Let's begin with prayer. Father all glorious. We give you praise. We give you thanks again this day You have created us. You have set us in this world of yours to Know you through the means that you have given us and we thank you With deep gratitude for giving us the means of your word We are so Humboldt we are so exalted By the words you have given through the Apostle John We thank you for his witness We thank you that he was so close to Jesus that
He was there at the supper and Was one of your intimate disciples We thank you that for the grace For the revelation that you about safe to him and that now is ours as a precious possession We ask that this your word would have its Holy and sanctifying effects upon us Rebuke us where we need to be rebuked encourage us where we need to be encouraged Build us up in the most holy faith And equip us to be your servants. We ask you now to be among us once again To teach us your truth To forgive our sins in Jesus name. I'm in Okay, we we are in the last two chapters now John's gospel chapters 20 and 21
last week we came to the cross and Witness once again with with John those Dreadful yet blessed events surrounding the crucifixion of our Lord We didn't quite cover the end the very end of chapter 19 which simply has to do with the burial Your call it's mentioned there that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea Two of these Jewish followers who would sort of follow Jesus from afar Because they were men of repute and they had some standing among the Jews yet they were still in a way sort of secret followers They were granted the body and could therefore give it a proper in embalming and Lay it in a tomb that was that was near to the place where Jesus was crucified. That's the end of chapter 19 Jesus is laid there Verse 42 because the Jews of the Jews preparation day for the tomb was nearby It was it was nearing sundown and they wanted to get the body into the tomb into the grave before the onset of the Jewish Sabbath and That's where chapter 19 ends Now we we skip to the morning of Easter Sunday in Verse 1 of chapter 20 The first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark And saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb
Mary Magdalene has been introduced to us in this gospel back in the last chapter 19 Where she appears with some of the other women at the cross when Jesus is crucified We don't know much about her from this from this gospel We do know from elsewhere that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her She comes to the tomb Early Sunday morning She arrives she she sets out while it's still dark This is a You know a small point But it is it is kind of interesting that Jesus therefore must have have arisen before dawn Perhaps at the latest right at the dawn
It's talking to a friend this past week teaches at Reform seminary in Jackson. He was telling about
Student there who was preaching a black student and they were preaching I don't know if it was the whole class preaching on the same text or not, but but he was preaching on the Exodus and particularly the the Red Sea the parting of the Red Sea and He had noticed that in the text it says that that God Blue this wind all night Just a detail in the text sometimes we skip over that it was blowing all night to separate the waters and To dry out the land for the Israelites to walk across and so this this student entitled his sermon God works the night shift God works the night shift and There's there's something I think appealing there particularly to any of us who have ever worked the night shift Well, we can say to Jesus work the night shift He worked the night shift for us The shift the job that nobody wanted and the job that nobody else could do Jesus did for us he was active when everyone else was not and He achieved his victory over the grave You might say in the very realm of darkness In the realm of the enemy in death and in darkness He gained his victory now We all know that the various gospel writers Give a little bit different accounts of what happened on resurrection day That is each one gives a little bit different part of the story John for instance mentions only Mary Magdalene of the women who came to the tomb that morning Other gospel writers mentioned that there were other other women involved Coming to bring spices to anoint the body John focuses, however only on Mary I'm not sure why other than that There was given to her this special encounter with Jesus and so I imagine that that's why he focuses upon what happened with Mary
She sees the the tomb Empty the stone rolled away she runs back to Peter and the disciples Peter and the beloved disciple come running towards grave and here again I think the beloved disciple is John himself
You remember what happens Who's the fastest the beloved disciple he reaches the tomb first but there is a certain I don't know what you call it fear reverence hesitancy he stops at the opening he stoops down by that we can tell that there was the opening to the grave to the tomb was small It was not a person's height we read later on that Mary herself stooped down to look in He stops he stoops he sees, but he doesn't go in the slower Peter of course Leave it to Peter that's right to barred right in where everyone else fears the tread he enters the tomb
