Preface

Commentary Foundation

What is Special about Our Commentary?

Many books and commentaries are written about our Lord Jesus and the Bible. Yet, the Bible tells us that we have One Teacher, the Holy Spirit, and One Book, the Bible, that people need for their life. This commentary is unique; we did not base our understanding on any other book or anyone; we used only one Book, the Bible, and only one Teacher, the Holy Spirit. We believe that everyone can have these without payment. We do not sell our commentary, it is free to all, and we believe that the Lord will link people to read our commentary and open their hearts to meditate independently on the Word of God and feed their souls. We hope that you will use this commentary as a guide and encouragement for your life to become independent and rely on the Bible and the Holy Spirit for learning and meditating on the Word of God. (See Acts 2:16-21, Acts 17:11).

The primary foundation of our commentary is our belief that the entire Scripture, as given to the writers chosen by God, is dictated word-by-word by the Holy Spirit to the soul and spirit of willing disciples (writers). The entire Bible has no copied portions; all of it was given by the Holy Spirit as the Living Word to each of the writers; the writers did not copy from each other; they wrote down what the Holy Spirit dictated to them, and that is why we call the Bible as the Living Word. This commentary presents this point of belief. We believe that the Holy Spirit dictated the Gospels to each writer, and there is no copy between the writers. Each gospel writer wrote independently precisely what the Holy Spirit gave them. They had no interaction between them while writing; the only interaction was from the Holy Spirit. As a result, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth, has given the words to be written down, so there are no errors in anything originally written down by the Gospels' writers. As we read the original Gospels, we, as humans, need to put together the writings to describe the events best. We should not attempt to find errors; instead, we should seek to solve the issues to give the most logical explanation of the events presented in all Gospels. Our commentary will always aim to offer the most reasonable solution to solve any perceivable inconsistencies in the Gospels' text. When there are differences in words and events from one Gospel to another, the way to think is how we should put all the events together from each Gospel and understand them. We must believe that there are no errors in the original Scripture writings. Each writer received the words from the Holy Spirit, who is the only Person who knows and remembers precisely the doings and the sayings of the Lord Jesus. After a time, no human mind can remember what exactly the Lord Jesus did and spoke about throughout His ministry on earth.

"But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." -- John 14:26.

For our explanation of our belief in writing Scripture, please read our articles: The Writing of Scripture and The Canon of Scripture.

Bible Commentary Forever Comments

"Bible Commentary Forever - The Gospels" is an ongoing work. This work is the result of our faith in the Trinity of God and our reliance on the Holy Spirit, who can give us the understanding of the Word of God, the Bible, but only by the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and all our comments and the ASVh e-Text come through prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the infilling gifts of the Holy Spirit. By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we provide the comments given to us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. First, however, we will state that the comments we put along the Bible verses are exactly what the name says, comments, not the Bible. When we say the Holy Bible, we mean the gift given by God the Father to all humankind and that the Bible writers have received by direct order what words to put down. When we claim Holy Spirit-filled comments, we refer to the interpretation and understanding of the Bible. Our comments are advice about what it should be for better understanding. When it relates to the specific meaning of the Bible verse itself, we have put down all that we got through our prayer and meditation, but in some parts, we may not put all the understanding down. Also, by the grace of God, Ngamta is translating this commentary into the Thai language (PDF files only).

"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; for everyone that is asking receives; and the one seeking finds; and to the one knocking it will be opened." -- Matthew 7:7-8.

By the mercy of the Lord, on March 17th, 2021, we finalized the main comments for all four Gospels. And by the mercy of the Lord, our son Matthew on November 5th, 2021, has completed version 2 of our website using Textpattern CMS. However, we are currently reviewing our ASVh e-text and doing minor English revisions on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. The work on our commentary has three main stages: ASVh e-text and comments generation, comments revisions, and English revisions. We started the main commentary work in December 2013 after the Lord opened our eyes to pray and meditate on His Holy Word daily, verse-by-verse and word-by-word. Come and join us and discover the riches of God's Word. Use this website as encouragement in asking the Lord through prayer to answer any questions you may have regarding His Word and the comments that we post. You do not need to be a scholar to understand God's Word; you only need faith in the beloved Son of God, Jesus Christ, prayer, and asking understanding from the Teacher of the Holy Word, the Holy Spirit. This website is up and running through faith and prayer, and the same Holy Spirit guiding us will guide you and resolve your questions.  

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all." -- Ephesians 4:4-6 (ASVh)

Bible Commentary Forever New Testament e-Text

We are offering our commentary using the Revised Version, Standard American Edition of the Bible, more commonly known as the American Standard Version (ASV), which was first released in 1900, as the Bible text foundation to generate a literal e-text translation of the New Testament that we call ASVh. The American Standard Version Bible is currently in the public domain (see Wikipedia).

We applied two main translation principles to generate the ASVh e-text of the New Testament for our commentary. First, for each word of the ASV text, we prayed and meditated, and we wholly updated the archaic words and expressions in the ASV Bible text but tried to preserve the overall sentence structure of the original translation. Secondly, the Lord guided us to coordinate and verify the ASV Bible translation with the Wescott and Hort Greek New Testament 1881 Edition (The New Testament in the Original Greek) and Tischendorf's Eighth Edition Greek New Testament and The Codex Sinaiticus as the closest Greek text resources to the original writings, and the Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament which is also in public domain (see Wikipedia). In addition, we consult other literal Bible translations, including Young's Literal Translation Bible (YLT) which is also in the public domain (see Wikipedia).

We call this updated New Testament e-text as ASV literal e-text helping Bible Commentary Forever, for short ASVh; helping Bible Commentary Forever in the sense that ASVh is a literal e-text translation of the New Testament, the closest translation to the original manuscripts that we could generate by the help of the Holy Spirit and is copyright free.

In order to show the literal translation work for our ASVh text, our son Heman Neginoth has designed and developed the parallel textual analysis: ASVh, ASV, Wescott and Hort Greek, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. You can access our parallel textual analysis by clicking on the verse number (shown as [n]) for the corresponding verse. However, this work is in its starting phase, and only select chapters are currently posted.

Contact Us

For Biblical commentary questions and prayer requests about Bible passages you can contact us by email at: BibleCommentaryForever@gmail.com

The BibleCommentaryForever.com website is developed and maintained by Radu and Ngamta Muresan.

We recognize contributions from:

Julia Anna Muresan with the English grammar revisions of comments, the paintings, the BibleCommentaryForever.com sign, and the BibleCommentaryForever.com promotion cards design and website layout design;

John-Luke Muresan (MTS Tyndale University) with comments analysis and discussions, historical Biblical doctrine and canon of Scripture research, and promoting the commentary through his sermons;

Joel Aree Muresan with ASVh e-text updates, commentary reading, feedback, and promotion;

Heman Neginoth Muresan with the design and development of the parallel textual analysis database: ASVh, ASV, Wescott and Hort Greek, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. In addition he contributes with the website programming, commentary reading, feedback and English grammar corrections.

The website design and programming are supported by Matthew Iulian Muresan and is implemented using Textpattern CMS.

Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew

About the Author of the Gospel

The true author of the Gospel of Matthew, the whole Gospel from the beginning until the end, has only one author: the Holy Spirit; the words to put down in the Gospel itself come through the Holy Spirit. The Lord has chosen Matthew, the tax collector, to write down the Word in this Gospel not because he has school but because he is clean from the inside in his heart. Because of the work he holds, Matthew had more than one name (See Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27).

Who is Matthew?

Matthew was considered an outcast because he was a tax collector; many places in the Bible talk against the tax collectors. But, the Lord takes him for a purpose. As the Bible has told, the Lord called, he got up and went to follow Jesus; he was holding a position (as a tax collector), but that position didn’t keep him there, just a word calling from the Lord, and he followed. The following is proof of his heart and that he deserved to be a disciple. Matthew has followed the Lord, has seen the work of the Lord, and he believed the Word of the Lord because he has seen it, so he believed every word the Lord spoke.

How did Matthew Reach the Point of Writing the Gospel?

After having passed a long time for him following the Lord and having seen many miracle works, the work of the Lord has opened his heart to commit himself fully to write down the Gospel (more than commitment, submit himself to the Lord for the work). So, he followed that conviction, left everything behind, and worked for the Lord (wrote the Gospel down).

One day as he went along the life, the Lord has put in his heart to start the work; that was a simple way, come along, sit down and listen to the Holy Spirit speak to him and write down the Gospel. Suppose that someone comes and says that Matthew copied the Gospel. That is wrong; Matthew got the Gospel from the Lord straight; he did not take words from anyone, only from the Holy Spirit; his ear was opened, his heart was gentle, and the work of the Holy Spirit has been done through him. Also, remember that Matthew was an intelligent man, his job as a tax collector was important for people in that time, but this did not hold him down from where his heart was calling, like the majority of people do when the Lord calls, they will not leave everything behind; and the work of writing the Gospel, that time was work without payment.

Purpose of the Gospel

The Gospel of Matthew covers all the gospel details, and that is why his Gospel is the first Gospel to be put down in the Bible. The facts as written in this Gospel are further covered in the other gospels. Think of the main details; for example, he has put enough details of the birth of the Lord, but other gospels will provide extra details as well. The main purpose of the Gospel of Matthew was to show the plan of the Lord for humans. He quotes things from the prophets that no one knows, only the Lord who showed it to him. As you read the Gospel, you should notice that he quotes a Scripture manuscript that is older than his generation, which is not written down for common people to read. Some quotes he put, as his work on earth as a tax collector, he would not have a chance to study those work unless the Holy Spirit has revealed them to him.

Matthew 1

Summary. Chapter 1 features promises and fulfillment of prophecy that God has made with mankind in regards to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1) The Lord's fulfillment of His promise to Abraham and David in regards to blessing their seed through the birth of King Jesus. Jesus is a King, and through Him, many children are brought into the Kingdom of God. 2) The genealogy of Jesus shows that Joseph cannot be the biological father of King Jesus since he descends from the cursed line of king Jechoniah. 3) Jesus is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary, and He is the true blessing for the human race. 4) Mary is the most blessed woman, but she is not an angel, and after the birth of Jesus, she lived a regular life as the wife of Joseph.

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

Comments 1:1. “the Son of David.” The Lord fulfilled His unconditional promise to David (See 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Psalm 89:35-36, Psalm 132:11).

“the Son of Abraham.” The Lord fulfilled His unconditional promise to Abraham (See Gen 22:5-18, Gen 17:19).

2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers;

3 and Judah begat Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram;

4 and [d]Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat Salmon;

5 and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

6 and Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah;

7 and Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begat Abijah; and Abijah begat Asa;

Comments 1:7. Starting with Solomon, the kingship covenant becomes conditional (See Psalm 132:12, 1 Chronicles 22:6-13, 1 Kings 8:22-28, 1 Kings 2:1-4).

8 and Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Uzziah;

9 and Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah;

10 and Hezekiah begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat Amon; and Amon begat Josiah;

11 and Josiah begat Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the carrying away to Babylon.

Comments 1:11. The Lord pronounces a curse on Jechoniah and his children (See Jeremiah 22:24-30).

12 And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah begat Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel;

13 and Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

14 and Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

15 and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

16 and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Comments 1:16. This Jacob is believed to be the adoptive father of Joseph and also the uncle of Joseph.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon unto the Christ fourteen generations.

Comments 1:17. Some generations were not counted here in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus because they disobeyed the commandments of the Lord.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

Comments 1:18. The Holy Spirit dwelled in the egg of Mary to make the egg conceive – God to be a Man.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.

20 But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, [] son of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Comments 1:20. As shown by the genealogy given here, Joseph was the caretaker of the Lord Jesus and through him was fulfilled the unconditional prophecy given to King David.

"for that ... Holy Spirit." It is a wonderful experience for God to be a human and to make people see Him in Jesus. People cannot say anymore that God doesn't know what it is to be a human.

21 And she shall bring forth a Son; and you must call His name JESUS; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins.

22 Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, the virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, And they shall call His name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us.

24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife;

25 and knew her not till she had brought forth a Son: and he called His name JESUS.

Comments 1:25. Mary is the most blessed woman. She is, however, not an angel, so she had a normal relationship with Joseph after the Lord Jesus was born.

"he called His name JESUS." Jesus is the true blessing for the human race.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Lord is a faithful God, and He always fulfills His promises to His children. 2) The virgin birth is a crucial foundation of our faith, and we must believe that the Holy Spirit is the physical Father of our Lord Jesus, and He was the one who made Virgin Mary pregnant with our Lord Jesus to bring to earth a miracle "God be a Man."

Matthew 2

Summary. In Chapter 2, the Lord shows the fulfillment of four Old Testament prophesies. 1) Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem: This event was not noticed by the people of the Lord until the Lord sent the magi from a different kingdom to come and worship Jesus as the King of the Jews. This is important since it shows that the coming of the Most High King (Jesus) was known outside of Israel and the Lord God sent Jesus to be worshiped by the whole world, not only by His chosen people of Israel. 2) The Flight to Egypt: This shows us that Jesus, Joseph, and Mary were not given any special treatment. They suffered and passed through the troubles of life as any regular humans do. For Joseph to take his family and move to a foreign land, where he doesn’t know anyone, would have been very difficult. And this brought harsh times for the entire family, including the Child Jesus. The Lord Jesus suffered in many ways as a man, and He never received any special treatment from childhood until His crucifixion. So, humans cannot say that Jesus doesn’t know what suffering is. 3) Herod Kills the Children as a Ruthless Leader: It is obvious that Herod, the leaders, and the common people did not understand who King Jesus was and the purpose of His coming to earth. Herod and the leaders felt threatened to their earthly positions. 4) The Move to Nazareth: The move to Nazareth happened to fulfill an unwritten prophecy that is given here through Matthew (“He shall be called a Nazarene”). We can’t find this prophecy written in our Bible except here. However, since it is given here to us, it is clear that the Lord spoke it, at least through Matthew.

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

2 Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.

Comments 2:1-2. Joseph and Mary remained in Bethlehem of Judea after the Lord Jesus was born in the manger. The story of the Lord has been told to people of many languages using different names, but they all knew the Lord as the Most High God. In their history, it has been told that the star of the Most High King who will be born will appear. Chosen wise men from other kingdoms have seen the new star and took a journey in search of the Most High King. The Lord stirred up their hearts until they found Jesus. They reached Bethlehem before Jesus was one year old.

3 And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Comments 2:3. Herod and the people were troubled because the news came that the Most High King was born. Herod didn't want to lose the kingdom, and the people didn't want the Most High King, believing that He would be worse than Herod. They were all against the Lord before even He was born; nobody wanted a new King.

4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.

5 And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written through the prophet,

6 And you Bethlehem, land of Judea, art in no way least among the princes of Judea: for out of you shall come forth a governor,  who shall be shepherd of my people Israel.

7 Then Herod privately called the Wise-men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young Child; and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship Him.

9 And they, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young Child was.

10 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Comments 2:10. Nobody else saw the star. Only the wise men saw the star because the Lord opened their eyes and hearts.

11 And they came into the house and saw the young Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they offered unto Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Comments 2:11. The Meaning of the Gift of Gold: Many things fire can destroy, but it can't destroy gold. You can melt gold and change its shape, but when gold hardens back, it is still gold. Fire can't burn it; gold is still gold. The Lord Jesus is purer and more precious than gold.

The Meaning of the Gift Frankincense: Frankincense is an aromatic gum resin obtained from Boswell trees. Frankincense was part of the sacred anointing oil in Exodus 30:34. It was also used in sacrificial offerings and as a perfume. Frankincense is a natural thing that the Lord created, and it can make something else complete, perfect. The Lord Jesus is the perfect sacrifice.

The Meaning of the Gift Myrrh: Myrrh is an extract from a tree. It was used in the anointing oil described in Exodus 30:23, and it has many other uses throughout the Bible. The Word of the Lord has something in it that people can use in many ways. Jesus is the anointed Word.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13 Now when they were departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be you there until I tell you: for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.

Comments 2:13. The general question arising here is why the Lord didn't stop Herod? The Lord Jesus had to be wholly human and suffer the same way humans suffer. In this way, people can't say that God doesn't know what it means to suffer. Jesus has come to suffer and go through life as all men do. There was no special treatment for Him as a man.

14 And he arose and took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt;

Comments 2:14. For the love of humans, Jesus put down His power. As a child, Jesus learned to control His power when suffering many hardships and hunger in Egypt.

15 and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call My Son.

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the Wise-men, was exceedingly angry, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wise-men.

17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

18 A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are not.

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

20 Arise and take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the young Child's life.

Comments 2:20. Joseph was afraid of Herod, and he was afraid to travel back to Israel when Jesus was still too young. So, the Lord allowed Joseph to stay in Egypt for about three years until the death of Herod.

21 And he arose and took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee,

23 and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, that He should be called a Nazarene.

Comments 2:23. Nazarene relates to Jesus living in Nazareth. Verse 23 reveals to us an unwritten prophecy, and it stands to testify on its own for the fulfillment of this prophecy. This prophecy was not preserved for us, but the Lord made it happen, and it was spoken through Matthew.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Being Christians, we don't have a guarantee that we will be kept out of the hardships of life (like in an eggshell), but wherever we go, the Lord will be with us to help us. He helped Joseph and his family survive in Egypt and safely return to their homeland. 2) We should not doubt the Bible in any way. The Word of God will be fulfilled until the last dot. So, if the prophecy is told to us by Matthew, we must believe that it was spoken by God even if we don't find a reference in our Old Testament Bible.

Matthew 3

Summary. In this Gospel, the Lord doesn't give any further details about the childhood life of Jesus after His return to Nazareth. Here in Chapter 3, Jesus is an adult man, and we are presented with the events that mark the start of His ministry on earth. 1) A human messenger, John the Baptist, introduces the Lord Jesus as the One who has the power to save us from our sins, take us to heaven, and baptize us with the Holy Spirit for the cleansing and purifying of our souls. 2) Jesus was baptized in the water by John the Baptist as an example to follow. 3) At the baptism, the Spirit of God descended from heaven like a dove and rested on Jesus, and God the Father confirms to John, and people, with a voice from heaven, that Jesus is His beloved Son in whom He delights. 4) Verses 16 and 17 describe a reunion between the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. These verses are a clear testimony to the Trinity of God.

3 1 And in those days comes John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

2 Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Comments 3:1-2. John is a messenger of the Lord. John warns people to come to the Lord and repent; come to Jesus is his message. The Father's love for the world He created is so great that He sent His Son to us to show us the way. Jesus opened the gate of heaven; just believe and come to Him.

3 For this is He that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.

Comments 3:3. John is the messenger of the Lord. He calls people to come to Jesus.

4 Now John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather belt about his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Comments 3:4. John was part of a group of prophets that kept themselves separated from the world.

5 Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan;

6 and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance:

9 and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father: for I say to you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

Comments 3:7-9. The reason the Pharisees and Sadducees came was to find mistakes and criticize the work of John; they did not come to be baptized. This passage refers explicitly to that time and to those who claim themselves righteous, to those who blame someone else instead of themselves and see themselves as always righteous. The Lord has come and gives them a chance to hear the truth and see the light. John asks them to come to the light.

10 And even now the axe lies at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that does not yield good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

Comments 3:10. The axe here represents the Word of God.

The root of the trees refers to those people who believe themselves to be righteous and perfect and not in need of a Savior (See Luke 18:10-14). The Pharisees and the Scribes of that time acted as middlemen between God and the people. This duty has ended with the birth of Jesus. There is no need anymore for these kinds of people to come and tell us what the Lord says. Now, the Lord speaks straight to everybody's heart.

In this verse, the fire represents hell.

11 I indeed baptize you in water to repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire:

Comments 3:11. The sin cannot be where the Holy Spirit is. Therefore, when we are baptized by the Holy Spirit, the sin in us will be burned by the holy fire (pure fire) of the Lord that cleanses our soul.

12 whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing-floor; and He will gather His wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.

Comments 3:12. The winnowing fork or fan here represents the scale that weighs man's deeds, the good and the bad.

His threshing floor, or simply floor, represents the entire world.

Wheat represents the saved people.

The barn or storehouse here represents the house of the Lord (heaven).

The chaff represents the unsaved people.

Unquenchable fire represents hell.

13 Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John would have hindered Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?

Comments 3:13-14. This passage of Scripture shows that even the sinless Lamb of God needs to be baptized in water. If the sinless Lamb asks to be baptized, how then can humans say they have no sin and do not need to be baptized? Here we see the example we need to follow about baptizing in water.

15 But Jesus answering said to him, Suffer it now: for thus it befalls us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him.

Comments 3:15. As it is written, “to fulfill all righteousness,” the Lord Jesus Himself needed to be baptized in water. He is God and human, and this is an example for humans to follow. If the sinless One has to be baptized, then all the people that want to follow Jesus need to do so as well. As is the walk through the gate of death, even so, a person baptizing in the water dies from the old life and becomes a new person in the Lord. The old book of life has been destroyed, and a new book of life starts (See Matthew 12: 30, 36-37). When you merge under the water in the name of the Father, Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, your soul is touched by the Lord in that water. And when you come out from that water, the Lord becomes the guide of your soul in the unseen world and the master of your life in this world. This is a birth that all humans need in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (See John 3:5). Your life living on this earth has to follow according to the master of your life. If you do not baptize in the water, your soul does not have a chance to be counted in (after the Lord’s crucifixion, all must be baptized in water). For the soul of a human, the baptism in the water is the same way as a butterfly emerging. The soul itself is wrapped with many layers of sin. When you submerge into the baptism water and when you come out, most of the layers covering your soul are left in the water, and you come out with a purer soul, free; this is the new birth in the spiritual world.

16 And Jesus when He was baptized, went up straightaway from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him;

Comments 3:16. The door of heaven was opened to Jesus for the Lord to see His house (the Father's throne); Jesus misses His home. Also, the Father misses His Son. This is a reunion between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (the Trinity of God).

17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Comments 3:17. John saw part of the reunion act between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All other people present just heard the voice of the Father.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Lord Jesus is identified as the Son of God and the Savior of the world by a man (John the Baptist), by God the Father Himself, and by the Holy Spirit. 2) This chapter testifies to the Trinity of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which must be the key foundation of our faith. 3) Your life living on this earth has to follow according to the master of your life. Therefore, as a Christian, you must follow Jesus' example and be baptized in water.

Matthew 4

Summary. After Jesus was attested to the people as the Son of God in Chapter 3, here in Chapter 4, our Lord Jesus is tempted by the devil. As a man, Jesus goes through three significant temptations: 1) The temptation of the flesh, 2) The temptation of pride, and 3) The temptation of laziness. Going through these temptations, the Lord shows us the key to fighting temptations, stand firm on the Word of God: "It is written" is His reply to each temptation. Following the temptations, three more important events are given in this chapter. 1) Jesus begins His ministry in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali and fulfills one of Isaiah's prophesies. Here, it is to be noted that Jesus begins His ministry alone by preaching, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 2) Jesus calls His first disciples. Note that His first disciple to call is Simon Peter. 3) Jesus continues His ministry throughout Galilee and performs miraculous healings, and great crowds start to follow Him. 

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Comments 4:1. Jesus was one hundred percent human. Temptation comes to everyone. Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted as every human would be, so He is an example for us of how to overcome temptation.

2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He afterward hungered.

Comments 4:2. This was a food fast: nothing that had a taste was taken, only water.

3 And the tempter came and said unto Him, If Thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

Comments 4:3. The temptation of the satisfaction of the flesh: this is a big temptation for all humans. When they are hungry, humans can do anything to satisfy their hunger.

4 But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Comments 4:4. Food for the soul is more important than food for the stomach.

5 Then the devil takes Him into the holy city; and he set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 and says unto Him, If Thou art the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and, On their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest haply Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.

Comments 4:6. This is the temptation of proving that you are somebody important, which is a hard temptation for humans.

7 Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not make trial of the Lord thy God.

Comments 4:7. On earth, Jesus came to obey His Father and do the Father's will. By not challenging the Lord, you admit that you are the Lord's servant, and you keep your pride under control.

8 Again, the devil taketh Him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 and he said unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Comments 4:9. This is the temptation of an easy life and laziness.

10 Then says Jesus to him, Get you away from here, Satan: for it is written, You must worship the Lord your God, and Him only must you serve.

Comments 4:10. "It is written." The Father's word has power. Jesus abides by the Father's word only. Jesus listened and obeyed the Father in everything to the point of death. Only through the Lord can you fight evil. You need to make a commitment to serve the Lord all of your life.

11 Then the devil leaves Him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.

12 Now when He heard that John was delivered up, He withdrew into Galilee;

Comments 4:12. John's duty was to prepare the way for the Lord. John's arrest marked the beginning of the Lord's ministry.

13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali:

14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

Comments 4:13-14. Jesus Himself, always one thing He will do, He will fulfill whatever the Father has given to the prophets. The obedience to the Father is the key for Jesus to come on earth. All the prophecies of the Father will be done in all things. If you follow the Lord Jesus, the main thing is to listen and obey.

15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

16 The people that sat in darkness Saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, To them did light spring up.

Comments 4:15-16. These are people that did not hear about the Lord. Always Jesus performed miracles to guide them to the light of life. The Lord Jesus is the light for them.

17 From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent []; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

18 And walking by the sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

19 And He says to them, Come [] after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And they straightaway left the nets, and followed Him.

21 And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

22 And they straightaway left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Comments 4:20-22. Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and they respond immediately. This shows simple faith, just a simple call, and they come to follow Jesus right away.

23 And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.

24 And the report of Him went forth into all Syria: and they brought unto Him all that were sick, held with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, and epileptic, and palsied; and He healed them.

Comments 4:24. The news about Jesus spread by word of mouth.

25 And there followed Him great multitudes from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

Comments 4:25. People in those days had a simple faith. They left everything behind and followed Jesus.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Jesus is our example of fighting temptation; we have to rely on the Bible and stand firm on what the Bible teaches. 2) It is of paramount significance to understand that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and He holds the selection scale for who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

Matthew 5

Summary. In Chapter 4, we saw how large crowds followed Jesus after He taught in the synagogues and healed all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. Here in Chapter 5, Jesus sees the crowds and goes upon a mountain to teach them. He taught all those whose hearts were open to listening to Him. His sermon on the mountain covers four major topics. 1) Blessings of the kingdom of heaven and the rewards that follow in heaven. 2) The Christians are the spiritual light of the world and are responsible for witnessing the Lord Jesus in the world. 3) Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. 4) How to behave, as Christians should, emphasizing the following personal relationships: anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and love for our enemies.

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up into the mountain: and when He had sat down, His disciples came to Him:

2 and He opened His mouth and taught them, saying,

Comments 5:2. The Lord spoke softly, and the air carried His voice miraculously further and further so everybody in the crowds could hear His voice at the same time He was speaking.

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Comments 5:3. Poor in spirit refers to a humble soul seeking the Lord. The humble soul is the one that is hungry for the Lord; it seeks first to please the Lord, not themselves; it lives just for the Lord.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Comments 5:4. These are the ones that grieve for those who do not seek the Lord. Mourn for the lost, for those who do not have a portion in the Lord's kingdom.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Comments 5:5. The meek (quiet, gentle, obedient) are the ones that keep the Word of God in them at all times.

"... inherit the earth." Here the earth refers to the new earth (not the earth we are on now) that has been prepared for the elect. Only the chosen ones will be there, and in the new earth, they shall reap their reward.

6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Comments 5:6. This is the righteousness of following the Bible’s teaching, which means following the Word, obeying the Word, and doing what the Word is telling you. The Lord Jesus is our example of righteous living. He does not live by His own will but by the will of the Father. Therefore, we can only be righteous in Jesus.

“Satisfied (filled)” is not about the body but about the soul. The soul is satisfied and full of joy when it feels near the Father. This can happen only when we come to the Father through Jesus. There is no other way to come close to the Father, only through Jesus.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Comments 5:7. The merciful are those that have mercy on lost souls and pray to the Father to have mercy on them and take them in. Be merciful to the ones you most dislike and pray for them.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Comments 5:8. “Blessed are the pure in heart”; These are the ones that do not have any negative or bad thinking towards believers and non-believers alike. If you see someone doing something wrong, pray for that person and not judge them. Always think well about others and have mercy, as the Lord died for them too.

“for they shall see God”; This refers only to the believers who seek the Lord. If your heart is pure, you will see the light of the Lord on another believer who is pure in heart. How do you see God? You don’t see God Himself, but you can see His love in the ones that love the Lord. The light in this place is not the light you use for seeing things, but it is the light of a clean heart. By conversing with a person, we can tell the difference of the light; their mouth will speak words that will never be against the Bible.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.

Comments 5:9. “Blessed are the peacemakers”; The peacemakers are the ones that try to make peace between humans and God. Our first peacemaker is Jesus. No, another peacemaker can be like Him. The Father’s anger subsides with the Lord’s tears when He cries for humans.

“for they shall be called sons of God”; When you accept Jesus, invite Him into your heart, and He will dwell in you, and at the same time you dwell in Him, and you become a child of God.

10 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Comments 5:10. “Blessed … for righteousness’ sake”; These are the ones that when they see someone else being treated unfairly, for the name of the Lord, will join for the cause; not for building their name up but for serving the Lord.

“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”; Then the Lord will use you and let the name of the Lord be your reward. Your name will be written in the book of life, and you will be part of the new earth that is coming.

11 Blessed are you when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.

Comments 5:12. “great is your reward in heaven.” Serving closer to the Lord in some manner is a part of the reward.

13 You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of people.

Comments 5:13. "... salt of the earth" refers to those who call themselves Christians.

"... lost its savor"; when believers behave worse than non-believers, they lose their Christian testimony and make the Lord's death and suffering lose their meaning.

"wherewith ... it be salted?" The testimony lost its own meaning. How can you make people understand the way of the Lord when your behavior is not worthy?

"It is ... foot of people." Your testimony has no value; you make the Lord's crucifixion become nothing for people.

14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.

Comments 5:14. "You ... light of the world." The ones that are true Christians are those who believe by their heart. True Christians are the salt and the light of the world.

The city here represents the church. Therefore, the church must be widely known as a church and be open to all people.

15 Neither do people light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shines to all that are in the house.

Comments 5:15. Pray without shame. Be proud to pray and be proud to show others that you are a child of God.

16 Even so let your light shine before people; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Comments 5:16. Show people that you are a Christian by giving the Lord glory in your conversations and by telling people to bring their problems to the Lord.

17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.

Comments 5:17. Jesus says He fulfilled the Law. Now, we only need to obey His Law.

18 For truly I say to you, Until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, until all things be accomplished.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach people so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Comments 5:19. “…least in the kingdom of heaven.” Those who interpret the Law try to interpret it to fit their own convenience, which is wrong.

20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Comments 5:20. Our righteousness is in Christ; without faith in Christ, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

21 You have heard that it was said to them of old time, You must not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

22 but I say to you, that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, You fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire.

Comments 5:22. The brother here refers to those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior. When brothers are angry with each other, the anger of the Father comes upon them. The Father expects us to forgive and love each other (See Matthew 6:14).

"Raca" means doing bad things to your brother; it is more than just wishing bad. Here it includes thoughts and speech; when you say it, you have hurt the person.

23 If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,

24 leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Comments 5:24. Humble yourself and say sorry; there is no need to fight between brothers. Seek first peace and don't try to look who is right and who is wrong.

25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest by chance the adversary delivers you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.

Comments 5:25. Between the believers, the fight should be judged by the believers. Do not take your brother to the outside courts.

26 Truly I say to you, you shalt by no means come out [], until you have paid the last penny.

27 You have heard that it was said, You must not commit adultery:

28 but I say to you, that every one that looks at a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Comments 5:28. Do not look at their body; look into their eyes. The eye is the window of their soul. Looking at the body creates lust; just look into their eyes.

29 And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body be cast into hell.

30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body go into hell.

31 It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce:

32 but I say to you, that everyone that puts away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away commits adultery.

Comments 5:32. A true Christian man is free to divorce a wife and remarry if his wife has committed adultery. A true Christian man cannot marry a divorced woman in any scenario, but he can marry a widow. The Lord created man and woman, but the woman committed the first sin. A woman cannot remarry as long as her husband is alive. The only way for a woman is to reconcile with her husband.

33 Again, you have heard that it was said to them of old time, You must not swear, but must perform unto the Lord your oaths:

34 but I say to you, swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God;

35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

Comments 5:35. If you do not want to do something, do not make any promises. As the Bible says, let your yes be yes, and your no be no (See Matthew 5:37); more than this is sin. The Lord Jesus loves Jerusalem.

36 Neither must you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 But let your speech be, Yes, yes; No, no: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one.

Comments 5:37. If you make a promise, you must keep it. If you promise to serve the Lord, you must keep it.

"Whatsoever is more than these ..."; When you try to give a reason not to do what you promise, that comes from the evil one.

38 You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39 but I say to you, resist not him that is evil: but whosoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Comments 5:39. You cannot fight evil by yourself. Follow the Lord's example. Jesus prayed to the Father; Jesus did not fight the evil one. Rely on Jesus and pray, bring your troubles to Jesus, and let Jesus fight for you.

40 And if any man would go to law with you, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

41 And whosoever shall compel you to go one mile, go with him two.

42 Give to him that asks you, and from him that would borrow from you turn not [] away.

43 You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor, and hate your enemy:

44 but I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;

45 that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

46 For if you love them that love you, what reward have you? do not even the publicans/tax collectors do the same?

47 And if you salute your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

48 You therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Comments 5:48. The perfect love is to love your enemy. Love your enemy as the Father loved the enemies of His Son, even those that crucified Jesus. He didn't strike them down when they were born even though He knew what they would do to him. He let them live and enjoy His creation.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) There are many kinds of blessings and rewards waiting for us in heaven. 2) Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. 3) As children of God, we are the light of the world, and we are expected to maintain high moral standards.

Matthew 6

Summary. In Chapter 5, the Lord teaches about personal relationships. Here in this chapter, the Lord teaches us about our relationship with the Father and heaven. 1) Practice our righteousness towards God, not towards people. a) Give to the poor for the sake of being seen by God, not by people. b) Pray to the Father to be seen by Him, not by people, and glorify the Father who is Most Holy. c) Fast to be seen by the Father, not by people. d) Do work to lay up treasures in heaven, not on earth. 2) Love and serve God, not money. 3) Do not be anxious for tomorrow; seek first the kingdom of heaven, and God will meet all of our daily needs.

1 Take heed that you do not [put] your righteousness before people, to be seen of them: else you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2 When therefore you give alms, sound not a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of people. Truly I say to you, They have received their reward.

3 But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does:

4 that your alms may be in secret: and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you.

Comments 6:3-4. The purpose of doing something is to please the Lord and not to please other people; it is not even for pleasing yourself.

5 And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of people. Truly I say to you, They have received their reward.

Comments 6:5. When you pray, think of the purpose of the words you say. Check your heart before you pray in public. Are you bringing a need before the Lord to ask for His help or to show off what you are doing? Are you saying one thing, but your heart is thinking something else? Are you praying for the Lord to know or for the people to know?

6 But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you.

Comments 6:6. Go to your room when you pray and ask for your own personal wants and not for needs. Make a difference between your wants and needs when you pray. The needs you have, bring them in public (church) for prayer, but your personal wants should be between you and the Lord. But for someone else’s wants or needs, when things are too complicated for the person themselves, they can bring them in public for prayer so that everyone can participate by praying together. In this way, you can avoid boasting. Because when between brothers ask prayer for one another, the Lord grants mercy. When the Lord grants mercy, the person can feel boastful, but when someone else prays as well, the boasting will subside (will be controlled).

7 And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not therefore like [] them: for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask Him.

Comments 6:7-8. There are two kinds of needs. The first need is the need to fulfill what we do not have; these are our true needs. The second need is the need to show off; we already have, but we want more; these are our wants. The true needs, we can bring them for public prayer. The wants should just be between the Lord and us, they should be told in secret, and we should not tell them in public; instead, we should bring praises and thanks to the Lord for what we already have. Truly, this verse tells us to be content and be assured that the Lord knows what we need before we even ask, and He will provide for all our needs as He sees fit.

9 After this manner therefore pray []. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.

Comments 6:9. Our prayer must start in this way. God the Father is the most important, the most holy. Three in One, but the Father is the Most Holy One. The Three: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot be separated, but the Father comes first.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as [it is] in heaven, so on earth.

Comments 6:10. This asks for the second coming of the Lord Jesus when He comes and rules on earth during the Millennial Kingdom; this really is the time when the Father's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Comments 6:13. "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." Some manuscripts omit this part of the verse, but it should be considered as part of the original Gospel.

14 For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you forgive not people their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Comments 6:15. The principle here is that if you give ten coins, you will receive ten coins.

16 Moreover when you fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of people to fast. Truly I say to you, They have received their reward.

Comments 6:16. Fasting is a secret between you and the Lord, do not trumpet to others when you fast, but keep it a secret between you and the Lord. The Lord sees what you do in secret.

17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head [with oil], and wash your face;

18 that you be not seen of people to fast, but of Thy Father who is in secret: and Thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense you.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal:

Comments 6:19. The treasures on earth are everything that you think is yours. But, they all are not real, they are yours for a moment, and then they are gone.

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust [] consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

Comments 6:20. Treasures in heaven are when you are praising and glorifying the Lord. Every word you use to glorify the Lord is your treasure in heaven; build them up more and more. The Lord is your safe keeper, and every word the Lord hears, He keeps it for you.

21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Comments 6:21. Whatever you think about, your heart is there. If you think about the Lord, your heart will be there to glorify the Lord by heart, not just by mouth.

22 The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be free of deceit, your whole body shall be full of light.

Comments 6:22. This passage does not talk about physical eyes but about the spiritual eye of your body. The spiritual eye gets light from prayer. If you do not stay in prayer, your spiritual eye enters the darkness.

23 But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is the darkness!

Comments 6:23. If your spiritual eye gets darkened, your spirit is lost.

24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Comments 6:24. Mammon, or money, in this verse, represents all the wealth you have.

25 Therefore I say to you, be not anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the garments?

26 Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value then they?

27 And which of you by being anxious can add one foot to the measure of his life?

28 And why are you anxious concerning garments? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. 33 But seek you first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Be not therefore anxious for tomorrow: for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.

Comments 6:25-34. In this passage, the Lord wants us to be concerned about working and living, but do not be overly worried about these. If you do your daily work at hand, the Lord will provide food, clothes, and all your other needs. So, do not be anxious and look at what someone else has and try to have the same. Instead, be happy for what you have, and give glory to the Lord for all things.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) When we pray, we always need to glorify our Father in heaven and pray in the name of Jesus. 2) When we pray in public, we should check inside our hearts and make a difference between our wants and needs. We must pray with sincerity of heart for the Father to know, not for the sake of people to know. 3) We serve a jealous God, and we cannot serve both God and wealth at the same time. We need to keep our hearts with Jesus and show Him all our love.

Matthew 7

Summary. In Chapters 5 and 6, the Lord teaches the multitudes about personal relationships, our relationship with the Father, and about heaven. Here in Chapter 7, the Lord continues to teach people, following both themes, and the people become astonished at His teachings. Jesus' teachings prove that He is not only "God the Man" but He is also "God the Teacher of men" since He teaches with authority. In this chapter, we learn some important rules about the kingdom of heaven. 1) Do not judge. Use the Bible as the scale between right and wrong. 2) Ask for faith, seek the truth, and knock on the door of understanding and our faith will continue to grow. 3) Jesus is the narrow gate to heaven; enter by it. 4) Recognize false prophets by their fruits and know that not everyone who says to Jesus "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. We must believe in Jesus to enter the kingdom of heaven; this is the Father's will for us. 5) The rock of our faith must be the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

1 Judge not, that you be not judged.

Comments 7:1. You can judge neither faith nor behavior; there is nothing to judge. The Lord doesn't want us to be accusers. You cannot make your own way straight, so how can you judge someone else? You can only judge if it goes against the Word of God. The Bible is the scale between right and wrong.

2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you measure out, it shall be measured to you.

3 And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye?

4 Or how will you say to your brother, Let me cast out the mote out of your eye; and behold, the beam is in your own eye?

5 You hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother's eye.

6 Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest by chance they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.

Comments 7:6. What “is holy” here refers to the understanding of the Bible. Do not try to explain it to dogs; dogs refer to those who say they are believers, but in reality, they are not. You will recognize them by their fruits.

“Pearls” refers to the understanding of the Word of God. So, when you see people starting to argue and not believing, stop arguing.

“Swine or pigs” refers to those who never think about God (such as atheists, who do not believe that God created all things they see).

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you:

Comments 7:7. "Ask ... you." Ask for faith and understanding.

"Seek ... find." Seek for the truth, and the truth will set you free.

"Knock ... you." When you kneel down before the Lord, the door of understanding will open, and you will understand more about the Lord.

8 for everyone that asks receives; and they that seek find; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

Comments 7:8. Practice these three things (ask, seek, and knock), and your faith will thrive.

9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone;

10 or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent?

11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?

12 All things therefore whatsoever you would that people should do to you, even so do you also to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

13 Enter you in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby.

14 For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leads to life, and few are they that find it.

Comments 7:14. "For narrow ... leads to life." Humans are selfish and believe in themselves, so it is hard for them to accept that a man can be God. They cannot accept that God walked on earth as a man. The dark mind covers the eyes of man. The way is narrow, and there is only one gate to heaven through Jesus. There is no other way to heaven but to believe in Jesus. Think, how many humans are willing to give their life for another human.

"Few are ... it". People try to find reasons to fight against the virgin birth. They limit God's power to make a human baby without the action in a human manner. Only a few have clear minds and can accept that God has the power to do unbelievable things; those will find the way to heaven.

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.

Comments 7:15. It is hard to recognize a false prophet because they cover themselves with sheep’s skin. However, you can recognize them by their stance on the following three points:

Jesus’ birth - must be by the Holy Spirit through Virgin Mary.

Jesus’ death - must be a death on the cross for atonement for our sins.

Jesus’ resurrection - must be bodily (in the flesh) resurrection.

16 By their fruits you shall know them. Do people gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.

Comments 7:17. In this paragraph, the tree refers to humans, and good fruit refers to faith in Jesus, while bad (evil) fruit refers to the unfaithfulness of those that turn away after they receive Jesus.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

20 Therefore by their fruits you shall know them.

21 Not everyone that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

Comments 7:21. "Not everyone ... of heaven." Those that have faith by mouth call "Lord, Lord" only through speech but not by heart.

"he who ... in heaven." Jesus, Himself, always does the will of the Father. So, likewise, we need to be obedient to the teachings that Jesus gives us; this is the will of the Father.

22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Your name, and by Your name cast out demons, and by Your name do many mighty works?

Comments 7:22. “That day” refers to the Judgment Day (for all).

“Lord, Lord, did we … works?” Some call themselves pastors and teachers, but they do not believe. They will be judged by the words they use to teach.

23 And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity.

24 Everyone therefore that hears these words of Mine, and does them, shall be likened to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:

Comments 7:24. "House" refers to faith. Build your faith and keep your faith strong by the reading and practicing the Word of God. A house without the Bible cannot be a house.

"Rock" refers to the bodily resurrection of Jesus. He rose up in the body, not in the spirit. It is a material body that is risen (the same flesh that was crucified rose from the grave).

25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and if fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.

Comments 7:25. “Rain and winds” refer to general earthly troubles. “Floods” refer to attacks that are directed to one’s faith.

The best weapon to fight against all troubles is the Bible. Therefore, the Word of God has to grow roots in our hearts.

26 And everyone that hears these words of Mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:

Comments 7:26. “Foolish man” refers to non-Christians, the ones that know about the Lord but do not believe.

“Sand” here refers to false doctrines, those that use their own understanding to teach others in the wrong way.

27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching:

29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Comments 7:29. Jesus is not just "God to be a Man" but "God to be a Teacher of men." Jesus teaches what He hears from the Father; it is the Father's will for Him to teach. Jesus came down from heaven to do the Father's will on earth.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Jesus is "God our Teacher," He is the narrow gate to heaven. 2) The rock of our faith must be the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 3) Practice the three faith principles, ask, seek, and knock, and your faith will continue to grow.

Matthew 8

Summary. In Chapter 7, we see that the Lord Jesus teaches with authority. Here in Chapter 8, we see that Jesus has authority and power over all sickness, spirits, the Word, the winds, and the sea. 1) Jesus is the hope for all the hopeless people: rich and poor, men and women, young and old. He heals a leper, a slave, Peter's mother-in-law, people oppressed by demons, and all who were sick and came to Him for mercy. All these healings are performed to show that the Lord Jesus took our illnesses with His Word and bore our diseases by the nail wounds on the cross. 2) The Lord Jesus answers a scribe and a disciple about what it means to follow Him. Both have different concerns that relate to their personal interests. The scribe is looking for material gain and power, while the disciple is looking for a secure future when following Jesus and is not concerned with money. 3) The Father creates a situation on the sea for the disciples in order to guide their hearts and show who Jesus is. They need this experience to build up their faith for standing life trials and troubles in the future.

1 And when He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.

Comments 8:1. "And when He ... mountain." This took place after teaching crowds of people on the mountain (See Chapters 5, 6, and 7).

2 And behold, there came to Him a leper and worshipped Him saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou can make me clean.

Comments 8:2. The Lord chose this leper first to comfort him because his heart was searching for the Lord. He was a poor man with a body that was dirtied by leprosy but with a humble and clean heart.

3 And He stretched forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be you made clean. And straightaway his leprosy was cleansed.

4 And Jesus says to him, See you tell no people; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.

Comments 8:3-4. "See you tell no people...." This healing was done in public, so it was evident that the Lord told the leper something personal when He healed him, and His command refers to this fact. He was not supposed to tell anyone about what the Lord told him privately.

5 And when He was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him,

6 and saying, Lord, my servant lies in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

Comments 8:5-6. If you have faith, you can ask for someone under your authority to receive mercy. The centurion asked mercy for his own servant, which belonged to him.

7 And He says to him, I will come and heal him.

8 And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou should come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

Comments 8:8. The centurion shows himself as humble and having simple and honest faith. Do not think that you deserve anything; just come with simple faith. You enter the throne of the Father when you come with a humble heart.

9 For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.

10 And when Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to them that followed, Truly I say to you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Comments 8:10. Come to the Lord with simple faith, asking for mercy, not demanding mercy. The Father has mercy on humans, and He sent Jesus not because the humans were demanding it but because the Father has love and mercy. Jesus' obedience to the Father is greater than His own suffering; He lowered Himself to become a human. That is why the Father loves Jesus and does accordingly with Jesus' will. When Jesus asks in someone's name, the Father does it.

11 And I say to you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven:

12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way; as you have believed, so be it done to you. And the servant was healed in that hour.

14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick of a fever.

15 And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and ministered unto Him.

Comments 8:15. In Peter's mother-in-law's case, the Lord had compassion for Peter because Peter would not be at home to care for her. The mother-in-law was the one who was taking care of the house. Jesus touched her hand, and she was healed instantly, and she rose and began to serve Jesus.

16 And when evening came, they brought to Him many possessed with demons: and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick:

17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying: Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.

Comments 8:17. Jesus took our illnesses with His Word, and He carried them at the cross on the wounds of the nails. He bore all the sins of the world, past, present, and future, in those nails’ piercings. That is why the Father loves His Son and does all things accordingly to His wishes. The pain of the Lord won the love of the Father. Watching His Son have that pain because of His love for humans when His Son asks forgiveness for someone, the Father gives it; Jesus already received punishment for that person. The Father watching that moment when it happened with His Son made the Father feel the hurt Jesus received. That is why the Father's love for Jesus is multiplied.

18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart to the other side.

19 And there came a scribe, and said unto Him, Teacher, I will follow Thee wherever Thou go.

Comments 8:19. Jesus' true home is not on earth; it is in heaven. Following Jesus means to build treasures in heaven, not on earth. Our reasons to follow Jesus have to be set right in our hearts.

20 And Jesus says to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of Man has not where to lay His head.

21 And another of the disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

22 But Jesus says to him, Follow Me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Comments 8:22. The living ones are with the Lord Jesus; He is the giver of life. We must follow Him, and we pass from death unto life; we are not among the dead anymore. Note that here the Lord answers a disciple’s question, and in Verse 19, He answers a scribe’s question. Look into the goals of their questions.

23 And when He was entered into a boat, His disciples followed Him.

24 And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves: but He was asleep.

25 And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Save, Lord; we perish.

26 And He says to them, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

27 And the men marveled, saying, What manner of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?

Comments 8:27. The Father created the situation to build up the faith of the disciples to follow Jesus. The Father wanted them to see that Jesus is the Son of God, and they should listen and obey Him. And building up their faith is essential since Jesus' disciples will face many things in the future, and they will need a solid faith to go on. To follow Jesus was not easy for them. Their life no longer belongs to themselves; they belong to Jesus.

28 And when He was come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, there met Him two possessed with demons, coming [] out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man could pass by that way.

Comments 8:28. The healing described in Matthew and the healing described in Mark Chapter 5 happened in the same region but at different areas in the region that were not close to each other. Gadarenes (Gergesenes) refers to the region’s name, and Gerasenes in Mark refers to a village’s name. The region had two ends, and both ends had the same thing happen. One with two men described here, and the other with one man described in Mark. The name of Jesus spread far and wide because of these healings. The Lord encountered many more of these types of people, which He healed. Not all the cases encountered by the Lord Jesus are present in our times because Jesus was on the earth, and then He asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to occupy the earth (See the Book of Acts). The presence of the Holy Spirit controls the dark side’s activity.

29 And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, Thou Son of God? art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?

30 Now there was afar off from them a herd of many swine feeding.

31 And the demons besought Him, saying, If Thou cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine.

32 And He said to them, Go. And they came out, and went into the swine: and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea, and perished in the waters.

33 And they that fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to them that were possessed with demons.

34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart from their borders.

Comments 8:34. The pig was like a god for these people since pigs gave them everything. Their riches and more came from pigs. The death of their pigs made them angry at Jesus, so they didn't want Him around.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Jesus is the Lord of all. He has authority and power over the Word, our lives, our illnesses, the spiritual world, and nature. 2) Poor, rich, men, women, young and old, we can all come in faith to Jesus for our needs. But first, we need to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and believe in His love and mercy in order to receive anything.

Matthew 9

Summary. In Chapter 8, we see that Jesus has authority and power over the Word, sicknesses, spirits, and the winds and the sea. Here in Chapter 9, we see the same trend of authority and power, including authority over the forgiveness of sins. These show the people that Jesus is the Lord above all, and He is God. Throughout this chapter, we see four themes. 1) Jesus is the Lord above all, and He is God. a) He has the authority to forgive sins and the power to heal and give life. He forgives sins and heals a paralytic, He restores the ruler's daughter to life by His Word, He heals a woman with bleeding when she touches His garment, and He heals two blind men by touching their eyes. b) Jesus has authority over spirits. He heals the demon-oppressed man who is mute. c) He has authority over the Word. He tells Matthew, "follow me," and Matthew leaves His job and follows Jesus. Afterward, He teaches the way at the sinner's table. 2) Jesus shows mercy on the messenger (John). He tells John's disciples that they cannot mix John's teachings with the Pharisees' teachings by giving them the old garment and old wine-skins parables. 3) Jesus is accused directly and indirectly by the Pharisees. Multitudes follow Jesus, causing the jealousy of the Pharisees and scribes to grow, and they start to bring public accusations against the work of the Lord Jesus. 4) The harvest is plentiful, and the laborers are few. Jesus has compassion for the crowds and tells His disciples to pray for mercy from the Father to open the way for the disciples to work in the harvest.

1 And He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into His own city.

Comments 9:1. "... His own city." The city of Nazareth (See Matthew 2:23).

2 And behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said to the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven.

Comments 9:2. The Lord saw the faith in this man. His heart was searching for the Lord, not for healing. He came to worship the Lord. The Lord showed him mercy according to his heart. Forgiveness of sins and healing was given.

3 And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemes.

4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Why think you evil in your hearts?

5 For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins (then says He to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up your bed, and go up to your house.

Comments 9:6. The paralytic's healing shows that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins. He has authority over every living breath on earth. Even sickness is under His authority as well; Jesus is the Lord of all.

7 And he arose, and departed to his house.

8 But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

9 And as Jesus passed by from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he says to him, Follow Me. And he arose, and followed Him.

Comments 9:9. Jesus' disciples are special. They do not see but feel the authority of Jesus; they feel they belong to Jesus. The disciples' eyes were open to see Jesus. They are different, but it is not because Jesus looked different, but their eyes and hearts were open to see Jesus as their Lord.

10 And it came to pass, as He sat at the table in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and His disciples.

Comments 9:10. By the title, Teacher, they invite Jesus as a teacher, not as a guest. The door is open, and the teacher's duty is to teach them. However, as a participant, you cannot go to such gatherings, but if they invite you as a speaker, then you can go.

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, Why eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners?

Comments 9:11. The Lord Jesus joined the food but did not join the lifestyle of the publicans and sinners. The purpose of joining is important. Do not join to be alike, but join to show a different lifestyle. The purpose the Lord joined the table was to teach them, not to follow them.

12 But when He heard it, He said, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.

13 But go you and learn what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

14 Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Thy disciples fast not?

Comments 9:14. Notice the term "Pharisees" used in their question. John's disciples mingled with the Pharisees and wanted to accept their teachings and abandon John's teachings. That is why the Lord Jesus gave them the old garment and the old wine-skins parables. It was wrong for John's disciples to mingle with the Pharisees and listen to their advice. Here, the Lord has mercy on the messenger, John, and He teaches his disciples to go back to John and not to mingle with the Pharisees.

15 And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.

Comments 9:15. Here the Lord speaks of what will come later. Jesus' love is greater than His own suffering. The suffering is not just for them; it is for all humans, not just for now but until everyone will be judged.

16 And no man puts a piece of unprepared cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up takes from the garment, and a worse tear is made.

Comments 9:16. In this parable, the Lord tells the disciples of John to separate themselves from the Pharisees.

17 Neither do men put new wine into old wine-skins: else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved.

Comments 9:16-17. The “unshrunk (unprepared) cloth” and the “new wine” represent the new teachings of John about the Messiah being the Lamb of God which is coming to sacrifice Himself for the human race.

“Old garment” and “old wine-skins (bottles)” represent the teachings of the Pharisees and scribes. They promote their word to have equal authority with God’s Word. But, this is an abomination to put yourself at the same level as God.

The “tear” and “burst (break)” mean that the new teachings of John cannot be mixed with the teachings of the Pharisees. The parables show John’s disciples that the Pharisees will not accept the new teachings of John and will reject them. By trying to mix the two teachings, it will damage their calling.

18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, there came a ruler, and worshipped Him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

Comments 9:18. This ruler acknowledges the Lord's authority above all, both the dead and the living. He actually acknowledged Jesus as God in front of people.

19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did His disciples.

20 And behold, a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment:

21 for she said within herself, If I do but touch His garment, I shall be made whole.

22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Comments 9:20-22. This woman, if she touches something that belongs to Jesus, in her belief, His power is there as well. Her faith has paid her well.

23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult,

24 He said, Give place: for the damsel [girl] is not dead, but sleeps. And they laughed Him to scorn.

Comments 9:24. "... the girl is not dead, but sleeps." The ruler's daughter was not dead yet; she was just in a coma. Her spirit was still holding on to her body.

25 But when the crowd was put out, He entered in, and took her by the hand; and the damsel arose.

Comments 9:25. Her spirit was stuck in the dark, and it could not find its way back to her body. The body cannot wake up without the spirit. The Lord Jesus opened the path for her spirit to join back with her body. He commanded the spirit to join back with the soul and body and be at peace.

26 And the fame hereof went forth into all that land.

27 And as Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, and saying, Have mercy on us, Thou Son of David.

Comments 9:27. David was as God in the eyes of people. These ones recognized Jesus really as the Son of God.

28 And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus says to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say unto Him, Yes, Lord.

Comments 9:28. "... the blind men came to Him." This shows action from these ones that are seeking the mercy of the Lord. They believe that Jesus can heal them.

"... They say unto Him, Yes, Lord." They were blind in their eyes, but they could see with their hearts, and they acknowledged the Lord Jesus as God.

29 Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done to you.

Comments 9:29. Jesus touched their eyes because they acknowledged Jesus as God.

30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus strictly charged them, saying, See that no people know it.

Comments 9:30. "See that no people know it." The Lord Jesus wants people to come to Him because of the message He brings, not because of the works He does on earth. He wants people to believe that He is the Son of God and He is the way to heaven.

31 But they went out, and spread abroad His fame in all that land.

Comments 9:31. They did good work. They told and showed to people with proof who Jesus is. The Lord wants us to do works for Him by our own initiative from our heart, without Him telling us. What the Lord puts in our hearts, and not what we think with our heads, is what we should do.

32 And as they went out, behold, there was brought to Him a dumb [mute] man possessed with a demon.

Comments 9:32. Because Jesus was on the earth and now that the Holy Spirit occupies the earth, these dark things cannot show their power anymore.

33 And when the demon was cast out, the dumb [mute] man spoke: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

34 But the Pharisees said, By the prince of the demons He casts out demons.

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.

Comments 9:35. "... preaching the gospel of the kingdom." The Gospel's main points are:

The forgiveness of sins through the Son of God.

A chance to be forgiven by the Father through His Son.

Jesus is the only way out for humankind.

Come unto Jesus.

36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.

37 Then says He to His disciples, The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Comments 9:37. "The harvest indeed is plentiful" means that there are many lost souls.

"The laborers" are the ones that are willing to leave everything and work for the Lord; the pay given to them will be according to their commitment.

38 Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He sends forth laborers into His harvest.

Comments 9:38. "The Lord of the harvest" is the Father.

"His harvest" refers to the lost souls in the world.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) We must believe that Jesus is God. His works testify to this, and we should not doubt His authority and power as God. 2) We cannot mix the teachings of the Lord with any other manmade teachings. 3) We need to always pray to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for missionaries, pastors, and workers.

Matthew 10

Summary. In Chapter 10, we see that Jesus gives authority to eleven of His apostles by His Word to cast out demons and heal every disease and affliction. It is important to note that the betrayer, Judas, cannot have authority and join the kingdom. He just went along with the other apostles, but he had no authority of his own due to his lack of faith. After the Apostles’ era, Jesus does not give authority to anyone anymore. A new era of gifts and mercy begins when miracles are done only through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After the Lord gives authority to the disciples, He teaches them. His teachings cover four main themes. Within His teachings, some verses can be applied only to the apostles, some to the apostles and all that take their wages from tithes to the Lord, and others to all true believers. 1) Instructions for service (verses 5 to 14). The apostles were to proclaim Jesus to the house of Israel only. When the soldiers of the governor put the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, they proclaimed Him king of the entire world. He is no longer God of the Jews only. Then when Jesus was crucified, His blood was shed for the whole world. After the crucifixion, our duty as believers is to tell everybody that Jesus is God and He is the only way to salvation for Jews and Gentiles. When we receive Jesus as our Lord, the heavens come to us, and we have to extend our hand and tell others about Jesus. 2) Be ready; tribulations will come (verses 16 to 26 and 34 to 36). The Lord warns us to beware of evil men. They will mock and persecute the true Christians, but we should not fear those who fight against God. The truth about Jesus cannot die and cannot be hidden. Believe by heart, not by mouth. During the first coming of the Lord on earth, the Jews united themselves against Jesus and crucified Him, and persecuted the disciples. Before the second coming of the Lord, the entire world will be united against Jesus, and great persecution will come upon the true Christians. 3) What does it mean to be a disciple (verses 26 to 33 and 37 to 39)? First of all, we need to acknowledge Jesus as our God and Savior and fear the Father who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Then we need to carry our own belief, follow the Word, and stand firm on our belief that Jesus is the Son of God and He is the only way to heaven. Ultimately, we cannot forsake Jesus for the sake of our loved ones or for fear of men and life’s trials. 4) Spiritual rewards. The two main rules for following Jesus are to love God from your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. If we apply these in our daily lives, we will store treasures in heaven.

1 And He called to Him His twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.

Comments 10:1. The disciples walked with Jesus and have seen many miracles the Lord has done in front of them. By this time, their faith grew. Having authority and power but not having enough faith will not work; they can be misled to wrongly use their authority and power. Jesus knew the disciples who they were. Jesus gave them the authority by His Word.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

Comments 10:2. Peter, the Bible tells us that his name means stone (See Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42).

3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Comments 10:4. The betrayer cannot have authority because he did not have faith in Jesus. The Lord had mercy on him and sent him with the disciples, but he is not alone. He is different, but he doesn't think about why. He lives in darkness; he has chosen his way to walk in the darkness.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, and charged them, saying, Go not into any way of the Gentiles, and enter not into any city of the Samaritans:

Comments 10:5. Verses 5 to 6 must be applied only to the apostles for that particular situation. Before Jesus was crucified, He came to minister to the house of Israel only (See Matthew 15:24 and Acts 3:25-26). When Jesus was crucified, His blood was shed for the whole world. By Jesus' blood, the love and mercy of God are extended to the Gentiles.

6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Comments 10:6. The Jews are the ones that have the duty to be first to spread the Word of God. Then, when the Jews talk to one non-Jewish person, that person has the duty to tell the Word further and further.

7 And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Comments 10:7. When you receive Jesus as your Lord, then the heaven comes to you. Extend your hand and tell others about Jesus. You share the heaven with them when you share the Word. (Note: verses 7 to 10 can be applied to the apostles and all that take wages from tithes to the Lord.)

8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely you received, freely give.

Comments 10:8. Jesus gave authority to the disciples, except the betrayer. The apostles were special. They had authority up to the point of calling fire from heaven, punishing someone, healing by shadow and by cloth touching. This kind of authority and power has ended with the Apostles’ era. After the Apostles’ era, Jesus does not give authority to anyone anymore. A new era of gifts and mercy has started where miracles are done only through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is a difference between authority and gifts. By authority, the apostles could command (See Acts 5:1-11), by the gifts, the power belongs to the Holy Spirit, and the miracles are performed by praying and asking. If your heart is open, you can receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These days, many have gifts from the Holy Spirit, but some are using them in the wrong way. Watch out for those that use Jesus’ name to benefit themselves and, do not let self-proclaimed apostles come and confuse you. Only Jesus has the power to appoint an apostle.

9 Get you no gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses;

10 no wallet for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food.

Comments 10:9-10. This refers to all those that take wages from tithes to the Lord. These verses tell you to take your mind out of the things of this world. If you commit yourself to serve the Lord, do it without worry. Luxurious living takes your mind away from relying on the Lord. The Lord will provide enough for your daily living. Do not try to prepare for yourself more than how much you need.

11 And into whatsoever city or village you shall enter, search out who in it is worthy; and there abide until you go forth.

Comments 10:11. Note that verses 11 to 14 can be applied to all true believers.

“Worthy” refers to the ones that are worthy in the eyes of the Lord (in the heart, not necessarily in wealth). In those times, the worthy ones were the ones that helped the poor without expecting anything in return. Nowadays, we help through the church and charity organizations, which is the right way as well.

12 And as you enter into the house, salute it.

Comments 10:12. Pray for that house for the Lord to come upon it. If they accept the Lord, the Lord will accept them as well and stay there with them.

13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as you go Out [] of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet.

Comments 10:14. If they do not accept the Lord, when you leave, do not think of them anymore. If they reject the Lord, they reject you as well; cut them off from your mind, and no guilt is on you.

15 Truly I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Comments 10:15. "... it shall be more tolerable ..." Think here of the word unbearable (intolerable) and imagine to be punished in an unbearable way for eternity, not just for a moment.

"Day of judgment" refers to the end-time judgment day when no more repentance is left over. The Lord has given all the chances possible for humans to repent when they are on this earth; this is the only place where we can repent.

16 Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Comments 10:16. The “sheep” trust the shepherd to walk without fear. Thus, you walk with the Lord, have no fear, and just trust in the Lord.

“Wolves” means the world.

“Serpents,” when they hear a sound, the first thing they do, they run. In the same way, when you feel something is not right, there is no need for you to experience it; just avoid it. You do not need to get into a trap.

Be gentle and innocent as a “dove.” Trust in the Lord as a baby.

17 But beware of people: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in theirs synagogues they will scourge you;

Comments 10:17. These days, where we are, we might not face persecution as it is written; we may only be rejected. People just reject us and treat us like a disease. In the past, the believers died for Jesus' name. These days, it is hard for us to take just the embarrassment for the name of Jesus; this is called faith at the surface or cold faith.

18 [] and before governors and kings shall you be brought for My sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

19 But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what you shall speak.

Comments 10:18-19. These verses talk about facing confrontation, applying to the past, present, and future. If someone confronts you about your faith, the first thing you should do is to call the name of Jesus in your heart, and the words will come to your mouth; the job belongs to the Lord.

20 For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of Your Father that speaks through you.

21 And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child: and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.

22 And you shall be hated of all people for my name's sake: but he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.

23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next: for truly I say to you, You shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.

Comments 10:16-23. In verse 15, the Lord talks about the Day of Judgment. Then in verses 16 to 25, He talks about the persecution that will come. The Christians will always suffer some kind of persecution, but these verses will be fulfilled in their fullness during a period of time before the tribulation time, prior to the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Before the second coming of the Lord, there will be a movement of faith started in Israel first. This paragraph applies in its fullness to a group of chosen ones from all over the world during this pre-tribulation period.

24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord.

Comments 10:24. In this verse, "disciple" applies to the believer, "teacher" (master) to the Lord Jesus, "servant" to the Lord Jesus, and "lord" to the Father. In the Bible, we can notice that sometimes the Lord Jesus calls Himself a servant of the Father.

25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household!

Comments 10:25. "Of his household" refers to the believers.

26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

Comments 10:26. Fear, not those who speak against God, those who try to find proof against His birth and resurrection. Believe by your heart, not by your mind.

“for there is nothing covered … be known.” There have been talks against the Lord Jesus from the beginning, and people have spread the word of lies. However, the truth about Jesus, that He is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary, crucified and died for our sins, and that He rose again on the third day in the body, cannot be hidden. The world will see Jesus again, and they will see the truth when He comes to judge the world.

27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak you in the light; and what you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the house-tops.

Comments 10:27. This verse mainly refers to the understanding of the Word when you read/hear it. The Lord speaks in the heart, not in the thought of reason. The first thought that comes, not the thought that you are thinking, bring that thought forth.

28 And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Comments 10:28. "Them that kill the body" refers to the ones that are against those that believe in Jesus. There are many like this around us, and many come among us. Be aware of those that are among you and pretend to be like you, but they are not. Those are the real enemies of the true Christians, watch out for them; some are leaders in the churches.

"fear Him ... and body in hell." The Three in One is the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. All have the power to destroy the soul, but only the Father has the authority to command to have the soul destroyed.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father:

Comments 10:29. The Father cares for the sparrows. We are the children of His Son; how much more will the Father care for us?

30 but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Comments 10:30. Every word we speak and all our deeds are written in the Judgment Book. We are responsible for what we say and do. The judgment to come will be clear, and no one can say that the judgment is not fair.

31 Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows.

Comments 10:31. Do not deny Jesus, and do not be afraid to testify about Jesus in front of people. Only Jesus can bring us to the Father. Your soul is more important than the body.

32 Every one therefore who shall confess Me before people, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny Me before people, him will I also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

34 Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I came to set a man [] against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law:

36 and a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

Comments 10:32-36. These verses are yet to be fulfilled in a time to come. We believe these events will happen in their fullness in a time prior to the tribulation period and during the tribulation period (See the Book of Revelation). People will try to make god on earth. You will hear about it, god on earth that can save you. And they will call people to join them to save the world; do not follow them for they cannot save you; these are false christs. They will change something in the Bible, such that all the Bibles that come out are not the true Bible anymore. You will not find a true Bible; it will be outlawed. This will be a time of a false god, a false christ, and a false word. They will use the human fear of people to make them abandon their true Bible. They will make people believe there is a mistake in the Bible, and people will give up their own true Bible and join them. Don't try to save your life for the sake of this world. You think you can do it, but not that many will be able to keep the truth when this time comes.

37 He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Comments 10:37. If you have someone you love, your own child, or your own family member who falls into this dark trap (See above Comments 10:32-36) and wants to get you in, go back to Jesus' Word and think about it. Do not fall for it. Remember that you have a family in heaven!

38 And he that does not take his cross and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.

Comments 10:38. Carry your own belief, not the belief that someone wants you to have. You have the true Word; it is your life; follow the Word.

39 He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.

Comments 10:39. People will try to get rid of the true Word. They will change something in the Bible, and all the Bibles that will come out will not be true Bibles. Watch out. They think they have good news to tell you; do not believe them. It is good news to them to take your soul. The only way to be saved is by following Jesus' teaching, reading the Word, and obeying.

40 He that receives you receives Me, and he that receives Me receives Him that sent Me.

Comments 10:40. The verse shows a chain reaction. If you receive the one that comes in the name of Jesus, you receive Jesus. And if you receive Jesus, you receive the Father who sent Him.

41 He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward: and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

Comments 10:41. If you receive someone that claims to be a prophet or a righteous person and if you believe that the gift is from the Lord, you receive the One that gives him authority. Do not doubt; seek first the advice from the Holy Spirit through prayer, and He will guide you. Appreciate their work but do not forget that everything must match what the Bible states. The Bible must be your guide.

42 And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you he shall in no way lose his reward.

Comments 10:42. This verse refers to those who believe in the Bible and believe what the Bible tells us about Jesus. They act not in the way of the world but in Jesus’ way. The central aspect of following Jesus is: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“little ones” refer here to believers in Jesus.

“cold water” here refers to the Gospel. We always need to feed the Gospel among ourselves and others.

“truly, I say to you he shall in no way lose his reward.” We, as Christians, need to show mercy and kindness to all that ask. Show mercy and kindness as the Lord shows mercy and kindness to everyone, and you will build up treasures in heaven.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Acknowledge Jesus as our God and Savior, stand firm on our faith, follow the Word, and share Jesus with others. 2) Do not fear men, but fear God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 3) Beware of tribulations and persecutions coming our way in various forms from evil men. 4) Do good to people, show love, and share the Gospel with them, and we shall receive our rewards in heaven.

Matthew 11

Summary. Chapter 11 tells us that after Jesus instructed His disciples and supervised them for a short while, He went alone to teach and preach in various cities. The starting event of this chapter is when John sends his disciples to Jesus to publicly ask Him if He is the One to come. Jesus used this event to preach to the crowds. His sermon here in Chapter 11 can be divided into four main points. 1) Blessed is he who is not offended by Jesus and believes that Jesus is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born through the virgin birth. 2) Jesus tells people about John. John was appointed to be born, and he was the messenger of the Lord. As a messenger, he preached repentance, baptized Jesus in water, and testified about Jesus being the Son of God. That is why John is greater than the prophets. 3) Repent and accept Jesus as God. Jesus clearly tells us that if we do not repent, we will be destroyed in hell. 4) Come to Jesus and stay under His blood. There is only one name above and under the heavens that can ask forgiveness for our souls and lead our souls, and that name is Jesus.

1 And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Comments 11:1. Only instructing the disciples was not enough for them to be alone. The Lord traveled with them for a short period, but Jesus went with them only as moral support; He did not do the actions (See John 4:1-2). The disciples needed this experience to do the work of the Lord by themselves while being guided by Jesus. The Lord wanted to prepare them so that they could do the work after He was taken away.

“He departed from there …”; Afterwards, He separated Himself from the disciples and went alone to teach and preach. The disciples knew where they could find Him, and if they encountered any problems, they could find Him.

2 Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples

3 and said unto Him, Art Thou He that cometh, or look we for another?

Comments 11:2-3. John was just a man himself. He had a short period of difficult times. When difficult times come, doubt also comes.

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:

5 the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them.

6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in Me.

Comments 11:6. Mainly, this verse concentrates on Jesus, who is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born through virgin birth to be God and man at the same time. Blessed are those who believe this.

7 And as these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What went you out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind?

Comments 11:7. "A reed shaken by the wind" refers to people that cannot get a hold of themselves onto anything. They just go with the wind and have no backbones to stand by themselves.

8 But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garment? Behold, they that wear soft garment are in king's houses.

9 But why went you out? to see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet.

10 This is he, of whom it is written,

​Behold, I send my messenger before Thy face,

​Who shall prepare Thy way before Thee.

Comments 11:10. "Before Thy face" refers to Jesus.

"Prepare Thy way before Thee" refers to preparing the way for the baptism of Jesus. John was the man on earth chosen by the Father to baptize Jesus; that is why the messenger is much more than a prophet.

11 Truly I say to you, Among them that are born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Comments 11:11. John has been appointed to be born. His destiny was decided before he was born (See Luke 1:13-17). He was the messenger of the Lord, and that was the purpose for him to be born.

“The least ones in the kingdom of heaven” or “little in the kingdom of heaven” refers to heavenly beings (such as angels). Humans are born out of sinful nature, but those that are born in heaven are born with no sin. The verse gives a simple comparison between two types: the living souls on earth and the living ones in heaven.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven allows violence, and people of violence take it by force.

Comments 11:12. "From the days of John the Baptist" refers to the days when John the Baptist started to preach in the wilderness.

"Until now" refers to the time when Jesus started His ministry.

"The Kingdom ... by force." This part of the verse relates to the spiritual world.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come.

15 He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 But to which shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows

Comments 11:16. "This generation" refers to the human race from the beginning until the end times; from the beginning until the end because all people have ears and eyes, but they have never been able to use them as the Lord created them.

"Children" are the believers, children of God.

"Fellows" or "playmates" are those that the believers, children, think of them being believers like them.

17 and say,

We piped to you, and you did not dance;

we wailed, and you did not mourn.

Comments 11:17. The children of God rejoice in praising and singing, and they will see the difference. Those who believe like them will glorify the Lord together with them, and those who do not believe like them will not glorify the Lord. In the context here, these verses are directed to the Jews. The Jews were all children of God chosen by God. Yet, only a few have recognized Jesus as Messiah. Instead, many of them mocked Jesus and John.

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon.

19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works.

Comments 11:19. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking …”; People that use this verse to pinpoint out that the Lord drank are people that try to bring the Lord down. They use verses in the Bible to justify their own beliefs and doings. The Lord never drank alcohol. The wine the Lord drank was grape juice, for if the Lord taught us not to drink, surely He Himself will not drink.

“a friend of publicans and sinners …”; The Lord has been a friend to the sinners. The purpose of being a friend to the sinners is to bring the sinners out of their dark ways. Do not think that being with sinners means being like them. The “wisdom” in these verses is to see the purpose the Lord had for being with the sinners. Use that wisdom that the Lord provides and justify your own actions. Use the Lord’s guidelines to be with the sinners. Jesus went to teach them, not to learn from them. Do likewise.

20 Then began He to denounce the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not.

21 Woe unto you, Chorazin! woe unto you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

23 And you, Capernaum, shall you be exalted to heaven? you shall go down to Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day.

24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.

Comments 11:20-24. Verses 20 to 24 show that repentance towards the Lord is the main issue for us humans to do. When we repent also, it means that we accept that Jesus is the greatest, and He is God. If we do not repent, we will be destroyed in hell.

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:

Comments 11:25. "These things" refers to the fact that Jesus can forgive sins, and under the death of Jesus, sins can be forgiven. There is only one name under and above the heavens that can ask forgiveness for us, and that name is Jesus.

"Wise and understanding" refers to those that think that they know it all. They believe they know everything, but they don't even know what will happen tomorrow.

"Babes” or “Little children" are the ones that accept Jesus and take communion with the Lord, drink His blood, and join to be one with the Lord.

26 yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in Thy sight.

27 All things have been delivered unto Me by My Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him.

Comments 11:27. All things (the souls and the power) belong to Jesus, but He didn't take possession yet. He came at this time to ask them to come to Him ("Come unto Me").

28 Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Comments 11:28. The labor here does not mean only the missionaries and pastors working for the Lord but also includes all those searching and wanting to do work for the Lord. As a secondary meaning, the labor can be applied to all those that toil for the things of this world but are still searching for the Lord.

"Heavy laden" are those that carry the burden for lost souls who didn't have a chance to know the Lord and feel heavy in their hearts to go and tell others about Jesus.

“I will give you rest”; Come to Jesus and stay under His blood, and you will find peace and rest for your soul.

29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.

Comments 11:29. The “yoke” is to tell the love and knowledge about God the Father. Tell all that the Father is kind and loving, but His wrath is even greater than His love. Come and glorify the Father through Jesus.

“for I am meek …”; Be humble, do not boast. God is not for you alone; share the love and knowledge about God.

30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Comments 11:30. "My yoke is easy" refers to the love for all. All who ask for mercy and love in the name of the Lord show mercy to them and bring their situation for prayer. Remember, we must pray from within our hearts and not just by our mouths.

"My burden is light" means the love and care for all the believers that you come to be in contact with. But we must come in the name of the Lord and give our concern and worry to the Lord. Our duty is to pray in detail for them and not worry for them. Worrying for them is too heavy for us; that is the Lord's duty.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Jesus is the Messiah, "the One who is to come," and blessed are those that believe this. 2) Repent and stay under the blood of Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is the place that we need to search and toil for. 3) Use Jesus' guidelines to be with sinners. Jesus went to teach them and show them the way, not to learn from them. 4) Tell the love and knowledge about God the Father to others. Jesus came to love all in the same way.

Matthew 12

Summary. Chapter 12 deals with the authority of Jesus over the seen and the unseen world. This chapter also shows some of the many accusations the Pharisees, the scribes, and some people brought against Jesus and gives us the response of Jesus to their charges. Jesus is the Law for humankind, and He has authority same as the Father, to forgive or not forgive sins. This chapter shows three ways in which Jesus is greater, has authority: 1) He is greater than the temple since the body of the Lord Jesus is the living holy temple that never faces corruption; 2) His teaching is greater than the teaching of Jonah since Jesus teaches repentance and salvation for all humankind, while Jonah preaches repentance for a group of people; 3) His wisdom is greater than the wisdom of Solomon since Jesus' wisdom concerns how to be pleasing to the Father, while Solomon's wisdom is how to be with people. The chapter's summary of the events that triggered the dialogue between the Pharisees and scribes with Jesus, the accusations brought to Jesus, and the response of Jesus is fivefold. 1) Jesus' disciples rubbing grain heads in their hands on a Sabbath day; this is considered work by the Pharisees, and they accuse Jesus that He does not teach His disciples to follow the law; Jesus responds and ultimately tells them that He is the Lord of the Sabbath implying His deity. 2) Healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath in their synagogue. The Pharisees conspire to destroy Him because He is doing unlawful things on the Sabbath and Jesus responds by withdrawing from there and allowing the ones that believe in Him to separate and follow Him. 3) Jesus heals a demon-oppressed man who is blind and mute. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons, not by the Spirit of God. Jesus responds and concludes by saying that there is a judgment day, and we are all responsible for our actions and the words we say. 4) The Pharisees and the scribes ask for a sign. The Pharisees and scribes call Jesus a teacher, but they do not show respect to Him as a teacher. Jesus responds that no sign will be given to anybody except His bodily resurrection from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion. 5) His mother and brothers stood outside while Jesus was speaking to the people. Pointing publicly to His mother and brothers is a way to lower Jesus down as merely a simple man and attack His claims to be the Son of God. Jesus responds that He has only one Father, who is in heaven, and His brother, sister, and mother are those that glorify the Father and glorify the Lord Jesus as God.

1 At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grainfields; and His disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears and to eat.

Comments 12:1. From now on, it will be shown who Jesus is, especially for His disciples. Jesus did not come to break the Law. He came to complete the Law, and His disciples must learn this. He is the Law for humans, and in Him, all the Law is complete.

2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto Him, Behold, Thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath.

Comments 12:2. The Pharisees put the blame on Jesus that He did not teach His disciples to follow the Law. But Jesus is the Law to follow. Jesus is the Law, so how can you tell the Law to follow the Law?

“Thy disciples do that which it is not lawful …”; In this case, the Pharisees' accusation is that the process of rubbing the grain heads in their hands to get the grains to eat is work. They put burdens on men, which was not what the Lord wanted the Sabbath to be. The Sabbath-keeping was for building faith, not for making the faith disappear. That is why the Lord Jesus fulfilled all those laws, to show the mercy of the Lord. The Lord wanted to end this controlling, which was so wrong. Men made rules using God as a tool to build up their power to control others. This was not what the Lord wanted for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to glorify God.

3 But He said to them, Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him;

4 how he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, either for them that were with him, but only for the priests?

Comments 12:3-4. This is an example of the mercy of the Lord. David and his companions were hungry, and the Lord showed mercy and allowed them to eat without making them guilty. Because they were hungry, the Lord had mercy. What was that bread for; to feed the hungry (David and his men) or not the hungry (the priests)? Those priests did not need to eat the bread, but David and his men were hungry and needed food. That is why this is the mercy of the Lord.

5 Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless?

Comments 12:5. In this chapter, the Pharisees put the priests above the Sabbath. This is a question that the Lord put for them, you think they are guiltless, make people think twice, are they or not? If the priests make mistakes and do not follow exactly as the law is written, they become guilty of that sin. In the Law itself will tell, you must follow the Law exactly to avoid sin, follow according to the Law, not another. In this time, they, the Pharisees, put many laws for themselves, even if the Law of God did not command it. They did this to make themselves be separate. Some of the things they do are for personal use, but they claim what they do is in the Lord's will, but that is profane. Because they are the ones that have been chosen, they consider themselves guiltless by the Law. Here, there is only one Lord of the Sabbath, which they did not recognize, and they think they are guiltless, but they are not. The Lord does not look at the position the person holds; He looks at the heart of the person. That is why the Lord Jesus came to fulfill the Law of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is for people, not for the Lord (when the Lord gives the rules for the Sabbath, we as humans must follow the rules, not changing the rules). The Lord gave the Sabbath rules to follow from the beginning, then these people have changed those rules, and it became as follow human rules, not the Sabbath rules. If we glorify the Lord Jesus, we do not need to keep the Sabbath because He is the Lord of the Sabbath. They are guilty, not Jesus.

6 But I say to you, that one greater than the temple is here.

Comments 12:6. "One greater" or "something greater" than the temple can be linked to the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus (See John 2:18-22); the Lord Jesus states this because they do not believe in the bodily resurrection. They all believe in a spiritual, not a bodily, resurrection of the dead (See Acts 23:8 and Acts 24:21). The body of the Lord Jesus is the living temple and is greater than the earthly temple. The Lord Jesus has only one body, which we will see at His second coming. His body never faced corruption. And, we will see His nail-pierced hands. The earthly temple needs repairs, but the living temple is perfect; it never decays. The living temple is larger than the universe; it has no limit. All of those that believe can enter, and it never fills up; there is always room for one more.

7 But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless.

Comments 12:7. The Lord condemns the fact that there was no mercy and people would bring the best things for sacrifices but would ignore the lack of their brothers. Then and now, people do not look out for each other’s needs, but just for themselves alone. The Lord wants unity between brothers and brothers helping each other. He wants all to join together to bring sacrifices to the Lord and do things together in peace. There should be no jealousy between each other, no lifting up of one over another, no backbiting. As Christians, we all must be one in Christ, as the Lord is One.

“you would not have condemned the guiltless”; The guiltless refers to the Lord Jesus only.

8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

9 And He departed from there, and went into their synagogue:

Comments 12:9. A synagogue is a place where all the Jews gather together. The Lord was there and taught them on that Sabbath day for them to see the Lord's way. Jesus did not come to follow their law, but He came to teach them the Lord's Law. But they refused His teaching and did not accept Him. However, in the Bible, we see that they call Him teacher. If they call Him teacher, but they do not believe what He teaches, then their guilt remains. We need not be like them; we need to listen and obey the Lord's teaching.

10 and behold, a man having a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? that they might accuse Him.

Comments 12:10. "And behold ... hand." The man's hand couldn't stretch open; he couldn't stretch out his fingers. Yet, in his heart, all he wanted was that he could open his hand to worship the Lord. Note, this man came to the temple. A beggar who cannot open his hand cannot ask people for mercy, but he can still ask the Lord for mercy with his palm closed.

"And they asked ... accuse Him." Here it shows how people are. The Pharisees use their own laws to set traps to be able to make accusations and destroy Jesus. When they see that one does good, they set the trap to destroy that one (See Verse 14).

11 And He said to them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12 How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.

13 Then said He to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out; and it was restored whole, as the other.

Comments 12:11-13. People make many laws for themselves and claim them to be the law of God for their own benefit. The Sabbath is for man, not for God. Here God performs His Sabbath, but people cannot accept God to do His work (to do good) on the Sabbath. They come asking things on the Sabbath, and if God does it, they do not accept it. Their anger blinds their heart. We are supposed to do good on the Sabbath, but we as Christians do not keep the Sabbath anymore. For us, each day is a Sabbath day because we have Christ in us, and He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Charity is considered good work for the Lord. So, do good every day, and it will count. Do not harm anyone, believers or non-believers. Think of yourself before you do something to someone.

14 But the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Comments 12:14. Setting the trap was not enough for them. Now they start working to make the trap work to destroy Jesus and interrupt His work.

15 And Jesus perceiving it withdrew from there: and many followed Him; and He healed them all,

Comments 12:15. "Jesus, ... from there." The Lord can hear the heart and knows what it is in the heart.

"many followed Him;" The ones that in their heart want to follow the Lord will come out and follow. The Lord is like a light in the dark. All His sheep saw the light and followed.

"and He healed them all"; Here, we can understand that the Lord healed the heart of those who followed Him. The word healed here may be better understood as renewed.

16 and charged them that they should not make Him known:

Comments 12:16. Jesus did not come to be famous. He came to heal the broken-hearted that no one cared about. They were healed through the mercy of God to strengthen their faith in the Father. Jesus wanted them to talk about how merciful God is. He came to glorify the Father, not Himself.

17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

18 Behold, My servant whom I have chosen; My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased: I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall declare judgment to the Gentiles.

Comments 12:18. Jesus is one hundred percent Man and one hundred percent God. Here, Jesus is portrayed as the servant and the beloved Son of God the Father that is anointed by the Holy Spirit.

19 He shall not strive, nor cry aloud;

Neither shall any one hear His voice in the streets.

Comments 12:19. The Lord is a teacher, and He is the most Holy teacher. Our heart is His temple, and He speaks straight to our heart. He did not walk around the streets and teach. If our heart cries for Him, He comes right away to His synagogue. It is a personal conviction between the heart and the Lord. The Lord will never force Himself on anyone. Willingness is the key for the Word to enter into the heart of a man or a woman.

20 A bruised reed shall He not break, And smoking flax shall He not quench, Till He send forth judgment unto victory.

Comments 12:20. "Bruised reed" refers to those that are double-minded and weak in faith. Faith has many levels; some believe that their faith is the right faith. Our duty is to tell but not to judge as we have no right to judge anyone. If we judge, we break the soul of a person. The reed here is the soul itself. The judgment is at the end, and it is the Lord's duty.

"Smoking flax" refers to those who believe they understand the Bible, but they are simply using their own judgment and do not ask the Lord for understanding. This also applies to the teachers of the Bible that teach from their own understanding and never ask the Lord for understanding. The Lord will not bring someone to make them ashamed publicly for what they understand, even if their understanding is wrong. It is not the Lord's will to hurt anyone's feelings; if you want to correct someone, do it privately, not in public, so as not to shame them (See Acts 18:24-28).

"Till He ... victory." See the Book of Revelation.

21 And in His name shall the Gentiles hope.

Comments 12:21. This verse applies when the Word is preached all over the world to the Gentiles. There are still more people that have never heard about Jesus. The Lord supports missionary work to go out and tell the Word.

22 Then was brought to Him one possessed with a demon, blind and mute: and He healed him, insomuch that the mute man spoke and saw.

Comments 12:22. In this case, it was not a physical disability. There was nothing abnormal in the body. The disability was related to the sin of the man.

“and He healed him …”; The Lord’s mercy is greater than all. The sin the man had has been lifted up. The man did not come to ask by word, but by his heart, he was asking for mercy, and mercy has been poured out on him. The mercy that has no ending from the Lord continues forever for those who are searching with a true heart.

23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, Can this be the Son of David?

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This Man does not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

Comments 12:23-24. At the time, it was well known among the people that the Pharisees were the ones that had the authority to cast out evils, not someone else. And Jesus is not part of their group, so in their view, Jesus did not have that authority, but He proves over and over that He has this authority.

25 And knowing their thoughts He said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Comments 12:25. "Knowing their thoughts ..."; The Lord hears the heart and knows the thoughts of men. Nothing is hidden; even the most secret thing is open in front of the Lord. He sees through all things.

26 and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?

27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons throw them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

Comments 12:26-27. “By whom do your sons throw them out?” In these verses, we understand that the older generation passed on the teaching of casting out evils from the previous generation. But now their children’s generation is corrupt. The old way of their practice has been changed (See Acts 19:13-20). Nobody out of their group rose up to have the duty as the old generation did. And now, Jesus has the power and authority over the evil spirits, but He is not part of their group. The Pharisees fear the shifting of authority away from them. For people to see that someone outside of their group can perform the authority over evils, they can’t let this happen. For them, the shift of authority has to be stopped, and Jesus must be destroyed.

28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you.

Comments 12:28. Even when the Lord tells them straight, they can't believe it. Darkness covers their eyes. When you serve the dark, you cannot see the light. The conclusion of verses 24 to 29 is that the Lord wants them (the Pharisees) to admit that their children do not use the power of God to do their work (they lost the authority) and acknowledge that the power and authority over the spirits belong to Jesus. They lost the power, and when they saw the Lord's power did not recognize Jesus; they walked parallel with God, not with God anymore. That is why they can't see the authority the Lord has shown among the people.

29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

Comments 12:29. This verse is straightforward. However, you can also apply it to the heart of the man. If you let the wishes of this world be the main thing that occupies your mind, then it is, as the Bible says, they have tied you up, and all the bad thoughts enter into you. Therefore, do not occupy your mind with things to build treasures on earth, which you cannot take with you, rather stay in prayer and invite the Lord to be with you in your daily living.

30 He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathers not with Me scatters.

Comments 12:30. This verse relates to the baptism in water, in the name of the Father, Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus has been an example for us, and He has been baptized in water. Just accepting the Lord Jesus is not enough to secure a place to be close to the Lord; we need to be baptized in water. When we do that, we acknowledge the Lord in public and become children of God. And, when we immerse under the water, we go through the gate of this world and enter the gate of heaven with Christ.

31 Therefore I say to you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to people; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.

Comments 12:31-32. In this particular case, the Pharisees accused Jesus as per verse 24, which is why the Lord spoke this way. "This world" or "this age" refers here to the time when Jesus was on earth. "The world to come" or "the age to come" refers here to the time after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. After the crucifixion, the earth goes on according to the love of the Son. The mercy and love of the Son sustain the earth from the wrath of the Father.

33 Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by its fruit.

Comments 12:33. The tree here represents humans. Humans have free choice. What you choose, that is what you live on. If you choose light, you will walk in the light of the Lord. If you do not choose the light, you will reap the fruits of the darkness. Jesus is the true light; come to Jesus. The duty of Jesus is to lead the children of God to glorify the Father.

34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Comments 12:34. "You offspring of vipers" in those days applied to the Pharisees. But now amongst us, we have worse than the vipers. They come in many forms, mainly bringing joy and fun for life. The Pharisees of the past believed in God and did think about God. But people nowadays do not think anymore about God. So, the Pharisees of the past have converted themselves to be the atheists of today.

"For out ... speaks." Talk with them, and you will know what is really in their heart. What is in their heart will come out. The blasphemous words are on the tips of their tongues. They hang evil like a golden chain around their necks.

35 The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good things: and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.

36 And I say to you, that every idle word that people shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Comments 12:35-36. These verses talk about the book of life, which has been written since we were born. All the careless words we say are written in it. The book of life has two parts: before we are baptized in water and after we are baptized in water. The moment we baptize in water, our book of life has been destroyed. A new book of life starts at the time of our baptism, and this book of life will be used to judge Christians. There is no turning back; we cannot go to be baptized again. The baptism in water is important. If you want to be baptized in water, you will find water. If you don't want to be baptized, you won't do it even if there is water. The Lord Jesus has been baptized in the water. If the Lord of your life was baptized, how can you find a reason not to?

37 For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.

38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from Thee.

Comments 12:38. The duty of the teacher (or master) is to teach, show love, and patience; also, punish those who do not obey the rules of the teacher. We, as Christians, are different; we are not students but brothers with Jesus. We come to have the same Father with Jesus.

“Teacher, we would …”; They call Jesus “Teacher” (or “Master”) but have no respect for Him. The power to decide and judge belongs to the teacher (or master). The teacher (or master) does not need to prove that he has power and authority. They have to prove themselves worthy to be taught. We, as Christians, must be different; we just need to accept what Jesus has done for us.

39 But He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:

Comments 12:39. It is not just that generation, but every generation, that seeks for a sign. Even now, always the Lord is asked to show signs. If you believe, you believe, no sign or miracle will be given. We should come with a humble heart and acknowledge that we are just dust. We should not come bargaining with the Lord, as with a merchant for selling things. The Lord does not sell things; He has created all things. Come and glorify the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

40 for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Comments 12:40. See comments in Chapters 27 and 28 about Jesus’ death and resurrection.

41 The people of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

Comments 12:41. This verse just shows that the generation of people living in Nineveh have repented at the preaching of Jonah, but the generation that saw Jesus did not repent at the preaching of Jesus. It is not to be taken literally that the Nineveh generation will judge this generation.

“A greater” or “something greater” than Jonah refers to the teachings that Jesus gives. The translation “something” is correct. This portion of the verse is not about the person of Jesus but about His teaching. Those who came before brought a message only to a specific group, but Jesus has the living Word to the whole world. The message of Jesus has no barriers; it is for every culture, color, and language. His message to all people is salvation by grace, not by works.

42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Comments 12:42. "A greater than Solomon" or "something greater than Solomon" refers to the wisdom. Solomon's wisdom is how to be with the people. Jesus' wisdom is about how to be pleasing to the Father, which the world is not interested in.

43 But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and finds it not.

Comments 12:43. "Dry places" or "waterless places." Our soul is a living water place for evil to feed on. "The unclean spirit" refers to the spirit of the antichrist (See 1 John 2:18-19, and 1 John 2:22-25). When this spirit leaves the house, which is the soul, because the person tries to join with the Lord and cleans up their own act, it goes into waterless places. But if it needs to extend its life, it will try to come back to take over the "old place." When it comes back, it will not be alone; it will be more violent and will fight to take over again. Don't leave the house empty. Stay in prayer and read the Word, for only the Word of God can help and fill the house. The Word is the eternal food for our souls.

44 Then he said, I will return into my house from where I came out; and when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.

Comments 12:44. "He finds it empty, swept, and garnished" or "It finds the house empty swept and put in order." House here refers to the soul of a person. People believe that the house is the heart, but the heart is just an organ of the body (think of the heart in two dimensions as well, the heart as an organ for the body, but another dimension of the heart is for the soul). Evil does not need the heart, but it needs the soul to feed on. As humans, we try to use a human way to keep ourselves clean. You sweep the soul clean when you try to cut off something useless in life. But if you do not come to Jesus and read the Word, you leave the soul empty, and it becomes a temptation for evil to dwell in. Before we become Christians, we try to be clean, to change, and be a new person. But if we do not fill up the soul with the Word, the change will not last long. The empty house will collapse down. Also, as Christians, if we slack off from the Word, we make empty rooms in our souls to be tempted. Human nature, especially the laziness of human nature, leads us to be vulnerable. If we call ourselves Christians, we need to read the Word. Only the Word can be used to fill the soul.

45 Then goes he, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so shall it be also to this evil generation.

Comments 12:45. “Then goes he …”; As a Christian, the soul is precious living water, and that is why your soul becomes a temptation for evil to latch on. Once you know the Word and turn away from the Word, you will be attacked more. You have to cling to the Word because the Word is the shield of protection for your soul.

“and they enter in and dwell there …”; This passage refers to those that have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior and then deny Him as their God because of the troubles of this life. And then blame Him and claim that all troubles are from Him. Accepting the Lord does not mean that there will be no troubles in life. But no suffering on this earth can be compared with the eternal damnation. There is no second chance for those persons that betray the Lord Jesus.

“Even so shall …”; This evil or wicked generation refers here to the generation that denied the Lord when He was on earth.

46 While He was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and His brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to Him.

Comments 12:46. This passage is here to let us see that even Jesus Himself has cut off everything, except for those that followed the Father. Those who follow the Father become His family. Everything is for the Father; nothing else on earth is more important than listening and obeying the Father.

47 And one said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to Thee.

48 But He answered and said to him that told Him, Who is My mother? and who are My brothers?

Comments 12:48. As humans, can we love someone else before those that are inside our earthly family? We fail this test all the time because our eyes are always fixed on the things we can see. Because we cannot see the Lord, we cannot give up everything for the Lord. There is no visual or physical exchange between humans and God, so only faith can carry us through.

49 And He stretched forth His hand towards His disciples, and said, Behold, My mother and My brothers!

Comments 12:49. Remember where your true home is. There you have the true family, and you are going to be forever with them. If you want the family of this earth to be there, speak the Word of Jesus to them. Make them meditate on the Word of God.

50 For whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.

Comments 12:50. The Lord Jesus has only one Father who is in heaven. Brother and sister, and mother are those who glorify the Father and believe in Jesus. Those that are just spectators are not included in the family. The ones counted in the family are only those that glorify the Father and glorify the Lord Jesus as God.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) For us Christians, each day is a Sabbath day because we have Christ in us, and He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Charity is considered good work for the Lord. So, we should do good deeds each day, and it will count. 2) The baptism in water is an essential step for a Christian. The moment we baptize in water, our book of life will be destroyed, and a new book of life will start. This new book of life will be used to judge Christians, so we should watch every word we say since they can't be erased anymore. 3) Keep in prayer and read the Word. Only the Word of the Bible can fill our souls and keep us safe from evil attacks. 4) Appreciate the brothers and sisters in Christ. These are part of our true family in heaven, and we will be together for eternity. 5) We do not need to ask for a sign from God to prove Himself to us. The only sign that has been given to us is the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus on the third day after His death on the cross. 6) Ultimately, it is our free choice to do good or evil, and what we choose will determine what we live for.

Matthew 13

Summary. The main question a Christian should ask when reading this chapter is, "What is heaven for me?" Many, many people come in the parables of this chapter, and heaven is being compared to their living lifestyle and their own belief. Heaven is so large but, at the same time, so small. We can't figure out the size of heaven; it is beyond our understanding. But for us, ultimately, heaven should be Jesus Himself. There are eight parables portrayed in this chapter by Jesus, along with Jesus explaining why He speaks to people in parables. Also, at the end of the chapter, we are shown why the people in Jesus' hometown rejected the Lord Jesus. This passage of the Bible should be a lesson for all. Like those people who lived during Jesus' time and saw His family on earth and stumbled in His earthly family, today, people continue to believe that for Jesus to be the Son of God, Mary must be holy and remain holy. So, people went along and manipulated the facts of the Bible to keep Mary holy. However, the people in Jesus' hometown witness that Mary lived a normal life after Jesus' birth since they "took offense at Him." But we should believe from our hearts that Jesus is born of the Virgin Mary, and He is the only begotten Son of God and Mary is a blessed woman. The Lord Jesus does not give us a clear definition of heaven since we need to find heaven for ourselves, and each one of us is different. All parables in this chapter give us various perspectives of how to find heaven and serve Jesus. 1) The parable of the sower tells us that if we want to be sons of the kingdom of heaven, we need to listen and meditate on the Word of God, confess our sins, and receive the grace of God through Jesus. 2) The parable of the weeds tells us that the church is mingled (wheat and weeds) until the end times, and we need to study and meditate on the Word of God to be able to know the difference between the truth and error in the church. 3) The parable of the mustard seed tells us that the kingdom of heaven is so small that it can live in our hearts and so big that all believers can live in it. 4) The parable of the leaven shows that the human eye cannot see the kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of heaven is alive and can grow. 5) The parable of the hidden treasure tells us that if one covers their knowledge about the kingdom of heaven, then that person is doing the evil's work. 6) The pearl of great value parable shows us how a true Christian should be. We must be willing to give up all our earthly treasures for the heavenly treasures and share the knowledge of the kingdom with others. 7) The parable of the net tells us that the Lord has thrown His love to all humankind, and He wants everybody to become children of the kingdom of heaven. 8) The parable of the new and old treasures tells us that a true Christian must be taught by the Bible through the Holy Spirit for a complete understanding of who Jesus is.

1 On that day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

2 And there were gathered unto Him great multitudes, so that He entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach.

Comments 13:2. Here, all the people in the crowds hear Jesus' voice miraculously when He teaches them. For the Lord Jesus, there is no space and time. The space is bent (folded) together in one point, so there is no distance for Jesus' voice to travel, so all hear Jesus at the same time. Because Jesus' Word is the living Word when He teaches, His Word is alive, and everyone hears it at the same time. No one can say, I'm first to hear, or I'm last to hear. This is the same way throughout the Bible when the Lord Jesus teaches multitudes of people (See also Matthew 5:2).

3 And He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow;

4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them:

5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightaway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them:

8 and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 He that has ears, let him hear.

10And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou to them in parables?

11 And He answered and said to them, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Comments 13:11. Within the crowds, the purpose of coming to listen to Jesus is different. Some are coming to find mistakes and point them out. Some are coming to find weak points and point them out for people to have no faith in Jesus. To those, the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have not been given. But some are coming with a clean heart and want to hear Jesus before deciding to believe or not. To those, the Lord will give the understanding of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

12 For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that which he has.

Comments 13:12. “For whosoever has …”; This portion here refers to the spiritual world. Keep yourself in the Word of God, and more spiritual blessings will be given to you; spiritual blessings for this life on earth, that is, understanding and faith in Jesus, peace with God, and joy that you can feel deep inside your soul. If we have these spiritual blessings on this earth, when we depart, these spiritual blessings will be transformed to be used for our life after death. The peace of God comes only to those that have a clean heart. The heart that is like a child’s heart will be the heart that comes closest to the kingdom of heaven, and joy comes to those that have real faith in Jesus.

“but whosoever has not …”; This portion is opposite from the one above. This relates to the pleasures of the world that you think you have. Those pleasures will be taken away if you do not want to receive the pleasure of knowing the Word of the Lord. Nothing in this world is worth knowing more than the Word of the Lord.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says,

Comments 13:13. This passage refers to those that have rejected the miracles and the words of Jesus. Many of them feel they have sinned but reject the Lord completely. Their eyes have seen what many didn’t have a chance to see. Yet, if they themselves cannot benefit personally, they reject and try to limit the power of God. The prophecy is speaking about self-centered people; they see the Lord Jesus hear the Lord Jesus but have rejected Him. Blessed are those who come after, and just by hearing, not seeing, believe in the Lord Jesus.

By hearing you shall hear, and shall in no way understand; And seeing you shall see, and shall in no way perceive:

15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest by chance they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

17 For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous people desired to see the things which you see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which you hear, and heard them not.

18 Hear then you the parable of the sower.

19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the evil one, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side.

Comments 13:19. "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not." This verse refers to everyone on earth that has a chance to hear about the Lord but never thinks about the Word of God. For them, the name of the Lord has no meaning. They hear the Word and let it pass by them. They never think of the Word and ask for understanding for what they hear but just forget it right away. If you hear the Word or read the Word, you need to show interest and curiosity in the Word of God and meditate upon the Word of God (See: Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10). The Lord expects us to seek, ask, and knock and then He will open our hearts to the understanding. The people in the church need to do this as well, just reading the Word is not enough.

20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that hears the word, and straightaway with joy receives it;

21 yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while; and when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, straightaway he stumbles.

Comments 13:20-21. These are the ones that receive the Word and think they understand, but they never bring the teachings to practice. You can hear and read forever, but if you do not practice the teachings of the Word, the Word will never make roots in you. To practice requires that you pray and meditate on the Word of God that you have heard or read, and believe the teaching that God is Trinity (Three in One: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). Jesus is God, Jesus is human, and Jesus is our Holy Teacher, but also Jesus is the begotten Son of God. Also, to practice is to believe who Jesus is for humans. He is the door and the only way to the Father and the Holy Spirit, He is the mediator between humans and God the Father and the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is the center between this world and the unseen world. For anyone to follow the Lord's teaching requires faith.

22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that hears the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

Comments 13:22. These are those that hear and know what the Word says, but since they enjoy more the pleasures and riches of this world, they choose not to follow the Word. Also, here we have those who feel lazy to read the Word and those who feel that the Word is for the old times and older people only. If they follow the Word, they see themselves not fit for society and for today's living. So, they choose to ignore the Bible.

23 And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that hears the word, and understands it; who truly bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Comments 13:23. The good soil refers to those that confess their sins and believe in the mercy of God to forgive, and they accept His grace to cleanse their heart. Those that accept the forgiveness of the Lord will be transformed, and the people around them will notice the change. Their duty is to tell others about the mercy and grace of the Lord and sow the seed of trust in the Lord in their hearts. These persons will act as disciples of the Lord.

"who truly bears fruit, ... some thirty." This refers to the heart of those that received the grace of God, and it relates to their commitment and willingness to tell others about the forgiveness of the Lord. You don't need to enumerate for the public to know all the sins the Lord forgave, but you should tell people about the true mercy of the Lord to forgive sins according to the Bible.

24 Another parable set He before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field:

Comments 13:24. "A man" here refers to the Son of Man, who is Jesus.

"Sowed" refers to the Word of God. Jesus is sowing the Word into the world and where it is sown, if it grows, that one becomes the son of the kingdom (the good seed). The Word is the food that the seed uses to grow to become a good seed.

The “good seed" refers to the sons of the kingdom, which are all the true believers in Jesus. These are all the believers in Jesus that come out of the elect (the Jews) and of the free will people (Gentiles). The elect (the Jews) themselves have the free will to become a believer, but for some during Jesus' ministry on earth, the Lord appointed them to be His disciples. The Lord created specific circumstances in their lives so that they had no choice but to follow Jesus. After the Holy Spirit was sent upon the earth, on the day of Pentecost, all believers come to have faith in Jesus by free will. The Holy Spirit does not force anybody to become a believer. It is our free choice to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus and become sons of the kingdom.

"Field" refers to the world, which is the Lord's. The Lord is the creator of all things.

25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.

Comments 13:25. “Men” refers to the sons of the kingdom (true believers in Jesus). “Slept” refers to laziness in regards to doing the work of God and praying.

“His enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat.” This passage relates to other passages in the Bible where it shows that the evil one can make himself look like the children of light (2Corinthians 11:12-15) or they can dress in sheepskins (Matthew 7:15-20). The sons of the dark penetrate among the children of God by making themselves look-alike with them, but they change the meaning of the Word of God and trick many negligent children. The children of God walk astray because of their own negligence; they need to stay in prayer and must use the knowledge of the Word to justify what the eyes see, and the ears hear. Pray and ask the Lord to open the eyes and ears to see and hear, and then the heart will hear the Lord, and you will be able to distinguish between the truth and lie. The Lord has given us the shield, which is His Word, and we must use it and be ready (See: Ephesians 6:10-20).

“and went away.” The evil ones know very well that what they sow grows fast and covers the wheat; to do evil, you do not need any practice, but doing good needs hard work. The evil one uses human nature to fight against the Lord. They did not need to be around to see the results, so they went away, back to their place. If the humans do bad and do not use the Word to help them think before they sin against God, the Lord will be upset with them, not with the evil one. The evil one sowed the weeds, but it is the fault of the sons of the kingdom for ignoring the Word and allowing the weeds to grow. The Lord Jesus has done the hard work for us already. He came and was crucified for our sins and rose again and won the battle against the evil one for us. Just believe and reap the benefits. We need to think of eternity.

26 But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Comments 13:26. This verse refers to the spiritual world. "Blade sprang up and brought forth fruit" shows that the Lord is teaching the sons of the kingdom. The ones that study and meditate on His Word have knowledge of the teachings of the Lord. They go out and have children and teach their children the Word, but their children do not study and meditate. Because of this, their children go out and mingle with the weeds, and they get confused and lose the teachings of their fathers ("then appeared the tares also"). The weeds (tares) are fast-growing. They are not children of God, but you will not see this until you can see the fruits they produce. But by that time, the damage had already been done. This happens in many churches these days when false preachers bring false teachings and damage the church of God. Watch out, for the weeds are smart and tricky, and they know how to manipulate the Word of God.

27 And the servants of the household came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? from where then has it tares?

Comments 13:27. “The servants of the household came and said to him, Sir ...”. Here the household (or house) includes all things that have been created, the seen and unseen (earth and heaven). The servants are the angels of the Lord and all the prophets of the old times, including the prophets that do not have their names written down. Sir (or Master) refers to the Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

“from where then has it tares”; This passage shows that the servants are watching things on earth. The servants can see down to a limited area that has been appointed to them, but they cannot look everywhere. Also, the servants do not have the ability to get involved unless they have permission from the Lord (See Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4). This shows the limitation of all angels, all servants do according to the orders from the Lord only.

28 And he said to them, An enemy has done this. And the servants say to him, Will you then that we go and gather them up?

Comments 13:28. The meaning here is that the servants want to go down and separate the weeds (or tares) from the wheat. They want to move the weeds and plant them somewhere else and help them. But the servants cannot help them; it's not their job.

29 But he says, No; for fear that by chance while you gather up the tares, you root up the wheat with them.

Comments 13:29. This verse shows that the meaning of gathering the weeds (or tares) mentioned in verse 28 is uprooting and replanting the weeds. But, the plants (wheat and tares) have tangled their roots together, and if you move one, you impact another one as well. It doesn't matter how careful you are; it is impossible to avoid damaging the other plant. Thus, it is better to let them grow together. When the harvest time comes, there is no need to be concerned anymore because the weeds themselves will be cut off; that is marked and separated into bundles to be burned (See verse 30). There will be no damage done at that time since the Lord Himself will do the work.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.

Comments 13:30. This parable, in fact, talks about the time when the Lord will judge His house (See 1 Peter 4:17). Until the end times, the church will continue to mingle as described here (wheat and weeds). But the clean-up will start first in the church of God. There are two eras before the end-time judgment. The first one is the “grow together” era, which is the church era and is the period of time from the first coming of the Lord Jesus on earth until His second coming. The second era is the “harvest time” era, also known as the millennium time (See Revelation 20:4-6). Each era is a long time for humans. Many of us will live our lives, and the church era will not end.

Human time and angel time are not the same lengths. As it is written, a day of the Lord is a thousand years of human time (See 2 Peter 3:8). The time of the Lord and humans is not alike. During the “harvest time” era, there will be a falling away for those who do not watch themselves and do not use the Word in their daily lives. It will be the last fight of the evil against those who are not watchful. There will be those that will be using the name of the Lord for their personal gain. The Lord will clean up His church during this time in a visible way on earth and in the spiritual world (many events described in the Bible during the millennium time happen in parallel between these two worlds). The Lord will judge them from the inside, not from their outside appearance. Those that look righteous outside, but have nothing right inside, will be bundled together and thrown out. During the millennium time, as shown in Revelation 20:4, the Lord will establish the millennium kingdom, and He will judge the people left on earth after the tribulation time. In those times, the sinful nature of humans will make the believers sin even with Satan being bound in chains.

“Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them”; During that time, the Lord will clean up the church in a visible way; in one day, people will wake up and just see only dead around.

Brief notes on the Second Coming of the Lord

There are two eras before the end-time judgment. First is the church era, which started with Jesus’ first coming to earth (Jesus’ birth on earth) and will end with the second coming of Jesus to earth; the second era is the harvest time era or the millennium time era, which will start with the second coming of Jesus to earth and will end with the final destruction of this earth. At that time, the Lord will gather the wheat into His barn, and the end time judgment will start. Before the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth, there will be the tribulation period. This tribulation period is a time of judgment coming from the Lord upon this earth before the Lord returns. The coming of the Lord Jesus to earth will happen in three stages.

The first stage is when the Lord is still in heaven, and this stage is marked by the beginning of the tribulation period on earth.

The second stage is when the Lord comes in the air, and this stage is marked by the rapture of the church. The rapture of the believers takes place during this second stage of the Lord coming in the air and will take place sometimes in the middle of the tribulation period itself.

The third stage will be when the Lord Jesus Himself will touch the earth. The Lord will touch the earth sometimes after the tribulation period. At this time, the millennium time era on earth will start. The earth itself at this time will look much different, the Lord will spare only a small portion of the earth for the left-over people, but the rest of the earth will not be livable.

At the end of the millennium time era, this earth will be transformed by the fire from God, and the parallel earth will come. The parallel earth will swallow the melted earth because the new things will be formed on this parallel earth, and all believers will get the heavenly bodies and dwell there (the parallel earth is not heaven, just looks like this earth but not the same). The parallel earth for us we can think of now as spiritual earth, but for that world where this parallel earth exists, it is of heavenly material earth. In John 14:3, the Lord refers to the parallel earth that we are talking about here when He says: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” The word has told, the earth is transformed, and it does not disappear; as the Lord has been transformed, but His flesh body contains the earth because the Bible tells that nothing that the Lord has created will disappear completely.

31 Another parable set He before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like [] a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32 which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Comments 13:31-32. The kingdom of heaven is a kingdom, and it has all things in the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is as small as a mustard seed, but it can grow large. It is large beyond humans can imagine but also too small for the eye to see. The kingdom of heaven is so small that it can live in our hearts and so big that all believers can live in it.

33 Another parable spoke He to them; The kingdom of heaven is like [] leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.

Comments 13:33. The Father created the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is alive, and it can grow bigger and bigger. The kingdom of heaven is like a child for the Father who created it, and it can grow and never stop growing.

“Hid” here means that the human eye cannot see the kingdom of heaven.

“Until it was all leavened,” tells us that when the end time (the judgment) is over, all have been arranged in the end; the heaven will not grow further; when the last soul will be judged that it means “it was all leavened” (grown to the maximum of it by the will of the Father).

34 All these things spoke Jesus in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable spoke He nothing to them:

35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.

36 Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house: and His disciples came unto Him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.

37 And He answered and said, He that sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;

39 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.

40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world.

41 The Son of Man shall send out His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity,

42 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears, let him hear.

Comments 13:36-43. The first stage of the millennium itself is when the Lord sends His angels to gather the tares together to burn them up with fire; this period of time does not end in one earthly day. The length of time is unknown for humans; it is the Lord’s time. And then, His chosen ones will be left to glorify the Lord, and He will rule them as the King of all. The chosen ones will be the ones that stay and glorify the Lord; the words from their lips will be only to glorify the Lord; no useless words will be spoken in that time because they are in the front of the Lord. Sin will not happen in that time because the tares have been destroyed. In this passage, when it talks about “the end of the world,” it does not refer to the Judgement Day. The Judgement Day in the Bible refers to the judgment of the souls of the non-believers. Only the believers that will go with the Lord Jesus will get heavenly bodies (the parallel earth that comes, this is where His believers will go, that is why their lips cannot say useless words), but the tares are already bundled up before the Judgment Day, and at the Judgment Day these will be cast into the furnace of fire (the hell) together with the non-believers.

44 The kingdom of heaven is like [] a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

Comments 13:44. “The kingdom … hidden in the field”. This parable refers to the understanding of the Word of God. The Lord brings the knowledge into the path of the chosen ones. As in the parable of the wheat and the weeds (tares), we have two kinds of people. The chosen ones will take the treasure (the knowledge of the Word) and share it with others. But the ones that are mentioned here, which are joyful and cover it up, are the ones that are happy that they have found a way to fight against God and make His work on earth collapse. These are the ones that serve the evil one. Meditate on these words: found, joy, and hid (“... man found and hid; and in his joy ...”) to understand the meaning of this parable. 

45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like [] a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls:

46 and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Comments 13:45-46. In this parable, the merchantman is the true Christian, and the pearl of great price (or value) is the faith in Jesus and the knowledge of the Word. A true Christian searches for the truth and finds it, and by the grace of God, he receives faith and knowledge that he treasures greatly. He looks forward to using his faith and does not hide it, and wants people to know about the great treasure he found. He is willing to lose all his earthly treasures to keep his heavenly treasure. Comparing the parable of the goodly (or costly) pearl with the parable of the hidden treasure, we see two different kinds of people. The Lord gives a chance to both of them. One chooses to value the treasure he finds, while the other chooses to cover up the treasure he finds.

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like [] a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

Comments 13:47. The net is the love of the Lord. The Lord has thrown out His love to all mankind. He wants everybody from every faith to come back to the Lord and become His people. But we are like rebellious children; we feel the love of the Lord, want to take all the goods of His earth, but do not want to come to recognize the One who gives the goods. Humans just take but do not come to worship the One who created them.

48 which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they throw away.

Comments 13:48. Until the end times, the Lord gives His love to people, but then, at the end times, the Lord will take those that do not come to Him and throw them away from Him. There will not be many coming, but when the Lord chooses the good “kind” into His kingdom, then all the others will know that it is too late. The Lord continues to call people into His kingdom until the end times. The net will never be overfilled, and how many come, all have a place prepared for them in the kingdom of heaven.

49 So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come out, and sever the wicked from among the righteous,

50 and shall throw them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

51 Have you understood all these things? They say unto Him, Yes.

52 And He said to them, Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like [] a man that is a householder, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.

Comments 13:52. This parable refers to a true disciple of Jesus Christ who is like a scribe that is trained for the kingdom of heaven. A true disciple of Jesus is taught by the Bible through the Holy Spirit for a complete understanding of the link between the Old Testament law and the New Testament grace, which is the Trinity of God (Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit). The blind faith (the Old Testament) and the free will faith (the New Testament), the old one controlled by the obedience to the law and the new one controlled by the grace and faith in Jesus. Jesus is the Lord of the obedience to the point of dying on the cross. He is the last sacrifice lamb for the Father; that is why the old law ended with Jesus. At the same time, when the old law ended, the new law started through the blood of Jesus that He shed for the old law. The old law was wiped clean by the blood of the perfect sacrifice; that is the first step to the new law. Think of the feet of Jesus; one foot was in the old law, and He made a step to the new law with the other foot, so we are able to cross from sacrifice to grace (See Acts 15:9-11, Hebrews 8:6-13).

53 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed thence.

54 And coming into His own country He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, From where has this Man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

55 Is not this the carpenter's Son? is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?

56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? From where then has this Man all these things?

Comments 13:54-56. This passage shows the way the people in Jesus' hometown think of Jesus. For them, in their eyes, Jesus was just a simple man. They used the earthly family of Jesus to judge Him. His mother, father, and His siblings all made mistakes the same way as everybody, so the people could not see the Deity of Jesus as the Son of God. In these people's eyes, if Jesus is the Son of God, Mary cannot have other children, and Jesus' siblings become the main issue. Since they have seen Mary pregnant by Joseph and having other children after Jesus, they cannot accept that Jesus is the Son of God. They use Jesus' earthly family to make people not believe in the virgin birth. Their logic is that if Mary had a child with the Holy Spirit, then Joseph could not touch her and have children. The holiness of the virgin birth becomes now impossible for them since Mary has children with Joseph. Mary is not holy but a blessed woman. Blessed because the Lord chose her to carry Jesus in her womb, but she is just a human and lived as a human. After she gave birth to the Lord Jesus, she had a normal human life as every woman should have, and she had to do her duty as a wife to Joseph. You cannot worship her; she was a blessed woman but not more than that (See Luke 1:48). She cannot perform any miracles, and there is no record in the Bible that she ever performed any miracles. The people in her hometown saw her having more children, but God had only one Son, and it is written that Jesus is the begotten Son of God (See John 3:16, 1 John 4:9).

57 And they were offended by Him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in His own country, and in His own house.

Comments 13:57. Even if they could not find fault in the Lord Jesus, but the fault they picked out to be the offense was His earthly family. No human is perfect; every mistake Jesus' earthly family made was what they used to discredit Jesus' work. They received the miracles Jesus made, but they did not receive His teachings. All the living Word spoken to them by Jesus was filtered through the deeds of His earthly family. He was not accepted in His hometown because of the imperfection of His earthly family.

58 And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Comments 13:58. In Jesus' hometown, there was only negative talk about Him, so Jesus did not do many mighty works because of the doubt people had about the Deity of Jesus.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Lord Jesus speaks in parables to us to make a selection between the ones that come to Him with a clean and sincere heart and those that come to find mistakes and accuse His work. 2) Heaven for us should be Jesus Himself: believing in the Trinity of God and the grace of God to forgive our sins; we need to search and find a way to serve Jesus. 3) We are to believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and is born of Virgin Mary. As the Bible tells us, Mary is not holy but was only a blessed woman, and she cannot perform miracles for us. There is no record in the Bible that she ever performed any miracles.

Matthew 14

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord shows His mercy and His compassion toward people's suffering and towards His disciples. He heals the sick, feeds the hungry, saves the disciples from the sea storm, and receives John's disciples. 1) Five thousand are fed in a desolate place. The word about Jesus spread all over, and people followed Jesus, even in this desolate place. When the Lord saw them, He had compassion and mercy on them, healed their sick, and fed them. He miraculously multiplied five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed this large crowd of five thousand men plus their women and children. Here, Jesus shows that He is the Lord over life on this earth as well. He multiplies food, which is the source of life on earth. Jesus reveals to His disciples that He communicates with the Father for everything He does, and He always seeks the Father's will. And, all of this is the Father's will, to multiply the bread and the fish, save the disciples, and even talk to the disciples. 2) Jesus walks on water to save His disciples. The miracle when Jesus walks on the sea shows that Jesus is more than human; He is the Lord over the winds and the sea. This miracle builds the disciples' confidence that, indeed, Jesus is the Son of God. Throughout the development of this event, we see that doubt and fear are strong enemies of the faith. Here in this situation, the disciples had both doubt and fear, and this happened shortly after they had just witnessed the miracle of feeding the five thousand. Nevertheless, Peter was commanded to walk on water to conquer his doubt, but fear of the unseen came upon him while he, himself, was walking miraculously on the water. The example of Peter is important to all of us. When trouble comes our way, like a windstorm, and fear of the unseen world grips our souls, we need to call to the Lord as Peter did, “Lord save me,” and the Lord will come immediately as He did for Peter. 3) Jesus heals the sick at Gennesaret. Gennesaret was a small and poor town, and Jesus came to help those that were afflicted. People recognized Jesus and spread the word about His coming. Again, people from all over the region came to be healed. The Lord Jesus healed the sick to help people grow in faith and have a firm knowledge about Him. 4) John's disciples come to Jesus. People at that time had a flawed understanding of Jesus and John. For us, it is important to note that John never performed any miracles. He was just the messenger of the Lord, and he preached repentance. Jesus is the light and the One that John preached about, but people didn't link John's teachings to Jesus. Eventually, after John's death, some of his disciples started to follow Jesus.

1 At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,

2 and said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore do these powers work in him.

Comments 14:1-2. This passage of Scripture shows a comparison that people made at that time between the Lord Jesus and John (See verses 1 and 5). John did not do any miracles. John was preaching repentance and told people to wait for the One that would come after him. Jesus performed miracles, and people were talking about Him. But, they did not link John's teachings to Jesus; their eyes were darkened, and they could not see the light.

3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

4 For John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her.

5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

Comments 14:3-5. Even though John was considered a prophet, there was no value for his life because the word of people at that time had more power than the Word of God. It is the same today; many people do not value their life. People fear the word of other people instead of the Word of God, and many do not go to church because of fear of people judging them instead of fearing God’s judgment.

6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod.

7 Then he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask.

8 And she, being put forward by her mother, says, Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.

9 And the king was grieved; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given;

10 and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

11 And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

12 And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

Comments 14:12. The death of John was a turning point for some of John's disciples to come and follow Jesus. Because of John's teaching about the One (Jesus) that will come after him, some of John's disciples that had their hearts open became Jesus' followers.

13 Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat, to a desert place apart: and when the multitudes heard thereof, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

Comments 14:13. When the Lord Jesus heard about John’s death, it made Him feel sad for His own disciples since His time to depart was approaching. The love the Lord has for His disciples makes the Lord feel sad to leave them. His concern is not for Himself but for His disciples. He does not worry for His own but for those that belong to Him.

“and when the multitudes heard …”; People heard about Jesus’ healing miracles, and they follow Jesus only to see the miracles He is doing. Hearing about the miracles Jesus is doing makes them curious but not believing. They follow, and they want to see with their own eyes.

14 And He came forth, and saw a great multitude, and He had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

Comments 14:14. As the Word tells, the people walked from towns to follow the Lord on the boat. When the Lord went ashore and saw the people, He had compassion on them. Some were coming from far, some were old, some were sick, and the Lord could see that many were hungry, tired, and weak. So, the Lord had compassion on them, and He healed the sick that followed Him.

15 And when evening came, the disciples came to Him, saying, The place is desert, and the time is already past; send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.

Comments 14:15. The Lord did not have money to buy food for the people, and that is why the disciples asked Him to send the people away to buy food for themselves. But the number of people following the Lord was large, and there was not enough food in that area for all of them, even if they had money.

16 But Jesus said to them, They have no need to go away; give you them to eat.

17 And they say unto Him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

18 And He said, Bring them here to Me.

Comments 14:16-18. In this passage, the Lord wants the disciples to come and gain faith. This faith experience is for their own good. When the time comes, the disciples will remember that they have seen the Lord multiply the little food to feed this large amount of people that came to follow Jesus. The Lord showed them that by believing, all things are possible.

19 And He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and He took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.

Comments 14:19. “Looking up to heaven, He blessed” or "He looked up to heaven and said a blessing." In this passage, the Lord wants His disciples to notice the communication between the Lord and the Father. Always the Lord Jesus seeks first the Father's advice and the Father's will. And in this situation, the food was multiplied by the Father's will. Always, Jesus does according to the Father's will for big and small things. The Lord Jesus could multiply the food by Himself, but He seeks first the Father's will.

“and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples …”; It is believed that when the Lord broke the loaves, the small pieces He broke became new loaves in His hands. He placed the multiplied loaves in baskets in front of Him, and the disciples came and took the baskets and distributed the bread to the people. In the same way, He multiplied the fish.

20 And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.

Comments 14:20. The key word of this verse is "filled" or "satisfied." When people eat until that point, in their hearts, there is nothing else they need more. Many started to follow the Lord Jesus for the food. They followed their human nature that we can call "easy to get." In humans, the main concern is food for the belly, not food for the soul. This is the weak point of humans; our belly can order us to do things. If there is food, there will be people to follow.

21 And they that did eat were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Comments 14:21. The number of people that followed the Lord in this place was very large. So, the word spread quickly that if you follow Jesus, you will get free food. And many followed the Lord for the wrong reason (See John 6:25-27).

22 And straightaway He constrained the disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before Him to the other side, until He should send the multitudes away.

Comments 14:22. When the Lord dismissed the people, He did not just say, “Go, it is over.” Instead, the Lord blessed them and reminded them to remember what He taught them and do not let His Word remain empty. They did not have the Bible as we do today, so the Lord encouraged them to talk together. By reading the Bible, the Word becomes alive for us. In the same way, by bringing the Word to speak together, the Word becomes alive.

23 And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into the mountain apart to pray: and when evening came, He was there alone.

Comments 14:23. In this passage, Jesus has shown to all people that even with all the busy days people have, every day, we need to have time alone with the Father to be far from all that makes the mind not be one with the Father. Only in prayer can the mind be one with the Father, and the Father needs to be in the center of our lives. We need to think of nothing, not even of ourselves, but the Father alone, because all things, even our own souls, belong to the Father as He created all things. As it is shown here, even Jesus Himself needed to be alone with the Father. So, ask yourself, when did you have that you, all of you, belonged to the Father alone?

24 But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

Comments 14:24. In this verse, there is a hidden meaning regarding life in a human way. The wind against the boat is like trouble that comes against our lives.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking upon the sea.

Comments 14:25. Similarly, in this verse, there is a hidden meaning. If you do not give up and if you try, as the boat goes against the wind, in life, if you do not give up and look for the Lord to help, He will come and save you. There is no trouble too big for the Lord; the Lord can walk on it as He walked on water. Above all troubles, you can feel the Lord.

26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost; and they cried out for fear.

Comments 14:26. When they see the Lord walking on water, people only can think that it is impossible. Jesus' own disciples, who have seen His power, still doubted how a human could walk on water. The first thing that comes is doubt; no human can walk on water. Even seeing miracles in front of us, doubt is the first problem for everyone.

27 But straightaway Jesus spoke to them, saying Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

Comments 14:27. The Lord answered fast only to ensure that the disciples did not build much doubt. They need His firm answer for what will come ahead of them. The walking on water happened to strengthen their faith and make them think that the Lord is more than a human. They need this light.

28 And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, command me come unto Thee upon the waters.

Comments 14:28. In this passage, Peter may have doubted his eyes but did not doubt the power of Jesus. The eyes can be deceived, but the heart is the link to the truth. Peter's walking on water proved to the disciples that indeed the Lord was not in the spirit. They saw Peter walking on water for a while as well. Peter walked too, not only the Lord.

29 And He said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus.

Comments 14:29. This was not just a command alone; it was also an invitation from the Lord for the disciples to have faith and believe in Him. Do not leave room for doubt. The proof of what can be done by faith is shown in Peter's action. That is what a normal human can do if you believe; to walk on water, not only the Lord Himself. The power of faith is strong.

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me.

Comments 14:30. Normally, if there are no troubles, we do not come to the Lord. When Peter saw trouble, the first thing he did was cry out to the Lord. But we need to take note that Peter said, "Lord save me," which has a deeper meaning than saying, "Lord help me." As Peter walked on water, he did not see trouble, but the wind and the waves became the problem, and his doubt came and made him sink. Doubt is in our human nature. In this passage, Peter doubted even when he himself was walking on water. But here, Peter showed us that the One to call when we have problems is the Lord Jesus. Everyone can come to the Lord when problems arise.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and took hold of him, and says to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

Comments 14:31. "Immediately ... hold of him." Here we have another confirmation that there is no space and time for the Lord. In Peter's eyes, the distance between him and the Lord was far. But when he asked to be saved, the Lord was right away in front of him. The Lord Jesus walked the distance on the water at the beginning, but when Peter cried out, the Lord folded (bent) the space and time and immediately reached Peter and gave His hand to save him.

"You of little ... doubt?" This saying shows that the Lord Jesus can see through the hearts and souls of people. What is in our heart and soul, the Lord can read everything. The heart and the soul of man are like an open book for the Lord.

32 And when they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased.

Comments 14:32. This verse shows that Jesus is the Lord of all. He is the Lord over the humans and the Lord above the winds and the waves of the sea. All things are created through Him. He is the master of all. The Lord took Peter by the hand, lifted him up, and they both walked together on the water back to the boat. And, when they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and the waves calmed down.

33 And they that were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.

Comments 14:33. The Lord allowed this sea storm tribulation to come upon the disciples so their faith would be strengthened. The disciples needed to see Jesus walk on water and calm the storm. They were all human, and these miracles convinced them that, indeed, Jesus is the Son of God. This belief prepared them for what they will be facing in the future.

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to the land, to Gennesaret.

Comments 14:34. Here, Gennesaret refers to a small town. This shows that the Lord has compassion for people in a small community. The Lord's love and compassion are not for big towns only. This is a poor area, and the Lord goes in this kind of area not to look for the rich but for the poor and hopeless. Even today, the Lord supports missionaries to go first to the needy areas, not to places that have everything.

35 And when the people of that place knew Him, they sent into all that region round about, and brought unto Him all that were sick,

Comments 14:35. "When ... knew Him." Prior to this event, Jesus had been in the city of Gennesaret and taught in their synagogue, and performed miracles. That is why people knew Him well. Also, some of the men from Gennesaret have seen Jesus in other towns, and some have heard about His miraculous healings (See also Luke 7:16-17).

36 and they begged Him that they might only touch the border of His garment: and as many as touched were made whole.

Comments 14:35-36. "they sent into all that region round about ... were made whole." The way in those times that messages were carried was by word of mouth. People talking spread faster than the wind. What the Lord has done cannot be hidden. Many who needed help searched for the Lord. The word has been spread out that if you just touch His garment or walk into His steps, you will be healed. They all considered Jesus to be a mighty prophet.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Doubt and fear are the enemies of our faith. Troubles will come, but when they come, we need to know that Jesus is the One to call for help. Peter calls upon the Lord to save him and says, "Lord save me," we should do the same. 2) Jesus is the Lord of all, and He is the Son of God. We need to think of the world to come, not of this world. The world we are in will perish, and all things that are in it will age, but the world to come is eternal. Come to Jesus for eternal life, not for the perishing life. 3) It is important to know that John was the messenger of the Lord, and he was sent to preach repentance, and Jesus is the Son of God, and He is the One that brings us to the Father and gives us salvation. 4) The Lord showed mercy and compassion to the needy people of Gennesaret. It is the same today; the Lord supports missionaries to go to the poorer regions first and then to the wealthier places.

Matthew 15

Summary. This chapter highlights the contrast between the proud and the humble; the proud in themselves, the Pharisees and the scribes, which call themselves righteous versus the humble ones, the poor, the oppressed, and the Canaanite woman, who accept that they are nobody. We see two extremes; on one end, the Pharisees and scribes that are the leaders of the house of Israel accuse Jesus of many things, and on the other end, a simple Canaanite woman that is not part of the house of Israel but comes and acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God and begs Him for help. Here, we see that the Lord grants mercy to anyone with a humble heart and simple faith in the Lord. The Lord Jesus has something important to say and show to each group of people in this chapter. 1) The Pharisees and scribes. Jesus confronts the Pharisees and scribes for breaking the commandments of God and calls them hypocrites and blind guides, saying, “You have made void the Word of God because of your tradition.” 2) The disciples. Jesus teaches His disciples with every opportunity. He plainly tells His disciples that the Pharisees and scribes are blind leaders, and they should leave them alone and not follow them, “Let them alone: they are blind guides.” 3) Multitude of poor and suffering people. Jesus and the disciples minister to large crowds, and Jesus shows His mercy and compassion on them by healing and feeding them, “I have compassion on the multitude because they continue with Me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, for fear that by chance they faint on the way.” 4) The Canaanite woman. This woman shows great faith and is humble in her heart and spirit. In conversing with her, Jesus says, “I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” implying that He went to this region to call His lost sheep. The Lord shows that His love is extended to the Gentiles as well, for the few hearts that are honest and glorify the Lord. Thus, the Gentiles have been included in His mission.

1 Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying,

Comments 15:1. The evil try to stop the Lord's plan, and they use whoever is willing to do the work for them. They want to disturb the work of the Lord, and they use the Pharisees and the scribes for this task.

2 Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

Comments 15:2. The Pharisees and the scribes use traditions to control people. That has been the way of teaching since previous generations, which they must keep. We see that the traditions of man control the order of God. Man’s commandments or God’s commandments; these people (Pharisees and Scribes) intentionally use man’s traditions, proclaiming them as God's given commandments. They used men’s order above God's order just to please men, not God. This was wrong to do, and it goes from generation to generation. That is why the Lord came to abolish the Law.

3 And He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

4 For God said, Honor your father and your mother: and, He that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death.

Comments 15:3-4. Here the Lord Jesus quotes from the book of Exodus: [Exodus 20:12. Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving you (ESV); Exodus 21:17. Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death (ESV)]. People look at their father and mother as someone who will never harm them because they know their parents love and care for them. Their parents are the first ones that they take advantage of and want to mistreat. But, when we are babies, our parents are the ones that take care of us. So, when they are old, it is our duty to care for them. This is the way the Lord God structured human life, and that is why it is important to honor your parents and because of the fact that the Lord God gave this commandment. It is the same towards God. Because the Lord's love and mercy are great and He is slow to anger, people take advantage of His love and disobey His commandments.

5 But you say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That by which you might have been profited by me is given to God;

6 he shall not honor his father. And you have made void the word of God because of your tradition.

Comments 15:5-6. This promise by tradition would be a promise by anyone to give, where the scribes and Pharisees would follow it, and they will have a portion from the promise. If the person that made the promise does not want to be kicked out of the synagogue, he must fulfill his promise; this is not God’s doing; it is man’s doing. If you promise God something, the Lord will work into your heart to fulfill your promise. Then, you will give from your heart to God, and you will also honor your parents. But, when they do not want to honor their parents, they use God as a way out of honoring their parents. Instead of helping their parents, they use God to take that benefit for themselves. By devoting the portion to God, they think they honor God and profit themselves. But, if you cannot honor your parents that love you on this earth and you can see, how can you then honor God, whom you do not see? The Bible shows in other places that if you do not honor the ones that love you and you can see on this earth, then God is nothing for you (See, for example, 1 John 4:20-21). So, do not provide help to the parents just to show off and be praised by people; there is no reward in heaven for doing this; it is an empty benefit when honoring God by showing off.

7 You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

8 This people honors Me with their lips; But their heart is far from Me.

9 But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.

Comments 15:3-9. This passage has a deeper meaning. The portion that you think would benefit you by giving it to God if, in fact, you would give it for helping your parents that it is considered in God's eyes as given to God (since it is God's commandment to honor your parents). But instead, they used God to dishonor their parents by doing that, which is the opposite of what God is teaching. God gave this commandment to honor your parents, but they reason that if they offer the portion to God instead, they will benefit for themselves as well, but if they give the portion to the parents, they don't benefit since the parents will use this gift, which is false.

10 And He called to Him the multitude, and said to them, Hear, and understand:

11 Not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.

Comments 15:11. See Verses 16-20.

12 Then came the disciples, and said unto Him, Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?

13 But He answered and said, Every plant which My Heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up.

Comments 15:13. "Every plant which My Heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up" refers to those souls that have given themselves to the darkness. These are disobedient souls, misled souls who choose to follow the darkness rather than the light, and this will show through their deeds. But the Lord gives a chance for repentance on this earth for every soul through the Word; because the Word is the true light, and this is the last chance for every soul. Remember that at the end times, the Word will judge them.

14 Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.

Comments 15:14. “Blind guides” here refers to Pharisees and scribes. These days, blind guides refer to leaders of the church who do not ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead the people but use human doctrine to guide the house of God astray (See for example 2 Peter 3:16). “The blind guide the blind,” the blind who are led are people that are coming in the church to look for excitement but not for worshiping the Lord in their heart. “Pit” or “ditch” refers to the palm of the evil one. In the spiritual world, the blind refers to souls that choose to follow the fallen angels instead of the true light of God.

15 And Peter answered and said unto Him, Declare to us the parable.

16 And He said, Are you also even yet without understanding?

17 Perceive you not, that whatsoever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.

19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings:

20 these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands defiles not the man.

21 And Jesus went out there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

Comments 15:21. The Lord goes to this region to look for His people (see verse 24), that were trapped among the pagans. But even among pagans, some souls are seeking for the mercy of the Lord, as seen in this story of the Canaanite woman. Regardless of where they are, the Lord will go; even just for one soul, the Lord will go. The cry of the lost souls in the world was calling for the Lord; the Lord came, for this reason, to save the lost. The Canaanite woman had a good heart towards the name of the Lord, and she went and spread the news about the Lord. The lost sheep of Israel in this region could hear her story and believe the coming of the Lord and separate themselves.

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from the borders, and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously distressed with a demon.

Comments 15:22. This woman is humble with her heart and spirit, not just with the action. She had not met the Lord until now, but she heard about the Lord, and her heart was already convicted; she readily believed what she heard; she had blind faith. Here, she did not come to ask but to beg for the mercy of the Lord; and mercy has been given to her because of her sincere heart. When reading about this Canaanite woman, we need to ask ourselves, "Do we love our children to pray and beg for mercy for them from the Lord as this Canaanite woman did, whatever the situation may be?"

23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, Send her away; for she cries after us.

24 But He answered and said, I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Comments 15:24. This verse tells the purpose of Jesus’ travels to the region of Tyre and Sidon. In this region, there were Jews as well, and the Lord went there to search for them. They were trapped in their own thoughts and had put themselves down; they forgot whom they belonged to, and their minds became weak, and they started to fear in the things humans made. Because they forgot who created them, so many have died in the darkness of their thoughts. The Lord has given the duty to parents to teach their children who they are, but the parents have failed them. The Lord’s mercy has come for His children first until the right time of the Gentiles will come. The number from the house of Israel must first be filled.

25 But she came and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me.

Comments 15:25. This woman came with a heart that admitted who the Lord Jesus is by kneeling and worshiping. Kneeling and worshiping is a sign of humbleness and acceptance of the authority of the Lord. So, she knelt down in humbleness and to pay respect to her Lord, and that is why the mercy of the Lord has been poured on her.

26 And He answered and said, It is not proper to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

Comments 15:26. "Children" here refers to the Jews. The Lord came for the Jews first, and the mercy of the Lord must be poured down on the Jews first. But also, those whose hearts are open will receive a portion of His mercy. "Bread" here refers to the Lord's mercy and grace. The grace of God has come down according to the promise of the Father to the Jews first. But Jesus Himself is an extension of love and mercy to the Gentiles as well, by the will of the Father to save the whole world through Him. "The dogs" here refers to the Gentile people, but do not be offended that the Gentiles are referred to as dogs because the dogs eat straight from the master's table.

27 But she said, Yes, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

Comments 15:27. In this passage, this woman is not offended but instead, she is submissive and humble. By acknowledging that the dogs eat "the crumbs which fall from their masters' table," she acknowledges Jesus as her master and Lord and that she is willing to stay under the authority of the Lord.

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith: be it done to you even as you will. And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Comments 15:28. The Canaanite woman is an example of humbleness, faithfulness, and love. She is not just humble in the heart but in spirit as well. The humble in heart are the ones who come and expect to receive worldly blessings from the Lord. The humble in spirit are the ones that are willing first to give love and worship to the Lord. So, she worshiped the Lord from her heart, and she expected healing for her daughter; she believed that the Lord could do the healing.

29 And Jesus departed there, and came near [] the sea of Galilee; and He went up into the mountain, and sat there.

30 And there came unto Him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at His feet; and He healed them:

Comments 15:29-30. This paragraph shows what people have heard about Jesus, and it shows they believe that the Lord can do what they have heard. It was not easy for people to carry their sick to the Lord on the mountain, and the Lord had mercy on them.

31 insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, and lame walking, and the blind seeing: and they glorified the God of Israel.

Comments 15:30-31. Here it is a confirmation for the majority of people; they heard about Jesus' miracles, but now a multitude of people have seen. Now the word about Jesus will spread wider because not a few have seen, but a large number of people. The glory of God has been witnessed through the multitude of people, and the word will spread speedily that God has come down among humans. God does not sit in His throne watching, but God has come down and witnessed the suffering of people, and He will show mercy and carry all their suffering (See Matthew 8:17). But they misunderstood; Jesus did not come to take away their earthly suffering but to give them good news; Jesus takes part in their suffering and knows what humans go through. Humans will still face suffering, but in their hearts, they can be joyful that God knows about their suffering. We are to look for the world to come, not for this earthly world; come and join and be part of the next world where all the suffering is gone.

32 And Jesus called to Him His disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, for fear that by chance they faint on the way.

Comments 15:32. Q: Were the feedings of multitudes described in Matthew different events happening in different places? A: The logical answer is that there was a gap of time between the feeding miracles and a gap of places. This miracle is not in the same place and time as the one from Chapter 14. On only a few occasions did the Lord stop longer in one place. The purpose of the Lord's coming on earth was to preach the Word, and the Word cannot be preached in one spot only. He traveled all the time. The place in this verse is a different place, different area, but the Bible shows that the speed the human tongue can travel is faster than we can imagine. Before Jesus reached this place, the word about Him already has been there to make the hearts of people wait for Him. The Lord has come here to confirm and strengthen the good news that God has come among humans. Because the Holy Spirit has not been given yet, the Lord used the human tongue (word of mouth) to spread the good news.

"I would not send ... on the way." This passage clearly shows the compassion and mercy the Lord has for people. The Lord's mercy is always there for the people that follow Him (including us). He is unwilling to send the people away until they have something to eat.

33 And the disciples say unto Him, From where should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to feed so great a multitude?

Comments 15:33. Q: How was it possible that the disciples forgot about the previous feeding miracle? A: Doubt is a human weakness, and when you put too many people together, if one has doubt, then someone else will start to have doubt as well. The surroundings played tricks on the eyes; fear and doubt come when surroundings change. When miracles come often, it makes the human heart believe that it is so easy to get whatever the heart wants, even the need is not there. Then, laziness plays in the human heart, and doubt will come. Laziness makes us ask things from the Lord that He will not do, and then we develop doubt when a miracle situation is really there. It is hard for us humans to believe the miracle of multiplying a bit of food to feed such a multitude of people, so doubt comes first. Most likely, the disciples expected to see the Lord change something else, such as rocks, into food, not multiply food from food.

34 And Jesus said to them, How many loaves have you? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes.

Comments 15:34. Q: Why did the Lord need the loaves and the fish? A: The fact that the Lord used bread and fish and different amounts each time He performed the food multiplication miracles does not have any hidden or deep meaning. This miracle was simply a miracle of the multiplication of food, and the Lord needed food to multiply it. Bread and fish were typical food, and it is clean; that is why the Lord multiplied these elements to be food to feed the multitudes. The amount of bread and fish does not matter for the Lord in order to multiply the food. The food multiplication miracles were done for the disciples and the chosen ones among the people to show them that Jesus is the Lord over life on earth as well and to strengthen their faith. These miracles will become the talk among them and will lift up their faith in times of trouble when the Lord Jesus will not be with them.

35 And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;

36 and He took the seven loaves and the fishes; and He gave thanks and broke, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.

Comments 15:34-36. In this place, the Lord multiplied the bread and the fish and fed the multitude of people the same way he did in Matthew 14 (See Matthew Comments 14:19). The small pieces of bread and fish the Lord broke became whole new loaves and whole new fishes in His hands. Then Jesus placed them in the baskets in front of Him, and the disciples took the baskets filled with food and distributed the food to the people that were sitting down on the ground.

"And He gave thanks." Jesus is God of all things; all things were created through Him, but still, Jesus gives thanks to the Father for giving all things to humans and Him on earth. The Lord has shown His disciples that He always gives thanks to the Father, who is the Creator of all things (Our God is Three in One: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).

37 And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full.

Comments 15:37. "Were filled." Filled or satisfied is eating until you cannot eat anymore (See Matthew Comments 14:20).

"Seven baskets." Here we have simply seven baskets of leftover food. There is no hidden meaning for the number seven or twelve in Chapter 14. People use these numbers to make a doctrine. This amount is just simply leftover food. The Lord gave enough food for all that were there, and it just shows the large amount of food that the Lord multiplied.

38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides women and children.

Comments 15:38. The meaning here is in the verse itself. But we should try to make a mental picture of the large number of people that the Lord ministered to during these three days. We should think how hard it was for the Lord and the disciples to go around four thousand plus people and pray, heal them, and teach them. The Lord and the disciples probably had no sleep, time to eat, and no rest.

39 And He sent away the multitudes, and entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magadan.

Comments 15:39. The Lord did not just say goodbye to the people. Instead, the Lord reminded them to remember what they have seen and heard in these few days and cherish this time they spent with the Lord.

"... and came into the borders of Magadan (or Magdala)." This traveling shows that the Lord kept going, and that was the purpose of the Lord coming to earth. He will keep going in places where people did not travel to give everybody the light. That is the purpose of Him to come on earth, to give the light and show the way to all humans.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Glorify the Father and honor Him from your heart, not just with your lips or for the sake of traditions. 2) Do not be willing to work against Jesus; pray and watch so you do not follow doctrines of man as there are many false teachings in the world. 3) Pray at all times, repent and watch your heart so you do not become defiled, and always go back to the teachings of the Bible. 4) Showing compassion for the poor and suffering is the heart of our Lord Jesus. 5) Love your children and pray honestly for them with humble hearts and spirits, and the mercy of the Lord will be given to you. 6) Pray so you understand when it is time for miracles and when it is not. Check your heart for the mercy of the Lord because the Lord will speak first in your heart when it is time for a miracle to come.

Matthew 16

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord interacts with the Pharisees and Sadducees, teaches His disciples, and asks them the ultimate question that each Christian should ask, "But who say you that I am?" The chapter concludes with Jesus’ teaching about the importance of life in the world to come. Four major points can be summarized in this chapter. 1) Humans cannot interpret the signs of the times; only God can. The only sign given to that generation and us is Jesus' death on the cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead. As Jonah was kept in the dark for three days, the Lord Jesus will be in the dark for three days where He will minister to the lost souls of the Jews. 2) Be aware of traditions. The Lord Jesus warns us not to mingle the teachings of the Word of life with the teachings of humans so that our faith will not become contaminated. 3) Jesus is the Christ, the only Son of the Living God. The Father reveals for the first time to the human mind the true light about Christ that He is the only Son of the Living God. Peter, unlike John the Baptist, followed Jesus, and He was the first among the disciples to receive this revelation, and this light from this point on will be shared with others. 4) Jesus promises the Bible to the church. The Lord Jesus will give to the church the Bible, which is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. His church is built on the truth the Father revealed to Peter. This truth is the rock foundation of the church, and "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against" this truth.

1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and trying Him asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

Comments 16:1. This verse is simply about believing or not believing; there is nothing more to it than this. If you believe there is no further need to see any miracles in front of your eyes. Believing is by the heart and not by the eyes. Faith comes by the heart first, not by the eyes. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to test Jesus, to show people that Jesus is nobody, that they are the only ones that can interpret the times, and only they alone can understand what God is doing.

2 But He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red.

3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the heaven is red and lowering. You know how to discern the face of the heaven; but you cannot discern the signs of the times.

Comments 16:2-3. Humans always make guesses; they always use human interpretation as that is God's doing. As an example, we interpret the meaning of a red sky, but who made that red sky? We make interpretations about why the sky is red, but we forget that the Lord is the one who made it red. We forget to think about who made all things; first, acknowledge the Creator's hand in everything.

"... but you cannot discern the signs of the times," it tells simply that humans cannot interpret the signs of the times since only the Lord can. We do not need a sign, and we should not waste our time interpreting because the times are changing according to the Father's will.

4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of Jonah. And He left them, and departed.

Comments 16:4. "An evil and adulterous generation ..."; it is a fitting word for them. They have seen the miracles the Lord Jesus has done so far, but they still ask for a sign. The Pharisees and Sadducees could not understand the meaning of the Lord being among humans, so they asked for a sign from heaven. They are darkened and blind; another generation has not seen the miracles, yet they believe, so this generation has the greater sin. Even for us, we read about the miracles the Lord has done, which we have not seen, but the Word has talked to us, and we believe.

"... no sign be given to it, except the sign of Jonah." As the prophet Jonah was kept in the dark for three days, the Lord Jesus will be kept in the dark of the earth for three days. But, in that time, the Lord's mercy was extended to the dark side; it is written in the Bible (See 1Peter 3:18-20; Ephesians 4:8-9) that the dark has heard Jesus' voice. The Bible never talks about Hades in detail because it is not for us to know these things in detail. The Lord gave a chance to those in the darkness (in Hades) to be saved; to those souls that were on earth before the Lord came to earth, which did not have a chance to hear the good news of the Gospel. During those three days when the Lord was in the grave, the Lord Jesus Himself has ministered to those lost souls. He did not go there to make disciples; He just went to bring the lost souls (that belong to Him) into Abraham's bosom place, the souls that never had a chance to be saved before. At the same time, during these three days, Jesus also went to Abraham's bosom place, which is a waiting place for those who believed in God but didn't have a chance to hear the good news. Even these souls need to hear the good news because there is only one way to be saved, and that is through Jesus.

5 And the disciples came to the other side and forgot to take bread.

6 And Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, We took no bread.

8 And Jesus perceiving it said, O you of little faith, why reason you among yourselves, because you have no bread?

9 Do you not yet perceive, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?

10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up?

11 How is it that you do not perceive that I spoke not to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Comments 16:5-11. There is no hidden meaning in the disciples' answer. The disciples did not think further about the words Jesus spoke; they were only thinking about forgetting to bring bread. The disciples were simple people, with simple minds but pure hearts.

12 Then understood they that He bade commanded them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Comments 16:12. The Lord teaches us to be aware of traditions. As life goes on, the tradition type lifestyle teachings become not at the same level as the teachings of the old-time (they are not according to the teachings received by the prophets from the Lord). Do not mingle the teachings of humans with the teachings of the Word of Life. If you mingle the old teachings, the first leaf that comes out in your faith is not opened but curled, and your understanding will not grow.

13 Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

Comments 16:13. In this paragraph (verses 13 to 15), the Lord asks His disciples two questions. The reason the Lord asks them these questions is to make the disciples think about who Jesus is in their hearts. Until this point, His disciples never gave a thought to whom they are calling Lord and teacher and what He really means for them. The Lord wants to ask us Christians the same questions as well, who is Jesus for us? This question is a test of faith, not only for the disciples at that time but also for all who believe and follow nowadays. As the Bible tells us, we are not servants but brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we have the same Father and only One Father. Let's not forget who we are! Don't forget who you are in the Lord's eyes! And, do not take the name of the Lord in vain!

14 And they said, Some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

Comments 16:14. This verse shows that the Holy Spirit has not been given yet, but people can recognize the power, authority, and holiness of Jesus; however, they cannot recognize Jesus as the Son of God. The time is close, and the Holy Spirit will be magnified soon because the hearts of people start to seek the truth.

15 He says to them, But who say you that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Comments 16:15-16. The true light about Christ has been revealed starting with one disciple, and that light will be shared to others. Because of his heart, the truth has been revealed to Peter. That is what the Father is looking for, a clean heart that is willing to obey and glorify God; that is a gift. By the mercy of the Father, the knowledge and understanding about Christ have been given at this time to only one of the disciples; because of the heart, the truth has been revealed to Peter.

17 And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Comments 16:17. This verse is for us to link Peter with the prophet Jonah. As Jonah in the belly of the fish has experienced rebirth to save his life, Peter has also experienced at this time a new birth. Peter has been reborn by the living Word of the Lord. This is the starting point to reveal the kingdom of heaven to humans when the Father revealed the Son Jesus through the human mind. It is a sign to show for the believers that the Father's mercy came down and humans will be blessed with the Holy Spirit. It is proof and confirmation of how much the Father loves humans. Simon Bar-Jonah refers to those who know and recognize their sins by the spirit of the person, not by the flesh. Simon Bar-Jonah refers to the spiritual world; as Jonah was in the dark, but his spirit saw the light, Peter did the same. He was darkened in mind, but by the Lord's mercy, he received the true light. To understand by the spirit, you do not see what you are doing, but you know in the heart what you are doing; use the heart to justify, not the eye.

18 And I also say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Comments 16:18. This verse refers to the believer’s faith. “... you are Peter and upon this rock ...” indicates that Peter is the first one to whom the Father revealed who Jesus is, and on this rock of knowledge, the church will be built. After the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Father’s will, this knowledge will keep going on to build more people’s faith in the Son of God, the Holy One. At this time, Peter’s faith has been established; he can die for what he believes.

“Upon this rock” refers to the truth that Peter received. The rock is the truth about Jesus. “I will build My church” means that the Lord Jesus will build His church on the truth that Peter received, which is the rock, the foundation of the church.

“And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” means that the gates of hell have no power to stop Jesus from building His church. Jesus opened the gate of heaven (See Matthew 3:16) and put the seal of His blood on the gates of hell when He was there during the three days. The Lord put the seal on the gate, which is the blood of Jesus, and it is a forbidden seal; no evil can touch it or remove it (See Exodus 12:13). All His children have the salvation seal of the Lamb on them. The gate will never open for those who have the salvation seal of the Lamb on them. The salvation seal has been put on a believer’s heart when the person believes and gives his heart to Jesus and then goes and be baptized in the water (complete baptism, heart, and water, meaning soul and body). The believer’s responsibility is to keep this seal by staying in faith and studying the Word of God, and keeping it in the heart until the end of life on this earth. If you have the Word in your heart, it is like you have a shield of protection.

Further Comments on the Water Baptism and Holy Spirit Baptism

Regardless of what comes first, the baptism of the Holy Spirit or water baptism, all believers must be baptized in the water to complete the transformation of a person in the body and the spirit. The gift of speaking in tongues is the confirmation of the human spirit joining the salvation seal. The sign of the Holy Spirit’s baptism must show according to the Bible, and we know in our spirit about this act (See Acts 2:2-4). This gift of tongues is given to everyone; just listen to the very small voice inside your heart. Many have been baptized in the water but ignore the small voice of the Lord, not that the Holy Spirit didn’t come to them. He comes to each heart with a small little voice, but many have rejected to listen; that is why there are not many people who speak in tongues.

Based on these comments, after a believer receives the Holy Spirit, the evil one cannot make the believer reject the Lord, but they can still trick the believer. They can make you believe the Lord left you, and then you yourself reject the Lord or become angry with the Lord, then you can grieve the Holy Spirit (See Ephesians 4:30). But remember, the Bible is clear in telling us that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us (See: Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Hebrews 13:5-6, Psalm 55:22). By the will of the Lord, the gate of hell will never open for a person that has the faith (salvation) seal (you can’t mix the oil with the water). Keep in mind that the Lord always gives a way out for everybody, and He will judge by the heart of the person.

As a note, the criminal on the cross did not receive the seal of the baptism in water but received the seal of Jesus’ word on the spirit. The Lord baptized him by His word.

19 I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Comments 16:19. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” shows that Jesus gives the keys to the church of God. This is the key: the Bible is the key to the kingdom of God.

“Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” The church of this earth makes rules (agreements) for themselves, but there is a Holy Church in heaven (elect angels) that is gathering in the Holy Temple by the will of the Father. Those who have been gathering in the Holy Temple receive the orders straight from the Father. Those will be binding some work that “has been” done on earth, and it will be bound in heaven as well. It “has been” because it is not finished work yet; it is still going on. The work up there in the Holy Temple will never end until the Lord returns. Only the Bible can bind things on earth and be bound in heaven. The rules of the Bible bind people on earth and heaven. We have One Lord and God and worship only One God; the church on earth and the church in heaven have the same God. Abide by the Word that is written in the Bible. The Bible contains all the rules for our lives, and it is the rule for the life on earth and the life in heaven; this is the Holy Word.

“Bind” refers to agreements or rules. Making an agreement in the name of the Lord it will be bound on earth and heaven as well; that agreement must always go with the Bible. If it is against the Bible, that agreement is not from the Lord. Every rule set up to control the people in the church must be based on the Bible’s rules and orders. But people come in the name of the Lord, but not with the Lord. Watch out; many churches create rules by using the name of the Lord but not with the Lord. An example of binding would be things we have seen, such as the prayer chain. The prayer chain keeps people praying one after another, and it enforces unity in the church; the Bible has unity. Also, the fast for offering gathers people to make a fast with one purpose together; unity is the key here as well. When there is such agreement in a church on earth, then the angels in the Holy Church will follow and bring this offering directly to the Father. Each promise (agreement) has its own smell and look, which the Father enjoys, and the Father will bind it in heaven. The Father will not just look over it but feel it, and the Father will bind it in heaven for that action; it comes up to the Father as an offering.

“Loosed” in this context means it is loosed from human rules. For example, in some places, women cannot wear certain colors. The Lord never set such rules about colors. To dress is to cover the body; the color has no meaning. This is some freedom the Lord gives. Loosen this, and it is loosed in heaven as well.

20 Then charged He the disciples that they should tell no man that He was the Christ.

Comments 16:20. The apostles were not allowed to tell who Jesus was, so the things that were to happen to Jesus would happen. If the word spreads about this revelation, this could alter some of the events that were to happen to Jesus, such as mocking and spitting on His face, which was the portion the Lord had to receive.

21 From that time began Jesus to show to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.

Comments 16:21. It is easy for the human mind to have doubts even when things are in front of their eyes. The Lord wants to prepare the disciples' minds and hearts to be ready for the things to come. Because the Lord knows what His disciples will be facing, the Lord has done and said many things to them to confirm their faith. Many of them will face challenges, but during this time, for the last period on earth, while the Lord is still with them, He will strengthen their faith.

22 And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall never be unto Thee.

Comments 16:22. Fear has seized Peter; he let fear affect his faith. And just for a moment, this happened to all of them. Do not let fear have power over you; remember that evil can play with your feelings, but fear has no power. Always remember whom you serve and rebuke fear in the name of Jesus, and do not let fear play with your feelings.

23 But He turned, and said to Peter, Get you behind Me, Satan: you are a stumbling-block to Me: for you mind not the things of God, but the things of men.

Comments 16:23. This plainly means that Satan works with our weakness and tries to cover us. Our own weakness makes it have a weak point to be attacked. Fear led Peter to be trapped, but this rebuke from Jesus helped Peter. Chase fear away in the name of Jesus; the rebuke from Jesus has saved Peter.

24 Then said Jesus to His disciples, If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Comments 16:24. Take this verse accordingly, as it is written. Deny the comforts you have and do the work for the Lord. Some may not be called to do specific things but studying the Word is following the Lord. Here, the Lord did not ask to deny our family but deny ourselves only. The family is a responsibility the Lord gives as well.

"... let him deny himself" plainly says that by accepting Jesus, we are not free anymore. We belong to the Lord, and we are not supposed to do things that are against the Word of God, but we are to follow every word completely.

"... take up his cross" means to carry the call that the Lord had put as a burden on your heart to do. Some may have small burdens, while others may have bigger burdens in something to do for the Lord. The Lord knows the ability of each person, and He will never give more than we can carry. The heart to follow the call is the key to working for the Lord.

25 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.

Comments 16:25. Verses 25-28 talk about faith from two points of view: earthly and the world to come. It reminds us that it is not about the life on this earth to lose it but the eternal life to come. For this earth, if you look for fulfillment in this life, you lose the life in Jesus' world. This earthly world is nothing; if you tighten your heart around the things in this world and are greedy for the things of this world, your connection to the next world becomes thinner. The Bible is the guide in this world and for the world to come. Always go back to the Bible to fulfill the life in this world, use the Bible as a guide, and you will save yourself at the end. On this earth, just take what is necessary because nothing in this earthly life lasts.

"... shall lose it" in the first part of the verse refers to denying the faith even when your life is not threatened. For convenience and for being accepted among people, some deny the One who created us.

26 For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?

Comments 16:26. The Lord wants our souls to be saved. On this earth, we praise the Lord by our mouth, but in the world to come, our soul will go and glorify the Lord. That voice the Father wants to hear, the soul that glorifies the Father; the soul belongs to the Father, and He doesn't want to lose any soul in the lake of fire. Life on this earth is like having two pots; if you try to keep one, it goes against the other one.

27 For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then shall He render to every man according to his deeds.

Comments 16:27. Take notice in this verse that the Lord Jesus will come in His Father’s glory, not in His Own glory. The Lord Jesus never puts Himself above His Father. Our God is Three in One, but the Father is first; even Jesus Himself first glorifies the Father. So, we should do the same, glorify the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit but put the Father first.

"For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels" refers to the second coming of our Lord Jesus on earth. The whole world will see Him, at the same time, with His personal army of angels when He will take over the whole world.

"... then shall He render to every man according to his deeds." This also refers to the second coming of the Lord. Repay (render) here is not a judgment; it is the time when the Lord looks to each individual at what they have been doing during their life on earth and what can be counted for eternal life. If there is something to be counted forward, the Lord will use that portion for comforting that person during his waiting for the judgment day.

28 Truly I say to you, there are some of them that stand here, who shall in no way taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Comments 16:28. See Comments Mark 9:1.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Believe the Word about Jesus from your heart and do not seek for a sign. 2) Base your faith on the Bible, not on the traditions of men. 3) Ask yourself the question that Jesus asked the disciples: "But who say you that I am?" 4) Follow Jesus by denying the comforts you have, and do the work for the Lord; carry the call that the Lord has put as a burden on your heart to do, which could be as simple as reading the Bible, praying, and glorifying the Lord in all things. 5) Do not deny Jesus for convenience and to be accepted by people; this earthly world is nothing, but the world to come is everything.

Matthew 17

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus interacts with the disciples, Moses and Elijah, the Father, the crowd, a man and his son, and some tax collectors. The events of the chapter take place in various locations such as a high mountain, a site where the crowd was gathered to wait for Jesus, Galilee, Capernaum, and a house in Capernaum. The chapter’s main points are the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus and Jesus telling the disciples about His death and resurrection. Everything that happens in this chapter directly or indirectly supports the teachings related to the transfiguration and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 1) The transfiguration of the Lord Jesus. The transfiguration is a unique event that happened only to Jesus; it is as important as the virgin birth of Jesus. By the will of the Father and His testimony, the heavenly body of the Lord Jesus appeared to three of the disciples, Peter, James, and John, so we can believe that Jesus is the Son of God and He is glorified above the Old Testament prophets. It is crucial to believe that the transfiguration was real and the actual heavenly body of Jesus overshadowed the human body of Jesus so the disciples could see His glory and testify to everybody. 2) Death and resurrection. After the transfiguration, the Lord talks to the disciples about His death and resurrection on the third day. The disciples need to believe in the bodily resurrection and connect all this with the transfiguration. 3) The healing of a boy. The boy’s sickness and healing can be applied symbolically to the world. The world itself is like this boy; it has an illness and is set for punishment and cleansing through fire (See 2 Peter 3:7-10, 2 Thessalonians 1:7). But the Lord’s mercy gives a chance to all people to repent through the baptism of water and come at the foot of the cross and be healed (See Matthew 8:17, Isaiah 53:3-9). We just need to come to Jesus like the boy’s father who had blind faith in Jesus and believed that all things are possible. 4) The teacher’s tax. The Lord Jesus uses the tax situation from Capernaum to teach His disciples that God the Father is the King of the earth (See Matthew 5:35, Isaiah 66:1, Psalm 24:1-2) and Jesus is His Son as the voice of the Father speaks out of the cloud during the transfiguration.

1 And after six days Jesus takes with Him Peter, and James, and John his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart:

Comments 17:1. These three disciples have been called up here for a reason; not that they are special, but each one has a duty in a different way from the others, and these ones needed to see the transfiguration of Jesus.

2 and He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the light.

Comments 17:2. This was the transfiguration of the human body to show the heavenly body of the Lord Jesus, the body that only heavenly beings have. Imagine two bodies overlapped as one, the human body and the heavenly body within; no one else on earth can have this. The Bible tells us that there are two kinds of bodies, the earthly body made from the dust of the ground and the heavenly body made of substance beyond human knowledge and understanding. The heavenly body of Jesus cannot be touched by human flesh, you can see it, but you can't touch it because it has too much power for this flesh to touch. The heavenly body of the Lord Jesus was with the Father until this point of the transfiguration, and just for a short time, Jesus' heavenly body came to overshadow the human body and then returned back to the Father. It is important to note that the human body of Jesus was not changed or transformed in any way during this transfiguration because of the cross. Jesus has to be completely (one hundred percent) human from birth until the cross in order to fulfill His mission on earth. The transfiguration of the Lord Jesus was by the will of the Father to show to the disciples; it is a mercy from the Father for the disciples' sake. This was the Father's will for humans that they would see the heavenly body of the Lord Jesus and believe.

3 And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with Him.

Comments 17:3. In the Bible, we see that Moses was the friend of God and Elijah was the servant of God. These two were chosen by God the Father to meet with Jesus; each one has a specialty in a different way. The Bible doesn't tell us what they talked about, and we should not speculate, but understand that it is not the Father's will for us to know the nature of the meeting.

4 And Peter answered, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou will, I will make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

Comments 17:4. Here it shows the character of Peter; he loved the Lord and always wanted to please the Lord. Peter wanted to do what he could to please the Lord, and that is one of the reasons the Lord chose him.

5 While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a Voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you Him.

Comments 17:5. "... behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them." It is clear from the Bible that no one has seen the Father. This passage is another proof of this fact; even the disciples have not seen the Father; they only heard His voice coming from the bright cloud.

6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were extremely afraid.

7 And Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and be not afraid.

Comments 17:6-7. Here, we notice that the voice of the Father has power that terrifies the disciples. Even the disciples that were close to the Lord had fear; imagine among other humans how much more fear would be if they would hear the voice of the Father from heaven. That is why the Father never makes Himself known to humans, there is fear at His appearance, but the Father does not want us to have this type of fear; instead, He wants us to glorify Him.

8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus only.

9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen from the dead.

Comments 17:8-9. "And lifting up ... tell the vision to no man ..."; This was a vision for the disciples to see Moses and Elijah; these two cannot physically come down at this time. Moses and Elijah, in this context, had no substance on them, and when you see something that has no substance, it is a vision. These two cannot come in substance; it was just a vision for the disciples' eyes. However, Jesus had a conversation with them, but there was no physical contact. It is not the same between Jesus and the disciples; the disciples see only a vision, but for the Lord Jesus, time and space have no meaning, so the Lord Jesus talked directly with Moses and Elijah as the disciples have seen in the vision. Nevertheless, the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus is not a vision, it is real (See comments on verse 2), and it is important to believe it is real.

Q: What was the meaning for the disciples to see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah? A: The purpose of this vision and the transfiguration was to make sure that the disciples know who Jesus is and that He is above all, including Moses and Elijah, which were important Old Testament people.

10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?

Comments 17:10. All the disciples have been taught since a young age in the synagogue by the Scribes and Pharisees; they were taught the doctrines, the rules, and the knowledge of the traditions. Now Jesus comes and teaches them the true rules of the Lord that contradict many teachings from their traditions. Furthermore, the vision creates confusion in their knowledge since Moses and Elijah come to glorify Jesus. How will the people take this? They have been taught all their life who is above who, and now in this vision, we have Moses and Elijah who came to pay respect to Jesus; this makes them question who Jesus is. People can't accept this since these two had high levels by the teachings they received, and that is why the Lord advised them to tell the vision to no one until after His resurrection.

11 And He answered and said, Elijah indeed comes, and shall restore all things:

12 but I say to you, that Elijah has come already, and they knew him not, but did to him whatsoever they would. Even so shall the Son of Man also suffer of them.

13 Then understood the disciples that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

Comments 17:11-13. In this place, the Lord refers to the humbleness in men; humbleness to the point of accepting their sins and asking for forgiveness, obeying the Law, and listening to the voice of the Lord; most people have ignored the voice of the Lord.

14 And when they have come to the multitude, there came to Him a man, kneeling to Him, saying,

Comments 17:14. This is an example that clearly shows blind faith, faith by hearing took over this man. Even though he saw that Jesus' disciples failed his faith, the faith he has in Jesus is greater than the failure of His disciples. For this faith, the Lord Jesus healed his son.

15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is epileptic, and suffers grievously; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.

16 And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

Comments 17:15-16. The man describes the boy’s sickness, but we should notice his faith and the words he used, “have mercy on my son.” With a great need for help, this man is willing to humble himself and come and beg for mercy from the Lord Jesus, not asking, but begging. The mercy of the Lord is granted upon faith you have. If you have faith, mercy from the Lord will be granted.

The healing of this boy also has a hidden meaning. The world itself is like this boy; it has sickness and is set for punishment and cleansing through fire (See 2 Peter 3:7-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:7). But the Lord’s mercy gives a chance to all people to repent through the baptism of water and come at the foot of the cross. The Lord’s mercy and help are waiting; come! In the same way, as the Lord healed this boy, He can heal and save everyone from falling into the destructive fire that is to come upon the world.

17 And Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him here to Me.

Comments 17:17. This rebuke is addressed towards the disciples. They have been with Jesus, but what they have seen and heard did not stick inside them.

18 And Jesus rebuked him; and the demon went out of him: and the boy was cured from that hour.

Comments 17:18. This verse declares the Lord Jesus' authority over the unseen world, for the unseen world is under His feet; by His command, all things will obey.

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast it out?

Comments 17:19. This verse shows that the common failure in humans is doubt and putting themselves down before doing anything. But, before you do something, believe that all things are possible under the name of the Lord Jesus. Then by faith, it is not you who does it but the Lord Himself.

20 And He says to them, Because of your little faith: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove away from here to over there; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

Comments 17:20. This verse is used for encouragement; all humans have small faith, and this verse encourages those that have small faith but believe in Jesus. Faith starts with the question, "Do you believe there is a God?" Some may not believe everything in the Bible, but inside them, they believe that there is a God. The Lord does not give to all to have the same way of believing; it is a gift to have faith. Faith is not measurable by quantity, it is a gift, and it is by knowing in the heart. Size and quantity are not the same, and they don't measure the same way. The mustard seed in this verse represents the size of faith, not quantity. We cannot say we have a pound of faith, but we can say we have little or big faith.

21 But this kind goes not out except by prayer and fasting.

Comments 17:21. It is believed that this verse was part of the original manuscript written by Matthew. The verse is important for all believers because prayer and fasting symbolize faith and humbling yourself before the Lord. People try to omit this way, but true believers should recognize the importance of humbling through actions and in your heart. The heart must be humbled; humbling through actions alone for people to see is not enough.

22 And while they stayed in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man shall be delivered up into the hands of people;

23 and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised up. And they were exceeding sorry.

Comments 17:22-23. The Lord often reminds the disciples about His death and resurrection because He knows that their faith will be tested after His departure, and He wants to prepare them for the things to come.

24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the half-shekel came to Peter, and said, Does not Your Teacher pay the half-shekel?

Comments 17:24. As they were entering this town, the disciples called Jesus the teacher. The town had its own rule; a teacher tax was to be imposed, so they asked Jesus to pay a teacher tax. It is believed that this was not at all a temple tax but a city tax set by the rulers of that place. This tax is not a tax used for taking care of the temple of the Lord, but it is an extra tax imposed on people who would teach and is collected for the rulers of that place. It is a tax by force, not by the will of the people. This system was for people, not for God; the Lord does not take by force but by the willingness of the person to give. In those days and similarly, in these days, many people used the name of the Lord to make a profit for themselves. For the temple tax itself, when you enter the temple, there will be a box in the front (See 2 Kings 12:4-16; Mark 12:41-42), and as people walk in, the Lord puts in the people's hearts whom and how much to drop in the box. The purpose of the box system was so that no one could boast about how much they put in. Also, it is to be noted that the temple of the Lord is in Jerusalem, not in Capernaum.

25 He says, Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke first to him, saying, What think you, Simon? the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute? from their sons, or from strangers?

Comments 17:25. The answer “Yes” here means that Peter is saying that Jesus is not paying the tax. Therefore, in Simon’s eyes, Jesus did not need to pay the tax regardless of Him accepted their rules or not, Jesus is a Holy Teacher, and He does not need to pay human tax.

26 And when he said, From strangers, Jesus said to him, Therefore the sons are free.

27 But, [fearing] We cause them to stumble, go you to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened his mouth, you shall find a shekel: that take, and give to them for Me and you.

Comments 17:25-27. The Lord wants to point out to the disciples that you cannot lie. Peter did lie according to the Bible since Jesus was prepared to pay the tax; Peter should consult Jesus before he answered. Lying is a human way to get out of a confrontation, but the Lord doesn’t want His children to get out of trouble by lying. So, the Lord paid the tax for Himself and Peter. Peter will be part of teaching; people will come for Peter, and Peter will go to Jesus. Peter acted as a middleman for referring information to people, so he was also considered a teacher. Humans make many rules, then and now, and enforce them on people.

“go you to the sea, and cast a hook …”; Here, we need to keep in mind that Jesus owns the sea and the fish in it. The fish belongs to the Lord, not that the fish gives money to the Lord. The fish could die if it swallows the money. The Lord did not take the money from the fish, nor did the fish give the money to the Lord; this here shows the mercy of the Lord upon the fish.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) We must believe that the transfiguration of Jesus was real. The human body of Jesus was not transformed during the transfiguration in any way because of the cross. 2) The death and the bodily resurrection of Jesus on the third day are significant since the Lord has talked about these numerous times with the disciples. 3) With just a little faith in Jesus, all things are possible; pray with a joyful heart and fast with a humble spirit to come to meet the Lord to ask for help. 4) Do not lie to get out of a situation but pray before you give an answer or engage in an activity. 5) Try not to offend people and keep the peace, and at the same time, be truthful towards the Lord.

Matthew 18

Summary. In this chapter, Jesus interacts with His disciples and one child. The events of this chapter take place in Galilee in an unknown location (not mentioned here). The main focus of the chapter is teaching about how to enter heaven. There are no specific words to describe the kingdom of heaven, so the Lord Jesus teaches us in parables and comparisons to get the idea and find the way to enter the kingdom of heaven. We can summarize the parables and comparisons given in this chapter as follows. 1) Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven: this teaching is illustrated by the Lord through a comparison with a child. The Lord teaches us that we need to have a humble heart like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. 2) Temptation to sin: this teaching shows that part of entering heaven is being watchful and not sin. The Lord teaches that the world tempts us to sin, and we need to cut activities from our lives that make us sin (compared here with feet and eyes). 3) The parable of the lost sheep: the Lord continues to teach about heaven through this parable. He tells us not to despise anybody in this world because we do not know who is or who will be a part of heaven. 4) If your brother sins against you: in this teaching, the Lord tells us never to stop forgiving our brother if he sins against us. 5) The parable of the merciful king: through this parable, the Lord teaches us that there will be a judgment day when the Lord will settle accounts with all the people of the earth. The main point of the parable is that the heart is the first place that is used for judgment. He teaches that forgiving is a vital deed that one needs to start from the heart. The Lord has shown great mercy to humans, so we should learn to show mercy to others. It is important to remember that the only way to escape the judgment day is to believe in Jesus and follow His teachings. His teachings are the rules and the only way to enter heaven.

1 In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Comments 18:1. "In that hour ... saying,"; In this passage, we should realize that the Lord came on earth to teach people how to come to the Father; and for this purpose, the Lord always traveled. For this reason, it is believed that this event with the disciples did not happen in Capernaum (as a continuation of Chapter 17) but in a different place.

"Who then is greatest ... heaven?" This question is commonplace among humans as everybody wants to be important. However, the question opens the way to jealousy; all believers should watch out; think hard about this question.

2 And He called to Him a little child, and set him in the midst of them,

3 and said, Truly I say to you, Except you turn, and become as little children, you shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Comments 18:2-3. These verses do not mean that we need to be childish, but these verses refer to us trusting the Lord like children. Therefore, be innocent in faith and trust in the Lord like children.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Comments 18:4. This comment refers to the world to come when we have the heavenly body that has been prepared for us; note that flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. The greatest in this verse refers to those who have a chance to be face to face with the Father. When you are in the heavenly body, you will not only be in the presence of the throne but face to face with the Father, and you will receive orders straight from the Father; those are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In human terms, they will be called the closest servants of the Father.

5 And whoever shall receive one such little child in My name receives Me:

Comments 18:5. "Little child" here refers to a person with a clean heart that follows and believes the teaching of the Bible as the Word of God.

"Whoever shall receive ... receives Me," refers to someone that accepts the one that comes in the name of the Lord, which the Lord sent.

6 But whoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe in Me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.

Comments 18:6. "Little ones" here refers to persons with clean hearts that follow and believe the teachings of the Bible as the Word of God.

"Whoever shall cause ... stumble" refers to someone that comes and misinterprets the Bible using the name of the Lord and makes these "little ones" misunderstand the Bible and creates doubt in them. Those persons have no worth in being born, as this verse says. They betray the Lord for various reasons. They misinterpret the Bible to bring glory to themselves, but the glory belongs to the Lord and not to the one that uses the Word of the Lord.

7 Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion comes!

Comments 18:7. "Woe to the world ... stumbling" or "woe to the world for temptations to sin." Temptations to sin are related directly to sin against the Lord. Because of believing in themselves, humans have disregarded the Creator who created all things. This is a sin against God that the world did not think that all things come from God. Knowledge and technology also lead to the temptation to sin. Technology relates to making life easier, but humans use some technology to put themselves up. For example, people try to create rain and then put themselves at the same level as God; the smart ones lift their fists and think that they themselves are gods. Humans can play with nature, but can they create one seed without the Lord's hand? They gather seeds and play with them, but they forget to think about the One who created the seed. Also, they develop computers and many smart things, but they forget about the One that created all the materials used in these things.

Q: Is the Lord against technology? A: No, the Lord is not against technology, even the most advanced technology, as long as technology is not used against the Lord.

The next temptation to come to the whole world is greed. The greed of all things, not just the things of this world, but greed for unseen things as well; because the Lord calls some to do something and those persons already think about the reward they will receive, that is greed. Humans need to feel important in this world and in the world to come. The sin of greed for the things of this world is a sin against God's work. This greed makes humans wish for things that are not made by the hand of the Lord and tempts them to think that they can be equal with God. To fight against greed, be content and thankful for what you have received; be content in all things. It doesn't matter how small we receive; just be content and thankful with a true heart.

"… for it must need be that the occasions come " or "For it is necessary that temptations come." It is necessary for temptations to come because of the will of the Father to save the humans. Temptations will help humans turn to the Lord; when they see that they alone cannot fight temptations, they will seek help from the Lord. The purpose of temptations to come is to save the obedient ones. This works for those who listen and obey, but the ones that do not come, the Lord works with them as well, but they choose not to come (See 1 Corinthians 10:13). Not that the later ones do not feel guilty, but they choose to have fun in the world.

"… woe to that man through whom the occasion comes!" Temptation cannot come on everyone; temptation doesn't run by its own will. For those who do not stay in the Word, temptation has power on them. But, for those that are covered by the blood of the Lamb, it is their own fault that temptation comes upon them; they have the Lord as their shield to protect them, but they do not rely on Him. This woe is for those that are covered by the blood and ignore the Word. Many of them sin and blame the Lord for causing them to sin, but God does not cause anyone to sin (See James 1:13-18). There is no sin in God, so He cannot cause someone to sin.

8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you: it is good for you to enter into life maimed or lame, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.

Comments 18:8. This verse has been a stumbling block for many believers throughout the ages. It is important to understand that the Lord will never ask us to harm our bodies. Our bodies, the Lord created in His image, why would the Lord ask us to destroy His creation? The nature of God is mercy; His love and mercy are beyond our understanding. The proof God has shown is in His Own Son; Jesus has proved the love of God for the whole human race. Therefore, the verse refers to some of our activities that are not needed in our lives because these activities are useless for this earth and for the earth to come. Think about your daily life, how many useless things do we do. Consider these things as hands and feet, cut them off, use your heart to pray to be able to discern them. Therefore, hands and feet refer to activities we do throughout our life on earth; we use our feet to go here and there and use our hands to do this and that. Pray with the heart for all daily activities, and if they are useless, cut these activities off.

9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, and throw it from you: it is good for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.

Comments 18:9. Here the Lord does not mean that it is better to be born blind. The eyes are not easy to control, and the eyes feed the heart. Sometimes, we see things that we should not even look at, but it happens. When you see something, that thing will feed straight into the heart, so watch what you are looking at. Many, many things the Lord created; use your eyes to see the blessings of the Lord. The world uses the word entertainment. Entertaining the flesh through your eyes weakens the soul; we cannot feel our soul clearly since our attention goes to entertain the eyes and the flesh. But, let's entertain our soul; the Bible should be the entertainment of all Christians. Use the Bible to entertain your eyes with the Word, and that will strengthen your soul and spirit.

10 See that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Comments 18:10. "These little ones." The Lord always calls us His children. When we accept the Lord in our hearts, and we baptize in water, we become children of God; we are the little ones of the Lord.

"See that you despise not ..."; This addresses everyone who reads the Bible and comes to know and accepts the Lord. We are not supposed to despise anybody in this world because we do not know who is or who will be "the little one." We have examples in the Bible where people have not been baptized in water but have accepted the Lord with a true heart; we cannot despise anybody since we do not know the heart of people; only God knows it.

"for I say to you, ... their angels ..."; This tells us that there is an angel assigned to each person that accepts in their soul God who created them because it is then that they become children of God. The angels have their duty; they serve as messengers and ministering spirits for God (See Hebrews 1:14), but the Holy Spirit, by His presence, is a witness for both the Father and Jesus. Wherever the Holy Spirit is, He is a witness to the Father and Jesus, and He is everywhere at the same time.

11 For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.

Comments 18:11. This verse is believed to be part of the original manuscript written by Matthew.

12 How think you? if any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and go to the mountains, and seek that which goes astray?

Comments 18:12. This verse tells us that even if we see some true Christians tangled in some bad situations that do not go against God, we still need not despise them. We can define “little ones” as those who read the Word and believe and follow.

13 And if so be that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Comments 18:13-14. The "little ones" mentioned in verse 10 and verse 14 are both coming from the same fold but are not the same. In verse 10, "little ones" refers to the innocent little ones, while in verse 14, "little ones" (the lost sheep) refers to the ones that have been tricked but are still willing to follow the Lord after knowing that they have been tricked; tricked by doctrines that almost follow the Word, but you could find points in these doctrines that contradict the Word. They have been tricked, but they did not deny the Lord. They can't turn back because they believe the Lord has abandoned them. The Lord never abandons His children (See Hebrews 13:5); if they turn back, they will meet the Lord in the midst of the way.

15 And if your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone: if he hear you, you have gained your brother.

Comments 18:15. This verse applies to two types of brothers, the true brother and the brother in name. Before you talk to your brother, make sure that you bring the situation to the Lord first. The Lord will work in your heart and your brother's heart to be able to resolve the problem. Also, when you meet the brother, ask him to join hands with you in prayer. The true brother has to be treated as it is written in verses 15 to 17. The action taken for the brother in name could end here at verse 15 because they will not listen, even to God. But you still have to tell him his fault so he cannot use it against you.

Q: How do we recognize the true brother and the brother in name? A: We will recognize them right away. Before we talk, we should ask to come in prayer together; the Lord will speak to both hearts, and He will speak to our own heart to know if it is a true brother we are dealing with, and we will know in our hearts. When you pray together, do not listen to the words, you will be confused; just listen to the small little voice of the Lord speaking into your heart. Remember, the Bible tells us about the false brothers coming in sheep skin who can trick us.

16 But if he hear you not, take with you one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.

17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church: and if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you as the Gentile and the publican.

Comments 18:16-17. Do not treat this brother as an enemy but treat him as a visitor with no hate between you; the Lord doesn't want to see hate among brothers. But never let the name of this person off the list to pray for; keep praying for this person. A true brother should listen to the church.

18 Truly I say to you, what things of any kind you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things of any kind you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Comments 18:18. See Matthew 16:19 comments.

19 Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on earth [] anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father who is in heaven.

Comments 18:19. Many have used this verse in the wrong way. The verse does not refer to the things that you agree on for your benefit of luxury in this world; rather, it refers to faith and building up the faith of people around you. It refers only to faith, not a luxury on this earth.

20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.

Comments 18:20. The main point here is "in My name." Do not use the name of Jesus in vain; this only refers to building up the church of the community, not personal things.

21 Then came Peter and said to Him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?

22 Jesus says to him, I say not to you, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven.

Comments 18:21-22. The real meaning of the number here is that it is beyond our count; all it means is that we should never stop forgiving.

23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a certain king, who would make a settlement with his [n]servants.

Comments 18:23. "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened." There are no specific words to describe the kingdom of heaven. The Lord Jesus tells parables to make it easier for the listeners to understand; He presents two things to compare between.

Q: When will this parable be applied? A: This parable can be linked to the judgment day that will come upon humans; the principle presented will be applied at that time.

Q: To whom does this parable apply? A: The parable applies to two kinds of Christians (true Christians and Christians in name) and to the rest of the world. The Christians in name will be judged with the rest of the world on the judgment day, but the true Christians have been saved already; there will be no judgment on them at this time.

Q: What are the things about the kingdom of heaven that we have to learn from this parable? A: The parable teaches us three important things. First, it tells us that all things cannot happen unless the Lord of heaven, the Father, agrees; it is upon the Father's decision to make things happen. Second, the Lord wants to see from us true humbleness and beg for mercy from our hearts to offer us forgiveness. And third, the principle of mercy shown in this parable will be applied at the judgment day. Here, we need to note that when the Bible talks about the judgment day, it refers to an angel day time length, not a human day time length of twenty-four hours.

Note that not everything in this parable has a symbolic meaning that can be linked with some activity during the judgment day.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents.

Comments 18:24. This verse has a deeper meaning than what it appears, to owe that much to the Lord of heaven, the Father, the person who had lived the life unlawfully to God, and with a hardened heart, this servant ignored the voice of the Lord in his heart. The amount owed to the Lord increases when you ignore the voice of the Lord; this is called ignorance and rebellion towards God; with their mouth, they speak blasphemy, and with a disrespectful heart, they bring sorrow to their soul.

25 But forasmuch as he had not by which to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

Comments 18:25. This verse shows the consequences of the servant's actions, the suffering of watching, the pain he feels because all his deeds have brought suffering to his whole family. When the judgment day comes, his eyes will see his family's suffering because of the way of life he lived and led his family. He led his whole family to live the same way as he did, and all will be punished in the same way. We need to note that the Lord does not judge the children for the sins of the parents unless they follow in the same sinful life (See Ezekiel 18:20).

26 The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

27 And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

Comments 18:26-27. The servant did not ask for forgiveness, but he recognized the lord’s authority and asked, begging for patience. He also made a promise to “repay all,” and this is a place when the servant admitted his own faults and willingly accepted the punishment asking just for patience. The lord forgave him the debt, but the consequences of his actions will still follow.

28 But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred denarii: and he laid hold on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay what you owe.

29 So his fellow-servant fell down and begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you.

30 And he would not: but went and threw him into prison, until he should pay that which was due.

Comments 18:28-30. These verses show clearly how we humans are towards each other. The servant received forgiveness from his lord, but he did not offer others the same forgiveness he received. We are the same way, we come asking mercy and forgiveness, but we do not do it to others. 

31 So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord called him [], and says to him, You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me:

33 should not you also have had mercy on your fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on you?

Comments 18:31-33. When the Lord has shown mercy to you, because the Lord has great mercy to all humans, you should learn as well to show mercy to others.

34 And his lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due.

35 So shall also My Heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts.

Comments 18:34-35. These verses refer to the judgment day. We will always want to know what is counted for to be judged and not judged on the judgment day. Take notice that the Lord will always point to the heart and not to the mind; the heart is the first place to be used for judgment. We may not say what the heart thinks and believe that we are not guilty, but for the Lord, the heart’s thoughts are louder than the mind’s thoughts. He can hear the thoughts of the heart. For us to be safe, it is important only to believe in Jesus, and this will lead us to the right place; those that believe in the Lord Jesus and follow the Lord’s teaching will have a place of waiting for the judgment day. The true believers in Jesus will pass through their own judgment as well but not at the same time with this group.

"... everyone his brother". Jesus addresses this parable to the disciples, but the principle of this parable applies to all people. We are all children of God; we are all created in His image. Some believe, and some do not believe in the God of the Bible, but to each one, the Lord gives in their heart the knowledge of God, the Creator of all things, and all will be judged for that knowledge of God in them (See Romans 1).

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Be aware of the teachings the Lord gives in this chapter. 2) Do not sin or promote sinful activities that can cause others to be tempted. We should not even mention what others do in darkness (See Ephesians 5:11-12), so we do not cause others to judge because only God can judge. Instead, when you expose the deeds of darkness, bring the Bible forwards, open the passage, read from it to the people, and make sure to not criticize from your point of view as you are not the judge. 3) If you are offended by your brother, tell him his faults, for it is essential to living in peace among brothers. 4) Watch about comparing yourself with others and trying to be the greatest; jealousy can creep into your heart. 5) Pray always and watch your heart; the Lord can hear the thoughts of the heart, and the heart is the first place to be used for judgment.

Matthew 19

Summary. In this chapter, Jesus interacts with multitudes of people, Pharisees, little children, a rich young man, and the disciples. There is a gap of time and places between the events presented in Chapter 18 in Galilee and the events reported in this chapter in the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. It is believed that the events in Chapter 19 have taken place in some unspecified locations within the region of Judea beyond the Jordan, which is called Judea, even if geographically it was not within Judean borders. Many people living there were Jews, and many people of that region have been converted to Judaism. This chapter focuses on Jesus preaching and teaching the way to come to the Father to the lost sheep of Israel that were scattered among other nations in foreign lands. The Lord points to the way for all, how to come back to the Father to receive a chance to be called His children again. Then and now, the way is found by following the Lord Jesus' teaching. When Jesus started to minister in this region, crowds started to follow Him. Our Lord gives three main teachings in this chapter. 1) Teachings about divorce and marriage. The Lord created male and female, but humans do not want to accept that they are created for one another to become one flesh and not divorce. The two options presented in this chapter are that we should be together with someone in this way or be alone. 2) Teachings about entering the kingdom of heaven. The Lord Jesus uses the blessing of the children, the encounter with the young rich man, and the disciples to teach important things about the way to enter the kingdom of heaven. The focus of these teachings relates to the heart and the actions of a person. In order, the Lord teaches the following: a) have an innocent heart in following the Lord's teaching; b) follow the commandments from your heart and practice them; c) the work has been done already by the Lord Jesus, so there is no more work to be done for salvation, we only need to believe and follow Jesus; d) abandon in your heart the inner attachment to riches and family and become free in hearing the purpose of the Lord for you; e) have your heart cleansed by the blood of Jesus; 3) Teachings about the new world to come. The new world (the regeneration) is the world that has the Lord Jesus sitting on His glorious throne ruling His people, and it is beyond what the human mind can understand (See Comments 19:28).

1 And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee, and came into the region of Judaea beyond the Jordan;

Comments 19:1. The Lord went beyond the Jordan River to gather the lost sheep of Israel, which were spread out and lived among the natives of the land. The Lord went in to gather them by calling them out to Him and gathering them together. The verse shows that the Lord came for all humans; it doesn’t matter how difficult the world is. He always travels to give all people the good news; this is part of showing His love for people and opening the way for people to come to God.

Q: What happened on the route between Galilee and Judea beyond the Jordan? A: Many things are missing in this verse that are not mentioned here. There is a gap of time and places between the events that took place in Chapter 18 in Galilee and the events reported in this chapter that took place in Judea beyond the Jordan. The Lord stopped along the route between Galilee and Judea beyond the Jordan in many other places. His mission was to save the lost.

Q: Did Matthew 19:1 err regarding Judea as beyond the Jordan? A: No, “... and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan” is correct; it is believed that the region referred to in this chapter was called “Judea beyond the Jordan” because of the people living there. There were many Jews from Judea that settled there, and many natives of the land had converted to Judaism.

2 and great multitudes followed Him; and He healed them there.

Comments 19:2. The Lord shows His mercy by healing the people.

3 And there came unto Him Pharisees, trying Him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

Comments 19:3. "… came unto Him Pharisees". These are Pharisees from that region, Judea beyond Jordan, that grew up there, they have been taught there, and were mixed with the people of that region.

Q: Why did these Pharisees come up with this question to test the Lord? A: The question came about because of the way of life. The people of God have different rules of life because they must follow God's Law given through Moses; this was different from that of the people of that region. The Law of God makes them different and separate; they live in the same region but have a different law of life to follow. Therefore, if a Jewish man divorces a Jewish woman and takes a woman of the region to replace the first wife, that man commits adultery unless the Jewish wife is unfaithful. Also, the right of the firstborn cannot be transferred to the child born through adultery; the right of the firstborn must be to the people of God (See Ezra 9:1-2; Ezra 10:10-11).

Q: Why is this viewed as a test question? A: Because of the answer the Lord gives, that is the test, they want to check Jesus' answer with the knowledge of the people taught in the land. The Lord has an answer, unlike the Pharisees who claim to be taught but do not know the real meaning. The Lord shows His mercy by healing the people.

4 And He answered and said, Have you not read, that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female,

5 and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?

6 So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put apart.

7 They say unto Him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put her away?

Comments 19:4-7. In these verses, people come to be against the teaching "the two shall become one flesh." They cannot accept to become one flesh; this is because of the problem of authority and subordination; the woman was under the man. If they become one, they are equal. At that time, men could not accept to become one as equal with women. The pride of men plays a big role in their life, equality is unacceptable, but the men forget they were born through women (See 1 Corinthians 11:11-12).

8 He says to them, Moses for your hardness of heart allowed you to divorce your wives: but from the beginning it has not been so.

Comments 19:8. The reason why Moses commanded one to give a certificate of divorce is to eliminate slave wives. As much as the man has wealth in life, they collect more wives, and the pride of man will ignite. When a man has more than one wife, one will be more favored and becomes above the others, and the lower ones are no better than slaves. If the unwanted wife does not get a certificate of divorce, there is nothing left for that woman's life but to be a slave, but the Lord does not want any of His children to become slaves. This law is to be used only for God's children. (See Exodus 21:7-11).

9 And I say to you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and he that marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

10 The disciples say unto Him, If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.

Comments 19:10. The disciples see marriage as trouble, implying that it would be better not to marry a Jewish woman to avoid complications.

11 But He said to them, Not all men can receive this saying, but they to whom it is given.

12 For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Comments 19:11-12. "He that is able to receive it let him receive it." Some have received the gift to be born without the lust of the flesh. If they do not have that feeling, it is a gift not to suffer; if they do have that feeling, let them marry.

13 Then were there brought unto Him little children, that He should lay His hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

Comments 19:13. Q: Why did the disciples rebuke the people? A: The disciples rebuked the people because they all feel the same way towards children, that children are not important for promoting the ministry. They all want Jesus to rest, but by bringing children, Jesus has no rest. The disciples did this out of love for the Lord.

14 But Jesus said, Allow the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

Comments 19:14. The Lord teaches that to enter the kingdom of heaven the adults should have the way of their heart as that of little children; the Lord is pointing out to accept the teaching and believe as children do.

15 And He laid His hands on them, and departed there.

16 And behold, one came to Him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Comments 19:16. This passage tells us how some people think they can do some good deed worth being counted as deserving to be in heaven. The perfect deed has been done already; the innocent Lamb of God has already shed His blood to cover the world of sin. For us, only one thing needs to be done, trust and believe and accept the deed the Lord has done. Then come at the foot of the cross under the blood of Jesus and repent, be baptized, and follow Jesus' teaching.

17 And He said to him, Why ask you Me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but if you would enter into life, keep the commandments.

Comments 19:17. This teaching shows us the Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The verse also is proof that time has no meaning for the Lord because the Lord already knows what will happen to him (the young man). The Lord's answers will always point out to who He is.

18 He says to Him, Which? And Jesus said, You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,

19 Honor your father and mother; and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Comments 19:16-19. Notice in these verses how the conversation starts. The man did not come first to glorify God; his inner heart was shown in the question. He asked, "what good thing shall I do" not what God can do. This was a very self-centered question. Besides, in those times, all the commandments of God were taught from childhood. He learned the commandments but did not practice them and then came to ask the question, "what good thing shall I do." Many of us today do not learn the commandments; we have the Bible, but we do not read and meditate on the teaching of the Bible, and we end up making simple or big mistakes against the teaching of the Bible.

20 The young man says unto Him, All these things have I observed: what lack I yet?

Comments 19:20. "... what lack I yet?" The man's answer to the Lord shows that he, himself, has doubt about his salvation. If he had kept all the commandments, he would not doubt to enter eternal life. We, all believers, should ask ourselves if we keep all the teachings of the Bible and compare the answer.

21 Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell that which you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.

Comments 19:21. Because of the riches of this world, this person's heart is hardened to follow the Lord completely. This verse is close to all of us because when we think we have things, our heart does not completely rely on the Lord. If we cannot let go of the things of this world, the riches become a chain on our legs, and we can't walk far as that chain gets heavier and heavier. Therefore, we must see with our inner eyes (the eyes of the soul) and heart that the riches of this world mean nothing in the world to come.

22 But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sorrowful; for he was one that had great possessions.

Comments 19:22. This verse shows what this man is about; the earthly riches captured his heart. Great sorrow takes hold of a person when the person must give up the riches of this world. This is an example for all to see; following Jesus and leaving the riches behind is not easy for anyone to do.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, It is hard for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.

Comments 19:23-24. Note that the Lord says that it is difficult for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but not impossible. The root of the difficulty is shown in the previous verses, and it relates to obedience. Greed and obedience go in parallel; when a person is greedy, it is hard to be obedient and follow Jesus.

25 And when the disciples heard it, they were astonished exceedingly, saying, Who then can be saved?

Comments 19:25. Q: Why were the disciples astonished? A: It is the same nowadays, when you see a rich person, you believe that they are blessed by God. So, if those that you believe are blessed by God cannot enter the kingdom of God, then who can enter; this is their astonishment.

26 And Jesus looking upon them said to them, With people this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

27 Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have left all, and followed Thee; what then shall we have?

Comments 19:27. All of the disciples had left everything and followed Jesus, and all have this question in them, by following Jesus now, what do they get in return? This is a common question then and now. Peter's question comes from worry; for the disciples here, it is harder to understand what they will get in return by following Jesus. They did not know yet about the resurrection, but those who come after will know about it from the Bible. The resurrection, which is the reason to follow Jesus for people nowadays, is different than the disciples' reason. We follow after Jesus because we expect life after death, but the disciples followed by the faith of teaching.

28 And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Comments 19:28. The new world (the regeneration) is the world that has the Lord Jesus sitting on His glorious throne ruling His people, and it is beyond what the human mind can understand. The new world refers to a physical world that will appear to all people to see at the same time at the second coming of the Lord (See John 14:1-4; Matthew 25:31; Luke 22:28-30; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 20:4-6). God the Father will literally open the sky such that all people living on earth at that time will see this new world where the Lord Jesus sits on His glorious throne. The Father Himself does this action of opening the sky; the Father puts His hand through the sky and separates the sky to open it like a tunnel. The Holy Spirit, which dwells on the earth, will open the eyes of the chosen ones all at the same time to see the Lord Jesus sitting on His glorious throne (See Acts 7:55-56). All eyes will see this new world and Jesus' throne (See Revelation 19:11-16).

"… you also shall sit upon twelve thrones" refers to the final twelve apostles that will sit on twelve thrones ruling in the new word with Jesus.

29 And everyone that has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.

Comments 19:29. You could use this verse to justify salvation by works, but this verse actually refers to the heart. The work has been done already by the Lord Jesus, so there is no more work to be done for salvation, just to believe and follow Him. In this verse, the Lord does not mean that you abandon your family but that you abandon the inner attachment of the heart to your family to become free in hearing the purpose of the Lord for you. The person who does this will have a special call or purpose to do for the Lord, but this will not mean abandoning the family. The family is one in the Lord, you can separate for a while for work purposes, but you do not abandon the family; this is never the Lord's will to separate completely (See 1 Timothy 5:8).

30 But many shall be last that are first; and first that are last.

Comments 19:30. The meaning of this verse can be linked to verse 29, and it refers to the cleanness of the heart. This verse refers to people with a heart that is as clean as a newborn baby and thinks no wicked things inside; this kind of heart can be counted for as to follow the teaching of the Bible. These people look as to be the first to go to heaven, but there is one problem with their heart, they have not opened it to accept the Lord Jesus. On the other hand, you have the heart of mature persons that does not look clean, yet they have opened their heart to the Lord, and their heart is cleansed by the blood of Jesus; these look as last but, in fact, are the first to go in the kingdom of heaven (See Matthew 21:31). The heart of the mature person that is cleansed by the blood of Jesus is the one to be first (See Luke 18:9-14).

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Christians should not divorce; the only cause of divorce allowed by the Lord is when adultery is involved. 2) As in this chapter, if it is for a man who cannot be alone, he should marry. 3) We, as parents, should pray for our children and lay hands on them regularly. 4) There is no work we can do to be saved; the Lord Jesus has already done the work; we just need to believe and follow Jesus' teachings. 5) Abandon your inner attachments to riches and family to become free in hearing the purpose of the Lord for you. 6) The family is one in the Lord, and you can separate for a while for work purposes. However, you must not abandon the family entirely, for it is never the Lord's will to ask anyone to separate from family.

Matthew 20

Summary. We should keep in mind that the Lord was traveling non-stop, and great crowds followed Him at all times. In Chapter 19, we found Jesus in the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. In Chapter 20, the Lord is traveling back from Judea beyond the Jordan, then we see that "Jesus is going up to Jerusalem" and later it says, "as they went out of Jericho." This chapter concentrates on the love and mercy of the true master that has the highest authority but chooses to rule His people with love and mercy, which is the Father. We as Christians must worship the God of Three (the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) in One, but we learn that the Father is first. All humans are born with the knowledge of who the master is, and they must learn who the master is and accept the decision and authority of the master. In this chapter, Jesus interacts with His disciples, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, the sons of Zebedee James and John, a crowd of people from Jericho, and two blind men. 1) Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The parable teaches us that the Lord is fair, and He gives one Bible to the whole world. Our duty is to meditate on the Word. In heaven, there is no disagreement from below to above, and all must accept the authority of the master. We must accept the "denarius" reward without grumbling. 2) Jesus foretells about His crucifixion to the disciples. Jesus tells them that His own people are the ones that will deliver Him to the outsiders to be crucified, but He will rise again on the third day. Here, we need to remember that in His own earthly sufferings, Jesus always glorifies the Father. 3) Jesus addresses the request of the mother of the sons of the Zebedee. Jesus says that her request is subject to the highest authority, the Father. This does not go against the God of Three; it just shows us that the Father is above all and He is first in all things. The Lord Jesus consults the Father for all His decisions, and Jesus will always follow the advice of the Father. 4) The healing of the two blind men shows that persistence in prayer is the key to receiving the mercy of the Father. The Lord teaches us that we should do the same. If we need help, we need to keep asking as the Bible tells us. If a person keeps asking, the Lord will show mercy.

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like [] a man that was a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.

Comments 20:1. Put your mind back to the beginning. Think that everything is from the Father, One in all, as the Bible tells us, and all in One. Everything discussed here in this parable is in the Father; He is the owner of all things (seen and unseen). Heaven, earth, and universe are in Him; in Him alone, all things have been created (See Acts 17:28; Colossians 1:15-17). “In Him,” think as simple as you have inside of you, small little things. Humans are like dust in the eyes of the Father because all things are in Him; the universe itself is in Him, and humans cannot imagine how big the Father is, but even we are small, the Father loves all humans. He sent His own begotten Son to take the form of a human; this has shown the love of the Father, but no human thinks of Him, and they don’t even thank Him. Also, the Father, when He created all things, at the same time He assigned duties and gave work to each individual, but when they go out and mingle with the world, the calling in their heart is hidden from themselves. Because of the worries of the world, the will of the Father in their heart becomes hidden.

“A man that was a householder” or “the master of a house.” The house belongs to the master, the master controls the whole house. All the power and decisions belong to the master, and the whole household will do as the master commands. “House” refers to the throne of God (See Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 7:49). Imagine heaven and the Lord sitting upon heaven with His foot resting upon the earth. Imagine the picture of the Lord with one foot on the earth, and where do you think His other foot shall be? The Bible is clear; you can’t imagine the greatness of the throne of God and how big it should be. All things are under His power because He has created all things. And think further that only humans have been fashioned by His hand; everything else by His will was created.

“Vineyard” in this verse refers to the seen world. “Laborer” refers to the ones that take the tithes, those who live on the house of the Lord’s money. “Hire” means calling from the Lord.

“Early in the morning” relates to the point of conception. The Lord will assign the calling of the Lord at the point of conception. Even at the point of conception, the Lord has foreseen the future of that soul. The Lord already knows that the soul will mingle with the world of the seen world and will let the call become hidden. The Lord places the call even before a person has been born (See Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-16). The inner soul hears the voice of the Lord’s calling. Within the parable, we have various groups of people that will respond to the voice of the Lord.

This parable is a stumbling block for many people. Humans think only about the world they can see. However, the Lord of heaven is Lord above all, the seen and the unseen world. His vineyard includes both worlds, seen and unseen. He goes to the unseen world; He gives to all souls the knowledge of God (He created all things). That knowledge of God is considered in the human world as a calling to be in the world of humans. The purpose and calling have been placed in the vineyard of the unseen. When the souls go out to the seen world, all have the calling in them, but when they mingle with the seen world, it makes the calling become dim. But, it does not disappear; it is just dim. The Father sent the Holy Spirit to go out and work in each individual, to help the individual be able to find the inner call that has been placed in them. The chosen ones will find the path that has been put in them from the beginning.

2 And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Comments 20:2. "Agreed" is when the person has made the commitment to follow the Lord. After agreeing for a denarius, the person gets the understanding from the Lord of what it is to be done.

3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;

Comments 20:3. "He went out ... third hour"; The hour mentioned here, third hour, and in the next verses, sixth and the ninth hour, is mentioned to let us know that God never stops working. Always the Lord searches the heart that wants to follow and find the will of the Lord for themselves.

"Standing … idle." A person feels in their heart the call from the Lord but lets the worries of the world stop the complete follow from within the heart and lets their mind sway their heart and deter the action that the Lord has put in their heart. That is being idle towards the call of the Lord, to develop thoughts that make the heart think that it is right to do whatever they believe is good for themselves, instead of following the call from the Lord.

"Marketplace" refers to a certain point of time in the life of a person when a person reaches a situation to make a choice in regards to the path they take.

4 and to them he said, Go you also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

Comments 20:5. The groups of people hired at the sixth and ninth hour fall into the same category as those hired at the third hour.

6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he says to them, Why stand you here all the day idle?

Comments 20:6. "Why stand you here all the day idle?" This group of people is a separate group. These have ignored the call of the Lord and got themselves wondering, they feel sorry, but no one ever is going to want them. This is the group of people that believe they do neither bad nor good to anyone, and they have the right to choose what they can do for themselves. But, they end up wondering; they don't find a place to go and end up standing idle in empty and dark places.

7 They say to him, Because no person has hired us. He says to them, Go you also into the vineyard.

Comments 20:7. "Go you also into the vineyard." This shows that the Lord always gives second chances to everybody. As long as the person doesn't turn their back to the Lord and just sits idle regarding the call but doesn't deny the existence of the Lord, the Lord will give second chances (See Hebrews 11:6).

8 And when evening came, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward, Call the laborers, and pay them their wage, beginning from the last to the first.

Comments 20:8. "And when evening came," This compares the life of a person from the start until the end, and it marks the time to get the reward for what the person was doing all day. This marks the time for the reward in the unseen world as a payment for the life that has been working for the Lord until the end of life (human life term on earth).

"Steward" or “Forman” here refers to the Angel of the Lord.

Q: Why the specific order from the last to the first? A: We humans have problems in accepting authority, and it is in human nature to think about what is fair and not. But the Lord is above all things fair or unfair; as the Bible tells us, the master has the right to do as he pleases. Here, the real purpose for taking the last first is for learning and accepting the authority of the master.

9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every person a denarius.

Comments 20:9. "A denarius" here represents the knowledge of who the master (the gift of knowledge) is and accepting the decision and authority of the master. In heaven, there is no disagreement from below to above; all must accept the authority of the master. We must accept the reward without grumbling.

10 And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received every person a denarius.

11 And when they received it, they murmured against the householder,

Comments 20:11. "They murmured." One problem that we humans have is greed. Greed and power always play a big role over people's minds how to think about what we should receive. Each individual made their judgment already of what they should receive. Even with having the knowledge of who is the master, greed still plays a role.

12 saying, These last have spent but one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

Comments 20:12. Remembering about what they have done in their past follows their mind and shapes their greed to make them believe what they deserve; to make them believe what they should receive in the unseen world. They believe they did only good, and their reward should be multiplied, but they do not remember what bad they did. The Lord can see all the good and bad an individual has done.

13 But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do you no wrong: did not you agree with me for a denarius?

14 Take up that which is yours, and go your way; it is my will to give to this last, even as to you.

Comments 20:13-14. These verses show that the Lord is just and fair. The reward is upon the deed of an individual. No one should complain about the decision the Lord has made for an individual. The Lord gives one Bible to the whole world. Some choose to meditate on what is written, but some choose to read to kill time. You kill time, but you do not know that you kill your soul as well. The Bible is the food for your soul, you do not meditate on it, but you seek a reward. The just and fair is the Bible itself, all can have the Bible, but many don't use it. This is the fairness of the Lord; He gives the Word to all, bad and good. There is only one duty for everyone, and that is to read and meditate on the Word. No one can complain about the fairness of the Lord. All have the chance to get food for the soul. But not everyone chooses to take the unseen food. The dark world uses another kind of book to take the attention of the human mind away from the book of life. This is not the Lord's fault, for the one who did not want to take food for the soul made the fault. This parable shows this: the denarius is in the Bible. You can read, but you don't understand because you read with the human mind, and you did not ask for understanding, but you hope to understand on your own. It links to this parable.

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is your eye evil, because I am good?

Comments 20:15. This verse can refer to more verses from the Bible to support it. The Lord created all things, and He is above all things. Can the below, the created things, judge the above? The Lord's generosity is poured down for the below. Look around; even the bad enjoy all things the Lord has created, as it is written in the Bible (See Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:17).

16 So the last shall be first, and the first last.

Comments 20:16. In the context of the parable "the last shall be first," it is not the last that comes to the Lord, but the last who acknowledged the authority that is above all authority and believes with a true heart even it may take a long time to come to that point. This one will count to come in first. But the first that comes by mouth saying, 'I believe, I believe,' believing by mouth and not by heart, those will be last. The talk by mouth may be louder than the last who speaks by heart. [Whoever comes to acknowledge the authority of the Lord by heart is first, even if that person took a longer time to come to this point, not the one that acknowledges the authority first and loud but by mouth only.]

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples apart, and on the way He said to them,

18 Behold, We go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be delivered to the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death,

19 and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day He shall be raised up.

Comments 20:17-19. In these verses, it shows clearly how humans are. The destroyer has come among them. Not the gentiles that delivered Jesus, yet His own people are the ones that delivered Him to the outsiders. But all things must happen as it has been written; His own people flip over and betray the Lord.

20 Then came to Him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping Him, and asking a certain thing of Him.

Comments 20:20. The sons of Zebedee are James and John (See Mark 10:35). In Matthew, we see the mother coming to ask Jesus about her sons, and in Mark, we see the sons coming to ask Jesus about granting them the right to sit one at His right and the other at His left. Both Matthew and Mark are correct in detailing the events of this encounter. At first, the mother came with the request, and later on, the sons also came to ask. Here in Matthew, the Lord gives us the encounter with the mother of James and John asking the Lord something. This parable itself has shown how all mothers should be. For this mother goes beyond her ability to follow with her sons, the Lord has shown mercy to her, and He answers her request in the Bible. This shows the way the Lord created the relationship between a mother and her children (the mother should show love and concern for her children).

21 And He said to her, What would wish you? She says unto Him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on Thy right hand, and one on Thy left hand, in Thy kingdom.

Comments 20:21. This really is not a request that should come out of the mouth of a disciple. But, even the person has the understanding this is the human way. The Holy Spirit tells us what is right and wrong in our hearts, but we miss it many times. Always what we think (reason) will come out first. The weight of the thought of reason is heavier than the heart speaking; always, the thought of reason comes first. Therefore, the Lord allowed this request to come for the purpose of teaching us how to be between brothers in the Lord.

Q: How can we best connect the events from Matthew and Mark? A: We must understand a short gap of time between verses 21 and 22. The Lord ignored at first the woman's question. Then the sons followed up with the same request (See Mark 10:35). Then Jesus answers to the sons and the mother in verse 22.

22 But Jesus answered and said, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They say unto Him, We are able.

Comments 20:22. "Are you able to drink ... to drink." This cup referred to here is a cup of rejection by the world and abandonment of love from the family itself (i.e., heavenly family) (See Matthew 27:46). This is a simple cup for the one who gives the cup, but it is heavy for the one who will receive the cup. When the Lord was crucified, He carried His own suffering, but He took the suffering of the entire world upon His own death. No human can take that because it is too heavy for any human. If you want to follow the Lord, no believer can take this cup; just accept that the Lord has carried the cup of suffering upon His shoulders (Isaiah 53:3-5). But, even if all of the believers know this, they try to put it aside and just say by mouth but not from the heart.

"They say ... able." This sentence shows the human mind and how the mind is because they want to do things even if they don't know what it is. The mouth already speaks before they know what it is. As the Bible tells us, we will be judged by what we say; so, do not let the words come out fast, you cannot swallow back the words after they are out, and those words will be used to judge you at the end. This is for everyone to think about, this sentence itself.

23 He says to them, My cup indeed you shall drink: but to sit on My right hand, and on My left hand, is not Mine to give; but it is for them for whom it has been prepared of My Father.

Comments 20:23. "My cup indeed you shall drink." At this point, they do not know the cup, but they will be part of it, but they will not be the ones who drink it. The Bible tells us that they are with the Lord, and they will see the Lord be crucified, flogged, and treated as something not like someone. They will see all, but they will not know the feeling.

"But to sit on My right hand ... by My Father." This verse does not go against the Trinity of God. But, many people use this verse to discredit the Trinity of God; if the Lord Jesus is God, how then this verse limits the authority of Jesus is their question. But, we need to note that the Father is above all; Three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in One, but the Father comes first. The heart of a believer should always remember Three in One, and all believers should not put one above the other, except the Father comes first above all, but when we worship, always remember Three but One. The Trinity makes the Bible complete, and we cannot leave out any one of the Three (Father, Son Jesus, or Holy Spirit), but the Father is first. Among the ones that call themselves Christians but do not believe in the Trinity, you should not have anything to do with them, for they can be a Christian by name but not a true believer.

24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation concerning the two brothers.

Comments 20:24. This verse tells the readers that even between the disciples, sometimes it was not easy to look over the boldness of some. The request that the sons of Zebedee presented needed a lot of courage because the Lord was the Holy Teacher among them. For the two sons of Zebedee to ask this straight question, for the rest of the disciples showed no respect. Nevertheless, the Lord did not show anger; then, the other disciples felt these two had more courage and were uneasy about their actions.

25 But Jesus called them to Him, and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

26 Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister;

Comments 20:26. “Minister” or "servant" here refers to the person who receives the order from the Lord in their heart to serve as the Lord came on earth to serve. It does not mean necessarily to be a servant of men, but a servant of God and do work on earth in the name of the Lord; going to tell people the good news about the Lord's coming on the earth, the resurrection of the Lord, and waiting patiently according to the Bible for the second return of the Lord.

27 and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:

28 even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Comments 20:28. The Lord Jesus came to give the living Word to humans, not to receive. The Son received the order from the Father to serve mankind. The order for the Son was to come down to be born and live in the flesh and point (He opened the way by His death but living on earth He pointed) the way for humans to come to the Father. God cannot serve men, but God that turned out to be one hundred percent man, could receive orders from the Father and serve mankind.

29 And as they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.

Comments 20:29. Many, many things happen in one day. That is why the Bible tells us that not everything that Jesus did has been written down (See John 21:25). The healing presented in Matthew 20:29-34 describes a different scenario than the healings presented in Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43.

30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Lord, have mercy on us, Thou Son of David.

31 And the multitude rebuked them, that they should hold their peace: but they cried out the more, saying, Lord, have mercy on us, Thou Son of David.

Comments 20:31. This verse shows us that persistence is the key to prayer. Even with being blocked and others trying to stop them, these two blind men did not stop asking for mercy. The Lord teaches us that we should do the same; if we need help, we need to keep asking as the Bible tells us. If a person keeps asking, the Lord will show mercy.

32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will you that I should do to you?

Comments 20:32. This verse has shown to all humans how the Lord is. He is willing to listen; He just wants us to learn and ask Him to show mercy.

33 They say unto Him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

34 And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and straightaway they received their sight, and followed Him.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Christians should worship the God of Three (the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) in One. 2) We need to humble ourselves and acknowledge the highest authority (Three in One) in our lives; we should not argue within ourselves when the Lord speaks in our hearts. 3) The Lord is fair and just; He gave the Bible to all people. Therefore, we must meditate on His Word and do not stay idle in regard to the call the Lord puts in our hearts. 4) Persistence in prayer is key to receiving the Lord's mercy.

Matthew 21

Summary. The events described in this chapter revolve around Jesus entering Jerusalem as the Most High King, a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy. The events occur in Jerusalem and places around Jerusalem, and Jesus interacts with the disciples, crowds of people, children, and the leaders (the chief priests and the scribes). 1) As the prophet Isaiah prophesied, Jesus the Most High King entered Jerusalem on a beast of burden that is a colt of a donkey. The multitudes accepted Jesus as the Most High King, the people spread their cloaks on the ground, and all, including children, praised Him, shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The Father sent the Holy Spirit to open people’s hearts to fulfill the prophecy. We all are born with the knowledge of the Most High King. The Holy Spirit went to stir the calling in people’s hearts, and that is why everyone recognized the Lord as the Most High King in unison. The Holy Spirit had opened the knowledge that the Father had put in the souls of humans even before they were born. 2) Jesus ministers in the temple in Jerusalem. Entering the temple, He cleanses the temple while showing hurt that people transformed the house of the Lord into a “den of robbers.” He heals the blind, the lame, and the sick, and the Holy Spirit puts praises in the children’s mouths to cry out loud, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” 3) Jesus teaches the disciples about faith using the fig tree lesson. As soon as the words came out of the mouth of the Lord, the disciples witnessed the tree immediately wither. This fig tree lesson will be remembered by them to remind them that all things are possible by faith. 4) The chief priests and the elders of the people question the authority of Jesus in teaching and healing. Jesus doesn’t answer them immediately; instead, He asks them a question about John, the messenger of the Lord, which they do not answer. God does not lie, no matter the reason. Since they do not answer His question, Jesus does not give them a direct answer but instead tells them two parables. A) The parable of the Father and two sons. This parable tells them that the Father gives chances to everyone at the same time. But, each person’s response to the Father’s call will determine where each one will go. B) The parable of the master and the tenants (farmers). This parable tells them that the Father sent His servants, but they did not receive them. Ultimately, He sent His Son, but instead of accepting the Son, they plot against the Son. They took Him out of the temple, mocked Him, and killed Him. Jesus tells them through this parable that after He is killed, the leadership will be shifted from humans to the Holy Spirit (See John 14:16-17).

1 And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

Comments 21:1. Bethphage and Bethany were two small neighboring cities. People sometimes referred to these cities just by one name, Bethphage.

2 saying to them, Go into the village that is over against you, and straightaway you shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto Me.

Comments 21:2. The donkey and its colt were tied together. In that time, this is the way the mother and the baby were tied together to keep them calm. If you take the colt, the mother will follow. The disciples brought both of them to Jesus. The Lord would not separate the mother from her baby.

3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them; and straightaway he will send them.

4 Now this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,

5    Tell you the daughter of Zion,

Behold, Thy King cometh to you,

Meek, and riding upon an ass,

And upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Comments 21:5. “Daughter of Zion” refers to Israel as the children of God. “Thy King” refers to the Lord Jesus; He is the king of His children. The donkey is called “a beast of burden” because of its use in that time. Everything went on the back of the donkey; heavy, heavy loads will go on its back.

Q: What is the significance of the Lord Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a colt of a donkey? A: This act was not only to fulfill the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9; the important word in this verse to pay attention to is meek (humble). The reason the Lord rode on a donkey’s colt was to show to humans how humble the Most High King must be if the Most High King humbled Himself by sitting on an animal that is used for work. The Most High King who came on a beast of burden has been lifted high above all heaven and earth by the Father Himself.

Q: Why was the animal a colt of a donkey and not a mature donkey? A: The Lord will not use anything that man has used to enter the city of Jerusalem. The animal had to be pure and clean, such as a colt that no one has sat on. Riding a colt that no one has sat on before shows that even animals obey the Lord. Humans disobey, but the young colt obeyed the Lord; this can be viewed as a comparison.

6 And the disciples went, and did even as Jesus appointed them,

7 and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their garments; and He sat thereon.

