John 21: A Fishing Trip In John’s epilogue he includes one more important meeting seven of the disciples had with the resurrected Lord Jesus. I believe it was a night and morning much like the morning they were called to follow Jesus, as recorded in Luke 5 over three years ago. Obviously it was a … Read more
John 20: He is Risen John has written a biography of Jesus Christ’s ministry. When a biography of a famous person is written, it ends with his death and burial. But Jesus Christ was no ordinary person. He is God in flesh, Immanuel, God with us. So, His story- and History does not end with … Read more
John 19: The Crucifixion The crucifixion is described in all four of the Gospels. By combining these versions we get a complete picture of what happened and how it happened. As Christians we must understand why it happened and what it means to us. The oldest creed in the Christian Church is the Apostle’s Creed. … Read more
The Trial of Jesus Christ The trial of Jesus Christ would go through six phases. Three were religious and the three were civil. Any attorney with knowledge of the law and customs would tell you this trial was illegal, unjust and included false witnesses, torture of the prisoner and flagrant bias. THE RELIGIOUS TRIAL First … Read more
John 18: In the Garden After finishing His prayer, Jesus and the disciples (minus Judas) cross over the Kidron Valley into the Garden of Gethsemane, an olive grove. In fact, Gethsemane means “olive press”. What an appropriate name for the pressure Our Lord would suffer as He asked His Father 3 times if this “cup” … Read more
1John 17 Part 3: Jesus in these passages from John 13- John 17 knew what the disciples would be facing in their lives and in the world and He was preparing them for what lay ahead. He wanted them to know what they possessed by virtue of His death, burial and resurrection. He wanted the … Read more
John 17 Part 2: Overcoming Power Last week we began our study of John 17, the magnificent prayer of our Lord Jesus the very night of his arrest. Jesus had told us and the disciples in John 16: 33: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” In … Read more
John 17: Overcomers As we continue our study in these remarkable chapters of John’s account of these last hours, we realize the depths of the disciple’s despair. The Lord did also. It had been a remarkable, unbelievable three and half years. Their entry into what would be the Lord’s last Passover had started with great … Read more
John 16: The Advantage “But I tell you the truth, it is for your good, (advantage, NKJV) that I am going away. Unless I go away the Counselor (Comforter) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16: 7) ADVANTAGE is a condition or circumstance that puts … Read more
John 15: The Vine Life: The Secret of Living There are three vines mentioned in the Bible: the past vine; the present vine; and the future vine. Let us look at the past vine and the future vine, then concentrate on the present vine, the True Vine. To better understand these truths we will look … Read more
John 13, Part 1: It’s Time. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Jesus, who is never less than God and never more than man, senses the coming to a close of his public ministry. John has recorded 7 signs (miracles) and the messages they stimulated. For 12 chapters we … Read more
John 14: Heart Trouble Let not your hearts be troubled. Do you have heart trouble today? Not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. A troubled heart. The disciples were finishing their meal, now known as the Last Supper in the Upper Room. Jesus has told them three things about to happen which had cast a pall … Read more
John 12: Honoring the Lord Jesus We are told whenever two or three gather together in His name, He is in the midst of them. The opening of John 12 gives us a time line: it is six days before the Passover. But John’s remembrance of this occasion also gives us a portrait of the … Read more
John 11: Waiting for Jesus John has carefully selected the miraculous signs of Jesus during his ministry on earth. His first was to turn water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. In today’s study in John 11, we see one of his most well-known miracles, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. … Read more
John 9: I Was Blind, But Now I See There was an explosion in coal mine in West Virginia some years back. The explosion trapped the miners hundreds of feet down into total darkness. When the rescue team broke through to them and managed to get a light through to them, one of the miners … Read more
John 8, Part 2: Free Indeed Jesus had just made the remarkable statement : “ I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Now the Pharisees challenge Jesus’ teaching and his lack of witnesses. Jesus tells them His Father testifies of … Read more
John 8: As chapter 7 ends, we see the Sanhedrin in a meeting about Jesus and his teaching. The temple guards have returned empty-handed, unable to arrest Jesus. And Nicodemus has spoken up for Jesus by saying it is wrong to condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out the truth. Both Nicodemus and … Read more
John 7: John’s Gospel has moved us quickly through Jesus’ ministry with his selected signs and encounters. We are now in the last 6 months of Jesus’ earthly ministry. We read: “After this Jesus went around Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews were waiting to take his life.” The KJV says ‘he … Read more
John 6 Part 3: The Bread of Life The title of this lesson comes from Jesus’ declaration He is the Bread of Life come down from heaven. He is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. We realize the Word of God which is to be engrafted into our souls, is truly in … Read more
John 6, Part 2: A Troubling Storm “Jesus, knowing that they intended to make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” (John 6: 15) The people had decided this was the kind of king they wanted: one who would supply their material needs. Jesus withdrew from the crowd to prevent this … Read more
John 6: In the Middle of Nowhere The miracle of feeding the 5,000 was of such magnitude that is it recorded in all four gospels. It appears from these four accounts, Jesus and the disciples were trying to get away from the crowds for some much needed R& R. In Matthew 14, we are told … Read more
My Father: John 5, Part 2 The Fourth Commandment states: Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. Observance of the Sabbath was a chief characteristic of Judaism. Jesus observed the Sabbath and was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were extreme legalist. As such they defined what “work” was and was not … Read more
John 5: Would You Be Made Whole? This is a story which has two parts. In the first part we will see the healing of a paralyzed man on the Sabbath. An obvious violation of the man-made rules the Pharisees had invented which causes a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees in the second part … Read more
The Nobleman’s Son: John 4:43-54 I love the Word of God. As John has told us, this name also applies to the Lord Jesus. In the beginning, John writes, was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He tells us later, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. … Read more
John 4: Come Thirsty As Jesus ends his encounter with Nicodemus, let us once again listen in to the end of this conversation as Jesus makes the following statements about which there can be no confusion. He tells Nicodemus, “ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but … Read more