But then we're we're told in just a little aside that the other disciple Where is this chapter 20 verse eight? Yes Then the other disciple went in also and he saw and believed he saw and believed For as yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead of course Jesus has Intermated many many occasions That he would rise from the dead But we're also told at various points that the disciples didn't really understand this And here's another indication John says they didn't really know the scripture yet that he should rise from the dead They didn't really understand that God would not let his holy one see corruption They didn't really have a grasp on That the suffering servant of God after he had given his soul as an offering for sin Would see the off his offspring and prolong his days That he would see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. That's what's what Isaiah 53 says They didn't quite understand yet that After the heathen had raged and the peoples would imagine vain things and they would Reject the Lord and his Messiah and say let us loose their bonds Break them a sunder that the Lord himself would say I have set my king on Zion my holy hill Out of Psalm 2 they didn't understand these Old Testament passages yet which spoke of a glorification of God's servant after He had been given as an offering for sin after he had gone the lengths of suffering and paid the price for his people But here it says that he believed and I think We're meant to see that he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead keep in mind that at this point There was no clear No no clear sign that that's what really had happened when Mary came to them she had the report they've taken him They've taken his body and we don't know where they've put it What's going through their minds? It's hard to imagine but and I imagine even that the mention of these strips of linen, you know They wrap the body and these strips of linen it says that in chapter 19 that They have brought like a hundred pounds of these spices and things to Embalm the body with along with these wraps this linen claws They're mentioned here that they the disciples see those that must have been very strange to them Why would somebody who stealing a body Go to the trouble of unrapping Miles and miles of of linen wrapped around the body and leave that stuff there Why would they go to that trouble? How could they do it in the dark? I But why would they go to that trouble? What's going on here? But John says that he believed at that point he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead the two disciples then leave That is Peter and John but one stays behind Mary weeping outside the tomb It must have been it must have seemed like a final degradation for the body of her teacher to have been stolen and Who knows where it might have gone to and so she is she is struggling? She is weeping there outside the tomb But looking inside the tomb she sees two angels Who speak to her remember what they say? Why are you weeping? Why are you crying? Then she turns around and she sees Jesus Does she recognize him at first? Of course not she's in the midst of her weeping She doesn't recognize who he is until he calls her name Mary that must have Been the most precious sound she had ever heard And then she recognizes him Roboni which means teacher my teacher
You remember then she clings to his feet and he says do not cling for I have not yet ascended to my father I imagine the idea here is that Jesus is not staying permanently The cleaning has to do with sort of The idea that he may stay here and Jesus is telling her no he's not he's ascending to his father That is some people have pointed out that why wouldn't she be able to cling to him after all Jesus tells Thomas to touch his his body later on There's nothing wrong about touching the body of Jesus But I think the probably the sense here is that Jesus knew that Mary had the idea that he ought to stay there and Jesus is saying no, he's not going to His physical presence will not be with him But then Jesus gives her a message To take back to his brethren I'm ascending to my father and your father to my god and your god
I believe it was Chris's dumb who called Mary the Apostle to the Apostles She's given the message a message to tell to the Apostles There there are those of course who Who would see this as a legitimation for Women therefore to be elders and preachers within the church I think we have to go to clearer passages on that particular subject But at any rate What a great honor what what what an exaltation it was for Mary To be given first of all this Presence of the Lord appearing to her and then this message to take back She would take to to the Apostles
We know that Jesus had cast out seven demons from this woman She would not be the likelyest candidate you might say to receive to be the first to see the resurrected Jesus And yet in another way how fitting how fitting For the one who was born and stable To reveal himself on resurrection day to one who in society's eyes would have been very lowly Uh Calvin said that Jesus Christ brought her out of the lowest hell That he might raise her above heaven So what a what a precious gift was given to her Now if you had been there Would you have expected this to be Jesus' message to his disciples? Remember what he says Uh I am ascending to my father and to your father to my god and your god Why do you think that was the message any ideas? Why would that be Paramount to Jesus that you'd want to communicate? Yes, God now. That's very good Very likely that there is he he means to remind them Uh give them some hints of Old Testament prophecies about his exaltation Yeah, Daniel 7 Psalm 2, Psalm 110
