the people he had created, physically broken yet victorious. Pilate sat in his judges seat which had been placed on the ‘stone pavement,’ an open area by the Fort of Antonia. He still insisted that Jesus was guilty of nothing, yet he delivered Jesus to be crucified.

Didn’t the Jewish leaders recognise that they were acting out the prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah?!

The gospels tell us little about the details of a crucifixion, possibly because, at the time, it was such a common way for the Romans to execute criminals and so put fear into the people. However, contemporary sources tell us that four Roman soldiers, called a quaternion, would be responsible for one condemned man. The victim had to carry the ‘patibulum’ or cross piece of the cross on his back. This must have been painful as his back had been lacerated by the flogging. The ‘patibulum’ could weigh 100 lbs. or more so it is not surprising that, as in Jesus’ case, a by-stander was commandeered to carry the ‘patibulum’ for him.

The early church father, Chrysostom, made the point that when Isaac had born the wood for his sacrifice on Mount Moriah (which later became the temple mount of Jerusalem) he was acting out, in a prophetic way, what the saviour of the world would later come to do.

One of the quaternion of soldiers would walk in front of the condemned man carrying a placard that listed the crimes committed. However the placard for Jesus simply said,

“Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” John 19:19

In some churches this phrase, in Latin, is abbreviated to I N R I.

It was customary for this procession to take a tortuous route through the city as the Romans wanted as many people as possible to see that ‘crime does not pay.’

The site of crucifixion was normally just outside the city gate near a main road, where everyone could see. The ‘patibulum’ was put on the ground and the victim was thrown down on it and held with his arms outstretched. Large nails were then driven through the lower end of the forearm into the wood. The ‘patibulum’, with the condemned man nailed to it, was then hoisted up an upright post fixed in the ground and the two were joined, often by tying with rope, to form a crucifix. Often there was a small seat or ‘sedile’ on which some of the victim’s weight could rest. Without this they would die much too quickly! The victim’s feet would only be 18 inches from the ground. The knees were then bent and a further nail hammered through the arches of the feet to fix them in a bent position to the cross. The victim was then left to hang, still guarded by the quaternion, perhaps for several days, until eventually death came from exhaustion and asphyxiation. The longest record of a person surviving on a cross was 9 days. It was a rhythmic torture. The condemned man had to push up to breath and to do that was agony. Furthermore their arms and legs became cramped and thirst was a major factor.

When Jesus, the man who knew no sin, became sin for us, the pain was even worse. He was separated from his Father because he was also carrying the sin of each of us. C. S. Lewis commented on this scene in his book, ‘The Four Loves.’

“God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. He creates the universe, already foreseeing – or should we say seeing? there are no tenses in God – the buzzing cloud of flies about the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the mesial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is time after time, for breath’s sake, hitched up. If I may dare the biological image, God is the host who deliberately creates His own parasites; causes us to be, that we may exploit and take advantage of Him. Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves.”

The Two Thieves

John’s wording of the scene that he witnessed is significant.

“Here they crucified him, and with two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle.” John 19:18

If the cross is a picture of the love of God for fallen humanity, the positioning of the cross of Christ in the centre of humanity is what God’s love is all about. It is probably the last thing that his enemies thought about. They wanted to humiliate him, make him as infamous as possible, and so kill off the belief that he was the Son of God. In the centre, crucified between two thieves, is exactly where he belongs. He is to become the world’s Chief Priest and in dying in this way he fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about how God’s Messiah would die, before returning to life. It is worth looking at the following passage about the coming Messiah, written by the prophet Isaiah 700 years before Jesus entered this world.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:7-12

Nothing could be clearer. The Messiah would enter this world to die for people’s sin.

Psalm 22 is another description of the death of God’s Messiah. Jesus cried out the opening words of this Psalm from the cross, confirming that he regarded this to be about him.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” Psalm 22:1

The Bible teaches us why Jesus was forsaken by his heavenly Father at the time. He bore our sins, the sin that God hates. That is why the sky went dark for three hours, it symbolised his anger at sin. This same Psalm of David, who was Jesus’ direct ancestor, has at its centre the following description about how the Messiah would die,

12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. Psalm 22:12-18

This last phrase is significant and John picks up on this in his gospel.

23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. John 19:23-24

This is yet another example demonstrating what Jesus and his disciples thought about the Jewish Scriptures, they considered them to be ‘the very words of God’ (Romans 3:2).

Dr. Barnhouse was a notable Christian teacher in the United States during the 19th century. He was in his study when he was informed that there was a man at the door who had come to see him and he was handed his visiting card. The visitor was the captain of SS Mauritania, then the largest passenger vessel afloat. Dr. Barnhouse went out to greet the captain.

“You have a very beautiful church here,” the captain started.

“Yes, we are very grateful for all that was done here a hundred years ago.”

“It is very much like the basilica in Ravenna, Italy, is it not?”

“It is an architectural duplication of that basilica, in fact, all those years ago, they brought workmen from Italy and the tessellated ceiling and the mosaics and the marble columns were made by Italian workmen. But that is surely not what you came to talk about. You didn’t come to talk about architecture, did you?”

“No. Twenty three times a year I have sailed the Atlantic and when I come down the bank of Newfoundland I heard your broadcast coming out of Boston. I came in this week and have twenty four hours in New York. I took a train and thought perhaps I might meet you and here I am!”

Dr. Barnhouse was always very straightforward.

“Sir, have you been born again?”

“That is what I came to see you about.”

At this point of the tour they had reached a blackboard in a prayer room. Dr. Barnhouse drew three ‘X’s on the Board.

Underneath the first one he wrote IN, and underneath the third one he wrote IN, but underneath the middle one he wrote ‘NOT IN’.

“Do you understand when I say that those men who died with Jesus had sin within them?

The captain thought for a second and said,

“Yes, I do. The Lord Jesus did not have sin in him”

Then over the first and third cross Dr Barnhouse wrote, ‘On.’ The captains brow wrinkled!

“Let me illustrate. Have you even shot a red light?”

“Yes, I am afraid I have.”

“Were you caught?”

“No.”

“In running the red light, you had sin in you – if you’d been caught you’d have had sin on you. Similarly the two thieves bear the penalty of God.”

Then he crossed out the ‘ON’ over one of the thieves and drew a red line to show that the eternal penalty for sin that the thief deserved, far worse than crucifixion, had been taken by Jesus. Consequently he was, in God’s eyes, free of any guilt because Jesus had become his substitute in God’s eyes.

“That thief believed that the Lord Jesus could and would take him with him to paradise. The other thief did not. So which one are you, Sir?”

The distinguished liner captain, a tall man fought tears from his eyes and said,

“By grace I am that first man.”

“You mean that your sins are on Jesus?”

“Yes, God has promised me that my sins are on Jesus.”

He shot out his hand and held onto Dr. Barnhouse.

“That is what I came all this way to find out. Thank you.”

They had lunch together and then the captain returned to New York and his ship as a radiant, rejoicing Christian.

The story of the two thieves is a brilliant illustration about how people become Christians. There is Jesus, hanging on that cross, but still concerned to win someone for Christ. He was gasping for breath and in excruciating pain yet he was still not concerned for himself because he knew his destiny was secure, that was in his Father’s hands. This illustration also makes it clear how a person can receive God’s forgiveness, only by putting your trust in the Lord Jesus.

It is an essential question all of us should ask ourselves, ‘Where is the responsibility for my sin resting? Is it still on me or has it been transferred to the King of Kings?’

The Inscription

The Jewish leaders did not like the inscription written to describe the crime of Jesus. No crime was mentioned. They repeatedly argued that two words should be added. They wanted ‘He said he was the king of the Jews’, but now Pilate refused go comply with their wishes, and he replied,

“What I have written, I have written.”

God put on Pilate’s tongue a profound and permanent truth, Jesus is King. This has been the recurrent message throughout Jesus’ life. Remember both Messiah and Christ mean ‘God’s anointed one’ or ‘Gods chosen king.”

1. In her pregnancy Mary was told,

‘The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants for ever; his kingdom will never end. .” Luke 1:32-33

2. At his birth, the shepherds heard the angels saying,

“Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11

3. The wise men, when they visited King Herod were told the prophecy about the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2),

‘ . . . for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’

4. Jesus repeatedly told people that he was indeed the Messiah, the Christ. The Samaritan woman at the well said to Jesus,

“‘I know that the Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes he will explain everything to us.’ Then Jesus declared. ‘I who speak to you am he.’” John 4:25-26

5. When he entered Jerusalem on a donkey the excited crowds shouted,

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel.” John 12:14

The disciples later remembered another Old Testament prophecy,

“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” Zechariah 9:9

6. Before Pilate, Jesus had no hesitation in explaining where his kingdom lay. Pilate said,

“‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate. Jesus answered, ‘You are right in saying I am a king. In fact for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.’” John 18:37

7. Now on the cross this inscription was placed over his head,

“The king of the Jews.” John 19:19-22

When the Lord Jesus returns, no-one will have any doubt that he is indeed ‘the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.’ There will be no escaping or overlooking his kingship then, but for many it will be too late.

It is striking that this inscription was written in the main languages of the world of that day, Aramaic, Latin and Greek. Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection has eternal implications for all peoples of every nation. He is the ruler of his world and it is important for all people to recognise this, as one thief on the cross did, before it is too late.

It is ironic - he rules as king from that cross.

Winston Churchill was famous for his seemingly spontaneous witty comments. In fact he worked hard at memorising these so that he could use them in parliament. Thus he said of Clement Atlee, the Labout leader of the Opposition,

“He is a modest man who has much to be modest about.”

One day the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Stafford Cripps, who was an arrogant man, was walking past him. Churchill took his cigar out of his mouth and pointing towards the Chancellor, said,

“There, but for the grace of God, goes God.”

A devastating comment that unfortunately God could say about many of us,

“There, but for the grace of God goes a little paper God. There is one who tries to be the god and ruler of his or her own existence.”

The self-sacrifice of Jesus should prevent us from acting as gods. The apostle Paul, a naturally self-sufficient man, came to understand this. He wrote,

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

The Christ on that cross demands that we recognise him to be our king. Pilate would not retract his inscription,

“What I have written, I have written.”

The Cost

Jesus repeatedly explained before his crucifixion that his followers must all ‘take up their cross and follow me.” People of those days knew what this meant from seeing condemned men on their way to die. Jesus said,

“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:38

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’ ” Matthew 16:24

To follow Christ means to die to selfish ambitions and live by obeying him and seeking his glory. It involves having a spirit of submission. Freely we have been given both forgiveness and eternal salvation, so freely we must all give our lives to him in response.

The German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was hanged by the Nazis, wrote in his book, ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ that ‘grace is not cheap.’ He rightly taught against those who spoke of ‘cheap grace’, which he defined as preaching an easy forgiveness without the need for repentance. Baptism without submission to the rule of Christ is meaningless. Grace demands discipleship to the Lord Jesus for the rest of our life.

True faith is costly because it cost God the life of his Son. We were bought with a price. God did not consider the life of his Son too high a price to pay for us. He died to win us back from lives of sin, often ‘respectable sin’, to live lives that centre on him and his rule.

BVP

John 19:1-16. ‘Ecce Homo’ Innocent but found Guilty

‘ECCE HOMO’ by Domenica Feti (1589-1623)

Michaelangelo was only 23 years old when he made his masterpiece ‘Pieta’. Unfortunately it was being rumoured that the work was really that of a more senior, rival scuptor, Cristoforo Solari, as many considered Michaelangelo far too young to have produced such a magnificent sculpture. So one night, in 1499, Michaelangelo broke into the chapel of Santa Petyronilla and chiselled into this, his first masterpiece, the words, ‘Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this’. He wanted to be known as the one responsible. Later he regretted this impulsive reaction and never again added a personal signature to any other piece of work.

There are times whern we want to be known for what we have done and at other times we definitely do not! At the end of a film there is usually a ‘Dramatis personae’, the list of those responsible for the film. Sometimes people would like to be omitted if their role has been poor. In this story there are several who definitely would like not to be recognised because of what they did to Jesus, yet, to their shame, all has been revealed. The Bible says that this will also happen to each of us.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10

“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14

“The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12

The scene so far

The Jewish religious leaders were united in their hatred of Jesus who keept claiming to be the one and only Son of God. When given the choice they even preferred to have released the renegade murderer Barabbus than Jesus who had done so much good. Then, between Jesus and the Jewish leaders stood Pontius Pilate who was politically blackmailed by the Jewish leaders. Claudia, Pilate’s wife had sent him a message, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous man,’ but he kept vascilating. The Jewish historians, Philo and Josephus do not portray Pilate in a good light, they describe him as a reckless and cruel governor. Josephus tells us that in AD36 Emperor Tiberius recalled Pilate to Rome after his mishandling of a rebellion by some Samaritans. However, by the time he had reached Rome, Tiberius had died, to be replaced by Caligula. There is no further evidence about what happened to Pilate, he simply drops out of history.

Pilate must have been emotionally tortured. Here he is given a unique opportunity to discover the truth about Jesus but it appears that truth was not his prime concern. He could have asked Jesus any question and called more sympathetic witnesses but he fails to take the opportunity. Instead there was a mockery of a trial - appalling jurisprudence!

Pilate’s attempt to remain agnostic

At the beginning of the Second World War, Austria attempted to remain neutral and excuse itself from all that the Nazis were doing but they discovered that neutrality was not possible. Pilate also tried to remain neutral in the case of Jesus, but he also found the political pressures too great. The point is that to try and abstain from making a decsion about Jesus is not possible.

At the end of John chapter 18, Pilate had returned to the Jews, whose religious laws prevented them from entering a Gentile’s house, and said,

“I find no basis for a charge against him.” John 18:38

Flogged

That should have been the end the matter. Jesus should have been released, but he also wanted to appease the Jewsih authorities so he ordered Jesus to be flogged. The Jews would know that this was not just a punishment but was also a legal preliminary to every Roman execution. It was called a ‘predeath death’. The usual instrument was a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death. As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim’s back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss may well have determined how long the victim would survive on the cross. After the scourging, the soldiers often taunted their victim.

This is a poor treatment of someone who was innocent! Was Pilate really impartial? Presumably Pilate excused himself from witnessing the flogging.

Mocked

The soldiers then had a field-day dressing Jesus up as a ‘pretend king.’

“The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ and they struck him in the face.” John 19:2

This Easter the world is facing a pandemic with one of the ‘corona viruses’, Covid -19, and this is causing the world to be turned upside down. The word ‘corona’ is Latin for ‘crown’ and it is fitting that at this time Jesus divides people with his crown. Either we crown Jesus with a crown of thorns, with disdain, ridicule or hatred or we give him a genuine crown recognising who he really is. Everyone has placed one of those crowns on Jesus. Pilate tried to remain aloof to this decision but Jesus was mocked in Pilate’s own house and he must have permitted it to occur. He certainly had the authority to have stopped this, just as he need not have ordered the flogging.

The use of a purple robe is significant in that ancient Roman law prohibited the wearing of clothing that was dyed with Tyrian purple except by those of Senator rank. The vibrant colour could only be made from a dye extracted from shellfish and was incredibly difficult to manufacture. Tyrian purple dye was made by the Phoenicians, particularly those of Carthage. The dye produced a striking color, ranging from lush purple to deep crimson, and would not fade in the sunlight. More importantly, it was worth more than its weight in gold. Due to the high cost and intensive production, Rome passed a sumptuary or restrictive law that declared only the elite of the Roman Empire could wear a garment of this colour. Indeed, the symbol of a position in office was a Tyrian purple robe trimmed with gold thread. Esteemed Roman senators were allowed to wear a Tyrian purple stripe on their toga.

It was therfore highly significant that Jesus was dressed up in such a robe. Even the Romans knew of his claim to be God’s Messiah, the Greek word being the Christ - God’s chosen king.

Why did they strike Jesus again and again? What had he done to warrant this? He had healed many people, he had raised people form the dead but nothing to merit this ridicule. The synoptic gospels add further details. The soldiers knelt before him, spat on him and gave him a sceptre made of reed to hold. A sceptre was a wand held by a king to either signify favour or disfavour to those who desired to come into his presence and was usually made of gold or iron. The following is a prophecy about the coming Messiah who, using his sceptre will order the destruction of all who rebel (that is the meaning of the word ‘Sheth’) against him.

“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17

It appeared outwardly that the very opposite was happening to Jesus at this time as he stood there being ridiculed. Unfortunately that is what we can also do today. However the time will come when the situations are reversed and all of us will stand before the King of Kings in judgment. Imagine the shame on the faces of those people who have treated him with disdain or ridicule.

Found innocent

Pilate returns outside to the Jews again and says,

“Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” John 19:4

Had Pilate expected that the flogging and mocking would force Jesus into confessing something he had done wrong? The reality was that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Did he think that to bring out a man who had been severely tortured would satisfy this crowd? If so, it certainly brings into question his ability to read a situation.

Why did he not have the courage to act on what he knew to be right? The same could be asked of many of us today. Why do so many people, when confronted with Christ, refuse to act in a way that they know, deep down, to be right?

Jesus was again presented to the baying Jews.

“When Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man.’” John 19:5

The Latin for ‘Here is the man’ is ‘Ecce homo’. Never was there a man like Jesus, the creator and sustainer of the universe, who humbly accepted such horrendous treatment at the hands of people he loved.

Count Zinzendorf (1700-1760) was a wealthy aristocrat and landowner in Germany who had been brought up in a Christian home. One day he visited the Dusseldorf art museum and stood mesmerised by a picture called ‘Ecce Homo’ by the Italian painter, Domenica Feti (1589-1623). He painted Jesus as he was presented to the crowd after being flogged and mocked. Underneath the picture he wrote in Latin:

“Behold the man who takes away the sins of the world.”

The picture and its inscription had a profound effect on a rich young German aristocrat, Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf. As he meditated on the picture and those words he said to himself,

“This have I suffered for you; now what will you do for me?”

This idea changed his life. A few years later he allowed a group of Moravians to settle on some of his land. They were followers of Jan Huss, a dedicated Bible teacher in Prague who had been burnt at the stake in 1415 because he taught Biblical doctrines and not the traditions of the Roman Catholic church, where they were in conflict. The Moravians had had to flee persecution because of their simple Christian faith. These Moravians became ardent missionaries who changed the way Protestant Christians thought about evangelism. One of their missionaries had a profound influence on John Wesley, who with his friends deeply influenced eighteenth century Britain.

