This World’s Passover – Pt. 8

Ron Weinland

May 1, 2010

This is a very inspiring time of year as we go through these things and head toward Pentecost because there is obviously a strong tie-in between Passover and Pentecost having to do with our wave sheaf which is Jesus Christ; and again, all of it beginning with Passover and going through the Days of Unleavened Bread.  An incredible story here, so many things that were accomplished, so many things that were done in that last two weeks before His death and then of course the things that followed immediately afterwards that we’re continuing to cover here today.

Let’s pick up in Matthew 27 and continue on with the story flow.  Matthew 27 – and we’re going to pick it up right where we left off last Sabbath in verse 37 - And they set up over His head an accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  We went through part of this story talking about how this was written in three different languages and when Pilate put this out there the Jews weren’t very happy about it. They came to him and said, “Just write that He said He was the King of the Jews.”  And of course Pilate said, “What I have written, I have written.”

Verse 38 - Then there were two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.  And they who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying, You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save Yourself. So of course, again, twisting the things that were really said and those things were passed around amongst different ones there wanting to find fault, wanting to twist and distort things He said anyway.  That was their objective.  It’s always been that way.  It blows my mind sometimes thinking about that; how that people who hate this way of life   continually try to twist and distort things that are said out there in order to try to find fault or in order to cause other people to dislike this way of life.  And, that’s the way it’s been for 6,000 years.

If You be the Son of God, come down from that pole.  Again, it was a pole; it was not a ‘cross’.  I hate the word crucifixion as I mentioned here recently and it is better we have it in our minds that it was a pole.  Those of you in this area here, put your hands up over your head like this and you have a nail in between your hands and you’re hanging there.  That’s why they came and broke the legs of the criminals that were there with Him, in order to cause them to suffocate; because they’d push themselves up by their feet in order to breathe.  You can’t breathe that way if you’re just hanging straight with your hands up here like this.  If you were hanging that way, in time you’re going to suffocate; it didn’t take too long.  Your hands out here...it’s not the same thing.  You ought to try it sometime just to see what the difference is in opening up your throat area and being able to breathe.  And so again here, it was a pole that He was fastened to, nailed to and not a ‘cross’.

Likewise also the chief priests mocked Him, with the scribes and elders, saying, He saved others but Himself He cannot save. It’s amazing the human mind and how far people will go and you’d think that people would rejoice, be thankful that someone is doing something like this, that people are being healed and made whole...and they weren’t.  They were jealous, they were filled with envy.  They hated Him with a passion; that’s why they wanted to kill Him...because He was a threat to them.  So he says, again, He saved others but Himself He cannot save.  IF He is the King of Israel, let Him come down now from that pole and we’ll believe Him.  Which they wouldn’t have.  That’s what’s amazing here...and it’s a lie because if He had come down they still wouldn’t believe Him after all the things that had taken place. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: isn’t that amazing, the ugliness of those kinds of comments.  Here He is dying and they’re mocking and making fun of Him... “If He’s the Son of God... and if God will have Him”...for He said, I am the Son of God.

Verse 44 - The thieves also, who were impaled to poles with Him, also cast insults at Him. Both of them did actually, and only the one at one point finally stood up and made a particular comment that he made as we read earlier.  But as a whole, both of them were even caught in all this at different points in time there.

Verse 45 - Now from the sixth hour, which is noon, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ...until about 3pm. And at about the ninth hour, about 3pm, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?  That’s what it means here, the word ‘forsaken’.  Why have You left Me?  Why would He say that?  Do we realize what took place at that moment in time?  He was, right at the moment in time when He said that, taking upon Himself the sins of all mankind.  He had no sins.  God will not be around sin.  So the lessons is for us to understand, indeed Christ crying out these words, “Why have You left Me?”  ...is because God the Father wouldn’t be there with Him, giving Him the strength, the help and so forth because of the sin that Christ was taking upon Himself and He knew that.  He understood that process of what He was going through and what He was taking to Himself.  These things over and over again that Jesus said, they’re written for our benefit, for our good, for our learning, for our understanding.  This is the occasion here that He was taking upon Himself the sins of all mankind. And because of that God the Father will not be around sin.  That’s recorded for us because this was what was happening at this moment in time, about the 3rd hour because it tells more here as to exactly what took place.

So He says, Why have You left Me? And some of them who stood there, when they heard this said This Man is calling for Elijah. You think, “Why would they say He’s calling for Elijah?” Elijah’s a prophet; he’s dead.  Why would they say He’s saying this?  And it’s a misinterpretation into the English language of what’s being said here.  It has to do with the name of Elijah, which has to do with meaning of the God Yahweh.  That’s what Elijah...that’s what his name meant, ‘of the God Yahweh’ and basically that’s what they’re saying. “This is the God Yahweh that He’s calling upon, and so let’s see if this God Yahweh, His God Yahweh is going to deliver Him”; because they didn’t believe, obviously, the ones that were standing around there.  There were some, speaking of the soldiers and so forth that were there and comments that have come from them and even then of course there were the Jews there, but this is something that would have been said by other individuals, not believing in those things at all.  Certainly the Jews claim to have such belief, but again, it wasn’t a matter of looking for Elijah the prophet – that was totally without meaning whatsoever.

Verse 48 - And right away one of them ran and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, so again, showing that these are not the Jews, these are those who were standing there, those who were the soldiers and so forth who were around Him at that time and saying, “He’s calling on His God Yahweh/the God Yahweh.  Let’s see if He’ll deliver Him.”  And different kinds of comments that were made at different times there.  And right away one of them...took a sponge...and that’s when it went on to say in verse 49 - The rest said, so the others said, no, leave Him be, let’s see whether the God Yahweh/His God Yahweh will save Him.  So it’s not something they believed in.  It was something they knew the Jews believed in, this God Yahweh.  This is what they’d been hearing about, this God Yahweh.  Who is this God?  And so they’re saying, “Let’s see what He will do.  Don’t give Him that sponge now.  Let’s see if something will happen.”  That’s was their attitude of mind.

Kind of interesting, in the early Greek manuscripts of the book of Matthew, something else is recorded there that’s not written later on, that was taken out in time.  It’s preserved in the book of John which we’ll read later, but in the earlier books, right here in this verse it also added, And another took a spear and pierced His side and water and blood came out.  So this is the occasion where this was happening.  He was crying out, Jesus was; He knew this was the end and these things had to be fulfilled, someone had to pierce His side, it was a part of prophecy.  Matter of fact it’s recorded in Zechariah 12:10 where it makes this prophecy about Him being pierced, they were going to look upon Him whom they pierced.  And that’s what’s also recorded in Revelation, and I’ll just read the one in Revelation to you, of course that’s later on and showing here that He had to be pierced and fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah.

Revelation 1:7 - Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, sometimes people read stuff like this and especially as it goes on to say the next part; and they also who pierced Him:  How could they see Him when He’s coming in the clouds?  Behold, He comes with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him.  It doesn’t mean they’re all going to see Him when He’s coming in the clouds.  Only the world in our time period, in May 2012, when Jesus Christ is returning... only those who are alive at that time are going to have the ability to see Him then.  But others are going to be able to see Him later on.  And this is what it’s referring to.  It’s not telling about that moment, that instant in time.  It’s making it clear that everyone is going to be able to see Christ in time, whether it be those who are obviously born during the 1,000 years, and especially those who have ever lived, when they’re resurrected at the end of the 1,000 years and the beginning of the 100 years.  This is what it’s talking about; even those who pierced Him are going to see Him. And speaking of those soldiers who were there; there’s going to come a time when God’s going to give them life again.  So this is what it’s referring to.  ...and all kindred’s of the earth shall wail/lament/mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Going back here continuing on in Matthew 27:50 - Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the spirit. Not an immortal soul.  You know, it’s amazing what the world reads into this when they read this.  People in Traditional Christianity...that’s what they think.  Well, this is the time when He went to heaven, but He didn’t go to heaven because He went to a grave... it gets a little confusing.  They put Him in the tomb, but He wasn’t really in the tomb.  This is what some people in the scattered church believe.  God can do whatever He wants to do type of thing.  He’s in heaven, but He’s not in heaven type of thing... not exactly like that but they have this conflict.  This all happened very quickly here at this point in time, that’s why it says at about the ninth hour which is about 3:00 PM.  These things happened very quickly then when the soldier pierced Him and out came the water and blood and He cried out Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, all this took place right quick at this moment in time when He died.  And it says, and He cried one more time, and that was right after the spear went into Him, and that’s when He died, that’s when His spirit...  Everyone has a spirit, (such a basic thing) that returns to God.  Not alive, has no life in it except God put it in a body and there’s that essence that God places in every human being/that every human being has.  And as soon as a person dies that essence is with God – it’s like a recording, it’s the closest in time we ever came to in time in 6,000 years to understanding that in a deeper way than what they could understand it in biblical times, going back in time, is like a recording of everything that we are, everything that we were at any age, every memory, every thought that’s ever been in our being is there in that spirit essence and it returns to God until God in His time gives it back.  For 144,000 it’s going to be...or not all 144,000 because some get to be changed in a moment, but for the vast majority of the 144,000, that’s when that spirit essence is going to be given back and put into spirit bodies.  And that’s when it has life again is when God gives it a body, be it physical or spiritual.  For those in the 100 year trial period, all those billions of people; when that spirit essence is given back into a physical body and given life again, every memory they ever had – those things that they can remember and know of that happened to them in times past is there but they’re given a body again.  But it has no life until God puts it into a body.  That’s why when it talks about eternal punishment, when it talks about those things it’s not...the world talks about being eternally punished, but it’s an eternal punishment never to be resurrected again, never to have life again.  And that’s God’s judgement upon mankind; that there comes a time if we don’t choose His way of life then it's eternal punishment, a punishment that lasts for eternity because they’re never able to be resurrected again.  That spirit essence is not put back into a body, it’s gone, no life ever to be given again.

