Out of Africa

“I just can’t wait for The Best of the Best’ Series”

Cuthbert Phiri

Minister of the Gospel

Zimbabwe

The Gospel of John # 39 Jesus last meeting with the disciples in Galilee

John 21: 1-25

1
The disciples had gone to Galilee, as Jesus had instructed them, through the angel at the empty tomb Matthew 28: 7

2-4
While in Galilee, one night, the disciples went fishing on the Sea of Galilee

Of the remaining 11 disciples, only 7 of them are mentioned here and only 5 of them are named

As usual, John, ‘the disciple Jesus loved’, continued to hide his identity and refers to himself here as one of the ‘sons of Zebedee’

Throughout his Gospel, from start to finish, John hid his identity and referred to himself anonymously

John 1: 35 as one of ‘two of (John the Baptist’s) disciples’
John 13: 23, 25 ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ and ‘that disciple’
John 18: 15-16 ‘another of the disciples’, ‘the other disciple’ and ‘the disciple who knew the High Priest’
John 19: 26-27 ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ and ‘this disciple’
John 20: 2 ‘the other disciple, the one who Jesus loved’
John 20: 4 ‘the other disciple’
John 20: 8 ‘the disciple who reached the tomb first’
John 21: 2, 7, 20 ‘the sons of Zebedee’, ‘the disciple Jesus loved’
John 21: 24 ‘this disciple’

John hid his identity for a very good reason; he wanted us to be totally focused on Jesus alone

John began his Gospel focused on Christ’s eternal existence – Jesus Christ, the One, True, Sovereign, Creator God; the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us John 1: 1-3, 14

John continued his Gospel focused on Christ saving and transforming the lives of those who believed in Him John 1: 4 – 21: 23

1) There was – Nicodemus John 3
He was a J.R.L enslaved by the sin of self-righteousness and academic pride, the greatest Old Testament scholar of that time, ‘the teacher of Israel’ John 3: 1-21

Later, Nicodemus defended Christ against the other J.R. L’s who wanted to condemn Him John 7: 50

And it was Nicodemus who came with Joseph of Arimathea to collect and bury the body of Jesus in the Garden Tomb John 19: 39

2) There was – the Samaritan woman and the whole Village of Samaritans John 4
They were Gentiles, once excluded from the favor of God, but now welcoming Jesus into their Village

It was the Samaritans who were saved and confessed, ‘Now we know that He is indeed the Savior of the World’ John 4: 42b

3) There was – the blind man John 9
Falling to his knees in worship upon receiving the miracle of sight and confessing his salvation with the words, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe’ John 9: 38

4) There was – Martha John 11
Who even before seeing the miracle of Lazarus resurrection confessed her salvation to Christ with the words, ‘I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who has come into the world from God’ John 11: 27

5) There was – Mary Magdalene John 20
Set free from demon possession by Jesus; she was the first to go to the empty tomb that Sunday morning and the first to witness the resurrection of Christ
Luke 8: 2; John 20: 1, 14

6) There was – Thomas John 20
Who refused to believe the eyewitness account of the other disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead; on seeing for himself the infallible proof that Christ was indeed alive, fell to his knees before Jesus and confessed his belief ‘My Lord and my God’ John 20: 28

7) And, then there was – Peter John 21
Who denied that he even knew the Lord John 13: 38, 18: 17, 25-27
But now, by the Sea of Galilee Peter is gently restored back to Jesus
John 20: 5-18

Look at Jesus final instruction to Peter
19 ‘Follow Me’

Illustration: Middle of last year, myself, Ps. Shalom, and Alex were travelling with Ps. Kong in China and had arrived in a very large train Terminal
As we got off the train and into the Terminal Ps. Kong said to us “Follow me”
I turned to Ps. Shalom and said to her, “That is good theology”

This life is very much like trying to find your way through a massive, crowded train Terminal where all the signs are in the Chinese language
It’s a little bit scary and by ourselves we are lost!

As Jesus called Peter “Follow Me”, so He calls us to follow Him and be saved

Then, John concludes his Gospel focused on Jesus, deflecting the attention away from himself about a rumor that he would never die 20-23

Lastly, John makes his 3rd and final appeal to the record of his eyewitness account of Christ’s life, death, burial and resurrection

John’s 1st appeal was his eyewitness account of Christ’s death on the cross – he was there, he saw it
John 19: 35 (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also can believe.)

John’s 2nd appeal was his eyewitness account of Christ’s miraculous signs including His own resurrection – he was there, he saw it
John 20: 30-31 ‘The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His name’.

