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Tag: redemption

JOHN 2020 Good News for A.D. 2020
Intro to the Gospel of John

IN THE BEGINNING: λόγος logos

Intro to talk of Jesus .com

in A. D. 2020

talk of Jesus .com shared the Gospel of John
in the context of A.D. 90, with application to A.D. 2020,
rather than chronologically, culturally or by chapter & verse..
..while during recent months:
- some sought to stream the stage of worship
- some sent seeker-friendly scripture into our homes
- some church communities disintegrated while others diminished & distanced (like our 2020 remote office meetings complete with slides).
To review the Gospel of John, simply click on any link in the outline below & it will open in a new window.
Roger – author of A.D. 2020 series on the Gospel of John

I hope you were blessed by the secure links to reliable sites for further study of Scripture, as well as insight into the 1st century church of John’s Gospel (written ~A.D.- 90).

Scripture encourages us to a more mature faith.

John’s Prologue – Good News!

IN THE BEGINNING was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

ALL THINGS came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of

MANKIND.

And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God [Son] who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
John 1:18 NASB

The Book of the Prologue

John’s Prologue [1:1-18], from which the Apostle next proceeds to the testimony of John the Baptist and the Messiah’s calling of the Twelve, states many important theological themes & along with his Epilogue [21:1-25 {linked below}] provides additional depth of purpose of John’s Gospel.

John’s Prologue & Epilogue

“Follow Me

In A.D. 2020, this is where we began our deep dive into the Good News of John.

Signs – Jesus IS the Messiah

Unless the Father draws you – Signs

Do you believe in the Son of Man?

Life in the Holy Spirit

John 3: “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” …

Teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ
- ‘My Father’s House – John 2
- “You must be born again.
- I am the Messiah – John 4
- Before Abraham was, I AM
- John 11
- “..and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
- also love one another-John 13
- Jesus prays – John 17
- Jesus answered him – John 19:11
Jesus said:
Gospel of John

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! – John 1:29b

As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. – John 9:1

Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?” – John 8:53

“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. – John 10:26-28

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” .. “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:23,25

talk of Jesus .com

About the Author John -2- Sons of Zebedee

The Gatekeeper & the Shepherds – the Door

Before Abraham was, I AM

If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly

Even in the unexpected crisis of these last days what does man fear most?
from Lazarus – HELP from the grave

Death!

It is finished.. + Death’s witnesses

Witnesses to Jesus Risen! – the Eleven, a Passing Witness
The Hour Is Come

“Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home..

.. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

John 16:32-34 excerpt CSB
“Take heart,” the Lord Jesus encourages disciples, I have overcome the world.”
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:20 KJV

Unrelenting Bad NEWS of A.D. 2020

What must I do with the GOOD NEWS

of Jesus Christ?

Good News for A.D. 2020 – A.D. ∞

Hear all the unrelenting bad news of yesterday or today.

For followers of Jesus, His death diminished life’s hope in eternal life; that is until the Gospel of the Lord’s resurrection reached the eyes and ears and touch of His dearly beloved friends.

John and the Disciples witnessed the Lord Jesus in His Risen Flesh many times after His resurrection.

“Peace be with you.”

And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
John 20:20

Their sorrow had turned into joy and so must ours; for in Christ Jesus his disciples of every generation have eternal life through His sacrifice for our sins. This is our Gospel, His Good News to those who would believe.

NEWS of A.D. 2021

SEE what follows JOHN 2020 in JOHN 2021.

“Peace to you,” yet also a command of the risen Christ Jesus.

& without Him:

EXPECT MORE BAD NEWS

John’s Epilogue
John 20:30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

But 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.
John 20:21 CSB

I pray that the Lord has blessed you through the Gospel of John in A.D. 2020
Roger – Roger@talkofJesus.com

May our Lord Jesus Christ draw you into His grace, giving you new hope of Eternal Life in the YEAR OF OUR LORD 2021, in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, AMEN.
December 30, 2020
Endurance Toward the Cross

…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame…

Hebrews 12:1b-2a

Jesus had walked… for three years (by comparison to eternity, a blink of an eye).