And so again here, going on in Matthew 27, it says at this time when He died, because that’s what it’s talking about, when He yielded up the spirit, when the spirit went to God He was dead. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent/ripped in two from the top to the bottom; how incredible!  You think...all this meaning contained here.  Here the temple of the tabernacle, this part that separated the two parts of the tabernacle.  The first 2/3 of the tabernacle was where the high priest went in every day to do service, but the last part behind this veil, behind this curtain area was an area where the ark of the covenant was and the high priest was only able to go in there to do service once a year on the Day of Atonement.  And so when that was rent it began to picture something awesome... that now... let me read that in Hebrews.  Very inspiring scriptures over here in Hebrews when it gives the meaning and talks about what this is all about, why this rip took place, why this was rent in two.

When it talks about this in Hebrews 9 and it talks about these various patterns of things in the Old Testament and even in the tabernacle itself it says in verse 23 - it was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Verse 24 - For Christ has not entered into the holy place made with hands, He didn’t enter into what was called the ‘Holiest of Holies’, into that other part behind the veil that showed where the ark of the covenant was, which pictured God’s throne where the two cherubim, the two archangels were overshadowing the mercy seat that pictured where God’s throne is in heaven...this is showing here the difference between what was behind the veil and what was real, what it pictured, which was God’s throne and so it says, For Christ has not entered into the holy place made with hands, not into the  second part of that temple to the place that’s called the ‘Holiest of Holies’ which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:  So Jesus Christ became our high priest and this is what it’s talking about here after His resurrection.  Nor yet that He should have offered Himself often, as the high priest entered in the holy place once every year, talking about, with the blood of others; so again here, it’s talking about that which was taking place that was pictured once a year by the high priest. For then must He have often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of this world has He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the resurrection: So Christ has once entered/offered Himself to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This is showing what was revealed in the latter part of chapter 9.  Hebrews 9:1 - Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine services,  in other words there were rituals and so forth, in a worldly sanctuary. Speaking of the tabernacle... For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; where the sanctuary. In other words the place that’s called ‘The Holy’, ‘The Holy Place’, and this is where all the priests went in and performed their services day by day. And after the second veil, so there’s that where you first enter into the tabernacle, the first veil, then the second veil is that part that covers where the ark of the covenant and so forth is, and it’s called the Holiest of all or ‘Holiest of Holies’; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid roundabout with gold, wherein the golden pot that had manna, and so forth, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;  in other words, the commandments.

And then it talks about, again...verse 6 - Now when these were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.  So every day they went in. But into the second went the high priest once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:  this is the verse...The holy spirit, this signifying that the way into the Holiest of Holies, the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the tabernacle, the first tabernacle, was yet standing:  In other words, here is this veil and the Holiest of Holies behind it and the high priest could only go in once a year.  But once it was ripped in half it showed that now the way into the Holiest of Holies has now been revealed: Jesus Christ, because He died for the sins of mankind.  Whereas before people didn’t have the ability to go before God’s throne, in the presence of God Almighty, now they would have the ability to go into the presence of God Almighty Himself, before God’s very throne.  And so we in the Church, for the past 2,000 years the Church has had the ability, those who are baptized and have God’s spirit, every time they pray, every time you pray you’re going before the Holiest of Holies, which is an awesome thing to understand – through Jesus Christ.  And that’s what’s revealed here when inside the temple there the tent is ripped from top to bottom after Jesus Christ died; showing that now the way into the Holiest of Holies is made manifest.  He is the sacrifice that made that possible.  No other sacrifices before made any such thing possible.  A very powerful thing that was being revealed here when that was ripped from top to bottom there in the temple, when this took place.

So again, there was an earth quake, the ground was shaking, the rocks were rent; divided, in other words and they broke.

Going on here then in Matthew 27:52 - And the graves were opened; so there were some graves, some sepulchres, some tombs in other words that were opened at this time, and many bodies of the saints who slept arose, and some people, even in the Church, have had difficulty understanding this because it’s like, “How could there have been saints?”  At this point in time there were individuals that God worked with for the previous 4,000 years; there were different ones that are recorded in scripture that are talked about.  We know them.  there aren’t very many, but we generally use the term 'saint' to refer to people in the Church, people who have been set apart, consecrated, that’s how we understand the meaning of the word.  The word means, ‘set apart’, consecrated for holy use, for holy purpose.  We, when we’re baptized, are set apart by God for holy use and purpose.  God has cleansed us through the blood of Christ.  We have the ability of receiving then, God gives us the impregnation of His spirit, we have the begettal of God’s spirit and so definitely, obviously, we’re set apart.  But the word is used in another way here; not for individuals who have never received the impregnation of God’s spirit, but for individuals who were set apart for holy use – for God’s use, for God’s purpose.  Those individuals who were resurrected, it’s not saying they were ‘saintly’, that they had God’s spirit in them, but for God’s purpose they were consecrated, they were set apart to be resurrected when Jesus Christ died.  That’s what it’s talking about.  So it’s the use of the word that people have to understand, not that the individuals are going to be in that first resurrection when Jesus Christ returns.  That is not the case, and that isn’t what it means.  It means they were set apart for this moment in time.  It’s just like the different ones that Jesus Christ, when He was coming in, it talks about how that the lame man, the blind man, different ones, that they were set apart by God for a special purpose in time so that when Jesus Christ came along and they were healed – for that purpose...to glorify God, to honour and glorify the power and the might of Almighty God – to reveal who His Son was, who the Messiah was.

And so again, it is not that those individuals themselves are a part of the Church, because the Church didn’t begin until Pentecost; or that they were intended for a later resurrection.  They were just important at that moment in time for how God used them, to honour and glorify Himself and His Son.  So when it says that there were people who were resurrected, there were dead bodies... there were individuals who were set apart for this...like Lazarus.  Everything that happened to him was for a special purpose.  He was consecrated, if you will, sanctified for God’s use and purpose toward the very end to glorify and show who the Messiah was, who the Christ was in a very powerful way.  And so were these individuals who were resurrected.

And it says, they came out of their graves/tombs/sepulchres after His resurrection.  So this is actually when some of this took place.  So what took place first, again, was the ripping of the veil, the curtain there in the temple, and there was an earthquake, and it talks about individuals being resurrected but it talks about, very specifically then, when some of that happened.  That happened later on, showing it happened later; but again, they came out of their tombs after His resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.  Can’t imagine that, we don’t have a big story about this.  This is basically what’s said about it, that’s it.  There’s not a whole lot more explanation, but had to shock the tar out of some – those who knew them; they had to be known.  If you were put in a tomb in Jerusalem there are people in Jerusalem who had to know you and if you came out of your tomb and went and talked to them, went and had another death later on somewhere up the road – it doesn’t say how much later they might have died...lived for a year?  ...lived for a month? ...lived for several years?  We don’t know – God doesn’t say.  It just says that this is what happened.  There were many, it doesn’t say a few, says many who were resurrected.  I don’t understand it; it’s an awesome thing!  Will it happen again?  Some have asked that question.  Very possibly.  There may be some of you listening today and some of you who are tried, because some who are close to you die.  God has the power to resurrect, whether it be in the 100 year period, or right away when Christ returns.  God can do what He wants to do.  And so sometimes there are those things that can try us as to what our spirit, what our attitude, what our mind is toward God – but all things are in God’s hands and what was done at this moment in time has great potential and possibility of happening again because there’s a great tie-in between the time of His resurrection and the time of His return and things that have happened of great similarity.  No need to go into more.

You know what?  Might as well address part of that a little bit more, just a tad more.  God knows what’s best for every one of us.  Whatever God plans for us is what’s best for us and sometimes that’s hard for us as human beings to understand.  If God allows someone to die, our lives are in His hands, everybody’s is and if He allows people who are within the Church, individuals to die, or individuals who are not yet baptized, children, relatives, close friends, whatever, family.  Again, some people have asked some of those things – please understand that if it’s the Great White Throne is what’s best for an individual – it’s the Great White Throne and we should be thankful and thank God that He knows what’s best for every one of us.  If it’s to be resurrected when Jesus Christ returns then we should thank God and be grateful for the blessing of being able to have those things.  But there shouldn’t be any difference, in one respect, in the gratitude and thankfulness to God between the two – it’s a matter of understanding that our lives are in God’s hands and God knows what’s best for every one of us; and sometimes it’s difficult for people to live like that and to understand that and to have that kind of faith and that kind of trust in God that whatever God does is what is best.  If someone close to me were to die, and there will be people that are close to us that are going to die in what’s coming.  We’re probably going to all experience that aren’t we, because what takes place on this earth is not going to be a pleasant thing.   We have certain desires to see them again at a particular moment in time; but if we don’t... to have the faith to know that if it’s a matter of the Great White Throne, then that’s what’s best for that individual.  And if you love them, you’ll love how God’s working with them and know that’s what’s best for them, for their time, for whatever purpose, for whatever reason. Well, sometimes people get worked up over these things in a very powerful way, especially when they come to pass, or when they start coming to pass thinking that sometimes something is owed more to us because we’re in the Church.  It’s a wrong way of thinking.  God’s very merciful, God’s very patient, and time doesn’t have the same kind of meaning with God as it does with us sometimes as human beings.

So not things that we have to be consumed with or worry about or discuss or talk “what if...what if...what if...” because ‘what is’ will happen, whatever God purposes is what’s going to come to pass and you deal with the ‘what is’ when it takes place in your life and the ‘what if’s’ don’t mean much.  Sometimes you start putting a lot of emphasis, a lot of importance on the ‘what if’s’ and “I hope this happens, or I hope that happens” and then you can become mighty disappointed and some people can turn on God.  I’ve seen it happen.  Some people begin to point a finger at God and blame God for things that don’t work out the way they want them to work out in their life.  That’s distorted thinking, but sometimes human beings go that far and sometimes people in the Church have gone that far.

