Bible Text: 1Peter 3:10-12 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1Peter |

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6-13-2021
1Peter 3:10–12
Life, Love, and Good Days…

Today we will be studying 1Peter 3:10–12, but for context let’s go back and read from verse 8.

Read 1Peter 3:8–12…

Notice the connecting word “For,” at the beginning of verse 10; this connects Peter’s instruction in verses 8-9 to his summation in verses 10-12, where Peter quotes Psalm 34:12-16, in order to show that even before Christ, as written in the Old Testament, mankind desired to love life and to experience good days.

Ecclesiastes 2:24,
“There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.”

Ecclesiastes 3:10,
“I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.”

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13,
“I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.”

Ecclesiastes 5:19,
”Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.”

If we are to truly love life and see good days, as God intended, we will do so according to the authority, the provision, and the purpose of God. Let’s look more closely at the

first part of 1Peter 3:10 :
“The one who desires life, to love and see good days.” Peter doesn’t use the Greek word bios [biological, mortal life] here for the word “life,” but instead he uses the Greek word zoen [the fullest life, i.e., spiritual, eternal, pleasing to God life]. Unbelievers are physically alive but spiritually dead!

For the word “love,” Peter uses the Greek word agapan, the noun form of the Greek word agape [this is selfless, sacrificial, Godly love, like God the Father has for us], it is a love that is an action of the will, the intentional doing what is necessary, not just having feelings about it

(see John 15:13),
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

There are two main Greek words translated love in the New Testament: Agape, the highest form of love [Godly love, divine love], the love that only children of God can know and share; and Phileo, the love of kind feelings and affection [brotherly love], the love of close friendship.

Now let’s add the

second part of 1Peter 3:10,
to the first part: “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” If you really want to love life and see good days, you must keep control of your tongue and the words that come out of your mouth; this is not an easy task all the time, for most of us.

James 3:3-10,
“Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”

Now, look again at

1Peter 3:11,
“He (The one who desires life, to love and see good days) must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.” God commands His people to turn completely away from all evil, to do only what is good, to seek after peace like one aggressively hunting after the most valuable treasure, making an intense effort to be a peacemaker.

This is the message Peter has been proclaiming since

1Peter 2:11-12,
“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

It is not only important because we are brothers and sisters in Christ; but because we are ambassadors of Christ, urging unbelievers to be reconciled to God through Christ’s death and resurrection

(2Corinthians 5:17-21),
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

In 1Peter 3:9,
we are commanded not to respond to insult with insult or evil with evil, but we are to be, “giving a blessing instead.”

We should be a blessing to both believers and unbelievers; for we are called to be peacemakers, in a world that doesn’t have and cannot know peace, because it rejects Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Please turn to Matthew 5:1-9…

As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we must be the peacemakers here on earth, even though the world is against us (see Matthew 5:10-11).

Paul says (Romans 12:18),
“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men,”

(Romans 14:19),
“So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”

We are to be peacemakers.

We are to do everything possible to maintain peace in family of God, but also in the chaotic, confused and corrupt culture around us.

1Peter 3:12
[quoting Psalm 34:15-16],
tells us why we are to live like those who desire life, to love and see good days; those who keep their tongues from speaking evil and deceit, trying to do good while seeking peace: “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Look again at the first two phrases of 1Peter 3:12. God is watching over us, listening to our prayers, like a loving Father.

Some Christian parents have said to their children, at one time or another, “God is watching everything you do. I may not see it, your mother may not see it, but God sees it.”

That is not the focus of what Peter means here. This is not about putting fear in your heart concerning the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent God; but instead, that God is looking out for and listening to the prayers of His children; God is watchful so that He might provide for and protect us.

God knows our every need, and yet He wants us to come to Him in prayer, asking for His help. God even tells us what to pray for (see Matthew 6:7-13).

But look at the last part of 1Peter 3:12,
“But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

How is “the face of the Lord” different from “The eyes and ears of the Lord?” In the Old Testament, “The eyes of the Lord” has to do with God’s watchfulness, whereas, “The face of the Lord” is most often used to refer to God’s anger and His judgment.

Leviticus 17:10,
“Any man from the house of Israel or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person.”

Leviticus 20:6,
“As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.”

Psalm 34:16,
“The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.”

We are to live in such a way that the eyes of the Lord are on us as He listens to our prayers and meets our needs; rather than to live in wickedness and evil, so that God’s face is set against us in anger.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray

(Matthew 6:13),
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Does God lead us into temptation? Does God tempt us? No! But He does allow us to be tested.

1Corinthians 10:13,
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

James 1:13-15,
“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

How does God deliver us from evil? He protects and provides for us, and He has given us everything we need so that we will not be deceived or corrupted by sin, but instead will be victorious in Christ.

Romans 12:2,
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

2Timothy 3:16-17,
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man (woman and child) of God may be adequate [complete], [fully] equipped for every good work.”

2Peter 1:2-4,
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Paul exclaims

(1Corinthians 15:57),
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The truth is, those who desire life, to love and see good days, as children of God, ambassadors of Christ, and temples of the Holy Spirit, should exemplify what is commanded in

1Thessalonians 5:16-18,
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

In Christ we have everything now and forever; without Christ we have nothing.
No wonder Paul writes
(2Corinthians 9:15),
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” That Gift is Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: various | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1Peter |

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6-6-2021
Recap from 1Peter: How Are We To Live For God?
 

In 1Peter 2:13-17,
Peter exhorts us to submit to authorities and institutions, both civil (kings and governors) and societal (supervisors and employers); he then gives attention

(cf. 1Peter 3:1-7)
to the institution of marriage. Here he instructs believing husbands and believing wives to live with their unbelieving spouses in such a manner, so as to influence them for Christ, that they might be saved.

In 1Peter 3:8, Peter sums up how we are to live and behave with others, instructing us to be: harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit. God’s Word cites the attitudes we are to have and to display through our lives, as members of the Body of Christ, the Family of Believers.

