John 19-21

John 19 —> Click Here

Okay, lots of stuff here.

Jesus is killed even though there is no legitimate reason to kill him; Pilate couldn’t discern one either. He says again and again that he can find nothing wrong with this man. Pilate is gutless. He knows that Jesus does not deserve what is being asked by the Jewish leaders, but it is not politically convenient for him. When they talk that stuff about becoming an enemy of Caesar if he releases Jesus, Pilate’s mind is made up - he simply is not willing to pay the price for doing what he thinks is right.

This begs a question: Am I willing to do what is right when doing so is costly personally or otherwise? Yikes - that is a question for another time.

When the soldiers mock him, they are actually making fun of him for being exactly what they say He is. The irony is thick. Kings wear purple, and they have crowns - exactly as it should be. Pilate piled on when he put that sign over his head and would not change it. The sign was a statement of fact.

Genesis 3:18 states that the earth will produce thorns and thistles, and humanity will eat the plants of the field. (More connection to the crown of thorns)

Jesus’ death, while horrific, went exactly to plan. “It is finished.” Not a statement of defeat, but a statement of total victory. A statement of mission accomplished (almost). The whole gospel was a buildup to this conclusion. Jesus’ death was not some tragic accident; John meant for his readers to get that crucifixion is part of the salvation story. A bunch of hapless idiots thought they were doing something to Jesus, but Jesus was the one accomplishing His mission through what happened to Him.

John 20 —> Click Here

The reason this entire chapter was written can be demonstrated here by what John wrote:
30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah,  the Son of God,  and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

Mary - the first person to see Jesus, even though she thinks he is the gardener. Jesus is cool as all get out. He does not offer some lengthy talk about theology, and there is no “see? Told ya.” He simply says her name.

Thomas. We all want to make fun of him, and he has become a moniker for someone with little faith. Truth is, we are all hypocrites for making fun of him because we all question whether or not Jesus is alive and well by the manner in which we carry on our lives. He gets a pass from me. Jesus does not rip him, either. Tells us those who do not have to see in order to believe are blessed. That is pointed at all of us. We were not there; we didn’t physically see Jesus, but there is plenty of testimony throughout the bible to believe He is risen.

Jesus once again shows how we are to act.

Jesus did not show up in the house and holler, “Thanks, guys! I told you what was going to happen and you all bailed on me. Where is Peter??” He leads with, “Peace be with you.” Offers peace instead of condemnation. (In the disciples’ favor - they did see their teacher and friend brutally, barbarically executed in public. They knew people were looking for them, and if they did that to Him, what would they do to all of them?). Jesus shows them the wounds - shows that He was indeed crucified, He died, and is now alive and standing with them in that room.

The whole thing really flips over. It was sadness and fear, hiding out and not knowing what was going to happen next. Then Jesus arrives, and it all becomes happiness and hope. The disciples got their mojo back and were now looking at life with purpose and passion. Pretty big change over the course of 3 days.

John 21 —> Click Here

So the disciples are still all messed up. They don’t know what to do, so they go back to what they were doing before they met Jesus - they went fishing. In a total echo of the past, they caught no fish, and Jesus told them where to put the nets; they caught a mess of fish, so many that the nets should have broken. Around this time, Peter figured out what was going on and knew it was Jesus. As far as the disciples - here is what you used to do, who you were; this is what I called you away from. Now you have a new purpose; we’re not going back to the old stuff.

I am usually pretty bad at picking things up when reading the bible, but this one was pretty easy, even for me. Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” I think this was to counter the fact that Peter denied Him three times, just as Jesus said he would. Not a coincidence. It was a chance for Peter to, in public, affirm what he previously denied. Jesus also did not put Peter on blast - there was no “explain yourself.” There was no looking backwards - Jesus just gave him responsibility.

“Feed my lambs”
“Take care of my sheep”
“Feed my sheep”

What can be more restorative to a relationship than moving forward without recrimination and giving someone a job?

Also - and this one is big for me. Peter messed up big time, spectacularly. He failed when it mattered most. Jesus did not simply forgive Peter and send him on his way. He gave him a huge job, a huge responsibility. Failure does not mean usefulness is over. Failure does not disqualify you from future usefulness.

As a person who has screwed up time and again, it gives me peace to know that I still might have some utility for God.

Peter is Peter. What Jesus tells him would be concerning for me: that there were going to be some difficult times ahead for Peter. He starts asking Jesus about what is going to happen to someone else. Jesus basically says, don’t worry about anyone else; it’s not your concern. Follow me.

This is impactful because I often look at other people and what they are doing, and I need to mind my own business. Follow Jesus on my path and not be concerned about what other people are doing. Taking care of myself is usually beyond my ability, so worrying about someone else is not a good idea.

John ends with uncertainty for me. It does not promise unicorns and rainbows. Difficult futures. Comparisons. Trying to deal with our past and continue to move forward, that it will all be okay.