Jesus

Jesus Walks on Water

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Walks on Water”

Matthew 14:22-33 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 14:22)

Mark 6:45-52 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Mark 6:45)

John 6:15-21 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with John 6:15)

Psalm 25:4
Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.

THE SPLICE

The disciples were collecting the fragments of food left over from the 1 feeding of the 5,000 men, plus the women and children.  And those who had witnessed this miracle of feeding so many people from five barley loaves and two fish, said, “This is truly 2 the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew back up to the mountain by Himself alone. Now when it was later in the evening, Jesus 3 made His disciples go down to the sea, get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to 4 Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. Now while Jesus was sending the crowds away, and after the disciples had gotten into the boat, they started to cross the sea towards 5 Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

After bidding the crowd farewell, 6 Jesus had sent the crowd away. He left for the mountain and went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and He was there alone on the land and the boat was in the middle of the sea, a long distance from the land. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing and the wind was contrary and against them, so the boat was battered by the waves. 7 Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars and at about the 8 fourth watch of the night, when they had rowed about 9 three or four miles, Jesus came to them, walking out on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. The disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened/terrified because when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that 10 it was a ghost, and they cried out in fear, saying, “It is a ghost!”. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, Peter became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” The disciples were willing to receive Jesus into the boat when they realized it was Him and when Peter and Jesus got into the boat, the wind stopped and all those in the boat and the boat were immediately 11 at the land to which they were going. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, 12 “You are certainly God’s Son!”  They were utterly astonished by this, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their 13 heart was hardened.

An Old Boat

NOTES

1  feeding of the 5,000: Many Bible scholars have estimated that the crowd was more like 15,000 people, because the women and children weren’t included in the count, according to Matthew 14:21. To read about the feeding of the 5,000 men, see Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:33-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:1-14. To read the Splice about the feeding of the 5,000, click here. (Back)

2  the Prophet: In reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18 and it is reinforced that the Prophet is the Christ in Acts 3:20-23. The Prophet is mentioned in Deuteronomy 18 because the Israelites are prohibited from participating in spiritism, such as using mediums, witchcraft, necromancy, spellcasting, divination, etc. and God promises a Prophet (and other prophets) that would speak to them, for Him. Today’s popular pastimes, such as using talking boards or tarot cards, are included in the prohibition of spiritism.  Believers in Christ should be waiting on God for answers (who doesn’t lie, see Hebrews 6:18), not demons (their leader is the father of all lies, see John 8:44). See Deuteronomy 18:9-22 for the information concerning spiritism and the announcement of the Prophet, and see Acts 16:16-18 about the slave-girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination. See Exodus 22:18 where God commands that those who practice sorcery (witchcraft) in Israel should be put to death. (Back)

3  made His disciples…: The Greek word used for made in Matthew 14:22 and Mark 6:45 is anagkazó and means “to force or compel” and has a flavor of urgency along with the command. (Back)

4  Bethsaida: Where historical Bethsaida was actually located is up for debate, but we can estimate it’s location to the NE shores of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida was the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Phillip (John 1:44). It is a possibility that James and John were from Bethsaida, because James and John were fishing partners with Peter and Andrew (see Matthew 4:18-22 and Luke 5:10), but John does not mention himself or his brother in 1:44. He also doesn’t mention his own personal recruitment (nor his brother’s) into Jesus’s ministry in his Gospel. Although Jesus is sending them to the town of Bethsaida (Mark 6:45), they are already in a secluded spot (Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:32) associated with the town (Luke 9:10). Also, they are actually heading towards Capernaum once they are on the sea of Galilee (John 6:17), possibly because of the strong winds and inability to control the boat. Capernaum and Bethsaida are not that far apart, as best as we can judge two thousand years later. Unfortunately, Bethsaida no longer exists as a town, nor does Capernaum. However, there is a bus stop named Bethsaida Junction, along Israel’s Highway 87, about 4 1/2 miles northeast of the Capernaum ruins. (Back)

5  Capernaum: Capernaum is Jesus’s home base. He moved from Nazareth to Capernaum at the beginning of His ministry (Matthew 4:13). Peter and Andrew have a house there (Mark 1:21, 29) and it’s possible that Jesus recruited Matthew from Capernaum because of Matthew 9:1, 9 and  Mark 2:1, 14. Capernaum has been the site of extensive excavations and digs since the 1800’s, and there is a memorial built over what is supposed to be Peter’s house and some churches that were built there in the 4th and 5th centuries. The memorial has a partial glass floor so you can see the remains of these ancient ruins. Capernaum itself is now owned by the Franciscans and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy of Jerusalem. (Back)

6  Jesus had sent the crowd away: The Greek text for Matthew 14:23 says “And having dismissed the crowds”. The Greek word for dismissed is apoluó and means “let go, send away, divorce”.  (Back)

7  Jesus saw the disciples: See Mark 6:48. Understanding that the disciples are already far away from the land (Matthew 14:24; Mark 6:47) and it’s dark (John 6:17), this must be a miraculous sighting, using His power as God to see these details, where human eyes could not. The Greek word used here for see is horaó and can be used metaphorically or literally.  (Back)

8  fourth watch: The fourth watch, the last watch of the night, was between 3am and 6am. Roman guard duties were divided into four watches throughout the night. The first watch was from 6pm to 9pm, the second watch from 9pm to 12am, the third watch 12am to 3am, and then the fourth. (Back)

9  three or four miles: The Greek text for John 6:19 says “stadia twenty-five or thirty”. A stadia is a Greek measurement of distance and where we get our word “stadium” from. A stadia is about 1/8 of a mile or the distance of a Greek race course. (Back)

10  it was a ghost: This is not proof that ghosts exist. It is possible that due to their fear, the disciples were grasping at legend or superstition to explain the unexplainable. For those who belong to God, there is no possibility of ghostliness, as 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 gives us the clue that once our souls are absent from the body, we are together with the Lord. For those who reject God’s grace, we can only look at Jesus’s parable about Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) which says that Lazarus was taken by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (a place of comfort) and the rich man to Hades (hell). The parable doesn’t say “there is no such thing as ghosts” but it certainly does give the footing to say so. Ghosts or not, we know that God controls all things (Ephesians 1:11) for His purposes, even the demons (Job 1:6, 12, 2:6), and therefore it is God who should be feared, not ghosts (Matthew 10:28). (Back)

11  at the land: Matthew 14:34 says that they landed at Gennesaret, a town about 2-1/2 miles to the Southwest of Capernaum. This was an instantaneous landing at Gennesaret (John 6:21), and therefore a miracle, as the disciples had rowed out 3 or 4 miles out to sea when Jesus approached the boat (John 6:19).  They were ultimately going to be heading out to Bethsaida, as Mark 6:45 says, and they do finally get there in Mark 8:22. But as we are told in Mark 6:53-55 as well as Matthew 14:35-36, Jesus made this side trip and healed many people while He was there. (Back)

12  You are certainly God’s Son: The disciples had seen lots of miracles (Matthew 11:4-5, 20-21) performed by Jesus before He walked on water and facilitated an instant landing of their boat. The wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), healings (much of Matthew 9, Mark 5:21-42, Luke 7:1-10, John 5:1-9) casting demons out of people (Matthew 8:28-33, Mark 5:1-20) and they had JUST seen (and participated in) an NBA stadium’s worth of people (approximately) fed from 5 loaves and 2 fish (see Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-15). (Back)

13  heart was hardened: From Mark 6:52. The Greek word used for heart is kardia and means “the heart; mind, character, inner self”. The Greek word used for hardened is póroó and means “harden, petrify, callous”. The words together give the meaning that the collective minds of the disciples were unperceiving or dull to the miracle that they had witnessed in the feeding of the 5,000 men. (Back)

Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant”

Matthew 8:5-13 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 8:5)

Luke 7:1-10 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 7:1)

 

2 Corinthians 5:7
for we walk by faith, not by sight

 

THE SPLICE

When He had completed all 1 His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to 2 Capernaum. And a 3 centurion’s 4 slave, who was 5 highly regarded by the centurion, was 6 sick and about to die. The centurion 7 heard about Jesus, and when Jesus entered Capernaum, the centurion came to Jesus by sending some 8 Jewish elders to Him. The centurion was imploring Him to come and 9 save the life of his 10 slave, saying, 11“Lord, my 12 servant is lying 13 paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” The Jewish elders, earnestly implored Him on the centurion’s behalf, saying 14“He is worthy for You to grant this to him;  for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” Jesus said to the centurion through the Jewish elders, “I will come and 15 heal him.” Now Jesus started on His way with the Jewish elders; and when He was not far from the house, the 16 centurion sent friends to meet Jesus and said to Jesus through these friends he had sent to Him, “Lord do not trouble Yourself further, for 17 I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but 18 just say the word, and my servant will be 19 healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my 20 slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, 21 He marveled at the centurion and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “Truly I say to you I have not found such great 22 faith with anyone in Israel/not even in Israel have I found such great faith. I say to you that many will come from 23 east and west, and 24 recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the 25 sons of the kingdom will be 26 cast out into the 27 outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion’s friends as a message for the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have 28 believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment. When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in 29 good health.

