The Lord of life and glory was nailed to the accursed tree. He died by the act of guilty men. We, by our sins, crucified the Son of God.
We might have expected that, in remembrance of his death, we should have been called to a long, sad, rigorous fast. Do not many men think so even today? See how they observe Good Friday, a sad, sad day to many; yet our Lord has never enjoined our keeping such a day, or bidden us to look back upon his death under such a melancholy aspect.
Instead of that, having passed out from under the old covenant into the new, and resting in our risen Lord, who once was slain, we commemorate his death by a festival most joyous. It came over the Passover, which was a feast of the Jews; but unlike that feast, which was kept by unleavened bread, this feast is brimful of joy and gladness. It is composed of bread and of wine, without a trace of bitter herbs, or anything that suggests sorrow and grief. …
The memorial of Christ’s death is a festival, not a funeral; and we are to come to the table with gladsome hearts and go away from it with praises, for “after supper they sang a hymn”

Charles Spurgeon

As I write on this Good Friday, the sky looks very dark. I’ve been worried about some stuff regarding school, my family, money, you name it. And yet I feel peace. I’m sitting in the library watching the almost dead campus that is Liberty right now, contemplating Christ’s death. My heart feels like the sky right now. Dark, gloomy, melancholy. But, when Christ died on the cross the sky went dark on that day.

Jesus faced all of our sin, shame, and sorrow on the cross. He took our guilt, and made us white as snow. Sometimes, I like to think that Jesus’ heart felt like mine does now. In fact, he was human, and he had emotions. His own people had turned him over to die. “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:9-11) As the people shouted “Crucify him! Crucify him!” I can’t help but contemplate what Jesus was thinking. He knew his Father’s will and he followed it. He could have looked forward to returning to Heaven. In John 17:4-5 he did pray, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

Truly, whatever Christ was thinking as he suffered for us, we can be thankful. He is worthy of the highest praise and exaltation. “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. ” (2 Timothy 2:11-13) Finally, remain faithful beloved. We must wait patiently for the LORD Jesus to return. But we must praise him while we wait.

“O Lord , you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord ; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:1,8-9)

Soli Deo Gloria

This past year my pastor preached through the gospel of John. I loved every second of it. Now, at my university I am taking a class on the Gospel of John. I am also loving every second of that as well. My life seems to revolve around this book. A lot of my friends are new believers, this is always what I read with them to help them understand who God is and what He did and still does for us.

Now, back to the original point. When Pastor Steve preached from John 18, I picked up on something I had never seen before. He mentioned it as well, but it still makes me think till this day. That Jesus is this powerful. “Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” (John 18:4-8) In verse 6, it says that “they drew back and fell to the ground.” For some reason to me this is so astounding. The LORD deserves all honor, and the Son is given honor in this way on Earth, even in the darkest part of his life.

Now, we who believe know that Jesus is LORD over all, but those who are not God’s elect will not know until it is too late. As Paul says in Philippians, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) So, we see that this detail in John is only a foretaste of what is to come.

In fact, at this point Jesus as not yet ascended too glory. He is still in his earthly body, but once he dies and comes up from the grave. He will demand his glory. God’s glory is beautiful and no man can see it. But, one day we will se God’s glory, and we will dwell with the LORD forever. Praise God for his love and mercy in his dealings with us. Thank God for his will, and plans in our lives. Thank God for giving us his son. To whom every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess.

P.S. I am asking for those who read this to pray for my family, a couple people who are quite important to me are rather ill, and your prayers that God’s will would be worked out in our lives would mean so much to me thank you and as alway…

Soli Deo Gloria.

In the fourteenth chapter of John, a new character appears, the Helper. To most He is known as the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. While this is the first time Jesus mentions him in the Book of John, we can see that He has been working since the Beginning of time. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)

Now, in the Farewell Discourse, we can see how the Spirit will work in believers. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17) Again in verse twenty-six Jesus says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” In this, we see that although God is not with us physically, his Spirit is with us. Better than that, he will teach us all things, He will help us understand the Word of God, that He himself inspired and helped mortal man write.

The Spirit will also glorify the Father and the Son. “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27) Not only do we bear witness about the Son, but so does the Spirit. This work is tied in with the final work of the Spirit we will discuss.

