Jen

Q5. (John 20:24-29) Why do you think Thomas is so stubborn about believing that Jesus was raised from the dead? How do you think he felt when Jesus appeared before him? What was Thomas’s confession in verse 28? What is Jesus’ blessing offered to future believers? Because of the preponderance of evidence and the testimony of people he was so close to for 3 years to not believe is to me the stubbornness of men who will never admit to the gospel or any other issue because of pride or hurt feelings. An unwillingness to admit or deal with their hardness of heart. When Thomas saw Jesus all the concrete facade eroded and he just confessed "My Lord and my God". Jesus blessing offered to future believers was "you believe because you see, blessed are those who believe without seeing". God Bless! Jen Numbrs 6:24-26

Q4. (John 20:23) In what sense does the Church have the power to forgive sins? Do we (or the church's authorized representatives) confer forgiveness or declare it? Or both? ​I believe the church has only the power to proclaim forgiveness of sins in the Name of Christ whose death alone atoned for our sins. No one else died for my sin. We can forgive what others have done to us (and should) as they should forgive what we have done to them if we want the Lord to forgive us. Matthew 6:14-15. Since all are sinners and that all includes all we must all go to the Father in heaven for forgiveness. He alone can forgive our sins. The one good I can think of going to an earthly priest (a good Christian friend would do as well or better) for confession is that it brings the sin out so it is not internalized. However we do have one mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us. He is our great high priest, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord. Every man needs his sins forgiven so how can one who is so, act as one who can forgive what is the privilege of God alone. May we all be open to learn and and to grow in the grace of our beautiful, precious, holy, Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. None of us has it all together. Only God is perfect. I have so much to learn and I want to say I enjoy the comments on this study to see the different ways my brothers and sisters in Christ express themselves. It is beautiful and I see such love for the Lord, its like a taste of heaven. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day? ​The Holy Spirit is our wisdom, guidance, comforter, God's truth not the world's truth, our power, our shield, our everything that is needed to go and live as believers and go in the name of Jesus. He is God and apart from Him we can do nothing. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit for all the above reasons. The Holy Spirit dwells within all believers and is always present with us, our amazing God has given us all we need. The Holy Spirit seems to be the hardest of the Godhead to talk about but He is the mover and the shaker behind all God's work in the world. God the Father is God to us and Jesus is our Savior and Lord. He came in the flesh whom we could see, and touch. He was God but one of us. So who is this Holy Spirit? Why is He so misunderstood? The more we learn about Him the more we understand. Frankly I think most are just to busy to be bothered which is a very unsettling thought. And I believe we have been led astray by our leaders in and out of the church who know not the truth. In the end though it is our own responsibility to read, pray, question. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q4. (John 20:1-18) What are the evidences for the resurrection presented in this passage? Why is the truth of the resurrection so important as an indispensable foundation stone of the Christian faith? What does Jesus' resurrection mean to your outlook on life? Evidences for the resurrection in this passage are the empty tomb, the grave clothes were neat and in good order, and the witness of Mary, Peter and John. If there is no resurrection then is our faith in vain and we are of all men to be most pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:13-19 Jesus resurrection means He has conquered death and we shall live with Him forever. We shall truly be home at last with our God, our Savior and our redeemed loved ones and so many others we do not yet know. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to him? What is the mission he gives her? Mary was in a state of grief, confusion, bewilderment. She was deeply feeling the loss of her Lord. Jesus tells her not to hold on to Him ( touch) because He had not yet ascended to the Father but to go to the brethren and tell them that He is alive and ascending to the Father. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 20:21) What is the relationship between the way the Father sent Jesus and how Jesus sends us? How careful are you to listen and get directions from Jesus in serving the Lord? God the Father sent Jesus to be the gospel and Jesus in the same way sends us to spread the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. We are to be faithful ambassadors for our Lord who get instruction from Him and can be trusted to deliver the message, the gospel as our Lord gave it to us. We need strength, wisdom, discernment from the Lord every minute, every second to do this. God bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q1. (John 20:19-20) What do we know about the relationship of Jesus' physical body to his spiritual body? Was Jesus' resurrected bodily? How is his resurrected body similar to his physical body? How is it different? Jesus could still eat, walk, talk, and be touched like He used to be and was still flesh and bones. His wounds were still visible, and he was recognized by others. He could now enter through locked doors which He could not do before in His fleshly body. He was resurrected bodily and there was continuity with His body before death. Now however he is not bound to the physical sphere. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 20:3-9) What is the significance of the presence and position of the grave clothes in the tomb? Why do you think it was difficult at this time for Peter to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead? The grave clothes were found in neat condition to serve as evidence that His body was not stolen but that He had in fact risen. Peter maybe was not as quick to run and comprehend as John however he was bold when he did run and comprehend. If this were today he would have been given a label such as ADD or not the brightest bulb on the block however we all have our gifts and our pace at which we process. What Peter and the disciples had to process was enormous and in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances and events. We all have different temperaments, some are more analytical, some more feeling oriented. May we all be kind to each other and to have compassion. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q1. (John 20:1; Luke 8:1-3) What do we know about Mary Magdalene? Why do you think a woman was given the honor of seeing the risen Christ first? Mary was from Magdala, single, wealthy, troubled, devoted. The Bible doesn't say why she ws given the honor of seeing the risen Christ first however, she was at the tomb and she was devoted to Him. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q5. (John 19:38-42) Who were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus? Was it good that they were “secret disciples”? What risk did they incur by participating in Jesus’ burial? Why is the burial account important to Jesus’ story? To our understanding of who Jesus is? Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin. The fact that they were secret disciples tells me that they were open to the truth and not like some who were in only for money and power. Whether it is good or not, God used these two men to fulfill prophecy. If they had announced earlier that they believed in Jesus as the Christ they would have been removed from the Sanhedrin and probably made 'an example of' (my thought). The burial account of Jesus body is important because there would naturally be disputers, deniers who would use anything they could as an excuse to not believe or to disprove that Jesus is the Christ. Our God just uses the actions of the ungodly to work for Him. He knows the hearts and minds of all and lets the deniers serve Him unknowingly. Amazing! I love it! God bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q4. (John 19:31-37) Why do you think Jesus died in such a relatively short time? What does the water and blood flowing from Jesus' side indicate? How did it fulfill Scripture? Why do you think that Jesus died in such a relatively short time? I believe the flogging was of such that He was left greatly weakened before the crucifixion. However I believe that the timing was ordained by God down to the last detail. What does the water and blood flowing from Jesus side indicate? It showed that He was physically dead. How did it fulfill scripture? Psalm 34:20 "He keepeth all His bones, not one of them is broken". Zechariah 12:10 "They shall look on Him whom they have pierced". He was pierced however the rest is as of now unfulfilled. It will be fulfilled when the nation of Israel recognizes their Savior. God Bless Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 19:30) When Jesus says, "It is finished," what does he mean? What mission(s) had the Father given him. In what way did he complete them? All that Jesus came to do was accomplished, "finished forever gone the sins he bore, His work is so complete, they'll never be remembered more, I worship at His feet". His mission: Bring eternal life. 'He is life' (1:4) Bring grace and truth. He dwelt among us (1:14) Reveal the Father and the Father's glory. Jesus being God Himself revealed God the Father who is Spirit (1:18) Die as a sacrifice for our sins. (1:29) died on the cross for our sin debt which is paid in full, Tetelestai! God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 19:26-27) What is Jesus' mother Mary feeling at the cross? Why does Jesus give John responsibility to care for his mother? What does this say about Jesus' values? Jesus' mother Mary felt extreme emotion,grief, heartbroken, in severe emotional pain, unconsolable, confusion, disbelief and I believe possibly a sense of peace because her Son had prepared them for this although they did not know exactly what ' this' was at the time and the brutality of it all. Perhaps because he was there and he was a cousin who believed. Certainly Mary had other sons, where were they? That is not for me to know but Jesus gave Mary's care to John and that is enough. Jesus values. Jesus created human values, the system which they would be looked after. He believed in having values. So He honored those values until the end, He loved His own and is looking forward to the day when we join Him where He is. God bless Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q1. (John 19:23-24; Psalm 22:14-18) In what ways did Jesus fulfill Psalm 22:14-18? What does the Psalms passage tell us about how Jesus felt on the cross? 