I work in what we often refer to as a dynamic environment. It is often loud. Airports terminals are crowded with people going to and fro. There always seems to be a door alarm going off. On the airplane there’s logbooks to be reviewed, flight plans and weather to analyze, maybe even a maintenance issue to address. Gate agents, flight attendants, passenger issues all vie for our attention. And that’s all before we move the airplane off the gate.

It surprises some people when I tell them the least stressful part of my job is usually the part when the wheels leave the ground.

Now, I’m not complaining about my job by any means. It is what I have dreamed of doing since I was 14 or 15, and its still very rewarding. But I must admit, the travel part, is getting a bit old. I’ve worked pretty hard over the years to establish a life in a home that I like, filled with my three favorite people, two moderately lovable dogs, and most of the things that I like to do. It is in short, my earthly refuge.

And so when I approach the end of a trip, on what we call “go home day” I always have some anticipation. Regardless of how the trip has gone, when I set the brake, and shut the engines down for the final time, there is a relief and joy associated with knowing I get to go home.

My drive home is usually a little over two hours by the time I get from the airplane to my car. And most of the time I am making the drive well after most people are in their beds. I often roll into the driveway between 1 and 2 in the morning. Needless to say I have a sense of relief when I do.

So why am I telling you all this? As I’ve been preparing this sermon the last week or two, I’ve been struck over and over again with the analogy of this drive, this return to my little refuge, and David’s seeking refuge in the will of God. It’s not a perfect analogy, but as we walk through Psalm 5 together today, I’ll try to use it to illuminate the greater points that David is making.

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Psalm 5 is interesting. It contrasts desperation with joy. And the actions of the devout with those of the wicked. Of the psalm Charles Spurgeon wrote,

“The Psalmist carries out a contrast between himself made righteous by God’s grace, and the wicked who opposed him. To the devout mind there is here presented a precious view of the Lord Jesus, of whom it is said that in the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears.”

The superscription tells us the psalm, most likely, is intended to be read in the form of a hymn set to the music of winded instruments. Indeed the psalm is divided into five “strophes,” a strophe being the Greek word for the rhythmic section of a “choral ode.” Sort of like verses in a song.

As is often true in the Psalms, we do not know precisely what events have precipitated the prayer David here composes. Some though, presume that this is the morning prayer of David following the events we have previously discussed in Psalms 3 and 4. In those Psalms we found David temporarily deposed from the throne of Israel by his own son Absalom.

The main point I’ll ask you to keep in mind today is this:

Steadfast Dedication to God’s Will Is the Road to Our Refuge

We’ll approach this in five sub-sections:

1. Authentic Prayer Begins the Journey (Verses 1-3)

2. Refuge in God is Just and Holy (Verses 4-6)

3. God Creates the Road Home (Verses 7 and 8)

4. The Road Has Its Hazards (Verses 9 and 10)

5. Our Refuge is Found Only in God (Verses 11 and 12

Before we continue please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father I give thanks for the opportunity to teach from your word today. I ask that through this message your Word is delivered. I ask that we have open ears and open hearts to the truth of your Word, and that we carry it forward into the world.

Amen

Point One;

Authentic Prayer Begins the Journey Home (Verses 1-3)

Sticking with my drive home analogy, I’ll share with you a recent and very unexpected stroke of wisdom that I found in myself, actually it was mostly my wife’s idea. About a month or so ago I was on a deadhead flight back to Boston. This means I’m riding in the back of the airplane instead of working up front.

Nearing Boston, my wife and I were texting. The weather was getting bad at home. Ice and rain. I’d had a long day with a very early start and I anticipated rolling into my driveway well after midnight.

My eagerness to get home that night was no less than any other go home day. But I found that I had to be authentic with myself. I had to really ask if I was going to be able to safely make that drive.

The answer was no, and I reluctantly booked a hotel just outside the city, where I could get a good night’s sleep, let the weather pass, and drive home in the morning.

What we see in verses 1-3 is David’s authenticity with God. My decision to stay in a hotel was painless, but it required being honest with myself. I had to lay down the desire to be home and sleep in my own bed.

Minor by comparison to be sure, but in a similar way David had to authentically lay his troubles before God. He had to place them in the only place they could find resolution. And in this authenticity, in the rawness of his plea, David offers us a model for prayer.

We certainly have other models of prayer in the Bible. The Lord’s Prayer probably being the most well known. We have prayers that have become a part of our worship traditions as well.

And all of these prayers are good and faithful in their own rights. But in the prayer of David that we read here in Psalm 5, we find something different. You see, those prayers I just discussed don’t always elicit the depths of emotion that we see modeled here. Many of them we say as a matter of habit.

But in David we see a very different tone. We can feel the desperation in his heart. He approaches God with a raw authenticity. What starts in sighing, turns quickly to an outright cry to God. There is no great structure to the prayer, simply a man crying out for God to hear his plea.

The desperation is almost palpable, you can feel it. It reminds me of another desperate prayer. Three in fact.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed three times for release from the brutal torture and execution He would soon face.

Luke tells us Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me — nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Luke tells us that Jesus was “in anguish,” even to the point of sweating blood. He records here, a genuine medical condition in which someone experiences such agony that their capillaries begin to burst and seep into the sweat pores, giving the appearance of sweating blood. A detail that is authentically raw, just as we see with David.

Lacking rehearsed words, David simply comes before God laying his sighs and his groans at the feet of his Creator.

David approaches God with heart unveiled. He seeks to hide nothing. We’ll see this in Psalm 6 where he simply says “Lord — how long?”

And who among us has not approached God at some point with such desperation? Who among us has not been grieved to the point that in their prayers they lack even the words, and simply bare their hearts before God? Some of you I think, some of you I know, are in that place even today.

David comes before God without hiding his fear, his weakness, his sin, or even his anger. He comes before God and says, please take this, I can’t handle it anymore.

And in so doing David shows us something else. He shows us right order with God.

What do I mean by that?

A few weeks ago I spoke to you about Psalm 4 and I mentioned a term I’ve become fond of, “retail religion.” With retail religion it becomes tempting and even easy to approach God with the solution to our problem already in mind.

And it’s okay to have hopes for how God will answer your prayer, I’m not telling you not to do that. But if we approach God, singularly focused on only one possible result, if we are prepared to accept only one answer, we approach in a way that is not in right order with God. We approach, placing our will above His.

David, the anointed King of Israel, approaches God ready to accept the will of his Lord, as Jesus does in Gethsemane.

There Jesus wishes to be released from the events to come, but He places the will of the Father in the right order. The Son has come to do the will of the Father, and He will not fail in doing so.

Finally, on this point we see something in verse 3 that we have to hold onto when we pray with the kind of earnestness that David now prays. We must pray with belief, and with expectation. We believe in a God that is capable of any possibility. After all, He created the universe and all the wonders it contains.

So we must pray with the same expectation that we see David speak of in verse three. We must pray with the hope of the faith described in Hebrews 11:6 where the author writes;

“Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Friends, we will not always receive the answers to prayer that we want. We may not even be aware when our prayers are answered, but we can rest in solid assurance that our faith in the Lord will be rewarded according to the will of God, and that in the end we will find our reward. That if we approach God authentically, laying our fears and our troubles at His feet, there we will find our refuge.

Point Two:

Refuge in God is Just and Holy (Verses 4-6)

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot dwell with you. The boastful cannot stand in your sight; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who tell lies; the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.”

I know its sadly not true for everyone on every day, but I hope that in the same way I find my own home to be a refuge at the end of a long trip, you do as well. Not only do I love being home because of what is there, but I also love being home because of what is not there. For the most part I cannot bring my job home, the neighbors would definitely complain if I tried.

And just as I exclude from my home the things I do not wish to have there, God excludes the things that would make His dwelling place less that what He intends. Two things we know about God are that He is Just and He is Holy.

Looking first at the idea of God’s justice, I am not necessarily taking an approach that emphasizes the wrath of God, though that is very real. Rather what I hope to convey is that if God is all good, and if God is truly love, and He most certainly is both, then it is not possible for Him to be those things and to tolerate evil and wickedness indefinitely.

One writer put it like this,

“The overall argument is that, if those enemies of the faithful were to succeed, it would contradict the Biblical view of God’s commitment to righteousness.” (Crossway 69-70)

In other words, God cannot be perfect if evil is allowed to continue causing harm, unchecked.

And so, God is Holy.

Holy is a word we often use, but we don’t always really think about what it means. To be holy means to be set apart. To be set apart by God in order that we may dwell with Him.

Holy, then might be considered a status word of sorts. In other words, being holy defines the status of our relationship to God. If we are holy, we have chosen in favor of God, we have chosen to follow Him.

To present it another way, we are called in Matthew 5:48 to, “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”

Now, I don’t know about you but if the bar is perfection, I feel woefully inadequate by comparison.

To this point you might ask, well then what are we to do? How can we be perfect, how can we be Holy, if we remain sinners?

Well, I’m glad you asked because that brings us to point number three.

God Creates the Road Home (Verses 7-8)

David writes;

“But I enter into your house by the abundance of your faithful love; I bow down toward your holy temple in reverential awe of you. Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of my adversaries; make your way straight before me.”

Left to ourselves, the path back to our refuge with God lies broken, it is in shambles. The sin into which humanity entered so long ago has created a chasm so large and so deep, that it is beyond our every hope to cross it.

To cross it alone that is.

David recognizes that he is a sinner. Left to his own devices he is as bad and as wicked as those who trouble him. We all know David’s sin. The whole world knew David’s sin. And yet David also knew he could still find refuge in God.

It is neither by David’s greatness, nor by his righteousness that he enters into the house of God, but by God’s faithful love. We saw this in verse one of Psalm 4 where David cries out, “Answer me when I call, God, who vindicates me.”

For those of us who believe in and follow Jesus we know that over that sinful chasm, a bridge has been constructed. David had an inkling of it here, but not a full picture yet. He understood that by God’a loving grace sin could be forgiven, though he did not yet understand how. For David it was enough just to know that God’s love is great enough to make him righteous despite his sin.

Today, we know that that bridge, that starts with our choosing Jesus, provides the path back to God. We know as we journey across that bridge, walking faithfully with Christ, our sins are forgiven. That though we may stumble, and often do, we are faithfully being brought closer and closer to that perfection that Jesus spoke of in Matthew.

God did not set the bar so high that we could not attain it, and then leave us to our own squalor.

Instead, God chose to enter into the world, to take the flesh upon himself and through His self-sacrifice upon the cross bear the burden of our sin, creating the road back to our refuge in Him.

God lays out the straight and narrow path we are to walk with Him in holiness. He will carry us along as our legs gain strength, as long as we walk faithfully with Him. And here’s something important, the world sees it. David pleads with God, “Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of my adversaries…”

I think his meaning here may be two-fold, but I have to qualify that in a moment. Clearly, David does not wish to be drawn astray by those who would seek his destruction. And the more those forces see our walk with God, the more some try to stop it. David wishes to be led in righteousness so that he can avoid the snares of his enemies.

Now I also said I had to clarify something. I see in these words of David sort of two-fold meaning. But the qualification is this. Whenever we teach out of Biblical text it is vital to practice good exegesis. That’s a fancy Greek word for drawing out the meaning of the text. Reading it for what it says, not what I want it to say, or hope it says.

While verse 8 does not explicitly say this, I think the Psalms of David in general have a sense of wanting those rebelling against God to see the straight path that David is trying to walk. I think he wants them to see that it is a better way. Indeed the Psalms were used for corporate worship meaning they carried a message for whomever may be listening.

Supporting this thought is that in Psalm 4 we see this theme clearly when David writes, “How long will you love what is worthless and pursue a lie?”

So given this qualification, I think that in David’s words we see an awareness that he serves as an example of God’s goodness. He hopes that they might see that choosing God is the better path, the one that leads away from destruction.

The same is true today. We the church, are being watched. The world notices. Our children notice. And that noticing may cause some to turn to God as well.

If verses 7 and 8 show us the bridge home to God then verses 9 and 10 serve as a warning of the path that leads to destruction.

The Road Has Its Hazards (Verses 9-10)

David writes;

“For there is nothing reliable in what they say; destruction is within them; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongues. Punish them, God; let them fall by their own schemes. Drive them out because of their many crimes, for they rebel against you.”

There is a point in my drive home where it starts becoming a little more difficult. Usually right about the interchange with 84. The traffic decreases significantly, the lack of lighting makes the road darker, and quieter in a sense. The caffeine starts to wear off and I don’t want to have anymore because I want to sleep when I get home, but I also want to stay awake until I get there.

The fatigue is hard some nights. My thoughts begin to wander, my eyes become a bit heavier. I have to take care not to become too tired. Not to allow myself to depart, possibly rather dramatically, from the road home.

David’s evocative language here paints a picture of wickedness. Wickedness of men with deceitful hearts. Men who wish to draw people into their own darkness. We see liars, who have destruction within them.

But we should not miss that David here seems to be saying not that the lying itself leads to destruction, though it surely could, but that it is the destruction, the wickedness in the hearts of these men that leads to the falsehood of their speech.

It is the evil in their rebellious hearts that drives their rebellious deeds.

He goes on to describe their throat as an open grave. Their words lead to nothing but destruction and death. This imagery of the throat, so involved with the voice shows us the pathway to the very core of their evil deep within. Even the open grave that David mentions stands as a warning as that grave will be filled with the death of any who choose to follow the lies.

Expressing this idea one scholar writes, “With such people all the resources of speech - mouth, throat, and tongue - combine to achieve (and to conceal) the designs of the heart.”

Truly, we see no shortage of this in our world today. We are bombarded almost constantly with images and propaganda intended to drive us away from the truth of God’s word. We are told to focus on outward beauty to the sacrifice of our inward health. We are told to pursue power and wealth at the expense of family and community. Political parties of one stripe or another seek to drive wedges of division and hatred among us.

Or consider the algorithm driven world of the internet seeking to draw our attention. The industry of internet pornography feeding the flesh while it destroys the hearts and souls of young men, and increasingly young women.

Not one of these things can find any basis in truth. They cannot yield good fruit.

And yet, the world would be very happy for you to partake just a little. And then a little more.

Now when we read the Psalms its sometimes tempting to get an impression that David is speaking in binaries, that the world is black and white. Some are evil and some are good. But I don’t believe that is David’s intent.

And if we follow that line of thinking we will have missed the point. Because the truth is that within all of us, there is still the temptation to sin.

In Romans three Paul reminds us that, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” He goes on to say of all people Jew and Gentile alike, “Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues.”

Now Paul may seem a little harsh but he is saying the same thing that David said 2000 years or so before. We are all sinners, and while we who follow Christ are justified in Him, we must guard our hearts, something Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount.

There is no shortage of wisdom in that sermon, and underlying all of it is the need to ensure the purity of our hearts. Matthew 5:21 through the end of the chapter contains what are known as the “Six Antithesis.”

This section features six specific sins the people have been warned against in the Law. But the way they have been taught focuses only on the sin itself.

It focuses on the deed, and not the heart.

