John 2:23-25

..."Many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing. But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people."

Yes, He knows the hearts of all people. He knows the hearts of those of us who seem excited about Him, but when sent out to do His will, we are immediately consumed by outside factors and lose sight of Him. He knows the hearts of those of us who respond to Him, yet do not go any deeper and fall away because we never build a relationship with Him through prayer and time in His Word. He knows the hearts of those of us who begin to follow Him, but then surround ourselves with people who are opposed to Him and influence us to turn away from Him. Jesus knows those of us who hear His voice and drop what we are doing to pursue Him with everything we have.  

Jesus knows our hearts. Because Jesus knows my heart, can I say with assurance that He would entrust Himself to me? Let us take this as a challenge to follow Him at any cost and really get to know Him. 

(John 2:13-22)

I am the talk of those who sit in the gate and, the drunkards make songs about me. (Psalm 69:12)

With great zeal and with perfect devotion, Jesus tore through the sinfulness that permeated the temple. He made a whip with cords and chased away the greedy men who turned the place of worship into a market.  'He overturned tables, poured out their money and drove out their livestock. With authority he said, "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade." The disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."' (Psalm 69:9)

True zeal for the things of God will cause one to prayerfully seek after the truth and weed out sin. Jesus knew that those who were in charge of the Temple needed to be confronted because they had let a den of thieves inside.  Thieves are not to be trusted. They seek their own. They have no regard for others. When a thief is in the church he is an impostor. When a church has become unguarded, the wolves will come after the sheep.

Jesus challenged the religious leaders. The ones who did good works, and who built good reputations for themselves by injecting the name of God every chance they could. He saw the sin in their hearts which did not match their outward devotion to God. 

Pointing out sin in someone who insists they are a good person rarely goes well. They might tell you that "Only God can judge," and if they lack repentance that leads to faith they will despise the person who pricks their conscience. The person who loves God enough to tell people the truth will become a target. King David could have turned on Nathan when he pointed out his sexual sin to him, but instead David humbled himself and repented. God will judge sin. He tells those who believe in Him to love people enough to warn them of their sin so they can repent and be saved. 

There is a popular song that seems to speak of God, yet it really does so in a way that reminds me of the money changers in the temple. The song is called, "Hallelujah." The lyrics seem to be worshipful to God until you listen closely and realize the writer is glorifying disbelief in God, rebellion and sin. The song is about the sexual sin David committed with Bathsheba; the same sin that Nathan called him out for; the same sin that he repented of and the same sin that caused him to say, "I am the talk of those who sit at the gate and the drunkards make songs about me."

Jesus became the talk of those who sit at the gate, too. People think, "Jesus is not angry with me. I am a good person. My Jesus knows my heart," and they write songs about this gentle Jesus. People forget that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament. Jesus will come again someday to judge the living and the dead based on the commandments God gave us. For those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus, their sins have already been taken care of through His death on the cross, but for those who held tight to their sin and rebelled against God's laws, He will judge them with perfect justice. 

That is why when I hear songs like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (remade by Jeff Buckley, also sung by Christian musicians,) I get some righteous anger building up. We sing along to the tune of this song like drunkards who are so wasted that we don't even know what we are singing. Let us instead take a good sober look at sin and what it cost Jesus and what it will cost us if we don't turn from it. 

(John 2:1-12)

Jesus and His disciples were guests at a wedding in nearby Cana. After some time, the wine for the feast had unexpectedly run out. Mary not wanting the groom to suffer embarrassment and shame, presented the problem to Jesus so that he might fix it. His response was abrupt yet full of meaning, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come."  

Referring to the reason God sent Him here, Jesus was about to perform a miracle that would drive this point home.

Jesus instructed His disciples to get six stone jars that were used for purification rituals. These jars would contain the purest water for washing that meant to cleanse one from sin. Then he told them to fill the jars with water. When they were filled to the top, He instructed them to draw out some and take it to the master of the feast. The master was astounded by how good this new wine tasted and said, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." 

The disciples, knowing that Jesus had miraculous turned water into wine, were amazed by this sign and believed in Jesus. Some might just see this as a great parlor trick, but it was not. What Jesus did was far more significant than that. 

For those who had faith to see, God through sending Jesus, was making all things new. Jesus performed this miracle to point to His purpose. The hour was coming when He would die on the cross, becoming the new wine and purifying the sinner who believes and partakes of Him. 

(John 1:35-51)

John announced Jesus' arrival and the disciples responded, "We have found the Messiah!" They followed Him because they were seeking Him. Jesus began to show them that He indeed was the fulfillment of Scripture, the One they had been waiting for. They did not fully comprehend all that was taking place, but Jesus would open their eyes to the greatness of God. 

Nathanael, one disciple in particular, wanted to know if Jesus truly was the One. Philip had approached him, telling him that Jesus of Nazareth was the One who Moses and the prophets wrote about. Nathanael, having an honest and sincere heart asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold and Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael was amazed that Jesus identified him and asked Him how He knew him. Jesus answered, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus told him that he would see even greater things, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." The Word of God proclaimed by Jeremiah in the Old Testament was coming to pass through Jesus: "And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people." 

