Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. We left Jesus being questioned by the high priest about His disciples and His teaching. I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said. When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, is that the way You answer the high priest? The same thing happened to Paul in the book of Acts. He got a bit upset then. As a reminder, this was Annas, the true high priest - not the one put into place by the Romans. If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me? Of course he had no answer. So, Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the (Roman designated) high priest. Now Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, you are not also one of His disciples, are you? In Greek you can ask a question which expects...

  Good morning. Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest. Most people believe that this other disciple (who was the same one designated as the disciple whom Jesus loved) was John. One may rightly wonder why a fisherman would be known to the high priest. They would not normally mingle with the same group of people. Remember that one of the gospels talks about James and John, their father, and the hired servants. Their father would have had to have had a pretty good fishing business to have to hire servants. He could have been wealthy and run in the same circles as the high priest. But Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. Then the slave girl who kept the door said to Peter, you are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you? He said, I am not. This was the first denial by Peter. ...

  Good morning. I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way, to fulfill the word which He spoke (in the upper room), of those whom You have given Me I lost not one. Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. John did not say anything about bringing a sword, but it did mention it in Luke. Jesus had said whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. The disciples said here are two swords. And He said “it is enough”. John is the only one who says that Peter is the one that cut off his ear, and John is the only one that tells the slave’s name. John does not say that Jesus healed his ear. Put the sword away; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it? As I said before, John does not talk about Jesus struggling in the garden with the cup that God had given Him. But it would make sense that it had happened by these words that Jesus said. So they arreste...

  Good morning. Remember I said that John did not elaborate upon what happened in the garden. If you take it at face value, almost as soon as Jesus and the disciples arrived at the garden, Judas and multitude arrived to take Him into custody. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “whom do you seek”? He knew what was about to happen, and yet He did not run and hide like we would have – in fact we would never have come to Jerusalem. They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene. He said to them I am He. The “He” is in italics, so it is not actually in the Greek. So literally He said “I am“. That is reminiscent of Moses and the burning bush. God said to tell the children of Israel “I am“ sent you. And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He“, they drew back and fell to the ground. That of course does not sound like a normal reaction to a statement. Did they do this of their own will, or wer...

  Good morning. It wasn’t just to be with Jesus here on earth for the original disciples. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundations of the world. It was forever. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. Remember that several chapters ago Jesus and said “let us be gone from here”. When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. What is interesting is that this is the same way that King David went when he was being pursued by his son Absalom who wanted to kill him. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesu...

  Good morning. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. Again, He did not put us into some kind of shelter – He sent us into the world where there was possible harm that could come to us. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Remember He just said that God’s word was truth. Now a verse that says something extremely important to us. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word. That is we He’s talking about. And why did He ask this – that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one. So this is another thing – Him giving us the glory – that helps us to be one. What is a major way that the world will know that what we say about Jesus is true? I in them and You in M...

  Merry Christmas! I pray you have a really great one with friends and family. The following is without comment. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee call Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at the statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "how can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and...

  Good morning.  Jesus continues: but now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy make full in themselves. It is not a joy because of; but rather a joy in spite of. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. The word separates us from the world. If we follow the word, we will come into conflict with the people of the world. It would be bad enough that they do not want to follow the word; but they deliberately oppose those who do. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. If we wanted to keep our children safe, we would remove them from the situation where they might get harmed; but God deliberately keeps us in this world so that we can share His gospel with the people in the world. The word “one“ is in italics meaning that it is not actually written in the original. The word “the“ is in the original. You would not...

  Good morning. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You, Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the scripture would be fulfilled. While Jesus was with the disciples, He was the one who was guarding them against harm. Now that He was leaving them, they needed someone e...

  Good morning. Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. We normally think of something eternal as very lengthy. This indicates that there is also a quality to it - that is, knowing God and Jesus. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Again Jesus only did what God wanted Him to do. Now Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory that I had with You before the world was. Remember the first part of John that Jesus was with God in the beginning. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. There were many names for God throughout the Old Testament. In fact when Moses asked God wha...

  Good morning. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I’m leaving the world again and going to the Father. His disciples finally catch on: now You are speaking plainly and not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God. Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. That went directly counter to their beliefs. They believed that they would stand and fight for Jesus, and not abandon Him. In fact Peter had said so; then Jesus told him he would deny Him three times. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. We need to keep that in mind today. Our strength and safety is not in the things of the world, but in C...

