Through the Bible

I'm a pastor and I can't say that. I can't say that and jeopardize our 501c3, but I would sure check his record if I were you. His voting record, he has the worst voting record for abortion. He voted three times in the state of Illinois to ban the bill that would void and make illegal the partial birth abortion in that state. Three times, three times he vetoed or voted against the legalization of that particular.

He is the most liberal of all of the senators. And anyhow, on the positive side, if he's elected then the rapture is that much closer. I really believe that. It is no matter who's elected. It is, absolutely. It is, it is, but I think he will hasten, his part will hasten it a lot quicker. So, you know, maybe you ought to vote for Obama. Although we will have to answer for how we voted and how we didn't vote.

Take the opportunities to stand for righteousness. We need to just really be praying. Anything else? That's probably already recorded and going out now. I'm already crucified. Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. And we're going to try and get through 22, 3, and 4. And if you've looked at them at all, there's 50 some verses and, or 70 some verses and 20, 50 some verses and 22, or 70 some verses and 23.

So we're going to, yeah. So Lord, we just thank you and ask for your blessings as we go through your word, God, that you would open it to us and encourage us, especially in these last days. In Jesus' name, amen. And encourage us unto righteousness. I mean, there's, you know, there's no reason for us to be downhearted about any of this stuff that's going on because we know who's in control.

And we just should be even more willing and quick to share about the faith that we have.

But in the meantime, just, just quick to stand and, and proclaim the word. I was reading in Jeremiah today. And Jeremiah, you know, he, he, he said, this is what the Lord says. And he was, he was against all the other prophets who were prophesying at that time that Israel was going to be okay. That there wasn't anybody going to overthrow it. And Jeremiah saying that God said that he's bringing a nation.

He's bringing the Babylonians against Judah, against Jerusalem, which was his city. And so to prophesy against Jerusalem was blasphemous to a Jew. But Jeremiah said, this is the, this is the word of the Lord. God's bringing the Babylonians and he's going to, he's going to overrun this city. And if you fight against him, you'll die. But if you surrender to him, which is treason, you'll live.

And they were willing to kill him. I mean, they were, they were calling to kill him. And, and he said, you know, I, I can only speak. This is what God told me to speak. And I tell you what, what the Lord told me to speak. He said, now do with me as you will. He said, but if you kill me, realize that you're killing innocents. And, and you'll answer for it. And I thought, man, that's how we're going to have to be.

This is the truth. This is what it is. Now do with me as you will. And, and let the Lord, let the Lord use us mightily that way. Okay, we've got to get into this. Because I'm sure some of you want to go home and watch the debate. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, chapter 22, which is called the Passover, was approaching. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put him to death,

for they were afraid of the people. Now Luke mentions it's the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover. The Feast of Unleavened Bread actually is a week-long feast. The Passover is the first day of that seven-day feast. It begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But for the sake of, remember that Luke is writing, he's a Gentile. And he's, he is writing for the understand, the Gentiles' understanding, I believe.

So he's, he kind of separates the two. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. Now in verse 3 it says, And Satan entered into Judas, who is called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and the officers

how he might betray him to them. Now that, there are two times that we read in Scripture that Satan entered into Judas. This, this place, and then in John chapter 13, at the, at this particular recording of the Passover Supper, in John, John says that Satan entered into Judas, and that's when Jesus tells him, What you must do, go do quickly. But here we see that he had, he enters into him here, and he goes and discusses with the chief priests and the officers how he might betray Jesus to them.

And they were glad, and they agreed to give him money. And so he consented, and he began seeking a good opportunity to betray him to them apart from the crowd. And then came the first day of unleavened bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it. And they said to him, Where do you want us to prepare it?

And he said to them, When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house that he enters, and you shall say to the owner of the house, The teacher says to you, Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large furnished upper room. Prepare it there. Jesus knew, I mean, he knew from the time that he picked Judas,

that Judas was the son of perdition. He says, Have I not chosen that you twelve, and one of you is the son of perdition, is a demon, is a devil. And so he had no question as to who Judas was, and that Judas was his betrayer. And he knew that this was the time of his betrayal. And so these, like the idea of going and getting the donkey and all, all of that was prepared ahead of time somehow by the Lord,

and yet none of the other disciples knew it. So like Judas is wanting to betray Jesus, but Jesus wanted to spend the Passover with his disciples uninterrupted. So nobody knew, none of the disciples knew, where it was going to take place. Jesus sent Peter and John to go into town, it says, and prepare the Passover. And he said, they said, Where do you want us to do that?

And I'm sure Judas is listening, thinking, Well, wherever that's going to be, that'd be away from the crowd, it'd just be the twelve, and they can take him there. But Jesus said, Go to town, go to the town, and there you're going to find a man carrying a pitcher of water, and follow him. Tell him that the Lord needs a place, follow him. He just said, Follow him into the house that he enters, and you shall say to the owner of the house, The teacher says to you, Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

Now, a couple of things. It was verse 7, the first day of unleavened bread, which was the Passover, but for them it's going to be in the evening, probably Thursday evening, if we're looking at the Passover, that Passover beginning on Friday, which would have been a sacred day, and then the Saturday, of course, being the Sabbath, and then Sunday's the day that he rose. So Thursday night, the day began for the Jew at sundown, so like at 6 o'clock, from 6 at night until 6 the next night was a day. The day was measured from 6 in the evening to 6 in the evening.

So Thursday night at 6, it was Passover. It was Friday for them. So as they're celebrating the Passover, the rest of the people will be celebrating it during that next day, but they're celebrating it the night before, which still is the Passover. And there's an awful lot of stuff written on it. Did Jesus die on Thursday or did He die on Friday? Was He actually in the grave for three full days

and then rose or whatever? And so we can get some chairs for you up here, ladies. That's fine. You guys can help get some chairs.