To be harmonious means to be ‘like-minded,’ of ‘one-mind,’ i.e., having the same commitment to the Truth of God

(Ephesians 4:1-6),
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all,”

(Philippians 1:27),
“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ… …standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

To be sympathetic means to ‘share the same feeling’ that someone else is experiencing, whether it be sorrow or joy. We are to show empathy by coming alongside those who have spiritual, physical, and emotional needs; in order to help them on God’s behalf, sharing God’s message of love, hope, and peace with them

(2Corinthians 1:3-4),
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

To be brotherly speaks of the loving affection expressed among those who are closely related, the sacrificial serving of one another, as should be displayed among those who are in the Family of God

(Ephesians 4:32),
“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you,” as we reach out to the unbelieving world around us.

To be kindhearted is to deeply feel the pain of others, and to express tenderhearted compassion toward lost sinners, just as God has already done toward us through Christ

(Romans 5:8),
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

In John 11:35,

Jesus is approaching the grave of Lazarus, and He is aware of the pain that Mary and Martha and the rest of Lazarus’s family are feeling, it says, “Jesus wept.” Jesus’s tears are the result of a very deep sense of compassion for those who loved Lazarus and were grieving his loss.

To be humble in spirit is to be ‘humble-minded’; this should be the most important virtue in the life of those who are genuinely seeking to follow the example of Jesus Christ

(Mark 10:45),
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,”

(Philippians 2:3-11),
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In 1Peter 3:9 a,
we are instructed “not to return evil for evil or insult for insult.”

Please turn to Matthew 5:39…
Jesus said, “I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” This is one of those verses that is misinterpreted much more than it is correctly interpreted. This verse is not inferring or even implying, that you should allow some evil person to attack to you, or those with you. This verse does not mean that you are to give in to evil people.

God’s Word records that very early in Jesus’ ministry, during Passover, He drove evil men out of the Temple (cf. John 2:13-16) using a whip that He had made, saying “stop making My Father’s house a place of business”; and again, near the end of His ministry, during Passover (cf. Matthew 21:10-13), Jesus drove out those who were buying and selling in the temple, overturning the tables of the money changers, saying “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

We are not to be pacifists when it comes to evil

(Romans 12:9),
“Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”

As Christians (cf. Ephesians 5:6-13) we are children of Light and we are to expose and rebuke the deeds of darkness done by those who reject Christ; even so, we are not to seek retaliation

(Romans 12:21),
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

But, what about being slapped in the face (cf. Matthew 5:39)? In the Jewish culture, as in ours, being slapped in the face is an act of contempt or disdain; even a slave during Bible times would have preferred to be whipped on the back rather than slapped in the face by his master.

I do not believe God’s Word is advocating that we allow evil men to beat us up, I do believe however, that Matthew 5:39 is talking about putting up with insults and humiliation, not physical attacks.

Most Jews are right handed (about 90%) along with most of the people on this planet; and so, to strike the right cheek of a person’s face, with your right hand, is to hit with the back of the hand, this is clearly an act of expressing contempt, it is about demeaning and devaluing someone.

As Christians we are not to return insult for insult; we are not to use words in a vengeful way, nor are we to curse anyone, not even those who harm us.

As God’s child, I can expect to be minimized, insulted, and treated with contempt, because of my relationship with the Lord; but I am not to retaliate when that happens, I am not to seek retribution; for vengeance belongs to God.

In 1Peter 3:9 b
we are told, that instead of giving insult, we are to be “giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”

Believers should be a blessing to both believers and unbelievers. How can we do that? We can pray for the salvation of an unbeliever. We can pray for the sanctification of a believer. We should always express gratitude for someone’s kindness toward us or toward others. We should forgive those who sin against us, seek forgiveness from those we sin against, and pray for those who persecute us.

1Corinthians 1:18,
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

2Corinthians 5:14-21,
“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Mark 1:14-15,
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 1:17,
“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

As Christians, we have received God’s forgiveness for all our sins (past-present-future) and eternal life in heaven; all because of God’s great love for us.

If you have not yet received God’s salvation: forgiveness for sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ who is both Lord and Savior: Repent of your sins, we are all sinners! Believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, for there is no other way to be saved; He turns no one away. Follow Christ by demonstrating your new life in Him, seeking to know, obey, and proclaim God’s Word.

1John 5:11-13,
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Acts 9:1-22 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale |

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05-30-2021

“Jesus Appears to Saul”
Acts 9:1-22
 

Before Nancy and I went on vacation I taught for 4 weeks on the resurrection appearances of Christ. There is still one post resurrection appearance that we have not studied together; it took place after Christ’s ascension back into heaven, and it was to the Apostle Paul.

Paul’s inspired writings form the basis for most of the New Testament instruction to the Church. Paul’s birth name was Saul [Hebrew], but we know him better by the name Paul [Roman], for he was to be Christ’s witness to the Gentiles.

Paul was a Jew (Philippians 3:5-11),
“circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless,”

(Acts 22:3),
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city [Jerusalem], educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.”

Paul was also a Roman citizen. Once when Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and about to be flogged, he said to the centurion

(Acts 22:25-29),
“‘Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman [and has not been lawfully condemned]?’ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, ‘What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.’ The commander came and said to him, ‘Tell me, are you a Roman?’ And [Paul] said, ‘Yes.’ The commander answered, ‘I acquired my citizenship with a large sum of money.’ And Paul said, ‘But I was actually born a citizen.’

“Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains.”

See 1Corinthians 15:8-9…
Paul says, “and last of all He (Jesus) appeared to me also, as to one untimely [abnormally] born.”

All the others to whom the Lord had appeared, had seen Him while he was alive and after He had died and risen from the grave. But Paul had not seen Jesus during the 40 days between Christ’s resurrection and ascension, instead, the Lord appeared to Paul long after the Lord had ascended back into heaven.