 

NOTES

1 His discourse: Jesus had just finished giving the Sermon on the Mount, which included the Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7; Luke 6:20-49). He had also healed people, including a man with leprosy (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-15).  To read the Splice about the man with leprosy, click here. (Back)

 

2 Capernaum: Capernaum was Jesus’s base of operations. He had moved there from His hometown of Nazareth at the beginning of His ministry. Peter had a house in Capernaum, which seems to have been a suburb of or a part of Bethsaida. Peter’s brother Andrew also lived at Peter’s house. It could be logically assumed that James and John (the sons of Zebedee), who were fishing partners of Peter’s and Andrew’s, had their homes in Capernaum as well, but the Bible doesn’t mention where James or John lived. We do know that Jesus didn’t have a home of His own. See Matthew 4:13, 18-21, 8:20; Mark 1:16-19, 21-29, 2:1;  Luke 5:10,  9:58, John 1:44. (Back)

 

3 centurion: A centurion was a Roman army captain in charge of one hundred soldier subordinates. (Back)

 

4 slave: The slave belongs to a Roman, and not a Jew. It seems this Roman may be a Jewish proselyte of sorts, but the Bible doesn’t state that. God allowed slavery for the Israel of Old Testament times. It is important to understand the distinction of OT Israel only, and to understand that the Bible is not talking about the world of today; it isn’t even talking about the Romans and their slavery practices way back then. Today, slavery is a difficult topic to talk about because of the ugly and wrong justifications that were used by Europeans to kidnap people from Africa and sell them as property, which the Bible makes NO allowance for (Exodus 21:16). To get a basic understanding about what the Bible says about slavery for the Israelites of old, see Leviticus 25:35-55. (Back)

 

5 highly regarded: The Greek text says “valued highly” and the Greek word used in Luke 7:2 is entimos and it means “held precious, honored, honorable in rank”. (Back)

 

6 sick and about to die: The Greek word used for “sick” in Luke 7:2 is kakós and means “badly, grievously or diseased”. (Back)

 

7 heard about Jesus: It must be remembered that EVERYONE was hearing about Jesus, the Man who was preaching with authority about the kingdom of God and about repentance, healing people’s bodies of horrible ailments, and casting out demons (an unimaginable torture) and the crowds were amazed by it. Jesus was causing quite a stir in Israel. See Matthew 4:17, 23-25, 7:28-29, 8:16, 17, 28-33 for a sample of these events. (Back)

 

8 Jewish elders: The Sanhedrin (see Greek word presbuteros). The Sanhedrin was the group with all the power in Israel—under the authority of the Romans, that is. The Sanhedrin was headed up by the High Priest (Annas and Caiaphas at the time of Jesus’s ministry, see Matthew 26:57, Luke 3:2, John 18:13), and was comprised of scribes and the Pharisees, among others. The Sanhedrin will later be the group responsible (along with some input from the Herodians, see Mark 3:6 and Matthew 22:15-16) for demanding Jesus’s crucifixion, after an illegal arrest in the dark, and a fake trial with phony witnesses. See Matthew 26:3-5; 47-68, 27:11-26; Mark 14:1, 10-11, 43-65; 15:1-20; Luke 22:4-5, 47-53, 66-71; 23:1-25; John 11:47-57; John 18 and 19. Here’s a fair explanation about the Sanhedrin from Wikipedia and one from Britannica.com. (Back)

 

9 save the life: The Greek word used for save in Luke 7:3 is diasózó and means to “escape safely, perfectly whole” or “to save all the way across”. (Back)

 

10 slave: Luke 7:2, 3, 10 tells us that this person is an actual slave, a person owned by another person. The Greek word for slave used in the Luke verses is doulos and means “slave”. Many Bible translations like to use the word “bondservant” or simply “servant” and that is true, it does mean “servant/bondservant”. However, the English word servant gives the feeling of a person free to make their own choices or able to quit the job, if they don’t like the pay or the boss. The truth is, a bondservant/doulos, is a bondslave. A bondslave has no rights, no personal ownership or freedoms; a bondslave has no legal personhood. (Back)

 

11 Lord: The Greek word used for Lord in Matthew 8:6 is kurios and means “lord, master, sir” and gives the implication that the person being called “lord” is the owner of or master over the person using the word kurios. When you call Jesus “Lord”, you are saying He is the absolute owner of you, over any other authority including your own free will, just like the centurion was saying here. (Back)

 

12 servant: The centurion never calls the person that he owns (that is also dying) a “doulos” (slave). He uses a different word, pais, which means “a child, boy, youth” and implies a youthful slave, possibly still in training. We can tell from this word, which the centurion uses several times, that this slave is probably a child. Just to be clear, Luke never uses the word pais himself, even though he quotes the centurion as using it; Luke always refers to the ill person as “doulos”. Matthew does use the word pais apart from the centurion, in Matthew 8:13. Matthew does not use the word “doulos” in describing this ill person at all. (Back)

 

13 paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented: It is very difficult to watch someone that you love suffer in agony, even more so when that person is a child. The Greek word used in Matthew 8:6 for fearfully is deinós and means “vehemently, terribly, grievously”. The Greek word used in Matthew 8:6 for the word tormented is basanizó and means “to torture.” We don’t know what illness this young person had, but whatever it was it left him paralyzed, tormented and about to die. (Back)

 

14 He is worthy: It sounds like these Jewish elders felt like they had to qualify the Gentile centurion’s request, and this was because most Jews, especially religious Jews, didn’t like to associate with Gentiles. It’s actually surprising that these Sanhedrin members affiliated with this Roman guy at all. While it is true that Jesus was preaching to and healing the Israelites exclusively (He didn’t go to Rome or China to preach/heal, see Matthew 15:24), He clearly helped non-Jews as well, as this event shows, as does the story of the Canaanite woman (see Matthew 15:21-28). Jesus also tells the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37, after a lawyer asked Jesus to define who he should consider as a neighbor. (Back)

 

15 heal him: The Greek word for heal used in Matthew 8:7 is therapeuó and means to cure or heal, like a doctor’s healing. (Back)

 

16 centurion sent friends: Although the Bible does not mention it, we can safely assume that at least one of the Jewish elders (or a servant of one of the elders or of the centurion) ran back ahead of the others to let the centurion know that Jesus was on the way, going to this centurion’s house. How else would the centurion have known that Jesus would be on His way? The centurion’s knowledge is born from a natural event: someone told him! There is not one shred of evidence or Biblical back-up to state that this was some sort of a supernatural event, with the centurion displaying a “second sight” gift. (Back)

 

17 I am not worthy: The centurion is not alone, because none of us are worthy of Christ. The reason why we are not worthy of God is because of our sin and our sinful nature (Romans 3:9-20, 23). Our sin and sinful nature is something we can never hope to fix for ourselves, it is something only Jesus can fix (Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:5-7, 2:1-9) . Realizing this and admitting it is a preliminary step towards salvation. (Back)

 

18 just say the word: One of the powers of God is the ability to simply speak things into existence, including wellness. See Genesis 1 for the most popularly known example of God’s usage of this ability. (Back)

 