Verse 54 - Now when the centurion, and they who were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this is the Son of God. Shook them up.  Isn’t that amazing how things have to shake people up before they’ll even begin to acknowledge some of the most basic things about God?  And that’s where the world is today.  It’ll have to take a terrible shaking before they’ll start acknowledging anything that’s true and right.  Didn’t change their lives because you know it didn’t take very long, this didn’t last too long, “Truly He was the Son of God.”  How long did that last?  For these centurions, probably not too long, couple days and after a while it had no meaning to them.  Did it change their lives?  Did they come into the Church? No, that’s not what this is about.

Verse 55 - And many women were there watching from a distance, who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him:  and among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, Who was also Christ’s mother by the way... and the mother of Zebedee's children. You go to other places in scripture it makes it very clear who this is talking about.  It’s talking about Jesus’ mother.

Verse 57 - When the evening was coming, in other words it was coming on there.  I think the King James has it, in other words, being used there, but it’s meaning it’s getting closer here because Jesus died at 3pm, right around 3pm and of course it’s coming toward evening.  It says there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:  He believed the things that Jesus was saying and was a disciple, not one of the 12, but was a disciple.  He went to Pilate, and sought the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.  In other words, given to Joseph and it says in verse 59 - And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in clean linen cloth, and laid it, speaking of the body, in his new tomb, so it was his tomb that was constructed for him, built for him, hewn out of the rock for him, which he had hewn out of the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, to the tomb, and departed.

And so again, this is Matthew’s story.  Every one of these accounts as a whole, they always add something a little different.  That’s why it’s good to read some of the other accounts when you come to them because each one is writing this from what they witnessed themselves or from what they heard from different ones that bear witness of some of these things that took place.  And so they’re not word for word because they’re all different personalities, different individuals and it’s like four people here that might witness something or know of something that took place.  You’re not going to write it exactly word for word from your perspective, you’re going to write it from your viewpoint and how you saw it, what you experienced.

Verse 61 - And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Now the next day that followed the day of the preparation the chief priests and Pharisees came unto Pilate, so again, this all happened on Passover, it’s also called the preparation day because it’s the preparation for the High Day, the First Day of Unleavened Bread that’s about to take place.  And so this is the period of time we’re in.  So the Passover’s always referred to as a preparation day, just as Friday is always referred to as a preparation day for the weekly Sabbath.  The Passover’s always referred to as a preparation day for the first annual Sabbath of the year.  And so this is how it’s being written.

Verse 63 - Saying, Sir, we remembered that this deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.  They knew full well what He had said.  They were liars and hypocrites and they were looking for false witnesses against Christ about the three days and some of the things that took place there.  And if you remember the accounts of what we read last Sabbath, the conflicting things that were said there because they wanted to find fault that they could kill Him and put Him to death.  So again, they’re telling Pilate this is what He said.  They knew full well what He said, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure, in other words, secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead: so that the last error is going to be worse than the first.  Pilate therefore said to them, You have a watch: go your way, in other words he gave them that permission, that right to make sure that there were guards there that were going to make sure the place is secure for the three days.  He said; make it as secure as you can.

Verse 66 - So they went, and made the sepulchre sure/secure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.  So they make it so that the door, the stone wasn’t going to be able to be rolled back easily, securing that with rock and so forth, the things that they do as a part of what was taking place there; and they set a watch – that was both day and night.

Going on in the book of John, John 19, let’s pick up the story there.  John 19:23 - Then the soldiers, when they had crucified, in other words, put Him on the pole, nailed Him, fastened Him to the pole, took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; so again here, all four of them, they divided the clothes up accordingly and were going to take their part; and also His coat: or His tunic; now the coat/tunic was without seam, it was woven from the top throughout.  In other words that’s where it started.  It was a complete weaving and it was a very expensive garment.  That’s why they wanted to cast lots for it as to which of the four there, because if they’d divided everything into four parts there was no way to divide it because it was such an expensive and such a quality garment.  So, I love stuff like this because a lot of people in Traditional Christianity have this concept that to be of a humble spirit, they talk about Christ, that it was like He walked around in flimsy clothing, that it wasn’t expensive, and that is not so.  He was a wealthy individual and this is one of the examples of some of this.  I think back to different things that happened during Mr. Armstrong’s time and how people found fault with the different things that He did; and yet God teaches quality.  And why not?  Everything belongs to God – everything is God’s and when you appreciate those things that are good, that are right, that are fine in life, there’s nothing wrong with them in life and sometimes people find fault with that.  That’s one thing I used to get a charge out of over in Great Britain.  Different people have different things that they grow up with and over there when I was in college when you read something in the newspaper about someone who was in trouble it was always about how much wealth they had.  A lot of the articles start out, or the headline had something to do with their possessions, their wealth.  And you think, “And what’s that have to do with what took place?”  But it’s a concept of mind that different people have sometime that they’re swayed by, they're moved by those kinds of things and they are able to find fault with some of those kinds of things sometimes.

They therefore said among themselves, Lets not tear it, but cast lots for it, in other words, don’t do anything, don’t cut it up, don’t divide it in some way to ruin the garment.  Let’s cast lots for it for whose it shall be: that the scriptures might be fulfilled, which said, They parted My clothing among themselves, which is what they did, into four parts, and for My vesture they cast lots, for My coat.  Isn’t that amazing?  Over and over again here the things that took place.  That’s why I love going through some of this when you read it, and I haven’t read all of them, and I haven’t gone to all the scriptures; but over and over again, it’s bringing out things that were fulfilled that were written in the Old Testament about Christ, about the Messiah, of things that had to happen toward the end-time.  And so here’s another one.  Awesome that it says this is what they were going to do – they’re going to divide My garments among themselves, but for My vesture they’re going to cast lots for it.  And so I marvel at how God brings these things to pass.  God the Father brought these to pass.  The individuals and how they thought and how they would react and respond to different situations around them, knowing their minds, knowing what they would do, brought about and created the environment that these things would be fulfilled.  And God moulds and fashions us that way.  He works with the environment around us... if you can understand what happened to Pharaoh in the time of Moses.  If you can understand how God moulded and fashioned the environment around Pharaoh to bring him to what He did in time, knowing the mind and how all people think and certainly the mind of Pharaoh.  God knows the mind and knows circumstances in life and what choices we will make.  We have the choices to make, even those that are made that are wrong; but we have the power to make those choices, right and wrong.  And God knows what we’ll do under various kinds of environment and circumstances.  That’s why God at the very end here can bring things down to the exact wire, the exact moment, the exact day that’s needed to begin a process that will happen speedily on this earth.  And when it’s all said and done, a short work will be done – that’s what God says.  Shorter than what I ever thought it was going to be.

Verse 25 - Now there stood by the pole of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.  And when Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, so it’s speaking of a disciple standing by, whom He loved, He said unto His mother, Woman, behold your son! He was saying, “He is the one now who’s going to take care of you.”  And He was telling this disciple; it says here, whom He loved.  Do you know who it was? It was John.  He’s writing this way about himself.  He was a humble individual.  He had to record what was happening; he had to record what was true and what had taken place, but he didn’t want to lift himself up.  Most people lift themselves up.  A lot of people in the Church through time have lifted themselves up in the environment of the Church.  It’s the wrong thing to do.  God says, “Don’t do it! Humble yourselves.”  God will lift you up.  God will take care of those things.  But as a human being, our natural inclination is to raise our self up with importance and power or whatever it is; and God says, “Don’t do it.”  John is a great example of this, of an individual who humbled himself, even in his writing and how he recorded this about the circumstances of things he was witnessing.  He wasn’t... you know the individual that put his head against Jesus’ chest when Jesus was talking about He was going to be betrayed and what was going to happen to Him and so forth.  It was John who put His head down on His chest because it talks about, and what’s recorded there is, ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved did this’.  So stating what was true and what was right that God wanted to be recorded, but on the other hand not lifting himself up in the process.

He said to His mother, Woman behold your son. Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour that disciple, so he’s not saying, ‘I’, ‘me’, he’s not trying to draw attention to himself.  He said, from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, because Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished and that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. Jesus Christ knows everything that has to take place, what’s going to happen, down to the most minute thing here and knew now it was the time for this particular prophecy now to be fulfilled.  And He said, I thirst.  Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it up to His mouth. And when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, before, there was a time when He didn’t receive it, now it was time to receive it, scriptures are being fulfilled again; He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the spirit. So again, all these things...see Matthew wrote it in a little bit different way.  Here John adds a little bit more to what took place at that moment in time because it talks about before about crying out Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, and so forth and different things that took place.  All these things happening so quickly.  So each one writes theirs a little bit differently.

Verse 31 - The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, again, it was the Passover day, that the bodies should not remain on the pole on the Sabbath day, and so they’re speaking of, he’s speaking of the High Day that’s getting ready to take place.  And so the bodies were not to be left up there on that first High Day, they were to be taken down, and so this is the story it’s referring to here.  It says, that the bodies should not remain on the pole on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an High Day,) it was the 1st Day of the Days of Unleavened Bread, that Sabbath that was getting ready to take place, sought Pilate that their legs might be broken,  so again, the Jews were there, they wanted the bodies to be taken down, they didn’t want them to be left up there on the poles and so they went to Pilate and said, “this has to end, break their legs so they can die.  That’s what they were going to do, they were going to kill them, break their legs so they couldn’t push themselves up anymore to breathe, so that they would choke to death, die, suffocate.  And so this is what happened.  They sought Pilate that their legs could be broken that they might be taken away.  Because they knew that they would die quickly.

Verse 32 - Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Him.  But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they didn’t break His legs:  (but) in other words the word is because one of the soldiers with a spear had pierced His side, in other words earlier, just before that and forthwith there came out blood and water. And he who saw it bore record; and his record is true: again, this is John, and he knows what he says is true, so that you might believe.  For these things were done, that the scripture might be fulfilled, not a bone of Him shall be broken. Amazing!  Over and over again.  You know, when you go through the story like this you ought to just be dumbfounded and in awe of how God could record so many things in prophecy and bring so many things to pass in a speedy and orderly manner exactly at the moment in time that they must take place.  We don’t understand the power of God to bring about events, to bring about circumstances, to so understand human beings and our choices.  The choices are always ours, just like Pharaoh’s were, but God knew that with Pharaoh every time something happened, a plague came along, Pharaoh's heart was going to get worse and worse and worse until finally his own son was killed, put to death...then finally Pharaoh broke, for a little bit, and then he wanted all of it back.  That’s why he went out and wanted to kill all the Israelites, send all the Egyptian soldiers after them.  Anyway, not a bone shall be broken.

