READINGS FOR NOVEMBER 13- 19

NOVEMBER 13

When Judas bargained to betray Jesus, Scripture is very clear that Satan entered into Judas.  Satan knew that he couldn't send one of his lackeys to do the work, he had to go himself.

Some sad words in Scripture:
"Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him."

Not much has changed today.  So many times a person needs to hit rock bottom before they believe.

If ever there was a doubt concerning the Son of God appearing to the Old Testament people, this one lays that to rest.

John 12:41
Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

If you really want to get the full picture of this quote from Isaiah read all of Isaiah 6 to better understand.

The booklet Encounters With God the Son by Phil and Patti Moore gives more information.

More sad words from Scripture:
"for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."

Again, not much has changed today.  The people of Jesus' day, including the religious leaders, would not acknowledge Him.  They were in fear of being put out of the synagogue.  If not much has changed today, what is it that we have to fear?  What others may think?

Jesus came into the world to save the world, not to judge (condemn) the world.  He came to save those who have hit rock bottom.

Jesus told us the importance of how we say things to others and not just what we say.

As you continue reading, start paying close attention to the frequent mentioning of the Father by Jesus. He begins to mention the Father more and more the closer He gets to the crucifixion. I (Patti) tend to wonder how Jesus felt. When I was younger (before I met Phil) I always had a very loving relationship with the most important people in my life, my parents. Whenever I was hurt or upset or scared, I always sought the comfort of my parents, especially my daddy. Wonder if the human part of Jesus was feeling that way and He  was longing for the comfort of the Father. Something to think about…

NOVEMBER 14

As we reread the passages for today it became so clear to us that so many things in Scripture are read with a surface understanding when the meanings are so much deeper.

The last supper…not THE Passover supper, simply the last supper the disciples would have with Jesus before the crucifixion. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, meals together were called Passover meals. Notice in this passage the disciples are now called apostles. Disciples are learners. Apostles are the “sent out ones”. They are being prepared by Jesus to be sent out.

Jesus says that He will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.  When we read about the interaction between Jesus and His disciples after the resurrection, He never once asks about drinking anything.  He asks for food and eats bread and fish but He does not ask for drink.  The true kingdom of God on earth will not be in place until the millennium.  However, we should live our lives as best we can as if we were living in the kingdom of God on earth.  It's living our lives as "caterpillars" with a "butterfly" mindset.

When Jesus picked up the cup He told His disciples that the cup represented the new covenant in His blood which is poured out (at the crucifixion).  At Jesus' circumcision, when He was 8 days old. a new blood covenant began in fulfillment of the prophecies of the old covenant.  No longer did the blood covenant mean circumcision in the flesh but a circumcision of the heart.  The new covenant as represented by the cup of blood poured out means that the animal blood sacrifices were no longer in place as the temporary covering of sin.   Jesus took the place of animal sacrifices as atonement for sin.  Jesus replaced the blood sacrifice of the animals with His permanent sacrifice for complete forgiveness of sins.

When Jesus announces that one of them would betray Him, the disciples didn’t automatically think of Judas. This lets us know they didn't suspect Judas of any wrongdoing or at least they didn't suspect him of anything this wrong.

The passage about washing the disciples’ feet is so much deeper that just Jesus setting the example of servitude. That would be the surface meaning.  Jesus had just said that the Father had put all things under His (Jesus') power.  Jesus is telling them that He has the power but He is telling them that humility is what's being illustrated by His servant action of washing the disciples' feet.  It’s about humility, service, and forgiveness. Jesus set the example of all these things. He placed Himself in a servant's place and He forgave their sins, they were in turn to serve and forgive each other. Later on the disciples would be given the power and authority that the Father gave Jesus.  Jesus is telling them that they will do these signs and wonders but they must do these things with humility.  Another illustration for the washing of feet:  We need to come to Jesus daily for the removal of the dirt of sin from our lives. If we are saved we are clean but our feet get dirty living in a sinful world.

John 14:1-4 is a very familiar passage that is quoted often.  In these verses Jesus tells His disciples and us that He is going to prepare a place for them.  For information about the significance of some of the Greek words in this passage, see the book These Last Days Second Edition, available on Amazon.  There is a connection also to Jude 24.

John 14:13
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
We may think if we end our prayers with "...in Jesus' name" we are asking for things in His name. "In my name" means we will ask Him for whatever is in His nature and character, in His will. And whatever prayers we lift up should bring the Father glory!

