Resurrected Christ Appears a Third Time to His Disciples

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 21:1) After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had appeared for the second time to all His disciples in a closed room, and had shown "Doubting" Thomas His wounds so that by seeing, Thomas would believe.  He now appeared to His disciples again, this time at the sea of Tiberias which is the Sea of Galilee.  What follows is how He showed Himself to them.

(2) There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples.

John named the disciples who were there, Peter, Thomas, James and John (the sons of Zebedee), Nathanael who was probably the disciple Bartholomew, and two other disciples not named.  Bartholomew or Bar-Tolmai means "son of Tolmai," which makes it probably a surname, with Nathanael his given name.

(3) Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We also are going with you." They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing.

Peter had decided to go fishing and the other disciples went with him.  They boarded a ship or fishing boat and it seems caught no fish all night.

(4) But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

When morning had come and they were still aboard the ship, they saw Jesus standing on the shore, but they did not know it was Him.  Perhaps they were not close enough to see Him clearly, and it may have still been dim light.

(5) Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any meat?" They answered Him, "No."

Jesus called out to them, calling them "Children," a term of endearment that would seem to intimate that it was Jesus speaking to them, but it appears they still didn't know it was Him.  He asked them if they had any meat or fish, meaning had they caught any, and they told Him they had not.

(6) And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship and you will find." They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side of the ship and they would find fish.  Although it doesn't appear that they yet knew it was Jesus who spoke to them, they took His advice and cast where He told them, and they were not able to draw their net back in because of the weight of all the fish that were in it.

(7) Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea.

John was the first to recognize that it was their Lord who had told them where to cast their net, and he told Peter it was the Lord.  When Peter heard that, he put on his fishing garments, as he had been shirtless, in his undergarments only, and jumped into the sea, surely eager to get to Jesus.  You would think that he was previously better attired for swimming, but I'm sure out of respect to His Lord, he put his clothes on.

(8) And the other disciples came in the little ship (for they were not far from land but as it was two hundred cubits) dragging the net with fishes.

The other disciples came to shore in their little ship dragging the net with all the fish.  They had been only about a hundred yards from the shore, a cubit being about 18 inches.

(9) As soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. (10) Jesus said to them, "Bring of the fish which you have now caught."

When the disciples came to land, they saw a fire of coals on the shore with fish laid on it, and also bread.  Jesus told them to also bring some of the fish they had just caught.

(11) Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three, and although there were so many, yet the net was not broken.

Peter went back up to the ship and drew the net onto land.  It was full of 153 large fish, but although there were so many, their fishing net was not broken.  Jesus had preserved their net for them.

(12) Jesus said to them, "Come, dine." And none of the disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord.

Jesus called the disciples to come to where He had fish cooking on the coals and told them to eat.  None of the disciples asked who it was who had told them where to cast their net and was now inviting them to eat, as they all knew by that time it was their Lord.

(13) Jesus then came and took bread and gave them, and fish likewise.

Jesus came to them and gave them all bread and fish.

(14) This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was risen from the dead.

John made a point to tell his readers that this was the third time that Jesus had appeared to His disciples after He had risen from the dead.  Throughout the Bible, we are told that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, a thing is established.  Therefore, by these three appearances, it was firmly established as truth that Jesus had risen from the dead and had shown Himself to His disciples.

(15) So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs."

After they had dined, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him more than the rest of the disciples did.  Peter had said in Matthew 26:33 that although all men might be offended by Jesus, he would never be offended.  However, Peter had gone on to deny he knew Jesus three times.  But now his love for Jesus made him jump into the sea to be the first to come to Him.  Peter answered Jesus that he indeed loved Him, and that Jesus knew he did.  Jesus then told him to feed His lambs which meant to care for His flock of new Christians.

(16) He said to him again the second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My sheep."

Jesus again asked Peter if he loved Him, and Peter answered as before that he did love Him, and that Jesus knew that he loved Him.  Again Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep.  Although it appears that Jesus told Peter pretty much the same thing, the word translated as "feed" is actually two different words in the two different passages.  The first time, Jesus told Peter to "bosko" (feed) His lambs, "lambs" probably denoting new baby Christians.  The second time, Jesus told Peter to "poimaino" (tend, govern) His sheep, indicating a sense of guiding and caring for His sheep, Jesus's flock of Christians.

(17) He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep."

Jesus asked Peter a third time if he loved Him.  Peter was dismayed that Jesus had to keep asking him whether he loved Him or not.  It's possible that Peter thought Jesus saw something in him which he did not see, something that would lead to another denial of Jesus, and Jesus was about to tell him about it, as He had done when He told Peter he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.  He said to his Lord that He knew everything, so He knew that he loved Him.  Jesus said to Peter again, "Feed My sheep."  Jesus had returned to "bosko" His sheep, to feed His flock, His Christian followers.  I believe there was significance in having Peter declare three times that he loved the Lord and he would care for His flock.  For one, he had denied his Lord three times, and Jesus was giving him the chance to now confess Him three times, restoring him to his former position as Jesus's trusted apostle.  Also as discussed before, by declaring his love three times, it was established as a truthful fact.

(18) "Verily, verily, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you wished, but when you are old, you shall stretch forth your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." (19) This He spoke, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."

Jesus told Peter that when he was young, not that he was old then, but while he was young, he was able to gird himself, that is clothe himself and bind himself with a belt.  But when he was old, indicating Peter would live to an old age, someone else would gird him and take him where he did not wish to go.  Jesus was telling Peter what sort of death he would suffer.  Because we have the knowledge of history, we can know that Jesus meant that Peter's arms would be outstretched and bound to a cross and he would be carried to his death where he would not naturally desire to go.  It's not that Peter would be unwilling to die for Christ, but it was not what he sought, and it stood in opposition to the freedom he had when he was young.  Note that Jesus said his death would honor God.  After Jesus had told Peter this, he told him to follow Him.

In Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, he stated that ancient writers stated that Peter lived 34 years after this and then was crucified, "and that he deemed it so glorious a thing to die for Christ that he begged to be crucified with his head downwards, not considering himself worthy to die in the same posture in which his Lord did." 

(20) Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at supper, and said, "Lord, who is he who betrays you?" (21) Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "Lord, and what about this man?"

Peter then turned around and saw John following.  John wrote that the disciple who followed was the same one who had leaned on Jesus's breast at the Passover supper and had asked Him who it was who would betray Him.  We know this was John, also because he always called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved.  At first glance, it seems egotistical that one should call himself the one Jesus loved, as if Jesus loved him above all others.  John never mentions himself by name, but always as that other disciple or the disciple whom Jesus loved.  Far from being full of himself, I think John felt his self-worth was only in the fact that he was loved by Jesus.  He never says the disciple Jesus loved the most, but only that Jesus loved him, and he knew it and felt it.  

Note that Jesus told Peter to follow Him, and it appears that John did not wait for an invitation, but followed, as well.  When Peter saw John following, he asked Jesus what would happen to John.

(22) Jesus said to him, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."

Jesus asked Peter what concern was it of his if He willed that John should live until He returned.  Jesus pretty much told Peter that it was none of his business what happened to John.  Jesus had told Peter his concern was to follow Him.  

(23) Then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple would not die, yet Jesus did not say to him, "He shall not die," but, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you?"

It appears that because of what Jesus said and the way He said it that the other disciples thought He meant that John would not die.  However, John makes it a point to tell us that Jesus had not said that at all, but only that if Jesus willed he should not die, that was no concern of Peter's.

(24) This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

This statement proves that John was the disciple whom Jesus loved.  John wrote that he himself testified of the things he wrote and knew them to be true as he was an eye and ear witness to what he wrote.  The fact that he wrote "we know" might mean that he was well known as a man of truth and what he wrote could be trusted as fact.

(25) And there are also many other things which Jesus did which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

What a beautiful end to John's Gospel!  He acknowledged that Jesus had done so many other noteworthy things that if every one of them was written down that the world itself could not hold all the books it would take to record them all.  Of course, he used hyperbole, but by this, he told us Jesus Christ did more works and miracles during His short time in ministry on earth than could ever be all recorded.