20 or so years ago I saw a book called "What Jesus Saw From the Cross" and opened it up to a page that gave a graphic description of crucifixion. I almost passed out and had to sit down in the aisle of the store until I could stand again without feeing faint. I don't have that book however I looked in Jamieson-Faucett Bible Commentary because I couldn't describe melting heart. It seemed to me that wax breaks down slowly into a non solid form and oozes where it can until it gets cold enough to solidify. That seemed to me when death comes and the body cools. Here is what the commentary mentioned above says. "The solidity of the body is destroyed and it becomes like water; the bones are parted; the heart, the very seat of vitality melts like wax; all the juices of the system are dried up; the tongue can no longer perform its office, but lies parched and stiffened." Jesus would have already, before the crucifixion, been dehydrated because of the large amounts of perspiration during his prayer in the Mount of Olives, during the flogging which was excessive he lost large amounts of blood. The Romans did all they could to prolong the agony and make it as unbearable as possible without the ability to pass out. Every breath Jesus took was in excruciating pain. Jesus felt fear, rejection, alone ,forsaken, thirst, weakness, difficulty breathing, excruciating pain, and love for is mother, and much more that we don't know. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q6. (John 19:7-15) What does Pilate fear when the Jewish leaders report that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God? What does Pilate fear when the Jewish leaders threaten to report him to Caesar? Which fear wins out? What fears control you and keep you from serving Jesus fully? What motivation is winning out in your life? What does Pilate fear when the Jewish leaders report that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God? one of the many gods thought to exist What does Pilate fear when the Jewish leaders threaten to report him to Caesar? he fears the wrath of the Emperor and the Jews. Which fear wins out? fear of the Jews What fears control you and keeping you from serving Jesus fully? Right now nothing What motivation is winning in your life? Endeavoring to do what is pleasing to the Lord God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q5. (John 19:1-6) Why do you think Pilate maintains Jesus’ innocence and then has him brutally scourged? Why does Jesus allow himself to be brutally scourged and then mocked? (see Hebrews 12:2) How much persecution are you willing to endure to accomplish the mission the Father has given you? It seemed like a good compromise. Declare that he cannot find him guilty, but satisfy the blood thirsty crowd by scourging Him. Why does Jesus allow himself to be brutally scourged and then mocked? For the joy set before Him. This kind of makes me put my head down and think of every time I have griped about things. This statement silences the conversation for me as I meditate on who Jesus is and what He has done for me and anyone who will claim Him. How much persecution are you willing to endure to accomplish the mission the Father has given you? On my own, not much. Oh the desire, the Peter like statements, are there but when the persecution gets hot I need the Holy Spirit. It's alright to acknowledge the pain, we don't live in denial but we must keep on even to the death. Corrie Ten Boom said "God gives us the ticket at the right time" and if we ask we will have the help of the Holy Spirit when we need it. God bless Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q4. (John 18:37-38) Jesus presents himself as the King of Truth, with a mission to testify to the truth. What is the danger when we disciples declare the gospel is absolutely true? How do cynics like Pilate or people in our post-modern age react? If people reject the truth we bring, what is the next step for us? What is the danger when we disciples declare the gospel is absolutely true? We are looked upon as suspect and narrow minded, also we need to clarify which gospel we are talking about which is 1 Corinthians 15:3. How do cynics like Pilate or people in our postmodern age react? We are living in the old ages, 'we (they) no longer believe that stuff', we are uneducated, they are the up and coming in the world and we are somehow not 'with it'. If people reject the truth we bring, what is the next step for us? Pray for them and let the Holy Spirit work. We plant a seed and the Holy Spirit does the work. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 18:17-18, 25-27) What have been Peter's acts of courage at the arrest and in the high priest's courtyard? Why do you think he ends up denying Jesus? How would you rebuke Peter according to Galatians 6:1b? Has your courage failed lately? What should you do about it? Peter had the courage or misguidedness to try the sword at the arrest of Jesus. He had a zeal for Christ however he did not know himself yet and he did not understand the cleverness of the real enemy, Satan. In the courtyard he was totally out of his element however he still went in. Not wisely however I think he was just following the other disciple at this point who was more in his element with the people in the courtyard than the fisherman Peter. Personally I believe that Peter was overwhelmed at this point and full of so many emotions and thoughts he did not know how to control. And Peter was full of Peter at this point. I like to say 'all about me' time. I think if he had been given some space to process and think what was going on he might have bolstered up himself to at least speak the truth. I think when he went into the courtyard he did not think that someone would connect him with Jesus and that he would deny the One he said he would die for when questioned. Pride goeth before a downfall and on our own we are prone to that. Peter did not have the