19 healed: The centurion uses a different word for healed, than the word that Jesus used in Matthew 8:7. In both Matthew 8:8 and Luke 7:7, the centurion uses the Greek word iaomai, which means “to heal”, but it also does have spiritual implications. Perhaps the centurion was not asking so much for a physical healing but a spiritual healing for the child, since he was dying. Maybe the centurion was asking for both types of healing. We are all in need of spiritual healing (Romans 3:23), which is what salvation really is (Isaiah 53:5). (Back)

 

20 slave: The centurion does indeed use the Greek word for slave here, doulos meaning “slave”, when referring to the example slave he uses in his explanation to Jesus. He does not use this word when referring to the young, sick person whom he holds in high regard, even though Luke made it clear that this dying child is a slave in Luke 7:2-3. (Back)

 

21 He marveled: Jesus didn’t stand awe-struck by human beings very often. The Greek word used in Matthew 8:10 and Luke 7:9 for marveled is thaumazó and means “to wonder, marvel” and can also mean to “admire”. The only other time I can find that Jesus “marveled” at people would be in Mark 6:6, which also uses the Greek word thaumazó . In this scene, Jesus is amazed at the lack of faith in Nazareth. He still healed a few sick people, even though the town was offended by Him (see Mark 6:1-6). (Back)

 

22 faith: Faith in Jesus is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). It is granted to all of the elect of God (Romans 12:3), and it is through this faith that makes us children of God (Galatians 3:26-29). The Greek word for faith is pistis and means “faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness”. For examples on what this kind of faith can enable a person to see, experience and believe (where otherwise they wouldn’t), see Hebrews 11. (Back)

 

23 east and west: From Matthew 8:11. The Greek phrasing used here for “east and west” is anatolōn kai dysmōn and means “rising (of the sun) and setting (of the sun)” and therefore, east and west. (Back)

 

24 recline: Reclining to eat is almost an absurdity for modern diners. It involved leaning back, propped up on an arm, feet away from the table. Here’s a good explanation on eating in ancient Roman times. (Back)

 

25 sons of the kingdom: Jesus is speaking of the Jews, in a general sense. Jesus is underlining that faith is the requirement for salvation, faith in Him specifically, and not faith in one’s lineage. All people, whether Jew or Gentile are called to Christ individually, not as a nation or creed. Each person is responsible for their own reactions to God’s calling (Galatians 6:5, Philippians 2:12). See Galatians 3 to expand a little on Jesus’s statement. (Back)

 

26 cast out: The Greek word used for cast out in Matthew 8:12 is ekballo and means to “banish, cast out, expel, throw”. It has the feeling of driving someone out and away, with an aura of contempt. (Back)

 

27 outer darkness: The outer darkness is hell. It is the most extreme of all darkness, because the light of God, both physical light and moral light, does not shine there. See Matthew 22:13, 25:30, 2 Peter 2:4 for examples on the darkness representing hell. (Back)

 

28 believed: It is important to understand that “just as you believed” is not a call to positive thinking. The centurion’s faith was pistis faith, the God-gifted faith, and not a human-conjured faith. (Back)

 

29 good health: Matthew 8:13 says that the servant was healed that very moment. Luke 7:10 says the child was found in good health. Matthew uses the Greek word iaomai, which gives the healing from Jesus the supernatural credit it deserves, and Luke uses the Greek word hugiainó which tells us the slave was found totally healthy, sound and whole. (Back)

Jesus Cleanses A Man with Leprosy

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Cleanses a Man with Leprosy”

Matthew 8:1-4 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 8:1)

Mark 1:40-45 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 1:40)

Luke 5:12-15 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 5:12)

 

Leviticus 13:45-46
45 A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

 

THE SPLICE

When Jesus came down from the 1 mountain, large crowds followed Him. While He was in one of the cities there was a man 2 covered with 3 leprosy, and when the man saw Him, he came to Him, and bowed down before Him, falling on his knees and to then to his face, beseeching and imploring Him, saying “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and 4 touched him, and said to him, “I am willing, be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left the man and he was cleansed of it. And Jesus 5 sternly warned and ordered him to tell no one, saying to him, “See that you tell no one, say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest and 6 present the offering, that Moses commanded/make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” And Jesus immediately sent him away. But the formerly leprous man went out  and began to proclaim it freely and to  spread the news around, to such an extent that 7 Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but He stayed out in unpopulated areas; and people were coming to Him from everywhere.  The news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

 

NOTES

1  mountain: Jesus had just finished teaching what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” and the inspiring Beatitudes. To read about The Sermon on the Mount and The Beatitudes, see Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6:20-49. (Back)

 

2  covered: The Greek word for covered used in Luke 5:12 is plérés and means “full, abounding in, complete, completely occupied with”. This tells us that the person who came to Jesus was in an advanced state of leprosy. (Back)

 

3  leprosy: The Greek word for leprosy is lepra and comes from the Greek word lepis which means “a scale (of a fish)”. The Hebrew priests had a procedure to follow, as ordered by God, in order to deem a person a leper. A person with leprosy amongst the Jews could expect an unhappy, humiliating, and lonely existence (Leviticus 13:45-46). If the person with leprosy happened to become cleansed or cured of the skin ailment, the priest performed a lengthy ceremony which deemed the formerly leprous person ceremonially clean and re-introduced them to social life, as commanded by God. Current-day leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease is rare and not easily transmitted. (Back)

 

4  touched him: This was a huge deal! This poor person had been cut off from all social aspects. No one touched him while he had leprosy and he had been saddled with it for a long time, since he was completely covered in it. (Back)

 

5  sternly: The Greek word used in Mark 1:43 for sternly is embrimaomai and means “to be moved with anger, to admonish sternly”. Jesus was not giving out gentle warnings to people, regarding keeping quiet about their encounters with Him. They rarely seemed to listen. (Back)

 

6  present the offering: See Leviticus 14. (Back)

 

7  Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city: Because of the formerly leprous man’s disobedience, Jesus couldn’t move around in the cities to actually go to the sick people who needed Him. The sick had to be traveled out to Him to be cured, making a miserable person even more so and putting an unneeded stress and strain on those who loved them/carried them out there. (Back)

Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

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Scripture Used in Creating the Splice “Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane”

Matthew 26:36-46 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 26:36)

Mark 14:32-42 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 14:32)

Luke 22:40-46 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 22:40)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice Series about The Last Supper, beginning with Part One, click here.

 

Psalm 142:1
I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD.

 

THE SPLICE

When He and the disciples arrived at 1 Gethsemane, He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and 2 pray/until I have prayed, and you pray that you may not enter into temptation”.  And taking with Him Peter, James, and John (James and John, the sons of Zebedee), He withdrew to Gethsemane from the rest of His disciples at about 3 a stone’s throw distance. 4 Jesus began to be grieved, very distressed and troubled. He said to Peter, James and John, “My soul is deeply grieved, 5 to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond Peter, James, and John, and 6 knelt down/fell to the ground/fell on His face and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by; He fell on His face and prayed, saying, “Abba! My Father! All things are possible for You; if You are willing, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; remove this cup from Me; yet not 7 what I will/as I will; not My will, but Your will be done.”   When He was finished praying, 8 He approached the disciples and found them sleeping and Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; 9 the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

He went away again a second time and prayed, saying the same words as the first time, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” When He went back, He again found the disciples sleeping; their eyes were very heavy. 10 Jesus must have asked them to account for their behavior, because they did not know what to answer Him. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in 11 agony He was 12 praying very fervently; and 13 His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He went to the disciples and found them sleeping again, specifically from 14 sorrow and He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And then perceiving (whether by sight or spirit) that the betrayer, Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, and his 15 Sanhedrin-appointed gang 16 were approaching, He then said, “It is enough; Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

 

“Garden in the Morning”

 

Want to continue reading? To read the Splice “The Betrayal and Illegal Arrest of Jesus”, click here.

