You

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.  This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.  And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.  Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?  Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?  Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?  follow thou me.

John 21:18-22

After Jesus told Peter how he would, through his death, glorify God, Peter looked around, saw John, and asked Jesus what he would do.  Jesus gave him a classic answer that will help us even today: “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?  follow thou me.”  Basically, He told Peter, “don’t worry about what I have for John to do; you just follow me.”  That is great advice for us two thousand years later.

Sometimes we worry too much about what everyone else is doing, not doing and should or should not be doing.  We want to run the lives of everyone else.  We want to know what they are supposed to be doing.  We need to focus on ourselves.  We need to just do what we are supposed to do.  We need to do it every day.

“Follow thou me.”  The next time we get overly concerned about what someone else should be doing, let us remember these words from the Saviour.  Following this advice will greatly help and simplify our lives.  “Follow thou me.”

Lovest Thou Me?

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?  He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.  He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?  He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.  He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?  Peter was grieved because he sad unto him the third time, Lovest thou me?  And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.  Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

John 21:15-17

This must have been one of the hardest conversations of Simon Peter’s life.  He had betrayed the Lord three times before His crucifixion.  He immediately repented and was thrilled later to see his risen Lord.  Now, the Lord Jesus is there in front of him, asking him “lovest thou me?”  Peter answered that he did indeed love the Lord.  He even said that “thou knowest that I love thee.”  Then Jesus asked again.  And again.  The third time, “Peter was grieved…”

I don’t know if he was grieved because answering that same question for the third time reminded him of the awful night in which he denied the Lord three times.  He may have been grieved because he thought that Jesus didn’t think that he loved him.  I don’t know why he was grieved, but he was.

The questions for today are these: if He were standing before us, would He have to ask us if we loved Him three times?  Have we given Him reason to doubt our love for Him?  And the most important question: “lovest thou me?”

The Reason for the Bible

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John 20:30-31

Many have wondered what the purpose of the Bible is.  Why did God choose to write all of these things down?  Why did He choose to include the things that He chose to include?  Why did He tell us some things and not tell us other things?  What is the purpose of the Bible?  These verses in the book of John have the answer for us.

“…these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  That is the purpose of the Bible.  That is why God chose to write down for us the things that He did.

He did many other things that He chose not to have written down.  We did not need to know those things.  He wrote down what we needed to know to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  He wants us to have life and that life comes only through His name.  He gave us all we need to believe in Him.  He wrote down many prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to His coming.  When He came, He wrote down all of the things that fulfilled those prophecies.  He wrote of many of the miracles that He performed.  He wrote of His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension back to Heaven.  He wrote of the church that He left to carry on His work.  He wrote of the future and what will happen in the end.  He wrote it all that we would believe and that we would have life through Him.

Do we believe?

Come and Dine

Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing.  They say unto him, We also go with thee.  They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.  But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.  Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat?  They answered him, No.

Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.  Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.  Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine.  And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou?  knowing that it was the Lord.

John 21:3-5, 10-12

Simon Peter decided to go fishing.  The other disciples decided to go with him.  They went out, fished all night, and caught nothing.  Then Jesus showed up, asking if they had any fish.  They did not.  They had nothing to show for all of their work through the night.  They did not recognize Jesus, and He told them to cast in their net again.  They did so, and pulled in a huge catch of fish: one hundred and fifty three, to be exact.

He then invited them to “Come and dine.”  That is how Jesus works.  We work and work to get ahead.  We fight and struggle and we just can’t seem to get anywhere.  We want to do things in our own power, and we end up with nothing.  Then Jesus comes and invites us to “come and dine.”  He gives us what we need.  He gives us the desires of our hearts.

How many times have we felt like we are just banging our heads against a wall?  We need to learn the lesson from this story: be patient, wait on Jesus and He will come through for us – every time.

Thomas

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD.  But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and Peace be unto you.  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.

John 20:24-28

People always look down on Thomas because he didn’t believe right away when the other disciples told him that they had seen Jesus.  He wanted to see for himself.  He wanted to see the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side.  He wanted some evidence, just as many of us would have wanted.

Eventually, Jesus did show Himself to Thomas and Thomas did believe, saying, “My Lord and my God.”

Some people will believe more easily than others.  Some people will believe on the testimony of another.  Others want to see some evidence first.  Jesus told Thomas in verse 29, “Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”  Faith is about believing something that we can’t see.  Faith is about hearing the Word of God and believing it as such.  We can’t literally see Jesus with our eyes today.  We must have faith to believe what He has told us in His Word.  Do we believe?

Peace

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.  And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side.  Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

John 20:19-21

After the crucifixion, the disciples were a little nervous.  It seemed that their Lord had been killed and that the Jews or the Roman government would soon be coming after them.  They were assembled, but they were assembled “for fear of the Jews.”  It was during this time of fear and nervousness and gnawing doubt that Jesus appeared to them, saying “Peace be unto you.”  He said this twice.  “Peace be unto you.”