No wonder Paul felt like one abnormally born, the other apostles had lived and walked with Jesus for three years, being taught by Him; whereas Paul had not only rejected Him as the Messiah, he had persecuted His followers, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

After his conversion, Paul was taught by the Lord (Galatians 1:11-12),

Galatians 1:11-12
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:16-18
16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.
18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days.

Paul was fully convinced of his apostleship and also of the grace and forgiveness given him by God. All twelve apostles (the original eleven + Matthias, who took Judas’ place) were commissioned within the territory of Israel, to minister to the Jews; but Paul was commissioned outside of Israel and ministered mostly to Gentiles [non-Jews].

Paul labored more than any of the apostles and yet, he only boasts about God’s marvelous gift of grace (See 2Corinthians 11:12-12:12).

2Corinthians 11:12-33
12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
16 Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little.
17 What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.
18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also.
19 For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly.
20 For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face.
21 To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.
But in whatever respect anyone else is bold–I speak in foolishness–I am just as bold myself.
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
23 Are they servants of Christ?–I speak as if insane–I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.
24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;
27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.
29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
30 If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.
31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
32 In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me,
33 and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.

2Corinthians 12:1-12
1 Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know how such a man–whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows–
4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.
5 On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.
6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.
7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me–to keep me from exalting myself!
8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
11 I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.
12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

Paul could do nothing apart from Christ working in and through him to accomplish the works of God (See Ephesians 2:8-10; 3:8-21).

Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 3:8-21
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;
10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

It was the resurrected Christ who changed Paul by saving him, personally instructing him, and empowering him to serve on God’s behalf. Prior to that time Paul had been an enemy of God and God’s people; he was now a bond slave of God and a servant to God’s people.

Paul had persecuted the Followers of Christ before his conversion on the road to Damascus; after he confessed Jesus as Lord, he became the most outspoken witness for the Christian faith apart from Jesus Christ. The same people he was previously hunting down and putting in jail, he is now calling his brothers and sisters in Christ.

No wonder Paul felt like one abnormally born, the other apostles had lived with Jesus for three years, being taught by Him; whereas Paul had rejected Him as the Messiah, and had even persecuted His followers.

And yet Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, several years after He had ascended back into heaven, (See Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-11; 26:1-18).

Acts 9:1-9
1 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;
4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”
7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.
9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Acts 22:6-11
6 “But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,
7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
8 And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
9 And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.
10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’
11 But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

Acts 26:1-18
1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense:
2 “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today;
3 especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem;
5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.
6 And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers;
7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews.
8 Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?
9 “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them.
11 And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.
12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me.
14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
16 But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you;
17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,
18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

Did Saul actually see the Lord that day?

1Corinthians 9:1
1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

Did Saul actually hear the Lord?

Acts 22:14-15
14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth.
15 For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

Note: The Greek word translated voice is phone [fo nay], it means sound or speech. Its most common use in the Bible is for the voice of God, humans, and angels, but it is also used for sounds in general (John 3:8),

John 3:8
8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Revelation 1:10
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,

On another note, probably some of you are wondering what it means

(Acts 26:14),
“to kick against the goads.”

A goad [noun] is a spiked stick used for driving cattle;

the verb form use of this word, to goad someone, means to provoke or to stimulate someone to action or to get a reaction.

Jesus is telling Saul he has been going against God Himself by going after these followers of the Way, the believers of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord, the Savior, God the Son.

Paul went from being the most aggressive persecutor of the Church of God to becoming the most aggressive proponent and proclaimer of God’s Message: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.

Jesus provided many demonstrable proofs and convincing evidence of His resurrection: He appeared to a great number of people, as recorded in the Scriptures. Luke writes, (Acts 1:3),

Acts 1:3
3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

John writes (John 20:31),
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

There are many examples of infallible evidence:
Almost 2,000 years of testimony in and through the Church of God.…
The evidence of billions of individual changed lives since Pentecost…

But the real proof of the power of Christ’s death and resurrection is in your life, God’s Spirit confirming your birth into the family of God and your transformation as you are conformed to the character and nature of Christ, in obedience to the God’s Word, to the glory of the Father.

Philippians 4:12-13
12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:19-20
19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

2Peter 1:2-4
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

We often talk about what the death and resurrection of Christ means for eternity to those who believe in Him; but what difference does it make to you right now?

Here are some Scriptures that answer that question:

Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

1Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

1Corinthians 12:13
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

2Corinthians 13:5
5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?

2Corinthians 4:4
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2Corinthians 4:6
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Hebrews 10:23-25
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day (of His Return) drawing near.

The Apostle Paul, like all true believers and followers of Jesus Christ, was spiritually dead in his sins and trespasses before confessing Christ as Lord and trusting Him as Savior.

Having been born-again by the Spirit of God, made effectual through the death and resurrection of God’s Son, we have the propensity to live in a manner that exemplifies the character and nature of God,

so that unbelievers might see Christ in us and respond to Him, as we proclaim what the Scriptures teach about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

Pastor Mike Hale
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Bible Text: Matthew 27:45-54 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd |

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05-23-2021

Matthew 27:45-54
“MIRACLES OF CALVARY”
 

Matthew 27:45-54
45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.
46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.
49 But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Introduction

9 a.m. Crucifixion.

12 p.m. Darkness.

3 p.m. Sun Shines/Jesus’ Death.

Miracle #1 – Darkness Falls

Matthew 27:45
45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.

Jesus First Words from the Cross.

Jesus Last Words from the Cross.

Jesus Words in the Middle.

Significance of Darkness?

Miracle #2 -Veil is Torn

Matthew 27:51 a
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

Significance of the Torn Veil?

Miracle #3 – Earthquake

Matthew 27:5l b
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

Significance of the Earthquake?

Miracle #4 – Saints Raised

Matthew 27: 52-53
52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

Significance of Raised Saints?