To see Jesus standing there for us should surely have a profound effect on anyone, but not the Jewish leaders,

“As soon as the chief priest and their officials saw him, they shouted ‘Crucify! Crucify!’

It is clear that Pilate knew what he ought to do but does not have the courage to act on his convictions. He again tries to avoid making a decision by replying,

“You take him and crucify him. As for me I find no basis for a charge against him.” John 19:6

Pilate has been goaded into speaking irrationally. There was here a battle of the wills and Pilate whimpishly tries to avoid the confrontation. He knows that the Jews have no respect for him. What he said was illegal as the Jews were not permitted to execute anybody. He was clearly disgusted by the behaviour of the Jewish leaders but this was not enough for him to overcome his fear of them.

The conflict between religious law and secular law

This was the problem the Jews had,

“The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.’” John 19:7

This is the essential issue, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God but they do not want to fairly adjudicate his claims. It was this new charge of blasphemy that made Pilate feel uncomfortable. Doubtless his informers would have told him about the miracles and preaching of Jesus, and now it was he who was being asked to make a judgment on a remarkable and likeable man. This was not his area of expertise! Would he be acting against God if he condemns Jesus? Pilate now acted as a scared yo-yo! He went in and out of his house six times because of these Jews. He had wanted to comply with Jewish law and hadn’t insisted that the Jews enter his house but now there is a direct confrontation over Jewish law. How can he get away from making a decision about Jesus? Would Jesus give him a solution?

“When Pilate heard this he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.” John 19:8-9

The ‘this’ that Pilate referred to was surely the claim of Jesus to be ‘the Son of God.’ Why didn’t Jesus answer him when, up till now, he had been happy to talk with Pilate. He had told Pilate plainly about the nature of his kingdom and why he had come to earth. Pilate must have known a lot about Jesus so no wonder he was even ‘more afraid’. He feared he could be making a judgment on himself. It is clear that Jesus will not allow Pilate to avoid his responsibilty, just as he will not allow anyone to do so today. Jesus said nothing. Pilate had refused to listen to his own conscience, so God will no longer speak to him.

Pilate was not asking about his place of birth when asking ‘Where do you come from?’, he wanted to know who Jesus really was. Was he from God, was he from heaven? Romans believed that their gods did intermittently visit earth, could Jesus one of them? So, in this private conversation Pilate asks this vital question, one that we should all ask Jesus.

Possibly one reason that Jesus refused to answer was that he knew that it was his fate to be crucified so that he could be the ultimate sacrifice for sin that would satisfy God for all time. There is ‘a time to be silent’ and ‘a time to speak’ (Ecclesiates 3:7).

The church Father, Chrysostom observed,

“Christ answered nothing, because he knew that Pilate asked all the questions idly!”

Pilate was being forced into making a decsion about Jesus. His frustration now erupted into a hauty, arrogant anger,

“Do you refuse to speak to me?”

“Don’t you realise I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” John 19:10

Who is on trial here? Who is getting annoyed when things aren‘t going their way? Pilate is saying,

“Don’t you realise who I am?’

Jesus responds in a calm, controlled manner asking the same question back to Pilate, ‘Don’t you realise who I am?’

“You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” John 19:10

Jesus is asserting that he comes from a higher power, from God himself, and that neither the Jews nor Pilate would have any authority if it had not been loaned to them by God. Jesus yet again brings the issue down to one of sin. Sin is doing anything against the nature of God; it is our own sin that will condemn us when we face God, just as Pilate and the Jewish authorities will be condemned for their own sin.

Jesus had explained earlier that sin is always a reaction to himself and what he taught. Righteousness is also defined by Jesus in terms of himself. Any actions, words and thoughts that are not in tune with Jesus will result in condemnation.

“ . . . in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. In regard to sin because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment because the prince of this world (Satan) now stands condemned.” John 16:8

The two rulers are in conflict but there is no doubt who will eventually win. Pilate’s indecision and obstinacy overcame integrity and right decision making. It is unfortunately the same today as people make decisions about Jesus.

This was the last statement Jesus made during this mock trial. No evidence was brought or even sought by which the accusation that he was ‘the Son of God’ could be adjudicated.

Pilate deep down knew what he should do but fear prevented him, just as fear today is the usual reason why people reject Jesus Christ.

“From then on Pilate tried to set Jesus free . . .” John 19:12

Good intentions but vascillating in executing them.

The Jews’ trump card

Initially they had brought Jesus on a charge of being a criminal (John 18:30), then of claiming to be the Son of God (John 19:7) but now, of being Caesar’s enemy (John 19:12). The Jews said,

“If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” John 19:12

This was a highly political charge in such a turbulent society. Yet again no evidence is given to support the accusation. Pilate knew Jesus’ kingdom was not ‘of this world’ (John 18:36). Indeed Jesus had repeatedly told people to honour their responsibilities to the Roman authorities. When asked if Jews should pay tax to Rome he replied,

“You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? . . . Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and give to God that which is God’s.” Matthew 22:21

Jesus’ followers were also clear. The Apostle Peter, who would later be executed by Rome for his Christian faith, said that in all circumstances, Christians must honor the king (1 Peter 2:17). The Apostle Paul, who would also be martyred by decree of the Roman Caesar, said every Christian must submit to and pray for governing authorities (Romans 13:1).

If evidence had been sought it would have been clear that Jesus was innocent of this charge too. However truth was not their concern just as it is not the concern of many today!

What a tortuous situation for a man to be in. To know what it is right to do but to be too scared to do anything about it. The fear of being reported to Caesar worried him more than offending the God of the universe! How often it is fear about what friends, family or superiors at work will think that prevents people siding with Jesus. A person may be a friendly, upstanding citizen and even a churchgoer but still be afraid to come out for Jesus personally. They are afraid of what others may say.

Pilate yet again tries to distance himself from the decision he made. He formally sat down in the judgment seat placed on the Stone Pavement, and made his fateful decision. He gives Jesus back to his accusers with words that he probably meant cynically but in fact was so true. His mistake was in his use of pronouns. He should have said,

“Here is our king,’ instead of ‘Here is your king.’

The crowd shouted,

“Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” John 19:15

They certainly don’t want anything to do with Jesus. The chief priests answered poignantly,

“We have no king but Caesar.” John 19:15

All people have rulers over them. The state they live in has its rulers, but the more important question is who rules the inner man. Who rules our thoughts, words and deeds. The Lord God insists that he must be the ruler in each of our lives. This is the message of the whole Bible but these Jewish priests were far too independent for that!

Who was Jesus?

Bono, the lead singer of U2, one of the most successful ‘rock ‘n roll’ bands ever, was responding to a question in a 2013 interview with Irish news channel RTE about his Christian faith. He was asked about who he thought Jesus to be.

“I think it’s the defining question for a Christian: who was Christ? And I don’t think you’re let off easily by saying, ‘A great thinker,’ or ‘A great philosopher.’ Because actually, he [Jesus] went round saying he was the Messiah. That’s why he was crucified. He was crucified because he said he was the Son of God. So, he either, in my view, was the Son of God, or he was…”

The interviewer interrupts him: “Not?”

“No, no. Nuts!” Bono corrects. “Forget rock‘n roll messianic complexes. This is like, Charlie Manson type of delirium.”

A bit later, the interviewer is direct:

“Therefore, it follows you believe he was divine?”

And Bono is clear in his response:

“Yes.”

Bono was invoking a version of C.S.Lewis’ ‘Trilemma’, named after C.S. Lewis who popularized it in his apologetic writings. He reckoned that Jesus had to be either ‘mad, bad or God.’

The argument is that one cannot reasonably consider Jesus to simply be a good teacher who wasn’t divine, since Jesus made such radical claims about himself. For example he said,

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14.6

There is ample evidence that the New Testament is a carefully checked record of the life and teaching of Jesus so the decision we all have to make about Jesus as he stands before us is “Who is he?”

BVP

John 18:28-40. The Trial of Indecisive Pilate

This title is not a mistake as you will see!

The poet, Percy Shelley (1792-1822), wrote a considerable amount of poetry in his short life, as well as penning pamphlets such as The Necessity of Atheism (which got him expelled from Oxford). One of his best is ‘Ozymandias’ which was published in 1818. It describes a traveller who was crossing an ancient desert and came across two vast stone legs rising from the sand. On an adjacent pedestal he reads these words,

‘“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’

This sonnet is about the remnants of a vast civilisation represented by this statue standing alone in a desert – a desert which was once the vast empire of Ozymandias, ‘King of Kings’. The poem is a haunting reminder that all civilisations fall and how futile human success is.

Some have regarded Jesus in this way. Albert Schweitzer wrote in the first edition of his book, ‘The Quest for the Historical Jesus’ the following notorious line,

“The wheel rolls onward, and the mangled body of the one immeasurably great Man, who was strong enough to think of Himself as the spiritual ruler of mankind and to bend history to His purpose, is hanging upon it still. That is His victory and His reign.”

Significantly this was removed from subsequent editions of the book. Schweitzer was suggesting that Jesus was just a great example of selfless humanity who died trying. However the gospels portray an utterly different Jesus who remained in total control even up to the end.

In the Garden of Gethsemane it was Jesus who came forward to confront those who had come to arrest him. He could have run away. He said to Peter, after he had attacked Malcus with a sword,

“Put your sword back in its place . . . Do you think I cannot call on my Father and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:52-53

Jesus, who had raised Lazarus and others from death was in total control as he let them bind him and take him away, the first port of call was to the honorary high priest Annas, for that illegal trial in his home.

Pilate

The Sanhedrin reached a decision ‘very early in the morning’ ( Mark 15:1). They wanted a public execution but, as only the Romans could order that, they had to become involved. Roman involvement would also help share the responsibilty for Jesus’ death. They clearly felt that a public execution followed by a public display of the corpse would help the public loose faith in Jesus, as the teaching of the Torah on this subject was well known.

“If a man, guilty of a capital offence, is put to death and his body is hanged on the tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day as anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” Deuteronomy 21:22-23

Caiaphas must have been ignorant of what Jesus had said early in his ministry,

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14-15

Jesus knew that he had to die by crucifixion. The Jewish Scriptures, such as the following, made this clear,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? . . . a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. . . They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. . . Rescue me from the mouth of the lions . . . For he has not despised or scorned the the suffering of the afflicted one . . . All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD . . . They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn for he has done it (or ‘it is finished’).” Psalm 22:1-31

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows . . . Surely he took our infirmites and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each opf us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:3-6

Without knowing that they were fulfilling their Scriptures, they transferred Jesus to see Pontius Pilate in the Praetorium, the magnificent palace of the Roman Governor that Herod the Great had had originally built for himself. It was still early morning. The Jews didn’t want to enter the Praetorium, as that would make them ceremonially unclean. If they had entered the Praetorium, a Gentile home, they would be unable to participate in the festivals of the Passover and Unleavened Bread that lasted a full week. It is remarkable that the Jewish authorities were fastidious about the minutiae of the Jewish law but completely failed morally. So Pilate agreed to go outside to talk with the Jews.

Quite rightly, he wanted to know what specific allegations were being brought against Jesus and there they had a problem and could only reply,

“If he were not a criminal . . . we would not have handed him over to you.” John 18:30

In response Pilate’s initial reaction was not to get involved,

“Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” John 18:31

This response appears to confirm that Jesus had yet to have had a fair trial. The Jews’ response was clear, they did not want justice but an execution, so they objected,

“But we have no right to execute anyone.” John 8:32

Jesus is not really on trial before Pilate, both Pilate and the Sanhedrin are up before the God of the universe. The Lord Jesus is holding court and rendering the sentence. The remarkable thing is that Jesus then takes the judgment on himself.

Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He was an ambitious and officious Procurator. According to the ‘Peter Principle’ he had been promoted above his capability. He was politically inept and brutal. His family, the Pontii, originally came from Saville in Spain. He joined the army and when stationed in Rome he met and married Claudia Procula. the grand-daughter of Emperor Augustus. He then applied for the post of Procurator of Judea which he obtained, doubtless supported by nepotism and patronage.

In Judea he was inept and made many mistakes.

a. On his initial visit to Jerusalem he was accompanied by a large group of soldiers who carried banners that bore the image of the Emperor, Tiberius. This enraged the Jews and a group followed him up to Caesaria. This group was taken into the arena and surrounded by soldiers. Pilate said he was going to kill them all. The Jewish leaders simply bared their necks and said, in effect, ‘Go ahead.’ Understandably Pilate backed down.

b. He raided the Corban treasury in the Temple in order to obtain money to build an aqueduct. When people protested, he sent in soldiers, dressed in plain clothes but armed with daggers and clubs. They mingled with the crowd and several Jews were killed.

c. He stored votive shields bearing the image of Tiberias in Herod’s Palace in Jerusalem.

d. Luke recalls, in his record of the gospel, an occasion when Pilate’s legionarii killed a group of Galileans who had come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the temple. A group of these soldiers slaughtered them there(Luke 13:1-5).

There must have been some connaivance between the Jewish and Roman authorities prior to the arrest of Jesus as a cohort of Roman soldiers was involved in his arrest. It is likely that Claudia, Pilate’s wife, knew something of the plans as that night she had a dream concerning him. She wrote a note to her husband that reached him, as he was sitting in the seat of judgment, which said,

“Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” Matthew 27:19

The ‘trial of Pilate before Jesus’.

Pilate left the Jewish delegation and returned inside his palace and summoned Jesus to be brought before him. He asked Jesus,

“Are you the king of the Jews?” John 18:33

In the original Greek, all four gospels make the ‘you’ emphatic, so the question could be translated,

“Are you really king of the Jews? You?”

There was Jesus dressed in ordinary clothes, clothes that he had slept in and were undoubtedly dirty and bloodstained as he had been beaten earlier by members of the high priest’s staff. Yet Jesus turns the question round beautifully. He is clearly in complete control of the situation and it is he who asks the next question.

“Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” John 18:34

If it was Pilate’s idea, he was asking ‘Are you a rebel, are you a rival to Rome?’ If the question was one posed by the Jews it meant, ‘Are you the Messianic King?’ It is as if Jesus is asking Pilate to make up his own mind concerning him. This is a decsion every person needs to make. Pilate, however, tries to sidestep the question and replied,

“Am I a Jew? . . . It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it that you have done?” John 18:35

Clearly the question being asked was,

“Are you the Messiah, God’s chosen king?”

There was no suggestion that he was a rebel who opposed Roman rule or their law.

Jesus’ world is full of paradoxes

The meek rule, not the apparently strong.

The poor not the rich will inherit the kingdom of Heaven.

The weak will overcome the strong.

The unlearned will outwit the humanly wise.

The beaten, defenceless and humiliated holds court on the powerful Pontius Pilate.

The author G.K.Chesterton wrote,

“A paradox is truth standing upon its head that it might gain attention.”

Here is one of the paradoxes of Jesus’ life. At the lowest point in his life, when he appears to be on trial for his life, he is in complete control. He still wants people to know precisely who he is. Jesus continues confidently to say to Pilate,

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is of another place.” John 18:36

This is the heart of the matter. This what he was being accused of but significantly no evidence against him on this question of being a rebel was put forward by the prosecution. They did not want a trial on the question of his being the Messiah as there was so much evidence in support of Jesus’ claims, including the Old Testament prophecies about his birthplace, his ministry, his ancestry from David (which the Messiah had to be), as well as his teaching, his personality, his miracles and his life.

Jesus’ claim was immense, so was he lying or mad? The Jesus standing before Pilate and the Jews was clearly not insane. It may be that Pilate did wonder whether Jesus’ claim could be true. He knew that, what Claudia his wife had written to him, was true. Jesus was innocent and he kept saying so. Yet here was Jesus in front of him insisting that he, Pilate, should surrender everything to Jesus! Instead of ‘Have nothing to do with this innocent man’, she should instead have said ‘Have everything to do with the Messiah standing before you.’ This is a decision everyone has to make. Pilate continued,

“You are a king, then!” John 18:37

This was no longer a question but a statement. Jesus continued to try and help Pilate understand,

“You are right in saying I am a king. In fact for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:38

Can we all understand how astounding this is. Pilate, as a judge, would have valued a reputation of being impartial and only interested in truth. Yet Jesus is saying that, what he says about his being the king of God’s kingdom is really true. Jesus is supposedly on trial for his life but he turns it round and says that it is Pilate and ourselves who are on trial for our spiritual lives. The only way to receive eternal life is, Jesus says,

“Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 8:38

This word ‘listen’ as used here must involve following and obeying. This is the only way to understand our existence in this world. There are no exceptions, ‘Everyone’ on the side of truth takes God and his Son very seriously indeed.

Today too many are looking to materialism to satisfy their needs, but that satisfaction is only short-lasting. God says that we all need a spiritual Saviour if we are to be satisfied eternally. Soon after miraculously feeding the five thousand, Jesus said to the crowds,

“I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and fishes and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’

Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:26-29

The result on that occasion was that the people left Jesus because were looking for physical satisfaction, and were not seeking to please God.

What is truth?

Pilate replies to Jesus with a profound statement, one that is used by so many today, to avoid confronting Jesus who was becoming too difficult for him.

“ ‘What is truth?’ Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, ‘I find no basis for a charge against him.’ John 18:38

I once asked a group of hospital consultants, ‘What is truth?’ and they had difficulty answering. In the end one radiologist replied, ‘Truth must be consensus.’ However, what the majority think, the consensus, is easily manipulated, as Hitler, Putin and many politicians have discovered. In science, in law, in medicine, in relationships and in most walks of life we are looking for the truth. Our understanding may be imperfect but we know there is truth somewhere out there. Plato understood this. Truth can only be a concept that is compatible with God. It cannot be defined any other way. It is absurd for a person to say, ‘That is not my truth.’ Hegel’s idea of ‘evolving truth’ can only refer to our understanding of truth, not to truth itself. My understanding of the truth may be wrong because I am self-centred

This is why Jesus could say, ‘I am the truth,’ (John 14:6) as he knew that he was God and was therefore the end of every investigation that is looking for truth. Any concept that is not compatible with him cannot be true.

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) once famously wrote,

“ ‘WHAT is truth?’ said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer.”

It is surely unlikely that Pilate was joking in this very difficult situation. He seems to be implying that he could not ‘come out’ on what he knew to be true and underneath was feeling very tense. Perhaps he had in mind that message he had received from his wife, Claudia. Is the opinion of others the best way to discover the truth? Pilate’s problem was, at root, that he was a materialist and pragmatist. Status, wealth and power were what really mattered to him. No wonder he would not stay for an answer.