So ends what I consider to be one of the most beautiful books in the Bible, and also my study of the Gospels.  I took a break from my chronological Bible study to study the four Gospels as I was challenged to read what Jesus said about certain modern cultural things as if to see that because Jesus did not address homosexuality and transgenderism specifically, that meant it was okay.  While Jesus definitely taught us to love all people regardless of their sexual sin (the woman at the well, for example), He made it clear that He was the only way to be saved from our sins and enjoy eternal life in heaven.  We are not to judge people, as we tend to judge by outward appearances, but God judges their hearts.  By showing love and living like Jesus, people will be naturally drawn to Him.  And once they have asked forgiveness and asked to have Jesus within their hearts, His Holy Spirit will meet them where they are and will show them truth as they become new creations in Christ.  Like Peter above, what is it to us what God decides about one we consider to be a sinner?  After all, we are all sinners, but we are to do what Jesus called us to do, follow Him.  And His example is to love them and if we love them and want them to be saved from eternal damnation, we will pray for them to come to Jesus and let Him take it from there.

However, that being said, I do not see that Jesus approved these sexual deviations.  He definitely affirmed God's design for just two sexes, male and female, and His design for marriage that a man and a woman be joined together as one, quoting Old Testament scripture (Matthew 19:4-6).  He also referred to sexual immorality as being something that defiles a person (Matthew 15:19-20) and that nothing unclean may enter into paradise (Revelation 21:27).  Although Jesus didn't speak specifically about all the different laws of God, He made it clear that He did not come to do away with any of them (Matthew 5:17), but He had come to fulfill the law by giving us a way to be saved from our discretions against the law.  And if He didn't do away with the Old Testament laws, then we can refer to the Old Testament to see what God considered sexual immorality, and that included adultery (Exodus 20:14), homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22), bestiality (Leviticus 18:23), sex with mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, or sister (Leviticus 18:11, 12, 17).  Additionally, cross-dressing is forbidden (Deuteronomy 22:5), definitely a sign that transsexual expression is nothing new.  God created male and female only (Genesis 5:2), and science tells us that “Human sexuality is an objective biological binary trait: “XY” and “XX” are genetic markers of male and female, respectively – not genetic markers of a disorder. The norm for human design is to be conceived either male or female. Human sexuality is binary by design with the obvious purpose being the reproduction and flourishing of our species. This principle is self-evident." (The American College of Pediatricians)  The X and Y chromosomes are what determine male and female, not what one feels.

So, in conclusion, I learned much about the love of Jesus toward all people, but His love did not mean that He approved of sexual deviations.  I will return to my chronological study in the next post.

Resurrection of Jesus and His Appearance to Mary and His Disciples

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 20:1) Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early, when it was yet dark, to the sepulchre, and saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had been buried in the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, and Matthew 27:60 had told us Joseph had rolled a large stone against the opening of the tomb.  Mary Magdalene now came to the sepulchre very early in the morning on the day after the Sabbath and saw that the stone had been taken away.

(2) Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre and we do not know where they have laid Him."

Mary Magdalene had surely looked inside the tomb after seeing the stone rolled away to know that Jesus was not there.  She assumed the Romans had removed His body or perhaps the men who had laid Jesus there in the first place and she ran to Peter and John to tell them.  Joseph and Nicodemus had laid Jesus in Joseph's tomb because it was nearby, and the Sabbath was soon to commence.  Perhaps she thought they had now moved Him to another location.  The other Gospel accounts speak of other women who were with Mary Magdalene and that they saw angels who told them Jesus had risen.  However, those accounts state the women came at dawn or just after sunrise, and here John said Mary Magdalene came while it was still dark.  It seems she must have come first and then returned a little later with the other women.

(3) Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. (4) So they ran both together and the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the sepulchre.

Peter and John both ran to the sepulchre to see for themselves.  John outran Peter and got there first.

(5) And he, stooping down, saw the linen clothes lying, but he did not go in.

John stooped down to look into the sepulchre and saw the linen wraps that had bound Jesus lying on the ground.  However, he did not go into the sepulchre.

(6) Then came Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulchre and saw the linen clothes, (7) And the napkin that was around His head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

Then Peter came and he went straight into the sepulchre and also saw the linen wraps lying on the ground.  He also saw the separate wrap that had been wrapped around Jesus's head.  However, it was not lying with the linen wraps, but was wrapped together in another place by itself.  That would suggest that Jesus had not been taken away in a hurry, but that either Jesus Himself or angels had taken time to orderly remove His wraps.

(8) Then the other disciple went in also, who came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and believed. (9) For as yet they did not know the scripture that He must rise again from the dead.

Then John went into the sepulchre also.  He saw the linen wraps and the napkin and he believed.  What exactly he believed, scripture does not tell us.  It says that they didn't yet know and understand the scriptures that said Jesus must rise again from the dead.  Perhaps he believed that what Mary Magdalene had said was true.  But as "believing" usually takes on a deeper sense as truly believing in the Lord, I can't help but wonder if John was sensing that Jesus had risen of His own accord.  After all, Jesus had told His disciples that He would be risen from the dead, even if they did not fully understand the scriptures at that point.

(10) Then the disciples went away again to their own home.

Peter and John then went home.

(11) But Mary stood outside at the sepulchre weeping and as she wept, she stooped down into the sepulchre, (12) And saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain.

Mary Magdalene stayed behind at the sepulchre, weeping outside of it.  She stooped down to look into the tomb.  She saw two angels in white sitting inside the tomb, one at the head of where Jesus's body had lain, and the other at the feet.

(13) And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him."

The angels asked Mary Magdalene why she was crying.  She told them what she had assumed, that they (the Romans or Joseph and Nicodemus) had taken away the body of Jesus and she did not know where it was. 

(14) And when she had said this, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and did not know that it was Jesus.

Mary then turned away from inside the tomb and saw Jesus standing there, only she did not realize that it was Jesus.  She may have only modestly glanced at whom she thought to be just a man, and also her eyes were full of tears.

(15) Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him from here, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

Jesus asked Mary Magdalene why she was crying and who it was she was seeking.  Mary assumed He was the gardener and asked Him if He had carried Jesus's body away and asked Him to tell her where He had taken His body so that she could take it away.

(16) Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned herself and said to Him, "Rabboni," which is to say, "Master."

Jesus then spoke only Mary's name and she turned toward Him and immediately recognized Him as her Lord.

(17) Jesus said to her, "Do not touch Me, for I am not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"

I don't believe Jesus's meaning was that He couldn't be touched at all because He had not yet ascended to His Father in heaven.  We are told in other scriptures that people touched Jesus before He ascended.  In Matthew 28:9, Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" held Jesus by His feet and worshipped Him.  Jesus told "Doubting" Thomas to touch His side (later in this chapter).  In Luke 24:39, Jesus told His disciples to touch Him and see His nail-scarred hands and feet to know that it was really Him.  I believe Jesus's point was that Mary needn't cling to Him because He wasn't going to His Father just yet, and He had a mission for her, to go tell His disciples that He would be ascending to His Father God who was their Father and God.  This would assure them that even though Christ had died, they were still united to Him and to the same Father God in heaven.

(18) Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and He had spoken these things to her.

Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen Jesus and she told them what He had told her to tell them.

(19) Then the same day at evening, being the first of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, "Peace to you."

The evening of that same day the disciples had assembled together behind closed doors for fear of the Jews.  However, Jesus was able to divinely come in there and stood in the midst of them and spoke to them a greeting of peace.

(20) And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus then showed the disciples His hands and His side partly to prove that it was really Him and not a spirit, and to prove that He had been truly resurrected from the dead with the marks of the nails in His hands and the stabbed place in His side.  He had not yet ascended to heaven in His glorified form.  The disciples were very glad to see their Lord.

(21) Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you; as the Father has sent Me, even so I send you."

Jesus again gave them a greeting of peace, and then told them that He was sending them out on a mission as the Father had sent Him on one.  Nothing had changed because of His death.  In fact, it would be enhanced by His resurrection and ascension back to heaven.

(22) And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

After Jesus told the disciples He was sending them out, He breathed on them and told them to receive His Holy Spirit.  I believe it was symbolic of when God first breathed life into man at the beginning of creation.  He was now breathing new life into them to be renewed to their mission without Him physically, but with His spirit and everything He had taught and shown them.

(23) "Whosever sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; whosever sins you retain, they are retained."

Only God and Jesus as God can truly forgive sins.  But Jesus was giving them permission as part of their mission to tell one who had repented and professed Jesus as his Savior that his sins were forgiven and God would honor that.  Actually God forgave first; they would have already been forgiven because he had repented and accepted Jesus, but Jesus would have His disciples doing His work as He had done while He was with them.  On the other hand, if they perceived one had not repented and accepted Jesus, then they could declare his sins were still retained by him.