Jesus tells the disciples that "the prince of this world is coming."  He is referring to Judas who has been inhabited by Satan, but also Satan will be there in the Garden where Jesus prays before He is arrested.

Mark 14:26
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
They may have sung from the Great Hallel composed of Psalms 113-118. These psalms are very prophetic in nature and point to the Messiah.
More information concerning the significance of these psalms can be found in the book The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the Mansion.

Jesus warns His disciples about forsaking Him.  Peter adamantly responds that he will never forsake Jesus. He even says that he will die with Jesus if necessary. And all the other disciples said the same thing.  How about all of us as Believers in Jesus?  Are there times when we have forsaken Him? Praise God that even in our weakness of forsaking Him, we have the assurance that He will never forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

NOVEMBER 15

We would urge you to read the passages in John 15 again and really ponder the message of staying connected to Him and being able to bear much fruit.

Secrets of the Vine is an excellent little book to read that explains this passage beautifully.

Those branches that bear no fruit can be compared with two parables:
1. the man who came to the wedding not wearing wedding clothes
2. the foolish virgins
The branches that bear no fruit are imposters, pretending to be believers.  Jesus says these branches will be cut off from the vine and thrown into the fire (hell) and burned.

Jesus tells His disciples that they will be persecuted and even killed.  He warns them that a time will come when Believers will be killed by those who think they are doing a service to God.  This is exactly what Paul was doing when he was persecuting followers of the Way.  He thought he was doing a service to God.

John 16:11
and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
Satan may be prince of this world now, but he stands condemned and will get his just punishment at the end of the Millennium when he, along with the evil angels will be thrown into the lake of fire, prepared specifically for them.
(Matthew 25:41)

We would urge you also to read John Chapter 16 again.
John 16:23
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.
If you read this in full context, it becomes clear what Jesus is talking about in regards to what we are to ask for. (See James 1:5)

James 1:5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him.

When Jesus speaks to the disciples about sending the Holy Spirit, they didn't have a handle on exactly what that meant. They understood about the Holy Spirit "coming upon" someone temporarily but they really didn't understand about the Holy Spirit coming to dwell within. They didn't quite get the personal relationship that they could have with God, the Father and God, the Holy Spirit.

Jesus prays for Himself. He prays for the disciples. And lastly this…

John 17:20
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
That’s us!!! Jesus is praying for US! In His last hours on earth, He was praying for US! What an awesome and humbling thought!

NOVEMBER 16

When Jesus finished praying with the disciples they traveled to the olive grove on the other side of the Kidron Valley.  Gethsemane was a garden in the Mount of Olives. Jesus had been going there with the disciples when they left Jerusalem, at least for several nights. It was quite possibly inside a gated garden spot. John records that Jesus "went out" from the garden spot to address the soldiers who had come to arrest Him.

John 18:4
Then Jesus, knowing all things that were coming upon Him, went out and said to them, Whom do you seek?

This verse lets us know that the garden was separate.

In the garden, Jesus asks His disciples to wait with Him. Their normal routine was probably to go to sleep. This is what they had been doing.

“…and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled…”
"Deeply distressed" means "struck with terror". "Troubled" means "to be ill at ease, uncomfortable on the inside". Jesus began falling to the ground and praying continually. This is a verb tense that means He repeatedly did this.

Luke says sweat came as great drops of blood. This is a medical condition called hematidrosis.  It is possible to be in such agony that a person can sweat drops of blood. That beautiful famous painting of Jesus praying in the garden…was it really serene? Jesus was in agony, so much that an angel was sent from heaven to strengthen him. Luke says Jesus knelt down, Matthew and Mark say He fell down on the ground. Luke records Jesus calling out, “Father”. Mark records, “Abba, Father.” Abba is the Hebrew word, a more familial term, much like “Daddy”.

We made the observation before that Jesus spoke repeatedly about the Father, more so the closer He came to the time of the crucifixion. At this point He no longer called Him “Father”, but “Abba”, the more familiar term. Jesus was calling God, the Father, "Daddy".

When they came to arrest Jesus, He clearly demonstrated who was in control. He went willingly.

When Peter used his sword to strike the soldier he was using it as an offensive weapon (not the way Jesus wanted him to - they were supposed to be used defensively only) and chances are he wasn’t going for the ear.

