Sermons

Psalm 3 — A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

Here’s some background to today’s passage…David wrote this Psalm during one of the darkest times of his life…it’s a prayer for God to deliver him from his many enemies…Psalm 3 was written as David fled from Absalom his son…Absalom was David’s third son. Ammon was David’s first son who raped his half-sister, Tamar.

In an elaborate scheme to get revenge [2 Samuel 13:1-22] …two years later, Absalom murders Ammon [2 Samuel 13:23-30] …fearing punishment from his father David…he went in hiding for three years…then returns…but even on his return the two did not speak for another 2 years [2 Sam. 14:24].

Absalom then plots to take over David’s throne by seeking favor with the citizens [2 Samuel 15:1-6] by portraying himself as someone who cared more about the people than David does…sounds like modern day politics …so Absalom steals the hearts of the people of Israel (2 Samuel 15:6b).

For David things go from bad to worse and the longer Absalom is in charge the more David’s enemies increase.

Once Absalom has the will of the people behind him, he gets an army and marches against his father making himself king and forcing David to flee Jerusalem. [Psalm 3:1-5]

¹ O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me

² many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.

³ But you, O Lord, are a shield about me…the lifter of my head.

⁴ I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from His holy hill.

⁵ I lay down and slept; I woke…for the Lord sustained me.

Note the word ‘many’ is used three times in two verses:

—many are my foes

—many people are rising up against me…and

—many are saying all is lost.

At times we can identify with David…many are my troubles…in David’s case he had gone from being a king on a throne to being a criminal on the run.

But You, O Lord
Immediately David is going to tell us where his confidence is.

When reading this short phrase, it causes us to ask, is my life truly centered on the Lord the way it should be?

Is my confidence solely in God and is my trust in His sovereign ability or is my confidence in myself and my ability to work out life’s situations on my own?

A lot of people have troubles…probably not to the extent of having an army chasing after you…but I want us this morning to think about everyday life situations…can we truly say like David…I have a shield about me?

A shield about me

The image of God as a shield appears 11 times in the Psalms and seven times in the rest of the Bible…here’s the importance of that shield.

We’re in a war…Something I expound on frequently…the first thing we need to understand about this verse is just like David, we’re in a war…not in a physical battle like David…but one that is just as intense.  

You’re in a war right now. You’re in a battle for your spiritual life…the devil is your enemy…there are going to be times in your life—maybe you’re in the middle of it now—when he will muster everything he can against you.

This is surely how David felt when so many people he thought were his friends and allies had gone over to the side of Absalom.

What makes it so tough to rely on God in the middle of life’s battles is because we don’t bring ourselves to rely solely on God for our security.

We tend to rely on the “not-gods,” (Carl Henry) to provide for our security… joy …and peace…what might some of these ‘not-gods’ be…I think most of the time the things that we tend to rely on for security are:

• Circumstances—things going our way, economy’s good
• People—the approval of even those who have power over us.
• Ourselves—in our own strength and self-sufficiency.

Our response to life’s circumstances reveal how we think about God.

Whether it’s falling down a flight of stairs…rather extreme…getting a promotion…or discovering that your child has a learning disability…how you view God matters.

J.I. Packer in his book Knowing God writes:

“Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumbling through life blindfolded…with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you…it is in this way that you can waste your life and lose your soul.”

Let’s talk about God’s character for a moment…but in doing so we need to tread carefully…God cannot be fully known…He is qualitatively different than you or I.

In every aspect God is infinite because He is without limits… and although He cannot be fully known we can to some degree know Him.

No way the Bible teaches us everything about God’s character…not in a life time…and certainly not in one sermon.

Within the pages of Scripture God has chosen to reveal Himself…the Bible is God pulling back the curtain so we can better see Him and know Him and ultimately trust Him.

God’s attributes or His character has been thought of as being in two categories.

The most common way to look at this is to see where we differentiate…what characteristics God shares with us as humans…and those characteristics which cannot be shared with us.

The attributes God shares with us are called communicable attributes…if something is communicable it’s able to be transmitted to others…Covid-19.

I’m referring primarily to God’s moral attributes such as justice…love… wisdom…goodness…these are the traits God shares with us because we bear God’s image but not to the degree that God possesses them.

Two examples:

1) One is justice…there are two kinds of justice…worldly justice…and godly justice.  

Worldly justice is a kind of justice – but it’s a false justice…it advocates that punishment should be given based on the severity of the sin.

Scripture clearly reveals that there is no severity in how sin is ranked… one sin is not more severe than another…the Ten Commandments are not listed in order of severity…they all equal in seriousness.

That goes against those who would seek to blame people who are perceived to be the cause…people should be punished based on the severity of the crime they’ve committed…the more serious the sin…the more serious the punishment…and they think somehow, they’re justified in making that assessment.  

That getting even is paramount…and if God is truly ‘fair’ the more heinous crimes should be punished more severely…but not when it comes to me.

There are consequences regarding that thinking…unless we forgive, we should not expect God to forgive us…God judging us as we judge others is not what you want.

Godly justice is true justice – it’s kind…peaceable…perfect…impartial…and has no revenge or hypocrisy. 

Here’s how God sees our sins…our transgressions to God are like words on His computer screen…but as soon as He reads our email asking for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9) …He hits the delete key and everything is erased.

As a result, …Earthly justice and divine justice are incomparable.

Since the world does not know God nor have the love of God, it knows nothing of true justice, but only worldly justice…for those, divine justice makes no sense from a strictly rationale point of view.  

2) God is love (1 John 4:8)…humans can love, but we do so imperfectly.

Three unique things about God’s love:

God’s love for us is unconditional—God does not love us based on merit. You’ll never be good enough to earn God’s favor, nor bad enough to lose it.

God’s love for us is sacrificial—God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die on our behalf (John 3:16).

God’s love is enduring—No matter what happens, nothing can separate us from God’s love.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39]

People get this love thing all mixed up…when Christians talk about love, they’re thinking about natural human love…trying to compare divine love with natural human love…you can’t compare human love with divine love.

There is one similarity between God’s love and human love…the love we have for someone is for who the person is and not what they can do for us.

Then there’s the attributes God is unable to share with us…these are the attributes that are exclusive to God that humans cannot share in…called incommunicable attributes; the qualities that make God different.

Omnipotence — having unlimited power

Omniscience — having unlimited knowledge…knowing everything

Omnipresence — God is everywhere at the same time.

Immutability — God never changes

So, in essence…God is beyond the capabilities of our finite minds.

Turning back to [Psalm 3] I read a few moments ago…the 3rd Psalm is a unique Psalm in a couple respects…1) it is the first time the word ‘Psalm’ occurs…and 2) while most Scripture speaks to us…the Psalms speak for us.

³ But you, O Lord, are a shield about me

The words ‘about me’ are the same words that were spoken of Job:

Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?  (Job 1:10).

The word in the original signifies a shield that totally encloses someone…it means a protection which surrounds a man entirely…above…beneath… and around.

David has fled from his son Absalom, who had conspired to take both his kingdom and his life.

Only God can be your shield…this is the hard part…this is what makes it so tough to rely on God in the middle of life’s battles—because we can’t bring ourselves to rely solely on him to be our security… our joy…and peace.

Where is your confidence? A good way to test that is when you pray to the Lord for His help and strength…are you daily depending on Him…do you feel a need for Jesus in your life every day?

Or are you falling back on the ‘not-gods’ …trusting in

Circumstances—things going our way

People—the approval of even those who have power over us.

Ourselves—in our own strength and self-sufficiency.

Not only does it seem as if the whole world is against David at this point, but he also feels the taunts of his enemies saying, “There is no help for him in God” …but David believed God had not abandoned him.

Lord you are the lifter of my head [3].

Could be translated “raises my head high” …David felt dejection when he looked at his circumstances…it’s easy to become dejected when looking at the issues in life…don’t need an army chasing you to know that.

PROBLEM…too often we tend to let our joy and peace come from false gods that we rely on for security and glory…go back to relying on the “not-gods,” for our security.

Here’s the danger…when we allow circumstances, people, and our personal feelings to determine success and happiness, we’re making idols out of those things…taking glory away from the only One who can ultimately provide us with joy and peace.

SO, is it possible to be a Christian and still worship idols? …How do I know if I have an idol in my life?

When anything other than God is needed for your happiness, you essentially have an idol…let me give you examples of idols people don’t think about.

For many our idols are our family…our youth…our health…our spouse… our children’s academic or athletic accomplishments. These are all ‘counterfeit gods.’

Can you be happy without God…with these as your idols?…you can … there are a lot of people in the world who if they read in the headlines today that God was dead, they would go home and sleep like a baby…but if they got a phone call that they lost their job, they would be on the brink of hysteria.

For the Lord sustains me.

God the Sustainer who sustains and upholds everything in existence…last week I made mention of the earth revolving around the sun…it’s God who sustains the earth through space.

Without the sustainer there would be no earth…without God’s sustaining power this planet would have disintegrated long ago…without God’s sustaining power in creation there would be a no oxygen atmosphere.

You woke up this morning for one reason: The Lord sustained you

…you would not have woken up if the Lord had not sustained you

…you wouldn’t have life today if God hadn’t sustained you through the night

…you couldn’t breathe apart from God who sustains us.

…it is God who sustains the lives and world He created.

I find it humorous when I hear unbelievers say, “Religion is just a crutch for weak people.”

Well, I wouldn’t call my relationship with the Lord a crutch…but I will admit my weakness…I will gladly confess how frail and feeble I am…but rather than saying the Lord is a “crutch”, I prefer David’s description in Psalm 18:2:

The LORD is my rock…my fortress…and my deliverer in whom I take refuge (He is) my shield, and the horn of my salvation.

Earlier I said you’re in a war…in a battle for your spiritual life…the devil is your enemy.

But like David the Lord is a shield around us who sustains us…see how God works…it has nothing to do with [Romans 8:28] that God’s causing all things to work together for your good…because He’s not… terribly misused verse.             

Romans 8:28 is about God’s goodness and our confidence that His plan will work out as He sees fit since His plans are always good…as a result Christians can take confidence in knowing that no matter what our circumstances God is active and will conclude all things according to His good and wise design.

God’s Sustaining Grace is the power to keep you going even when you feel like giving up…do you ever feel like throwing in the towel? …do you feel like quitting? …do you ever say, “I’ve had enough?”

God’s Sustaining Grace is the power that helps you endure even when you don’t think you can.

 John 21:1

21:1 – “After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples…” 

After these things—same expression is used in John 5:1…6:1…7:1…and now here in 21:1…it denotes an interval during which time other events took place…in this case

…one was His resurrection from the dead

…second was His appearance to Mary Magdalene

…then twice to His disciples; once when Thomas was absent, and at another time when he was present…it connects the events of this chapter with the events in the previous chapter.

In this passage it’s suggesting thatJesus was not recognizable to them unless He revealed Himself to them…After these things Jesus manifested Himself.

Mary Magdalene in the garden didn’t recognize Him…the two men traveling to Emmaus didn’t recognize him [Luke 24] …the disciples fishing on the lake did not know that it was Jesus [John 21:4]    So what’s going on here?

Did some mysterious change take place in Jesus’ body after the resurrection … [Mark 16:12] says that Jesus “appeared in another form” unto them…is this to be understood that there was a change in His physical appearance?

Jesus was not in another form…He still had nail prints in His feet and hands and the spear wound in His side [John 20:27] …His physical features hadn’t changed.

So why was it that Mary Magdalene failed to recognize Him [John 20:15] …the two men walking to Emmaus failed to recognize Him [Luke 24:13] and now at the lakeshore those who had been with Him so long failed to recognize Him…so what was the problem that they were unable to recognize Him?

LOOK at what the Scripture says…. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him [Luke 24:16] …WHY? There are a couple of ideas.

ONE… that Jesus was disfigured…that He was still suffering from the effects of the beating He took before His crucifixion that left him disfigured beyond recognition.

Remember…He still had the nail marks in His hands and feet and the sword marks in His side…is it unrealistic to believe that suddenly the bruises and swelling left His face?

SECONDLY…more likely it was the combination of sorrow and unbelief regarding His resurrection that caused Mary and the two walking with Jesus to not recognize Him…being so distraught it blocked their understanding until Jesus identified  himself because they weren’t really expecting to see Jesus at all.

In fact, it required strong evidence to convince them otherwise…that He was really risen from the dead.

Luke 24:21—says the problem was they were reasoning in their minds…We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel…there’s the problem… they were operating in the ‘natural’.

We were hoping…in other words…instead of living their lives by trusting in God’s Word they were relying on feeling…it’s easy to have our hearts swayed by life’s circumstances rather than by living by faith…being continually filled with the Spirit…but relying on our own interpretation or understanding.

1 Cor. 2:14 – The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God…he cannot understand them.

They were all operating in the ‘natural’ – their desires were corrupt…they were focused on what would benefit them…we were hoping…as a result their vision of who Christ was at that time…was obscured.

NO difference today…Christians fail to recognize Jesus’ presence because they are blinded by carnal minds (Eph 4:18) hoping Jesus will do what is necessary to benefit them.

The misunderstanding by the disciples was that Jesus would reveal Himself to the world by a spectacular demonstration of His power…this is seen in the question [John 14:22]

Lord what has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not the world?

They were unaware that Jesus’ disclosure to the world would not be through demonstrations of power…but through the working of the Holy Spirit.

BUT because people fail to respond to the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudging in their lives…they remain isolated from God’s grace…that is why only a small minority will enter through the ‘narrow’ gate’ [Matthew 7:14].

There are a certain number of people in this world who are not of it…the Bible refers to them as the remnant…who are they?

People who are not worldly in principle…in action…in conversation…in desires …they are people of prayer…who love God…these are God’s favored people whom He manifests Himself to.

Unfortunately, …there are some Christians who say, “We don’t know anything about these manifestations.” Here’s the tragedy…The Church needs to do its job…pastors need to be faithful to their calling.

“The church has been getting for the last few years into a lean, starved state; God has sent very few preachers who would preach…and the church has been getting lower and lower…what will become of us I cannot tell.” Charles Spurgeon

When they don’t…it’s the ‘Church’, God’s people, who suffer from a lack of knowledge.

From a common-sense perspective why does Jesus manifest Himself to us, and not to the world?

When He comes down again won’t the world see Him the same as we do? …if God is all-loving and all-powerful, why hasn’t He shown Himself to the world? …why would He leave any room for doubt? …why not reveal Himself in the most spectacular of ways that would make unbelief impossible? …He has.

The disciple’s question was: are You going to disclose Yourself to us and not the world? …if Jesus returns in a chariot of fire…or descends on a pillar of clouds…if we see Him, the world must see him too, right?

Why does Christ not manifest himself to the world? …how easy it would be for the entire world to believe…here’s the kicker…Jesus didn’t answer that question…he didn’t have to because He does manifest Himself to the world…every day.

God has provided enough evidence for a reasonable belief in His existence…just because God doesn’t reveal Himself in a way the world thinks He should…is not sufficient evidence to prove that God does not exist…I can’t see God is not a valid excuse for not believing in God.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

SO…in reality…God does reveal Himself to us…and the world:

…1) thru our conscience

…2) thru nature…seasons to change…first, the Earth moves around the Sun. Something has to cause it to move and to remain there…second, the Earth has a tilted axis of rotation…it’s at an angle of 23.5° …the earth’s tilted axis of rotation in combination with its orbit around the sun causes the seasons to change…think that’s by accident…that is a manifestation.