(24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

It seems that all of the disciples had assembled together except for Thomas who was not with them when Jesus came to them.  Thomas is the Hebrew name meaning "twin," and Didymus is the Greek name meaning the same thing.  By his name, one would gather that Thomas had a twin, but the Bible never mentioned who that might be.  In an apocryphal book called The Acts of Thomas, it is suggested that Thomas was called Twin because he looked like Jesus, however as that book was rejected as part of the Bible, we can't really know if that was true or not.

(25) The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Except I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe."

The other disciples told Thomas afterward that they had seen the Lord, but Thomas did not believe that it had really been Jesus they saw.  He told them that unless he could see Him himself and see the wounds of the nails in His hands and even put his fingers into those wounds, as well as put his hand into Jesus's side where He had been stabbed by the Roman soldier, he would not believe that it had been Jesus they saw.

(26) And after eight days, again His disciples were inside and Thomas with them, Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you."

Eight days after Jesus had appeared to His disciples, they were again gathered together behind closed doors and Thomas was with them that time.  Jesus came to them again even though the doors were shut, suggesting it was in a supernatural manner that Jesus appeared to them.  He stood in the midst of His disciples and again gave them a greeting of peace.

(27) Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here and behold My hands, and reach your hand here and thrust into My side; and do not be faithless but believing."

Jesus, knowing what Thomas had said to the other disciples, told Thomas to look at His hands and put his finger into the wounds, and put his hand into His side so that he would believe it was really Jesus who appeared before them and not to remain faithless.

(28) And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God."

It seems Thomas did not have to touch Jesus's wounds, but that he acknowledged Jesus as his Lord.  Not only Lord, but he acknowledged that Jesus was God Himself.  I believe that is the first time any disciple had gone as far as to say that besides John writing it in the beginning of his gospel account.

(29) Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed they who have not seen and have believed."

Jesus acknowledged that He knew that Thomas truly believed in Him at that point because he had seen Him.  However, He added that those who believed in Him, having not seen Him physically, were blessed, perhaps the more blessed.  Their faith would seem to be greater because they hadn't seen physical proof but believed God's word.  As 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

(30) And many other signs Jesus truly did in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book.

John revealed that Jesus had done many other works in the presence of His disciples about which he had not written in his Gospel.

(31) But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through His name.

John went on to reveal his purpose in writing his gospel account the way he did.  He wrote to prove that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing that of Him and believing in Him, one would have everlasting life.  Truly, John seemed to go above and beyond the mere actions of Jesus, to show his readers the deity of Christ Jesus more than the previous Gospels did.  And writing this right after he wrote that Jesus said those who had not seen but still believed were blessed, he gives his readers assurance and confidence that although we were not there to witness Jesus in the flesh, what he wrote is true and we may be saved and have everlasting life if we believe.

Jesus's Arrest and Peter's Denial of Him

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 18:1) When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the Brook Kidron where was a garden which He and His disciples entered.

In the last chapter, Jesus had prayed a beautiful and sublime prayer.  After that, He and His disciples crossed over the Brook Kidron which was a small stream that flowed to the east of Jerusalem and divided the city from the Mount of Olives.  They went into a garden which was called Gethsemane according to Matthew 26:36.

(2) And Judas also, who betrayed Him, knew the place, for Jesus often met there with His disciples.

Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus also knew about the garden as Jesus often met with His disciples there.  Jesus was not trying to hide from His fate.  He went straight into the lion's den, so to speak, knowing that Judas would come there.

(3) Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Indeed, Judas came there with a band of men and officers that had been given to him by the chief priests and Pharisees.  The men came carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons.  The lanterns and torches were probably to search Jesus out as if He would be hiding in the place He knew that Judas knew.  And as if they would need an army and weapons to take Jesus!

(4) Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forth and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?"

Jesus, knowing everything that was about to happen to Him, went straight to His captors and asked whom they were seeking.

(5) They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I AM." And Judas also, who betrayed Him, stood with them. (6) As soon then as He had said to them, "I AM," they went backward and fell to the ground.

They answered that they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth and Judas stood with them.  Practically all of the Bible translations read that Jesus said, "I am He," but they indicate that they added "He" for better understanding.  Jesus did not say, "I am He."  He simply said, "I AM," and that is what made the men fall backward to the ground.  The power of that name and Jesus's very own infinite power knocked His captors down, proving that they could not take Him by their power, but that Jesus willingly let them take Him.  It's amazing that after being knocked down by sheer words, that some of the band didn't retreat.

(7) Then He asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." (8) Jesus answered, "I have told you I AM. Therefore if you seek Me, let these go their way."

Jesus asked them again whom they were seeking.  When they said again, "Jesus of Nazareth," Jesus answered that He had told them already that was Him, so if they were seeking Him, He asked that they let His disciples go.  There were probably only Peter, James, and John with Him according to Matthew 26:37.

(9) That the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of them whom You gave Me, I have lost none."

Jesus asked that His disciples go free which fulfilled what He had said in His prayer in chapter 17, that He had lost none of the ones His Father had given Him.  He protected them to His very end.

(10) Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

At this point, Peter drew his sword and struck the high priest's servant, Malchus, and cut off his right ear.  

(11) Then Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath; the cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?"

Jesus told Peter to put his sword back into its sheath, and He asked him if He shouldn't do what His Father had willed be done.  Luke 22:51 told us that Jesus then healed the man's ear.

(12) Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound Him, (13) And led Him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas who was the high priest that same year.

The band of soldiers and their captain and officers then took Jesus and bound Him and led Him away to Annas, who according to Luke 3:2 was himself a high priest, but at this point is mentioned as Caiaphas's father-in-law, Caiaphas being the high priest that year.

(14) Now Caiaphas was he who gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

Caiaphas was the one in John 11:50 who gave counsel to the chief priests and Pharisees that it was expedient that one man should die for the people that the whole nation not perish.  He had spoken more Godly truth than he realized, as it was indeed expedient for Christ alone to die for the salvation of the world.

(15) And Simon Peter followed Jesus and another disciple; that disciple was known to the high priest and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.

Peter followed Jesus and another disciple who was also following Jesus.  Many commentators have assumed that the other disciple was the gospel author himself, John, as John often spoke of himself in the third person, only he most often referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  Nonnus, a 5th century Greek poet who wrote a paraphrase of the Gospel of John, said that John was known to the high priest because he carried fish to his house and sold it to him.  However, others say it is not likely that the seller of fish would have any sort of close relationship with the high priest.  They assume it was another disciple, apart from the twelve, who was better known by the high priest than any of the twelve.  That disciple went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.  The high priest that year was Caiaphas, so although the soldiers had taken Jesus to Annas first, he had evidently sent Him immediately to Caiaphas.  Both disciples continued to follow Jesus there.

(16) But Peter stood at the door outside. Then that other disciple who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door and brought in Peter.

Peter did not enter the palace when Jesus and the other disciple did; he stood outside the door.  However, the other disciple went and spoke to the doorkeeper who let the disciple bring Peter inside.

(17) Then said the damsel who kept the door to Peter, "Are you not also one of this man's disciples?" He said, "I am not."

The girl who was the doorkeeper asked Peter if he was one of Jesus's disciples.  He denied it.  By this, it seems unlikely that the other disciple was John, as she would have surely also recognized him as one of Jesus's disciples, too.

(18) And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals for it was cold, and they warmed themselves, and Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

The servants and the officers stood in that area of the palace.  They made a fire because it was cold, and they stood by the fire warming themselves.  Peter stood with them, also warming himself.

(19) The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.

The high priest Caiaphas asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.  The council wanted to prove sedition or rebellion against Caesar, so I'm sure they wanted to show that He had many disciples forming a dangerous faction.  He wanted to know about Jesus's teaching, as well.

(20) Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple where the Jews always meet, and in secret, I have said nothing."

Jesus told Caiaphas that He had always spoken openly to the world.  He was constantly in the synagogues and in the temple at Jerusalem speaking openly to the Jews that always met there.  He had no secret agenda; what Caiaphas and his council had heard of what Jesus said, was all there was.  If He had been guilty of sedition, He would have preferred meeting in secret, planning an overthrow of the government, so as He most often spoke publicly with great crowds, they could see and hear that He was not planning a secret takeover.

(21) "Why do you ask Me? Ask them who heard Me what I have said to them; behold, they know what I said."

Jesus asked Caiaphas why he asked Him.  He would not have believed what Jesus said anyway.  He should ask the people who had heard Him, which were certainly at least some of them who stood there with Him.  Jesus had nothing to hide; He urged Caiaphas to ask them what He had said.