 

NOTES

1 Gethsemane: There are still olive trees located in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do an internet search on “how old are the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane” and you’ll get some fun reads on the remaining trees. Sadly, none have survived (it seems) from when Jesus walked the earth.(Back)

 

2 pray/until I have prayed: Matthew 26:36 says “and pray” and Mark 14:32 says “until I have prayed”.(Back)

 

3 a stone’s throw distance: Meaning, a short distance away. Could the other disciples still see Jesus, Peter, John and James? Since the distance was rather abbreviated, I am uncertain as to why Jesus took P, J & J with Him. He even left P, J & J off to a distance from Himself, albeit a small distance. See Matthew 26:36-39, Mark 14:32-35, Luke 22:41. (Back)

 

4 Jesus began to be grieved and very distressed and troubled: It is easy to pass over these words, glassy eyed, while we read them and say, “Yep: grieved, distressed, troubled.” The levels of grief, distress and trouble experienced by Jesus were beyond anything we have suffered in our own lives. It’s a great reminder for us on how much Jesus took upon Himself to save us. (Back)

 

5 to the point of death: It is easy to think of this as hyperbole, because it sounds like the sort of hyperbole we might use today, as in, “I could just die” when of course, we wouldn’t. Jesus is not using hyperbole here. There were times, however, Jesus did use exaggerated comparisons as relatable teaching tools, such as in Matthew 7:3. (Back)

 

6 knelt down/fell to the ground/fell on His face: Matthew 26:39 says “fell on His face”, Mark 14:35 says “fell to the ground”, and Luke 22:41 says “knelt down”.(Back)

 

7 what I will/as I will: Mark 14:36 says “what I will” and Matthew 26:39 says “as I will”.(Back)

 

8 He approached the disciples: Luke 22:45 leaves me wondering if all of the disciples had fallen asleep, due to heavy eyes of sorrow? Jesus particularly speaks to Peter during the first discovery of sleep (Matthew 26:40 and Mark 14:37), but isn’t it possible that the other disciples were close enough to P, J & J and Jesus for them to hear Him? The Bible doesn’t specify that only P, J & J are the ones sleeping, although by the way Mark worded 14:32-38, we might assume with confidence that it was P, J & J at the center of the sleeping situation. John does not mention the prayers in the garden at all, Luke does not mention that P, J & J were separated out from the other disciples or that there were 3 prayer-times/3 discoveries of sleep by Jesus. Only Mark and Matthew mention the sleeping disciples and the 3 separate prayer times. See Matthew 26:37-45 and Mark 14:33-41. (Back)

 

9 “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”:  says Jesus, succinctly. Paul expands on this struggle in Romans 7:15-25. (Back)

10 Jesus must have asked them to account for their behavior: See Matthew 26:43-44 and Mark 14:40 for the only mentions concerning the second discovery of sleep. Although Mark 14:40 tells us that the disciples did not know what to answer Him, we don’t know exactly what was asked. (Back)

 

11 agony: The Greek word used for agony in Luke 22:44 is agónia and it means “great fear, terror, agony”. It also means “a contest”, due to the anxiety experienced before competition. (Back)

 

12 praying very fervently: From Luke 22:44. The  Greek word used for fervently is ektenesteron and it means “more intently, more earnestly”. (Back)

 

13 His sweat became like drops of blood: This information comes from Luke 22:44. Sweating blood is a medical condition called hematidrosis. This condition is extremely rare and there are very few actual cases. The Greek word used for like in Luke 22:44 doesn’t mean “one of the same things” such as a Fuji apple and a Granny Smith apple are the same or “like” in that they are both apples. The word used in Luke 22:44 is hósei. This Greek word is more akin to “about” or “as if”, and therefore it is not a comparison of exacts, but more like an estimation. We don’t know if Jesus actually sweated drops of blood, just that His sweat became like drops of blood. The Bible states, that in any case, Jesus was under great distress. (Back)

 

14 sorrow: John 16:6 tells us that Jesus mentions their sorrow. They are filled with sorrow because of the things Jesus was telling them at the Last Supper. To read what Jesus said to them at the Last Supper, see Matthew 26:20-35; Mark 14:17-31; Luke 22:14-38; John 13:2-17:26. John gives us the most information on what Jesus said that night. (Back)

 

15 Sanhedrin-appointed gang: See Matthew 26:47; Mark 14:43; Luke 22:52; John 18:3 for the description of this rough crowd comprised of the elders, chief priests, Roman guards, Pharisees, officers of the temple, scribes and Judas, armed with torches, lanterns, clubs and swords for arresting one Man. (Back)

 

16 were approaching: See Matthew 26:45-55, Mark 14:41-46, Luke 22:46-55; John 18:3-12 to read about Jesus’s last few minutes of freedom and the transition to His unjust and illegal arrest in the night, that led to those farcical trials (Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66-71, John 18:12-24) and ultimately, to His wrongful death (Matthew 27:11-54; Mark 15:1-39; Luke 23:1-48; John 18:28-19:30). God uses these flagrant injustices, not only with Jesus, but many of His servants in the Bible, to complete His purposes. The Book of Acts records many details of injustice and wrongful persecution that leads God’s people to the places they need to be or to start events that unfold like dominos. We can even be sure today that injustice is used by God to complete His purpose, as God remains unchanged and the same (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). (Back)

Temptation of Jesus: 40 Days in the Desert

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “40 Days in the Desert”

Matthew 4:1-11 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 4:1)

Mark 1:12-13 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 1:12)

Luke 4:1-13 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 4:1)

 

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

 

THE SPLICE

Jesus, 1 abounding in the Holy Spirit, 2 returned from the Jordan and immediately the Spirit 3 impelled Him to go out into the 4 wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And He was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days and nights, being tempted by 5 Satan. And in those forty days and nights, He was with 6 wild beasts. Also, while in the wilderness, He had eaten nothing and after Jesus had 7 fasted for the forty days and nights, He became hungry.

And the tempter, the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread; tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘8 MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” And the devil 9 took Him to the holy city Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘10 HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,’ and, ‘11 ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” And Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written and it is said, ‘12 YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

Again, the devil took Him up to a very high mountain and showed Him all the 13 kingdoms of the world and their glory in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “14 I will give You all this domain and its glory; all these things will I give You; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, if You fall down and worship me, it shall all be Yours.” Then Jesus answered him, “Go Satan! For it is written, ‘15 YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an 16 opportune time and 17 behold, angels went to Jesus and began to 18 minister to Him and were ministering to Him.

 

NOTES

1 abounding in the Holy Spirit: The Greek word used here for abounding or full is plérés and means to be “completely occupied with or completely full, to be completely covered”. (Back)

 

2 returned from the Jordan: Jesus had just finished His baptism with John the Baptist. To read about the Baptism of Jesus, see Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:32-34 for John’s testimony concerning the event. To read the Splice about the baptism of Jesus, click here. (Back)

 

3 impelled: See Mark 1:12. The Greek word used for impelled in Mark 1:12 is ekballo which means “to drive out” or “throw out” or “cast out”. (Back)

 

4 wilderness: The Greek word used for wilderness is erémos and means “solitary” or “desolate”. (Back)

 

5 Satan: the name Satan means “adversary”. (Back)

 

6 wild beasts: I looked up what animals live in the Palestinian desert/Judean desert and although I’m sure there have been changes over the past 2000 years, it gives an idea of what could have been living there at the time, including the Syrian brown bear which is now, sadly, extinct in Israel. (Back)

 

7 fasted for the forty days and nights: We know that Jesus fasted from food, but it is unknown if He was drinking water, as the Bible doesn’t talk about that specifically. Moses fasted 40 days from both water and food while he was in the presence of God, writing the Ten Commandments. We should consider these fasts as supernatural miracles, and therefore no one should be attempting to fast from food and water for 40 days in today’s era. (Back)

 

8 MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE: Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. (Back)

 

9 took: The Greek word used for took in Matthew 4:5, 8 is paralambanó and it means “to take” but with a strong interpersonal and active connotation. Also see the Greek word lambanó. Luke uses a different word in Luke 4:5, 9. The word he uses is agó and it means “to lead”. (Back)

 

10 HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS: Satan is referencing Psalm 91:11. (Back)

 

11 ON their HANDS THEY WILL: A reference to Psalm 91:12. (Back)

 

12 YOU SHALL NOT PUT: Deuteronomy 6:16. (Back)

 

13 kingdoms of the world: The Greek word for world used here is oikoumené and means the “inhabited world”. (Back)

 