Jesus is telling the people to safeguard their hearts against the anger that may lead to violence or even murder. He tells them, and us to lay down our anger, to make amends with our enemies so that the heart can be made pure and the worst of violence never allowed to propagate.

He points to adultery telling the people not to allow even the first bit of lust into their hearts. In fact Jesus sets the bar exceedingly high. He tells them that to even look with lustful eyes at a person who is not your spouse is equivalent to adultery.

Equivalent because it plants the seeds of adultery in the heart. And our society provides the water. If that seed is sustained by lustful images, or a wandering eye then it will grow. If we allow that small seed to mature in our hearts it will turn to greater desire, and left unchecked, possibly eventually to betrayal.

This is the destruction that David writes of here. This is the path to the open grave that comes from a deceitful heart. So be on guard.

Point number five;

Our Refuge is Found Only in God (Verses 11-12)

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May you shelter them, and may those who love your name boast about you. For you, Lord, bless the righteous one; you surround him with favor like a shield.”

Finally, the drive is coming to an end. We have once again steered the course home, avoiding the pitfalls of fatigue, misdirection, and state troopers.

I always start to feel a little brighter when I pull off the exit. The lights of the city wake me up a bit, and the anticipation of a few days off gives me joy. As I pull into our quiet neighborhood I settle into home mode, the worries of work for the most part, left at work.

This is of course, an imperfect analogy for the joy David writes of. Those who take refuge in God will, in the end, shout for joy. Undoubtedly we will face difficulties upon the road. Temptations will come, but for those who stay the course, who walk faithfully though imperfectly, God offers them eternal shelter.

Now, David wrote in an Old Covenant context. As I said earlier he did not have a full understanding of how God’s righteousness would lead to his salvation, he just trusted that it would. He knew that God’s grace would wrap around him like a shield, despite the efforts of his enemies.

I read a quote the other day. It was attributed to a Spanish Carmelite Nun from the 16th century, St. Teresa of Avila in the Catholic tradition. She wrote;

“When the Devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.”

And that kind of sums it up doesn’t it. Because we already know the end of the story. When I first started reading the Bible many years ago, I did what many a teenager does when cramming for a test, I skipped to the end. And while I don’t recommend that method, I can tell you that it’s good to know that our guy wins.

And this is the refuge that David could not fully understand in his day, but that we now know. Our God is just and He is Holy. And He means for you to be as well.

Our world is, no doubt, fallen to sin. And as such the thing that God created to be wholly good is separated from Him, doomed to death and destruction.

But by God’s good grace, by His love and faithfulness, that is not the end of the story. Because we know that He entered into the world in the flesh. In the incarnated person of Jesus of Nazareth. And from that seemingly humble beginning He would go on to teach us of the Kingdom. He would show us the straight path back to God.

And finally, He would be our shield against sin and death. Raised upon that cross He would bear the punishment for our sin, the punishment that God’s justice demanded. The punishment that in His righteousness, that in His mercy, He took upon Himself.

Folks, I love coming home. But it is my second favorite destination. Because I know what awaits me. I know what awaits you as followers of Christ. My home is my earthly refuge, but it pales in comparison to the House of the Lord in which we will someday dwell if we persevere, if we stay the course.

For those of you who may be lost, if you’ve wandered off the path for one reason or another, I urge you to seek Christ above all. There are many of us here today that would love to help you back to the road, or to help you take your first steps upon it.

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”

As we embark upon chapter three of Matthew’s gospel we now learn of Jesus’ cousin, John. Known as the baptizer for his ministry in the desert and for his baptizing of Jesus. Matthew provides little of John’s biography here, preferring perhaps to get to the heart of the matter.

John preaches in the wilderness, on the outskirts of civilization. His austerity, and role as a prophet likely make him an unwelcome distraction in society. His message certainly does. He calls for the people to, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

We must take a moment to understand what it means to repent. Weber describes it here:

The word “repent” (metanoeo) literally means “to change the mind.” However, a change of mind is suspect if it does not result in a change of behavior, as John made clear to the hypocrites in 3:8.” (Weber 33)

Perhaps we can consider repentance in the context of Jesus’ claim to Nicodemus (John 3) that in order to be saved, one must be “born again.” This term born again, or born from above denotes a realignment of one’s heart to be oriented with God’s word. Such repentance, as Weber points out takes place in the heart but is outwardly evident in the manner and conduct of the person claiming to have experienced such a change of heart.

In 3:8 John will make clear that the “brood of vipers” are hypocrites who say the correct words, and pray the correct prayers but show little proof of Godly focus in their deeds and treatment of others.

Repentance necessarily is characterized by the fruits that are evident from it. And it is certainly not a popular idea as it requires introspection and exposure, possibly even publicly, of one’s own sins. However, if we have truly repented, and the Spirit is truly active within us then this often painful look in the mirror is a very necessary step.

John tells them to repent because the Kingdom of Heaven is now at hand. This term appears 33 times in Matthew’s gospel indicating how important it was to Jesus’ teachings. Weber highlights three important aspects of the kingdom as described in Matthew’s record.

First, it is at hand. Jesus walks the earth at that very moment. John and a very few others know who He really is, and the world is about to find out. His ministry will soon begin, with world changing implications.

Second, the Kingdom will exist as the church between the time of the first and second comings of Christ. It is in this sense that we as believers hold the kingdom within our hearts, and we project it outwardly upon the fallen world.

Third, there is a now and not yet sense of the Kingdom being at hand because the coming of Christ and all that will happen during His earthly time carries an eschatological story with it. In a sense, the people of this time will experience one of the most major and important steps in the events that culminate in Revelation. For the second coming to occur the first coming must precede it, and it is now here.

In verse three John uses the prophecy of Isaiah to bring light to his mission to, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” Like so many things in the Bible there are contextual and cultural clues that often provide more insight than a simple reading of the text. Even the making straight of the path carries royal implications.

In the first-century roads were often little more than well-worn paths. Certainly they were nothing like the paved thoroughfares we know today. On occasion however, when planning a state trip or other journey, a king would order the building of a highway for his use and that of his royal entourage. John proposes to do no less here, though not with stone or paving equipment.He seeks to prepare the people to receive the ministry of their Messiah.

“These roads were built by the king’s command and kept in order as the king required for journeys he was going to make. Then local inhabitants would be ordered to prepare the king’s highway for him. That is how John saw his mission. His preaching was preparing the way for God’s kingly rule, brought in by Jesus the King.” (Green 76)

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

The manner of John’s life, the austerity of his existence, stood in stark contrast to the religious leaders of his day. They lived in relative comfort and wealth while the people they claimed to serve lived in poverty.

John operated in the desert. Green suggests he was unwelcome in regular society as prophets made people uncomfortable. As we have already noted, John highlighted the sin of the people and called for their repentance. A message just as unwelcome in modern society as it was then. Even in our churches how often do we ever welcome the message that we are sinners?

John proclaiming God presented a stark and possibly damning contrast with the religious leaders of the day. He lived in extreme austerity while those leaders lived in great comfort. John represents the ideal spokesperson for God. Not necessarily in his austerity but in his willingness to follow God and to put all of his personal desires aside.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:1–10, ESV)

John the Baptist calls out the Pharisees directly, something they are likely not used to. He speaks of the wrath that will befall them in the end of days. He calls them a brood of vipers. This language implies evil and hypocrisy, and is used later by Jesus in 12:34 and 23:33. The religious leaders have become hypocrites, and if that were not bad enough, they are leading astray the people over whom they are called to be shepherds.

In verse 9 John pulls the rug out from under their beliefs in their Abrahamic ancestry. They rely upon this lineage from Abraham as if it makes them special somehow. As if simply being of that line assures their salvation in the Lord. But it does not.

“Religious observance and religious pedigree are not enough. The Pharisees and Sadducees had that and to spare. Orthodoxy is not enough. To be Abraham’s seed is not enough. If there is no heartfelt repentance, there will be no spiritual life for you in the kingdom of the Messiah.” (Green)

These teachers of the Law knew their task well. But they had forgotten the grace and love that was intended to accompany the Law. Their’s had become a religion of doing the right things and being seen to be doing them. But God does not require our good works. Even their own scriptures told them this. Consider Isaiah 64:6;

“All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like wind.”

How condemning these words would be to those who relied upon their own words and deeds for salvation. So too do they condemn us today. How many rely upon church attendance, the recital of memorized prayers, and perfectly sung hymns as if those things will provide their salvation? How many who rely upon their own works to earn heaven will be rewarded those terrifying words, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers.” (Matthew 7:23)

Verse 10 then should not be seen as referring to a tree that had earned its right to live on by bearing good fruit. Rather we should look to the fruit tree as bearing good fruit because it is rooted in good soil, faithfully serving God. The fruit then is not the product that earns redemption, it is the outward sign of the inner redemption. Our good works are the evidence of our salvation and our indwelling by the Holy Spirit.

19 “But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:19–23, ESV)

After a time, Matthew does not specify, Joseph is visited again and told the worst of the danger has passed. Now he is to take the young Jesus back to Israel. While Herod no longer lives, his sons hold power as Tetrarchs in four regions.

Though Herod held the title King, it was only at the pleasure of Rome. Following his death the Romans made gave each of his four sons the title tetrarch and assigned each a jurisdiction. To Archelaus was given the region of Judea. To Philip the region Iturea. To Lysanias the region Abylene. And to Antipas the Galilee. (Poole)

In the case of Archelaus the apple had not fallen far from the tree. Having inherited his father’s penchant for violence and cruelty, Judea was still not safe for Joseph to take the family. So he chose the Galilee ruled by Antipas, a ruler less inclined to take to violence. (Poole)

Galilee is a backwater of sorts. It has a largely Gentile population, though not exclusively. It is removed from the major centers of public activity and government. It is a good place in which to pass unnoticed.

Specifically they go to Nazareth, a small town in the Galilee. The town is not known for having a sterling reputation. The home of a Roman military outpost it carries the burdens of an oppressive occupation and many o duke negative influences attendant to an outpost of such soldiers far from home.

Matthew relates that His life in Nazareth will fulfill the words of the prophets. Yet, no such Old Testament prophecy is apparent. So what is he writing of here?

It is probably that Matthew is less concerned with the name of the place from which the Messiah will come than he is with the reputation of that place. He will come form a place none would expect, and many would despise. Green writes;

“A man from Nazareth was despised in Jesus’ day: it was an obscure town from which no good was thought to come, situated in ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’, and there was plenty of indication among the prophets that the Messiah would be despised.” Green

Matthew may here also allude to the prophet Isaiah, in this case 11:1. There we read, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Here the word neser for branch may hold a similarity to Nazareth. The verse itself is clearly Messianic. (Sloman)

Also from Isaiah 49:6, one of the Servant Songs found in Isaiah we read;

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6, ESV)

In this case Green suggests that with only slight modification to the Hebrew the reading may be something like, “‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and a Nazarene to restore Israel …’” (Green)

Here we come to the end of the first two chapters of Matthew’s gospel. While we find parts of the familiar Christmas story, Matthew sought to do far more than simply create our nativity scene. In these opening verses Matthew establishes the bona fides of Jesus the Christ. He states teh claim to the title Messiah that Jesus makes and fulfills.

In 1:1-17 we see the Davidic line in a genealogy that would have been readily available to the first-century people. We see Mary impregnated by the Holy Spirit in 1:18 and the fulfillment of the prophesied virgin birth from Isaiah in 1:22-23.

We see that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem in 2:6, also called the City of David for that great king’s birth there. We witness the baby Jesus, perhaps around age two, visited by the Magi who bring the royal gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh. Gifts that indicate Jesus’ royalty, but also the preparation of a body that would one day be sacrificed.

Finally we see that Jesus will come up out of Egypt, fulfilling prophecy and a Mosaic archetype. And we learn the the Messiah will be called a Nazarene as Joseph take said young family to that Galilean village.

Matthew leaves us no doubt about the claim he makes about who Jesus was, and is. He does not leave room for Jesus to be simply another man, or even another prophet. Matthew tells us this is none other than the Son of God, the Christ for whom Israel and the world have long waited.

“13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.” Mt 2:13–15.

Some time following the departure of the Magi, another angel appears to Joseph warning him of Herod’s intention to execute all of the male children under the age of two. Joseph is told to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt where they will find safety. Egypt is an enemy state of Israel in this time thus placing the family beyond Herod’s reach.

The flight to Egypt also creates an opportunity for prophecy to find fulfillment. After a period of time and after Herod has died, Joseph is again instructed to bring his family back to Israel. Thus the prophecy of Hosea 11:1 is fulfilled.

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11:1, ESV)

The return from Egypt also reflects Numbers 24:8;

“God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows.” (Numbers 24:8, ESV)

Matthew uses this journey to and from Egypt not only to show the satisfaction of prophecy but to show Jesus as the perfected archetype of the great Jewish hero Moses. There are indeed a number of similarities.

1. Upon the birth of Moses, Pharaoh similarly sought to kill all the male babies of the Hebrews and Moses was sent down the river to safety.

2. Later, as an adult, Moses will kill an Egyptian in a fight and flee Egypt for a time.

3. Moses leads the people out of Egypt, where Jesus will come up out of Egypt to lead the people

4. Evans claims that the Hosea passage is not prophetic or messianic, rather it refers to previous deliverance of the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Matthew then, likely uses the reference as a typology of what Jesus will do. God, through Moses, delivered His people out of Egypt, Now He will call His Son out of Egypt to once again deliver all the people. (Evans)

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:16–18, ESV)

In verse 16 we find the event that has become known as the Slaughter of the Innocents. While the atrocity is horrible, it is un-recorded outside of the Bible. This is unfortunately because it would have likely been seen as insignificant when considered in the brutal context of the time and of the atrocities committed by Herod.

Demographers estimate that there were likely about two dozen children executed. They were the children of lowly people in their society. They were neither dignitaries nor nobility. While their deaths are certainly no less tragic in our context, sadly outside of their own communities little notice was likely paid.

There is an irony in this event that eluded Herod’s notice. He was completely convinced of the scripture that foretold the coming of the Messiah. And yet, he had the audacity to believe he could somehow change the will of God with his own meager actions.

Herod aware enough of scripture to know who Jesus was and where and when to find Him. But so proud and arrogant to think he could outwit God and stop His plans.

“Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15, ESV)

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2

Unlike Luke, Matthew does not delve too deeply into the Christmas story as we now know it. He skips details of traveling to Bethlehem for the census. So too does he omit the imagery of a manger surrounded by angels as we so often picture it today. Likely the scene looked quite different from the somewhat sterilized version we see today.

The village of Bethlehem carries its own history. It is where we see Jacob bury his wife Rachel after she died giving birth to Benjamin.

“So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day” Genesis 35:19-20

In 1 Samuel we learn that Bethlehem is the birthplace of King David. It will be known from then on as the City of David.

“The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:1

We also learn from Matthew that Herod is the King. Recall from part one that this is likely Herod the Great, father of Herod Antipas who will rule when Jesus is executed. And yet, Herod is largely a king in name only, as he is appointed by the Roman overlords and can be removed at their whim.

