Friday - Acts 19 - Exciting Things in Ephesus & in Asia

 

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POLLOS was not the only true believer who was stuck temporarily in the paradigm of the Old Testament. Paul encountered about a dozen of John the Baptist's disciples in Ephesus. They had the same perspective as Apollos. They were still looking forward for the Messiah, not realizing that He had already arrived, had already accomplished His mission, and had departed. After hearing Paul, these believers were then re-baptized. Their former baptism had represented their repentance only. This baptism represented their faith in Jesus Christ. Of course, they were also baptized with the Holy Ghost at this time.

This marked the beginning of a major revival in that region. Paul spent a couple years in that area teaching (in the school of Tyrannus) with such force and impact that (as a result) all of Asia heard the gospel (Acts 19:10). God's power was uniquely manifested on Paul (vs. 11) so that unprecedented miracles were accomplished through him (vs. 12). His spiritual influence was so intense that some aspiring young men even began to use Paul's name as if there was some superstitious spiritual power in his very name (vs. 13-14). Of course, we know that their efforts didn't turn out so well (vs. 16). Why? Number one, it is the name of Christ that is to be magnified, not the names of His apostles. Secondly, genuine Spiritual authority and power is necessary for the performance of any godly miracle.

Thursday - Acts 18 - Aquila, Priscilla, Apollos, Paul, etc.

 

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HERE is a distinct change in the narrative when we get to Acts 18. City after city: Paul had entered them and commenced preaching (at least that's the way the story in Acts seems to go). But here in Corinth, he entered and started making tents.  We could guess that he needed the money, or perhaps he needed a break from ministry, or both. More than likely though, this is just the first time this part of the story has been included. You see, Paul had a habit of supporting himself, and not accepting the finances to which he was entitled as a spiritual minister (1^st Corinthians 9:12 & 15). Besides, Acts 18:4 tells us that he was preaching in the synagogue every Saturday. So, he was working 6 days as a tentmaker & preaching on the Sabbath. The important thing here seems to be the married couple with which Paul was staying and working; Aquila and Priscilla.  This was a special couple.  Not only were they a significant blessing to Paul, they were also used by God to help the great teacher Apollos with his understanding of his own dispensational position (Acts 18:24-28). Apollos was looking forward for a Messiah who had (unbeknownst to him) already come and gone. Aquila and Priscilla knew the gospel well (having worked side by side with the most vocal gospel preacher of all time). They were perfectly equipped to give the great Apollos a nudge in the right direction. This they did when they met him in Ephesus.

Wednesday - Acts 17 - Evangelism in Thessalonica, Berea & Athens

 

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S Paul continued from Philippi on his second missionary journey, he preached the gospel faithfully in other cities, including Thessalonica, Berea and Athens. He followed a distinct pattern of going into the synagogues in these cities to preach the gospel to the Jews first. Simply put, he preached that the Messiah (for which they were looking) had already arrived, and that it was Jesus of Nazareth. Specifically, Paul preached that it had been necessary for the Messiah to be rejected, to suffer, to die and to be resurrected. Many of Paul's listeners were convinced. Many believed Paul's message and turned to Christ. But from those who did not receive God's message humbly, Paul encountered tremendous opposition.  In Thessalonica, the unbelieving Jews gathered together some "lewd fellows of the baser sort" & literally started a riot (Acts 17:5).  They lied about Paul & harassed those who were associated with him. In fact, the uproar in Thessalonica was severe enough that the believers there sent Paul & Silas on to Berea.

The noble Jews of Berea listened to Paul too, and compared his message with the words of the Old Testament. There again, many were convinced. A significant number of people received Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. But, the jealous Jews of Thessalonica came to Berea and stirred up trouble there too. So, Paul was forced to flee again.  This time he went to Athens.  There he preached one of the most unique gospel sermons of all time. On Mars Hill, Paul preached about the unknown God. The Athenians had assumed that there had to be a divine being somewhere of whom they simply had not heard. Paul took advantage of that superstition and preached to them about the only real God. It seems that the number of conversions in Athens was considerably smaller than the number to which Paul was accustomed, but there were some. Then again, Paul moved on.