In the Old Testament, God chose twelve tribes of Israel to be His people. In the New Testament, twelve Jewish men were summoned by Jesus to be His disciples. God being so great, provided a way for people of every tribe and nation to be saved from the punishment of their sins once and for all by the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

The disciples were seeking the Savior but it was He who found them. When God opened their eyes, they declared the message of Jesus far and wide to both Jews and Gentiles so that we too can receive salvation. The message for those who are looking for their Savior is this: Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died in your place, turn from your sinful, stubborn ways, follow Him and He will show you great things!

(John 1:29-34)

"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" As Jesus approached, John who was preaching repentance and baptizing the crowds, enthusiastically announced His arrival. "He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie...I have seen and born witness that this is the Son of God!"  What a grand entrance!

John did not know the significance of his words when he called Jesus the Lamb of God. Yet, God gave us the story of the lamb throughout Scripture. In Genesis, God provided a lamb as a substitutional sacrifice for Abraham as he was about to obediently sacrifice his son, Isaac. In Exodus, God spared the Israelites from His wrath by telling them to cover their doorways with the blood of a spotless lamb, redeeming them from the penalty of their sin. Isaiah prophesied about the Lamb of God, 
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8By 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,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.

We rebelled against God from the very beginning. He taught us His commandments and we would not keep them, proving that we are a sinful people. We repented and offered sacrifices to Him and then we sinned again, over and over. God broke this cycle when in His great mercy and love, He sent His beloved Son Jesus to us to become the perfect, spotless lamb; the final sacrifice. His goodness offered up to God covered how bad we were. Jesus bore our sins as if they were His own and took our punishment.

Admitting how sinful we are takes humility, and it takes honesty to ponder the dreadfulness of God's Son having to die because we have been so in love with sin. Thank the Lord that He looked down on us and had a plan to save us despite our sinfulness. Receive Jesus with repentance. It is there that you will be given the full measure of God's grace as if you never sinned. 

(John 1:1-18)

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Jesus was the Word (which was God,) the Creator, the Life, and the Light among men. In Jesus no darkness can dwell. 

Jesus came into our dark and sinful world. The world did not know Him. He came to His own people. They did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him and who believed in His name, He gave eternal life and they became children of God; children who walk in the light of His Word.

Moses taught the 10 Commandments; God's perfect, Holy standard. The people broke them over and over. Because of their sin, they had to offer up to God sacrifice upon sacrifice, year after year. God was teaching the people that they could not save themselves; they needed a Savior. 

Jesus became that. Because we are hopeless sinners, He offered grace upon grace. He kept every one of the 10 Commandments perfectly and then gave Himself up for our sakes by becoming the perfect, final sacrifice. He gave His life so we who believe in Him could have eternal life. 

(Luke 24:50-53)

The events of the last three days must have been emotionally overwhelming for the disciples. Witnessing the arrest and crucifixion of their Lord, feeling hopeless and afraid at His death and then being filled with amazement and joy at His resurrection was a lot to take in. The culmination of it was now Jesus was there amongst them, walking them through the Scriptures and teaching them why it all had to happen. There was redemption for repentant sinners like themselves through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. Not only that, through the resurrection, there was hope for men such as they who trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior. How blessed they were to have God open their eyes to the understanding of the gospel. Before Jesus ascended up to Heaven, He told the disciples to go out and proclaim this gospel message to all the earth. 

They understood it and now they must proclaim it. Not understanding the gospel right can make us susceptible to all sorts of "gospels" that will lead us astray. Just today, I was reminded of three such false gospels: The prosperity "gospel," the dream-destiny "gospel" and the anything-goes "gospel," otherwise known as Post-Modernism. According to what is recorded in Scripture, the disciples were not sent out into the world with a vision to make sure we are all living our best life now by following the smartest financial principles or carefully managing our lives so our dreams can come true. Yet, every day I see evidences that many professing Christians believe this should be their purpose. The disciples certainly did not go out into the world side-stepping the truth so as not to offend other beliefs. Yet, every day I see evidences of Christian people coming together at the expense of biblical truth for the sake of unity. In today's world, many of us have twisted the purpose of Jesus Christ into something that would be unrecognizable to His disciples.

This is the gospel message the disciples proclaimed to the world: 
For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. It is rare indeed for anyone to die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him! (Romans 5:7-9)

The gospel offends. Hard truth says, "Jesus's work on the cross is the only work that will grant us eternal salvation." It says, "We are all wretched and born into sin. Not one of us is good." It says, "Our sins have stirred up the wrath of God and we all deserve Hell." The gospel says, "We are not able to save ourselves. We need a Savior." The message of the gospel is not fluffy like our favorite stuffy. The message of the gospel first brings us to our knees in despair and then it lifts us to our feet in joy when God gives us saving faith. We realize that our sin will condemn us, but that Jesus will save us.