The young man in the linen garment...just who was he? Ponder this...suppose that this young man lived in the house where Jesus and the disciples ate their last meal together, the upper room. Suppose that he was curious and after dressing for bed (often people, especially wealthy ones, slept in a linen garment) decided to listen in on what Jesus and the disciples were doing. Looking at the accounts in the Chronological Bible for Nov. 14 reading, immediately following the display of the swords in the upper room, they all left. Suppose this young man was still curious and decided to follow them, not taking the time to go and dress in anything other than the linen garment. Still being curious, he continued to follow them on to the garden and got caught up in the arrest of Jesus. Many think this young man could have been Mark, whose mother was wealthy and who had provided necessary supplies for Jesus and the disciples. The upper room could have been in her house. Anyway, just some points to ponder....

Judas was a willing participant to be inhabited by Satan.  Satan had been empowering him to be bold in his betrayal of Jesus. Judas was filled with remorse when Satan left him because he became just a man on his own, having lost the power from Satan.

Peter disowns three times being one of Jesus’ disciples. The other times he answers the questions of being with Jesus. There is a difference between being “with” Jesus and being one of Jesus’ own. It’s being with Him vs. knowing Him.

When Peter denies Jesus for the third time “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.”

The look in Jesus’ eyes was a confirmation of what He had told Peter earlier. Can we even begin to imagine how Peter must have felt? Peter was grieved and wept. In Scripture there are at least two meanings for the word wept. This one is the most sorrowful. It means to "wail aloud bitterly". But the good news is…keep reading for the answer!

NOVEMBER 17

The Jews did not enter into the palace of Pilate because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover meal. They couldn’t go into Gentile property after 6:00 pm.  At 6:00 pm the new day began, a Sabbath day. This is confirmation that THE Passover meal had not been eaten yet.

“…it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.”
Pilate knew what they were doing and that they set Jesus up, using the political powers to do their dirty work. Pilate was under investigation by Rome for cruelty. He may have been in fear of Rome if he killed an innocent man. They were envious of Jesus. People were following after Jesus and listening to Him instead of the religious establishment of the day.

Pilate asked Jesus what crime He had committed. Jesus tells Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world. Many or most of His followers thought His kingdom WAS of this world. They were looking for a conquering Messiah who would usher in a political kingdom.

Jesus said, "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
Those people who are seekers of the truth want to know the truth even if it contradicts what they want to believe.

When Pilate asked the people what crime Jesus committed, they never answered his question, they just shouted to crucify him.  The Jews' most common form of execution was stoning.  But had they stoned Jesus it would not have been a fulfillment of prophecy.  The prophecy was that Jesus be "lifted up" meaning crucifixion.

While interrogating Jesus Pilate asks, "What is truth?"  What a question to ponder!  It is because we are so ignorant of truth that the seeds of apostasy are planted.
For more understanding of apostasy, read the book Seeds of Apostasy.

Pilate asks again and again trying to get Jesus released, he fails again and again.   The people, led by the religious leaders, demanded that Jesus be crucified and "their shouts prevailed".  Those seeds of apostasy flourished then led by the religious leaders and are led by religious leaders today.

Finally Pilate gives up because he didn't want to accept responsibility for crucifying Jesus, and “washes his hands”.

The people answer “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” Curses are called down and the suffering of the Jews continues to this day; persecution and executions many times over, including the Holocaust.

For more information on the six illegal trials of Jesus see the book The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the Mansion by Phil and Patti Moore.  Available on Amazon.

NOVEMBER 18

It was the third hour when they crucified him.”
This was when the process of crucifixion started with the scourging in the third hour (9:00 am). He was nailed to the cross at the sixth hour (noon).  He died at the ninth hour (3:00 pm). Normally those who were crucified were left on the crosses, according to some historians as long as nine days. Jesus suffered pain, thirst, torture, insects, crowd insults…it was supreme torture and humiliation.

There were many, many prophecies fulfilled in the crucifixion. You can read all about them in Psalm 22. It reads like an eyewitness account.

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"-- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

When Jesus spoke these words from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", He was telling those who were listening to look at Psalm 22.  Since the scrolls were not numbered as the chapters and verses in our Bibles are today, they found portions of Scripture based on the first line of that particular passage or scroll.

“Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”
“..they did not break any bones.”
The breaking of bones was a way to hasten death. When they pierced Jesus’ side with a spear bringing a flow of blood and water it was proof of death. There was no need to break His bones.