Having been handed the baton of faith after more forty years of my race on the wrong path, I have walked with the Lord toward the cross a mere twenty years. Though I have endured the hardship of the race (a sprint in terms of time), a marathon of pain and suffering have not yet brought me in view of the finish line.

By our certain faith we must press on toward the crown given by Christ Jesus our Lord until our time is come to pass on the baton of faith.

Jesus has his face set toward Jerusalem. The crowds have followed. Many have fallen away. Some have been saved. Some have endured.

Yet as in the life of the faithful widow; as in the life of the resurrected (Lazarus and others); as in the life of the weary Disciples and worn-down flesh of our Savior, the race is not finished.

The race is not finished for Jesus as He looks upon Jerusalem. His race is not finished until the Cross.

Neither has our race reached the finish line of faith until we, too, have drug the Cross of Christ to the sanctuary of the Holy Place of our rest.

Luke 9:23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

As we approach the HOLY WEEK of our Christian faith, I invite you to take sanctuary in our Lord Christ Jesus.

Take a fresh look at the GOSPEL, the Good News of our Salvation in the Cross by the Sacrifice of the Blood of our Lord.

READ once more the entire story of JESUS, through the witness of the Apostles John and Matthew; or the early witnesses of the church after Jesus’ resurrection: Luke and Mark.

It may be helpful to some of you if I share a portion of my own witness, although your personal time in the Gospel is a better witness.

We have begun the penitent season of Lent with a call to the church and a personal rebuke to many of us to get right with Christ Jesus in our relationships with others.

I would be remiss to neglect my own history of sinfulness by contrast to the great grace, love and righteousness of our Lord in leading me into the path of His eternal blessings.

Those who know me from the first two decades of my life have witnessed how I was raised in the church family. We all worshiped faithfully with Mom and Dad every Sunday. Then, like in most teens, rebellion. Like in most families, brokenness of relationship with each other followed. Most of us were isolated from God, set on our own paths.

Those who know me from my twenties know that I participated in ‘church’ every Sunday, while I sinned greatly. I was married, as many once did in our twenties. (I did the right thing, though most do not bother with such commitment any more.) The wife of my youth broke her vow and ran back to her daddy. I thank the Lord that she became a Christian later and pray that she has remained faithful to the Lord and to her husband.

Those who know me from my thirties know that the Lord led me to a faithful wife, a virgin, a Roman Catholic in belief, faith and practice. We married. She lived as a saint worthy of note in all her witness, while I attended church with her and all-to-frequently became enticed by several sins of the world. She remained faithful also to me, as I would never have been unfaithful to my wife in any desire for anyone else.

By the continued grace of God, we had our only child, now a grown young woman of faith much like her mother (and also like her yet unmarried at just twenty-one).

I will share the story of my salvation with you, God willing, during Holy Week on Good Friday.

Viewing the race nearer the present: after the death of my wife I remarried a woman introduced to me by mutual friends. Though she claimed to be a Baptist, she had no relationship with Christ and with other Christians. (It should have been a warning sign, but I did not heed it.) She divorced me. I continued to hold onto the Lord.

The Lord then led me a long way (from Florida to Pennsylvania) to my present Blessing, my wife Lissette. Lissette was a practicing Christian, member of a local mega-church. (We later moved, at my urging, to worship at a different church. As I said, the church is the people worshiping the Lord together in a place.)

My wife stood beside me and raised her hands in praise to Jesus (something I only rarely did in my upbringing of ‘traditional, worship). She owned Bibles (English and Spanish). She had women’s devotional books. Lissette is a Christian… as I was a christian before I was born again in the Lord in my mid-forties.

One more thing (about my wife): while we were dating (long distance) she discovered that she had cancer.

I immediately prayed to the Lord, “WHY ME?” ( a most selfish question, for it was Lissette who had the cancer). The Lord had taken my beloved wife Becky from me after just twenty-three years. I loved Lissette. “Why me,” I asked the Lord… and the Lord’s answer was immediate and clear answer to my prayer:

“Who better?”