The Lord says to my Lord sit it my right hand until I make your enemies the footstool for your feet Sure, yes Could well be that as well throughout his ministry he emphasized that he does nothing But what he sees the father doing and he came to do the father's will and now he is in obedience to his father returning to the father and laying all all Glory in the father's hands
Think again what this what this affirms to say I am ascending to my father the obvious that you know we might skip over is it's saying yes it is I I have risen I have risen from the dead It is I Next I am ascending I am going to my father Jesus had told them that he was going to his father I remember back in the farewell discourse and he had prepared them for this saying That it's better for them if he goes to the father because he would send The Comforter the Holy Spirit to be with him
Also Notice what he says twice here ascending to my father and Your father my god and Your god Yeah, what an affirmation for them To consider that god is their father their god as he is Jesus father and god Notice also how he tells What he says to Mary go tell my brethren right right this sense of adoption Into God's family To be the very sons and daughters of God to be the very brothers and sisters of Jesus Jesus our elder brother we know that's a theme that works throughout the New Testament But here it is presented to the disciples in this very first resurrection appearance God is our father we talked about that a while while back how Jesus had A unique intimacy with the father to call him my father and that was unusual practically unheard of in Judaism of his day And now he's in sense giving this to his disciples so that we today say Address God as Abba father and we probably think very little of that But it's it's quite a colossal thing in the first century Jewish context
Well later that day Jesus appears to 10 of his disciples Judas of course has gone and one other disciple has gone That is Thomas Jesus there gives them a commission starting in Verse 21 Peace to you as the father has sent me I also send you And when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them receive the Holy Spirit If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them if you retain the sins of any they are retained A number of interesting things here first of all Jesus Commission is sending of them The word Apostle the noun Apostle is not used in John's gospel The verb Apostello I send is however used and it's used here Jesus has I send you Using the verbal form of the noun Apostle Even as the father has sent me So I believe this is a commission given to the Apostles And tailing their apostolic authority Earlier in chapters 14 through 16 Jesus had indicated he was going to do this He was going to send them And that they would have the spirit's power and here in a sense we now have the fulfillment Of that promise He breathes upon them and says receive the Holy Spirit Of course many of you would know that The words in Greek for breath In Greek and Hebrew same thing word for breath is the same as the word for spirit So there's a certain natural and a certain fittingness to this Act of Jesus in breathing on them Now people do argue about whether this is a purely symbolic action of Jesus Uh, whether by breathing on them that's just symbolic and sort of a pre-indicator of what would happen to them on the day of Pentecost or whether something actually Supernaturally happened with his breathing upon them and in that act they actually Uh, partook of the Holy Spirit in some way Um, I'm not sure just how to Solve that that puzzle that that conundrum but At any rate it points I believe to a special empowering and special authority given to the apostles and either way we go we can easily see how closely The Holy Spirit is connected with Jesus himself
It's as if Jesus is giving them of his own breath his own spirit That spirit that divine spirit that animates Jesus He gives to his disciples Once again emphasizing the intimate connection between Jesus and the spirit This too is something that we've seen repeatedly Before this Jesus is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit Jesus is the one who will give rivers of living water flowing out of out of him He is the one who will give another Comforter another comforter So presupposing that there that he is the comforter and Holy Spirit is another comforter like him So we've seen a number of times this intimate connection and how The spirit is to glorify Jesus
uh What do you think about this authority to to retain and forgive sins? Uh Is this something That belonged only to the apostles? Is it something that is present in our church today and what does it mean first of all? What's off to me is that the issue taking the Jesus for gain And the only guy who would get through Yeah That is a good question. I mean that's that's the sort of Nub of the issue and he's pointing out that Elsewhere Jesus criticized when he says to uh The paralytic I believe it was your sins are forgiven you and they say well only God can forgive sins. So what's going on here? Uh Is not only God who can forgive sins Chris I think so. Yes. Isn't it interesting that immediately after saying receive the Holy Spirit Excuse me. He says If you forgive the sins of any there for given if you retain them they're retained I think there's an obvious connection anyway between between those two things Yes, Mr. Pike a fulfillment of a three-year training plan
Mm-hmm Yeah, it's certainly it becomes part of their mission, doesn't it? So I sent a father sent me so I send you receive the Holy Spirit and Forgive and retain sins Yeah, that does seem to be their commission That's right after his this training period mark
Well, yeah, what do you mean by rabbinical authority?