Today most of our popular films and soap-operas are all to do with materialism and power. Very few have an answer to ‘what is truth?’ Pilate tries to avoid taking responsibilty for his decision about Jesus by side-stepping the issue. History agrees that he should not have done that.

Luke tells us that when Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galilean, he referred the case to Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee at the time, but was in Jerusalem for the Passover. Herod was happy to see Jesus as he had heard all about him and wanted to see some miracles himself (Luke 23:6--12). Herod asked Jesus many questions but Jesus did not reply a word. The chief priests kept accusing him yet still without getting a response. There was no convincing case to answer. Then they dressed Jesus in a royal robe and mocked him mercilessly, after all he did claim to be a king! They then returned him to poor Pilate. What should he do now? Then he had another idea about how he could avoid making a decsion about Jesus.

There was a Jewish traditon at Passover time for a prisoner to be released. This was to commemorate the fact they it was at Passover time the Jews had been freed from captivity in Egypt. Pilate went outside again and yet again said to the Jews,

“I find no basis for a charge against him.” John18:38

That should have been the end of the matter but Pilate wants to keep in with the people. He knew he was not a popular governor. He gave them a simple choice, should he release a notorious criminal (Matthew 27:16), a man named Barabbus, or ‘the king of the Jews’. Mark and Luke tell us that Barabbus was an ‘insurrectionist who had committed murder’ (Mark 15:7), John says that he had been involved in an insurrection, and presumably this was against Rome. This choice is remarkable. Pilate is asking for trouble. He seems to be surrendering justice to the whim of the crowd in front of him.

“Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews?’” John 18:39

Such decisions about Jesus must always be personal, they cannot be delegated to others. The crowd, possibly orchestrated by the Jewish authorities, were adamant,

“No, not him! Give us Barabbus.” John 18:40

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Christ?”

“They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’”

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’” Matthew 27:22=23

Pilate was now losing control. He then again tried to exonerate himself from making a decision.

“He took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.’ All the people answered, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children.” Matthew 27:24-25

The question must be asked why John overlooks some of the details that are given in the Synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. He seems to assume that his readers have a knowledge of the other gospels but prefers to concentrate on his one theme, that all people must make a decsion about Jesus, because to be safe with God, to be saved, we must believe in him.”

Barabbus deserved to die physically yet Jesus took his place, we deserve to die spiritually yet Jesus took our sin on himself so that we can be free. This is what the prophecy in Isaiah 53, quoted above is all about. I deserved hell, but Jesus took my hell. Heaven lies ahead of me now simply because of what Jesus did for me. This ‘substitutionary atonement’ by Jesus, where he made his people ‘at one’ with God, by becoming our substitute, is the message of the whole Bible. Just as lambs acted as symbolic substitutes in the Old Testament sacrificial system, so Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29) became the ultimate sacrifice for sin, once for all time. Paul wrote,

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

A Christian attempted to explain the significance of Jesus and the gospel to a Jewish friend but the man did not accept his message. However, some time later, the man was dying. The Christian went to see him as he lay on his death bed. The nurse said he could go in, but just to be there with him. The Christian went in, knelt beside the man’s bed, held his hand and prayed silently. Then man then uttered a few words,

“Not Barabbus, but this man. I want Jesus.”

This is the offer that was made to Pilate but he shunned his opportunity. It was made to Herod but he was not interested, and it is made to each one of us. John reminds us,

“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31

A decision about Jesus has to be made.

BVP

John 18:12-27. Jesus and his opponents

How is it that Peter, who was one of the most privileged on Jesus’ disciples could have let Jesus down so badly and left him alone. He had actually walked on water – for a short while, he had witnessed those extraordinary miracles of Jesus, winessed his transfiguration and heard his extraordinary teaching. He had openly ackowledged that Jesus was the Messiah of God. Furthermore Jesus had just rescued him from being arrested when, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he had attacked Malchus, the High Priest’s servant and cut off his ear.

As Jesus and his disciples were walking towards the Mount of Olives, where the Garden of Gethsemane was found, Jesus had warned them that they would all fall away from him.

“This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.

Peter replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.’ ‘I tell you the truth’, Jesus answered, ‘This very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ But Peter declared, ‘even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the other disciples said the same.” Matthew 26:31-35

Mark’s gospel tells us,

“Then everyone deserted him and fled.” Mark 14:50

There was a young man who had accompanied Jesus to the garden but he was a bit hesitant or slow. This may have been Mark himself but he was nearly caught. He was only wearing a linen garment.

“When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.” Mark 14:52

The consequences of following Jesus can be costly!

It was Peter, who, having so confidently expressed his commitment to Christ, and who, so soon afterwards, had publicly denied any association with Jesus. What a lesson this is for us. All Christians are called to publicly acknowledge their commitment to Christ, whatever the embarassment or cost. However there are other features to be noted in this account.

The hardened hearts

Judas

In the previous study we looked at Judas in some detail, who had by now changed sides. After being in the company of Jesus and the other disciples for three years he had walked out and become associated with the high priest, his Saduccee associates and the Pharisees. When this troop came to the garden, John poignantly says,

“And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.” John 18:5

The soldiers

A large crowd of Roman soldiers and the Jewish temple guard had come to arrest Jesus. Some of these had probably been amongst those sent to arrest Jesus earlier but had returned without him. Their explanation to the chief priests and Pharisees for failing to bring Jesus in was simple,

“No-one ever spoke the way this man does.” John 7:46

Furthermore, when Jesus stepped forward and surrendered himself to them, instead of running away as most people would, he had repeatedly used the divine title, ‘I am’ of himself, saying,

“I am he. . . I am he.” John 18:5, and 8

After the first occasion he said ‘I am’, this large crowd drew back and fell to the ground. What it was that caused this response we are not told, but clearly the presence of Jesus had an impact on them. Jesus then miraculously healed Malchus’ ear, but both the Jewsish temple guard and the Roman soldiers were so hardened that now nothing moved them.

Some people say that if they were to see a miracle they would believe. Some churches even try to perform such miracles theatrically in order to encourage faith . Jesus however knew people’s hearts and recognised that no-one is converted from a sinful life by seeing even genuine miracles where the laws of nature are broken.

“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.” John 12:37

Today, as in those days, there can frequently be a hardness of heart that prevents people acknowledging the rule of God in their lives, and that is always the stumbling block.

The Jewish rulers

The religious leaders, who hated Jesus for many reasons, had sent this troop to arrest Jesus because he had repeatedly claimed to be the one and only Son of God. Furthermore he had taught that Gentiles could also become members of the kingdom of God whereas the Jews wanted nothing to do with the Gentiles, They wouldn’t even enter their homes. Furthermore the Sadducee leaders of the Jewish council had much to lose. Annas was head of this family. Annas had officially served as high priest for ten years (6–15 A.D.), when at the age of 36, he had been deposed by the procurator Valerius Gratus. However he remained a powerful authority and members of his family served successively as high priests. The high priest at this time, Caiaphas, was his son-in law.

This powerful family were not, according to Josephus very popular with the Jews. This was, in part, due to the fact that in order to remain in power they had to keep in with the Roman authorities. This family controlled the temple and all that went on in it. At Passover time all Jewish families had to come with a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered. These animals were inspected and if any blemished were found, they were rejected, but, of course, they could buy an approved lamb from the temple authorities - for a price!

They also oversaw the temple tax, that was required to be paid by all males over the age of twenty. The money was used for the upkeep of all that went on in the temple. This annual tax was collected during one of the great feasts. The catch was that it had to be paid in temple currency, consequently there were money changers in the court of Gentiles for this very purpose, and there was a premium to pay for this special coinage!

Jesus had, for the second time, entered the temple and upset the tables of the money changers. He had expelled the officials with their doves and animals from the temple just a few days earlier (Matthew 21:12-13). By doing this he was attacking the financial secuity as well as the authority of the Annas family. No wonder, when all these matters were brought together, the religious leaders were furious with Jesus. It was after Lazarus has been raised that this anger climaxed, this man claimed to be the Son of God which meant he was God.

“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’” John 11:47-48

It is so easy for all of us to have wrong motives that influence how we relate to God. Caiaphas then said arrogantly to the Sanhedrin,

“You know nothing at all. You do not realise that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” John 11:49

Little did he realise how profound that statement was,

“ . . . that one man should die for the people . . .”

Jesus was in fact dying, not just for Caiaphas and for the whole Jewish nation but for everyone in the world. Jesus was to die as God’s ultimate sacrifice for sin. Neither Caiaphas not the Sanhedrin realised who Jesus was and what his death would achieve.

The high priest obviously wanted to get rid of both Jesus and his main followers. Jesus was first taken to the home of Annas, a previous High Priest and still ruler of that dynasty.

“Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.” John 18:19

Significantly Jesus said nothing about who his disciples were but robustly demonstrates how wrongful his arrest was. With regards to his teaching, Jesus answered,

“ ‘I have spoken openly to the world,’ Jesus replied. ‘I always taught in synagogues or at the temple where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” John 18:21

At this point one of the officials struck Jesus in the face.

“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

Jesus remained calm and in control,

“‘If I said something wrong,’ Jesus replied, testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?’”

There was no good answer. Truth should always be what people seek as truth is always compatible with what God thinks. They should be investigating the evidence for the claim of Jesus for it to be a fair trial.

All that was going on in this ‘trial’ was illegal. Elaborate preparations had been laid so that the accused could be tried, convicted and executed before the city awoke. Because of the events of Palm Sunday, there was probably a concern that if the common people were aware of what was being done to Jesus, they might riot in his defence. For the next part of his trial, Jesus was taken to the home of Caiaphas on the Western Hill of Jerusalem. Trials were never allowed to occur in a private home, but only in a public place where witnesses could give evidence openly. Witnesses could not be called to a private trial at night. Furthermore the judges were certainly not impartial.

Matthew, in his gospel, gives us further information about this ‘trial,’

“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they could not find any, though many witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, ‘This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?’ But Jesus remained silent.” Matthew 26:59-61

Jesus must have recognised that this court was illegal and that there was no evidence of wrongdoing against him. Then the high priest stood said to Jesus,

“ ‘I charge you under oath by the living God; Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’” Matthew 26:63-64

Jesus was here referring to one of the well-known prophecies in Daniel that all Jews recognised to be about the Messiah, which is the Hebrew word for the Christ. Daniel wrote,

“In my vision at night I looked and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

This was really the basis for the trial against Jesus and evidence both for and against this claim should have been heard. However,

“Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken balsphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’” Matthew 26:65-66

Doubtless Annas wanted to share the responsibility for what he knew to be wrongdoing.

“Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the official high priest.”

Caiaphas was known to be antagonistic to Jesus and he was the son-in-law of Annas!

Peter’s betrayal

“Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus.” John 18:15

Mark’s gospel adds that Peter followed ‘at a distance’. It is widely thought that the ‘other disciple’ was John himself. It seems that John and his family were in some way associated with the high priest so he is permitted to enter into the outer courtyard of his house, while Peter had to stay outside. John then returned and, after speaking to the girl on duty there, Peter was admitted to the courtyard. However the girl recognised Peter as he entered.

“You are not one of his disciples are you?” John 18:17

Peter’s immediate mindset was self-preservation not truth,

“I am not.”

It was a cold night so a charcoal fire had been set up in the courtyard and many were around this, trying to keep warm and Peter joined them. At this point another person standing by the fire asked him,

“You are not one of his disciples, are you?” John 18:25

Peter again denied it,

“I am not.”

Self preservation is a powerful instinct. The final straw came when one of the high priests’s servants who had been in the party that went to arrest Jesus and was a relative of Malchus, whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him. Matthew tells us that he had recognised his Galilean accent. Peter didn’t know when to keep quiet!

“Didn’t I see you in the olive grove?” John 18:26

John simply says he denied it, but Matthew again gives more colourful detail,

“Then he (Peter) began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man.” Matthew 26:74

Then came the wake up call – it was early morning by now.

“ . . . and at that moment a cock began to crow.” John 18:27

At this point Luke records,

“The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:62-63

Circumstances can so easily change the way we think unless we are very clear. A game warden in Canada came across a man who always seemed loaded with fish. One day as they were sitting by the river side, he asked the fisherman what his technique was, what bait he used. The fisherman smiled and pulled out a stick of dynamite.

“You can’t do that. I’m going to have to arrest you.”

At this the fisherman lights the fuse of the stick of dynamite, throws it into the wardens lap, and asked him,

“Are you going to complain or go fishing yourself.”

Self preservation was his prime concern, he threw the dynamite far away into the river and there was a mighty explosion. Both the warden and the fisherman collected the dead fish floating on the surface! Nothing more was said!

When we are put in an awkward situation it is so easy to try and lie our way out of it. And the more people lie or exaggerate, the easier it becomes next time.

The good news is that there can still be forgiveness if we ask for it on God’s terms. Matthew tells us how Peter felt after the cock crowed,

“And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:75

How badly Peter must have felt. Had he ‘blown it’? Satan always wants to keep us in the dark. To go it alone is the worst thing to do. Anyone who has offended Jesus must come back to him and his people as soon as possible. This is exactly what Peter did. He joined the other disciples up in Galilee and they went fishing together. John chapter 21 tells us about this encounter with Jesus by that sea. Jesus was walking by the shore and after helping the disiples catch a miraculous haul of 153 fish, he invited them to breakfast by a charcoal fire. This is surely significant. They had a simple meal of bread and fish which must have reminded them of how Jesus had miraculously fed fed the five thousand. Then Jesus said to Simon Peter,

“Do you love me more than these?”

“Yes Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus replied,

“Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said to Peter,

“Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?”

“Yes Lord, you know that I love you.

Jesus replied,

“Take care of my sheep.”

Then the third time Jesus said to Peter,

“Do you love me?”

Peter replied,

“Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Again Jesus replied,

“Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-19

The charcoal fire and the triple question was clearly a re-enactment of Peter’s denial. But Peter was clearly truly repentant of his failure and the Lord Jesus wants him to know that not only is he forgiven but he is given the responsibility by God to lead his people. He would do this by teaching them God’s word and loving them. Perhaps those words of Jesus in what is called his high priestly prayer came to mind,

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of this world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. . . . For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you” John 17:6-8

What an encouragement this is to all of us. The Lord is slow to anger and whatever we have done in the past, if we are truly repentent we can start again with him with a clean slate.

There is a profound difference between Judas and Peter. Though both deny their allegiance to the Lord Jesus, one was on the spur of the moment and the error was quickly recognised and repented of. His weeping reveals what was in his heart. Judas however had made a predetermined deep-seated decision not to side with Christ or his people. He felt remorse that led to his suicide but he never turned back to the Lord Jesus in sorrow and repentance.

Application

Just as the Lord Jesus showed his grace and mercy to Peter and to the other disciples, we must also accept that all of us make stupid and sometimes far reaching mistakes that go against the obedience we owe to the Lord. The way is always open for us to repent and turn back to Christ for his forgiveness. If a fallen church member does this, we should surely accept them back into the warm fellowship of the church. If someone persists in their serious rebellion against obedience to Christ, even if they feel sorry for decisions they have made, it should be made clear that acceptance by Christ and his church is dependent on genuine confession and repentance.

“If you love me you will obey what I command.” John 14:15

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” John 14:23

“He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” John 14:24

To experience the genuine peace of God, which passes all understanding, we must keep returning to the state of repentance and a commitment to obey the Lord, whatever ther cost.

BVP

John 18:1-14. Two very different people

We now come to the arrest and trial of Jesus prior to his execution. John mentions several features in his account that are not included in the accounts of the other gospel writers. John’s intention is to stress the supremacy and victory of the Lord Jesus over adverse circumstances. There are two central figures in this account, the treacherous Judas and the majestic Jesus.

The situation

‘When Jesus had finished praying’ (v. 1) surely refers to the prayer of John chapter 17, where he had prayed firstly about himself, then for his immediate disciples and finally for all subsequent Christians. Prior to that (in chapters 14-16) he had taught his disciples what they should prioritise after his departure.

They then left the upper room, descended the steps that led down to the Kidron valley, on the south-east side of Jerusalem. The word Kidron literally means a ‘winter torrent’, but for most of the year it was a dry bed. Only in the rainy season would water flow. It is said that the blood from the tempkle sacrifices ran down a drain into the Kidron valley and the farmers there used it to fertilise the ground.

The group then ascended the gentle slope of the Mount of Olives, along the roadway that led to Bethany and then to Jericho, but they soon turned off to enter the Garden of Gethsemane, which apparently was an olive grove (v. 1). Gethsemane is an Arabic name that simly means ‘oil-press’. This all suggests that this was a walled area and presumably they had the permission of the owner, possibly John Mark’s parents, to use this. We know that Jesus often frequented this garden with his disciples and they probably slept there during their visits to Jerusalem. John explains how Judas knew where Jesus would be staying.

“ . . . because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove . . .” John 18:2

Judas - the despicable

It is hard to understand how Judas could backslide so far. He had been chosen by Jesus to be one of his special disciples and had willingly joined this small group. For three years he had been taught by Jesus what it meant to be one of God’s people and how his followers must think and behave. He had administrative gifts, having been chosen to look after the communal purse of the group. Yet the pressure from the Pharisees and the High Priest, combined with the promise of a not insignificant financial reward, led to him turning his back on God’s Messiah. Thirty pieces of silver would be worth about £200 pounds in today’s money. He was party to the private plans of Jesus and was willing to use this knowledge to betray him. He must have been a very hard man to have turned his back on both Jesus and the other disciples. How can a man fall so low?

Judas had left Jesus and his disciples towards the end of the last supper and had gone to meet up with the High Priest and his companions. Doubtless they made him feel that he was doing something good for the Jewish community by identifying Jesus to their soldiers. The word used for this group of soldiers is a ‘cohort’, so presumably these were Roman soldiers on loan to the Jewish authorities. A cohort, if literally meant, was a tenth part of a legion, and would have consisted of 4-500 men. Matthews account says,

“With him (Judas) was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people.” Matthew 26:47

This large crowd must have been because the Jewish authorities were afraid of there being an uprising as Jesus was known to be popular in some quarters. Jerusalem would have been crowded with Galileans and other Jews for the Feast of the Passover.

Judas hadn’t really understood who Jesus was, he was spiritually blind, yet here he is leading a large group of soldiers – the blind leading the blind.

It was ironic that they were ‘carrying torches’ (v. 3) to find him who is ‘the light of the world’. They were carrying ‘weapons’ to arrest him who was the ‘Prince of Peace’.