This gospel is why the disciples did not live in castles nor were they driven around in royal chariots. The gospel is why the disciples did not have amazing careers. It is why they did not have anything worth boasting about. It is why they were disdained by many. The gospel is why the disciples lived difficult, uncomfortable lives and why they didn't find favor with the rich and powerful but were instead unjustly persecuted- why most of them were arrested and killed. The disciples told the hard truth and some who heard it were offended. The faithful disciples followed Jesus to the cross forsaking their lives for the sake of proclaiming the gospel message so that many who heard it could be saved. 

Where do you stand when it comes to the truth of the gospel? Does it bring you joy knowing God did this for you? If you feel offense, pray that God would prepare your heart for His hard truth and teach you to understand like Jesus taught the disciples to understand. I'm praying that those who read who did not understand the gospel will come to know the saving truth. 

(Luke 24:36-49)

Christians, may we not waver in our belief. May we know God is able to do what He promised. May we know God DID do what He promised through Jesus Christ. As He strengthens our faith may we give glory to God. May we fully trust in God. As Paul says in Romans 5, God credits His righteousness to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus was delivered over to death for our sin and was raised back to life for our justification. For those of us who believe, there is peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By his death and resurrection, He provided those of us who have faith access to God the Father. We stand in the grace of God. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in sufferings. When we suffer like Christ suffered we learn how to persevere.

Jesus had risen indeed. As the disciples huddled together discussing this great event, Jesus Himself stood among them and said, "Peace to you." Seeing Him appear out of nowhere frightened them. He proved to them He was not a ghost and sat down and ate with them. He had them touch Him so they could know He was real. He showed them the nail marks on His hands and feet. Then He went through the Old Testament, explaining to them the types and shadows, the foretelling prophesies and why it all had to take place. These men had a first hand explanation of God's redemptive plan for sinners, none of which could save themselves. These men were first hand witnesses of the life, death, burial and resurrection of God's promised Messiah. None of us, no matter how many good things we do, are godly enough to measure up to God's holy standards and that's why we needed Jesus to step in and take our place.  

Jesus said, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." These men had been hiding in Jerusalem, afraid of being found and facing the same persecution and punishment as Jesus. Yet Jesus gave them assurance in these words, "Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." He would not abandon them, but through His Holy Spirit would give them everything they needed to persevere. These words are for us as well.

As the apostle Paul teaches in Romans 5, "Perseverance builds character and character builds hope. Hope does not disappoint because God poured His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. It is rare indeed for anyone to die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him! For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that come by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many! Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man's sin: the judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Therefore, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were  made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The Law was given so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness, to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

(Luke 24:13-35)

Two followers of Jesus, one whose name was Cleopas, were walking along the road to the village of Emmaus. They were in deep discussion about the events that had conspired concerning Jesus, when Jesus Himself drew near and began walking with them. Yet, God kept them from recognizing Jesus.

Jesus asked them what they had been talking about. The men stopped walking and looked sad. Cleopas then asked Jesus if He was the only one who hadn't heard the news about what had happened the last few days. They recounted how Jesus was a prophet of God who was mighty in word and deed before God and all the people. They described how the chief priests reacted to Jesus and how Jesus was crucified saying, "We had hoped He was the one to redeem Israel." They went on to tell about the discovery of the empty tomb and the angels who said Jesus was alive.

(I can't help but feel joy bubble up as I read Jesus' gentle but admonishing response,)

"O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 

To have Jesus Himself taking them through the Old Testament prophesies, explaining the sacrificial system and why the Son had to be sacrificed and then going through the words of prophets telling of the coming Messiah and how He would be sacrificed and rise again should have stopped them in their tracks! But not until that evening when they stopped and began their supper, were their eyes opened. Jesus sitting at the table with them, took the bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. It was then that they realized it was Him and just like that, Jesus vanished. 

With excitement, they said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?" They did hesitate, but went right to Jerusalem and found the eleven disciples. They announced to them, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Yes, Jesus had appeared to Simon Peter as well, who for the last two days had been broken over his sin of publicly denying Jesus. Meeting Simon Peter before appearing to the other men meant Jesus had compassion on him, a sinner, and came to offer him His healing grace. What joy to not only see Jesus alive again but then to be found and forgiven! 

(Luke 24:1-12)

The Roman guards were no where to be seen. The stone that protected the entry from intruders had rolled away. The tomb's shelf was bare except for a pile of folded cloths. It was Sunday, the first day of the week and the small group of women from Galilee had come back to the tomb of Jesus with the spices they had prepared for his body. 

Not sure what to make of this, they were perplexed. Then they saw two men standing next to them whose appearance was like the beaming rays of the sun. The women grew frightened and bowed their faces to the ground. Then the two men spoke to them.

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? he is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise."

And the women remembered Jesus' promises.

They returned to the eleven disciples telling them all that had happened. The men did not trust their story, so the disciples hastily took off toward the tomb to see for themselves what had happened. They too found the tomb unguarded with the stone broken away from the door. Peter went inside and found only empty linen wrappings where Jesus body had been. Marveling at what had happened, the disciples returned home.