John 20:19-21:14 (NIV)

John 20:19-21:14 (New International Version)


19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.


21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Jesus Appears to Thomas 24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."


26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."


30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.


Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish 1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"I’m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We’ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.


4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.


5He called out to them, "Friends, haven’t you any fish?" "No," they answered.

6He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."

11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Devotional(Mikey Skoglund)

Doubt. Ok, so it seems that Jesus gets it. He knows that people can have a hard time believing in what they cannot see, He appeared to Thomas because Thomas was doubting that Jesus was still alive, but sure enough once Thomas was able to touch the scars on Jesus, he became a believer in the living God! God says blessed are those who believe without seeing me! Isn’t that an encouraging thought? He knows it takes more faith to overcome the doubt when you’re believing in someone you’ve never actually seen. But we do this all the time. We believe in the presidents and events of our nation’s history don’t we? Sure we had pictures and video to go on for many of those events, but in the time when the histories of this book were written, words were the tool used to capture the events and people. And like the end of this passage says, "These (miracles) are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God." So these words are actually quite powerful. Even though I’ve never seen Jesus with my own eyes, and I probably have His physical build and features wrong in my head, but because of these words, these acts recorded in history, I have a great picture of His character and of His unconditional love for me, so knowing that, I can wait until I see Him face to face to find out the rest.

Prayer Lord, please reveal Yourself to me. Show me Your ways and help me to see You. Lord it is very difficult for me to believe sometimes because I cannot see You with my eyes, but help me to see You with my heart and believe because of what I know You have done for me. I can’t wait until I see You face to face one day Lord. I love You. Amen.

John 20:1-18 (NIV)

John 20:1-18 (New International Version)

1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!"

3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don’t know where they have put him." 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ "
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Devotional
Seeing is believing. Isn’t that what they say? I am always struck by this passage when Mary sees Jesus standing behind her but doesn’t realize it’s him. I always wonder how you can spend so much time with someone and want to see him so badly but then not recognize him when he’s right in front of you! Of course, if I had watched someone die, I probably would convince myself that I was seeing someone else too. I mean, people just don’t come back from the dead right? As I begin to understand Mary’s perspective on things, I hear Jesus asking me, "How many times have I been right before your eyes and you haven’t recognized me?" And I know that he’s right. How many times have I seen a sunset and not seen his hand in it? How many times have doors been opened for me ( or closed when needed) and I don’t acknowledge that it’s his divine doing. The moments when I have missed Jesus in my everyday life are numerous. I can only hope and pray that my eyes will be opened as Mary’s were when Jesus called her name.


PRAYER
Father, thank you for always being with me. Open my eyes Lord so that I see you working in every part of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

John 19:17-42 (MSG)

John 19:17-42* (The Message)


16-19Pilate caved in to their demand. He turned him over to be crucified.


They took Jesus away. Carrying his cross, Jesus went out to the place called Skull Hill (the name in Hebrew is Golgotha), where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a sign and had it placed on the cross. It read:

jesus the nazarene
the king of the jews.
20-21Many of the Jews read the sign because the place where Jesus was crucified was right next to the city. It was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The Jewish high priests objected. "Don’t write," they said to Pilate, "‘The King of the Jews.’ Make it, ‘This man said, "I am the King of the Jews."’"


22Pilate said, "What I’ve written, I’ve written."
23-24When they crucified him, the Roman soldiers took his clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth. But his robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, "Let’s not tear it up. Let’s throw dice to see who gets it." This confirmed the Scripture that said, "They divided up my clothes among them and threw dice for my coat." (The soldiers validated the Scriptures!)


24-27While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus’ mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.
28Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, "I’m thirsty."
29-30A jug of sour wine was standing by. Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to his mouth. After he took the wine, Jesus said, "It’s done . . . complete." Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit.


31-34Then the Jews, since it was the day of Sabbath preparation, and so the bodies wouldn’t stay on the crosses over the Sabbath (it was a high holy day that year), petitioned Pilate that their legs be broken to speed death, and the bodies taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man crucified with Jesus, and then the other. When they got to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers stabbed him in the side with his spear. Blood and water gushed out.
35The eyewitness to these things has presented an accurate report. He saw it himself and is telling the truth so that you, also, will believe.
36-37These things that happened confirmed the Scripture, "Not a bone in his body was broken," and the other Scripture that reads, "They will stare at the one they pierced."


38After all this, Joseph of Arimathea (he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because he was intimidated by the Jews) petitioned Pilate to take the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission. So Joseph came and took the body.