benefit of the indwelling Holy Spirit at the time which is the only reason any of us have the courage to confess Christ in this world (in my opinion). Also when we are tired we are prone to make mistakes and lose courage. When Goliath taunted the army of Israel it was always when he knew they would be at their weakest. And I want to say that Peter confessed his sin and turned around and spoke fearlessly for Christ later. We should rebuke very very tenderly because we can just as easily be caught in the same sin, maybe already have been. My courage has failed often. Not so much recently however I don't always feel I am the person I would like to be. I don't have the prayer life right now that I would like however I have been dealing with that and using my spare moments to be silent before the Lord on a more regular basis. My priorities get out of whack with lifestyle changes as I feel my way through the unfamiliar territory. I feel an urgency and believe that prayer is our best weapon against the spiritual forces of darkness. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q1. (John 18:1-11) What do you think caused the soldiers to fall back in the Garden (18:6)? Why does John tell us this detail? Why does Jesus rebuke Peter for defending him with a sword (18:11)? Jesus is facing forces sent by hell. Why doesn't he resist? What do you think caused the soldiers to fall back in the Garden? They were standing before the Lord of Glory and had no choice. These were hardened tough men in the Roman army and they were powerless before the Lord of Glory. Why did John tell us this detail? For a brief moment here Jesus revealed His glory to them and to us through the writings of John. Even though Jesus had temporarily laid aside a part of His natural glory as God to live as a man among us, it was still there. He was still fully God. He could have fled while the soldiers fell back, no need for swords or candles. They could only arrest Him if He let them for His purpose. This was the reason He came, to be crucified for our sins. Those who know Him need not fear Him while the world will tremble in fear before Him. Why does Jesus rebuke Peter for defending him with a sword? Way to go Peter. I am sorry but wonderful, impulsive Peter and us. We still don't totally comprehend. We think we have power, we just barge right in, might I say, where angels fear to tread. But then none of this was humorous. It was deadly serious for us that Jesus came and went though this suffering for us. Even deadly serious does not express, deadly sounds like it just ends, however we are talking about an eternal hell that we all deserve of indescribable agony. Just as we cannot describe the depths of evil in the human heart we cannot describe the agonies of the hell before us with out Jesus having submitted to the baseness of puny man who thinks he has power. No Peter, you don't have power to save God from what He came to do for you and for me and all who will claim Him. Oh Lord forgive us and have mercy on us. Jesus has the forces of hell against Him. Why doesn't He resist? It is for this He came that He might glorify the Father who has power over death and hell and all the Satanic forces unleashed on earth. How does He do this? by submitting to the uniformed maggots in all their might with swords and candles against the Lord of glory who conquers death and hell for those who love Him. We shall praise Him for all eternity and His Name was, is and will forever be glorified. God bless! Jen John 3:16

Q6. (John 17:11b, 20-21) Why is unity between Christians so important? What is the model Jesus gives of this unity in verse 21a? What effect does true Christian unity have on our witness to the world? Why is unity between Christians so important? We are witnesses here for God, either good or bad depending on our unity. To be witnesses we must know God and His Word and must be faithful in prayer so we can be unified as believers that Jesus is the one and only way to God and that He was sent by God to die on the cross for our sins, to be resurrected after leading a sinless life was able to save us by His shedding of His blood for us. There is a hymn "They will know we are Christians by our love". Are we living up to that? If we are living in love and knowledge of the Word and in constant prayer we will have true Christian unity. As usual I have a lot of fine tuning left to be done on me. God bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q5. (John 17:15-16) Is God's desire to immediately extract us from the earth, or to leave us here? How is it possible to be "in" the world, but not "of" it, or contaminated by it? How do we achieve this? ​It is God's desire to leave some of us here for a time determined by Him to complete the work that needs to be done, to be a witness for Him until we are taken home. ​We are in the world but not of it. We are strangers to the ways of the world. We do not conform to the world but have been transformed by the renewing of our minds Romans 12:2, if we have yielded to the Holy Spirit to accomplish the good work God has started in us. If we have not God has some serious work to do in us. It is the Holy Spirit who accomplishes this as we yield to Him to weed out the undesirable nature in us and replace it with God's nature. God Bless! Jen Romans 15:13