John’s 3rd appeal was to the truthfulness of his eyewitness account – he was there, he saw it ALL
John 21: 24-25

Amen!

The Gospel of John # 38 Jesus resurrection and appearance to the disciples

John 20: 1-31

1

Because Jesus was resurrected on the Sunday, from that time, and continuing today, Christians meet for worship, for ministry in the Word of God and for fellowship on the Sunday – Sunday worship is our weekly celebration of Jesus resurrection!
Acts 20: 7; 1 Corinthians 16: 2

The other 3 Gospels record several women coming to the tomb with Mary Magdalene, including Mary the mother of James (The Less) and Salome the mother of James and John, ‘the disciple Jesus loved’
Matthew 28: 1; Mark 16: 1-2; Luke 24: 1

Both Mark and Luke record that they brought ‘burial spices’ with them to preserve Jesus body

In bringing burial spices to anoint Jesus body, it tells us that they didn’t believe that Jesus would rise from the dead, as the Scriptures said!
9

2-8, 10
On finding the stone to the tomb’s entrance rolled away, Mary Magdalene hurried back to the City to tell the disciples

Peter and John, ‘the disciple Jesus loved’, ran to the tomb and found it empty, Mary Magdalene followed them to the empty tomb and waited at its entrance while Peter and John returned home

11-18
Then Mary went inside the tomb and found it empty, except for ‘two white robed angels’ who spoke with her

As she exited the tomb her grief was turned into joy as she met the resurrected Christ; then she went back to the City and found the disciples and told them that she had seen the Lord
19-23

That Sunday evening while the disciples were behind locked doors, minus Thomas, probably in the home of John Mark’s family, Jesus appeared to them for the first time

Jesus * greeted them, * provided infallible proof of His suffering on the cross,
* commissioned them as apostles, and * breathed on them saying, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’
Acts 1: 3

It was at that point that the disciples were born again!
John 3: 7-8

24-28
Then 8 days later, on the Monday night, again, the disciples, this time including Thomas, are behind locked doors, probably in the home of John Mark’s family, and Jesus appeared to them a second time

On seeing for himself the infallible proof that Christ was alive, Thomas believed and declared of Jesus, ‘My Lord and My God’
Acts 1: 3

Now, please take note of Jesus reply to Thomas
29

Remember, that the disciples did NOT understand what Jesus meant when He talked about His death, burial and resurrection
Mark 8: 31, 9: 31-32, 10: 34

It was only AFTER the resurrection that they believed
John 2: 22 ‘After He was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered He had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said’.

So, why DID Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, the other disciples, and Thomas, believe in the resurrection of Jesus?

They believed in the resurrection of Jesus because they saw Him alive!

But we have NOT seen Him alive, so why should we believe?

We believe because THEY saw Him alive

So why is it important to believe in the resurrection of Jesus?

The resurrection of Jesus is indispensable to our salvation

The Jewish Religious Leaders were intent on keeping Jesus dead and buried in the tomb, that’s why they had the tomb sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers thinking that the disciples might come at night and steal the body of Jesus and say that He was alive
Matthew 27: 62-66

After the resurrection, the J.R. L’s paid the Roman guards to spread a lie that the disciples had come at night and stolen the body of Christ
Matthew 28: 11-15

15b ‘Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today’

The Apostle Paul said that if Jesus were NOT resurrected from the dead, we have no reason to believe in Jesus, and be saved
1 Corinthians 15: 12-20

The Apostle Paul also said that we can believe in Jesus resurrection because, by many infallible proofs, He was seen alive after the resurrection
1 Corinthians 15: 1-9
Acts 1: 3

The ‘way’ of salvation is clear:

We believe the eye-witness testimony of John, that Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins
John 19: 35 ‘can believe’

We continue to believe the eye-witness testimony of John, and the disciples, that Jesus performed miraculous signs, including His own resurrection, proving that He is the Messiah, the Son of God
30-31 ‘continue to believe’

The Gospel of John # 37 Jesus crucifixion and burial

John 19: 16b – 42

16b-22
16b The Roman Governor Pontius Pilate had sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion

17a The ‘cross’ mentioned here by John was the crossbeam only, as carrying the 100kg+ crossbeam and vertical beam would have been impossible for Christ to bear considering the terrible beating He had received from the Jewish Religious Leaders and the flogging He had suffered from the Romans
Matthew 26: 67; Mark 14: 65; John 18: 22; John 19: 1

Though Christ was crucified on a cross it was more common that the Romans crucified condemned prisoners on low lying trees so that the wild animals could reach them and rip apart the victim

