power to crucify you, and have power to release you?” 11Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against me except if it were given to you from above: therefore he that delivered me to you has the greater sin.” 12And from that time Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: whosoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.” 13When Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15But they cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him.” Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16Then he delivered him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
Jesus is Crucified 17And bearing his own cross he went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: 18where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle. 19And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: Jesus Of Nazareth, The King Of The Jews. 20This title many of the Jews read: for the place where Jesus was crucified was near to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. 21Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write: The King of the Jews; but that he said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” 22Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” 23Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it for whose it will be,” that the scripture might be fulfilled, which said, “They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots.” These things therefore the soldiers did.
25Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son!” 27Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. Jesus Dies 28After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst.” 29Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put hyssop on it, and put it to his mouth. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, decided that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, so they besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they did
not break his legs. 34But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and there came out blood and water. 35And he that saw it bore record, and his record is true: and he knows that what he said is true, that you might believe. 36For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will be broken.” 37And again another scripture said, “They will look on him whom they pierced.” Jesus Is Buried 38And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus. 39And there Nicodemus also came, who at first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. 40Then they took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. 41Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, wherein was never laid a man. 42There they laid Jesus because of the Jews' preparation day; for the tomb was near at hand.
20 ------------------------------------------- Notes: In verse 30 there is a very important statement: It is finished! God’s plan to save the world is now finished. This was God’s plan since before time began to save the world though the sacrificial death of Jesus. There is nothing more that you need to do to save your soul. Salvation has been provided for you by Jesus Christ. The work has been completed. God has done the work for you. But you do have to believe. You do have to accept what God has done for you through Jesus. There is nothing you can do to add to God’s plan. You can’t save yourself, you must trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Rises From The Dead 1The first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, when it was still dark, and saw the stone taken away from the tomb. 2Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him.” 3Peter therefore went there, and the other disciple, and came to the tomb. 4So they both ran together: and the other disciple outran Peter, and came first to the tomb. 5And stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen clothes lying there; but he did not go
in. 6Then Simon Peter came following him, and went into the tomb, and saw the linen clothes lying there, 7 and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple also went in, who came first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed. 9For they still did not know the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. 10Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. Jesus Appears To Mary Magdalene 11But Mary stood there at the tomb weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the tomb, 12and saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus was laid. 13And they said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14And when she had said this, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing there, but didn’t know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him
away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned herself, and said to him, “Rabboni;” (which is to say, Master.) 17Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me; for I have not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say to them, ‘I will ascend to my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.’” 18Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things to her. Jesus Appears To His Disciples 19Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be unto you.” 20And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace be unto you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
23 Whoever sins against you forgive them, and their sins will be forgiven; and whose ever sins you don’t forgive, they are not forgiven.” Jesus Appears To One Who Doubts 24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Except if 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.” 26And after eight days his disciples were together again, and Thomas with them. Then Jesus came in, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst, and said, “Peace be unto you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and behold my hands; and reach your hand here, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believe.” 28And Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God.” 29Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
21 Why This Was Written 30And many other signs Jesus did in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book: 31But these things are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing in him you may have life through his name. ----------------------------------------- Notes: Jesus is alive! Jesus isn’t dead. Jesus rose from the grave three days later just as He said He would. He’s alive in heaven today watching down on all the earth. He’s the only one in history who has defeated death. And because He lives so you will if you place your trust in Him. The Miraculous Catch Of Fish 1After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and in this way he showed himself. 2There 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. 3Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going out to fish.” They said to him, “We will also go with you.” They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
4But when the morning came, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples didn’t know that it was Jesus. 5Then Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6And he said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you will find some.” They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fish. 7Therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his fisher's coat on, (for he was naked,) and cast himself into the sea. 8And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fish. 9As soon as they got to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid there on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, “Bring of the fish which you have now caught.” 11Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fish, 153: and even though there were so many the net was not broken. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and dine.” And none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?,” knowing that it was the Lord. 13Jesus then came,
and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 14This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. Peter Re-commissioned By Jesus 15So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He said to Peter again the second time, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” 17Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonas, 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. 18Verily, verily, I say to you, when you were young, you clothed yourself, and walked where you wanted: but when you are old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will clothe you, and carry you where you do not want.” 19He spoke this, signifying what
death that he would glorify God with. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, “Follow me.” 20Then Peter, turning about, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who had leaned on his breast at supper and who had said, “Lord, who is it that betrays you?” 21Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what will this man do?” 22Jesus said to him, “If I will that he tarry until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.” 23Then this saying went abroad among the brethren: “that this disciple would not die,” but Jesus did not say to him, ‘He will not die; but, if I will that he tarry until I come, what is that to you?’” 24This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote down these things: and we know that his testimony is true. 25And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if every one were written down, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. ----------------------------------------- Notes: “Follow me,” Jesus says in verse 19. And in verse 22 He says not to worry about what other people think, but you follow Him. Jesus commands everyone everywhere to follow Him. And when you follow Jesus you follow Him right into heaven for eternity. He is the only way to God, therefore we need to follow Him. Your
eternal destiny is decided upon whether or not you decide to follow Jesus. Where you end up for eternity, whether in heaven or in hell, is all determined by your decision to follow or not to follow Jesus. So what’s it going to be for you? Will you accept God’s free offer of forgiveness and eternal life offered through faith in Jesus and put your trust in Him and then follow Him? Conclusion You’ve just finished reading the greatest story ever told…the wonderful story of God’s great love for you. Isn’t it amazing what He did for you? And why was this book written? According to John it says, “But these things are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing in him you may have life through his name.” (John 20:31) When it says “life” it actually means “eternal life.” You can have eternal life by believing in Jesus. God doesn’t want you to get all religious, or convert to some religion. He just wants you back in a relationship with Him. He actually wants you to unconvert from all religion and/or human philosophy and to place your trust in Him. You can’t be saved by any religion or by being a good person, but only by faith in Jesus Christ and the work that He did on the cross to save your soul.