When they were fearful and afraid, Jesus appeared to them and comforted them.  He stood in the midst of them and brought them comfort.

It is the same with us.  When we find ourselves nervous and afraid, it is then that Jesus shows Himself to us, bringing peace to our troubled hearts.  It is in the darkest times of our lives that Jesus shows Himself most real to us.  Just when we need Him most, that is when He comes.

Jesus loved the disciples and He loves us.  He brought peace and comfort to them when they were most afraid and He brings peace and comfort to us when we are most afraid.  “Peace be unto you.”  We need to thank the Lord today for all of the times He showed Himself strong to us and soothed our troubled souls.  He brings us peace, when we need it most, every time.

He’s Gone

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.  Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.  Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.  So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.  And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.  Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.  Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

John 20:1-8

These verses and the story it contains are the center of all of Christianity.  They tell us of a risen Saviour.  They crucified the Lord Jesus.  They buried Him.  They placed guards at the tomb.  But none of that stopped Him.  He conquered death.  He became the first and only man to raise from the dead on His own power.

Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and John were the first to see the empty tomb.  Imagine the honor that that would have been.  Mary went early in the morning to the tomb.  Maybe she was just going to pay her respects.  Maybe she thought that a miracle had happened.  Whatever it was, she saw the empty tomb.  She ran and told the others, who also ran to see it.  There it was: the empty tomb with folded graveclothes.

Jesus was not there.  He was risen.  What a wonderful Saviour and what a privilege to serve a risen Lord!

You Never Know

And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave.  He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.  And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.  Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

John 19:38-40

After the crucifixion, two men came to Pilate and asked for the body to Jesus.  They wanted to at least give Him a proper burial.  Nicodemus brought a mixture of a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes to anoint Jesus’ body with.  Neither of these men were among His chosen twelve.  Neither of these men were even among His more “public” followers.  But they worshipped Jesus and loved Him.  They wanted to honour Him.

Joseph of Arimathaea was identified as a “disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews…”  He was afraid of the Jews.  He was afraid to identify with Jesus but he was a believer.  He was a disciple of Jesus.  Nicodemus “first came to Jesus by night.”  Nicodemus was the same way.

When I read this, it helps me to see that you just never know about people.  You can’t see a person’s heart.  One might never have known that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus.  He probably should have been more outspoken.  He probably should have tried to have a better testimony.  But he was a disciple nonetheless.

We need to help people.  We need to pray for people.  You just never know what is going on in someone’s head and heart.

Did Pilate Know?

Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.  And Pilate wrote  title, and put it on the cross.  And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.  This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.  Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.  Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

John 19:18-22

As Jesus was going to be crucified, Pilate wrote a title for Jesus and put it on the cross to identify Him.  He wrote “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.”  And he wrote it in three different languages, just to make sure everybody was able to read it.  The chief priests were angry about it because they had just declared “we have no king but Caesar.”  They had rejected Jesus and were adamant about it.  They wanted the wording on the title changed.  But Pilate, unwilling to stand up to them any other time, stood up here and said “What I have written I have written.”

Pilate said numerous times that he found no fault in Jesus.  He then made a banner for the cross declaring that Jesus was indeed the King of the Jews.  He rejected the Jews’ attempts to get him to change the wording.  Did Pilate really believe?  Did Pilate know that Jesus was King of the Jews?  It is an interesting question.  He didn’t want to crucify Him, but he was afraid of the Jews, so he let them have Him and crucify Him.

Pilate may have known, but he didn’t act on his knowledge.  We know the truth; let us act on what we know.  Let us believe on Jesus and be bold in our faith!

No King But Caesar

And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him.  Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?  The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

John 19:14-15

As Pilate continued to try to get the Jews to release Jesus, the people started to get more agitated.  Pilate said several times that he found no fault in Jesus.  He asked the Jews over and over if they would be willing to release Him.  They continued in their stubbornness.  They continued to reject the Lord Jesus, favoring instead the violent criminal Barabbas.  The last time Pilate asked “Shall I crucify your King?”  They reached the point of no return: “We have no king but Caesar.”  Think about the sadness of that statement.

Caesar didn’t care anything about them.  In fact, in the not too distant future, a Caesar would destroy Jerusalem.  Caesar was a dictator over them.  He ruled them, controlled them and taxed them.  On the other hand, Jesus was the Prince of Peace.  He came to help people.  He loved them.  He loved them so much that He went to the cross to die for them – something Caesar would never even have thought about doing.  Jesus healed their sick.  He comforted the hurting ones among them.  He loved them.  Caesar ignored them at best and hated them at worst.  Yet still, when faced with a choice between them, they chose Caesar over Jesus.

The same basic choice is still given to men today.  They can choose Jesus, or the world and the devil behind it.  Jesus love them.  The world and the devil hates them.  Yet how many of them still choose to reject the Saviour?  Many would say “we have no king but Caesar.”  Let us say “we have no King but Jesus Christ!”