(22) And when He had thus spoken, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Do You answer the high priest so?"

After Jesus had asked why Caiaphas asked Him, one of the officers who stood by them, slapped Jesus with the palm of his hand and rebuked Him for speaking to the high priest in that manner.

(23) Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil, but if well, why do you strike Me?"

Jesus answered that if He had spoken anything evil or falsely, the officer should point that out and let Him receive fair punishment, but if He had said nothing untoward, then he had no reason to strike Him.  

(24) Now Annas had sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

This is where John explains that Annas had sent Jesus on to Caiaphas, and that was why He was now before him.

(25) And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore to him, "Aren't you also one of His disciples?" He denied it, and said, "I am not."

So there in the palace of the high priest Caiaphas, Peter stood and warmed himself by the fire among the servants and the officers.  They suspected that he was one of Jesus's disciples, but Peter denied it a second time.

(26) One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"

However, one of the high priest's servants, who had apparently been with the band of soldiers who came and took Jesus from the garden and had seen him cut the ear off the soldier who was a kinsman of his, asked if it was true that he had seen him in the garden with Jesus.

(27) Peter then denied again, and immediately the cock crowed.

Peter again denied that he had been with Jesus.  The account in Matthew said that he even cursed and swore.  Immediately after he said it, the rooster crowed.  It was just as Jesus had said, that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed in the morning.  That account in Matthew said that Peter then remembered the words of Jesus and went out and wept bitterly.

(28) Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the hall of judgment, and it was early; and they themselves did not go into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

The council of Jews and the soldiers then led Jesus away from Caiaphas to the hall of judgment, or the Praetorium, as it was called, where the Roman governor heard and tried cases.  It was very early in the morning.  The Jews would not enter the house of a Gentile or they would be considered unclean and unable to eat of the Passover, so they did not go in, only the Roman soldiers.

(29) Pilate then went out to them, and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"

Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman governor at that time, therefore went out to talk to the Jews and asked them what it was that they had accused Jesus of doing.

(30) They answered and said to him, "If He were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him up to you."

The Jews told Pilate if Jesus had not been a criminal, they would not have brought Him to him.  I believe their point was that they had no need for Pilate to try Jesus as they had already found Him guilty.  They brought Jesus to the Roman governor because he was the only one who could order Jesus executed.

(31) Then Pilate said to them, "Take Him and judge Him according to your law." The Jews therefore said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."

If they hadn't brought Jesus to him to be tried, then Pilate told them to take Jesus back and judge Him according to their law as they saw fit.  However, they told him that it was not legal for them to put anyone to death, which was what they desired for Jesus.

(32) That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which He spoke, signifying what death He should die.

They had to have Jesus condemned to death by the Roman governor.  That would fulfill Jesus's prophetic words that He would be crucified (Matthew 20:19), as only the Roman government crucified men.

(33) Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the king of the Jews?"

So Pilate went back into the judgment hall where Jesus was being held, and he asked Him if He was indeed king of the Jews.  According to the account in Luke, the Jews had accused Jesus to Pilate of being a rebel and forbidding the people to pay tribute to Caesar, which was of course, a lie.  They told him that Jesus had said He was the king of the Jews.

(34) Jesus answered him, "Do you say this thing of yourself or did others tell you this of Me?"

Jesus replied, asking Pilate if that was a question he wanted an answer to himself, or had he asked it only because others had said that about Jesus.  I believe His point was, had Pilate seen anything in Jesus to make him suspicious that the things the Jews had said about Him were true with respect to Him being a seditious rebel trying to overthrow the Roman government.

(35) Pilate asked, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?"

Pilate asked Jesus if Pilate himself was a Jew, meaning to ask why he would have cause to suggest that Jesus was king of the Jews.  He told Him that His own Jewish nation and the chief priests had been the ones to deliver Jesus to him, so he wondered what Jesus had done to make them do that.

(36) Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now My kingdom is not from here."

Jesus did not deny that He was the king of the Jews, but told Pilate that His kingdom was not a worldly one.  If His kingdom was of the world, then His servants would have risen up to save Him from being delivered to the Jews.  Actually, Jesus Himself could have prevented His being delivered to them.  However, His kingdom was not of the world.  It was a spiritual one, and He was choosing to be delivered up in order to save His people from the world.

(37) Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. To this end I was born and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

Since Jesus had said He had a kingdom, Pilate surmised He must be a king then.  Jesus answered that he had said rightly that He was indeed a king.  His purpose for being born into this world was to bear witness to the truth of God.  He added that everyone who was of the truth could hear and receive Him and His words.

(38) Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find in Him no fault."

Pilate asked Jesus what he must have considered a rhetorical question, as he didn't wait for an answer, "What is truth?"  I believe he must have felt that it was not worth giving His life for, and he went out to the Jews and told them he had found no fault in Him.  He found Jesus to be an innocent man.

(39) "But you have a custom that I should release to you one at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the king of the Jews?"

Pilate had found no fault in Jesus, and besides, the Jews had a custom that Pilate should release one prisoner at Passover, so he assumed they would want him to release Jesus.

(40) Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.

The fact that the people cried out again must mean that this was not the first time he had asked the people what they would have him do with Jesus.  The account in Mark does include more back and forth dialogue between Pilate and the people.  John, as was his custom, greatly abbreviated the events that had already been covered by the other Gospel authors.  The people cried out for Barabbas to be released to them, a robber and also a murderer according to the other Gospel accounts.  This part of the story always gets to me.  How could people who had such a short time ago lauded Jesus with praise and honor as He came into Jerusalem on the donkey, now be so anxious to have Him crucified?  The account in Mark said that the chief priests had incited the people to call for His crucifixion.

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet and Commands Them to Likewise Love One Another

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 13:1) Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had had His final discourse with the people.  Now, knowing His time was very short, He would spend the rest of His time with His disciples whom He loved and would demonstrate that love to the very end of His life, and actually beyond.

(2) And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him;

Now had come the time for the Passover Feast, the Lord's Last Supper.  "Being ended" was not the correct translation of the original "ginomai."  It meant more properly "having been made" or "having come into existence."  So the feast had been prepared, and by that time, the devil had put it into Judas Iscariot's heart to betray Jesus.  John keeps going out of his way to tell us Judas was Simon's son.  I'm not sure why, other than the fact Simon Iscariot must have been well known by the readers at the time John wrote his gospel account, as I can find no other information about him.

(3) Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God, (4) He rose from supper and laid aside His garments and took a towel and girded Himself.

Jesus, even knowing that God had given Him all Godly power and that He was sent by God and would return to God, humbled Himself and rose from the table, laid aside His garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist as an apron.

(5) After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Jesus then poured water into a basin and began washing His disciples' feet and He then wiped them dry with the towel He had wrapped around His waist.  This was the ultimate act of humility and love He would show to His disciples while He was still living.

(6) Then He came to Simon Peter, and Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You wash My feet?"

When Jesus came to Peter, Peter stopped Him, asking if He intended to wash his feet, apparently feeling unworthy of having His Lord wash his feet.

(7) Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do, you do not know now, but you will know afterward."

Jesus told Peter that He did not understand what Jesus was doing for him at present, but He would later know, as Jesus would explain it to them all when He was finished washing all their feet.

(8) Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."

Peter told Jesus he could never allow His Lord to demean Himself to such a lowly task as washing his feet.  However, Jesus told him that if He didn't wash him, Peter could have no part in Him.

(9) Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also hands and head!"

At that, Peter then asked the Lord to not only wash his feet, but his hands and head, too.  He wanted to be as much a part of His Lord as possible, and even more so.

(10) Jesus said to him, "He who is washed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean, but not all."

Jesus responded that if one was washed and clean, he only needed his feet washed; there was no need to clean his whole body again.  He told His disciples that they were clean, but then added that not all were clean.  With that, He surely meant Judas Iscariot, who would betray Him.

(11) For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean."

Indeed, John then told us what Jesus had meant when He said they were not all clean.  He referred to the unclean heart of Judas who would betray Him.

(12) So after He had washed their feet and had taken His garments and had sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?"

After Jesus had washed all His disciples' feet, He put back on His outer garments and sat down again.  He asked the disciples if they understood the meaning of what He had just done for them.

(13) "You call Me Master and Lord, and you say well, for I am. (14) If I then, Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (15) For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."

Jesus acknowledged that His disciples called Him Master and Lord, and He admitted that He was.  If their Lord and Master lowered Himself to serve them by washing their feet, then they should do likewise.  Jesus had given them an example of how they should treat one another, never considering it beneath them to do any such menial task but do as He had done.