…3) and “in these last days, He has spoken to us by his Son…” [Heb. 1:1-2].

Some would say…religion is good …it has its place…it’s beneficial to society but as to these manifestations…we don’t believe in them.

That just validates Romans 1:20 …He does manifest Himself to the world…and when people say…manifestations aren’t real…they have proved they are of the world.

There is a difference between those who are in the natural and those who are in the spiritual…lost people are unable to ‘see’ Jesus because they are in the natural.

Christians many times fail to see Jesus because they’re operating in the natural  and not in the spiritual…and therefore missing God’s immediate purposes for them.

SO, the guys decide to go fishing…returning to their former livelihood…remember Peter and a number of the other disciples were fishermen by trade so this isn’t the same as hanging a “gone fishin’” sign on the office door as a way to take a break from work.

These guys were unknowingly fulfilling what Jesus said in [16:32]

But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone.

The story begs the question: why did Peter and the disciples go back to their regular jobs of fishing when Jesus had personally called them to a greater work?

Kinda reinforces the idea that they were operating in the natural…they were not doing what the Lord had called them to do…being fishers of men.

Here we see something of human nature…there is always the temptation to stay in our old life or return to it again. 

After his denials, Peter was acutely aware of his own inadequacy…his failings…his weakness…Peter reverted back to being merely a fisherman.  

In our own walk with the Lord…have disappointments or failing on your part hindered you from truly stepping out into the fullness of God’s purpose for you?

The 21^st chapter of John is not just about a bunch of guys out fishing…this chapter is KEY for us as Christians… it is a demonstration of The Promise of Restoration.

Throughout the Bible words like: Redemption…restoration…regeneration… reconciliation…are all over the Bible…with many of the main characters in the Bible failing God and needing to be restored.

Have you ever thought of yourself as being a disappointment to God because you have chosen your own way over God’s?

See the same thing in Paul’s life…here’s what Paul says about himself:

—formerly a blasphemer…persecutor and violent aggressor [1 Tim 1:13]

—persecuted Christians and saw to their arrest and punishment [Acts 22:4]  

—made “murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” [Acts 9:1]

I’m sure Paul may have felt at times that his past life disqualified him from the ministry…in our own walk with the Lord often major disappointment or failing on our part hinders or blocks us from truly stepping out into the fullness of God’s purpose for you.

Like Peter…we have disappointments and failings…has guilt or shame resulted in you going out fishing again rather than living for the Lord?…look how God handles Peter’s restoration.  

21:9 – when they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire

When you read this verse, you have to ask… ‘what has this got to do with anything …why would John add this obscure occurrence’ …who cares…look again…there’s a purpose.

You’ll notice this is strangely reminiscent of when Peter was standing outside the court of the high priest denying Jesus during His trial… [John 18:18]

Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves: and Peter was also with them standing and warming himself.

Think maybe Peter had a flashback to that…smells can evoke memories …what the smoky embers must have recalled to Peter…did he flash back to that awful night in the courtyard and his humiliating moment of weakness?

How many times has Peter failed the Lord since his bold statement [13:37] – ‘I will lay down my life for you’

…1) he denies him three times in the courtyard.

…2) he fails to acknowledge his resurrection

…3) collectively they – “went away again to their own home”

…4) now he’s out fishing

Peter’s life is a reminder that good intentions are not always followed up on easily…I will lay down my life for you.

Asked this question a few weeks back…have you ever made a commitment about something that you are completely unaware of the seriousness of what you’re committing to?

Here’s where we’re like Peter…in our zeal to demonstrate our commitment to God or to prove to God how strong a Christian we are we overstate our ability to handle temptations…trials…difficulties…challenges or problems.

Satan loves it when we do that…overstating our ability to handle temptations… trials…difficulties…challenges or problems…shows our desire to trust in ourselves rather than in God.

What happens next is a demonstration of God’s endless love…God is the restorer of people: words like: Redemption…restoration…regeneration …reconciliation…are all over the Bible…God is a restorer:

Jonah…God called him…refuses to be obedient…swallowed by a fish…repents… is restored [3:1] the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time…back to square one…same place he was when God originally called him.

Abraham…God promises him a son…doubts it…does his own thing…thirteen years later he’s back to square one…restored.

Moses…from his birth he was to be Israel’s deliverer from Egypt… [Ex. 1:12] kills an Egyptian …40 years later he’s restored…back to square one…God again calls him to his original purpose.

Israel…God brings them out of Egypt…takes them to the promised land… performance less than stellar… [Deut. 1:] …40 years later back to square one… waiting to cross into the Promised land.

Just as God had restored those people before…now it is Peter’s turn…Jesus turns and faces Peter…singles him out from the other apostles…calls him by name… directs His question specifically to him…asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?”  (John 21:15-17) and do you love Me more than these? 

The disciple who said: “I do not know the man!” now says to Jesus, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you” …But how much do you love me?

Here’s where things start to get a little confusing…in the English there’s only one word for love…not that easy in the Greek…the word ‘love’ is used in Jesus’ question to Peter…do you love me? …in Peter’s response to Jesus he also uses the word ‘love’…Yes Lord, you know that I love you…but he uses another word for love…they don’t mean the same thing.  

Jesus asks Peter do you love Me? …using the word that involves the idea of affectionate reverence and prompt obedience…doing what the Lord prefers… ἀγαπάω…but Peter responds with the Greek word φιλέω meaning to show warm affection…a human type of love.

Peter’s response to Jesus is not one that claims Peter truly loves Jesus…but only that he has affections for Him.

So, once more Jesus asks Peter…do you (ἀγαπάω)…me–embracing God’s will… choosing His choices…and obeying them through His power–but again Peter responds with the word φιλέω meaning to show a human type of love.

Here’s how theologians like to de-emphasize the Bible…in the past it was common to focus on these two Greek words for ‘love’ to demonstrate the difference between loving God to the extent of embracing His will…versus…a generic type of love that say: yea Lord I like You.

In this passage there’s a pattern…Jesus asking Peter twice whether he loves Him (agapao) and each time Peter responding that, yes, I do have affection for you (phileo) not responding with the intensity of love Jesus is asking him.

In recent years the idea that these two words are close synonyms has resulted in the idea that there’s really no distinction between loving the Lord with a total commitment–ἀγαπάω–and doing the Macdonald’s thing…I’m loving it—φιλέω.

(D. A. Carson 1991:676-77) …which is to ignore the seriousness of the question.

By the third time Jesus switches to using Peter’s word…asking whether he loves Him, Peter is hurt…Jesus’ desire to get Peter to respond that he loves Him more than just as a friend has Peter deeply grieved.

In response to this searing third question, Peter says, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you (v. 17).

Again…two different words for ‘know’ are used…as with the two words for ‘love,’ these words convey two different meanings.  

The first two times Peter responded with ‘you know’ (σὺ οἶδα) meaning—to perceive with physical eyes—but in his third response he uses a different word for ‘know’ (γινώσκω) Peter uses the word that implies knowledge grounded in personal experience…knowledge viewed as the result of prolonged practice.

Peter is saying…after three years of us being together you should know from my actions…by what I have sacrificed…and through personal observation how much I love you.  

I’m sure Peter is thinking back to his previous statement to Jesus that defines how much he loved Him… “We have left everything to follow you! [Mat. 19:27] including the nets and the boat.

As Christians…every time we’re faced with a temptation this question is asked …every time we become preoccupied with even the good things God gives us this question is raised…do you love me more than these…or do you love me because of these.

This question…do you love me more than these…is extremely searching…your answer determines the intensity of the Holy Spirit’s involvement in your life.

 John 20

John 20: ¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb while it was still dark and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

Luke 24:³ But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord.

Here we are five weeks from Resurrection Sunday…continuing on in our study of John that has now reached Jesus’s resurrection…talking with Richard last Tuesday about if I should continue on and finish the book or wait until April 4^th to finish preaching this sermon on Resurrection Sunday.

I went back and looked at how many sermons I have preached on the book of John …this is sermon number 52…52 sermons just on the book of John…one year ago we started looking at this book…I hope that throughout this past year you have come to a better understanding of the life… death…and ministry of Jesus.

I’ve decided to preach this sermon because there are some crucial events that need to be looked at that have little to do with Jesus’ resurrection…events that most people are not even aware of.

On Sunday morning the day after the Sabbath Scripture says three women wound their way through the dark streets of Jerusalem with the purpose of finishing some unfinished business.

These ladies were on their way to finish what was originally done in haste…so early in the morning while it was still dark, they left their homes…met together… and went to the tomb of Jesus.

These ladies were just like the disciples…they weren’t expecting a bodily resurrection of Jesus…they arrived on Sunday morning to anoint Jesus’ body with burial spices, not to greet him as the Risen Lord.

What did those ladies expect? They expected to find a dead body…they went there to complete the job they had started on Friday evening but were unable to finish because of the Sabbath.

As these ladies came to the place where they had seen the body of Christ laid just 3 days before… [Mark 16:3-4] — they said among themselves…who shall roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb? …BUT…when they arrived the seal had been broken and the stone had already been rolled away.

Apparently, these ladies had no confidence that the Roman soldiers who had been dispatched to guard the tomb would be courteous enough to roll the stone away.  

They arrived anticipating finding a stone in front of the tomb, but what they found was the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty!!!

After hearing the news of Jesus’ resurrection from the angel they left the tomb with joy [Matt 28:8].

What a great way to leave a cemetery…we don’t usually leave graveyards excited …we usually leave there in pain over the death of a family member or friend…even if it’s someone we’re not closely acquainted with…. excitement is not an emotion we usually feel after leaving a cemetery.

The ladies arrived saddened…it wasn’t until they saw the messenger that they realized the reality of Friday afternoon had been erased by the miracle of Sunday morning.

The messenger stood before the women and proclaimed: “He is not here! He is risen!” Sunday has come! A new reality had taken place…Jesus is resurrected…the prophecy of his death and resurrection was true…the ladies left excited!

The resurrection of the Lord allows us a different view of death…it is no longer something that must be faced with dread, and despair…death will always be an enemy…but it is no longer the enemy of those who believe because it has been defeated.

Because He lives, we shall live also…the devil thought he had won. Jesus had died on the cross…His limp, lifeless body removed from the cross, and laid in a tomb …secured…sealed…and guarded by Roman soldiers…it was over.

Yet, Surprise! Death, and the grave could not hold Him…He had the authority to lay down his life, and He had the authority to take it again! Because of that…we worship and serve a Risen Lord.

Not one of the disciples were expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead. Mark’s Gospel makes a point of telling us of the repeated unbelief of the disciples:
Mark 16:11: ”they would not believe”;
Mark 16:13: ”they did not believe”;
Mark 16:14: ”they had not believed.”

In the 2020 State of Theology study, Lifeway Research found

66% of Americans believe the physical resurrection of Jesus.

20% don’t believe the resurrection accounts are true

14% aren’t sure.

Is Christianity built on nonsense? …do we label the resurrection absurdity or truth?

Is Jesus’ resurrection simply a 2000-year-old legend?

This morning I’m not talking about the resurrection…I want us to look at two confusing verses:

ONE…how is it that from Friday to Sunday is three days?

TWO…where was Jesus during the time from His death to His resurrection?

Was Christ actually in the grave for three days and three nights?

During His ministry, the Jews demanded a sign from Jesus to prove He was the promised Messiah…what Jesus offered as proof positive that He was the Son of God was the sign of Jonah.

Jesus prophesied His own resurrection when He stated, “For just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, in like manner the Son of man shall be in the heart of the earth (buried in a grave) [Matthew 12:40]

Did Christ mean what He said? Did He really expect his burial in the earth to be a complete three days and three nights (72 hours)?

If Jesus died on Friday at 3PM and was raised on Sunday morning how does that equate into 3 24-hour days…it doesn’t…it’s only a little over 33 hours…what happen to three days and three nights?

Again…clearly…the Bible is full of contradictions…half-truths…NO it’s not… Jesus repeatedly made reference to His death and resurrection making it clear from his own mouth… [John 2:19–21] [Mat 17:23] [Mark 10:34] He will be raised on the third day.

Both Peter and Paul give testimony to the fact that Jesus rose on the third day…

Paul’s testimony [1 Cor. 15:3-4] – “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died…He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Peter declared to the Jews during Pentecost…[Acts10:39-40] – “And we are witnesses of everything He did…they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree but God raised Him from the dead on the third day” …BUT…from Friday until Sunday is not three days…YES it is.

Again…we are trying to interpret Scripture using western thinking and applying it to the text…not understanding Jewish reckoning of time.

The Gospels all make it clear that Jesus’ burial occurred shortly after His death on the day of “preparation” (Friday) before the start of the Sabbath that started at 6 PM that same day.

Christ was dead at 3 PM on Friday…the new day according to Jewish time started at 6 PM… they had only three hours to bury Him.

Jesus died and was buried before 6pm on Friday…they were pressed to get Him off the cross and buried before the start of Passover that started at 6PM…BECAUSE

1. bodies could not remain on the cross on the Sabbath day so they sought the body of Jesus to have Him buried before the Sabbath began that evening.
2. Jewish law forbid doing work on the Sabbath.

Jesus died on Friday at 3PM

Any time on Friday before 6pm was considered a whole day

The new day started at 6PM so

From Friday night at 6PM to Saturday night at 6PM was another day.

Any time after Saturday night at 6PM was considered the third day.

Jews count parts of a day as a complete twenty-four-hour period…therefore Friday was considered one whole day…He was in the tomb all of Saturday the second day…He rose on Sunday morning…that day would have been considered the third day.

Scripture declares that it was after the Sabbath when the ladies went to the grave… day three…so the concept of three days would be an idiom, not necessarily meaning 3 full 24-hour periods.

Here’s what people do…they alter accounts in the Bible to insure there is no error in Scripture.

There are those who would have you believe Jesus was crucified on Wednesday… so from His death on Wednesday until His resurrection on Sunday would be literally 3 24 hour days so the Bible wouldn’t appear to be in error…the Bible is not in error if you understand the Jewish reckoning of time.

The disciples who walked with Jesus after His resurrection did so on “the same day” that Jesus’ was resurrected (Luke 24:13) …not recognizing Jesus, they shared about the crucifixion (Luke 24:21) …they say: “today is the third day since these things happened” (Luke 24:22).

If Jesus was crucified on Wednesday there are four days between Wednesday and Sunday…that would have made their statement about this being the third day in error.  

If the crucifixion occurred on Thursday it means that the women who purchased the spices following the Passover means they would have purchased them on Saturday and would have violated the Sabbath.

SO… Jesus’ body was in the tomb…but His spirit, having departed at His death (Matthew 27:50), was elsewhere for those three days…where was Jesus’ spirit  during that time…from His death to His resurrection?

We know that Jesus died…was buried…and on the third day was resurrected…but Scripture tells us very little concerning His spirit’s whereabouts between His death and resurrection…the most commonly cited Biblical passages are Acts 2:31; Eph. 4:8-10; 1 Peter 4:6; most important are, 1 Peter 3:18-20 / Eph. 4:9.

A great deal of confusion in regard to this question…where did Jesus’ soul go after death?  

There are a number of different views on where Jesus went during those three days:

Peter tells us 1 Pet. 3:18-20, “For Christ…died… [19] He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, [20] who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark…”

Paul says…Eph. 4:9-10 for possible support. [9] Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? [10] He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens…”

Then Jesus Himself says Luke 23:43

Today…you will be with me in paradise.

That’s an awful lot of places in a short period of time.  