Miracle #5 – Centurion’s Testimony

Matthew 27:54
Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus,
when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening,
became very frightened and said,
“Truly this was the Son of God!”

Significance of the Centurion’s Testimony
Jim Shepherd

Bible Text: John 14:1-10 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd |

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May 16th, 2021
John 14: 1-10
“DID YOU ENJOY THE COTTON CANDY”
John 14: 1-10
1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
4 And you know the way where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.

Absolute Truths

Circles are not squares.

2+2 = 4

Jesus is the only way to heaven.

No other way:

John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

No other name:

John 4:12
12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”

No other foundation:

1Corinthians 3:11
11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.

No other mediator:

1 Timothy 2:5
5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Other Absolute Truths

We ar all sinners.

Our sins separate us from God.

We need a mediator to bridge the sin gap between us and God.

Jesus is that mediator.

No other mediator is necessary or possible.

Fable based on Matthew 7:13-14

Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Jim Shepherd

Bible Text: 1Samuel 1:1-16, 1Samuel 2:1-2 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd |

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May 9th, 2021

Introduction to Hannah, Elkanah and Peninnah.

1 Samuel 1:1-2
1 Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
2 He had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

1. Hannah had the right husband relationship.

A. Elkanah was a Godly man.

1 Samuel 1:3
3 Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD there.

B. Hannah and Elkanah shared love for each other.

1 Samuel 1:4-5
4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters;
5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the LORD had closed her womb.

C. Elkanah had compassion for Hannah.

1 Samuel 1:8
8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

2. Hannah had the right heavenly relationship.

1 Samuel 1:9-10
9 Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.
10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

3. Hannah possessed the right Godly characteristics.

1 Samuel 1:11-16
11 She made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
12 Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth.
13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.
14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.”
15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
16 Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.”

1 Samuel 2:1-2
1 Then Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

2 “There is no one holy like the LORD,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.

A. Hannah was a woman of prayer.
B. Hannah had constant faith in God.
C. Hannah was a woman who kept her promise to God.
D. Hannah was a woman of patient faith.
E. Hannah was woman of purity.
F. Hannah had a thankful heart.
G. Hannah dedicated herself to her children.

Jim Shepherd

Bible Text: various passages | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Resurrection Appearances of Jesus |

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May 2th, 2021

Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus ~ Part Four
 

John 21:1-5
1 After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.
2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”

Some time after the events of John 20, the disciples departed Jerusalem and traveled to Galilee, just as Jesus had told them to (during the Passover meal on Thursday night), before His arrest in the Garden on Friday morning (see Mark 14:28).

Mark 14:28
28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

In our text we find Jesus manifesting Himself to a group of His disciples, at the Sea of Tiberias [note: This is the Sea of Galilee, but by the time of John’s writing it was commonly called the Sea of Tiberias, after the city of Tiberias, on the western shore, which had been named after Tiberius Caesar (cf. Luke 3:1).

Luke 3:1
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

There are seven apostles in this story: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee (John and James), and two others who are unnamed; but it is very likely they are Philip and Andrew who were often listed with Peter, James and John.

The disciples had previously been told by Jesus (Matthew 28:10, 16) to, “Go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” “The eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.”

Matthew 28:10
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Matthew 28:16
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

Did you notice, it says the eleven went to meet Jesus at a specified mountain in Galilee; but it would seem that at least seven of the eleven got tired of waiting, and decided to go catch something to eat.

In John 21:3, it is recorded that Peter said to the other six, “I am going fishing,” and they said back to him, “We will also come with you.” And they got into a boat (perhaps belonging to Peter, or maybe John or James). They fished all night and caught nothing.

John 21:3
3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

It would appear that Peter and some of the others who had been fishermen when Jesus called them, were now going back to their former occupation of fishing, although they are not having much success, in this instance.

Jesus said to His disciples (John 16:32), “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home.” The Greek doesn’t have the word home but reads his own; the same phrase used in 1Thessalonians 4:11, is translated “your own business,” signifying that they would return to the way of life they had before following Christ (i.e., for these seven) back to fishing.

John 16:32
32 Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

1Thessalonians 4:11
11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you,

Three years ago, these men had left their previous lives to follow Jesus, in order to become fishers of men (see Matthew 4:19-20; cf Luke 9:23).

Matthew 4:19-20
19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Luke 9:23
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

Jesus didn’t intend for them to return to their previous lives; they had been called to the Gospel of Christ, as (Acts 1:8) “witnesses both in Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” There really was no going back to their regular lives, after having received the calling and commission to follow Him.

Acts 1:8
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

John 21:4 tells us that after a long night without catching anything, these guys head back into shore, as the sun is coming up, and Jesus is standing on the beach, but they do not recognize Him.

John 21:4
4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

John 21:5
In verse 5, Jesus says to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” they answer, “No.” This was a mild rebuke for not waiting on the Lord to come, instead of trusting Jesus, they took it upon themselves to get food, by going back to their previous occupation, and they weren’t doing so well at it.

John 21:5
5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”

John 21:6-14
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.
8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.
9 So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise.
14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

The Lord calls them to put their net on the right side of the boat, they do; immediately their net is so full they can’t pull it into the boat.

The disciple whom Jesus loved (John) recognized that it was the Lord, and so he told Peter, “It is the Lord.” Peter put his outer clothing on and jumped into the lake, he couldn’t wait for the slow moving boat to make it to shore; he wanted to be with Jesus right now!

The other six disciples were in the boat, “about one hundred yards off shore,” dragging the net with their heavy catch, because they couldn’t get it into the boat. When they finally reached the beach and got out of the boat, they could see there was a small fire with some fish and bread already cooking.

At this point Jesus tells them to bring some of fish they have caught, and He adds these to the meal He is already preparing. The net of fish is still a ways to in the water; but on hearing the Lord’s command, Peter grabs ahold of the net and pulls it up on the land, it is full of fish, in fact, 153 large fish

John 21:11
11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

John (a fisherman by profession) is amazed (verse 11) that such a huge catch of large fish has not torn the net.