  Good morning. In that day you will not question Me about anything. They had been asking Him about His statement that in a little while they would not see Him, and then in a little while they would see Him. After He rose from the dead and they saw Him, they knew what He was talking about. If you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. That is not just some simple formula to get what you want. It’s not a matter of simply tacking on “in Jesus name“ to get what you want. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from ...

  Good morning. But when He the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; but He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He is the Spirit of truth. That means that whatever He says, we can trust. He will also guide us into all the truth, if we let Him. He is constantly listening to the Father as to what He should say. If we listen to Him, we will know what is about to come upon us. However too often we just want to do it our own way. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me. Those are actually two different Greek words translated “see“. It sounds like double talk; at least that’s what the disciples thought. You will weep and lament, but the world will r...

  Good morning. But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, where are You going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. It’s kind of like a friend or relative saying that they’re going to move far away from us. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. It would not matter if that friend or relative said that they were sending someone to you that you would really love, and that he would help you when you needed him. We would still want that friend or relative to stay. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Because Jesus was leaving the earth, people woul...

  Good morning. So Jesus was going to leave the disciples all on their own – right? Wrong! When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. The Holy Spirit takes the words of Jesus and uses them to help keep us from stumbling. If we listen to His urgings, we will not sin. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. Unfortunately the same kind of thing will happen again in the future. People will be so wrapped up in religion that they will think that the true believers are enemies of God, and will do their best to remove them from society. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken ...

  Good morning. Remember we ended last time with Jesus saying that the world hated Him before it hated the disciples. Why does the world hate us? If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. This is talking about us too; not just the original disciples. We are in the world, but not of the world. Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master; if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy – not. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. You cannot say that you love God but hate Jesus. If I had not done among them the works which no one else d...

  Good morning. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. That’s a very high bar. Very few of us would be willing to attain to that bar. It would be hard enough to do it for family, much less a fellow brother or sister; and yet Jesus did it for us. You are My friends if you do what I command you. There He goes again. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you. That was not only true of the apostles, but also of us. In their case, everything had to come together just right for this to work. He had to have the right men, all at the exact right time. He even had to have the traitor too. I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I comman...

  Good morning. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My Commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. There’s that keeping His commandments thing again. Ya think His mentioning it over and over again indicates that it might be important? These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. Keeping His commandments gives us joy? Actually it does. Little children may get upset and rebel against their parents’ “Commandments“, but inwardly they are actually happy to have the boundaries set; or so they say. Christians are the same. We may get upset and rebel against God‘s Commandments, but inwardly we are glad to have the boundaries set. OK, so what are His commandments? Let’s see that long list. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. That’s it? Sure sounds easy. If Christians had loved one another...

  Good morning. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. No matter what “great“ thing we do or how perfect we live, we can take no credit and cannot brag. It is all Jesus! If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. Whoa! That sounds ominous. Want to get your prayers answered? If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. That sounds simple – but not easy. As I said before, people are looking for some formula to get their prayers answered. This does not mean just reading the Bible every day and going to church on Sunday morning. You have to stay constantly in tune with Him. That along with allowing His word to become a part of you means that you don’t have to worry about asking something that is not in His will. When we know and follow Him a...

  Good morning. I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. First note that the branch He’s talking about is in Him. He is not talking about an unbeliever. If it does not bear fruit, then the Father takes it away. It does not say that they will lose their salvation, but it is kind of scary. Even if it does bear fruit, it gets pruned - ouch. But it is not because He’s being mean; it is in order that it may bear more fruit. This is true with natural branches. When my neighbor has someone trim her crêpe myrtles that are on the boundary of our property, they are next to nothing but stumps. When spring comes, they explode to new heights. That is what God wants with us. Instead of using pruning shears, He uses the word of God. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. I believe I have talked to you before about t...

  Good morning. So Jesus tells them He’s leaving – that is stressful! Then He says, peace I leave with you. Peace? Dude, You just said You’re leaving us here all alone. How can we have peace? My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. Notice that He said do not “let“ your heart be troubled nor fearful. The natural reaction of the heart in stressful situations is to be troubled or fearful. We have to resist the natural inclination of the heart to be troubled or fearful. If anyone had a reason for His heart to be troubled or fearful, Jesus was it. He knew He was about to suffer scourging and crucifixion on the cross, and yet His heart was not troubled nor fearful. You heard that I said to you, I go away, and I will come to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may b...