Who were these holy people whose tombs were opened at the crucifixion? Could they be the prophets who were allowed to see the fulfillment of their prophecies??? Scripture says they longed to see what the disciples saw.  They came to life after Jesus' resurrection, at which time they appeared to people in the holy city.  Where were these tombs?  It doesn't say that the tombs were in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Could it be they came from the cave where the patriarchs were buried?  Could it be they came from where Jacob's sons were buried?

For details concerning the trials and a physician’s view of the crucifixion see the book The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the Mansion.

Crucified bodies became the property of the state and were dumped in the garbage pile at Gehenna. Only by permission could the bodies be taken for proper burial. Joseph of Arimathea was rich, had great influence and many connections. He was also Mary’s great uncle, possibly a kinsman redeemer. This gave him legal standing to go to the Roman authorities and claim the body. He and Nicodemus were both members of the Sanhedrin.

Jesus was taken from the cross; His body was hurriedly anointed with some spices that Nicodemus had brought. The preparation that Joseph and Nicodemus did was an intended temporary measure.

They quickly placed Jesus in Joseph’s tomb before the Sabbath began at 6:00 pm. When unembalmed bodies were placed in tombs, spices, ointments and wrappings were temporarily put in place. After three days the stone would be rolled back and people could inspect the body to insure that the person was really dead and not just comatose. (the odor after three days would be more than enough to indicate death.) It was and still is in some places customary for a permanent preparation to be made three days after death. After the permanent preparations are taken care of the tomb is resealed and about one year later it is reopened. By this time the flesh would have decayed and fallen off the bones. The bones are then gathered and placed in ossuaries. The tomb can then be reused for another year with another body. This is why the women were in no hurry to go to the tomb before three days had expired. As another example of how this process worked we can read about what happened with Lazarus. Jesus planned the delay of four days to raise Lazarus. That is so there would be no doubt that Lazarus was indeed dead. The body would have been inspected and permanently prepared a day earlier, when three days had passed, the normal custom of the day.

It is only through learning of the burial customs of the day that we understand a great truth. Jesus was in the tomb three full days and three full nights validating proof of His messiahship, His only sign.

Matthew 12:38-40
Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus' validating proof of three days and three nights matters for only one main reason and probably several secondary reasons.  This proof matters because Jesus said it was the ONLY sign that He was who He said He was.  And also,when there appears to be a conflict between what Scripture says and what tradition says, Believers in Jesus should always be prepared to give an answer from Scripture to clear up any confusion.

NOVEMBER 19

In the Chronological Bible there are some “apparent” contradictions in the gospel accounts of the visitations to the tomb after the resurrection.  When there is an “apparent” contradiction there is something we do not understand.  There are no contradictions in God’s Word.  It seems confusing as to when the women went to the tomb and which women went.  None of the gospel accounts tell the whole story and some of the accounts tell the events out of chronological order.  When we look at all the gospel accounts and put them together in a chronological order, we get a better picture. In studying these events it is necessary to let the Biblical text, not opinion, determine chronological order.

There are a couple of astounding things that happen at the resurrection. A question for you…when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene  she was not allowed to touch Him. Yet when Jesus appeared later to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary they were allowed to clasp His feet. Why the difference? What happened between the time of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and the time He appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary?
Details in the book The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the Mansion.

Some astounding thoughts concerning the visitation of Jesus to the two walking to Emmaus. Scripture says that when Jesus broke bread with them, "Then their eyes were opened..."   Jesus had earlier explained to them, beginning with Moses and the prophets, how they pointed to the Messiah. It wasn't until He broke the bread did they understand.  How about all of us Believers in Jesus?  Are our eyes opened to fully understand everything that Jesus wants to tell us?

When Jesus gave His parting instructions to the disciples in Luke 24:45-49 (page 1483) He "opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures."  This is what He longs to do with each of us - open our minds and our eyes to truly understand His Truth!

What a picture of Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach! Using original meanings of the Greek words, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter responds with, “Yes, Lord, I like you.” Jesus asks the same question a second time. "Peter do you love me?"  Peter responds the same way.  "Yes, Lord I like you." The third time Jesus asks, “Peter, do you like me?” not "Peter, do you love me?" Jesus meets Peter just where he is in his faith journey. Then Jesus gives Peter some  strict instructions as shepherd of the flock. Feed my lambs. (nourish and teach the babes in the faith). Take care of my sheep. (take care of the mature ones in the faith). And finally, feed my sheep. (even those who are mature in the faith still need to be nourished).

Notice that Jesus brings Peter full circle with these words, “Follow me.” Good instructions for us too, eh?