Where was Judas standing? He was standing ‘with them’. Judas had spent three years ‘standing’ with Jesus and his disciples, but now he had become a renegade, a traitor.

It is so easy for men and women to be seen as members of Christ’s family, to appear to be genuine disciples of Jesus, but in our hearts to reject his rule.

Jesus – the man of integrity

In the garden, Jesus left most of his disciples and went off with Peter, James and John to pray. Jesus was fully human and was distraught at the prospect of his coming execution. Jesus knew what was about to happen yet he faced everything with determination.

“Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him . . .” John 18:4

Matthew gives us details about how low Jesus felt and how this led him to pray but John omits this. John is clearly assuming that his readers knew of the other gospel accounts.

Jesus was a remarkable man who was clear about his destiny and pressed on towards that goal. Earlier in his ministry, the crowds had wanted to force Jesus into becoming their king but Jesus had quietly withdrawn ‘to a mounatin by himself’ (John 6:15). But now they came, again by force to deliver him to the cross, and this time he graciously steps fowrd and offers himself. He came to this world to suffer and die. He could do this because he knew that he would return to heaven where he would again be in close communion with his Father.

Jesus takes the initiative. When he sees this large crowd coming he leaves his disciples and, out of the darkness approaches the leaders of the crowd,

“He went out and asked them, ‘Who is it you want?’” John 18:4

They reply,

“Jesus of Nazareth.” John 18:5

He doesn’t withdraw, as before, but boldly presents himself to his opponents. Their soldiers were well armed, presumably because they did not know what would happen. It would appear that the leaders could not identify Jesus, photographs had not been invented, and they had obviously not attended any of his teaching in the temple court! Matthew and Mark add that Judas had planned to identify Jesus to them with a kiss.

“Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.’” Matthew 26:48

Jesus makes a striking reply to those who had come to arrest him,

“I am he.” John 18:5

Jesus repeats this a further two times, the next time this has a profound effect on those listening. He must have spoken loudly and emphatically for all to hear him. Whether the crowd understood what Jesus was saying or the manner in which he said it, there was a dramtic effect.

“When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.” John 18:6

This was what Jesus had been claiming all along, to be the great ‘I am’. This is how the Lord had identified himself to Moses on Mount Sinai and here he does so again. This was how Jesus had repeatedly identified himself to really be – for example,

“I am the bread of life” John 6:35, 48

“I am the light of the world.” John 8:12, 9:5

“ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was (born), I am.’ At this they picked up stones to stone him.” John 8:58

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:46

Jesus had dared to take on himself the sacred name of the Lord God.

Whether it was the bearing of Jesus, a supernatural majesty or just a miraculous understanding that the crowd were in the presence of someone very special we do not know, but for a crowd of soldiers to react in this way was extraordinary. Were they falling before him in worship or fear?

The concern Jesus had for his disciples was even to be seen when he was under immense pressure.

The third time he uses the phrase ‘I am’ he immediately acts to protect his disciples.

“ ‘I told you that I am he.’ Jesus answered.’ If you are looking for me, then let these people go.’” John 18:8

How Jesus cared for his disciples. He had just prayed in his High Priestly prayer,

“While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by the name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” John 17:12

In normal circumstances the soldiers would have arrested all those present so why didn’t they? Was God still in control of all these circumstances?

A decision is needed

“There is a tide in the affairs of men. .” is a phrase taken from from Shakespeare's ‘Julius Caesar’, where Brutus talks to Cassius. It means that the key to success lies in knowing that a tide, or simply an opportunity, only occasionally comes to men and and it is up to us to recognize, and seize the opportunity. When people are confronted with Christ we must make a decision about what we are going to do with him. This is a warning right at the beginning of the Bible.

“Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with man for ever, for he is mortal.’” Genesis 6:3.

A time approaches when we will no longer be able to accept God’s forgiveness and know the life-changing effect of God’s Spirit in our lives. St. Paul reminded the members of the troubled church in Corinth not to procrastinate in making their minds up which way they are determined to go,

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

Similarly Joshua demanded that the Children of Israel make a decision,

“ . . . choose for youselves this day whom you will serve . . .” Joshua 24:15

When the opportunity to embrace Christ comes your way, accept him, as that opportunity may not come your way again.

John adds, in parentheses, a comment about Judas that clearly has a double meaning,

“(And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)” John 18:5

Judas, like all of us have made a deep-rooted decsion about Jesus. We will either worship him or will reject him.

Peter is stupid

Peter doesn’t seem to understand that he can trust God to care for him, whatever the situation. The reaction of Peter, it had to be the impetuous, impulsive Peter, is described in all four gopels. Peter draws a sword and attacks Malchus, severing his ear. Doubtless he was trying to kill him but perhaps, being just a fisherman, he was not very adept with the sword. Good intentions are no excuse for wrong behaviour. While trying to fight for Christ he was actually fighting against him. Jesus had to go to that cross in order to die for our sins, in order to be the once for all time sacrifice for our sins. J.C.Ryle comments in his Expository Notes on John,

“It is not those who are for a time most demonstrative and fervent, whose religion is deepest. John never smote with the sword; but John never denied his Lord, and was at the foot of the cross when Jesus died.”

Luke, the doctor, is always interested in the medical details. He tells us that Jesus ‘touched’ the ear and it was immediately healed. Even when being arrested Jesus thinks of the needs of even one of his adversaries – a remarkable demonstration of the love of God..

Matthew records that Jesus then reminded Peter that his power was in no way diminished. Peter had clearly not fully understood what being the Son of God meant.

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen in this way.” Matthew 26:53-54

The great Christian teacher, John Calvin, commented on Peter’s actions,

“It was exceedingly thoughtless of Peter to attempt to prove his faith by his sword, while he could not do so by his tongue. When he is called to make confession, he denies his Master; and now, without his Master’s authority, he raises a tumult.

Warned by so striking an example, let us learn to keep our zeal within proper bounds; and as the wantonness of our flesh is always eager to attempt more than God commands, let us learn that our zeal will succeed ill, whenever we venture to undertake any thing contrary to the word of God.”

Jesus simply says to Peter, ‘Put your sword away!’ It is amazing that Peter was not arrested and punished for this action. John wants us to focus on what Jesus said to Peter next,

“Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” John 18:11

In the Old Testament ‘the cup’ is repeatedly referred to as ‘the cup of God’s judgement ( or wrath)’. Jesus was about to bear the brunt of God’s judgment on himself. He was literally to become the sacrifical lamb.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” Galatians 3:13

Luther wrote in his commentary on this paasge in Galatians,

“And all the prophets saw this, that Christ was to become the greatest thief, murderer, adulterer, robber, desecrator, blasphemer, etc., there has ever been in the world. . . In short, he has, and bears all the sins of all men in his body – not in the sense that he has committed them, but in the sense that he took these sins, committed by us, upon his own body, in order to make satisfaction for them with his blood.”

Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath so that we can be free. No wonder he was to say on the cross, quoting the opening verse of Psalm 22 which describes in detail the Messiah’s future death by crucifixion,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

This is why the sky went dark during those last three hours, signifying that God had turned his back temporaliy on his Son as he carried our sin, the sin that God so hates.

BVP

John 17:17-26. The Prayer of Jesus (3) - for Subsequent Christians

Jesus here summarises all that is important to him and therefore to his people.

1. Sanctification

Sanctification is the gradual process by which christians become more and more like Jesus. When we first turn to Christ and ask him to forgive our sin and fill us with his Spirit we are justiofied – our standing before God is that of Jesus Christ. We are accepted by God because of Jesus’ righteousness. But that is just the beginning. He wants to change us into his likeness with his priorities and his standards of behaviour. He wants us to be holy.

Notice how this process of sanctification, that Jesus prays for, will take place,

“Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.” John 17:17

When Peter wrote his first letter, written a little while before he was executed, he longed to pass on what is really important. He starts by reminding them that God has given Christians a ‘new birth’, a salvation that is partially seen now but will be fully grasped in eternity. He then prepares the Christians for their lives here on earth.

“Therefore prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled, set you hope fully on the grace that is to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:13-16

Notice how similar this is to the prayer of Jesus. Holiness is equated with obedience, and obedience means obedience to God’s word. Think in practice what this will mean practically. Lying, stealing, pride, greed and sexual promiscuity whether heterosexual or homosexual should be actively shunned.

2. Unity

Unity is a priority for the Lord Jesus that is meant to last through the generations.

“My prayer is not for them (the disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” John 17:20

Jesus taught God’s word to his disciples and they in turn teach God’s word to the next generation and so on.

Unity in Purpose

The next phrase, “that all of them may be one” has been twisted out of its contextual meaning. It has become the idea that Jesus is praying for an outward unity between Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Non-Conformists and other denominations so that they can be in communion together. The context refutes this. Jesus is clearly praying that they may be one in fulfilling the role of the Father, of Jesus and of their apostles, by taking God’s Word to the people in the world so that they can be saved.

“. . . that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me.” John 17:21

So Jesus is praying that the priority of subsequent generations of Christians should also be “that the world may believe” that Jesus is truly the Son of God.

Verse 23 makes this even clearer. We have been given the Spirit of Jesus so that we can be like him and be like others who have the same Spirit.

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me.” John 17:23

Verse 26 again repeats the idea that Jesus will complete his work of mission through the work of his Spirit in subsequent generations of Christians,

“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known . . . and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:26

This was the understanding of the Scottish missionary doctor, David Livingstone,

“I will place no value on anything I have or possess unless it is in relationship to the kingdom of God.”

Unfortunately this is not the outlook of the majority of Christians today. It is probably true that only a minority are taking a firm stand for the Lord Jesus. Many stand up for good social standards and caring for those with issues but all too few stand up openly for the Lord Jesus. What is the reason for this? Don’t we believe that eternal life really matters? Perhaps we don’t believe Jesus when he says that he is the only way to eternal life.

An evangelical clergyman was at an Advisory Board to select people for training as lay readers in the Church of England. There were twelve candidates. He asked all of them,

“Do you think Jesus is the only way to God or the best way to God?”

All twelve replied, “The best way.”

To think like that is to turn our backs on the Lord Jesus and on what the Scriptures clearly teach.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, said to clergymen who failed to make a clear stand for the Lord Jesus said,

“You dare not because you have respect of persons. You fear the faces of men. You cannot because you have not overcome the world. You are not above the desire for earthly things. And it is impossible . . . . until you desire nothing more than God.”

What has happened to us? Why has this slow drift away from our ‘first love’ occurred (see Revelation 2:5)? Could it be because we have forgotten that we are in a spiritual battle? Our adversary the devil does not fill us with a hatred of God but with forgetfulness of God and of God’s word. We all need protection from the snares of Satan and this is exactly what Jesus is praying that God will do for us.

“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – so that they may be one as we are one.” John 17:11

Let us be clear. We saw in the previous chapter, and here Jesus repeats it, that we have been given God’s word to live by and to pass on to others. The world will not appreciate this. In fact verse 14 puts it even stronger by saying that the world will hate Christians who are uncompromising about their allegiance to the Lord Jesus and his teaching.

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” John 17:14

Jesus is praying that we may have the same love for the people in the world that the Godhead has. When Jesus was on earth he protected his disciples and, except for Judas Iscariot, kept them safely in God’s family (17:11). He knows that the devil will want to ensnare them, so he prays,

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.” John 17:15

The devil wants to seduce us back to a worldly way of thinking and living. We will find it much safer in this world not to speak up for Jesus and call people to him. You can go quietly to church on Sundays and hold your quiet beliefs and few will worry you. But talk openly of eternal life and there will be problems; but share the news about Jesus and there will also be joy just as Jesus prayed.

“. . . so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” John 17:13

‘God never intended his church to be a refrigerator in which to preserve perishable piety. He intended it to be an incubator in which to hatch converts’ (F. Linicome). There is an increasing spiritual battle actively raging. Many are now against the Lord Jesus, the creator and Saviour of the world. Lenin said,

“Every religious idea, every idea of God, every flirtation with the idea of God is unutterable vileness.”

Professor Richard Dawkins is so fervently atheistic that he called theistic belief,

“ . . . ignominious, contemptible and retarded.”

The late Queen Elizabeth II allegedly said to Paul Burrell, the previous butler to Princess Diana,

“Be careful Paul, there are powerful forces in this country of which we have no knowledge.”

This is certainly true for Christians.

Do you remember the catchphrase of General Tommy Franks, the American General in charge of operations against the Taliban? He said,

“Freedom is not free.”

The Scriptures call all Christians to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12), to ‘put on the full armour of God’ (Ephesians 6:11), and remember this includes having ‘your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace’ (Ephesians 6:15).

Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights activist said,

“If a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

Consequently all Christians are called to give glory to Christ by telling others how they can find eternal life.

Perceived Problems

Yes, you may say, I see this, but there are practical difficulties. This talk was first given at a Christian Medical Fellowship conference and these are the problems doctors may worry about but they are relevant to all.

No time

It is true that in our busy lives we don’t have much time but not much time is needed – just a question and a sentence or two. And we do have our own spare time that we can use for Christ.

Let us not follow Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s first Prime Minister who said,

“Things have come to a pretty pass when religion interferes with our private life.”

Employers

It has been claimed that our employers are not interested in spiritual matters and therefore our work is not a place to talk about spiritual matters or anything unrelated to work. But go to any workplace and people chatter about anything else in their breaks and times of relaxation. They will certainly talk about physical illnesses and their remedy so why not help others spiritually?

Hospitals employ chaplains to help patients spiritually because they recognise that people are complex beings and the physical, social, psychological and spiritual all inter-relate. In his report for 1997 called ‘On the State of Public Health’, Sir Kenneth Calman, the Chief Medical Officer emphasised that ‘concern for the individual’ should be a pre-eminent concern for those making decisions about health. He goes on to explain what he meant by this and included,

“ . . . holistic aspects to cover physical, social, psychological and spiritual aspects of life”.

We do place extraordinary emphasis on the physical and technical aspects of medicine and health, yet there is growing evidence that all these aspects are interrelated. Spiritual well-being gives physical benefits.

There is also the question of who has the prior claim if there is ever conflict. Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII declared that he was “The King’s good servant, but God’s first.”

The General Medical Council

The GMC has ruled on whether doctors can share their faith with patients. The 1993 Annual Report stated,

“The Council has hitherto taken the view that the profession of personal opinions or faith is not of itself improper and that the Council could intervene only where there was evidence that a doctor had failed to provide an adequate standard of care. The committee supported that policy and concluded that it would not be right to try to prevent doctors from expressing personal, religious, political or other views to patients. It was agreed however that doctors who caused patients distress by the inappropriate or insensitive expression of their religious, political or other personal views would not be providing the considerate care which patients are entitled to expect. This view was supported by the Council . . . “

The question is not “Should we witness to Jesus?” but “how should we witness to Jesus?”

The cost may be the occasional loss of prestige or respect, or gaining a reputation for being ‘keen’, or even a crank. It was Shoemaker who wrote in his book ‘Small is Beautiful’,

“I don’t object to being called a crank, it is small, but it causes revolutions!”

It is certainly a revolution that we need.

In our schools there is a drive to change the way people think about sexual matters. Groups that seem to encourage promiscuous sexual activity and openly reject what the Bible teaches are very active. Yet schools should be places where youngsters learn to question and weigh up answers. The greatest questions that have far reaching implications in all aspects of life are, ‘Who is Jesus?’ and ‘Is the Bible the Word of God?’ To encourage people to investigate the evidence for him and the Bible and investigating the effect that belief in him has in individuals and on a society should surely be a priority for educationalists.

Even staid professionals must learn to sensitively share the gospel without abusing our time. Our society and its members are going to hell! Opportunities must be grasped.

How should we witness to Jesus?

Confident Christianity courses are being held widely to help students have confidence to talk about the important of Jesus Christ. Such approaches are brilliant and to be recommended. However there is an old Chinese proverb that needs to be remembered,

“You cannot carve rotten wood.”

If people are not determined to be effective for Christ, then teaching about techniques and building up confidence is a waste of time. The cost of witnessing to Jesus will be too high. But rthen the question needs to be asked whether people who are not wanting to live for Christ are Christians?

We can also so stress clever techniques that we forget to be human. A student once asked a Christian speaker,

“How should I approach a Muslim?”

He was wisely advised,

“Say ‘hello’ and invite him for a meal.”

If we are not being hospitable and regularly inviting people into our homes for meals and accepting invitations to other peoples’ homes, we will be less effective for Christ. For those who long to share the gospel, may I remind you of some useful hints?

1. Start by entering a friendly relationship with whoever you are talking to. Show a genuine interest in them by asking about them and sharing about yourself. Trust is the basis for sharing the good news. If you are not liked, whatever you say is unlikely to be received well.

2. Find a way to talk about something with a Christian side to it, such as what you did at the weekend, or something in the news. If you ask a question, it is more than likely that you will be asked something similar. This morning I was walking my dog, and, whilst standing outside a church, I started to chat with a man who said he lived nearby. It was natural to ask whether he ever went to that church. He denied it strongly, “I’m a Roman Catholic!” he exclaimed. It is then simple to ask, ‘Do you go to the Catholic church?‘ ‘Never, they are a bunch of hypocrites!’ I smiled and added, ‘That may be so but the important question the Bible keeps asking each of us is ‘Am I a real Christian myself or aren’t I sure about these things? Surely a Christian is someone who loves Jesus and wants to live for him.’ It is so important to get to this point in a conversation as it then opens up the opportunity to talk more and possibly share why and how you became a Christian.

3. If you are hearing about their problems, you can ask this question,“Do you have a faith that helps you at a time like this or aren’t you sure about these things? It is important to give that escape clause in the question so they don’t just say ‘yes’ to please you.

You do hear some people say, “Talking about spiritual things is not my gift.” The fact is that it is not in anyone’s natural abiltiy at first. I went to an all boys’ school and an all male college at university. Then I moved down to London for my clinical training in medicine and was in for a shock. I was soon placed on a ‘gynaecology’ firm where I had to talk with women about personal matters! I was utterly humiliated, embarassed, and was completely out of my depth. But I had to learn how to talk about these intimate matters, even though I certainly did not feel gifted at this. I must have embarrassed many of these patients because of my incompetence. Yet I gradually became more confident and now find it is no longer a problem. Surely it is the same with regard to talking about spiritual matters.

Having a good supply of suitable Christian literature or books that you can give or lend to people is invaluable. I always try to have some in my car, case or pocket a copy of “Cure For Life” which was written for this very purpose. Many people have become convinced about Jesus by someone they like saying, “Can I lend you this book, I am sure you will find it interesting. Do let me know what you think of it.”