Where did Jesus’ soul go after death? …there’s a great deal of confusion in regard to this question…there are a number of different views on where Jesus went during those three days:

Unlike what some believe Jesus was not asleep during those three days…I had originally prepared my sermon to identify and tell you about the seven popular theories regarding what and where Jesus was…I’m not going to.

I do want to address the idea as written in the Apostles Creed…the Apostles Creed suggests that Jesus descended into hell after His death on the cross…but the phrase “He descended into hell” occurs nowhere in the Bible.

In studying this issue, it is important to first understand what the Bible teaches about the place of the dead.

In the Old Testament it was believed that at death the spirit went to a place called…Hades…it was believed to be a place where the souls of both the righteous dead (Jacob, Genesis 37:35, Samuel, 1 Samuel 28:13–14) and the wicked dead went. (Psalm 31:17).

Now, in the church age, when the righteous die…it is simply a transition to a different mode of existence.

BUT…where we go is not heaven…clearly there is a distinct difference between Paradise and being in Heaven….to be absent from the body is to at home with the Lord, but this “place” is not heaven because Christians have not yet received their glorified bodies.

All Christians will be glorified together at the rapture/resurrection…all believers will be raised into glory at the same time.

It means that glorification will be accomplished corporately and not individually to each believer separately at death.

This seems to suggest that Christ went to the nether world—a place where the souls of the dead…demons…and evil spirits reside—often referred to as Hades…the place where the saved and the lost go after death…a place divided into three distinct areas… separated by a “great chasm”.

(1) the abyss…the place of confinement for those demons who sinned in the days of Noah…the spirits mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19 … who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark…” …these are the ‘spirits now in prison’ … the angels who sinned in Genesis 6:1-4.

(2) A place of holding for all unbelievers…waiting until the time of the resurrection and their appearance before the Great White Throne of Judgment when they will be cast eternally away from God.

(3) A place of holding for all believers…referred to by the Jews as Abraham’s Bosom…a place of rest, contentment, and peace as they wait until the time of the resurrection and the Judgment seat of Christ.

SO…one place with three areas…one area for the righteous…one area for the wicked (Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27–3)…and one area for those demons imprisoned before the flood mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19.

So what did Jesus do there…some believe He went to the nether world and preached grace to the righteous dead…condemnation to the wicked dead…and proclaimed His victory on the cross to the fallen angels.

He went to Hades and made a proclamation to those who were in spiritual prison…NOT to give them a second chance…the idea of a second chance for salvation is appealing but the Bible is clear that death is the end of all chances (Hebrews 9:27).

The wording gives a clear distinction between ‘preach’ and ‘proclaim’.

The word ‘proclaim’ in Greek–ἐκήρυξεν (kerusso)–means to announce or declare which is a different word than ‘preach’–εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)– which means persuade for the purpose of salvation.

Jesus was not preaching the Gospel so they could they be saved…He went to the Abyss to proclaim His victory…and “to publicly declare” to the fallen angels imprisoned there that…they had lost, and He had won.

Scripture also says that Jesus was in Paradise that day…He assured the thief on the cross that He would see Him there… I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise…καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ἀμήν σοι λέγω, [Luke 23:43]

BUT…here’s where the problem comes in…there are very few punctuations in the original Greek, so the lack of proper punctuation may be a cause for confusion… should it read…

“I tell you the truth today, you will be with Me in paradise.” …OR…is it

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

FIRST…it was a common saying for Jesus to say “I tell you the truth” …but why would Jesus include the word ‘today’ …depending on where you put the comma… it results in two interesting questions.

I tell you the truth today, …what I’m telling you today is the truth…as if everything prior to what I’ve said was only speculation…at some time you will be with me in paradise…it has nothing to with when it will happen…not necessarily today…I’m just telling you this today.   

SECONDLY…was Jesus saying…in making this statement…I tell you the truth, that what is about to happen…us dying…is going to result in you and me being in paradise ‘today’ …referring to a specific day ‘today.’

That He and the thief would go directly to Paradise after they died…based on the interpretation with ‘today’ meaning this very day…obviously for both He and the thief…there wasn’t going to be any tomorrow.

The promise to the thief that he will be in paradise “today” indicates when that will happen.

TWO THINGS:

First…this is an indication that Paradise and Heaven are not the same place…Jesus did not go to Heaven after His death.

Goes back to what I said previously…people altering accounts in the Bible to ensure there is no error or to prove their interpretation is the correct one.

Where is paradise? It’s not heaven…Paradise seems to be the place we go at death. The place where we will dwell in the presence of Jesus until he returns to earth before the final judgment when there will come a New Heaven and a New Earth.

Secondly…where Jesus’ spirit went when it left His body sheds light on the Bible’s teaching about death and the afterlife.

What Scripture says regarding what Jesus did after His death is evidence that life continues after death…Jesus was put to death “in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” means that death could not hold Him which should give us encouragement to face death without fear…realizing that He has already gone through exactly the same experience we will go through.

Death marks the separation of the soul from the body…at death the union between soul and body are separated…but just like in the case of Jesus our bodies will one day be reunited with our spirit.

When we die we go to be immediately with the Lord…no soul sleep…that’s why only one explanation of the statement today you will be with Me in paradise makes sense… ‘today’ meaning today…you will be with me in paradise today.

Good Friday calls the resurrection absurd…On Sunday morning, the apostles think the women’s words are “nonsense”…many today…think the same thing…nonsense.

Seriously question Jesus’s emergence from the tomb…BUT until they understand the unalterable fact that the Resurrection was real…until they experience His resurrection for themselves…Jesus for them will always be in the grave.

John 18:3

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane [Matt. 26:36].

In which He entered with His disciples [John 18:1]

Jesus and the disciples leave the upper room and travel the short distance to the Mount of Olives and then to the Garden of Gethsemane…last week we saw the importance of prayer as Jesus prayed that—not His will—but that God’s will would be done…that He would remain completely submissive to God’s will and in full agreement with it.

That is the KEY that unlocks how prayer works…in just two verses Jesus outlines how God views prayer:

But for this purpose, I came to this hour [John 12:27]

Not My will but Yours be done. [John 6:38]

God has a plan and a purpose for your life…one He designed specifically for you… a plan that was made before you were ever born…not according to what you want or your will…but what God created to complete His purpose for your life.

After being comforted and strengthened by an angel Jesus was ready to face what was already headed His way…Judas was heading down the path leading a mob.

     Judas came there with lanterns, torches and weapons. [John 18:3]

Satan entered into Judas before he even went to see the chief priests…Satan possessed Judas…as a result his conscience was seared…Satan was using Judas to destroy Jesus and get Him out of the way.

Have you ever had someone with whom you shared your most intimate thoughts with …someone with whom you shared your deepest secrets with…break that trust…and even possibly use those against you?

You never forget that kind of pain. Unfortunately, it happens all too frequently. 

Here’s Judas…one of Jesus’ chosen apostles…a friend in whom He trusted

…who had lived with Him for over three years

…who had seen His power revealed in countless miracles

…who had seen His love displayed in ministering to every human need

…who had heard His words of hope

…who had heard His teachings

…who had received an explanation of the truths which few others would ever hear

…who had seen innumerable miracles that confirmed His Messiahship.

Having seen and experienced all that…there could be no doubt that Jesus was ‘the Son of Man,’ ‘the Christ,’ ‘the Savior of the world.’ …if Judas had entertained any suspicions that Jesus was an impostor, he would have had some excuse for his treachery…but after having shared all that with Jesus…he had none.

At least Pilate had some excuse…he was an ignorant Heathen…but the sin of Judas was incomparably greater because of the superior knowledge He enjoyed… therefore the sin of Judas was exceedingly great.

So what was the motive for Judas to betray Jesus…certainly 30 pieces of silver was not much of a motivation…two possible theories:

…The first theory holds that Judas had become disillusioned with Jesus when he realized that Jesus had no intention of being the political-military messiah to lead Israel to overthrow the Romans…as a result…he lost confidence in Jesus’ mission.  

…The second theory holds that by bringing in the Romans to arrest Jesus that would either force Jesus to start a revolution…or that his arrest would be the call for a Jewish uprising against the Romans…neither one became a reality.

Jesus not only knew what was going to happen but He knew exactly how it would happen…he knew exactly how Judas was going to give Him up…rather than Judas pointing and saying ‘here He is’…Judas would walk up to Jesus, look Him in the eye…embrace Him… and kiss Him on the cheek.

But notice…just a side note…it wasn’t Jesus who was on trial…even in this moment…during the most hideous act that human depravity could do…the love of Jesus still manifested itself…Jesus was giving Judas one last chance to repent.

Jesus even calls him friend…Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? [Matt. 26:50] …Jesus was still giving Judas one last opportunity to repent… is this what you really want to do? Are you really going to betray the Son of Man?

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to them “Have you come out with swords

and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber?

 ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you

 did not seize Me. [Mark 14:48-49]

They had come out against Him with weapons…WHY? …He had been with them daily in the Temple and they did nothing…if they wanted to arrest Him, they had plenty of chances…they could have arrested Him at any time.

Further proof that God is in control and everyone was working on God’s schedule.

They could have arrested Him on any of the occasions when He was walking through the city… but they didn’t…this shows that their claims against Jesus were unfounded…and they were only allowed to arrest Jesus when God permitted it. 

Judas brings an entire cohort of Roman soldiers…that was about 600 men…seems a little excessive…along with the chief priest…elders…and the Pharisees to make an arrest that they could have made at any time with just a few people. 

Jesus explains why it was happening then…and not before:

This has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures [Mark 14:49].

What occurs next is a matter of what some believe to be speculation…depending on if you believe Biblical historians…secular historians…or the Bible you get a wide array of explanations as to what happened to Jesus after His arrest.

It starts when the Jewish high priests accuse Jesus of blasphemy…a punishable death according to Jewish law but not according to Roman law so the decision to put Jesus to death needs to be approved by Rome…thus begins the mockery to attach a death sentence to a trumped-up charge.

Jesus is arrested about midnight in the Garden of Gethsemane…the Bible records six different trials Jesus was subjected to…three in a religious court and three before a Roman court.

1^st Trial — before Annas [John 18:12]

2^nd Trial — before Caiaphas [John 18:24]

3^rd Trial — before Jewish Sanhedrin [Matt. 27:1]

4^th Trial — before Pilate [John 18:29]

5^th Trial — before Herod [Luke 23:6]

6^th Trial — before Pilate again [John 18:33]

I’m not going to give you the play by play of all six of these trials…nor the controversy surrounding them…nor the at least eight reasons why they were illegal:

(1) No trial was to be held during feast time.

(2) Each member of the court was to vote individually but Jesus was convicted by acclamation.

(3) If the death penalty was given, a night must pass before the sentence was carried out.

(4) The Jews had no authority to execute anyone.

(5) No trial was to be held at night, but this trial was held before dawn.

(6) The accused was to be given counsel or representation, but Jesus had none.

(7) The accused was not to be asked self-incriminating questions, are you the Christ.

(8) The charges brought against Jesus were different from the charges in His religious trials.

It’s only after He’s taken before Pilate the second times…the 6^th trial…that is He pronounced guilty.

Even though Pilate found Jesus innocent, he feared the crowds…and possible riots if Pilate declared Him innocent…so Pilate hands Jesus over to the Jews to let the Jewish populace decide His fate…stirred up by the Jewish chief priests, the crowds declared, “Crucify him!”

Too often unbelievers and uninformed Christians consider the Cross in one of two ways:

Why did Jesus have to die…from the first pages of Genesis it’s clear that the only means of forgiveness of sin is that something has to die and Jesus was the only person who satisfied that requirement…He’s the only sinless person to ever live.  

Or they think about the Cross as the sad occasion when evil triumphed over good. As a result it caused God to have to quickly re-think about how He was going to sort out the mess left after Calvary.

How many trillions of years went by…waiting for this specific time in history …now it’s here…the precise hour…the exact time when the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah’s death would be fulfilled.

Jesus being delivered up into the hands of evil…lawless men…to be nailed to a cross and die, was all part of God’s divine plan…delivered up for us all. [Rom 8:32]

This is the climactic hour that God has pinpointed since the fall of Satan…when God… through Christ’s sacrifice…would defeat sin, death, Satan, and redeem His people for Himself… Jesus Himself says; “the hour has come”. [Jn 12:23]

The salvation plan of God who not only permitted Him to be put to death but purposed it ‘before time eternal’ πρὸ  χρόνων αἰωνίων, [Titus 1:2]…the redemption that had been predetermined and preordained “before time began” was about to come to completion…Paul relates this very idea to those at Pentecost: [Acts 2]

²² Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus the Nazarene,  a man declared to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross and killed.

There are three important matters to be emphasized in this passage

First…the death of Jesus was not a mere accident

Second…Jesus’ death was the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God

Third…it was the vital component in the divine scheme of human redemption

This is all summed up in Galatians 4… when the fullness of time came…we might easily pass over this phrase which is a little abstract and difficult to grasp …but it’s important because it signifies that there were key events and preparation behind the exact timing of Jesus’ birth and death.

In the mysterious workings of his providence God used human instruments to facilitate the sacrifice of his Son…God didn’t cause Jesus to be killed.

God respects human free will…men are inclined to do evil…God knows that…all He has to do is present a situation and because people are inclined to do evil…He just allows them to do what comes naturally…to do evil.

WHY…to bring about the fulfillment of His own purpose (Isaiah 44:24-45:7; Jeremiah 25:8-14).

Before the Heavens and earth were created…God’s plan to reconcile humanity was already in place…the Bible chronicles the working of God’s hand as He sovereignly brings events into alignment with His will.

What happened to Jesus wasn’t the result of some mob action like what occurred at the Capitol…some spontaneous event that happened to occur…God in His sovereignty and omniscience orchestrates His plan perfectly, without any confusion. That’s how God works in everyone’s life.

God is doing and has done the same in your life…as you look back over your life can you trace His hand guiding, protecting, and providing for you?

Think about the events that led to your salvation…what situation did He use to open your eyes? …how He placed certain people in the right place at just the right time to help you understand how to be saved?

That’s why salvation isn’t automatic…you have to do something…and God puts people in your life to make that something happen…but…ultimately it’s free will …you have to make the decision to trust Jesus and accept Him as your Savior.

I’m amazed at those who say ‘well if Jesus would come today, things would be different’ …no they wouldn’t…if Jesus came today the results would be exactly the same…people say: ‘on no…we’re smarter…more enlightened…more open minded today’ …no we’re not…human nature hasn’t changed.

Only one thing caused Jesus to go to the cross…that was our sin…and that hasn’t changed…He came to become the final complete sacrifice for our sins…it is only through His death and resurrection that we could be saved.

We need to take note that without Good Friday…without the crucifixion of Jesus… there would be no Resurrection Sunday…Jesus’s death was not the result of the… Jews…Romans…or anyone else…if we say, “they” crucified Jesus we miss the whole significance of Passion week.

What the Passover crowd demanded…what Pilate confirmed…and what the Romans did when they nailed Jesus to the Cross…they did only because they were allowed to…nobody killed Jesus. [Matt. 26:53]

Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions (one legion is 24,000) of angels? (288,000).

Jesus voluntarily picked up the cross…willingly…sacrificially…and obedientlywent to the Cross… [John 10:18]

No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. 

It is not by chance or accident that Jesus was put on the Cross at 9AM and He died at 3PM…these times are given in Scripture because they specifically coincide with the twice daily sacrifices in the temple. (1 Chron. 16:40; 2 Chron. 2:4).