Your religion and/or your own humanistic philosophy will be the very things that separate you from God for eternity. Like most people, up until now you’ve probably been trusting in yourself and/or your religion to achieve whatever end you have decided in your own mind. You might even think that you are a good person and that all will go well with you in the end. But God says there are no good people. All people are sinners, living in open rebellion against God and as enemies of God. But the amazing thing is that God still loves you anyway. Don’t trust in your good works to save you. It’s not going to work. Don’t trust in yourself or your religion to save you. It won’t help you. Don’t trust in your perceived goodness to save you because you don’t have any goodness in you, you’re just like everyone else. You have to trust in Jesus and Jesus alone for the salvation of your soul. If you add anything to that, or take away anything from that, you will not be saved. It’s by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. If you died today in your sin you have God’s promise that you’ll end up in Hell for eternity. We are all headed for judgement before a holy God who hates sin and will not let any sin or any sinner into
His Kingdom. But God loves you very much and doesn’t want you ending up in Hell forever separated from Him. There are just two things you need to do to be saved from God’s judgment. You need to repent of your sin and of your unbelief, and then believe in Jesus and trust in the work that He has done for you on the cross as a payment for your sin. But your repentance and your belief must be sincere. What does it mean to repent? To repent has several components to it. First, it means to turn away from your sin. You turn away from your unbelief. It means to change your mind about who Jesus is. You’re convicted and broken over your sin and know that you need salvation. You come before God and are truly sorry for your sin against Him and you ask for forgiveness. You have to acknowledge that you were wrong and the God is right. Then you turn away from your old life of sin and self and turn to God…a complete 180 degree turn.
What does it mean to believe? Let’s first start with what belief isn’t. Belief isn’t: • Merely agreeing with the facts about Jesus. • Simply adding Jesus into whatever you already believe. • Nominal, half-hearted belief…Saying you believe but then not living it out and/or continuing on with the same old life you always lived and not exhibiting any change in your life. To believe means that you transfer the trust in yourself to trust alone in Jesus. You hand over the control of your life to Him. You are no longer your own. Jesus becomes the Lord of your life. It’s 100% all in or nothing at all. You surrender your life and follow Jesus. This is what real belief looks like. The moment you truly repent and trust in Jesus, if it is sincere then God will forgive every sin you ever committed and will grant you everlasting life in heaven as a free gift that no person can earn. You’ll be born again, made into a new person, adopted into God’s eternal family as His child and be assured of spending eternity in paradise. Please note: There are going to be many people who say they believe in Jesus but will not be saved. There will be people who sat in church their whole
life and will not be saved. There will even be pastors and people who served in the church for many years who will not be saved. This is because they never truly repented and surrendered their lives to Jesus. They were never born again. They had only a false form of faith. So the big question is: When are you going to repent and trust alone in Jesus? You can get quietly before God and do it right now. ----------------------------------------------- Congratulations! If you’ve made the decision to repent and trust in Jesus then you have just been saved and have become a child of God. Welcome to the family, the eternal family of God of whom you will spend eternity with. You now begin an exciting new life as you start living out the purpose for which you were created for. What’s Next? Now you want to find other family members to help you to learn and to grow. Find other followers of Jesus who want to help you with your new relationship with God. Get the whole Bible and start learning about the entire plan of God from beginning to end. You’ve
only gotten a small part of the whole story for now. The rest of the story is even more amazing. Start praying and talking to God. You can do this anywhere and anytime. It’s part of your new relationship with Him. God wants to hear from you. He is near and He is listening. “But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the children of God.” John 1:12