Mark says could this be Benefit of those listening by tape and to give Mark a little bit of time to formulate a hamster Um Mark says could this be something like giving them a rabbinical authority giving them teaching authority as as uh Jewish teachers and and leaders might have had is there anything more
Yeah, well, I think yes. I would I would say at least that you know It is a matter of authority teaching authority Calvin mentions that
He's sending them out obviously as as teachers as a bearers of the message about Jesus So I think that's right. I think it does have to do with their their teaching ministry um That might ring some bells for some of you uh Well, I believe in the Heidelberg catechism Fred there is There is something about the keys of the kingdom Uh anybody recall Students of the Heidelberg catechism what says about the keys of the kingdom Binding and losing okay the keys are are are to bind sins and to loose them that is retain them and to forgive Them and how is how are these keys of the kingdom promised to uh Peter and the apostles in in Matthew 19 I believe How are these up how are these exercised According Fred preaching of the gospel and church discipline Right, so that's at least that's the reformed uh common or reformed understanding of how this continues let's say at least In the church The power to preach the gospel and by that we open the kingdom of god That's how the kingdom of god is opened by the preaching of the word of a gospel and how is it shut How is it shut against unbelievers or against those who fall away? Well by church discipline By exercising the authority given to the church to uh Finally to cast out of the midst those who uh offend and are unrepentant uh so that That gets at least at How how the reform generally have seen Passages such as this in the one in Matthew To pertain to an ongoing Authority in the church you could ask Is there anything even beyond that for the apostles themselves personally, but this is getting at Uh the question what does it mean for the continuing church? So that's uh, and I think there's There I think that's right uh at least for us today. That's that's what it means in terms of the church's power um You might notice those of you who who uh pay attention to the the liturgy uh often when we Have a prayer of of confession confessing our sins What happens right after that prayer?
There's absolve absolution as some would call it or a what's the word I hear over here? Assurance assurance of pardon That's probably how it appears in the bulletin Assurance of pardon that is Mike or or the preacher reads a passage from scripture that promises forgiveness to those who truly repent It might be you had one of a number of passages often out of first John Uh, he is faithful and just and we'll forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness He said that that's the power of of the church Invested in its its officers to pronounce the forgiveness of sins For all who are repented for all who come to him and seek forgiveness Uh any Hands still up over there. I thought I saw what I went want to go Uh, okay
Yeah
In pardon me
Yeah, I Think that that is right that is been is bringing up The question doesn't this have some particular reference to the apostles uh to an authority that must have passed When they passed and isn't there a church today that still claims to have that authority Uh, affirmative to both of those I think Uh, I don't know we see Calvin saw this as part of the apostolic teaching office that it would be through the apostles That Jesus would would reveal the conditions on which Someone is forgiven and someone is not forgiven Oh, excuse me, it would be through the apostles They would set the conditions they would give the teaching they would give the apostolic the the the lords own word to the church From that point on we have that apostolic word and and that therefore becomes the condition on which we Following them Pronounced forgiveness that is we we can offer With certainty to the repentant sinner That his or her sins are forgiven if these conditions are met You know when we state the kind of for those who truly repent and believe Yeah, so that's the kind of the way he explained I would agree with that because I do think he's talking to the apostles here as as a specific group and Yes, I don't think this same kind of thing is given to the church today remember Peter in in the book of Acts with Ananias and Sophia But I mean that was almost a sort of declaration of fiat You know that that Ananias and Sophia if they were judged on the spot and think think of Simon Magus And Peter saying to him you're silver and gold perished with you For you're still in the in the gall of bitterness Uh that sort of Insight and that sort of judgment power. I don't think Is given to us. Let's see Fred has handed
Okay We have next the account of of Thomas For which he has been branded with a nickname