Wise men, or Magi, come into Judea seeking out a child of whom they had likely learned from a remnant of scripture centuries old. The Magi likely came from Babylon and discovered the scripture as a remnant from the time of Jewish exile there. Beloved Christmas Carols and nativity scenes aside, there is no reason to believe that there were three Magi, nor that they were kings of any sort, though the latter is certainly not impossible either. (Green)

“These Magi from the east (2:1) were likely from Babylon and were culturally influential students of the stars, not evil magicians of some sort.” (Weber)

It is believed the remannt of scripture contained parts or all of Numbers. The prophecy in question would be contained in Numbers 24:17;

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.” (Numbers 24:17, ESV)

Weber highlights three distinct reasons for God’s calling of the Magi to the young Jesus.

1. The calling of the Magi, Gentiles not Jews, displays the global impact the coming of the Messiah would have.

2. The savior of the world indeed comes through Israel, but is for all nations.

3. The gentiles were filled with joy at the birth of the Messiah. This stands in stark irony to the rejection of the Messiah by many of the Jewish authorities and even the Jewish people despite their own scriptures being fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:3-6

Herod’s concern at the foretold arrival of his successor is understandable. But why were the people of Jerusalem troubled? Slogan suggest, rightly as we will see, that what troubles Herod will eventually come to trouble the people under his rule. Trouble that will likely be joined with violence and bloodshed. (Slogan)

In response Herod will call the Sanhedrin to learn where this child is to be born. The Sanhedrin replies by referencing Micah 5:2 as the source of the prophecy.

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” (Micah 5:2, ESV)

Micah’s prophecy was written about the time of the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. Impending judgement but future hope.

“7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.”

Learning of the arrival of the Magi, Matthew tells us that Herod summoned them to meet with him. Such a meeting would not be wholly unusual with foreign dignitaries visiting. Herod invited the Magi under the pretense of wishing to go and worship the child, though it seems likely they Magi would have been aware of Herod’s penchant for violence, and suspected he had other motives.

Between them they were able to estimate when the star of the Numbers prophecy had likely appeared. Here the traditional nativity scene may not be entirely trustworthy. Given the time for the Magi to have travelled to Jerusalem it is most likely their arrival took place about a year after the birth of Jesus. (Weber)

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:7–12, ESV)

Arriving finally in Bethlehem, the Magi are filled with joy to find the child they had been seeking. As Matthew tells us they present three gifts to the young Messiah. The three gifts may be the origination of the tradition of three Magi.

The gifts presented are gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold. A gift fit for a royal recipient. Frankincense for the highest of priests, and myrrh a substance for use in embalming. (Green)

Finally, their time with Jesus concluded the Magi are ready to set out for home. Before they can depart though, they receive a message in a dream that tells them to go home a different way than they came to avoid Herod.

The visit of the Magi, as discussed earlier, has the purpose of displaying that Jesus is for Jews and Gentiles alike. Here at the outset of the life of Jesus they represent the start of what will become a full circle moment of sorts when Jesus is again visited by a group of Greeks in John 12 at the end of His earthly ministry. Matthew intends for his readers to know that Jesus came for all, a revolutionary idea in itself.

Finally, the Magi represent a similar theme of trust as has been displayed by the young Mary and Joseph. They trusted in God when it appeared scandal had befallen them. They trusted that they would raise this child who would be the Son of God and the Messiah so long foretold. So too do the Magi display great trust. It was no small venture to set out from their homeland as many as two years prior.

Now, in defiance of Herod’s command, they depart not to tell him where they found the child, but in a different direction. For all they knew Herod could have dispatched spies to follow them. As strangers in a foreign land ruled by oppressive Roman overlords, and an installed king with a penchant for violence, to defy his orders was a dangerous game. And yet they trusted in God.

Here in part three we being to explore a familiar story. One we have all grown up with, but one that contains details and nuances we likely didn’t really notice. Let’s take a closer look at verses 18-25 in the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

”Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (18-19)

From the outset of verse 18 Matthew establishes Jesus as the Christ. The use of the name Jesus with the appendage of Christ is so routine in modern teaching that it would be easy to think that Christ is the surname of Jesus. But it is not.

The use of the word Christ by Matthew, is intended to show that this Jesus of Nazareth is so much more than a man. He is the anointed one of God. The King of the Jews. The Messiah. He is the long awaited Christ.

We will soon learn even more about the importance of the names applied to Jesus (even that one), but first let us look to His earthly parentage.

If we can place ourselves in the shoes, or maybe sandals, of Mary and Joseph we must try to understand the world they faced. Though we don’t know their ages, in first-century Israel the minimum age of marriage was 12 for girls and 13 for boys.1 While admittedly offensive to our modern senses this is the world into which our Savior was born. One in which life was harder, and shorter.

To be betrothed was nearly identical to being married. Upon betrothal a legal contract was enacted, a bride price often exchanged. After the betrothal the man and woman would be separate, having no physical relationship. Generally, each would return to the home of their parents. The woman to await her future husband and he to prepare a home for her. Only when this was complete could he return to take her into marriage.

It was during this betrothal period that Joseph found out Mary was with child. He had had no physical relationship with her, so this would obviously be troubling to Joseph. How could he marry her now when she had, or so it appeared, been disloyal? Better to simply divorce her quietly, than to spread scandal.

But then something happens that Joseph did not expect.

“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). (20-24)

An angel visits Joseph in a dream. It is interesting to note that Matthew does not record any angelic visitation upon Mary as recorded in Luke. Joseph learns he is to be the earthly father of a Son born of the Holy Spirit. He will name the boy Jesus, the equivalent of the Hebrew Joshua and meaning, “Yahweh is salvation.”2

In ancient cultures, names, especially those for people with great destinies, were a very important element of their legacy. “Names were generally believed to be related to the character and destiny of the individual.”3 There could certainly be no greater destiny than that of Jesus, and He had the names to go with it. Immanuel, Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, Messiah, to name just a few. All to make the clear and distinct claim that Jesus is the Christ the Jewish people have so long awaited.

In first-century Jewish society Jesus would have actually been a fairly common name. Not only because of its connection to the renowned Joshua of Jewish history, but for the hopeful meaning the name carried. Weber writes;

“This reflects, in part, the hope of Jewish parents for God’s salvation from centuries of oppression under a succession of world powers.”4

Matthew offers us another of the Kingly names of Jesus, Immanuel. Here Matthew is quoting from Isaiah 7;

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.“ Isaiah 7:14

The name Immanuel is translated “God is with us.”

Matthew concludes the chapter with verse 25;

“When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”

Matthew begins his Gospel with support for the virgin birth, this is not a later creation as some skeptics have claimed. He is consistently building his case for Jesus’ divinity and for being the Messiah.

From the outset, by use of reference to prophecy, contemporary naming conventions, and other methods, Matthew makes clear this Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. He lays out the main theme of the gospel. That of God, come to earth as human, to provide the salvation of Israel. Along with Israel of course, all humanity is to be saved. The first-century context of these words leaves no room to doubt the meaning of Matthew’s words.

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.” Matthew 1:1-17

Okay be honest, did you read it?

I definitely skipped it the first time I read Matthew. If you did skip it, go back and read it. God didn’t put it in the Bible if it wasn’t important.

In Part 1 of this series we saw Matthew’s Gospel described as a hinge between the Old and New Testaments. In supplying this genealogy at the beginning of his gospel Matthew further details that connection. The previous post also highlighted the importance of Matthew’s effort to demonstrate that Jesus is the true Messiah foretold within the Hebrew Scriptures. Again, this record is a part of that.

For the Hebrew people, a genealogy would have been very important. And while a number of things were passed on strictly via oral tradition, family lines were not. In fact the geneaologies of some if not most families would have been available at the local temple where such records were kept.

So important in fact were the genealogies, that upon their return to the land after exile, the Jews used these records to determine who would be excluded from the ranks of the priesthood. This is likely because their lines had been mingled with Gentiles.

Consider Ezra 2:62;

“These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.” (Ezra 2:62, ESV)

As another sign of their importance, the geneaologies presented a problem for Herod the Great. So much so that he actually tried to have the Sanhedrin destroy his. Herod’s ancestry, you see, was an embarrassment as he was half Edomite.

In the case of Christ’s prophetic lineage, it was told that he would come from the line of David, himself of the line of Abraham. Thus, showing this lineage is vital to Matthew’s effort. Consider the following passages with which Jewish society would have been familiar;

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.“ Isaiah 11:1

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land“ Jeremiah 23:5

From the outset then we see Matthew establish this most important of facts. The Messiah will be of the Jews, descended from David. Jesus, is that man.

Looking further, we see that the lineage in a number of ways represents fulfillment. There is a sense of completion in the way Jesus’ ancestry is laid out. Three separate groups of 14 generations appear.

From Abraham to David - 14 generations.

From David to the exile to Babylon - 14 generations.

From the exile to Christ - 14 generations.1

The genealogy further shows us the fulfillment of two promises that God made to the Hebrew people centuries before. Let’s take a look at each of those here.

First, God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 12.

“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

God made another promise to King David as recorded in 2 Samuel;

“And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” 2 Samuel 7:16

God is nothing if not true to His word. He promised to do these things, and as Matthew is showing the reader, He has delivered. Of this fulfillment of God’s promises, Michael Green writes;

“It sets Jesus of Nazareth in the context of what God had been doing for his people from the earliest days. It ushers in the theme of fulfilment, which is so prominent in this Gospel.” Green, Michael. 2001. The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven.

Finally, let us consider another point about the genealogy that lends credibility to it, and teaches us a little more about Jesus. If you read carefully you will find some familiar names, and you will also find some that you might not expect. There are in fact, four women mentioned with this genealogy. Considering the place of women in the first century, it is surprising to find them mentioned in so important a document. And what women they are. Let’s have a closer look at each.

First we have Tamar. We learn from Genesis that Tamar is an adultress.

“About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” Genesis 28:34

Next is Rahab, a character many of us likely heard of in Sunday School. We learn in Josiah that she is a prostitute.

“And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.“ Josiah 6:17

Bathsheba is mentioned as well. She of course is the wife of David’s friend. The one who David sent to the front lines of battle to ensure he would be killed after David had impregnated Bathsheba.

“And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” 2 Samuel 11:3-5

Finally, there is Ruth, a Gentile. Recall that intermarriage was not looked upon very highly in first-century Judaism.

“These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth.” Ruth 1:4

Ruth, Bathsheba, Rahab, and Tamar. Four women, each with their own less than ideal background. Certainly the inclusion of such women would be unlikely but for the truth of the matter. Yet, we can also take a lesson about our Lord and Savior in the histories of these women.

Just as the lineage included a variety of people with a variety of backgrounds, so too does the Kingdom of God. Jesus does not seek out perfect people. He seeks out people to make perfect.

Jesus represents a new paradigm in the world. In the Kingdom of God women are not second class citizens. No more does a checkered past prohibit you from glory. Neither background nor ancestry matter to the Messiah. He has come for all, and will readily accept all, who accept Him.

Now, aren’t you glad you read that genealogy all the way through?

Welcome to Part One in the series The Reformed Apostle. In this series we will be examining the Gospel of Matthew. As we go I will attempt to provide illumination and explanation of these verses.

For those who have been with us for awhile, you will note an important difference between this study and our previous study of John. Where our exploration of John was fairly extensive and in-depth, this study of Matthew will be less so. Not for a lack of lack of depth to explore but because as this series publishes I will be engaged in a course of study at the end of which I will likely seek a more formal role in bi-vocational ministry.

The product you will read here will be about the same as what I send to my weekly in-person Bible study. I send these as a recap of what we discussed. Some of it will be edited for easier reading and so that personal details from that ministry are not shared inappropriately. You will notice far fewer academic citations, though there will still be some here and there. Despite fewer deep dives into the scholarship, I hope you will find this study beneficial in its own way.

Thanks as always for joining us.

Please ask questions or share thoughts in the comments and chat boxes as you wish.

When beginning the study of any book of the Bible, or any historical document, it is important that one understand the context in which it was written. To do that we must consider the nature of the book itself, its age, its authorship, the audience to whom it was written, and the message it aims to communicate. Importantly, we must also understand the historical context of the book, what does the world look like in which these events are happening.

This we will do here in Part One. Thank you again for joining in this series. I hope you enjoy it, and more importantly, I hope this will help you take a further step in your walk with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Age and Authorship

Matthew’s Gospel, though appearing first in the New Testament, is generally considered to have been the second completed gospel. With scholars generally placing its completion in the 60s - 70s AD, it is preceded only by Mark, written in the 50s-60s AD.1

Records of Matthew’s Gospel in use in the early church come from Irenaeus, one of the second century church father’s. In his Against Heresies he wrote of its use, “while Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel and founding the church in Rome.”2

There is some controversy over the dating of Matthew as he records Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the temple. If Matthew was written toward the earlier end of scholarly thought, about 45-60 A.D. then this would require something known as “predictive prophecy,” as the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.

This however, does not seem like it should be an issue for a book that references prophecy of Christ nearly 60 times. If Matthew is using the “predictive prophecy” of the Old Testament to argue that Jesus is the Messiah, it would be inconsistent to disallow the record of Jesus from using the same means.

While some scholars raise certain doubts as to the authorship of Matthew’s Gospel, Gundry points out certain details that suggest consistencies uniquely noteworthy to a former tax collector. Among these he highlights Jesus’ paying of the temple tax (17:24-27), and the use of Matthew’s apostolic name versus the name Levi in Mark and Luke. Gundry writes, “These incidental details may well give telltale indications of Matthean authorship and thus support the early church tradition.”3

The Historical Context and the Audience

Assuming for our purposes a completion date of roughly 60-70 A.D. Matthew is writing primarily to a Jewish audience. This would be about 30 years after the earthly ministry of Christ had ended.

The last Biblical book of the Old Testament came from the prophet Micah circa 430 B.C. Following this prophetic work the Jewish world met with four hundred years of silence from God. Prior to and during this time of silence, the Jewish people experience great trial and upheaval.

Let us take a brief look at a timeline of sorts of the Jewish people from about 500 years before the events recorded in Matthew, to greater understand the perspective of Jews receiving the Good News of Christ.

• In 536 B.C. the Jewish people are released from Persian captivity. Though still under Persian rule they are allowed to return to their homeland and to worship freely.

• In 333 B.C. Alexander the Great overthrew the Persians extending the breadth of the Greek empire. This had the effect of increasing the geographical range of the Hebrew language, a factor that would greatly increase the rate of transmission of the Gospel.

• 167 B.C. The Jews successfully break away from Greek rule. Over the next century they develop the system of temples and synagogues we are familiar with in the New Testament. The Pharisees would come to control most of the synagogue system in which young Jewish boys received their religious education. Meanwhile the Sadducees became, “the more politically-connected leaders of the temple system in Jerusalem.”4

• In 63 B.C. Roman forces conquered Jerusalem causing the Jews to once again lose their national freedom. In keeping with typical practice of Roman conquest, the Jews are allowed to continue in their worship practices.

