Passing the Baton - Day 5

8 Day Week

Passing the Baton - Day 5

It is now Day 5.

Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure.

He knew they would need comfort for their loss.

Jesus passes the baton of His ministry.

Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to both comfort and equip.

Are you full of the Spirit of God?

John starts by saying,

Jesus is “now showing the full extent of His love.” John 13:1

Jesus, the Lord and Teacher, demonstrates His love

through serving His disciples by washes their feet.

Jesus said we would be blessed if we served like He did.

After Jesus washed their feet,

they observed the Passover where Jesus

reveals Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial.

The Gospel of John is the only Gospel

not to record the Lord’s Supper.

It is probably because John records

Jesus declaring He is the Bread of Life.  John 6:25-ff

Jesus said, “unless you eat my flesh

and drink my blood you have no life in you.” John 6:53

In verse 60,

many disciples could not accept

His words and left Him.

John now records three chapters of Jesus preparing

His disciples for His departure.

Jesus shares that in the Father’s house, where He is going,

there is plenty of rooms for those who follow Him.  John 14:1-4

For those who follow Jesus,

they will know the way

because Jesus is the (only) way, truth and life.

There are two reasons for believing Jesus;

 the one is you believe what He says,

the other is you believe because of the miracles.  John 14:11

For those who believe,

Jesus said they would do even greater works in His Name

after He went to be with the Father.  John 14:12-15

Jesus makes a promise to the believer

that He will send the “Parakleetos” meaning comforter or counselor

which is the Holy Spirit to teach and remind us.  John 14:15 & 25

Jesus promises to leave the believer with a peace

that is different than the peace the world offers,

His peace is not based on the circumstances.  John 14:27

Jesus tells us that if we remain in Him like a branch to a vine

He will give us whatever we ask for

in order to bear fruit for Him.  John 15:7, 8 & 16

Jesus said He had many more things to say but it would be too much

 so He said He would leave the rest of the info

up to the Holy Spirit.  John 16:12

Again, Jesus tells the disciples

that the Father will give them whatever they ask in the name of Jesus

and our joy becomes complete when we receive what we ask.  John 16:23 & 24

Jesus concludes His word of preparation with:

John 16:33 NIV

 "I have told you these things,

so that in Me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart!

I have overcome the world."  

Then we find Jesus close in prayer

for Himself, the disciples and finally a prayer for us.  John 17

Jesus made sure you and I

were equipped before He went to the Father.

He sent us the Holy Spirit,

so we would have peace, comfort, counsel, and power.

Jesus has sent to you and I,

the same Holy Spirit that anointed Him

to preach good news with power.  Isaiah 61; Luke 4:18

We can read in the book of Acts

what the disciples did after they received the Holy Spirit;

and now it is our turn.

Scripture Reading

Selected verses from John 13-17 NIV

John 13:1

13:1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world,

he now showed them the full extent of his love.  

John 13:12-17

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 13:33-38

33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." 

36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"

Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later." 

37 Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."

38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me?

I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

John 14:1-4

14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.

I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going." 

John 14:5-7

5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going,

so how can we know the way?" 

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

John 14:11-21

11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;

or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.

He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father,

and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.

Because I live, you also will live.

20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father,

and you are in me, and I am in you.

21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them,

he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father,

and I too will love him and show myself to him." 

John 14:25-27

 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 15:1

15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

John 15:5

5 "I am the vine; you are the branches

John 15:7-8

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish,

and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory,

 that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:12-16

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

John 16:5-14

5 "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief.

7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.

Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;

10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father,

where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment,

because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.

He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears,

and he will tell you what is yet to come.

John 16:23-24

23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything.

I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.

Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

John 16:33

33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." 

John 17:15-16

15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world

but that you protect them from the evil one.

Passion and Deception Day 4

8 Day Week

Passion and Deception

This is the Passion Week.

How passionate are you for Christ?

Be careful that you are not too busy to prepare.

You don’t want to miss the wedding

and the Lord’s Table.

Are you ready?

This is the Passion Week

and the time of the feast of unleavened bread

called the Passover.

It is the time that God’s people

remember the deliverance from slavery to the Egyptians.

God had told the Israelites at the first Passover to prepare a lamb

and take some of the blood and put it on the door frame

because death of the first born

would come where ever there was no blood.

They were also to remove any leaven in their house

and make bread without leaven

or be cut off from God’s people.

 All the preparation to be delivered from slavery

and death was not just a ceremony,

it was an everlasting ordinance

that should come from the heart.

The day that Judas made an agreement to betray Christ

with the chief priest was likely to have been Wednesday.

The scriptures tell us that at that time Satan entered Judas.

