When Jesus asked Peter for the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”, Peter was grieved and said, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You”  (John 21:17). I believe that what grieved Peter was two fold. One, being called “Simon”, and two, realizing his sin that he was fishing for fish not for men, and relating three questions, “Do you love Me”, “I don’t know the man”, “Do you love Me”, “I don’t know the man”, and “Do you love Me”, “I don’t know the man”. But what is remarkable is that instead of condemnation, “Peter why did you deny Me?”, Jesus extended Grace. Friends, if we never failed, never sinned—we would not stand on His grace! We could…

As odd as it sounds, there are some who believing—don’t believe, that is to say—there are people who seem to believe but they do not have working faith. Demonstrated by the disciples who never showed any sign of “faith”. Think, if you believed your mother would be raised to life three days after she was laid to rest–where would you be on that third day? And there it is, that is not where the disciples were. They were all hiding and…

If you have ever gone down a stream in a canoe when the water was shallow you will understand me when I say, it is a very difficult thing to do. The idea is to be in deep water so the canoe can carry you. But when the water is shallow, you must carry the canoe, drag it, expelling all your strength. Great faith is like a deep flowing river that carries you over the rocks. That is a nice way to go but is faith easy? We read our Bibles and see great faith, it cannot be helped. Matthew, John, great faith, Peter, great faith, and John the baptizer. All these face the wrath of the Jews, and Romans and suffered many things because of their great faith, even death. But did you know there was a time when they didn’t believe? No, not before Jesus came, not just while He was with them, but after His crucifixion and burial.  On the first day of the week when Mary and the others came to the tomb they came with spices they prepared to finish anointing the body, not expecting to see Him risen…

Just read the text, they went to the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene (John 20:1), the other Mary (Matt. 28:1), Salome (Mark 16:1) and, Peter and John (the other disciple, whom Jesus loved). But truly it amazing that we read, on the first day of the week they went to the tomb early, but not to see a resurrected Savior, but to continue with the proper preparation of the body of Jesus. Amazing because they did not expect to see an empty tomb, even though the Master told them many times, on the third day I will rise. Those closest to Him, went to see a body, and when no body was found, neither was there any faith to be found for they didn’t say, the Lord, He is risen lets go tell everyone the good news! Mary ran to report. What did she report? “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:1). Listen as we learn from John’s gospel some things that will help us to believe…

Go back to the crucifixion scene, Jesus has been arrested, tried and found guiltless 3 times by Pilate. But still He was scourged, put on display, forced to carry a cross, crucified and died. What happens next, as with everything the preceded, happened according to the will of God. Prophecy, not one bone was broken, and in this lesson, they pierced His side another powerful point that John brings out to you so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name…

As we continue examining the subject of the bones of the righteous, we begin to understand THE MESSAGEHOPE— LIFE— RESURRECTION—ULTIMATLY— ETERNAL LIFE. God delivers all the Righteous—Look now to Jesus. He died—He is now going to be taken down from the cross—and buried in a tomb. We are reading about a time of Hope, reading about the Deliverance of the people of God. You already know what is going to happen, Jesus is…

When the Jews asked Pilate’s permission for the legs of the three on the cross to be broken, naturally we believe it was because it was the preparation day for the Passover. But, that is not the only reason, for after they broke the legs of the two on either side of Jesus, they came to the Lord and His bones they did not break because He was already dead and they did not break His legs, which was to fulfill prophecy. Psalm 34 and verse 20, “He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.”  So much more is to be learned as John directs us to the Lamb of God Who died for you…

Jesus is on His cross, not mine, not yours, His. It is now moments away from the darkest hour in the history of mankind yet, is it really the darkest hour? In these final moments we see that while on His cross Jesus isn’t thinking about Himself–He is concerned for others. We also will see that after we come to understand through the word of God what this event is all about, we’ll understand that cross must not be looked upon as horror, and an end, but rather as hope of what is soon to take place. All these things are God’s plan, all are done to fulfill scripture, and all was done that we may be reconciled to God. 

Remember that everything that happens to Jesus was in the mind of God before the foundation of the world, before the earth, before the words let there be light. His birth, His ministry, all the miracles, everything was planned, purposed, and that included the cross. You will remember the Bible account of Abraham and Isaac, how that Isaac was to be the sacrifice and how his father raised the knife with all intention of completing the thrust down into his only son Isaac–but he was stopped by the voice of the angel of the LORD. We will make some comparison to Jesus with one profound exception. Jesus was the Lamb of God, and no voice from heaven stopped the only Son of the Father in heaven from being the perfect sacrifice. No power stopped the nails, no power stopped the lifting up of the Son of God, and no power stopped His suffering the shame and the agony. 

John 19 verses 9-16 we see a frustrated governor, Pilate who isn’t getting answers to a series of questions he asked Jesus. Are You the king of the Jews, what have You done, are You a king, and what is truth. Pilate exacerbated says to Jesus, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have [a]power to crucify You, and power to release You?” (John 19:10). to which Jesus did finally answer saying, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (v.11).  What happens next is truly amazing…