Comments 21:7. The donkey was tied with the colt; bring the colt, and the donkey will follow. No man would sit on two animals, and no man would normally sit on a colt, but at that time, people will sit on a donkey. The Lord will sit on a colt that no man has ever sat on before, as the Bible says (See Mark 11:2), and this explains which one of the animals Jesus used.

"And He sat thereon" or “on them.” "Them" refers to the clothes (cloaks) that have been put on the donkeys. So, the Lord rode on the colt only, sitting on the cloaks that were put on the colt.

8 And the most part of the multitude spread their garments in the way; and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the way.

Comments 21:8. This verse clearly shows how most people accept the difference of level between them and Jesus. Stepping on something above and below is what this action shows; by spreading their cloaks, they admit to being below, and they put Jesus above them and give Him the higher authority. We see that the majority of people have accepted the first entrance of Jesus to the city; the people acknowledged the authority of the Lord Jesus as the Most High King.

9 And the multitudes that went before Him, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Comments 21:9. When the multitudes shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David," this was to fulfill what the prophet was saying about the Christ (See Matthew 22:41- 45).

"Blessed is He that ... the Lord;" To make the multitude to come to the same way only the Holy Spirit can do. Without the Holy Spirit, they could not quote this verse and keep shouting. The Lord guided them to do the work and fulfill what is written in the Scriptures.

"Hosanna in the highest." The expression is used by the crowd to glorify the Lord as He enters Jerusalem.

10 And when He was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this?

Comments 21:10. The same question comes from the hearts of the multitudes "Who is this?" This verse shows the work of the Holy Spirit, who stirred up the multitudes to come to glorify the Lord as He enters Jerusalem. No prophet of the Lord will die outside Jerusalem (See Luke 13:33).

11 And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.

Comments 21:11. The Bible tells us that Jesus shall be called a Nazarene (See Matthew 2:23). All that it is written in the Scripture shall be fulfilled; the Father sent the Holy Spirit to open the hearts of the people to fulfill what it is written. How did the great crowd know the details about Jesus being a prophet from Nazareth (a very small town)? The word-of-mouth travels fast, but this is not gossip because it is the work of the Holy Spirit stirring people's hearts to the mighty coming of the Lord to meet people's needs; the Lord has come to help and not to condemn. And that is why they shouted, "Hosanna in the highest," to glorify the One that comes in the name of the Lord, showing the heart of people that accept the Lord Jesus.

12 And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and threw out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;

13 and He says to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but you make it a den of robbers.

Comments 21:12-13. These verses show more than anger; they show disappointment and pain. When people use the house of the Lord as a marketplace and not for worshiping, it makes the Lord feel hurt and disappointed. These are His own people, not the Gentiles who are doing this. What actions they are doing are not actions of glorifying God; these are the actions of a marketplace not worshiping (they should sell their things outside of the temple grounds). Nowadays, what people are doing in the house of prayer is not much different from the ones here. The purpose of going is not for prayer but for meeting friends, but the first reason in the heart should be to go to the house of the Lord to praise the Lord.

"Den of robbers." "Robbers" does not mean robbers in the way of the world, rather robbers of glorifying God. These robbers rob straight the glory of the Lord; they emphasize human activities instead of God's mercy. Today, we can find these kinds of robbers in our churches as well. Many build big churches, and the question is if they are building these big churches to glorify the Lord or to show off and make themselves important. When building like this, instead of pointing to the Lord, they take attention away from the Lord to the things around, and this action is the robbers' action.

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them.

15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were moved with indignation,

Comments 21:15. "The wonderful things that He did" refers to the healings Jesus performed.

"They were moved with indignation." This shows jealousy from the side of the priests and scribes.

16 and said unto Him, Hearest Thou what these are saying? And Jesus says to them, Yes: did you never read,

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings

Thou has perfected praise?

Comments 21:16. In this verse, pay attention to the words "perfected praise." From the little children, the heart that is clean and pure will praise the Lord with a clean heart. That is what the Lord prefers; praise the Lord as little children do, from within your heart and not from your head. The children hear straight from the Holy Spirit in their heart, and that makes their mouth speak "perfected praise."

17 And He left them, and went [] out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

Comments 21:17. The Lord has a purpose to lodge outside Jerusalem for teaching the disciples. The Lord did not stay long in Bethany because His purpose was to travel and preach the Word.

18 Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He hungered.

19 And seeing a fig tree by the way side, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and He says to it, Let there be no fruit from you henceforward forever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.

Comments 21:18-19. What had happened to this fig tree, the disciples will benefit for the faith in the Word; do not say using the name of the Lord if you do not have faith. This fig tree lesson, the disciples need to learn for building up their faith. The disciples at that time faced more troubles than what we are facing now. The fig tree lesson will stay with them to remind them at all times that by faith, all things are possible. As the words came out of the mouth of the Lord, the disciples could see the tree immediately withered away. This lesson will help them as they go along in life because the Lord will not stay long with them. Even for people nowadays, for holding on to your faith, remember this fig tree how it withered at once.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree immediately wither away?

21 And Jesus answered and said to them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if you shall say to this mountain, Be you taken up and thrown into the sea, it shall be done.

Comments 21:21. People use this verse to test the Lord's power. Asking in prayer and asking for greed is a different thing. This verse teaches faith in God, not faith in getting things. The faith in getting things, the Lord means, for example, we pray for the tree, what do we expect inside of us, the tree to grow or the tree to make fruit? When we pray for the tree to grow, then we want the Lord's mercy. But when we pray for the tree to make fruit, then the stomach is thinking, that is greed, and there is a different purpose in the prayers. Even if we have faith as big as a mountain, nothing will happen if the purpose of asking is wrong.

"And doubt not." Do not doubt when you come to ask something from the Lord. Most believers have this trouble; faith and doubt are two different things. You have faith in God, but you doubt yourself in receiving. If you have doubt inside of you, deep inside, you don't believe in the God that you come to ask from, and you are not better than unbelievers.

22 And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

Comments 21:22. "All things, whatever." This saying does not include prayers that go against God's will and the nature of man. For example, the cold weather comes, and you ask to walk through the cold and don't feel cold; this is against the nature of man.

23 And when He was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto Him as He was teaching, and said, By what authority doest Thou these things? and who gave Thee this authority?

Comments 21:23. "The chief priests and the elders of the people." These people are the top leaders by human appointing but not by God appointing. This is all the pride of men; you have been chosen to have power, but someone else comes to show power and make you see true power (See Verse 14), so you will feel your power being challenged.

"Came unto Him as He was teaching." For the person who can teach in the front, they all will call Jesus as a teacher. Jesus has the authority to be the teacher; He is already teaching in the front. The authority is His and His alone (See Verse 14). How can the students ask who gave Him the authority when He already is in the front having the authority? They (the leaders and the commoners) already accepted His authority by putting Him in the front. Only the rebellious students ask that question, and they are these ones "the chief priests and the elders of the people."

24 And Jesus answered and said to them, I also will ask you one [g]question, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Comments 21:24. Q: Why didn’t Jesus answer their question directly? A: Because the Lord knows their heart. It doesn’t matter how many miracles He performs; the darkness of their heart will cover their eyes. They see with their eyes, but they can’t perceive.

25 The baptism of John, from where was it? from heaven or from men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; He will say to us, Why then did you not believe him?

26 But if we shall say, From men; we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.

Comments 21:25-26. "The baptism of John, from where was it?" Q: Why did Jesus ask them this question? A: The Lord wanted them to point out who John is for them. John is the messenger of the Lord, but they cannot accept it. John is the messenger of the Lord, and Jesus is the Lord; two different kinds of life, John one way, Jesus one way; in their eyes, neither way is right. This shows clearly how their eyes perceive.

27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We know not. He also said to them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

28 But what think you? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in the vineyard.

Comments 21:28. This parable has two parts. The first part tells the story about the two sons listening to the Father. The second part shows the results of the mercy of the Father.

Q: What is the meaning of the characters in the parable? A: "A man" here stands for the Father. The "two sons": one stands for the Pharisees, and the other stands for those that listen to John the Baptist's message. The "work" in this verse means to follow and meditate on the commandments, do as the commandments say, and let the world see you following the commandments. Here, "vineyard" means the world.

29 And he answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented himself, and went.

30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

Comments 21:29-30. "Son, go work today in the vineyard ... I will not ... I go, sir ..." There are two types of people that the Father is looking at. The Father gives a chance to all at the same time. The response of each individual to the call will point where each one will go. Each one turned out in a different way, but the Lord gave them both the same chance.

31 Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus says to them, Truly I say to you, that the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Comments 21:31. They can make the assessment, but they don't know how to bring it to use in their walk of following the Lord.

32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not; but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him: and you, when you saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that you might believe him.

Comments 21:32. This verse shows the plan of the Father for humans to come to the Lord. With the Father's mercy, not just for His own people, but for the whole world, the messenger has come and pointed out to the Savior of the world. It is an easy way for humankind, but humans want to be as great as God and ignore His message and deny the Savior. The chosen ones will listen to the message, but the outcasts will ignore the true message from the Father. Even now, the disobedient ones still ignore the message.

33 Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country.

Comments 21:33. The meaning of the characters and elements in the parable:

“Householder” or “Master” refers to the Father. “House” or “household” refers to the seen and the unseen world. “Who planted a vineyard” refers to the place to be for God’s people, the Jews, and the chosen ones. “Set a hedge (or fence) about it” means that the Lord put the guide and protection for His people. Imagine the Holy Spirit covering them with His wings; that is the fence for His people. Even today, all His children have a seal in their hearts to link with the Holy Spirit, and the wing of the Holy Spirit extends to that person. “Dug a winepress in it” refers to the procedure (the call from the Lord) to separate the election among His children; the election of who has specific duties in life to do for the Lord. “Build a tower” refers to the Word of God, all the regulations and the rules that have been written, and Jesus coming to point out the rule for all His chosen ones to follow that rule. Through Jesus, all have the same rule; nobody can say I know the Lord more than another. All will know Him because of the same rule. “Let it out to husbandmen” or “leased it out to farmers (or tenants)” means that everything, the vineyard, the winepress, and the tower, have been leased. “Husbandmen, farmers or tenants” refers to the Jews and the chosen ones. “Went into another country” refers to the Father.

34 And when the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, to receive his fruits.

Comments 21:34. "When the season of the fruit drew near" refers to the times when the "husbandmen" make mistakes, and they need to repent. "His servants" are the election that went through the winepress. "To receive his fruit" refers to receiving the ones that repent and glorify the Lord in their heart, the ones that come to the point of feeling sorry and want to restart again with the Lord.

35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

Comments 21:35. The Lord sends His angel to the chosen ones (His servants) to give the message; those then go to the husbandmen (the Jews and the chosen ones) and have been mistreated.

36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did to them in like manner.

Comments 21:36. This verse talks about what the humans did to the Lord's servants. The Lord sent them to serve the humans, but they kill some, beat some, and stone some, but the Lord never gives up; He keeps sending more of His servants. The Father's love is greater than His anger.

37 But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

Comments 21:37. "But afterward." The Bible often says that His servants have been mistreated in many ways. But the Lord never gives up on us. Here, it reminds us how much the Father cares for humans; He sent His only begotten Son to save the whole world. But we know from the Bible what the humans did to His Son; it is written as proof for all. The sinful human nature did not want to obey. But, it will never happen again; that was the first and the last time because there is only one begotten Son to come and save us. There is no other way for mankind to come to the Father except through His Son Jesus.

38 But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance.

Comments 21:38. "When they saw the son." Relating to this verse, there are many places in the Bible where they recognized Jesus, but they tried to avoid using the term Son; they just called Him a prophet. They recognized the authority in Him, but they could not accept Him as the Son of God; the most they give is a prophet. They know by heart who Jesus is, but because of tradition, they couldn't publicly say who He is (See Mark 2:27). If anyone accepts someone as the Son of God, that person must be stoned; not the person who accepts Him as a Son in their hearts, but the person who says publicly that He is the Son of God.

"Come, let's ... inheritance". Instead of accepting the Son, they plot against the Son. When they talk about inheritance, it has further meaning. Because of Jesus' fame going around, the miraculous works, and His authority, they want that fame to go to themselves as the ones that have that power and authority. All they really want is to try to make it as they are the ones who teach Jesus to do the miracles by their training, and in this way, they will still keep the power to control the people. The Lord has given humans wisdom, and they use that wisdom to fight Him instead of glorifying Him. The humans use their wisdom to try to make themselves to be like the Lord; this shows the sinful nature of humans. But, without His Son, they will never be able to have the Father’s eyes on them again. Forgiveness comes only by faith alone in His Son, not by works.

39 And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

Comments 21:39. They took Jesus out from the temple to move Him further outside because they believed that if He was far from the temple, this would calm down the people. Jesus has many followers, and the way to make fewer problems for themselves is to discredit Him first, then kill Him. By mocking Jesus in public and putting Him to shame, His followers will be discouraged and back off; then, afterward, they can do everything to Him. They will have fewer problems with the people if they disgrace Him first in public, but He is willing to take everything to fulfill the Father's plan. That is why Jesus has been favored by the Father Himself for He being God and being willing to be disgraced by the creatures that He created.

40 When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen?

41 They say unto Him, He will miserably destroy those miserable people, and will let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

Comments 21:40-41. From this point on, the leadership will be shifted from humans to the Holy Spirit (see Holy Spirit given: John 14:16, 26; Acts 1:12-15). And this will not be pleasing to those who believe they are in control. With this power shift, fights will start, within and from outside. The Bible tells us in many places that the authority belongs only to one King who created all. Only one King exists who has control over all; the King who created all things, not the created ones being the king. And now the Holy Spirit will administer the leadership to whoever He pleases; to the ones that are worthy to do the work, not based on looks but on the heart.

42 Jesus says to them, Did you never read in the scriptures,  The stone which the builders rejected,

The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes?

Comments 21:42. This verse tells about the Lord Jesus Himself conquering all; all things are created through Him, He is above all. “Builders” refers to the Jews (His people). “The stone” refers to the Son of God (the Lord Jesus). “The head of the corner” or “the cornerstone” refers to Jesus. The Jews rejected the Lord Himself. After being rejected, He is the most important because everything is based on the cornerstone, and the fundamental belief and faith are built on this stone.

43 Therefore say I to you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing out the fruits thereof.

44 And he that falls on this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.

Comments 21:43-44. This paragraph talks about the love of the Father for His people, the Jews. Though they keep rejecting Him, yet they are not forgotten; the Lord always will gather them back together. They will be scattered around, but the Lord will gather them back because they are His people, and this will never be changed regardless of what they will be doing; they are His children. They did good work for the Gentiles by rejecting the Lord. The Lord had come calling the Gentiles to do only the work that His own people do not want to do, to proclaim the Lord that the Lord will be back again for all the people, not just His people alone. The Lord will return again. The Gentiles should remember because of the children's falling, they themselves will proclaim the Word of the Lord.

"And he that falls on this stone shall be broken to pieces" still refers to His people, the Jews; because they fall in this rejection ("... builders rejected"), they are scattered around (broken to pieces). "But on whomever, it will fall, it will scatter him as dust" means that when this knowledge (about the cornerstone) falls on any of His chosen ones, their own people will reject them (the Christian ones will be made to suffer by their own people).

45 And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He spoke of them.

Comments 21:45. This verse shows that the Pharisees and chief priest feel guilty in their hearts.

46 And when they sought to lay hold on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The knowledge about God is put in our souls even before we are born, and the Lord gives a chance to all at the same time. What we do with this knowledge here on earth will determine where we go at the end of our lives. 2) We need to remember the fig tree lesson, how the tree withered as the words came out of Jesus' mouth. Jesus has authority over everything. 3) Pray with faith, but do not use greed when you pray. 4) After the crucifixion of Jesus, the leadership of His children was shifted from humans to the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit administers the duties to whoever He pleases.

Matthew 22

Summary. It is believed that the events described in this chapter take place in Jerusalem and the surrounding small towns around Jerusalem. In this chapter, Jesus interacts with His disciples, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, a Pharisee lawyer, and the multitudes. As Jesus travels, His disciples follow Him, and people come to join His company. Whatever He teaches the disciples, people can hear, nothing is in secret, and it is always in the open. The interactions described in this chapter took place in some public places as Jesus was traveling and teaching. In this chapter, six main points can be summarized as follows: 1) Jesus tells a parable about the kingdom of heaven where He likens the kingdom of heaven with a king (the Father) who gave a wedding feast for his son (Jesus). The meaning of the wedding feast in the parable is to show that the ultimate decision belongs to the Father and that the Father alone makes all the decisions. Preparing the kingdom started with the moment when the first nail-pierced Jesus' skin. The parable talks about the time from Jesus' crucifixion until His second coming, when humans are called to follow Jesus. The parable describes three stages; the Father prepares for the feast, the calling of the guests, and the feast itself. 2) The Pharisees and Sadducees plot to discredit Jesus in the eyes of His disciples, people, and rulers. The Lord has come to guide them, but they choose not to follow even if they acknowledge Him as a teacher, so the guilt is not with the Lord. 3) Jesus responds to the Pharisees' question and teaches about taxes. The Lord gives a simple answer and proves to the people that the wisdom of God is beyond the human mind and human understanding. 4) Responding to the Sadducees' question, Jesus teaches about resurrection. Through His answer, the Lord shows them that they do not know the Scripture and the power of God, but they are religious leaders. 5) Responding to the lawyer's question, Jesus teaches about the great commandments. The Lord gives us two commandments to live by. The first, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and the second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 6) Jesus asks the Pharisees a question about Himself. Then, and now, people do not admit that the Lord Jesus is one hundred percent human and one hundred percent God. Through His question, Jesus wants to make them acknowledge that He is the Son of God.

1 And Jesus answered and spoke again in parables to them, saying,

Comments 22:1. The wedding feast in this parable is given in the honor of establishing the kingdom of Heaven and pointing out to the real king who will rule over all the guests. It is hard for humans to understand the feeling of the Father and the Son, One in all but different in authority and duty. The Father has all the authority; the Son's duty is to rule over all. The parable describes three stages; first, the Father prepares for the feast, the hall, the table, the food, the guest list selection, the sending out of the servants, the place where guests will sit at the table. The guests to sit at the table are the chosen ones, the Jews, and the invited ones, the Gentiles. The second stage is the calling of the guests, and the final and third stage is the feast itself.

Q: What is the time frame of the parable? A: The moment of preparing the kingdom starts with the time when the first nail has pierced Jesus' skin. The parable talks about the time from Jesus' crucifixion until His second coming when humans are called to follow Jesus.

2 The kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son,

3 and sent out his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage feast: and they would not come.

Comments 22:2-3. "King" here refers to the Father, and "son" refers to the Lord Jesus. Remember, the Bible always refers to the bride as being the Church of God and the bridegroom as being the Lord Jesus. "Marriage feast for his son" refers to when the Father prepares the kingdom for His Son to rule. The Father will prepare the feast and bring the people that He has in His plan. The call to this feast is already put deep in the heart of each individual because the Lord calls everybody, and everyone has the same chance to get to heaven. When the Father prepares the wedding for the Son, He will lead those who respond to the call in their heart. Unfortunately, the world corrupts many of those that have the call, and they turn against the call of God that was put inside their heart from the beginning.

"His servants" refers to the apostles and the whole company of disciples of about 120 gathered together in the upper room in Jerusalem (First group of servants: see Acts 1:12-15). The Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they go out to teach the Word to the Jews first. Without this anointing at Pentecost, they all will not remember all the things the Lord has given. When the Holy Spirit comes upon them, the Holy Spirit will remind them of all the teachings of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has to be given; no human mind can remember every word after a long time has passed and be able to write it down to prepare the Bible. Only through the Holy Spirit is it possible to bring the knowledge about the Lord and write the Bible.

"Them that were invited" refers to two groups of guests, the Jews first and then the Gentiles. The Jews who reject the call make the room available for the Gentile guests. That is when the second round of calling takes place. (See Revelation 11:1 "... Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there.") In Revelation 11:1, "Measure those who worship there," refers to this selection mentioned in this parable that says "those who were invited."

4 Again he sent out other servants, saying, Tell them that are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage feast.

5 But they paid no attention, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise;

6 and the rest laid hold on his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them.

Comments 22:4-6. The Father continues to call the selected ones the Jews. Yet, they still do not respond and mistreat the servants. They do not only ignore, but they also do not want to be called His people because the eyes of the world are fixed on them; they feel they are a laughing stock for the people. Look at the majority of Christians; they feel like them as well. When it is close to the end times, it will get worst, the heart of humans will become cold towards God and the living Word, and more and more, they will ignore the call.

There is a gap of time between each calling (verse 3 and verse 4). The Lord's time is not the same as human time. After the Lord Jesus had risen, many people have heard what happened. From those who hear the good news, some will be chosen to have a duty as servants.

7 But the king was angry; and he sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Comments 22:7. This verse refers to the time when the Romans besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD and destroyed and burned the temple and the city. But, this was their own fault for killing God's Son and God's servants, and that was when the Lord took away His hand of protection.

As it is written in the Bible, all His children travel with the Lord's help, and when they find a place to stay, they forget what the Lord has done for them. So, the Lord removed His hand and let them face their own challenges by themselves. However, the love of the Lord never ends. They are His children and always will be His children; His Son comes in their nation.

8 Then says he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were invited were not worthy.

Comments 22:8. “The wedding is ready.” The Father Himself has prepared the whole celebration for His beloved Son. For the Son’s pleasure, the Father has been waiting and willing to forgive all; the Father wants to give a gift for His beloved Son, that is, to forgive all that come under the blood of the Holy Son.

“But they that were invited” refers only to the Jews, the selected ones.

“Were not worthy” refers to the fact that they rejected the commandments of God and practiced the traditions of men. For them, the traditions of men became more important than the commandments of God.

9 Go you therefore to the intersections of the main roads, and as many as you shall find, invite to the marriage feast.

Comments 22:9. "As many as you shall find, invite." The Father specifically said, go out and invite those you find, no differentiating, any class of people, Jews, Gentiles, and outcasts; if, in their hearts, they show remorse towards their actions and repent, invite them to the feast.

10 And those servants went out into the main roads, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was filled with guests.

Comments 22:10. “The wedding (hall) was filled with guests.” Imagine heaven and the gates of heaven. The wedding hall is prepared somewhere in front of the gates of heaven. Souls are gathered here just before entering the gates of heaven. From this parable, we can imagine the wedding hall having two sections, with one on top of the other. The top section is the Jews’ section, where only the selection of the Jews enters; the bottom section is where the second group of guests, the mixed group, enters. This wedding feast is still yet an event that will take place at God’s timing.

The heaven, the wedding hall, and the soul world are completely in a different dimension for human eyes’ ability to see, but only the eyes of the soul can see. All the stars and everything in the sky exist just to show humans the glory of God and show that there is a God who created everything. It is His pleasure, not human pleasure; the purpose to create is just for Himself and for humans to see that it is God who created all things (See Revelation 4:11). But humans do not use this knowledge to come to acknowledge the Creator.

11 But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment:

Comments 22:11. As this verse tells, all of the guests have accepted His Son's mercy with a sincere heart, but there was one there that has pretended to accept. This one hid himself among the others; he just wanted to have a portion of the good time. He thought that he could hide from the eyes of the Lord, but no one could.

"... a man." This man represents all those that try to make themselves, as the Bible tells us, be righteous in their own eyes, but the Lord can see the inner heart of those individuals. Everything is like an open book for the Lord.

"Wedding-garment” or “wedding clothing." This portion of the parable refers to then and now as well. The wedding garment represents faith and belief in the Lord Jesus, that He is the only true Son of God and by His blood we all are clean. The old garments have been changed; they have been washed by the blood of Jesus, and when it has been washed in the blood, it will be fit for the wedding feast. That is what the Father is looking for; the first thing the Father sees is the wedding garment, and the sin of that person will be covered. Do not come to the wedding if you do not have the wedding garment on you.

12 and he says to him, Friend, how did you come into this place not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless.

Comments 22:12. "Friend ... wedding-garment?" This man (friend) represents all those that sneak in without proper wedding garments. This man was invited by the servants, and he hid among the true believers and the Jews. The servants' duty was just to invite the guests, not to sort them. As the Bible tells us, the wolf covered with lambskin can blind the eye, not just for other believers but even for the servants. Just looking at the outer covering, you think it is right to invite them to the feast. But, the Father's eyes can see through the covering; He sees through the deeply hidden portion of the heart and soul. Nothing can be hidden in front of the Father.

13 Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

Comments 22:13. The servants or attendants represent the angels of the Lord, angels that have the power and authority to carry out these actions. The outer darkness represents the outer rim of hades (See Luke 16:22-23). Note that here and in Luke 16:22-23, the Lord refers to the outer level within the realm of hades.

14 For many are called, but few chosen.

Comments 22:14. The meaning of the wedding feast itself is to show that everything is in the Father; this world itself is in the Father as well. The Father has all things in His hand. The ultimate decision belongs to the Father, and the Father alone makes all the decisions. Remember that Jesus Himself always does the Father’s will.

15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare Him in His talk.

16 And they send to Him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that Thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for anyone: for Thou regardest not the appearance of people.

Comments 22:16. This verse supports many comments we put about the Pharisees; they know, and they see, but they do not accept. The Lord has come to guide them, but they themselves choose not to follow; the guilt is not with the Lord (See John 9:41). If they did not know, there is no guilt, but because they know (about the Lord) and admit, the guilt remains on them.

“And they send to Him their disciples, with the Herodians …”; Here we see the hypocrisy of the Pharisees; they took the Herodians along to be witnesses to what Jesus will answer about taxes.

17 Tell us therefore, What think Thou? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why make you trial of Me, you hypocrites?

19 Show Me the tribute money. And they brought unto Him a denarius.

20 And He says to them, Whose is this image and superscription?

21 They say unto Him, Caesar's. Then says He to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.

22 And when they heard it, they marveled, and left Him, and went away.

Comments 22:21-22. Here we have the meaning; the Lord has proved to people that the wisdom of God is beyond the human mind; a simple answer has answered it all. The Lord did not use many pretty words, but always straightforward words and the words will convict the hearts of humans.

23 On that day there came to Him Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection: and they asked Him,

24 saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.

25 Now there were with us seven brothers: and the first married and deceased, and having no seed left his wife to his brother;

26 in like manner the second also, and the third, to the seventh.

27 And after them all, the woman died.

28 In the resurrection therefore whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, You do make a mistake, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven.

31 But as about the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,

32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

33 And when the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at His teaching.

Comments 22:23-33. "Resurrection." The Lord talks about the resurrection of the body. "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (See verse 32); at this point, the Lord talks about His resurrection in the body. The Father is the God of the living because all things are living in front of the Lord. The passage confirms the resurrection; that is why the Father is the God of the living because His Son never died; He resurrected in the body. God cannot die; He is the God of the living, so He cannot die; He is life (See 1 John 5:11-12). This confirms the resurrection of His Son, complete body and soul. Jesus was the first one to rise from the dead; that is why He is the King of the resurrection; all that will resurrect at the end will be under Him. He is the King of all, the dead (those which never have a chance to return, as in the Bible is mentioned the ones that have been punished to be burned in Hell; See Revelation 20:12-14) and the alive. By the cross, Jesus has become the King of the dead and the living.

Q: How many resurrections in the body are described in the Bible? A: There is only one resurrection in the body. The resurrection of the body can happen only for the believers in the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Only the believers can have that chance. This is the first resurrection as described in Revelation 20:4-5, and it will take place sometime in the future before the Lord's second coming on the earth. In Revelation 20:5 it says, "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended"; these that come to life in this verse never get the body, they come to life just to receive judgment, but they will have no material body, just the spiritual body. The soul that dies without a body has no thought of pain, but these ones that come to life here will have thought to know only what pain will mean and will have the feeling of punishment in torture. (See Revelation 20:12-14).

Q: Do we keep the gender after the resurrection? A: There are differences between the resurrected bodies, but no term of female and male is used. Those who reign with the Lord have heavenly bodies, not human bodies. The heavenly body does not have a specific way of looking to tell the difference between female and male like on earth we have (See 1 John 3:2).

34 But the Pharisees, when they heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together.

35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him:

36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

Comments 22:35-36. This lawyer is a leader of religion at that time; religious leaders who claim that they are the ones that know everything about the law of God. The Lord here used Scripture to reply to them; He told them straightforwardly, you do not know the Scripture. The Lord showed them His knowledge, but they still test Him. There are two types of people, in the past one and nowadays another. They tested the Lord’s authority in those times while humans test the Lord’s patience nowadays. Think that the Lord has died for all; the Lord did not die just for the Jews, but for the whole world. Yet, only a small number of people come to recognize that; this is a test of the Lord’s patience against the Lord’s mercy for humans. People in the church and those that claim to be believers speak by mouth, not by heart, and their mouth leads them to judgment.

37 And He said to him, You shall love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the great and first commandment.

39 And a second like to it is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

40 On these two commandments the whole law hangs, and the prophets.

Comments 22:39-40. The neighbor here is anyone that the Lord brings to your path. Not those that just walk and are passing you by, but those that you have interaction with (See Luke 10:36-37). There is always some purpose in connecting with someone, regardless of the type of people you meet. If you are good to them, inside of them, they will have a question, "Why are you good to them?" And if the conversation comes, you can tell them this is one of the principles of teaching from the Bible. Make them think of the Bible, and you will open their heart to search by themselves.

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

42 saying, What think you of the Christ? whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The Son of David.

Comments 22:41-42. Christ means “Anointed One of God” or “Chosen One of God.” Christ is the Greek translation of Messiah from Hebrew. The question the Lord has put is from the mercy of the Lord to open their eyes. They claim to be religious leaders but have no knowledge of Scripture. Then and now, people fight the same way to the deity of Jesus. The question they have then and now is the same, “How can Jesus be the Son of God when in His earthly family there were so many brothers and sisters?” Same fight, no difference.

“Son of David,” they answer. Their answer clearly shows that they all go through His earthly family; they go further until where He comes from. This is to fight who Jesus Himself is, born from human or born not of human. For them, He cannot be born of God because of His mother. The siblings He has on earth make His deity doubtful for them. If Mary has a baby with God, how can she have more babies with man is their stumbling point? Even now, people think the same way, how holy she can be; for you would be an adulteress, if pregnant with God and then with a man; this is the way they want to use Jesus’ Holy birth.

43 He says to them, How then does David in the Spirit calls Him Lord, saying,

44 The Lord said unto My Lord,

Sit Thou on My right hand,

Until I put your enemies underneath your feet?

45 If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his son?

Comments 22:43-45. Through this question, Jesus wants them to admit that He is the Son of God. That is why the virgin birth has to happen. The woman that will carry the Christ cannot be used by man until His birth is over; then she can have life as a woman should have.

46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, neither dared any person from that day forth ask Him any more questions.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Have faith in God and believe that only through the blood of Jesus can we be cleansed from our sins. Only through Jesus can we be in front of the throne of the Father. 2) As Christians, we must give ourselves to God and obey His commandments, but we also should perform our duties as citizens and be examples in society. 3) Believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus, for we, in the same manner, will rise as well. Jesus is the King of the resurrection, and all that will resurrect at the end will be under Him. 4) Put God first in everything you do and give your love to Him. Also, show the love you have for the Lord to the people that the Lord brings in your path.

Matthew 23

Summary. In this chapter, Jesus interacts with His disciples, the Pharisees, the scribes, and the crowds. The interactions described in the chapter take place in some public places as Jesus was traveling and teaching. The chapter is well structured into four parts. 1) Jesus tells the crowds that the scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. Their role is to read Scripture to the children of God, but they misuse their role by judging the Scripture and making rules and regulations. Through this, they create heavy burdens on people’s shoulders just to suit their appetites. 2) The Lord tells us who is our true Teacher (Rabbi), Father, and Master, so we know whom to follow, listen to, and obey. 3) The Lord gives eight woes to the scribes and Pharisees. All these woes have one goal in common, to worship the Lord with your heart and not with your wealth. The Lord is the owner of all the wealth of this earth, and why should you offer the Lord what is already His? The Lord only wants the hearts that glorify Him. The eight woes revolve around one main point, come to the Lord with all of your heart. Because the Lord gives everyone freedom, the heart is important for the Lord to receive. He gives all things, but only the human heart receives the freedom, so use your heart to glorify the Lord. The woes given are: a) Woe against taking advantage of the weak; in their greed, they use the name of the Lord to take advantage. b) Woe to those who work against God’s calling; they teach that their way is the right way and do not teach that God’s way is the right way. c) Woe against the children of hell trying to interrupt the children of God to enter the kingdom of heaven. d) Woe against lying tongues; they make the dark way seem the right way through their lying tongues (teachings from lying tongues). e) Woe against showing off; that I am the best when they are nothing. f) Woe against those that are outwardly faithful but inside have no faith; this type of people has fake faith. g) Woe against the darkness of heart; they only act righteous, but inside, their hearts are filled with darkness. h) Woe against twisting the truth; they make themselves righteous at the cost of a truly righteous life (the prophets of the Lord). 4) The Lord speaks against this generation for ignoring the warning that comes directly from the Lord; until they will accept who is the true King of their life, no more prophets will be sent.

1 Then spoke Jesus to the multitudes and to His disciples,

2 saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat:

Comments 23:1-2. The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the leadership seat; as Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, they have the duty of leading, but not of judging.

3 all things therefore whatsoever they command you, these do and observe: but do not you after their works; for they say, and do not.

4 Yes, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on people's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.

Comments 23:3-4. Because they have schooling, they lead the reading of Scripture but they should not be judging. However, all of them put themselves leading and judging when only the Lord is the judge. The Lord tells us to take what they teach but do not follow the judging of the Scripture they read. Here, it means they judge what the Scripture says and lay rules and regulations for people without having the authority.

5 But all their works they do to be seen of people: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

6 and love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

7 and the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi.

Comments 23:5-7. These verses have a clear meaning. This behavior you can see nowadays as well within the church; they do not dress as in the past, but all their clothes will be from famous brand names. The wage for the clothes themselves can go to do more things for the Lord, but the things of this world have captured all humans, as the Bible tells us.

8 But be not you called Rabbi: for one is your Teacher, and all you are brothers.

Comments 23:8. "Rabbi" means my teacher or my master. In those times, the meaning of the rabbi was deeper than teacher or master, as we think these days. A rabbi is a person that is qualified to surrender to him as the person that has the most knowledge, and all have to follow the word as he interprets. Or you could say a rabbi is a person who knows the teaching of the Lord, and people must follow all that they teach, almost to replace God in their life. Rabbis were highly respected in those times because they had school. For this world, the school is higher than all, for it measures you in a human way of living; to be lifted high, you just need to have school.

"For one is your Teacher." This part of the verse refers to whom you should consider as the teacher of your life. Only Christ alone can have that place in your life; there is only one teacher in life, Christ the begotten Son of God.

"And all you are brothers." Because all have one Father as the Bible tells; we have one Father (the Creator), and that is, we all are brothers (among believers). If you are not a believer, you will not call the Father to be your heavenly Father. In the eyes of the Lord, those that are not believers are just His created creatures, not His children. To be children of God, you need to acknowledge Jesus the begotten Son as your Lord and accept the Father's commands.

All humans are His creation (and in this sense His children), but some are rebellious children. The rebellious children are those that do not acknowledge the Father. The Father has created all things, but the rebellious children do not acknowledge the One who created them. He loves them as well; He has only One Begotten Son, and He gave His Son for all humans that He has created. Many places in the Bible refer to the rebellious children by His Word and His actions, but you can see the Father's love being greater than His anger.

9 And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, even He who is in heaven.

Comments 23:9. The Father discussed in this portion of Scripture is not about the Father of the human body. The Father of the soul, this passage is calling, the Father of your soul, not of the physical body. Because the soul comes from the Father, He is the Father of your soul.

10 Neither be you called masters: for one is your master, even the Christ.

Comments 23:10. In this verse, master, or instructor in other translations, is Christ Himself who obeys the Father even to the death on the cross. As we humans should obey Christ, He is our instructor to follow. Love one another as Christ loves all humans and takes all of the sufferings. Love brothers in faith as Christ loves you in faith.

11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

Comments 23:11. See Comment on Matthew 20:26.

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Comments 23:12. We hear about famous people from many places on earth, and when pride gets hold of them, they all fall; nothing lasts. This is because, in them, they lift themselves up and think they are wise and better than other brothers; instead, they should be humble.

13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against people: for you enter not in yourselves, neither allow you them that are entering in to enter.

Comments 23:13. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" The woes come against the scribes and Pharisees because they do many things that are not right. They are leaders and have all the knowledge in those times, but they do a lot of damage to the people. The woes are important; rebuking the leaders is something that the Lord only can do; people had no right because they (the scribes and Pharisees) used the Scripture to take advantage of the commoners; that is why the woes are here (See John 9:22, John 9:34).

“for you enter not in yourselves”; They do not enter because all of their beliefs are that they are completely righteous and fulfill God's will, when in fact, they themselves do not know what the will of God is. But also, they will not let the ones that could enter to find the way as it is written; they teach their way to be the right way, not God's way to be the right way. You do not enter; also, you do not want anyone to enter; this is the most selfish act. It is the worst thing to do by using the name of the Lord and claiming the name of the Lord.

“neither allow you them …”; Remember what the Bible tells us, if you lift yourself up and it is not the Lord lifting you up, you will be put down. They have been doing that; they lift themselves above and think that they know all. But, all they know is traditions of man, which are being taught among each other, and they do not know the traditions of God.

14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers: therefore you shall receive greater condemnation.

Comments 23:14. “For you devour widows’ houses.” This woe shows exactly how they take advantage of those who already feel bad and discouraged, the widows that no one protects, and they do that to them. How bad is that, do something to the ones who cannot fight back; the Lord has mercy for the widows, as it says in many places in the Bible.

“For a pretense, you make long prayers.” Really, they want to swallow up their inheritance (devour widows’ houses forcing down their throats everything they can), but they present themselves as the ones to comfort the widows and make prayers to help the widows believe that their dead ones, because of their prayer are in a good place. This makes widows feel obligated to give what they ask. They are hypocrites; they use God to take advantage of others, which is wrong to do. They take advantage of the widow’s mind; that is what they do.

15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, you make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.

Comments 23:15. "Proselyte" here refers to Gentile converts who had committed themselves to the teachings of the Jewish faith (converts to Judaism). This verse tells us that the scribes and Pharisees take the name of the Lord and go to teach to Gentiles, but the way they teach, instead of making the Gentiles come to the kingdom of God, they teach them how to walk straight to hell. We should remember these are Gentiles, not children of God, the rules and law they cannot keep all because they are Gentiles. As the Bible tells us, if they make one (commandment) wrong, all is wrong.

16 Woe to you, you blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.

Comments 23:16. "Shall swear" means to promise to do something, and if you don’t keep the promise, a curse will come upon you. "Shall swear by the temple" means to do something valuable in the eyes of the Lord; God needs the heart to glorify the Lord; that is the Lord's pleasure. "Shall swear by the gold of the temple" means to do something valuable in the eyes of the people. "He is a debtor" or “He is bound by his oath” means that they feel obligated with the gold (the promise to do something valuable in the eyes of the people) but not with the temple, and it shouldn't be this way.

The meaning of this verse relates to the traditions of the Jews. In those days, traditions played a big role and controlled the people; it was not the Scripture that controlled them, but the tradition. The Lord gives this woe to point out to them that it must be from the Lord, not by the traditions to control the people.

The tradition that has been taught from generation to generation was that a person builds (or makes) something and takes it to the temple; most of the time, they build a small thing as a symbol of a promise. (In those times, people came to the temple to give the gift and ask the leaders to keep them in prayer and promise that if they keep them in prayer continually, then next time, when they come to the temple, they will bring something bigger and more valuable, and they can keep the small thing for themselves.) The next person goes and builds further, and if you want the Lord to accept you, you have to build something bigger, more valuable, and better than the person before you. This is a teaching from greed because they use the Lord to satisfy their greed, and this is wrong, and that is why in the Bible, the Lord always calls them hypocrites. The Lord never asks this, but this became a tradition, and it is wrong in God's eyes (See also Matthew 15:5-9).

People come in and see the temple, but they can't feel the Lord. But, when the scribes and Pharisees explain to do the tradition, building up, and then adding, this makes people believe that they are part of whatever has been built upon (because it is a tradition people just need to feel they are part of it). But this is never taught by the Lord.

17 You fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that has sanctified the gold?

18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor.

Comments 23:18. This verse alone tells us to know how people’s eyes see things, not as the Lord sees. Things that the eyes see have meaning for people; that is why the Bible always tells us that the Lord sees the heart and not the things. Think about it this way, when humans see the altar, what do they really see? Do they see the altar representing the Lord, or do they see the things on it (the gold)? Which is more likely for humans to see? (See Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 7:48-50).

19 You blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that has sanctified the gift?

20 He therefore that swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon.

21 And he that swears by the temple, swears by it, and by Him that dwells therein. 22And he that swears by the heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon.

Comments 23:19-22. These verses talk about seeing God or the things around them. When you swear by the altar or temple, you swear by God. That is, you say a word of promise to the altar or in the temple; for example, you promise some fast or prayer just between you and God, but you don't take it seriously. Yet, if you swear by the things like if you promise to do something valuable, for example, to build something in the temple or bring something to the altar, a sacrifice or gift, you say that you must do it because people can see what you bring, and most people boast about what they bring.

23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and anise and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these you ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.

Comments 23:23. This passage lets us know even though you choose to do small things, but you choose to do small things that all the people don’t need to see, yet you make it significant to be known because of the aroma (even when you choose to do small things you choose them such that you will be noticed by people). Because you choose to do small things, you pick the things that you do not need to invest your time to do, but they look big because of the smell and the aroma. People walking by can smell, but actually, you did nothing significant. As an example of a job, one job is in the front, but all the heavy labor jobs are in behind, and you do not do those labor jobs, but you do only the decorating jobs in the front. This shows you do the work, but in fact, you did nothing significant.

24 You blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!

Comments 23:24"Strain out the gnat" is like when we try to justify the deeds we have, the small little deeds. We see these deeds are wrong, but the bad thing itself, which is like the camel size, we hide it inside and don't get rid of it. But we get rid of little things, but the really big things we hid them. For example, we get rid of cigarettes and alcohol, but inside of us, we don't really see it as bad; we just do not want to do those deeds. If we can think we don't do, why don't we see inside that it is completely wrong and not good?

Q: How do we achieve this? A: When tests come, to think by our own strength, we can't do it. Grab the Word in the heart we have, the Word that we memorize, that the Lord wants us to memorize; the Word only can help.

Q: Why memorize the Word of the Bible? A: Memorization of the Word is important. It is different in the human way of thinking; if we memorize the Word when temptation thoughts come, we can call the Word right away. By memorizing the Bible, the mind pulls up the thoughts right away without thinking (there is like an automatic reaction that comes to counterattack the temptation). The Lord encourages us to memorize the Bible; if we memorize the Word in our heart when things happen instantly, the Holy Spirit goes through the Word and will bring up the light in our eyes to help us.

25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.

26 You blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.

Comments 23:25-26. The cup and platter itself; they clean outside of the cup and platter, not the inside that has been cleaned but the outside. This also refers to the outside of some Christians; some call themselves Christians, but only their appearance shows as Christian, but their inside itself has never yet been cleaned. It is the same as the leaders in the old-time, they dress as kings, but inwardly they are dirty more than the house of animals. Also, many of us look outwardly nice, but our heart is full of negativity. You cannot be clean just on the outside; the Word has told that if you do not clean within, the outside has no meaning for the eyes of the Lord. Remember always in the Bible it tells us that the Lord looks inside the heart and mind.

27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like [] whited tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Comments 23:27-28. The meaning here is similar to the meaning in verses 25 - 26. "Whited tombs" or "Whitewashed tombs" compare the actions we make; look beautiful on the outside, but for God, the inwardly is to be cleaned up; not just to put the unclean in a corner or push it out in the corner and let it rot. That why in this verse, this action is compared with a tomb; inside of their hearts, there are only dead bones (the unclean is kept inside), just decorate the outside, but inside, the heart is full of uncleanness.

Similarly, nowadays, in the church, people walk in beautiful dresses, but how many have cleaned inwardly. They should read these woes.

29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous,

Comments 23:29. In that time, people literally built the tombs of the prophets they killed just to cover up what they did to them and to appear innocent. They built the tombs for them to be able to pretend they were innocent.

30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore you witness to yourselves, that you are sons of them that slew the prophets.

32 Fill you up then the measure of your fathers.

Comments 23:30-32. Also, they condemn their father's generation to be the guilty ones, not them; but they themselves do not act differently than how their fathers did.

33 You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how shall you escape the judgment of hell?

Comments 23:33. "Serpents" and "brood or offspring of vipers." It has a deeper meaning, the way the Lord called them. They are the ones who claim to know it all; they claim among His own people that the word of the Lord is in them all. They can quote what is written because they are the ones that kept the Scripture, but when they interpret the Scripture to His people, they talk from their own understanding and teach wrong things to His children. Only them know what is written, and they hide it from His children to see. When they make out the teachings to His children, they copy from their own understanding.

34 Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall you kill and crucify; and some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:

Comments 23:34. This verse itself supports the verses before. They do these, all written they did; His prophets, some they killed, and some they kicked out of town. They do not listen to the prophets of the Lord, but when the false one has appeared, they all turn to accept and lead the children of the Lord astray. From the false ones that come in among the children of God, it is not because they do not know, but because they can benefit, so they take sides, and they let greed have power over them.

35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you slew between the sanctuary and the altar.

Comments 23:35. The Lord never cut off the Old Testament; the Lord came to fulfill the Bible. The Old and the New have joining part; One God, with two portions of activity, the old law by the order and the new law by grace and mercy, both from One God. You can't take the New and ignore the Old, but not that many people read the Old Testament and take it as necessary. The Lord gives all things for good reason; the whole Bible is one; you cannot have New Testament without the Old Testament. But, because of the grace of the Lord, the New Testament came for the Gentiles. The Jews, when they read the Old, many places link to the New; they can shut off their own ears and heart, but they can't ignore it, and it speaks loud for them. The Jews cannot escape the Old and the New together; just because they are His people, it does not mean they do not need the blood of Jesus to enter the throne. They are still responsible for the blood of the Old Testament prophets even if we live by grace now.

36 Truly I say to you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Comments 23:36. This is the portion (the woes) for His own people to take full responsibility. Until the end of the Old Testament, His own people are the ones who must take responsibility for mistreating the prophets of the Lord. With the end of the Old Testament, the new generation has started, the generation of grace and mercy. The new generation of humans has a chance to be saved through the blood of God’s Beloved Son. The grace and mercy have started through the death of His Own Son. Imagine His Son as the bridge; all the Gentiles and the world walk under that bridge to enter the kingdom of heaven. But His own chosen people still walk in a circle; they do not want to accept His Son, then and now, they still have that line of the walk, and not many choose the bridge. This verse tells them that this generation of the Old Testament will end.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones them that are sent to her! how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!

Comments 23:37. This verse itself applies to the past among His children, and it also applies to the children under the blood of His Son. Both groups can be linked through One God. He is the God of His people but also the God for the children through His Son. Both groups have been sheltered by His mercy. Regardless of what happens to the world and how many come against them, He is their shelter as the Bible tells; look at the hen, it spreads the wings out to protect its chicks, how much more love the Father will have for His children? The Lord gives the Holy Spirit as a covering, as the hen uses her wings to cover all the chicks, the Holy Spirit Himself can cover all; His wing is wider and bigger than humans can imagine. Only abide in His love and follow His teaching, and all will be covered. Regardless of what foolish things they do, but they can't cut the love of the Father. In many places in the Bible, how many of His servants have been mistreated, but His love goes on (for His children).

38 Behold, your house is left to you desolate.

Comments 23:38. Love and punishment go along together; no love, no care. The love here refers to the love of His people towards the Lord; if they do not love the Lord, He still loves them, but He will not show His care until they repent. The Lord may stay far for a moment for them to learn to come back to Him by their own choice. No prophet will be sent to them; they must walk back to Him. Their house will be abandoned (no prophet) if they do not repent. If He does that to them, how will the rest of the people be? They must think for themselves; all things are written.

39 For I say to you, You shall not see Me henceforth, until you shall say, Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.

Comments 23:39. This verse shows the connection between the Old and New Testaments; the Father's love brings joy to the new generation through His Son. When the Old Testament ended, no more generations of prophets were to come; the joining point between the Old and the New starts with the death of His Son. They killed the Son that the Father sent, so no more prophets will be sent.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Read the Bible and meditate on the Word yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit to be your Holy Teacher and help you understand the Scripture so man’s teachings cannot influence your mind. 2) Confess all uncleanliness from your heart and repent; the blood of Jesus can cleanse all of you from the inside out. 3) Memorize Bible verses to help you fight against temptation. If we memorize the Word in our heart when things happen, instantly, the Holy Spirit goes through the Word and will bring light to our eyes to help us.

Matthew 24

Summary. In this chapter, Jesus teaches His disciples and answers their questions. When they were on the Mount of Olives, they asked Him privately, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" In His answer, the Lord refers to three things: warnings for the believers, all the troubles that will happen in the world, and the Lord's time of return. The Lord has warned all believers before time what will happen to the world and about the Lord's return, but the rest of the world needs to read the Bible by themselves and learn to pray. All the things the Lord described in this chapter will really happen to the world. When the Lord gives warnings in the Bible, we must be ready because it will happen. 1) The Lord's warnings to the believers: a) watch your faith; b) they will attack the Bible, be aware of your heart; c) they attack the Bible to wither the faith in the believer's heart, that is the beginning of false christs to come; d) they will fake finding Bible manuscripts, then wrong translations will be produced and many false christs; e) the Bible is the temple of the Holy Spirit on earth, and all of their attacks are directed to destroy this temple; f) be wary as false christs and false prophets will arise performing signs; g) the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the whole world and then the end time will come; h) watch for the abomination of desolation when the world wide will have a fake Bible and will start to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem; i) the ones that endure to the end will be saved. 2) The Lord talks about the troubles that will happen to the world: a) wars and rumors of wars; b) wars between the giant ones; c) famines and earthquakes; d) tribulations and persecution of Christians; e) Christians will be hated by all nations and many will fall and betray one another; f) many false prophets will arise and lead many astray; g) lawlessness; h) love of many will grow cold; i) great tribulations such as has not been from the beginning of the world and never will be again will happen before the Lord's return; j) cosmic disasters. 3) The Lord's time of return: a) after the great tribulation the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and He will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; b) all people on earth at that time will see the sign of the Son of Man at the same time in a vision from the Lord; c) only the Father knows the day and the hour; d) be faithful at all times no one knows the day and hour; e) There will always be a remnant of believers from beginning, first man born until last man will be born before the Lord returns.

1 And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on His way; and His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple.

Comments 24:1. "Jesus went out from the temple ... way." There is a time gap between the events in this chapter and the events in Chapter 23. The Lord travels non-stop, especially when it is close to His time to leave the earth. The Lord is traveling, traveling only, and there is no time for the Lord to rest; neither His body nor the heart of the Lord could rest. These events are close to the departure time of the Lord.

"His disciples came ... temple." This verse alone shows how the human mind thinks; the eyes see marvelous human works, marvelous of human handwork, but around the humans the marvelous things the Lord made nobody pays attention. This verse describes this clearly.

2 But He answered and said to them, See you not all these things? truly I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Comments 24:2. The meaning of this verse is as it is written.

3 And as He sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Comments 24:3. "The disciples came unto Him privately." This shows the picture itself; the Lord was never alone because He always spent His time with people around Him. His disciples had to find a private time to be able to talk to Him. The purpose of the Lord coming to earth is to teach and point the way to be saved and come to God, but people choose to ignore the mercy of God.

"These things" refers to the destruction of the temple.

"What shall be the sign of Thy coming ..." Now it shows the heart of His own disciples. When they start to think about what the Lord has said to them, the city destroyed, and His departure, then fear seized their hearts. The Lord wants to comfort them; it is nothing that they see but what they will see is what they should think of. Their minds were confused, as we are confused even if it is written. His disciples didn't have the written word; how much more confusing must have been for them?

Comments on the Temple of the Lord that will Help Understand End Time Events

The link (the Bible) between His temple on earth (the human body of dust of Jesus) and the Holy temple of His body (heavenly body of Jesus) will be destroyed by the people that He came to save. Humans have no heart or mind to think or appreciate what God has done, but they appreciate small things humans do (temple buildings). The narrow mind of humans, they cannot take the things they see (created by God); how can they take things they cannot see (heavenly things)? [Material and spiritual things both walk parallel to one another, but the human mind will not notice the invisible things of the spiritual, even being side by side. If they cannot appreciate the things eyes can see, the things that eyes cannot see are nothing to them. The earth itself is in the Lord; really, it tells us that the Lord is here already. He is telling us, I am already in everything around you, I am the temple, and nobody can destroy the body of Jesus, which is the true temple.

What we say here refers to the connection of the Lord’s human body with the earth. The Bible tells us that all humans are from the dust of the earth. The Lord Himself, when He was born as a human, took the dust of the earth to form the baby. In His human nature, He is linked with the earth, and that is why His human body must return to heaven (to spare the earth, so it doesn’t disappear).

Remember the verse in the Bible that says the earth is His footstool; the earth is part of His temple, and the universe itself is His throne; everything is in His throne. Imagine this, the earth itself is His creation; He created humans on earth to enjoy, but humans have destroyed the earth. Humans are destroying God’s temple when we destroy the earth.

To link the earth and His Holy temple, you must look at the Bible as His temple, and people will try to change and destroy this temple (the Bible); when they come up with the idea as a human-made book (about the Bible), that will be the time when these verses will apply. Remember the Lord's body was never destroyed, He rose up in His body, and His body has returned to the Father because everything is in the Father. That is why He rose up in the body to keep the earth; (the earth) will melt away, and nothing will be left from the earth but the Lord. He is already linked with the earth by being born on the earth and taking the dust of the earth with Him back to the Father. This is the Father's plan, He created the earth and all things in it, but He also has a plan for the Son to be born from the dust of the earth to fulfill the circle of creation. Because the Lord's creation cannot completely disappear, it always will have the link. Think about the human body of Jesus; all will be gone, the earth will be gone, and there will be nothing left, but the Lord has the dust of the earth in Him. The dust of the earth, how to be up in heaven, but by the Lord Himself; He has spared the complete disappearance of the earth.

Now you go to the next step. Because of humans, this earth will be destroyed in the end, the earth itself will melt away. When they crucified the Lord, the link is disturbed (the link of love from the Father towards humans is disturbed, the Father feels hurt to see humans crucify His Begotten Son). The Lord's body (is) from the earth, and the connection (the Holy Spirit) between His body and earth is here, so the Lord is here. When He (the Holy Spirit) departs from earth, the earth will melt away. The Bible is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit on earth; because the Bible is the Living Word, that is why it is referred to as the Holy Spirit’s dwelling. The Bible is the link between the believers and the Lord.

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man lead you astray.

5 For many shall come in My name, saying, I am the christ; and shall lead many astray.

Comments 24:4-5. These verses are warning humans, be aware of false christs that come to gather the Lord's children away (those that ignore the warnings of the Lord). Even in the Bible, many places have warned you to listen and hear to the Lord speaking in your heart and match them with the Word. Many people will come telling things; the proof is in front of your eyes for it is in the Bible. Use the Word to judge because, by your own understanding you will be led astray as only the Word can judge; meditate, pray, and let the Word be the food of your soul. The Word will be as a shield to protect you, that is the best protection available for humans. However, not everyone takes it, some have the Bible just to keep it on a shelf, but that will not help for you must read and meditate the Word.

"I am the christ." When they say, "I am the christ," that will happen after they come to tell you a new bible has been found; the new christ has been found (false bible translation). When that time comes, many, many false christs (false bible translations) will appear. When they attack the Bible, that is the beginning of false christs to come; be aware of your heart; they attack the Bible to wither the faith in your heart. When false christs come, there will be many warning signs, but many will choose to ignore them. Some will impersonate and claim to know the word more than many know and will use the false word to lead people to believe that they are the lord who has returned. They will even perform miracles, but do not forget the dark side has covered that person; the power they will use is not from the Lord, but the power of the dark side. They will use the bible because that bible is the fake one; the dark cannot use the true Bible, but they can use the false one, be aware. They crucified the Lord Jesus, but the Lord sent His Word and made the Bible for us. Because the Word that came, the Bible, is the root of faith for the new generation, the first thing to attack is this foundation. The Bible is the temple of the Holy Spirit on earth, and all the attack is to destroy this temple.

When they fake the finding of the Bible manuscript, then it will come to humans, wrong translations by humans. Some words in the true Bible that create double meaning will be cut off, and they will start to claim that the Bible has mistakes, and the false manuscript will be used to fix the true Bible. By technology, the fake manuscript evidence will be found, and with technology, they can make new things look old (make the evidence to support the new bible). This will make the majority of people fall into their trap; it will make many believe because they will come with many proofs to support their findings. They will start with a few words that humans believe shouldn't be there. [Nowadays, if you claim it is by the power of new technology that you found the truth, you will get humans to listen. Humans worship technology; technology is useful when it is used in the right way]. If they can change one word, then the false translation will be found to support the idea. They just need an idea to make humans think, and then they will believe. Be aware, be aware, read the Word, meditate on the Word.

6 And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you be not troubled: for these things must [] come to pass; but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in diverse places.

Comments 24:7. "Famines and earthquakes in diverse places." What we have seen, the worst is not yet as it will be. This verse tells us the worst will come; what is happening right now is nothing yet. One day, you will wake up and hear how many have died of hunger, and no one can help. It will be a worldwide disaster, not just in one area, but worldwide, and nobody will be able to help anyone. And people will hate each other; the hatred will give power for surviving.

8 But all these things are the beginning of travail.

Comments 24:8. “Beginning of travail” or “Beginning of birth pains.” This is pain that you can’t escape; you will have to take the pain like a woman giving birth. She can’t stop; even it hurts, she still must go through it. This verse tells the same way, it is just the beginning, and it can’t be stopped as a woman will give birth. Same as the suffering of life; it is suffering, but you can’t avoid it, there is no choice to choose, that why it is compared with giving birth. How can Christians avoid it? The Lord will not just come and rain down peace for Christians only; that is why the Bible has told, whoever can keep pressing on until the end will be saved, many passages have shown this (See Verse 13).

9 Then shall they deliver you up to tribulation, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all the nations for My name's sake.

Comments 24:9. This passage tells about the time prior to the Lord's return. Everything mentioned here will happen before the Lord's return to take His people. So, be aware humans, do not give up; it is not a threat; it is a warning for all who believe. Do not worry for those who do not believe, because in that time not that they never heard of the Lord, they heard, but they ignored Him. Not they do not know, everybody knows, the Bible has warnings referring to this; it is a warning.

10 And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray.

12 And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold.

Comments 24:12. “Iniquity” or “Lawlessness.” This lawlessness relates only to the love of God; forgiveness for one another, love for each other. When there is no love, we give room for hate to come. If we keep filling up our hearts with the love of God, then hate has no room to come in. Always the Bible gives you a way out (to not fall into lawlessness), you just have to read (the Bible) and meditate, and you will find the way out.

13 But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations; and then shall the end come.

Comments 24:14. "And this gospel ... preached." This means that every ear and heart knows about the Lord. Still, many places on earth have never heard of the Gospel yet; there is still a long way to go. In Canada itself, the Word still needs to be proclaimed; not everyone has heard about it. Canada is a big country, and the Gospel has such little spread as still many do not know the Lord, but going out to spread the Gospel when inside couldn't do it well. How can the blind lead the blind? See Luke 6:39.

"For a testimony" refers to the Good News (the Gospel) of the Son of God that He has come down on earth and shed His blood for all mankind. That is why the Good News must go throughout the earth, so when the end times come, no one can say it is not fair because they all have heard the Good News to be saved. The Lord is God of judgment; He gives all nations the chance to know and be saved. When the wrath of God is poured down, no one can speak against what God is doing.

15 When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that reads understand),

Comments 24:15. This verse refers to a period of time before the Lord's return; before the Lord's return, the Lord will give the understanding of this verse, and each individual, touched by the Word will receive the understanding. "Abomination of desolation," watch for the false translation and the fake bible through the whole world. If you have the fake bible (in the world), you will have a fake temple. Watch for the coming of the fake bible and who will build the temple in Jerusalem. If they claim they find something about the temple of the Lord that is described in the Bible and try to correct the Bible, the people who find this fake bible will claim the temple as written in the Bible is not true. They will find a place and build a new temple to fit with the new bible they find. It is blasphemy to claim that something is not true in the Bible. "Let him that reads understand," tells us that the weight of responsibility isn't the same; here, each individual is responsible for reading and meditating on the Word, but before the Lord's return, the Lord gives understanding.

16 then let them that are in Judaea flee to the mountains:

17 let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house:

18 and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

19 But woe to women that are with child and to them that give suck in those days!

20 And pray you that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a Sabbath:

21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Comments 24:22. As the Bible has told, all disasters and tribulations will come upon the earth. The whole earth will be affected; the Bible tells clearly that there will not be many people left on earth. A few true believers who have a special duty will be left on earth for the work, but so few humans will be left over. All of the technology will be of no use in that time; just to find food alone will be hard enough, so there is no need for technology. It will be very hard for the ones left over, but the mercy of God makes that time shorter; otherwise, none will be left over.

23 Then if any man shall say to you, Behold, here is the christ, or, here; believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Comments 24:23-24. See comments on verses 4 and 5.

25 Behold, I have told you beforehand.

26 If therefore they shall say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not out: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.

27 For as the lightning comes forth from the east, and is seen even to the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of Man.

Comments 24:27. Everyone’s eyes will see when the Lord returns, not by technology to see. That is why the Bible tells us like lightning (speed of the light), every eye will see; not technology light, the Lord’s lightning, that is the speed discussed here. The speed of the Lord’s return is faster than the speed of human technology; it cannot be compared. To understand, you can think that it is similar to the whole earth having a vision simultaneously; as the Bible says, vision is like going in a trance, which is how the Lord is seen when He returns. How can you make people on the other side of the earth see the Lord at the same time? Now the Bible tells us “in a trance”; this is the mercy of the Lord to give everyone a vision at the same time. This way, everyone has a chance to see at the same time the One God of the earth return. That is why everyone must be in a trance, to be in the exact same moment to see Jesus and eliminate boasting. Remember, in the Bible, it says that we shall see Him coming on the cloud.

28 Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the vultures be gathered together.

Comments 24:28. This sentence is in a spiritual way of thinking. All the carcasses of the earth, not human bodies but the souls of humans, the ones that did not come, all of them that did not come to the cross, will be thrown into one place. All the evil ones (the vultures) will go there and have a feast on, as it is written, they go to eat the crop (the carcasses).

29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Comments 24:29. Within this verse, there are two time gaps; the first one is the gap between human time and spiritual time (parallel earth time), and the second gap is the gap between the events mentioned. Imagine first heaven time as a whole, and within this time, there is contained the earthly time and the spiritual time which are separated by a gap. Hidden in time, one is the human time gap, one is the spiritual time gap. The spiritual world has its events timed by spiritual time, and the human world has its events timed by human time. The heaven time has knowledge about both times and what’s happening within both worlds. Also, the Bible talks about many interferences (time overlap) within our world from the spiritual world. 

“The sun shall be darkened” means that human time will be stopped, the Father uses His hand to block the sun, and this will create a gap between human time and spiritual time (spiritual time continues while human time is stopped).

The main point of this verse rests in the last part when “the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” This is a time point of sharing event coming between human earth and parallel earth. Right now, they go along side-by-side; when they are parallel, we do not see; they must overlap for us to see. When the overlap time comes, we will see the parallel earth, but it is a long period of time for humans; many generations will pass through time before they can see the parallel earth with their eyes.

A warning comes for this verse. Watch! Some with fake understanding will come.

30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Comments 24:30. "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." See comments on verse 27 to understand how this sign will appear to all people on earth. How it can come to be to the east and west to see, the trance (vision) will come in effect for the whole earth. The sign that people will see will be the Lord sitting on the throne with the cloud above Him (this is mentioned in many places in the Bible). How glorious will be the scene for humans to see the throne of God coming down from heaven.

31 And He shall send forth His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

Comments 24:31. "He shall send ... a trumpet." The sign will be in the sky, and humans will hear the sound from heaven. His army will blow the trumpet sound, shaking the sky, and even humans on earth could feel the sky shaking. This is the point when humans will see His army come in the sky riding on the clouds of heaven. Humans will see this just before the Lord comes, the army of angels riding on the clouds to proclaim the Lord's return.

32 Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and puts out its leaves, you know that the summer is near;

33 even so you also, when you see all these things, know you that He is near, even at the doors.

Comments 24:32-33. It will come; people will use these verses to make-believe story, the story that has proven that the Lord has returned (this is talking about the fake christs). By what happens around the world, they will use this parable as a comparison to preparing the path for the fake christ.

34 Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass away, until all these things be accomplished.

Comments 24:34. "This generation" refers only to the generation of believers with true faith (from the beginning, the first man born, until the last man born before the Lord returns). Remember that this verse talks about true believers. "Shall not pass away" is the faith that the true believers have in them; it will not pass away from them because the Lord Himself is the one who helps them to keep that faith. Therefore, there will always be a remnant of true believers on earth from the first man on earth until the Lord's return.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

Comments 24:35. This verse has a complete meaning. It is a comparison, so let the reader understand.

36 But of that day and hour knows no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.

Comments 24:36. In the original, it tells us clearly "neither the Son "; but, do not forget the Trinity itself, the God of Three but One in unity; the duty may be different, but the power and authority is One, and the Father is above all. Think about it this way, in the Father Himself is the unity of the Three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; all of them are in unity as One in the Father. Remember as well, all is in the Father, and everything belongs to the Father.

Those that claim to know "that day and hour" have acted in abomination way; unforgivable sin; no one, not even the Son Himself, could speak to represent the Father, so no one can. How foolish they are! Do not listen to them; how dare they try to represent the Father? The Son and Holy Spirit couldn't represent the Father; will then the things He created represent Him?

37 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man.

38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,

39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of Man.

Comments 24:37-39. These verses explain the moment of the event that will happen; it is telling no one knows. The flood covered the earth, and no one knew; all of them did their own activity. In the same way, the Son of Man will come, no one knows, not even the angels, suddenly it will just happen. That is why no prediction is possible; the verse tells clearly, no prediction. These verses are not to judge the time; it is only to tell that no one knows the time.

40 Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left:

41 two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.

Comments 24:40-41. These verses have a hidden meaning; the human body cannot be caught up in the air straight, but it will be in a similar way with the transfiguration; the human body is transferred and caught up in the air to glorify the Lord in the air. Then, all of those that have been caught up will go to be with the Lord. This is the first catch-up, but there will still be humans left on the earth. The first catch-up does not include the Christians in name, for all the Christians in name will be left over on earth because the Christians in the name don't have their heart given completely to the Lord.

"One is taken, and one is left" is just an example to tell that not all the people on earth will be caught up in the air, but there will be just a small number of people being caught up (not 50%); in the Bible, it tells us that a small number that will be captured first (See Matthew 22:14).

42 Watch therefore: for you know not on what day your Lord cometh.

Comments 24:42. “Watch” or “stay awake,” that is the position to think about; here is not the body to be awake, but the heart. So, abide by the Word at all times, that the Word will keep your heart awake and waiting.

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through.

44 Therefore be you also ready; for in an hour that you think not the Son of Man cometh.

Comments 24:43-44. As it tells here, we do not know the day or the hour when our Lord Jesus is coming back, so stay awake and be ready. That is why it is important for a follower of Jesus to meditate on the Word and memorize Bible verses; in that way, our heart stays awake.

45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?

Comments 24:45. "Faithful and wise servant." The faithful is the person who is willing at all costs to follow, and the servant is the person that the Lord has called for certain duties. There are many duties in the kingdom of God; the Lord calls many servants. The wise is the one that gets certain duties that need the wisdom to be done. "Household" in this place refers to the church that holds onto the name of the Lord to worship, not those churches that are set up just for social service (entertainment), not for worshiping the Lord. "His lord" here refers to the Lord Jesus. "Them" refers to the believers who come to the Lord and worship the Lord among believers, not believers who stay in their place, no acting of worship to come to the Lord; for all need to come with the heart to worship and glorify the Lord. "Their food in due season"; now is the food not for the body but spiritual food, teaching the Word, not from themselves. Before teaching, come to glorify the Lord and ask the Lord for the message, not preparing one week ahead for the message. The message is right now to give to the people; the Lord gives right away the message when it is the right time. When it mentions "due season," this is the food for the spirit, so the soul interacts with the Lord each moment of time and brings joyful praise to glorify the Lord with the soul. And in those moments (the soul) needs different food; some food is received from reading, some food from meditating in the Word, another food from fasting (abstain from food for the human body to present the spiritual food for the soul).

46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing.

47 Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all that he has.

Comments 24:46-47. "All that he has." This refers to the ones that the Lord calls for that place, a specific place. The Lord will give him (that servant) a duty to give the message according to the Lord's will, not the person's will. This is not easy, but it is based on trusting and asking the Lord for help.

48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord tarries;

49 and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunkards;

Comments 24:48-49. "Evil servant." They are called this way because of the actions that the servant treats the Lord's children; whoever mistreats the Lord's children will be called an evil servant.

50 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expects not, and in an hour when he knows not,

Comments 24:50. Be wary of the world; they will poison your mind that the Lord is not coming. This verse tells us that He comes when no one is expecting Him to come. Everything goes good for that person, success in life on earth but failure in the life of the soul. The Lord comes fast as the flashing of light; be aware (when He comes, you do not have time anymore to repent because His coming is too fast).

51 and shall cut him apart, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Bible is the temple of the Holy Spirit on earth, and all the attacks are meant to destroy this temple. Watch the Bible translation you use; many fake translations will appear as time goes on. 2) Do not think that you can have a life of sin (slacking), and you will repent before you die or when you see the time is near for the Lord to come. Your life can end unexpectedly, and the Lord's coming is unexpected, like lightning flashing. You have no time then, so walk now in the way that the Lord expects you to walk, do not slack; the speed of the Lord's coming is faster than your heart can ask for forgiveness. 3) Life is full of troubles and tribulations, but we need to keep our faith alive until the end. 4) We need to join with other believers and worship the Lord in a group; it is never too late to start. Any time is good to worship, and any place is good to worship the Lord.

Matthew 25

Summary. The Lord wants us to understand some aspects of heaven and the final judgment day. The Lord portrays heaven for us to let us know how He sees humans fitting in the holy place He has prepared. We must keep life on earth in a certain way to feel and understand the heaven that we will enter. Each individual has their own imagination about heaven, but the Lord wants to tell us what He wants humans to be like, not what humans want heaven to be like. It is for humans to think and compare what the Lord tells us and what the mind thinks, compare them and see that the Lord is above all. It is not the same way of thinking, the Lord looks down to see, but humans need to look up to see. The Lord gives us the Bible, look up and see what the Bible is telling. In this chapter, we have two main parables, the parable of the ten virgins and the parable of the talents and the teaching about the final judgment day. 1) The parable of the ten virgins teaches us that we do not know the time or the hour of the Lord's return, but we must always be ready. No one knows the time and the hour; only the Father knows. No one can impersonate the Father and know the time; even the Lord Jesus Himself does not know. The Lord Jesus never portrayed Himself to know all, and in the Bible, the Lord Jesus tells us that only the Father knows. Trinity, but the Lord Jesus humbles Himself and accepts His role to be under the Father's authority. 2) The parable of the talents teaches us that each one of us has knowledge about the Creator in our souls from the beginning, and each one of us is responsible for searching and building up our faith and using the gifts the Lord has given us. When we have someone come and tell us about the Bible, we need to listen and link what we hear and compare it to what the Bible tells. 3) The final judgment day is the Lord's time, not twenty-four-hour earthly time. The Lord Jesus will sit on His glorious throne, and He will separate all souls that call Him Lord into two groups. One group that calls Him Lord by name and heart will go for eternal life, and another group that calls Him Lord only by mouth will go for eternal punishment.

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Comments 25:1. The parable wants to let us know that we must be ready and prepare ourselves according to the Bible. This parable will actually happen during a short period of time, just before the marriage feast. During the marriage feast is when the Lord comes down; for the rest, He is above and watching. Before the marriage feast starts, many things will happen at the same time (imagine overlapping of time); there will be many, many things happening, including the coming down of the temple. “Ten” as a value here does not have a special meaning; wise and foolish is what the number represents, as the Bible uses the terms the world is represented as wise and foolish. The term “virgins” represents those who have accepted the Lord and are baptized in water to be clean as virgins. When you come out from the water baptism, you are clean inside, not the body itself that is clean, the soul goes in the water, and when you come out of the water, you are clean; the inner part of you is clean; all of your sins the Lord has washed them and left them in the water. Accept the Lord’s cleansing and go to be ready for the wedding of the life to come. “Their lamps”; the lamp is the knowledge within the heart of who Jesus is; that knowledge in the heart will be as the light of a lamp leading the way to the kingdom. “And went”; this represents the journey of walking as believers to go on earth. “The bridegroom” is the Lord Jesus.

2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

Comments 25:2. The foolish ones are the ones that did not give value to the water baptism; they did not put it as important. The wise ones are the ones that, when they look at the water, before being baptized, put the heart ahead and accept the cleansing of the Lord by normal water, not special water. They believe that the Lord makes the water fit to clean from the inside out. The wise ones know the meaning of the water baptism and relate the baptism with the mercy of the Lord. Five-five means that some are foolish, and some are wise; this is not giving us a ratio.

3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them:

4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Comments 25:3-4. The oil represents faith, just simple faith to the one who gives light to walk. The foolish ones are Christians by name, not by heart, just by name. So many people in the world call themselves Christians but do not know the meaning of being Christian. "The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps," these persons take the teaching of the Lord (faith) in their hearts with them.

5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

Comments 25:5. "The bridegroom tarried." Because we do not know the time, we are waiting, and we feel it takes too long to walk along on this earth while waiting for the Lord to return. But, because of the promise the Lord has given, He will return. He has promised His return, but remember, the time of the Lord is not the same as human time for life; many generations pass away, still waiting for the Lord's return; nobody knows. "They all slumbered and slept" is the term used for relaxing; a similar human term is lazy and having lost excitement of waiting to receive the King.

6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come you out to meet him.

Comments 25:6. Q: When will the events in this verse happen as it is written? A: It will happen on earth before the Lord’s return (touching earth); it will be a very, very short time when this happens (twinkling of an eye in the spiritual time).

“At midnight, there is a cry.” Remember, at midnight, the time turns out to be the next day. It is a time when no one knows what will happen the next day, to change from the day you know already what happened to the day you don’t know what will happen. As the Bible tells us, in this portion, the Lord will send His angels to collect from all four winds His elect (for the marriage feast); the rest of the people do not know, still sleep in their way, but the elect the Lord comes to take. “Behold”; when it says behold, it means to always be alert; the Lord can come any moment. Here, it doesn’t mean that some will identify the exact hour and minute when the Lord returns. From the rapture in the air until the marriage feast, that is the time that the Lord has prepared for saving most of the people that still walk in circles searching for the Lord.

Additional Notes on Timeline Events Related to the Second Coming of the Lord and End Time (See also Matthew 13:30b Comments – Brief Notes on the Second Coming of the Lord). Combining understanding from the parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24-33), and the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-12) we can give an enhanced timeline of the events related to the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

There are two eras before the end time judgment. First is the church era, which started with Jesus’ first coming to earth (Jesus’ birth on earth) and will end with the second coming of Jesus to earth; the second era is the harvest time era or the millennium time era, which will start with the second coming of Jesus to earth and will end with the final destruction of this earth. At that time, the Lord will gather the wheat into His barn, and the end time judgment will start. Before the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth, there will be the tribulation period. The tribulation period itself starts with the seven earthly years of tribulation time (as described in the book of Daniel chapter 9), which we call here the primary tribulation period. Then the tribulation time still continues until the marriage feast takes place. This following tribulation period we call the waiting period. The tribulation period is a time of judgment coming from the Lord upon this earth before the Lord returns. The coming of the Lord Jesus to earth will happen in three stages. The first stage is when the Lord is still in heaven, and this stage is marked by the beginning of the primary tribulation period on earth. The second stage is when the Lord comes in the air, and this stage is marked by the rapture of the church. The rapture of the true believers occurs during this second stage of the Lord coming in the air and will take place sometimes in the middle of the primary tribulation period itself. This rapture is the first rapture when the first group of the elect is taken directly from the earth into the air to meet the Lord. The third stage will be when the Lord Jesus Himself will touch the earth. The Lord will touch the earth sometimes shortly after the waiting period. This waiting period starts after the primary tribulation period, and the Bible does not give us a time duration, but it will end when the Lord touches the earth (the Second coming of the Lord to earth). Before the marriage feast starts, there will be the second rapture of the church when the second group of the elect will meet the Lord in the air before He touches the earth. After the marriage feast, the millennium time era on earth will start. The Lord will select from the first group of elects taken in the first rapture and the second group of the elects taken in the second rapture a group of chosen ones for service on earth. This group will join other saints from before to do work on earth. These chosen groups will do the service for the Lord on earth. The rest of the raptured souls will go to a specific waiting place that the Lord has prepared until the final Judgment Day comes. During this time, the group of elects that are in the waiting place plus those souls that pass-through millennium will be selected, and this selection will be part of the stage called “gathering of the wheat” during the final Judgment Day.

Complementary Comments about the Marriage Feast, Rapture, and Tribulation

The marriage feast: When the Lord returns to earth, then the marriage feast will happen. After the marriage feast, nobody can be saved anymore because the door is shut (See verse 10). The Lord returns to collect what is His first; the Father's time starts out from this point, the thousand-year reign. The time will return to the time of the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit uses the prophets to talk to the people; it will be a kingdom of heaven on earth, which is the earth upon the earth (overlapping the physical earth) (See Matthew 24:29 Comments). Those who go to the parallel earth will be saved from whatever is happening during that time.

The parallel earth: Imagine how humans will react when seeing the parallel earth. It will be a time of confusion; everybody will want to go to the parallel earth, but not everybody will be chosen. When humans see the parallel earth, then soon the wedding will happen. 

Understanding: The Lord returns in the air with His army of angels to gather the elect from the four winds of the earth. Everybody will see His return in the air through a vision; then He will touch the earth, and the marriage feast will take place shortly after when His elect ones will see Him face to face (represented by the five wise virgins).

The rapture: The Lord will receive the elect ones first when He comes in the air. His angels will go first to bring the chosen ones that have been waiting patiently without doubting. Those with no doubt in their mind will be taken, and the lukewarm ones, the majority of them, will be left behind at this point. If you are lukewarm, "He will spit you out from His mouth," that is why they are left behind.

This parable applies strictly to the waiting period from the Lord's return in the air until the wedding feast; there is a further waiting time after the seven-year tribulation period and the beginning of the wedding feast. When the Lord returns in the air, He will leave some of His elect ones on earth to continue His work until the marriage feast begins. You see the big group of people; when they notice some have been taken up (at the rapture of the believers), then they will realize and start to look to themselves, what did they do wrong not to be taken up, then repentance will come. 

The tribulation time as described in the Bible is not the same as human time. You can think back from when they crucified the Lord until His return, not as humans think the length as well; this is in the Lord's time as a dot in time, it is not long, but for humans, the length is so long. When the Lord was crucified, the Father stopped the time of heaven for a moment, and it was a time of grief in heaven. No human words can describe the feeling in heaven at that time; that is why the Lord was sad in His prayer; for the Lord, it was almost as if He had been forgotten. Remember, when the Lord Jesus says, "Father, why have you forsaken Me," that is when heaven time stopped for a moment.

Q: Why were the wise virgins not taken up at the first catch-up (the rapture)? A: This event, "Behold, the bridegroom! Come you out to meet him," will physically happen for those Christians that will be on earth when the Lord returns on earth. The elect ones are already taken up because the rapture has taken place; the Lord came in the air for His elect. There are two groups of the elect; the faithful ones are the first group of the elect, the second group of the elect are the ones that have accepted the Lord but are still wobbly in their walk in faith; it is not firm; they are still wobbly and not strong in faith. The Lord has His elect that is taking care of people; He left some of His elect after His return in the air to have duty among people to lead them until the marriage feast.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

Comments 25:7. "All those virgins arose," notice, they arose up with what? Are they just alert that something happened or arose and know what is happening? There are two types of arose, the first ones know what is happening, and the second ones just follow what the first ones do. All arose, part of them know what is happening and part of them just do what the ones that know what is happening are doing but have no idea why they have done that (why they trimmed the lamps). "Trimmed"; for trimming, remember the humans use as cutting but for the Lord trimming means when the persons cleanse their hearts; the heart that is holding negative feelings in it has to trim all negative, not the thought only but the heart as well.

Relating to the time period, our understanding uses the human time to interpret what the Lord's time is; the confusion arising is between these two times.

8 And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out.

Comments 25:8. "Give us of your oil"; now is a time when they are asking them to explain to them what is happening right now; if they are never ready, at that moment, you can explain, but it will not help anymore. You don't live the life as the Word has told you; when it comes to the point to explain to us, it will be explained to us, but the help it is too late. There will be a time when people will see the Lord is coming, but it will be too late to repent. You always must expect the Lord's return and be ready, for no one knows the time of His return.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Perhaps there will not be enough for us and you: go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

Comments 25:9. “Perhaps there will not be enough for us and you”; in this place, the wise are talking about the knowledge; when the foolish ask them to share, in the mind of the wise thinking, if she spends her time doing that, she herself will not have enough time to glorify the Lord. To share the oil, she must turn off her lamp, and it will be dark in that area, and the wise are afraid there will not be enough time to do the share. In her mind, time is limited, so she tells the foolish, you go and look elsewhere and buy for yourself. Really, the wise is afraid that time will not be enough if she tries to help the foolish one to have all. Because if you come and are not ready, the wise think that it is not smart to come and help her, which is why she advises her to go to buy oil for herself.

“You go rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” Now you see why she is wise, she can’t do it, but she tells the foolish, you can go to another who can teach and ask them to help. That is why she is called wise; if she can’t do it, she can solve it another way; she leads her to someone else who can.

“Them that sell” or “dealers”; in that time, there are people, the ones that have been left behind, who have that duty; this person, the dealer, has a duty to provide, to satisfy those who come to ask for help, that is why the wise send them to the dealers. The dealers here, the duty they have is almost the same as a prophet, but because of the time, the Lord does not give any more prophets; these dealers have been chosen only in that time to do this work to be as helpers (dealers).

10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut.

Comments 25:10. "And while they went away to buy," means they went and walked in their way of living, some when they go away, in the heart, they forget what has been told, because the things of the world sometimes act like a curtain (for our spiritual eyes) and make us see blurry. The Lord is always waiting for all; the Lord's patience is great (accepting and forgiving) to all mankind. When all try to go in because the time of the Lord's return is not known, some who just wake up and separate out from the world walk slow, but as long as they are trying to go, they will reach the gate in time. "Marriage feast"; the wedding feast itself is a time when all the hearts that seek and accept what is being called for are coming together to glorify the Lord in all as one heart, one goal, to lift up and glorify the Lord, and go in to enjoy all that has been prepared for the feast. The feast itself is a celebration for the soul, not for the flesh. It will be a celebration on earth (on earth when we all come to join together to glorify the Lord as one, which is the time being discussed here), then the big celebration will be for the soul world, but also one celebration on earth as well. Imagine it as a city above a city (overlapping each other); those that are ready for the marriage feast are transfigured and enter the city above, which all can see. This is linked to the verse before, that they are looking up and see, but they couldn't go up within; it is on earth but also not completely physically on earth. A different dimension will come, the dimension of heavenly will come into effect, and in this dimension, some will be almost exactly like the real material. (See more comments on verse 6).

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

Comments 25:11. This verse alone refers to those who are lukewarm; when the door is shut, it will never open for those who were left out.

12 But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I know you not.

Comments 25:12. When the door is shut, the mercy of the Lord also is not extended; you will be rejected at this point as the grace time is over.

13 Watch therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour.

14 For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his own servants, and delivered to them his goods.

Comments 25:14. "When a man," the man in this verse refers to the Lord Jesus Himself. Before He goes back to heaven and even when He is not on earth, He gives duties to some servants. He calls some to be servants, and He talks to them in their hearts. As the Bible has told, when the apostles were traveling, the Lord Jesus told them not to go to some places and also that it was not the right time. Jesus told them this because the Lord Jesus Himself has His own chosen servants for the purpose of showing His mercy to all humans. That is why the Bible has passages of when the Lord Jesus did not allow them to speak the Word (See Acts 16:6-7).

"Going into another country” or “going on a journey"; shows that Jesus is not on earth, but He still directs the way, as some of His servants get the privilege to have a special connection to the Lord Jesus Himself.

"Called his own servants" refers to His special servants because it is different between the Lord Himself and the Holy Spirit. Jesus has His own servants for His work, His specific work that He wants to be done. Yes, the Holy Spirit calls, but the Lord Jesus Himself also communicates with specific servants that He chooses to do His personal work. Jesus connects with His special servants through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father; that is why the Bible says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit it cannot be forgiven (See Mark 3:28-30). But, also remember the Bible has said the Father Himself is in Jesus. The Lord Jesus and the Father are One. The Lord Jesus said that what belongs to the Father belongs to Him also. The Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus are not the same. The Holy Spirit is one with the Father, but the Lord Jesus is between them both.

"Delivered to them his goods” or “entrusted his goods," when it says entrusted His goods, it refers to specific orders that the Father tells to the Son. These are specific orders; that is why the Son has His own specific servants to go out and do the job. The Holy Spirit hovers over the earth and does His work (Holy Spirit's) that He also receives from the Father; that is why the Bible told us that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are Three in One. The Three have the duty, but all have received duty from the Father as One.

15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey.

Comments 25:15. “Talent”; the talent in this parable refers to the success of staying firm in the faith; this is similar to understanding. Another way of thinking about it is that the talent is the gift that a person maintains in the soul. As the Bible says, the disciples can stay in prayer day and night, which is a gift to stay firm. A similar way to think about it is that you start to do a Bible commentary, and not every day you will enjoy doing it, but in you, there is a whispering voice telling you that you need to do it; that is a gift to stay firm. The Holy Spirit stays firm inside of us; maintain this gift of staying firm through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is like a whispering voice inside of us, telling us and pushing us to do what we need to do for the Lord. (Notice that “he went on his journey”; In this context, it makes sense for us to understand the talent as the success of staying firm in connection with the Lord by prayer.)

“… to each according to his several ability”; This man gives the talent according to his judgment towards his servants. Pay attention; each servant did not receive the same amount. It shows the ability of the servant because if you give more to the one who cannot handle it, regardless of the amount, it makes no meaning. The talent itself, not the amount, is a gift from God to His servants. Look in another way, each individual that receives does with the thing they receive in a different way. The first one immediately goes and makes use of it right away until the last one goes and buries it underground. Now you see the ability and willingness of each individual. Notice that the meaning of the word talent here does not represent the goods mentioned in verse 14. Here you talk about gifts; you cannot buy gifts from the Lord because money has no value for the Lord, for deeds have value for the Lord, not earthly money. Five, two, and one; the amount relates only to each individual's ability.

Questions and Answers Related to Verse 15

Q: Is the talent given to the soul? A: It is given only to the soul.

Q: What about the one that receives one talent and doesn't do anything with it? A: One word is fit for this person: ignorant. He is ignoring the voice of the Lord in him. Remember one thing; the Lord never forces you to do anything for Him but gently is telling you what to do; obedience will come into play. Do you have that obedience in you to listen and obey what the Lord tells inside of you? Obedience will keep you going in whatever the Lord has in His plan for you. 

Q: Why didn’t each servant get the same amount? A: This question refers to this world; some can make more, some cannot make more. It is based upon the determination and ability of a person; determination plays a big role. When we have more, we think what we have is enough to make even more. But when we have less, we think all should have less as we do, and we do not even think to try to have more. In this place, you can refer to the faith you have. We do not know each person’s heart, but the Lord works in the mind to link the thought to the heart for gaining faith. The Lord gives everyone the ability to gain more knowledge of the Word because the Lord is the Living Word, and the Word can grow more.  

Q: Is the will of a person a gift from God? A: The person must seek God's will that the person has received from the Lord. Inside of you, when you find that will, peace and joy will overflow your soul. When you find that will, you will put all your might to do it, and things will fall on the right path, and you will succeed in doing it. There is a difference between will and desire because the will of God comes from above and sinks down into your soul, but desire comes out from the mind to go out to do things. But at this point, be aware of your own imagination and don't use imagination to cover the voice that is inside of you. Everyone can choose between will and imagination.

16 Straightaway he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five talents.

Comments 25:16. Practice trading here is a practice way to increase what you have and what you want to have. Trade used in this verse is not about selling or buying; it is about what can make a benefit from what they have. We start to think and use human thoughts to justify the will of the Lord but don't mix them up; try to separate them out. Seek more understanding, and yes, you can go trade to get more, the Lord has more than how much one person can want, but He doesn't give it all to one person.

"… and traded with them, and made other five talents." Go and do trade for and get more; that's why not everyone gets the same amount. This is another way of acquiring the ability to do things, leading more to faith, and going deeper into faith itself, you stay firm in the faith. Not everybody has the same ability; some find an easy way to make more. Trading happens between the one who receives the talent and the Lord's servants who have the duty of giving. In that place, where the servant that got the talents lives, many have duties and abilities in different ways. This person goes and uses the faith that he has and gains more (understanding) and brings it back to be his own thing; by his own ability, he used what he has received from the Lord and gained more; he doubles his portion by trading. He received from the Lord to stay firm (be successful) in faith. How to increase the faith by going to trade and gaining more faith? To trade understanding to get knowledge on how to be the person who receives mercy and uses what has been received to gain knowledge that returns back to be a success. (You understand many things, but knowledge is higher and deeper. You need the knowledge to use understanding because, without knowledge, understanding will stay without growth. Knowledge makes understanding grow.)

17 In like manner he also that received the two gained other two.

18 But he that received the one went away and dug in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

Comments 25:18. Q: What can we say about this person and about his actions? A: The one who dug and hid the money is the one that has ignored the duty towards the Lord completely; he has ignored the Lord from inside of the soul itself. When the person goes and hides the talent under the ground, you walk on the ground; you walk all over what the Lord has given to you. In human terms, you can call this a blasphemous action; think of what is hidden underground. You take it up and don't use it; it is bad enough, but you dig the ground and hide it. Who do you think you are? You walk all over it, as you walk all over the one who gives it to you.

19 Now after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and makes an accounting with them.

20 And he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents: behold, I have gained another five talents.

21 His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter you into the joy of your lord.

Comments 25:21. "You have been faithful over a few things," this portion refers to small things the Lord has given, and the person rejoices over and appreciates the one who gives, even if it is a small thing. This is the way humans should be; they should appreciate everything the Lord gives. "Enter you into the joy of your lord," the joy of the lord here refers to the joy of the Lord in the world to come. This is the reward when the person acknowledges and comes to glorify the Lord deep from the soul; he will enter to have joy that the Lord prepares, and the joyous feeling of that soul will be beyond what humans can understand.

22 And he also that received the two talents came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents: behold, I have gained another two talents.

23 His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter you into the joy of your lord.

24 And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter;

Comments 25:24 Q: What can we say about this servant’s answer? A: This parable relates to the servant’s answer and is not about lying; it relates to the heart that the Lord has shown mercy from the beginning. The Lord has given knowledge about Him from the beginning. That knowledge keeps talking about the Creator, a small whispering voice, whispering, but the person chooses to ignore and hide the ear of hearing even from the voice coming from outside. This is what the person is doing; he shuts his ears and closes his heart, so his perception about his lord is wrong.

The key to understanding the parable is that everyone receives the knowledge about the Creator in their soul from the beginning. Each person is responsible for doing something about that knowledge and is responsible for growing their faith; the Lord has servants wherever we go, and the Lord will open the way to each heart that is sincere about finding the truth.

Also, the talent means the ability to understand, so the Lord gives to all the ability to understand the gift that the Lord gives to that person. In the parable context, the talent can have different meanings for each person, but it is a gift from the Lord, and each person is responsible for identifying this gift and doing something about it for the Lord. All the meanings of talent in the Bible, ten things it can be (meaning that the talent can spread into many branches). Many places in the Bible refer to talent, many places, and many meanings. When the Lord gives, it is never just a small singular thing because, in the Lord, all things can grow and multiply.

25 and I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth: behold, you have your own.

26 But his lord answered and said to him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter;

Comments 25:26. "You wicked and slothful servant," this saying is the result of laziness. "You knew that I reap where I didn't sow," this saying just wants to remind humans that at the end time coming, the Lord will gather all those who respond to the heart that tells the person what it should be. Even if no one comes (any servant of the Lord) to tell that person, the voice of the Lord in their heart keeps whispering out the meaning of this world, the meaning about the Creator who created this world. Each person has eyes to see all around them the hand of the Lord who created all things; that is what it means to reap where He did not sow and gather where He did not scatter.

27 you ought therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest.

Comments 25:27. "Have put my money with the bankers"; Here, we don't have a deeper meaning; it just wants to tell us that everyone should do something with whatever talent the Lord has given us, either for themselves or for someone else, not just bury it under the ground.

"... interest"; Interest is someone that the person has a chance to interact with and should tell that someone the good news about the Lord. This is the interest the Lord gains back when the Lord gives knowledge to a person; the talent is spreading more branches.

28 Take you away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that has the ten talents.

Comments 25:28. The action of this verse relates to the spiritual world.

29 For to everyone that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that has not, even that which he has shall be taken away.

30 And cast you out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

31 But when the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His glory:

32 and before Him shall be gathered all the nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

33 and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in;

36 naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we you hungry, and fed you? or thirsty, and gave you drink?

38 And when saw we you a stranger, and took you in? or naked, and clothed you?

39 And when saw we you sick, or in prison, and came to you?

40 And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of these my brothers, even these least, you did it to me.

41 Then shall he say also to them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 for I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;

43 I was a stranger, and you took me not in; naked, and you clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and you visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it not to one of these least, you did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.

Comments 25:31-46. This portion of Scripture refers to the final judgment day (day here refers to the Lord's time, not twenty-four-hour earthly time) after the millennium time has passed. Jesus will sit on His glorious throne, and He will separate all souls that call Him Lord into two groups. One group that calls Him Lord by name and heart will go for eternal life, and another group that calls Him Lord only by mouth will go for eternal punishment.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Do not listen to human theories about how heaven should be and whom to fit in. It is not for humans to judge who fits in heaven. 2) Do not listen to those who claim to have authority and know what God will do. Even His Son Jesus did not claim to know all things, so how can humans claim to know what the Father will do? 3) Do not bury the understanding that the Lord has provided for you; try to find the way to make that knowledge known to others; the Lord did not give it to keep it inside. We are supposed to spread out and make branches like a tree to multiply the knowledge we have been given. 4) It is important to help people, but first, we should help our brothers in faith. Nevertheless, this does not mean going and only pouring out money on the person. We should go and help, and as we help, also share the Word, which is the most important. Always we should have the Word in our mouths so that we can say it out right away. 5) Let the Word be the judge to all men and if you see someone that does wrong, use the Word to tell them; let the Bible be the judge because if it is from yourself, you will become an accuser.

Matthew 26

Summary. The events in this chapter take place at Bethany in the house of Simon, the leper, in the city in the house of a certain man, at a certain place on Mount of Olives, at Gethsemane, a place close by the Mount of Olives, at the palace of the high priest, and at the courtyard of the palace of the high priest. At these locations, Jesus interacts with many people: His disciples, people in the house of Simon the leper, a commoner woman, a certain man in the city where the Passover with the disciples took place, Judas, and a great crowd with swords and clubs that came to arrest Jesus, the servant of the high priest, Caiaphas the high priest, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders, Peter, many false witnesses and the last two false witnesses that came forward to accuse Jesus, the crowd at the high priest palace courtyard, and the bystanders and the two servant girls. Many small and big events happen in this chapter: the chief priests and the high priest Caiaphas and the elders plot to arrest Jesus and kill Him; Jesus goes at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper where a woman anoints His head with an expensive ointment; then Jesus tells to the disciples what is going to happen to Him; Judas arranges with the chief priests to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; Jesus sends His disciples in the city to prepare the Passover at a house of a certain man; in the evening the Lord and the twelve disciples eat the Passover meal; Jesus tells to all of His disciples that one of them will betray Him; Jesus warns Judas about what he is about to do and it didn't get through him; Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper (the betrayer Judas had no part in the Lord's Supper since he left shortly before to betray Jesus); they all sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives; Jesus foretells the disciples' falling away and Peter's denial; Jesus tells them that He will be crucified but He will rise in three days and meet them at Galilee; Jesus takes with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and goes to pray in Gethsemane (a place close by the Mount of Olives); Jesus comes back to the place where all other disciples were waiting (on the Mount of Olives) and He is arrested while speaking to His disciples; a great crowd with swords and clubs led by Judas come to arrest Jesus; Peter cuts the ear of the servant (Malchus) of the high priest; all the disciples left Jesus and fled; Jesus is taken to the Caiaphas and the council at the high priest palace; many false witnesses come to accuse Jesus and the last two men come to accuse Jesus using falsely Jesus' words; people mock and disgrace Jesus; Peter denies Jesus three times before two servant girls and the bystanders. All these events in this chapter occur in a short period between Nisan the 12th (Tuesday) and before the evening of Nisan the 15th (Friday). But four main things occur in this chapter that we should use in our lives to please the Lord. 1) Jesus goes to the house of Simon, the leper in Bethany. The purpose of the Lord to come to earth is to show love and mercy. He comes for the people that nobody wants and to be with them. Jesus teaches us not to look down on anyone in any condition but to show love and mercy. Also, during this visit, a woman anoints Jesus' head with expensive ointment. This common sinner wants to glorify the Lord with what she can afford to do; this is how she wants to glorify and show people that she worships the Lord. The Lord used what this woman did to teach the disciples unity. 2) The Lord institutes the Lord's Supper. The Last Supper is a remembrance for all Christians, and everyone should celebrate it. When Jesus broke the bread and shared it with the disciples, it represented His human body, and that is what we should remember. Many places in the Bible take significant meaning between leaven and unleavened bread, but the Lord used unleavened bread. The blood of the new covenant refers to the moment when they pierced His side, and blood and water came out of His pierced side. The blood is for cleansing, and the water represents water baptism. When they nailed Jesus to the cross, that it means for the sins of the world, they have pierced the nails (the nails represent the sins of the world) through His flesh, and the sins stay under that wound (the wound covers the sins of the world). 3) Jesus prays in Gethsemane. The Bible tells us that Jesus' soul was exceedingly sorrowful, and this is proof that He is one hundred percent human because only humans have soul and sorrow. During this time of sorrow, Jesus prays to the Father, and here is the proof of the conversation between Father and Son, but also it shows His obedience, that the Son will do according to the Father's will. We should take this as an example of obedience because even the Son was obedient. 4) The betrayal, arrest, and denial of Jesus. Judas, one of the disciples, betrayed the Lord with a kiss as the other eleven fled away, and Peter denied the Lord in the high priest's courtyard. They all fled, but only Peter denied the Lord. The Lord always has a way for all of us; we just need to look back and not let fear grip our souls.

1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples,

2 You know that after two days the Passover comes, and the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified.

Comments 26:2. Here the Lord expresses His sorrow and His care to His disciples. As a human, how difficult it is to think about how you are going to die? The suffering of the death as the Lord will take is beyond what humans can imagine in their minds. Humans all know they will die, but it is difficult for God in a human body to know how He will die and leave all His chosen ones behind to face all the challenges in this world alone. The Lord knows how hard it is to face the trial and crucifixion, and in each moment, He knows they will crucify Him. The mocking that He will receive already happens in front of His eyes. The human nature in Him does not want to go through that suffering, but His love for humans is greater than His own suffering (See Verse 39). It is beyond the human mind to understand the separation of the body and soul, as human flesh does not know what that will be, but the Lord's human body knows what it means to be separated from the soul.

"You know that after two days, the Passover comes." The Passover day is on Nisan 14, which is a Thursday, and the feast of the unleavened bread starts on Nisan 15, which is the evening of Thursday. Then, when the Lord says, "after two days the Passover comes," He means that the time in this verse was Nisan 12, which was, in fact, a Tuesday.  

3 Then were gathered together the chief priests, and the elders of the people, to the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas;

4 and they took counsel together that they might take Jesus by deceit, and kill Him.

Comments 26:4. This verse tells all humans to think twice about what they plan to do. The Lord can know ahead of time what humans are thinking to do. He knows the evil plan, but He is not changing it. The Lord will walk through it; He will not change what they want to do because that is what He came for.

5 But they said, Not during the feast, for fear that a tumult arise among people.

Comments 26:5. Do not forget, in the Bible, people regard Jesus as a teacher. So, if they take the teacher, it can create problems in people’s minds. The teacher is in a higher position than the common people, just by the culture being taught.

6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,

Comments 26:6. The event described in Matthew verses 6 to 13 is the same event as described in Mark 14:3-9, but a different event than Luke 7:37-39 and John 12:1-8. We have to think; when the Lord tells humans something, one will understand one way and another will understand another way; same situation, different angle of looking; small little details (are) different but still word by word dictation from the Holy Spirit. The Bible is dictated word by word by the Holy Spirit, but each writer gets the way to write for a different purpose. Each author has the words to put down from the Holy Spirit, but for working in different ways. But, do not forget that the Lord will not force understanding on a person. He tells the person to write, and when the person writes down, it will be from a different perspective, look from the left and right but come out to understand the same thing for people out there that will read. For a different purpose, the Lord allows it to be different; one gets more details than another, and one gets different details from the same thing. This also proves that it is the work of the Holy Spirit since two people receive the same story without copying from each other. However, there are small details for people to think about, but there is a no different meaning. Word by word telling but for a different gospel, each has its own purpose, word by word but the purpose different. Matthew never copied anything from the Gospel of Mark. Matthew had a heart that was willing to do all the work, and his work was all original.

“in the house of Simon the leper”; Simon the leper, as it says, has leprosy, from his head to his heel, he is full of leprosy, and people have rejected him, but the Lord associates with this leper. In human's eyes, this is unclean because, in the Old Testament or the New Testament, leprosy is unclean. We should remember that the leper was treated and thought of as an outcast; you don't associate with the outcast. The purpose of the Lord’s coming is to show love and mercy; He comes for the people that nobody wants and to be with them. This verse should teach people not to look down on anyone in any condition; the Lord comes for all.

7 there came unto Him a woman having an alabaster earthenware pot of exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it upon His head, as He sat at the table.

Comments 26:7. Q: Who is this woman? A: In this place, it just wants to let us know that this commoner sinner wants to glorify the Lord for what she can afford to do. This is the way she wants to glorify and show people that she worships the Lord. This woman was just a commoner among people, but for what she acted, she is no longer a commoner; we all know about her action and how she glorified the Lord.

"She poured it upon His head ... at the table"; this is part of their culture to show honor to a person. It usually is done to the elders, but the Lord was not an elder yet, so it is a respect that she shows in front of other people's eyes to see.

8 But when the disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

10 But Jesus perceiving it said to them, Why trouble you the woman? for she has done a good work upon Me.

Comments 26:10. When the verse says, “she has done a good work,” the Lord already prepares the disciples for the things to come. The Lord has seen that between them, the quarrel will come (each individual has their own opinion of all things), but the purpose of saying “she has done a good work” is to make unity. For what the Lord has told them, they will talk among them. The Lord wants unity between them (bind them together) to start working.

11 For you have the poor always with you; but Me you have not always.

12 For in that she poured this ointment upon My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.

Comments 26:11-12. In verse 11, the meaning is completely given. In verse 12, when she poured the ointment for preparing, she did what the Lord had put in her heart because her heart is clean. She may be a sinner, but in her heart, she is clean because no one will care about the deeds of the Lord; then and now, it is the same. The Lord can perform many miracles, but in a flash, all are forgotten. They have seen miracles, but they still crucified the Lord; many miracles have been shown, but they did not work in the hearts of the people there. Compared to this woman, she comes without a miracle shown to her, while the rest have had many miracles shown to them, but their heart is not open, and none of them care about what will happen.

13 Truly I say to you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

Comments 26:13. This passage about this woman will be an example for people of the way they should come to the Lord, with a clean heart to glorify the Lord.

14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests,

15 and said, What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver Him to you? And they weighed to him thirty pieces of silver.

16 And from that time he sought opportunity to deliver Him to them.

Comments 26:14-16. This is just to support the old prophecy; the price of the Savior has been set to fulfill what has been spoken. The Lord has come to fulfill the Father’s will to bring humans to glorify the Father.

17 Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt Thou that we make ready for Thee to eat the Passover?

Comments 26:17. "On the first day of unleavened bread," what the disciples came to ask refers to the plan of making ready. The disciples came to ask before the Passover started because the Passover has many rules, and they have to prepare for it. During the feast, they cannot prepare because they can't do work. This part of the verse occurs on the first day before the Passover starts, but it isn't the Passover yet, for this part refers to the preparation day (Nisan 13 at sunrise and Nisan 14 until twilight). Leviticus 23:5-6 says, "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of the Unleavened Bread." The Passover day was Nisan 14 (Thursday). The unleavened bread celebration lasted seven days, starting on the fifteenth day of the first month, which is Nisan 15. The Passover is also called the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. Normally the preparation for the Passover was done during Nisan 13 and 14, and it had to be finalized by the end of Nisan 14 (before the sun goes down). The preparations for the Passover started by sending off the disciples on Nisan 13 (on Wednesday) to get the place. Afterward, the meal preparations were performed all day during Nisan 14 (Thursday). All the things that had to be prepared had to be finished before the sun went down that day (Nisan 14) to follow the law.

Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover meal after sundown on Thursday evening (See verse 20; the twilight of the fourteenth day of the first month), which is now, in fact, Nisan 15 (the day ends at sundown and a new day starts). Jesus was crucified the following afternoon (on Friday), which was still Nisan 15, the same day when the Lord instituted the Lord's Supper. Because the Bible calls Him the Passover Lamb, then He must be crucified on this day; how can the Bible call Him the Passover Lamb if He is not crucified on that day? Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus down from the cross (See Matthew 26:57-60; Mark 15:43) on the same day (Nisan 15) but did not do the burial on that day. He wrapped Him in a clean linen cloth, but the traditional burial is more than that. Joseph took Jesus from the cross, wrapped Him in a clean linen cloth, put Him in his prepared tomb, and closed the tomb with the rock (he rolled a great stone to close the entrance of the tomb). He couldn't do more preparing than that since on this day they are not allowed to do any ordinary work; then the next day was a Sabbath day. Jesus rose on Sunday morning, which is Nisan 17. Then Jesus stayed in the heart of the earth from Nisan 15 until Nisan 17, which is three days and three nights - using the ray of the sun to count days and nights, when the sun goes down (no light of the sun) that is considered the end of a day and the start of a new day. The light end of Thursday night counts as the beginning of a new day (Friday). Even if the event happened at the end of the day, you must count from the beginning when that day started, not from the point of action that happened. In this way, Nisan 15 started on Thursday evening, and Nisan 17 ended on Sunday evening. As a result, there are three nights and three days covered. For God, the sunset is the point of action, but people count by the action of people.

18 And He said, Go into the city to such a man, and say to him, The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.

Comments 26:18. Notice that the disciples just went and told "The Teacher." All the people recognized Jesus as a Teacher. A teacher has a reputation above all the common people. Jesus is the true teacher of humans; He teaches humans to have true life inside of them. This person will feel privileged to host the Teacher wholeheartedly, he wants to do it, and it is not by force. It brings joy to these people to host the Passover for the Teacher.

"Such a man"; was just a simple man whose heart was opened, and the Lord saw that heart; that is why He sent the disciples to tell one thing; the Teacher wants to have the Passover at your house.

19 And the disciples did as Jesus appointed them; and they made ready the Passover.

20 Now when evening came, He was sitting at the table with the twelve disciples;

21 and as they were eating, He said, Truly I say to you, that one of you shall betray Me.

Comments 26:21. This verse indicates that the Lord has told His disciples, but He never revealed the name; even if the person does bad things, the Lord will never reveal it. Whether they know it or not, they cannot do anything about it, but they can do damage. So, if the Lord mentioned who will betray Him, all the disciples will go over that person and make the things that had to happen be affected and not happen as it was written.

22And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and began to say unto Him everyone, Is it I, Lord?

Comments 26:22. This shows the natural way of humans; they want to know more; they just want to know.

23 And He answered and said, He that dipped his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray Me.

Comments 26:23. The Lord gave them a hint; He did not say specifics. How the Passover was set in the past, a long table will be set, and all the food will be on the table. Everybody will come to join the meal together as one; it is a bond between people. You share the same table, share the same bowl of food, sharing as unity, as a family. The Lord's Supper is done the same way, set the food on the table, and all the disciples and the Lord will join the same table, a long table, and it will have a bowl in the middle, and each one will take from it. That is why the relationship between Him and the disciples is tight as one family; they share the meal in the middle of the table. The Lord treated His disciples as one family, and all of them dipped their hands together with the Lord in one bowl; that is why the Lord said that the one who dipped from the same plate as Him would betray Him. The saying "he that dipped his hand with Me in the dish" tells that one of the disciples will betray Him, but the Lord doesn't identify him here clearly.

For the Lord's Supper, there was a table but no chairs; all sat on the floor during the Passover. Each disciple had his own individual bowl and took food from the big bowl on the table. "He that dipped his hand with Me in the dish," here, the Lord means the one that shares with Him from the bowl (dish) in the middle of the table. He did not identify here the one; He just told them that it was one of the disciples. At that time, the Lord did not want to reveal the person who would betray Him, but everyone was there; the ear had heard the Lord warning that one of them would betray. The person who will betray heard the Lord but ignored and went to do the great sin anyhow. It is not the Lord who chose; even he heard, he still went to do by his own will. This is when humans want to do sin; even if they hear the voice of the Lord inside, they still go to do against it. 

24 The Son of Man goes, even as it is written of Him: but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had not been born.

Comments 26:24. The Lord has tried to help Judas think about what he is going to do. It would be better for him to never be born than do the things he did. He did not come to follow Jesus because of faith of heart to the Lord; he just came expecting to be important, and he never had faith from within his heart. That is why it is better to never be born than be born and do the great sin. Remember, punishment for eternity; that is why the Lord had mercy for the betrayer because the Lord knows eternal punishment is hard. This verse itself has warned humans that it is a betrayer action after you come and be baptized and walk away from it. 

25 And Judas, who betrayed Him, answered and said, Is it I, Rabbi? He says to him, You have said.

Comments 26:25. “You have said”; the Lord had said that it wasn’t the Lord’s choice to choose him to be a betrayer, but Judas himself chose to betray the Lord by his own free will; it was not the Lord’s will for him. This verse shows that it is not the Lord’s will for him to be a betrayer. The Lord chose him to be among His disciples to deter his mind. The Lord gives a chance to everyone to be saved, you just need to turn away from doing bad things, but still, you have the free will to choose what to do. Even though the Lord gave a path to walk away from doing bad, the betrayer chose to walk in his own heart. [The Lord chose him to be a disciple to give him a chance to do good, but it didn’t go into his heart. If the Lord wouldn’t choose him, he would still do bad. He heard the Lord say that it is better not to be born than betray Him, but the betrayer still chose to commit the great sin of betraying the Lord.]

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and He gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body.

Comments 26:26. Not every verse will have a hidden meaning; here it is as written. Q: What is the significance of breaking bread for a Christian? A: The bread that we break should be unleavened bread. Many places in the Bible take significant meaning between leaven and unleavened bread, but the Lord used unleavened bread. When He broke the bread and shared it with the disciples, it represented His human body; that is all that we should think about.

27 And He took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink you all of it;

28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for remission of sins.

Comments 26:27-28. “This is My blood of the new covenant ... sins”; this blood of the new covenant refers to the moment when they pierced Jesus’ side. The Bible says blood and water came out, the blood is for cleansing, but the water represents water baptism. When the water from His body dropped to the earth, it spread everywhere on earth. You can be baptized in every part of the earth to be born again in the water of His blood (that is why you need to be baptized). Blood represents cleansing; when His blood poured out, it had the cleansing water poured out all over the world to wash all the sins of humans. We should think about why it is written that blood and water flowed out.

Q: When we have the Lord’s Supper, what kind of wine should we use? A: It just needs to be grape juice; the color does not make a difference. When they nailed Jesus, it meant for the sins of the world they have pierced the nails through His flesh, and the sins stay under that wound (the wound covers the sins of the world).

29 But I say to you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.

Comments 26:29. This verse will take effect during the final judgment day, and it will take place on the parallel earth. The human eyes will see the parallel earth overlapping the old earth (for parallel earth reference, see Revelation 11:19). Don't forget the Bible has told us that even the sun will lose its shining; we don't need the sun anymore at that time; the light of the Lord will be brighter and warmer than the sun we have now. All vegetation of the parallel earth is not the same as on the earth, completely different, but there will be some fruit of the vine (not the vine of the earth), the vine of the parallel earth.

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives.

Comments 26:30. This shows the way we should live, sing hymns to glorify the Lord, not songs of the world, but songs to glorify the Lord. The Mount of Olives is the place where the Lord always went to glorify the Father. This was the personal time between the Father and the Son to have a conversation. The Lord always finds time to be with the Father, as all believers should find time to be in prayer. Glorify with your words and a heart that is singing; that voice goes loud; all believers should do as the Lord has been an example, singing and praying. In the Bible, it mentions that the Lord was praying in many places. If the Lord prays, how come humans do not do it? We have an example in the Bible, do so as a believer and follower of the Lord.

31 Then says Jesus to them, All you shall be offended in Me this night: for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.

Comments 26:32. The Lord has told them clearly that He will rise up on the third day and where they should go to meet Him. All instructions are clear because it will not be easy for them, it will impact all their hearts, but the Lord has given them instructions on where to go.

33 But Peter answered and said unto Him, If all shall be offended in Thee, I will never be offended.

34 Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, that this night, before the cock crow, you shall deny Me thrice.

Comments 26:33-34. This is a good example for all people to think about. Do not just talk with your mouth; the Lord also sees your heart; you don't know what will happen the next day. Many turn away when a little bit of trouble comes. They just walk away and don't look back anymore, but stop and look back to see how many ways the Lord has made; just open your eyes and heart to see it, and do not just walk away. This applies to Christians today as well, who turn back when trouble comes their way, but they should open their eyes and see that the Lord has many ways for them.

35 Peter saith unto Him, Even if I must die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Comments 26:35. The mouth talks when you do not know what will happen; the mouth always speaks but does not think about what it truly is. After the words come out, you can't take them back. The disciples had the same problem; they said they would stay with the Lord, but all have fled; that is what humans do, all do the same way, all walk away when trouble comes.

36 Then cometh Jesus with them to a place called Gethsemane, and says to His disciples, Sit you here, while I go yonder and pray.

37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.

Comments 26:37. These disciples the Lord takes with Him to build up their faith for the work that will come later in life; they need this time with the Lord. Remember this verse, the sons of Zebedee (See Matthew 4:21); one will perish. It is written that one will be killed (See Acts 12:2); this time will help the brother.

38 Then says He to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: abide you here, and watch with Me.

Comments 26:38. This verse has proven that the Lord is truly human. The word to think about is "My soul"; only humans have a soul (humans have souls because humans are created after the image of God, and that is why humans are not animals). The Lord is telling here that His soul is sorrowful; only humans have that. People have reason to make believe that because Jesus is not human, this torture is not as hard as humans receive. That is why the word is written here for us to know that Jesus has a soul because He is a human and knows to be sorrowful and happy. The Bible has talked about how much He feels sorrow; He is sorrowful even unto death.

39 And He went forward a little, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.

Comments 26:39. This verse has proof of the conversation between the Father and the Son, but it also shows obedience; the Son will do according to the Father's will. We should take this as an example, the obedient Son, as children obey their parents. As a follower of the Lord, you have an example; do as your Lord of life has done.

40 And He comes to the disciples, and finds them sleeping, and says to Peter, What, could you not watch with Me one hour?

Comments 26:40. In this verse, all the believers can think of applying it to themselves first. Use this verse if you call yourself a believer, but day after day, you do not stay in prayer to read the Word and put the shield of the Lord to protect your soul; when something goes wrong, and you accuse God of not protecting you, think first how much you are in tune with the Spirit of the Lord, and don't come to accuse the Lord, that the Lord did not protect you. The Lord never asks anyone to do a hard job for themselves; just read and meditate on the teaching to strengthen the soul. The soul needs food as well, not only the body needs food, and eternal food is in front of you, the Bible.

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

Comments 26:41. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak," just because the Bible talks about something that you cannot see, do not use that to be your excuse that you are too tired to read or pray. The spirit can glorify the Lord at all times if you keep your heart busy and think of the Word always, not of the body to be tired. The heart will always glorify the Lord if your mind does not keep thinking of excuses for not doing, and use the excuse of the body tired, and give reason to your own heart that you have done enough. Let the inner part of you glorify the Lord always.

42 Again a second time He went away, and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away, except I drink it, Thy will be done.

43 And He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

44 And He left them again, and went away, and prayed a third time, saying again the same words.

Comments 26:44. Notice how the Son of God three times in a row goes and prays alone in a short period of time. The Son of God Himself goes and prays alone; He connects with the Father. He is human as well; in the situation that He is in, He is physically tired, weary with the sorrow of soul, but He still overcomes and goes and stays in prayer. The Lord has shown that it is important to stay in prayer.

45 Then comes He to the disciples, and says to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 Arise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that betrays Me.

47 And while He yet spoke, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priest and elders of the people.

Comments 26:47. At this point, humans can see how the power of the dark takes hold of a dirty heart, the heart that never had faith has opened a way for the dark to penetrate in, and the dark uses the human mind and makes a mob join. The Lord knows, but He will not stop them; this must happen; that is a reason for Him to come. "Great multitude," the multitude does not know the Lord, Judas knows the Lord, and he still betrays the Lord. The multitude can be led to do this by the power of the darkness; they (the spirits of darkness) exercise their power in large mobs.

48 Now he that betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is He: take Him.

Comments 26:48. Q: Why did they need somebody to identify the Lord? Wasn't He well known and easy to identify? A: It is a procedure of humans; someone must point out for the accuser to succeed; you point them out then the action can take place. It is the same way now, you go to someone and accuse them, and if you have more people join, that is all that is needed. And Judas did his job well; he betrayed the Lord with a kiss; that is the betrayer.

49 And straightaway he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Rabbi; and kissed Him.

50 And Jesus said to him, Friend, do that for which you are come. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took Him.

51 And behold, one of them that were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear.

Comments 26:51. The name of the servant is given in John 18:10 (Malchus), and the name of the disciple that cut his ear is Peter (See John 18:11). Also, this verse is telling us to think before we do something, think of the Lord and the Lord's teachings. This servant did not harm anyone; that is why one Gospel says that the Lord healed him (See Luke 22:51). Even if the purpose of the servant was to capture the Lord, the Lord has not taken hold of his guilt because he has no authority but followed the orders.

“… and struck off his ear”; The one to be criticized here is Peter for his quick actions without thinking; if you pull the sword out, you have enough time to think. Don't let the reason of this world cover your eyes, as all humans still do. Q: Why did the Bible give the name of the servant? A: Giving the name of a person in the Bible signifies that the Lord wants all of us to know that you are someone for the Lord as well. If this person has been named here, your name will be in the Lord's book, all those who follow the Lord's teaching.

52 Then says Jesus to him, Put up again your sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

53 Or think you that I cannot beseech My Father, and He shall even now send Me more than twelve legions of angels?

Comments 26:53. Here it clearly shows that the Son is God, but He will always lift up the Father first. Even for His Own life, the Lord still always gives authority to the One He serves. But many of those who call themselves Christians do not give authority to the Lord to be the One who makes decisions for them. They always make decisions on their own, and when it goes wrong, then they give the Lord the responsibility and put the blame on the Lord. And if they succeed, they do not give glory to God who helps them; this is what people do, and even Christians do the same. Many of them succeed but never give thanks to God for others to know but hide in their homes to say thank you. But go out and tell people that your success belongs to the Lord.

54 How then should the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?

Comments 26:54. This verse shows complete obedience, the Scripture is God's Word, and all written must be fulfilled first.

55 In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are you come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize Me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and you took Me not.

56 But all this is come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left Him, and fled.

Comments 26:55-56. In these verses, the Lord has shown mercy to all humans (whoever reads them should notice the mercy of God). The Lord has tried to pinpoint to them, look before you do something against His teaching; the proof is in front of you. Jesus is sitting at a higher level as a teacher, and now they come to accuse Him. Are you going to accuse the innocent one? They all want to bend the truth so that they can be right in front of the public. Always when they want to accuse the innocent ones, they seek first the approval of people. If they want to go to hell, they bring other people down with them. By doing this way, not only are they guilty, they make others guilty as well.

“Then all the disciples left Him, and fled.” This shows human nature, all were gripped with fear, and these are the people that were with the Lord. We should see the power of fear. The Lord always told the disciples, you of little faith (See Matthew 8:26). If you have faith, fear has no power.

57 And they that had taken Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.

58 But Peter followed Him afar off, to the court of the high priest, and entered in, and sat with the guards, to see the end.

Comments 26:58. Human curiosity conquers fear. Peter followed to the courtyard because he was curious to see the end.

59 Now the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put Him to death;

Comments 26:59. "False witness against Jesus"; This says false witness, which means there is no truth in it. Who is the father of lies? They use lies to condemn the Lord of truth. It starts with lies to condemn the Lord of truth.

60 and they found it not, though many false witnesses came. But afterward came two,

Comments 26:60. "But afterward came two." These two witnesses played a big role; they were false witnesses who used the word of the Lord to accuse Jesus. He has been accused by His own words. This is the human way; they pick out what they want (some words) regardless of what it is.

61 and said, This Man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

Comments 26:61. This has some truth in it because the Lord did say He could rebuild the temple but not destroy it. Jesus says in John 2:19, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." So, we can clearly see that they picked some words and used their own interpretation.

62 And the high priest stood up, and said to Him, Answerest Thou nothing? what is it which these witness against Thee?

63 But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest said unto Him, I adjure Thee by the Living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou art the Christ, the Son of God.

Comments 26:63. By their own question, they have already admitted who Jesus is in their eyes. But because of fear of losing their position in the public eyes, they ignore what they already know inside of them. They can condemn the innocent just to keep themselves in their position.

64 Jesus said to him, You have said: nevertheless I say to you, Henceforth you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Comments 26:64. The Lord has already told them directly who He is. Who can sit upon the throne? Only God can. Here He has told them who He is; they only have to accept it; that is all they need to do, admit who Jesus is.

65 Then the high priest tore his garments, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now you have heard the blasphemy:

66 what think you? They answered and said, He is worthy of death.

Comments 26:65-66. People do this all the time; they use the Word of God to condemn the innocent. This is not the first or the last time they do this; so many perish because of this, but this is not the way the Lord wants it. You don't use God to punish people. If people are wrong, God will punish them. This is the wrong way to control people; these people use God to control others.

67 Then did they spit in His face and hit Him: and some struck Him with the palms of their hands,

68 saying, Prophesy to us, You Christ: who is he that struck You?

Comments 26:67-68. These verses show how humble Jesus is. He has come down to take the punishment for humans; that is why the Father forgives all humans of their sins (except the sin against the Holy Spirit) in the name of His Son.

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the court: and a maid came to him, saying, You also were with Jesus the Galilean.

70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what you say.

Comments 26:70. This is human nature; when people are confronted, they will try to find a way out, even by lying, just to be able to get out of the situation; this is the human nature of sin.

71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and says to them that were there, This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.

Comments 26:71. Note that in verse 69, the maid calls Jesus the Galilean, and here someone else calls Him Jesus of Nazareth. Among people, He was known by these names. There have been many arguments about where He was from.

72 And again he denied with an oath, I know not the Man.

Comments 26:72. We can see here clearly the power of fear covering over the reason.

73 And after a little while they that stood by came and said to Peter, of a truth you also are one of them; for your speech makes you known.

74 Then began he to curse and to swear, I know not the Man. And straightaway the cock crowed.

Comments 26:74. This again confirms the power of fear, the power that plays with the minds of humans; it conquers the mind; because of the love of your life, you deny the One who created you. This verse is a sample of what fear can do.

75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, Before the cock crows, you shall deny Me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Comments 26:75. This confirms the deity of the Lord, that time has no limit for the Lord. His being is above time. We stand here (in time space), but the Lord is above time and sees further what will happen; this is an example. "He went out, and wept bitterly," this is sorrow after it happened. But it did happen, and it can't be erased from your mind. This denial helped Peter later in his life when he had to face his own challenges. He always will remember "on that day I have denied the Lord," and he will not let it happen again. This has helped Peter to pass through more challenges than others. Once you make a mistake with the Lord, use that mistake to remind yourself and do not let it happen again. Each day we do something that should be remembered and use that to glorify the Lord and remind ourselves of the mercy of God because He forgives our mistakes.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Do not put anyone down; show love and mercy to all people. When you put someone down, you are judging them, but only the Lord can judge. The judgment you use to put someone down will be used on you. That is the rule, love one another; God is the God of love. 2) Take part in communion with other believers regularly. But before taking the bread and the wine, pray for mercy for everyone, not just for yourself. When you take communion, you become one with the Lord, and you become children of God as one. 3) Read the Bible and be obedient to the Word and the call that the Lord puts into your heart. 4) The Lord never asks anyone to do hard jobs for themselves; we just need to read and meditate on the Lord’s teachings to strengthen the soul. The soul needs food just like the body needs food, and eternal food is in front of you, the Bible. 5) Your spirit can glorify the Lord always if you keep your heart busy and think of the Word at all times, not physical tiredness; let the inner part of you glorify the Lord at all times. This is the way to have contact with our soul; the Bible is the bridge between the seen and the unseen world. 6) Do not turn back to the Lord; when troubles come, look around because the Lord always has a way out for us.

Matthew 27

Summary. The events described in Chapter 27 take place at the Palace of the High Priest, the governor’s palace, the potter’s field, the governor’s headquarters, a place called Golgotha (or Place of a Skull), the temple, the holy city, and at Joseph’s new tomb where Jesus was laid. In this chapter, many people interact with Jesus: His disciples, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, Pilate the governor, Judas the betrayer, the crowd, Barabbas, the governor’s wife, the governor’s battalion of solders, Simon a man of Cyrene, two criminals crucified along with Jesus, people passing by the cross of Jesus, bystanders, risen saints, the centurion, and his soldiers, many women that were followers of Jesus (including Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee), Joseph a rich man from Arimathea, the Pharisees, the Pharisees’ guard that guarded Jesus’ tomb. Some of the events in this chapter in chronological order are: the chief priests and the elders deliver Jesus to Pilate the governor; Judas the betrayer is remorseful and hangs himself; the chief priests take the thirty pieces of silver, the price they paid to the betrayer for Jesus, and purchased the potter’s field; Jesus stood for trial before the governor; the chief priests and the elders persuade the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and crucify Jesus; Pilate does not use his authority as a governor to release Jesus but instead he delivers Jesus to be crucified; the governor’s battalion of soldiers mock Jesus; the solders led Jesus away to be crucified; the solders compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross; they take Jesus to a place called Golgotha and crucify Him there; two criminals were crucified along with Jesus, one on each side; people passing by derided and mocked Jesus; from noon until 3 pm there was darkness over all the land; at about 3 pm Jesus cried out to the Father and He yielded up His spirit; the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; there was earthquake and tombs were open and many saints that died in Jesus were raised; the centurion and the soldiers with him were filled with awe and said “Truly this was the Son of God!”; many women that were Jesus’ followers watched the crucifixion and the burial of Jesus; Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus in his new tomb cut from the rock; the Pharisees put a guard of solders in front of the tomb where Jesus was buried.

Five events from this chapter stand out: 1) The chief priests and the elders took the council to put Jesus to death, and they delivered Him to Pilate, the governor. They want to do one thing, put Jesus to death because they believe He will take their power. 2) Jesus is condemned by the chief priests, the elders, the crowd, and the governor to be crucified, and He is mocked by all. People know that Jesus is the King of His people in their hearts, yet the chief priests goad the crowd, and the elders call to the governor, “Let Him be crucified” and “His blood be on us, and on our children.” 3) Jesus is led to a place called Golgotha, where He is crucified between two criminals. They put Jesus in the middle of the criminals. By placing Him between criminals, they are trying to show that Jesus is one of them, not the Savior, but a criminal. They want Jesus to be spoken of as a criminal to discourage all the disciples in that time and in the future. 4) Jesus cries out with a loud voice to the Father and yields His spirit. Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?” How sad must heaven be when the Son could not feel the Father, human words cannot describe the sorrow the Three in One felt when separated. Because the Son took human form, the death of the human body in the Son also impacted the Father. When the Son died, He went down to the place of death to give light to the dark place. The Father will not go there because His glory will destroy the death there. 5) Joseph of Arimathea takes Jesus down from the cross, wraps His body in a clean linen cloth, and puts Him in his new tomb. Joseph, with his slaves, rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb.

1 Now when morning was come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death:

Comments 27:1. "Now when morning was come ... to death"; The chief priests and the elders want to do one thing, put Jesus to death because they believe He will take their power. The chief priests acted at the sign of the first rays of the sun in the morning. Everyone will look out for the sun when condemning someone because there is a belief about how to cut a deal with the governor to make things finish early. They want to be the first ones to meet the governor so that the governor will only hear one side of the story. Most of the time, they can convince the governor to agree with their decision; it is the same case here, they know Jesus is not guilty, but they have to make the governor agree with them. The commoners start the day differently from the soldiers or leaders (as their access time to the governor is different from the chief priests and the elders), so they do not have time to fight if they want to disagree with the decision. But people cannot fight if they are not united in making a petition to the leaders. Within the wall, all the leaders are talking and agreeing; outside the wall, there are the commoners, but if they don't unite, they cannot make a petition. The elders bring the person to the governor as early as possible (at sunrise), so the governor makes the decision without people interfering because commoners can't come to make their voices heard to the governor at that time. Then people cannot talk against the leaders anymore because the governor made the decision. The elders and leaders do not want conflict with the people, so they use the governor. The leaders try to avoid questioning from the people because they don't want to have the mob to go against them. If people are questioning about a person, then the person will have to stay longer before they can be sentenced, but this way, at the sunrays of the morning, no one can stop it; the death sentence has been placed with just a few witnesses.

2 and they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor.

Comments 27:1-2. They have marked the death sentence for the Lord before being proven guilty. They have made the decision already, He is guilty, and there is no need to fight them. The leaders must move fast to cut down the problem. They use the Word; the Bible tells people to listen and obey the Lord's teaching. The Bible tells us that the Lord is the One who sets the leaders, and people must listen to the authorities. So, if the governor comes and tells the people that the sentence has been made, the people cannot go against it because it is the Lord's teaching. Jesus is a teacher, so they have to do it fast to avoid interruption because of the position the Lord holds among the people; He is a teacher.

3 Then Judas, who betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

4 saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? see you to it.

Comments 27:3-4. It is too late to change the mind; the deed has been done, and sorry means nothing now. Judas has betrayed the Lord of life, remorse means nothing at this point, and the past cannot be changed. This verse has told humans to know that they (the chief priests and the elders) tell that it is not their fault, but it is Judas' because he is the one who delivered Jesus to them. But, Judas and the chief priests and the elders have the same level of guilt (See John 19:11); the chief priests and the elders are guilty because they all know the Lord has no fault, but they take Him to the governor.

5 And he threw down the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

Comments 27:5. Remorse has power; before doing something, think about the outcome. You can stop, but if you go too far, you can't stop anymore; people should think about the outcome. If you do things, you cannot do them halfway. It ends either way; you can have remorse when you do wrong, or you can stop before doing the wrong, and you don't have to deal with remorse; this is a human choice.

6 And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.

7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

Comments 27:6-7. During that time, when they have doubts about what people might think about their actions, they will go and buy something else. But the real purpose is to show to people that they did not only take money, they bought something, but in behind, there are many deals as well. Money in any generation has power, as the Bible says, and makes many people corrupt.

8 Which is why that field was called, the field of blood, to this day.

9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him that was priced, whom certain of the children of Israel did price;

10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.

Comments 27:9-10. Matthew got this prophecy from the Lord to write down; people may comment negatively, but it is the Lord's will to put it down as it is. Even at that time, what Jeremiah said was not completely recorded to be known. People can argue about what Matthew wrote but have people thought about how Matthew by human mind could know how to mix the words together if not given by the Lord (See Jeremiah 19:1-13, 32:6-9). Some portions no one could know if the Lord didn't tell.

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked Him, saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, You say.

Comments 27:11. You can see through this verse the knowledge they have about Jesus; He is the King. In their hearts, people know that He is the King of His people; that is why this question has come from this person; people came to tell, and it is well known among people that Jesus is King.

"You say"; when Jesus answers with this statement, it shows to people that it is not He Himself who claimed to be "the King of the Jews," but people claimed Him to be. Notice the way of the answer; the Lord never proclaimed Himself to be anything of this world because His world is above here; He just tells them to accept what they claim Him to be.

12 And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.

13 Then says Pilate unto Him, Hear Thou not how many things they witness against Thee?

14 And He gave him no answer, not even to one word: insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.

Comments 27:12-14. Jesus answered nothing to the chief priest and elders and nothing to the governor. Because the Lord sees their heart is closed tightly. He can talk more, but nothing will stick to them, so He had no words for them. Sometimes silence is the best answer, and here the Lord has used silence as the answer.

15 Now at the feast the governor had a custom to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they would.

16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

Comments 27:16. Barabbas was just a criminal, but in their eyes, the criminal is worth living more than the Lord Himself.

17 When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, Whom will you that I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?

Comments 27:17. This multitude here is a new group of people that gathered after Jesus had been handed to the governor. They come as a big group, but there is no leader between them, so they are not united; a mob without a leader has no power.

18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him up.

19 And while he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying, Have you nothing to do with that righteous Man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him.

Comments 27:19. “His wife ... saying”; Now the evil uses this woman to try to stop the Lord’s plan to save humans. She comes forward and tries to change the plan; this is the evil’s work and not because she means well. People have been confused in this verse because she claims she had a dream, but we don’t know in detail what the dream was and if it was a dream from the Lord. As a believer, think about it this way, if she had convinced the governor, what would happen? Humans would not be saved.

God knows what will happen, but people must use their own free will to make choices in their lives. For example, the Lord knows Judas will betray Him, but the Lord did not stop him. The Lord still chose him to be His disciple, but the free will itself always takes control of the human mind. The betrayer had a chance to hear the living Word but also had the free will to choose to listen and obey the living Word or listen to his free will and do things that he believes he will benefit from; it is a free will. Freewill allows humans to be free and choose what they feel is right. Free will keeps humans free because they are not being controlled by the Lord to choose to do good or bad; that is the way of free will in humans; you can choose what you feel is right, but what you think is right is it right or not that what the free will plays with.

20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

Comments 27:20. This verse tells us clearly who are the ones that came to make a decision. Who are the ones they (the multitudes) listen to? Are they listening to the Lord, or are they listening to the voice of the dark (through the voice of the chief priest and the elders)? The woman in verse 19 tries to stop the plan and not let it happen at all, but now these people listen to the voice of the dark and are acting against the Holy Son. Pay attention to the goal of each of them; the woman’s goal is to stop the work of the Father, but the second group’s goal is to stop the Holy Son from being glorified for accomplishing the work of the Father. Now they are making the eyes pay attention to two kinds of people and comparing the Holy Son with criminals, which puts the glory of the Son to be lower than a criminal.

Q: How do we understand the crucifixion as the Father’s plan for salvation? A: The Father’s plan for Jesus to be crucified is correct as it is written in the Bible. But, condemning people that accuse Jesus, look at the purpose they condemn. They condemn Him because they don’t believe or because they want people to think that He is not who He claims He is; discrediting Jesus would be the purpose of crucifying Him; this is the main point to see. The Father planned for the Lord to be crucified because the Father has seen ahead what people would do to His Son, but to save all humans, the Son has given Himself up as well and accepted the duty to be crucified by His creation. Humans come from Him, and they crucify the One who created them, but also this is the way to save humans; the Lord did not condemn anyone, their own action, and purpose in their hearts has condemned them. You could think that the Father saw ahead what would happen, yet He still sent the Son to tell humans about the Lord, and He did not intervene when the humans crucified the Son. He let the suffering and the crucifixion happen, but then the Lord rose again victorious after three days. We, as believers, must believe that Jesus is who He claims He is, the Son of God, and He is One in the Trinity of God.

21 But the governor answered and said to them, Which of the two will you that I release to you? And they said, Barabbas.

22 Pilate says to them, What then shall I do unto Jesus who is called Christ? They all say, Let Him be crucified.

Comments 27:22. This shows human nature; that is the way of the multitude; when one says yes, all will follow. Then and now, there is no difference; a multitude just needs a leader, regardless of right or wrong; the multitude doesn't care about right or wrong but just to do it.

23 And he said, Why, what evil has He done? But they cried out exceedingly, saying, Let Him be crucified.

Comments 27:23. The governor knew that there was no wrong in the Lord, but he did not make the decision to let Jesus go but instead made people be the ones to demand. You have the power, but by doing this way, the blame does not go to the governor because he is not the one to ask for the crucifixion of Jesus; the multitude takes the blame for the leader (in people’s eyes). But the Lord sees the heart; the mob has no brain, just following, but the governor, the chief priests, and the elders are the ones that are guilty in the Lord’s eyes. Because the Lord put them as leaders, the responsibility of right or wrong falls on the leaders; the people just follow the leaders without thinking.

24 So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous Man; see you to it.

Comments 27:24. In this verse, the governor, whom the Lord has put to lead people, ignored the duty the Lord has given him; he wants to blame the children, but all the sin and guilt is on him as well, whom the Lord had given the duty to be a ruler. By washing hands, he cleans the dirt, but who gave him the job? Selfish people only do that; he is the one to be blamed as well as a leader. The Lord put him in the position to rule people; what people did is his fault as well; whether he washes his hands or not, it means nothing towards being clean. Pilate puts guilt on people, but he is the leader, and washing his hands will not clean his sin. Think about it this way, if you wash the mud off your hands and claim you are clean, you may be clean at the surface but dirty inside.

25 And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

Comments 27:25. Anyone who reads this verse should think twice before admitting fault to their own children; they do it with their own will, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Look at them, from then until now, because of the mouth talking without thinking; they are the ones to ask to be blocked from receiving blessings. But even like this, the Lord still blesses them internally; they are not completely under the suffering of this world; in them, something lifts them up. The country may not prosper, but spiritually they do. Why take responsibility for your own children? You have disobeyed the Lord yourself, the children are under your protection, and you don’t do the job; your children will suffer because of what your mouth says. The main thing to think about here is suffering, not direct punishment; they suffer a long term for what the mouth spoke.

Q: In Ezekiel 18:20, the Bible says, "the person who sins will die." A: It is not guilt that goes on their children, but suffering resulting from that guilt, and all will endure together. Think twice before you say/admit anything to the Lord; it is just a result of the words. But remember as well, the Lord is calling some out; not everyone will reject the Lord. The ones the Lord calls out and who follow His call have received His pardon (See Romans 11:25).

26 Then released he to them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified.

Comments 27:26. Disgrace they have done to Jesus.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered to Him the whole band.

28 And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe.

29 And they twisted a crown of thorns and put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

30 And they spat upon Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.

31 And when they had mocked Him, they took off from Him the robe, and put on Him His garments, and led Him away to crucify Him.

Comments 27:27-31. When they mocked the Lord, it was not the Lord alone they were mocking; the God of Three in One has been mocked at the same time; that is why when the Son asks the Father for mercy, the Father gives mercy because the Father Himself knows what the Son has gone through. Pain and disgrace, the Father, knows how much it hurt the Son to receive it; when the Son asks anything, the Father will do, as the Bible has told. People should meditate on these verses carefully, how much the Lord has taken for the sins of this world.

32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to go with them, that he might bear His cross.

Comments 27:32. There have been many speculations about this man, but we should only take what the Word tells here about this man, no further details. Many people make stories out of this, but this is all that is written. Just remember, his name has been written down in the Holy Bible, and he has received appreciation through that (See Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26).

33 And they came to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull,

34 they gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

Comments 27:34. They gave this drink not to cut down thirst; it is a kind of torture when you drink it because it will make your throat hurt, and that is why they gave it to Him to drink, as torture.

35 And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments among them, casting lots;

36 and they sat and watched Him there.

Comments 27:35-36. What they are doing in these verses fulfills what has been written (See Psalms 22:18).

37 And they set up over His head His accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Comments 27:37. This verse has been fulfilled. Jesus is the King of the world, not just of the Jews alone; it is fulfilled.

38 Then are there crucified with Him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left.

Comments 27:38. As the Bible has written, He was counted among the criminals (See Luke 22:37, Isaiah 53:12). The Lamb of God has been counted with the sinners of the world; they put Him in the middle of the criminals. The meaning behind their actions is that He is one of them, not the Savior, but a criminal. That is the way they want His name to be told as He is a criminal, to discourage all of the disciples. Do not follow a criminal is their hidden message, and that is to discourage His disciples and make the work of the Lord stop. If the followers believe this, the case will be closed, and no one will talk about it any further, and the leaders do not have to feel guilty anymore because nobody will come to write up that Jesus is innocent when He died between criminals.

39 And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads,

40 and saying, Thou that destroys the [o]temple, and builds it in three days, save Thyself: if Thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Comments 27:39-40. This is what people say about Him; it links to the previous verse. He never says He will destroy the temple but that He can rebuild it in three days (See John 2:19 and Comments Matthew 26:61).

41 In like manner also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said,

42 He saved others; Himself He cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on Him.

43 He trusteth on God; let Him deliver Him now, if He desireth Him: for He said, I am the Son of God.

Comments 27:41-43. The leaders want to justify their actions, but these verses have also condemned them. By themselves, they condemn themselves, they know who Jesus is, but they ignore Him. Their ears have heard, but they did not listen; here is the support for this. They heard Jesus saved people, and they should have thought about who Jesus is. By their own words, they have condemned themselves. What they are accusing Him of, they are the ones who are not able to do because they cannot save themselves and have eternal life, but Jesus can.

44 And the robbers also that were crucified with Him threw upon Him the same reproach.

Comments 27:44. There are two criminals, one mocks, but the other one accepts the Lord (See Luke 23:39-43). This shows clearly how the world is; there are two types of people, those who believe in Jesus and those who do not believe in Jesus. The ones that do not believe are the mocking ones, and the ones that believe are those who have acknowledged the Lord and they become believers. Even at the point of death, seeing the Lord being condemned as them, one has a heart for the Lord; he believed regardless of what happened with the Lord. Humans should learn from this one. And, take notice of what the Lord has said to this person, you will be with Me in Paradise (See Luke 23:43); he has conquered and gained eternal life as a true believer.

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

Comments 27:45. "The sixth hour ... until the ninth hour"; This is from noon until 3:00 pm, but it depends on what part of the country they are in because, in the upper part of the country and the lower part of the country, the time will be shifted; by tradition, they offer the daily sacrifice at the ninth hour. The daily sacrifice is a small amount for each family to offer; they set a portion for the daily sacrifice and a portion for the family separately, which is by their tradition doing. Each village will have elders, the people will bring that small portion to the elder, and the elder will make the sacrifice; it is a tradition. (See Numbers 28:1-8).

"There was darkness over all the land." What has happened has been shown to humans clearly. When the Son of God was to the point of losing His life on earth, even the sun couldn't shine its light; that is how the sadness of the light would be. This is plain anger from the Father for what humans are doing on earth that even the sun couldn't shine its light; this was not an eclipse; it is the hand of the Father blocking the light of the sun.

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

Comments 27:46. How sad heaven is when the Son could not feel the Father! The death of Jesus’ human body impacted heaven as well because that human is, the Son of Man, departed from the earth; there was sadness beyond what human words can explain (See Complementary Comments on Matthew 25:6). Because the Lord was in a human body, while at the point of death, the Father just stayed above watching; the Father was not in human form, but His feeling was impacted because of the human death in His Son’s body. There was sorrow beyond what human words can say when the Three in One felt separated; because the Son took human form, the death of the human body of the Son also impacted the Father. When the death of the Son happened, the Son went down to the death place to give light to the dark place. The Father will not go there; His glory will destroy the death there.

47 And some of them stood there, when they heard it, said, This Man calleth Elijah.

Comments 27:47. Because they don't understand, so they take what they believe it is; that is the way.

48 And straightaway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink.

Comments 27:48. At that time, this was a way to torture criminals when crucifying them; they didn't give you to drink wine; they gave you to drink vinegar; it was a way of torture.

49 And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether Elijah comes to save Him.

50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up His Spirit.

Comments 27:50. The God of Three is the Father, The Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Q: What can we understand about the Spirit of Jesus as mentioned in this verse? A: God of Three in One, but the Lord Jesus has taken the form of a human, and He has received the spirit as a human; all humans must have a spirit. Because Jesus takes the form of dust, He has a body, spirit, and soul to confirm human being in Him. Trinity is always Three in One, but each one has a duty, and the Father is above all. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father. Jesus as the body, soul, and spirit are three in one as well. The body, soul, and spirit of Jesus cannot be separated; they are only as a unity because He is human. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are Three in One, yet they can be separated, but each is unique on His own.

51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were twisted;

Comments 27:51. Q: What is the meaning of the veil of the temple being torn in two from top to bottom? A: The curtain of the temple stands between God and humans, but with the death of the Lord Jesus, the curtain has been torn apart; now, humans have a chance to approach God through Jesus. Through the Son of Man, humans have a chance to be closer to the Father; there is no more blockage between humans and the Father.

52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised;

Comments 27:52. “… were raised”; First, because the death of Jesus happened, the saints that have died before according to faith in the Lord Jesus have received a chance to resurrect with their heavenly body, not with the body of dust that had disappeared. Another way to understand is that these saints have been resurrected into their heavenly bodies.

Q: Jesus’ body was the same body that was risen; how do we understand the rising of the saints into the heavenly bodies? Is the resurrection of the saints here a bodily resurrection in the same way as the Lord Jesus’ resurrection? A: Do not try to mix up the heavenly body and the body of a human being; the Lord has prepared the heavenly bodies as the Bible has told. Every believer has a heavenly body, but the Lord Jesus, His human body, was transformed from the inside out to be a heavenly body. His body did not decay, all of those saints became dust of the ground, but the Lord’s body has never seen decay. Jesus went into heaven as His body rose up and transformed instantly.

"The tombs were opened"; the tombs must be open for the heavenly bodies to come out. When it was close to the resurrection time of the Lord Jesus, the Lord has prepared the heavenly body for these saints for their return. Don't forget that all the saints that have perished had a soul, spirit, and material body; the material body is gone, but the soul and spirit are still there. The soul had returned to the Father, but the spirit remained where the body had disintegrated; the tomb must be open for the heavenly body to come in and out from above (this action takes place in a twinkling of an eye). The Lord has put the heavenly body in the spot He wants, and that body joins with the saint's spirit. How can the body get out of the tomb? The Lord has split the tomb open for the heavenly body to get out; the Lord has deposited the heavenly body down to be joined with the spirit, and after joining with the spirit, the heavenly body has substance and has material like that of earth, and that body comes out. When the judgment day comes, those who will resurrect at that time will join with the soul after being judged; the soul must be judged first. These saints came to appear to people, and they will be gone; a (heavenly) body without a soul cannot walk on earth. This is just to show to people that as the Lord departs, the dead rise, and humans can see the dead rising.

Q: Why does it say that the material is like that of the earth in the comment above? A: The appearance has to be similar to the dead one, they just have the look-alike, but they are not the same. All imperfections of the earthly body won't be reproduced in the heavenly body, everything that is imperfect is fixed, and those bodies will come out to meet people.

Q: What happens to us when we die? A: When we die, our soul goes back to the Lord, the body goes back to dust, and the spirit stays inside the tomb in a different dimension of the tomb, waiting; tomb over the tomb. The spirits can't come out to roam free; they stay in a different dimension waiting in order; note that there are different waiting places for the spirit and the soul of a person. Cemeteries are not a place for the living to go and play around; the cemetery is used for different purposes of human life. You are still alive; why do you go there and fool around? So many go and bother the things that the living cannot understand, just leave where the dead die, leave it alone; no living need to do anything with the dead there. In humans terms, we can say do not disturb the peace of the resting. As the Bible has told, the dead can see the living but can't cross back to be with or influence the living. Between dimensions, they cannot cross over; don't try to mix the truth with human talk; there have been make-beliefs of all sorts of false things.

53 and coming [] out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.

Comments 27:53. These are the saints that have been buried; what is happening here is entirely different than the end-time resurrection.

Q: Why has the Lord allowed this resurrection of these saints at this time? A: These saints who resurrected here go to glorify the Son before the completion of the closing time. That is why the Lord has created the parallel earth; these raised saints go on this parallel earth and are waiting there for the closing of the age.

"They entered into the holy city"; this does not refer to the Jerusalem city of this earth. This refers to the holy city of the parallel earth, which is called the earth upon the earth in this commentary. Humans see it and want to go there, but not all can go. "Appeared to many" means that the resurrected saints appeared for a short moment to many on this earth that had a chance to see the resurrected body of the saints and what it looked like. It looks similar to the human body, but the human eye can notice it is not the same. It is different because those bodies will have something from the glory of God upon them; humans can notice that they look alike but are not the same (not the same flesh as human flesh have; See 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).

54 Now the centurion, and they that were with Him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

Comments 27:54. This portion of Scripture has clearly stated that human eyes have seen the glory of God in human nature. In the crucifixion position, but still, Jesus’ glory cannot be hidden. All these soldiers have seen the One they have tortured that before His last breath of earth, He has shown the glory of God within Him coming out. Human eyes noticed the difference between the two criminals beside and the Holy One in the middle. The eyes can clearly compare humans and the Holy One that has been tortured, and that is the centurion and those with him that said this is the Son of God. Look at this verse; those who have had a part in torturing the Holy One of God have accepted the truth saying, “Truly this was the Son of God”; it was not the saints who said this, but it was a soldier who said it.

55 And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto Him:

Comments 27:55. These women came from many places to follow Jesus. They followed the Lord and provided for His needs; they gave all they had by their own will. They have been faithful to the Lord, they left everything behind and followed the Lord, and they didn't expect to get anything in return; they just followed and provided; all they have, they have given to the Lord. Now you don't have to give money to the Lord; just give your heart to the Lord; your heart is the most important treasure to the Lord; He is happy to receive it. So these women, some had money on their own, and some did get work as they followed to make their living, and most of what they made they gave to the Lord's ministry; that is why their names are written here, to remember them.

56 among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Comments 27:56. These women did not follow because their children followed Jesus, but because their own hearts wanted to follow; these they followed their hearts.

57 And when evening came, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

Comments 27:57. This man has the most important place among the people who followed Jesus’ crucifixion. Joseph’s action could cause him to be in trouble by associating with a criminal, as Jesus was labeled a criminal on a cross. He could be in trouble himself; this is a man people should look up to.

58 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up.

59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.

Comments 27:58-60. Joseph gave up his own tomb for the Lord; he did not benefit materially in this world from the Lord Jesus but gave up his own tomb. This is a sample of teaching for humans, give without expecting any return in exchange for your giving. But many Christians nowadays come to the Lord and want something from the Lord. Joseph gives his own tomb without expecting to be paid for it. Tombs in that time were not cheap, but he could give up something important for himself. In those times, people prepared their tomb with money they saved, and they had someone cut the tomb into the stone. It costs them, and Joseph gave up what was his to the Lord. This time, the Lord passed away from the earth, and Joseph gave Him something without expecting any miracles. In comparison, nowadays, how can people do as he did? Similarly, people should give something that they have prepared for themselves and give to the Lord without expecting anything in exchange.

“And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth …”; As the Bible has told us, Joseph just wrapped the body of Jesus in a cloth, and he did not do any special burial or ceremony. In those times, the body had to be prepared for burial, and it was a long and costly preparation. He had no time to do it, so he just wrapped Jesus’ body and had to place the body in the tomb before the Preparation Day ended (before the Sabbath started). The first day of the Passover feast was the Preparation Day; the Jews used this day to prepare a place to host the Passover. The Passover is finished, then the rest is the preparation for cleaning; what belongs to the Passover cannot be further used; all must be cleaned. Many traditions apply to this, and if you are not a Jew, you will never understand the traditions. All the things used for the Passover must be put away separately because, by the Jewish tradition, all the things belonging to Passover are not to be used in the daily things. (Note there is a difference between the Passover itself eaten on Thursday at twilight and the Passover feast held on the Sabbath).

“Hewn out in the rock “; this is Joseph’s new tomb that he made for himself. Only rich people could afford to cut a tomb in the rock; they cut the stone to make a cave. Poor people used natural tombs, a cave in a rock. This man cut a stone himself to make a tomb; no one else was laid there. “Rolled a great stone”; the stone he put in front of the tomb needed more men to help roll it; it was a big stone, as told in the Bible.

61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the tomb.

Comments 27:61. They all have seen Jesus’ crucifixion, but that did not make them back away from the faith. Even though they had sealed the tomb already, these women were still watching in front; their faith was strong, just by sitting there watching the tomb it has shown their hearts. The faith they have, we all should learn from it. They gained no material things from this world by following Jesus. They gave all they had for His daily needs and did not receive anything of this world from the Lord, and they lost their sons as well. In this case, it does not mean about death alone; instead of sons doing work in the family, they lose their sons because they cannot work in the family. The heart they had that is to look up to. “Other Mary” mentioned here is the same as Mary, the mother of James and Joses (or Joseph) mentioned in Verse 56.

62 Now on the next day, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to Pilate,

Comments 27:62. "Day after the Preparation" was the Sabbath. These verses have told us all there is to know; these leaders knew what Jesus had been teaching. Inside of them, they know who Jesus is, but love for the things of the world covered their eyes and controlled their hearts.

63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while He was yet alive, After three days I rise again.

Comments 27:63. That is the way of their heart, but the Lord will not hide what people are calling Him. He received more than name calling, why would He have to hide.

64 Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, for fear that [] His disciples come and steal Him away, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first.

65 Pilate said to them, You have a guard: go, make it as secure as you can.

66 So they went, and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone, and leaving the guard there.

Comments 27:65-66. Q: How did they seal the stone? A: The material they used is similar to the mortar nowadays; they mix rock powder with some rubber (glue) type substance extracted from trees, and this becomes hard as stone when it is dry. They sealed all around the stone with this mortar glue. They used an entire guard of soldiers because they feared His disciples; since so many followed Jesus, they feared they would form a mob.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Jesus suffered on the cross of Golgotha and died for our sins. He is the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world, and the King of the world. He has taken all the penalty for humankind; the Lord Jesus has humbled Himself and takes the blame for sins upon Himself; that is the love of the Lord for humans. 2) We should not follow Jesus for the things of this world and should not expect anything of this world in exchange for following Jesus. 3) These days, we can't give to Jesus food or provide for His daily needs, as the women mentioned in this chapter did, but we can give our hearts to Jesus, which is the most important treasure to the Lord. 4) God knows what will happen, but people must use their own free will to choose how to live their life; all should follow the light. 5) Cemeteries are not places for the living to go around; the cemetery is used for different purposes. The Bible has told us that the dead can see the living, but they cannot cross back to be with or influence the living. Spirits live in a different dimension than us, and they cannot cross over; so, don't believe human fantasies because they make up many false stories. 6) There are only two types of people in this world: those who believe in Jesus and those who do not believe in Jesus. Think about the criminal on the cross; it is never too late to become a believer, but do not wait until the point of death, accept Jesus now as you read this chapter of the Bible.

Conclusion: How to be and what to be a Christian? To be a Christian, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and He died for our sins. With the death of the Lord Jesus, the temple's curtain was torn in two, and now humans have a chance to approach God the Father through Jesus. We do not need to pay anything to be forgiven of our sins; Jesus paid for it all; we just need to give our hearts to the Lord Jesus and invite Him to be the King of our life. In this chapter, there are two examples of true believers that we should follow. First, think about the women and how they followed their hearts; they left everything behind and followed Jesus and gave everything they had to support the Lord in His ministry. These women saw Jesus crucified and still did not lose their faith and hope in the Lord. Secondly, think of Joseph of Arimathea; he gave his own new tomb and laid the body of Jesus in it without expecting anything from this world in exchange; he is not a selfish person. As a Christian, it is important to acknowledge and accept the suffering the Lord took for our sins; we cannot take it for granted. Many do not realize the pain and suffering and all the humiliation that Jesus went through during the trial and crucifixion; just imagine the whole battalion of soldiers and all of the people mocking Jesus and abusing Him. Jesus paid in full for our salvation; we just need to give our hearts fully to the Lord.

Matthew 28

Summary. The events presented in Chapter 28 take place at the tomb where Jesus was laid, on the way from the tomb to a place where the disciples were gathered, in the city, and in Galilee on a mountain where Jesus directed His disciples to go. In this chapter, we encounter various people (Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, the soldiers guard, the chief priests, the elders, Jesus' disciples), an angel of the Lord, and the risen Lord Jesus. The events described in this chapter are in order: 1) Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb of Jesus; on the Sunday morning before sunrise, these women went to the tomb because of concern and love for the Lord. 2) An angel of the Lord came from heaven to roll back, for these women, the large stone that Joseph put at the tomb entrance. The coming of the angel was miraculous and real; there was an earthquake, and the angel rolled the stone back while the guards became like dead men because of fear. This was only a sign for the women to see the empty place where the Lord was laid and to confirm Jesus' meeting with the disciples in Galilee. 3) The risen Lord meets Mary Magdalene and the other Mary on the way from the tomb to a place where the disciples were gathered. The Lord Jesus meets the women and tells them to go to remind the disciples about the meeting on the mountain in Galilee that He had told them about before His arrest. 4) The tomb's guard went into the city and told the chief priest about what had happened at the tomb of Jesus. The chief priests and the elders gave money to the soldiers and plotted with them to lie about the events that took place at the tomb. 5) The risen Lord Jesus meets with His eleven disciples in Galilee on a mountain. This is an important meeting for the disciples because they see the risen Lord Jesus face to face, and He gives them the great commission to go and make disciples of Jesus from all the nations of the earth. At this point, the Lord has commanded them to go and spread the Word and start the work.

1 After the Sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the tomb.

Comments 28:1. "Began to dawn" means the beginning of the twilight before sunrise.

"Towards the first day of the week" is Sunday morning. For "the other Mary," see Comments Matthew 27:61.

This verse shows who has come to see the tomb; not the disciples are those concerned, but the women, Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, came because of their love for the Lord. They were concerned for the dead and came to see the tomb; they did not expect a reward for their concern for the dead. That is true love that is difficult to find nowadays; people go to church for the reason to receive but do not really give their hearts to worship (seeking) the Lord.

2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.

3 His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4 and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said to the women, Fear not you; for I know that you seek Jesus, who hath been crucified.

6 He is not here; for He is risen, even as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

7 And go quickly, and tell His disciples, He is risen from the dead; and behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall you see Him: behold, I have told you.

Comments 28:2-7. The angel rolled the stone away as a sign for the women, only to see the place where the Lord laid and confirm the Word of the Lord that He has told before where He will be when He rises (See Matthew 26:32).

Q: Has the Lord Jesus risen out of the tomb and passed through the rock, or has the rock been moved before? A: The Lord Jesus has risen in the human body, and the Father’s hand led the Lord through the rock to be out of the tomb because that was not the place for Him to be. The Lord rose in the palm of the Father, led out through the rock; He was in the palm of the Father; nothing can block that hand. The Father’s hand from the heaven had come there to take the Son out from the tomb, and nothing could stop this. The angel came after the Lord rose, which was for the women who came. The Father had already taken the Lord away before the women arrived. The guards did not see when the Father took the Lord; humans can’t see the Father’s hand. When the disciples have seen Jesus by the Father’s side, it is in the Bible, the Father has taken Jesus to His side. That is where the Lord Jesus should be, beside the Father; He has finished the job the Father has given Him. (See Acts 7:54-55).

8 And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of His feet, and worshipped Him.

10 Then says Jesus to them, Fear not: go tell My brothers that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see Me.

Comments 28:10. These women have the privilege to see the resurrected Lord first because of sorrow in their hearts. As they sit in front of the tomb, the Lord has mercy for them. The Lord sends these women to remind the disciples about the meeting in Galilee. This is human nature; when too many things happen, we forget what we have been told. The disciples are commoners as well; regardless of how many times the Lord will tell them when things happen, all will forget what the Lord has told them.

11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told to the chief priests all the things that were come to pass.

12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave much money to the soldiers,

13 saying, Say you, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept.

14 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and rid you of care.

15 So they took the money, and did as they were instructed: and this saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until this day.

Comments 28:11-15. As it says in many places in the Bible, money is the root of evil. Humans can sell their own souls for the money and riches of this world. The root and not the truth itself that troubles their heart; money is the root. These verses clearly show that money has the power to control the deepest part of the heart of men; even for the soldiers that have seen, money still buys the words of their mouths. "Among the Jews," because they must discredit Jesus towards the Jews first because Jesus is a Jew; people of His own flesh, but they are the least who accept Him.

16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted.

Comments 28:16-17. In this place in Galilee, on this mountain, the Lord just met with His eleven disciples. These verses tell us that among all of those who follow the Lord, there is always hope for all that believe. The Lord has given the disciples specific direction on where to meet Him. In the same way, the Lord gives the rest of the world directions in the Bible on where to meet Him. The Lord always asks us to meet Him in our hearts; come to the Lord with a sincere heart, and you will always meet with the Lord. He comes to you as He went to meet the disciples; it is the same way for all who believe, you meet with the Lord as you go, or He comes to meet with you.

Jesus is in our hearts, not with the eyes to see; the internal connection we have with the Lord is deeper than the physical appearance; it is our soul that has the inner connection with the Lord.

18 And Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go you therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:

Comments 28:18-19. These verses tell those who follow the Lord's teaching that all should do the same way as the Bible has taught. When you meet someone, the first thing in your heart should be calling upon the Lord for help to be the guide to your tongue to speak and to deposit words in your heart to be able to speak out that word, for all that you have chance to meet. But first, be aware of the fake (insincere) appearances of people who come and ask for opinions of the Word; don't answer from your own understanding but think of the Lord first, and the word will come.

“baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”; When you baptize, you cannot omit any names; a complete baptism must always be in the God of Three; you cannot skip any names, and this is an order of the Way. Therefore, if anywhere baptizes differently, do not even be involved with them; you cannot be baptized without all Three (The Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit).

20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

Comments 28:20. In this verse, we have two portions, "I am with you always" refers to the people who have accepted the Deity of the Son of God, that He is the true and only Son of God, and all things were created through Him as the Bible has told; "To the end of the world (or age)" means until, the earth itself has collapsed, and the end of all things takes place. This refers not just to the end of the human race but the end of the earth itself because in Him, all things were created; all things were created through Him, so He will not abandon all things until the end of the age.

​AMEN!

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Lord Jesus has risen, and as He met the disciples on the Galilee Mountain, He is waiting to meet with all that seek Him; seek and ask Him to meet with you first in your heart, and your faith will grow from the inside out. You meet with the Lord as you go, or He comes to meet with you. 2) Do not let money control your mind, and do not search for the power that money has to offer. The Bible teaches us that money is the root of evil, and if money controls your mind, you will hear the voice of money louder than the voice of the Lord. 3) As a follower of Jesus Christ, we must follow the Lord's commandments and spread the Word of God to all people, and all followers must be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Introduction to the Gospel of Mark 

About the Author of the Gospel

The actual author of the Gospel of Mark, the whole Gospel from the beginning until the end, has only one author: the Holy Spirit; the words to put down in the Gospel itself came through the mercy of the Holy Spirit. The Lord has chosen Mark just because of his heart only not because of his intelligence; his heart that has been searching for the Lord from childhood, and he had followed that call within his heart. Even though some people thought that his name was not worthy of writing the Gospel, but what he got is all from the Lord and is reputed to be put down in the Bible. Many people had disagreed in the beginning when they included the Gospel of Mark in the Bible, it has been many suggestions that Mark did not get the Gospel from the Lord, but his word is from the Lord as we see the proof in that his Gospel is part of our Bible.

Who is Mark?

Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark, is also called John the son of Mary, and in their house, early believers gathered together for prayer (See Acts 12:12). It has been most disagreement about Mark that he did not write the Gospel by himself, but also remember as well that he has been following the Lord for some time. Mark has been a witness to what the Lord has done, and his heart has been opened to receive the Holy Spirit for writing the Gospel down. Mark did not copy from anyone, and also, he did not write the Gospel down from learning or experience; the Holy Spirit gave to him what to write and how to connect each thing. We can notice how Mark describes the events, short but connecting, no mixing up or misplacements; it is a clear Gospel from the Holy Spirit. He followed the Lord with his own will, which is why he was chosen to write the Gospel down. Mark did meet the Lord Jesus as a young person following the Lord in behind; he did things around for helping; his name may not be mentioned, but he has been chosen because of his heart.

How did Mark reach to the point of writing the Gospel?

After Mark has seen the Lord crucified, the Lord has spoken to him and has produced the fruit in his heart, and he followed that path; that is why he spent time doing this; we can say that he had a personal calling from the Lord to him. He was always curious about what the Lord can do and who the Lord is for him, and this made him write down what the Holy Spirit was leading him to write.

Purpose of the Gospel

The Lord has a particular purpose for this Gospel. The group of people that have been cut off (outlawed people, outcast, not important people), the Gospel of Mark has been helping those people know what the Lord has done and the requirement of what the Lord expects from them. If you read carefully, you will notice the emphasis is towards some group of people, the short form used in this Gospel when we read; we should be able to link, it is short, but it has a broader meaning. For people with knowledge, the Gospel of Mark presents many missing links, helping people who believe they have an education of this world (not spiritual wisdom) to use this Gospel to understand.

Gospel Summary

The Holy Spirit has given both Gospels Matthew and Mark, Matthew for a specific reason, but in Mark, the Lord wants the proof for people around to see and link it for what the Lord has said; all the Gospels link and support each other.

Chapter 1: The introduction of the Lord Jesus by John the Baptist, the messenger, as the Son of God, and the start of Jesus' ministry on earth.

Chapter 2: Jesus continues His ministry and teaches in the synagogues, heals on the Sabbath, and shows His authority as God and His equality with God by forgiving sins, so the Pharisees and the Scribes start accusing Him of blasphemy.

Chapter 3: Jesus continues to teach and heal on the Sabbath, showing that we must do good on the Sabbath; Jesus demonstrates His authority over the unseen world by casting out demons and giving authority to His disciples to cast out demons; the unseen world testifies of Him as the Son of God, but the Pharisees and the Scribes start to accuse Him of casting out demons, not by the power of God. Finally, Jesus says that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and this sin will never be forgiven.

Chapter 4: Jesus teaches people in parables about the kingdom of God so that those that come with a sincere heart to seek the Lord will get understanding from the Lord and will not be confused by men's teachings; Jesus uses His Word to command "peace be still" to the sea, showing to His disciples that He has authority over the nature as well, making them think about "who really He is?"

Chapter 5: Jesus is the God of life. He has authority and power over the unseen and the seen world, and He can give faith and strength; Jesus strengthens Jairus' faith and the faith of the woman with the flow of blood by His Word; when the unclean touches the purer those that are unclean become clean because in Him the Law is complete.

Chapter 6: Jesus has become known, but He is rejected by His own people in His own town. Jesus has authority over life on earth and nature: He multiplies bread and fish to feed immense multitudes, and He walks on water and calms the storm; Jesus teaches the disciples how to carry their own cross, go out into the world without anything, humble themselves, be as a poor, but rich in the Word and humble in heart, serve the people with a willing heart, not complaining in doing work, accept their own duty.

Chapter 7: Jesus teaches about the difference between the traditions of men and the commandments of God. He points out that people tend to use traditions above the commandments of God. Jesus came to call first His people to come back to Him, but He shows mercy to all that ask. He heals the Syrophoenician woman's daughter from a distance by His word. Jesus heals a man in a unique way showing that from within the Lord, there is the cure for all diseases; from within, the Lord can make the imperfect to become perfect.

Chapter 8: Jesus travels and proclaims the Gospel, shows mercy, and teaches. After Peter confesses the Lord Jesus as the Christ, Jesus begins to prepare His disciples about what might happen to Him. Jesus teaches the multitudes what it means to be His follower. Jesus warns us to be aware of false teachings which will spread false ways of thinking and false principles that will grow like weeds in the soul.

Chapter 9: The Lord Jesus again predicts His resurrection after suffering, and the Lord tells us to have hope, He has concurred all, even death; as a follower of the Lord, concur your own fears as well, remember the death of flesh it means reborn into eternity, reborn with the Lord. After the transfiguration on the mountain, the Lord comes down and heals a boy with an unclean spirit teaching the disciples to pray. Then, answering questions from the disciples, the Lord teaches them about the kingdom of God: who is the greatest, the one that is not against us if for us, and to eliminate unworthy actions from our lives.

Chapter 10: As the time of departure of the Lord Jesus approaches, even though the Lord knows that His time is coming, this does not stop Him from traveling and teaching. Each day the Lord works, meets people, heals, and teaches them. As He travels, the Lord teaches about divorce and Moses' law, the Kingdom of God, the love of riches on earth and the kingdom of God, His suffering, and what it means to be servants of the Lord. He Himself came down on earth to serve all humans and "give His life as a ransom for many." As they were leaving Jericho, the Lord showed mercy to a blind beggar called Bartimaeus and healed him. 

Chapter 11: The Lord Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a colt to fulfill the prophecy about how He enters Jerusalem; the Holy Spirit stirs people's hearts as they shout out the "King is coming." Jesus goes into the temple and starts cleansing the temple by chasing all those that did not come for worship. As He and His disciples go back and forth between Jerusalem and Bethpage, Jesus curses the fig tree which withered immediately, and He teaches the disciples a lesson about faith. As they came again in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came and challenged the authority of Jesus.

Chapter 12: This chapter mainly concentrates on who Christ is and His will to save all, even those who will crucify Him. The power of this world is nothing, but all humans' eyes look for power on this earth. Jesus came to point the way to the other world, but they do not hear and understand. Jesus interacts with the leaders of people and teaches about: the parable of the tenants so they can think who Jesus really is, but they seek to arrest Him; the human duty towards God and government; the resurrection; who Christ is; corrupt leaders; and the offering to the Lord.

Chapter 13: As Jesus was sitting with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, He answered the questions about the temple buildings and the signs of His coming and the end of the age. There are a few significant signs and warnings the Lord gives us: the destruction of the current temple of the Lord (the Bible), and the coming of the fake bible; the building of a new temple according to the new fake bible that will not bring praising to God but will bring praising to men; the abomination will start by replacing the true Bible and lifting up the new fake bible as the true one.

Chapter 14. This chapter describes the beginning of the suffering of the Lord. Prior to the crucifixion, Jesus stayed: at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper where a woman anointed Him; in a house in the city where Jesus eats His last Passover with His disciples, and He institutes the Lord's Supper as a symbol for the new covenant in His blood; at a place on the Mount of Olives where the Lord tells His disciples that they will all fall away as it is written in the Scripture; at a place called Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives where the Lord goes to pray earnestly to the Father; at a place on the Mount of Olives where He is captured and betrayed; at the high priest palace where they condemn Him to death and begin to mock and abuse Him.

Chapter 15. The King of kings has been born but has been treated worse than the criminals. Jesus has been mocked, spit on, slapped back and forth, but He took all that abuse just because of His true love for humans: the leaders of the people delivered Jesus to Pilate, the governor; they stirred up the crowd to demand that Jesus be crucified; they took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, and at the third hour they crucified Him between two criminals; at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" and breathed His last; Joseph of Arimathea buried Him in a new tomb cut out of the rock.

Chapter 16. In this chapter, there are three essential events with specific purposes. 1) The resurrection of the Lord Jesus; the Lord Jesus resurrected is the purpose of our faith. 2) The appearance of the Lord Jesus to the select ones; the purpose of the Lord appearing after His resurrection is to strengthen their belief. 3) The Lord Jesus gave the commission to the disciples, which extends to all that call upon the name of the Lord, to "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation"; the purpose of the commission is to give the duty to all believers.

Mark 1

Summary. In Chapter 1, we have eight points summary. 1) The announcement of the messenger of the Lord Jesus. John the Baptist is the messenger of the Lord, and he announces the arrival of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God who will baptize the people with the Holy Spirit and will take away the sins of the world. 2) The Lord Jesus is an example for all believers; all must be baptized in the water as a follower of the Lord, no exception. 3) The Lord Jesus, in the form of a human, has been tested and tempted by Satan himself; the Lord Jesus prays to win the temptation. 4) John is put away, and the Lord Jesus starts proclaiming the Gospel of God. The Bible tells us that there is only one begotten Son of God; Jesus is the begotten Son of God, and He is the Gospel of God. 5) The Lord Jesus called His first disciples; they were fishermen, and they responded to the call immediately. 6) The Lord Jesus has authority and power over the dark. Here all had seen His authority and power when He commanded the unclean spirit to leave a man; this has shown power in the Word He spoke. 7) The Lord Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law by touching her; she was sick with fever, and Jesus took her by her hand, and the fever left her. 8) The Lord Jesus did not come to follow but to fulfill the law, yet He always follows the law; Jesus heals a leper and commands him to make the offering required by the law for his cleansing.

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, Who shall prepare Thy way;

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make you ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight;

Comments 1:2-3. (See also Comments Matthew 3:1-11 and Comments Luke 3:2-16). “My messenger.” John is the messenger of the Lord. The Lord chose John to announce the coming of the Mighty One; he is the messenger of the Lord. “Before Thy face” refers to the coming of the Lord Jesus. “Who shall prepare Thy way,” is John’s message. He always announces to the One who is coming after him and that he, himself, John, is not worthy (See Verse 7). And that is why the Lord chose John; John always humbles himself and accepts who he is, below, never lifting himself up to be at the same level with the Lord.

John calls for repentance and waiting for the One that is coming. John himself is the voice that cries in the wilderness. John tries to tell people that there is only one way to be saved: to go straight to the Lord; there is only one way: to follow the One that will come. That is why he is the messenger that tells people to come to follow the righteous One.

4 John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance to remission of sins.

5 And there went out to him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather belt about his waist, and did eat locusts and wild honey.

Comments 1:6. (See also Comments Matthew 3:1-11). Here it tells clear about John, who he is, how he lives his life. He is separated from the world, and that is why he can hear the voice of the Lord. He lives his life differently than everybody in that time.

7 And he preached, saying, There comes after me He that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

Comments 1:7. (See also Comments Matthew 3:11). Here it tells clear; John admits himself to be below. People come to him to be baptized, but he proclaims someone else higher than him. John is a humble one.  

8 I baptized you in water; But He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. 

Comments 1:8. (See also Comments Matthew 3:11). Here the meaning is clear why John is the messenger and who will give the Holy Spirit. John admits that he himself does not have that authority, but the One who comes after him has the authority to give the Holy Spirit.

9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

10 And straightaway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens torn open, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon Him:

11 And a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased.

Comments 1:9-11. (See also Comments Matthew 3:13-17, Comments Luke 3:21-22, and Comments John 1:32-34). Here is a compressed account of the baptism of Jesus by John. 

“Heavens torn open.” This is like when you put a cloth on the top of something, and that cloth is torn apart, and you can see everything. The heaven is like a cover, and here it was torn open for the Lord to see His home. Jesus could always access His home, but here now, He could see His home in human form.

12 And straightaway the Spirit driveth Him out into the wilderness.

13 And He was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; And He was with the wild beasts; And the angels ministered unto Him.

Comments 1:12-13. (See also Comments Matthew 4:1-11, and Comments Luke 4:1-13). In the Gospel of Mark, the purpose is to capture each individual thing the Lord encountered (that is why it is brief) and how the Lord Himself faced challenges as well as humans did. In this passage, the Bible shows the way the Lord walked through temptations, forty days alone in the wilderness. Both Gospels of Matthew and Mark have a similar way of showing the events, just from a different point of view.

“He was with the wild beasts.” Here in Mark, this is an addition to show that Jesus was in the wilderness alone; there were no humans around Him, just wild animals. Jesus can be with wild animals; no animal will harm Him, peace goes to all.

14 Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent [], and believe in the gospel.

Comments 1:14-15. (See also Comments Matthew 4:12-17). “Preaching the Gospel of God.” The Gospel of God refers straight to the Son of God. The Bible tells us that there is only one begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ; He is the Gospel of God. 

“The time is fulfilled.” When the Lord mentions “the time is fulfilled,” He refers to the time when John was put away. The work of John is a turning point to point out when and what will start. When things happened to John, the time for the Son of God to work began. This point in time, the Father set it out; the Son of God starts the work on earth, and the time has come to fulfill the Father’s will. John and Jesus had their own time to do the Father’s will on earth. 

“And the kingdom of God is at hand” refers to when the Lord Jesus Himself is on earth and gives the Gospel to humans. He tells humans to repent, believe in the Gospel, and come to the Lord. That is why the kingdom of God is at hand because the Lord Himself is on earth. Now Jesus talks about the work of the Son, that He comes to give Himself instead of humans. God Himself has paid the price by His own blood; repent so you can enter the kingdom of God.

16 And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

17 And Jesus said to them, Come you after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

18 And straightaway they left the nets, and followed Him.

19 And going on a little further, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets.

20 And straightaway He called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Comments 1:16-20. (See also Comments Matthew 4:18-22). “Zebedee.” Sometimes the Bible will refer to the generation before the person to let us see. If the sons do good, the father will be mentioned as well.

“Straightaway.” Pay attention to the fact that Simon, Andrew, James, and John left everything just by calling. They did not see miracles but heard the Lord’s call; they left everything and followed, which is why they are mentioned here to show their faithfulness.

At those time, being a fisherman was a commoner’s job. The disciples are commoners but had a special call that refers to the heart, not to their work.

21 And they go into Capernaum; and straightaway on the Sabbath day He entered into the synagogue and taught.

22 And they were astonished at His teaching: For He taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.

Comments 1:21-22. (See also Comments Matthew 7:28-29). In most places in the land where the people of God will go, they will consistently build a synagogue as a place of gathering to worship. 

23 And straightaway there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

24 saying, What have we to do with Thee, Jesus Thou Nazarene? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.

25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace, and come out of him.

26 And the unclean spirit, tearing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? a new teaching! with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.

Comments 1:23-27. (See also Comments Matthew 7:28-29). “And Jesus rebuked him." This shows clearly that Jesus ordered by mouth; as the Word comes out of the mouth of the Lord, all things obey Him. Here it shows clearly the authority, and the people have seen that authority.

28 And the report of Him went out straightaway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about.

29 And straightaway, when they were come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30 Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever; and straightaway they tell Him of her:

31 and He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

Comments 1:29-31. (See also Comments Matthew 8:14-15). Notice that not all the events presented in the gospels are given in the chronological order of the traveling way of the Lord. Also, notice right away, there is no copy from Matthew in the Gospel of Mark; here, it shows “they tell Him of her” sickness, which is not given in Matthew. The account is the same, as the Holy Spirit gives it, but the details in Mark and Matthew are different. The whole Bible has no copy portions, all it is given by the Holy Spirit as the Living Word to each writer. The writers did not copy from each other; they wrote down what the Holy Spirit dictated to them, which is why it is called the Living Word.

32 And at evening, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were sick, and them that were possessed with demons.

33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.

Comments 1:32-33.  (See also Comments Matthew 8:16-17). Jesus and the disciples went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day (See Verse 29). In many places, it confirms that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, and the Lord will always participate and teach in the Sabbath when people gather together to glorify the Lord. After preaching in the synagogue, the Lord stayed to answer people’s questions; then, they went to Simon’s house.

“And at the evening." When people do the Sabbath day, when the sun goes down, the people can do something else. They can go and continue their daily activities; the Sabbath day ends at this time. After the Sabbath is over, people come to Jesus to seek help.

“At the door.” This shows that people came to the house of Simon, where Jesus lodged.

34 And He healed many that were sick with diverse diseases, and cast out many demons; and He suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

Comments 1:34. This verse clearly shows Jesus’ authority and power above the dark side; they know Him, but they can’t talk unless He permits them. So, the dark stays under Jesus’ authority; they know who has authority above them.

35 And in the morning, a great while before day, He rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed.

Comments 1:35. In this verse, pay attention; a great while before daylight (still dark), the Lord went out to pray. If the only Son of God needs to pray, then prayer is vital for all believers to practice and do. If the Son of God must pray, how come humans do not pray? This verse confirms that praying is important.

36 And Simon and they that were with Him followed after Him;

37 and they found Him, and said unto Him, All are seeking Thee.

Comments 1:36-37. This verse shows that Jesus is alone praying. If the only Son of God always finds time and goes to pray, how much more should we? Here we have a clear example.

38 And He says to them, Let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for to this end came I out.

39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

Comments 1:38-39. This verse tells that the Lord always does the work first. The work that the Lord came to fulfill He will do it, regardless of the time. He always goes in synagogues throughout all Galilee. If the Lord always goes in synagogues preaching and healing, always the Lord works. Think, how many times does the Bible mention when the Lord rested?

40 And there comes to Him a leper, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If Thou wilt, Thou can make me clean.

41 And being moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand, and touched him, and says to him, I will; be you made clean.

42 And straightaway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.

Comments 1:40-42.  (See also Matthew 8:1-4, and Comments Luke 5:12-14). This leper here in Mark 1:40-45 is the same leper as the one in Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 5:12-14. This leper has shown humans that he first seeks the will of the Lord towards him. Even though by his own will he wants to be clean, but he seeks first the will of the Lord, what the Lord wants for him; the humble heart he has, has been shown out (“If Thou wilt, Thou can make me clean”). We all should do the same way, come with our need, pour our need to the Lord, but seek the will of the Lord first and see what the Lord’s will is for us.

43 And He strictly charged him, and straightaway sent him out,

44 and says to him, See you say nothing to any man: but go show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.

Comments 1:43-44.  (See also Comments Matthew 8:1-4). Here it shows to all humans, with all the mighty works the Lord performed, but first, the Lord follows the rules the Father has put. What has the Lord told him to do first here?

“Offer for your cleansing.” To offer as it has been commanded, as the Bible has told. Jesus did not come to follow but fulfill the law, yet He always followed the law.

45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to spread abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was outside in desert places: and they came to Him from every quarter.

Comments 1:45. (See also Comments Matthew 9:31). This is supposed to be happening; the way has happened was to bring people’s hearts, those hearts that search the Lord will go in the desolate place. This is supposed to be done so just the chosen hearts that are calling for the Lord will go to seek Him.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Each faithful follower of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, must be baptized in the water and acknowledge Jesus the Son of God as their Lord and Savior. 2) Jesus, the Son of God, always finds time to pray to the Father; Jesus is our Lord and our example to follow, so we should always find time to pray and glorify the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. 3) Bring all our needs to the Lord but seek first the will of the Lord in everything. 4) If the Lord calls us to serve Him in any capacity, we should respond immediately and do the work He calls us to do.

Mark 2

Summary. The Gospel of Mark shows in many places the authority of the Lord Jesus as God. Here in Chapter 2, we see five types of authorities that describe the Deity of Jesus. 1) Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic man, and as a result, the man is healed in his body, and all can see this as a testimony. 2) Jesus has authority as a teacher of men. He spoke the word to many as they gathered to the house where He stayed in Capernaum; He taught the crowd by the seaside as the multitude was coming to Him to hear the Word; He taught people as they were sitting at the table with Him in His parents’ house; He reasoned with the scribes and Pharisees; He taught John’s disciples, and the people coming with them also heard. 3) Jesus has the authority to call sinners into the kingdom of God. He called Levi, a tax collector, by His Word, and Levi followed Him; Many publicans and sinners, later on, joined Jesus at the table to hear His teaching. 4) Jesus says that He is the bridegroom, and when He is taken away from the earth, then fast should be dedicated to Him. People dedicate their fast to God, so here Jesus tells clearly that He is God. 5) Jesus declares that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. When the Lord says, “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath,” He declares Himself as God; Jesus is One with the Father; there is only one God for the Sabbath, and when the Bible has told He is the Lord of the Sabbath there is no second question who Jesus is; only one God who can be the Lord of the Sabbath: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Three in One.

1 And when He entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was made known publicly that He was in the house.

Comments 2:1. “In the house” (or “at home” in other translations); Remember one thing, the Lord has only one home, which is not on this earth. So, home here does not mean the home that Jesus was born in; He was not born in a home. This home here just means a place where Jesus stayed for a while. He stayed for a time in Capernaum but never lived there. He walked by and stopped there and lodged in; Jesus will lodge wherever the Lord will open their hearts to accept Him and invite Him to stay, but this it was not His home (See Comments Matthew 10:11 where it explains the way of the ministry).

2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, no, not even at the door: and He spoke the word to them.

3 And they come, bringing unto Him a man sick of the palsy, carried by four.

Comments 2:3. The healing event described herein Mark 2:2-11 is the same as the one described in Luke 5:18-26 but not the same as the one described in Matthew 9:2-8. There are many healings of this kind that the Lord Jesus has performed. There were many cases of demon possession in those times, which caused many types of sicknesses. When the body was possessed, it made the body become weak, and some became paralyzed, some became mute. As a result, before the Holy Spirit was given (See Comments Matthew 8:28, and Comments Luke 13:10-13), many of these types of sickness were present in those times.

4 And when they could not come near unto Him for the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed whereon the sick of the palsy lay.

5 And Jesus seeing their faith says to the sick of the palsy, Son, your sins are forgiven.

Comments 2:4-5. Pay attention to those who bring the sick person. According to those people’s faith, the Lord’s mercy has been shown for all the people to know who has the authority to forgive sins. The Son of Man has that authority, and all have heard and seen the proof now. The authority has been shown to all people. They have no excuse on the judgment day, their ear has heard, but their heart did not accept. Pay attention as well; the sick man was on the bed, the roof’s house was not too high.

“Son, your sins are forgiven”; the sins of the heart of this person have caused this man his sickness, but the Lord forgives him, and he is healed here in front of all. This man was not just saved by the body; his soul also has been saved here by the mouth of the Lord, the sins have been forgiven. People should remember this, that Jesus has the authority to forgive sins.

6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

7 Why does this Man thus speak? He blasphemes: who can forgive sins but one, even God?

Comments 2:6-7.  Here in these verses, the scribes have condemned themselves. They know who can forgive sins, but they don’t admit it. The Lord has shown the miracle, the man has been healed in front of their eyes, and they say that only God can forgive sins. Here the proof has been shown in front of their eyes, who can heal, the same one who can forgive. So, they condemn themselves by rejecting what they have seen.

8 And straightaway Jesus, perceiving in His Spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, says to them, Why reason you these things in your hearts?

Comments 2:8. Pay attention first to the words “His Spirit”; this refers to the Spirit of Jesus, not the Holy Spirit, and it confirms the deity and humanity of Jesus. He is here on earth as a human; nobody can say He is not human. People come with the idea that He could die on the cross because He was not a human. Who has a spirit? Humans do; here is proof of Jesus' humanity. Jesus knows to feel hurt, and the Lord has that feeling; remember these things.

“Why reason you these things in your hearts.” He can feel and hear the thought of the heart, especially when that thought is blaspheming. How much hurt does He feel by His Spirit to listen to them blaspheming here?

9 Which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, your sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?

10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins (He says to the sick of the palsy),

11 I say to you, Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.

12 And he arose, and straightaway took up the bed, and went out before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this.

Comments 2:9-12.  “Palsy”; this person has injury behind the neck and in his spine; he had no energy to be up. So, he needs to lie down at all times. This is a sickness that was eating the spine of humans, which nowadays we call paralyzed. 

“Which is easier ....” Can you see your sins? Remember as well, humans do not believe the things they can’t see, but you can see the person with paralysis. If the Lord has shown to them the things they can see, what is the reason to doubt the authority of the Lord by saying, arise, your sins are forgiven. By healing this man’s body, the Lord proved that the man’s sins are forgiven. The Lord performed this healing, so they could see that the forgiveness of sins was also done.

13 And He went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them.

14 And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the place of toll, and He says to him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him.

15 And it came to pass, that He was sitting at the table in His parents’ house, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him.

Comments 2:15. Pay attention to the first part of the verse, “and it came to pass.” This shows that the time has passed, and the Lord has stopped in many places already, then the Lord traveled back to His parents’ home. As He was there, people followed and joined the table with the Lord. In the Gospel of Mark, it skips certain points of the stop. When the Lord makes a stop, Matthew and Mark appear to contradict each other because of the time period; it is not the same thing happening each time (the Gospel may report different moments of time of the event). For example, in Matthew 9:10, it was another stopping place than in Mark 2:15. In Matthew, Jesus was in a house, invited, while in Mark, the disciples and the Lord have stopped for a visit, not invited; now it is a stop to visit. The Lord came to visit, and the Lord went to His parents’ house, and people followed Him. Notice also here that Mark mentions that “there were many, and they followed Him.”

16 And the scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with the sinners and publicans, said to His disciples, How is it that He eats and drinks with publicans and sinners?

17 And when Jesus heard it, He says to them, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Comments 2:13-17. (See also Comments Matthew 9:9-12). All the time when the Lord was traveling, the accusations never stopped, the rebellious (same as accusers) never stopped accusing. As you read from both accounts, you can see that the events described in Matthew 9:9-12 and Mark 2:15-17 are different. The events are similar but not the same; they happened at other times and places as the Lord traveled.

18 And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting: and they come and say unto Him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Thy disciples fast not?

19 And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day.

Comments 2:18-20. (See also Comments Matthew 9:14-15). “And they came and say unto Him.” So, actually, John’s disciples, the Pharisees, and people were coming together to ask Jesus the fasting question; they wanted to know the teaching of the Lord towards His disciples.

“Sons of the bridechamber.” The Lord used the term “sons of the bridechamber” to refer to the people whom they talk about.

“… and then will they fast in that day.” “They” (in verse 20) means the humans from then until the end of the world, no exception. “In that day” means since Jesus was crucified until His return back on earth.

21 No man sews a piece of undressed cloth on an old garment: else that which should fill it up tears from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.

22 And no man puts new wine into old wineskins; else the wine will burst the skins, and the wine perishes, and the skins: but they put new wine into fresh wineskins.

Comments 2:21-22.  (See also Comments Matthew 9:16-17).

23 And it came to pass, that He was going on the Sabbath day through the grainfields; and His disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears.

24 And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?

25 And He said to them, Did you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were with him?

26 How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him?

27 And He said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:

28 so that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Comments 2:23-28. (See also Comments Matthew 12:1-8). “When Abiathar was high priest.” Here is the Lord Himself speaking, Abiathar himself was the high priest at that time. See that in 1 Samuel 21:1, it says “Ahimelech the priest” came to meet David. Notice that Ahimelech was the priest during that time, and his son Abiathar was, in fact, the high priest, as the Lord Jesus says here in verse 26; the Word of the Lord must be correct.  Also, see 1 Samuel 22:6-22, where it describes the incident when Saul kills the priests at Nob, where it only mentions Ahimelech by the name of priest. Notice that the only surviving one from the slaughter was Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech. There is no error in the Word when the Lord Himself is speaking.

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” The Sabbath was made for man to follow the rule of the Sabbath given by God; the Sabbath was not made to follow men's rules. From verse 23, you should notice that Jesus is going on the Sabbath day, and His disciples plucked the heads of grain to eat. The Lord never teaches this to be against the Sabbath, but the scribes and Pharisees use men's rules to put the rule of the Sabbath, but the Lord never gave that rule (plucking the ears of grain to eat when hungry as against the Sabbath law).

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Offer regular fasting to the Lord Jesus for glorifying His name. People nowadays do not take fast seriously, but all believers should fast regularly all their life on this earth to glorify the Lord. The fast is a gift offering to the Lord; the Lord does not need anything on this earth, only the person's heart. 2) When you join a table with sinners, don’t join their way, but join to share Jesus with them. As Christians doing this, most likely, you will get accusations such as churchy people coming. This often happens because the believers have made bad names for themselves, many will call themselves Christians but behave no different than the world, and the world sees no difference in the person they claim to be. 3) The Lord has come to fulfill the Sabbath for humans; we do not need to keep the Sabbath as by the Law of Moses. As believers, we need to keep the Sabbath of faith as behavior by behaving according to the Bible’s teachings, which is the Sabbath of the heart.

Mark 3

Summary. Here in Chapter 3, we see six main points that deal with the power and mercy of God. 1) The Lord shows mercy to the man with the withered hand and heals him on the Sabbath, teaching that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. 2) Jesus shows to the scribes, Pharisees, and people that He is the Lord of the Sabbath by healing the man with the withered hand. This act shows Jesus’ power to the rulers of men because He has healed on the Sabbath. 3) The name of the Lord has spread wide, and crowds followed Him everywhere. Here we see a large multitude that came to Him by sea. Jesus healed many, and many pressed around Him to touch Him and be healed, and the unclean spirits fell before Him. These acts show the power of Jesus over sicknesses and the dark side. 4) Jesus, by the will of the Father, appoints twelve disciples to be with Him. He gives them authority to preach the Gospel and to be able to heal and cast out demons. This act shows that Jesus rules over everything, the seen and unseen world. 5) Jesus responds to people’s accusations about His power over the darkness. a) Jesus gives parables about unity; the Bible teaches the unity of the Lord as One, Three but One; the unity of people who believe in the Bible should be as one as well. b) Jesus gives the parable that points out to attacking the faith; all believers should watch out; in order to collapse the unity of the kingdom of God on earth, the faith will be attacked. c) Jesus says that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin. 6) Jesus tells who His relatives on earth are; not those that are blood-related, but those that do the will of God are His brother and sister and mother. This saying shows the mercy of God, don’t use your eyes to look at people; use your heart.

1 And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had his hand withered.

2 And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse Him.

3 And He says to the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth.

4 And He says to them, Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

5 And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, He says to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out; and his hand was restored.

6 And the Pharisees went out, and straightaway with the Herodians took counsel against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Comments 3:1-6. (See also Comments Matthew 12:9-14, and Comments Luke 6:6-11). The stories in these sections of Scripture are the same story but different ways of presenting. In each Gospel, the Lord has shown all humans that one story can be told in many ways, but we need to combine all the details from all the Gospels to understand the story in its completeness. So, here we analyze the story of the man with the withered hand by looking at the details from all three Gospels: Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, and Luke 6:6-11.

Comparison analysis:

Part 1: (See Mark 3:1, Matthew 12:9-10a, and Luke 6:6). In Mark, notice the word “again,” in Matthew 12:9 notice “Jesus went on from there,” and in Luke 6:6, notice “on another Sabbath.” Combining the events so far from all three Gospels shows that Jesus was traveling, and on a Sabbath day again, He entered their synagogue, and He was teaching the people in the synagogue. A man with a right hand that was withered was in the synagogue. Here we need to remember that the name of the Lord is Lord of the Sabbath, so always the Lord will be in a synagogue on the Sabbath day. All three Gospels in this part have one thing in common: Jesus enters the synagogue on the Sabbath day as a regular duty.

Part 2: (See Mark 3:2, Matthew 12:10b, and Luke 6:7). Combining the events from all three Gospels, we understand that the scribes and the Pharisees asked Him, “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” and watched Jesus so they could see if He would heal on the Sabbath so they might accuse Him. But all three Gospels have told one thing: people don’t know the true meaning of the Sabbath. That is why the Lord comes on a Sabbath day, to give them the true meaning of the Sabbath. The real purpose of the Sabbath is to keep God's rules, not bring all the men's rules and impose them to be the meaning for the Sabbath. The Lord teaches that the purpose of the Sabbath is to do good in the name of the Lord, helping, comforting, which is the way to show the love of the Lord.

Part 3: (See Matthew 12:11-12). Here in Matthew, we see that the Lord answers the question that the scribes and Pharisees asked in Matthew 12:10b by confronting them and showing their hypocrisy.

Part 4: (See Mark 3:3-4, Luke 6:8-9). This section shows that the Lord asks them a direct question. The Lord asks them if it is lawful to do good or harm on the Sabbath.

Part 5: (See Mark 3:5, Matthew 12:13, Luke 6:10). Combining the events from all three Gospels, we see that the Lord was angry and grieved at their ignorant heart, and He heals the man’s hand by simply asking him to stretch out his hand. None of them acknowledged that on the Sabbath day, it is lawful to do good, but Jesus tells them clearly in Matthew 12:12 that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.

Part 6: (See Mark 3:6, Matthew 12:14, Luke 6:11). Combining the events from all three Gospels, we understand that the scribes and Pharisees were furious and discussed with each other and with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus. Notice that the Herodians (See Matthew 22:16 for comments on Herodians) were not in the synagogue, but the Pharisees and the scribes went out to look for them.

7 And Jesus with His disciples withdrew to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and from Judea,

8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing what great things He did, came unto Him.

Comments 3:7-8.  (See also Comments Matthew 4:23-25, Comments Matthew 13:1-3, and Comments Luke 6:17-19). These passages describe similar events, but the people are not all the same, and the day when events are happening is different. Jesus’ name had already been spread before He traveled there. His name has already been known, and that is why in all of the events, multitudes will be there.

9 And He spoke to His disciples, that a little boat should wait on Him because of the crowd, for fear that they should throng Him:

10 for He had healed many; insomuch that as many as had plagues pressed upon Him that they might touch Him.

11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they beheld Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

12 And He charged them [] that they should not make Him known.

Comments 3:7-12a.  Looking at Mark 3:7-12 and Mark 4:1-3, We can say that here in these verses of Scripture, it is the same event, but it is a large area, and there are different groups of people and events were happening over different days; similar areas, different days, and different groups of people. They are entirely different days described; what happened today could happen tomorrow, but they are not linked together, separate them. When there is a large crowd of people, this portion hears the talk, but the group behind them does not even know what the people ahead are saying. The same day, same event but not the same; that is why each Gospel tells the story from a different angle, different point, different people. Each Gospel has its portion to write down, but no one copied from anyone. The Lord gives each writer another part of the event, different times that happened, no copy, but each one writes down accordingly as the Lord sees fit.

Comments 3:7-12b.  Mark 3:1-6 describes the same event as Luke 6:6-11 (the healing of the paralytic), then Mark 3:13-20 is the same event as Luke 6:12-16, and in between these events, we have Mark 3:7-12. This event by the sea in Mark 3:7-12 on this particular day is described only here in the Gospel of Mark. The common point of these events given in Mark 3:7-12, Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew 13:1-3, and Luke 6:17-19 is that Jesus’ name was spread wide, and there were always crowds following Him to hear Him teach, and many came to be healed. But some came to look for food that He would provide for them because it has been told that He gives food. Here in Mark, it shows that people were crowding around Jesus insomuch that He needed to get a boat and get away from the crowd, so they don’t crush Him.

13 And He goes up into the mountain, and calls to Him those whom He desired; and they went to Him.

14 And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach,

15 and to have authority to cast out demons:

16 and Simon He surnamed Peter;

17 and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them He surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder:

18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,

19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Comments 3:13-19. (See also Comments Matthew 10:1-4, and Comments Luke 6:12-16). The events in Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-4, and Luke 6:12-16 are the same but different ways of presenting. Combining these events from all three Gospels, we can get a complete picture of what has happened. The point of this saying is that the Lord has chosen from among all that followed Him; He chose these twelve out of so many that followed. Many are struggling about why Jesus chose Judas; not that He doesn’t have enough people to choose from, but Judas had to be involved in Jesus’ ministry.

Comparison analysis:

Part 1: (See Mark 3:13, Matthew 10:1a, Luke 6:12, 13a). Combining the events from all three Gospels, we see that Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, and after He prayed all night, He called to Him the disciples He desired. The Bible has clearly shown all humans the Son of God praying and the length of time He prayed. But, humans complain they pray too long. If the Son of God spends that much time praying, humans need to take as an example and follow what the Lord teaches and does. For example, when you go and pray, forget about yourself and think of the One you pray to; let your soul lead you to the Lord. The human mouth speaks too many useless words, but the soul that goes presents the pure words of worship to the Lord.

Q: What was the purpose of Jesus’ prayer here? A: This prayer has two purposes: one is the conversation between Father and Son, and another is about choosing the disciples. The ones that the Father wants, the Lord will choose.

Part 2: (See Mark 3:14-15, Matthew 10:1b, Luke 6:13b). Combining the events from all three Gospels, we see that Jesus chose twelve disciples whom He also named apostles. Q: What does it mean to be an apostle? A: The follower of the Lord, the one who will go to tell about the love of God for all humans, that is the apostle’s duty. These twelve were chosen to be with Him and go out and preach and have authority to cast out demons and heal every disease and affliction. Judas was one of the apostles, but the Bible never mentions that he did anything because of no faith. Judas did not have faith; always he will abide with someone else, be part of someone doing something, but will never be himself doing; be there close by, but never do it. The Lord always sent them in pairs (See Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1).

Part 3: (See Mark 3:16-19, Matthew 10:2-4, Luke 6:14-16). From these verses of Scripture, we find the names of the twelve apostles. For some, we see the names that the Lord gave as a name for the duty of the work. Some were called for a special purpose, and the names the Lord gives will tell the duty of that person, not just duty alone, but also character told in that name.

Q: Cananaean or Zealot? A: For us should be Simon the Zealot.

20 And He comes into a house. And the multitude comes together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

Comments 3:20. This is a house, the people who were willing to invite the Lord to stay for a while in their house. This is not His parents’ home in Nazareth or His home in some city.

21 And when His family heard it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is overwhelmed.

22 And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the demons casts He out the demons.

23 And He called them to Him, and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man, and take his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

28 Truly I say to you, All their sins shall be forgiven to the children of people, and their blasphemies by which of any kind they shall blaspheme:

29 but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit has never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin:

30 because they said, He has an unclean spirit.

Comments 3:22-30. (See also Comments Matthew 12:22-32, and Comments Luke 11:14-23). Q: Are the parables told in these sections of Scripture spoken to the same group of people in the same place and time? Are the events in Matthew 12:22-32, Mark 3:22-30, and Luke 11:14-23 the same events happening at the same place and time? A: They are not the same events; all three Gospels tell different events; separate the events between them. The groups of people are not all the same. In some portion of the Gospel, people come in around the Lord and then go out; new people come in and go out, always people come in and go out; that way, the word spreads faster. Many thousands, all have come to see and hear how the work of the Lord has been done. Because the Lord has a short time on earth, His purpose is to bring all the people to have a chance to witness in the Lord’s work for humans; God has come to them.

Q: Can we say that Jesus repeated the same teachings in the parables to different groups of people as they came and listened? A: The Lord will tell when He will be asked; each group of people come and ask. Sometimes one parable was told many, many times, and that is why sometimes in the Bible, it will answer from a different angle of the question, but the answer always will have the same center point in all Gospels. So, here, we need to find the center point of the Lord’s response in all these parables.

Comparison analysis:

Part 1: (See Matthew 12:22-23, and Luke 11:14). As we see here from Matthew 12:22-23 and Luke 11:14, Jesus performed miraculous healings before the people came to accuse Him, and He healed many demon-oppressed people. In Matthew, it shows the healing of a demon-oppressed man that was blind and mute, and in Luke, Jesus casts out a demon that was mute; these are two separate healings. It is clear from this setting that the Lord Jesus addresses the accusation to different groups of people and tells the parables more than once.

Part 2: (See Mark 3:22, Matthew 12:24, and Luke 11:15). In Mark, we see that scribes come down from Jerusalem to accuse Jesus. In Matthew, we see that as the Pharisees hear people talking that Jesus is the Son of God and performs these miraculous healing by the power of God, they reason between each other and bring that accusation to the people. In Luke, we see that some people accused Him, and some were trying to test Him by asking Him a sign from heaven. So, again, it is evident from the three Gospels that the Lord tells the parables and addresses the accusations to different groups of people at different times and places.

Part 3: (See Mark 3:23-26, Matthew 12:25-28, and Luke 11:17-20). In these portions of Scripture, the Lord speaks to them in parables in response to their accusations. All these parables talk about unity. In the parables themselves, it shows unity as one. The parables have concluded the idea that the unity of people who believe in the Bible should be as one as the unity of the Lord shows as One (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). If the One who gives the Bible is One, the ones who believe in it should be as one. If you are with the Lord, you must be one. The Bible teaches that all who believe that the Bible is the true word of God will have in their heart to take the Bible as the Living Word. The dark they are between the dark, and you don’t need to know about them; you just need to know about the light. 

Part 4: (See Mark 3:27, Matthew 12:29, and Luke 11:21-22). This parable told in these verses of Scripture points out to attacking the faith; watch out! How to collapse the kingdom? The faith has to be attacked to collapse the unity of the kingdom of God on earth. How to attack the believer? Only one way to do it, the faith has to be attacked first; the faith is the base for all humans to stand firm against the dark side, and the dark knows that. The Bible tells us clearly that if you have no faith, you will not invite the Lord into your heart and soul. If you don’t invite Him in your heart, it is easy to be attacked, and the only way to attack is straight to the faith. The dark does not need your body; all they need is your soul. This is the fight for the soul; this flesh is nothing. The faith must be attacked first to take the human soul; no faith and the soul is gone. Lookout in the world, even the Christians that lose faith go deeper than the rest of the world in doing bad, bad against God. When the soul that belongs to God turns back against their Creator, those are the ones that attack the kingdom to collapse it. The way to destroy unity, if they can attack the faith, the unity among believers can collapse.

Explaining the parable of Mark 3:27. In this verse, “no one” represents the dark side, “the house” represents the soul of a person, and “the strong man” represents the believer in the Lord; “binds the strong man” means an attack on his faith. They have to attack the ones that are leaders in the church, where humans’ eyes look to. If one of them fails, so many little ones will fail because humans love to worship humans; but they have the One that never fails, and they don’t come to Him but go to put trust in man. No man on earth is strong enough. But One Man that fights against the dark has been crucified, keep your mind on that One; as the Bible has told He has won the battle, look to that Man.

Q: How to attack the soul of humans? A: There is only one way to do it. They attack the faith; then they can enter the soul. The soul of humans is the bridge between the earth and the kingdom of heaven. There is only one way to go to the Kingdom of God, and that is through the human’s soul, and the dark knows that. That is why there is always a fight for the soul. The dark knows well that the Lord loves the human souls because when He created them, He gave the soul to have the freedom to choose; you chose to be for the world, or you chose to be with the Lord; that is what the soul does, it is a big fight in the soul. The dark knows they can’t fight God, but their only way to fight is to take the soul of humans. They know very well that the Lord loves humans, and that is why He sent His Son to be human on earth to show them that they have meaning for the Lord, not the flesh, but the soul; this is the war of the unseen world, for the human soul.

Part 5: (See Mark 3:28-30, Matthew 12:30-32, and Luke 11:23). These verses refer to the whole world (“the children of people”), for whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin.

31 And there come His mother and His brothers; and, standing outside, they sent to Him, calling Him.

Comments 3:31. (See also Mark 3:21). Verses Mark 3:31 and Mark 3:21 are tangled together. Humans try to confuse humans between the human family of the Lord as He comes down to be human. Here it has shown clearly, pay attention to the way when the Lord will answer; for the Lord Himself, the earthly family does not play a role in lifting Him up or pulling Him down. Jesus is hundred percent Man and hundred percent God, but He is not just another man; He is the Son of Man; that is the way the Lord was born, to be human. This way, when they come, because of the position He holds (as a teacher), some will come and claim I am involved in some way with the Lord.

“Son of Man.” When it says Son of Man, it tells specifically that Jesus is a man, but He never says or claims He is the Son of Joseph, always Son of Man; for the rest of humans, He is the foundation of the race, all humans come from Him, He is the Son of Man.

32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they say unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brothers outside seek for Thee.

33 And He answers them, and says, Who is My mother and My brothers?

34 And looking round on them that sat around Him, He says, Behold, My mother and My brothers!

35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.

Comments 3:31-35. (See also Comments Matthew 12:46-50 Comments, and Comments Luke 8:19-21). This event happened once, and all three Gospels give this account. Combining the details from all three Gospels, we find out that:

Jesus was speaking to the people when His earthly family came.

A crowd was around Him, and His earthly family could not reach Him.

They were standing outside, asking people to speak with Jesus.

People told Jesus that “Thy mother and Thy brothers outside seek for Thee.”

Jesus answers and tells the people listening, “Who is My mother and My brothers?”.

Jesus’ answer is the key point of all three Gospels that Jesus has only one Father who is in heaven, and His relatives on earth are only those that glorify the Father and the Lord Jesus as God.

(See also Matthew 12:49-50 Comments).

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The dark side fights for the human soul; this human flesh is nothing. Therefore, watch your faith; the faith has to be attacked first to take the human soul; no faith, the soul is gone. 2) Do not look to people as examples for your faith but look to the One that has been crucified and won the battle; look to Jesus. 3) Stay united among believers; you must be one if you are with the Lord. 4) Remember who your family is. Most people have a problem with this, but our relatives on this earth are those that do the will of God and believe and worship Jesus as the Son of God.  

Mark 4

Summary. Here in Chapter 4, Jesus teaches the crowd in parables, and it tells us that privately He explains everything to His disciples. The chapter ends with Jesus and the disciples leaving the multitude and taking a boat on the sea, and Jesus was calming a storm showing His disciples that He is more than just a human. The Lord reveals to His disciples the power and authority that He has over all things, seen and unseen things. Some of the parables in this chapter have similarities with other parables given by the Lord in the Gospel of Mathew and Luke, but as presented in Mark, they stand on their own and bring new understanding. The parables given are: 1) The parable of the sower. The parable has shown that the way your heart is, that is how the Word will grow, not how smart you are; the smartness will not help you understand the Word; the heart will help you understand. The openness and cleanness deep in the heart are like a curtain for the mind to understand the Word that has been sown down to it (the curtain for the heart is the openness and cleanness of your heart which makes us understand more or less the meaning of the Word). 2) The parable of a lamp under a basket. The Bible is the lamp for all humans in the world, and the Bible cannot be hidden. Watch out and treasure your Bible; many will try to change things in the Bible. The way to know the true Bible is by the Holy Spirit; the Lord will send His Holy Spirit and convince your heart to think again and again before accepting something. 3) The parable of the seed growing. When the seed has been sown on a person, not all feel that they have something useful in them. The fruit is the gift of the Spirit, everybody has it, but a different gift; when the fruit is ripe, the person who received the gift learns and accepts and knows that it is not by themselves they have it, but because of the mercy of the Lord, they have that gift. 4) The parable of the mustard seed. The whole parable relates to growing the plant. The mustard plant is easy to grow, fast, and efficient, spreading like wildfire. It is the same with the Bible; give one Bible to one country of the earth and see it will grow like wildfire in that country, affecting every soul. The other garden plants refer to many faiths on earth, they all are a plant on earth, but the mustard plant that the Lord had picked grows bigger than them, making branches that even the birds of the air come to benefit from.

1 And again He began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto Him a very great multitude, so that He entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land.

Comments 4:1. (See also Comments Matthew 13:1-2, and Comments Luke 8:4). Q: Are the parables in Mark 4, Matthew 13, and Luke 8 given to the same group of people at the same time and in the same place? A: Not same time event, different groups of people, in the same general area, but same parables were given. Remember that the Lord always travels; He doesn’t stay long in one place, that is why it is not precisely the same spot but close by area. Questions arise in many hearts; even now, look at how people struggle with it; in each Gospel, different words of use give a different meaning. But in the Bible, not that they try to change the words, but because different people listening, the understanding of each group and each place will be different even in the same words.

Q: In Mark 4:1 and Matthew 13:1-2, it says that Jesus sat in the boat and the crowd on the shore by the sea. Did the Lord teach this way (from the boat) on different days more than once? A: Jesus is in the boat on many, many occasions because it is a different group of people, and people crowd around Him. The Lord will go into a boat to be able to teach each group each time. We can say that even in Matthew and Mark, when the events show that the same parables were spoken by Jesus sitting in the boat, Jesus addressed different groups of people at different times. Jesus sat in the boat teaching, and people are coming and going, and Jesus teaches them in parables.

Q: Is this a one-time event? A: It is not a one-time event. The time is always changing, people are coming and going, and the Lord is traveling all the time. So, it has never been the same event and not in the same spot.

2 And He taught them many things in parables, and said to them in His teaching,

3 Listen: Behold, the sower went out to sow:

4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it.

5 And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightaway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth:

6 and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

9 And He said, Who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Comments 4:1-9.  (See also Comments Matthew 13:1-9, and Comments Luke 8:4-8).

Comparison Analysis Mark 4:1-9

Part 1: (Mark 4:1-2, Matthew 13:1-3a, and Luke 8:4). From these verses of Scripture, we can see that in each Gospel, the Lord teaches many things in parables, but the time and the place are given for each Gospel are different but not far apart.

Part 2: (Mark 4:3-4, Matthew 13:3b-4, and Luke 8:5). The main point in all three Gospels is that a sower went out to sow his seed, and the seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. In Luke 8:5, we are also told that the seed was trampled underfoot. We can see that the parables are the same, but a few words make the difference, and it depends on the listener. Because the Lord knows the heart of people, something people can take, the Lord wants to show the way for each group to see how to take the parable, but all have the same meaning. The Lord gives to the writer, and each Gospel will get a little different than the other, and the reader can find help from each Gospel in a separate area. For example, here in Mark, it adds more things but also cuts something off. People who read the Bible are supposed to find out what each Gospel tells, put them together and get out the core meaning.

Part 3: (Mark 4:5-6, Matthew 13:5-6, and Luke 8:6). The difference between the verses in Mark and Matthew and Luke is where the seed fell down, on rocky ground or on rock; similar, but separate the difference out. Find the common ground, don’t try to look for each word itself; the word may be different, but the meaning in all three Gospels is the same; don’t pick on the individual words. The difference is the key, but why is it different? If it is only one group of people, there is no need to make a difference; but because there is not the same type of people in Mark, Matthew, and Luke who hear, the parable has differences.

Part 4: (Mark 4:7, Matthew 13:7, and Luke 8:7). In all three Gospels, the words in these verses are very similar, and the meaning is all the same.

Part 5: (Mark 4:8-9, Matthew 13:8-9, and Luke 8:8). The verses in Mark and Matthew are very similar with some order differences. But, in the Gospel of Luke, the yield of the good seed falling on the good soil is given only as a hundredfold. However, the parable's meaning in all three Gospels is the same; the meaning is the same, just the arrangement order of explaining is different, which does not change the meaning.

10 And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parables.

11 And He said to them, To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are outside, all things are done in parables:

12 ​that seeing they may see, and not perceive;

and hearing they may hear, and not understand;

fearing that by chance they should turn [], and [] be forgiven [].

Comments 4:10-12a. (See also Comments Matthew 13:10-16, and Luke Comments 8:9-10). Q: Was the Lord asked this same question more than once by His disciples and people around Him? A: Now it is a point you can see, different times, different people asking questions and listening to the parables, each Gospel has different questions because they are not happening at the same time. The Gospels have been given, but in each Gospel, we can notice the different times and people that are around asking, not just once the questions have been asked. Many, many questions have been asked, but each Gospel has a different purpose that is why it gives different records; the purpose of making a difference in each Gospel, that is the key.

Comments 4:11-12b. (For Mark 4:11-12 see also Comments Matthew 13:11). “that seeing …not understand.” This is talking about people who have seen and heard the teaching of the Lord; you see it in front of you, but you can’t take it. The Lord was on earth, they see the difference between a common man and the Lord, but they do not accept the difference.

“Fearing that by chance, they should turn and be forgiven.” Here is not the meaning that the Lord does not want them to have; pay attention to the meaning; the purpose of each person coming around the Lord is different. Some do not want to be forgiven; they come only to criticize and try to turn away people. Those ones, even if they hear they will never understand or accept, and by faking, they think they can have a chance to receive forgiveness. This is not about the Lord giving forgiveness; the Lord gives forgiveness to all who come with a sincere heart, no exception, but here is not about those types. Most people interpret that the Lord fears they will turn; How can the Lord have fear? This fearing is not afraid, but that those who are not true pretend to be faithful and can turn away the true ones, that’s all. Here you can link to the parable of the wolf that comes in the sheep clothing (See Comments Matthew 7:15); they have known the Lord but did not accept and pretend to believe in order to do damage for other believers, it is blasphemy (See Mark 3:28-30). 

[The understanding in Mark 4:12 is that there are two groups of people that come to the Lord: 1) those that have sincere heart and searching, to whom the Lord will give an understanding of the parables, and 2) those that are fake and not sincere, so they will never understand the parables. This second group, since they don’t understand the parables, will not be able to explain anything and convince the other group about their way of understanding, since the other ones will see clearly from the Lord that they themselves are correct, and make those people somehow by chance to turn away from asking repentance and forgiveness from the Lord. If those from the first group continue asking from the Lord to see clearly, they won’t fall into a trap because the Lord will always help if you come to ask. Really, the Lord does not want that people who do not have faith and do not ask the Holy Spirit understanding to use their own mind and understanding and teach others His Word.]

13 And He says to them, Know you not this parable? and how shall you know all the parables?

14 The sower sows the word.

15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightaway comes Satan, and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

16 And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightaway receive it with joy;

17 and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, straightaway they stumble.

18 And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word,

19 and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it befalls unfruitful.

20 And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

Comments 4:13-20.  (See Comments Matthew 13:18-23, and Comments Luke 8:9-15).

Comparison Analysis Mark 4:13-20

Part 1: (Mark 4:13-14, Matthew 13:18, and Luke 8:11). The essential understanding here is that the seed is the Word of God. The sower is not specific about who it is. The sower refers to people all over the world who are willing to tell the Word to whoever they meet. They have the Word in their mouth all the time to tell it out to whosoever they meet; not missionaries, not pastors, all the believers who believe in the Word should tell because everybody has the mouth to talk; this is what the mouth should speak, the Word of God.

Part 2: (Mark 4:15, Matthew 13:19, and Luke 8:12). Notice some differences in the words used in these verses of Scripture, but all give the same meaning that the ones along the path hear the Word but do not meditate on the Word but instead listen to the temptations of the world (See also Comments Matthew 13:19).

Part 3: (Mark 4:16-17, Matthew 13:20-21, and Luke 8:13). Notice that in these verses in Mark and Matthew, we have the ones sown on rocky ground, and in Luke, the ones sown on the rock. The main understanding is that seed, sown on rocky ground or on rock, has no root or no root in themselves, and when tribulation or persecution on account of the Word comes, or testing of faith comes, they fall away (See also Comments Matthew 13:20-21).

Part 4: (Mark 4:18-19, Matthew 13:22, and Luke 8:14). The main understanding from these verses is that these "sown among the thorns" are those that hear and know what the Word says, but because they enjoy more the pleasures and riches of this world, choose not to follow the Word (See also Comments Matthew 13:22).

Part 5: (Mark 4:20, Matthew 13:23, and Luke 8:15). Comparing these verses in Mark, Matthew, and Luke, we can see some differences in the words used, but the meaning is the same. Matthew, Luke, and Mark, all three Gospels may say differently, a little bit of difference in each Gospel, but all hold one meaning together, the Lord gives one meaning, a different way of telling but one meaning (See Comments Matthew 13:23).

21 And He said to them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand?

22 For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.

23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.

Comments 4:21-23.  (See also Comments Matthew 5:15-16, Comments Matthew 10:26, and Comments Luke 8:16-17). This parable in Mark 4:21-22 has similarities with other parables spoken by the Lord Jesus, given in Matthew 5:15-16, Matthew 10:26, and Luke 8:16-17, but as given in Mark 4:21-23, it stands on its own.

Parable Analysis Mark 4:21-23

Part 1: (Mark 4:21). “Lamp.” The lamp gives light; the Bible is the lamp for all humans in the world. If you do not come to the light you are in darkness, come and read the Living Word of God.

“Under the bushel or under the bed” means that the pride of men covers above the knowledge which the Lord has given to humans (because when one reads the Bible, they make their own understanding and they claim this to be what God means but did not ask God for the meaning). Humans do not like to admit that their knowledge does not come from themselves but has been given by God. Humans want to be proud that they know all things but forget to acknowledge the One who gives them that knowledge from the beginning (meaning from when they are born). And, they go to a human school and think they are smart, but they forget who gives them the intelligence; this is like going and hiding under the bushel. You cannot hide about the One who gives you that knowledge; always glorify the One who gives you that knowledge. Because the world criticizing should not make you hide and don’t admit who is the real One who gives you that knowledge.

“and not to be put on the stand?” (Lamp put on a stand); This verse tells all believers clearly that if you call yourself a believer when people see you, they should see you follow the Bible’s teaching. In Christian households, when you visit, have you seen the Bible in their house? The Bible is not to be hidden; if in your home you can’t show people that you have the Bible as a guide, will you do it outside? In your own home, as the verse tells don’t hide the Bible, but put it on a stand, so people will notice that you have the Bible, not just the sign that you are a believer, but people need to see the Bible; the cross they can see everywhere, but the Living Word they don’t see it. It must be made known that you have the Bible as your guide, not all the entertainment as your guide. The Bible is the Living Word, and living means alive; treat the Bible as the living Word, not just as a book; some Christians do not do that; some even use their feet to push their Bible aside. Humans think of living as eating and drinking, but the Bible is a Living Word that lives in humans’ hearts. Are humans dead or alive? As long as humans exist on earth, the Bible will always be the Living Word. Even on Judgment Day, we have the Lord Jesus Himself alive in the human body as well, and the Living Word still exists in Him, and He will be forever, which explains why the Bible is the Living Word. 

Part 2: (Mark 4:22-23). (For verse 22, see also Comments Matthew 10:26b). “For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be manifested.” For this portion of Scripture, we have two stages of explanations.

1) This refers to the Word of the Lord; the Word of the Lord cannot be hidden. Also, the Word of the Lord cannot be changed. Humans tend to make the Word change to fit for themselves; that is blasphemy; you cannot change the Word to fit the way humans are living. Whatever the Word says, you teach or do not interfere. If you teach and change the Word, you are the one who blasphemes, not those who do the wrong things, but the one who teaches. The Word of the Lord cannot be hidden, and the light of the world cannot be hidden; the light will shine out, you cannot put it under cover, the light will explode out.

2) This refers to the Word as the shield. The dark cannot snatch you if you use the Word to shield your soul. But when you ignore the Word, you have opened the door for the dark to come in, and the Lord won’t fight for you because you are the one who opened the door. That is why many Christians commit sin because they think they are under the shield of protection; they go and commit sin knowing that they sin against God, but for that one, the Lord will not protect you because you sinned knowingly. So, when you have the Living Word, instead of using it, you put it away, and this comes in the same way as hidden; but the Word cannot be hidden; use the Word.

“neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.” Now, this verse refers to the Lord, only the Lord is the light, and you cannot make secret where the light is. The verse is clear on its own. When someone talks about the Lord, they can’t interpret it differently; when they interpret it in their own way, they try to cover the work of the Lord, always, only the Holy Spirit can interpret the meaning. There is no person that can claim that they got the knowledge on their own, and nobody else can get it.

24 And He said to them, Take heed what you hear: with what measure you measure it shall be measured to you; and more shall be given to you.

25 For he that has, to him shall be given: and he that has not, from him shall be taken away even that which he has.

Comments 4:24-25.  (See also Comments Matthew 7:2, Comments Matthew 13:12, and Comments Luke 6:38). This parable in Mark 4:24-25 has similarities with other parables spoken by the Lord Jesus, which are given in Matthew and Luke, but as given in Mark 4:24-25, it stands on its own.