14 I will give You: Satan is a liar (John 8:44). He doesn’t have the authority to give the dominion or the glory of the kingdoms or of the world away. In totality, it isn’t his; it belonged to God then and it belongs to God now and that includes the governments, the land and all of the people. Jesus is God and therefore already had these things. Reference Psalm 24:1; Matthew 28:18; John 1:1, John 3:35; John 14:10-11; John 17:1-2; Romans 13:1, Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2. What Satan has dominion over is the ability to wreak havoc on human beings, to lure them into sin, get them to serve him, and to rule over the demons. What has been given to him, by God, is the power over the evilness and vileness of the world (see Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:26; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12) . Also, Jesus doesn’t need the world’s faded, imperfect and temporal glory. He has His own exalted, perfect and eternal glory (Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 5; 7:9-12; 19:1). See Exodus 33:18-23 and 34:5-7; 29-35 to read more about God’s glory. (Back)

 

15 YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD: Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20 both make this command clear. (Back)

 

16 opportune time: There were lots of opportune times during Jesus’s ministry that the devil could have been around, but two times in particular come to mind. There was the time Peter told Jesus that He would never be killed in Jerusalem in Matthew 16:23. We can assume here that Satan has influenced Peter’s words by what Jesus says. Another time would be when Satan enters Judas to begin the crucifixion process (see  John 13:2 and John 13:27). (Back)

 

17 behold: The Greek word for behold is horaó and it means “to see” or “look”. Behold is a bit of an old-fashioned word for modern English speakers, but it is equivalent to saying “look here/see here” or “understand”. (Back)

 

18 minister: The Greek word for minister is diakoneó and it means “to serve” in general. But it also means to “wait at table”. I think the angels did serve Jesus in general, but it is possible that they also brought Him food. (Back)

The Baptism of Jesus

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “The Baptism of Jesus”

Matthew 3:13-17 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 3:13)

Mark 1:9-12 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 1:9)

Luke 3:21-22 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 3:21)

John 1:32-34 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 1:32)

Mark 1:8
I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

THE SPLICE

All the 1 people were coming to John to be baptized. Jesus arrived from 2 Nazareth in Galilee at the 3 Jordan River. He was coming to 4 John to be baptized by him, too. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be 5 baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering, said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to 6 fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted Him.

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water and while 7 He was praying, the heavens were opened and Jesus saw the heavens opening, and both Jesus and John saw the Holy Spirit of God in the bodily form of a dove and it was descending down, alighting upon Jesus. And a voice out of the heavens addressed Jesus and said, “8 You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” And the voice also testified to John and said, “ This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Immediately the 9 Spirit impelled Jesus to go out into the wilderness. Some time later, John testified publicly about Jesus’s baptism and His Sonship, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a 10 dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon who you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

NOTES

1  people were coming to John to be baptized: The people participating in the baptism included Pharisees, Sadducees, soldiers, tax collectors and others. To read about John’s baptism ministry, see Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20; John 1:6-8; 15, 19-37; 3:22-36. (Back)

 

2 Nazareth in Galilee: The town of Nazareth isn’t even mentioned in the Old Testament. It seems it might have had a less-than-elegant reputation due to Nathanael’s reaction to it when Philip tells him about Jesus (John 1:45-46).  Jesus wasn’t born in Nazareth (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4), but it is where His mother Mary and adoptive father Joseph were from (Luke 1:26; 2:4) and where they raised Him at (Matthew 2:19-23; Luke 2:39; 51). It seems Jesus even practiced carpentry there (Mark 6:3). Jesus left Nazareth and moved His base of operations to Capernaum at the very beginning of His ministry (Matthew 4:12-16). He returned to Nazareth to teach in the synagogue, but His hometown people were offended by Him and tried to kill Him for telling them the truth (Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:14-30). Because of Nazareth’s disbelief in His Messiahship, Jesus performed no miracles there, except for healing a few of the sick people (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5). (Back)

 

3 Jordan River: The Jordan River is a tiny river (approximately 220 miles long) in comparison to other historic and well-known rivers, such as the Mississippi (2,300 miles), the Nile (4,130 miles) or the Ganges (1,560 miles). Every year, thousands of people make the pilgrimage to be baptized in the Jordan, the most popular spot being the “Bethany Beyond The Jordan” site, but reviews of the tours are mixed at best. However, just about any tour group in the Holy Land will take you there for the whole baptism experience, prices varying. You must wear a baptismal gown for your baptism in the Jordan River, and if you don’t bring your own, you have to rent one that is provided by the site. Bring your own baptizer (a new meaning to BYOB) because they don’t have someone at the site to perform the baptism for you. Keep in mind that no matter what any tourist group or attraction says, we do not know the precise spots where Jesus was born, baptized, where the upper room was where He spent His last Passover, the exact path He walked to Golgotha, or where He was buried at. We also don’t know when Jesus was born: day, month, or year. Click here to read more about the Jordan River, at Britannica.com. (Back)

 

4 John to be baptized by him: John the Baptist, Jesus’s relative, born to Mary’s relative (probably of the cousin variety), Elizabeth and her husband, Zacharias. You canr ead about John’s baptismal ministry in  Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20; John 1:6-8; 15, 19-37; 3:22-36, John’s questions and Jesus’s discussion about him in Matthew 11:2-19; Luke 7:18-34; John 5:32-36 and his martyrdom in Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29. You can read about Elizabeth’s and Zacharias’s story (and John’s birth) in Luke 1:5-25; 57-80. (Back)

 

5 baptized by You: John does not mean by using water, just as he is using water, but by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). (Back)

 

6 fulfill all righteousness: Jesus bore the punishment for our sins in our place; He became sin on our behalf, although He had no sin at all (2 Corinthians 5:21).  John’s baptismal ministry was ordained by God (John 1:6) to be a witness about Jesus (John 1:7-8, 32-34) and also to urge people to repent for their sins (Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:4). Water baptism is a symbol of and public demonstration of repentance and death to the old self (Romans 6:2-11) and the washing away one’s sins, but it is only the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus (Titus 3:5-7), by His blood, that can actually remove the sins (1 John 1:7-9). To have sin means to have eternal death and to have sinlessness in Christ means eternal life (Romans 6:23). In summary, Jesus’s symbolic water baptism was in keeping with the will of God the Father (because God declared He was pleased with Jesus’s baptism, see Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22), just as His crucifixion was God’s will for the payment of sin (Isaiah 53:4-12). (Back)

 

7 He was praying: We see many of examples of when Jesus prayed (Mark 14:32-39 and John 17, for example) and He instructs us on how to pray as well (Matthew 6:5-13). There is even the promise that the Holy Spirit will intercede on our behalf because we don’t know how we should pray (Romans 8:26-27). Our prayers should be filled with thanksgiving to God (Philippians 4:6), constant (1 Thessalonians 5:17 , Romans 12:12), in complete faith (Mark 11:24), righteous by God’s standards and according to His will (James 5:16 , John 15:7), bringing all things to Him (Philippians 4:6, Ephesians 6:18 ), as well as petitioning for others (1 Thessalonians 5:25). This is not exhaustive direction on how to pray.  (Back)

 

8 You are My beloved Son: God gives a very similar statement when Jesus is transfigured on the mountain (see Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). To read about this event in the Bible, see Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36. To read the Splice about the transfiguration, click here (Back)

 

9  Spirit impelled Jesus to go out into the wilderness: Jesus spends 40 days and nights out in the wilderness, fasting. The primary reason for this was to be tempted by the devil. To read about the temptation of Jesus, see Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1-13 and to read the Splice about the temptation of Jesus, click here. (Back)

 

10 dove out of heaven: As a sign for John the Baptist (see John 1:33). But we can also consider the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Jesus as a declaration of Jesus’s innocence of any sin. Jesus Himself uses the imagery of doves and innocence in Matthew 10:16. (Back)

Jesus Feeds the 5000

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Feeds the 5000”

Matthew 14:13-21 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 14:13)

Mark 6:30-44 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 6:30)

Luke 9:10-17 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 9:10)

John 6:1-13 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 6:1)

 

Exodus 16:13-15
13 So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. 15 When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”

 