(16) "Verily, verily, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his lord, neither he who is sent greater than he who sent him." 

Jesus's point was that if He, Lord and Master, humbled Himself to serve in the most menial way, then they should not think themselves too good to do such tasks, as that would be setting themselves up as greater than their Lord and Master.  Neither is the one sent out, as a disciple or a messenger, to think of himself as greater than the one who sent him.  If the one who sent him, in this case, Jesus sending out His disciples, was so humble as to perform menial service for His disciples, then they should do the same, as they certainly weren't greater than Jesus.  

(17) "If you know these things, happy are you if you do them."

Jesus added that if His disciples knew these things, which now they did, they would be happy and blessed if they did them.  It gives one great joy to do for others, and especially as they are doing it for their Lord.

(18) "I do not speak of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.'"

Jesus said that He did not speak these things to all of them.  He knew all the disciples He had chosen, and He knew that Judas would betray Him, but it was necessary for him to be chosen to fulfill God's purpose.  It also fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 41:9, which said, "Yes, My own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who did eat of My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me."  As an unruly horse might kick up its heels and throw its rider, so Judas would trip up and remove Jesus.

(19) "Now I tell you before it comes that when it has come to pass, you may believe that I AM."

Jesus told His disciples that He was telling them what would happen before it happened, that when it did happen, they would know that He was the Messiah and the Great I AM, Lord God of the universe.

(20) "Verily, verily, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."

Jesus told them most assuredly that as He sent them out, whoever received them and their word as taught them by Jesus, received Him even though He would no longer be with them.  And whoever thus received Him in that way was also receiving God Himself.  They should be comforted and strengthened by the knowledge that they would be doing the work of Jesus and people would be saved by their preaching and teaching just as if it had been Jesus doing it, because the people who received and believed their word were receiving Jesus and therefore also receiving God.

(21) When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, "Verily, verily, I say to you that one of you will betray Me."

After Jesus had spoken these things, He became troubled in His spirit, knowing that one of His beloved disciples was going to betray Him.  He told His disciples plainly and directly that one of them would betray Him.  Not merely because of what was about to happen to Him, but probably grieved for Judas's soul that he would betray Him, Jesus may have been giving Judas warning that He knew what he was going to do, perhaps so he could repent from it.

(22) Then the disciples looked at one another, in doubt about whom He spoke.

The disciples began looking at each other, wondering which one of them it could be who would betray Jesus.

(23) Now there was leaning on Jesus's bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. (24) Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom He spoke.

Leaning on Jesus's chest was a disciple whom He loved.  We know from all such scripture references that that disciple was John himself, the author of this gospel account.  He confirmed it in John 21:24.  Peter gestured to John to ask Jesus who the disciple was who would betray Him.

(25) He then lying on Jesus's breast, said to Him, "Lord, who is it?" (26) Jesus answered, "He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it." And when He had dipped the sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, of Simon.

John, still reclining against Jesus, asked Him who it was of whom He spoke.  Because they were so close, it must be that Jesus only quietly told John, as the disciples do not seem to know as the evening progresses.  He told John that it was the one to whom He would give a bite of food to after He dipped it.  Then He dipped a bite and gave it to Judas.

(27) And after the sop, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly."

Immediately after Jesus passed the bite to Judas, it is written that Satan entered Judas.  From verse 2 we learned that Satan had already put the plan to betray Jesus in Judas's heart, but he now must have possessed him to press onward with his plan.  Jesus told Judas to go ahead and do what he planned quickly.  He once again let Judas know that He knew what he was planning.  

(28) Now no man at the table knew for what intent He spoke this to him. (29) For some thought because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said to him, "Buy what we have need of for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor.

No man at the table knew what Jesus had meant when he spoke to Judas.  Some of them thought that because he held the money bag, Jesus may have told him to go buy things they would need for the feast, as it lasted seven days, or perhaps He had told him to go give something to the poor.  You would think that John knew.  He surely knew that Jesus had meant that it was Judas who would betray Him, but I suppose John didn't know why Jesus was sending him out, and may have decided to just trust Jesus's plan, and keep the secret.

(30) He then having received the sop, went immediately out, and it was night.

After he had received the bite from Jesus and Jesus had directed him to do what he planned to do quickly, he immediately went out.  It was night by this time.

(31) Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him."

After Judas had left, Jesus said to His other disciples that the time had come for Him to be glorified.  Things had been put into motion and His death was sure and imminent.  He would be glorified in that horrific death when He fulfilled His purpose to provide salvation for the world.  God was glorified in what Jesus did as it was His plan for salvation that Jesus fulfilled.

(32) "If God is glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall immediately glorify Him."

If God was glorified in Jesus, which He was, then God would also glorify Jesus in Jesus Himself.  Jesus was the Messiah and deserving of all honor and glory.  Jesus was God and deserving of glory, as He would later pray to His Father in John 17:5, "And now, O Father, glorify Me with Your own self with the glory which I had with You before the world was."  Jesus would be glorified as God, the Word of God, as He was in the very beginning before God created the world.  God would immediately glorify Jesus after He finished His work with His death on the cross.

(33) "Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek Me, and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I go, you cannot come,' so now I say to you."

Jesus told His disciples that He would be with them only a short time now, and referenced the time He told the Jews there would be a time when they would seek Jesus and would not find Him, because where He was going, they could not go.  Therefore, He wanted to tell them the following:

(34) "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (35) By this shall all know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

As Jesus would not be with His disciples, He told them He was leaving them with a new commandment, that they should love one another as Jesus had loved them.  By demonstrating such love for one another, as Jesus had loved them, they would be showing the world how much like their Savior they were.  Albert Barnes wrote in his Notes on the Bible that it was well known and often remarked by the pagans, "See how they love one another! They are ready to lay down their lives for each other!"  Imagine such a powerful demonstration of love that would distinguish Christians from the rest of the people!  Barnes continued, lamenting the fact that the spirit of the Christian world had changed so much since then.  And it was almost 180 years ago that he wrote that!  Imagine what he would think now.  Genuine love for one another, and Jesus meant Christians loving other Christians, means denying ourselves, doing nothing through selfish ambition or conceit, "but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than themselves" (Philippians 2:3).

(36) Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterwards."

Peter then asked Jesus where it was that He was going.  Jesus answered only that Peter could not follow Him at that present time, but that he would be able to follow Him later.

(37) Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake."

Peter asked Jesus why he couldn't follow Him.  I'm sure it was in all sincerity that he said he would lay down his life for Jesus.

(38) Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Verily, verily, I say to you, the cock will not crow till you have denied Me three times."

Although he may have been sincere in what he said, Jesus told him he, in fact, would not lay down his life for Him.  He would actually deny Him three times before the rooster crowed in the morning.  Peter did not know his own strength of will.  He may have thought he was willing to die for Jesus, but when the time came, he could not do it.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, pointed out something I had not considered before now.  "Christ must first die for Peter, before Peter can die for Him."  Christ had to die first to save Peter from his sins and the just punishment he rightly deserved.  So actually, Peter could not have given his life at that time.  He didn't understand God's plan.  In this is a lesson for all of us, though we may be self-confident, we can do nothing of ourselves!  It is only through God that we are able to accomplish any of the hard things in life.  We must always be dependent on Him to get us through the hard times.

Spiritual Food, The Bread of Life

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels: 

(John 6:26) Jesus answered them and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek Me not because you saw the miracles, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled."

At the end of the last post, the people whom Jesus had miraculously fed the evening before, sailed across the sea to search for Jesus.  They asked when He had arrived because they had not seen Him leave in the only boat they had seen.  Jesus did not answer their question directly but pointed out their motive in searching for Him.  He told them they did not seek Him because of the miraculous things He had done proving He came from God.  It would have been proper and acceptable to Jesus if they followed Him because they believed He was the Messiah as they had suggested in verse 14.  However, He knew they followed Him only because of what they received from the miracles.

(27) "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give to you, for God the Father has sealed Him."

Jesus told them not to put all their effort into seeking food that would perish, but rather put more effort into the food that would last and lead to everlasting life.  That's not to say that one shouldn't work for food, but that shouldn't be all for which they labor.  More effort should be given to seeking Christ's bread of life and then God would supply their needs (Philippians 4:19).  Jesus was the one to give them that bread of life because God the Father had put His authentic seal of approval on Him.

(28) Then they said to Him, "What shall we do that we might work the works of God?"

The people asked how they should labor or work for the food that did not perish but led to everlasting life.  They still believed in works to achieve the blessings of God.