Q4. (John 17:6-10) In what sense do the Son and the Father "co-possess" everything? What does that say about their relationship with each other? In what sense do we "co-possess" everything with the Father and Son? How should that affect our values? The way we live. In what sense do the Son and the father "composes" everything? In the sense that the Father and Son are both part of the Godhead. They are one and both possess all. What does this say about their relationship with each other? It says They are of one accord and perfect harmony. ​In what sense do we co-possess everything with the Father and Son? When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we were adopted as sons and daughters of God and as such we are co-heirs with Christ. How should that affect our values? The way we live. As members of the royal family we should conduct our lives with the utmost seriousness in our walk and behavior knowing the consequences to those who have not been grafted in if we should in anyway be responsible for their refusal to come to Christ. We should live our lives prayerfully in total gratitude to our God for all He has done for us. God Bless! Jen Jude 24 and 25

Q3. (John 17:4-5) What was Jesus' preexistent glory like? What was his glory like during his earthly ministry? How did his glory peek through? What is his glory like now in the presence of his Father? Why do you think Jesus wants his disciples to see him in this glory (verse 24)? What was Jesus preexistent glory like? This is a difficult question to describe so suffice it to say we can only know what is described for us about the glory of God and words don't do it. Exodus 15:11 gives a description that I like about our God (Father Son and Holy Spirit) so he is majestic in holiness, awesome (fearful) in praises, working wonders. He shall be wondrous to behold. What was His glory like during His earthly ministry? I think it is glorious that He came as a Babe. People expected something different. His glory shone through in so many ways, His baptism, transformation, resurrection, His miracles, His compassion, His knowledge, His wisdom, His contentment, His desire to be with the Father in prayer, He walked on water, His love for us, His desire to glorify the Father in life and death, His sinless life. What is His glory like now in the presence of the Father. He is now back in perfect holiness and communion with the Father and Holy Spirit. He was 100 percent God while on earth and now He is back at the right hand of God, 100 percent God Himself with all the attributes of the Godhead present. He was and is Holy. He was and is our Redeemer, Savior, Lord and intercedes for us as the Great High Priest at the right hand of God. He is surrounded by glory. A glory we can glimpse in a sunset or His creation but it is like a faint shadow of His glory. Why do you think Jesus wants His disciples to see Him in this glory? That is who He is, fully God and He wants fellowship with us and He wants us (have you thought about that? us!) to see His glory. To whom do you share your most precious treasures and intimate details? To those to whom you are close and love and trust. He knows it will be wonderful for us. What an awesome God. And He chose me. Me. Like Gideon the least among the people. No particular importance here but important to God. Thank you Jesus, thank you, thank you, thank you! God bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 17:4) What was the “work” the Father gave Jesus to do? How did it bring glory to the Father? What is the “work” the Father has given you to do? In what ways are you bringing glory to the Father in this? On the cross Jesus said" It is finished". Jesus lived a life that glorified God and obeyed Him to death on the cross thereby bring about redemption for His own. He did it all. God the Father has given me to know Him, to love Him, to learn about Him, to live for Him, to preach the Good News about what He has done for me (us), to grow in grace until He calls me home. God Bless! Jen Romans 15:13

Q1. (John 17:3) If the average person were to define the words “eternal life,” what would they say? Does Jesus define eternal life in terms of duration of time? What is the key element of his definition? How are you doing at present in Jesus’ definition of eternal life. The average person would think of eternal life as living forever with no end. Jesus defines eternal life as knowing God the Father and Jesus and not as a duration of time. Since Jesus is the life that tells me that as we know Him more and more deeply heaven will become richer and richer in fullness of life (since knowing Him is growing in grace and the knowledge of Him). When some new nugget in the Word (not new but stands out at that time as I have read it before), gets my attention I feel something. A stirring inside and I cannot explain to anyone. I can explain what I read however I cannot expelling the inner sense of wonder and excitement. I believe this is what eternal life is, we will be doing many things through eternity but everything will be done with our Lord and the Redeemed who have the same senses of wonder as we continue growing in the Lord. It makes me wonder how I will take it all in, I am so limited here and need so much time for things to process. What an awesome God who sent His only begotten Son to redeem us. Thank you Jesus! Thinking about this makes me realize that I have so much more work (I already knew that but the emphasis is now on) to do. I do find my time in the Word in the morning to be the best time of the day and it seems prayer time is not as i would like. I have no place to go to be alone and constant interruptions many days however I am now deciding I must make that more of a priority even if it means less study time in the Word. What a sweet gift to spend time in prayer and I used to have ideal circumstances and I knelt by a chair or my bed everyday for as long as I wanted. Now it is different in this house with little time alone. I am a caregiver and when called I respond. God Bless! Jen Romans 15:13