THE SPLICE

1 When the apostles returned and had gathered together with Jesus, they gave an account to Him and reported to Him of all that they had taught and all they had done. Jesus had also heard about what had been done to 2 John the Baptist. Now there had been many people coming and going, and the disciples were tired and did not even have time to eat. Because of John’s murder and because the disciples needed time for rest and food, Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” Taking the disciples with Him, He withdrew from there and they went away in a boat to a secluded place by themselves, to a city called 3 Bethsaida, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee 4(also called Tiberias). And when the large crowds of those that Jesus and the disciples had been healing, heard of this and were aware that Jesus and the disciples were going to leave and when the crowd saw them going, (many recognized them by sight) they ran there together, following Him on foot from all surrounding cities and the crowds got there ahead of Jesus and the disciples. They followed Him because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were 5 sick. When Jesus arrived, He went ashore and He saw the large crowd, and 6 He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  And Jesus went up onto the mountain and they were following; and 7 He welcomed them, and began to teach them many things, speaking to them about the kingdom of God and healing their sick, curing those who needed healing. 8 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

The day was ending and it was already quite late into the evening. Jesus, lifting up His eyes, could see that this large crowd was approaching Him. His twelve disciples went to Him and said, “9 This is a desolate place/we are in a desolate place and the hour is already quite late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and 10 find lodging as well as 11 buy themselves something to eat/buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”  Jesus said directly to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test Philip, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred 12 denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” And the other disciples said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” And Jesus said to the disciples, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” The disciple Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “This 13 little boy here has five 14 barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” And the other disciples agreed with Andrew by saying, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” Now there was much grass in the place. And ordering and commanding the people to sit down on the green grass, Jesus said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” The crowds sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties, directed by the disciples. Then Jesus told the disciples, “Bring them (the fish and loaves) here to Me.” Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking to heaven, He blessed the food and gave thanks, and breaking the loaves and dividing up the two fish, He distributed the food to the crowds by giving the food to the disciples, and the disciples delivered the food to the crowd. And Jesus kept giving food to the disciples to set before the people. Everyone ate as much as they wanted. They all ate and were satisfied. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So the disciples gathered the broken pieces, and filled twelve 15 baskets full with fragments from the five barley loaves and the fish which were left over by those who had eaten; all that was left over was picked up. There were about 16five thousand men who ate the loaves and fish, besides women and children . Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly 17 the Prophet who is come into the world.”

 

Sketches of bread and fish

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES

 

1 When the apostles returned: Jesus had sent the Twelve out in pairs to cast demons out of people, to heal people of disease, to tell folks to repent and to proclaim the kingdom of God. See Matthew 10:1-8; Mark 6:7-13, Luke 9:1-6. There is a difference between the words apostle and disciple in the Greek, although many people use them interchangeably in English. It is important to understand that a person could be both at the same time. Mark demonstrates this in Mark 6:30 when the Twelve return from the mission they had been sent on by Jesus, and then in Mark 6:35, when the Twelve are back to being learners. (Back)

 

2 John the Baptist: Son of Zacharias and Elizabeth. John and Elizabeth are relatives of Jesus’s, because Elizabeth is a relative of Mary’s (Luke 1:36). John the Baptist had just been beheaded by Herod (Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29). To read about John the Baptist, see Matthew 3, 11:2-14,  Mark 1:1-9; Luke 1:5-25, 41, 57-80; 3:1-22; 7:18-33; John 1:6-36, 3:22-36. (Back)

 

3 Bethsaida: Today, the area where Bethsaida stood is completely desolate. The word “Bethsaida” is now only applied to a bus stop at a junction on Highway 87 in Israeli Golan Heights. (Back)

 

4 Tiberias: It is John (John 6:1) who wants to make sure his readers understand that the Sea of Galilee is also called Tiberias. It’s possible that at the time of John’s writing (later half of the 1st century), many people called the Sea of Galilee by the Tiberias moniker. John also mentions the Sea of Galilee as the “Sea of Tiberias” in John 21:1. He mentions the town of Tiberias, which is located at the southwestern side of the Sea of Galilee, in John 6:23. It should be noted that Luke 5:1 calls the Sea of Galilee “the lake of Gennesaret”. Gennesaret was a town on the northwestern side of the Sea of Galilee, approximately 2.5 miles from Capernaum. (Back)

 

5 sick: Jesus spent quite a bit of time healing the sick. See Matthew 4:24, 8:1-3; Mark 6:55-56; Luke 13:11-13; John 5:5-9 for a few examples. The reason why He healed the sick is explained in Matthew 8:17 and Isaiah 53:4. (Back)

 

6 He felt compassion for them: From Mark 6:34. If you have to sum up the ministry of Jesus in just a few words, this is the verse I would use. (Back)

 

7 He welcomed them: From Luke 9:11. Luke uses the Greek word apodechomai which means “to gladly accept, gladly welcome, to embrace, to entertain with hospitality”. (Back)

 

8 Now the Passover: From John 6:4. Since it is near the Passover, there were many people traveling about, making their way to Jerusalem for the celebration.  (Back)

 

9 This is a desolate place/we are in a desolate place: Matthew 14:15 and Mark 6:35 say “this is a desolate place” and Luke 9:12 says “for we are in a desolate place”. (Back)

 

10 find lodging: Luke 9:12 mentions that the people need lodging as well as food. I think that some or all of these people camped out on the green and grassy (Mark 6:39, John 6:10) mountain side, because of John 6:22, but we don’t really hear about the lodging situation and how it was solved. We do know that Jesus had dismissed the crowd, sending them away (away from Himself, but not necessarily the mountain’s side or its base), and He went up onto the mountain alone (See Matthew 14:22-23; Mark 6:45-47). Since it was near the Passover (John 6:4), we know from John 18:18 that it can get cold at night around Passover-time. If they did indeed camp out on the mountain’s side, we can only assume that people built fires or it was a comfortable spring evening, whether by miracle or nature, keeping people warm through the night. We do know that there was a strong wind over the Sea of Galilee between 3am and 6am, at any rate (Matthew 14:24, 30; Mark 6:48; John 6:18). (Back)

 

11 buy themselves something to eat: From Matthew 14:15; Mark 6:36; Luke 9:12. Everyone is in Bethsaida, in a desolate part of it, but it has some surrounding villages (Matthew 14:15; Mark 6:35; Luke 9:10, 12). Capernaum is also a couple of miles away (John 6:16-19). There were no large, “big-box” stores back then or any type of grocery store, to be sure. Also, people didn’t have an abundance of food in a pantry like people might have today, therefore going up to a house and asking to buy their food may not work out. This miracle seems to not only display the power of Jesus, but it also fills an immediate need. Who else could feed that many people at a time? (Back)

 

12 denarii: In Matthew 20:2, one denarius was agreed to as the day’s wages. We don’t know if this was a generous wage or a common wage, but from Matthew 20:13 it seems that this was the generally accepted wage for the day for a laborer in a vineyard. To read about the history of the denarius, click here. Some other mentions of the denarius in Scripture include Matthew 18:28; Mark 12:15; Luke 7:41; Revelation 6:6. (Back)

 

13 little boy: From John 6:9. We don’t know who this little boy is or if he is traveling with the disciples. We know that there were two boats that the disciples and Jesus had been traveling in (John 6:22-24), and it is possible that this boy could have been tucked in there with them. It would seem strange if Jesus is commanding the disciples “you feed” the crowd and to see how much food they have, but then use a stranger’s food, even if a child. This food (in my view) has to belong to the disciples and Jesus collectively, and by extension, the child belongs with them, too.  For the Greek on John 6:9, click here. (Back)

 

14 five barley loaves and two fish: Barley was considered  low quality for bread. Hulled barley seems to have at least some nutritional value though, all things being equal 2000 years later. Fish was preserved by salting way back then, and its preservation in this way enabled people to carry it around with them on long journeys. See this article for an interesting look at ancient fish preservation. (Back)

 

15 baskets: The Greek word, used in all of the accounts, for the word “basket” is kophinos which is a “hand-basket” or a basket that the Jews used specifically for carrying around their food. It could be large, it could be small; size seems subjective so we don’t know how much it held. It was probably made of wicker. (Back)

 

16 five thousand men: There are many current day estimates saying that approximately 15,000-20,000 people are on the mountainside, since only the men were counted (Matthew 14:21; Mark 6:44; Luke 9:14). We do not know the actual number of people fed through Jesus’s miracle. (Back)

 

17 the Prophet: John 6:14 tells us that people were proclaiming Jesus as the Prophet due to this miracle. The Prophet was promised by God to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. (Back)

Judas: The Son of Perdition

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Jesus calls Judas Iscariot “the son of destruction/perdition” in John 17:12. John uses the Greek word apóleia, which means “destruction, loss”. 