(29) Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Jesus answered them by saying that the work of God, what He required of them, was to believe in the One He had sent, Jesus Christ.

(30) They said therefore to Him, "What sign do You show then that we may see and believe you? What do You work? (31) Our fathers ate manna in the desert as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

The people wanted to see a sign that He would provide them that bread He spoke of.  They still imagined literal bread as what their forefathers had eaten in the wilderness when God provided manna from heaven for them to eat.

(32) Then Jesus said to them, "Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. (33) For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Jesus told them that the manna which they presumed Moses had given their forefathers in the wilderness was not the true bread from heaven that He spoke about.  That bread of life from God was He Himself who came down from heaven to give them everlasting life.

(34) Then they said to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread."

The people seemed to earnestly desire that Jesus give them that bread of life always, but they probably still imagined it to be literal bread.  The Jews expected that when their King Messiah came, He would give them all manner of delicacies.

(35) And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall never hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

Jesus told them that He was that bread of life.  The one who came to Him, not in a physical way as they had come to Him now, but in a spiritual sense, receiving His doctrine into their hearts, and believing in Him, would never hunger or thirst, but would be perfectly satisfied.

(36) "But I said to you that you also have seen Me and do not believe."

Jesus alluded to what He had said before to them (verse 26), that they did not come seeking Him for who He truly was, but only for what He could give them.  They had seen that Bread of Life they had been discussing and yet they did not really believe in Him as such.

(37) "All who the Father gives Me will come to Me, and he who comes to Me I will in no way cast out."

Jesus said that everyone God the Father calls and everyone who may seek God, the Father gives to Jesus because it is only through Jesus that they may be saved.  All who seek God are sinners and all have fallen short, no matter how "good" they purport to be (Romans 3:23 and Romans 3:12).  God draws them to Jesus, whom by His great sacrifice, covers and atones for their sins that they may be in God's presence.  Jesus added He would never turn away anyone who came to Him.

(38) "For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me. (39) And this is the Father's will who has sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me I should lose no one, but should raise them up again at the last day."

Jesus's purpose for being born into the world was to do Father God's will.  God's will was to make it possible for his failed sinful creation to be cleansed and renewed and able to spend eternity with Him.  All who were called by God or would come seeking God would be directed through Christ Jesus and it was God's will that none of them should be lost.  They would be saved through Jesus and raised up again in the last day.

(40) "And this is the will of Him who sent Me that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Not only was it God's will that Jesus lose no one who God directed to Him, but equally He desired that all who came to Christ and believed in Him would have everlasting life.  God and Jesus are one.  Jesus is God.  People seeking God must go through Jesus to get to Him.  People seeking Jesus will find their way to God.

(41) The Jews then murmured at Him because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." (42) And they said, "Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

Jews among the people grumbled about Jesus because He had called Himself the bread of life from heaven.  They discussed the fact that they had known He was the son of Joseph, and they had known His parents, so how could it be that He said He came down from heaven?  That actually could be a sincere question as they thought they knew how He was born into the world and did not see or hear of Him coming down from heaven.

(43) Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. (44) No man can come to Me except the Father who has sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Jesus, hearing them or knowing their thoughts, told them not to murmur among themselves, and He continued speaking.  He told them no one could come to Him unless the Father first drew Him.  Yes, they all came to Him physically to hear Him speak, but they had to be drawn by the Spirit of God to understand the spiritual nature of what it meant to really come to Jesus.  Only by the drawing of the Spirit of God could they begin to understand what seemed otherwise humanly impossible.

(45) "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone therefore who has heard and has learned of the Father comes to Me."

Jesus quoted Isaiah 54:13 that said that all Jerusalem's children should be taught of or by the Lord.  The Lord God draws the hearts of men to want to know and seek Him and He uses His word, the Bible, and ministers and religious teachers to teach them.  Everyone who has been drawn by God and has learned from Him will always come to Jesus.

(46) "Not that any man has seen the Father, except He who is of God; He has seen the Father."

Jesus did not mean that they should be taught by God personally as no man has seen God the Father except He Himself who was of God.  

(47) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (48) I am that bread of life."

Jesus told them that most assuredly anyone who believed in Him had everlasting life because He was that bread of life.

(49) "Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and are dead. (50) This is the bread which comes down from heaven that a man may eat of it and not die."

Referring to what the Jews had said in verse 31 when they spoke of manna as being bread from heaven, Jesus told them that all who ate that bread were now dead.  Although it did sustain them for a while, it did not save them from eternal death.  The bread that came down from heaven, referring to Himself, men may partake of and they would not die, but have eternal life.

(51) "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eats of this bread he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world."

Jesus clarified that He was the living bread that had come down from heaven.  If any man would partake of Him, that is believe in Him, he would live forever.  The bread that He would give was His flesh, or His body, that He would sacrifice for the life of the world.

(52) The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"

The Jews began to argue among themselves about how Jesus could possibly give them His flesh to eat, as they thought He meant it physically.  Although Jesus would indeed give His physical body up as a sacrifice, people would not physically eat of His body even then.  He spoke of spiritually partaking of His flesh and accepting Him into their hearts.

(53) Then Jesus said to them, "Verily, verily, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you."

Jesus told them that assuredly they must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood in order to have life.  Of course, He meant this spiritually.  As a man must have food and drink for physical life, He must continually be fed by Jesus Christ for eternal life.  Without Jesus, there is no eternal life.

(54) "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Jesus affirmed that whoever ate of His flesh and drank of His blood, that is partaking of those things and believing in Him, would have eternal life, and He would raise him up in the last day.

(55) "For My flesh is food indeed and My blood is drink indeed. (56) He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood dwells in Me and I in him."

Jesus said that His flesh and His blood were indeed food and drink, nourishment for the soul.  Whoever ate His flesh and drank His blood dwelled in Him and He would likewise dwell in him.  One who dwelt in Christ was one who was truly intimately connected to Him, and Christ would dwell in his heart.

(57) "As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he who eats Me will live by Me."

Jesus explained that the living Father God in heaven had sent Him and He lived because of His connection to God the Father.  Jesus the Son of man received His life from the Father.  In like manner, those who partook of Jesus would receive life from Him.

(58) "This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers ate manna and are dead, he who eats of this bread shall live forever."

Once again, Jesus reiterated that the bread that came down from heaven, meaning Himself, was not like the manna their forefathers ate and were now dead, but if anyone partook of His bread of life, they would live forever.

(59) These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Jesus said all these things in the synagogue in Capernaum where He was teaching when He came to that side of the sea.

(60) Many therefore of His disciples when they had heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"

Many of Jesus's disciples and followers said that what Jesus had said was rough.  Speaking of eating His flesh and blood seemed rather violent.  That is the proper meaning of the word transcribed as "hard" here.  "Skleros" means "hard, tough, fierce," even "violent, offensive," rather than hard as difficult.  They wondered who could understand such a doctrine.

(61) When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, He said to them, "Does this offend you?"

Jesus perceived that His disciples were grumbling about how rough His language had been and He asked them if it offended them.

(62) "And if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before?"

Jesus added what more would they think and be offended by if they saw His body that they were to eat and drink of ascend into heaven where He had been before.  He was pointing out to them that He could not be speaking of them literally eating and drinking His body, as His body would ascend back into heaven.

(63) "It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I speak to you are spirit and are life."

Jesus explained that He was talking about the Spirit which gives life.  Literally eating His flesh and drinking His blood would be of no profit whatsoever.  What He had spoken to them was meant to be understood as spiritually partaking of Him and having spiritual everlasting life as their physical bodies would still die; however, He did say He would raise up those bodies in the end.

(64) "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who would betray Him.

Jesus told them that He knew some of His so-called disciples did not really believe in Him, for He knew from the beginning which ones did not believe and He knew Judas, one of His closest disciples, would ultimately betray Him.

(65) And He said, "Therefore I said to you, that no man can come to Me, except it has been granted to him by My Father."

I believe Jesus referred to what He had said in verse 43 to explain those who did not truly believe.  Many disciples had come to Him physically, but as God had not drawn them by His Spirit, they could not spiritually understand and believe in Jesus.  That is not to say that God only chooses a select few to draw to Himself.  It's God's will that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), but as God is omniscient, all-knowing of things present and future, He knows who will receive Jesus when His Spirit draws them and who will not.  One might wonder why then did Jesus call Judas when He knew that He was not a true believer and would betray Him.  Perhaps Judas had been a true believer, and then turned from Christ.  I believe that is what is meant by blaspheming the Holy Spirit, the one unforgivable sin--knowing the Holy Spirit of God and then throwing Him out.  Regardless, Judas was called because God knew his heart, that he would betray Jesus, and that was needed for His purpose.