As God is my witness, I had prayed unceasingly on the bed of my grief in February, 1999. I had asked the Lord “Why?’ I had asked the Lord for proof of the continuing life of the soul of my beloved wife.

I contended with the Lord. I wrestled with the Lord until He would give me proof of her resurrection. The Lord gave me clear and immediate signs and assurances three times.

Finally, after three days, I let go of her soul; torn from me by the interruption of the death of one body, made one with mine.

Life is a great mystery, death even more mysterious. Marriage is a great mystery, love even more mysterious.

Praise the Lord, for healing my wife, Lissette, of her cancer!

The indwelling of another soul with ours is incomprehensible to this finite mind of flesh. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God into the soul of the redeemed sinner is a mystery too wonderful and a love so amazing!

I love my wife, Lissette. I love the Lord.

Jesus Christ and my wife Lissette Harned are one with me. I cannot explain it.

Divorce cannot separate us (though it is a good illustration of our unfaithfulness to God).

As a grand ceremony in a place of worship or an authorized signature on a marriage license do NOT make a marriage; as a claim of a lawyer and signature of a magistrate do NOT make a divorce; a baptism, a catechism, a confirmation, an attendance star, a claim, a communion, a contribution, and MANY other things do NOT make a Christian.

No work or law or righteousness will guarantee that a christian will receive the crown of glory at the concluding celebration of Christ Jesus.

Only the Lord can save you.

Will YOU ask Jesus, once more, to fill you with HIS LOVE?

Only Christ Jesus can keep you… can keep my wife (and your beloved spouse)… can keep our children, our beloved family and beloved friends…; ONLY Jesus can save our loved ones; only Christ Jesus can save you for the joy and blessings of His love.

Please pray for me, my wife, and our three beloved children (all young adults).

As Jesus Christ approaches, the time and the place of the Cross are near.

Which way will you turn?

To whom will you look for the finish line of your faith?

April 11, 2014
Redemption

I want to tell you a story of an old woman and one of a young woman; a story of relationship and temptation.

2 Samuel 5:7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.

Scene I is in Jerusalem, about a thousand years or ten centuries after this record of Samuel from scripture.

Luke 2: 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The woman was married as a young virgin to a man named Phanuel (which means: the face of God). After seven years her husband dies and she has lived several decades as a widow. She was known to be a prophetess. She would not have been allowed at the Temple in the City of David as a Jewish widow had her prophecies not been shown to have been from God. As a Priest might speak at the bidding of God and as a male Prophet might obediently convey God’s words to God’s people, Anna spoke prophesy.

The Lord had spoken through the Prophets of old during the time of the 1000 years (these 10 centuries before Christ), but God had kept silent while a captured people (conquered this time by the Romans) awaited God’s long-sought redemption once more.

Jesus is brought to the Temple and Anna also confirms the identity of the Redeemer of God.

Scene II is in Jerusalem at the same Temple not centuries later, but just three decades, only 30 years.

Luke 4: And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil…

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’

11 and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Again, this is thirty years after the Prophetess Anna had thanked God for this same Son of Man, Jesus.

Satan took Jesus, a man, human like you or me; born to Mary, descendant of David, to the pinnacle of the Temple and said (in effect), “Jump. God will protect you.”

Jesus is hungry and has already refused to turn stones into bread as Satan tempted him to do as the Son of God, not just a righteous son of man. Satan had already asked this Son of Man to bow down to him and promised Jesus power over the Kingdoms of the world IF only he, Jesus, the Son of Man would worship the fallen angel of God. Again, Jesus did not seek the power of this world, as many of us do.

We will return to Jesus’ answer to Satan (which you may know); but first we fast forward beyond the Cross of the Hill of Calvary and the grave and the Resurrection and the Ascension back to the glory of God the Father and the early days of the church and His several appearances to many sons of men to the present.

Scene III takes place in Mount Zion National Park, USA, twenty centuries later, 8 February, in the year of our Lord 2014.