In any case, they're celebrating the Passover at a time that's separate from the majority of the other Jews that will celebrate it. They're going to be celebrating it in a place that is known at this time only to Jesus. Their clue, as Peter and John go to town, is to see this man carrying a pitcher of water at the end of the day.

In the towns, there would be central wells, and in the morning and in the evening usually, the women would go to the well to draw water and take it back to the household. Take water back to the household for the beginning of the day. Take water back to the household at the end of the day. There's also close to that a fire pit, and they would take fire, some coals from the fire pit in at night, especially if they'd been gone and were coming back in.

They'd have fresh coals. Part of the job of keepers of the town were the keepers of the fire pit, and they would make sure that there was always a fire going so they could come to that central pit and get coals to take back to their house. In the morning, the women would come out and they would get the coals for the household for that morning and come back. They would put the coals on a tray and put the tray on their head and carry that tray full of coals back to the house.

Thus, in Romans chapter 12, when Paul is talking about the kindness that you do to your enemies, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink. In that way, you'll be heaping coals of fire on his head. That's what he's talking about. In a sense, you're going to be helping give more coals. You're going to be helping him as they take the coals back.

You're going to be helping, giving assistance, giving obvious aid and being a blessing to them. And it disarms your enemy when the kindness is shown to him that way. Anyhow, all of that to say, usually that's the job of the women. For them, they wouldn't have hesitated. They wouldn't have had to think, well, gosh, which guy is it that's going to be carrying this jug of water?

Because he'd probably be the only guy. Because that's the job for the women to do. So, then to follow him to whatever house and then ask the owner of that house where the guest room is. Jesus obviously made these prearrangements without the disciples' knowledge. Again, so that he could have this quiet time with his disciples uninterrupted before his arrest.

As we read the Gospel of Mark, we find that Mark as a young boy is obviously a part of all of this, watching this somehow. He follows the disciples to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane. And when Jesus is arrested, one of the Roman soldiers grabs this young lad by his cloak and he sheds his cloak and runs off into the darkness naked. And Mark's the only writer that writes about that.

And most scholars believe that Mark is writing that about himself. So, it's really probable that this is Mark, John Mark, who Paul will later take with him in Barnabas on a missionary journey. It's probably their house, his mother's house that they're going to. But again, none of the other disciples know where it is, where they're going. Anyhow, so they went and they found everything, verse 13,

just as Jesus had told them and they prepared the Passover. And when the hour had come, he reclined at the table. We've talked about that before, but just for the sake of a quick reminder, they did not eat at tables like this. The Michelangelo or the da Vinci painting, I guess, of the Last Supper with the great table and the tablecloth is a modern day idea, a European concept of a Middle Eastern event.

They didn't have tables. That's the one thing about the Passion, the movie The Passion, there's several things in it, but one of the things is, shows Jesus making this table and trying to get it all set. And they ate at little stone tricliniums that were built as part of the wall in the corners and they would recline, they would lay down and prop themselves up on an arm to eat off this triclinium. It was just a major part of the house.

And the different excavations in Israel, you can see those today where they've been excavated, cities have been excavated and the different homes and all that are there, they have the tricliniums right up against the wall. And so they were reclining. They came in and reclined at the table and the apostles with him. Verse 15, And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

For I say to you that I shall never again eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Now we know that Jesus fulfills the concept of the Passover, the sacrifice. He is the Passover Lamb. We know that. We know that from when the Passover was instituted in the Pentateuch until the Gospels identified Jesus as the Passover Lamb. Those are things that we know.

But this is interesting. I don't know if you've thought about it. We know he's talked about it and he'll mention again that he won't drink of the wine with them again until the kingdom of God. But celebrating, I shall never again eat it, this Passover feast, until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. In the kingdom age, we will celebrate the Passover, I believe.

The Bible indicates it's one of several of the feasts that will be memorials. There will be memorial feasts commemorating what Jesus has done. Tabernacles is another one that we'll celebrate in the millennial kingdom. So this is something that we'll do. Remember, and there are several reasons for it, but one is that there will be millions of flesh and blood people

who survived the great tribulation period, who do not take the mark of the beast, and who helped the believers during the tribulation period that will be allowed to come into the millennial kingdom. A thousand year kingdom in flesh and blood they will be. And it'll be that thousand years to try and lead them to Christ. Without the pressure of sin, Satan will be bound and in the bottomless pit.

But they will still have to personally accept, receive Jesus by faith as their Savior. Just entering into the millennial kingdom does not mean they're saved. It's an opportunity to become saved. And this will be one of the things that will be one of the demonstrations, a memorial of the Passover, and rehearsing it for the people of the world to show that Jesus indeed became the Passover land, literally.

And those people will have an opportunity to either accept that or reject that. But if you hadn't picked up on that, I think it's interesting the way Luke has that stated. And verse 17, When he had taken a cup and given thanks, he said, Take this and share it among yourselves. For I say to you again, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.

And when he had taken some bread and given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Now again, remember, if you were here last year, this last year when we had chosen people ministry here, the little rabbi, born-again rabbi, who led us in a Passover Seder, then you saw the places where this was instituted.

It was a part of the regular Passover feast where Jesus took the bread and broke it and had them share with him. And remember the rabbi shared each part of when we came to that point of which time the bread was to be broken and shared and which cup this was, the cup of redemption. But he says, But behold, the hand of the one betraying me, verse 21, is with mine on the table. For indeed the Son of Man is going as it has been determined.

But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing. We see that in the other Gospels as well, this discussion. But then immediately, now you have, if you have a study Bible, you have a stupid divisional header right here, who is the greatest. That was part of it.