Parable Analysis Mark 4:24-25

Part 1: (Mark 4:24). “Take heed what you hear.” This is a warning when you listen to things about the Bible, not only from preachers but also from persons claiming they have high knowledge about the Bible related to the original text and its languages. Bible’s original text knowledge only a few people know it. Watch out; they come with proof of trying to change things in the Bible; that is why you must use your inner eyes (the Lord speaks directly to your heart; use the feeling as well, not just knowledge) as well, compare what will come out from these people and what you have inside your heart from the Lord, and you will know the difference between them. You, as a person, listen to who is telling you things; watch out for the purpose of telling. If you hear someone telling you things, listen by the spiritual eyes (refers to a gift the Lord gives), not just the ears, the eyes see things that the ear need to know, it will support each other. Remember we commented about changing the true Bible translation. (See also Comments Matthew 24:4-5a and Comments Matthew 24:4-5b Comments).

“with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you.” This measure talks about the fake translation that will come out. If we believe it is fake, we must be able to support our words with the true Bible; if you can’t find support, better be quiet. That is the measure to be used, the true Bible, and that must be used. When we use the true Bible to measure the fake Bible, the Lord will use the true Bible to measure our heart’s deed as well; that is the measure used, the same one.

“and more shall be given to you.” Now, it is talking about the understanding. When we notice the fake Bible and can support that idea (that is fake) with the true Bible, the understanding to do it will be given more for you if you notice that. If you do not notice, the Lord will not give the understanding of how to use the true Bible to fight against the fake one. If the Lord does not give you how to use the true Bible and how to fight against the fake one, you will not be able to point out and tell that it is not true. The Lord will give this knowledge to fight against the fake Bible only to select ones.

Part 2: (Mark 4:25). Verses 24 and 25 link together with believing in the Bible. If people believe in the Word, this verse will come out alive and make understanding (be true), and to what you have, more will be added. But for those who did not understand and find the human way and believe this way to be right, what they have in the beginning to think about will be taken away (Note: if you base your theories on the human way, not on God, they don’t last; when people come with some new theory, in a short while these new theories easily become obsolete). This verse has told many things; when people read about this verse, people should think about what the Bible is teaching about, don’t read the Bible just to kill time. For every word in the Bible, you need to keep in prayer to get the understanding, even simple sentences, nothing the Lord gives will be simple until it does not need the help from the Lord for understanding, that is why the Bible is called the Living Word. Verse 25 is put here to support and tell us to make sure that we meditate and pray to the Lord for the understanding of verse 24.

26 And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should throw seed upon the ground;

27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knows not how.

28 The earth bears fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 But when the fruit is ripe, straightaway he puts out the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Comments 4:26-29.  (See also Comments Matthew 13:24-30). This parable in Mark 4:26-29 has similarities with another parable spoken by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 13:24-30, but as given in Mark 4:26-29, it stands on its own.

Parable Analysis Mark 4:26-29

Part 1: (Mark 4:26). Q: What does it mean when the Lord says, “So is the kingdom of God,” and He gives a parable? A: Because the kingdom of God cannot be explained in human words (no language on earth can describe the meaning of the kingdom of God), the Lord gives parables to describe the true meaning of the kingdom. That is why there are many parables. Because of the limitation of the language, one parable describes in a way for the humans, and another parable will help out; all parables will help each other for humans to understand.

“As if a man should throw seed upon the ground.” Here the kingdom of God is compared with the action of a man throwing seed upon the earth.

“A man” refers to the servants of the Lord, including the prophets as well, and also including those special ones the Lord has called for some certain job; “seed” refers to the Word of God. This verse shows that Jesus throws the seed upon the earth through His servants. The seed is the Word of the Lord in the Bible, which the Lord gives to the earth; everywhere in the earth, people have the Bible, but not everywhere people use the Word. They did not have the Bible in the past but still had the mouth to talk. In the Bible, it tells in many places to teach your children to know the deeds of the Lord. We all have the duty to tell our children about the Lord; teach them the value of the Bible; all the children should know the meaning. If we teach them to respect the Word of God, the Word itself will grow roots in them. If the children treat the Bible just as a storybook, the root will not grow deep, will have some root but not deep in the heart; that is for the spiritual world as well, if the root is not deep, when they go in the spiritual world they don’t understand as well; it is important to teach them. “Upon the ground” relates to a specific area that the servant gets the order where to go.

Part 2: (Mark 4:27). “And should sleep and rise night and day … he knows not how.” The servant, after he does the job, does not stay to watch out how the job turns out to be; he departs and goes somewhere else. The job that the servant does has no one’s guidance; the words spring out by themselves from the sowing of the servant’s job. The servant does not know how the job turns out to be, where it grows and where it doesn’t; it is the Lord’s duty to make the work grow. After the servant sows, the persons have the Bible to guide them, but not the servant to stay around to do the guidance. The guidance is in the Bible; that is why the Bible will tell you to meditate on the Word.

Part 3: (Mark 4:28). “The earth bears fruit of herself.” In this portion, it means that the persons that the servant has sown, because they did not stay idle, what has been sown in them starts to work, and those will produce the fruit of faith. The faith of the persons will grow as the persons meditate upon what has been given.

“first the blade”; this happens after faith is grown and they start to produce by going out and telling what they understand; “then the ear”; now is a time of waiting until the faith is fully grown to fill the ear; “then the full grain in the ear”; now it is the result of what comes after fully grown, good ear or withered ear, it is upon feeding from the inner meditation to feed the ear. In a person, the faith has a difficult time to grow because of so many things around, and lack of meditation makes the ear not grow well; the meditation on the Word is important for the ear to be fully grown.

Part 4: (Mark 4:29). “But when the fruit is ripe.” In this portion, remember one thing, who is the one that planned the way how it should be (when the fruit has grown to be ready)? The fruit is the gift of the Spirit; everybody has it, but different gift. When the fruit is ripe, the person who received the gift learns and accepts and knows that it is not by themselves they have it, but because of the mercy of the Lord, they have that gift.

“straightaway he puts out the sickle.” "He" in this section refers to the person who receives. Pay attention to the words “puts out”; when the Lord has given you something, take it and treasure it; the gift is not for being treated as not important. Some gift may be a small thing, even small, but it is not in the eyes of the Lord that it is small; only the human eyes think that it is small. Small little gift the Lord gives, it always has a purpose to use for glorifying the Lord, not for making for themselves to be important, but to give importance to the Lord is the purpose of that gift. Someone thinks that they deserve it, they do not deserve it, but by the mercy of the Lord, they have received that gift. So, don’t be proud of yourself; the Lord gives, but also the Lord can take away the gift, be thankful and use it in the way the Lord intends for you to use those gifts.

“because the harvest is come.” The harvest in this place refers to the time when the person who receives the gift understands the purpose of that gift; not only understands but is willing to use it according to the Lord’s will, not their own will. Watch out; many will misuse the gifts; watch out.

[To remember the person who gives, because this is talking about the gift, the common man cannot give you the gift, the servant of the Lord brings the gift and gives it.]

30 And He said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it into view?

31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the ground, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth,

32 yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the garden plants, and puts out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof.

Comments 4:30-32.  (See also Comments Matthew 13:31-32, and Comments Luke 13:18-19). This parable in Mark 4:31-32 is the same parable as the parables given in Matthew 13:31-32 and Luke 13:18-19, but it is spoken at a different time and to a different group of people.

Parable Analysis Mark 4:31-32

Part 1: (Mark 4:30-31). The kingdom of God “it is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the ground.” In this verse, also there is meaning linked to the spiritual world. The mustard seed, when it is sown down it is small; think of one seed, how many seeds that seed will make? The same as the Holy Word, small book, but how many people can read and meditate on the Word, and the faith will never stop growing on every person that reads and meditates.

“though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth.” All need to learn, when reading the Bible to meditate on the Word and do not use the worldly things to compare with spiritual things, they walk in parallel with each other; here, for example, do not think about the fact that the mustard seed may not be the smallest seed ever. Within the whole earth, what seed the Lord will use which can multiply fast? In this place, the meaning of the parable relates to growing the plant; the mustard plant it is easy to grow, fast, and efficient, spreading like wildfire. It is the same with the Bible; give one Bible to one country of the earth and see that it will grow like wildfire on that country, affecting every soul.

Part 2: (Mark 4:32). “yet when it is sown, … under the shadow thereof.” Look at the words “garden plants.” Garden plants refer to many faiths on earth, they all are a plant on earth, but the mustard plant that the Lord has picked grows bigger than them, making branches that even the birds of the air come to benefit from. The other garden plants are small and tiny; the birds of the air can’t make nests, that is why the Lord picked out the mustard plant for this parable. For us, as Christians, be likewise, look at the mustard plant, from small seed it grows and makes branches so that the birds can nest. All believers should think about that and spread out their hand; whoever comes and asks for help from you, do not deny it if you can help, but if you cannot, the Lord will provide another way.

“the birds of the heaven” here refer to all human beings.

“can lodge under the shadow thereof”; when the persons under the Lord’s protection spread out their hands to help someone, the Lord will also stretch out His hand and go along with that help.

33 And with many such parables spoke He the word to them, as they were able to hear it;

34 and without a parable spoke He not to them: but privately to His own disciples He explained all things.

Comments 4:33-34.  Q: Why did Jesus explain the parables to His disciples privately but didn’t explain them to the people? A: The verse says, “as they were able to hear it,” but not everyone’s ear is open to hearing. Thousands and thousands of people around, but how many in the thousands were able to hear? Many come with the ear that is closed; as the Bible has told in many places, you have an ear but do not hear. The voice of the Lord, people take it as a wind pass by the ear, has no meaning, but to His disciples, not just the ear that is open, but the heart of the soul has been open; in many places in the Bible has told who has ears let them hear.

35 And on that day, when evening came, He says to them, Let us go over to the other side.

36 And leaving the multitude, they take Him with them, even as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.

37 And there arises a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling.

38 And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Teacher, carest Thou not that we perish?

39 And He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And He said to them, Why are you fearful? have you not yet faith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?

Comments 4:35-41. (See also Comments Matthew 8:23-27, and Comments Luke 8:22-25). The events described in Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27, and Luke 8:22-25 are the same but different ways of presenting. Combining the words from all three Gospels, we can get a complete picture of the storm situation and what Jesus did on that day. The way of presentation in these three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the same event but different eyes of a person. Pay attention to the way each Gospel addresses the Lord; the way to address the Lord makes the presentation differently; accordingly, not only in this Bible paragraph but it is characteristic throughout the entire Gospel.

Q: What does it mean “same event but different eyes of a person” in the light of the Bible is Holy Spirit dictated? A: Even though the Holy Spirit dictated the Gospels, always the Holy Spirit gives the Gospel to be as well according to the faith of the person that writes; when writing the Gospel under the control of the Holy Spirit, each disciple’s faith will not be the same. Neither disciple has the same faith; each disciple’s faith is different, which is why the presentation comes out differently. The Holy Spirit always is looking to make the best out of each disciple; the Holy Spirit will give accordingly; if the Holy Spirit gives the same, the Bible study will not be needed. Everything has a purpose, one Holy Spirit but not the same humans. Holy Spirit dictated, it is dictated word by word, but the point of using in each Gospel is different, each Gospel book Matthew, Mark, and Luke will touch people’s hearts differently; same story, a different way of telling in each Gospel will touch people differently; that is why it becomes the Living Word, alive book that touches everyone. The person who has a chance to read the Bible will never understand what he has been reading if the heart is not open. 

Q: What is Holy Spirit dictation? A: The dictation from the Holy Spirit works directly into the person’s understanding, then that understanding will tell someone else which will go work in the heart, not as the Holy Spirit works in the understanding (for example, a person gets a word from the Holy Spirit through the gift of speaking in tongues which comes directly into the understanding of that person, the person speaks the tongue out loud and another person or the same person will get the understanding of that speaking in a tongue in the heart and mind through the Holy Spirit living inside that person).

Q: What is the difference between Holy Spirit dictation and Holy Spirit inspired? A: The difference between dictation and inspired is: dictation, the Holy Spirit works straight to give the understanding, when Holy Spirit dictated will have only one understanding; to have one understanding is when the Lord gives the understanding as well not by the person’s own understanding (for example, the writer hears or sees the word from the Holy Spirit into the mind directly, then right away the Holy Spirit that dwells inside the heart of the person will give understanding and translate that word into language); inspired, the Holy Spirit gives the understanding to convince the heart of the person, and that it becomes understanding in this way, different than what the Holy Spirit dictated (for example, the Holy Spirit that dwells inside a person’s heart will stir that person’s heart to think something and this stirring will produce understanding into the mind and language – the difference is that in this way the understanding can be influenced to some degree by the person’s feelings or other things in the person’s mind; this plays as the free will of the person – the Holy Spirit speaking into the heart doesn’t have a direct path into the mind and it can be influenced and give different meaning in the person’s mind).

Q: How does the Holy Spirit dwell inside a believer? A: Holy Spirit dwells in each believer in Jesus as well, but there is still only One Holy Spirit. Also, we should think about how big the Holy Spirit is to cover the whole earth! We are all in Him, and He is in us as well. We could think that the seed and some gift from the Holy Spirit are planted inside a believer’s heart the moment the believer accepts and invites the Lord Jesus in their heart. Both the Holy Spirit and the soul dwell in the heart of a believer; the same place overlapped but different dimensions. We could think that the heavenly dimension and earthly dimension walk in parallel through the heart of a believer. The soul is part of the earthly dimension. When the Lord gives the soul to a person, that soul becomes part of the earthly dimension. The body, the soul, and the spirit of a person coexist together as a unit; that is how the Lord built us. The breath of the Lord is complete and has both soul and spirit when He gave life to Adam (See Genesis 2:7). In the case of Holy Spirit dictation, the Holy Spirit is the giver and the receiver in the exact moment. In the case of Holy Spirit inspired, the Holy Spirit is the giver, and the soul of the believer is the receiver.   

Comparison analysis:

Part 1: (Mark 4:35-36, Matthew 8:23, Luke 8:22). “On that day, when evening came” refers to the Sabbath day, after the Sabbath day ended in the evening, and they could continue their daily activities. “Even as He was,” in this place, it means the Lord had been with people all day long, no eating, no resting, tired as He was, and they took Him as He was, hungry and tired.  “And other boats were with Him”; this refers to other people that followed Him as He sailed away; many people followed Him everywhere He would go. The main idea in all three Gospels for this part is that Jesus and His disciples got into a boat to cross to the other side of the sea, and Jesus was tired.

Part 2: (Mark 37-38, Matthew 8:24-25, Luke 8:23-24a). The main idea in this part is that the Father created the storm, Jesus was asleep, and the disciples were afraid and went as a group to awaken the Lord. The situation described in Mark is that the Father created this great windstorm with waves breaking into the boat, the Lord Jesus was tired and sleeping on a cushion in the stern, and the disciples were all frightened and went to awake the Lord. The main difference between the Gospels in this part is the way the disciples address the Lord Jesus when they go as a group to awake Him. In Mark, they call to Him “Teacher"; in Matthew, they call to Him “Save us Lord”; and in Luke, they call to Him “Master, Master.”

Q: Why do we have three different ways the disciples called to Jesus? A: Keep in mind that the disciples were all ordinary men and frightened by the storm and all rushed to look for the Lord to awake Him. Each one called to the Lord with a loud voice in their own way, and that is why each Gospel gives a different dialog to reflect that there were many ways the disciples called to the Lord; each according to their own heart, in that time what was in their heart they will address the Lord. Bring out first the definition of each name. Some called Jesus “Teacher”; in this term as accepting that the person has put the Lord above them and being below the Teacher. That is the heart of the person to accept that they are below and also accept the Lord’s teaching; to be a disciple of the Lord, you need to accept Jesus’ teaching. Some called Jesus “Lord”; when the person calls out as Lord, that person had already accepted to be a servant of the Lord Jesus; only the servant will call out right away, Lord. Some called Jesus as “Master”; the person who called the Lord Master has pronounced the Lord to be above all, and they are below, and also have shown they are willing to receive the orders from the Master; here you can use the term “listen and obey” when you call Master. To call someone God, you see the different ways; a group does not have the same words, in each Gospel pay attention to it, always one will call the Lord Jesus as Teacher, some come by and call as Master, others will always glorify and call as Lord; now is a difference in calling but no difference, since there is only one God, but for each has a different meaning. Think of yourself as well; how would you call the Lord? Think about that. The disciples come to the Lord to wake Him up as a group, and each one in the group addresses the Lord differently, one calls to Him as Teacher, one as Master and other as Lord; the Gospels, each one gives one account showing who Jesus was for His own disciples.

Part 3: (Mark 39, Matthew 8:26b, Luke 8:24b). Each Gospel gives a snapshot of the discussion between the Lord and the disciples. In each situation, the Lord teaches His disciples; all the time, the Lord will teach His disciples as a Teacher and Master, that is always teaching and ordering. The main point of this part is that Jesus is the Son of God, and He has power over nature by His Word and peace is in His Word. In Mark, we are given the Words Jesus used to calm the storm “Peace, be still!” Concentrate on these two words, peace for the whole earth and nature; when you find that peace, you will be still and waiting for the Lord's guidance. The Lord speaks in the peace of your heart; you can feel it clearer if you are still. Not just remember the words, practice as well; you never gain benefit by knowing the Word and not practicing. In this place, it tells clearly, peace be still, the Lord will not say things lightly without meaning; here is the place showing. To have peace in you, come to the Word, and you will find that peace. Not the peace of the mind alone, but the peace of the soul; you will feel it deep peace. You will know the difference, not the peace in the head but peace of the soul; everybody has that chance to feel it, but never pay attention and think of the difference that you feel. Jesus speaks to nature as well “peace,” and nature obeys, but men do not obey. In this place, it shows all humans that nature obeys suddenly, just the words come out from the mouth of the Lord, and nature obeys. The peace is in His Word; nature can find it and obey, so the men can, by obeying His Word.

Part 4: (Mark 40, Matthew 8:26a, Luke 8:25a). Q: In each Gospel, the words of the Lord are slightly different, but the meaning is the same; why the difference? A: It is slightly different because it has a reason to be; each Gospel gives a different angle for the inner soul to see. The Lord has mercy to all; the humans coming after the disciples will read each Gospel and benefit in each way differently. A slight difference in the Gospel itself makes a big difference for each person who reads it; it is purposefully different in each Gospel. Ask yourself which one is for you that touches you first, and if you ask someone else, the point of touch won’t be the same.

Q: When a Gospel quotes the words of the Lord, why are there differences in each Gospel? A: These are partial quotes, meaning that the Holy Spirit dictated the words that the Lord has spoken to each disciple in a different way; there was a long conversation, but the Holy Spirit divided the parts for each Gospel so that all Gospels will complement each other; but also, the conversation was more than it is given in all three Gospels combined, some conversation is not shared.

“Why are you fearful? have you not yet faith?” This is not a rebuke, but this is the way to make their faith grow. By confronting them, each person’s heart will search for the answer; the Lord wants to help them to lift up their faith. They may think they have faith, but can they use that faith when the situation comes? This confrontation will work in each disciple to use their faith to fight in the future; they all need this.

Part 5: (Mark 41, Matthew 8:27, Luke 8:25b). In this part, again, we have slight differences in each Gospel as per quoting the words of the disciples, but we should follow the main point for all Gospels. Look in another way; this miracle also proves to them and makes them come to accept who the Lord is, just a human or the Lord? It is a turning point for them and creates the question in them, can He be just a human? It is essential for them; they will always think as they follow Him. In their head always, He is not just a human, and that is what the Lord, in all who believe in Him, wants to see, as the disciples, in that time, have come to see who He is; even the nature obeys Him, “can He be just a human?” that all humans should think about this.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Your heart is the ground for the Word of God; come with an open and clean heart to the Word of God so you will understand the Word. 2) Show that you are a Christian and do not be ashamed to display your Bible and talk about the Word of God with others. 3) If you use the Word of God to shield your soul, the dark cannot snatch you, but when you ignore the Word, you have opened the door for the dark to come in. 4) Ask the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus to guide you in understanding about the true Bible. 5) As a Christian, spread out your hands to help someone; if you can, the Lord will also stretch out His hand and go along with that help. 6) When someone comes to the Lord, the Lord will always give a gift that you can use for serving; treasure it; the gift is not for being treated as not important; some gift may be some small thing but is not small in the eyes of the Lord, and you are called to use it. 7) The peace is in God’s Word, and nature can find it and obey, so people can find it by obeying His Word.

Mark 5

Summary. Chapter 5 clearly shows that Jesus is the God of life. He has authority and power over the unseen and seen world, and He can give faith and strength. 1) Power and authority over the unseen world: Jesus has authority over the evil spirits controlling the demon-possessed man, and He sets this man free; Jesus commands the spirit of the Jairus’ daughter to return to the body and gives life again to this girl. 2) Power and authority over the seen world: Jesus knows that a woman touched His garment in the crowd to be healed; Jesus came to fulfill the Law; He heals and cleanses the woman with the flow of blood. As Jesus heals the leprous man, the same way with the flow of blood, when the unclean touches the purer, those unclean become clean because the Law is complete in Him. 3) Jesus strengthens Jairus’ faith and the woman with the flow of blood faith by His Word: Jesus tells Jairus when bad news and fear came to him, “Do not fear only believe”; in the same way, He tells the woman when she was afraid to come forth: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.”

1 And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.

2 And when He was come out of the boat, straightaway there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

3 who had his dwelling in the tombs: and no man could any more bind him, no, not with a chain;

4 because that he had been often bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces: and no man had strength to tame him.

5 And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones.

6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him;

7 and crying out with a loud voice, he says, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure Thee by God, torment me not.

8 For He said to him, Come out, you unclean spirit, out of the man.

9 And He asked him, What is your name? And he says to Him, My name is Legion; for we are many.

10 And he begged Him much that He would not send them away out of the country.

11 Now there was there on the mountain side a great herd of swine feeding.

12 And they begged Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

13 And He gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed down the steep into the sea, in number about two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea.

Comments 5:1-13:  Event Analysis

Part1: (Mark 5:1). There are two similar things happening in the region of Gadarenes (See Comments Matthew 8:28-34), but the healings in Matthew 8:28-34 and Mark 5:1-20 are not the same, different towns. The healing case described in Mark 5:1-20 is the same healing case with Luke 8:26-40 but not the same healing case with Matthew 8:28-34. Gerasenes here refers to a village name. If you read these passages by yourself, you can tell the difference. Take and read in Matthew the story and compare verse by verse with Mark and Luke, then you notice the difference, not the same time and not the same case.

Part 2: (Mark 5:2-4). Here pay attention to the words, “and no man had strength to tame him.” Now, the Bible plainly tells that humans try to tame the dark side's power, but how can humans fight the dark with man's power? If men come and ask the help from the Lord, that is the right way to do it; not humans who fight, but the Lord who has conquered the unseen world has already won the fight. Therefore, humans should come to the One that has already put the dark side under His feet. The Bible clearly tells already where the shelter is, which can cover not just the body but also the soul. Come under the shadow of the Lord and worship the mighty Lord; you already have the King of all above you, come to your King.

Q: Do we encounter these cases in our times? A: It is still evil in the world, but it is not the evil which has the power to enter humans, the evil that possesses, that enter in the body; they are not allowed to do that anymore; it is over. Nowadays, it is not possessed anymore but by make-belief and imagination. The possessed in this way, as described herein Mark, has stopped with the Holy Spirit coming down on earth, but people still make-belief. When the body weakens, people try to go in the old way of their belief in the dark and call the dark to come down to them; when the faith is weak, it drags the body to be weak as well. Remember, the Bible tells clearly that the Holy Spirit covers the whole earth. The dark doesn’t come out, but humans disobey and keep calling the dark to come out for them; when they come out, they harm humans (these days, there is a dark influence because of human seeking, but not possessed anymore as described in these verses). When people do not come out to the Lord, they seek human wisdom, but how can that human wisdom help them? They fabricate a make-belief story, this one and that one, and try to solve the problem without the help of the Lord, which will not work. When they couldn’t help, they declare that the person has a disability and needs human’s help, but that sickness happens from their own dark of their heart themselves. The areas where happens nowadays, go and look, where they reject the Holy God and keep worshiping the dark; that is why we keep hearing things, but it is make-belief that destroys their own body but not the power of the dark. The power of the dark ended with the Lord Jesus' crucifixion on the cross, the Holy Spirit came and covers the earth; only the dark side of the mind still does harm.

Part 3: (Mark 5:5). This portion of the Bible has told humans that the action of the dark side is only to harm themselves and others but can never be able to do good to anyone; now we see clearly the dark only wants to torture the humans, cut themselves with stones, but the Lord never harms anyone’s body. Everywhere in the Bible, the Lord always heals the sickness of the body, never hurts anyone’s body, but the dark does that. A clear picture of the dark action is here, but humans ignore the torturing of what the dark does to the body.

About Tattooing. For example, when humans tattoo, that is the work of the dark expression of control. The Lord created the human body in His image; why do humans find ways to harm their bodies? Come and appreciate the Creator, and do not destroy His work. When a human is born, go and touch a baby's body, smooth and gentle, that is the Lord's passion in humans. The purpose of the dark is to destroy God’s creation, and they will always try to harm humans. When you tattoo yourself, you are not following God’s will for your body. If you disrespect the work of the Lord, you disrespect the One who created humans. The One who created humans did not put tattoos on the person, but humans used their own minds to do it. Oh, but I did put a Bible verse on the skin, they say, but it does not need to be on the skin but on the heart. Many who call themselves believers do not respect the One who created them; those are blind, not the eyes, but the heart that is blind. They are not blind with the eyes, but the heart is blind, and they blaspheme the work of the Father Himself. Those who do that have no respect for the Father Himself, which is blasphemy against the Father. Humans have been doing this for so long; even the Holy Spirit has talked in their heart to doubt that action, but that person chooses to ignore that voice and then commit the great sin of blasphemy against the Father.

Part 4: (Mark 5:6-8). Here the person is under the control of the dark; the demon himself is talking; pay attention to the verses. The person himself does not know the Lord, the dark themselves know who is above them, that is why they are coming to worship the Lord. Also, here it has shown clearly that Jesus is not only the Lord of the humans, but the Lord of the unseen world as well, and here is the place to confirm this, they come and worship the Lord.

Part 5: (Mark 5:9-13). Notice that here Jesus asks the name, and you should think why the Lord asked the name. The Lord is the God of all, and He has seen the unseen world as well; humans would not notice that more than one spirit has occurred here, but the Lord did. The main thing to notice here is the name and that the evil answered “we,” not one that is happening here, more than one. Why has the Lord sent them to the pigs? Here the answer is that some animals are easy for the dark side to enter and use to gain control. [There in the dark world, the dark may have power, but in the human world, it is only in the Lord’s will. The Lord has the will for all living humans. Suppose the dark wants to have power over the humans. In that case, they have to possess the human, but since the Lord Jesus has been crucified that power does no longer exist, the dark cannot possess the humans; the Holy Spirit is a shield covering the whole earth, and only the make-belief mind of humans is the one that can harm themselves].

14 And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they came to see what it was that had come to pass.

15 And they come to Jesus, and saw him that was possessed with demons sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even him that had the legion: and they were afraid.

16 And they that saw it declared to them how it happened to him that was possessed with demons, and concerning the swine.

Comments 5:14-16. In this portion of Scripture, most people have a problem; why did the Lord put the evil spirit into the pigs when the pigs belonged to someone else? But no one ever thinks about what is more valuable, the man’s soul or the pigs? People debate this, but they never think what it is important; notice the number of animals used to save one soul, a considerable amount of animal souls (or spirit of living, only humans can have a soul), yet not worth more than one human soul. Also, notice that the evil cannot just enter the animals; they have no power to enter; the verse has told clearly that they asked permission and the Lord allowed it.

17 And they began to beg Him to depart from their borders.

Comments 5:17. Fear plays a big role here; fear makes people do things.

18 And as He was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with demons begged Him that he might be with Him.

19 And He allowed him not, but says to him, Go to your house to your friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.

20 And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men marveled.

Comments 5:18-20. Q: How did this man know the Gospel? A: The man just needs to tell about his healing, as it shows here. Because in that area, people had known the man as a person that has been possessed, but by himself, he goes to show that he is healed, that is the good news for people. So, he does not need to talk much; he needs just to spread the truth about the Lord’s authority.

21 And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a great multitude was gathered unto Him; and He was by the sea.

22 And there comes one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing Him, he falls at His feet,

23 and begs Him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death: I pray Thee, that Thou come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be made whole, and live.

24 And He went with him; and a great multitude followed Him, and they thronged Him.

25 And a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years,

26 and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew worse,

27 having heard the things concerning Jesus, came in the crowd behind, and touched His garment.

28 For she said, If I touch but His garments, I shall be made whole.

29 And straightaway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague.

30 And straightaway Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, He turned round about in the crowd, and said, Who touched My garments?

31 And His disciples said unto Him, Thou see the multitude thronging Thee, and say Thou, Who touched Me?

32 And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth.

34 And He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your plague.

Comments 5:25-34. (See also Comments Matthew 9:20-23, and Comments Luke 8:43-48). The healing of the woman with the discharge of blood is given in these passages in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. All three Gospels have one thing in common: the woman's faith; this here, you can call as blind faith. Things that happened to her for a long time, she saw many doctors, but by hearing about the Lord, her heart has come to faith in Jesus. People nowadays should take her as an example, hearing the Word and believing completely as this woman has faith too by the hearing. Note that the healing of this woman is very brief in Matthew, but more details are given in Mark and Luke. But also remember that all three Gospels give one thing: by Jesus’ Word alone, this woman has received mercy, but the details could be different. The Holy Spirit dictated the Word, but the purpose of each Gospel will be used in varying levels of faith; brief in Matthew but more details in another Gospel, but all give one meaning.  

Comparison Analysis

Part 1: (Mark 5:25-26, Matthew 9:20a, Luke 8:43). All three Gospels show that this woman had a “discharge of blood for twelve years.” She spent all that she had with physicians but grew worse. In this part, it tells clearly that the person has been sick for a long time and had lost all her hope of being healed; the verses tell clearly her situation. By the old law, if you are unclean, you must publicly tell that you are unclean, and people can avoid you (See Leviticus 15:25-26); if you do not disclose, you can be punished because you will make someone else unclean.

Part 2: (Mark 5:27-28, Matthew 9:20b -21, Luke 8:44a). In this part, the Gospels tell that this woman heard the reports about Jesus, came behind Jesus in the crowd, and touched His garment. Here all Gospels tell plainly that by hearing the news about the Lord, her heart was moved; by hearing, have faith. This is the first step for all humans, should be the same, by hearing have faith. Nowadays, all have heard from the Bible what the Lord has done. By hearing no one has the argument, I don’t believe; because your ear has heard the good news, but you did not open your heart to take the words. This woman will be the one that will accuse you in the end; by hearing she has faith, she heard only people talk. But nowadays, we have the Holy Word, and you don’t believe, that will be the judgment for nowadays people.

Part 3: (Mark 5:29, Luke 8:44b). This part shows that the woman was healed instantly just by touching the Lord’s garments.

Part 4: (Mark 5:30-32, Luke 8:45-46). In this part, key points are that Jesus knew that someone touched Him for the purpose of healing and that power has gone out of Him. Q: What does it mean that “perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth”? A: This case is a different case; the Lord knows this power goes out only for those who believe; the power of healing is given only to those that believe. This is the place to confirm, those who have faith and believe will receive mercy.

Part 5: (Mark 5:33-34, Matthew 9:22, Luke 8:47-48). Q: Why did this woman not go straight to Jesus and tell from the beginning about her sickness? A: About this question, think of human shame. Fear has controlled her, many people have surrounded the Lord, and if she has to be in front of them, everybody will hear her what sickness she has. Shame has blinded her; in that time, if people know, she will be kicked out from among people, that is why she came behind quietly.

Here the woman is healed, no fear left, just has to follow the Law and complete the law requirements for being clean; many, many laws refer to when a person is unclean. For the eyes of the humans, she needs to do the ceremonial laws, but spiritually she needs to learn that Jesus is the Law. She needs to learn that by the Lord, those laws are complete in Him; if the Lord has said that she is clean, she is clean; and people around must learn that she is clean by His Word. Here is the confirmation that the Lord can clean by His Word, that He is completing the Law for humans; in Him alone, the Law is complete.

35 While He yet spoke, they come from the ruler of the synagogue's house saying, Your daughter is dead: why trouble you the Teacher any further?

36 But Jesus, not heeding the word spoken, says to the ruler of the synagogue, Fear not, only believe.

37 And He allowed no person to follow with Him, except Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

38 And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and He beholds a multitude, and many weeping and wailing greatly.

39 And when He was entered in, He says to them, Why make you a commotion, and weep? the child is not dead, but sleeps.

40 And they laughed Him to scorn. But He, having put them all out, takes the father of the child and her mother and them that were with Him, and goes in where the child was.

41 And taking the child by the hand, He says to her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say to you, Arise.

42 And straightaway the damsel rose up, and walked; for she was twelve years old. And they were amazed [] with a great amazement.

43 And He charged them much that no person should know this: and He commanded that something should be given her to eat.

Comments Mark 5:21-43. (See also Comments Matthew 9:18-26, and Comments Luke 8:40-56). The healing events described in Mark 5:21-43, Matthew 9:18-26, and Luke 8:41-56 are the same events happening by the Sea of Galilee.

Comparison Analysis: Mark 5:21-24 and Mark 5:35-43

Part 1: (Mark 5:21-22a, Matthew 9:18a, Luke 8:40-41a). This part tells that Jesus returned again to the Galilean side of the sea, back and forth, for the Lord has done this trip many times; otherwise, it will not use the term again. This person (Jairus) has wholly believed in Jesus; his own daughter is sick, but he believes and comes and seeks the Lord’s help. As parents think of him, the Lord has mercy on him for his heart that seeks the Lord.

Part 2: (Mark 5:22b-24, Matthew 9:18b-19, Luke 8:41b-42). Just in a short period of time, both have happened; Jairus comes first with the news, "My little daughter is at the point of death" (Mark 5:23 and Luke 8:42), and then comes back with the statement, "My daughter is even now dead" (Matthew 9:18); but he still is asking the Lord to go there and heal her, that is the faith he has. The events leading to Jairus’ daughter’s healing and the dialog between Jesus and Jairus and the woman healed by the flow of blood are not given in chronological order in Matthew. There is a gap of time between Mark 5:23-24 and Matthew 9:18b-19. Matthew, Mark, and Luke sometimes overlap each other. One Gospel will pick from the point of nonoverlap, the other Gospel might select from the point of overlap, and sometimes you will find events overcrossing each other. Still, even overcrossing each other, they will never be against each other. These three Gospels present events in a different way only, each has a point of view that is connected with each other, but a different angle of looking, but all have the same main point together. That is why all Gospels have been given through the Holy Spirit; three Gospels will tell from a different angle but come and meet with the main point as one; by His mercy and authority, the Lord has done all this.

Part 3: (Mark 5:35, Matthew 9:18, Luke 8:49). This portion of Scripture clearly shows the picture of things happening. The parent has come, the people have come, now the crossing point will be to connect between what is happening. Really, Matthew 9:18a (“While He spoke these things to them, behold, there came a ruler, and worshipped Him, saying, My daughter is even now dead”) is happening at the same time with Mark 5:35 (“While He yet spoke, they come from the ruler of the synagogue's house saying, Your daughter is dead: why trouble you the Teacher any further?”). And Matthew 9:18b (“but come and lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live”) is happening at the same time with Mark 5:23b (“I pray Thee, that Thou come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be made whole, and live”). This request Jairus said it once only at his first coming to the Lord when he told Jesus in Mark 5:23 that his daughter is at a point of death. So here we have an overcrossing in the middle of a verse (Matthew 9:18). The invitation was spoken only once, but Jairus came and knelt two times. First, Jairus said, “point of death," and he made the invitation to the Lord, but the people that came after said the child has died, and Jairus repeats to the Lord again as given in Matthew 9:18a that his daughter has just died, and he is afraid. When he talked at first with the Lord, before people told him, it was with different words.

Part 4: (Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50). The response of Jesus to Jairus after he received the news from the people is given only in Mark and Luke. This part links with the comment from Part 3, which indicates that Jairus asked once that the Lord come and lay His hands on the girl that she may be made whole and live. Because he heard many things in his head, at this point, Jesus is strengthening Jairus’ faith in believing by the word the Lord used “fear not, only believe,” and it solved the problem he had. Now in his heart, he has developed peace because of hearing the word the Lord has spoken; peace has come in Jairus’ heart; “fear not” is the term the Lord has used, and that has given him peace.

Part 5: (Mark 5:37-39,40b, Matthew 9:23-24a, Luke 8:51-52). The main point in this part in all three Gospels is that the Lord sends the mourners away and tells them that “the child is not dead, but sleeps.” This is the key to this event; the girl is not dead but sleeping. All the people have seen her, and all have one thing in common, she is dead, but the Lord wants to make sure they will see the result of what the Lord will do for the girl. All of them will see only the result; that is why He sent all of them out, only three disciples were with Him and the parents (Jesus does not need their witness for His actions, they will see the result coming). This girl was in a coma, which is why the Lord says she is not dead but sleeping.

Q: Why was only Peter and James and John permitted to witness this girl's healing? A: These three disciples need to witness this activity because they will face challenges as they go doing the Lord’s work after the Lord departs.

Part 6: (Mark 5:40a, Matthew 9:24b, Luke 8:53). The key point of this part is that the people “laughed at Jesus” because He said that the girl was not dead but sleeping. In this place, we see clearly that humans do not believe unless a miracle has been performed in front of them. But the parents of the child have faith and belief; the miracle is performed for them to have stronger faith inside them. The people around are an obstacle to the faith even nowadays. Miracles are not performed nowadays because of the same actions happening, people losing faith because someone has made fun of the way the person believes and makes the heart of that person not firm. The Son of God has come to help all humans, but He has received treatment that normal humans cannot take it. As He goes by, people are pointing out to Him; He has been as a laughing stock for them; that is what humans have done to the Son of God. But the Lord has not given up on humans; He is still calling all to come and rise up in faith as the verse has told, just believe.  People involved here in this event are the disciples, the parents, the crowd following Jesus, and the people at the house.

Part 7: (Mark 5:41-43, Matthew 9: 25-26, Luke 8:54-56). This part shows how the Lord healed this girl by commanding her by His Word to “arise.” The word "arise" itself has two meanings, arise in the human body and arise in spiritual meaning. The spirit has returned to the body as shown in Luke 8:55 and received the order arise in both the body and the soul to be alive again. The reason the Lord said that the girl was sleeping and not dead, but in a coma, was because the soul did not leave the body yet, only the spirit left (See Matthew 9:25 Comments). And when the Lord commanded the girl to arise, her spirit returned and joined the body and the soul as given in Luke 8:55 (“And her spirit returned and she got up at once”).

Jesus’ words in Luke 8:54 are given as “Child arise” and in Mark 5:41 as “Talitha cumi” (meaning “Damsel, I say to you, Arise”). In Mark, the Lord said “Talitha cumi” as a command, not telling; He used this command in this place, not just only for the human body alone but for the soul as well; they both have to join and rise up. Luke gave the translation of the command straight from the Lord, and Mark received the command and the translation.

Q: What does it mean “He charged them much that no person should know this”? A: Here, He charged the parents not to tell anybody what really had happened; what exactly the Lord did, it will not be revealed beyond as written in the Bible.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The woman in this chapter believed in Jesus by hearing about Him. In the same way, we should be stirred to read the Bible when we hear about Jesus and believe by reading; develop strong faith by meditating on the Living Word of God. 2) People around are obstacles to the faith, do not listen to people, but keep our eyes on Jesus, who is our Lord of life. 3) Tell others what Jesus did for you because when we tell people about the Lord, we strengthen ourselves and the person who hears. 4) Do not look down on anyone; as shown in this chapter, the Lord has come for all.

Mark 6

Summary. The overall theme of Chapter 6 is that Jesus has authority over life and nature. In this chapter, Jesus interacts with many people and with His disciples. We can summarize the events presented in Chapter 6 by grouping them into four categories. 1) Showing what the Lord has done: Jesus goes to Nazareth, and He encounters rejection from the people of His own town; Jesus sends the twelve apostles in groups of two to minister in the villages ahead of His traveling schedule; Jesus teaches the multitudes and heals them and feeds them showing mercy and showing that He has authority over life on earth; Jesus walks on water to teach the disciples about His authority over nature. 2) Showing situations the disciples have encountered: to be humble to all, don’t lift themselves above anyone; they witness the feeding of the multitudes; they go by boat ahead of Jesus and are caught in a sea storm. 3) Showing the relationship between the disciples and the Lord: the disciples learn to listen and obey (they go to minister as being sent out; they return and report to the Lord about their ministry; they go to the desolate place to rest; they feed the multitudes; they go on the boat to the other side); the disciples learn that Jesus has power and authority (Jesus multiplies five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed immense multitudes; Jesus calms the storm). 4) John has touched many hearts in that time because of the way he lived and the message that he proclaimed: John has prepared the human heart to accept the Lord; he always talked about the One who is to come.

1 And He went out from there; and He comes into His own country; and His disciples follow Him.

2 And when the Sabbath was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From where has this Man these things? and, What is the wisdom that is given unto this Man, and what mean such mighty works done by His hands?

3 Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended in Him.

Comments Mark 6:3. This verse shows that Jesus is a carpenter because Joseph is a carpenter (See Matthew 13:55), and that is why He got the same trade as His earthly caretaker. Jesus worked as a carpenter with Joseph before He started His ministry on earth, and people in His hometown know Him as a carpenter. Jesus worked with His hands, and this is an example for humans. If the Lord has worked with His hands, why do humans try to find the way not to work, but see the sample, the Son of God is a carpenter by trade. (See Comments Matthew 13:54-56).

4 And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

5 And He could there do no mighty work, except that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. And He went around the villages teaching.

Comments Mark 6:1-6. (See also Comments Matthew 13:54-58). Matthew 13:54-58 and Mark 6:1-6 present the same events happening at the same time, but Luke 4:16-30 presents different time events. As it is written, in His own town, Jesus has been rejected many, many times. They did not look to Him but His earthly family. By human eyes, Jesus walked parallel with His early family; human eyes do not see the mighty works Jesus did without their own thinking (criticism). They cannot accept an ordinary man, as they see Jesus, do mighty works as He is doing. The question arises in human hearts “is this the same person they know?” This way humans try to put out (spread), is not the same man they know; if it is the same man, what about His family; the concern of His earthly family, thinking of Him who grew up together with them, this is the human thought. Regardless of how many mighty works Jesus will do, the doubt is in their heart and soul, the question will always arise, between Him and the earthy family will not be able to separate in human eyes. What His earthly family will be doing, He must take the responsibility, but they don’t look at Him as His own to be different and special. Even now is the same; people read the Bible and think the same way; why His earthly family is in that way, but He is separated out and is different; from a low-level family; how can He rise up to be a teacher? Now and then, there is no difference in how people think, and that is why these days, many people come up with the idea that the Bible is a manmade book. But the Lord will not hide the truth about the way of the things (regarding His earthly family). But if it is by human, the book will praise the Lord in different levels of human; He does not have to be born in a poor family. We can say a narrow mind makes wisdom be limited [the idea is that if humans chose a savior, they would make him be born in a rich family, be successful on earthly things]. But, because for the Father Himself, the level of humans, rich or poor, has no meaning, and the way the Lord to be born is to save all humans from below to up, that is why the Lord came in a low-level family. The earthly treasures are not things that lift the Lord in any way. If the Lord has been born in a king family, the humans will not have the cross to save them; that is why it is this way.

7 And He calls to Him the twelve, and began to send them out by two and two; and He gave them authority over the unclean spirits;

8 and He charged them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only; no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse;

9 but to go wearing sandals: and, said He, put not on two coats.

10 And He said to them, Whenever you enter into a house, there remain until you depart from there.

11 And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not, as you go out from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony to them.

12 And they went out, and preached that people should repent.

13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

Comments Mark 6:7-13. (See also Comments Matthew 10: 5-14, and Comments Luke 9:1-6). Reading these portions of Scripture, we can say that the event described herein Mark 6:7-13 is different from the events described in Matthew 10:5-14 and Luke 9:1-6.

Q: Did the Lord send His disciples out to minister more than once? A: As time goes by, the Lord has sent the disciples according to the traveling time of the Lord. The Lord will send the disciples out sometimes in many directions to prepare the people that the Lord is coming. The Lord will send the disciple out to prepare the way and also announce the coming of the Lord. Because the time is short, that is why the Lord used the disciples to go ahead to make the time be useful; that is the way the Lord has done.

Q: Did the Lord give them similar instructions every time they went out? A: Always, the Lord will give the same instructions to the disciples regarding how to go out and what they should announce to people. The Lord wants them to prepare the people. Always the instructions will be the same, to tell all people that the Lord is coming, be ready and come to meet the Lord; come with a sincere heart and it does not need to bring anything, just come as you are with honest heart; the Lord has come for humans, come to the Lord. So, all the disciples will go and prepare the people to announce the good news and make people be alert and be ready to meet the Lord.

Event Analysis

Mark 6:7. Notice the term of using “by two and two,” the disciples are not ready to be alone, to go out in the world alone; they are not ready yet; going with another disciple can help one another. As the Lord creates the situation, another voice that comes together will help both go until the end of the work. Even nowadays, the Lord will not send one to go alone and get lost in the world; always the Lord will have someone else to help; they go out, and they will meet someone that the Lord brings to meet, and both will do work together, not as a personal relationship, but as personal workers of the Lord. At that time, life was difficult, and traveling in pairs was better than alone; it strengthened each other. Even these days, the Lord will not advise anyone to go out and do things alone; always He will send out to meet someone. 

Q: Did the disciples lose their authority given to them by the Lord after they finished their work? A: This authority will not stay forever; they only retain it during the work period. When the work has ended, the authority given will return to the Lord; and the disciples know that it is not their own power but by the mercy of the Lord. In this way, security is in their heart that they are not alone; the Lord always is with them; as they go and do work, their faith will grow, and they will learn to trust in the Lord. Every time the Lord sends the disciples out, He gives them the authority they need.

Mark 6:8-9. As you just read, Mark and Matthew differ only one thing, wear sandals and not wear shoes. You can see clearly that the sending out of the disciples happened not only once, so that is not only one time that the Lord sent the disciples ahead of Him. But, also, the Lord wants people to see the disciples humble the way it should be. If the disciples go and make themselves look luxurious, what would people expect to receive, outside blessing or internal blessing? (See also Matthew 10:9-10 Comments).

Q: Why is it advised in Mark to wear sandals, and in Matthew, it says do not wear shoes? A: Because one it walks straightway (on dirt and rocky roads), another walks more distance (through hills and forests). If you just walk the straight way, you have limited people you meet, but the one that He sends around will go around villages as well. So, on the path that they take they were advised to take sandals, walk on the road or walk in the forest, because in the bush there are thorns you need to wear something, on the path there are just rocks and dirt, they can walk without shoes or sandals.

Mark 6:10-11. Here it shows clearly, that people will invite the disciples; when you receive the invitation, stay there until the work is done, do not walk from house to house. If the person has invited you in, the Lord has already opened their hearts to receive the word you will tell. If the house does not accept the word, depart and do not return; pay attention to, they did not receive the word, the worries of life make the voice of the Lord not fruitful. Don’t take responsibility because you already told the good news; your duty has ended, but they did not receive it.

Mark 6:11-13. These verses tell that the fruit has grown in someplace, and in another place, the fruit has withered; both places have received the fruit, but the difference is there, the Lord has given you eyes to see where the fruit has produced, according to the verse.

14 And king Herod heard thereof; for His name had become known: and he said, John the Baptizer is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in Him.

15 But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets.

16 But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen.

17 For Herod himself had sent out and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.

18 For John said to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.

19 And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; and she could not;

20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly.

21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee;

22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and them that sat at the food table with him; and the king said to the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever you will, and I will give it you.

23 And he swore to her, Whatsoever you will ask of me, I will give it you, to the half of my kingdom.

24 And she went out, and said to her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptizer.

25 And she came in straightaway with haste to the king, and asked, saying, I will that you at once give me on a platter the head of John the Baptist.

26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at the food table, he would not reject her.

27 And straightaway the king sent out a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother.

29 And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

Comments Mark 6:14-29. (See also Comments Matthew 14:1-12, and Comments Luke 9:7-9). Matthew and Mark support each other for these portions of Scripture. See comments posted for Matthew 14:1-12. John has touched many hearts in that time because of the way he lived and the message that he proclaimed; no one else has come to proclaim the same message as John did. John has prepared the human hearts to accept the Lord; he always talked about the One who is to come; that is the message of John. The people and the disciples have seen who John is for the Lord; when Jesus heard about the death of John, He went to a desolate place (See Comments Matthew 14:13).

30 And the apostles gather themselves together unto Jesus; and they told Him all things, whatsoever they had done, and whatsoever they had instructed.

31 And He says to them, Come you yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

32 And they went away in the boat to a desert place apart.

33 And the people saw them going, and many knew them, and they ran together there on foot from all the cities, and outwent them.

34 And He came forth and saw a great multitude, and He had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and He began to teach them many things.

35 And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came unto Him, and said, The place is desert, and the day is now far spent;

36 send them away, that they may go into the country and villages around, and buy themselves somewhat to eat.

37 But He answered and said to them, Give you them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them to eat?

38 And He says to them, How many loaves have you? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

39 And He commanded them that all should sit down by companies upon the green grass.

40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

41 And He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and broke the loaves; and He gave to the disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

42 And they all ate, and were filled.

43 And they took up broken pieces, twelve basketfuls, and also of the fishes.

44 And they that ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Comments Mark 6:30-44. (See also Comments Matthew 14:13-21, Comments Luke 9:10-17, and Comments John 6:1-13).

Q: Is the feeding of 5,000 presented in these passages of Scripture one feeding event? A: There are two feeding events described in these passages, one distinct feeding described in Mark 6:30-44, Matthew 14:13-21 and Luke 9:10-17, and the other distinct feeding described in John 6:1-13. We can tell the difference of the place; two different places, not the same.

Q: The problem with the two feedings is that there were about 5,000 men each time, plus we have the same situation with five loaves and two fishes, and the twelve baskets left over; so how do we explain this similarity of numbers? A: The Gospel that uses the term men and people (See John 6:10 ESV), that is the point of separation; when say people it includes men and woman, but when saying men, it is just men counting and then will include woman and children later, use that as a point to notice. The 5,000 is also just an approximate number.

Q: Do all translations use men? A: Because we didn’t know how to search, but it does not mean it is not there. It has been fighting for many things; even what it says clearly, 5,000 against 4,000, it is still being debated, and now we come with one more extra feeding event. Just the way humans look over the information, but it does not mean it is not there; you must open your eyes and heart at the same time.

Matthew 14:21 versus John 6:10 are the separating verses as per the number of people. From Matthew 14:21, we can conclude that at the first feeding area (See Map Jesus’ Travel), there were about “five thousand men besides women and children.” And from John 6:10, we can conclude that at the second feeding area (See Map Jesus’ Travel), there were about five thousand people. It is believed that when John 6:10 (ASVh) says, “make the people sit down,” and then, “the men sat down,” both refer to the same amount of people. In John 6:10, people and men are one in God’s eyes.

Mark 6:30-31. (Mark 6:30-31, Luke 9:10, John 6:1-2). Timewise the feeding described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke occurs after the apostles return from their sending out (See Mark 6:7-13). Pay attention to the word return; are they returning alone, or are people following as well? This part will be able to link why we have two feedings. The people that were before (following the disciples, See Mark 6:31) and the people that followed Jesus (See John 6:2) and came later, makes it become two groups of people; the first feeding group moves further, and the second group is coming to go to the second feeding event. That is why we have two feedings, but the Bible has put them together, but we can separate the situation into two times by these verses. Remember also that we have another group before the disciples returned, making two distinct groups of people, the group that was there before the disciples returned to whom Jesus ministered and did miracles, and the group that followed the disciples. As a group of people moved in, it will push another group to move further, so the group that comes after does not know what happened to another group, it starts the new group; that is why the Bible will tell the Lord has never stopped working, people come in and go out at all times.

Also, pay attention in John 6:1 to the words “after this,” which tells that something else happened before; the events in John 6:1-15 happened after the events described in Mark 6:30-44, Matthew 14:13-21, and Luke 9:10-17, and we can understand that there were two distinct groups of people that were fed. Imagine also the picture; these two feedings cannot be far apart. As the second group comes, it pushes the first group further, and it comes almost the same place as the first group being there, but still a little gap of space and time between these two feedings. That is why it has become the Gospel of each individual (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John); Matthew has done his portion, Mark and Luke also did their portion, and John has come to do his part to make the Bible complete. Some put their heart on one Gospel, others put their heart in another Gospel, but both of these have to learn to combine all Gospels because the Bible is one only; it may have many Gospels, but still, one Bible and all can be connected together, with One Spirit it has branches to many writers. 

Mark 6:32. (Mark 6:32, Matthew 14:13, Luke 9:10-11). Combining the events from Mark, Matthew, and Luke, we understand that Jesus meets all the disciples after they come together to Him to report “all that they have done and taught” (See Mark 6:30) after Jesus sent them out two by two to minister in the surrounding villages (See Mark 6:7-13). Then Jesus and the disciples went separate ways: 1) the disciples go by boat by themselves “to a desolate place to rest a while” (See Mark 6:31-32); the Lord tells them to separate themselves from the people that followed them and go by themselves; 2) Jesus goes apart by Himself to a town called Bethsaida where He welcomes the people and teaches and heals them (See Luke 9:10-11); “and He took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida” meaning that He took them away from people as shown in Mark and He withdrew apart. Afterward, Jesus hears about John’s death (See Matthew 14:1-12); when Jesus heard about John’s death, He withdrew from Bethsaida “in a boat to a desolate place by Himself” (no people) (See Matthew 14:13). Some people followed Jesus on foot, and others followed the disciples, and a big group of people went to this desolate place where the feeding of the first group of “about 5,000 men besides women and children” took place.

Comparison Analysis (See Map of Jesus’ Travel for this chapter)

Part 1: (Mark 6:30-35, Matthew 14:13-15, Luke 9:10-12). In this part, we have the events prior to the first feeding of 5,000. To better understand these portions of Scripture, we show a time map with the order of verses from the three Gospels.

1). Mark 6:30 and Luke 9:10a happen at the same time; here Jesus and all the apostles are together somewhere nearby Bethsaida. The events in Mark and Luke start from the point when all the apostles returned to Jesus from their sending out.

2). Mark 6:31 shows that many people were coming and going, and the Lord instructs the disciples to go by themselves “to a desolate place and rest awhile.”

3). Mark 6:32 and Luke 9:10ba (“And He took them”) happen at the same time; here, it shows that the disciples go by themselves to the desolate place by boat. Luke 9:10ba (“And He took them”), which really means that Jesus took them (the disciples) away from the crowd since many were following them.”

4). Luke 9:10b (“and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida”), which really means that Jesus separated from the disciples and went to Bethsaida.

5). Mark 6:33 shows that there is a group of people that follow the disciples on foot to the desolate place.

6). Luke 9:11 shows that a group of people follow Jesus at Bethsaida, and at Bethsaida, Jesus teaches these people and heals their sick.

7). Matthew 14:13a shows that Jesus hears about John’s death. Matthew now starts to report the events from this point in time.

8). Matthew 14:13b shows that after Jesus hears about John’s death, He leaves Bethsaida and goes by Himself to a desolate place (where the disciples went before) by boat, and a group of people followed Jesus by foot.

9). Mark 6:34 and Matthew 14:14 happen at the same time, and it shows that Jesus goes ashore and sees a large group of people waiting (the group that followed the disciples and the group that followed Jesus). 

10). Luke 9:11 compresses the events and refers to both places (Bethsaida and the shore place) where it shows that people follow Jesus, and He teaches the people and heals them. Notice that Bethsaida was close to the desolate place; Jesus did healing and teaching at both points, which are close to each other, space-wise and time-wise. Luke reports just the teaching and healing up to this point.

11). Mark 6:35, Matthew 14:15, Luke 9:12. This is where all three Gospels are synchronized in time and space; they all are in the same spot at the desolate place and in the evening before the Passover begins.

Part 2. (Mark 6:35-37, Matthew 14:15-16, Luke 9:12-13). The day had ended, the people who stayed there needed provisions; now it is when the Lord is concerned for the people who stayed around, not for the people who had already left. The area where they were, was not easy to find people there; it is a desolate area.

Continuing with the verses time map, we can follow the events from all three Gospels.

1). Mark 6:35-36, Matthew 14:15, Luke 9:12. All these verses show that the day ended, and the disciples came to the Lord to ask Him to send the people away. Now we notice how the disciples think, the human mind's thought, the time is late, let the people go, and they can do something for themselves. But they did not think about the number of people there, where they could go to find food and a place to lodge in this desolate place. This is because the disciples are common men, and they think humans have a limit for this amount of people to provide for them; when they cannot do it themselves, they ship them away, but the Lord thinks of the people first. The Lord thinks how they shall be fed, the old and the young are in the Lord’s concern, that is why the Lord tells the disciples you feed them, to bring the disciples mind back to themselves and think of their duty as well; as a disciple, you have a responsibility towards people.

2). Mark 6:37a, Matthew 14:16, Luke 9:13a. All these portions of Scriptures show that the Lord Jesus tells His disciples that the people “need not go away” and the disciples should “give them something to eat.”

3). Mark 6:37b. This portion of the verse shows that the disciples are confused and believe that they need to buy food for all these people. Before they know how much food they have, they are concerned about how they will get food. The 200 denarii is a large amount of money for the disciples. When the Lord traveled with them, they did not carry money, and to go and buy food is not for them to think because they know they don’t have money. Here the disciples see in a limited view; they think only what is in front of them; that amount of money, none of them carry, is significant for ordinary men; the concern has come to the disciples. When the disciples said this, they said to show that they do not have money to buy food and remind the Lord that none disciple has money.

Part 3. (Mark 6:38, Matthew 14:17-18, Luke 14:13b). In this part, the Lord teaches the disciples not to worry and use what they have to feed the people and bring all the problems to the Lord before worrying about something.

The verses time map for this part continues:

1). Mark 6:38a. This portion of verse shows that the Lord asks the disciples to go and see how many loaves of bread they have. Also, the Lord wants them to think first about what you have in your hand, know what you have before worry for what you don’t have; here is a teaching for the disciples.

2). Mark 6:38b, Matthew 14:17, Luke 14:13b. These portions of Scripture show that the disciple have only five loaves of bread and two fishes unless they go to buy some more.

3). Matthew 14:18. This verse shows that the Lord instructs the disciples to bring the food to Him. Now the Lord wants them to learn whom they should look first when the troubles come, and come to seek the help from the Lord, doesn’t matter what problem is, small or big, only One that they should look for, and believe the Lord can help them to solve the problem. Now the Lord is teaching the disciples to bring all problems to the Lord, as all humans should do the same, bring all troubles to the Lord, don’t carry it on your own; the Lord can carry for all.

Part 4. (Mark 6:39-44, Matthew 14:19-21, Luke 9:14-17). Now it comes to the time the Lord shows His authority over all life and nature and, also, the Lord has shown the power on earth whom people can come and put trust in; the One that can give all to people, only One on earth that has that authority. And, also the Lord has been giving faith in human heart towards the Lord’s mercy; from little small food, if people trust, the Lord can make them full again, not just full spiritually, but also the stomach can be full too. (See also Comments Matthew 14:19-21).

The verses time map for this part continues:

1). Mark 6:39-40, Matthew 14:19aa (here 14:19aa means the first half part of the first half of verse 19; the first half of verse 19 would be noted as 19a and the second half as 19b), Luke 9:14-15. These verses show that the Lord “commanded them all” (not just the men, but all the people) to sit down on the green grass, and the people sat in groups of the fifties and hundreds. Q: Why is green grass mentioned? A: Because where they are now, it has all over the area green grass; in some places else may not be the same, but in this portion of Scripture where the Lord is, there is green grass everywhere.

2). Mark 6:41, Matthew 14:19ab-19b (here 14:19ab-19b means the second half part of the first half of verse 19 and the second part of verse 19), Luke 9:16. These verses show that the Lord took the five loaves and the two fishes and looked up to heaven and said a blessing, then He broke the loaves and the fish in pieces and gave them to the disciples, and “the disciples gave them to the crowds.” The Lord broke the loaves and the fish in small pieces, and these pieces became loaves in the Lord’s hand (See Comments Matthew 14:19b). But also remember now it is in human eyes, they have seen the food from little pieces turn to be loaves, confirming and strengthening the faith of multitudes that are sitting there. Everybody has seen a small amount of food the Lord had and multiplied it in front of their eyes. So, now the word will spread more that the Lord will give food as well, to follow Him, and people will be talking and thinking at the same time, who is He that can do that; the word that God has come down has been confirmed among humans.

3). Mark 6:42-43, Matthew 14:20, Luke 9:17. These verses tell that the people ate until they were satisfied (See Comments Matthew 14:20), and there were collected twelve baskets full of broken pieces of bread and fish. Now here also we have seen the mercy of the Lord, He feeds until they are satisfied, no one was left to be hungry. The Lord has shown clearly the power of multiplication of food; people will never be lacking as long as they listen and obey, the food for the body the Lord can provide, but think about the food for the inner soul that only the Lord can give in the whole universe, no one else can do.

4). Mark 6:44, Matthew 14:21, Luke 9:14a. These verses show that there were about 5,000 men that the Lord fed besides women and children.

5). John 6:1-15. In John’s message itself, it tells clearly that Jesus went over from the Sea of Galilee side where the first feeding took place (as shown above) to the Tiberias side where the second feeding will occur. The events described in John 6:1-15 took place after Mark 6:44; this indicates a gap of more than a day between Mark 6:44 to Mark 6:45. There is a gap of time in many places in the Bible between verses, but people choose to ignore this.

In this comparison analysis, we can see that the Gospel of Mark shows more details. Still, even what they don’t have in some Gospels, all Gospels connect and even missing some information, none are against each other, in the end, there will still be the same meaning.  

45 And straightaway He constrained His disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself sends the multitude away.

46 And after He had taken leave of them, He departed into the mountain to pray.

47 And when evening came, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and He alone on the land.

48 And seeing them distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them, about the fourth watch of the night He cometh to them, walking on the sea; and He would have passed by them:

49 but they, when they saw Him walking on the sea, supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out;

50 for they all saw Him, and were troubled. But He straightaway spoke with them, and says to them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

51 And He went up to them into the boat; and the wind ceased: and they were extremely amazed in themselves;

52 for they understood not concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

Comments Mark 6: 45-52. (See also Comments Matthew 14:22-32, and Comments John 6:15-21). Q: Are the events describing Jesus walking on water telling the same story in all three Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and John)? A: All three Gospels describe one and the same event, have some minor differences, each difference is for a purpose, but none are against each other. For comments on this passage of Scripture, see Matthew 14:22-32 Comments.

In Mark 6:48, we have an addition saying, “and He would have passed by them”; Here in this place, the Lord wants to strengthen their faith, what the eyes have seen, the heart must accept it, and also the mind has to acknowledge. All must come to the conclusion that they are walking with the Lord; maybe in different situations but still the same Lord, the Lord of the land and the Lord of the water, still only One Lord over all, over life and nature, One Lord over all. Notice the three ways humans are created, now the details of three ways, pay attention to it, eyes see, the heart accepts, the mind acknowledges (they see the Lord walking on water, they accept in their hearts that He is God and then they praise Him as the Lord). The disciples themselves, the fear has covered everything; how another human would be, wouldn’t be better than them.

Verse 52 is an addition here in Mark; they are seeing miracles but still don’t understand what it means when the Lord makes miracles to them. All miracles for disciples are mainly to strengthen their faith so they will be able to walk through troubles. All disciples’ faith will be challenged later; watching the Lord making miracles will help them when the time comes to face the challenge of themselves, this will be for them and all humans as well; come and read the Word and see what the Lord has done.

53 And when they had crossed over, they came to the land to Gennesaret, and moored to the shore.

54 And when they were come out of the boat, straightaway the people knew Him,

55 and ran round about that whole region, and began to carry about on their beds those that were sick, where they heard He was.

56 And wherever He entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole.

Comments Mark 6: 53-56. For this portion of Scripture see Comments Matthew 14:34-36.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Use what the Lord has given to you, be pleased in it, bring it to the Lord, don’t look for what other people have. If you look at what other people have, greed will come. As the disciples have gone out into the world, the same way, use what the Lord is giving you; what the Lord has given to others is not important for you. 2)  Don’t fall into the same error and judgment when you read the Bible as the people in Nazareth did and rejected the Lord; make a separation between the Lord and His earthly family. 3) The Lord walked on water, and the disciples have seen this, but the rest of humans should believe what is written in the Bible; now it comes to using blind faith and believing the miracles written in the Bible.

SEE TIME MAP ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CHAPTER

Mark 7

Summary. In this chapter, Jesus continues His ministry. The Lord Jesus travels always to proclaim the Gospel and show mercy. As He travels, He will interact with many people and with leaders of the synagogues. The main point of this chapter is to show that Jesus came to call first His people to come back to Him and show all humans that He is the way to be saved. He has shown this by performing miracles not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. He calls all, but whoever answers will find Him at the end. 1) Jesus confronts first the Pharisees and the scribes about putting the traditions of men above the commandments of God. Also, remember He called them hypocrites because of the traditions of men; they use the traditions of men to control the commandments of God. 2) Jesus clearly tells people what defiles a person and separates the traditions of men from the commandments of God. People should follow the commandments of God, not the traditions of men; Jesus set His people free from the traditions of men and told them to come to follow the commandments of God. 3) Jesus travels to other regions to preach the Word to the lost sheep of Israel, and there He had encountered a gentile woman that humbled herself to the Lord for mercy. She came with an honest heart seeking mercy, and the mercy has been poured down for her, and that is because of her heart. 4) Jesus heals a man that was deaf and had a speech impediment, in a different way than we have seen before, showing that, from within the Lord has the cure of all diseases, imperfect will be made perfect, from within the Lord can make it perfect. When He makes imperfect to be perfect, He has already shown them whom they should come to follow, not just stick with the traditions, but they should come to follow the right One. 5) Jesus shows mercy to all, gentiles and Jews alike and it can be seen clearly from this chapter.

1 And there are gathered together unto Him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,

2 and had seen that some of His disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashed, hands.

3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders;

4 and when they come from the market-place, unless they wash themselves, they eat not; and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, washings of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels.)

5 And the Pharisees and the scribes ask Him, Why walk not Thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?

6 And He said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

7But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.

8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.

9 And He said to them, Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

10 For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother; and, he that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death:

11 but you say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That by which you might have been profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God;

12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother;

13 making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have delivered: and many such like things you do.

Comments Mark 7: 1-13. For Mark 7:1-13 see Comments Matthew 15:1-9. Those, the old law the Lord has come to abolish, humans, instead of thinking about God, their minds have changed and think about people's eyes. People around them make them believe they are not holy enough, but remember as well, the Lord sees the heart, not this flesh that melts away. The Lord is the Lord of the heart, worship the Lord with your heart, the tradition is men made law. In the old-time, the Pharisees had their way of controlling people, but it is over with the coming of the Lord (the One that completes the law has come). As we have our own law and rule, one thing the Lord asks from all humans, read the Word and obey; this is the law for all humans. Only one book, not the tradition of many books in the old-time; one Holy Book, the Bible with the Old Testament and the New Testament, is enough for humankind in every generation. The Old Testament is the base to let humans know how the Lord has been with humans; as it is telling in the Old Testament, the Lord has ordained His priests and prophets who have received the gift to hear the Word. That is why the Old Testament is the base of faith; you cannot read the New Testament without knowing the Old Testament at all; it helps. The old law has been established for the people before the Son has come, but also the old law is the base of faith in the Old Testament, but in the new generation, the New Testament is the law of the heart, the Word speaks to the heart, not traditions to be as law anymore.

Passage analysis:

Mark 7:1. See Comments Matthew 15:1.

Mark 7:2-4. This portion of Scripture is given only in the Gospel of Mark. This tradition of washing hands is a ritual of washing; it has a particular way of doing it. Nowadays, we wash our hands with water because we use the knowledge that God has given us to be clean before eating. But, in the old-time, it was taught by the elders as a certain way to wash the hands, that particular way of washing hands was put as commandments of God, the Lord has come to abolish them. The washing of hands the Pharisees and scribes observe is clearly a tradition of men, and it has never been any order from God, and the men put their own word as God’s word, that is wrong; it is not what God wants. Cleaning hands is good, but the basic is wrong to put it as God’s commandment; it cannot be accepted. Science teaches people to be clean, but the old tradition teaches people to clean hands by using God to command, which is the wrong point of doing. In the Bible, it is clear they (Pharisees and the scribes) take the commandments of men as equal with the commandments of God; that is wrong. But if you research the tradition of washing how did it come about, you will see why it should be no longer used, because the Lord who has cleansed all has come down on earth; the tradition of washing in that time you can find out the real meaning, and why the Lord had put against it. The science comes and looks at the word “defiled” and concludes that the old way of washing hands is wrong; the old is not wrong but taken as God's commandment that is wrong. The method of washing, the Lord does not pick on that. People use science against this verse; science is suitable for cleaning hands, but the hidden meaning of it we all forgot to think about, you can find out on this. Many places tell about washing the whole body and changing the garments in the Bible. The Bible does not teach to wash hands to clean any germs, but to clean from the unclean things that the person has associated with, but not to be cleansed from sins; the Bible is more concerned with association with unclean. In the old-time, by tradition, take that as cut off from that moment on; when you wash your hands, it cuts off from that moment what you will do after washing hands, that what will be counted for (See Matthew 27:24, for an example on this tradition in this way).

Q: Why did the Lord command the washing for cleansing from unclean things in the Old Testament? A: Because when a person has touched the unclean things is more like creating space between the person and the Lord; if the Lord comes close to that person, that person can perish if that person is unclean. The Lord has created water for a purpose, and not just for drinking alone, but also for washing to be clean from all things; the Lord has created them all for a reason, water has many good uses. That is why we all do water baptism; the water has a play here; water represents cleaning; water flows out, the new water comes in, brings cleansing even in the nature itself; the rain comes down and replaces the old water, the rain pushing out the old water, the rain is from the heaven above, many places in the Bible has mentioned this.

Mark 7:5. See Comments Matthew 15:2.

Mark 7:6-7. See Comments Matthew 15:7-9.

Mark 7:8-13. See Comments Matthew 15:3-6. If you do not do your duties towards your parents, you will not do them towards God as well. The way to give tells the purpose, the Word will speak to each individual, different way of each heart, that why it is called the Living Word; because each word speaks to each heart, all will never understand the same. Put ten people standing, reading one verse out; you will get ten meanings out because the Living Word speaks differently to each individual heart; that is the purpose of the Word, to speak to everyone according to each person’s heart, the heart will receive the Word in a different meaning.

Q: Why do the words spoken by the Lord Jesus differ in some regards when the Bible is Holy Spirit dictated? A: Your question comes regarding the translation of the Word (See Mark 4:35-41 comments about the difference between dictation and inspired). The writer translates what the Holy Spirit gives for each writer, this writer gets the verse in one way, and another writer gets the verse in a different way; each writer has its own purpose of writing. The Lord speaking here, the Holy Spirit who talks in the heart, gives the understanding to the writer at that moment according to the will of the Lord. What this writer should understand the voice in the heart will tell; a little bit differently, but it will never be a different meaning; you can check it out. Each writer has the Holy Spirit in their heart, and even using their heart to understand, who is the One that leads that heart? That is the key. The Holy Spirit will give the Word that it should be put in each Gospel, a little bit different for a purpose, but no meaning changed. Don’t forget as well we had this before; the Lord speaks here, next day same thing the Lord speaks again; the degree of meaning can be slightly different on each day that happens, not everything happened in one day, one page of Bible how many days it could be? That is why Matthew and Mark have got the Word slightly different but same meaning.

14 And He called to Him the multitude again, and said to them, Hear Me all of you, and understand:

15 there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.

16 If any person has ears to hear, let him hear.

17 And when He was entered into the house from the multitude, His disciples asked of Him the parable.

18 And He says to them, Are you so without understanding also? Perceive you not, that whatsoever from without goes into the man, it cannot defile him;

19 because it goes not into his heart, but into his belly, and goes out into the draught? This He said, making all meats clean.

20 And He said, That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

22 covetings, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness:

23 all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.

Comments Mark 7: 14-23. For Mark 7:14-23 see Comments Matthew 15:10-20. Note that Matthew 15:12-14 does not have a direct correspondence in Mark.

Within your soul, you cannot clean with the water, only by being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and confessing your sins and believing that the blood of Jesus can cleanse your sins, that makes your soul clean. By believing alone you make the cross incomplete, you must be baptized as well; the criminal on the cross was baptized with the Word of the Lord which is more powerful than the water; the Holy Son Himself also has been baptized in the water, so how much more the humans should follow the example of the Lord? As the verse says, from within, the sins come out, but you clean from within when your mouth confesses the sins, and receive the forgiveness to fill up the space in your soul when the soul releases out the sins; when the soul releases out the sins it needs to be filled with the Word, only the Word can fill the soul.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 7:14-16, Matthew 5:10-11. It's a different way of saying it, but both give the same meaning.

Mark 7:16. You cannot add or take away verses from the Bible, but this verse was in the original manuscript, and it should be in the Bible. 

Mark 7:17, Matthew 15:15. Matthew 15:15 feels a different meaning because it mentions Peter, but the word disciples in Mark 7:17 also includes him, so you can say just disciples or say a specific name and have the same meaning; we shouldn’t be worried about this.

Mark 7:18-19, Matthew 15:16-17. In Mark 7:19, we have an addition at the end of the verse that says: “This He said, making all meats clean.” But people can omit some food as an offering to the Lord; it is acceptable to omit some meat for sacrifice. So, some are omitting something to worship, which is nothing against the teaching; it is also acceptable.

Mark 7:20-23, Matthew 15:18-20. There are more sinful acts enumerated in Mark, but the meaning of these Scripture passages is the same. Not all sins have been mentioned as well; there will not be enough room to put on and enumerate all sins humans are doing. The Lord does not keep account of all the sins humans are doing; if the Lord accounts them all, all humans would be gone; because of the blood of Jesus, the sins are not counted for the one that believes. When humans have accepted His Son Jesus, the majority of sins (except the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) have been covered with His blood.

In the Gospel of Matthew, when Matthew recorded a portion, Mark will come to continue; it does not mean adding or deleting, but it means to make it complete. This is not adding or taking away, but all Gospels support each other to be complete. It does not mean that we read Matthew and finish the Gospel, we also need to read in Mark as well to support what Matthew has recorded, and Mark may have some portions adding to make it complete. The Lord encourages us to read all Gospels, not just one; the Bible is one book. 

24 And from there He arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and He could not be hid.

25 But straightaway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of Him, came and fell down at His feet.

26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she begged Him that He would cast out the demon out of her daughter.

27 And He said to her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not proper to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

28 But she answered and says unto Him, Yes, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29 And He said to her, For this saying go your way; the demon is gone out of your daughter.

30 And she went away to her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out.

Comments Mark 7: 24-30. For Mark 7:24-30 see Comments Matthew 15:21-28. These passages of Scripture both present the same healing event showing the faith of this Syrophoenician woman.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 7:24a, Matthew 15:21. These verses show that Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon (See Comments Matthew 15:21).

Mark 7:24b. In this place, we can see clearly the Lord is tired. He knows ahead that this woman will come, but the Lord did not change the plan where He will stay. In this verse, we can notice the word “hid”; when the Lord is tired, He wants to be alone to pray, but the mercy for humans is more important than His feeling; for showing mercy to this woman, He let her know where He is, and she comes to Him with her problems. All humans should do the same and come to Jesus with all our problems; here, the Lord is tired, but He receives this woman, and the Lord will do the same for all. Come unto the Lord; the invitation is out, you can walk pass by or stop by; it is your own choice.

Mark 7:25-26, Matthew 15:22. These verses in Mark and Matthew tell similar outcomes but in different words. The common thing is that a gentile woman comes to Jesus to ask for mercy to heal her daughter that had an unclean spirit. In Matthew, it is written that this woman comes to Jesus and says, “O Lord, Thou Son of David,” while in Mark is written that this woman came and “fell down at His feet.”

Matthew 15:23. This verse in Matthew does not have a corresponding verse in Mark. See Comments Matthew 15:23.

Mark 7:27a, Matthew 15:24. Both verses show that the Lord answers to the woman, and He tells her in Matthew that He was sent to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and in Mark, Jesus says, “Let the children first be filled,” which both have the same meaning (See Comments Matthew 15:24).

Matthew 15:25, Mark 7:25b. Sometimes it tells in a different spot of the verse or section the same thing, but when bringing all of them together is complete. These verses show that the woman was submissive (See Comments Matthew 15:25).

Mark 7:27b, Matthew 15:26. Same meaning in these verses. Notice the word used here for the gentiles as “dogs.” Do not be offended by this; read Comments Matthew 15:26. Here, in Mark, we will add a little bit further. The dog is the Lord’s servant; as the Lord goes, the dog will follow. Jesus has many gentiles who have faith and follow Him, not just the Jews only. The dog also is a witness of the Lord’s mercy because the Lord always keeps the dog at His side; be a dog, but be treated as children of God. The best the Lord gives to His children falls down under the table for the dogs, and they will eat the best food as well, which no one else has, only the dogs. If you accept to be the dog of the Lord, you will stay under the table and always will receive the best that falls down from the Lord’s children's table.  Keep in mind that bread here represents the Lord’s mercy and grace.

Mark 7:28, Matthew 15:27. These verses have the same meaning (See Comments Matthew 15:27).

Mark 7:29-30, Matthew 15:28. These Scripture passages tell that the Lord commanded the woman’s faith, and He healed her daughter. Both Matthew and Mark may present different statements, but the same result comes out, by the will of the Lord, the child was healed; the Lord was not there, but the distance was not a problem for the Lord, and by the will of the Lord all things are done. So, pay attention to the main thing the Lord has said here, don’t try to think about differences in sentences, pay attention only to the meaning of the statements.

31 And again He went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.

32 And they bring unto Him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they begged Him to lay His hand upon him.

33 And He took him aside from the multitude privately, and put His fingers into his ears, and He spat, and touched his tongue;

34 and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and says to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

35 And his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plain.

36 And He charged them that they should tell no man: but the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it.

37 And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear, and the mute to speak.

Comments Mark 7: 31-37. As we are told in verse 31, the healing of this man took place sometime after Jesus returned from the region of Tyre.

Passage Analysis

Mark 7:31. This verse shows that Jesus always travels.

Mark 7:32. The man wanted to come to the Lord, but also people have a different purpose; the man himself wanted to be healed, but people who bring the man want to see proof about what they have been hearing about Jesus.

Mark 7:33. Q: Why was the healing done privately? A: People do not need to see how the Lord does the work; they just need to see the result, the proof is the man was healed. People talk about what the Lord can do, but now people can see what the Lord can do; let them see the result but not how it is done.

Q: This healing is quite different here; why? A: Each thing has its own meaning. When the Lord put the fingers to the ears by His touch, the ears have been opened, then when He spat to His hand, a portion of the Lord has healed the man. From within the Lord, have the cure of all diseases, the imperfect will be made perfect, from within the Lord can make it perfect; this is the proof, whatever comes out of the Lord is much more than medicine. You can say in a way, make imperfect become perfect, from within the Lord Himself all things be perfect, the man has received the everlasting medicine, the Lord’s saliva; the Lord spat on His finger, then He touched with his spit the man’s tongue.

Mark 7:34. “and looking up to heaven, He sighed.” This shows that the Lord has communication with the Father. When the Lord looks up to heaven, He sees His entire home; human eyes see nothing. The Lord has communication with the Father, and the will of the Father for the man to be healed has been proven; the mercy has been poured down, people should remember, the Lord first contacts with the Father, and then the mercy has been poured down, that is the mercy of the Father. But people picture the Father in a wrong way. The Father is gentle and merciful beyond the human mind can imagine; the proof is on the death of His Son for humans; how much more mercy the Father needs to show for the disobedient humans? He gave His own Son for the things He created. Humans remember who you are, you are just a dust of the earth, but you are dust that the Father loves; the proof is in the Bible.

“and says to him Ephphatha” (pronounced aafata); now the Lord used the word the Father has said, “by My mercy is opened,” pay attention to the term open, it means it has been closed, that why the Lord put His spit to create the bridge between the human body and the Lord (the human body is from the Lord), it is connected now.

Mark 7:35. Also, the Lord has given a gift to this man; the man who never spoke, think of babies learning to speak, but this man talks plainly, not baby talk; this is a gift.

Mark 7:36. “He charged them …”; meaning He charged the multitudes. Q: Why did He ask the multitudes not to tell about this healing? A: Jesus did not come to be famous; He came just to show mercy; the Lord did not want people to come to Him with the wrong idea, come for receiving something or have heard and believe; the Lord wants them to come for His Word not to see miraculous things. (See also Comments Matthew 12:16).

Mark 7:37. The meaning is clear.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The sins and the evil do not stick on the outside of our body, such as skin, and by washing with water, we don’t get cleansing and protection, but by washing with the blood of Jesus, we do. 2) Do not be offended by the word “dog” used here in this chapter for calling the gentiles. 3) Come to Jesus with all the problems you have, come unto the Lord, the invitation is out; you can walk pass by or stop by; it is your own choice. 4) Do not come to Jesus for the show and test to see what miracles Jesus can do; come to Jesus with a sincere heart and beg for His mercy, and then you will find Him.

Mark 8

Summary. Again, in this chapter, the Lord Jesus continues to travel and proclaim the Gospel and show mercy. Three significant points are given in this chapter: 1) Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ the Son of the Living God, which was given to Peter by the mercy of the Father as the first disciple to get this knowledge; we can say that at this point Peter has experienced a new birth. 2) Jesus teaches His disciples that the Son of Man must suffer, be rejected, be mocked, and be killed and rise again after three days. Finally, 3) Jesus teaches the multitudes what it means to become a follower of Jesus: deny yourself; take up your cross and follow Jesus; be ready to suffer tribulations for the Gospel and Jesus’ sake.

This chapter also warns us to be aware of false teachings which will spread erroneous ways of thinking and wrong principles that will grow like weeds in the soul; these wrong ways will occupy the room in our souls, and the Word itself will have no room to grow because the mind always thinks of human teachings before God’s teaching. The eyes that look to be lifted by humans and want to be praised by humans will be like leaven in the bread. Other events given in this chapter are: 1) Jesus shows mercy and compassion on the crowd that gathered around Him and fed them; 2) Jesus interacts with the Pharisees and warns them that no sign from heaven will be given; 3) Jesus shows mercy and heals a blind man at Bethsaida; He restores his sight and gives him clarity in his mind when he sees things, to understand what he sees.

1 In those days, when there was again a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, He called to Him His disciples, and says to them,

2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat:

3 and if I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from far.

4 And His disciples answered Him, From where shall one be able to fill these people with bread here in a desert place?

5 And He asked them, How many loaves have you? And they said, Seven.

6 And He commands the multitude to sit down on the ground: and He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples, to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.

7 And they had a few small fishes: and having blessed them, He commanded to set these also before them.

8 And they ate, and were filled: and they took up, of broken pieces that remained over, seven baskets.

9 And they were about four thousand: and He sent them away.

Comments Mark 8: 1-9. For Mark 8:1-9 see Comments Matthew 15:32-38. This event described in Mark is the same as the feeding event in Matthew; it might have slight changes, but if we line up the meanings, it will be the same; it is the same event.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 8:1-3, Matthew 15:32-33. These portions of Scripture have the same meaning, showing the compassion of the Lord for the multitudes. See Comments Matthew 15:32-33.

Mark 8:4, Matthew 15:34. These verses have the same meaning. See Comments Matthew 15:34. Here in this place, we should add that all the disciples are ordinary men. Difficulty facing makes humans forget even what eyes have seen; these disciples are common men, they already forget what happened, they will always ask this question.

Mark 8:5-7, Matthew 15:35-36. These portions of Scripture show that the Lord used seven loaves of bread and a few small fishes to feed the multitude. See Comments Matthew 15:35-36.

Mark 8:8, Matthew 15:37. These verses have the same meaning, showing that all were satisfied. See Comments Matthew 15:37.

Mark 8:9, Matthew 15:38. In Mark 8:9, we are told that there were about 4,000, and in Matthew 15:38, we are told that there were 4,000 men besides women and children. Combining these verses, we conclude that both Gospels refer to 4,000 family heads.

Q: How do we understand these verses? A:  Men and people, you make a difference. Think of the word men, just men or not; people who are they, combine them together, and then you know the difference; a family itself, one man has brothers, a woman has family, would it mean all of those together as one family? It will make a big difference in the number of people. Just Matthew and Mark say it differently; one mentions only men, and another uses a general term. Combine both; imagine the multitude, many people who were there would be fed by the Lord. Men or people all have eaten until full, which is the main point. Also, remember the Bible uses the term man counted as a family; if a man has more than one wife, for one man, how many women will come? That is the way also to think about, but the Bible counts the man as the head of the family. So, when it says man, one head of the family, but how big of his family, the Bible did not mention, imagine that as well.

10 And straightaway He entered into the boat with His disciples, and came into the region of Dalmanutha.

11 And the Pharisees came out, and began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, trying Him.

12 And He sighed deeply in His Spirit, and says, Why does this generation seek a sign? truly I say to you, There shall no sign be given to this generation.

Comments Mark 8: 10-12. For Mark 8:11-12 see also Comments Matthew 16:1-4.

Passage Analysis

Mark 8:10, Matthew 15:39. Here in Mark, we are told that Jesus went by boat with His disciples to the region of Dalmanutha. In Matthew, we are told that Jesus went by boat to the region of Magadan. The region of Magadan and Dalmanutha are two different regions. From Mark 8:10, we see that the Lord went “immediately (straightaway)” to the region of Dalmanutha. From these two verses, we can understand that after the feeding of 4,000, the Lord traveled first to the region of Dalmanutha, and then after a while, He traveled to the region of Magadan. Matthew tells us the further destination of travel, while Mark tells us the closer destination.

Mark 8:11. When the Lord is traveling many places, He will receive questions because of the mighty works that He has performed. In this place, He performed mighty works; in another place, He performed mighty works; people in both locations will ask the same questions, many questions they asked of Him.

Mark 8:12. “And He sighed deeply in His spirit”; pay attention to the word “sighed,” the Lord that is God in human form sighed deeply in His Spirit, pay attention to this word. Now separate out the two, between the human form and heavenly form, which form that sighed deeply in Spirit? If it is in heavenly form, everything will be open to the Spirit of God, He knows before it happens, but in human form, it is troublesome for the Spirit of the Lord who has come in human form because He is willing to limit His power in human form. Take notice of this point as well and make the difference between the God in heaven and the God in human form. All will make clear for all humans how much the Lord loves us to come down and take the form of a human to close the gap between humans and God; in Him alone has been tested the form of the dust of the earth and has not received the appreciation (from humans).

13 And He left them, and again entering into the boat departed to the other side.

14 And they forgot to take bread; and they had not in the boat with them more than one loaf.

15 And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

16 And they reasoned one with another, saying, We have no bread.

17 And Jesus perceiving it says to them, Why reason you, because you have no bread? do you not yet perceive, neither understand? have you your heart hardened?

18 Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? and do you not remember?

19 When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces took you up? They say unto Him, Twelve.

20 And when the seven among the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces took you up? And they say unto Him, Seven.

21 And He said to them, Do you not yet understand?

Comments Mark 8: 13-21. For Mark 8:13-21 see Comments Matthew 16:5-12. Q: When saying the leaven of Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, should we understand two different kinds of teachings? A: Two types of people, two types of teachings, and they stand against each other; between these two, their teaching cannot be combined (each group lifts themselves up). But the Lord’s teaching, between the Father, the Lord Himself, and the Holy Spirit there is one teaching only, no difference, Three in One (unity in the Lord).

22 And they come to Bethsaida. And they bring to Him a blind man, and begged Him to touch him.

23 And He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village; and when He had spit on his eyes, and laid His hands upon Him, He asked him, See you anything?

24 And he looked up, and said, I see people; for I behold them as trees, walking.

25 Then again He laid His hands upon his eyes; and he looked steadfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly.

26 And He sent him away to his home, saying, Do not even enter into the village.

Comments Mark 8: 22-26. The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida is given only here in the Gospel of Mark.

Passage Analysis

Mark 8:23. “And He took … out of the village”; people will just see the result, but not how the Lord healed the man. Jesus did not come to be famous and make a show, so He took this man out of the village to heal him (See Comments Mark 7: 36). “and when He had spit on his eyes”; here the Lord uses the same way as in Mark 7:31-37 where He heals a man that is deaf and has a speech impediment. (See Comments Mark 7:31-36).

Q: Why did the Lord ask, “see you anything?” A: The Bible does not tell clearly about this man. Always the Bible tells the healing is according to the person’s faith, but in this case, it did not tell much about the man; it could be many speculations, but all things are according to faith.

Mark 8:24. “I see people; for I behold them as trees”; also remember, the blind man’s hand has touched everything; you can see by touching, but you don’t understand, when you see by hand, the shape of an object is not precise. When the man first sees objects by eyes, not by hand, how can he interpret what he can see by eyes and by hand to match them out? He touched people; he touched objects, now he uses the eyes to see. Nothing will be clear; that is why the second touch is needed, to help him absorb between the eyes see and hand see and come across each other, and he knows what he sees. Remember, the confusion of mind, the man seeing by hand and now becoming the man seeing by eyes, is a common confusion.

Mark 8:25. This second touch from the Lord was done to eliminate the confusion and make the man see clear; now, the second touch helps two to become one; it is no longer confusion between the hand seeing and eye seeing, and the man can live on further in life. From the mind that the Lord put two things into one, no crossing to be used; that is why the Bible says that the man sees clearly.

Mark 8:26. “… Do not even enter the village”; Q: Why would the Lord command him not even to enter the village? A: Now, the Lord wants to help the man not create confusion for himself; he is not yet ready to know the difference between good and bad persons. If he goes into the village, people will ask him questions, and it can create confusion in him, even shake his faith; that is a human weakness. When the ear has heard many things, even what you know by heart, it can become confusion, and the man was blind, his confusion will be even easier. Therefore, the Lord did not tell him to follow; He told him to go “to his home” and live life normally without fear; and as he will be walking along in his life, people will ask, and the answer will come from his heart not by his head.

27 And Jesus went forth, and His disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and on the way He asked His disciples, saying to them, Who do people say that I am?

28 And they told Him, saying, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but others, One of the prophets.

29 And He asked them, But who say you that I am? Peter answers and says unto Him, Thou art the Christ.

30 And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him.

Comments Mark 8: 27-30. For Mark 8:27-30 see Comments Matthew 16:13-20, and Comments Luke 9:18-20. Because of Peter’s heart, the Father has revealed the truth about Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God to Peter. Note that this paragraph talks about the disciples; John the Baptist is not one of Jesus’ disciples; John is the messenger of the Lord.

Mark 8:30. As the Bible has told, the Lord had to take the suffering; it is confirmed with the Bible (see Comments Matthew 16:20). In the next verse (Mark 8:31), the Lord teaches about His suffering that He must take.

31 And He began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

32 And He spoke the saying openly. And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him.

33 But He turning about, and seeing His disciples, rebuked Peter, and says, Get you behind Me, Satan; for you mind not the things of God, but the things of men.

Comments Mark 8: 31-33. For Mark 8:31-33 see Comments Matthew 16:21-23, and Comments Luke 9:21-22.

Mark 8:33. “But He turning about, and seeing His disciples, rebuked Peter…”; Q: Why in Mark is it specifically mentioned: “and seeing His disciples”? A: The difference between Matthew and Mark, link only one point; this rebuke helped other disciples as well, did not help only one disciple; the rebuke helped them all, this will help all of them later.

34 And He called to Him the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

35 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it.

36 For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?

37 For what should a man give in exchange for his life?

38 For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also shall be ashamed of him, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

Comments Mark 8: 34-38. For Mark 8:34-38 see Comments Matthew 16:24-27, and Comments Luke 9:23-26.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Do not look to challenge the Word of God. 2) Be aware of many false teachings which are there to lift up men; use the Bible to lead you in discerning. 3) Confess Jesus as the Son of the Living God and give Him glory, and use the Bible to be the guide in all things men try to teach; if it goes against the Word of God, go away from there, they can pull you in their trap, don’t let your curiosity lead you to fall. 4) Following Jesus is not easy, but it is not too difficult; if you don’t give up, you will find Jesus at the end of your journey.

Mark 9

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord gives more teachings to His disciples, and we should concentrate on what the Lord teaches because that is the bread of life. Also, the Lord predicts His resurrection after suffering; and the Lord tells us to have hope. He has conquered all, even death. As a follower of the Lord, conquer your own fears as well; remember the death of flesh means being reborn into eternity, reborn with the Lord. There are four central teachings given in this chapter. 1) The Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus in front of the three disciples (Peter, John, and James), and the confirmation from the Father that Jesus is the beloved Son and we should listen to Him. We should take notice here how many times in the Bible the Father has spoken, not many times, and here in this time, He has spoken for all humans that He has sent His Son to come down to save humans; that is why the word is clear “This is My Beloved Son.” 2) The man in this chapter did not give up when the disciples failed to heal his boy, and he went to the source of belief; he put his trust in the Lord. By healing this boy, the Lord teaches the disciples to know that not everything comes easy. When the problem comes your way, don’t let it overpower you, go and pray and bring that problem to the Lord, even the disciples learn that they need to pray. 3) The Lord is preparing the disciples. When the time comes for the Lord’s departure, the disciples will know the Lord has told them ahead of time about the things that will happen to Him, and this will keep the disciples calm and not be alarmed; they do need this knowledge in them. 4) The Lord delivers teachings to His disciples about the kingdom of heaven: a) the Lord wants the disciples to start to think about what it means to be great in the eyes of God, internal or outside; the Lord is teaching them what it means to be great, not as the world thinking but the way of the Lord thinking; b) the Lord teaches the disciples that the one that is “not against us is for us”; c) the Lord teaches about how important is to eliminate unworthy actions and bad thoughts from our lives to ensure that we keep our walk with the Lord on the narrow road.

1 And He said to them, Truly I say to you, There are some here of them that stand by, who shall in no way taste of death, until they see the kingdom of God come with power.

Comments Mark 9: 1. For Mark 9:1 See Matthew 16:28 and Luke 9:27. Q: Was this prophecy spoken to the people mentioned in Mark 8:34 (the crowd and His disciples)? A: This verse is a continuation of Chapter 8; the people who divided the chapter did not follow the usual place where it should end; this verse is supposed to be belonging to the chapter before. Mark 9:1 should be part of Mark 8:34-38.

This part of the Scripture is given to humans to know that death in this place does not relate to the flesh, but the deep death of soul itself; as the verse has told, some here would not see the death, but that is the death of the soul. The ones standing here, who fake that themselves believe, which they know in their heart they do not believe, but for the eyes of people, they want to be one with them, so, they present themselves as the ones who believe in the true Word; those do not count in here. Some from among this crowd and disciples believe and some not, and those that believe will not taste the death of their soul until they see the Lord Himself return to earth (Mark 8:37-38 makes it clear in this context). 

2 And after six days Jesus takes with Him Peter, and James, and John, and brings them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and He was transfigured before them;

3 and His garments became radiant, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.

4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

5 And Peter answers and says to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

6 For he knew not what to answer; for they became extremely afraid.

7 And there came a Cloud overshadowing them: and there came a Voice out of the Cloud, This is My Beloved Son: hear you Him.

8 And suddenly looking around, they saw no one any more, except Jesus only with themselves.

Comments Mark 9: 2-8. For Mark 9:2-8 see Comments Matthew 17:1-8, and Comments Luke 9:28-36.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 9:2, Matthew 17:1, Luke 9:28. Combining these portions of Scripture, we understand that Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain to pray (See Comments Matthew 17:1). In Mark and Matthew, we are told that this took place “after six days,” and in Luke, we are told that this took place “about eight days after these sayings.” Pay attention as well; none Gospel specifies what event it relates to before this transfiguration event; a difference of two days is not a long time; both “after six days” and “about eight days after these sayings” are correct. Still, for sure, it is not before six days, the length of time that happened is a minimum of six days after, and the report came after six days.

Mark 9:2b-3, Matthew 17:2, Luke 9:29. Combining these portions of Scripture, we understand that Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John while He was praying, “the appearance of His face was altered,” “His face did shine as the sun” and “His garments became white as the light,” “dazzling white” (See Comments Matthew 17:2).

Mark 9:4, Matthew 17:3, Luke 9:30-31. The main point of these portions of Scripture is that Elijah and Moses appeared to them, and “they were talking with Jesus.” In Luke 9:31, we are told that Moses and Elijah “spoke of His departure.” The nature of talking is way more, but only what humans should know is here; something else has not been mentioned, just a little portion has been mentioned. The conversation was long; not all the details of the meeting between the Lord Jesus and these two have been put down for humans to know (See Comments Matthew 17:3).

Mark 9:5-6, Matthew 17:4, Luke 9:32-33. We can concentrate on the word terrified (or extremely afraid) in this place. Imagine when humans feel terrified; in this place, it tells clearly that the disciples were terrified, but even in terrifying feeling, the heart still wants to please the Lord. Peter offers himself to build a house, terrified but still wants to do work; humans should think on this; beyond the fear, the heart should feel that you belong to the Lord, be living as praising God, that all creatures should do, because He is the One that gives to all breath. You come from Him, and you are in Him, don’t let the fear be the weapon of the dark side to take the heart that wants to glorify the One who created you (See Comments Matthew 17:4).

Mark 9:7, Matthew 17:5, Luke 9:34-35. All Gospels tell that the Father has spoken that Jesus is the beloved Son and the Father is well pleased with Him (See Comments Matthew 17:5).

Mark 9:8, Matthew 17:6-8, Luke 9:36. See Comments Matthew 17:6-9. 

9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, except when the Son of Man should have risen again from the dead.

10 And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the rising again from the dead should mean.

11 And they asked Him, saying, How is it that the scribes say that Elijah must first come?

12 And He said to them, Elijah indeed comes first, and restores all things: and how is it written of the Son of Man, that He should suffer many things and be set at nothing?

13 But I say to you, that Elijah is come, and they have also done to him whatsoever they would, even as it is written of him.

Comments Mark 9: 9-13. For Mark 9:9-13 see Comments Matthew 17:9-13.

Passage Analysis

Mark 9:9, Matthew 9:9. The Lord commanded not to tell until the Lord has risen from the dead since no one will understand or believe; Moses and Elijah, about these two people, have been taught from a young age how they are important; so, if you go to tell that these two have come to meet with Jesus and have paid respect to the Lord, people out there will not be able to accept, especially the scribes and Pharisees and all the teachers of the Law, and it will be a collision attacking straight to the faith of those people that have learned from a young age who those two figures are. So, here at this point, the Lord does not want that kind of argument arising; later, after the resurrection, this will be talked about. (See also Comments Matthew 9:8-10).

Mark 9:10. Note that even the disciples did not understand what the rising from the dead meant. It was not the time as well for the disciples to understand what rising from the dead should mean.

Mark 9:11, Matthew 9:10. See Comments Matthew 9:10. It was the teaching from the old-time, who comes before who. So, here we see clearly, man teaching and the Lord teaching are not the same.

Mark 9:12-13, Matthew 9:11-13. See Comments Matthew 9:11-13. Jesus is “set at nothing” for those who disrespect Him; they have seen miracles, but their hearts are hardened, and they have rejected Him from the deep of their soul, and that is why they crucified the Lord of life. If His teaching has a place in their hearts, they will not crucify the Lord; as it is written, the Son of Man had to suffer, and they have read this portion of Scripture as well, but it has no meaning for them. The guilt is on themselves; they reject what they read, the Lord did not come to condemn them, they condemned themselves, because they have the written word, but they did not believe; they claim to be the Law keepers, here the Law they disobey, they condemn themselves.

14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them.

15 And straightaway all the multitude, when they saw Him, were greatly amazed, and running to Him worshiped Him.

16 And He asked them, What question you with them?

17 And one of the multitude answered Him, Teacher, I brought unto Thee my son, who has a dumb spirit;

18 and wheresoever it takes him, it dashes him down: and he foams, and grinds his teeth, and withers away: and I spoke to Thy disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not able.

19 And He answers them and says, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him unto Me.

20 And they brought him unto Him: and when He saw him, straightaway the spirit tore him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

21 And He asked his father, How long time is it since this has come to him? And he said, From a child.

22 And often-times it has thrown him both into the fire and into the waters, to destroy him: but if Thou can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.

23 And Jesus said to him, If Thou can! All things are possible to him that believes.

24 Straightaway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.

25 And when Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

26 And having cried out, and torn him much, he came out: and the boy became as one dead; insomuch that the multitude said, He is dead.

27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.

28 And when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, How is it that we could not cast it out?

29 And He said to them, This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer.

Comments Mark 9: 14-29. For Mark 9:14-29 see Comments Matthew 17:14-19, and Comments Luke 9:37-42.

Passage Analysis

Mark 9:14-16, Matthew 9:14a, Luke 9:37. When Jesus and Peter and James and John came down from the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a crowd and scribes around them arguing with them.

“…were greatly amazed, and running to Him …”; Pay attention to the word amazed, why the people feel amazed, there must be something about Jesus to stir people’s hearts to be amazed. They were amazed about the way of the Lord; mainly, people were amazed about the way the Lord looks; He is a common man, but there is something special about that common way, that is why they are amazed, and the things they heard about Him.

“What question you with them?” This is a general question to all people, disciples, and the people that stay around, just a general question. Mainly the crowd was arguing in the way of non-believing what the disciples were doing; nobody agreed with the way they behaved; it was not common and primarily nothing alike with the scribes or the elders. Or you can say they are unique, which is why the arguments came. In the past, those people (scribes, elders, and Pharisees) behaved differently in the way they walked, the way they ate. When people look at them, they can see right away those are in a different class, and they put themselves look like holy, but the disciples acted as common men, in the same way, the Lord acted as common man, and not as those people were doing. The main thing telling here is that people feel not just by looking, but they feel the Lord by heart as well, which is why the amazement came. Jesus acts as a common man; He did not make Himself be in a different class of people; the amazement is there. We as believers should be the same, don’t lift yourself up, even you know at the end you are not with them, lower, or higher class has no meaning in the place at the end when we will be with the Lord.

Mark 9:17-18, Matthew 9:14b-16, Luke 9:38-40. In these verses, pay attention; the disciples may fail people. Still, the one that has a heart for the Lord will look past through the failure and come for the source of belief, not the disciples, but the Master Himself; these verses tell clearly all humans should do the same, you have someone teaching in the front, but the One to whom you should come is the One up there, above all, not the teacher of the Word you see, but the Word itself. (See Comments Matthew 9:14-16).

Mark 9:19, Matthew 17:17, Luke 9:41. See Comments Matthew 17:17. This is a rebuke, but not specific to the person, rebuke as a group, that why it uses the term “generation.” The Lord doesn’t want anyone to feel discouraged.

Mark 9:20, Luke 9:42a. These verses show the sickness the boy had. This passage has told us clearly that this sickness is not natural; to make the boy roll, foaming around mouth, this is not a natural sickness, as the Bible says it is a dark spirit attacking this boy. This kind only with the prayer and the Holy Word from the Lord can be healed. But also keep in mind this kind of sickness no longer exists, the Holy Spirit occupies the earth, and those unnatural things have been subdued down, and we don’t encounter them these days.

Mark 9:21-22a, Matthew 17:15. In this place, it has shown clearly, the dark side only one thing they want to do, destroy the work of the Lord; remember, the Lord has created humans after the image of the Lord, and that is why the evil hates humans. So, the dark side only wants to destroy the work of the Lord, and here it shows clearly what they want. (See Comments Matthew 17:15-16).

Mark 9:22b-24. “but if Thou can do anything …”; the man has faith, but he says this because he wants to know the Lord’s will; if the Lord wants to heal or not, but not that the Lord can’t do, he just begged for mercy. So, here it shows the man’s faith and his humbleness asking for compassion.

“I believe; help Thou mine unbelief”; this is the heart of this portion, the man asks for help to have belief; even have fear because he did not know the Lord’s will. He asks for help to have the belief as the Lord has said “to him that believes”; that has struck the man’s heart, believe.

Mark 9:25-27, Matthew 17:18, Luke 9:42b-43. Here in Mark, it gives more details about the healing of the boy, but the main point of these verses in all Gospels is that “Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.” (See Comments Matthew 17:18).

“And when Jesus saw that a multitude came running together …”; this is the place to prove that the Lord did not come to make a show; the Lord healed the boy instantly not to show to people to see how the Lord can order and be healed by the Word of order, people will see the result only.

“You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter no more into him.” Pay attention to the last part, never enter again, it is a command, you can’t enter again, the boy will never be suffering again, this is confirmation of order that the dark must obey. Only humans disobey the Lord; here is the place humans should think about, read and think about this passage; listening and obeying is the key; humans should do this as well.

Mark 9:28, Matthew 17:19. See Comments Matthew 17:19.

Mark 9:29, Matthew 17:20-21. See Comments Matthew 17:20 and Comments Matthew 17:21.

30 And they went out from there, and passed through Galilee; and He would not that any person should know it.

31 For He taught His disciples, and said to them, The Son of Man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He shall rise again. 32But they understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

Comments Mark 9: 30-32. For Mark 9:30-32 see Comments Matthew 17:22-23, and Comments Luke 9:43-45.

Mark 9:30. “He would not that any person should know it”; The Lord does not hide where He is going, but sometimes He doesn’t want people to just go around Him, because sometimes He needs time to be alone with the disciples to teach them, and if people are around the disciples do not get what they need. So, Jesus here did not want people to know the pattern of traveling because when people make a guess, they go ahead and wait there, and they reach there before the Lord goes, and sometimes the Lord did not have enough time to teach the disciples. He did not have much time to teach them, and that is why sometimes it says He did not want anyone to know.

Mark 9:32. As we had before, the disciples are common men. The time will come for their fear which will trouble their heart of faith, and the Lord wants them to know that He never leaves them; that is why the Lord tells them ahead, in three days He will rise again to give them assurance in their heart.

33 And they came to Capernaum: and when He was in the house He asked them, What were you reasoning on the way?

34 But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with another on the way, who was the greatest.

35 And He sat down, and called the twelve; and He says to them, If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.

36 And He took a little child, and set him in the midst of them: and taking him in His arms, He said to them,

37 Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in My name, receives Me: and whosoever receives Me, receives not Me, but Him that sent Me.

Comments Mark 9: 33-37. For Mark 9:33-37 see Comments Matthew 18:1-5, and Comments Luke 9:46-48.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 9:33-34, Matthew 18:1, Luke 9:46-47a. See Comments Matthew 18:1. As walking along, passed the Capernaum town itself, on the way, which is outside already, this event happened, not in the town itself, outside of the town.  

Q: How do we put together these verses, when in Matthew, it says, “the disciples came to Jesus, saying,” and in Mark, it says, “but they held their peace”? A: You can notice as well now, not exactly the same time these happened, traveling time asking, and entering into the house asking, and between these times the disciples had questions among themselves, now not two directions, it is three directions of thinking. But, also in this place, it tells clearly that the Lord has not been with them at all times. The disciples go, and the Lord goes, and they have a meeting spot; now it shows that way.

Q: For Matthew 18:1, did the disciples come to Jesus with the question directly and when? A: What happens in Matthew it happens before what happens in Mark, a short time separation between them.

Q: Why in the house did the Lord ask them again what they were arguing about? A: Because the disciples do not want the Lord to know they were arguing about the problem of their heart between them, and they don’t want this to be the problem for the Lord to get involved; they want to solve it by themselves. But when the Lord puts Himself in between them, it stops the time of the disciples’ argument between each other. It makes them think about what really happened during the time of their arguing and come to the conclusion that the Lord wasn’t with them in some portion when they were arguing, but He knows about it. The Lord wasn’t with them, but He knows, so it makes them think about this as well.

Mark 9:35. This verse tells that if you put yourself to be important, in the kingdom of God, you will not be first; you will be the one behind everyone; in this world, humble yourself and let someone else lift you up because when someone lifts you up, it means you have something people see and agree with. If your actions show that you glorify the Lord in people’s eyes, you are above all because you serve the Most High King. See also Comments Matthew 20:25-26.

Mark 9:36, Matthew 18:2-4, Luke 9:47b. The Lord took the child to Him, as the child was there, He had the child in His arms, as He talked to the disciples, the child is in His arms, and the disciples were watching the child. He teaches the disciples, who are in front of the child; the Kingdom of Heaven accepts the child first; if all take the child as an example, they all will enter as well. The children can be afraid if they don’t know the person, but because the heart of the child is innocent, they can feel the Lord, so the child has no fear and trusts the Lord. See Comments Matthew 18:2-4.

Mark 9:37, Matthew 18:5, Luke 9:48. See Comments Matthew 18:5.

38 John said unto Him, Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in Thy name; and we forbade him, because he followed not Us.

39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no person who shall do a mighty work in My name, and be able quickly to speak evil of Me.

40 For he that is not against Us is for Us.

41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, because you are Christ's, truly I say to you, he shall in no way lose his reward.

Comments Mark 9:38-41.

Passage Analysis

Mark 9:38. “We forbade him because he followed not Us.” People have misused this verse. When someone glorifies the Lord, no one knows the person’s heart, only the Lord. The way of worshiping may be different in the eyes of humans, some use their own way to justify someone else doing, but the Lord uses only the heart. Someone may be sitting down, or someone else may be standing up, but if the heart glorifies the Lord, the position does not matter. Even cloth wearing, people use their own mind, the Lord never has anything asking about you have to dress in a specific way (dress modestly but not the kind of dress, the disciples themselves they dress just for covering the body, the type, the color is not related to the heart); dressing your heart not the body, that it counts; here it tells clearly that the Lord did not look for the outside.

Mark 9:41. As the Word is telling, because you belong to Christ, someone does well to someone. Because you belong to Christ, that person has done it to Christ, the good thing; if they are not against you, it links as well together here. Because who you are, they are not against you that does not count here; it counts only when “because you belong to Christ.”

42 And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on Me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

43 And if your hand cause you to sin, cut it off: it is good for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire;

44 where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off: it is good for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be thrown into hell;

46 where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, cast it out: it is good for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be thrown into hell;

48 where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.

49 For everyone shall be salted with fire.

50 Salt is good: but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another.

Comments Mark 9: 42-50. Q: Are the teachings from this portion of Scripture, Mark 9:39-50, given by the Lord in the context of Mark 9:38? A: Come together as a pair; you can’t separate them out; one supports another, we can notice that. This here is a continuation of the discussion that took place in the house (See Mark 9:33). One question rising to the Lord can lead to many answers.

Passage Analysis

Mark 9:42. See Comments Matthew 18:6.

Mark 9:43-46. See Comments Matthew 18:8.

“to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire”; there are no human words that can explain the hell, not even human imagination can picture out how the hell would be. Just know only that the torturing there is more than human words can describe, more than words can tell the feeling of those, be tortured until want to die again, but you already died, you cannot die again, how much torture that would be? But, the Lord has already shown the way of how not to go to be tortured, come it is easy, just listen and obey, the Lord did not ask you to do a hard job, just listen and obey.

Mark 9:47-48. See Comments Matthew 18:9.

“where their worm dies not”; now it does not talk about the worms of the earth, now the Lord talks about the thought of heart that tried to fight back the Lord’s teaching. You are on this earth, and your heart always fights back the work of the Lord, that is the worm of the soul; when you build up that thought, that thought does not just damage the flesh but damages your soul as well; those worms won’t die, when you breed them into your soul, they will clench in it until the judgment time comes. 

Mark 9:49. According to the verse itself, pay attention to the word “everyone”; is it everyone in the world? No, in this place, everyone refers to everyone that takes the Word seriously and goes to be baptized in the water. When you go underwater, you become a different person; these verses refer to everyone who has been baptized. “Shall be salted with fire”; the Word is the fire of God (it cleanses and purifies the soul), and the salt is the Word itself. If you give someone the Bible, you give them the salt; when that person reads the Word, the Word instantly becomes fire and cleanses from inside out; the salt and fire are together.  One refers to the Word as the Bible, and another refers to the Word as the Holy Spirit.

Mark 9:50. (See also Matthew 5:13). “Salt is good”; the salt will preserve the life; that is why it is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, it wasn’t salt itself that lost the saltiness, but the person who received the salt couldn’t feel the taste of salt. In this place, when the salt “lost its saltiness,” that means when the person receives the Word and turns away, not just turns away alone but blasphemes against God, after receiving the Word, the salt has lost its saltiness in that person’s soul; it can’t make it salty again, that person will be lost eternally.

“Have salt in yourselves”; now the Word tells you to meditate on the Word, don’t take it lightly, the Word is heavy for the soul, it will sink down to your heart and will go until your soul. Only the Word can reach into your soul; if you don’t meditate, it doesn’t reach far into the soul, just stays in the body, not enough. Be salty; by meditating on the Word, you can be saltier and keep the salt in your soul.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Word of the Lord is written; the voice of the Lord is in your heart; now the mind needs to learn to listen not by ear but by heart; not the physical heart but the heart of your soul. 2) Be in prayer and bring all your problems in your prayer. When you pray, you have a private time with the Lord; you can’t be closer than that. 3) Trust in the Lord, and do not be afraid to come to Jesus. 4) Cut useless activities from your life and spend more time reading and meditating on the Word. 5) No one knows a person’s heart, only the Lord; do not judge the way others worship.

Mark 10

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord has prepared His disciples again about what will happen to Him; the disciples have no idea what will happen to Him and them, but the Lord starts to tell about His suffering coming up and that He will rise again after three days. As the time of departure of the Lord approaches, we can say something of the traveling of the Lord. Even the Lord knows that His time is coming, but this does not stop Him from traveling. On each day, the Lord works and meets people teaching them to come to the kingdom of God. He always points out to people to come to the right path. As we go further on through the chapters of the Gospel, we will see the difficulty the Lord is facing each day as He is traveling. Each day the Lord knows that His time of departure comes closer, but this does not make Him stop preaching and calling to Him all those that belong to Him; the time is short, and the Lord has more work to do that is why He never stopped traveling, He tried to bring the most that the Father has called, that is His work on earth. Here in this chapter, we can highlight four verses about the Lord's traveling. 1) Mark 10:1 tells that the Lord went to the region of Judea beyond Jordan. Here crowds followed Him, and the Pharisees from that region came to test Him with questions. The Lord teaches people about divorce, Moses' law, and the Kingdom of God. 2) In Mark 10:17, we are told that Jesus sets out on His journey, and a man comes to Him and asks, "what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life." Here at this time, the Lord told all humans to know that those who love riches and wealth on earth will have a hard time entering into the kingdom of God. Treasures on this earth are as a wall between faith and following the teaching of the Lord; you want to follow, but you have the wall, and when you want to cross over, the love of riches pulls you down. You can have money and things on this earth, but if you do not love them, you will find the way to go to heaven; the Lord does not teach believers to be poor but not to put their love towards riches. 3) In Mark 10:32, Jesus and His disciples are on the road going up to Jerusalem. Here is where Jesus teaches His disciples again about His suffering. During this time, James and John come to Him with a request. The Lord uses this situation to teach the disciples to be servants of the Lord as He Himself came down on earth to serve all humans and "give His life as a ransom for many." 4) Mark 10:46 tells us that Jesus and His disciples came to Jericho. As they were leaving Jericho, a great crowd followed, and Jesus stopped and showed mercy to a blind beggar called Bartimaeus and healed him.

1 And He arose from there and comes into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan: and multitudes come together unto Him again; and, as He was accustomed to, He taught them again.

2 And there came unto Him Pharisees, and asked Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? trying Him.

3 And He answered and said to them, What did Moses command you?

4 And they said, Moses allowed to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

5 But Jesus said to them, For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

6 But from the beginning of the creation, Male and female made He them.

7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife;

8 and the two shall become one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh.

9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put apart.

10 And in the house the disciples asked Him again of this matter.

11 And He says to them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, commits adultery against her:

12 and if she herself shall put away her husband, and marry another, she commits adultery.

Comments Mark 10: 1-12. For Mark 10:1-9 see Comments Matthew 19:1-9.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 10:1, Matthew 19:1-2. See Comments Matthew 19:1-2. “And, as He was accustomed to, He taught them again”; this verse tells us, as His custom, that is the purpose the Lord has come, to teach all humans, and give everyone a chance to be saved. He did not go only for the Jews; here it tells clearly, as His custom He always teaches the people; if people come to Him, He teaches them.

Mark 10:2, Matthew 19: 3. See Comments Matthew 19:3. As written in the Old Testament, the Jews are not supposed to take the women of the region; they mixed the blood, and as it is written in the Old Testament, that is not supposed to be done. But, people use reasons of their life and go against what God has commanded.

Mark 10:3. In this verse, Jesus answers them with a question. In the Gospel of Matthew, this answer with a question is not given; we should note that each Gospel gives the events in a different order, but they don’t go against each other. Here the Lord wants them to think for what they answer and what the Lord will tell; they must learn to think and go back to the Scripture. 

Mark 10:4. Here they give their answer.

Mark 10:5-9, Matthew 19:4-6. Jesus explains why Moses gave this commandment. See Comments Matthew 19:4-6.

Matthew 19:7. One person has a question, another person has the answer, but when bringing both to come in order, answer first or ask first, the time plays a role in here for giving these verses. Note that the order of verses in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew is not the same. It is almost the same time, as the Lord speaks, they also speak; almost go like against each other (the events in the Gospels), but it isn’t against each other, just different time and the order of asking, do they wait until the Lord answers or give the answer for the Lord following the teaching of humans; one comes and asks, and the Lord gives the answer, but another one already has the answer for them, it looks both ways. Also, remember that these Pharisees are born there, and in their heads, the teaching is different; they have the teaching written, but also, they have the mind teaching from the region which it goes across each other. Humans tend to accept human teaching because humans tend to think that human teaching is the way of life, and God's teaching is just written teaching and not a way of life.

Mark 10:5, Matthew 19:8. See Comments Matthew 19:8.

Matthew 19:9. Here, this answer, the Lord gives it to all the people that gather to listen to Him.

Mark 10:10. Here we understand that the Lord and the disciples went into the house, and then the disciples ask again privately about this matter.

Mark 10:11. The Lord here gives them again the same answer about divorcing.

Matthew 19:10. The disciples make a conclusion about the answer the Lord gave. See Comment Matthew 19:10. 

Matthew 19:11-12. The Lord explains to them further about their understanding. See Comments Matthew 19:11-12.

13 And they were bringing unto Him little children, that He should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them.

14 But when Jesus saw it, He was moved with indignation, and said to them, Allow the little children to come unto Me; forbid them not: for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

15 Verily I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no way enter therein.

16 And He took them in His arms, and blessed them, laying His hands upon them.

Comments Mark 10: 13-16. For Mark 10:13-16 see Comments Matthew 19:13-15, and Comments Luke 18:15-17.

Mark 10:14-15. We should have the heart innocent as children; the children's heart does not have envy. See Comments Matthew 19:14.

Mark 10:16. In this place, it shows the heart of the Lord towards children. As the Bible has told, He took them in His arms, showing affection and love, as humans do with the children. The Lord had displayed His human side here when He showed this towards children.

17 And as He was going forth into the area, there ran one to Him, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? none is good except One, even God.

19 You know the commandments, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.

20 And he said unto Him, Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth.

21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: go, sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.

22 But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had great possessions.

Comments Mark 10: 17-22. For Mark 10:17-22 see Comments Matthew 19:16-22, and Comments Luke 18:18-23.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 10:17, Matthew 19:16, Luke 18:18. In Luke, it tells us that this man is a ruler (meaning that he could be ruler just of his own household, not necessarily an important person, or ruler of a town), and in Mark, it tells that he comes and kneels to the Lord. All these verses show that this man thinks he can do something good to trade the place in heaven, but the deed has been done already (See Comments Matthew 19:16).

Mark 10:18, Matthew 19:17, Luke 18:19. Here in these verses, Jesus confirms there is only one God, and He is One (See Comments Matthew 19:17).

Mark 10:19, Matthew 19:18-19, Luke 18:20. The commands mentioned in these verses are the same with Matthew, giving one extra command “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (See Comments Matthew 19:18-19).

Mark 10:20, Matthew 19:20, Luke 18:21. See Comments Matthew 19:20.

Mark 10:21, Matthew 10:21, Luke 18:22. All these verses show that the Lord knows the heart of this person. In Mark, we are told that Jesus “loved him,” showing that the Lord loves all, regardless of being rich and poor. These verses in this place in the Scripture tell us, as a sinner, if come to the Lord, leave the things of this world, take your heart away of the things that your eyes have kept looking at, and follow the Lord with the inner heart, not just walking follow, the inner eyes and inner heart both have to follow as well. If we say we follow, but the heart is not there, this verse will be like a blockage to build up, and the inner eyes can’t see the right way to come. All the Lord wants humans to do is to look at the Lord as their leader and leave the things that attach to them, and follow the Lord (See Comments Matthew 19:21).

Mark 10:22, Matthew 19:22, Luke 18:23. These verses show that the earthly riches captured the heart of this man (See Comments Matthew 19:22).

23 And Jesus looked around, and says to His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

24 And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answers again, and says to them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they were astonished exceedingly, saying unto Him, Then who can be saved?

27 Jesus looking at them says, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God.

28 Peter began to say unto Him, Behold, we have left all, and have followed Thee.

29 Jesus said, Verily I say to you, There is no man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for My sake, and for the gospel's sake,

30 but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Comments Mark 10:23-31. For Mark 10:23-31 see Comments Matthew 19:23-30, and Comments Luke 18:24-30.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 10:23-25, Matthew 19:23-24, Luke 18:24-25. The Lord tells in these verses that it is hard for those that trust in the riches of this world to enter into the kingdom of God. See Comments Matthew 19:23-24.

“It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye …”; in this verse, it tells us clearly; compare in your mind what it is, the camel goes through the needle’s eye, think of the needle’s eye and the size of the animal itself, what it can be more difficult for the animal to go through it. So, the verse tells us clearly that going to the kingdom of heaven is not physically difficult (the flesh will transform), but for the internal soul, “for them, that trust in riches” is harder than the physical of this comparison.

Mark 10:26, Matthew 19:25, Luke 18:26. See Comments Matthew 19:25.

Mark 10:27-28, Matthew 19:26-27, Luke 18:27-28. See Comments Matthew 19:27.

Matthew 19:28. This portion of the answer of the Lord to the disciples is given only in the Gospel of Matthew. Remember as well; the Lord has resurrected in the body, not in spirit; the material body has been raised up. See Comments Matthew 19:28.

Mark 10:29-30, Matthew 19:29, Luke 18:29-30. See Comments Matthew 19:29.

Mark 10:30. This verse is given only in Mark.

“Who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time”; in this time does not mean earthly time, but the inner heart and soul time. The heart can feel with the soul, and that is the period of time which is talking here; to feel your heart connect with the soul is not easy; not many can feel that. Here is talking about the connection between the heart and soul, only this time on earth they connect together; when we go into heaven, the heart as an organ doesn’t go, just the soul. The heart and the soul to be connected, it is not easy in human flesh to experience that; and it is a short period that a person on earth has that blessing from the Lord, it becomes feeling beyond human can explain, that why it is a short period of time. This connection is not happening all the time during our life on earth; it is an on and off blessing given from the Lord to His chosen people (See Mark 10:29).

Q: What is the difference between earthly time and inner heart and soul time? A: Earthly time is like a physical thing; you can count that time. But the inner heart and soul time has no limit, and besides no limit, you have no control over it; you walk through the time of inner with the purpose of being in touch with the Lord. The touch is not on the surface of your body, but inner touch, deeper than the flesh can feel; that is why it relates to the inner soul. Also, remember you never are alone; you feel the Lord alongside, that only the inner soul can feel, as the Bible has told in many places, walk with the Lord not just follow, but together with the Lord, you feel closer than the earthly feeling gives. Two people married, you feel close to one another, but the inner soul feel with the Lord is closer than that. It is hard for humans to understand to feel with the soul, not with the head. Humans feel by the head, but at that time, when you use inner soul, you don’t use your head to think or feel; the inner heart will do that because the Lord is also there with you in your inner heart and soul. The heart as an organ follows the physical time, but the inner heart and soul follow the Lord’s time.

“houses”; (Your house and the Holy Spirit house in your soul makes for houses); look around you and see what you call the house of this earth; but, let your heart feel the house inside the heart itself, you can feel, in human term would say, the house of your heart as a palace, use the inner heart to feel that. Also, remember the Bible tells us clearly who lives in your heart, so that is the palace of your Holy Spirit that is in your heart, find that. Go to the place where you disconnect from the world, you will feel left alone from the things of this earth, and meditate the Word in your heart, and you will feel the house of your heart, but the physical has to be disconnected all from you. Don’t be concerned about hot or cold, don’t worry about your hunger, use your heart to feel the soul, and the body will receive the benefit of that feeling; this can revive your physical energy when you do deep meditation, not as the world is teaching you to torture yourself but treat yourself well. Find a place where the body can feel comfortable; outside, in the bedroom, or some people make a special room where they feel disconnected from the world. Let your body feel complete, that you have paid attention to, that deep peace (rest) of the body will go down into your heart, and the attachment of heart and soul will happen, use your mouth praising, no other words but only praising alone; that humans should do, meditate on each word; that why the Bible is called the Living Word of God, meditate on it.

“brothers and sisters and mothers and children”; these are all that meditate in the Word as we have described before. These are close together as mother, sister, brother, children, as family; these who meditate in the Word will be as one family.

“and lands,”; because the land is not life, it is an object, what you consider is value on this earth is the meaning of land here; everything you think it has value on this earth that is the land, because you will not feel that you lack anything, that is why you can say you have lands. What life needs is not that many things; the rest is not the life needs; those are just for show. Think of what is needed for life, the rest is nothing, the connection between them is the important thing here, the things that we think have value but do not build up the faith are not important, in between (you and the things of the world) is the Word; without the Word, those things are not valuable, be beside the Word or be far from the Word, you receive or not receive the things the life needs.

“with persecution”; because when people see you be close to the Lord, the jealousy will come, and that jealousy turns to be an unseen weapon, not like any weapon in this world. The jealousy creates harmful words that people use to talk out and hurt someone else knowingly, and the jealousy has covered the mind, making that person feel not to care. When you have jealousy is a negative way of thinking, it hurts yourself and someone else as well. In the unseen world, that weapon can cut the connection between you and the Word by creating doubt; in the unseen world, the most important thing is that no jealousy occupies a room in the mind and in the heart.

“and in the age to come eternal life”; this is the life in the unseen world; when you join with the Lord, the eternal life will be the gift you receive there.

Mark 10:31, Matthew 19:30. See Comments Matthew 19:30.

32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going before them: and they were amazed; and they that followed were afraid. And He took again the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were to happen unto Him,

33 saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles:

34 and they shall mock Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall kill Him; and after three days He shall rise again.

Comments Mark 10:32-34. For Mark 10:32-34 see Comments Matthew 20:17-19, and Comments Luke 18:31-33.

Passage Analysis

Mark 10:32a. In many places, it has been told that people followed Him, so many multitudes have been following. And now it is in that situation, the Lord is among the multitude, and His disciples also have a duty, going among multitude talking about the teaching of the Lord; here we can link the duty of the disciples to speak with the people. The Lord has seen ahead what the multitude that follows will be part of; in Him, He saw what they would do to Him. Jesus knows the pain that will come to Him, but it does not go over the love He has for humans. Here His love is also expressed out towards all people in the world. His people deliver Him, but gentiles also are part of that, but the Lord also wants the Gospel to be preached among gentile to save them all as well.

“and Jesus was going before them: and they were amazed”; all that followed Him were amazed, all humans were amazed because of the calm and peace that always has been shown out from Him. Even how He talks about what they will do to Him, the calm and peace that He has, all those have not disappeared from Him, they spread around Him as light, it was like a covering around Him; no man on earth has that. 

“and they that follow were afraid”; here, afraid refers to a question that everyone had in their heart, “who is He?”.

Mark 10:32b-34, Matthew 20:17-19, Luke 18:31-33. See Comments Matthew 20:17-19.

35 And there come near unto Him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying unto Him, Teacher, we would that Thou should do for us whatsoever we shall ask of Thee.

36 And He said to them, What would you that I should do for you?

37 And they said unto Him, Grant to us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and one on Thy left hand, in Thy glory.

38 But Jesus said to them, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

39 And they said unto Him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you shall drink; and with the baptism that I am baptized with shall you be baptized:

40 but to sit on My right hand or on My left hand is not Mine to give; but it is for them for whom it has been prepared.

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be moved with indignation concerning James and John.

42 And Jesus called them to Him, and says to them, You know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them.

43 But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister;

44 and whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all.

45 For the Son of Man also came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Comments Mark 10:35-45. For Mark 10:35-45 see Comments Matthew 20:20-28.

Comparison Analysis

Matthew 20:20-21. The mother did come with her sons first to the Lord, but the answer the Lord has given to her did not complete the wish of the sons, and afterward, here in Mark, the sons did come by themselves because of the question of their heart was not answered. Therefore, combining the verses in Matthew and Mark, we can conclude that the answer given by the Lord to the mother is not recorded for us. See Comments Matthew 20:20, 21.

Mark 10:35. The Lord gives something, but what the Lord gave did not fit in their hearts (James and John), and they come back and pursue asking the same question.

Mark 10:36-37. In this portion, we can say that these two let the answer of their hearts guide them (think of what part of the heart you are talking about, the deep inner part of the heart or the outer surface part). By coming and asking this question, they did not think about what the Lord had been teaching them. The wish of the heart has blinded the wisdom of man; this often happens with people; be pleased for what you get; here, these two were not pleased with the answer the Lord has given and came back to ask the same thing. 

Mark 10:38-39a, Matthew 20:22. See Comments Matthew 20:22. 

Mark 10:39b-40, Matthew 20:23. See Comments Matthew 20:23.

“and, with the baptism which I am baptized”; the baptism the Lord is talking about now is not only just water baptism, but He is talking about the Holy Spirit baptism. Afterward, all disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit (See Act 2) not just only water; as the Lord has been baptized not just by the water, but as the Bible has told the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus, this is what the Lord is talking about here in this verse.

Mark 10:41-44, Matthew 20:24-27. See Comments Matthew 20:24, 26, 28.

46 And they come to Jericho: and as He went out from Jericho, with His disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the way side.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

48 And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

49 And Jesus stood still, and said, Call you him. And they call the blind man, saying to him, Be of good cheer: rise, He calls you.

50 And he, throwing away his garment, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus answered him, and said, What will you that I should do to you? And the blind man said unto Him, Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you whole. And straightaway he received his sight, and followed Him in the way.

Comments Mark 10:46-52. For Mark 10:46-52, see also Luke 18:35-45. The healing of the blind man given here in Mark 10:46-52 is the same as in Luke 18:35-45; the same man healed, but the way of presentation is somewhat different.

Q: Is there a connection between the blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52 and the healing of the two blind men in Matthew 20:29-34? A: These healings are not the same but similar case; traveling by foot, many things can happen per day. This is an example between things that happened between these two Gospels; they are different but similar. Also, note that the two blind men in Matthew are not beggars.

Passage Analysis

Mark 10:46. In this place, it tells one main thing, the Lord has done the work in the town, and when the Lord departs, a great crowd follows, a lot of people are following and spreading out the news about the Lord. And this is what the Lord wants to be, as the Lord is traveling, spread the word out and gather a great crowd. Notice, it is not that the Lord wants the great crowds doing things for Him; the purpose to gather great crowds is to let them talk between them and let the people around know about the mercy of God; that is the purpose. Also, we should remember the time of the Lord on earth is short, and the Lord wants as many as have a sincere heart to come to Him, and this is the time for them to be saved; that is why the Lord lets people talk around, not because He wants to be important, but for letting people know that the mercy of God has come to earth at this time.

Q: Why is the name of this father (Timaeus) mentioned here in this verse? A: In this place, it mentions the father’s name because what the Lord will do for his son will make the father think as well. His name has been written down; humans do not know what the Lord has in the plan, the father will do things that are not written down for us to know.

Mark 10:47. Here it tells clearly, and Christians should follow, notice the words this man used, “have mercy on me”; begging for mercy from the Lord not begging for wishing things, mercy begging. In this place, we can call mercy begging; the man begged only for mercy.

Mark 10:48. This verse focuses on one thing: never give up asking; here, it shows clearly that mercy will be given if you don’t give up. People will rebuke or try to stop you asking, but don’t let those stop you, keep asking, leave people behind and keep your eyes on the Lord asking always, and mercy will be given.

See also Comments Matthew 20:31. Notice that the blind men in Matthew 20:29-34 are not beggars; in many places in the Bible, people ask mercy, but it doesn’t mean these all refer to the same situation.

Mark 10:49. Jesus stopped and called this man; because he asked for mercy, the Lord shows mercy. Even Jesus had little time left over, but for mercy, the Lord stopped for this man. The Lord always stops for anyone whose heart sincerely is searching for mercy, even here, the Lord Himself, knowing that His departure time is approaching, He stopped. For an unimportant person He stopped, you may be unimportant for this world, but because of your heart-searching and the mouth that is begging for mercy, the Lord always stops.

Mark 10:50. The man is glad, you can picture out when a person is glad, he left everything and goes to the Lord; and also keep in mind the blind poor man, he will not have another cloak for himself, but when the Lord was calling, he throws his cloak off, he didn’t know what is coming, but he throws off what he has.

Mark 10:51. The Lord knows what the man wants, but also the Lord wants the person to express his wish to the Lord. The Lord does not do for the one which does not ask; this man needs mercy, but he did ask as well, and the mercy will be given after he has asked.

Mark 10:52. Here we see the word straightaway (the meaning of the word the Lord speaks); the Lord did not ask someone to do more, just express the need with a sincere heart, and the mercy has been given immediately, remember the word.

“and followed Him in the way”; and the Lord also knows the man will follow the Lord, the length of time to follow it doesn’t matter, but he followed (on the way and in faith) the Lord.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Those who believe in God should not divorce; they should not even speak out about divorcing; this word should not be among believers. 2) You can have money and things on this earth, but if you do not love them, you will find the way to go to heaven; the Lord does not teach believers to be poor, but not to put the love towards riches. 3) Look at the Lord as your leader and leave the things attached to you behind and follow the Lord. 4) Be pleased and joyful for what the Lord provides for you and His plans for you. 5) Never give up asking for mercy from the Lord; if you don’t give up, mercy will be given. People will rebuke or try to stop you from asking, but do not let those stop you; keep asking, and leave people behind.

Mark 11

Summary. In this chapter, we continue to summarize the events around the traveling points of the Lord. Many verses show that the Lord, the disciples, and some people are traveling. 1) Mark 11:1 tells that Jesus comes near to Jerusalem to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. Here the Lord sends two of His disciples into the village ahead to bring a colt, so the Lord will enter Jerusalem riding on a colt to fulfill the prophecy about how He enters Jerusalem.  Mark 11:7 shows that Jesus sits on the colt and starts riding the colt as He enters Jerusalem. Now here it shows the work of the Holy Spirit, which stirred people’s hearts to rejoice to see the Lord coming to Jerusalem; as the disciples are taking the colt, how can people know who is coming? Here clearly, the Holy Spirit is stirring people’s hearts as they are shouting out the “King is coming.” 2) In Mark 11:11a and 11:15, we see that Jesus enters Jerusalem and goes into the temple. Being in the temple, He starts cleansing the temple by chasing all those who did not come for worship but used the temple as a marketplace. Those who come to worship, the Lord teaches them and heals those sick. 3) In Mark 11:19 and 11:11b, it shows that at the end of the day, Jesus and His twelve disciples went out of the city to Bethany. Verse 11:12 shows that Jesus and the disciples came back from Bethany and Jesus was hungry. At this time, Jesus cursed the fig tree that withered immediately, and He used this event to teach the disciples a lesson about faith. This teaching happened the following day when they passed again by the fig tree, as shown in Mark 11:20. 4) In Mark 11:27, we are told that Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem, and they walked into the temple where the chief priests and the scribes, and the elders came to challenge the authority of Jesus.

1 And when they draw near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, He sends two of His disciples,

2 and says to them, Go your way into the village that is over against you: and straightaway as you enter into it, you shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat; loose him, and bring him.

3 And if anyone say to you, Why do you this? say you, The Lord hath need of him; and straightaway he will send him back here.

4 And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door outside in the open street; and they loose him.

5 And certain of them that stood there said to them, What do you, loosing the colt?

6 And they said to them even as Jesus had said: and they let them go.

7 And they bring the colt unto Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and He sat upon him.

8 And many spread their garments upon the way; and others branches, which they had cut from the fields.

9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord:

10 Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest.

Comments Mark 11:1-10. For Mark 11:1-10 see Comments Matthew 21:1-9, and Comments Luke 19:29-38.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 11:1-3, Matthew 21:1-3, Luke 19:29-31. See Comments Matthew 21:1-2. The main point of these verses is that the Lord directed the two disciples to bring the colt to Him to fulfill the prophecy about Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a colt. The Lord always fulfills what has been written about Him; if the prophecy says He sat on a colt, the Lord will do it.   

Q: In Matthew 21:2, the Lord talks about a donkey and a colt, while in Mark and Luke, the Lord talks only about a colt. How do we explain the difference? A: As we have explained in Matthew earlier, the Lord will never separate the mother from the colt. If you bring the colt, the mother will follow, just bring one, and another will follow; both come in the same meaning in this place. In this place, the Holy Spirit wants us to know between Matthew and Mark have described differently, but look at what it joins, the same thing, the colt, bring them to the Lord, the Lord tells them to bring them to the Lord that is the real word to say. Matthew and Mark describe in a different way, but the main thing is the same, bring them to the Lord. In this place, we don’t use the way of saying a direct quote from the Lord Jesus; in this place both, Matthew and Mark have written down what the Holy Spirit told them from the same situation, two-way directions as the Lord has told them, Matthew considers talking what it needs to be fulfilled prophecy wise, Mark writes down as the Lord tells, but both have one join meaning “bring them to the Lord.”

Matthew 21:4-5. Here it shows why in Matthew 21:2, the Holy Spirit gave the complete account with the donkey and the colt, to show that all this was done “to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet” (See Comments Matthew 21.5).

Mark 11:4-7, Matthew 21:6-7, Luke 19:32-35. See Comments Matthew 21:7.

Mark 11:8, Matthew 21:8, Luke 19:36. See Comments Matthew 21:8.

Mark 11:9-10, Matthew 21:9, Luke 19:37-38. See Comments Matthew 21:9. For the difference, in words spoken by the multitude, we can explain as the multitude express their feeling towards the Lord. As time goes by, we will hear more; the multitude will be affected as well and will say things differently; this is the beginning to see how the multitude reacts.

11 And He entered into Jerusalem, into the temple; and when He had looked around upon all things, it being now evening, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

12 And on the following day, when they came out from Bethany, He hungered.

13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if by chance He might find anything thereon: and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs.

14 And He answered and said to it, No man eat fruit from you henceforward forever. And His disciples heard it.

15 And they come to Jerusalem: and He entered into the temple, and began to throw out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;

16 and He would not allow that any person should carry a vessel through the temple.

17 And He taught, and said to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but you have made it a den of robbers.

18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him: for they feared Him, for all the multitude was astonished at His teaching.

19 And every evening He went forth [] out of the city.

20 And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots.

21 And Peter calling to remembrance says unto Him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursed is withered away.

22 And Jesus answering says to them, Have faith in God.

23 Truly I say to you, Whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be you taken up and thrown into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he says comes to pass; he shall have it.

24 Therefore I say to you, All things whatsoever you pray and ask for, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.

25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Comments 11:11-26. Comparison analysis and verses time mapping of Jesus time in Jerusalem and the temple.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Mark 11:11a, Matthew 21:10-11.  See Comments Matthew 21:10,11. Mark 11:11 is a verse summary of the day telling us that Jesus entered Jerusalem and the temple, and at the end of the day, He and His disciples left for Bethany. In between Mark 11:11a (the first part of the verse) and Mark 11:11b (the second part of the verse), other events are happening that are described later in Mark Chapter 11 and the other Gospels. Note that the events are not necessarily given in their timing order.

Mark 11:15-17, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 19:45. See Comments Matthew 21, 12-13. As Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt, He went straight to the temple; He entered the temple and cleansed the temple showing His authority and disappointment about what people are doing in the temple; this is the spot to call the “triumphal entry.” His authority has been shown in telling what the people had done wrong (people have been led to the wrongdoings), making the heart of all realize He is the One that comes to point the way and leads them out of wrongdoings in the temple of God; people learn now that they have been misusing the place of God. To point out straight to people’s hearts, that shows the authority of the Lord. The hearts of people have seen and heard what the Lord has said, what people have done to the temple of the Lord, it is a long day for all, a long day for the Lord Himself and humans (the day is long for them to do wrong for the Lord; because the Lord has been watching them, generation after generation of doing wrong, the Lord has seen them all). Also, remember many have followed the Lord in each place; they followed and saw how the Lord reacted when He entered the temple. The way the Lord has put it, humans have made the temple as a market place not a worship place anymore. When the Lord has chased all out, it impacted people’s hearts and made them start to think about what they have done to the temple of God; that is why they are shouting and praising God; it is reflecting what happened. But the day is not over yet for them; the day for them to continue to do wrong it does not end, the sun goes down, to do wrong for them it is not counting with the sun, when they open their eyes in the morning, the bad they still do, it never ends.

“And He would not allow that any person should carry a vessel through the temple”; in those times, they used the temple, not for worship, but they used it as a shortcut of their travel because the temple ground was softer, it is not like they are walking through the bush; they used the benefit of the temple grounds for walking through like nowadays would call they made the temple as a highway of walking to make shortcuts for their travels. So, Jesus stopped only those that did not come for worship; the worshipers He welcomed them into the house of the Lord, that always He did.

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”; the difference between Matthew and Mark, just let people know, not everybody notices the small little difference of it; here in this place, Mark says it complete. Just the words “all the nations,” think on those words alone, it is not just for the Jews alone now, the Word has told clearly. From everywhere in the world, if they call upon the Lord, He hears all, from the left to the right of His hand, no place can be hidden; it tells clear, those who call upon His name to come to Him, no hidden cause for anyone and anything. His calling is free; just follow the small little voice in your heart to search for someone who created all things of this earth; no nation can say the Lord is not for them.

Matthew 21:14. After He had chased them all out from the temple, when He did not allow them to walk through, those they are not commoners that He stopped them walking through the merchants He stopped them to go through. But the commoners come in to worship, and that is when they bring all the sick to Him; and the people who stayed for worship have seen the work of the Lord, not the merchants that have seen.

Mark 11:18, Matthew 21:15. See Comments Matthew 21:15. Mark here shows that the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to destroy Jesus because of their jealousy and fear of losing power in controlling the people.

Matthew 21:16. See Comments Matthew 21:16

Mark 11:19, Mark 11:11b, Matthew 21:17. All these verses show that Jesus went to Bethany in the evening after His triumphal entry in Jerusalem and after the event of cleaning the temple.

Jesus and the Fig Tree

Mark 11:12, Matthew 21:18. Hunger is a human feeling; remember, Jesus is human, and He knows what it means to be hungry; it is His human nature here showing. So, people cannot think that He is not human, the stomach is of flesh, and the Lord has the flesh of a human; His humanity has shown here as well.

Mark 11:13-14, Matthew 21:19. See Comments Matthew 21:18-19.

Mark 11:20-21, Matthew 21:20. Mathew 21:20 and Mark 11:20-21 happen simultaneously, but it was not in the morning when the Lord cursed the tree. We can notice from these verses that there is a dividing part in what happens; the Lord cursing the fig tree, the disciples seeing it, the disciples talking about it; from the disciples saw, until the disciples talk about here, there is a time period, in between these now notice that it is a time separation. The disciples have come and asked later on, not in the spot when the Lord has cursed the tree, the tree withered right away, but the disciples did not say in that time, on the following day as the Bible has told, the disciples have talked.

Mark 11:22-24, Matthew 21:21-22. See Comments Matthew 21:21, 22. Also, another example of what you should not ask is we should not ask not to feel hungry; this is against human nature. The Lord feels hungry as well; it is human nature to be hungry; humans have questions, the Lord shouldn’t be hungry enough to curse the tree. Humans cannot expect the Lord has feelings as humans, but as the Bible has told, the Lord was born as a baby, so human nature is here.

Mark 11:25. This verse stands on its own. The meaning is clear on its own, whatever you want the Lord to do for you, also do to someone else. The logic of humans, you give one, you get one, but for the Lord, if you give one, the overflow will come, not what you give is what you get; if you give, the overflow will come to you. More than forgive, you forget them all big or small from your heart; after you forgive, you must forget them as well, as the Lord did, He forgives and forgets all our trespasses.

Mark 11:26. This verse is in the original as well, but not all Bible versions will write it down; men tend to cut it off. It is clear in its own already; even small things are as a tip of a needle, but when it comes to the Lord’s eyes, it is clear, as the Bible has told, nothing is secret for the Lord. You say you forgive, but inside you do not; not only the Lord hears, but He sees in the heart as well, there is no secret for the Lord. If the forgiveness did not come from the heart is not complete forgiveness; therefore, if you want forgiveness from the Lord, better forgive first.  

27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as He was walking in the temple, there come to Him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders;

28 and they said unto Him, By what authority do Thou these things? Or who gave Thee this authority to do these things?

29 And Jesus said to them, I will ask of you one question, and answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer Me.

31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; He will say, Why then did you not believe him? 

32 But should we say, From men--they feared the people: for all truly held John to be a prophet.

33 And they answered Jesus and say, We know not. And Jesus says to them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Comments Mark 11:27-33. For Mark 11:27-33 see Comments Matthew 21:23-27 and Luke 20:1-8.

Mark 11:27-28, Matthew 21:23, Luke 20:1-2. See Comments Matthew 21:23.

Mark 11:29, Matthew 21:24, Luke 20:3. See Comments Matthew 21:24.

Mark 11:30-32, Matthew 21:25-26, Luke 20:4-6. See Comments Matthew 21:25-26.

Mark 11:33, Matthew 21:27, Luke 20:7-8. See Comments Matthew 21:27. God cannot lie; that is the key of all things, which shows in this verse. So, here it is clear that Jesus did not lie, He did not tell, or lie, it is not in the Lord to lie; rather not tell than lie.   

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Don’t use the place of worship as a place for business; the Lord does not join with it. So, if you call that place a place of worship, treat it as the Lord did; stop if you can those that do not worship; if you cannot stop them, do not join to do business with them; if you join, you are one of them. 2) When we stand praying, we need to do more than forgive the wrongs people do to us; we need to forget them all from our heart, big or small, as the Lord does; He forgives and forgets all our trespasses. 3) Keep in mind that God cannot lie; this is the nature of God; He cannot lie. Therefore, we should follow this in our lives and not lie. 4) Do not doubt when you ask something from the Lord, have faith and ask in faith, but do not ask things against God’s will and the nature of man.

Mark 12

Summary. This chapter mainly concentrates on who Christ is and His will to save all, even those who will crucify Him. The Lord tried to open their hearts because their eyes had seen something many people wanted to see, but their hearts were darkened. When they talk about Him and His work, it does not make them stop and think about who Jesus really is on this earth, but they only believe that He will come and take their power away from them. The power of this world is nothing, but that is what all humans’ eyes look for, to have power on this earth. Jesus came to point the way to the other world, but they do not hear and understand. The chapter presents a few events as Jesus interacts with the leaders of the people. 1) Jesus gives the parable of the tenants addressing their authority question. The parable is given to think about who Jesus really is, yet they seek to arrest Him because they perceive He spoke against them, the leaders of the people. But what the Lord has spoken did not reach their hearts because jealousy from their heart covered their ears. They have seen, they have heard the Holy Word coming out form Jesus’ mouth, but their jealous heart has covered it all, that is why all they can think about is how to destroy Him; even when the Lord talks about the Father, their ears are covered, they did not want to understand. 2) The leaders send some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to test the Lord about people’s duty; they want to point out that Jesus is against paying taxes and stirs people against governing authority. 3) Sadducees ask about the resurrection, and one of the scribes asks about the most important commandment of God. Because they call Him teacher, they want to know His standpoint, but this shows their disrespect towards the Lord. In a human position, they put Him as a teacher, He is above them, but they come with all sorts of questions only to trap Him in His answers, not for learning from the Lord; this is a wicked way of students; they themselves have called Him teacher but have no respect towards the Lord. 4) Jesus teaches them about who Christ is. 5) Jesus teaches against corrupt leaders; mainly, the Lord tells them to look at the leaders with watchful eyes; are they walking as the Law has been written or walk beside it? People need to open their eyes to know what is wrong and what is not wrong. He tells them, do not take what you see, but always look first at what the Law tells you; in that time, they did not have the Bible, but they have the Law. 6) Jesus teaches about offering to the Lord; it is important to give from the most value we have, not from the leftover.  

1 And He began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country.

2 And at the season he sent to the tenants a servant, that he might receive from the tenants of the fruits of the vineyard.

3 And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

4 And again he sent to them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and handled shamefully.

5 And he sent another; and him they killed: and many others; beating some, and killing some.

6 He had yet one, a beloved son: he sent him last to them, saying, They will reverence my son.

7 But those tenants said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.

8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him [] out of the vineyard.

9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.

10 Have you not read even this scripture: The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner;

11This was from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes?

12 And they sought to lay hold on Him; and they feared the multitude; for they perceived that He spoke the parable against them: and they left Him, and went away.

Comments Mark 12:1-12. For Mark 12:1-12 see Comments Matthew 21:33-46 and Comments Luke 20:9-19. Analyzing these portions of Scriptures, we can say that the Lord has spoken this parable more than once to different groups of people. Each time the Lord tells the parable, same parable, but different way of pointing out, the emphasizing is different; each Gospel has its own purpose, same parable, but different people listening. The time of day, from morning until evening, don’t forget as well, people approaching in one area, the Lord says it, when the Lord goes further, another group approaching, still saying the same parable, explaining, that is why each Gospel has differences only in some certain spots, but the whole story is the same. Each Gospel puts the parable once but renders not necessarily the same instance happening.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 12:1, Matthew 21:33, Luke 20:9. Jesus continues to speak to the chief priests and scribes and elders in parables and gives them the parable of the tenants (See Comments Matthew 21:33). In Matthew, we mentioned only two types of people, but we also need to mention the gentiles. Some of the gentiles are chosen ones; the Lord will use some of them for a purpose. Note that this parable does not talk about the saved ones but only about the chosen ones for doing work for the Lord.

Mark 12:2, Matthew 21:34, Luke 20:10a. The Lord sends His servants to the people when they sin, to tell them to repent and bring them back to the Lord, to make their own hearts rebuke them that they have sinned against the Lord; and the heart will make them repent and turn back to the Lord. If you think back to the Old Testament, the Lord always sent His prophets and servants to the people when they walked astray to bring them to repentance. And in the New Testament, we see that the Father sent John the Baptist to bring people to repentance and ultimately Jesus His beloved Son to save all human souls (See Comments Matthew 21:34).

Mark 12:3-6, Matthew 21:35-37, Luke 20:10b-13. All Gospels have shown the same thing, the love of the Father towards humans. He sent His servants, and the Bible has told how they, the tenants, treated them, but the Lord has not given up; He is willing to save the humans, and after all, He sends His Son. Why do humans not want to think about the love of God? Selfishness is in them from the beginning, you can do good to humans, but they never are willing by themselves to accept it. The Lord sent the Holy Spirit to guide the humans to Him, but they still don’t believe and reject Him in the same way; they reject not just the One the Father sent, they reject the Father Himself; this is clear here. When the punishment comes, they have no argument; they did nothing good; even they have been guided by the Holy Spirit, how many have come and believed? That is the conclusion about humans; they do not respond to the call of the Holy Spirit, you can pour all the good down to humans, but they never appreciate it. As the Bible has told in many places, all things have their own time to come; when the end time comes, the human voice will not be heard, just be aware of evil thought which humans are building by themselves, nobody pursues them to think evil. See Comments Matthew 21:35-37.

Mark 12:7-8, Matthew 21:38-39, Luke 20:14-15a. See Comments Matthew 21:38-39.

Mark 12:9, Matthew 21:40-41, Luke 20:15b-16. See Comments Matthew 21:40-41.

Mark 12:10-11, Matthew 21:42, Luke 20:17. See Comments Matthew 21:42.

13 And they send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch Him in talk.

14 And when they came, they say unto Him, Teacher, we know that Thou are true, and care not for anyone; for Thou regard not the person of men, but of a truth teach the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why make you trial of Me? bring me a denarius, that I may see it.

16 And they brought it. And He says to them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto Him, Caesar's.

17 And Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marveled greatly at Him.

Comments Mark 12:13-17. For Mark 12:13-17 see Comments Matthew 22:15-22, and Comments Luke 20:19-26. The parable of paying taxes to Caesar was spoken by the Lord at different times and different groups of people, as we can see from these portions of the Scriptures. The Lord asks to see the denarius more than once because they have different sizes with different pictures; they have images that have different meanings in different ways. Each Gospel gives us an account that the Holy Spirit gave to the writers; each Gospel has its own purpose. When it comes to money, questions never end; pay attention to the answer the Lord has given to them. “Bring me a denarius, that I may see it”; think of what the eyes have seen when you look at money; money belongs to the world, but the Lord did not pay money to them (the Lord did not come to apply the job to be a teacher, the people have lifted Him up and put Him to be a teacher; if you apply to get the job, then you need to pay taxes as a teacher). The greedy eyes will never stop searching, making Him pay the money. As time passes, this question will come more times, to pay money; it shows clearly how humans are, greedy covers the eyes. This verse tells clearly, watch out for greed, pay attention to the answer the Lord has given them.

Q: Did their question come with good intention or to search first what the Lord contributes towards humans? A: This question is just to know if everything first comes for pleasing humans, which in fact goes against God’s teaching; first God and then humans. People contribute money to the Lord as well. In the Bible, it tells in many places about those that bring what they have to help the Lord’s ministry; and this is the point, they want the portion of it as well; if the people give something for helping people, the Lord must distribute those portions also for government asking (as taxes). But are those things ever come to the Lord’s possession? The Lord never used those for His own purpose; the Lord works for His own living; all the things people bring for the Lord, the Lord distributes to the disciples, and the disciples distribute back to the people, nothing ever comes for the Lord’s pleasure Himself. This is the point of asking for payment. Humans find ways to take even from the one who does not have, the rule and order will come to enforce payment, and everyone feels guilty not to pay (if they come to tell you it is a duty and you don’t do your duty, that will convict people to feel guilty). Like nowadays, they ask for money and claim they use it for helping; but those who do the helpful work receive the wage higher than those who come to contribute.

Q: Are they, actually, trying to imply with their question that the Lord should pay taxes as well? A: Yes, they are trying to imply that He should pay taxes from what He receives from people.

Mark 12:13-14a, Matthew 22:15-16, Luke 20:19-26. See Comments Matthew 22:16.

“Certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians.” Send more, and you will hear more because the idea is to catch the Lord in His talk. Send one time you don’t catch the talk; as the time goes by, different ones will be sent to ask, just to see the answer; it is a way to catch something in His answer, it will not be only one time to check out.

Q: Why do they send people asking many times? A: The purpose is to compare each time the Lord’s answer; that is the way they try to criticize, by the Lord’s answer they want to find the mistake; that is why the Lord has been asked many times same questions, but in the Bible, it mentions only one time because every time the answer will be the same, that is why it is written only one time.

Mark 12:14b-17, Matthew 22:17-22, Luke 20:20-26. See Comments Matthew 22:21-22.

“And they marveled greatly at Him.” This question they come, about paying taxes, the purpose is to find fault in Jesus, their intention only is to find a mistake in Him to stop His work. His answer did not capture their hearts; as the Bible has said, they marveled at His answer, marveled but not enough for them that feeling to capture their hearts to think by themselves who is He that they are trying to test. This place clearly shows that it is their own fault to be condemned; the Lord has given them a straight answer, they marveled, that is all they feel, but do not think of the Lord who He is; He is the Son of God.

18 And there come unto Him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked Him, saying,

19 Teacher, Moses wrote to us, If a man's brother die, and leave a wife behind him, and leave no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.

20 There were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed;

21 and the second took her, and died, leaving no seed behind him; and the third likewise:

22 and the seven left no seed. Last of all the woman also died.

23 In the resurrection whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

24 Jesus said to them, Is it not for this cause that you err, that you know not the scriptures, nor the power of God?

25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as angels in heaven.

26 But as touching the dead, that they are raised; have you not read in the book of Moses, in the place concerning the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: you do greatly err.

Mark 12:18-27. For Mark 12:18-27 See Comments Matthew 22:23-32 and Luke 20:27-40.

Mark 12:24. “Jesus said to them, Is it not for this cause that you err ....” They don’t know by the heart knowledge, and without the heart knowledge, they will never understand the Scripture; those are the people, who the Lord has many places of warning; the ones who use the head to control the heart will never have the deep knowledge according to the teaching of the Scripture.

Mark 12:27. “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living,” and in Luke 20:38, it adds, “for all live to Him”; no one is dead in front of the Lord. So, do not forget He is the Living God, and all are alive in front of Him; that is why when they refer to the Lord, always refer as the God of the living, because no one dies that can come and be in front of Him, they are living spirits.

Q: How is this answer here related to the resurrection of the body? A: This is not a resurrection of the body yet; they are alive souls waiting. At the second coming of the Holy Son, all bodies that have died in the Lord will be raised up that time, and the Lord will give them a new heavenly body, that is why as believers, you should not cremate your body; you come from the ground, let your body return to the ground. At the return of the Lord, those souls that died in the name of the Lord will return back, but not in this flesh body, to receive judgment in front of the Father. The flesh of sin is not there, this flesh is full of sin, and it can’t be in front of the Father, but if you have been baptized in the name of His Son, you can be in front of the Father in your new heavenly body. The heavenly body resembles our earthly body but is not the same; it looks like it but not the same.

Mark 12:26-27. Q: Does the Lord here really answer the question about raising from the dead? A: Those who died already but come in front of God, are they raised or not? This here talks about the resurrection, but resurrection in the body there is only one that raised in the body; it will be the only one that can be resurrected in the earthly body; that is Jesus. The Lord’s body never decayed; the rest of all humans have decayed; all others are resurrected in the body but not in the body of the earth. In that time, there will be a different kind of body, a heavenly body.

Q: Should a Christian cremate? A: To not cremate it is for respect to the Lord; the things that the Lord has created cannot be destroyed completely; if He used the dirt to create humans, the dirt should go back to dirt; that is why we shouldn’t cremate.

28 And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that He had answered them well, asked Him, What commandment is the first of all?

29 Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is One:

30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.

31 The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto Him, Of a truth, Teacher, Thou hast well said that He is One; and there is none other but He:

33 and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that dared ask Him any question.

Mark 12:28-34. For Mark 12:28-34 see Comments Matthew 22:35-40.

Passage Analysis

Mark 12:28. In this verse, we are told that “one of the scribes” came with the question, and in Matthew 22:35, we are told that “one of them, a lawyer,” came with the question.

Q: Is here in Mark the same person asking the question? A: It is the same person, just the way sometimes in the past, if you are one of them (Pharisees or Sadducees or scribes) but not like them, the name will be crossed sometimes (lawyer). Only one among them has the question; he might be called one of them, but he is different from them; among them, one is a lawyer, the thought has separated him out. Even nowadays, you put people in a group together; they are still one or more who do not have the same idea as the rest. He might be called the same as them, but he has his occupation; he is a lawyer as an occupation on the side. The scribes and Pharisees are not the same; just some ideas differ in them; so, they are separated out, and in that time, it became a level of people. Think this way; humans classify humans as the same type because something in them has been classified as a group. This man was neither of those (Pharisee or scribe); he was just a lawyer.

Mark 12:29-31, Matthew 22:37-40. See Comments Matthew 22:39-40.

Mark 12:32-33. Q: Did this lawyer challenge the Lord here? A: Pay attention to the word Teacher, the person has recognized the Lord as Teacher, and that himself is below the Lord, it is not a challenge but testing; if you are teacher, tell me what it is, that is not a challenge but testing; if you are teacher prove to me you know the answer. Even nowadays, people still do that and come and test the Lord.

Mark 12:34. Notice here in verse 34 that the Lord did not condemn this man. “And no man after that dared ask Him any question.” Now is the proof to people’s eyes, the ears have heard what the Lord has said. The Lord has been lifted up in front of them; He is a Teacher, the authority has been given to Him. They have given Him that authority, but they did not recognize it; talk with the mouth but not with the heart, just say by mouth.

35 And Jesus answered and said, as He taught in the temple, How say the scribes that the Christ is the son of David?

36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit you on My right hand, Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.

37 David himself calls Him Lord; and from where is He his son? And the common people heard Him gladly.

Mark 12:35-37. For Mark 12:35-37 see Comments Matthew 22:41-45, and Comments Luke 20:41-44.

Mark 12:36. This verse intends to make people think about the two “Lord” words. To whom may they be addressed? Your Lord or the Lord Himself, now come to the truth of it; think again, the first Lord is who? The first “Lord” is the Father; the second “Lord” is the Son. The Father told the Son, “sit at My right hand, and I will put all Your enemies under Your feet,” which is a promise between the Father and the Son; people have been arguing about this.

38 And in His teaching He said, Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and to have salutations in the marketplaces,

39 and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts:

40 they that devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers; these shall receive greater condemnation.

Mark 12:38-40. For Mark 12:38-40 see also Comments Matthew 23:1, 2, 5-7.

Mark 12:38-39. Q: Who are these scribes? A: In this place, when the Lord has mentioned in the Bible the scribes, nowadays you can compare with the leaders, but not the pastors of the church, but the leaders that put themselves to be as leaders for the purpose of self-proclaiming; those that step above people and make themselves to be known, but in their personal life nothing has glorified the Lord, in the place where no one sees. Those people who do things in the dark place, even the Lord Himself has to turn back to them because those people will make someone else fall from faith as well. Too many do things behind in the dark; even the dark has to turn away not to look. As the Bible has told, when the end time is coming (near), the ones whom people have lifted up will be put down to the ground, the ones that are first shall be last, here is the place the Bible has told. So, you, yourself, watch out; don’t judge by what you hear they do; use this verse to justify the action of people. We may see many glorifying the Lord, but we don’t know anyone’s heart, only the Lord knows; not by the action they are doing, someone may act perfectly in glorifying, but someone may not look right in action, the Lord wants the heart that glorifies not the action alone; as this verse tells, they dress properly and pray long, but no one knows their heart, only the Lord. 

These verses tell about the ones that come telling that the way you do is wrong, and you have to change. They use their knowledge to justify and convince people that what they are doing is wrong, and the right way is their way to be followed. So, you participate in a group and contribute to making the group grow, but grow in what? Always remember, grow in the knowledge of the Word or grow in the knowledge of the world; use that as an indicator, stay away from them, those who do not grow in the Word, don’t even eat at the same table with them; because how they behave will convince you that their way is right, use Bible to be your way, not people’s way to be right.

Mark 12:40. “They that devour … greater condemnation.”; The widows are weak at that point when they lose their husband. So, you go to these widows and tell them the way to comfort the dead they must do certain things. But, only one way is to comfort the dead, the Word; for what you give on this earth, money or things, that does not comfort the dead. We heard about the idea that you give more to make the dead be in a better place, but money cannot buy a better place in heaven; only the Word will lead the dead to the place of rest if they lived by the Word.

41 And He sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two small coins, which make a penny.

43 And He called unto Him His disciples, and said to them, Truly I say to you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury:

44 for they all did cast in of their abundance; but she of her poverty did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Mark 12:41-44. For Mark 12:41-44 see also Comments Luke 21:1-4.

Mark 12:41. In this place, we can notice those rich people when put the money they will put so people will see. Even nowadays, it is the same; there are many ways people use to show about their giving (people can guess by the size of the things they give). In this place in the Bible, the rich come, and you notice the amount by the size; small size or big size, that is the way to tell you are rich, or you are poor; if you want people to think you are rich, then the size of your offering has to be big as well.

Mark 12:42-44. In these verses, it tells, you put it from the leftover, which is not that important for you; but this widow puts small coins, but it is her life. Put it shortly, you give the Lord the leftover, or you give to the Lord from the most of value you have; it can be small, but that small amount, after all, is more valuable than a big amount. In these verses, it tells us, you give from what you don’t need, or you give from what you need, but you are willing to give the things you need to the Lord, that is the heart of giving that the Lord likes to see, give from the heart, not for the eyes of humans.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) “And Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” If it is a requirement for the place where you are in, do so; if that is by human telling, abide by what it says, but what they do with that money, they will be accountable to God. We as believers must do the duty as well, as long as that duty is not against the Living Word of God; otherwise, they will come and accuse that our God teaches us not to do the duty for society. The Living Word is a rule for all believers, but the government rule is for people walking among people on earth. So, you must do your duty towards the government as well; the Bible does not teach us to disobey the government as long as the government does not give orders against the Law of God; this is the point of division (the split between). 2) Duty towards God is first, then the duty to the society and human rules; we abide first by the Living Word as a believer. 3) For the dead, all we can say is to ask the Lord’s mercy; you can’t do anymore further for the dead, but bring all the need to the Lord. If we have someone that we think about, there is only one we can bring to, the Lord; we as humans cannot do anything anymore. 4) We should never test the Lord. Sometimes humans think that is not testing but asking, but better think of the question you put to the Lord, you challenge the Lord can He do it? When you come to the Lord, you say things, don’t let your mouth move before you think carefully about what you say. The Lord is merciful but not forgiving that easy if you come testing for His patience on you. 5) Give offerings to the Lord from the heart, not for the eyes of humans.

Mark 13

Summary. During this time, the Lord Jesus was teaching every day in the temple in Jerusalem, but at night He went outside of the city and lodged on the Mount Olivet (See Luke 21:37-38). In this chapter, as Jesus was sitting with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, the Lord answered His disciples’ questions about the temple buildings and the signs of His coming and the end of the age. The disciples at that time did not know when and what would happen to the temple buildings in Jerusalem. Now we know what happened to the temple buildings; the Lord prophesied about it, but we don’t know the time yet, how the age will end, and when the Lord will return. Nobody knows this time, but the Lord gives us various signs to watch for and prepare for those times if we live in those times. The Lord gives us a few prominent signs and warnings in this chapter. 1) The destruction of the current temple of the Lord (the Bible) by changing the way to interpret the Bible because they will claim they found new original texts for translating the Bible, and many things will be changed to fit what they have found, and the fake bible will appear. 2) The way to build a new temple, according to the new fake bible, is to replace the old temple location; but that will not bring praises to God but will bring praises to men; the ones that will build it will claim they did it by their own intelligence (they used the fake new bible); no need for God’s help to build the new temple for God, build God’s temple but do not need God. 3) The abomination will start by replacing the true Bible and lifting up the new fake bible as the true one instead of the old one that the Lord has given to humans. What they will also change in the fake bible will be to fit the description of where and how to build the new temple; the way we have the Bible now will no longer be used, and the new fake bible will replace the true one throughout the world. 4) Other signs relate to people doing things with human intelligence and claiming that humans are more intelligent than God. Humans no longer need God to be in this world; this will be harder for humans who still hold on to the true Bible to accept. If the Lord wants to bring change, it will be a big war between humans; there will be two types of humans, the black and the white belief, not the color of skin referring here, but the color of the mind; will be the war, internal war in humans themselves.

1 And as He went [] out of the temple, one of His disciples saith unto Him, Teacher, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings!

2 And Jesus said to him, See you these great buildings? there shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down.

Comments Mark 13:1-2. For Mark 13:1-2 see Comments Matthew 24:1-2 and Comments Luke 21:5-6.

Q: How do we explain the word differences between the Gospels? For example, Matthew 24:1-2 talks about the disciples coming to Jesus and Jesus answering them, while Mark 13:1-2 talks about one disciple talking to the Lord and the Lord answering him. A: Yes, it is true the Gospels tell differently, but remember as well, the disciples they go together in a group. One of them comes near to ask questions, and the rest are behind; when the Lord answers, He answers to the one that asks, but the rest of them that are there also are part of listening as well. Jesus talks to the one, but all understand, all are listening and are part of it at the same time; just the word is different, in some places, but the meaning did not change.

Comments Mark 13:2. In this place, the Lord has told what will happen with the temple, and it did happen, but later on, not right away in that time.  

3 And as He sat on the Mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately,

4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished?

5 And Jesus began to say to them, Take heed that no one leads you astray.

6 Many shall come in My name, saying, I am he; and shall lead many astray.

7 And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled: these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet.

8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be earthquakes in divers places; there shall be famines: these things are the beginning of travail.

9 But take you heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in synagogues shall you be beaten; and before governors and kings shall you stand for My sake, for a testimony to them.

10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

11 And when they lead you to judgment, and deliver you up, be not anxious beforehand what you shall speak: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak you; for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit.

12 And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child; and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.

13 And you shall be hated of all men for My name's sake: but he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.

Comments Mark 13:3-13. For Mark 13:3-13 see Comments Matthew 24:3-14 and Comments Luke 21:7-19.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 13:3-4, Matthew 24:3. See Comments Matthew 24:3. Q: In Mark, it looks that the disciples are asking about when the things will happen to the temple, and in Matthew, they are asking about the temple and the second coming of the Lord and the end of the age. A: In Mark, it did not give the whole question. Here in Mark, the disciples ask more about the time to happen, a more specific question, when it will happen, but the Lord will not tell the exact time. It is not for anyone to know the time; the persons in that time (when Jesus was on the earth and spoke to them) cannot know when it will happen, but now when we read, we can know; the time overlaps now with us (the time the Lord talked about came to pass, the destruction of the temple is history now for us). The time of the past (the time the Lord spoke about) and now time overlap each other (in the sense that it happened, and now we can know what happened, but for the persons that were in the past they did not have a chance to think the way we have now), but only now people can know what has happened. Still, the people in that time had no idea what the Lord was talking about. Also, the time of the past that the Lord has been crucified and the time of now expecting His return is overlapped for us. Now the overlap is clearer for us as well, think of that time they did not know that the Lord would be crucified, and now we don’t know the time of the Lord’s return; you can notice the overlap (we talk here about the overlap of the unknown, the times the Lord predicted). At that time, when the Lord spoke to them, they did not know about the destruction of the temple (that time was unknown for them), but at this time we know about the destruction of the temple, but we don’t know about the second coming time (this time is unknown now for us), this unknown time could also be viewed as an overlap situation.

See “Comments on the temple of the Lord” in Matthew 24:3. Now, the Bible is the Living Word of God, so it is His temple; He dwells in the Living Word; people will try to change and destroy this temple (the Bible).

When the Lord was born on earth, the circle comes to completion; nothing that the Lord created will be wiped off completely; the Lord has already taken the part of the earth with Him when He rose. The Lord was in human flesh when He rose (He ate fish, and the disciples saw His nail-pierced hands); the Lord’s glory covered that human body and carried that body up to heaven. The body of the Lord was transfigured (from inner to come out, His heavenly body from inside his human body covered the human body) not transformed (from out into inner; meaning that His human body did not change, but instead the inner body, the heavenly body, came out and covered the human body).

The Lord’s body is from the earth; the connection (the Heavenly Spirit) between His body and earth is here, and the Lord is here; when He (the Holy Spirit) goes back, the earth will meltdown. In human’s eyes, it takes a long time (from the departure of the Holy Spirit until the melting down), but it is not long at all in the Lord's eyes. Still, because of the mercy the Father has towards His created things, He has spared already the earth, His begotten Son has taken back with Him the part of the earth, imagine part of the earth is in the Lord Himself. Therefore, nothing will disappear completely; the Lord has already spared the earth.  

Mark 13:5-6, Matthew 24:4-5. See Comments Matthew 24:4-5.

Mark 13:7-8, Matthew 24:6-8. The meaning of these verses of Scripture is the same. See Comments Matthew 24:6-8. Here we can add; also the war is not the physical war alone. Also, the war of the spiritual world will happen; how to take away the believers from the faith will startup, not just fighting physical but the fighting of mind will appear. That is why parents can put children to death, inside human beings will change, the selfishness will cover the eye of the heart, that’s why family can betray each other. The Bible has already told about these disasters. The words cannot describe what will happen in those times.

Mark 13:9, Matthew 24:9. See Comments Matthew 24:9. Maybe these verses use the words differently, but they both have the same meaning.

Mark 13:10, Matthew 24:14. See Comments Matthew 24:14. Here is where we can notice that there is no copy between the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. The purpose of the Gospel is to be proclaimed all over the world. These days, there are still some places that have never heard about the name of the Lord yet. The second coming of the Lord is not yet here; this sign must be fulfilled first.

Mark 13:11. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit, the name of the Lord will spread all over. When everywhere humans have known about the Lord, this written here will happen.

Mark 13:12, Matthew 24:10. The meaning is straightforward. Q: Why does this happen? A: This verse shows the picture of things that will happen when people think of themselves only.

Mark 13:13, Matthew 24:13. “But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.” In this verse, the Lord warns all humans to know, when the time is coming, no ones’ fault but themselves because the Gospel has been proclaimed. Humans find an excuse to say that it is not their fault they are not saved, but the Bible has already been spread everywhere; the persons themselves walked by the Bible many times but never even looked at it. When the Word is spread all over, in some places will have resistance, but the end is not yet there; even family will fight each other, the end is not there yet. If inside your heart you are not moving accordingly to what you have seen happening to some people you know, you did not back off from the faith; those that can stand until the end will be saved.

Q: Can you lose salvation? A: If you do not stand to the end, you can lose salvation; you admit today the Lord, and troubles come next day, and you back off from the Lord, that is a betrayer action, and you will be cut off.

14 But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not (let him that reads understand), then let them that are in Judaea flee to the mountains:

15 and let him that is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out his house:

16 and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

17 But woe to them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days!

18 And pray you that it be not in the winter.

19 For those days shall be tribulation, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be.

20 And except the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

21 And then if any person shall say to you, Behold, here is the Christ; or, Behold, there; believe it not:

22 for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, the elect.

23 But take you heed: behold, I have told you all things beforehand.

Comments Mark 13:14-23. For Mark 13:14-23 see Comments Matthew 24:15-28.

Passage Analysis

(For comments on the second coming of the Lord see: “Additional Notes on Timeline Events …” in Comments Matthew 25:6b)

Mark 13:14-20, Matthew 24:15-22. See Comments Matthew 24:15 and Matthew 24:22.

“Abomination of desolation”; in this place, the abomination itself, a person that has covered themselves with the dark and pretends to be the holy son himself, will perform miracles by dark powers which will trick many believers. But for the ones that keep reading the true Word, the eyes of the heart will be open to see and understand and will not fall into the trap of the dark side. A short period of time for the sake of the elect ones; as the Bible tells, the Lord has cut the time short because humans’ eyes will see miracles performing, which will lead the heart away from the Lord. In those days, the ones that call themselves Christians will be the ones that go ahead and burn Bibles in front of people. Watch out, all humans, this will happen as the Bible has told, but when the eyes will see these things, it will look worse than written because all humans perform it, not the evil one alone. Keep the true Bible to your heart, and you will see the light. As the Bible has told, nations against nations, kingdom against kingdom, humans killing humans everywhere, but all evil still not ending yet by the hand of humans themselves.

Mark 13:21-22; Matthew 24:23-24. See Comments Matthew 24:3-5.

Mark 13:23; Matthew 24:25. The Bible has already told us clearly that people will come and read the Word and mixing words out and declare the time of the Lord return is not yet, but when the abomination has appeared, that is the first step of judgment; because of listening to the abomination, the Lord will start pouring His wrath on the earth. It will not be easy for humans in those times; the mind will be hard to think what is true and what is fake because the evil one has faked the bible for humans to read on. When you fake the bible and read on, the mind will not see the true light of the Word. The only way to be safe is to meditate on the Word and not follow humans who come and teach you and lead you astray; nothing can compare to the real Word.

24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

25 and the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken.

26 And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

27 And then shall He send forth the angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Comments Mark 13:24-27. For Mark 13:14-23 see Comments Matthew 24:29-31.

Mark 13:24-25, Matthew 24:29. See Comments Matthew 24:29.

Additional Explanations to the Comments in Matthew

Q: Two times in one, what does it mean? A: It is the same time, the same moment, but two worlds are sharing that time, the world as we see, and the parallel world which also shares this time, go parallel together, that why we used the term a gap of time (a gap between these two times). It is the same thing but two worlds that share but do not interfere with each other at all. There are two gaps of time because it is not the same world that shares the same time, same moment; they overlap each other, and in between, there is a gap of time which does not impact each other; one world one gap of time, the other world another gap of time. Notice the term used in this verse, the moon will not give its light, the stars falling down, but where do the stars fall down? They can’t fall down on this earth; the earth will be destroyed; this is talking about another world; here in this verse, it tells clearly. The human world will have great trouble; it will be difficult for humans to survive; this is a gap of time of this world to go through all the difficult time; another world we cannot know about, they have their gap of time.

Mark 13:26, Matthew 24:30. See Comments Matthew 24:30. In Matthew, we explain that the majority will see the Son of Man coming in His glory as a vision, but the elect ones will see the Lord as He is.

Mark 13:27, Matthew 24:31. See Comments Matthew 24:31. The elect, these are the ones that will see Him as He is.

28 Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and puts out its leaves, you know that the summer is near;

29 even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know you that He is near, even at the doors.

30 Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass away, until all these things be accomplished.

31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away.

Comments Mark 13:28-31. For Mark 13:28-31 see Comments Matthew 24:32-35.

32 But of that day or that hour knows no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

33 Take you heed, watch and pray: for you know not when the time is.

34 It is as when a man, sojourning in another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, to each one his work, commanded also the porter to watch.

35 Watch therefore: for you know not when the lord of the house comes, whether at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning;

36 lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

37 And what I say to you I say to all, Watch.

Comments Mark 13:32-37. For Mark 13:32-37 see Comments Matthew 24:36-51, however the parable given here in Mark is unique in its own.

Passage Analysis

(For comments on the second coming of the Lord see: “Additional Notes on Timeline Events …” in Comments Matthew 25:6b)

Mark 13:32, Matthew 24:36. See Comments Matthew 24:36.

Mark 13:32-33. The verses tell clearly that no one knows that day. The Holy Spirit gives the message about the judgment day from the Father when the Father Himself will judge all souls; nobody knows when the Father wants to do that. As the Bible has told, even the beloved Son does not know, how can the things created know? Watch out for those who claim to know when the judgment day will come; you can say that day will come, but no one can say when. There is only one way to be safe in this time, do not try to impersonate the power on high to know, just stay in prayer and read the Word. The Father has already given way out for all humans to be saved; meditate and read the Word, and the heart will be open for all; no need to be guessing when or how it will happen. All things will happen in their own time; no one can say, as the Bible has told, noontime or dinner time, the Bible tells clearly no one knows the time.

Mark 13:34-35. The meaning here is, in general, the Lord has given authority to His servants. A servant is a person that is willing from deep within his soul to do the work for the Lord, to cut off from all the things of this world, to keep the eyes of the soul to the Lord and the ear of the soul listening to the order to go out and tell human beings the time has come, be aware, but it will not tell what will happen. The servant’s duty is to warn people about the time is coming and stir up people’s hearts to be ready and turn to the Word to seek advice and direction. But, if the people stay thinking in their own mind without asking the Holy Spirit to guide their thought about that day to come, the mind will bring about what others around are talking about, and they will be confused. Those concerned about that day will have to be different and will have to meditate at all times.

The person (this person here refers to the persons that the servants ministered to) won’t understand how he can continue the work of the Lord; he feels in his heart that he needs to do something, but he does not know what he needs to do, because he did not meditate in the Word, but just reading; to meditate includes to follow as well what the Lord has told in their heart what they have to do. The Word already tells how to follow; if you meditate but don’t follow, you will not walk through the troubles until the end. Also, remember this time is the hardest time on earth.

In this place, the porter is the person whom the Lord has called deep in their soul to do the work to guide the heart of the chosen ones, it will become a burden in their heart to do the work, and they can’t stop until they do the work. When the work is complete, in their heart and soul, they will find the peace of the Lord flowing through their soul. “To watch” is a warning to the porter to be watching and be alert as well.

The servant has the duty, but think of the house, who else could be there, there will be more people; each servant will do their own duty, and people around, not only the Jews now, all over the world will have that chance, but only if they open the ear and the heart of their soul to accept the Word and accept the authority above them, and humble themselves, and come to the Lord. The Lord never rejects anyone if sincerely they humble to Him.

Mark 13:36. Here is talking about those people who think they believe, but lack in their way, today they are meditating, the next day stop, and the day after meditating again, that is why the Bible tells find you sleeping; you need to be all the time alert.

Mark 13:37. This verse tells everyone, not only to the believers, all over the world, all have the same chance to be watchful, doing, and be saved.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Bible is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Treasure the Bible and choose a good Bible translation that holds to the original text. For every Bible we want to treasure, make sure we pray about it first, the Bible will touch the heart, and you will feel inside of you if that is the right one for you. If you find one, treasure it more than life and don’t trade it for anything else; not the Bible look is that counts, it counts if that Bible talks to your heart. Make sure to let your family know that the Bible is important to you. 2) No one knows the time of the Lord’s return, do not listen to anyone who claims to know that time; just meditate on the Word, and the Lord will speak to you about everything. 3) Be watchful and always meditate in the Word.

Mark 14

Summary. In this chapter, we are given a few places where the Lord sojourned prior to the crucifixion, but not in a timely order. 1) At Bethany in the house of Simon, the leper. Here in this house, a few events happened: a) Jesus sat at the table where a woman anointed Him with a very costly ointment of pure nard; b) some showed indignation that this woman wasted the costly ointment on the Lord; c) the Lord tells them that the woman did a beautiful thing for Him, she anointed beforehand His body for burial. 2) A large upper room furnished and ready in a house in the city. In this room, the Lord Jesus eats the Passover with His twelve disciples, His last Passover before He was crucified, and He tells them about the things that will happen to Him: a) He tells them that one of them will betray Him; b) He institutes the Lord’s supper as a symbol for the new covenant in His blood. 3) They went out to the Mount of Olives. Here the Lord tells His disciples that they will all fall away as it is written in the Scripture (See Zechariah 13:7): a) Peter, however, testifies that he will not betray the Lord; b) the Lord tells Peter that He will deny the Lord three times before the rooster crows twice. 4) A place called Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Here the Lord Jesus goes to pray earnestly to the Father about His departure from the disciples because the work on earth is not done yet: a) Jesus takes three of His disciples with Him to witness Him praying to the Father. 5) The place on the Mount of Olives where the betrayer came with a crowd with clubs and swords to capture Jesus. 6) They led Jesus to the palace of the high priest. Other things happening in this place are: a) Peter follows the Lord into the courtyard of the palace of the high priest; b) the chief priests and the council seek testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they found none, only false witnesses; c) Jesus testifies to them that He is the Christ the Son of the Blessed; d) They condemn Jesus of blasphemy and condemn Him to death and begin to mock and abuse Him. 7) Below in the courtyard. Here Peter denies the Lord three times before the rooster crows twice: a) Afterwards, Peter remembered what the Lord said to him, and he broke down and wept.

1 Now after two days was the feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him with subtlety, and kill Him:

2 for they said, Not during the feast, fearing that by chance there shall be a tumult of the people.

Comments Mark 14:1-2. For Mark 14:1-2 see Comments Matthew 26:2-5 and Comments Luke 22:1-2.

Additional Comments. The Lord has been called the Passover Lamb, and that is why He will be crucified as the Passover Lamb to save the whole world, not just the chosen people. The Lord has known what will happen to Him, but He still walks ahead with it. The love for humans has power for the Lord; He walks through the death on the cross as the Passover Lamb; that is the love of the Lord for humans. So, when you look at the cross, think of the One that has been crucified for the humans.

3 And while He was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, there came a woman having an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard very costly; and she broke the jar, and poured it over His head.

4 But there were some that had indignation among themselves, saying, To what purpose has this waste of the ointment been made?

5 For this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

6 But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble you her? she has worked a good work on Me.

7 For you have the poor always with you, and whenever you will you can do them good: but Me you have not always.

8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burying.

9 And truly I say to you, Wherever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

Comments Mark 14:3-9. For Mark 14:3-9 see Comments Matthew 26:6-13.

10 And Judas Iscariot, he that was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests, that he might deliver Him to them.

11 And they, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently deliver Him to them.

Comments Mark 14:10-11. For Mark 14:10-11 see Comments Matthew 26:14-16 and Luke 22:3-6.

Q: In Mark 14:11 it says “and promised to give him money” while in Matthew 26:15 it says “and they paid him thirty pieces of silver”; yet in Mark 14:1 it tells the time being two days before the Passover, so the question is how did they have time to do all the evil activity? A: Per day, humans can do many evil things; even evil thought works all the time, never stops. When the heart does not glorify the Lord, the mind is under the power of the dark, and it thinks and leads the body to do the work for it; it doesn’t need a long time for all these evil things to take place. Also, notice that there is a gap of time between these verses. When the betrayer goes to offer himself, he has received the promise for money as shown in Mark and Luke, but after a while, when the plot in his head has been accomplished, he goes back and receives the money as told in Matthew; the price of the beloved Son has been set by His people to be “thirty pieces of silver.”

12 And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, His disciples say unto Him, Where will Thou that we go and make ready that Thou may eat the Passover?

13 And He sends two of His disciples, and says to them, Go into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him;

14 and wherever he shall enter in, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says, Where is My guest-chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with My disciples?

15 And he will himself show you a large upper room furnished and ready: and there make ready for Us.

16 And the disciples went out, and came into the city, and found as He had said to them: and they made ready the Passover.

17 And when it was evening He comes with the twelve.

18 And as they sat and were eating, Jesus said, Truly I say to you, One of you shall betray Me, even he that eats with Me.

19 They began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, Is it I?

20 And He said to them, It is one of the twelve, he that dips with Me in the dish.

21 For the Son of Man goes, even as it is written of Him: but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had not been born.

Comments Mark 14:12-21. For Mark 14:12-21 see Comments Matthew 26:17-25, and Comments Luke 22:7-13.

22 And as they were eating, He took bread, and when He had blessed, He broke it, and gave to them, and said, Take you: this is My body.

23 And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave to them: and they all drank of it.

24 And He said to them, This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

25 Truly I say to you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Comments Mark 14:22-25. For Mark 14:22-25 see Comments Matthew 26:26-29, and Comments Luke 22:14-20.

Additional Comments. The bread the Lord and the disciples used at the Passover meal was unleavened bread. For us, as Christians, we should think that “unleavened bread” also signifies that Jesus is sinless and pure. He was born in the body of flesh, but He is completely clean, He never commits any sin; He lives with the body that is of the dust of the earth, but it is clean; no human being can be as clean as Jesus.

When baptizing in water, we baptize in His blood of the covenant, and we should use the practice of baptizing by immersion under the water. When you don’t immerse underwater, you do not follow the Lord’s example. The Bible says that Jesus is the example to follow for all humans on earth, be baptized by immersion under water, not sprinkled over with water.

“I drink it new in the kingdom of God”; In this place, pay attention to the word new. New here is not of this earth but of heaven; the heavenly wine is when the Lord will take His children with Him in heaven when we all shall drink new heavenly wine with Him. The verse also clarifies that the wine of this earth is not the same as heavenly wine. The Lord Himself will not take the wine of the earth into his body when the Lord’s body returns to heaven. He will drink it new in heaven, the wine of heaven; this wine is not related to alcohol wine; heavenly wine is different. We will not understand the meaning of heavenly wine until that day comes.

26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

27 And Jesus says to them, All you shall be offended: for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad.

28 However, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.

29 But Peter said unto Him, Although all shall be [p]offended, yet will not I.

30 And Jesus says to him, Truly I say to you, that you today, even this night, before the cock crow twice, will deny Me three times.

31 But he spoke exceedingly vehemently, If I must die with Thee, I will not deny Thee. And in like manner also said they all.

Comments Mark 14:26-31. For Mark 14:26-31 see Comments Matthew 26:30-35.

Comments Mark 14:27. “I will strike the shepherd”; This place refers to the heart of humans that did not acknowledge the Lord; even they have seen the miracles the Lord had performed many times, humans still are ignorant and don’t acknowledge the Lord; this is the “I” referring here (for short this “I” is the sin of humans that had covered the eyes).

Additional Comments. As the Bible has told, the disciples themselves, the ones that always see the miracles, all stumbled and fled and ran away from the Lord because of fear, but not lack of faith in this place. The fear is the main issue here for the disciples to fight against, but the Lord has prepared them. He already told them the plan for finding Him in three days; this helped them sustain their faith because they knew the Lord would never lie to them. If the Lord says He is back, the disciples all believed that He would come back as He said; all people should believe as well. If the Bible has told something, the Lord can’t lie; the Bible is the true Word of God, it can’t have any lie in it; people should think twice before they talk something against the Bible. The Bible is the basis of life for humans; the Lord’s mercy has been shown clearly when He gave the Bible to humans; the way to be saved is found here in the Bible. 

32 And they come to a place which was named Gethsemane: and He says to His disciples, Sit you here, while I pray.

33 And He takes with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly amazed, and severely troubled.

34 And He says to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death: remain you here, and watch.

35 And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from Him.

36 And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; remove this cup from Me: however not what I will, but what Thou wilt.

37 And He comes, and finds them sleeping, and says to Peter, Simon, sleep you? could you not watch one hour?

38 Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

39 And again He went away, and prayed, saying the same words.

40 And again He came, and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they knew not what to answer Him.

41 And He comes the third time, and says to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

42 Arise, let us be going: behold, he that betrays Me is at hand.

Comments Mark 14:32-42. For Mark 14:32-42 see Comments Matthew 26:36-46, and Comments Luke 22:40-46.

Additional Comments Mark 14:32. Gethsemane is a place on the Mount of Olives; it was a big area separated by a group of trees very close to each other, looking like a natural wall. Because it has a natural fence of trees, for the Lord, it felt like a personal area where He goes for prayer (was like the private room for the Lord), a natural private place for the Lord to pray, not made by humans hands.  

Additional Comments Mark 14:33. This here, it doesn’t look like anything happening, but what these three witnessed, people would want to see as well, to see the Lord Himself pray earnestly to the Father. Because these three will face their own challenges later on in life, they will see the picture in their eyes when the Lord was on the ground praying; if their Lord bows to the ground to the Father, in them they will know who above who is, as the Bible says, Three in One but the Father is above all. They call the Lord in many ways, Master, Teacher, Lord, but at this point in their hearts, it will confirm to them that the Lord also is the beloved Son of the Father; if their Lord falls to the ground to worship the Father, how much more they should be below. This will help them when they face the challenges; even the beloved Son faces challenges, they are no different; everyone has their own difficult time in life, these three will face their own difficult times, but the picture of their Lord will help lift their faith up.

43 And straightaway, while He yet spoke, comes Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

44 Now he that betrayed Him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is He; take Him, and lead Him away safely.

45 And when he was come, straightaway he came to Him, and says, Rabbi; and kissed Him.

46 And they laid hands on Him, and took Him.

47 But a certain one of them that stood by drew his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear.

48 And Jesus answered and said to them, Are you come out, as against a robber, with swords and staves to seize Me?

49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you took Me not: but this is done that the scriptures might be fulfilled.

50 And they all left Him, and fled.

Comments Mark 14:43-50. For Mark 14:43-50 see Comments Matthew 26:47-56, and Comments Luke 22:47-53. Remember, there is only one Holy Spirit, the passages of Scripture may be different in some of the wording, but the meaning is the same.

51 And a certain young man followed with Him, having a linen cloth cast about him, over his naked body: and they lay hold on him;

52 but he left the linen cloth, and fled naked.

Comments Mark 14:51-52. This verse tells us clearly that this young man is like an inspector, not one of the disciples. He has seen all the commotion and followed up, as a spectator, as nowadays is the same, many spectators, but at the end depends what you choose to follow. If you follow, but you are not ready as this young man, pay attention to the way of his dress, you will be the same, naked and empty. As many want to follow the Lord but have not prepared themselves to the Word and not studied the Word, they will be dressed no differently than this man; let the Word be the cloth of your soul, this is a spiritual comparison for humans to see.

53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and there come together with Him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.

54 And Peter had followed Him afar off, even within, into the court of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers, and warming himself in the light of the fire.

55 Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witness against Jesus to put Him to death; and found it not.

56 For many bare false witness against Him, and their witness agreed not together.

57 And there stood up certain, and bare false witness against Him, saying,

58 We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.

59 And not even so did their witness agree together.

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answer Thou nothing? what is it which these witness against Thee?

61 But He held His peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, and says unto Him, Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62 And Jesus said, I am: and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.

63 And the high priest torn his clothes, and says, What further need have we of witnesses?

64 You have heard the blasphemy: what think you? And they all condemned Him to be worthy of death.

65 And some began to spit on Him, and to cover His face, and to hit Him, and to say unto Him, Prophesy: and the officers received Him with blows of their hands.

Comments Mark 14:53-65. For Mark 14:53-65 see Comments Matthew 26:57-68.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 14:53-54, Matthew 26:57-58. See Comments Matthew 26:58.

Mark 14:55-59, Matthew 26:59-61. See Comments Matthew 26:59-61.

Additional Comments. What the Lord said to them, if they destroy this temple, meaning His body, He can rebuild it in three days, but the Lord never said that He Himself will destroy anything. He is not the God of destroying; He is the God that gave His life to save those who want to kill Him; He has no destroying feeling in Him, He was not even angry at them. He looked at them, and He already saw what they would do to Him, but the Lord Himself still wants to save them and bring them to the kingdom of God to be saved; that is the God who came down, no destroying in Him, only love, grace and mercy.

Mark 14:60-61, Matthew 26:62-63. See Comments Matthew 26:63.

Here, they have already blamed themselves; the Lord did not condemn; they do it themselves. Many humans do this as well; they know who Jesus is by their question but do not believe.

Mark 14:62, Matthew 26:64. See Comments Matthew 26:64.

By the answer, the Lord gives “I am,” that it shows His will to take the suffering, because when someone admits in front “I am the Son of God,” He fully knows that they will condemn Him to be killed, but also, He cannot lie as well. It tells us clearly how the Lord will take His time with His own will to receive the suffering and death from the creatures He has created. The Lord will not deny anything, He has given them all, clearly who He is, but they did not receive it by themselves; the guilt lies upon themselves. The verse tells clearly who the Lord is. He will be crucified on earth, but what would humans' eyes see when He returns?

Mark 14:63-64a, Matthew 26:65-66. See Comments Matthew 26:65-66.

The high priest tore his own cloth only to make people think harder about who is guilty in this place. When the high priest tore his cloth, he had already condemned himself; he used that action to cover people’s eyes. So, instead of people seeing the Lord, the picture they have is the high priest tearing his cloth. This is another way to make people shut up; even some people disagree, they will not have the courage to confront the action of the high priest; this has covered all disagreement; it is a smart fox action.

Mark 14:64b-65, Matthew 26:66b-68. See Comments Matthew 26:67-68. 

66 And as Peter was beneath in the court, there comes one of the maids of the high priest;

67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and says, You also were with the Nazarene, even Jesus.

68 But he denied, saying, I neither know, nor understand what you say: and he went out into the porch; and the cock crowed.

69 And the maid saw him, and began again to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.

70 But he again denied it. And after a little while again they that stood by said to Peter, of a truth you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.

71 But he began to curse, and to swear, I know not this Man of whom you speak.

72 And straightaway the second time the cock crowded. And Peter called to mind the word, how that Jesus said to him, Before the cock crows twice, you will deny Me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

Comments Mark 14:66-72. For Mark 14:66-72 see Comments Matthew 26:69-75, and Comments Luke 22:55-62.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 14:66-68a, Matthew 26:69-70. See Comments Matthew 26:70.

Additional Comments. We ourselves can notice the way to get out of a situation is through lying; we all do lie. The disciples were humans like us, no difference, when put out in a corner, they will try to find the way out even by lying; the mouth speaks out between the head thinking and heart thinking; the mouth is the door of lies, the heart cannot lie to the Lord, but the mouth is used to lie to the Lord.

Mark 14:68b-70a, Matthew 26:71-72. See Comments Matthew 26:71-72.

“And the maid saw him”; this here is a different maid that saw and recognized Peter. The first one was one of the high priest’s maids (See Mark 14:66). The second one was just a maid. At that time, the life of the priest was different than ordinary people; as a personal maid, it makes her closer to the high priest than the rest of the maids; the high priest will listen to her voice.

Mark 14:70b-71, Matthew 26:73-74. See Comments Matthew 26:74.

Remember, Peter is human as well, even if he is one of the disciples of the Lord, but he is still just a human; as well as for us, fear has power, fear has covered Peter’s eyes.

Mark 14:72, Matthew 26:74b-75. See Comments Matthew 26:75.

“And straightaway the second time the cock crowded”. Q: Why the difference in comparison with the Gospel of Matthew where it says, “And immediately the rooster crowed”? A: If you think carefully, in these verses, both Gospels are the same; just in Matthew, it does not mention first and the second rooster crowing; it did not count to tell, but it does not make the meaning different. The human mind will interpret the way they understand, but the Bible clarifies that Peter will deny the Lord and the rooster will crow; just two things to think about.

In Mark, we have “before the cock crows twice, you will deny Me thrice,” and in Matthew, we have “before the cock crows, you will deny Me thrice”; here, it doesn’t matter how many times the rooster crowed, the point is that Peter denied the Lord before the rooster crowed. In Matthew, it doesn’t mean it is the first crow of the day; it is just a sign for Peter to remember that the rooster will crow after he denies the Lord.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) We all should do good and beautiful things in the name of the Lord regardless of the cost. 2) Participate in the communion of the Lord; it was given to us as a remembrance of the suffering of the Lord Jesus on the cross (See 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). 3) In the garden of Gethsemane, the Lord fell down to the ground to pray earnestly to the Father, so how much more we should do that when we face challenges in life. Even the Beloved Son faces challenges; we are no different; everyone has a difficult time in life. 4) There are many ways these days that we can betray the Lord’s love, but we should specifically watch that we do not use the name of the Lord in vain. 5) Don’t let your mouth speak ahead of your heart; the heart cannot lie to the Lord, but the mouth is used to lie to the Lord. The One who lives in the heart knows very well when your mouth speaks lies.

Mark 15

Summary.  This chapter clearly shows that the King of kings has been born but has been treated worse than the criminals: mocked, spat on, slapped back and forth. The Lord Jesus is the King of kings who has been born on earth, and that is how the humans treated Him. Jesus took all that abuse just because of His true love for humans. He did not take any grudge against them, even against those that pierced the nails on Him; the Lord has forgiven them all. This summary outlines some of the things they have done to Jesus. 1) The chief priests and the leaders of the people bound Jesus and delivered Him to Pilate, the governor. 2) The chief priests accused Jesus of many things in front of Pilate. 3) The chief priests stirred the crowd to demand that Jesus be crucified. 4) Pilate ordered that Jesus be scourged and delivered Him to be crucified. 5) The soldiers led Jesus to the governor’s headquarters, mocked Him, beat Him, spat on Him, and abused Him. 6) They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha. 7) In the third hour, they crucified Jesus between two criminals. At the same time, they glorified Him as king and criminal; it was written on Him that He is “The King of the Jews,” but they crucified Him between criminals. 8) While on the cross, soldiers, the crowd, those that passed by, chief priests, and the scribes derided Him, abused Him, and mocked Him. 9) At the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” and breathed His last. 10) Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body, then he took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped His body in a linen shroud, and laid Him in a new tomb cut out of the rock; then he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb.

1 And straightaway in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate.

2 And Pilate asked Him, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And He answering says to him, You say so.

3 And the chief priests accused Him of many things.

4 And Pilate again asked Him, saying, Answer Thou nothing? Behold how many things they accuse Thee of.

5 But Jesus no more answered anything; insomuch that Pilate marveled.

Comments Mark 15:1-5. For Mark 15:1-5 see Comments Matthew 27:11-14, and Comments Luke 23:2-3.

6 Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him.

7 And there was one called Barabbas, lying bound with them that had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.

8 And the multitude went up and began to ask him to do as he was accustomed to do to them.

9 And Pilate answered them, saying, Will you that I release to you the King of the Jews?

10 For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered Him up.

11 But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

12 And Pilate again answered and said to them, What then shall I do unto Him whom you call the King of the Jews?

13 And they cried out again, Crucify Him.

14 And Pilate said to them, Why, what evil has He done? But they cried out exceedingly, Crucify Him.

15 And Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, released to them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

Comments Mark 15:6-15. For Mark 15:6-15 see Comments Matthew 27:15-26, and Comments Luke 23:18-25.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 15:6-7, Matthew 27:15-16. See Comments Matthew 27:16.

Mark 9, Matthew 27:17. See Comments Matthew 27:17. Q: In these verses in Mark and Matthew, Pilate addresses the crowd differently. In Matthew, Pilate asks if they want him to release “Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ,” and in Mark, he asks if they want him to release “the King of the Jews.” So, how do we look at the difference between these verses from the view that the Bible is Holy Spirit dictated? A: The meaning of these verses is the same; just the wording of Pilate in the Gospels is given differently. As in the Bible has been told many times, people have been calling the Lord in many ways, and Pilate has heard the way people have been calling the Lord, but both names refer to One person, the same person who for Pilate’s belief will come to take his power away. The fear of Pilate is just to do the right thing or the wrong thing for himself, not for the people. So, Pilate carries his own decision, but nowadays, people are confused about how the Bible has condemned him when he himself appears to want to release the Lord. However, the decision is not made by the crowd; the decision belongs to Pilate, who wants to do it; the Lord is fair to Pilate as well. Also, if we link to Matthew, the meaning is complete here. Mark gives in the Bible the overall ending question that Pilate used, not the word-by-word complete question. Pilate’s address towards people is with the same question, one-time question, but when he said it, he used different words; you say the same way, one-time question when you talk to people, but when you turn to the right or the left, you emphasize differently. People are not staying in one group; they were spread all over the area; on one side, they hear the part of the question given in Matthew, and on another side, they hear the part of the question given in Mark. As Pilate addresses the multitude, he addresses the multitude from one side to another.

Mark 15:10-11, Matthew 27:18-20. These portions of Scriptures are similar (See Comments Matthew 27:18-20). In Matthew, we are given extra details that relate to the wife of Pilate (See Comments Matthew 27:19).

Matthew 27:21.

Mark 15:12-13, Matthew 27:22. See Comments Matthew 27:22. This portion of Scripture tells us clearly that Pilate can make a decision, but he chooses to throw out the decision to the people; that is not the way of a leader. But, even he does this way, the fault is on him because he must decide, not the people’s duty to tell him what to do. In his position, he takes responsibility for what happened, not the people who crucified the Lord, but he is the one to crucify the Lord of life.

Mark 15:14, Matthew 27:23. See Comments Matthew 27:23.

Mark 15:15, Matthew 27:24-26. In the Gospel of Matthew, we have more details given, but the main point is the same that Pilate wishing to please the crowd, delivered Jesus to be crucified and released Barabbas. See Comments Matthew 27:24-26.

16 And the soldiers led Him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

17 And they clothe Him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him;

18 and they began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews!

19 And they struck His head with a reed, and spat upon Him, and bowing their knees worshipped Him.

20 And when they had mocked Him, they took off from Him the purple, and put on Him His garments. And they lead Him out to crucify Him.

Comments Mark 15:16-20. For Mark 15:16-20 see Comments Matthew 27:27-31. This time was the most hurtful time in heaven as well, not only for the Lord on earth. The crucifixion was beyond hurt for the Father Himself.

21And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear His cross.

22 And they bring Him to the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

23 And they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not.

24 And they crucify Him, and part His garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take.

25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

26 And the superscription of His accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27 And with Him they crucify two robbers; one on His right hand, and one on His left.

28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which says, And He was reckoned with transgressors.

29 And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! Thou that destroys the temple, and builds it in three days,

30 save Thyself, and come down from the cross.

31 In like manner also the chief priests mocking Him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save.

32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with Him reproached Him.

Comments Mark 15:21-32. For Mark 15:21-32 see Comments Matthew 27:32-51, Luke 23:32-38, 44-46. They crucified Jesus between two robbers; at the same time, they have glorified Him as King and criminal. It is written over Him “The King of the Jews,” but they crucified Him between criminals; their guilt is double.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 15:21, Matthew 27:32. See Comments Matthew 27:32.

Mark 15: 22-23, Matthew 27:33-34. See Comments Matthew 27:33.

Mark 15:24, Matthew 27:35. See Comments Matthew 27:35.

Mark 15:25-26, Matthew 27:37. See Comments Matthew 27:37. In Mark 15:25, we have some extra information about the time of the crucifixion as being the third hour of the day. The Gospel of Mark gives the accusation written as “THE KING OF THE JEWS,” and Matthew gives the accusation as “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” The apparent explanation is that the Gospel of Mark does not provide the complete writing for the accusation; there is no error in either Gospel.

Mark 15:27-28, Matthew 27: 38. See Comments Matthew 27:38.

Mark 15:29-30, Matthew 27:39-40. See Comments Matthew 27:39-40.

Mark 15:31-32, Matthew 27:41-44. See Comments Matthew 27:41-44. There are some differences in the words in these verses, but the main point here is that all have mocked the Lord and the leaders tried to discredit Him even if they knew who He was.

33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why have Thou forsaken Me?

35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, He calls Elijah.

36 And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah comes to take Him down.

37 And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the Ghost.

38 And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.

39 And when the centurion, who stood by over against Him, saw that He so gave up the Ghost, he said, Truly this Man was the Son of God!

40 And there were also women beholding from afar: among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

41 who, when He was in Galilee, followed Him, and ministered unto Him; and many other women that came up with Him unto Jerusalem.

Comments Mark 15:33-41. For Mark 15:33-41 see Comments Matthew 27:45-56, and Comments Luke 23:44-49.

42 And when evening was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

43 there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of honorable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

44 And Pilate marveled if He were already dead: and calling to him the centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead.

45 And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the Corpse to Joseph.

46 And he bought a linen cloth, and taking Him down, wound Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where He was laid.

Comments Mark 15:42-47. For Mark 15:42-47 see Comments Matthew 27:57-61, and Comments Luke 23:50-56.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) All Christians should remember that the King of kings has been born but has been treated worse than the criminals, has been mocked, spit on, and slapped back and forth. He took all that humiliation just because of His true love for humans; He did not take any grudge against them, even against those that pierced the nails on Him; the Lord has forgiven them all. How much more will He forgive us if we come to Him with a sincere heart? 2) Everyone should watch; even these days, you can still mock and disrespect Jesus’ blood that He shed for humans by using His name in vain. 3) When the Lord puts something in your heart to do, small or big, do it with all your strength and without expecting anything in return.

Mark 16

Summary. In this chapter, there are three essential events with specific purposes given to us. 1) The resurrection of the Lord Jesus: The Lord’s resurrection is the purpose of our faith. Some women are mentioned here who witnessed the empty tomb and the angel confirming to them that the Lord has risen and He will meet His disciples in Galilee. 2) The appearance of the Lord Jesus to the select ones: the purpose of the Lord appearing to some select ones after His resurrection is to strengthen their faith in the Lord. In this chapter, the Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene, two of His disciples, and the eleven disciples as they were reclining at the table. 3) The Lord Jesus gave the commission to the disciples, which extends to all that call upon the name of the Lord, to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation”; the purpose of the commission is to give the duty to all believers.

1 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.

2 And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.

3 And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?

4 and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great.

5 And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed.

6 And he says to them, Be not amazed: you seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified: He is risen; He is not here: behold, the place where they laid Him!

7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, He goes before you into Galilee: there shall you see Him, as He said to you.

8 And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them: and they said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.

Comments Mark 16:1-8. For Mark 16:1-8 see Comments Matthew 28:1-8, and Comments Luke 24:1-10.

Comparison Analysis

Mark 16:1-2, Matthew 28:1. See Comments Matthew 28:1. In Matthew 28:1 it tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb, while in Mark 16:1 it tells us that Mary Magdalene and Mary and Salome went with spices to the tomb, and in Luke 24:1 it tells us that they went to the tomb, and in John 20:1 it mentions only Mary Magdalene. Q: Why are there these differences in reporting the resurrection events? A: It is obvious there were more women coming to the tomb (for those that followed the Lord, See Matthew 27:55, Luke 23:55-56, and Luke 24:10), but the Gospels individually do not name them all. The way the Bible has described the resurrection events covers all that has happened. If the Lord wants to tell one certain thing only, it will not be many books in the Bible; but many things have happened in a short period of time, and the Lord compressed it out (when telling to the writers), and that is why He used more books to tell (the story) and support one another. The books will go and overlap each other, explain the same thing but from a different direction of looking at it, and when we are reading the Bible, we need to find the common point that comes out of all the Gospels.

Mark 16:3. We see here in this verse that these women worry about moving the stone from the entrance of the tomb.

Matthew 28:2-6. These verses take place between Mark 16:3 and Mark 16:4. Here we see that the women are frightened. The angel mentioned here in Matthew 28:2 is different than the men (angels disguised as men) mentioned in Mark 16:5 and Luke 24:4.

“Behold there was a great earthquake … rolled back the stone, and sat upon it”; Q: How long did the earthquake and the rolling of the stone take palace? A: This earthquake was localized at the tomb of Jesus, and all these happened very fast, which is why some Gospels did not mention this.

Mark 16:4. Now the women look up and see the stone rolled back and go inside. In Matthew 28:6, we are told that the angel invites them inside the tomb to see the place where the Lord laid.

Mark 16:5. There were two men (these are angels but use the covering of look like men, disguised as men) sitting where the Lord has laid (See Luke 24:4). When the women have come in, at first, in their eyes, they see one man, but to the other, they did not pay attention yet. Therefore, this verse tells that they concentrated on the one sitting on the right side. Q: What is the purpose of omitting in the Gospel of Mark that there were two men? A: In Mark, it has reported only one man, according to what the women saw in their first impression.

Mark 16:6. This confirms what the Lord has said to them before.

Mark 16:7, Matthew 28:7. See Comments Matthew 28:2-7. Q: Why does it tell in Mark “go, tell His disciples and Peter”? A: Remember as well, in one portion of the Bible, the Lord has told who will deny the Lord (See Mark 14:30). But the Lord did not take anger at what happened; the Lord makes sure that Peter will be called in the meeting because he is part of the disciples.

Mark 16:7, Matthew 28:8.

Summary of events happening at the tomb of Jesus until this verse

1. A group of women (the Bible names some but not all) went to the tomb of Jesus very early (towards the dawn) on the first day of the week (Sunday).

2. When they approached the tomb, there was an earthquake, and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the large stone from the tomb’s entrance; this took place very fast.

3. This angel tells them to come and see the place where the Lord laid.

4. The women go inside the tomb (but we don’t know how many and who all were, or the order of going inside).

5. Inside the tomb, two men (angels, disguised as men) sat by the place where Jesus lay.

6. These men tell the women to go and tell the disciples and Peter that the Lord is risen and to go and meet Jesus in Galilee as He told them before.

7. The women went out of the tomb and fled, being frightened and amazed. 

9 Now when He was risen early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

10 She went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And they, when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved.

Comments Mark 16:9-11 (See John 20:11-18). The events described here in Mark 16:9-11 are the same events as given in John 20:11-18.

In these verses, we are told that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and she went and told: “those that had been with Him” (here we are not told who the ones that she reported the news were).

Summary showing that Mary Magdalene has been at the tomb more than one time

1. In Matthew 28:1-15, we have a group of two women mentioned as going to see the tomb (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary). They went after the Sabbath towards the dawn of the first day. Here the angel from heaven rolls the stone from the tomb. As they departed from the tomb, the Lord Jesus met them. Also, here we are told that there was a guard of soldiers present as well.

2. In Mark 16:1-8, we have a group of three women (Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome) going to the tomb with spices to anoint Jesus. They went very early on the first day as the sun had risen. They found the stone being rolled back. So, they went inside, and they saw one young man. Then they went and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.

3. In Mark 16:9-13, we see that Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, and He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Then she went and told those that were with Him.

4. In Luke 24:1-12, we have a group of women going to the tomb on the first day at early dawn with spices. They found the stone rolled back, and they went inside. They saw two men that talked to them. They returned from the tomb and told these things to the eleven apostles. In this group, we have Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and the other women.

5. In John 20:1-10, we are told that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She found the stone rolled away. So, she ran to tell Peter and the other disciple.

6. In John 20:1-10, we see that Peter and the other disciple go to the tomb after Mary Magdalene tells them what she saw. They went in and then went back to their homes.

7. In John 20:11-18, we see that Mary Magdalene stayed behind after Peter and the other disciple left. She waited outside the tomb, and the Lord appeared to her. Then she goes and announces to the disciples that she saw the risen Jesus.

Conclusion. John 20:1 happens simultaneously as the events in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, meaning that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb for the first time with the group of women as described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Gospel of John tells things that have already happened; John repeats what has been told; the Lord has said to John what it should be, but John's telling is not before or after, but between the events (between Matthew 28:8 and Matthew 28:9). It is understood that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb with the group of women as described in Matthew 28:1-15, and she saw the angel rolling the stone and went inside with the other women. Then, at some point in time, she ran back to look for Peter and the other disciple, and the events related to her and Peter and the other disciple happened as described in John 20:1-18, and before the events described in Matthew 28:9-10.

These events of the resurrection described in all four Gospels are not for the unbelievers; they are for believers to think about not just by the head but by the heart as well. When the Lord has risen, the world can’t accept it, but the heart that has faith will believe it. The deep faith in the heart will tell us that what the Bible says had happened to the last word.

Q: If Mary witnessed the rolling of the stone by the angel, as described in Matthew, and if she went inside the tomb and listened to the men, why did she believe that the body of the Lord was stolen when in fact, she was told by the angels that Jesus has risen? A: The fear creates doubt; now she faces both at the same time, fear from within and doubt from the mind to think; she faces both heavily, fear and doubt.

12 And after these things He was manifested in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country.

13 And they went away and told it to the rest: neither believed they them.

Comments Mark 16:12-13. “He was manifested in another form”; Q: We believe that the Lord Jesus rose in the flesh, the same body that was in the tomb rose back to life; so, what does this verse mean by saying that Jesus appeared in another form to these two? A: In this place, when it talks about the form of the Lord, it talks about the heavenly form that appeared. The disciples have never seen this before; that is why they could not recognize the heavenly form; this is just a blessing for them to see the heavenly form. The resurrection is entirely different than here; the resurrection goes back in human form, but in this place, Jesus appearing to these two used the heavenly form; that is a blessing for them. Think about a cocoon; in the same way, the heavenly form covers the flesh, the heavenly form just covers the outside of the fleshly body of the Lord; the flesh of the Lord never disappeared. When we all go there to heaven, we all will see His flesh because only Him will have flesh among humans.

Q: The Lord Jesus rose in the flesh, so what happened with the blood and the water in His body? A: The Lord has given all His blood to the world; that is why when anyone baptizes in the water, that person has been baptized in the blood of Jesus. When the Lord was crucified, His blood was poured out; the world will benefit, every human will benefit because Jesus’ blood will never dry out because the Lord left it. His blood itself is the living soul for all humans born after that generation when the Lord was on earth. He is alive, and the blood still flows for all humans from beginning to the end; go therefore and baptize in the water, and you will receive the blood of the Lord to cover the soul as well. The heavenly body has preserved the human body of the Lord Jesus, the food for that human body is received through the heavenly body, that why it will never be decayed; when we go there, we will see His human body which is still as on the day He was on earth. You must understand as well, the cocoon when covers the Lord’s body also penetrates down within; His heavenly and the flesh also become one, that is why the flesh body will continue to be alive because the heavenly becomes the water and the blood for the Lord’s human body to preserve that human flesh.

No other human can keep the human body; the things the Lord created will never disappear because the beloved Son of God already has the flesh in Him. All humans will be destroyed, but only one left, which is the Lord Himself; because the Lord loves humans, He will not let all humans disappear. Elijah, Moses, and others that the Bible mentions as being caught up to heaven are different; their flesh body was transformed to be a heavenly body, but no flesh of this earth was left; when they transformed, the human body had been destroyed, and the heavenly body replaced their human body. Because the flesh cannot be there (in heaven), but when the Lord has risen, His Spirit and Soul returned in the flesh body to be complete human alive again; there will be only one human in the flesh left in the entire universe, Jesus. The Lord’s body can be there because the Lord never sinned in human flesh, unlike the others who sinned, and those bodies cannot be in heaven; only Jesus’s body can.

14 And afterward He was manifested to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table; and He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen Him after He was risen.

15 And He said to them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

16 He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieves shall be condemned.

17 And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in My name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no way hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Comments Mark 16:14-18.

Mark 16:14. This verse also applies not only in the past but now as well. Jesus' own disciples have not believed those that have seen Him risen. Nowadays, people will be much worse than them; even though the Lord shows miracles now, they will not believe but instead, think only that human knowledge has created all these things (miracles). And that is why we do not see miracles anymore, because the internal heart of humans has turned away from the Lord, and people believe in their own intelligence only, that are the humans now. Miracles such as the blind can see, the mute can speak, the dead raised, which the Lord performed while on earth, are beyond humans’ ability because of faith; humans’ lack of faith has shut down the performance of miracles by humans. It is not that the Lord does not perform miracles, but because of the human’s heart that lacks faith, the miracles are not needed for those hearts, but miracles of the inner heart of having faith in the Lord are still performed each day. Miracles of mercy from the Lord we can still see.

The miracles in this place mean, for example, you saw a person that is not saved, the Holy Spirit will speak in your heart to go and talk to that person, and if you use the Word to speak to that person, the miracle of mercy will be shown to that person; the Lord will open the heart of that person to accept the mercy of the Lord and that person will be saved, because you have listened to the voice and talk to them, this is a mercy miracle. Also, you see a person that is sick; you go there, you pray and use the name of the Lord, you are the one that begs for mercy to heal the person, and the Lord will do that mercy for you because your heart has responded to the voice of the Lord. The Lord still heals today, but it is upon the person who prays; He heals because the person who prays has faith.

Mark 16:15. Take as is.

Mark 16:16. This verse is a warning for all humans, the Lord has already come down, has shown mercy for all humans, but not all have come to Him; the mercy has been shown, but not every human receives, and at the end, they will come and accuse that the Lord has not shown mercy to them, but the way to be saved has been given. The Living Word of God is the way, come read and follow and you will be saved, and go to tell the one that the Lord brings to your path and share the Living Word with them; those that the Lord brings for you, they will listen to you, but if they do not listen, it is their own fault, not yours, your duty is just to tell.

Mark 16:17. Q: Is this verse for today? A: This verse is still happening today, but you watch out between coming from the mercy of God or from testing the mercy of God. Not everyone who comes and asks mercy is because in them they want that mercy, but they want the Lord to prove Himself that He is capable of doing that; this is testing. So, watch out; many come and command God what they want God to do, and this is not right; this is testing, and it is for their own benefit but not for God’s glory.

“They shall speak with new tongues”; the speaking in tongues is a gift, and it is given as a sign for the believers (See Comments John 1:33, and 1 Corinthians 14:22).

“they shall take up serpents … no way hurt them”; watch out for the purpose, someone catches up the serpent, why do they pick it up for? Can you avoid that serpent, or are you testing the Lord? If you don’t have to pick up the serpent, why do you bother doing it? You cannot do this intentionally for a show.

“they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”; now it comes talking about having faith in the Lord; have faith with your whole heart that the Lord’s mercy will come upon the person that you are involved with, and this verse will happen.

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20 And they went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

Comments Mark 16:19-20.

Comments Mark 16:19. “was received up into heaven, “; this is the act of the Father reuniting with the Son in the human body; this is the essential part of this verse, the Lord has been received up by the Father Himself.

Comments Mark 16:20. This verse has a clear meaning. The main point is that the disciples went out and preached everywhere and confirmed the Word by the signs.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The resurrection of the Lord Jesus was real, in the flesh, and we must believe the reports of the resurrection as written for us in the Bible. 2) All Christians should follow the commission of the Lord: “go you into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” We all can do this by praying for those called out to go and supporting them as we can. 3) As we minister to those that the Lord brings in our path, the Lord’s mercy will be shown if we pray with faith from a sincere heart.

Introduction to the Gospel of Luke 

Questions and Answers about the Author and the Gospel Writing

Q: The Gospel does not name its author. Who can we say is the real author of the Gospel of Luke?

A: As we know, the author is only one, the Holy Spirit, but we in this place can identify Luke as the person being used by the Holy Spirit to write down according to the will of the Father.

In verses 1 to 4, the words used make humans think that it is human's writing, but this is how the Father wants humans to see this work of the Lord. In the whole Bible the writings do not have to be given in the same way; always, there is a unique way the Lord will use. The Father wants humans to link their lives to the Word; this is why this Gospel starts this way.

Q: How did Luke get the words of the Gospel?

A: This Gospel is how the Lord wants all humans to see what dictation means. Luke wrote from what he heard from the Lord, not by research as humans say.

Q: Was Luke himself an eyewitness of the things the Lord Jesus did, and when did he write this Gospel?

A: Luke himself was also an eyewitness himself but as a child. Luke started to become a believer when he was only a child.

Q: When was Luke called to write this Gospel?

A: Long time after the Lord's crucifixion.

Q: How did he come to do this work?

A: Luke has been following the Lord until the point when the Lord was crucified. The call for him grew strongest the moment he saw the nails piercing the Lord. From the eyes of a young man that loves the Lord, when he saw how the Lord received the suffering, that made Luke's heart come to the point to commit from his soul itself to write the Gospel.

Q: Why Luke and other Gospel writers did not mention how they received the words from the Lord?

A: Where did he trace them from? Who gives the words to him? The Lord gave this way for a purpose. Each human the Lord guides and uses differently; each writer has their own background linked to the way the Lord uses them. Dictation itself also gives human interpretation in many directions; that why this Gospel has started in this way, to let humans see how the Lord can use humans to do the work.  When the Lord gives the message through each writer, the writer becomes the tool of the Lord; that is why the dictation for the writer is essential. The reader will notice that the writer's knowledge is beyond his ability to write the message, and dictation from the Holy Spirit was needed to write the Gospels this way. The Gospels do not need to specify that the Holy Spirit dictated all things; it is the faith of each person reading.

In the case of the Gospel of Luke, the Lord gave Luke the message, he went out and talked to people to confirm his understanding, then the Lord dictated him what he needed to put down.