John 21:12-13
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise.

Jesus invites the men to come and have breakfast with Him (verses 12-13), and although they are still not absolutely sure it is Him, they don’t ask any questions, for in their hearts they know it is Jesus.

It appears that they came up on the beach, where Jesus was cooking, they didn’t take anything to eat; at least, not until the Lord took some of the bread and the fish and gave it to them. Here is the resurrected Lord, still providing for this band of misfit fishermen. Jesus loved these guys.

Read John 21:14
14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

John tells us (verse 14), this is the third time Jesus has revealed Himself to His disciples, since He rose from the grave (see John 20:19-20, 26-29).

John 20:19-20
19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

John 20:26-29
26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

So, what can we takeaway from these Passages today?

Jesus had told His disciples to go to Galilee (to some specified location known to them, but not stated in the text) and there they would see Him; it would seem that the waiting became difficult, for at least seven of the disciples, so they decided to go back to their trade of fishing, although, they weren’t able to catch any fish.

We are told that Jesus manifested Himself to these men at the Sea of Galilee, where He demonstrated His care for them, just like He had provided for them during three years they were with Him, before His death and resurrection. The narrative tells us that after the men fished all night and had caught nothing, they followed Jesus instruction on where to put their net, and the net became full of fish, 153 large fish.

I believe the takeaway from this story, is that we can trust our Lord to care for and provide for us, now and later; even if we can’t see Him, once we come to Christ by faith, we cannot go back into the godless existence we had before coming to Him; we are called to be witnesses of the death and resurrection of God’s Son.

The next appearance of Jesus seems to take place on a mountain in Galilee, probably the place where the seven fisherman, in the previous narrative, had been when they got tired of waiting for Jesus to show up, so they went fishing.

Jesus is now on the mountain, very likely the same place where He had given the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Paul tells us (1Corinthians 15:6).

1Corinthians 15:6
6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

This is very likely when Jesus gave the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:1, 5-10, 18-20), where every believer from the time of Jesus to the end of time as we know it, receives our commission to be witnesses of Christ (cf. 2Corinthians 5:17-21).

Matthew 28:1
1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.

Matthew 28:5-10
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

2Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The next appearance of Jesus mentioned in the biblical record is found in 1Corinthians 15:7a.

1Corinthians 15:7a
7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

The James mentioned here is most likely the Lord’s halfbrother, who evidently, did not come to saving faith until he saw the risen Lord. We are not told where Jesus appeared to him; but we do know that James, Jesus’ brother through Mary and Joseph, later became a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church, and author of the book by the same name: James.

There are four different men with the name of James who are mentioned in the New Testament (cf. Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:12-16): James the brother of John (sons of Zebedee), James the son of Alphaeus, and James the father of Judas (not Iscariot).

Mark 3:16-19
16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),
17 and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”);
18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot;
19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

Luke 6:12-16
12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;
15 and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;
16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

The next post resurrection appearance of Jesus in the biblical record is recorded in 1Corinthians 15:7b.

1Corinthians 15:7b
7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

I believe the statement here, “then to all the apostles,” is speaking of the event recorded in Acts 1:1-12. Let’s take a look.

Acts 1:1-12
1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

As we have studied the post resurrection appearances of Jesus, it is worth mentioning here how Jesus appeared first to the women near the tomb on Sunday morning. Then He appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus on Sunday afternoon; after which, Sunday evening, He appeared to a group of followers that included 10 of the original twelve Disciples, plus other followers of Jesus. He then appeared to all 11 of the original Disciples, again on a Sunday. Jesus then appeared to 7 of the Disciples at the Sea of Galilee; after which He appeared to more than 500 on the mountain. Next was Christ’s appearance to James, we know not where; and then to all the apostles in Acts 1:1-12.

The record of Jesus’ appearances to His followers after His death and resurrection is copious, credible, and conclusive; there is more than enough demonstrable evidence concerning His death and resurrection.

1John 1:1-3
1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life–
2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us–
3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Why did God go to such great lengths to reveal and validate His plan?

John 20:30-31
30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

1John 5:11-13
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 24:35-43 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Resurrection Appearances of Jesus |

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April 25th, 2021

Luke 24:35-43

“Resurrection Appearances of Jesus – Part 3”
 

Luke 24:35-43
35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;
43 and He took it and ate it before them

The next appearance of Jesus is in the evening on that first Sunday. Jesus (in His resurrected body) passes right through the walls of a house where the disciples were gathered, like a spirit, yet He had a body and was even able to eat.

John 20:19-20
19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus miraculously appears right in front of them, even though

(verse 19)
“…the doors were shut…”

The word translated “door” implies a large and solid door. The word translated “shut” means locked or secured, this was often done with a heavy bolt that slid through rings attached to the door and the door frame; this door would have been nearly impossible, to break down. The disciples were hiding behind locked doors

(verse 19)
“for fear of the Jews,”

they were probably afraid of being arrested and executed, like Jesus.

Matthew 28:1-15
1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
11 Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
12 And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
13 and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
14 And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.”
15 And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

The soldiers who guarded Jesus’ tomb were paid off by the Chief Priests and were told to tell everyone that Christ’s disciples had taken His body. This is another reason the disciples were hiding behind locked doors on resurrection Sunday evening, for they were fearful that they were next to be executed.

Luke 24:44-47
44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Jesus reminded them of things He already had told them, and He began to show them how the Old Testament Scriptures spoke about Him

(verse 45), “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” But what did Jesus mean by, “all things written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” being fulfilled? Jesus had said something like this to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus also.

Luke 24:25-27,
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

I believe Jesus began to open their minds concerning the many passages of the Old Testament that speak about His birth, His rejection by the people, His suffering, His sacrificial death as payment for our sins, and His sovereign resurrection from the dead; of which the following are examples
(see Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Isaiah 53:1-12; Psalm 16:10; Psalm 22:27-31).