• In 40 B.C. Herod the great was appointed to rule the Jews of Jerusalem and the surrounding Judea. He will be the Herod responsible for the slaughter of the innocents recorded in Matthew 2:1-18. His son, Herod Antipater will eventually succeed his father and will be in power when Jesus is tried and executed.

During this time, God may have been silent but He was not absent. He was preparing the world for a great new thing. The rise of the Greek language and the Roman system of roads would be the means by which the Good News of Christ spread faithfully and rapidly.

The Jews in seeming disarray, yearn for a leader, a king, a Messiah. They have suffered many false Messiahs, and abortive revolutions during this time. They are in need of leadership. Surrounded by warring Pagan cultures, they struggle to stand strong, to be the remnant. Their priesthood was failing them. But Hope was coming.

Within this framework we find Matthew. He writes to a people who are searching for Hope, though they misunderstand what that will look like. Matthew writes of the Kingdom of God, a community of believers and followers. Where the Jewish community stands upon the brink of shattering under oppressive rule, Matthew tells the reader of the long-awaited Messiah who promises to release the Jewish people from their true oppressor. But that oppressor is neither the Romans, nor the Greeks or Persians, but the greatest oppressor of all, sin and death.

Who is Matthew?

Sometimes referred to as Levi, the more common apostolic name of Matthew is the one we are familiar with. The Bible records that Matthew was a tax collector. Though we find little more information about Matthew we can safely assume his was a role that left him outcast and despised by his Jewish community.

As a tax collector he would have been viewed as a collaborator with the Roman occupiers. We receive a sense of the place such people held in the eyes of the Jewish people, and we can understand why. Tax collectors did not simply collect taxes, but were more akin to extortionists, lining their own pockets as well as those of their Roman masters.

Given this, we can only imagine the journey of reformation Matthew must have undergone to go from a position below even a Gentile or a Samaritan in Jewish society, to Apostle of Christ. An unlikely candidate for such life altering change, but that’s what Jesus does.

The Message

As discussed above, the most likely dating places Mark as the first of the completed Gospels. Why then does Matthew come first in the New Testament? Weber writes;

“It is no accident that Matthew appears as the first book of the New Testament. Matthew serves as the hinge upon which the Testaments pivot. Matthew is the gateway to the New Testament with the strongest of closing connections to the Old Testament.”5

Matthew’s ability to provide continuity between the Old and New Testaments highlights his holistic view of the two. They are not separate but rather a continuation of the ongoing story of God’s revelation and ongoing process to re-unite Himself and creation in Holy community.

Matthew will consistently refer to Old Testament prophecies in his effort to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. He will provide convincing fulfillment of each of these prophecies in his record.

In addition to showing Jesus’ fulfillment of almost 60 Messianic prophecies6, Matthew will point to the future. He will refer to the Kingdom of Heaven 32 times and the Kingdom of God 4 times in this Gospel. In so doing he points to the future for those who believe in and follow Jesus Christ as His church both in the temporal and the eternal.

Thank you again for joining us as we begin this journey through Matthew’s Gospel. I hope it is valuable to you. Please subscribe for free, and if you have comments or questions use the comment section or the chat.

“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever touching the bottom.” - St. Jerome

That certainly describes the Gospel of John. From the very start John hits the reader with soaring language that speaks to the divinity and eternality of the Word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcomeB it.” (John 1:1-5)

Within these five verses are immeasurable depths of theological significance, and yet they are so very simple and forthright. John pulls no punches in stating the nature of the Messiah. Nor does he shy away from the Lord’s mission in those few years that He walked the earth as man.

As he lays out his record of Jesus in the following chapters, John expands upon the truth of these first five verses with the words and deeds of the Messiah. All pointing to the truth that is so critical for each one of us to understand.

He answers, in these 21 chapters, two questions I once asked myself.

Is there a God? If yes, what does that mean for my life?

John answers the first question in verse 3. All things were created through Him. Indeed David wrote 2000 years before, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)

As the wisened Nicodemus approached Jesus under cover of darkness, even this Pharisee who stood to lose much, acknowledged that the things Jesus had done could only be of God. Which leaves us with that other question, “what does that mean for our lives?”

Again John’s record answers with teachings from our Savior Himself. Jesus came to be that light in the darkness that led back to relationship with the Father. Back to that communal life with God for which we were originally created. To know Jesus, and to follow Him, is to escape the terrible cost that sin places upon our lives.

Jesus is, “the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Not because He seeks exclusivity, but because He is the only one capable of offering it in the first place. He is the only hand reaching out to the drowning man. He is the lifeline, there is no other.

John shows us the love of Christ in His patience with the disciples, in His tenderness with the woman at the well, and His mercy with the woman caught in adultery. All of it with the sole purpose of bringing men into the light, into the redemption that He earned upon the cross, and into the resurrection that soon followed.

Just as Jesus knew Nathanael even as he sat under the fig tree, He knows you. He knows your deepest hurts and greatest of joys. And He seeks eternity with you. John’s record clearly shows us a Lord who desires to bring us back into the fold, to welcome us home as prodigal sons and daughters of God, as brothers and sisters.

The penalty has been paid, the bridge home restored, and now the offer is open to you. Follow Him.

—————————————————————————————————-

What’s Next?

First I’ll tell you a little about my own plans, as they will help you understand what’s coming in future writings.

Over the course of the next 12-14 months I will be undergoing a rigorous course of study with the intent of seeking what in the American Baptist tradition is called “local ordination.” This path consists first in completing a course of study and practice and then in seeking affirmation or ordination in my home church.

This tradition relies upon the examples of Paul and Barnabas appointing leaders in the churches they planted (Acts 14:23) and Paul’s instruction to Titus to appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5).

Where this course leads, whether to a greater role in bi-vocational ministry within the church I now call home, or something else down the line, we shall have to wait and see. For now I look forward to that journey making no claims about earthly destinations.

As you might imagine this course of study will be rigorous, requiring a great deal of my time. Over the course of the last year, the project of The Beloved Disciple has also involved rigorous study and many hours of writing. My original intent upon completing the series was to roll into a similar study of Matthew. However, it is clear that to pursue both would be an error.

However, that is not the end of our studies together. I intend to continue teaching the in person Bible study that I have taught for the last 8-9 years. The effort is rewarding in many ways and an important part of my own growth in ministry. As a part of that study I regularly provide written summaries of the material covered each week. These I will publish here.

These summaries will not be as extensively researched as what was in The Beloved Disciple series. I will generally work from one or two commentaries at the most, as opposed to the rather long bibliography that went into the study of John. The tempo of these will also depend upon my work, family, and study schedules.

While the overall product will not be the same as our study of John, I hope you will benefit from it.

Finally, a great deal of work went into creating this series. I am hopeful that in some sense it can live on. Over the next year or two it will be a side project of sorts to revise the posts, better order them, and perhaps find a way to self-publish the work. I have no illusions of writing the next best-seller, but if it can live on and be beneficial to another audience that would be wonderful. We shall see.

For now, thank you again for subscribing and for following along in this study.

Dave

20 So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

22 “If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

23 So this rumor spread to the brothers and sisters that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.”

In the closing verses of John’s gospel we find Peter and Jesus walking, separated now some distance from the group. A short distance behind is the disciple who had reclined against Jesus at the last supper and had asked who the betrayer would be. As we know this is the Beloved Disciple himself, John the son of Zebedee.

Peter has just been told of his future death at the hands of those who would persecute Christ’s church. We can imagine this to be sobering information yet Peter, the rock upon which the church would be founded, wonders about a fellow disciple. Perhaps we see some growth in Peter in this moment. He offers no boast of his own courage this time as he had before.

Absorbing the news of his own fate, Peter turns to see John trailing behind and wonders what will happen to him. Some question what motivated Peter’s question in this moment. Did he wonder why he would face so bitter a fate while John may not? Or was he expressing concern for a friend and brother, already looking out for those with whom he’d been charged.

Either way, Peter receives from Jesus what must feel like a mild rebuke. Peter is certainly not wrong to be concerned about the fate of his friend, if that is indeed the motivation behind his question. However, Jesus needs Peter to focus on the only thing that is important for any disciple of Christ. That is to trust in Jesus, and not get lost in the worries of the world.

This brings to mind, among many verses, Matthew 10:26-31, a teaching Peter must have been familiar with himself. And one whose lessons he had recently failed to apply.

26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. 28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

As He taught in Matthew, Jesus now reminds Peter that the only thing upon which a disciple of Christ must focus, is on following Jesus. Here then is the answer to Peter’s question regardless of the motive behind it. If Peter is worried about his own death, then he is reminded that following Jesus will lead to victory either way. And, if indeed he worries about John’s fate, the same answer applies. The world cannot destroy what the almighty has vouchsafed for Himself.

“Our Lord only checketh the curiosity of Peter, and minds him to attend things which himself was concerned in; telling him, he was not concerned what became of John, whether he should die, or abide upon the earth until Christ’s second coming: it was Peter’s concern, without regarding what others did, or what became of them, himself to execute his Master’s command, and follow his example.”1

Verse 23 serves to quiet a rumor that had begun to circulate after this moment. Some believed John would not die until the Lord returned. But as John clarifies that is not what Jesus said. Even in those days, good exegesis mattered.

Jesus here simply uses hyperbole to express his point. Peter’s one and only focus should be following. This is not an opportunity for eschatological insight but a reminder of priority. Were John to survive for centuries or merely another day, Peter’s one and only task is to faithfully follow Jesus.

Verses 24 and 25 serve as a sort of epilogue within the epilogue itself, and introduce a small and mostly academic controversy. Some take the view that these are not the words of John himself but those of another writer who made the entry close to the original time of publication. Contrasting these verses with 19:35 which carried a similar theme, Westcott writes;

“The form of v. 24, contrasted with that of 19:35, shews conclusively that it is not the witness of the Evangelist. The words were probably added by the Ephesian elders, to whom the preceding narrative had been given both orally and in writing.”2

This view could be consistent with something we discussed in the introduction to John that marked the first entry in this series. There we discussed that one of the possible reasons for the chronological disparity between John and the synoptic gospels may be explained by the theory that the gospel is a compilation of John’s writings. These would have been gathered together to complete the gospel in the form we find it now.

If this is the explanation then it is most likely as Westcott notes, the Ephesian church elders who made the addition. This would have been John’s home church at the time of his death. This view, “allows full force to the plural We.”3

Carson holds however that this view may be problematic as it suggests the apostle would require the endorsement of the church elders.

“It is hard to imagine in what context other church leaders would be providing a character reference for an apostle.”4

For those familiar with John’s writing though, the we used in verse 24 is not all that problematic. John uses this form for himself in his writings elsewhere. Both this gospel and his later epistles use this form. One particular example is the late night conversation with Nicodemus. Note the use of “we” from Nicodemus as he approaches Jesus.

“This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.” (John 3:2)

While the issue will likely be debated for many years to come, there seems to be little reason to question an apostolic. John’s style of writing supports the claim that these are indeed the words he intended to appear here.

In verse 25 we see an unusual use of the first-person singular in the statement, “I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.” The use of I in the verse would seem to lend to the apostle’s authorship of verse 24 but that is by no means conclusive.

What the verse does tell us is that Jesus’ many works are not exhaustively recorded here. Again referring to our introductory piece on this gospel, John’s intent was not to record every single teaching given or miracle performed. As he notes here such a task would be beyond the reach of any one man or any one recording. Instead John writes to a world that struggles with heretical notions of who Jesus was, and who He is even now.

John sought to remind the world that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. As a man Jesus thirsted (19:28), He wept (11:33), and he experienced anguish (12:27). As the divine incarnation of God Jesus is, “the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

The “I Am” statements, one of which caused the Jewish authorities to attempt to stone Him (8:58), and another that caused even those sent to arrest Him to back away momentarily (18:5), show the claim of divinity that Jesus makes. These claims are clear and understood, though rejected, by the very people who sought the death of Jesus.

It is also worth noting that of the four gospels, John records the fewest miracles. In fact he records only seven specific miracles which he prefers to call signs. This is for a specific purpose. It is not John’s intent, nor would I argue was it the intent of Jesus, to have the Lord viewed as a sort of magician.

Instead the recording of each sign served the greater purpose of providing for the occasion of Jesus’ teaching. This intent is not unique to John, but does seem to be more explicitly used. Yet, many other works were done by Jesus, as John here records.

Here ends our exploration together of John’s Gospel. This effort represents my third time teaching through John, and by far the most in depth yet. The work has been remarkably rewarding, and I hope that it has proven valuable to you as well.

In the next few days I will publish a final post including some final thoughts on John. I will also provide a preview what is to come for my efforts on Substack, and some of my own future ministry efforts.

I am grateful to all who have subscribed to this effort and I appreciate all the support throughout. Thank-you, and if you are joining us later in the series, all of the posts are published on this Substack and will remain available for your reading.

Thanks,

Dave

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them. “We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. 5 “Friends,” Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?” “No,” they answered.

6 “Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” he told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. 7 The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer clothing around him (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea. 8 Since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards away), the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish. 9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. 10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. 11 So Simon Peter climbed up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.

12 “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared, to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

I will never forget the experience of watching my children born. Both were unique. Joyous occasions and miracles in themselves. But the feeling after each was very different. When our son was born it was unmitigated joy that both he and my wife were healthy after a long labor. But with our daughter it was different. Joy of course, but something else.

Before we started having children my wife and I learned we were carriers of a genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis. We were each asymptomatic but there was a small chance we would pass it on to our children and an even smaller chance they would be symptomatic. The disease is complicated to explain but it comes with a life of pills, therapies, and often many hospital stays. A cure has not been found, and the disease is considered “life-limiting.” At the time life expectancy was mid-twenties to early thirties.

That number has thankfully increased with modern treatments, and our little girl has been quite fortunate in her experience thus far with no major complications.

When I imagine the disciples in this moment, specifically Peter, I wonder if I got a small taste that morning of how he may have felt. As I watched the nurses swaddle our new daughter, as they weighed and measured her, I stood it felt, on the precipice of something very large. Something that I felt entirely unprepared for. My wife and I were now responsible not just for the daunting task of raising a child, but for doing so as a very uncertain path lay ahead. And so there was joy, but there was trepidation as well.

Some time removed from His second appearance to them, these seven disciples must have faced similar, though much more daunting, feelings. The joy of their risen savior tempered by the commission with which He had charged them. They were to carry on His mission, and He would soon be leaving them once again.

Along with the magnitude of the calling now facing these 11 men, it would be fair to think that Peter carries the burden of knowing that when things appeared at their worst, he gave in to fear and denied His Lord. Thus the stage is set for a remarkable remembrance of the first calling of Peter, and for the restoration of his heart from the depths of failure.

It is easy to understand Peter’s impulse to go fishing. This was his place of comfort, something he knew well where he could process the events of the past few years and days, and what was yet to come. Some have suggested this return to their earlier vocation displayed some level of backsliding for these men. But John gives no indication that such an uncharitable reading is warranted. Doubtless, many of us have returned to those basic things with which we are familiar at times when we are faced with monumental circumstances.