  Good morning. He who has My Commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. Here we come back to this again: if you love Jesus – you will keep His commandments. It’s not what you say; it’s what you do. Lord, what has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world? Again it seems that the disciples are hearing only one thing. They still have not addressed the issue about keeping His commandments. But Jesus is not going to let the issue drop. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me, does not keep My words. Jesus was actually being a logician there. Just because you say if A, then B, does not automatically mean that if not A, then not B is true. In other words, just because Jesus said, if you love Me, you will keep My word does not logically me...

  Good morning.. So Jesus has good news and bad news for the disciples. The bad news – He is going away. Good news – I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper/comforter, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. Of course that was not comforting to them. Most of them had known Jesus for three years, and no one could replace Him. But God had thought of everything. As we said before, if Jesus had stayed, He could only be in one place at one time. He could not have helped each individual to live the Christian life, as the Holy Spirit could. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Most of us do not know what it feels like to be an orphan – feeling like you don’t belong to anyone or anything. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In...

Good morning. Now a verse that seems incredibly impossible. He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. I think we would settle for works much less than Jesus did – forget about greater ones. Jesus had to go away. If he had not, He would’ve only been able to be in only one place at any one time. He had to ascend to the Father so that He could send the Holy Spirit in order that we could do greater works than He did. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love  Me, you will keep My Commandments. That seems pretty clear; but why are we not doing it? We do the first part all right – ask in His name; but why doesn’t He do what we ask? We are all looking for some little formula that will make everything work. So we ask Him for something in His name, and nothing happens. If that were all that the...

  Good morning. Then Jesus says, if you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. They still didn’t get it; but neither would we have, had we been there. Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say show us the Father? People today want to see God. They want to see what He would do here own earth. They don’t realize that all they need to do is look at Jesus, and what He did, and they would see what God would do if He were here on earth. They would rather have a set of cold, dead rules to follow than to have a flesh and blood example of love and compassion like Jesus. After all, they might be able to slide around the rules; but they can’t slide around what Jesus said and did. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initia...

  Good morning. Jesus just told His disciples to not let their hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. The king James says mansions, but that is not a good translation. That does not mean that they are buildings; though they could be. We won’t need any physical dwelling places, since we won’t have a physical body. It does say that they are many of them. Perhaps it is our resurrected bodies - they would indeed be mansions. As an interesting side note, the Greek word for house is spelled “oikos”. That is the name of one of the Greek yogurts. The name not only can mean house, but it can also mean family. Back to Jesus – if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. That should have been comforting to them; but again they were thinking in the natural - that Jesus was ...

  Good morning. After all that Jesus just said, Peter says, Lord, where are You going? I just noticed - Peter didn’t say anything about the one who was going to betray Jesus, nor did he say anything about the new commandment to love one another; he simply wanted to know where Jesus was going without him. Jesus answered, where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later. Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You. It’s easy to criticize Peter for what he did later; but we have all said similar things, and when the situation actually came up, we did not follow through either. Will you lay down your life for Me? I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times. The gospels disagree as to whether it was once or twice that the rooster was going to crow. Just because they disagree on some point does not mean that we cannot trust them. They completely agree on the things that matter. Most of them are depending on eyewitnesses...

  Good morning. Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me, and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you; where I am going, you cannot come. Of course Jesus was talking about ascending to heaven; but the disciples did not catch on. Besides, they were expecting Jesus to remain forever. As an interesting side note, John uses the phrase little children a lot in his letters. A new commandment I give to you. Jesus did not normally go around giving them commandments – after all God had  given them the 10 Commandments. That you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. That’s actually pretty tough to follow. It’s easy to love Jesus, but that dude that sits in the pew over there, he’s pretty hard to love. I guess that’s partly why it’s a commandment. If it were a natural, easy thing to do, Jesus would not have to give a commandment - it will follow naturally. I guess it’s kind of like loving your relatives, even when yo...

   Good morning. Remember that Jesus had just given Judas the morsel. Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. Now no one of those at the table new for what purpose He had said this to him. [Now here comes another reason why I think this was not the Passover.] Some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, buy the things we have need of for the feast; or else, that he should give something to the poor. First of all, you were supposed to stay in the room all night, because it represented the first Passover, when the angel of death came in Egypt. Now I don’t know if that meant till daybreak, or just until midnight. Either way, if it were permissible for him to leave, then the Passover was over; it would be too late to buy anything for the feast. Also the Jews would probably have stoned anyone who was selling things during the Passover night. And the verse says that some thought that Judas was going to...

