All posts by Luella Campbell

JOHN’S GOSPEL… CONCLUSION-36

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John 20:30-31 NIV
[30] “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. [31] But these are written 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 concluded his story but not Jesus’ story. As Jesus’ companion and eyewitness, he had much more to tell but…where would he stop? Jesus had said and done so much in his presence that he concluded, with a sense of wonder…

John 21:25 NIV
[25] “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

Was this just exaggeration or was John so overwhelmed with material for his book that he was forced to leave it there, a kind of open-ended conclusion and admission that he could have written reams more and never gotten to the end of this marvellous God-Man’s story.

So, John ends his record of the Son of God with a declaration of his purpose. The other gospel writers leave the reader to decide the reason for each presentation for themselves, but not John. He made sure that every reader would reach the conclusion he intended, and be faced with a decision.

Every person on earth, at some point in life, must face the question, “Who will you serve?” and bear the consequences of that decision. Since there are witnesses to God’s existence everywhere that no one can deny, the witness of creation…

Psalms 19:1-4 NIV
[1] “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. [2] Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. [3] They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. [4] Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.”

Romans 1:20 NIV
[20] “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

…and the witness of conscience,

Romans 2:14-15 NIV
[14] “(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. [15] They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them).”

Every person must decide about Jesus to settle their destiny.

To his credit, John intensified this witness by preserving and presenting the story of Jesus in written form. In this way, every reader is faced with a decision and a choice, to believe or not to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and to receive Him or reject Him as Lord.

John 1:12 NIV
[12] “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God… “

Throughout his gospel, John presents records of Jesus’ miracles as signs, evidence pointing to His identity. In every clash with His opponents, Jesus reinforced His claim to be the Son of God. Time and again, Jesus’ words matched the revelation of Messiah in the writings of the Tanach. John presented Him as the embodiment of truth, God’s Word, prophesied in the Old Testament, clothed in a human body. Like the lamp of David’s psalm,

Psalms 119:105 NIV
[105] “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

…He came to bring light to the people who walked in darkness.

John 8:12 NIV
[12] “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

… shining the light on His true identity and offering His people the opportunity to receive and live by His light.

John masterfully wove together the two strands of witness, Jesus words and His works, that provide the undeniable evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. In Jesus’ own words, the reader’s choice will decide his/her eternal destiny by believing and receiving or rejecting His witness.

John 3:18 NIV
[18] “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

So, John urged, read to believe so that, by believing, you will have life through Him.

1 John 5:11-12 NIV
[11] “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. [12] Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

John 3:36 NIV
[36] “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

You be the judge. Your life is in your hands!

JOHN’S GOSPEL… FORGIVEN – 35

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John 21:4-5 NKJV
[4] But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. [5] Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.”

Why did John choose to record this specific event among everything Jesus did during His remaining forty days on earth before He returned to the Father?

Uncertainty, unfinished business! Yes, Jesus had revealed Himself to His disciples after the resurrection. He had shown them His wounds, convinced them that He was alive, not just a spirit among them. He had calmed them with His declaration of peace…but doubts still lingered. What now?

They had treated Him badly in His hour of need. They had deserted Him, even denied Him. What did He think of them now? Were they still His disciples after such cowardly behaviour?

They had been instructed to meet Him in Galilee. Why Galilee? They were in Jerusalem. He was in Jerusalem. Why not in Jerusalem?

Jesus did nothing without a purpose and everything thoroughly.

Galilee was the scene of their calling…by the lake, away from father, family, and familiar things…into unknown and uncharted waters. The lake was often their classroom, learning the ways of their Master. Storms…the fear of drowning…bread and fish miraculously multiplied…a demoniac delivered…pigs drowning in their thousands…Jesus walking on water… it had all happened on and around the lake.

So, seven of the disciples decided to return to the lake. It was, for some, a familiar place, comforting in their time of confusion and uncertainty. At least some of them could do something they knew to do well…fishing.