doubting Thomas Won't go through this in detail as we're the time is moving on but I do think it is is very significant his confession. I think that is a highlight here His confession what does he say after jesus points Thomas to his wounds and Says do not be faithless but believing What is Thomas's confession My lord and my god my lord and my god And it is significant that jesus accepts this He accepts this worship this appellation of the title lord and god And he even calls this belief calls this belief you know that he goes on to say uh You believe Because you've seen You know this is true belief he says this is belief you believe because you have seen Blessed of those who believe and have not seen Uh, so he that's that is involved in belief confessing the identity of jesus as lord and god Uh, what is then as a sort of general rebuke of Thomas You believe because you have seen Becomes and a great encouragement to us Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe As jesus prayed in the high priestly prayer in chapter 17 He prayed your member for his disciples and he prayed for those who would believe in him Through their word And that's the rest of us And here again blessed are those who have not seen and believed um We see jesus but we see him in a spiritual manner We're not privileged That way the way that they were yet we can still be blessed nonetheless Through faith Right at the end of chapter 20 then uh comes a purpose statement As if it sounds as if he's drawing the book to a close here uh Versus 1331 Truly jesus did many other things other other signs of the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book, but these are written That you may believe that jesus is the christ the son of god And at believing you may have life in his name Of the many many things that john could have written He has had to be selective and he has selected these things to write down for a purpose It was not simply a sort of stenographer's account of what happened Uh everything thrown in and scrimmately Know this had a purpose and the purpose was so that we would believe that jesus is the christ And all that entails all the Preindications the christ and the old testament everything that messiah means To the jews through scripture all the promises of a deliberate come Given to god's people throughout his covenant history But he is the christ and that he is the son of god This of course was not understood by the jews at large But they had a concept of a of a deliverer of a messiah They didn't miss that But they did miss that this messiah was going to be divine At least that's the indication that we get from contemporary accounts Uh that he is christ that he is son of god Uh this of course has been one of the Emphasies of john from a very beginning of the gospel In the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god Uh So this is belief this is faith to believe that jesus is the science of god and that believing you may have life in his name And that sends our minds back to all the times in the gospel where we've heard about life God so loved the world that he gave is only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish Have ever lasting life Jesus came to give life to the world
Jesus himself defines in his high priestly prayer what eternal life is Do you remember what he said and this is eternal life To know the Only god and jesus christ whom now has sent This eternal life that begins now in the present It's always appropriate then Given this statement to pause and ask ourselves Uh and ask those with with whom we're in close contact Have we believed this Do we believe in jesus as messiah as son of god Uh Do we have life in his name Uh, it's always appropriate to focus upon that
Because The these last two verses in jabry 20 seem like a great ending to the gospel many scholars have supposed that Chapter 21 was added later That's not part of the original gospel I don't think that is the case For one thing it forms a fitting Sort of book ends you might say To the prologue at the beginning remember john's gospel begins with a prolog that is separate from the actual narrative So this is sort of fitting to end this way with a sort of epilogue To match the prologue at the beginning This is one more count then of an appearance that jesus made to his disciples after the resurrection John says it's the third one And it is jesus meeting them at the sea of tiberius Tiberius is that uh that see the sea of galilee uh yes and true Yeah, well that's true too. Yeah With with the emphasis on tomas's belief and confession Uh, it's very appropriate to put it here. That's right That's right So I I don't think it it indicates at all that this is a Well, you can say it's a later addition, but you know Maybe half an hour later. I mean who knows You know, we just don't know how it doesn't necessarily mean it was written by somebody else or you know put put in later After this had already gone out We read that at least some of jesus disciples had gone on to galilee Actually the other gospels a couple of them mentioned this too that jesus said that they were to meet him in galilee We find them here in galilee and Peter says to the others he's going fishing and they come with him
The sons of zebidi are mentioned here as among those who are with peter Uh, there's peter. There's tomas. There's Nathaniel Let's say tomas. Yeah, Thomas Nathaniel It's not right The two sons of zebidi And two unnamed others So unfortunately this leaves that little loophole Uh, the author because he says later all we find out that the author is actually in this episode uh Leaves the door open for a bear possibility that could have been one of those unnamed disciples But I think now I think there's a lot of evidence to show that this is John but at any rate it's possible from this Because the sons of zebidi are expressly said to be there that That John is the author here. Okay. Just on the side What's going on here we read about the We read about jesus Calling the disciples from the shore Telling them to put their net just on the other side of the boat. They've been fishing all night caught nothing Uh, what difference they're going to make put the net on the other side Well, they do it anyway and they come up with so many fish that they can't reel in the net Uh Again, it is the beloved disciple Who seems to have been blessed With an extra bit of insight so beloved disciple who says To Peter is the Lord Uh, and again following Following character is Peter then who jumps in the water And uh, so in the shore and the rest just coming with the boat
