King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Friday, November 10, 2023
Chapters: JOHN 13-14
Message: Believe In Christ Anyway
Hello My Friend,
Of all the chapters in the Bible, I think that the ones we are reading today are my favorite in regards to our seeing the human side of Jesus. People often question and even deny, the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh including those who believe that Christ died to save them. They cannot grasp the concept, especially when they learn that He is three different persons. Well, I for one believe what the Bible tells me, [Revelation 21:6-8 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.]
As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, John, also gives his account as to what took place prior to Jesus being captured and crucified. While the other three Gospels started with their preparing and eating the Passover feast, John, begins with what took place prior to their eating the meal and what took place right after.
[John 13:1-5 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; 3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.]
[having loved his own…he loved them unto the end.] We can take this back to, [John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.]. While Jesus did indeed give His life for all, those whom are His own are not all of mankind, of whom He is their Creator. Nor is His own specifically Jews, of whom He had made a covenant promise. Nor is His own limited to the disciples and apostles of whom He had chosen to walk with Him. Christ’s own are the very elect of God, the ones who are His own by His choice of them. They are His Father’s gift to Him, of whom He actually purchased their souls with his blood, [1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.]
Of all the disciples just letting Jesus wash their feet, Peter, was the only one who asked what He was doing, in fact, he was like, “I should be washing you feet and here you are washing mine.” Well, Jesus said something to him that He pretty much says to all of us still today.
[John 13:6-11 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. 11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.]
[but thou shalt know hereafter.] There are many things that Jesus does for us that we really do not understand at the time, but later on we discover that it was the best decision that Jesus had made for us. I can give you countless examples of what He has done just in my own life. So, rather than question what Jesus does for us, we ought to give thanks to Him for what He is about to do through us, [1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.]
[not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.] Of course, Peter, always knew how to take things to the extreme, but he was sincere at least. You see, the second that we first believe in the Gospel of Christ, then accept Him as our Saviour we become baptized with the Holy Spirit. This means that one; Satan cannot touch our soul and two; our soul now belongs to Jesus and nothing or no one can ever change that, [1 Corinthians 7:23-24 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.]
Well, now that Jesus washed all their feet, He sets everything down, puts His robe back on, sat down and explains what He was doing and why He did it, [John 13:13-20 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. 18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. 19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.]
[ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.] In other words, do not bite and devour each others heads off and do not compare your walk with Christ with others walk. Love each other, care for each other, help each other in their time of need because there will come a time when we will need the same thing.
[John 13:21-27 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 25 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.]
[he was troubled in spirit, and testified…one of you shall betray me.] Wow! When you think about what Jesus said while having a troubled spirit you can pretty much see the sorrow, especially after He handed the bread to Judas and he grabbed it and ate it, then [after the sop Satan entered into him.]. It just occurred to me, you know how Jesus tells us that He chooses us to be His, I bet it broke His heart to hand Judas that bread knowing that Satan was standing right there just waiting for him to take it. That actually brings tears to my eyes as I can see the pain in Jesus eyes knowing that the second he takes that bread everything was going to unfold quickly. While Jesus definitely does choose us, we all have a choice and should we choose Jesus, it does come with a cost, [Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.]
I am not talking about paying Jesus back for what He did for us, there is no amount of works or giving that we can give to pay Him back anyway, which is why we are saved by grace, I am talking about the life we once lived. You see, since we do belong to Jesus, the things we use to do in our flesh will seem like garbage to us and we will not want to do them. We will come to understand why our way of righteousness is like dung as the Bible says, [Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,]. Nevertheless, Jesus, gives us something new to discover as we become one with the Holy Spirit. Jesus, goes on to tell the disciples how they are we are to love one another.
[John 13:33-38 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. 37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. 38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.]
[Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?] Wow! That is a very hard question. We whom believe in and have accepted Christ as our Saviour with all sincerely are the first to say that we will lay our lives down for Him. Now, add the fact that Jesus already knows what we are about to do even before we think about it. The truth is, we are going to fail Him a time or two, especially where fear overtakes our faith. Jesus, knows this, but He also knows that if we have sincerely, with all our heart accepted Him as our Saviour, that fear is not a betrayal. He goes on to tell them all not to be troubled even though He knew they would all run in fear.
[John 14:1-4 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.]
[Let not your heart be troubled:] As I was going through some of my old messages I realized something, each year around this time I seem to go through some kind of affliction, but I do get closer in my relationship with Christ. It really is all about the devil’s anger toward our being testimony of Christ. In fact, the closer you get to Him the more trouble you get from the devil, and while we may hate it and count it as a curse, it is actually a blessing. If the devil is not messing with us than we are not reaching people for Christ, and while God will allow him to mess with us to a point, He cannot destroy us because we belong to Christ, [2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.]
Now, at this point, Judas Iscariot has left and is now making those plans to have Jesus captured. Jesus starts talking to the rest of the disciples, He has been with them for three and a half years, and has told them several times that He was going to die. He straight out tells them that now is the time to believe in who He is, and of course, here come the questions.
[John 14:5-10 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.]
[we know not whither thou goest;] These poor guys really were besides themselves, they were so lost as to what Jesus was saying, even though they wanted to go where He was going they did not understand what He was talking about. Jesus, was telling Thomas that to know Him is to know the Father because they are one in the same. As for Philip, [shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.] Jesus, responds by saying that if he does not notice that God is inside of Him after three and a half years of being with Him, then he has a much bigger problem. As the Bible says, those who come to Him must believe in all that He is, [1 John 5:10-11 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.]
[the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:] When we come to Christ, we must believe that He is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life in order to become the true Passover lamb that would save every soul that believes in Him. If we believe in God and all that HE is, then we should have no problem believing that Jesus, God, and even the Holy Spirit are one in the same, at least, once we start learning that truth as we get in His Word and start studying it. Jesus goes on to explain the further.
[John 14:15-19,21-22 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?]
[how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us,] That is a very good question, just exactly how is it that Jesus manifests or is seen through us? Well, the more you walk with Christ after you are saved, the more of a reflection we become of Jesus. Jesus, goes on to explain this.
[John 14:23-27,30-31 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.]
[But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,] The Comforter enters into the soul of every believer. We cannot save ourselves, and just think about this, if our own works are required, then why did Jesus have to die? The truth is this, Jesus did not have to die, He willingly offered Himself as the permanent redemption and atonement needed to save every soul who believes in Him forever. That is something that we should all be counting our blessings for, [1 Corinthians 1:18-21 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for the great sacrifice that You made to save us from death and hell. Not one single person can save themselves from this horrible destination because of the sin that stains us. You love us so much that You knew there was no other way to save man than by giving Your own life. Now, we know that You have come in the flesh through Your Son, Jesus Christ, You are omnipotent in that You can be Almighty God, yet still be the person of Your Son, and the Holy Spirit so that You can abide in all of us and we in You. WE who believe in all that You are are not only washed clean of the sin that stains us, we are one with You forever. Lord, Lead us and guide us in all that You are, give us Your power, mercy, grace, to be those vessels of honor that You need us to be. Wash us clean from the filth of the day, and let us follow Your command to love others by giving them the Gospel so they too can know how to become one of Yours. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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