We all need to learn to be ‘inviters’. “Would you like to come with me and see what our church is like and stay on for lunch afterwards at our place?” All churches need to put on regular suitable evangelistic events that we can invite people to. When I was working we used to have buffet suppers in our home twice a year with an evangelistic speaker. We and others in our church would invite family, friends, work colleagues and all sorts of people to come and join us. Such special events need to be followed up by a Christian Basics course such as Christianity Explored or an Alpha course where people can learn more about Jesus and his gospel.

When Paul wrote to the church members at Colossae, he included a short section on evangelism (Colossians 4:2-6). This contained the phrase, “Make the most of every opportunity”. Opportunities are everywhere if only we can spot them. Let me share one example.

I was once on a teaching ward round in my hospital when we came to a very pleasant lady in her 50’s who had liver secondaries and was feeling very weak. She was terminal. She asked if she could have a private talk with me later. When I returned she said,

• “I am finding this business of dying very difficult. Could you speed it up for me?

She clearly wanted ‘euthanasia’. I replied,

“We don’t do that,” but we went on to have a discussion about what she was finding difficult and the things we could do to help her. I wondered if there was some spiritual problem underlying all this so I continued,

“I wonder if there is a reason that God is keeping you going like this. Do you think you have got everything ready?”

“I think so,” she replied, “I have cleared all my cupboards at home.”

“Yes, but on a deeper level, are you sure you are ready to meet God - or aren’t you sure about these things?”

“Oh! I think I’m ready, I’ve never done anyone any harm.”

Here was this lady about to meet her maker and she clearly wasn’t ready. Fortunately our hospital had Gideon Bibles in the bedside lockers so I asked if I could show her a few things.

“I would like that,” she replied.

The first thing she needed to be clear about was that when we die we will face judgement. I wondered about using the passage in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10 (“punished with everlasting destruction . . .”) but decided that the wording was too aggressive in this situation so we looked up Hebrews 9:27.

“. . . man is destined to die once and after that to face judgement.”

The great attraction of using this verse is that the adjoining verses both talk about Jesus saying that died to “take away the sins of many people.”

I illustrated that Christ had come to forgive us from the sin that separates us from God by placing a book on my open hand. I explained that this book represented my sin, which acts as a barrier between God and myself. My religion, which was illustrated by my fingers actively moving under the book cannot help get rid of the barrier. She seemed to understand this so we went on to talk about sin and to show that no-one is naturally good enough for God. Her claim about ‘not doing anybody any harm’ was both untrue and certainly inadequate. So we looked up Romans 3:11.

“There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God.”

She then agreed that being right with God was never something she had bothered about at all. We also looked up Isaiah 59:2,

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden your face from you, so that he will not hear.”

As we talked she began to understand her problem.

“How can I get right with God?” she asked.

Sitting on her bed we talked about the Lord Jesus. We talked about his death on that cross and how he died to take away the consequences of our sin and to enable us to be right with God. We then turned to 1 Peter 2:24.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

As we talked it all seemed so clear to her, the Holy Spirit was convicting her of sin and righteousness and judgement in a non-aggressive way. She then said,

“I need to be forgiven by Jesus. Will you pray for me now?”

At this point the nurses sitting at the adjacent nurses station jumped up and pulled the screens round even though they give hardly any privacy. They must have been listening. I prayed thanking God for what he had done for us on the cross, and asking that, just as he had promised, he would put her name in the ‘Book of Life’, forgive her sin and give her his Spirit. She was very grateful. I left her with a list of the verses we had looked up as well as two more on assurance,

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has passed over from death to life.” John 5:24

The Lord gave her extraordinary joy that continued.

Her husband phoned me up the next morning.

“Are you the doctor who spoke to my wife yesterday?”

“Yes,” I replied rather hesitantly as I didn’t know what was coming.

“We are not a religious family in any way, but I would like to thank you for spending the time with her. She has such peace. Would you mind explaining to me what you said to her?’

He phoned me at home a few days later at the weekend and came for tea. I was interested to see that somehow he had obtained a large unused Gideon Bible, Authorised Version, which had the words, ‘Headmistress’ printed in bold type on the outside. We went over the gospel in a very similar way. He wasn’t ready to commit himself but I gave him a copy of ‘Cure for Life’ and said he could phone at any time.

His wife moved to the local hospice where I visited her on one occasion. She was holding firmly onto her Saviour even though she was sleepier from the drugs. We looked at Romans 8:1 which is another great verse on assurance.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because . . . ”

To make this simpler to understand, I wrote her name on a piece of paper and placed it inside the Bible.

“Let this Bible represent the Lord Jesus and this piece of paper represent you. Because you are now ‘in Christ’ when you meet God he will not see your sins at all, he will see that you are in Christ and have ‘his righteousness’. Furthermore Jesus is now in heaven and because you are in Christ he will take you to be with him there.”

The nurses told me that she later asked them to read her the whole chapter of Romans 8. About two weeks later I had a phone call from her husband to say that she had just died. Apparently one of the last things she said to her husband was to ask him to become a Christian and made him promise to “go to the doctor’s church”. He did faithfully come and he later attended a Basics course when he also committed himself to Christ.

What a joy it is to be involved in gospel ministry.

Why don’t we all make serving the Lord Jesus our priority?

Surly it is because we are living for this life and not the next. There was another lady who was also terminally ill. She asked that she should be buried with a fork in her hand. Her grown up son queried why she wanted this.

“When I was young, whenever I was told after the first course, “keep your fork”, it meant that there was something better to come – the sweet course.”

Isn’t this the reason why we want to use our lives primarily to serve Jesus? Treasures on earth and a good reputation here will be little benefit then. Just being good neighbours or colleagues will not be sufficient when we meet the Lord and he asks us, “Have you lived for me?” When we meet him will he say to us -

“Well done good and faithful servant!” Matthew 25:21

Even the highest standards of education and medicine only help for a few years. We will all die. However well we care for people, and prepare them for a good life here, it will not put them in good stead when they meet the Lord in judgement. Jesus himself warns us,

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . . but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Matthew 6:19

In the nineteenth century there was a gentleman who lived in the south of the United States. He had an old Christian slave. When the master died they told him he had gone to heaven. The old slave shook his head.

“I’s afraid Massa no gone there,” he said.

“But why Ben?” he was asked.

“Cos, when Massa go north or go on a journey to the Springs, he talk about it a long time and get ready. I never hear him talk about going to heaven; never see him get ready to go there.”

It is surely our responsibility to serve the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind (Matt 22:37). Otherwise we have fallen into apathy and sin. Only a live fish can swim against the stream. It is the rule of the Christian life – if we do not produce fruit for the Lord Jesus we will have to stand eventually before him like a winter’s tree, bare and withered.

BVP

John 17:6-19. The Prayer of Jesus (2) - for His Disciples

Jesus knows that we, his disciples will always tend to be satisfied with trifles and consequently will miss out on what is really important. C.S Lewis wrote in ‘The Weight of Glory’,

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward … promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

This section of Jesus’ prayer gives a beautiful summary of what being a disciple of Jesus means. Although this passage primarily refers to the eleven remaining disciples it applies to all Christians.

We recognise the authority of Jesus

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.” John 17:6

Jesus is speaking to his Father and claims that he is the way to know God. He teaches that a group of people have been given to him by God. This theme is repeated

“They know that everything you have given me comes from you.” John 17:7

Christians recognise that God was in Christ. This is repeated in the following verses,

“They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.” John 17:8

“All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.” John 17:10

All true Christians assert that Jesus is one with the Lord God, Jehovah.

We recognise the authority of the Word of God

“You gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.” John 17:6

The proof that people are in God’s kingdom is that they have obeyed God. Without there being a radical change of mind to stop living for ourselves but to live for God, that is repentance, no-one is saved. Jesus is God’s word and the Bible is God’s word. The two cannot be dissociated. This theme is repeated in the next verse.

“For I gave them the words you gave me, and they accepted them.” John 17:8

Christians accept that the teaching of Christ is the teaching of God. Without this desire to obey what God teaches, a person is not a Christian. They are not saved. Jesus taught clearly,

“If you love me you will obey what I command.” John 14:15

“If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching.” John 14:23

If anyone reading this is really unsure whether Jesus is truly come from God, the first essential step is to make the decision to obey what he teaches,

“If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” John 7:17

We have a special relationship with God

“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” John 17:9

What a thrilling statement this is, Christ’s disciples are members of God’s family. His disciples are given God’s joy as we listen to him and obey him. However it is not all plain sailing

We will be unpopular

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” John 17:14

We are in the world to serve Christ by living and speaking as he has taught but this will inevitably cause opposition. It is when we pass on the uncompromising things that Jesus says, that results in antagonism. Don’t speak up for Jesus and you won’t be spoken against, but refuse to share what Jesus taught, be ashamed of him, and you will face the prospect of being rejected by God.

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory . . .” Luke 9:26

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32

We are set apart for Christ’s purposes as we follow his teaching

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17

Jesus goes on to explain what part of this means - we will go into the world to share the good news of salvation just as Jesus did for his disciples.

“As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” (i.e. set apart for God) John 17:18

Word and World

It would take too long to go through this majestic prayer with all its detail, but let us concentrate on some key ideas it contains. There are two key concepts, ‘word ‘ and ‘world’.

1. Word

Note how frequently Jesus draws his disciples back to this essential notion.

“They have obeyed your word.” (17:6) He is clearly referring to God’s word.

“I gave them the words you gave me.” (17:8 ) This is again referring to God’s word.

“I have given them your word.” (17:14) Why does he stress this?

“Your word is truth – sanctify them by the truth.” (17:17)

Somehow the message in God’s word will sanctify his disciples, causing them to be set apart for God. This change will only occur when people read or hear what God has said and commit themselves to obey. Where do we find God’s word? Verse 12 is very clear,

“So that Scripture would be fulfilled.”

Doubtless Christians would say ‘Amen’ to this. God does teach the world through his word. It is however all too easy to give lip service to such thoughts; the test of a belief is how much we act on it.

‘Young Pillars’ is a selection of Charles Schultz’s famous ‘Peanuts’ cartoons. In one of them a teenage boy is on the phone to his girl friend. He says,

“I’ve begun to unravel the mystery of the Old Testament – I’ve started to read it.”

It is clear that Jesus wanted his disciples to be word centred. It would seem that one of Jesus’ priorities after his resurrection was that his disciples should fully understand the Scriptures and realise that they are all about him. When Jesus joined Cleopas and his companion on their 7-mile walk to Emmaus on the morning of his resurrection he said to them,

““Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:27

Later that day Jesus appeared to the rest of his disciples. After showing them his hands and feet and eating with them he said,

“This is what I told you while I was still with you: “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures.” Luke 24:44-45

The writings of the apostles are immersed with quotes and concepts from the Old Testament. It is clear from the story of Philip in Acts 8 that he had been well trained by the apostles in how to understand, and learn by heart, the Scriptures. When the Ethiopian eunuch asked him, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about?” it says,

“Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” Acts 8:35

Why has our generation of Christians largely lost this emphasis and what can we do to restore God’s word to its proper place in the lives of ourselves, our families and our churches?

In the book of Proverbs there is a section called ‘Sayings of the Wise’. These explain how people can most benefit from the Scriptures.

“Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.” Proverbs 22:17-18

Here are the four steps that will help make the Word of God live in my life,

1. Read it seriously – Pay attention and listen ( in those days only a minority could read)

2. Meditate on the meaning – Apply to your heart

3. Memorise – Keep them in your heart

4. Teach what you have learned to others – Ready on your lips.

Those who teach or discuss what the Bible teaches are always those who learn the most.

2. World

We have noted earlier how God’s love for the world is central to Jesus’ thinking.

“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son . . .” John 3:16

In John’s gospel the ‘world’ nearly always refers to ‘those who are opposed to God’, that is those who are ‘worldly’.

Yet he strangely says in verse 9,

“I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me.”

If he loves the whole world, why isn’t he praying for it? Jesus goes on to say in verse 11 that he is leaving the world but that his disciples will remain in the world. Why are they still “in the world”? – certainly not “to be of it”, instead they are to win it back to God.

Should we Christians not have different motives from our colleagues who are “of the world”? Are we clearly that different? When I was a Senior Registrar and unsuccessfully applying for teaching hospital consultant posts, a Senior Jewish Consultant, who used to take me to his synagogue, took me aside and said,

“Do you know why you are having difficulties getting a Consultant post – it is because you are known as being religious. And there is something I want to say to you about this, “Please don’t change””.

Contrast this with the advice I received from a very Senior Christian consultant after I had obtained a Consultant post,

“Don’t let your Christianity be too forward as it will prevent you having much influence in the world.”

The priority that Jesus has for his disciples is loud and clear in verse 18, where Jesus is praying,

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

His disciples are sent into the world to share the gospel of salvation. They will do this by being,

a) Teachers of the Word of God, the Bible

b) Active in the world but keeping to God’s priorities

Jesus wants his disciples to persuade others to come back to God. Jesus is about to return to heaven but he has a new body on earth, a body in which he has placed his Spirit. This body is his church, which will be built on these his disciples, whom he has left in the world to complete God’s work. This is the work he has always intended his chosen people to fulfil, to be a light for the nations, a light for the Gentiles.

Yes, someone may be saying, but wasn’t this prayer referring to the twelve disciples? Surely we are in a different situation. Is it wrong for us to concentrate primarily for the physical, social and psychological needs? That is surely what the world wants us to do. To answer this, Jesus next moves onto the third section of this prayer that certainly does apply to all of us and a study of this will follow.

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John 17:1-5. The Prayer of Jesus (1), for Himself

A group of medical students were on a ward round with their consultant and were introduced to a patient. After examining the patient they withdrew to a teaching room and the consultant said to the students,

“This man will probably choke on his food and die within six months. Can you tell him what the meaning of life is?”

What do you think of that consultant? Was he overstepping the mark? Or are we unconsciously under-stepping the mark by not talking about wider issues?

A short while ago I was in Glasgow. The city motto used to be emblazoned on its trams and buses,

“Let Glasgow flourish.”

This is an anaemic truncation of the original motto chosen by the city fathers,

“Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word and the praising of his name.”

Those city fathers were boldly confident about the truths they lived by. Today we have largely lost this confidence in our society, even in Christian society.

It is significant that Jesus faced this very same tension near the beginning of his public ministry. Mark 1:32-39 describes a day when crowds of people came to Jesus to be healed and he was working on into the evening. Yet Jesus was bothered. So the following morning he rose early, while it was still dark, and went out alone to pray. This is where the disciples found him later as further crowds were collecting. “Everyone is looking for you”, he is told – the presumption is that the news about his healing skills was travelling fast.

“Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’” Mark 1:38

We know what Jesus preached about – the Kingdom of God and eternal life were his constant themes. After talking this over with his heavenly Father he concluded that the news about eternal life was his priority. He keeps telling people that eternal life must be everybody’s priority.

Just after Jesus has miraculously fed the 5,000 he warns his listeners about having wrong priorities.

“I tell you the truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” John 6:26

He then says,

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” John 6:26-27

Jesus taught that eternal life was his priority and that this should be the goal of all people.

John 17 is the great final prayer of Jesus in the upper room, given just before his arrest and execution. This passage really shows what was at the forefront of his mind. It is divided into three sections, he prays for himself, then for the twelve disciples and finally for subsequent generations of Christians. This article deals with the first section.

Jesus’ Own Priority

This section begins,

“After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed.” John 17:1

Looking upwards was a common form of prayer, as lying prostrate on the floor also was. When Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus ‘looked up’ and prayed (John 11:41). However in this situation John clearly intends us to see there was more in this. He was looking up to his Father, from where he had come and where he was now looking forwards to returning to.

Jesus knew of the awful time that lay ahead of him.

“Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you.” John 17:1

The glory of God is closely associated with the glory of the Son. Jesus recognised that his being ‘lifted up’ referred to his execution but also that his death would be the glory of his whole life. The sacrifice of his own life would not only glorify him but would also glorify his Father who allowed this. His death would lead to many people being saved from the consequence of the sin that separated them from God. Oh the glory of that cross! In another sense the death of Jesus will be the pathway to his return to live again in the glory of heaven.

Earlier in John’s gospel we repeatedly read that his ‘hour has not yet come’ (2:4, 7:6, 7:8, 7:30, 8:20) but when he meets some Greeks he realises that his ‘hour has now come’.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:23-24

This ‘hour’ clearly refers to his execution. His death would be his ‘glorification’ and every Christian acknowledges just that. However all Jesus did was to bring glory to his Father and consequently all we do should be to bring glory to our heavenly Father.

The realisation that he was shortly to be tortured to death led Jesus to pray, just as impending difficult times should lead all of us to pray. He comforts himself with the relationship he has with his Father and the fact that he had fulfilled all he had been sent to do.

“For you granted him (the Son) authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.” John 17:2

This is Jesus’ focus and is can be ours too. Christians have this same relationship with God because of Jesus. Today, in Western society, people have much to live with, but little to live for. Our society behaves as if physical and material well-being are all-important and that spiritual well-being is much less important. Jesus does not agree, death is the route to eternal life both for him and for his people.

Someone may be saying,

“I can see that was Jesus’ priority but he was on a somewhat different plane to the rest of us and he did live in a different era after all.”

Today many ask the question, ‘Is eternal life even possible? Isn’t this just a fairy tale?’ They follow the thinking of Bertrand Russell who said,

‘When I die, I rot!’

This brings us to the question of authority. Jesus is very clear, there is eternal life available and he goes on to say in his prayer what this is and how it may be found,

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you . . .” John 17:3

Eternal life is to be in a relationship with God who created the universe. But this begs the question, ‘How can we know an infinite God that we cannot see?’ Jesus goes on to answer this; he equates himself with his heavenly Father, and again states that he is the door to eternal life.

“ . . . that they may know you and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:3-4

To be in a relationship with Jesus is to be in a relationship with his Father. This is very similar to his response to Thomas’s question,

“How can we know the way?”

Jesus replied,

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Jesus is saying that the only way to be given ‘eternal life’ is to be committed to himself, God’s Christ, God’s chosen king. He then expalins to Philip, who has asked to see the Father,

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9

Jesus finishes this section of his prayer by remembering the close relationship he had with his heavenly Father in the past and looks forwards to his return to this state in the near future.