Isaiah 7:14; 9:6
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 53:1-12
1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Psalm 16:10
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay

Psalm 22:27-31
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S
And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31 They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

On several occasions Jesus spoke of these things (in part) to His disciples.

Matthew 16:21
21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

Matthew 17:22-23
22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men;
23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

Matthew 20:18-19
18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,
19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

The Old Testament prophecies about God’s Anointed [Holy] One [the Messiah, the Christ] foretell the plan, purpose and provision of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, who was fully man and yet fully God, as the New Testament clearly declares (see Ephesians 1:18-21; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-4).

Ephesians 1:18-21
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Philippians 2:5-11
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 1:1-4
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

The next appearance of Jesus, according to the biblical record, occurs one week after His resurrection.

John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

We are told here that on the following Sunday, the Lord came to the Disciples while they were again hiding in a room with the doors locked; but this time, Thomas was present.

The Lord immediately invited Thomas to touch His wounds, so that he might believe. We are not told as to whether or not Thomas reached out to touch the wounds in Christ’s body, but more importantly, we have Thomas’s strong confession of faith and belief that this is the risen Christ, God’s Son (verse 28), “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus accepts Thomas’s confession of faith, and then declares that in the future, after He has returned to heaven, those who believe in Him without seeing Him (verse 29), will indeed be blessed. Jesus is not just talking about a feeling of happiness, but instead, an indwelling supernatural assurance of having been spiritually born into God’s eternal family, having been accepted by and brought into an intimate relationship with God, through Christ
(see John 17:1-8, 20-26).

John 17:1-8
1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,
2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
4 I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
7 Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;
8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

John 17:20-26
20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

2Corinthians 5:21
He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Hebrews 9:22
22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews 9:27-28
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Hebrews 10:3-7
But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He [God’s Son, Savior] comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me. Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’

Hebrews 10:10
By this will we have been sanctified [made holy] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:12
He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.

Hebrews 10:14
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” He then says,

Hebrews 10:17
And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

John 20:30-31
30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

These accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ are written here in John’s Gospel (and in the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke), as first person narratives of the sovereign revelation of God, through Christ the Lord, in order to provide forgiveness for sins, and eternal life, to those who are being saved.

And although none of us were there to hear the words or witness the works of Jesus Christ, or to see the risen Lord, we have this first person report, so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing we may have eternal life in His name, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (for the forgiveness of sins), will be saved.

Remember what Jesus said to Thomas in John 20:29,
“Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

In John 17:20-21,
Jesus prayed to the Father saying, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

Take another look at John 20:30,
“Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.”

John 21:25
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

John 20:31
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

God’s desire in providing general revelation of Himself in creation and special revelation of Himself through the spoken and written Word of God (the Bible), is so that we might hear the message of Christ and believe it (Romans 10:17).

Romans 10:17
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him

Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Have you trusted in Jesus Christ’s death to set you free from the penalty of sin and His resurrection to provide you with eternal life?

If not, why not?

1Timothy 2:3-4,
“God our Savior …desires all men [women and children of age] to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2Peter 3:9,
“The Lord… …is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

God turns no one away! He loves you so much (John 3:16),

John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Maybe you are hearing this today, and you aren’t sure. Listen, we are all sinners, every one of us, and the penalty for sin is death, but through Jesus Christ, who is the only way, the only truth, and the only life from God, we can be eternally set free from sin’s penalty.

Three times we are told (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13) “that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sin] will be saved,” (Acts 4:12), “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved,” only that of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior.

Joel 2:32
32 “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

Acts 2:21
21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

Romans 10:13
13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

In 1John 1:1-3 the aged Apostle John writes:

1John 1:1-3
1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life–
2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us–
3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

In 1John 5:11-13 the Apostle sums it up,

1John 5:11-13
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Do you know for sure that you have received forgiveness for sin and eternal life?

If you have any doubt, If your heart is speaking to you today, don’t put it off, don’t delay.

Right now, right where you are (Romans 10:9-10):

Romans 10:9-10
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: 1Corinthians 15:5; Luke 24:33-34 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Resurrection Appearances of Jesus |

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April 18th, 2021
1Corinthians 15:5; Luke 24:33-34
“Resurrection Appearances of Jesus – Part 2”
Last week we studied several of the resurrection appearances of Jesus that occurred on that first Sunday, when He rose from the grave: First, to several women at the tomb Second, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Today we will look at what the Bible tells us about Christ’s appearance to Peter on that first Sunday, although, we aren’t told where or when this occurred.

1Corinthians 15:5
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Luke 24:33-34
33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”

We are clearly told that the Lord appeared to Cephas [known to us as Peter], before appearing to any of the other original 11 Disciples (Judas having hung himself, has not yet been replaced).

The New Testament writers don’t give specifics concerning when the Lord first appeared to Peter, and only Paul and Luke mention that this event happened.

Having said that, it is providential that Jesus would first show Himself to Peter, before any of the other 10, for Peter would be the first to preach Christ’s message in Jerusalem and he would become leader of the church birthed at Pentecost.

Jesus’ appearance to Peter had to occur sometime after Mary and the ‘other’ women saw Jesus at the tomb, and before Cleopas and the other disciple arrived in Jerusalem at the place where Peter, the other 10 original Disciples, and other followers of Christ who aren’t named here, were congregating behind locked doors and windows, out of fear for the Jews.

As we begin, I would like to try to clear up some of the confusion often centered around the different names given to the disciple we know as Peter, but who is also called Cephas, Simon son of John, Simon Peter, Simon Barjona, and Petros.

John 1:42
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

John 1:42, “Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” [Aramaic for rock], translated in English as Peter.

Matthew 16:13-19…
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

In verse 17, Jesus calls Peter Simon Barjona [lit. son of Jonah, Jonah is Aramaic for John]. Note: Most of the Jews in Galilee spoke Aramaic, although they would also know some Hebrew, but mostly the religious leaders spoke Hebrew.