John 21:2-3 NIV

[2] Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. [3] “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”

What a let down! Even the pleasure of catching fish failed them when they needed it most! As dawn broke over the lake a figure, shrouded in the early morning mist, stood on the shore. He called to them…

John 21:5-6 NKJV
[5] Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” [6] And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.”

How important that Jesus take them back to where it all began…to remind them of their calling. The scene was strangely familiar…a night of fruitless fishing, Jesus on the shore instructing them to try again. A catch so big that it threatened to capsize their boat.

Children? Yes, “paidia”, little children, little ones, by implication immature young boys.

Was this meant to be an insult or an honest evaluation of who these men really were? Why would Jesus view them as immature young boys? Their very attitude betrayed their mindset. They had returned to fishing, their old life, as though the years of interlude when they walked with Jesus, was just that…an interlude, forgetting that He had called and trained them for their life’s mission.

Did their failure disqualify them? Would Jesus need to start all over again, find other men and train them to carry on His mission? No, that’s not how He works.

How important that these immature young boys learn to think as Jesus thought! Nothing disqualified them from fulfilling His will except unbelief. They had to learn that He takes fallible humans, forgives and cleanses them from all unrighteousness, fills them with His Spirit, and sends them out equipped to do His work.

Jesus does not expect perfection. He looks for faithfulness and perseverance. Peter, always the ringleader, was tested and restored, not to perfection, but to the love of his Master that would motivate and steady him through every trial.

John 21:15 NIV
[15] “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Three times the denial! Three times the question, “Simon (not Peter, the stone, but Simon, the one who hears…but not necessarily listens), do you love me?” In this cryptic question lay the heart of his calling, not to success or fame but to love. Why love? Why not trust, or obedience, or some other qualification? Love is a motive so powerful that, when every other motive fails, love holds steady.

The same Peter, who ran away from a servant girl, would later stand before the Sanhedrin and fearlessly declare, knowing well the possible consequences…

Acts 4:8-12, 18-20 NIV
[8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! [9] If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, [10] then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. [11] Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ [12] Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”…
[18] Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. [19] But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! [20] As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

What if Jesus had blotted out every detail of Peter’s future by disqualifying him from discipleship? What if He had demoted him to fisherman for the rest of his life? What if He had sent all seven, and the other four not with them, back to their humdrum old lives?

Let this be a lesson for all who read God’s Word…that He is God, not man, that His grace takes care of every failure, all imperfection, all weakness… that His light shines through cracked vessels. No one is disqualified, despite the worst of our sin except the refusal to repent.

Like Judas Iscariot, remorse does not heal the breach, but repentance returns us to the place where the parting of ways happened. Let this closing story in John’s Gospel prepare us, too, to trust in the Jesus who forgives, restores, and heals the breach, and let us go on, despite our failures, to loving and faithful service of the Master who gave His life for us.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE WOUNDS – 34

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John 20:19-20 NIV
[19] “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” [20] After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”

If the presence of Jesus convinced Mary, what would convince the disciples that Jesus was alive? What would change the skepticism of Thomas into an outburst of faith?
What if He walked through a locked door? What if they met Him face to face, heard His voice? What if they saw Him eating a piece of fish? Would they believe?

John 20:24-29 NIV
[24] “Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” [26] A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” [28] Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” [29] Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

One thing above all else stood out to Thomas, convinced him that that it was really Jesus standing there…the wounds!

Thomas had seen the damage the Romans had inflicted on Him. He and his fellow disciples had seen His blood dripping from His hands and feet, the gush of blood and water from His pierced side! They had witnessed His final cry, His head hanging limply as the sound of His final rasping breath died away. They had watched as the soldiers lowered His pale, limp body to the ground and handed His remains over to Joseph of Arimathea for burial. They knew what real death was when they saw it.

Matthew Bridges’ hymn encapsulates the resurrection event in glorious poetry…

1. Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless king
through all eternity.

2. Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o’er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save;
his glories now we sing
who died and rose on high,
who died eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.

3. Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
RICH WOUNDS, YET VISIBLE ABOVE,
IN BEAUTY GLORIFIED;
no angels in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends their burning eye
at mysteries so bright.

4. Crown him the Lord of years,
the potentate of time,
creator of the rolling spheres,
ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
for thou hast died for me;
thy praise shall never, never fail
throughout eternity.

(Author: Matthew Bridges –
Source: https://hymnary.org)

Jesus took the wounds the disciples saw that day to glory, ever to remind His eternal family of the price He paid for our salvation.

Revelation 5:6 NIV
[6] “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”

Finally convinced, the disciples could relax. They clung to the hope, knowing that their MASTER was alive, that He  would always be with them…or would He?

Only after Pentecost would everything He taught them about the Holy Spirit fall into place. His real, physical presence with them would be replaced by the Holy Spirit in them…His “other self”, He had said, one exactly like Him who would be in them forever.

Unlike the occasional appearance of the Holy Spirit in the Old Covenant, who came upon people to empower them for a specific purpose, Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled in an event that restored the Spirit, lost through Adam, to all who believe in Jesus.

Joel 2:28-29 NIV
[28] “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on ALL PEOPLE. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. [29] Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

No longer would the Spirit be lent to select people for a specific task, for a season. He would come in a deluge of power on all people, regardless of artificial distinctions, to finish Jesus’ work of salvation. He would replace Jesus’ physical presence with His indwelling presence, to guide and mold all His disciples into His image. He would convince His people of righteousness, that one requirement for fellowship with the Father that Jesus gave us, witnessed by His wounds.

It’s the wounds that are the concrete and absolute proof that every child of God is righteous and fully acceptable to God. So, finally, the disciples knew, were convinced and believed, because the wounds told the story… “He is who He said He is and He did what He said He would do!”

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
[21] “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

JOHN’S GOSPEL… RESURRECTION –

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John 20:1-2 NIV
[1] “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. [2] So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

The pall of unbelief still hung over Jesus’ friends. While they hid in fear, Mary went alone in the pre-dawn hush, to grieve at the tomb, to think, to remember, and to groan in her despair…What now? What would become of all the hopes and dreams Jesus’ presence with them had aroused?

Mary remembered, with a sharp pang of regret, her past life…her pre-Jesus, desperate quest for real love. This desire drove her into the sordid life of a “sinful woman”, eventually to be invaded by demonic spirits that controlled her every thought and movement.

Would she ever forget the instant Jesus spoke the words that drove the demons from her, leaving her free to follow Him and taste the real love her heart had craved. Jesus’ love was pure, not using and abusing her. His was a love that embraced her and all people, elevating each one He touched to a new perspective of divine goodness and mercy.

Slowly, as daybreak brought light to the scene, Mary became aware that the dark form of the stone she thought was covering the tomb was nothing but a black hole. The stone was cast aside, rolled away as by an unseen hand. Numb with horror, she raced back to the city to tell the disciples, hiding behind closed doors, the awful truth. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Who were ” they”? The temple guards? The Roman soldiers? The Sanhedrin? And why would these unknown people want to do that? Was the stone that sealed Him in the tomb not enough to keep Him there forever, to prove that He was dead and out of their hair?

Peter and John raced back to the tomb to discover that Mary was telling the truth. Not only that but, when they ventured inside, the tomb was empty! Gone! His remains were gone!

John 20:3-4, 8-9 NIV
[3] “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. [4] Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first…
[8] Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. [9] (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead).”

A glimmer of faith, a sliver of hope…that was all! It would take a personal encounter with the living Jesus to shatter their unbelief and awaken the truth that He was alive.

When Mary finally reached the tomb again, unaware of the disciples’ encounter with the emptiness they found, she crumpled into a sobbing heap, wailing her misery as she peered inside.

What met her was mind-blowing! Two angels…sitting where Jesus had lain!

John 20:12 NIV
[12] “She saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.”