Verse 37 - And again another scripture said, They shall look on Him whom they pierced.  So, unlike what Dr. Hoeh used to teach in his classes at Ambassador College to a lot of minsters who went out and taught the same stupid things – that maybe He might have suffocated.  That is so moronic to even say something like that when the scriptures so clearly say, that the prophecies said that He had to be pierced, and John says that a soldier pierced His side; and then someone would come along, an evangelist in God’s Church and have the guts, the stupidity to stand up and teach others in classes and say He might have suffocated.  Makes you shake your head, doesn’t it?  ...that people could be so unfaithful.  Because all of God’s ministers are to be faithful stewards of God’s word; and all in God’s Church, every one of us were to be faithful stewards of God’s word.  That means whatever God gives to us that’s true, we’re to be faithful to the truth and nothing else is to be added to it and nothing else is to be taken away!  That’s why it says in Revelation don’t add to it, and don’t take away from it.  Don’t add to it and don’t take away from it.  I saw an email here the other day and I understand the genuineness in the individual – they’re probably listening today – wanting to know and understand perhaps if this oil thing down there is the 2nd Trumpet.  No, it’s not.  Because of all the life that’s going to die in the sea and so forth and maybe the ships mean something?  No, they don’t.  What’s written in the book is written in the book and it’ll come to pass exactly like it is; the Trumpets and the Thunders.  But sometimes we as human beings begin to think in a different way and begin to think it might not happen exactly that way or whatever.  No, what’s happening down there is a Thunder.  It’s a very powerful Thunder and it’s not over with.  It can go all the way around the coast and all the way up the east coast of the United States before this is over with – kill a lot of marine life, put a lot of people out of jobs; especially those who like to go out and take in the shrimp.  Not making them too happy...and the clams too... It’s going to hurt a lot of people financially because this is their livelihood.  Too bad!  They need to go find a better job.  Amazing what’s taking place in the world.

So the point being is: that’s why over and over again God has shown us that we’re to be in agreement now with 53 Truths and if we’re not, something’s wrong with us.  And we’re to repeat and teach others, if we’re asked a question, exactly what has been given to us and no more and no less.  We’re not to add to it and we’re not to take away from it because sometimes if you take something out and purposely omit it because maybe you don’t fully agree with it – then you’re taking something out that the other person, and if God’s spirit it working there, should receive.  And if you add to it your own ideas and your own thoughts you’re going against God’s spirit again and distorting and twisting the word.  So it’s a matter of faith and trust and recognizing how God works with us and how God works with the Church and it’s just a matter of fact, it’s not a matter of anybody being lifted up or anything of that nature.  It’s a matter of how we function and how God’s Church functions.  And would to God that all those people in times past in Philadelphia had done what God said, the ministers especially, the ministry and the evangelists had been faithful stewards of what God gave to Mr. Armstrong; but they weren’t and that’s why we had the problems in Laodicea that we had and finally had an apostasy.  Incredible what took place.

So anyway, lesson after lesson after lesson here the power of God and the things that are added here, the things that God brought to pass.  Let’s pick it up and continue on here.  So again it says, this had to be fulfilled; (verse 37) they shall look upon Him who they pierced.  That’s being quoted from Zechariah 12:10.

And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, sought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. Gave him the right, in other words, to do this and to have the body of Christ. He went therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, who at the first came to Jesus by night,  if you go back to John 3 here, Nicodemus is the one who came at night to Christ because he wasn’t real sure but he didn’t want to be seen by the others.  He was of the leadership there of the Pharisees as well and he didn’t want to be seen by the others coming to Christ so he did it at night time and this was that first account that Nicodemus is mentioned.  This is when Christ told him, “Nicodemus, you’re supposed to be a teacher of the Jews,” and He said, basically told him, “You can’t understand these things because it’s of the spirit and you don’t have the spirit.”  That’s basically what Christ told him in John 3.  And so anyway, Nicodemus was here with Joseph of Arimathaea as well, he was on the council; Joseph was as well, a teacher.  It says there came also Nicodemus, who at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews was to bury/is to bury. So again, how they wrapped and so forth and the smelling of the spices and so forth because of the decaying of the body.

Verse 41 - Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; so again, the place that He was placed on this pole; right there is the exact place, in that location is where this tomb was located of Joseph's.  And it says... and in the garden a new sepulchre, where no one had ever yet been laid. Therefore they laid Jesus there because of the Jews' preparation day; the way it’s stated here is   showing it’s the Passover.  Again, making it very clear here it’s the preparation day, that’s what the Jews call it, but it’s the Passover, for the sepulchre was nearby.  So they wanted Him taken care of before their Holy Day began because this is their High Day, their Holy Day that’s coming upon them quickly and so they wanted Jesus buried before the Holy Day began.  So again, Jesus was placed in the tomb right at the end of Passover.  By the time they wrapped Him... he went to Pilate, got the body, was able to wrap the body and so forth, him and Nicodemus, they wrapped the body; and the tomb was right there.  They were able to place Him in the tomb, roll the stone up over the tomb, right at the moment in time that the High Day was about to begin.  And right after that the High Day began, the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread.  And this is a part of that story flow then; and that was on a Wednesday, if you want to talk about the day of the week.  So, on a Wednesday at the end of the day, which was the Passover day, Jesus Christ had died, fulfilled Old Testament requirements of everything having to do with the Passover.  He was placed in the tomb and then the High Day began.

Going on with the story here, picking it up in Luke now about Joseph of Aramathaea.  Let’s pick it up in Luke 23.  So we’ve looked at Matthews account, we’re looking at John’s account and now Luke’s account.  And it states here in verse 50 - And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and just:  (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them) in other words he didn’t go along and agree with the rest of the council and what they were doing in wanting to kill Christ and putting Christ to death.  He and Nicodemus both thought differently, obviously.  It says, and he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the Kingdom of God. This man went into Pilate, and sought the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn out of stone, where no man had ever before laid. And that day was the preparation, so again, the Passover, and the Sabbath drew on. So this was the preparation day.  All these things took place and when it was done the Sabbath then drew on, the first High Day.

And the women also, who came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and saw the sepulchre, and how the body was laid.  So they watched a little bit as these things were taking place, standing by to watch. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.  I think of the world, again, whenever you read these things you think, they have it so twisted up because, see, in their minds everything happened on Friday, everything had to happen before the Sabbath because to them the preparation day could only be a Friday because they have no knowledge of the Old Testament, they have no knowledge of the High Days of God – all they know about is Easter and Christmas.  They don’t know about the annual Sabbaths. How did the world of Traditional Christianity receive you when you told them, if you ever did, about the Feast of Tabernacles? Pentecost?  The Feast of Unleavened Bread?  The Feast of what?  They think you’re nuts.  They don’t know that these things are all in the Old Testament.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread... okay, that’s a good one.  But again here, so when the world of Traditional Christianity reads this they’re absolutely ignorant, no understanding whatsoever.  And so the best they can get out of it is He died on Friday and put in the tomb just before the Sabbath started at sundown, that’s the best they can get out of it.  And so when they read this here they have no understanding of what these women were doing, of when they went to buy spices.  How could they leave after Friday and go and buy spices and prepare them, and the work that’s involved in that, because they couldn’t do it on Sabbath?!  And it was already Sabbath by the time the body was put in the tomb, the High Day if they’re reading the scriptures.  It’s because they don’t understand there are two Sabbaths, one weekly Sabbath and one annual Sabbath.  That’s why it’s good to just put in your margin here, if you want... Mark 16.  I’ll just read these two verses to you.

Mark 16:1-2 gives a better understanding of what was specifically happening at this moment.  It says, And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, so what Sabbath was passed?  The annual High Day Sabbath, the Day of Unleavened Bread, the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread.  So in other words, that was on Thursday and so this is something they did on Friday, on the other preparation day.  So this was another preparation day for the Sabbath.  This is when they went and bought spices.  They couldn’t buy it on Thursday because it’s the High Day, it’s a Sabbath.  So they couldn’t buy it then and they couldn’t work on that day, they couldn’t prepare the spices on that day; they did it on Friday.  And so this is what it’s saying here.  And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought/purchased sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. So this is when they were bringing it, because we just read in Luke why they couldn’t bring it at a particular moment in time...and let’s read that again...

Luke 23:56 - And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; after Mark shows us they went out and bought it.  They bought it on Friday, and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.  They rested on the weekly Sabbath according to the commandment.  They didn’t bring it to the grave yet, or the tomb, the sepulchre, they had to rest then during the Sabbath.  And what happens when the Sabbath is over?  It’s dark!  The sun goes down, and so it’s too late to come to the tomb now so that’s why they came in the morning, on Sunday morning.  So they were bringing what they had prepared on Friday to the tomb on Sunday morning because they had to rest on the Sabbath day, it says, according to the commandment.

Luke 24:1 - Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, we know they prepared it on Friday ‘and rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment’, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  Now this is a bit of a confusing story of what happened here because each one has their perspective of what they saw, of what they did and they all didn’t do the same thing.  Not everyone went in there, but several of them went down, different things happened to them and so everyone has a little bit of a different story as to what happened and how they responded.