Matthew 16:17
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Jesus addresses Peter (verse 18) as Petros [Greek for small rock or stone], then Jesus says “upon this rock [Greek word petra, meaning large rock, bed-rock or underlying layer of stone] I will build My church.” The rock [petra] upon which Christ will build His church is not Peter [Petros], but is clearly a foundation of which the gates of Hell will not be able to prevail against.

Matthew 16:18
18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Matthew 7:21-27
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall.”

Luke 6:46-49
46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

A wise man builds his house [his life, his beliefs, his faith] on the rock [the foundation of God’s Word concerning sin and salvation, heaven and hell; Jesus Christ is the Word of God: He is the Rock, the large Foundation Stone].

John 1:1-4
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:18
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Colossians 1:15
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 1:19-20
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

John 6:27-29
27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

John 6:40
40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

The man in the parables (Matthew 7, Luke 6) is a person who hears, believes and follows God’s Word, demonstrating their new life in Christ; and no matter what in this world comes against God’s children in all of life’s troubles, including Satan and his demons, we will not be destroyed (see Matthew 7:25; Luke 6:48) for we belong to God, having received forgiveness and eternal life through God’s Son we have overcome the world and everything in it and we will spend eternity in heaven

Matthew 7:25
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

Luke 6:48
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

1John 5:4-5
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.
5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

But those who do not put their belief and trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, will be destroyed and spend eternity in hell (see Matthew 7:26-27; Luke 6:49).

Matthew 7:26-27
26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall.”

Luke 6:49
49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Matthew 16:18-19
18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Peter [Petros, little rock], is an apostle, and along with the prophets, he is part of the foundation on which the Church is built.

Jesus will give the keys, i.e. grant His authority, to the Apostles, of whom Peter is the leader. But notice also, Jesus says, “the gates of Hades [hell] will not overcome it [the church]. The future outcome of His Church does not depend on the effectiveness of Peter, the other apostles, or any future generations of Christians; it depends entirely upon Jesus Christ, the Word of God!

Ephesians 2:19-22
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

1Peter 2:4-5
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Coming to Jesus Christ, i.e., believing in and receiving God’s Son as Lord and Savior, makes you part of a living spiritual house , the House of God [the Church], where you are able to serve the Living God with your life (Romans 12:1).

Romans 12:1
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

1Peter 2:6
6 Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed” [put to shame] (Isaiah 28:16).

Isaiah 28:16
16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

1Peter 2:7-8
7 “This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,’ and,
8, ’A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’” (Isaiah 8:14).

Isaiah 8:14
14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Christ is the Chief Cornerstone, the Foundation for all forgiveness and salvation, He is the Savior of those who believe in Him, and He is the “rock of offense,” the Judge of all those who reject Him, but for those who believe in Him (Psalm 18:2),

Psalm 18:2
2 “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge.”

Isaiah 26:4
4 “Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”

Those who believe in Christ will not be disappointed or destroyed, because He is Sovereign [Omnipotent], and He is not only the Way and the Truth and the Life, He is both Lord and Savior, and no one goes to heaven apart from believing in Him; 3 whereas, all those who reject Him, the Living Stone, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, are doomed to an eternal torment in hell.

Christ is the very Foundation and Chief Cornerstone of the Church, and He sovereignly chose to appear first to Peter, who is always listed (in the gospels and the Book of Acts) as being first among the original Twelve.

The risen Lord appeared to Peter before any of the other Apostles, just as the biblical record testifies. Christ chose Peter to be the leader of the Church that was birthed at Pentecost, and that Peter should be the the first Christian to proclaim the message of forgiveness and eternal life.

Acts 2:21-24
21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know–
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Acts 2:36-42
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 4:11, Speaking to the religious leaders of Israel and to the rest of the Jews, Peter proclaimed (cf. Psalm 118:22) that, “He [Jesus Christ] is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.

Acts 4:11
11 He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.

Psalm 118:22
22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.

Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

The message proclaimed by Peter, Paul, and the rest of the Apostles, is the very same message we are to proclaim today (Acts 2:21),

Acts 2:21
21‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

only that of Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: John 20:1-10 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Resurrection Appearances of Jesus |

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April 11th, 2021

John 20:1-10
“Resurrection Appearances of Jesus: Part One ”
 

Over these past weeks, we have studied the Scriptures that record the events surrounding Passion Week: Christ enters Jerusalem for the last time; He pours out His heart to the people about God’s love for them; He sets aside the old covenant of Passover to establish the new covenant of the Lord’s Supper; He is arrested and taken to stand before five mock trials in the early morning; He is mocked and beaten and then crucified; Christ’s speaks seven last times from the cross, and then He gives up His spirit and dies; He is buried and on the third day He comes out of the tomb alive.

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to many of His followers over a 40 day period, before He went back into heaven to the right hand of the Father.

Today we’ll begin to look at the biblical record concerning each of the Lord’s appearances, until He ascended up into the clouds with His disciples watching.

John 20:1-10
1 Now 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.
2 So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.
4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first;
5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.
6 And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,
7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.
9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

It is Sunday morning, the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark, and she finds that the stone covering the entrance to the tomb has been moved aside, Jesus is gone!

Mary runs to find Peter and John, and and to tell them that the Lord’s body is gone. When Peter and John had heard her report, don’t understand what it means
(Luke 24:11), “these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them,” but they immediately go to the tomb see what has happened.

Luke 24:11
11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.

John gets to the tomb first and looks in to see the burial cloths, but he did not go in (John 20:5), he waits for Peter to arrive, and of course Peter goes right into the tomb and finds that Jesus’ body is gone; the burial wrappings are there and the face-cloth is neatly rolled up.

John 20:5
5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.

John (John 20:8) now enters the tomb, but neither he nor Peter had really understood that Jesus would rise from the grave.

John 20:8
8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.