I mean, it's like, okay, who's going to betray Jesus? And immediately they're going into, well, not I. Well, why wouldn't you? Well, why wouldn't you be the one? Why wouldn't you be the one? Because I wouldn't do that because, you know, I'm not that way. I'm better than that. Well, I'm not. You're saying I'm not better than that? Well, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying I'm better than that.

I don't know about you, but I'm better than that. And so they're getting into this dispute among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Now, I don't know that that was going to be the greatest, possibly it was, as which was going to be number one under Jesus, his number one right hand. And you can see that dispute arising over the betrayal.

Well, I wouldn't betray him. Well, are you saying that I would? Well, I'm not going to betray him. How could you say that I would? You're, you know, you're just a fisherman. Well, you're a tax collector. And this thing going on and on about who can trust you? You're a tax collector. You could be out there doing it. And there's this I'm better than you are kind of thing going on

rather than really a concern for Jesus. And so he says to them, the kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors. But it is not this way with you. But the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest. And the leader, and the emphasis is there, it's understood, must be like the servant.

For who is greater? The one who reclines himself. at the table are the one who serves. And Jesus said, is it not the one who reclines at the table? That's me. But I am among you as the one who serves. So again, the emphasis is on servanthood. You will know the, one of the, well, two ways you'll know the extent of your maturity, your Christian maturity. Number one is the love that you have for others.

You'll have that love just coming out and a desire to make sure others' needs are met and how you can help others is that love for one another. And coupled with that, and that'll be based on your love for the Lord because Jesus said that's, you know, that's first you love the Lord your God and then the love for one another. But then it's a servant's attitude, a servant-heartedness in every and all situations, not just in the church setting. I mean, we can always use servants here.

There's always all kinds of things need to be done and we always are calling for help. And that's one thing. But in the world, we're to be servants as well in every situation. And we've talked about this before. I mean, there's just so many key places that you can do that. And the grocery stores are tremendous for that. There's always opportunities to serve in grocery stores,

to let others go first. You're coming to the end of an aisle and somebody's coming out of the aisle. Would you have them back up so you can come down or do you back up so they can come out? With a servant, you back up. They're more important than you are. You let them come on out. And then you go in. The workers there, they have their little four-wheeler trucks

and stuff out there today. And they pick something up off the deal and the bottom falls out of it and their stuff falls all over the floor. Most people will say that's their job, they're getting paid for that and they'll walk around it. But we don't do that as servants. We take time out and we help pick that stuff up for them. It's not a requirement, we're not required to do that,

but we're servants. It's an attitude of service. We are servants. And the extent to which you see that in your life to where you are looking for opportunities to serve, looking for opportunities to give others' needs consideration before your own, will be a measure of your maturity. When we're so focused on ourself and our needs and what I have and I need that and I need this,

that's a real immaturity because God is going to take care of us. And He does and He will so much better than we can. And that's what Jesus is trying to get across. Whoever is greatest among you must be like the youngest. The youngest in the family had nothing. The youngest in the family had hand-me-downs. There was no firstborn blessing. The youngest may have been babied by mom and dad,

but the youngest had nothing. Nothing. Firstborn got to eat whatever first and got the pick of whatever and the youngest got the leftovers of the leftovers. So, we have to be the youngest, the least, the last. And that's hard. And you won't hear that taught in a lot of churches because a lot of churches are into word faith and you should be able to have and get.

And if you don't have and you aren't getting, it's because you have a lack of faith. Well, believe me, it takes more faith to be a servant than it does to go after the stuff and positions. Verse 28, You are those who have stood by me in all my trials. And just as my Father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at my table and in my kingdom and that you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

That is one of the places that when you get to Revelation, the book of Revelation in chapter 4 and John is caught up into heaven and he sees the throne of God and around the throne is a brilliant light shining out like a crystal and around the throne is a rainbow that's the color of an emerald. And around the throne are 24 other thrones. A lot of scholars believe those are the twelve, twelve of the thrones are the apostles and the other twelve of the thrones are the patriarchs. There are other scholars who believe all 24 thrones are representative of the church, the entire body of Christ.

And we'll know when we get there. But at least twelve of them are probably regarding the apostles sitting there along with the Lord. Now, this is interesting in Luke because Jesus says in verse 31, Simon, Simon. Now that should, you know, Jesus himself is the one who changed Simon's name which meant what? Huh? No, that's okay. Well, what's his name? He changed his name to Peter.

What's Peter mean? Iraq. Okay. He became Iraqi. He was Simon before. I don't remember what Simon was. I knew it, but I can't remember what it was. But that was his old, that was his old name. What is it? I can't remember. I can't remember. Anyhow, that's immaterial. Other than the fact that it's his name before Jesus changed it. So calling him that name by that name

would almost be a step down. It's like when God called Jacob, when he told Jacob that he was going to change his name from Heelcatcher to Israel, the Prince of God. Anytime that he would call him Jacob was like bringing out again the past. And there's times you'll see that in the Old Testament. Jacob and Israel used in the same passage, going back and forth and back and forth.

And just that conflict of the flesh and the spirit, the flesh and the spirit. Here, Jesus is dealing with Peter's flesh. And he says,

Okay, now, he had just talked to him about servanthood, about being others-centered. Peter has made a statement that's not recorded here. Well, yes, he does. He says in verse 33, But he said to him, Lord, with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death. And in the others, in the gospels it says, Though the others may deny you, I will never deny you. And Jesus says,

Then he says to you, Peter, he calls him by his changed name, Rocky, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me. So Simon in your flesh, the enemy is going to try and sift you. He's asked for permission to sift you. Now, I like that because it has a throwback to Job where Satan had to ask for permission or he had to be granted permission to touch Job.