The young woman tempted at the pinnacle is just two years younger that the Son of Man of our earlier scene. Her relationship to her new husband is not one of a virgin to a man of God’s leading, but rather a relationship of sharing in his sport of tempting God for the temporal experiences of living life to its fullest.

She jumped from the pinnacle of Mount Zion. Her parachute did not open. Angels did not catch her. Her body and life were broken on the cold stone below. Her husband witnessed her choice to tempt God, as he so dearly loved to do; and now he is a widower.

On this very day (10 Feb. 1999) fifteen years ago, I, too, became a widower; yet not by my choice or by intentional choice of my godly wife. As God tears many a wife from her husband and many a husband from his wife, I became a widower when the Lord took my wife after a many month struggle against cancer to hold onto this precious life.

Though God has joined many a man to his beloved help-mate, his wife; in almost every instance one will die before the other. A wife will become a widow, as had Anna; or a husband will become a widower, as has the poor husband who just witnessed the death of his wife.

What does it mean that this man who did not jump would later willingly allow Himself to be lifted up on the Cross to die for you and for me?

Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of the scripture (by which He would answer Satan, Pharisees and those who would manipulate God’s word to their own ends) became our redemption. What does that mean to you personally? What does it mean when Satan has lead you to the pinnacle of the choice of your action of life or your action of death?

It is a question of slavery.

God chose Abraham. God chose Isaac (and not Ishmael). God chose Jacob, who He named Israel.

Jacob had twelve sons, sons (tribes or families) of inheritance of the land of the promise to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob. However they betrayed their own brother, Joseph, and sold him into slavery for a price.

Joseph was bought and sold into Egypt, where the Lord saved him and lifted him into the office of Prime Minister only under Pharaoh. Yet Joseph remained faithful to God. He asked his father Jacob’s blessing on his two Egyptian-born sons for his share of the promise of Abraham in a land now ruled by Pharaoh.

Joseph’s land, given to the Israelites in Egypt, was not paid for or an inheritance. In fact, the price of redemption for Joseph had never been paid and by the generation of Moses, sons of Abraham; and the sons of Joseph (descendants of God’s promise) were once again slaves in the land of Egypt with no man to pay the price of their freedom.

God saved them and forced Pharaoh to let His people go. Moses did not save them, but spoke for God, obeyed God, and gave God’s own people God’s own Law to obey; as they had once had to obey every law of Pharaoh. Still, even in the time of David and Solomon centuries later, God’s Chosen People had not had the price of their slavery paid. God’s Chosen were not yet redeemed in any way.

Psalm 49 speaks of the sons of Korah (of the rebellion against God and Moses) stating:

5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6 Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
8 For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
9 That he should continue to live eternally,
And not see the Pit.

To rescue a sinner

You must pay the price.

Who can redeem the sinner? (And we are all sinners, you and me and all sons of men of every time and place.)

If you stand at the pinnacle of choice between life and death, what is the answer?

Scene IV Returning to the Pinnacle of the Temple and the answer of the Son of Man two hundred centuries before this year of our Lord, 2014.

Luke 4:12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

And Christ Jesus began His three-year mission on earth as the Son of Man, calling men and women to repentance and grace, living and breathing the love of God our Father for His chosen family of the promise and of His chosen Bride, the church.

Luke 4:

17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And of His fulfillment of scripture, this is what Jesus said: I AM the price paid for your sin and for the sins of all who are joined to Jesus as our Lord, our Savior, and our Redeemer.

Satan will tempt you before God until the day your flesh will die.

Who will you bow down and worship? What is your answer:

I will gladly follow your worldly temptation, lord satan…

OR Jesus IS LORD?

Do NOT put the Lord your God to the test. Trust ONLY JESUS CHRIST, who paid the price of redemption for your sin and for mine. He IS the one who taught us to pray (Luke 11:2-4):

Our Father

Who IS in Heaven,

HOLY IS your Name.

Your Kingdom will come.

May Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread

And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

February 10, 2014