Tuesday - Acts 16 - Surrendering after Victory, or Fighting On

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OU will recall that Paul had just recently attended a major Bible conference in Jerusalem at which it had been categorically determined that circumcision was not necessary for salvation. Here we are only shortly removed from that account when we read of Paul's encounter with young Timothy. Paul circumcised Timothy. What's that about? Why didn't Paul just exercise his liberty and promote spiritual freedom by defending Timothy's uncircumcised condition? The answer: spiritual humility and pragmatic compassion. Timothy's circumcision had nothing to do with his own salvation, but it did have something to do with the potential salvation of others.  Paul had Timothy circumcised so that he could be more effective in ministry. It would have been a distraction and an inhibition if he had remained uncircumcised (while attempting to minister to Jews). It was a good and harmless rite. There was no reason not to do it, especially if it opened doors of evangelistic opportunity to him.  Besides that, Paul was delivering letters from the apostles that declared the freedom of the gentiles and how they should feel no obligation to be circumcised (Acts 16:4). It was fitting and beneficial that Paul voluntarily participated in something that he was not necessarily obligated to do at all.  What a strong spiritual lesson this was to these new believers, and to us. This course of action helped to produce stronger faith in the churches as well as continued church growth (Acts 16:5).

Monday - Acts 15 - A Speed Bump

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HEREVER God does something great, men are sure to try to regulate it. Such was the case with the salvation of the gentiles. Great progress was being made, but a distraction came along to slow things down a bit. In Antioch of Syria, there were teachers who came in teaching that the physical rite of circumcision was necessary for salvation. It's like teaching that baptism is necessary for salvation, or that law-keeping is needed for salvation. It simply isn't true. Paul and Barnabas fought this heresy hard and loud, but the dispute was sharp enough that the church sent these two missionaries down to Jerusalem to get an official word from the apostles on this debate (Acts 15:2). There is no reason to wonder whether Paul and Barnabas knew what the answer would be or not. They knew God was working among the gentiles without circumcision, without the law, and without interference. In fact, on their way to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas continued to spread the good news of God's grace to the uncircumcised (Acts 15:3). They weren't exactly unbiased researchers, but their bias was on the side of the truth.

So, the church in Jerusalem convened their first council/convention. They came together to formulate an official statement to send to new gentile believers. In this meeting, Peter reminded the church leaders of his experience with Cornelius. Peter's perspective was boldly gracious & true (Acts 1:10). Paul & Barnabas spoke in defense of the gentiles as well. Then James spoke. He seemed to be the final voice on this matter. As he quoted appropriately & powerfully from the Old Testament, the issue was settled.

Friday - Acts 14 - Stoned for Christ

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N this chapter, we read the continuation and conclusion of the story of Paul's first missionary journey. Here, he and Barnabas visited and/or revisited lconium, Lystra and Derbe of Lycaonia, Antioch of Pisidia, Pamphylia, Perga and Attalia before returning home finally to Antioch of Syria to rest and to report to their sending church. The most amazing thing about this leg of the trip is that Paul was pursued and persecuted from city to city, and yet he continued to preach boldly. In fact, even after Paul had been stoned and left for dead, he kept going forward. The enemies of Christ in lconium tried to stone Paul while he was there. After he had fled to Lystra, enemies followed him from Antioch of Pisidia and lconium and succeeded in stoning him. Yet he still returned to both of those cities to strengthen the believers there. Did you get that? Paul went back to the cities from which his most violent opposition (to that date) had originated. It is true that Paul took steps to avoid persecution, but when it became clear that he could not avoid it (while remaining faithful to his calling), he embraced it.

Don't get in your head that Paul's ministry was all and only doom, gloom, and hardship though. Sometimes things were intensely positive and exciting. Paul's very public healing of a crippled man in Lystra was surely a wonderful experience for him and his fellow ministers.  And, perhaps this is when Paul saw things in a heavenly vision; things which were unutterable (2 Corinthians 12:4). In any case, the Spirit of God was moving mightily through him.

Thursday - Acts 13 - An Evangelistic Team

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AUL and Barnabas were teachers of the true gospel in the church in Antioch, Syria. But God had another assignment for them (Acts 13:2). They were called of God and sent out by their church to preach the gospel elsewhere. These 2 men (along with Mark) preached in Seleucia, Cyprus, Salamis, Paphos (where Paul blinded a sorcerer named Bar-jesus), Perga (where they lost John Mark) and eventually in Antioch in Pisidia. (A different Antioch than the city from which they had been sent. This Antioch was a couple 100 miles to the northwest, in modern day Turkey). This journey is commonly called Paul's first missionary journey. Truly, Antioch of Syria was a mission church itself.  What a blessing that a church on one mission field would send missionaries to other fields. Of course, somewhere in our history, we are all the product of missionary evangelism. And, we should all reproduce ourselves in this same manner: individually and corporately.