He couldn't touch Job arbitrarily. He can't touch you and I arbitrarily. He has to receive permission to do whatever he does towards us. And so whatever happens, God is allowing. He's allowed permission for that to happen. And he's asked for permission to sift. And the first you there, permission to sift you in verse 31 is a plural in the Greek. So it implies all of you.

He's asked for permission to sift all of you like wheat. But I have prayed, Simon, for you individually that your faith may not fail and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. So your first task is going to be to encourage them. Encourage them. And Peter, just to let you know, you're going to deny me three times before you hear the rooster crow.

And Jesus said to them, when I sent you, verse 35, out without money belt and bag and sandals, did you not lack anything? You did not lack anything, did you? And they said, no, nothing. That's the first time he sent them out by twos. And then he said to them, but now whoever has a money belt is to take it along and likewise also a bag. And whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.

For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in me. And he was numbered with transgressors, for that which refers to me has its fulfillment. And they said, Lord, look, here are two swords. And he said to them, basically, no, forget it. It's enough. That's enough. Let's go. They weren't understanding. He had them go out before without any of that stuff

so that they could see his provision and they wouldn't have to trust in anything. They wouldn't have to rely on any earthly thing to sustain him. Now you're going to go and he's telling them to take what you have and use whatever you have. And the idea of the swords is not so much for battle as it, I don't think, as it is, you know, for barter. It's one of these things that use these things for the glory of God,

for the kingdom of God. He's not endorsing warfare here or anything like that. He's just saying you're going to use whatever, wherever you are for my glory. And they're thinking, well, it's time for battle. It's time to overthrow Rome. And he's going, no, no, no, that's enough. Let's go. And he came out and proceeded as was his custom, verse 39, to the Mount of Olives.

And the disciples also followed him. And when he arrived at the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. Now, that's interesting that he knew what they were going to do. He knew that they were going to all forsake him and all flee. But he still asks them to pray that they might not enter into temptation. And it leaves to bear the question, had they prayed,

had they been diligent to pray, you know, would they have fled? Well, it's like a double-edged sword. They would have fled because that's part of the prophecy that everyone would forsake him. But still he calls them to pray, which I think is extremely interesting, even knowing that they're going to forsake him, that they're going to flee. So this one of the things he wants to know, you know,

one of the things is when the Son of Man comes again, will he find faith in the earth? And that whole section in Matthew deals with prayer. Will he find those who are faithfully praying? Well, I think it's in Luke too. Will he find those faithfully praying, even in the light of circumstances that they know, have to go this way? And that's us today with the way circumstances are going today.

We know they have to go this way. They have to go this way. I mean, it has to go this way because that's what it says it's going to go this way. But we still are to pray, Lord, and pray for righteousness, pray for peace, and pray that we don't fall to temptation, in a sense to respond in an earthly kind of way instead of a righteous way, instead of a way that would bring the Lord glory.

And the reed. Oh, thank you. Okay. Thank you very much. Simon the reed. Okay, praise God. And that does fit when you look at the context of the reed. Satan has sought to sift you, but you're the rock because you are changed. I've changed you. Okay, and verse 41, he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and began to pray, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me,

and yet not my will, but yours be done. Now we've hit that in every gospel, and I emphasize it in every gospel. There's nothing wrong praying that way. It's not a sign of weakness to pray that way, even though a lot of the church today will tell you that it is, and it's a lack of faith. You can't tell me that Jesus had a lack of faith when he prayed that way.

He's modeling for us. It's in every gospel that that's the way we should pray. Father, this is what I'd like. Remove this cup, yet not my will, but yours be done. You glorify yourself through this circumstance in me. And there's nothing wrong. As a matter of fact, it's soothing, it's comforting to pray that way. Now, an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him, verse 43.

In verse 44, in being in agony, he was praying very fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground. Now, Luke says it became like drops of blood, so he could be emphasizing the fact of the intensity of his prayer, and that he just was sweating so hard that the sweat looked like blood flowing, or there is a medical condition called hematidrosis, in which anxiety, great anxiety or great stress, evidently can cause the little capillaries in your forehead right there on the surface to actually rupture, and you actually will bleed. He was praying fervently, as opposed to the disciples who weren't. And so, you know, whether he actually bled or not,

I think he did, but that's not as awesome as the fact that the disciples didn't pray. When he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow. Now, that's interesting too. Luke brings that out. They were tired, yes, but they were sleeping from sorrow. They somehow evidently were agonizing, because they didn't know what was coming next, but because of the betrayal.

They were still probably going back over the who's going to betray him. And they were sorrowful about that, and in their sorrow, they were able to kind of nod off and sleep. And he said to them, why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation. And while he was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them,

and he approached Jesus to kiss him. But when Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? And when those who were around him, the disciples, the other disciples, saw what was going to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And they were remembering what he had just said as they left out of Jerusalem and went up the side of the Mount of Olives.

And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. And we know from one of the other Gospels that that was Peter. Again, Peter, I think, wanting to show himself as strong, and he's not going to deny the Lord. He's not going to be the one. And even as much as Jesus has said, you're going to deny me three times before the rooster crows,

Peter's wanting to show that he's willing to go to blows and go to death for Jesus. And we've probably all heard the idea of the way that he swung. I mean, he was going for the head. He was not going to cut off an ear. He was not doing surgery. He was doing removal. He was wanting to take the head of the guy off. And Jesus somehow deflected that, I believe,

and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, stop, no more of this. And he touched his ear and healed him. So Luke brings out the idea that rather than picking up the ear, he's probably off the ground and putting it back on. And, you know, he just touched the side of the guy's head and he had a new ear. And when those who were around him saw what was, well, back up.