Everything that happened occurred exactly as outlined in the Old Testament…Jesus was sacrificed exactly according to Old Testament direction at the precise time so there would be no mistake about Jesus being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

 — At 9 AM (the 3^rd hour) at the appointed time mandated by God in the O.T. Jesus is nailed to the cross (Mk 15:25), …at the exact time when the first lamb of the daily sacrifice is offered up on the altar in the Temple…just like that lamb…at 9AM Jesus is offered up on the Cross.

— At 3 PM (the 9^th hour)the hour the sacrifice of the second daily lamb was laid on the altar…at precisely 3PM Jesus commanded His spirit to leave His body…thereby giving up His life on the cross (Mark 15:33-34).

All the events leading up to the betrayal…crucifixion…and His ultimate death were confusing and traumatic…after his arrest in the Garden the disciples scattered.

They watched Him being nailed to a cross in disbelief…some stood at the foot of the cross weeping…hoping for a miracle that didn’t happen…some looked on at a distance in hopes that somehow, He would get out of this! … BUT…He didn’t…

Now He’s dead…and it’s all over…no one comes back from the grave!

After His death they were so disheartened and confused they just walked away …they didn’t even stay around to claim His body…Judas went out in despair and committed suicide…the remaining Disciples gathered together in the upper room where they had eaten the Last Supper…in bewilderment and fear…not knowing what the future held, they hid themselves.

No one…not even those closest to Him, ever expected to see Jesus alive again…the disciples are scattered…after all…who wants to follow a loser? …Who wants to be identified with “the King of the Jews” who’s hanging like the worst of criminals on a cross?

In Jesus they found the hope of eternal life… their expectations were so real that some of them openly argued over who would sit at His right hand in glory…that’s how strong their belief was in the resurrections…but Good Friday had effectively wiped all that out…Jesus was now dead.

People today aren’t much different than the disciples in that respect… people may say they believe Jesus rose from the dead…but too often for some it’s a belief that is a mere idea and not a conviction that dwells in their hearts.

I doubt these guys remotely comprehended the eternal implication of no resurrection from the dead…without the resurrection of Jesus there would be no eternal life.

Even the Old Testament spoke about the resurrection from the dead…both Mary and Martha knew that their brother would rise on the last day…and now these guys are ready to disregard that hope…they’re ready to concede that all the things they hoped for in Jesus were just a frustrating memory.

This whole thing comes down to this…it’s what has been the stumbling block for over 2000 years:

…it’s one thing to say, “I believe”

…it’s quite another thing to say: “I believe in a Resurrected Christ”

…and it’s something vastly different to say: “I believe in a Resurrected Christ and I know Him.”

 John 14:16-17

We see times throughout the Bible when God speaks to people a second time…you would think if God was speaking, you’d pay attention the first time…but Scripture reveals that’s not always the case.

So why does God speak a second time to people…we’ve all been there…we may not think we have…but we have…needing to hear from God a second time regarding something in our lives.

I don’t re-preach sermons…no need…I don’t think in my lifetime I can preach all the lessons and truths found in the Bible…but I do re-preach ideas that need to be emphasized because they are of paramount importance…it’s as if God is saying…one more time on this one.  

So what does it mean if you’re one of those God comes to a second time and repeats the same thing to…it could mean:

1. God cares a lot…wanting to make sure you got it.

2. That He wasn’t speaking aimlessly the first time.

3. He wants you to take heed of what He said the first time and never forget it.

In chapter 14, Jesus has been comforting the disciples’ fears about His leaving…that despite His going away…He assures them…He would not leave them alone…so He shares with them something hidden from all eternity past…

¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you ¹⁸ I will not leave you…”

The importance of this verse and Jesus’ revelation of the coming of the Holy Spirit is the salient point in this whole discourse…Jesus is sharing with the disciples something that had never been revealed since creation…but even then He doesn’t reveal the depths of what is about to happen.

He begins revealing to them the Holy Spirit who will come to take His place when He goes to the Father…the Spirit carries on Jesus’ mission of revealing the Father.

The disciples were already familiar with Jesus as their comforter …counselor… helper…BUT…notice Jesus says that the Father, not wanting to leave them alone, will send another of the same kind to help them after He’s gone.  

Jesus is saying what you have been experiencing is the comforter abiding WITH you… but…the Father is sending the Holy Spirit…another comforter…who will abide IN you…to always be with you to guide and instruct.

The Holy Spirit does from the INSIDE what Christ did from the OUTSIDE  … teach…convict…remind…and guide…then He clarifies that this Helper is only available to those who believe [14:17].

Here in the upper room Jesus is laying the foundation of what will occur in just a few days…something that has never happened in the history of the world.

God is about to send Himself in the form of The Holy Spirit…who will convict the world of sin…to suppress evil in the world…to bring people to a knowledge of who Jesus is…to work in the lives of Christians by…leading…guiding… uniting …and reconciling them back into fellowship with God.

Jesus tells them that He is leaving them and going back to the Father in heaven – and because of His compassion for them…He will send them the Spirit of truth to permanently indwell and guide them.

In one sense we’re like the disciples…much of what Jesus said and did was not understood by them…it was not until years later when the Holy Spirit revealed to Paul the real importance of the Holy Spirit’s purpose in the lives of believers.

As Christians it’s imperative that we understand the Holy Spirit’s purpose…it is through Paul’s writings that we are able to understand how He works in the lives of Christians.

At the moment of conversion, you receive the Holy Spirit…you are baptized in the Holy Spirit…God does not give you something…He gives you Himself…the Holy Spirit is God…living in you… carrying out His purposes.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at salvation… it is at that point the Holy Spirit comes to permanently live inside of you …you have all of Him you are ever going to get.

You don’t have to do anything to be baptized in the Spirit except trust Jesus as your Savior…people have a desire to do something…AGAIN…you do nothing.

This is what is known as being sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise [Eph 1:13] …Ephesians is the only book in the Bible that makes any mention of this promise. Here’s what this means…all who believe in Christ are sealed by the Spirit of God…

it is our mark of adoption as God’s children.

The Holy Spirit’s seal cannot be broken…It is God’s GUARANTEE that all He has promised us will surely come to pass.

Different than being filled with the Spirit.

The filling of the Spirit is not getting more of the Spirit…at conversion you already have all you are ever going to get…it’s a matter of the Holy Spirit getting more control of you.

Every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit…once and for all…BUT…the filling of the Spirit is a matter NOT of how much of the Spirit we have…but how much the Spirit has of us.

KEY–not all Christians are equally filled with the Spirit…all Christians are baptized in the Spirit…but not all Christians are equally filled with the Spirit.

When we lack the infilling…not the indwelling of the Spirit…when we fail to fully surrender ourselves to God…this is why we are unsuccessful in our Christian life …this is why we are not experiencing a closer walk with God…this is why situations continue to overwhelm us…we fail to allow the Spirit to control us.

As Christians it’s imperative that we know 1) we have all been baptized in the Spirit…He has sealed us…we belong to God…and 2) Scripture says ‘keep on being filled’ …we should every day seek a fresh infilling of God’s Spirit…there is one baptism of the Holy Spirit at conversion…but there are many fillings.  

After the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper…and His explanation of the role of the Spirit…Jesus tells the disciples:

let us go from here’ [John 14:31]

they went out to the Mount of Olives [Mark 14:26]

³⁹Jesus went out…and his disciples followed him. ⁴¹He withdrew…knelt down and prayed, [Luke 22]

TWO THINGS

FIRST…this prayer actually takes up the entire 17^th chapter of John…this is not a ‘now I lay me down to sleep’ prayer…this prayer is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in any of the Gospels…Jesus prays for three things:

He first prays for Himself…then He prays for His disciples…He then closes the prayer by praying for all believers throughout the ages…this intercessory prayer is commonly called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer.

Jesus begins His High Priestly Prayer by revealing that His purpose in coming to earth was to glorify the Father by giving eternal life to those who believe in Him.

Although Jesus is God and was with the Father before the world began (John 17:5), He humbled Himself and came to earth as a man so people would know ‘the only true God’ (John 17:3).

Jesus continues His High Priestly Prayer by praying for His disciples…who knew that He was God, and believed that the Father sent Him (John 17:8).

Jesus prays that the Father would protect the disciples not from the world…I  do not ask that you take them out of the world…because they are all going to die painful deaths…but He prays: that you keep them from the evil one. (John 17:15).

After praying for His disciples, Jesus prays for everyone who will ever believe in Him… His desire is that all of His followers would be in complete unity, just as He and the Father are in perfect unity (John 17:21).

One of the important aspects of Christianity is…unity…Paul prays,

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God [Rom 5:5-7]

SECONDLY…In this prayer we see the human side of Jesus.

⁴²Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. [Luke 22:39-42].

The second time He would pray this prayer…a petition expressing a desire from His human side…asking if there might be a different way to achieve God’s purpose.

Nowhere in Scripture does it specifically say that Jesus was tempted anytime after they gathered in the Upper Room until He eventually died on the Cross.

I would like to suggest He was…a number of times…I think Satan had been waiting for this opportunity since Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness when He first entered into His ministry. Luke says:

 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time. [Luke 4:13]

The word ‘time’ in the Greek is καιρός, meaning a fixed and definite time.

What better time to test Jesus than just hours before His trial…when He’s the weakest and most vulnerable in His human spirit.

I believe Jesus was tempted throughout the entire upper room gathering…then at Gethsemane…during the trials…and clear up until He died on the Cross.  

—In the Upper room Jesus knew that He was going to die…He was fully aware that Peter would deny Him [13:38] …that Judas would betray him [13:21] …that all the disciples would scatter…it appeared His ministry was over …think Jesus is at a low point in His ministry?

—Once in the Garden where He would be betrayed Jesus said His ‘soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death’ [Mark 13:34 / Matt. 26:38]

—At His arrest we see Jesus overcoming the strongest of human desires…the temptation of self-preservation.

What better time to convince Jesus that He didn’t have to do this?

There never was a time that Satan didn’t know who Jesus was…he’d been trying to get rid of Him for over thirty years…or at least have Him rethink this whole crucifixion thing…things had been going OK up until now…do you really need to go to this extreme?  Do you really need to die?  

One thing about Satan is…his temptations are subtle…they’re not over the top ridiculous…Satan used the same tactics in the wilderness and here in the garden that he’d been using since Adam and Eve…he doesn’t tempt us any differently than he did Adam and Eve…because human nature hasn’t changed…after 1000’s of years he’s a pretty good judge of human nature.  

We see a couple important truths about Satan’s involvement in temptation.

Satan attacks when we are most vulnerable

Satan will take advantage of your weaknesses…He will work his lies into the crevices of your heart, where fears and doubts exist…he will tempt you to live out your natural human tendency to live for yourself.

Now…here’s where the separation between Jesus and us comes in…when Satan tempts us it’s usually because we have already given him something to work with …something he can use in his favor.

Our temptation begins in our sinful heart (James 1:13-16) …Jesus didn’t have a sinful heart…therefore He didn’t have sinful desires…nevertheless…the temptations were no less powerful in the fullness of His humanity.

Here’s the temptation…If God puts you in a place of difficulty for some purpose, don’t try to change it solely to satisfy your physical or personal needs.

Instead…try to discover what God is doing through the circumstance rather than shortcut the experience and lose the blessing by taking the easy way out.

Let me show you…Satan says… ‘if you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread’ …the word ‘if’ confuses everything…in this statement Satan is not questioning Jesus’ deity because He knew exactly who Jesus was…he was there when He was born…in this statement he’s actually acknowledging it.

He’s not saying… ‘if’ but ‘Since you are the Son of God, why starve yourself to death? …Come on man…just change some stones into bread.”

Satan’s temptation was to get Jesus to act in His self-will…what I want…taking advantage of Jesus’ human weakness of hunger to satisfy his own physical or personal need or desire.

It’s what I just told you…here’s the temptation…If God puts you in a place of difficulty for some purpose don’t try to change it solely to satisfy your physical or personal needs.

It may seem like such a small thing…on the surface turning stones into bread seems to be no big deal…after all Jesus was hungry…He hadn’t eaten in 40 days…what’s the harm in making something to eat? …He had the power to do it…He multiplied food for other people who were hungry… so why was this a temptation?

While Satan is not all-powerful, he is clever and skillful at manipulating situations and people—always to achieve his purpose of provoking us to sin.

Satan was tempting Jesus to alter God’s purpose…Scripture says, “Jesus was led by the Spirit” into the wilderness…God had a purpose for this period of time that required Jesus’ absolute trust and dependence on Him.

Satisfying His hunger wasn’t the temptation…the temptation was tempting Jesus to pursue the natural desire of satisfying Himself over trusting God to provide for His needs…to doubt the provision and purposes of God and to act outside of them.

Placing our desire for something…even if it’s good…above trusting God in obedience is wrong.

Satan’s temptation to Eve was she should please herself instead of the Lord…me first…it’s the same with us…instead of loving the Lord we love ourselves…HOW?

We love ourselves:

· by claiming the respect, honor, and privilege that we think we are due.

· by doing what we want to do.

· by seeking the praise of men instead of seeking glory for God.

· by giving in to the temptations of the devil, the flesh, and the world.

· by surrounding ourselves with only people who are easy to get along with.

Satan never gives up

Need to recognize that Satan will never stop tempting…in Jesus’ case…

And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

In other words, I’ll catch you later…I’m not going anywhere.

Satan’s attacks on Jesus did not end when Jesus successfully resisted him three years earlier in the wilderness…Satan just left Jesus alone for a while until another opportunity arose…the same is true for you and me.

Satan might leave us alone for a time, but he’s simply waiting—waiting for another moment when we are at our weakest and most vulnerable…

We have a real enemy whose aim is to kill, steal, and destroy [John 10:10] …he is relentless in his attacks on us…it is a war that is played out every day in heaven… as soon as we accepted Jesus as Savior Satan began his attacks and he will continue until we are out of this body. That is the importance of every day…keep on being filled with the Spirit.

John 14:2-3 / 13-14 / 16-17

The disciples have just concluded celebrating the Lord’s Supper in what was a  long evening of drama…dialogue…teaching…and prayer…John 14 begins an address by Jesus that goes until the end of chapter 17 that is composed entirely of the words of Jesus.

Jesus makes three astonishing statements…FIRST statement is John 14:2-3

² My Father’s house has many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that where I am you may be also.

Verse 2 gets often mistranslated as…In My Father’s house are many mansions …it’s one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible…put right alongside:

—God causes all things to work for good [Romans 8:28].

—If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it [John 14:14].

‘in My Father’s house are many mansions…is the King James Version familiar to many Christians…TWO THINGS:

FIRST…Mansions is not a correct translation…the Greek word does not imply that a castle awaits every believer…many mansions mean that there is room for all… each child of God has a dwelling place of their own…nothing to do with an elaborate house with servants.

In ancient culture, a father’s house was where the extended family lived…as the family grew through birth and marriage rooms were often added on…the father’s house had many rooms or dwelling places to live in.

SECONDLY…is the mistaken idea that “My father’s house” is referring to Heaven…it’s not…Heaven is not mentioned once in the whole chapter. What then is the ‘Father’s house’?

Jesus speaks out of the context of the Old Testament…in the Old Testament the Lord’s ‘house’ or ‘dwelling place’ was any place where God’s presence was.  

Often in the Psalms God’s ‘house’ or ‘dwelling place’ is the temple in Jerusalem …other times it refers to the whole creation, or even the whole universe…some Psalms describe God himself as our ‘dwelling place’ [Ps 90:1, 91:9].