  Good morning. Jesus had just said that not all of the disciples were clean. He became troubled in spirit, and said, one of you will betray Me. That would be very troubling. He had known it for a very long time, but now the fact became magnified. Suppose you were in a group of friends at a meal, and the leader of the group just said something like that. What would you think? The disciples were thinking the same thing you would have. They were looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. If He had told them who it was, what do you think they would have done to Judas? What do you suppose Judas was thinking when He said that? This would make for a perfect one of those “want to get away?“ commercials. There was leaning on Jesus one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. That is a curious designation, since we would think that Jesus loved them all, especially since most people believe that John was talking about himself. So Peter asked John to “get the skinny” o...

  Good morning. We were with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He had said, not all of you are clean. Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, or so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. I gave you an example that you should also do as I did to you. A slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. In other words, if Jesus did it, we should not think it beneath ourselves to do it to our brethren. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, he who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me. If we knew that someone was going to betray us, we would not allow them to be with us, much less eat our food. From now on I am telling you before it comes to p...

  Good morning. Now [before] the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. I bracketed the word “before” to emphasize that it does not say during the feast. During supper: notice that it does not say during the Passover meal. People have said various things to try to make these verses and the ones that follow to agree with the other gospels that this was the Passover meal. Some have said that this was referring to the Passover meal, and others that they ate something prior to the Passover meal; which to me does not make sense. Back to John: during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. He th...

  Good morning. Back to the Light: I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word that I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. (earlier He said that people would be raised from the dead on the last day, and now He says some will be judged at the last day.) For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me. Jesus took His charge from the Father seriously. He knew that He could not deviate at all from what He was to say. If that were you or I, it would put us under a lot of pressure to make sure we said the ...

  Good morning. Remember that the people were wondering who the Son of Man was. Jesus avoids the question; instead He goes back to a metaphor that He has used before. For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that the darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light. Jesus then hides Himself from them. Although He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him (remember Nicodemus), but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. We have the same situation today. Christians are afraid to say anything positive about Jesus and the church for fear that their boss or coworkers will be against them; possibly ev...

  Good morning. Then Jesus said, Father, glorify Your name. So what is everyone expecting when He says that – nothing. It is just a perfunctory statement. Boy were they in for a shock! Then a voice came out of heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. Then everyone said, wow, God just spoke to us from heaven – not. Some said that it thundered, and others that an angel had spoken to Him. This voice has not come for My sake but for your sake. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die. But this contradicted all of the teaching that they had heard from their spiritual leaders. We have heard out of the law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Their spiritual leaders had told them a partial truth about the Son of M...

  Good morning. Philip and Andrew came and told Jesus that the Greeks were seeking Him. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. If Jesus had not died and risen again, He could have only been in one place at a time, and He would have been the only child of God. Because He “fell into the earth and died“, He was multiplied many times over. That’s like a single grain of wheat or corn growing into a plant that bears many grains just like itself. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. Too many Christians love their blessings and prosperity in this life so much so that they are in danger of losing their soul over it. That does not necessarily mean they won’t go to heaven, but they will be tormented inside while they are alive because they can never be satisfied with the things of this life. If anyone serv...

  Good morning. Now we’re getting ready for Palm Sunday in this Gospel, which ties all of the other Gospels together about Jesus being just across the Jordan River from Jericho when He got the news about Lazarus. A large crowd which had come to the feast of Passover, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him and began to shout Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. The other Gospels say that He sent disciples to a nearby village to find a colt. That does not mean that it is a contradiction; John just left out the details. His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. They were caught up in the excitement of the moment, and did not realize the significance of what they were doing. The people who...

  Good morning. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus. The chief priests and the Pharisees wanted people to report if they saw Jesus, so that they might seize Him. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to where Lazarus was. They were having dinner, and Lazarus was dining with Him. Martha was serving. In Luke we have where Martha was upset because Mary was not helping her. It is in the middle of Luke and not at the end, so it may have been a different situation. Sometimes different gospels have episodes in a different order. Mary took some very expensive perfume and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. Judas wanted to know why it was not sold and the money given to the poor. He didn’t really care about the poor; he just wanted to steal some of the money since he carried the money box. Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of...

