The Sign of the Resurrection in John chapter 2

John 2:18-21 - Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.

When the Jews ask for a sign of His authority, Jesus always gives them the sign of the resurrection.

The sign of the resurrection.

The resurrection of Christ proves:

• His authority over God's house - John 2:13-22



• His authority to judge living & dead - Acts 17:31



• His deity, eternal Sonship - Romans 1:4



• His death acceptable to the Father - Romans 4:24-25



• His eternal intercession for our security - Hebrews 7:24-25

The above note also at Matthew 12:38-40.

John 2:13 - And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

As Deuteronomy 16:16 said every adult Jewish man must. Jesus always kept the Law perfectly.

John 2:23-25 - Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

As only God can. Jesus is God!

He also knew some were false professors. They departed later, John 6:64-66.

VM

Walking with the Risen Lord

Walking With the Risen Lord
Luke 24:13-35 - Sermon Outline
What characterizes those who walk with Jesus?

THEY WALK WITH OTHERS (Luke 24:13-15a)

Requirements for walking together (Amos 3:3, etc)
They talk and commune together
They reason together

THEY TALK TO STRANGERS (Luke 24:15b-23)

They talk openly in front of others (about Jesus)
They talk without fear
They are ready to answer
They tell what they know

THEY RECEIVE PROPER REBUKE (Luke 24:25a)

THEY LEARN THE SCRIPTURES (Luke 24:25b-27)

Their interest is the whole counsel of God
Their desire is to learn more of Jesus

THEY SHOW HOSPITALITY (Luke 24:28-29)

THEY RECOGNIZE THE LORD (Luke 24:30-31)

Familiarity brings recognition (blessing on breaking bread)
Application: "They are familiar enough with the Lord to recognize when He is at work."

THEY HAVE HEARTBURN (Luke 24:32)

THEY WITNESS (Luke 24:33-35)

They are anxious to witness
Their witness is made personal

VM

Notes in Last Chapter of Luke

Luke 24:13 - And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

Note: About a seven and a half mile walk.

This encounter with the resurrected Christ is mentioned briefly in Mark 16:12-13.

Luke 24:15-16 - And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

Note: So often Jesus draws near and we know it not!

Luke 24:25 - Then he said unto them, O fools...

"Fools" here means simply unwise, unlearned. This is not the insulting word "fool" we are warned against using in Matthew 5:22. The Greek is entirely different.

Luke 24:27 - And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

"Concerning" means literally "all about." Notice the writings of Moses, and ALL the prophets and ALL the scriptures are things all about Christ. He is on every page of the Old Testament as well as the New.

Luke 24:28-29 - And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

Notice, Jesus never forces Himself on anybody! He'll pass on if you please. But He never turns away when invited sincerely. "Pass me not, O gentle Saviour!" See Mark 6:48-50.

Luke 24:46 - And said unto them, This it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.

"Behoved" = was necessary.

VM

The Night Before the Cross (from Luke chapter 22)

Luke 22:31-32 - And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Notice the change in pronouns, "you" and "thee." "You" is always plural in KJV, "thee" is singular. Satan desired to sift all the 12, which he did, and one fell out as chaff (Judas). Jesus prayed specifically for Peter, "I have prayed for thee."

See also Job 1, Job 2, regarding Satan's designs on children of God and God's sovereignty over it.

Luke 22:33 - And he [Peter] said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

Note: "Likewise said they all," - Mark 14:31.

"Peter loved the Lord and meant every word but knew not his own weakness." - Ironside on Luke, p. 654. Same note at Matthew and Mark.

See I Corinthians 10:12; Proverbs 16:18.

See full account of Peter's pride, Matthew 26:33-35; Mark 14:29-31.

"Let us be careful not to trust in our own strength, but distrusting ourselves to rely wholly on Him, that we may ever be true to the trust committed to us!" - Ironside, Addresses on Luke, p. 658.

Luke 22:44 - And being in an agony he [Jesus] prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Fulfilling Psalm 22:14.