The point is: God’s ‘house’ or ‘dwelling place’ is wherever God is…wherever His presence is…not referring to a physical building.

Next Jesus tells the disciples that He’s going to prepare a place for them.  

Where is this place…so, Jesus tells them and us as well… that in going away He’s accomplishing the next step in God’s plan for his kingdom.

Our hope is not that we will fly away into space like a spaceman to some unknown place…it’s that God will renew the earth and put it back the way it should be…the way it was when God initially created it.

As followers of Jesus we will live forever with God, but it won’t be in heaven…the Bible shows that heaven will one day come to earth…it will be earth as God originally intended it to be. It will be Eden restored.

It was the blood that Jesus shed on the cross that prepared a dwelling place for us in the Father’s house…it is our reward to be with the One who secured this for us by His death and resurrection.

A major feature of the new earth will be the New Jerusalem. John calls it ‘the Holy City…coming down out of heaven from God’…this glorious city, with its streets of gold and pearly gates, is situated on a new, glorious earth where the tree of life will be (Revelation 22:2)…it is the place we will live in.

In the new heaven and new earth, Scripture says, there are seven notable things that are absent…seven things that are “no more”:

• no more sea (Revelation 21:1)
• no more death (Revelation 21:4)
• no more mourning (Revelation 21:4)
• no more weeping (Revelation 21:4)
• no more pain (Revelation 21:4)
• no more curse (Revelation 22:3)
• no more night (Revelation 22:5)

• no more sin –-two forces that prompt us to sin: our own evil desire (our sin nature) and enticement (the devil’s schemes). Neither of those forces will be in heaven.

He tells us and them He’s going to a ‘place’ they cannot follow…it’s a path that only Jesus could walk…He’s about to be arrested… executed [19:30] …resurrected [20:17] …then ascend into heaven [Acts 1:6-9].

What is about to happen to Him …no one can accompany Him on…BUT it is a place that we will one day live in.

The point in John 14 is not about Heaven…but the person…Jesus makes a key statement…Where I am, there you [will] be also…and where will Jesus be?

Initially for a while in Paradise…because He told the thief on the Cross that was where He was going…but that’s only temporary.

John 14:2-3 is not about heaven…it’s about our ‘dwelling place’ being eternally secure with God…Jesus doesn’t say [3] ‘I will take you to heaven’… He says, I will take you to myself when I return to earth just as I promised.

The general idea is that followers of Jesus will live forever with God…but nowhere does it say that place will be in Heaven…in fact the Bible doesn’t say that when you die you even go to Heaven.

The Bible teaches that our hope is not in heaven…but in the resurrection when our souls will be reunited with our bodies, and we will all be bodily resurrected…the eternal state involves both a physical earth and physical bodies.

[Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; John 11:23-24; Luke 14:14; Matt. 22:30; Phil. 3:11; 1 Cor. 15:23]

…Jesus finally brings comfort to the disciples by saying, [John 14:3] If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am there you may be also.

The SECOND astonishing statement Jesus makes follows on the heels of the first one. [14:13-14]

I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Few observations…Jesus starts this promise off by stating ‘whoever believes in Me’…it’s a promise to all believers…there is no exclusion here if you are a Christian…you shouldn’t think:

Oh, this is for pastors, or for the highly spiritual mature Christians, or missionaries, or elders, or evangelists, or gifted Christians. No. The text says, “whoever believes in me.”

We have seen this exact phrase before:

—“Whoever believes in me shall never thirst” [John 6:35].

—“Whoever believes in me Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” [John 7:38].

—“Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live” [John 11:25].

—“Whoever believes in me will not remain in darkness” [John 12:46].

That’s the first observation: the promise is not made to the apostles alone, but to all who believe…so when it says, whoever believes in Jesus will do this or that, it is describing the normal Christian life.

The second observation is that Jesus promises all believers will do his works…a confusing statement…does that mean turning water to wine…healing people… feeding people…the connection between verses 11 and 12 goes like this:

Believe in me on account of my works — let my works lead you to faith (verse 11),because whoever believes in me (verse 12a),will also do works that lead people to believe in me…He’s not talking about doing miracles.

To pray ‘in Jesus’ name’ is not evoking a magical spell as if the words themselves have power…anything we ask for in prayer must be according to the character of God and in the will of God, if it is to be granted.

The emphasis of these verses is in the phrase, “in my name,” and “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

This promise of Jesus never fails and is always at our disposal but it’s up to us to meet its condition: to genuinely pray in Jesus’ name and for the purpose that the Father may be glorified in the Son…you can’t have one without the other.

In chapter 14, Jesus has been comforting His disciples…easing their fears about His leaving…that despite His going away…He assures them…He would not leave them …so He shares with them something hidden from all eternity past…

The THIRD astonishing statement Jesus makes [14:16-17]

¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You   know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you ¹⁸ I will not leave you…”

He begins teaching them about the Holy Spirit, the ‘Paraclete’ who will come to take his place when He goes to the Father.

In chapters 14, 15, and 16, we see Jesus’ fullest teaching about the Holy Spirit…far too many Christians go through their entire life not fully realizing or understanding exactly what Jesus is saying about the Holy Spirit.

That word paraklētos …in the Greek…is translated a lot of different ways in English depending on the translation:

‘Comforter’ (KJV)

‘Counselor’ (NIV, RSV)

‘Advocate’ (NRSV)

‘Helper’ (ESV, NASB)

Out of 27 different translations I looked at only one…the Contemporary English Version…translated paraklētos correctly…as the Holy Spirit.

The reason for the wide variety of translations is that the Greek word paraklētos can’t be easy translated into English in a single word…because depending on if it’s used as an adjective or a verb it can cover a wide range of meaning.

The Disciples were already familiar with Jesus as their Paraclete…their comforter …counselor…helper…BUT…notice Jesus says that the Father, not wanting to leave them alone…will send another of the same kind to help them after He’s gone.  

What…another Jesus is coming? NO…Jesus is saying that they have experienced the Paraclete abiding WITH them…but… when the Father sends the Holy Spirit, this Paraclete will abide IN them…to always be with them to guide and instruct.

The Holy Spirit in a sense does from the inside what Christ does from the outside …teach…convict…remind…and guide…then He clarifies that this Helper is only available to those who believe [14:17].

For many the Holy Spirit is this mystical Casper the ghost like figure that looms around unseen and undetectable…actually…The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity and undoubtedly the least understood member of the Godhead.

The Bible’s description of the Holy Spirit proves He is not a “force” or “energy” or an “it,” but He is a person…The Holy Spirit is a person because He possesses a mind…emotions… and a will.

Most people agree that it is possible to sin against God…and Jesus…but how about the Holy Spirit…we also can sin against the Holy Spirit…because in reality all sins are against the Trinity.

I want to share with you what happens regarding how the Holy Spirit works in our lives…it’s the difference between the baptism of the Spirit…and… being filled with the Spirit.

Two entirely completely different concepts that receive a lot of attention primarily because of insufficient knowledge regarding the  

Difference between being Baptized in the Spirit…and Filled with the Spirit

“For we were all baptized by (in) one Spirit” – [1 Cor. 12:13] …into one single spirit of unity…. whether Jews or Gentiles…male or female…bond or free… whatever nationality…OR condition your life is in….we all equally belong to Christ which makes us all equal members of one body.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at salvation…it is at that point the Holy Spirit comes to permanently dwell inside of you

The moment you are born again you receive the Holy Spirit…God does not give you something…He gives you Himself…the Holy Spirit is God…living out His life through you carrying out His purposes.

Two Verses to validate that:

1) [1 Cor. 12:13] In the Greek…“We are all baptized” …is in the Aorist tense, what we say in English…the past tense…indicating a completed past action don’t know when it happened…it happens at different times depending on when you became a Christian…Baptism with the Spirit is never repeated…it is a one-time event at salvation.

2) [Rom. 8:9, / 1 Cor. 3:16] both verses purposely use the word “dwell” when referring to the Spirit being in you…indicating permanency…the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in you…you have all of Him you are ever going to get.

You don’t have to do anything to be baptized in the Spirit except trust Jesus as your Savior…people are consumed with a desire to do something …speak in tongues… have an experience…seek some kind of physical manifestation to confirm they were baptized in the Spirit…maybe even somehow win the Spirits approval…or convince God of their sincerity.

AGAIN…you do nothing…baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at salvation… The Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of you…He takes up permanent residence in you …you have all of Him you are ever going to get.

Different than being filled with the Spirit

Christians are saved and are baptized in the Spirit at conversion…BUT…not all Christians are equally filled with the Spirit.

The filling of the Spirit is not getting more of the Spirit…at conversion you already have all you are ever going to get…it’s a matter of the Holy Spirit empowering and getting more control of you.

Every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit…once and for all…BUT…the filling of the Spirit is a matter of NOT how much of the Spirit we have…but how much the Spirit has of us.

Without the filling of the Holy Spirit…we will always be out there just doing things on our own…in our own strength…trying to make ourselves better … trying to be acceptable to God by our human effort.

Without the filling of the Spirit we will continually suffer under the domination of sin…the filling of the Spirit means to be filled with the immediate presence of God to the extent that you are feeling what God Himself feels…desiring what God desires …doing what God wants…Progressively become more like Christ.

Without the Spirit’s help we will always be out there battling the world in our own strength…God wants to give us His strength through the Holy Spirit to overcome the world.

Remember I said earlier—“Baptism of the Spirit” indicated a completed action … being “Filled with the Spirit” carries the idea of continuous action…it is a present imperative verb…meaning TWO THINGS:

1) Being in the imperative mode it is a command—we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

 2) Being in the Present tense…indicating continuous action…Peluso Paraphrase would be—Be filled and keep on being filled

All Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at conversion…that’s the baptism part…all Christians are equally saved…SO…If we are given the Holy Spirit atconversion…when we accepted Jesus as Savior…WHY…are we NOT seeing victory in those difficult areas of sin in our life?

KEY— The answer…BECAUSE…price of admission…not all Christians are equally filled with the Spirit…all Christians are baptized in the Spirit…but not all Christians are equally filled with the Spirit.

We have not fully surrendered ourselves to God…this is why we are unsuccessful in our Christian life…this is why we are not experiencing a closer walk with God…this is why situations continue to overwhelm us.

HOLD IT….I’m a Christian…if I’ve have been baptized with the Spirit…isn’t that surrendering myself to God…NO IT IS NOT…as long as I am self-sufficient… attempting to live my life under my set of rules…on my own…I will never be in a position to be fully surrendered to God.

God’s purpose for us is that we would have a daily walking-and-talking relationship with Him…where we experience His presence daily…relying on Him for every decision…and have Him be a part of every thought you think.

That’s what the phrase… “Spirit-filled life” means…Paul uses an illustration to demonstrate what he means by the words “be filled” …the illustration is of a person who is drunk… [Eph. 5:18] …whose whole body has been affected by alcohol.

The more alcohol a person consumes the more they are under the control of it…

to be filled with the Spirit is to voluntarily put oneself under the influence of the Holy Spirit…to be under the control of the Spirit is just like someone who is drunk is controlled and dominated by being intoxicated.

BUT…just like someone who’s drank too much…eventually the effects of the alcohol diminish…so does the filling of the Holy Spirit …that’s why Ephesians 5:18 should be translated… “keep being filled.”

God does not want us to come to Christ then lead a life of defeat and discouragement…going through the motions of…going to church… reading our bibles…praying…confessing sins…but all the while…being discontent with our Christian walk and just surviving.

When we are filled by the Spirit it will turn the drudgery of our everyday life…and our Christian walk from one of complacency…to an empowering blessing.

KEY — The “baptism of the Spirit” takes place once at salvation…at conversion you have all the Spirit you are ever going to get…the filling of the Spirit is the Spirit empowering and getting more control of you.

It’s a repeated experience…something that takes place when we willingly surrender to the influence of the Spirit…it is directly dependent upon our willingness.

Jesus knew after His ascension people would become fearful…so He gave us the assurance of these three statements to help us during our time on earth…He starts off in chapter 14 with what ought to be the most soothing words in the N.T.

Do not let your heart be troubled [John 14:1]

Jesus realized this was the problem with the disciples…so He tells them…He’s telling us… you have grief now but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.  

If there is a single, central message in Jesus’ words that provides a basis of comfort …it’s trusting faith…often times our inability to be comforted is because we’re not trusting Him like we should.

        God’s strength is made perfect when we rely on His strength to sustain us.

John 13:36-38

Last week we looked at Jesus’ washing of the disciple’s feet…the importance of this act gets lost in the emphasis on feet washing rather than on the statement made by Jesus:

If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me

Without going into a deep theological meaning of this phrase…did that last week, I’ll just say this is a Greek third-class conditional phrase…this is where most people lose the intensity of what Jesus is saying…it has nothing to do with washing feet.

Jesus is saying…if you do not submit to My will… ‘if I do not wash you’ …then you have no part with me…you will not be My disciple…you cannot have communion with me…nor can you share in the blessings of My kingdom.

Jesus’ response is an ultimatum…either I do this, or you have nothing to do with me…it’s a black-and-white response…it’s non-negotiable…I’m not asking you Peter, I’m telling you…if I don’t do this…we’re through.

That’s some strong talk…people get so caught up on the servant thing of washing feet they overlook the seriousness of failing to grasp Jesus’ comments regarding submitting to His will…if you do not submit to My will, you have no part with Me.  

To add emphasis to this Jesus makes a comparison between washing and bathing… Peter says wash my feet…hands…and head…referring to spot-cleansing. Jesus says Peter that won’t do.  

[v 10] Jesus says it’s more intense than that…being bathed (λούω) implies an over-all deep cleaning of the whole body…He who has bathed—who is washed from head to foot is the description of the process of salvation…washed in the Blood.

The initial coming to Christ is likened to a bath in which we are washed all over, completely, from head to foot.

Then Jesus says something that gets grossly mistranslated…Jesus says ‘you are clean’ [10] … ‘you’ is a second person plural pronoun…He’s not just talking to Peter…He’s talking to every one of the disciples…when you are bathed in the Blood you are clean…not just Peter but all the disciples…including every person in this room.  

The primary object of the feet washing was to give the disciples an example of humility and love… BUT…the secondary purpose was to use it as a symbol of the spiritual cleansing which must be received from Jesus.

Jesus is saying…when you first come to me, you are bathed…you are clean all over…this is what the Bible calls justification.

No one can have a relationship with Jesus unless they have been cleansed from sin…and no one can enter into the presence of the Lord unless he first submits to that cleansing…the washing away of all the guilt and sin up to that point in our lives.

But wait…not all of you have been bathed…not all of you are clean.

For He knew the one who was betraying him; for this reason He said, not all of you are clean [13:11]

Jesus knew who was betraying Him…for this reason He said, “not all of you are clean” [11] …for those who’ve never been ‘bathed’ they are unsaved like Judas… again, service and humility are not the only lessons that Jesus was teaching.

They were all about to celebrate the Passover meal one last time together…during it the Lord instituted a special new meal for them to do in remembrance of Him…if you notice Judas had no part in the meal…he was excused.

Matthew’s description of the Lord’s Supper are Jesus’ own words of how it is to be administered… [26:26-29]

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 

²⁸ This is my blood of the^[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

The original Lord’s Supper was a meal where Jesus adapted and applied the meaning of the Jewish Passover feast to Himself.

Just as Israel was delivered from the slavery of Pharaoh through the blood of the Passover lamb, so we are delivered from God’s judgment and slavery to sin by the death of the Lamb of God.