In these opening verses of chapter 21, we see the disciples at the beginning of a very new life. One they could still hardly imagine. They have experienced a roller coaster of emotions going from the triumphal entry of their Rabbi, to fleeing in fear as He was taken to the cross. And now each of the remaining eleven has witnessed the risen Christ. As they wait to embark upon this mission there is still work to do in their hearts, especially perhaps, the heart of the one who would serve as their leader, Simon Peter.

In a sequence of events that mirrors Peter’s original calling in Luke 5:1-11, we find that the seven have fished through the night without a catch. Tired and perhaps frustrated, they are returning to shore at daybreak when they spot a man on the beach. The low light of morning perhaps making it difficult to see, they fail to recognize Jesus. But He knows them.

As He did only a few short years before, He tells them to lower their nets once more. Their obedience rewarded, John realizes he has seen this before and he knows who awaits them onshore. Surely John is not the only one to recognize the familiar parallels with the calling of Peter. And here perhaps it serves as affirmation for Peter himself, an opportunity to re-live an experience that fundamentally changed the direction of his life. An opportunity to start again.

We should not be surprised that Peter cannot wait for the boat to be rowed in. He wades to shore ahead of the rest to find that Jesus has already prepared a small meal for the weary fishermen. A meal prepared over a charcoal fire.

This mention of a charcoal fire, only the second in John’s Gospel must surely recall that other fire at which Peter first denied his Lord (John 18). But where the events around that first fire caused pain, this one will restore. First though, Jesus must see to their physical need for food, to their provisioning.

John tells us 153 fish were born in the net. Much ink has been expended speculating upon the significance of the number of fish. Likely though, it is simply a level of detail one may expect from a professional fisherman proud of the catch, even when he was not wholly responsible for it.

Jesus invites them to sit and eat and here John notes something peculiar. “None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.”

We consider these words in light of Jesus’ two previous visits to them. Visits that began with the disciples behind closed doors. Then fearing the reprisals of the religious authorities, they sought reassurance and comfort following moments of trauma and loss. They have no concrete reason here to doubt the reality of Jesus now sitting with them and yet the temptation to disbelief must have remained strong. The events of the last week or two have been beyond any imagining, and will take some getting used to. Therefore, the urge to ask, “is it really you” is at the least, understandable.

The eight soon finish their meal, but something important remains to be done. Consider now verses 15-19;

“When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Feed my lambs,” he told him. 16 A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.

17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

“Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

18 “Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” 19 He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”

Scholars are divided over whether the conversation between Jesus and Peter took place around the fire with the others present, or was more removed from the rest as they walked along the beach. While verse 15 would seem to lead into the dialog and take place around the fire, the later verse 20 provides more continuity and suggests the party’s removal from the group.

Milne, holds that the questioning of Peter was done in front of the others and served a public purpose. It served to re-instate Peter not only in his own heart but theirs as well.

“The breakfast on the beach leads to a confrontation with Peter, though one to which the others are apparently party. The public nature of the conversation is important, for part of what Jesus is doing here is to reinstate Peter after the public disgrace of his denials.”1

Regardless of the location, the import is upon the restoration of Peter’s heart. Jesus knows the man’s quality, but Peter needs to know it for Himself. How often do we see for ourselves that Jesus knows our true potential even as we reside in our own failures.

For the task and the life that Jesus lays before him, Peter’s heart cannot waver. He must be made to know the truth of his own love for and devotion to Jesus. The questioning, though painful, allows Peter to express these not only to Jesus, but more importantly to himself. He must feel the weight of his love for Jesus and know that it is real.

“Christ succours His erring disciple, and elicits by divers questions his thrice-repeated confession, counterbalancing, as it were, his error thereby, and making his recovery as signal as his fall.”2

There is speculation surrounding the use of two Greek words for love in this dialog. For the most part it seems likely that such distraction is unnecessary. Greek, the language in which the gospel was written has at least three words for love and they are used interchangeably throughout John’s record. Aramaic however, the language in which the conversation likely was held, has one. Thus, discussion of the significance of the use of each is likely of little importance.

Again, of greater importance here is the affirmation of Peter’s love for Jesus, not for the benefit of Jesus Himself but for the heart of Peter, and the witness of the disciples. They are about to embark upon a world changing mission. One that will challenge them, and require of them the highest of costs. They must be ready. Tenney writes;

“In any case, Jesus was seeking to probe Peter’s inmost purpose in following Him. The desire for personal success, eminence, achievement, reward, or even the relatively unselfish motive of doing something for needy humanity was not enough. Only a complete love for Christ would be sufficient to carry him and his fellow-disciples through the careers which awaited them in the future. Peter’s response undoubtedly was sincere. He had learned this time that he could not trust himself, but he was penitent and willing to obey.”3

Within the three-fold affirmation of Peter is a three-fold calling to feed and to shepherd. Peter therefore is called to minister to the church that Jesus leaves behind. We often speak of the church as a family, but the Bible speaks of the church as the bride of Christ. He does not mean to leave His bride in the hands of those who would neglect her. Peter is called to more, and so are we.

It is in light of that relationship then that Peter receives his command, a command whose burden we must not neglect ourselves. Peter cannot be the receiver of the wonderful news of the gospel and then simply return to the life he had led before, anymore than we can hide our light under a basket and call ourselves Christians.

Therefore we are called just as Peter is called here to minister in the name of Christ. This role will look different for each of us but at its heart are the same basic components. Feed His lambs. Shepherd His sheep. He is the Good Shepherd, the example we must now follow.

Peter’s restoration and call come finally, with a bitter warning. There will be a cost to following Jesus. All who follow Christ will be asked to sacrifice something. For many, perhaps even most, the cost will feel small. But for some, and here Peter is highlighted, it will be severe. Peter will once again have the opportunity to make good on his boast in 13:37 for he will eventually be called upon to sacrifice his own life in service to the Lord.

Knowing the cost, Jesus once again says to Peter, as He says to you, “Follow Me.”

24 “But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” 28 Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:24–31, CSB)

Once again we find the disciples behind locked doors. And here we learn something new about the scene of Jesus’ first appearing to them, Thomas was not there. Thomas did not receive the reassurance of actually seeing His risen Lord, as the women and the other disciples had. Nor did He receive with the remaining apostles whatever level of the Spirit that Jesus imparted upon them in verse 22.

Thomas is practical in his sensibilities. For the most part, Thomas’ experience has taught him that dead men remain dead. Despite all he has witnessed the last few years walking with the Messiah, the word of his fellow disciples does not convince him that Jesus could be alive. The fear and trauma of the event of His execution remains upon Thomas’ heart.

We do not know the reason for Thomas’ absence at the previous gathering. We do however, know that in the subsequent period the disciples had been trying to convince him of what they had witnessed in the risen Lord. To give his heart the same comfort theirs had already received. This is not the first time Thomas has expressed pessimism in the face of difficulty.

Recall that in 11:16 as Jesus and the disciples prepared to depart for Bethany upon the occasion of the death of Lazarus, the disciples were afraid to go. They had narrowly escaped stoning in Jerusalem not long before, and now they were returning to its outskirts. But of Thomas, pessimistic but loyal we read, “Then Thomas (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”

Thomas demonstrates something important here, as he did in going with Jesus to Bethany. In the depths of his despair, his Lord gone, possibly fearing for his own life, Thomas still follows God to this gathering of brothers. He has not fled, he has not given up. God is still the head for Thomas and though he does not understand, and disbelieves the testimony of his brothers, he remains. Such devotion and fortitude must serve as an example to all who go through challenging times and serve as reassurance that as we go through those times, even in our doubts, God still cares for us and does not cast us away.

Perhaps frustrated by the constant reassurance from the other ten, Thomas gives them an ultimatum. Unless he can place his hands into the wounds of Christ, he will not believe. The imagery is macabre, but it reveals the depth of Thomas’ fear.

He has earned the nickname “Doubting Thomas” but one must wonder if this is fair. The other remaining apostles had gone into hiding the evening of Easter. This despite not only the testimony of the women, but of Peter and John’s own witness of the empty tomb. The ten were doubters themselves right up to the moment they saw the wounds of Jesus as He stood before them that night. It seems completely reasonable that had Thomas been there with them that night then he too would have had the same change of heart.

And yet, Thomas’ absence that evening, though it extended his grief, serves to provide one of the strongest testimonies of who Christ is. When Jesus finally appeared to them on this occasion He knew of Thomas’ need for proof. He knew that the grief and fear were too much in that moment for the words of these brothers to reach him.

Knowing this, Jesus provides the evidence. John does not tell us if Thomas actually placed his hands upon the wounds of Jesus, only that in that moment, faced with the risen Lord, Thomas believed and testified, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas’ testimony here must not be dismissed. It is not, by our accounts, a repeat of a previously declared faith in the deity of Jesus Christ. He has heretofore only expressed human concerns. As noted above, he believed he would die in following Jesus to Bethany. So too does he express his skepticism in 14:5 declaring, “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”

Again, we would be mistaken to be too harsh in our judgement of Thomas. He was, contrary to his legacy, one of many close to Jesus who did not yet fully understand. Poole writes;

“But Thomas eminently declareth his unbelief, which argues him as yet much ignorant of the Deity of Christ, and having given too little heed to what Christ had told them of his rising again the third day.”1

And yet in this moment Thomas understands at last. Where confusion and fear previously dwelt, Thomas’ heart now recognizes Jesus as both his Lord and the God to whom he has been taught to pray all his life. He has gone from loyal though hesitant follower, to true believer.

The teachings of Jesus, His assurances of what was coming next, should have been enough to convince all the disciples. But a life in the world had made it’s mark and for them to believe a man whom they knew to be dead, would rise again was a bridge too far. Like Thomas, they were at the very least skeptical until they beheld the wounded Jesus before them.

Now assured, Thomas receives what may have been a mild rebuke, and we learn a lesson. We can rejoice at the resultant belief that came upon Thomas in this moment. But we also learn that those who would believe without the benefit of this direct witness of Jesus is a blessing.

We learn something else from Thomas and all of the disciples. Our Lord does not treat harshly those who seek evidence of His existence. Rather than casting them aside as fools, He yields in His mercy, to their need for proof. Something as true today as when Jesus walked the earth. If you are reading this and have questions, doubts even, understand that honest questioning is okay. Recall this teaching from Matthew.

“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest? 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Despite the opinions of some, faith in Christ is not something to be held against the inclination of the mind. The evidence for the existence of God, and for the truth of Christ is robust. If you presume otherwise I urge you to challenge this predilection with integrity.

In the closing verses of chapter 20 we find a bookend of sorts. Thomas has just declared the most important truth which every human being must attain if they are to have any hope. Jesus is Lord and God. In this we see the fulfillment of what John declared in his opening to this beautiful record.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

We learn then the reason not only for the signs John has chosen to record here, but for the many others that we learn Jesus did during His time on the earth. All these things were done that we might believe that Jesus is Lord and God. The He has come to redeem all who would willingly believe in and follow Him.

12 “But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

19 When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

The evening of that first Easter finds the disciples huddled together in a locked room. The room may perhaps be that in which they had recently shared a last meal with their Rabbi before the traumatic events of His execution. Though they have now heard the glorious news of His resurrection from Mary Magdalene, the disciples remain afraid.

John tells us they fear the Jews, and well they should. If the religious authorities could persuade the Roman authorities to have their leader executed then it would be no great thing to have His followers dealt with as well.

Into this locked room, assisted by none, enters Jesus. Does John emphasize the locked door as a sign of Jesus’ divinity here? It may be intended to display His miraculous ability similar to His passing through the grave clothes.

Jesus greets the disciples with the traditional shalom. The greeting itself imparts peace and well-being. But here it takes on a uniquely fuller quality for Jesus’ shalom now offers the fullest peace that such a greeting could ever be. The hideous work of the cross now complete, the curses of sin and death thus defeated, the peace that Jesus now offers is total and without fail for all who would have it.

Where John records His final pre-death words to be “It is finished,” Jesus’ first resurrected words to them are of the same peace He promised them in chapter 14, peace that the world cannot take away. And now, with the work of the Father accomplished, that peace is their’s to inherit.

If Jesus’ miraculous appearing here showed His divine nature, Christ now shows them His human side. He reveals the marks of the nails in His hands. Moreover, He shows them the unique wound in His side, a wound that of those crucified that day only He would have. One may wonder why the wounds remain in His glorified body, but it is not hard to accept that He wears those wounds not only as marks of victory, but in the knowledge that their presence will help to convince His forlorn disciples.

John gives us little idea of the joy of the disciples other than to say they rejoiced. One can only imagine the relief and wonder they must have felt, not only for their Rabbi, but also for their own well-being. From hiding in fear to rejoicing at the return of their executed Lord they must have gone through a range of emotions in these moments. Jesus once again offers them His peace but this time it carries another message.

Here in verse 21 we find John’s recording of the commissioning of the disciples. This time the message of peace is perhaps to prepare them for the work that they now inherit.

We will skip verse 22 for just a moment as we work to further understand their new vocation. In verse 23 Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

One could be forgiven for wondering if here the disciples are being given the ability to forgive the sins of others. However, it is only God who has the ability to forgive, not men, not even apostles. There is a suggestion that the most reliable texts point more to a difference between proclamation and absolution. In this sense then, the apostles are not providing the absolution but the proclamation of it. Therefore, we see the disciples given the commission to go forth and preach the gospel, and that by doing so those who respond to it will be set free of their sin.

Of this Milne writes;

“There is no doubt from the context that the reference is to forgiving sins, or withholding forgiveness. But though this sounds stern and harsh, it is simply the result of the preaching of the gospel, which either brings people to repent as they hear of the ready and costly forgiveness of God, or leaves them unresponsive to the offer of forgiveness which is the gospel, and so they are left in their sins.’”1

In the commission we find a sort of full-circle moment in the light of John 17:18 where Jesus said, “As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

Here then we see a fulfillment of these words. Jesus was apart from the world, existing with the Father, until the Father sent Him into the world in order to save it. In completing the redemptive work the Father sent Him to do, Jesus spiritually removes the apostles from the world. Now He sends them back into the world to change the world with the gospel.

Returning to verse 22 there are a variety of understandings of what may be happening when Jesus tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. Some have called this the Johannine Pentecost. But among other problems this would appear to make the Pentecost event in Acts 2 redundant. Surely John was not unaware of that event as He would have been a participant in it.

So what is happening? Some would read the verse as anticipatory rather than an actualizing of the arrival of the Holy Spirit. This however, seems to underserve the text. John recorded it this way for a reason. Other scholars seem to prefer a sort of two-step approach in understanding verse 22.

Jesus told them the Spirit could not come until He was glorified (7:39) and that He must depart from them in (16:7) before the Spirit could come.2 He was glorified upon the cross and now stands before them after having departed for a short time, therefore those statements, in view of His teaching, are fulfilled.

Thus, the Spirit may come upon them in accordance with what Jesus taught them. Hamilton holds this to be a private outpouring of the Spirit while Pentecost is the more dramatic public revealing.