We learn in Matthew 27:3 that Judas was remorseful about or regretted his betrayal of Jesus, and he even returned the 30 pieces of silver paid to him for his part in Jesus’s condemnation. Why didn’t this save him? The Greek word used for regret in Matthew 27:3 is metamelomai, meaning “repent, regret, changed mind (for the different/good option)”. Although salvation begins with repentance, it requires more than feeling regret or what we might call ‘worldly sorrow’ (see 2 Corinthians 7:10). Unfortunately, Judas stopped at feeling bad and thinking he should have made a better choice; he chose ‘worldly sorrow’. There is a different word used for the kind of repentance that is leads to salvation or life (Acts 11:18). The Greek word used for repent is metanoeó and it means to “repent” but this repentance includes feeling remorse, thinking differently about your sin, turning from the sin and turning to God for salvation from your sin.

The repentance that leads to salvation is the work of God (2 Timothy 2:25), more specifically the Holy Spirit, which He accomplishes through conviction of sin (John 16:8). With this repentance, the saving faith that is a gift from God (see Ephesians 2:8-9) is granted. This God-gifted faith, which is also called trust, allows you to have complete trust in Jesus, as Savior from the sin that you repent of (John 6:40; Romans 10:9-11 ; Galatians 2:20). When you have this faith, you receive the seal or pledge of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30) there is no doubt in you, for you know you are a child of God (John 1:12) and destined to eternal life (Revelation 21-22).

Nothing in the Bible says that Judas turned towards God and had any faith at all in Christ as the Messiah. Here’s another clue into the situation: Judas was trying to fix his sin himself by giving back the money, as atonement. This is an excellent object lesson: we cannot fix our own sin. We cannot atone enough for breaking the laws of God. Only Jesus can fix that kind of mess. See Matthew 27:3-10 and Acts 1:18-19 for Judas’s fate in the aftermath of his betrayal of Christ. 

 

What the Steps Towards Salvation Looks Like

– You agree with God that you are not good and not one single thing about you is right. You hate your rottenness and your sins and you are honest about it. You stop making excuses or justifying yourself.

– You realize that you need Jesus to make you right by forgiving your sins, removing your sins from you, and reconciling you with God. You trust Jesus to make this atonement on your behalf and you turn away from a life of sin and of relying on your own judgment and will, and now you take up God’s ways, will, and life through Jesus.

– Not only do you trust Jesus for this atonement, but you are also grateful, you love Him more than yourself, more than anyone or anything in your life, even more than that old identity that you clung to, and you rejoice in shedding the ugly, old ways/sins you participated in before.

– The new you is at peace and filled with joy in God’s love, in His law and ways. You can trust Him, you trust in His promises and His Word, in every and all situations in your life.

Please note this does not mean your life is perfect (Matthew 6:34), that you are wealthy (James 2:1-6) you are happy all the time (the book of Job; John 11:35; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27; 12:7-10 ), or that you will never sin again (Romans 7:14-25). This also doesn’t mean Jesus fixed everything about you that you don’t like about yourself or wiped away all of your hurtful memories/made bad things that happened in the past not hurt anymore. Those experiences, memories, and hurts help to shape us, making us the person we are: this is how God uses us! God uses those bad things to make us useful for His purposes (see Genesis 50:20). 

Where Were The Disciples and Jesus Staying During the Last Four Days?

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The disciples were afraid that the Jews were coming for them next (John 20:19), for they were followers of Jesus and He had just been crucified (see the Splice on the Crucifixion here). Lazarus was in trouble too, but we don’t know what became of him (John 12:10).

For several days before the crucifixion, Jesus and the disciples had been staying on the Mount of Olives in Bethany at night (see Matthew 21:17-18, 24:1-3, Mark 13:1-3, Luke 21:37, 22:39) and had been sharing meals with some of the folks in Bethany, at the very least with the Lazarus crew and Simon the Leper, at Simon’s house (Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3, John 12:1-3). Jesus had been staying on the Mount because, at first, He needed to keep Himself hid from the Jewish leaders and therefore couldn’t stay at His friends’ houses.  The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Him (Matthew 26:3-5, John 11:47-57), but not while He was in Jerusalem, because they were afraid that the common people who were listening to Him would cause a riot (Matthew 26:5; Mark 11:18, 12:12, 14:2; Luke 19:48, 20:19, 21:38; John 12:9-19). 

Providentially, Jesus’s custom of staying on the Mount at night established a place where Judas would know where to find Him for the betrayal (Matthew 26:14-16, 36-56; Mark 14:10-11, 32-49; Luke 22:3-6, 39-53). We know that Jesus had habitually been going into Jerusalem during the day and spending the night on the Mount of Olives (Luke 21:37, 22:39) for that time frame of about 6 days, probably from the time of what we call Palm Sunday or The Triumphal Entry (see Matthew 21:1-11, 17-18; Mark 11:1-12; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19).

We know that on the First Day of Unleavened Bread, Jesus and the disciples were staying in the upper room for supper, at the very least. It is possible the disciples thought they would now be transferred here in the upper room for the rest of the Passover (see Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-17; Luke 22:7-13).

Just before all of this, Jesus had been staying in Ephraim for a little while, before going to Bethany (see John 11:54–12:1).

The Resurrection of Jesus: Part Three

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice Series “The Resurrection of Jesus”

Matthew 28:1-20 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 28:1)

 Mark 16:1-20 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 16:1)

Luke 24:1-53 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 24:1)

John 20 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 20:1)

John 21 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 21:1)

Acts 1:1-14 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Acts 1:1)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice “The Resurrection of Jesus: Part Two”, click here.

 

Ephesians 1:20-21
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

 

THE SPLICE

 

The 1 eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee to 2 the mountain which Jesus had designated. After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but 3 some were doubtful. And He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee (James and John), and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, 4 “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; 5 yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul the net in because of the great number of fish. Therefore the 6 disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the 7 third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”  He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, 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, “Tend My sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, 8 signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Peter, turning around saw the disciple whom Jesus loved 9 following them; 10 the one who also had 11 leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and 12 we know that his testimony is true.

Gathering the disciples together, Jesus led them out as far as 13 Bethany and  they (the disciples) were asking Him, saying, “14 Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the 15 Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be 16 baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” And He said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. And make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;  He who has believed and has been 17 baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.  18 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name  they will cast out 19 demons, they will be speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Go therefore and lo, I am with you always, even to the  end of the age.” And after He had said these things, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was 20 blessing them, He parted from them. Jesus was lifted up while they were looking on and was carried up and received into heaven; a 21 cloud received Him out of their sight and He sat down at the right hand of God. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” And they, after worshipping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the 22 upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers; and they were continually in the temple praising God. Recorded in the book The Acts of The Apostles, written by Luke, are the results of these things: they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed and Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, 23 John supposed in his Gospel account that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

We also know this happened after the Resurrection, but have no other information regarding this supernatural event:

Matthew 27:52-53

52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and after His resurrection they entered the holy city and 24 appeared to many.