As Baptists we celebrate only two ordinances…both of them were instituted by Jesus Himself…one is baptism and the second is the Lord’s Supper…neither one of those will get you into heaven.

1 Corinthians is the primary biblical text on the nature…meaning…and purpose of the Lord’s Supper…here’s what Paul says:

1. The Lord’s Supper looks back to the person and work of Jesus.
2. The Lord’s Supper is remembering His victory over death at His resurrection

3) The Lord’s Supper is commanded. Participation is not an option

4) The Lord’s Supper is a time of confession and self-examination of any unconfessed sins

5) The Lord’s Supper proclaims His coming again to earth at the end of the age.

6) The Lord’s Supper is not to be taken in an unworthy manner

There is a divine discipline that will accompany those who take the ordinance with wrong motives and attitudes. 

The reference to eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood is obviously figurative language…one of the differences we have with our Catholic brothers and sisters who believe in Transubstantiation, which is the process where the bread and wine of the Eucharist is transformed into the actual Body and Blood of Jesus.

We believe that Jesus was not speaking literally of His own flesh and blood…the reference to eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ is to believe that His flesh is given for those who believe in Him and His blood is shed for their sins.

[John 6 chapter] Jesus gives six promises as a result of eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

1. Verse 53 – you have no life in yourselves.

Having life is associated with believing in the Son of God…if Christ is present then life is present, but when Christ is absent, then death is present.

2. Verse 54a – Promise of eternal life

‘and this is the promise God has promised us, even eternal life’ [1 John 2:25].

3. Verse 54b – Promise of a resurrection

The promise of being resurrected on the last day.

4. Verse 56 – Promise of abiding in Jesus

To abide in Jesus relates to eternal life… Jesus connects abiding in Him with never dying.  Proofs of abiding in Christ…includes obedience to Christ’s commands … [John 15:10; 1 John 3:24]; …living free from habitual sin [1 John 3:6]; …the awareness of a divine presence living in us [1 John 4:13].

5. Verse 57 – Promise over death.

Death no longer has a hold on us…that’s the promise of believing in the “I AM”.

6. Verse 58 – Promise of eternal life.

Jesus reiterates that I give them eternal life and they shall live forever.

Next Jesus tells them that He’s going away [John 7:34/ 8:21 / 13:36].

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷ Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

Where I go you cannot follow Me now

Jesus is going to a ‘place’ they cannot follow…the short-term implication was a path that only Jesus could walk…He’s about to be arrested…executed [19:30] …resurrected [20:17] …then ascend into heaven [Acts 1:6-9] …what is about to happen…no one can accompany Him on that walk.  

The men who He taught for over three years cannot do what He is about to do… those are the steps in which His disciples cannot follow…at least not yet.

Because we have the history of what occurred after Jesus’ ascension we know the fates of those eleven men hearing these words…all of them except one would suffer a similar fate… killed for their faith in Jesus…so in that sense Where I go you cannot follow Me now…was true…but you will follow later  [13:36] is a prophecy of what would eventually happen to them.

Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? 

I will lay down my life for you.

One thing that is brought out in the Bible is the willingness of those who wrote the Bible to expose the weakness of those who we think are ‘super disciples’ …whether that’s Moses…or the prophets…or the apostles…the Bible reveals their weakness and failing.

Peter was such a person…here he’s making a bold statement about something he has no idea of the seriousness of or consequences involved…I will lay down my life for you.

Peter was a man who was quick with emotions…quick to react…quick to speak… all the while at times not realizing what he is saying or doing…wanting to be a man of mighty faith…who often faltered.

Here Peter makes a statement that if you cannot identify with…consider yourself fortunate.

Have you ever made a commitment about something that you are completely unaware of the seriousness of what you’re committing to?  It’s a reminder that good intentions are not always followed up on easily…I will lay down my life for you.

Now we may not personally have made a statement that drastic…but most of us have at one time or another overstated our commitment…abilities…strengths…and intentions.

At the time we were probably sincere in making them…but then later realized our foolishness in making such a bold commitment.

Before the next day Peter would realize the foolishness in that statement…and Jesus even tells him so…you think you can follow me…Peter you won’t even make it through the night:

I say to you; a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times [John 13:38]

And it wasn’t just Peter who failed…they all failed:

Behold, the hour is coming… when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone [John 16:32]

and they all left Him and fled [Mark 14:59].

Here’s where we’re like Peter…in our zeal to demonstrate our commitment to God or to prove to God how strong a Christian we are we overstate our ability to handle temptations…trials…difficulties…challenges or problems.

Satan loves it when we do that…overstating our ability to handle temptations… trials …difficulties…challenges or problems…because that shows our desire to trust in ourselves rather than in God.

God’s strength is made perfect when we realize our weakness and vulnerability and rely on His strength to sustain us.

SO, here sit the disciples…Jesus has just told them He would be leaving them [13:36] …that Peter would deny Him [13:38] …that Judas would betray him [13:21] …and probably the worst piece of news…they will no longer be able to go where He is going [13:36]…so how’s your day going so far?

For them…their hopes for the Kingdom of God are soon going to be dashed…they had been following Him…they had come to depend and to rely on Him expecting Him to establish His kingdom on the earth at any moment. But that’s all over.

That’s a lot of hard-hitting information for people who made it their life’s calling to follow Jesus…no wonder the disciples are troubled.

It’s as if the ground is shifting beneath their feet…but Jesus says,

Do not let your heart be troubled [John 14:1]

If there is a single, central message in Jesus’ words that provides a basis of comfort, it’s trusting faith…if you’re discontented…worried…anxious…bewildered… perplexed…confused…agitated…or otherwise in need of comfort, part of the reason maybe is that you’re not trusting Him like you should.

If you really trust Jesus what do you have to worry about? The reason the disciples were so stirred up is that they had begun to focus on their problems, and they didn’t seem to be able to put their trust in Christ…so in these verses He reminds them of the importance of trusting in Him.

Consider this…there will be a time when they will follow Him [13:36] …BUT…for today…where I am going you cannot follow…I am going to die for you …I am making a way for you to come to the Father…and only I can do it…you can’t follow me now…this is my work alone.

But you will follow Me afterward, because I will make a way…I will pay for your sins…then you will come — through me…trusting me…no one comes to the Father except through me. That’s what I am doing tonight.

We will follow Jesus to the Father, because He made a way. He paid for our sins.

Thomas, like most characters in the Gospel, takes Jesus literally…he asks a reasonable question…he expresses confusion…how is it possible to know ‘the way’ if we don’t know where we’re going…how can you say we know the way?

He wants instructions…directions…a road map to this mysterious place Jesus is about to go to [4:5] …Jesus tells him…there are no instructions to follow about how to get to the Father…that He Himself is the way to the Father.

I AM the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” [14:6].

This is the sixth of seven ‘I Am’ statements made by Jesus…each component of this statement is given a definite article both in Greek and in English…I AM the way…the truth…and the life.

Jesus is not ‘a way’ or ‘one of many ways’ …or a ‘different way’ …there is no other religion…no other faith… no other path…no other philosophy…no other gospel you can trust to gain access to the Father…it only comes through Jesus.

Jesus is THE Way that leads to the Father.

Jesus is THE Truth who shines His light into our lives…whereby we acknowledge that we are sinners in need of forgiveness— conviction/conformation.

Jesus is THE Life who breathes His own resurrected life into fallen man.

That where I am there you may be also…there’s is no need to worry…these were assuring words…I’m going away to prepare a place for you in my Father’s house.

The statement ‘if I go’ … ‘I will come again’ is a much stronger statement in the Greek than in the English.

It means that I am positively going to come back again for you…then you will be with Me forever. Christ’s condition for leaving was that He was returning.

That where I am there you may be also [14:3] …the way this is written in the Greek makes it a purpose clause—(Purpose clause with ινα and present active subjunctive of ειμι)

Thus, the purpose of His departure and His return…for the believer…is that wherever Jesus is we will be with him forever…a promise for all believers who die before the Second Coming…Jesus comes for them as well.

Jesus has just shared the events that are about to happen…the entire 14^th…15^th … 16^th  …and 17^th chapters of John are exclusively the words of Jesus…they are known as the farewell discourse given by Jesus to the eleven disciples immediately after the conclusion of the Last Supper…with chapter 17 being His High Priestly Prayer for Himself…His disciples…and His church.

Jesus knew after His ascension people would become fearful…so He gave us the assurance of these four chapters to help us during our time on earth…and starts off in chapter 14 with what ought to be some of the most soothing words in the N.T.

Do not let your heart be troubled [John 14:1]

Jesus realized this was the problem with the disciples…so He tells them…you have grief now but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.  

If there is a single, central message in Jesus’ words that provides a basis of comfort …it’s trusting faith…often times our inability to be comforted is because we’re not trusting Him like we should.

        God’s strength is made perfect when we rely on His strength to sustain us.

John 13:5-11

On Thursday of Passion Week…commonly referred to as Maundy Thursday…

Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room just prior to His arrest and crucifixion.

Maundy is derived from the Latin word for “command,” and refers to Jesus’ commandment to the disciples to “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Matthew starts off with the narrative [Matt. 26:20]:

Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples

John then describes what happens: [John 13:5-11]

5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered,

“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, hose who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean.  And you are clean, though not every one of you.

11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean.

Here they are in the upper room where Jesus initiates the Last Supper on the night before His trial…knowing that He was soon going to die by being betrayed by one of His own disciples.

And just to show you how sorrowful the disciples were concerning Jesus’ death… they’re all sitting around arguing on what will take place after Jesus’ death …they were engaged in a 

Dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest [Luke 22:24]

Obviously having little understanding of what Jesus’ death meant…which may have been the reason for the second important event that occurred on Maundy Thursday …Jesus’s washing the disciple’s feet. [13:7]

John is the only gospel writer that records Jesus’ act of washing the disciple’s feet.

If you’ve been in church for any length of time, I’m sure you heard countless sermons on the various reasons why Jesus washed His disciples’ feet…that it was a simple lesson on humility…kind-a…it’s like the Parable of the Good Samaritan was teaching on social justice and the need to help the less fortunate…not hardly.   

OR…maybe the emphasis is on cleanliness…the streets were dusty and dirty… roads had garbage and animal waste on them…people in those days wore sandals without socks…needless to say not something you’d want to smell at dinner time.

In the first century there were no table and chairs…you didn’t sit elevated like we sit at a table today…it was the custom to sit on the floor and recline…or lean back on cushions that were placed around the table with your feet stretched out behind you away from the table.

Having your feet washed…was a way to show honor to your guests…but it was usually done by the lowest servant in the household.

Hence the second reason why Jesus washed the disciple’s feet…what better way to demonstrate humility than by washing their feet since just prior to that the disciples had been arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest.

How sad Jesus must have been to see them bickering…with only a few hours left in His earthly body the disciples continue to demonstrate their immaturity…what does He do? Rather than scolding the apostles for their attitude and behavior He takes on the job of the lowest of servants.

This is usually the topic of most sermons when dealing with this portion of Scripture, to illustrate the importance of being humble …but I would like to suggest that there is a much deeper and profound meaning behind this act.

Here’s one of the key verses in this whole dialogue…and it’s contained in verse [7]

What I do you do not know at this moment but you will know after these things

This speaks to every person in this sanctuary…this is powerful.

God is always doing a bigger work in your life than what you can understand…and many times what He’s doing you do not know at this moment…there is much more going on in the spiritual realm of your life than your mind can comprehend.

That’s what happens when you give your life to Jesus…it no longer belongs to you. He will use you in ways you won’t fully understand…He afflicts us…He disappoints us…He frustrates our plans…He purposely brings people into our lives…why is that?

You might not realize what the Lord is doing in your life right now, but you can be assured that whatever is occurring…He is using it and you always for His good.

What is occurring in your life is often designed to teach you some important lesson …here’s the example…the spiritual meaning of the foot washing was much more important than the act itself.  

In one sense we’re like the disciples…much of what Jesus said and did was not understood by them…it was not until later when it was revealed to them through the Holy Spirit.

Peter saw the action of Jesus, yet he did not fully understand the design of it…it was a symbolic act…it was intended to teach a lesson of humility in a drastic manner…God washing people’s feet…something that would be impossible for them ever to forget.

Jesus could have simply lectured them regarding their selfish behavior… commanding that they be humble…but it would have been far less impressive than when they saw God actually performing the job of a servant.

Upon arrived in the upper room, they found there was no servant to wash their feet…since no servants were there to wash their feet it never occurred to them to wash one another’s feet…but when the Lord Himself stooped to do this lowly task, they were stunned into silence.

To his credit Peter was profoundly uncomfortable with the Lord washing his feet and, never being at a loss for words, Peter protested, “You shall never wash my feet!”

It’s important to understand how fanatical Peter was in his response…in the Greek his statement to Jesus is a prohibition that was meant to last forever…he uses the strongest double negative ου μη in the Greek language…meaning…it will never happen…you will never wash my feet…hint…never say never to God.

Peter was focused on the physical act that was being performed and was appalled that His Master would be a servant to him not realizing that this was supposed to be a teaching moment…that Jesus was focused on the spiritual, not the physical.

It was common for Jesus to pass from sensible and temporal things to those which were spiritual and eternal…here Jesus is deflecting His actions to a deeper more spiritual meaning.

If we just look at the feet washing…and take it to mean that Jesus is desiring us to be humble…makes for an OK sermon…BUT…you miss the whole intent.

For the past weeks we’ve looked at what Jesus had said to the disciples…to us… through parables that have become more and more intent…He is defining in graphic terminology what a life of faith as His disciple looks like.

Jesus’ response to Peter is another example…Jesus’ statement of–If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me–is a Greek third-class conditional phrase…this is where most people lose the intensity of what Jesus is about to share …it has nothing to do with washing feet.

It goes back to Jesus’ earlier statement…What I do now you don’t understand… Peter proved that he didn’t understand what was happening.

The wording in the Greek depicts the result of what is likely to occur in the future… Jesus is telling Peter…there’s the possibility that our relationship just might be in danger…that  you might be like Judas…removed as an apostle…it’s all contained in this one verse.   

Here’s how a third-class conditional phrase is defined in the Greek…if ‘X’ happens then ‘Y’ is already happening.

Let’s apply it to Scripture…If “X” happens…if I do not wash you…then… “Y” is already happening …you have no part with me…this would have been blatantly obvious to Peter.   

Jesus is saying…if you do not submit to My will… ‘if I do not wash you’ …then you have no part with me…you will not be My disciple…you cannot have communion with me…nor can you share in the blessings of My kingdom.

Jesus’ response is an ultimatum…either I do this, or you have nothing to do with me…it’s a black-and-white response…it’s non-negotiable…I’m not asking you Peter, I’m telling you…if I don’t do this…we’re through.

That’s some strong talk…people get so caught up on the servant thing of washing feet they overlook the seriousness of failing to grasp Jesus’ comments regarding submitting to His will…if you do not submit to My will then you have no part with Me.  

Stay with me…this gets deeper…when you fail to look at this dialogue in the Greek you miss the complexity of what Jesus is referring to…it’s seen in the two words; ‘washing’ and ‘bathing’.

Peter says: wash not only my feet but my hands and my head [13:9] obviously referring to washing only parts of his body.

BUT…Jesus doesn’t have that in mind…Jesus doesn’t use the Greek word ‘wash’ indicating only certain parts of the body…He uses the Greek word ‘bathe’…He who has bathed [10] …referring to the cleansing of the whole body.