“At Jesus’ baptism the Spirit came down on him to remain on him, and now Jesus imparts the indwelling Spirit to his disciples. At Pentecost the Spirit’s arrival will publicly announce the followers of Jesus as the people of God.”3

Westcott Takes a different approach suggesting this giving of the Spirit is preparatory and Pentecost is the fulfillment of that giving. He writes;

“The Spirit which the Lord imparted to them was His Spirit, or, as it may be expressed, the Holy Spirit as dwelling in Him. By this He first quickened them, and then sent, according to His promise, the Paraclete to be with them, and to supply all power for the exercise of their different functions. The relation of the Paschal to the Pentecostal gift is therefore the relation of quickening to endowing. The one answers to the power of the Resurrection, and the other to the power of the Ascension; the one to victory and the other to sovereignty.”4

Calvin approaches the question differently, still seeing a two-step process but one in which the giving in verse 22 is meant more to encourage the disciples until the Pentecost. He writes;

“the Spirit was given to the Apostles on this occasion in such a manner, that they were only sprinkled by his grace, but were not filled with full power; for, when the Spirit appeared on them in tongues of fire, (Acts 2:3,) they were entirely renewed.”5

Verse 22 strikes me as one for which we may never have a satisfactory answer this side of heaven. Thus we can only faithfully trust that in this moment something significant and necessary happened. Our Lord provided for these hurting and frightened men what they needed in order to carry out the commission that He had set before them. As He will provide those things to us, in the time they are needed to continue that mission as His disciples today. Ours is not always to understand, but to trust.

Hello, welcome back to our study of John’s Gospel. It has been a fruitful few weeks away. We took some time to travel to Northern Ireland to visit with much of my extended family and take a well-needed break from work and school. Upon my return, I had the privilege of attending a three-day preaching seminar where valuable lessons were learned. It was also wonderful to spend time with a large number of brothers all devoted to the work of teaching God’s word.

Now, we begin the final push in this wonderful gospel. We re-join our study now before the empty tomb.

11 But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. 15 “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?”

Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, tell me where you’ve put him, and I will take him away.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”—which means “Teacher.”

17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.

As we return to the empty tomb we find Mary Magdalene alone before it. Our CSB translation tells us she cries outside the tomb. Other versions translate the Greek klaiō as weeping, a word which perhaps better describes the depth of her lament. She has returned to the tomb after having told the remaining disciples of what she had earlier discovered.

What happens next is a touching and beautiful scene. One that could easily be missed. We may wonder why Mary lingers in the knowledge that Jesus’ body is no longer there. While all the followers of Christ shared a devotion to their Lord, Mary’s perhaps is unique. She is described in Luke 8:23 as having been healed from the torment of “evil spirits and sicknesses.” We learn also, that in that healing seven demons were cost out of her by Jesus.

Mary Magdalene has uniquely experienced the saving grace of Christ already in her own life. Perhaps it is this special experience that fuels the devotion which now keeps her firmly planted before the tomb, even as Peter and John run back to where they had been staying. Her reward for remaining behind will be extraordinary, presenting us with one of the most touching scenes in John’s Gospel.

As Mary peers into the tomb she sees two angels in white in the place where Jesus had been laid. One where the head had been and one at the feet. Similar accounts are found in each of the synoptic gospels. Luke describes men in dazzling clothing (24:2), while Matthew described their appearance as “like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow” (28:3).

Hamilton and Westcott each connect the appearance and placement of the angels as symbolic of the Mercy Seat from which the Lord met with the ancient Israelites as they wandered the desert. We learn of this Mercy Seat in Exodus, consider the following two section of chapter 25;

“Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat.” Ex 25:17–19.

22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.” Ex 25:22.

Of this imagery Hamilton writes;

“Now these two angels station themselves at the fulfillment of the mercy seat, where the true blood of atonement was sprinkled, blood that cleanses what the tabernacle and temple symbolized; the whole world.”1

If such imagery is intended by John or not we cannot say. Regardless, Mary’s sense to tarry at the tomb is rewarded with words of comfort from the angels, and a meeting she did not expect. The angels ask her why she cries.

Do they not already know? Or are the angels already aware of the joyous fact of Jesus’ resurrection so that they honestly wonder at her tears. Perhaps to them her weeping appears incongruous to the joy of the moment.

Answering the angels in the only way she could she now turns sensing another approaching. A gardener she assumes. He asks the same question, why does she cry and whom does she seek. Again she answers, offering to take charge of her Lord’s body. A plea she desperately makes though likely lacking the strength to complete the task.

The man speaks again, this time He uses her name. The veil is removed and she sees her Lord standing before her. Now recognizing Jesus she calls Him “Rabboni.” Does John here record the Aramaic to demonstrate the closeness between them in this moment?

We are left to wonder why Jesus tells her not to cling to Him. Perhaps because He has yet to ascend to His Father in heaven, He wishes to spare her the grief of His parting once again. Perhaps He recognizes the she and all the disciples will soon have to stand and do the work of the Kingdom without His presence.

He gives her here an instruction that must not be missed. He tells her; “But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

There is something extraordinary in these words. Did you catch it? Recall that in chapter 15 John records that Jesus moved from calling the disciples servants, to calling them friends. At that point something had changed. They had become even tighter within His inner circle, now having full knowledge of what He was there to do. Here now, the redemptive work of the cross having been completed, He calls them brothers.

Brothers, members of the family of God. Then as if to place an exclamation point on this marvelous change, He tells Mary that He will soon go to “my Father and your Father” (emphasis mine). His brothers and their Father, a family relation that must not be missed as we study these verses because this is the promise. This is what John told us about all the way back in chapter one writing;

“But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” Jn 1:12–13.

These men and women who have believed in and followed Jesus are now adopted into the family of God. Full and complete heirs of the Kingdom, with the reward of eternal life in communion with God. What an amazing gift.

It is, brothers and sisters, a gift to which all of us even this day can, in His grace, make our claim. Not through any particular work of our own, but through the saving grace of Jesus Christ who we have willingly accepted and followed.

What an extraordinary moment this is.

She returns now to the disciple and give them this amazing news, “I have seen the Lord.”

“On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!” 3 At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. 5 Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then, following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. 8 The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.”

What a fortunate turn that this Easter evening we will explore John’s record of the very first Easter morning. Before we do though, we must take a moment for a quick programming note.

I have recently gotten a little behind on my self-imposed writing schedule. Family commitments, church commitments and work have necessarily taken the bulk of my attention. In the next few weeks I have a rather challenging sermon to prepare, and I will be preparing to attend a three-day conference on expositional preaching which I am very much looking forward to.

The latter will require preparation of two short messages for use at the conference. We also have a family vacation overseas to throw in the mix. All this to say that after today’s post I may be absent for 2-3 weeks while I prepare for those other events and spend some time away from the keyboard, and airplanes, with the family.

As we begin our exploration of chapter 20 we do so with the benefit of looking back into the story, of knowing already what Mary would find as she approached that tomb, and the joyous news that would be revealed. But Mary and the disciples did not.

She approaches the tomb in early morning, dawn perhaps just cracking the horizon. But she does so with neither hope nor expectation. Her heart, and those of the disciples as dark as the night from which they are emerging. If not for hope then, why does Mary go to the tomb? And why on this first day of the week?

Each of the four gospels note that it is the first day of the week, instead of saying the third day since the crucifixion as we might expect. The explanation may be as simple as it just being the first day of the week, Sunday. Or it may seek to present that a new era has dawned. The death of Christ beginning a very new thing that the world has not yet known.

John does not explicitly tell us why Mary approaches here, nor does he say that she approaches alone. Indeed each of the synoptic gospels varies a little in their record of who goes to the tomb with Mary.

Matthew 28:1 - “After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.”

Mark 16:1 - “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint him.”

Luke 24:1 - “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.”

John 20:1 - “On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.”

John’s mention only of Mary Magdalene has been used by some to suggest a contradiction in the Bible. Their aim seemingly to be questioning its credibility. Such a reading is nonsensical at best.

With the exception of Luke’s record which provides no names, Mary Magdalene is recorded and she is recorded first. However, Luke records that the women had observed Jesus’ preparation and placement in the tomb and had then returned home to prepare more spices for use after the Sabbath. It is to these women that Luke refers in 24:1. John’s exclusion of the other women is in no way indicative of a contradiction that removes the others from the scene.

Further, there is suggestion even in John’s record that Mary was not alone. The presence of others on Mary’s journey to the tomb may be implied when she says in verse two, “we don’t know where they’ve put him.“ However, this could also be explained due to translation issues between the Greek and Aramaic use of the plural language.1

Other try to explain the discrepancy by suggesting Mary went first alone to the tomb, then finding the stone rolled away she went to the other women and they made a second trip. Again this option, while certainly possible, requires more of the text than the simpler explanation already discussed.

There is a further point of apologetic value to be observed in these seeming contradictions. In reading the gospel records we are looking at the words of eyewitnesses, in the cases of Matthew and John, or people with very close connection to an eyewitness in the cases of Mark and Luke.

J. Warner Wallace, a retired cold-case detective who has penned a number of books on the historicity and reliability of the gospel record, looks at differences such as these as a common theme in eyewitness statements. They provide credibility, rather than detract from it, because they take into account the varying perspectives each eyewitness will have had during an event.

He writes in Cold Case Christianity, “I knew from my experience as a detective that the best eyewitness accounts contained points of disagreement and that this did not automatically invalidate their reliability.”2

But why come to the tomb at all?

While Jesus had foretold His rising from the dead on the third day, we should not take that to be the motivation behind the approach of Mary on this morning. She, and all others concerned are clearly surprised at the open and vacant tomb.

Rather Mary now approaches the tomb on this day for a very different reason. The previous day had been the Sabbath, a day which traditionally placed restrictions on travel. However, tradition also requires the grieved mourners to be present at the tomb for the three days following death as it was believed the dead person’s soul remained present in the vicinity of the body during that time.3

Luke’s record may provide additional motivation to Mary’s coming on this morning. In Luke 24 we read that the women had prepared spices and later that they were now bringing them to the tomb. Luke even records that they wondered at who would roll the stone from the entrance.

It has been speculated, reasonably, that their bringing of the spices was to complete the preparation of Jesus’ body. While Joseph and Nicodemus had begun he process, it is possible that given the late hour of Jesus’ removal from the cross on the eve of the Sabbath, they may have been unable to complete the preparation of Jesus’ body before night fell. The women may come now to complete that process.

Returning to John’s record, we observe Mary finding the stone that sealed the tomb rolled away from the entrance. This would have been shocking to her as the stone itself was likely a large disc set within a sloped trench. To seal the tomb, the stone would be rolled down the slope with relative ease, but to roll it back up the slope would have required a number of strong men4.

She runs, presumably in fear of the worst, to tell the disciples what she has found. The robbery and desecration of graves was a common problem in the first-century. The aloes and spices used to prepare the body, as well as the linens having value to would be robbers. The problem evidently, was so real that capital punishment was prescribed by Emperor Claudias for the destruction of a tomb, the improper removal of a body, and even for the moving away of the stone rolled into place to seal the tomb.5

Learning of the possible desecration of the tomb the disciples Peter and John go to see for themselves. John tells us they ran to the place where Jesus had been buried. Running may have been an unusual thing to find a first-century Jewish man doing, expressing the urgency of their journey.6

In a unique, and slightly amusing detail, John tells us that he outran Peter to the tomb. However, upon arrival at the tomb Peter’s forthright nature takes over as John waits at the entrance and Peter heads right in.

Here we find another seeming contradiction, one explained in the same way as above. Luke records only Peter going to the tomb. However, we see again a reference to more than one disciple later in the same chapter of Luke. Cleopas and an unknown disciple are traveling on the road to Emmaus when they are approached by Jesus, though they are unaware of who He is in that moment. Cleopas says to the apparent stranger, “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.” (Luke 24:24)

John notes that the head wrapping has been folded and placed above the rest of the linens. To understand the significance of this we turn to Milne’s words;

“More significant is the way the linen cloths are lying. The head turban is folded up by itself, separate from the linen (7). The verb for folded up can be translated ‘twirled’. What John appears to have seen was the clothes which had been wrapped around Jesus’ body lying as if still enfolding it, with the spices adhering to them, and the head turban a little distance away. They appear undisturbed, as though Jesus’ body had simply passed through them”.7

While such a passing through of materials would be a new motif, it is in line with the observation of Jesus disappearing before the eyes of Cleopas and the unnamed disciple in Luke 24, as well as Jesus’ appearance in the room with the disciples despite locked doors later in John 20.

It is with his observation of the head wrapping, again neatly folded, that John “saw and believed.” We might ask why it took this long for John to finally believe. After all he had seen what more proof could he possibly require. But human frailty, including our understanding, can be hard to account for in the comfort of our studies these centuries later.

John had just witnessed his rabbi, his friend, and his Messiah crucified. Publicly shamed, tortured, and executed. He had witnessed the body removed from the cross. His world was in shambles.

I imagine John at this moment, peering into the empty tomb, a small smile forming on his lips as the realization that all he had been told would happen has come to be. Finally, his heart and his intellect coalesce as the picture begins to come clear. His master has never lied to him, has never let him down, even in the darkest of moments.

But even John is quick to tell us that despite whatever revelation he may now be undergoing, none of them have yet linked all that has happened with the scriptures of old. That connection is for the disciples, as with the Pharisees, yet to be made. For now, their faith lies upon the miracle of the resurrection, as it does of run today.

“For John, as for all the early Christians, the resurrection of Jesus was the immutable fact upon which their faith was based; and their faith in large part depended on the testimony and transformed behaviour of those who had actually seen the resurrected Jesus.”8

The Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is made full in the resurrection. He has taken the full measure of sin upon Himself as He hung upon the cross. And now He robs sins of its ransom in pushing through death and into eternal life.

This series is not an apologetic effort. Suffice to say though, there is significant and convincing evidence of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. If you have not yet come to faith in Him, take the time to consider the story of the Bible, and to seek out the evidence of what He has done for you.

Until next time.

“After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’s body. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and took his body away. 39 Nicodemus (who had previously come to him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes. 40 They took Jesus’s body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the fragrant spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. 42 They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.” Jn 19:38–42.

John closes chapter 19 showing us the response of two seemingly unlikely followers of Christ, or at the very least sympathizers. Joseph of Arimathea, a Pharisee about whom we have heard nothing to this point approaches Pilate requesting permission to remove the body of Christ and to see it properly entombed.

John tells us that Joseph has been a disciple of Jesus but kept it secret for fear of the murderous zealotry of his brethren. So devoted are they to the extinguishing of the nuisance making Nazarene that Joseph fears for his own life if he is revealed to be a follower. A fear that certainly has some legitimacy given the previous willingness of Caiphas to have not only Jesus but the resurrected Lazarus put to death (John 12:10-11).

All four gospels mention Joseph of Arimathea. Matthew calls him “a rich man” and tells us he “had also become a disciple of Jesus,” (Matthew 27:57) but makes no mention of his role on the Sanhedrin. In Mark 15:43 we learn that Joseph is “a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God.” Finally, Luke describes Joseph thusly, “a good and righteous man named Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, 51 who had not agreed with their plan and action. He was from Arimathea, a Judean town, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God.” (Luke 23:50–51, CSB)

As in days of old, the rebellion and shortsightedness of the religious authorities is not unanimous. Perhaps Joseph is in some sense, the equivalent of the remnant of the Old Testament, the few among the Hebrew people who choose to follow God despite the actions of the many or the powerful. Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned only here in the story of Jesus. We learn he is not a perfect man, allowing his fear to keep his faith hidden.