17b The ‘place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew Golgotha)’ was located just outside Jerusalem because the Jews considered a condemned prisoner to be cursed; and a cursed man could not be executed inside the Holy City of Jerusalem
Hebrews 13: 12; Galatians 3: 13b

There they crucified Him

23-24
Is a reference to fulfilled scripture that the Romans divided His garments and gambled for His clothing
Psalm 22: 18

25-27
The Gospel of John leaves out 2 narratives that the other 3 Gospels include

1/ The J.R. L’s, the crowds of people and the 2 other prisoners who were crucified with Christ all mocked the Lord saying ‘if you are the Son of God come down from the cross’
Matthew 27: 39-40; Mark 15: 29-32; Luke 23: 35-39

2/ The one crucified prisoner who repented and asked Jesus to save him
Luke 23: 40-43

The reason John leaves out these 2 narratives is very important – he wasn’t at the cross at that time

After the sentencing of Jesus, John returned to the City and collects the women (they may have all been staying at John Mark’s family home) who were close to Jesus and brings them to Golgotha to be with Jesus in His last few hours
Luke 22: 13-17

John names the woman here:
Mary, Jesus mother, who He commits into the care of John, ‘the disciple He loved’
Salome, His Mother’s sister, James and John’s mother Matthew 27: 56
Another Mary, wife of Cleopas/Alphaeus (Hebrew: Klofah), and mother of James who was also one of the 12 disciples Matthew 27: 56
Mary Magdalene, Luke 8: 2-3, John 20: 1-18

27b ‘this disciple (John) took her (Mary, Jesus mother) into his home’

28-30
30b ‘“It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit’

31-34
Now, to hasten the death of the crucified prisoners, the Romans soldiers broke their legs, but in coming to Christ, they found that He was already dead. But to make sure Jesus was dead a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear

The Romans were very surprised that Jesus was already dead, after all, He had only been on the cross for 6 hours
(9am – 3pm Mark 15: 25; Matthew 27: 46)
Mark 15: 44-45;

Normally, it could take several days for a crucified prisoner to die on the cross
The reason Jesus died so quickly is because, in shedding His blood and thereby securing our forgiveness from God for our Sin, He willingly laid down His Life, as He said He would

And 3 days after the crucifixion, Jesus would take up His Life again, as He said He would John 2: 19-22

John 10: 18 ‘I have the authority to lay it down when I want to…and also to take it up again’

30b With Jesus last breath, He said ‘It is finished’
In English, 3 words

But in the original N.T Greek it is one word: teleo = PAID IN FULL

Illustration: Paying a $10 debt = teleo
If I don’t have $10, my debt may as well be $1, 000, 000
I don’t have what it takes to pay my sin-debt to God
On the cross, Jesus offered Himself in payment to God for my sin-debt
With Jesus final words He declared my sin-debt PAID IN FULL

As we consider the terrible suffering of Christ on the cross, we must remember that He suffered for us – that through His suffering and death, we would be saved!

Isaiah 53: 3-10a
11b ‘My righteous servant…will bear all their sins’.
Hebrews 9: 12; Matthew 20: 28; 1 Timothy 2: 6; 2 Corinthians 5: 15; 1 Peter 1: 19; Titus 2: 14; Galatians 3: 13

35
John states, that as the only disciple at the cross and eyewitness of Jesus suffering and death, his purpose in recording what He saw was so that we ‘can believe’

36-37
Are references to fulfilled scripture, that Christ the ‘Passover’ lamb was sacrificed for our salvation and ‘not one of His bones will be broken’
Exodus 12: 46; Numbers 9: 12; Psalm 34: 20

And because sinful Man (Mankind) hated Him without cause, ‘they will look on the One they pierced’
Psalm 35: 19, 69: 4; Zechariah 12: 10; John 15: 25

38-42
Between 3pm – 6 pm, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, 2 J.R. Ls who believed in Jesus, got permission from Pontius Pilate to remove Christ’s body from the cross, and buried it in the Garden Tomb
Matthew 27: 57; Mark 15: 43; Luke 23: 51; John 3: 1-10; John 7: 50
Matthew 27: 60; Luke 23: 53

What happened next?

John, ‘the disciple Jesus loved’, Jesus mother Mary, and the other women, probably went back to John Mark’s family home. The disciples of Jesus were probably there already, locked inside the home because they were in fear for their lives
John 20: 19-29

It was late Friday afternoon just before 6 pm, the beginning of the High Sabbath – the Passover

Christ was dead and buried…but SUNDAY WAS COMING!