Luke 1

Summary. In this chapter, we are given three miracles (Zachariah becomes mute, Zachariah's wife Elizabeth becomes pregnant at a very old age, and the virgin Mary conceives the begotten Son of God) and three prophecies (Elizabeth’s, Mary’s, and Zachariah’s prophecies) from the Lord which will help prepare the people to receive the begotten Son of God and the salvation He brings. Luke 1:5-25. These verses tell about a couple, Zachariah and Elizabeth, being righteous before God, and advanced in years but having no children. Zachariah meets an angel of the Lord named Gabriel in the temple of God while serving his priestly duty. The angel informs him that the Lord will bless him with a son which he must name John. Zachariah became mute until the birth of his son as a confirmation for him to know that the Lord had spoken to him. Luke 1:26-40. The angel Gabriel was sent by God to the virgin Mary, a cousin of Elizabeth, to inform her that she found favor with God, and she was chosen to carry in her womb the begotten Son of God. The Bile tells clearly that she is favored by God and as a result she is worthy, and she is a good woman. After her conception, Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth and the work of the Lord between their babies begins as she meets and salutes Elizabeth. Luke 1:41-45. The Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth, and she spoke and told the whole world that the Baby in Mary’s womb is not just a normal human, but He is the Lord God Himself. Luke 1:46-56. Mary starts prophesying about people who truly fear and worship the Lord. Luke 1:57-80. John is born to Elizabeth and Zachariah and Zachariah’s tongue is loosed and he starts speaking and prophesying to the people. The Lord used Zachariah in telling the duty of John, his son. The child will be the prophet of the Lord that will help people look forward to receiving the begotten Son of God, which will bring peace to His people.

1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narration concerning those matters which have been accomplished among us,

Comments 1:1. In this place, “among us” relates to the people that were around the Lord at that time.

2 exactly as they delivered them to us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word,

Comments 1:2. “exactly as they delivered them unto us”. In this verse when it mentions “they” it refers to the people in that time, not only the apostles, but all those who have been eyewitnesses about the work of the Lord, and the Lord used them to tell. “Us” refers to a group of people that will do the work of the Lord.

3 it seemed good to me also, having closely followed from the first with all things carefully, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;

Comments 1:3. “it seems good to me also”. This tells all readers that the writer has been thinking about what the Lord has spoken to him and wants to make what the Lord has given him to be useful to all.

“having closely followed from the first with all things carefully”. This tells all, that what he has received from the Lord, he also went out and talked to people, to support his understanding. He gathered information little by little from people surrounding him before he finally made it known to others what he wrote down from the Lord.

“to write to you in order”. In this portion, it tells us that he will give in the order the Lord gives, not by order of man but released by the order of the Lord. This order is not in the order of things that have happened, but in the order of the things the Lord wants to tell us. This gospel is the most orderly because it is in the order the Lord wants not what humans want.

“most excellent Theophilus”. In this place, the Lord mentions the name to link the person to the message which Luke has delivered. Take this as a mystery of the message. 

4 so that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.

Comments 1:4. This verse shows that the Lord knows each individual's thoughts and actions, and that is why He guided the writer in this spot to convey the message to a specific person.  

5 There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachariah, of the class of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Comments 1:5. “There was in the days of Herod, king of Judea”. Also, this small portion of the verse tells how the dark side spread out their fingers over the land.

“a certain priest named Zachariah, of the class of Abijah”. The class here will tell the duty of the people of that class.

“and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth”. Here it talks about Elizabeth for the complete link to the messenger of the Lord. Two people here, Zachariah and Elizabeth, are involved in the worship of the Lord, and their offspring will serve the Lord as well.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.

Comments 1:6. When the verse says “righteous before God” then both commandments and ordinances come to count towards being righteous. The commandments and ordinances are not the same. The commandment is an order you must follow while the ordinance is a rule for your life to obey.

The ordinance is obeying all your life, the commandment you must do, not just outside, but also inside your heart. The ordinance is to obey, but how do you obey if you do not do it? Think this way when talking about these, by commandment the Lord gives exactly what you must do, by ordinance the Lord gives in your heart that you should obey something. But the ordinance must agree with the commandment. If it does not agree, then you need to go back to the Word.

Example of commandments:

Deuteronomy 6:5. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Luke 10: 27. “And he answering said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Example of ordinances:

Ordinance from the Lord in the heart: Luke 2:36-37. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and she had been a widow even unto eighty-four), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fasting and supplications night and day. 

Ordinance from the Lord’s Word. Communion (Luke 22:19-20). Also, when a person is in a place where they cannot take communion, even if they cannot take communion, they can still keep the commandments.

7 And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were advanced in years.

Comments 1:7. Other couples in the Bible were in the same situation, but pay attention, if any of them are in the bloodline of serving the Lord. Also, pay attention to this verse; Elizabeth is barren. How was it known that she is barren? Did the man have another child from someone else? The Bible does not tell us if they had another child outside of marriage or if Zachariah had more wives. To say “the couple is righteous before God” that gives the conclusion to the reader that Zachariah had no other woman. To have a child at that age is a blessing from the Lord, and this will make other people have no doubt that this child has been born for a purpose. By saying “advanced in years” the Bible tells us that they were very old (See also Genesis 17:17).

8 Now it came to pass, while serving his priestly office before God by the order of his class,

9 according to the custom of the priestly service, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

Comments 1:8-9. For Zachariah to do this duty was for a purpose, because the Lord wants to talk with him.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

11 And appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing out of the right side of the altar of incense.

Comments 1:11. In this verse, it shows why the Lord wanted him to do this duty now. The Lord wants to talk with him. Also, it is a tradition, related to when the priest goes in to burn the incense, that the Lord will not present Himself on the left side of the altar.

12 And Zachariah was troubled seeing him, and fear fell upon him.

Comments 1:12. This is the first reaction of humans when alone, and suddenly someone else is there. In this place it was not a vision, it was the real appearance of an angel of the Lord (See Genesis 18).

13 But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zachariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

Comments 1:13. “Fear not, Zachariah, because your prayer has been heard”. In this verse it shows clearly that Zachariah is a faithful servant of the Lord. He has been begging and worshiping the Lord for all the details of his life and the Lord will grant him mercy.

“and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John”. The Lord has told him clearly, the blessing for him will be a son. The Lord even tells the name of this child what it should be. The name may be common for people, but this name is known to the Lord as the faithful servant.

14 And he will bring joy and gladness to you; and many will rejoice at his birth.

Comment 1:14. “and many will rejoice at his birth”. Before the child had done anything, why would people rejoice? This is a message the Lord has given, and many people will rejoice at the child’s birth. Because the Lord has worked in the humans’ hearts to rejoice in this birth and because of this child, joy will come for all humans. This child will announce the birth of the Savior of the world and the child is the messenger of the Lord and the news he announces will be the root of the joy for all humans. 

15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

Comments 1:15. “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord”. The verse tells the Lord rejoices with this child. He is great because he will be set apart from his mother’s womb for the Lord’s service, not for human’s service.

“and he will drink no wine nor strong drink”. This shows that he will live a Nazirite life as is commanded in the Old Testament (See Numbers 6:1-3). He is an old-time prophet but will point the way for the new age.

“and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb”. The verse tells us that he will live a separate life than normal people. Through the filling with the Holy Spirit, even from the womb, God imparted regeneration to him before he was even born. Also, this has shown that he is one of the elected people.

16 And many of the children of Israel will he turn to the Lord their God.

Comments 1:16. In this verse we should focus on the words “their God”. Because His children have cool hearts towards Him now, the time has come for them to seek the God of their fathers. The Lord will start guiding their way back to the true God.

17 And he will go forth before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people for Him.

Comments 1:17. “And he will go forth before Him”. When it says “will go forth before Him” it means to announce His coming. Here, “before Him” refers to the Holy Son of God. John will go to prepare the hearts of people to receive the Holy Son of God.

“in the spirit and power of Elijah”. Elijah and John are both prophets of the Lord. Elijah is a prophet of the Lord from the Old Testament time. To put two people in parallel, John and Elijah, here they are compared to the spirit and power. The difference between these two, John will tell people about the beloved Son of God, but Elijah talked to people about the power of the Father. By comparing them, John will go and do more for humans because John is humble and willing to be set apart for serving the Lord. Just by the way John talks, it will impact people more on the common way of life. On the other hand, Elijah received the blessing by action more than words; John by words, Elijah by action.

“to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people for Him”. In this part of the verse it shows the way John is and what message John will bring.

18 And Zachariah said to the angel, How will I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well advanced in years.

Comments 1:18. In this verse, we concentrate on their age. Zachariah is a humble man and did not ask for a sign or had questions with the Lord, but he had doubts in themselves that they were not worthy of this blessing due to their old age. If the Lord created humans from the dirt of the Earth, what would it be hard for Him to give a baby in Elizabeth’s womb? In the science of humans, there is knowledge about conceiving a child, but the Lord works with the human’s body in His way and no place in the Bible mentions that they are too old to have union together.

19 And the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands before God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you these glad tidings.

Comments 1:19. “I am Gabriel, who stands before God”. This angel has a name and has a position of importance. Gabriel is a front-runner angel of the Father for delivering the message of good news to Zachariah from the Father. See Genesis 18:2 for angels appearing to Abraham. This event here in the Gospel of Luke and the event with Abraham cannot be really compared; both are important events for humans, but each angel has their own rank and duty. Q: Why did the angel give his name to Zachariah? A: There is no special reason, just to let Zachariah know who is speaking.

20 And behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because you believed not my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.

Comments 1:20. “you will be silent and not able to speak … because you believed not my words”. This is not a sign or punishment, but a confirmation for Zachariah to know that it is the Lord speaking here. Indeed, this is given to Zachariah for a confirmation of what the Lord will do; not punishment but confirmation to strengthen his faith.  

Note: Here is a clear sample of Bible dictation from the Holy Spirit. The reader should think how Luke knew the exact message from the angel of the Lord given to Zachariah if not from the Holy Spirit dictated. Keep in mind that Zachariah after this encounter with the angel was speechless until the birth of his son John.

21 And the people were waiting for Zachariah, and they marveled while he tarried in the temple.

Comments 1:21. Zachariah spent a long time in conversation with the Lord in the temple, unlike us who spend short periods of time in prayer. The time he spent there is not told, but he had spent a long time, so the verse tells that "people were waiting while he tarried in the temple”.

22 And when he came out, he was not able to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he was making signs to them and remained mute.

Comments 1:22. “and remained mute”. Zachariah, as this verse tells, only remained mute, but he could still hear.

“and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple”. The vision that Zachariah had is different from what most people have, and it took a long time to comprehend. That is why people thought that he had received a vision. Also, sometimes the vision cannot be told to people and that is why he remained mute, so he would not tell the vision until the time came. An angelic being is not for real human eyes to see, but by vision, the Lord has provided the eyes to be able to see the angel and talk to him. The angel Gabriel indeed came in the temple and talked to Zachariah.

Q. What is the difference between a vision like this and a vision of the night? A. In a vision like this, you see with the real eyes, but in a vision of the night, the eye of the soul is the one that sees.   

23 And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.

Comments 1:23. Most of the time, the length of service is more than a week, and at this time he did serve full time, even in his condition of being mute.

24 And after these days Elizabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,

Comments 1:24. The Lord has fulfilled His plan as He told Zachariah, by opening the barren womb of Elizabeth.

“and she hid herself five months”. You, as a human think as well, being old and pregnant; that is why she hid herself. Elizabeth truly wanted to have a child. She did not feel embarrassed or ashamed of being pregnant, but because of her age, the fear has come with it.

25 Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which He looked upon me, to take away my reproach among people.

Comments 1:25. “Thus has the Lord done to me”. In this part of the verse it tells clearly what she tells herself to receive the blessing from the Lord.

“to take away my reproach among people”. That is one of the reasons that she hid herself for five months, because, after five months, when she appears to people, all the people will see that she is pregnant. This is a blessing for people to see. Because of the work Zachariah held, the Lord’s blessing came upon the family.

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

Comments 1:26. “Now in the sixth month”. This is the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.

“the angel Gabriel was sent from God”. This messenger has a duty to announce the good news to people. His first duty was to announce the birth of John, and now the next duty starts.

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.

Comments 1:27. See also Comments Matthew 1:18 and Comments Matthew 1:20.

Virgin describes Mary’s state before conception and during pregnancy (See Comments Matthew 1:25).

“a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph”. The Bible tells clearly that Mary and Joseph had no union before marriage; as this verse states clearly, she is a virgin. At that time, the betrothed meant that she was legally pledged to be married to Joseph.

“Joseph, of the house of David”. See Matthew 1:20, as the angel of the Lord calls him "son of David". This is referred back to when the Lord spoke to David that through his descendants would come a Savior. Joseph became the caretaker and earthly father of the Lord in the eyes of people because he took Mary into his earthly family. Because Mary had known no man of this earth, she completely became his wife before she gave birth to the Lord of Life.

28 And he came in, to her, and said, Greetings, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you.

Comments 1:28. “And he came in, to her”. This is not a vision, but the real angel Gabriel appeared to her (See also Comments 1:22).

“you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you”. In this verse, it tells clearly to all humans that Mary is worthy of carrying the Lord in her womb; she is “highly favored” by the Lord as this verse tells.

“Blessed are you among women!”. This part, which is present in some manuscripts, is believed to be a later addition and was not part of the original Gospel.

29 But she was troubled at the saying, and thought in her mind what manner of salutation this might be.

Comments 1:29. “she was troubled at the saying”. She is a young girl and the appearance of the angel to her made her fear. And what the angel greeted her brought wonder into her heart.

30 And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

Comments 1:30. Pay attention to the words “found favor with God”; the Lord has told her clearly who she is dealing with. The angel was representing the Lord in talking to her. Gabriel is an angel from the Lord the Father and the word he brings is from the Father.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS.

Comments 1:31. This is the point where the Lord Himself has chosen the person to give birth to His Beloved Son of God. In this place, it also tells that the woman the Lord chose to carry the Beloved Son of God is worthy and a good woman.

32 He will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David;

Comments 1:32. In this place the Lord has fulfilled the promise to David (see 2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16).

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.

Comments 1:33. “and of His kingdom there will be no end”. Here it tells us that Jesus is King of all, not just of one group of people, because His kingdom has no end, on earth, beneath earth and in heaven, that is His kingdom.

34 And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin?

Comments 1:34. This is a common question for her. Mary, as a young innocent girl, knew that in order to have children, one needed physical contact, but she was a virgin who had never been touched by a man.

35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the being born will be called the Son of God.

Comment 1:35. “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you”. This shows that there is no physical contact with Mary from the Lord as humans do; the physical contact is only by the shadow of the Most High over her egg. The Lord does not need to have physical interaction with sperm and egg, as humans do for procreation. With Mary, by His shadow the egg conceived. The Lord Jesus must be a hundred percent human and the egg is needed for this.  

“the being born will be called the Son of God”. Because the power of the Most High overshadowed the egg of Mary the Child is Holy and the Son of God.

36 And behold, Elizabeth your kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

Comments 1:36. In this verse, the angel tells Mary that her cousin also has been blessed by the Lord. If she has any difficulty, she can go and consult with her cousin. Both women can talk about the difficulty of body reaction when pregnant.

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.

Comments 1:37. The Lord’s true nature has been stated by this verse that “nothing will be impossible with God”.

38 And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; may it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

Comments 1:38. The verse tells us that Mary is submissive and humble and that is why she is highly favored. It tells as well that Mary herself is willing to face the consequences.

39 And Mary arose in these days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah;

Comments 1:39. Mary went with haste because of the work of the Lord in her heart. The baby in her womb will stir up another baby in the womb.

40 and entered into the house of Zachariah and saluted Elizabeth.

Comments 1:40. The work of the Lord will begin here at this place.

41 And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit;

Comments 1:41. “when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary”. The voice of Mary carried significant feelings from the baby to the baby; this is the point of the work from the Lord to be shown.

“the baby leaped in her womb”. Both babies have the link of their souls through the Holy Spirit and that is why just the voice of the mother of the Lord has impacted the baby in Elizabeth’s womb to leap for joy. Through the Holy Spirit, joy has been linked to the soul of John in the womb. Both babies will have interaction after birth as well.

“and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit”. John was filled with the Holy Spirit before this salutation (see Luke 1:15) but this is the point of stirring up the work of the Holy Spirit in all of them. Elizabeth has experienced the work of the Lord in her. She got pregnant when well advanced in years, which could mean very, very old, but did not fully realize the magnitude of the miracle of her childbirth until this moment when she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Imagine the young girl, Mary, and the very, very old woman, Elizabeth, both being pregnant miraculously and now they meet together.

42 and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

Comments 1:42. “with a loud cry.” “Loud cry,” joy that comes out in an intense way, the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of Elizabeth. For what she has said here, only under the Holy Spirit’s guidance can be expressed.

“Blessed are you among women”. Above all women, Mary is the blessed one, because the Lord has chosen her with duty. The duty is not just to be pregnant, but to carry the baby to full term. It is a big duty for Mary.

43 And from where is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Comments 1:43. In this verse, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, has told the whole world that the baby in Mary’s womb is not just a normal human, but He is the Lord God Himself.

44 For behold, when the voice of your salutation came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

Comments 1:44. In this verse, it tells about Elizabeth’s child. Elizabeth’s baby has been touched by the Holy Spirit in the womb through the action of “unborn leaped for joy.” The unborn child has acknowledged and received the Lord with joy. This is a feeling made known to Elizabeth and her baby by the Holy Spirit. John was filled with the Holy Spirit at the point of conception, but the unborn is still in his first period of life with the Lord; he is still in the womb developing. It is a limitation for the unborn to react with joy, but in this place in Elizabeth’s womb the baby has a reaction to joy.

This verse tells us plainly that the baby is alive and is able to communicate with the Lord even from the point of conception. The fact that the baby leaped with joy in Elizabeth’s womb tells us that even from the womb, the Lord sees them as a person. Most women do not think that their child is linked with the Lord when they are in the womb, but the unborn child’s soul comes from the Lord. If the baby has reaction with joy before birth, how can humans terminate babies and perform abortions?

45 And blessed is she that believed, for there will be a fulfilment to the things spoken to her from the Lord.

Comment 1:45. The main point in this verse is “believed”. The whole verse supports the point of believing in the Lord’s promise, and the Lord will fulfil His promise if you believe. However, do not concentrate on anyone else’s beliefs but yourself. Putting it plainly, the Lord does not compare anyone, so do not compare your life with someone else’s life as well. In this place, we see Elizabeth and Mary being pregnant in amazing ways, but Elizabeth has seen that Mary’s pregnancy is as a fulfillment of the Lord’s word that was spoken to Mary.

46 And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord,

Comments 1:46. Now Mary starts prophesying and, in all these verses, 46 to 55, Mary prophecies about people who truly fear and worship the Lord. They will not be put aside by the Lord, but their prayers and troubles will come in front of the Lord, to wait for the Lord’s judgment on their behalf at the end.

The “soul” is deeper than our heart itself can feel. But the Lord can bring it up for a person to acknowledge what the soul is thinking. In this verse it tells plainly that Mary glorifies the Lord from the deepest of her knowledge.

47 And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

Comments 1:46-47. Q: What is the difference between the soul and spirit in verses 46 and 47, respectively? A: Verses 46 and 47 identify a person as having two different spiritual identities. Our heart can feel the spirit, but it cannot feel the soul unless the Lord lets us feel it. The soul in verse 46 reveals a deeper inner thought, a thought of different dimension, soul dimension within the unseen world, than in this verse. In this verse, the spirit of the person of Mary worships the Lord in two dimensions, with the spirit and the heart, but the heart receives joy without understanding. She knows in her heart she rejoices “in God my Savior” but she does not understand the complete meaning. The word “magnifies” in verse 46 gives a different degree of deepness than the word “rejoices” in verse 47. “Magnify” tells us that Mary worships above, but “rejoice” relates to the present time of the earth and tells us that Mary feels happy in receiving the trust from the Lord.  

In these two verses we encounter two worlds, the unseen world and the seen world. The soul and the spirit exist in two different dimensions in the unseen world. In the unseen world, it is not the same as in this world we know about. The soul of a person can choose to walk in the path of light or the path of darkness, because it still has free will. When the soul walks in the path of light, the communication between the soul's identity and the spirit's identity of a person happens only through the Holy Spirit. But if a soul chooses to walk in the path of darkness, then the soul and the spirit of a person will communicate with different spirits.

48 For He has looked upon the low condition of His handmaid.

For behold, from henceforth all generations will count me blessed.

Comments 1:48. “low condition” or humble position.

This verse tells us about Mary’s deepest heart feelings. When she looks upon herself and thinks of the Lord above all, the joy of her soul to serve the Lord has overcome her own will. She feels she is a person of low condition, and this makes her wonder how she can be worthy enough to serve the Lord. But the Lord’s mercy was so great for her; He had chosen her to do the blessed duty, to give birth to the Lord of life. Mary grew up being taught all her life how to worship the Lord God Most High, and now the Lord has chosen her to do His work and be part of His blessing for humankind, and that makes her rejoice.

The Lord always looks upon everyone, even upon those that are not in good condition of mind and upon those in low worldly positions.

49 For the Mighty One has done to me great things.

And Holy is His name.

Comments 1:49. From this verse we can see what is in her heart. As we commented, she has been taught to worship the Lord and here this verse supports this. The proof is in how she calls the Lord “Holy is His name”. People received teachings in the synagogue, otherwise they would not know to name the Lord as “His name is Holy”.

50 And His mercy is to generations and generations,

To those fearing Him.

Comments 1:50. Because of her humble heart, she reaches to know that the Lord’s mercy has come to all that fear Him.

51 He has shown power in His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the thought of their heart.

Comments 1.51. “He has shown power in His arm”. By the Lord’s own strength, He will help all of those that trust Him.

“He has scattered the proud in the thought of their heart”. The proud of the heart will not rely on the Lord’s mercy, but their own strength, and because they rely on their own strength, they will not be united. Because, by the Lord’s power, they are one with Him, but by their own they cannot be united with the Lord.

52 He has put down rulers from thrones,

And has exalted the humble.

Comments 1:52. In this place, there is a comparison between the rich of the world and the rich of the heart in glorifying the Lord. Those that have the power and riches of this earth will not be able to take them and make them great in the other world. But the Lord will exalt those that are humble of heart to be above those that are great on this earth.

53 The needy He has filled with good things;

And the rich He has sent away empty.

Comments 1:53. “The needy He has filled with good things”. The needy in this place are not the needy of the physical that need food, but the needy of the soul that are searching for the Lord.

“And the rich He has sent empty away”. The rich here are the rich of this world filled with material things. The Lord will not let them have their riches of this world in the other world. When their time ends on this earth, they will go empty-handed in the other world.

54 Remembering mercy,

He helped Israel His servant

Comments 1:54. Every time when His people have problems and then come back to the Lord, the Lord will always help them, because in His mercy, the Lord always remembers His servant.

55 As He spoke to our fathers

To Abraham and his seed forever.

Comments 1:55. The word the Lord has spoken to Abraham, it becomes His promise to his seed.

56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her home.

Comments 1:56. Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age and Mary was pregnant at a very young age; they supported each other. Elizabeth is in her old age, and to have a younger woman accompany her during this time of her life was helpful to her.

57 Now Elizabeth's time was fulfilled that she should give birth; and she bore a son.

58 And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy with her; and they rejoiced with her.

Comments 1:58. Because of being pregnant at her very old age, neighbors and relatives were in awe of this miracle. The birth of this child has magnified the name of the Lord among people and made everyone waiting to see what the child will turn out to be.

59 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and were calling him after the name of his father, Zachariah.

Comments 1:59. Who are “they” in this verse? “They” in this place are the relatives of Zachariah and Elizabeth. Because of tradition, the first child’s name will take the father’s name, since the first child will receive all the inheritance. And in this place, Zachariah himself has a position in the sight of the Lord and the relatives will expect the blessing to go to the first child as well.

60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he will be called John.

Comments 1:60. In this place, the Lord has given the name to the child for a purpose. The name of the child will make people think more. Why this name? And, people around will keep watching him.

In Hebrew the meaning of the name John is “Jehovah is gracious”. The meaning of his name will remind people that the Lord has plans for this child.

61 And they said to her, There is no one among your kindred who is called by this name.

62 And they made signs to his father, what he would wish him called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all.

Comments 1:63. We can see clearly the Lord is at work. And the people that came will have noticed this as well. It will be the talk among people that Zachariah has broken the tradition of given name after himself for his first child.

64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he spoke, blessing God.

Comments 1:64. Zachariah can speak at this point of time and people have noticed that he speaks again. The Lord has shown certainly to people that the Lord had planned for this child to be born. This will impact people’s hearts about this child’s future.

65 And fear came on all those who dwelt around them; and all these things were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.

Comments 1.65. The things that happened to Zachariah brought fear to all the people in the area. When Zachariah started speaking again, at that moment people realized that the Lord was at work here in this family. The name of the Lord has been magnified throughout the region regarding these things that have happened.

66 And all who heard laid them up in their heart, saying, What then will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 And his father Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

Comments 1:67. When Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, people’s hearts were filled with joy, because they realized that the Lord never left them.

68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

For He has visited and worked redemption for His people,

Comments 1:68. All His people have been through trouble, but the Lord is still among them, and because of their own hardness of heart they could not feel Him. The miracle that happened here made them realize that the Lord is always with them; just seek Him and you will find Him.

“He has visited” here relates to the things that have happened. The miracle He has performed has shown that He is visiting them now.

“Worked redemption” here means the help is coming from the Lord; wait and see the help for His people.

69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of His servant David;

Comments 1:69. Here it talks about the Savior is coming. The Lord has a plan to send the Savior as the help for His people.

“horn of salvation for us”. Also, we can think of animals that have tasks and horns for fighting and the Lord has sent that kind of help to fight and overcome all troubles.

“In the house of His servant David”. This comes to relate to the fact that the Lord will link “His servant David” through Joseph to be the caretaker of the beloved Son of God for a period of time.

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old,

71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all those that hate us;

Comments 1: 69-71. Verses 69 to 71 relate old prophesies (1 Samuel 2:1, 10, Psalm 132:17, Ezekiel 29:21, 2 Samuel 22:3, Psalm 18:2, Psalms 106:10, Jeremiah 23:5-6) to the beloved Son of God and to the way the Lord will provide the help. This is a portion that many have been interpreting that the help will come from the house of David, but actually the Father Himself will send the help to rescue His people. The way of helping is not just by war but by peace.

Q: How can salvation from the enemies and from the hands of those that hate His people can come through peace? A: As the Bible has told, starting with Herod, he lifted himself to be Herod the great and started to fight with the Lord, first by trying to eliminate the Savior of the world. For this great evil deed, he made people turn to the Lord and ask for help; but the Lord will give the big victory to His people through His beloved Son. His beloved Son will give peace to His people through His love and death on the cross; the Father Himself will give peace to all that will ask by His Son’s blood. Jesus came to bring salvation through peace with God.

Here, we are talking about peace with the Father from within our souls. Temptation is our enemy, and we must fight the temptation with faith in His begotten Son. Temptation makes us commit sin and that is why temptation is our enemy. All those that hate us make our souls feel angry, but we must fight that anger with the love from His Son who has paid our ransom. Then we will find the peace of God through the blood of His Son. Ask for peace from the Father through faith in His beloved Son.

72 To show mercy towards our fathers,

And to remember His holy covenant;

73 To grant us the oath which He spoke to Abraham our father,

Comments 1:72-73. In these verses it tells about the Father and His mercy and the promise that He has made throughout the generations before. The Father keeps that promise through His beloved Son.

74 Having been saved from the hand of our enemies,

To serving Him without fear,

Comments 1:74. “to serving Him without fear”. The Father has helped His people but only asks them to serve Him without fear of being different from others. Because in serving the Lord, we will act differently than the rest of the people and that is why "to serving Him without fear".

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

Comments 1: 75. In this verse it tells the way of people who belong to the Lord. The way they behave should be in holiness and righteousness all their life.

76 Yes and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:

For you will go before the Lord to make ready His ways;

Comments 1:76. The Lord used Zachariah in telling the duty of John, his son. This child will be the prophet of the Lord that will help people look forward to receiving the begotten Son of God. The way the child will live will point out to his duty. Because he will live separated from others and be different, people will notice the duty he has, by the way of his talk and the idea of his life.

77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people

In the remission of their sins,

Comments 1:77. “To give knowledge of salvation to His people”. John will tell clearly to whom all people must go to be saved. The verse tells us what John will do to prepare the way. He will tell us about the purpose of the way in which the Lord is coming to save His people (the way of the Lord’s coming is to save His people). John will always point out the way to be saved by following the Lord’s teaching. He tells them who can forgive their sins. ‘The way’ refers to the fact that Jesus came as the begotten Son of God in the form of a human, and John points people to Jesus as the One who gives salvation.

“In the remission of their sins”. Because the Lord Himself will forgive their sins, if they acknowledge His authority.

78 Through the tender mercies of our God,

Whereby the sunrise from on high will visit us,

Comments 1:78. “Through the tender mercies of our God”. The mercy of the Father has been shown to all the world, because Zachariah himself received from the Lord to prophesy the coming of the beloved Son of God.

“Whereby the sunrise from on high will visit us”. The “sunrise from on high” is the glory from heaven; “will visit us” is the birth of the begotten Son of God on earth to bring the light from heaven to the whole earth and all the souls that have been born and will be born on earth.

79 To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death;

To direct our feet into the way of peace.

Comments 1:79. “To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death”. Now this verse talks about two groups of souls, one that “sit in darkness” and another one in “the shadow of death”. There is a different meaning between darkness and the shadow of death. Those in darkness have rejected the Lord of life, but those in the shadow of death have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit of God.

Q: To shine upon these, what does this really mean? A: The glory of the Lord has shined on them to reach to the deepest of the soul itself. Even if it is too late for repentance, the glory keeps them warm. Because the soul cannot die until the final judgment day. In the Bible, it has the verse that the Lord has gone to minister to the dead, that it is when to shine upon them.  

“To direct our feet into the way of peace”. To direct our feet is the light from the beloved Son of God to those that truly believe in Him. Believe alone will not be direct but must act and follow the teaching; that is the way of peace.

80 And the child grew, and increased strong in spirit, and was in the deserts until the day of His appearance to Israel.

Comments 1:80. John was led by the Lord to live a separated life from people, so he will not be influenced by the teaching of the world and will have a clean mind. Because of the way he grew up, this made his soul hear clearly the voice of the Lord.  

Life and Faith Applications. From this chapter we can highlight four main life and faith application points. 1) Believe in the miraculous birth of the begotten Son of God through the virgin Mary and that Mary was a worthy woman chosen by God to carry the baby Jesus in her womb (Luke 1:30-35). 2) Believe in the Lord’s promises, and that the Lord will fulfill His promises if you believe (Luke 1:45). 3) Abortion is against God’s will; the Lord sees a baby in the womb as a person from the point of conception (Luke 1:41, 44). 4) We should not look down on anyone; the Lord looks upon everyone, even upon those that are not in good condition of mind and upon those in low worldly positions (Luke 1:48).

Luke 2

Summary. This chapter presents a wonderful description of the events, places, and people surrounding the birth of the beloved Son of God. The Lord stirs up various people to proclaim the coming of our Savior on earth. Messages are given by angels and by the Holy Spirit to these people regarding the beloved Son of God. The chapter emphasizes the fact that the Lord Jesus follows the Law given by the Father to humans and that in His humanity, He also subjects Himself to His earthly caretakers. Progressively, we find significant events from the life of Jesus on earth, starting with Mary’s family travel to Bethlehem and His birth until He grew in stature and wisdom with God and men. Luke 2:1-5. Joseph and his betrothed, Mary, who was with the Child, traveled from Nazareth of Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea to register as required by the order of Caesar Augustus. Luke 2:6-7. Mary gives birth to her firstborn Son, our Lord Jesus, in Bethlehem in a manger. Luke 2:8-14. These verses represent the annunciation of the birth of the beloved Son of God, to a group of shepherds, by an angel and a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God. Luke 2:15-20. The Lord chose some poor shepherds to be messengers in that region about the birth of the beloved Son of God, our Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The birth of the Savior went unnoticed in the town until these shepherds came and proclaimed to them that the Savior was born. Luke 2:21. The beloved Son of God is circumcised and given the name Jesus. Luke 2:22-24. Jesus is brought to the temple in Jerusalem, after Mary’s days of purification have passed, to be dedicated to the Lord. Jesus has followed all the commandments given by the Father to humans, even from His birth. Luke 2:25-35. A man of God, Simeon, by the power of the Holy Spirit, recognized the Lord Jesus as the Savior of the world when He was brought to the temple in Jerusalem. Simeon was a tool for the Lord to identify Jesus and show people that even His beloved Son follows the law and completes all the law. Luke 2:36-38. Anna, a prophetess, had gained knowledge about the beloved Son of God, and she told people at that time about Jesus, the Redeemer of the world. Luke 2:39-52. These verses tell us two times that Jesus grew in stature and wisdom, the first after His dedication in the temple and the second after His tarrying behind in the temple at twelve years old. The emphasis in this section about the beloved Son of God is that He has a duty to fulfill by worshiping the Father and, in His humanity, He is obeying His earthly family as well.       

1 Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered.

Comments 2:1. Give attention to the words “all the world”; this here does not mean the whole world that the Lord has created. This is only the world that was in Augustus’ mind for registration.

2 This was the first registration before Quirinius was governor of Syria.

Comments 2:2. The correct translation of this verse must state “This was the first registration before” not “This was the first registration when”.  Q: Why does the Bible mention Quirinius here? A: In this place, it gives this information just to emphasize the period of time when this registration took place. This also gives information about the world’s political situation and confusion during that period of time. Q: Why are not we given an exact year of this registration but instead we are granted some general timeline? A: The registration does not need to be described in detail. Even if the Lord will tell us the exact time, there will still be many arguments among humans. Also, the time recorded by humans (historians) is not correct; that is why the Lord never gives exact time here. 

3 And all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David;

Comments 2:3-4. Many Bible verses explain why Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 1:27, 32-33, Luke 2:11; 1 Samuel 16:4, 13).

“he was of the house and lineage of David”. Joseph will be a caretaker of the Lord Jesus. The Bible has linked the Lord to the house of David, because on this earth people will take Joseph as father of the Lord. Also, note that the Bible has mentioned the Lord as a carpenter, a trade that Joseph the Lord’s caretaker had. This indicates that Joseph taught the Lord the knowledge of carpentry and did his duty as the caretaker of the Lord Jesus on earth.  

5 to register with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being with Child.

Comments 2:5. Mary is betrothed to Joseph but with Child. In this situation, we see the trouble of Joseph and his family being with the begotten Son of God. Even with this blessing, they still face difficulties in life.

In Matthew 1:20, an angel appears to Joseph and tells him to take Mary as his wife, but this verse here indicates that they are still betrothed. Joseph and Mary were betrothed together but had not had the marriage ceremony yet. At that time, by tradition, the betrothed period could be a long time.

6 And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should give birth.

Comments 2:6. In accordance with the Old Testament prophecy from Micah 5:2, the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. The place where the Messiah must be born will be as it has been set by the Father. As this verse tells us, Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Comments 2:7. “And she brought forth her firstborn Son”. This is significant, because the Bible has told us that the firstborn male belongs to the Lord (See Exodus 13:2). In this place, for a woman who can give birth to the Lord Jesus, her firstborn child can only be the Lord. She must have had no children before Jesus. This verse emphasizes again that Mary is worthy.

“and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes”. This tells us about their situation. As they travel, they have nothing prepared. When the Lord of life was born on this earth, He did not come with the luxury of this earth. This is the example for all humans to see, you come empty and you leave empty, things on this earth will not make you be someone in heaven.

“and laid Him in a manger”. Look at the first experience of the Lord of life; He did not lie down in a soft bed on his first day on earth. The Lord has created nature and the Lord of life used the natural things as the Father has created to be the place to lie down. Manger and the material to lie down, plain material from nature, simple, no artificial additives. That is where the Lord of life first slept. 

“because there was no room for them in the inn”. There should be no place used by humans for the Lord of life to be born in. The inn is the place where humans take a rest, but Mary as a human did not have that chance to stay in the inn. Because she will give birth to the Lord of life, and this must not be in a place where humans have used it, like an inn where many humans have used it, so that is why no room for them in the inn was found. The Father did not want His beloved Son to be born in a place or bed used by other humans before. That is why the birth of Jesus came at a time when they could not find a room in an inn.

8 And there were shepherds in the same region lodging in the fields and keeping watch by night over their flock.

Comments 2:8. In this verse it talks about common people, the shepherds that are taking care of the sheep in the fields. The Lord has brought them here to this region.

“keeping watch by night over their flock”. The shepherds that are watching during the night will have their minds at peace, no interaction with outsiders, their minds are clean. And, this will make them able to communicate easier with the Lord than others.

9 And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared with great fear.

Comments 2:9. The shepherds were common people, but they have seen the glory of the Most High God around them, and they will be the witnesses to all humans to the birth of the Son of God. The Lord has chosen the poor and unimportant of society to be the witnesses to the birth of His Son.

“and they feared with great fear”. In this place, there is a clear picture of the glory of the Lord and its high power.  Humans will be afraid and fearful just thinking about it.

10 And the angel said to them, Fear not; for behold, I bring to you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

Comments 2:10. In this verse, the angel said the good news not just to the poor like them, but to all the people that will hear about what they have seen and heard. There was no need to be fearful of the good news, but to be in awe of the good news for all humans. The Lord has sent His glory with His beloved Son to shine for all the humans on earth, not just for His people but for all the world.

11 For was born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Comments 2:11. The city of David is Bethlehem and is in Judea as told in verse 4. In this verse, the Father has told clearly to all humans, The Savior of the world is His beloved Son who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this is the sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

Comments 2:12. The beloved Son of God comes in human form as a helpless baby. The first place the Lord of life has been is not in a palace, but in a manger, the place for feeding the animals. But He did not come to feed the animals. The Lord of life has come to feed the humans with His own blood for salvation.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying:

Comments 2:13. “heavenly hosts”. The heavenly hosts have been created before the earth was created. They are like angels, but the heavenly hosts themselves have form in real substance that can be felt, but not by humans. They are all beings, but their substance is not of this earth. 

It will be difficult to imagine the number of heavenly host present here at the celebration of Jesus’ birth on earth. There are many human souls in heaven (the ones that went through the earth’s trials already) but the heavenly host themselves are much more than human souls, but all heavenly host will have one heart to glorify the Father. The voice of those sounds coming from the heavenly host is the voice the Father enjoys hearing. The point of this is that at the birth of the Lord Jesus on earth there were present many, many heavenly host and all came to rejoice at His birth and glorify the Father.

14 Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.

Comment 2:14. “Glory to God in the highest”. Pay attention, people of God should always start their day of life with “glory to God in the highest”. Humans do not have in them anymore to think about who is the highest here on earth, but God is the highest, not just in heaven, but on earth, and below earth as well. That is the position that God is in; God is the highest in all. This is not just about in the mind and in the heart, but in both worlds, seen and unseen, He is the highest.

“And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” This is the moment when Jesus was born in the manger, during the night, when the heavenly hosts were praising God. Those that glorify the birth of the beloved Son of God are the people that the Father is well pleased with. He will be among those on earth with whom He is well pleased and will give them peace.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels departed from them into the heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even to Bethlehem and see this spoken-word that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

Comments 2:15. “as the angels departed from them into the heaven.” The angels here refer to the angel and the heavenly host from verse 13. The angels and heavenly hosts dwell in distinct parts of heaven with different levels of responsibility.

“Let us now go even to Bethlehem and see this spoken-word that has come to pass”. We can say that the angel and the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds during the night (see verse 8 and 9). It is hard to walk during the night, and we can say that they started to go to Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus in the manger (see verse 14). The Lord does not look at the position of a person on earth. The people the Lord has chosen to know the Savior of the world is coming are these shepherds, and these shepherds have left everything and went to see that the spoken-word has come to pass.

16 And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger.

Comments 2:16. Because at that time Mary and Joseph could not find another place to stay, they stayed here for some time. 

“they came with haste”. This tells us that the shepherds came quickly but still it took them some time to reach the manger where Jesus laid. Even though in verse 8 it tells us that the shepherds were in the same region, the distance to travel by foot without roads as we have now, for them it took some time.  

The beloved Son of God has come into the world, but the people that come to see Him are these poor shepherds. And they have seen the Savior of the world lying in the manger used for feeding the animals.

In this verse, when the shepherds come to see the Baby, it surprised Mary and Joseph how they knew. They are in this little place having a Baby, and suddenly many shepherds come to see the Baby. They questioned themselves how the shepherds knew they were having a Baby. But the shepherds told them that they came to see what they had been told by an angel. Think, what this act would tell Mary in her heart concerning her Baby.  

17 And having seen, they proclaimed concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this Child.

Comments 2:17. In this verse, we see that the Lord stirred up the hearts of these commoners, as the word has said, concerning the saying. The spoken-word has captured the hearts of these poor people, and they went to check and found what they had been told.

“they proclaimed”. They made known to the people in that town. They did not need to talk to Mary and Joseph anymore and they went and talked to the people in town.

“concerning the saying”. See verses 10 to 14.

18 And all that heard it marveled concerning the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.

Comments 2:18. The birth of the Savior went unnoticed in the town until these shepherds came and proclaimed to them that the Savior was born. The word spoken by these commoners, the truth about the beloved Son of God, has brought joy and surprise to all the people that heard about the birth of the Savior.  

19 But Mary kept all these matters, pondering them in her heart.

Comments 2:19. People have a problem with this verse because Mary was already pregnant by the Holy Spirt, and why then she still needs to ponder about the matter that the shepherds have told about her Baby. But, it is not easy for a young girl like her to be pregnant and not know what will happen to her. What happened to her body was after her heart had accepted the duty. But for herself, the heart must accept what happened in her body as well, and all that happened to her must go through her head also. Because when her body has changed, it will make her heart realize her duty as a mother, and the head will start to think, and then her soul will come to accept her duty.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was spoken to them.

Comments 2:20. The shepherds are talking about the birth of the beloved Son of God. They are talking among themselves confirming the message they have received about this Child. And now they all have the same feeling in their hearts and come to realize the truth regarding the message they have received. The things that have been spoken to them cannot be kept secret. The news about this Child must go further.

21 And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising Him, His name was called JESUS, which was so called by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Comments 2:21. In Genesis 17:12-14, Genesis 21:4, and Leviticus 12:3, the Lord commanded circumcision to be done on the eighth day. In this verse, we can see the Son of God has followed the command of the Father. All this has been done to Him. After eight days had passed, He received the circumcision. When He was circumcised, His name was called Jesus. He did everything that humans should do. He was born as a human, and as a human, He must follow the command of the Father.

No place in the Bible mentions the location where Jesus was circumcised. We are just told in this verse that the circumcision time was fulfilled, and His name was called Jesus. At that time, by tradition, people invite a priest of the Lord to circumcise the child. But His parents did not do that, because when the circumcision is done the parents must give certain things to the priest. And Mary and her family were traveling and did not have all the things they needed.    

22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present to the Lord

Comments 2:22. As given in Leviticus 12:3-8, the purifying from the blood of Mary continued for 33 more days after the circumcision of the Lord Jesus. When the time according to the law of the Lord was fulfilled, they brought the Lord Jesus to present Him to the Father, the beloved Son in human form has come to meet the Father. The Father Himself follows the rule that He has given to humans, and His beloved Son must follow that rule as well.

According to this verse, when the days of Mary's purification were complete, Mary came to make an offering for her purification. After she purified herself, she could present the Lord Jesus to the Father. Each one of these activities must have its own offering. These activities most of the time are done in one day, but sometimes the Lord allows them to go beyond one day.

23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens a womb shall be called holy to the Lord),

Comments 2:23. All the firstborn that are males are the Lord’s as written in the book of Exodus 13:2, 12. The Lord has fulfilled according to the law of the Lord; His beloved Son has opened the womb and is holy. Even among humans when they look upon Him on earth, He is holy in every direction. 

24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

Comments 2:24. In Leviticus 12:6-8 by the law of the Lord, Mary was supposed to bring a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering for her cleansing. However, if she cannot afford a lamb, then she can offer two turtledoves or two pigeons. This verse tells us that Mary and Joseph offered a pair of turtledoves for Mary’s cleansing. In general, this would indicate they are poor, but in their case, we need to consider they were traveling, so, they offered what they could get.

25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Comments 2:25. It may not say much about Simeon, but his name and his actions have been written down in the Bible. The verse has its own meaning, but we need to notice the last part of the verse that says, “and the Holy Spirit was upon him”. When the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is upon someone, that will indicate also that the person is righteous before God, and that person is a true worshiper of the Lord.

26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he should see the Christ of the Lord.

Comments 2:26. Simeon is a blessed man, and he will see Christ before he dies. Even at that time, the Lord was not yet known publicly, but the Holy Spirit had worked in Simeon’s heart to wait to meet the Lord. The Bible did not mention for how long Simeon had received the revelation about the coming of the Lord’s Christ.  

27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning Him after the custom of the law,

Comments 2:27. “And he came in the Spirit into the temple”. Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit to come to the temple.

“and when the parents brought in the child Jesus”. This is the most important moment for humans. The God Most High comes to the temple of God in human form; the Savior of the world in human form has come to meet the Father.

“they might do concerning Him after the custom of the law”. This is a moment when the beloved Son of God received the custom of humans, the custom which the Lord has given to humans to follow. Now the law has been fulfilled with the coming of the beloved Son of God; the law is in Him. Here the Son did as the Father has given as a law for humans, and this is for the Son of man to be received in the law of Moses, as the law of Moses requires to dedicate the baby to the Lord. Because it was a law, and God Himself has come to do as that law required and the beloved Son has fulfilled that law.

28 then he received Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Comments 2:28. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Simeon recognized the Lord Jesus, and this happened before the custom offering took place for Jesus’ dedication to the Lord. It is important for Simeon to prophesy about the Lord before He was dedicated to the Father. Simeon was a tool for the Lord to show people that even His beloved Son follows the law and completes all the law.

29 Now let You Your servant depart, Lord, According to Your word, in peace;

30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples;

Comments 2:29-31. Simeon just wants to confirm to people that the Savior has come.

32 A light for revelation to the Gentiles,

And the glory of Your people Israel.

Comments 2:32. “A light for revelation to the Gentiles”. The beloved Son of God has come to save the Gentiles as well. The Gentiles just need to follow the teaching of the beloved Son of God.

“And the glory of Your people Israel”. There is a difference between saying ‘for revelation’ and ‘the glory’ in this verse. For the Gentiles, the light will open their hearts to accept the Lord Jesus, but the glory of His people means lifting up His people to be separated since Jesus came among His people. For His people, the Lord has put a light shining out to cover them. Because they are His people, and they will always be separated from the rest. But only when they have faith in the beloved Son of God, then will the rest of the people see their light of knowledge.    

33 And His father and mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning Him;

Comments 2:33. His earthly family were doing for Him as the earthly requirement to do, and the Lord Himself also came to fulfil that law.

34 and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother: Behold, this Child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel; and for a sign spoken against;

Comments 2:34. “Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother”. Mary herself does need this encouragement. For her, hearing all the talking about Jesus will make her gain peace in her heart.

“this Child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel”. The Beloved Son of God Himself will be the cause of rising and falling among His people. For the rising of His people, when they look upon the Son of God, and their hearts are open to accepting His authority above them all, the peace from God will occupy their hearts and even when their life is difficult, they will still have that peace. For the falling of His people, when His own people have rejected the Lord of life, the suffering of the physical and heart will be more than what they can tell their own kinsmen and it will be hard to bear.

“and for a sign spoken against”. When people speak against the beloved Son of God’s birth, death and resurrection, all these signs they will talk against and blaspheme against. But when they talk against these signs, deep inside their hearts they will blaspheme against the Three in One, not just the Son alone, but against all Three in One.

35 yes and a sword will pierce through your own soul; so that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.

Comments 2:35. For Mary herself, when she hears people talking against her Son, it is like a sword itself piercing through her soul. The hurt of Mary as a mother is beyond what words can tell. The thoughts of many people against the Holy Son will be revealed to her ears, and Mary as a mother will hear them all.

Note that Simeon was not mentioned as a prophet, just as a righteous man used by the Holy Spirit.

36 And there was Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,

37 and she was a widow until eighty-four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fasting and supplications night and day.

Comments 2:36-37. The information about Anna is given for a reason. Her role may not be mentioned many times, but this prophetess has gained knowledge about the beloved Son of God, and she will reveal it to His people. 

Q: In these verses we are given the lineage of Anna. However, the Bible is silent about Mary’s linage. What is the reason for this? A: Mary’s lineage cannot be told further because people will link her lineage to the Lord in the wrong way. People will find a way to worship her lineage instead of the true Father. 

38 And coming up at that hour she gave thanks to God and spoke concerning Him to all those that were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Comments 2:38. We are given the lineage of Anna and information about her life, but the Bible does not record her words that she spoke about Jesus. Anna had told people at that time about the redemption of Israel, but people also ignored her words. If it has written down what she has said, people will try to make another book, and compare her book with the Holy Bible, and this will create much division among believers. The duty of Anna was to tell in that time, but not for further generations. For doing her duty towards her people, the Lord honors her by mentioning her name and her story in the Bible. Also, the Lord has told us she was a prophetess.

“coming up at that hour”. This means that Anna came at the time of the Lord’s dedication in the temple.

“spoke concerning Him to all those that were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem”. Anna, because she has been selected as a prophetess, her duty is to tell people about the Messiah who is coming to redeem His people. Anna will go out and tell all, but only those that have been called will listen to the voice of Anna. Being a prophetess, she has told people many things about the beloved Son of God.

Note that Simeon was not mentioned as a prophet, just as a righteous man used by the Holy Spirit.

39 And when they had accomplished everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

Comments 2:39. “when they had accomplished everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee …”. Within this verse there is a gap of time and places.

The family did not return immediately to Nazareth, but they traveled around for a period of time, as shown in Matthew chapter 2, before they settled in Nazareth as specified in Luke 2:39b and Matthew 2:23. In each gospel there is a unique time described, but if we put each gospel in a timeline then we will be able to fill up the gaps of time. Each Gospel has its own purpose for people. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the family traveled to other places for a period of time before they settled in Nazareth. See Matthew 2:1-23 for the timeline related to the Child Jesus and family travels in and around Bethlehem before settling in Nazareth. 

As Jesus and His family are traveling, it takes them longer than normal to go to their destination in Nazareth. They cannot travel straight to where they want, because at that time, the Lord Jesus is still young, and they must try to avoid people as well to make sure that they are not followed by someone else to harm them. In Bethlehem, they did not stay in their own house. Jesus and His family traveled most of the time. Mainly because of fear, it makes them never stay long in any place. Because Mary was fearful of the safety of the beloved Son of God, she could not stay peacefully in one place.

Note that neither Gospel mentions the exact time, it will always use the term about. In each period of time, it could mean a short or a long period of time to stay in one place. And when the Lord guided the wisemen, He used the star to guide them.

40 And the Child grew, and became strong, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.

Comments 2:40. In this verse, it says clearly that the grace of God was upon Jesus. All the work will be done through the Holy Spirit, not only the work in this verse alone, the work that will come on the way, all the decisions and interactions related to Jesus will be guided through the Holy Spirit.

“And the Child grew, and became strong”. Strong in this place means strong in two ways, physically and spiritually.

“being filled with wisdom”. The beloved Son of God let the Holy Spirit from the Father to lead Him and do the work for the Father. Humans will use intelligence, but for the Lord in His humanity, when He lets the Holy Spirit lead Him, His mind will have received the idea of thinking and will convince His heart to do what is right and pleasing to the Father.  

41 And His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.

Comments 2:41. The Lord’s Passover was held at twilight, the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread (See Leviticus 23:5-6). In this verse we have the proof showing that both, Mary and Joseph, have been taught in the way of the Lord. Because the verse told us every year they go, this is the support showing their piety.  

42 And when He was twelve years, they went up according to the custom of the feast;

Comments 2:42. “And when He was twelve years”. This is also a turning point in time for the Lord Himself. At this point in time, Mary and His earthly family will notice in their hearts who Jesus truly is in human form.

“they went up according to the custom of the feast”. The family went up for worship, and every time the Lord was traveling with them in a group. 

43 and when they had fulfilled the days, in their returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; but His parents knew it not;

Comments 2:43. “and when they had fulfilled the days”. This refers to the fulfillment of the days as described by the Feast of Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. Notice the term days, not one day to do according to the custom, but more days they all are busy doing worship (Leviticus 23:5-6). 

“in their returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem”. The beloved Son of God Himself has the duty to fulfill by worshiping the Father. Because of this, it made the Lord separate Himself and that is why the Bible uses the term ‘tarried behind’.

“but His parents knew it not”.  Q: Why did not the Lord Jesus inform His earthly family about staying behind in the temple? A: The Lord did not inform His earthly family because Mary herself had been busy and her mind was occupied at that point (See verse 44). But the beloved Son of God needed to glorify the Father and that is why He tarried behind alone. Jesus always knows who His true Father is. 

44 but supposing Him to be in their company, they went a day's journey, and sought for Him among their kinsfolks and acquaintances;

Comments 2:44. This verse shows us that Jesus’ earthly family were occupied and busy with their worldly things. The verse shows distinctly that Mary’s thoughts were not on the Lord and her mind was also occupied with worldly things, and she was not concerned about her Child.

“they went a day's journey”. Mary, as a mother, and entrusted by the Father to take care of His beloved Son, ignored in her heart to look for her Child before leaving. She was concerned with earthly things and not about her own duty towards her Child.

45 and when they found Him not, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

Comments 2:45. In this verse, we can see that they returned to Jerusalem after what happened because of their lack of duty. For that length of time (see verse 46) a human child could be in danger, but this is also the beloved Son of God, and they have neglected Him.  Humans forget even their own child, but the Lord God Almighty never forgets His children.

46 And it came to pass, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and questioning them.

Comments 2:46. “And it came to pass, after three days”. Think as well, this Child is still young, the beloved Son of God in human form has been left alone for this length of time. ‘Three days’ in this verse refers to three days of searching for Him. In all, we can say that Jesus was separated from them for more than three days.

“they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and questioning them”. At this moment in time, we all should realize that the Lord of life, as a young Child, has performed His duty as an adult. The Child Jesus has magnified the work of the Father in the midst of humans. The beloved Son of God at a young age has full power as an adult. He knew His early family would come back to search for Him. But that was the time for Him to follow the Father as well. The time alone with humans in the temple also has showed to all humans that as a young Child He had performed His duty as the Teacher. Being left alone by an earthy family does not stop the work of God.

47 And all those hearing Him were amazed at His understanding and answers.

Comments 2:46-47. These verses tell many things to people. Jesus was sitting among the teachers of humans, and they were all amazed at His understanding and answers. The beloved Son of God has performed His duty as a Savior of the world by listening and answering questions.

48 And when they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, Child, why have You thus done to us? behold, Your father and I sought You distressing.

Comments 2:48. “And when they saw Him, they were astonished”. In this place, Mary and Joseph are starting to realize whom they are dealing with now.

“His mother said to Him, Child, why have You thus done to us?” For Mary herself to try not to have the guilty feeling in her heart of leaving Him alone, her human nature has played a big role here. Mary in her heart tried to find someone else to blame instead of herself.

“Your father and I sought You distressing”. We must remember that Joseph has played a role as an earthly father in taking care of the Lord Jesus at this time. But the distress feeling has come after their own mistake, and it is natural to refuse to accept their mistakes. 

49 And He said to them, Why were you seeking Me? Knew you not that I must be in My Father's house?

Comments 2:49. “Why were you seeking Me?” In this question, Jesus has asked His caretakers directly, meaning looking for Me, but you have left Me behind. As for all of us humans, the Lord has given the book of life, but so few are searching for what the Lord teaches. But, after something bad happens, then we come and ask, "where are you, Lord?"

“knew you not that I must be in My Father's house?” Here, the Lord has told Mary to remember how she conceived Him, and bring Mary back to her place where she knows in her heart who Jesus is. As the verse has said, ‘My Father’s house’ is to make Mary remember who His true Father is.

50 And they understood not the saying that He spoke to them.

Comments 2:50. Mary herself is human, as all humans on earth would be. She forgot whom she gave birth to, the beloved Son of God, and that is the saying they cannot understand.

51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He was subject to them. And His mother kept all these matters in her heart.

Comments 2:51. “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth.” The beloved Son of God, in human form, is also obeying His earthly family as well. 

“and He was subject to them.” Jesus went and lived with them as the good son would be in human eyes.

“and His mother kept all these matters in her heart.” Mary never understood anything about the beloved Son of God until now. This has come to the point of what the Lord has said that He must be in His Father’s house. All these things that she has kept in her heart made her feel confused, and she could not understand what she truly gave birth to, a human or just God Himself.

Q: Why did the Holy Spirit tell us this story in this Gospel? A: This story about the Lord being in the temple, is given here for all humans to see distinctly that the Lord Himself has taken part to be a human. But He Himself is the beloved Son of God, and He will always want to be close to the Father.  

52 And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Comments 2:52. “And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature.” The beloved Son of God in human form grew up in the physical body and as He grew as a human, His wisdom has increased in the eyes of people. 

“And in favor with God”. Even though He Himself is God, however, He has always put the Father above all, and the meaning here is favor with God the Father.

“And in favor with men” in this place refers to the way He respects His earthly family.

Life and Faith Applications. From this chapter we can highlight three main life and faith application points. 1) The Savior of the world is the beloved Son of God, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-14, 26-32, 36-38). 2) The Lord has given the book of life to all humans, but so few are searching for what the Lord teaches us. We do not need to wait until something bad happens in our life to seek the Lord; instead, we always need to keep the Lord in our hearts and study and meditate on His Word (Luke 2:42-49). 3) We, as humans, need to be subjected to our Father in heaven first, but we also need to respect and honor our earthy parents (Luke 2:49-52).

Luke 3

Summary. This chapter introduces John as the messenger of the Lord and his work and interaction with people and Jesus. The chapter also presents the lineage of Joseph, the earthly caretaker of the beloved Son of God. Luke 3:1-6. John, the son of Zachariah, is introduced as the messenger of the Lord, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins, and is linked to the words of Isaiah, the prophet. Luke 3:7-14, 18-20. John baptizes multitudes of people and teaches them the way to be, preparing the way of the Lord. But Herod imprisons him. Luke 3:15-17. John, as the messenger of the Lord, points people to Jesus as the one that baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Luke 3:21-22. Jesus was baptized in water by John, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus, and the Father’s Voice from heaven identified Jesus as His beloved Son. Luke 3:23-38. We are given the genealogy of Joseph, the caretaker of Jesus, from Heli the true father of Joseph, to David through Nathan, to Abraham, and to Adam to show that the Lord keeps His promises to David and Abraham and that Joseph cannot be the birth father of Jesus, he is just His earthly caretaker.   

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

Comments 3:1. In the beginning of this chapter, the Lord gives details about the leaders of people at that time which none of them had a heart for the Lord God Almighty. But in all the evil they will do, the Lord's blessing will overshadow them all.

“Now in the fifteenth year …”. In this place, the year is mentioned to specify the time that the Lord’s work begins with His messenger.

2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

Comments 3:2. For verses 2-17 see Comments Matthew 3:1-12 and Comments Mark 1:2-8.

“in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas”. People appointed high priests to serve the Lord, but they forgot to think if the Lord approved them as well. Both of these are approved by humans but not by God.

Q: Why did the Lord bring these two and present them here as high priests? A: When both names had been put down, we should have noticed it was not the name that the Lord had chosen to be His high priest at that time. We can notice this by the work that they have done. Their main purpose was to interrupt the Lord’s work, and later on this became clear.

“the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” This connects to previous verses and now we see why John has lived in the wilderness alone. John’s mind is clear to hearing the voice of the Lord, and he is the messenger of the Lord.

3 And he went into all the surrounding region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance unto remission of sins;

Comments 3:1-3. See Comments Matthew 3:1-2.

“repentance unto remission of sins”. We can see plainly what John preached to people. He told them to come and receive forgiveness for their sins from the Lord. John as a messenger has started the work by preparing the way for people to come to the Lord and pointing to them where they should go to receive forgiveness for their sins. Later on, he spoke to people more clearly that Jesus is the person he refers to.

4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.’

Comments 3:4. Cited from Isaiah 40:3. See Comments Matthew 3:3 and Comments Mark 1:2-3.

Verses 4 and 5 are quoted from the book of Isaiah and refer to John and what his duty is as the messenger of the Lord. Many people use these verses in the wrong way, but truly these verses refer to the duty of John.

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness”. This applies to John as the messenger of the Lord.

“Make ready the way of the Lord.” The verse tells us of John’s duty. John announces to people how they should behave to be ready to receive the begotten Son of God that is coming soon. His duty is to call people to come to Jesus. 

“Make His paths straight”. Straight in the sense of direct. The duty of John through his message is to point to Jesus so people can recognize Him. John’s duty is to identify Jesus to the people directly, so they know who Jesus is. The path to the Lord is straight and direct through the message of John.

5 Every valley will be filled,

And every mountain and hill will be made low;

And the crooked will become straight,

And the rough ways smooth;

Comments 3:5. Cited from Isaiah 40: 4. This verse refers to the work of the Lord in people’s hearts after they listen to the message of John.

“Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low”. In Isaiah 40:4a, this part of the verse is given as “every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low”, having the same meaning. In Isaiah “lifted up” is in the sense of raised up or filled, because when it is filled, everything will rise up. When the glory of the beloved Son of God has shined through all the mountains (heart’s troubles), it will make straight all the land, doesn’t matter what the situation has been, it will be straight as the Lord will clear off all the obstacles. All the hearts that drop down with humble will be raised up to receive the glory of the beloved Son of God.

“And the crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth”. In Isaiah 40:4b this part of verse is given as “the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain”, having the same meaning. In Isaiah “uneven ground” is in the sense of crooked, not leveled, but up and down. In this place, it refers to the heart of the soul itself. When human’s soul has no peace, it makes the path of communication with the Holy Spirit be interrupted. When the heart obeys the deep voice that is telling the meaning of John’s message, the heart that receives the message will be filled with the understanding from the Holy Spirit.

6 And all flesh will see the salvation of God.

Comments 3:6. This verse is cited from Isaiah 40:5 where it is given as “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” which has the same meaning.

“And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed”, refers to Jesus coming in human form, when the beloved Son of God takes human flesh on Him.

“and all flesh shall see it together”, has two meanings. First, when the beloved Son of God was born in human form, many humans have seen God in flesh and second, that the beloved Son of God is the salvation from God to humans.

7 He said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, Offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Produce therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father; for I say to you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

Comments 3:7-8. See Comments Matthew 3:7-9.

Here in this gospel, it says that John addresses the multitudes with this saying, while in the Gospel of Matthew it tells us specifically that this saying from John was addressed only to the Pharisees and Sadducees that were coming to him to be baptized. Luke used the term “multitudes” for a reason; this term itself expends wider, and it includes all those groups that consider themselves righteous in the eyes of the Lord. As it says in verse 8, they are all children of Abraham, because all Jews consider themselves in that way. That is why the term “multitudes” is used.

“Offspring of vipers”. Think of the viper snake itself. Their tongues are split in two. The ones that have acted as vipers at one moment are glorifying the Lord and then crucifying the Lord of life. These are the offspring of vipers.

“who warned you to flee from the wrath to come”. The multitudes have come to John because they were expecting John to provide the way for them, but he is not the way, just the messenger. But when the way to be saved has come, they have rejected the Lord of life.

9 And even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees; every tree therefore producing not good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.

Comments 3:9. See Comments Matthew 3:10.

In this verse, it gives a general warning to all humans. Both men and women should be ready and waiting for the Lord of life to come soon. All deeds and thoughts will be accounted for when the final judgment day comes for all humans.

10 And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then shall we do?

11 And he answered and said to them, The one that has two tunics, let him impart to the one that has none; and the one that has food, let him do likewise.

Comments 3:10-11. John is a messenger of the Lord and tells people what the Lord has given him. As written in this verse, we can see clearly what the Lord expects humans to do to one another. They should be generous to one another as the word says here.

12 And also came tax collectors to be baptized, and they said to him, Teacher, what shall we do?

13 And he said to them, Collect nothing more beyond that which is appointed to you.

Comments 3:12-13. These verses tell us that we should do things only according to the duty required.

14 And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what shall we also do? And he said to them, Extort from no one, neither accuse anyone falsely; and be content with your wages.

Comments 3:14. In this verse we can concentrate on “be content with your wages”. We should be pleased with what the Lord provides. The Lord helps us to make a living. Some may get more some less, but all should be content and give thanks to the Lord.

15 And as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ;

16 John answered, saying to all, I indeed baptize you with water; but there comes He that is mightier than I, the lace of His sandals I am not worthy to untie; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire,

Comments 3:16. See Comments Matthew 3:11 and Comments Mark 1:7-8.

John himself never lifted himself up in any way. In this place, we see clearly how humble John is, and how he glorifies the beloved Son of God. He tells all that the Holy One of God is coming, and He deserves all the praise and the Holy Son of God is the one who gives them the Holy Spirit.

Insert. Q: By having another manifestation of the baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues, some say this would create two-tiers of Christians, some more spiritual than others and that it shouldn’t be the case. A: Speaking in tongues for all Christians is a sign of personal spiritual blessing, and not everyone has the same blessing, but each individual searching and asking the Lord. The blessing is upon the purpose of the deep inner heart and what really is the purpose that person wants that gift for. Think of the passage in the Bible where it says that each part of the body has its own duty. If you take one part out, what will the rest of the body be? (See 1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

17 whose winnowing fork is in His hand, thoroughly to cleanse His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.

Comments 3:17. See Comments Matthew 3:12.

This verse tells all that the beloved Son of God is the one who has the authority to bring those worthy into His kingdom, but at the same time, the beloved Son of God has the authority to throw all those blasphemous souls into the lake of fire that cannot be stopped. In that lake of fire, the flames are stronger than the sun itself, and there everything will burn until it is all gone, even the ashes.

18 With many other exhortations therefore preached he the gospel to the people;

Comments 3:18. Look at the term “many other exhortations”; therefore, John has given many warnings and teachings to the people to be ready to receive the beloved Son of God.

19 but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him about Herodias his brother's wife, and about all the evil things which Herod had done,

20 added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

Comments 3:19-20. See Comments Matthew 14:3-5 and Comments Mark 6:14-29.

The account of John the Baptist's imprisonment in the Gospel of Luke is given here in these two verses and in chapter 9, verse 9. The Bible did not give many details about John’s life and death, not because he is not important but because John has performed his duty as the messenger; John has fulfilled the job he received. The details of the life of John do not need to be given further because his purpose for being born was to be a messenger of the Lord.

21 Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon Him, and a Voice came out of heaven, Thou are My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased.

Comments 3:21-22. See Comments Matthew 3:13-17 and Comments Mark 1:9-11.

Note. The original Gospel of Luke has verse 22 as given here. Specifically, “in Thee I am well pleased” is the original saying. The rendering of “today I have begotten You” was not in the original gospel, it is a later alteration.

All the gospels will have a narration about this event. When the beloved Son of God has received the baptism, each gospel may say slightly different, but the meaning will be the same. When it refers to what the Father has said, the details will be the same. The most important thing to think and meditate about is when the verse says, “a Voice came out of heaven, Thou are My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased”. In this verse, this is the most important part of this event, because it has confirmed the deity of the beloved Son of God. It confirms that Jesus is the beloved Son of God, and He is the only begotten Son of God.

Q: Within the Trinity of God, how can we understand the concept of the Holy Spirit proceeding? In John 15:26 the Bible says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me”. A: The concept of the Holy Spirit proceeding has been debated for many generations, but the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, but the beloved Son of God is one with the Father, so the Holy Spirit becomes the Spirit of both as well. But from the beginning the Holy Spirit is from the Father since the Son was within the Father. When talking about the Holy Spirit proceeding, we should think of proceeding from the Father and the Son, because the Father and the begotten Son are two in one. That is why the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The proceeding here has two stages. The Son of God has been since the beginning as well, but what we say here it refers to the period after the Son’s resurrection. When the beloved Son of God took human form, He was almost at the point of being cut off from the Father, but the beloved Son of God also was in two states at the same time, He is still with the Father and also He is here on earth as human as well. Because the human form itself is sinful, that is why we say the Son of God was almost at the point of being cut off from the Father. The Bible says that the Father loves His beloved Son, because He is willing to take the human form. Before the beloved Son of God came to earth, the Father and the Son are One as One unit together. But when the beloved Son of God is resurrected, He has given back the state that was almost apart from the Father and has reunited to be complete one again with the Father. This state we talk about, is breathing as human, He has given up the need of breathing. His human body and heavenly body are united together and are seated with the Father in heaven as one. 

23 And Jesus Himself, was beginning to be about thirty years, being the Son, as was supposed, of Joseph the [son] of Heli,

Comments 3:23. This verse links to the verse before.

“And Jesus Himself, was beginning to be about thirty years”. This verse tells us that Jesus was about thirty years old when the event in verse 22 happened. But humans started to notice the beloved Son of God because of the many miracles performed and the teachings He holds. He has always told all people whom humans should worship. No human on earth deserves praise, but only the Father of heaven.

24 the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi, the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Jannai, the [son] of Joseph,

25 the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Amos, the [son] of Nahum, the [son] of Esli, the [son] of Naggai,

26 the [son] of Maath, the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Semein, the [son] of Josech, the [son] of Joda,

27 the [son] of Joannen, the [son] of Rhesa, the [son] of Zerubbabel, the [son] of Shealtiel, the [son] of Neri,

28 the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Addi, the [son] of Cosam, the [son] of Elmadam, the [son] of Er,

29 the [son] of Joshua, the [son] of Eliezer, the [son] of Jorim, the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi,

30 the [son] of Simeon, the [son] of Judas, the [son] of Joseph, the [son] of Jonam, the [son] of Eliakim,

31 the [son] of Melea, the [son] of Menna, the [son] of Mattatha, the [son] of Nathan, the [son] of David,

32 the [son] of Jesse, the [son] of Obed, the [son] of Boaz, the [son] of Sala, the [son] of Nahshon,

33 the [son] of Amminadab, the [son] of Admin, the [son] of Arni, the [son] of Hezron, the [son] of Perez, the [son] of Judah,

34 the [son] of Jacob, the [son] of Isaac, the [son] of Abraham, the [son] of Terah, the [son] of Nahor,

35 the [son] of Serug, the [son] of Reu, the [son] of Peleg, the [son] of Heber, the [son] of Shelah

36 the [son] of Cainan, the [son] of Arphaxad, the [son] of Shem, the [son] of Noah, the [son] of Lamech,

37 the [son] of Methuselah, the [son] of Enoch, the [son] of Jared, the [son] of Mahalaleel, the [son] of Cainan,

38 the [son] of Enosh, the [son] of Seth, the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God.

Comments 3:23-38. “And Jesus Himself, was beginning to be about thirty years”. In this verse it tells us all that the Lord of life Himself is a true human. The beloved Son of God has come in the form of a baby, and He used His life as a human until a certain age, until He is mature, as human terms would call the prime age. And then the beloved Son of God started teaching all humans the way to be saved and go to heaven.

“being the Son, as was supposed, of Joseph, the [son] of Heli”. The Bible tells us clearly that Joseph is the caretaker of the beloved Son of God. Joseph is an ordinary man, but he and all his earthly family have been blessed because of his duty towards the beloved Son of God.

For verses 23-38 see Comments Matthew 1:1-16. In the Gospel of Matthew, the lineage of Jesus is traced from Abraham down to Joseph to emphasize Jesus’ Jewish heritage, it shows that the Lord Jesus is real Jewish. In the Gospel of Luke, the lineage of Jesus is traced from Joseph back to Adam because Adam is the first human the Lord created. The beloved Son of God must be human as well and that is why the Lord Jesus must be linked back to Adam. In both gospels, the earthly lineage of Jesus is given through Joseph, his earthy caretaker. At first, Joseph has a duty towards the beloved Son of God as a caretaker, and the Bible has given the lineage that relates to Joseph to confirm to all humans that Joseph himself cannot be the real father of the beloved Son of God. In this place ‘confirm’ relates to confirm common human nature, Joseph is just a simple human. And then, the Bible has given details about Joseph’s life as his work on earth, a man working with his hands, to show that the beloved Son of God, lived the way humans are living. The beloved Son of God in human form has learned to use His hands as humans do, and knows what humans go through for living on earth.

Q: Why is it not important for us to know Jesus’ earthly lineage through Mary? A: If the Bible gives the lineage of Mary, humans will make her lineage become more important than it should be. And now we have seen what happened; Mary has become for some the root of the way to worship the beloved Son of God. If the Bible gives all her lineage, all her lineage will become the root to go to worship the beloved Son of God Himself, which is not supposed to be that way for humans. Mary herself has received the honor already and her lineage should not be involved in the work that the Lord has done for humans through the Son of God. Even though Mary herself is the one who carried the beloved Son of God in her womb, Mary’s soul can be saved only through true faith in the Son of God. It is in the Bible as well. When genealogies are traced back to the first human, it is the same way, the trace is linked back to Adam, not to Eve. For the Lord, there is a difference between a man and a woman in this respect. It is the same way, when it comes to the beloved Son of God, the lineage does not go through Mary, and neither goes through Joseph, the caretaker of the Lord, but all things account only for Mary as the mother who carried the Lord because the Lord must be born through woman to be completely one hundred percent human, but the lineage for her does not need to be mentioned. Because the way Mary conceived is not a human way, that is why the Lord did not give any lineage of her in the Bible. 

But humans forget to think who the true father of the beloved Son of God is. And the Father keeps all His promises to humans and Jesus’ linage through Joseph will be linked to David as well (Luke 3:31 and Matthew 1:6) and to Abraham (Luke 3:34 and Matthew 1:1). The lineage to David is given through Nathan, the son of David in the Gospel of Luke and through Solomon, the son of David in the Gospel of Matthew (See Comments Matthew 1:7). The lineage in the Gospel of Matthew is traced back from Solomon to the adoptive father of Joseph, who is Jacob (See Comments Matthew 1:16). The lineage in the Gospel of Luke is traced back from Nathan to the real father of Joseph, who is Heli (See Comments Matthew 1:16). We know that the lineage in Luke is the lineage from the real father of Joseph, since the lineage in Matthew goes through Jechoniah (See Comments Matthew 1:11).

Q: Why are we given these two different lineages in these gospels? Why do we need the lineage from Joseph’s adoptive father as well? A: These two gospels give different lineages for a purpose to point out, each lineage has its own purpose of work. But both lineages need to be told to reduce the confusion of the person that will work for the Lord. Both gospels did not tell the specific details related to the adoptive or real father of Joseph, but in the real historical record itself it has been written down. Joseph as a caretaker of the beloved Son of God, he himself has been coached in the way of earthly living as in that time of life when people were working with their hands. Joseph himself has been taught to work with his hands and to relate to nature. When he was married to Mary, and Mary herself had conceived through the Holy Spirit the beloved Son of God, Joseph as an earthly caretaker would have had the duty to teach the beloved Son of God in the way humans were living in that time. Joseph worked with his hands and the Lord of life Himself will learn to use hands for living as all humans in that time lived.

Life and Faith Applications.  From this chapter we can highlight four main life and faith application points. 1) We need to follow the example of our Lord Jesus and baptize ourselves in water for remission of sins in the name of the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. 2) As a true Christian, we must believe in the Trinity of God, Three in One: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 3) The Lord Jesus worked with His hands as taught by His earthly caretaker until His prime age when He began to teach. We should work for our living and be content with what the Lord provides through our job.  4) In our jobs we should do only according to the duty required.

Luke 4

Summary. This chapter emphasizes that Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit, and He always goes to synagogues on the Sabbath day. Luke 4:1-13. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Lord gave us an example of how to fight temptations by standing firm on the Word of God, and we must give our temptations to the Lord for help, because only the beloved Son of God has already won against all the temptations that the devil has tempted Him. Luke 4:14-16, 31-32, 41-44. Jesus’ fame spreads to all regions around, and Jesus enters the synagogues on the Sabbath day, as His custom was, and teaches the people and heals the sick and delivers those oppressed by demons. Luke 4:16-30. Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth, His hometown, and reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He tells those in the synagogue that the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2 refers to Him by saying “today has this Scripture been fulfilled in your ears”. Luke 4:31-37. As Jesus traveled around to teach the people, Jesus and the disciples went together to a synagogue in Capernaum, a city in Galilee. In this place, the Lord has shown His authority above the dark side by healing a man with an unclean spirit. Luke 4:38-40. Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law and many other people in that place with various diseases.   

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,

Comments 4:1. For verses 1-13, see Comments Matthew 4:1-11 and Comments Mark 1:12-13.

Q: What does the Bible want to show us through the temptation of Jesus? A: We can all see, the Bible itself has told us, the beloved Son of God in human form has taken all kinds of temptations that humans will face during life on this earth. He has taken it all upon Himself, so, men and women will not have to face temptations alone. God Himself knows entirely how humans feel. The temptation that the dark side has given us to face, that we can give it to the Lord because in Him He already has faced that temptation, the Lord has taken it upon Himself. But there are some temptations that we dare the dark side to do and those temptations the Lord will not take away. For example, you feel that you are capable enough, so you go to the liquor store and buy alcohol to consume and you believe in yourself that you will drink only this amount and stop, but the weakness in you will make you go back and get more, that is the dare you made, and the Lord will not help. And not just about alcohol, but sexual things as well. Many things in the Bible have told us not to do, but because of our own fault, we do it, knowing well that the Lord says no, do not do it, and that is the same way as dare.

For verse 1, see Comments Matthew 4:1. In this verse, it tells us that the temptation of the Lord Jesus happened after His baptism in water in the Jordan River. This temptation of the Lord Himself has told all humans, when the physical body is weak, the devil can tempt you easily but the beloved Son of God Himself in human form has shown to all humans how to strengthen our own spirit itself and fight back that weakness of body and be able to face all the challenges of the mind.  

2 forty days being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing in those days, and when they were accomplished, He was hungry.

Comments 4:2. In this verse it does not tell us specifically that the Lord Jesus did not drink water. It specifies only that the Lord did not eat anything during these days and afterwards He hungered. It is assumed that this was only a food fast (See Comments Matthew 4:2).

Q: What is the difference between the Lord Jesus’ fast here and the Moses’ fast in Exodus 34:28? A: These two fasts, between the Lord and Moses, have different purposes. The Lord’s fast is according to the meeting with the Father and it follows a specific command. The food itself makes the body work, but when the beloved Son of God fasted, His body needed only water, but no food, since food has taste. This is a different purpose for fasting with no food taken, only water. But Moses fasted to receive the written ten commandments, for a different purpose, different type of fast. And when the Lord fasted, we are not told all the details about His fasting either. In the Bible, when it talks about someone fasting, we can notice that each has a different purpose, and neither of them has all the details given.

3 And the devil said to Him, if Thou are the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread.

Comments 4:3. This is the temptation of the satisfaction of the flesh (see Comments Matthew 4:3).

Q: What is the difference between saying ‘this stone’ in Luke versus ‘these stones’ in Matthew? A: There is no difference. This is only the way the translations have put it down, but the meaning is the same.

4 And Jesus answered to him, It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone. But by every word of God.

Comments 4:4. Cited from Deuteronomy 8:3 (see Comments Matthew 4:4).

Note: “But by every word of God”. This portion of the verse is part of the original Gospel of Luke.

5 And the devil led Him up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Comments 4:5. See Comments Matthew 4:9.

Note: “And the devil led Him up into a high mountain”. This portion of the verse is part of the original Gospel of Luke.

6 And the devil said to Him, To Thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of it; for it has been delivered to me; and to whom I will I give it.

7 If Thou therefore will worship before me, will all be Thine.

Comments 4:5-7. This is the temptation of an easy life and laziness (see Comments Matthew 4:9).

“showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time”. By showing to the Lord of life and by claiming they have authority over all the kingdoms of the world, it is a dare from the devil to ask, “if Thou therefore will worship before me, will all be Thine”. The devil does have authority, but only over those humans who reject the Lord of life. And on the earth itself, the devil can cause problems and suffering because from the beginning the Lord has given them a certain authority. The devil can break things on earth in the sense of destruction, but cannot make anything disappear, only God can.

8 And Jesus answered and said to him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.

Comments 4:8. Cited from Deuteronomy 6:13 and 1 Samuel 7:3 (see Comments Matthew 4:10). Here in this place, it shows to all humans clearly how merciful the Lord of life is. Even to the devil’s challenge, the Lord has given them the way to be saved, and we can see they have rejected His mercy. They should serve only God Almighty, not themselves.

The Lord has told the devil here the true way of salvation. The way of salvation applies to all the fallen angels as well that fall by trickery; those angels still have a chance to be saved the same way as the children of humans. These angels relate to those angels before the creation of the world. At that time, the heavenly was occupied with many levels of rulers, and these rulers had a duty to give work to the angels. And some rulers have betrayed the God Almighty and lifted themselves to be equal to the Creator and have tricked many angels into falling with them. When the Father had thrown them out from heaven, He also gave them a chance to repent as well, the same way as the children of man; all still have a chance to be saved.

9 And he led Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If Thou are the Son of God, cast Thyself down from here;

10 for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning Thee, to guard Thee,’

11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear Thee, Lest perhaps dash Thy foot against a stone.’

Comments 4:9-11. Cited from Psalm 91:11-12 (see Comments Matthew 4:6). This is the temptation of proving that you are somebody important. You can notice the importance of not even letting your feet be touched by a stone. That means lifting up which is higher than all and that is the temptation of being high above all, and important. 

12 And Jesus answering said to him, It is said, You shall not make trial of the Lord your God.

Comments 4:12. Cited from Deuteronomy 6:16 and Isaiah 7:12 (see Comments Matthew 4:7). Also, in these verses, 9 to 11, it shows that the devil wants the beloved Son of God to show His power as well. That is one of the reasons why the Lord has said “you shall not make trial of the Lord your God”.

13 And having accomplished every temptation, the devil departed from Him until an opportune time.

Comments 4:13. After the devil had tempted the Lord, they left Him, but they went in wait to take time and temp Him again. This verse also tells all humans, when you have been tempted it will never be once only, always the same temptation will come and tempt you again until you have given that temptation to the Lord for help, because only the beloved Son of God has already won against all the temptations that the devil has tempted Him.

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee; and a fame went out concerning Him through all the region around.

Comments 4:14. When the beloved Son of God returned from being tempted, the Holy Spirit from within Him shined through, and all humans could notice. Speaking through the Holy Spirit, the Son has made known to all humans that He is One with the Father. This verse is a confirmation that the Holy Spirit also worked through Him. Imagine it in this way, the Father and the Son, when facing together, in between them the Holy Spirit links both ways, from the Father through the Holy Spirit to the Son, and also from the Son, though the Holy Spirit going back to the Father. Also, we can imagine the Trinity as a triangle with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all connected together as Three in One.  

15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Comments 4:15. “And He taught in their synagogues”. Here, the gospel says clearly, the beloved Son of God has been set apart even by humans themselves. By being a teacher in their synagogues, He is set above them all already.

“being glorified by all”. Because the Living Word has worked in their hearts, all the people that heard the beloved Son of God’s teaching have come to the same conclusion: glorify the beloved Son of God. Keep in your mind, in this place it is just the beginning of the beloved Son of God’s ministry on earth.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He entered, as His custom was, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

Comments 4:16. This event described in this gospel from verse 16 to 30 is similar to the one in Matthew 13:53-58 and Mark 6:1-6 but not the same; not the same time, place and people.

“And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up”. In this verse it says clearly, Jesus came back to His hometown. The hometown where He grew up, and some people there know Him as well.

“and He entered, as His custom was, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.” We see plainly the way of life of the beloved Son of God; as His custom is, the beloved Son of God will always go to the synagogue.

“and stood up to read.” And also, we can see certainly what the Lord is doing. He will read the Word of the Lord.  

17 And there was given to Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. And He unrolled the scroll, and found the place where it was written,

Comments 4:17. In this place, all humans have seen the work of the Father Himself. Humans forget to think the roll of the scroll is not small, just to open and find the right spot it is by the work of the Father Himself guiding.

18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord, upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the broken in heart, To proclaim pardon to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are oppressed,

19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’

Comments 4:18-19. Cited from Isaiah 61:1-2.

“The Spirit of the Lord, upon Me.” The saying of the prophet Isaiah refers to proclaiming that the beloved Son of God has the same Holy Spirit as the Father, which is confirmed here by saying “the Spirit of the Lord, upon Me”.

“Because He anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.” The Father Himself does not look to the earthly possessions of humans and that is why the beloved Son of God came here on earth and gave the good news to the poor.

“He has sent Me to heal the broken in heart”. This portion of the verse, including ‘to heal the broken in heart’, is part of the original Gospel of Luke. The ‘broken in heart’ in this place is not the physical heart that is broken, but it is the spiritual heart that drifted away from the Lord’s teaching and the beloved Son of God Himself becomes the bridge for those that drift away to have the path to walk back to the Father.

“To proclaim pardon to the captives”. Here, first think about what the Lord wants to tell you, what it is to be captivated? Not the earthly body, but the soul itself that has turned away from the Lord after receiving Him as the Savior and has been captivated by the sinful nature of humans. This refers to after the Holy Spirit has been given to humans and does not refer only just to His own people, all humans are His people as well.

“And recovering of sight to the blind”. It becomes a different thing in this place; the eye that used to look at the abominable things, that what is blind here, and the Lord comes to help them see the truth.

“To set at liberty them that are oppressed.” All humans that come to accept the Lord, not only accept alone but stay firm under His protection, those the Lord will set free from being oppressed by human’s sinful nature.

“To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” The beloved Son of God has come to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord since His birth, death and resurrection. From that point on, it becomes the favorable year of the Lord for all humans to come to be with the Lord.

20 And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.

21 And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Comments 4:21. This verse confirms that the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2 refers to the Lord Jesus Himself. Whoever hears this saying, verses 18 to 19, the Lord Himself has put in their hearts to think about this saying and it is all their fault if they ignore the saying and reject the beloved Son of God as their Savior.  

22 And all bore Him witness, and marveled at the words of grace which proceeded out of His mouth; and they said, Is not this Joseph's Son?

Comments 4:22. “And all bore Him witness … His mouth”. In this verse, it confirms the wisdom of the beloved Son of God in human form. The word that He spoke out is alive, and all that heard the Word of life can feel it.

“and they said, Is not this Joseph's son?” The words that He has spoken made the hearts of people think, He cannot be the Son of this person, a common man cannot have this wisdom, and all people that heard His words were amazed by His words.

23 And He said to them, Certainly you will say to Me this parable, Physician, heal Yourself! Whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in Your hometown.

Comments 4:23. “Certainly … heal yourself”. In this place, because people know Him as the Son of Joseph, and with the wisdom that He has shown to all, it makes them wonder, and all that hear the words from Him want Him to explain about Himself to them.

“Whatsoever … hometown”. The people have heard about what He has done in another place, and they want Him to prove Himself by doing the same miracle things here as well.

24 Then He said, Truly I say to you that no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

Comments 4:24. The Lord has already sowed the seed in their hearts, and it is their duty to grow that seed. Because they have been wondering about His words, those are the words they needed to grow, the words He spoke to them. In this verse, the Lord has told all that are listening to Him that no prophet has been accepted in his hometown as they will not accept Him in His hometown as well. The Lord has told them ahead. 

25 But of a truth I say to you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine over all the land;

Comments 4:25. The widow’s story with Elijah and the heaven being shut up is found in 1 Kings 17:1-16. In 1 Kings 18:1 we are told “after many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, …” which can be interpreted as after the third year of Elijah staying with the widow. The length of time it did not rain on the land by the prayer of Elijah is also given in James 5:17 as three and a half years.  

26 and to none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, of Sidon, to a widow woman.

Comments 4:25-26. Here it refers only to the selection the Lord has already chosen. The Lord chooses to have mercy on whom He pleases. Because the Lord knows that not all of them will believe in Him, but only the ones that the Father has chosen will believe and the Father knows their hearts from the beginning. As in this verse, the Lord knows the heart of this person, and because of her heart, the Lord has sent Elijah to call her.

“of Sidon”. Regardless of where the land is on this earth, all the land belongs to the Lord, the Lord created them all.

“to a widow woman”. In many places in the Bible it talks about widows and this shows the mercy of the Lord, which is towards the widows. A woman that has no husband to protect and help is in the heart of the Lord to help.

27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.

Comments 4:27. The story of Naaman the Syrian is told in 2 Kings 5:1-14. As this verse says plainly, the Lord has mercy on whosoever He pleases. And, this is another example, Naaman the Syrian is the one that the Lord chose to have mercy. 

Q: What is the link between these two stories and verse 24? A: The Lord told this story to his own birth town because of the hearts of the people. People knew the Lord's childhood and family. Everyone makes mistakes in the eyes of people judging by their own thoughts. But the Lord wants to let them know that God does not look at the outside appearance, the inner heart of the person has more importance than the outside appearance. The place of birth and appearance have made an impact on human thought, but the beloved Son of God in human form does not judge people according to what He sees, but He is judging them by the inner heart that they have. Humans will disagree with what the Lord is teaching, but this example will stir their hearts as well, do not judge with your own thoughts, but let the Lord be the one who judges.

28 And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things;

Comments 4:28. Mainly, they believe the Lord has compared them with the people He used as an example. As they were in the synagogue of God, they were filled with wrath. They felt against the Lord’s mercy towards the ones that they believe are not worthy to be helped.

29 and they rose up, and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, in order to throw Him over.

Comments 4:29. When they think someone else did not do so according to their own judgment, even though the Lord is now sitting as a teacher, they have no respect and fight against Him. They are against the Lord’s teaching forceful enough to the point of killing Him.

30 But He passing through the midst of them went away.

Comments 4:30. In this verse it says clearly, time and all living things froze, not by command, but just only by the will of the Lord, all things stopped. There could be a different way of saying as well, that time froze, or time stopped. But here only human time stopped, but the beloved Son of God’s time did not stop; His time is above human time. That is why the verse says that He is “passing through the midst of them”. They did not lay hands on Him; the Lord walked through the midst of them all.

See Joshua 10:12-14 for a similar event.

31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And He was teaching them on the Sabbaths;

Comments 4:31. For verses 31-37, see Comments Mark 1:21-28. In the Gospel of Mark, we are told that this account takes place after Jesus called His disciples, indicating that Jesus and the disciples went together to Capernaum (See Mark 1:21 saying “and they go into Capernaum”). At the beginning, when the Lord has called the disciples, He will always go with them and here in this verse the Lord already has the disciples with Him. 

32 and they were astonished at His teaching; for His word was with authority.

Comments 4:32. See Comments Mark 1:21-22 and Comments Matthew 7:28-29.

In this verse it says certainly that the word of the Son of God was with authority. When His word goes out, it is alive, and it has power and all the people that hear His word can notice this. 

33 And in the synagogue there was a man, having a spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice,

34 Ha! what have Thee to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? are Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou are, the Holy One of God.

Comments 4:33-34. Here it says clearly, the dark side itself knows the Lord very well and fears Him. The dark side’s knowledge of the Lord is clear about whom the Lord is, and all should notice in this place that the dark has told us that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Even the enemy of the light knows the Lord.

35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out from him. And the demon having thrown him in the midst came out from him, having done him no hurt.

Comments 4:35. See Comments Mark 1:23-27.

Give attention to the answer the Lord has given; the beloved Son of God used simple words to order the dark side, and they obeyed.

36 And amazement came upon all, and they spoke to one another, saying, What this word that with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out?

Comments 4:36. The Lord has shown His authority over the dark side in this place. All people in that place have seen clearly the power of the Lord Himself, by His order the dark obeyed. All that were there were amazed at His power, but it did not stick with them long.

37 And there went out the report concerning Him into every place of the surrounding region.

Comments 4:37. The Lord wants people to talk about His authority. All that witnessed this power will spread the report that God has come down and knows what humans are facing in order to fight against the dark side. And all will realize they cannot fight the dark side alone by themselves.  

38 And He rose up from the synagogue and entered into the house of Simon. And Simon's wife's mother was held with a great fever; and they begged Him for her.

Comments 4:38. For verses 38-41, see Comments Matthew 8:14-16 and Comments Mark 1:29-34.

39 And He stood over her and rebuked the fever; and it left her; and immediately she rose up and served to them.

Comments 4:39. The complete message about this case comes from all three gospels. In Luke it says, “and He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and the fever left her”; in Matthew it says, “and He touched her hand and the fever left her”;  in Mark it says, “and He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her”. The entire message has been given in this case. The Lord stood over her, touched her hand and rebuked the fever and, at the same time, raised her up and the fever left her suddenly.

40 And when the sun was setting, all that had any sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

Comments 4:40. See Comments Matthew 8:17 and Mark 1:34.

“and He laid His hands on every one of them”. In this verse we will emphasize on: “every one of them”. The Bible did not mention specific names of diseases, but at that time, various diseases and sicknesses were affecting people much more than now. The number of people that the Lord of life has touched in that time is large, but the beloved Son of God has healed them all, and it was because of His love towards humans.

41 And demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, Thou are the Son of God. And rebuking, He did not permit them to speak, because they knew that He is the Christ.

Comments 4:41. See Comments Luke 4:33-34, Comments Matthew 8:17 and Comments Mark 1:34.

In this verse give notice that “He did not permit them to speak, because they knew that He is the Christ”. The dark side has declared the truth about the beloved Son of God, but He Himself wants all humans to know Him with their own eyes and ears, because He was physically dwelling among them at this time. Human eyes and hearts should open to notice and realize that the beloved Son of God was there among them. The Lord did not want witnesses from the dark side, since the witnesses from them would create confusion. Because the dark side is the father of lie.

42 And when it was day, having gone out, He went into a solitary place, and the multitudes sought after Him, and came to Him, and were detaining Him not to go from them.

43 But He said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; because for this I have been sent.

44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Comments 4:42-44. For verses 42-44, see Comments Mark 1:35-39. These are the same events in both gospels, but the Lord wants to emphasize in each gospel on different area; in this place it did not mention about His disciples, but most of the time all of His disciple will be beside Him in traveling.

In this portion of the Scripture, the Lord has told to all, about His duty; His duty is not in one place but in all.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) We need to give our temptations to the Lord for help, because only the beloved Son of God has power and authority to help us and He has won the fight already for us. 2) When the Bible tells not to do something then we should apply that command to ourselves and ask the Lord to help us to withstand the attacks, and the Lord will help us. 3) Pray to the Lord before you take any fast decision in your life and ask directions in regard to what fast you should give to the Lord. 4) Glorify the beloved Son of God always in your life. 5) The people in need are in the heart of the Lord for helping, so we as Christians should act and help those in need without passing judgement.

Luke 5

Summary. This chapter focuses on the mercy of the Lord and His authority to forgive sins on earth and on the calling of His first disciples, Simon, Andrew, John, James and Levi. Luke 5:1-3. Jesus teaches the multitudes on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret out of Simon’s boat. Luke 5:4-7. Simon shows blind faith and humble character when the Lord Jesus instructs him to go out and catch fish. His future disciples have seen Jesus’ power and authority when by obedience, miraculously they caught a multitude of fish. Luke 5:8-11. Simon shows his humble character when he makes a clear distinction between himself as a sinful man and Jesus as the Lord. These fishermen are all amazed at the miraculous catch of fish, and they all respond immediately to Jesus’ call to follow Him. Luke 5:12-14. Jesus heals a man full of leprosy. Here we see the humble heart of this poor man; he seeks first the will of the Lord in his case. Luke 5:15-26. The Lord’s fame spreads, and He heals many of their infirmities by showing His mercy towards humans. Jesus heals a man that is sick with palsy, showing the authority on earth of the beloved Son of God in human form to forgive sins. Luke 5:27-32. The outcast of the society, Levi, receives a call to follow Jesus; Levi follows the Lord and happily gives a feast. Luke 5:33-39. Jesus is asked a question about fasting; the Lord answers the question and gives the parables of the new garment and the new wine.

1 Now it came to pass, in the multitude pressing on Him to hear the word of God, that He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret;

Comments 5:1. The original manuscript of the Gospel of Luke has Lake of Gennesaret not Lake of Galilee. In some places, the Sea of Galilee is also called the Lake of Gennesaret. In this verse, we have the picture of the beloved Son of God having interaction with the people. The word of the beloved Son of God is alive and draws people close to Him to hear the word of life coming from Him. As the Lord is by the lake, the multitude comes around, and they are listening to His words. 

2 and He saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

Comments 5:2. For verses 2-11, see Comments Matthew 4:18-22, Comments Mark 1:16-20, and John 1:35-42.

In all these portions of Scripture in these gospels, it tells us about Jesus calling His first disciples. In the Gospel of John, we are told that Peter was brought first to Jesus by Andrew, his brother who was a disciple of John the Baptist (See John 1:35-42). John the Baptist has been talking about the Lord, and this one of the brothers, Andrew, was following, as shown in the Gospel of John, and this is the one who will help another, Peter, to see that the true light of God has come on earth. The events described in John 1:35-42 happened shortly after Jesus was baptized in water by John the Baptist and before the events given in Luke 5:2-11, Matthew 4:18-22, and Mark 1:16-20. The complete picture of Jesus calling His first disciples can be drawn from all these gospels by combining the events together. The story in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark is described briefly in a similar way. The Lord Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee and sees two brothers, Simon and Andrew, fishing, then, as Jesus calls them, they follow immediately. And going on a little farther, He sees the other two brothers, James and John, mending the nets in their boat. Jesus calls them and they follow Him immediately. Their hearts were already willing to follow. Here in the Gospel of Luke from verses 2 to 11, we are given more details, such as how the Lord interacted with His first disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John, and how they followed Him.

Q: Reading in all these gospels, how can we picture the scene of the Lord Jesus calling His disciples? A: For this story to understand, we must think first, what the fishermen did before, what were they doing when the Lord was walking by, and what was the end of the encounter. The easiest way to picture the scene is as follows. Between verses Matthew 4:18 and Matthew 4:19 and also Mark 1:16 and Mark 1:17 there is a gap of time. As the Lord walked along the shore, He saw the fishermen fishing a little farther from the shore (Matthew 4:18, Mark 1:16). Jesus was walking and stopping along the shore while teaching the people. The multitude followed and were pressing upon Him. The Lord stopped along the shore side and the fishermen were coming in from fishing and cleaning their equipment; they did not catch anything. Then the Lord entered into Simon’s boat (Luke 5:1-3) and the story continues as given here from verses 3 to 10. The Lord enters Simon’s boat and teaches the multitudes out of the boat. Then He directs Simon to go out into the deep and put the net down for a catch. After the miraculous catch of fish, Simon and his partners return to the shore with two boats full of fish, sinking. Then we have the end of the encounter as given in Luke 5:10-11, Matthew 4:19-22 and Mark 1:17-20. Simon and his partner were in one boat mending the net and the sons of Zebedee in another boat were not far away, but not beside each other. When the Lord talks to Simon, another boat a little farther doing their things, then the Lord goes and talks to them, James and John.  

3 Then having entered into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes out of the boat.

Comments 5:3. This verse also links to the future that will come. The Lord of life has seen the future, and He knows who will be with Him in the boat, which is Simon, and whatever the beloved Son of God will teach, His future disciple Simon will benefit from it.

4 And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.

Comments 5:4. In this verse it shows that the Lord of life understands the way of human life on earth; the Lord knows how we can catch fish and here is the proof. The Lord tells them to take the boat out and let down the nets to catch the fish. When the Lord tells them to let the net down on the spot, this shows that the Lord knows how to catch the fish with the net. The Lord miraculously called the fish to come into the net; when He told them to put the net down, that is the point of time when the Lord commanded the fish to come in. To identify the spot where to put down the net for catching fish is something that only experienced fishermen know. The verse itself tells us clearly that the Lord is in the boat with them.  

5 And Simon answered and said, Master, we toiled all night, and took nothing; but at Thy word I will let down the nets.

Comments 5:5. Here it declares the faith of Simon. We can say blind faith, because he has said “at Thy word I will let down the nets”. Simon also showed obedience towards the word of the beloved Son of God from his inner heart.

6 And having done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking;

Comments 5:6. In this place, the Lord has shown a miracle to Simon. Because of his blind faith in His word, the beloved Son of God has strengthened now that faith and here is the confirmation to all.

7 and they signaled to the partners in the other boat, to come to help them, and they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

Comments 5:7. In this verse, the strengthening of faith starts in all these men’s hearts with this experience of a miraculous catch of fish, after they have been trying by themselves with no success. But with the help of the beloved Son of God, the Lord has given them a multitude of fish.

8 But Simon Peter, having seen, fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

Comments 5:8. The Bible has told all humans clearly that the sinful nature of humans makes us humans be apart from the Lord, but by the mercy of the beloved Son of God, the bridge has been extended to all humans who come under Him; come with sincere and humble heart before the beloved Son of God. Simon here made a clear distinction between himself as a sinful man and Jesus as the Lord.

9 For he was amazed, and all those with him, at the catch of the fish which they had taken;

Comments 5:9. The manifestation of power from God has been shown here to all these witnesses.

10 and likewise also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Fear not; from henceforth you will be catching men.

Comments 5:10. In this verse the separation of Simon has been set. An example of the way humans should be when they come to the beloved Son of God has been shown here.

“Fear not; from henceforth you will be catching men”. Do not be afraid to come to the Lord. Simon here is an example for all humans, come to the beloved Son of God with a humble heart. Because when Jesus said, “you will be catching men”, the Lord’s mercy has been extended to all and the message of love through the beloved Son of God will save all humans.  

11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left all, and followed Him.

Comments 5:11. See Comments Luke 5:3. In this verse, it does not show just simple faith, but it shows the true heart of men. The things of this earth did not capture their hearts to stay, but they followed the beloved Son of God and left everything behind.

Q: Why is Simon’s brother Andrew never mentioned by name in this gospel? A: Because there is not only one gospel to make the Bible complete, we must link all gospels together.

12 And it came to pass, while He was in one of the cities, behold, a man full of leprosy, and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face, and begged Him, saying, Lord, if Thou will, Thou are able to cleanse me.

13 And He stretched out the hand, and touched him, saying, I am willing; be you cleansed! And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

14 And He commanded him to tell no one: but go your way, and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.

Comments 5:12-14. The healing of the man full of leprosy is given in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. For verses 12 to 14, see Comments Matthew 8:2-4 and Comments Mark 1:40-44. In this place, the Lord of life has shown plainly an example that all humans should think about. A simple man with a hopeless life but with full trust in the Lord has received mercy and was made clean from the sickness that he would never imagine he would ever be cleansed from. 

15 But still the more went abroad the report concerning Him; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed of their infirmities.

16 But He withdrew Himself in desolate places and prayed.

Comments 5:15-16. See Comments Mark 1:45.

17 And it came to pass on one of the days, that He was teaching; and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every village of Galilee and of Judea and of Jerusalem. And the miraculous power of the Lord was within Him to heal.

Comments 5:17. See also Comments Mark 2:1.

“… and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by.” The beloved Son of God has a duty to teach as we have seen clearly in this verse. The leaders of that time have set the Lord of life as a teacher, and the Father Himself blesses the beloved Son in this action during His time on earth in human form.

“who had come out of every village of Galilee and of Judea and of Jerusalem.” The leaders of humans in that time all have seen the authority and the power of the beloved Son of God, and the word that is full of wisdom, that the beloved Son of God has spoken out to teach them; and those words will be used to judge them.

“And the miraculous power of the Lord was within Him to heal.” Humans did not only see the authority and the power of the beloved Son of God, but also have seen His mercy as well.

Note: Some Bibles have a footnote for ‘was within Him to heal’ which says: some manuscripts ‘was present to heal them’. Please note that when they say some manuscripts that does not mean those manuscripts are the correct ones. The original gospel renders it as: ‘was within Him to heal’ which shows His deity.

18 And behold, men carry on a mat a man who was palsied, and they sought to bring him in, and to lay him before Him.

Comments 5:18. The healing event described here in Luke 5:18-26 is the same healing event as the one described in Mark 2:2-11 but not the same as the one described in Matthew 9:2-8.

For verses 18-26, see Comments Mark 2:2-12. In this story, it does not only show the power and the authority of the beloved Son of God, but also shows to all humans definitely the mercy of the beloved Son of God.

19 And not finding by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with the mat into the midst before Jesus.

20 And seeing their faith, He said, Man, your sins are forgiven you.

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who has the power to forgive sins, but God alone?

22 But Jesus perceiving their reasonings, answering said to them, Why reason you in your hearts?

23 Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you; or to say, Arise and walk?

24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins (He said to the palsied), I say to you, Arise, and take up your mat, and go to your family.

25 And immediately he stood up before them, and took up that on which he lay, and departed to his family, glorifying God.

26 And amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen astonishing things today.

27 And after these things He went out, and beheld a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the place of toll, and said to him, Follow Me.

Comments 5:27. For verses 27-38, see Comments Matthew 9:9-17 and Comments Mark 2:14-22. These gospels indicate the name of this disciple as Matthew, Levi or Levi, the son of Alphaeus. The names of this earth indicate one person, but for the disciple himself, each name indicates the specific life portion he has spent before and after the Lord of life has called him. The name the Lord gave him later is not mentioned here, but he will be called Matthew (see Luke 6:12-16).

28 And he left all, and rose up and followed Him.

Comments 5:28. In this verse it shows that the Lord of life sees the heart of men. To start the ministry, the beloved Son of God will call the disciples, that will follow the call in their hearts, to follow Him. And we can see here clearly, as Levi follows the Lord just by calling.

29 And Levi made Him a great feast in his house, and there was a great multitude of tax collectors and of others who were reclining with them.

Comments 5:29. This verse here describes the same event and place as in Matthew 9:10 (see also Comments Matthew 9:10). Here in this gospel it tells us that Levi, after he was called, made a great feast in his house for the Lord Jesus. In this verse itself, it shows clearly that Levi is happy to receive the call from the Lord. With great joy, he left everything and followed the Lord.

30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at His disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?

Comments 5:30. See Comments Matthew 9:11.

In Matthew 9:11 we have “why eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners?” and in Luke 5:30 we have “why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”. The gospels record in portions only and when they do not mention the Lord directly, it is because some of them did not want people to be against them. Because the beloved Son of God sits in a higher place, as a teacher, the tradition itself did not allow anyone to speak against the teacher.

31 And Jesus answering said to them, Those being healthy have no need of a physician; but those being sick.

32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Comments 5:31-32. Here, the gospel tells us the purpose of the beloved Son of God to come to earth. He came to save all sinners that come to Him for help on earth.

33 And they said to Him, The disciples of John fast often, and make prayers; likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees; but Thine eat and drink.

Comments 5:33. For verse 33, see Comments Matthew 9:14.

“And they said to Him …”. The disciples of John waver at this time.  Combining Matthew 9:14, Mark 2:18 and Luke 5:33, it shows that John’s disciples indeed mingled with the Pharisees and wanted to accept their teachings and abandon John’s teaching, as given in Comments Matthew 9:14.

34 And Jesus said to them, You are not able to make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them.

Comments 5:34. For verses 34 to 35 see Comments Matthew 9:15, and Comments Mark 2:18-20.

Think of the term wedding guests and who are they? They are the humans on earth that never understand who the true Messiah is, and then they have heard that the true Messiah is here already and their hearts are open to accept Him as their Messiah; and they have come unto His wedding feast to be as His guests, so they are all rejoicing with Him. 

35 But the days will also come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then will they fast in those days.

Comments 5:34-35. See Comments Matthew 9:15 and Comments Mark 2:18-20.

36 And He spoke also a parable to them: No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; else he will tear the new, and also the piece from the new will not agree with the old.

Comments 5:36. For verses 36 to 39, see Comments Matthew 9:16-17 and Comments Mark 2:21-22.

To understand this parable, think this way as well. You have a whole new garment, and you also have an old garment as well. You cut a piece from the new garment, then you have destroyed the new garment just to get one small piece out to patch up the old garment. The new piece you have put on the old garment will rent the old garment as well and, in the end, you have none left.

This parable has been given in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark as well with some small differences. For example, in Matthew and Mark we have “unshrunk and undressed cloth” while in Luke we have “new garment”. Combining the verses in these gospels, then the “new garment” or the “unshrunk (unprepared, undressed) cloth” and the “new wine” represent the new teaching of John about the Messiah being the Lamb of God, who is coming to sacrifice Himself for the human race.

37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled out, and the wineskins will be destroyed.

38But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

Comments 5:38. For humans to be able to receive the Messiah, they must empty their hearts from the old teachings, and also from all human teachings, because the teaching of the Messiah's coming will not match with that old knowledge we have received before. We can look in this way as well, new birth in Christ, that we should be.

39 And no one having drunk old desires new; for he says, The old is better.

Comments 5:39. “And no one having drunk old desires new”. Humans will have a hard time receiving the coming King, because it will go against the comfort of life that a person has been living in. To receive the new teachings of the King, the person must abandon the old human way and receive the new way to be saved from the beloved Son of God only.

“for he says, The old is better”. Think about yourself, the habits that you have, the habits that you have in you for so long, and the change to the new way of life in Christ. You will feel it is harder to receive the new way and want to stay in the old way which you feel comfortable doing for so long.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The Lord’s purpose of coming to earth is to forgive our sins. The Lord’s mercy has been extended to all and the message of love through the beloved Son of God will save all humans. 2) Come to the Lord Jesus with all your heart and you will receive forgiveness and salvation. 3) Seek the will of the Lord in all your daily life affairs, including your suffering. 4) If the Lord calls you for a task to serve Him, do it without delay. 5) The story of the messenger’s disciples should teach us to separate ourselves from human teachings and hold faithfully to the teaching of the Bible, which is the word of life for all humans.

Luke 6

Summary. In this chapter, Jesus appoints His twelve apostles, ministers to great multitudes and heals those that come to Him. Luke 6:1-11. Jesus teaches that the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath and shows mercy on the Sabbath day by healing a man with a withered hand. Luke 6:12-16. Jesus prays to the Father, then calls His disciples and chooses from them His twelve apostles. Luke 6:17-49. Jesus stood on a level place, and He ministered to great multitudes of disciples and people from various regions that came to Him. His teachings cover guidelines for those who follow Him. A) (verses 21-23). The blessings of the kingdom of God for those that open their hearts to accept the teachings and to serve the beloved Son of God. B) (verses 24-26). Woes and warnings related to those that ignore the teachings and blaspheme against the teachings of the beloved Son of God and go out and teach others to do the same. Open your eyes and your heart and pay attention to all these warnings. These warnings are the proof of the love from the Father through the beloved Son of God. C) (verses 27-36). Show love and do good to all, including your enemies. This is the rule the Father expects all humans to do to one another as the Father Himself has shown love to all humans by sending His own Son to save all humans. D) (verses 37-38). Do not judge others and help those that ask help from you. E) (verses 39-49). The Lord speaks four parables: the parable of the blind guiding the blind; the parable of the hypocrite brother; the parable of the good tree and the bad tree; and the parable of building the house on the rock.  

1 Now it came to pass on a Sabbath, that He was going through the grainfields; and His disciples were plucking and were eating the heads of grain, rubbing in their hands.

Comments 6:1. For verses 1 to 5 see Comments Matthew 12:1-8 and Comments Mark 2:23-28.

2 But certain of the Pharisees said, Why do Ye that which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?

Comments 6:2. In Matthew 12:2 it says, “But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto Him, Behold, Thy disciples …”; in Mark 2:24 it says, “And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they …”; and here in Luke it says, “But certain of the Pharisees said, Why do Ye …”. Because the beloved Son of God is the master of them all, this question has been addressed to the master first, but will include the disciples as well. Each gospel may use different terms, but the meaning is all the same. The disciples are considered under Him, so He takes responsibility for them all. When they talk to the master, the master’s responsibility is towards the disciples as well; even though they may talk with the master, but they have included the disciples in it, and each gospel has recorded a different angle of the question.

3 And Jesus answering them said, Have you not read even this, what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him;

4 how he entered into the house of God, and took and ate the bread of presence, and gave also to those with him; which it is not lawful to eat except only for the priests?

5 And He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

Comments 6:1-5. The religious leaders try to impose their traditions, which are men made rules, on the people. The beloved Son of God is the true Lord of the Sabbath, and He has come to show them that they should follow the rules of the Lord, not their own traditions as the rules of the Lord.

Q: Why did the Lord Jesus call Himself in this verse the Son of Man and not the Son of God? A: The ‘Man’ in this place does not mean male, but it means the human race. The beloved Son of God has come down as a human and His whole body is completely human. What humans would feel suffer or glad, the beloved Son of God in His human body also experiences those. The beloved Son of God has told all humans that the beloved Son of God Himself is a human who is the true Lord of the Sabbath. It is He, the beloved Son of God Himself, the only human who is the Lord of the Sabbath.

6 And it came to pass on another Sabbath, that He entered into the synagogue and taught; and there was a man there, and his right hand was withered.

Comments 6:6. For verses 6 to 11 see Matthew Comments 12:9-14 and Mark Comments 3:1-6.

7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath; that they might find a reason to accuse Him.

8 But He knew their thoughts; and He said to the man having the withered hand, Arise and stand in the midst. And he arose and stood.

9 And Jesus said to them, I ask you, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm, to save a soul, or to destroy?

10 And He looked around on them all, and said to him, Stretch out your hand. And he did, and his hand was restored.

11 But they were filled with fury, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Comments 6:6-11. In Comments Mark 3:1-6, we give a detailed comparison analysis of this healing as presented in each gospel. Here the Lord shows His mercy towards this man with the withered hand by healing him, and the leaders try to find reasons to accuse Him of doing good on the Sabbath.   

12 And it came to pass in those days, He went out into the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Comments 6:12. For verses 12 to 16 see Comments Matthew 10:2-4 and Comments Mark 3:16-19.

13 And when it was day, He called His disciples, and He chose out from them twelve, whom also He named apostles:

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew,

15 and Matthew and Thomas, and James Alphaeus, and Simon who was called Zealot,

16 and Judas of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became the betrayer.

Comments 6:12-16. In Comments Mark 3:13-19, we give a detailed comparison analysis of the Bible passages from Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:12-16 related to the Lord calling the twelve apostles. Note that Judas of James is not a brother of James Alphaeus. 

17 And He came down with them, and stood on a level place, and a great multitude of His disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases.

18 And they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed.

Comments 6:17-18. “and He came down with them, and stood on a level place …”; In these verses, it shows that the beloved Son of God has seen things ahead. He has already seen the people that will come to Him in this place. They all come from different areas, and they are coming to search to meet the Lord. These people have heard the good news, that the Lord has come down from heaven, and they have come now with all their problems to meet Him.

When the Lord came down to the level place He did not need to stop, but He did stop because He cared for those who came to hear Him, and for those that came to be healed from their diseases. The people that have come to Him, some have difficulties, but they are all there to hear the Lord, and they all expect to receive mercy.

19 And all the multitude sought to touch Him; because power went out from Him and healed them all.

Comments 6:19. Here in this place, it shows that by touching Him, the Lord’s mercy has come through and everyone that touched Him has received mercy according to their needs.

20 And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples, and said, Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Comments 6:20. The teaching given by the Lord Jesus here in Luke 6: 20-49 is different than the teaching given in Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7. Here the Lord stood on a level place not on the mountain as shown in Matthew; the Bible makes the difference clear; we can notice by the terms the Bible uses.

Where people stay, there is more than one group. The disciples that He has chosen are one group, another group are people that heard about the Lord and came, but also in that place, there were just spectators as well. Here in this verse, the Lord Himself looks directly to those that He called to be His disciples; and when the Lord speaks all will hear as well, but the attention of the Lord here was upon His disciples.

“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”. The “poor” here refers to “poor in spirit”. This saying is the same as the saying in Matthew 5:3 (see Matthew Comments 5:3).

21 Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.

Comments 6:21. “Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled”. In this place, hunger is hunger for knowledge to understand the Word that the Lord is teaching; and when you are hungry for the Word the Lord will give understanding to fill up the empty shell you have.

“Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh”. Pay attention here, to weep for what? When you weep for those that ignore the Lord’s teaching, when the end time comes, you will laugh for joy, because your weeping has made those you wept for to turn and caused them to be saved, that is why you will laugh for joy. The point here is that we should weep for the lost and pray for them.

22 Blessed are you, when people shall hate you, and when they shall exclude you, and shall insult you, and shall cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

Comments 6:22. This verse has a similar meaning to Matthew 5:11. This saying says that when you are being mistreated by others because you have faith in the beloved Son of God, the time for you will be hard on this earth, but the reward is great on the last day, in the judgement time. Because you have suffered on this earth for the sake of the beloved Son of God, your reward will be great in heaven (see verse 23).  

23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy; for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers to the prophets.

Comments 6:23. As this verse says, their forefathers have done the great sin; that is why they will do the same to all that glorify the beloved Son of God, as their forefathers have done, but rejoice, your reward is great; as the verse says your reward is great in heaven.

24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort.

Comments 6:24. This verse just tells us to let humans know that what you have received on this earth is all that you will get, because it is not the same as what you will get in another life; if you receive much here on this earth, but if you do not use them to build up treasures for heaven, you will rejoice those riches only on this earth.

25 Woe to you, who are full now, for you will hunger. Woe to those laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

Comments 6:25a. The first part of the verse is a warning for all, to be full now is not related to the physical body only. Because when you are concerned just about feeding the physical body, your soul will be in a state of hunger; feed not only the physical body but feed the spiritual soul with the Word of God and then you will not be hungry.

Comments 6:25b. The meaning of this portion of the verse is very similar to the first part; the difference is in the word laugh. Are you laughing because you have everything you need at this time? But there will come a time, on the judgment day, that what you have now will not give you any pleasure; that is when the mourning and the weeping comes.

26 Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.

Comments 6:26a. In this woe, all when read should think twice, when someone comes to you and praises you more than the truth in it. In your heart, you yourself know that it is not true what they say about you, because they have another purpose in their hearts to talk well to you, to gain your trust.

Comments 6:26b. Also, we can think in this way, when people talk well about you, but you yourself know in your heart you did nothing good to anyone; this is the same way as their forefathers have talked well about the false prophets in the old times and lifted those false ones as true ones, because in their hearts they agree with the false prophets that have talked well about them, but the true prophet of God will glorify first the God Almighty and tell the people what the Lord wants them to do, not what people want them to do to others. So that is why when all people will speak well of you, you should think twice and seek the Lord’s advice. (See for example 1 Kings 22:13).

27 But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you,

Comments 6:27. The meaning here is straight forward. The beloved Son of God Himself has come down to do good for all humans, even for those that will crucify Him. The Lord did not come to curse them but to point the right way for them to follow; this is when you do good for them that hate you. Be a good example for them to see and follow, as the beloved Son of God has come, and He was good to them to point the way to be saved. (See also Comments Matthew 5:48).

28 bless those that curse you, pray for those that insult you.

Comments 6:28. “bless those that curse you”. When you know someone has talked bad about you, but you do not know what their life is, they have cursed you out of anger at their own situation they are in, but you do not suffer the same way as them; in their heart they did not hate you. Bless in this place does not mean to give them something, but to go to the Lord and ask mercy for them, and that is considered to be blessing them. The point is when you curse them, you judge them, but there is only one judge that can do that, and that is God alone. 

“pray for those that insult you”. When someone insults you, do it for them as the Lord has done for you, but ask the Lord to change them to be gentle to the others that they will meet; even they did bad to you, but you ask and pray that they be good for someone else they will meet later. You gain nothing from doing good for them, but because your reward is not on this earth, keep doing good for them.

29 To the one that strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from the one that takes away your mantle, withhold not the coat also.

Comments 6:29a. The first part of this verse relates to attacks on who you are, including your faith as well. This does not refer to the physical body attack but to the attack of the inner human being. When they attack on one thing, do not fight back but turn your heart and soul to get the shield from the Lord. Ask for the shield of protection from the Lord, to cover all your physical and mental; that is the best protection you have.

Comments 6:29b. For the second part of this verse, the enemy will try to attack your faith in the beloved Son of God, but do not fight with bad thoughts back to them, but seek what their real need is and help them by providing what they lack, as long as that lack does not go against your faith you have in the beloved Son of God; that is why the word says, withhold not your coat also. The lack in this place goes both ways, the outside lacking and inner lacking. You as a believer, if you can help, help as you can. The mantle here is the faith, but instead of fighting, share with them the faith and that is why it says withhold not the coat.

30 Give to everyone that asks you; and from the one that takes away your goods ask not back.

Comments 6:30a. The Bible has taught all believers, give to the one that asks. When they lack something and are asking for help, that is when you should not turn away from helping them.

Comments 6:30b. To take away your goods in this place has two meanings; things that are important for living or things that are for showing off. If they take it for their living, do not ask them to return it back, but interpret it as a price to give back to yourself; this is the help for the one in need for living. But in another case, which is not for living, but for showing off to having it, in human terms, we can say lend it to them for a period of time without charging them anything in return.

For verses 29 to 30 see also Matthew Comments 5:39.

31 And as you desire that others should do to you, do to them likewise.

32 And if you love them that love you, what credit is it to you? For even sinners love those that love them.

33 And if you do good to them that do good to you, what credit is it to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 And if you lend of whom you hope to receive back, what credit is it to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive again as much.

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and evil.

36 Be you merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Comments 6:31-36. See also Comments Matthew 5:48. This portion of the Bible tells all humans what the Father’s heart's wish for humans is to do. This is the rule the Father expects all humans to do to one another, the Father Himself has shown love to all humans by sending His own Son to save all humans, so in the same way, we need to be kind and do good to all.

37 And judge not, and you will not be judged; and condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Comments 6:37. In this verse, we can see clearly, as we have been told before, these are the things the Lord has told us to do, judge not and condemn not; keep in mind what the Lord has commanded and think before doing these.

“and judge not”. There is only one judge, and you are human. No one has the right to condemn anyone, since you are human and are the same, a sinner. Between humans on earth, according to human law, humans can judge one another, but in this place the judging is according to the law of God. When someone commits sin in our eyes, but we cannot judge the person to be saved or not, that is the duty of God, instead always use the Word to point out to them that they will be judged when their action is against the teaching of the living Word.

“and you will not be judged”. The unfairness of judgment that you have used to judge someone, that fact the Lord will use to judge you. Because when you do that, you do not take His teaching to use, the Lord will judge you according to your heart, when your heart is not right with God and you use your mouth to judge them, then it turns out to be condemnation.

“And judge not, and you will not be judged”. ‘Judge’ here relates only to salvation, only God can judge someone to be saved or not. In the same terms, they can judge you as well, you cannot judge someone and someone else cannot judge you, only one that can judge, God alone. As long as you can find the Living Word to support your actions, that is considered as you are trying to save them, but if you cannot find support by the Living Word, that action will be used to judge you.

“and condemn not, and you will not be condemned”. ‘Condemn’ in this place refers to the heart of a true believer that has a feeling of unfair and feels angry and wants to take revenge, but they forget to think that first they should go and pray and seek guidance from the Lord before making any decision to seek revenge. Regardless of physical revenge or mental revenge, the result will turn back as condemnation when you seek repayment from anger without using the mercy of God in helping. In the same way, between two people, one will be the right one and another one will be accused not as the right one, the one who has been accused not as the right one in this place has received condemnation.

“forgive, and you will be forgiven”. What you want to receive also do it to others, as the verse has said, forgive, then you will receive forgiveness as well. The Lord wants all believers to keep in their hearts forgiveness, because when you forgive, you also will receive forgiveness from the Lord.

38 Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall be put into your lap. For with what measure you measure out it will be measured to you again.

Comments 6:38. Give what you have been asked if someone comes and asks you to give them, if you have, regardless of who that person is, even your own enemy if they come and ask, give them. What you give, the same way you will receive. If you give without delay, you will receive without delay; think of the first portion as well, it relates together. The way you think it shouldn’t be earthly only, because when you give on this earth, in the Lord’s eyes you have built up treasures in heaven, and that treasure will be given back to you on the judgement day.

39 And He spoke also a parable to them, Can a blind guide a blind? Will not both fall into a ditch?

Comments 6:39. “Can a blind”. Because the Lord wants to use this parable for teaching it has deeper meaning, the blind in this place is not the physical eye that is blind, but the spiritual eye of the heart that is blind; it is blind in receiving the beloved Son of God.

“guide a blind”. When the blind of the spiritual heart meets another heart that is blind, both will walk alongside, and no one can lead anyone.

“both fall into a ditch”. The ditch in this place is not a hole in the road, but it is a trap, from the dark side that they have laid around to trap those that are blind at heart, to fall into it. This ditch would be so deep but covered on the surface with many, many flowers, to trap the blind at the heart to fall into it.

40 The disciple is not above his teacher; but everyone completely trained will be like his teacher.

Comments 6:40a. The person that went to the school of the world teaching, teaching the meaning of the Word in the Holy Bible, and the teacher who taught them believes that they are above the God Almighty, who has given them the Holy Bible, and tries to lift themselves up to be above the true teacher, but no student is above the true teacher, the student can be successful but cannot be above the true teacher.

Comments 6:40b. Everyone in this place refers only to the person that comes with a sincere and humble heart to the beloved Son of God. That person will receive, the love and the place from the Father, not the same as the beloved Son of God has, but to be beside Him; imagine a platform with levels, the beloved Son of God is at the top, but the rest will be on the levels below Him. 

41 And why behold you the chip that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?

Comments 6:41a. When we can see someone else’s fault even though that fault is small and done in secret, but we find out, we act like the most selfish humans that search for someone else’s mistake, but this someone is our own brother in faith; so, look for helping not to find fault for your brother.

Comments 6:41b. The meaning of the verse is clear but also look at yourself and your actions; even what the Holy Word has told you not to do, you yourself do it but you do not think it is wrong.

42 Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, let me cast out the chip that is in your eye, when you yourself behold not the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of your own eye, and then will you see clearly to cast out the chip that is in your brother's eye.

Comments 6:42a. This verse has a clear meaning in itself. You yourself are making mistakes, but you cannot admit to yourself you are doing wrong, but you can see your brother in the Lord doing wrong, even when the wrong done by your brother is a small little thing compared to your own, but you see it and make it known to all that your brother has done wrong.

Comments 6:42b. First look at your own actions before you look at someone else. When you do something wrong, but you cannot see it as wrong, but the same wrong thing that you do when someone else does it, you can identify to others that your brother does the wrong thing, but not to yourself, then you are the hypocrite as the verse says.

43 For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit; nor again a bad tree that bears good fruit.

Comments 6:43. See Comments Matthew 7:17. The good tree here refers to the true believers in the beloved Son of God and the bad tree are those that have received the beloved Son of God and afterwards blasphemed against Him.

“Tree” refers to human, and “good fruit” refers to faith in Jesus, while “bad (evil) fruit” refers to the unfaithfulness of those that turn away after they received Jesus. The unbeliever, they have not received the beloved Son of God yet, they can still receive Him, but the bad fruit we have told clearly refers to those that turn away after they have received the beloved Son of God already.

44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

Comments 6:44. Figs and grapes here represent good fruit, thorns and bramble bush represent bad trees (see Comments Luke 6:43).

45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good; and the wicked out of the wicked brings out that which is wicked: for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks.

46 And why call you Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Comments 6:46. This is the conclusion of the teachings from verses 43 to 45. This verse talks about those that have known the beloved Son of God, but because of their own evil thoughts they never followed what the beloved Son of God has taught, even after they have read the Holy Word of God. They acknowledge in their hearts the Bible as the true book, but the evil thoughts in them make them read to find mistakes and twist the word of God, and they fight the teaching of the beloved Son of God.

47 Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like;

Comments 6:47. For verses 47 to 49 see Matthew Comments 7:24-27.

48 he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock; then a flood having come, the stream burst against that house, and could not shake it: because it had been well built.

Comments 6:48. “House” refers to faith. Build your faith and keep your faith firm by reading and practicing the Word of God. A house without the Bible cannot be a house.

“who dug and went deep”. “Dug” means studying and “went deep” refers to meditating and practicing.

"Rock" refers to the bodily resurrection of Jesus. He rose up in the body, not in the spirit. It is a material body that has risen (the same flesh that was crucified rose from the grave).

“laid a foundation upon”. Building a foundation means building the faith in the beloved Son of God, and continuing life following that faith as it builds upon the rock.

“then a flood having come”. The flood arising in this place means when the true believer goes out in the world and hears many talks against the beloved Son of God, then when the ear hears, but if the heart does not stay firm yet on the built faith, those talks can interrupt the growth of faith.

“stream burst against that house”. "Stream" here means an attack on the heart that has received the beloved Son of God. The faith is shaken because of many talks around, and that person needs to go back again and meditate more on the Word of God to strengthen that faith of heart.

“Could not shake it” also means, when the person goes back and meditates on the Word of God, the faith will be strengthened and those floods cannot shake that faith, the faith that is deep in the soul of a true believer, “because it had been well built”.

49 But the one that hears, and does not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation; against which the stream burst, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Comments 6:49. “But the one that hears, and does not”, means the one that hears the Word of God and does not follow.

“is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation”. The one that builds their own faith without truly and fully accepting the beloved Son of God, according to what the Holy Word has told us, is like they have faith but do not find the place to hold the faith in the soul. They believe in the Bible but do not believe in the Son of God and that is like "without a foundation", because they choose to believe in the verses that they can benefit from, but to believe in the beloved Son of God, they cannot benefit the things of this earth.

“against which the stream burst, and immediately it fell …”. As the verse says, when the person tries to fight against the wrong information (enemy of the faith) that comes their way, but they have no right foundation, they will not succeed, and their faith will collapse.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) As a Christian, there is only one rule to follow, the teaching of the Lord, not the teaching of any person or ruler. 2) In this chapter it tells us that the Lord stood on a level place and taught the disciples and the multitudes. Read and meditate on the teachings the Lord delivered and apply all His guidelines to your Christian life.

Luke 7

Summary. This chapter deals with Jesus’ authority on earth to forgive sins, heal, and raise the dead by His word. Also, in this chapter Jesus confirms that He is indeed the Messiah to come as promised by the Old Testament prophets. Luke 7:1-10. Jesus heals a centurion’s servant by saying a word and the Lord commands the faith of this centurion to the multitude following Him. Luke 7:11-15. Jesus shows His authority over the seen and unseen world and raises the son of a widow by His word “arise”. The Lord sees the sorrowful heart of this widow, and He shows compassion towards her weeping heart. Luke 7:18-35. Jesus receives the messengers coming from John the Baptist and confirms to them and to the surrounding multitude that He is indeed the Messiah to come, which was prophesied by the Old Testament prophets. Also, He confirms to the multitudes that John the Baptist is the messenger of the Lord. Luke 7:36-50. The Lord forgives a sinful woman by His word because of her deep love from her heart towards the Lord. This woman has worshiped the Lord when she has anointed His head with oil, and she humbled herself and paid respect to the Lord when she has anointed His feet with anointment. The Lord knows the inner thoughts of people’s hearts, and He gives the parable of the moneylender and the two debtors to show that the Father has sent His beloved Son to pay our debts.

1 After He had ended all His sayings in the ears of the people, He went into Capernaum.

Comments 7:1. For verses 1 to 10, see Matthew Comments 8:5-13. As shown in this verse, the entering into Capernaum took place after the Lord Jesus delivered the teachings on the level place in Luke chapter 6. If we read Matthew 8:1-13 and combine it with the information given in this verse, we can conclude that there is a gap of time and space between verses Matthew 8:4 and Matthew 8:5.  

2 And a certain servant of a centurion, who was valued to him, was sick and at the point of death.

Comments 7:2. This centurion has heard the rumor about the beloved Son of God; he has heard about the mercy of the Lord through the beloved Son of God. The heart of this centurion has already sought mercy from the Lord according to the situation of his servant.

“who was valued to him”. This portion of the verse shows the relationship between the master and his servant. When you have a good servant, you as a master will want to do according to your own power to seek help for that servant.

3 And when he heard about Jesus, he sent to Him elders of the Jews, begging Him that He would come and save his servant.

Comments 7:3. Matthew 8:5 says, “and when He entered Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him” and Matthew 8:8 says, “and the centurion answered and said”. Here, in verse 3, it says, “he sent to Him elders of the Jews” and in verse 6 it says, “the centurion sent friends to Him”. From the Gospel of Matthew 8:5-10 it is understood that this centurion actually came in person and talked to the Lord. However, here in this gospel the centurion never really meets Jesus in person to plead for mercy.

Q: How do we combine the information about this centurion given in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke?

A: Between these two gospels there is no difference, just that one gospel has presented information before the time of event and another gospel has presented information after the time of event. Non-overlap of time and information has been presented here. The centurion did send the elders begging for mercy, but after hearing the reply of the Lord, the centurion himself had the courage to come and meet with the Lord. This centurion was humble and saw himself as not worthy of asking the Lord for help if he would be the one to ask. Remember as well, the time between the centurion talking with the elders and then the centurion himself traveling and, in the midst of the way, he has received the answer that the Lord is coming and the centurion stops and waits, and at the same time the centurion sends word with the friends to go to the Lord on his behalf to show the Lord that he himself is not worthy to come but with the mercy of the Lord he will come and beg the Lord for mercy to his servant.     

4 And they, when they came to Jesus, begged Him earnestly, saying, he is worthy that Thou should do this for him;

5 for he loves our nation, and he built the synagogue for us.

Comments 7:4-5. Remember as well, who these people are who come to the beloved Son of God and make petition. This centurion man has shown to humans as well that he is fair and just for the poor, so these people came begging for mercy for him. Many people have questions about this centurion, and yes, he is not a Jew, but in his humble heart he believes the things he has heard people say about the beloved Son of God and that is why he asks them to come to beg the Lord. The same thing happens these days when people read the Bible and come to believe in the Son of God.

6 And Jesus went with them. And when He was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, Lord, trouble not Thyself; for I am not worthy that Thou should come under my roof;

Comments 7:6. “the centurion sent friends”. This story related to the centurion has shown a clear picture of this centurion. Also, the Bible does not tell us what he talked about with his friends. Among friends, he has expressed his feelings and that is why when the friends came, they told the beloved Son of God what the centurion expressed himself. From Matthew 8:8 it is understood that these sayings from Luke 7:6b-8 are also repeated by the centurion himself. Indeed, later on, the centurion himself met with the Lord as well and showed respect towards the beloved Son of God, as in each gospel it will tell us only a portion of the event that happened (See Matthew 8:7-8).

Q: Are we to understand that these words were repeated to the Lord by the centurion’s friends and by the centurion himself? A: Think this way, you are telling your friends something, and when you meet another person, you will also repeat to that person the same things as you told your friends. We can notice from each gospel’s story, that the events are given in portion, but when we combine all of them together, we can have a complete picture of the entire story. In the Gospel of Matthew, the events presented in Luke 7:3-8 are skipped and in the Gospel of Luke the events presented in Matthew 8:6-9 are skipped. In the Gospel of Matthew, the events of Luke 7:3-8 are summarized as “there came unto Him a centurion beseeching Him”. It is understood that the events described in Matthew 8:6-9 took place after the events described in Luke 7:3-8.

7 therefore neither thought I myself worthy to come to Thee; but say a word, and let my servant be healed.

Comments 7:7. In this gospel, we are given the dialog between the centurion’s friends and the Lord. The first part of this verse is given only here in this gospel. This shows clearly why the centurion sent the elders and his friends first to meet the Lord.

See also Comments Matthew 8:8. 

8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does.

Comments 7:8. In this verse it says clearly that the centurion himself acknowledges the authority of the beloved Son of God. He believes that by the Holy Word, all things will obey and if the Holy Son of God says a word, his servant will be healed instantly; this is the faith everyone should think about.

9 Then having heard these things, Jesus marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed Him, I tell you, not even in Israel, I have found such great faith.

Comments 7:9. See Matthew Comments 8:10.

Here in this verse, it appears that the Lord addresses the multitudes after He hears the message given by the centurion’s friends. But, in Matthew 8:10 we are told that the Lord addresses the multitudes after the centurion talks to the Lord. Then we can assume that between verse 8 and verse 9, in this gospel, there is some information that is skipped. Combining the information from both gospels we can understand the following course of events. The centurion himself asks the elders to invite the Lord for help, but also the centurion and friends, a big company, are traveling towards the Lord as well. When they were not far apart, he sent the friends to convey a message regarding his thoughts and feelings to the Lord. When the friends went back to the centurion and told him, the centurion himself had come and told the Lord the same things. When the Lord heard the message from the centurion, the Lord had turn to talk to the multitude.

10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole.

Comments 7:10. The Bible did not mention the entire conversation, the conversation the Lord had with the centurion himself, but in that length of time, some of the people that came with the centurion had returned home to prepare and found the servant healed. The message in all gospels may not tell all the details of the meeting, but we must combine them all. The situation is resolved here, and the servant has been miraculously healed by the word of the Lord.  

11 And it came to pass on the next day, He went into a town called Nain; and His disciples went with Him, and a great multitude.

Comments 7:11. In this verse it shows that the Lord of life is never alone; the multitudes of people are always surrounding him.

12 Now when He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, there was carried out one that was dead, only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and many people of the town were with her.

13 And having seen her, the Lord had pity on her, and said to her, Weep not.

Comments 7:13. In this place, the Bible talks about the pity (compassion) of the Lord towards the weeping heart; not just by the action alone, but this mother weeps for her child deep from her soul and that is why the Bible says, “the Lord had pity on her”.

14 And He came near and touched the bier; and the bearers stopped. And He said, Young man, I say to you, Arise!

Comments 7:14. Here in this verse, all humans can see clearly the beloved Son of God has not only compassion but also authority as well. In order to make the dead arise, the Lord of life has called back the soul of this young man; that is the authority and power on earth which the Son of Man has.

15 And the dead sat up, and began to speak, and He gave him to his mother.

Comments 7:15. When the Bible told us that the Lord of life gave the son to the mother, the mother of this child had experienced the love from the beloved Son of God beyond human words can tell.

16 And fear took hold on all, and they began glorifying God, saying, A great prophet has risen among us, and, God has visited His people.

Comments 7:16a. “Fear”, this is a human reaction when they see the dead getting up.

Comments 7:16b. The beloved Son of God has shown His power here and the people have become witnesses that God has visited them on earth and has shown mercy, which they can see with their own eyes.

17 And this report went out concerning Him in the whole of Judea, and all the surrounding region.

18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things.

Comments 7:18. For verses 18 to 35, see Comments Matthew 11:2-19. In Matthew 11:2 it tells us that John was in prison at this time.

19 And John calling to him two certain of his disciples, sent them to the Lord, saying, Are Thou that comes, or look we for another?

Comments 7:18-19. John shows doubt here, see Comments Matthew 11:2-3.

20 And having come to Him, the men said, John the Baptist has sent us to Thee, saying, Are Thou that comes, or look we for another?

21 In that hour He cured many of sicknesses and plagues and evil spirits; and on many that were blind He granted to see.

Comments 7:20-21. The content of these verses is not given in the Gospel of Matthew. These disciples will become great witnesses for their own master, and also the message from Jesus transmitted to John himself (see verse 22-23) will be a witness for John. And in his duty as the messenger of the Lord, John has started to understand more about the Messiah. He started from not knowing, but from this point on he knew who was the true Messiah that had come. John testified before about the Lord Jesus (see Luke 3:16) but did not tell people what the Messiah would do, but now at this point he can tell that the Lord has come to earth to witness people’s sufferings.

22 And He answered and said to them, Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

Comments 7:22. The details of the Lord’s work are shown in this verse. These works are the proof of the Messiah coming as the prophets have prophesied in the Old Testament (see Comments Matthew 11:6). 

23 And blessed is who will not be offended in Me.

Comments 7:23. Here in this place, the Lord has told us all clearly that if you believe in the work of the Lord, as the Bible tells us about what the Lord has done, then you are not stumbling into the true message of the Lord.

24 And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: What went you out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind?

Comments 7:24. See Comments Matthew 11:7.

25 But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garment? Behold, those living in noble garments and in luxury are in palaces.

26 But what went you out to see? a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet.

27 This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, Who will prepare Thy way before Thee.’

Comments 7:27. This verse is cited from Malachi 3:1, see Comments Matthew 11:10, Comments Matthew 3:1-11, and Comments Mark 1:2-3.

28 I say to you, Among those that are born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Comments 7:28. See Comments Matthew 11:11-19 and Comments Mark 1:2-8.

29 And all the people when they heard, and the tax collectors, acknowledged God being baptized the baptism of John.

Comments 7:29. “Being baptized the baptism of John” tells us that they were already baptized with the baptism of John before this event happened, but when they heard what the Lord said, that is when they acknowledged God. Here we give attention to the tax collectors who are considered outcasts of society, but they have been baptized already, and some people that were there also have been baptized. This shows that they were prepared to meet the Lord as verse 27 says.

30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, being not baptized by him.

Comments 7:30. The leaders of society had rejected the baptism and when they heard the Lord speaking here, they all rejected not only John’s baptism but the word of the Lord as well.

31 To what then shall I liken the people of this generation, and to what are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another; saying, We piped to you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.

Comments 7:31-32. See Comments Matthew 11:16-17.

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and you say, He has a demon.

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and of sinners!

Comments 7:33-34. See Comments Matthew 11:17-19. The Lord was “drinking”, but He did not drink alcohol, grape wine, but the real pure grape juice. There were two types of grape juice people used in those times, the one that had been fermented and the fresh squeezed one. The Lord drank always the fresh squeezed grape juice; He never drank fermented grape juice. Usually, people will offer both types of grape juice; the offering will be different. The adults will get the fermented one and the children will get the fresh squeezed one; and the Lord will always take just the fresh squeezed one.

35 And wisdom is justified by all her children.

Comments 7:33-35. Emphasize on the word “wisdom”; by the wisdom the Lord has given to a person, if that person uses that wisdom in glorifying God, then all their children and anyone that knows them will also have benefit in that wisdom as well.

36 And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And having entered into the Pharisee's house, He reclined.

Comments 7:36. For verses 36 to 39 see Comments Matthew 26:6-13 and Comments Mark 14:3-9 and Comments John 12:1-8.

Matthew 26:6 says, “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper”; Mark 14:3 says, “and while He was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper”; and John 12:1 says, “six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.”

As given in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John, this episode happened in Bethany. Combining the events from all four gospels, we can conclude that this episode happened in Bethany at two different houses. Two houses, same woman, but she did not do all the same things in each house. In one house she would pour perfume from the head of the Lord, and the jar was in her hand. After things finished in this house, she followed the Lord to another house where she went down and did the anointing at His feet. The same jar of perfume was used two times. The Lord was traveling by foot; the first house was the house, as described in Matthew 26:6 and Mark 14:3, of Simon the leper, and the second house was the house of this Pharisee as given here in Luke 7:36.

The complete story is as follows: the Lord went to the leper’s house, the woman anointed Him on the top of His head, and then the Lord travelled further and there He stopped at the Pharisee’s house where the same woman followed with the same jar and anointed Him at His feet. Same name, Simon, for both hosts, but not the same person or occupation. And the Holy Spirit looking at both together, the Holy Spirit gives one writer one portion of the story, and the same Holy Spirit gives another portion of the story to another writer. It turns out to be a different angle of events in each gospel. The story in the Gospel of Luke and the story in the Gospel of John take place in the house of Simon the Pharisee, which is a different house than the house of Simon the leper. Different houses, but the same woman and the same jar of perfume.

37 And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that He reclined in the Pharisee's house, she took an alabaster jar of ointment,

Comments 7:37. This woman is identified in John 11:2 as Mary, a woman who is a sinner, but her heart is clean. When she knew where the Lord was, she came and glorified the Lord the way she knew and in the ability of herself, people should think of her as a common sinner that glorifies the Lord. Here we can say that Mary brought with her the same jar of ointment that she had in the house of Simon the Leper and as indicated in Mark 14:3, the top part of the jar was broken. Notice that in Mark 14:3 it says, “and she broke the jar, and poured it over His head”. The truth is that indeed she broke the jar, but if you break the jar completely into pieces, how can you pour the ointment on the head of the Lord? So, the assumption is that she broke just the top part of the jar, then she poured the ointment on the Lord. 

38 and standing behind at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed with the ointment.

Comments 7:38. As this verse says, she has washed the Lord’s feet with her tears, but these are not tears of sadness but tears of sorrow, because she feels herself not worthy, so she used the hair of her head to dry His feet. Mary is a woman that all women should look upon, the way she offered her worship to the Lord.

“and kissed His feet, and anointed with the ointment”. By tradition, the oil anointment is done for the elders but in this place the beloved Son of God is not an elder yet. This action of Mary shows her respect towards the beloved Son of God. 

39 Now when the Pharisee that had invited Him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, He, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches Him, for she is a sinner.

Comments 7:39. “he spoke within himself”. Pay attention, this man did not speak out, but in himself. In this verse it tells us, the Lord knows within the heart of humans. Without you speaking out, the Lord can hear your heart thinking, and this is the place of confirmation. This Pharisee knows how to judge this woman and considers her as a sinner, but he himself is no different from her.

40 And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he says, Teacher, say it.

Comments 7:40. In this verse, the Bible says that the Pharisee’s name was Simon. This Simon, however, is different from Simon the leper as we explained in Comments 7:36. Also, you should notice the term Simon calls the Lord, as Teacher. By the position, he has put the Lord, it shows clearly the respect Jesus has among the people. 

41 There were two debtors to a certain moneylender: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

Comments 7:41. The Lord has given this parable for all to think about what the debtors are owing. The verse may say they owe money, but the Lord of life did not come to talk about the way humans do business, but these two debtors are owing praise to the Lord of life for the fact that they are still alive and are able to make it right in this world. When you owe something to anyone on earth, you must repay it, but when you owe the One who gives your life, what should you think about the repayment?

In this parable, the moneylender is the Father Himself and the debtors are all living creatures, not just humans, but all living. In this place, the amount owing, 50 or 500 denarii, refers to what all humans are owing, those that know the Lord and those that never knew the Lord, but these latter ones should still be seeking to know the Lord, as the Lord has put in their hearts when they look around themselves and see all the creation of God. We could think that the 50 denarii debt is owed by those that know the Lord and the 500 denarii debt by those that never knew the Lord but see the creation of God around them. You know or you do not know the Lord, that is the sin that will be counted. When you never know about the Lord, you should still be seeking what the Lord has put inside you, but if you do not respond, it will be counted towards the amount you are owing. The debt here is not sin alone, but the way humans spend life reflecting on what the Lord has put inside their hearts to think about their Creator. By reading the text of this parable, truly humans can understand the sin to be related to the life of this earth. But for the Lord, He is looking, He gives life to all humans, but how many that come to give thanks to Him, even those who never heard about the Lord, when they look around themselves, they can think as well, where all these things come from and at the end the conclusion will come, there is a Creator who created all, and we should praise Him.

42 Having nothing to pay back, he showed kindness to both. Which of them therefore will love him most?

Comments 7:42a. First, we look at this verse not in a spiritual way. By the verse itself, when you owe something to someone, the person that you are owing to, will expect you to pay them back with interest. But here in this verse, you cannot pay back what you owe to the Lord, not by money, but by doing good to others in the name of Jesus. The Lord has been so good to all of us, the Father has sent the beloved Son of God to die for all humans, but what can all humans do to pay back to the Father? No one on this earth can do anything directly to the Lord. But the only thing the Father is asking from us is to accept the teaching of the beloved Son of God and glorify His name, because the beloved Son of God has paid the debt you owe to the Father, on the cross, the beloved Son of God has paid it all. The big sin of one, the small sin of another, both sins have been paid. No one can say I am more beloved than another, because both cannot pay enough for the debt that they owe to the Father.

Comments 7:42b. This is the question to ask yourself, the sin you have committed, the beloved Son of God has paid for you, but what about the sins of your parents or your children which in your eyes look so great? Nevertheless, if they all come and believe and beg for mercy, the beloved Son of God has paid that debt too, who then can say, you are more beloved than another. Because, in your heart, you do not really care about the sins of others that do not relate to you. This is how all the humans think, the same way, the sins of others are not mine, but when it comes to your own family, you yourself are willing to pay for it, and that is why here we mention about family. As we care for our family, the Father cares for His family, because all humans that have received the beloved Son of God are counted as His family. The idea is that the Lord does not favor one over another because they commit more or less sins; we are all sinners in His eyes. From God’s point of view, it doesn’t matter how much you sin, what it matters is if you repent and come to Jesus.

43 Simon answered and said, The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most. And He said to him, You have rightly judged.

Comments 7:43b. The beloved Son of God has answered the question from a human point of view, who loves God more, the one that commits a lesser sin or the one that commits a greater sin. When both sins are considered, the Lord has forgiven all, but the Lord has told Simon here in this place that Simon has answered in a human way. But the Lord also understands in this parable, the human way will have a human answer to the question, but in that answer, let all humans think as well that the way we all think, and feel cannot be compared to what the Lord has feeling for humans. Regardless of your sin, the love from the heart, that is what the Lord wants to see, not the love from the mouth, but the love from deep inside your heart and soul. 

44 And turning to the woman, He said to Simon, See you this woman? I entered into your house, you gave Me no water for My feet; but she has wet My feet with her tears, and wiped with her hair.

Comments 7:44. From this verse we can all see clearly, the Lord Himself has entered into your heart, but you have not prepared your heart to accept His teaching, but this poor woman poured out her sorrow upon His feet and wiped them with the hair of her head. This sinner has offered to the Lord the humblest action. Also, this action has reflected her true belief in the beloved Son of God. She could not pour out her sorrow if she did not give her heart to the Lord and this action shows this clearly; she gave her heart fully to the Lord. We all should look at her actions as an example. 

45 You gave Me no kiss; but she, since I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.

Comments 7:45. The Lord has told Simon that he did not reflect first on his love towards the Lord, but this poor woman has humbled her heart and kissed His feet and has shown respect towards the Lord. Look upon her, do not forget as well that she kissed the Lord upon the feet; by this she has shown great respect.

46 My head with oil you did not anoint; but she has anointed My feet with ointment.

Comments 7:46. This is not a comparison between the two, the Lord wants to point out in this verse that one did not worship, but another humbled herself and worshiped the Lord. When she anointed His feet with ointment, at that time she humbled herself to being below; she worshiped with respect and came with a humble heart, and this was her action and thought. 

47 Therefore I say to you, Her many sins have been forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

Comments 7:47a. In this verse, we will give attention to “loved much”. When someone loves the Lord so much, that person will not worship the Lord from the head but will do so from the inner heart and that is why the sins are forgiven, even though that person has committed many sins in their life, but because of the sincere love towards God that person will receive forgiveness.

Comments 7:47b. The person that receives forgiveness little, that relates to the heart which does not recognize the authority of the Lord. The love that is little from that person cannot compare with the sin deep inside the heart of that person. If you do not love the Lord, you do not give that sin (repent) to the Lord, that sin remains inside you, and you cannot love the Lord if you do not bring that sin and put it to the feet of the Lord to help you. The person that loves much also will glorify the Lord of life much, but those that love little also will glorify little. The love in this place has been shown in glorifying, if you do not love the Lord, you will never glorify the Lord of life. The unconfessed sin of the heart hinders your love towards the Lord.

48 And He said to her, Your sins are forgiven.

Comments 7:48. This woman has come to the Lord with a humble heart, and recognized who the Lord is for her. She accepts in her heart that the Lord is the One that has authority in forgiving her sins and her sins are forgiven as this verse says.

49 And those reclining with Him began to say within themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins?

Comments 7:49. Even they think within themselves, but we can all see clearly, these people did not recognize the Lord’s authority, also their thoughts were going towards blaspheming against the Lord Himself.

“Who is this who even forgives sins?” This shows the heart that blasphemes against God, because it does not accept the Lord’s authority, the heart guides the mind to doubt the authority, and has questions to themselves that the Lord does not have authority on this earth to forgive any sins.

50 And He said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

Comments 7:50. In this verse, the Lord has given confirmation that the woman has been saved because of her faith in the authority of the Lord. And the Lord has blessed her life after this, so that she will have peace in this life from now on.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Pray to the Lord for all your family and those that are under your authority. 2) Bring all the sins, open and hidden, and repent to the Lord Jesus to receive forgiveness. 3) Give praise that is due to the Lord of life. We owe praise to Him for the fact that we are still alive, and we are able to make it right in this world. 4)  Do not doubt, believe in the work of the Lord, believe what the Bible has told us about what the Lord has done. 5) In every situation, ask mercy from the Lord with a crying and sincere heart. 

Luke 8

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus continues to preach the good news to the people and to show His mercy to them. He heals many and shows His power and authority over nature, sickness, the seen and the unseen world. Luke 8:1-15. Jesus and His disciples traveled throughout the cities and villages preaching the good news to the people. He speaks the parable of the sower to a great multitude. He tells us that the mysteries of the kingdom of God are given only to His disciples who have faith in their heart. Then the Lord explains the parable to His disciples. Luke 8:16-21. Jesus speaks the parable of the lamp under a vessel or a bed. Then He tells us who His brothers and mother are. Luke 8:22-25. Jesus calms a great windstorm by rebuking the wind and the waves of the sea, showing that He has power and authority over nature. Luke 8:26-39. Jesus heals a man with demons and shows that He is the Lord not only of humans, but the Lord of the unseen world as well. Luke 8:40-56. Jesus heals a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years. The woman is healed just by touching the fringe of Jesus’ garment. Then Jesus heals the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue. The Lord can command by His word the spirit of this girl to come and join the soul and body, showing His power and authority over the seen and the unseen world.         

1 And it came to pass soon afterwards, that He journey city by city and village by village, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, and with Him the twelve,

2 and certain women who had been healed of wicked spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

Comments 8:2. The evil activity related to this verse will not be happening again (See Comment Mark 5:1-13). After the Lord's Ascension to heaven, the Holy Spirit covers the whole earth; the evil spirit's possession, as this verse infers, no longer exists. But the evil spirits still have power when the human heart is seeking them.

In those times, the human mind was seeking for help and felt that the Lord delayed working, and they wanted sudden help and the evil spirits had a chance to act their own power, a power that does not last long but was pleasing to the human mind.

3 and Joanna wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who were ministering to them out of their own means.

Comments 8:3. See Comments Matthew 27:55-56.

4 And a great multitude assembled, and those of every city gathered to Him. He spoke by a parable:

Comments 8:4. For verses 4 to 10, see Comments Matthew 13:1-15 and Comments Mark 4:1-12.

5 The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some indeed fell by the wayside; and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it.

6 And some fell on the rock; and as soon as it grew, it withered, because it had no moisture.

7 And some fell among the thorns; and the thorns having sprung up together, the thorns choked it.

8 And some fell into the good soil, and having sprung up, produced fruit a hundredfold. As He said these things, He cried, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

Comments 8:4-8. For this portion of Scripture see Comparison Analysis Mark 4:1-9 as part of Comments Mark 4:1-9.

9 And His disciples asked Him what this parable means.

10 And He said, To you has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to the rest in parables; so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

Comments 8:9-10. See Comments Matthew 13:10-16 and Comments Mark 4:10-12b. Another way of looking to this verse is to take this as it is written. For the one that has faith in the heart, when they read simple words that have been said, the word that is written will impact the heart in a different way. But for those that read for finding mistakes, the heart that is darkened will not get the understanding. Even if they see what the word says they will never be able to understand, their heart cannot link the word to the Lord because the darkness in their heart will be as a curtain covering their understanding.

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Comments 8:11. For verses 11 to 15, see Comments Matthew 13:18-23 and Comments Mark 4:13-20.

12 And those by the wayside are those that have heard; then comes the devil, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

13 And those on the rock are those who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a time believe, and in time of testing fall away.

14 And those that fell among the thorns, these are those that have heard, and as they go on their way are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and do not mature.

15 And those into the good soil, these are those in a virtuous and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit by endurance.

Comments 8:11-15. For the comments on the understanding of the parable see Comment Matthew 13:18-23 and the Comparison Analysis Mark 4:13-20.

16 And no one, when has lighted a lamp, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a lampstand, so that those that enter in may see the light.

17 For nothing is hidden, which will not become manifest; nor nothing is secret, which will not be known and come to light.

Comments 8:16-17. For verses 16 and 17 see Comments Matthew 5:15-16, Comments Matthew 10:26 and Comments Mark 4:21-23. This parable has similarities with both parables of Matthew 5:15-16 and Mark 4:21-23.

18 Take heed therefore how you hear; for whoever may have, to him will be given; and whoever may have not, from him will be taken away even that which he seems to have.

Comments 8:18. See Comments Matthew 13:12.

19 And came to Him, His mother and brothers, and they were not able to meet with Him because of the crowd.

20 And it was told Him, Thy mother and Thy brothers are standing outside, wishing to see Thee.

21 But He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are those who the word of God are hearing and doing.

Comments 8:19-21. For verses 19 to 21, see Comments Matthew 12:46-50 and Comments Mark 3:31-35. Each gospel records this event slightly differently, but all convey the same meaning. Here, think carefully, who were those that came to see the Lord, His entire earthly family, as the verse has told, the mother and siblings, those are the humans that relate to the beloved Son of God as a Man on earth, but the Lord also, has told who His true family is.

“standing outside”. Many people were surrounding the Lord, and His earthly family had been further away from the Lord, and it was impossible for them to go through the crowd. They could only spread the word to the Lord, that they were outside seeking to see Him.

22 Then it came to pass on one of those days, that He entered into a boat with His disciples; and He said to them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched out.

Comments 8:22. For verses 22 to 25, see Comments Matthew 8:23-27 and Comments Mark 4:35-41. For comments on this portion of Scripture see the verse-by-verse comparison analysis given in Comments Mark 4:35-41.

23 And as they sailed, He fell asleep. And came down a windstorm on the lake; and they were filling with water and were in peril.

24 Then having come near they awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing. And He awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a calm.

25 Then He said to them, Where is your faith? And being afraid they marveled, saying one to another, Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?

26 And they arrived at the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

Comments 8:26. For verses 26 to 39, see Comments Mark 5:1-20. The healing case described in Mark 5:1-20 is the same healing case as Luke 8:26-39 but not the same healing case as Matthew 8:28-34. Gerasenes here refers to a village name. There are some minor differences between the verses in Luke 8:26-39 and Mark 5:1-20, but the stories in both gospels are the same, and they complement each other; the meaning is the same in both gospels. This story shows that the Lord Jesus is not only the Lord of humans, but the Lord of the unseen world as well.

27 Then when He came out upon the land, met a certain man out of the city, having demons, and for a long time was not wearing clothes, and had not lived in any house, but in the tombs.

28 Then having seen Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and in a loud voice said, What to me and to Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the Most High God? I beg Thee, torment me not.

Comments 8:28. “What to me and to Thee”. This is begging for mercy to have pity on themselves.  

29 For He was commanding the unclean spirit to come out from the man. For many times it had seized him, and he was bound being kept with chains and shackles; and breaking the bonds apart, he was driven by the demon into the deserts.

30 And Jesus asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion; for many demons were entered into him.

31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go away into the abyss.

32 Now there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, and they begged Him that He would allow them to enter into them. And He allowed them.

33 And the demons came out from the man, and entered into the swine, and rushed the herd down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned.

34 And when the herdsmen saw what had come to pass, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country.

35 Then they went out to see what took place; and they came to Jesus, and found the man, from whom the demons had gone out, sitting, clothed and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus. And they were afraid.

36 Then those that saw told them how he that was possessed with demons was healed.

37 And all the multitude of the region around Gerasenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were held with great fear. And He entered into the boat and returned.

38 But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged Him to go with Him. But He sent him away, saying,

39 Return to your family, and declare all that God has done for you. And he departed, proclaiming throughout the whole city all that Jesus had done for him.

40 Then as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed Him; for they were all waiting for Him.

Comments 8:40. For verses 40 to 56 see Comments Matthew 9:18-26 and Comments Mark 5:22-43. For this portion of Scripture see Comparison Analysis in Comments Mark 5:25-34 and Comparison Analysis in Comments Mark 5:21-43.

41 And behold, came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue, and he fell at the feet of Jesus, and begged Him to come into his house;

42 for an only daughter was to him, about twelve years, and she was dying. But as He went the multitudes were pressing around Him.

43 And a woman being with a flux of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by anyone,

Comments 8:43. “who had spent all her living on physicians”. This portion of the verse is part of the original gospel.

44 having come behind, touched the fringe of His tunic, and immediately the flux of her blood stopped.

45 And Jesus said, Who was that touched Me? And all denied; Peter said, Master, the people press in and you say, Who was that touched Me?

Comments 8:44. The second part of the verse should be translated “Peter said, Master, the people press in and you say, Who was that touched Me?” instead of “Peter said, Master, the people press Thee and crush Thee”.

46 But Jesus said, Someone touched Me; for I know that power had gone out from Me.

47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before Him declared in the presence of all the people for what cause she touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.

48 And He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace.

Comments 8:43-48. For this portion of Scripture see Comparison Analysis in Comments Mark 5:25-34.

49 While He yet spoke, came one from the synagogue ruler, saying, Your daughter is dead; trouble not the Teacher.

50 But Jesus hearing it, answered him, Fear not; only believe, and she will be made whole.

51 And when He came to the house, He allowed no one to enter in with Him, except Peter, and John, and James, and the father of the child and the mother.

52 And all were weeping and mourning for her. But He said, Weep not; for she is not dead, but sleeps.

53 And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.

54 But He, taking hold of her hand, cried, saying, Child, arise!

55 And her spirit returned, and she arose immediately; and He gave order to give her to eat.

56 And her parents were amazed; but He commanded them to tell no one what had happened.

Comments 8:49-56. For verses, 40 to 42 and 49 to 56 see Comparison Analysis in Comments Mark 5:21-43.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Tell others about the mercy and the grace of the Lord that has been shown to you and sow the seed of trust in the Lord in their hearts. 2) Read and listen to the Bible, and believe in the Word of God by hearing, as the woman in this chapter did and was healed. 3) Keep yourself away from evil influence by reading and meditating on the Word of the Lord. And always keep yourself in prayer and begging for mercy for your life. 4) Be confident that the Lord has power and authority over the seen and the unseen world, and He always protects us.

Luke 9

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus continues His ministry by teaching the good news, healing, casting out demons, feeding multitudes of people, and teaching and preparing His disciples for the things to come. Also, two important events happen in this chapter, namely Peter is the first disciple to confess Jesus as the Christ and Jesus’ transfiguration takes place on a mountain where the Voice of the Father speaking from the cloud testifies “This is My Son, My chosen One: hear you Him”. Luke 9:1-9. Jesus gives power and authority to His apostles and sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and heal. News is spreading everywhere about Jesus’ ministry. Luke 9:10-17. Jesus feeds five thousand men plus many women and children in a desolate place. Luke 9:18-20. Peter is the first disciple to confess Jesus as “The Christ of God”. The true light about Christ has been revealed by the Holy Spirit, starting with one disciple and that light will be shared with others. Luke 9:21-27. Jesus foretells His death and resurrection on the third day. Then He teaches the disciples to take up their cross and follow after Him. Luke 9:28-36. Jesus goes on a mountain with Peter, John and James to pray. There He was transfigured, and Moses and Elijah appeared to Him. Then the Voice from the Father came out of a cloud saying, “This is My Son, My chosen One: hear you Him”. Luke 9:37-43. Jesus heals a boy with an unclean spirit which the disciples could not heal and teaches the disciples about the healing. Luke 9:43-62. Jesus foretells again about His death, and He teaches: a) who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven; b) anyone that is not against us is for us; c) that He came to bring salvation to all not only to the Jews; d) when you want to follow the Lord, if you truly want to dedicate your life to serving the Lord, you must leave everything behind. 

1 Then having called the twelve together, He gave them power and authority over all demons, and to heal diseases,

Comments 9:1. See Comments Matthew 10:1.

2 and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Comments 9:2. See Comments Matthew 10:5-8, specifically Comments Matthew 10:5.

3 And He said to them, Take nothing for the way, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, nor have two shirts.

Comments 9:3. The event described here in Luke 9:1-6 is the same event as the one described in Matthew 10:5-14 but different from the event described in Mark 6:7-13. For verses 3 to 6, see Comments Matthew 10:9-14 and Comments Mark 6:7-13. This command was given to the disciples to develop trust in the Lord. Also, by this command, the Lord wants the disciple to realize whom they are working for, they are working for themselves living in this world, or they are working for the Lord serving Him for the world to come. And also, to take their minds away from worrying about the earth's living troubles.

4 And into whatever house you enter, there remain, and from there go forth.

5 And as many as might receive you not, going forth from that city, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.

6 And going forth, they passed through the villages, proclaiming the gospel, and healing in all places.

Comments 9:3-6. More details about this event are given in the Gospel of Matthew 10:9-14, see Comments Matthew 10:9-14.

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and was troubled, because it was said by some, that John has been raised out of the dead;

Comments 10:7. For verses 7 to 9, see Comments Matthew 14:1-12 and Comments Mark 6:14-29.

“Been raised”. Meaning that someone raised him out of the dead. 

8 and by some, that Elijah had appeared; and by others, that one of the ancient prophets was risen.

9 Then Herod said, John I beheaded; but who is this, concerning whom I hear such things? And he was seeking to see Him.

10 And the apostles, having returned, they declared to Him how much they had done. And having taken them, He withdrew by Himself into a city called Bethsaida.

Comments 10:10. For verses 10 to 17, see Comments Matthew 14:13-21, Comments Mark 6:30-44, and Comments John 6:1-13.

11 Now the multitudes having learned followed Him; and having received them, He spoke to them concerning the kingdom of God, and those having need of healing He cured.

12 And the day began to decline; and the twelve came, and said to Him, Dismiss the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, and lodge, and get provisions; for we are here in a desolate place.

13 But He said to them, Give you them to eat. And they said, We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy food for all this people.

14 For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.

15 And they did so and made all recline.

16 Then having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, having looked up to the heaven, He blessed them, and broke; and kept giving to the disciples to set before the multitude.

17 And they ate and were all satisfied; and was taken up that which remained of broken pieces, twelve hand-baskets.

Comments 9:10-17. As we showed in Comments Mark 6:30-44, this passage of Scripture describes the same feeding event as given in Matthew 14:13-21 and Mark 6:30-44, but not the same feeding event as given in John 6:1-13. Please consult the PDF file 6.pdf from the Gospel of Mark section on our website where we present a map of Jesus’ travels around the time of these two feeding events.  

18 And it came to pass, as He was praying in private, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, Who do the multitudes say that I am?

Comments 9:18. For verses 18 to 21, see Comments Matthew 16:13-20 and Comments Mark 8:27-30.

19 And they answering said, John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the ancient prophets has risen.

20 And He said to them, But who do you say that I am? And Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

21 But He strictly warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one,

22 saying, It is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and on the third day to be raised.

Comments 9:22. For verses 22 to 27, see Comments Matthew 16:21-28 and Comments Mark 8:31-9:1.

23 Then He said to all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross every day, and let him follow Me.

24 For whoever desires to save his life, will lose it; but whoever will lose his life on account of Me, the same will save it.

25 For what is a man profited, if he gains the whole world, but loses or forfeits himself?

26 For whoever will be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed, when He comes in the glory His own, and of the Father, and of the holy angels.

Comments 9:26. See Comments Matthew 10:32-36.

27 Now I say to you, truly, There are certain of those standing here, who will in no way taste of death, until they may see the kingdom of God.

28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, and having taken Peter and John and James, He went up into the mountain to pray.

Comments 9:28. For verses 28 to 36, see Comments Matthew 17:1-8 and Comments Mark 9:2-8. The Comparison Analysis in Comments Mark 9:2-8 presents a detailed text analysis of all these three passages of Scripture. 

29 And it came to pass in His praying, the appearance of His face became altered, and His garment became white and dazzling.

30 And behold, there talked with Him two men, who were Moses and Elijah.

31 Those having appeared in glory, spoke of His departure which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

32 Now Peter and those with Him were heavy with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory, and the two men standing with Him.

33 And it came to pass, as they were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he is saying.

34 Then as he is saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they feared in their entering into the cloud.

35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, My chosen One; listen to Him!

36 And as the Voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told to no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

37 And it came to pass on the next day, on their coming down from the mountain, a great multitude met Him.

Comments 9:37. For verses 37 to 42, see Comments Matthew 17:14-19 and Comments Mark 9:14-29. For this portion of Scripture see “Passage Analysis” in Comments Mark 9:14-29.

38 And behold, a man from the multitude cried out, saying, Teacher, I beg Thee to look upon my son, for he is my only child.

39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him with foaming, shattering him, and hardly departs from him.

40 And I begged Thy disciples that they might cast it out; and they were not able.

41 And Jesus answered and said, O unbelieving and corrupted generation, until when will I be with you, and bear with you? Bring here your son.

42 Then while he was coming near to Him, the demon threw him down, and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the demonic spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

43 Then were all amazed at the majesty of God. But of all marveling at all which He did, He said to His   disciples,

Comments 9:43. “Then were all amazed at the majesty of God”. People have seen the glory of God through the work of the beloved Son of God. All these people have seen God on earth with them.

44 Let these words sink into your ears: for the Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men.

45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hidden from them, that they should not understand it. And they were afraid to ask Him concerning this saying.

Comments 9:43-45. For verses 43 to 45, see Comments Matthew 17:22-23 and Comments Mark 9:30-32. The Lord often reminds the disciples concerning His death and resurrection because He knows that their faith will be tested after His departure. 

46 Then came up a debate among them, which of them may be the greatest.

47 But Jesus knowing their thoughts, took a little child, and set him beside Him,

48 and said to them, Whoever may receive this little child in My name, receives Me; and whoever may receive Me, receives Him that sent Me. For he that is least among you all, this shall be great.

Comments 9:46-48. For verses 46 to 48, see Comments Matthew 18:1-5 and Comments Mark 9:33-37. See Comparison Analysis in Comments Mark 9:33-37.

49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Thy name; and we forbade him, because he follows not with us.

50 Then Jesus said to him, Forbid not, for whoever is not against us, is for us.

Comments 9:49-50. For verses 49 to 50, see Comments Mark 9:38-40.

51 Then it came to pass, when the days drew near that He should be lifted up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,

52 and He sent messengers before His face. And having made their way, they entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him.

Comments 9:52. “He sent messengers before His face”. The messengers that have been sent were angels who took the form of humans. If these angels did not take the form of humans, people would not be able to communicate with them. 

53 And they did not receive Him, because His countenance was as making His way toward Jerusalem.

Comments 9:53. By tradition, Jews do not associate with the Samaritans, because the Jews consider them as outsiders. The direction of travel the Lord had taken made the Samaritans understand only that He was not coming for them, so they felt that the Lord rejected them as well and that is why they acted this way.

54 And having seen the disciples James and John, said, Lord, wish Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?

55 Then having turned He rebuked them.

Comment 9:55. As the Lord rebuked the disciples, we ourselves must also rebuke in the name of the beloved Son of God any anger coming upon us. When someone wishes bad or does bad to you, pray for them and ask the mercy of God to cover them, so that their hearts will be open and see the light of mercy.

Note: This verse, as given here, is part of the original Gospel, no other later additions (See Greek NT: Westcott and Hort 1881).

56 And they went to another village.

Comments 9:51-56. The time of departure for the beloved Son of God has come closer, but until that time arrives, the beloved Son of God will go on to fulfil His work. The Samaritans, even though they are not His people, but they all have come from Him, and the Lord Himself has plans for them as well. The disciples did not understand the extended love of the Lord towards all humans, not just only to His people alone, because all people belong to Him, and the disciples needed to learn about this.

Note: This verse, as given here, is part of the original Gospel, no other later additions (See Greek NT: Westcott and Hort 1881).

57 And as they were making their way, someone said to Him, I will follow Thee wherever Thou might go.

Comments 9:57. For verses 57 to 60, see Comments Matthew 8:18-22. These portions of Scripture in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke have the same meaning. When you want to follow the Lord, if you truly want to dedicate your life to serving the Lord, you must leave everything behind. The past of your life put it behind. This you can compare as you have cut off the past from that point, and you become a new person in the Lord.

Note: The “in the road” portion of this verse that is present in some translations is not part of the original text.

58 And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.

59 Then He said to another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord, allow me first to go off to bury my father.

60 Then He answered him, Leave the mortal to bury their own dead; but you, going forth, declare the kingdom of God.

61 Then another also said, I will follow Thee, Lord; but first allow me to say farewell to those at my house.

62 Then Jesus said to him, No one, having laid the hand upon a plow, and looking behind, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Comments 9:61-62. “allow me to say farewell to those …”. Think of yourself when you first commit your heart to the Lord, but you also feel that you are not ready yet to leave all things behind. You tend to use the responsibility towards the life left behind to be the reason for telling yourself that you are not ready, and the time is not now to respond to the Lord’s call for work.

“No one, having laid the hand upon a plow …”. Think in an easy way. When you have free time, your hand can reach to open the Bible, but you tell yourself that you will be able to do only a few pages, so better leave it now and go do something else so you will have more free time all at once to read a big portion. But if you find the reason to stop reading, for the things on this earth that you value, then your heart is not there yet to follow the Lord, and you do not see yourself fit to be the Lord’s servant. But those are prices in shadow, not true value; the true value is the Word of God. As the verse said, “laid the hand upon a plow, and looking behind”; you have work to do for the Lord, but you turn to look back, you take your heart off from the work of the Lord, because of the things left behind, because the things in behind have more value for you.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) As a servant of the Lord Jesus, put your trust for all your daily provisions in the Lord. 2) Do not be ashamed of the Lord Jesus and His teachings and to tell people that you are a follower of the Son of God and that you believe in the Trinity of God (Father, Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit). 3) If someone is against you, do not curse them or wish harm to them, but pray for mercy from God to cover them. 4) If the Lord calls you in your heart to do any work for Him, even just reading the Bible, do not look behind, just follow the Lord’s call.  

Luke 10

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus Himself has shown the way of the true followers and how they should behave with people. Luke 10:1-16. Jesus sends out the seventy-two disciples to spread the news that the Lord is coming now. These seventy-two disciples have different duties than the twelve Apostles; the Lord sent them ahead following His direction of travel to proclaim, “the kingdom of God has come near to you”. Luke 10:17-20. The return of the seventy-two and their report about their successful mission. The disciples’ authority and power were all done in Jesus’ name. Luke 10:21-24. Jesus rejoices in the Holy Spirit and gives thanks to the Father because all things have been delivered unto Him, souls believe in Him, and power and authority are given to those that work under His name. Luke 10:25-37. A lawyer comes to test the Lord Jesus with a question about the eternal life. In His answer, the Lord teaches that riches and position of this earth do not guarantee us a place in heaven. He gives the parable of the Good Samaritan and teaches who is our neighbor and what it means to love our neighbor as the Bible commands. Luke 10:38-42. Martha and Mary serve the Lord; one likes to do work while serving and the other likes to stay put and listen to the Lord. Both actions of these two women are pleasing to the Lord. Both servings come as one in pleasing the Lord, equal amount and value for both actions. 

1 And after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them in two and two before Himself, into every town and place, where He Himself was about to go.

Comments 10:1. “And after this”. The event of sending the 72 disciples is a completely separate event to the event of sending the twelve apostles described in Luke 9:1-5, where the Lord called the twelve apostles together and sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. The sending of the 72 disciples took place after the sending of the twelve apostles and after the transfiguration described in Luke 9:28-36.

“the Lord appointed seventy-two others “. The issue here is that some manuscripts put the number in this verse and verse 17 at 72 and other manuscripts put this number at 70. In this commentary, it is believed that the original number in Luke’s Gospel is 72 as translated here (see Greek NT: Westcott and Hort 1881).

Q: Were the twelve apostles sent as well during this time and were they included in the 72 number, or were all these other disciples that the Lord sent out? A: Look at the verse itself, “seventy-two others”, so the 72 number does not include the twelve apostles. These 72 disciples are people that continued to follow the Lord for a period of time and had faith and trust in the beloved Son of God. The faith and trust developed in them as they continued to follow and listen to His teaching.

“sent them in two and two before Himself, into every town and place …”. These 72 disciples will go out and spread the news that the Lord is coming now. The Lord sent them ahead, following His direction of travel.

2 And He said to them, The harvest indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray you earnestly therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that He might send out laborers into His harvest.

Comments 10:2. See Comments Matthew 9:37-38. This saying in Luke 10:2 is given in a different context than the saying in Matthew 9:37-38, but the meaning is the same.

3 Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Comments 10:3. In this verse, the Lord wants to tell all true believers that when you are among the unbelievers, behave as the Lord of life teaches you. Use the Bible in dealing with unbelievers, and that will stir them to curiosity in their minds, and they will try to find what you are talking about, and you will lead some of them that the Lord calls to be believers as you are.

4 Carry no moneybag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one on the way.

Comments 10:4. For verses 4 to 12, see Comments Matthew 10:9-14, Comments Mark 6:7-13, and Comments Luke 9:1-5. Note that the sayings in these verses were given to these 72 disciples; they have some similarities, but also some differences when compared with the sayings in Matthew 10:9-14, Mark 6:7-13 and Luke 9:1-5.

“Carry no moneybag, no sack, no sandals”. When the Lord has told the disciples to not take these items, it will make all disciples think again what they are working for. Do not take valuable things, and do not think about gaining valuable things later; that was the main reason the Lord commanded them not to take these items.

“and greet no one on the way”. Also, the reason for telling them not to greet anyone, was because when you greet someone, the conversation will come, and they were not ready yet to tell why they are following the Lord Jesus and doing the work for Him. At this point in time, they need to separate themselves. These are not the same as the twelve. These 72 are different disciples and they were called to serve the Lord and announce to people that “the kingdom of God has come near to you”.

5 And into which house you enter, first say, Peace to this house.

Comments 10:5. When you go to whatever house to stay in, pray for that house that the peace of God comes upon them.

6 And if a son of peace be there, your peace will rest upon them; but if not, it will return to you.

Comments 10:6. “And if a son of peace be there”. In this context, the “son of peace” is a spirit from the Lord that will bring peace to all in that household, if those in that household, deep inside their soul, are joyfully receiving the disciples without expecting to receive payment in return. But if inside their hearts they expect payment in return for doing good to the disciples, the spirit from the Lord will know, and will let them feel in their hearts that this household expects not spiritual gifts but payment of earthly things, that why it says, “it shall return to you again”. In this verse, the “son of peace” is not the Holy Spirit but a servant spirit from the Father. The people in the household are not “the son of peace”, they did not have the son of peace before hearing the word from the disciples. The son of peace will open the hearts of those people and will stay there if their souls joyfully receive the word of God, but if they reject the word of God, that peace, “the son of peace”, will return to the disciples. Because the hearts of the disciples have come to do the Lord’s will, that is why the son of peace will return to the disciples.

7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking beside them; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Change not from house to house.

Comment 10:7. When you minister remain in one place, in that period of time, do not look somewhere else where you expect to have a more comfortable stay than the house you are in, be joyful and thankful to stay where you are. When they are joyful to give and provide for you, that is the “worthy of wages” you have received, because you also have given them joy and peace in the spirit as a payment.

8 And into which city you come in, and they accept you, eat the present given you,

Comments 10:8. This verse may look the same as verse 7, but there is a different meaning here. When referring to a city, it relates to your duty to walk throughout the town and proclaim the good news of God to all in that city, not just only in the place that received you to stay, but also to all that you will meet in that city. At those times, people setup festivals when they had guests in their town that came to proclaim the peace of God to them. They would set a common table where the whole town and the guests would join the feast together, and there, during that time, the guests as well would proclaim the joyful news to them and give them thanks at the same time.

9 and heal the sick in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.

Comments 10:9. In this verse, pay attention to the words. Because when you tell them, “the kingdom of God has come near to you”, you already have invited the Lord to come to that place and heal all the sick. And this verse tells us that everyone who has faith in God can pray for people to receive mercy and be healed.

10 But into which city you come in, and they accept you not, having come out into the public square, say,

11 Also the dust out of your city, that sticks to our feet, we wipe clean against you; nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.

Comments 10:10-11. This verse is not about considering them as enemies; it tells you, if there is any place or anyone that has rejected the good news, you can walk away from it without feeling guilty. You have already tried to save their souls, but they themselves have rejected the good news.

12 I say to you, it will be more endurable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

Comments 10:12. When the Lord has sent these disciples to any place that was on His way, the Lord Himself has already stretched out His hand for help; but some have rejected the help of God. Their punishment is greater than the other places that are mentioned in these verses, even Sodom, Tyre and Sidon (see verses 12 and 14).

“in that day” refers to the judgment day to come.

13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles having taken place in you, had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

14 But it will be more endurable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment, than for you.

15 And you, Capernaum, who have been elevated up to heaven, you will be brought down to Hades.

Comments 10:13-15. All these verses are warnings for repentance, see Comments Matthew 11:20-24.

16 He that is hearing you hears Me; and he that is disesteeming you disesteems Me; and he that is rejecting Me rejects Him who sent Me.

Comments 10:16. This verse shows a chain reaction similar to Matthew 10:40 (see Comments Matthew 10:40).

17 And the seventy-two returned with gladness, saying, Lord, even the demons are submissive to us in Thy name.

Comments 10:17. They are glad because they can see that by themselves, they can do work under the shadow of the Lord. Give attention to the last part, “in Thy name”; that is the heart of all activity when the believers act according to the will of the Lord.

18 Then He said to them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning out of heaven.

Comments 10:18. In this verse, the beloved Son of God has told not only to His disciples, but to all humans in the world as well, that the beloved Son of God has seen “Satan fallen as lightning out of heaven”. Because the Father’s plan has come into effect, the beloved Son of God has come down on earth to gather all humans that belong to Him; the only way Satan can fight is by coming down on earth to stop humans from believing in the mercy of the Father through the beloved Son of God. They cannot fight God, but they can fight to win humans, because not all humans will obey all the teachings of the beloved Son of God, and some will not be able to escape evil’s hands.

19 Behold, I have given you the authority to tread upon Satan and scorpions, and upon all the power of the adversary, and nothing shall in any way harm you.

Comments 10:19. This verse tells clearly that the beloved Son of God has authority to appoint someone (a disciple) to work on earth in fighting the child of the dark that will come when any human listens and obeys the voice of the dark. As the verse says, the Lord will give His disciples authority. The power of the enemy surrounds us on earth, but they cannot overpower (possess by themselves) the human mind because the Holy Spirit occupies the earth, but the ones that are listening to the dark, are opening themselves to be used by them.

“the authority to tread upon Satan and scorpions”. Satan here is the voice of the dark which Satan himself has sent down as preparing the way for themselves; but the scorpions are the humans that obey the dark side's teaching. The Lord has power to give authority to His servants to be able to overpower them (Satan and scorpions) and be submissive to the servants of the Lord.

“and upon all the power of the adversary”. By the authority they have received, the servants will have power to fight all evil.

“nothing shall in any way harm you.” To harm here is not hurt to the physical body, but to the spiritual soul of the persons that have submitted themselves to serve the beloved Son of God on this earth. The servants’ souls will not be hurt in any way by the enemy; the Lord has given them authority to conquer the adversary.

20 Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are submissive to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Comments 10:20. As the verse tells, when you do work for the Lord and succeed here on earth, do not rejoice over that success, but rejoice that, as the verse has told, your names are written in heaven. When the judgment time comes, if your name has been written down, you will not be waiting for the judgment; but you will cross to the other side and be alongside the beloved Son of God.

21 In the same hour full of joy in the Holy Spirit, He said, I praise Thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that Thou did hide these from the learned and intelligent, and did reveal them to simple-minded, yes, Father; for in this manner was well-pleasing in Thy sight.

22 All things were entrusted to Me by My Father. And no one knows who the Son is, except the Father; and who the Father is, except the Son, and whomever, if the Son wishes to reveal.

Comments 10:21-22. For verses 21 to 22, see Comments Matthew 11:25-27.

Q: Reading the gospels, you might ask yourself how it is possible that the gospels have many similarities; but at the same time, it appears that there are some conflicts and confusions. Is it possible that the gospel writers consulted each other’s manuscripts and just made some cuts and additions as they remembered or researched?

A: We believe that the gospels are given by the Holy Spirit to each writer, and there is no copy between the writers. Each gospel writer wrote independently what the Holy Spirit had given them. They did not have interaction of writing in between them, the only one interaction they have was the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit knows all things, precisely how they happened and what the Lord Jesus’ words were as He ministered to people. The Holy Spirit is the writer of all gospels, and He used the human writers to convey what He wanted them to write down in the Bible for us. No human mind can remember things precisely after years have passed. The Holy Bible is not from men, but by the Holy Spirit given to the writers. The Lord gives portions of events to each writer to write down; one writer will get one portion, and another writer will get another portion. But they all connect together and make all things complete; nothing is against each other. Also, remember that the Lord has not been all the time with all of the disciples simultaneously; in each portion of the gospels, we can tell the difference; the Lord has told the disciples the same things but not in one time telling. This is how the Lord can separate between true believers and believers by name; when someone reads the Bible, the dark mind in them will try to link them that the Bible is not the Holy Word, but it is just a word of men, written by men’s efforts and research. Because of the confusion, when some persons read with the head but are not using the heart to think they cannot see that the Holy Spirit is the author of His Holy Word, the Bible, and He has given all the words of the Bible to the writers. 

23 And turning to the disciples in private, He said, Blessed are the mind’s eyes which perceptively-see what you perceptively-see!

Comments 10:23. In this verse, the Lord has told His own disciples, remember what your eyes have seen, and what your ears have heard as you are walking with Me on earth.

24 For I say to you, that many prophets and rulers wished to discern clearly what you perceptively-see and discerned clearly not; and comprehend by hearing what you comprehend by hearing and comprehended by hearing not.

Comments 10:24. The miracles Jesus performed on earth, even rulers and prophets of the past wanted to see, but they did not have a chance; neither the people after them have seen Jesus or heard what Jesus has told His disciples in private. We should use the miracles that Jesus performed and are recorded for us in the Bible, to strengthen our faith in Jesus when we read the Bible and believe that the Bible is the true Word of God.

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up to test Him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Comments 10:25. Q: Is this story with the “certain lawyer” given here in this chapter, the same story with the “rich ruler” given in Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, and Luke 18:18-23; or is this a different story given in a different circumstance? A: The story in Luke 10:25-37 is a different story. The “certain lawyer” story and the “rich ruler” story are not the same, they have partial similarities, but they are not happening at the same time and with the same people. 

“to test Him”. The people that believe in themselves, that are smart, always see someone else below them; so, this lawyer wants to test the Lord, because in his eyes he saw the Lord as a common poor man that has no school as he has; and he has put the Lord below himself.

“Teacher, what shall I do …”. This man has treasures on earth and expects to gain eternal life according to the teachings of men, because the blessings of this earth have shown that he is worthy enough to have the eternal life in heaven. All rich people do believe this way. The question he has made has shown the purpose of this person. Pay attention to the words, “inherit eternal life”; eternal life has told already the meaning of the person, it is more than testing, at the same time he wants to put everyone else below; according to the knowledge of earth, he already believes that he can inherit eternal life, that all this person can think about.

26 And He said to him, What is written in the law? How read you?

27 And answering, he said, You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and within all your soul, and from all your strength, and from all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

Comments 10:27. His answer itself will be used to judge the person, the person who has answered it out, if you know what the Lord has put as a law, then you should do it as well.

Q: What does it really mean when the verse says to love God within all your soul? A: When you think of God deep inside your heart you will feel the Lord is there; the heart that loves the Lord deep down will feel in return the love from the Lord as well. The love back from the Lord, the person will be feeling, will be more than what that person has given to the Lord. But the Lord’s mercy will speak to that soul; and deep within the heart you can feel the Lord talking. 

28 But He said to him, You answered correctly; this do, and you will live.

29 But, desiring to justify himself, he said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

Comments 10:29. “But, desiring to justify himself …”. Justify himself to show that he is perfect and does no wrongdoing. Neighbor, it looks like a specific word for us; as humans you know who your neighbor is, but the man wants to test the Lord with this question. Actually, he regarded no one as his neighbor. When he can ask who my neighbor is, that also has told clearly that he regards no one as his neighbor (no one is valuable in his eyes to be his neighbor).

30 Jesus answered, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem into Jericho; and he fell among robbers, who also, stripped him and inflicted blows, went away, leaving him half dead.

Comments 10:30. The Lord has told this parable to warn everyone, you may see the road clear, but on that clear path you may encounter many hidden things around you that can harm both, physical and mental. For all who read this parable, as the verse has told, the man was stripped; stripped here is not only clothes, but also the security in heart, because, as the verse has told “leaving him half dead”.

31 Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down that path, and having seen him, went along by opposite side.

Comments 10:31. The Lord has given the example of a person that first passed by, who was not a commoner, but a priest. By the position the person holds does not mean that the heart is there with it; as a priest, he should not pass by. When someone half-dead is on the way, and he sees, the priest should act lovingly as the Lord has taught.

32 Now likewise a Levite also, at the place having come and having seen, went along by opposite side.

Comments 10:32. This verse is similar to verse 31. Both kinds of people, the priest and the Levite, in that time, were considered holy because they were serving directly to the Lord of life.

33 But a certain Samaritan, making his way, came where he was, and having seen, had pity on him,

Comments 10:33. The Lord has chosen the non-Jewish people here to show an example, even the one that is considered outcast by His people has a heart full of compassion, and this heart has led the man to save someone that belongs to the people of the Lord.

34 and having approached, bound up his wounds pouring on oil and wine; then mounted him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Comments 10:34. The Lord has given an example of a person that has true compassion, genuine compassion that did not expect anything in return when doing good to someone, and here is the example. Everyone who reads about this man should think and ask themselves, will I do this to someone else, without expecting anything in return, not physical money or praises from others that I am a good person.

35 And on the next day he took out two denarii, he gave to the innkeeper, and said, Take care of him, and what you might spend more, I, on my returning, will repay you.

Comments 10:35. The heart of the story is this: the Lord has told us clearly what genuine compassion means. Even though this man had things to do, he still had compassion and wanted to help until the end. The place to look is, “I, on my returning, will repay you”; this man has done more than well to his neighbor; he had shown genuine compassion to a stranger. He did according to his ability in helping a stranger; everyone can do the same way, help as much as you can, this is an example to see.

36 Which of these three seems to you to have become a neighbor of him who fell into the robbers?

Comments 10:36. The Lord is teaching us in this parable, who is our neighbor. Compare yourself in this parable; what will you do if one of these neighbors falls in this situation? For us, as believers of the Most-High God, everyone is your neighbor, not only those that live beside you but all those that the Lord is bringing in your path to interact with. 

37 But he said, The one that showed pity on him. Then Jesus said to him, Go, and you be doing likewise.

Comments 10:37. When you read this verse, keep it in your mind and heart as well, and go and do to your neighbors as you want them to do to you. This lawyer tried to outsmart the Lord, but nobody can outsmart the Lord, and here is the proof. This lawyer couldn’t say anything further after the Lord pointed him out.  

38 Now in their going, He entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received Him into the house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, who even sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His word.

Comments 10:38-39. In these verses, we have two women involved; all readers can notice the differences between these two, one is concerned with the things of this world, but another is concerned about the next world. As siblings on this earth, we all can see, you come out from the same parents, but you have nothing alike, as these two siblings are the same way, but one thing they do have in common, both of these women have a servant’s heart, both want to serve the Lord in their own way. The way to serve the Lord is different in each person, and this is a good example.

40 But Martha was distracted about much serving, and coming up to Him, she said, Lord, do Thou not care that my sister left me to serve alone? Tell her therefore that she might help me.

Comments 10:40. We can see the respect that Martha had for the Lord. Even though she needed help, she did not confront her sister; instead, she asked the Lord to act for her. All humans should see this as an example of solving conflict between humans; both should turn and seek help from the Lord, and the Lord will give peace for both sides.

41 But the Lord answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are distracted and disturbed about many;

Comments 10:41. Give attention to the last part of the verse. We all are distracted about many things to do; but one thing all humans should think first, give thanks to the Lord and look for the way that you can serve the Lord, both physical and spiritual, in moments when you cannot do physical for the Lord then you can glorify the Lord with all your heart.

42 but little is demanded, not much; for Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

Comments 10:42. This verse tells all humans that when you see someone glorifying the Lord, regardless of the way the person is doing, do not try to stop anyone. The little action each person offers to the Lord is the thing the Lord likes to see, and He is happy to see when anyone glorifies the Lord, even in small actions.

In conclusion, about Martha’s and Mary’s character and faith, both women are an example for all humans. One likes to do physical work in serving, and the other likes to stay put and listen to the Lord. Both actions of these two are pleasing to the Lord. Some people interpret that for serving the Lord, you must do all the work as Martha has done, and others want to be as Mary serving the Lord by listening and praying alone, but both servings come as one in pleasing the Lord, equal amount and value for both actions. 

Life and Faith Applications. 1. When you are among the unbelievers, behave as the Lord of life teaches you. Use the Bible in dealing with unbelievers, and the Bible will stir them to know more about your faith. 2. In the name of Jesus, that should be the heart of all activity when the believers act according to the will of the Lord. 3. As believers, our neighbors are all those that the Lord is bringing in our path, and we need to show compassion and love to all. 4. When any conflict arises, all should turn and seek help from the Lord, and the Lord will give peace for all. 5. When you see someone glorifying the Lord, regardless of the way the person is doing, do not try to stop anyone, the Lord is happy with people when they glorify Him. 

Luke 11

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus gives some parables and talks about true blessings, true warnings, true signs, and woes. Luke 11:1-13. The Lord’s prayer and the parable of the heavenly Father’s love towards all His children that come to ask, seek and knock. By His love, the Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. Luke 11:14-23. The parable of whoever is not against the beloved Son of God. Those that are not against the beloved Son of God and accept Him in their hearts, to those the Lord will give them the Holy Spirit to dwell with them and strengthen their faith, and that is why if you don’t gather with Jesus will scatter. Luke 11:24-26. Warning for those unfaithful to mediate on the Word of God and stay in prayer. Luke 11:27-28. True blessedness comes to those that hear and meditate on the word of God and keep it. Luke 11:29-32. The true sign of God for this generation. Jesus is the true sign, come and accept Jesus as your Lord and be saved. Luke 11:33-36. The parable of the knowledge about the Holy Word. When you gain knowledge about the Holy Word you also must share that knowledge with others. Luke 11:37-54. Woes to the leaders and learners.   

1 And it happened, as He was offering prayer in a certain place, that when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.

Comments 11:1. “one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, …”. This disciple of the Lord is still looking to John’s disciples and how John teaches; as we can see clearly, he made comparisons between both masters that he knows. But we also can notice that this disciple looks forward to being taught by the Lord about how they should pray, even they have seen someone else doing in one way. In their hearts, they want the way of the Lord Himself, not another master’s way; they want the Lord who they consider as their master to teach them the right way of praying.

2 And He said to them, Whenever you pray, say, Heavenly Father, Hallowed be Thy name. Let Thy kingdom come.

Comments 11:2. This verse shows that we must start the prayer by glorifying the Father and praying for the kingdom of God to come (See Matthew Comments 6:9, 10).

For verses 2 to 4, see Matthew Comments 6:9-13. The Lord gives us a pattern of how to pray in these verses, and when we pray, we should follow this pattern. Before we bring our needs to the Lord, we must glorify the Lord in heaven, then take our needs to ask for help. After glorifying, believe that the Lord will hear all our needs, and say the needs, and end with glorifying the Lord again (see Matthew 6:13).

Q: There are some differences between the prayers in the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew. It seems that in the Gospel of Luke, the Lord gave a shorter version of the prayer that the Lord taught to His disciples. Have these prayers been spoken in the same context? A: The Bible is one, and the Lord’s prayer in this gospel and another also are the same but given with different purpose (that is, different audience receiving, then and now), but if we mix both prayers together, it will become one prayer; all have the same meaning and one purpose, in teaching. In the Gospel of Luke, we can see a briefer version of the prayer, which all can use when having a limit of time in front, but the main points remain the same because the Lord gave one prayer for all situations, but we as humans can pick only key verses to make the prayer shorter to address the situations, but it never changes the meaning if you take it from the verses themselves when we pray.

3 Grant us daily our necessary bread.

Comments 11:3. When we pray this verse itself, also we tell our needs to the Lord, and at the same time, we must leave our needs with the Lord, and we must trust that the Lord will provide for our needs. Here along with this verse, we can enumerate our specific needs to the Lord and leave them with the Lord.

4 And forgive us our sins; as we ourselves also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. (“But deliver us from evil” see Sinaiticus codex)

Comments 11:4a. When we pray, we always need to ask the Lord to forgive our sins. It is lacking in this world that humans do not have the heart to forgive each other. When we read this verse, we can see plainly, we all want to receive forgiveness, but we do not wish to give it to anyone; this verse tells us clearly that what you want to receive also give as well.

Comments 11:4b. We know that the Lord does not lead anyone into temptation. Q: What does this saying “and lead us not into temptation” really mean? A: When the verse has told “lead us not,” it does not mean the Lord is the One that leads us to fall, but we ourselves. And, when we pray this way, the Lord will block the temptation, but if we do not pray, we by ourselves will fall into temptation.

By this portion of the verse, the Lord wants to remind all readers that the Lord loves all humans; He does not want any human to fall into the trap of the evil one, but human nature will try to find joy for themselves in putting unclean things in front of their eyes and thus letting themselves be tempted. Those unclean things will feed their hearts to have a need, and that is the temptation to lead the soul to lose the way. But the Lord also gives us the way out when our minds are not straight coming back to the straight path and do not let that temptation take over; go to the Lord by reading the Bible and meditating on the Lord’s teaching.

5 And He said to them, Which of you who has a friend, and will go to him at midnight, and might say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves,

6 since a friend of mine came to me from a journey, and I have nothing to put before him;

7 and that from inside answering might say, Trouble me not; already the door has been shut, and my children are with me in the bed; I cannot rise up to give you?

8 I say to you, Though having risen up, he will not give to him because of being his friend, yet because of his persistence, having risen, he will give him as much as he needs.

Comments 11:5-8. The Lord has given an example of a typical life situation; when we have problems on this earth, we will look for help among humans, and we will go and seek help even in the nighttime. But when our life has unexpected troubles coming our way, there is one place that is never too far, and the door is always open; lead your heart to that place by meditating and praying to the Lord of life to give mercy and help. As the last part of verse 8 says, he will give him as much as he needs; the same way the Lord Himself is the One who will provide the help you need if you are persistent in asking, the Lord will have mercy.

9 And I say to you, Be you asking, and it will be given to you; Be you seeking, and you will find; Be you knocking, and it will be opened to you.

Comments 11:9. For verses 9 to 13, see Matthew 7:7-11. For this verse, see Comments Matthew 7:7.

10 For everyone, the one asking receives, and the one seeking finds, and to the one knocking it will be opened.

Comments 11:10. See Comments Matthew 7:8. This verse mainly relates to faith and understanding of the Holy Word, for every true believer that comes seeking help from the beloved Son of God will receive that help in understanding.

11 And of which of you a father, the son will ask for a fish, and he for a fish will give him a serpent?

Comments 11:11. As this verse tells, you as a parent know to love your children, and you will give the best to your children first; think about this as parents.

12 Or he should ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?

Comments 11:12. This saying is given only in this gospel. Here also think and compare between the egg and the scorpion; when we talk about an egg, it is fragile, but the scorpion is a violent creature. The Lord has brought these two together in this verse for all humans to compare between your children, which are as an egg, and the evil world which is as a scorpion. Do you want to put your children among the evil in the world without the protection as the egg has an eggshell? The protection here means the knowledge about God of all creation and His love and mercy and that He is our shield in all; and that you must teach your children as a parent.

13 If you therefore, being evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him?

Comments 11:13. In Matthew 7:11 the verse says, “how much more will your heavenly Father who is in heavens give good things to them that ask Him?”. Here in this verse, we have “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him?” Q: How do we put these verses together? A: Both verses have exactly the same meaning, but pay attention to good gifts and Holy Spirit, these two are the same.

Comments 11:9-13. The purpose of this parable is for the disciples to think, you are humans and know to give good things to your children, which are earthly things, but the heavenly Father will give you good things from heaven, that is the Holy Spirit. This parable is a comparison of love, a comparison between the love of an earthly father and the love of the heavenly Father.

14 And He was casting out a mute demon. Then it came to pass, the demon having gone out, the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

Comments 11:14. For verses, 14 to 23, see Comments Matthew 12:22-32 and Comparison analysis in Mark 3:22-30.

In summary, the parables that are spoken by the Lord in these portions of Scripture in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are spoken to diverse groups of people and at different times. We can notice from these passages of Scripture in these gospels that the Lord has spoken similar answer, but there will be some words different because the groups of people that were there listening are not the same (See Comments Mark 3:22-30).

15 But some of them said, By Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, casts He out demons.

16 And others, tempting Him, were demanding from Him a sign from heaven.

Comments 11:14-16. Verse 16 is given only here in the Gospel of Luke as part of these parables. By saying, “others, tempting Him,” it indicates as well that not all of them did this, and also it tells clearly that this is not a one-time event. In verse 15, people talk between themselves, and then came the request in verse 16, if it is not the demon’s work then He must show a sign from heaven.

17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is being made desolate; and a household divided against a household falls.

18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

19 Now if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, your sons, by whom do they cast out? On account of this will they be your judges.

20 However if I by a finger of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21 When the powerful being armed completely might guard his own mansion, his goods are safe;

22 however, when the more powerful coming upon him, will conquer him and takes from him the complete armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.

23 Whoever is not with Me is down on Me; and whoever gathers not with Me wastes.

24 The unclean spirit whenever is gone out away from a person passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and finding not, then it says, I will return to my house from where I went out.

Comments 11:24. For verses, 24 to 26, see Comments Matthew 12:43-45. Also, for these verses, we can think this way as well. After the evil has left your soul because you have come to the Lord and cleaned yourself well, then after you know the Lord and invite Him into your heart and go and baptize in water, your soul will be as a fresh living water tempting the unclean spirit to return (See John 4:14). As the word has told, the spirit has come back and seen, but they are not alone. The only way to keep your soul safe is to hold on to the living word, meditate, and follow the teachings of the beloved Son of God without wavering, and that will protect your soul.

25 And when it comes, it finds it swept empty and put in order.

Comments 11:25. The souls of unbelievers are full of food for the dark, but when a person has come to know the Lord, their soul has been cleansed out of all evil food for the dark side. If the person does not garnish the soul with the Word of God and does not meditate on it, that soul is not protected and becomes as freshwater, and because of lacking in meditation on the Word, the door of the soul is opened, and the dark will try to come back and latch on that soul because freshwater in the soul is fresh food for the dark side to gain energy. The dark cannot take the fresh living water, but they can take freshwater. Pay attention to the words, freshwater and fresh living water are not the same. When the person comes to know the Lord, they become “freshwater,” but the person that has come to know the Lord and baptizes in water and meditates on the teaching of the Lord becomes “fresh living water,” and these are different degrees of the freshness of water.

26 Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more wicked than itself; and having entered they dwell there; and the last of that person becomes worse than the first.

Comments 11:26. “other spirits more wicked than itself”. When the spirit comes back this time, as the verse has told, the dark side will be more violent towards the soul because now the dark thinks, if it overcomes this time, they are not winning against humans only, but they are winning against God as well because the person has come to know the Lord but did not meditate on the Word of God. The Lord is still there in the soul of the believers (the Lord never leaves us or forsakes us – Hebrews 13:5, unless the person rejects the Lord), but He will not act because the person has ignored the teachings of the Lord; what the teacher will do if the student does not retain the knowledge? That is why all believers need to meditate on the Word and keep the soul protected at all times.

Q: As a believer, the Holy Spirit dwells in our soul; then the verse says, “and having entered they dwell there,” so the question here is if these spirits come back in the soul of a person, does the Holy Spirit still dwells inside the person’ soul? A: Before it comes to this point that the spirits come back to “dwell there,” the person has committed the sin that grieved the Holy Spirit, the person themselves have built a wall to block the Holy Spirit, they left an empty space in the soul without protection, and that is when the dark comes in that portion. The Holy Spirit did not leave but lifted up the protection, He is still close by, but the person needs to ask for help and repent. The Holy Spirit has not departed completely, but He is still around waiting, and when the person asks help, the Holy Spirit suddenly will act and give strength to the soul to fight back, that is why we always need to meditate on the Word because that is the invitation for help from the Lord. The Holy Spirit will be high above watching, and He can still see all the actions that happen. Think in this way, the soul is like an object, and the Holy Spirit leans on that soul, waiting, and when that soul asks for help, right away He will go in and help; that is what we are trying to tell here. We are talking about different spiritual dimensions here; the Holy Spirit leans on the soul waiting, but His dimension will be above the soul’s dimension.

The dark, the lowest dimension level, will try to use the human’s soul dimension to reach the Holy Spirit dimension. They try to reach but do not mean to fight; they cannot fight against the Holy Spirit. Here, only the person’s soul itself can reject the Holy Spirit and push Him out of their soul; the dark cannot push the Holy Spirit, but our soul itself can push the Holy Spirit away. Think dimensions as well; the Holy Spirit is above, the human soul is under, the dark is under the human soul; how the dark can go up to be closer to fight God, only by winning the human souls. Here we can think easily in this way; the human soul is the bridge from one dimension to the next. The dark needs that bridge, and that is why it wants to dwell in the human soul. But only the human soul has the ability to push the Holy Spirit out from them; the dark does not have that ability. The dark fights against God by trying to win souls for themselves.

Q: Is there a spirit behind entertainments, such as sports, news, or science, that captures your heart? And what is the difference between these and demon possession? A: Indeed, there is a spirit in every entertainment of this earth, and those spirits have used our own feeling to feed them; that is the way of the entertainment spirit working in this time. Demon possession is different than this; demon possession eats straight from your soul, and that will make your soul reject the God of living. But it is over; no longer demons can possess any human nowadays, the Holy Spirit covers the earth now, but the people that are calling them will make the dark door in their hearts open and receive the demon in. But as long as the person deep inside is wishing to find the truth about God, they still have room to be healed from it because the Holy Spirit still has room in that heart as well.

27 And it came to pass, as He spoke these, a certain woman out of the multitude having lifted up her voice said to Him, Blessed the womb that bore Thee, and breasts which Thou nursed.

Comments 11:27. As the verse has told, a certain woman, but all women have this in them. Because they are mothers, they consider themselves deserving to be recognized; the first food for a baby is from their body, and in their hearts, they conclude they earn to be lifted high. This woman could have children as well, and she just wanted to tell her point about women.

28 Then He said, Indeed, blessed are those hearing the word of God, and obeying.

Comments 11:28. The Lord says to all women clearly, you are blessed not because you have given birth to a good person; your reward is not there; your reward in heaven is when you give your heart and glorify the Lord all your life.

29 Now multitudes were pressing together around Him; He began to say, This generation is an evil generation; it seeks after a supernatural sign, and a supernatural sign will not be given to it, if not the supernatural sign of Jonah.

Comments 11:29. For verses 29 to 32, see Comments Matthew 12:39-42. In each generation, the Lord has given a supernatural sign, including the hardship of life and mistreat of people. Even many fall because of the sign they have a chance to escape when they come to accept the true blessing of God through the beloved Son of God. As we can see through life, when someone has fallen because of fear and difficult time, they have backed off and stayed in their own space that they have created for themselves. But because of mercy, when they look out, they can notice the mercy of God is there if they just come out of their comfortable area and face the situation with the hope that they all can be saved. The Lord has given the way out from all of the troubles through the beloved Son of God.

30 For even as Jonah became a supernatural sign to the Ninevites, thus will also the Son of Man be to this generation.

31 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

33 No one, having lit a lamp, sets it in a cellar, nor under the basket, but upon the lampstand, that those which enter in may see the light.

Comments 11:33. The parable in verses 33 to 36 is similar to those given in Matthew 5:15-16, Mark 4:13-20, and Luke 8:16-17. This verse looks very similar to Luke 8:16, with some differences in the things covering the light. In Luke 8:16, we have things covering the light as vessel and bed. Here in this verse, the things hiding the lamp are the cellar and basket. Q: What is the purpose of this parable given here in this chapter? A: The parable may be similar, but it is not the same as the other parables. When you have the understanding from the Holy Word and cover it, regardless of what you may do to it, the light of knowledge that you received from the Holy Word will burst out and will be known to all those that come searching with a true heart. You have the knowledge which the Lord has given to you to understand, and inside your heart, you will not find peace until you find someone to tell about it, because that knowledge will not give you peace in holding it inside you without telling; it will make you have no peace until you do your duty of spreading out that knowledge to others.

“No one, having lit a lamp”. When anyone understands the Holy Word, that person has lighted up the lamp of knowledge.

“sets it in a cellar”. That person should not keep their knowledge about the Holy Word as secret by trying to hide it; that person has wasted the knowledge he received.

“nor under the basket”. When you put the light under the basket, you treat the knowledge you received about the Holy Word as unimportant, and the place to put it, under the basket, means is just for taking it around but not using it. The verse says, “nor under the basket,” meaning not in the basket but put under the basket; that is why we said just for taking it around not using what you have received. [The basket normally is used for carrying things around and sharing, but when you put the light under the basket, the meaning is that you are not willing to share that light when you carry the basket around.]  

“but upon the lampstand”. When you receive understanding, make sure that people can notice that you treasure that knowledge about the Holy Word and put it on the lampstand to be beneficial for all, not just for yourself alone.

34 The lamp of your body is your eye; when your eye is healthy, your entire body also is light, but your body also dark, when it is wicked.

Comments 11:34. “The lamp of your body is your eye”. The eyes for humans the Lord has given to all to use them, that why the verse has told, your eye is the lamp for your spiritual body not only for your earthly body but if you look only useless things you have wasted the gift of God.

“when your eye is healthy, your entire body also is light”. When you use your eyes to look to the creation of God, your whole body itself will notice the blessings; use your eyes to look around you and thank God that He has given you eyes to see things. Mainly, the understanding of your spiritual body will come from the knowledge gained by reading the Holy Word.

“but your body also dark, when it is wicked”. When you use your eyes to look at the things that humans created for pleasure, it will take away your knowledge of God’s word. The doings for earthly pleasure will never help you search for God’s word.

See also, Comments Matthew 6:22-23.

35 Beware, therefore, the light that is in you be not darkness.

Comments 11:35. This is a warning to all that just looking for having fun and searching only useless things to do for pleasure will not benefit your spiritual knowledge.

36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, not having any part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its brightness might light you.

Comments 11:36. This verse gives a comparison between the light of this world and the light of the Holy Spirit in you. When your body is full of light from the Lord Himself in you, the dark cannot hide; you will not have the part of the dark that influences you. Then your actions will give light to all those you meet and talk with, as the light out from the lamp will provide you the vision to see; this light from the knowledge from God will be light for yourself and those you meet to understand the will of God.

37 Now in the speaking, a Pharisee requested Him that He would dine with him, then having entered, He reclined.

Comments 11:37. In this verse, we all can see clearly; the Lord will not go in and join unless you invite Him. Here people requested Him to join; even their motives are hidden, the Lord went in and reclined with them.

38 But when the Pharisee saw it, wondered that He did not first wash before the meal.

Comments 11:38. When the Pharisee saw that the Lord sat at the table straight away, he wondered. At that time, a group of people had set up rules that would tell who you are if you follow the same rituals. It is a way of setting themselves apart; when you follow these rules, you become a higher class of people and are no longer commoner. Because they call Jesus a teacher, they expect Him to adopt their tradition; they consider themselves and the Lord at the same level.

See also Comments Matthew 15:2 and Comments Mark 7:1-13.

39 But the Lord said to him, You the Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, and your inside is full of greed and wickedness.

Comments 11:39. “You the Pharisees …”. In this verse, the Lord has told them clearly what they are doing right now. They are the leaders of people, but they are dirty inside. They clean only their outside appearance, dress in luxury but do not dress spiritually. The Lord has reminded them that their inside is wicked; the outer appearance cannot cover the inside dark appearance.

See also, Comments Matthew 23:25-28.

40 Fools! Not who has made the outside, make the inside also?

Comments 11:40. The Lord has warned them that the Lord has created them; not just the outside body appearance but also the Lord has given them the heart as well, and He sees not just the outside but also the inside that they try to cover, the Lord has seen them all.

41 But give alms those things which are within; and behold, all are clean to you.

Comments 11:41. “But give alms those things which are within”. When you want to give someone anything, also you should give them peace within their soul by telling them about the mercy of God; by telling your knowledge about God that you have in your heart and telling about His mercy, this means to give alms the things which are within.

“and behold, all are clean to you”. The things that your eyes have seen, watch they may be deceptive, you believe are clean and good, but think twice here, as the verse has said: “all are clean to you.” Here to put it plainly, the look and the reality are not the same; you see their outward appearance, but you can’t see the inner side (because they think that by having a nice appearance and doing the right things for people, then they are clean).

42 Contrariwise woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and every garden plant and neglect the justice and the love of God. But these things it is necessary to do, and not to leave the other undone.

Comments 11:42. The Pharisees, even when they tithe small things, do announce that big things are happening now and take the attention of all people to what they have done, but not what the Lord has done; this is their showoff.

“and neglect the justice and the love of God.” They pay attention to what humans did but forget to pay attention to what the Lord has created; that is what the verse has told. By His love, God has created all things for humans.

See also, Comments Matthew 23:23.

43 Woe to you Pharisees, for you love the first seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the town square.

Comments 11:43. See Comments Matthew 23:5-7 and Comments Mark 12:38-39

44 Woe to you, for you are like the tombs hidden, and the people that walk above do not remember.

Comments 11:44. “for you are like the tombs hidden.” The tombs hidden in this place are not the names of the people that die, but in this place, the Lord has warned all that when you have a leader that does not listen to the voice of the Lord, they will also lead all that follow to go down to death without light as well, as many places in the Bible have told; as the darkness of the tomb is, that is as when you have a leader that does not listen to the Lord.

“and the people that walk above do not remember.” Those that follow the teaching of people who do not listen to the voice of the Lord will themselves walk following the dark as well, without knowing in themselves that they did not listen to the Lord. It is their own fault by not meditating in the Holy Word by themselves and being able to listen to the Lord; you yourself must be the one that meditates on the Word; do not expect someone else meditates for you and you get the benefit from, that is why the verse has told “walk above do not remember” (is like you are following some unknown teaching).

Because the Lord has given the Bible to all, not only to a few, we all have the responsibility to read and meditate on the Word. When the end time comes, they will use this as an argument: they have followed the teaching but think first, followed the teaching of a person or the Lord. If you followed the Lord's teaching, then go back, read the Bible and meditate, do not meditate on humans' books, instead meditate on the Holy Word. That is why people will say they got lost from the Word of God, but they actually did not read the Word of God; they read the word of men talking about God, which is not the Word of God. There is only one Word of God, the Bible, the Holy Word, not the word people write about the Word of God; it is a difference.

See also Comments Matthew 23:27-28.

45 Now a certain lawyer answering says to Him, Teacher, saying this Thou rebuke us also.

46 And He said, Woe to you lawyers also, for you burden people burdens heavy to bear, and yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

Comments 11:45-46. This woe that the Lord has spoken here is not the same as the ones in Matthew 23:1-33; the group of people that the Lord has addressed here is different (See Comments Matthew 23:1-4). Each gospel has portrayed a different group of people. As the verse has shown clearly here, each gospel did not talk to the same group of people. This woe is here because these people (lawyers in this case) have used the Word to benefit by teaching based on their own understanding, and not what the Lord intends them to teach.

The commoners, in the past, did not have the Bible, but they had the clean heart to search, and the Lord spoke to them. Also, the Lord had people that have been appointed as teachers and prophets to be the ones to go there and teach them.

Now, you as a general person have the Bible and the same Holy Spirit, so you should go there and understand directly for yourself, and do not take men’s books to understand; there is one place and one Person, the Bible and the Holy Spirit that should be your teacher. Here it doesn’t mean that we are never to read any religious books or sermons, but we should always pray and go back to consult the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance for understanding.

47 Woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets, but your fathers killed them.

Comments 11:47. In this verse, it tells us plainly, the following generation built “the tombs of the prophets” as a remembrance of the deeds of their old generation, which were wrong, and they themselves now see them as wrong. In the same manner, they want to tell all people that come after, it is not our generation that committed these murders, but we want to remember the people of the Lord who were mistreated by our forefathers.

48 So you are witnesses and consent to the acts of your fathers. For they indeed killed them, now you are building.

Comments 11:47-48. See further comments on these verses in Comments Matthew 23:29-32.

49 Because of this also said the wisdom of God, I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,

Comments 11:14. “Wisdom of God” in reveling to the people the deeds that they have done to His servants, by sending His servants to tell them that the Father Himself has seen it all and wants them to repent. But the people, instead of repenting, also have killed God’s servants, and some mistreated God’s servants, yet with all this by the “wisdom of God,” it will show how He will save His people and have mercy for them. By the wisdom of God, He will save the people that killed His beloved Son; without the wisdom of God, all will perish, but with His wisdom, He has saved some (see Romans 9:27-33). No words can describe the “wisdom of God,” which is why there is no straight meaning for the “wisdom of God.”

50 so that the bloodshed of all the prophets, poured out from the foundation of the world, might be charged against this generation,

Comments 11:50. As the verse has told, “might be charged against this generation” because of the murders they have done upon the servants of the Lord. But because of the “wisdom of God” in helping His people and showing His mercy for them, the Lord will give them a chance to repent if they only listen to His servants, which the Lord has sent to warn them. “Might be” in this verse tells us that there is still a chance for His people to repent and be forgiven. In these verses, the Lord wants to point out to them to listen to the warning and be saved; this is the last warning for the bloodshed that has been done.

51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, the slain between the altar and the sanctuary; yes, I say to you, it will be required of this generation.

Comments 11:51. Remember as well, the sins of the fathers did not fall on the children, but because there is no repentance from the next generation, the weight of the sins is not lifted up yet, until they repent and turn back to the Lord entirely from the deep of their souls (See Numbers 14:18).

For verses 49 to 51, see also Comments Matthew 21:33-46.

52 Woe to you lawyers, for you took away the key of knowledge; you entered not in yourselves, and those that were entering in you hindered.

Comments 11:52. “Woe to you lawyers”. The lawyers in this place are not the lawyers of the human law as we have these days, but these are the lawyers that His people had in that time. When between people there was disagreement about the teaching of God, these lawyers will come and interpret for the people to know; but by using their own understanding as that is God’s meaning for them, they acted as God on earth for commoners.

“for you took away the key of knowledge”. Took away in this place refers to the lawyers that have used their understanding and told the commoners, “listen to me, this is what God said.” But all that they told people was what they wanted to tell from themselves according to the benefit that they could receive from that situation.

“you entered not in yourselves …”. As the verse tells, they themselves are not entering into the presence of God by doing God’s will, and they use their own teaching to be as a blockage to stop those that are wishing to enter in God’s presence and understand what God is telling.

See also Comments Matthew 23:13.

53 And when He was come out from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to keep a grudge excessively, and catechize Him speak about many,

Comments 11:53. “and catechize Him speak about many”. This verse tells how these leaders try to provoke the Lord speak, so they can find proof against Jesus in front of people. They want to use His own words in condemning Him; the provoke itself is not just to the Lord alone, but to all the people to have feeling in the same way with them, and use His answers as a tool in condemning Him.

54 seeking to entrap Him, to carp at something out of His speech.

Comments 11:54. Here is the conclusion of what they intend to achieve, waiting to catch something out of His mouth to be a tool in condemning Him.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) The right way to do anything related to the Word of the Lord; all should start with the Lord’s prayer. 2) As the Lord’s prayer says, it is important to forgive each other, and the Lord will listen to our prayers. 3) As parents, we must teach our children about the protection that God provides as we journey in this world and about His heavenly gift, the Holy Spirit. 4) The only way to keep your soul safe is to hold on to the living word, meditate and follow the teachings of the beloved Son of God without wavering. 5) When you understand the Holy Word put that understanding on the stand like a light to be useful to all. 6) Use your eyes to read the Bible and look at the creation of God, and your spiritual body will benefit. 7) “Give alms those things which are within” by telling your knowledge about God that you have in your heart and talking about His mercy. 8) Because the Lord has given the Bible to all, not only to a few, we all have the responsibility to read and meditate on the Word of God; so we do not fall into error and follow false teachers.

Luke 12

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus continues to teach the disciples and the crowds. We can group the teachings of this chapter under three main headings. Luke 12:1-12. Acknowledge Christ before men and do not be afraid of men. The point teachings of this section of Scripture are: beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy; do not be afraid of those that kill the body, but have a fear of God, which can cast your soul into hell; acknowledge Jesus before men so He will acknowledge you before the angels of God. Luke 12:13-34. Give thanks to God and do not worry. In this section of Scripture, the point teaching and parables are: the teaching of keeping yourselves from all covetousness; the parable of the rich fool that did not thank God for his blessings; the parable of being not anxious for your life; the parable of giving alms for building up true treasures in heaven. Luke 12:35-59. Meditate on the teachings of the Lord and be ready at all times. The parables and point teachings of this section of Scripture are: the parable of the good and blessed servant watching for the coming of the Son of Man; the parable of the faithful and wise steward, the unfaithful and slothful servant, and the slow learner servant; the teaching about the Father’s plan of salvation for humans through the cross of Jesus; the teaching about the interpreting of “this time”; the teaching about making peace with your adversary.  

1 In the meantime, when the myriads of the multitude were gathered together, consequently as to trample upon one another, He began to say to His disciples first, Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Comments 12:1. “the myriads of the multitude … upon one another”. When we read this verse, we all should think about the number of people, many thousands, and the Lord is alone. Think in this place, when the Lord speaks, how many people can hear? But, by the power of the beloved Son of God, His voice has no end; many thousands and all can hear clearly; here is the place to think about how people, one upon another, can listen. Jesus has a living voice, and all will hear. When the Lord looks upon the lost sheep of Israel, the mercy has impacted His heart, but also the Lord’s concern is in teaching His disciples first.

“His disciples first”. In this verse, disciples refer to all His disciples, not only the apostles, but also all those that have committed their hearts to the Lord and believe in the Lord. He will teach the disciples first to prepare them to be ready for going out later.

“Take heed to yourselves of the leaven …hypocrisy”. This is the warning from the Lord to all that are there and the future ones that will be reading this passage later on. Why the Lord said “hypocrisy” of the Pharisees, it is because of their teaching, which is from a lying spirit; the word they have taught the people of God, they claim it is from the Lord, but it is from their own understanding, and they are spreading false teachings by using the name of the Lord, that is the hypocrisy they proclaim.

A dictionary definition of hypocrisy is “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.” The Lord Jesus defines their practice of hypocrisy as the leaven of the Pharisees.

For this verse, see also Comments Matthew 16:5-11.

2 Now there is nothing concealed up, that will not be brought to light; nor hidden, which will not be known.

Comments 12:2. For verses 2 to 9, see Comments Matthew 10:26-33. Notice that these passages of Scripture in Luke and Matthew have similarities in the teaching and the meaning they bring, but there are some differences in words. Q: How should we understand these differences, especially the one in verse 6 versus Matthew 10:29? A: Related to this question, there are no errors in the Bible. As the verse before says, there are many thousands of people gathered; there is not only one time the Lord has spoken this parable, the number of the birds the Lord has used depends on the group of disciples being in front of Him. Because the Lord told this parable more than once to the disciples, that is why the number of birds in these verses is not the same. Same time event but different group of disciples, Luke and Matthew report the saying of the Lord with a distinct group of disciples, and that is why there are some words differences, but the meaning is the same.

“… nor hidden, which will not be known”. For this portion of the verse, see Matthew Comments 10:26b. All truth about Jesus shall be made known, and it cannot be hidden that He is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary, crucified, and died for our sins and that He rose again on the third day in the same body.