Luke 22:45 - And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

Notice, Even when exhausted from grief is no time to let our spiritual guard down.

This note also at Matthew 26:41 - "A man's regenerated spirit may have good intentions, but it must control his body." - Liberty Commentary. See Romans 12:1; Romans 6; Romans 7; Galatians 5:17.

Luke 22:49-50 - When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

Notice, they asked the Lord, but did not wait for an answer!

See Christ's rebuke of Peter (the swordsman) in Matthew 26:52-54.

Notice how quickly we turn from being asleep when we should be alert, to being hyperactive when we should be quiet, passive and forbearing.

Luke 22:51 - And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

"How busy we keep the Lord putting on ears that we in our mistaken zeal have cut off." - Ironside, Luke, p. 649.

Luke 22:54 - Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.

Instead of keeping close to the Lord and being plainly identified by all as a follower. Peter's attachment to Jesus would not let him drift completely away, but he followed "afar off." And so the carnal Christian or backslider. Same note at Matthew 26:58.

Luke 22:56 - But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.

Unbelievers can spot a Christian. And this question is on their mind, "Art thou one of them, or one of us?"

Luke 22:65 - And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

Speaking against Jesus can only be called "blasphemy" if Jesus is God!

VM

The Times of the Gentiles

Luke 21:24 - ...and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Important cross refs: Isaiah 63:18; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 12:7; Romans 11:25; Revelation 11:2.

VM

Thou Hast Well Said - Notes in Luke chapter 20

Luke 20:13 - See note at Matthew 21:37 (here) and Mark 12:6 (here).

Luke 20:39 - Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said.

"Thou hast well said." - This compliment did not buy the scribes any favor. Notice:

• The Saduccees deny the resurrection (Luke 20:27)


• Jesus proves the resurrection from the scriptures (Luke 20:37-38)


• The scribes, being Pharisees and believing in resurrection, compliment Jesus on this proof (Luke 20:39)


• Jesus still upbraids these same scribes in their presence (Luke 20:45-47)

Jesus is not persuaded from the truth by compliments! Even the scribes confess this beforehand, Luke 20:21. Let us also be content to please God and not be concerned with pleasing men.

VM

The Night Before the Cross (from Mark chapter 14)

All of the notes but one are cross referenced to Matthew in this post, and the same notes will be made in Luke. One note below is unique to Mark.

Mark 14:29 - But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.

See note (here) at Matthew 26:33. Same note at Luke 22:33.

Mark 14:38 - Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

See note (here) at Matthew 26:41.

Mark 14:47 - On Peter cutting off an ear, see notes at Luke 22:49 (coming to this blog on April 2).

Mark 14:50-52 - And they all forsook him, and fled. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

This incident is one of the very few that are unique to Mark's Gospel. No other account mentions this young man, therefore many believe this young man to be John Mark himself, which is quite plausible. Of course if his identity truly mattered to us, God's word would have named him. Resist the danger of speculation, I Timothy 1:4.

Mark 14:54 - And Peter followed him afar off...

See note (here) at Matthew 26:58. Same note at Luke 22:54.

VM

They Will Reverence My Son

Mark 12:6 - Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

"He sent him also last unto them...." - In Matthew 21:37, "last of all" - after all the other prophets. The final and complete revelation of God to man is in the incarnate Christ. See Hebrews 1:1-2. This note also made at Matthew, here.

Compare Luke 16:31 - "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

VM

Notes in Last Chapter of Matthew

Matthew 28:16-17 - Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

This appointed meeting place is likely where the 500 brethren saw the resurrected Christ at one time, I Corinthians 15:6.

Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Go ye therefore - Based on the fact that all power is given unto Him, we go. So we go by His power, and the most powerful One is with us as we go. How can we fear to give out the Gospel?

Teach all nations - Literally, make disciples of [people from] all nations.

Baptizing them in the name... - Literally, baptizing them into the name. So it is their initiation into the right to be publicly called a Christian.