The Gospel of John # 36 Jesus trial and sentencing by Pontius Pilate

John 18: 28 – 19: 16a

28
Jesus night trial before Caiaphas and the Jewish Religious Leaders had ended, and now in the early hours of Friday morning, between 6am and 7 am, the J.R.L brought Jesus to the Jerusalem residence of the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate

Usually the Roman Governor resided up the coast at Caesarea, but during the Jewish Festivals like Passover, the Roman Governor would come to his residence in Jerusalem to oversee the Roman army and make sure they controlled any rioting by the Jews against the occupying Romans

Pontius Pilate had set up his residence in Herod’s Palace, which the Romans called the Praetorium, and was located close to the Roman army base called Fortress Antonia, which was very near the Temple Complex

Because it was the Day of Preparation for the Passover, which would begin at 6pm that evening, the J.R.L wouldn’t enter the Praetorium because they considered non-Jews/ Gentiles to be unclean, and if they entered the Praetorium it would make them unclean too and would disqualify themselves from celebrating the Passover
Acts 10: 28

29
Pilate asked the J.R.L what charge they are bringing against Jesus

30
The J.R.L replied that Jesus was a ‘criminal’

The Gospel of Luke tells us more about the accusations of the J.R.L
Luke 23: 2 ‘They began to state their case: “This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king’

The first accusation was a total lie, in fact Jesus encouraged the Jews to pay their taxes to Caesar Luke 20: 25

The second accusation was true, Jesus was the Messiah and He was a King; but the J.R.L rejected this
John 4: 26, John 18: 36-37

The J.R.L emphasized that Jesus was a king, because they knew that Caesar Tiberius didn’t tolerate political rivals
John 11: 48-50

31a
Pilate knew the J.R.L hated Jesus, so he told them to take Him away and judge Him according to their own Religious laws
Matthew 27: 18, Mark 15: 10

31b-32
Because Rome had removed the right of the Jews to carry out the death penalty, the J.R.L demanded that Pilate have Jesus executed according to Roman law
Matthew 26: 59

33-38
Pilate interviewed Jesus and concludes that Jesus is ‘not guilty of any crime’

39-40
According to a Passover custom, Pilate offered to release either Jesus or Barabbas

Barabbas was a proven enemy of Rome and a murderer Luke 23: 25

Pilate had concluded that Jesus was innocent and declared Him to be the ‘King of the Jews’

The J.R.L demand Barabbas be set free and Jesus be executed

John 19: 1-6
Pilate sentenced Jesus to be flogged, and for the 2nd and 3rd time rules that Jesus is ‘not guilty’ according to Roman law and tells the J.R.L to ‘take Him yourselves and crucify Him’

7-12
The J.R.L pushed Pilate even harder saying that Jesus claimed to be the ‘Son of God’ and therefore as a ‘blasphemer’, by Old Testament law, He should be executed
Leviticus 24: 16

When Pilate heard this, he became ‘more frightened than ever’ because his wife had warned him saying, that evening she had a ‘terrible nightmare’ about Jesus, and that He was ‘an innocent man’ Matthew 27: 19

So, Pilate interviewed Jesus a 2nd time and tried to release Him again, but the J.R.L pressed their claim that Jesus is an enemy and a political threat to Rome
12

13-16
Pilate finally gave in to their pressure and sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion, and for a 2nd and 3rd time Pilate declared Jesus their ‘king’
Luke 23: 23 ‘their voices prevailed’

14a John said that it was ‘about noon’ that Pilate sentenced Jesus to death

But in the Gospel of Mark it says that Jesus was crucified at 9am that morning
Mark 15: 25 ‘It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified Him’
‘about nine o’clock’ NTE, NMB, NLV, TLB, CEV

Oh no, it looks like we have another apparent ‘contradiction’ in the Bible

How could Jesus be crucified at 9 am in the morning and be sentenced at ‘about noon’?

We can confidently say that time keeping in the 1st century was not accurate, and that Jesus was probably tried and sentenced by Pontius Pilate at about 6 or 7am and crucified at about 9 am

As a time estimate, ‘about’, covers a 3 hour period

Finally; with just a casual reading of this passage it would be easy to blame the J.R.L and Pontius Pilate for the crucifixion of Jesus – but we would be wrong

Jesus willingly subjected Himself to the accusations of the J.R.L and His trial and sentence by Pontius Pilate because God was using them to fulfil His purposes for Christ’s death on the cross

God’s purpose for Christ’s death was our SALVATION!
John 19: 11a Romans 5: 6-11

Christ was condemned and crucified so that you could be forgiven and set free – You and I are Barabbas!
John 18: 39-40 Matthew 27: 26 Mark 15: 15; Luke 23: 25