Now, Paul's sermon to his fellow Jews in their synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia is strongly reminiscent of the great sermon that Paul had heard Stephen preach on the day of his death. Paul's sermon here was full of Jewish history, Old Testament prophecy, boldness, clarity, condemnation, conviction, hope and the gospel of the resurrected Christ. What a mighty sermon! Oh, how Barnabas must have rejoiced as he listened to his friend (who had once been the primary enemy of the church) preach with such power, liberty and true doctrine! Paul certainly knew what it meant to be forgiven, and so with great passion he preached forgiveness to his brethren (Acts 13:38). 

Wednesday - Acts 12 - The Death of Men... Good and Evil

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OME Gentiles were coming to Christ. Still, there were many more who were disinterested or worse. One man wielded great influence in the land of the Jews, and he was willing to kill Christians in order to further his own Machiavellian goals. Saul was no longer a problem, but king Herod was. He killed James and sought to kill Peter too. Most of you who are reading this are likely very familiar with Peter's miraculous escape from prison and the ensuing disruption of a local prayer meeting (which was being held on his behalf). The most familiar part of the story is when Rhoda left Peter knocking at the gate while she ran to report that the church's prayers had been answered, etc. It's a great story.  However, we should not lose sight of how serious the situation really was. James was dead and Peter's head had a bounty on it. Herod was a powerful and interested enemy of the church.  He was a very evil man (Acts 12:19).

James was not the only man whose death is recorded in this chapter though. Herod died too.  After one of his orations, wicked Herod accepted worship from his subjects (Acts 12:22). Amazingly, while God had allowed Herod to kill James, He would not allow him to be worshipped as if he were divine. Perhaps the immovableness in God's justice in this case was related to the recent rejection of the actual incarnate God, Jesus Christ. Herod was not the first man to be treated like a god, and not all of them were immediately executed. Either way, justice prevailed.  Herod was killed by an angel (Acts 12:23). The result of all of this was a continual expansion of the word of God (Acts 12:24). James was dead. Peter was free. The Jerusalem church was doing well. Churches were springing up in other cities. Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch, and a new name is introduced to us: John Mark, the eventual author of the Gospel of Mark.

Tuesday - Acts 11 - The Gospel to the Gentiles

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N the heels of Peter's encounter with Cornelius, the Jewish believers in Jerusalem learned about that event and about the salvation of many Gentiles in Antioch. This marked another step in the shift of the emphasis of evangelism. It was a surprise, but it was real. It was legitimate. It was a God thing. And, along with the continued expansion of the gospel also came the rise in prominence of two men whom we have already met in the book of Acts: Barnabas and Saul.

Peter answered well for his ministry to Cornelius and to those non-Jews who had been in Cornelius' house. And, to the credit of the church in Jerusalem, they accepted Peter's report willingly (Acts 11:18). It was apparent that salvation had been extended to the uncircumcised, and that the gift of the Spirit of Christ had been granted to them just as He had already been given to thousands of Jews (Acts 11:14-15 & 17). So, Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch to be an influence on the new multicultural church which was growing there (Acts 11:22). Barnabas then retrieved Saul of Tarsus and brought him to Antioch as well. He and Barnabas had a tremendous impact in Antioch, even leading to the beginning of the use of a new name for Christ's disciples. Believers in Antioch came to be known as Christians: followers of Christ (Acts 11: 26).

Monday - Acts 10 – Learning a Lesson & Teaching the Truth

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CTS 10 tells the story of the salvation of a Gentile named Cornelius. There was a time when it was hard for Christ's disciples to accept that there could possibly be a legitimate extension of the gospel to those who were not the physical descendants of Abraham. Peter's reaction to this reality is central to the lesson.

God had been working on this man named Cornelius and had produced what we might consider to be an Old Testament brand of faith and repentance in Him. But since the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and since the impartation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, it is apparent that faith in the name (and work) of Jesus Christ alone was essential for regeneration. It is perhaps a moot point that God and Peter both gave Cornelius considerable credit for His previous devotion, because the fact remains that God sent Peter to Cornelius so that Cornelius could hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and be baptized in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:43-44). Surely, there were lessons both for Peter and for Cornelius on that day, but even more so for the rest of the church, then and now. Peter's presentation of the gospel and the grounds of his acceptance of Cornelius are both wonderfully revealing.