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed about it, behold, two men... so they go there, the door, the stone is rolled away and He’s not there.  Yeah, you’re going to be a little perplexed.  “What’s taken place?  What happened?” That’s why they had different responses to what was going on.  And so they were much perplexed about it all, and behold two men stood by them in shining garments:  a little scary, you know, they looked, appeared like men, but here their garments are shining.  You don’t see that every day.  You know, here they are, they’re angels and their garments are shining. Dead giveaway this is not normal.  It says their garments were shining. And as they were afraid, yeah, you see something like that; people are going to be afraid.  It doesn’t happen every day, it doesn’t happen in a lifetime, for most people’s lifetime, and they bowed down their faces to the earth, and they said unto them, Why do you seek...so this is what the angels were asking them...Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen:  or as it says in the King James He is risen...  Now, I guess because of the Old King James, He is risen, maybe it sounds like, maybe it gives the tense that this just happened, this just happened this morning type of thing.  No, it’s past tense.  He said, He’s risen, He’s not here.  But again, the world of Traditional Christianity, because of this sunrise thing and going back to the sun and worship of the sun and all the things that are mixed in with it this is when they think these things took place and they mix it all together and they have no idea where it comes from.  But the angel simply told them, “He’s not here.  He’s already risen.”  He was resurrected at the end of the 7th day Sabbath – see?  That’s when He was resurrected, because if you go from Wednesday right at the moment of sunset before the High Day began, that’s Wednesday evening at sunset to Thursday evening at sunset – 1 day; all the day Thursday till Friday, at the end of the sunset there on Thursday – 1 day, Friday – 1 day, all day Saturday – 1 day; you’ve got three full days, but it’s at sunset.  So He was resurrected before the first day of the week.  The world can’t accept that one; they don’t grasp it, they don’t comprehend it.  And nobody was there because it’s dark out.  They’re not going to come to the tomb; they didn’t come to the tomb at night, after sunset, because they’re only coming to put the spices there that they’d prepared.

So they said, He’s not here, He has risen. Remember how He spoke unto you when He was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered in the hands of sinful men, and be impaled to a pole, and the third day rise again. And they remembered His words, before this it didn’t mean anything to them, but it was at that moment that God gave them the ability to put it together; the ones that put it together at this moment.  Not all of them did yet, but the ones that heard that, it says they remembered His words. And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed as idle tales to them, in other words they didn’t all believe it right away.  Some started running, we’ll find the story here, to see what had happened, but their first reaction was ‘just idle tales’, this isn’t true, this couldn’t have happened; and they did not believe them. So that’s the first human reaction.

Let’s go over to Matthew 28 and pick up the story.  Matthew 28:1 - In the end of, in the Greek here literally means ‘after’.  In the end of the Sabbaths, and it’s good to note there that word is plural, it’s the word... see, does anybody have an Old King James here, I didn’t write it down.  It just says ‘Sabbath’ there right?  ‘In the end of the Sabbath’, the word in the Greek is plural.  It shows in the Greek that it’s Sabbaths, it’s two, its referring to different Sabbaths, more than one Sabbath here because it’s a High Day, the annual Sabbath and also the weekly Sabbath.  So, at the end of/after the Sabbaths as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, now the word ‘dawn’ is used because that’s very specific.  Because on the first day of the week the first thing you have is darkness, after sunset it’s dark, and the dawn has to do with the morning.  So on the first day of the week we all understand that, the first part of the Sabbath, what is it to us?  It’s dark, but the dawn, if you’re talking about the dawn of the Sabbath, we know that that’s talking about the beginning of the daylight portion of the Sabbath, at the very beginning of it.  And this is exactly what it’s talking about. So, after the Sabbaths as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, it doesn’t mean at the beginning of the night time there, it’s talking about the literally, the dawn here ‘to grow light’, that’s what the word means, ‘to give or to grow light’; that portion of the day.  Very specific here, all these accounts, you put them all together; they’re extremely specific in what they say.

Mary Magdalene came and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance, so it tells what had already taken place here and what some of the things that had happened, what had happened with the stone earlier.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow: and so again here it’s showing what took place when this happened, And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.  So if you saw this account happen at night... as it’s toward the end of the day here and as it’s approaching toward night here it’s kind of getting a little bit darker when the sun goes down and so it’s not quite down yet but the shadows and so forth are there and all of a sudden you have this earthquake and this takes place.  They were filled with fear, absolutely, when they saw these things taking place.  In other words, they became as dead men.  They were just frozen.  I guess that’s the best way of saying it in modern English.  They were as dead men, which, when you’re dead you just don’t move; you’re just kind of frozen.  And that’s what it’s talking about here; they just stood there in a frozen state.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, so again, this is jumping ahead because this is telling the story flow here of what happened earlier, but it’s jumping ahead here now telling what  happens to the keepers, but now it comes up to the point in time where the women were coming and speaking of the same angels.  And the angel said unto the woman Do not fear: for I know that you are seeking Jesus, who was impaled to the pole. He is not here: for He has risen, as He said.  Sometimes when you read accounts it’s very easy to try to put everything together and it can be done incorrectly.  You have to go through a flow and know the timing of what was taking place and what had happened and what one account adds that another account doesn’t state. That’s why we’re going through and putting all four together as a whole.  So it says, Come and see the place where the Lord was laying.    This is Matthew’s account and how it was recorded.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and, behold, He goes before you into Galilee; there shall you see Him:  All this is a matter of timing and what was given later and what He said before.  Says, for now I have told you. Because He also tells them they are to stay in Jerusalem.  You have to put all the stories together.  Says, for now I have told you. And they departed quickly, and so again, recounting some of the things that Christ had said.  And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy and did run and bring His disciples word.  So again, we just read the account before of where they didn’t really believe them at first.

Let’s go on to Mark 16 here, pick this up as we read some of these verses earlier.  An incredible story when you put all four accounts together, all four witnesses here of what they recorded and how they recorded it.  Mark 16:1 - And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint Him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week they came to the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. So again this was happening right here.  It makes it very clear by another account that they began before the sun was coming up and then by the time they got there these things... so it was right at that moment in time. And they said among themselves, Who is going to roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?  Because it was so big the women weren’t going to be able to do it.  It says, And when they looked, when they came there and they saw it, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.  It was a great stone, something that would take a lot of muscle to get behind it to be able to move it. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right hand, clothed in a long white garment; and they were afraid. And he said to them, Do not be afraid: You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was impaled to a pole; He has risen; He is not here: look unto this place where they’d laid Him.  In other words, look where He was, this was where He was lying before. But go your way; tell His disciples and Peter that He goes before you into Galilee: there you shall see Him, as He said to you.  So again, Christ told them that you’re going to see Me there but again, the whole story has to be put together.

Verse 8 - And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: in other words astonished at what had just taken place; neither did they anything to anyone; because they were afraid. Now when Jesus had risen, in the Greek here it means ‘moreover having arisen, having risen’ if you will, early in the first day of the week, so in other words the Greek makes it very clear here this had already happened.  Again, this is written in the English from a perspective of people, in the King James Version there, of people who believed in an early morning resurrection who didn’t understand so many things... that’s why some of these things are so messed up, the Greek, they’ve written it into English and what their perspective was about Easter morning.  So again here, moreover having risen early the first day of the week, in other words, having risen, early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  And she went and told those who’d been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen of her, they didn’t believe it.  So again, reading that account before that says they didn’t believe it, and again, just getting more specific here of different ones and what they said and what had happened and what their involvement was.

John 20:1 - The first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early, when it was yet dark, so that’s when they started, it was yet dark out, unto the sepulchre,  and makes it very clear then in the other accounts that the sun was rising at this moment, and they saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre.  It shows that they were anxious, different ones had been crying through the night, different things had been taking place here because of all that had happened.  They were still mourning, but their desire, their motivation was to get out as quickly as they could.  So as soon as the very first part of sunlight began to come off from the horizon and the darkness was beginning to leave just the slightest bit they were on their way to the sepulchre and then by the time they got there the sun was rising, you could see it.  And this is the account here of everything that’s taking place.  ...and they saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Verse 2 - Then she ran and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, again, John speaking of himself in this case, and she said to them, that they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we don’t know where they have laid Him. Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, again, speaking of himself in this narrative, and came to the sepulchre. So they both ran together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, he didn’t say I beat him, I outran him, he says the other disciple outran Peter.  This is the way his whole account is.  ...and came first to the sepulchre. So he whomped up on Peter, he got there first since they were both very eager to get there anyway.  And as he stooped down, he saw the linen clothes lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter following him came and went into the sepulchre, and saw the linen clothes lying there, and the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

Verse 8 - Then the other disciple went in also, John went in, who came to the sepulchre first, and he saw, and believed. In other words he’s saying that’s when he believed, that was his moment.  And so he’s giving this account of how it affected him and as soon as he saw that he believed that He was resurrected. For as yet they did not know the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So all these things started coming to them. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood outside the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down into the sepulchre and she saw two angels in white sitting there, so all these accounts, everybody recording a piece of something they saw, something they were giving testimony and witness in their own words.  And it says, and this is the account then that they saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, Woman, why do you weep?  And she said unto them, Because they have taken away My Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid Him.  And when she had said this, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and did not know that it was Jesus. So this is the account here, they’d heard the angels make the comments that Jesus wasn’t there and then Jesus said to her, Woman, why do you weep? So He asked this, Whom do you seek? And she, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, Sir, if You have carried Him away from here, tell me where you have laid Him, and I’ll take Him away. So, they’re all reacting a little differently here, things that were taking place.  And here’s this account concerning her and what she experienced and John writing about that.  And Jesus said to her, Mary. And she turned herself, and said unto Him, so her eyes... she saw it was Him...Rabboni; which is to say, Master.  And Jesus said to her, Do not touch me; I love this here because He’s the wave sheaf and there are certain things He had to fulfill and this is that moment in time where He’d been resurrected but He makes it very clear here, He says, I have not yet ascended to My Father, you are not to touch Me: Because He hadn’t fulfilled the wave sheaf yet.  He had to ascend to the Father first and be accepted of the Father, that’s what this is picturing... but go to My brethren and say unto them, I ascend to My Father, and to your Father; and to My God, and your God.   So here is the account where later on now in the day He’s going to come to them and they can touch Him.  You know, Thomas... He tells him, “Reach your hand in here, touch Me.”  So in that time period where some of this had happened He had already gone to the Father, been received of the Father and came back.  Awesome here all the things that are being fulfilled and being accomplished here.  So He said, I have not yet ascended to My Father...and He says, go to My brethren and say to them I ascend to My Father and your Father; and to My God and to your God.  And Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her.

