Growing in Grace

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16 John 19:16-20:22 tells us about how  Jesus willingly died on the cross for our sins. He rose again after three days, appeared to the disciples and commissioned them to be witnesses.  Jesus’ love has the power to save us from our sins Once Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, the soldiers took charge of Him. He was taken to the place of the Skull known as Golgotha. Here He was crucified between two others. Jesus being crucified with two others fulfilled Isaiah 53:12 which said He would be numbered with the transgressors. [1] This type of punishment was set aside for the lowest of criminals. It was a symbol of “the basest kind of rejection, shame, and suffering.” [2] “Jesus was made. . . sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the wrath of God we deserved was poured out on Him. This is a type and degree of suffering that

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. -Philippians 4:13 In John 11:1-45 we read about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Just as Jesus  did this to strengthen the faith of His disciples as well as Mary and Martha, so Jesus' love can strengthen our faith as well. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha was sick. Mary was the woman who had poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. They were from Bethany. The sisters sent word to Jesus that the one He loved was sick. When Jesus heard the news, He said that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death; but would be for God’s glory and so the Son of Man could be glorified through it. Lazarus likely died shortly after the messengers left Bethany. Jesus already knew of Lazarus’ death so He was predicting the raising of Lazarus. Jesus would be glorified through the raising of Lazarus because the miracle would display God’s glory in Jesus and because it would initiate events that would lead to

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” -Luke 19:10 Jesus' encounter with Zaccaeus reveals that  Jesus’ love has the power to transform. In  Luke 19:1-10 we read that  Jesus sought out Zacchaeus and that He became a follower of Christ. As Jesus was passing through Jericho, a man named Zacchaeus was there. Ironically, the name Zacchaeus means “righteous one.”  Zacchaeus, however, was not living up to his name. [1] He was a chief tax collector and very wealthy. Taxes were collected by the Roman government by Jewish agents known as tax collectors. These men were detested for helping the pagan leader and for often cheating their own people. [2] They were included in the group called “sinners” who were considered evil for not following the Mosaic Law as interpreted by the teachers of the law. [3] The position of chief tax collector was only referred to here in this passage. The job probably consisted of overseeing a district, with other tax c

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.   -Philippians 4:19 In the Gospels, we read of the feeding of the 5,000  (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:4-13) . This passage shows us that Jesus’ love has the power to meet our needs.  Jesus trusted the Father and was able to meet the need of the multitude. After John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus had sent out the twelve disciples to minister on their own. When they returned, Jesus withdrew by boat to Bethsaida, which was on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. [1] Here Jesus thought they would be alone. People from the surrounding towns heard of His travel, however, and followed Jesus on foot. Perhaps because a strong headwind had slowed them down, [2] by the time Jesus landed, a large crowd had gathered to meet Him. Jesus had compassion on them because He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. [3] Jesus began teaching them about the kingdom of God