Friday - Acts 9 - Saul's Salvation; Paul's Profession

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H the glories of a soul in crisis! Saul (who came to be known as Paul) was unwittingly on the edge of a precipice. He was "breathing out threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lard" (Acts 9:1).  But God was doing some breathing of His own. As Saul made his way to Damascus to arrest more of Christ's loyal followers, Christ Himself made His way over to the front bay window of heaven and revealed Himself miraculously to this zealous crusader (Acts 9:4). He even spoke audibly to Saul. The words of Christ were penetrating, "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" The implications were deep and obvious to Saul. He was fighting on the wrong side, and suddenly he knew it. He had thought that the followers of Jesus were the enemies of Jehovah. He had been wrong. In this vision on the road to Damascus, Saul learned the truth (Acts 9:5). The change was miraculous and instantaneous (Acts 9:6). The very disposition of Saul toward Jesus and toward His disciples changed immediately. And, his direction was forever altered.

Thursday - Acts 8 - Inquisition, Persecution & Revival

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IMILAR to the way that God commanded Adam and Noah to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth in their era, Jesus commanded His disciples to proliferate internationally through worldwide evangelism (Acts 1:8). Contemporarily this is called missions. Without pointing a finger or placing blame, it seems that the early church was centralizing and just staying put in Jerusalem. So, God allowed some interference in the Jerusalem church. The interruption served to spread the believers out a bit (Acts 8:4). You might recall that God (in order to spread humanity out) divided the language of the world during the days of the tower of Babel. In this case, He used Saul. After he participated in the execution of Stephen, this zealous (but unregenerate) Jew continued to harass Jesus' disciples (Acts 8:1). With arrest warrants in hand, Saul literally went from house to house in Jerusalem hauling disciples to prison for their faith in Christ (Acts 8:3). He succeeded only in causing the preaching of the gospel to expand further than it had previously.

Now, although Stephen was dead and buried, God was not done with His work. Another deacon picked up the baton of evangelism and preached the gospel just as boldly. His name was Philip. Philip became an evangelist; much like Stephen had been (Acts 8:5). He preached in Samaria, which was what God wanted (Acts 1:8). There, many believed the gospel (Acts 8:6). Yet, God called Philip away from the droves of converts in Samaria and sent him down into the desert of the southwest to witness to just one man (Acts 8:26-27).

Wednesday - Acts 7 - A Sermon for the Ages

  

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OST of what we know about Stephen is found right here in this chapter. Significantly, it really isn't Stephen that we learn so much about here. The chapter presents to us one of the most eloquent gospel sermons ever preached; eloquent, both because of the content and because of the context.

Speaking generally, Stephen respectfully repeated some of the history of Israel before a group of men who knew these stories exceedingly well. He and the Holy Spirit knew where he was going with his speech. His audience did not. If they had known, they would not have allowed him to start, much less finish. Early in the narrative, he pointed out that their own brethren initially rejected both Joseph and Moses. And he noted that both these great patriarchs were chosen by God to deliver their people. In other words, Israel had a habit rejecting God's anointed/appointed deliverers. Stephen then went directly into a strong defense of The Prophet, Jesus Christ. He even pointed out that the revered Moses had prophesied that the Jews needed to be looking for the coming of the ultimate prophet. But, according to Stephen, nothing had changed in Israel over all these centuries. The Messiah was being wrongly rejected just like His forerunners had also been disallowed.

Stephen's Spirit filled sermon was presumably heard by a young man named Saul. Stephen's generous last words would also have been heard by Saul. God was working on this young man Saul. Saul would someday become the apostle Paul. Saul was at this point still a devout orthodox Jew though. He was zealous in his defense of the Old Testament law (as he saw it). Yet truly, he was one of the men who was guilty of killing Stephen. And, he did it in the name of God, (as did the whole Jewish council).  They sincerely believed that Jesus was an imposter, and that Stephen was a tool of Satan.

Tuesday - Acts 6 - More Trouble

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S the church grew, so did the potential for conflict. Instead of chapter 6 beginning with a long list of all the things that were going well, it commences with the one thing that was not going well.  But all things work together for good for those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose. God can even use problems to accomplish His higher plans.

We all wish for a problem-free life and ministry, but this is unrealistic. Problems come. How will we respond? In this case, the problem was real; not imagined. Some of the widows (those among the foreign-born Jews in Jerusalem) were not getting as much attention as those among the native-born Jews (vs. 1). It was evidently something of a welfare program run by the church intended to help the needy among them (Acts 4:34-35). It was great! It was done with enthusiasm and good will (not obligatorily). Yet, a conflict still arose. Even though the motive was good (and the people involved were believers), the effects of the sin curse were still present - hence, the clash (James 4:1).