(66) From then many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.

Indeed, many of Jesus's disciples stopped following Him as it was obvious that God had not drawn them to know the spiritual truth about Jesus.  These may have been physically drawn to Jesus because of an expectation of some temporal benefit or maybe just because of public excitement, but when the benefit was not obtained and the excitement wore off, and when Jesus's spiritual truths became hard and offensive, they fell away.

(67) Then said Jesus to the twelve, "Will you also go away?"

Then Jesus asked His chosen twelve apostles if they would also go away.

(68) Then Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Simon Peter answered Jesus that there was no other place to go; after all, it was Jesus who had the words of eternal life.  Although they would still have difficulty sometimes understanding spiritual things, God was obviously drawing them to Jesus and His life-giving truths.

(69) "And we believe and are sure that You are that Christ, the Son of the living God."

Peter added that they believed and were certain that He was the Christ, their anticipated Messiah, the Son of the living God.

(70) Jesus answered them, "Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil." (71) He spoke of Judas Iscariot of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

Jesus rhetorically asked if He had chosen them, the twelve, as if to say that He through the Father was drawing them to know His spiritual truths and He knew that they would accept Him.  However, He warned them that He knew one of them was a devil.  John added his explanation that Jesus spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, who would eventually betray Him, although he was one of the twelve Jesus had chosen.  Once again, it makes one wonder, was Judas never what he professed to be, but Jesus chose him anyway for His purposes?  And if so, did Judas recognize that Jesus was talking about him, and could he have heeded Jesus's warnings about him?  Or was he an honest believer in the beginning and then turned away and rejected Jesus?  Only God knows the heart of man.

Jesus Feeds 5000 and Then Walks on Water

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 6:1) After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee which is the Sea of Tiberius.

In the last chapter, Jesus had healed the man at the pool of Bethesda, and then vindicated Himself against the Jews who questioned His authority to allow the healed man to take up his mat on the Sabbath.  Gleaned from the other Gospel writers and commentators that I study, it seems it was quite a while after those things had happened that Jesus now went across the Sea of Galilee which is also called the Sea of Tiberius.

(2) And a great multitude followed Him because they saw His miracles which He did on those who were diseased.

A large crowd of people who had witnessed His miracles of healing followed Jesus.

(3) And Jesus went up in a mountain and there He sat with His disciples. (4) And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.

Jesus went up into a mountain and sat there with His disciples.  It seems the Passover was nearing again so it had been over ten months since the incident at the pool of Bethesda.

(5) When Jesus then lifted up and saw a great company coming to Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?"

When Jesus looked up and saw the multitude of people coming toward Him, He asked Philip where they should buy bread to feed all the people.  It may have been that Philip was in charge of providing such victuals, or perhaps he was of this area and might best know where they could buy bread.

(6) And this He did to prove him for He Himself knew what He would do.

Actually, we see Jesus's reason for asking Philip was to test his faith.  After all, Philip had been with Jesus from the beginning and had seen Him turn water into wine.  Would he not realize that Jesus could just as easily provide bread for all these people?  Jesus already knew what He planned to do.

(7) Philip answered Him, "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little."

It seems Philip failed the test.  He answered in a secular manner attempting to show how impractical it was for them to pay two hundred pennyworth for bread, which may have been all they had, to only give each person a little bit.

(8) One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, (9) "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"

Andrew, hearing Jesus's question to Philip, told Jesus that there was a boy there who had five loaves of barley bread and two small fish, but then added that that was way too inadequate to feed so many people.

(10) And Jesus said, "Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number, about five thousand.

Jesus instructed the disciples to have the people sit down on the plenteous green grass that was at the foot of the mountain.  The people did as they were told and the men numbered about five thousand.  The account in Matthew added that that didn't include women and children who were among the ones asked to sit down.

(11) And Jesus took the loaves and when He had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sat down, and likewise of the fish as much as they wanted.

Jesus took the loaves of bread and gave thanks and blessed them and then distributed them to the disciples who in turn, passed bread out to the people.  He did the same with the two fish, and the people were able to get as much food as they wanted.

(12) When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain that nothing is lost."

When all the people had eaten their fill, Jesus told His disciples to gather up all the leftover scraps so that no food was wasted.

(13) Therefore they gathered together and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above to them who had eaten.

The disciples gathered the leftovers and filled twelve baskets with them, what started as one basket with five loaves and two small fish.  And of course, that was what was left after all the people had eaten their fill.

(14) Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, "This is truly that Prophet who should come into the world."

When the people realized what a miracle Jesus had done in feeding them, they remarked that He was surely the great Prophet who was to come into the world of whom Moses had spoken, their long-awaited Messiah.

(15) When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone.

Jesus began to perceive that the people might try to take Him to make Him their King, so He slipped away back up into a mountain by Himself.

(16) And when evening was come, His disciples went down to the sea,

While Jesus stayed for a little rest and solitude and probably prayer, His disciples went down to the sea.  According to the accounts in Matthew and Mark, Jesus directed them to go ahead before Him to the other side of the sea.

(17) And entered into a ship and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark and Jesus had not come to them.

The disciples boarded a boat and sailed across the sea toward Capernaum.  It had become dark and Jesus had not yet caught up to them.

(18) And the sea arose because of a great wind that blew.

While they were in the middle of the sea in the dark a storm arose with a great wind and caused the sea to swell up and lift up great waves.

(19) So when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty furlongs, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the ship, and they were afraid.

The disciples had rowed about three and a half miles when they saw Jesus walking on the water of the sea.  He was coming toward them and they were afraid.  The account in Matthew said they thought it was a spirit they saw.

(20) But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." (21) Then they willingly received Him into the ship, and immediately the ship was at the land where they went.

Jesus called out to the disciples that it was He and they should not be afraid.  It was at this point, the account in Matthew tells us that Jesus called Peter to Him and Peter walked on water toward Jesus until he became afraid and sank.  It was after that when Jesus got into the boat.  John added something none of the other gospel accounts mentioned.  Once Jesus was onboard, the ship immediately was onshore at their destination.  The account in Mark said only that as Jesus got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Perhaps John did not mean that the boat was miraculously and instantaneously on the land at their destination but that it very quickly arrived, but John did seem to suggest an extraordinary sudden arrival.

(22) The day following, when the people who stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there except that one in which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not gone with His disciples into the boat, but His disciples had gone away alone, 

The next day the people whom Jesus had fed back on the other side of the sea saw that there were no boats there other than the one they had seen His disciples leave in, and they knew Jesus had not gone with them.  Therefore, they would assume Jesus was still on that side of the sea.

(23) (However, there came other boats from Tiberius near to the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks)

John made a parenthetical statement that although there were no other boats at first, there then came other boats from Tiberius to the place where they had eaten the food Jesus had provided for them the evening before.

(24) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither His disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

When the people saw that Jesus was not still on their side of the sea and neither were His disciples, they got into the boats that were arriving from Tiberius and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

(25) And when they had found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"

The people indeed found Jesus on the other side of the sea at Capernaum and asked Him when He had come there as they knew He had not gone with His disciples in the only boat they had seen.  His answer will be in the next post.  Although this makes for a rather short post, this chapter is very long and this seems the best stopping place for now, as the rest of the chapter is of Jesus's words to the people.

Jesus Calls His First Few Disciples

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels: 

(John 1:19) And this is the record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

In verses 6 and 7 in the last post, the evangelist John had told us that John the Baptist had been sent by God to bear witness of Jesus.  He now began to tell about John and just how he bore that witness.

(20) And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

It seems that at least some of the priests and Levites who came to him must have thought he was the Christ, but John told them freely and truthfully that he was not Christ, the Messiah.

(21) And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you that prophet?" And he answered, "No."

If he wasn't the Christ, they wanted to know just who he was.  They asked if he was Elijah, and he said he was not.  From the accounts in Matthew and Luke we learned that they had also asked if he was the prophet Jeremiah or one of the other prophets risen from the dead.  So whichever prophet they were asking John about in this verse, he answered he was not that prophet.

(22) Then they said to him, "Who are you? That we may give an answer to them who sent us. What do you say of yourself?"

Then who was he?  They wanted to know so that they could tell the people who sent them to find out.  They asked what he had to say for himself.

(23) He said, "I am 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."