And then Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the temple and the elders who had come against him, have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber? While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. This hour and the power of darkness are yours. So, it's interesting. Now, a couple in there, it's in John's gospel, I think,

when they came out to get him, they said, who are you looking for? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. And he said, I am he. And they all fell backwards. They were knocked back to the ground. And he said again, who is it that you're looking for? And they said, Jesus, son of, you know, Jesus of Nazareth. And he said again, and basically what he said is, I am. And again, to that name, they were knocked to the ground.

Now, I wouldn't have answered the third time, if it were me. If he'd asked a third time. But in there, he says this. And they'd already done that, evidently. And it could be that the sequence of events was that. And then Peter goes to cut off the guy's ear. Because if you've got 600 armed soldiers who were with you, and one guy pulls out a sword to whack off an ear,

I mean, you know, if it were today, you'd have, you know, 40 guns going off. That guy would have been riddled with bullets. So, he would have been, he would have been, Peter would have been hacked to pieces. Unless the I am had already been said, and those guys had fallen back. Now, Peter takes out a sword and cuts off the ear. And those guys ain't going to move.

I'm not going towards that guy. Maybe he's like Elijah when they went to get Elisha. And fire came down and consumed all the guys, you know.

But Jesus says, But this hour and the power of darkness are yours. So, he's affirming that this time has been given over to Satan for this particular occurrence. In verse 54, Having arrested him, they led him away and brought him to the house of the high priest. But Peter was following at a distance. And after they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard

and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. And a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and looking intently at him, said, This man was with him too. But he denied it, saying, Woman, I do not know him. And a little later another saw him and said, You are one of them too. But Peter said, Man, I am not. And after about an hour had passed,

another man began to insist. So these are three different people. Saying, Certainly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean too. And we know from the other Gospels that it's his accent that betrayed him. He had a Galilean accent. They could tell he was from the north. Like we can tell people from the south. From their accents. But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you are talking about.

And the other Gospels tell us, And he swore. He swore with an oath. And immediately while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. And evidently, he was in the vicinity where he could see Jesus there in the house of the high priest. And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had told him before, a rooster crows

today, you will deny me three times. And he went out, and he wept bitterly. And now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him and beating him. And they blindfolded him and were asking him, saying, Prophesy, who is the one who hit you? And they were saying many other things against him, blaspheming. In other words, in their mocking of him, they were blaspheming him.

And when it was day, the council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council chambers, saying, If you are the Christ, tell us. But he said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

And they all said, Are you the Son of God then? And he said to them, Yes, I am. And then they said, What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from his own mouth. And then the whole body of them got up and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar and saying that he himself is Messiah, the King.

And so Pilate asked him, saying, Are you the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, It is as you say. And then Pilate said to the chief priests in the crowds, I find no guilt in this man. He was honest with Pilate right there. But they kept on insisting, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, even as far as this place.

And when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at the time. So really wanting to pass this one off, he knew it was a dispute that the Jews were having about their law and their word. He was a Roman. He didn't want to involve himself in the particulars of the Jews.

It's a lot like the Americans in Iraq and the disputes that go on between the Sunnis and the Shia. And they want to let them handle that as much as possible unless violence arises. And that's what the Romans were doing here. It's something that's happening among the Jews. You guys need to handle it. And their whole thing was, well, we feel like he's blaspheming God and our law calls for

his death and we don't have the authority to kill him. And Pilate didn't want any part of that right now. So he said, you mentioned he's from Galilee. That's Herod's jurisdiction. Herod's in Jerusalem. Sent him to Herod. Sent him over to Herod and hopefully thought that that was going to pass that off.

and thought that Jesus might be John the Baptist come back to get him, come back to haunt him. So he was anxious to see if he was, plus he had heard about the miracles that were going on and he wanted to see if Jesus would do some miracles for him. And so he questioned him at some length but Jesus answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there accusing him vehemently.

So imagine the scene. Herod's in a boisterous partying mood anyhow because that's all he did. And he's trying to cajole Jesus into doing something miraculous. And at the same time all of the priests and the scribes are standing there yelling accusations at him, vehement accusations. It would have just been a circus. It would have just been a tremendous ear-piercing, degrading circus.

And Herod and his soldiers, after treating him with contempt and mocking him, dressed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him back to Pilate. And now verse 12, Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day, for before they had been enemies with each other. But they shared a common interest. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And so as much as they hated each other, they both didn't want anything to do with Jesus.

So together they were trying to figure out how to get rid of this particular problem. And they became compadres. They became cooperative together. And Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people and he said to them, You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against him.

No, nor has Herod, for he sent him back to us, and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him. So according to their law, Jesus was innocent. He had done nothing worthy of death, not even under Herod's opinion, who was a Jew and was actually a king reigning in the Galilean region, a king of Israel, who had made that determination by sending him back to Pilate. So for all intents of legality, Jesus was already vindicated by both the leader of the Jews and the leader of the Romans in that particular region.

And so therefore, he says, verse 16, I'll punish him and I'll release him. And now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner. That was a custom that had been started, that at the feast, to maintain order during the feast times, he agreed to pacify them by releasing to them a prisoner. And that was to seek to keep, when all the Jews would come in, the pilgrimage would come in, just like at Passover, there's over a million Jews that would come into Jerusalem.

So besides the Jews that lived there, there's a huge number of people coming in. And this is, you're talking crowd control, you're talking the potential for a riot, because there's all these extra bodies that are there, they could, you know, seemingly by sheer numbers overpower the Romans. Now, of course, the Romans could summon and legions could be brought in, but that would take some time and their particular peacekeeping forces there could be overrun. So this is a play for just peacekeeping.

When Israel releases prisoners and the Palestinians, which there aren't any, I mean, it's either Hamas or Hezbollah releases prisoners, it's to pacify, it's supposedly to pacify, to keep tensions down. We're releasing prisoners as a sign of good faith, to keep tensions and hostilities down. That's what Pilate did with this releasing of a prisoner. It was a custom to do that, to try and keep the hostilities down.