 

NOTES

 

1 eleven disciples: Eventually, the eleven will become twelve once again with the addition of Matthias, as described in Acts 1:23-26. Matthias and Justus/Joseph/Barsabbas are named as traveling with Jesus during His ministry in Acts 1:21-22, more proof that it wasn’t just the Twelve disciples that were involved with Jesus and following Him. (Back)

2 the mountain: We don’t know exactly which mountain in Galilee the disciples were directed to. There are websites that speculate, but the Bible does not name the mountain. (Back)

3 some were doubtful: We don’t know who was doubtful at Galilee (Matthew 28:16-17 ). It is likely that more than just the eleven disciples were in attendance at Galilee, as they had other people with them in Jerusalem, such as Mary Magdalene and Joanna (see Luke 24:9-10). We know Thomas had been doubtful of Jesus’s resurrection while the disciples were still in Jerusalem, but his doubt had been removed (John 20:24-29).  All of the other disciples seemed to believe Jesus while in Galilee and Jerusalem, except when they saw Him for the very first time, due to their joy and amazement (Luke 24:41). Jesus did rebuke the disciples, however, for doubting the people who had reported His resurrection to them before they saw Him for themselves (Mark 16:14). (Back)

4 I am going fishing: I’ve heard one pastor say that Peter went fishing because he lost faith in Jesus’s return to Galilee. It’s never ok to make the Bible say what it doesn’t say or to omit things that the Bible does say. I think it’s best to just take this sentence as it is presented. Peter went fishing, and six of the other disciples went with him. See John 21:3.  (Back)

5 yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus: Jesus manifested Himself in a form unrecognizable to the people that knew Him more than once (see John 20:14 and Luke 24:16). (Back)

6 disciple whom Jesus loved: This disciple would be John the apostle and writer of the gospel of John, the epistles 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John and the book Revelation. (Back)

7 third time that Jesus was manifested: John 21:14. The Greek word used here for manifest is phaneroó and it means “to make visible, make clear”. The first manifestation to the disciples was on Sunday night (John 20:19) when Cleopas and his traveling buddy saw Jesus and then went back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about it (Luke 24:33-36). Jesus appeared to ten of the disciples that night, as Thomas had left at some point (John 20:24) and Judas was no longer apart of the fellowship. The second manifestation was talked about specifically in John 20:24-29, but also in Mark 16:14. That manifestation was 8 days later, when Thomas was present. The third manifestation was at the Sea of Galilee, which is also known as the Sea of Tiberias (see John 6:1). The third manifestation is talked about in Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-19, and John 21:1-14 . We don’t know how long after the second sighting of Jesus that the third happened. We only know that Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering” over a time span of 40 days (Acts 1:3). (Back)

8 signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God: From John 21:19. We don’t know for sure how Peter is martyred, just that he was martyred because of what Jesus had just said to him. Peter himself mentions his own death decades later saying that Jesus made his death known to him (see 2 Peter 1:14). It is possible that when John wrote his gospel account at the end of the 1st century, Peter had already been martyred; it does seem that John is writing on the other side of the event. As for the other apostles’ deaths, we know that James was murdered by the sword because of Acts 12:2. We don’t know anything about the other disciples’ deaths. There are many traditions floating around as to the “how, when and where”, but these cannot be proven and must be taken as possible events and not as facts. (Back)

9 following them: After breakfast, it seems that they were not sitting down around the fire anymore, but that they were walking. (Back)

10 the one: John the disciple. (Back)

11 leaned back on His bosom: This memory that John recalls is recorded in John 13:23-25. (Back)

12 we know that his testimony is true: This is a strangely worded phrase from John 21:24. It gives the feeling that John had written his book, and then others had circulated it or distributed it, and they themselves added this part, assuring the reader that John did write the book and they were sure of it to be true. It could be that John is reassuring the reader that his testimony is true, but if so, it is not written in standard first person singular. The Greek word for the phrase we know in John 21:24 is eidó, written in the first person plural, oidamen. (Back)

13 Bethany: The story may have made a bit of a jump in time. Either Jesus had walked back with the disciples towards Jerusalem from Galilee, which was far away but something they had done before, or they had already been back to Jerusalem and walked out to Bethany, which was not far away (John 11:18). (Back)

14 Lord, is it at this time: There are many portions of the Old Testament talking about the establishment of the kingdom that will be eternal, granted by God, such as Daniel 2:44, and also the return and restoration of the kingdom of Israel being referred to, such as Ezekiel 36. The disciples were living during the Roman occupation of Israel, and they were probably anxious, like many Jews, to have Rome out of their land. This is probably why they brought up the subject. (Back)

15 Holy Spirit: This gift was fully manifested during Pentecost. To read about Jesus’s promise concerning the Holy Spirit, see John 14:16-18, 16:5-14, 20:22. See Acts 2:1-13 to read about the day of Pentecost and the fulfillment of this promise. (Back)

16 baptized with the Holy Spirit: This baptism occurred on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), also known as the Feast of Weeks, which occurs on the fiftieth day after Passover. The word “Pentecost” or pentékosté in the Greek, means “fiftieth”.
To see a list in timeline form of the Jewish feasts, click here. (Back)

17 baptized shall be saved: Jesus is speaking of baptism by the Holy Spirit, which each and every believer is gifted with, and not a water baptism. He just spoke about baptism by the Holy Spirit…He is continuing the thought. Scripture is very clear that no ritual, work, or action, such as a water baptism, can save you from eternal destruction.  Only the grace of God in giving you the gift of faith in Jesus, and the gift of recognizing and repenting from sin, trusting that Jesus can forgive and remove the sin and reconcile you to God, equals salvation (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, among other verses). This is done through the work of the Holy Spirit, and this is His baptism (for examples, see Ezekiel 36:27; John 16:8-13; Romans 5:5; Titus 3:5-7). The fruit, or result, of this baptism by the Holy Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22-23. (Back)

18 These signs: The signs listed here were manifested in order to give people the proof that God was present and that the things talked about by the apostles were from Him (2 Corinthians 12:12). These signs were starting to phase out when Timothy was sick (see 1 Timothy 5:23) Otherwise, wouldn’t he most certainly have been miraculously healed? Wouldn’t have Paul’s ailment of the eyes been taken care of, as well (Galatians 4:13-15)? Or (a common argument) were Timothy and Paul “in sin” or was it that they “didn’t have enough faith”? God does not perform miracles based on our sinfulness or faith (see Jesus’s many healing miracles). Otherwise, our works make a difference and clearly our “works” are not even a factor in our salvation (see Romans 3:21-28). We do not need these signs or miracles anymore, because we have the Bible; the Holy Spirit is our proof (John 16:8-13). This is not to say that a miracle could not happen, just that they are most certainly not common, aren’t used as proof of God’s presence and not widely visible.  (Back)

19 demons: There seems to be confusion about what demons actually are. They are fallen angels that were holy angels. Angels were created by God (Colossians 1:16), just like all things. The Bible is silent on angel creation timelines and how God created them. Some angels, for reasons unknown, decided to believe in and side with Satan (who is a fallen angel himself) instead of God and consequently were removed from Heaven, along with Satan (Revelation 12:7-9). Demons and Satan are nothing to fear for those of us held by Christ. God has all power and control over all things, every second of every day, from and to eternity infinity, even for those people who choose to defy Him. If someone has been possessed by demons (no actual elect of God can be possessed by demons because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, see Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16), God allowed that (1 Samuel 16:14-15). It is God, not Satan, demons or any human being, that is to be feared (Matthew 10:28). (Back)

20 blessing them: What does it mean to “bless” someone? The Greek word for bless is eulogeó and it means “ to speak well of, praise”. When used to describe blessing from God, it is to “to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers” and “to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on”. (Back)

21 cloud: The Bible does not describe the appearance of the cloud. Jesus Himself mentions the clouds in Matthew 24:30, referencing Daniel 7:13, saying that He will return with or on (Greek word epi has several words that could be used here) the clouds of the sky/heaven. Although Jesus doesn’t say that the clouds of the sky ushering in His return are different in any way, it is possible that the cloud/clouds are supernatural in structure and design, the same way that the cloud recorded in Exodus 13:21-22 is supernatural. (Back)

22 upper room: Was this upper room the same one from the Thursday night where the Last Supper was held? It is very possible, because that one was large (Luke 22:12) and it needed to hold 11 people, at the very least. Could this also be the upper room mentioned in Acts 1:13 ? That, too, could be from the Last Supper. We can’t know for sure. If it is the same, it seems that the owner might have been a believer in Jesus because of the wording of Matthew 26:18, Mark 14:14, Luke 22:11; but again, we can’t know for sure.  If the owner of the house was a believer in Jesus, it would make sense that the apostles and crew would keep staying there, rather than just because of its spaciousness. In any case, by the end of the 50 days, there were about 120 people gathering in that upper room (Acts 1:12-15). (Back)

23 John supposed: See John 21:25. (Back)

24 appeared to many: Paul gives us more information on those whom Jesus appeared to in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8.(back)