3 Instead, that as much as you said in the darkness will be heard in the light; and what you uttered in the secret chambers will be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Comments 12:3. For this verse, see Comments Matthew 10:27.

“that as much as you said in the darkness will be heard in the light”. The thought that the Lord has put in your heart first is the thought which you cannot hide. You must tell it to people, but in the same way, the thoughts you had before, that you need to filter. Think as well, in the beginning, people, including the disciples, have heard many things about that God will come to the people, and that was the thought before, but when the Lord has spoken to you in your heart, you need to speak that out, even if it is against what you have heard before from people.

4 Now I say to you My friends, Be not afraid of those that kill the body, and after this are not able anything more to do.

5 But I will warn you whom you shall revere: Revere Him, who after having killed has authority to cast into the hell; yes, I say to you, Revere Him.

Comments 12:4-5. For these verses, see Comments Matthew 10:28.

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two assarii? And not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.

Comments 12:6. For this verse, see Comments Matthew 10:29. In Matthew 10:29, the verse says, “are not two sparrows sold for an assarion?” while here in this verse, we have “are not five sparrows sold for two assarii?”. The meaning of these verses is the same. However, the number of birds is not the same because the Lord said this parable more than one time to the disciples. These disciples include other groups of disciples, not only the twelve apostles. The talk happened around the same time, but not on the same day; we can say over a period of time the talk happened, that is why the disciples are not the same group that hears.

Q: Why will the Lord repeat the same parables to a different group of disciples? A: For the Lord, the number of birds is not an issue, but the listeners benefit differently. If the group of people is small, the number of birds is smaller, and in the same way, for a bigger group, the number of birds used is larger. The Lord wants to show in these gospels that He cares the same way for a small or a large group of people. The meaning here is that the Lord cares for a few people as much as He cares for a larger group.

7 Contrariwise, even the hairs of your head have been all counted. Fear not, you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Comments 12:7. For this verse, see Comments Matthew 10:30-31.

8 Now I say to you, Everyone who will assent in Me before people, him will the Son of Man also acknowledge before the angels of God;

9 now the one that denies Me in the presence of humans will be denied before the angels of God.

Comments 12:8-9. For these verses, see Comments Matthew 10:32-36.

10 And everyone who will say a word against the Son of Man, will be forgiven; but the one that has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Comments 12:10. For this verse, see Comments Matthew 12:31-32. When we say about “the world to come” in Matthew 12:32, the world before the beloved Son of God was crucified is the old world, and “the world to come” is the one after the beloved Son of God was crucified. The moment the Lord was on the cross when He took the last breath on earth, the old world has ended, and the new world started from that point on.

11 And whenever they carry you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what you shall answer in defense, or what you should say;

Comments 12:11. For verses 11 to 12, see Comments Matthew 10:16-23, specifically verses 17 to 20.

12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what it is necessary to say.

Comment 12:11-12. As the verses say, the Father will give you the Holy Spirit to teach whatever He will tell you to speak; just say only that, no need for an explanation why what, or when. But only say what you receive at that moment from the Holy Spirit.

13 And certain one out of the multitude said to Him, Teacher, command my brother to share the inheritance with me.

Comments 12:13. We can see that the beloved Son of God is more than just a man. He is a Teacher of this world and also the law keeper of humans. By the question of this person, it tells all that He is the judge that can give the order of what to do when disagreement has come between humans, even disagreement among relatives. Because people have experienced the Lord’s teaching between right and wrong, He can point what is wrong, and also, He can point what is right, people have considered Him the judge for their problems and questions of life they have.

14 And He said to him, Man, who appointed Me a magistrate or a divider against you?

Comments 12:14. The Lord of life is giving this question to make everyone in that place and everyone that will read this sentence think about who has set Him up to be the judge. He did not ask the position, but humans have set Him up; in that case, all humans should and must listen to His judgment. If humans themselves set Him up, why then do not humans listen to His word? The blame at the judgment time will go on all humans.

The verse says “who appointed Me a magistrate …”; so, when the situation arises and they ask His opinion, that it means they have put Him in the position by themselves.

15 Then He said to them, Be you discerning, and vigilantly keep yourselves from every kind of avarice, for your life is not in the abundance of that which you possess.

Comment 12:15. “keep yourselves from every kind of avarice”. The mercy of God has been shown as well in this place, the Lord has told the way out, the covetousness is the main issue for humans; because humans’ eyes are not on the creation of this world but are on the valuables in humans’ eyes as the things humans have created, and they possess things as it is important for them to be someone of this world but did not give thanks to the Creator who created them all.

16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain wealthy person brought forth a good harvest,

17 and he was reasoning within himself, saying, What shall I do, for I have not where to collect up my harvest?

Comments 12:16-17. For this rich man, his land has yielded out so much, and this made his heart swell with pride. His mind already plans what he will do for the future, but he did not think yet to give thanks to the Lord of life who made his field yield out so much for him.

18 And he said, This will I do: I will destroy my storehouse, and will build greater; and there will collect up all the wheat and my goods.

Comments 12:18. As the verse has told here, he destroyed his own barns with his heart full of greed. His heart now is overjoyed with the harvest that he has gathered; he thinks of the future but still does not give thanks to the Lord of life.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry.

Comments 12:19. We can see from this verse, he did not tell himself, but he told his soul. This act shows how deep the mind of this man rejoices in the riches of this world, that is all that he has in his mind. It shows the deep meaning of the things for him and, for all the treasure he has, the greed has gone deep into his soul.

20 But God said to him, Foolish one, this night is your soul demanded back of you; and what you have prepared, to whom will be?

Comments 12:20. The verse tells all, you rejoice daytime, when the night comes you perish and who will benefit from all the riches you collected, it will not be you, you will perish tonight.

“is your soul demanded back of you”. When the Lord has taken you away from this earth, your soul itself will take your life with it, and that is why the verse has told to all, think twice; what you have collected on this earth means nothing for the soul.

21 So is the one that stores up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God.

Comments 12:21. Build up treasures of this earth but did not build treasures towards the world to come. The treasures of this earth mean nothing for the Lord; you don’t buy any place with the Lord in heaven unless you build up treasures towards the Lord.

Q: Assuming this is a real case, from God’s will, what should this person do to be considered rich towards God? A: The Lord blessed the person on this earth, and the Lord wants that person to go and bless someone else as well. If you have more, give out more, because all you have is coming from the Lord, what you have is not yours but the Lord’s, as the Lord gives you go out and give to others, this way you are building treasures towards God.

22 Then He said to His disciples, Because of this I say to you, Be not anxious for your soul, what you will eat; nor about the flesh, what you will put on.

Comments 12:22. For verses 22 to 31, see Comments Matthew 6:25-34.

23 For the spirit is more than the food, and the flesh more than the clothing.

24 Take note of the ravens, that they sow not, nor harvest; which have no storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

25 And which of you by being anxious has the power to add an hour to his lifespan?

26 If, therefore you have power, not even the least to do, why are you anxious with respect to the rest?

27 Take note of the wild lilies, how they grow. They work hard not, nor do they spin; however, I say to you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.

28 But if God in this manner clothes the grass in the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more you of little faith?

29 And seek you not what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and be not anxious.

30 For all these do the Gentiles of the world seek after; but your Father knows that you have need of these.

31 But seek you His kingdom, and these will be added to you.

Comments 12:22-31. Q: How should a true believer live their life on earth as guided by this parable? One could think that we do not need to do anything, only go easy, and the Lord will somehow provide all we need. A: The parable did not tell do not work, most important of all do not worry, if you do your work, the Lord will bring the benefit out of that work for you, your family and even to help someone else; this is the main thing to think about in this parable.

In this passage of Scripture, the Holy Spirit gave each writer (Matthew and Luke) the same parable, but the translations have used different words in various places, but that does not change any meaning. The Bible is the work of the Holy Spirit, and we must think that all that the writers wrote is from the Lord, not human-made. So, for example, a person with the knowledge of the world thinking, when you read the parables it creates doubt in your heart as well, but because of your intellectual it makes you think that way; but there is the way of the heart to think, when you read the parables meditate and ask understanding from the Lord, and then you will get the correct meaning.

People read and think the same way, which is wrong, why the Lord made one Bible and included differences in it. If the Lord wants to please the humans, He could separate and make more than one Bible, but there is One God and one Bible, and the reader needs to meditate and ask mercy from the Lord to understand and see what is the truth about, not think with the head and reasoning what is wrong about the writings.

32 Fear not, little flock; for your Father is well-pleased to give you the kingdom.

Comments 12:32. “Little flock” here refers to all the faithful servants that the Lord has chosen; we also can call them as His disciples among all the people, not just the apostles (See verse 22).

The kingdom in this place is not a land of this earth, but the realm of the new world to come, not as an area, but as an authority above which the Lord will give them.

33 Exchange your possessions, and give alms; make to yourselves money-bags which wax not old, a store-house in the heavens, where no thief draws near, nor moth ruin.

Comments 12:33. “Exchange your possessions, and give alms.” This does not mean you sell everything you have, but whatever you have more than what you need, you should sell and give it away as alms. To have a big house does not go against the Lord’s teaching. If you use every part of that house you have, that is considered the proper house in the eyes of the Lord. This applies to all true believers. Q: To whom should you give those extra profits? A: You give out as helping, that helping is the gift you give to the Lord, not the money itself you give to people. The money you give out from the deep of your heart, the willingness to give, that willingness is the true value, not the actual money itself.

“make to yourselves money-bags which wax not old …” Whatever you have given for the Lord, that the Lord will also treasure it for you. When you come to His kingdom, that treasure will be waiting for you, and no one can take it away from you because the Lord is the One that gives it to you. What you give to the Lord is not only about the money, the praise you have for the Lord, every praising that you make that has value, and it becomes a treasure in heaven for you; it is more valuable than any money can buy. We as humans value time; you get paid by the hour, how much time you spend in praising the Lord that time is valued out in money, those are alms as well you give to the Lord. The meaning of alms to the Lord is broader than we can understand; what we have put here is not a complete definition; each person can pray and find the meaning of alms that apply to them.

34 For in what place your treasure is, in that place will your heart be also.

Comments 12:33-34. This verse links to the verse before. Think first of what your treasure is; if you think of treasures of this earth, that is not the true treasure; the real treasure is with the Lord. So, if your heart thinks of the Lord, not talking about your head thinking, your deep heart thinking; and if that heart thinks and gives thanks to the Lord, your heart of this earth that you can feel will be there with the Lord as well.

For verses 33 to 34, see also Comments Matthew 6:19-21.

35 Let your loins be girded and the lamps burning;

Comments 12:35. This verse gives two ways of meaning. “Let your loins be girded,” girded here is not clothing, but reading the Word and meditating to prepare yourself ready for everything that will come your way; “the lamps burning,” lamp here is not the lamp that humans use for lighting to give clear vision but this is your soul, that you meditate in the Word, and keep your soul burning with the knowledge, and feel close to the Lord as you are there with Him in person.

36 and be you resembling men waiting for their master when he shall return from the wedding feast; that, when he comes and knocks, they may at once open to him.

Comments 12:36. “… men waiting for their master.” This verse follows verse 35. When you have prepared yourself and waiting, you are like a good servant worthy of reward because you girded yourself to be ready to receive your master.

“when he shall return from the wedding feast.” This is the essential part of the verse; now, the Lord is talking about the marriage feast of someone important for life. The beloved Son of God will return to receive His bride, He has gone back to His kingdom, and He will return when His kingdom is prepared and ready to receive His bride. Therefore, this marriage feast refers to the wedding feast of the Lord when He will return on earth again.

“return from the wedding feast.” The return from the wedding feast is not about celebration yet, but about preparing for the wedding feast. He has returned after He has prepared the wedding feast to receive His bride.

“when he comes and knocks, they may at once open to him.” In this place, it talks about His servants that He has given them duty. In human terms, we can say, all missionaries, pastors, and the workers that go out to spread the word, those are His servants referring here. Are they ready to receive the king? Have they been meditating and practicing all that He is teaching them? If they themselves are not prepared, they will not be able to prepare His guests for coming in; the true believers are the guests.

The idea is that the Lord has a wedding feast to receive His bride (see the marriage feast parable in Matthew 22:1-13). But before the wedding feast, the Lord will prepare the place for the feast itself and the guest room; then, after He has everything ready, He will come personally to bring His bride to the feast.

37 Blessed are those slaves, whom the master having come will find vigilant. Truly I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them recline, and will come and serve them.

Comments 12:37. The word “vigilant” is not vigilant about the way you walk, but vigilant about your heart, what your heart has been thought and has kept in itself, regardless, negative thinking or not, that is the part you must be aware of. If your heart is not clean, you will not notice the Lord close by you.

“the master having come.” Q: Is this talking about physical appearance? A: As the Bible has told, no one knows the second coming of the beloved Son of God, His coming is faster than the wind and brighter than the lighting itself; if you are not watching, you will not see Him.

“Truly I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them recline.” This table has been set up and waiting for the worthy servants of the Lord to sit on. When the Lord comes to take them, He will put them in their seat, which belongs to them alone. This table is on earth but not this earth, the earth above the earth (see Matthew Comments 13:30b “Brief notes on the Second Coming of the Lord” where we discuss the parallel earth concept), which is the Lord’s kingdom itself. This table is called the celebration table, where everyone will be rejoicing in the presence of the Lord Himself. This verse refers to the rapture of the servants of the Lord. The Lord comes at this time and takes all His faithful servants to be with Him on this parallel earth; at first, He will take only the faithful servants; then He will come back later to take all His people with Him; lastly, they will all be in the celebration hall in His kingdom, all His people will be there together. The first He takes those who already completed the job (first rapture); for those who are still working, He will come later to take them when they finish the job (second rapture).

“will come and serve them.” This does not mean that the Lord will walk around and give them things, but in this place, the Lord Himself will be the One who chooses who will get what reward according to their hearts and deeds. The reward is not money, but it is a joy beyond words. For all the guests sitting at the table, the Lord Himself will be the One who announces it who gets what; that is why the verse says, “come and serve them.”

38 And if he comes in the second, and if in the third watch, and finds in this manner blessed are those.

Comments 12:38. By saying second and third watch, it does not mean the number of times the Lord is coming back to earth. Regardless of the time, when the Lord comes, He takes the whole amount of His election who are ready and waiting. At the same time, the Lord will take the guests with Him, those that are ready. The election are the ones that are chosen from the beginning, but the guests are the ones that the Lord invites them. For the servants and guests that are not ready yet, but the Lord has chosen those, He will come back for them as well, and if they keep themselves ready and waiting, He will take them in the second or third watch. Come back second and third watch, but His presence never left yet from the first arrival (His birth on earth), His presence never leaves the earth. During the waiting period before the actual marriage feast, the Lord will continue taking those who are ready; His presence never leaves the earth during this time; His physical body did not touch the earth yet, but His presence has touched the earth. See also Matthew Comments 25:6, “Additional Notes on Timeline Events Related to the Second Coming of the Lord and End Time” and “Complementary Comments about the Marriage Feast, Rapture, and Tribulation.”

39 But know this, that if the head of the household had known what hour the thief was coming, he would have kept vigilant and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Comments 12:39. For verses 39 to 46, see Comments Matthew 24:43-51.

40 Be you then ready; because at the hour that you expect not the Son of Man comes.

Comments 12:39-40. The link in these verses is just the timing about these both comings, the thief and the Lord, no one knows when the Lord is coming, and no one knows as well when some bad things will happen to you. The Lord has given a warning to all, be ready at all times because everything can happen in a moment of time, no one knows when the beloved Son of God will come back; humans will not expect it is in this moment, but the beloved Son of God will come like the flashing of light, be ready keep your heart in prayer and keep all your actions clean, do not associate with abominations, those things will drag your soul away from the light of the Lord.

See also, Comments Matthew 24:43-44.

41 Then Peter said, Lord, speak Thou this parable to us, or also to all?

Comments 12:41. This verse is given only in this gospel. We all can see clearly that even the apostles have questions. Is this parable just for the believers or for everyone? But what the Lord has spoken here, it will be used for the whole world. But also, the Lord has given warnings for His children as well because their hearts will be more tender to think and meditate on His Word, the people out there will read and see as it has no meaning for their life; watch out all believers.

42 And the Lord said, Who therefore is the trustworthy and prudent guardian, whom his lord will set over his household, to give measured portion of food in proper time?

Comments 12:42. “Who therefore is the trustworthy and prudent guardian.” In this place, the Lord asks us all humans; what you think of yourself to be, trustworthy or prudent, or both of them are in you. You can be trustworthy alone but not prudent; that can lead you to have problems. If you are prudent but not trustworthy, it will lead you to the wrong path. Trustworthy and prudent here refer to meditating and reading in the Word of life from the Lord, and also when reading the Word of life, be serious and take it as that will be food for your own soul.

“whom his lord will set over his household.” Not every church on this earth is that the Lord calls His household. His household is the place where the Lord has appointed His faithful and prudent guardian to be there and guide the members of that place to walk and follow according to the teaching of the Bible, and not according to the teaching of men that try to teach the worldly way to the people.

“to give measured portion of food in proper time.” Proper time is the time when all gather together and worship the Lord with one heart, rejoicing and not worrying who does or who does not do what. When you gather with the hearts, no one knows the heart of any, only the Lord knows, let the Lord be the judge, not you yourselves. The guardian will know his duty and will do according to what the Lord has told in their heart, and people can feel that the time of worship is unique because all will be in front of the Lord at the same time as they worship.

See also, Comments Matthew 24:45.

43 Blessed is that servant, whom his master having come, will find so doing.

Comments 12:43. This verse relates to the verse before, the servant that the Lord has given duty will have peace and blessings if he keeps on meditating on the Word of life and not going out boasting according to his work.

44 Truly I say to you that he will designate him over all his possessions.

Comments 12:44. “he will designate him over all his possessions.” The Lord will give him authority in teaching the Word according to the true meaning of what the Lord wants it, and the Lord Himself will be the One who gives that understanding to His servant. Think of what this servant duty is, teaching; usually, the Lord is the One who teaches, but now the Lord gives duty to someone to teach.

See also, Comments Matthew 24:46-47.

45 But if that servant should say in his heart, My master tarries to come; and should begin to punish the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and to drink, and to get drunk;

Comments 12:45. “and should begin to punish the menservants and the maidservants.” Punish in this place is not physical beating; this is the punishing of the spiritual soul and dignity because this servant has the knowledge of the Holy Word, and he has used the Holy Word as a tool to mistreat the children of the Lord; the menservants and the maidservants, these are the children of the Lord.

“and to eat and to drink, and to get drunk.” When the verse has told get drunk, the person has lost control not just of the physical but also of the spiritual as well; eat and drink is not the food or beverage here, but this person has fed himself with the world and the teachings of the world; this person gets drunk with the things of the world.

See also, Comments Matthew 24:48.

46 the master of that servant will come in a day that he anticipates not, and in an hour that he knows not, and will flog him severely and will appoint his portion with the unfaithful.

Comments 12:46a. See Comments Matthew 24:50.

Comments 12:46b. “and will flog him severely …” The Lord will punish this person and also will cast him out into the dark place, which is the place of suffering where they never have a chance to see the light of the Lord again. This is because this person has used his authority in mistreating the children of God, and that is why the verse has told his portion is with the unfaithful.

“will appoint his portion with the unfaithful.” This means sending them away, casting them out, in the sense that they are not anymore part of the family of God.

47 Moreover that servant, who knew his master's will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, will be beaten often;

Comments 12:47. In this verse, it tells, “according to his will,” master’s will, this servant has known what the master’s will is, known but did not do, it is the same way as all believers that read the Bible and know what the Lord’s teaching is but do not follow; when the judgment time comes these will be punished. The beating is not hitting the physical body, but it is a suffering that the soul endures during punishment; all humans can understand how painful that feeling will be.

“and made not ready, nor did according to his will.” Put it the easy way; these servants do not say “thus says the Lord” when conveying the message. We may not notice, but some preachers will say this is “from my understanding,” and this is the difference.

Q: What is the difference between the servant in verses 45 and 46 (“should begin to punish the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and to drink, and to get drunk; … and will appoint his portion with the unfaithful”) and the one in verse 47 (“who knew his master's will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, will be beaten often”)?

A: Look first at the action of these servants. The one punishing the Lord’s children and being drunk and the other knowing the will of the master but not following; both are servants of the Lord, but the outcome of their actions are not the same; one will be sent with the unfaithful, another one the Lord will punish but is not sent away with the unfaithful. The degree of punishment is different, we can notice by the action of that servant. The first servant loses salvation (see verse 46), but the other one does not, but his soul will be punished in some way.

These two servants, in verses 47 and 45, represent two types of preachers that we can see, ones who use the Bible and interpret out by themselves, and others who do not use the whole Bible but pick out some passages to interpret somewhere and support their own doctrine but do not consider other passages in the Bible, do not link the entire Bible.

48 but he that knew not, and acted deserving blows, will be flogged with few. Now to whoever much was given, from him will much be demanded; and to whom was committed much, of him will they demand the more.

Comments 12:48a. “but he that knew not.” Q: What type of servant is this that does not know the will of God? A: We already have met many; they just finished school but serving their own ego, not the Lord’s will. If that servant did not repent and ask forgiveness, they would continue that way without changing; that is why they will be punished.

“Beaten often” versus “flogged with few;” these relate to the degree of punishment.

Comments 12:48b. “Now to whoever much was given, from him will much be demanded”. According to the verse, “whoever much was given,” the Lord has given you something, and then He will require you to work with that and make benefit out of what the Lord has given you. So, in this verse, He gives much; when the Lord has given you much, the requirement will be much as well, do not stay and keep your hands tied; you have feet and hands, go out and do the work. See also Matthew Comments 13:12.

“and to whom was committed much, of him will they demand the more.” Here, in this last portion of the verse, “whom” and “him” refer to the Lord. This part of the verse is almost opposite to the one before, the ones that have worked much for the Lord, but by their own will, not by the Lord’s calling, this group of people will ask much repayment from the Lord according to their work. These they did much but by their own will and they did not follow the Lord’s will. Still, they forgot to think that if the Lord asks you to do much, indeed the Lord will give you repayment as well.

49 I came to bring fire upon the earth; and I wish that it will be, now after all this waiting, kindled.

Comments 12:49. “I came to bring fire upon the earth.” The Lord has told the whole earth to know, the beloved Son of God came down with fire; whosoever is against God, that fire will consume that person. This fire will be a burning feeling, which the Lord has put deep into the soul; when it burns out, the suffering of that person will be beyond words can tell, but this fire burning, will be burning only in the soul of the one that is against God, that is also a warning. This is a deep feeling of the soul, and that person cannot find peace regardless of what they will do; the peace of God will run away from them.

“I wish that it will be now after all this waiting kindled.” The Lord’s wish is to receive every soul, even those souls that go against God, the Lord desires to welcome them; even those souls that received already the burning fire suffering, the Lord wants them to be saved, the Lord’s mercy is great. Therefore, the Lord wants this fire to start to consume these people who are against God, but He wishes that they will repent and come to the Lord to be forgiven.

50 However I have a baptism to be baptized; and how am I distressed until it be accomplished!

Comments 12:50. “However I have a baptism to be baptized.” For the Lord Himself, two kinds of baptism that He is talking about here; first, the physical baptism in water as an example for all humans; second, the baptism in the Holy Spirit as all have seen that the Holy Spirit descended on Him. These baptisms have shown all humans the blessing that the Father has prepared for all that accept and follow the beloved Son of God. Meditate on His teaching, without exception, all the Lord’s teaching in the Bible, no exception.

“how am I distressed until it be accomplished.” The beloved Son of God in human form knows full well what will happen to Him according to fulfilling the Father's plan for all humans. The beloved Son of God has carried the sins of this world upon His death, the death on the cross; all humans cannot imagine the pain and suffering that He will feel in the death point of the human form.

Q: How do these two portions of this verse link together? A: They cannot link if the Lord will not be baptized in the water first; He must be baptized in the water first to fulfill the plan. If the Lord is not baptized, the humans will not be saved; that is why distress comes until it is accomplished (the Father’s plan of salvation for humans).

This verse talks about the Father’s plan of salvation for humans. By suffering on the cross, the Lord Jesus brings baptism in water and Holy Spirit to all humans so they can be saved by faith in the beloved Son of God.

Q: When the Lord Jesus was baptized in the water, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove during that time. However, the Bible never mentions that the Lord Jesus spoke in tongues, as mentioned in Acts 2 when the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit. A: The Bible did not mention the prayer of the Lord Himself while baptized in the Holy Spirit, and we do not find any place in the Bible telling what the Lord conversed with the Holy Spirit and the Father while praying. Would that be that He was conversing with the Father and the Holy Spirit in angelic tongues or human-speaking language? When the Bible mentions the Lord prays all night long, it does not say speaking in tongues; and praying all night long does not mean praying in human language, and also it does not mean praying only in angelic language, but the Bible did tell, that the beloved Son has conversations with the Father and comes to do the plan according to the prayer that He has with the Father.

51 Think you that I am come to give peace on the earth? I tell you, No; but rather division;

Comments 12:51. For verses 51 to 53, see Comments Matthew 10:34-35.

52 for there will be from now five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

53 They will be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter in law against mother-in-law.

Comments 12:51-53. This passage of Scripture has the same meaning as Matthew 10:34-35. There are some word differences between these two gospels, but the meaning of the passages is the same. For example, verse 52 is given only here in the Gospel of Luke. These events described here will happen in their fulness in a time prior to the tribulation period and during the tribulation period. When you read the passages, the differences do not interfere with the understanding because it has one meaning; each reader is responsible for reading all gospels to get a complete understanding.

54 Now He said to the multitudes also, Whenever you see a cloud rising up from the west, straightaway you say, A thunderstorm is coming; and it happens in this manner.

55 And whenever you see a south wind blowing, you say, There will be a scorching heat; and it happens.

Comments 12:54-55. Humans now and then do the same, predict what they do not know; they don’t know what happens to their life, but here they claim themselves to know what the Lord will do and make the rest of humans believe them. Instead of people thinking God will give what is His, they believe what people tell about what is happening tomorrow; the hypocrites have taken away the thought of humans. Now technology gives humans a way of prediction and comparison, and we can sometimes see that it happens as they predict, but think as well, the Lord created all things and made them flow along with a pattern and always will be that way.

56 Hypocrites, you know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and of the heaven; but, do you not know to discern this proper time?

Comments 12:56a. As the verse has told, interpret the appearance, but are they correct a hundred percent as they say? All should look this way as well, but nobody thinks that way; so, why everyone gives a human’s interpretation a chance to be wrong? But when it comes to acts of nature and disasters come, they blame the Lord, but why don’t they predict first that something bad will be happening? But they wait until the things happen, then they start to tell they know what will happen next by comparing with the past; this is the way of interpreting.

Comments 12:56b. “This proper time” does not mean, at this moment, but “this proper time” means what the earth goes through; they cannot interpret what will happen to the earth in this time. The earth has received the beloved Son of God already, but the earth does not know that the earth itself comes close to be disappearing, no longer existing, when the time comes to the end of time (See Acts 17:30-31).

57 Moreover why also, of yourselves, judge you not righteously?

Comments 12:57. Think twice when anyone reads this verse; what you consider right and wrong may not be as God judges. Wrong in human’s eyes may not be wrong in God’s side, and what is right in human’s eyes, in the same way, the Lord may not see it right as well. So, judge by yourself between what is right and wrong in your idea; if that can be confirmed with the Holy Word, then you can make a conclusion that is right or wrong, always go back and compare and find the confirmation with the Word of God.

58 For while you depart with your opponent to the ruler, in the journey offer profit to be released from him; not by chance he should drag you to the magistrate, and the magistrate will deliver you to the officer, and the officer will throw you into prison.

Comments 12:58. For verse 58-59, see also Comments Matthew 5:23-26 which deal with conflicts between brothers.

When you as a believer have conflict with an outsider, if you are wrong, the Lord will convince in your heart that you are wrong; do not ignore that feeling, because when you go and fight with them, you will bring shame to the name of the Lord for your action. But, if you know and feel for sure in your heart that you are not wrong, then make sure you have witnesses that can confirm your story before you fight with the outsiders because only that way can you be set free from your problem.

59 I say to you, No, not, you shall come out from that place until you have given back even the last small coin.

Comments 12:59. If you are wrong and ignore the voice of the Lord when the world judges you, they will take all that you have and will ruin your life because you have ignored the warning from the Lord. Although, sometimes it is not a big thing what you did; still, you have been accused of something which you have participated in wrongdoing. Nowadays, the way to get out from these accusations is to pay fines and extra money to make the case against you be dropped; money can talk for you, the law and the mind of people these days do not concern right or wrong, but they are concerned only about how much they can take from you.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Be not anxious about how to defend your faith in front of people; the Father will give you the Holy Spirit to teach whatever He will tell you to speak. 2) Give thanks to the Lord of life for all the blessings, small or big, that He brings on you. 3) Build up treasures for the world to come by giving alms to the Lord; pray to understand what the meaning of alms for you is. 4) Pray and meditate on the Word of God and keep your heart clean, so you are always ready for the returning of the Son of Man. 5) Try to be at peace with everyone that the Lord brings in your path.

Luke 13

Summary. This chapter tells further about the work of the beloved Son of God. Also, it tells all humans the purpose of the cross and about the beloved Son’s love and respect towards the Father of heaven unto the point of death on the cross for all humans. The reader needs to think and meditate for themselves on what the cross means for them. Luke 13:1-5. Repent or perish. The Lord has given examples, and if they repent, they will not suffer the death that the Lord has mentioned here for them. Luke 13:6-9. The parable of the barren fig tree. The Lord tells about His people not producing fruits of faith and love in this parable. Luke 13:10-17. The healing of a woman with a spirit of infirmity. In this section of Scripture, we are shown the authority of the beloved Son of God with the most violent evil spirit; by His Word alone, He frees this woman from her bondage, a daughter of Abraham, on a Sabbath day, the Lord’s day. Luke 13:18-21. Parables about the kingdom of God. The Lord compares the kingdom of God with a grain of mustard seed and leaven in three measures of flour. Luke 13:22-30. The teaching of “enter by the strait entrance”. The strait entrance is the teaching of the Lord, which is the only one way to be saved; have faith and put your trust, the trust from the deep of your soul, not from the mouth, to the beloved Son of God, and there you will find the place to be saved. Luke 13:31-35. Interaction with the Pharisees. Jesus tells about His mission to teach, cast out demons, and heal and then accomplish the Father’s plan by His death on the cross and resurrection.

1 Moreover, there were some at hand, at the same time, bringing a report to Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

Comments 13:1. When reading this verse, try to think of why these persons came to tell the Lord; they themselves feel it is not right or believe it is the right action done by the Galileans. The same for all believers; when you disobey the Lord, many are against you and will bring the report about you to make you lose protection from the Lord. Therefore, this verse should remind you that if you do not want a bad report about yourself, then obey and follow what the Holy Word teaches. As these persons come to tell the Lord, the same when you do not follow the teaching, many that are against you will have the opportunity to report about you; their purpose is only to make you be separated from the Lord by using your own actions to condemn you. Don’t let that happen; obey and follow the teaching of the beloved Son of God, and no bad report can be made regarding you. Yes, this is not in this realm of the physical, but the evil spirits will try to make a report to the Lord against one of His children that did not follow the teaching.

2 And answering He said to them, Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they have suffered these?

3 I tell you, No, but if you repent not, you will all in like manner perish.

Comments 13:2-3. As these verses have told, the persons received punishment but did not tell what sins they have committed to being punished in this way. The reader should think as well, whatever these persons have committed against the law or God, men have punished these persons. Think about this way of punishment; you believe it is suffering, but if you sin against God, the punishment is greater than what is shown here.

4 Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, think you that they were transgressors above all the others dwelling in Jerusalem?

5 I tell you, No; but, if you repent not, you will all in like manner perish.

Comments 13:4-5. In these verses, we will concentrate on “if you repent not, you will all in like manner perish.” Most important here, repent or perish, no other option to choose from, one way only, repent and receive forgiveness or otherwise you will perish; here is your free choice to choose.

Q: How do we look at accidents like these? A: The Lord has given here an example, people who read these verses come up with many ideas against it, but the Lord did not tell of the sin or wrongdoing of the persons that have suffered here. But the Lord gives us an example of the result; if the persons have repented, those persons may not even be there to receive this death; all readers should also think this.

The people who died here must have something in common to die in a group; one thing people commonly do together is the blasphemy against God or the plot against the ruler. Regardless of the action, these people received their punishment, perished without a chance to defend themselves.

Comments 13:1-5. In this passage of Scripture, the Lord has given examples, and if they repent, they will not suffer the death that the Lord has mentioned here for them. Therefore, we can notice from all these verses, the Lord emphasizes on repent; if not, you will perish.

6 And He spoke this parable: Someone had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came searching for fruit and found none.

Comments 13:6. We will give the meaning of the terms used in this parable.

“Someone” refers to the Lord.

“A fig tree” refers to the nation of His people.

“his vineyard.” When someone refers to the Lord, His vineyard refers to the whole earth, not one portion but the entire earth.

“fruit and found none.” Now it comes about the fruit of the tree that the Lord has put in the hearts of His people, which is faith in His Holiness and love for Him.

As the verse has told, the Lord has come to His people and searched the hearts of people, but He found none that are seeking Him; that is what the verse has said.

7 Then he said to the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit in the fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why does it even use up the ground?

Comments 13:7. “Vinedresser” refers to the persons the Lord has appointed to teach and guide His children back to Him.

“Behold, these three years I come ….” Three years does not mean the amount we humans are counting, but it is the length of time since the Lord has sent His servants from the beginning to tell His people about Him.

“cut it down ….” The Lord has created them, but they did not thank Him in their hearts; they have made His work meaningless for all His angels to see. They have used His love by going astray without appreciating Him, as they have used uselessly all the things He created. Therefore, when the Lord’s anger starts to pour down for other nations, all humans He had created will realize it is too late to repent. Except for the chosen ones He has chosen because these have faithful hearts in them. Without anyone going to tell them, they listened to the voice in their hearts and searched for Him, and they found Him.

8 But he answering says to him, Sir, let it alone this year also until I will dig it through, and put manure:

Comments 13:8. His servants have a duty, in the beginning, to tell them about the Lord, to stir up their hearts in thinking. But when these did not give results, the servants wanted to go and do more than just telling about the Lord and showing them the Lord is a mighty God who loves them and wants to save them; only repent and come back to the Lord. So, when to put manure, that is when these servants want to do that for them, it is more than telling but doing some mighty works for them to see and think.

“dig it through.” When saying “dig it through,” it is just telling them that the Lord is a mighty God on earth.

“put manure.” When saying “put manure,” that is when they want to do some miraculous work in the name of the Lord to show.

9 and if it may bear fruit properly, so be it; however, if not, you shall cut it down.

Comments 13:9. The servants try to save His children by prolonging the time for them to repent, but if they still do not repent, all His servants will stop working, and the Lord could pour down His wrath upon the earth in a violent way without love and mercy. By those miraculous actions the servants have done, the whole earth becomes a witness, and still, they did not think of God; when the wrath comes, it will be upon the entire earth, not just His people alone. The Lord will send His angels at the request of His servants to perform miraculous things on earth, and thus the whole earth will hear and witness these mighty works. And when the wrath comes, it will be for the entire earth.

10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

Comments 13:10. In that time, a teacher in the synagogues will be the one that teaches on the day of the Lord. Different people are teaching each week, which the commoners recognize as servants of the Lord, but on this Sabbath day, people have recognized the beloved Son of God as the teacher. People have lifted Jesus to be the teacher, so He is doing the teacher's duty by teaching them in the synagogues. If it is on a Sabbath and the Lord Jesus is there, He will teach the people.

11 And behold, a woman that had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bowed together and able not to unbend completely.

Comments 13:11. “a spirit of infirmity.” In this verse itself, this is an evil spirit (see verse 16), a dirty spirit from the dark pit which the Bible does not talk about further, that why here it just gives a short description, spirit of infirmity. The length of the suffering has been told, these evil spirits were violent spirits that were waiting to torture humans, and this is an example here.

12 Then seeing her, Jesus called and said to her, Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.

13 And He put the hands upon her, and immediately she was made upright, and glorified God.

Comments 13:12-13. These verses clearly show the authority of the beloved Son of God with the most violent evil spirit. By His Word alone, this woman is set free of that suffering; we all should meditate about this healing.

“He called her.” By calling her, it shows the Lord sees her heart, that her heart is glorifying God.

14 And the synagogue ruler, being indignant because Jesus healed on the Sabbath, answered and said to the multitude, There are six days in which it behooves to work; in these then coming to be healed, and not on the day of the Sabbath.

Comments 13:14. Also, the reader should remember that the beloved Son of God is the Lord of the Sabbath; the Lord will heal on His day; people should think the day that God heals people is a good day, regardless of what that day is in the eyes of people.

The rulers of the synagogues did not listen to the voice of the Lord but used their minds to teach the people, and here is an example. This ruler talked to the multitudes; his purpose was to teach people that you should not do work, even good work, on the Lord’s day, which is the Sabbath day. But, in his position as ruler of the synagogue, he should work for the Lord, not against the Lord; in this place, good work is good for everyone to do, regardless of what day is, and this ruler should think on this.

15 Therefore the Lord answered him and said, Hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his cow or donkey from the manger, and lead away to give to drink?

Comments 13:15. In this verse, the Lord gives a comparison, you release the animals to feed and water on the Sabbath day, so in the same way, you should do good for the humans been bound; this is a simple comparison for this ruler to see and think about.

16 Moreover behooved not this daughter of Abraham being, whom Satan had bound, lo, eighteen years, to be loosed from this infirmity on the day of the Sabbath?

Comments 13:16. As this verse tells, this woman is one of His children; she is entirely a Jew. She has been bound not just the body but also her soul, but she cannot be a slave of the dark, a daughter of the Lord must be freed from the dark side. So, the Lord also has said to all the rulers that He set free a daughter of God on this Sabbath day.

17 And as He said these, all who were opposed to Him were put to shame; and all the multitude were rejoicing at all the glorious things that were being done by Him.

Comments 13:17. The Lord of life has answered to all, not just only to His adversaries, but all children of God have heard as well that the Lord is still with them. Therefore, this miracle of the beloved Son of God also gives an invitation to the children of God to come back to their Lord; they all are forgiven, just come back to Him, do not be bound anymore by the dark side.

18 He said, therefore, To what is the kingdom of God resembling? And to what shall I compare it?

Comments 13:18. For verses 18 to 19, see Comments Matthew 13:31-32 and Comments Mark 4:30-32.

19 It is resembling to a kernel of mustard, which a man took, and sowed into his garden; and it grew, and became a tree; and the fowls of the sky rested in its branches.

Comments 13:19. See Comments Matthew 13:31-32 and Comments Mark 4:30-32.

20 And again He said, To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

21 It is resembling to leaven, which a woman took and concealed in three measures of flour until it was all fermented.

Comments 13:20-21. See Comments Matthew 13:33.

22 And He was going through towns and villages, teaching, and making progress towards Jerusalem.

23 Then a certain one said to Him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And He said to them,

24 Struggle to enter in through the strait entrance; for many, I say to you, will search to enter in and will not be able.

Comments 13:23-24. “Struggle to enter in through the strait entrance.” In this place, the Lord tells all, you have the entrance to be saved, enter in, even the entrance is strait, but if you try, you will enter in. But strait in this place does not mean about the size of the entrance; this is about the teaching of the Lord. There is only one way to be saved, have faith and put your trust, the trust from the deep of your soul, not from the mouth, to the beloved Son of God, and there you will find the place to be saved.

“for many, I say to you …able.” But now the Lord is talking about those searching for the entrance that opens and is easy to go through, which is a different entrance than the strait entrance; pay attention to the word strait in the first part. People who seek the easy way to enter into heaven; easy, but they cannot get through, you must always go through the strait way, which is the right way to enter into heaven, but not many will find it.

See also Comments Matthew 7:14.

25 From after the master of the house may have risen up, and may have shut the entrance, and you begin to stand outside, and to beat at the entrance, saying, Lord, open to us; and he answering will say to you, I know not where you come from;

Comments 13:25. “From after the master … the entrance.” "From after the master has risen" is when the Lord returns on earth, and the marriage feast of the Lord takes place. After the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, heaven's entrance has been open, waiting for all the faithful to enter. After the marriage feast of the Lord, the entrance will be shut, and it will be too late to enter; the Lord has already given enough time for all humans, the entrance will be shut forever. (See also Matthew Comments 25:10 and "Complementary Comments about the Marriage Feast, Rapture, and Tribulation" in Matthew Comments 25:6b)

“and you begin to stand outside, …, open to us.” When the entrance has shut down, all humans will be left outside, they will come begging to enter, but the beloved Son of God has given enough time to all humans already to repent and come to Him. Still, now they come to the entrance and beat, but the entrance has already shut permanently; it will not open for anyone.

“and he answering will say to you, I know not where you come from.” The answer is clear, the beloved Son of God does not know you at that time because you had not answered His calling. The Lord Jesus has begged every heart to come to Him for so long, but those have ignored Him, and when the entrance is shut, the Lord will not recognize anyone.

26 then you may begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets;

Comments 13:26. Before the entrance has shut, the beloved Son of God has sent His servants to proclaim, “the time has come, repent, come now and enter in,” but many have ignored it. The Lord has been in your life, spent time with you in your daily life, He called you, but you have ignored His calling, the entrance is shut, no repentance is accepted anymore.

“We ate and drank in your presence …streets.” Here you should think as well; the Holy Word has been written down, not only for people in that time but also for people nowadays. When you read the Bible, you must expand the meaning for people at that time to what is for you today. You are doing work, and you know the Lord has created all things, you have heard that Jesus died for you, but you did not accept Him. All that you are doing now in your daily life is in His presence as well. Think of the earth itself as is in Him; what you see all is in Him, He is in everything you see, so we all do eat and drink in His presence (See Acts 17:24-28).

27 and he will say, I tell you, I know not where you come from; depart from me all workers of unrighteousness.

Comments 13:27. This verse is clear in itself; when the entrance is shut, He will not recognize you. You did not work to come in, but you worked to go far from the Lord and tried to take someone else with you; you have worked for the dark, not for the light; it is over, the recognition has ended.

28 There will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, but yourselves cast out.

Comments 13:28. If you are not in the kingdom of God, then the outer is dark and tormenting, the human term can say that is hell, but the hell will swallow you up, and then the light of heaven it will be as a star in the sky for your eyes to see, but not close by.

Humans use the human mind to think about the kingdom of God, but when that time comes, every soul knows each other, regardless of where on earth you are coming from; nevertheless, you are Jew or not, you all are His children and know each other (this refers among believers). 

For those that are outside, in that time is not the eyes that see but the knowledge that comes in front of you like an image to see. So, imagine in this way as well, the Lord has portrayed a clear picture that your spiritual eyes can see and recognize who are those you see, but you are not there with them because you are cast out.

29 And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline in the kingdom of God.

30 And behold, there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.

Comments 13:29-30. The verse has told, people come from all around the world, but those who come and think that they should be first to enter because they come from long distance (here we mean mind distance) and their heart already prejudged and see that they are worthy because of the distance, will not be the first ones who enter even if they are first to be there. Still, those who come last, with difficulty, those who have come and passed through many troubles and did not give up because they have given their heart to the Lord and are willing to go through the trouble to reach to the Lord (here we mean people that have many difficulties in life and take time to come fully to the Lord); these will be the first that the Lord receives. The difference between these two groups is that one has the self-confidence that they are safe, while others are humbled.

Those who come from long distances, we mean they come from comfortable life and riches and leave what they have and coming makes them believe they have given up so much and they deserve to be accepted first.

31 In the same day came certain Pharisees, saying to Him, Go forth, and go from here; for Herod intends to kill Thee.

Comments 13:31. “In the same day came certain Pharisees.” By the verse, most readers would understand these persons are concerned about the Lord’s safety, but in reality, they are concerned about themselves; they are part of the group that condemned the Lord in their meeting and fear that people may disagree. Therefore, these Pharisees choose the way by coming in behind, by showing they mean well to the Lord and no trouble; but if they cannot be loyal to their leaders on this earth, think as well, can they be faithful to the leader in the world to come; this shows the personality of these persons.

32 And He said to them, Go and say to the fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected.

Comments 13:32. “And He said unto them, Go and say to that fox.” Pay attention to what the Lord has called their leader, the fox; the Lord has pointed out who their leader is, an animal that is full of schemes and wickedness; that is how the Lord sees them.

“Behold, I cast … the third day I am perfected.” In this place, the Lord has told clearly what will happen to Him; the Lord even gives the time of His suffering, the reader should pay attention, the Lord will not avoid trouble, He is willing to go through to fulfill the Father’s plan to save the humans that have faith in Him.  

This verse shows two portions of time the Lord will go through. At first, today and tomorrow, He has cured so many people, drove out many evil spirits, then they will condemn Him, and He will accomplish the Father’s plan on the third day by His death on the cross and resurrection. So, a day here in this verse does not mean a twenty-four-hour day; instead, it refers to these portions of time.

33 Nevertheless, it behooves Me today and tomorrow and the day following to proceed, for it is not possible that a prophet should perish out of Jerusalem.

Comments 13.33. In this verse, because the Lord Jesus in human form has considered Himself as the prophet of the Lord Most High, He will give His life in the holy city of His people.

34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kill the prophets, and stone those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children, just as a hen her brood under the wings, and you were not willing!

Comments 13:34. For verses 34 and 35, see Comments Matthew 23:37-39.

35 Behold, your house is left to you; and I say to you, No, you will not see Me, until you say, Blessed He that comes in the name of the Lord.

Comments 13:35. “Behold, your house is left to you.” All His people have built a prominent place and considered that it is God's place to be there, and they go gathering there to worship the Lord, but they never asked the Lord to be there and accept the house. They built it by themselves and believed in themselves that the Lord would need them to be the ones to build the house for Him, but that wasn't the house for the Lord, but the house for themselves to show off that they are His people. And they put the place as the proof for people's eyes that this is the right place to come and worship. But the place will be empty until they all come and accept Him as the King of their life who created them and gave them life; that is why the verse has said, "your house is left to you." They must seek His peace in their soul, but His people will not find that peace yet until they accept Him as their Lord.

“No, you will not see Me, until you say, Blessed He that comes in the name of the Lord.” Here the Lord wants to tell them that the way to be saved is only one way, come and worship at the foot of the cross and think of the One that has given His life for them even though they are the children of them who had crucified the Lord of life. Until they learn to accept Him, they will not find deep peace in their soul.

When the verse has said “see Me,” it did not mean you see the face of Him, but you won’t see any more miracles from Him until you have accepted who He is to the world.

See also Comments Matthew 23:39.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) As a believer, if you do not want a bad report about you, then obey and follow what the Holy Word says. 2) Read and meditate on the Word of God, the Bible, and listen to the true servants of God. 3) Come to Jesus, and you will be set free of all spiritual bondage. 4) Read the Bible, meditate on the Word of God, have faith in the Lord Jesus, and follow the teaching of the Lord, which is the strait entrance, the only way to be saved.  

Luke 14

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord gives guidelines on being a good Christian through teachings and by many parables. Each parable emphasizes certain things, but all parables have one thing in common, the guideline of being a true follower of the beloved Son of God on earth. Luke 14:1-6. Healing of a man with dropsy on a Sabbath. This passage of Scripture teaches us that we all should do good work to one another, and this healing is a good work that the Lord has shown as an example; He healed a man without charge. Luke 14:7-11. The parable of being humble. The Lord teaches us to look inside of our hearts and see if we are humble or not. The reward of a humble heart is not only on this earth, but the Lord Himself will also rejoice and will reward us as well. Luke 14:12-24. The parable of the great supper. The great supper of the Lord is the time when the Lord will be with His guests, and He will join dinner together with all His guests. The guests are continually invited throughout the supper time; the supper time is the time from the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus until His second coming on the earth. Luke 14:25-35. The teaching of being Jesus’ disciple. In this portion of Scripture, the Lord teaches us who is our true family, bear our own cross, do not bring shame to the name of the Lord, reliance on the Lord, spiritual warfare, and be salt and light for the Lord in this world.

1 And it came to pass, on His going into the house of a certain one of the chiefs of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat food, and they were closely watching Him.

Comments 14:1. For this verse, we will concentrate on the last portion. The Lord is in their place, but all of them are watching Him with criticizing eyes, expecting the Lord will make a mistake in something; this is the beginning of many things that will happen in this chapter. 

As we had commented before, the Lord will not go there unless He has been invited (see verse 12). And in this place, with the ruler of their people, the Lord must have been invited; it is not commonplace for people to go in.

2 And behold, there was in front of Him a certain man with dropsy.

Comments 14:2. This person's belly was full of liquid; we can still see this sickness in these times. In this condition, the body will draw in and store the extra fluid in the belly portion, and the belly will grow huge, sometimes to the point of cracking the skin open, and a person could die from this sickness. We can conclude that this person with this sickness will always go where people are gathering, begging for mercy from everyone. At this time, we can say that this person has been in front of the beloved Son of God and met Him by the Lord's mercy.

3 And Jesus responding asked the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?

Comments 14:3. When the Lord has asked them, “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath,” He wanted to link their minds back to what the day is today; it is the Lord’s day, and every heart should be filled with mercy and willing to help each other. Therefore, the Lord has prepared them for what will happen.

4 But they were silent. And having taken hold, He healed and dismissed him.

Comments 14:4. “But they were silent.” Give attention to the word silent; the word of the Lord has started to work in them and made them all think before answering out. We can apply this for ourselves as well, do not let the words come out of your mouth before thinking, not with the head only but with the heart as well. 

“And having taken hold, He healed and dismissed him.” As the verse has told, the Lord has healed him and dismissed him; today is the Sabbath day, all should do good work to one another, and this is a good work that the Lord has shown as an example, He healed a man without charge. Then, after healing, the Lord dismissed him without telling him what he needed to pay for, but the healing the man received will work in his own heart and make him glorify the Lord. 

People at that time and people nowadays did not think as well what the Lord has done here; the miracle is not just for that time but for us nowadays as well to believe and do not stumble as they did. Remember who created this body for humans, and here for this man, the Lord made his body absorb all the liquid back in itself, but the doctors nowadays will not be able to do that. 

5 And He said to them, Of which of you a son or a cow will fall into a pit, and he will not immediately draw him up on the Sabbath day?

6 And they were not able to answer against these.

Comments 14:5-6. The Lord used this opportunity and gave them a comparison to think about, but they could not answer. So, the Lord wants all of them to start thinking about this comparison to help them not stumble. You are against the Lord doing good to someone on a Sabbath day, but if it is about your own possessions, you will care for your own regardless of what day it is. The mercy of God has been shown here to all His people by the beloved Son’s question.

7 Moreover, He spoke a parable to those who were invited, noticing how they chose out reclining first, saying to them,

Comments 14:7. In this verse, the beloved Son of God wants to draw attention to all humans; notice the low seat first. But we as humans all think that we are somebody; everyone wants to be recognized; the most honorable seat is the place everyone wants to be part of.

Here the Lord did not want anyone to recognize Him or lift Him because it was not yet the time for Him. Instead, the Lord only wants every heart there to recognize what they are deep inside of them, lifting themselves above all.

8 Whenever you are invited of anyone to a wedding-ceremony, recline not in the first place; lest at that time, a more honorable than you be invited by him,

Comments 14:8. In this verse, the beloved Son of God wants everyone who reads to think, not just lift themselves towards each other but be humble to all, the humbleness of the human heart will win the high place, not just the place of this earth but of the world to come as well.

9 and he having invited you and him will say to you, Give this one the place; and then you will begin with shame to take the last place.

Comments 14:9. In this verse, the Lord gives the easy comparison for all humans to realize; if you want to be important among humans, also do not lift yourself up; instead, always do things expecting for reward for the world to come; you may not see the results now, but deep inside your heart, you will find the peace of God there. 

10 But whenever you are invited, having gone, recline into the last place; in order that when the one, having invited you, comes, he will say to you, Friend, come up higher; then you will have glory before all those reclining with you.

Comments 14:10. In this place, the Lord has told a straightforward story of the reward of the humble heart. You can see the reward yourself, not just you alone that see, all the people around you also will notice the lifting up. You will be lifted up not just on this earth alone, but in the world to come the Lord Himself will also rejoice to see your humble heart, and He will put you above, higher; that is the reward of the humbleness of heart; this is an example everyone should meditate. This is a comparison; you have been called “friend,” which is why we can link it to the world to come. In the world to come, we, the true believers, become children of the God Most High, and “friend” will be the proper word to use.

11 For all that exalt themselves will be humbled, and the one that humbles himself will be exalted.

12 And He said to him also who had invited Him, Whenever you make a dinner or a supper, call not your friends, nor your fellows, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest ever they also should invite you again, and repayment be made to you.

Comments 14:12. We can see clearly in this verse, you have invited the Lord into your life, and He is with you in all you are doing; this is the benefit for your soul, opposite than the world. When you make a big feast for your friends, all those that you invite, as the word tells, they can invite you back, and what you have done for them has been repaid, nothing you will receive further on. Unlike when you invite the Lord into your life and when He is in your heart, the reward is also in a spiritual way; the peace that humans are seeking for only the Lord can give it to you.

13 But when you make a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,

Comments 14:13. This verse has clearly told what type of people to invite, unwanted people for the feast, and these people cannot repay you. Therefore, the one that will invite these types of people, by his action alone, tells all readers what he is like; a person that has a compassionate heart, this is the type that will invite these unwanted people. But remember as well, these people at the lowest positions are in the heart of the Lord, and when you invite them, you have invited the Lord as well; that is what is considered here.

14 and you will be blessed because they have nothing to repay you; for you will be recompensed in the resurrection of the righteous.

Comments 14:13-14. “blessed … recompensed in the resurrection of the righteous.” Remember now where the righteous will be; all the righteous will be with the Lord at the resurrection. And when the verse tells, you will be with the righteous; you are with the Lord as well.

15 Moreover, having heard these, one of them reclining said to Him, Blessed who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

Comments 14:15. Pay attention, one of them that reclined at the table with Him; this person has been blessed already to sit with the Lord. But even by the verse, we can tell, the heart of this person is not yet as the Lord has taught; he is still thinking of the position he has, as he is already eating bread in the kingdom of God. He has lifted himself which is against the Lord’s teaching; to be blessed you must humble yourself down and let someone else lift you up, but not that you lift yourself up.

This verse here shows a simple way of human thinking; because you think you will get the place, you consider yourself blessed; that is what the verse has told. But he is the one that said to the Lord, not the Lord has said to him you are blessed to sit there. The Lord is the one that decides who is blessed in the kingdom of God.

16 Moreover He said to him, A certain one made a great dinner, and invited many,

Comments 14:16. For verses 16 to 24, see also Comments Matthew 22:2-14.

Q: What can we say about the similarities between these two parables in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew?

A: These parables may have similarities, but they are not the same parables. All readers could tell the difference of the story plot; the Lord has told them separately. So, they have some similarities but are not the same; it depends on the readers’ hearts when they read; if the readers’ hearts try to match the stories, they will say both are the same story, but these parables tell different stories to have different purposes.

Q. What is the difference between the dinner time as presented here in this parable in the Gospel of Luke and the marriage feast as presented in the Gospel of Matthew?

A: The dinner time is a time before the marriage feast; the marriage feast itself will happen after the dinner time has ended. Some guests have been invited specifically for the marriage feast, that is, long before the beloved Son of God was born on earth, those are considered the guests of the old-time which will come at the marriage feast.

“a certain one.” This is one of Jesus’ characters that He uses to teach the disciples, and it represents the Lord.

“a great dinner.” This is the time the Lord will be with His guests; as the Lord has joined dinner together with all the guests, this is the great dinner of the Lord. Note that this great dinner mentioned here in the Gospel of Luke is a different event than the marriage feast mentioned in Matthew 22:2. This great dinner event will take place before the marriage feast event, and both these events will take place at a future time when the Lord returns on earth. 

“invited many.” These are the Lord’s list of guests to join Him at the dinner table. He invited many of them because He wants to spend time with them.

17 and he sent his servant at dinner time to say to those who had been invited, Come, for is even now prepared.

Comments 14:16-17. These verses are the introduction of the parable; the Lord lays out for the following things He teaches. The characters the Lord uses here so far are “a certain one,” “his servant,” and the “invited many.”

The Lord invites many throughout the time, and now at this particular moment in time when the dinner is prepared at the Lord’s return, “he sent his servant.” “His servant” in this place includes all angels and humans that work for the Lord, even those humans that work without position, but the Lord has called them to be servants. These servants can feel their heart calling differently because they will tell about the Lord and prepare all those invited to be ready to come to the great dinner. When “the servant” will be called to do the work, they will announce to all that are invited, if you are ready, come for the great dinner of the Lord is prepared.

“at dinner time.” Even now is considered dinner time. Dinner time is a length of time beyond the human mind can think because the Lord gives everyone the opportunity to be ready for His dinner. Dinner time is the time from the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus until His second coming on the earth.

18 And all with one consent began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I have need to go forth and see it; I beg you have me excused.

19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to prove them; I beg you have me excused.

20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

Comments 14:18-20. The Lord gives all these examples for the reader to think about. When the Lord has called you in your heart, and you get the excuse not to do what the Lord has told you, like all these people who have been invited, they all have excuses why they cannot come. Are you like them or not? Think of this as well. These are examples of earthly reasons people have for not following the Lord’s call. We can see they all have excuses; all their excuses relate to what they want, but they have mixed up their call with the duty they believe they have. When the Lord has invited anyone, only those that leave everything and follow that call right away will have a seat at the table with the Lord.

21 And the servant having come reported to his master these. At that time, the head of the household, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the public square and streets of the city, and bring in here the destitute and crippled and blind and lame.

Comments 14:21. When those invited reject the invitation, the Lord will take all the rest of the leftover people who did not follow the call yet but will be ready at a different time, and the Lord will send His servants to call them again, come now this is the last chance to enter. This verse has told everyone, the Lord is angry, but by His mercy, the Lord still tells His servant to go out quickly and bring all those that He called to come to Him before the door of mercy is shut, and the last chance for all those leftover will end. Right now, at this time, there is still room, but His servant is going now out to gather all those unwanted to fill up the place, but when all those have come in, the time of calling will be over. These unwanted people have a special place in the Lord’s heart; He is calling them even now. Because of their physical condition and situation, these rejected the call; humans have this feeling of not being worthy enough. These unwanted ones, the Lord does not look at the physical, but at heart, and their heart is worthy to enter. These have given their heart to the Lord; deep from their soul, they have called out to the Lord, they may not be important people, but they are important for the Lord because of their heart.

“and bring in here the destitute and crippled and blind and lame.” Bring them as they are, dirty, unwanted, but the Lord wants them. That is why the Lord has sent His angels to bring them in. Not only the humans that are servants, to bring the unwanted people, but the Lord also sends His angels to work, because this time the angels will deal with the problem of the heart that they have as people have rejected them. The human servants go out and tell about the mercy of God, but their hearts of the unwanted ones will lead them in hiding. So, the Lord by His mercy will send His angels to talk in their hearts that the mercy of God is for them as well, not only for those that are well off on this earth; only the angels can talk to their hearts (see Hebrews 1:14), the human servants speak to the ear.

22 And the servant said, Sir, as you did command it has been done, and even now is room.

Comments 14:22. This verse talks about the angels as servants of the Lord. When these angels see some available place, they will go and report to the Lord; there is still more room available to put someone in; that is the meaning of this verse. All these invited guests are not only the nation of Israel but all those that come to the Lord with their hearts; the Lord looks at the heart, not the nation. The Lord chooses them because of the heart, not because of who they are. As a gentile, you must accept that you are not His people, but He has adopted you, and you all have the same privileges as His elect ones from the beginning.

23 And the master said to the servant, Go forth into the roads and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled.

Comments 14:23. When the place is not filled yet, the Lord will go everywhere and invite them all to come because He has already prepared the banquet; regardless of whom they are, the Lord will invite them.

"Go forth into the roads and hedges." Because now the majority have been invited, "roads" are the people that once have known the Lord but because of troubles of life have felt discouraged and distrust in the Lord and go wandering around without purpose; and "the hedges" refers to those people that have no aim for the leftover life and go around people that they think are important and are begging for mercy to take them in. 

24 For I say to you that none of those men who have been invited will taste of my dinner.

Comments 14:24. The Lord will invite all to fill up His guest room when the time has come. But those invited before, even if they have changed their mind and want to come, the Lord will reject them; there is no repentance at this moment; the time of repentance has ended. The invited ones are not only His own people, the Jews, but also those that have a heart for the Lord and put all their trust upon Him and do not have any doubt about His mercy. 

The conclusion of the parable the Lord has given is, when the Lord has sent all the servants to invite all the guests to His kingdom, the guests that have ignored the invitation will make room for the ones that stay out and are not important in the world, but the Lord will invite these to replace those that have ignored the invitation, and when He has done that, those that ignored the invitation will have no chance for repentance because the Lord will not retake them, that why we said no repentance in this point of time.

25 Then were going with Him great multitudes, and having turned He said to them,

26 If anyone comes to Me and loves less not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he is not able to be My disciple.

Comments 14:26. In this verse, we concentrate on the word “love less,” the Lord did not mean dislike, but means do not entangle yourself with deep heart feeling towards these, because all these relationships do not exist anymore in the kingdom of God. When you go there, the parents on this earth are not your parents in the kingdom of God, because at that time you will have only one father and mother, which is the God Almighty Himself; and the rest also, the same way, your wife, children, brothers, and sisters will be those that glorify the Lord with you in that time, those will be your true family.

About your own life, the Lord wants us not to concentrate on what we have or think we may have on this earth; all these will be left behind when you are there. In the kingdom of heaven, you will have treasures of your own from the Lord, and those are the things that you will treasure when you are with the Lord; but those things are not as objects but happiness in glorifying the Father, that all we should think about, the true treasures you will have.

Husband and wife in Christian life also will be closer than brother or sister in the kingdom of God, as the Lord has told, He put two to be one, they will join not just body, but in the spiritual world as well. When both go up to the kingdom of God, both will glorify the Lord together as one, no difference in feeling, one means one, nothing in between, when they glorify the Lord.

For verses 26 and 27 see also Comments Matthew 10:37-39.

27 Whoever does not carry his own cross, and comes after Me, is not able to be My disciple.

Comments 14:27. As the verse says, everyone has problems; carry those problems with you, but not in you; you must give them all to the Lord. But you still have them on your shoulders as the verse has told, carrying your own cross; you carry your problems with you, but you don’t feel unrest from those problems because you have already given them to the Lord, and you know you have given them to the Lord; that knowledge will be the cross for you. When you have given the problems to the Lord, you have already become His disciple. Because we are humans, even we give them to the Lord, but we still carry them on our shoulders (we can’t forget them).

28 For which of you, willing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the expense, whether he has enough for completion?

Comments 14:28. For anyone who reads this verse, think twice before your mouth, telling people, makes the commitment to follow the Lord, that you can keep all commandments that the Lord has given you. Read the Holy Word and meditate on the teachings of the Lord and ask yourself can you follow all things? Which is the commandment that you have the most difficulty with? Meditate on it and pray and bring that to be your need each time; as the Bible has told, if you fall for one commandment, the rest of the commandments you follow do not help you succeed.

29 Lest ever, when he having laid its foundation, and not having strength to finish, all who behold begin to ridicule him,

30 saying, This man began to build and had no strength to bring to completion.

Comments 14:29-30. When you have announced to people that you follow the Lord and your walk is not according to His teachings, the people you have told will think again, you have said you believe but did not act accordingly, and people will think, “what sort of God you serve.” So, this verse tells clearly you make the name of the Lord to be shameful because you announced you follow Him, but you do not do according to His teachings.

31 Or what king, as he goes to engage another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?

Comments 14:31. The verse teaches all true believers that when you go out in the world, the first thing to do is pray and ask guidance from the Lord, as all believers will have adversaries outside surrounding them. We all should think about counseling with the beloved Son of God through the Holy Spirit’s help, and then we will be able to encounter many attacks that come on our way. This verse does not relate to the Holy Spirit baptism; this is just a straightforward prayer to the beloved Son of God by the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide you on what you should say and what you should ask to be able to fight against all attacks. The beloved Son of God will help you, but also, He likes you to encounter with the Holy Spirit’s work because that time (during the attacks), God of Three will be there in helping all believers.

32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, having sent an embassy, he requests for peace.

Comments 14:32. As the verse tells, an embassy in this place is not someone going begging for mercy. But, instead, the Holy Spirit will go ahead and convince the hearts of those adversaries to stop and think about how they are going to fight against someone under the protection of God Almighty, or make a choice and turn back and keep the peace.

33 So, therefore, every one of you that renounces not all that he possesses is not able to be My disciple.

Comments 14:33. When it tells you to renounce all that you possess, this verse does not mean that you have to give up everything in your life. But in this place, the Lord wants to let all readers know not to be attached to any treasure on this earth; the life here on earth is short, and you cannot take any earthly treasures with you after death. But to be His disciple, read the Holy Word, meditate, and follow the teachings, and that will be the real treasure for you in the world to come when you will be there and have eternal life with the Lord.

34 Salt, therefore, is good; however, if also the salt becomes tasteless, in what will it be seasoned?

Comments 14:34. As the verse tells, to be salt of the earth is good, but to be salt, the quality of salt is not just the taste but the usefulness of the salt itself. When the salt itself loses its taste, it will have no use for anything; therefore, having faith and maintaining meditation on the Word and practicing the teachings of the Lord will make the salt hold its savor. But also, in this place itself, the Lord wants all Christians to be as light for the world, and when they that do not know the Lord come to have any contact with you, they will notice the quality of the true salt in you.

See also Comments Matthew 5:13 and Comments Mark 9:50.

35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for manure; they cast it out. The one having ears to hear, let him hear.

Comments 14:35. As the verse tells, when you lose the value of Christianity in you, your soul itself has lost its value and is not fit for the world to come; the soul as the voice of worshiping the Lord, when it lost the value, that voice will not be heard as it has no voice to praise the Lord, that is the meaning of “they cast it out.” Therefore, all that read this verse should think and meditate on all the teachings of the Lord because only that way will you lift your value up in the eyes of humans and the eyes of the Lord Himself.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Do good to one another in the name of the Lord, regardless of the day, Sabbath day or not. 2) Practice being humble when you are in public places. 3) When you give a meal or a banquet, invite those in need as well. 4) Do not entangle your heart with earthly possessions or your earthly family. 5) Be the light and salt for the Lord in this world, and do not let the name of the Lord be put to shame.

Luke 15

Summary. In this chapter, all readers can see that God the Father Himself has shown mercy to all humans by the work of the beloved Son of God on earth in showing love and mercy towards all sinners. The beloved Son of God starts calling all sinners back to Him by teaching them and showing them the way to be saved. Luke 15:1-2. The purpose of the beloved Son of God coming to earth. He came to speak the Living Word and to save all sinners. Luke 15:3-7. The parable of the lost sheep. The Lord Himself will go and look for all His lost children, and when a sinner has repented, the Lord’s heart rejoices, and when His heart is rejoicing, the whole heaven will rejoice with Him. Luke 15:8-10. The parable of the lost coin. The woman in this parable as human delights in finding her lost coin, which is of lesser value. This parable is a comparison to show how much more the Lord rejoices when one of His lost children repents and comes back home. Luke 15:11-32. The parable of the father and two sons. The father in this parable has two sons that are different from each other. He shows mercy and love to both of them, and he divides to them the property according to his judgment. He receives with joy and celebration the one that was lost and came back, and with love, he entreats the other to forgive his brother. Our heavenly Father is like this father in this parable, He shows mercy and love to all His children, and He rejoices with all the children that repent and ask forgiveness and come back to Him.

1 And all the publicans and the detestable were approaching near to hear Him.

Comments 15:1. The verse tells the purpose of the beloved Son of God coming on the earth. As His Word comes out, He draws the sinners to come and be saved. The purpose of speaking the Living Word from His mouth is to save all sinners, come close to Him and hear His voice, and all of you will be saved.

2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes complained throughout the crowd, saying, He receives sinners, and eats with them.

Comments 15:2. The sinners among sinners complained against the will of God. If God receives sinners and they themselves are sinners, they all should come as well to repent.

3 And He spoke to them this parable, saying,

4 What man of you, possessing one hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and goes after that which has been lost, until he finds it?

Comments 15:3-4. For verses 4 to 7, see also Comments Matthew 18:12-14. We should notice that there are some differences between the parable in this gospel and the parable in the Gospel of Matthew. In this verse, the Lord gives a different degree of going astray; lost is straying out and not finding the way back unless the owner goes and leads it back; that is the lost sheep. But when the sheep goes astray, it is not far from the flock itself, just being further ahead or behind, a little bit far off from the flock, but it did not get lost.

The lost sheep here in this parable means a Christian that has been led astray by another person who claims to be a believer as well but teaches someone else the wrong way and makes that true believer get lost spiritually.

In the real world, you as the owner of something; if you lose it, you will have a bad feeling of ownership, and you yourself will try to find it back; it is the same way as the verse has told.

But when the Lord speaks out this parable, His meaning is not only for this earth alone but for the world to come as well. So, therefore, the lost sheep that belongs to Him, that has been lost in this world, the Lord Himself will go out and look for it, and He will not give up until He gathers them all back to His barn. 

5 And having found, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Comments 15:5. As the verse tells, the Lord will go and look for all the lost sheep. When the Lord has found them, even as the verse says, He puts them on His shoulders, but in the spiritual world, the Lord will put them into His bosom. This is the way the Lord shows love towards His lost children, the width of His breast receives them all. When they wander off to the wrong way, He will always go after them.

6 And when he comes home, he calls together the friends and the neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was perishing.

Comments 15:6. Home in this place is heaven; His friends and His neighbors are angels and all the servants of the Lord. The beloved Son of God will announce to all the hosts of heaven, I have brought back My lost sheep, come and rejoice with Me, because I have found My lost child.

7 I say to you that even so, there will be delight in heaven on one sinner repenting, more than over ninety-nine righteous, who have no need of repentance.

Comments 15:6-7. The righteous ones have already been saved, the celebration for those has been done already. But when a sinner has repented, the lost sheep, the Lord’s heart rejoices, and when His heart is rejoicing the whole heaven will rejoice with Him, that why the verse has told “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was perishing.”

8 Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and search diligently until she finds it?

Comments 15:8. This parable has a similar meaning to the parable above, but the Lord wants to provide a comparison for all readers. In this parable, the Lord uses this woman, a human, as an example of searching for her lost coin that is of lesser value. With the love the Lord has for all His children, think of how much more the Lord will search for His lost children, He will search for them, and when He finds them, He will rejoice more than this woman does when she finds her lost coin.

9 And having found it, she calls together the friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I lost.

Comments 15:9. This verse has the same meaning as verse 6 above. This woman, as a human, rejoices in finding the lost coin and calls her friends and neighbors to celebrate. But, for the Lord of heaven, who are His neighbors? All heavenly hosts in heaven are His neighbors. They will all know when His lost children have been found, and all will realize how much the beloved Son of God rejoices in finding His children; it is a clear comparison for all.

10 Even so, I say to you; there is delight in the eyes of the angels of God on one sinner repenting.

11 And He said, A certain man had two sons.

12 And the younger of them said to the father, Father, give the part of your substance falling to me. And he divided between them the substance.

Comments 15:11-12. A certain man in this place represents the Lord Himself; the two sons have different meanings. As the verse has told, the younger one is asking for his inheritance from the father, and the earthly father has given the inheritance according to what he has. But the Lord Himself has all this earth as His inheritance, and when one of His children asks for an inheritance, with love, the Lord Himself will give him a portion. Therefore, there are two ways of inheritance from the Lord, inheritance of this earth, that is one thing the Lord will provide, but also, He has a spiritual inheritance to give as well. But these children ask for the inheritance of this earth, and the father of this earth will give according to what he has. But you as a believer, when asking gifts from the Lord, do not ask gifts of this earth but of the earth that will come, which will be the real inheritance for you.

The young man asks the part of the inheritance that falls to him, and his father gives him the part that falls to him; another son did not ask his part yet; but notice that the father has already prepared a spare portion for the one that did not ask inheritance yet. The verse does not tell how much he gave away, but the verse tells he gave away the portion that the young son was asking, which he thinks the son deserves, and the father gives according to his judgment.

13 And not many days after, the younger son, having gathered together all that he had, took his journey into a far country; and there dissipated his wealth with riotous living.

Comments 15:13. As the verse tells, the wealth he has spent was not his from the beginning; the way he used his wealth is the same as many Christians nowadays. They do not use the gift the Lord has given them in a proper way. Look at this young man, spending all the inheritance, but he did not spend time thinking of his father who gave him the inheritance; this is the same way as many Christians do with the gifts that the Lord has given them. The gift of the Lord is not a treasure of this earth; love reading the Word, try to understand the Word, meditate and think about the beloved Son of God; before you follow the world, think of the One that shed His blood for you, and cleansed you until you are fit to meet with the Father.

14 And having spent all, there arose a severe famine in that country; and he began to be in want.

Comments 15:14. The severe famine here does not relate only to weather conditions but also to the Holy Spirit's gift from the Father. When not many have received this gift, they will begin to think what happened to the Father Himself, why does He withhold this gift from humans. Still, they do not think about what humans have been doing with His gifts. When the end time comes, the gift of the Holy Spirit will cease to be poured down, and everyone will be in need of it because they will expect help from the Lord.

15 And having made his way, he kept company to one of the citizens of that country; and he permitted him to go into his property to feed swine.

Comments 15:15. “he kept company” or gave himself is the correct meaning in this verse.

Pay attention to what the verse has told; the term kept company also includes that what the town was doing he has joined with it as well. And, with mercy, one of the town's people sent him to feed the pigs. The pig is an unclean animal and whoever is involved with them becomes unclean as well, but this person has no choice; he must take this job.

16 And he would gladly have filled his belly from the husks that the swine were eating, and no one gave to him.

Comments 15:16. Pay attention to “filled his belly from the husks that the swine were eating.” As a human, what the pig will eat, you will not eat even you are hungry, but this man came to the point of wishing to eat what the pigs were eating because no one had mercy on him.

“and no one gave to him.” We can notice from the verse, if he has been hired, he would get the payment and would not have to wish to eat the animal’s food. But he gave himself for their mercy, he went to work for them, and upon the mercy of people, he will get food to eat, that what the verse tells. He joined with them and did according to what they were doing to get their mercy, but no one had compassion for him.

17 But having come to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have an abundance of bread, but I am perishing here with hunger!

Comments 15:17. “But having come to himself.” The Lord wants to tell everyone that when you come to yourself is when you realize that you by yourself can’t make it alone. But you have someone that loves you and will give you according to your needs, regardless earthly or spiritual; come to that One, God Almighty is the merciful One that will help you when you repent and come to ask His mercy.

“How many hired servants of my father …” As this portion of the verse has told, all Christians should think again, when you come to the Lord with faith, do not look what someone else has, but go back to your God who has all of your needs, and you will have leftover, don’t be proud of yourself, come back home to the Lord your true Father.

18 I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I have sinned to heaven, and before you;

Comments 15:18. This verse tells clearly that this son came to himself now and admitted his sin against his father as all humans should do; confess your sins and ask forgiveness, and believe that your God is merciful and He will forgive you all your sins if you repent.

“sinned to heaven.” In this place, saying, “sinned to heaven” means sinned against the will of the Father; when God created humans, the children must obey the parents, and here in this parable, the son did not obey the father. So, here it talks about children and parents that are believers.

When saying, "sinned against heaven," the person fights with God; when the person sinned against heaven, that person intends to fight against the Father Himself.

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your servants.

Comments 15:19. This verse is the heart of this parable, to see yourself not worthy but still wanting to serve the Lord God Almighty. To be as "a servant of the Lord" is what the heart of all believers should be, not just enjoying God’s creation. So, feel like God’s servant and do according to His will. A servant will wait for the master’s order; you, as Christians as well, wait upon the Lord’s mercy and wishes.

20 And having risen up, he came to his father. But while he was yet far off, his father perceived him, and had pity, and having run fell upon his neck, and kissed him.

Comments 15:20. “And having risen up, he came to his father.” The verse tells that he came to his father, the repenting child has come home. The Lord wants every child of His to see this as an example as well, and when you need help, come home.

“But while he was yet afar off … had pity.” This is an example of how the heavenly Father feels when a child repents and comes home, His heart is filled with pity for that child.

“and having run fell upon his neck, and kissed him.” So, you, as a Christian, imagine the picture when your time comes to meet the Father, you will see His arms wide open, and He will embrace you to His bosom; this is the Father’s feeling.

21 Now the son said to him, Father, I have sinned to heaven, and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Comments 15:21. Now the son is humble in the heart; all believers should take this as an example. This son has realized he is not worthy. You as a Christian, if you don’t meditate in the Word enough, when you are face to face with the God Almighty, then you will feel yourself not worthy enough because He has given you the Holy Word, but you did not meditate and use it; not only reading, meditate and follow as well.

22 Now the father said to his servants, Bring out quickly the best apparel, and clothe him; and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet;

Comments 15:22. “Bring out quickly the best apparel, and clothe him.” When you come to heaven, the Lord Himself will clothe you with the cloth that humans cannot explain; the material that will cling to the body and the person will feel it fits on as becoming part of the body; this cloth no one else can take it away from you, this is the cloth of heaven that belongs to you.

“and put a ring on his hand.” This part shows ownership; you become a servant of the Lord God Most High.

“and sandals on his feet.” These sandals are not the same as human sandals are on earth, but these sandals will carry you beyond what regular sandals can do; the sandals will fit on your feet, and you will take off your sandals only when you are face to face with your Lord.

Having sandals and cloth is one of the regulations that the Lord requires. The sandals that you can use for eternity and never get old or look worn out are the sandals we all will have. The body shape that we will have cannot be exposed to everyone to see, so it must be clothed. The body itself will show the level that you are in heaven; that body will also have light in itself.

23 and bring and kill the fattened calf, and let us eat, and make merry.

Comments 15:23. Pay attention, fattened calf, the best of the best, is brought to celebrate. In this place, it tells all readers how much happy the Lord is to see all the lost children coming home to Him. He will bring the best He has to celebrate receiving the lost children.

Q: What this would mean in heaven, the fattened calf? A: In heaven, there are no calves, but here the Lord wants to give a comparison that shows His love for the lost sheep and the blessings that He has prepared for all as well; that is why the verse tells that the Lord uses the fatten one, which has been fed very well, has been fed with all the blessings of the Lord to make the celebration.

24 For this my son was dead and is alive again; was lost, and is found. And they began to make merry.

Comments 15:24. The verse tells clearly, the lost child that was dead in the eyes of the heavenly hosts has become alive with all the blessings from the Father Himself. This child was lost and now came home, and all the heavenly hosts will come and rejoice in this child. So likewise, all the children of humans that go astray and repent will come home to the Lord.

“was dead.” Dead here is in the state of stopping meditating in the Holy Word and following the Word; their path has been blocked (is not lit anymore), but the Lord Himself will help them. Some may go over the blockage, some go under, and some go around, but all that repent will find the way back. The path that has been blocked relates to the blockage of the light; when you lack in meditating in the Word, the light for the way to walk has been blocked; it is dark, not bright anymore.

“alive again.” Those that have repented and have invited the Holy Spirit to live in their hearts will return to life back again, for the kingdom of heaven they must be alive with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. 

25 Now, his older son was in the field, and as he drew near coming to the house, he heard music and dancing.

Comments 15:25. “Now, his older son was in the field.” The older son here relates to all the believers that have gone astray into the world of living but did not deny the Lord; they just tangled themselves with pleasures of the world, wasting time and lacking meditation. The field here is the world of living that this believer went to tangle with. World of living here means as the Lord created the world, He gives the life for living to all creatures; that is why we use the term the world of living. But, when they go out into the world of living, the world of living has power as a magnet to pull them in; that is why they tangle with the world of living. 

“and as he drew near coming to the house.” As he is wandering into the world of living, sometimes he comes close to the place where true believers are worshiping the Lord. When he comes close by, his heart will be stirred; that is what happens with all the lost children that come close to the rest of the true believers worshiping the Lord, the sense of worshiping will touch the heart of the lost one again.

“he heard music and dancing.” The sound of worship that he hears becomes a joyful noise for his soul, and the joy has returned to his heart.

Note. The younger son also did not deny the Lord (he sinned to heaven, not against haven), but he made more terrible sins in his living.

26 And he called to him one of the servants and inquired what these might be.

Comments 15:26. When this brother came and heard the music, curiosity overpowered him; he wanted to know from the deep of his soul, I am not there, but what this sound is for? So, this servant of his household will know all that happens and all the activity details; that is why he called him and inquired of him.  

27 And he said to him, Your brother has come; and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him safe and sound.

Comments 15:27. All readers can notice, in this verse, when he hears what the father has prepared for his brother, his heart itself starts to fight back inside him, and all his mind can think only about what had happened in the past. He has learned all the teachings of forgiveness, but he cannot forgive his own brother; we notice this because he is repeating the sins of the younger brother that he has done to the family (see verse 30). Even the family wants to forget, but he cannot let it happen and wants to point out to his father not to forget what he has done, and now you killed the fattened calf for him, the one who harmed you. He repeated his brother's sins in these verses, but that is against the Lord’s teaching. The Lord teaches us to forgive and forget when someone does wrong to us, and this is your own brother; forgive him as well. All readers should bring this teaching and apply it to their life.  

28 But he was angry and would not go in. And his father, having come out, encouraged him.

Comments 15:28. “But he was angry and would not go in.” Here, we can see the result of anger. When you do not forgive, that thing becomes a sin in your heart. The verse has clearly shown that he cannot forgive his brother by not going in to join; it shows his anger in him. All readers should pay attention to this and watch about anger.

“And his father, having come out, encouraged him.” The father here in this place is the Lord. When conflict happens, the Lord Himself will be the one who tries to bend it and bring the love back to one another; and if both listen, the peace will come upon both of them.

29 But answering, he said to his father, Behold, so many years I served you, and I never neglected your order; and you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.

Comments 15:29. “Behold, so many years I served you, and I never neglected your order.” As the verse tells, you have been serving the Lord for so long, and you always think you have never neglected the Lord in any way. But you do things expecting a reward, but with the Lord God Almighty, when you do something, do it to please Him, not expecting payment; all Christians should think this way.

“and you never gave me a young goat ….” The goat here is not just the money; he also wants the position of this earth as someone important. All have complained the same way as this one has done, and when you do things, you expect more rewards for showing off to someone else. But with the Lord God Almighty, from above, He sees what your life will end, and at the right moment, He will interfere and help you and make all things according to His will; just believe and have faith in His mercy, and keep the faith until the end.

30 But when this your son came, who squandered your living with prostitutes, you killed for him the fattened calf.

Comments 15:30. As the verse tells, this son was not angry alone but also wants to blame God that He is unfair because the Lord of mercy has blessed the sinner who did wrong to all. So, in this verse, he pointed out to the Lord what this person's sin is, but he forgot entirely that the Lord had seen both of their sins, and He has shown mercy to both by giving them life until this day.

31 And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

Comments 15:31. “All that is mine is yours” does not relate to riches but to the fact that the Lord allowed everyone to use all His created things without payment. Everyone is using and benefits from all His created things, but no one thinks of the One who has created all things, even though all can feel the presence of the Lord around them.

32 And it was proper to make merry and rejoice, because this your brother was dead, and is alive again; and was perishing, and is found.

Comments 15:32. Take notice of the answer; God the Father rejoices with all the children that repent and ask forgiveness and come back to Him; He Himself will make a celebration to show the gladness from His heart when He receives one sinner that has turned back to Him.

Q: Why has the Lord given us this parable of the father and two sons? A: In this parable, the Lord has pointed to all plainly, two children from the same parents but have nothing alike. Everyone can use this parable to compare it with their own life. If you have a sibling and your sibling is opposite to you, read this parable and think which one of these brothers resembles you and learn from it what it should be. All could learn from this parable.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Throughout our comments, we often emphasize the need for meditation on the Word of God. If you meditate on the Word of God, then the Word sticks to your heart, and you can practice what it should be. Meditation is essential for being close to the Lord and practicing what the Word teaches. 2) If you find yourself in a lost spiritual state, repent and come back home to the Lord, and the Lord will receive you back with joy, and the whole heaven will celebrate. 3) If you have siblings and your siblings are different from you, read the parable of the father and two sons and think which one of these siblings you are and learn what you should do from it.

Luke 16

Summary. This chapter teaches us about service positions that God has entrusted to humans, but humans have misused their authority and used it in the wrong ways; instead of glorifying God Almighty, humans have used their positions to benefit themselves. Luke 16:1-15. The parable of the unrepented manager. This parable teaches us about misusing gifts from God, justifying yourselves before men, pride and love of money as an obstacle to faith and repentance towards God. Servants of God that misuse the gifts of God for the purpose of benefiting themselves would rather deal with the dark side and give themselves up to the dark side than ask for mercy and forgiveness from the Lord. As a servant of God, you will not be able to serve God and money. Luke 16:16-18. The New Law and the Old Law. The Lord gives the prediction about the completion of the Old Law; the Father had fulfilled His promise to His people, but the Old Law cannot be forgotten and the New Law will be the continuation for making the Old Law complete by the birth of the beloved Son of God, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. Luke 16:19-31. The rich man and Lazarus. This story has been given to show the righteous judgment of God regarding the treasures of earth, the way humans use them will lead to the right judgment of God. The beloved Son of God has existed before time, nothing had happened before time that He did not know about; the people and their actions and what happens in Heaven and Hades, He knows them all.  

1 And He said also to the disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a manager; and he was accused unto him that he was wasting his possessions.

Comments 16:1. In this verse, pay attention to the report they come to tell the rich man and think about what the manager’s duty should be, as the Lord has set some persons to be as managers for helping and guiding in His work. The manager himself also has the duty of taking care of the things that the Lord has given, not just for himself alone, but also for him to give out and share, that is what the manager should do and this will be the theme of the parable as we go further down. The manager is the person the Lord has set up for certain duties, but he did not do his duties accordingly as received from the Lord and an accuser has come and reported about what this manager has done. All Christians should watch out about what you are doing with what the Lord has given you, because many accusers are around you and will go and report to the Lord that you have wasted the Lord’s gifts. The accuser here in the verse is the servant of Satan himself.

“wasting his possessions”. These possessions are not material things of this earth, but they are gifts of the Lord. The Lord is giving gifts to you to use in doing work for glorifying the Lord and also talking with people to help them realize that all things come from the Lord and all things belong to the Lord. This understanding also belongs to the Lord and it is for you to share not to keep for yourself alone; if you keep what the Lord gives for yourself alone, then you have wasted all the gifts the Lord has given to you.

Q: How does the accuser have access to the Lord and make accusations? A: The Lord does not sit on His throne and just watch, His presence is everywhere, also where His presence is the accusers which are around all of His creation have that chance to be close to the presence of the Lord as well. There is a wall of spiritual block, but they still can make the sound of petition which can be made known to the Lord, that is the way the accusers can contact the Lord.  

2 And having called him, he said to him, What is this I hear concerning you? give the account of your management; for you can no longer be manager.

Comments 16:2. “And having called him, he said to him”. When the Lord has given someone duties, the time will come when the Lord will ask him personally, what did you do with the duties you have received? That is when he called and said to him, “What is this I hear concerning you? give the account of your management”.

When the accuser has come to the Lord and reported to Him, the Lord will ask you first, what did you do for what I hear? And then it is the time for you to acknowledge what you have done with your duty, your answer at this point will be the turning point of your own life; but also remember you cannot lie, the Lord knows all, the accuser may not tell the truth, but the Lord knows the truth, now is the time for honest action, you still have time to repent. When we say repent, we mean admitting the truth, the accuser has said many things, but some of it is true and now is the time for you to acknowledge your own fault; by acknowledging your fault you have repented. When the Lord asks you about what you have done with your duty, if you do not acknowledge your fault the chance for you ends as well. At the end times, the Lord will ask a question, and that is the last chance during the end times, if you did not do it right, it is over for you, you will be cast out.

“for you can no longer be manager”. You have given a chance to the accuser to make a report, even if it is not all true, but according to your own fault the accuser has the basis to accuse you. The Lord Himself will not take sides with you if you did wrong in your duty, even in a small portion, because for that small portion the accuser had a chance to use something against you and not against you alone, but they have a chance to exploit your wrongdoing against the Lord Himself for giving the duty to you.

Q: When will this discussion between the Lord and the accused manager take place? A: This discussion takes place at the end times. The conversation that takes place at the end times impacts the manager’s earthy life as well. If the Lord pronounces a judgment like this during the end times, this judgment has repercussions during the earthly life as well. For the Lord there is no time, this question is relevant at the end times and during the earthly life as well. The accuser will make accusations during the service time of the manager; between the service time and the judgement time the accuser never stops because that is the only thing the accuser knows to do, to destroy God’s work in all directions. It is a continuous accusing from the beginning of the duty, it never stops. If someone can make an accusation about you regarding your duty, the question from the Lord is valid at the end times and it can always be heard.

3 And the manager said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my master takes away the management from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Comments 16:3. “And … from me?”. We can notice what this verse said, this manager talked to himself, not to the Lord, he talked to himself because he feels that his energy in doing his duty is decreasing, and it makes him realize that he is losing the favor with the Lord. The mind of this manager starts to wonder what he will do with the rest of his duty if he has duty but has no energy, it is almost nonexistent anymore. This verse has only discussed what this manager has come to realize but not what the Lord will do with him yet.

“I have not strength to dig”. This does not refer to physical strength, the manager’s duty is to distribute tasks to other souls that the Lord has given him to work with. When his authority becomes limited in certain points, this makes him realize he will not be a manager of all things soon and this makes him worry about what job he will get after this because of his mistakes. Now he is concerned about what he can do to help himself but this did not make him repent and go back to the Lord and beg for mercy and ask help for himself from the Lord to be better, but he thinks only what he can do by his own power to help himself to prolong his influence.

“to beg I am ashamed”. Now the servant thinks about himself more than anything else; pride has overpowered him, because of his pride the servant will take the power of another side just to maintain his position in the eyes of the rest, but not with the Lord; he feels ashamed to come back and beg the Lord for helping him. For his pride he rather takes the power from the dark side to maintain his job at this point of time.

4 I know what I will do, that, when I am put out of the management, they may receive me into their homes.

Comments 16:4. Notice what the verse says, “they may receive me into their homes”, after the manager has served the Lord, when he has been put out of service, he is willing to give himself to serve the other side (the dark side). We can notice what this verse has told, he expects another side to take him in, he has given himself up to them without thinking about asking forgiveness from the Lord and fixing the problem with the Lord through repentance.

5 And calling to him each one of his master's debtors, he said to the first, How much owe you to my master?

6 And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said to him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.

Comments 16:5-6. We can notice in this verse that the manager has already planned ahead by calling all that he believes to do him a favor, by exchanging favors with each other. The question that he asks leads to a negotiation with the dark side, he is willing to make the deal with the dark side. From the first mistake he made, he is willing to make more mistakes in committing more sins, repentance is not in his heart.

“each one of his master's debtors”. Remember the position he was in, he was a manager, he knows those that the Lord has given something to accomplish, those owing to the Lord in doing work, this manager has tried to take advantage of it and make profit for himself. He does not erase the debt but changes the details instead through trickery, in humans’ terms we can say, he fakes the evidence to fit the story. You can think about it this way as well, you know someone who has given themselves to serve the Lord, but you have learned later on that he made a mistake, even if that mistake happened before he came to work for the Lord, but now you go to him and propose to cover it all up if you do something for me as well, even to put that person in the position to serve, but not serving the Lord but to serve the manager’s own interests. 

“A hundred measures of oil”. Concentrate on the word oil, the ability of oil itself, it can be used for worship and it can also be used for living; a hundred measures of oil refers to something that people will need for living, this person is owing their means for living and this manager wants to give him the way out as we can notice from the verse. As a note here, one hundred measures of oil represent about 875 gallons of oil.

“Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty”. This shows how humans understood in the past: if you sin you must do something and dedicate that work as a payment to the Lord, saved by works. However, repayment to the Lord is not by works, the person needs to give their whole heart to the Lord by worshiping and glorifying the Lord without wavering or delay. In order to repay the sinful action of the heart you must repent, and this must be done right away and not by any kind of works.

Q: What really does it mean to owe one hundred measures of oil to the Lord? A: We can think about it this way as well: if you owe your life to the Lord, what repayment can you make to the Lord? As the Lord is teaching, everything belongs to Him, He only wants your heart and in this place your repayment back to the Lord is to glorify Him and worship Him and beg for His mercy without delay. The way to worship and glorify the Lord is to give your complete heart and obedience to the Lord, also stay firm in your faith and obey all the teachings and beg for mercy from the Lord all the time.

A: Let us assume I did something wrong, and I lack to repent, the duty of the manager is to let me know that I need repentance and I need to glorify the Lord and I need to stay in prayer and meditation, but not ask me to do some work for receiving forgiveness. The manager knows that I need repentance and I did something wrong towards the Lord but instead of telling me to repent and beg the Lord for mercy and worship the Lord, he allows me some other ways to deal with my guilt and sin. For example, he offers to pray for me and asks me to make some payment in exchange for his service.   

7 Then said he to another, And how much do you owe? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He says unto him, Take your bill, and write eighty.

Comments 16:7. “A hundred measures of wheat”. In this verse, wheat represents the life of the person themself. Wheat is a true food, for the body and for making money. When the person has borrowed the wheat, the person has surrendered their life already, with the manager telling him to cut down the amount to eighty, he has given a way out to this person, pay full or pay less, he wants to  give this person a favor. As a note, one hundred measures of wheat represent about 1,000 to 1,200 bushels of wheat.

Q: What does it mean when a person is owing wheat to the Lord? A: If you owe wheat to the Lord, you owe your life to the Lord, you must serve Him all your life, for that wheat itself is your life and it cannot be exchanged for a lesser amount. We can understand that the manager proposed to this person that he will talk to the master when the time of payment comes, to have mercy on this person, and he will make a way for mercy to be given to him, but this manager did not know that the Lord would have mercy or not, but he was willing to make a deal with this person. Because this is the life of a person, your life belongs to the Lord, and He has given you life and allowed you to be born on this earth and use His blessings. If you have spent His blessings by not having any part of your soul and heart thank Him who created all things for you and you forgot to think about the true riches that are waiting in Heaven if you glorify and obey the teachings that the Lord has given in the Holy Bible, but instead you have turned away to appreciate what humans have made and gave a price to the things humans made when your eyes have looked to the earthly treasures and the eyes have fed the heart to be grateful of earthly riches, you will own Him the full amount at the end time, no forgiveness for you. An example here would be that the manager would tell this person that he can intercede to the Lord for gaining forgiveness for him, which is not possible, the only person that can intervene for us to God the Father is the Lord Jesus; this manager’s duty would be to tell the person the way to the Father.

8 And the master commended the unrighteous manager because he acted prudently; for the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of the light in respect to their generation.

Comments 16:8. “And the master commended the unrighteous manager because he acted prudently”. We can notice in this verse as well how the Lord deals with the unrighteous; the word “commended” in this verse does not mean the Lord recommends the bad deeds, instead the Lord wants to point out to all to see the unrighteous actions this manager has done.

“for the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of the light in respect to their generation”. The unrighteous manager is an example of how humans act between humans, if they don’t have faith. They don’t care if you are on their side or not, as long as they can gain benefit from you. They will use you and step on you unlike the sons of light; as this verse has said, the sons of light will be opposite to the unrighteous managers of the world.  

9 And I say to you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the wealth of unrighteousness; that, when you may fail, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Comments 16:9. “Make to yourselves friends by means of the wealth of unrighteousness”. If you use the treasures of this world that you get from unrighteous ways, and you befriend the same type of people that have the same unrighteous ways as the treasures you have used, then you can say about yourself that you belong to the unrighteous people, you use your unrighteous deal with another unrighteous people, shrewd against shrewd, both will go along together well. If you are black then white can see your color and you will damage the white, keep yourself with the black and you will not damage the white. It is the same way for the white, if you know that they are black do not involve yourself with them, as the Lord has told, do not yoke yourself with the unbelievers (See 2 Corinthians 6:14).

Q: Why didn’t the Lord ask them to repent but instead He says make friends with your own kind? A: Here the Lord has pointed out clearly, if you are black and are not willing to change, at the end you have nothing else left, even the Lord Himself will reject you, be with the same color as you are.

“that, when you may fail, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings”. If you go to join with the unrighteous people you become one of them and you will both fall at the end. When they both fall, they both will join together for the hell of eternity, all readers should pay attention to where is the end of the unrighteous people.

10 The one faithful with very little is also faithful with much; and the one unrighteous with very little is also unrighteous with much.

Comments 16:10. For both of these sayings in this verse there is one meaning; if you can be trusted with small things, small little things that the Lord has given you, and you know and give praise to the Lord who gives it to you and from the depths of your soul you have treasured those little things, in that way the Lord Himself will give you more, because you have appreciated the little things He has given you.

11 If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?

Comments 16:11. “If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth”. This verse talks about the wealth of this earth, if you gained all your wealth from the things the Lord has given you by ways of mistreat and misuse and through untrusty dealings and doubled them in unrighteous ways, those are the treasures that are called unrighteous wealth. But you will never be faithful to that wealth you have because that wealth is not from the Lord, and it was obtained in a wrong way of making wealth by misusing what the Lord has given you. You are a servant of the Lord, but you gained earthly wealth in unrighteous ways, then you say to yourself and others that you gained this wealth from the Lord and you are faithful to it thinking that it is from the Lord’s blessing, but it is a false faith, the Lord is not involved here. In your unrighteous ways you believe that the Lord has blessed all things even the unrighteous ways, but that is untrue, the Lord does not bless unrighteous dealings. 

“who will entrust to you the true riches”. If during life on this earth you already have everything humans need, the Lord has already blessed you with a good life, but you have not appreciated what the Lord has given you on this earth, then in the new earth to come what true treasure the Lord will give to you because He has already blessed you in this earth and you have not appreciated His mercy; in the new earth to come, you will not receive the true treasure that remains forever.

12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give to you that which is yours?

Comments 16:12. “And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's”. This place talks about the fact that the Lord has given you a gift, but you never used that gift to glorify God, but you used that gift in glorifying yourself, that is why the verse says “not been faithful in that which is another’s” (“another” here refers to the Lord).

“who will give to you that which is yours”. If you cannot be trusted for what the Lord has given you in the beginning of your life on this earth, how can you expect the Lord will give you the true treasures of Heaven? You have been working for the Lord on this earth to collect the treasures in Heaven which are your own treasures, but if you do not use the gift the Lord has given you first, that treasure which should be yours, will disappear according to your own actions.  

13 No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will be devoted to one, and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.

Comments 16:13. “You are not able to serve God and money”. When people have more money, they believe with their own money they will have wealth in Heaven as well, and they believe money is a god for themselves because that money has given them confidence of riches.  

14 And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things; and they scoffed at Him.

Comments 16:14. This verse tells us about those that are lovers of money; people who love money more than they love the Lord will never respect the Lord, even the Lord will teach in front of them as a Teacher, they will not accept it as the verse has said “they scoffed at Him”.

15 And He said to them, You are those that justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts; for that which is exalted among men is an abomination before God.

Comments 16:15. Notice the way the Lord has answered them. Link both types of people together, lovers of money and the Pharisees, this second group of people act righteously, these people represent themselves as God’s messengers on earth because they think only they can know God’s will. The beloved Son of God has told them here, you may look right but God sees deep into your heart, you want to be exalted by men but for God Himself you are just the abomination of the abomination, that is who they are. Pharisees themselves act as the messengers of God and claim to know God’s will, but these people that justify themselves before men are not righteous in front of God.

“which is exalted among men is an abomination before God”. This is just for this group of people because they use the name of the Lord in making profit.

16 The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone forces his way into it.

Comments 16:16. See also Comments Matthew 11:12.

“The law and the prophets were until John”. John came at that time to start the new generation of believers who will follow the mercy and grace of God through the beloved Son of God; it is the end times of the prophets that talk in the name of the Lord, because the new generation will follow the Word of the beloved Son of God.

“from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed”. This refers to the Son of God coming, in the old times people followed by the prophets, and everyone tried to enter into the kingdom of God by following that preaching, but from now on people must enter into the kingdom of God by the mercy and love of God through the beloved Son of God.

“and everyone forces his way into it”. Now people use the love of God to force their way into the kingdom of God, think of it this way as well, people say I will not follow the old law anymore, but I will follow the law of the beloved Son of God, I have more rights than the prophets, because now I am not just a follower but I have become a child of God, the beloved Son of God is the fulfillment of the law. Some enter by using the beloved Son of God’s love and mercy and ignore the Father, but they also forget that the beloved Son of God has come to fulfil the Word of the Father, the beloved Son of God has become the complete law for all humans because He became the perfect sacrifice for the Father, so people do not need to follow the prophets, but they must follow the teachings of the beloved Son of God completely that have been written down in the Holy Bible. Whoever thinks that the Holy Bible is the Word of the beloved Son of God only, and they do not need to read the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, they will not completely follow the teachings of the beloved Son of God, because the Old Testament is the story of the Father Himself that leads to Him sending the beloved Son of God for humans. So, if they forget the part of love of the Father shown by sending His Son, they will not follow completely the teaching of the beloved Son of God as well.

“forces his way”. Forces because they use the Son’s Word against the Father’s Word, the Father used punishment, but the Son uses love, so they feel that they have a more straight way to enter, and do not need to follow the old law. However, both Father and Son also keep the old law, because the beloved Son of God became the true sacrifice for the Father. The way to be saved is only through the beloved Son of God, the Bible tells us that the beloved Son of God said, “I am the way” (John 14:6), and they use His Word to go against the Father’s Word. For the reason to ignore the Old Testament they use the beloved Son of God’s Word that He is the way. That is the reason they want to overlook the Old Testament, because it has become the way for them to believe, just believe only what the beloved Son of God has said and that will be enough to enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but doing this is completely wrong because they cannot enter without both the Father and the beloved Son, believe in the beloved Son of God but you also need to have faith in what the Father has proclaimed.

17 But it is easier for the Heaven and the earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a pen of the law to fail.

Comments 16:17. See also Matthew 5:18. Give attention to what this verse says, regardless what teachings people may have, the law of the Lord stays firm forever, the beloved Son of God Himself came on earth to fulfil the law, He did not come to wipe off the law, but He lifted up the law to fullness with His own death and shedding of blood on the cross. 

Verses 1 and 2 are the prediction of the completion of the Old Law, the Father fulfilled His promise to His people, the Old Law cannot be forgotten but the New Law will be the continuation for making the Old Law complete by the birth of the beloved Son of God, His death on the cross, and His resurrection to fulfil the promise of the Father.

18 Everyone that divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery; and he that marries one that is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

Comments 16:18. See also Matthew Comments 5:32. Q: Why does this verse appear unrelated to the rest of the chapter’s teachings? A: It does not need to relate because this is the point to show, follow the beloved Son of God’s teaching, from this point on the beloved Son’s law is His Word.

In this context, the Lord Jesus says this teaching as it relates to the Old Law versus the New Law. In the old law, if one commits adultery the marriage for life ends there, but in the Lord of love law the marriage can stay if both repent and reconcile, if the one that is wrong repents the other one has a duty to forgive or not, if there is no forgiveness then the marriage ends, but if there is forgiveness the marriage for life can continue.

19 Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day;

Comments 16:19. This is a real story, and the Lord used these characters for the purpose of teaching. This verse clearly talks about this rich man’s life, the way he dresses, the food he eats; not many have as him.  

20 and a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Comments 16:20. Notice from this verse, the poor man has his name mentioned. The Lord lifts him up by mentioning his name in the story, unlike the rich man whose name is not acknowledged. This man Lazarus, we can see the picture of his life clearly, besides being poor, he had sores covering his body, and he suffers for lack of food and pain on his body.

21 and desiring to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; yes, even the dogs, came and licked his sores.

Comments 16:21. This poor man, has been set at the same level with the animals, until he himself desired to eat the food from the floor; how bad his situation was that even the dogs licked his sores, that is his life that we can think about, very poor, he has nothing in his life.

22 And it came to pass, that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the angels into the Abraham's bosom – and the rich man also died and was buried.

Comments 16:22a. As the verse tells, the end of earthly life for this poor man came, he did not have a comfortable life on this earth, but he has been carried by the angels into the Abraham’s bosom as a beloved child; we should all think about this poor man’s name in our life as well, he has a name that has been written down in the Holy Bible and the beloved Son of God used him as a tool for teaching.

“Abraham's bosom”. For the Lord’s people Abraham is considered as the father figure for all. The Lord has let people know, for Lazarus to be in Abraham’s bosom the father figure of nations, the Lord did not select someone to be in Abraham’s bosom because they are rich, but because of His mercy the poor man has been chosen. Abraham is in the realm of Heaven, by Lazarus being sent into his bosom has told all readers that the poor man is in Heaven as well.

Q: From the story it appears that the selection for Heaven and Hades was made based on Lazarus being poor and suffering and living a humble life and the rich man went to Hades because he was rich and had no mercy on Lazarus. Why the Lord Jesus does not tell about these people’s faith? A: This story has been told mainly to emphasize the mercy of God, the mercy of God comes to anyone that the Lord pleases to have mercy on, the complete reason to choose one and not another is not given for us to know.

23 And in Hades having lifted up his eyes, being in torment, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Comments 16:23. The verse tells us what the end situation of this rich man of earth is, and lets us know what the situation of Lazarus, the poor man, at the end of his earthly life is.

“being in torment”. Everyone knows the meaning of torment, but nobody knows the feeling of how tormenting it would be to see far off the people in Heaven, the torment is greater than words can tell.

“he sees Abraham afar off”. This is the reason why the Lord tells this story here, you are in Hades and you can see the Heaven, you can see it, but you cannot go there, this is the part of the torment for the soul to receive.

In verses 20 and 21 versus verse 23 we see a contrast between the life of this poor man on earth, suffering hunger and sickness, and the life of the rich man after death, suffering torment in Hades.

Q: How is the rich man in Hades capable of recognizing Lazarus and Abraham that are afar off in the realm of Heaven? A: The soul’s world doesn’t use eyes as we use here on earth, looking and knowing is the way the soul sees, but the soul does not see the details of what it is. Think in this way, you are looking at something and the picture that you see has meaning, and that meaning has been given you to recognize what it is, but you will not think about why you see that way. Think of how you see and hear in a dream.

24 And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.

Comments 16:24. The verse shows the suffering of the soul by knowing where the water is but remaining thirsty and not being able to get it, the internal torment is greater than the outward appearance of suffering. This verse tells that the anguished soul is in the flame of fire, the outward appearance is suffering from the flame and also there is internal suffering from thirst, all readers should think about this torment, it is too great to carry.  

“he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue”. The way of the soul’s body in that time is not the same as we are now, the tongue is not the part of thirst for the body, the tongue of the soul is the heart of the living of the soul, the suffering of the heart itself. The water in this verse is not the water that we all drink, this water is the mercy of God that the soul needs, for the soul being in torture will need the mercy of God to help eliminate the feeling of thirst.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.

Comments 16:25. “Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things”. In this place, Abraham the father wants to remind him that he already had everything before when Lazarus had nothing, and he did not use what he had to do good for others in order to build treasures in Heaven for his soul, so his soul will not be in torment. The Lord always teaches us to do to others as you want them to do to you, if you did not do good to anyone, then do not expect anyone to do good to you in return. 

The reason the Lord gives this story to us is for everyone to think about it, the Lord wants everyone to think about one person’s actions versus another person’s actions, what the rich man did and what Lazarus did, that is the main purpose of this story. Faith is in the heart of the person and it is not only the actions that come out to show faith, however, if someone has faith and does not act that counts as well (see James 2:14-26). The rich man had everything, if he had faith would he give Lazarus something to eat? He did not act on any of the Lord’s teachings, and that already has been shown to all, so, does he have faith or not when there is no mercy in him? Lazarus is humbled and suffering, he did not have actions here in the story beyond showing humbleness and not wishing evil to the rich man even if the rich man did not give him any food (see verses 19 to 21).

“and Lazarus in like manner evil things”. As the verse says, Lazarus had sores all over his body, besides being poor he suffered as well, what else would a man need to feel bad and wish bad to anyone that has everything? Life on this earth is short, but Lazarus has joy for eternity in Heaven, so even the rich man wants to trade places with him. Also, the point of the story is not that the blessings of this earth count towards going to Heaven but also that the heart must follow the teachings of the Lord.

“but now here he is comforted and you are in anguish”. As Abraham has told to all, Lazarus is there in Heaven with him, there will be no further torture for Lazarus. Unlike the rich man, Lazarus the poor man ended up in comfort after death, this is a lesson for all to learn, what you did to others here on earth will be counted for you or against you at the end.

26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, that they desiring to pass from here to you are not able, nor from there to us can they pass.

Comments 16:26. “between us and you there is a great chasm fixed …”. The chasm is a big space (opening) which in this place is between Hades and Heaven. This chasm is a place that no one from Hades can cross to come to Heaven and in the same way no one from Heaven can go to Hades, but all this according to permission only. The way to cross between these two places is only by permission of the Lord Himself, because the Word of the Lord will be a bridge to use it. Think about it this way as well, Heaven is on one side, Hades is on the other side, and the Lord has fixed the chasm (a blockage) in the middle of them all, that is why the verse has told us that there is “a great chasm fixed”.

Q: The Bible tells that our chance to go to Heaven is by believing in Jesus while we are on this earth. Is there any other way to go to Heaven? A: There is only one way to Heaven and that is only by faith in Jesus as the Bible tells us. The crossing between these places in this comment refers to angels to which the Lord gives permission to cross between the two places.

27 And he said, I implore you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house;

28 for I have five brothers; that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

Comments 16:27-28. Everyone who reads this verse should notice, this person still remembers the brothers he has on earth, and has concern for them, something must be done for helping them, otherwise they all will end up in torment like him. The soul still has memory, that memory is a part of the soul as well, he tried to ask help for them, but it is too late.

29 But Abraham says, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 And he said, No, father Abraham, but if one may go to them from the dead, they will repent.

Comments 16:30. This person within his heart, thinks there is only one way to make his siblings believe, they must meet the dead. He expects them to repent by seeing the dead, which he is wrong. If they did not believe the men of God telling them about God, the dead coming back will not help them, the men of God have told them the good news to be saved, they don’t need the word of the dead to tell them. They can repent only if they come to acknowledge God Almighty, repent and confess their sins and beg for mercy.

Q: How was it possible for Abraham to be in Heaven and the rich man's soul to be in Hades, and there being a chasm between them, to communicate with each other as given here in these verses? A: First, we must understand that this is a true story which the Lord gives to us. In the spiritual realm, the conversation can be made, and distance is not a problem, the conversation will be as face to face even if it is far away, a farther distance than any human can imagine.  

Q: Why would souls from the Heaven side entertain communication with souls from the Hades side? A: Normally, they would not have any communication, but in this case it is the will of the Lord, when Abraham has talked with this soul, he has done accordingly to the will of the Lord Himself, and the beloved Son of God has used this case as a teaching.

31 And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one should rise out from the dead.

Comments 16:31. The meaning of this verse is clear in its own.

Comments 16:19-31. The characters from this story, the rich man and Lazarus, lived on earth before the Lord Jesus was born on earth. The Lord has given this story to make all humans realize that the beloved Son of God has existed before time, nothing has happened before time that He did not know about, the people and their actions He has seen them all and knows them. What happens in Heaven and Hades, He knows them all.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Do not use in unrighteous ways the gifts the Lord has given you in order to make profit for yourself. 2) Remember who is your true master, if you do wrong come to the Lord and repent, do not sell your soul to the dark side. 3)  Show mercy and use your earthly treasures to help others in need. 4) Have faith and apply the teachings of the Lord to your life, so your soul will not end up in Hades where it will be in great torment and anguish. 5) Read and meditate on the entire Bible, both the Old and the New Testament to understand the Father’s teaching and the Son’s teaching. We are saved by the mercy of the Father through faith in the Lord Jesus and through Jesus we fulfill the Old Law and the New Law.  

Luke 17

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus teaches all humans regarding, do not look with the physical eye but use the heart of a believer when you are seeing things. The beloved Son of God has given simple guidelines on how to enter the kingdom of God and have eternal life in heaven with Him. Luke 17:1-4. Teaching about sin and forgiveness. The Lord gives a woe against those that bring temptation to sin and teaches us that we must forgive those that sin against us because He forgave us, and He forgave those that sin against Him.  Luke 17:5-6. Teaching about increasing faith. The Lord gives the parable of the grain of mustard to compare our faith.  Luke 17:7-10. Duty of the Lord’s servants. When reading this passage everyone will notice the servant of man and the servant of God have different duties; the servant of God should not emphasize on the earthly things, the reward is not here to look for, but in heaven. Luke 17:11-19. Jesus cleanses ten lepers. This part relates to the love and the mercy of the beloved Son of God towards all humans and shows His power and authority over sickness. Luke 17:20-37. Teaching about the coming of the Kingdom of God. Before the Lord’s return, many disasters will happen on the earth and people will wish that time will end and the Lord will come, but all things must occur until completion. For this section see also Matthew Comments 24:1-44.   

1 And He said to His disciples, It is impossible for stumbling blocks not to come; but woe to him, by whom they come!

Comments 17:1. For this verse, see Matthew Comments 18:7.

2 It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck, and he is thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Comments 17:2. For this verse, see Matthew Comments 18:6 and Mark Comments 9:42.

3 Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Comments 17:3. This verse says, “if he repents, forgive him”. So, if the Lord of Heaven has forgiven your sins when you repented, who are you to hold sins against someone else? All Christians should remember this as well, the Lord has forgiven you, if you call yourself a Christian follow and obey the Lord’s teachings and forgive all. See also Matthew Comments 18:15.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times turns again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him.

Comments 17:4. For humans this verse may seem hard to do, if a person repeatedly sins against you, the Lord still wants you to forgive, forgive not only by mouth, but forgive from your heart as well even it happens in the same day, because this sin is against you, he has not sinned against the Holy Spirit. Any sin against humans is forgiven, the beloved Son of God Himself, those who did sin against Him, He also has forgiven them as well, but if that sin is against the Holy Spirit it will never be forgiven, on this earth or the earth to come, that sin will always remain on that soul forever. 

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith.

Comments 17:5. In this verse, it tells clearly, these are the apostles that have been with the Lord, have seen miracles, have heard the Living Word, and they are still asking the Lord of Life to increase their faith. For all that come after, which have not seen the Lord, it will be harder to have faith, but still remember, go at the foot of the cross and ask for faith, as the apostles have done in the past.

6 And the Lord said, If you had faith like a grain of mustard, you would have said to this mulberry tree, Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea; and it would have obeyed you.

Comments 17:6. “If you had faith like a grain of mustard”. As a human, if the Lord has told in this verse, if your faith is small as a seed of a plant, how small do you think your faith is like? Think about your faith first before you go to judge someone’s faith, those people, their faith might be bigger than yours as well.

“you would have said …”. As the verse says, small faith can work a great thing as well, even to send another seed or another plant to be planted into the sea. And that thing had obeyed your word, because you have said it with faith and you did not test the Lord when you said it, but you said it with faith in the Lord that what you said would happen, in order to prove to people that you serve the Living God. This kind of action looks like you are testing God, but it is not testing, it is proof to the unbelievers, that you have faith in your God that this thing can happen, to let them see the result. The Lord teaches us figuratively that great things can happen even when you have little faith.

See also, Matthew Comments 17:20.

7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, having come in from the field will say to him, Come straightaway and recline;

8 but will not he say to him, Make ready what I may eat, and gird yourself, and serve me, until I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink?

Comments 17:7-8. In these verses, the Lord wants to teach all readers that everyone should know their own position. Also, everyone should put who is important in their life. Everyone must put the Lord their God first and, after that, their parents, which the Lord has used in creating you to be alive. Then you also must think of your duties. Your first duty is always to serve the Lord your God, then after that, serve other responsibilities that God has given you.

9 Does he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded?

Comments 17:9. Let the reader understand, when the Lord has put something in your heart, do it accordingly and give thanks to the Lord that He has given you that duty. Even if that duty is very, very small, if you do it, it becomes big in the eyes of the Lord Himself.

10 So you also, when you may have done all the things having been commanded you, say, We are unworthy servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.

Comments 17:10. “So you also, when you may have done all the things having been commanded you”. The first thing the Lord wants to see is, are you listening and obeying His commandments, not just a portion of them but all of them? Regardless of what the commandment is, consider it as a duty that you must fulfill, because that is what the Lord expects you to do.

“say, We are unworthy servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do”. According to the verse itself, the Lord wants all readers to realize, to be a servant of the Lord, you must humble yourself, do not think that you are better than others, do your duty as a good servant of the Lord and all the rewards will be waiting. In this verse, the person just wishes to do but did not do, that is why we use the term “you must humble yourself”. The desires and ability are different, and here you do as the Lord gives you the ability to do. This servant thought he did not have enough worth. That is why he does only what he was ordered to do, but if you think that you are not worthy of doing the work, then you have put the Lord on the wrong side for giving you a duty that you are not able to do, the Lord knows your ability as well. To do work for the Lord and not gain benefit for themselves, this also makes the servants not want to work more than they think is their duty. When you are serving the Lord, you must do all the work that the Lord has given you the ability for, even if you do more work than what you have received, but you also have received the ability to do it. If you seek to do all the work the Lord has given you, the Lord will also give you joy and the ability to do it. Sometimes you may do more than you think you should, but that is to glorify the Lord. 

“We are unworthy servants”. Q: When the servants say, “we are unworthy”, are they referring to the fact that they are unworthy to their master or unworthy to themselves? A: The meaning here is that the servants say that they are unworthy to themselves, they will not gain anything for doing what they are commanded to do. They think that if they just follow orders that will not bring worth for themselves. To understand this parable, the mind of the servant in the parable coming from the field needs to be related to the mind of a Christian serving the Lord. The Lord wants us to humble ourselves and do all His commandments first from our hearts, not just do the commandments mechanically as a duty and think that there is no worth to serving the Lord because we do not have any earthly benefits.

11 And it came to pass, in His going on to Jerusalem, that He was passing along the borders between Samaria and Galilee.

Comments 17:11. In this verse, we can see that the beloved Son of God is traveling all the time, because His duty is to spread out the mercy of God to all people, not only to His own people and not just in one spot for one group of people, but to all.

12 And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off,

13 and they lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Comments 17:12-13. This is not an accidental meeting, the Lord has a purpose in meeting these leprous people, these lepers have known the name of the Lord, they may not receive human mercy, but in their hearts they hope only that the Lord Himself will have mercy on them.

“who stood afar off”. Many places in the Bible have said that people with leprosy are cut off from other people. This group has also been cut off. From this verse we can notice they have been cut off, but still they have heard about the Lord Jesus. The purpose of the hearing is shown here. They know the direction of the Lord’s travels, and they come to meet Him, but they keep the rule by staying afar away; that is the rule for these leprous people.

14 And when He saw them, He said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed.

Comments 17:14. “…He said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests”. All humans can see clearly, even the beloved Son of God Himself obeyed the rule that the Father has set; for if they have leprosy, they need to have the priest witness their sickness and healing as well; this is the place of showing “abide by the rule”. (See Leviticus 14:1-32).

“And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed”. Also, these leprous people, everyone should notice, by obeying the Word of the beloved Son of God, they all have been healed. They were all healed by His Word alone. There was no need to touch them, but His Word itself has the power to cleanse them.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying God;

16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

Comments 17:15-16. We can notice plainly as well here, the beloved Son of God came to show mercy, not only to His people but to the outsiders as well. He knows their hearts before He heals them; with their actions they have glorified God. All have been begging for mercy, even just one that returned, but all have given their hearts to trusting the Lord to heal them. But this is the point everyone should take as an example: when you receive mercy, come back and give thanks to the Lord. This has been given as an example to all, in all things glorify and give thanks to the Lord God Almighty, regardless of who you are.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

Comments 17:17. In this verse we all can see, it looks like a common question, the purpose the Lord has asked “where are the rest that were healed” is for the one that has come back, the question will hit his heart, why he alone only came back to glorify the Lord.

18 Was there none found that returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?

Comments 17:18. Give attention to the last part of the verse, “except this foreigner”. The healing did not touch His people’s hearts, but the foreigner was the one who came back to give glory to God. Everyone that reads this part think twice, not His people that came back to glorify Him but the foreigner. This also tells us clearly, in the future, the foreigners that will read the Holy Word will be the ones that give glory to God, the Holy Word has been with His people already but few that come to Him, same as this verse has told.

19 And He said to him, Arise, and go your way; your faith has made you well.

Comments 17:19. The verse is clear, this foreigner has been healed because of his faith, the faith he has we call blind faith, and here is the reward for that faith, he has been healed. The verse did not tell us further about the other nine, so no one knows the end of their lives, but this foreigner is healed completely as the verse tells. 

20 And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God is coming, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God comes not with observation,

21 neither shall they say, Behold, here! or, There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

Comments 17:20-21. Here the most important part is “the kingdom of God is in the midst you”. When you have accepted the authority of the beloved Son of God, you have invited God into your heart already, and He has come right away with His Spirit, but not yet the Holy Spirit; after the death of the beloved Son of God on the cross, the Holy Spirit has come. Before the beloved Son of God’s resurrection, the Father gives the Spirit. After the beloved Son of God rose from the grave, He sends the Holy Spirit from the Father.

One would ask, what is the kingdom of God? Everywhere is His kingdom, but when the verse has told “in the midst of you”, that also means some have embraced the kingdom of God already, since in that time some already had faith in the beloved Son of God.

“the kingdom of God is in the midst you” means the kingdom of God is among the true believers, so even these days we can say that the kingdom of God is in the midst of us, since there are many true believers on earth.

22 And He said to the disciples, The days will come, when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

Comments 17:22. Here in the Gospel of Luke, we have fewer details than in the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 24. For more comments for verses 22 to 37 see also Comments Matthew 24:1-44.

Because of the disasters coming to the earth, all people will wish that that time is ending, and the Lord will return, but all things must occur until completion; the day of the Lord’s return will happen in those days.   

23 And they will say to you, Behold, there! or, Behold, here! go not out, nor follow;

24 for as the lightning, when it flashes and shines from one end of the sky to the other end of the sky; so will the Son of Man be in His day.

Comments 17:24. See also Matthew Comments 24:27.

25 But first it behooves Him to suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Comments 17:25. Here we concentrate on the term “this generation”. “This generation” does not mean now or the generation at that time, but that the suffering and rejection will be for all humans, even those who did not know the Lord yet, because the beloved Son of God has come already to earth and has been rejected from that time on, the generation will end when He comes back. In that time, there was one generation, the generation who is reading now is a generation included in “this generation” as well.

“But first must He suffer many things”. The feeling of pain and rejection for the Lord had already happened for the people that have not yet been born, because His time has covered it all, all “this generation” that rejected Him, that pain and suffering He has taken it on that moment when the nails pierced Him.

26 And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, thus will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.

27 They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed all.

Comments 17:26-27. When the flood came in the days of Noah, no one knew that the water would flood the earth; the day the Son of Man returns no one will know as well, but suddenly all eyes will see Him at the same time. People will live their lives the way they want, not the way the Lord wants them to and that is the same thing they do in both these times (See also Matthew Comments 25:6).

28 Likewise as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;

29 and on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed all.

30 After the same manner will it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

Comments 17:28-30. We can understand what these verses have told us. Humans have spent their lives as the days go by without thinking of the Lord of life or thanking the Lord of life, and when disasters come, they all will be wiped out; no repentance at that time can help, that is clear here.

31 In that day, the one that will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away; and the one in the field, likewise, let him not turn backward.

Comments 17:31. When the day of turmoil arrives, forget all the treasure you have, remember what is important in life, treasure comes, treasure goes, just take yourself away from trouble. 

32 Remember the wife of Lot!

33 Whoever may seek to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life will preserve it.

Comments 17:33. According to what the verse says, when you try finding a way to save your own life, you will not find it, but for those who are willing to lose their lives for the faith, they will save it, because they will have eternal life with the Lord. This applies only to those that want to keep faith by believing in the true living God, not in all those stories that humans have made to represent God, but only to the true God through the beloved Son of God, those will be the ones that will be saved.

“and whoever will lose his life will preserve it” really means “and whoever will lose his life for the kingdom of God will preserve it”.

34 I say to you, In that night there will be two on one bed; the one will be taken, and the other will be left.

35 There will be two grinding together; the one will be taken, and the other will be left.

36 There will be two in the field; the one will be taken, and the other will be left.

Comments 17:34-36. See also Matthew Comments 24:40-41.

Humans use these verses in accusing God, they say, He is unfair in choosing people, it is wrong for God to select one, and to leave another behind; but those who say this, have forgotten whom they are talking about, does the Creator have the right to choose and the right to leave some out of this? The Lord of Life will select whoever He sees fit and whoever pleases Him, regardless of what humans think, God will use His standards to choose and that is final.

37 And answering they say to Him, Where, Lord? And He said to them, Where the body is, there, will the vultures also be gathered together.

Comments 17:37. For this verse see Matthew Comments 24:28.

Q: If the reader reads verses, 22 to 37 in this chapter and verses Matthew 24:1-44, they will see a few differences in words and the order of the passage. If these events in these Gospels are the same, how should we understand these differences? A: In each saying there are gaps of time, but if the reader compares all written words, the reader will notice that the Lord has given all of them the same meaning, it is a different order, but there is no difference in meaning. Each order has its own purpose, every reader needs to meditate and understand. That is the purpose of the dictation of the Bible, different order, some may look misplaced, but the overall meaning is the same, and only the dictation from the Holy Spirit can do this.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) If you call yourself a Christian, follow and obey the Lord’s teachings and forgive all. 2) When serving the Lord, you must do all the work that the Lord has given you the ability to do. 3) In all things, glorify and give thanks to the Lord God Almighty, regardless of who you are. 4) No one knows the day of the Lord’s return, but you must always be ready for His return.

Luke 18

Summary. In this chapter all believers can see plainly regarding the heart of the beloved Son of God for humans. Regardless of what situation you are in, if you have faith and trust in Him, His mercy will pour on you; the mercy that you do not need to pay for, but only must give your heart and have faith, and the mercy will come upon you, no judging and no charge of your wealth of this earth, just have a clean heart and faith which is more valuable than any treasure of this earth. Luke 18:1-8. The parable of the persistent widow. Jesus gives this parable for all to think about: when the Son of God comes on the earth, will He find anyone persistent in praying and begging for His mercy as this woman did to that judge. Luke 18:9-11. The Pharisee and the tax collector praying. We are all sinners and the Lord gives this parable, so we think about this tax collector's actions who was humble physically and spiritually towards God; all humans should take him as an example.  Luke 18:15-17. Jesus receives the little children. Jesus teaches us that we must receive the kingdom of God like a little child in order to enter into it. Luke 18:18-30. The rich ruler seeks advise from Jesus. Jesus teaches about the Trinity, He is God and everyone has a choice to embrace, regardless rich or poor, the treasure in heaven cannot be compared, the riches of this earth do not last, but the treasure of heaven is for eternity. Luke 18:31-34. Jesus foretells His death to His disciples. The beloved Son of God knows very well what will happen to Him, but in His own willingness, He will go to Jerusalem to make all things done according to the Father’s will to save humans. Luke 18:35-43. Jesus heals a blind beggar. Jesus has mercy on all, He shows His power over the sickness and gives sight to this blind man, and all the people, having seen it, gave praise to God.

1 And He spoke a parable to them about that they ought always to pray, and not to lose heart;

Comments 18:1. The beloved Son of God wants all humans to understand, prayer is important and when the verse has told not to lose heart, if you pray, your faith will be stronger, and in the same way, if you do not keep yourself in prayer your heart will wither in faith, and you cannot even find your own thought.

2 saying, There was a certain judge in a certain city, fearing not God, and respecting not man;

Comments 18:2. Read carefully what the verse has told, this man has a position on this earth, but has no fear of God, even he himself knows his position is from the Lord Himself, besides that he did not care or pay attention to any fellow human around him, that tells plainly how this man is for this earth; his end will not be good, not the end of this life on this earth but the end of life in the hand of the Lord as well.

3 and there was a widow in that city; and she was coming to him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

Comments 18:3. In this parable the Lord wants to point out, this woman, a widow that has no one to protect, but has put her trust in man, and expects man to help her, but also pay attention, she has come to man not to God to beg for mercy.

“Avenge me of mine adversary”. She expects the man to avenge her, but she forgot to think if the man will avenge justly for her or not, when she knows already, the true one who can avenge her fairly, but she did not come to that one. 

4 And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor respect man;

5 yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest she wears me out by her continual coming.

Comments 18:4-5. All readers can notice plainly the type of man she is seeking help from, no fear of God nor respect of man, but give attention to how persistent she is, even she did not get any help yet, but her continual doing had worn the evil man out. But, come to the right one the Most High God to ask for help, if you are persistent how much the Lord of your life will help you and give you justice.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

Comments 18:6. All readers should pay attention, the Lord God Most High hears everything that humans say and here is the place that the Lord wants all readers to see.

7 And shall not God avenge His elect, that cry to Him day and night, and be deferring in regard to them? 

Comments 18:7. This verse has told all believers plainly, if you come and beg to the Lord your God, day and night, will He not help you? But the help is not in going and killing people for you, pay attention to this parable's ending.

8 I say to you, that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?

Comments 18:8. “I say to you, that He will avenge them speedily”. If you are persistent in begging, the Lord of life will grant you mercy, and He will avenge for you, just do not give up in praying and begging for His mercy and justice.

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” The Lord of life has given this example for all to think about: when the Son of God comes on the earth, will He find anyone persistent in praying and begging for His mercy as this woman did to that judge? These two parallels link together.

9 And He spoke also to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised the others, this parable:

Comments 18:9. Among all listeners there will be some that this parable will talk straight, not just to their hearts but also rebuking their actions as well.

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.

Comments 18:10. These are two types of people, each one are completely opposite to each other, opposite in both, work and heart in worshiping the Lord.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus by himself, God, I thank Thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

Comments 18:11. Now we can notice in this verse, one that considers themselves holy, had put another one which he himself believes is a true sinner, and he had lifted himself to God, as he is the best of all, does good not only physically, but also with giving thanks to the Lord, but he has forgotten that the tax collector also is a child of God as well, and who are you to put the children as not worthy; his mistake is here, he is not a judge, there is only one judge of all the universe, God the Father Himself, not humans who believe themselves to be holy.

12 I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.

Comments 18:12. Let all readers notice this, this man has believed in his good deeds. He is fasting two times a week, but did he make fast of his heart by worshiping the Lord with love and thankfulness, or just only wants to point out his action, and tell out to God, see what I am doing, I deserve all rewards, this is what this man's intention is.

13 But the tax collector, standing afar off, was not willing not even to lift up the eyes to heaven, but was striking his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner.

Comments 18:13a. Think of this sinner's actions, humble man, humble in physical and spiritual, he believed himself is not worthy to look up to heaven, be humble more than most humble people could be, also he begged the Lord of life to be merciful to him; all humans should take him as an example.

Comments 18:13b. Striking his breast in this place is not a physical action, but he has rebuked his own soul to be humble to the Lord more than what he thought he could do, to make the Lord see that he is not worthy, but by being humble in this way, he already has shown to the Lord how humble he is, and he recognized himself as a sinner; all he wants from the Lord is mercy. All humans should learn from this verse, beg for mercy, but not beg for favor, that the Lord should do something for being humble.

14 I say to you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled; but the one that humbles himself shall be exalted.

Comments 18:14a. When the Lord has told justified more than the other, at the same time He did tell all readers plainly, the Lord has lifted this sinner to be righteous, what more any human would want to be, be lifted by man or by God Himself, all should think about this.

Comments 18:14b. When the verse has told exalts himself, here is the proof of this man, the Pharisee, he has lifted up himself, by his own judgement he sees that he himself is worthy above all.

15 And they were bringing to Him also the infants, that He might touch them; but the disciples having seen rebuked them.

Comments 18:15. For verses 15 to 17 see Comments Matthew 19:13-15 and Comments Mark 10:13-16.

16 But Jesus called them to Him, saying, Allow the little children to come to Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Truly I say to you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no way enter into it.

18And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Comments 18:18. For verses 18-23 see Comments Matthew 19:16-22 and Comments Mark 10:17-22.

19 And Jesus said to him, Why call you Me good? none is good, except One – God.

20 You know the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall honor your father and mother.

21 And he said, All these I have kept from my youth.

22 Then having heard, Jesus said to him, Still one thing you lack: as much as you have sell, and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in eternity; and come, follow Me.

Comments 18:22. Q: Why did the Lord tell this man to sell all that he has and not just a portion? A: The Lord always makes the difference to the true heart of a person. If a person has much love for the treasure of this earth, then he is better off to have none and be saved. Here the Lord gives a choice to choose, everyone has a choice to embrace, regardless rich or poor, the treasure in heaven cannot be compared, the riches of this earth do not last, but the treasure of heaven is for eternity.

23 But when he heard these things, he became very sorrowful; for he was exceedingly rich.

24 Then Jesus having seen him become sorrowful, said, With difficulty those having riches shall enter into the kingdom of God!

Comments 18:24. For verses 24 to 30 see Comments Matthew 19:23-30 and Comments Mark 10:23-31.

25 For it is easier for a camel to enter through an eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And those who heard said, Then who can be saved?

27 But He said, The things which are impossible with people are possible with God.

28 And Peter said, Behold, we have left our own, and followed Thee.

29 And He said to them, Truly I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,

30 who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.

31 And taking aside the twelve, He said to them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.

Comments 18:31. For verses 31 to 33 see also Comments Matthew 20:17-19 and Comments Mark 10:32-34. The verse tells all readers, the beloved Son of God knows very well what will happen to Him, but in His own willingness, He will go to Jerusalem to make all things done according to the Father’s will to save humans.

32 For He will be delivered up to the Gentiles, and will be mocked, and will be shamefully treated, and will be spit upon;

Comments 18:32. In Matthew 20:18-19 we have “and the Son of Man shall be delivered to the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles …”

Also, remember who is the ruler of the people at that time; in order to be delivered to the people, first He must be given into the hands of the ruler of earth, and they will make the gentiles do their will to the beloved Son of God, in order for them to not feel guilty towards God, because they are not the ones who mistreated the beloved Son of God. The way they disgraced Him is as if He is a criminal, but the beloved Son of God is willing to accept that treatment in order to turn around and save all humans on earth to be as His own people.

33 and having scourged they will put Him to death, and the third day He will rise again.

Comments 18:33. Death for the human body is a fearful thing even for the beloved Son of God Himself, but He knows perfectly well, in three days He will rise again.

34 And they understood none of these things; and this spoken-word was hidden from them, and they knew not the things that were said.

Comments 18:34. When the beloved Son of God has spoken to them about His death, this is according to the Father’s will, but the human mind will not be able to understand, even His Own disciples, they are simple humans as well. The things that He has told them, for the human mind to understand, will not be revealed yet until He explains to them in their hearts, not by human words, but by the spiritual way only.

35 And it came to pass, as He drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the roadside begging;

Comments 18:35. For verses 35 to 43 see Mark Comments 10:46-52. The healing of this blind man in Luke 18:35-43 is the same healing case as in Mark 10:46-52.

36 and hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this might be.

37 And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.

38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

39 And they that went before rebuked him, that he should be silent, but he much more cried out, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

40 And having stood, Jesus commanded him to be brought to Him. And having come near to Him, He questioned him,

41 What desire you that I should do to you? And he said, Lord, that I may receive sight.

42 And Jesus said to him, Receive sight! Your faith has healed you.

43 And immediately he received sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, having seen it, gave praise to God.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Prayer is important in the life of a Christian; we must always pray and not lose our heart. 2) We should pray humbly and not look down on other people as sinners. 3) Do not tighten your heart with the riches of this earth. 4) Believe in the Trinity of God and Jesus’ death on the cross and His bodily resurrection. 5) Cry to God for mercy and the Lord will show you mercy.

Luke 19

Summary. This chapter tells that the Lord Jesus came to save the lost, but His people do not accept Him as the Savior and King. Also, this chapter has told that the religious leaders have led His people to betray the beloved Son of God and condemn Him by crucifying Him on the cross; by His own people’s hand Jesus was put to death.  Luke 19:1-10. Jesus and Zacchaeus. In this story we can see how much love the beloved Son of God has for humans, He Himself is seeking to save the lost. This was true then and it is true now as well. Luke 19:11-27. The parable of ten minas. Jesus told this parable, because His people supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. The parable tells that the Father Himself will give Him a kingdom but in the new earth, the kingdom of the beloved Son of God Himself, where everything and everyone belongs to Him and Him alone. But on this earth, as the parable tells, the Lord Jesus has His servants working to bring souls into His kingdom. And, when the beloved Son of God gives gifts to anyone to serve Him for His kingdom, He also gives them the ability to use those gifts as well, but if those servants ignore the voice of the Lord and do not use the gifts as the Lord intends, at the end the Lord will require the payment. Luke 19:28-40. King Jesus enters Jerusalem. These verses show that the Lord Jesus knows and sees all things as He sends two of His disciples to bring a donkey colt for Him to ride into Jerusalem. The beloved Son of God enters Jerusalem riding on a colt and the multitudes stirred by the Holy Spirit praise Him as a King shouting “Blessed is the King that comes in the name of the Lord”.  Luke 19:41-48. Jesus prophesies over Jerusalem and His people and cleanses the temple. In these verses, Jesus predicts His rejection as King by His people, and He foresees the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and its people because they knew not the time of their visitation. 

1 And having entered He was passing through Jericho.

2 And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus, and he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

Comments 19:1-2. The Lord wants to introduce this man first to all, including his work and status. The job he holds is considered as a sinner’s job, besides that he is rich, but the Lord just says plainly rich, but He did not tell how Zacchaeus gained his riches (Zacchaeus got to be wealthy).

3 And he was seeking to see Jesus who He is, and was not able from the crowd, because he was small in stature.

Comments 19:3. The sinner who has all things in life already, wants to see the beloved Son of God. He has heard about the work of the Lord and in his heart, he wishes to meet the Lord. When the verse uses small in stature also tells that he was smaller than normal, in human terms would call him dwarf figure.

4 And he having run ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was about to pass that way.

Comments 19:4. First let the reader imagine the picture of the little man running and climbing up on the tree, which is not easy for him to do, but the wish in his heart to see the Lord is greater than the difficulty he has, that is why he goes up there. The walking way had cliffs, it becomes one way to go to the next town; if the Lord travels straight He must pass that way and Zacchaeus knows very well the area, that is why he ran ahead and went up on the sycamore tree, just to be able to see the Lord go by.

5 And as He came to the place, having looked up, Jesus said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for today it behooves Me to abide in your house. 

Comments 19:5. This is one of the verses in the Bible that tells that the beloved Son of God knows everything ahead. The beloved Son of God has already recognized this man on the tree waiting for Him, and also the Lord has seen His heart, the wish in his heart to meet the Lord makes the Lord invite Himself to visit the man's house.

“for today it behooves Me to abide in your house”. In this place we can see certainly, the Lord has a purpose, the Lord wants to bless this man and the Lord gives him no chance to say no. The God of love and mercy uses the order for someone to receive Him into their house, He used the term you must take Me, we do not see this way of talking from the beloved Son of God.

6 And he made haste, and came down, and received Him rejoicing.

Comments 19:6. Pay attention to the portion that says, received Him rejoicing, when anyone in their heart accepts the Lord of life with gladness, the Lord is happy to be there as well, and here is the place to show the way this person is receiving the Lord of life; for the Lord Himself "rejoicing" here has more feeling than the word itself.

7 And having seen, all grumbled saying, He has entered to stay with a man that is a sinner.

Comments 19:7. In this verse it says clearly that the man is a sinner and the Lord of life has entered into his house, not only that He entered, but the Lord has stayed in his house more than just a meal itself; people murmured against the action of the Lord's mercy.

8 And having stood, Zacchaeus said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my possession I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anything from anyone, I restore fourfold.

Comments 19:8. We all have seen plainly, this sinner has regret in doing bad to anyone, he offers himself to pay back in the way that he knows the people would do, he has shown his sincerity in repenting of all his sins. This is all the Lord desires to see, when someone commits sin and wants to repent by their own conscience that the Lord has spoken in their heart, and here is an example.

Q: What is the difference between Luke 18:22 and this verse with Zacchaeus? A: To give all or half has no meaning, if you did not give it with true heart. Notice in this place Zacchaeus offers himself to give, he has not been told you must give, but by his own word he has said “if I have defrauded anything from anyone, I restore fourfold”. This verse shows the heart of a man in repentance towards the sin that he has committed to the people, without expecting the Lord to pay back anything.

9 And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.

Comments 19:9. Salvation in this verse did not mean regarding about all his household going to heaven but here it refers to the spiritual blessings of this earth. Salvation here took place not only for one person but for all his household as well, even in his household they did not do anything for the Lord yet, but when the owner of the house had governed his own properly, everyone receives a portion of the blessings.

“because he also is a son of Abraham”. In reality, he is a son of Abraham even he is a sinner in the eyes of people, being a sinner did not take away the right of inheritance.

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Comments 19:10. The Lord knows who will be saved, but the Lord is still seeking for those who will be saved but did not know the Lord yet, the Lord will not let them be lost; He seeks them to save them. We can see how much love the beloved Son of God has for humans, not being saved by just coming to Him, but He Himself is seeking for them to be saved.

11 And as they heard these things, He proceeded and spoke a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear.

Comments 19:11. We have the parable with the ten minas in this passage and the parable with the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. These parables have similarities in meaning but are distinctive parables spoken in diverse places and addressing different people.

“because He was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear”. A lot of people have followed and listened to the beloved Son of God, and they all have seen miracle works, making them all believe that He is the prophet of the Lord who will come and announce the heaven time. That is why all believe the kingdom of God will suddenly appear in front of Him, and they all will be witness of it. The prophet in this place they considered as the messenger of the Lord God Most High, but they did not believe and thought that He is the beloved Son of God, besides, they cannot understand the Trinity of God, they were all just looking for the kingdom of God to appear on earth.

12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

Comments 19:12. “A certain nobleman” refers to the beloved Son of God Himself.

“went into a far country”. The beloved Son of God has come down from heaven and came to the earth as a different country far from His own home in heaven. This portion of the verse here really means that the Lord Jesus went from earth back to His far country in heaven.

“to receive for himself a kingdom”. When the beloved Son of God is resurrected, the Father Himself will give Him a new earth which will have only people that have faith and believe in the beloved Son of God, because there will be the kingdom of the beloved Son of God Himself where everything and everyone belongs to Him and Him alone.

“and to return”. In this portion itself, when the Lord Jesus Himself has resurrected to receive all those that belong to Him to Himself, that is the time of His return, and then He will depart to His kingdom. At the resurrection (this is still resurrection time) Jesus receives those that belong to Him, but when He departs to His kingdom, He also will take all that belong to Him with Him for eternity. The new earth is waiting for Him, but He Himself is seated at the right hand of the Father, together but also in different dimensions. The Lord has His earthly resurrected body with Him, only Him has a human body, no one else there on the new earth has an earthly body. As the Bible has told also, at this time when He takes all those that belong to Him and go with Him, everybody will see Him.

13 And he called ten servants of his, and gave them ten minas, and said to them, Do business until I come back.

Comments 19:13. “And he called ten servants of his”. Most people would believe this means calling the apostles, but He has called ten believers, deep in their heart, to do the work in preparing, nothing of this has been recorded in the Holy Book, but we still can find support as well. Some have made doctrines of this, ten servants as ten legions, but the Lord called true believers, and He has given them specific duties. As His apostles will go out to work, they will meet them, everything has been planned ahead before the work of spreading the Gospel begins. “Ten” is not a number specifically meaning ten believers, this “ten” means ten directions the Lord sent out and refers to the believers in these directions that the Lord calls to help the apostles. 

“and gave them ten minas”. Minas here is not money, but the knowledge and ability in connecting with the Spirit of Christ in giving directions, but not the Holy Spirit. When they meet the apostles the Spirit of Christ will stir their hearts to go in the right directions and find the apostles. As the Bible has mentioned in places, the apostles contact people that meet them, those are the ones that are mentioned here. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father Himself, which will convict right and wrong in the soul of humans, but most humans will reject this Spirit of God because they all will find the reason to do things in their way, the world has corrupted their mind, and the Holy Spirit cannot do the work within them, when the human soul rejects His warning. The Spirit of Christ is a gentle Spirit, His role is to link the heart with the mind in order to have peace and do according to His will, but He will also never force anyone to follow, it is the responsibility of the person to listen what the heart is telling them, and not let the ear hearing what people speak and convince what people talk, right or wrong has already told to the person but the listening ear will make confusion. The right or wrong has been told to the heart of the person by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ in His gentle way will come to help the person to find peace and do according to the will of the Holy Spirit.

“Do business until I come back”. The person who has received the Spirit of Christ will have a duty in their area to make people think what they have (the way they behave) to be different from others and when the time of work with apostles comes the people around will notice why this person does differently for the apostles.

14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, We are not willing that this man reign over us.

Comments 19:14. “But his citizens hated him”. When the beloved Son of God came on earth, "his citizens" here are the Jews themselves, they are His people, but none of them want to be under Him. They all dislike Him and think that He is not a good King for them, that is why the verse said that they “hated him”.

“and sent a delegation after him”. As the Bible has told, the chief priests have gone to the outsiders and made false reports regarding Him, they keep following Him wherever He goes to gather information to be able to report to the outsiders what the beloved Son of God is doing and create doubt to all the people, the Bible has also told clearly about this.   

“We are not willing that this man reign over us”. This is what they told to the outsiders, the Romans. Everyone can see clearly, His own people do not want Him to reign over them, they would rather have an outsider rule over them; in this way we can all say, His citizens have betrayed Him to the outsiders. 

Note that verses 12 and 13 relate to events after the resurrection and verse 14 relates to events before the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

15 And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having taken the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading.

Comments 19:15. “He was come back again” refers to the Spirit of Christ coming back on earth to do the work through His servants.

“And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having taken the kingdom”. When the beloved Son of God is resurrected, He has received the kingdom from the Father and now He will reign over all His kingdom according to the plan of the Father. Q: What is the difference between this current kingdom and the kingdom on the new earth after the second coming of the Lord? A: It is not the same, but both kingdoms when the time comes will merge together. That is why this kingdom now is of the old times, it does not have the body, when both will merge together after the second coming of the Lord all will have the heavenly bodies.

Jesus is with the Father from the beginning, Jesus was born on earth, He was crucified, He rose again (resurrected), He went back to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, He will return again to receive His elect ones, then He will take them on the new earth where He will reign for eternity.

“that he commanded these servants ...”. All His servants that received the knowledge and duty at this time, He will talk to them according to the gift He has given them, and what they have done with it. Did they talk with people that He guided them to meet and make them understand that He loves them all, repent and come back to Him? That is all He wants them to know, but His servants must do their duty in order for all these people to understand and come back to the Lord their God.   

The Spirit of Christ always works with His servants; between the Spirit of Christ and His servants there is a bond, they will hear Him, and do His will, but the Holy Spirit Himself will look over all those servants and make sure that they all listen to the Spirit of Christ and make the work complete. 

“he commanded these servants, …, to be called to him”. This happened after Jesus’ resurrection and it is still continuing now until Jesus’ second coming on earth.

16 And the first came before him, saying, Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.

Comments 19:16. One of these servants of the beloved Son of God had success in trading for the Lord and brought more understanding to other souls. The souls that still had confusion in them had been helped by this servant and have become enlightened and ready to receive their king. The servant has completed his job well with trading. 

“your mina has made ten minas more”. The knowledge that the Lord has given to this servant is alive and made branches out. When the servant has done his duty, the branches will spread out as the verse has told; "made ten minas more" tells the knowledge has spread to ten more servants to go out with the knowledge ready to share as well, that why this servant has finished the job.

17 And he said to him, Well done, good servant! Because you were faithful in very little, you shall hold authority over ten cities.

Comments 19:17. When the servant has finished the work and has come back to report to the Lord, the reward of this servant who has been diligently doing the work, even he had small little authority, but the servant did not back off from the work, the Lord will grant him more authority and give him the duty to take care of part of His kingdom, which He is preparing at this time and this servant will be there. Note that this reward happens after this servant has departed. The ten cities are not cities of this earth. In the soul world we will all have work to do.

18 And the second came, saying, Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.

19 And he said to him also, Be you also over five cities.

Comments 19:18-19. The answer may look different, but the meaning is the same as in the verse 17, this servant receives the reward also. Do not forget as well, could these five cities be bigger, maybe double than the ones before, the Lord did not mention big or small cities, both use the same word cities, but the amount indicates more or less authority in management.

20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is your mina, which I kept laid up in a piece of cloth,

Comments 19:20. As the verse has told all readers plainly, this servant has kept the Lord's knowledge hiding under his own fear and worry, but also under his own greed as well, because he did not want to do things that he does not know how much he could benefit, so he made a decision that is better to hid it away in a safe place.

21 for I feared you, because you are a harsh man; you take up what you laid not down, and you reap what you did not sow.

Comments 19:21. “for I feared you, because you are a harsh man”. This servant has known the Lord well; he knows that the Lord is a harsh master, he claimed that he has fear, but that is just an empty talk, if he has real fear, he will go and do something with the things the Lord has given him. In his thought here, the Lord is a “harsh man”, because he knows very well, the Lord has granted him something, and the Lord expects him to make things happen according to what the Lord has given him. But the Lord will not expect anyone to go out and do things that the Lord did not provide help for.   

“you take up what you laid not down”. Now the servant has accused the Lord God Almighty, that He wants to benefit from his work for His Own glory. But he did not think, he is an empty man from outside until inside the soul; without the Lord giving him any ability to do work, he is just an empty vessel, and he has the courage to accuse the Lord to taking advantage of his work.

“and you reap what you did not sow”. The servant knows he has a duty to go out and use the knowledge the Lord gives to bring people to have knowledge about God Almighty, but he comes back to tell that the Lord wants to reap the things He did not plant, but think twice before you come to accuse the Lord God Almighty, who sows the seed in the hearts of the people, is not the servant who sows the seed, the Lord has put the seed in the heart, but He sent the servant to help the person to grow that seed. Can the Lord reap what the seed brings? As many Christians do as well, this servant did not think to whom he was talking with. What we are stating here is that the Lord has put the seed in the heart, and the seed is dormant until the Lord sends the servant to water by announcing the knowledge that the Lord has given to the servant. This work of the servant is like water for the seed, then the seed grows with the word, it does not stay dormant any longer. The Lord has sown the knowledge about God in the heart, when the eyes have seen the creation of the Lord, the heart will announce who the true Creator of all things is.  

22 He says to him, Out of your mouth will I judge you, evil servant. You knew that I am a harsh man, taking up what I did not laid down, and reaping what I did not sow;

Comments 19:22a. Corresponding to the verse itself, the Lord will judge according to your own words, if you have promised to the Lord anything make sure that you keep that promise, because that promise will be used to judge you. When you make a commitment to serve the Lord in anything, even small thing, make sure you do it, even that thing is little in your eyes and others', but for the Lord Himself that little thing has become something important. And before you promise something to the Lord think if you can keep that promise or not, do not let your mouth move before that.

“you evil servant”. The verse is clear here as well; when you promise to do things for the Lord and do not do, you are not a useless servant, but you become an evil servant.

Comments 19:22b. Because the Lord is a harsh master, if you are His servant you must use the most and make the benefit out of what the Lord has granted you. Do not go and hide the knowledge that the Lord has given you, that knowledge is a treasure which many will benefit. But instead of letting people benefit this servant tries to stop the Lord’s work.

“taking up what I did not laid down”. The Lord replied this way because all Christians assume similarly, they have come to the Lord by themselves. But they forgot to think that if the Lord did not provide the way, a person will not come to be a Christian, so, is that the work that the Lord has done or not? We should think as well when we read what the Lord has told us.

“and reaping what I did not sow”. First, we must think what reaping means in this verse. He reaps the souls that come to Him, that soul has been in the world for sometimes, has used the gift the Lord has given from birth, and also did benefit from all the Lord's creation, but the person never yet to thank you or acknowledge what the Lord has created. But if a person has never thanked the Lord or acknowledged what the Lord has created, that person has grown out of faith, but did not grow out of duty to worship the Lord of life. The benefit for the Lord is their soul if that soul returns to the Lord after the Lord's servant has ministered to that soul. But when the Lord said which "He did not sow", that soul has grown in faith from the servant's word but the soul must think as well, that servant got the word from the Lord Himself, the Lord did not come to talk to these people but His servant has used the Lord's word to minister.

23 then why gave you not my money to the bank, and I at my coming should have receive it with interest?

Comments 19:23a. The bank here is the heart of all, when the Lord told why not put my money into the bank, the Lord did not mean every heart but the heart of the ones the Lord has communicated with the servant that are the right ones to do the work. The servant did not do the work on the ones that the Lord pointed out, but the servant goes and does the work on those that he feels are the right ones, but these are not the ones the Lord wants to use. This is the same as knowledge hidden in a piece of cloth because the servant did not give the knowledge to the right persons. If the Lord has pointed to someone and the servant did not give to that one, this is the same as hiding the knowledge away, the servant cannot do according to his own feeling but must do as the Lord commands.  

Comments 19:23b. When the Lord comes He will expect that the work of the servant has been done according to His direction, and those that the servant worked with also will multiply the faith in them and that faith becomes witness for all they will meet, this is the part of the interest itself, the faith has grown to more after.

24 And he said to those standing by, Take from him the mina, and give it to him that has the ten minas.

Comments 19:24. The one that has the knowledge but did not use it according to the Lord’s will, the punishment at first, the Lord will take all the knowledge away from his mind, his heart, and give it to the one that has more in all directions and still wish to have furthermore, because that person still wants to serve additionally and wishing to do for the Lord with all he has, that why he deserves to get even more.

25 And they said to him, Master, he has ten minas.

Comments 19:25. The rest of the servants always think they know more than the Lord, but they all forget whom they are dealing with now, not another servant like them, but the Lord Himself, and the Lord knows who deserves more, but those who did not get this portion speak out of jealousy.

26 I say to you, that to everyone that has will be given; but from him that has not, even that which he has will be taken away.

Comments 19:26a. The one that has in this place is the one that even what they have they wish they can have more, that they can serve the Lord in more ways, that why the reward shall be given to them.

Comments 19:26b. When the Lord tells "him that has not", it does not mean he does not have any knowledge, he has knowledge, but he never does anything to increase that knowledge, not practice, not meditate and not pray, and the Lord will take away even that knowledge left in that person, according to what the verse has told that the Lord will do.

27 But these mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them, bring here and slay them before me.

Comments 19:27. At first, we look at the word "slay them"; in this place "slay them" it does not mean kill them but take all ability in thinking and speaking and leave them as empty shells. And when they are empty shells it is worse than being killed, because when they are killed their suffering is not there (they disappear, we talk about soul killing here). But by slaying them, they know the suffering and have knowledge of not to be there (slain and suffering) but never can use that knowledge in preventing the end, they will end up there.

Now we talk about "before me"; the Lord is there but His mercy is not there anymore, because the time for mercy has passed for those that will be slain in front of the Lord.

Q: What is the overall purpose of this parable from verses 13 to 27? A: When the Lord told this parable, let the one that reads think with the heart not with the head. When the beloved Son of God gives gifts to anyone, He also gives the ability to use those gifts as well, but if that person ignores the voice of the Lord and does not use the gifts as the Lord intends, at the end the Lord will require the payment from that soul regarding the gifts. If you did not use the gifts in working with the souls the Lord brings to you to tell them about the way they can be saved, the punishment of those souls also will be accounted for on your soul, because the Lord has already given way out for those souls by giving you the gifts and ability to help but you did not do the work, this parable has told about this. 

28 And having said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,

Comments 19:29. For verses 29 to 38 see Comments Matthew 21:1-9 and Comments Mark 11:1-10.

30 saying, Go into the village ahead; in which entering you will find a colt tied, on which no any man ever yet sat; loose it, and bring it.

31 And if anyone asks you, What for do you untie it? thus will you say, Because the Lord has need of it.

32 And they that were sent went away, and found exactly as He had said to them.

33 And as they were untying the colt, the owners said to them, Why untie you the colt?

34 And they said, The Lord has need of it.

35 And they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their garments on the colt, and set Jesus thereon.

36 And as He went, they spread their garments in the way.

37 And as He was now drawing near, even at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen;

38 saying, Blessed is the King that comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to Him, Teacher, rebuke Thy disciples.

Comments 19:39. Give attention to what the verse says, some Pharisees, not all of them have been against the Lord, but also at the same time they have already acknowledged the beloved Son of God as their teacher as we can notice from the verse, but also they want Him to rebuke those disciples that glorify the Lord. People that try to stop someone, those people that try to stop someone to glorify the Lord, have the darkness cover their hearts, and blind their eyes until they cannot see to glorify the mighty works of God, and blind their ears until they cannot hear the words people utter to glorify the beloved Son of God. As the verse says, among these Pharisees themselves only some that have acted wickedly, the leaders of people, the ones that people have set up to glorify God have acted oppositely. 

40 And answering He said, I tell you that, if these will be silent, the stones will cry out.

Comments 19:40. Give attention to what the Lord has told to these people, even you stop people glorifying God, the things that have no life will glorify the Mighty God. The beloved Son of God has come for them, do not stop yourself from receiving Him, if you do it the sin will be turning back against you when the stones cry out and glorify the beloved Son of God instead of humans. The sin that you have stop people will be turning back against you.

41 And when He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,

Comments 19:41. This verse tells how much the Lord loves the city. The beloved Son of God saw the future of this city and how many people will perish in future time, the sadness has captured His heart, that is why the Lord of life is crying, over the loss of life in there, because they have not acknowledged the Savior this will come for them.

42 saying, If you had known in this day, even you, the things for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Comments 19:42a. They all have seen and heard the work of the beloved Son of God on earth already, the “things for peace” in this verse refer to the teachings of the beloved Son of God which will bring them to be saved and have peace of life eternal.

Comments 19:42b. Because you have closed your heart in receiving the Savior, your eyes become blind, and you will become darken heart and blinded eyes that still can walk but have been cursed at the same time. Because of this, it leads them until they had accused the Savior wrongly, and crucified Him, these are the leaders of religion that do it.

43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will cast a barricade around you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side,

Comments 19:43. This verse refers to the siege of Jerusalem in year 70 AD when the city of Jerusalem was captured and destroyed, both the city and the temple. When you read the history about the city of Jerusalem it is correct, the town has been destroyed, the enemy murdered the Lord’s children around the town, not because the Lord did not want to help them, but they themselves have brought the destruction upon the nation, it is a warning for everyone after. If you forget your Lord, He will lift His hand away from you and the enemy will surround you, and they will have no mercy on you, as you can find out now in history. Take this seriously as a warning not just the Lord's children alone, but the whole earth will do to one another as these ruthless nations have done to His children.

44 and will level to the ground, you and your children within you, and will not leave in you one stone upon another; because you knew not the time of your visitation.

Comments 19:44. We will concentrate on the last part of the verse. His people have ignored their God and also His warnings, that is why all things which are written here happened to them.

“the time of your visitation”. This “time of visitation” relates to the birth of the beloved Son of God. He has come to save them, but they have crucified Him, in their hearts they did not accept Him, they have blasphemed against Him since His birth until His death on the cross, they have betrayed Him.

45 And having entered into the temple, He began to cast out those selling,

Comments 19:45. For verses 45-46 see Comments Matthew 21:12-13 and Comments Mark 11:15-17.

46 saying to them, It is written, And My house will be a house of prayer. But you have made it a den of robbers.

47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chiefs of the people were seeking to destroy Him,

Comments 19:47. For verses 47 to 48 see Comments Matthew 21:15 and Comments Mark 11:18.

48 and they found not what they might do; for the people all were hanging on His words, listening.

Comments 19:48. The rulers of His own people could not do things against the beloved Son of God, but that does not stop them from looking for another way. Even they have seen that people are listening to Him, that did not capture their hearts. Their hearts are blinded why people go to listen to the beloved Son of God. But their eyes have seen, and the sin they have committed against the beloved Son of God will be the reason why the whole nation will suffer.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) When knowledge comes about sin in our life, we should recognize it and come to the Lord and repent and ask forgiveness immediately. 2) If the Lord calls us to serve Him in any way, big or small, we should joyfully respond to the call and trust that He will also provide the ability to fulfil that call. 3) As parents, we have the responsibility to train the children in the teachings of the Lord, so they are blessed in this life on earth and in the new earth to come where the kingdom of the beloved Son of God is.    

Luke 20

Summary. In this chapter we see the leaders of people seeking to accuse Jesus in many ways in order to destroy Him. But Jesus’ wisdom is beyond human mind, and they were not able to catch Him in His words before the people. Luke 20:1-8. The authority of Jesus challenged. Jesus was teaching in the temple and the chief priests, the scribes and the elders came to question who gave Him the authority in doing these things, but Jesus perceived their craftiness and told the people the parable of the farmers and the heir. Luke 20:9-18. The parable of the farmers and the heir. The Lord Jesus told this parable more than once when He was challenged by different groups of leaders and people (See Comments Mark 12:1-12). For each group when it comes, their challenge has different purpose and the Lord has told the same thing to them, and each time the parable will affect each heart in different areas. Luke 20:19-26. Give back the things of God and the things of Caesar. The scribes and the chief priests try to make accusations against Jesus to the ruling government but cannot find fault in Jesus’ answer. Luke 20:27-40. Jesus teaches about the resurrection. The Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, try to find fault in Jesus’ teaching. Answering them, the Lord Jesus teaches that God is not the God of the dead but of the living and the sons of the resurrection do not marry but are like angels. Luke 20:41-44. Whose Son is the Christ? Jesus asks the leaders to answer Him how could it be possible that David would call Christ his Lord when He is his Son. Luke 20:45-47. Jesus teaches His disciple to beware of the scribes.

1 And it came to pass, on one of the days, as He was teaching the people in the temple, and proclaiming the good news, came up the chief priests and the scribes with the elders,

Comments 20:1. For verses 1 to 8, see Comments Matthew 21:23-27 and Comments Mark 11:27-33.

2 and spoke, saying to Him, Tell us by what authority do Thou these things? or who is he that gave to Thee this authority?

3 And answering He said to them, I also will ask you one thing; and tell Me:

4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?

5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, He will say, Why did you not believe him?

6 But if we shall say, From men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.

7 And they answered, they knew not from where.

8 And Jesus said to them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

9 And He began to speak to the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it out to farmers, and went away for some time.

Comments 20:9. For verses 9 to 18, see Comments Matthew 21:33-46 and Comments Mark 12:1-12.

10 And at the season he sent to the farmers a servant, that they should give him of the fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

11 And he sent again another servant; and him also they beat and dishonored and sent away empty-handed.

12 And he sent again a third; and him also they wounded and cast out.

13 Then the master of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.

14 But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

15 And they cast him outside of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the master of the vineyard do to them?

16 He will come and will destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others. And having heard it, they said, May it be not.

17 But he looked at them, and said, What then is this that has been written, ‘The stone which those building rejected, This has become into the head of the corner

18 Everyone that falls on that stone shall be broken in pieces; but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him into powder.’

Comments 20:18. See Comments Matthew 21:43-44. In the Old Testament see Isaiah 8:14-15. 

19 And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on Him in that hour, and they feared the people, for they perceived that He spoke this parable against them.

Comments 19:20. For verses 19 to 26, see Comments Matthew 22:15-22 and Comments Mark 12:13-17.

20 And they watched Him, and sent out spies, who pretend themselves to be righteous, that they might catch Him in talk, in order to deliver Him to the rule and to the authority of the governor.

21 And they questioned Him, saying, Teacher, we know that Thou speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but on the bases of truth teach the way of God:

22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them,

24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription have it? And they said, Caesar's.

25 And He said to them, Then give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God.

26 And they were not able to catch Him in His word before the people, and they marveled at His answer, and they became silent.

27 And there came to Him certain of the Sadducees, who say that there is not a resurrection,

Comments 20:27. For verses 27 to 38, see Comments Matthew 22:23-32 and Comments Mark 12:18-27.

28 saying, Teacher, Moses wrote to us, that if anyone’s brother should die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and should raise up offspring to his brother.

29 There were therefore seven brothers, and the first took a wife, and died childless;

30 and the second, took her as the wife and he died childless,

31 and the third took her; and likewise, all seven, and left no children, and died.

32 Afterward the woman also died.

33 In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.

34 And Jesus said to them, The sons of this age marry, and are given in marriage;

35 but those that are accounted worthy to attain to that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage;

36 for neither can they die anymore, for they are like angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the Bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

38 Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.

39 And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, Thou have spoken well.

Comments 20:39. For verses 39 to 44 see Comments Matthew 22:43-46.

40 For they dared no longer ask Him anything.

41 And He said to them, How say they the Christ to be the Son of David?

42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at My right hand,

43 Until I make Thine enemies the footstool of Thy feet.

44 David therefore calls Him Lord, and how is He his Son?

Comments 20:41-44. In these verses the Lord Jesus argues that Christ cannot be a human descendant of David since David calls Him Lord. He asks them to answer Him how could it be possible that David would call Christ his Lord when He is his Son.

45 And in the hearing of all the people He said to His disciples,

46 Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and first seats in the synagogues, and first places at feasts;

47 who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers, these will receive more abundant condemnation.

Comments 20:45-47. For verses 45 to 47, see Comments Matthew 23:1, 2, 5-7 and Comments Mark 12:38-40.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Give back the things of God. Everything belongs to God, you cannot really give anything but your heart, the heart that recognizes the authority of God, that is the thing worthy to give back to the Lord. 2) Give back the things of Caesar. As a human, you have a duty to support the leaders by paying taxes according to the law of the land. The Lord has used comparison with Caesar to teach this: what is of humans give back to humans, but you cannot give your heart to any human, your heart belongs to God. 3) Beware of false teachers of the Bible. Read and meditate on the Word of God so you can recognize them.

Luke 21

Summary. As this chapter has told all readers, the beloved Son of God has come to fulfil His duty. The Father has sent the beloved Son of God to teach all humans who is the true God that all humans should come and glorify, and the beloved Son of God also shown His authority, by His word, all things succeed. What He says will be. Luke 21:1-4. The true offering. Give to the Lord from the most value you have; the giving can be small, but that meager amount after all is more valuable than a big amount. Luke 21:5-6. Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple. The Lord has told what will happen with the temple, and it did happen, but later on, not right away at that time. Luke 21:7-19. Jesus speaks about sings of the end time. Jesus tells us to watch and pray, so we are not led astray. Sings that the Lord speaks about are false christs, false bible, wars, earthquakes, famines and pestilences, signs from heaven and great persecution for the true believers. Luke 21:20-24. The end time destruction of the Holy City. The end time destruction of the Holy City will be greater than what has happened before, because only in that way will His people repent. Luke 21:25-28. The Son of Man is coming back to rule the earth. The events spoken by the Lord in these verses will happen during the great tribulation time. Luke 21:29-33. The parable of the fig tree. The Lord’s people will concur again and the whole earth will realize who the true ruler is. This is a sign for the true believers that the beloved Son of God is coming back soon. Luke 21:34-36. Take heed to yourselves. The day of the Lord’s return comes unexpectedly, but you all will be ready if you always meditate and stay in prayer. Luke 21:37-38. The Lord Jesus is the true Teacher. During the day Jesus was teaching in the temple and people would come early morning to listen His teachings.  

1 And He looked up, and saw the rich men that were casting their gifts into the treasury.

Comments 21:1. For verses 1 to 4, see Comments Mark 12:41-44.

2 And He saw a certain poor widow casting in there two small coins.

3 And He said, Truly I say to you, This poor widow cast in more than all;

4 for all these out of their abundance did cast in the gifts; but she out of her poverty did cast in all the living that she had.

Comments 21:1-4. When you give an offering to the Lord, think of Him who can see the heart. Do not worry about the human eyes seeing what they can see; the material gift may be small, but the gift of the heart is much bigger.

5 And as some spoke about the temple, how it was adorned with valuable stones and offerings, He said,

Comments 21:5. For verses 5 to 6, see Comments Matthew 24:1-2 and Comments Mark 13:1-2.

6 These things which you behold, days will come, in which there will not be left a stone upon a stone, that will not be thrown down.

7 And they asked Him, saying, Teacher, when therefore will these things be? and what the sign when these things are about to take place?

Comments 21:7. For verses 7 to 19, see Comments Matthew 24:3-14 and Comments Mark 13:3-13.

For this verse, see Comments Matthew 24:3 and the “Comments on the temple of the Lord that will help understand end time events”. See also Comments Mark 13:3-4.

8 And He said, Take heed lest you be led astray; for many will come in My name, saying, I am; and, The time is at hand; go not after them.

Comments 21:8. See Comments Matthew 24:4-5.

9 And when you will hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified; for these things must take place first; but the end is not immediately.

10 Then said He to them, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;

11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Comments 21:9-11. For these verses, see Comments Matthew 24:7, 8.

12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you, and will persecute, delivering up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing before kings and governors for My Name's sake.

Comments 21:12. For verses 12 to 17, see Comments Matthew 10:17-22. These verses here tell about the persecution of Christians.

We will concentrate on “for My Name’s sake”. In this part has told about all the true believers in the beloved Son of God who did not deny their Lord, even in the time of most suffering in their lives they still stand firm and trust in His mercy, and they all will receive His mercy. This life is nothing, expect for the life to come, this suffering will speak to their hearts, if this body has to suffer the soul will be saved, and also will make people think, the suffering of this time on earth cannot be compared with the soul suffering for eternity, but with trust in the beloved Son of God, all will be able to go through this suffering in body. 

13 It shall turn out to you for a testimony.

Comments 21:13. As the verse tells, the suffering of this time will be the proof for the time to come that suffering is for short while, it has time to end, but the happy for eternity will never end. And that peace in your heart will be a testimony for all that will have a chance to meet with you, and you yourself will become a living testimony for all that have faith in the beloved Son of God, and your end is more peaceful than the beginning. 

14 Settle therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer;

15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or contradict.

Comments 21:14-15. As the verses tell, your mouth will speak things that you never knew before and what is in your heart will not be told because the Lord Himself will put the words in your mouth but not in your head. Your mouth will say things that you do not know. When people try to fight with your words, that time the Lord will put the words in your mouth, and when you speak those words out the meaning of those words will go and fight instead of you.

16 But you will be delivered up even by parents, and brothers, and relatives, and friends; and some of you will they cause to be put to death.

17 And you will be hated by all for My Name’s sake.

Comments 21:16-17. As the verses tell all, because of your faith in the beloved Son of God, the closest to you will betray you, but remember they did not betray you but they have betrayed the beloved Son of God Himself. With their own will, they had blinded their hearts and went against the righteous ones of heaven.

18 But not a hair of your head will perish.

Comments 21:18. When the physical body has been killed, not one joy of the heavenly body is lost, every joy that belongs to you will remain and no one can take that joy from you.

19 By your patient endurance you will gain your souls.

20 But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that her desolation is at hand.

Comments 21:20. According to this verse the Lord has been warning all His people to think what they are doing. They are His children, but they have ignored His voice, and they have also neglected the warnings that the Lord has sent through the prophets. So, when the time of desolation comes, they cannot blame anyone but themselves, and they cannot feel disappointed in the mercy of the God Most High because they have ignored Him, and that is why the Lord let it happen. 

See also Comments Luke 19:23 and Comments Matthew 24:15, 22.

21 Then let them that are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let those that are in the midst of it depart out; and let not those that are in the country enter into it.

22 For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

23 Woe to them that are pregnant and to them that are nursing in those days! for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people.

24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be led captive into all the nations; and all Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Comments 21:20-24. Give attention also when the verse has told, the time of vengeance, who did vengeance to whom? The Lord will revenge to the unfaithful, His people may have disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord is the One who punishes them, but the outsiders had trampled Jerusalem, the city of the Most High God, the Lord vengeance will go upon them all, for whatever they have done to His children. This is written in the book of the Lord as well, and when the time comes all will happen. 

“The time of Gentiles will be fulfilled” when the children of the Lord have repented and come to glorify the beloved Son of God, in that time the Gentiles will be punished, when they have trampled the Holy City.

The events talked about in these verses have not happened yet, the time will come, in that time, in future the destruction of the Holy City will be greater than what has happened before, because only that way His people will repent. The events in these verses will happen before the events described in Matthew 24:21-22 (See Matthew Comments 24:22).

25 And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows;

26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Comments 21:25-26. The events spoken by the Lord in these verses will happen during the great tribulation time (See Comments Matthew 24:15). Note that there is a big gap of time between the events in verses 21 to 24 and the events described in verses 25 to 26, because each event has a long period of time to fulfill, that is why there is a big gap of time.

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars”. These signs, those humans’ eyes in those times will see, but only their light is gone, but the light of the sun itself cannot be gone completely yet, because the earth still needs it, but humans can feel that the heat from it is less and that will bring hard times to the whole earth. Few stars humans can see left over, the moon will look smaller, all humans on earth will be concerned and worried about what will happen to the earth itself, but they still will not repent. The powers of heavens will be shaken with the anger of God Almighty Himself, and the beloved Son's heart is grieved as well, He once was human because of the love for humans the Father has, and only one human will be left in the universe, the beloved Son of God is the last human remaining.  

27 And then will they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

Comments 21:27-28. The time has come close, the true believers will have hope again that the beloved Son of God will rule over them. All useless idols will be destroyed by the hand of those that went astray and worshiped them, the humans that are left over will feel sorry they did it so late, the earth itself has changed so much for them, but they are looking forward to receiving the beloved Son of God as their King, that is why the verse said “your redemption draws near”.

29 And He spoke to them a parable: Behold the fig tree, and all the trees:

Comments 21:29. “Behold the fig tree”. The fig tree is the people of the Lord, in this place it refers to the Jews themselves, but all the trees are the gentiles that have faith.

30 when they sprout already, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

Comments 21:30. When the rest of humans have seen the Lord’s people concur again, His people will gain back the power and start to rule over the left over humans on earth, then the whole earth will realize who is the true ruler, and life will start back again as normal.

31 So you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near.

Comments 21:31. This verse itself talks only to the true believers, the kingdom of God is near, rejoice and be glad and keep your faith until the end; all the minds of true believers should keep to this verse, that the beloved Son of God is coming back soon, and they have proof of it with the things that happen on earth, and the notice of repentance among themselves, that is the proof for their heart, the time has come close now.

This verse talks about Jesus ruling on this earth for short little while before the beloved Son takes the true believers back with Him to the new earth, because there the Father has prepared His kingdom.

32 Truly I say to you, This generation will not pass away, until all these things will be accomplished.

Comments 21:32. For verse 32 and 33, see Comments Matthew 24:34, 35. 

33 The heaven and the earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

34 But take heed to yourselves, lest ever your hearts be burdened with dissipation, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly;

35 for as a snare it will come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth.

Comments 21:34-35. These verses tell plainly what will happen when people listen to the Word of Life; even the day of the Lord comes as a snare but you all will be ready if you always meditate and stay in prayer.

36 Also watch at every season, praying that you may prevail to escape all these things that are about to come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.

Comments 21:36. The verse tells clearly, in order to be able to escape, all true believers must stay in prayer and all will be able to pass through these trials.

37 And during the day He was teaching in the temple; and during the night He went out, and lodged in the mount that is called Olivet.

Comments 21:37. Different areas are mentioned in the Gospels, but these areas are connected, have the border joining, and in the past, at that time they were considered to be the same area. Bethany and Mount Olivet are a little apart but still in the same area; where the Lord has stayed is still called Olivet as the verse says. See also Comments Matthew 21:17. 

38 And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple, to hear Him.

Comments 21:38. As the verse said, early in the morning, the ones that will come to hear the Lord, it will be those that did not believe only by the head, but by the heart as well. For people, to come and listen to the beloved Son of God speaking early in the morning instead of going to do the work, has already told the faith of that person, willing to lose the wage of work but come to listen to the beloved Son of God speaking.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) When you give an offering to the Lord, think of Him who can see the heart and do not worry about the people what they see or say. 2) Persecution will come to true believers, but the Lord tells us that through “your patient endurance, you will gain your soul”. 3) Jesus is the true teacher. You always must watch and stay in prayer and meditate on the Word of God, so you are not led astray. 4) Set some time each day to dedicate to the Word of God and prayer.  

Luke 22

Summary. This chapter gives details about the last portion of human life of the beloved Son of God before His crucifixion, including that the betrayer had led the people to arrest Him. Also, the beloved Son of God has told all humans that after ending the work on earth, He is going back to the Father and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Luke 22:1-6. The betrayal of the Lord Jesus by His own disciple. The betrayer conspires with the chief priests and the scribes to capture Jesus in the absence of the multitude. Luke 22:7-23. The last Passover and the institution of the Lord’s supper. The Lord Jesus desired to eat this Passover with His disciples before His suffering. At this Passover, He institutes the Lord’s supper by sharing the bread and the grape juice with the disciples and telling them that by taking these we should remember that His body was given for us and His blood was poured for us. The shedding of His blood for our sins is our new Covenant established in His blood.  Luke 22:24-38. The discourse of Jesus to the disciples before His betrayal. The discourse of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke includes: a) Teaching about who is the greatest, by giving Himself as an example “as the one serving” the disciples. b) Jesus appoints us a kingdom to be with Him. c) Jesus foretells Peter’s denial. d) Jesus foretells His crucifixion between the lawless and that on the cross the things concerning Him have come to an end, and He carried our sins with Him.  Luke 22:39-46. Jesus prays to the Father on the Mount of Olives. This portion of Scripture testifies to the humanity of our Lord Jesus. The beloved Son of God in human form needed encouragement from the Father, so He prayed to the Father and the Father answered Him by sending an angel to strengthen Him. Luke 22:47-53. Betrayal and arrest of Jesus. A crowd was led by the betrayer to arrest Jesus. But even during this time, the Lord showed mercy and forgiveness. Luke 22:54-62. Peter’s denials. The word of the Lord to Peter about his denials was fulfilled, and when Peter remembered wept bitterly. Luke 22:63-71. Jesus condemned by the order of elders. Jesus is mocked and beaten by those that held Him and He is unjustly accused by the order of elders of people. Jesus testifies to the Trinity of God; He has told them the most important part here telling that He is seated at the right hand of the power of God. 

1 Now the feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.

Comments 22:1. For verses 1 to 2, see Comments Matthew 26:2-5 and Comments Mark 14:1,2.

2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put Him to death; for they feared the people.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

Comments 22:3. For verses 3 to 6, see Comments Matthew 26:14-16 and Comments Mark 14:10,11. 

4 And he went away, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.

5 And they rejoiced, and covenanted to give him money.

6 And he consented, and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

7 And the day of Unleavened Bread came, on which the Passover lamb must be sacrificed.

Comments 22:7. For verses 7 to 13, see Comments Matthew 26:17-25 and Comments Mark 14:12-21.

8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and make ready for us the Passover, that we may eat.

9 And they said to Him, Where will Thou that we make ready?

Comments 22:7-9. See also Comments Matthew 26:17 and Comments Mark 14:12-13a. The two disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Mark 14:13a are as given here in verse 8, Peter and John.

10 And He said to them, Behold, when you have entered into the city, there will meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house into which he enters.

11 And you shall say to the master of the house, The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?

12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

13 And they went, and found as He had said to them: and they made ready the Passover.

Comments 22:10-13. See also Comments Matthew 26:18-19 and Comments Mark 14:13b-16.

14 And when the hour was come, He reclined, and the apostles with Him.

Comments 22:14. See Comments Matthew 26:20 and Comments Mark 14:17.

15 And He said to them, With longing I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer:

Comments 22:15. For verses 15 to 20, see Matthew Comments 26:26-29 and Mark Comments 14:22-25. With a heart full of love from the beloved Son of God, He wants the disciples to be part of His wishes. When the verse has told He is longing to eat with them, at the same time, He has told His disciples He loves them and always will be with them. When they eat this Passover bread again, they will think of Him, and now He also lets them know that His time is coming soon for the suffering. The beloved Son of God has prepared His disciples for His departure.

16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat it, until when it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

Comments 22:16. “… I will no longer eat it …”. In this verse the Lord has told us clearly, not only to His disciples but to all humans, this will be the last Passover on earth for Him, but all should wait to have the Passover with Him when all will be with Him in heaven.

17 And He received a cup, and when He had given thanks, He said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

Comments 22:17. In this verse, the Lord has shown to the disciples that whatever He has, He will share with them. And also, they should share whatever knowledge they have received with others; not only among themselves alone but with the whole world they must share.

18 for I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

Comments 22:15-18. See Comments Matthew 26:29 and Comments Mark 14:25.

19 And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and gave to them, saying, This is My Body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.

Comments 22:19. See Comments Matthew 26:26 and Comments Mark 14:22.

20 And the cup in like manner after eating, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My Blood, which is being poured out for you.

Comments 22:20. See Comments Matthew 26:27-28 and Comments Mark 14:23-24.

“This cup is the new covenant in My Blood, which is being poured out for you.” The believers that did not acknowledge the power of the Blood of Jesus have not received the forgiveness of their sins. The beloved Son of God has accepted His duty from the Father, and anyone who wants to be a true believer must also accept their own duty that the Lord has put in his heart regardless of what type of duty and how important that duty is, do that duty with the heart of joy. 

21 But behold, the hand of him betraying Me is with Me on the table.

Comments 22:21. For verses 21 to 23, see Comments Matthew 26:21-24 and Comments Mark 14:18-21, John 13:21-26. For this verse see Comments Matthew 26:21, 23 and Comments Mark 14:18, 20. 

22 For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!

Comments 22:22. See Comments Matthew 26:24,25 and Comments Mark 14:22. The disciples, in their heart, knew full well the Lord was talking about Himself being betrayed by one of them.

23 And they began to question among themselves, which of them it may be who is about to do this thing.

Comments 22:23. See Comments Matthew 26:22 and Comments Mark 14:19.

24 And there arose also a contention among them, as to which of them was accounted to be greater.

Comments 22:24. We can notice here that the event mentioned in verse 24 happened at an earlier time (See Comments Matthew 18:1), before this Passover event. However, the Lord has brought back these sayings for teaching (now at the last Passover of the Lord on earth), because the Lord has seen what will happen to them in the future. The disagreements between them, the Lord has seen them and the saying of the Lord will help them.   

25 And He said to them, The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them; and those exercising authority over them are called benefactors.

26 But you shall not be so: instead the greater among you, let him be as the younger; and the one leading, as the one serving.

Comments 22:25-26. This verse has told the disciples straight, if you want to be the leader, think again what you must be first; first you need to serve your fellows in the group. To serve in this place is not as a servant; all the Lord wants everyone to do, is to do good for one another from your heart, and do not expect anything in return. Your reward is not here, but here be humble, and serve your brothers. As the Lord has come to serve all the brothers in faith, the Lord wants all to do to one another the same way; the Lord has been an example for all believers.

27 For which is greater, the one reclining at the table, or the one serving? Is not the one reclining? but I am in the midst of you as the one serving.

Comments 22:27. “but I am in the midst of you as the one serving”. Take notice of the will of the Lord for you. In the life of a Christian, the Lord expects you to help others in the name of the Lord. As the verse has told as well, the Lord Himself is the one who serves as you do, but if you do not do, where do you put the Lord with you? The Lord does not sit beside you when you do something, but He is with you when you do good for others. If you believe in the Lord, when you go, your heart will invite Him, and He will be where a heart invites Him. That's why He is with you.

28 But you are those that have continued with Me in My trials;

Comments 22:28. What the Lord has told us here is that when the Lord was crucified, we were all in His mind already. The Lord thinks of all believers, and His suffering is shared with us in order to lead us to be saved (See Romans 8:17, Philippians 3:10). Everyone’s life has suffering as well, and that is the part we have shared with Him. If you keep the faith and trust in His help, then you continue in His trials. (If you remain faithful and trust in His help then you will continue with Him in His trials).

29 and I appoint to you a kingdom, even as My Father appointed to Me,

30 that you may eat and may drink at My table, in My kingdom; and will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Comments 22:29-30a. Everyone that has read this portion of Scripture, remember as well, when you have given your heart to the beloved Son of God and have invited Him to be with you, the Lord also appointed you to be with Him in His kingdom, if you continue to keep the faith until the end of your life. When the verse tells us that you are at His table with Him, this is where you will all enjoy your blessings for eternity,

Comments 22:30b. “and will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel”. In this portion of the verse, the majority of people believe that it applies only to the Apostles, but in truth, it includes all the true believers in the beloved Son of God. On the judgment day, they all have a duty to be behind the throne of God and witness the Majesty of the Lord in judging all those that did not follow and obey the teachings of the Lord.

“and will sit on thrones”. Behind the throne of God will be small thrones for everyone; all the true believers will have their own spot behind the throne. It is difficult for the human mind to imagine the picture, the throne of God and the area of the thrones, it is wider than any mind can imagine. Remember, we are not in our human bodies, the heavenly bodies are different. We do not know anything about the heavenly body, and that is why we say that the human mind cannot imagine how magnificent the throne of God is like.

“judging the twelve tribes of Israel “. In this place, in this spot, not only will His people alone be judged at that time, but the outsiders as well will be judged there. You will be witnesses, but you are not part of the decision in judging His people, but for outsiders, all true believers will be part of the judging, moreover we are not told what part you will be.

31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat:

Comments 22:31. To sift like wheat, here it means more than trial and testing, but torturing as well, and Satan himself does not have the authority to go and torture any human unless that person has committed sins (See 1 Corinthians 5:5, Revelation 2:22). As this verse has told, Satan asked the beloved Son of God to torture Simon, and the beloved Son of God informed Simon to let him know, and be aware of the testing time, and stay firm in his faith; because of His mercy, the beloved Son of God has warned Simon here.

That is why the Lord does put in the heart of a person that something is not right and when the heart speaks that person should come and seek forgiveness in the name of the Lord Jesus. When a person commits a sin that has opened the path for Satan to enter and the protection from the Lord has been breached (an empty space was created), think of a channel opened but slightly. Evil can torture you but cannot kill you, because the time of your life belongs to the Lord Himself, torturing and killing are different to life on earth. The torture of humans is not the Lord Himself who does it. God is the God of love, but by letting Satan have the power to enter, it is a warning for anyone that commits sin to come back and ask forgiveness to close the path of evil. Not every sickness that happens is a part of torture by Satan. The human body has limited time on this earth and when a part of the body gets weakened the sickness can happen and that is not related to the sin of a person. (Read Psalm 139)

32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith fails not; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.

Comments 22:32. We can see plainly from the verse, that the beloved Son of God has protected His disciple, and He will use him. From Simon’s own mistake, he will be able to strengthen his brothers in faith, but give attention as well, the beloved Son has prayed to the Father for help. And this is not because He cannot do it by Himself, but in all things the beloved Son does according to the Father’s will only.

33 And he said to Him, Lord, with Thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death.

Comments 22:33. Give attention to what Simon has told to the Lord of life; he is ready to go both to prison and death, but he did not know yet what test he would get from Satan. But the mouth has said big words already out, as all humans do all the time; with big mouth they say big things, which the majority cannot do.

34 And He said, I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you will deny three times that you know Me.

Comments 22:34. In this verse, it does not mean the Lord of life predicted what would happen. The beloved Son of God has told Peter clearly when and what will happen. All readers pay attention very well, every moment of your life is already being known by the Lord of life Himself. Jesus said what would happen straight, not what could happen. The verse has told, the cock will not crow this day until the denial of Peter, and what Jesus told the disciple is exactly what will happen.

35 And He said to them, When I sent you without moneybag, and carry-bag, and sandals, lacked you anything? And they said, Nothing.

Comments 22:35. The beloved Son of God wants to point out to all the disciples, even if they had nothing, they did not lack anything when He sent them out. He wants them to think about what happened to them in each day of their life, before they will give Him an answer.

36 And He said to them, But now, the one that has a moneybag, let him take it, and likewise a carry-bag; and the one that has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.

Comments 22:36. “But now, the one that has a moneybag, let him take it, and likewise a carry-bag”. This verse informs all believers to be ready. The Lord even tells you to get a sword for protection, but the sword here is not a weapon for fighting, instead it is the Word of Life from God, which is sharper than the sword itself and if you have that, do not worry anymore. 

“let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword”. Sell here means giving up all your comfort and being content with what you have. If you have extra, give it away and build up value for the world to come as treasure, and use the Word of God for everything.

This verse actually tells the disciples to be ready to go to spread the Word of God.

37 For I say to you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, And He was reckoned with the lawless, for the things concerning Me have an end.

Comments 22:37. “And He was reckoned with the lawless” It means that Jesus was crucified between the lawless and carried our sins with Him. As the beloved Son of God, He is willing to accept to be counted as a criminal, for whatever has been the Father’s will, the beloved Son of God will always fulfill it.

“for the things concerning Me have an end”. The meaning of the beloved Son of God to come down to be human and be crucified, the meaning of all comes to an end at the cross. When He has taken His last breath on the cross, He has accomplished the work He has received from the Father to point out the way to be saved for all humans; this is the thing which concerning Him has come to an end.

This part of the verse, “And He was reckoned with the lawless”, links indirectly to Isaiah 53:12. Isaiah 53:12 talks about the future as well, while this part of the verse in Luke 22:37 at this point refers only to the beloved Son of God suffering on the cross before He takes the last breath of human life in Him.

[Isaiah 53:12. “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

“Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great”. The Lord gives them all the same, regardless of whether they are the high king or the beggars. The Lord will die for all the same and that is why the verse in Isaiah says divide a portion with the great. 

“and he shall divide the spoil with the strong”. The spoil here is the blessing; even the strong ones will receive the blessing as well, but unless they turn, and they have faith, that is all the Lord expects from them.]

38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And He said to them, It is enough.

Comments 22:38. We will concentrate on the part of the verse “it is enough”; here the Lord wants to tell the disciples, whatever you have with you, it is enough to be safe. The sword here is not needed for safety, but if you have one, let it be; that is for your mind to think you are safe; that is why the Lord tells it is enough, and they do not need to get more than what they have.

39 And He came out, and went, as His custom was, to the mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.

Comments 22:39. See Comments Mark 14:32 and Comments Matthew 26:36. Gethsemane was a garden across the Kidron Valley, and it was on the Mount of Olives. It was a big area separated by a group of trees very close to each other, looking like a natural wall. (See Additional Comments Mark 14:32).

“And He came out”. After they finished the Passover meal, they all stayed together talking.  

40 And when He was at the place, He said to them, Pray that you enter not into temptation.

Comments 22:40. For verses 40 to 46, see Comments Matthew 26:36-46 and Comments Mark 14:32-42.

For this verse, see Comments Matthew 26:41 and Comments Mark 14:38.

“Pray that you enter not into temptation”. Regardless of how firm in faith you are, temptation is a big obstacle for all humans; temptation of body needs and the mind wondering around. Temptation plays with the human mind and makes the mind wonder away from the Word of God, but if the deep of your heart keeps praising the Lord, then the Lord will give strength to your heart to fight back the temptation. 

41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s cast; and knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, Father, if Thou are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done.

Comments 22:41-42. See Comments Matthew 26:39 and Comments Mark 14:35-36. This is the first prayer the Lord Jesus made to the Father about the way of His death that will come. Not because it is heavy, but because the beloved Son of God still wants to have help from the Father. He is in human form and has the same weakness as all humans, and with knowing how He will die, the help from the Father He will need.

43 And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him.

Comments 22:43. An angel from heaven appeared to Him during the first prayer. The beloved Son of God in human form needed encouragement from the Father; this angel from the Father, came down to be with the beloved Son of God as a sign to Him that the Father is here as well, because the pain from the death on the cross for the beloved Son of God, as a human, is great. That is why this verse is here, and to show all humans that the beloved Son of God is truly human as well. 

44 And being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

Comments 22:44a. “… He prayed more earnestly”. The beloved Son of God in human form has the same feelings as all humans have. The scene of His own death has come in front of Him as it happened, when He earnestly poured His human heart to His Father. The fear and worry for His own disciples has taken hold of Him as well, but not fear for Himself. See also Comments Matthew 26:42 and Comments Mark 14:39.

Comments 22:44b. When the verse has told as if it were great drops of blood, this is not His blood in this verse, but the sweat that the beloved Son of God has shed out; the way the sweat was dropping, it flowed as easily as the blood flowing, which most humans do not have the same way. Also, this verse has told all humans as well, the beloved Son of God in human form has suffered emotionally, for fear, but not fear for Himself, but for all loved ones because He has already seen what will happen to them in the future.

The prayer described here in verse 44 is the second prayer of the Lord to the Father.

45 And when He rose up from the prayer, He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping from sorrow,

Comments 22:45. See Comments Matthew 26:43 and Comments Mark 14:40. In the Gospel of Mathew 26:44 it tells that the Lord went three times to pray alone away from the disciples. In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, it tells that the disciples were sleeping because their eyes were heavy. Here in this gospel the verse tells they were “sleeping from sorrow”. Think as human, when fear and worry has covered the heart, the mind of all disciples becomes stressful and that is why the verse has told from sorrow. They worry not about themselves only, but also worry about what the beloved Son of God will do, and what will end up with them as well.

46 and said to them, Why sleep you? rise and pray, that you enter not into temptation.

Comments 22:46. The Lord wants all readers to concentrate and think; when the time of life comes, that hard time, sleep will not help but prayer. Pray and ask for mercy from the Father Himself, that all will go well, and you will receive the strength from the Father. Give attention to what the Lord has told us, pray, but believers do not take seriously the prayer; all believers should pray more, so as the verse has told us, "you enter not into temptation", and that is what praying can do for everyone.

47 While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd, and he who is called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them; and he drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.

Comments 22:47. For verses 47-53, see Comments Matthew 26:47-56 and Comments Mark 14:43-50.

For verse 47 see Comments Matthew 26:47-49 and Comments Mark 16:43-45.

48 But Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?

Comments 22:48. This verse is complementing Matthew 46:50a which says, “And Jesus said to him, Friend do that for which you are come.” See Comments Matthew 26:47, 48.

49 And when they that were around Him saw what was about to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword?

50 And a certain one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

Comments 22:49-50. These verses complement Matthew 26: 50b-51 and Mark 14:47. See Comments Matthew 26:51b. 

51 But Jesus answering said, Leave them alone. And He touched his ear, and healed him.

Comments 22:51. “And He touched his ear, and healed him”. All readers should pay attention; this servant hurt the Lord, even though He did not hurt the Lord physically, but by coming to capture the beloved Son of God, he showed the intention of harming Him. Yet, the beloved Son of God forgives him and in this place it confirms the forgiveness; the beloved Son of God heals him and the Lord did not get angry at him, because this man is a servant of someone else, he is acting according to the orders of his master. All Christians should do the same, as the Lord teaches us, to forgive all, even those that hurt you; we all should forgive as well.

See Comments Matthew 26:52-54.

52 And Jesus said to the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and elders, those having come against Him, Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?

53 When I was daily with you in the temple, you stretched not out your hands against Me; but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

Comments 22:51-53. See Comments Matthew 26:52-56 and Comments Mark 14:48-50.

“but this is your hour, and the power of darkness”. We can see clearly from the verse itself, the darkness hour has come, the darkness hour has come upon His children and that darkness has encouraged them to go against the beloved Son of God up to the point they can stand against all the work that they have seen and all the words that the beloved Son of God has taught to them. At that hour, the darkness had power over them, and it is a sad hour for heaven. 

54 And they seized Him, and led Him away, and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed afar off.

Comments 22:54. The Lord wants all readers to pay attention to where the people take the beloved Son of God; they take Him to the high priest’s house. By position, the high priest must be a servant of God, but in this place the high priest, by the power of darkness, will turn his ear and his face away from the voice of the Lord when they bring the beloved Son of God there.

See also Comments Matthew 26:57-58 and Comments Mark 14:53-54.

55 Then they having kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard, and having sat down together, Peter was sitting in the midst of them.

Comments 22:55. For verses 55 to 62, see Comments Matthew 26:69-75 and Comments Mark 14:66-72.

56 And a certain maid seeing him sitting by the light, and looking intently on him, said, This one also was with Him.

57 But he denied, saying, Woman, I know Him not.

Comments 22:55-57. See Comments Matthew 26:69-70 and Comments Mark 14:66-68a. This maid here in these verses is the personal maid of the high priest, as given in Mark 14:66. … This denial by Peter is one that is counted by the Lord as a denial…

58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, You also are one of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not.

Comments 22:58. As the verse has told, a servant of the high priest recognized Peter as well, and Peter had denied the Lord again. This denial is a general statement made by Peter and it was not counted by the Lord as a heart denial. We can notice that this denial does not impact the heart of the speaker.

59 And having passed about one hour, another one confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this one also was with Him; for he is also a Galilean.

Comments 22:59. This event here happens at the same time as Mathew 26:73. We should remember as well, there in the courtyard there were many maids and servants, and if Peter was with them, many of them would say this accusation. As we can see from the verse itself, not only the maids, but also the servants recognized him as well. We can notice by the time difference here, specifically told, another hour has passed; each Gospel reports different angles of the events, the same overall event but (slightly different time of the reporting) (portion of the overall event is being reported) ; in one hour many things happened.

60 But Peter said, Man, I know not what you say. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.

Comments 22:59-60. This denial event with this servant happened at a similar time to the denial event in Matthew 26:73-74. This denial with this servant in Luke, again, is a general denial; it is not a heart denial, just a generic statement. However, in Matthew the 26:73-74, is told that Peter used curses and swearing, which is a heart denial. By heart denial, we mean that the heart truly believes what the person has said, but here Peter says with fear, not his heart that denied the Lord; the fear has made people deny the Lord.

Putting together all the events in all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), it shows that Peter made more denial statements, but in reality, he really had only three heart denials, as told by the Lord in Matthew 26:34 and Luke 22:61 where it says “you will deny me three times” (See Comments Luke 22:61).

Q: From all the gospels we can count the following denials, two times with the maids, two times with the two servants in Luke and one more time with the multitude. Which of these denials are counted by the Lord?

A: In reality Peter denied the Lord more than three times, some indirectly and some directly, but the Lord has told three times which will impact his heart, because he has cursed himself as well; that is the time that impacted him. As walking and saying some general denial statements, that will not impact his heart, but the Gospel states that in reality he will deny the Lord, and he did it three times which has impacted his heart.

61 And the Lord turned, and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He said to him, Before the cock crows this day you will deny Me three times.

Comments 22:61. Peter had a big mouth; he denied knowing the Lord many times, but the straight denials were three times which made an impact on his heart (See Comments Luke 22:60).

Analyzing these verses in all the Gospels, we can see that Peter denied the Lord in truth (heart denials) three times: first to the high priest's personal maid (See Luke 22:57  where Peter says: “I know Him not”, this being correlated to Mark 14:66-68 and Matthew 26:69-70), second to the other high priest’s maid (See Matthew 26:71-72 where Peter says: “I know not the Man”, this being correlated to Mark 14:69-70a and John 18:17), and the third one to those that stood by (See Matthew 26:74 where Peter says: “Then began he to curse and to swear, I know not the Man. And straightaway the cock crowed” this being correlated directly to Mark 14:70b-72, and indirectly to Luke 22:58-60 and John 18:25-27).

62 And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Comments 22:61-62. See Comments Matthew 26:75 and Comments Mark 14:72.

The order of Peter’s denial and the mocking of Jesus and His condemnation by the council is reversed in this gospel versus the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. All these things happen at the same time and each gospel reports specific things, but not in order. However, the Gospel of Luke is the most orderly account of the events in the life of our Lord Jesus.

Summary of Peter’s denials of the Lord as recorded by the four Gospels

In total, we have five different denials that are recorded by the four Gospels. Some are general denials and three of them are heart denials that the Lord counted.

Peter’s three heart denials:

… 1. To maid #1 which is the high priest’s personal maid: … Mark 14:66-68… Matthew 26:69-70 ... Luke 22:55-57.

… 2. To maid #2 which is identified as the high priest’s another maid, that kept the door: … Matthew 26: 71:72 … Mark 14:69-70a …John 18:17 (the maid that kept the door shouldn’t be the personal maid).

… 3. To people that stood by which are identified as “they that stood by”: … Mark 14:70b…72 … Matthew 26:73-75 … John 18:25.

Peter’s general denials:

… 1. To servant #1 identified as servant of the high priest (Peter says man in his answer): … Luke 22:58…

… 2. To servant #2 identified as a servant of the high priest and as a kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off: … John 18:26-27… Luke 22:59-60

63 And the men that held Jesus, mocked Him, and beat Him.

64 And having blindfolded Him, they were striking His face, and were questioning Him, saying, Prophesy, who is the one that struck Thee?

Comments 22:63-64. See Comments Matthew 26:67-68 and Comments Mark 14:65.

65 And many other things, blasphemously, they spoke to Him.

Comments 22:65. See Comments Matthew 26:59-61 and Comments Mark 14:55-59.

66 And as soon as it was day, the order of elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led Him away into their council, saying,

Comments 22:66. For verses 66 to 71 see Comments Matthew 26:62-66 and Comments Mark 14:60-64.

In Luke 22:54, Mark 14:53 and Matthew 26:57, it is said that Jesus was led to the house of the high priest where the scribes and elders were gathered together. This verse is a continuation of Luke 22:54, Mark 14:53 and Matthew 26:57. The order of elders had a council for a while now and were plotting the way to end with the Lord Jesus. Those that captured Him led Him there and the final decision was made, but the plot and the decision had been done before they brought the Lord in.

67 If Thou are the Christ, tell us. But He said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe;

Comments 22:67. This conversation is given only here in this Gospel. The conversation between the accusers and the Lord given in the Gospels must be combined to have a complete understanding of what happened. Also, it is to be noted that each Gospel reports the account of the trial, not necessarily in chronological order of the events, but we should keep in mind that the Gospel of Luke presents us with the most orderly accounts of the life of the Lord Jesus. However, there are no contradictions between the Gospels and all Gospels report some facts of the trial, but these must be combined for a complete understanding (picture).

Notice in Luke 22:67 the difference in the question as compared with Mark 14:61 (Are Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?). The Gospel of Luke records only the first portion of the question given in Mark. 

“If I tell you, you will not believe”. At this point, the Lord just wants them to think; if He tells them He is the beloved Son of God, they will not believe Him as well. Because the Christ is the beloved Son of God. If He tells them that He is the beloved Son of God, that has a deeper meaning, which they cannot accept. The term as beloved Son of God, people at that time cannot accept that He is. Same question but did not get the same answer; to accept just to be the Christ or the beloved Son of God has a different meaning for people there. Most important they did not expect Christ to be a common human. Same question refers to the fact that Christ is the beloved Son of God. 

68 and if I ask you, you will not answer.

Comments 22:68. “and if I ask you, you will not answer”. If the Lord asks them, by the works He has performed will they believe who He is; this is what the Lord is asking them straight in front of them. 

69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

Comments 22:69. See Comments Matthew 26:64 and Comments Mark 14:62. Yes, at the end, the Lord told them directly that He also sits on the throne of the God Most High as well. 

70 Then they all said, Are Thou then the Son of God? And He said to them, You say that I am.

Comments 22:70. See Comments Matthew 26:63-64 and Comments Mark 14:61-62. In their minds, Christ cannot be the Son of God (See question in verse 67 versus the question in this verse). Because in their hearts, there is no Trinity to believe in, but at this place the Lord has told them, He is God sitting beside God the Father; the Trinity of God has been proclaimed here.

71 And they said, What further need have we of witness? for we ourselves have heard from His mouth.

Comments 22:71. See Comments Matthew 26:65-66 and Comments Mark 14:63-64. 

Life and Faith Applications. 1) As a believer, do not be ashamed of the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross and accept His sacrifice for your salvation. 2) All believers in the Lord Jesus should partake regularly in the Lord’s supper together and remember about His broken body and shed blood for our sins. 3) All believers must believe in the power of the Blood of Jesus, shed on the cross from His broken body, to wash away their sins. 4) If you want to be great in the kingdom of God, you must follow the example set by our Lord Jesus. 5) When there is sin in the life of a person, the Lord puts in the heart of that person that something is not right and when the heart speaks that person should come and seek forgiveness in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Luke 23

Summary. This chapter details the trial and the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ at the hands of His people, Pilate, Herod and the outsiders. Luke 23:1-12. Jesus before Pilate and Herod. The chief priests, the rulers and the multitude take Jesus to Pilate and falsely accuse Him with the purpose of having Him put to death by the outsiders. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod to examine Him and have someone else to be blamed for the decision. Jesus was mocked and treated shamefully at the hands of Herod and Pilate. But both Pilate and Herod, after examining the Lord Jesus, found no fault in Him. Luke 23:13-25. Pilate pronounces judgment on Jesus. Pilate, in front of the chief priests, the rulers and the people, declared that Jesus had done nothing worth deserving death. Pilate desires to punish and release Jesus but the accusers “were crying out, saying, Crucify, crucify Him”. Their voices prevailed and “Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted”.  Luke 23:26-43. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. They led Jesus to be crucified and, on the road, He prophesied to the women who were lamenting for Him. They crucified Him between two criminals at a place called The Skull, but in His great love and mercy, He prays to the Father “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. On the cross, Jesus shows us again His authority and that He is the true King, and He is the only way to heaven and the Father by receiving one of the criminals into His kingdom by saying to him “today you will be with Me in Paradise”. Luke 23:44-49. The death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. Miraculous signs from heaven took place when Jesus committed His Spirit into the hands of the Father and breathed His last. Luke 23:50-56. Jesus is buried. Shortly after Jesus' death on the cross, during the day of the Preparation, before the sun set and the start of the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea laid Jesus in his own tomb. The women that followed Jesus from Galilee witnessed where Jesus was laid.

1 And all the multitude of them rose up, and brought Him before Pilate.

Comments 23:1. As the verse tells, they must do it, they must do the will of the dark, because they followed the orders of their leaders. The people by their own decisions have betrayed the beloved Son of God, and they have surrendered their God to the outsiders. Yes, there is always a choice, but they choose to betray the beloved Son of God and that is why the whole nation has been punished.

See also, Matthew Comments 27:1,2 and Mark 15:1.

2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, We found this misleading our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and declaring Himself to be Christ, a King.

Comments 23:2. They brought accusations against Him with the purpose of having Him put to death by outsiders; their premeditated plan was to eliminate Jesus in any way possible. As the verse tells us, they are condemning their God by falsifying things about Him. The Lord of life never lifted Himself up, even to be in the position of teacher, the people have lifted Him up and now they come to accuse Him. He never taught anyone to not pay taxes. All His teaching was to give to the one you owe; if the government has laid rules to pay taxes, then you must pay taxes. The Lord always teaches people to listen and obey those the Lord has given authority to rule over them. 

3 And Pilate questioned Him, saying, Are Thou the King of the Jews? And He answered him and said, You say.

Comments 23:3. See Comments Matthew 27:11 and Comments Mark 15:2. 

4 And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no guilt in this Man.

Comments 23:4. We can notice from the verse that Pilate does not want to be involved in this case, because this is not against the law, it is just against people only, and he does not want to be involved in this.

5 But they kept insisting, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, and beginning from Galilee even to here.

Comments 23:5. When it comes to this verse, all readers can see, the accusation is just teaching. The term used here, “teaching”, this is not the criminal's action, but teaching only, and they come to accuse Him as the verse before has told as well, that He wants to be a king above all. He is King but not of this world. That is why He never tells us to worship Him as king of this earth; He only teaches by the will of God the Father to do according to God’s law and to be pleasing to God; that is all He has done for people.

6 But when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the Man was a Galilean.

7 And having learned that He was of Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem in those days.

Comments 23:6-7. The reason Pilate sent Him away to Herod is not because he felt that the beloved Son of God was not guilty, but he wanted someone else to take the blame for the decision; if they will kill the Lord, he could consider himself clean and not guilty.

8 And Herod having seen Jesus rejoiced exceedingly; for he was of a long time desirous to see Him, because of hearing concerning Him; and he hoped to see some signs done by Him.

Comments 23:8. We can all see clearly from this verse itself that Herod himself has heard many things about the Lord, but he did not have faith, he just wanted to see some show. Even though he had heard many things about the Lord, his purpose was only to see something for fun. He wanted to see some signs for entertainment only.

9 And he questioned Him in many words; but He answered him nothing.

Comments 23:9. We can all see from this verse that the beloved Son of God knows humans very well.

He sees through the human mind, the Lord Himself has already known what all these questions would be and that He will not build anyone's faith in this place, but it is just for them to talk and gossip among them; that is why the Lord Himself says nothing.

10 And the chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing Him.

Comments 23:10. Both these positions serve the living God by duty, but they did not serve Him by heart, but vehemently accusing Him. All readers should pay attention to this, accusing Him, the beloved Son of God had been accused by humans, even though He was only doing good to everyone.

11 And Herod with his soldiers set Him at nothing, and mocked Him, and arraying Him in gorgeous apparel sent Him back to Pilate.

Comments 23:11. “set Him at nothing …”. As the verse tells clearly, Herod does not consider himself to have faith in the beloved Son of God. They mocked Him, dressed Him up as a clown, and they all disgraced the beloved Son of God, treating Him as not a person but a thing. In their mind, they did not consider Him who He really is, as they have heard, because He did not show miracles to them, and they all make fun of Him now.  

12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that day; for before they were at enmity between themselves.

Comments 23:12. Because two black sheep come against the beloved Son of God, even those black sheep do not like each other, but because they both can see that they can have power over the beloved Son of God in human form, this could make two enemies become friends, but this friendship is not a true friendship. If they can make friends by doing wicked things, they will do the same to one another as well.

13 And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

14 and said to them, You brought to me this Man, as misleading the people. Behold, I have examined Him before you, and found no fault in this Man of those accusations you are bringing against Him;

Comments 23:14. Give attention to what Pilate says, “I have examined Him before you”. The rulers of humans examined together, and still have found no fault in Jesus. Every reader should pay attention as well; when the dark has set your mind for something, if your heart is not seeking for the Lord, the truth will not be revealed to your eyes. These people have been blinded, even he found no fault, but because of the fear of popularity, he will not do what he feels is right. Human leaders nowadays do the same as well, they want to do things to please people, but not to please God. 

15 no, neither Herod, for he sent Him back to us. And behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by Him.

Comments 23:15. All readers should give attention as they sent the Lord back because they could not find any guilt. But what this leader wants to do is to keep the people to still like them, so they cannot let Him go without punishing Him even though they all found no guilt in Him. The verse tells us that nothing worthy of death has been done by the Lord Jesus; they said He does not deserve to die, because at that time the death penalty was for criminals. But the beloved Son of God is not a criminal even by their own judgment, but they still will not let Him go free.

16 I will therefore punish Him, and release Him.

Comments 23:16. The word says clearly, he still wants to punish the beloved Son of God, even though they found no guilt in Him. Before releasing Him, He still must suffer, and this is a way of pleasing the popularity to people.

17 Now he must release to them at the feast one prisoner. 

Comments 23:17. For verses 17 to 25, see Comments Matthew 27:15-26 and Comments Mark 15:6-15.

18 But they cried out all together, saying, Away with this, and release to us Barabbas, --

19 one who for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.

Comments 23:17-19. All readers should pay attention, the people put in comparison the beloved Son of God with a criminal, but the people's minds still want to choose the criminal. After the deed has been done, repentance of heart for the people themselves can happen as the hearts of people will be impacted by the death of the beloved Son of God, but it will be too late for sorry.

We can all see “But they cried out all together, saying, Away with this,” and all agree to do bad to the Lord. But, even nowadays, it is easy to make a group of people do things, even wrong things to someone. If you can put to them the feeling that it is the right thing to do the wrong thing, all will do it even knowing it is the wrong thing to do.

20 And Pilate spoke to them again, desiring to release Jesus;

Comments 23:20. But Pilate, as a leader has a duty to do, and if in him, he wants to do right one hundred percent, he does not need to wait for people. As a leader, he could just go out and tell them, "I want to do this way", but he did not, instead he wanted the mob to be the one to make the decision. The Lord had let him be a leader, but he failed to do his duty at this point, and the readers can see clearly, what not the leader feels but what the mob feels, that the weak leader will do.

21 but they were crying out, saying, Crucify, crucify Him.

Comments 23:21. It is easier to lead the mob than one person. In the mob, if one voice shouts out something, the mob hears and will join regardless of right or wrong; at that time, it is not an issue, just to be as one and do things together. 

22 And he said to them the third time, Why, what evil has He done? I have found no cause of death in Him. I will therefore punish and release Him.

Comments 23:22. The verse shows he wants to release the Lord, but at the same time, he wants to punish the beloved Son of God before releasing Him, but for what reason? His intention is not to please God, but all readers can see clearly, he wants to please people by offering to punish Him. 

23 But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that He be crucified. And their voices prevailed, and of the chief priests.

Comments 23:23. According to this verse, His people want the beloved Son of God to be crucified. From within their own will they wanted, and their wish will be granted to them.

24 And Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted.

25 And he released him that for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will.

Comments 23:25. We can see from this verse that he delivered the beloved Son of God to the people's will, but in reality, his own will as well, because of fear that the beloved Son of God will have more power than him.

26 And when they led Him away, they laid hold on one, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and put upon him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.

Comments 23:26. See Comments Matthew 27:32 and Comments Mark 15:21.

27 And were following Him a great multitude of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting for Him.

Comments 23:27. These people have a heart for the beloved Son of God, even at His lowest point, being a teacher sitting on a seat high, but now, He has been condemned as a criminal, the punishment is death on the cross. Their tears they shed on this course, the Father Himself has seen it, and their names will be written down in the book of life. Their lament is not wasted, the reward is waiting for them.

28 But Jesus turning to them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Comments 23:28. The beloved Son of God has seen their tears, but also, He has told them, the suffering is not only on Him but on them and their own children will be as well, the Lord has seen it all. The words that He used were to comfort them that He acknowledged they were weeping for Him and that is what they will think about.

29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never did bear, and the breasts that never nursed.

Comments 23:29. In this verse the Lord has told ahead what will happen to the world after they crucify Him and until His returning. The life of all humans will be suffering. Life for adults is hard, but for the newborn, it will be even harder than all and that is why the verse says “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never did bear, and the breasts that never nursed”.

30 Then will they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

Comments 23:30. When humans are asking for cover or hiding, this also tells us there is fear of the heart, that all do not want to face what they have done, their own actions condemn them. Not just for people in the past, but for people in the future as well, when they feel the need to repent, that is when they will beg for these things to happen to them. Link this to the crucifixion of the beloved Son of God, the sins which humans committed in the past, now and in the future, all contributed to His death on the cross. The beloved Son of God has been crucified for the sins of the future as well, He has paid for all the sins of the whole world. 

31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?

Comments 23:31. In this verse “in the green tree” means prosperity and state of peace. The world in general has peace, but in some portions of the world there is still war, still green tree. When humans do abominable things while the world has peace, what will happen to humans when they do the same things during the hardship of the world that comes upon them? As the verse before has told, hardship and famine will come upon the whole world and that is the time the dry means here.  

32 And there were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.

Comments 23:32. See Comments Matthew 27:38 and Comments Mark 15:27.

33 And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

Comments 23:32-33. See Comments Matthew 27:33-38 and Comments Mark 15:22-28. 

34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Then dividing His garments, they cast lots.

Comments 23:34. See Comments Matthew 27:35 and Comments Mark 15:24.

“And Jesus said, Father, forgive them …”. All believers should notice the loving heart of the beloved Son of God. Even in His most painful time in human form, even as the drops of blood are pouring down from His wounds, in His heart and in His mind, all Jesus wants is for the Father to forgive them all, because they have crucified all Three at this time. The Trinity has been crucified there on that cross. 

“Then dividing His garments, they cast lots.” The greed of humans never ends, even for the garments of the dead one they cast lots to share, but as they shared the beloved Son of God’s garments, they all have shared the sin against God as well. As the verse says, they have shared His garments among them and all who have part in this have equal sin as the one that has pierced the nails into His flesh, the unforgivable sin, they have shared part of it as they have cast lots upon His garments. One begotten Son the Father has, and He has been crucified. They follow orders, but when they share the garments, all responsibility for their own actions falls on them. Taking the garment off His body has exposed the nakedness of His body and brought shame to the dead one and that is no different from piercing the nails into His flesh. As believers, we know as well, the beloved Son of God has been crucified, but He has never truly died. When they have taken His garments off, it is considered to bring shame on Him because the beloved Son of God is always living. If you have disgraced Him in any way, you have done it on the Creator as well.

35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also scoffed at Him saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself, if this is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.

Comments 23:35. See Comments Matthew 27:39-44 and Comments Mark 15:29-32.

36 And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming near, offering Him sour wine,

37 and saying, If Thou are the King of the Jews, save Thyself.

Comments 23:36-37. See Comments Matthew 27:48 and Comments Mark 15:36.

When they mocked the beloved Son of God, did they think of whom they had said these things? Every word that is used is blasphemy to the Trinity of God and all readers and believers should think as well how much hurt the God of Three had when the Son has been trampled by the creatures that the Father has created. These verses show they have mocked the beloved Son of God, who they have crucified on the cross. The sin they have committed was not enough for them to think of, see with their own eyes they have crucified the innocent One, and they still continue to mock Him. What they are doing now is not physical damage, by mocking Him they want to make Him hurt deeper than physically. Regardless, even if this is not the beloved Son of God, they are doing this among humans, they torture humans. The work of God has been tortured and now they torture the beloved Son of God who loved them more than their own parents can love them.

38 And there was also an inscription over Him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS; in Greek and Latin and Aramaic letters.

Comments 23:38. See Comments Matthew 27:37 and Comments Mark 15:25-26.

39 And one of the criminals that was hanged railed on Him, saying, Are not Thou the Christ? save Thyself and us.

Comments 23:39. See Comments Matthew 27:44 and Comments Mark 15:32b. 

40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same condemnation?

Comments 23:40. All readers can see from the answer of this criminal that he admits to having fear of God even under this condemnation, but many people that consider themselves blessed do not glorify God or even fear God. In their mind, they think only that they deserve all the good things.

41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.

Comments 23:41. This verse is given here for all readers to think, condemned by deed, but the beloved Son of God had no evil deed to be condemned for and even the criminal can realize that.

42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when Thou come into Thy kingdom.

Comments 23:42. This is the most important verse in all this story, as the criminal beseeches the Lord of life to remember him, even though in that time the beloved Son of God is on the cross with him. This criminal has recognized that the Lord is God of all, and has His own kingdom above, and he wants only the Lord to remember him. He did not ask the Lord of life to take him there because in his heart he already feels he is not worthy to go there, but he is pleased to be recognized and remembered and this shows he has a humble heart.

43 And He said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with Me in Paradise.

Comments 23:43. The Bible has taught all humans clearly who can take you to heaven. The beloved Son of God has accepted this criminal into His kingdom and all readers should think of this man’s actions and the speech he gave upon his death coming to him.

This criminal has received the best baptism as he has been baptized by the Word of the beloved Son of God Himself who told him that he is worthy to be with Him in Paradise.

44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,

Comments 23:44. See Comments Matthew 27:45 and Comments Mark 15:33.

45 the sun was darkened; and the veil of the temple was torn in the middle.

Comments 15:44-45. The moment the beloved Son of God departed from the earth, even the sun itself could not shine anymore. In the middle of the day, the sun withdraws to give light because the true light of the earth has departed.

46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into Thy hands I commit My Spirit; and having said this, He breathed His last.

Comments 23:46. This is the Lord’s second cry as indicated in Comments Matthew 27:50. For this verse see Comments Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37 and John 19:30.

“Father, into Thy hands I commit My Spirit”. The beloved Son of God, in human form, is completely human as everyone else. He has the spirit as humans have, and that Spirit returns here to the Father. All human spirits will return to the Father’s hand as well because nothing can be alone without the Father, He the Father Himself is the One that created all things, and all things belong to Him. People that blaspheme God should think twice about how they as created things, do not recognize the Most High God and give thanks and appreciation to Him who created all things.

Remember as well, the Bible has mentioned the Spirit of Christ, the beloved Son of God has a Spirit and that is what this verse has told us. Jesus' Spirit is not the spirit of a commoner. This here is the Spirit of Christ which will return to the Father. The commoner spirits cannot go into the same place as the Spirit of Christ goes.

Clarification notes regarding the comments in Matthew 27:50 and Luke 23:46. During Jesus’ life on earth, He was one hundred percent human; the body, soul, and spirit of Jesus couldn’t be separated, they were together as unity because He is human. Now Jesus is in heaven in bodily form and by the will of the Father, the beloved Son’s Spirit can separate and come to earth for work. The Spirit of Christ is on earth according to the Father’s will Himself.  The same way as the Holy Spirit works on earth, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, the beloved Son of God's Spirit also works on earth as well, and this has shown true God and true human; the beloved Son of God has them both.

47 And when the centurion saw what took place, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous Man.

Comments 23:47. All readers can notice in this portion of the message; this is not one of His people that glorifies the Lord here. From his position, this person had been involved in crucifying the beloved Son of God, but with an open eye he saw all the signs and came to believe; he did not claim Jesus was God, but he claimed that Jesus was a righteous Man. The righteous man was the beloved Son of God and has been proclaimed by this outsider.

48 And all the multitudes that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that took place, returned beating their breasts.

Comments 23:48. This multitude is the same group that has shouted out to crucify Him, but when they have seen the way, when the beloved Son was crucified, He received the torture without cursing, and in His peaceful manner He accepted each nail that pierced through Him, and this multitude has been watching the whole procedure that why they are beating now their own breasts, not hitting themselves physically, but the deep feeling of having been hit, from all the things they have witnessed happening.  

49 And all His acquaintances, and the women that followed with Him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.

Comments 23:49. They stay at a distance from the scene; it is not allowed for spectators to surround the scene when they crucify a criminal and here it is the same since they labeled the beloved Son of God as a criminal, so all people must stay far away. Only the soldiers stayed close.

50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a Council member, a good and righteous man,

Comments 23:50. For verses 50 to 56, see Comments Matthew 27:57-61 and Comments Mark 15:42-47.

51 he had not consented to their counsel and deed, a man of Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;

Comments 23:50-51. See Comments Matthew 27:57.

52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

53 And he took Him down, and wrapped Him in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb that was hewn in stone, in which no one had been yet lain.

Comments 23:52-53. This tomb was Joseph’s own tomb as written in Matthew 27:60. See Comments Matthew 27:58-60 and Mark 15:42-47.

54 And it was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.

Comments 23:54. It was the day of the Preparation, in the evening, before the sun set, when Joseph laid Jesus in the tomb. Because the way of the world, we as the gentile, and they, as His people, the day is not the same as counting; this day for them was considered as starting in the evening of the previous day and ending at the sunset of this Preparation day. (See Matthew 26:17 for comments on the days as related to the crucifixion and burial of the Lord Jesus).

55 And having followed, the women, who had come with Him out of Galilee, saw the tomb, and how His body was laid.

Comments 23:55. See Comments Matthew 27:61 and Luke 23:49. These are the women who witnessed the empty tomb and also the ones who went and told the disciples as well. (See Comments Matthew 28:1-8, Comments Mark 16:1-8 and Comments Luke 24:1-12). 