But they cried out together saying, Away with this man and release for us Barabbas, bar son of Abbas the father. So release to us the son of the father and you're going to crucify the son of the real father, God. Now Barabbas was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city and for murder. So he was an insurrectionist. He was a murderer.

And Pilate wanting to release Jesus addressed them again, but they kept on calling out saying, Crucify! Crucify him! And he said to them the third time, Why? What evil has this man done? I have found in him no guilt demanding death, therefore I will punish him and release him. And then Luke goes on to say, But they were insistent with loud voices asking that he be crucified, and their voices began

to prevail.

own political position and not have to go up before Caesar, he let them have Jesus. So it was a political maneuver on his part. Their voices began to prevail. And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. And he released the man that they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder. But he delivered Jesus to their will.

But Jesus turning to them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed. Then they will begin to say, To the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things, when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?

Now, for one thing, this passage is only found in Luke. Why? Well, because Luke got his account, more than likely, from Mary, a lot of it from Mary. And so, Mary would have been part of the women that would have been following, part of this group of women, and she would have heard this directed towards the women from Jesus. Something that the other disciples wouldn't have heard, because they had fled and were

in hiding, for the most part. And Jesus is talking about the destruction that's coming some 40 years after this, in 70 A.D., when the Roman legions would indeed come in and destroy Jerusalem. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, Blessed are the barren, and cry out for the mountains to fall on us and all. He says, verse 31, For if they do these things, when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?

And you go, what does that mean? Well, let me show you. Hold your finger here and go back with me to Deuteronomy 31. Deuteronomy chapter 31. Towards the end of Deuteronomy, chapter 31, and Moses has been going down through rehearsing to the children of Israel before he goes up on the mountain and dies, what they need to do. And in chapter 31 of Deuteronomy, he commissions Joshua, in verse 23, to be his follower now,

to take over and be the leader, and lead the people into the promised land. And he commanded the Levites, verse 25, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, that it may remain there as a witness against you. Now verse 27, For I know your rebellion and your stubbornness, talking to the people of Israel. For behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the Lord.

How much more then after my death? So Moses says, Here I am the spokesman for God, and you know that, and you've affirmed that, and you've followed me out of bondage in Egypt to this point where you're ready to go into the land, and yet look back at all the times you rebelled from point A to point B, and I've been with you, and you've seen the power of God, and you've seen me go in and talk to God, and face to face with God, come down radiant from being in the presence of God. I'm God's mediator, I'm between God and man, I'm there, and you know that, and even knowing that, you've been rebelling against the Lord with me here. I'm about to go and die.

How much more are you going to rebel after I'm gone? After my death? Okay, now go back to Luke. That's what Jesus is saying. Verse 31, If they do these things, if they're taking me now and they're going to crucify me when the tree is green, when I'm here, if they're doing this wickedness against God and the things of God with me here, my goodness what's going to happen when I'm not?

It's going to really get bad. So that was a prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem that was coming in 70 A.D. Two others also, verse 32, who were criminals were being led away to be put to death with him. Now the word for criminal is there in the Greek. In classical Greek the word is used of pirates, of the pirates, and the pirates were ruthless. The pirates never took prisoners.

They killed those that they conquered, and they were considered incorrigible. You couldn't rehabilitate a pirate. So no amount of breaking rocks, he couldn't be trusted to break rocks in prison or do whatever chores were to be done in prison, so the only thing he could do with a pirate this bad, with wickedness this bad, was to kill it. And so that's the definition of these two criminals that are being taken out to be put to death with him.

This is the most wicked of the wicked. And when they came to the place called the Skull or Golgotha, there they crucified him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But when Jesus was saying, Father forgive, now we could spend a lot of time in all of this, and I'm going so we can get clear through it, and it's better that you hear the word. Hearing the word is more important than hearing the commentary on the word.

So just to hear the word. But the place of the Skull or Golgotha, if you go to Israel today, they'll have a place in Jerusalem, and of course there's a Catholic church over it, and it's the place of the crucifixion. And they'll say, you can go in there, we didn't. And they'll say, they'll show you the spot where Jesus was crucified, and then they'll show you the place, there's another church built over the place of his burial, the tomb of Jesus.

And you can go in there, and of course it's all the candles and stuff are around it, and you can go see the space supposedly where he's buried. If you read the scripture, and if you remember the sacrifices, the sacrifice of the sin offering had to be taken outside of the city. And that's what he is, he's the atonement, he's the sin offering. So he had to die outside of Jerusalem, well that's amazing.

The old city is still, there's a wall around the old city, this particular wall was built by the Turks in about the 400's A.D., or the 600 A.D., but it's built right on top of the other wall of the city, of the old city of Jerusalem, and the church over the crucifixion of the Catholic church is inside that city. But right next, outside the wall, is the top of Moriah, the top of Mount Moriah. And you go around the side of it, and it has caves indented, now the Arabs have desecrated that, I've talked about that before, and they built a bus station at the base of it, but you can see, you can still see eye sockets and a nose socket, and where the mouth would be of the skull, and it does have the shape of a skull.