What type of leaven was in Judas

that opened the door for Satan to get control of his life?  

If you remember Jesus just before He started His public ministry,

He had been fasting and then Satan came to tempt Him.

Jesus resisted Satan and his offers

and angels came to refresh Him

after He proved that Satan had no hold on Him.

Jesus the Bread of Life had no leaven in Him.

Tomorrow all of this will make more sense

as we sit at the Lord’s Supper.

But for now the question is,

Are we prepared?

Leaven is such a small thing

but makes a big difference when baked in the dough.

It only takes a little greed or lust,

a little unforgiveness or jealousy.

Just a little in our lives

opens the door for Satan to enter.

Ever say a sharp word to someone

and it caused a reaction

that sparked you to speak a stronger word?

How quickly a little leaven in our lives

can get out of control.

Be passionate -

spend some time examining your heart and life.

Get out the magnifying glass and look for leaven

in the way you handle things at work, home with family, neighbors and even how you handle yourself.

Ask God to help -

He can spot leaven easier than you and I!

Scripture Reading

Luke 22:1-6 NIV

22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,

2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way

to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.

4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard

and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.

5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented,

and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

Exodus 12:1-16 NIV

12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,

2 "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.

3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor,

having taken into account the number of people there are.

You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance

with what each person will eat.

5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,

and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,

when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire,

along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.

9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water,

but roast it over the fire — head, legs and inner parts.

10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.

11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt,

your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand.

Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.

12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn — both men and animals — and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are;

and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD — a lasting ordinance.

15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.

On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

Authority and Acceptance Day 3

The 8 Day Week

Authority and Acceptance

Jesus is the King of Kings

and you and I are invited to a royal wedding.

So what do you wear?

Don’t wait to order you garment!

Jesus starts the day with His authority being questioned.

The Priest & Elders question could have been phrased,

“Who do you think you are?”

The right to cleanse the temple,

the right to teach the people,

the right to heal the sick,

the right to do miracles?

Maybe we should ask ourselves

if we give Jesus the right to do these things

in our lives and church.

In fact, are we encouraging Him to do these things

and are we expecting Him to use His authority?

After Jesus’ authority is challenged,

He tells a couple of parables.

The first parable deals with the rejection of His authority

and the authority of those God has sent.

If Jesus’ authority and right was questioned,

you can expect the authority and rights God

has given to you to be challenged.

The second parable has many parts to it

as Jesus relates truth to us

through an illustration of a wedding banquet.

I found myself focusing on those good and bad

that were invited off the street to come to the banquet.

I have to ask the question,

Where did the street people get the wedding clothes? 

The reason I ask this question is because there was a man who was not wearing wedding cloths and he was cast out.

What are the appropriate garments to wear

and when do you get them?

Sunday, Sandy and I were wondering how to dress

to celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Christ

and for a miracle which we are looking forward to.

So what do you wear?

Maybe, it’s the Garment of Salvation;

the Robe of Righteous

which can only be obtained from God.

Isaiah 61:10 NIV

“I delight greatly in the LORD;

my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Or the Garment of Praise

so that there will be a celebration at the banquet.

Isaiah 61:3 NIV

“and provide for those who grieve in Zion —

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.”

Are you ready to celebrate

and submit to the authority of Christ?

Remember to wear the right cloths!

Scripture Reading

Matthew 21:23-22:14 NIV

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching,

the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him.

"By what authority are you doing these things?"

they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"

24 Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question.

If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

25 John's baptism — where did it come from?

Was it from heaven, or from men?"

They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,'

he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'

26 But if we say, 'From men'-we are afraid of the people,

for they all hold that John was a prophet."

27 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."

Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 

28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons.

He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

29 "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing.

He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"

"The first," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth,

the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,

and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did.

And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard.

He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.

Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.

34 When the harvest time approached,

he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time,

and the tenants treated them the same way.

37 Last of all, he sent his son to them.

'They will respect my son,' he said.

38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other,

'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'

39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 

41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied,

"and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,

who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

"'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;

the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you

and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,

but he on whom it falls will be crushed." 

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables,

they knew he was talking about them.

46 They looked for a way to arrest him,

but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Matthew 22 NIV

22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:

2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4 "Then he sent some more servants and said,

'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner:

My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready.

Come to the wedding banquet.'

5 "But they paid no attention and went off — one to his field, another to his business.

6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.

7 The king was enraged.

He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 "Then he said to his servants,

'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.

9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'

10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 "But when the king came in to see the guests,

he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.

12'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?'

The man was speechless.

13 "Then the king told the attendants,

'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness,

where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen." 

Also see Matthew 22:41-46 and 26:6-13