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” John 17:5

Jesus is God

When the first missionaries went to Japan, a young Japanese man, who wanted to learn English, was given the Gospel of John to translate into his native tongue. In a short time he became very restless and agitated. At last he burst out with the question, "Who is this Man about whom I have been reading, this Jesus? You call him a man, but He must be God."

This is the message of the whole New Testament, just as it is the focus of John’s gospel. If he is not God he cannot forgive our sin and his death would have been a meaningless sacrifice. Here are some of the passages in John’s gospel that emphasises this fact.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made . . .” John 1:1-3

“No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (Son), who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:18

“’I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was (born), I am!’ At this they picked up stones to stone him. . .” John 8:58-59

“’I and the Father are one.’ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him. . . . ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’ ” John 10:30-33

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9

“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God.’ John 20:28

Jesus knows that he is about to return to live with his Father in heaven where the glory of God will also be his.

Application for all of us

In the Old Testament God is usually referred to as LORD. Capital letters are used when the tetragammon, the four Hebrew letters often translated Jehovah or Jahweh, is in the original. In the New Testament, Jesus is called Lord more than 700 times. In the Book of Acts alone Jesus is referred to as Lord more than 90 times. If the apostles put such an emphasis on worshipping Jesus as Lord of the universe, shouldn’t we?

In 1991 a Gallup poll showed that 78 percent of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die. However, many of them hardly ever pray, read the Bible, or attend church. They admit that they live to please themselves instead of God. Why would these people want to go to heaven?

In an article titled, ‘Are We Ready for Heaven?’ Maurice R. Irwin points out that only 34 percent of the American people who call themselves Christians attend church at least once a week. He says,

“We sing, 'When all my labours and trials are o'er, and I am safe on that beautiful shore, just to be near the dear Lord I adore will through the ages be glory for me.' However, unless our attitudes toward the Lord and our appreciation of Him change greatly, heaven may be more of a shock than a glory.”

The only way to a life in heaven is to know Jesus personally and the proof of that is a life committed to obeying him. We all know whether we have made that decision and are proceeding down that path.

There are many who hope they will go to heaven but are unsure. Jesus was certain of his destinay and this gave him courage to fulfil his Father’s wishes. The Bible wants all Christians to be just as certain about our destiny as this clarifies how we should live in the meantime. The following verses on ‘assurance’ are some that all Christians should know by heart and understand:

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.” John 5:24

“I tell you the truth, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life.” John 6:47

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13

A patient of mine, who had recently committed her life to Christ, had advanced cancer and was moved to the local hospice. I visited her there and wanted to remind her of the promises of God that all who have truly believed in Jesus, which means who are committed to obeying him, have eternal life. She was shown the following promise in the Bible:

“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

I then wrote her name boldly on a piece of paper and placed this in the centre of my Bible and then explained,

“Let this Bible represent the Lord Jesus. You have committed your life to him, so in a very real sense you are ‘in him’. So when God looks at you, he doesn’t see your sin, he only sees the righteousness of Christ. Furthermore the Lord Jesus has returned to heaven so because you are ‘in him’ you will go to join him there. For the Bible encourages us with this promise, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’”

That lady was so excited she asked a nurse to read the whole of Romans 8, a wonderful chapter on assurance, to the others in her unit in the hospice! They read,

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Romans 8:35

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

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John 16:25-33. Recovery from Spiritual Failure

Jesus is coming to the end of this final teaching session with his disciples in the upper room. He knows he is shortly going to be arrested, tried and then crucified. With him are a motley crew of weak followers and he is about to leave them to continue his work. He knows that they will fail him yet, in spite of this, he is still going to ordain them for the task of world evangelisation. How could the Lord trust such a weak and at times silly people with this task? The theologian C.H.Dodd wrote,

“It is part of the character and genius of the Church that its founding members were discredited men; it owed its existence not to their faith, courage, or virtue, but to what Christ had done with them; and this they could never forget.”1

It is the power of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit that has enabled such failures to change the world for God.

How different this statement is to the self-confidence the disciples had expressed earlier. Peter had exclaimed that he is ready to lay down his life for Jesus, yet within one day Peter would deny he knew Jesus three times. The disciples think they understand Jesus now and are committed to him but Jesus knows better,

“Then Jesus’ disciples said, ‘Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” John 16:29-30

Jesus warns them that they will fail and even desert him but he encourages them that that will not be the end either for Jesus or his mission because God is heavily involved.

“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” John 16:32

Jesus is equipping his disciples by telling them these facts ahead of time. He does this so that they will not be overcome by failure but will bounce back to serve him. Only one of the disciples would succumb to his failure and that was Judas Iscariot. He was also given the opportunity to repent and return to serving the Lord but he refused! Jesus finished this challenging warning with really encouraging words,

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

We have all failed to live as God wants in so many ways but those setbacks are meant to remind us of how much we need the forgiveness the Lord always offers us and the power of his Holy Spirit to start again living his way.

It is so easy to give the appearance of serving God when we are really serving ourselves. The singer, Bob Dylan, had a ‘Christian phase’ and it was at this time that he sang, ‘Gotta serve somebody’. In this came the words, ‘It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody’. Jesus warns us that we are either serving God or a god substitute, and that substitute is usually ‘me’. Surely we can all recognise that all of us have been failures in serving God.

Failures, but always hope

The Lord recognises the confusion in his disciples’ minds so decides to speak to them very clearly. He says,

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer be using this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.” John 16:25

Figurative language means language that is often obscure and has to be thought through to understand the real meaning. Jesus had often spoken in parables. Jesus had said,

“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 2:19

Later the disciples understood that he was not speaking literally. John later wrote,

“But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.” John 2:22

None of his disciples made much sense of the death of Jesus on that cross until after his resurrection.

On another occasion Jesus washed Peter’s feet but Peter did not understand the significance at the time. Jesus then said,

“You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7

After his resurrection Jesus did just this. Starting with Clopas and his companion on the seven mile walk to Emmaus when Jesus said,

“How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:25-27

Later that same day he met with the disciples in the locked upper room and said,

“This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Luke 24:44

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to have heard what Jesus said on those occasions!

Ronald Reagan, when President of the United States once said,

“Meaning no disrespect to the religious convictions of others, I still can't help wondering how we can explain away what to me is the greatest miracle of all and which is recorded in history. No one denies there was such a man, that he lived and that he was put to death by crucifixion. Where...is the miracle I spoke of? Well consider this and let your imagination translate the story into our own time -- possibly to your own home town. A young man whose father is a carpenter grows up working in his father's shop. One day he puts down his tools and walks out of his father's shop. He starts preaching on street corners and in the nearby countryside, walking from place to place, preaching all the while, even though he is not an ordained minister. He does this for three years. Then he is arrested, tried and convicted. There is no court of appeal, so he is executed at age 33 along with two common thieves. Those in charge of his execution roll dice to see who gets his clothing -- the only possessions he has. His family cannot afford a burial place for him so he is interred in a borrowed tomb. End of story? No, this uneducated, propertyless young man who...left no written word has, for 2000 years, had a greater effect on the world than all the rulers, kings, emperors; all the conquerors, generals and admirals, all the scholars, scientists and philosophers who have ever lived -- all of them put together. How do we explain that?...unless he really was who he said he was.”

Jack was a man who became a Christian later in life and kept saying in the Bible Study Group he attended,

“Why is the Bible so difficult. Why isn’t it written in a simpler way so everyone can understand?”

John Calvin suggested that the Lord permits us to be ‘stupefied for a time’, so that we learn our own spiritual poverty, before he makes everything clear for us. If everything was obvious we could become proud and therefore less dependent on the Lord for understanding. Stories are a brilliant way to communicate but the full meaning may only become apparent later.

Jesus is intent on bringing as many people as possible back to God but he makes it clear that this can only be achieved if we become followers of himself, the Son of God. Jesus had said,

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows the Son except the Father, and no-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Matthew11:27

Similarly John said about Jesus,

“No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:18

Each of us needs the Holy Spirit to make these things clear to us, just as the disciples needed the same Spirit to give them understanding.

“But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes he will guide you into all truth.” John 16:12

It is this same Spirit of God who reveals to us what he revealed to his prophets and apostles and has been passed on to us in Scripture. The Lord does not want us to remain confused, he wants us all to be clear both about our standing with God and the purpose for which he has chosen us.

Failures but loved by God

Because of what Jesus did on that cross, his followers will have direct access to God. This is a staggering thought. The God who created this universe becomes our Father. We can talk with him about anything. He understands us. What a privilege this is.

“In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf.” John 16:26

We have direct access to our heavenly Father in prayer. What a disaster it is when we do not promote this relationship by sharing all that is on our hearts with him. We have direct access to the Father because we belong to Jesus Christ.

This remarkable statement continues,

“No, the Father loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” John 16:27

The Christian message is not primarily about how we should live on this earth harmoniously, it is about Jesus, who he is and what he came to earth to do. Jesus continued,

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” John 16:28

Failures but now they believe

The penny is beginning to drop. The disciples respond,

“Now you are speaking clearly and without figues of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” John 16:30

People often ask questions to determine how much a person understands, but it now dawns on them that to test God questions his competence and is a stupid exercise. It is we who are in the dock, not Jesus. The disciples’ conclusion is what the whole book of John is trying to lead readers towards. We must understand that Jesus is the only Son of God and then commit ourselves to him by obeying him, living as he wants – this is the meaning of ‘believe’.

“You believe at last!’ - Jesus answered.

What a wonderful position to come to. This makes sense of our existence. This brings believers together with a united purpose – or it should. The reality is that we are all so weak. Jesus now reminds his disciples of this.

“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone.” John 16:31a

What a shame it is when some pressure, whether from someone inside the church or from outside, leads believers today to separate from each other and split from his church. The Lord is, in a very real sense, present in his people who, together, are resolved to serve him in this world. To leave such a serving community is, in one respect, to leave God. We are the ones who are damaged when we separate from Jesus and his church, Jesus has his relationship with his Father.

“You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” John 16:32

Failures but they will be satisfied

Why did Jesus explain these coming problems to his disciples? Surely it is because becoming a Christian is not the road to an easy life, it is just the opposite. Jesus was an incredibly strong man. He was clear where he was going and he went that way determinedly.

Winston Churchill once said about a person,

“He’s a humble man – and for good reason!”

Jesus was strong and yet he was humble. He knew clearly who he was and the gifts he had, yet he never forces himself on anybody. Weakness is not the same as meekness. We need to be strong and determined if we, like our Lord, are to fulfil our commission.

We have a job to do and this will bring opposition from those antagonistic to our purpose. The Lord wants us to feel secure as we live our lives for him.

“I have told you these things, so that you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Do note the contrasts that Jesus highlights here. People are either ‘in him’ or they are ‘in the world’. We can experience God’s peace even when there are troubles and trials all around us. When Jesus says that he has overcome the world, he surely means that he has overcome worldliness, as as we live with and for him we can experience this same victory.

John Newton was a rough, dirty sailor with a foul mouth and an appetite for rotten living. He hated life and life hated him. He was captain of a slave ship. Then someone placed in his hands a copy of Thomas à Kempis' The Imitation of Christ. He also had the gift of a good mother who told him about the Saviour when he was young. And then he was saved. He went all over England sharing his faith. Well past his "retirement" age, he had to have an assistant stand in the pulpit with him on Sundays. He was nearly blind and spoke in whispers, but nothing could keep him from preaching while he still had breath.

One Sunday, while delivering his message he repeated the sentence: “Jesus Christ is precious.” His helper whispered to him: “But you have already said that twice.” Newton turned to his helper and said loudly, “Yes, I've said it twice, and I'm going to say it again.” The stones in the ancient sanctuary fairly shook as the grand old preacher said again: “Jesus Christ is precious!”

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1C.H.Dodd cited by D.A.Carson in ‘The Gospel According to John’, Eerdmans/Apollos, p. 549

John 16:16-28. Sorrow Turns to Joy

Can you imagine how the disciples felt as they saw Jesus hanging on that cross? Devastation, nausea, and depression would have all been mixed together. They were tired. They had heard Jesus talk with them through the night. They had then left the upper room to walk to the Garden of Gethsemane on Mount Olivet. It is understandable that they fell asleep whilst Jesus prayed. Peter had then denied his association with Jesus before witnessing the crucifixion. Guilt and failure would have been part of that awful experience. Where could they go now? Would they, Jesus’ followers, be next to face the authorities’ wrath. No wonder they hid together in the locked upper room.

But then imagine the excitement and hope when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome found the empty tomb and were told by an angel that Jesus had risen from the dead. Matthew records,

“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell the disciples.” Matthew 28:8

The Greek original has the word ‘mega’ associated with the word ‘joy’. They then met the risen Jesus who reassured them but gave them a task,

“Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers . . .” Matthew 28:10

Imagine the mixture of puzzlement, joy and hope that the disciples experienced as they heard this news. Peter and John ran immediately to the sepulchre and saw the burial wraps lying on the stone as if Jesus had just passed up through them. After this Jesus met two followers as they walked the seven miles to the village of Emmaus. They didn’t recognise him as, during the journey, they were reminded by Jesus of the Old Testament Scriptures that gave great detail about the coming of the Messiah. Only when they ate together did they recognise who he was. They rushed back to tell the disciples the news. What would the disciples feel now? Finally Jesus appeared to most of the disciples in the locked upper room and said to them all,

“Peace be with you!” John 20:19

Can you not feel the ecstatic joy they now experienced? Could this be true? The Lord had transformed their misery to joy. This is precisely what the Lord has prophesied would happen when they were in the upper room.

“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” John 16:20

The Old Testament prophets also foresaw the day when the Messiah would suffer horribly and be killed,

“He was despised and also rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” Isaiah 53:3

Yet his misery would be transformed to mega-joy both for himself and his followers.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

This is surely a parable of what God wants all of us to experience. Sorrow and emptiness is transformed into hope and joy because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

R.A. Torrey

R.A.Torrey was a great Bible teacher in the USA, becoming the pastor at Moody Church in Chicago and then founder of the Moody Bible Institute in Los Angeles. His daughter, Elizabeth, developed diphtheria when she was twelve years old, and when they thought she was recovering she suddenly died. This was heart-breaking for the Torrey family. As she had diphtheria, she had to be buried the following day. The night she died there was a horrendous thunderstorm with howling winds and torrential rain which continued throughout the following day. Gloom was both physical and emotional. His wife turned to her husband to encourage him and said,

“Archie, I’m so glad Elizabeth is with the Lord and not in that box!”

In spite of their faith, their hearts were broken.

However the following day R.A.Torrey was walking down a Chicago street and, as he turned a corner, he thought about the emptiness that lay ahead for the family. He cried out audibly,

“Oh Elizabeth, Elizabeth!”

He recounted what happened next,

“Just then, this fountain, the Holy Spirit that I had in my heart, broke forth with such power as I think I have never experienced before and it was the most joyful moment I have ever known in my life. Oh how wonderful is the joy of the Holy Ghost. It is an unspeakable joyous thing to have your joy not in things about you, not even in your most dearly beloved friends, but to have within a fountain even springing up, springing up, always springing up. Springing up under all circumstances unto everlasting life.”

That was a notable moment when the Holy Spirit visited him in a very special way – giving mega-comfort in the midst of sorrow. He still had pain whenever he thought of his daughter but the Holy Spirit comforted him. Now R.A.Torrey has died and gone to be with his Lord and we know that there ‘every tear will be wiped away’ (Revelation 7:17).

Jesus

Jesus, in the upper room explains how his disciples sadness will be turned to joy . Jesus goes on to illustrate what he means. It is not through the abolition of sorrowful experiences, it is by capping these with a greater joyful experience.

“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” John 16:21

This analogy is striking as Jesus is preparing his disciples to go out into the world to bear fruit. Having a physical child is thrilling but so also is having spiritual children. This does indeed fill God’s people with great joy that overcomes the other difficulties we will face. Being fruitful for Christ is surely a reference to the first command God gave to man,

“Be fruitful and increase in number.” Genesis 1:28

The joy of giving birth and having a child overcomes the pain of the delivery. Leading others to come to know Christ is thrilling. Sorrow is transformed to joy.

This happened to the disciples on resurrection day. This can be our experience today. The sorrows of life can be pregnant with great joy for those who are living closely with the Lord Jesus. Leave him out of the picture and our peace and joy will quickly vanish.

The Bible gives many examples of people who found this joy when they walked with God. Moses had to flee from Egypt in fear for his life because he had murdered someone and spent the next 40 years as an exile in the land of Midian. Then he met and obeyed God, he returned to Egypt and led the Children of Israel out of captivity and through the desert for another 40 years. Although he experienced many difficulties, God was with him as a real friend.

“The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.” Exodus 33:11

Abraham obeyed God although he experienced real sorrow because he had no child. But this turned to great Joy when Sarah gave birth to Isaac in her old age. Isaac means ‘laughter’.

All our present difficulties have the potential for joy. Our joy will only be complete when we join our Lord in heaven but before then we can and should have this experience of deep joy. Think of the difficulties all people face today. Illness, death, redundancy, financial problems, marriage and relationship problems. These can remove our joy and fill us with despair. The disciples shared these experiences throughout their lives but they also had a deeper joy that trumped their sorrows. Jesus said to them,

“Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no-one will take away your joy.” John 16:22

Paul, who suffered much, was able to write,

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transforms all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Joy is mentioned nine times in the book of Philippians. Remember how Paul was flogged and imprisoned unjustly in Philippi, yet out of that experience came the new life and the church in that city.

Prayer

How could Jesus talk like this when he knew he was about to be flogged, crucified and killed within a few hours? It was surely because he knew he was where his heavenly Father wanted him to be. He was obedient and living closely with his Father. He now talks about prayer in relation to experiencing this joy. When our close walk with God is broken by sin, we inevitably stop praying for his will to be fulfilled and we will lose this basis for our joy.

“In that day you will no longer ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:23-24

It will no longer be possible for the disciples to ask Jesus for anything once he has returned to his Father, but they and we still have an open channel with God. We can pray directly with the Father so long as we ask ‘in his name’.

This has been badly misunderstood by many. Some think that so long as you tag Jesus’ name at the end of a prayer you will receive whatever you want. This has been used to pursue material gains on the basis that having a Lamborghini, a luxury yacht or holiday home brings ‘joy that is complete’. But material possessions do not give a long lasting joy. This way of thinking is the basis for the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ which is both fraudulent, unscriptural and no gospel at all! Such a ‘carte blanche’ Jesus does not exist.