56 And they turned back, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Comments 23:55-56. These women witnessed where the tomb was and how the body of Jesus was laid, and they turned back to where they had lodged and prepared spices and ointments and returned on the first day, after the Sabbath, to anoint the Lord, but the Lord had risen, so they never had a chance to use these spices on the body of the Lord. The Bible has mentioned in another place this activity but, all those that followed Him never anointed the Lord’s body because by the time they can come to do it, the beloved Son of God had risen already (See Comments Matthew 28:1-8, Comments Mark 16:1-8 and Comments Luke 24:1-12).

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Jesus is the true King and, by faith in Him, we can be part of His kingdom. 2) Jesus suffered greatly at the hands of His people and the outsiders for the sins of the whole world. 3) The Lord’s death on the cross is central to our salvation and faith. 4) It is never too late to beseech the Lord of life to forgive us and take us into His kingdom.

Luke 24

Summary. This chapter is important in teaching about the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Also, this chapter tells all true believers that the beloved Son of God has taught His disciples to go out and tell the good news about the risen Lord Jesus who comes to save their souls. This good news cannot be kept only for the disciples, but they all must go out and spread this good news. The next person that has heard the good news also receives the same duty to go out and proclaim the same good news to all. Luke 24:1-12. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus. A group of women who followed the Lord Jesus from Galilee witnessed the empty tomb on the first day of the week. Two angels spoke to them and told them that He is risen and reminded them of how He told that “the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day arise”. Luke 24:13-32. Jesus appears to His two disciples. The Lord Jesus appeared to these two in His heavenly form as they were on the road to Emmaus. This section of Scripture shows that the purpose of spreading good news about the Lord Jesus has started. Verses 19 to 24 summarize for us the good news, and there is always a way to tell someone the good news. Jesus is alive, and He has both His human body and His heavenly body joined together now and His Spirit covers all the earth. Luke 24:33-48. Jesus appears to all His disciples. In the evening of the same day, when Jesus arose from the grave, He appeared to His eleven apostles and to other disciples that were gathered with them. The Lord showed “to them the hands and the feet” to prove them that He is alive, and He rose in His body, as He told them, and that He is not a Spirit but has flesh and bones. Then He ate “a piece of a broiled fish” in front of them, and then He taught them to understand the Scriptures concerning Him that He must suffer and rise on the third day. Luke 24:49. Jesus instructs the disciples. In a different appearance to the disciples, Jesus told them to wait in the city for the promise of the Father which He would send, namely the Holy Spirit. Luke 24:50-53. The Ascension. Before His departure, Ascension into heaven, Jesus Himself led the disciples out as far as Bethany somewhere on the Mount of Olives. There He was separated from them and His own Spirit carried His human body into heaven. Now, His heavenly body is joined with His human body, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

Comments 24:1. For verses 1 to 10, see Comments Matthew 28:1-8 and Comments Mark 16:1-8.

For this verse See Comments Matthew 28:1 and Comments Mark 16:1-2.

Matthew 28:1a says, “After the Sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week”. The Sabbath day really starts on Friday at sun set and ends on Saturday at sunset, as per our Gentile day system (See Matthew 26:17).

In the old times, the Lord’s people set the Sabbath day early on Friday at sunset and from that moment on it was the Sabbath day. We are still on Friday, but the sun has gone down, and Friday has ended for them and at that moment it became Saturday. In the Jewish time setting, Saturday (the Sabbath) started at sunset on Friday. From Friday at sunset until Saturday at sunset, it was considered the Sabbath day. The women went to the tomb on Sunday very early in the morning before the sunrise.

See Mark Comments 16:1-2 for events analysis.

2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Comments 24:2. Matthew 28:2 tells that “an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and set upon it”. See Matthew Comments 28:2-7.

3 And they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

Comments 24:3. As the Bible tells us, this tomb belongs to Joseph. He was a wealthy man and the tomb was large, so few people could easily enter inside.

4 And it came to pass, while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling garments;

Comments 24:3-4. These are angels, but they used the covering of look like men. (See Mark Comments 16:5).

5 and as they were terrified of them and bowed down their faces to the ground, they said to them, Why seek you the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but He is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was yet in Galilee,

7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day arise.

8 And they remembered His words,

9 and having returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.

Comments 24:5-9. For these verses, see Comments Mark 16:5-8 and Comments Matthew 28:2-7.

Remember as well, there was not only one woman present, so both angels talked to them, to make sure that they could see, and could think clearly what was happening at the tomb. The angels have told them “Why seek you the living among the dead”, and by referring to this, the angels made sure that in their hearts they believe the beloved Son of God is not physically there, He is alive. Jesus is risen and the angels reminded them of what He had told them, and then these words stirred them and made their hearts and memories think of what the beloved Son of God had told them when He was with them. This has made them come to believe that what is happening now to them is not a dream and everything the beloved Son of God has told them has happened and will happen until the last Word that He has told them.

10 Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.

Comments 24:1-10. See also Mark 16:1 for the list of named women that came to the tomb of Jesus, but here in this verse it tells us plainly that besides these women named here in Luke 24:10 and Mark 16:1, there were other women with them. From this group of women that came to the tomb, only a few of them were bringing spices to anoint the Lord and others just came along.

The verse tells us clearly, not only those that have been named told these things to the apostles, but many others as well.

All gospels give accurate information without errors as to what events took place at the tomb. We believers must read all the gospels and combine all events together to be able to have a clear picture of what took place at the tomb. For a better understanding see Comments Mark 16:1-8 Comparison analysis.

11 And their words appeared before them as idle talk; and they disbelieved them.

Comments 24:11. All readers can see that the people at that time who had been with the beloved Son of God could not believe these women who told them that the beloved Son of God is risen. So, what about people nowadays? How many people believe what has been written here without seeing the site?

See Comments Mark 16:9-11 and Comments John 20:11-18. See also the comments for Mark 16:9-11 about Mary Magdalene visit at the tomb.

12 But Peter arose, and ran to the tomb; and having stooped down he sees the linen cloths only; and he went away, wondering at that which was come to pass.

Comments 24:12. Peter went to the tomb and, as the verse tells, he stooped and looked inside, but he had not gotten in yet, and he saw the clothes of the Lord, the rest of the information from all gospels, all readers must combine them. Each gospel tells only a portion of the story and it is the duty of the readers to combine them.

See John 20:1-10 for the complete story about Peter and the other disciple at the tomb, where it tells us that Peter and the other disciple both eventually entered inside the tomb as well. Combining the information from both these gospels, we can understand that both these disciples (Peter and the other disciple) had stooped and looked in first, and then they entered inside the tomb. When you read a story in a gospel, keep in mind that each gospel has a duty of its own as well; one gospel will describe general things, but another will tell more specific things. All readers must combine the parts of the story together from all gospels and a full understanding of the story will come.

13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles distance from Jerusalem.

Comments 24:13. This event is the same event as the one described in Mark 16:12-13 (see Comments Mark 16:12-13). These two were not apostles, they were other disciples of the Lord Jesus (see verse 33).

14 And they communed with each other about all these things which had taken place.

15 And it came to pass, while they communed and reasoned together, that Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were held that they should not know Him.

Comments 24:14-16. From this verse, the readers can understand that the beloved Son of God appears to all that have faith and believe in Him, not only for the purpose of using them, but for the purpose of helping them. Because when they hear someone else had a chance to meet the Lord, even if they did not know it was the Lord at that time, later on they will realize that the Lord will never leave them, He will always be there and someone can witness.

See Comments Mark 16:12-13 as the Lord Jesus appeared to these two in His heavenly form. The heavenly forms are different from human forms; the heavenly form of the beloved Son of God Himself has material that can be touched, but for others, it has material but not touchable.

Q: Why did the Lord appear to some people only at first? A: There is always purpose with the Lord; it helps one another later, not necessarily at this point of time.

17 And He said to them, What conversation is this that you have with one another walking? And they stood still, looking sad.

18 And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said to Him, Do Thou alone visit Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days?

Comment 24:17-18. The readers can notice from this answer, the purpose of spreading good news has started. These two started talking with strangers to tell what has happened during that time, and this will start the talk further on. This is the way to spread the good news and this is the Lord's will for all to do; when you meet someone new, you hope they will have faith as well.

19 And He said to them, What things? And they said to Him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a man, a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;

Comments 24:19. In this verse they tell all who Jesus is and what His work is and the portion of Scripture, verses 19 to 24, summarizes the Gospel of the beloved Son of God on earth.

20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

Comments 24:20. In this verse we will concentrate on the chief priests. From their position, their duty was to glorify God, but they had used their duty in condemning the beloved Son of God to crucify Him, and that was the end of their action.

21 But we hoped that it is He who is about to redeem Israel. Yes and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass.

Comments 24:21. This verse shows the reader clearly that the people of God have been expecting the Messiah to come and redeem the people; they know who would redeem them, but they did not believe in Him yet.

The verse also tells us that Jesus rose after three days passed after His crucifixion.

22 Moreover certain women of our company astonished us. Having been early at the tomb,

23 and when they found not His body, they came, declaring, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that He is living.

24 And some of those that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said, but Him they saw not.

Comments 24:22-24. All readers can notice from these verses that some women have seen the tomb empty, and also, they have received mercy from God the Father to send His angel to tell them that the beloved Son of God is still alive. Jesus being alive has been confirmed by the empty tomb and this is a firm confirmation of what had happened.

From the conversation in these verses (19 to 24), this is the good news, and there is always a way to tell someone the good news. Depending on the situation each one of us is finding ourselves in, we could start with a little conversation, and in the end, everyone can tell the true gospel to every listener they meet.

25 And He said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into His glory?

Comments 24:26. The beloved Son of God Himself accepts all the suffering and, after all is done, He will go back to heaven, because the beloved Son of God will always do according to what has been spoken by the Father through all the prophets of the Lord.

27 And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

28 And they drew near to the village where they were going, and He made as though He would go farther. 

Comments 24:28. The beloved Son of God wants all that believe in Him to think before they judge. For this portion of the verse, “and He made as though He would go further”, most people interpret that Jesus wants to test His followers and pretend to do something else differently.

29 And they compelled Him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And He went in to abide with them.

Comments 24:29. Now all readers can understand what the verse before has told. All His followers should ask Him to stay with them and the beloved Son of God wants them to do this by themselves. If they want Him to be with them, they must ask Him, because He will not force Himself to be there if He will not be asked, and here is the place we can notice.

30 And it came to pass, when He reclined with them at the table, He took the bread and blessed; and breaking it He gave to them.

Comments 24:30. The beloved Son of God has made those that are at the table be with Him, and He Himself will be the bread for them later as well. Now, He has the bread in His hand, but later they will have the bread to fill up the stomach, and the bread of life to fill up the soul as well.

31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight.

Comments 24:31. When the beloved Son of God has shared the bread from His hand, all eyes will be open, not just the eyes of the body but the eyes of the soul as well, as the verse has told here clearly “and they knew Him”.

“He vanished out of their sight”. In this place, His heavenly body has returned to be a completely heavenly body and the human eyes will not be able to see Him, as most people think nowadays. As long as you are in a human body, what a heavenly body will be, you cannot see it. Also, think this way as well, you as a human body, when the heavenly body has covered your body, you still have a human body, but another human will not see your body anymore. In this place it is the same way. The beloved Son of God has a human body, but when His heavenly body covers Him, His human body will vanish out of sight, but it does not mean He loses His human body, just the heavenly body covered it for the eyes of humans, not to see it. 

32 And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, as He spoke to us on the road, as He opened to us the Scriptures?

Comments 24:32. When the beloved Son of God spoke to them, He did not ask how they were, but the Lord used the opportunity to teach them, as the verse told, “He opened to us the Scriptures”.

33 And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

Comments 24:33. The eleven apostles were never alone either, they always had people around them, and this verse confirms that. We should notice that sometimes between this verse and verse 36, Thomas has left the gathering (See John 20:24).

34 saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.

Comments 24:33-34. (See Mark 16:7 and 1 Corinthians 15:5)

From these verses we can conclude that one of the apostles has told these two disciples that “The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon”.

In 1 Corinthians 15:5 we are also told that Jesus “appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve”. This is confirmed only here in this verse in the Gospel of Luke, where it tells us that the Lord appeared to Simon first before He appeared to the other apostles.

Q: Why does 1 Corinthians 15:5 say twelve apostles when in the gospels it mentions eleven only? A:  Because at that time, the next apostle had already been with them as well, but in the gospel's time they did not ask yet who he would be. The new apostle was in the group, but he was not assigned yet as one of the twelve (See Acts 12:1-26). 

35 And they rehearsed the things that happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Comments 24:35. In order to open their eyes and minds and see the Lord clearly, He broke the bread and gave it to the disciples to take. According to this verse, the true believers will notice when the Lord appears to them with the purpose of confirming and strengthening their faith, when the Lord will break the bread. [Think this way, the Lord is coming back. We, as Christians, how can we be sure that He is the true Lord? When we have communion with the Lord, He will break the bread and that action will confirm in our hearts that the Bible has told us about this action of the Lord.] Breaking the bread itself has a very important meaning on its own. The bread represents the beloved Son of God, and He has given His human flesh to all the people in the world to take it as a remembrance of His sacrifice. When you break the bread, in the communion action, is when you must remember the beloved Son of God.

36 And as they spoke these things, He Himself stood in the midst of them, and says to them, Peace to you.

Comments 24:36. Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and this is a confirmation to all disciples that the Lord of life is indeed alive right now. This will make the disciples have peace and help them also to eliminate fear and doubt, because hard work is waiting ahead of them.

This appearance here in verse 36 happened in Jerusalem on the evening of that day before the one on the mountain in Galilee. This appearance here in this verse, in Jerusalem, is the same appearance as the one described in Mark 16:14 and John 20:19-23 (See Comments Mark 16:14 and Comments John 20:19-23).

In Mark 16:7, the angel tells “… He goes before you into Galilee, there you will see Him, as He said to you.”

In Matthew 28:16, we understand that the apostles went to Galilee indeed to the mountain where the Lord Jesus had appointed them, and they saw Him and worshiped Him there, but some were still in doubt. 

We can conclude from these verses that the Lord Jesus appeared to the apostles at least two times when they were gathered. To understand the complete picture and the appearances of Jesus to the disciples, we need to combine these events in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke with the events described in the Gospel of John, chapters 20 and 21.

“He Himself stood in the midst of them”. Q: How could a material body just appear in the midst of them without any obstacles? A: From the question has told to all as well, what is impossible for God to do? The beloved Son of God, in human form, also has the same form as God as well. He can walk through anything and neither wood nor iron can stop Him, and no one will notice His movements either. He is human, but also God in that time; He has already returned to the Father and received back all the glory of the beloved Son of God to cover the human body.

37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed that they beheld a spirit.

Comments 24:37. It is common for humans, and they are regular humans, to be frightened, because they have seen Him crucified and die on the cross, and that is why all their minds were thinking He is not a real person but just a spirit.

38 And He said to them, Why are you troubled? and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

Comments 24:38. For the apostles in that time to have this doubt, all humans nowadays will have the same doubt as well about the beloved Son of God, "Is He a man or a God?", that what most humans ask as well; if He is true human, some certain things He should not be able to do, but can He be in the same time human and God, that why the verse has asked “why do doubts arise in your hearts?”.

39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself, touch Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, just as you see Me having.

Comments 24:39. As this verse has told to all readers, even as we are nowadays to think as well, if you can touch and feel the beloved Son of God's human body, is that going to build up more faith or not? As this verse has told to all disciples, stop having doubt and believe, that is the main thing.

40 And having said this, He showed to them the hands and the feet.

Comments 24:40. To show them here is not just to see the hands and the feet alone, but to see the scars from the nails on the beloved Son of God’s body. He has let all His disciples see His wounded body, to let them see that He is a real human as they are; that is the reason to show them these parts of His body.

41 And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, He said to them, Have you here anything to eat? 

Comments 24:41. As the verse tells us, the disciples now have joy, but they still wonder as well. By Jesus asking them for food, He has ensured all the disciples’ hearts that He is a real human at this time as well.

Q: How can a heavenly body consume earthly food? A: There are many places in the Bible where the heavenly forms can eat (See for example, Genesis 18:8), because when human food enters the mouth of the heavenly form that food will change instantly and it will be fit for the heavenly form to consume, that is why the Lord asked food from them to make them feel certain that is He Himself talking to them. Heavenly forms are material while the spirit is not material. Heavenly forms do not travel regularly to earth. When the three men appeared to Abraham, they were heavenly forms, not spirits and that is why they could eat food. 

Q: Does the heavenly body then need to eat food regularly like us? A: The heavenly body needs heavenly food regularly, because some certain conditions make the heavenly body still in need of food, but it is not for humans to know what food is to be considered as heavenly food. 

42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish.

43 And He took it, and ate before them.

Comments 24:43. The verse tells that indeed the Lord ate the food, and this is a further confirmation of His bodily resurrection.

44 And He said to them, These are My words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, concerning Me.

Comments 24:44. “All things must be fulfilled” refers to Jesus’ teaching about His death as the Lamb of God for the remission of our sins and His resurrection after three days (see verses 45-47). The beloved Son of God will fulfill all things that have been written about Him and here is the proof of it.

45 Then opened He their mind, to understand the Scriptures;

46 and He said to them, Thus it has been written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise out from the dead the third day;

47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48 You are witnesses of these things.

Comments 24:48. In this place, the beloved Son of God has told all His disciples and readers, all things must be fulfilled, and what it is written we all should think of it that the beloved Son of God has completed. 

Note that the appearance of Jesus to the disciples described in verses 36 to 48 took place on the resurrection day. Also, note that there is a gap of time between the events ending in this verse and the events starting in the next verse.

49 And behold, I am sending out the promise of My Father upon you; but remain you in the city, until you be clothed with power from on high.

Comments 24:49. We can notice there is a gap of time between verses 36 to 48 and verse 49. Between these verses, there is a noticeable break between the events presented, and it tells all readers that there is a gap of time. In John 20:26, we are told that eight days later, from the appearance described in Luke 24:36-48, while the disciples were in Jerusalem somewhere, inside again, the Lord appeared to them and Thomas was with them. Then in John 21:14 we are told that at the Sea of Tiberias, the Lord revealed Himself to the disciples for the third time. As written in Acts 1:3, Jesus appeared to the disciples for a period of 40 days and spoke with them about the kingdom of God. 

The saying of the Lord Jesus in verse 49 happened during a different appearance of the Lord Jesus to the disciples, while in Jerusalem, sometimes shortly before His Ascension, when He instructs them to remain in the city (Jerusalem) to be “clothes with power from on high”. More specifically, this saying in this verse took place at the same time as the saying in Acts 1:4 when the Lord “was staying with them” in Jerusalem at a place where all were gathered together. From this place in Jerusalem, while the Lord was staying with them, He led them up to Bethany on the mount of Olives from where He ascended into heaven (see verses 50 to 53 and Acts 1:4-11).

“And behold, I send out the promise of My Father upon you”. The beloved Son of God has told the disciples straight that the promise of the Father, the beloved Son of God has sent it for them, and this promise will help them to do the work, not only miracle work but the gift of speaking as well, they will remember everything that the beloved Son of God has taught them, even nothing has been written out yet, but all will remember exactly the same things. And also, many things the Lord will give them according to the promise of the Father. Even the verse has not told all readers clearly but, when the Lord said “clothed with power from on high” this portion refers to covering all of them with the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit from the Father Himself.

50 And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them.

Comments 24:50. Note that this verse is connected to a different appearance of the Lord Jesus to the disciples and not to the one described in verses 36 to 48. Bethany is a village on the Mount of Olives. Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem, before His Ascension, where they were gathered together, and then He led them out as far as Bethany somewhere on the Mount of Olives. The Ascension itself is described in Acts 1:6-11.

51 And it came to pass, as He blessed them, He was separated from them, and was carried up into heaven.

Comments 24:51. The Lord ascended to heaven from somewhere on the mount of Olives, but not from the village of Bethany itself. The Ascension itself is described in Acts 1:6-11.

“and was carried up into heaven”. His own Spirit carried His human body into heaven.

The travel of the Lord into heaven happened instantly, faster than the blinking of an eye. The Lord Jesus in His heavenly body, from our conception of time and space, can travel instantly, but since the heavenly body is of material form, He cannot appear at the same time in multiple places. However, because the speed of travel is so fast, He can travel many places in a blink of an eye. Currently, the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord Jesus cover the whole world. To connect with the spiritual world, fasting and prayer are needed. The heart that meditates on the teaching will open the path of connection for that soul and the mercy of the beloved Son of God will help that soul to connect with His Spirit as well. The Lord Jesus in His heavenly body will not come back to the earth until His second coming. 

52 And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

53 and were continually all in the temple, blessing God.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Depending on the situation each one of us is finding ourselves in, we could start with a little conversation, and in the end, everyone could tell the true gospel to every listener the Lord brings in their path. 2) A true follower of Jesus Christ must believe in His full body resurrection, flesh and bones. The Lord emphasized His bodily resurrection many times in the Gospels, and here in the Gospel of Luke we have Him showing Himself to the disciples and teaching them about His suffering and resurrection on the third day and explaining to them the Scriptures. 3) All believers should pray without wavering for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  4) All believers should wait and pray for the returning of the Lord Jesus to earth.

Introduction to The Gospel of John    

Authorship of the Gospel of John.

The true author of the gospel is the Holy Spirit, who gave what to write to the right person here, John the son of Zebedee, the apostle.

About John’s Gospel.

The Gospel of John has placed many gaps of time between verses. All readers must link the verses carefully; some will relate to chapters before, and some will look to chapters after; the Gospel of John is unique. The Lord uses this gospel in talking to a different class of people. The same verse in this gospel also in another gospel has trouble. For example, another gospel has the same event but is incomplete, and this gospel will help to understand that event in the other gospel. Still, in another gospel, we can use John's gospel to fill the gap in that gospel as well, and also in this gospel, many gaps have opened the way for all to meditate and seek help from the beloved Son of God to understand. John's gospel emphasizes glorifying the beloved Son of God; in this gospel, John has taught the trinity of God clearly. Anyone who has questions about Trinity should come and seek the answer from John's gospel.

What is the mission of John’s Gospel?

John 1

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus is introduced as the Word, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ, the Lamb of God, the Teacher, and the King of all. John 1:1-18. This section of the Bible is important in describing who Jesus Christ is for humans. The Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit) is One from eternity. The apostle John introduces the Lord Jesus to us systematically from the beginning until the incarnation. A) (verses 1-3). The “Word” in these verses refers to both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as part of the Trinity of God. Jesus Christ as the pre-incarnate Word is part of the Trinity of God and all creation. B) (verses 4-5). Within the Word, Jesus Christ is the life and the Light for humankind. C) (verses 6-11). John, the messenger of God, came to testify concerning the existing true Light, Jesus Christ, as the Word, coming into the world. D) (verses 12-18). The beloved Son of God, Jesus Christ, came down to be born by the will of the Father Himself, and the Word became flesh in Jesus Christ and dwelt among us. When Jesus Christ was born in the flesh, the way to be saved, for humans, is through the beloved Son of God only, by His grace alone. John 1:19-34. The testimony of John the Messenger concerning Jesus Christ the Son of God. A) (verses 19-28). John, the messenger of God, is a humble man, and he repeatedly testifies that he is not the Christ. He tells people that the Messiah is coming and warns people to wait for the true Messiah to come. John has prepared the human heart to receive the Lord Jesus, to make the path of the Lord straight into the heart of all humans. B) (verses 29-34). John testifies concerning Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Lamb of God, and the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John has announced Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, the perfect lamb that washes away all the sins of the whole world. John 1:35-51. The Lord Jesus calls the first disciples. A) (verses 35-39). John has testified about the beloved Son of God, and for what he said, it makes two of his own disciples follow the Lord Jesus. These two recognize the Lord Jesus as the Teacher, the Lamb of God, and Messiah and start following the Lord. B) (verses 40-51). Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, informs Peter that they have found the Messiah (translated as Christ). Jesus meets Peter. Jesus calls Philip. Philip informs Nathaniel about Jesus of Nazareth. The Lord Jesus calls Nathaniel. In his sayings, Nathaniel tells all what he believes about the Lord Jesus: He is a Teacher (Rabbi), the Son of God, and the King of all.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Comments 1:1. This verse tells all readers that in the beginning, the Three in One already existed before all things were created, and here is the place we can notice. The “Word” here in this verse refers to both Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and God refers to God the Father because here it tells us about the Trinity of God. We can imagine in this way as well, God the Father is so big that God the Son and the Holy Spirit are in Him, and all Three are tangled together, cannot be separated, but each of the Three has His own duty as well.

“In the beginning was the Word.” As the verse here tells all readers, in the beginning, before all things were created, the Word, the Trinity of God was there already, and all things from the Trinity of God will happen.

“and the Word was with God.” Now the verse tells all that in God the Father Himself, the beloved Son and Holy Spirit are already in Him.

“and the Word was God.” The most important here to notice, the Word itself also is God the Father Himself because God the Father has the Holy Spirit and the beloved Son of God in Him from the beginning.

Q: Why are we talking about the “Word,” and how this relates to Jesus, the incarnated one? A: As the Bible will tell, the Father will send the beloved Son to save all creation by taking the form of the Human; the Father wants all things to link back until the beginning of all creation. By sending the beloved Son to come on earth, all things have linked back to the beginning of creation on its own.  

Q: God the Father is Spirit; Holy Spirit we say is the Spirit of the Father, and we have the Word as well. A: Holy Spirit is the identity of the Spirit of the Father; the Father Himself will not come down on earth. The majority of the believers believe the Word refers to the beloved Son of God, but all readers should remember as well, God is One, but the Three become One God as well; the Father, the beloved Son of God and the Holy Spirit all are One, that why is the Trinity of God. Because God of Three, the term Word includes the Three, it cannot be just One being the Word; all Three are the Word.

God is Spirit; (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) … Three in One, but each One has His own identity, either of them cannot be without one another; God is Three in One and cannot be separated.

As humans, we have spirit and soul, which are different, but these must be together as well; to be a complete human, we cannot lack any of these.   

2 This was in the beginning with God.

Comments 1:2. “This” in this place refers to the Trinity in the first verse. So, that is why it says “this” in this verse; when saying “this,” all Three are together, as One, as we talked on the verse above.

Because the Lord wants to make sure that humans understand the Trinity of God, and it cannot be separated, that is why the verse uses the term "this": “This was in the beginning with God.”

3 All became on account of Him, and apart from Him, nothing became that has been made.

Comments 1:3. As this verse has told us, everything the Father has created, He created with the purpose of glorifying the beloved Son of God; everything was made through the beloved Son of God because the Father has seen all His creation will be saved through the beloved Son’s death on the cross; the Father has seen what will happen already, that His created things will crucify His beloved Son on the cross, that is why here the verse tells: “apart from Him, nothing became that has been made.”

“All became on account of Him.” God is eternity; the beloved Son of God was in the beginning, He was in the beginning with God, and the Father created all things through the beloved Son of God, because, with the love of the beloved Son of God, all that belong to Him will be forever with Him.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Comments 1:4. This verse tells us that through the beloved Son of God, life has been given to all humans, and that life becomes the light of men for surviving; as long as they keep the faith and abide by the love of the beloved Son of God, their own life will be based on the light of the beloved Son of God.

“In Him was life.” Because the beloved Son of God lives forever, His life will be light for all humans. Because when the beloved Son of God gave His life on the cross, that life that He gave becomes light for humans. The light here refers to the true knowledge about God.

5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not seized it.

Comments 1:5. When the beloved Son has given up His life for the humans, the light from His life becomes the ray of light shining through the darkness, and the dark itself cannot stand against it and cannot accept that light because the dark cannot accept the light in their area, the dark wants to remain dark.

The dark here is the power of the evil one that controls it, which can blind the mind and the eyes of those that seek and walk with the dark. The dark cannot fight against the light; that is why the verse has told the darkness has not seized it.

The light is the true knowledge about God, and that knowledge will shine out, and the dark cannot seize it.

6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.

7 He came as a witness, that he might testify concerning the Light, that all might believe on account of him.

Comments 1:7. The verse has told all readers that John is a witness for the Lord. John, the man that the Lord used to be as a witness, all humans should look and think of the way of his faith; the way he lives may not fit all people, but the way of his heart and his faith all humans can look as an example.

8 That one was not the Light but came in order that he might testify concerning the Light.

Comments 1:8. The verse has told all readers clearly that John is a witness of the true Light, that is the most important thing, and has also told of his duty as well here.

9 The existing true Light, which enlightens every man, was coming into the universe.

Comments 1:9. The verse has told all readers clearly; the beloved Son of God Himself exists from the beginning before the earth was created; with the mercy of the Father, the true Light has come, not to be just the light of the earth, but to be the true way for all humans to go to worship the Father in heaven; come to that Light for being saved.

10 He was in the universe, and the universe happened because of Him, and the universe knew Him not.

Comments 1:10. The universe has been created through Him, but everything in the world has not known Him because all have let their hearts be blind, not the eyes be blind, but the hearts that are blind and will not acknowledge His work, as this verse has told to all who read.

“the universe knew Him not”; refers to the earth (the earth itself is in the universe, and the earth knew Him not); the earth itself had opened its mouth to take the beloved Son of God (to crucify and bury the beloved Son of God); that is why the verse has told, “knew Him not.”

11 He came to His own, and those belonging to Himself received Him not.

Comments 1:11. As the Bible tells here, Israel is His people, but even now, they still do not receive Him, as the verse has said to all readers. How long will it take to come to be His true people? If their hearts are not for Him, the true blessing will not come upon them; now, they are still suffering. The suffering is not about physical, but about their soul that rejects the beloved Son of God, which is still in suffering.

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those that believe in His name,

Comments 1:12. Now, this verse itself does not talk about only His own people, but talks about all humans of this earth; anyone that comes and accepts Jesus from true heart, the Lord Himself will adopt them all to be His children; they just need to accept His beloved Son to be the true God for them, and all will earn that right to become children of God.

13 who was born, not out of blood, nor out of the will of the flesh, nor out of the will of man, but of God.

Comments 1:13. “who was born, not out of blood, nor out of the will of the flesh.” At first, all readers should think, when the verse has told "not out of the blood," what do you think of that blood? The beloved Son of God was not born through the sperm of a human, which is the blood; that is the meaning. When the Bible has told, "nor out of the will of the flesh," the beloved Son of God was not born through the woman's will but the will of the Father Himself who gave the woman to be able to conceive the beloved Son in her womb; that is why the verse tells He was not born by the will of the flesh.

“nor out of the will of man, but of God.” From the verse itself, we can clearly see that the beloved Son of God came down to be born by the will of the Father Himself, which is the most honorable will; the beloved Son of God was utterly willing to come down to do so the Father’s will.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Comments 1:14. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This portion of the verse clearly tells all humans that the beloved Son of God came down to be born as a human and took the human flesh to be His own; the beloved Son of God has lowered Himself down to be a human.

“and we beheld His glory … full of grace and truth.” From the first breath of life that the beloved Son of God has taken on this earth, His glory has shown to all humans, the glory from the Father Himself, the glory from the Father Himself has come down with the beloved Son as well, all humans can see through His grace and the truth that He is teaching to all humans; all His teaching is the truth of life, every human should take it seriously, the Bible is the Word of life.

Full of grace in this place means that when every human reads the Bible, all can notice the way the beloved Son of God has used His life on earth, teaching and pointing out the way to be saved; all of the teaching the beloved Son of God has given to humans is giving according to His own grace to humans, for all can see and worship Him.

Grace (meaning from Webster dictionary): unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification.

15 John bare witness about Him and cried out, saying, He is who I said, The One who comes after me is in front of me because He was before me.

Comments 1:15. As the verse tells, even John himself understands that before he himself was born, the beloved Son is already there, long before all things happened in his life. It is a recognition of John himself of who the beloved Son of God is.

16 Because out of His fulness we all receive, and kindness because of grace.

Comments 1:16. “Because out of His fulness we all receive.” In this place, the beloved Son is complete already in Himself; all things are in the beloved Son of God already, He is complete.

“and kindness because of grace.” As the verse has told all humans clearly, the mercy of the beloved Son of God, which is inside of Him, has shown to all humans, His mercy has shown over again and again, and the last mercy will be shown upon His death on the cross for humans.

17 For the law was given through Moses; the grace and the truth became because of Jesus Christ.

Comments 1:17. From the beginning, the Father has given the old law through Moses, but when the beloved Son of God has come down, the way to be saved, for humans, is through the beloved Son of God only, not the law itself.

The law versus grace and truth; the beloved Son of God did not come to abolish the law itself; He has completed the law for humans and that is why the next way to be saved is through the will of the beloved Son of God.

18 No one has seen God ever yet; only the begotten God, the One existing in the bosom of the Father, He shows the way.

Comments 1:18. “No one has seen God ever yet.” As the verse has told, nobody ever has seen the Father because all things are just created things; the eyes cannot afford to see the Father Himself. With human eyes, you cannot see the Father. The human eyes cannot see the Father, but the Father has shown Himself through the beloved Son of God.

“only the begotten God ... He shows the way.” As the verse has told to all believers, the beloved Son of God has the Father Himself in Him, whatever the beloved Son of God has taught that is the Father Himself teaching humans, all humans have known the Father through the beloved Son of God teachings.

Q: What does it mean when the Bible says, “begotten God,” how is Jesus begotten if He is part of the Trinity?

A: The Father Himself is the head of the Trinity; in the Father, the beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit also exist, that is why we can say the Trinity of God, Three but all are One in the Father. With the mercy of the Father, He has allowed the beloved Son and the Holy Spirit to come out and shine to be the light for all, but the Trinity always is still there, Three in One, this is the meaning of it. Think in this way, the Father is here, with the mercy of the Father Himself He has allowed the beloved Son and the Holy Spirit to have the work by themselves, the beloved Son has come down to take human form, and the Holy Spirit has come down to be as the guide and speaking to every heart regarding the love of the Father. In the Father Himself He has given birth to the beloved Son of God, that is why always the beloved Son will call Father I will do your will, as the Bible has told as well, He always calls God the Father His Father. It is not complicated when we think that the Father is One, but in that One has another two, the Three become One together, no separation.

19 And this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent to him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who are you?

Comments 1:19. The verse has told all believers clearly that this is the testimony of John; when someone will come to ask him for what he has been sent for, he will give out the true testimony to all that ask.

20 And he confessed and denied not, and he confessed, I am not the Christ.

Comments 1:20. The way John lives and his testimony still make his heart humble; he never lifts himself high, he never pretends to be the beloved Son of God or even to be someone as important as the Christ; that is the testimony he will give all.

21 And they questioned him, Who then? Are you Elijah? And he says, I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered, No.

Comments 1:21. All readers can notice, John is a humble man, he will not take any position of this earth, even people want him to be someone, but John himself will not accept to be anyone or any position of this earth as well; the humble in him has shown out by his answer here.

22 They said therefore to him, Who are you? That we may give an answer to those, who sent us. What do you say about yourself?

23 He declared, I, a voice calling out in the desert, Make straight the path of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.

Comments 1:23. Understand John's answer in this place; he considered himself as nobody; he just told people his cry is for the Lord only, not for any human to pay attention for, as the old-time prophet has said, that John himself is just a voice crying to the Lord in the desert alone. He cited from Isaiah 40:3.

“Make straight the path of the Lord.” As John has been telling people that the Messiah is coming and warned people to wait for the true Messiah to come, he has prepared the human heart to receive the Lord, to make the path of the Lord straight into the heart of all humans.

24 And those having been sent were from the Pharisees.

25 And they questioned him, and said to him, What then baptize you, if you are not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the Prophet?

Comments 1:24-25. Everyone sees him as a common man, but because of the way John has been using his life, people have questions that he must be someone important that the Lord will use him to save people; this is what they want to know.

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water; but in the midst of you stands, who you consider not,

Comments 1:26. “I baptize with water.” John has told that he baptizes people with normal water; he baptizes with water for repentance of sins.

“but in the midst of you stands, who you consider not”; John has told all readers, no one knows who is coming; John is just a man doing the work of man, baptizing with water, but the one coming, which no one accepts is the right one. The work of man in this place is the way he lives to make him clean, that is the work of man, but his life living is for doing the work of God.

27 He that comes after me, of whom I am not worthy that I should untie the strap of His sandal.

Comments 1:27. We can plainly see from this verse how humble the messenger is.

28 These happened in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 On the next day, he looks at Jesus coming to him and says, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Comments 1:29. All readers can see from the verse clearly that John has announced who the Lamb of God that is able to take away all the sins of the world is; John has announced to the whole world about the righteous One that can wash away every sin.

“the Lamb of God.” In the Old Testament law, when they sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, they use the lamb, and in this place, the beloved Son of God Himself is the Lamb of God, the perfect lamb to wash away all the sins of the whole world, not only for His people alone but for the gentiles as well.

30 This it is on behalf of whom I spoke: After I, comes a Man who precedence over me has because He exists before me.

Comments 1:30. In this verse, John has told all humans that the beloved Son of God exists before all humans have been born. Because at that time itself, John was not a young man anymore, if the adult man can say that someone exists before him, then he already has told all humans that the beloved Son of God has precedence over all humans because the beloved Son of God Himself exists before all humans.

31 But I knew Him not; except that, He might be revealed to Israel, for this came I baptizing with water.

Comments 1:31. “But I knew Him not.” In this place, John does not talk about not knowing Him as a cousin but not knowing Him as a Savior until the Father will reveal it to him; that is why in this time, he just baptizes people with the water. But John Himself will announce who is the beloved Son of God later on.

“He might be revealed to Israel”; John did not announce yet to all the people, but only to those that come to him. But next, his duty will be, as he goes any place, to announce the coming of the beloved Son of God; his job will be starting now.

32 And John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it remained upon Him.

Comments 1:32. Now John has told all people what he has seen; John has become a witness of the Holy Spirit as He came and remained on the beloved Son of God, as the verse has told, John is the witness.

“as a dove out of heaven.” The human eyes cannot see the Holy Spirit, but in this place, the Father has blessed humans, starting with John, the messenger; he had a chance to see the Holy Spirit shape, but He comes as a dove flying, which is not His true full expression.

“and it remained upon Him.” John with human eyes has seen the shape of the Holy Spirit besides the beloved Son of God, as the beloved Son walks the Holy Spirit walks as well; but the verse has told remained upon Him, which it does not mean stayed above Him but side by side with Him. The Three remain here as well as One, that is why we have them walk besides each other.

33 But I knew Him not; but the One having sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, Upon whom you will perceive the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

Comments 1:33. As the verse has told to all readers, John himself has not known the Lord before until he has seen the Holy Spirit descending upon Him. After that, he will realize whom the Father has told him that will make an impact on every heart, with the Holy Spirit baptism, to the one that has faith and trust in the beloved Son of God, which is the gift of life to give to all that have belief in Him.

Q: Why does the Holy Spirit descend on the beloved Son of God at this time this way? Wasn’t the Holy Spirit already upon the Lord? A: The Holy Spirit was already on the Lord, but at this time, there was the need to show to the humans who is the One the Father will be within as well.

Comments on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

“He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit will be given to the one that has faith and trust in the beloved Son of God and confesses with the mouth and heart regarding the beloved Son of God; the Holy Spirit will come and dwell in that person as well; The Holy Spirit will give the feeling to the person of being close but not within the Holy Spirit, not as be one with, but as the shell, as the Holy Spirit using to cover. The Holy Spirit dwells in the person, not the person dwells in the Holy Spirit; the feeling between these two will be different.

Not everyone who is baptized in the Holy Spirit will be speaking in tongues because of lack of understanding and uncertainty of what the words mean; even the person has the word, but they are afraid to say it out loud. Also, in that time, the apostles have performed miracles, accompanied with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but nowadays, no miracles will be accompanied when anyone is baptized in the Holy Spirit, just the gift of speaking in tongues and understanding.

At first, the Holy Spirit will touch you, but when the Holy Spirit baptism takes place, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of your heart. So, the first at the water baptism, the Holy Spirit touches your heart; if your heart is open and willing to follow, then the Holy Spirit will dwell inside your heart but not work, will dwell because invited. Then, when is the right time the working happens; when working, the person will have more understanding and will speak more in tongues.

As we all have seen, there are many faith ways, but you cannot have faith alone in the beloved Son of God; you must believe in the Trinity of God as well. When you have faith in the Trinity of God, that person also has faith in the Holy Spirit, and when you invite the Holy Spirit into your heart, then the Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart will happen, and we call this the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the time when this person may have only one word in a tongue, but not each person may say it out because of the lack of understanding. When the person has the feeling of the hearing of the word inside of their heart, even without understanding, but still should say it out, this is a sign of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

At the Holy Spirit baptism, the person has the word but does not speak out, so, it is not that there is no speaking in a tongue, but the person did not speak it. Therefore, the baptism in the Holy Spirit must always be accompanied with the speaking in a tongue, even just one word; the person who receives must speak out, and that is considered to claim the ability to speak in a tongue. If the person did not say the word out, the speaking in tongue for that person would not generate further knowledge; that person will have only that word until the person accepts the gift deep not in mind, but in the heart; the gift here is the knowledge of that word which the Lord has given even one single word.

Q: Assume that the person doesn’t say the word out and doesn’t believe in speaking in tongues, but believes in the Trinity, has faith in Jesus, and confesses the faith. Is then this person considered as being baptized in the Holy Spirit? A: No. If the person does not believe in speaking in tongues, even if the person got the word and did not say it out, it will not be considered as baptized in the Holy Spirit yet.

Q: Can the Holy Spirit indwell a person at the water baptism or when they express faith in the Trinity? A: The person can be considered baptized in the Holy Spirit only when that person says the word out, even just one time, one word but must say out. This is the difference between being baptized in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit touching the heart.

When a person has been baptized in the Holy Spirit, that person has been touched from the inside of their soul, and the feeling of that person will be different. So, when the person has been touched this way, if the person does not ignore the little voice that tells the person of any word, even one to remember, even the person hears many words, but can remember only one word, and say that word out, by saying out that word will lead the person to speak more. Every time the person feels they don’t have any words to pray, bring that word and say it repeatedly, and the Holy Spirit will follow and guide more words to come; that word for that person is considered a leading prayer for the soul in a tongue.

When the Holy Spirit dwells in that person's heart, every time when that person prays or meditates on the Word of God, the heart of that person will go and beg the Holy Spirit to act out accordingly to His own will; you can say as a consistent invitation of the soul for the Holy Spirit to act and give more words of speaking in a tongue when the Holy Spirit dwells in that person.

Q: Can a person be saved without being baptized in the Holy Spirit? A: Yes, the person can be saved without being baptized in the Holy Spirit; being saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit are different. Everyone who has faith and trust in the Trinity of God and confesses out with the mouth the faith in the Trinity of God, that person is saved.

Q: How does the Holy Spirit touch this person, or how does the Holy Spirit dwell inside such person? A: This person is touched by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit does not dwell deep inside that person’s soul; the Holy Spirit dwells just in the human heart itself.

So, here we are talking about two types of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: the indwelling of the heart and the indwelling of the heart and soul. At the salvation stage, a believer will be indwelled by the Holy Spirit in their human heart, and at the Holy Spirit baptism stage, the believer will be indwelled by the Holy Spirit in the human heart and the soul.

34 But I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.

35 Again on the next day, John was standing, and two of his disciples,

36 and looking at Jesus walking, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God!

Comments 1:36. All readers can see clearly in this verse itself, John has recognized the beloved Son of God, and John has used the proper term in calling the Lord as "the Lamb of God." Now, he has called Him "the Lamb of God". When he has called Jesus "the Lamb of God" that has already referred to the sacrificial lamb for the sinners because all the tradition will use the lamb to slay for a sinner; it has been a practice since the old-time, trade place between the innocent and the sinners, and here he has mentioned "the Lamb of God" for the Lord Jesus.

37 And the two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus.

Comments 1:37. John has testified about the beloved Son of God, and for what he said, it makes his own disciples follow the beloved Son of God. John, as a messenger, will say more about the beloved Son of God and will lead many people straight to Jesus.

38 And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, said to them, What seek you? And they said to Him, Rabbi (which means translated Teacher), where are Thou abiding?

Comments 1:38. We will concentrate on the term they have used to call the Lord, Teacher. The beloved Son of God has been recognized as a Teacher, not that the beloved Son Himself applied for the job as a teacher, the people had recognized Him as a Teacher. As these two will follow the beloved Son of God as His students, they will learn to listen and obey the orders of the Teacher.

“where are Thou abiding?” This saying is just a way people spoke at that time to know where you go or where you come from; it is a typical conversation.

39 He said to them, Come, and you will see. They came therefore and saw where He abides, and they remained with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour.

Comments 1:39. The followers of Jesus have started now with these two. First, they come and find where Jesus abides. Then, as we can notice from this verse itself, they have spent time with the beloved Son of God in that day, and their life will be changed forever, not just the eye of physical, but the spiritual eye as well will be open; the beloved Son of God has disciples following now.

40 One out of the two, having heard from John, and having followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

41 He finds first his own brother Simon and says to him: We have found the Messiah (which is translated Christ).

Comments 1:40-41. All readers can notice here from these two verses what will lead the disciple (Simon) to the beloved Son of God.

“We have found the Messiah.” This saying led the disciple to the beloved Son of God; when they have told, they found whom. All humans will be linked to the Lord as well with this starting of meeting.

42 He led him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas, (which is translated rock).

Comments 1:42. This verse shows that the beloved Son of God knows all things, He did not talk to Simon yet, but He knows who he is; the beloved Son of God knows even who his earthly father is, and also the beloved Son of God has given him a new name in this verse. See Matthew Comments 16:18.

43 On the next day, He was minded to go out into Galilee, and He finds Philip; and Jesus says to him, Follow Me.

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, from the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip finds Nathanael and says to him, We have found whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Comments 1:45. As all readers can notice, the beloved Son of God also has been called the Nazarene. The names from this verse will let people understand that humans have talked about the beloved Son of God and given Him many names. Still, all those names lead to one person, the Savior of the world, the man from Nazareth, the common man, but full of glory to be worshiped; all these verses have linked to the beloved Son of God.

“the son of Joseph.” The beloved Son of God has been born on earth, and by the custom of the earth, He needs an earthly adoptive father as well. And here in this place, Joseph is His adoptive father; this is a blessed man who married Mary, the mother of the beloved Son of God, and the Lord has given him recognition as well.

46 And Nathanael said to him, Is anyone good able to be out of Nazareth? Philip says to him, Go and see.

Comments 1:46. This is just a common talk about Nazareth, like nobody important comes out of there, and here Nathanael repeats just what people talk about this town.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and says about him, Behold, an Israelite certainly, in whom is no deceit!

Comments 1:47. Here in this verse, the beloved Son of God has told the character of Nathanael; he is a person that talks what he thinks, no twisted mind in him, just straightforward talk; that what the way he is.

48 Nathanael says to Him, Whence know Thou me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, being under the fig tree, I saw you.

Comments 1:48. This verse is a confirmation of the ability of the beloved Son of God; He knows things before time happens. As the verse has told here, the beloved Son of God has seen this man under the fig tree before he has been brought to meet Him.

49 Nathanael answered Him, Rabbi, Thou are the Son of God, Thou are the King of Israel!

Comments 1:49. From this verse, all readers can see the character of Nathanael; he says what he thinks, with no twisted mind in him. In his heart, he believes that the beloved Son of God is the King of all. We can notice from this verse that he has said all that he believes about the Lord Jesus: the beloved Son of God be a Teacher (Rabbi), the Son of God, and the King of all.

50 Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you, that I saw you under the fig tree, believe you? You will see greater than these.

51 And He says to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, You will see the heaven opened, and the angels of God going up and going down on the Son of Man.

Comments 1:51. This verse refers to the second coming of the Lord on earth. In this verse, the beloved Son of God has told all humans that the human eye will have a chance to see the angels come and glorify the beloved Son of God, by going up and going down around Him, with the position of worship. The beloved Son of God has told all humans to realize, when the heaven is opened, every eye will see the angels worshiping the beloved Son of God. When the beloved Son of God returns on the earth, every eye will see the heaven opened, and everything as the verse has told. The angels cannot just go around by themselves, but the beloved Son of God becomes as bridge for them to go up and down and worship Him.

Q: Why the Lord calls Himself the Son of Man? What is this significance as the Son of Man? A: The term the Lord has called Himself is giving all humans a clear picture, the Lord of life who created all things, also, He Himself is a Man as well, that why always He calls Himself the Son of Man.

Life and Faith Applications. 1) Every true believer must believe in the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit). 2) Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the whole world, and salvation is by His grace and through faith in Him as the Son of God. 3) Jesus Christ is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit; all true believers should pursue the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will be given to the one that has faith and trust in the beloved Son of God and confesses with the mouth and heart regarding the beloved Son of God.

John 2

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus shows His love and mercy towards the people and His zeal for the Father’s house. John 2:1-12. Jesus at the wedding at Cana in Galilee. People regard Jesus as a Teacher, and they want Him and His disciples to be present at the wedding. The wine miracle performed at this wedding marks the beginning of Jesus’ signs on earth. By changing the water into heavenly grape juice (good wine, non-alcoholic wine), the Lord Jesus demonstrates to all humans that He is against drinkers. The term wine in these verses does not mean alcoholic wine, but only fresh-squeezed juice from the grapes, but everyone calls it wine. John 2:13-17. This passage of Scripture describes the cleansing of the temple performed by the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord Jesus Christ, during a Passover feast. In this cleansing action of the temple, the Lord Jesus was angry not at the people, but He was angry at their hearts and actions in using the house of worship as a marketplace. He used a “scourge of cords made out of rushes,” but He did not hit any humans or animals; He just hit the things around. John 2:18-25. The Jews ask for a sign from Jesus. The Jews asked for a sign from the Lord Jesus to justify His actions in the temple. The Lord used this event to tell all humans that the sign of His deity and being the Son of God is His bodily resurrection from the dead.

1 And the third day a wedding happened in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,

Comments 2:1. “And the third day”; this indicates just a continuation from the activity of the Lord Himself.

2 and Jesus also was called, and His disciples, to the wedding.

Comments 2:2. The wedding is in Cana, and people there regard the Lord as a Teacher; people just want to call Him and the disciples, the teacher, to be there; there is no personal relationship with them.

3 And when the wine failed short, the mother of Jesus says to Him, They have no wine.

Comments 2:3. The mother of the Lord is a common woman, and she makes herself being busy for someone else. People interpret in many ways, but the mother of the Lord just liked to be involved here.

4 And Jesus says to her, Woman, what to Me and to you is this? My hour has not yet come.

Comments 2:4. “Woman, what to Me and to you is this?” In this place, the beloved Son of God just wants to remind His mother that this is none of our business to be involved; that is all. Even though she has given birth to the beloved Son of God, she is still an ordinary woman of the earth; giving birth to the Lord does not make her become beyond human. Jesus calls her “woman,” which shows that she is just a regular human and does not need to be worshiped.

“My hour has not yet come.” Also, the beloved Son of God wants to remind here; His time is not here to do the work. The Lord didn’t come to do this kind of work, and that is what the Lord is telling His mother here.

5 His mother says to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it.

Comments 2:5. “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Mary just wants to have the role of the mother of the beloved Son of God. Mary has said out from her own belief that the beloved Son of God will do according to her will. 

We, as humans, and Mary, the way she has been pregnant, has given her confirmation that the beloved Son will be able to provide whatever they need. This is the first miracle the Lord has performed, do not confuse it with a human make-believe story.

6 Now there were six waterpots of stone, standing according to the purification of the Jews, holding twenty or thirty gallons.

7 Jesus says to them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the top.

Comments 2:5-7. We will give attention to the servants who “filled them up to the top.” All servants obey to do the work, but humans do not listen to the voice of the most high King from heaven who tells them in their hearts not to sin. All readers can compare it here as well; did you follow all of the Lord’s teachings or not? Think about it as well here; in this place, we first mention about the servants of humans who listen to human orders, even to Mary who is not their direct master, but they listen and go to do what she told them; however, we, the rest of people, have the Bible to be the true master but we do not obey.

8 And He says to them, Draw out now, and carry to the master of the feast. And they carried it.

Comments 2:8. Here all servants had noticed as well; they carried the cup of water to the master of the feast.

9 And even as the master of the feast tasted the water, having become wine, and knew not from where it is (but the servants having drawn the water knew), the master of the feast calls the bridegroom,

Comments 2:9. “tasted the water, having become wine.” We all Christians should know that the Lord teaches us not to drink alcohol. This wine that came from water is like clean water, not alcohol, but this water has the taste better than regular water; the one that never tasted this clean water before cannot understand what the clean water here means about; it is water that changed the structure into grape juice, even to the point of fermented, but still not having alcohol in it, it is the cleanest juice of all.

10 and says to him, Everyone sets out first the good wine; and when they are drunk, then the inferior; you have kept the good wine until now.

Comments 2:10. They have called it good wine because this water comes from the grape juice itself; the taste will be good but will not give the false feeling of drinking alcohol. This grape juice is not the grape juice of this earth; it is heavenly grape juice, which is why this water tastes good here. Here we are saying that the Lord transformed this earthly water into heavenly grape juice. This comment itself will help all humans; if the beloved Son of God has taught humans not to drink, then He Himself on earth will not drink alcohol from grapes; just remember, the alcohol will give a false sense of feeling for the drinker. This juice here was a replacement for the alcoholic wine of earth.

11 This beginning of the signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

Comments 2:11. The wine miracle marks the beginning of Jesus’ signs on earth. Here, we can see in another way that the Lord is against drinkers, which is why this grape wine He made will not contain any alcohol in it.

The term wine in these verses does not mean alcoholic wine, but only when the people get the juice from the grape fruit, but everyone calls it wine.

12 After this, He went down to Capernaum, He, and His mother, and His brethren, and His disciples; and there they stayed not many days.

Comments 2:12. It is a purpose that Joseph's name has not been mentioned much in the Bible. So, many people had made out belief stories about him. Still, Joseph has received his portion, and few places in the Bible have been mentioned him as the earthly adoptive father of the beloved Son of God, even though he is not the physical father of the Lord Jesus, but the Bible has used his name. The way the Bible puts Joseph's name down has already shown that Joseph has been appreciated by God Himself, not by humans lifting him up.

13 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Comments 2:13. “And the Passover of the Jews.” In that time, for the Passover, the main hosts are the Jews; the people who prepare the food for the Passover celebration must know all regulations and rules in preparing. In this verse, we can notice that the beloved Son of God, as the Lord of the Passover, must be there in Jerusalem to celebrate.

The Lord of the Passover has participated in many Passover traditions, as the Bible has mentioned in many places about Passover. Each Passover itself has its own event happening; some may have similarities, but if the reader pays attention, they will notice the differences.

14 And He found in the temple those that sold oxen and lambs and doves, and the moneychangers sitting;

Comments 2:14. Let the reader pay attention to how the people have used the house of God as a market. All readers should think here as well; when you go to worship the Lord, do you want to see a marketplace, and that you are in the middle of it? By doing this, when they have misused the worship place, these people have made the Lord Himself feel unwelcomed.

Nowadays, people use the worship place as a social service place for meetings, so the worship becomes secondary; the majority of people when they go to the worship place, first, will think whom they will see today, but do not think to go to meet the Lord and worship Him. People in this time have misunderstood what God wants His people to do; when you come to worship, just stop doing social service in a place of worship.

Many go to take a position, not for worship but to do for a living; the heart has not been set straight for the place, but straight for the benefit of what they can get out of that place they go; they even use God as a way to make a profit for themselves but not for the soul of people. 

15 and having made a scourge of cords made out of rushes, He cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; He poured out the coins of the moneychangers and overthrew the tables,

Comments 2:15. This verse tells all readers about the anger of the Lord, the Lord was angry not at the people, but He was angry at their hearts and actions in using the house of worship as a marketplace. The scourge of cords comes as a warning for all humans; at this time, the beloved Son of God in the human form used this scourge to whip the things (all the things that were there; imagine the picture of the market and whatever else would be there; those things are not fit for the place of worship). He did not whip the humans or animals with it, but in the end time, He will use His anger in the shape of a whip to hit the soul. The pain for the soul to feel is much greater than the physical can feel, so be careful all readers what you are doing in the house of worship; the punishment for these will be stronger than those that walk outside and do bad things.

16 and to those selling the doves He said, Take these from here; make not My Father’s house a house of market.

Comments 2:16. This verse tells us how people have used the house of worship; they sold these birds as merchandise in the house of the Lord. The action of worshiping using these birds is good but bringing them to be sold in the house of worship that what was wrong here. Humans have not understood the feeling of the beloved Son of God when He has walked in the house of worship, and He has seen the place being used for selling things and not for glorifying the Father Himself; these market actions have brought to His heart feelings of hurt, and that is why the verse tells about His actions, but when humans read about His actions, they have built feelings against the beloved Son of God’s action of anger. Still, they all forget that His anger is from the sorrow of His heart when He saw what humans were doing to His Father’s house. They show unwanted the presence of God in His own house, but they don’t blame themselves for those actions; since the beloved Son of God has demonstrated anger here, all the hearts go in blaming the beloved Son of God for doing it, not themselves for doing wrong.

This Passover event and the cleaning of the temple described in verses 13 to 16 is a different event than the one described in Mark 11:15-17. The Lord Jesus has participated in many Passover traditions, and this one here happens at the beginning of His ministry on earth after the miracle at the wedding in Cana.

17 His disciples remembered that it is written, Zeal of Thy house will consume Me.

Comments 2:17. The verse tells us that the disciples have remembered after all things had happened, but, for the beloved Son of God Himself, the zeal had hurt His feelings when humans have not respected His zeal. Think that the verse says zeal of Thy house; this zeal refers to the house of the Father Himself, which is inside the Father Himself as well. Because the verse says zeal of Thy house will consume the beloved Son of God Himself, this can only be in the Father’s house that can consume the beloved Son of God.

18 The Jews then answered and said to Him, What sign do Thou show to us, for Thou doing these?

Comments 2:18. The verse has told that His own people want the beloved Son of God to prove Himself by doing miracles in order for them to believe in Him; all miracles He has shown are not enough yet for them.

19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

20 The Jews then said, Forty and six years was this temple building, and will Thou raise it up in three days?

21 But He was speaking about the temple of His body.

Comments 2:19-21. As these three verses show, the beloved Son of God has not hidden His identity from His people. The proof is in verse 19 when He has told them that within three days, He would rise from the death: “and in three days I will raise it up.”  He has told them ahead of time that even if you destroy this body, in three days, He is back again, with the same human body, because this is the beloved Son of God's human body, and nobody can destroy it.

22 When then He was raised out of the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this and believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

Comments 2:22. This verse has told all believers that His own disciples have remembered after all had happened. So are you; all the believers will remember the Scripture without reading it again (unless you have the true translation of the Bible). All the knowledge will be provided to all true believers through the Holy Spirit. To say this way is because, in the future, the true translation of the Bible will not be made again; whoever has it now must treasure it and pass it to the next generation; the time will come when humans will forbid each other to make another true translation Bible copy to give to the next generation, and that is why the believers will be provided with the knowledge through the Holy Spirit within their soul to remember the words of the Lord. Talking about and reading about is different; you talk about the main things, but so many details have been written in the Bible, no human mind can remember all if there is not a written true Bible.

[As it happened here with the disciples, in this comment, we talk about the fundamentals of the Christian faith in the Lord Jesus, such as the Trinity of God, the Virgin birth, and the bodily resurrection from the dead. These, the Holy Spirit will bring to the remembrance of the true believers even if they ban the true translation of the Bible; these will still be propagated by talking among believers and using the remaining true translations that will exist.]

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs that He was doing.

Comments 2:23. “beholding His signs that He was doing”; People were talking about all the things they had heard, what He did, and were expecting that He would do something more here as well, every moment they were waiting for Him to do something.

24 But Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to them because He knew all people,

Comments 2:24. The beloved Son of God Himself knows all humans and understands the way humans think. They are talking of the signs He has done, but not all of them have seen, some just heard, and not all their hearts have trust in Him yet; right now, they want Him to prove Himself by doing some miracles in front of them.

25 and because He had no need that anyone should bear witness about human; for He, Himself knew what was in human.

Comments 2:25. Now the Lord wants to let people talk, and that talk will create doubt and curiosity, which will bring them to come and ask Him questions later, and those questions in the heart the Lord wants everyone to have and think about them and ask Him for the answer.

Life and Faith Application. 1) The Lord Jesus never drank alcohol, and He demonstrated that He is against drinking by transforming water into grape juice at the wedding in Cana, so true believers should not drink alcohol. 2) Do not transform the church into a social club but use the church to worship the Lord and give glory to the Trinity of God. 3) Do not ask for a sign from the Lord to prove His deity; He already proved His deity by His bodily resurrection from the dead.

John 3

Summary. In this chapter, we mainly find the message from the messenger of God, including the way to be saved for all humans; the main details from the message of the messenger have been told to all humans. John 3:1-12. Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night. Nicodemus confesses who the beloved Son of God is on this earth. Jesus says that we must be "born from above" to enter into the kingdom of God. Being "born from above" means being baptized in the water and Holy Spirit. All true believers must be baptized in the water in the name of the Father, of the Son Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit and believe in the Trinity of God to enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:13-21. For God so loved the world. Because of love for His creation, the Father has given His only begotten Son to come down and be born as a human, and this is the true proof of the love the Father has.  The light of God has come into the world through the beloved Son of God, and the Father's promise is that everyone who believes and trusts in the beloved Son of God will have eternal life. John 3:22-36. The testimony of John the Baptist about Christ. John testifies that he is not the Christ. John, in his testimony about the Lord Jesus, tells us clearly who Jesus is for us: Jesus comes from heaven, and His authority comes from heaven, and He is above all; Jesus is the bridegroom, and His bride is the ones that trust in Him; Jesus’ death on the cross is the seal of mercy from the Father; Jesus was sent by the Father to come into the world, and the word that He teaches is from the Father, that why Jesus' teaching is a living word that comes from the Father for humans; all that believe in Jesus will have eternal life with the beloved Son of God forever.

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

Comments 3:1. As in his position, it is not easy for him to come to the beloved Son of God; he will make an impact among the people.

2 This came to Him by night, and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou, a Teacher, have come from God; for no one has power to do these signs that Thou does, except God be with Him.

Comments 3:2. “This came to Him by night.” We all can see by the verse, it is telling, he cannot come during the day, too many people will see his action, and he can be in trouble.

“Rabbi, we know that Thou, a Teacher, have come from God.” All readers should pay attention; this person has confessed already who the beloved Son of God is on this earth; He is a Teacher from God. But, as this person has told here, it is not he himself alone noticing this; as the verse has said, "we," so there were more persons that had talked together and knew who the beloved of God is in this world.

“for no one has … except God be with Him”. All readers should meditate on this verse, on what this man has said to all people; the signs the beloved Son of God is doing on earth, He cannot do it alone, but He does it with the Father; the truth will come out to all later, the beloved Son of God and the Father are One together.

3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except anyone is born from above, he is not able to see the kingdom of God.

Comments 3:3. “Except anyone is born from above, he is not able to see the kingdom of God.” What the beloved Son of God has talked about here relates to those born according to the will of the Father, those who will accept the beloved Son of God and have a chance to enter into the kingdom of God.

“born from above.” Born by the will of the Father to know the light and accept the beloved Son of God as their own personal Savior. 

4 Nicodemus says to Him, How can a man be born being old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

Comments 3:4. In this verse, Nicodemus gives a question from a human mind point of view.

5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except anyone is born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Comments 3:5. “Except anyone is born of water and of Spirit.” This verse tells all humans clearly that everyone should be baptized in the water and seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit to enter into the kingdom of God. But also must remember the Holy Spirit baptism has two kinds: "the Holy Spirit going through" or "the Holy Spirit using" (dwelling in). When "the Holy Spirit going through" is when during the water baptism, the person will feel the Holy Spirit, which we can call the baptism in the Holy Spirit as well. When the Holy Spirit prefers to use that heart for work, He will dwell and use that heart; this is "the Holy Spirit using." So, "the Holy Spirit going through," we mean as Holy Spirit touching that person's heart, and the person feels it as well (See John Comments 1:33).

“he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” The person must be baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit and believe in the Trinity of God to enter into the kingdom of God. Being "born from above" means being baptized in the water and Holy Spirit. All true believers must be baptized in the water.

6 That having been born of the flesh, flesh is, and that having been born of the Spirit, spirit is.

Comments 3:6. “That having been born of the flesh, flesh is.” Every human is born of the flesh; if the person does not accept the Trinity of God and does not worship Him, the flesh will remain as flesh only.

“that having been born of the Spirit, spirit is.” So, any human that accepts the Holy Spirit and has invited Him, and the water baptism also has been completed in that time, then the Holy Spirit has touched that person's heart, and that person has already been born through the Holy Spirit as well; the person will feel in their heart some feeling going through them, but that person did not get the baptism in the Holy Spirit yet; sill this can count as has been touched by the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit going through baptism).

7 Marvel not that I said to you, It behooves you to be born from above.

Comments 3:7. The verse has told all readers clearly that to be born from above is to be born through the water; when you come out of the water, you are reborn. The only way to be born from above is through the water baptism in the name of the Father, the Son of God Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. For this earth to be born from above, everyone must go through the water baptism (See verse 5).

8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but be aware not from where it comes, and where it goes; in this manner is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Comments 3:8. As the verse has told to all believers, you do not know where the Holy Spirit is, not by eyes, nor by ears, but only by the heart being touched from Him. Unlike anything else on this earth, all have shape and sound, but the Holy Spirit does not have shape and sound by humans to perceive, but by the feeling when He touches you.

9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, By what means can these be?

10 Jesus answered and said to him, You are the teacher of Israel, and perceive not these!

Comments 3:10. As the verse says, someone claims to be a teacher of Israel but has no true understanding about the God that they claim they have to serve and worship. The statement the beloved Son of God made here is not only for this person alone but for all true believers as well; if you claim yourself to be a believer, ask yourself how well you have meditated on the Holy Word and how many times you have been in prayer and ask for understanding.

11 Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak that what We know, and testify of what We have seen, and you take not Our testimony.

Comments 3:11. “We speak that what We know …”; At first, the Lord wants readers to pay attention to the word "We." In this place, the beloved Son of God was alone as a human on earth, but when the beloved Son of God has said We, He has told all humans as well, He is not alone; He is in the Trinity of God. All the words He has spoken are by the will of the Father that is in Him; the witness He has mentioned here refers to the Holy Spirit that has been working in the world for so long as well, but humans with the dark mind have not accepted anything from the Lord.

12 If I told you earthly and you believe not, how will you believe if I tell you of heavenly?

13 And no one has ascended into heaven, except He having descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who exists in heaven.

Comments 3:13. “And no one has ascended into heaven.” As the verse has told, no human has gone up to heaven except Jesus; in this place itself, the beloved Son of God has said to all humans, He as a human has been to heaven.

“except He having descended out of heaven.” Only the beloved Son of God has come down from heaven; He had lowered Himself to come down and walk around the earth as humans do.

“the Son of Man, who exists in heaven.” As the verse in this portion has told all humans, the beloved Son of God exists from the beginning, before the earth has been created, and He will continue to be for eternity until the entire will of the Father has been accomplished.

14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, thus it is necessary for the Son of Man to be exalted,

Comments 3:14. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.” (See Numbers 21:9 “So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live”). In this verse, we will concentrate on the action of lifting up. Moses has put the bronze serpent up for people to look and have hope, but the beloved Son of God has been exalted not only for hope alone but for people to be saved as well.

"thus it is necessary for the Son of Man to be exalted." To be exalted here refers to the beloved Son of God who will be crucified. The crucifixion position has told all humans that the beloved Son of God in human form has completed the work and has been exalted and glorified in His suffering.

15 so that all believing in Him may have eternal life.

Comments 3:15. Let all readers pay attention to this verse; to have eternal life is not that you have been a good person; the most important thing in life for humans on this earth to be saved is to believe and trust in the beloved Son of God, only that will lead all humans to be saved. The word believe in this verse includes all things together: believe and trust in the beloved Son of God, go baptize in the water, and ask the Holy Spirit for understanding; the word believe in this verse has included all these. If you do not believe, will you be baptized in the water?

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave the only begotten Son, so that everyone believing in Him may not perish, but have eternal life.

Comments 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave the only begotten Son”; As the verse tells all humans, because of love for His creation, the Father has given His only begotten Son, to come down and be born as a human, and this is the true proof of the love the Father has. Even the verse says the world, but the love here has meaning from the Father for humans because the Father Himself has given His beloved Son to come down and be born as a human to save all humans.

“so that everyone believing in Him …”; This part of the verse itself is a promise from the Father, that everyone who believes and trusts in the beloved Son of God will have eternal life with Him at the end.  

17 For God did not send away the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world may be saved through Him.

Comments 3:17. As the verse has told, the world will be saved through the beloved Son of God, but also the world will be judged fairly by the beloved Son of God Himself.

18 Whoever believes in Him is not judged, but whoever believes not has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Comments 3:18. As the verse has told to all readers, if you believe in the beloved Son of God, you will not be judged with the world.

“but whoever believes not has been judged already …”; As we can see clearly in the world, the ones that do not believe in the beloved Son of God, when troubles come, feel themselves they have to face the challenges alone, and that is why the verse has said, they have been judged already. Therefore, those not believing in the Son of God will face their troubles alone; so, ask yourself, is it easier or harder to face all the troubles with the help of the beloved Son of God at the hand when you have asked for that help?

19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and mankind loved the darkness more than the light; for their works were evil.

Comments 3:19. As the verse tells, the light of God has already come into the world through the beloved Son of God. If mankind does not believe in the true light that came, they will face the troubles in the dark alone.

“and mankind loved …were evil.” Humans that do not believe in the beloved Son of God spend their life according to their own will, like walking in the dark and doing the work with the dark's help; these types of people will not want the light to come because the work in the dark is evil work and they will be exposed. 

The light here means Jesus’ words and His teachings, which is the true light of the world.

20 For everyone doing evil hates the light, and does not come towards the light, so that his works may not be reproved.

Comments 3:20. “… so that his works may not be reproved.” As the verse has told, that is what humans do. When a person has committed sin, within the person himself will have the sound of rebuke and make that person stay hidden in their own sin; this is out of fear that their sin will be revealed to someone else, as the verse has told clearly. The humans call this voice a subconscious voice but remember that God has created all humans; God's work is in every human, and inside everyone, they have knowledge between good and bad, but each one has the dark voice which will whisper the doubt into their minds. When we say, "stay hidden in their own sin," we mean that the persons convince themselves that the bad they do is not a sin; outside, it may be seen as they sin, but in them, they believe that it is not a sin.

Those that do bad you think they don’t feel ashamed, but nobody knows what is in their hearts, but the Lord rebukes them when they are alone, and inside of them is heavy like a rock. However, when they go out, they will smile and show that they are the happiest people, but in reality, when they are alone, the tears in their hearts are more than the tears in their eyes. Still, no one ever knows what is eating them inside, and that is why they can’t come in the light; everything will be hidden inside of them, and they will never say to anyone.  

21 But whoever does the truth goes to the light, that his works may be made manifest that have been done in God.

Comments 3:21. This verse goes opposite from the verse above; anyone who obeys the voice of God in their heart, the joy of the heart will not allow the person to stay silent; it will prompt the person to tell others how great and merciful God is.

22 After these came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea, and in that place, He spent time with them and was baptizing.

Comments 3:22. The beloved Son of God is there with the disciples but did not baptize anyone, as the Bible has told as well, the beloved Son did not do the action of baptizing anyone in the water (See John 4:2).

23 But John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because many waters were there; and they were coming, and were being baptized,

24 for John had not yet been cast into the prison.

25 There arose, therefore, a questioning from John's disciples with certain Jews about purifying.

Comments 3:25. “… with certain Jews about purifying.” It has been an argument between John’s disciples and the Jews themselves about the way all should be purifying themselves. The question that happened: do humans need to baptize in the water when they are mature, or just sprinkle water as a baby? Most do only sprinkle water as babies, but the beloved Son of God has not taught that way; babies do not understand how to confess their sins, they have to reach the age to know right and wrong, and the heart will make the mouth to confess, and then they will go baptize in the water.

The purification in that time and now is not the same way of thinking. In the past, it started when the priests used the water to sprinkle over the people as cleansing for their sins without any confession of sins. However, you cannot be forgiven until you have confessed your sins to the Lord, but in the old time, the priests will go and sprinkle water on people, which has become a tradition until now. The priests used branches of hyssop leaves to dip in the water and sprinkle over the people. Originally, water sprinkling was not their tradition, but people around them did it, and the priests had adopted this, and it became a tradition.

The Bible says that John performed a baptism in the water by immersion for people, and this questioning comes because of that; because the Jews did not want to go under the water for baptizing, they wanted the old way of the priest to sprinkle water over them and the baby. However, there is no other way to be saved, only through the water baptism; the beloved Son of God has been an example already; obey or disobey that is the choice. Therefore, even baptized as a baby, when reaching a certain age, the person must decide by themselves, regardless of whether they had been baptized as a baby or not, when the time comes, they must be baptized in the water.

Then the sprinkle with water has no place in the Bible; the beloved Son of God did not baptize by sprinkle; read the Holy Word and see how the beloved Son of God has been baptized!

26 And they came to John, and said to him, Rabbi, He who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He baptizes, and all are going to Him.

Comments 3:26. The people put questions to John because he is considered a prophet, and when people ask him, they expect his answers to be as what they feel in their hearts, regardless of what the Lord would want it to be. This is the way people want to control God’s work. The people heard that the beloved Son’s disciples are also baptizing people, so they are split between whom they should be baptized.

Meditating on verses 25 and 26, there are no connections in the way of how the purification should be done; the only one thing in connection is whom they should go to be baptized with.

27 John answered and said, A man has no power to take, neither one if it is not given to him from heaven.

Comments 3:27. In this verse, John recognizes the authority of the beloved Son of God. John has told he recognizes who has received the power from above, and he has told if you receive power from above, you can give it to someone further.

28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said: I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent as a messenger before that One.

Comments 3:28. This verse shows the humble heart of a man; John has told all humans who he is, but humans did not listen as well.

29 The One having the bride is the bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom, the one standing by and listening for Him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled.

Comments 3:29. “The One having the bride is the bridegroom.” The bridegroom here refers to the Lord Jesus. The bride is the ones who are led on the way, and the bridegroom is the One who is with the bride, but in this position will be with the people He takes as well, not just leading but taking beside to go with Him. The beloved Son of God always refers to Himself as the bridegroom, and He will take His bride, which is all humans that trust and follow Him; He will take them besides Him.

“and the friend of the bridegroom, the one standing …”; This part of the verse talks in general, also including the gentiles that have trust in Him as well; all His friends will follow Him, His own people, gentiles, both are His people together.

30 That One it behooves to increase, but I must decrease.

Comments 3:30. All readers should pay attention to the humbleness of John, read and follow as well. As a messenger, he is still humble; the rest of the people who read are the followers and must be humble as well.

“Increase” in this place relates to the authority; the beloved Son of God has all the authority from above, and John has told clearly to all; he also is a follower of the beloved Son of God, and John has put himself down below now; all people that follow him should realize now who is above all.

31 The One that comes from above is above all; he that is from the earth is of the earth, and from the earth speaks; the One that comes from heaven is above all.

Comments 3:31. This verse refers to two persons, the beloved Son of God in human form and John, the messenger; as the verse has told clearly, the One that comes from above is the beloved Son of God, and the one of the earth is John, the messenger.

Because it is important for all who read to know, the beloved Son of God is from heaven, and He is above all things; nothing on earth equals with Him; they all are under His feet.

32 What He has seen and heard, this He testifies, and no one receives His testimony.

Comments 3:32. The word of John in this verse tells all readers, what the beloved Son of God has seen and heard from the Father, this He has told all humans, but no one accepts His Word; the beloved Son of God is the witness of mercy from the Father Himself, for humans.

33 Whoever receives His testimony has set His seal upon that God is true.

Comments 3:33. Any human that receives the beloved Son of God in their heart, and obeys and follows His teachings, and believes that He is the witness of the mercy of the Father, has also sealed that the Father's love is true by the death on the cross of the beloved Son of God, and this is the final proof of love from the Father.

When the Father has sent His beloved Son of God to die for humans, that is the seal from the Father, that His love is true, not only just by word, but by action; that is why the verse says, "set His seal upon" (set Jesus’ seal upon).

34 For He whom God sent utters the words of God; for He gives not the Spirit by measure.

Comments 3:34. “For He whom God sent utters the words of God.” So, the verse tells clearly that the Father sent the beloved Son of God, the One that no lie comes out from His mouth because all in Him is no lie at all, and the word that He will teach is from the Father, that why Jesus' teaching is a living word that comes from the Father for humans.

“for He gives not the Spirit by measure.” The beloved Son of God has poured out all from His life on this earth; His Spirit will be as a gift for all that listen and obey His voice, that is why the verse has told not by measure (the amount), because He at all times, at the right hand of the Father will continue begging for mercy for all humans.

Spirit here refers to the Spirit of Christ, which will link to the Holy Spirit; when the beloved Son of God will continue to pray for humans, the Holy Spirit from the Father will come and give the knowledge to all that belong to Him, and keeping them from being lost to the world. The Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit work together, not separated. Because without faith in the beloved Son of God, the Holy Spirit will not dwell in that heart.

35 The Father loves the Son and has given all into His hand.

Comments 3:35. This verse tells all that the Father loves the Son, and all the Father has created has given to the Son, and that the Son can do all, whatever the Son pleases. The beloved Son of God can do both blessings and punishment; the beloved Son has all authority to do.

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Comments 3:36. John has told all humans in this place as well; the belief in the beloved Son of God that a human has will lead that human to eternal life with the beloved Son of God forever; on the other hand, those that disobey the teaching of the beloved Son of God, that soul has no light and life left after death because that soul will be in punishment for eternity.

“the wrath of God abides on him.” When a soul has rejected the beloved Son of God, that soul also has rejected the mercy of the Father at the same time, the anger of the Father will abide on that soul.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Jesus is sent by the Father, and He has authority from above. 2) Jesus' teaching is the living word from the Father for all humans. 3) Being "born from above" means being baptized in the water and Holy Spirit. All true believers must be baptized in the water, by immersion, in the name of the Father, of the Son Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit and believe in the Trinity of God to enter into the kingdom of God.

John 4

Summary. In this chapter, everyone can see that if you have faith deep in your soul, your eyes will open and link you to the right place to be saved. John 4:1-45. Jesus and the woman from Samaria at the well. This section of Scripture is fundamental for all humans. Jesus talks with a simple, poor in spirit Samaritan woman who asks straightforward questions, and the Lord gives her the answers. We can summarize the events at the well as follows: the Lord comes at the well; He talks to a Samaritan woman coming to draw water, and teaches her about the living water for the soul by analogy with the earthly well water; Jesus declared Himself to the woman as the Messiah, the Christ, and the One who will teach people about how to worship the Father; He teaches her that to worship God it is necessary to worship Him in spirit and truth; the disciples return; the woman departs to the city and spreads the word about Jesus as being the Christ and stirs peoples hearts to come to meet the Lord; the Samaritans come out of the city to meet the Lord; the Lord teaches the disciples that His food is to do the will of the Father; He teaches them about sowing the living word and harvesting the benefits; the Lord spends two days with the Samaritans and teaches them, and they come to believe for themselves that Jesus truly is the Savior of the world. John 4:46-54. Jesus by His word heals a nobleman’s son. Jesus said to the man, "your son lives," which includes the blessing of healing for his son and spiritual blessing of faith to all his household.   

1 When, therefore, the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus makes and baptizes more disciples than John

2 (indeed Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),

3 He left Judea and departed again into Galilee.

Comments 4:3. The beloved Son of God has known very well who is doing what, and here is the confirmation. He has left Judea and went again to Galilee because the people have been talking about Him, and sometimes the news was not accurate; the purpose the Lord went back now was to make sure that the word spread about Him will be confirmed by Him as well. Give attention to verse 1; the news spread that the beloved Son of God has baptized people, but verse 2 has told clearly that it was not Him who baptized but His disciples. The false news travels far and fast, and this is the start of His ministry, and the Lord Himself wants to make sure that people know what the truth is and what is not.

Q: Why did the Lord Jesus never baptize any of His followers in water, and why did only His disciples do it? A: The beloved Son of God came on earth to give good news, but for baptizing people also it is His wish but, not His duty that the Father has given Him (See Matthew 28:19-20).

4 Now it was necessary for Him to pass through Samaria.

5 Therefore He goes to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, nearby the piece of land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph,

6 and Jacob's well was in that place. Jesus, therefore, being wearied from the travel, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Comments 4:4-6. The purpose of giving the information in verses 4 and 5 is only to show the traveling of the Lord.

“Jesus, therefore, being wearied …”; The purpose that verse 6 has told that the beloved Son of God is wearied is to confirm to all readers that the beloved Son of God now in human form has not used His power to make His body stronger than a normal human; the traveling makes Him tired, and now in this verse, it has shown clearly the humanity in the beloved Son of God.

The beloved Son will always do the Father’s will; if the Bible did not tell something, all readers should take it as that is not in the Father’s will to let humans know. All readers can understand that the beloved Son of God will always do the Father’s will; regardless of whatever situation is, the Lord will only do what the Father’s will is. All readers can notice one thing: when the beloved Son of God must be completely human and wants every human to see Him as human, then He will only act as humans will behave. Still, when the time is to show His power, He will do this to strengthen someone else’s faith and keep their mind concentrated on the things in front of them.

7 A woman comes out from Samaria to draw water. Jesus says to her, Give Me to drink.

Comments 4:7. This verse tells that when the beloved Son of God talks to some stranger, always He has a purpose; here, to ask the woman for a drink, also has two meanings in it, and the woman's response will benefit her. We can also see clearly that the Lord wants to show mercy to all the people, not only to the Jews themselves but even to this outsider woman; being a Samaritan, she will receive mercy as well. By asking her for water, upon her action as well, the Lord Himself will give her the water of life.

8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9 The Samaritan woman, therefore, says to Him, How is it that Thou, being a Jew, ask to drink from me, being a Samaritan woman? (For Jews have no association with Samaritans.)

Comments 4:9. The verse tells that this is a Samaritan woman, and the Jews consider her as an outsider. In that time, by the old law, the Jews will not associate with the outsiders, especially with the Samaritan people, and that is why it makes this woman feel surprised that the beloved Son of God is talking to her.

10 Jesus answered and said to her, If you had known the gift of God, and who is saying to you, Give Me to drink, you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water.

Comments 4:10. “If you had known the gift of God.” The verse says that the gift of God is not only the Holy Spirit alone, but also the beloved Son of God is the most precious gift the Father had given to all humans.

“and who is saying to you, Give Me to drink.” Now the beloved Son of God, talking to her, wants to bring attention to Himself. Give me to drink, and this will make her realize that she is talking with a Jewish man who asks a Samaritan woman for a drink.

“you would have asked of Him … living water”. When someone talks to the beloved Son of God, inside their heart will be stirring up, and this woman did have that feeling, but she let her earthly feeling block it. Being a Jew and talking to her, she should think again, why this person is asking her for a drink. And now it is a chance for her to ask the beloved Son of God, the gift of heaven for herself, but most humans have forsaken this inner feeling when they think about the beloved Son of God. Still, they have ignored that feeling, the feeling inside of them that they are talking with the beloved Son of God; and use His name in a wrong way, which happens so often on earth. 

11 The woman says to Him, Sir, Thou have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; from where therefore hold Thou the living water?

12 Thou are not greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank out of it himself, and his sons, and his livestock.

Comments 4:12. The Samaritan people have heard about all the work of the Lord since a long time ago; as this verse has told the readers, this woman has linked all the great job to the past, and she has doubted now how the beloved Son of God can do all the things as her forefathers have done for them.

The woman's statement is a common question for all people to have. Because the Lord has told her that He would give her the living water, that is why she links this water of the Lord with Jacob’s well that they have been using, which is a common link in the mind of humans. In the old-time has been told, Jacob saw God at that spot, and then the well has been dug, and people have used that water, but the water did not have any miracle power. However, they believe it is the well of God because God has shown Jacob where to dig the well. 

13 Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone that drinks from this water will thirst again;

Comments 4:13. In this verse, the beloved Son of God has told her the truth about the water; when you drink, the human body, after you drink, still feels thirsty again.

14 but whoever may drink from the water that I will give him will never thirst to eternity; but rather, the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.

Comments 4:14. “but whoever may drink … to eternity”; The beloved Son has told the truth to the woman; the water that the Lord will give is the water for the soul, which is the beloved Son’s teaching; His teaching is that water.

“but rather, the water … to eternal life”; When the teaching of the beloved Son of God enters into your heart, it will keep flowing nonstop, even you sleep or are awake; the living water will always be at work in you if you have taken His teaching and practice it, following with all your heart, and with no doubt and no waver. The living word of the beloved Son of God is the living water; the word of the beloved Son of God has power and will never stop flowing in all the hearts that have faith in Him.

15 The woman says to Him, Sir, give me this water, in order that I thirst not, and not go about here to draw.

Comments 4:15. This woman has asked the beloved Son of God for mercy and also asked of Him the living water. Because of the way she has said, in her heart, she had believed in eternal life from the living water from the Lord, that is why she said: “give me this water, in order that I thirst not, and not go about here to draw.” Because of the word the beloved Son of God has said, He will give her “a well of water springing up to eternal life,” she believes in the living water from the Lord.

“give me this water, in order that I thirst not”; Give attention to this portion of the verse; as she has asked the beloved Son of God for the living water, in her belief if she gets this water, she will not thirst for any water again. So, think of this Samaritan woman’s faith; in her heart, she believes that if she has drunk the living water from the beloved Son of God, she will never need another water again; that is her faith.

16 He says to her, Go, call out your husband, and come here.

Comments 4:16. The Lord knows who the woman is, but the Lord has told her to call her husband, and her answer will tell all readers who truly she is.

17 The woman answered and said to Him, I have no husband. Jesus says to her, You said rightly, I have no husband;

18 for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you have spoken truly.

Comments 4:18. This verse shows clearly that the beloved Son of God knows everyone, He knows them until the core; the Lord has not met this woman yet, but He knows who she is and that had been told to all readers here, that the beloved Son of God has full knowledge about everyone on earth.

19 The woman says to Him, Sir, I perceive that Thou are a prophet.

20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is proper to worship.

Comments 4:20. The Samaritans themselves had knowledge about the God Most High as well, but because they have been treated as outsiders, their place of worship was not inside Jerusalem city. The Lord has chosen the Jews to worship Him inside Jerusalem city. By the old Law, during festivals of Sabbath, the outsiders could not be inside the holy temple.

“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain.” She is talking about the root of her people; as the verse has told, they worshiped up in the mountain.

21 Jesus says to her, Woman, believe Me, that a time is coming, when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father.

Comments 4:21. This verse is the most important verse of this conversation. To worship the Father is not the place that is important; as the beloved Son of God tells, the time is coming now, that not in any place, nor in Jerusalem where people should worship the Father, because the Father Himself has sent His beloved Son for people, and later on the verses will tell clearer where the people should worship the Father.

22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know because deliverance is from out of the Jews.

Comments 4:22. When the beloved Son of God has told in this verse, “deliverance is from out of the Jews,” He does not mean that the salvation is only for the Jews, but that every human who accepts the beloved Son of God and believes in His birth, death, and resurrection, and also has faith that through Him only their sins can be forgiven will find deliverance.

“we worship … out of the Jews.” When the verse says we, this refers only to the Jewish people at this moment, but the salvation has extended to all humans, starting from the Jews with the beloved Son of God Himself. Jesus came through the Jewish nation because these are the chosen people from the Father Himself; He has chosen them.

23 But a time is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; and indeed, the Father seeks such as these to worship Him,

Comments 4:23. “But a time is coming, and now is”; As this verse tells, right now the time has come for all humans to be saved; “and now is” which means at this moment when the beloved Son of God has taken human form, this is what the term "now" means.

“When the true … in spirit and truth”. Give attention to the term, the true worshipers, not those that worship only by action, but those that worship with the deep of their hearts, without using the mind to convince themselves to worship, but the deep urge from the heart has stirred the mind of the person to think after the heart, that is the true worshiper.

“in spirit and truth”; This is the part that is hard for humans to understand because humans have used the term spirit in specific meaning only, but for the Lord Himself, the spirit is the heart of the soul of true believers, which only the true believers can feel that heart; and that heart itself will reveal the truth about God to that person. 

“and indeed, the Father seeks such as these to worship Him.” The Father Himself seeks the persons who have true faith and true feeling in seeking and being aware of themselves at all times how to glorify the God Most High. That is what the Father is seeking.

24 God the Spirit, and those worshiping Him, it is necessary to worship in spirit and truth.

Comments 4:24. This verse talks about the Father’s identity Himself. The Father Himself cannot be seen or touched, and those that want to worship Him and know Him must do so with the deep of their spirit and the truth of their heart; only that way the Father can be joyful when all His children worship Him with the truth of their own spirit.

25 The woman says to Him; I know that Messiah is coming who is called Christ; whenever He comes, He will tell us all.

Comments 4:25. All readers can notice from this verse that the knowledge about the beloved Son of God has been told for a long time ago, and all humans have heard about the Messiah coming. Still, not all of them are seeking for Him with their hearts, but for those who open their hearts to Him, the beloved Son of God Himself will make them know that He is beside them already in this time.

Q: What does the term Messiah really mean? A: Messiah is the One who will lead all humans to be saved and be able to be close with the Father Himself because all those who accept the Messiah will also be accepted by the Father Himself. Also, the Bible tells us that the Messiah is the anointed One of the Father.

26 Jesus says to her, I am the One speaking to you.

Comments 4:26. The Bible has talked about Messiah, but here is the place Jesus has told by Himself that He Himself truly is the Messiah for humans, and all readers should believe that as well. Even you did not hear Him speak, as He spoke to this Samaritan woman, but the Bible has declared the beloved Son of God as Messiah. All readers can notice the innocence of her heart; she has talked to the beloved Son of God as children would; her heart is clean as a child’s heart would be; that is why the beloved Son of God declared Himself to her as Messiah.

27 And upon this came His disciples. They marveled that He was speaking with a woman; however, no one said, What do Thou seek? Or, Why do Thou speak with her?

Comments 4:27. The beloved Son of God talked with the Samaritan woman, which makes His disciples feel uncomfortable regarding her because she is not a Jewish person. These questions here in this verse are common questions they would ask Him; they would want to know the purpose of the conversation with the outsiders.

Q: How did John the apostle know all this detailed discussion the Lord Jesus had with this Samaritan woman when none of the disciples were present at the well until now? A: That is the purpose the Gospel of John is in the Bible; the Holy Spirit has given Him the words to put down, the men themselves cannot repeat the entire conversation, especially when they are not there. Here is yet another example that clearly shows that the Bible must be Holy Spirit dictated. The writers of the Bible received their words directly from the Holy Spirit; only the Holy Spirit can reproduce this entire discussion between this Samaritan woman and the Lord Jesus.

28 Then the woman left her water pot, and went away into the city, and says to the people,

29 Come, see a Man who told me how many I did. Can this be the Christ?

Comments 4:29. All readers can clearly see that the Lord chooses whomever He pleases; this Samaritan woman is an example; she is an outsider, but her heart and wishes are clean; she believes in her heart that the beloved Son of God, the Christ Himself, has spoken to her.

30 They went forth out of the city and were coming towards Him.

Comments 4:30. In this verse we see that the beloved Son of God knows very well whom He will use to make an impact; the woman went away and talked to the people of the town; what she has said to the people make all their hearts stirred, and they want to know who this is that she is talking about, could this be the Christ Himself.

31 In the meanwhile, the disciples were urging Him, saying, Rabbi, eat.

32 But He said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know.

Comments 4:32. In this verse, the beloved Son of God has told His disciples to think about what food He is talking about; that is why He used the term “food to eat that you do not know”; for the disciples, if it is real food, they will know, but here the beloved Son of God had emphasized that this food they do not know what it is; just to make them think.

33 The disciples, therefore, said one to another, Did anyone bring Him to eat?

34 Jesus says to them, My food is to do the will of Him having sent Me, and to complete His work.

Comments 4:34. This verse tells that the beloved Son of God has life living for serving the Father on this earth; that is why He did tell the disciples that His food is to do the will of the Father; this has told all readers clearly that He has come and lived on this earth for that purpose only.

“My food.” To accomplish the will of the Father, He speaks the living word from the Father to them, and that living word is the true food that He Himself has received from the Father, and to accomplish the work, He has given that living word for humans to have it as well.

35 Do you not say, That there are still four months, then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and look upon the fields because they are bright towards harvest.

Comments 4:35. When the beloved Son of God has told them to look out on the fields, He wants them to open their eyes and see all the living souls on the earth, and they will see that those souls need to be fed as well; these lost souls will be ready to receive the Word after the disciples have heard the living Word as well, and the disciples are the workers who will go out and gather them; after they have given them the knowledge they received from the Lord, the disciples will receive the benefit of it as well.

"That there are still four months, then comes the harvest"; Jesus means here that He will be with the disciples for a while to teach them, then they are ready to go and spread the Word.

36 The one reaping receives a reward and gathers fruit into life eternal; so that the one sowing and the one reaping may rejoice together.

Comments 4:36. “The one reaping receives a reward and gathers fruit into life eternal.” So, those that have received the living word will be the ones who receive the reward, if they have opened their hearts, not just to receive but to do as well; when they follow the living word, they themselves will have that chance to be as one of the beloved Son of God’s disciples and go out to do the work by spreading the living word out further.

“so that the one sowing and the one reaping may rejoice together.” The first disciples and the ones who have received the word after both will reap eternal life together; that is why the verse has told that they will rejoice together. In the end time, when all are in heaven, they will all rejoice together.

“may rejoice together.” They both will be together in heaven and rejoice together because they have benefited from the living word together.

37 For herein is the saying true, One is sowing and another harvesting.

Comments 4:37. The one that sows is the disciples, including all who receive the word and do it. So then, when they do the work of spreading out, all those that have received the word will reap the benefits; both of them still reap the benefits together, as they go up on the stairs the first reach to the end, but the next person who follows will reach to the end as well, that is why the verse has told: “One is sowing and another harvesting.”

38 I sent you to harvest what you have not toiled for; others have toiled, and you have entered into their laborious toil.

Comments 4:38. The true laborer is the Holy Spirit; God's beloved Son has taught the disciples, but the real laborer is the Holy Spirit. When the disciples talk, the Holy Spirit works, that is why the verse has told is not them that labor, others have labored, and the disciples just are there to reap the benefit when the people that heard the word turn their hearts to the Lord, and the disciples have received the reward for that. So, the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ work together into people's hearts when a disciple tells the Gospel. 

“others have toiled.” You do not make the people have faith; the word you have spoken leads the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts and people's faith. The Holy Spirit is one person, but He enters around many persons at the same time, then continues the labor in others. We can think this way as well, the Holy Spirit works in one heart, and that person goes out and works, continuing as well, it becomes a chain reaction, that is why the term others is used here.

“you have entered into their laborious toil.” You have entered into because it started from you who has obeyed the Holy Spirit and went out to work; you have entered into their labor by being the one who gives out the word to them.

39 Now from that city, many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman, who testified, He told me all things whatever I did.

40 Then even as the Samaritans came towards Him, they asked Him to abide with them; and He abode there two days.

41 And many more believed because of His word,

Comments 4:40-41. The beloved Son of God has started His work; within these two days, God's beloved Son has spoken many things to people, more than the Samaritan woman could tell them; that is why more people believed in Him.

42 and they said to the woman, No longer we believe because of your speaking; for ourselves have heard and know that this is truly the Savior of the world.

Comments 4:42. We should all pay attention to this verse; people may go to witness to people, but the Holy Word itself has to do the work because when people hear the word from the beloved Son of God, the Holy Word will work in their hearts, as this verse has told: “for ourselves have heard, and know that this is truly the Savior of the world.” Holy Spirit uses the Holy Word that the Lord has spoken to work in people’s hearts. 

43 Then after the two days, He went forth from there into Galilee.

44 For Jesus, Himself bore witness, that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.

Comments 4:43-44. “a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.” There are many stages of His childhood life that He has been moving with His earthly parents, but no place itself that the beloved Son of God called home, that is why there are many debates among humans, but in the Bible has told all readers as well that He is from Galilee.

45 Therefore when He came into Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

Comments 4:45. The verse has told that they received Him.

46 He came therefore again into Cana of Galilee, where He made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

Comments 4:46. As the verse tells, we can see that the beloved Son of God has not been there the first time. The people had already known about the beloved Son of God from His work itself, not just from the rumors.

47 He, having heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, went to Him, and asked that He would come down, and heal his son; for he was about to die.

Comments 4:47. As the verse has told, the father has faith; when his own child was close to death, the father's mind was thinking how to help his own son, and the heart has told him that one way to help him is by asking mercy from the beloved Son of God.

48 Jesus therefore said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.

49 The nobleman says to Him, Lord, come down before my child dies.

Comments 4:49. The beloved Son of God has seen through his heart how much this father loves his son; with mercy, the Lord will do the work.

50 Jesus says to him, Go, your son lives. The man believed the word that Jesus said to him, and he went.

Comments 4:50. All readers take notice, the beloved Son did not ask the condition of sickness or any kind of injury, but the beloved Son has given a blessing, the child will live, as the verse has told: “your son lives.”

“The man believed  …”; Give attention, the belief in the word of the Lord has linked the man to faith, the heart of the man believed in the word that the beloved Son of God has spoken, and he went home with faith, and that faith will give him the benefit.

51 And he now going down, his servants met him, saying, that his child lives.

52 Then he inquired from them the hour in which he got better. They said then to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him.

53 So the father perceived that it was at that hour at which Jesus said to him, Your son lives. And himself believed, and all his household.

Comments 4:53. As the verse tells, by the man's faith in the beloved Son of God, his son will live, and he has received the blessing.

"And himself believed, and all his household." When the Lord said to the man, "your son lives," that also includes the blessing of healing and faith to the household. The confirmation of faith has come upon him when the verse says, "himself believed." 

54 This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come from Judea into Galilee.

Comments 4:54. This sign is the second sign of mercy that the Lord did. The beloved Son of God has done many signs (See John 2:23, 3:2, 4:45), but this is the second sign of mercy; other signs that He has done are signs of authority, but this verse has talked about the second sign of mercy.

The miracle of water to wine in Cana of Galilee (See John 2:11) was a sign of mercy towards His mother, Mary.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Jesus is the living water for our souls; invite Him to come into your life. 2) God the Spirit, and we must worship Him in spirit and truth. 3) Spread the living word to others, and you will both rejoice together in the end. 4) Believe the word of Jesus, and blessings will come to you and your family.

John 5

Summary. In this chapter, the Jews accuse Jesus, and Jesus presents His defense about being the Son of God. He has told them that He is One with the Father, and He is doing the will of the Father. John 5:1-15. The healing of a weak man on the Sabbath. The Son of God came down on earth to show the mercy of the Father to humankind. Bethesda means “house of mercy,” and the Lord Jesus passed by there and showed mercy to a weak man there who was neglected by all for a long time. This man didn’t give up, and the Lord saw his heart of faith and full of hope, which drew the beloved Son of God’s attention to heal him. John 5:16-18. The Jews persecuted Jesus.  The Jews persecuted Jesus because He broke the Sabbath and called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God. But the Sabbath is the day of the Lord, and everyone should do good to one another on Sabbath. And, when Jesus called God, His Father, the Son did not try to be equal to the Father, but He has shown to all that He is just a Son who has come down to bring salvation to humankind. John 5:19-29. Jesus talks about His authority. The power between the Father and the Son may be different, but the authority between the Father and Son is the same because in the beloved Son Himself, the Father is there as well; whatever the Father does, the Son will do as well. The Son has spoken out of the Father’s authority that has been given to Him. Also, during the judgment time, the Father gives authority to the Son according to His will. John 5:30-47. Witnesses to Jesus as the Son of God. The Lord Jesus tells us that the Father Himself has given testimony about the beloved Son of God, and all His testimony is written in the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is the witness for the beloved Son of God Himself because the Holy Bible tells how the beloved Son of God will be born on earth and die for humans. The Father sent Jesus on earth, and Jesus speaks the Word from the Father. Other witnesses are the truth spoken by John, the messenger, and Moses’ writings.

1 After these was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Comments 5:1. As the verse has told, after these, the Lord will participate in the feast of the Jews; the purpose of going up to Jerusalem is to let people know that the mercy of God has come down for them now. We are not told here which feast of the Jews this was.

2 And there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticos.

Comments 5:2. Bethesda means “house of mercy.” The Bible also calls the beloved Son of God merciful. If that pool means mercy, then the God of mercy should be there; that is the main reason.

3 In these were lying a great number of the ailing, blind, lame, withered, < awaiting for the moving of the water >.

Comments 5:3. The people that had problems came there and waited to receive mercy, and it turned out to be a tradition; every year, people would travel from all over and come there waiting for the moving of the water.

“awaiting for the moving of the water.” We believe this part of the verse was part of the original manuscript given to John by the Holy Spirit but was not written down further; it was lost.

4 < indeed, an angel descended according to fitting times into the pool, and stirred the water; then the first who entered after the stirring of the water was made whole, from what sickness he was held by at that time >.

Comments 5:3-4. Verse 4, in this commentary, we believe was part of the original manuscript given to John by the Holy Spirit but was not written down further; it was lost. Therefore, these statements here from verse 3b to the end of verse 4 are true, and they happened as written.

As the verse has told, the angel's action has happened because of the mercy of the Father Himself. In certain times when people's hearts were at peace, the angel would come down and stir up the water; with the wave of the water, the blessing of the Father has come down, and whoever stepped down first would receive full mercy and be cured of all diseases.

5 And a certain man was there, being thirty and eight years in his weakness.

6 Jesus seeing him lying, and knowing that he has already been a long time, He says to him, Do you wish to be healed?

Comments 5:5-6. We all readers can notice; God's beloved Son already knows that this man has been lying for a long time here. Yet, with a heart full of hope, this man wishes the Lord's mercy to heal Him; that is why the Lord asks Him, according to the man's heart itself; this man has been waiting for so long but has not given up faith and hope for healing.

There was a multitude of them who were sick, but the Lord healed this man only. According to our comment, the heart that he has, and by not giving up in faith, has drawn the beloved Son of God's attention because that is the heart of a person that all have neglected, and the mercy of God is for these types of people, the ones that nobody pays attention to. But this person did not give up hope; that is the heart that all people should think about. Do you have that heart when you are without hope in this world?

Q: Do you want to be healed? Why did the Lord ask this man this question? He was already waiting there. A: When the beloved Son of God has asked this man the question, that question will make him think in his heart, he comes to expect to be healed or believes that he will be healed; it is a difference between expecting and believing.

7 The weak answered Him, Sir, I have no man, in order that when the water is stirred, to put me into the pool; and while I am going, another goes down before me.

Comments 5:7. The man has a conversation with the beloved Son of God and tells Him the truth about what had happened to him when he was waiting to be healed. Also, this tells all readers that always someone else will take advantage of a weak person because everyone thinks of themselves first, and here is an example.

8 Jesus says to him, Rise up, take up your mat, and walk.

Comments 5:9. The beloved Son of God did not ask him to get up but has ordered him to walk and be well because the beloved Son of God Himself has authority and power to heal everyone; this is a clear example here.

9 And immediately, the man became healthy and took up his mat and walked. Now it was Sabbath on that day.

Comments 5:9. Every reader should think at this point, the sick who did not walk but now suddenly walks and carries his own mat as well; the strength he has is from the beloved Son of God Himself, and this is the Lord’s love and mercy shown here.

Q: How did this man go from place to place? A: In that time, when he begs for money, some portion of that money will be a payment for someone to carry him.

Q: Why didn’t the man ask the Lord who He was or say thank you? A: Because it was just in his heart that acknowledgment that the pool he was by gave him this healing.

10 Therefore the Jews said to the man that was healed, It is Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up the mat.

Comments 5:10. His own people have forgotten the meaning of the day; the Sabbath day is the day for showing mercy, and the man received mercy and carried his mat; this had nothing against the law; that is why the beloved Son of God had come to complete the law.

11 But he answered them, The One having made me healthy, that One said to me, Take up your mat, and walk.

Comments 5:11. The man has told all that happened to him; fear has made him talk. Even though he could not do things by the law, but the joy of being healed, and being like normal people, made him forget everything else.

12 Then they questioned him, Who is the Man having said to you, Take up your mat and walk?

13 Now he that was healed did not know who it is, for Jesus withdrew; a crowd being in the place.

Comments 5:12-13. We can notice that the beloved Son of God did not come on earth to be famous for doing good to someone but came to show mercy to the needy. By moving away from the person, He had shown that the real purpose of healing this person was to show mercy to the unwanted people. 

14 After these, Jesus finds him in the temple and says to him, Look, you have become whole; sin no more, that not something worse to you happens.

Comments 5:14. “sin no more”; This command “sin no more”, given by the Lord, refers to sin against the Trinity of God.

When the beloved Son of God met him in the temple, He also told the man that his sickness was not from cursing, but it could re-occur again if he did not keep himself clean, which is why he gave the warning "sin no more." All readers afterward should think as well about what this warning would be for themselves. In the old time, when bad things happened, people thought that someone had cursed someone to get sick, but the cursing of humans has no power; the sickness in the body appears from sin, either due to sinful action or sin in the heart.

Q: How does this healing and this command, “sin no more, that not something worse to you happens,” applies to us as Christians today? A: It is good that all readers should read and pay attention as well, do not take the command of the beloved Son of God lightly. When people sin, they think that nothing wrong happens to them, but they forget about their soul, and that sin will condemn their own soul to suffer; not that someone else harms them, but their own action and mind lead their own soul in torment; and in this world itself, the person that commits sin cannot find the deep peace of the mind, until they come and admit to the Lord, and ask forgiveness by the help of the beloved Son of God. Therefore, all Christians should learn this verse and keep it in their hearts; this is a commandment of the beloved Son of God, straight to all humans, not just to this person or in the past alone, but in the future until the judgment day comes.

In this verse, in this case, both the soul and physical will suffer if this person has disobeyed the commandment because this commandment has been given straight from the mouth of the beloved Son of God Himself.

If a person is a true believer, this commandment applies directly as for this person here in this verse with the same warnings. True believers will not commit the blasphemy sin against the Trinity of God; if that person is a true believer, this commandment needs to be followed until the last minute of life on earth.  When the Lord speaks into the heart of a person about a sin is the same as He spoke to this man.

15 The man went away and announced to the Jews that it is Jesus who made him healthy.

Comments 5:15. Most people do think that the man's action is wrong, but no one understands the situation at that time; he lived in fear all his life; when he got well, all he wanted was to tell who had helped him to get well; he did this with his heart full of appreciation for the action the beloved Son of God has shown to him. The mercy he has received made him want to tell everyone about the One who had that mercy for a man like him.

“It is Jesus”; When the beloved Son of God met him in the temple, it was when the man realized who had helped him to be well. The intention of telling people who helped him had moved him in his heart that he should go and tell the leaders as well, who was the Man that enabled him to be healthy, and they all can recognize the mercy and love of this Man that helped him, and also, he realized now that it was not the pool’s power that healed him, but he was healed by the Lord Jesus’ authority.

16 And because of this, the Jews were persecuting Jesus because He did these on Sabbath.

Comments 5:16. The Sabbath has been taught for a long time before; before the Jews were a nation, and in the end, it became a tradition, no work was allowed entirely on the day of the Sabbath, which is not what the Lord has taught humans to do. The Sabbath is a day of the Lord, and everyone should love each other and respect one another, but first, on the Sabbath should do all things for the Lord; even when you do good to someone, do it with the purpose of glorifying the Lord, and that is the Sabbath the Lord has been teaching to all.

[Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (NASB, Exodus 20:8-11)]

“you shall not do any work;” The work in this place is work that you do to earn a living, but it does not relate to the work you do for surviving. So, for example, you still need to eat and cook food which is not the work discussed in this commandment; but if you go out and make money to buy food, that becomes the work that is spoken about in this commandment. So, look at the purpose of doing work; if you do work in the day of the Lord according to glorifying the Lord, that is a different kind of work, it is not work for a living, but work for glorifying, and that is the difference between the work on the Lord’s day.

Q: "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day." The Lord does not do work for a living, so how does this apply to our work for living on the Sabbath comment?

A: In this verse, the meaning refers to the Father when He was done the work of creation. The Father has returned to heaven, but He still sends His angels to look over all living things and make sure that all things, according to His creation, have stayed well and no harm comes upon them.

17 Now Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working.

Comments 5:17. According to the verse itself, God the Father is working, He never stops working yet, and the beloved Son of God is also working in each moment. The Father and the Son work together in all things, and They never stop doing work.

The Sabbath is the Lord’s day, not only for working but for blessing; everybody needs blessings each day; so, if you do not need blessings at any moment, you can expect that the Lord is not working all the time.

18 Because of this, therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill Him because He did not only break the Sabbath but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God.

Comments 5:18. The Jews sought to kill the beloved Son of God, and they used the term Sabbath as a reason, which they themselves don’t really understand what it means; they have practiced Sabbath tradition, but they never tried to understand what Sabbath means.

“… but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God.” When Jesus called God, Father, the Son did not try to be equal to the Father, but He has shown to all that He is just a Son who has come down to humans and not only stayed up in heaven watching humans; He already has made Himself low by being human for them, and this is the reason, that they use to justify not to accept the beloved Son of God.

19 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these the Son also does likewise.

Comments 5:19. Here is the proof that Jesus never lifted Himself to be equal with the Father. He has told all humans clearly; God's beloved Son does nothing of Himself but always does what the Father does, showing to all humans that He is a beloved Son who still follows God the Father Himself. Therefore, the accusation humans have made has no truth in it.

The Trinity is the term for three in One, three Gods, but all in One with the Father, and the Father Himself is the One who makes decisions in all; this also supports that God's beloved Son has never lifted Himself to be equal with the Father.

20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that He does; and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel.

Comments 5:20. As the verse tells here, the beloved Son of God does only what the Father shows Him. The beloved Son of God, as God, but does only what the Father does; the obedient Son, that what the beloved Son is.

21 For just as the Father raises up the dead and gives life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wills.

Comments 5:21. As the verse tells, the Father gives life to whomever He wills, but the beloved Son also will give life to whom He pleases; the power may be different, but the authority between the Father and Son is the same because in the beloved Son Himself, the Father is there as well; whatever the Father does, the Son will do as well.

“For just as the Father raises up the dead and gives life.” In this portion of Scripture itself, we as believers must think, from the beginning, the Father had given life to the first man when He created the man, and also, in the end, the Father will take the last man’s life. However, nothing that the Father created can disappear, the last man the Father will take it, but this is not the dead point; as the verse has told as well, the Father raises up the dead; when all humans are gone, the Father Himself will raise the dead ones up, as a beginning again, that is why the verse has told that He raises up the dead and gives them life.

“even so the Son also gives life to whom He wills.” This part refers to the period before the end time coming; the chosen ones that have given their lives in a special way only to the beloved Son of God, when those persons die, the beloved Son of God will give life to those ones, according to His own will as well. 

22 For neither the Father judges anyone but has given all judgment to the Son;

Comments 5:22. The beloved Son of God has the authority in judgment according to the Father’s will Himself; the Father will give that authority to the Son. Because the Father and the Son are One, when the judgment time comes, the Son will be the one that talks, but the decision will still be from both the Father and the Son together; only the Son will be at the front who announces the decision.

23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. Who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father that sent Him.

Comments 5:22-23. These verses are talking about the end time events.

“in order that all may honor the Son”; all here includes all heavenly hosts as well.

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, the one that hears My word, and believes Him that sent Me, has eternal life, and comes not into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Comments 5:24. “the one that hears My word, and believes Him that sent Me, has eternal life …”; According to the verse, all Christians who believe should think that "My word" here is not the word of the beloved Son Himself, but all that He spoke is from the Father; the true believer will hear the Father's word and believe. When the beloved Son of God has said that the Father sent Him, that also has told all that what the beloved Son of God has spoken everyone should think seriously and that He did not speak out of His own authority, but spoke out of the Father’s authority that has been given to Him. If you hear the Father's word, you will also believe the One He has sent because the One He has sent has not spoken out of His own word but out of the One who sent Him word Himself.

25 Truly, truly, I say to you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those having heard will live.

Comments 5:25. When the verse has told the hour is coming, it tells about the time that the beloved Son of God will give His life for all humans. During that time, He will go and speak to those that have died in faith in God Almighty but did not have a chance yet to know the beloved Son of God Himself. Because they all have already knowledge about the Father, He has gone there and told them there is still a chance for all to be saved if they only believe in the beloved Son of God now. Because by the Father's will Himself, all that will have life for eternity must believe in the beloved Son of God as well, and that is why the beloved Son has gone to the death realm to tell them about Himself. Including to those that did not believe, but those that deep in their hearts, have that feeling that all things did not come by themselves, but someone has created them, these have already the link to the faith itself. When they have that thought that someone has created all things, that already has shown the first step of faith in them; these are not the same as those who did not care who created them; those that did not care have lost their own chance to be saved.

“when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God.” Now He talks here about the dead; the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Here it is a difference between the dead and those living on earth; on this earth, He always calls Himself the Son of Man.

26 For as the Father has life in Himself, even in this manner gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself,

Comments 5:26. God of Three but One; what is for One will be for another as well. As the verse has told, the Father can give life, and also, the beloved Son of God can give life as well because both have life in themselves.

“as the Father has life in Himself”; The Father has life in Himself, and because of that, He can give that life further; all life belongs to the Father, including the life of the beloved Son of God; His life belongs to the Father as well. Jesus’ deity cannot be lower than the Father's deity because the Father Himself also is in the beloved Son of God, and in the same way, the beloved Son Himself is in the Father as well; the Trinity of God cannot be separated. When the beloved Son of God used the term to call Himself the Son of Man, the beloved Son of God has lowered Himself to be human; that is why the Father has given life to the beloved Son to have life in Himself.

“even in this manner gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself”; this portion of the verse refers to the Son of God as the Son of Man; here, they become One, the beloved Son of God, and the Son of Man; this verse refers to that time (when Jesus took the form of human on earth); what the verse has told in this portion, refers to when the beloved Son of God takes the form of human (from His conception in the womb). 

27 and gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man.

Comments 5:27. The beloved Son of God has taken the form of a human, and all authority for judging the humans will belong to His pleasure. Even the Father created the humans, but because He has given the humans free choice, the beloved Son of God in human form has known the real human way of life, and His judgment will be fair for all humans; in this way, humans can’t say it is not fair for God to judge them if God does not taste what humans go through the suffering of life; but now it is complete judgment here. As we have commented before, in the Father, the beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit also exist; when we say the Father created the humans, that also has told the Trinity of God had created all things.

28 Marvel not at this that the hour is coming, in which all in the tombs will hear His voice,

Comments 5:28. Do not be surprised when the time is here because the beloved Son of God Himself in human form has passed through death; that is why the verse has told the hour is coming, do not be surprised. There is a level of judgment; at first, to bring the dead to be in judgment before the beloved Son of God that was crucified, they all must hear Him first, and then the judgment takes place. As the Bible has told, He went there, to the death realm, to tell them the good news; in that period of time, the dead that died before He was born on earth will have a chance to hear the good news and then, when the resurrection comes to receive judgment, it will be fair for them as well. Whatever their soul in that time will contain, it will be used for judgment. Those who did not have faith at all because they never heard about God will also have a chance as well; they did not know about the beloved Son of God, but deep in them where they were alive, they all could notice the creation and could see that everything comes from someone and that someone is the God Almighty; they all have already knowledge about the God of Three (through the creation around them) but did not have a chance to know the Savior, and that is why the beloved Son of God goes there to tell them, to eliminate the unfair in the dark world itself.

After Jesus' resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit on earth, through the ministering of the Holy Spirit, everyone has the same chance to know about God Almighty, and the judgment will be fair for all.

29 and will come forth; those that have done good, to resurrection of life; and those that have done evil, to resurrection of judgment.

Comments 5:29. “and will come forth …”; As the verse tells, all humans, living and dead, will hear the judgment from the God of Three, no place for any can hide; because some have thought God is God of the living (has power only during they are alive on this earth) and when they die, God can’t touch them anymore, but they all have forgotten that the beloved Son of God in human form has died as well, and went to the death realm to tell about Himself, so even the dead can’t escape the judgment. As the verse has said, at the judgment time, all that have done good and have faith in the Son of God come to the resurrection of life, but all that did evil will come back to receive the judgment of punishment as well.  

30 I can of Myself do nothing; just as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just because I seek not My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Comments 5:30. The verse clearly tells, the beloved Son Himself always does the will of the Father; even He can judge by Himself, but He will never do it without the Father’s approval because the beloved Son of God always shows respect to the Father and abides all things according to the Father’s will.

“I can of Myself do nothing.” Because He will never do anything of Himself unless He gets approval from the Father because He is an obedient Son, and there will never be the issue arising that the Father and the Son disagree.

31 If I bear witness concerning Myself, My testimony is not true.

Comments 5:31. As the Bible has told, always the beloved Son of God gives the testimony about Himself according to the Father’s word; whatever the Father says to Him, that is what He has told all that believe in Him.

His “testimony is not true” because the one who has received did not believe and accept whatever He said. If nobody accepts, then His testimony becomes untrue in the thought of the unbelievers (those that do not believe what He says). We are not talking about the true believers here; give attention as well, between the true believers and the fake ones; this statement of the testimony being true or not true will be an argument between these two groups. Think of two parts, one is true believers, and another is fake ones; all His word will be between these two parts. Meaning that the true believers will believe His testimony and the fake ones will not believe.

32 Another there is bearing witness concerning Me, and I know that the testimony which He bears witness concerning Me is true.

Comments 5:32. Most believers who read this verse have linked it to the wrong place; now, the beloved Son of God has talked about the testimony of the Father and that the testimony which the Father has given relating to Him is true.

“… the testimony which He bears witness concerning Me is true.” The Father has given testimony about the beloved Son of God, and all His testimony is written in the Holy Bible. Therefore, what the Bible has talked about the beloved Son of God all is true, and everyone must believe it. 

33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.

Comments 5:33. As the verse has told, John is a messenger from the Lord, and he will proclaim the coming of the beloved Son of God, as we all can see from his message.

34 But I receive not the testimony from man; however, I say these, that you may be saved.

Comments 5:34. The beloved Son of God has told all humans in this verse that He did not receive the testimony from anyone.

When the beloved Son of God has spoken, those words will save those who listen and follow, as the verse has told “that you may be saved”; you all can be saved if you listen and obey the voice of the beloved Son of God because His teaching is from the Father Himself.

35 He was the lamp burning and shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.

Comments 5:35. The lamp is John, and what he says is the truth burning and shining. Because John has told the truth about the coming of the beloved Son of God, and that truth was burning and shining. People who heard were willing to believe, but just for a little while, because their hearts were not open yet to receive the truth, but what the messenger had been talking has stirred their hearts to have thought, but only they were thinking, not believing yet. That is why the beloved Son of God must tell them as well, and the message the beloved Son of God proclaimed is to save all humans, but that will lead Him to be crucified.

36 But I have the testimony greater than John’s. For the works which the Father gave Me to accomplish them, the same works that I do, bear witness concerning Me that the Father has sent Me.

Comments 5:36. “But I have the testimony greater than John’s.” The beloved Son of God has the word greater than John has because John is the messenger, not the preacher; he has a specific duty. The testimony is the word that the person tells; the beloved Son of God has said the word from the Father, but John has said the word as a messenger to lead the way; it is a difference. John has the word from the Father as well, but with different authority and duty, as a messenger.

“For the works …”; Now, as the verse tells, the witness about the beloved Son of God is the work that the Father has sent Him to do. The work that the beloved Son did on earth is to save all humans, and that work will bear witness about the authority and duty of the beloved Son of God, which all the beloved Son of God has done; all of the work is according to the Father’s will.

37 And the Father, the One who sent Me, has borne witness concerning Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor have seen His form.

Comments 5:37. “And the Father … concerning Me.” The witness for the beloved Son of God is not human, but the Father Himself is the true witness concerning His Son. Humans have not taken the beloved Son’s word properly since when the beloved Son of God has spoken, it is not His own will alone but the will of the Father for those words as well.

“You have neither heard His voice at any time nor have seen His form.” Humans have never heard the Father’s voice or seen Him, but humans have heard and seen the beloved Son of God Himself, which the Father has sent. He represents the Father for the whole earth. All humans should think that the Father has created the earth, and if He Himself would come down on earth, what would this earth be like after that? His glory is beyond what the earth could hold. The Father is on His throne, but with the love the Father has for humans, He has sent His Son to bring all humans to glorify Him before it is too late.

38 And you do not have His word abiding in you; because whom He sent, Him you believe not.

Comments 5:38. The Father loves you, but you have rejected His love when you do not accept His beloved Son. When you do not believe in the beloved Son of God, you have not believed in the Father Himself as well. Therefore, read the Holy Bible and use the word leading your life; each word contains the love of the Father Himself; read, obey, believe, and always meditate on the Word.

39 You search the Scriptures because you think in them to have eternal life, and these are they which bear witness concerning Me,

40 and you are not willing to come to Me, that you may have life.

Comments 5:40. The Holy Bible is the witness for the beloved Son of God Himself because the Holy Bible tells how the beloved Son of God will be born on earth and die for humans, but humans still do not come to Him and believe in Him to gain eternal life at the end.

You may think that only by reading the Bible you deserve to be saved, but to be saved, you must believe every word that is written and abide in every word every day of your daily life; transfer into your life the Word and use the Word to keep life clean; that will be considered as you have meditated on the Word itself. When you read the Word, the Lord gives you understanding; that understanding you must keep inside you and practice.

41 I take not praise from people. 

Comments 5:41. This verse talks about how humans praise humans; the Lord does not need that kind of praise. The Lord Himself does not need praises with the mouth of humans, but He needs the heart that praises Him.

42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.

Comments 5:42. Not all of the love in humans relates to the love for God. All humans love themselves before loving God; that is what the verse has said to all readers. Humans use the term love in many ways, but this verse has told us that some of that love is not the love for God but is love for the things He created.

43 I have come in My Father's name, and you received Me not; if another should come in their own name, that one you will receive.

Comments 5:43. “I have come in My Father's name …”; According to this word, the beloved Son of God has come not in His own name, but He has come to glorify the Father and has told all humans to glorify the Father, not themselves. But humans worship many things and other humans, but not all humans receive the beloved Son of God in human form because they all have thought God should not take the human form, and they use that as a reason not to accept the beloved Son of God Himself.

“if another should come in their own name …”; This part of the verse tells that humans have created many religions, many gods, and they are willing to die for those things they create just to make sure that someone else will believe as they do. How can humans be so foolish as to glorify the things they made with their own hands as gods?

44 How are you able to believe, receiving glory from one another and the glory from the only God you seek not?

Comments 5:44. Now the beloved Son of God is telling all humans that mercy from the Father has come for them all, but they are not willing to receive it, but when someone else claims to be a god, so many are going and following. So, humans glorify humans, but when the human Jesus has told them the truth, what God really wants them to worship, few accept it and come to worship the true God.

45 Think not that I will accuse you to the Father; there is Moses who accuses you, in whom you have set hope.

Comments 5:45. At first, we will talk about “I will accuse you to the Father”; the beloved Son of God will accept you in front of the Father but will also deny you if you do not believe in His word.

“there is Moses who accuses you …”; According to the Bible, Moses did perform miracles because of his faith, and because they had all seen those miracles, they believed what Moses had told them and set their hope that he would lead them to be saved. Still, he is the one who will accuse them of unfaithfulness. Even though he did miracles, they believed for a short while; the time hasn’t passed that long, and they all have turned back in the same wicked way again, as the Holy Bible has recorded their actions; and those actions are what Moses will use to accuse them.

46 For if you would have believed Moses, you would have believed Me; for he wrote concerning Me.

Comments 5:46. The beloved Son of God has never lifted Himself up above all; He only told what and who He is to all humans. And also, Moses wrote about Him, and they did not believe what he had written about Him because all their hearts tried to compare what the beloved Son of God did and what Moses did and weigh which one was the most powerful miracle; that is why they cannot believe even when they see the miracles the beloved Son of God has done,  and they came to the conclusion that Moses has performed greater miracles than the beloved Son has done.

The following are some Bible verses where Moses wrote about Jesus: Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis. 49:8-12; Numbers 24:17-19; Deuteronomy 32:43; Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

In Deuteronomy 18:15, the Bible says, “Jehovah your God will raise up unto you a prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me; unto Him you shall hearken;” This verse content is referring straight to the beloved Son of God; we can see from the verse itself, the beloved Son of God also is the true prophet of the Father, and we have the verse supporting in this place.

Q: Moses’ miracles versus our Lord Jesus' miracles. A: As a believer, think this way, Moses punished the enemy in front of their eyes; but the beloved Son of God will save their souls, the ones that have faith in Him, and the punishment for those unfaithful is eternal in hades, which in their living time they cannot see it yet; according to the faith they can see and feel, but because they lack both, their hearts did not rebuke them. When He was on earth as a human, the beloved Son of God had condemned sin on earth, He condemned the sin but did not punish anyone, but Moses has shown the punishment; that is the difference between Moses and Jesus' miracles.

47 But if you believe not that one’s writings, how will you believe My spoken words?

Comments 5:47. All people have seen and heard what Moses did, but they still did not believe his word, and then how can they believe what the beloved Son of God has talked to all of them about who He is and how to be saved. The comparison will be at work here; with Moses, they have already known his work, but the beloved Son of God has not shown significant works for many people to see and witness. Still, the beloved Son of God has worked with the poor and needy people to encourage them, these people are not important in the eyes of humans, but for the beloved Son of God, these are the people that have a place in His heart.

Even though the Lord will do many miracles, it will never be enough for them to realize the true way to be saved and what it means. The beloved Son of God came to give them salvation, but Moses came to get them out of oppression; both are not the same, and that makes the people cannot understand, and they will always expect that the Lord will deliver them out in the way they want, not only the salvation way alone. However, the Lord will deliver them out of oppression when all of them come and admit their faults and worship the true God as their forefathers have worshipped the Lord; until then, they will not succeed.

During Moses' time, the Jews were oppressed by the Egyptians, and during Jesus' time, the Jews were oppressed by the Romans. Moses delivered them out of Egypt into the promised land, so the Jews expected the Lord Jesus would deliver them out of Roman oppression. Many of the Jews were looking to the Messiah from this point of view, and they expected Jesus to do similar miraculous signs as Moses did and deliver them miraculously from Roman's hand. They were expecting a Messiah in a Moses way, not through salvation way.

Life and Faith Application. 1) God is a God of mercy, so do not lose hope in any difficult situation; just pray and wait on God's mercy. 2) Believe the testimony of the Bible about the Lord Jesus; the Father Himself sent Him on earth to bring salvation to humankind. 3) Humans have created many religions, many gods, and they are willing to die for those things; meditate on the Word of God daily, so you do not get influenced or trapped by them.

John 6

Summary. In this chapter, Jesus teaches the disciples and us about the difference between food for the physical body and food for the soul and how to get eternal life for our souls. John 6:1-15. Jesus feeds a great multitude. The Lord has mercy on the people that followed Him on the Tiberias side of the Sea of Galilee, and He provides food for them by multiplying five barley loaves and two small fishes from a little boy. In this portion of Scripture, the Lord also wants to teach His disciples and us how to solve our problems by coming first to the Lord of life in helping because He is the Lord and knows all the ways to help. John 6:16-21. Jesus walks on the sea. Jesus performs the miracles of walking on the sea and shortening the time and distance for the benefit of His disciples and those who read after them. John 6:22-59. Jesus is the bread of life, the true bread from heaven. In Capernaum, the Lord Jesus teaches about the spiritual food for our souls and what is the true food and drink for our souls to gain eternal life. The life that the Lord Jesus gave on the cross is the true bread of heaven that all humans can take as food for their souls, but only if they learn to accept and admit in their souls that He is the Son of God. Therefore, when taking the communion as a believer, we must never forget His sacrifice on the cross and the meaning of His sacrifice for our lives and believe and follow His teachings. As true believers taking the communion, we must surrender completely, both soul and body, to follow the beloved Son of God; for any believer who does that, the beloved Son Himself will be with that person and will be an inner strength and vitality and protection for that person.  John 6:60-71. The words of the Spirit of Christ are eternal life. The teachings of the Beloved Son of God are eternal life for those who listen and obey. Still, humans have the free will to follow or not follow His teachings.

1 After these Jesus went away over the Sea of Galilee, of Tiberias.

Comments 6:1. This verse tells us that Jesus traveled over the Galilee sea to the side of the Tiberias city. For verses 1 to 13, see Mark Comments 6:32-44. In the Gospel of Mark, we explain that the feeding event described in John 6:1-13 is a distinct feeding miracle, and it is different than the feeding miracle described in Mark 6:30-44, Matthew 14:13-21, and Luke 9:10-17. We can tell the difference by the feeding place; two different locations, not the same. In addition, Matthew 14:21, Luke 9:14, and Mark 6:44 (ESV, ASV) versus John 6:10 (ESV, ASV) are the separating verses as per the number of people. From Matthew 14:21, we can conclude that at the first feeding area (See map Jesus’ Travel from the Gospel of Mark), there were about "five thousand men besides women and children." And from John 6:10, we can conclude that at the second feeding area (See map Jesus’ Travel from the Gospel of Mark), there were about three (See verse John 6:10 – Codex Sinaiticus) thousand people (as per individuals). It is believed that when John 6:10 (ESV) says, "have the people sit down" and then, "so the men sat down," both refer to the same number of people. In John 6:10, people and men are one in God's eyes.

The difference in the number of people fed and the places where the miracles took place tell us that there were two distinct feeding events.

2 Now, many common people followed Him because they saw the signs which He was doing to those being sick.

Comments 6:2. From the verse, we can notice they saw the signs that the Lord Jesus was doing. So, the people have followed the beloved Son of God because they all expected to see all the more miracles that He will perform in healing the sick.

3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Jesus, therefore, having lifted up His eyes, and having seen that a great multitude is coming to Him, says to Philip, From where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

Comments 6:5. This verse tells about how much love the beloved Son of God has for humans. He saw so many have come, and He has mercy on them. Also, here, He wants to bring the disciples' attention back to the task at hand, many people, and much need of food; that is what the Lord wants His disciples to think now.

6 And this He said testing him, for Himself knew what He was about to do.

Comments 6:6. This is a continuation of the thought the Lord wants to bring for His disciples; the beloved Son of God knows already what will happen after He says the word, and here we can notice as well. But always, the Lord wants us to think about how to solve the problem when we can see who can help us; come first to the Lord of life in helping because He is the Lord and knows all the ways to help.

7 Philip answered Him, Two hundred denarii of bread are not sufficient for them, in order that each one may receive some little.

Comments 6:7. All believers can see clearly in this verse that Philip, one of the disciples, did not think about the Lord's miracles; he thought only about what he had in his hand and how much it could go. But instead, he should think about the little he has and how much the beloved Son of God can multiply to be more than enough for all; but, with his head only, he thought it would be not enough what he has.

Even 100 miracles before your eyes, Philip, a simple man, in his mind could not link them; the simple mind of man cannot link the past and the present together, and here Philip is an example of a simple mind. Here, a simple mind means thinking with our simple mind and not with our heart.

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, says to Him,

Comments 6:8. “Simon Peter’s brother.” Think as well, in that place, could it be just one named Andrew or not? To be more specific, the better term is to bring the brother Simon as well, and in this verse, we can know who is speaking, which Andrew, people can think as well, and it is more explicit.

9 Here is a little boy, who has five barley loaves, and two small fishes; however, what are these to so many?

Comments 6:9. In the other feeding in Matthew 14:17, Mark 6:38, and Luke 9:13, we have the same number of loaves and fishes, but we do not have the story with the little boy.

This fact also clarifies to all readers that it cannot be one feeding when the other three Gospels do not mention the boy who has the fishes and the loaves. So, all readers should make a difference when reading the Bible, separate the story out, and then the mind will be clear; many people have read these feeding miracles and get confused, but bring the differences and the similarities and compare them, and then you will have the correct conclusion, that the feeding in the Gospel of John cannot be the same as in the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, and Luke.

This one (Andrew) had walked around the people and found the boy with food and has come to make a report to the beloved Son of God. However, he also feared that what food he had found was still not enough for so many people. The human mind cannot think beyond what is in front of their eyes; even though they have seen the miracles before, the mind still cannot link the situation and the way to solve the problem. They all have walked with the beloved Son of God for some time and have seen many miracles, but they still need time to make up their own mind and accept what they know. 

10 Jesus said, Make the people sit down. Now was much grass in the place. Then, the men sat down, the number about five thousand [original manuscript “three thousand” – See Codex Sinaiticus textual variants John 6:10: “τρισχιλιοι (three thousands) - singular reading. Amended to πεντακισχιλιοι (five thousand) by the second corrector”].

Comments 6:10. This verse, John 6:10, uses both Greek words, for people or humans (ἀνθρώπους) and for men (ἄνδρες); while in Luke 9:14, Mark 6:44, and Matthew 14:21, the Bible uses only the Greek word for men (ἄνδρες).

It is believed that when this verse says, "have the people sit down" and then "so the men sat down," both, people and men, refer to the same amount of people. So, in John 6:10, people and men are one in God's eyes. However, in Matthew 14:21, we know that during that feeding, the number of people fed was about 5000 men plus women and children, so, much more than 5000 individuals, while here in this feeding in John, we believe the total amount of people fed to be about 3000 individuals as given in Codex Sinaiticus. We believe the number 3000 to be the correct original number given in the Gospel of John, which was potentially altered during the process of copying the original manuscript in order to match the numbers with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and have these feedings be the same. However, we believe that the feeding in the Gospel of John is a different feeding, and this number, the location of the feeding, and the story with the little boy are vital pointers to support this.  

11 Jesus, therefore, took the loaves, and having given thanks, distributed to those reclining; in like manner also of the fish, as much as they wished.

Comments 6:11. See Comments Matthew 14:19.

12 But when they were filled, He says to His disciples, Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing be lost.

Comments 6:12. As the reader can see, the miracle of the beloved Son of God has created more food than how much they could eat; the support is here; they even have leftovers. Therefore, if every believer trusts in the mercy of the beloved Son of God, everyone will have leftover food, not only physical food but also spiritual food. But moreover, here in this place, the beloved Son of God has taught everyone, when you have leftovers, take care of that as well; the things may come easy, but they don’t last forever if you are not taking care of them, that why He has told gather up the leftover that nothing be lost.

13 So they gathered together and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over from those having eaten.

Comments 6:13. This verse supports the verse before, the beloved Son of God truly created food more than how much they could eat; notice the amount leftover from the original they had. You as well will have leftover of the blessing the Lord will pour down on you, but all of this is according to faith and trust in the beloved Son of God from your heart, not just an empty mouth speaking; when you tell people you believe, make sure your heart is agreeing with what you have talked, your heart holds the true faith in you.

14 Then the people having seen the sign which has been done, said, This is truly the Prophet that comes into the world.

Comments 6:14. The beloved Son of God has done miracles, and people have confirmed in their faith that the mercy of the Father has come down, and they have taken the beloved Son of God as a true Prophet from heaven that came down to this earth for them. In the humans' mind, the beloved Son of God is everything, human, prophet, even angel, because they also realize that all things are from Him as well.

15 Jesus, therefore, perceiving that they are about to come and to seize Him in order that to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain Himself alone.

Comments 6:15. We can notice they want the beloved Son of God to be their king, now they have lifted the beloved Son of God to be their king, but the beloved Son of God had gone up to the mountain alone, to be with the Father to get the direction of work on this work.

Q: Are the events describing Jesus’ walking on the water telling the same story in all three Gospels (Mark 6:45-51, Matthew 14:22-32, and John 6:15-21)? A: All three Gospels describe one and the same event; they have some minor differences, but each difference is for a purpose, but none are against each other. For comments on this passage of Scripture, see Comments Matthew 14:22-32 and Comments Mark 6:45-51.

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

17 and having embarked on a boat, they were going on the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had become already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

Comments 6:17. Q: In Mark 6:45, the Bible tells us that the disciples were going on the other side to Bethsaida, while this verse tells us that the disciples were going over the sea to Capernaum. A: The disciples sailed first to Bethsaida; this is just a way of travel, going back and forth between Bethsaida and Capernaum, and in the Gospel of John, we are given the further destination of travel. John tells the events from another viewpoint; he doesn’t go in the same way of events as the other gospels.

18 And the sea was agitated by a strong wind blowing.

19 Then having rowed about three or four miles, they see Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.

Comments 6:19. Now the disciples have seen another miracle; the human eyes have seen the beloved Son of God's power to walk on water. The normal human will not be able to do that, but the beloved Son of God in human form also has the power as God, so He can walk wherever He pleases.

20 But He says to them, I am, be not afraid.

Comments 6:20. Q: In Mathew 14:28-33, we have Peter walking on water and the disciples worshiping the Lord Jesus as the Son of God; however, all these events are skipped in this Gospel. A: Because the Bible is one book, all readers must read every book in the Bible to get all the events complete and continuing. Every believer must read the whole Bible, not only one Gospel. Reading one Gospel does not mean you have finished reading the Word of God. In each Gospel, there are more details to support the events in a different way. For example, here, for this story in this Gospel, we need to look back to another Gospel as well, there, it tells in a different way, but if we analyze all the events, they will support each other.

21 Then they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and at once, the boat came to the land to which they were going.

Comments 6:21. Now in this verse, not only have the disciples seen the miracle, but all the believers who read the Holy Bible find the miracle. The power of God's beloved Son in shortening the time and distance as He steps on the boat is shown here. The verse has told, "at once" the boat has reached the destination; this is shortening the time and distance, and the proof in authority and the power of the beloved Son of God over time and nature has been written here for all.

22 On the next day, the multitude standing on the other side of the sea, having seen that was no other boat there, except one, and that Jesus embarked not with His disciples into the boat, but rather His disciples departed alone;

Comments 6:22. As the verse has told, people have taken notice that the beloved Son of God did not enter the boat with His disciples; this event will stir many hearts to think of who this Man could be, and later on, they will notice the signs He has done.

23 but there came other boats from Tiberias near the place where they ate the bread, the Lord having given thanks.

24 When the multitude, therefore, perceived that Jesus is not there, neither His disciples, they themselves embarked on the boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 And having found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when have Thou come here?

Comments 6:25. Now all readers can notice, the people start to have questions within themselves, how and when the beloved Son of God has come there when they themselves know that He did not enter the boat with the disciples on the other side of the sea (Tiberias), but now He is here in person as well on this side (Capernaum).

26 Jesus answered them and said, Truly, Truly, I say to you, You seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were satisfied.

Comments 6:26. Here the beloved Son of God has pointed to all humans to check why they are following Him. Ask yourself as well the true reason you follow the Lord; do you follow Him because you want something or believe He will give something? If you follow because He will give something or because you want something from Him that has a different purpose of heart, check your true heart.

27 Search not food that is perishing, but the food that is enduring unto eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you; for Him, God the Father has sealed.

Comments 6:27. Ask yourself what you should expect, the things of this earth or the true joy of the earth that will come. Every believer should think as well, the things of this earth you enjoy for a while, but the things of the world to come are for eternity, and you do not know what it is yet, but this is the faith that you have or not have, so, expect for the things unseen yet.

“for Him, God the Father has sealed.” What the beloved Son of God has told, the Father has given Him power and authority; He did not give Him only what He can give to any believer on this earth but the power to make decisions for the world to come; the beloved Son of God has that authority to give as well. Therefore, have faith that leads to eternal life; when on this earth, if a person has put faith in the beloved Son of God, the beloved Son of God has that authority to receive that person to live an eternal life with Him in heaven.  

28 They said therefore to Him, What must we do, in order that we might search the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you should believe in the One whom He sent.

Comments 6:29. The Father has sent the beloved Son of God for them; if they want to search for God, they must believe and trust the beloved Son of God, and also, they need to follow His teaching all their life; and that will be considered as you are doing the work for God. God's beloved Son has come down; the law is complete; there is no need for any burnt offerings anymore. The old law asks for sacrifices, but the perfect offering has already been made on the cross; there is no need for those sacrifices anymore.

30 They said therefore to Him, Then what sign do Thou do, so we might see, and believe Thee? What do Thou work?

Comments 6:30. This is a common question all humans would have, if He is who He claims He is, they want to see the proof as well; they all want Him to do something for them, which is not related to worshiping the Father but worshiping the convenience they would receive, that is what most humans want from Him.

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.

Comments 6:31. They want to force the beloved Son of God to do something by using what the Father had done for their fathers when they were traveling out of Egypt. It is still the same way; they all want the beloved Son of God to do something for them, as the Father has done for their fathers to prove Himself, so they want the Son to do something as well.

32 Jesus, therefore, said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Not Moses has given you the bread out of heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.

Comments 6:32. Because their forefather told them what Moses had done, it made them all think that manna is the true bread of heaven; also, their mind kept thinking about the same bread of heaven, which kept them waiting.

“but My Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.” But now, the beloved Son of God has told them the true meaning of the bread out of heaven, which they will have to think about and accept.

33 Indeed the bread of God is the One coming down from heaven and giving life to the world.

Comments 6:33. As the verse tells, the true bread of God is the beloved Son of God Himself, who will give His life for all humans. The life that He gave is the true bread of heaven that all humans can take, but only if they learn to accept and admit in their own souls that He is the Son of God.

34 They said therefore to Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

Comments 6:34. As the verse tells, they were still misunderstanding. In their minds, they thought of physical eating, like Moses has given food eating; they expected that the beloved Son of God would provide them with food to eat; their mind was still thinking of physical things, but the food of life is the bread of spiritual, not physical. Therefore, humans can strengthen the soul not by physical food but by spiritual food, which is the Word and everything the beloved Son of God is teaching; meditate on the Word of God, which is the true food for the soul.

35 Jesus said to them; I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not ever hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall not ever thirst.

Comments 6:35. Here is this place all believers should carefully think about what should be done not to be thirsty and hungry; but do not think about the physical feeling; instead, use your heart to think and hunger and thirst to want to know more; most important of all, meditate on the Holy Word, that is how the soul of the believer will have a test of real food for the soul.

“whoever comes to Me shall not ever hunger”; The beloved Son of God has given His body on this earth as the bread for humans' life and soul; anyone who takes communion must remember as well, the beloved Son of God's human body has been tortured for all humans’ sins; the pain and suffering the Lord has received in His human body that is for the sins of the whole world that He has taken in the suffering of His human body; all believers should remember about this. Whoever comes to the beloved Son of God with a whole heart and begs for His mercy for yourself, the beloved Son of God will give the peace for your soul, and your soul will not be hungry of peace furthermore.

“whoever believes in Me shall not ever thirst”; For all believers who believe in His crucifixion and take communion regularly, the wine grape juice that you drink represents the beloved Son of God's blood that has poured out from His human body on the earth, for all who have faith in His death and resurrection, that soul will not be in thirst for peace, the peace deep in the soul, even in the moment of trouble, that peace will never leave you.

36 But I said to you, that even you have seen Me, and yet believe not.

Comments 6:36. This verse does not talk only to the people in the past; people nowadays have the Holy Bible portraying the picture of Jesus, and when the Holy Bible has spoken of the beloved Son of God, you all have read it. But, still, the real meaning did not get into your hearts because you did not truly believe what the Holy Bible has told about the beloved Son of God.

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one coming to Me I will certainly not cast out.

Comments 6:37. Pay attention to what the verse has told; all the believers who come to the beloved Son of God do not come only by their own will alone but by the calling of the Father Himself. The Father has called those for the beloved Son of God, and when you have obeyed that calling and had considered yourself to be a servant of the beloved Son of God, by listening and obeying His teaching, the beloved Son of God will never deny you or cast you out from Him.

38 Because I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the One having sent Me.

Comments 6:38. This verse many people have interpreted in many ways; some even say that the beloved Son of God did not want to be sacrificed, but He just did it to fulfill the Father’s will. Still, they all forgot that the beloved Son of God does not need to leave His throne, but by His own will, He left the throne and came down on earth, and then He obeyed the Father’s will after He was born on earth. He did not fight to live longer on earth but took the death on the cross with His own will to be tortured by His own creatures that He has created; that is the love of the beloved Son Himself.

39 And this is the will of the One that sent Me, in order that all that He has given Me I should lose none of them but will raise them up in the last day.

Comments 6:39. “… will raise them up in the last day.” When the judgment day comes, those that are faithful to Him, He Himself will raise them up, and they will be with Him.

40 For this is the will of My Father, in order that everyone beholding the Son, and believing in Him, should have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Comments 6:40. “everyone beholding the Son”; This saying means the same as saying everyone that is faithful to Him.

41 The Jews therefore were murmuring concerning Him, because He said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

42 And they were saying, Is not this Jesus, the Son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, I have come down from heaven?

Comments 6:42. When the beloved Son of God has told the truth, those who have hearts against Him will not accept and will not try to understand what He has said. Even though the beloved Son of God has told them where He has come from, their ears and hearts have been shut off from listening to the truth. Because they have seen Joseph and Mary raise Him up from a young child until adulthood, their minds only think what they see; in their minds and hearts, only what they have seen is what they can use to justify their understanding.

43 Jesus answered and said to them, Murmur not with each other.

44 No one is able to come to Me, if not the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day.

Comments 6:44. As the verse has told to all humans, the Father Himself is the one that draws the believers to the beloved Son of God. If all those will have obeyed the voice in their heart and have come to the beloved Son of God with true faith and believe in His word, those the beloved Son of God will raise them up in the last day.

When the Lord has said this saying, “I will raise him up in the last day,” also, He has told all believers that in Himself He has that power because He is the Son of Man, and the life of men belongs to Him; who He will please to raise up He will, the Father has given Him that authority as well. 

45 It is written in the prophets, And they will all be taught of God. All having heard from the Father, and having learned, come to Me.

Comments 6:45. Isaiah 54:13 says, “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”

The Father Himself has given all understanding; it will start in the mind of man; in their mind, the question will come, and if they have no pride and benefit in those, they will be thinking and meditating on it and get understanding. Then, when that understanding has come to them, they will believe and accept the beloved Son of God who He is, and they will start and meditate on His teaching as well.

“have no pride and benefit in those.” They will think about what they can gain from that knowledge, go to make the believes for themselves, or go to make people understand what God would want them to do; if in their mind they can keep the greed in them, they will not take praise for themselves but tell the people and lead them to praise the beloved Son of God, that when we have told pride and benefit refers to here.

46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One being from God, He has seen the Father.

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Comments 6:46-47. “whoever believes has eternal life.” The beloved Son has told them that He Himself is coming from the Father, and the beloved Son of God has seen the Father face to face as verse 46 has told, “except the One being from God, He has seen the Father.” Therefore, whoever believes what the beloved Son of God has said and believes that His Word is true, that person has earned eternal life.

48 I am the bread of life.

Comments 6:48. The beloved Son of God has confessed the truth for all humans; He is the true bread from heaven, who will give life to all who believe and practice His teaching; that person will earn the life in Him.

49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and died.

Comments 6:49. Moses had given the manna in the wilderness, and all those people who ate that bread food all have died because that was the food for the physical; anyone who eats for the physical body will die because the physical body cannot last forever.

50 He is the bread, who comes down from heaven that anyone might eat of it and not die.

Comments 6:50. The beloved Son of God has told all of them the way to have eternal life. When anyone has accepted the teaching and believes in the beloved Son of God and meditates on His word at all times, that person has already eaten the living bread from heaven, which the beloved Son of God has come down to give to all; meditate on the Word of God.

51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and also the bread which I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world.

Comments 6:51. “I am the living bread …”; Most people would link the living bread to taking the communion only, but the true living bread is the faith in the beloved Son of God and meditating, believing, and practicing all the teaching which He has given to all humans in the Holy Bible. So, when anyone says I believe in the beloved Son of God, that person also needs to act by reading, practicing and trusting in the teaching of the Holy Bible, and that is the right way for all. Living bread itself has a wider meaning, including the beloved Son of God Himself and the Holy Bible, which the Lord has given to all. Still, if someone has said, I believe, the way to reach to all, the faith and believing and practicing, that person needs to do as well not just believe alone, but the way to do is reading, meditating, and believing in the whole Holy Bible.

“… will live forever”; As you read the Word of God, if this Holy Word has a part in your life, you will receive eternal life; part in your life means reading, meditating, and trusting, most of all believing what the Holy Bible has told what humans should do for their life.

“the bread which I will give is My flesh …”; “My flesh” is the life of the beloved Son Himself that He had put down on the cross when they crucified Him; the last words He had said were, “It is finished” (See John 19:30), and He took the last breath and departed from this earth. His human body and blood had been given to the earth, and also the beloved Son of God Himself, for remembrance of Him, instated the communion for all believers. So when you take the communion bread, think of His broken body on the cross, and when you drink the communion grape juice, think of every blood drop that has dripped off from His body, do not take the communion as only the way to show that you have faith in Him; think as well when you are taking the communion elements into your body. His body did not decay, but when they pierced the nails, those nails had already received the part of His flesh on them. When they drove the nails through the wood, pieces of His body had been left as well on this earth.

52 The Jews then were arguing with one another, saying, How is He able to give us His flesh to eat?

Comments 6:52. As the verse has told, humans think the way humans think; how can the Lord give humans to eat a human? But the Lord is talking here about the spiritual food that the Lord will give. The Lord’s body has every blessing in it; His flesh that refers here is the spiritual food; we as humans can think as well that the beloved Son of God also has the heavenly body, and the flesh of that body will be a spiritual blessing for all humans, for all those that have accepted and believe in Him; if their heart rejects the beloved Son of God, the spiritual blessing will never fall on that person.

53 Jesus, therefore, said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except you may eat the flesh of the Son of Man and may drink His blood, you have not life in yourselves.

Comments 6:53. In this verse, the beloved Son of God has reminded all humans that the communion between believers is the most important; the bread that everyone takes during communion represents His body sacrifice for all, and the grape juice that everyone drinks represents His blood poured and is like heavenly water cleansing from inside of the person when that person takes communion with faith and believes what the beloved Son of God has done for them.

54 The one that eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Comments 6:54. This verse refers specifically only to the true believers and not including the believers just by mouth. The true believers from heart and mouth obey and meditate on the Holy Word each day because the Holy Word is the path to faith; whoever calls themselves a believer but does not meditate on the Holy Word is a liar.

55 Indeed My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.

Comments 6:55. “My flesh is true food”; The flesh, in this place, the beloved Son of God talks about, is the bread of the communion itself when believers have taken it and think of His body that has been tortured for them on the cross.

“My blood is true drink”; The blood of the beloved Son of God that has poured down on earth was the life of Him when He was in human form on earth, and in the communion time, we allow to use the juice of the grape vine in representing thinking of His blood poured down for us and be washed clean; all believers should remember this.

56 The one that eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

Comments 6:56. When true believers have taken the communion, that person has surrendered completely, both soul and body, to follow the beloved Son of God; for any believer who does that, the beloved Son Himself will be with that person and will be an inner strength and vitality and protection for that person. Now here we are talking about the Spirit of the beloved Son of God Himself. There is complete faith, but the person has to invite the Holy Spirit as well; the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit both go together.

When the person becomes a Christian, if that person acknowledges the Trinity of God, the Spirit of Christ will be in that person at that time; however, to receive the Holy Spirit (the baptism of the Holy Spirit), the person needs meditation and time.

First, you must acknowledge Christ and ask Him in your heart before you could receive the Holy Spirit, but you could receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit before you get baptized in water.

57 Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live on account of the Father; also, the one feeding on Me, that one also will live on account of Me.

Comments 6:57. In this place, the beloved Son of God has said to all believers that He Himself is living on account of the Father; all those who believe in the beloved Son of God Himself will live on account of Him as well; what the beloved Son of God has received likewise He will also give to all that believe and trust in Him.

“and I live on account of the Father.” Here has told all readers that the Father and the beloved Son are One; the beloved Son of God also lives in the Father, and also the Father Himself lives in the beloved Son of God; this tells all readers that the God of Three is One, the Trinity but One.

58 This is the bread having come down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one that eats this bread will live for eternity.

Comments 6:58. Because their fathers ate the manna, but now the true living bread is the beloved Son of God Himself, and He has come down from heaven to earth, and whoever has taken this living bread, his spiritual life will be forever.

“not as the fathers ate and died.” The manna was food for the body, not for the soul. The manna itself did not give eternal life to their souls, but faith in Jesus, the beloved Son of God, does give life eternal to the soul. The manna did not give eternal life to their souls, but trust and faith in the beloved Son of God bring peace to the souls, leading to eternal life. 

59 These said He in a synagogue, teaching in Capernaum.

60 Many, therefore, of His disciples, having heard, said, This is a hard saying; who is able to listen to it?

Comments 6:60. As all readers can notice in this verse, His disciples as humans have heard the word from the beloved Son of God, but they did not think beyond what they could see; all they could understand was to eat His real meat from His body and drink His real blood from His body, they had not thought about the spiritual world but this world only; this is normal because they are just common humans as well.

61 But Jesus knowing in Himself that His disciples are murmuring about this, said to them, Does this offend you?

62 If so, you should see the Son of Man ascending where He was before?

Comments 6:62. The beloved Son of God tried to link their minds back to what He was speaking about; they must learn to think about what He wanted to tell them about the heavenly place where He was before.

63 It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I speak to you are Spirit and are life.

Comments 6:63. As this verse has told, the beloved Son of God did not want to teach only His disciples but also the ones after, who will read the Holy Word. So, we all should make the difference as well between the spiritual world and earthly world; the degree of difference has been told here as well; the beloved Son's word itself is Spirit, and it has life and gives life to those that believe, anyone who has faith and believes in the word of the Spirit of Christ will gain life eternal.

64 But they are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they are the ones not believing, and who it is that will betray Him.

Comments 6:64. The beloved Son of God has seen and heard every heart of humans. His knowledge about humans is clear as it is written on the paper; the multitude that followed Him not all truly believed in His teaching but followed with the expectation of food to eat. And also, the beloved Son of God had already known that one of His own disciples would betray Him, but to fulfill the work, He will not stop that disciple, everyone has free will to do, and this disciple has heard the Living Word but disregarded all things that he heard and betrayed the beloved Son of God.

65 And He said, Because of this I have said to you, that no one is able to come to Me, if not it be given to him from the Father.

Comments 6:65. As the verse tells all, the Father is always at work. He also has seen the heart of humans, and with mercy, the Father Himself will give the knowledge to each of us humans. When you have a chance to hear the Living Word, that word will work in the heart of a person and bring that soul to accept and believe in the Holy Word the beloved Son has told and set in the mind of the person to meditate on His teachings; then by faith, that soul will live forever with the beloved Son of God Himself.

“if not it be given to him from the Father;” This saying is not predestination at all, but each person has their own choice, free will. If the heart is darkened, the ear will not hear the truth; we can think here that one of His own disciples betrayed the Lord after listening to the Living Word for a long time, and still, his heart was not opened. So ultimately, it is their own free choice of everyone; will you listen to the little voice in your heart and follow God or just listen to humans cursing God.

Talking about the little voice in your heart, if you give attention to that little voice in your heart, you will not turn away from the Living Word; that is why the verse has told, "if not be given to him," to those that listen to that little voice, that little voice is from the Father Himself, listen to that little voice, and that will lead you to be saved. This is no predestination, everyone has that little voice, but some have chosen to ignore it and walk away from what that little voice has told them. All have the ability to hear in their hearts that there is a God, and they should worship Him. That is why the free choice has been told about; everyone has the freedom to listen to the little voice or not listen; that is what this verse has told.

"Given" here means that the Father speaks to all with the little voice in their heart, so all have the same chance to listen to His voice, but then they have the freedom to take what has been given to them or not.

66 From this, many out of His disciples turned back and walked no longer with Him.

Comments 6:66. The majority of the disciples got confused about what the beloved Son of God was really talking about and decided no longer to follow Him.

67 Jesus said, therefore, to the Twelve, Are you not also wishing to depart?

Comments 6:67. Here the Lord gives a free choice to His disciples, all twelve, to make a decision by themselves to follow Him or not; this is also an example of free will. The twelve disciples did not know yet what was waiting for them in the future, but this was the time to make the decision. 

68 Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou have words of eternal life.

Comments 6:68. All readers can see in this verse that Peter has acknowledged that eternal life is from the beloved Son of God. Whatever He is teaching that gives eternal life to all who listen and obey, this is the place to confirm this. Peter acknowledges that the real reason they stay with the Lord is because He has the words of eternal life.

69 And we have believed and have come to know that Thou are the Most Holy of God.

Comments 6:69. Now it is the time of confession from His own disciples that they have come to know and believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God Most High, which has come to the earth for humans.

70 Jesus answered them, Did not I select you the Twelve, and one of you is a devil?

Comments 6:70. This verse tells that the beloved Son of God has seen things ahead of what will happen to Him. He will be betrayed by His own disciple. Take notice of the words, “one of you is a devil”; one of His own disciples turned away and served Satan himself. The verse has told all readers clearly, that the beloved Son of God has known ahead what will happen to Him.

By selecting Judas, the Lord showed to all that He does not stop the free will of humans but lets them choose by themselves what path they want to follow.

71 Now He was speaking of Judas of Simon Iscariot, for he was about to betray Him, one of the Twelve.

Comments 6:71. The specific person who will betray the Lord has been named in this verse. At that time, among the followers of the beloved Son of God, many had the same name, but identifying the father, took away the confusion about the person. We all readers should give attention to this; not all believers will be faithful to the written Word as well; some will try to change and interpret it to fit their own agenda, and that person has walked in the same way as the betrayer had done to the Lord.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Read and meditate on all the Gospels and ask to understand the events presented in the light of the Holy Bible being Holy Spirit dictated. Try to solve the perceivable issues when you read, by prayer and meditation, and by matching the events in all Gospels to solve the problem and not by finding errors in the Holy Bible. We must believe that the original writings of the Scripture, as given to the writers, are Holy Spirit dictated and with no errors. Therefore, if you want a better understanding, use a more literal translation of the Holy Bible. For example, see our analysis of the miraculous feeding event presented in John 6:1-15. 2) As believers, we must take the Lord’s communion regularly. When you take the communion bread, think of the Lord Jesus’ broken body on the cross, and when you drink the communion grape juice, think of every blood drop that has dripped off from His body; think that what He did on the cross was to take us to live for eternity with Him. 3) The Lord created us with free will, but we should use our free will to believe that Jesus Christ is the Holy Son of God and become His followers, so we can live with Him eternally in the new world to come.

John 7

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord teaches in the temple in Jerusalem, and we see how the rulers of the people built the case against the Lord Jesus to eliminate Him.  John 7:1-18. Jesus attends the feast of Tabernacles and teaches in the temple. Jesus teaches in the temple and glorifies the Father, His true Teacher, the Father God Most High. No one knows what God thinks but the Trinity of God. The beloved Son of God receives the teaching directly from the Father, and He has the most authority to teach about God than any other humans because His teacher is the God Most High Himself. John 7:19-36. The multitude debates if Jesus is the Christ. The Jews sought to kill the Lord Jesus, accusing Him of breaking the Sabbath, and sent officers to seize Him. The Lord points out to them that He does good work on the Sabbath, and that is not breaking the law. The Lord Jesus tells people that He did not come down on earth alone from His own will but by the will of God the Father. The Son Himself has come from the Father, and the Father Himself is willing to send the Son. John 7:37-39. Jesus teaches in the last day of the feast. The Lord Jesus teaches that whoever believes in Him, out of their heart, will flow rivers of living water because, as a true believer, if you speak out the word of the Bible, that is the living water flowing out of you. And everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus will receive His Spirit who will convince the heart to meditate on the Holy Bible and obey His teaching.  John 7:40-52. Division among the people. The leaders created confusion among the people by putting the birthplace of Jesus in Galilee instead of Bethlehem of Judea. However, Galilee has not been mentioned anywhere that can have the Christ come out from it. Therefore, the easiest way for the rulers to eliminate Jesus from the picture was to change His birthplace. So, people heard many stories, as some have told that He is from Galilee, but others have said He is from Bethlehem; however, people cannot have arguments against the rulers.

1 And after these, Jesus was walking in Galilee; for He did not wish to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.

2 Now the feast of the Jews, of Tabernacles, was near.

Comments 7:2. The Feast of Tabernacles is also called the Feast of Booths (See Leviticus 23:33-36).

3 His brothers then said to Him, Depart from here, and go to Judea, so that Thy disciples also may see Thy works that Thou are doing.

4 For no one does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If Thou do these, manifest Thyself to the world.

5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

Comments 7:3-5. His earthly brothers say these things out of jealousy. These verses show how humans think when another human becomes known to people; here, even His earthly brothers could feel jealous of Jesus; this is all humans feeling play here.

All of these shows readers that jealousy controls the mind as well.

6 Jesus then says to them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready.

Comments 7:6. As the verse has told, everything has its own time. The time of the beloved Son of God to magnify His glory is not yet complete to do, but for His brethren and all humans, anytime can be the time to show off. But, for the beloved Son of God, His time to save the world is not yet here, but when it comes, the world will notice what happened. Here the Lord talks about His crucifixion and His second coming to the earth.

7 The world cannot hate you; but Me it hates, because I bear witness concerning it, that its works are evil.

Comments 7:7. In this place, the beloved Son of God did not talk specifically to His earthly siblings but to all believers. When the reader has come to this verse, in their heart can have double thoughts of what hate the beloved Son of God is talking about here, but hate here is not the feeling of disliking someone, but the beloved Son of God wants to emphasize on the deed of each individual towards God. If your deeds are against God, the world will not hate you, but when your deeds follow God's teaching, the world will hate you.

“but Me it hates, ...”; As the verse has told, the beloved Son of God has testified against the deeds of people that do not follow the teaching of God, but go and follow the teaching of the world, and the beloved Son of God has come down to teach them to follow the teaching of God first, and leave the teaching of the world in their place. Therefore, true believers should not follow any world teaching but strictly follow the Holy Bible only. 

8 Go you up to the feast; I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet been fulfilled.

Comments 7:8. In this place, the beloved Son did not mean that He would not go to the feast, but that He would not go with any of them because for Him to do the will of the Father, He must go to the feast alone by Himself.

“has not yet been fulfilled.” Complete the work; His work which He was doing at that time when His brothers challenged Him, was not to be finished yet; even just for a few hours, it makes a difference in what will happen. The time for the beloved Son of God to go there must be exactly the time as the Father has set for Him. The Lord means that He still had something to do at that particular time, and His time was not fulfilled yet to go with them at that time. But He will go on His own terms.  

9 Now having said these to them, He remained in Galilee.

Comments 7:9. “He remained in Galilee”; the Holy Bible did not tell what He was doing here, but He remained in Galilee for doing work, which is not told us about what specific work.

10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then went He also up, not publicly, but in private.

11 The Jews, therefore, were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, Where is that One?

Comments 7:10-11. The beloved Son of God did not want to go up to the feast with His earthly siblings, but He wanted to go alone by Himself. If He were going with His earthly siblings, it would take attention to Him right away, but by going alone, He will not be noticed by people that easily.

12 And there was much murmuring in the multitudes about Him; some indeed said, He is good; but others said, No, but He is leading the people astray.

Comments 7:12. This verse tells us that people were talking about the beloved Son of God; each had their own opinion about Him, but none of these have listened to the voice within themselves to understand whom they were talking about. The majority were talking negative words; they had forgotten all the help that the beloved Son of God had performed to help the needy; all just thought, He did good by expecting to be praised, instead of thinking He was doing good out of love and mercy. The single-minded human could be misled when they heard the leaders in that time had talked negatively about the beloved Son of God; their mind was easy to change according to what the leaders have said.

13 However no one was speaking openly about Him because of fear of the Jews.

Comments 7:13. “because of fear of the Jews.” “Jews” here refers to the leaders of the people. And among the multitude, there were also spies who would go and tell the leaders what people speak. So, these are ways of controlling people.

14 But when being in the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and was teaching.

Comments 7:14. As we all can see, the beloved Son is in the position of teacher; that is why in the middle of the feast, He went up and was teaching.

15 The Jews then were marveling, saying, How does He know writings, not having learned?

Comments 7:15. It is a common wonder among the people; the beloved Son of God did not take school among humans, and by tradition, the students who had the elders' support would be the ones to go and talk and speak; but the beloved Son of God has never been taught by the leaders yet (did not have formal rabbinic training).

16 Jesus therefore answered them and said, My teaching is not Mine, but of the One having sent Me.

Comments 7:16. The verse clearly tells that the beloved Son of God received the teaching directly from the Father; He has the most authority to teach about God than any other humans because His teacher is the God Most High Himself.

17 If anyone desires to do His will, he will know on the base of the teaching, whether it is of God or I speak from Myself.

Comments 7:17. When the beloved Son of God taught the people, He has taught them with authority and true knowledge; no one knows what God thinks, but the Trinity of God all know what God Most High wants people to do and how to worship Him.

18 The one that speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but the One that seeks the glory of the One having sent Him, He is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.

Comments 7:18. If the teacher did not seek glory for themselves, the teacher would tell what he had been taught. So here, the beloved Son of God has said to all listeners that He has received teaching from the true Teacher to bring glory to the true Teacher, but not glory to Himself as a student; that is why the verse has told that He "seeks the glory of the One having sent Him.”

“… but the One that seeks the glory of the One having sent Him, He is true”; As the verse tells, the beloved Son of God did not lift Himself above His true Teacher in any way; He did not tell people to come to lift Him up, but always He glorifies the true Teacher which is the Father God Most High only.

19 Did not Moses give the law to you, and none of you keeps the law? Why do you search to kill Me?

Comments 7:19. As the verse tells, His people did not keep the law but have come to accuse that the beloved Son of God did not obey the law, and they try to seek a way to kill the true Savior of the world.

20 The multitude answered, Thou have a demon; who is seeking to kill Thee?

Comments 7:20. As the people have replied to the beloved Son of God's question about their own actions and what they want to do, they have blasphemed by accusing Him that He has a demon in Him; and that is the blasphemy against the Trinity of God. How can the beloved Son of God have a demon spirit in Him? Because of this accusation, their hearts are darkened, and when the time has come, they are not fearful of crucifying the beloved Son of God.

21 Jesus answered and said to them, I did one work, and you all marvel.

Comments 7:21. In this place, all that the beloved Son of God wants to tell is that He has done good work to all, and they all have been surprised by the authority and power that He has, but that did not make them stop and think about who truly He is; but without the power of the Father God Most High, the beloved Son of God would not do any miracles among them.

22 Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath, you circumcise a man.

23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man whole on the Sabbath?

Comments 7:23. The beloved Son of God has worked good work on the Sabbath, the day the Lord has set for people to worship God, and God Himself has done a good job here; but all want to blame Him as He did not obey the law of the fathers. In this place, the beloved Son of God wants to point out to them that a man has been healed on the day of the Lord, and they should think about why to be angry at the beloved Son of God for doing good work on this day.

24 Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Comments 7:24. As the verse tells, do not judge what you see with your eyes, but always go back to the Holy Word and then let your heart meditate; don’t talk out before the word that you have read had told your heart if what you see it goes against the word or not; always let the Holy Word go out before your mind. The righteous judgment can be made only by meditating on the Holy Word.

25 Some therefore of them of Jerusalem were saying, Is not this He whom they seek to kill?

Comments 7:25. All readers can notice that the people in Jerusalem had been informed as well that the beloved Son would be killed for His wrongdoing. The rulers of the people used their power to guide people to accomplish their wishes; we all can notice the people will be afraid to help the beloved Son of God because they understood that He had done wrong and deserves to die.

26 And behold, He speaks publicly, and they say nothing to Him. Can it be that the rulers certainly know that this is the Christ?

Comments 7:26. We all can see how confused the people in that time were; they knew as well that Jesus was the Christ of God, but they were uncertain because the ruler's decisions were confusing for them; they understood the beloved Son of God should be killed, but He was still also teaching in front, so the people were in confusion, and we all can see it here.

27 But we are aware of this One from where He is, but when the Christ comes, no one knows from where He is.

Comments 7:27. The people have been taught that the Christ of God will come, and when the Christ comes, no one will know who His parents are because He is not a human but God. There were many written documents as well related to the birth of Christ, the rulers had been reading about it, and when they thought something did not fit, they would find another document to support their ideas to be fit for what it has been out there among people. However, the original has been written as well that the line from the Christ of God should link back to David, but it has not shown clear how and whom that the line will link to. 

28 Jesus, therefore, cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, You know Me, and you know from where I am; also, I have not come of Myself, but the One having sent Me is true, whom you do not know.

Comments 7:28. The beloved Son of God has confirmed to them that they already know where He is coming from, but He wants to make sure that in their hearts, they truly know where He is coming from, and this will be the question for them to think about whenever they look at the beloved Son of God.

“cried out in the temple.” He is a teacher; when the teacher has said out the word, everyone who comes to listen should consider themselves as students; when the teacher is saying something, at the same time and later, they must think again about what the teacher really means in His words.

“also, I have not come of Myself …”; Now the beloved Son of God has told them the truth; the truth relates to the Father who has sent Him; they all know now that the beloved Son of God did not come down on earth alone from His own but by the will of God the Father. 

29 I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.

Comments 7:29. This verse confirms the true relationship between God the Father and the beloved Son of God. The Son Himself has come from the Father, and the Father Himself is willing to send the Son; the beloved Son of God has told them, “because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”

30 They were seeking then to lay hold of Him, but no one laid the hand upon Him because His hour had not yet come.

31 Now out of the multitude, many believed in Him and were saying, The Christ, when He comes, He will not do more signs than He did.

Comments 7:31. According to the verse itself, many have believed in the beloved Son of God, but also, they still had questions; if this is the beloved Son of God, is He a human as well now, or just part of God is here. They didn’t understand the concept that Jesus was fully human and fully God.

32 The Pharisees listened to the multitude whispering these concerning Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers in order to take Him.

Comments 7:32. The multitude here was whispering against the Pharisees. According to the previous verse, the readers can notice that the people were not entirely against the beloved Son of God but had doubts because of the decision the Pharisees were making. People were concerned why Jesus was still teaching if the leaders decided He was not the Christ; if they were the leaders, the decision about eliminating Jesus from the leadership must be made fast.  

33 Jesus then said, Still a little time am I with you, and I go to the One having sent Me.

Comments 7:33. The reader can notice the heart of the beloved Son of God. He wants to be with the people but also, His time to depart from the human form comes closer, and He will go back to the Father; the human in Him makes Him feel a longing to be with the humans as well.

34 You will seek Me and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.

Comments 7:34. As the verse tells us, where the beloved Son of God will be, humans cannot come; the whole heaven will have only one human there in human body, the beloved Son of God Himself.

35 The Jews then said to themselves, Where is He about to go that we will not find Him? He is not about to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks.

Comments 7:35. The people understand only one way, the beloved Son of God will escape from the country and go to be with the Gentiles, whereas the Jews will not go to look for and be with those uncircumcised people.

36 What is this word that He said, you will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come?

Comments 7:36. They only repeated what the beloved Son of God said, but they didn’t understand anything.

37 Now in the last day, the great of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

Comments 7:37. As the verse tells, the invitation from the mouth of the beloved Son of God is if you thirst for understanding, come to Him, meditate, worship, and ask for understanding; just do so as the invitation gets to you; regardless of who you are, if you read this verse, you are invited to come to Jesus.

38 Whoever believes in Me, just as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

Comments 7:38. Give attention to the words “whoever believes in Me,” not just saying but with your heart crying out, believe and ask mercy with your heart, and the heavenly peace will come unto you and will flow out from you as a living water for everyone who listens and prays; and that person after praying and meditating will understand what the Holy Bible has told.

“out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”; Because you are a believer, and if you speak out the word of the Bible, that is the living water flowing out of you.

39 But this said He about the Spirit, whom they, having believed in Him, were about to receive; for Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Comments 7:39. “But this said He about the Spirit …”; Everyone who believes in the beloved Son of God will receive His Spirit who will convince the heart to obey in His teaching; all who obey and believe will receive the Spirit of the beloved Son of God.

“for Spirit was not yet, because …”; This part of the verse talks about the Spirit of the beloved Son of God after He has been crucified. The Holy Spirit will be given to all who have received the Spirit of the beloved Son of God in their hearts; the Holy Spirit is from the Father Himself, whom He will give to all that believe in His Son.

The Spirit of the beloved Son of God is Spirit (referred to in this verse), but the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father. These are not four persons, but the Spirit of the beloved Son is Jesus Himself, He Himself, who is beside the Father; He with His Spirit will go to everyone who has accepted Him as their Savior. Jesus and His Spirit are one person; Jesus is in the human form beside the Father, and because of that, He has Spirit because His body is still as a human body. He departed from the earth in the human body and is with the Father in that body, but His Spirit also covers His body because human flesh can’t be there. Still, if His Spirit covers His body, we can think another way, as His Spirit is as a cocoon and the beloved Son of God in the human body is inside the Spirit of the beloved Son of God Himself. The Father is beyond the human mind; the Father is everything because everything is in the Father Himself already; He is beyond what the human mind can understand. The Bible did tell that the Father is Spirit, but that Spirit is different from any spirit; the Father is Spirit who can create everything by His will, so the Father has Holy Spirit as well.

40 Some of the multitude then, having heard these words, were saying, This is truly the Prophet.

Comments 7:40. Because of all the work the beloved Son of God has done among people, it makes them take Him as a Prophet of the Lord, but no one has taken Him as the beloved Son of God yet. In their minds, the people were thinking of the Prophet prophesied by Moses, but they did not refer to Him as the beloved Son of God Himself. For them, He was only a prophet of the Lord, not the Son of God. Therefore, they did not recognize Him as the One truly prophesied by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15. 

41 Others were saying, This is the Christ. But others were saying, Indeed not, does the Christ come out of Galilee?

Comments 7:41. There were not only two understandings about Christ; there were many understandings among people. The ones that interpret from what they found (researched) and others interpret from what they pray. To the latter, the Lord gives them true understanding. Also, all these understandings have been put down as records, and later on, when people found the records, they combined them all together. In the same way, some used earthly knowledge, and some meditated and prayed for understanding, and that is why in that time, there were many versions of records appearing among people.

We can notice from the verse that people only think that if this is the Christ, He cannot come out of a Galilee town. It was not easy for common people to understand when the religious leaders in that time had kept the true record for themselves, and this was what people knew only. So, the people understood that Christ should not come out of Galilee. It has been discussed among the leaders where He should come from, and they had put it according to their own understanding, regardless of what they felt inside their hearts. The way they came to the answer was just to keep themselves, to be the ones that know the truth; the commoners will never have a chance to know where this information has come from, they only take whatever the religious leaders tell them, and that becomes the story.

They, the leaders, will tell where Jesus comes from, and they put Him as coming from Galilee (see verse 52). Yet the Bible tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea (See Matthew 2:1).

The people challenged the true birthplace of Jesus and assumed that He was born in Galilee as the leaders taught them. So, they had doubts about Jesus being the Christ since no prophet comes out of Galilee, as they had been taught. They did not accept where He was born (Bethlehem of Judea), so they doubted His identity and where He should be born. If He truly is the Christ, He must be born according to what the Scripture has told them, but also, they did not truly see the real Scripture itself; what they know is just from hearing what the leaders told them, but not from reading the true Scripture itself.

42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes out of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?

Comments 7:42. This verse is the truth that the people also knew about it, but they could not say or talk much unless the religious leaders allowed them to say it; everything was according to the leaders to decide for all the people in that time.

Q: Did they say this because some knew that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea? Or did they say this by not knowing that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, assuming that He came from Galilee (Nazareth)?

A: They understand that He comes from Bethlehem, but they cannot accept it since there are too many talks related to the beloved Son of God. People heard many stories, as some have told that He is from Galilee, but others have said that He is from Bethlehem; both places have created confusion for people, so they waited to hear what the leaders would tell them about where He should be born.

43 So a division happened in the multitude because of Him.

44 And some of them desired to lay hold of Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Comments 7:44. No one laid hands on Him because His time had not yet come.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and those said to them, Because of what did you not bring Him?

46 The officers answered, Never a Man talked like this << as this Man talks >>.

Comments 7:46. All readers should notice that the officers have been confused as well; they received the order to arrest the beloved Son of God, but when they heard His speaking, they couldn’t bring themselves to arrest Him. Because the true living word had spoken in their hearts as well, the officers could not lay hands on Jesus at this time.

47 The Pharisees then answered them, No way, have you also been led astray?

Comments 7:47. The Pharisees themselves try to put pressure on the officers by accusing them of being led astray, which will create fear in the officers themselves; this is another way these leaders control people.

48 Not anyone of the rulers believed in Him or out of the Pharisees;

Comments 7:48. The Pharisees are putting pressure on the officers. We can notice how their answer points out that the rulers do not believe in the beloved Son of God, so they should follow the example of their religious leaders. So, now they have given a choice to the people, and this is the way the fox controls the people, everyone that reads can notice it here; they make people have an option to choose, you want to choose the beloved Son of God who has no authority (in their legal system), or you want to choose the Pharisees leaders who had the power to control their lives at that time.

49 However, this multitude that knows not the law is accursed.

Comments 7:49. Because the Pharisees are the leaders and know all the law, that is why, if the commoners do not know any law like them, the Pharisees themselves will use this as an advantage by controlling the people. Therefore, in their ways, people are not blessed but be cursed if they do not do according to what they told them.

50 Nicodemus says to them (the one having come to Him before, being one of them),

Comments 7:50. “the one having come to Him before, being one of them”; This does not have a deep meaning, only that he did come by himself to meet the Lord. (Is nothing beyond this to read in this verse).

51 Does our law judge a man, except it first heard from him and known what he does?

Comments 7:51. Nicodemus only wants to ensure that if something goes the wrong way, the blame is not on himself for what he has told people. Also, we can take as he already has told people to think about what they are doing, but after you have told them to follow, you come to tell them to think; now, it means nothing to the commoners' minds. But also, this statement makes people believe them more about the fact that the beloved Son of God is guilty. Even if people have good thoughts regarding the beloved Son of God, they will not talk further because the religious leaders who know everything have already pointed out that the beloved Son of God is guilty by the law. So therefore, nobody should follow Him, so they are not placed against the law as well.

Nicodemus is just a simple man who loves his own position more than doing the right thing. Therefore, even with what he feels in his heart, he will not tell everyone that they should not go against the beloved Son of God because he fears losing his power as well.

After they together (the leaders) told people that Jesus is guilty by the law, by coming now to tell them to think what they plan to do will not affect the commoners.

52 They answered and said to him, Are you also from Galilee? Search, and see that out of Galilee arises no prophet.

Comments 7:52. The leaders themselves had to put in everyone's mind that the birthplace of the beloved Son of God was Galilee. However, Galilee has not been mentioned anywhere that can have the servant of the Lord come out from it; even for a prophet, they did not say that any would come out from there, and the leaders use this as a point to convince everyone to obey what they told.

Q: Some people know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea; why did they imply that He was born in Galilee?

A: As a reader, think as well, if the beloved Son of God has been proclaimed as born in Bethlehem, many problems will arise for the leaders since the record in many places will not go against the beloved Son of God. However, if the leaders do not want any problems for themselves, they cannot let people think that the beloved Son of God was born in Bethlehem.

Think this way as well, if the news has been confirmed that the beloved Son of God has been born in Bethlehem, the rulers cannot go against Him right away, and whatever the leaders want to do with Him, it will not be that easy anymore. Therefore, to eliminate Him from the picture, the easiest way is to change His birthplace; then, even the scholars cannot come to make any arguments against the rulers.

Jesus spent part of His life in Galilee, but He didn’t spend much time in Bethlehem; He was only born there since His earthly caretaker, Joseph was from Bethlehem, so they went there for the census, and Jesus was born at that time. After Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, the family went to Egypt, then came back to live in Nazareth, so it was easy for the leaders to put His birthplace in Galilee. 

53 And they went each to his own house.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Believe that the birthplace of Jesus was Bethlehem of Judea and Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God. 2) Believe in the beloved Son of God, meditate on the Word of God and speak out the word of the Bible to those that the Lord brings your way. 3) For a Christian, Jesus fulfilled the Law of God, so we do not need to keep the Sabbath by the old law, but our duty is to do good to people each day.

John 8

Summary. In this chapter, the Jews mainly argue with the Lord Jesus about His identity and test Him about the Law of God the Father. However, all His teachings relate to the Law of God the Father Himself since all Jesus' teachings come from the Father. John 8:1-11. Jesus forgives a woman caught in adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery to test the Lord Jesus about the law of God. The Lord Jesus uses this case to teach that we are sinners and need repentance. But if we listen and obey Him, He always forgives us when we repent and feel remorse deep in our hearts. John 8:12-30. Jesus speaks about Himself to all humans. In this section, Jesus tells all humans six essential facts about Himself. 1) He is the light of the world. 2) He judges the hearts of humans, and His judgment is true because the Father is with Him. 3) The Father sent Him to earth, and the Father and Jesus Himself testify for Him. 4) He is from heaven and speaks as the Father Himself has taught Him, and He will go back to heaven to be with the Father. 5) We must believe that Jesus is who He told us He is so that we might receive forgiveness of our sins and be saved. 6) He died on the cross for all humans. John 8:31-36. Jesus tells us how to be truly His disciples. If we abide in His word, then we truly become His disciples, and the truth of the Word will set us free from the hand of the dark. John 8:37-50. Jesus debates with the Jews about His true Father. Jesus came forth on earth from God, and His true Father is the God Most High. Jesus tells all humans that if we do according to God’s will, we will listen and obey His word. John 8:51-59. Jesus tells all humans that He is One in the Trinity of God. In verse 58, the Lord Jesus tells us, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.” This saying means that the Lord Jesus exists eternally from the beginning in the Trinity of God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Comments 8:1. Originally John has written the story from verses 7:53 to 8:11, but people who found (read this story) had disagreements, and some even removed it from the original manuscript, but we must keep this part and maintain it in the Bible; it was wrong to take it away, from what John has written down, and we must keep it. But unfortunately, many have put their opinion into it, leading people to question this section of the Gospel.

2 And the early morning, He arrived back in the temple, and all the people were coming to Him, and He sat down, and was teaching them.

Comments 8:2. In this verse, notice the word “back”; it was not the first time the beloved Son of God has been here. When the verse has told that the beloved Son "arrived back," the people have heard He was coming now, and they all came in and expected that they could listen to Him speak. The beloved Son of God knows every heart seeking Him; that is why He has sat down and taught them; teaching is what He has come to do in this place.

3 And the scribes and the Pharisees bring to Him a woman caught in adultery; and having set her in the midst,

Comments 8:3. The religious leaders in that time also had a duty; when they caught someone committing sin, they must bring that person into the midst of the meeting. There they will have questions before making decisions, but in this case, these leaders also have a hidden agenda, which all readers will notice when you read the whole story.

4 they say to Him, Teacher, this woman has been caught in committing adultery, in the very act.

Comments 8:4. From this verse, we can notice that the proof had already been shown here by having eyewitness about the act; it turns out to be not an accusation but caught in action, and she has become an adulteress.

Q: Why did they only bring her and not her partner as well? A: The Bible also did not tell what man was involved with her. So, the question that arises is, could he be a gentile? The Lord's law is for His children only; the woman could have committed sin with people among them or with a brother in the faith; we can make the difference here; the man could be a gentile.

5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us such as these to be stoned. Thou, therefore, what do Thou say?

Comments 8:5. This verse shows that His own people are testing the Lord’s knowledge by their intention; whatever the beloved Son of God will say, they will use it to accuse Him later on as well.

6 Now they were saying this, testing Him, in order that they might hold to accuse Him. But Jesus having stooped down with a finger, wrote on the ground.

Comments 8:6. All believers can notice here in this verse that they wanted to test the beloved Son of God, not the authority but His knowledge about God the Father's decision. We can say this is blasphemy as well, but at this time, the Father's mercy is upon them because the time of the beloved Son of God's work will be starting with them first to open their eyes of the heart to know the will of the Father better.

They want to put fear in the people to make them not follow Jesus because He doesn’t follow the Law of Moses, and then if they follow Jesus who does not follow the law, they will be guilty, and they will be kicked out of the synagogue (See John 9: 22). So, this story here shows how the Jews are building the case against Jesus.

“But Jesus … wrote on the ground”; This writing is not on sand but the soft dirt ground. However, no place in the Bible mentions what He wrote down, so we will not have the details about it. Also, we should remember that the beloved Son of God will only do the Father’s will. The purpose of writing down is for those present in the situation so they can see what the Law is; this has shown that the beloved Son of God knows the Law more than them in detail. 

7 But as they persisted in asking Him, and having lifted Himself up, He said to them, the sinless among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

Comments 8:7. When the beloved Son of God answered their questions, all of them realized that this is the true Teacher; only the true Teacher can point out what it is in each one’s heart, that according to what the verse has told, the one that is without sin among you; here it emphasizes among you and when He has told them without sin then stone her, every ear and heart that heard His words, their sin convicted them, how can they punish someone when they themselves are at the same level ground.

8 And again, He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Comments 8:8. The Bible did not tell what Jesus wrote down. In the second round of writing on the ground, when each individual had to think about their own deeds, the beloved Son of God had written down on the ground to point out for them to think and think again before giving out the answer to their own heart. During the time He wrote down, that was the time for them to think; the Lord gave them time to think.

9 And having heard, and being convicted by their conscience, one by one went out, having begun from the elders, [until the last, and He was left alone,] Jesus and the woman being in the midst.

Comments 8:9 Now we can see the result; after the accusers have thought, their own minds convinced them; can they punish someone but not themselves? The elder ones in the group had left, and then the rest followed as well. In the end, only the beloved Son of God and the sinner were left in the middle of the multitude. Here only the accusers have left, but the multitude that was there to listen to the Lord’s teaching was still there (See verse 2).

[until the last, and He was left alone,]; this section of the verse has been added later to the original manuscript for explanation.

10 And Jesus, having looked up and seeing no one except the woman, said to her, where are those who accuse you? Did no one condemn you?

Comments 8:10. This verse tells all readers that all the accusers could not stay to accuse the woman because their own conscience under the word of the beloved Son of God has worked in their hearts when they have thought they know that they themselves are not worthy to condemn anyone as well.

11 And she said, No one, Lord. But Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you, go sin no longer.

Comments 8:11. The beloved Son of God Himself has seen her heart, for all the situation that has happened to her made her realize that if she keeps sinning, that sin will catch up with her. When the Lord has told her to go and sin no longer, the gladness of life has returned to her, and it will work in her heart for a long time; everyone should think as well when you have received the forgiveness of the sin, be as this woman, go on with your life and sin no more.

Q: What is the central teaching here in this story with this woman? A: Everyone should ask themselves as well, are you a sinless person or not, and the answer for your own should be that you are not sinless. So come to the beloved Son of God for forgiveness, repent before any bad thing happens to you, think of the mercy of God, be thankful and appreciate Him, but most importantly, try not to make the same mistakes again.

Everyone commits sin, but the hope is in the beloved Son of God Himself; if you listen and obey Him, He always forgives you when you repent and feel remorse deep in your heart, and the chance to receive forgiveness may not come again. Hence, the best is to repent and not commit the sin again.

12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; the one following Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.

Comments 8:12. See also verse 2 for continuation. 

“I am the light of the world”; The beloved Son of God has told this to all, not only the people in that time but to everyone who is reading this verse. There is only one way that your soul can be saved and not go into darkness, and that is by coming to the beloved Son of God and staying in His bosom because it is only with Him that the light will be, in every other place, the rest will be in darkness, but if you are staying with the beloved Son of God, you are in the light.

“the one following Me will not walk in the darkness”; The path that the beloved Son of God has created for all humans, that is the path after His teaching; if you walk according to what the Holy Bible is teaching you, you will not walk in the dark.

“but will have the light of life”; The light from the beloved Son of God will lead your life; when that light leads your life, you yourself will absorb that light into your soul, and be in the light for safety, that is why you need the light of life. The light from the Lord will give life to your soul. 

13 The Pharisees then said to Him, Thou are bearing witness of Thyself; Thy testimony is not true.

Comments 8:13. The Pharisees, the leaders of the people, themselves do not know what they are talking about; if the testimony of the beloved Son of God is not true, then nothing of this earth is true as well, because everything of this earth is created through Him, so they should understand and think before they say anything to the Lord.

14 Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I am bearing witness of Myself, My testimony is true; because I know from where I am coming, and where I am going; however, you know not from where I come, or where I am going.

Comments 8:14. As the verse has told all believers, the beloved Son of God knows where He is coming from and also has said to all readers that He knows that He is going back to the Father soon. Even He Himself had told what is to be, humans could not believe His word, but all that believe and put trust in Him and will always meditate in the Holy Bible will have that understanding because the Holy Bible has told all from the beginning of life until the end of life. Therefore, when your heart wavers, go back to the Holy Word, which will help you and strengthen your faith. When you read the Holy Word, think of the One the Holy Word has told you, you are created from the ground, but you are beloved by the Father.

15 You judge after the flesh; I judge no one.

Comments 8:15. According to the verse, humans judge humans according to their actions, but the Lord judges humans according to their hearts, and the beloved Son of God did not come to judge anyone at this time but to save them; come to Him and be saved.

16 And however, if I judge, My judgment is true; because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me.

Comments 8:16. As the verse has told, the beloved Son's judgment is always true because when He judges humans, He is not alone, but the Trinity of God is always present there as well; that is why His judgment will be the true judgment for all souls. So again, as was told before, He does not judge by the action but by the heart; what is hidden in the human's heart, the Lord has seen it, which is why His judgment is true.

17 And also, in your law, it is written that the testimony of two people is true.

18 I am the One bearing witness of Myself, and the Father having sent Me bears witness of Me.

Comments 8:18. All readers can also notice from the verse that the beloved Son of God is not alone in all things He does, even humans have the same way of judgment and witness, and the judgment of the Lord is entirely true and faithful because He judges according to the heart.

The Bible has told that the Father has sent the beloved Son of God, and in the beloved Son of God has the human form that knows all the human heart, and the Father who is always with Him has become the witness for that knowledge as well because the Father is in Him.

“the Father having sent Me bears witness of Me”; it is written in the Bible that the voice from heaven has come down, and another human has heard that voice as well and that it testifies clearly that the beloved Son of God has come down according to the Father’s will. 

When the verse says Father, because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, it also has told at the same time that the Father and His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) are there. 

19 Then they said to Him, Where is Thy Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me, nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.

Comments 8:19. The question in this verse would be a common question for everyone, but these people, when they ask the beloved Son of God, "where is Thy Father," for them is a testing question to the beloved Son of God, that He should prove Himself to them. If He has the Father as a witness, He must be able to show them where the Father is (they would mean bring your Father here to testify for you). But since they have seen Jesus, and the Father is in Him, at the same time, they have seen the Father as well.

"You know neither Me, nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also"; When this verse has told that if they did not accept the beloved Son of God, they would not accept the Father links to the fact that they see Jesus but do not accept Him, so they do not accept the Father who is in the beloved Son Himself as well. 

20 These words spoke He in the treasury, teaching in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Comments 8:20. The beloved Son of God was teaching in the temple at this time, but as the verse has said to all readers, they did not seize Him because it was not His time yet.

“because His hour had not yet come”; Since He still did not finish the work that the Father had given Him, so as long as He did not finish the job, they will not arrest Him yet; that is why the verse has told His hour had not yet come.

21 He said then further to them, I am going away, and you will search for Me, and you will die in your sin; where I go, you cannot come.

Comments 8:21. “… I am going away, you will search for Me”; Now, the beloved Son of God is talking about His death on the cross. When that time comes, He will go back to heaven, and those who oppose Him will not be able to find Him. When they seek Him, all will be empty for them, not because they seek Him without faith only, but because they seek Him with hatred, which is why they will not find Him.

“… you will die in your sin”; Because they have not acknowledged their own sin, they will die in their own sin, and they cannot go where the Lord Jesus is because they have no faith in Him. 

22 The Jews then said, Will He kill Himself, that He says, Where I go, you cannot come?

Comments 8:22. These people try to suggest that the beloved Son of God will do the abomination thing by killing Himself. Still, God never dies, and when people talk from their own dark minds, the dark will cover their own understanding, and their ideas will come out with only the dark actions; and that is why the beloved Son of God told them that “Where I go, you cannot come.”

23 And He said to them, You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Comments 8:23. This verse has two portions, but both have the same meaning. The beloved Son of God has told them the truth about Himself. He has told them clearly that He is not of this earth but of heaven, they are of this earth, and their minds think of this earth only. Therefore, don’t try to make things of this earth for heaven, but listen. He will tell about heaven to all.

24 I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for except you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

Comments 8:24. "... that you will die in your sins"; Because the beloved Son of God has told them who He is and where He is coming from, so if they cannot accept it, it is because their hearts are darkened, and their sins will remain in them until they have received and accepted the beloved Son of God.

“except you believe that I am”; The beloved Son of God has told them who He is; as the previous verse has said, He is not of this earth, but heaven is where He will go back again. So here, the Lord means that He is of heaven when He says, “that I am.”

25 They said then to Him, Who are Thou? Jesus said to them, Even what I am saying to you from origin.

Comments 8:25. They still keep asking the same question, but the beloved Son of God has told them many times about Himself, but their hearts still do not accept the word He has spoken.

26 I have much to speak about you, and to judge, but the One that sent Me is true, and what I heard from Him, these speak I to the world.

Comments 8:26. “I have much to speak …”; Because the beloved Son of God has come down on earth and has seen all things humans are doing, many things that the word already has told them and also now He has told them by Himself, so, when the end time comes, they will have no opportunity to argue with Him because He did not come down by Himself. But, still, He has come according to the Father’s will.

“but the One that sent Me is true …”; The beloved Son of God has repeated to them again that the Father is the true God of this earth, and He Himself has come from the Father and has declared to all people related to the Father and He Himself as well; so, all they have to do is to meditate, practice and believe in the teaching that has been given to them.

27 They did not understand that He was speaking to them of the Father.

Comments 8:27. When the beloved Son of God has talked about the One that sent Him, they cannot understand that He is telling them about God the Father. They all could think of this world; this world is what their eyes can see, and that is for them the truth, but when the beloved Son of God talks about God the Father, they cannot understand it.

28 Jesus then said, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and I do nothing from Myself, but as the Father taught Me, I speak these.

Comments 8:28. “When you have lifted up the Son of Man …”; Now the beloved Son of God has talked about His death on the cross; the suffering that He will take for all humans, every eye could see, it is on the cross; that time when the resurrection they will realize who truly He is, but it is already too late, they have crucified the Son of God.

“I do nothing from Myself …”; When the beloved Son of God has taught all humans, His word that He has spoken, none is from Himself, but as the Father Himself has taught Him what to talk and when to talk, and that what the beloved Son of God has been doing according to what He has learned from the Father Himself. 

29 And the One having sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, because I always do pleasing to Him.

Comments 8:29. As the verse has said to all believers, when the beloved Son of God was born as a human and lived among humans, the Father Himself also was in Him and lived among humans with Him as well; that is why the beloved Son has told "He has not left Me alone"; all the actions of the beloved Son of God, He does them according to the Father’s will, which is pleasing to the Father for He is the obedient Son. 

30 Speaking these of Him, many believed in Him.

31 Jesus, therefore, said to those Jews who had believed Him, If you abide in My word, truly you are My disciples,

Comments 8:31. As the verse has told, listening is not enough; you must also abide in His word. All true believers should know this deep in their souls, the beloved Son's word, every word has meaning. He did not speak useless words at all during He has spent life on earth in human form.

“if you abide”; Belief is only in mind, but abide is deep to the soul, the soul will follow according to the teaching of the beloved Son of God; when the soul has done that, both mind and soul will obey every word the beloved Son of God has taught. In those times, the beloved Son of God was with them, but now He has given all humans the Holy Bible. Now it is easy to find the Holy Bible, but people do not all do that. In the past, they did not have the Holy Bible to read but had the Holy Son to listen to. Human hearts now and then are stubborn, in the same way; when you have the Holy Word, abide in the Holy Word reading, meditate, and follow all that has been written, and that is when you can say you are a true believer of God.

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Comments 8:32. When you have believed in His word, meditate and follow, and the truth in His word will set you free, as the verse tells.

“... the truth will set you free”; The truth of the Word will set you free from the hand of the dark. If you have the Word in your soul, the dark cannot put a hold on you; the word of the beloved Son will be the shield for protection to your soul.

33 They answered to Him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to anyone. How do Thou say, You will be set free?

Comments 8:33. His people thought only about Abraham's children; they considered themselves to be the descendants of Abraham himself, but when the beloved Son of God has told them that "you will be set free," He did not talk about physical freedom but about the slave of the soul to the dark, instead of being the slave to the light through the Holy Word.

34 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Everyone committing sin is a slave of sin.

Comments 8:34. The beloved Son of God has told them here that when anyone is sinning, they have surrendered their soul to the dark, and that is why they become a bondage to the dark side, and the dark will use them as a slave according to the dark side's will.

35 But the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

Comments 8:35. “But the slave does not remain …”; The slave abides according to the slave master's will, but when the slave master does not see any benefit from the slave, they will not be kind to them but torture them deep in their own soul itself. But that slave will not abide in the slave house forever if that slave in any moment has realized that he is a sinner and comes begging for mercy from the beloved Son of God with deep true repentance in their soul; this way, they will find the way to break through from that slave house.

“… the son abides forever”; In this part of the verse, the beloved Son of God is talking about the true believers in Him; all of them will become children of God, and they all will abide with Him forever in heaven not with bondage but with joy to receive the position of slave to serve the God Almighty.

36 If therefore the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Comments 8:36. As the verse has told, when the beloved Son of God has taken you in as His brethren, you will never again be a slave to the dark, as long as you truly abide in His teaching. So, when the Son of God has set you free and taken you to be by His side, that is free as He is free from all.

37 I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

Comments 8:37. They consider themselves Abraham's children, but their actions are opposite because the living word from the beloved Son of God did not stay in their hearts since they gave their hearts to anger. Therefore, they considered that the beloved Son of God had done wrong things against the teaching of God by comparing their actions against the beloved Son of God's actions, then the guilty one in their eyes is not them but the beloved Son of God; that is why the beloved Son of God has told them straight, His word that He has taught them has no place in their hearts to learn.

38 I speak what I have seen with My Father; so, you also do what you have heard from your father.

Comments 8:38. As the verse has told, the beloved Son has done all that the Father has done as well, but the humans also had done the wicked things as their fathers did; this is a comparison between the fathers, the Father of the beloved Son of God and the father of the human nature.

39 They answered and said to Him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus says to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.

Comments 8:39. Abraham has been known as the father of faith, and if these people consider themselves his children, then they should be faithful to God as their father was.

40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has spoken to you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not.

Comments 8:40. “this Abraham did not.” If the reader thinks of the life of Abraham, while he was in the desert, the strangers came, and he gave them water; but the beloved Son of God has given them (the Jews) the message, which He has received from the Father, but they are not willing to listen; their actions are opposite with Abraham. Therefore, Abraham treated strangers better than how they treated the beloved Son of God, and that is why we tell their actions are opposite.

41 You are doing the works of your father. They said to Him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Comments 8:41. “You are doing the works of your father.” The beloved Son of God has told them that they do the works of their earthly father in pushing away the truth and being stubborn as an ox; their own actions and answers also have supported this.

“They said to Him, …”; Here they mean that if He is the beloved Son of God, then His Father cannot be a human, and Mary is not fit to be a mother. Also, at the same time, they have told the beloved Son of God that they are the children of God, and God the Father is their Father as well; but this is by their own understanding only, not because this has been taught to them, but they take themselves to be different than the rest of humans.

All they want is to make sure and confirm to their own children that if this is truly the Son of God, Mary should not be married to a human, and because they have seen Mary use her life as a human, the birth of the beloved Son of God has become a question for them. That way of belief is common in human thinking, and if you want to set up a belief and that belief fits with human thought, then that belief will catch on. But if you want to believe that the beloved Son of God has not been born by human will but by the will of God the Father alone, you must believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and that Mary did not conceive through human seed but by the Holy Spirit, and this is a miracle. 

42 Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth and am here from God; for not even have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.

Comments 8:42. The beloved Son of God has said to all of His people that if you truly believe in God the Father, then you will believe in Him as well because the love for the Father will guide them to know the Father’s will; the same as the beloved Son of God has loved the Father and does all things according to the Father’s will for Him to become a human, it has already shown love and respect in Himself towards God the Father.

43 Because of what do you not understand My talk? Because you are not able to hear My word.

Comments 8:43. When the beloved Son of God told them that they could not hear His word, He did not mean only the physical alone, but the spiritual ear as well, because the beloved Son of God has not talked in riddles but straight that He is coming from God the Father Himself.

44 You are from your father, the devil, and the desires of your father it is your will to do. He is a murderer from the beginning and stands not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Comments 8:44. The beloved Son of God in human form has told all humans what the true evil is; the nature of Satan is liar, and he only talks the lie; he cannot talk any truth because in him has no place of truth. The dark in the evil is the same way as the blind would look through the light of this earth; it is so dark until the light has no impact on it. Because it is so dark, the light has no impact on those that look at Jesus because when the dark has looked at the beloved Son of God, they cannot see any light but only the hurtful to themselves.

Because the truth of God has an impact on the liar and hurts them, that is the reason for Satan to try to hurt all the light of God in any human. When they see the light, they will try to go and stop it by hurting those people's souls, by putting the seed of lie around them because the lie will guide them to walk away from the light by themselves, and after that, the dark will occupy that soul.

45 And since I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.

Comments 8:45. The truth the beloved Son of God has spoken to them has confused their hearts and made them struggle. They are confused in their own minds because of the teachings from their forefathers, because the truth which the beloved Son of God has spoken cut that old knowledge they have been taught in the past, and that is why they struggle to try to understand what their forefather have taught and what the beloved Son is teaching. However, their final decision will be used to judge them because they have heard the living word with their ears, and they cannot say anymore that they have never been taught about the true God.

46 Which of you convicts Me concerning sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?

Comments 8:46. Let all readers give attention to the word sin; the beloved Son of God is the only sinless human being on this earth. He never has even one single word that is not true come out of His mouth; the beloved Son's mouth can’t speak lies, and He has told the truth to all humans. He will even give His life for all humans, and no one can love humans as He has loved all humans. So, if His love is so great, why do humans not believe in the beloved Son of God?

47 Whoever is from God hears the words of God; because of this cause, you hear not because you are not from God.

Comments 8:47. “from God”; if you are “from God,” you do according to God’s will.

The beloved Son of God has repeated to them why they cannot hear the truth, because their hearts cannot accept the true living word from the beloved Son of God. As the verse has told, they cannot hear because they are not from God. Now the beloved Son of God has repeated to them the teaching from the Father Himself, the word the Beloved Son of God has spoken is from the Father, believe and be saved.

48 The Jews answered and said to Him, Are we not saying well that Thou are a Samaritan and have a demon?

Comments 8:48. It is blasphemy to accuse God’s beloved Son of having a demon and be like a gentile Samaritan. When they could not find any sin in Him, they accused the beloved Son of God in many ways, but they could find no proof for any of their accusations, which is why it is blasphemy.

“that Thou are a Samaritan.” God’s children have no association with the Samaritans because they consider the Samaritans as outsiders and are not worthy of living among them because, at that time, the Samaritans were dealing with dark spirits, and His children accused the beloved Son of God of dealing with the dark spirit as well; at the same time, they accused Him as He is no longer from the Jewish line of blood.

49 Jesus answered, I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

Comments 8:49. We can clearly see that they had dishonored the beloved Son of God by accusing Him that He has a demon when all He did was glorify the Father and show them how to worship the Father in the truth.

50 But I do not seek My own glory; there is the One that seeks and judges.

Comments 8:50. The beloved Son of God never seeks anyone to glorify Him, but all His work always has pointed to the Father, who has all authority and power. The Father is the God Most High, and all must worship the Father. The Father Himself seeks those that worship Him, and the Father Himself will judge them according to their hearts because every eye has seen the work of the Father on this earth. The Father created humans, so if the Father has used the ground and created humans, then all humans must seek to worship Him from deep of their souls, and that is what the Father is looking for, so worship Him with all your soul and heart.

“there is the One”; “The One” is the Trinity of God; the definition of being One God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who is the God of Three but all in One. The Father is the God Most High but all Three are together as One.

51 Truly, truly, I say to you, If anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.

Comments 8:51. The beloved Son of God has told all humans that every word He has spoken out is life, and if you keep the word of life in you, that word will always keep you alive, and your soul will not see death.

52 The Jews said to Him, Now we know that Thou have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and Thou say, If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.

Comments 8:52. Here we see the men's minds thinking; when they cannot understand, they always will find someone to blame, but in this place, they did not only blame the beloved Son of God, but they also blasphemed against God by accusing the beloved Son of God to have a demon in Himself. With narrow minds, they think only of this earth; instead of asking the beloved Son of God to explain, they are accusing Him. But even nowadays, all humans do that as well; they are reading the living word, and instead of asking for understanding from the Holy Spirit, they use their own understanding to interpret and teach others.

“Abraham died, and the prophets …”; Abraham and the prophets are humans; humans are born and die, but the beloved Son of God has told them to keep His word. His word is the living word for your soul, so you will not die spiritually; if you abide in the living word, your soul will live for eternity with the Lord.

53 Thou are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, and the prophets died! Whom do Thou make Thyself?

Comments 8:53. They were still tied up in their minds with the physical body, but the beloved Son of God has not talked about the physical body to anyone nor about Himself as a human. Humans will die, but His word will never die because His word is the living word for eternal life. So, the beloved Son of God did not talk about humans that are born and die, not even about Himself as human, but He is talking about His living word.

54 Jesus answered, If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, He is our God,

Comments 8:54. The beloved Son of God never lifted Himself above the Father. Still, here the beloved Son of God has told all humans that the Father Himself has glorified Him by letting Him come down to be a human; His Father is their God whom they claim to believe in, but they never seek His will for anything.

55 but you have not known Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be like you, a liar; but I know Him, and I keep His word.

Comments 8:55. All readers can clearly see the humbleness of God’s beloved Son; even being in the Trinity, He Himself still tells all humans that He has kept the Father’s word. We believers can see clearly that the beloved Son of God always puts Himself under the Father. Still, He has also told all humans that He knows the Father. Always the beloved Son of God has kept the Father’s word. The liar will not lift up anyone above themselves, and His own people have come to accuse Him of being possessed by a demon, a liar possession. Still, about all His teachings, the beloved Son of God has never told us that they are His own, but they are from the Father who sent Him and taught Him. 

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced in order that he would see My day; and he saw it and was glad.

Comments 8:56. As the verse has told, Abraham himself rejoiced because he has known from the Father Himself that the beloved Son of God will come down on earth for humans, and Abraham has told all as well that he is glad and rejoices for that day of his life that he has known about this. By the mercy of the Father, He has shown humans how glad they can feel when anyone can see that day of their life that they live under the protection of God. (See Genesis 15:5-6, Genesis 22:17-18).

57 The Jews therefore said to Him, Thou are not yet fifty years, and have Thou seen Abraham?

Comments 8:57. When the beloved Son of God has told them what He has seen and known, all His people do think the same way, that He, as a human at an early age, cannot see or know what their forefathers have done in the past. As the reader has read in this verse, they implied that the beloved Son of God in young human age could not know about Abraham, especially as He is not one of them, a high religious leader.

58 Jesus said to them, Truly, Truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Comments 8:58. Here in this place, the beloved Son of God has told all humans that He is from the beginning. Even before Abraham was born, He was already there before that time, but all readers should meditate on how long before that time. Here in this place, the beloved Son of God had told all humans that before creation existed, He was already there, before them all.

“I am.” This saying means that the Lord Jesus exists eternally and that every time is His, and He is already there because time has no beginning and ending for Him since He exists before time. So, when the Father created the earth and humans, He also was there with the Father. So then, this verse also tells that the Trinity of God existed before anything happened.  

59 Then, they took up stones that they might cast at Him; but Jesus concealed Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and thus passed by.

Comments 8:59. “Then, they took up stones that they might cast at Him”; The accused person must be stoned by the old law when the accusation comes as blasphemy. Now His people have accused the beloved Son of God of trying to take the position as God, which is why they wanted to stone Him; in the Old Testament, it is mentioned in many places that the punishment for the one that blasphemes will be by stoning to death.

“but Jesus concealed Himself”; The word concealed (hid in some translations) in this place is not hiding. Jesus walked through them right in front, but with His mercy, He stopped the time for a moment, and He walked past through all of them without being stoned, and He went out of the temple. As He walked past by in the midst of them, nobody noticed Him walking by since He had concealed the vision of everyone, miraculously, in order not to make anyone commit the great sin at that moment of time.

“going through the midst of them, and thus passed by”; This part of the verse was part of the original given to John.

Q: How do we have this portion of the verse missing in some manuscripts if John had it in the original writing? A: During translations, someone observes that the beloved Son of God hid Himself, as the verse has told, so they concluded that the first portion of this verse is going against the last portion; and by their own thoughts, to make it correctly, they cut the last part.

Life and Faith Application. 1) When the Lord Jesus prompts your heart about some sin, you must repent immediately. Regardless of how small or big the sin is, the Lord will forgive you if you truly repent from your heart. 2) Believe that Jesus is the beloved Son of God the Father, and He is One in the Trinity of God. The Lord Jesus exists in the Trinity of God from the beginning. 3) Believe that the Lord Jesus speaks what He hears from the Father and forgiveness of sins and eternal life is found in Him only. 4) Do not speak bad words against the Lord Jesus since He is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

John 9

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus heals a man born blind and teaches about spiritual blindness, which is the true blindness. The events presented in this healing can be divided into five sections. John 9:1-7. The Lord Jesus heals a man born blind. The Lord Jesus tells all humans that He is the light for their souls, and He still gives His Spirit to all who have faith and trust in Him to find their way out of the darkness. The Lord Jesus showed His mercy on this poor man, anointed his eyes with the clay of His saliva, and healed him. John 9:8-12. The neighbors question the man about his healing. The man testifies to his neighbors about how the Man called Jesus healed him; then they take him to report to the Pharisees. John 9:13-34. The Pharisees question the man and his parents about his healing. The man testifies to the Pharisees about how the Lord Jesus healed him; then, his parents testify that their son was born blind. Finally, the man testifies to the Pharisees that Jesus healed him because He is from God; then, they cast him out. John 9:35-38. The formerly blind man worships the Lord Jesus. Jesus meets the man and questions him about his faith. The man testifies to his faith in the Son of God. As a result, this man found his way out of the darkness and was healed from his true blindness, and worshiped the Lord Jesus. John 9:38-41. Jesus teaches about spiritual blindness. The Lord Jesus teaches about spiritual blindness through the healing of the physically blind man. The blind man’s eyes were physically blind, but he had seen the beloved Son of God with his heart; the Pharisees' eyes themselves were not blind but did not accept the beloved Son of God and did not ask for forgiveness, and they never confess their sins, so that is the difference between the true physically blind and spiritually blind.

1 And passing by, He saw a man blind from birth.

2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, he or his parents, that he should be born blind?

Comments 9:2. All humans will have a similar question when we see someone having problems; the first thing we think in our minds would be, what sin did the person commit that they must suffer in this way? Even as the verse has told right now, His own disciples have asked the Lord the sin question, if the man himself or his parents committed a sin and caused this man to be blind from birth.

3 Jesus answered, Neither he sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made visible in him.

Comments 9:3. When something bad happens to someone, it does not mean punishment or sin, but it means that God has a purpose to make a person not complete in everything. And also, it is a way for the person in that situation to come to the Lord with the feeling from the deep of their soul and seek mercy from the God Most High, as this verse has told all readers, so, read and meditate, not only read to finish the sentence.

“but that the works of God should be made visible in him”; This tells that the work of the beloved Son of God will be shown here in this situation on the person. The important work the beloved Son of God will do for humans has also been shown here; the mercy of God has been poured down on this soul, and there is no need for anyone to be guilty in their situation. After this event, we do not know the purpose of life for this person to receive mercy. Therefore, we should wait and see the end of it before judging any situation.

When a person is born, and that person does not have good health from birth, when we look at the person and don’t know where, what, and how it happened to the person, let all remember one thing, they all have been born in the image of God as well; even they have a problem from birth, the Lord’s love and will, will still be in them. So when you look at them, thank God that they are still alive and have a chance to make an impact on all people; some may think in a negative way of that person, but some get encouragement from that person and glorify God, that the God of love still gives that person a chance to see His wondrous works on earth. And if you can have a chance to talk about God to that person, do so with love and mercy. Since you have received love and mercy for yourself already, show that to those that are having problems in their life from birth; and do not think that because of the sin of parents or themselves they have been born that way, but think of them that they will make others give thanks to God for they are alive.

4 It is necessary for Us to work the works of the One having sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one is able to work.

Comments 9:4. Here we should pay attention to the word “Us”; the beloved Son of God and His Spirit are coming down to do the work of the Father. The beloved Son of God and His Spirit have been sent for all humans to see the love of the Father towards humans.

“while it is day.” This day refers to the day that the beloved Son of God is still alive and walking as a human on earth. When the night comes, that is when they have crucified the beloved Son of God.

“the night is coming when no one is able to work.” When they have crucified the beloved Son of God, the night of the soul has come for all humans. The beloved Son of God is the light for the soul; when humans have crucified Him, His light has stopped for the humans until He has risen. Those who do not accept and ask the beloved Son of God's Spirit to come upon them will not be able to work to free their own soul from the dark.

5 When I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Comments 9:5. The beloved Son of God has told all humans that He is the light for their souls. When He was in the world, humans did not respect Him as the true light of their life, and now He is with Father in heaven, but He still gives His Spirit to all that have faith and trust in Him.

6 These having said, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,

Comments 9:6. First, give attention; this blind man did not have eyes in his eye sockets. Humans come from the ground, which is why the beloved Son of God used the ground with the blessing from His body. He has anointed the blind with the clay of His saliva; the result will be beyond believable for humans to see.

7 and said to him, Depart, wash into the pool of Siloam (which is, by interpretation, Sent). He went after, therefore, and washed, and went seeing.

Comments 9:7. Q: The Lord made clay with the saliva and anointed this man's eyes, then He told the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. Why would the Lord send him to wash if the man didn't have eyes in the sockets? A: As the verse 6 tells, the Lord anointed the man's eyes with the clay. If the Lord has applied the clay into his eyes, have you ever thought what that would be like? Anointed here has a deeper meaning than just the covering of the eyes. If the man already has eyes inside the sockets, the Lord does not need to put the clay into his eyes. But, by putting the clay into his eyes' sockets, that clay became eyes for him.

"Depart, wash into the pool of Siloam"; This pool had many needy people staying around and waiting. So when the blind man went there and washed his eyes in that pool, it also made all people who sat there see the wonderful miracle the blind man had received, making everyone try to find out what really happened to him. How could it be that a blind man can see again by washing? So the Lord did this miracle to strengthen and stir up people's faith at that time and for our times as well.

8 The neighbors then, and those having seen him before, that he was a beggar, were saying, Is not this who was sitting and begging?

Comments 9:8. We all can notice that people know this person as the blind beggar. He is well-known among people as a man in need of mercy from God. This miracle will work in everyone’s heart to ask what had happened to this blind beggar? Now he has become normal as everyone, and the work of the beloved Son of God will stir up people’s hearts to think and wonder what really happened and who can make things happen this way.

9 Some were saying, It is he; others said, No, but he is like him. That one was saying, I am.

10 They said, therefore, to him, How then were your eyes opened?

Comments 9:10. Now we all can notice that people are wondering what happened to the blind man. Their hearts have been stirred up from what they have seen, and people will think more that something wonderful has happened among them now.

11 He answered, The Man called Jesus made clay, and applied to my eyes, and said to me, Depart to Siloam, and wash; then I went away and having washed, I received sight.

Comments 9:11. The man has told what the beloved Son of God has done for him, and that is a witness for the mercy of God. Who can make the blind eyes to be opened? Everyone that heard about it will think the same thing, that it is a miracle.

“then I went away and having washed, I received sight.” We can talk about the man's obedience here. The beloved Son of God told him to wash his eyes, and he went and obeyed; the result of obedience was that he received his sight.

12 And they said to him, Where is He? He says, I do not know.

13 They bring to the Pharisees him that formerly was blind.

Comments 9:13. We should notice that there is a gap of time between verses 12 and 13. All readers can clearly see that the Pharisees control every aspect of people's life. Therefore, when something happens beyond usual, it becomes a duty for people to report to the Pharisees, which is how they control the people.

14 And it was Sabbath in the day which Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

Comments 9:14. It is a specific law for the day of the Lord, and people want to know what their religious leaders would think about this healing.

15 Again then the Pharisees also asked him how he received sight. And he said to them, He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.

Comments 9:15. This verse shows the people's situations from the two-sided story, the blind and the Pharisees; now, the Pharisees themselves have heard how he received his sight from the witness himself.

16 Some, therefore, of the Pharisees said, This Man is not from God because He is not keeping the Sabbath. Others said, How can a Man that is a sinner do such signs? And there was division among them.

Comments 9:16. People could not do work on the Sabbath by the old tradition and teaching. But, still, the beloved Son of God is the Lord of the Sabbath, and He is doing the work on His day, so that is what they should think as well. But they have misunderstood the purpose of the Lord’s day, so do good work on the Lord’s day, which is what all humans should do, not only try to catch someone doing good on the Lord’s day.

“And there was division among them.” All readers can notice that between them arose a division now. The division happened between the ones that love the Lord and worship Him and those who love the Lord but use the Lord's law to control people without asking and without meditating for the real meaning.

17 They say, therefore, to the blind further, What do you say concerning Him because He opened your eyes? And he said, He is a prophet.

Comments 9:17. They have asked the blind man about the beloved Son of God. The blind man, without teaching, has acknowledged the beloved Son of God as a prophet because he has felt the work that the beloved Son of God has done for him, and his heart has accepted Him. With all his knowledge, the one who can do miracle work is a prophet; however, he did not have the knowledge yet about the beloved Son of God.

18 The Jews then did not believe concerning him that he was blind and received sight until they called the parents of him having received sight,

19 and they asked them, saying, Is this your son, of whom you say that was born blind? How therefore does he now see?

Comments 9:19. The Pharisees, who were the leaders of the people, wanted to make sure this was not a made-up story about the man that was born blind and had received sight; however, they were expecting that this was not a true story that the blind man had told.

20 Then his parents answered and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

21 but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know; question him, he has maturity; he will speak for himself.

Comments 9:21. The way the parents answered also told all readers that the blind man has become a healthy person, but he is no longer a child under their care. When the condition of the body has returned to good health, the parents also believe that their responsibility towards the grown-up child has ended because this person is not a child but a man.

22 These said his parents, because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had agreed together already, that if anyone should confess Him Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

Comments 9:22. We all can notice from this verse how fearful the people were toward the religious leaders. If the leaders have already agreed they don’t accept the beloved Son of God, nobody can accept Him as well; if someone accepts the beloved Son of God, that person will be cut off from all the help they will give.

Everyone that goes to the synagogue must listen to them, so if they have told you do not help this person, they all must obey, which is why people fear them. All the money they receive from people becomes for themselves because people, by the law of God, have faith and bring in all the wealth they have beyond the need and give it to the synagogue. The religious leaders will be the ones that distribute the help to the people, so that is why they have a voice for control. They use the basic needs of humans as a weapon for controlling everyone.

“feared the Jews.” When it comes to this term (Jews), the Bible means about the leaders that have received the position to rule in all things about worshiping God. 

23 Because of this, said his parents, He has maturity, ask him.

24 Therefore they called a second time the man who had been blind, and said to him, Give glory to God, we know that this Man is a sinner.

Comments 9:24. Now the religious leaders themselves have blasphemed against the beloved Son of God. The Lord has helped the blind man, but the religious leaders have told people that the one who helped this man is a common sinner; but the man has been healed from God the Father, not someone else that made him be healed.

25 He, therefore, answered, If He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that, being blind, now I see.

Comments 9:25. The beloved Son of God has opened not only the physical eyes of this man but his heart as well. For this blind man, regardless of who or what He is, he has received mercy, and his sight returned to him. Therefore, if they have told him that the beloved Son of God is a sinner, for this blind man, this accusation has no meaning because he has already experienced the Lord's mercy.

26 They said, therefore, to him, What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?

Comments 9:26. Now all the questions come to the man; all the people want to know if He really did something or if this man only thinks that the beloved Son of God did it. Since, in their eyes, Jesus is just a common Man, the main thing they don’t want to believe in what has happened is how a common Man can make this man’s eyes be opened again.

27 He answered them, I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you wish to hear again? And you do not desire to become His disciples.

Comments 9:27. Pay attention to the common person’s answer. He had told what happened, and still, they asked him again. If this healing action is a miracle, then the question comes as normal, and you should go and be His disciples as the answer of the innocent man has told them.

28 And they reviled him, and said, You are a disciple of that One, but we are disciples of Moses.

Comments 9:28. As the leaders have answered to this ordinary person, you are a commoner, go to be the disciple of the beloved Son of God, but we are learned (trained, schooled, we have the knowledge, we are not commoners), and we are Moses’ disciples.

29 We know that God has spoken to Moses; however, we do not know from where this One is.

Comments 9:29. With Moses, it has been recorded that God spoke with him, but for the beloved Son of God, people do not know who He is; is He just a common Man, or is He a prophet? But, they would rather put Him as a prophet than put Him to be God's beloved Son.

30 The man answered and said to them, For this is amazing, that you know not from where He is, even He opened my eyes.

Comments 9:30. The common man has recognized the amazing work the beloved Son of God has done for him. Regardless of where the beloved Son of God comes from, the work has been done already, so emphasize on the miracle work.

As the common man has answered, give attention to what happened to him, now he is not blind, and that is a miracle already, and "you as a leader do not know who has this power of healing?" is his question. Think of the miracle work that Jesus has performed, and everyone should notice that He cannot be a common man anymore; with the power to do miracle work, He is not just a man anymore, but He is to be put above all men.

31 We know that God does not hear sinners, but if someone is God-fearing and does His will, him He hears.

Comments 9:31. When praying to the God Most High, as a believer, pay attention to this verse. As the beloved Son of God has prayed to the Father, and the Father heard Him, He will hear all believers; when everyone covered by His beloved Son's blood comes worshiping Him with their whole heart, He will hear them certainly.

“and does His will.” All true believers that worship the Father will know in their hearts the Father’s will regarding what they should and should not do, through the Spirit of His beloved Son; every heart will feel that as well. Here it emphasizes on the Spirit of the Son; the verse itself is according to listening; the Father will not listen to normal humans, but through the Spirit of His Son, the Father will hear a prayer done in Jesus’ name.

32 Out of the age, it was not heard that someone opened eyes of one born blind.

33 If this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything.

Comments 9:33. This statement here is a true statement of a believer. This man has already in his heart connected with the beloved Son of God and has come to believe that He must come from God the Father Himself because a normal man cannot do this miracle work with his eyes.

34 They answered and said to him, You were completely born in sins, and do you teach us? And they cast him outside.

Comments 9:34. The dark mind will not hear the truth. This man, being born blind, does not mean that he was born in sin, but the ones who talk are the ones who live in sin. When the ear has been shut, and the eye has been blinded, not physical but spiritual, all their heart feelings have been blinded; by casting out the poor man, these leaders have discouraged the faith of this poor man as well.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out and, having found him, said, Do you believe in the Son of Man?