Luke 24:12 tells us, “Peter saw the linen wrappings; and he went away to his home, marveling at [wondering] what had happened.

Luke 24:12
12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

Let’s read John 20:11-17…
11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;
12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.
13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

Peter and John left the tomb to go to their homes; but Mary had evidently returned and was just outside the tomb weeping, when she saw two angels near where Jesus’ body had been laid (although she just saw them as men, not knowing that they were angels).

They asked her (John 20:13), “why are you weeping?” She shared her concern that the Lord had been taken away and she didn’t know where He was. Mary then turned around (we aren’t told why), perhaps she sensed someone was there? Jesus is now standing there, but Mary doesn’t recognize Him in His resurrected body.

John 20:13
13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Jesus asks Mary why she is crying, and who she is looking for? Thinking that He is the gardener she asked Him if He knows where Jesus’ body has been taken, so that she might go and get it.

At this point (John 20:16) Jesus calls her name, “Mary,” at that moment she recognizes Him (cf. John 10:27) and responds to the Lord, saying “Rabboni!” [Teacher, Master, expressing honor and reverence.]

John 20:16
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).

John 10:27
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

Mary holds tight to Jesus (John 20:17), but Jesus tells to her she must release Him, as He has not yet ascended to the Father.

John 20:17
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

We don’t know how much of the upper room discourse Mary was aware of, perhaps the apostles had told her what Jesus had said, that He was going back to the Father and He would send the Holy Spirit, though whom He would come to live in them (see John 14:1-3, 7, 16-20; 16:7).

John 14:1-3
1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

John 14:7
7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

John 14:16-20
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

John 16:7
7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

Back to John 20:17, Jesus tells Mary to go to His “brethren” [lit. brothers], speaking of His disciples. Jesus had previously referred to His disciples as slaves, and then friends (John 15:15), “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

John 20:17
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

John 15:15
15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Now Jesus refers to His disciples as His brothers, after saying, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’’

Please turn to Matthew 28:1-10…
1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Matthew records Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene, and the “other” Mary (Matthew 27:56, Mary the mother of James and Joseph). Jesus instructs them to go tell the disciples that they will see Him in Galilee.

Matthew 27:56
56 Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Please turn to Luke 24:13-35… Jesus appears to two disciples, on the day of His resurrection, as they are walking on the road to Emmaus, about 7 miles away. These two are not part of the eleven remaining disciples (who made up the original Twelve, Judas now deceased).

Luke 24:13-35
13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.
15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.
16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”
19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.
21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
22 But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,
23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.
24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther.
29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.
30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

We are given the name of one of them (cf. Luke 24:18), his name is Cleopas; and although he is named nowhere else in the New Testament, he must have been known to the followers of Christ, or he wouldn’t be named here.

Luke 24:18
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

These two disciples (cf. Luke 24:13-16) don’t seem to have any idea that it is Jesus who approaches them and begins to walk with them, listening to them explain to Him about the things which have happened concerning Jesus the Nazarene (cf. Luke 24:17-24), how He was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people; and that He had been arrested by the Chief Priests and turned over to be crucified, that He was buried, and yet when some of His followers went to the tomb they found it empty, but there were angels there telling them that He was indeed alive! 2

Luke 24:13-16
13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.
15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.
16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.

Luke 24:17-24
17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”
19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.
21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
22 But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,
23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.
24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

Jesus now reminds them (cf. Luke 24:25-26) that the prophets had foretold how it was necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to “enter into His glory,” meaning that He would return to the Father in heaven after completing His mission here on earth: “It is Finished!”

Luke 24:25-26
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

Then (cf. Luke 24:27), “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures,” (cf Genesis 3:1-15). 1John 3:8, “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

Luke 24:27
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Genesis 3:1-15
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

1John 3:8
8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

As Jesus and the two approach Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:28-29), it is beginning to get dark, so they invite Him to stay with them at their house. They now go in and sit at a table, preparing to having something to eat (cf. Luke 24:30-31).

Luke 24:28-29
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther.
29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.

Luke 24:30-31
30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

Jesus takes the bread and blesses it, then breaking it, He begins giving it to them and at that moment, “their eyes are opened and they recognize Him; He then vanishes from their sight!” [earlier that day at the tomb (John 20:13-18), Jesus’ appearance was hid from Mary Magdalene until Jesus called her name, “Mary,” and then she recognized that it was the Lord.]

John 20:13-18
13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

These disciples from Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:32-35) now understand that the stranger is Jesus, and they recall how their hearts burned within them as they walked along the road, while Jesus explained the Scriptures to them. They immediately head out for Jerusalem, where they find the eleven and those who are with them, gathered together saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon [Peter].’ [Then the two disciples from Emmaus] began to tell of their experience on the road [with Jesus] and how they only recognized Him when He broke the bread and gave it to them.

Luke 24:32-35
24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai,
26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,
27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah,

Just moments after the above narrative, Jesus shows up in the room, at this gathering behind locked doors (Luke 24:36), “While they were telling these things, He Himself [Jesus, the risen Lord] stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’”

Luke 24:36
36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

Next week we will explore the when and where of Jesus’ appearance to Peter. But for today, let’s consider the following as we close our time together.

The women near the tomb saw the risen Lord!

The disciples on the road saw the risen Lord!

Peter saw the risen Lord, and although we are not told where, it clearly happened sometime between the early morning appearance of Jesus to the women in the garden, and the arrival in Jerusalem of the two disciples from Emmaus, who had seen the Lord along the road in the late afternoon, and had recognized Him while at their table breaking bread, as the evening approached!

Next week we will explore the when and where of Jesus’ appearance to Peter.

But for today, consider the narratives of those we studied about today, witnesses of the risen Lord.

What is the responsibility of a witness? To tell the truth about what they have seen, heard, experienced.

Acts 1:8-11
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you are a witness of His resurrection and you need to tell others about Him.

2Corinthians 5:16-21
16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Pastor Mike Hale
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