To ‘ask in Jesus’ name’ has specific implications.

1. ‘In his name’ means we don’t come in our own name.

To ask ‘in the name of Jesus’ implies that we have recognised how unworthy we are to approach God. We can never come directly to the most holy, almighty God because we are, in some way, worthy of his listening to us. We can only approach God because we are ‘in Jesus’. We can come to God because he and he alone is worthy. The opening of the Sermon on the Mount is the only way we can approach God.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

It is because we are in Jesus that we have access to the Father, and for no other reason.

2. ‘In his name’ means corresponding with His character and objectives

Oswald Saunders, the General director of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship in the 1950s and 1960s, said,

“‘In His name’ means in His nature, that is according to the nature of Jesus”

Prayer is never getting God to do what we want, but it is our submission to God to do what he wants. The idea of prayer is not to get answers from God but an expression of a perfect and complete oneness with God. When we are full of the Holy Spirit our prayers become God’s prayers. Paul wrote,

“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27

3. ‘In his name’ means ‘in submission to Jesus’

To pray in Jesus’ name mpliess recognising that Jesus is the creator God who has entered this world to save us. We are saying that we are dependent of Jesus’ death on that cross for our salvation. We are saying that we are aligned with him in his thinking. He was willing to die, doing what God wanted, because he recognised the glory that was his in the next real life. We are saying that we recognise that real joy is a gift of God, given to those who are living for him. Without submission to the will of Christ there can be no real peace and no real joy.

Jesus said that when we ask in his name,

“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24

Who is Jesus?

As usual, Jesus keeps returning to this subject, which is the central theme of the gospels. This week, I was talking with a fellow passenger on a train and he questioned why churches don’t join with other religious groups and emphasise what they have in common - which is good moral behaviour. I tried to explain that the Christian message is all about Jesus, who he is and what he has done for us. The power to live as God wants comes to those who have been put right with God through faith in Jesus. To be committed to Jesus is to be associated with God the Father himself.

“ . . . the Father loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” John 16:27-28

This is the basis for our confidence and deep-seated joy.

At last the disciples grasp who Jesus is and that, what he is saying, has God’s full authority behind it. They reply to Jesus,

“Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” John 16:29-30

What could make Jesus happier than to know that his disciples, who have been with him through thick and thin for three years, have at last grasped who he is and what he has come to do. He responds triumphantly,

“You believe at last!” John 16:31

This was always the purpose of Jesus. It became the purpose of the apostles and it remains the purpose of Christ’s church today– that people should learn about Jesus and come to believe in him. John summarised the purpose of this book by saying,

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31

The apostles realised that a commitment to Jesus is vital if we are to be given eternal life. The decision about Jesus has eternal consequences for us all. John wrote earlier,

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36

This raises the question, ‘Do we really believe what we say we believe?’ ‘Do we really believe Jesus transforms sorrow into joy?’ ‘Do we really believe that as we pray about our service to him that he will fill us with his joy?’ ‘Do we really believe God loves us?’ If we really do believe the words of Jesus, then nothing, no illness, employment, financial or family issues can take away our deep joy.

Jesus himself was shortly to be deserted by his disciples. This is a reminder that being Godly can result in problems for us. Jesus warned his disciples that belief in him would not result in any easy life. This is taught again and again throughout the Bible. Paul wrote,

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12

If we are finding that being a Christian is easy then something is amiss. Living for Christ and speaking up for him will inevitably result in opposition. Jesus continued,

“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. In this world you will have trouble.” John 16:32

Encouragement

Jesus finishes this section with some very encouraging words,

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

In spite of all the opposition and at times, loneliness, we can experience a real peace and joy, whatever life throws at us. We now belong to God and are members of his close family.

BVP

John 16:5-16. Coming of the Holy Spirit

When I was a young Christian at university, some people said to me,

“If you haven’t spoken in tongues then you haven’t received the Holy Spirit. Doesn’t Scripture say in Acts 2:4, ‘All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.’”

should have asked these people what actual language they spoke, as Acts 2 teaches that foreigners heard the gospel explained in their own languages! I needed to know, ‘Is what is called ‘speaking in tongues’ today the same as that original supernatural gift at the first Pentecost when they spoke real languages?’

Anyone who wants to learn about the Holy Spirit is wise to start with the following passage from John’s gospel that describes what Jesus taught. Then they will then be much less likely to be blown off course by experiences or new teachings.

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:7-15

Please note that Jesus always calls the Holy Spirit ‘he’.

“When he comes .. .” John 16:8

“When he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13 and read on!

‘He’, ‘his’, is the emphasis because he is the Spirit of God the Father and the Spirit of God’s Son, Jesus. So no-one should call the Holy Spirit ‘it’.

Jesus said, ‘When the Holy Spirit comes . . .’, this begs the question, ‘When did the Holy Spirit come?’ Although the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Old Testament as being given to a few special individuals, this clearly refers to Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would be given to every Christian. Consequently, as we look at what Jesus says in John 16, we can interpret it by what took place at Pentecost. Together these will help us to find a right understanding.

Another important preliminary question is to determine who Jesus is talking to. Who is the ‘you’ in verse 7, 12 and 15? There can be no doubt that Jesus is addressing his disciples at a special time in history. Jesus is going to guide his disciples ‘into all truth’, he has more he wants to say to his disciples. Although specifically spoken to his inner circle of followers, what he says has much significance for us.

One of the lessons Jesus has already taught is that he would force a division in the world. Jesus had just told his disciples,

“Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also . . . But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.’ John 15:20-24

Jesus was hated because of who he claimed to be and because of his judgments. As Jesus’ followers, we testify to Jesus, repeating his claims and passing on what he teaches, and so we will be persecuted too. Yet the reason why God had selected his disciples is that they should all fulfil these ends whatever the cost. Later we are taught that this is also a major reason why all subsequent Christians have been chosen.

“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26-27

Jesus now divides what he says about the Spirit’s work into two sections. The first is the subject of this chapter. We have been chosen to produce fruit, which we have already seen refers to going out to testify and win people for Jesus. This use of the word ‘fruit’ is surely taken from the first chapter of the Bible when he created men and women and said to them,

“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply’.” Genesis 1:28

The Spirit’s Work in a Hostile World

“Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:8

This is the only place in the Bible where the Holy Spirit is spoken of as being at work in unbelievers although the story of Acts illustrates that that is a major part of his work. He will also act as a ‘Counselor’. The Greek word for ‘Counselor’ is ‘parakletos’, which literally means ‘one called alongside to help’. In the Authorised Version this word is translated ‘comforter’, and in the English Standard Version ‘helper’. However in one of John’s letters the same word is given a legal flavour, where he is an advocate or barrister.

“But if anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence.” 1 John 2:1

He is our counsel against the charge of God against us because of our sin.

However in John 16:8 he is the counsel for the prosecution - he is out to convict people.

“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:8

Some years ago I was involved in a trial in the High Court in London. How grateful I was for a brilliant barrister who was on my side and clearly highlighted the wrongs others had done to me. He made my opponents look and feel embarrassed at how they had behaved. I needed him. Similarly the Holy Spirit prosecutes those in the world because of their sin - he makes people realise how badly they have behaved towards God.

When Peter spoke to the crowd at Pentecost the Holy Spirit was clearly at work. As Peter spoke of Jesus to a crowd of self-righteous people, they were cut to the heart. They felt bad and said, “What shall we do?” That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

“He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:8

Jesus explains this in the following verses.

Sin

Some are not clear about the difference between sin and sins? ‘Sin’ is the root problem. It means to live in God's world and yet take no notice of God - to ignore him. ‘Sins’ are those symptoms that result from ‘sin’. Hating, lying, cheating, lust, sex outside marriage, not loving others - these are examples of ‘sins’. Verse nine makes this clear. Sin is the underlying rejection of God’s rule, a rejection of God’s son.

“. . . in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me.” John 16:9

I was recently giving a talk to a local group of atheists. One said,

“It is my opinion that there is no God.”

Another went further, saying,

“As there is no God, I can now behave as I like!”

In the 1950s a psychologist, Stanton Samenow, and a psychiatrist, Samuel Yochelson, sharing the conventional wisdom that crime is caused by environment, set out to prove their point. They began a 17-year study involving thousands of hours of clinical testing of 250 inmates here in the District of Columbia. To their astonishment, they discovered that the cause of crime cannot be traced to environment, poverty, or oppression. Instead, crime is the result of individuals making, as they put it, wrong moral choices. In their 1977 work The Criminal Personality, they concluded that the answer to crime is a, “Conversion of the wrong-doer to a more responsible lifestyle.”

In 1987, Harvard professors James Q. Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein came to similar conclusions in their book ‘Crime and Human Nature’. They determined that the cause of crime is a lack of proper moral training among young people during the morally formative years, particularly ages one to six.i

God always scoffs at sinful thinking however people try to justify it, saying many centuries earlier,

“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? Kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One (Messiah). . . ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say ‘and throw off their fetters.’

The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying,’ I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” Psalm 2:1-6

That King, or Messiah, is the Lord Jesus and those who refuse to acknowledge him do so at their peril. That is sin according to Jesus. Earlier in John's Gospel we read,

“This is the verdict - ‘Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19

It is because people want to live in the dark that they are willing to take a leap in the dark-into a selfish, meaningless existence. God asks us to take a reasonable step into the light.

It is not enough to say, “Oh, I believe in God.” That can mean anything. Saving faith is to trust Jesus as the God who entered his world in the flesh, to belong to him, to live for him in his way and to want to tell others about him.

Righteousness

“In regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father.” John 16:10

In a conversation with some overseas students recently, one said,

“I try to live a good life - so won’t God accept me?”

No! The Bible is very clear; our righteousness is nothing like good enough for God. Righteousness is only found in Jesus. A lady who was dying in our local hospice had become a Christian two weeks earlier. Wanting to give her confidence as she faced death, I wrote her name on a piece of paper and placed this in the middle of a Bible I was holding. The Bible was then closed on the paper holding her name.

“Let this Bible represent the Lord Jesus. When God looks at you now - he doesn't see your sin but the righteousness of Jesus in whom you are resting.”

Those Muslims who have gone on killing sprees sincerely think they are serving God. The Jewish people in Jerusalem thought the same when they handed Jesus over to be crucified. God had a different opinion. He had handed Jesus over to the authorities so that Jesus could become ‘our righteousness’ by dying as our substitute. The proof that this is true is that God raised Jesus from the dead.

How can a sinful person ever hope to be accepted by the righteous God? It is only through Jesus, by accepting his righteousness as ours. Jesus himself had said,

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

So the Holy Spirit convicts the world of both sin and righteousness.

Judgment

“ . . . And in regard to judgment because the Prince of this world now stands condemned.” John 16:11

What does this mean? Jim Packer reminds us “The Bible is it own interpreter.” A few chapters earlier John had said,

“Now is the time for the judgment of this world: now the prince of this world will be driven out. But when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” John 12:31

It is clear that that day, when Jesus died on the cross, was God’s day of judgment. The verdict has been given. Sin, rebellion against God, leads to death - eternal separation from God.

At Pentecost, Peter was telling his listeners that sin has been judged.

“With many other words he warned them, he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’” Acts 2:40

All who live by the spirit of this world are doomed eternally. A decision must be made. It is the Holy Spirit who prompts us to repent and turn to Christ for one more work - forgiveness. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in a sinful world. He is evangelistic. It is a work that all of us who have Christ's Spirit in us are committed to.

Without the Holy Spirit at work, convicting people of sin, righteousness and judgment, our efforts to spread the gospel will be hopeless. This is why we must pray that God will convict others as we share with them the message about Jesus. This gives rise to an important question. If the Holy Spirit is an evangelistic spirit, then evangelism is at the top of my agenda = but we can so easily lose this desire. As we become older, we can lose that boldness and fire that Jesus and his apostles showed. We must never forget that everything we do in this life echoes in eternity.

Terry Bowland in his book ‘Make Disciples – Reaching The Postmodern World for Christ’ii writes this:

“Many today baulk at the teaching of the church. ‘Do you mean to say,” they ask, ‘that all those outside the church have no hope whatsoever? What about all the sincere folks who never come to Christ? What of the billions in the worlds of Islam, Buddism and Hinduism? What of those who have never heard? What of my neighbors and friends who are good-hearted people, but who have never made Christ their Lord and Savior? Are you saying that they are lost? Why, if that’s true, then this ‘gospel’ has made you Christians the most narrow-minded, bigoted people on the face of the earth.”

“Perhaps, we should reply by saying, that far from being narrow-minded and bigoted, Christians are, in fact, the most loving people in the world.” “Suppose you are a doctor and an individual comes to you one day and describes his symptoms. After taking a blood test you realize that this fellow has acute diabetes. You prescribe insulin injections. ‘Insulin!’ he cries. ‘I don’t want to take insulin.’ You assure him that he must take insulin. ‘But, I don’t want to take insulin,’ he complains. ‘Can’t I take some other drug. How about penicillin? How about a double dose of Tylenol? Won’t those do?’ Again you reaffirm that without the insulin, he will die. Then he exclaims, ‘Why doctor, I believe you are the most narrow, closed-minded, bigoted physician I have ever met.’

Now, here’s the question: Is the doctor narrow and bigoted or is the doctor loving, because he is telling the man the truth – the only truth which will give him life!”

BVP

i Christianity Today, August 16, 1993

ii Terry A. Bowland, ‘Make Disciples!: Reaching the Post-modern world for Christ’, College Press, 1999 

John 15:18-16:4. Hatred of God and his People

In ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’, Mark Twain describes the adventures of Huck, a young attractive rebel as he floats down the Mississippi river with his negro friend Jim. Mark Twain was a famous humourist but also a miserable moralist who had a strong anti-Christian stance. He thought that man, left to himself, was noble and so opposed to anything that suggested otherwise. He could not come to terms with illness, ageing and death. He tried to escape in solitude, sharing his life with just animals - he had given up on fellow man. He portrayed in Huck his ideal of human nature as a noble thing if left alone and not tainted by civilisation.

Today there are some who similarly escape into the world of animals, especially dogs, cats and horses, because they cannot cope with the realities of living with human beings!

It is surely true and we can see it in ourselves that our characters are far from perfect, we are selfish and give in to temptations far too easily. The good news is that God can change people if they accept him on his terms. We have people in our church whose old lives were depraved in some way, yet who have found a greater power to help them live as God wants. Hatred both of others and myself is a symptom of the fall.

Love

In our previous study in John 15:9-17, Jesus spoke much of the love of God for his people and the way he satisfies all our emotional needs. We need to be loved and to love, we need joy and peace, we also need purpose in our lives. All these needs are met when we submit to Jesus Christ. Nine times he says what we are capable of when we live in harmony with him. Jesus is an expert on love and emphasises that love is the appeal of God to man but also the appeal of his people to outsiders.

Love is the prominent feature of God’s character. The same John, in his first letter, twice says,

“God is love.” 1 John 4:8 and 16

People often make the mistake of thinking this is the only feature of God’s character. It is certainly not. When the Lord introduced himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, he described his character by proclaiming,

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished . . .” Exodus 34:6-7

He longs that all people should return to live in harmony with him and does all he can to facilitate this. He forgives the sins of those who turn to him, he empowers them with his Spirit. Yet if people persist in rejecting him a time will come when he will reject us. The prophet Hosea keeps reminding God’s people that his patience will come to an end if his people keep disobeying him and serve other gods. The time will come when he says,

“I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious.” Hosea 9:15

Hatred of Jesus

In this last teaching session with his disciples there is now a sudden change, beginning from verse 18. The key word is now ‘hate’. It is used seven times in this one paragraph. This is not because Jesus is a pessimist like Mark Twain. This whole gospel is full of hope, it really is good news but John is faithfully recording what Jesus taught. The truth is that in spite of the love Jesus had for others, they wanted to be rid of him because what he taught was opposed to their views. All the gospel writers tell us of this hatred. John repeatedly puts it starkly, from the beginning people wanted to kill Jesus. These are some passages that remind us of this,

“So, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working. For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” John 5:16-18

“Why are you trying to kill me?” John 7:19

“At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?’” John 7:25

“I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me.” John 8:37

“As it is you are determined to kill me, a man who has heard yo the truth that I heard from God.” John 8:40

“ ‘I and the Father are one.’ Again the jews picked up stones to stone him.” John 10:31

“A short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” John 11:8

This hatred of Jesus increased even more after he had raised Lazarus from the dead. You would think they ought to be rejoicing!

“So from that day on they plotted to take his life.” John 11:53

This is extraordinary. Why should people want to kill someone who had done so much good and had warned people about the dangers of false religion that can never protect people from the wrath of God.

“But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfil what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’” John 15:24-25

Hatred is irrational. All Jesus wanted to do was to remind people of the love and purpose of God and yet people did not want to hear this and did all they can to stop Jesus being heard.

In the New Testament we often see pictures of the final Day of Judgment. Paul taught that on that day all mouths will be shut.

“ . . . so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” Romans 3:19

These critics of God will have nothing to say. Religion will save nobody, only a personal submission to Christ can open that door. In our complicated heathen society there are many voices telling us to reject God and reject Jesus and they even try to give reasons for doing so. But when faced with God and all the facts are before them, all these reasons will disappear and the reasons they have opposed God’s rule will become all too obvious. To have rejected Christ will then be seen to have been silly and preposterous. Unbelievers, even religious people, will have nothing to say by way of excuse.

Hatred of Jesus’ followers

Jesus warns his followers that they will be treated in the same way that he had been.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of this world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:18

Just this afternoon I have heard of two sportspeople who have been attacked because they have dared to publicly make a stand on what the Bible teaches. Margaret Court was the greatest Australian tennis champion. She won 25 Grand Slam Championships and she has had their No. 1 court in Melbourn named after her in recognition of her achievements. Yet because she has reminded people of what God has repeatedly taught in the Bible about sexual practices, she is being publicly derided with pleas to have her recognition removed. The fact that the protests were made during the Australian Championships and against their code of practice doesn’t seem to matter. Similarly the same is happening now to Israel Folau, the great Australian rugby player who has been given a job to play rugby league in the United Kingdom. The media are up in arms because he also has tried to remind people about what God teaches. He may not have been wise in the way he did this but he does want to get people to think about their eternal destiny. There are certainly powerful forces in the media that are set on undermining what God teaches in the Bible. The questions people should be encouraged to ask are, who Jesus is and, whether the Bible is God’s word to mankind. However the hatred of many will prevent these vital question from being addressed. These are fundamental questions our school children and university students should be asking.