Comments 9:35. Let all readers give attention; the beloved Son of God Himself has asked this poor man and all the people at the same time, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Do not give the answer out, but meditate on the word “believe,” believe not just by the feeling or by the thought but believe deep down in your heart that the beloved Son of God in this place has called Himself “Son of Man” because He has taken the human form and has used His life as a human (meaning Son of God in human form).  

For “Son of Man,” see also comments John 5:25.

36 He answered and said, And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?

Comments 9:36. Let all believers take notice of this man's faith, blind of the eyes, but not blind at heart. Give attention to what it says here; he is already willing to believe in the beloved Son of God; his heart has already opened to receive the beloved Son of God.

37 Jesus said to him, Also you have seen Him, and He is speaking with you.

Comments 9:37. The beloved Son of God has told this poor man straight; unlike He talked with others, all believers can notice the mercy of the Lord Jesus in this verse. The beloved Son of God has told this man, you did not only see Him, but you are talking with Him as well, so the Lord Jesus wants to comfort his poor heart with this word.

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him.

Comments 9:38. Let all believers pay attention to how this poor man has believed, and now he is worshiping the beloved Son of God; he has confirmed his faith not only by saying “I believe,” but he has worshiped the beloved Son of God as well.

The beloved Son of God will never stop the sincere heart from worshiping Him, so if you worship Him with a true heart, the beloved Son of God will receive that worship with gladness and joy, as we all can notice with this verse.  

39 And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that those that do not see may see, and those seeing may become blind.

Comments 9:39. The beloved Son of God has told all humans in detail in this verse itself; because He has already been born as a human and knows what humans are going through, His judgment is fair. Because He as a human also knows the suffering humans are going through, the humans will not be able to argue with, you are God, and are in heaven, and you don’t know how is to go through suffering; instead, the beloved Son of God Himself can tell all humans you are humans, but I know more than you what suffering means. Your eyes are open, but you did not see what joy the Father has prepared for you; all you can think, many good things, but you didn’t have it, and you think that is the suffering you receive, blind at heart you are, that’s all, look around but use your heart to see not the eyes themselves, that is what the verse has told all readers here.

“that those that do not see may see, and those seeing may become blind.” As the verse before has told, the blind man has seen the Lord with his heart, but the rest of the people have seen the Lord with their eyes, but their hearts did not recognize Him; their physical eyes became blind as their hearts, opposite with the blind man, blind at eyes but seeing with his heart.

40 Out from among the Pharisees, those who were with Him heard these, and said to Him, Even though we are not blind.

Comments 9:40. With the Pharisee's word themselves, that is a confession, they have eyes and ears, have seen the beloved Son of God and heard His teaching, but they are blind, both physically and spiritually.

41 Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you say, We see, your sin remains.

Comments 9:41. The verses before are referring to the blind man, the physical eye is blind, but he has seen the beloved Son of God with his heart; the Pharisees' eyes themselves are not blind but did not accept the beloved Son of God and did not ask for forgiveness, and they never confess their sins, so that is the difference between the true physically blind and spiritually blind. The physically blind man has received forgiveness because he has already recognized and worshiped the beloved Son of God with his heart, and the blind man will be with the Lord in the end.

“but now that you say, We see …”; If you are physically blind, you won’t see the work of God, and you will not be accountable for the sin when you disrespect the work of God on earth because your eyes did not see. But those that have complete eyesight, in each day have seen the miracle works of God but did not thank Him for His mercy and did not appreciate the love of God for this earth, and became blind at heart and their sin will remain blocked inside their soul.

Life and Faith Application. 1) The Lord Jesus is the light of the world. Faith in the beloved Son of God gives us true spiritual light, takes our souls out of the darkness, and brings us eternal life with the Lord. 2) When you see people with disability, show them love; they are also born in the image of God. 3) Believe in the miracle work that the Lord Jesus worked and is given to us in the Bible by the Holy Spirit. 4)  Believe that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and that is why He did all these miracles to help us believe who He is. 5) Worship the Lord Jesus as the beloved Son of God. Faith for eternal life for our souls is found only in Him.

John 10

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus tells us two essential things about Himself: He is the Good Shepherd, and He is One with the Father. John 10:1-21. The parable of the Good Shepherd. In this parable, the Lord Jesus talks about the sheep, the shepherd, the courtyard of the sheep, the courtyard door, and the Good Shepherd. The shepherd is a true shepherd that teaches the true living word of God, the sheep are the believers, and the door of the courtyard is the true living word coming from the Lord Jesus. The Good Shepherd is the Lord Jesus Himself, who gave His life for all humans. He has given His life on the cross to take all His children to be with Him in paradise. Also, in the parable, the Lord Jesus tells us about thieves, robbers, strangers, and wolves who do not follow God’s true living word; watch for them by praying and meditating on the Holy Bible. John 10:22-39. “I and the Father are One.” The Jews questioned the Lord Jesus if He is the Christ. The Lord Jesus answers them that He is the Son of God, and He does the work of the Father, and He is One with the Father. So, if the Lord Jesus called God, His Father, by that also He has told them that He is the Christ; only the beloved Son of God can be the Christ. If you are children of God, you will hear the Lord Jesus’ voice in your heart, and God the Father also knows you. John 10:40-42. The Lord Jesus ministers on the other side of the Jordan. In this place, John the Baptist prepared the people’s hearts, and the Lord Jesus went there to meet them and teach them. The Lord Jesus did not go there to hide from the Jews; He went there because there was work for Him to do.

1 Truly, Truly, I say to you, The one that does not enter by the door into the courtyard of the sheep, but climbs up by another way, that one is a thief and a robber.

Comments 10:1. The beloved Son of God has warned everyone that a true leader who stands in front of believers, when that person takes the responsibility to be a leader, that person must live in the open; they cannot have anything hidden or have a secret life in any way; that person must show the people, the way everyone should keep life, in open not in secret. When you do things in secret, most of the time, the things you are doing are not right in the eyes of God. If you live in the light, your lifestyle must be open and must show the light out as well; those that keep their life secret do not have an honest heart in them and will be like a robber that will take attention from people to concentrate on themselves, not on the Lord Jesus' teachings.

“courtyard of the sheep”; The courtyard of the sheep are the believers, and they are still open to receiving teachings. So, if someone comes in and tells them something about God, but they did not yet practice the life as true believers, they will believe and follow because they are still learners, and when leaders have told them things, they will listen without consulting the Holy Word.

“The one that does not enter by the door into the courtyard of the sheep”; The door here is the true living Word of God. Anyone that does not hold the teaching as the Holy Word has told is like not using the right door to enter, but they have used the true living word in talking and convincing some sheep to believe them; these people are not true brothers in faith, and the sheep that consult the Holy Word will not listen to them.

2 But the one entering in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Comments 10:2. The one that comes in and teaches the true living word is the true shepherd, and the true shepherd will always use the living Word of God. The true shepherd will also teach the sheep the teaching he receives from the Lord because that person is the true shepherd for the sheep.

“entering in by the door.” The door is the true living Word of God. The one that enters with the true teaching of the living Word of God, that one will not lead any that listen to go astray.

3 To him, the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls the individual sheep by name and leads them out.

Comments 10:3. “To him the doorkeeper opens.” The doorkeeper is an angel (ministering spirit, see Hebrew 1:13-14) of each person because everyone has a ministering angel of the soul. The angel of the soul is a ministering spirit, which is different (level and duty) from the angels mentioned in other passages such as Luke 1:5-25.

“and the sheep listen to his voice”; The spiritual eye of each person will open towards the angel of their soul, and the soul will acknowledge the voice of that angel; the soul has the ability as well to listen to that angel. The Holy Spirit was not given yet at that time. But now, after the Lord Jesus' resurrection, we have the Holy Spirit, and now it becomes the duty of the Holy Spirit to guide us through the angel of the soul. In the old time, the angel was the one that guided the people; even the apostles themselves, the angel was the one that helped them. At that time, the beloved Son of God taught people, and the angel of their soul had the duty of helping the people to listen. At that time, the Lord Jesus connected directly to the angel of the soul, while now the Holy Spirit connects to the angel and guides us.

“and he calls the individual sheep by name and leads them out.” The angel of that soul will lead the soul out from whatever direction that person is, into the right path to follow the living God, which every soul should worship only. Every believer has a name; in the realm of heaven, every believer will receive a name and take that name as their name forever. Deep in that person's soul, they will know their name; the soul will have that connection, but not the mind; this connection will be the soul's knowledge only.

4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice.

Comments 10:4. “He” in this place is the servant of the Lord, with the head angel guiding him. Everyone has an angel of the soul, and a head angel will lead all the followers' angels. When the head angel has led the people out, he calls out all the people that have faith in God; the people that have faith will follow the angel because, in their souls, they can hear the angel's voice guiding them. The shepherd has the head angel guiding him; when the shepherd guides them, it is not the shepherd himself guiding them, but the head angel guiding the shepherd who guides them.

"He," the shepherd, has a duty to lead people because all the shepherds have received the angel to guide them.

The people in that time had an angel guiding them, and not all as well listened to their angel, but those that listened followed what they heard. Now we have both; everyone has an angel, and all believers have the Holy Spirit, and both work the same purpose in leading people to worship the Lord.

"For they know his voice." Because when the shepherd speaks, the vibration of his voice will touch the heart of the listener, and the heart that receives the Word will follow the true shepherd.

5 And a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.

Comments 10:5. This verse talks about the fake shepherds; these fake shepherds fake themselves and come and mingle with the people and try to lead them away from the Lord, but the true believers will notice the voice of a fake shepherd and will stop to follow that shepherd.

6 This parable spoke Jesus to them, but they did not understand what it was that He was speaking to them.

Comments 10:6. The beloved Son of God has spoken to people, but not all have received the understanding; the hearts that do not open to receive the teaching of the beloved Son of God will not understand what He is speaking with them.

7 Jesus then said to them further, Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of the sheep.

Comments 10:7. The beloved Son of God is the only way to the Father, and only through His Spirit will all believers recognize Him. He has given His Spirit to all true believers; come unto Him all believers, the beloved Son of God is calling all true believers to Him.

“I am the door of the sheep”; the verse clearly tells that there is only one way to go to the Father, through the beloved Son of God; He is the true door for the soul. The Word that the Lord Jesus has spoken is He Himself; that is why we say Living Word.   

8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; however, the sheep did not hear them.

Comments 10:8. As the verse had told to all readers, before the beloved Son of God came on earth, many, many, have traveled (have traveled with their spirit by meditation and entered into the spiritual realm, and that realm has many spirits teaching them, and when they are out of meditation they use that teaching) and asked knowledge from the dark spirits and believed that, that knowledge is from God. But, still, they all have fallen into the wrong teachings and went out to teach someone else the wrong things. So, these people act as thieves and robbers to take all the believers away from the right path to walk; but the ones that teach people wrong teachings will receive their punishment in the end.

“however, the sheep did not hear them.” The sheep in this place are true believers who study and meditate on the Holy Word regularly and always ask for the guidance of the Spirit of God; these people will not listen to the thieves and robbers of the soul. All the true believers are the chosen ones which the Lord has chosen to fertile their souls, for what their hearts seek, they will find; in their hearts, they seek the true teaching of God, making them true believers. If they have true faith, they are the chosen ones. The true belief is free will; everyone can find the Holy Bible, but the free will chooses to read and meditate, while the rest deny their own chance. 

Even nowadays, people do not stop searching for knowledge from unknown places, which is why they can receive teachings from other spirits. When all humans already have the Holy Word, that is where they should go searching. We can notice by the addiction how other spirits are using the way of entertaining the earthly feelings to create an addiction to the soul; that addiction itself is a path for the dark spirits to enter a person's mind and control it.

9 I am the door; through Me if anyone enters in, he will be saved, and will enter in and will come out, and will find pasture.

Comments 10:9. “I am the door; through Me if anyone enters in, he will be saved”; The ones who have faith in the beloved Son of God, walk according to His teaching, and have personally accepted the beloved Son of God as their Savior have entered into the path of righteousness; those will enter in and be saved; enter in the teaching that the beloved Son of God has put in the Holy Bible, and that is why we have said enter in the path of righteousness. When Jesus was on earth, many have written down all things the beloved Son of God has spoken and used as a tool to teach others.

“will enter in and will come out.” A person can live life on earth freely as a believer, and they can go and join all the things the Lord has created. A true believer can enjoy life as normal, and when that person comes back to worship the God of living, that person has forgotten all the joy of outside and finds the lasting joy in meditating on the Holy Word; that person can use the life in and out of meditation freely.

“and will find pasture.” When the true believers go outside of meditation, they will find many lost souls outside that have wandered into empty space, and those true believers can lead those souls back to the Lord because the true believers know the right way to enter in back again to the Lord. 

10 The thief comes not, if not that he may steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they may have life and may have it more abundantly.

Comments 10:10. “The thief comes not, …”; The thief is not a burglar but a deceiver of the soul who comes to take the soul of the believers, the believers that do not stay in meditation of the Holy Word and prayer. This deceiver will come in many shapes and forms and could deceive the eyes of those looking at them. When the eyes of wavering believers look at the deceiver, those believers, in their hearts, will not feel that the spirit of the deceiver is there and that the purpose of the deceiver is to take the souls from the Lord and destroy them. But, no one can snatch the true believers' souls from the Lord, from those who stay in meditation of the Holy Word and prayer. However, the ones that do not stay in meditation and follow the teachings of the Lord have already opened the door for the deceiver, not that the Lord rejected those persons, but the Lord has already given the way out to all; the Holy Bible is there everywhere, but if the person ignores and let it alone without meditating on it, it is the person’s own fault. But the Lord is still waiting for all; when the person realizes they are facing the deceiver and turn to the Lord and follow all the commandments and confesses their sins, the Lord will deliver that person from the hands of the deceiver.

“I came that they may have life …”; The beloved Son of God has already come down in human form to save all humans. For those that have accepted the beloved Son of God and put all their trust in His mercy, the beloved Son of God will receive them to be with Him, and they will have life for eternity with Him because it is for eternity that is “more abundantly.”  

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sake of the sheep.

Comments 10:11. “I am the good shepherd.” The beloved Son of God is the good shepherd of mankind; He has given His life on the cross in order to take all His children to be with Him in paradise. He willingly went to taste the death for humans; for God, the death on the cross has cost Him pain more than humans can understand; God in human form has died for all humans in order to show them the way to eternity with Him.

Q: What is the difference between the “shepherd” of verse 2 in the parable and the “good shepherd” in this verse? A: The shepherd in verse 2 refers to the teacher of the Holy Word, to those that have the call to be a teacher and have gone out to give the knowledge they have to all that they have a chance to meet; but the good shepherd in this verse is the beloved Son of God Himself. As the verse has told, He has laid down His life for the sheep, God that has given His life in the hands of His own created things has allowed them to crucify Him; there is no other god on this earth that will give his own life for humans.

The Lord Jesus is the good shepherd that has sacrificed His life for his own sheep and has taken all the suffering for their souls in making mistakes; when His sheep have strayed away, the pain of suffering in those sheep, He also has taken with Him. During their suffering time, He spends time with them and teaches them to stay in His path so that they will be safe. Also, He has given all the details in the Holy Bible; if you are His sheep, follow and meditate in the Holy Book, which is considered as walking in His path.

12 The hired servant, however, not being the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees; and the wolf snatches and scatters them;

Comments 10:12. “The hired servant, however, not being the shepherd”; The people that have taken the job because of the payment are the hired servants looking only for the payment of work and not for the wellbeing of the flock itself. The hired servant does not take the sheep as their own; in their heart, they still think that this is not their flock but the flock of the master from whom they receive payment for being among the sheep.

“whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees.” The hired servant does not take the sheep as their own. When they see danger coming, they will first think of themselves, not the sheep. Because in their minds, if something happens to the sheep, the loss is not for themselves; the loss will belong to the owner of the sheep; they only work for their payment, but they don't feel responsible for the loss.

Q: Who is the wolf here? A: The wolf that comes into this place is a wolf in sheep skin. The shepherd (hired servant) notices the fake sheep but is unwilling to separate them out because they fear that the work is too hard for the payment they have received. The hired servant will only work what they think is fit for the payment they have received; if the work feels more than the payment, the hired servant will stop to do further work. If the wolf did not disguise themselves, the sheep themselves would run, and the hired servant would not have to do any work. Think about the sheep themselves as well; the sheep are peaceful and stay grazing all day long; if they see another sheep coming, they will not be alarmed. But a wolf must disguise themselves as well to get more sheep; the wolf needs to disguise, and then they know how to get the sheep. If they want to come among the sheep, the wolf has to disguise themselves before they can trick the sheep into coming close to them. This parable also has told all humans, when you hear someone talking about the right way and the right word of how to worship God Almighty, think as well that you have God in your hearts already, and also He has given all humans the Holy Bible as the light for the soul; keep your ears, and your eyes to the Holy Bible and all fake sheep doctrine will not affect your heart.

“and the wolf snatches and scatters them.” Then, when the sheep have received the fake sheep in their own herd, that wolf will take off the cover (in the sense that they teach false teaching), but it is already too late for some to be safe. All the sheep will fear and run away, but the slow ones (those that do not read and meditate on the Holy Word) will become the victims of the false teaching because the wolf they are hidden among them, and the sheep do not know which one is the wolf they should avoid.

Purpose-driven teaching. The main doctrine of the purpose-driven teaching is pleasing the people by bringing the world’s culture in various ways into the gatherings, at the expense of pleasing the Lord and following His teachings. This is an example of a wolf in sheep's skin. Still, it is the sheep's fault that they let the wolf come in. All believers must use the Holy Bible, filter all actions and teachings, and compare them with the teaching of the Holy Bible; if they do not fit in, escape, since only that way can you be safe. Escape both physical and spiritual by taking your Holy Bible and reading and meditating on the Word; you do not necessarily need to separate from the group. However, if it is for you to stay, the Lord will speak to your heart and will guide you to make a positive spiritual impact among those sheep. Many have the Holy Bible, but not all of them use the Holy Bible. The false teachings among humans can easily be caught as false ones, but it is the believers’ fault for not using the Holy Bible to help them. The Lord will not come down and tell them, but the Holy Bible has all information for believers to notice the fake sheep among them.

The hired servant is the false leader, the false leader of the church of Christ, which the sheep have hired, but the Lord Himself has not approved of him. When the false leader comes in, they will spread false teachings, and the people in the church itself, some with blind ears and hearts, will follow. Therefore, when a church wants to hire someone to lead the church, the people must make sure that the person's doctrine fits the Holy Bible in every word; the Lord will give in their hearts if that person is the right person or not, but if the people choose to ignore the Lord's warning that false leader will destroy the church itself. 

Everyone could notice the teachings of the false leader. However, when the leader has things against the Holy Bible, the sheep must find a way to eliminate that leader as soon as possible. Still, most churches nowadays search only for a leader with whom they feel comfortable because they themselves do not study and meditate in the Holy Bible. And as a result, they have opened the way for the wolf to come among them and hurt their own faith at the same time.

If the leader has made fun of the Holy Word, get away from that leader, that leader is a wolf in sheep's skin; that leader will devour many innocent sheep, but it is not too late to help them. All the sheep need to come and meditate in the Holy Word, and they will see the fault of that leader, and they can save their soul by kicking out that fake leader as soon as possible.

Q: What can we say about leaders that take the cross, the hymn books, the Bibles, and other Biblical items out of the church? A: Those leaders are real wolves, which have learned to cover themselves well until the sheep do not feel the difference, but the sheep must come back to the Holy Word, and then they will know how to take that leader out from among them; the Holy Bible teaches that as well.

Q: What can we say about the leaders that do not talk about the blood of Jesus shed on the cross? A: These leaders are not believers of the Son of God. How can you not talk about the blood of Jesus when that blood has saved you? The beloved Son of God has given His own blood to save the sheep, but the sheep do not want His blood, so in the end time, the fault and suffering will be on them.

13 because he is a hired servant, and he does not care about the sheep.

Comments 10:13. Unlike the beloved Son of God, who cares first about the sheep, the hired servant will care only about the money; for the beloved Son of God, first for Him are the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and I am known by Mine.

Comments 10:14. The beloved Son of God also has told all humans about one of His characters; He is the good shepherd, and He knows all His sheep, and at the same time, all His sheep recognize Him as well.

“and I am known by Mine.” Q: How can this knowledge be? A: Think of yourself in this time as well; you know the beloved Son of God has died for you, and you are saved by His blood. In the same way, all His sheep know Him as all believers know their Savior.

15 Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

Comments 10:15. “Just as the Father knows Me …”; As the verse has told, the Father knows the beloved Son of God, and the beloved Son of God also knows the Father. Therefore, the Father knows that the beloved Son of God will do all His will. When the beloved Son of God came down on earth, in His human form, there was only one purpose of life He would want to do; to accomplish the work the Father has given to Him.

“I lay down My life for the sheep.” In accordance for the beloved Son of God to accomplish the work that the Father has given to Him, the beloved Son of God is willing to be crucified by the hand of the creatures that He has created; because by laying down His life, He will save all the people that belong to Him, and the Father will do according to His (beloved Son) will as well.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this courtyard; and those it is necessary for Me to bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Comments 10:16. This verse talks about two sheep courtyards, one spoken in verse 1 and one in this verse.

Q: What is the sheep courtyard in verse 1, and what is this courtyard called other sheep which are not of this courtyard?

A: The first courtyard of the sheep is His people, who we call Jews, but the other courtyard of the sheep is all the gentiles; the gentiles with a heart for the Lord will also hear His calling. And they all will become one flock together, when they had come at the foot of the cross, both His people and the Gentiles become His children.

“and those it is necessary for Me to bring, and they will hear My voice”; Whoever that is not in the flock yet and has realized that and accepted the Holy Bible as the true living Word of God, all these people the Lord will bring them into His flock as well because they have accepted the true living Word of God; the ear of their soul will be open, and they will obey His teaching, and He will bring them into His flock.

17 Because of this, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it again.

Comments 10:17. “Because of this, the Father loves Me …”; This verse is the testimony of the beloved Son of God, that even He came down to do the work for the Father, but to die on the cross also was His own will to do. It was not by force from the Father for Him to be crucified, but He Himself loves humans and wants to save them as well, so He laid down the human life in Him for all humans; God in human form has sacrificed the human form in Him to save all humans of this earth. 

“I may take it again.” The beloved Son of God has been resurrected in human form as well because nothing that has been created will disappear. When the earth takes the punishment, no humans will be left again, but already there is one true human in heaven in the beloved Son of God Himself; His human body will be in heaven forever.

Also, the cross is essential for the resurrection; the beloved Son of God in human form must die on the cross because the humans will be the ones that have killed the human God, and also, humans will see that human God had resurrected and went back to heaven as well. God in human form will not live the human body on earth, but on judgment day, humans will see His human body and the damage of that body that happened under the humans’ hands. The picture of the Lord Jesus will be in front of their eyes; His broken body will appear on the judgment throne, and every eye will see what He had taken for all humans as punishment. This picture of the Lord Jesus’ body is vital to prove the resurrection of His body. If the Lord had merely vanished from the cross, we would not have the Gospel and the resurrection.

18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This commandment I received from My Father.

Comments 10:18. “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” When humans crucified the beloved Son of God, His last breath of life on earth, He was willing to give it away in order to save the humans; the last breath on earth hurt Him more than all the nail piercings on Him. If He did not give away the last breath on the cross at that moment, the humans would further destroy His body. Still, His earthly human body needs to remain to be used on the judgment day so that no soul can argue that God does not know the sufferings of humans when every soul will see His tortured body standing firm judging them.

“but I lay it down of Myself.” People misunderstood the purpose when the Lord allowed humans to crucify the Lord Jesus on the cross. For the Lord Jesus, in the end, it was only one way, dying on the cross or escaping, but when the beloved Son of God was on the cross, He laid down His human life. For the Father to do the work and complete it, the Son of God must give up His human life to the Father, and when He has taken the last breath on earth, it is with His own will to depart from this earth in order to fulfill the work He has received from the Father. When the verse says, "I lay it down," that also has told all humans that He allowed them to do to Him according to their will, but it was not His Own will to die, and He didn’t take His life by Himself, He gave it to the Father but was the humans' will to see Him perish on the cross. Because the Lord Jesus is one hundred percent human as well, when any human has been put to be crucified, they will all die, so the beloved Son of God would not change the way humans would die.

God never dies, but God in human form can die, which is also to prove to all humans that God knows what humans go through; even the death itself, God Himself has tasted it as well. The Lord Jesus spent time alone when God in human form died; He had gone to the death place where the Father can’t go since His glory will kill all the dead, but the beloved Son of God in human form could go to the death place.

“I have authority to lay it down”; To let go of His life in human form, it is in the Son of God's own will to do so; He did not choose to change the event that will happen; if He wants to continue life as a human on earth, the humans will not be able to pierce the nails through His body; even in human form, His power was still there as well with Him. Also, if He freezes the time and frees Himself, it will not be a resurrection to save the souls; the resurrection must happen, and it happened with the will of the beloved Son of God to take the torture on Himself from the hand of the humans He has created.

“I have authority to take it again.” Now the beloved Son of God is talking about the resurrection. The resurrection must happen to show humans that the way to be saved is only through the beloved Son of God. God that has tasted death knows full well the pain of death; the beloved Son of God in human form has tasted all humans' sufferings, from birth to death. He has tasted it all for all humans, the birth as a human, growing up from baby until manhood, had received all suffering as humans have it, and died in the hands of humans. The beloved Son of God has done all, all the feelings that He went through, the Father has gone through them as well; the trinity of God has gone through the pain of death, through the death on the cross of the beloved Son of God in human form, and that is one of the reasons, the Father listens when the beloved Son of God asks forgiveness for any human that sins.

“This commandment I received from My Father.” The beloved Son of God has received the commandment to be born as a human and die for humans as well. The Father Himself has a plan to save humans, not only to save them alone but also the Father has the will to forgive them through the love of the beloved Son of God; the Father will do all things for Him as well. The Father has given the commandment to find the way to save humans, and the beloved Son of God has obeyed the commandment and has come down to be a human and die for humans; the Father has commanded His Son Jesus to save the humans, that is the commandment of the Father.

Q: How to understand the existence of evil in the world and that a Holy God allowed evil to exist? A: When the Father has created all His angels, He also gives them a free choice; they can stay to be faithful to Him, or they can rebel against Him. We as humans have free choice as well. The Lord Jesus has free choice to do His will on earth, but He chose to do the Father’s will always, which is why He is the obedient Son of God. The Bible has said that the beloved Son of God is the obedient Son and that is why He could save the humans.

19 There arose a division further among the Jews on account of these words.

20 Now many of them were saying, He has a demon, and is mad; why do you hear Him?

Comments 10:20. When His own people have heard His words, all readers can notice that not for every one of His people, the work of the beloved Son has worked in their hearts. The human mind always thinks negatively; when the beloved Son has told them the truth about His authority, His own children have seen Him as He has another evil spirit in Him. But those that say things this way will also make others doubt. If you do not want to listen to the Lord Jesus, the doubt will come in and take control of the heart.

21 Others were saying, These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon; a demon is not able to open eyes of a blind.

Comments 10:21. By the miracle works the beloved Son of God had done, even their eyes have seen what happened, but the doubt in them has blinded their eyes. But, still, if they think with reason, their eyes will open, and the doubt will go down; as humans nowadays have the Holy Bible but do not meditate and read properly, but also use their ears to listen to others speak, and this creates doubt in them as well. People in that time when the beloved Son of God was on earth had seen the miracles and doubted, as humans nowadays have the Holy Bible and doubt about the Lord Jesus' miraculous work.

22 Then the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem happened; it was winter, 

23 and Jesus was walking in the temple in the Solomon's porch.

Comments 10:23. Because it is winter, all the people will join together in one place more than usual, and the beloved Son of God will be among them. Therefore, if anyone had questions, they could ask Him. For their eyes to be opened, they only needed to ask Him; He was there among them then, but they chose not to ask Him because their hearts already had grown the doubt in them, and that doubt itself took control of their minds as well.

24 The Jews then surrounded Him and said to Him, Until when our soul do Thou hold in suspense? If Thou are the Christ, tell us freely.

Comments 10:24. The Jews, meaning the leaders of the people, surrounded Him. The beloved Son of God has told them many times already where He is coming from, but they did not listen to His words, and now they are using force (surrounded Him) to make Him speak in their way, but the beloved Son of God has told them many times, many times where He is coming from.

25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness about Me.

Comments 10:25. “the works that I do in My Father’s name …”; If the Lord Jesus called God, His Father, by that also He has told them that He is the Christ; only the beloved Son of God can be the Christ. In all the work the beloved Son has done on earth, He always told as well that it is in the Father’s will; the Bible has said this many times.

This verse also has a clear meaning: always, the beloved Son of God does the work and uses the Father's name. He never says in His name, then why do people still question who He is? The work He has done has become His witness.

26 But you do not believe, because you are not from among My sheep.

Comments 10:26. Those who do not listen and obey the teachings of the Holy Bible, which talks about the beloved Son of God, are not His children. His children will listen and obey all His teaching; as the verse has told, if you don’t believe, you also are not His children.

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

Comments 10:27. As the verse has told, if you are the children of God, you will hear His voice in your heart, and also God knows you as well; all those that follow the teaching of the beloved Son of God, which He has given in the Holy Bible are His true sheep.

28 and I give to them eternal life; and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

Comments 10:28. “I give to them eternal life”; In this place, the beloved Son did not talk about the physical body of this earth; to have eternal life means spiritual life in the Lord, and that life in the Lord never meets the end and never perishes, as long as God is still living; those who live with Him will never perish.

“and they will never perish, …”; If you belong to the beloved Son of God, you will be with Him forever, and nothing and no one can take you away from Him. Only one can snatch you from Him, and that one is your own self if you betray the love of God. You may do foolish things, but that does not mean betraying God's love; to betray God's love is when you are a believer and go out to worship idols. The action of worshiping idols as a believer is a betrayer action since, for all true believers, there is only one God and one destiny for our worship. The rejection from God comes if you only betray Him; His love for all His children is true and forever; nothing can stop that love only if that person has betrayed the Lord.

29 My Father, who has given to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch out from the Father's hand.

Comments 10:29. In this verse, let all the believers notice that the Father Himself is the One that picks you and gives you into the beloved Son’s hand; whoever or whatever that wants to snatch you, their fight will be with the Father; that is why you can be sure, nothing can fight with the Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are One.

Comments 10:30. All readers must keep this in their hearts; the beloved Son of God and the Father are One. Therefore, because God is One, you cannot worship only One person, but you must worship the God of Three in One.

31 Therefore, the Jews took up stones again so that they might stone Him.

Comments 10:31. “so that they might stone Him”; Not just because being One with the Father makes His people want to stone Him, but they want to stone the beloved Son of God because the truth hurts them; they have no respect for the beloved Son of God. The truth hurts them because He is a man and be as God; His people cannot accept God be a man.

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works I have shown you from the Father; on account of which work of them do you stone Me?

Comments 10:32. The verse clearly tells that the beloved Son of God did only good works, which He has done among people from the Father’s will, but His own people cannot accept the works.

33 The Jews answered Him, For good work we do not stone Thee, but for blasphemy; and because Thou, being a Man, make Thyself God.

Comments 10:33. “… because Thou, being a Man, make Thyself God.” It is not only His own people thinking this; other humans also think that God cannot be a man, but they also forget that God created the man, so remember, you are from dirt. And from the love of God, the beloved Son of God has come down to take human form, so God has walked among the creatures He has created.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law that, I said, you are gods?

35 If he called those gods, to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken,

Comments 10:34-35. “I said, you are gods? …”; Both these verses have told all readers as well that humans have been created after God’s likeness, look-alike God but not God Himself; still, they have look-alike God (see Genesis 1:27). When the beloved Son of God becomes human, He did not take any form that is different than His own nature itself. All the living word comes through the beloved Son of God, so the Holy Bible cannot be taken lightly because all has been written through the living word of the beloved Son of God Himself; He is the Word (See John 1:1).

The old Jewish law also considers as gods the persons who do God's will and the ones that speak the words which they claim they got from God; the Jews consider those persons gods as well, but that does not mean God Most High, which the Jews call Jehovah. When the person claims to speak the word from God, the people will consider that person as a god; this god, in their meaning, is a general god (higher level than normal humans), not the God Most High Himself. (See Psalm 82:6).

“If he called them gods” refers to general people who are calling someone god-like; we can see many places people use the term god-like as the term for the person who had the action equal as being a god.

36 you say of Him Thou blaspheme whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world; because I said, I am the Son of God.

Comments 10:36. The beloved Son of God is doing the work on earth in human form, work which the normal human cannot perform, but the beloved Son of God in human form had come from the Father Himself to be born; so, He takes identity as a human, but He did not leave the identity of being the Son of God.

The argument the Lord brings forth is that the Jews considered a person that spoke the word from God as a god in a general context; so, Jesus has much more right to call Himself God since the Father sanctified Him, and He is the Son of God.

37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.

38 However, if I do them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works so that you may know and might come to recognize that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.

Comments 10:38. Now the beloved Son of God has told all humans that He and the Father are One, as the verse has said, “the Father is in Me, and I in the Father”; this part also tells all humans that God is One, in God the Father Himself all Three exist, God the Father, God the beloved Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit; all Three Persons but One in the Father.

Many places in the Holy Bible tell about the miracle works of the beloved Son of God; if the Lord Jesus is only human, those works He cannot perform, but He Himself in human form also, He Himself has the Father in Him, so the work He has performed is the Father also who does that work, but is the beloved Son of God's human body that has been performing the work for the Father.

39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him; but He came out of their hand.

Comments 10:39. His own people want to seize Him, but it is not His time yet; that is why the verse says, “came out of their hand,” the Father Himself has set Him free from the humans’ hands at this time.

40 And He went away again to the other side of the Jordan to the place where John was at first baptizing; and there He stayed.

Comments 10:40. The place where John has been, he already did prepare the work, and the beloved Son of God must also go there to start the work. John has been preparing the area, and the people have already been opened to receive the teaching; that is why the work of the beloved Son will join with John's work in this place to strengthen the minds and the hearts of people related to the teaching of the Lord Jesus.

“where John was at the first baptizing.” South of the Sea of Galilee by the Yarmuk River and Jordan River; the place was far but not very far, but still far. In those times, the traveling of the Lord still took a long time, sometimes even for a short distance; as the beloved Son of God was traveling, He would stop and talk with people as well, which is why He was traveling all the time.

41 And many came to Him; and they were saying, John indeed did no sign; but everything how many John said about this One is true.

Comments 10:41. In this verse, the readers can see as well that John has been there to prepare the place for the beloved Son of God; the work of John was to sow the seed in people’s hearts, so the people talk and think about the beloved Son of God, and the work the beloved Son of God has done; having John in that area, has spread the news more, and people have been waiting to see the beloved Son of God Himself.

When John talked to people about the beloved Son of God, John Himself always lifted the beloved Son of God above him; John did not perform any miracles, but he spread the good news for people to be ready.

42 And many believed in Him there.

Comments 10:42. In the place where John had already started the work, and people's hearts had been waiting for the beloved Son of God Himself, now they have met the beloved Son of God themselves, and their ears have heard Him speak, which has confirmed in their hearts what they knew about Him. John has been talking about the work of the beloved Son of God, which is why people’s hearts were waiting to meet with Him in person.

Life and Faith Application. 1) The Good Shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His life for all humans, so all might be saved through faith in Him. 2) Pray and meditate on the Holy Bible so you can distinguish between the true shepherds and thieves, robbers, strangers, and wolves. 3) The Lord Jesus and the Father are One, and because God is One, you cannot worship only One person, but you must worship the God of Three in One (God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit). 4) If you are children of God, you will hear the Lord Jesus’ voice in your heart, and God the Father also knows you. 5) Wait with a sincere heart to meet the Lord Jesus, and He will come to meet you and teach you.

John 11

Summary. In this chapter, the Father glorifies the beloved Son of God. John 11:1-16. The sickness and the death of Lazarus. The Lord Jesus hears the report about Lazarus’ sickness, but He delays going to their place because the Lord must do His duty according to the Father’s will, including where to be and the time to do work. The beloved Son of God already knows that Lazarus will die soon, but his death will glorify the Lord because this death will be reversed by the will of the Father. John 11:17-27. “I am the resurrection, and the life.” The Lord Jesus, by saying, “I am the resurrection, and the life,” tells not only Martha but all believers that He is alive and never dies, and all in Him will be alive as well. Furthermore, Martha’s testimony about her faith, “I have believed that Thou are the Christ, the Son of God, the One coming into the world,” becomes the truth not just for herself alone but for all true believers of the earth. John 11:28-44. The Lord Jesus goes at the tomb of Lazarus and calls him out. When the Lord Jesus saw the love of the siblings towards their brother, His own Spirit moved with love and mercy, but the Lord already knew what He would do. At the tomb of Lazarus, the Lord Jesus lifted His eyes above, thanked the Father, and told all humans that the Father always hears Him. Then, the Lord Jesus shouts out to the dead to come outside, and with His voice, He wakes up the dead again. John 11:45-56. The Jews plot to kill the Lord Jesus. The miracle of raising Lazarus from death made many Jews believe in the Lord Jesus. However, certain of them did not believe, including the leaders, especially the high priest, the chief priests, and the Pharisees who plotted to kill the Lord Jesus, fearing losing their leadership positions. 

1 Now a certain one was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

Comments 11:1. During the beloved Son of God's traveling, the event in this verse happened, Lazarus got ill, and the sister was in concern. We all can relate to this as well; if someone in your family is ill and you know that the beloved Son of God is close by, all you can think is to reach Him and ask for help; these two sisters have acted the same way as all people do.

Q: From this chapter, we can conclude that Lazarus is the brother of Mary who anointed the feet of Jesus; from the next chapter in John, we can conclude that Jesus went to Bethany, and there Mary anoints Jesus with the oil. Now reading the chapters, you could think that one says that Mary anointed Jesus before Lazarus’ death, and another says that Mary anointed Jesus after Lazarus’ death. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 7:36-39, we indicate that there are two times that Mary anointed the Lord.

A: Comment addition to Luke 7:36. These two anointing events happened in the same city, Bethany, but not in the same day and house. When the Lord stopped in one place He would stay longer. When someone had invited the Lord to stay, He did stay most of the time at least overnight and in this situation, here is the same. So, the Lord stayed first at the house of Simon the leper and He logged there; then He went along and stayed at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Mary followed the Lord in both houses.

Now we can see for clear, Lazarus is still alive, and both of these events took place before Lazarus got ill.

Q: However, from the Gospel of John, chapters 11 and 12, you could understand that Lazarus got ill and died in between these two events, or we could think that in the Gospel of John, the writer just identifies the persons but does not necessarily give the events in chronological order.

A: In the Gospel of John, the events are not in the timely order as they happened, but we can also think that Mary herself followed the beloved Son of God for some time. Mary herself anointed the beloved Son of God two times, and the same jar of perfume was used; Both anointings took place before the death of Lazarus, and in John chapter 12, the Bible only identifies Lazarus; the way John identifies the person, John also gives the details of the person which makes the events not in order together.

Bethany, where Lazarus and Mary and Martha lived, was the city of Bethany east of Jerusalem city (See verse 18).

We can assume that the Lord Jesus was not in the city of Bethany when Lazarus was ill and died, but He was not that far, but somewhere South of the Sea of Galilee (See John 10:40).

2 And it was Mary the one having anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

Comments 11:2. As the verse has told, John wants to tell the details about people as well, what has happened right now; Lazarus is still alive but sick; the death has not occurred yet.

3 The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom Thou love is sick.

Comments 11:3. “… sent to Him”; Both sisters are concerned for the brother and seek help from the beloved Son of God; because they know that the beloved Son of God has a love for their brother, they send the message to Him regarding their brother.

Think about that time; the traveling for women would not be easy, but it would be much easier and faster to send the message by messenger, and now their brother is sick, so they wanted the message to reach the beloved Son of God fast, and that was a normal way to do, to send a message. 

4 Then when Jesus heard it, said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

Comments 11:4. This verse also tells all readers that the beloved Son of God has seen the future already. The event with Lazarus will glorify the beloved Son of God and the Father at the same time. People in that area had seen him die, but the beloved Son of God will raise Him by the will of the Father to magnify the beloved Son of God in the eyes of humans.

5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

Comments 11:5. As the verse has told, the beloved Son of God has a relationship with this family; their bond with the beloved Son of God has assured them that He will come and help them.

6 When therefore He heard that he is sick, then He stayed two days in that place He was.

Comments 11:6. The beloved Son of God heard about the situation, but He still stayed further two more days in that place and did not rush down to meet them; this is because everything must happen at the right time, and the beloved Son of God will not do things before the time the Father has appointed. Therefore, give attention as the verse has told, “then He stayed two days in that place He was”; the way the beloved Son of God was traveling now was not as per usual; He never avoided meeting people, but sometimes He needed the time to be left alone as well because all the time He needs to be in touch with the Father and do the duty according to the Father’s will; this including the place where to be and the time to do work. But people talk and predict the way of His traveling, which has drawn many people to come and wait to meet Him.

7 Then after this He says to the disciples, Let Us go into Judea again.

Comments 11:7. The beloved Son of God has already traveled out of Judea territory, but for the work to be done, the beloved Son of God will travel back to Judea again.

8 The disciples say to Him, Rabbi, the Jews now were seeking to stone Thee, and Thou go there again.

Comments 11:8. The disciples worry about the safety of the beloved Son of God. So, in their idea of how to be safe they are trying to withhold Him from returning to Judea; they are doing this out of love for the beloved Son of God.

9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

Comments 11:9. “Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?” The beloved Son of God wants to warn the disciples first that the daytime is the time that everyone should do the work or, if anyone wants to travel, will do so because the day is short, and when the night comes, the danger also comes with the night.

“If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble …”; The beloved Son of God has shown them the benefit of traveling during the day; anyone who walks can see with the eyes and can avoid the problem on the way.

“… because he sees the light of this world.” The God Most High has already created the sun to give light to all; everyone can use the sunlight to see where they go; and also during the day, everyone can see the creation of God Most High; and everyone can also benefit out of all things He has created; that is the love of the Father who created all things for everyone to benefit out of His work; the Father has worked many things for all creation, but not that many appreciate and thank Him.

When the verse talks about walking by using the light of this world, every eye uses the benefit of the light to see the way they are going, and they can also avoid the problem on the way. 

10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.

Comments 11:10. Anyone who travels during the night tries to get problems for themselves because the Lord has created the light to shine during the day to be able to travel and work; when the light is not in them, their eyes will also be as blind.

Most people try to relate these verses to what the Jews were doing, and indeed one thing all readers should understand, His own people are trying to kill Him because they did not take His teaching as the light to open the eyes of their soul to accept Him as the Savior of their life. So, this is an analogy parable.

11 These spoke He; and after this He says to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him.

Comments 11:11. The beloved Son of God has considered Lazarus as a friend; Lazarus has passed away at this time, but it was not his time yet to die, so the beloved Son of God will go and raise him from the dead.

The beloved Son of God already knows that Lazarus will die soon, but his death will glorify the Lord because this death will be reversed; Lazarus will be raised up from the dead, and everyone will realize that the Lord never abandons His people, even if not everyone will be raised from the dead, in the same way as Lazarus. Still, the Father has chosen Lazarus to magnify His beloved Son of God.

If that were not the plan for the Lord Jesus to raise Lazarus up, then the beloved Son of God would be there, but things must happen. Everything that happens is for a purpose, and the death of Lazarus is for glorifying the beloved Son of God; it is not that the Lord did not care about Lazarus, but the pain of the death he will taste. Still, the dead will not remember that pain when they have been raised back with God's mercy and love.

12 His disciples therefore said, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.

Comments 11:12. From what the beloved Son of God has talked to the disciples, it makes them understand, with their own minds, that Lazarus is now sleeping and recovering from sickness, and this verse has told what they are thinking.

13 Now Jesus had spoken about his death; however, they thought that He spoke about taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus therefore said to them confidently, Lazarus has died.

Comments 11:14. Now the beloved Son of God wants all disciples to realize what is happening in this time; Lazarus has died at this time, but neither of them is there yet to see and confirm.

15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, in order that you may believe; but let Us go to him.

Comments 11:15. The disciples need to see this event happen because the beloved Son of God will not be with them for too long. In their minds, they will always remember this event, and when the beloved Son of God has risen, their understanding about bodily resurrection will be clearer than it was, which will help them to do their work in the future.

16 Therefore, Thomas, called Didymus, said to the fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Comments 11:16. From what happened during this time, this disciple has a concern; the human mind has thought and has worry, and Thomas is a common man, and the worry has come to him as well. Thomas' worry is not about if anyone will come for this event; he worries that if they go to Lazarus’ burial, then he believes that some problems for themselves would happen. Still, his word has confirmed to his own mind that he is ready for whatever will happen, but none of the disciples are ready for this.

17 Jesus then, having come, found him having been in the tomb four days already.

Comments 11:17. The meaning of the verse is clear.

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away;

19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning the brother.

Comments 11:19. The family of Martha and Mary is well known among people in that town because the family is well behaving in the eyes of people, and also, they are a wealthy family.

20 Martha, therefore, as she heard that Jesus is coming, met Him; but Mary was sitting in the house.

Comments 11:20. Martha and Mary being the hosts of the funeral, if one is not there, another needs to stay; but Martha, with her heart filled with gladness, wants to meet with the beloved Son of God to comfort her soul.

21 Martha then said to Jesus, Lord, if Thou have been here, my brother would not have died.

Comments 11:21. Martha, with her heart full of faith and trust in the beloved Son of God, completely believes that if the beloved Son of God were there with them, her brother would still be alive; she has faith in the beloved Son of God more than many nowadays have.

22 And even now I know that, whatsoever Thou might ask of God, God will give Thee.

Comments 11:22. Let all readers notice Martha's words and her faith in the beloved Son of God. She completely trusted in the beloved Son of God that if He asked God for anything, the beloved Son of God would receive it all, even to save her brother's life.

23 Jesus says to her, Your brother will rise again.

Comments 11:23. The beloved Son of God has shown full compassion to this woman. With His word, He told her that her brother would be alive again.

24 Martha says to Him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.

Comments 11:24. From Martha's knowledge about God and her trust in the beloved Son of God, she believes that her brother will return alive at the resurrection; let all readers give attention to her faith that we will meet all our loved ones again at the resurrection. At the resurrection, every soul in the Lord (true believers) will meet, and the joy will return to every soul.

25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life; the one believing in Me, even if he may die, will live;

Comments 11:25. “I am the resurrection.” Here in this place, the beloved Son of God has said to all believers that He is alive and never dies, and all in Him will be alive as well.

“and the life.” When the beloved Son of God has told us that He is the life itself, all living souls in Him will also be alive with Him.

“the one believing in Me, …”; As the verse has told here, everyone can trust that if you completely believe in the beloved Son of God, even if you die from this earth, you are still alive with Him and have eternal life together with the beloved Son of God Himself.  Because He is the Lord of resurrection, all who believe in Him will live with Him.

26 and everyone who is living and believing in Me will never die, to the age. Do you believe this?

Comments 11:26. Here we will concentrate on the question the beloved Son of God has asked her, “Do you believe this?” Ask yourself this question: What do you expect from this belief? If you believe with an expectation of something of this earth, that is not what the Lord is teaching. Remember that the beloved Son of God has asked you about faith in His teachings and in His resurrection on the last day. So, if your belief refers to spending time glorifying the Father and the beloved Son of God, keep that belief within your heart and meditate on all the teachings that the beloved Son of God has given in the Holy Bible.

27 She says to Him, Yes, Lord; I have believed that Thou are the Christ, the Son of God, the One coming into the world.

Comments 11:27. Take this verse as the central core of your thinking about who the Lord Jesus is for yourself, guide your heart, and follow this verse closely. Martha has given a true testimony about her faith regarding who the beloved Son of God is for herself, and this verse has become the truth not just for herself alone but for all true believers of the earth as well.

28 And having said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister privately, saying, The Teacher has arrived, and calls you.

Comments 11:28. The elder sister had met the Lord first, but in the heart of the elder, she thought of her younger mercifully; the sadness of the funeral was still on her, but the gladness of meeting the Lord also overpowered the sorrowful heart. Her mind only thought about how to help her sister, which is why she told her sister the Lord was here, go and meet with Him. Even the Lord did not tell her to do that way, but she has responded to her heart for her sister's love.

29 And she, when she heard, rose up quickly and was coming to Him.

Comments 11:29. The Bible does not tell us the full conversation between Martha and Mary; we do not know what the sisters have talked about to make Mary go to the beloved Son of God with the speed she could. But the truth about the beloved Son of God has also been revealed to Mary's heart by her sister, which is why she goes to Him quickly.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met Him.

31 The Jews then who were with her in the house, and consoling her, having seen Mary that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, having supposed that she is going to the tomb to weep there.

Comments 11:31. Everyone has seen Mary weeping at home, and all have realized how sorrowful Mary is for losing her brother. Now suddenly, she gets up and walks out, so everyone only thinks that she is missing her brother and is going to the tomb to weep there from her sorrowful heart, so everyone wants to support her for her loss.

32 Mary therefore, when she came in what place Jesus was, saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, Lord, if Thou had been here, my brother had not died.

Comments 11:32. Let all readers give attention to the fact that both women have faith. As the verse has told here, Mary has faith in the beloved Son of God, and she believes with all her heart that if the beloved Son of God had been there, He could save her brother’s life; this is the faith that everyone should pay attention to.

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, He was deeply moved in the Spirit, and troubled Himself,

Comments 11:33. We all can notice the love of the beloved Son of God; when He has seen the love of the siblings, it has made His own Spirit move with love and mercy, but the Lord already knew what He would do. But the beloved Son did not have only mercy alone, always He has love and mercy to all that have faith in Him, and this is a family that has faith in the beloved Son of God. He did not give them anything yet, but they already had faith and believed in Him; His presence only helped them (for being there alone had already helped them). As all humans, without love, you cannot have mercy; that is why the beloved Son of God has both love and mercy.

“He was deeply moved in the Spirit, and troubled Himself.” As this verse itself has told to all, the beloved Son of God is truly human; the true feeling of human has been shown here as well; when the mercy has moved into His own Spirit, it created trouble in His feeling because He cannot help her not to have this feeling of loss at this time. Still, He already has planned what He will do for this family.

34 and He said, Where have you laid him? They say to Him, Lord, come and see.

35Jesus wept.

Comments 11:35. The weeping of the beloved Son of God is not from sadness but from the gladness of His heart because, in this death of Lazarus himself, the Father will be glorified on high as well. People did not recognize the mercy of the Father Himself yet (to send His begotten Son on earth) until this man's death; the beloved Son of God will show His mercy to all the people, and this is the people of faith in that time. The Lord wept because of the state of people's hearts. He wept of gladness, not sadness; how many people will think of mercy when they see Him raise Lazarus?

36 The Jews then said, Behold how He loved him!

Comments 11:36. Humans justify human action but also forget to think that most humans act opposite to thinking.

37 However, certain of them said, Was He not able, having opened the eyes of the blind, to have caused so that he also should not have died?

Comments 11:37. Let all readers notice as well that people in that time had already seen and heard about the miracles the beloved Son of God has done on earth, and certain of them thought, if the beloved Son of God did these miracles, He should do another miracle as well; even to raise this one from the dead. But, to cause someone not to die also means having enough power to stop death from happening; so, how can a human stop death? So, this verse tells that the people have thought already that the beloved Son of God is more than a man.

38 Jesus therefore again being deeply moved in Himself comes to the tomb. And it was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

Comments 11:38. All these feelings had happened with the beloved Son of God, and had also shown all humans that He is a hundred percent human; only humans have these feelings when they lose their loved ones. So, these have shown to all that the beloved Son of God loved this human.

39 Jesus says, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead, says to Him, Lord, already he stinks, for he has been dead four days.

Comments 11:39. Martha tried to warn the beloved Son of God that her brother had been dead for some time and the dead would have the odor now; this also, has shown to all how Martha is concerned for the beloved Son of God; her word comes out from the love of her heart towards the beloved Son of God.

40 Jesus says to her, Did I not tell you, that, if you should believe, you will see the glory of God?

Comments 11:40. The beloved Son of God has told them straight because He does not want them to have doubt; they all will be a witness of the glory of God, and human eyes will see the work of the Father.

41 Therefore, they took away the stone. Now Jesus lifted His eyes above, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou have heard Me.

Comments 11:41. “Therefore, they took away the stone.” All readers should also remember that the stone is heavy and large, and it will require many people to do this work. When the beloved Son of God has told them to take the stone away, those workers who took it away will also be witnesses; this is the work of the Father in this place, and that is the main reason that the beloved Son of God wants everyone to see.

“…Thou have heard Me.” The beloved Son of God has told all humans that the Father always hears Him. Therefore, everyone who reads this verse should think as well, anything you have asked from the beloved Son of God, the Father Himself will help you as well; through the beloved Son of God, the Father will hear all your requests, don’t give up; bring everything to the beloved Son of God and then the Father will listen as well.

42 And I knew that Thou hear Me at all times; but on account of the multitude standing around I said, that they may believe that Thou sent Me.

Comments 11:42. In this place, every believer should think that whatever the beloved Son of God does, His purpose, in doing for anyone, is to let them know that the Father is always with Him, and all His work is accomplished according to the Father’s will.

43 And when He had thus spoken, He cried out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come outside.

Comments 11:43. Just by His word, the beloved Son of God has called out the dead to be alive because every word of the beloved Son of God has life. So, if He calls Lazarus to come out, Lazarus will come out and be alive again.

“He cried out in a loud voice.” The Lord Jesus shouts out to the dead to come outside, and with His voice, He wakes up the dead again.

“Lazarus, come outside”; simple words from God's beloved Son and the dead becomes alive. That is why we say that the beloved Son’s word is alive. The body of the dead became a body of the living, and the odor or the rotten disappeared. The beloved Son of God has given good health to that body, and by His will, when He has said, “come outside,” it had included not only the life but the health of the body as well.

We cannot use the term resurrect with Lazarus’ body; the beloved Son of God has given him the body as He is calling back all material to be back in his own body but is not resurrection here. This differs from when the beloved Son of God rose from the dead. The Lord Jesus took up His own body by Himself, but Lazarus needed help from the beloved Son of God to return back to the body.

44 He that was dead came out, being bound hands and feet with linen strips and his face bound around in a headcloth. Jesus says to them, Unbind him, and let him go.

45 Many therefore of the Jews, having come to Mary and having seen what He did, believed in Him.

Comments 11:45. As the verse tells, many of His own people have seen the miracle, but not all believed in the beloved Son of God; sometimes miracles happen, but if the person's heart is dark, the miracle has no effect on that soul.

46 However certain of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus did.

Comments 11:46. The Pharisees, as leaders, have power over the hearts of the people more than the miracle the beloved Son of God has done; because humans look for the things of this earth, if they go to report to the Pharisees, they will get the reward of this earth.

47 Then, the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled a council, and said, What are we to do? For this Man performs many signs.

Comments 11:47. The religious leaders and the leaders of people know very well what the beloved Son of God has done, and now they gather together not to find a way to glorify the beloved Son of God but to try to find a way to stop the work of God.

48 If we let Him alone in this way, all will believe in Him; and the Romans will come and will take away both our place and our nation.

Comments 11:48. If people follow the beloved Son of God, the enemy of the nation (the Romans) will believe that the religious leaders have lost control of the people; now, the religious leaders are concerned about their position and power but not the well-being of the people themselves.

49 However a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, You do not know anything,

50 and do not consider that it is profitable for you that one Man should die for the people, and not the whole nation should perish.

Comments 11:50. Caiaphas has a position as a religious leader. Still, he intends to please the human leaders, not the God Most High, and now he has suggested them, instead of losing power, to kill the beloved Son of God, and all the leaders' positions will be secured by the death of one Man, but that Man they want to kill is the beloved Son of God. Caiaphas has used his power for himself.

51 Now this he said not from himself; but, being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation;

Comments 11:51. “Now this he said not from himself.” At this point, the priest of God Himself is also thinking about how to secure the nation and his position; he considers that his nation is God’s children, and it is better to have one man die for all, which is his reason for saying something out. And in that time, the beloved Son of God had the name respected by the people, so it would be best to use the beloved Son's popularity to die instead of his position and the nation. When we have said his thinking, that is the dark thinking that controls the human mind to think; when humans have problems and do not seek first the Lord’s advice, the heart will listen to that dark feeding, and now Caiaphas as the high priest has used that feeding and justified as being God speaking in his heart for the people. Because for he himself, without the nation, he cannot be in that position.

Because this is his feeling from his heart, when that feeling tells him about saving the nation, he takes it as God’s will for him to save the nation. And God also has provided one Man, the beloved Son of God, for that duty. So, therefore, in his position as the high priest, he considers this feeling the right feeling coming from God and that this is the way to save the nation through God’s guidance.

There is a difference between God’s will and God’s plan; the Father has a plan for the salvation of the human race, but it is not His will to put the Lord Jesus on the cross. No father wants to kill his son, and it is not God the Father to wish to use the death of His own Son in a tortured way to save all creatures that He has created. But also, to bring humans’ souls back to heaven also, it needs the path of the Holy One as well; the death of the beloved Son of God is the proper Holy path for the souls that have faith and trust to have a chance to come back to the Father.

Because it was not the Father’s will to kill His Son, but the dark side used the human mind, and the humans used the dark feeding to kill His beloved Son of God on earth, the dark side became the tool to save humans. What evil thought the dark had in itself (because it wanted to fight God and it believed if it killed the beloved Son of God, they would win the fight with God) did not know that the dark itself would be the one that led itself to death; when the dark has used human mind to kill the beloved Son of God, the dark has condemned itself to death as well. When the dark killed the beloved Son of God on earth, the dark did not know that that would be the path of its own death as well. By killing the beloved Son of God, they thought they would win the battle with God, and the human souls would be lost forever to the dark side, but the Father has the salvation plan through the death of His Son on the cross.

“not from himself; but, being high priest that year, he prophesied.”

a. During this time, Caiaphas took a position as a high priest; when he speaks under the position, he speaks as the Lord speaks. However, in this place, Caiaphas speaks out of his own, but he speaks out while holding the position, so the people have taken it as he prophesies, and the verse itself also tells the reader he speaks not from himself; this refers to the position he has.

b. Because Caiaphas is holding the position, then what he speaks, the people will take as he is prophesying for the Lord. Also, in this place, he has talked about the beloved Son of God; the beloved Son has a duty to fulfill in saving the humans, and the beloved Son will be the path for humans to go to the Father; so, the beloved Son of God has taken Himself as an offering for the Father and was willing to give His life in order to save the humans. 

52 and not for the sake of the nation only, but that He might also gather together into one the children of God, those having been scattered.

Comments 11:52. God the Father Himself will be the One who guides the beloved Son of God to do the work; the way to gather all the children of God back to the Holy Land will need the commitment from the people themselves as well; all their hearts and minds must be one with the Lord; all idols must be not thrown away but destroyed. To gather God’s people back together to be one nation again, the people must surrender to God's will, all of them, not just by mouth but the heart as well. The beloved Son of God has come to do His duty in pointing out to the whole world how to worship God the Father by putting trust in the beloved Son of God first and asking Him for help; then, all the nations will come back as one (as believers).

“… into one the children of God, those having been scattered.” Not only the scattered children in the beginning but also including the gentiles that have wholly surrendered and accepted the authority of the beloved Son of God that has come to save not just the Israel nation alone but all the believers in the world as well.

53 Therefore, from that day, they took counsel that they might kill Him.

Comments 11:53. Now all readers can notice the work of the dark side. When many gather together and listen to the advice of the dark side, the action will lead to doing only things that go against God’s will. But to fulfill the faith of the men in the life that listen to the dark voice (any human who has put trust in the dark side that has faith in the dark side of this life), because all of them in their mind and heart can’t find a place to have faith in the beloved Son of God and all have one goal together, kill the beloved Son of God before He can take power above them, which is completely against the Father’s will. The Father wants to save the humans through His Son, and the beloved Son also wants to save humans even to the point of giving His human life for humans in exchange; the final decision is not the dark side's decision but the will of the beloved Son of God to save humans by giving Himself in exchange.

54 Jesus therefore walked no longer openly among the Jews, but went away from there into the region near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

Comments 11:54. The beloved Son of God started His work with the Father's will to go among the people who haven’t known the work of God in their midst. These people ignored the creation of God in their forefathers' generation, but in their generation, they will not be able to ignore the work of the beloved Son of God, and their hearts will be open, and the chance for them to be saved is coming.

Jesus did not go hiding, but He went to help these people (the Jews) to commit less sin, and at the same time, by doing that, He saved the people as well.

This departure of the Lord to this area happened close to Jesus’ last Passover on earth. He never stopped traveling, which is why the Bible's record sounds confusing, but the Holy Bible has told the life of the beloved Son of God. And while He was human on earth, He never had rest time from work; always every moment when He was traveling, He also found someone who needed Him because that was the purpose of His coming on the earth; traveling and teaching people the way to be saved. However, in every place on earth when the beloved Son of God travels, He can find rest at all times by walking and seeing the work of the Father; the beloved Son of God has found rest in the Father as well, so He does not need people to host Him. But in any place He travels, the Father has someone there that He can help; at the same time, they help Him, and He helps them.  

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near; and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover, so that they might purify themselves.

Comments 11:55. These events build up to the last Passover of the Lord Jesus on earth.

It is a tradition that passes on to the next generation; before Passover, everyone must go out and meditate, thinking about what the Lord has done in their life. The way to purify themselves, they must be clean from all things, including the family as well (when the family stays together as a group, disagreements can happen, so to be clean from conflicts, the best is to be alone, and the heart will not worry about anyone in the family), to live as clean as possible and come back when they feel that they are clean from inside; the time they have spent out there make them think more about God and for them that is purifying.

People also consider Jerusalem a holy place; before they can come to the holy place, the time of traveling is also a time of separation from everyone, for they themselves consider that it is time for cleansing.

56 They were seeking, therefore, for Jesus and were speaking one with another, standing in the temple, What do you think that He will not come to the feast?

Comments 11:56. Those seeking also include the commoners, the ones that want to get the reward have searched for the Lord as well. As the Holy Bible has told in many places, money is the root of all evil; at the feast, people are looking for the beloved Son of God to be able to make a report in accordance to get a reward.

57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given an order, that if anyone should know where He is, he should report, in order that they might seize Him.

Comments 11:57. Now the leaders use their position and give order to people; it is a way of controlling the people. If someone knows something, they must make a report; in this way, people fear each other as well; if someone knows that you know something, it is better you make a report before someone else reports on you. As this verse tells, the leaders had given an order; the term order is stronger than any love and worries among each other; it makes people follow, regardless of whether they want it or not.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Always pray and seek the Lord’s help in every situation; however, the Lord will answer in His own time, but we must never give up. 2) The Lord Jesus tells all believers, “I am the resurrection, and the life,” so we must believe that everyone living and believing in the Lord Jesus will never die. 3) Martha’s belief statement, “I have believed that Thou are the Christ, the Son of God, the One coming into the world,” should be the central core of our thinking about who the Lord Jesus is for us, and this belief should guide our hearts. 4) Glorify the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus for everything happening in our life, and believe that miracles are possible by the word of the Lord Jesus.

John 12

Summary. This chapter has shown to all humans that the beloved Son of God has come not only for His people but for the gentiles as well; all the Father’s will is complete by the action of the cross of the Holy Son. John 12:1, 9-11. Jesus in Bethany before His last Passover. The Lord Jesus came to Bethany before His crucifixion, where Lazarus was. The miracle work that happened to Lazarus convinced many hearts to believe in the beloved Son of God, and because of that, the chief priests wanted to kill Lazarus as well. John 12:2-8. The anointing of the Lord Jesus by Mary. John brings up the anointing event of the Lord Jesus in this chapter to tell us about Mary and her family and to let us know that the Lord has already been anointed before His death on the cross; His body has already been prepared for burial. However, Mary’s anointing occurred earlier, sometime before the Lord Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead. John 12:12-19. The triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem. In this section, we witness the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts. A great multitude of people feel the same way in their hearts and glorify the beloved Son of God coming into Jerusalem and accept the beloved Son of God as their Savior and King; all this can happen only by the work of the Holy Spirit.  John 12:20-22. Some Greeks wish to see the Lord Jesus. This event marks a sign between the Father and the beloved Son of God; the gentiles themselves wished to meet the Lord Jesus, and this event happening also alerted the beloved Son of God that His time was close by to depart from the earth. John 12:23-36. The Son of Man must be lifted up. In this section, the Lord Jesus said that He must be glorified on the cross; through His words and actions, He glorifies the Father in front of the public. Also, the Father Himself responded to the Lord Jesus out from heaven, and has declared the beloved Son of God to the humans, and has shown to all humans who the beloved Son of God truly is and how much the Father has been pleased by the beloved Son of God's actions. John 12:37-43. The unbelief of the people. The prophecy of Isaiah 6:10 about the Lord’s people that He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts is fulfilled because of their unbelief that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore, the Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart so they do not sin while Jesus is among them on earth and might have a chance to repent after His resurrection. John 12:44-50. Jesus came to earth to save the world. The Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are Three but One in the Father. Yet, the beloved Son of God always puts the Father in front of Him, and He listens and obeys the Father’s will. Therefore, if you believe in the beloved Son of God, you believe not only in the word of the beloved Son of God but also that He has been sent by the Father to the earth to save us.

1 Jesus therefore, six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised out from the dead.

Comments 12:1. “Jesus therefore, six days before the Passover came to Bethany.” The “six days before Passover” means that the coming of the Lord Jesus to Bethany most likely happened on a Saturday, as the Passover started the following Friday evening at sundown.

Because the Gospel of Luke is an orderly account, we can use the Gospel of Luke as a timely guideline. Based on Luke 1:3, the Gospel of Luke presents the most orderly account of the Gospel events; however, there are many time gaps within the gospel of Luke as well. For example, analyzing Luke 7:17-36, we can conclude that the anointing of Mary took place after the time when John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus (See Luke 7:19-20) and during the time when Jesus was performing many healings; at that time many people were repenting and coming to Him. Furthermore, based on the order of the events presented in the Gospel of Luke, the anointing of the Lord Jesus by Mary occurred sometime before the Crucifixion Passover and before Lazarus’ death (See John 11:1-4). Also, based on Luke 10:38-42, the Lord Jesus had further interaction with this family. However, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John introduce the anointing of Mary before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus (before the Passover feast) not to present it as an orderly event to the Passover leading to the crucifixion but to show that the Lord Jesus was already anointed for His burial and that He already predicted His death and resurrection sometime before it actually happened.

For the anointing of the Lord Jesus by Mary, see also Luke Comments 7:36-38; specifically, the anointing of the head of Jesus happened before the anointing of the feet of Jesus, which was also according to the tradition. So, when the woman anointed the Lord on His head, she showed the high respect she has towards the Son of God, but when she anointed His feet with her ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, she accepted the sins of her life and begged for mercy.

Then, Matthew 26:6-13 events are not in a timely order as related to Mathew 26:1-5 events, and Mark 14:3-9 events are not in a timely order as related to Mark 14:1-2 events. So, each Gospel has its own purpose, presenting its own independent purpose in the Lord's Passover story.

Furthermore, in John’s Gospel, verses 1 to 12, we are given only the context of Bethany, which applies to the events, but not an orderly timeline of events. The events the Holy Spirit gives to a writer to put down in a Gospel follow a purpose but are not necessarily presented in a timely order because, for God, all things happened already in front of His eyes.

2 Therefore, they made Him a supper in that place; and Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of them reclining with Him.

Comments 12:2. This verse tells all humans that the beloved Son of God has spent time with people that not only loved Him but put trust in Him as well, and this family is one of the examples people should follow.

In this verse, “in that place,” based on Luke 7:36-40, refers to Simon the Pharisee’s house. While the Lord was in Bethany, Mary followed the Lord Jesus from the house of Simon the Leper, where she anointed the Lord’s head, to the house of Simon the Pharisee, where she anointed the Lord’s feet. Martha and Lazarus heard that the Lord was in Bethany, so they went to join Him at the supper at Simon the Pharisee’s house, where Martha helped with the serving, and Lazarus reclined at the table with the Lord.

“Therefore, they made Him a supper in that place.” The time they made a supper for Him in that place is different from the “six days before the Passover” time in verse 1. The context of being in Bethany applies to both verses 1 and 2, but each verse presents a different human time. Specifically, the time of verse 2 happened before the time of verse 1. When verse 2 says, “therefore, they made Him a supper in that place,” the conjunction “therefore” only tells that the supper they made was in Bethany, but it does not mean at the same time as the time of verse 1, and the word “in that place” presents the Bethany as the context of the events. 

The events described in John 12:2-8 happened at the time given in the Gospel of Luke 7:36-38, which is some time before this Passover event and before Lazarus’ death.

Here there is a time gap between verses 1 and 2 and reverse order of events. John brings the story of the anointing of the Lord Jesus here to remind the readers that Jesus was already anointed for His burial. What happened at this moment has shown clearly to all humans that the beloved Son of God has known before time what will happen to His body; that His human body will not remain on earth for anyone to prepare it as humans will receive (preparation); His human body will return to the Father. Jesus’ body could not be prepared using humans’ customs because His body must remain intact (See Matthew Comments 27:58-60).

In this gospel, verse 1 links timely with verse 9, and verses 2 to 8 link timely with Luke 7:36-38. Furthermore, Jesus’ body could not be anointed during the Passover festival; the anointing cannot be done during the Passover time.

During that time to prepare the body, they must cut open the body to remove the internals. However, those things cannot be done for the beloved Son of God’s body because He will have risen in that body. Therefore, the marks on His body have only the nails pierced, and the chest pierced from the soldier; His body has not been opened up for treatment. By tradition, in that time, they stuffed the body with spices, but for the beloved Son of God, His body must be clean, so no one did any tradition (cutting) on His body; they only wrapped it in a linen cloth (See Matthew Comments 27:58-60) with spices on the body not inside the body (see John 19:38-42).

Cutting the body that way needs more extended time, but the Lord’s body was not prepared that way; the spices have been put only outside the body; they did not put spices inside the body of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord's body has not been touched that way; the faithful one has wrapped His body in cloth only and did not have much time to prepare internally.

Mary, the blessed woman, prepared the beloved Son of God's body by anointing Him with costly perfume. That is the thing the beloved Son of God has the pleasure of receiving from a human’s hand, and in this place, Mary is the tool the Father used in anointing the beloved Son of God. Moreover, the anointing she has done is considered a burial preparation for the beloved Son of God (see verse 7).

For the time when the beloved Son of God departs from the earth, the Father has appointed already what it can be done and what not upon the heart of the person that the Father will work with, and the beloved Son of God followed; no preparation has been done.  And here Mary had the loving heart towards the beloved Son of God, and the Father has used her for anointing the beloved Son of God's body before His burial. There was no special reason to make the anointing before or later; it is just upon the heart of people, the right time, and the right person with whom the Father will work.

The Bible is from the Father; what the Father has seen has not happened yet; when the Father gives the words to write down in the Bible, it will link from all directions, sometimes the things in the future will be put first, and when talking about the present will refer to both the past and the future. Still, for humans to understand, everyone must read the Bible, meditate and ask for understanding. The Father will give the Holy Spirit to help and guide the person's heart and receive understanding when that person mediates. So, therefore, the Bible cannot be understood by scholarly study and research but by meditation and the Holy Spirit's guidance.

For God, there is no time; all things happened already in front of His eyes, so the order of the events doesn’t matter; they all happened already. That is why when the Father gives the Bible to the writers, many events are not placed in their timely order as fitting for the human mind but in the order of His will; the Bible has told us that He does what He pleases.

3 Mary therefore having taken a litra (Roman pound) of ointment of pure nard, very costly, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; now the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.

Comments 12:3. This anointing is the second anointing of Mary, and it has a different purpose as well (See Luke Comments 7:36-38). The verse has told all readers that Mary, the one that the Lord loves, had already prepared His body for burial. By anointing His feet and wiping His feet with her hair, she has shown all humans the respect she has towards the beloved Son of God, and that is why her name has been mentioned in a few places in the Bible.

4 However, Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, being about to betray Him, says,

5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?

Comments 12:5. When the reader reads without thinking, they can misunderstand and think that Judas has a heart of mercy towards the poor, but his own word has a different meaning. He himself also thinks that he is poor as well; that is why his heart has turned to be the robber of the moneybag of the Lord, not just because of greed but the selfishness in himself also has made him do it. To give away the money was not the thing Judas would like to do; he did not see the purpose of giving. He was just a selfish person; the money blinded him and brought his true nature out; for being selfish, he only thinks of himself first.

6 However this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the moneybag he used to steal that being put into it.

Comments 12:6. Here the greed has been shown, and the selfishness has led him to steal; as the verse has told all readers, “not because he cared for the poor,” instead this is the root of darkness; and if you don’t care for the needy when you yourself are a needy person as well, it will guide you to do things that lead you to be not only a needy person but a thief as well.

7 Jesus therefore said, Leave her alone, so that for the day of My burial she may keep it.

Comments 12:7. The beloved Son of God has seen Mary's heart as well; the heart that she has, the Lord wants her to continue to have. She gives to the Lord what she can at this time. Still, later on, her heart will be an offering of faith towards the beloved Son of God, which is what the beloved Son of God came on earth to receive; the faith from a true heart will be the path that will be used for burial of Himself, that He did not come on earth without result.

“… she may keep it.” In this place, “she may keep it” refers to the perfume of faith, which will elute the sadness of her heart, that she has anointed the beloved Son of God, from her heart not just only from her ability of this earthly things alone; this action of herself will comfort her in the future times.

8 For the poor, you always have with yourselves; however, Me, you do not always have.

Comments 12:8. “Yourselves” in this verse refers to the disciples. The poor in this place is not about the wealth of this earth since not everybody has all the things they need; you will meet needy people every day. As the verse has told, you will always have the poor with you, but the beloved Son of God is the comforter of the poor; He has come on this earth and had nothing of this earth in His possession, and He will depart from this earth, and all He has left for the earth is His love and mercy for all that have faith and meditate on His teaching. Therefore, the rich will need to come to seek from Him, but the poor will be the ones who receive from Him and have it abundantly before the rich have it. The overall meaning of this verse is that the Lord Jesus is the comforter of the poor, not the riches of this earth and the duty of the disciples is to comfort the people by sharing the Gospel with them.

In this chapter, verses 2 to 8 are in a different time sequence than the following verses. In addition, verse 1: “Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised out from the dead.” is connected with the next verse, verse 9.

9 Therefore a great crowd of the Jews learned that He is there; and they came, not because of Jesus only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom He raised from the dead.

Comments 12:9. Verse 9 is a continuation of verse 1, and it links with verse 1 in a timeline manner and context.

The beloved Son of God has shown His mercy for these people, and Lazarus himself will be the tool used to spread the good news. The people who have heard the story will start to have faith, and also, people will realize the beloved Son of God Himself has come down and that God has not forgotten them yet. Raising Lazarus from the dead will create faith in people's hearts, and those hearts that have been touched will seek to worship God in the future.

10 However the chief priests took counsel that they might also put Lazarus to death;

Comments 12:10. The chief priests, the religious leaders, have seen Lazarus as a threat to their position; in their minds, one way to solve the problem is to kill him. These people, whose hearts have no mercy, are religious leaders, but all they have is only themselves to think of, not the people of God.

11 because on account of him many of the Jews were departing, and were believing in Jesus.

Comments 12:11. The miracle work that happened to this man has convinced many hearts to believe in the beloved Son of God, and that is the main reason for them to want to kill Lazarus; if he dies, the talk will end, and nobody will link the faith to the beloved Son of God because of him.

12 On the next day the great multitude having come to the feast, having heard that Jesus is coming to Jerusalem,

Comments 12:12. For verses 12 to 15, see Matthew Comments 21:1-11, Mark Comments 11:1-10, and Luke Comments 19:28-38. The context of verse 12 relates to the multitude gathering to meet Jesus and glorify Him as He enters Jerusalem, and the timeline connects to Luke 19:28.

“On the next day.” This chapter presents events on three different timelines, and this “on the next day” time is not timely related to the timeline in John 12:1,9-11, or John 12:2-8. However, this time relates to the great multitude timeline, starting in verse 12. People have heard that the beloved Son of God is coming, but they did not talk about where He is right now. Here John himself only talks about people’s reaction to hearing the news that the beloved Son of God is coming. That news has stirred people’s hearts that God is showing His mercy through the beloved Son of God and makes the great multitude want to see the beloved Son of God and His work at the feast.

Q: Why did the Lord not give us the exact day of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem? A: As every believer can notice, even the Holy Bible did not tell the specific day of the entry of the beloved Son of God into Jerusalem, even though humans have set the day. The purpose the Lord did not tell is for the hearts of true believers to feel the touch of the Lord when He has entered their hearts. Therefore, this event of entry to Jerusalem for the Lord, the Lord uses it for all believers as the date He has entered into their hearts; let all believers take that day as the triumphal entry of the beloved Son of God to their heart as that the most important day of their life.

13 took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and were shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is the One coming in the name of the Lord! And the King of Israel!”

Comments 12:13. Now all believers can see the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts. For a great multitude to feel the same way in their hearts and glorify the beloved Son of God coming and accept the beloved Son of God as their Savior and King, it can be only by the work of the Holy Spirit; this verse shows to all readers that the hearts of people are ready to see the true King of life.

14 And Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat upon it; according as it is written,

15 Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, Your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.

Comments 12:15. Verse 15 is a compressed quote given by the Holy Spirit to John from Zachariah 9:9. Always the beloved Son of God will do according to the Father’s will, and as it is written here in this verse, we can notice that the beloved Son of God has followed what the Father has told in the Holy Word. Because the Father Himself does not want anyone to be afraid of the coming of the beloved Son of God, but to feel comfortable and be loved by Him, the beloved Son of God has lowered Himself to be a human. The beloved Son of God lowered Himself to be a human because of the love and mercy He has towards all humans that He has created.

16 These did not perceive His disciples at the first; however, when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these were written of Him, and they had done these to Him.

Comments 12:16. As the verse tells, His disciples did not fully understand all that happened, and then His disciples realized that everything that has happened to the beloved Son of God has already been written, and all things must happen as it is written. And later, His own disciples concluded that everything the beloved Son of God would do if the Father had given to the prophets to be written in the Bible. Therefore, the beloved Son of God will obey and do, not by force but by being willing to receive everything written about Him.

17 The multitude therefore that was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, continued to bear witness.

Comments 12:17. The beloved Son of God has told all people clearly in the event with Lazarus that He is not just the Lord of the living but also the Lord of the dead. Therefore, when the beloved Son of God called out Lazarus from the tomb, also He showed His power and authority over the death realm. Specifically, the death realm cannot hold someone if He wishes that, that someone come back. Because He is the beloved Son of God, when He has spoken, His voice and the Father's voice also came out at the same time. This verse shows that God is one, the beloved Son of God and the Father are One, and the death realm has acknowledged the power of His voice.

18 Because of this, also the multitude went to meet Him, because they heard of Him having done the sign.

Comments 12:18. The talk about the beloved Son’s authority has spread among His people, and everyone that has heard about this miracle has been touched in their heart and wanted to meet the beloved Son of God. So, now the work of the beloved Son of God on earth has more witnesses to spread the word as well; the word travels fast, and people realized that God has visited them now.

19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, You see that you gain nothing; behold, the world has gone after Him.

Comments 12:19. All readers can notice that the Pharisees have jealousy, not because someone has done good, but because someone has come in the name of the Lord and performed miracles among people and led the people's hearts away from following them. If people follow the beloved Son of God, it will threaten their authority as leaders. In their way, the plan of stopping the work of God has to start now; they want to find a way to stop the people from going away from them and following the beloved Son of God and keep their power to control the people furthermore.

20 And there were certain Greeks among those coming up that they might worship at the feast;

21 these then came to Philip, from Bethsaida of Galilee, and were asking him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus.

Comments 12:20-21. The people that have come to worship at the feast also have come to seek the Lord, but certain people came to meet Philip because of their hearts, thinking he can help them to meet the beloved Son of God. This event is also a beginning of the time marking for the beloved Son of God as well; the gentiles themselves wished to meet Him, and this event happening also alerted the beloved Son of God that His time was close by to depart and leave His disciples. This verse also lets the reader know about Philip and where he is coming from; the origin of him, which followed the beloved Son of God, has pointed to people as well where the beloved Son of God has traveled and also let people know that Philip has followed the beloved Son of God for sometimes as well.

22 Philip goes and tells Andrew; Andrew and Philip come, and tell Jesus.

Comments 12:22. There is no specific meaning here; only consider it a way of being between disciples.

23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come, that the Son of Man should be glorified.

Comments 12:23. This sign is only between the Father and the Son. For the beloved Son of God, a certain sign has been given to Him, as the Father Himself has appointed; when something happens, the beloved Son of God will also know what the next step should be. At this point, the beloved Son of God also knows that He will be lifted up; His time to be glorified by all, not only by His nation but also by the gentiles, has come.

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, If the grain of wheat, having fallen into the earth, should not die, it abides alone; however, if it should die, it bears much fruit.

Comments 12:24. Now the beloved Son of God has given a parable to all readers related to Himself and the time that He will depart from this earth. As the verse says, if you want to plant the grain but do not put the grain into the ground and let it die, that grain will never sprout and make brunches; as one grain, if it dies, will make many more grains, the same way, the death of the beloved Son of God on the cross has given birth to uncountable souls for glorifying the Father in heaven. If the beloved Son of God did not die, humans would not talk about Him, and when nobody talks about the beloved Son of God, neither heart will be open to receive the good news. The earth and all things in it will disappear without a second chance; however, when a person's heart has received the Lord Jesus' death on the cross, His death on the cross will give new birth to that person.  

25 Whoever loves his life loses it; and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

Comments 12:25. “Whoever loves his life loses it;” “Loves his life” in this place is not the life that we are breathing and living right now, but the life in the mind and living soul of the person. The way humans can feel to love their soul life (by faith in God) that is the reason for humans to try to seek the way to extend that life for themselves. So, therefore, “Whoever loves his life” refers to the life of the soul, and “loses it” refers to the earthy life.

“whoever hates his life in this world”; Whosoever has seen the comfortable of life right now and wants to hold on to that comfortable life and riches on this earth, that person will perish without hope. Still, whoever ignores the comfort of this life and seeks God by reading the Holy Word, meditating, and worshiping the God of living will have eternal life in heaven. Reading and meditating on the Holy Word, every human finds it a hard job to do on this earth. Still, whosoever finds joy in doing it, that person’s heart will seek to find a way to be closer to love and enjoy service for the Lord on this earth, and the reward at the end is eternal life.

“will keep it.” Keep faith in this life relates to the beloved Son of God; when a person has kept faith also, that person will meditate on the teaching of the Holy Bible, and the Trinity of God will wake up their soul to enjoy that faith with that life of the person on this earth.

26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there will also My servant be; if anyone serves Me, him will the Father honor.

Comments 12:26. When a person serves the beloved Son of God, that person also has become the servant of Him, and if that person keeps the faith, the Father Himself will receive that person as His servant as well; especially when someone has accepted the beloved Son of God, that person has been accepted by the Father as well.

“if anyone serves Me, him will the Father honor.” When the Father has honored someone, that also tells everyone that the Father's honor has been known by the Father Himself, and the Father Himself will be pleased with that person, which is the highest honor a human can receive. The Father's honor, the person will receive when the person comes to eternal life, not the life of this earth anymore.

Q: Why does the Lord use the term “serves” and not believe in this verse? A: The beloved Son has used the term "serve" since when you serve someone, you must also obey and listen to the commandments; you cannot serve your master if you do not obey His orders. So, therefore, all believers must obey the teaching of the Holy Word and meditate on it in their hearts. When the believers meditate on the teaching of the Holy Word, then they will follow the beloved Son of God, and they will never lift themselves to be the same; always, the true believers will put themselves down and be willing with all their hearts to serve the master. But when talking about belief, all Christians must believe all the teaching of the Holy Bible and believe in their hearts that the Holy Bible is the Holy Word coming from God.

27 Now, My soul has been troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour. However, because of this came I to this hour.

Comments 12:27. “Now, My soul has been troubled.” This part of the verse refers to the beloved Son of God in human form; during being human, His soul also had all the same feelings as every soul should have. Therefore, when the beloved Son of God has felt troubled, that refers to the feeling of humans in Him; this also shows that He knew very well His end time as a human is coming soon to Him.

“Father, save Me from this hour.” When the beloved Son of God has trouble in Himself, only to one Person He will go, and that Person is the Father Himself, and this has shown to all humans that in His humanity, He has called out to the Father as every human child should do as well. So, when the beloved Son felt that the time was hard, in His humanity, He showed what we should do; but also, at the same time, He already knew what He would do. 

“However, because of this came I to this hour.” Also, this part of the verse has told all believers that because of the love that the beloved Son has towards all humans, He is willing to face this time in His human life on earth as well.

28 Father, glorify Thy name. There came, then, a voice out from heaven: I both glorified, and I will glorify again.

Comments 12:28. “Father, glorify Thy name.” The beloved Son of God has glorified the Father in front of the public, so everyone has seen the way the beloved Son of God behaves towards the Father. And when the Father has replied back to the beloved Son of God, it has also shown to all humans who the beloved Son of God truly is and how much the Father has been pleased by the beloved Son of God's actions. This verse alone has told humans about the authority and power that the beloved Son of God has on this earth.

“I both glorified, and I will glorify again.” The first glorifying by the Father was when the beloved Son of God accepted the duty to be born as a human, and the second glorifying was when the beloved Son of God was crucified on the cross; the beloved Son of God also has glorified the Father in two kinds of actions, first by coming down and taking human form, second, by His death on the cross. God, Himself, has tested death, and no human can argue at the judgment time; God knows all, the pain of being human and the pain of death.

29 The multitude therefore, having stood and heard, was saying that there has been thunder; others were saying, An angel has spoken to Him.

Comments 12:29. This verse shows that by the voice of the Father alone, humans can see and feel the power of His voice, but the humans' hearts still remain darkened and ignorant. If the Father's voice is so powerful, how powerful will it be when His finger points to the earth at the end of time? Let all believers think about this.

Q: Did Jesus talk here to the disciples only or the multitude around as well? A: Jesus talked to the disciples (see verse 23), but the multitude also heard Him. The humans did not think about the Father at this time and about the power of His voice; the angel will not talk out unless he has permission from the Father; humans have no comparisons for themselves, but the verse tells what humans thought at that moment in time. However, verse 28 tells us clearly that the voice of the Father has spoken to the beloved Son of God.

30 Jesus answered and said, This voice has not come on account of Me, but on account of you.

Comments 12:30. The beloved Son of God has told all readers and hearers that the Father's voice was not for Him alone but for all who heard the voice. In their ears, the confirmation from the Father (I both glorified, and I will glorify again) had been given to all that were there; humans have heard the Father's voice.

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Comments 12:31. Because the Father has spoken out from heaven, at the same time, the Father has judged all humans as well because the Father Himself has declared the beloved Son of God to the humans. Therefore, the ones that did not believe in the beloved Son of God did not believe in the Father Himself as well, and all the rulers of the world will be punished because they have led the people astray; the Lord has given them duty as a ruler for people, but they did not do their job, their punishment will be greater than the commoners who did not have a chance to learn about the work of  God for humans.

Q: How does God give rulers duty? A: Some people have a duty towards others as well; the Lord has given them a gift, the gift of talking with people, but instead of teaching people, they have proclaimed themselves as leaders by using the gift the Lord has given them. In their hearts, they all know the real truth that they don't know anything by themselves and have received knowledge from God, but they believe their understanding is the correct one and turn to believe in their own intelligence, not God’s gift. So likewise, all humans receive intelligence from the Lord, but they have strayed away and proclaimed themselves above all. Instead of giving thanks to the Lord, they give thanks to themselves that they are the right ones to rule, not God to rule over the world.

“now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” The ruler of this world is the servant of the dark side; all humans who listen to the dark and ignore the voice of the beloved Son of God fall in this category. The Father has given this world into the hand of the beloved Son of God, and all those that reject Him have closed their hearts and shut out the voice of His Spirit; those have given themselves to the dark to rule; when the judgment time will come all those have no chance to argue, they will be cast out into the hades.

32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself.

Comments 12:32. The beloved Son of God has been crucified, and in His death, He has taken all those who believed in Him as He departed to heaven; all those who have faith in Him will be taken to be with Him in Paradise for waiting for the judgment time. So, likewise, those left on earth who come to the beloved Son of God after His crucifixion, He will take them as well; as the verse has told all readers, the beloved Son of God has drawn all that belong to Him to Himself.

33 Now this He was saying, signifying by what manner of death He was about to die.

Comments 12:32-33. These verses tell the purpose of the death in the human form of the beloved Son of God; as a human, He has faced death, but this death of His has brought life to all that will die believing in His name.

34 The multitude therefore answered Him, We have heard from the law that the Christ abides forever; and how do Thou say, That the Son of Man it behooves to be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?

Comments 12:34. “The multitude therefore answered Him”; What the Lord said, the multitude also has heard and knew very well what the beloved Son of God was telling them, but within themselves, they have ignored His word; that is why when they talked with Him, the question they have is related to His humanity but not to His true identity as God.

“We have heard from the law …”; As the verse has told, the Lord has already given them the details in the Law that the beloved Son of God will live for eternity. The Christ of God will never die, and their own Law has also told this.

“and how do Thou say, …”; Humans did not understand the term “lifted up.” Therefore, when they crucified the beloved Son of God, the death that He faced showed to all humans that the Father had lifted Him up on high in that death.

“Who is this Son of Man?” Everyone has the same question, why the beloved Son of God calls Himself Son of Man? First, everyone must remember that the beloved Son of God is one hundred percent human, so to be human, He is a Man. When the Son of Man has called Himself this way, He refers to His own human nature that He has taken with Him back to heaven; the beloved Son of God has returned back to the Father in the human body, which makes Him become the Son of Man.

35 Jesus then said to them, Still a little time is the light among you. Walk in the manner of the light you have, so that darkness might not overtake you; but the one walking in the darkness does not know where he is going.

Comments 12:35. “Jesus then said to them …”; When the beloved Son of God was on earth as a human, He had told all humans, then and now, that His teaching is the light for all people. Therefore, all humans should meditate and pray on His teachings. While He was among them, He Himself was the light, but soon He will leave them and also give all the true light, the Holy Bible. Now the true light is in the Holy Bible because the beloved Son of God has returned back to heaven. Still, He never took His light from humans, which is why His teaching will remain and be the true light for everyone that comes and meditates on His teaching; follow what He has taught, and that is what the true believer in Him should do.

“Walk in the manner of the light you have …”; As believers, when you continue your life, if you abide in the beloved Son of God’s teachings, you still have light with you, and you can continue to walk in your daily life with faith and trust in the true light of the beloved Son of God.

“but the one walking in the darkness …”; Whoever does not follow the teachings that the beloved Son of God has given in the Holy Bible, that person walks in the dark and does not know that his soul has walked into the pit of hell, and the person does not even know, that they are walking to destruction.

36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light. These spoke Jesus, and having gone away He was hidden from them.

Comments 12:36. “While you have the light …”; As the verse has told, walk when you have the light. The light in this place is faith in the Trinity of God; if you are a true believer and accept the Trinity of God in your soul, you become a child of the light.

“having gone away He was hidden from them.” Jesus still continues His journey because He never stops long in one place; people have taken that as He is running away from problems, but the beloved Son of God still has much work to do. He went away from them, but did not go for hiding, but went out and worked for the light by telling them about the mercy of the Father; He Himself also taught them and told them what they should do to be saved; so, meditate and study and pray for mercy to understand, and the living word also will become the light for your soul.

37 Yet, so many signs of Him having been done before them, they did not believe in Him;

Comments 12:37. The beloved Son of God has done many miracle signs for the people to see, yet their hearts were still hardened; they wanted to see more signs, but they still did not believe who He is.

38 so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled that said:

Lord, who has believed our report?

And the arm of the Lord, to whom was it revealed?

Comments 12:38. This verse did not tell that if the people did not do certain things, the beloved Son would not come, and also, it is not a condition for the beloved Son of God to perform miracles, but all things must happen according to the Father’s will which has been revealed through the prophet. This quote is from Isaiah 53:1.

“Lord, who has believed our report?” When the verse says our report, it refers to the word that has been spoken through the prophet related to the beloved Son of God, mainly that He will come down to the earth to be the Savior of the world. The Father Himself has already told people, and many prophets have declared the will of the Father to save the world through His beloved Son's mercy; even the people’s hearts want to be saved but do not want to believe that the only one way to be saved is through the beloved Son of God, and they try to seek other ways to be saved; regardless of how many prophets will come and tell, their disobedient hearts never believed in the Father's plan.

“And the arm of the Lord, to whom was it revealed?” The Father has told the people through His prophets that the mercy of the Father has been revealed. “And to whom” refers to the whole world; they have seen the work, and the word had been pronounced to all. 

39 On account of this, they were not able to believe, for that Isaiah said again,

40 ​​He has blinded their eyes,

and has hardened their heart,

In order that they should not see with the eyes;

and perceive with the heart, and turn,

and I will heal them.

Comments 12:40. “He has blinded their eyes.” “He” in this place refers to the Father Himself; now, here is the place to talk about the election. For some of them, the Father has blocked their eyes to see. Even if they are looking through His creation, they will not acknowledge the Lord's handwork. Everything the Lord created works together very well because the Father Himself created them and put them in order; something will rely on something else, and that is the way the Father wants all things to be; all things work together in harmony, one will have more than another, but both still need each other as well.

“and hardened their heart.” Therefore, when the Father has blinded their eyes, He also has hardened their heart; their heart will not respond to what they hear because their eyes have been blinded, making their heart hardened and not rejoicing in the works of the Lord.

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart so they do not sin while Jesus is among them on earth and might have a chance to repent after His resurrection. If the Father did not do this to them, their soul will never have a chance at the resurrection.

“In order that they should not see with the eyes.” Even when they have seen with their own eyes, in their eyes is empty, almost to be as seeing nothing.

“and perceive with the heart, and turn.” So then, if they have used the spiritual eyes that the Lord gives, they will acknowledge Him in their heart and come back to glorify Him before it is too late. Meaning that the Lord wants them to believe without seeing (any miracles), but believing from their heart and turn to Him and repent.

“and I will heal them.” So then, when they have come with humble hearts and glorify the Trinity of God, the Father will heal them completely, and their eyes will see what the Father has done, and their heart will acknowledge what they have seen, and their ears will hear the praising of the others that praise the God Almighty, and their own heart will stop and glorify God Almighty, and the Lord will have mercy on them.

Q: Why are we saying, “for some of them, the Father has blocked their eyes to see”? A: Because the Father has already seen what they will do, and by blocking their eyes, they will still have a chance for their soul to be saved. In that way, they blaspheme without seeing, and the guilt on them will be lesser; it is opposite to those that the Father did not block their eyes and commit sin; these people will not be forgiven on the judgment day.  

John 12:40 verse is a quotation from Isaiah 6:10 (ESV) which says:

“Make the heart of this people dull,

and their ears heavy,

and blind their eyes;

lest they see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

Q: How do we understand the words differences between Isaiah 6:10 and John 12:40? A: Different translations, but the meaning is the same; some have translated out of their own understanding, but still, they line up with the correct order. For example, John has received what the Lord wanted him to put down, which is the correct way for this Gospel. Still, if people try to compare somewhere and bring it here, it will not match, but John has the right to put it down because the Lord has seen the work that will be accomplished by giving a different way of arrangement; however, the meaning has not changed at all.

41 These things said Isaiah, because he saw His glory, and spoke concerning Him.

Comments 12:41. Isaiah has seen the glory of the beloved Son of God, and that glory has impacted his heart, and the Father has used him to prophesy the word and write it down.

42 Nevertheless, even also out of the rulers, many believed in Him; but on account of the Pharisees, they were not confessing in order that they might not be put out of the synagogue:

Comments 12:42. From this verse, let all readers notice the ones who believed in the beloved Son of God but were afraid of people, which made their hearts not open to receive the word. This world has blocked many eyes; the ones who want to be accepted by people have forgotten that it is much better to be accepted by God and not by the people. Still, if you want to be someone of this world and ignore the voice of God in your heart, you will be like these people, be the rulers but afraid to be kicked from the worship place; think first, the worship place of this earth may accept you, but the place of worship in heaven has denied you because you have listened to humans before listening to God.

43 for they took pleasure in the opinion of people more than the opinion of God.

Comments 12:43. For the ones that take pleasure in the opinion of people, the opinion of God becomes nothing for them; because by glory from people, they will be lifted up on this earth, and their eyes could see that glory now, but the glory of God is not of this earth, but the earth that will come later. And humans are not willing to wait to receive glory later, so they choose to receive now the glory from people instead of waiting for God.

44 And Jesus cried out and said, Whoever believes in Me, believes not in Me, but in the One having sent Me.

Comments 12:44. In this verse, all believers can notice that the beloved Son of God always puts the Father in front of Him. The beloved Son of God has put Himself below the Father, the Father has sent Him, and He listens and obeys the Father’s will. Therefore, if you believe in the beloved Son of God, it has shown that you believe not just only the word of the beloved Son of God, but you believe that He has been sent by the Father.

45 And whoever beholds Me, beholds the One having sent Me.

Comments 12:45. For us today, “beholds” (gaze upon) does not refer to physical seeing but to the Holy Word, which talks about the beloved Son of God that has come to the earth.

46 I have come, a light into the world, so that whoever is believing in Me, should not remain in the darkness.

Comments 12:46. In this verse, all Christians can notice the mercy of the Father; the Father has sent the beloved Son of God, the true light for the soul, to all who believe in Him and abide in His teaching. When you abide by His teaching, the dark cannot cover your soul. All His teaching in the Holy Bible must be followed. The one who reads but does not meditate will not get the protection; the living word needs meditation to grow and send the long root into the soul of the person.

47 And if anyone listens My sayings, and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come that I might judge the world, but that I might save the world.

Comments 12:47. “…, I do not judge him;” As the verse has told to all readers, listening but not believing, the beloved Son of God has not judged that person, but the Spirit of the beloved Son of God, which is in the Holy Word, knows if the person believes the Word or not, and that makes the beloved Son of God know that person as well. This knowledge will be used on the last day for judgment, but this knowledge of the Spirit of the beloved Son of God will be revealed on the judgment day with the Father, and that person will receive the judgment. So, the Lord is telling us that He did not come at that time in the world to judge the world at that time, but to give His word and the light of salvation to all people. The judgment of all people will take place at the judgment day. 

“…but that I might save the world.” The purpose of the beloved Son of God to come on earth is to save everyone, not to judge anyone while on earth. The One who will judge is the Father Himself, but through the beloved Son of God; all that believe and meditate on the Holy Word, the beloved Son of God will save them. You follow something but do not know the meaning; however, when you meditate, you know what the Holy Word has told you, and that will lead you to follow, but before following, you must meditate.

48 The one rejecting Me, and receiving not My sayings, has One judging him. The word which I spoke, that one will judge him in the last day.

Comments 12:48. “… has One judging him.” The beloved Son of God has said to all believers that the One judge is the Father; He alone can judge all things.

“The word which I spoke, …”; Remember also that the Bible has told that the Father has given Him the word; whatever the beloved Son of God has spoken is not His own word alone, but the Father’s word as well, and that is why the Lord has told all, that the word He spoke will judge.

49 For I spoke not from Myself; but the Father having sent Me, Himself gave Me commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

Comments 12:49. “For I spoke not from Myself …”; Here is the place of confirmation that the word the Lord Jesus spoke is from the Father, and that is why the word will judge, and the word has the power to judge every soul.

“Himself gave Me commandment.” “Himself” here is the Father; the Lord Jesus spoke what the Father commanded; the word He has spoken is from the Father. The Trinity is difficult to understand. The Trinity is not about equality but about unity, being Three as One in the Father. The Trinity is One, but the Father is above all; three ways of going, but the starting point always is the Father, and from the Father Himself, it becomes three ways, which is why it becomes Trinity but One. The Son and the Holy Spirit exist from the beginning and within the Father, different persons but still as one unit, the same God of Three but three personalities. 

50 And I know that His commandment is life eternal; what therefore I speak, according as the Father has said to Me, so I speak.

Comments 12:50a. “… is life eternal”; The beloved Son of God has told all believers that the word of the Father is life eternal; the word is life and gives life in the same time as well.

“What therefore I speak …”; All the Father's commandment to the beloved Son of God, that is the word the beloved Son of God has spoken out. During the beloved Son of God being in human form on earth, all His words are from the Father, and the living word has been given to all humans. By the mercy of the Father, the living word became human. The Lord Jesus is the Word, and He speaks the Word; He is all because the Father has begotten Him; all in the beloved Son of God is from the Father; there is no another identity between the God of Three (the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit); all are One and One in all.

Life and Faith Application. 1) The Lord wants us to give Him our heart; our heart will be an offering of faith towards the beloved Son of God, which is what the beloved Son of God came on earth to receive. 2) Whoever you are, you can find salvation in the beloved Son of God; it doesn’t matter your race or condition; you only need to give your heart to the Lord truly. 3) There is a judgment day coming on all the souls of humans; the word the Lord Jesus spoke is from the Father, which is why the word will judge, and the word has the power to judge every soul. 4) All true believers must believe in the Trinity of God; the Trinity is One, but the Father is above all; three ways of going, but the starting point always is the Father, and from the Father Himself, it becomes three ways, which is why it becomes Trinity but One.

John 13

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord shows that He knows how His life on earth will end. But also, the Lord had come to tell all humans to know what it means to love; He has shown the true love to all humans. John 13:1-20. The Lord Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. The Lord Jesus showed His love for His disciples until the end. He washed and wiped the feet of the disciples and gave us all an example of love and humbleness to follow. He Himself was willing to show them what the true Teacher and Lord should be, by putting Himself as a servant.  John 13:21-30. The Lord Jesus has told to all about the betrayer. The beloved Son of God has answered the disciples' question about the betrayer straight through His action. He wanted every disciple to notice what was being asked and what was happening. However, they did not understand well what the betrayer would do. John 13:31-35. The Lord Jesus gives a new commandment to all believers. The beloved Son of God knows full well what will happen to Him; He Himself will be glorified in His death because His death will bring many souls to worship Him and the Father. So, at this time, the Lord Jesus gives a new commandment to all, specifically that we should love one another. Through His death on the cross, every human has received His love, so every human can use His love, copy it deep into their soul, and practice this love. If we believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we must obey His commandments and love one another. John 13:36-38. Jesus foretells the denial of Peter. The disciples did not understand at this time what the Lord Jesus said about His departure. Peter, in his mind, was thinking that the Lord would go someplace on earth, and he was ready to follow the Lord wherever the Lord would go. But the Lord knows the future about all, and He foretells that Peter will deny Him three times. 

1 And before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, in the world having loved His own, He loved them to the end.

Comments 13:1. “… Jesus knowing”; The time of the feast is coming close by, and the beloved Son of God's departure time also; the beloved Son of God, knows very well that His time approaches because of the feast. This feast will point out the time for Him; the Father has already told Him that the feast must pass first before His departure time is coming.

“… He would depart out of this world to the Father”; The reunion time between the Father and the beloved Son is approaching; the beloved Son of God has known that He will have to depart from His disciples soon and return to the Father.

“in the world having loved His own”; The beloved Son of God has developed the human feeling of love and attachment towards His disciples, and departing from them has also created sadness in His heart.

“He loved them to the end.” He has His love for all who belong to Him until eternity, not only until the end of His human life on earth.

2 And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas of Simon Iscariot, that he should betray Him,

Comments 13:2. Let all believers also understand that the devil cannot touch you if your heart belongs to the beloved Son of God. But the heart of Judas was never with the beloved Son of God; he always looked for his own alone only; he has heard the teaching from the beloved Son of God Himself, but that teaching never had an impact in his heart at all.

3 knowing that the Father has given Him all things into the hands, and that He came forth from God, and departs to God,

Comments 13:3. “knowing that the Father has given Him …”; The beloved Son of God knows full well that the Father has given everything to Him, and He has all authority over everything; He can make decisions as He pleases; this authority has been given to Him from the Father. This is because the beloved Son of God is an obedient Son and the Father loves Him more than all; that is why the verse has told, “the Father has given Him all things into the hands.”

“… and that He came forth from God”; The beloved Son of God in human form also knows full well where He is coming from and the duty that He has received, and that after He finishes the work, He will return to the Father.

4 rises from the supper, and lays aside the tunic; and having taken a towel, girded Himself.

Comments 13:4. “rises from the supper.” This supper is the last Passover supper before Jesus’ crucifixion (See Matthew 26:14-39). In human form, the beloved Son of God also humbles Himself to all; all readers can see here how the beloved Son of God is among His disciples; the humbleness and mercy have also been shown.

“… girded Himself.” When the beloved Son of God has girded Himself, He has accepted His duty to take care of them all; by girding Himself, He has shown to all, with all His power, that He will help them, and they can always come to Him when they need it; He is always available and waiting to help them.

5 Afterwards He pours water into the basin, and began to wash and to wipe the feet of the disciples, with the towel with which He was girded.

Comments 13:5. As the verse has told to all believers, the beloved Son of God has accepted His duty as a servant, His duty to everyone by cleaning them to be pure; He provides everything for cleansing, and after He washed them, He wiped them as a father would do for their children. The love of the beloved Son of God for all humans is greater than the earthly father can do for their own children because, being the Savior, also He is a servant to take care of them as well. Therefore, all that come to Him will receive the same love and treatment as His disciples received; but only if you come with true heart, meditate on His teaching, and follow His example towards one another.

Q: Should Christians practice this foot-washing example given by the Lord? A: All believers should practice this as well because humbling yourselves to be a servant would show that you follow the beloved Son of God's teaching. The humbleness to humans has been shown here when the beloved Son of God in human form has shown to all that He has accepted to be a hundred percent real human and accepted the role of a servant to serve all humans and give everyone a chance to be saved. The church of God in the past has practiced the foot-washing tradition. Still, because of pride, humans have canceled this tradition by practicing what they believe is the right thing to do and putting what the beloved Son of God has shown them as a sign of humility only, not as the action that needs to be done; so they say that if you are humble in your heart, you have followed already what the beloved Son of God has taught you which is not the correct way of interpreting this example of humbleness the Lord gave; the beloved Son of God has cleaned His disciples' feet and wiped them and in doing that He has shown humbleness in Him toward all humans. The best time to practice foot-washing is when you take communion.

6 Then He comes to Simon Peter who says to Him, Lord, do Thou wash my feet?

Comments 13:6. The question that Peter has is normal for all humans; as a disciple, when the Master wants to wash his feet, it impacts his heart; like what is happening to his own Master? However, the action of the beloved Son of God has told all disciples that a true leader must also be willing to do all things for the followers, and all His disciples have seen here an example of a true Master. Peter himself has received this, the humbleness of his Master versus the heart of a common man.

7 Jesus answered and said to him, That I do, you do not perceive just now; however, you will come to know after these.

Comments 13:7. The beloved Son of God also has given the answer to all of His disciples here; whatever the beloved Son of God has taught them, they may not understand now, but when the beloved Son of God has been lifted up on high, they all will understand the true meaning of His humbleness action.

8 Peter says to Him, Thou might not wash my feet to the age. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.

Comments 13:8. Peter has talked here out of his heart. He knows that he himself is not worthy of His master to serve him as a servant. But the beloved Son of God has told all that if you do not accept His humbleness and mercy, you also have no part in His work. Therefore, by giving them the example, the beloved Son of God has taught them all that the true master must not think of themselves first but of those that are under their authority; and His disciples must learn this because they will go and work among people, and they will be an example for the people coming after them as well.

Q: How did the disciples know about the virgin birth of the beloved Son of God? A: All the disciples had one thing in common, the Holy Spirit revealed to them who is the true Father of the beloved Son of God, and also the Holy Spirit had revealed to them that Mary was a virgin when she had the beloved Son of God in her womb; no man had union with her, man cannot use the mother of the beloved Son of God, and she must remain virgin until she gave birth.

9 Simon Peter says to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also the hands and the head.

Comments 13:9. Peter is a common man, and the Lord has called him to be a disciple; for himself, the Lord has washed his feet, but still, it made him feel he is not clean enough. Therefore, in his heart, he wants to be truly clean and worthy to be a disciple, and that is why he has asked for the beloved Son of God to wash his hands and head as well since he wants to make sure he is clean enough.

10 Jesus says to him, The one that is bathed has not need to wash except the feet, but is clean wholly; and you are clean, but not all.

Comments 13:10. The beloved Son of God has told the disciples and the believers that when you have cleaned your action, repented, and acknowledged your sins, you should consider yourself being washed and wholly clean. But when the verse has told “except the feet,” this relates to the way you use your life on this earth; sometimes the mind is tainted with feelings and makes you become unclean; in that time, you should clean your feet; this cleaning of the feet refers to all things, cleaning your action and washing your feet with water as well; cleaning your action means confessing your sins and following all the teaching of the beloved Son of God with all your heart without wavering. By washing the feet, we express our humbleness of the heart towards the Lord, and we acknowledge our wrong.

“… and you are clean, but not all.” In this place, the beloved Son of God told the disciples that they were all clean from within, except Judas, who did not recognize his sins yet; and that person needed to confess and seek help from the Lord.

11 For He knew the one betraying Him; because of this, He said that You are not all clean.

Comments 13:11. The verse has told all readers clearly that the beloved Son of God knows the future and what will happen. And, among His own disciples, not all are the good ones; as He has said now, for Judas the betrayer as well to hear and think about that he still has a chance to be saved if only he would clean his heart and come to talk with the Lord to get advice.

12 Therefore, when He had washed their feet, and taken His tunic, and having reclined again, He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you?

Comments 13:12. The verse tells clearly what the Lord has done for them. Now they also need to think as well about who is their Lord and master who had lowered Himself to wash their feet. Most importantly, He has taught them about humbleness; they have been with Him and seen the example of humbleness; He wants them to think of this time with them.

13 You call Me, the Teacher, and the Lord; and you say well, for I am.

Comments 13:13. It was not the beloved Son of God that lifted Himself up, but all have put Him as the Lord and the Teacher; He Himself was willing to show them what the true Teacher and Lord should be as well, by putting Himself to be as an example for them to see and follow.

14 If I therefore, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash the feet of one another.

Comments 13:14. “Ought” indicates duty; therefore, as the verse has told to all believers clearly, if the beloved Son of God has humbled Himself, you, as a follower of the beloved Son of God, must do the same way. Do not lift yourself above your own brothers in faith; between the believers, treat each other as you would like them to treat you; all of you have the same position, children of God; no one is above any; you are all equal in the eyes of the Lord.

15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

Comments 13:15. This is a straight requirement from the beloved Son of God; what He has done, He also requires us to do without exception.

People may change, but God never changes. If among people you can do as the beloved Son of God has done, then show yourself humble, not just humble by word but humble also at heart; do not think enviously or jealously toward any; jealousy will hunt you down and give you no peace, and even in your own sleep you will not find rest.

16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his lord; nor a messenger greater than the one having sent him.

Comments 13:16. In this verse, the beloved Son of God is talking about Himself. He considers Himself as the Father’s servant; even when He is in human form, His heart and soul still worship the Father, and also, He has considered the Father as His God.

“… nor a messenger greater than the one having sent him.” When the beloved Son of God has done the work on earth, He always asks first what the Father’s will for Him is to do. All Christians can notice this from the Bible; the beloved Son of God always follows the Father’s will, and He never considers Himself equal to the Father; that is why the Father Himself has glorified the beloved Son of God by Himself as well. The Father has glorified the Son, as the Son has glorified the Father, and the Holy Bible has told us about this. He has taken the duty as the Savior of the world and taken human form to be His body, which makes Him lower than the Father. The verse has also told the same way, the one that has been sent is the beloved Son of God, but the one that sent Him is the Father Himself. Pay attention that He is lower than the Father in His human form. As the beloved Son of God in human form, He has accepted the position of being lower than the Father, and this verse confirms it here.

17 If you know these, blessed are you if you do them.

Comments 13:17. This verse also relates to the few verses before; if you know your duty and position, do your work without expecting the reward before the work is done. And also, do the work with joy and have faith that you are worthy of the work you have received, and all will be well with you, and the people around you will receive the benefit of it too.

18 I do not speak concerning all of you; I know whom I have chosen; however, that the Scripture may be fulfilled: The one eating my bread lifted up his heel against Me.

Comments 13:18. “…I know whom I have chosen”; This place also has told all believers that the Lord knows everybody, and whomever He has chosen to give the duty, He also has seen whether the person will succeed or not.

“however, that the Scripture may be fulfilled …”; As the Scripture has written about the betrayer, he will be part of the beloved Son's blessing on earth, and even if he had received the benefit already, the greed in that person was never enough until he had to go against the One that has given him all things. Therefore, as the verse has told, the Scripture may be fulfilled; regardless of where each individual will be, if that heart never seeks peace from the Lord, that person will never stop until their heart's greed has been fulfilled. The beloved Son of God knew who would betray Him, but from the beginning, He still chose him because, during working, this person also will impact someone else's heart to benefit and gain faith; it was not all wasted, even the greedy heart still could make good for others to see as well.

“… lifted up his heel against Me.” This part of the verse tells all believers that the person’s own heart had made him go against the beloved Son of God; no one forced him to go against the beloved Son of God, but his own heart had led him to do it, and no one can blame that because the beloved Son of God has chosen him to be the one that will betray Him. But on the opposite way, if this person can betray the beloved Son of God, he could do worse things to others. Still, being among the disciples of the beloved Son of God, the work that he has seen, what the beloved Son of God has done to others, would soften his heart if he stopped and thought before the action of evil has been done.

19 From this time I tell you, before it comes to pass, so that, when it happens, you might believe that I am.

Comments 13:19. Let all readers pay attention to this verse carefully; the beloved Son of God has warned every believer that time never stops for anyone. Even for the beloved Son of God when He was in human form on earth, He has gone through all suffering as humans should; when He accomplished the work, everyone who develops faith in His teaching will have a firm confirmation regarding who truly the beloved Son of God is.

20 Truly, Truly, I say to you, the one receiving anyone I send receives Me; and the one receiving Me receives the One having sent Me.

Comments 13:20. As the verse has told to every human on earth; if you have received someone in the name of the beloved Son of God, it is the same as you have received the beloved Son of God Himself to your home; and when you have received the beloved Son of God you also have received the Father who has sent Him to earth as well; this verse has told all clearly.

See also Matthew Comments 26:19-25.

21 Having said these, Jesus was troubled in the Spirit, and testified, and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.

Comments 13:21. “Jesus was troubled in the Spirit”; With concern for His disciples, the beloved Son of God has been filled with worry in His Spirit. Still, at this time, the Spirit of Christ is with Him. But, when He departs from the earth, the Spirit of Christ will abide with those that have given their lives in the hand of the beloved Son of God, and have trusted in His mercy, and also meditate on the Holy Bible, in everything that the Holy Bible has told; everyone should meditate on the Holy Bible, and the path for going back to heaven for that soul will be open according to the heart that has meditated on the living word of the Bible.

“… one of you will betray Me.” This is the most difficult job for the beloved Son of God: every time He looks at that disciple’s face, the action of the betrayer has already happened in His eyes. When that disciple betrays his Lord, the help for that soul is only through the mercy of the Father.

Q: Why did the leaders need the betrayer's help to arrest the Lord? A: By the old law, they need a witness to accuse someone, and that witness must be able to point out to whom that they hear speaking things against the leaders; and the betrayer was the witness of this in order to arrest the beloved Son of God. Also, they needed a reliable witness to prevent people going against them. The most reliable witness is a disciple of the beloved Son of God; if a disciple has betrayed their own Lord in that way, the people will not fight against the leaders’ way of judging.

22 The disciples were looking one upon another, uncertain whom He speaks about.

23 There was reclining in the bosom of Jesus one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

Comments 13:23. “one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” Because of this verse, many make a theory out about the apostle John; but the Holy Bible did not name the apostle here, and we will not point to John or another; let this be as one of the disciples that most of the time stayed by the beloved Son of God's side and was willing to go with Him in all situations, good or bad for that person himself. Other disciples noticed the closeness, but neither of them thought about the beloved Son of God loving someone in their group more than another.

“reclining in the bosom”; Nowadays, we have separate chairs to sit at the table, but at that time, if people did not sit on the floor, they would sit on a bench, and here sitting on the bench one of the disciples sits closer to the body of the beloved Son of God and sometimes even would lean on His body; however, when the verse says “in the bosom” it does not mean hugging but leaning.

Most of the time, they would sit on the floor when at the table (See also comments Matthew 26:23).

24 Simon Peter then nods to him, and says to him, To ask who it is about of whom He speaks.

Comments 13:24. As the verse has told, Peter, a man of curiosity, wants to know what the beloved Son of God is talking about, but he is not close to the beloved Son of God during this time and has motioned to his fellow disciple to ask the beloved Son of God whom He meant.

Q: Why didn’t Peter ask himself to the Lord? A: Sometimes, if you stay far and ask questions, as Peter was not close by, their question may not be heard, and the person may feel disappointed if their question has not been answered immediately. When Peter motioned to his fellow disciple to ask the question, it was the right way, and all readers could notice that the beloved Son of God had answered.

25 Thus, that one having leaned back on the breast of Jesus says to Him, Lord, who is it?

Comments 13:25. This verse only tells the general relationship between the beloved Son of God and this disciple. Also, everyone who reads the Holy Bible should think as well that the beloved Son of God in human form is also a hundred percent God. So, when He looks at the disciples, they all are like babies for Him; their thoughts are childish in the eyes of the beloved Son of God; they are His dear children, and the relationship will be as a father and their children.

26 Jesus then answers, That one it is, to whom I will dip the morsel, and will give him. So, having dipped the morsel, He takes and gives to Judas of Simon Iscariot.

Comments 13:26. Let all readers notice that the beloved Son of God has answered the question straight. When the beloved Son of God has given the morsel to that disciple, the other disciples could notice what the action has been done; even the disciples that did not ask the question also can notice when the beloved Son of God has replied by the action. He also wants every disciple to notice what is being asked and what is happening. Still, at this time, they did not understand what was about Judas.

Q: It is a great sin to be the betrayer of the Lord Jesus; by the Lord pointing to the betrayer, did the Lord choose him to do the bad act? A: Regardless of if the beloved Son of God has pointed him out or not, in the betrayer's mind, he already thought of doing the bad act; all he thought about was how to benefit himself. It was not the beloved Son of God's intention to choose him to be a betrayer; regardless of what happened, Judas will betray the beloved Son of God; it was his own will to make money for spending. All he expected at this time, by betraying the highly respected teacher, was that he would get more money; greed had captured him.

See also Comments Matthew 26:23. However, a different meal is eaten during the Passover in Matthew’s passage. The Passover is not over in a short period of time; during the Passover, there was a conversation as well, and the way each gospel describes it is from a different angle of the Passover. So here in John, it is the same Passover but told at a different time. Here in John, we witness the beginning of the Passover meal, when the meal was first taken, but after that, the disciples still took more food back and forth; each gospel described the same Passover but at different meal times. 

27 And with the morsel, then entered Satan into that one. Jesus therefore says to him, What you do, do quickly.

Comments 13:27. When the beloved Son of God saw his face after Satan entered into that one, the beloved Son of God knew His time had come to an end as a human on earth. So, if the end for Him will happen, the beloved Son wanted Judas to go and do his act quickly; there was no need for delaying, as the time for His departure had come.

28 And no one of those reclining knew to what He spoke this to him.

Comments 13:28. Because this was a simple talking, everyone took it as it was a normal thing to say; no one at the table made a difference in this talk, which is the way the beloved Son of God wanted to be. No one needed to know at that time what He meant when He said, “What you do, do quickly.”

29 For some were thinking, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus is saying to him, Buy what we have need for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

30 Therefore, having received the morsel, that one went out immediately, and it was night.

Comments 13:30. The betrayer himself knew full well what he was doing, and he already had his plan to accomplish; the betrayer's mind and heart were at work to betray the beloved Son of God; the money of this world has power to those that their heart is seeking for it.

31 When therefore he had gone out, Jesus says, Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him.

Comments 13:31. “Now the Son of Man has been glorified “; The beloved Son of God knows full well what will happen to Him; in His death, He Himself will be glorified because His death will bring many souls to worship Him and the Father.

“and God has been glorified in Him.” Therefore, when they had crucified the beloved Son of God, that death had glorified the Father because the beloved Son of God will resurrect, and that resurrection of the beloved Son of God had declared to the whole world that the Father is in Him, and everything is from the Father. So the salvation for humans comes from the Father through the death on the cross of the beloved Son of God, and in this cross, the Father Himself will glorify the beloved Son of God. It is impossible for the Father to taste death, but in the Trinity of God, the Father Himself has tasted death as well; in the death of the beloved Son of God, the Father knows how painful death in a human would be.

32 If God has been glorified in Him, also God will glorify Him in Himself, and immediately will glorify Him.

Comments 13:32. Now the beloved Son of God has talked about the Father; if the Father has glorified the Son, it is the same as the Father has glorified the Son in Himself because the Father and the Son are One. So, One will glorify Another; it makes no difference if someone else will come to glorify the God of living or not; the God of glory does not need humans to glorify Him because the beloved Son of God also is a human, and the Father already has the true human glorifying Him in heaven. The beloved Son of God represents the human race in front of the Father.

33 Little children, still a little while I am among you. You will seek Me; and just as I said to the Jews, Where I go, you are not able to go, and now I say to you.

Comments 13:33. “… You will seek Me”; The beloved Son of God has told His disciples and humans at the same time that if you want to meet Him, seek Him now when He is here with you. When He is not with you on earth, the only way you can find Him is in the Holy Bible. And also, you will find the Spirit of Christ Himself when you meditate on His teaching; His teaching is the true way to eternal life.

“still a little while I am among you.” The beloved Son of God has told His people that He will be with them for a little while, and it is time for them to come to Him before it is too late. 

“Where I go, you are not able to go, and now I say to you.” The beloved Son of God has told His people as well that where He is going, they cannot go now, and where He is going, not everyone can go; He has told them in this place to come to Him and go with Him, and that way they can reach to the place with Him.

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you should love one another; just as I have loved you, in order that also you should love one another.

Comments 13:34. As a new commandment, the beloved Son of God has been given to all humans, not only to believers alone. The beloved Son loves all humans, and His death is for all that come to Him. Therefore, for the non-believers, when they have a chance to come and glorify the beloved Son of God, He will accept them as well, and this commandment will apply to them; every human has received His love, use His love, copy it deep until your soul and do as well; if you believe in Him, obey His commandment as well.

The Lord Jesus must love all in order to be able to receive them after they have come to Him. If this commandment does not apply to all, the new believers will not be saved; but the new believers will also be saved, and the love of the Lord Jesus is waiting for all, even in the future far away for those who will come later. 

35 By this will all know that you are My disciples, if you have love among one another.

Comments 13:35. As the verse has told to everyone, those that have love for the Lord Jesus will love everyone as well, and when whosoever has applied this commandment, that person has become His disciple.

36 Simon Peter says to Him, Lord, where do Thou go? Jesus answered, Where I go, you are not able to follow Me now; but you will follow afterward.

Comments 13:36. “… where do Thou go?” Peter is human, and when the beloved Son of God told them about His departure, it made Peter think only about this earth, where the beloved Son of God will go. In his mind, he has already wished to be with the beloved Son of God; but now they cannot fulfill the job and be with Him yet; everyone has a job to do, and Peter himself, as well, has the work to do, but when the job is done His disciples will be with Him. When you follow the beloved Son of God’s command, you will also follow where He will be.

“Where I go, you are not able to follow Me now”; No one can follow the beloved Son of God until they finish the work that each individual has received; some may have small little job, but that job still needs to be done as well, because the word “now” means at this moment of time; so, not all can go now.

“… but you will follow afterward.” Therefore, whoever has meditated and followed all that the living word has told will find the path to follow the beloved Son of God. The path to follow, first, starts with meditating on the Holy Word, then, when you meditate, you will follow the teaching, and you will walk to the right path to follow because the beloved Son of God will be guiding and waiting for you all; if you keep the faith until the end, you will meet Him and be with Him in Paradise.

37 Peter says to Him, Lord, why am I not able to follow Thee just now? I will lay down my life for Thee.

Comments 13:37. “… why am I not able to follow Thee just now?” Peter has been following the Lord Jesus for some time, and now when he sees the beloved Son of God having trouble in His Spirit, he worries; in his heart right now, he worries about why he is not worthy to follow his Lord now. This feeling will not be only for Peter alone; all His disciples will have the same feeling about why they cannot follow the Lord now.

“I will lay down my life for Thee.” Give attention to the words Peter has used in this place. By his words, he wants to give his life for the beloved Son of God; all followers of the beloved Son of God should feel that way as well; however, to feel and to be able to do are two different things; right now, as the feeling of Peter himself is, he could die for his Lord.

38 Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, The cock will not crow, until you have denied Me three times.

Comments 13:38. “Will you lay down your life for Me?” The beloved Son of God has asked a straightforward question to all; this question is not related to Peter alone but to all believers as well. So, ask yourself as well in this time, will you give your life to your Lord when you know, as the Holy Bible has told in detail, what suffering the beloved Son of God has gone through?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, …”; This verse tells all readers clearly that the beloved Son of God has seen the future happen. Peter will deny Him three times; it has already happened in front of Him. The word denying has echoed in the air already. Let every believer be aware of what you are talking about your faith; when you read the Holy Bible and say things that are not appropriate, what you have said is in the air, and the beloved Son of God hears them already.

Life and Faith Application. 1) The Lord gave us examples of how to be true followers of Him; by following all His teachings, we will find the path to be with Him at the end of our lives on earth; the Lord Jesus gave us an example of humbleness, and we need to follow and humble ourselves toward one another. 2) We need to meditate on the Holy Bible and the teachings of the Lord and apply them literally to our lives; we should not allow ourselves to be controlled by money and should not allow greed to capture our heart. 3) The Lord Jesus gave us a new commandment: to love one another; He Himself gave His life on the cross for all humans showing His true love for us all; we need to copy His love deep inside our souls and, as true believers, show our love to all. 4) We must be ready to give our lives to the Lord, regardless of our challenges on this earth.

John 14

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus talks about the Trinity of God and about His love for the Father and what it means to be a true believer. John 14:1-14. The Lord Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life. The Lord Jesus goes to the Father, but He is coming again to receive us. He is the way, the truth, and the life, so He must be our leader, and we must use His teachings and meditate on His word, and we will know the way to walk on this life and can go to the Father. The main teaching of the Holy Word is that Jesus is the Son of God, and He is One with the Father, and when the beloved Son of God was on earth, everything He spoke was not from Himself alone. The living word comes out from His mouth because in Him is the Trinity of God at work on earth. John 14:15-32. The Lord Jesus teaches what it means to love Him. Loving the Lord Jesus means keeping all the commandments He gave in the Holy Bible. Any true believer who knows the commandments must keep them all to call themselves a true believer in God. If we love the Lord Jesus and keep His commandments, He will ask the Father to send the Intercessor (the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ) to abide with us to the age. When you read and meditate on the Holy Bible, ask for the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to be your teacher and give you to get a true understanding of the Holy Word. The beloved Son of God also promised peace to come, in the kingdom of God, to all true believers; the peace from the beloved Son of God is peace between the beloved Son of God and the true believers that have true repentance of their hearts.

1 Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, also believe in Me.

Comments 14:1. This teaching here is given to the disciples at the Last Passover event before Jesus’ crucifixion.

“Let not your heart be troubled.” Let all believers always think what they truly believe, and stand firm on what you have knowledge about, what your heart has received through the Holy Bible (stand firm on the knowledge that your heart has received through the Holy Bible); the understanding and knowledge about the Holy Bible always will link you to the beloved Son of God’s Deity.

“believe in God, also believe in Me.” Believe in God in this place refers to the Father; when you believe in the Father, your heart will want to find the way to be where the Father is and reach Him. If your heart wants that, you must also believe in the beloved Son of God because He is the only way you can reach the Father.

2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; and if not, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

Comments 14:2. “Father’s house.” The Father’s house is the heaven, but not just only the heaven above; it is also everything that surrounds the seen and unseen world; all it belongs to the Father.

“Mansions.” The mansions are in a specific place for the believers in the beloved Son of God to be; these mansions are also close to the throne of the Father Himself because this place belongs to the beloved Son of God as well.

The Father’s house is so big, and there are many portions in it, and each portion is used for a different purpose. We will know that place which belongs to the beloved Son of God when we are up there; this knowledge will be given to all those that have been called to stay in that part.  (The house is divided into many places, and each place is divided into many portions; the potion is also a big space area, and each portion has many parts).

“… that I go to prepare a place for you?” Because it is a place that the Father has prepared for the beloved Son of God to give to all that belong to the beloved Son of God Himself; here in this place, these souls will glorify the Father behind the beloved Son of God who is standing in front of the throne of God.

The Father has many mansions waiting for His people; when the verse has told that He is going to prepare the place, the place is already there, but He means to make the mansion ready to receive the owner; the Lord Himself will be the one who completes that work because this person also has a special place in the Lord’s heart as well.

Q: What mansion are we talking about in this verse? A: If you think a palace or mansion on this earth is beautiful, what the Lord has prepared cannot even compare with what things this earth has to offer; it is beyond a human mind can imagine; this mansion will be bigger than any palace of this earth for each individual, and that is all everyone can think of how special each individual is for the Lord Himself. There you will never be alone; the presence of the Lord is always everywhere; even when you are in your mansion, you can still feel that the presence of the Lord is there. The heavenly mansions inside also have many compartments, which are prepared for the heavenly hosts to stay; the Lord has prepared the heavenly body to dwell in those mansions.

The Lord Himself will be the One that prepares all things for each individual believer.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again, and will receive you to Myself; that where I am, you may be also.

Comments 14:3. “I am coming again, and will receive you to Myself”; This is a promise from the beloved Son of God Himself; He is going back to heaven to prepare the place; when it is all ready, He will return back the second time to earth; in that time the whole earth will see Him return. (See also Matthew Comments 25:6 and Matthew Comments 13:30).

The beloved Son of God will take all those that belong to Him with Him, and everyone that belongs to the beloved Son of God will go back with Him; this is a promise from the beloved Son of God; He takes all those that belong to Him to Himself; these souls that glorify the beloved Son of God will have the eyes, that are open, to be able to see the Father as well. However, more things than just humans belong to the Lord.

“… that where I am, you may be also.” The beloved Son of God will be in front of the throne of the Father, and all those who belong to Him will stand behind Him to glorify the Father. The voice that all those souls make to glorify the Father is through the beloved Son of God; the Father will hear those voices as well, but all must go through the beloved Son of God. Those souls' bodies are not here yet; when they all go up, everyone will have a body prepared for them; the souls will have the heavenly body; the earthly body is melted away already. Only one earthly body will be left at that time, which is the resurrected body of the beloved Son of God Himself.

The mansion that has been prepared for the heavenly body to dwell is waiting to receive the owner; when the soul has joined with the heavenly body, they will dwell in there; many, many mansions have been prepared for those heavenly bodies. We did comment on the second earth that comes and that the eyes of those on earth can also see this new earth (see Matthew Comments 25:6 and Matthew Comments 13:30). However, not all will go there because the new earth will be only for those heavenly bodies to dwell; those heavenly bodies do nothing (are waiting) until they receive the souls that belong to the beloved Son of God. According to the verse, the Lord is preparing the heavenly bodies because the heavenly body is for eternity; this human body has limited time. The beloved Son of God will be the King of the second earth, and all His subjects will be with Him to glorify the Father day and night; it is impossible for the human mind to imagine the picture; the second earth is the perfect earth, and nothing of this earth resembles with.

4 And where I go, you know the way.

Comments 14:4. Here is the confirmation for all believers that wherever the beloved Son of God will be, all true believers will know the way to go there as well because they all will walk following His footsteps; His footsteps will be the path for all true believers, and that is why the verse has told that “you know the way.”

5 Thomas says to Him, Lord, we do not know where Thou go; how are we able to know the way?

Comments 14:5. Now the beloved Son of God in the human body has talked to His disciples, and Thomas also has questions of his own. When you think as humans think, you cannot imagine what the beloved Son of God is talking about right now. Regarding the way all have asked this question, even His disciples asked, and the beloved Son of God will tell them about the way they must follow; all true believers will know the way.

6 Jesus says to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, if not by Me.

Comments 14:6. “I am the way.” The beloved Son of God has said to all true believers, according to the way of living, you walk on the road, but when to come to be alive on both this earth and the earth to come, you must walk the way the beloved Son of God has walked for you; you can see what He has taught you, use that way for your walk. When He says He is the way, He also tells all readers: you have the beloved Son of God as a leader, use His teaching, meditate on His word, and you will know the way to walk on this life.

“and the truth.” The beloved Son of God in human form is the truth for humans. His way of being human has also shown all humans that humans can be better than now. The Lord did not create humans just for His pleasure; He loves humans, and the beloved Son of God is the proof of His true love for humans; when the beloved Son has accepted the human form, the true love of God has been proven to all humans. He is the truth because He has come in person and has taken the form of a human; think in this way as well, the God Most High came down and took human form to show the true love of God towards humans; the truth of God has been shown in His love.

“and the life.” Through the beloved Son of God, you can have life after death. The life He will give to you is for eternity; that is the true life you will get if you keep the teaching of the Holy Bible until the last day of your life on earth. 

“no one comes ….” The Father is the Most High God, and to come to Him is only one way through the beloved Son of God. So, there is no other way to be close to the Father, but only if you are behind the beloved Son of God; the glory of the beloved Son will shadow your soul, and your soul will be safe in front of the Father.

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now you know Him, and have seen Him.

Comments 14:7. “If you had known Me”; Anyone that accepts the beloved Son of God and walks according to His teachings has known the beloved Son of God. Because all the things the beloved Son of God has done, He has done according to the Father’s will, and when you follow the beloved Son of God in all directions, you have known the Father's will for yourself as well.

Q: How can we say that we know the Lord Jesus and the Father? A: When you meditate on the Holy Bible, think that every word is alive because the Father Himself has made all the words to be alive. The Holy Bible is the living word, so when you meditate on the living word, that living word will give life to your soul, and deep down in your soul, you have met the Father Himself; His word is the way to the Father; the Father and the beloved Son are One, and when you have known the beloved Son of God, you have known the Father Himself, and the Father Himself loves you as well.

Q: How can you feel that the word of the Bible is alive? A: When you have memorized the word, you will feel that the living word touches you; the living word that you memorize will act in you and make you become a living soul for God.

Q: What about memorizing other words from other books, not the Bible? A: Those words have no power, but the Holy Word has power, and the Holy Word gives life to all living; other words that you practice memorizing have no power in them. When you yourself commit sin and think of the Word, the living Word will touch your mind and heart, and you know that you have sinned against God; only the living Word can do that way to you; another word in the world cannot convict the heart of men to know the right and wrong towards God, only the living word can do that. You can call yourself a true believer when every word from the Bible has meaning for you, and you take it seriously.

“you would have known My Father also …”; After you have known the beloved Son of God, at the same time, you have known the Father, and you have seen Him in the teaching that the Father has given to the beloved Son to give; and when you follow the teachings, you have seen the Father as well. Then, when you look at the cross, you have seen the beloved Son of God Himself; that is why the cross is important for all that want to know how His human form looks like; His human form was on that cross already for all humans, treasure the feeling that you have towards the cross that the beloved Son of God had been crucified for you.

Q: How did the apostles and the writers of the Bible understand all the deep spiritual teachings? A: They have a deeper understanding than other humans can have; the Father Himself is the One that gave them the understanding and the duty to put down all the teachings of God.

8 Philip says to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us.

Comments 14:8. The disciple with the beloved Son of God still wonders, and all humans, after the beloved Son of God is not on earth anymore, will also wonder how they will know the way. But also remember that the beloved Son of God has told us He will not leave us alone; He is going back to heaven but has promised that He will come back again to take us with Him. So if you truly believe this, look forward to the day when we all will be with God's beloved Son to glorify the Father with Him. At that time, we don’t have to ask where the Father is because we ourselves will be glorifying the Father and standing there behind the beloved Son of God to shout out and glorify the Lord.

Because the beloved Son of God has talked many times about the Father, this has stirred up the hearts of the listeners to think they are with the beloved Son of God and they haven’t seen the Father yet. Still, the beloved Son of God has talked about the Father, so where is the Father? The same question will be to all, show us the Father, but when you have seen the beloved Son of God, you also have seen the Father. So in this verse, Philip has asked the beloved Son of God, as all humans want to ask as well, but when the time comes, this answer will be in front of their eyes.

9 Jesus says to him, So long a time I am with you, and do you not know Me, Philip? The one having seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, Show us the Father?

Comments 14:9. “So long a time I am with you …”; During this time, the beloved Son of God has physically been with the disciples, and Philip also was there with Him. The beloved Son of God had been teaching all the disciples, they have seen Him and listened to His teachings, but they did not understand or know completely yet who He is. When Philip asked to show them the Father, it also showed that the disciples themselves did not completely understand the meaning of the Lord's talk. Still, the beloved Son of God would give that understanding to them when the right time came, and they all would understand the meaning because each would have work to complete, and all things happened in due time.

“The one having seen Me has seen the Father”; When the beloved Son of God has told the disciples that they have seen Him and have seen the Father at the same time, this answer that they have already seen Him and the Father who sent Him, will be with them for the work to come. The work for all disciples in spreading the teaching relies on this knowledge they have; the full knowledge about God has not been given to them yet. Still, when the time comes, the full knowledge will be given to them for the work.

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself; but the Father dwelling in Me does His works.

Comments 14:10. “Do you not believe …”; The beloved Son of God asks all believers this question: do you truly believe the Three in One? When the verse has told the Father, that means two as well, the Father and the Holy Spirit are together, and both are in the beloved Son of God together. Therefore, when He was on earth as a human, the beloved Son of God was never alone; the Three in One were always together.

“The words that I speak to you …”; When the beloved Son of God was on earth, everything He spoke was not from Himself alone; the living word comes out from His mouth because in Him is the Trinity of God at work on earth.

“… but the Father dwelling in Me does His works.” As the verse has told all true believers, the Father dwells in the Son and not just dwells alone, but He is at work as well; the work that the beloved Son of God has done on earth is the Father’s work as well. The beloved Son of God has not spent His life on earth doing nothing; He always did the work of the Father; the life on earth for Him, even if it was short, but every moment has meaning from the Father.

11 Believe Me that I in the Father, and the Father in Me; but if not, believe because of the works themselves.

Comments 14:10-11. These verses talk about the Trinity of God and that the Trinity of God has given the living word to be the Holy Bible. As these verses have told, the Holy Bible is from the Father, not from God's beloved Son alone.

“... but if not, believe because of the works themselves.” Therefore, because the Holy Bible is from the Father, whosoever does not believe in the Holy Bible, believe in the death on the cross of the beloved Son of God, the love beyond human words can say; God of heaven was willing to taste the death in order to help the creatures He has created, no love is greater than this.

When the verse has told “but if not,” it refers to believing in the death on the cross and the resurrection of the beloved Son of God because after the resurrection, He did not spend time alone but returned back to the Father. In our faith, we must have both together: crucifixion and resurrection; to be complete faith, it must be faith in the crucifixion and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; when the beloved Son of God has accepted His death on the cross, the Father has already wept for what will happen to the Son.

[The meaning of this verse would be: believe in the Holy Bible and if not, then at least believe because of the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross]

12 Truly, truly, I say to you, the one that believes in Me, the works that I do, also will he do; and greater than these will he do; because I am going to the Father.

Comments 14:12. “… the works that I do, also will he do”; As the verse has told all believers that if you believe in the beloved Son of God, the works that He did and doing now already support who He is, and according to the Father’s will, true believers that follow all His commandments strictly will also be able to perform His works. But if that person doubts in his heart, this doubt refers only to himself; that doubt also will limit the person in doing the work, and that person will notice the limitation has occurred, which will remind the person to analyze their heart again. Then, when that person has analyzed everything, that person will know the lack of faith, and when they come back in faith to be complete, they can continue to do the work again.

“and greater than these will he do”; When the verse says, “greater than this,” it refers only to the works but does not include the raising up of themselves from the dead; but many miracles the true believers can do; as the verse has told, the beloved Son of God has returned to the Father, and whatever the true believers will do will be under the guidance of the beloved Son of God as well.

Q: The apostles in the book of Acts have performed the miracles of raising the dead. A: However, there are no apostles after the ones appointed by the Lord Jesus. The apostles could perform the miracles because they had received this authority from the beloved Son of God. But, after the beloved Son of God had been crucified, He did not appoint other apostles to perform miracles as the old apostles who have served alongside Him. However, the miracles have not ceased with the apostles but are not done the same way as the apostles did them. Still, if the true believers come to the beloved Son of God with all their hearts and have faith and beg for the power from the Holy Spirit, then they can perform under the name of the beloved Son of God, but not by their own name or other names. Give attention, true believers, under the name of the beloved Son of God, the miracles can still be done; when the true believers ask from the beloved Son of God, then with the beloved Son of God's will, the Holy Spirit will perform the work according to the will of the beloved Son of God Himself, because the Holy Spirit belongs to the Father, and the Father with the beloved Son of God are One. (See also Matthew Comments 10:8).

Q: These days we have many self-proclaimed apostles. Are these true apostles? A: Their name has not been put down in the Bible because the beloved Son of God has not appointed them; we can say they are self-proclaimed; only those that have been written down in the Holy Bible are truly apostles. The Bible has often mentioned that at the end times, many will self-proclaim to be the son of god, not only to be apostles; what we have seen now cannot be compared with what will be in the future.

Q: Why these days do we not hear about many miracles? A: You don’t hear about miracles, but it does not mean it doesn’t happen; still, many miracles are happening, but they do not get permission to be revealed because people’s hearts are hardened and will interpret those works in the wrong way.

13 And whatever you will ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father might be glorified in the Son.

Comments 14:13. Read the whole verse carefully and think, when a true believer has done the works that the beloved Son of God has done and abides at all times in the blood of the beloved Son of God, all the actions that the true believer has done will glorify the Father at the same time as well. The Father Himself will be happy to do all that work in the name of the beloved Son of God.

Q: What is the difference between verse 13 and verse 14? A: A little bit of difference, but also, verse 13 confirms the Trinity of God; when you ask the beloved Son of God for something, the Holy Spirit also will take that request to the Father and the beloved Son of God will do according to the Father’s will.

14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do.

Comments 14:14. When the verse has told, “ask anything,” if that asking is not against the will of the Father, the beloved Son of God will do it according to the purpose and the faith of the person who asks and receives.

Whatever you ask, if it is not against the Holy Word, the Father will also listen to that. However, the majority of people also interpret the meaning of the Holy Word according to their own understanding. But, if you did not ask the Holy Spirit to guide the meaning of the Holy Word for yourself, you would not feel that what you ask is against the Father’s will or not.

15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Comments 14:15. The beloved Son of God has given a clear meaning to loving Him. As the verse has told, if you love Him, keep all the commandments He has given to you; if you don’t remember all the commandments, you do not love Him enough yet, you did not repeat His commandments enough in your heart; but if your heart truly wants to know, go and search in the Holy Bible and you will see all the commandments He has given.

This verse refers to all humans because the Father has created the humans for His pleasure; so, you, as a human, since you are created for Him, must follow His commandments.

Q: In Matthew 22:37-40, the Lord Jesus gave two important commandments. What other commandments should we consider besides these two? A: When the beloved Son of God has talked about love, He also has talked about loving the Word as well, and then you must find for yourself how to love the Word and what you should do with that love of the Word; should you just read the Word and let it rest or meditate on it and get understanding and follow? And when you understand and follow, that would be enough to follow His commandments.

16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Intercessor that exists with you to the age,

Comments 14:16. “another Intercessor”; Besides the Spirit of the beloved Son of God, “another” refers to the Holy Spirit, which the Father will give to the true believers; the Spirit of the beloved Son of God has already been given to all that truly believe in His Deity and follow His commandments.

“Intercessor” refers to the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit; both are Intercessors; the duty of both Spirits will be to guide the true believers and help the true believers to meditate on the Holy Word.

This verse refers to all that follow the Lord’s teaching; if you follow the Holy Bible and meditate and practice, then when you have both meditation and practice, the beloved Son of God will do as the verse has told to all. For all true believers to receive the Holy Spirit, they must also abide by the teaching. When you have received the Holy Spirit, He will not depart from you only when your heart has blasphemed against the Trinity of God.

Following the Lord’s teaching also refers to letting the Holy Word be the food of your soul; your body needs food, and the soul needs food as well; you eat food every day, so meditate on the Holy Word every day as well.

Think in this way as well; people may talk about God all day long, but that does not have any impact in their heart on what God truly is for them if they don’t meditate on the Word; most think only God is up there, not down here; they have forgotten that He has given the Living Word, and the Word cannot be living Word if God is not in the Word; that can tell to all believers, God is on earth as well; if you don’t read the living Word, you have not been in touch with God Himself.

Q: We talk about the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ in these comments. How do we understand the Trinity in this context? A: We cannot say that the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ are identical, but we can say that both Intercessors are One because the Father and the Son are One. The Father and the beloved Son are One; when we say Trinity, we refer to the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ are also joined to be One and to work together.

Q: The Father is a person, the Holy Spirit is a person, and the Son is a person; what can we say then about the Spirit of Christ within the Trinity of God? A: Remember as well that within these Three, only the beloved Son of God is in human form; the beloved Son of God returned to heaven in human form; in human form, He must have the Spirit, so the Spirit of Christ is with Him; but, also, He has sent His Spirit to help the humans. No human can understand the Deity of God.

17 the Spirit of divine truth, whom the world is not able to receive; because it does not see Him, neither knows Him; you know Him, because He abides with you, and will be in you.

Comments 14:17. “the Spirit of divine truth ….” As the verse tells to all believers, the Spirit of divine truth because it is the Spirit of God, and it cannot be any untruth in Him; even though human life always tells lies, but when the Spirit of God came upon the whole world, the one that accepts and abides in the teachings of the Lord will not be able to tell a lie or do unrighteous things, because the Spirit of divine truth will not give peace to that person. If that person acts against the Holy Word teachings, the peace that the person felt would also disappear from that person.

“because it does not see Him”; Humans’ eyes do not have the ability to see the Spirit of God; this makes humans feel that if they cannot see, then there is no Spirit of God around them. Humans always need to see proof from God, but God does not have the duty to prove to humans; you have seen all His work, look around you and look to yourself as well; all are the work of God around you and in you; so, why humans’ minds still think that things they cannot see cannot be true?

“neither knows Him”; Those who do not have faith in God will not know about Him because those persons will not meditate on the Holy Word. Whoever does not meditate in the Holy Word will never know God in their heart; even the eyes have seen His work, but the heart of the person will not accept that it is the work of God who created all things. But those who know Him will always have in their hearts to read and meditate more on the Holy Word because, in their hearts, they wish to be closer to Him.

“you know Him …”; This part of the verse only talks about the true believers. True believers know God because, in their hearts, they thank Him for the work of His hands around them, and when those persons meditate on the Word of God, the Word of God also abides in them. The hearts of true believers will always feel that the Spirit of God is in them and be with them, helping them and guiding them in all their actions to come closer to God Himself; the hearts of true believers always will have joy in praising and glorifying the Lord God Most High.

18 I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you.

Comments 14:18. As all readers can notice, in this verse, the beloved Son of God has made a promise to come back for us; the beloved Son of God will be as our parent; all true believers will be as His children, and none will be as an orphan because the beloved Son of God lives for eternity, and as His children always we will have Him with us. So, when the beloved Son says, “I am coming to you,” it becomes His promise to come to us; it is the beloved Son of God who made this promise; all true believers that believe in Him should remember this in their heart, He is coming back for you as well.

19 Still a little, and the world sees Me no more; however, you see Me; because I live, and you will live.

Comments 14:19. As this verse tells, the beloved Son of God has said to all believers straight that His time as a human on earth has come to an end, and all true believers in Him will not see Him with their physical eyes anymore; also, the people of the whole world as well, will not see Him anymore with their physical eyes.

“however, you see Me”; Here, as the reader can notice, the beloved Son of God has told all true believers that they see Him, but not yet with a physical eye, but with the eye of the soul; and, not only just the eye of soul sees Him but, our own inner feeling feels Him as well; we feel that the beloved Son of God, His love, is still with everyone here.

“because I live, and you will live.” Let all true believers take note of this portion; because the Holy Son lives forever, His presence will make all humans still be alive until the end of the time comes for all; and at that time when the judgment has been announced to all living, those that live because of the life of the beloved Son of God will get the first place to be announced to come up in front to receive the judgment of grace; and after that those true believers will spend life eternally with the beloved Son of God.

20 In that day you will know that I in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

Comments 14:20. When the verse says, “I in,” it means being in forever; but if it says, “I am in,” it means being in right now only.

As the verse has told to all true believers, in their hearts they already have felt the beloved Son of God; when their heart has acknowledged the beloved Son of God, that heart has already acknowledged the Father which is in Him as well; and He Himself (Jesus) is in that person’s heart; and in the heart of the beloved Son of God, you also have a place to be as well, as the verse has told straight to all believers.

“In that day” refers to the day of the resurrection when the beloved Son of God has returned back to heaven.

21 The one having My commandments, and keeping them, that one is the one loving Me; and the one loving Me, will be loved by My heavenly Father; I will love him and will declare Myself to him.

Comments 14:21. “The one having My commandments, and keeping them”; These two portions always go together because if you know the commandments but don’t keep them, that will not be complete. Any true believer that knows the commandments must truly keep them all, not just in the head but deep in the heart as well. When you have kept them, you can call yourself a true believer in God; this qualification is needed to set yourself apart from the rest of the world.

“… that one is the one loving Me; and the one loving Me, will be loved by My heavenly Father”; As the verse has told all true believers, if you love the beloved Son of God, the Father will also love you. Therefore, to win the love of the Father, the heart of a true believer must listen and obey all teachings of the beloved Son of God.

“I will love him and will declare Myself to him.” This saying is the promise of the beloved Son of God to show Himself to all true believers, and He will love all those that truly love Him and obey His teachings. And those true believers will experience the beloved Son of God’s love in their hearts and also can feel His love and presence around them, and those persons will never feel alone anymore; the love of the beloved Son of God will surround the true believers at all times.

22 Judas (not the Iscariot) says to Him, Lord, and what has occurred that Thou are about to declare Thyself to us, and not to the world?

Comments 14:22. “Judas … to us.” When Judas asked this question, also in his heart, he already had the question that he wanted to know. So, when the beloved Son of God told them that He would show Himself to them, it made him also think if they were more special than the rest of the world.

This question will also be for the rest of the people to whom the beloved Son of God will show Himself. Is He talking here about the chosen ones or not? The answer for all is true, the beloved Son of God is talking about the chosen ones that have been chosen to listen and obey His teachings. If you do not listen and obey, you will become like the rest of the world who hear about the beloved Son of God but do not believe that what He says is true; this difference makes the world (of those that know about the Bible) separated into two types of souls, the souls that listen and obey the teaching of the Holy Bible, and other souls that know about the Holy Bible but do not believe it is the true teaching of God. The point of separation is the heart of each soul itself, if you believe in the Holy Bible, you must meditate and read, and those actions will convince the person's soul to come and be willing to serve the Lord God Almighty without doubting or delay.

“and not to the world.” This part of the verse refers to those that have surrendered their hearts to the dark side’s teachings. These persons have known the Holy Word but did not believe, and instead of meditating on the Word for faith, those persons have meditated on the Word to find mistakes in the Word and be able to fight the ones that come with faith to make their faith weakened by throwing doubts in their hearts; it is difficult for the rest of the world to know the difference between the Spirit of the Holy Word and the spirit of the dark teaching.

23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make a home with him.

Comments 14:23. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.” So, as the verse clearly tells, if you love the beloved Son of God, you will keep His teachings in your heart; but, when you keep His word, you must also read and meditate on the Holy Bible; the Holy Bible has all the teachings, and those teachings will make your heart ready to receive Him as well.

“... and My Father will love him.” Give attention to what the verse has said to all true believers. The beloved Son of God has told all that the Father Himself will love you because you love the beloved Son of God. And this is the way the Father shows love to anyone: when that person meditates on the Holy Word, that person will realize the peace in their heart, and during that time, within the heart, they will have great joy because the Father Himself also is happy with that soul. The root of all happiness for the soul is the Holy Word of God.

“and We will come to him.” Give attention to the word “We”; this refers to the Trinity of God, and at the same time, the Spirit of the beloved Son of God will also be there.

“… and will make a home with him.” When the heart of a true believer becomes home for the Lord, that heart of the blessed one will receive the greatest joy of life, which will also make the faith grow. The home is the place where God will dwell and also will make that home the proper place for receiving all praising of the soul; the request the soul will ask for the Lord to dwell in will receive the answer, and deep in the heart of true believers, it will acknowledge the answer they have received, which they can feel by the soul, not by the feeling of the head itself; that feeling will be deep down until the person cannot tell where that happiness comes from. Therefore, to decorate the heart to be the home of the Lord, all believers should put the praises in the heart which glorify the Trinity of God; the words used for glorifying the Trinity of God will decorate the heart of the soul itself for the Lord.

Q: How does the Lord live in our hearts? A: Do not think in physical terms but spiritual terms. The heart of the true believer is like a palace, which will have many rooms in it, and each room will be used for a different purpose as well because that heart has become the home of God to dwell.

A: That is the will of the Father to live in our souls when we open our souls to receive Him; the Father uses the Holy Bible to be the path for humans to get in touch with the Holy Spirit; through the Holy Bible, the Holy Spirit will work in the heart of the reader, and when that heart has invited the Holy Spirit to be their guide, the Holy Spirit will use that invitation and put Himself to join with the soul itself.

The Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the beloved Son are in the Holy Word itself. Also, let all believers remember one thing as well: the Holy Bible is the living word; God has spoken every word in the Holy Bible; the word never dies, always is alive and has life; the word itself has life and gives life to all true believers; if you truly believe you can feel the word is alive; general people will not have that feeling, only the true believers will gain that feeling, which is a gift from the Father Himself when you have meditated on the Holy Word.

We also can say in another way: the Holy Bible is a path of the connection between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ with the true believer when they meditate on the Word; when you meditate, you have connected your soul to the path which the Lord guides you. The Word that the Living God has spoken, that word has life in itself; the Holy Bible is the true living word of God, and every word in the Bible is alive. So, you need to connect first with the path before you can connect with the Lord.

24 The one that loves Me not, keeps not My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but of the Father who sent Me.

Comments 14:24. “The one that loves Me not …”; As the verse tells all readers, when you do not love the beloved Son of God, you will not keep what He has taught in the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is not an ordinary book; the Holy Bible will give life to all who meditate and follow because the root of the Holy Bible is the Trinity of God; no other book can give you life as the Holy Bible gives you. This saying in this verse is not repeating the verse before, but the Lord has shown the opposite; the verse before has told about you having faith and doing, but this verse has said the opposite that when you do not love the beloved Son of God, you will also not love His teachings; but His teachings are not from Himself, they are from the Father. The beloved Son of God wants to make sure that all readers pay attention to the difference between these two verses, and the verses will talk to you when you pay attention to the differences.

Here the Lord Jesus wants to make it clear that the Father and the Holy Spirit will not come to those that do not love Him. The idea of the verse is that some might think that somehow the Father will come to them regardless of if they love or not the beloved Son of God, but that is not true. When verse 23 says, “We will come to him, and make a home with him,” this applies only to those that love the beloved Son of God and keep His teachings.   

“… but of the Father who sent Me.” The beloved Son of God has told all true believers the truth; the Word that He is teaching to all humans is not His Own word but of the Father who sent Him to teach that Word; let all true believers think of that as well; if the Holy Bible has the words from the Father, then every word in the Holy Bible would give life to all that meditate and believe in that word.

25 These I have talked to you, remaining alongside you.

Comments 14:25. During Jesus’ speaking the Word, the disciples benefited, but also, at the same time, this Word will be put down in the Holy Bible, and all humans will benefit from it as well, not only the disciples in that time alone.

The beloved Son of God does not have much time to be with the humans on earth; the Holy Word that the beloved Son has given in the Holy Bible during the time He spent as a human on earth will remind all humans how much God loves them. The Father has created all humans and loves them, and He loves them so much until He has sent His begotten Son to save them. So, while the Holy Word is still with us on earth, read and meditate on the Holy Word before the dark will rise up again and put an order for humans not to spread the Holy Word anymore. So, all people should be aware of the dark side activity; when you see them attacking the Holy Word, be aware that the time is close for them to persecute all true believers left over on earth.

26 However, the Intercessor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and will bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Comments 14:26. Verses to check: Romans 8:9-10, Romans 8:34, Romans 8:26-27, John 17:9-11, John 17:20-21, Romans 8:36-39, Acts 16:6-7, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 3:19-21.

As the verse has told to all true believers, the Holy Spirit will be given to you under the name of the beloved Son of God; all that have asked of Him will be filled with the Holy Spirit in their soul because the Father loves the beloved Son, and He will do according to what the beloved Son of God is asking Him for that true believer.

“… He will teach you all things.” When you read and meditate on the Holy Bible, ask for the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to be your teacher to give you the understanding, and then you will get the right understanding of the Holy Word. Humans alone cannot understand all the Holy Word because the Holy Word does not tell about the physical earth itself alone, but also tells about spiritual things and life; the things humans cannot see and understand without the help of the Holy Spirit, and that is why everyone who reads the Holy Bible must ask the help.

“… and will bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” The Holy Bible may be small, but the Holy Bible has compacted all knowledge about the unseen things and seen things. Humans will not be able to remember all that the Bible has told; for a human to be able to remember the Holy Word, it needs help from the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, and He will bring all the teachings to your remembrance to guide your life on this earth and lead the soul to the unseen world; the soul itself needs the guidance from the Holy  Bible, and the Holy Spirit will help the soul to remember all the teachings.

The verse has told not only for the disciple in that time alone, but the Holy Word will guide the whole world after as well; the disciples have received the Holy Word and put it down, and what the disciples have put down is from the Father Himself, and that will be the true living word for the next generations to come.

27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.

Comments 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.” The beloved Son of God also promised peace to all true believers; the peace from the beloved Son of God is peace between the beloved Son of God and the true believers that have true repentance of their heart; repentance that does not come from the head but from the heart. For the beloved Son of God to help any true believer, repentance from the heart must happen, and the beloved Son of God will bring that repentance as a petition to the Father; in that way, the distance of the soul to the Father is shortening as well, and when the distance is shorter the Father will forgive that soul according to the beloved Son of God's petition for that soul; when the distance shortens the Father also notices that that soul has truly repented as well.

“… not as the world gives, I give to you.” This verse talks about the peace to come in the kingdom of God. Look at the verse itself; it has told, not as the world gives; when the verse has already told, not as the world can give, it has told at the same time that it didn’t talk about this earth anymore. The world gives peace only of this earth, but the beloved Son of God gives peace for that soul for the earth to come, and the beloved Son of God has promised here that He will give that peace to that true believer’s soul. The earth to come has nothing like this earth; think of who the King of that earth is; you need to have that peace in your soul in order to be able to stay. If compared with what you have on this earth and the earth to come, the way humans live and think will be different, the troubles of life which humans are facing here, up there that soul will not remember of it at all; when you cannot remember the troubles, your soul will be as clear water without waves, and the soul will feel the peace of itself towards God; the radiance of the soul will also change, right now on this earth the soul is tainted with sin, but on that earth to come the radiance will shine out because the sin has been wiped off. As a human on earth, you will try and fight for a living, but in the life of the earth to come, everything has been provided; you do not need to fight for a living anymore; the world to come is a perfect world with all things, the need in your heart and mind is fulfilled there.

“Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.” Any true believer who reads this part of the verse, let the worry be free from their heart, and do not be afraid of the unknown that will come upon the feeling of the soul. Meditate on the word, and that fear will shrink off by itself. When your heart has no fear, your soul also will feel peace. “Neither let it be afraid”; the afraid here relates to the fear of the unknown in the world to come because there, things are not the same as in this world; the soul will have difficulty adjusting, but with the mercy of God, the soul will feel comfortable to be there.

28 You heard that I said to you, I am going away, and I am coming to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Comments 14:28. “You heard that I said to you, I am going away, and I am coming to you.” Therefore, let all true believers have peace in their hearts; this is the promise of the beloved Son of God Himself, He is going away, but also, He promises to all that He will return again, so trust in His word and believe in His promise.

“If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced.” So, the love that you already have for the beloved Son of God do not let it die. When He has said He is going away, going away but not abandoning His true believers; but also have joy in your heart because of His promise, and that joy will stay with you if you truly believe and trust in the beloved Son of God.

“because I am going to the Father.” The Trinity of God is always true, and now it is the time between the Father and the beloved Son of God to decide about the future of humans. All things will be done when the Trinity of God has made decisions regarding the future of this world because of the death of the beloved Son of God on the cross; this death has brought sadness to heaven as well, but the Father will be glad to have the beloved Son of God in the human form beside Him. When we say “all things will be done,” we mean: when God has created all things, He also created them for His pleasure, but humans have listened to the evil voice and crucified the beloved Son of God on the cross, so all things in this place it is including from first creation until the crucifixion and the end time of this earth; everything will be judged.

“for the Father is greater than I.” The God of Three, but One in heart, but always the Father is above all; all the decisions belong to the Father, but the God of Three will always do things together; let everyone notice that always the beloved Son of God will lift up the Father first; the Trinity of God is One, but each has a different duty, but all duty comes from the Father who will spread it out for every person to do; even the Trinity itself has a duty as well.

29 And now I have told you before it happens, that, when it may happen, you might believe.

Comments 14:29. The beloved Son of God has told all humans that He has seen things what may happen, and it will happen according to what He has said; and when your eyes have seen what happened, that will strengthen your faith that the beloved Son of God truly is who He is as He has said; what He has told to all humans is not the Word of Himself alone, but the Trinity of God has spoken out; all things will happen according to His Word.

30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world comes; and he has nothing on Me;

Comments 14:30. “… for the ruler of this world comes”; The dark does not know the plan of salvation; the only thing the dark wants is to fight with God, and the only way the dark can think how to fight is by using humans. If God in human form has spent life as a human, then the dark itself can only think that humans mean something to God, and for them, the beloved Son of God in human form must die first in order to destroy the plan for humans; God in human form must disappear first for them. As the verse has told to all believers, the dark wants to concur the whole world, and now they are coming; if anyone does not meditate on the Word and follows the teaching of God, the evil one will use the pleasures of this world itself to lead that soul astray; the human soul always seeks for fun first; to meditate on the Word it needs work to do, and humans do not like to be serious about the Word of God, and the dark side will use this weakness of humans in order to make humans fall in the trap of pleasures and fun of the earthly things.

“and he has nothing on Me.” Because the beloved Son of God is in human form, the dark themselves believe that if God goes into their domain of the dark, God Himself will lose His Own power. They believe this world (the earth itself) is the world of light and has given the power to the beloved Son of God, and if the beloved Son of God goes into the dark domain, He will lose His power; for the dark believe that this world has given the beloved Son of God power. So, the dark themselves believe that if they can keep the beloved Son of God in their domain, they have won the fight with God because their power is strongest in the dark domain. God is the God of light, so if the beloved Son of God will be kept in the dark domain, He will have no power left to fight. For the dark itself, that is the victory: if they can keep the beloved Son of God in their domain, they can brag they have won, and the beloved Son of God will become a slave in the dark domain. The dark never understand the power of God; they can only think that in their own domain, God cannot fight with them on their own terms. So, the “nothing” in this verse refers to keeping the beloved Son of God without power in the dark domain. In the dark's thought, the Son in human form does not have the same power as the Father in heavenly form does. So, when the verse says, “he has nothing on Me,” it refers to the fact that the dark has thought in their own mind that they can use the beloved Son of God to trick humans into believing in the dark, so if they can keep the beloved Son in their domain the claim for humans (human souls) has succeeded in their hand.  

31 but that the world may know that I love the Father, and according as the Father gives Me commandment, even so, I do. Arise, let Us go from here.

Comments 14:31. “but that the world may know that I love the Father.” The beloved Son of God wants to remind all humans that He loves the Father the most; the love in this place is perfect love, and the perfect love will also obey and respect the Father; to make His love perfect, the beloved Son of God must listen and obey the Father’s command as well.

“… even so, I do.” Whatever the Father wants the beloved Son to do, He will do so; regardless of how difficult it is, the beloved Son of God is willing to do all that work.

“Arise, let Us go from here.” Here the beloved Son of God has reminded the disciples that the time has come for them to keep moving on. And He will still be with them until the end.

Life and Faith Application. 1) When you read and meditate on the Holy Bible, pray, and ask, in the name of Jesus, for the Holy Spirit to come and to guide you and give you understanding; the understanding and knowledge about the Holy Bible always will link you to the beloved Son of God’s Deity, so stand firm on the knowledge you have received through the Holy Bible. 2) To be a true follower of the Lord Jesus, you must meditate on the Holy Bible through the Holy Spirit's help and follow all the commandments that the Lord gave. 3) If you love the Lord Jesus, you will keep His teachings, and the Father will love you. 4) Do not worry; the Lord Jesus is with the Father, but His word promises He will come again and take us to be with Him.

John 15

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus teaches about the true vine of knowledge, His true love for humans, and His Oneness with the Father. John 15:1-8. The Lord Jesus is the true vine, and the Father is the vinedresser. The true vine represents the vine of knowledge for the salvation of human souls, which is the Word the Lord Jesus has spoken. The beloved Son of God is the true knowledge of the Holy Word, and the Father becomes the One who will grow that vine of knowledge and have many fruits. If you listen and obey all the Lord Jesus’ teachings and meditate on the Holy Bible, you will become a vine branch that has received the knowledge to spread it out; the vine branch will bring more fruit for glorifying the Father in heaven. John 15:9-17. The Lord Jesus commands: “Love one another as I have loved you.” As the Father has loved the Son, the beloved Son of God will love all who follow Him. Therefore, if you listen and obey His teachings, love each other because you cannot do anything worthy of His love only when you obey His commands, and His love has shown to you by Him accepting to be crucified on the cross; no love is greater than this. John 15:18-25. The persecution and the hatred of the world. When you believe in the beloved Son of God and follow His teachings, the world will hate and persecute you because His holy teachings condemn the actions of the world. Every believer must stay firm with the Holy Bible’s teaching and not cultivate doubt in the heart; the doubt creates a path for the world to enter and pollute one’s faith. The Father and the Son are One; therefore, whoever hates the Son hates the Father also. John 15:26-27. The Lord Jesus sends the Intercessor into the world from the Father. The Father and the Son are One and share the Holy Spirit together. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father, will be the One who bears witness related to the duty and authority of the beloved Son of God on earth. The Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus’ apostles are the eyewitnesses of His deity, His teachings, His miracles, His betrayal and trial, His crucifixion, His death, His burial, His bodily resurrection, and His ascension to the Father.  

1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

Comments 15:1. “I am the true vine.” When the beloved Son of God mentions the vine, we, as humans in our minds, already picture the plant itself. But this true vine is the vine of knowledge that all humans, male and female, can capture. When the true heart of a true believer meditates on the word, the beloved Son of God will give the true knowledge to lead on to understand and think of the teaching that has been written in the Holy Bible. The beloved Son of God will give all true believers the true knowledge of the living word, which can nurture the soul itself. The understanding of humans has levels, the top part of the understanding is from the Holy Spirit, but on the deeper part, the beloved Son of God will help.

“the beloved Son of God will give the true knowledge”; When we have studied the word of the beloved Son of God, the word He has spoken is the true knowledge. The word He has spoken refers to the whole Bible (not only the words that are recorded in the Bible as spoken by the Lord Jesus) because He has spoken through the Holy Spirit and writing down as a Holy Bible; between the Holy Spirit and the beloved Son of God, both have received the Word from the Father to put down in the Bible (Jesus and the Holy Spirit is the Word: see John 1:1).

“and My Father is the vinedresser.” The beloved Son of God is the true knowledge about the Holy Word, and the Father becomes the One that will make that vine grow and have many, many fruits on; the Father Himself also has His Own duty in growing the faith of true believers. The purpose of the beloved Son of God to give the true knowledge to all true believers is to feed and nurture their souls in glorifying the Father. The fruit the beloved Son will make: all will glorify the Father Himself.

2 Every vine branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He removes it; and every one that bears fruit, He cleanses it, that it might bear more fruit.

Comments 15:2. “Every vine branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He removes it”; Anyone that has acknowledged the beloved Son of God and after that ignores Him in their heart, that heart has not become fertile to make any benefit for themselves and the Lord. The Father knows every heart; if that heart does not truly bear fruit, He will cut off that knowledge, and the person will become dull of learning. When the person has received knowledge and did not use it in glorifying the Father but kept it to themselves alone, that way becomes that the branch has not born fruit and will be cut off. When the branch doesn’t bear fruit: it does not glorify the Father with the whole heart; then, it is better not to have it further.  

“and every one that bears fruit, He cleanses it”; When any true believer who has acknowledged the beloved Son of God and their heart is willing to do what it takes to glorify the Father, the Father Himself will help that heart to benefit the knowledge that they have received and make their spiritual growth increase. The Father Himself will be happy and multiply the knowledge for that person, the garden of faith for the soul will be multiplied, and the branch of knowledge for that soul will grow more; not just the physical earth could notice, but the heavenly realm could notice as well. When more souls have been announced in heaven to be saved, through that knowledge of that soul, the heavenly hosts also will celebrate, and the sound of celebration in glorifying the Father will be heard everywhere in heaven as well. Remember as well, on this earth, cleansing the branches also multiplies the branches. When the Father Himself has cleansed any branch, it will grow more. That soul will go and do more work for the Father, multiplying the knowledge for other souls, and the other souls will benefit and glorify the Father as well. The heavenly realm themselves will acknowledge all those souls, and the voice will keep louder and louder. The Father is the vinedresser; He will go and cleanse all the branches and make all the knowledge multiply more and more; each time that soul glorifies the Father, the heavenly realm hosts will also be joyful because the Father Himself is happy. That happiness of the Father makes the entire heaven happy as well.

“that it may bear more fruit.” When the verse has told “bear more fruit,” that also has already told every believer that the word of God on earth will have benefit for every soul, and every soul that has received a benefit from that fruit will also go out and bear more fruit furthermore; because all who have been called must have a chance to receive all this knowledge to make themselves grow as well.

3 Already you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.

Comments 15:3. The word that the beloved Son of God has spoken out to all, who have opened their hearts to accept and meditate, will clean the person from the inside out. Unlike just going to take a shower, the word of the beloved Son of God cleanses the deepest soul of anyone who meditates on the word.

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. Just as the vine branch is not able to bear fruit from itself, if it does not abide in the vine, so neither you, if you do not abide in Me.

Comments 15:4. “Abide in Me, and I in you.” When the beloved Son of God has said, “abide in Me,” He did not mean only with the mind you think of Him, but with your heart also, and all of your actions also must be following according to His teachings; you cannot abide in Him and do not follow the teachings.

“Just as the vine branch is not able to bear fruit from itself”; As the verse has said to the true believers clearly, you alone, without the help from the Lord, what you are doing on this earth has no meaning for your soul; when you meditate in His teaching that will make fruit for the soul itself; the meditation on the Holy Word will bring fruit to the world to come, and that fruit will follow you when you go there.

“if it does not abide in the vine”; Remember as well, the vine is the true knowledge that is the beloved Son of God Himself; trust in His mercy and abide in His teachings and the knowledge of the Holy Word will help you to sustain your mind and soul and think about the Holy Word; the knowledge of the Holy Bible will help you to keep your mind in the right place.

“so neither you, if you do not abide in Me.” As the beloved Son of God has told all true believers, by yourself alone, the fruit you will make will not produce any good for the other souls. The only fruit that will produce further is the fruit that has received the knowledge from the true believer, and that fruit also abides in the teaching of the Holy Bible and glorifies the beloved Son of God as true God for their soul; those words which glorify the beloved Son of God from your soul, those words will go up until the Father Himself as well; when you have glorified the beloved Son of God, you have glorified the Father who sent Him to save you.

5 I am the vine; you are the vine branches. The one that abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for separate from Me, you can do nothing.

Comments 15:5. “I am the vine; you are the branches.” The beloved Son of God has told all humans that He is the true knowledge; in Him alone, you can gain knowledge if you listen and obey all His teachings; meditate on the Holy Bible, then you will become a vine branch that has received the knowledge to spread it out; the branch will bring more fruit for glorifying the Father in heaven.

“The one that abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit.” If you listen and obey the beloved Son of God’s teachings, He also will be in you; when you keep His teachings in you, the soul benefits; you receive the mercy and love from the beloved Son of God, and He Himself will be in you as well.

“for separate from Me, you can do nothing.” The verse has clear meaning; if you do not listen and obey the teachings of the beloved Son of God, you and your soul will not receive any benefit of the word, and all will go to nothing if you lack meditation; when you meditate, you have received the beloved Son of God into your soul, and He will not abandon the one that has accepted Him into their soul.

6 If anyone abides not in Me, he is thrown out as the branch, and is wasted away; and they gather them, and cast into the fire, and burned.

Comments 15:6. “If anyone abides not in Me, he is thrown out as the branch”; As the verse tells to all true believers, when any soul that does not listen and obey the teachings of the beloved Son of God and has not meditated in the Holy Word to feed the soul, that soul itself has rejected the Father in the same time, and it will be cut off from the kingdom of God. The nonbelievers have already been judged; their souls have no place to be considered, for those souls, it will become as if they never existed before; they are not counted anymore at this time; as the verse has told, now the Lord talks about the believers only. The Father has created many souls, but the souls that do not consider and appreciate the Father, the Father has cut them off from His consideration to be thought of or judging them further; they have already vanished from His side. So, many have called themselves believers; they acknowledge the Father but do not meditate in His teaching, so these are the branches that are cast out and waiting for judgment, but the true believers that have stand firm in the knowledge they receive, also are in a waiting place but not in the same place as the withered branches waiting; that place, where the true believers wait, has everything that the soul needs, opposite to the place of fire.

“and is wasted away”; Imagine the branch of this earth that withers; it withers because it lacks nutrition in itself. You have plants, and when the plants wither, you cut off the branches as well; they are not alive and not worthy of giving them more food further; the soul that lacks meditation in the Holy Word will become withered and dried up in the same way as well, and it is not worthy for anything afterward.

“and they gather them.” Imagine that the Father has His own soldiers that will gather those withered souls and put them in one place together. His soldiers will go to every part of the earth; no place for those withered souls to be hidden; they all will be gathered and bundled together. The souls that have already passed away from this earth have already been separated and waiting in a place; every soul has its own waiting place, the place of darkness or of light; all will wait for judgment at the same time.

“and cast into the fire.” This fire is the fire of the anger of the Father, the place of waiting in the fire; those souls are suffering; they are reaping the reward that they deserve from not believing in the mercy of the Father and not coming to meditate on His word. These souls that wait in this fire had rejected the Father when they had a chance to recognize Him and denied having Him in their life, and in this time, they will be waiting in His fire of anger until the judgment day of all will come; a single second of those time is very long for a human time that is still alive. Therefore, everyone should think about what they are doing when they are still alive on earth; what they do will point to them the place they will be afterward.

“and burned.” When talking about the burn here, it is the feeling of being tortured and suffering and wishing to be dead again; but they still have their feelings that have not vanished yet. To dwell in those feelings, a human would consider that as suffering beyond words can tell, but this suffering is not yet the biggest suffering they will receive; the hell itself will be more suffering than that. A human cannot imagine yet what it is like to suffer in the fire. Yet, the fire of anger from the Father is not as bad as the suffering of hell itself because, in hell, the Father also has put His hate in it; those in hell will wish to have vanished, but they will not vanish but will only receive suffering. 

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, if you wish whatever, you shall ask, and it will be done to you.

Comments 15:7. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you.” As the verse has told all true believers, if you believe in the Trinity of God, you must study the Holy Bible with all your heart and soul. How to say that you abide but do not read? When you read, the word will stir your soul, and you will feel that you need to do more than read. At that time, you will want to meditate, to understand what the word has spoken to your heart; but to meditate on those words, your heart must be clean from all negative thoughts; your feeling will be cut off from the world and your heart, the inner part, is free and wants to stay put with the word only.

“if you wish whatever, you shall ask …”; As the verse has told, ask what you wish, but consider as well that you may not receive it at that moment right away; everything has its own time. Therefore, you ask from your wish, and it will be given to you when the time comes, and at that time, you will use it completely and benefit not just yourself but your soul as well, and people around you will also notice that. To whomsoever the wish has come true, that person will stay and glorify the Father more and more; that will be the common reaction of the heart. “If you wish whatever,” it is general as long as it is not against the Holy Bible; whatever you have wished, if it is not against the Holy Word, all will be given in due time.

8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and you shall be to Me disciples.

Comments 15:8. “By this My Father is glorified …”; When anyone has listened to the teaching in the Holy Bible, to what the beloved Son of God has told, and glorifies the Father, and when that soul meditates on the Holy Bible in that time itself, the soul has sung praises to the Father. The sound of meditation is like music in the ear of the Father, but not all believers do that; the majority still lack meditation. The way and the Word have been given to all souls, but not all have come to use them yet. When you meditate on the Holy Bible, the fruit you produce becomes the song of worship, and the Father hears that song of meditation, which is the true fruit you bear.

“and you shall be to Me disciples.” The beloved Son of God has told the way to all how to be a disciple: listen and obey, meditate and follow the Holy Bible; that is what the true disciples of Him should do. 

9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love.

Comments 15:9. “Just as the Father has loved Me.” Many places in the Bible tell that the Father loves the beloved Son because the beloved Son listens and obeys the Father; what the Father has commanded, the beloved Son will do; and the beloved Son of God has taught all true Christians the same way, listen and obey as well.

“I also have loved you.” When anyone listens to the teaching of the beloved Son of God and follows His example, the beloved Son of God Himself will also love that one. As the Father has loved the Son, the beloved Son of God will love all who follow Him.

“Abide in My love.” Follow the teaching in the Holy Bible until the last breath on earth you have; that is abiding in His love. If you follow all the teaching, you become the obedient follower, and you have abided in His love. [abide meaning: to endure without yielding; to remain stable or fixed in a state]

10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; according as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.

Comments 15:10. “If you keep My commandments …”; The beloved Son of God has told all true believers how to be in His love at all times. Therefore, if you truly love Him, follow His teaching, and meditate on His word, only the true believers will abide in His love forever; to abide in the love of God, you must follow His commandments as well, and His commandments are in the Holy Bible, the living word of God. “My love” means the love of the beloved Son of God, which is to the obedient heart and soul; the obedient also will follow His teaching; when you have followed, you have abided in His love as well.

“according as I have kept My Father’s commandments …”; Every believer can notice that the beloved Son of God always follows the commandments of the Father; the beloved Son of God follows the commandments of the Father to the point of coming down to be as a human in the form of a servant. The beloved Son of God has left His heavenly body and taken down the form of the servant to save all mankind which is the will of the Father, which also has become the will of the beloved Son of God; because of the love the beloved Son of God has for the Father, He has done all that the Father commanded Him, and because of the obedience He has shown to the Father, the beloved Son has abided in His love and orders (commandments) at all costs.  With the Father's plan for humans, the beloved Son accepted the duty by coming down and taking human form to do the work and abide in the Father’s love by being willing to do everything in order to save the humans, even by death on the cross.

11 These I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.

Comments 15:11. “My joy …”; The joy of the beloved Son of God when He has seen that humans have been saved through His teachings; the heart of the beloved Son of God is full of joy when He has seen that His obedience to the Father has saved the souls of many humans, and when those souls glorify the Father; the most joyful moment for the beloved Son of God is to see that the Father has been glorified through His sacrifice on earth; His sacrifice has brought many souls to glorify the Father.

“your joy may be complete”; When you have followed and meditated on the Holy Bible, your soul also will be full of love from the Father, and that is the joyful soul at the end when that soul has been filled up with love from the Father, which for that soul itself brings joy. So, when you have acted and followed the Holy Bible, inside of you, you can feel the deep peace from the soul; this you will feel when you have followed the teachings of the Holy Bible; when you feel the peace, the soul itself has received the joy as well, and that joy will keep filling up in the soul until it is complete, if you do not back off before the end of life, you will keep filling up the joy for your soul.

Q: Why did the Lord speak a lot about keeping the commandments, abiding in the love of God, meditating on the Holy Word, and loving one another? A: Humans themselves have limitations; nothing humans can offer to the Father in repayment, and the beloved Son of God has come to tell humans that the only one-way humans can repay the Father is by listening and obeying all the teachings of the Holy Bible and always giving thanks and appreciating the love of the Father; the humble heart that glorifies the Father through the beloved Son reaches to the ear of the Father, nothing more humans can offer in repay for His love; the Father Himself wants the humble heart of humans, that seek to glorify Him with the deep feeling of their souls; the Father does not need anything of human but the humble soul, that is the only gift for Him.

12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Comments 15:12. The verse tells all readers that the beloved Son of God has given this love commandment to all humans. Therefore, if you listen and obey His teaching, love each other because you cannot do anything worthy of His love only when you obey His orders by loving each other as He has loved you, and His love has shown to you by Him accepting to be crucified on the cross; no love is greater than this; if you truly obey His teaching, love one another.

13 Greater love than this no one has, that anyone should lay down his life for his friends.

Comments 15:13. As the verse has told, there is no greater love than what the beloved Son of God has done, to give His life for mankind; but make sure you all remember, the Father has loved humans so much as well until He has sent the only begotten Son to come down on earth for all mankind to have a way to glorify and thank the Father; the beloved Son of God has become the bridge for all mankind to succeed in glorifying the Father.  

14 You are My friends, if you do what I command you.

Comments 15:14. The beloved Son of God has told all humans to be His friends and follow His commandments; to be the friend of God requires following the commandments and glorifying the Father.

15 No longer I call you servants because the servant does not know what his master is doing; however, I have called you friends because all things that I heard from My Father, I have made known to you.

Comments 15:15. The beloved Son of God has given the definition of being a friend with Him; He did not call you a servant for just receiving the order, but He calls you a friend because you have kept His commandments, with your own will, you have listened and obeyed His commandments; the servant is forced to do what the master orders, but a friend is willing to do what the friend has told. It is a difference between the two in worshiping and glorifying the Lord of Lords. We are friends because we read the Holy Bible, and we do, but the servants need the master to order to do what they are not willing to do by themselves.

“however, I have called you friends …”; The beloved Son of God has called you friend because whatever He heard from the Father, He has expressed in your heart what needs to be done. And those things you do for your own good, and at the same time, you glorify the Father as well. The servant will not glorify the master, just have fear only; the Lord of life does not need fear but joyful obedience in receiving guidelines and advice; His advice is not an order, but it is a guideline for your soul to come closer and have a relationship with the God Almighty. Everybody can read the Holy Bible, but the voice in the heart will lead to understanding; it is a difference between just reading or reading and understanding what you are reading. The beloved Son wants to make sure His true believers not only read but understand as well.

16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and should bring fruit; and your fruit should remain; so that because you might ask of the Father in My name, He may give you.

Comments 15:16. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you.” This verse applies to everyone that has chosen to follow the commandments; if with your own heart you follow the commandments, you have put yourself to be with the beloved Son of God, and He has chosen you because of your own heart that wants to follow. The Lord Jesus does not reject anyone that wants to follow Him.

“that you should go and should bring fruit.” Because of your heart, you have been chosen and have also received the duty to spread the word. Still, this does not mean you must leave everything and go far, it is not for all to go far and be a missionary in far lands, but everyone can be a local missionary. By the Lord’s mercy, He will bring the lost sheep to you; use the gift you have received in guiding that sheep back to the Lord; all lost sheep will need to hear the message of the beloved Son of God, which has been told in the Holy Bible.

“and your fruit should remain.” When you have told the lost sheep the good news, the good news itself will stay in the lost sheep’s hearts and lead them to find peace in the message itself. That message will remain in their soul forever, but you have the duty to open the path for that sheep, so use all the tools the Lord has provided to you. All the tools the Lord has given you will help you link and guide the sheep back because those tools are the true message of God to all lost souls. These tools also include the understanding of the Word; the Lord has given understanding inside your heart, then use that understanding to guide the lost sheep. In our comment, when we say tools, we do not mean technology-related tools.  

“so that because you might ask of the Father in My name, He may give you.” As the verse has told you: if you ask in the beloved Son of God’s name, and by the beloved Son of God’s will, He will present that request to the Father, and the Father will give it all to you. The word “so” in this verse is linked to “your fruit should remain”; the fruit that you have sown to that soul will remain on them and you until that soul has completely given themselves to the Lord, and that soul itself will ask from the Lord to keep that faith in their heart until the end; as the tree will bear the fruit furthermore that soul as well will go and bear more fruit, and that one will make your fruit remain further and further. Because when you have gone out and spread the good news, you also have asked the Father to spread out the knowledge, so that knowledge will go further and further.

[There is only one truth, Jesus; when any soul receives that knowledge, there is no other truth that any soul can find to satisfy their hunger].

17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

Comments 15:17. “These things I command you ...”; Let all true believers pay attention to this verse carefully; the most important thing for every believer is to love everyone that the Lord has brought to you to interact with; regardless of the differences, with the Lord’s help, you could make that soul have the same belief and understanding as you do. Just make sure that each time you link that soul to the Holy Bible, so you must tell the truth to that soul; the truth is the way to be saved, and that is why you do need to lead that soul to the Holy Bible, you always need to lead that soul to meditate on the Holy Bible as well.

“... that you love one another”; The word love has more than one meaning, but in this place, we talk about the meaning of pure love, which is not the physical love attachment to have: pure love wants to share the Holy Word. Remember that all are created in God’s image, which is why the verse has told clearly to love one another; every human is created after God’s own heart; the Father loves all humans, and He Himself wants all to love each other as well.

18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before you.

Comments 15:18. When you believe in the beloved Son of God and follow His teachings, the world will hate you because His holy teachings do not fit with the actions of the world; that is why the verse has told the world has hated the beloved Son of God before you because you have abided in His teaching which the world cannot accept.

19 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, therefore, the world hates you.

Comments 15:19. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own”; If you do not stay firm with the teaching and cultivate doubt in your heart, you have given yourself also to the world. The doubt in your heart will be the path for the world to enter. Therefore, you must always praise and glorify the God Most High; if you cannot remember any words, just say thank you for everything your eyes have seen, and those words of thanks to the God Most High will be the shield for your soul and will block the world to enter into your heart. Always remember who created all things, and keep giving thanks to the Creator of all things. If you give yourself to the world, the world will use you not only to destroy your own but to destroy others as well; the world is full of negativity and lust and greed, greed not only for the stomach but also for doing bad to others as well. When the world controls you, you will be a slave to the world and an enemy to all purity of God; it is like you let your soul live in the darkness of evil. The light of glory will not touch you if you yourself are the one that surrenders your soul to the dark. In this place, the light of glory means the teaching of the beloved Son of God, which all humans should learn from the Holy Bible; if the light of glory dwells in you, your soul will be free from world attachments.

“but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world”; When the verse says that you are not of the world, also it tells that you are meditating and following the holy commandments according to how the Holy Bible has told you; you have been chosen out of the world because you have abided in the Holy teaching of the God Most High. When the world cannot touch your soul, they will hate you, and they will turn and fight with the God Most High Himself; when you shut down the doubt in your heart towards the Holy Bible, you have also shut off the world from your soul, that is why the world will hate you because they cannot have an impact on you furthermore.

“therefore, the world hates you.” When the world hates you, they will also link others of their followers to go against you as well, and those that come to fight against you will come with the power of the darkness itself; the only one thing in their mind they want, is to try to find the way to separate you out from the Holy Word, by showing you what more you can enjoy outside of the Holy Word. The joy in the Holy Word and the world are different, but humans prefer the joy of this world; the work of the world itself is only to take your attention away from glorifying the God Most High, and for that, for a moment they will plant the seed of doubt in you. Every time some trouble comes, the first thing is linked to doubt regarding faith, and that doubt itself will keep growing and take you away from glorifying the God Most High. Because the Lord has chosen you out of the world, this war inside of you will always happen if you are not aware of the intentions of the world; when you look out to the world, enjoy the creation of God, but do not let yourself enjoy the things that the created things have made; the things which the Creator created and the created (humans) have made will lead your soul in a different direction. 

This comment is just a guideline, but if you do not keep yourself with the Holy Word, as the Holy Word has taught you, the things of the world itself will have power over you; the fight is to take your soul. The Father Himself has given humans free choice; you want the joy of this world or the joy of the eternal world; for the true believer, the heart always has questions as well, what the joy of heaven could be? Any joy of this world itself is nothing; the joy of heaven will be deep in your soul and will make the soul have the radiance of joy shining out; the joy in this world will be as a dim light that will capture the eyes of the soul to blur and not see the pure light.

20 Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, also they will persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Comments 15:20. “A servant is not greater than his master.” As the verse has told, remember as well, the beloved Son of God has been born in human form and takes the position of a servant to the Father; when anyone has glorified the beloved Son of God, that glorifying will go to the Father because the beloved Son is a servant of the Father; all glorifying and worshiping He will lead them to the Father because when you glorify the Father, the Trinity of God also has been glorified in the same time, and that is why the verse has told the servant is not greater than the master.

“If they persecuted Me, also they will persecute you”; Also, you, as a believer, must do your duty as well; the believer’s duty is to share the belief that they have and tell their belief to everyone they meet; however, when the time is right, the Lord will speak into your heart when it is time to give out your belief as well, and that soul will hear what you said; it may not sink down deep in their soul yet, but in time what they heard will make root, and it will be spreading everywhere into their soul. It will be a time they cannot escape the truth, their ear of the soul will also open, and they will feel in their hearts that there is no place else to go but only to come at the foot of the cross and glorify the Trinity of God with all their soul and mind. However, when you do your duty, persecution can come as well.

“if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” When those that hear the Word and do nothing, that is also disobedience to the Lord Himself; when disobedience has occurred and sank down into their heart, they had persecuted their own soul which the Lord has given them. The Word they hear will also be used to judge them at the judgment time; if you have told the Holy Word to them and they have ignored that, that is like crucifying the heart of the Lord. When disobedience comes, they have persecuted their own soul. In that time, when they have persecuted the beloved Son of God, whomever He has sent, they didn’t listen to that one, and they would turn back and persecute that person who has told them the truth about the things that had happened; when you have told them what had happened to the beloved Son of God, you also act as a witness and messenger at the same time, and for that reason, they will persecute you.

When the Lord talked about the persecution of Him, He also said they did not believe Him. Therefore, when they did not listen to Him, they did not listen to the Father Himself; so, when you go and tell the Holy Word to them if they reject the word you have told, they reject the Trinity of God.

21 But all these they will do to you because of My name, because they do not know the One having sent Me.

Comments 15:21. When they do not accept the beloved Son of God, they will not accept you as well, and whatever negative they thought about the beloved Son of God, all that they will also put on you because you have brought His teaching to their ears. However, if anyone has heard about the beloved Son of God, whether or not they have meditated on the message, the message has been given to their soul already.

This verse is not only about the physical beating of the persecution; the persecution of the soul and the beating of the spirit, the hurt of it is greater than the physical torture. So the rejection here is not about the physical you, but the feeling of your soul has been rejected because of the Holy Word you try to give to them, and that will give you no peace of this earth, and you will try to find a different way to give out more the message, but you always must stick to what the Bible has told you; what human ideas have come, leave them on the side, instead use what the deep inside of you is telling you. This feeling of torture is not visible in this world, but you have no peace because they rejected what you have said to them; you don’t find peace because they did not receive the message, and your heart worries about how to make them listen to the message, and that will not give you peace until you can positively see the result. However, they did not reject you, but they rejected the Holy Word itself, and that is the first step of persecution; you will feel later more, when the deep soul has no peace as a human, and you cannot sleep and eat, and those feelings of fulfillment will never satisfy your soul later on; this refers to disappointment because you don’t see yourself doing the right work in leading people to come and glorify the Lord.

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; however, now they have no excuse for their sin.

Comments 15:22. “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin.” When the beloved Son of God came down as a human, He also taught many things to His people, but so few have opened their hearts and received His message. Their sin will remain on them because they had already known the truth about who the beloved Son of God is. At the end time, the Father will reveal to them that He has shown mercy to them by sending His Son and giving them the way out from punishment. Still, with their own dark mind, they have rejected the beloved Son of God.

“however, now they have no excuse for their sin.” As the verse itself has told, the beloved Son of God has performed many miracles, His own people have seen the miracles that He has done on earth, but those work did not convince their hearts to open and walk away from the dark path that they were on; the true light has come for them, but they have rejected it. Therefore, on the judgment day, they cannot say they did not have a chance to repent; the beloved Son of God has come down and given them that chance already.

23 The one that hates Me, hates My Father also.

Comments 15:23. The verse tells all believers the truth because there is no difference between the Father and the Son: they are One. If you have listened to the Son, you have listened to the Father as well; when you do not believe in the Son, you also have not believed in the Father who sent Him. In this verse, most people concentrate on the word hate; but hate here is not the feeling of dislike or detest but refers to not accepting; His people did not accept His teaching when He told them where He was coming from.

Think this way as well, what reasons do people have to hate God? Humans have no reason to hate God, but they do have reason to hate the beloved Son of God because He has come down and taken the form of a human; the weakness of human God has tasted, and because of that, humans cannot accept that now God knows all weakness of humans because the Father has sent the beloved Son to be human, and use that human nature in condemning the human mistakes; however, this is not the true purpose that the beloved Son of God has come down to be human, He came down in order to save humans. The beloved Son of God in human form knows how much humans can take the suffering and when He has returned to the Father, that knowledge as human will save the human souls in the end. Therefore, when they have reason to hate the Son, they also hate the Father at the same time, and for that same reason, they hate both the Father and the Son. Humans put the meaning on the word hate, but does anyone think what hate means for the Lord? Hate for the Lord is nothing like humans understand hate; by not accepting the authority of God, that is hate as well; if you do not accept His authority, you have hated your Master.

24 If I had not done among them the works which none other has done, they would have had not sin; now, however, also they have seen and have hated Me and My Father. 

Comments 15:24. “If I had not done among them …”; In this place, the beloved Son of God talks about His own people. He is walking among them and making miracles; their eyes have seen all things, but their hearts have gone against Him because, in them, they can only think that a human cannot be God. Even though miracles have been performed in front of their eyes, the hearts of their souls have wholly shut off from accepting Him. The sin that they have committed will not be forgiven until they open their hearts and recognize the beloved Son of God; until then, they will be in distress and have no joy of their soul as they should have, even if they are a people of God, if their hearts are not open, the Father will not open their hearts for them as well; this is the part which they have to do it themselves because the beloved Son of God is among them in this time already.

“now, however, also they have seen and have hated Me and My Father.” The beloved Son of God has told them that He and the Father are One, and He is doing the Father’s will in bringing them back to glorify the Father; they have seen the miracles that He performed in the name of the Father, but they still did not accept that is the work of God in taking them back to Him. If they did not accept the beloved Son and refused Him, for the Father Himself, that comes close to being a hateful nation to Him; however, in which nation did the Father send His Son to be born? The Father sent His Son among His people, and they did not accept His mercy for themselves. Therefore, respect and obedience flew from them when they did not accept the work the beloved Son of God has performed and the Word He has taught them.

25 However, that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated Me without a cause.

Comments 15:25. It has also been written by their own prophet that they will not accept the work of God among themselves, and that which is written in their law, it has been fulfilled because by themselves they have rejected the mercy of the Father for their souls: the nation that the Father has chosen for Himself has rejected Him and His Son. But, all things must be fulfilled according to what the prophet has told them, and it has been written in their own law as well, and they have studied the law, but they never accepted what they are studying.

“They hated Me without a cause.” Because during the beloved Son of God on earth, He did not condemn anyone, but all the time, He has shown love and mercy to them; even when they have rejected to listen to Him, they have no basic ground to reject Him, but in their own hearts they have built up the wall of rejection towards the beloved Son of God. And because of their own unbelief, they will bring judgment to all their nation, even if they are called to be God’s children.

Other nations accept Jesus more than His own people, but His own people, because of their own hearts, have turned against God and blame it as God’s fault for making the Holy Bible and claiming them as His nation; for them, the Bible itself makes people against them. But they want to be accepted among people, and for them, that is more important than being accepted by God; the darkness of mind has covered their hearts from being open to accepting the love of God for their nation.

26 When the Intercessor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness concerning Me.

Comments 15:26. “When the Intercessor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father.” Here in this verse, it is the proof to all readers as well, the beloved Son of God and the Father are One; remember the Holy Spirit as well is the Spirit of the Father, but this verse clearly tells that the beloved Son of God will send the Holy Spirit; so, here it has clearly shown that the Father and the Son are One and also share one Holy Spirit together. Whatever the Father wants, the beloved Son of God will do. As we know, remember the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father; so, if the Father does not want the Holy Spirit to come down, the beloved Son of God will not be able to send the Spirit of the Father to earth. Still, it is the Father’s will Himself for the Holy Spirit to come down on earth.

“the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.” The Holy Spirit, as the verse has told, is sent from the Father; the Spirit of truth from the Father has come down for humans; the beloved Son of God has sent the Holy Spirit to humans, and the Holy Spirit has come forth from the Father Himself. Let all believers take note here as well: the Father always will listen to the Son, and also, the Father will do as the Son asks. The most important here is: the Father has sent His own Spirit, but the person who delivers the Spirit of the Father is the beloved Son of God who can handle the Most High Spirit because the beloved Son of God is One with the Father.

“He will bear witness concerning Me.” The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father, will be the One who bears witness related to the duty and authority of the beloved Son of God on earth. The Holy Spirit will remind all true believers that whatsoever the beloved Son of God has said, all things come from the Father, not only from Himself alone, and the Holy Spirit will testify to all concerning the authority of the beloved Son of God. Therefore, let all true believers listen to the Holy Spirit's guidance, and when you glorify God, do so in the Trinity of God; do not try to separate the worship in three, but always glorify the Trinity of God together, and all your needs will be heard. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father, is a continual witness on earth of the deity of the Son of God.

27 Now you also bear witness, because you are with Me from the beginning.

Comments 15:27. This verse is the concluding part of the theme itself; the beloved Son of God has talked to His disciples and given them the duty of spreading all the good news without holding any part secret. Whatever has been told to them, they must tell further, and they themselves become true witnesses of the beloved Son of God when they have gone out and spread the message to the people. This verse refers to the eyewitness of humans; during the beloved Son of God’s living on earth, He was teaching the disciples, which is why they are His witnesses. It is important that Jesus has the Holy Spirit as His witness from the Father and the apostles as human witnesses. They are the eyewitnesses of His deity, His teachings, His miracles, His betrayal and trial, His crucifixion, His death, His burial, His bodily resurrection, and His ascension to the Father.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Trust in the mercy of the Lord Jesus and abide in His teachings, and the knowledge of the Holy Word will help you to sustain your mind and soul and think about the Holy Word; by constantly abiding in the Lord Jesus, your knowledge in the Holy Word can produce more fruit. 2) The Lord Jesus commands us to love one another as He loved us; therefore, pure love toward others wants to share the Holy Word with them. So, be ready to share the Word with those that the Lord brings in your way. 3) True believers in the Lord Jesus must share their beliefs and tell others about the Lord; however, we must listen to the Lord Jesus speaking into our hearts when to share. But, when we stand for the Lord Jesus, remember as well that as they persecuted the Lord Jesus, our master, they will persecute us as well. 4) The Bible and the Holy Spirit bear witness about the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit dictated the Holy Bible to the writers word by word; therefore, pray, read, and meditate on the Word of God. 

John 16

Summary. This chapter has told about the Lord’s duty on earth; with His mercy, He has given us the Holy Spirit; the Father has sent the Holy Spirit because the Son had been on earth, and humans need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to realize that because the unconditional love of the beloved Son for humans He accepted the death on the cross. His death on the cross will make the path for all true believers to go to heaven. John 16:1-4. The Lord Jesus warns the disciples about the trials in the world. His disciples will face rejection and persecution on account of their message about the beloved Son of God because the leaders of the people do not know the Father or the Son. John 16:5-15. The beloved Son of God will send the Holy Spirit to save the world. Because the beloved Son of God goes back to the Father, He will send the Holy Spirit into the world to testify about salvation through the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is now the One that leads and guides all true believers, and the Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. John 16:16-24. The Lord Jesus will return. The Lord Jesus tells His disciples, “a little while, and you see Me no longer; and again, a little while, and you will see Me.” By saying this, He tells us that His human body will leave the earth with Him, and no part of Him will remain on earth, which confirms His bodily resurrection. However, at the same time, the Lord Jesus has promised that after He goes to the Father, He will come again to take all His children; therefore, if the beloved Son of God has promised, He will keep it, and our own eyes will see Him. John 16:25-33. The Lord Jesus has concurred the living and the dead. In this portion, the Lord Jesus tells us that He “came out from the Father” into the world, but the world crucified Him. However, by the death on the cross, He has concurred the death itself, and His resurrection proved that He is indeed the Son of God, and they crucified the guiltless One. When we say He concurred the living, we mean He lived on earth as the sinless One, and when we say He concurred the dead, we mean that death could not hold Him. Therefore, the love toward the Lord Jesus is the heart of true believers, and only through the beloved Son of God, the Father will love you.

1 These have I spoken to you, that you might not fall away.

Comments 16:1. As the verse has told, the disciples will face many challenges, but here the beloved Son of God has given them a warning because there still is much work for the disciples themselves to do. Regardless of what you will face in life, stay firm in the faith, and you all will succeed.

2 They will put you out of the synagogues; but an hour is coming, that everyone having killed you may think to offer a service to God.

Comments 16:2. “They will put you out of the synagogues.” Here the Lord Jesus has told them directly what will happen; because of the message related to the beloved Son of God, the disciples will be cast out from the synagogues. This is because His own people’s hearts are darkened, and they are unwilling to accept salvation through the beloved Son of God. They stay firm with the old tradition they have received, but when the Father wants to offer them a straight way to salvation, in their hearts, they cannot accept the easy way but rather stay with the old way they used to have.

“but an hour is coming ….” Because the disciples talk about the way for His people to be saved through the Lord Jesus, His people consider the message blasphemy because the disciples will lift up the beloved Son of God as a Savior for them. The good news the disciples have given them by going through the beloved Son of God is not the holy way they consider it to be. His own people will not accept this good news and consider it as the disciples are blaspheming against God the Father. Therefore, one way of punishment is killing them because, by the old law, the blasphemers against God must die, and that is the only way for them to know how to please the Father.  

3 And these will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.

Comments 16:3. Now there is a clear meaning of what they will be facing; His own people have glorified the Father all their lives, but they never truly meditated on His Word and teachings. They follow the teachings of their parents, not the teachings of the Holy Word, and they have not known either the Father or the Son until they meditate on all the written prophecies that the Father has already given them in their law related to the Savior of the whole world. This verse is the place where every true believer can notice that if you yourself do not meditate on what the Holy Bible has told you, you will not know the Father and the beloved Son of God. Therefore, even though all have been written clearly already, your heart will be blind as well, so read the Holy Word and meditate on the Word the Holy Bible has told you; take your heart away from the things of this world, and give your heart to the meditation of the Holy Word of God and you will find salvation for your soul. 

4 But these have I said to you, so that when their hour might come, you may remember them, because I said to you. Now these, I did not say to you from beginning, because I was with you.

Comments 16:4. “But these have I said to you, so that when their hour might come.” The beloved Son of God Himself tells His own disciples what will happen to them. So, when things in their lives happen, they will remember that He has already told them about the rejection. When they go out and tell that the true Savior of humans is here with them, and God did not only just see but has faced challenges as all humans face as well, when the rejection comes upon them, He also is there with them and knows what they are facing in this life for Him.

“you may remember them, because I said to you.” When you walk through the troubles of life, all the mistreatment and troubles that you face, remember that it is not to you that they are doing this; but every hardship you have, it means they are rejecting the Savior but not rejecting you as the messenger itself. Whenever they are doing bad or putting you to suffer, remember their target is not you that they want to harm, but they want your mouth to tell lies and not the true message for the people. Still, all things will come and go, so remember the duty you have received, the beloved Son of God has chosen you to go out and spread the good news for all people. 

“Now these, I did not say to you from beginning, because I was with you.” While the beloved Son of God was with them and teaching them, in the beginning, He did not tell them that humans would reject Him as their Savior. While the beloved Son of God was with His disciples, He wanted to teach them all the things that they would need to tell others after the beloved Son of God was rejected by His own people. All the true disciples He has chosen will remember all the messages He has told them, not because of their own memory, but by the mercy of the Father, they will remember the teachings of the beloved Son of God. Everything He has said will be fresh in their memory; they will experience the Holy Spirit's work in them, which will make them be able to transfer into their memory about the teaching of the Lord; even they themselves will be surprised at how much they remember. 

5 However, now I go to the One having sent Me; and none of you asks Me, Where are Thou going?

Comments 16:5. “However, now I go to the One having sent Me.” The beloved Son of God has told His disciples where He is going, to the Father who sent Him on earth; there is where the beloved Son of God will return. The throne of the beloved Son of God is beside the Father; the Father sent the Son as a Savior, and the beloved Son of God has fulfilled all the duties that He has received, and the time has come for Him to rejoice with the Father.

“and none of you asks Me, Where are Thou going?” The beloved Son of God asks the disciples this question, making them think and ask their hearts, do they really know who they call Master and Teacher? This question from the Master will guide them and keep them walking the straight way, and they will think of the place where He is going now. The disciples have never thought in their hearts before about whom He is going to see, and if He is going there and staying there forever, none of them have ever thought about these things. But if they have considered Him as their Master, when the beloved Son of God has said something to them, it is not just the things of this world they should think about. They must also learn to know Him, not only just calling Him alone, Master, but also knowing where He comes from and where He is going now; however, they are connecting now, but they never thought of these things before.  

6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Comments 16:6. When the beloved Son of God has told them now is His time to go back to the Father, the sadness of heart has come upon them all. They know in their hearts that He does not belong on earth, but inside their hearts, they can’t give an answer about where He belongs. Still, they keep thinking about the authority of the beloved Son of God for them, and they can’t ask Him where He will go; this also shows their respect towards the beloved Son of God.

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is profitable for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Intercessor will not come to you; however, if I go, I will send Him to you.

Comments 16:7. “Nevertheless, I tell you … the Intercessor will not come to you.” Even the beloved Son of God has completely known what will happen to Him, His death on the cross for Him has happened already, but in Himself, all He thinks about is what is best for humans because if He is still here on earth, the Holy Spirit will not come to guide humans and lead all humans to worship the Father. Even though the Lord Jesus can lead them to the Father, the Father’s heart wishes to be with humans as well, so the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, and when He comes, He will guide human souls to glorify the Father and lead every soul to have a relationship with the Father Himself.

“however, if I go, I will send Him to you.” Because the Father and the beloved Son are One, when He goes from the earth, the beloved Son Himself will send the Holy Spirit to humans because He Himself knows what hardship humans have in believing what they can’t see. So, the Holy Spirit will dwell in their hearts, and the true believers will feel not only the beloved Son alone but the Father as well, and the Holy Spirit will speak directly to the heart of every soul. Humans need both the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit to speak in their hearts and convince their hearts about the Son and the Trinity. 

8 And having come, He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment:

Comments 16:8. This verse tells the duty of the Holy Spirit on earth; the soul that truly believes in the Trinity of God will experience what the Holy Spirit will do on earth for their soul. Each individual duty (see verses 8-11) of the Holy Spirit will guide every soul to go directly and glorify the Trinity of God with all their heart and mind and know the way to reach the Father Himself. Every soul that truly believes in the Trinity of God will experience the worship of the Trinity in their heart and mind. The closest humans can come to the Father is through the Holy Spirit of the Father, so give attention to the duty of the Holy Spirit on earth.

9 concerning sin indeed, because they do not believe in Me;

Comments 16:9. This verse tells clearly to all readers that those who do not believe in the beloved Son of God have already committed sin, and that is the sin of the soul as well, not just sin of the heart alone, because believing in the beloved Son of God they will receive guidance to receive forgiveness from the Father. Without baptism in the Trinity of God, the sin from birth until that time will not be forgiven. When the believer has gone under the baptism water, the old sin has been washed off from that soul, but the sin that is committed after that, the punishment is greater; it is greater because it is a sin knowingly, and that is a sin against God. Therefore, let all true believers watch out carefully; after you have been baptized, do not blaspheme against God because that sin will not be washed away from your soul.

Q: What is the difference between the sin of the heart and the sin of the soul? A: Sin of the heart is when you ignore the message that has been given; the sin of the soul is when you do not accept the work of God in your life and consider that all things happen by chance. However, nothing happens by chance; all things have been allowed to happen for a reason, for the heart to learn or for the mind to think. 

10 concerning righteousness now, because I go to the Father, and you see Me no more;

Comments 16:10. When the beloved Son of God goes to the Father, He is going not with authority but with righteousness in Him, the righteousness in giving up His human life for mankind and in bringing all humans to glorify the Father; for the Father, that is the righteousness in the Son, when the Son has given up everything for glorifying the Father first. Also, the beloved Son of God loved the human companions that He had and leaving them was not easy for the beloved Son of God to do, but in order to fulfill the Father’s plan, the disciples must go out and show all humans how to glorify the Father through the beloved Son of God. For that, the Holy Bible has been established because all of His disciples will be part of doing that work, to make the record for the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirit, and to write down all the work the beloved Son of God has accomplished on earth for glorifying the Father.

11 concerning now judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

Comments 16:11. “the ruler of this world.” The “ruler,” in this place, are the rulers of many nations that have sold their souls to the evil one and have become slaves of the evil one, but they also are the rulers of the people in this world (see Matthew 4:8-10). People under their authority also suffer under their rule; this happens when people choose a ruler that did not follow God’s teaching but sold themselves to the dark one.

“concerning now judgment ….” The beloved Son of God will also take part in judgment, but during this time, the Holy Spirit will reveal to the true believers concerning the judgment of the ruler of this world; these true believers that get this revelation must speak and make it known. The rulers of this world have been judged according to their own actions; having ruling positions on this earth has made them think that they are equal to God, and because of their hearts, they will be judged. The Holy Spirit will reveal to rulers’ hearts: “you will have no peace until you have come to recognize the authority of the beloved Son of God on earth; no one can save any soul, but only through the beloved Son of God will you be saved,” and the Holy Spirit will make them realize this as well. The rulers of this world have used the power of the dark side in controlling the people, not only to limit God’s worship but also to encourage the people to worship humans. The rulers have planted in people’s hearts, you worship God, but you don’t earn anything or come and worship me and have a good life; but the rulers of this world have been judged according to their actions and their hearts toward God. This duty of the Holy Spirit is related to revealing, to the true believers, concerning the judgment of the rulers of this world at this time, and He will also reveal, to the hearts of the rulers of this world, concerning who has the true authority to save souls. So, the Lord Jesus came to bring salvation and reveal to the rulers during His life on earth that He is the Son of God and salvation of souls is only through Him, but they crucified Him for this. Now, this duty continues through the work of the Holy Spirit (See Acts 24:10-27 and Acts 28:11-31). 

Q: Many rulers still do not acknowledge the authority of the beloved Son of God; what can we say about these? A: As the Bible has told as well, many kings have come from distant lands to worship the Lord (Matthew 2:1-12); so, how do these kings know about the Lord, if not by the work of the Holy Spirit to stir their hearts. However, the Bible does not say that the whole earth’s rulers have come; those who come and worship the Lord find peace, but the rest have ignored the voice in their hearts. Therefore, those who do not come to the Lord have no peace in themselves, making them have wars with others. They cannot find peace unless they have killed people because they have ignored the voice of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, and for that reason, many wars have happened on earth; even now, the wars have not ended yet.

12 I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them now.

Comments 16:12. This is the last period of time the beloved Son of God will stay physically on the earth, and He has given this warning to all of His disciples because many rejections will come upon them for spreading the good news. He will not name them out specifically for the disciples at this time, but He has specifically reminded them to remember all His teachings during the time He has spent with them. They have received the truth that will save not only their souls but the souls of their hearers as well. His words have sunk down into their hearts, and when they go out and tell anyone, those words will also sink down into those hearts. Therefore, all humans will benefit from the good news, everyone equally, not only His own disciples alone, and whoever hears the teachings and believes them will benefit the same as His own disciples did because they are His disciples as well after they receive the message.

13 Nevertheless when He, the Spirit of the truth, shall come, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself; but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will declare to you the things coming.

Comments 16:13. “Nevertheless … truth.” The beloved Son of God will send down the Holy Spirit to all true believers; the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, and He has only the truth in Him because in the Father, no lies can exist, and whatever the Holy Spirit will tell the true believers, those sayings are all true and come from the Father Himself. No one can blaspheme the Holy Spirit; whoever does so blaspheme the Trinity of God at the same time. Because what He will tell us is hard to believe for humans, and those that have no heart for God will never accept it, but we as true believers should listen and meditate on all things He tells us because the Holy Spirit will give warnings to the heart of the true believers. Many call themselves believers but do not have a true heart to the Word of God, and those hearts will ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit, but it does not mean they did not hear; they heard but ignored.

“for He will not … He will speak.” Whatever the Holy Spirit speaks is not from His own alone. Everything He hears from the Father, He will tell, and those things will happen as the Father has said; the earth is His footstool. The Holy Spirit will tell what the Father wants to all that have given their hearts and souls to the Father, and even those that reject Him will hear as well, and because they hear and reject it, they will be judged according to that as well.

“and He will declare to you the things coming.” The verse tells all true believers that the Holy Spirit will tell them what will happen in the future. The things He will tell may be too hard to understand, but in each period of time, the Holy Spirit will still tell specifics to many more and remind them what will happen, and their hearts will be stirred up to speak more and warn the others. The things that will come are hard for all humans, but the Father has also given way out to all that listen and meditate on the Word of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Bible also has guidelines for what all true believers should do when times of trouble come, but the Holy Spirit will specifically guide those with a true heart to the Word of God.

14 He will glorify Me, for He will receive out from Me, and will announce to you.

Comments 16:14. The beloved Son and the Father have made clear to all now that the beloved Son and God the Father are One. As the verse has told, the Holy Spirit will tell all things what will happen and take all the knowledge out from the beloved Son of God; the Holy Spirit will glorify the beloved Son of God and will take out from the beloved Son and will make it clear to you as you work for Him. In this verse, the beloved Son has told very clearly to all that whatever belongs to the Father also belongs to Him because, between the Father and the beloved Son, there is nothing between them because the two Gods are one God together; what the Holy Spirit has declared also it is what the beloved Son wants to declare to all humans as well.

15 All, as many as the Father has, are Mine; on account of this, I said that He takes out from Me, and will announce to you.

Comments 16:15. The beloved Son of God has declared Himself to all that believe in Him, that He is One with the Father; all things belong to the Father, and that has made all things also belong to the Son, and that is why the verse has told, “He takes out from Me, and will announce to you.” This also told that the Holy Spirit also belongs to the Holy Son, even though the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father. Still, in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit also has become the beloved Son's Spirit, but let all humans not forget, as the Bible has told, the beloved Son of God also has His own Spirit. The Spirit of Christ also has the duty to all things and will also work with the Holy Spirit as One together.  

16 A little while, and you see Me no longer; and again, a little while, and you will see Me.

Comments 16:16. “A little while, and you see Me no longer.” Here the beloved Son of God has said to His disciples, He as a human right now, they can see Him as He is, but this human body of Him also will be taken away with Him, and that is why He has told them they see Him no longer, not even in the grave itself. His human body will leave the earth with Him, and no part of Him will remain here on earth, and the disciples should not worry and look for Him. He has told them before His resurrection in the body takes place, and here is the place to confirm the resurrection. He gave away His blood and the water from His body for all the earth to benefit, but no one has seen that blood again because the earth has swallowed that blood and water within itself, which will sustain the earth until the judgment day comes. However, His blood and water from His body will always be there for humans to take through communion. Any moment Christians come to take communion and glorify the Father, it will always confirm to them that the Father Himself will hear their prayer. When you take communion, in your mind and heart, you should also think that you have eaten the Lord Jesus' flesh and drank His blood, which will make your soul feel connected to Him.

“and again, a little while, and you will see Me.” This is a continuing event, meaning that we will see the beloved Son of God again when He comes back to take all His children. That time will be a time of rejoicing between the beloved Son of God and all who have put their complete trust in Him. It will be only for a little while that He has gone back to the Father, but this is the promise from the beloved Son of God Himself that all that trust and have faith in Him will see Him again; at that time, the Lord will not be just speaking into your hearts, but your eyes will see His face and all His faithful followers will glorify the Father with the beloved Son of God, not through the Holy Spirit, but through the beloved Son of God Himself.

Q: What does “a little while” mean for us? A: The time for humans and God is not the same; many generations of humans will pass away, but that time for God is just a small little dot; so all true believers must have patience; if the beloved Son has promised, He will keep it, and your own eyes will see Him.

Q: So, where does the Lord Jesus go? A: Some older manuscripts add an extra clarification: “because I am going away to the Father.” But this addition is believed not to be part of the original text. However, in verse 10, the Lord talks directly about His going back to the Father, and this verse indirectly implies the same event. The beloved Son of God does need to be with the Father as well; because He has taken the human form with Him, the reunion between the Father and the Son has happened with the Father being most joyful. The beloved Son of God will spend time with the Father, but it does not mean He is not watching over all that have given their hearts to Him; always His eyes will be upon them all that face troubles but do not wither their faith. Their faith in Him makes Him always be beside them. The persons themselves will feel it as well, that they are never left alone, the deep feeling in their souls always will be the voice of comfort for themselves, that God never abandons them, even He has returned to the Father; also, He has already told that He has sent the Holy Spirit for all true believers to feel close with Him all the time.

Note that the appearance of the Lord Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection happened before He went away to the Father; as such, the part of the verse “and again, a little while, and you will see Me” must refer to His second coming.

17 Therefore, out of His disciples said one to another, What is this that He says to us, A little while, and you see Me not; and again a little while, and you will see Me; and, Because I am going to the Father?

Comments 16:17. His disciples are also common men; what the beloved Son of God has talked to them, the common man's mind will only think what they can see. The time humans can think of is the time right now in front of their eyes or the time of tomorrow. The word “a little while” for them has created confusion, and every human will have the same question as them. Is the Lord talking about a period of time or just talking about what He is doing right now before the departure? The beloved Son will depart from the earth, but He has already told everyone that He will send the Holy Spirit to come down on earth, and the Holy Spirit, with the mercy of the Father, will guide the hearts of the true believers. During waiting for the beloved Son of God, they will glorify the Father within the deep of their souls. The words of glorifying the Father will be echoed, and all heavenly hosts will hear the sounds of worshiping of the souls, and that will be the song of worship for the Father. By the help of the Holy Spirit, the souls will sing the song of glorifying the Father.

Q: We comment that “and again a little while, and you will see Me” refers to the second coming of the Lord Jesus on earth. A: Indeed, at the second return of the beloved Son of God on earth, as the Bible has told, He will not come alone. The army of angels will also accompany Him at that time, and every eye will see Him and His glory; it will not be possible to describe the picture for humans; at that time, the eyes that see will be amazed, and nobody can describe out the picture, neither are we.

18 Then they were saying, What is this that He says, A little while? We do not know what He says.

Comments 16:18. Let all readers also notice that His own disciples, while the beloved Son of God was on the earth with them, what the beloved Son of God was talking with them, also they couldn’t understand. The word that He said right now for them, they all think in the same way, that it applies only right now, but they have not yet linked to where He is going and why He is going there. The question arises in their hearts, and they want to ask Him but the fear of the unknown also has made them not have the confidence to ask the beloved Son of God, and they also worry the answer will make them doubt more. The point here is that they talked among themselves (see verse 19), thinking that the Lord doesn’t hear, but the Lord knows all things.

19 Jesus knew that they were wishing to ask Him, and He said to them, Do you seek among one another concerning this, that I said, A little while, and you see Me not, and again a little while, and you will see Me?

Comments 16:19. This verse has also let all believers know that the beloved Son of God knows everything, what His own disciples are thinking and worrying about, but in time He will explain to them. All readers will notice later on as well that He will explain to everyone what He means.

20 Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and will lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be grieved, but your grief will turn into joy.

Comments 16:20. “… but the world will rejoice”; The world was glad to see the Lord Jesus crucified, except for those who had given their hearts to Him at that time. Those who loved Him without expecting to receive anything in return, even when their eyes saw He was crucified, their souls were in sorrow, but the rest of the world was in awe that He, the one who performed miracles, could not save Himself from this torture. So watch out when you read this verse, and ask yourself what you would feel if you were there and saw Him who has said He is coming from the Father but has been crucified by the humans’ hands. The hand that created them had received back in return the death on the cross; that is what, in return, humans have given to the beloved Son of God who gives them life.

“you will be grieved, but your grief will turn into joy.” The true believers that weep for the beloved Son of God in their hearts will have joy unspeakable when they see the beloved Son return to rule over them. The eyes of the soul will be the eyes that look at Him and glorify Him, and those eyes have convinced the soul to realize the true King will rule over them from now on and forever; that is the joy for them to be under the true King of life.

21 The woman when she is giving birth has pain because her hour has come; however, when she has delivered the baby, she remembers no longer the distress because of the joy that a child is born into the world.

Comments 16:21. When the woman has given birth, her distress has gone away; it is the same as the soul when it receives the joy of worshiping the Trinity of God; that joy has pushed away all worry and doubt in your own soul. The woman, when she has seen the baby knows as well that her baby is still alive and glorifies the work of the Lord; it is the same way when the soul has rejoiced in the work of God and worships Him; we can say as a new birth has occurred as well.

22 And you therefore, now, indeed, have grief; however, I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one takes away from you.

Comments 16:22. “And in that day, you will question Me nothing.” On that day when you have been reborn (baptized in water) and baptized in the Holy Spirit, in your heart, you have received your answers, the Holy Spirit transfers the answers to you; because if your heart is not opened to receive the baptism in the water, your heart will not be opened to receive the Holy Spirit baptism as well. The Holy Spirit baptism can occur afterward, after the water baptism, when the soul deepens itself in the Word. The Word will open the path for the soul, and the soul will receive the Holy Spirit upon it, and your questions will be all answered at that point. If you have received the Holy Spirit, no questions will be left for you on that day when you meet the Lord. If you do not have the Holy Spirit baptism, the heart of your soul has not been opened to receiving the joy, and also, all your questions deep in the soul have not been answered yet; indeed, the soul will receive all the answers at that time when you meet with the Lord.  

“whatever you may ask …”; In that time, when you have any questions, and you have asked the Father to explain to you, but that asking must be in the name of the beloved Son of God, so the Spirit of the beloved Son of God will be with you in your mouth at that time, the Father will answer all your questions because, in His ear, He will hear the beloved Son asking for you, even though you yourself are the one who asks, but the beloved Son of God has acted on your behalf to ask the Father, and all the answers will be given to you. “In that time” in this comment refers to the time of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. When you receive the Holy Spirit baptism, your soul itself will have the experience of conversation, and when all is complete, you yourself will be meditating and have joy, the joy that the soul can tell the heart what the answer is they have received. You will feel deeply within you the understanding, and that is when your soul and heart have given the understanding to one another.