Quoting Isaiah 40:3, John told them he was the one Isaiah spoke of when he spoke about the voice of one crying in the wilderness to make straight the way of the Lord.

(24) And they who were sent were of the Pharisees.

Those who were questioning John were Pharisees who were a very legalistic sect zealous for the traditions of the elders.  They were knowledgeable of the scriptures and were anticipating their coming Messiah.

(25) And they asked him and said to him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not that Christ, nor Elijah, nor that prophet?"

There were baptisms done before John came on the scene, but they were for pagans who had converted to Judaism and ordered by the Sanhedrin.  They never baptized Jews so they wondered by whose authority he was doing it now, if he was not Christ, Elijah, or some other important prophet.

(26) John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands one among you whom you do not know."

John answered that he did indeed baptize with water.  The account in Matthew 3:11 said a good bit more about this.  He baptized with water for repentance of sins, but there was one among them whom they did not yet know who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

(27) "He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's strap I am not worthy to unloose."

John explained that the one among them they did not yet know was the one coming after him who was preferred before him, so great in fact that he was not worthy to even loosen His sandal strap.

(28) These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan where John was baptizing.

This conversation between John and the Pharisees took place at a place called Bethabara where John was baptizing.  "Bethabara" literally means "house of the ford" or "house of passage," and was thought to be the place where the Israelites passed over the Jordan River under Joshua.  There could be symbology in this that this is where an opening was made for people to pass through to the Gospel of Jesus, and ultimately to be able to pass through to the kingdom of heaven.

(29) The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

The day after John had been conversing with the Pharisees, Jesus came to John and John accurately and prophetically declared Him to be the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, that ultimate Lamb sacrifice that would atone for all sin when He was crucified.

(30) "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"

John went on to say that Jesus was the one he had been talking about when he said that one would come after him who was preferred above him because He had been there before him in time and was before him as the foremost superior One.

(31) "And I did not know Him, but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore I come baptizing with water."

Although Jesus and John were cousins (Luke 1:36), it appears that John had not known Jesus previous to His baptism and the beginning of His ministry.  John had spent his time in the hill country in solitude and Jesus had been in Nazareth.  John explained that his purpose had been to proclaim Jesus's coming and make Him known to Israel, preparing the way for Jesus.

(32) And John bore record, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it dwelt on Him."

John gave testimony that he had seen the Holy Spirit descending from heaven in the form of a dove that rested on Jesus.

(33) "And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, 'Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, the same is He who baptizes with the Holy Ghost.'"

John again said that he had not known Jesus before His baptism, but God who had sent him to baptize with water had told him that when he saw the Spirit descending from heaven and resting on Jesus, he would know that He was the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

(34) "And I saw and bore record that this is the Son of God."

John had been a witness to the Spirit descending like a dove onto Jesus and remaining there, so he had therefore heard the voice from heaven declaring that Jesus was His beloved Son (Matthew 3:17), so he knew and testified that Jesus was the Son of God.

(35) Again the next day after, John stood and two of his disciples.

The day after John had seen Jesus and had revealed Him as the Son of God, he was standing with two of his disciples.

(36) And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"

When John saw Jesus walking, he directed his disciples to see the Lamb of God.

(37) And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus.

Upon hearing John's declaration, his two disciples followed Jesus.

(38) Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, being interpreted, Master), "Where do You dwell?"

When Jesus turned and saw the two disciples following Him, He asked them what they were looking for.  They referred to Him as Rabbi which the evangelist John interpreted for his readers telling them it meant Master.  A Master among the Jews was a title for a learned teacher.  The disciples then asked where Jesus dwelt, as if asking where they might go to learn from Him.

(39) He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He dwelt and stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

Jesus invited the two disciples to come with Him to see where He dwelt, which they did.  The Jewish clock began at dawn, at 6:00 in the morning, so the tenth hour would have been 4:00 in the afternoon.  The disciples wound up spending most of the day with Jesus.

(40) One of the two who heard John and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

One of the two disciples of John who had followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  This was apparently before Jesus officially called the two brothers to be fishers of men (Matthew 4:19).

(41) He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah," which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

It seems the first person Andrew wanted to tell was his brother Simon.  He found him and told him that they had found the Messiah.  Once again, the evangelist John seems to be translating for his readers.  He wrote that the Messiah was the same as the Christ.  The Hebrew word "Messiah" was interpreted in Greek by the word "Christ" and both words mean "Anointed."

(42) And he brought him to Jesus.  And when Jesus beheld him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah; you shall be called Cephas," which is by interpretation, a stone. 

Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus.  When Jesus looked at Simon, he declared his name to be Simon, the son of Jonah, Simon Bar-Jonah as Jesus called him in Matthew 16:17.  However, He told him he would be called Cephas, which was the Hebrew word for "rock" or "stone" as John interpreted it.  The Greek word John used for "stone" was "Petros" or "Peter" as Anglicized.

(43) The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and find Philip and say to him, "Follow Me." 

The day after Peter's introduction to Jesus, as Jesus was going to Galilee he found Philip and told him to follow Him.

(44) Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip was from Bethsaida which was where Andrew and Peter were from.  John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible pointed out that there were three apostles of Jesus called out of Bethsaida, which Jesus later lamented and declared woe upon because it was a wicked place that rejected the word, miracles, and person of Jesus (Matthew 11:21), proving, as he would say, that a man's native place did not honor him, but a man honors his place, and having three apostles of Jesus coming from Bethsaida was no small honor for it.  I just love how God always seems to use flawed people and lowly places!  It gives hope and encouragement to all people from wherever they might hail!

(45) Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

Nathanael is probably the same person Bartholomew.  "Bartholomew" means "son of Tolmai," "Bar-Tolmai," like Jesus called Peter Simon Bar-Jonah in Matthew 16:17.  Therefore, it is likely that Bartholomew had another name.  The three previous gospels mention Bartholomew and John does not.  John mentions Nathanael and the other three do not.  Additionally, the three previous gospels name Bartholomew directly following Philip, and John names Nathanael following Philip.  So it does seem reasonable to assume that Nathanael and Bartholomew are two different names for the same person.  In a later passage in the gospel of John, Nathanael is listed among the disciples whom Jesus appeared to after His resurrection.  Although Jesus had many more disciples than just His chosen twelve, the 21st chapter of John does seem to concern only those of His chosen twelve.

After Jesus told Philip to follow Him, Philip went and found Nathanael and told him they had found Jesus of Nazareth about whom Moses and the prophets had foretold.

(46) And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

Nathanael questioned how anything good could come out of Nazareth as it was a wicked place in his mind.  Additionally, he surely knew the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem as prophesied in Micah 5:2, not Nazareth.  The prophesy had stated that Jesus would come out of Bethlehem even though she was little among the thousands of Judah.  Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but He grew up in Nazareth, a place so miserable that Nathanael could not imagine anything good coming from there.  Once again we have God using the lowliest places to bring forth something magnificent!  Philip only answered Nathanael's doubt by telling him to come and see for himself.

(47) Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said of him, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile!"

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, He said of Nathanael in the hearing of Nathanael himself and all who were present that he was indeed an Israelite, not only by birth, but worthy of the name.  He found no deceit or fraud in him; he was what he professed to be, and probably didn't tolerate fraud in anyone else, which might be why Jesus may have been giving him a small zinger because he had doubted that anything good could come from Nazareth.

(48) Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

Nathanael asked Jesus how He knew anything about him.  Jesus answered that even before Philip had summoned him, He had seen him under a fig tree.  Of course, He did not mean that He was bodily present to see Nathanael, and Nathanael obviously realized that:

(49) Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Realizing that Jesus could not possibly have seen him under the fig tree unless He was the Son of God, he declared him so and also to be the King of Israel.  He called Him Rabbi, which meant Master, and that title belonged to no one else but Christ, as Jesus said in Matthew 23:10.

(50) Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' you believe? You will see greater things than this."

It's as if Jesus said to Nathanael, "You believe I am the Son of God just because I saw you under the fig tree? You haven't seen anything yet!"  Indeed, Jesus told him he would see much greater things.

(51) And He said to him, "Most assuredly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

Jesus told Nathanael he would see heaven open up and see angels descending upon Him and ascending back to heaven.  Whereas it would literally happen at His baptism, this was probably meant to be in a spiritual sense.  Through Jesus, the secrets of heaven would be made known to His disciples and it would be evident that He had the full favor of God in heaven and His ministering angels.  With Jesus's sacrifice, there would be an open channel to God and His angels for His believers.  There would certainly be no doubt that Jesus was their promised Messiah!