Notice also, it is not "the name of the Father and the name of the Son, etc..." But rather, "the name of the Father, and of the Son, etc..." The name is given once and is singular! It is one name for all three persons of the Godhead! A powerful evidence of the Trinity. Quote: "The 'name' is singular, followed by an elliptical clause indicating that the one name is the name of each person in the Trinity." - Liberty N.T. Commentary, p. 93.

Unto the end of the world - "World" = AION, the age. Indicates the Great Commission was not merely for the apostles, but for us all, till the end.

VM

His Blood Be on Us, and on Our Children

Matthew 27:25 - Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

Important cross reference: Acts 5:28.  See also Deuteronomy 19:10, 13.

VM

The Night Before the Cross (from Matthew chapter 26)

Matthew 26:33 - Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

"Likewise also said they all" - Mark 14:31.

"Peter loved the Lord and meant every word but knew not his own weakness." - Ironside on Luke, p. 654.

Cross refs: I Corinthians 10:12; Proverbs 16:18.

Matthew 26:41 - Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

"A man's regenerated spirit may have good intentions, but it must control his body."  - Liberty Commentary.  See Romans 12:1; Romans 6; Romans 7; Galatians 5:17.

Contrast this verse with Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31.

Matthew 26:51 - On Peter cutting off an ear, see notes at Luke 22:49 (coming to this blog on April 2).

Matthew 26:58 - "But Peter followed him afar off...."

Instead of keeping close to the Lord and being plainly identified by all as a follower.  Peter's attachment to Jesus would not let him drift completely away, but he followed "afar off."  And so the carnal Christian or backslider.  Same note at Luke 22:54.

Matthew 26:63 - "But Jesus held his peace...."

Important cross ref: Isaiah 53:7.

VM

More Comments on Olivet Discourse

Sermon title / outline from Matthew 24:4-14: "Namers, Claimers, Framers, Blamers, Lamers, Gamers & Proclaimers."

Matthew 24:13 - Endurance is not for salvation but is proof of saving faith, Colossians 1:23.

Matthew 25:41 - "Everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."  Not prepared for man, because it was not God's plan for man to go there; and truly no man has to end up there.

VM

There Is NO Rapture in Matthew

Matthew chapters 24 and 25 are called the "Olivet Discourse" because Jesus gave the discourse sitting on the Mount of Olives.  Many people try to find the Rapture of the Church in these chapters, but it is NOT there.  Finding it there will lead you to a mid-tribulation or a post-tribulation Rapture doctrine, which is inconsistent with the rest of the New Testament on the subject.

In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus is speaking of things during the Tribulation period, after the Rapture has already happened.  Then at the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return to Earth to rule and to reign for 1,000 years, so all the references here to his coming are references to that event, not to the Rapture.  It would be helpful to mark in your Bible all the places in the chapter that indicate this.

Of particular note is the emphasis on Israel in the events of the chapter, so we will note this as well.  Why does that matter?  Because after the Rapture, God resumes His program for the nation of Israel.  The Tribulation is "the time of Jacob's trouble."  The emphasis in this chapter is on Israel, not the Church.

Verse 5 - "saying, I am Christ."  Christ means Messiah.  Many will come, presenting themselves to Israel as Messiah.

Verse 7-8 - "...Famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows."  The beginning of the Tribulation period, during the first 3.5 years, as recorded in the Revelation.

Verse 9 - "ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake."  "Nations" tells us this is dealing with people groups.  Israel, as a people or nation, will be hated by other nations.

Verses 15-19 - Events are clearly in and around Jerusalem.  This is the halfway mark of the Tribulation, 3.5 years into it.

Verse 20 - Mention of fleeing on the Sabbath.  Still in the context of Israel.  This fleeing of Israel, halfway through the Tribulation, takes place in Revelation 12:6.

Verse 21 - The last 3.5 years is called "great tribulation."

Verses 23 and 24 - Again, mention of false Messiahs to Israel.

