Judah - Thy Brethren Shall Praise

Genesis 49:8a - Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise:

A play on words of Judah's name, which means "praise."  Throughout the chapter Jacob transfers his sons' names into their blessings.

"Not merely the praised one, but he for whom Jehovah is praised."  (The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary).  Fulfilled of course in Jesus Christ, Luke 19:37-40, etc.

VM

Search the Scriptures - Notes in John chapter 5

John 5:4 - For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

This verse is removed from the critical Greek text and cast in doubt or missing from modern translations. However, this verse explains the man's statement in John 5:7, "Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me." Without verse 4, this man makes no sense. Verse 4 also explains why these people were waiting around the pool in the first place. This verse is no doubt original and is one of many places where John is explaining Jewish things to his Gentile readers. It was obviously removed because of unbelief in the ministry of angels.

John 5:14 - "...Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

Note here and also at John 8:11 - Don't be foold by the Easy Prayerism crowd that "repentance" is not found in John! If they'd take the trouble to read John instead of word-searching it, they would see John 5:14 and John 8:11.

John 5:22 - For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.

Important cross refs: John 5:27; Matthew 11:27; Matthew 28:18; John 3:35; John 17:2; Acts 17:31; II Timothy 4:1.

John 5:23a - "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father...."

Compare Isaiah 42:8, "My glory will I not give to another." JESUS IS GOD!!!

John 5:23b - "...He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father, which hath sent him."

Cross ref: I John 2:23.

John 5:39 - Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

"Search the scriptures" is indicative, not imperative. In other words, Jesus is saying, "You are in the habit of searching the scriptures to find eternal life. And they testify of Me."

"Jesus is the center, soul, heartbeat and blood of the entire Bible. If He were taken out of the Bible, it would be an empty, meaningless book." - Oliver B. Greene, "John, Volume 1", p. 310.

John 5:40 - And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

"The saddest verse in the Bible!" - VM

John 5:44 - How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

Cross ref: Hebrews 11:6.

John 5:45 - Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

Note: "Accuseth" is present tense, not future. Moses already accuses them in Deuteronomy 31:25-27.

"Moses, in whom ye trust." Note here and at John 9:28, Any true disciple of Moses will become one of Jesus Christ!

John 5:46 - For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

To today's typically lost Lutheran / Methodist / Catholic: "Had ye believed Luther / Wesley / Simon Peter, ye would have believed Jesus, for he wrote of Jesus."

"Moses...wrote of me." - Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 49:10; Deuteronomy 18:15-18; Luke 24:44; John 1:45; Acts 26:22; etc.

John 5:47 - But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

So how can someone who denies the first portion of Genesis (Creation through Flood) claim to believe in Christ?

VM

72nd Psalm a Prophecy of Christ

Note at Psalm 72 - This prayer of David for his son Solomon is a prophecy. Every verse was partially fulfilled by Solomon. But every verse is completely fulfilld in David's son Jesus Christ.

VM

Rahab the Harlot; Curse on Jericho's Rebuilding

Joshua 6:25 - And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Rahab became mother to Boaz, ancestor of King David and of Jesus: Matthew 1:5. Mentioned as an example of faith that works, Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25.

Joshua 6:26 - And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

Prediction fulfilled in I Kings 16:34.

VM

John Chapter 1 Notes

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

"WORD" = Greek "LOGOS: word, expression, concept." Vine's Dictionary says, "the 'Word,' the personal manifestation, not of a part of the Divine nature, but of the whole Deity."

Jesus is the Word / Expression of God, very God in totality. He reveals God to man: Matthew 1:23; John 10:30; Philippians 2:6; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3, etc.

John calls Jesus the Word: John 1:1; John 1:14; I John 1:1; I John 5:7; Revelation 19:13.

John 1:2 - The same was in the beginning with God.

Compare Deuteronomy 32:39 - "There is no god with me." Jehovah's Witness Bible says, "The word was a god." Contradicts Deut. 32:39. Jesus IS God!

The eternal nature of Christ: Micah 5:2; John 17:5; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 13:8; I John 1:1-2; I John 5:20; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 1:11; Revelation 2:8; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:13.

John 1:4 - In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

This note at John 14:6, "I am...the LIFE" - John 1:4; John 3:15-16; John 3:36; John 5:21; John 5:26; John 6:33; John 6:51; John 6:57: John 6:68; John 10:10; John 11:25; John 14:6; John 14:19; John 17:3; Acts 3:15; Romans 6:23; Colossians 3:4; Galatians 2:20; II Timothy 1:1; I John 1:1-2; I John 5:11-12.

John 1:11 - He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

THE RESPONSE OF THE JEWS: (1) Rejected His prophets and preachers, Matthew 23:37. (2) Refused His tender love, Matthew 23:37. (3) Resisted the Holy Ghost, Acts 7:51.

John 1:14 - ...(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)...

Compare Isaiah 42:8 - "...my glory will I not give to another." Jesus is not another because Jesus IS God!

John 1:21 - ...Art thou that prophet?

"That prophet" that should come, promised Deuteronomy 18:15-18. This prophet is Christ: John 6:14; John 7:40; Acts 3:22-24; Acts 7:37.

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 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

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

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

Jacob Too Bows to Joseph

Genesis 47:29-31 - And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.  And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

Why did Jacob ask this favor of Joseph and not of Reuben his firstborn, or Judah or any others?  Because Jacob recognized Joseph's authority and now bowed himself to Joseph:figuratively in asking this favor; literally in his bed (to which he was apparently now confined).  As Joseph had dreamed (Genesis 37:10), his brothers had already been forced to bow to him (Genesis 42:6).  Now Jacob his father also fulfills the dream / prophecy.

VM

Notes in Matthew Chapter 17

Matthew 17:5b - This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Important cross ref: Isaiah 42:1, a prophesy of Messiah.

Matthew 17:21 - Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

This entire verse removed from critical Greek text and modern English versions. In the parallel verse, Mark 9:29, the critical Greek and modern English omit "fasting" - "Comes not out but by prayer," as if the disciples had not even prayed over the boy, a ridiculous notion. Fasting also omitted by critical text in Acts 10:30; I Corinthians 7:5; II Corinthians 6:5; II Corinthians 11:27 - almost all of the New Testament texts on the subject.

Note at Matthew 17:27 - Peter not just a fisherman with nets, but also skilled using lines with hooks.

VM

Sixteenth Psalm's Prophecy of Christ

Psalm 16:10 - For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Christ is God's "Holy One", not David the psalmist.  This verse quoted in New Testament to prove Resurrection of Christ: Acts 2:27-31; Acts 13:35-38.  Since David's body saw corruption, apostles proved this verse a prophecy of Christ.

"Hell" - the unseen place of the dead, corresponding to the Greek "hades."  Jesus spent 3 days in the Paradise / Abraham's bosom side of hades.  His soul was not left there, neither did His body see corruption.

Additional study on hades - Luke 16:19-31.  On Christ's time there: Luke 23:42-43; I Peter 3:18-20.  Christ emptied the Paradise side ("led captivity captive") at His ascension: Ephesians 4:7-10.

VM