And I really believe, as other, the real scholars believe, that he was crucified up on top of Golgotha, outside of the city. That also talks about, we'll get to that, when he's buried, nearby was a tomb, a fresh tomb that had been hewn out of stone. Well, it wasn't until the early 1900s that that particular tomb was uncovered. It was in a, there was a garden area, and a guy from England who was, he was either an architect or a geologist, he'd been reading the scriptures, and he came to Jerusalem and he saw the place outside of the city walls, and figured that had to be the place, and he was laid in a tomb in a garden, and he looked around, and there was the vegetation

that was growing there, that looked like a garden had to have been there, because there's a variety of vegetation growing there, and so they began excavating right there, and they found this tomb. And so while most of the tourists are taking the inside, this is the church of the, you know, the crucifixion and all, and the place of the tomb, that you go outside and you see Golgotha, and you see the tomb that's outside, and it sure makes a whole lot more biblical sense. But they took him up on the skull, and crucified one on his right and one on his left. Verse 34, But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

And they cast lots, dividing up his garments among them, just like the scriptures say. Psalm 22 talks about that. And the people stood by looking on, and even the rulers were sneering at him, saying, He saved others, let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming up to him, offering him sour wine, and saying,

And one of the animals who were hanged there was hurling an abuse at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other answered and said, rebuking him, Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds. That is a confession of sin.

That is a sinner's prayer without praying. I am a sinner. We're receiving justly the judgment that we deserve for our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. Now there he affirms his innocence. And then the prisoner went on to say, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. There he affirms that Jesus is who he says he is. So he has a confession of sin, a declaration of the innocence of Christ, and yet the ability

to do what he said he could do, that he was the king. That's a perfect sinner's prayer. He prayed the sinner's prayer without having to read it in a book or repeat after Billy Graham. And he said to him, Truly I say unto you, today you shall be with me in paradise. So the promise that by the end of that day he would join Jesus with him in the place called paradise, which we saw back in chapter 16, is in the place of Hades, the holding

holding side of Abraham's bosom side in Hades. We saw that back in chapter 16. Jesus says, today you're going to be with me there. And it was now about the sixth hour, about noon, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, three o'clock in the afternoon. It was dark because the sun was obscured and the veil of the temple was torn in two. One of the other Gospels says it was torn from top to bottom.

And the only way you'd know that is if the bottom was still together. Otherwise, you walk in and go, that's torn in two. But I couldn't tell you if it was from the bottom to the top or from the top to the bottom, unless the piece of the bottom is still together. It was torn clear apart from the top down to the bottom. Again, remember that puppy was 18 inches thick at least,

woven, weighed an incredible amount of weight to be torn. It wasn't a little flimsy veil you see in the movie The King of Kings. It was this humongous veil, 18 inches thick. And Jesus crying out with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. And now when the centurion saw whatever had happened,

John Wayne in that movie said, certainly this man was, and in the movie he says, this man was the Son of God. Then that's what he's affirming here. Certainly this man was innocent. And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return beating their breasts. Now I thought that was interesting. It says all of the crowds, all of the crowds who came together for this spectacle,

when they observed what had happened, when they saw the earth go dark and the earthquake happen, and they're up on Golgotha, they couldn't see in the temple. They didn't know yet that the veil had been ripped in two. They just see all of this and they hear what Jesus says. And somehow they were moved because this idea of beating the breasts is a sign of anguish.

And I don't know that they're so much upset because they feel like they've killed Jesus. Obviously not. I think they're just in anguish because of what all is going on. They don't know why. And so they're just beating their breasts in anguish because of the scene, because of what's going on. And they have no reason, they haven't got a clue yet as to why it's happening,

but they are in anguish over that. And all of his acquaintances, Jesus' acquaintances and all the women who accompanied him from Galilee, were standing at a distance seeing these things. And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, the Sanhedrin, a good and righteous man, he had not consented to their plan and action of having Jesus crucified. A man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God.

So he, like Simeon and like Anna, was waiting for the appearance of the Deliverer. And he had come to understand that this Jesus was who he said he was. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Now again, you have to understand the custom, their particular custom, to touch a dead body defiled you from participation in a particular feast. You had to go through the cleansing process and you were unclean

because you touched the dead body and it would have disqualified him from participation in one of the highest feast days of the Passover. And he is a member of the Sanhedrin, the leading elders of the Jews. And he is willing to defile himself publicly by touching a dead body, taking care of him, affirming to the others around him that he believed him. I mean, he was putting his whole career on the line for Jesus.

His whole life, his whole career. He asked for the body of Jesus and he took the body down and he wrapped it. We know that Nicodemus went with him. Both Joseph and Nicodemus did that. And a linen cloth and laid him in a tomb and cut into the rock where no one had ever lain. And when you go there and you hear the story, it's kind of cool because Joseph was from Arimathea,

which was not Jerusalem, but he was the owner of the tomb. And it was a newer tomb. I mean, he was in the process of being hewn out. It was hewn out of this big rock. You can go into there and then it's barred off where the actual body would lay. One side of it's done. It had a table cut out of stone. And the other side is just a bare wall. It was incomplete.

One side was done, the other side wasn't. What prompted him? How long had he been doing that? Why had he done it? It would have taken a while to have that done. It wasn't just something that was done, you know, in a couple of weeks. It would have taken a long time to carve that out, to have that prepared. Why did he do it? We don't know. We'll have to talk to him when we get to be with him.

I mean, if he again was from Arimathea, wouldn't he more than likely be buried in Arimathea? What was his intent with this tomb? We don't know, but it's pretty unique. It's pretty coincidental that all of this transpires like it does, as it does. Takes him, wraps him in a linen cloth and lays him into a tomb cut into the rock where no one had ever lain. It was the preparation day and the Sabbath was about to begin.

And now the women who had come with him out of Galilee... Now this is something Luke reveals that the other Gospels don't. They followed and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. So they got to go in. They got to come and they got to look in and see where Joseph and Nicodemus had put the body. They got to see that. Now it was coming time for the preparation, so they had to leave.