Jesus is here warning his disciples what life will be like if they want to continue as his disciples. It was a fair warning as eleven out of the twelve apostles were killed because they persisted in affirming that Jesus is the Christ, that he did die for our sins and that he did rise again as the Jewish Scriptures had foretold would happen.

In the last century, wherever a civilisation has been over-run by tyranny, by a dictator who is given overall power without restraints, there has inevitably been bitter opposition to the church of Jesus Christ.

The historian Piero Saruffi estimated that 160 million people have been killed as a result of wars during the last century. How many have been killed because they have held Christian beliefs is hard to accurately determine - 25 million has been proposed as a conservative estimate, but there are countless stories of churches full of people being attacked and individual Christians families being made to suffer for their faith. In a recent article, Justin D. Long emphasized the startling fact that more people have died for their faith in the Twentieth Century than in all of the previous centuries combined.

“During this century, we have documented cases in excess of 26 million martyrs. From AD 33 to 1900, we have documented 14 million martyrs.”

Such numbers mean little so let me share one story. Alexander Ogorodnikov had spent seven lonely years in the former Soviet prison system, or Gulag. He had been convicted of running a Christian discussion group for other students at the Moscow State University, where he was studying film making.

After being in prison for five years he wrote a letter to the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. In the letter, Ogorodnikov told Gorbachev that he had been in prison for five years and had not received one letter or a visit from any Christian. He begged,

“Have me executed. . . .I know it is a sin to commit suicide, but I am so lonely that I wish to ask you to have me executed by firing squad.”

His case came to the attention of then British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. who interceded with Gorbachev on Ogorodnkov's behalf, and the prisoner was released. He now runs a soup kitchen for Moscow's homeless, but recently said,

“You don't know what it was like to discover that there were Christians who cared -- who wanted me to live and who loved me.”

Since the beginning of the Communist experiment in the USSR, millions of Christians have suffered and been killed. When I visited a Baptist church in Russia I was surprised to see so few men over 50 attending. I was told that the secret policed had rounded up the Christian men and they had not been seen again. The minister of the church explained that he was a top pupil in his school but had been denied a place at college because he was a Christian. Many children from Christian homes were harassed and denied an education. Thousands of ordinary Christians were transported to the Gulag camps. Some of the intelligentsia were sent to psychiatric hospitals to correct what the state thought to be erroneous beliefs.

Even in the west, when churches and individual Christians are alive for Christ and are trying to win their friends for Christ they will be disliked by both the world and even other Christians. So verses 18 to 22 is a reminder that both the world and the religious will hate Jesus’ disciples if they take what Jesus and his apostles said seriously.

Hatred of God

It is not only Jesus and his followers who will be hated – it will also lead to a hatred of God himself.

“He who hates me hates my Father as well.” John 15:23

In spite of all the evidence this hatred will grow. People will overlook the evidence of the miracles Jesus did. They will overlook the beneficial changes that can be seen in those who have become his followers.

“But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.” John 15:24

As Jesus is one with his Father, hatred of the Son will inevitably be hatred of the Father. Are we not seeing this today?

The reason people hate Christians is because they speak out. This is the effect of the Holy Spirit, Christians will always testify to the importance of Jesus.

“When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out form the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify . . .” John 15:26-27

Some people today have an abstract idea of God as a god of love who will forgive everybody and will accept everybody into heaven. Listen to many funeral sermons in English churches and it would seem that many vicars are universalists in that they suggest everyone, even those who have lived godless lives, will go ‘to a better place’. Such thinking and teaching is totally against what Jesus and his apostles taught. Thus,

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36

Some seem to think that apathy is a half-way house, they would try to say they are not against Jesus but just have little time for him in their busy lives. Jesus rejects such a view, he considers that only an active acceptance of himself as Lord and Saviour will result in a person being given eternal life.

God has spoken to us all through his Son. If we have heard what he says and do not take it to heart we are just as guilty as those who actively oppose him. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the wilful rejection of God’s rule in our lives – to reject God and his Son is sin. Jesus said,

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now however they have no excuse for their sin.” John 15:22

God has now come and has now spoken.

A 16 year old delivery boy brought a package into an office. He was most uncouth, rude, and unhelpful. It would be difficult to find anyone who could represent his company in a worse way. He threw boxes of stationary at the girls in the office. One of the secretaries confronted him,

“If you behave like that you won’t keep your job very long, you won’t make much of a career.”

The youngster bridled at this criticism,

“Oh, I don’t want to be posh!”

He was really saying that he didn’t want to conform to high standards. When Jesus came we were also confronted by both what he taught, supported by his miracles. Both his words and his deeds should make people sit up and listen. We can see how, in God’s eyes, we are both unattractive and unacceptable to our heavenly Father and this will lead to our eternal destruction unless we turn back to him. Without him we have no long-term hope. Yet what do so many of us do? We say, often with a veneer of politeness,

“I don’t want to be acceptable, thanks! I don’t want to be changed by you. I don’t want you to make me acceptable to God.”

There are now indications that this is also what some churches are saying. Rye has a beautiful old parish church with many memorials to those important people who have died. In a redevelopment, what used to be prominently displayed on the eastern wall of the church, above the Communion Table, has been moved to a far back corner where they were much less visible. These boards had the Ten Commandments written on them. People love the historical side of our old churches but now hate what God teaches, such as,

“You shall have no other Gods before me.”

“You shall not commit adultery.”

“You shall not steal.”

“You shall not give false testimony.”

“You shall not covet . . .” Exodus 20:1-17

Too often today our gods are financial gain, prestige, fame or our family, too often these come before our commitment to God and his Son. When we are confronted we try to hide from what God has said and cry out,

“I don’t want to be posh,” or “I don’t want to be godly.”

Jesus and his followers must confront the world in the way it rejects Christ. We must be careful not to make Christian ethics the battle ground. It is Christ who must be central as an acceptance of him will inevitably lead to an acceptance of what he taught. We must learn to love sinners and accept them into our homes and churches so that they can see the Saviour.

The reason for the warnings

The longing of God is that his people will remain faithful to him in spite of all the knocks and temptations that will be thrown at us. Jesus continues,

“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.” John 16:1

Hatred will come from all quarters, including those who would call themselves religious.

“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” John 16:2

Why will both religious and secular authorities hate those who simply want to proclaim what God has done for us?

“They will do this because they have not known the Father or me.” John 16:3

Such persecution will start after Jesus leaves. It is a characteristic of the ‘Age of the Spirit’ that we are living in now.

“I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.” John 16:4

Jesus warns us because it will not be easy to live as God wants and we must therefore have a strong mindset about how we will react when the pressures come.

Hugh Latimer had been invited to preach before King Henry VIII. The Lectionary reading for that day was the account where John the Baptist was telling Herod the seriousness of his affair with his brothers wife. King Henry was renowned for the many sexual affairs he had been involved in. What should Latimer do? He was committed to sharing with people the Word of God so he did not flinch from expounding how this passage also applied to people later. The king was deeply offended. In order to give Latimer the opportunity to apologise for being ‘so offensive’ he was invited back the following week to preach again before the king. At the start of this talk Latimer addressed himself,

“Hugh Latimer, dost thou know before whom thou art to speak this day? Before the high and mighty monarch, the most excellent majesty who can take away your life if thou offend him. Therefore take heed to not give a word that may displease him. But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not also remember who sent you to speak this message – Mighty God who is always present and beholdest all thy ways and who is able to cast thy soul into hell. Therefore take heed that thou deliverest his message well.”

Hugh Latimer then proceeded to preach exactly the same sermon he had preached before but with much more passion.

What makes Christians so bold that we cannot but speak about Jesus? It is because we have all been given the Holy Spirit of God. We have become citizens of heaven and as its citizens we put honouring our king as our priority. When Paul was imprisoned because of his persistent witnessing about Christ he wrote to the Philippian church and us,

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ . . . contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.” Philippians 1:27

The question is not should we testify about Jesus, that is a given, but how we should do so!

BVP

John 15:9-17. The Privileges of being a Christian

God made human beings with strong inbuilt emotions, as well as a robust concept of truth. He intends that both should be satisfied. In this section Jesus highlights how our emotional needs are met through faith in him. John began his first letter by stressing that he had written this to give all God’s people ‘joy’.

“We write this to make our joy complete’ 1 John 1:4

Jesus is continuing his final teaching to his disciples, telling them about what the future holds for them. The important thing they, and we, have to remember is that we have been chosen to produce fruit, both in ourselves as we become more like the Lord Jesus in character and purpose and in others as we point them to the world’s Saviour. He has reminded them that to be fruitful requires that we are pruned and that is not comfortable, but the ends make this worthwhile. We will work together with others who have also been called to glorify the Lord Jesus. If a person does not have this outlook it is questionable whether they are yet Christians.

In today’s churches there is wide belief that if, in your mind, you have accepted the tenets of the Christian faith and have passed through the formalities of your church then you are saved. However true faith must result in a changed life.

When Paul was on trial before Festus and King Agrippa he gave his testimony about how God had called him to his service. He then recited what Jesus had said to him on that Damascus road,

“I am sending you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Acts 26:17-18

Paul is here confirming, when on trial for his life, that forgiveness of sins, being made holy, is only possible to those who have faith in Jesus. He then continues to explain how a genuine faith can be found. It is only by making a lifelong commitment to follow and obey the Lord Jesus.

“I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Acts 27:20

This is the repeated message of the apostles. True Christian faith will always result in a lifelong change of direction. James stressed the same feature that is seen whenever there is genuine faith.

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds?” James 2:14

For a person to be saved, God must first open his eyes both to his own need and about who Jesus Christ really is. Then it is only through a personal commitment to follow Jesus Christ that forgiveness of sins can be found. Such faith will inevitably result in a changed life, where we do things for Christ. Paul wrote,

“For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10

When the word ‘belief’ is used in the Bible it means having a love for Jesus which is seen in how we live for him. Our word belief is derived from the old English word ‘lieben’ which meant ‘to love’. When we become Christians we receive all of the Holy Spirit into our lives but that does not mean we have given him complete control or that our experience of him is complete. There are some Christians who, having been taught that they have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, consider that there is nothing more to seek as they ‘have it all’. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, the famous twentieth century preacher, once said to such a person,

“Got it all? Well if you have ‘got it all’, I simply ask in the name of God, why are you as you are? If you have ‘got it all’ why are you so unlike the Apostles, why are you so unlike the New Testament Christians?”i

Peter also recognised that although God ‘has already given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him,’ (2 Peter 2:3) we are still at risk of being corrupted by evil desires that the world is full of (2 Peter 1:4). Peter continues,

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of our lord Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:5-8

It is because we have been given God’s Spirit that we have the power to become more and more like Jesus Christ.

In his final address to his disciples in the upper room he now emphasises the privileges that his disciples have all received.

Forgiven

Forgiveness of all our sin, being credited with being ‘righteous’, is always the first and greatest benefit Christians receive. He had just told the disciples,

“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” John 15:3

What a wonderful state to be in, to know that we have been forgiven, that we are clean, because the Lord Jesus has taken the penalty for our sin on himself.

Yesterday I visited a dying Christian man. He was barely conscious, but as the words of Psalm 23 were read to him a great smile came to his face. He knew that he had a Good Shepherd who will accompany him through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ because the list of all his sins has been erased by the Lord Jesus.

When my dear Christian mother was dying, the last words I read to her were those that Paul could say about himself as he faced imminent execution,

“ . . . the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not to me only, but to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8

A crown of righteousness is waiting for us all who are committed to living for the Lord Jesus because God now sees us through the filter of Jesus. We will really be crowned with his righteousness simply because we belong to him.

However this removal of our sin is not just a legal status we have been given. It is also an active process today and involves a commitment to living righteously, this is one of the reasons why all Christians have been given God’s Holy Spirit. This new life is impossible without him.

There was an ancient custom of the natives in New Guinea. They had rituals, songs, and dances in which they worked themselves up into a frenzy and the ritual culminated in what are called “the murder songs.” In these they shouted the names of the people they wish to kill. When the natives became Christians, they retained these rituals but with a difference. In the murder songs, they no longer shout the names of the people they hated, but the names of the sins they hate, and call on God to help them to destroy them. In this way a pagan custom had been taken over by Christ.

Loved

The question many of us regularly ask is, ‘Do I love the Lord enough, do I really love him?”

This was a question that the same John answered in one of his letters. He reminds his readers that this loving relationship was initiated by the Lord himself.

“This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

How encouraging this is. Our salvation is not dependent on how much we love God but on how much he loves us. He asks us to reciprocate the ever-continuing love he has for us that was demonstrated when he died on that horrible cross.

Jesus reminds his fickle disciples of this fact,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9

How thrilling this is, to know that we are each loved by Jesus with the same love that God the Father has for his only Son. All children rebel against their parents at times but they are still loved. God’s love for us is even more persistent. However we have failed him and rebelled in the past, his arms are wide open to welcome us back into a close relationship with him. What wonderful good news this is.

This love that Jesus has for each of us must overflow to others around, especially those within his church.

“My command is this. Love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12

This is not a theoretical love, but very practical. It means being willing to put ourselves out. When church members really support one another in practical ways, others notice. John expands on this teaching in his first letter.

“We should love one another.” 1 John 3:11

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him.” 1 John 3:17

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

Love for one another is no substitute for our love for God, this is presupposed. The Lord Jesus has shown his love for us by being willing to go to that cross for us. This is why we should give our lives back to him.

“Greater love has no-one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

The experience of feeling loved does depend on our behaviour, just as a naughty rebellious child may not feel loved by their parents for a while. The enjoyment of that love does depend on how we have responded to him. Jesus’ experienced the love of God because he always obeyed his Father. Jesus had repeatedly taught that obedience was what satisfied him.

“ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’” John 4:34

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38

“The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” John 8:29

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my own life – only to take it up again.” John 10:17

“Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” John 12:27-28

“ . . . but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” John 14:31

This was true for Jesus so it must be true for each of us.

Friends

How we all cherish and benefit from having good friends who stick by us in all circumstances. What greater privilege can there be than to have the Lord Jesus call us his friend?

“You are my friends, if you do what I command.” John 15:14

In the Bible there are a few people, such as Abraham, Moses and Lazarus who are called ‘friends of God’ but this is not to put God on the same level as these great people. He does not demean himself but he does love his people and satisfy their deepest needs at great cost to himself.

Again this is conditional – being a friend of Jesus necessitates a commitment to living with Jesus as Lord of our lives and that means obeying all that he says.

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

One feature of any close friendship is an openness. It is the same with God. Just as Jesus’ Father shared what was wanted of him, so Jesus has shared his word with us with us, his people. He has made known to us how he wants us to live.

Children of God

This passage goes even further. We will not only be called ‘friends of Jesus’, we become children of God and have the right of calling God our Father, just as Jesus did.

“In the Old Testament, the Israelites did not individually address God as Father. As far as we know, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, or Daniel never fell to their knees in the solitude of their chambers and dared to address God that way. Yet in the New Testament, God is called Father at least 275 times, and that is how we are instructed to speak to Him. All that a good father wants to be to his children, Jesus told us, God will be to Christians who approach Him in prayer. We can pray as children.” ii

Joy

So many Christians live flat, joyless lives of duty and seem to know little of the joy and excitement we can experience as we live for Christ. The road to enjoying life, that our relationship with Jesus should bring, is to live uncompromisingly in the way he wants. Jesus teaches us that there is a very strong link between God’s love for me, my love for God and his people, obeying what he teaches and experiencing great joy in life.

“Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands you will remain in my love . . . I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:10-11

The word ‘joy’ comes 326 times in the New Testament, 40 per cent of which are in Paul’s letters. One commentator wrote,

“So Paul can well be regarded as the theologian of joy, as he undoubtedly was that of grace . . . It is significant that the most common cognates for joy (chara, “inner joy” and charein, “to rejoice”) are derived from the same root char– as is the Greek word for “grace” charis. There is a close connection between the two concepts. iii

Paul used the word “joy” in its various forms sixteen times in his letter to the Philippians. This letter emphasises that God wants all his people to experience this joy.

George Bernard Shaw recognised that the source of real joy is living for a cause bigger than oneself.

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one: the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” iv

Jesus said this first but was clear what this ‘cause greater than oneself’ should be. He taught that we will be completely fulfilled and experience complete joy when we live for him.

“If you obey my commands you will remain in my love . . . I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:10-11

Peace

A little earlier Jesus had emphasised that he wanted all his people to experience great peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

It was Jesus’ own obedience to his Father that was the grounds fort his joy and it is the same for us.

Remain in my love

Jesus keeps reminding us that his love for us must be actively reciprocated. We must ensure that Jesus is the focus of our lives and remains so. Just as a couple will make the effort to write, telephone and contact each other frequently, so all Christians must develop the habits of regular communication with our Lord, through prayer and reading his Word to us., and doing those things that we know will please him.

The reason we experience this love and security

The last verse of this section reveals that being emotionally satisfied is not an end in itself; there is a purpose behind our being given this strength.

“You did not chose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” John 15:16

The Greek phrase translated ‘appointed’ is etheka which literally means ‘set them apart’. This same Greek word is also used in verse 13 where it has been translated ‘lays down’ his life. Jesus ‘set apart’ his life for us. The same Greek word is used in Acts 13:14 where Paul and his companions ‘set apart’ into the synagogue to share the gospel with them.

There is no doubt that the fruit Jesus is talking about is new converts to Christ. Don Carson, in his great commentary on John agrees saying,

“The focus on evangelism and mission is truly central.”v

Summary

The lesson is clear, God equips his people both emotionally and with a knowledge of God’s truth so that we can effectively and robustly go out into the world to share the gospel with all we can. For this ministry to be productive needs the power of the Holy Spirit to go before us to convict the world about its need and God’s remedy. This is why we must pray. Jesus said,

“He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the Father.” John 14:12-13

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:7-8

BVP

i Westminster Record, Sept 1964 Vol 39 No 9

ii Haddon W.Robinson, ‘What Jesus Said About Successful Living: Principles from the Sermon on the Mount for Today,’ Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1991 p. 190.

iii Morrice, William G., “Joy” in Dictionary of Paul and his Letter, Gerald F. Hawthorne (et al) Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

iv George Bernard Shaw, quoted in Courage: You Can Stand Strong in the Face of Fear, Jon Johnston, 1990, SP Publications, p. 171.

v D.A.Carson, ‘The Gospel According to John,’ Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England, 1991, p. 523