And we read about them Breakfasting with jesus Then we have this account of jesus taking Peter aside uh And what would you say? How would you describe this meeting This conversation
Kind of hard to describe it in a word or two Uh, interrogation. I heard a word Jesus says to Peter in these poignant words Peter do you love me And Peter says yes, Lord. You know, I love you Uh Then tend my sheep Peter do you love me Yes, Lord. You know, I love you Peter then tend Feed my flock Peter do you love me And Peter is grieved because the Lord had asked three times um I imagine the This was not lost on Peter Why three times do you think Why three times He had denied him three times Uh, I think that is
It is a gentle rebuke It's a gentle rebuke But of course, it's not simply a rebuke Because it is a great charge that he gives to Peter as well A great entrusting of a lot of responsibility to Peter Showing uh, showing how much trust jesus was placing in him Then uh, feed my sheep
The three times I think must certainly go back to the three three denials Yet it also has more to do More to say I think it certainly serves to emphasize the importance of what he is saying And I think it emphasizes it for us Um, many of us are involved you might say in some form of leadership in the church Um, others of us Well, we all have a ministering responsibility Uh, Paul says we all ministers. We all serve that is in the body of Christ Um, what is going to keep us ministering to others when we're frustrated and When the people are acting more like sheep than like people Isn't it love for jesus What's going to keep us Involved in the church when we don't find that uh, we have a lot of friends in the church maybe people that Almost like us What's going to keep us involved in church? Isn't it love for jesus What's going to keep us faithful to the church even when we have been deeply hurt By the church and let's face it it happens all the time What's going to keep us involved? Isn't it love for jesus? Um, it's it's not going to be i imagine a sense of our own gifts That we've been given gifts by god and we need to use them for the upbuilding of the people. Well, that's true but uh I sense that's not going to be in Uh, an overarching reason why we remain faithful to the church What about not even a sense of our own fulfillment why i get so much satisfaction Out of being with believers ministering to them having them minister to me Because of a lot of times of course that fails Uh, it's not going to be a faith in others Although we we need to be committed to god's people Uh, it's hard to maintain that at times Uh, isn't it going to be love for jesus? There's going to keep us involved Keep us faithful to the church even when we've been hurt
Peter Later on in his life repeats This card in a sense to the elders of the church if you uh Were to turn to first peter five one through four
First peter says the elders who are among you i exhort i who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of christ And also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed Separate the flock of god which is among you serving as overseers not by compulsion But willingly not for dishonest gain But eagerly not as being lords over those entrusted to you But being examples to the flock and when the teeth shepherd appears you will receive The crown of glory that does not fade away Uh, the same imagery the same sense of being a shepherd Under christ the teeth shepherd a shepherd of god's flock of his lambs of his feet It's carried on and of course uh carried on to this day
pastor Has to do with separating So the shepherd a pastor today is still called the shepherd of the flock Jesus also foretells peter's death which will happen against his will um It's not recorded in scripture of course We don't know with that kind of certainty how peter died, but it is a fairly early church tradition Does anybody know how peter is thought to have died? He was crucified upside down right upside down why upside down What Well the tradition says it was uh he was going to be crucified right side up But said that he was not worthy To die as his his lord had so Uh, it was at his request He was crucified upside down um having received this gracious disclosure about his own future peter then becomes curious about the future of this other fellow the one following behind Well, what about him? What about this man? um Jesus answer In a sense it's sort of to say well peter It's none of your business I take that to be the sense If it is my will that he stay Until I return till I come What is that to you peter? You Follow me Keep your eyes on me and follow me Uh Of course gone records that this this led to a rumor That he the beloved disciple was not to die But he points out that's not what Jesus said He only said if it is my will that he remains until I come what is that to you follow me Uh again as much as to say peter It's enough for you to know just what I've told you About your own death and how you will glorify me And with your own death Not to worry about John At the very end then we have last two verses what many call the authentication The authentication the truth of the whole gospel is verified by the beloved disciple himself who has written it Uh, this is the disciple Uh, that is the one who's been spoken of by peter and jesus This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things and we know that his testimony is true And there are also many other things that these did which if they were written one by one I suppose it even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written on and