Verse 27 and following - Obviously not the Rapture, but Christ's visible and triumphant return to the earth to rule.

Verses 40 & 41 - "two in the field...one taken" etc.  This is commonly misunderstood as the Rapture.  These are not taken in the Rapture, but taken away to judgment.  Context is from verse 37 forward, those taken by the Flood were taken in judgment, not to salvation.  See I Thessalonians 5:3.

There is NO Rapture in Matthew chapter 24 !!!!  It is about the events after the Rapture through the return of Christ to the earth.  To my recollection, there is absolutely nothing in the entire book of Matthew mentioning the Rapture.  After all, Matthew was written to the Jews, the nation of Israel, presenting Jesus as their King and Messiah.  The Rapture is not for Israel but for the Church.  The Tribulation is for Israel, to prepare her to receive Jesus as Messiah and King.

VM

Notes in Matthew Chapters 21 and 23.

Matthew 21:12 - This is the second time Jesus cleansed the temple.  He did so at the beginning of His earthly ministry, John 2:15.

Matthew 21:33-36 - Parable of husbandmen beating and killing the Master's servants.  See Matthew 23:29 and following, applied directly to Pharisees.

Matthew 21:37 - But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

"Last of all."  The final and complete revelation of God to man is in the incarnate Christ.  See Hebrews 1:1-2.  This note also made at Mark 12:6.

Matthew 23:7-12 - [The Pharisees love] to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.  But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

And some preachers love to be called "The Reverend" or insist on "Doctor" or some title.  Only one is named Reverend in scripture, Psalm 111:9.

Matthew 23:23 - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

The New Testament does not remove the tithe.  Jesus says we ought to pay the tithe, but there are weightier matters.

Matthew 23:34 - "I send unto you..."  Jesus speaking as God, the One Who sends prophets.  Also verse 37.

VM

The Psalm of the Cross

Psalm 22:1 - "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"  In quoting the first line, Jesus invokes this entire psalm and applies to Himself.  Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34.

God turned His face away from Jesus because our sin was upon Him.  Habakkuk 1:3; II Corinthians 5:21.

This entire psalm is fulfilled in Christ's crucifiction.  If your Bible does not have center column cross references, find one that does and transfer to your margin any references to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

Selected references and additional notes:

Verse 6 - Isaiah 53:3.

Verse 14 - I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

"Poured out like water" - the sweat in Luke 22:44.  And "my heart is like wax..." The pericardium burst in John 19:34.

"Bones out of joint" - as on the cross.  Out of joint but not broken, John 19:36.

Verse 22 - Quoted as if spoken by Jesus, Hebrews 2:12.

VM

Jesus In the Passover

Exodus 12:3-6 - The lamb is to be kept and examined from the tenth day to the fourteenth day.  Jesus entered Jerusalem on the tenth day and stayed daily, publicly in the temple, till the fourteenth day, when He was sacrificed.  He could be examined by the chief priests and elders, fulfilling the passover lamb.

Exodus 12:10 - "And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning...."  Fulfilled in Christ, John 19:31.  See also Deuteronomy 21:22-23.

Exodus 12:13 - Famous hymn, "When I see the blood, I will pass, I will pass over you."

Exodus 12:16 - With John 19:31 and John 19:42 explains how Jesus was crucified on a special sabbath beginning the feast, not necessarily on the weekly sabbath.  There is no reason to insist on a "Good Friday" crucifiction and then contradict the three days and three nights in the grave.

Exodus 12:43 - "...there shall no stranger eat thereof."  Nor of the Lord's Table, but those within the covenant (the saved).

Exodus 12:46 - "In one house shall it be eaten...."  And so with the Lord's Table, I Corinthians 11:33.  "Thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house."  The Communion bread and cup are not to be taken out to those who didn't gather for it.  Catholics have severely corrupted this with "mass for shut-ins."

Exodus 12:46 - "...neither shall ye break a bone thereof."  And so Jesus on the cross, Whose legs were not broken like the other two.  See John 19:33-36.

VM