Life by Jesus


John 20
1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
         That blows away the sunrise services....

John 20 (cont.)
2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

We already discussed in another teaching that the "other disciple" was John... Since he out ran Peter to the tomb then maybe he is the true pope. Just kidding? I think of all the times that Jesus told them that he would rise from the dead BUT they just didn't have ears to hear at that time... It sounded like nonsense to the natural mind.
Rom. 8:6,7
"6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
So we should see here that we need our minds renewed... The carnal, worldy mind is an enemy of God and only the word of God changes our mindset...
Rom. 12:1,2
"1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word made flesh makes us new in the spirit WHEN we are born again, the written word of God changes our soulish nature WHEN we feed on the word and apply it to our lives.

John 20 (cont.)
10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

We KNOW the tomb is empty and so is our lives at times even though we KNOW that we are born again... So we just get up and go home, we NEED answers but we don't seek him or wait on him to supply the answers... Most people probably go home and turn on the boob tube, it is one of the best escapes today, we block out reality and live in a fictitious dream or is it a nightmare..

John 20 (cont.)
11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

I think it is cool that there are some people that want to understand more than is normally shown to them on face value. You can call it the remnant, the few, the chosen, or other titles... The question, "why weepest thou?" was asked by the angels and without giving an answer Mary turns around and hears the same question. I believe that the Lord wants us to think, I MEAN really THINK about the things we do and why we do them. Just as God knows Mary by name, he knows us before we were even born. He knows every hair on our head. So let's apply this scripture to our lives,
Psa. 27:14
"14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

John 20 (cont.)
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

I think it is interesting the days that certain things happen... "the first day of the week..."
Acts 20:7
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
I Cor. 16:1,2
"1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."
We see that they come together to break bread and to hear some preaching on the first day of the week or our Sunday... They put some of the money or things that they have prospered in, in a collection for the saints on the first day of the week, or Sunday... I wonder if one of the main reasons was to keep people from getting into the law thing about the sabbath. The word even carries this further when it said,
Cf.
Col. 2:16
"16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:"

John 20 (cont.)
20 And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

I shared a little on this before... I have talked with Christians who want to see something really supernatural like Jesus appearing to them or something in that area...

John 20 (cont.)
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

When God calls us to be witnesses, he furnishes the needed equipment and that equipment is the Holy Ghost. He empowers us...
Acts 1:8
"8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

John 20 (cont.)
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

I have already taught on "forgiving sin" so I won't stay on this point but I will tie in a couple of verses to show you a principle..
Acts 13:46-52...
"46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set THEE TO BE A LIGHT of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
51 But THEY SHOOK OFF THE DUST OF THEIR FEET AGAINST THEM, and came unto Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost."
(Capitalization emphasis mine)

If they reject the gospel that we preach then we have the authority to retain their sins and shake the dust off of our feet BUT if they accept the gospel, we have the authority to remit their sins in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ...
Crossing this with...

Acts 7:60...
"60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep."
They sin against us when we are walking in the Lord Jesus Christ...

John 20 (cont.)
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

We are so used to living by our five senses, it is super hard for us to operate in the 6th sense, that being faith but it comes from God and we grow in it as we feed on his word.
Romans 10:17
"17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Just believe God and stand on his word at all costs...,

John 20 (cont.)
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Faith pleases God and without it we can't please him.
Do you want to be a Thomas? You won't believe unless you see some proof... Or even a Judas? We betray & sell the Lord for a few pieces of friendship, I mean silver...

Or a Peter, we deny him when things are NOT going very good..

. There are times that we act like these personalities. We sell him off cheap, or deny him or walk in unbelief by our lifestyles or we betray him in the same ways...

John 20 (cont.)
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

God had this book written to show us the way to Jesus Christ and that we might live, truly live in and through his name... All through this book, God shows us that he cares about us here and now and not just when we die...


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John Chapter 21