  Good morning. The chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council and were worried because Jesus was performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. They weren’t concerned for the truth about who Jesus was; they were only concerned about themselves. One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year (my Bible says that he was the son-inlaw of Annas, who had been deposed from the high priesthood by the Romans. The high priest was supposed to be for life - he couldn’t be deposed.) You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish. Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God wh...

  Good morning. Well, it’s time to get Lazarus out of the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus told them to remove the stone. Martha told Jesus that by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days. A note on the four days – many Jews believed that the soul remained near the body for three days after death in the hope of returning to the body. In other words, he might have been “merely dead“ à la the wizard of Oz instead of “most sincerely dead“. That didn’t deter Jesus. Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? How are you going to argue with that? Jesus raised His eyes and said, Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me. He cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a c...

  Good morning.  Martha now goes back to the house to get Mary. Secretly she tells her, the Teacher is here and is calling for you. Now the Bible does not say that Jesus was calling for Mary - perhaps she said that because Mary did not go with her when she went to greet Jesus. When Mary heard that, she got up quickly and was coming to Jesus. Those who were with Mary thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there, and so they followed her. When she got to Jesus, she said the exact same thing that her sister had said: Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. This seems to confirm the idea that they had said this to each other over and over again during the four days since Lazarus had died. As I said before, she did not add the second part that Martha did – even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. When Jesus saw her weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. Where have you laid him? This is what anyone would say in th...

  Good morning. Martha goes out and meets Jesus and says, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. As we will see in a little bit, Mary says the exact same thing. That implies that this was not the first time that they said this. You can imagine them sitting in the house mourning the loss of Lazarus and saying, if Jesus had just been here, our brother would not have died. Martha, however, adds something that Mary does not. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. What exactly did she mean by that? It sounds like she believes that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, but the next few verses seem to contradict that. Your brother will rise again. I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Does that mean that she does not believe that Jesus will bring him back to life right then, or is she just asking Him to be more specific? Note when she believes the resurrection will occur – on the last day. That must’ve been th...

  Good morning. Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep. This is the terminology used throughout the New Testament when someone dies – that he or she has fallen asleep. Remember that Jesus waited two days, but when He got there Lazarus had been dead four days. In other words, if He had left immediately after they had told Him about Lazarus and had gone at the same pace, He still would’ve been two days too late. He is just across the Jordan River from Jericho. Even if He left right now and did not stop to spend the night with Zacheus, it would not of taken four days to get to Lazarus’ house. The disciples thought He was talking about literal sleep and that if Lazarus was asleep, it was a good thing. Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him. (Doubting) Thomas said, let’s also go, that we may die with Him. So they get there four days too late, and there are a lot of pe...

  Good morning. After what Jesus said last time, they tried to seize Him, but He slipped away again. He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. As we said before, there were two places where scholars thought this was located. However from the things I’ve said before in the other Gospels and the fact that Palm Sunday happened shortly after this, I believe that this was the one near Jericho. So as far as the crow flies, this was not too many miles from where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. Lazarus was sick, and Mary and Martha sent to Jesus telling Him “he whom You love is sick”.  And so Jesus began bawling and squalling and saying “oh how terrible”. That’s the RPV (revised perverted version) of the Bible. He actually said, this sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Our reaction would’ve been the first one. The next statement seems strange to us. ...

  Good morning. Remember that Jesus just said, “I and the Father are one”. The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. I showed you many good works from the Father; for which one of them are you stoning Me? For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; because You being a man, make Yourself out to be God. That was the true significance of Jesus’ statement. He could not be one with the Father unless He were God. Has it not been written in your law, “I said, you are gods”? If he called them gods (I read somewhere that the Mormons use this verse to justify their claim that they are or will be gods), to whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, “I am the Son of God “? I don’t know if it is still true, but at one time there were some believers who said that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God. I know that is the case, because I had someone sa...

  Good morning. Again there was a division about Jesus. Some said He had a demon or was crazy. Others – these are not the sayings of one demon possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he? At that time the feast of the dedication – Hanukkah – took place at Jerusalem. The Jews were asking Jesus, how long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ tell us plainly. He had deliberately refrained from saying that in public. He knew that it was not the right time. He did tell the blind man that He was the Messiah. I told you, and you do not believe (they did not understand because they were expecting the conquering hero, not the suffering servant); The works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. (so He repeats the statement from before) My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand...