What impertenance! What audacity! What authority!

They sat where death had been, to declare what Jesus had done. He had destroyed death!

Mary was awestruck, dumbstruck, numbstruck! She turned away, eyes blinded by tears, heart heavy with unbelief, walked away from the tomb… straight into Jesus Himself! What better way to convince her that He was alive!

She lay on the ground once more, not in misery but in ecstacy. Alive! He was alive!

Once more she ran, this time not with despair but with sheer joy, delight…to tell the greatest news in history, the same good news that echoes and re-echoes around the universe today. Jesus is alive!

No other message can bring such joy or strike such fear into the hearts of mankind. Joy… the core of hope! Fear…the certainty of judgment. All of history is wrapped up in the resurrection event. Nothing else can so convincingly confirm that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Philippians 2:9-11 NIV
[9] “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

JOHN’S GOSPEL… WAS THIS THE END? – 32

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The inevitable happened! He was tried in a travesty of injustice, sentenced for blasphemy and treason, found guilty for being who He said He was, both Son of God and King of the Jews, and killed for the sin of the whole world, not His own.

1 John 2:2 NIV
[2] “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

And the world looked on, jeered, and celebrated.

Luke 23:35-37 NIV
[35] “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” [36] The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar [37] and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

One man cared…

John 19:38-42 NIV
[38] “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. [39] He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. [40] Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. [41] At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. [42] Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

John’s words sound so final. The body of Jesus…His remains! Only one man had the courage to do something about it. He asked permission to give Jesus’ remains a decent burial. If Joseph of Arimthea had not intervened, Jesus’ remains would have been thrown on the city garbage dump to be burned along with the bodies of the criminals who were crucified with Him.

Joseph had been a secret believer. He was afraid of the repercussions of his faith if the members of the Sanhedrin got to know about it. Was he finally ready to reveal his connection with Jesus, now that his Messiah was safely dead and out of the way? How would Jesus’ death affect Joseph’s faith?

Nicodemus also came out of hiding to join him in this final act of love towards their Messiah.

Two men, despite the hatred and contempt their fellow Sanhedrin members had shown towards Jesus, by their act of compassion, finally made a public declaration of their faith and would be remembered for their loving gesture and generosity towards Jesus. They spared no cost to give Him a dignified burial…Joseph’s new tomb, the linen cloth, the expensive herbs and spices to mask the smell of decay… nothing was too good for Jesus’ remains.

Even Joseph’s tomb, prepared for his own burial, was freely given to Jesus. Joseph was wealthy enough to have another tomb prepared for himself and his family. One wonders, after Jesus’ resurrection, if Joseph’s family ever used that tomb again or would it be dedicated as a religious shrine to be visited by millions in the centuries to come?

How much did Jesus’ prediction that He would rise again affect the actions of these two men? Did they know about His prophecy or did the disciples’ unbelief silence them from speaking about something they didn’t understand? Is seems that the actions of Joseph and Nicodemus indicated that Jesus’ remains would be prepared and left to decay like any other body after death.

… But something was different! Jesus had spoken a word, and His Word would never be unfruitful.

Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV
[10] “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, [11] so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Jesus had made a promise, and His promises were guaranteed…

2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
[20] “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

Jesus had said He would rise again after three days, and Jesus never lied…

Matthew 16:21 NIV
[21] “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

John 10:17-18 NIV
[17] “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Since He had spoken the word, and His Word was His bond, Jesus, would rise again…not at the end of time but after three days. His prediction was as specific as that.

Whatever the two men had done for Jesus, as permanent as His death might have been in their thoughts, Jesus walked from the tomb three days later, through the impenetrable and immovable stone, smelling like the fragrant spices of His burial. Even greater than that, He returned with the fresh breath of heaven on Him, finally bringing the hope of heaven coming to earth as the foretaste of all that His death and resurrection had promised.

So, Paul could declare with unshakable confidence…

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV
[55] “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”