We pick up the story now in Luke, so if you go on over here to Luke 24 we’re going to conclude this series with the final event’s of Jesus appearing to His disciples.  But this account with Mary is the first moment of Him speaking to anyone, of revealing Himself to anyone and He told her not to touch Him and He was going to ascend to the Father to fulfill the scriptures concerning the wave sheaf offering and then return.

Luke 24:13 - And behold, that same day two of them went to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.  In other words about 7 miles or 11 km away, and so they were going to walk there. And they talked together about all the things which had happened.  So they were discussing what had taken place and wondering at it all. And it came to pass that while they talked and reasoned Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were held fast so that they were not able to know Him. Isn’t that amazing?  It’s like the mind was shut to the point of who it was that they were talking to and God has that power and it’s like scripture; there are things you cannot see until God gives it to you.  You can’t know the truth, you can’t see it when it comes to a matter of dealing with God until God gives it to you and when He puts it in your mind it’s just there all of a sudden and in these accounts the exact same things were taking place.

And He said to them, What kind of conversation are you having with one another as you’re walking and are sad? He’s bringing up that “You’re walking here, you’re having conversation, I see that you’re sad.  What are you talking about?” And one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered and said to Him, Are you alone a stranger in Jerusalem,  are you the only one here that doesn’t know what’s going on in Jerusalem, and haven’t known these things that have come to pass here in these days? And He said unto them, What things? And they said to Him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and have impaled Him to a pole. But we trusted that it was He who should have redeemed Israel: in other words, “we trusted that it was the Messiah, that’s what we believed but here they’ve taken Him and impaled Him to a pole,” and beside all this today is the third day since this thing was done. Three days have gone past now since this has taken place. Yes, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, who went early to the sepulchre; and when they didn’t find His body they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. So all these things were happening and they’re telling the story and they were in a daze about it all and here they’re sharing it with Jesus.  And certain of them who were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but Him they did not see.

Then He said to them, O foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: shouldn’t Christ have suffered these things, and then enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and at all the prophets, He expounded to them all the scriptures of the things concerning Himself. So all the things that had been fulfilled in the last couple of weeks there He went through and gave that account of things that were fulfilled by different prophets, things that were written in the book of Moses and so forth about Himself that had been fulfilled. And as they drew near to the village, where they went: He made out as though He would have gone further. In other words Christ was making out to them, this is how it was to be received by them that He was going to continue on farther. But they constrained Him saying stay with us: for its toward evening and the day is nearly over. And He went in to stay with them. And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, isn’t that amazing?  All this walking together, going in to eat together and all of a sudden now their eyes are opened after this prayer and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight.  Quite an experience, isn’t it?  Here you are, you’re talking with Him, you’re visiting with Him, you’re getting ready to eat bread, He breaks the bread, He prays and all of a sudden they see, they recognize it is Christ and then He just disappears out of their sight.  Gives you a lot of strength to continue to do the things that are ahead of you, that’s for sure.

Verse 32 - And they said to each other, Didn’t our heart burn within us when He talked to us on the way, it’s like the words that He spoke, it was burning inside of us, and yet they couldn’t see Him, and while He opened to us the scriptures? In other words the meaning of the scriptures.  And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, they didn’t stay there that night, they ran back, they went back as quickly as they could to tell the story of what had just taken place.  It says, They returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them saying, The Lord has indeed risen, and has appeared to Simon.

Verse 35 - And they told about the things along the way and how He was known of them in breaking of bread.  In other words of how they came to see it, how their eyes were opened up; so they couldn’t wait to get back and tell the eleven about what had just taken place.  And as they were still speaking Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, Peace be to you.  Here He just appeared.  Shows you what God’s going to do, what’s going to take place during the Millennium; that Jesus Christ and the 144,000 have that power to all of a sudden be there in someone’s midst; the power to disappear.  The closest thing we can come to, and we see in science fiction, is like Star Trek, all of a sudden these little dots... but this is even faster than that.  They’re there and they’re gone.  Amazing, because God gives them the power to do these things.

Verse 37 - But they were frightened, in other words alarmed and afraid, scared, literally, and thought that they had seen a spirit. So, here He is again in the midst of them, He appears all of a sudden and they haven’t had experiences like this in their lifetime and they haven’t known of others who’ve had experiences like this in their lifetime, and so they were afraid because it’s like... how can this be?  Something happening... all of a sudden there’s someone there talking to you and so they thought they’d seen a spirit. And He said to them, Why do you look so troubled? In other words, why are you so agitated?  ...and why do such thoughts arise in your hearts? He knew what was in their hearts; that they were afraid and thought that He was a spirit, that this was a spirit and not real. He said look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: touch Me and see because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. And when He had said this He showed them His hands and His feet.  And as they were in disbelief, as yet filled with wonder and joy He said to them, Do you have any food here? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and some honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them. And He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me. So again, all these things that He’d just talked along the way to these other two and He’s reiterating all these things again.  All these things had to be fulfilled and they didn’t understand.  That’s why the one was talking when they were walking along the way and he said, “We had thought, we had believed...” in essence, “that He was going to be the Messiah, the one that was going to redeem Israel.”  And they didn’t understand the plan of God, that He had to die first as our Passover and then come back later, indeed in God’s Kingdom.

Verse 45 - Then He opened their understanding, I love verses like this because it’s what we experience, it’s what you first experienced when your mind was opened to the truth, when all of a sudden you could see things that before you could never understand; things about the Sabbath, the Holy Days, whatever it is that God gave to you at that moment, you could see it.  You didn’t have to have a Strong’s Concordance, you didn’t even have to have a Bible in front of you; you just knew it was true.  It was there.  And we react in different ways; sometimes we go through a different process, but when we come to understand it’s God that gives you that ability all of a sudden to see it, because others around you, others you could talk to about it, they don’t see it; it’s a miracle.  An awesome thing that takes place, it really is; because God Almighty Himself is the one that has to give you that ability.  He’s the one that chooses to open your mind and He gives you the ability all of a sudden to see it.  It’s an awesome thing.  And so this is the same thing that’s taking place here.  It says, then He opened their understanding, through the power of the holy spirit – He gave them the ability in their spirit to see what He was saying, to understand it so that they might understand the scriptures. And said to them, Even so it is written, and even so it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  To fulfill the scriptures, to fulfill the plan of God, to fulfill the meaning of Passover...so that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And so they didn’t understand that God had a plan, that it had to start in Jerusalem, it had to start with the Jews and go into the whole world.  Neither did they still understand and wouldn’t understand in their lifetime that it was going to be for the next 2,000 years; and people in different time periods have not known the timing – that there was still 2,000 years that these things had to take place.

Verse 48 - And you are witnesses of these things. See, you’re witnesses of the beginning of this and what has taken place.  And that’s what Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are about, and that’s what the twelve disciples were about, the twelve apostles.  One had to take the place of Judas Iscariot.  There had to be twelve who witnessed those things and could fulfill that perfect witness, if you will, from God to mankind.

Verse 49 – He says, And see, I send forth the promise of My Father unto you: so it’s the holy spirit that’s going to be given to them in time here.  He says, but you wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you have been clothed, until you’re able to put on/clothed with the power from on high.  So they were to remain and be there for Pentecost because that’s when the promise of the holy spirit was going to be given that He says, “I have told you of My Father that would be given to you.” And that was when the Church began, 31 A.D. on the Day of Pentecost.

Verse 50 - And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them.  And it came to pass, when He had blessed them, He departed from them and was carried up into the heaven.  So they saw something here now taking place, again, and was carried up into heaven. This time He didn’t vanish, He was carried up into the heavens. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.  Thanking God for all the things that had taken place and all the things that had come to pass.

Let’s go over to John 20. That was Luke 24; go back over to this account of John and pick it up here in verse 19.  Again, showing some of this flow of what was taking place - Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, while the doors were shut where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, so gain, this was on Sunday, the first day of the week, later in the day.  It says, while the doors were shut where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, Peace be unto you. And when He had said this He showed them His hands and His side. So He’d already gone to the Father, He’d come back now and was revealing Himself, just as we read in the account of Luke.  Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus unto them again, Peace be to you: as My Father has sent Me, even so I send you.  So the disciples are being told, “You’re being sent out now, I’m sending you out.  You have a job to do.” And when He had said this, He breathed/blew on them, and said to them, Receive the holy spirit: So this wasn’t the impregnation of the spirit but this was the beginning, this was that account of when it said He gave them understanding; because you have to have the holy spirit.  There was that which they were being given.  It’s like when you’re being drawn; when you’re first being drawn there are things you see because this is what happens, the holy spirit – it enters into your mind...you’re not yet impregnated with it, but all of a sudden you can understand, all of a sudden your eyes are opened to whatever God gives you at that time.  And this is that same account that John is giving that’s stated a little bit differently than what Luke has stated it.  Luke stated it in the sense of understanding came to them.  John is going on and explaining here; he was more specific in what he said and He blew on them, in essence, and this is all descriptive of something that we learn later on that happens to us, all of us as we’re drawn, as God gives us understanding.  It is the receiving of God’s spirit in the spiritual sense, not just the physical. This is something that happened physically to express something that was happening to them spiritually, and physically.