39-42Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. They took Jesus’ body and, following the Jewish burial custom, wrapped it in linen with the spices. There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it.


Devotional


"Woman, here is your son."
Jesus amazes me. In the midst of his own execution, in the agonizing pain and suffering, in the middle of being mocked, bearing the sins of the entire human race, and being forsaken by His Father, Jesus is still caring for people.



In the Jewish culture, it was the responsibility of the children, especially the males, to care for their parents in old age. And since Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a widow she has no one to care and provide for her except her children. So what does Jesus do? He makes sure his mother is taken care of. He said to John, "Here is your mother." In other words, "John, treat her with the care and respect you would your own mother. Look after her and make sure all her needs are met."


There is so much taking place in these moments, and yet Jesus has the time to care for his family. I find that not only astonishing, but a window into Jesus’ character. He’s always putting others first; even to the point of laying down his own will and safety to die for the world.


Prayer Jesus, thank You for who You are. Thank You that You are always putting other people first and You were willing to die for me and everyone around me. Help me to see people the way You do and put them first in my life. Amen.

John 19:1-16 (NIV)

John 19:1-16 (New International Version)


1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.


4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"


6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."


7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."


8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"


11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."


12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."


13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.


15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.


16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.


Devotional


While there’s a lot we could say about this passage, what stands out the most is the confidence Jesus has. Here he is standing before the person who has the power to have him crucified and he plainly tells Pilate that the power Pilate has is only because God allowed him to have it. Jesus puts things in perspective.


The challenge in this is for us to recognize where all things come from. Do we have a sense of humility realizing that our health, or our families, or our living in America are ours only because God wills it?


Prayer


God, thank You for all You are. I recognize that it is You that has ultimate power and control over everything that concerns me. Help me to be thankful for every blessing and keep me from living as if I deserve it; but to see that they are gifts from You. In Jesus name, Amen.

John 18:28-40

John 18:28-40


Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go in themselves because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, "What is your charge against this man?"


30 "We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!" they retorted.


31 "Then take him away and judge him by your own laws," Pilate told them.
"Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone," the Jewish leaders replied. 32 This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.


33 Then Pilate went back inside and called for Jesus to be brought to him. "Are you the King of the Jews?" he asked him.


34 Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?"


35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate asked. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you here. Why? What have you done?"


36 Then Jesus answered, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."


37 Pilate replied, "You are a king then?"
"You say that I am a king, and you are right," Jesus said. "I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."


38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release someone from prison each year at Passover. So if you want me to, I’ll release the King of the Jews."


40 But they shouted back, "No! Not this man, but Barabbas!" (Barabbas was a criminal.)



Pilate is such an interesting character. He was the Roman governor of all of Samaria and Judea——including the city of Jerusalem. He was a ruthless politician who was very much disliked by the Jews. Yet, because of the fear of and hate for Jesus—-the Jewish religious leaders were willing to take one of their own people and have Jesus crucified by the despised Roman government.


Now, what is interesting is how Jesus impresses Pilate and then how Pilate responds to Jesus. Within John and the other gospels, Pilate made five decisions on Jesus’ behalf. First, he tried to put the responsibility back on The Jews. (John 18:31) Second, he sent him to another politician named Herod———but Herod refused to decide on Jesus fate and sent him back to Pilate (Luke 23:6-12). Third, he tried to have Jesus released as it was a custom for him to release one prisoner to the Jews (18:39). Fourth, he tried to have Jesus flogged rather than having him handed over to die (19:1-3). And fifth, he tried to appeal to the Jews that Jesus was "their King" (John 19:15).


Devotional by Chris Bunch


Pilate had to decide what to do with Jesus. And the reality is: everyone has to decide what to do with Jesus. Whatever desire Pilate had to free Jesus, when it came right down to it, when it came to the decision of appeasing the crowd or following justice——he gave into the crowd. Pilate gave into the interest of others rather than the interest of Jesus. He allowed his self-interest to be stronger than his sense of justice.


So, the question for you today is this: What will you do with Jesus today? When you see injustice at work or at the grocery store———-will you intervene or walk away? When the choice is between selfishness or selflessness———what will you choose? The reality is there is a little bit of Pilate in all of us. Most of us want to make a stand for Jesus, but often we coward away when we might lose something or feel uncomfortable or have to take a risk. Today, this is what the Lord requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)


PRAYER
God, help me today to live a life that pleases you. Help me to decide to make every decision today based on living like Jesus. Give me the strength to take a stand in the midst of injustice and show your love regardless of the cost. I pray in Jesus name. Amen