However, we also learn that at this final point of outrage, when he has witnessed the Sanhedrin’s disregard for law and scripture, their hands red with the blood of this innocent man, Joseph can no longer hide his fear. He must act now in the only way that he can, despite what consequences may come. He can see to the proper burial of Jesus.

That Joseph features in all four gospels despite the frailty of his fear shows that even our most meager and imperfect service to our Lord is of monumental importance to Him. It is also a telling contrast with the fear displayed by the 11 remaining apostles.

Consider that in their fear they fled from Jesus and into hiding, notwithstanding John’s presence at the cross, while here Joseph boldly presents himself before Pilate to request to remove and bury the body of an alleged rebel.

Along with Joseph we find another Pharisee, likely a member of the Sanhedrin himself, and someone whom we have already met briefly many chapters before. The teacher Nicodemus, who had approached Jesus under cover of night in chapter three, now assists Joseph in the burial of Christ.

The spices he brings are intended to lessen the smells of decay rather than to preserve the body. Jewish burial custom was a two-step process in which the body received a first burial in a tomb while the soft tissues were allowed to decay. After about a year the remaining bones would then be removed to an ossuary for final burial. Carson describes the use of the spices as follows;

“As used by Egyptians in embalming, myrrh was a fragrant resin. The Jews turned it into powdered form, and mixed it with aloes, a powder of aromatic sandalwood. The mixture provided a pleasant fragrance in a variety of circumstances (e.g. Ps. 45:8; Pr. 7:17; Song 4:14). Used in connection with burial, its purpose was not to embalm (since the Jews did not remove internal organs and fill the space with spices, as the Egyptians did) but to stifle the smell of putrefaction.”1

Here John supplies a perhaps unexpected level of detail. He tells us that Nicodemus brings 75 pounds of myrrh and aloe to prepare the body of Jesus for burial. Westcott argues the amount is not excessive but what one might expect to prepare a normal man’s body.2 In considering this it might be worth noting that in the first-century the Roman pound was only 12 oz. versus our modern 16 which reduces the amount some by comparison.

However, Milne assigns greater significance to the amount brought by Nicodemus. He writes;

“The weight is recorded by John, and it is significant. Seventy-five pounds (thirty-four kilos) was far more than normally used. The only occasion when such amounts were used was specifically at the burial of kings.”3

Milne, in my opinion, holds the stronger argument.

What then are we to make of Nicodemus’ generosity, and the significance if indeed Milne is correct?

Combined with the rich gifts which themselves recall those given to Christ at His birth, the courage of Nicodemus to join Joseph in this highly visible act of kindness is important. At the lowest level it may show a general disgust with the actions of the Sanhedrin. More likely though, it appears to display an outpouring of devotion to the Lord. We cannot know for certain the motives of Nicodemus, but I suspect he had come to believe in Christ as His savior.

Verse 41 again holds a level of detail that must not be overlooked. We are told that Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, owns the tomb. We can assume then from history that it is a space hewn into the rock, likely with space for more than one body. This tomb however, remains unused. Two purposes are served here. In the first we see that if the tomb holds only the body of Jesus, then its emptiness on the third day makes sense.

Another detail that John surprisingly does not point out here is that this tomb fulfills another piece of prophecy written about our Lord’s burial. Consider Isaiah 53:9;

“He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

but he was with a rich man at his death,

because he had done no violence

and had not spoken deceitfully.”

Roman custom would have been to allow the body to rot upon the cross. The Jewish authorities certainly would not have wished for a traitor and blasphemer to be buried among their own. Thus we see that though Jesus should by custom have expected a grave with the wicked, He in the end received the tomb of a rich man. Of these two details Carson writes the following;

“From the perspective of the Jewish authorities, this was doubtless less offensive than burying a crucified sinner in an occupied tomb (cf. notes on v. 38); but the Evangelist’s concern is unlikely to have been to mollify their scruples. More likely his purpose is to prepare for ch. 20: if on the third day the tomb was empty, only one body had disappeared, and only one person could have been resurrected.”4

John leaves us a final detail that has recently become more interesting with modern archaeological discovery. He tells us in verse 41 that the tomb was in a garden. In one sense, the location of a garden has a full-circle feel. This terrible ordeal had started the night before in a garden. Now, He is finally laid to rest in another one.

Recent excavation in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have uncovered evidence of olive trees and grapevines. From the Times of Israel;

“Some 2,000 years ago, olive trees and grapevines likely grew on the land where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem stands today, new archaeological excavations at the site have revealed.”5

Certainly this does not amount to evidence, yet it provides some amount of credibility to John’s account.

Here John ends chapter 19, and His record of the death and burial of our Lord. Certainly a somber place to end, and fitting as we will soon celebrate Good Friday. Yet we as people of faith in Christ look forward with great hope.

This week I am reminded of the importance of this hope. A friend and sister-in-Christ with whom I have walked through tragedy in her life, and now great illness, passed away last week. As I prepare to conduct her memorial service I have had the opportunity to reflect on the importance of the Gospel in our lives, and in the lives of those who mourn. I will leave you with the scripture that I intend to speak on in a few days in the hope it will offer you hope in the assurance of the grace, mercy, and eternal love of Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2

“Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that their bodies be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. 33 When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35 He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. 36 For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken., 37 Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the one they pierced.”

Before we begin our study of verses 31-37, consider the prophetic words of Isaiah 53:5;

“But he was pierced because of our rebellion,

crushed because of our iniquities;

punishment for our peace was on him,

and we are healed by his wounds.”

From the beginning of this process there has been a sense of urgency to get Jesus upon the cross. The religious authorities want to see Him and His influence removed permanently.

Our Lord has given up His life. While none could take it against His will, He has willingly breathed His last for our sake. But the insult to His earthly body is not enough for them.

Because the Sabbath begins that evening, and this being the beginning of Passover, the urgency to hasten His passing, of which they were not yet aware, is especially acute. They cannot have the bodies hanging upon the cross after sundown. Normal Roman custom would be to leave the victims on the cross until they died, hurrying their passing was only for special circumstances. The Jewish authorities make one more request of Pilate.

Crucifixion is an especially torturous form of execution in part because of the prolonged agony. As a victim hangs from the cross he is forced to use the arms and legs to pull and push himself up in order to relieve the pressure upon the diaphragm and chest in order to take a breath. Each breath is exhausting and agonizing. With each pull and push of the arms and legs, the severe injuries of being nailed in place further aggravate the trauma imposed upon the body.

But life is a hard thing to give up, and the crucified men continue to cling to it, breath after agonizing breath. To hurry the process along the Jewish authorities request of Pilate that the soldiers break the legs of the men. Doing so will make the pushing almost impossible, hastening their deaths.

And yet, as the soldiers go about their work first breaking the legs of one of the other men, they approach Jesus and find that He is already dead. His passing may have occurred faster due to the second flogging received in Pilate’s effort to appease the Jewish authorities, or simply because the Lord, recognizing His work was completed, chose that moment to die.

Though both thoughts can be simultaneously true, Poole favors the latter writing;

“It is very possible in a natural course, that of three men dying in the same manner, one may die sooner than another; but it is but rationally presumed, that the cause of our Saviour’s quicker death, was not the failure of his spirits sooner, but his own voluntary surrender of his soul.”1

The death of Jesus earlier than the other two men serves another purpose. We often, and rightly so, refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb. Holding to that line of thinking we should consider elements of the sacrifice that is to be offered. Consider here Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12 which provide a particular detail about the offered sacrifice.

“It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones.”

“they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes.”

Consider also Psalm 34:20-22. In many ways King David is considered to be a foreshadowing, or archetype of Jesus. Thus much of what we read in the Psalms is useful to understand the nature of the coming savior.

One who is righteous has many adversities,

but the LORD rescues him from them all.

20 He protects all his bones;

not one of them is broken.

21 Evil brings death to the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants,

and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

Though they refrain from breaking the legs of Jesus, they still need to verify He has indeed died. Their method is barbaric but comes as no surprise when considered with the events of the day. The Roman soldier drove a spear into the side of Jesus. And here it may be that we find yet another prophecy fulfilled.

“Then I will pour out a spirit, of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.” Zec 12:10.

Here now, John recounts a very interesting detail. Both blood and water are released from the wound. Blood we may expect, but why is there water? Through time a number of scholars have tried to suggest a deeper theological meaning to the appearance of both blood and water. Consider here the words of Westcott as but one example;

“The issuing of the blood and water from His side must therefore be regarded as a sign of life in death. It shewed both His true humanity and (in some mysterious sense) the permanence of His human life. Though dead, dead in regard to our mortal life, the Lord yet lived; and as He hung upon the cross He was shewn openly to be the source of a double cleansing and vivifying power, which followed from His death and life.”2

While Westcott is undoubtedly ann accomplished scholar, it seems a little grasping to assign such a meaning. A more naturalistic explanation seems appropriate and carries with it significant apologetic (defense of the faith) value.

The upright positioning of the body and the trauma inflicted upon it would make it reasonable expected that either pericardial or pleural effusion would occur in the victim surrounding the heart and/or lung membranes to fill with fluid.3 The observation of this phenomena offers a physical credibility to John’s testimony. Consider J. Warner Wallace here;

“When Jesus was pinned to the cross in an upright position following the terrible flogging He received, it’s reasonable to expect that this kind of effusion might have taken place in response to the circulatory shock He suffered prior to dying. These fluids would certainly pour out of His body if he were pierced with a spear. While the gospel writers might expect to see blood, their observation of the water is somewhat surprising. It is certainly consistent with the fact that Jesus was already dead when stabbed by the guard.”4

Carson offers further light on this detail writing;

“In tests performed on cadavers, it has been shown that where a chest has been severely injured but without penetration, hemorrhagic fluid, up to two litres of it, gathers between the pleura lining the rib cage and the lining of the lung. This separates, the clearer serum at the top, the deep red layer at the bottom. If the chest cavity were then pierced at the bottom, both layers would flow out.”5

John writes, in part, to combat mounting pressures from various heresies. You will recall from the introduction to this series that John wrote, again in part, to show both the fully human and fully divine nature of Christ. Having written his gospel after those of the Synpopsists, and considering the likely dates of completion, we can identify that John likely sought to rebut the claims of the Docetists.

This heretical group claimed that Christ was never fully human. Rather, He simply took on the appearance of a human. It may be that John includes details such as the blood being mixed with water, a detail that is now known to be a natural human phenomena, in order to demonstrate the humanity of Jesus.

In these final details of the crucifixion we find the remarkable fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The number of prophetic fulfillments throughout the life of Jesus is uncanny. Here John shows us two more, the unbroken bones, and the pierced side. The terrible price that was foretold has now been paid, yet knowing so much prophecy to be fulfilled already, we can look with hope to completion of Christ’s mission which ends not in death, but in everlasting life.

25 “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”

We open our study with a touching scene. One standing in powerful juxtaposition to the callous cruelty of the soldiers who sit dividing the spoils of their terrible work.

Near the cross, perhaps apart from those onlookers who are there merely out of curiosity or to see their desire for the death of Jesus fulfilled, stand the grieved followers of our Lord. One will have no difficulty imagining their mournful appearance.

John most likely here notes the presence of four women in addition to his own. We have Mary the mother of Jesus, her sister, most likely Salome, Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.

Mary of Clopas, or the wife of Clopas, is identified in Mark 15:40 as the mother of James the younger and Josas. Further backing the identification here of four women is that if the reading were intended to identify only two or three women, we would arrive at the unlikely conclusion that Mary had a sister also named Mary, something that would be at best unconventional in that time as well as our own.

Westcott writes;

There is no doubt as to the identity of “Mary the wife of Clopas” and “Mary the mother of James the less.” It seems natural therefore to suppose that when two groups of three stand out clearly in the same connexion, in which two persons are the same, that the third is also the same; and so that “the sister of the Lord’s mother” is “Salome,” “the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” This near connexion of St John with the mother of the Lord helps to explain the incident which follows, as well as the general relation in which St John stood to the Lord. The omission of the name of Salome, on this supposition, falls in with St John’s usage as to his brother and to himself.”1

Further, Matthew 27:56-57 tells us that present at the cross were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. This suggests then that this Salome is likely the mother of James and John and the wife of Zebedee. Tradition holds that Salome is the sister or half-sister of Mary the mother of Jesus, making John the cousin of Jesus.

Jesus’s statement to Mary that John will now be her son makes sense if we consider that Joseph the earthly father of Jesus has likely passed away, and that Jesus’ brothers are not yet believers (John 7:5). Thus, charging John with the care of Mary sees that she is provisioned for by a fellow follower of Jesus.

In this poignant scene, the Lamb of God in the midst of agony, taking upon Himself the weight of the sins of the world past, present and future, still takes the time and care for the well-being of His mother. This woman who so long ago said yes to God’s messenger, will not be forgotten even in His darkest moment. She will be taken into John’s home, cared for by, and caring for these brothers and sisters in Christ.

28 “After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth.”

Verse 28 might be read in two ways. In the first, John may be telling us that Jesus’ statement “I’m thirsty” is meant to fulfill one more item of scripture. That He is in effect only uttering these words for the purpose of scriptural fulfillment. The second is that the fulfillment precedes the thirst, and the thirst itself is not intended as fulfilling scripture. The former seems more likely than the latter but not in the sense of simply checking a box.

Thirst in this circumstance would not be unexpected. Indeed the torture Jesus has experienced thus far would leave His body begging for hydration. So we should not understand Jesus’ words to be for the intent necessarily of manipulating scripture to His will but rather of an awareness of a fact which was predicted long before.

“This does not mean his cry I am thirsty was a bit of manipulative histrionics: a man scourged, bleeding, and hanging on a cross under the Near-Eastern sun would be so desperately dehydrated that thirst would be part of the torture. But Jesus’ mind is so steeped in Scripture that he understands the relevance of the Davidic texts to himself.”2

The scripture referred here is most likely Psalm 69:21 though other candidates include Psalms 22:15, 42:2, and 63:1.

Finally in these verses we see a sponge of sour wine raised up to Jesus upon a branch of hyssop. Are we to read this as yet another callous act of cruelty or as one of mercy? Certainly the note of the wine being sour might lend itself to the former, however a bit of context may shed more light.

Sour wine or vinegar, despite its description, was a cheap, staple drink of the Roman soldier and likely something that was brought along for their own use during their vigil over their dying victims.3

Further, we do not know if the “they” who offer the wine are indeed the soldiers, or perhaps the Jewish people who had come to watch. Perhaps even followers of Jesus or sympathizers acting with compassion. John is not clear on this point.