It says ...blew on them, and said to them receive the holy spirit. Whose sins you remit, in other words, whose sins you forgive... so He says, “I’m sending you out.  You have a job to do, and whosoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven unto them.”  This is powerful what is being said here.  This has to do with the apostles of God, the disciples who were first as far as the government and organization of God’s Church and the structure and He’s making it very clear here to them that there’s incredible power.  There are things here that are like when it talks about sitting in Moses seat, the greater power was given to the Church, when we understand it, and things that people have not understood to the depth they need to understand it.  Notice what else He’s said; and whose sins you retain/hold fast they are held fast.  They’re not forgiven.  So He’s showing here incredible power and there’s a reason for that, of something that’s given to the Church that comes from God the Father.  God the Father is the only one who can do this but there is that that has to do with government and an administration of God’s government within the Church that shows a tremendous power that God has given to that government, to that structure.  And the reality is, why?  Why can these things be true?  Because it shows how God leads His ministry.  If they are faithful stewards of Him, there are going to be things that they’re going to see and know that God gives to them, and if something is retained because something, someone hasn’t come to the point of yet being able to be baptized...then there’s still sins there that they have not repented of because God gives it to them to understand by certain things that they’re told.

If someone tells you that they’re not yet keeping the Sabbath, they’re not yet convicted of the Holy Days, they still have sin.  And so God has given that understanding and that perception to the ministry obviously, before someone’s baptized... not that you can know every secret sin or every secret thing in people’s lives, but there is the basics of things that He’s making clear here that you have a job to do and it’s going to involve, in essence here, if you have the whole story – of people coming into the Church, of people receiving the impregnation of God’s spirit.  And there are going to be some that are going to be brought in and be able to be baptized and others who are not, who are to be kept, frankly, apart from the Church.  Sin isn’t to be allowed into God’s Church, and so in essence, you’re to do the best job you can do as a human being, being led, guided and directed by God’s spirit.  And there are going to be certain things you’re going to tell people that... What do we tell people at baptism?  Your sins are forgiven.  And to understand the meaning of what’s there.  The bottom line is when it comes down to it, it’s between the individual and God because if they haven’t been truthful in all things then their sins aren’t forgiven; but we don’t know that, we don’t know the heart and the mind of an individual.  But again, it’s a matter of government and a matter of order that God is starting to make clear here, starting to show to the Church...that there is tremendous authority and power that He’s giving to them; but all authority and power comes from God the Father when we understand it.  So if something is not in unity and oneness with God the Father, then God’s not in it and we’ve seen that in the Church too.

Verse 24 - But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. Therefore the other disciples said to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see the hands and 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.  That’s where we got the expression, ‘doubting Thomas’.  Because he made it real clear to them... “You’re going to have to show me before I believe it,” and that’s the attitude Thomas had, and understandably so as a human being – that reaction.  “I’ve got to see it myself...” but he went a little farther, “I’ve got to put my finger in there and my hand in there and then I’m going to believe it.” Because it’s just... there are things that are just real tough for us as human beings to believe.  I mean, this is really out there!  This has never happened.  We’ve never read about this in 4,000 years of God working with people, prophets and so forth throughout time.  There’s never been anything like this; this goes way beyond all that, so, “I need a little more proof.”  And sometimes in the Church it’s hard for us, isn’t it?  And we want a little more proof.  There are people holding on out there today.  Every once in a while we get an email, different ones talking about how there are certain things that they agree with, there are certain things they see, but they’re waiting to see certain things happen; and then they’ll believe, or then they’re going to act.  My response always to those individuals is, “That isn’t the grounds for belief.”

I know you all as a whole understand exactly what I’m talking about.  What you believe is the truth of God, it starts with the Sabbath.  If you believe what God says about the Sabbath and you know that Sunday is wrong. If you believe the High Days and know that Easter and Christmas is wrong – that’s the beginning of understanding, that’s the beginning of conviction.  It’s not by all the signs in the world; it’s not by Christ Himself coming down off the pole, that people would believe it.  It’s not by the Red Sea opening that people will believe it.  It’s not by a Man who walked on this earth, His Father being God Almighty, who was resurrected and lives again that people will see Him and believe it.  That doesn’t make people believe.  It’s amazing!  But with God’s spirit and God’s time and things that people come to pass...there are things that people can come to believe in time; but not by the physical things you see.  A lot of people are moved and motivated; that’s the beginning of a lot of people’s motivation and that’s understandable as well, but the truth, and the conviction of the truth is what truly counts because it depends upon your reaction to it then as to whether or not you’re going to have a relationship with God – not because you’re afraid, not because you’re scared, not because you want to save your hide.  Because a lot of people in the future are going to be moved by that because they’re going to want to save their hide, because they’re going to be scared to death, because of what they see happening, and sadly for human beings that’s the beginning of humility, so they can be humbled, so they can begin to see spiritually when God gives them the ability.  We’re so stubborn as human beings.  It’s awesome how stubborn we are.

Verse 26 - And after eight days then again His disciples were inside and Thomas with them: so this is eight days later; then Jesus came, the doors being shut, in the midst of them and said, Peace be to you. So again these things happened more than once. Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger in here and look at My hands, and reach your hand in here and thrust it into My side; and don’t be without faith, but believe. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and My God. He didn’t have to put in his hand; finally it came to that point in time... “I believe” when he finally saw Him standing there and talking to him and his eyes were opened up to see it.  He said, “I believe.  My Lord and My God.”  And Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because you have seen Me, and have believed: blessed, blessed, are they who have not seen, and yet have believed. Every one of you – that’s you.  God says, How blessed are you that you’re able to do that and not see Him; and yet you’re able to believe and come to the point of conviction in your mind that God brings you to so that when you read something you believe it.  I still marvel at that, that we have people coming along on a continual basis, that they can read a book and read it like the book of Acts; and their mind is opened up and they believe what they see.  It’s an awesome thing; something that God has to give.  Says, they are blessed, indeed, powerfully; blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.

And many other signs Jesus truly did in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: so there are a lot of things here that continued on after this eight days and even during that period of time after His resurrection that aren’t even recorded here.  But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah/the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through His name. So he’s saying, all the things I have written in this book to you; it’s the way John expresses it; and these things here toward the end... writing them, this witness that you might believe Jesus is who He is.

Chapter 21:1 - After these things Jesus again showed Himself to the disciples at the sea of Tiberius; and on this occasion that He showed Himself together there was Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples. And Simon Peter said to them, I’m going fishing and they said to him, we’ll also go with you. And then they went forth immediately, so they’re going to go out fishing and gather in some food.  And it says, they went immediately and entered into a ship; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples didn’t know that it was Jesus. And then Jesus said unto them, Children, do you have any meat? And they answered Him, No. And He said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you’ll find it. And therefore they cast there, and you don’t even know why they do some of these things – they don’t even know its Jesus and here someone they see on the shore asking, “Do you have anything?”

“No.”

“Well, cast on the other side,”

And so they cast on the other side and then they were not able to draw it up for the abundance of fish. So they weren’t even able to draw it up to the boat because of how many fish that were there.  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, so again, it’s John... It’s the Lord.  And now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his fisher's coat, (for he was not clothed,) I don’t know how much he had on but evidently he didn’t have too much on in working there with the nets and so forth, and he dove into the sea. And the other disciples were coming in a boat; (for they were not far from land, but it was about a hundred yards, 90m away) dragging the net with the fish.  So they couldn’t bring it on board the boat there so they were just dragging it through the water, dragging the net with the fish.  Then as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid thereon and the bread. So everything was already prepared as far as the meal.

Jesus said to them, Bring of the fish which you have caught. So bring it all in.  Simon Peter went and drew the net to land full of great fish, a hundred and fifty three: in this net, and for all there were so many, yet the net hadn’t broken. And Jesus said unto them, Come and dine. So they had worked, they’d drawn these fish in and He said now has come time to eat and they could relax. And none of the disciples dared to ask Him, Who are You? Knowing that it was the Lord. So I don’t understand some of these things.  Sometimes you read it and yet there’s...whatever was going on here there is still things happening from time to time.  I don’t understand all of it, but it says they knew, but they didn’t ask because I guess there are still certain things here happening.  Jesus then came and took the bread, and gave it to them, and also fish. This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He had risen from the dead. So we have the three accounts we read about and this one here was  one where they knew it was Him but there’s something about His appearance I guess that’s different.  I don’t understand it fully.  Maybe it was different in the beginning and maybe now He’s appearing in looks here a little differently.  I don’t know what the deal is, why it states it this way.  Maybe in the beginning, just supposition, he still had the things that were there because of His beating, maybe certain things that were still going to be shown to the disciples and maybe later on totally without it.  We don’t know.

Verse 15 – So then when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, Do you love me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord; You know that I love You. And He said to him, Feed My lambs. And He said to him again the second time, can you imagine?  They know it’s Him, and Jesus is asking him these things in front of them.  You remember the other account when it was in front of everybody and He said that someone’s going to betray Me and He asked, who is it, I never will, or whatever type of thing and I’m willing to fight and die for You and He says, you’re going to deny Me three times before the cock crows twice.  And so this was said in front of all them and he was determined it wasn’t going to happen, so now this is really bothering him... you can imagine.  All these things happening to you and all of a sudden He says it again a second time and Simon, son of Jonas, Do you love Me?  Gotta hurt, because of what he did.  He knew what he did.  He went out and cried bitterly after those things had happened and it’s like, Why are You asking me this again?  And he said to Him, Yes, Lord; You know that I love You. And He said to him, Feed My sheep. And He said to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonas, Do you love Me? And Peter was grieved because He’d said to him this a third time, Do you love Me?  Sometimes we read stories like this and we don’t think about it too much, but when you think about what he experienced and what he was brought up to this point in time, and here He’s saying this in front of everybody and He’s asking Peter specifically...  You have to understand the job that Peter’s getting ready to be put into – Chief Apostle, over all the apostles.  He’s going to be the primary one that the work of God begins with, the primary one that God is going to work with in the beginning of all the Church and he had awesome responsibility and a task before him.  And Jesus is telling him the importance of that – Feed My sheep.  Take care of the Church; this is what I’m giving to you.  And Peter was able to put these things together as time went on but it brought about a much deeper conviction as well because of Peter’s personality and especially then when he received the impregnation of God’s spirit.  And so Jesus said to him, again He asked this, Do you love Me? The third time...And he said, You know all things; You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.