In [v 9] Peter says wash (νίπτω) my hand and head…referring to spot cleaning…in [v 10] Jesus says it’s more intense than that…being bathed (λούω) implies an over-all deep cleaning of the whole body.

He who has bathed—who is washed from head to foot, is the explanation of the process of salvation…it begins with a bath.

That initial coming to Christ is likened to a bath in which we are washed all over, completely, from head to foot.

 Jesus is alluding to a very common social practice in those days…it was the custom to take a bath before you went out to a meal, but in walking through the dirty streets of the city with sandals on, your feet would be defiled so when you arrived a servant —needs only to wash his feet— [13:10] because he is already completely clean…no use taking another bath if all you need to wash is your feet.

Then look what Jesus says…this gets grossly mistranslated…Jesus says ‘you are clean’ [10] …He’s not just talking to Peter… ‘you’ is a second person plural pronoun…meaning every one of you are clean…not just Peter but all the disciples.

The primary object of the feet washing was to give the disciples an example of humility and love… BUT…the secondary purpose was to use it as a symbol of the spiritual cleansing which must be received from Him.

Jesus is saying…when you first come to me, you are bathed…you are clean all over…this is what the Bible calls justification.

The true believer is washed when he receives Christ for his salvation…unless we are purified from sin by having an over-all deep cleaning by the Spirit of Christ…having been washed in the blood…then we have no part in His salvation.

No one can have a relationship with Jesus unless they have been cleansed from sin…and no one can enter into the presence of the Lord unless he first submits to that cleansing…the washing away of all the guilt and sin up to that point in their life.

There are two erroneous notions that are being presented today…one is the mistaken idea preached that when you become a Christian, all your sins…past …present…and future…are forgiven…that’s not taught anywhere in the Bible.

Jesus’ statement…needs only to wash his feet [13:10] proves that…He’s saying because we have bathed, we are completely clean…no use taking another bath…but as you walk through life Jesus knows your ‘feet’, using feet as a symbol for sin… will become defiled during that walk, and that needs to be washed away.

Sin breaks our fellowship with God…that’s why we need to spiritually wash our ‘feet’…that is why throughout Scriptures we are encouraged to confess our sins (1 John 1:9). And the moment we do so, that original cleansing is renewed…and we go on again, restored.

He teaches us that not only do we need that initial, never-to-be-repeated cleansing, but we also need the many-times-repeated experience of forgiveness, of coming to Christ for the cleansing away of the defilement of our walk.

Then there’s the second mistaken idea that says…I need a bath all over again when I sin…that somehow I lose my salvation and have to start over in my Christian experience.

Having just given an explanation of the importance of being bathed …as it applies to salvation…He further describes how this works…the wording ‘he who has bathed’ in the Greek is a perfect tense participle meaning completed action.

It is implying that bathing is a …for those who have been bathed…they don’t need to be cleansed again…it’s a onetime cleansing…referring to eternal security.

We need only to have a minor occasional spot-cleaning to clean us from our daily sins illustrated by the wording ‘needs only to wash his feet.’

For those who are bathed…it’s a one-time never-to-be-repeated once-for-all-cleansing event…that never needs to be repeated…once bathed…you don’t need to be entirely cleansed ever again…This dialogue is far more serious than just cleaning feet.

So…just hours away from His crucifixion knowing that He will soon go to the cross to die for the sins of the world rather than being preoccupied with thoughts of His death…He is still consumed with His love for the disciples.… teaching on the importance of humility…but also sharing on the importance of being bathed in His blood implying being filled with the Holy Spirit.

John 12:27

For the past ten weeks we have been looking at what Jesus said in just one day… Tuesday of Passion Week.

If you have been with us, we looked at Jesus’ detailed explanation of ‘when’ and ‘what’ will be the signs of His second coming…in addition we looked at eight parables He taught that focused on what a life of faith as Jesus’ disciple looks like.

Very little if anything is recorded on what Jesus did on Wednesday of Passion Week… It’s now Thursday…He gathers the disciples together and for the last time again tells them of what is about to occur…sharing with them what will take place in just two days [Matthew 26:2]

               You know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion

Looking back over His ministry Jesus shared numerous times about His death and resurrection. [Matthew 16:21 Luke 9:21 Luke 9:43 Luke 18:31 Mark 8:31-38 Mark 10:32].

Scripture indicates ‘The Jews were seeking to kill Him’ …that’s an interesting statement because on the surface it seems that all the Jews were seeking to kill Jesus.

More specifically the phrase ‘the Jews,’ most often used by John, refers to the religious leaders of Jerusalem…we don’t see in Scripture nor does it ever appear that the common people attempted to kill Jesus.

Despite the many times they attempted to kill Him they were unable to because: His hour has not yet come [John 2:4].

John mentions why the Jews sought to kill him…not because He performed miracles…not because He healed people…not because He fed people…they had two things against him:

1. His violation of the sabbath by healing the man at the pool of Bethesda.

2. His making himself equal with God.

Despite their best efforts, Jesus’ death on the Cross was pre-determined by God and regardless of how many times the Jews sought to kill Him or plotted to take His life it was never within their power to do so…because it was not the right time:

But here…two days before Passover we read: [John 12:23]

                   the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified

His purpose for coming to earth was about to be fulfilled…but the events that were about to happen were happening on God’s terms and in God’s timing…nothing would happen by chance…it would be according to God’s plan.

In [John 10:17-18] Jesus shows that He was in complete control of when and how that would take place.

No one has taken it away from Me…I lay it down on My own initiative…I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again.  

He would die…but He would not be a victim…even in His crucifixion He would still be in complete control of His own destiny…even in determining the exact time He was to die…at exactly 3pm on Thursday before Passover.

No one could take His life until the appointed time for Him to ‘lay down’ His life according to prophecy…Jesus was not a reluctant martyr but a willing Savior carrying out the purpose for which He came…we see three things:

FIRST…the obedience of Jesus…I lay down my life [John 10:18].

SECOND… No single person can kill Me…I control My own destiny [18].

THIRD…He has the power to raise Himself from the dead [18]

There is no record of anyone anywhere in human history dying and bringing themselves back to life.

BUT it is here that we see the human side of Jesus… [John 12:27]

My soul has become troubled

How many of us can identify with that…how many times have we been troubled because we do not know the will or purpose of God in allowing a bad situation to occur in our lives.

BUT here’s Jesus…who clearly does know God’s will and still He’s troubled…He even states the reason for His ‘trouble’ [John 12:27]

for this purpose, I came

Many today don’t understand the reason for Jesus having to die…God is God…why can’t He just forgive people…He can do that if He wants…makes sense to me… BUT …for some reason…the only way God can forgive sin is that something has to die.

It started back in the Garden when the first animal sacrifice was made by God Himself when He clothed Adam and Eve with garments of skins… [Gen. 3:21].

For thousands of years Jewish law required blood sacrifice on behalf of sin [Heb. 10:11] as a means of maintaining a relationship between God and man…however these animal sacrifices

…were never meant to provide spiritual “forgiveness” of sin

…nor remove the spiritual penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23)

…nor did they make possible the means of inheriting eternal life

It is only the Sacrifice of Jesus that can bring about spiritual forgiveness…here’s how this works…Jesus is God (John 1:1-18) and is therefore an infinite being…we are finite…we are created beings…when we sin our sins are against an infinite being (God)…as a result there must be a punishment.

There are two ways for this punishment to be carried out…either an infinite being must die to pay for our sins…or as finite beings we must pay the penalty for our sins.

Jesus being infinite paid for our sins by dying in our place on the Cross… He made a one-time payment for sin…for every person who has ever lived…that satisfied God’s requirement that something must die. (Hebrews 10:10, 14).

So…if Jesus, knowing the reason why He was born…why He came to earth… knowing the eternal purpose of God and still can be troubled…is it any wonder we have problems in understanding the pain and problems in our lives?

So…what did Jesus do concerning His troubled soul? …He prayed…that’s a novel idea…here we see both the human side and the divine side of Jesus…and just so you know there’s a term for that…it’s called the hypostatic union.

In His human side He prays…Father save Me from this hour [12:27] …not the only time He would pray this prayer…in the garden He would ask if possible the cup of death might pass from Him…a petition expressing His desire from His man side…asking if there might be a different way to achieve God’s propose.

At this point we have something…sort of…in common with Jesus…He prayed and the situation didn’t change…ever have that happen…I’m praying but I’m not seeing anything happening.

There’s a discussion today that says Prayer Changes Things…no it doesn’t…prayer does not change God’s mind…but to prove that prayer does change things people use Old Testament verses to show God did change His mind.

—Jonah 3:10…God relented from the disaster He would bring upon Nineveh.

—Ex.32:14…the LORD relented and did not bring on the disaster He threatened

—Amos 7:3…the Lord changed His mind about a locust-swarm covering the land

—Amos 7:6 …the Lord changed His mind about a consuming fire on the land

—1 Samuel 15:11…the lord repented that He made Saul the first king of Israel.

—Abraham…God would spare Sodom if just 10 righteous people were found.  

—Isaiah tells Hezekiah God says you’re going to die…Hezekiah prays and God adds 15 more years to his life.

Some claim that is ample proof that prayer does change God’s mind…that prayer changes things.

Both in [John 12:27] and [Matthew 26:36-39] Jesus prayed for God to remove the cup of suffering from Him…yet God did not remove the cup of suffering from Him.

The physical and spiritual agony of the crucifixion still awaited Him…Jesus’ prayer did not change His circumstances nor did it change God’s mind.

Does prayer alter things? …Yes. Just gave you eight examples.

Does God accept prayer as a means to bring His will to pass? …Yes.

Does God not only invite us to pray but command us to? …Yes.

Does the effective prayer of righteous man accomplish much? …Yes.

Do these things change God’s mind? …No.

Why? Because God has never had to change His mind from the foundation of the world.

Malachi 3:6 declares, “I the LORD do not change

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man…that He should change His mind.

Prayer does not change God’s mind…prayer changed God’s actions…in every one of those examples…everything eventually happened just as God predicted it would … prayer didn’t change God’s mind…prayer changed God’s actions. It caused Him to delay the inevitable.  

I think here is the KEY that unlocks how prayer works…in just one verse Jesus outlines how God views prayer: [John 12:27]

But for this purpose, I came to this hour Not My will but Yours be done.

Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, John 6:38

These verses clearly outline how God reacts to prayer…God has established prayer as part of His plan for accomplishing His will…prayer allows us to participate in it.

Prayer with God is about His will and intentions, not ours.

Here’s the importance of praying in God’s will…because more times than not…we lack discernment…unable to see God’s purpose…prayer is not about moving the heart of God…God’s trying to move our heart.

When appealing to God’s plans and purposes we can be bold.

Abraham pleaded with God…may the Lord not be angry but let me speak just once more…Amos pleaded with God to stop what He was about to do…Hezekiah pleaded with God to spare his life.  

Be persistent until an answer is received. Moses…Abraham…Amos…Ezekiel…all were persistent in their request until an answer was received.

So this whole thing about prayer changes things places too much emphasis on asking God to perform miracles…or for Him to make an immediate change to something.

Here’s the aspect of prayer that largely goes unexplored in the search for answered prayer…it’s something God does far more frequently than performing miracles… which in reality is a miracle in itself…it’s something that should be our ultimate aim every time we pray…for God to align our will with His.

If prayer changes anything…Prayer Change Us…the problem is we often go about trying to bend God’s will to fit ours…when that doesn’t happen, we accuse God of not caring for us…or being insensitive.

When we stay faithful to God and continue to pray…in time

…He will bend our will to fit His

…He will work in and through us to change our heart

…He will open our eyes to His work

…He will give us the wisdom to recognize the perfection of His plan

…He will loosen our grip on our own expectations.

Again…this whole thing about prayer changes things places too much emphasis on asking God to perform miracles…or for Him to make an immediate change to something…the change that occurs most generally is in us.

Here in the case of Jesus…His initial prayer in the Garden was for God to remove the cup of suffering from Him…God didn’t remove it.

The physical and spiritual agony of the crucifixion still awaited Him…Jesus’ prayer had not changed His circumstance…BUT…after He prayed for the cup of suffering to be removed…He added these words: [Matt. 26:39]

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will

This is the test of true faith…not to insist on my will being done…not to demand that God bend to my will…but submit the issue to Him…be obedient and leave all the details to Him.

Jesus’ second but primary request was that God’s will would be accomplished through Him… ‘You do, Father, what you know to be right and best from an eternal standpoint’ …that’s exactly what was going to happen through His crucifixion.

That’s all the assurance Jesus needed for His spirit to be revived…His prayer did change things…it changed His outlook on what was about to happen…because His will was now aligned with God’s Will.

Being confident that He’s in God’s will…He tells them that His presence on earth is only ‘for a little while longer’… [John 12:33] He identifies Himself as the Light and the importance in believing in the Light.

Jesus’ response goes back to what we talked about last week…it’s contained in those four parables about what a life of faith as Jesus’ disciple looks like. [35]

For a little while longer the Light is among you

In all four of those parables

…The Good Man of the House

…Parable of the Ten Virgins

…Parable of the Talents

…Parable of the Fig Tree…Jesus was contrasting darkness to light.

Metaphors about light and darkness are common in the Bible…light being the universal symbol of all that is good and right.

In each one of those parables Jesus refers to the people as ‘slaves’ or He makes a comparison between wise and foolish people…on the surface it would seem that Jesus is making a contrast between lost and saved…but Jesus never refers to the lost as slaves.

In the Bible there are two types of slaves mentioned…context determines meaning …one type is the ones Paul refers to…those who are in bondage to someone… a person who was considered an owner’s personal property.

Then there are the slaves Jesus refers to…those who have surrendered their life to the supremacy of Jesus…someone who has deliberately signed away their own rights by becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ…these are the people in these parables.

As you read these four parables some are more sincere in becoming a slave of Jesus than others…as a result…because of their care-free approach to life…they are kept from the light.

Those in darkness have accepted Jesus as Savior…but stopped there…they show no evidence of wanting to use the abilities…talents…and gifts that God loaned them… they are not slaves who are obeying Christ as their master.

Those who refuse to be slaves of Jesus have been relegated to the darkness…not referring to Hell…but being separated from the Light of Jesus.

Jesus is Light…those unfaithful servants received the consequences of their action …were they saved? …all indications point to the fact that they were…these parables are not about saved and lost…they are about rewards given as a result of watchfulness and faithfulness.

The unfaithful servants were not given the same rewards and benefits as the faithful servants…the Bible tells us this is the result of what will occur as the result of thinking as Christians we can skip through life believing we all receive the same rewards.

Here’s the way the Amplified Bible describes it: [1 Cor. 3;15]

if any person’s work is burned up [by the test], he will suffer the loss [of his reward]; yet he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has barely escaped] through fire.

They’re saved…BUT…they will be assigned a place outside of the Light of Jesus…

So, where is this place, this outer darkness place…this place where the unfaithful servants find themselves in…it goes back to consequences.

Scripture says Jesus is light and in Him there is no darkness…being in Jesus’ presence is represented by light…unfaithful servants will be removed outside that light…like the five foolish maidens…on the outside looking in.

They have been removed from the place associated with events surrounding the marriage supper of the Lamb…and the 1000-year reign of Christ that follows… they will find themselves in a place outside the Light where these activities occur…where there will weeping and the gnashing of teeth… [25:30]

So what is this weeping and gnashing of teeth stuff…the term weeping and the gnashing of teeth is an Eastern expression of deep grief…not necessarily referring to punishment…it is the anguish of not being allowed to attend the marriage festivities…nor be allowed to return to earth during Jesus’ 1000-year reign.