So, what was the solution? Notice that the apostles did not cancel their benevolence program to end the disagreement. Instead, they instituted a new office in the church. The 12 apostles were the pastors over the church at Jerusalem at this point, and they obviously had enough responsibility in ministry (service) to keep them busy just doing their praying and preaching (Acts 6:4). So, an office was established to be filled by a different kind of minister (servant). The descendants of these ministers are now called deacons. They were assigned the noble task of handling the physical and social needs of the weaker members of the congregation, so that the pastors would not be as distracted by these matters.

Monday - Acts 5 - Trouble in the Church

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HEREVER God is at work, Satan will attempt an intrusion. And sometimes the intrusion comes from within the church. At the end of Acts 4, we read about a man named Barnabas who sold some property and gave all the proceeds to the church. That was all good. Perhaps it would have been better if nobody had known about it though. There was a couple in the church who evidently saw the attention and admiration that Barnabas had elicited and decided that they could get in on this. So, they too sold a piece of property and gave to the church. But they only pretended to give all the profits to God. They kept back some for themselves. (Of course, they were not obligated to give any of it at all, and in fact, they would have been better off keeping it all. Instead, they lied in order to receive the praise of men).

But their scheme was thwarted. The Holy Ghost would not allow this misuse of His infant church. Both the husband and the wife died at Peter's feet in a miraculous show of God's holy jealousy. One thing is sure, immediately following this incident the rest of the members of the church in Jerusalem were exceedingly careful in their behavior. They feared and respected the apostles even more than they had already. And, many more Jews were saved and added to the church. The church may very well have had upwards of 10,000 in its membership. Not that they were all assembling in one place regularly, but the body of Christ was indeed growing dynamically.

Friday - Acts 4 - Evangelism Explosion

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OING from a membership of 120 to 3120 was a gargantuan step for the first church. But, how about when they went from 3120 to over 8000 members? This was what happened as a result of the attention that the apostles got (and how they used it) when the lame man was healed at the temple.  But that's not all that happened when they preached. Peter and John also were arrested for their preaching. This arrest was no small event either. Less than 2 months before this occasion, the same wicked leaders had arrested Jesus too (and that had ended in their willful execution of Him). Peter and John could have reasonably felt like they were in grave danger. But, when we read the glorious words of Peter from Acts 4:8-12, it is immediately evident that Peter had an altogether different issue on his mind. His own safety was the least of his concerns. He was only interested in confronting people with the marvelous truth about who Jesus Christ was and why He had come.

There are a couple of things that are particularly amazing about this narrative. First, there was not even an attempt on the part of the religious authorities to deny what Peter and John had done in healing the crippled man. There were simply too many witnesses. Secondly (& sadly), the religious rebels (who were holding these two apostles) had absolutely no interest in Jesus' undeniable legitimacy as the Christ. They hated the name "Jesus" (vs. 17-18) & it disturbed them greatly to see the growth of the group following His apostles.

Thursday - Acts 3 - The Value of One

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OW did the salvation of the 3000 on Pentecost look? I mean, if we get past the sermon and the statistics, what did the ministry of the gospel look like? And beyond that, when the church commenced to doing churchy things (even early on), what did that look like? Do the activities of the church today resemble the activities of those primitive disciples? I'm looking here in the book of Acts for some key principles that should logically still be found in our churches today.

The first thing I notice here is the teamwork that was present from the very beginning of the church. "Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). Of course, they did! This was not a new strategy even, but it is an important one. The second noteworthy activity of this new church (and specifically the leadership of the church) was prayer (Acts 3:1). We will find repeatedly in the book of Acts that prayer was a primary activity of the church.  It is the grease which lubricates the cogs of God's grace. 

The trait of the church that stands out most (to me) in this chapter though is the value of one soul. Peter (who had spoken to thousands) was not too busy, or too self-absorbed, or too important to stop to minister to a single lame man. Just like Jesus ministered to the multitudes but also to individuals, the church has this same obligation, opportunity, and privilege today too. Peter and John were even on an important spiritual endeavor (going to a prayer meeting), and yet they paused long enough to care for one who was in need.

Wednesday - Acts 2 - Pentecostal Power

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N the Old Testament, the feast of weeks (or Pentecost) fell 50 days after the feast of Passover. In the New Testament, Pentecost came 50 days after the resurrection of Christ (who was of course the ultimate Passover lamb).  And, here in Acts 2 we find out why this feast took on a whole new meaning – or at least, a more complete meaning.