Truly, truly, I say to you, When you were young, you girded yourself, in other words put on a belt or bound yourself, and walked where you desired: it’s like, you put on your pants and you put on your belt and you go out – you’re able to gird yourself and go wherever you want to.  You clothe yourself, you go wherever you want to, you bound yourself, in other words with a belt and you went wherever you wanted; but when you shall become old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, in other words, bind you, and carry you where you would not want to go.  In other words there’s going to come a time when you’re old that you’re not going to have that freedom.  Something’s going to happen to you where someone else is going to come along and bind you.  And thus He spoke, signifying by what death he should glorify God.  Now there are some different things said in some different places but this had to do with something that Jesus Christ was giving to him as a prophecy and the disciples there, several of them, died some pretty grievous deaths, and some horrifying things they had to go through as some of the first of the disciples.  I believe that there was just one who was not killed and put to death for what he believed and what had taken place here; because later on it makes it very clear here Peter was to die for what he believed and what he was to live for.  And thus He spoke, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He spoke this, He said unto him, Follow Me.

John 21:20 - Then Peter, turning around, seeing the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who also leaned upon His breast at dinner, so he’s referring back to the account of when John put his head down on His chest in grief, at that time, and this is referring back to that account; and said, Lord, this is when he made that statement... Lord who is it who betrays You?  So it grieved him that someone was going to betray Him and this is why he came up to Christ.  There was a special relationship between John and Jesus Christ, and that’s what it’s showing here.  And candidly, it’s very powerful the things that God gave to John to write, that was given through Jesus Christ to John to write in the book of John, but especially in the book of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John; very powerful the things about love, about agape that we talked about and the things that are recorded toward the end of John that no other disciple wrote to that degree of spiritual insight if you will concerning God’s spirit and how it works in us and lives in us; but it was given to John to write in a very powerful way.

Verse 21 - Peter seeing him said to Jesus, Lord, and what will happen to him? So something in this that’s not written by John, fully, because it wasn’t to be fully revealed, made it clear that whatever Jesus said to Peter it was about Peter’s death, how he was going to die when he got old, and it would be through that death that it would glorify God because of what he was going to live.  And so Peter, struck by that, something’s going to happen to him because of what he believed...he saw John whom Jesus loved and he had a little bit of carnality here as we sometimes do as human beings, and what’s going to happen... basically, what’s going to happen to him? And Jesus said unto him, If I will, in other words, If I desire that he wait, the word means continue/remain until I come, what is that to you?  So Peter, “What is it to you?  I’ve told you what’s going to come to pass to you, but what happens to John... what is that to you?” In other words, “That’s for Me, and if I have him wait until I return, until I come, then if that’s My desire, that’s the way it’s going to be.  So what is it to you if he lives and dies of an old age, or whatever else.”  In other words, Christ is giving him some correction here in a kind and meaningful way.  He says, If I will/I desire that he wait/continue/remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.  You have a job to do, Follow Me.

Then this saying went abroad among the brethren that this disciple should not die: yet Jesus, and John is making the record straight here that that isn’t what Jesus said, that he should not die, because he says, what if he remains... that’s what he repeats here... and so Jesus did not say that unto him, that he should not die; but that If I will that he wait/continue until I come, what is that to you?  So very powerful here.  In other words, all of a sudden different ones picked this up and started saying that this is what was said by Christ but John is setting the record straight, no, Jesus didn’t say that, that John wasn’t going to die.  Sometimes people can take a part of something and take off with it (even in the Church) take off with it and say things that weren’t really said in spirit and in truth because we don’t fully understand perhaps what God is doing and what God truly has said; and I’ve heard that over and over again in some of the things written in some of the books.  You’ll come to see and you’ll come to understand.  Just wait and God will reveal what some things mean, that may seem to be very clear to you physically, but you have to wait until God gives you the answers.  And that’s the way it is in the Church and so it is here.  And that’s what he’s saying here; there’s more to this than this story and so John is bearing this record about himself because Peter was asking about John, about what was said, and John is setting the record straight; that isn’t what Jesus said.  In other words, John knew full well that he could die before He return and John came to find that out.  John died before Christ returned.  John was the one who continued on the longest with life and all the rest died before him. All the other disciples died including Paul; they all died before John.  John began to see a lot of things that happened in the Church even in his time, what was happening in Ephesus and he was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos for a time and then released and that’s where he had the vision of the book of Revelation and then went out and continued on for a time.  But he died.  So he set the record straight.

Verse 24 - This is the disciple who testified of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. So again, John is saying this about what he wrote.  You know that his testimony is true.  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.  So, again, all the things that they’d witnessed and saw of Christ, saying that there is so much that happened, that took place, that it would take so much to write it all.

Let’s go on to the book of Acts and finish for today.  All these different accounts that took place; a very inspiring process here of things that were given.  When I look back at what we’ve gone through, first of all I marvel at the timing of Passover, I marvelled at the timing of what Jesus Christ said on the night of Passover – that everything had to do, especially in the book of John and what he wrote in the book of John; because those things are written that Christ gave about the importance of agape, of love, of loving your brother, of loving each other.  And John, writing even later on and making it very clear, if you don’t love each other you’re not of God.  We in the Church of God must learn the most basic and fundamental truth of a relationship we have with each other that we belong to God; and that if we understand that how could we but love each other within the Body?  Something is wrong with us if we don’t.  And so whenever there’s a conflict within the Body, please understand there are things you’ve got to repent of and change because that is not allowed in the Body of Christ, it’s not allowed in the Church of God.  And people have hurt themselves mightily because of that when they’ve taken of the Passover, as it records in 1st Corinthians 11 about the Passover, that we are to examine our self continually, but especially before we take the Passover to make sure, indeed, that we’re right with one another.  This was the most predominate, most powerful message that Jesus Christ gave because that’s why He is dying...so that we could have the Church, so that we could have the spiritual Body of Christ, the Church of God and dwell within it within peace, within a kind of peace and a love for each other that surpasses human relationships.  And that’s a battle for human nature.  We have to yield our self to that process.

I mention this again because I marvel that so soon after Passover this year and yet we’ve had many sermons on this subject, that there’s conflict in area after area after area of brethren getting along with each other...and these things ought not to be so in God’s Church!!  How much do we have to receive to grasp and comprehend...if we don’t love each other, that is some of the greatest sin you could ever commit!  ...in God’s Church, to not love each other... it blows my mind!  And that means in actions and in words and how we think about and talk about each other because that reveals what’s in our heart.  And so again, please receive this series of sermons in your life and the greatest thing you can take from it is what Jesus Christ gave to us in instruction on the night of Passover – to love one another, He says, “As I have loved you.”  And He did that to the sacrifice of Himself being put to death.  If you’re not willing to do that for each other something’s wrong with you, you haven’t grown, you need to grow more, you need to cry out to God, “Father help me to love!”  ...to that point and degree, to be willing to do that and if we’re not willing to do that then we’ve got a lot of hard knocks to go through yet and hopefully we come through it and make it through it.

Acts 1:1 - The former account I have written, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He, through the holy spirit, had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen: Young men...young men, amazing!  They were young and He gave them incredible jobs, but He walked with them, they had things implanted in their minds.  Young!  Early twenties some of these fellows.  Doesn’t say whether they may have been in their late teens, it doesn’t say that.  I don’t know where they were but they were young, early twenties some of these because of accounts later on and things that happened later on.  Incredible!  And yet God thrust them out there to do an incredible job.  It says, until the day in which He was taken up, after that He, through the holy spirit, had given commandment unto the apostles whom He had chosen. To whom also He showed Himself alive after His suffering through many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, so they were able to... He saw them at different times and we read some of those accounts.  And so they saw Him at different times for a period of forty days, and speaking of those things/of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God: So He taught them a lot even in that period of time, some of the things that were still being given.

Verse 4 - And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem,  so they were to stay in that region, they were to stay there specifically to be there for the High Day, the next one coming, the Day of Pentecost; but wait for the promise of the Father which you have heard from Me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be immersed/baptized with/in the holy spirit not many days from now. So again, we’ve gone through that and I’m really thankful that God gave that to us to understand baptism, or to be able to show baptism, or to talk about baptism in terms of a better understanding.  That it’s not just in water, it is in the holy spirit that comes with the laying on of hands – that’s what happens at that point in time.  That’s what God is doing.  When you’re impregnated with His spirit, you’re being immersed in God’s spirit.  When you go in the water, that’s for the forgiveness of sin, that’s to bury the old self and that’s just the beginning.  It’s the laying on of hands that has so much more meaning to it as this shows.

Verse 6 – Therefore when they had come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel? Incredible!  There are things that they didn’t begin to grasp.  It’s the beginning of a ministry, that they didn’t grasp the job that Christ had given to them and “I’m going to send you forth and you have work to do, and that it begins in Jerusalem and it’s going to go out into the world.”  And so they were still wondering.  “You’re the Messiah, is it going to be at this time?” And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has kept in His own power.  It hadn’t been revealed yet.  It hadn’t been given yet.  And it’s in God’s time and God’s power when He gives it...that’s what He’s making very clear here.  But you shall receive power, after that the holy spirit does come upon you: and you shall be witnesses of Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and into the uttermost part of the world.

And when He had spoken these things, while they yet believed Him, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfast toward the heavens, so this is right up to the very end and then this is how He leaves; and as He disappears going up into heaven, up into the sky.  So they let them see something very physical to picture something that was happening spiritually because He was going to God’s throne to be there for 2,000 years and to not come back.  And He went up.  All of a sudden two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said/Who also said, You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the sky? This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into the sky, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into the sky, into the heaven. So basically that’s how this part of the story ends for this series of sermons.  He’s just letting them know in the same manner you see Him go up, is exactly how He’s coming back.  He’s going to appear in the sky and people are going to be able to see Him and that’s what’s revealed in the book of Revelation later on that we talked about at different times.  So, incredible story from beginning to end here.

~~~end

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