um I've mentioned this an earlier part of the course there are some who think that this verse 24 indicates that someone else is uh, speaking at this point We know that his testimony is true And I think you'll even find in the notes in the new genie of a study Bible that that theory uh Is present Uh, not that somebody else wrote Of the gospel that's a held by some people But uh, the note in the new genie of the Bible just indicates that this is Probably somebody else at this point adding his own Uh, testimony to the truth of what john has written Um, I don't think that even is necessary Uh, I think this is just a way john has he's done it several times Uh, elsewhere in his letters of confirming a witness by saying we know or they know or he knows that his testimony is true And so I don't think it I think he should be read among the we there He's just saying in a sense I know that what I'm saying is the truth um Okay Uh, are there any questions? Particularly about today subject uh subjects of study yes
It could be Yes, I mean you mean other than john I mean so that someone else than other than john is writing it
Yeah, I think so yeah, I don't think it has to mean Some group of elders at a later point in time when you feel like that no Yes Well, I don't know other than I you know, I keep in mind she was crying she was upset um She was not expecting it that says that she was she thought it was a gardener She was expecting to find the people who had taken the body away and I think just the power of expectation um clouded her her mind Maybe in the early morning lights he didn't get a good look at him Perhaps he was uh clothes and then unfamiliar way um, you know, we just Those are hints, but you know, I guess we don't know for sure Kyle
Mm-hmm Well, I wasn't gonna tell anybody, but uh Good question Uh I imagine he did, but uh what we don't know Well, what we don't know Isaiah and Isaiah 53 makes it sound like he was he was bloodied up almost beyond human recognition But um, I don't think it's necessary to suppose that that remaining the case after his resurrection So he did that's right he did He came back with the wounds We're very visible Well good question. I don't know the answer that yeah Uh Generally yes Generally yes, but uh in remember in John's gospel he never uses the word apostle So I think most of the time when he says disciples he's referring to the apostles though He may not always So I think that's just an ambiguity in John's gospel You've got to look at the context to try to figure out who he has in mind If it's just the apostles or disciples in general That's kind of tricky. Yes
Yeah Yeah Well evidently yes a different kind of material or a different something other than the lemon strips Clause where evidently strips that were wrapped around and then this uh head cloth face cloth was something else placed over the head Just what it was like or how big it was. I really don't know At what significance it has there to mention that it's rolled up and placed there As if it were something carefully done and I don't know what that means other than It would also be more evidence that this was not a robbery You know what rob grave robbers would take all the time unwrap everything even sold up I think a part of it and put it put it off to the side You know it it was a very unusual scene and Did not would not give the impression of a grave grave robbery which of course was the views story that they put out uh Yes That is true. There is uh the word agape or agapato and uh philato two different words For love Jesus begins with saying you love me agapato Uh and he's Jesus Here says I love you philato and so some people have commented is that some kind of difference there is Peter not saying what Jesus wants and to say But I I'm not really sure about that because uh the last time God Jesus says that John says that Peter was disturbed because three times Jesus had said Do you love me and there it's philato That in other words that seems to show that he's using them interchangeably You know without any distinguishable Difference Because if John can say he asked him three times do you love me philato Um, it must mean the same thing in this context But there there is some at times My distinction between those two forms of love But that's that's how I see it anyway Yes
Why did the Soldiers uh show such brutality against Jesus I'm not sure if you can say that it's a personal hatred to Jesus or Maybe they were taking out some of their Hatred of the Jews upon him That that certainly would be reasonable They were mocking him Saying that he was the king of the Jews It's really a way of mocking the Jews You know take this little pitiful character is your king and Some bloodying him up that way So I don't know what what they would have had personally against Jesus at that point
But they they certainly did not they they must have known of his claims known of his followers and obviously did not believe So in that sense they were they were they were definitely unbelievers willing to perpetrate this on on Jesus and that's heinous Okay any last questions were we need to leave but uh Want to give you the opportunity Okay, let's close in prayer briefly. We thank you dear lord For keeping your promise to be with your people where they're gathered in your name Thank you for the Holy Spirit's presence and we would cover his work in us to Make these things realities in our lives May the study of this gospel truly change our outlook and Increase our sanctification Jesus name Oh man You're welcome. You're welcome
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