There were 120 devout believers (followers of Jesus Christ) gathered together waiting for the gift, which Christ had promised. They had been waiting for 10 days. They agreed; they were in harmony.  And, God showed up. There was an audible effect: the sound of strong wind. There was a visual effect: fire above each believer. There was an internal effect: the believers were able to speak foreign languages that they had never learned. This last effect was clearly intended by God to initially attract the attention of the populous in Jerusalem. The disciples needed a platform to stand on for the gospel to be heard. Their unusual ability to speak any human language was enough for that (Acts 2:6).

There is no doubt that the unusual phenomena surrounding the baptism of the Holy Spirit must have given the disciples an extra spark of confidence in their mission of evangelization.  But the real power was not in an experience, the real power was in the person of the Holy Spirit of Christ who now resided within each believer and who provided them with supernatural boldness to preach the gospel.

Tuesday - Acts 1 - Waiting for the Spirit

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IKE the Gospel of Luke, this book is addressed to a Christian named Theophilus (Luke 1:3 & Acts 1:1). Its content and format is naturally a continuation of the former book. In fact, it very naturally picks up right where the gospels left off. Jesus has completed His passion (Acts 1:3) and simply commissions and commands His disciples concerning that which was to come next for them. From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was expected to baptize with the Holy Ghost. This discourse of Luke gives us an account of that event, and the effects of that spiritual baptism (Acts 1:5 & 8).

This is a book about evangelism. The propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (first in Jerusalem, and then spreading it out from there to the whole world) – this was the business of the apostles. Even today we are continuing that which was commenced during the days of the apostles. We are simply doing the work of the Messiah in His absence, as we wait for Him to return (Acts 1:11).

There was only a ten-day wait between the ascension of Christ and the entrance of the indwelling Holy Spirit into the church of Christ. However, it must have felt like a long time to the apostles.  Each day they waited for something that they had never seen before. In faith, they almost blindly anticipated this blessing. What would it be like? What would the results be? When would this occur and how would Jerusalem respond to this invasion of God? The church was in its shell ready to hatch out into a brand-new world.

Monday - John 21 - Breakfast with Jesus

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FTER the disciples had seen the risen Lord (John 21:14), Peter led a handful of them on an all-night fishing trip. Of course, there is nothing at all wrong with fishing. However, Jesus had originally called Peter out of his fishing boats. Peter had been commissioned to fish for men. Miraculously, their fishing trip was fruitless – until Christ intervened (John 21:6). Yet, when Jesus did step in to change their luck, Peter's reaction was telling (John 21:7). He was evidently ashamed of how Jesus had found him, that is, of what he was doing. But Jesus certainly did show compassion toward Peter and his chums. Far from maintaining some sort of pious spiritual aloofness, Jesus cooked a breakfast of bread and fish for His disciples (John 21:9).

The last time Jesus had given bread to His disciples, it had been the unleavened bread of the Passover. Things were different now. The price of redemption had been paid. Now it was time to commission the disciples for their mission. Here on the shoreline very early in the morning, Jesus confronted Peter (specifically) with his inadequacy. It is the familiar, "Peter, do you love me?" passage.  Most Christians are familiar with the fact that, during this interchange, Peter used a less intense word for love than Jesus did. Perhaps Peter was finally confessing his own weakness. The thing that is more important than that though is the fact that Jesus called on Peter to be a feeder of His lambs. And again, Jesus said to him, "Follow me!" (John 21:19).

Friday - John 20 - Resurrected to give us Life

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N Romans 5:10 we are told that we are reconciled to God by Christ's death, but saved by His life. Here in John 20, there is no room for doubt concerning the claim of John: 3 days after His death, Jesus did come back to life. It's a good thing too. Sadly though, there are many who do not benefit from His resurrection. The fault is not with God though. This account of Christ's victory over death has been given so that people will "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; & that believing [they] might have life through His name" (vs. 31).

Mary Magdalene found Christ's tomb open & empty on that first Sunday morning after the crucifixion (vs. 1). So also did Peter & John (vs. 2). Additionally, there were 2 angels who visibly bore witness to the empty tomb (vs. 12). Jesus Himself testified of His own resurrection (vs. 14-18), which is (for obvious reasons) a little more convincing than any other person's account. Then, there were 10 of Jesus' disciples who saw Him alive during the first Sunday evening assembly of the church (vs. 19). Thomas saw Him alive about a week later (vs. 26-28). And, through the eyes of faith, we also have seen Him alive (vs. 29). He is alive & living in us!