  Good morning. Today we finally finish with the blind man. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, do you believe in the Son of Man? Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you. Lord, I believe. And he worshiped Him. Jesus did not fit the pattern that the Pharisees were expecting, so they did not believe that He was the son of man. This man did not care whether or not Jesus fit the pattern. He had been healed, and therefore he believed. For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. The Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said, we are not blind too, are we? To them being called blind was an insult because they “knew“ everything that was supposed to be. If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, we see, your sin remains. They trusted in their knowledge to save them. They had many rules and re...

  Good morning. The Pharisees come back again and asked the man who was blind “what did He do to you? How did He open your eyes? Of course the man gets upset, wouldn’t you? I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you? He’s getting a little bit bold speaking to the religious leaders like that. You are his disciple, we are disciples of Moses. As we used to say, well touch you. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from. They say this a 1000 years after Moses; but while Moses was alive, the people of Israel fought him tooth and nail. Well here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man we’re not f...

  Good morning. Back to the blind man: The Pharisees couldn’t figure out Jesus, and so they asked the blind man what he thought about Jesus. He is a prophet. Watch as we go through this – his opinion about Jesus changes. Right now he is in the afterglow of the healing, and so he thinks the world of Jesus. Anyone would. Just like today when a miracle happens, the Pharisees did not believe that he had been born blind. They thought there was some logical explanation why he was healed. After all there had been people who had sight; temporarily lost it; and then regained their sight; but they had never heard of anyone who had been born blind receiving their sight. So they questioned his parents to make sure he was actually born blind; and if so, how could he now see? They confirmed that he had been born blind, but they refused to speculate on how he had been healed, because if they said that Jesus was the Christ, they would be put out of the synagogue. That was a horrific thing to happe...

  Good morning. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world. Jesus had just said that shortly before, and will say it again later that He was the Light of the world. It is even more interesting that He says it now when He has encountered a blind man. He wasn’t just making some philosophical statement; He intended to put actions to His words. He spat on the ground; made clay; and applied the clay to the man’s eyes. He then told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. He did, and came back seeing. When people saw him, they said isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg? They asked the man how his eyes were opened. The man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes and told me to go wash. I did, and I received sight. They brought the man to the Pharisees and – uh oh – it was the Sabbath on the day when Jesus did this. He told the Pharisees what Jesus did. But since Jesus did...

  Good morning. So when Jesus said to the people, your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad, exactly what was He talking about? During what incident did this occur? Some believe that it was when Abraham met Melchizedek - that that was really Jesus in His pre-incarnate form. So the Jews said, You are not yet 50 years old, and have You seen Abraham? And now the statement that really got them upset: before Abraham was born, I am. It wasn’t just because Jesus said He was really ancient (that would just mean that He was nuts); it was because He said “I am”. They picked up stones to throw at Him, but He hid Himself and went out of the temple. This was not the only time that the people wanted to kill Him, but He slipped away. Nothing has said anything to the contrary, so we can probably assume that it was still during the feast of booths. He and the disciples were walking along and saw a man blind from birth. The disciples asked a question which even today peo...

  Good morning. So Jesus just told them that their father was the Devil. Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan (which the Jews despised and hated) and have a demon? Remember that these are the Jews that had believed Him. I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death. Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, if anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death. Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be? Again they are thinking of literal death of the physical body. If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, He is our God; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and ...

  Good morning. Abraham is our father. If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father. Remember that they had just said that Abraham was their father. Now they say: we were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God. At least when they are young, children tend to act like one of their parents. If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I’m saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. And now Jesus says something that would get anybody mad. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his o...

  G oo d mo r ning . I ’ m su r e y o u ’ve hea r d pe o pl e either in person or in the movies say “you will know the truth an d the truth will se t you f r ee ”. They d o n ’ t quote the firs t part of tha t statemen t which completely changes it. If you continue in My wo r d, the n you a r e truly disciple s of Mine; and you will know the truth, an d the truth will set you f r ee. Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus – the n continue in His wo r d. It says tha t He sai d this to those who had beli e ved Him (whe n H e said tha t He wa s the “I a m “). He was not just talking about getting your fi r e insurance. He was talkin g abou t truly being a disciple of His. T oo man y belie v ers a r e not truly disciples of Jesus. Even though they beli e ved Him, they we r e still thinking in the natural: we a r e A b raham ’ s descendant s and hav e neve r yet b ee n enslaved to anyone ; how is it that Y ou say you will become f r ee? While they we r...