Thus, Westcott concludes, “there can be little doubt that one of these, touched with awe by what had intervened, now brought in compassion the draught which had been offered in mockery before.”4

The hyssop branch itself is a bit of a vague reference. Matthew and Mark use instead the term reed in most English translations. Again turning to Westcott we learn that the “hyssop” can also be identified with the “caper-plant” which would have a stalk of roughly 3-4 feet in length.5

Some assert that here John uses the term hyssop in order to engender thoughts of Exodus 12:22 in which the sprig of the hyssop was used to spread blood over the doors of the Jews in the first Passover. This sprig is unlikely capable of holding a sponge, and to charge John with manipulation of language here is unnecessary.

The branch of the hyssop was more sturdy, and the end of the stalk, “could form a little ‘nest’ to cradle the sponge.”6 Thus John’s use of the term here bears no contradiction with the Synopsists.

30 “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.” (John 19:25–30, CSB)

“It is Finished,” the Greek here is “tetelestai” and, “signifies the full completion of Jesus’ work.”7 Here we see all the necessary pieces in the sacrificial work of Christ falling into place. He has done all the things required of Him by the Father. He has displayed perfect obedience even unto His own suffering and death.

“The cry should not be interpreted as the last gasp of a defeated martyr, but as the shout of a triumphant victor.”8

He has shown Himself to be the Good Shepherd, saving the flock from the great wolves of sin and death. He has proven to be the Living Water in that all who drink of Him will thirst no more, the Bread of Life in that none who partake of Him will ever hunger.

He has come to be the perfect Lamb of God upon whom all of God’s perfect justice is heaped, in order that we who accept and follow Him will not suffer the consequences of the sinful nature into which we were born. He has become the second Adam, redeeming through perfect obedience, the creation with the creator.

Finally we read, “Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.” Our Lord was not killed by men, He did not have His life taken from Him. Indeed, Jesus could even then have released Himself from the cross, saving His own life. But this was not the Father’s will. Instead, He willingly surrendered His life. He gave it of His own free will to accomplish that which He had come for.

“I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4, CSB)

“Then they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.

From the judgement chair, Pilate pronounces “Ibis ad Crucem,” you will go to the cross.1 He is turned over to four Roman soldiers who will carry out the sentence. John tells us very little of the crucifixion itself, for that we must rely upon the Synoptics, and historical record of Roman practices.

Christ is forced to carry His own cross to the place of execution. Does John intend here to recall the image of Isaac carrying the wood for his own funeral pyre? Some popular modern imagery portrays Jesus carrying the full cross. It is, however, more likely that He carried the patibulum, the horizontal portion of the cross only.2

This would have likely exceeded 100 pounds on its own. An exhausting load considering that Jesus had likely received by now the most severe form of flogging, the verberatio. Such a trial would explain Jesus’ faltering along the journey.

John records the site of Jesus’ crucifixion as Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. The term itself is a transliteration of a Greek word for skull which is itself a transliteration of the Aramaic for skull, “gulgota.”3 Some readers may question the naming, being more familiar with the name Calvary. Both are correct. Calvary is a derivation of the Latin “calvaria” which also means skull. This term was used in the Latin Vulgate.4

John records the crucifixion of two other men alongside Christ. While John does not describe these men or why they were being executed, the Synoptics also record their presence, and possibly their crimes. Luke tells us that they are thieves, one who repents and finds salvation at the last, while another persists in his rebellion.

Matthew and Mark use the word “lestai” to describe the men. The word most likely means “guerilla fighters.”5 This is the same word that John uses to describe Barabbas.

Much of John’s record of Jesus’ Passion features the fulfillment of various Messianic prophecies. This detail is one. Isaiah 53:12 shows that the prophesied servant will be counted among the rebellious, a common criminal to the eyes of the world.

“Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.” (Isaiah 53:12, CSB)

19 Pilate also had a sign made and put on the cross. It said: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the king of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”

In verses 19-22 John records a curious interplay between the Jewish authorities and Pilate. Victims of crucifixion would have been led along a lengthy route through the city in order that all citizens would witness the horror that was the wrath of Rome. This public spectacle would serve to warn anyone with thoughts of rebellion or other criminal activity.

During this gruesome parade the condemned would be preceded by a Roman soldier carrying a sign that listed the man’s crime. In this case, Pilate seems to have been taking the opportunity to agitate the religious authorities. Written in the three major languages of all those who would see the sign Pilate names Jesus “The king of the Jews.”

The agitation of the authorities is clearly shown in their response. They do not wish for anyone to think this man their king. Recall, they have already given themselves over to the sovereignty of Caesar.

They request the sign say only that Jesus had made Himself king of the Jews. They wish to paint Him as a usurper to their authority and that of Rome. Pilate refuses their request. Surely he resents their forcing of his hand when it came to the decision to execute Jesus. They are getting what they want and can no longer hold it over him thus, “the Roman governor found expression to the last for the bitterness which had been called out in him by the opposition of the Jews.”6

23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did.” (John 19:16b-24)

Finally, in verses 23 and 24 we see the division of Jesus’ clothing among the soldiers who had crucified Him. The casting of lots is recorded in all four gospels. This would have been a common, though merciless practice.

One has little difficulty imaging the callous brutality, and cold-heartedness of these soldiers who before their victims own still seeing eyes cast lots for the last of his earthly possessions. What does this say of their indifference toward God, of their complete and total turning away from Him in this moment, and in all of history?

John provides a further detail the Synoptics omit. We are told the soldiers divide the garments into four parts, each getting his share. But then John tells us of the tunic of Jesus.

The tunic likely would have been something akin to the ephod, a priestly garment. Exodus 28:31-32 tells us the “priest’s ephod shall be of woven work and so constructed that it not be rent.”

The tunic then was one large continuous item of clothing. The soldiers did not wish to tear it to pieces so they cast lots to see who would keep it.

As mentioned earlier, John takes time to point out prophetic fulfillments and here lies another. Of the tunic not being torn Poole writes,

“But there was something more in it than the soldiers knew; Christ hereby proved a true Antitype to David, who said of himself figuratively, Psal. 22:18, ‘They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture;’ by which he meant no more, than that his enemies loaded themselves with his spoils: those words which figuratively were true of David, proved literally true as to Christ.”7

“They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.” (Psalm 22:18, CSB)

As we study the crucifixion, considering these verses, the historical accounts, and other information, it is impossible for the believer in Christ to not feel grief over what has happened to our Lord. These are indeed difficult passages, but necessary ones.

Cyril of Alexandria wrote of these verses. As we close today I will share his words as he reflects upon the horror of the cross, and the victory it represents.

“They lead away, then, to death the Author of Life; and for our sakes was this done, for by the power and incomprehensible Providence of God, Christ’s death resulted in an unexpected reversal of things. For His suffering was prepared as a snare for the power of death, and the death of the Lord was the source of the renewal of mankind in incorruption and newness of life.”8

“When the chief priests and the temple servants saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”Pilate responded, “Take him and crucify him yourselves, since I find no grounds for charging him.”7 “We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever.”

Pilate returns the now beaten and mocked Jesus to the head of the mob. He finds no guilt in this man beyond having raised unrest. He acknowledges that the political threat the Sanhedrin have made Him out to be does not exist. And yet, the mob shouts still for Jesus to be crucified.

Pilate’s response to their shouts surely seems aimed at mocking the masses. He knows completely they cannot crucify this man without incurring the wrath of the Romans. Here the Jewish authorities now appeal to their own law. The effort to present Jesus as a usurper has failed but yet another path may exist.

A key reason Rome was able to exert such control over so many different cultures was that once they had conquered an area, they largely allowed the defeated people to continue with their lives as normal. For the most part, they allowed the citizens to continue the practice of their native religion, to follow most of their own laws. In many ways life continued in a somewhat normal fashion in those areas that did not conflict with Roman law.

Here then the authorities appeal to that fact by invoking Jewish law. Most likely they refer to Leviticus 24:16;

“Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death; the whole community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the resident alien or the native. “

The authorities claim that Jesus has “made Himself the Son of God.” This charge at the least, carries truth. Jesus has made no uncertain claim that He is the Messianic Son of God. What He speaks truthfully though, they deem blasphemy. Verse 8 tells us that when Pilate heard this, “he was more afraid than ever.” But why?

What was it about this statement from the Sanhedrin that caused Pilate to be afraid? Was he beginning to believe that Jesus’ claims about Himself may be true? This seems unlikely. Carson suggests another answer in keeping with Roman culture and beliefs of the day.

When the Jews heard one call themselves the Son of God it was taken as either a Messianic claim, or as in this case, blasphemy. The Roman ear, however, may have heard this quite differently. The Romans were a superstitious people. Many believed in what Carson describes as, “an ill-defined category of ‘divine men’, gifted individuals who were believed to enjoy certain ‘divine’ powers.1

Pilate had just had this man whipped. Perhaps he wondered if there would soon be a price to pay for that decision. In any event, we know that whatever fear Pilate may have experienced in this moment was not enough to set Jesus loose.

9 He went back into the headquarters and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you?”11 “You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

Pilate returns once again to question Jesus. Who is He and where has He come from? Does Pilate seek true understanding or is he squirming for a way out of this mess? He knows Jesus is innocent of any charges for which a Roman would care, but he also senses the Sanhedrin and the mob they have enticed, will accept nothing less than Jesus’ death.

To Pilate’s questioning Jesus remains silent, for the moment. A detail also recorded in Mark 15:5. We may wonder at the reason for Jesus’ lack of response to Pilate’s question. Perhaps, there is little point in responding when the die has already been cast. Events are in place now from which there is no turning back. The sovereign will of the Father must be carried out, and Jesus will obediently do so.

The silence is also noteworthy as it fulfills another piece of prophecy from centuries before. There is not space here for the entirety of Isaiah 53 (I recommend reading it though) but verse 7 is particularly important here.

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

Pilate’s frustration at Jesus’ lack of response to his earlier question is seen in verse 10. Does Jesus not know the power that stands before Him? Does He not understand that Pilate holds the power of life and death in his hands? This time Jesus is not silent, nor is He impressed with Pilate’s earthly grasping.

In reality, if Pilate were as powerful as his bluster implied, he would have released Jesus without fear of the mob. But Pilate, like all who have succumbed to evil and sin, finds his own hands tied. If he is to hold onto what he truly loves, power and prestige, comfort and wealth, then he is bound by those things. Two men stand in this conversation, only one is a prisoner.

Again displaying the full sovereignty of God, even in the most challenging of times, Jesus shows that the only reason Pilate has such authority is because God has allowed it. None can deny the brutality or evil of what Pilate is about to do. Nor can we deny the hypocrisy and the crime of the religious leaders of the mob. And if this were the limit of God’s sovereignty, if He simply allowed bad things to happen for no reason, then we may have reason to question it.

Yet we also know that out of this great evil, out of the moment the world will believe they have clutched their victory, the greatest work of grace, mercy, and love will be completed. Even in great evil, God can reveal the good. We may not always see it, the disciples surely did not at first, but it is there.

Again, Jesus tells Pilate that his authority comes only from above. Here he uses the Greek, “anothen” meaning above.2 We note this hear as it is the same Greek word used when Jesus speaks with Nicodemus in chapter 3 and teaches that we all must be born again, or born from above. The source of our authority if any, and the source of our salvation are from “anothen.” They come from the Father on high.

Before we leave these verses I want to share a few lines from Merril Tenney. I find they sum up the tragedy of Pilate. If any redemption at all were possible for him, this was Pilate’s chance, and he missed it.

“A study of the attitudes of Pilate thus reveals that he passed from perfunctory official indifference through curiosity to intense personal concern, and then, because he did not dare to act on what he knew was right, he gave way to hesitation, fear, arrogance, and bitterness. He was aroused by Jesus’ presence and bearing, but he was reluctant to conform to the truth as the occasion presented it, and so he lost Jesus altogether. The story of Pilate is the tragedy of unbelief.”3

12 From that moment Pilate kept trying to release him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s seat in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Aramaic, Gabbatha). 14 It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about noon. Then he told the Jews, “Here is your king!”15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?” “We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered. 16 Then he handed him over to be crucified.”

In verses 12-16 we find the expression of two tragedies. The first, that of Pilate, we have begun to explore already. Here though we may shed some additional historical light.

Pilate has been placed in a difficult position. Free Jesus and incur the wrath of the mob, of crucify a man he knows to be innocent. We have already explored some of the reasons Pilate will choose the latter, however an additional possible source of pressure is about to be used by the religious authorities now.

Professing once again his finding of Jesus’ innocence, Pilate is confronted with continuing calls to crucify Him. They now threaten Pilate saying, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!” There may be a greater threat to Pilate in this statement than is immediately apparent, for which some historical context may assist.

“Friend of Caesar” may be an honorific title that implies closeness with Emperor Tiberias, something that goes beyond the notion of merely serving Rome loyally. There are sources suggesting that Pilate had attained the title “friend of Caesar” and that he had done so through the influence of the Roman official Sejanus. However, some time before the crucifixion, Sejanus had fallen out of favor with Emperor Tiberias and was executed.4

It may be that Pilate now felt his position in the Roman hierarchy to be precarious. Reports that Pilate was now acting to release an accused usurper of Roman authority may place not only Pilate’s office at risk, but his very life should he fall out of Tiberias’ favor. Considered together, these are all pressures that Pilate lacks the integrity to face, he chooses the easier path, handing Jesus over to be crucified at last.

In the second tragedy we see this final betrayal of many of the Jewish authorities, and under their influence many of the mob. Look at what the chief priests say here, “We have no king but Caesar!” What a statement this is. I wonder if they even realized in that moment the gravity of it.

I used to enjoy a certain genre of TV show in which the series would begin with the main character being a generally good sort of guy. But over the course of the show we would see that character consistently compromise his integrity to achieve what seems at first a reasonable goal, perhaps to protect or provide for his family, or to achieve a noble end despite questionable means.

Invariably, the character descends into a place where he no longer resembles that good person we saw at the beginning. He has compromised on every principal to the point that he no longer has any but his own gain and desires.

This is where the chief priests now reside. They seek so keenly to protect their perception of their position and their power, to hold fast to their desired outcome, that they miss the reality before their very eyes. This man cannot be their Messiah because He does not fit their ideas, even though He is exactly what their scriptures foretold.

The story of the Jewish people throughout the Old Testament has been one of covenant and faithfulness. They have entered into covenant with God, and strayed on many occasions to their regret. Each time a small remnant has remained faithful, and God has always remained faithful. But here we witness another breaking of covenant for this “retort is a fateful utterance on the part of these official representatives of the Jewish theocracy, for it represents nothing less than the rending of the sacred covenant with God.”5

These representatives, perhaps men who began with a faithful desire to serve God, have lost sight of Him. They have descended so deeply that they now call Caesar their only king. He who would desecrate their own temples, and mock their God, they now declare their sovereign.

Brothers and sisters, we are not immune. We must remain on guard against the very temptation of the chief priests. Let us say neither that we have no king, nor that our sovereign resides in any earthly realm or office. Our king sits upon a heavenly throne and is the only one deserving of our loyalty, our faith, and our love. He is the only king worthy of our worship, our adoration, and our praise because He is the only king for whom no price, not even His life, was too much to pay for our salvation.