23 And in that day, you will question Me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you may ask, the Father, He will give you in My name.

Comments 16:23. “And in that day, you will question Me nothing.” On that day when you have been reborn and baptized in the Holy Spirit, in your heart, you have received your answers, the Holy Spirit transfers the answers to you; because if your heart is not opened to receive the baptism in the water, your heart will not be opened to receive the Holy Spirit baptism as well. The Holy Spirit baptism can occur afterward, after the water baptism, when the soul deepens itself in the Word. The Word will open the path, and the soul will receive the Holy Spirit upon it, and your questions will be all answered at that point. If you have received the Holy Spirit, no questions will be left for you on that day when you meet the Lord. If you do not have the Holy Spirit baptism, the heart of your soul has not been opened to receiving the joy, and also, all your questions deep in the soul have not been answered yet; the soul will receive all the answers at that time when you meet with the Lord.  

“whatever you may ask …”; In that time when you have any questions, and you have asked the Father to explain to you, but that asking must be in the name of the beloved Son of God, the Spirit of the beloved Son of God will be with you in your mouth at that time. The Father will answer all your questions because, in His ear, He will hear the beloved Son asking for you, even though you yourself are the one who asks, but the beloved Son of God has acted on your behalf to ask the Father, and all the answers will be given to you.

“In that time” in this comment refers to the time of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. When you receive the Holy Spirit baptism, your soul itself will have the experience of conversation, and when all is complete, you yourself will be meditating and have joy, the joy that the soul can tell the heart what the answer is they have received. You will feel deeply in you the understanding, and that is when your soul and heart have given the understanding to one another. 

24 Until now, you have asked nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  

Comments 16:24. Remember that the beloved Son of God is speaking with the disciples (not only the apostle but all His followers around Him) and other people are surrounding them. Therefore, everyone around them will hear His sayings, so the benefit is not only for His disciples alone. However, some part of the conversation is just between the Lord and His disciples, but some part is also for others to hear because they were never alone in any place.

“Until now, you have asked nothing in My name.” His own disciples have not asked Him specific questions about what He will do or what they will do to complete the work that the Master has given them. At that time, the Lord gave them the teachings, and He gave them a chance to ask questions. However, the disciples had their own questions they wished to ask, mostly unrelated to the teachings; they asked specifically what they would do and how they could do it. They need to pray about the questions in their hearts because the Master has already told them to ask, and it will be given to them. If they ask in the name of the Master Himself, they will get it. But mainly, they asked to have the same power they have seen the beloved Son perform; they also want that power and want to know how they could perform the same type of miracles; it is just their worry. Common men have seen miracles, so in their hearts, they wonder if it is a true miracle or just a trick. The question in their hearts is: if the Master can do it, can they do it as well? It is a common question for everyone who was there.

“ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” The beloved Son of God has told His disciples straight forward that whatever they want to do for others to ask in His name. The Father will give it according to the beloved Son’s wishes to have that miracle (true knowledge about the Son of God coming on earth) done because the beloved Son will go back and be with the Father soon; and whatever His disciples ask at that time in His name, the Father will do it because the beloved Son will ask for them. (To have a transformation of heart to believe in the Trinity of God is a miracle)

Q: What asking are we talking about in this verse? A: When anyone asks the beloved Son of God related to the teaching of the Holy Bible and what it really means for humans, and when the person in their heart truly wishes to know what the Holy Bible has talked about the beloved Son of God, that came on earth, that question the Father will be pleased to answer. And when the person has received the answer, they will feel the completion of the faith in their heart and have confidence that what they are reading in the Bible is from God Almighty, and they will have complete trust in the Holy Word's teaching.  

25 These things I have spoken to you in parables; an hour is coming, when I will no more speak to you in parables, but will announce to you plainly about the Father.

Comments 16:25. “These things I have spoken to you in parables”; Because the time was not right for the disciples to understand, the beloved Son talked to them in comparisons. Therefore, in His teaching for them, He gives examples, and the disciples must use that to compare with what is happening at that time; that is why He always used comparisons to teach them.

“an hour is coming …”; The time of departure for the beloved Son is approaching shortly. In this short period of time, He will not use comparison but will answer straight forward when they have questions; for every question regarding the Father, the Son will tell them in plain meaning, and there is no need for them to ask each other afterward again because they all will have the same understanding.

The beloved Son of God has been with His disciples for some time. Still, He had never explained concerning the Father and His authority to His own disciples at any time yet because it was not a time for them to know the details about the Father while the beloved Son was still with them; so now He wants to teach them first in all things. If they want, just ask Him, and then all things will be done for them. His time of departure is approaching now, so He also wants to teach them. The next person who will do all things according to what they are asking towards the beloved Son is the Holy Spirit, whom He will send for them and will take their request to present to the Father in heaven because the Father is the root of all things, all things in the present, future, and past are according to the Father’s will; the beloved Son and the Holy Spirit also do all things according to the Father’s will. He never really explained to them in detail but showed them His authority. 

26 In that day, you will ask in My name, and I do not say no to you, that I will ask the Father for you;

Comments 16:26. “In that day, you will ask in My name.” Most people interpret “in that day” as a specific day only, but when the beloved Son of God told His disciples “in that day,” He meant a period of time or length of time that they were working; that is why that day is not about one specific day only, but a period of time. As humans can put “in that day,” as meaning that every day, you can ask in His name, and He will ask the Father for you, even the verse itself has told in that day but let everyone that wishes to ask to consider your day to be that day. Note that this verse says, “in that day” while verse 25 says, “an hour is coming”.

“and I do not say no to you.” The beloved Son of God has said to His disciples that if what they ask is related to His teaching, He will never say no to them because a chance for them to ask for understanding may come, but they will not always have the heart to receive it. The situation in life will make them have a hard time and feel brave enough to ask, but because the answer may not be as they wish to hear, the beloved Son of God has told them here that He will not say no to them.

“that I will ask the Father for you.” When you ask anything related to the understanding of the teaching, the beloved Son of God will always ask the Father to give you the understanding; take this as a promise from Him that He will always ask the Father for you. The things of this world are nothing for the Lord, but the Lord also wants everybody to realize as well that the things of this world come and go, and there is no need for anyone to try to have everything. When life on this earth ends, you cannot take anything with you, but if you understand and know the meaning of the teaching of the Lord, those will go with your soul when you depart from this earth. Therefore, if you want any understanding of the Holy Word, the beloved Son of God will never say no to asking the Father to grant it for you because, in the end, you take it with you when you are going to be with the Lord in heaven. However, because this relates to keeping it after departing from this earth, only the Father will allow for the soul to keep this memory; what the Father allows the soul will keep.

27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from the Father.

Comments 16:27. “for the Father Himself loves you.” At this point, the beloved Son of God has told His disciples that not only do they know the truth, but the Father also loves them. He told them this to make their hearts start to think that the Master of their life loves them and the Father Himself also loves them, and they should abide in that love, and they themselves should keep their love towards Them (the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit).

“because you have loved Me.” The love toward the Lord Jesus is the heart of true believers; remember that only through the beloved Son of God the Father will love you; so, if you lack the love towards the beloved Son of God, that lack of love also will reflect until the heart of the Father. Therefore, love the beloved Son of God with all your heart, mind, and soul; that love will become the path for you to reach the Father.

“and have believed that I came out from the Father.” Then, when you have loved the beloved Son of God, in your heart also, you will accept who He is. When your heart has accepted the Son, the Father also will accept you; all that matters is the love of the Father; so, think at all times how to keep the Father’s love with you; the main source of that love is the beloved Son of God. Listen and obey the teachings that the Holy Spirit has given in the Holy Bible, which will make your heart firm in love for the Lord; when your heart is firm in love for the Trinity of God, you will receive the love from the Trinity of God as well.

28 I came out from the Father, and have come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father.

Comments 16:28. “I came out from the Father.” Now the beloved Son of God has told His disciples straight forward that He is coming from the Father of heaven; the verse itself has told straight to the point where He is coming from. He has told many times that He comes from the Father, but their ears and hearts were not connected; sometimes His disciples listen, but their hearts did not capture the understanding, and His disciples as well did not pay attention well; but at this point, they are listening with all their attention to His words and this will become clearer for them at this time (see verses 29-30).

“and have come into the world.” Also, at this time, the beloved Son of God has told His disciples that He is in the world to do the work and to acknowledge all the hardships humans are going through. According to what the world is, it has made the human heart unclean; and the beloved Son of God has tasted this with Himself (meaning He witnessed the uncleanness of the world). During the beloved Son of God as a human on earth, He also has human feelings and has experienced what the world can do to those feelings, but it does not mean His heart is not clean; instead, He has witnessed the unclean world for the heart. Therefore, when anyone asks for help from the God Most High, they will receive it because the beloved Son of God has experienced the same problems humans experience.

“again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” Also, at this time, the Lord will go back to the Father, and because of all that He experienced while He was human on earth, the Father has also acknowledged the hardship of humans. What the beloved Son of God has tasted, the Father also has tasted. The time of departure has come, and the beloved Son also knows what will happen to Him as a human and how He will depart from this earth; the sadness of what will happen to Him has already occurred in His heart. This verse is also a goodbye for them; the beloved Son of God is saying goodbye to His disciples. This verse has told all that He is going back to heaven, and the disciples will not see Him with them and walk with Him as humans would do together; the sadness of goodbye has happened now.

29 His disciples say, See, now Thou speak in openness, and speak no parables.

30 Now we know that Thou know all and have no need that Thee should ask anyone: by this we believe that Thou came forth from God.

Comments 16:30. Now all readers can notice that His disciples realized now that the beloved Son of God knows their hearts and that what they have in secret in their hearts, He can see them all. So now for His disciples, it is time for them to understand that His knowledge is beyond what they understand; by not asking anything from them and knowing all things, it has already been shown to them as proof that He is coming from the Father from heaven.

31 Jesus answered them, Do you now believe?

Comments 16:31. The beloved Son of God also wants to ensure that His disciples understand who their master is. And this understanding will help them in doing work when they spread the good news about the mercy of God through the beloved Son; this understanding and belief will be the base of their heart in furthering the work in the future.

When the beloved Son of God asked them this question, He intended for them to think about it; He wanted this question to sink down not just in their head but deep into their soul. The word “believe” itself has a strong meaning. The true “believe” can tell the difference between being serious in believing or just believing because you have been asked to do so; let everyone think about this as well.  

32 Behold, an hour comes, and has come, so that you may be scattered, each to his own, and shall leave Me alone; also, I am not alone because the Father is with Me.

Comments 16:32. “Behold, an hour comes, and has come, so that you may be scattered.” The time of the Lord’s departure has come close, and the beloved Son of God wants to make sure that even though they will be scattered in a different direction for the work and leave Him here, they still have to remember as well, even scattered around they still can do the work as each individual will feel in their heart the duty they have received. They will tell people about the wrong done to the Lord Jesus by crucifying Him, the Son of God.

“each to his own.” Refers to the area they are working in; each person has their own area of work. This does not talk about their hometown but the place and area where they will be led to do the work.

“and shall leave Me alone.” This portion of the verse tells all readers that when the beloved Son of God is crucified, He will be alone on that cross; none of His disciples will be crucified at that time with Him. He will be left alone without the disciples at that time.

“also, I am not alone because the Father is with Me.” Therefore, let all true believers think in this part carefully; when the beloved Son of God has been crucified, He is not alone, that was hanging on the cross; the Father also has been crucified in Him and the pain the beloved Son of God has taken during this time, not Him alone that has felt it, the Trinity of God has felt it as well.

Note: This verse doesn't mean that the disciple will be scattered away because they fled when the Lord was taken to be crucified, but it refers to the fact that only the Lord alone was on that cross carrying the sins of the world and the disciples will be scattered and do the work without the Lord walking with them after the crucifixion; however, they will be led in their work by His Spirit and the Holy Spirit. 

33 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.

Comments 16:33. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.” The beloved Son of God has told all true believers that it is only in Him that all true believers can find peace when they abide entirely in His teaching and always mediate and remind themselves what the Holy Bible has been teaching them; all things have been told, but come and abide in the love of the beloved Son of God, and there you will find the completion of your own soul. It is a purpose to be born as a human; everyone must find that purpose by themselves, but only when you come and abide in the love of the beloved Son of God will you find the true purpose in your life.

“In the world you have tribulation.” This verse tells all humans what the world is giving you, but the Lord has also given you the way out. So, if you want to avoid all problems, come to the beloved Son of God; on earth, you may not be rich, but you would be the richest person on earth in peace. Therefore, it is up to what you choose to have; the beloved Son of God has come to give you the way out, and it is your own free choice to choose Him or not.

“but take courage; I have overcome the world.” This is the most important part of the verse. With the death on the cross of the beloved Son of God, He has already concurred the death itself (the death could not hold Him); the resurrection of the beloved Son of God has proven to all about the evil deeds done to Him (the resurrection proved that He is indeed the Son of God, and they crucified the guiltless One). He has won over all the evil deeds when they have crucified Him on the cross. Whoever comes to the beloved Son of God will also share in that victory; the beloved Son of God has concurred not just the living but the dead as well (when we say He concurred the living, we mean He lived on earth as the sinless One, and when we say He concurred the dead, we mean that death could not hold Him). Because of the evil deeds in the world, the resurrection of the beloved Son of God has proven about their deeds; whatever evil they have done on earth, He has concurred it all. We are talking about the evil deeds, and when the beloved Son of God has resurrected, He also has testified about their evil deeds in killing Him (the guiltless One), and their deeds have been shown to all humans.

Life and Faith Application. 1) As a follower of the Lord Jesus, we have the duty to spread the good news; regardless of tribulations, we must stay firm in faith in the Lord Jesus. 2) The Lord Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit into the world to guide His true followers, so always pray and ask the guidance from the Trinity of God in the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will come and guide. 3) We must understand who our master of life is; there is only one way to be saved, and that is through faith in the Lord Jesus and His death on the cross and staying firm on His bodily resurrection, and faith in the Trinity of God; therefore, love the beloved Son of God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and that love will become the path for you to reach the Father. 4) Have faith and look for the Lord Jesus’ return; He promised “you will see Me” to His disciples, so if He promised, He would come again to take all His children.

John 17

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus, the Most High Priest, prays to the Father. The Lord Jesus, the Most High Priest of all the souls, “lifting up His eyes to heaven,” prays to the Father for Himself and all the true believers in the past, present, and future. His prayer to the Father evolves around five main requests. 1) John 17:1-8. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father for Himself to receive His glory and give eternal life to those that the Father has given Him. 2) John 17:9-15. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father concerning those that the Father has given Him, which are still in the world, that the Father would keep them from evil. 3) John 17:16-23. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father for the sanctification of those who are His and are not of the world so that they would be one just as He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are One. 4) John 17:24. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father for those who are His that they would be with Him where He is, so they may behold His glory, which the Father has bestowed on Him even before the foundation of the world. 5) John 17:25-26. The Lord Jesus ends up His Priestly payer by requesting the Father to reveal the love He has for His Son to all true believers. The beloved Son of God Himself has declared the love of the Father for all humans by accepting to be born as a human and by accepting the death on the cross; He has given His blood to wash all the sins away from the true believers.   

1 These things spoke Jesus; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee:

Comments 17:1. “These things spoke Jesus; and lifting up His eyes to heaven.” Every time when the beloved Son of God is praying, He will always look up to His home. At all times, He can see His home, but He still has a duty to fulfill in His human life. Even though His time is close to returning home, as a human, He misses the Father. The human form has also created the distance between the flesh of sinful nature that has kept Him down on earth. Still, everything the Father has ordered will be accomplished soon, and at this time, the beloved Son of God has told all His disciples that the time for Him to depart is coming soon.

“He said, Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son.” Give attention as well to this part of the verse; when the beloved Son of God has said, glorify thy Son, this has also told all true believers that the beloved Son of God has been lifted up on high to be glorified in His death, but it is by the Father's will because this human death will make the beloved Son of God to be glorified throughout the world. The death on the cross is for criminals, but in this place, the beloved Son of God was judged by human thought; therefore, the beloved Son of God will receive glory because His death on the cross has brought all victory above heaven, over the earth, and under the earth; the name of the beloved Son of God will be glorified by all.

“that the Son may glorify Thee.” The suffering of death on the cross for the beloved Son of God, the purpose is to bring glory to the Father by the death of one human, which is the beloved Son of God Himself, has taken everyone that glorifies the beloved Son of God, that glory the beloved Son has offered to the Father. The Father will receive all the glory, the glory which the true believers are doing, and the glory of the beloved Son of God receiving also always links back to the Father.

2 according as Thou gave Him authority over all flesh, so that all that Thou has given Him, He may give to them eternal life.

Comments 17:2. “according as Thou gave Him authority over all flesh …”; The Father has given everything to the beloved Son; everything is under His foot now; whoever the beloved Son wants to save the soul and take that soul to be in heaven with Him, the beloved Son of God has the authority to do that because the Father has put all trust in the beloved Son of God. Therefore, the Son can make all life eternal, giving decisions as the Most High God gives decisions because, between the Father and the beloved Son, there is nothing because both have become One as well; the beloved Son has received full authority.

“He may give to them eternal life.” The beloved Son also has the power to give eternal life because the Father has given Him that authority. Whatever decision the Most High God gives, the Son can also give that decision. However, between give and make, we must make a difference. Give authority to rule over, only the Father to the Son can give that authority. One gives, one receives, but if one has made the decision, another receives the order; here, we can determine the difference between these parts (See further comments in verse 3).

3 Now this is life eternal, that they may come to know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou have sent.

Comments 17:3. “… they may come to know Thee the only true God”; The beloved Son of God has confirmed here that the true God is the Father; the beloved Son has all the respect towards the Father, and He always lifts the Father to be above Himself. As the verse has told here, the Father is the only true God, and between the Father and the Son only the duty that is different; but as for the authority, always the beloved Son, will let the Father be the One who makes the final decision; always the beloved Son will propose to the Father first and whatever the Father has made the decision that it will be the end of it. Always must remember that the beloved Son will never put Himself equal to the Father; in all decisions, the beloved Son of God has made, He also has received the approval already from the Father, and that is why the beloved Son can make decisions as the Most High God makes because both will make the same decisions at the same time.

“… and Jesus Christ whom Thou have sent.” the beloved Son has told all true believers here that the Father has sent the Son, and He has given the same authority to the Son on earth as the Most High God has.

4 I glorified Thee on the earth, having completed the work that Thou have given Me to do.

Comments 17:4. “I glorified Thee on the earth”; The beloved Son of God has become human on earth to do the work the Father has given Him, and now the time has come for His departure. He has given the blood of His human body to be shed on earth in order to take human souls to heaven and for those souls to glorify the Father Most High at the same time. Therefore, all the souls that have been given to Him by the Father, He will have them all in heaven with Him, even the souls that will come after He departs from the earth. But, regarding the blood of the beloved Son of God, those souls will also have a chance to be with Him if they believe in His Deity and His sacrifice for them, and they will be with Him for eternity.

“having completed the work …”; All that work has been completed by accepting the death on the cross by God in human form to die and be marked as a criminal; the blood that has been poured down from the Son’s body is as on offering on the altar for the Holy Father. The old law of the covenant has been completed with that blood; from that point on, all the souls will be saved by the grace and mercy of the beloved Son of God. And that is why the work has been accomplished; there is no better sacrifice anymore; nothing else can replace the blood of the beloved Son of God that was shed for our sins; this is the perfect sacrifice that was given to the Father, and the Father will not accept any other sacrifice! 

5 And now, Father, glorify Thou Me beside Thyself, with the glory that I had beside Thee before the world existed.

Comments 17:5. “And now, Father, glorify Thou Me beside Thyself.” The Father Himself has glorified the beloved Son and lifted Him above all heavenly hosts. The beloved Son of God has become God for all heavenly hosts when the Father has glorified the Son, so everything and everyone must glorify the beloved Son of God as well. This verse also tells that the Father and the Son cannot be separated; both have glorified each other, the Father has lifted the Son, and the Son has glorified the Father in His own blood; when He has been crucified and has shed His blood, God the Father has tasted the death in the beloved Son at that time.

“with the glory that I had beside Thee before the world existed.” The beloved Son existed before the earth was created. His glory existed before all things were created; the beloved Son of God has been begotten from the Father before anything has been created, and the heavenly hosts have glorified the Son before the devil has fallen. This verse has confirmed the Deity of the beloved Son of God above all heavenly hosts.

6 I manifested Thy name to the ones whom Thou have given Me out of the world; Thine they were, and to Me Thou gave them; and they have kept Thy word.

Comments 17:6. “I manifested Thy name.” The beloved Son of God has come down and told all humans about the Father because all things are from the Father.

“to the ones whom Thou have given Me out of the world.” The Father will be glorified by all those souls that the Father has opened their hearts to accept the word of the beloved Son of God. All the souls that were born at that time will already hear the name of the beloved Son of God, and also, in their hearing, they will hear the teaching of the beloved Son. Those who have not been born did not hear yet, but when they come to be born, they will hear, and their hearts will be opened because the holy teaching has light in itself, and the hearts of those souls will seek for that light. So, after the Lord Jesus has departed from the earth, the Holy Bible is on the earth, and until the last Bible on the earth is still there, every soul will hear His teaching.

“Thine they were, and to Me Thou gave them.” The Father has created all souls, and every soul belongs to the Father, but the Father has given them all under Son’s authority, but even if they are under Son’s authority, they still belong to the Father. The Father did not divide the souls; He gave them all to the Son; when the Father has given them to the Son, He also provided a way for them to hear about God Most High, and also, they have witnessed His work already. Every nation has a story about God, and those stories have been passed on; every soul has heard about God; there are many ways of hearing, they all have heard but also have twisted the story, but the Father also makes sure they have heard.   

“and they have kept Thy word.” Therefore, for those that have heard of the teaching of the Word and have truly believed and meditated on the Word, the Word will make root in their soul, and as long as they keep meditating, no one can uproot the Word from their soul.

7 Now they know that all things as many as Thou have given Me are from Thee,

Comments 17:7. Whatever the beloved Son of God has taught and done will not end in that time; everything must be passed on to future generations, either by mouth or by writing, because the word the beloved Son of God has spoken is living. That is why the knowledge regarding the beloved Son and His teaching will not stop because all humans belong to Him. The Father has given all humans to the Son; all humans must meditate on His teaching, it is the only way to be saved for all humans.

Everything belongs to the Father, everything the beloved Son has done is from the Father, His teaching, His actions, all link back to the Father, the Father is above all, and all belong to the Father. Therefore, by the teaching of the beloved Son of God, all souls can also see that the teaching is from the Father because the beloved Son's purpose of teaching is to link every soul back to the Father.

8 for the words that Thou have given Me, I have given to them; and they received, and knew truly that I came out from Thee, and they believed that Thou sent Me.

Comments 17:8. “for the words that Thou have given Me, I have given to them.” Whatever the beloved Son of God has received from the Father, all teachings He has given them out to all humans; because He did not keep it for Himself, everything is given for humans to know the truth about the Father’s love for all humans.

“and they received, and knew truly that I came out from Thee.” Whatever the beloved Son of God has taught, it is for all humans, and the ones whose hearts are open will acknowledge it as the true word of God; whatever it is worth and useful for them, the beloved Son did not withhold it but has told it all for the humans to know.

“and they believed that Thou sent Me.” When humans have heard the teaching, the teaching will work in their hearts, and for those that will receive it, that teaching will lead them to have true faith in the beloved Son of God and trust that He is truly coming from the Father.

9 I am praying concerning them; I am not praying concerning the world, but concerning those whom Thou have given Me, because they are Thine,

Comments 17:9. “I am praying concerning them; … Thou have given Me.” Take notice of what the Lord has said in this place, the Father has given all the souls to the beloved Son, and now, all those that the Father has given Him, and in their hearts have taken the teaching of the beloved Son of God as truly from God the Father Himself, and have given their trust to the beloved Son of God, those souls have become completely belonging to the beloved Son of God, and for those souls, the begotten Son of God is praying now. When He is praying to the Father, He asks for protection for these souls, but not for those souls that have ignored the teachings of the beloved Son of God and have turned themselves to love the world; as the verse has said to all readers, the beloved Son now is praying for those that belong to Him.

10 and all Mine are Thine, and Thine Mine, and I am glorified in them.

Comments 17:10. “because they are Thine, and all Mine are Thine.” Whatever the Father has given to the beloved Son, those belong to the Son from that point on, but even though they belong to the Son, they still belong to the Father as well because the Father and the Son are One, so what belongs to the Son it belongs to the Father. All souls belong to the Son, but if they do not believe in the Son, they will be judged by the Father without the help of mercy from the Son at the judgment time; because the Father is the Most Holy, the sinful soul has no chance to make any petition, but by the mercy of the beloved Son of God, He asks petition for them; the Father, in the mercy of the Son, will deal with their case. The ones that do not believe in the Son have their own waiting place, the place of darkness, but the ones that have accepted the beloved Son have a different waiting place, and the light from the Son will shine upon them. The Father has given all souls to the Son, so all souls belong to the Son, not only the ones that believe in His teaching.

“and Thine Mine, and I am glorified in them.” As the verse has told as well, the ones that belong to the Son bring all worship and glory to the Son, but when they have done that, that glory also goes to the Father because nothing is between the Father and the Son; when you have glorified the Son, at the same time you glorify the Father. Father and Son are not side by side, but one in each other; if side by side, you have space, but when inside each other, nothing is in between. The Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father because they are One together.

11 And I am no longer in the world, and these are in the world, even so, I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, which Thou have given Me, that they may be one, as We.

Comments 17:11. “And I am no longer in the world, and these are in the world.” The beloved Son of God has told everyone the truth now. He is leaving the world soon, but the beloved Son of God wants the Father to help those that the Father has given to Him to be able to keep the faith and stay firm in the faith.

“even so, I come to Thee.” Therefore, let all readers take notice of where the beloved Son will go; He is going to the Father, and He wants to let all of them know now He is going back to where He belongs, with the Father.

“Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, which Thou have given Me.” The beloved Son asks the Father about those that the Father has given to Him, that they also have faith not only in the beloved Son but also in the Father Himself.

“that they may be one.” All those that have faith in the beloved Son of God, because they have the same faith and same belief, to be one in this place is to be in unity, joining in worshiping together as one unit, even if they are not from the same family, but because they have faith in the beloved Son of God, they become one family together.

“as We.” Here the beloved Son of God has said to all humans that He is One with the Father; you cannot worship the Father without worshiping the Son; also, you cannot worship the Son without worshiping the Father; the Father and the Son are One.

12 While I was with them, I was watching them in Thy name, those whom Thou have given Me, and I watched, and not one of them perished, but the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Comments 17:12. “While I was with them, … those whom Thou have given Me.” These apostles, the Father has given to the beloved Son, and He always taught them and told them about the Father. They cannot believe only in the Father; they must also listen and believe in the beloved Son’s teaching because He has received the Word from the Father, and always, the beloved Son will tell the apostles that what He has taught them is from the Father; so, they must listen and obey His teaching.

“and I watched, and not one of them perished.” When the beloved Son of God has said watched them, this has told all readers as well that His teaching is with them and that teaching that the beloved Son of God has told them would protect them; if their hearts meditate on the teaching and keep themselves in prayer and think of the teaching, these will strengthen their faith and keep them safe.

“but the son of destruction.” When the beloved Son chose the disciples, He knew from the beginning the heart of each person, but He still wanted to give a chance and help; even He knew the one that would betray Him, but His mercy made Him unable to reject that person. The son of destruction has given his soul to the greed of this world. His greed is not only money but also greed to make the teaching of the beloved Son of God not be fulfilled in the human soul (greed to be important, because he wanted his own teaching to be fulfilled not the Lord’s teaching). As he spent time with the beloved Son of God, it made him believe that he would be able to control the people and benefit himself, and as the power of greed itself controlled him, he brought himself to destruction. He spent time of his life with the true light of God but did not want to absorb the true light to guide his soul, and he would end up doing the evil deed. Son of destruction means he let his own greed destroy him; no one did anything to him, he has been with the One that loved him, but the greed of his soul has covered his eyes and made his heart seek for more. While being with the beloved Son, he has received the teaching, he helped the poor, and he gave to the needy, but his own greed has also told him that he has a need and must fulfill that need, which is why the destruction came upon him.  

“that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” The Scripture has talked about the betrayer, but the Scripture did not choose the betrayer; the betrayer made his own decision to fulfill his own need, and that decision also made the Scripture be fulfilled. It is true that the beloved Son of God knows who will betray Him, but with His mercy and love, the beloved Son of God also has given a chance to the betrayer; however, the choice of doing bad comes from the betrayer’s own greed. When you give yourself to be a slave to greed, your heart will not choose something else against that greed. The Trinity of God is the God that gives a free choice to all humans, and even for this betrayer, he has received the free choice, and he has chosen his own path to walk.

13 And now I come to Thee; and these I speak in the world, so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.

Comments 17:13. When the beloved Son of God is speaking to the people, He wants them to have the knowledge about the Father. By the will of the Father, the beloved Son has talked to all humans, and by the Holy Word, He will bring to the living God all those with their hearts and minds seeking; that is why the beloved Son of God has talked in the world to people.

“And now I come to Thee.” The beloved Son is telling all disciples He is departing soon from earth to return to the Father; when the beloved Son has said, “now I come to Thee,” He has told all disciples that His departure time is at hand.

“and these I speak in the world.” The beloved Son has been talking about the Father to every listener and has told them the truth; it is up to their hearts whether they will accept the truth or not.

“so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.” The ones that listen to the word of the beloved Son of God and have believed that the word is from the Father, in their hearts, they will have joy, the joy that will go deep until the soul itself, because they have come to believe in the living word of the beloved Son of God.

14 I have given them Thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Comments 17:14. “I have given them Thy word; and the world hated them.” The beloved Son of God had given to the disciples and all true believers the Word from the Father, the Word which will not take a side on any man but will tell what the man should behave to gain the favor from the Father. When the world hates them, they do not hate the person, but the world hates what the person tells about the Holy Word of God.

“because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” The disciples and the true believers, because they have taken the Word of the Father as truly the teaching of God, make the world feel condemned, and the world hates them on account of hating the word they are speaking. When you abide by the word of God, your behavior will not be as the world is doing, and the eyes of the outsiders will consider you as if you are not like them and do not belong with them; in that way, you become out of the world for them; because of what you believe and practice, you have become different than the world. The light and the darkness are separated; because the believers are the children of light, while the unbelievers are not; the true believers still live in the world, but you shouldn’t be as the world is. 

15 I pray not that Thou should take them out of the world, but that Thou should keep them from evil.

Comments 17:15. As the verse tells, the Father will not take the true believers out of the world, but if the true believers meditate and abide by the Holy Word, their souls will not be tainted by the sins of the world itself, the evil will be around, but not in their hearts themselves. Because the verse has already told who is praying, the beloved Son of God is praying for humans because He has come into the world and given the Holy Word to humans; next is the human’s responsibility to use what He has given to save their souls.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Comments 17:16. The beloved Son of God has come from heaven to earth; the earth belongs to Him, but He does not belong to the earth, but He is keeping the earth to go on. Therefore, all true believers should be like Him as well, keep in your heart that you are not of this earth, and do not let this earth control you, but be faithful and guide those around you, and lead them whosoever the Lord brings in your path, lead them to come and glorify the God of Three. Be like your master of life, do not let the world influence your thoughts, but let the Holy Bible influence your heart; when you let the Holy Word influence your heart, this world will not control you.

17 Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

Comments 17:17. When the Lord Jesus speaks, He is speaking with the disciples, but He is sending them out to the whole world, so the verse also shows meaning for all humans.

Being cleansed by the Word of God, in that way, you are truly clean because the Holy Word will cleanse you from the inside out; when your inside is clean, the word you speak will be clean. When you meditate on the Holy Word, the Holy Word will cleanse you from the inside out; as the verse has told, “sanctify them in the truth”; only one thing that is true and holy, and that is the living Word of God. 

18 As Thou sent Me into the world, even so I sent them into the world.

Comments 17:18. The Father has sent the beloved Son into the world to lead all humans to glorify the Father; by that way, the beloved Son of God will send His disciples to tell the world to come and glorify the Father, come and worship the Most High God, with all your heart and mind and soul. As the verse has told, the beloved Son has come for all; because of that, the world needs to know, and you must go out and tell them all.

19 And on behalf of them, I sanctify Myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Comments 17:19. “And on behalf of them, I sanctify Myself.” The beloved Son of God is the clean and Holy God; when He has said, He sanctifies Himself, He talks about the human flesh He dwells in. The human flesh has sin on its own because the way humans have been born is through sexual activity; however, the beloved Son of God was not born through that, but He is in human form and lives on earth, and there are many ways that the sin can surround the body and make the body unclean. Hence, to go back to heaven in the human body, the beloved Son needs to be clean within the body itself as well. The verse does not tell how He sanctifies Himself, but the reader of the Bible can notice that the beloved Son has performed many fasts, which are part of sanctifying Himself, and also, the beloved Son of God stays in prayer at all times. He has offered this sanctification to the Father for Himself and the disciples, and through His sanctification, the disciples are also clean so they can receive the Holy Word. The beloved Son of God has prepared for them many things to make them clean; the Holy Word of the Father needs clean vessels to receive it, and the cleanest of vessels would be through the Holy Son's sanctification by sanctifying Himself. [It is believed that the Lord has also given them certain orders and preparations for themselves; the teaching He has given them has told all the requirements to be clean; in general, they have to perform a whole body bath, abstain from sexual activity for a period of time, and also stay in prayer and meditation; the activity of life has to follow according to the teaching as well, and a long period of time of preparation has been done in order to be clean vessels for the Father.]

When we say, “human flesh has sin on its own because the way humans have been born is through sexual activity,” we mean that the sexual feeling is a sin of uncleanness (desire of the flesh) because it is unclean for God. Even though the Lord has created humans to multiply further on, humans have used sexual activity, not with the intention of multiplying, but for pleasure; sexual lust is a sin. That is why humans need the Savior; humans have been born in sin, and the Savior will help.

“that they also may be consecrated in truth.” When humans consecrate themselves in truth, it also refers to what humans are talking about, eating, and watching. Whatever you are looking at, do not let it enter into your heart as a joyful time; but when you read the Holy Word, let that be the most joyful time for your heart and the way to be ready within the heart of humans. The heart cannot have jealousy or anger but must have fear; but the fear here is fear of doing things against the will of the Father, not fear about the safety of the body itself; and for that always a person must meditate in the teaching and use the teaching of God as the shield to protect the heart and mind. For them to receive the sanctification of the Holy Son, they must always remain in His teaching and follow the directions that He has told them. In many ways, humans can keep clean and be sanctified, but the important way is to meditate and abide in all the teachings of the beloved Son of God; in that way, the sanctification of the Son can flow through your soul as well.

Q: The Lord Jesus has explicitly taught some things about how His disciples could be sanctified, but we don’t have all those sanctification teaching. A: Also, the Bible has told you what you can and cannot do. The beloved Son of God has completed the Old Law, but in some things, there is still a need to abide in the Old Law, but not in everything; mainly, you can still keep the parts that apply to keeping the body and mind clean. For example, we could omit some type of food to keep the body to be less tainted; even though the Bible has told us that all food is good if the person takes it with thanks to the Creator, but for some special requirements it will be asked for abstaining from some foods; the Lord will reveal, those specifics, to the persons themselves. The general humans can eat everything if inside their heart have given thanks to the Creator; however, eat just for the body, do not eat with the greed to fill up beyond what your human body needs to have, and make the body fattened more than normal. Also, the sexual activity the Lord created for a man and a woman, as God created them, that have committed themselves in marriage; all sexual outside the marriage are considered an abomination to God, so a couple must have a union only with their own partner.

20 Not for these only do I pray, but also for those believing in Me because of their word,

Comments 17:20. After the disciples’ generation, humans will also receive the Holy Word as a guide and food for their souls. Therefore, everyone must believe in the Holy Word in order to have a chance to enter heaven. As the verse has told, the beloved Son of God has prayed for all those who come to believe in the holy teaching later on as well, not only for the disciples that have been with Him alone but also including all the disciples of the Holy Bible itself. Every true believer in the world, coming after, if in their hearts are completely trusting and believing in the Holy Bible and keep themselves meditating in the Holy Word, they also become the disciples of the Lord.

21 that all may be one; just as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, that the world may believe that Thou sent Me.

Comments 17:21. “… that all may be one.” Every soul that believes in the beloved Son of God and that the Holy Bible is the Word of the Father given to all humans, you come and meditate in the Holy Word and worship the Father. When you meditate in the Holy Word and worship the Father, all those will be in one heart together, different but the same heart in worshiping.

“just as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us.” This part of the verse also tells the Trinity of God; the Father and the Son are within each other. Therefore, every soul that glorifies the Trinity of God will have the part to be a true child of God. When the verse has told “in Us,” it does not mean that we are one with God but that we are one under the Trinity of God as worshipers. Worship as children of God, and the soul will benefit; when the soul has come close to God, it will receive strength beyond anything it can give; that strength will keep the soul last for eternity.

“that the world may believe that Thou sent Me.” Anyone that glorifies the Trinity of God and has changed their behavior and follows according to the teaching of the Holy Bible, whoever has seen them will notice that they are different and special because in their soul have received the peace of God that will spread out as a radiance; the people around will not only see but can feel within their hearts as well.

22 And the glory which Thou have given Me, I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We [are] One;

Comments 17:22. “And the glory which Thou have given Me, I have given to them.” The Father has glorified the Son, the beloved Son is above all heavenly hosts, and in that way, when the apostles receive the Holy Word and go out in teaching, they also have received the authority, but authority in teaching all humans but not to rule over anyone. To be an apostle also means to be a messenger and servant for the Lord; the duty is specific to give out the Holy Word that they have received; one important duty for them was to pass on the Holy Word, and all the gospels in the Holy Bible have reflected their duty regarding of being a witness of the magnificent work of the beloved Son of God. This verse also applies to the ones that are doing the duty of spreading the Word but have to be truly spreading the Word, not seeking the praises from humans; they must tell out what the Holy Bible says, not what they themselves think the Holy Bible says, therefore they must pray for the Holy Spirit guidance. You need the Holy Spirit in order to receive the glory of the beloved Son of God, and when you have received the glory of the beloved Son of God, then you will acknowledge the Father the God Most High.  When we say, “to receive the glory of the beloved Son of God,” we mean to understand inside of you about the true glory of the beloved Son of God who seats at the right hand of the Father in judgment time and to accept inside of you His glory, then you also will receive that glory with the beloved Son of God (you will receive through Him).

“that they may be one.” In this part also, the verse reminds all those that speak the true Holy Word to remember as well that it is not you alone that does the work; everyone that is truly speaking out the Holy Word also has the same duty as you have, and you all should make unity together and help each other in spreading out the Holy Word of God; have the duty and do duty together as one.

“just as We [are] One.” Note that [are] is not part of the original verse; so, really, the verse says: “just as We One,” meaning “just as We exist as One.” When the Holy Son has said “We One,” He has emphasized to all the Trinity of God that all Three also do the same work; the purpose of the Trinity of God is to bring glory to the God Most High, and this duty never has an ending, until the judgment time. Every human should remember as well that the Trinity of God is always at work together; if you want to work with God, all the workers must have the same goal to be one in bringing glory to the God Most High, do not fight each other but support and help each other in glorifying the Lord.

23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that Thou sent Me, and loved them, just as Thou loved Me.

Comments 17:23. “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected into one.” As the verse has told to all true believers, everyone should notice here as well, between the beloved Son of God and the Father, there is nothing at all because they are One; the Father and the beloved Son, One in Another, no other relationship can be closer than this. When the verse has told “I in them,” it is because they have believed in the beloved Son of God, so the soul of their hearts has opened and received Him into them; that is why the verse has told here He is in them. When the verse says, “and Thou in Me,” the beloved Son of God has told all believers that the Father Himself is also in the beloved Son; therefore, if you have the beloved Son of God in you, you also will have the Father in you.

“that they may be perfected into one.” When they have the Father and the beloved Son of God in them, that also has made their souls be one in the will of the beloved Son of God, truly they are one with His will; but not one with the Father in this place, just one in the will of the beloved Son of God. One in the will of the beloved Son of God, for humans that are one with the will of the beloved Son of God, it makes them have higher positions than other humans.

“that the world may know that Thou sent Me, and loved them, just as Thou loved Me.” For the whole world to know that the Father and the beloved Son are One, and the Father has sent the Son to do the work. For those that have taken the Word of the beloved Son of God as truly as God speaking, those souls will be loved by the Father Himself as well; the hearts that believe that the Father has sent the beloved Son of God to accomplish the work, those souls will be loved by the Father Himself, as the Father has loved the beloved Son.  

24 Father, I desire that they also whom Thou have given Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory, which Thou gave Me, because Thou loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Comments 17:24. “Father, I desire that they also whom Thou have given Me may be with Me where I am.” At first, all true believers should think about where the beloved Son of God is right now. Because all that the beloved Son of God has taught in the Holy Bible is from the Holy Father, and it has all that is needed for every soul to be saved and be with the Father, the beloved Son of God wishes all true believers to be with Him and receive the glory as true believers and also live forever with Him. The rules and regulations have been given, so read and meditate in the Holy Bible. If your heart truly wants to be with the beloved Son of God, never put another day in waiting; every moment can be the time you have been received up, so, meditate at all times; also, do not let your mouth say useless things. Another belief is for those that reject the good news from God, but where will they go at the end? Someone who has blasphemed the Trinity of God has no chance to be with the beloved Son of God. As a true believer, you do not need to mingle with them.

“that they may behold My glory, which Thou gave Me.” Every true believer that will be with the beloved Son of God will also see the true glory of the beloved Son of God, the light so bright and the power radiating out from the beloved Son of God. All true believers in that time will see His magnificent glory with their own eyes, and in their hearts, they will know that the only thing they need to do is truly, truly glorify the Trinity of God. The rest of their memory will be erased from their mind, and the only knowledge left is how to glorify the Trinity of God; in their souls, they will never feel enough to worship the Most High God. Because when we go there, we receive the new heavenly body, the heavenly body doesn’t have the memory of earth; and also you have a new name, you have become a new person in heaven, so, the memory of this earth is not needed anymore because you will be changed to a new person, the person which is you, but different than what you are on earth. The new body will have new memory, and the new memory will be only about how to worship the God Most High, which is what all the heavenly hosts need to be. This glory of the beloved Son of God that this verse talks about refers to His glory at the end time.

“because Thou loved Me before the foundation of the world.” This is the verse to confirm in all true believers’ minds that the beloved Son of God exists before all things were created. He was with the Father before anything existed; the Trinity of God has created all things, and everything comes out from the Father. Therefore, you cannot worship only the Father nor only the Son; in order to worship the God Most High, every soul needs the Holy Spirit in guidance to be with the beloved Son of God, and then, in that place, you will glorify the Trinity of God. 

25 Righteous Father, even the world did not know Thee, but I knew Thee; and these knew that Thou sent Me;

Comments 17:25. “Righteous Father, even the world did not know Thee, but I knew Thee.” Humans have known about the Father, but no mind of a human can understand the power of the Most High God; how can the human mind compare with when no mind can imagine that great magnificent power of the Most High God? By His Word, life appeared, the Father created all things through His Word, and no human will be able to understand that power. The beloved Son always knows the Father because He Himself is in the Father, and also, the Father Himself is in the beloved Son. When the beloved Son said, “I knew Thee,” it also means the deepest of the Father the beloved Son knows as well, no secret from the Father that the beloved Son does not know. Also, the righteous applies to not wavering (unshaken) and not taking any side; but when the Father has made the decision, in Him, all righteousness will apply, and all His decisions have no mistake or misplace.

“and these knew that Thou sent Me.” In this part, it does not mean only the disciples in that time; the disciples in the future that have come and truly have faith and trust in the beloved Son of God will also acknowledge that the Father is the One who sent the beloved Son to come down on earth to bring the worship to the Father. The beloved Son of God will tell humans about the love of the Father, which He has for humans, and that proof of love is in the beloved Son of God Himself when the humans have crucified Him among the criminals.

26 and I declared to them Thy name, and will declare, so that the love that Thou loved Me may be in them, and I in them.

Comments 17:26. “and I declared to them Thy name, and will declare.” So, the verse tells all true believers clearly that the Holy Father has been made known to all humans through the beloved Son of God. The beloved Son of God Himself has declared the love of the Father for all humans by accepting to be born as a human. God has become a man and dwelled among humans to let them see that He Himself has tasted the difficult life of humans; come to Him and glorify the Holy Father, the God Most High, and do not delay.

“so that the love that Thou loved Me may be in them.” The proof of the Father’s love is in the beloved Son of God Himself. When the Father has sent the beloved Son to come down on earth as a human, the love of the Father has been shown to all humans by the teaching of the beloved Son of God, which will lead all true believers to come to the Father. The Savior has come down to be with them, the love of the Father that is in the beloved Son of God has been poured down on earth through His teaching, and by accepting the death on the cross, the beloved Son has given His blood for washing all the sins away from the true believers, come and be cleaned by the blood of the beloved Son of God. If you do not come and confess your sins, how can the shed blood of the beloved Son of God carry your sins? To confess your sins is the only way to give away all your sins and be cleaned and take the work of the beloved Son of God in cleaning your sins. When you confess your sins, you also have proved your trust in the beloved Son of God and accepted the love of the Father in sending His Own Son for you.

“and I in them.” When anyone has accepted the Deity of the beloved Son of God and has taken His crucifixion as the way to relieve their sins and trust what the beloved Son of God has done for them by accepting the death on the cross for all sins of earth, when you truly believe that, you must invite the beloved Son of God to come into your heart, meditate on all of His teachings, that way you have prepared the place for the beloved Son to be in your heart and in your life.

Q: How can someone genuinely confess their sins? A: A good way to confess our sins is following this template: “Dear beloved Son of God, please take away all my sins, knowing and unknowing and clean me from head to toe with your blood and take me to be with You; when the time on earth is done for me, take me to Your kingdom to worship the Father with You and be with You for eternity!” Q: Should we confess our sins to some other believers? A: When to confess your sins to humans, your heart will tell you. However, not many can hear the sins of someone else without having an impact on their own soul. So, listen to your heart, and the Lord will guide you to whom you can tell your sins, but at the same time, in every moment, you can tell your sins to the beloved Son of God Himself because the beloved Son of God Himself is also the Most High Priest of all souls to the Father; but to confess to one another also has shown to all believers that you have obeyed the teaching of the Holy Bible in confessing the sins to one another.

Life and Faith Application. 1) Every believer should cherish the Lord Jesus’ Priestly prayer in their hears and always remember the Father’s love for us who sent His beloved Son into the world to teach us how to come to Him. 2) As long as we are in the world, whenever temptation comes upon us, we should remember that the Lord Jesus Himself prayed to the Father for us to keep us from evil; this prayer should make us think hard before we engage in any sinful activity and make us think how much we would hurt the Lord Jesus by sinning. 3) As believers, it is essential to confess our sins to the Lord Jesus and ask forgiveness and ask to be cleaned by the power of His shed blood on the cross; when anyone has accepted the Deity of the beloved Son of God and has taken His crucifixion as the way to relieve their sins and trust what the beloved Son of God has done for them by accepting the death on the cross for all sins of earth, when you truly believe that, you must invite the beloved Son of God to come into your heart, meditate on all of His teachings, that way you have prepared the place for the beloved Son to be in your heart and in your life.

John 18

Summary. This chapter portrays the betrayal and the trial of the Lord Jesus, the King of all living. John 18:1-11. Betrayal and arrest of Jesus. The Lord Jesus was praying in the garden when the betrayer, with a military guard and servants of the leaders, came to arrest Him. The Lord Jesus did not fight back or run away from trouble, showing all humans that He obeyed everything the Father had in the plan for Him. Even during this difficult time, He has shown mercy by healing the servant’s ear, which Peter cut off, showing that He did not come on earth to hurt anyone but to show love and mercy to all humans. John 18:12-27. The high priests interrogate the Lord Jesus, and Peter denies the Lord. The Lord Jesus was interrogated by the high priests, Annas and Caiaphas, concerning His disciples and His teachings. The Lord Jesus answers them that He spoke freely to the world; He has done nothing in secret. Peter, from concern about his Master and the curiosity of the human mind, followed into the courtyard of the high priest, where he ended up denying the Lord three times in front of those around, maids, soldiers, and servants. John 18:28-32. The Lord Jesus is delivered to the outsiders. His own people led the Lord Jesus to the Praetorium, the place of sin, to the outsiders, intending to kill the Son of God, their King, the innocent One. John 18:33-40. The Lord Jesus is King of all.  The Lord Jesus confirms to all humans that His kingdom is not of this world. He was born on this earth to bear witness to the truth. He is the true witness of the Father and the King of the true message from the Father. The beloved Son of God has come down to tell all humans the true message, so all the living souls can have eternal life in His kingdom; the souls that truly believe the Holy Word and glorify the Trinity of God, those souls have a place in His kingdom.  

1 These things Jesus, having said, went out together with His disciples beyond the winter stream of Kidron, where was a garden, into which He and His disciples entered.

Comments 18:1. This verse itself tells the way the beloved Son of God is traveling. Wherever He goes, He will take all His disciples with Him; in that way, the disciples also, had learned and developed the knowledge which they should have about how the beloved Son of God is spending His life on earth, and this will give them the benefit when the beloved Son of God has departed from earth, all His disciples will cherish the time that they had spent with Him, and they will remember all His teachings in their hearts. 

The event in this verse, John 18:1, synchronizes with Matthew 26:36. To connect this verse with the other events, we should remember that in John 13:36-38 the Lord Jesus foretells Peter’s denial, and also in the Gospel of Matthew, Peter’s and other disciples’ denial are given (See Matthew 26:30-35).

From John 18:1 to John 19:42, John’s Gospel presents Jesus’ arrest, trial, death, and burial. Specifically, in John 18:1-11, we have Jesus’ betrayal by Judas; in John 18:12-27 we have Jesus’ hearing before Annas; from John 18:29 to John 19:16, we have Jesus’ Roman trial before Pilate; and from John 19:16b to John 19:42 we have Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.

Q: The Lord Jesus and His disciples had the Passover supper at the house (upper room within the city walls); they prayed, ate, and the Lord washed their feet, and the Lord taught them. Then in Matthew 26:30, it says, “and when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives,” and then in Matthew 26:36, it says, “then Jesus comes with them to a place called Gethsemane,” and in this verse John 18:1, it says, “Jesus went out together with His disciples beyond the winter stream of Kidron, where was a garden.” So, we can have many questions about the events around the Lord’s crucifixion time. For example, where did the Lord’s teaching given in John chapters 14 to 17 occur?

A: The distance (from the upper room to the garden) does not look far, but many purposes during that traveling time have happened as well. The beloved Son does not have much time left over now, so in every minute He has left on earth, He has given all in teaching His disciples. The teaching started from the upper room, and at some distance, the Lord stopped and sat down to teach His disciples. The gospels have also mixed out all the events; some parts may look like they do not belong together, but during this traveling time, the beloved Son of God has told them many things that are not even written down. Still, if you link the gospels’ events well, you will get the overall picture of what happened.

2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, because Jesus often gathered there with His disciples.

Comments 18:2. As the verse has told, let all the believers think as well; Judas is one of the Lord’s disciples and has known the place full well, and this has given him the opportunity to betray the Lord Jesus because Judas also has been following the beloved Son of God for sometimes. The betrayer has used this knowledge to benefit himself in leading the people to capture the beloved Son of God. The people had known the way the life of the beloved Son of God, but by the law of this area, they needed an accuser to point out whom that does wrong against the law; and Judas was the witness that the beloved Son of God did things against the law of humans; the children of God had no law of themselves because they let themselves be ruled by humans laws (they were under the Roman empire rule). God’s law does not fit with humans' laws. Still, even if they are the children of God, in order to accommodate themselves with humans, they must accept the humans’ law; they need to compromise and use the Roman law to capture Jesus, and now is the time for them to achieve that by agreeing in capturing the beloved Son of God. They bring a simple accusation that the beloved Son of God is the king of humans, and that is against the law already because they are under the law of humans, which accepts the human king as a leader, but not the King that is God Himself, that is not fitting with the lifestyle in that time. Because they have already accepted the human king to have authority over their nation when God has sent the beloved Son to be the King of humans, that will not fit with what they had already accepted, the human king now; if they agree to accept the beloved Son of God as their earthly king, they themselves will be in trouble with the Roman empire, so the best way for them is to give up the beloved Son of God and give Him to be punished by the ruler they have at that time (See Comments Luke 23:1-2).

3 Judas, therefore, having taken the military guard, and servants from the chief priests and from the Pharisees, comes there with lanterns and torches and arms.

Comments 18:3. For verses 3-11, also see Comments Matthew 26:47-56, Comments Mark 14:43-50, and Comments Luke 22:47-53.

Judas, as His own disciple, has betrayed the master of life with the help from the darkness; he has come up with the soldiers of humans to capture the beloved Son of God; the religious leaders of humans had put the plot with the betrayer and reached to the same mind, only one thing they want, to eliminate the beloved Son of God from leading humans to glorify the Father.

4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that are coming upon Him, went forth, and says to them, Whom do you seek?

Comments 18:4. The beloved Son of God had known full well the purpose of the people that were coming, but as the verse has told all readers, He did not stay hiding, but He Himself went forth and asked them what and whom they wanted. The people came with arms to capture the beloved Son of God and have taken Him as a criminal and dangerous to them. If they had no fear in the beloved Son of God, they would not come fully armed as going into the war, but they feared Him and the human power that always surrounded the beloved Son of God, but that did not make them think again about whom they are really coming to capture.

5 They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. He says to them, I am. And Judas also, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.

Comments 18:5. “They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth.” The news among humans about where the beloved Son of God came from, the majority have spread the word as He belongs to Nazareth town; so, the soldiers also have put it that the beloved Son of God is a leader of the Nazareth people, and in their minds, they came to capture the leader of that town. Judas, the betrayer himself, doesn’t know who Jesus really is either; he has reported to the soldier the same way, even though he had followed the beloved Son of God for some time, but in his mind, he has never absorbed any knowledge.

“He says to them, I am.” Let all true believers also take notice here; the beloved Son of God did not fear being captured. On the contrary, He has stepped out and let them know He is the One they are seeking. By coming out and telling them “I am,” it had also told all humans that if you want the beloved Son of God in any way, just come and seek Him, and you will see He will never stay hiding, but He Himself will come and face you, you can end your search at this time, just come. When they searched for Him, Jesus did not hide and made Himself known to them. It is the same for us; if we search for the Lord Jesus, He will not hide from us but will make Himself known to us.

“And Judas …them.” Judas, the betrayer, knew whom he would capture. Still, he has also come there to be the true witness to point out which criminal the soldiers should capture because Judas, as accuser, had to fulfill his duties for humans’ law in capturing and pointing to the criminal (See Luke 22:47-48).

6 When therefore He said to them, I am, they went backward and fell on the ground.

Comments 18:6. “When therefore He said to them, I am.” The beloved Son of God always identifies Himself as “I am who I am,” the existing One, the same as the Father. Now they are seeking to find Him, and He has come forward, and He has told them, “I am” is the One whom you are seeking; also, when saying this, He let them know, you do not need to look further, I am the One you are seeking for.

“they went backward and fell on the ground.” When the beloved Son of God acknowledged His identity to humans, the power and authority manifested out; the humans in front of Him could not stand but had to go down to the ground where they belonged. When lifting themselves equally with the beloved Son of God, when He has shown His authority, humans cannot withhold their strength but fall to the ground. This testifies to His Deity.

7 Again therefore He asked them, Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

Comments 18:7. In this verse, the beloved Son of God wants to remind all true believers that He will never back away from trouble. These come to seek and destroy the beloved Son of God in human form, but even the beloved Son of God knows full well the purpose they had come to seek for Him, but that does not make Him stay back and hide. By asking them again whom they seek, the beloved Son of God also wants them to think about whom truly they are seeking because, in their human minds, they want to come and follow the order, the order they have received to capture the beloved Son of God, but they do not think who truly He is.

Even with fear, these soldiers must fulfill the job, which is why the beloved Son of God asked them the second time. Soldiers received the order from the commander, and even though fear came upon them, they still must do the job. But many believers do not have a full understanding of the power of God; even though the Lord speaks in their hearts, they don’t keep until the end of life walking following the commands of the Lord; that is why many had failed before the time of end life comes, and some instead of listening to the voice of the Lord in their heart have turned away and listened to the voice of humans in their ears; as the betrayer has listened to the voice of darkness, it is the same as the believers, that have the Holy Bible, and try to change it; however, the God Most High never changes His Word, so the Holy Bible cannot be changed any further as well. 

8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am; if then you seek Me, permit these to go away;

Comments 18:8. “Jesus answered, I have told you that I am.” Let all believers pay attention to this answer, the beloved Son of God in human form has not denied His identity. Even though He knows what will happen to Him, that did not make the beloved Son of God turn away from the difficult time ahead. 

“if then you seek Me.” If you come to seek Him, it doesn’t matter what the purpose you are seeking is, you will find Him, and then it is up to you to listen to Him or not. Many have disobeyed the teaching of the Lord, walked out from the true teaching, and accepted and received the liar of this world that penetrates in and teaches. If all believers pay attention to what truly the Holy Bible teaches, they will not go astray and damage their own faith in the end. 

9 so that the word might be fulfilled which He had spoken, Of those whom Thou have given Me I lost of them not one.

Comments 18:9. “permit these to go away; so that … not one.” When the beloved Son of God came forward and told all the people, who is that they are seeking, this also fulfilled what order the beloved Son has received from the Father, which is “lose of them not one”; even He has to die for them it is still the will of the beloved Son of God to fulfill that order in saving His disciples. The true believers in Him at that time who had the duty to further the teaching to the world, their life will be spared until they have spread what the beloved Son of God has been teaching; it is in the Father’s will for humans to be saved, but the humans that reject the beloved Son of God will not be saved.

This saying, “Of those whom Thou have given Me I lost of them not one,” can be applied to all true believers at that time and future as well; their souls have not perished but will be with the beloved Son of God, after the judgment day they will be with Him in Paradise if they have kept the faith until the end. The reader should also give attention; you cannot just know the Holy Bible; you must believe, meditate, and trust that what the Holy Bible tells will be fulfilled until the last iota (See Matthew 5:18). His Word still continues on. After the apostles told the Word, many came and had faith as well, and they became true believers of the teaching; even though they did not hear from the beloved Son of God Himself, they believed the word that the apostles told.

10 Simon Peter therefore having a short sword drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. And the servant’s name was Malchus.

Comments 18:10. See also Luke 22:51, which tells us that the Lord Jesus heals Malchus’ ear.

Let all true believers pay attention to this action as well. For example, the servant of the high priest is innocent; as a servant, he comes and does his duty, but Peter as the Lord’s disciple, his deed goes before thinking; before he withdrew the sword, he should think that there in that place is not him who makes decisions, the Master will be the One who makes decisions. In this way, let all true believers think as well; before you do anything bad to someone, stop and pray and seek advice from the beloved Son of God. If in your heart you truly consider the beloved Son of God as your true Master, seek His advice before hurting someone. The hurt here is not only physical hurting; even the emotional hurting has never been in the will of God for any of His followers to do to someone.

“And the servant’s name was Malchus.” The innocent has his name put down in the Bible; this servant was there but did not do anything yet, so he does not need to get hurt for being there. The Lord’s disciple has done things before thinking and did not seek the Lord’s advice first. Before hurting someone, think as well, do you want yourself to be hurt? If you don’t want anything bad to happen to yourself, do not do it to anyone; regardless of the situation, there is no need to hurt anyone. (See Mathew 7:12).

Q: But did Peter do this because he was concerned for the Lord? A: Regardless of what that person wanted to do; however, the person was a servant; he has done what his master has told him, and all believers should also do as their Master and Lord teaches them.

11 Jesus therefore said to Peter, Put up the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, should I not drink it?

Comments 18:11. “… Put up the sword into the sheath.” Let all readers think first at this answer of the Lord; the beloved Son of God did not come on earth to hurt anyone, and when His disciple has hurt this servant in front of Him, the beloved Son of God has told His disciple, put away your sword. However, putting away the sword did not mean surrender or being defeated, but it tells all humans the purpose of the beloved Son of God to be here on earth. Therefore, the way to fight back against all temptations, at first, before striking back at anyone, think of the teaching that the beloved Son of God has taught. The Father has everything in the plan, and even the smallest action has already been planned, but that depends on the person to listen to the little voice in their heart or not; accept what is coming to you, but be strong and trust in the loving care of the Father.

“the cup which the Father has given Me, should I not drink it?” Give attention to the action and the answer; everything the Father has in the plan, the beloved Son of God has shown obedience to all humans. All trials the Father has for humans, even for the beloved Son of God Himself, He has accepted those trials with obedience and gladness. So, why does everyone try to fight back for what is no need to fight for? All things, even those not looking good or easy, will pass away, and your reaction will show to the Father whether you have surrendered your trust to His care. The Father never gives more than how much you can take as well. Now the beloved Son of God Himself will take His trial and challenge, and in the end, also, humans will benefit when the beloved Son of God has gone through all sufferings; the Father’s heart will do according to the wish of the beloved Son of God when He asks mercy for anyone.

Q: Are we Christians always supposed to be humble and never fight back? A: If people say bad words, do not reply with bad words; instead, show love. If they have hurt you physically, suffer until the end, but also remember where, whom, and what situation it was, so, in the future, you can avoid what happened to you but never fight back in return. Violence is not the way the Lord has taught; look at the cross and remember, the beloved Son of God did not strike down anyone that hurt Him; even the ones that crucified Him, the beloved Son of God did not strike them to death but had let them continue their life and be bad if they wish. As the Bible has told, on the cross, the beloved Son of God has begged the Father to forgive them for what they did, that is not only the teaching but an example to remember as well. Nowadays, all some people do is talk and hurt others; remember as well, when they curse you because you have faith and obey the teaching, the things they do to you are not you alone who receive, when they do bad because you glorify the Trinity of God those actions they do, they do it to the Trinity of God, but not to you alone. Still, God is watching, and they will receive the payment at a later time; however, pray for them and beg the mercy of God to change them, and in that way, you have followed the teaching of the beloved Son of God.

Q: Should a Christian participate in war? A: First, think of the purpose of that war. When the country and the faith must be protected, the Lord allows participating in a war that will also end up killing. However, can you avoid being part of the war or not? If you can avoid it, as a true believer, you should not participate in war. But sometimes, for protecting your own life, the Lord allows you to fight back, but do not take life from any; you can hurt them, but your intention cannot have murder in it. If you are a soldier, the killing cannot be avoided; the Lord allows it if that is your job, but also there are many kinds of soldiers; some soldiers will never have to kill anyone, so as a true believer, choose the path that does not need to kill.   

12 Then the military guard, and the commander, and the servants of the Jews, took hold of Jesus and bound Him,

Comments 18:12. “Then the military guard, and the commander.” Remember as well, the Lord’s people are under the command of the outsiders. The Lord’s people themselves have no military guard; this military guard and the commander are not the children of God, the outsiders had control over the children of God, and this time, the children of God had led them to capture the beloved Son of God; but also the children of God which are under their commander had come with them and be the ones that had seized the beloved Son of God and laid hands on Him, not the outsiders that laid hands on the beloved Son of God, His own people are the ones that laid hands on the beloved Son of God under the control of the outsiders.

“the servants of the Jews.” A unit that is from the Lord’s people but under the commandment of another nation; imagine as well, the group of Jews under another nation; another nation will send a small group and have power and control over them, the children of God have become as slave soldiers, had no authority or any decisions power, they were entirely under the control of the outsiders. The Jews themselves still have duties, and some also have become officials, but under the command of a different nation that controls them. Servants of the Jews but serving the outsiders; the commander above them is not of the Lord’s people.

13 and led to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest of that year.

Comments 18:13. See Comments Luke 3:2.

For being a father-in-law, Annas can have an influence on the law itself. In that time, the father-in-law will have power by using the daughter to influence; in this way, he can have power in controlling, as this verse has told, when they have captured the beloved Son of God, first, they seek advice from Annas expecting that he will be the voice in helping them to punish the beloved Son of God; it is just the way humans in power are doing things.

14 Now Caiaphas was the one having given counsel to the Jews, that it is profitable that One Man should die for the people.

Comments 18:14. Before this time, Caiaphas prophesied from the Lord as holding the position of the high priest (See Comments John 11:49-53). The beloved Son of God will give His life for His children, by the will of the Father Himself to save them, and the beloved Son of God will fulfill the duty for that purpose, and the time has come now that all prophecies regarding the beloved Son of God will also be fulfilled.

15 And following Jesus was Simon Peter and the other disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest and entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest;

Comments 18:15. “And following Jesus …” From concern about the Master and the curiosity of the human mind, they have followed to see what will happen and what the beloved Son of God’s reaction is about being captured by all the soldiers. Peter came with love towards the Lord, and the other disciples also came hoping that he may be able to help the beloved Son of God in his way. Still, these two will be used for spreading the word as well, and what they have seen will be told, and everyone will know what the end with the beloved Son of God as a human was. (See also Comments Matthew 26:58).

“Now that disciple was known …”; The Holy Bible does not tell specific details about this disciple regarding the relationship with the high priest, but this disciple was known well enough to be able to enter the courtyard of the high priest. Regardless of his relationship with the beloved Son of God, his relationship with the high priest has covered the accusation questions. Therefore, no accusations were made against this disciple, even though he followed the beloved Son of God, and it was well known to the high priest. However, what the high priest has benefited from this disciple was valuable enough for the high priest to keep this disciple safe. Annas’ and Caiaphas’ living quarters were close to one another, and this disciple has been known to both. 

See also Comments Luke 22:54.

16 and Peter was standing at the door outside. Therefore, the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought in Peter.

Comments 18:16. For verses 16 to 18 see Comments Matthew 26:69-70, Mark 14:66-72, and Luke 22:55-62. 

The meaning is clear here. To bring Peter into the courtyard was not a big problem because that disciple could enter the courtyard without any questions; when that disciple came out to get Peter, also it has been well known that he was a friend of Peter, and to bring a friend to enter into the courtyard of the high priest was a common thing to do.

17 Then the maid, the doorkeeper, says to Peter, Are you also of the disciples of this Man? He says, I am not.

Comments 18:17. Verse 17 is correlated to Matthew 26:71-72 and Mark 14:69-70a; the denial of Peter given in this verse is the denial given to the other maid of the high priest (See Comments Luke 22:59-62 and Comments Mark 14:66-72). The high priest's personal maid was a different class of maid, so she would not keep the door. The high priest's personal maid is the one mentioned in Luke 22:56-57, Mark 14:66-68, and Matthew 26:69.

Let all readers pay attention to the answer Peter has given. Fear has power over the human heart, and in this place, Peter, a common man, also has fear; even though he has followed the beloved Son of God for so long, the fear in his heart still has power. 

18 Now the servants and the officers were standing, having made a fire of coals, because it was cold, and they were warming themselves, and Peter also was standing with them, and warming himself.

Comments 18:18. In order to blend in, Peter takes the same action as them. When it is cold, making a fire will help to socialize, and here Peter used human nature and blended in with the group of soldiers. Still, he did not understand that sometimes what you think is normal can also lead you to trouble, and here is the place of an example; Peter would lead himself through trouble by seeking the warmth of the fire.

This verse connects further with verse 25.

19 Then the high priest questioned Jesus concerning His disciples and concerning His teaching.

Comments 18:19. Annas is not the high priest right now, but he also works with the high priest himself; his duty is not as a high priest but general duty as a helper. That was the way the high priest worked; they brought relatives to help, and in this way, the high priest secured his position by surrounding himself with relatives.

People in high positions also heard about the activity and the way the beloved Son of God has been teaching the people; for this high priest, people who followed the beloved Son of God were considered disciples of the beloved Son of God. For the high priest now, the beloved Son of God became a competition for ruling the people because a large number of people are following Him right now, and the high priest has fear at this time.

20 Jesus answered him, I spoke freely to the world; I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and in secret I spoke nothing.

Comments 18:20. The answer of the beloved Son of God also brings fear to them (fear in the sense of how they will be able to accuse Him and condemn Him in front of the people). He has done nothing in secret, which creates fear for the rulers; the simple Man, as the beloved Son of God, can gain popularity among people, and now in front of the authorities, He can also answer them without fear and trembling. So, right now, they have looked at this as a potential problem for themselves.

21 Why do you question Me? Question those having heard, what I spoke to them; behold, these know what I said.

Comments 18:21a. “Question those having heard …”; When they asked the beloved Son of God a question, He also replied to them; He did not defend Himself regarding what He has talked to people. As the verse has told all readers, the beloved Son of God has talked with many people, teaching them and telling them the way to be saved. Therefore, if the leaders of religion have questions about the teaching of the beloved Son of God, they can find out from all the listeners. In the same way, people nowadays, if you want to know about the teaching of the beloved Son of God, you have the Holy Bible; the Lord has given us the Holy Word, use your eyes and read the Holy Bible, meditate on the teachings, pray and ask for understanding and you will receive it. Also, you must ask for the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart to understand the meaning as well. But here, these people have known what teachings the Lord has given; however, they ask here not to learn but to seek the reason to blame Him and want to use the teaching as the ground for condemning Him; that is the reason the beloved Son of God has told them, go and ask those that heard, but these leaders they already have all information. Still, now, they want to use the teaching of the beloved Son of God in condemning Him to receive the punishment.

“behold, these know what I said.” As the verse says, they all knew what the beloved Son of God had been teaching the people; if they truly want, they can find evidence for punishing Him by asking people around who heard because the beloved Son of God has taught many times already. Also, if they want to learn about His teaching, they can find testimonies around them, but they do not want to learn; instead, they want to find fault in punishing Him. They themselves do not want to be saved, and at the same time, they do not want anyone to be saved as well.

22 And He having said these, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, having said, Is that how Thou answer the high priest?

Comments 18:22. “… struck Jesus with his hand”; For what the beloved Son of God has answered is no ground to hit Him, but this officer wanted to get the benefit. This officer expected to gain favor from the leader by striking the beloved Son of God. Even now, humans still do the same way; when someone goes against the believers, that person expects to receive the reward of favor from the people around and tries to make themselves stand out as going against the teaching of God from the Holy Bible.

“Is that how Thou answer the high priest?” This officer takes the answer of the beloved Son of God as insulting to their leader, but the beloved Son of God is just telling the truth, and the truth does not go with the dark mind. The officer wants to please the leader by raising his hand and striking the beloved Son of God; this officer does not follow his duty but does according to his own pride in striking the beloved Son of God to gain the favor of humans.

23 Jesus answered him, If I spoke badly, bear witness concerning the bad, but if rightly, why do you strike Me?

Comments 18:23. “Jesus answered him, If I spoke badly, bear witness concerning the bad.” Look at the words themselves and what it says. The beloved Son of God asks a simple question to them; all those who have heard the beloved Son of God speaking, can anyone testify that the beloved Son of God has spoken badly against God Himself in their hearing or not? The beloved Son of God has always lifted up and glorified the Father. The ear of the listener has heard the praising words of the beloved Son of God; if anyone has heard otherwise, let that person come out and be a witness against what the word they have heard by themselves. The priest has asked the question, and when the beloved Son of God has answered, the officer has struck Him; because of that answer, the officer has struck Him, but at this time also, they are asking about His authority in teaching the Word of God, and His teaching has no wrong to deserve any punishment.

“but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” So the beloved Son of God asks everyone's subconscious mind if He did nothing wrong against God, why should anyone be angry and want to punish Him for the right words He has spoken? 

24 Annas therefore sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Comments 18:24. Now, the evil one works with evil souls in using humans as a tool to do work against God in all directions; if the religious leaders agree to punish the innocent, the evil one has already conquered that soul. When the evil heart receives the evil word, it will have no good action coming out of it, and now, Annas has taken the beloved Son of God to the religious leader, the high priest. It is a collaboration between the two leaders; it has more power than one leader to do it; no other religious leader will come against it. At that time, Caiaphas, to gain more control, would have to keep people around silent. Now the religious leaders have made decisions, and the common people have learned to accept the religious leaders’ decisions as God’s will in this action.

25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, Are you also not of His disciples? He denied, and said, I am not.

26 One of the servants of the high priest, being a kinsman of whom Peter cut off the ear, says, Did I not see you in the garden with Him?

27 Peter therefore denied again, and straightway a cock crowed.

Comments 18:27. Verses 25 to 27, correlate to Matthew 26:73-75, Mark 14:70b-72, and Luke 22:59-61. All these conversations between Peter and those that stood by culminated with Peter’s final denial given in Matthew 26:74. 

As we commented in Luke 22:61 Peter denied the Lord in truth (directly) three times and the denial in these verses 25 to 27 is counted as the third denial made to those that stood by before the cock crowed (See Matthew 26:74 and Mark 14:71).

See Comments Luke 22:59-61 and Mark 14:66-72.

28 They are leading Jesus, therefore, from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

Comments 18:28. When the verse has told “and it was early,” that also tells all readers that in order to succeed in their condemnation, they must do it before all the commoners acknowledge (discover) the deed they intend to do. In order to justify their action in condemning the beloved Son of God, these religious leaders must hurry in condemning the beloved Son of God to death, so they do not have too many problems with the commoners. The commoners have heard the deeds of the beloved Son of God, and some have been listening to the beloved Son of God’s teaching, and their hearts have been touched already, so they have regarded the beloved Son of God to a higher standard than most of the religious leaders.

“They are leading Jesus, therefore, from Caiaphas into the Praetorium.” The place they are going is not for His people to participate in the action because, in that place, they also worship the god of the unbelievers that worship the god of the dark side. The place they have led Him to is not the place for the Lord’s children where they should be because in that place also is the act of violence to each other, the people go in that place to enjoy the shedding blood of one another, shedding blood for no cause but for the pleasure of humans, so it is not the place where the children of God should be involved.   

“and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium … the Passover.” The old law also has taught God’s children that shedding blood for pleasure is not the way that humans should do to one another. His children have been following the teaching of their God, but some of them have disobeyed the teaching and became part of shedding the innocent blood in that place; as in this time, the beloved Son of God, the Lamb of all glory, also will be delivered there for humans to make the decision in shedding His blood for the sin that He has not committed. This practice of humans has been too long due, and the Lord wanted to end it, and that is why the Lamb of God will be judged and punished along with the criminals of the world. Think this way, the One who has not committed sin, the beloved Son of God who never committed any sin neither by mouth nor by heart, had been crucified and died between the criminals of this world. The Lamb of God has shed His blood for the sinful world, with a few hearts that cried for Him; then and now, even after humans have known that the beloved Son of God has died for humans, not all appreciate and thank Him for the suffering that He has taken upon Himself; not all humans accept and thank Him, the dark mind has blinded their hearts as well, but to those that accept and believe, the reward will be waiting for them in heaven.

29 Pilate, therefore, went outside to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this Man?

Comments 18:29. For verses 29 to 38 see also Comments Matthew 27:11-14, Comments Mark 15:2-5, and Comments Luke 23:2-16.

It is not the outsiders that accuse the beloved Son of God, but His own people are the ones that want to use the outsiders to kill the innocent. As the verse tells all readers, Pilate does not know the true accusation that the people of God have for the outsiders to punish the innocent One. The question in this verse has told clearly as well.

In all the gospels, we are given some information related to the trial of Jesus, but to have a complete picture of the trial as given by all the gospels, we need to combine all the events. Furthermore, suppose we follow the trial sequence given in the Gospel of Luke. In that case, we can clearly connect the events that took place during Jesus’ trial, as shown below.

In Luke 22:54, Jesus was taken into the high priest’s house (Annas’ house, see John 18:19-23).

In Luke 22:63-65, Jesus was mocked by those that held Him (this happened when Jesus was taken from Annas and awaiting the council of the high priests and the elders to gather together at Caiaphas, the high priest; also, during this time was when Jesus looked at Peter when Peter denied Him).

In Luke 22:66-71, Jesus was tried by the council of the Jews (the elders, chief priests, and the scribes).

In Luke 23:1-2, the council of the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate and accused Him of “perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ a King” (See Comments John 18:2).

In Luke 23:3-6, Pilate questioned Jesus.

In Luke 23:7-11, Herod questioned Jesus, and the chief priests and the scribes accused Him.

In Luke 23:12-16, Jesus was returned to Pilate, but neither Pilate nor Herod found Him guilty.

The events from the gospels of John, Mathew, and Mark, given below, can now be easily related to the orderly sequence in the Gospel of Luke.

In John 18:13-14,19-23, we have that Annas, the priest, questioned Jesus.

In John 18:24, Jesus was sent to Caiaphas, the high priest (the council trial).

In John 18:28-38, Jesus was tried by Pilate.

In Matthew 27:1-2, Jesus was tried by the chief priests and the elders.

In Matthew 27:11-14, Jesus was tried by Pilate and accused by the chief priests and the elders of the Jews.

In Mark 15:1, Jesus was tried by the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes, and the whole council bound Him and sent Him to Pilate (the council of Jews trial).

In Mark 15:2-5, Jesus was tried by Pilate.

30 They answered and said to him, If this Man were not an evil doer, we would not have delivered Him to you.

Comments 18:30. His own people have accused Him of being an evil doer and took Him to a human ruler to be judged. However, among the deeds that the beloved Son of God has done among humans, there is nothing that anyone can claim as evil, but His own people have betrayed Him and delivered Him unfairly to be judged by humans.

31 Pilate therefore said to them, You take Him, and judge Him according to your law. The Jews said to him, It is not lawful for us to kill anyone;

Comments 18:31. “… judge Him according to your law.” Even the outsiders do not want to be involved in this case. When His people have received this answer, they should stop and think as well; the ruler, which is not a good ruler, has denied being involved in deciding to punish the beloved Son of God. Everyone reading this verse should also think that the people of God have turned away and wanted the outsider to judge their God.

“The Jews said to him, It is not lawful for us to kill anyone.” The children of God know very well that even by human law, they should not kill anyone, but they want to seek someone to decide and condemn the beloved Son of God to death for them. They know the answer to what the law of the Lord has given them, that it is not right for them to put anyone to death, but to fulfill their wishes, they seek the outsider to do it. The reason to put to death has the limitation on whom and what they do, and also, in their law, a small window is opened in a specific action; if blaspheming the God of their nation, they can put that person to death, but the beloved Son of God has not committed any sin against the living God, but He has taught against their sins, by teaching the right way to serve the living God for His people, and that is not enough reason to put Him to death and, for them to succeed, they need the hand of the outsiders. Otherwise, they will commit sin against their own law, but if the outsiders do it for them, they will benefit but not take any blame if the right decision has not been made.

32 that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which He spoke, signifying by what death He was about to die.

Comments 18:32. “that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which He spoke.” When the beloved Son of God has come down on earth, the word which He spoke is not from Himself alone only; the Father which is in Him has spoken as well, and always the beloved Son of God will do according to the Father’s will. While He has spent time on earth as a human, He had only one purpose in life for Himself. It was to glorify the Father and show all humans the Father’s love for them to the point of sending His beloved Son of God to be a human, live completely as a human, face all life troubles as a human, and die in the hands of humans. Still, by sacrificing His life, the beloved Son of God has brought many souls to glorify the Father. The beloved Son of God has told all humans that He will die on the cross in order to carry all humans’ sins upon His wounds; let all humans come and worship the Father through the beloved Son of God’s sacrificial death on the cross.

“signifying by what death He was about to die.” This part of the verse tells all humans that the beloved Son of God Himself also was willing to take the suffering upon His shoulders, even though the sins that He carries are not His own sins. Still, with His love for humans, the beloved Son of God was willing to have all the sins of the world on His shoulders. However, He Himself also, at that moment when the sins of the world were on His shoulders, would feel the separation from the Father for a moment; the pain of that separation was more than the death point in the human form itself.

See Comments Matthew 17:22-23, 20:18-19, 26:2, Comments Mark 9:30-32, 10:33-34, Comments Luke 18:32-33, Comments John 12:20-36.

33 Pilate then entered again into the Praetorium, and called Jesus, and said to Him, Are Thou the King of the Jews?

Comments 18:33. The name of the beloved Son of God is not known only among His people; even Pilate knows about the beloved Son of God. Give attention, the beloved Son of God is known as the King of the Jews, but His own people have not accepted Him yet. Until they accept the beloved Son of God, their nation will not prosper. It is sad for the Trinity of God when His own people have rejected the beloved Son of God; the blessing for their nation will not come in full until they accept the beloved Son of God, not just as their King only, but as their own Savior as well.

The rumor about the beloved Son of God reached the ear of Pilate himself; the new King of the Jews had been born, and that was cause for the death of the beloved Son of God in their eyes. When the report of the new king was spread out, it created a problem for all of them, and it became the real reason for Pilate to eliminate the beloved Son of God. In the eyes of the outsiders, the religious leaders have brought the accusations, but for Pilate, this became only a rumor of new appearing; he did not believe in the beloved Son of God, for Pilate the beloved Son of God was just a common man that has gained power among people, He had no special meaning for them.

34 Jesus answered, Do you say this of yourself, or did others say it to you concerning Me?

Comments 18:34. The beloved Son of God did not deny or admit. Still, the beloved Son of God has asked their leader the question: Have you heard about the beloved Son of God, or have you inquired to get this knowledge? Pilate, as a leader of the people, has received many reports; he received reports regarding the beloved Son of God as well, making him try to find the answer. Now Pilate wants to know who truly is the beloved Son of God. Is He indeed the king of the Jews or just someone proclaiming themselves to be a king? For all outsiders, the position of the beloved Son of God to be King or to be God is not in their concern; as long as they don’t lose power in controlling people, they will not care, but Pilate as a leader must stop the rumor before the Jews rebel against them.

35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thy nation and the chief priests delivered Thee to me; what have Thou done?

Comments 18:35. Pilate has questions for the beloved Son of God, and he has doubted the same way for himself as well. From what he has heard regarding the beloved Son of God, it made his heart also doubt why the people had brought the beloved Son of God to him when He was their king. They should judge their own king. If the beloved Son of God truly is their king, people shouldn’t bring their king to him. However, he himself is also a leader of people, so it made his heart wonder if these people would do the same way to him if they had another king around him; the sword has two edges, and this also made him wonder what the beloved Son of God has done to people to make them send Him to be punished. So, Pilate, when he saw the beloved Son of God being delivered to him by His own people, it made him also worry about his own actions.

“what have Thou done?” When Pilate asked the beloved Son of God this question, let all believers also ask themselves what the beloved Son of God has done for you, and then why don’t you come to Him, glorify Him, and thank Him for the deed that He has done for you? If the ruler of the outsiders wanted to know what the beloved Son of God has done to make people angry, you as believers should want to know the answer of what the beloved Son of God has done for you to receive the freedom of your soul; it should be the point you should thank and glorify the beloved Son of God.

36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, that I might not be delivered to the Jews; however, now My kingdom is not from here.

Comments 18:36. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world”; The beloved Son of God has told all humans where His kingdom is; He has come to this world of flesh, but this world is the world of flesh living; His kingdom is elsewhere.

“if My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, that I might not be delivered to the Jews.” As the verse tells, if His kingdom were of this world, His soldier servants would not let Him be delivered to the rulers of this flesh world, and His soldier servants would fight with His human nation, the Jews, to be unable to deliver Him to the outsiders. Remember as well, at the end time this earth will disappear, and the world of His kingdom is not here; the world of flesh and the world of holy are not in the same place.

“however, now My kingdom is not from here.” The beloved Son of God has told all humans, then and now, that the Holy Kingdom of the beloved Son of God is not here on this earth itself; the world of the flesh is not the same as the world of the holy beings.

37 Pilate, therefore, said to Him, So then, are Thou a King? Jesus answered, You say that I am a King. I for this have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.

Comments 18:37. “Pilate, therefore, said to Him, So then, are Thou a King?” What the beloved Son of God has told Pilate made him understand that he is talking with the true King, which has a kingdom but not as the kingdom of this world. This world has the kingdom of this world, and Pilate himself also has his kingdom, but the beloved Son of God’s kingdom is much better than here.  

“Jesus answered, You say that I am a King. … that I might bear witness to the truth.” Because Pilate asked the beloved Son of God, then, He received the answer; the beloved Son of God has told not just to them here but to the whole world that He did not claim Himself, but the people have lifted Him up to be King of this world as well (they accused Him and put Him as claiming to be the King of the Jews). The beloved Son of God is the true witness of the Father, the King of the true message from the Father is the beloved Son of God Himself, and His Word is the true Word from the Father, and every word the beloved Son has spoken in this world is not from Himself but from the Father. The Father Himself is the true King of the universe, but the beloved Son of God in human form also is the true King of all souls of the flesh that have been created, and the beloved Son of God has come down to tell all the true message, so all the living souls can have a chance to have true life in His kingdom; the souls that truly believe the Holy Word and glorify the Trinity of God, those souls have a place in His kingdom.

“Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” The souls of true believers have paid attention and listened to the teaching of the Holy Bible; those souls have taken the Holy Bible as true teaching from the Father, and the ears of those souls have heard the Father’s voice Himself. When those souls listen to the Father’s voice, they also have heard the beloved Son of God's voice, and all those souls that listen and obey in their hearts will feel the true relationship between themselves and the Trinity of God.

38 Pilate says to Him, What is truth? And having said this, he went out again to the Jews, and says to them, I find no cause in Him.

Comments 18:38. As the verse has told to all true believers, Pilate himself wants to seek the truth as well, and he has asked many questions to the beloved Son of God, but the answers he received do not prove to him that the beloved Son of God has done anything wrong to the people. That is why the verse has told that he said to them, “I find no cause in Him.”

See also, Comments Luke 23:4, 14-16.

39 However, a custom exists with you that I should set free to you one at the Passover; wish you, therefore, I should set free to you the King of the Jews?

Comments 18:39. For verses 39 to 40 see Comments Matthew 27:15-18, 20-23, Comments Mark 15:6-14, Comments Luke 23:17-19.

“However, a custom exists …”; It is a tradition for him to release one prisoner during the Passover festival; this tradition existed to gain favor with the people; Pilate also wanted to gain favor among people, which is why he asked them the question of whom they wanted him to release.

“wish you, therefore, I should set free to you the King of the Jews?” When Pilate asked and offered to release the beloved Son of God, his meaning was not because he saw the beloved Son of God having no guilt in anything but because he saw many people following the beloved Son of God. So, in his mind, if he released the beloved Son of God, he would gain favor from people. This offer to release the beloved Son of God was for his own benefit, but it was not in his heart to do well to the beloved Son of God; with his own wicked mind, he only wanted to benefit from everything he did.

Q: Many believe Pilate was not guilty of crucifying the Lord Jesus since he said in verse 38, “I find no cause in Him.” A: Many people have interpreted this saying as a good deed in this way, but remember as well, from the time the beloved Son of God was delivered to him, did he treat the beloved Son of God as guilty or not? Think how much he had already tortured the beloved Son of God with no cause. If in his heart he truly believed the beloved Son of God was not guilty, he had the authority not to torture the beloved Son of God. Think in this way as well; as a leader, one word from him could release the beloved Son of God, but he did not do it that way. Instead, he tortured the beloved Son, and besides torturing Him, he also blasphemed against the beloved Son of God to show people that he agreed with them and that the beloved Son of God is not truly all good and deserves punishment. Still, his mind also thought about fear of people, which made him offer to release the beloved Son of God, but not from his willing heart.

40 Then they cried out again, saying, Not this One, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a bandit.

Comments 18:40. “Then they cried out again, saying, Not this One, but Barabbas.” His own people have delivered the Lord Jesus to the outsiders, and now also, is still their chance to change their minds, but they still rejected Him until this point and are willing not to obey the voice of the Lord speaking into their hearts. The Father also has given them the last chance to repent, in front of their own eyes, the beloved Son of God or Barabbas; however, they still let the dark mind control them by not choosing the beloved Son of God. The punishment that will come upon their own nation will come upon themselves, and they cannot blame anyone, not even God. The help has come in their nation, and through many chances, the Father has shown mercy to them, but they have rejected the mercy of the Father Himself.

“Now Barabbas was a bandit.” Even if they do not believe in the beloved Son of God and take Him as a common Man, His own people still are willing to choose the criminal over a normal Man who has done no wrong to anyone. It was the darkest mind of His own people to choose Barabbas, which they have known full well what evil he has committed; but between the wrongdoer and the innocent, two people in front, they still rather take the wrongdoer. The time for them to be punished has come, and they must tell their own children that they have chosen the sinful man over the innocent Man when their own nation receives punishment; they themselves will cry for their own actions, and they cannot consider that is God’s punishment alone, their own actions have punished the whole nation to go down.

Life and Faith Application. 1) If we search for the Lord Jesus, He will not hide from us but make Himself known to us. Therefore, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, and He will come and help you in all situations. 2) When difficult times come our way because of our faith in the Lord Jesus, we need to stay firm in faith and not deny the Lord. 3) Jesus is the King of our souls, salvation for our souls is found only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the finished work on the cross.

John 19

Summary. This chapter presents the sentencing of the beloved Son of God to the cross, His suffering, His crucifixion, and His burial. The Lord Jesus’ suffering on the cross covers the sins of the whole world, and it is the only way to the salvation of our souls. John 19:1-16. The Lord Jesus sentenced to be crucified. The Lord Jesus is beaten and mocked by the outsiders and then portrayed to the multitudes as the King of the Jews with a crown of thorns and a purple robe. The leaders of the Jews instigated the multitudes to ask Pilate to crucify the Lord Jesus. Pilate interrogated the Lord Jesus, judged Him, and sentenced Him to be crucified even though they found no cause to condemn Him. John 19:17-22. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Jesus bore His cross to Golgotha, where they crucified Him between two criminals, thus labeling Him as a criminal. Also, they put an inscription, naming Him the King of the Jews, written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. By crucifying and putting Him between the criminals, the children of God had blasphemed the Trinity of God. John 19:23-29. At the cross of the Lord Jesus. The soldiers divided His garments and cast lots for His tunic. He entrusted the care of His mother to the disciple whom He loved. The Lord Jesus, knowing that everything has been finished, said, “I thirst.” They tortured Him by giving Him sour wine mixed with gall for thirst. These things happened so all the prophecies regarding the Lord Jesus might be fulfilled. John 19:30-37. The death on the cross of the Lord Jesus. After the Lord Jesus said, “It is finished,” “He yielded up the Spirit.” When the Father has said something in the Holy Scripture, all things must happen; therefore, the soldiers didn’t break any of the Lord’s bones; however, one of them pierced His side “and immediately came out blood and water.” The pouring of the Lord Jesus' blood and water from His side is the confirmation of His blood to wash the sins away and of the water to come and take the water baptism in the name of the Trinity of God. John 19:38-42. The burial of the Lord Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea responded to the Lord speaking into his heart and did a good job by putting the Lord Jesus' body into his own tomb, which was new. The body of the Lord Jesus had to be taken away from the cross first and placed in a tomb because the Lord Jesus must rise in the human body first. He was the perfect sacrifice, and the pain of the nails on the cross cannot happen again after His resurrection; therefore, the beloved Son of God must rise up in the human body first and then the heavenly body wrapping around to take the human body into heaven. Nicodemus also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, and they wrapped the body of the Lord Jesus with linen cloths and spices; however, they did not touch the body of the Lord in any other way to make any cuts. 

1 Then Pilate, therefore, took Jesus and scourged Him.

Comments 19:1. This verse should be synchronized with Luke 23:20. We should note that the Gospel of Luke presents an orderly account concerning the matters related to our Lord Jesus (See Luke 1:1-4), so we can use the Gospel of Luke as the baseline to link the events.

In this verse, the reader also can notice that Pilate has punished the beloved Son of God even though his heart has doubt. If his heart has doubts about the beloved Son of God, being guilty or not, then he, as a leader, should not start to hurt the beloved Son of God in order to satisfy the need of people. Therefore, if his heart truly has doubt, he should not start to scourge the beloved Son of God. The torture of the beloved Son of God under his hand has occurred before proving His guilt. As the leader, you must do the right thing and be pleasing to God, not the wrong thing to please the eyes of humans.

[See also Comments Matthew 20:19, 27:26, Comments Mark 15:15]

2 And the soldiers having weaved together a crown out of thorns-bush put it on His head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe;

Comments 19:2. For verses 2 to 3, see Comments Matthew 27:27-30 and Comments Mark 15:16-19.

In the Gospel of Luke 23:7-11, Jesus was taken to Herod and questioned by him, and Herod and his soldiers mocked Jesus. The leaders and their soldiers tortured the Lord Jesus. When the human leaders led the beloved Son of God from one place to another, all the way there, they were synchronized in scourging Him and blaspheming. The traveling time may be for a short distance, but the physical torture has been highly given in order to make the Lord Jesus look unwell, so all the eyes of the people would see that their leaders agree with them and are willing to torture the beloved Son of God for His guilt. In order to make the commoners happy, the leaders did not care about right or wrong.

“And the soldiers having weaved together a crown out of thorns-bush put it on His head.” The outsider soldiers made a crown, but this crown for the beloved Son of God was not a crown of glory, but it was a crown of shame for the whole Jewish nation; the outsiders have crowned the beloved Son of God as the King but, not the King for worship but the King for them to torture. They have laughed at the suffering of the prisoner they have received, the prisoner that never committed any guild but has received the punishment for all humans, the beloved Son of God who has received the suffering for the sins of the world. These are soldiers of the outsiders; they have no knowledge and also have not acknowledged the God of His people; it is not their fault to make fun of the beloved Son of God. His own people have given Him up for them; all blasphemy and torture the beloved Son of God has received was because His own people have betrayed Him and delivered Him to the outsiders.

“and arrayed Him in a purple robe.” The purple robe signifies the king of their nation, but these soldiers of the outsiders put this robe on the beloved Son of God to make fun of Him.

3 and they came to Him and said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they gave Him blows with the palm.

Comments 19:3. “and they came to Him and said, Hail, King of the Jews!” Let all true believers notice the blasphemous words here at this point. They mocked the beloved Son of God as the King of His people who have betrayed Him. They made salutations in worship and in lifting Him up but in the meaning of mocking and putting Him down; there was no respect from these outsiders; the act the outsiders made was to bring shame, not only to the beloved Son of God alone but also to all the nation of His people.

“And they gave Him blows with the palm.” The palms that struck the beloved Son of God were not on the beloved Son of God alone, but they have struck the Trinity of the universe, the Trinity of God has been blasphemed in the hands of the outsiders. When they struck the beloved Son of God, in their hearts they did not think of Him alone, but they thought of the whole nation of His children. 

4 And Pilate went outside again, and says to them, Behold, I bring Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no cause in Him.

Comments 19:4. This verse synchronizes with Luke 23:22.

Pilate went out again and told the people that he himself had found the beloved Son of God not guilty of any charge. Still, Pilate himself had already punished the innocent Lamb of God. His soldiers also did many terrible things against the beloved Son of God, and the beloved Son of God has taken them all upon Himself, and He did not get angry at any of them.

Q: In the Gospel of Luke 23:22, we are told that Pilate deliberated with them three times about the beloved Son of God not being guilty, yet he punished Him and ultimately condemned the innocent Lamb of God to be crucified. A: Even Pilate had doubts about the guilt of the beloved Son of God, but with his dark mind to have power in controlling people, each time he talked, he also punished the beloved Son of God as well; his word went against his own actions, and at the end, the dark in his own heart has concurred.

5 Jesus then came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And he says to them, Behold, the Man!

Comments 19:5. Pilate brought the beloved Son of God to mock Him in front of the people. They dressed the beloved Son of God in a long purple robe but also put a crown of thorns in mocking the beloved Son of God to show the people that He is not the true King, just the nice clothes on, but the crown is of thorns. Pilate wanted people to recognize the beloved Son of God with that picture; it was completely a mocking picture; he wanted all people to remember who truly the beloved Son of God is in their eyes; the crown of thorns has given all the meaning to the people; the people called the beloved Son of God the King of the Jews, but the King of the Jews wears the crown of thorns, not the crown of precious stones or golden; the picture people will remember it would contradict what they have heard about the beloved Son of God.

6 Then at which time the chief priests and the servants saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify, crucify! Pilate says to them, Take Him yourselves, and crucify Him; for I find no cause in Him.

Comments 19:6. Verses 6 to 15 synchronize with Luke 23:22-24. The events described in John verses 6 to 15 occurred between those described in Luke 23:22 and Luke 23:24.

“Then at which time the chief priests … crucify!” Take attention, all readers, as the verse has told, the religious leaders are the ones that made the people feel the urge to punish the beloved Son of God. To avoid problems, the people took the religious leaders’ actions and words as the will of the Father to do the deed; people did not think by themselves; they all were looking at what the leaders suggested to them. By bringing the beloved Son of God to the people, the religious leaders have already made people feel that the beloved Son of God is guilty of something, and to have God be pleased with them, the beloved Son of God must be punished.

“Pilate says to them ... in Him.” Pilate is the smart fox; he had a way of taking himself out of trouble; if the people wanted the beloved Son of God to be punished, Pilate also suggested that the people do it by themselves because he disagreed with the religious leaders. Pilate protected himself by saying these things out; if anything wrong happened later, he did not have to take responsibility; it was the will of the people to punish the beloved Son of God; Pilate has found the way out from all guilt in the eyes of the people. Still, he forgot to think that God can see and hear the heart of humans, and what Pilate truly thought in his heart, God had heard it already.

7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to the law, He ought to die because He made Himself Son of God.

Comments 19:7. “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die” -- [See Leviticus 24:16 – “And he that blasphemes the name of Jehovah, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the sojourner, as the home-born, when he blasphemes the name of Jehovah, shall be put to death.”] Because their hearts were closed, they couldn’t accept the beloved Son of God. Even though He had performed many miracles and taught them many things, their hearts were still darkened, and they could not accept the truth. And now the outsiders have told them they must judge Him according to their own law. The outsiders did not want to be involved in His condemnation, but His own people still wanted to follow their dark minds; their religious leaders gathered people to agree and crucify the beloved Son of God without a cause.

“because He made Himself the Son of God.” Also, they forgot He had told them that if they did not believe in Him, then believe in the works He did, and they could see that by human power alone, He could not perform those works. He did not put Himself as God for them, but He has told them He is the beloved Son of God and that He has come down to be born on earth for the humans to be saved; all His people have heard this teaching which He spoke in their synagogues, and they were not angry until their religious leaders come to point Him out for them.

8 When Pilate therefore heard this word, he was more afraid;

Comments 19:8. The heart of the outsider, Pilate himself, when he heard about the beloved Son of God and realized the news about His miracle performance, Pilate, as an outsider, saw it not as a human work, but His people wanted him to punish someone that could perform miracle works. This news made Pilate afraid, but he was not afraid to punish the beloved Son of God; he was just afraid of punishing the wrong person with the wrong motive. Pilate did not have a fear of God but a fear of maintaining his popularity among people; there was no justice in his heart, only how to control his power for himself.

9 and he entered into the Praetorium again, and says to Jesus, From where are Thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

Comments 19:9. Pilate’s question to the beloved Son of God was common, but the purpose in his heart was not the same as the question gives it. The beloved Son of God can hear the heart, which is why He did not answer this man. It is useless to answer his question when the purpose in the heart is different; that is why it becomes no need to reply.

10 Pilate, therefore, says to Him, Will Thou not speak to me? Do Thou not know that I have authority to release Thee, and I have authority to crucify Thee?

Comments 19:10. “Pilate, therefore, says to Him, Will Thou not speak to me?” Because of his earthly position, Pilate has made himself think that everyone, including the beloved Son of God, must answer; the pride in his earthly position makes him believe he has everything under his control.

“Do Thou not know … to crucify Thee?” Let all readers pay attention to what Pilate has threatened the beloved Son of God with. In his mind, he wanted to make the beloved Son of God fearful. He wanted the beloved Son of God to give him all the answers he had asked by telling the beloved Son of God that he had the authority to crucify or release Him to be free. Still, he did not know that the beloved Son of God had the true authority to let him live longer to see his destruction coming later.

11 Jesus answered him, You would have no authority over Me, if it were not given to you from above; therefore, the one having delivered Me to you has the greater sin.

Comments 19:11. “Jesus answered him.” When Pilate asked the beloved Son of God the question in verse 9 and told that he had authority over Him in verse 10, the beloved Son of God did not give him the answer regarding his curiosity in verse 9, and also the beloved Son of God will not answer according to the demand of anyone; when it is right time He will give the answer to all that ask of Him.

“You would have no authority over Me, if it were not given to you from above.” [Pilate’s question in verse 10 to the Lord is, “Do Thou not know that I have authority,” which is linked to the fact that the Lord did not answer his question from verse 9]; This answer now, which the beloved Son of God has given, is not only for Pilate alone but for all the readers that read this part of the verse. The beloved Son of God has answered to everyone that the Father has given the question to that heart to ask Him because that question will not be just for their own good but for the good of many who will hear the answer. The beloved Son of God has told Pilate straight forward that by his own authority, he has it not over the beloved Son of God to make Him answer, but if that question is not from the real heart and the Father did not grant the question to that heart then the beloved Son of God will not answer. When the Father has given to that heart the question, then that heart will have the authority to ask, and the beloved Son of God will answer according to the authority that has been given by the Father to ask any question.

When we say, “for the good of many who will hear the answer,” we can think in this way as well: when we have the true question from the heart, which the Father has put in our hearts, and when we look at the cross and think of the beloved Son of God, that question which the Father has given will rise up and we will ask from the beloved Son of God to have the understanding; that is the authority which we have in asking the beloved Son of God for the meaning, and the beloved Son of God will give the answer according to that authority because you have received the question from the Father.

“therefore, the one having delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” The majority of people will link this part only to Judas, but this part of the verse itself links to all His people that have come and demanded that the beloved Son of God be crucified in that time; it is not one person anymore this way, one person has delivered Him, but many have asked Him to be crucified.

“the greater sin.” The greater sin is when they did not accept the Trinity of God in the beloved Son of God Himself and asked that the beloved Son of God be crucified; when the beloved Son of God has been crucified, it is not Him alone, but the Trinity of God has experienced that death at the same time as well, so that sin is the greatest sin among all.   

12 From this, Pilate was seeking to release Him; but the Jews cried out, saying, If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone making himself a king speaks against Caesar.

Comments 19:12. “From this, Pilate was seeking to release Him.” So, when Pilate heard the answer the beloved Son of God had given to him that he would not have authority over the beloved Son of God unless it had been given to him from above, it made Pilate also feel that the beloved Son of God has no fear in his authority because he also could feel in the beloved Son of God Himself that He has confidence and power to answer Pilate only what it needs to answer, otherwise whatever Pilate may have question it will not be answered if the beloved Son of God Himself did not get the answer from above.

“but the Jews cried out … speaks against Caesar.” What the Jews said, has made Pilate fear that someone would make a report against Him regarding what he will decide about the beloved Son of God at this time, but it also made him have a heart full of doubt; the situation that is happening now can give him trouble later on, so it made him try to find the way first to save himself and leave the case for the people to be the ones to take the responsibility to what will happen later on.

Verse John 19:12 synchronizes with Mathew 27:24. Verses Matthew 27:24-25 have happened in between these two verses John, verse 12 and verse 13.  

13 Pilate therefore having heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, but in Aramaic, Gabbatha.

Comments 19:13. Jesus was held in the Praetorium, and from there, they took Him outside to the Stone Pavement. Everything that will happen now is according to the will of the people who have cried out to their human ruler. Now Pilate himself wants to please the people. By sitting on the seat of the judgment, he also wants to show to people that he is the true ruler for them, and now the place that he seats is the proof for people to see him as well, and he will show everyone he has the power to judge the beloved Son of God the King of the Jews. When he has done this, he also has shown to the eyes of people that the beloved Son of God is just a common prisoner for him, and he will judge the beloved Son of God according to the authority that he has. Still, he did not know that the judgment time for himself would come, and the people would also ask not to release him as they did to the beloved Son of God. The commoner mind is easily swayed, but each individual must suffer for their own actions. For every action that people have done towards the beloved Son of God, they all have to take responsibility for that action.     

This time is also the time of the event described in Matthew 27:19. Note that the sequence of events as given in Matthew is not in the exact chronological order, and in fact, it is given in reverse order as shown here, Matthew 27:19 happened after Matthew 27:24-25.  

14 Now it was the day before the Sabbath of the Passover; the hour was even as the sixth. And he says to the Jews, Behold, your King!

Comments 19:14. “Now it was the day before the Sabbath of the Passover.” Remember as well that Pilate is not one of the people of God; for this man, Sabbath has no meaning in his eyes, but he will do the things on this day just to let the people of God notice that he was not concerned about the beloved Son of God as someone important in their religion; every common man can be judged on any day, and he has shown to the people of God that the beloved Son of God is a common man. 

See also Comments Luke 23:54 and Comments Matthew 26:17 for comments on the day of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Usually, the preparation for the Passover was done during Nisan 13 and 14, and it had to be finalized by the end of Nisan 14 (before the sun went down). Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover meal after sundown on Thursday evening (See Matthew 26:20; the twilight of the fourteenth day of the first month), which is now, in fact, Nisan 15 (the day ends at sundown and a new day starts). Jesus was crucified the following afternoon (on Friday), which was still Nisan 15, the same day when the Lord instituted the Lord's Supper.

“the hour was even as the sixth.” (In Mark 15:25, it says: “And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him”); In John, we are given the Roman time method, and in Mark, we are given the Jewish time method for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. The Roman day began at midnight, and the Jewish day began at sunrise, where 6 am is the reference of the day starting. Therefore, based on the Roman time method, we can conclude that the judgment of the Lord Jesus began at the place called the Stone Pavement at about 6 am, and He was crucified at about 9 am. Using the Roman time method in the Gospel of John also reminds all the Lord’s children that they have used Pilate, the outsider, to crucify the beloved Son of God. When the children of God had betrayed the beloved Son of God to the outsiders, that ruler had control over the Lord’s children, and their life also changed; they had to adapt to the outsider’s time and law. Therefore, when the Lord gave the writing to John, also He warned the children of God that because they have betrayed the Lord of life, the impact through the word they will receive will be shown to them as well.

“And he says to the Jews, Behold, your King.” At this place, you can clearly see Pilate’s mocking of the whole nation of the people of God. Pilate captured the beloved Son of God and brought Him to show His people that the outsiders had captured their King. The nation of God should be ashamed of its own actions for betraying the beloved Son of God.

Approximate timeline of the Lord’s trial and crucifixion

The gospels give us three precise times related to our Lord Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and death.

The time when Jesus was tried and condemned by Pilate and the Jews at the Stone Pavement place is given in John 19:14 as “Now it was the day before the Sabbath of the Passover; the hour was even as the sixth”; (6 am).

The time of the crucifixion is given in Mark 15:25 as, “And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him”; (9 am).

The time of Jesus’ death on the cross is given in Luke 23:44, Matthew 27:45-49, and Mark 15:33-37. In Mark 15:34, we are told, “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (3 pm).

Based on these times, we can approximate the main events presented in the Gospels during the Lord Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. All these events took place on the day before the Sabbath of the Passover which was a Friday.

The Lord Jesus was captured around 1 am to 2 am (Luke 22:47-53, John 18:1-12).

He was taken first to Annas’ house before 3 am (Luke 22:54, John 18:12-14,19-23). Then He was taken to Caiaphas (John 18:24).

He was mocked in between 3 am to 4 am (Luke 22:63-65) and during this time Peter denied Him (Matthew 26:69-75, Luke 22:54-62, John 18:25-27).

The Lord Jesus was tried by the council of the Jews (the elders, chief priests, and the scribes) before 4 am (Luke 22:66-71). Then they took Him to the Praetorium (John 18:28).

The council of the Jews brought the Lord Jesus to Pilate and accused Him around 5 am (Matthew 27:1-2, Luke 23:1-2); He was questioned by Pilate (Luke 23:3-6); He was mocked, beaten and scourged, and they twisted a crown of thorns and put it upon His head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-19, John 19:2).

He was taken to Herod before 6 am and was questioned by Herod; the chief priests and the scribes accused Him (Luke 23:7-11); He was taken back to Pilate (Luke 23:12-16).

The multitude asked Pilate to release Barabbas and crucify the Lord Jesus (Luke 23:17-25, John 18:39-40).

He was judged by Pilate at the Stone Pavement place around 6 am (John 19:13).

He was taken to be crucified before 8 am (John 19:16, Luke 23:25), He carried His own cross (John 19:17); also, Simon of Cyrene on the way was given to carry the Lord Jesus’ cross (Luke 23:26, Matthew 27:32, and Mark 15:21); a great multitude follows Him (Luke 23:27-31).

The Lord Jesus arrives at the place called Golgotha (the Skull) before 9 am (Luke 23:33, Matthew 27:33-38, and Mark 15:22-28).

The Lord Jesus was crucified at 9 am (See Mark 15:25); He was on the cross with two criminals on His side (Luke 23:32-33) and He was mocked on the cross by the soldiers and the people (Luke 23:34-43).

Darkness fell upon the place from noon until 3 pm (Luke 23:44-45, Matthew 27:45-49, and Mark 15:33-37).

The Lord Jesus gave up His Spirit at 3 pm (See Matthew 27:45-49, Luke 23:46).

For crucifying the beloved Son of God, they must act very early to avoid the problem that might come from people following the beloved Son of God (See also Comments Matthew 27:1). To do evil work, these people do not need sleep; every time is a good time for them if they want to succeed in doing evil; the nighttime is daytime for them as well. During the early time of the day, people are not around, as the majority of people that followed the beloved Son of God also during this time would do something else (early morning work and preparation), and in the daytime they would follow the beloved Son of God traveling, so, they didn't have time for anything else.

15 Then they cried out, Take away, take away, crucify Him! Pilate says to them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

Comments 19:15. “Then they cried out, Take away, take away, crucify Him.” The beloved Son of God has come down on earth to save His people, but His own people have asked the outsiders to take Him away. The rejection of His own people had saddened the heart of the Trinity of God Himself; the love and mercy that the Father has towards His children have been rejected when they denied the beloved Son of God in front the outsiders; His own children have their mind covered by the dark, and by their mouth, they have rejected the Trinity of God who created them.

“Pilate says to them, Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate, the outsider, has a question for God’s children: are you truly rejecting your King? So, Pilate has mentioned in this place clearly to the people of God that Jesus is their King, and they are rejecting Him now. Therefore, the children of God should think that what Pilate has asked them now also has a deeper meaning. When your own people rejected you, what happened to their King is no longer a trouble for their hearts further. This rejection also gave Pilate more confidence in destroying the beloved Son of God because the people who followed the beloved Son of God had denied Him in front of their current ruler; therefore, Pilate now had more confidence that he was the king of all.

“The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.” Take notice of how the religious leaders have answered to the outsider; the children of God have denied God Himself. Because of fear of the outsiders, the people of God had not enough fear for God’s punishment; they rather take the outsider king Caesar to be their king instead of the beloved Son of God as their King. The children of God, from the head down, have betrayed the Lord of life and taken sides with the outsider king; their punishment will come, and they will come and cry to their God to help them; He will help them again, but not without consequences, the long term suffering will occur in their own nation until from below to the top they have turned back completely to their God, as the Lord has warned them through their prophets. They have a dark mind controlling them until they repent; that dark mind will not be lifted up from their nation; their leaders must start and mobilize people to come back and worship the God of their fathers and not reject the Savior of life for themselves and their children.

16 Therefore, at that time, he delivered Him to them that He may be crucified.

Comments 19:16. This verse synchronizes with Luke 23:25 (“… but Jesus he delivered up to their will”).

God’s children have delivered the beloved Son of God to the outsiders to be punished. His own children, by their own will, wanted to crucify the beloved Son of God, but because of their human law at the time, they could not do it themselves, so they used the outsiders to fulfill their own wish; this action made them have more guilt than the outsiders themselves. It is the same as nowadays; Christians have made the name of the Lord shameful; when nonbelievers have talked bad about the beloved Son of God is not themselves that are doing the wrong but the Christians, since many have twisted the Word of the Holy Bible to fit their own agenda and propagate false views about the Lord Jesus; therefore, so-called Christians are more guilty than the rest of the world.

“delivered Him to them that He may be crucified.” The children of God have given their own God to Caesar to punish Him. Truly, the ones who did the work were His own children, not the outsiders; the outsiders already had a dark mind; they had not known the light, but His own children have seen the light and known the light, but in their hearts have rejected Him, not just rejected Him alone, but have delivered the beloved Son of God to the outsiders to crucify Him on the cross. The ones who delivered the beloved Son of God and the ones who crucified Him have the same guilt. The children of God should think first about what they were doing to their own God, the outsiders had not known the true God of the light, and the dark controlled their dark minds, but the children of God have surrendered their own minds to the dark to do the work for them; so, the guilt also remains on their own blood.

The outsiders did crucify the Lord, but that was the will of His own children that wanted the beloved Son of God to be crucified, not the outsiders that wished to crucify Him; starting from the beginning, His own children were the ones that wanted to crucify the beloved Son of God, but because they were under the outsiders it made them find another way to fulfill their own wish, by delivering the beloved Son of God to the outsiders.

17 Then they took Jesus, and bearing His own cross, He went out to the place called of the Skull, which is called in Aramaic, Golgotha,

Comments 19:17. This verse synchronizes with Luke 23:26, Matthew 27:32, and Mark 15:21.

(Luke 23:26: “And when they led Him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus.”)

“Then they took Jesus.” They, in this place, are the outsider people; but also, many of the children of God have followed to see the end of the beloved Son of God. The people followed but not with mercy or love; they followed to see how the beloved Son of God would end His life.

“and bearing His own cross, He went out to the place called of the Skull.” The Gospel of John tells us only the direction they went, to the place called the Skull, but also, on the way there, the beloved Son of God has taken many beatings, which made Him weak. In addition, the Gospel of Luke tells us that on the road, someone else helped to carry the cross for the Lord; however, it does not tell us for how long, but, for that distance, the Lord has walked without the cross on Him, but the outsiders did not have mercy. In the outsiders’ belief, if He is important, He must carry His own cross by Himself; someone else’s sweat should not be on the cross because this is the punishment of the beloved Son of God, not someone else’s. The road to Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified) from Gabbatha (where Pilate judged Jesus) was not a short distance, and the Lord was abused along the way by the soldiers of the outsiders. Also, remember that they did not allow the beloved Son of God to walk slowly; the slow speed cost Him more torture. So, even though the beloved Son of God was tired, He still had to continue walking and endure all this suffering. As long as His body had energy, He continued walking, not letting someone else receive the hardship which belongs to Him to do alone. The Lord Jesus was without sleep, and it has been a long time that He took the beating upon Himself. Because the cross has more meaning than His own suffering, He must receive this to fulfill the work that the Father has given Him in order to be able to save all humans; the beloved Son of God’s suffering will pave the way to go to the Father for all that believe in Him.

Q: Some church teachings avoid preaching the truth about the cross and the suffering of our Lord Jesus for the purpose of being more appealing to nonbelievers. Also, some churches are removing the cross from their place, not teaching about the blood of Jesus that was shed for our sins, and not teaching about His suffering that He endured to save our human race. What can we say about these practices? A: The cross is not an idol; when you look at the cross, as a Christian, you must think of the beloved Son of God in human form and that He was crucified on that cross. The churches that call themselves church but reject the cross and deny the precious blood of the beloved Son of God are a dark domain of Satan; only Satan does not want to see the cross or hear about the bloodshed of the beloved Son of God. Therefore, if you call yourself a Christian, you must stay away from those abomination people and do not receive any of their teachings to your ears; the dark messages will contaminate your heart; this is a new evil way of how to take innocent hearts away from the Savior of life, by preaching and teaching easy things, but not the truth about the suffering time of the beloved Son of God for all humans. Think of Judas being with the beloved Son of God and betraying Him; these people that call themselves Christians and deny the cross are no different; when they call themselves Christians but deny the cross, there is no difference between them and Judas the betrayer himself.

18 where they crucified Him, and with Him on each side, two others, and Jesus in the midst.

Comments 19:18. This verse synchronizes to Luke 23:33.

“which is called in Aramaic, Golgotha, where they crucified Him.”  When the beloved Son of God in human form was crucified on the cross by humans, it was the saddest time of heaven; it was not just the beloved Son of God Himself that felt the pain on that cross, the Trinity of God has been crucified as well with Him, and the whole heaven had mourned for the loss of the beloved Son of God in human form. When the life as a human on earth has ended for the beloved Son of God Himself, the love of God has been poured down on humans under the blood of the beloved Son of God Himself.

“and with Him on each side, two others, and Jesus in the midst.” The people of God had labeled the beloved Son of God as a criminal when they crucified Him in the midst of criminals. It is bad enough not to accept the beloved Son of God as their Savior, but by crucifying Him and putting Him in the midst of criminals, the children of God have blasphemed the Trinity of God. Still, the love of God did not end there, and because of the shed blood of the beloved Son of God, the earth has avoided the punishment of the Father until the right time comes. Therefore, when humans have completely forgotten the mercy of God, the hand will be lifted up and the earth will be left without inheritance of any kind; not even the green land will be left alive, and the earth will become barren land when the wrath of God will be poured down on it.

19 And Pilate wrote an inscription and placed it on the cross. And it was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Comments 19:19. This verse synchronizes to Luke 23:37.

“And Pilate wrote an inscription and placed it on the cross.” Let all readers pay attention to this verse as well; Pilate, as an outsider, does not know anything about the God of the Jews, but he has put the title on the cross, on which he has crucified the beloved Son of God according to the wish of His people. The religious leaders and the people cried out to him to crucify the beloved Son of God on the cross. So, Pilate wanting to have favor with the people, did according to what the people demanded him to do, and he crucified the King of the Jews; however, this was his wish as well because the beloved Son of God gained many followers among His people, and Pilate took this chance to cut off the problem; if he cut the head, the tail will scatter around, and the people will not be able to fight back or demand to revenge, payback for killing their leader, because Pilate himself has done according with the people’s will. 

“And it was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

Q: In John 19:20 and in Luke 23:38, we are told that the inscription was written in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic letters. Were the inscription words, written in these languages, translating to exactly the same meaning? A: Because the inscription was written in three languages, in that case, the translator (the person that wrote on the cross) has made a difference in the words, but all have the same meaning. Therefore, the person who has put down the inscription on the cross in different languages has interpreted their own understanding, and when it comes in different languages, it gives different words, but all will contain one meaning: the beloved Son of God is the King of His people. Each Gospel, however, renders a different view of the translation of some language.

Explanation. Each Gospel presents the inscription from a different point of view, and all gospels will contain mixed wording from all translations. Nevertheless, combining all the letters given for the inscription from all the Gospels, we can conclude that the inscription on the cross of the Lord Jesus, as written in these three languages, contained the following letters, but not necessarily in this order: THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Furthermore, each Gospel gives an incomplete version of this inscription, missing some words, but each Gospel contains the main important part as “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Below, we reproduce the inscriptions as given in each Gospel, showing it in the context of the complete inscription written on the cross, with the missing words and the verse reference for the missing words in square parenthesis.  

Matthew 27:37. … THIS IS JESUS [of Nazareth (John 19:19)] THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Mark 15:26. … [This is Jesus (Matthew 27:37) of Nazareth (John 19:19)] THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Luke 23:38. … THIS IS [Jesus (Matthew 27:37) of Nazareth (John 19:19)] THE KING OF THE JEWS.

John 19:19. … [This is (Matthew 27:37)] JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20 This inscription then many of the Jews knew certainly, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near to the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, in Greek.

Comments 19:20. Because the children of God have given up their own Savior and delivered Him to the outsiders to be crucified, the three languages they put have declared to them as well, regardless of what language His children are speaking, when they have passed by the cross, they all also would understand the written, and none can say they did not know that they delivered their Savior to Pilate, the outsider to crucify Him. So therefore, in their hearts, that guilt will remain, and all the hardship they will receive, and they themselves will understand it is from their own doing, not that the God of their fathers has abandoned them, but they themselves have abandoned their own God.

21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am King of the Jews.

Comments 19:21. The religious leaders are the ones that asked Pilate, the outsider, to deny their own Savior by telling him that they disagreed with what title he had put for Him. Let all readers notice that His own children did not want the God of their forefathers to claim them as His children, but they wanted the world to know that God has claimed Himself to be their God, not that they claimed that the Lord Jesus is their own God.

22 Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

Comments 19:22. The king of the outsiders has rejected the request of God’s people because he believes that what he has written is correct already and that the Jews have delivered their King to the outsiders to crucify Him. 

Pilate did not think anything about this; he only thought I had done no wrong to anyone; they asked him to crucify the Lord Jesus, and regardless of who He was in their eyes, he stayed firm in his decision.

23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His robe, and made four parts, to each soldier a part; and the tunic, now the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout.

Comments 19:23. This verse synchronizes with Luke 23:34. See Comments Luke 23:34, Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24.

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His robe, and made four parts, to each soldier a part.” The outsiders, when they had crucified the beloved Son of God, in their hearts had no respect for Him, and because of the darkened hearts they had in them, they took His clothes as a trophy. Their eyes had seen the beloved Son of God, but each moment when they were looking upon Him, in their hearts, they had no mercy. They were only thinking about what they could benefit and show up to people, and even a piece of cloth belonging to the beloved Son of God they took as a trophy, not for thinking and having mercy on the dead. There were more soldiers than four, but these four were the soldiers that had performed the duty of nailing Him on the cross. These soldiers had seen so much blood, and the dark covered their hearts, and there was no mercy left in them; this is the way the soldiers that had crucified the beloved Son of God could think of the benefit of the work they did, by taking His clothes as a trophy, but not having regard about Him, which they were torturing; their hearts had died already, the feeling of mercy has left them.

“and the tunic, now the tunic was seamless.” Seamless definition: (of a fabric or surface) smooth and without seams or obvious joins. In those times, a young male without his own family (unmarried) would have his mother or sister be the one that would weave the thread to make the clothes for him; that was the way of life at that time. This tunic of the Lord has no seams, and all things will be woven in a circle; this tunic was old but in good shape; it is assumed that His earthly mother has made it for Him. The beloved Son of God did not live as a rich person, even though all things belonged to Him (He is the Creator of all things), but He will not take anything, only what has been made specifically just for Him, as this tunic, which His earthly mother made it for Him a long time ago. In this verse, the tunic also has a spiritual meaning into it; when you have made a relationship with the beloved Son of God, He will always continue to have a relationship with you as in one piece of the string in His tunic; if you have faith and trust in the love of the beloved Son of God, He will keep the relationship with your soul as the string of the tunic has one piece in connection to all. (He will not break His relationship with you.)

Q: There are so many wealthy TV ministries that preach a property Gospel these days. As regular Christians, what should we think of such ministries? A: Think in this way as well, if that ministry has worked in the will of God, that ministry will never ask anyone to donate anything, but that ministry will come and beg the mercy from the Lord, which He will provide for them without them needing to go and asking from anyone because when the ministry has asked the money, also will make the listener feel guilty and that feeling of guilt will make a person donate for help. However, if a ministry has asked from the Lord Himself, that ministry will receive help from unexpected sources, and they will conclude for themselves that this help comes from the Lord Himself. Every ministry should also think that when the beloved Son of God has sent His apostles to go out and preach the Word, He did not tell them to ask for help from people; He has taught them, “If you have, then you give.” So, how to have if you don’t work, if you want to be able to give help to anyone, you yourself should go to work and make it out; the payment of your work is the part that you can use to go out and help someone else (See Acts 20:35); the servant of the Lord should take an honest wage from the work they do for the Lord.

“woven from the top throughout.” Now in this place, let all readers imagine the tunic of the beloved Son of God; the first string has been woven to be His tunic until it wrapped around His body in one piece, as the beloved Son of God is the beginning of that string, and He has built up the relationship around you and woven it around your soul because your soul belongs to Him; as long as you keep your heart and dwell in His love until the end of your life, your soul will be in the midst of His love and mercy, and He will take you to be with Him for eternity.

24 They said therefore to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it will be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, that is saying: They divided My garments among them, And for My clothes they did cast lot.

Comments 19:24. “They said therefore to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it will be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” If the Father has said something in the Holy Scripture, even a long time ago, all things still must be fulfilled because everything is upon the Father’s permission only. As this verse has told to all true believers, the beloved Son of God came down on earth to fulfill the Father’s Word as well; so, if the Word has told what they will do to Him, even regarding about His clothes, all will be fulfilled.

“Let us not tear it.” The clothes that the beloved Son of God had upon Himself also have spiritual meaning for the believer. Give attention in this place that the men cannot tear the relationship and the work which the beloved Son of God will do according to what the Scripture has said. The outsiders have come to the same conclusion, even though they want to tear the tunic apart, the greed in their hearts has stopped them in order to make the Scripture to be complete; the Father has used the greed of the heart in humans to complete all things as it is written. The spiritual meaning of this verse links to verse 23 because the string woven through to make the cloth of the beloved Son of God will not be torn by human hand, but it will disappear only according to the will of the Father.

“that is saying: They divided My garments among them, And for My clothes they did cast lot.” Here the meaning is straight, when they have case lots among them, they also have shared between each other the memory of the innocent one, that they have crucified and torture; even He has died but whatever that belonged to Him still talk to every heart that has come by, as the verse has told, the soldiers of the outsiders has fulfilled what has been written, even they did not believe but they still do to fulfil what is written as well.

Cited from Psalm 22:18 – “They part my garments among them, And upon my vesture do they cast lots.”

Q: Why is this prophecy important, and the fact that they did cast lots for the Lord’s garments? A: This verse is for all believers to think of it as well; if the Scripture says something regarding the belongings of the beloved Son of God, the humans that were there in that time and have seen the beloved Son of God being crucified, even their hearts did not believe, however, the Scripture must be fulfilled to all its meaning. About the garments of the beloved Son of God, the Father has put down, and all things must be as the Father has told; therefore, what is not supposed to be torn, then none can tear it; when the greed has covered the heart, the only way to make peace among people is by casting a lot. A casting lot will make the heart accept that this is not belonging to them; the lot falls to whosoever, and that person also must take it and not destroy or damage it because it has come to their possession, not just by luck, but the person has taken it as that piece belongs to them and will make that person treasure also the thing they have received from casting the lot.

25 These things therefore, indeed, the soldiers did. And there were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.

Comments 19:25. See Comments Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41, and Luke 23:49.

These are some of the women in the circle of people that followed Jesus around; because all the time, many people followed the beloved Son of God, and all these women followed as well, and they were among the people.

Q: Why are all these women mentioned in these verses in the Gospels? A: The men were doing work, and the women followed their men; we can notice this from the verses saying the mother of someone. The men have followed the beloved Son of God. It was the women's duty to follow the men, and when these women followed the beloved Son of God, they also were helping Him in His daily needs; some were cooking, not only for the beloved Son of God alone, but also for the disciples as well, and these women have helped in this way. Therefore, their names have been mentioned as an honor here.

26 Jesus, therefore, having seen the mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, says to His mother, Woman, behold your son!

Comments 19:26. The beloved Son of God in human form also has a duty toward His earthly mother, and now His time as a human has come to an end. Therefore, He has given His disciple the duty of helping take care of His earthly mother, and the disciple also can take her as his other mother and help to look after her. After the beloved Son of God has departed from the earth, His earthly mother does need someone to help her, and He has entrusted His disciple to help her instead of the beloved Son of God because He is departing now from the earth.

Q: Why the Lord entrusted her to this disciple? Why didn’t Mary’s other children take care of her? A: To entrust His earthly mother to one of His disciples that has followed the beloved Son of God is the right path to be, and John has that heart and ability to take care of her; for the beloved Son of God as human, to care for His earthly mother, is also His duty, and the time of His departure is here; the best person to take care of His earthly mother is the one that will help her always to think as well that the beloved Son of God loved her and wants the best for her; and she should be happy to be with this disciple, that is why the verse has told her to consider this disciple as her own son but also to have peace to stay with this disciple because it is the wish of the beloved Son of God Himself.

Q: From John 21:24, we can learn that this disciple is John, the author of the Gospel. A: Identifying this disciple in this verse is the right time because the beloved Son of God wants everyone to know that the disciple He loved will be the one to take care of His earthly mother.

“and the disciple whom He loved standing by.” The beloved Son of God loves all disciples equally, but not all of the disciples had a soft heart towards His earthly mother. Moreover, as the beloved Son of God continued His mission on earth, this disciple did show care towards the Lord’s mother without expecting anything in return even though the beloved Son of God will not be on earth with them anymore; with his own heart, he has shown the ability to be able to love someone else without feeling like a burden or hardship, but as a duty towards loving the beloved Son of God. Therefore, we can say in human terms that this disciple had a gentle heart with sincere love and did good without expecting any reward in return.

27 Then He says to the disciple, Behold, your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own family.

Comments 19:27. Here in this place, let all readers pay attention to what the beloved Son of God has said; He has told this disciple that His earthly mother is the disciple’s mother as well; so treat her as if she would be his own mother; that is why the disciple has taken her to his own family and this gave her the peace of heart that she is not alone anymore. The beloved Son of God has put him in charge as her son, and in the same way, His earthly mother will also take this disciple as her own son, so she would not feel that she is a burden to this disciple.

28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things now have been finished, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, says, I thirst.

Comments 19:28. “After this, Jesus knowing that all things now have been finished.” The time for His departure has come, and the beloved Son of God has already seen the future regarding Himself. After He has given the duty to His disciple regarding His earthly mother, the beloved Son of God also knows that His duty towards His earthly family has also been fulfilled. When His disciple has agreed to take care of His earthly mother, the beloved Son of God also comes to the point that He Himself is going to depart from the earth as well. His time to do the Father’s work as a human on earth has come to an end. He has fulfilled all the duties that He has received from the Father according to save all the chosen ones and also has taught the disciples how to worship the Father and to whom they can turn for help; when the beloved Son of God returns to the Father, the Holy Spirit will be the true Teacher for all the disciples’ questions, if they need help, they all know Holy Spirit will be with them and help them.

“so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, says, I thirst.” When the beloved Son of God has said, “I thirst,” in His heart, He has known they will give Him to drink the sour wine (vinegar). The sour wine from the grape fruit will be the last earthly thing that the beloved Son of God will take in His body because now He will return to heaven in His human body. The last thing, His human body could take and have, was the fruit of grape wine juice, which the beloved Son of God has done to fulfill the last duty of His human form by taking the sour wine in His human body with Him.

This sour wine was made out of grape juice, but it is not pure grape juice as it should be because it was also mixed with gall and spices which changed the taste of the grape to be not only sour but bitter taste as well, so this was part of the torture that the beloved Son of God would take for the last thing as human.

Matthew 26:29 says, “But I say to you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” This saying has a different meaning here; in this verse, it refers to the communion in heaven, that is why He must drink this juice before He departs from this earth, and the next time will be the perfect grape juice of heaven which He will drink with all His children in heaven.

29 There was set a vessel full of sour wine; therefore, having filled a sponge with sour wine, having put it on a stock of hyssop, they brought it to the mouth.

Comments 19:29. Psalm 69:21 says, “They gave me also gall for my food; And in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Give attention to the word gall; it is not food for humans or any human to eat; this verse tells the suffering of death the person will receive, alive but eat this food, the feeling of suffering will make the person wish they had never been born, it is the high point of suffering to eat this food. The vessel full of this sour wine had a mixture of this gall in it, which is why it was set close to the place to crucify the prisoners. 

See Comments Matthew 27:48-49, Mark 15:36.  

Luke 23:36 says, “And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming near, offering Him sour wine.” The offering of this sour wine happened more times while Jesus was on the cross, which is part of the torture. When they crucified the beloved Son of God, their purpose was to torture Him as much as possible, and this drink was one of the torturing ways; they had offered to seep this drink more often, and the thirst that occurs after drinking this drink will be stronger than normal; the throat would be dry and hurtful, the part of gull and spices that was mixed into it will create the suffering time for those that drink, and they want this to happen with the beloved Son of God as well.

“There was set a vessel full of sour wine.” This is the grape juice mixture; the drink of this mixture will be for torture but not for helping with the thirsty feeling. No one will drink this mixture, but only the prisoners will take it; this had a name to call “the suffering juice” and was set up when they crucified any prisoner they had.

“therefore, having filled a sponge with sour wine, having put it on a stock of hyssop, they brought it to the mouth.” This is the time in one of many times that they offered this drink to the prisoners that were crucified; when bleeding, the thirst would come, and this juice would make the prisoners have no peace to take a rest; the torturing will continue to do, even before the prisoner would die, and the beloved Son of God has received the human way of torture; other humans cannot understand, because this juice was given only to those that were sentenced to death, the rest of humans which were not punished to death would not taste this juice.

30 When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished. And having bowed the head, He yielded up the Spirit.

Comments 19:30. “When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished.” When the beloved Son of God received the last torture from human hands, also this showed that He had completed the work for the Father; He had come on earth to save humans, but in return, He has received from humans that He came to save the last torture of His human breath on earth. The beloved Son of God has come down to save humans, and through His death on the cross, it is the only true saving way for all humans in every generation. The only way the Father will listen to humans is through the voice of the beloved Son begging for mercy for the soul that has come to accept that the beloved Son of God has been sacrificed for their own sins; the beloved Son of God has fulfilled the work on earth for keep those that believe in Him from the eternal punishment from the Father.

“And having bowed the head, He yielded up the Spirit.” So, when the beloved Son of God has bowed His head to accept the death in the human body and has yielded up His Spirit back to the Father, right away at that moment, the Father has received the Spirit of Christ into His bosom and the Father also has felt the pain that the beloved Son has endured during the time on the cross; when the beloved Son of God has yielded up His Spirit to the Father, at that moment the Father’s heart also was broken, the beloved Son of God in human form has died in humans’ hands that He has come to save, it is the saddest time for heaven.

See Comments Luke 23:46, Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37. Next, we provide further clarification notes regarding the comments in Matthew 27:50 and Luke 23:46. During the Lord Jesus’ life on earth, He was hundred percent human; the body, the soul, and the spirit of the Lord Jesus cannot be separated, they are only as a unity because He is human. Now the Lord Jesus is in heaven in His bodily form, but now with the power of the Father, the beloved Son’s Spirit can separate and come on earth for work; the Spirit of Christ is on earth according to the Father’s will Himself as well. In the same way, as the Holy Spirit works on earth, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, the beloved Son of God's Spirit works on earth as well, and this has shown true God and human features that the beloved Son of God has.

31 The Jews therefore, because it was the day before the Sabbath, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that day before the Sabbath was ending), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and they might be taken away.

Comments 19:31. This verse tells all readers about the old law the Father gave to His people. But, still, they also have to think as well that when someone has been punished in this way (by hanging on a tree), that person must sin against God, and then that rule must be fulfilled; as verse 32 tells, they broke the legs of the prisoners to make sure that in case of not completely dead yet, their body might not be able to get up, for the law of the Father must be fulfilled, the person must be completely dead before the big day of the worship festival; they broke the leg bones to induce further pain, and so that their body would not get up; if it is as in human term would say shocking them; when you break the legs it will create that shock and make the body respond, but if the body has completely died already will not respond to that shock, and that is the reason they have asked to break the legs of prisoners. 

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 says, ”And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree; his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that you defile not your land which Jehovah Thy God gives you for an inheritance.”

The majority do understand that this verse relates to verse 31, but this verse, in reality, does not apply to the Lord Jesus because the beloved Son of God did not commit the sin worthy of death, which is why this verse does not apply to Him. But His people have applied this old law by breaking the legs of the prisoners. Still, when they came to the beloved Son of God, His face had already shown that He had lost all the blood from the body and had no human life left in Him, so the procedure to deal with the body of the beloved Son of God will be different than others. The internal blood will still be there, but the flowing blood of the body has been flown all out already.  

Galatian 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that is hanged on a tree.”

The beloved Son of God has taken all the punishment for humans, and the curse of the Father’s law has fallen upon Him as well; for that reason, the beloved Son of God has become the only way for humans to be set free from the punishment of the Father when the beloved Son of God has redeemed that person from the punishment because the beloved Son of God has received the punishment of that curse upon Himself already.

32 The soldiers therefore came, and broke indeed the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Him,

Comments 19:32. These soldiers also did according to the order; both criminals had their legs broken because the soldiers wanted to ensure that they both died on the cross.

33 and having come to Jesus, when they saw Him having been dead already, they did not break His legs:

Comments 19:33. When they looked upon the face of the beloved Son of God, His face did not show signs of pain or any reaction of hurt. The face of the beloved Son of God was as of a man falling asleep, but the soldiers also gave attention to the color of the skin, and they saw His face without blood, and also on the ground, they saw the blood of the beloved Son of God all over around the cross. Therefore, they were confident that the beloved Son of God truly died already; the prisoners on the cross, if not dead, their face would always show no peace but pain. But the beloved Son of God’s face had not shown the pain of suffering, so the conclusion has been made that He has died already, and they did not need to break His legs.

34 but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and immediately came out blood and water.

Comments 19:34. “but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side.” Give attention to what the verse has told; the beloved Son of God, even though they have seen He was already dead, they still pierced Him with the weapon. The heavy sins of the world have come upon the beloved Son of God to carry them with Him; even after He has already given the last breath of life, they still wanted to make sure that He will not be able to survive by any chance if they take Him down from the cross, the shock of the body will not occur on Him. The injury of His body in this time also has told the whole world that by His own crucified body, all the sins of the world will also enter into the last wound humans gave Him. This action of this soldier has occurred to make sure that all spiritual meaning of the wounds that the beloved Son of God has received will pay for all the sins that will occur after His death as well. The wounds from the nails spiritually represent the sins until the time of His death, but the last piercing wound spiritually represents the sins of the future which will be washed away through the beloved Son of God’s shed blood and water. The suffering of the Lord Jesus on the cross paid for all the sins of the world, past, present, and future. However, only the believers coming after the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross will be baptized in His shed blood and water from His wounds. 

“and immediately came out blood and water.” The pouring of blood and water is the confirmation of the blood to wash the sins away and that the water from the beloved Son of God’s body also has covered everyone that comes to take water baptism in the name of the Trinity of God. Still, this baptism must be done in the name of the Father, of the Son Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit; in order to be a complete water baptism, the baptism must also say out loud specifically the Trinity of God. The last blood from inside the beloved Son of God, when has poured out to the earth, has received the sins of the earth for all that have accepted His blood for cleansing, deep from the soul until outside, and the water from inside the beloved Son of God it will be in all the water baptism of the believers to cleanse the outside as well. The blood of the Lord Jesus will clean within, and the water will clean the outside, so let all readers remember as well that the beloved Son of God received this death from the human hands for our souls so that we can be in front of the Father to receive the Father’s mercy. To cleanse within means cleansing of the soul, and to cleanse outside means cleansing of the human flesh.

See also Comments Mark 16:12-13 and Matthew 26:27-28. 

35 And he who has seen has borne witness, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he speaks true, that you also may believe.

Comments 19:35. “And he who has seen has borne witness, and his testimony is true.” The apostle John witnessed how the people had murdered the beloved Son of God, and he told all people that the beloved Son of God, the Savior of all humans, had died in the hands of humans. The testimony of the apostle John regarding the death of the beloved Son of God, which his own eyes had witnessed, is true; the testimony of witness has confirmed that the beloved Son of God in human form has given His life for mankind.

“and he knows that he speaks true, that you also may believe.” What the apostle John has seen and told people, he has spoken what had happened, so even if you who come later were not there, all of you should listen to what the apostle has told. And this truth you hear and believe about the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross will also set you free. In case of any doubt in what happened, read the Holy Bible, as many Gospels have told the same things, the beloved Son of God in human form has died on the cross for humans, so come and trust in the love and mercy of the One that has died for you.

John was an eyewitness to how the beloved Son of God suffered on the cross. The Holy Spirit has given John what to write down and can link all the events that have happened, even the things that John Himself has not seen, but the Holy Spirit has dictated every word to him to put down, and because of that, the story of all events has no flaw or mistake, the Father wants humans to know how the beloved Son of God has suffered and died in the hands of humans that He has come to save.

36 For these things came to pass, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Not one bone of Him will be broken.

Comments 19:36. “For these things came to pass, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Therefore, when the Father has said something, all things must happen. The Father has already told all humans that we all belong to Him and that He will take us to Himself, but in order for us to be able to go to Him, the beloved Son of God must be born as a human and be crucified by humans, and the beloved Son of God must rise from the dead in the human body, in order for humans to be able to go to the Father through the beloved Son of God in human form, and all Scripture must be fulfilled as well, only through Him all can reach to the Father.

“Not one bone of Him will be broken.” This verse in John is linked to Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, and Psalm 34:20. These are correct links because for the Passover Lamb of God, the bones shall not be broken, and the beloved Son of God is the Passover Lamb of God for sacrifice for all humans; the death on the cross of the beloved Son of God it is a sacrifice to the Holy Father with the Holy Lamb, only through the Holy Lamb that sacrifice can reach the throne of the Father and the time of sacrifice has come to an end because the Holy Lamb of God has been sacrificed on the cross.

Exodus 12:46: In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry out any of the flesh outside of the house; neither shall you break a bone thereof.

Numbers 9:12: they shall leave none of it to the morning, nor break a bone thereof, according to all the statute of the Passover they shall keep it.

Psalm 34:20: He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.

Q: What does this command mean about the Passover lamb not having the bones broken? A: This is an old law that the Father has given to His children, but the old law has linked to the new law that will fulfill the old law and bring the completion of the old law by the perfect sacrifice of the beloved Son of God; the beloved Son of God who is crucified on the cross, has become the holy lamb for the Father, and this holy lamb is the perfect sacrifice offered for the Father, this lamb is the beloved Son of God which has been crucified on the cross, and none of His bones shall be broken; the lamb offering for the Passover, has a link to the beloved Son of God which has been crucified, and no bones of this lamb shall be broken as well.

37 And again another Scripture says, They will look on Him whom they pierced.

Comments 19:37. This verse also tells what will happen to the beloved Son of God when they have crucified Him on the cross; even though He has already given up the last breath of life as a human, the human still pierced Him. The last wound they have given to the beloved Son of God also has turned to be the mocking wound for His children; when they have looked upon the beloved Son of God on the cross, they all will remember as well, the last stroke on Him was to make sure that the beloved Son of God is truly dead.

“They will look on Him whom they pierced.” When anyone has looked at that piercing of the beloved Son of God, because of the heart that is doubting, they will always have one conclusion; that He is not who He claims to be because He has allowed Himself to be tortured by the outsiders; regardless of the purpose He has on earth, as the beloved Son of God He should not allow them to pierce His side, He did not show His power in stopping any harm for Himself, this wound has become the mocking issue that the outsiders have made when His people have shown that He is the Son of God; in the eyes of the outsiders if He truly is the Son of God the one that pierced Him should drop dead at His feet as well. Even nowadays, if you look at the cross and in your heart, you have thought that the story regarding the beloved Son of God has died on the cross is just a story, and do not believe the truth that the Holy Bible is the living Word of God that has been given to humans, that person has made that piercing become fresh again, and the suffering of the beloved Son of God, has never ended yet for giving His human life for all humans.

Here, we need to make a difference between this comment and the comment in John 19:38: “He was the perfect sacrifice and the pain of the nails on the cross cannot happen again after His resurrection.” What we have said here is not that the wound becomes fresh, but that the painful feeling when He received the piercing reoccurs in His heart as that piercing has become fresh again, even though His flesh is different now, but the feeling as a human has occurred as He has been pierced over again. 

“They” in this verse refers to those that were involved in piercing Him, not only the ones that pierced but the ones in agreeing that it was the right wound to give to end the claim of a man that He as a man is a Son of God; the reader must look in both ways, in the eyes of believers and in the eyes of outsiders; their understanding about the cross is different as it goes in parallel, they have no point to join together. But the one that agrees that is the right wound that it also involved straight in the time that the beloved Son of God has been on the cross Himself, that piercing has covered the future mind of humans and the way of life nowadays has made them see and think that they don’t need that piercing, but it is enough only that He has been crucified; the piercing is just to make sure that He truly died for the ruler of that time alone; but for people nowadays that piercing is for those in that time, the last wound does not include the sin nowadays anymore. However, because of the sins nowadays that have made that piercing happen, the sin of the past time leading to happen, but the sins of nowadays are also involved in making it happen; you can truly separate them out. So the “they” in this verse refers to all humans, past and future, for those that believe or not, and all of us are responsible for these wounds, but some will look to the wounds for salvation and some for mocking.

Because of that piercing, in the future, humans will be saved as well because of the blood and the water that have flown from that wound; the past and the future have become tangled together. In the past, people have been saved because they have seen and heard the beloved Son of God's teaching, and they have given their hearts in trusting and believing that truly He is the beloved Son of God; people in the future that have looked upon the cross, without seeing the beloved Son of God on it, if in their hearts have sensed the thought that the beloved Son of God truly has been crucified on the cross and have given the complete trust to the cross of the beloved Son of God as the way to be saved, they will have a chance to join the beloved Son of God in His kingdom.

In verse 34, we comment, “The wounds from the nails spiritually represent the sins until the time of His death, but the last piercing wound spiritually represents the sins of the future which will be washed away through the beloved Son of God’s shed blood and water.” This comment applies to the believers, but when the outsiders look at this wound, it becomes the opposite meaning; the outsiders believe they won because the heart of outsiders is full of wickedness and murder in their souls; when they saw the beloved Son of God died on the cross, they believe it as a trophy for themselves against His children. Therefore, the outsiders and the believers have opposite hearts in looking at the death of the beloved Son of God; if in your heart you have faith, you will see the love and mercy of the Father through the death of the beloved Son of God on the cross.

This verse links to Revelation 1:7 and Psalm 22:16.

Revelation 1:7: Behold, He comes with the clouds; and every eye will see Him, and they that pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over Him. Even so, Amen.

This verse in Revelation talks straight about the second return of the beloved Son of God; every eye that sees Him will also see the wounds of His body from all the torture He has received, and the last wound on His human body will still look fresh as it has just happened. Therefore, all human eyes that look upon the beloved Son of God and see His wounds will realize from the deepest of their soul that that wound is for them, and their sins have been upon the wound of the beloved Son of God's human body, just come to Him and admit your sins, and give thanks and glory to the beloved Son of God for receiving all these wounds for them as a payment to the Father.

Psalm 22:16: For dogs have surrounded me, a company of evildoers have enclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.

“dogs” here refers to the outsiders and those that consider themselves righteous by blaming the beloved Son of God that He has claimed Himself to be the Son of Man, and also to the people of God who have betrayed the God of their fathers and took side with the outside leaders and the power of humans and believe these have more power than the God of their forefathers.

38 Then after these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, however, hiding for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave permission. Therefore, he came and took away His body.

Comments 19:38. For verses 38 to 42, see Comments Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, and Luke 23:50-56.

“And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, however, hiding for fear of the Jews ...”; The name of this man has been mentioned in the Bible, but in this part of the verse, give attention to the word that told “hiding.” You cannot believe in the beloved Son of God in secret. If you have believed, then in that belief you will feel the strength in telling, which will lead all who hear to think as well about the Lord Jesus; if you keep your belief in secret, the death of the beloved Son of God will end with you, but the death of the Son of God is for the humans in the future as well, so you must tell why you believe and have complete confidence in the word you want to share. Still, if you believe in secret, you will not tell the reason for your belief.

Give attention to what part of the verse we emphasized here; belief in hiding. A true believer will not be in secret; however, he has done a good deed in coming to ask for the body of the beloved Son of God, but he also has the part to be blamed for when he himself has kept the faith in secret. Therefore, in being a disciple, he must not stay hidden as a follower. Still, his name has also been mentioned here because he followed his heart and came to ask Pilate for the body of the beloved Son of God, and for this deed, he has made his name to be mentioned in the Holy Bible.

“and Pilate gave permission.” When Pilate gave permission, it was not out of a good heart but just out of his own greed; he did not have to spend any part of his treasure to get rid of the body of a criminal. Let the reader also pay attention to what Pilate has done; he gave permission to take the body away, yet that only confirms the benefit he thinks of; by giving someone else responsibility to take the body, it does not mean he wanted to give the beloved Son of God a place to be buried somewhere, but that someone else will spend their own land in burying the beloved Son of God without Pilate having to be involved in spending any money to do it. Even though Pilate had everything as his own, but to spend any part of his own to bury the beloved Son of God, the greed in his heart would not allow him to do that. People nowadays may not understand why he needed to take the body down when his own eyes did not need to see anyone on the cross, and Pilate, where he was, would not see anybody on the cross. However, if he left the body of the beloved Son of God to stay on the cross long, it could create more problems in controlling the people because the beloved Son of God, while living on earth, has taught many times in the synagogues; people even considered the beloved Son of God as a prophet, so, it would be best for him to let the body be taken away.

“Therefore, he came and took away His body.” Now we all can notice someone else with a heart of concern regarding leaving the body of the beloved Son of God on the cross for people to see the rotten body of the beloved Son of God because he did not know that the Lord would rise up from the dead. By taking the beloved Son’s body away from the cross, Joseph himself has done a good job for all humans because when he put the Lord in the tomb, nobody needed to see what could happen; the Holy Bible also does not give details of how His body has risen up and what had truly happened with the wounds. When the human body has risen up with those wounds, it would need the work of the Father regarding rising up the beloved Son of God and taking Him back to heaven where He belongs (See Comments Matthew 28:2-7).

Jesus predicted that He would rise from the dead after three days (Matthew 12:40, John 2:19-21). The body of Jesus had to be taken away from the cross and be placed in a tomb because the Lord Jesus must rise in the human body first; if He was to rise from the dead in the human body while nailed to the cross, He would feel pain again and suffer the second time on the cross again, and that cannot happen again, since He already made the full payment for the sins of the world on the cross and suffered and died. He was the perfect sacrifice, and the pain of the nails on the cross cannot happen again after His resurrection. For this, think as well how the human body can come down from the cross; Jesus’ body must remain as the human body; if the beloved Son of God is still on the cross to rise up from the dead, His human body will be transformed, and that cannot happen; because the beloved Son of God must rise up in the human body first and cannot be in the heavenly body to rise up. The heavenly body, when transformed, will create many things that happen. However, if that body were to be nailed on the cross, it would create limitations for that human body even if that body itself is the body of the beloved Son of God in human form because He is in human form, the way to rise up from the dead still has to be in the body that is completely attached, all parts one to another; if the beloved Son of God was still on the cross when He would rise up from the dead His human body will be damaged further and create further pain and that it cannot be as well. As the human body, to take down from the cross without the proper way, that human body will be damaged, and tearing is not an option; the body of the beloved Son of God cannot have more wounds than how He received until this point, there were enough wounds for the body already, His suffering was completed.

There is not that the Father cannot touch the cross and take Him out of the cross, but the beloved Son in heavenly form cannot have the nails pierced through; He must be off the cross before rising up.

When Joseph took down the body of the beloved Son of God, many people at that time also saw that He was truly a human and died. So also, when Joseph took the body to bury Him, every heart came to the same point that the beloved Son of God was truly dead now on earth; however, when He rose up and came out from the cave after being buried, every heart had a different impact on it.

Jesus’ body must remain as a human body on the cross in order to complete the suffering and carry the sins of the world. People, not just then but now as well, if the beloved Son of God has risen on the cross, everyone will think there was no pain for Him to be crucified on the cross. Still, the truth is that when the nails pierced through His skin, the pain that He endured was more than the criminals beside Him had endured, the criminals carried their own actions, but the beloved Son of God carried the sins of the world on those wounds. Hence, the torture feeling for Him was greater than a normal human would have.

In conclusion, Jesus must be taken away from the cross in the human body first, and then that body would rise and be covered by His heavenly body because His human body must be taken to heaven as a human body (See Comments Mark 16:12-13). Being in the tomb, the Lord Jesus rose in the palm of the Father (See Comments Matthew 28:2-7). When the Father came, He came in a different dimension; with the Father, nothing can block His hand.

39 And also came Nicodemus, who at first came to Him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras.

Comments 19:39. “And also came Nicodemus, who at first came to Him by night.” (See Comments John 3:1-2) Nicodemus is a well-known man among people and has come to help with his heart that wished to help according to the burial of the beloved Son of God. It was not the first time that he had come, and at this time, he came with a heart that wanted to help, and he had both authority and money to bury the beloved Son of God, but he was not the one to be put up front in doing, he came as a helper only.

“bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras.” This mixture he will use only for wrapping the body outside; before wrapping the body with a linen cloth, the spices will be put against the body, but nothing has been put inside the body. This is a traditional mixture they have used for burial.

See Comments John 12:2-3 regarding the anointing of the body of the Lord Jesus for burial. The beloved Son of God also said that what Mary did was considered preparing His body for burial. But we must see the difference. She did put on Him perfume but not burial spices; this was a perfume of love and respect that the beloved Son of God has received in order to prepare His body for burial; but at Mary’s time, the beloved Son of God was still alive on earth, so this perfume has become the perfume of love and respect towards the beloved Son of God.

40 Then, they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to prepare for burial.

Comments 19:40. When they took the body of the beloved Son of God down from the cross, they also had things of the way how they should prepare His body; they must wrap around the body with spices, and after that, use linen cloths to hold the spices in place; this was the custom of the people in that time regarding the burial; otherwise, the body will have the smell of body occur. However, these spices will help the odor to be not that strong, but they did not touch the body of the beloved Son of God in another way; His body did not receive any cuts to open it as normally would be done for a complete procedure; by the custom, they would cut open a body and stuff the spices inside, but with the beloved Son of God, they had not enough time to do that, so they only wrapped around the body as the custom was without stuffing anything inside (See Comments John 12:2).

In Matthew 27:59, the verse says, “And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,” while here in John 19:38-40, we see that we have Joseph and Nicodemus that are doing work together for the body of Jesus. As the verse in Matthew says, Joseph has wrapped the body, but you must also think that one person cannot do the work alone; the Holy Bible did not say that only he alone did the work; one man alone cannot do the burial; there were more people that came with him for this work, but the Holy Bible did not talk in detail at the verse in Matthew, which is why everyone must read all the Gospels and connect them together.

41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb in which was no one yet laid.

Comments 19:41. See also Comments Matthew 27:58-60, Luke 23:63, Mark 15:42-47.

Matthew 27:60 says, “and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and departed.”

Notice that Matthew 27:60 does not tell where this tomb was. So, the Holy Bible did not tell that Joseph had made the tomb somewhere or not, but in John 19:41, the Holy Bible has clearly told that in this garden there was a new tomb that no one yet has been laid there because this is truly Joseph’s tomb itself which he has prepared for himself for burial. So, Joseph has given up this new tomb for the beloved Son of God’s body to rise there.

As the verse tells, in the place where the beloved Son of God was crucified, there was a garden, and in this garden, there was a new tomb that the owner had made and left it there without using. So, we can use the term as this is an abandoned new tomb left there without use, but the beloved Son of God has been crucified close by, so they laid His body in this new tomb. But, because another Gospel tells us that this is Joseph’s tomb which he had prepared, but he was still alive, the tomb has not been used. The beloved Son of God has been crucified closed by, as the Bible has told, so Joseph has given up his new tomb for the Lord, and that is the place where the beloved Son of God’s body has been buried.

42 In that place therefore, on account of the day before the Sabbath of the Jews, because the tomb was near, they laid Jesus.

Comments 19:42. The beloved Son of God, the Holy Lamb of the Lord, has been crucified as an offering to the Father; the Sabbath has come, and the Holy Lamb of God has been crucified as an offering to glorify the Father in heaven, the tomb is close by, and the Holy Lamb of God has been laid to rest in that tomb.

Life and Faith Application. 1) All the prophecies about the Lord Jesus written in the Holy Scripture by the Father must be fulfilled; therefore, we must always be ready and look for the return of our Lord Jesus. 2) To be a believer, you must believe in the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, ask for forgiveness of your sins and repent so your soul is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, and go and be baptized in the water by immersion in the name of the Father, of the Son Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit; the blood of the Lord Jesus shed on the cross will cleanse within (sins of the soul), and the water will cleanse the outside (sins of the flesh). 3) We must carry our lives on this earth and follow the call of the Lord until the end and let the Father decide the time to receive our soul in heaven. 4) Perform our duties towards our earthly family; provide and care as the Lord provides for us. 5) Treat and help your needy brothers and sisters in faith as they would be your earthly family. 6) Respond to whatever call the Lord puts into your heart and give your best to Him.

John 20

Summary. This chapter presents the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus and His appearances to Mary Magdalene and the disciples to strengthen their faith in the work of the Gospel. Specifically, the Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples, showed them His hands and His side, and gave them the Holy Spirit. John 20:1-10. The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene, a group of women, and Peter and the other disciple witnessed the empty tomb of the Lord Jesus. They saw the linen cloth, unwrapped, lying on the spot where the body of the Lord was laid, and the face cloth lying by itself, meaning that the Father had taken the body of the Lord Jesus out of those linen cloths altogether. The beloved Son of God no longer needs earthly clothes upon His body; the Father Himself has prepared the heavenly clothes for Him to wear. John 20:11-18. The resurrected Lord Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. The resurrected Lord Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene and then to Peter. Because of her weeping heart, she lagged behind at the tomb, and her tender heart made the Lord have mercy on her, and this appearance also strengthened Mary’s faith in the beloved Son of God. See Comments John 20:2 to follow the events on the first day of the week when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. John 20:19-29. The resurrected Lord Jesus appears to the apostles. The resurrected Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples on the evening of the first day after the Sabbath, after His resurrection, while they were hiding from the Jews. The beloved Son of God was concerned about His disciples, so when He appeared to them, He showed both His hands and His side to them as proof of His bodily resurrection, and He said to them, “Peace to you,” which will give them peace in their hearts, and He gave them the Holy Spirit. Later, the day came when the disciples gathered together again. Thomas the doubtful was also with them when the Lord Jesus appeared in their midst to confirm to all of them His bodily resurrection and strengthen their belief in His bodily resurrection. John 20:30-31. The purpose of these writings. The purpose of these writings is for anyone to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The beloved Son of God is God Himself as well; He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him; when anyone who believes in the beloved Son of God and gives their life to Him, after that, the life of that person will be the life in the beloved Son of God Himself as well because he has become a true follower of the beloved Son of God.  

1 Now on the first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, still being dark, to the tomb, and sees the stone removed from the tomb.

Comments 20:1. John 20:1 happens at the same time as the events described in Luke 24:1-7, Matthew 28:1-7, and Mark 16:1-7 meaning that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb with other women very early, still being dark, but the sun was risen (See Mark 16:2).

[On the first day of the week “still being dark” (John 20:1); “when the sun was risen” (Mark 16:2); “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week” (Matthew 28:1); “on the first day of the week, at early dawn” (Luke 24:1). Dawn means the period in the day when the light from the sun begins to appear.]

Q: Why are we given various terms to describe the time of the coming of these women to the tomb, with John saying still being dark and Mark saying when the sun has risen? A: Think this way as well, the earth is here, and the sun is here, and the sun shines up; the people in this part did not see the sun, but if they look at the sky, they notice the light but the sun itself does not shine yet to the earth, just on the sky only, that is why the verse has told it is being dark. 

Q: Why does this section, John 20:1-19, focus mainly on what Mary did and experienced? A: The apostle John writes the Gospel from an eyewitness perspective, but under the dictation of the Holy Spirit, and here he details the story as given to him by Mary and as he himself witnessed the events at the tomb. We also need to think of the character of the people as well. Mary's character is an outspoken person; she had talked out before anyone else had to say anything, and what John has told is from what Mary told him what had happened over there and John wrote down according to what the Holy Spirit guided him, the way he should tell the order from his experience and witness; when the women has met him and told him the story, at that time Mary was the one who described to him what she and other women have seen.

2 She runs therefore, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and says to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.

Comments 20:2. “She runs therefore … the Lord out of the tomb.” Mary only tells what she believes is correct in her mind; in her own understanding, she believes someone else has carried the beloved Son of God out from the tomb; that is what her mind has told her regardless of what else her eyes have seen, or ears have heard, her understanding is cut off, just the heart acknowledgment of what she believes. Most people are like her; even the Holy Bible tells many things, but if the heart does not want to accept, that heart will feed the mind with only selective admission of the Word.

“and we know not where they have laid Him.” This verse shows that Mary Magdalene also went to the tomb with the other women, and they discussed where Jesus could be (See Luke 24:1-7, Matthew 28:1-7, Mark 16:1-7). So the women that have seen the empty tomb, in their hearts, have only one thing, that someone has taken the beloved Son of God away from the tomb, and they did not know where those people have put Him; the human mind has already imagined things, but in this place, they only have told that they did not know who has taken away the body of the beloved Son of God and where He was.

See Comments Mark 16:9-11 and Comparison Analysis Mark 16:1-8.

Complete summary of events on the first day of the week when the Lord rose from the dead:

1. Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and the other women went to the tomb early morning on the first day of the week still being somehow dark, but the sun was risen, with the purpose of further preparing the body of Jesus with spices; within their hearts they want to prepare the body of the beloved Son of God according to the custom of the people of God would do for the dead body. (See Luke 24:1, John 20:1, Matthew 28:1, and Mark 16:1-2).

2. These women witnessed the earthquake, the angel at the tomb, and the angels inside the tomb as described in the Gospels. However, we do not know how many of them went inside the tomb and who they were by name that had seen the angels. (See Luke 24:2-5a, Matthew 28:2-4, Mark 16:3-6a).

3. The angels told them that Jesus is risen and told them to announce this to His disciples. (Luke 24:5b-8, Matthew 28:6-7, Mark 16:6b-7).

4. The women left frightened and didn’t talk to anyone on their way but went to tell His apostles first. Mary and all the women are involved in telling the apostles, but Mary is the outspoken one and speaks for all of them, as shown in John 20:2 (“… and we know not where they have laid Him”). (Luke 24:9-11, Matthew 28:8, Mark 16:8, John 20:2, Luke 24:22-24).

5. Then Peter and John went out and ran together to the tomb to see what had happened. Peter and John witnessed the empty tomb as well. (John 20:3-9, Luke 24:12).

6. After seeing the empty tomb, Peter and John returned to their place. (John 20:10).

7. After talking to the apostles, we can understand that Mary Magdalene and the other women followed them as they ran to the tomb. We are told that Mary Magdalene reached the tomb and stayed behind at the tomb. However, we are not told where the other women were at this time. (John 20:11a).

8. Mary Magdalene again stooped inside the tomb (John 20:11b) and saw two angels (John 20:12) who talked to her (John 20:13).

9. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, standing outside the tomb behind her, but she didn’t recognize Him (John 20:14). This was the first appearance of the Lord to someone after His resurrection (Mark 16:9).

10. Mary talked to the resurrected Lord. (John 20:15-17).

11. Next, Jesus met the other women, and they worshiped Him, and Jesus talked to them (Matthew 28:9-10). Note there is a gap of time between Matthew 28:8 and Matthew 28:9. The next moment after Mary met the Lord, He met the other women, who were in a different area than Mary; this could have taken place sometime before 9 am. In Matthew 28:11, we are told about these women going after meeting the Lord, but we are not told in any Gospel about them reporting that they saw the resurrected Lord.

12. Mary Magdalene, however, went and told the apostles that she had seen the Lord, but they disbelieved. (John 20:18, Mark 16:10-11); this could have taken place sometime before 9 am.

13. The Lord appeared to two of His disciples this same day as they were traveling on the road to Emmaus village. Jesus drew near them as they were walking, and He joined them and talked to them, but they did not recognize Him; however, the Lord Jesus interpreted to them the Scriptures concerning Himself. The Lord Jesus dined with them as it was toward evening, and the day was now far spent (Luke 24:13-31a, Mark 16:12-13). Therefore, we can assume here that this event happened before 6 pm. Q: From their discussion with the Lord on the road, it appears that they were not yet aware of the Lord’s appearance to Mary or the other women, even though the Lord appeared to them sometimes earlier in the day. A: We can assume these men were not in the inner circle of the Lord’s disciples. Most of the time, they stayed away from the rest of the people; all they knew was that the tomb was empty now; they did not know what Mary had seen, but later on, after they had met with others, they learned all about it.

14. The two men returned from the Emmaus village to Jerusalem to meet the apostles and tell them they have seen the Lord (Luke 24:32-33). There they find out that Jesus appeared to Simon Peter as well (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5). Combining these events so far, we can understand that if the Lord walked with these men and dined with them sometimes towards the evening and by the time they came and met the apostles the Lord already appeared to Simon Peter as well, that the Lord appeared to Simon Peter sometimes before the Lord Jesus met these two on the road and after the Lord appeared to the women. (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5).   

15. The Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples in the evening of the first day of the week, while these two men reported to the apostles “how He was known of them in the breaking of the bread” during their meal together in the village. (John 20:19-23, Luke 24:35-48, Mark 16:14-18). The appearance of the Lord to these two men is a vital part of the Lord’s resurrection because both have witnessed the disciples now that they also have met with the Lord. Now it is not only the inner circle that has witnessed the resurrection of the Lord but other disciples as well. 

16. The Lord Jesus revealed again to the disciples the second time while Thomas was present (John 20:26-29.

17. The Lord Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples the third time at the sea of Tiberias (John 21:1-25).

18. As written in Acts 1:3, the Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples for a period of 40 days and spoke with them about the kingdom of God. After the events described in John chapters 20 and 21, we can understand that the Lord appeared to the disciples at other times and in various places, which are not all recorded.

19. The saying of the Lord Jesus in Luke 24:49 happened during a different appearance of the Lord Jesus to the disciples, while in Jerusalem, sometimes shortly before His ascension, when He instructs them to remain in the city (Jerusalem) to be “clothed with power from on high.” More specifically, this saying in Luke 24:49 took place at the same time as the saying in Acts 1:4 when the Lord “was staying with them” in Jerusalem at a place where all were gathered together. From this place in Jerusalem, while the Lord stayed with them, He led them up to Bethany on the Mount of Olives, from where He ascended into heaven (see Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:4-11).

3 Then Peter went out, and the other disciple, and were coming to the tomb.

Comments 20:3. With hearts full of joy, both disciples went straight to the tomb of the beloved Son of God. Their hearts were joyful to hear something regarding the beloved Son of God, so they immediately went to the tomb to see what truly had happened.

4 and the two were running together, and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and came first to the tomb;

Comments 20:4. All readers can notice that Peter and John ran together, but John physically was stronger than Peter; the two men were running together to the same place, but physically one was stronger, so he reached there first.

5 and having stooped down, he sees the linen cloths lying; however, he did not enter in.

Comments 20:5. “and having stooped down, he sees the linen cloths lying.” Even though John had been there at the tomb first, the courage that he had did not make him enter the tomb where the Lord had been, and that was not because he did not love the Lord; however, because of his respect for where the Lord has laid he would not just enter to see the things; but stooping down he could see the linen cloth being there, but he did not see the beloved Son inside. In his heart, all the information the women had told had been confirmed; someone had already taken the beloved Son of God’s body away from the tomb. At that time, no one understood what the beloved Son of God had said that He would rise out of the dead; no mind has yet linked that together.

“however, he did not enter in.” As this part of the verse tells, even John was first to reach there, but in his heart, because he has run together with another, the love he has for another disciple also has kept him outside to wait to know that the beloved Son of God was not in the tomb; also seeing only the linen clothes lying made him have the expectation as well that something truly happened here and thinking together with another disciple he would reach to understand better the situation; that is another reason that made him wait and not enter in.

6 Then Simon Peter also comes, following him, and entered into the tomb; and he sees the linen cloths lying,

Comments 20:6. “Then Simon Peter also comes, following him, and entered into the tomb.” Let all readers notice that even though Peter comes after, he enters first. With his heart full of questions, he wanted to see what truly happened; therefore, even though he was slow in running to come but when he reached there, he did not want to wait another moment; in his heart, he wanted to know if anything wrong or not has happened with the body of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, he entered first, with a brave heart; regardless of what was waiting ahead, with love in his heart toward the beloved Son of God, he entered without delay. This tomb was a big room, but we cannot say that it was large; it was bigger than normal, which could be used to bury two people together, but the beloved Son of God has been buried alone in this tomb; the room internal may be big, but it had nothing in it only empty space, which was enough for the beloved Son of God to be left in there alone. Also, even though He did not stay long in this tomb, this tomb has been dedicated to His body and has become the beloved Son of God’s tomb on earth.

“and he sees the linen cloths lying.” When the beloved Son of God left the tomb, the linen cloths that were on the Lord's body, He did not need to use them at all; they were left there as they have been removed from the whole body of the beloved Son of God. The one that entered inside the tomb saw the linen cloths and could think that they were still wrapped around the body of the beloved Son of God. The disciples saw the linen cloths and acknowledged that the beloved Son of God had left the tomb but not in a hurry. In order to have the linen cloths left there in a normal way as they had been wrapped, someone would think that it must have taken a lot of time to remove them from each part of the body. Also, when the disciples saw the linen cloth, they brought back the memory for them as well, thinking about where those linen cloths had been before.

However, the beloved Son of God rose in human form by the Father Himself. It was the Father who removed the linen cloths because it was not for the beloved Son of God to be wrapped in linen cloths for burial; the Father Himself came and took the beloved Son into His hand; we can also think as the body has been lifted out from the linen cloths without tearing them because the Father Himself has put His hand to take the body of the beloved Son of God out from those linen cloths.

The beloved Son of God’s resurrected body will not use earthly clothes anymore. He will use the heavenly clothes covering His body; no human hand or eyes have ever touched or seen the heavenly clothes, but only the beloved Son of God in human form alone has seen and touched them. The disciples did not see the heavenly clothes the Father put on His body but saw another cloth He used. Each time He appeared to the disciples, they would have seen only that cloth, but no human eye could see the heavenly clothes. There is a difference between those clothes; when the Father gives the beloved Son the heavenly clothes, these are the clothes that also the heavenly hosts can notice; however, only the beloved Son of God can wear them; they are a special type of clothes which will tell the difference of position so even the heaven itself can notice the difference as well. Another cloth is from the Father as well but does not have the radiance of the heavenly host on it, which is why it looks different. The explanation would be that the Lord Jesus has heavenly clothes and an earthly cloth, the heavenly clothes the disciples didn’t see or touch; human eyes do not have the ability to see or touch the heavenly clothes; therefore, the Lord Jesus appeared to them in the earthly cloth.

The Lord Jesus can eat earthly food, but it will never go for digestion; when the food enters His resurrected body, it will be put somewhere else but not in the body itself because He does not need earthly food anymore for the body. The heavenly body doesn’t need this food, either.

7 and the face cloth, that was upon His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in one place by itself.

Comments 20:7. “and the face cloth, that was upon His head, not lying with the linen cloths.” When the Father's hand came to take the beloved Son of God, His body was lifted up and wearing the new heavenly clothes on Him; the linen cloths that were wrapped upon His body had fallen off on the place; the face cloth that had covered the face of the beloved Son of God also was left in its own place as it was put on the face. The Father has taken the body of the Lord Jesus out of those linen cloths altogether; the beloved Son of God no longer needs earthly clothes upon His body; the Father Himself has prepared the heavenly clothes for Him to wear. His appearance in front of the Father will be in the heavenly clothes to magnify His glory in achieving the hard work the beloved Son of God has fulfilled, the job the Father has given Him. His human body was resurrected out of the linen cloths of the earth, when the Father’s hand has wrapped around His body, and lifted up His body from the earthly linen cloths and clothed Him with the heavenly clothes in the same moment. Those earthly clothes just fell off to the ground in the place. The human tradition of cutting the body will take time, but when they did bury the beloved Son of God, they did not have that time to do that tradition, so they only wrapped the body with spices and laid Him down on the floor without even a coffin to keep the body.

“but folded up in one place by itself.” The body was wrapped around with the linen cloths up to the shoulders, and His head had the face cover. When the Father lifted His body, that face cloth still folded up felt down in its place as the Father had lifted up the beloved Son's body out of the clothes in His palm; therefore, the way they folded the cloth upon His face remained as it was; when the body was lifted up, all the body clothes have not been thrown off but fell off the body and stayed where they were.

The miracle that Peter and John saw was that these clothes were intact as they were on the Lord’s body, but the body of the Lord was not inside these clothes, they were just empty on the ground but not unwrapped or the face cloth unfolded as somebody took them off from the body. This is more than a miracle for the human body of the Lord Jesus to rise up through the clothes, which does not even disturb their shape and the way they were. After they put the body of the Lord Jesus wrapped down, the face cloth was put on the face with no wrapping but folded on the face, and this cloth was on the ground as it was initially put on the face of the Lord Jesus, not disturbed. The reason we are given this information is to understand the miracle of the body resurrection done by the Father Himself; it is not that someone or an angel went and unwrapped the clothes of the Lord first or that the Lord rose in those clothes and then He unwrapped Himself or something like that; the Father took the body of the Lord Jesus out of those clothes, through the clothes without touching those clothes. So therefore, the body of the Lord Jesus was lifted through those clothes by the Father Himself, and this is the miracle of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

8 Then, therefore, entered in the other disciple also, who came first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed.

Comments 20:8. “Then, therefore, entered in the other disciple also, who came first to the tomb.” Another disciple now had courage enough to enter as well; this does not mean he did not have faith, but the respect in His heart was high towards the beloved Son of God, and entering for him was not easy. Still, when another disciple entered in before him, it also made him think that he should be there as well and see the place of his Lord where He was laid down; the gentle heart that he had made it hard for him to enter in.

“and he saw, and believed.” When he saw the empty tomb, it made his heart wonder what had happened there and where the beloved Son of God’s body could be; and having seen the empty tomb and the clothes in the way they were, it was hard for him to accept that someone had taken the beloved Son of God away from the tomb.

9 For they did not understand yet the Scripture, that He must rise out from the dead.

Comments 20:9. Even though the disciples have been with the beloved Son of God for a long time, and even though the beloved Son of God has told them what will happen to Him, they themselves still could not understand what it really meant to rise from the dead. Now they saw the place where the beloved Son of God had been raised being empty; however, in their minds, it did not come yet to the understanding that the beloved Son of God had already been raised up from the dead.

10 Therefore, the disciples went away again to their own place.

Comments 20:10. After the disciples had seen the empty tomb, they did not know what else they could do, so they returned to their own place.

11 But Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping; then, as she wept, she stooped down into the tomb;

Comments 20:11. This verse confirms that this was the second time Mary had come to the tomb, and now she has followed the disciples (See John 20:2).

“But Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping.” Here, let all readers notice as well that Mary has a heart for the beloved Son of God; her love for Him has made her be there and weep her sorrow out. This woman has a love for the beloved Son of God, and even though He has departed already from this world, she has been there weeping without expecting that the beloved Son of God will have to pay her or do anything for her. All of you that weep for your loved ones when they depart from you also think of her. Will you be there and weep like her, alone and crying her heart out? This is Mary, the commoner who has cried for God’s beloved Son.

“then, as she wept, she stooped down into the tomb.” Then, as Mary stood outside alone, she stooped down to look inside the tomb; even though she did not enter but her heart had already entered in with grief to see the place where her Master’s earthly body was laid to rest; the sadness in her heart also has been shown out by way of her own actions.

12 and she beholds two angels in bright sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

Comments 20:12. Mary’s heart wept deep out from her soul when she saw the place where the beloved Son of God had lain. Mary always wanted to serve the beloved Son of God, and when she came to the tomb, it made her heart cry out in sorrow, thinking of her Master. Nevertheless, the Lord has looked upon her tear and had mercy; the two angels have been in the tomb and let Mary see them out of the mercy that the beloved Son of God has towards her. These two angels are the angels that have come to worship the beloved Son of God when He has risen and received an order to wait until they meet with Mary and have a conversation with her. 

These two angels were the same ones that were present in Luke 24:4-7 and Mark 16:5-7 when the women went first to the tomb, but the angel from Matthew 28:1-7 that descended from heaven was a different angel than these two. 

Q: Why did one angel sit at the head and one at the feet where the Lord has lain? A: These two angels both are angels but have different duties. When the Father’s hand has come to take the body of the beloved Son of God, these two angels also have received duty, one which stayed at the head portion and another stayed at the foot portion; the head portion will be the angel that also will have a duty in helping the thought of anyone that has looked upon the cross and thinks of Him that died for them on the cross; the angel at the feel will be the one that is waiting and helps everyone that has been helped from another angel to walk following the teaching of the beloved Son of God and worship the Father. So, the two angels have different duties, but their duty will be tangled to one another as one duty because it is only one begotten Son of God (See Matthew 4:11b, Hebrew 1:14).

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, and He controls all the angels of heaven because the Holy Spirit receives straight direction from the Father; whatever orders the Holy Spirit gives to the angels, they all will obey as it is from the Father Himself.

13 And one says to her, Woman, why do you weep? She says to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.

Comments 20:13. This verse talks clearly about Mary at the tomb and the two angels. The two angels asked her regarding her feelings because her cry was not only a physical crying but a cry of sorrow from her soul. Furthermore, these two angels received the order to talk to her, and the conversation that she received would bring joy to her soul; the answer Mary gave them also pointed out the reason why she was crying here; her Master had died, and now the body of the beloved Son of God was gone from the tomb, and for Mary, this was a big loss again; she lost the Master because He died and now she has lost His body and does not know where she can find Him again, so the cry of the unknown has broken her heart.

14 When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and sees Jesus standing, and knew not that it is Jesus.

Comments 20:14. See Mark 15:9 where it tells that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Also, see John 20:2 for summary of the events at the tomb and understanding that Mary has been two time at the tomb.

“When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and sees Jesus standing.” As Mary was talking with the angels, when she has turned her face back, she saw the beloved Son of God with her own eyes, but the heart that was in sorrow has covered her eyes and the radiance of the body of the beloved Son of God has blurred her eyes, make her could not recognize the beloved Son of God.

“and knew not that it is Jesus.” Mary is a commoner and have seen the beloved Son of God in human form only, when the eyes have seen the beloved Son of God, the radiance that shown off from the beloved Son of God has blocked all here mind and understanding, in here heart has turned blanked of all questions, and she could not recognize that it was the beloved Son of God Himself.

15 Jesus says to her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek? She, thinking that He is the gardener, says to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.

Comments 20:15. “Jesus says to her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek?” The beloved Son of God has spoken to her as a common man would normally speak with any woman. The simple question He has made to her has also told her that He had noticed the weeping heart she was in, but when He asked her, “whom do you seek” that question brought her heart back to realize where she was; now Mary came to realize the One that has asked her the question has asked her with love but also with authority above her.  

“She, thinking that He is the gardener, says to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him.” The question that Mary received also made her heart think about what she was doing here and also brought her back to what she was doing in this place right now; her Master’s body had disappeared, and she was concerned about where and how she could find Him. When she understood that he could be the one who was taking care of the tomb, that was when her question, “if you have carried Him away,” came; everyone would have the same question when they would talk to someone whom they believe could give them an answer; also take notice that she asked him to let her know where he has put her Master, and she would do everything she could to take Him back.

“and I will take Him away.” In this place, Mary proposed to him that she would take full responsibility for His body. With her heart full of love towards the beloved Son of God, she would do anything to take His body back to the place where His body belongs to be, to the tomb where His body was laid; there was the place Mary believed it was the proper place for His body to lay at rest. When she said to take Him away, she meant to take His body away from the gardener’s responsibility.

16 Jesus says to her, Mary. Having turned around, she says to Him in Aramaic, Rabboni; which is to say, Teacher.

Comments 20:16. “Jesus says to her, Mary.” So let all readers give attention that the beloved Son of God has called her by her own name Mary; to be recognized by the Lord by your earthly name also tells people that if you truly worship Him from your heart, He will recognize you by your own name as well, even later on you will have a different name.

“Having turned around, she says to Him in Aramaic, Rabboni; which is to say, Teacher.” Everybody should take notice of this verse; Mary has accepted the beloved Son of God as her Holy Teacher; she called Him Rabboni, which means Teacher. The Holy Teacher will teach you all knowledge.

We can conclude that the Lord appeared first to Mary and then to Peter (See Comments John 20:2). Because of her weeping heart, she lagged behind, and her tender heart made the Lord have mercy on her, and this appearing also will strengthen Mary’s faith in the beloved Son of God.  

17 Jesus says to her, Touch Me not; for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.

Comments 20:17. “Jesus says to her, Touch Me not.” The beloved Son of God was resurrected recently from the dead, and His earthly body that Mary has been looking at is now also covered with the heavenly body; therefore, the cleaning of the body is the part that the beloved Son of God has to maintain until going up to heaven. When a human touches His body, the human’s physical body will also make His heavenly body partially unclean, and at this point, the beloved Son of God did not go to see the Father yet, so He must keep His body pure; therefore, to take His earthly body to meet with the Father, He has stopped her before touching Him. Immediately after the resurrection, the human body of the beloved Son of God is pure and clean, which the beloved Son of God wants to offer to the Father, which was the main reason for not touching Him yet. Therefore, the reason Mary was not to touch the Lord was not that the Lord Jesus did not ascend to the Father, which takes place forty days later (Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11), but the reason was that Jesus did not meet with the Father yet after His resurrection to receive new commandments as the resurrected Lord. Hence, Jesus needed to keep His human body clean. The Bible does not tell where and when this meeting between the Lord Jesus and the Father occurred, but we can understand that Jesus met the Father right after His appearance to Mary and before meeting the group of the other women.

“for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” The Lord Jesus would see the disciples before He ascended to heaven (be carried up to heaven). Even though God is One together, the beloved Son of God in human form still has to meet with the Father; so, in the prospect of meeting with the Father in human form, the beloved Son of God has told, at this moment, that He has not yet gone back to heaven. This part is the reason to go to tell the disciples.

“but go to My brethren, and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father.” So, in this part of the verse, the beloved Son of God has told His disciples that He is going to see the Father and also makes the disciples aware that the Father of the beloved Son of God is also their Father; this also tells the disciples that the love from the Father has been extended to them as well because from now on they are not just only the disciples of the beloved Son of God but they have become children of the Father as well. 

“and My God and your God.” At this saying, the Lord Jesus also has told all humans that He is the beloved Son of God, but the Father is also His God, and if the Father is the God of the beloved Son of God, then the Father will be God of all that believe in the Lord Jesus. God the Father has the Trinity in Himself; the Father has the Trinity of God in Himself; the beloved Son of God and the Holy Spirit are also One in the Father.

The Lord Jesus didn’t go back and forth to heaven; He remained on earth for a while after His resurrection and met with His disciples. The ascension (or carried up) of the Lord Jesus is given in Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11 and happened at the time given in these verses.

Q: In Matthew 28:9, the verse says, “And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him.” Therefore, how do we put this verse together with our comments about Mary in John 20:17 not being allowed to touch the Lord Jesus? A: Give attention to the comments in John 20:17; the Lord stopped Mary because He did not meet the Father yet. At that moment, the Lord Jesus, in His resurrected body, did not meet the Father, but later on, the Father came down to meet Him. Therefore, when the Lord met these women specified in the Gospel of Matthew, the Father had already met with Him, so He did not stop them from holding Him.

Q: Also, we said that the Lord Jesus was raised in the Father’s palm, so how can this comment say that the Lord didn’t meet the Father yet? A: There is no confusion in the comments if we consider the order of things in each situation; each step of the situation also has many things that have happened already. When the Father has come to take the beloved Son of God, it is different than when the beloved Son of God ascended to meet with the Father; many things must happen before, and many things also can happen right after. The Bible does not tell the specific time when this group of women met the Lord; for a short time on earth, many things have already happened in heaven.

After the Father has met the beloved Son, the Lord Jesus in the human body could be touched as normal. Still, the Father has already met with the beloved Son in the human body, but the beloved Son of God had to maintain the cleanliness of the body so the beloved Son of God can touch the Father; if the body of the beloved Son is unclean, then the Father cannot touch Him further. However, after the meeting, everything can be as normal.

18 Mary Magdalene comes reporting to the disciples, that she has seen the Lord, and He had said these to her.

Comments 20:18. “Mary Magdalene comes reporting to the disciples.” Let all believers notice in this verse that Mary, with a heart full of trust and belief in the beloved Son of God, went and told the disciples the most important news of all. The first messenger of the resurrected Lord is Mary, a simple woman who became the tool in spreading the good news of God by going and telling the disciples what she had seen; this also made the good news spread out around the world. From this verse, everyone can notice that Mary has also become the messenger of the Lord.

“that she has seen the Lord, and He had said these to her.” The important message now is that a human has witnessed the resurrected Lord of Life. What Mary has seen is the most important news for humans; human eyes have seen the resurrected Lord of Life returning back as a human; this is the most important news the messenger can tell; a true witness that is still walking among people and received the duty from the mouth of the resurrected beloved Son of God Himself.

As the Holy Bible has told us, the lowly have become important; Mary, a simple commoner, has become the first messenger of the resurrected Lord of Life in human form. The Lord has lifted up the simple to be important, and even nowadays if you truly believe and trust in the Holy Bible, you can also become a messenger of the Lord; the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart about what you can do in serving the Lord, and then your ears also will hear the order of work. However, humans nowadays do not trust the invisible voice of the Lord in the heart but trust the invisible voice of technology; people have created the technology, but the invisible voice of the heart comes from God, but humans do not put value into it. Technology has become a tool for spreading the word, but also technology has been used in many other ways; therefore, when anyone uses technology, and the heart does not listen to the voice in their heart of what they should not look at, then their mind will receive only negative things about the Lord; many have used technology in spreading blasphemous messages throughout the world as well, and also the Lord has used technology in spreading the good news as well; therefore, all depends on the heart of the user of what voices they are listening to; they have the choice to choose, and now the freedom becomes effective, what message you want to feed your soul, choose it wisely and be in prayer and the Lord will guide you what is good and what is wrong.

Between verses 18 and 19, there is a gap of time, and the Lord Jesus appeared to the other women that were at the tomb, to Peter, and to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (See Comments John 20:2). See also Comments Mark 16:9-11.

19 It being, therefore, evening, on that day, the first after Sabbath, and the doors having been shut where the disciples were because of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace to you.

Comments 20:19. “It being, therefore, evening, on that day, … because of fear of the Jews.” The life of the disciples at that time was not easy for all of them because of the good news they had spreading regarding the beloved Son of God, which was against the majority of people’s belief. The disciples believed that the beloved Son of God in human form was also truly the Son of God even though He is a human; God has become a Man and dwelled with humans; therefore, He is the Son of Man.

“Jesus came and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace to you.” The beloved Son of God was concerned about the disciples because what they would face was not easy for any human. So, when He appeared to them the term, He said to them, “Peace to you,” will give them peace in their hearts; by doing this, their faith also has grown; they have seen and heard the word of the beloved Son of God, and this will also give them the positive feeling and their strength with grow.

“and the doors having been shut … Jesus came and stood in the midst.” Jesus resurrected in the body, which here is important in how He appeared to them. The beloved Son of God is a hundred percent human and a hundred percent God simultaneously. The resurrected Lord has concurred all; He concurred the living and the death; nothing can block Him anymore; even being in human form, He can go through all things; nothing can block His way anymore. After the beloved Son of God was resurrected from death, His human form and the heavenly form were joined, not just covered any longer; the human form of the beloved Son of God now has the same power as the heavenly form because He has concurred all. We should not think that Jesus’ human body was transformed at the resurrection, but instead, we must think that His resurrected human body has joined His heavenly body; if the human body is transformed, then it will change, but when they are joined, the two will cover over each other, the two become one and the beloved Son of God has both forms, the human form, and the heavenly form. Furthermore, we cannot think that the human body of the Lord Jesus is being preserved through the heavenly body; however, we must believe that His human body came to life and is alive as a human body, which has joined with the heavenly body. The heavenly form has given life to the human form; in the human form, the beloved Son of God now has blood and water from the heavenly form to replace all that He has lost on the cross. When humans have crucified the beloved Son of God on the cross, the heavenly form has given all the life back to the human body; now the beloved Son of God has complete human life and body in Him, and He has joined with the heavenly form; the beloved Son of God has become one hundred percent of both forms in One. All the food and every nutrition for this human body are received through His own heavenly form; He does not need human food, but all the food that His human body needs, the heavenly form has given for Him.

Only the beloved Son of God will have a human form in the new world; He will be the only true human left. 

20 And having said this, He showed both His hands and His side to them. The disciples then rejoiced, having seen the Lord.

Comments 20:20. “And having said this, He showed both His hands and His side to them.” Then, to make sure that the disciples realized what they were doing in their hearts, the beloved Son of God showed them all the injuries that He had received at the hands of humans; therefore, the disciples always will remember that their own Master had been killed by them as well, not only by the hands of the outsiders that have harmed the beloved Son of God. When their eyes have seen His wounds, the pain has grieved their hearts. The scars on His body also have talked to their hearts about why it happened, and then the guilt will also come to them; they all have fled away from their Master and have let their Master suffer alone; they will feel in their hearts as their own action has surrendered their Master to be crucified and that is the guilt they will have.

“The disciples then rejoiced, having seen the Lord.” So when the beloved Son of God appeared in front of them, their eyes saw the resurrected Lord of life, and their hearts were rejoicing because their Master was living again. So now their faith has been strengthened, the peace has come to their hearts that the Master of their life truly has returned to them again; the loss they have felt in their hearts has been eliminated when they have seen the resurrected Lord again.

21 Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.

Comments 20:21. “Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you.” The disciples wanted to hear this saying from the Lord with their own ears. The beloved Son of God has given them His peace, and that peace has given them strength to do the work as well; the peace of the soul, not only the peace of heart, now has covered all their fears and also has given them the hope in serving the true Master of life. The Lord Jesus has come back to them, and the death on the cross of their Master has turned to joy for them because in their hearts, now they have understood that the resurrected Lord has concurred all, even death.

“just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” So, at this point, the beloved Son of God has told them that the Father has sent Him to the earth, and now the beloved Son of God also will send them to go out and tell the whole world what the beloved Son of God has done for humans.

22 And this having said, He breathed into, and He says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit;

Comments 20:22. “And this having said, He breathed into.” The breath of the beloved Son of God has power in it. Therefore, if He breathes on anyone, that person also will inhale the breath from the beloved Son of God; therefore, in that person, that breath will also clean the soul and wipe off the dark part of the mind that still clings to the person. When that dark part has fallen off, the heart of the person will be ready and willing to receive the teaching; the willingness without forcing will happen to the heart of that person; this also is a blessing from the beloved Son of God in preparing the heart to be clean and ready to receive the gift from the beloved Son of God which He will give to all that have open their hearts to accept and glorify Him. This also applies now to all the disciples who are in front of Him and open their hearts, and that heart will be ready and capable of receiving the magnificent gift, the Holy Spirit, from the beloved Son of God.

“and He says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” The beloved Son of God has authority in giving the Holy Spirit because the beloved Son of God and the Father are One, and the Holy Spirit will be given through the beloved Son of God. When the beloved Son of God has cleared the person's heart, that person will be ready to receive the Holy Spirit.

Q: What is the difference between giving the Holy Spirit to the disciples as described here and the baptism with the Holy Spirit as described in the book of Acts? A: There is no difference in receiving the Holy Spirit, but there is a difference in the way of receiving. When received straight from the beloved Son of God, the Holy Spirit has come in straight, deep into the soul through the beloved Son of God’s will. Still, when the Holy Spirit baptism happens as described in the book of Acts, the heart of the person has invited the Holy Spirit straight and has put trust in the beloved Son of God’s mercy; this is because the beloved Son of God has been the One that told all humans that when He has departed from the earth, He will send the Holy Spirit to everyone, and the heart that believes in the beloved Son of God’s works will receive the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when a person is ready to receive the Holy Spirit, if they are willing to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit's teaching and will keep meditating on the Holy Word and use the Holy Word to feed their soul, they will receive the Holy Spirit baptism.

23 if of any, you may forgive the sins, they are forgiven to them; if of any, you may retain, they are retained.

Comments 20:23. “if of any, you may forgive the sins.” So, the disciples that have received the Holy Spirit through the beloved Son of God's breath of life, the breath of the beloved Son power had retained all the spirit of the disciples as well. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit has told their souls, this person's sin is forgiven, that sin of the person has been forgiven not because of the disciples themselves, but the will of the Holy Spirt that wants to forgive; also, the breath of the beloved Son of God is the same breath with the Holy Spirit; therefore, the disciples have received in the same time two Spirits, the Spirt of Christ and the Holy Spirit, so in their hearts will have the ear to hear which is different than the rest of people.

“they are forgiven to them.” However, to forgive the sins, one must consider why and what that sin is and against whom; the Holy Spirit Himself also knows the true meaning of the sin the person has committed, and each sin has its own consequences.

“if of any, you may retain.” The retain in this place, give attention as well, it is because of the feeling human of dislike or the Holy Spirit in the disciple wishes to retain it. Retain feeling against someone must not be the feeling of human; when the Holy Spirit retains from someone, He also will give feeling to the disciple, and it is done for that person; there is no longer a need to have anything related to that person again, but the disciple must retain the love for that person as well; because it is not the disciple's decision to retain or not retain. Here we talk about retaining the forgiveness of sin. 

“they are retained.” When the Holy Spirit makes the decision to retain sin on anyone, that person can no longer receive any forgiveness again; whatever that person will do, it is no longer under the protection of the Holy Spirit, and the soul of that person will be punished for eternity. 

Q: How can the disciples handle this power accordingly? A: The disciples may have this power, but if their decision may not be right, to make it happen or not is the decision of the Holy Spirit Himself; therefore, if the disciples have said things out without the will of the Holy Spirit than that word will not be accomplished; however, the disciples in that time, in their hearts also would feel different; when the Holy Spirit has spoken to them, they will say just as they have received regarding forgive or not forgive the sins.

Here, the Lord Jesus entrusted His authority to forgive people's sins to His disciples. See also Mark 2:5, Luke 5:20.

Q: Does this authority given in this verse to the disciples apply to all other disciples or only to the apostles? A: At first, this authority was for the apostles only, but later for spreading the Holy Word, more disciples have received this authority as well; the Holy Bible also has mentioned this (See 2 Corinthians 2:10-11).

In Matthew 10:1-15, Jesus sends out His disciples; at that time, the disciples used the Spirit of Christ in forgiveness, but later on, when they have received the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will also guide them which one is to forgive, if the sin is not forgiven His disciples also will know and they will not speak out that the sins are forgiven because His disciples in their hearts will hear clearly, do not say forgive sins on this person; it is a difference between human forgiving each other, or the Holy Spirit forgiving the sins. 

24 However, Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 Then the other disciples said to him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.

Comments 20:25. This mindset is a general human mind; when they have only been told, all would be the same as Thomas, all would wish to have a chance to be able to not just see with the eyes but touch with the hands. Thomas, to prove what is real he wants to touch, does not believe his own fellow disciples who have met the beloved Son of God after the resurrection; doubtful human mind happens even among His own disciples themselves; doubt will come to their mind as well, they do not need to have challenges, but the doubt comes even when just been told.

“put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side.” The nails were put through the wrist of the hands and through the feet. The piercing of the spear was an extensive piercing going through the side of the rib cage of His body; the side of the beloved Son of God was ripped open.

26 And after eight days, again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus comes, the doors having been shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace to you.

Comments 20:26. See Comments John 20:19.

“And after eight days, again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them.” The day came when the disciples gathered together again, and Thomas the doubtful was also with them.

“Jesus comes, the doors having been shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace to you.” So the resurrected Lord has come to His disciples, the beloved Son of God wants to confirm their faith, and also, He wants to let them see Him with their own eyes; the resurrected Lord wants to make sure that His disciples will be able to do the work they are called for, and that was one of the main reasons that He appeared when all were gathered together and said to them “Peace to you”; this peace will strengthen their souls as well since difficult work is waiting for them.

27 Then He says to Thomas, Bring here your finger, and see My hands; and bring your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.

Comments 20:27. Q: In John 20:17, the verse says, “Jesus says to her, Touch Me not; for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” We also commented that the Lord Jesus wants to keep His body clean to meet the Father with His human body. So, how come here the Lord asks Thomas to touch Him? A: Mary wanted to hug His feet as a holding on; to hold on to His human body would make Him unclean, but also, she is a woman; to stay at a distance from her was the proper way to do.

Here, the beloved Son of God has said this to them to strengthen their faith, and also, He knew that Thomas would not touch Him; however, to encourage their faith, He has told him, if you still have doubt come and touch Me. Also, if He would not invite them to touch His body this time, their faith would not be strong enough.

28 Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God.

Comments 20:28. Thomas has acknowledged now who is his God, but let everyone notice as well that he has passed through a difficult time, the doubt in his heart has overcontrolled him; but now he has seen the beloved Son of God with his own eyes, and the beloved Son of God has told him what he has said; however, the beloved Son of God was not there when he has talked about what will make him believe that the beloved Son of God has resurrected from the dead. And now, with the question before him to touch Him, Thomas has come to the final decision that truly, this is the beloved Son of God and his God; Thomas has taken the beloved Son of God for himself as God now.

29 Jesus says to him, Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed [are] those not having seen, and having believed.

Comments 20:29. “Jesus says to him, Because you have seen Me, you have believed.” The beloved Son told this not only to the disciples at that time but to all readers; the disciples at that time have seen the beloved Son of God and then have believed; but even now, many also have said to themselves, unless the beloved Son of God has proven Himself or shown Himself in any way to them, then they themselves will put faith in the beloved Son of God.

“blessed [are] those not having seen, and having believed.” This is the most important part for every human; even if you have not seen the beloved Son of God with your own eyes, or you have never thought of Him with the deep of your heart, but you have read the Holy Bible and believe every word that is from God, and what the Holy Bible has told about the beloved Son of God you have believed it, the blessing upon your soul is greater than those that have seen Him; because you have accepted Him with your own heart and soul, you become part of the family of God, and as the verse has told, you are blessed.  

30 Indeed also many other signs, therefore, did Jesus in the sight of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

Comments 20:30. This verse has told all, even for the short time the beloved Son of God has been as human on earth, but what He has done has already shown to every eye that the God who created all things also has dwelled with all things; when He has come and walked on earth as a human, He has seen and truly felt what humans go through, the beloved Son of God has tasted them all good and bad of this world, and if all things have been recorded the Holy Bible would become so big and no human could carry it. The Holy Bible tells only a tiny part of what God has done, and even that not all humans go and read it; but you cannot only read, you have to pray and meditate and believe every word as well; every word of the Holy Bible is from the living God, and we cannot take any part as not important.

“This book” in this verse refers to the Gospel of John itself.

31 however, these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Comments 20:31. “however, these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.” The beloved Son of God, with the name of human, as Jesus, has come and has done many miracles among humans; however, not all that He has done have been put down; each day, the miracles have happened, and the beloved Son of God has taught and performed many miracles, but not all have been written down for humans; the beloved Son of God is the Christ of God the Father Himself.

“Jesus is the Christ.” The beloved Son of God is God Himself as well; He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him. When the beloved Son of God came as a human on earth, the Father Himself also has been human with Him; “as a human,” you can think this way as well, the Father has taken part of His heart and has sent that part to be born as human; that is why the term “Jesus is the Christ” is the most exalted human term, no human is part of the Father, but only the beloved Son of God in human form, which comes from the Father’s heart, because God the Father has sent Him to be human; therefore, the beloved Son of God is One with the Father, because He is part of the heart of the Father. 

Jesus is “the Son of God;” others have also been called sons of God, but Jesus is the beloved Son of God and the only begotten Son of God; the angels also consider themselves as the sons of God, but those are created things, there is only One who is begotten from the Father, and no other is like Him.

“and that believing you may have life in His name;” and that believing that Jesus is the Christ and the only begotten Son of God you may have life in His name; when anyone who believes in the beloved Son of God and gives their life to Him, after that the life of that person will be the life in the beloved Son of God Himself as well because he has become a true follower of the beloved Son of God. 

Life and Faith Application. 1) If we seek the Lord from our hearts, He will come and show Himself to us. 2) As true Christians, we must believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 3) We are blessed if we believe the testimony about the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 4) Believe the signs that the Lord Jesus performed and are written for us in the Holy Bible as a testimony that the Lord Jesus is the Christ the Son of God.

John 21

Summary. In this chapter, the resurrected Lord Jesus appears to a selective group of disciples showing love, mercy, and care and giving them guidance. John 21:1-8. The Resurrected Lord Jesus appears to seven disciples. Simon Peter and the other six disciples went fishing for food, showing unity and support for each other. However, they struggled all night and caught nothing. The resurrected Lord Jesus appears on the shore and asks them, “Children, do you have any fish?” He has mercy on them and guides them by His Word to throw the net on the right side of the boat. By following the Word of the Lord, they catch many fish. John 21:9-14. The Lord Jesus has breakfast with the seven disciples. The Lord Jesus waits for the disciples on the shore with a fire of coals, one fish laid on, and bread. He invites them to bring some more fish and have breakfast. John 21:15-19. The Lord Jesus strengthened Peter’s faith. The resurrected Lord Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. With each answer Peter gave, the Lord gave Peter one specific duty: feed My lambs, tend My sheep, feed My sheep. After these, the Lord tells Peter by what manner of death he will glorify God and tells him, “Follow Me.” John 21:20-25. The duty of the beloved apostle. The beloved apostle is identified as the writer of this gospel. His duty was to bring a true testimony about the Lord Jesus under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.    

1 After these things Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; He revealed in this way.

2 There were together, Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples.

Comments 21:2. During this time, the Lord appeared not to all of His disciples together at the same time to see; therefore, each appearance has its own meaning and purpose. Even if some of these apostles may not do much work later, however, wherever each has gone has made a difference to the people that they had a chance to meet, and some the Lord has brought them specifically to give the message; we will notice this later on as well. 

3 Simon Peter says to them, I am going to fish. They say to him, We also come with you. They went out and entered into the boat; and on that night they caught nothing.

Comments 21:3. Everyone can notice as well, what life the disciples of the Lord have; when the need for food comes, they all look for work, and the work there that they can have is fishing; and also notice the love of each other between them; one has an idea, in this place, Peter himself got the idea to go out to fish, and another disciples have no selfish in themselves and also were willing to go out with him even they wanted or not; it is not the problem for them to stay and relax, but the love for each other makes them agree to go out together as one unit.

“and on that night, they caught nothing.” Being a fisherman doesn’t mean that every time you go out, you will get the fish; the disciples went out to fish, but they caught nothing; this is a common life for fishermen as well.

4 But morning having now come, Jesus stood on the shore; however, the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Comments 21:4. The sun comes up, and the beloved Son of God is standing at the shore waiting for His disciples, but in the eyes of the disciples, because of the distance, they did not recognize that it was their Master; it is a common way in the humans, looking out through the curve of the water, the eyes can't focus, and the disciples as well, now, their eye could not focus and recognize their Master.

5 Then Jesus says to them, Children, do you have any fish? They answered Him, No.

Comments 21:5. “Then Jesus says to them, Children, do you have any fish?” It is a common question humans would ask when standing at the shore and seeing the fishermen coming in from the sea, “did you catch anything for food today?” The beloved Son of God has asked the children the same question as normal men would ask; if a fisherman goes out to catch fish, the one waiting on the shore would also expect some food to eat. “Children” is a term the beloved Son of God uses with His disciples; He always calls them as His children; either way, the disciples did not recognize Him even by the way of calling.

“They answered Him, No.” In their answer, we can also notice that the disciples feel disappointed that they caught nothing; the fishermen went out to catch fish and caught nothing, so it was normal to feel disappointed in their work. Also, from their answer, we can see that they still didn’t recognize the Lord.

6 And He said to them, Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find. They cast, therefore, and they were not able to haul it in from the great number of fish.

Comments 21:6. “And He said to them, Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find.” Here is the place humans should pay attention; the beloved Son of God knows all things; He knows where the fish will gather together in a group, to the left or the right side of the boat will make a difference in catching and now the beloved Son of God has told the disciples in each step what to do, cast the net down on “the right side,” and you will get the fish; it is not that He orders the fish to be there but, He knows the way the fish reacts with the current, the way the current moves will bring the food and the fish will be there; this has told to all humans about the knowledge of the beloved Son of God regarding all things, He has known them all clear. He knows the end where the fish will be, and that is why He tells them specifically which side to do the catching.

“They cast, therefore, and they were not able to haul it in from the great number of fish.” This is the result of obeying, the disciples obey the word of the beloved Son of God, and they have done according to His command, and now they receive the result of obeying; there is a large number of fish in their net. 

7 Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, It is the Lord. So, Simon Peter having heard that it is the Lord, girt on the outer tunic (for he was poorly clothed), and cast himself into the sea.

Comments 21:7. “Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, It is the Lord.” We can notice that not everybody recognized the beloved Son of God, and in this place itself, Peter couldn’t recognize Him; however, John the beloved disciple has recognized the Master and has told his brethren Peter that it is the Lord; to make sure everyone notices, always the Lord will work in someone’s heart. Similarly, people read the same verse from the Holy Bible but might get different meanings; however, if a person prays and asks for help from the Holy Spirit, that person will get the right understanding.

“So, Simon Peter … into the sea.” Let all true believers give attention to this part of the verse; when you worship the Lord, the body must be covered with clothes; in this place, Peter did not cover the whole body and felt disrespect towards the Master of life; also, even though He has covered Himself with the coat, He still jumped into the sea. This verse also tells all readers how you should behave towards the Lord; if you notice you are not alone, but even if you are alone, you know who is with you; therefore, when you come to glorify the Master, cover your body as well.

“for he was poorly clothed.” This means he was completely naked fishing. With a simple mind, there was no wicked thought seeing one another naked, and they did not think beyond the skin and work to do.

Q: Why did Peter do this action to “cast himself into the sea?” A: Peter has full respect towards the beloved Son of God, which made him throw himself into the water. Even though he had put on the outer coat already, but in his heart, because the Lord had seen him naked, it made him feel embarrassed as well; so, in himself, if he jumped down into the water, he washed down off the shame, and he can face the beloved Son of God. This was a normal human way of thinking for them; when they did something improper, they would wash it off with water. Simon jumped out from the boat to hide in shame.

8 And the other disciples came by the boat, for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits off, dragging the net with the fish.

Comments 21:8. The other disciples were in the boat, but they went out on the side of the boat to pull the net with the fish and came by the boat, helping to drag the net with the fish. Now, Peter was out of the boat, and the other disciples were in the boat a bit further away; the other disciples jumped off the boat, and all were helping to drag the net with the fish. They needed to help on the side because the net was too full.

9 Therefore, when they disembarked to the land, they see a fire of coals lying, and a fish laid thereon, and bread.

Comments 21:9. “Therefore, when they disembarked to the land, they see a fire of coals lying.” When the disciples came to the shore, they saw the fire. The first thing they do when humans get out from the water is to look for a warm place, and the disciples see the fire waiting; inside their hearts, hope has come as well; where is the fire the warm is there, and the disciples in their hearts were looking to the warm place; this fire has become the hope of safety; when the Lord does something always is for helping humans to have hope, as in this place as well, the fire has lifted up the hope of the disciples.

“and a fish laid thereon, and bread.” Now the hope had been fulfilled; not only fire but food was also waiting for them to eat. This act from the Lord will make the disciples happy; besides, having seen fire, they now see the food waiting. A person needs a piece of bread and some small pieces of fish to eat; the heavy of the stomach is on the bread, not just fish alone.

10 Jesus says to them, Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.

Comments 21:10. The beloved Son of God is also a human, and He knows how humans think if they come in and see a small amount of food, but His word also has brought hope back for them; remember as well, they caught the fish in their net, so they did not worry there was not enough food there; at that point, no one would be concerned there was not enough food for them anymore, the net was full with fish so they could bring more.

11 Simon Peter therefore went up, and dragged the net to the land, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three; although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Comments 21:11. Simon Peter … a hundred fifty-three.” With a heart full of gladness, Peter went down to get the net and found they had caught so many fish; in his heart now, there is no doubt; they couldn’t catch anything all night, but by following the Word of the beloved Son of God, they ended up with more fish than they wanted. It is the same as humans nowadays; if you truly believe and meditate on the Holy Bible, the result will be peace deep in your soul; the trouble of life in this world is nothing compared with the joy of the Lord in heaven. The number of fish here is to tell how much difference between beginning at nothing and ending up with a large number of fish in the net that they have caught. The net that was thrown out is the same as when anyone would meditate and believe in the Holy Bible; they will catch many souls into the kingdom of God.

“although there were so many, the net was not torn.” Many people can read the Holy Bible, which will never be less meaningful if you read with faith and belief. The same Holy Bible will catch many souls; it is no limitation for the Holy Word to capture any soul; small book but full of power and hunger to catch the souls to heaven. The Holy Bible has no limitations for all humans; the true treasure on earth is the Holy Bible, and whoever believes and meditates will feel rich in their hearts from the first person to the last person because the Holy Bible has treasures unmeasurable, and the benefit of it never ends.

12 Jesus says to them, Come have breakfast. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, Who are Thou? knowing that it is the Lord.

Comments 21:12. “Jesus says to them, Come have breakfast.” The beloved Son of God had mercy on His disciples and called them to come to eat food; the blessed disciples had the meal that the beloved Son of God prepared; this meal not only will benefit the body but the deep of their soul will also benefit; every time they will eat breakfast, they will never forget that one time the beloved Son of God has made it for them to enjoy.

“None of the disciples … it is the Lord.” Deep in their hearts, all of the disciples at that time knew who was in front of them and talking with them, but none of them had enough courage to ask Him even though they knew full well it was the Lord. Remember as well, they have seen their Lord crucified, and now again have seen Him fixing the food for them; no human will have the courage to ask the Master that has been crucified and has come back again to spend time with them as He used to do before; which human will have the courage to ask the question “who are Thou?”  Knowing and accepting are different, as the verse has told they knew it was the Lord, but deep in their hearts did not yet have the acceptance that the beloved Son of God had resurrected back to life in the body; for them, the dead became alive again, it was more than a miracle; in their hearts, only one thing they could have, it was impossible that the dead could raise up again. Their understanding of the resurrection was not in the body as it happened, which was difficult for them, and it is difficult for us. It is easy to understand and believe in a spiritual resurrection, but witnessing a bodily resurrection is a miracle beyond what the human mind can understand.

13 Jesus comes, and takes the bread, and gives them, and the fish likewise.

Comments 21:13. Let all readers give attention to the action of the Lord, the beloved Son of God resurrected, and still be the caregiver for the disciples, giving them bread to eat and fish to taste. The Lord of life cares for all His children; His disciples and all that come to have faith in Him will have a chance to taste His food and care.

14 This is now the third time that Jesus manifested to the disciples, having been raised out from the dead.

Comments 21:14. He raised out from the dead, which is different than saying raised from the dead! The term "raised out" is proper because death cannot hold the beloved Son of God, so we should use raised out.

Rise versus raise; rise means that Jesus came up from the dead by Himself, and raise you would use if Jesus was made alive by the Father. The beloved Son of God can rise up by Himself, but what has happened here is that the Father has raised Him up.

In fact, the Gospels report other appearances of the Lord Jesus, and this would be the seventh appearance (Mary, the group of women, Peter, the two disciples, first appearance to the disciples as a group on the first day, the second appearance of the disciples eight days after, the third appearance to the disciples by the sea; See Comments John 20:2), but this marks the third appearance of the resurrected Lord to the disciples as a group.

The beloved Son of God has appeared for the disciples and others to confirm their faith and help them when tested. Appearing for the disciples will give them a stronger heart of faith in going out to spread the good news to the world. The disciples will face many challenges, but the appearance of the Lord of Life will help them in the future. Humans stay with the old belief and have a hard time accepting the truth that the beloved Son of God has shown and taught them. While He was human on earth, He taught many things, and now the resurrected Lord of life also wants to teach humans more.   

15 Therefore, when they had breakfast, Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of John, love you Me more than these? He says to Him, Yes, Lord; Thou know that I dearly love Thee. He says to him, Feed My lambs.

Comments 21:15. “Therefore, when they had breakfast, … more than these?” The beloved Son of God has talked explicitly with Peter about what His eyes have seen right now regarding the resurrected Lord of life and the interaction that he has in person with the Lord; all these things the beloved Son of God wants him to remember because in the future he will face challenges that could make him doubt in his own mind for what he has seen. What the eyes would see, and the ear would hear what people say, could make Peter’s heart waiver. However, this question will make him always remember that the Lord of Life has asked him, “Love you Me more than these?”; the love that Peter has for the Lord of Life at this moment will help him to go through the challenges of life in the future.

“love you Me more than these?” In this place, the beloved Son of God wants to remind Peter as well that all things come easy but is he staying in faith because everything comes too easy or because of the true love for the Lord of life and his willingness to serve Him even in the hard time as well; easy, but there is a price to pay as well. In order to have the food for life, everyone must remain in faith and meditation on the teaching of the beloved Son of God; if you do not meditate on the Holy Word, the faith also will wither; remember as well, nothing comes without doing work; to have faith you must meditate on the Holy Word and keep yourself according to the teaching of the Lord.

“He says to Him, Yes, Lord; Thou know that I dearly love Thee.” As the verse has told, Peter himself, as a disciple of the beloved Son of God, has said clearly here that the beloved Son of God knows everything and His knowledge is beyond every human can understand; and also, Peter himself has said things to confirm to the beloved Son of God that his love towards the beloved Son of God is greater than anyone can have; let everyone notice from his answer, “I dearly love Thee,” the love that is greater than normal he has for the Lord.

“He says to him, Feed My lambs.” The beloved Son of God has directed Peter towards the duty he has received; in this place, to feed the lambs means to always tell what the beloved Son of God has done while He was with them on earth and also tell about the feeling and experience that he had encountered while he has spent time with the beloved Son of God, and that the beloved Son of God always knows things before they happen and nothing can happen without the beloved Son of God allows it to be. Therefore, the beloved Son of God has given him the duty to preach the Word and tell all humans which he will meet about the teaching of the beloved Son of God and what the beloved Son of God means for him; when talking to unknown people regarding the beloved Son of God, he must use his own experience to be able to put all things together and connect with the outsiders.

16 He says to him again a second time, Simon, [son] of John, love you Me? He says to Him, Yes, Lord; Thou know that I dearly love Thee. He says to him, Tend My sheep.

Comments 21:16. “He says to him again a second time, Simon, [son] of John, love you Me?” The second question of the Lord that he has asked Peter refers only to his feelings towards the beloved Son Himself. The question addresses that there should be nothing doubtful between him and the Lord.

“He says to Him, Yes, Lord; Thou know that I dearly love Thee.” Now Peter has told regarding his heart that he genuinely loves the beloved Son of God and wants to serve Him alone only.

“He says to him, Tend My sheep.” When the beloved Son of God has said to tend the sheep, He also has given Peter the duty, as he travels or meets anyone, he must also check with them how much they understand the meaning of how to live life in following the beloved Son of God and give their life also to the Son of God.

17 He says to him the third time, Simon, [son] of John, do you dearly love Me? Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, Do you dearly love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, Thou know all things; Thou know that I dearly love Thee. Jesus says to him, Feed My sheep.

Comments 21:17. “He says to him the third time, Simon, [son] of John, do you dearly love Me?” Now the beloved Son of God has asked Peter, according to his own answer, if he himself also understands his own answer; so, now Peter must think as well if he truly loves the Lord as he said. When the beloved Son of God asked him, the way he answered this also made an impact on his own heart, and Peter is thinking about what the beloved Son of God means for him, just for himself (Peter) or as well regarding what duty he should do, but still Peter himself also must think of his own duty towards the beloved Son of God.

“Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, Do you dearly love Me?” The question the beloved Son of God regarding Peter’s own answer made him feel sad in his soul; Peter himself also felt that the beloved Son of God had doubt in his love towards Him, and that made him have grief in his heart deeply, but this grief in him will save him later on in life; remember as well, Peter as a disciple will face many challenges and because the beloved Son of God has repeated the question to him with this feeling of grief will help him to be able to face all challenges and even when Peter’s faith itself will be challenged in the future this experience will always help him.

“And he said to Him, Lord, Thou know all things; Thou know that I dearly love Thee.” In Peter’s heart, he has acknowledged as well that the beloved Son of God knows everything; and the beloved Son of God knows even what the mind of the man is thinking. The question the beloved Son of God has repeated to him has made his soul stay firm and think heard to the answer; the answer that Peter has given to the beloved Son of God was from deep of his own heart; also, in his heart, he truly loved the beloved Son of God, and he was willing to serve the beloved Son of God all his life; however, this question also has created fear in him, thinking if indeed was possible for him that he does not truly love the beloved Son of God; therefore, Peter will keep asking this question in his own heart when the trouble comes.

“Jesus says to him, Feed My sheep.” Make the difference between the lambs and the sheep; the sheep are fully grown and have already known the Lord, but the lambs themselves are the souls of the innocent who did not have a chance yet to grow in the teaching of the Lord. When the beloved Son of God has told him to tend them, it means taking care of them and telling them what they should do, but when the beloved Son of God has told him to feed the sheep, we must think as well what food to feed them; Peter has known the teaching of the beloved Son of God, and also that became his duty, that food is the knowledge that he has to use to feed those sheep; the teaching he has received from the beloved Son of God is the true food for the sheep.

Regardless of what to feed sheep or lamb, there is only one food, the teaching of the beloved Son of God; the sheep also will need advice, but the advice can use to feed the sheep will be only the knowledge that Peter has received during the beloved Son of God was with him and by the help of the Holy Spirit.

18 Truly, truly, I say to you, When you were younger, you dressed yourself, and walked where you desired; however, when you will be old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you, and will bring you where you desire not.

Comments 21:18. Now the beloved Son of God has told Peter about his future; now, at this time, he can do things on his own, he can go anyplace his heart is wishing, but it will come the time when even he is not that old yet, but he will not be able to do any of these, he will have physical difficulty to the point that he will need to rely on others’ mercy to help him, but also the Lord has let him know ahead that the life in his future is not going to be easy. Still, if he did not turn away from the beloved Son of God’s teaching, he would also receive help, the beloved Son of God would send help for him in his time of need. By accepting the challenges of life and not complaining, staying in prayer, and not wavering, even if the death point comes, when Peter faces the suffering of death in his old age, he will succeed if he stays firm in the faith. If someone must dress him, his physical body becomes a challenge; in that case, he cannot dress himself anymore, but this does not mean he became handicapped; it means only difficulty in his physical body so he no longer can do as others; also, it does not regard about the old age, the physical body will become limit for him because the suffering of being a believer.

“and will bring you where you desire not.” This part of the verse refers to the idols of different religions, the place where people worship the wrong gods is not the place that Peter wants to associate with, but he has no ability to stop it; they will take him to those places and watching other people worship the dark side (the verse has told where he desires not).

19 Now this He said, signifying by what manner of death he will glorify God. And when He had said this, He says to him, Follow Me.

Comments 21:19. “Now this He said, signifying by what manner of death he will glorify God.” In Peter’s old age, his will to worship the beloved Son of God is stronger, and when they have brought him to the place of the dark, which his heart does not want to go, he rejects to do the worship as they are, and in his heart, he is willing to die before doing that. This verse tells all readers clearly, the suffering of his death will occur; he does not want to go to a place where people do not worship the beloved Son of God but the dark side; the death of Peter would show the suffering he will receive because of denying the worship of the dark. Peter, the true worshiper of the living God, also is willing to accept death instead of worshiping the dark side; let all readers think of themselves as well, do you want to have a comfortable life on this earth by worshiping the dark or die a suffering death because you worship the beloved Son of God.

“And when He had said this, He says to him, Follow Me.” The verse itself tells all readers clearly; follow the beloved Son of God even if you think the road ahead is suffering, but the pleasure of earthly things cannot compare with the most valuable and treasure of heavenly things; the earthly and heavenly are an opposite way of happy; take the example of Peter as well, in his old age of earthly he did not seek for pleasures of this earth but sought the pleasure of heavenly things by following the beloved Son of God. Here in this place, the beloved Son of God has encouraged Peter as well, so follow the example of the beloved Son of God, and you will be happy in enjoying the time with God as well.

Q: Should we follow the tradition of writing about what happened to Peter? A: If anyone wants to know more about Peter, they should pray; however, the Bible does not tell more than this.

20 Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who also reclined on His bosom at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrays Thee?

21 Peter, therefore, seeing him says to Jesus, Lord, and what about he?

Comments 21:21. It is not only Peter alone that wants to know the end of this disciple; however, about the disciple that Jesus loved, as mentioned in the Holy Bible, no one has to know what will be with him; only remember that this disciple has been loved by the beloved Son of God and also he has dedicated his life in following the beloved Son of God and also the beloved Son of God has given him the work to do as well.

22 Jesus says to him, If I desire that he remains until I come, what [is it] to you? You Follow Me!

Comments 21:22. The beloved Son of God also wants to remind Peter to do his own duty and not worry concerning someone else’s duty. This disciple will remain as long as the Lord wants him and do the work the Lord has for him, and whatever work the Lord gives him, nobody needs to be concerned, and Peter himself should not worry as well. All the apostles need to be separated out for the work; if all would stay in a group, the work will not be done; however, some may face difficult situations, some may succeed and do big things, and some also will do the work in unknown places; therefore, for each, the Lord has a place to do work, and that disciple will be in the right place and spreading the Gospel among people.   

23 This saying, therefore, went out among the brethren, that that disciple does not die, however, Jesus did not say to him, that he does not die; but, If I desire that he remains until I come, what [is it] to you?

Comments 21:23. Regardless of what others think, John has received this verse from the Lord. This verse itself is special on its own, and the Lord gave it to John specifically to put it down because the spirit of John is clean to accept the complex work before thinking and asking why the Lord gave it to him. This is shown as well throughout his Gospel; when John received the Word, John did not go out and search if it was true or not but trusted the Lord that it was true and wrote it down as the Lord gave it to him.

This verse shows all humans that people do not take the Word of the Lord as it is written but try to interpret what the Word should mean before understanding it. The disciple also had the same problem as normal people; what the beloved Son has said, they also tried to interpret beyond what it is written, and here has been told clearly, do not take what you understand but only what has been told.

24 This is the disciple bearing witness concerning these things, and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

Comments 21:24. Notice that John accepts himself as a witness about the things about the Lord, and when the witness has testified, let the reader pay attention; if he did not see it true, he would not put them down as well; what the beloved Son has said, and the Holy Spirit dictated to him, he has put down, and not what others understood.

25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they should be written every one, I suppose not even the world itself will have space for the books to be written.

Comments 21:25. As the verse itself has told all true believers, the beloved Son of God has spent many years on earth and has passed through all suffering of life as all humans do, but He never commits any sin, neither by speaking, thinking or by the heart. The beloved Son of God has taken all challenges of life, as all humans face, but He never sinned at all; therefore, there is only one human on this earth that never sinned, and that human is the beloved Son of God, and now the beloved Son of God has taken His human form to heaven and is sitting at the right hand of the Father in human form; only one human body will be left, and it is Him alone.

Q: Why did the Holy Spirit use three Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, to give many similar events when the Gospel of John says that the Lord did many other miracles? A:  Think humanly as well; if the Lord gives only one writer for the Gospel, the people will come against the Holy Bible more because they will think that the Gospel story comes only from one opinion; however, when the Lord used more than one to make the story match, one Holy Spirit tells more than one person at a different time the same story.

Life and Faith Application. 1) We must always thank the Lord for everything He provides, little or big. 2) People can read the Holy Bible, which will never be less meaningful if they read with faith and belief; the same Holy Bible will catch many souls; it is no limitation for the Holy Word to capture any soul. 3) In order to have the food for the life of the soul, everyone must remain in faith and meditation on the teaching of the beloved Son of God; if you do not meditate on the Holy Word, the faith also will wither. 4) We must remain in faith until the end of our lives on this earth, regardless of the difficulty in life or the persecution we might suffer because of our faith.