“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:8-15) The glorification of the Father and Son by the Spirit ties into the work of conviction by the Spirit, including his effectual calling of the believer leading to regeneration and faith in the believer. Ultimately, the Spirit teaches us, and begins the work of our salvation in Christ Jesus.

It’s the first day of March, it’s a rainy day in Lynchburg, VA. I’m sitting in Liberty’s library contemplating the goodness of our savior. While I have had a long and busy few weeks, with papers and tests I can visibly see God working and moving in my life to bring forth his will for me. In my Bible reading today I read about the Passover in Exodus chapter twelve. While I long for God to work in my life in that sort of way I see that he already has. God sent his son Jesus, to live perfectly, to suffer and die to pay for our sins. God did not have to do this, but Jesus is ” the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” God took away our sins, and selected us for salvation from before the beginning of time, not based on our own merits, but on his will.

I once listened to someone preach about this topic a few years ago. He discussed the reason why Jesus is a “shepherd” was so important. Now, if we think about it who else was a shepherd in the Bible? Specifically, one of Jesus’ ancestors. Keep thinking about it. King David. The man God made a covenant with regarding a Messiah coming. Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23 and does much more than even David described in his writing.

R.C. Sproul

A second reason this topic is important is that in the New Testament, a shepherd was seen as one of the lowest types of jobs. It was a reviled and hated position. While in the time of David a shepherd was regarded as a high occupation, in the time of Jesus it was seen as one of the lowest of the low. Jesus was reviled in the same way but deserved the honor that David received. However, Jesus deserves it infinitely more.

Third, we can see Jesus “shepherding our lives. In this sense, we can look at two biblical examples. Genesis 48:15 and Revelation 7:17. In Genesis 48, Jacob describes God as “shepherding” him through his life. In Revelation 7, Jesus is described as our shepherd.

“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7:17

Along with the Revelation passage, John chapter 10: 14-18 is such a sweet promise to me and to other believers. The fact that Jesus knows his own, and we know him, that he lays down his life for us, that he draws us to himself, that there will be “one flock,” and that Jesus willingly laid down his life, but only to “take it back up again.” Jesus takes our sin and shame willingly to give his sheep eternal life. ‘

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

John 10:14-18

Soli Deo Gloria

John chapters 13-17 contains what many Christians call the Farewell Discourse. Jesus’ final teaching and prayer for his disciples, and for future Christians are encouraging. Although he speaks of things that bring sorrow, God is always faithful and never changes, but he does change everything else. The God of the universe sent his son for us, not to condemn us, but to ransom us with his blood. This changed the world forever. We can now have a relationship with God, and God gave his Holy Spirit to us, which Jesus discusses in this passage.

Today, I want to focus on the implications of this. Jesus tells us that “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18) The people of the world reject our Savior. If they hate Christ, they also hate the Father. (verse 23) Jesus even tells us that there will be those who kill us because they think they are doing a service to God. Paul was one of those people. Over the course of the last two thousand years, there have been many people who kill Christians for whatever reason. But, we are still called to go. We are still called to tell those who hate us, about the one who loves us.

The Father and the Son will send us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, and He will bear witness about Jesus. (verse 26) He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. (16:8) The HS will guide us in truth, and glorify the son. (verse 13-14) He will speak through us when we are being persecuted. (Matt. 10:20) He will be our advocate to the Father. Our Immanuel, God with us.

John 16:20 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” We will see Jesus again, and no man, angel, demon, death, nor life, can take our joy away from us, in Christ Jesus. We can ask the Father for this joy, and we will receive it in full. (verse 24)

Finally, Jesus says he is going back to the Father. (verse 28) But first, he must die, he will be left alone, by earthly men, but Jesus is never alone. He has his Father. (verse 32) Jesus will be high and lifted up, he will be pierced, beaten, crushed, and afflicted. (Isaiah 52 and 53) For our sin, the sinless will be punished. Jesus laid down his life for us. Jesus’ sacrifice is the only reason we are not alone. The Godhead is always with us. Jesus has truly, overcome the world. Though we may have tribulation. Take Heart Beloved.

I write these things beloved, to encourage you. We are coming to a time where even in America we have a great chance of persecution. Not that this is a negative thing. Indeed I believe it to be a positive thing, but we must learn to trust the Holy Spirit. We must learn to trust his instructions to us. So that we may take heart, that Jesus has overcome the world.

Soli Deo Gloria.