These people made a big show of their religious dedication…acting like they were pious when they were not…there are consequences for our actions.

Only the faithful will be given positions of responsibility…will be allowed to take part in the marriage supper of the Lamb…will be allowed to return with Jesus to earth …these are the rewards given to the faithful.

Realizing they have been excluded from the festivities at Jesus’ return…and been denied positions in the kingdom…they will be in such excessive and deep grief so much that it will cause them to weep and gnash their teeth.  

Jesus gives one final lesson in the few remaining hours prior to His departure…it’s like the man reading a letter from the bank to his wife:

The bank says this is our last notice…isn’t it wonderful that they are no longer going to bother us anymore?  (Michael Streff, Reader’s Digest [5/92])

It’s never wise to ignore final notices…especially when God sends a final notice… these four parables are Jesus’ final notice that focuses on

—the importance of being ready at His return

—stressing the importance of being good managers of what God has loaned you.

—stressing the importance of being watchful and alert for opportunities for service.

—It’s a final call to believe in Him for salvation

I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. [John 12:45]

This whole message comes down to just four questions…the same questions every person in those parables were faced with are the questions we should be focused on.  

What did You do With My Son?

Did you accept Him as Lord and Savior or did you reject Him?

What did You do with the Talents God Gave You?

God gave you a responsibility according to your ability.

Are You Ready for His Return?

The top takeaways from all four parables is the suddenness of the master’s return… in each parable He comes at a time when they are not ready.  

What Will Jesus Say to You on that Day?

There are two different responses given to the servants…one is ‘well done’ and the second is ‘you wicked, lazy servant.’

It’s not the size of the talent…it’s how responsible you were with the gifts…talents …and abilities God loaned you…that’s what will determine what God will say to you on that day.

Matthew 25:14-30

Jesus has just completed giving a detailed explanation of ‘when’ and ‘what’ will be the signs of His coming…He now gives two additional parables:

…one that focuses on the importance of being ready at His return and the consequences for those who are not…in the Bible there are always consequences.

…and the other stressing the importance of being good managers of what God has loaned you while on earth…and the consequences of those who are not.

Matthew records eight parables Jesus gives during Passion Week…each parable is focusing on what a life of faith as Jesus’ disciple looks like.

There’s no mention of what is required for eternal life…these parables assume you are already a believer…in these parables Jesus is defining:

1. the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth
2. the blessing associated when we do.

In just this one day…Jesus counters the misunderstanding of the end times…the how…the when…and what will happen…He puts it into perspective for the common person.

If you have been with us for the past few weeks you probably remember the chronological order of events that will occur at Jesus’s return.

1) The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven…where He has been preparing a place for us [John 14:1-3].

2) The Lord will shout as He descends [1 Thess. 4:16] and the dead in Christ (deceased believers) will rise first [1 Cor. 15:52].

3) Then we who are alive will be caught up (Raptured) into Heaven. [1 Thess. 4:17] where we will meet the Lord in the air [1 Thess. 4:17] where He will personally receive us to Himself. The church age now comes to an end.  

4)  At that point we will be changed (made incorruptible) [1Cor.15:51, 53].

5) We will then stand before the judgment seat of Christ [Romans 14:10] not to determine lost or saved…but to get their rewards for work done while on the earth [1 Cor. 3:13-15].

6) We will then participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb [Rev. 19].

Two Things

…FIRST…there is a Bible verse for each one of those activities

…SECONDLY…you don’t find this written down in any one book

These events are scattered throughout the Bible…that’s the importance of knowing what the Bible says so you’re not mislead by those who don’t know what the Bible says.

Last week we looked at the Parable of the Ten Virgins…emphasizing the need to be vigilant…being ready means keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus at all times while we eagerly await His return…it illustrated the importance of being ready at His return and the consequences for those 5 girls who are not.

In that parable the bridegroom’s arrival was certain…Jesus is the bridegroom…He is coming…the only uncertainty is the timing of His return…which illustrates the need for constant vigilance.

In Jesus’ last parable on Tuesday of Passion Week He gives The Parable of the Talents…it’s the culmination of everything we have talked about the past month or so…it all comes down to this single verse…a verse we should all keep close to our vests…this verse should be a memory verse for everyone in this sanctuary:

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the

hour in which the Son of Man is coming. – Matthew 25:13

In everything we do we should ask ourselves is this what Jesus would want to see me doing if He came back right now.

To emphasize this point He tells the Parable of the Talents that relates the importance of keeping that always on our minds.

If you’re familiar with this parable then you know the ‘talent’ spoken of here is referring to money…he entrusts his servants with a measure of his wealth.

But it’s not as much about money as it is about being good stewards…being responsible and being prepared…it’s really one of self-examination.

In this parable He’s addressing item number 5 of the chronological order of events that will occur at His return…this parable is addressing the issue of rewards.  

That all Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ…not to determine lost or saved…but to get their rewards for work done while on the earth.

He starts the parable off by saying…For the kingdom of heaven is like…look how many times Jesus starts a parable off with those words:

Parable of the Ten Virgins …the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to,

Parable of Wedding Feast…the kingdom of heaven may be compared to,

Parable of the Vineyard…the kingdom of heaven is like,

Parable of the Mustard Seed…the kingdom of heaven is like,

Parable of the Leaven…the kingdom of heaven is like,

Parable of the Hidden Treasure…the kingdom of heaven is like,

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price…the kingdom of heaven is like,

Parable of the Dragnet…the kingdom of heaven is like.

All these parables are given so we will have an understanding of what the kingdom is like…both here on earth before Jesus’s return…and what it will be like in heaven.

Jesus does not want us to be ignorant of what is going on in the world between the time of His ascension and His return at the rapture…we should not fret.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

EVERYBODY…FIRST…a truth: God looks at every person individually…not just at who we are…but for the potential He created in us.

SECONDLY…notice this is not referring to spiritual gifts…it’s talking about talents…we are blessed with talents and abilities that are separate from spiritual gifts…however the application is applicable to spiritual gifts as well.

THIRDLY…that we are not all created with equal skills, abilities and opportunities.

We do our kids a dis-service today in what we tell them…FIRST…If you work hard enough, you can be anything you want to be…no you can’t…we all have personal limitations that prevent us from doing certain things…you’re not going to be President just because you want to.

You can be the best in the world…no you can’t…again…doing your best is different from being the best.

Everyone is a winner (everyone deserves a trophy): all people are not winners… sometimes you lose…not everyone comes in first…that’s just life.

We are not all created with equal skills…abilities…and opportunities…this parable reveals that some have more talents and ability than others.

BUT…God expects that we do our best with what we are capable of…He’s not asking anyone to do more than what they are capable of.

Notice the parallel between this parable and Jesus’s life

…Jesus called His disciples
…He entrusted them with the message of the gospel
…He then departed
…He will one day return

In this parable

…a man calls his servants together
…He entrusts them with His possessions
…He immediately goes on a journey
…at some point, he’ll return to settle the accounts with them [19].  

The tragedy of wasted opportunity is the theme of Jesus’ parable of the talents…the ‘it’ in [v14] is the antecedent of the kingdom of heaven…and ‘his own slaves’ reinforces the idea that Jesus was referencing the organized church composed of those who ALLEGE to belong to Him…He’s not referring to mankind in general.

The number of talents given to each slave has no significance in themselves…no one received more than he could handle…the number given to each simply illustrates a wide range of responsibilities that were given to each according to his own ability…the man who received one has nothing to do with him being poor.

The first two servants used their opportunity to serve the Lord…the resources they were given by God…time …money…talents…and abilities were invested as they served God as they eagerly awaited His return.

When the master returned, the servants who were faithful were praised and entrusted with more of the master’s wealth.

Well done, good and faithful servant…You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master [25:21]

The third servant failed to use what had been entrusted to him by his master:

the one who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money [25:18]).

He’s representing a life in which a profession of faith in Christ proved meaningless by the careless waste of the privileges and opportunities God gave him.

He produced absolutely nothing with the talent he had been given…he did not even make an attempt to use it for his master’s benefit and profit…HE SIMPLY DISREGARDED THE STEWARDSHIP HE HAD BEEN GIVEN.

He didn’t take joy in His master’s return but instead wasted his time…his abilities …his talents…and his opportunities…he did nothing creative and responsible with the talent given to him…as a result bad news…there are consequences:

26 …his master…said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant…
27 …you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on

my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest.
30 Throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Wait a minute…does that accurately describe Jesus? …Throw the worthless servant into the outer darkness…will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

No it does not…need to remember…these parables are about believers…no mention of unbelievers…something’s terribly wrong here for Jesus to address a believer in that manner.

Some scholars think the wording…cast into outer darkness…is wording that is used for the place we call hell…therefore…we assume he was never truly saved. 

That he may have professed faith but he really never possessed faith…He demonstrated a limited knowledge of God that led him to conclude that He was saved…this is a tragic reality that millions of people will come to realize one day… believing they are saved…when they’re not.

Some scholars believe…the Lord’s sharp rebuke…the removal of the talent from his possession…and his being cast into outer darkness constitutes what many view as a sequence of events that prove he must be an unbeliever because a Christian can never be cast into Hell.

As Christians we possess eternal life, which can never be taken from us…this leads us to conclude that the Lord was dealing with an unsaved person at this point in the parable…BUT

Remember…these parables are not given to unbelievers…they are for believers… knowing that puts a whole new look on this parable.

I’m going deep this morning…contained in these parables Jesus is revealing something most Christians are completely unaware of.

I’m not going to reveal to you any new revelations…there are far too many people today pretending to hear from God…receiving new revelations…having new insights into the Bible by receiving visions and thereby re-interpreting Scripture.

As a result, they make statements about the Bible that are false and unreliable… these guys are untrustworthy…I’m not telling you I’ve discovered some previously unknown truth…I’m sharing a portion of the Bible many people are unaware of.  

The unfaithful slave demonstrated that his identification with Christ was superficial. He may have accepted Jesus as his Savior but not his Lord…the importance in knowing the difference between Jesus as my Savior and as my Lord has eternal implications…and we’re going to see that right here.  

By not accepting Jesus as his Lord…he didn’t seek God’s purpose and plan for his life…he didn’t use the talents…gifts…and abilities God gave to him…as a result he went about his entire life living his own selfish way…avoiding what God had called him to do.

Look again at number 5 in thechronological order of events that will occur at Jesus’s return…All Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to get their rewards for work done while on the earth [1 Cor. 3:13-15].

Following the judgment seat of Christ, servants who demonstrated themselves to be faithful servants…and those who were less than faithful, will find themselves in two entirely different realms.

Servants having been shown to be faithful will find themselves among those who will be attending the marriage festivities…look at number 6… We will participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb [Rev. 19] …while those who have shown themselves to be less than faithful will look on from a distance.

As far as I am aware of…the Bible never shows …that all people will receive exactly the same gifts or rewards in Heaven…clearly the Bible gives evidence that there are differing degrees of rewards and these series of parables are the evidence.

I want to show you how these parables are all interrelated…the KEY words in all of them are WATCHFULNESS and FAITHFULLNESS…they are not given in some random order without any reference to each other…they were given with a purpose in mind and in a specific order.  

Before we get the idea that ‘I’ve got to do more’ God is not asking us to do more so I can get more…He’s asking that we be responsible with what we have been given …because ultimately regardless of who you are…we are all unworthy servants.

Jesus reminds us of the lowly place a servant occupies: You also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty (Luke 17:10, ESV).

As servants of Christ our lives on earth are a brief time of preparation for eternity …which includes being good stewards of what God has loaned us to complete the purpose and plan He has prepared for you.  

In the Parable of the Good Man of the House…as it’s referred to in Mat 24:42-51 one servant is blessed when his master finds him being faithful…the other servant says My master is not coming for a long time [48] and is unfaithful.

For the one servant faithfulness resulted in a position alongside the Lord…for the other servant unfaithfulnessresulted in the forfeiture of this position. 

Immediately following that parable is The Parable of the Ten Virgins…it begins with the word ‘Then,’ pointing back to the previous parable…the Parable of the Ten Virgins covers the same subject matter… concluding in a similar fashion.

The faithful servants (wise virgins) were allowed to enter into the marriage festivities, but the unfaithful servants (foolish virgins) were excluded…they were not admitted into the banquet hall.

The Parable of the Talents follows the Parable of the Ten Virgins…it is introduced in the Greek by the words Hosper gar meaning “For just as” …these two introductory words tell the reader that the parable that is about to follow is just like the parable that has proceeded it.

In that parable…the Parable of the Talents, the faithful servants were allowed to enter into ‘the joy’ of their Lord, but the unfaithful servant was cast into the darkness outside. http://www.bibleone.net/BF09.htm

Understanding the interrelationship between these parables and comparing them with the parable of the marriage festival in chapter twenty-two where Jesus says to the man not wearing wedding clothes to be thrown into outer darkness is important. 

So what is this place…this outer darkness place…this place where the unfaithful servants find themselves in…it goes back to consequences.

Scripture says Jesus is light and in Him there is no darkness…see where this is going…being in Jesus’ presence is represented by light…unfaithful servants will be removed from the inner light.

They have been cast into a place outside Christ’s ‘joy’ …removed from the place associated with events surrounding the marriage supper of the Lamb and the reign of Christ that follows…and will be cast into the darkness outside like the five foolish virgins…they will be on the outside looking in.

They will not be allowed to attend the marriage festivities…nor will they be allowed to return to earth during Jesus’ 1000-year reign…they will find themselves in a place outside the realm where these activities occur…where there will weeping and the gnashing of teeth… [25:30]

What is that? that term is an Eastern expression of deep grief…the phrase weeping and gnashing of teeth occurs seven times in the Bible, all of them in the New Testament gospels, and all spoken by Jesus.

LOOK again…only the faithful will be given positions of responsibility…will be allowed to take part in the marriage supper of the Lamb…will be allowed to return with Jesus to earth…these are the rewards given to the faithful.

The unfaithful will not only be denied positions in the kingdom but they will be excluded from the festivities at Jesus’ return and apportioned their place with the hypocrites [24:51].

What does Jesus say about hypocrites… ‘how will you escape the sentence of hell?’ [23:33] if this is what Jesus says to Israel’s most righteous people, the religious leaders of Israel…the scribes and Pharisees…where does that leave us?

The more I study Scripture the more I’m convinced that ‘small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life’ [Matt. 7:14] …it is even more difficult than we are able to understand.

We have opened that narrow way up so wide that it’s like a marble on a four lane hi-way…we have watered down the requirements for entry into heaven…and there are requirements:

1. Be Born Again
2. Be Baptized
3. Confess Jesus
4. Confess Your Sins and Repent
5. Do God’s Will
6. Do Not Willfully Sin
7. Do Not Be Ashamed of Jesus
8. Follow Jesus And Serve Him
9. Have Fruits of The Spirit in Your Life

But we have reduced them to a level that makes it sound as though everyone will be there…they won’t…because few who find it [Matt. 7:14] and even for those who do we can see in these parables that not everyone is rewarded the same.   

In these parables Jesus is defining:

—the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth

—the blessing associated when we do.

How are you investing your life? What are you doing with your time? What are you doing with your skills? What are you doing with your relationships?

What better way to start out a new year than by being serious about the talents… abilities…and gifts God has loaned us…as we stay watchful for the Lord’s return.