They couldn't prepare the body. It wasn't time to prepare it the way it needed to be prepared for burial. And so they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath day, they rested according to the commandment. And they were planning on coming back because they knew where he was and all. But as they were leaving, obviously all the things that transpired from the other Gospels is,

you know, they went to Pilate and they asked for a guard because they said that he had said that in three days he was going to raise from the dead. And they knew the disciples would probably come and steal him, so they rolled a stone in front of the opening and they wanted a guard to come and guard him so that he wouldn't be stolen. And he gave them a guard, probably 16 troops, Roman soldiers, and they would have covered the door in groups of four, radiating out from the doorway. The group closest to the door would have been asleep, would have been sleeping, and then the three groups outside would have been standing guard, and they would rotate backwards like volleyball.

You know, this group would sleep for a while, then this group would get out, they'd sleep and they'd come to the front and the back group would lay down and they'd get to rest. So they'd give each other nap times while there's still the guard standing there. And so obviously the women saw that because when they came to the tomb from the other Gospels, they were talking about how we're going to get the stone rolled away. And it was something that was, Pilate had sealed, had the tomb sealed with his signet, which was, anybody who opened that tomb violates the seal, it's punishable by death.

But they had seen all of this. Early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. And there's no guards there. And when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing.

And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has risen. And they say, Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified. And the third day rise again, and they remembered his words.

So here the angels are serving in a capacity of the prelude to the giving of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's job is to bring to remembrance, John 14, Whatsoever things I have said to you, John 14 and 15. That's the Holy Spirit's job. He'll take the word of God and entrust it to your heart, and then he'll bring that to your remembrance. Well, here these angels are saying, Remember what he said.

Remember the word that he spoke to you. And they remembered. And so they returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. And now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James. And also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But the words appeared to them to be nonsense.

And they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. And we know that John went with Peter and actually beat him there. And then Peter came blasting through. John stopped and was peering in. Peter came blasting on through and went in. And looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only. Nobody. And he went away to his home marveling at what had happened.

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all of these things which had taken place. Because they were in that room. Remember up in the upper room when Mary and the other women came, there were all of these other disciples. The eleven, verse 9, and the rest.

So there's a lot of people in that upper room waiting. And these are two of those guys going later in the day to the village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all of these things. And while they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

And he said to them, What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking? And they stood still looking sad. And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to him, Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days? And Jesus said to them, What things? And he's drawing it out of them.

He's getting them to talk. And they said to him, The things about Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word, in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it's the third day since these happened.

Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory? And then the most marvelous passage of this. I mean, the whole resurrection is cool, but I love this. And then beginning with Moses and with all of the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. So standing there, he would have gone back to Moses

and he would have talked about how Moses was a type of the Messiah and laid those things out. About the sacrifices that were instituted by God through Moses and laid out how the sacrifices just pointed to what was happening. The Passover. Get a clue, guys. This is what the Passover is all about. And then going down, right down through the prophets and taking each prophet.

What a Bible study. I mean, you know, that's worth four years of seminary to stand there with the Lord and have him open up all of these different scriptures from Moses through all of the prophets in all the scriptures. And they approached the village where they were going and he acted as though he were going farther, but they urged him, saying, Stay with us, for it's getting toward evening and the day is now nearly over. And so he went in to stay with them.

And when he had reclined at the table with them, he took the bread and he blessed it. And breaking it, he began giving it to them. And then their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight. Now, whether or not they saw the marks or they realized how he was breaking it, he would have broken it. He would have given the blessing, the traditional blessing.

And that would have clicked. They would have remembered hearing that. And then possibly they saw the scars. And then he just vanishes out of their sight. Now, notice they're not talking about the fact that he just vanished. Notice what they say. They said to one another, Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the road while he was explaining the scriptures to us?

You want to know the key to your Christian walk? It's the scriptures. It's taking the Word of God and going through it and having it explained and it coming to life in you. It's not the miracle services and all of that stuff and seeing whatever wow presentations can happen on this stage with all the lights and the smoke and the bells and whistles. It's the Word of God.

It's the Word of God. You take the Word of God and expound on it. And that's what made their hearts burn within us. It gave them a zeal. It gave them life. It gave them encouragement. And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, The Lord has really risen and appeared to Simon.

And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of bread. And while they were telling these things, Jesus himself stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be to you. Now notice that there's more than the eleven. Remember back in verse 33 he said, He found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them.

So there's a roomful when Jesus appears. It's not just the eleven. There's a whole roomful. And he says, Peace be with you. Peace be to you. But they were startled and frightened as though they thought they were seeing a spirit. And he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones

as you see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still could not believe it, because of their joy and amazement, he said to them, Have you anything here to eat? Cool. That is exciting. And they gave him a piece of broiled fish. And he took it and he ate it before them. And it didn't just fall to the floor.

You know, because he was a real person. It didn't just fall through. And now he said to them, These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. And then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, This is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,

and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you, the Holy Spirit. But you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. And he led them out as far as Bethany,

and he lifted up his hands and he blessed them. And while he was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried into heaven. And they, after worshipping him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple, praising God. Now next week we're going to go right into the book of Acts. We're going to skip John because we're going through John on Thursday night.

But we're going to go right into the book of Acts.

and then when the Holy Spirit comes upon the church and the birth of the church and the activity of the church and the ongoing of the church. Because the book of Acts doesn't end. It's a continuing book. You're living the book of Acts. We're continuing on in the book of Acts as we have been born again and made part of the church that was birthed in Acts chapter 2.

So, Father, it's exciting times in which to live and to see the things that are happening because they're all part of your Word. And may our hearts indeed, also like these disciples, burn within us as we hear your Word, as we hear it explained, as it's understood by us. And we take it and we eat it and then we go forth to declare it to those around us, which is what you want us to do. Help us to live it out as servants, as the last, as the least, as the youngest.

And just anticipating your coming at any moment. For it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen and Amen.