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: Monday, November 16, 2020
Chapters: John 20-21
Message: Death Swallowed Up
Hello My Friend,
I heard someone saying they believed that there is no such thing as a soul and once you die it is over. Of course, it was one of those protesters destroying peoples lives, but for someone to say that they have no soul, well, consider what they are protesting and you might consider the source. It is Satan who actually gets into the heads of people and convinces them that they have no soul. Of course, He is a big fat liar because he knows you do have one, and is the most valuable to God than anything He created. That is why he tries to take as many with him as he can. I will say it again, to the world, death is final, but to the one who believes in Christ, death has no dominion, in fact, it is swallowed up in victory through Christ, [Isaiah 25:8-9 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. 9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.]
[we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.] Does salvation guarantee a life here of no more grief, sin, or pain? Sorry, it does not. What it does guarantee is that when our life here ends it begins in the presence of Christ, and that is what we rejoice in. It also guarantees that one day our sleeping body will resurrect and reunite with our soul. The Gospel of John also gives an account to what happened after Jesus resurrected, when Mary went to the disciples and told them that Jesus was not in the tomb.
[John 20:3-9 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.]
[And he stooping down, and looking in,] This is John, he ran so fast to the tomb that he was out of breath, surpassing Peter. He looks in and sees the linen cloth that Jesus was wrapped in, and instantly believed that Jesus did swallow up death in victory, and he did not need the Scriptures to point that out to him. One day, every saved soul will reunite with its body when Jesus returns to earth, [I Corinthians 15:52-54 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.]
[that he must rise again from the dead.] Jesus indeed swallowed up death in victory when He arose from the dead. John did not need to know the Scriptures to believe that Jesus is the resurrection, [John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:]
Mary was well aware of Jesus being the resurrection as she had witnessed Him raising Lazarus from the dead, that did not stop her from wondering what happened to her Saviour. As she is standing at the tomb she sees two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been laid. [John 20:13-18 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. 14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.]
[She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni;] Grief often clouds our faith until we hear the LORD calling us, it is only when we respond to Him that He opens our eyes to see the joy that comes after, [Psalms 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.]
Now, later that night Jesus just appears in the room that the disciples were in, they hid themselves from the Jews who were after them too. Luke tells us that they thought He was a spirit, which is why He showed them His hands and side, which had the piercings from the nails. One of the disciples was not there, and that was Thomas, the other disciples did not need to touch Jesus to know that He was flesh and bones, Thomas would not be convinced unless he put his hands in the holes where the nails were.
[John 20:20-25 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.]
[he breathed on them,] This is what Jesus does to us the second we accept Him as our Saviour, He breathes God’s Spirit into our soul, [Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.]
[and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.] Remit; To forgive; To pardon. To restore. The second we receive Christ as our Saviour our sins are forgiven, removed, and we are restored to God. Amen! We are given that choice to accept the Saviour and if we do, then we will be pardoned of our sins. If we do not, then they will remain, and we will be held accountable for them when we stand before Christ, [II Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.]
[whether it be good or bad.] It bothers me every times someone misinterprets this passage and says the saved will given an account for our sin a second time. Yes, our bodies will resurrect once Christ returns to earth and we will stand before Jesus a second time, but we will stand before Him in our new glorified bodies, which know no sin because remember, ours have been pardoned, our judgment for sin comes right now, which is why we need to confess and repent of them while we are here, [I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.]
Jesus did not appear to the disciples until eight days later, it was in the same room, and this time Thomas was with them. [John 20:26-29 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.]
[Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails,] The others must have told Thomas that they seen the nail prints in His hands. Jesus reminded Thomas that he must have faith in order to see what he was seeing. [blessed are they that have not seen,] Thomas believed because he had faith in what he saw, Jesus points out that the ones who believe having not seen the proof are the ones who will truly believe, and that includes all of us who believe by faith today. In fact, Jesus Himself said that the ones who live by faith before they actually see Him go on to do great things for Him, [John 14:12-13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.]
[And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,] Sometimes, and I am guilty of this, we think that we have this notion that since we are saved Jesus has already given us more than what we deserve so we are not to ask Him for the things we have need of. This is not how it works, and while God does send the rain on the just and unjust, it is important that we keep a constant connection with Christ in that we always ask Him for what we have need of. Remember, Jesus responds by our faith, if we do not ask, we are not likely to get everything we need. Now, for three and a half years, the disciples walked with Jesus and always had everything they needed, now that He was not with them they did not know what to do with themselves. Peter decided that it was time to get back to doing what he did before he walked with Christ.
[John 21:3-9 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.]
[I go a fishing.] You see, once Jesus comes into our lives we cannot go back to what we did prior to that. Yes, we may have secular jobs or lives that we lived before Christ came into our lives, but we are new creatures, therefore, we move forward in the newness of Christ and let Him lead us, [II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.]
[they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon,] Do you see how a little bit of faith gives us so much more? God already has everything we need right there waiting for us, we just need a little faith, and to work a little bit too to receive them. And here is the best part, He gives us so much more than we ever asked for. Do you see what praying is all about? God already knows what we need, but He wants to fellowship with us. How likely are you to do something for someone that does not ask you first? I we are honest with ourselves we are not likely to at all. Yes, God knows what we have need of well before we ask Him. When we stop to think about it, He actually gives us so much more without even asking, but remember, He responds by our faith, [I John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You, again for taking my place on the cross, for dying to save my soul from death and hell though my faith alone in You. While I do not need to do anything to keep my salvation for it is now eternal, I do want to live the rest of my time here by faith and being faithful to You. Through the sorrow, through the pain, through the suffering, keep my eyes, ears, mind, and heart on the fact that joy will come. While I am here, everything I need will be given by You though my faith, and as long as I ask for them, I know You will provide. LORD, lead me and guide me, keep my heart tender, my faith strong, and my mind in Your mercy and grace, give me Your power to walk by faith and not by sight, and give me Your strength to do the work I need to do everyday in the newness that You bring me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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