Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast

Throughout history people have tried to debunk Jesus' resurrection. It was staged, they say. His body was stolen by His disciples, they surmise. He was never dead, they propose. Yet the behavior of Jesus' disciples destroys these arguments. They run away. They hide. They grieve. They give up.

As Minister Aaron Hill continues in John 20, we see Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb. She has come there and found that Jesus' body is missing. She came there expecting to find His body! She thinks someone has stolen it! She has no reaction to the angels she encounters who ask why she is weeping. She is without hope. She doesn't even recognize Jesus when she see Him. She doesn't recognize His voice. She thinks he is the gardener. She believes Jesus is dead, but when He calls her by name, she recognizes Him and calls Him Rabboni (Teacher) and grabs hold of Him. Jesus sends her to the other disciples to tell them that He is alive! That's not what the disciples were expecting, and Jesus wasn't the only one resurrected on that day. With Jesus' resurrection came a resurrected relationship between God and mankind.

Even though Jesus had told his disciples to expect it, they were not prepared for His resurrection. When He died on the cross, they thought it was over. Their hope was gone. Just as they would do for anyone else who died, they prepared Jesus for burial. They rushed to get through before  the Sabbath began that Friday evening. They went to their homes no doubt in despair. The disciples didn't get it. They didn't expect Jesus to come back to life. Their honest accounts in the gospel reveal their lack of understanding and expectation of Jesus resurrection from the dead. Minister Aaron Hill discusses the disciples' misunderstanding and reactions upon discovering that Jesus was no longer in the tomb as he continues his series on the gospel of John.

As we approach the end of the gospel of John, minister Aaron Hill focuses today's sermon on Jesus' crucifixion. Although the story of the crucifixion is a morbid one, we must realize that it was an event that was planned and foretold in multiple prophecies, and these were all written at least five hundred years before Jesus was on Earth. Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, the place of the skull, a public place. The crucifixion was not a hidden event. Historians Tacitus and Josephus both recorded it even though they were not believers. We may read these events with sadness, thinking of what the Jews did to Jesus, but we must remember  that the jews were not in control. Pilate was not in control. Jesus was in control at all times! Jesus' life wasn't taken by the Jews or the Romans. He "gave up His Spirit" willingly! Listen with your Bible in hand and see the glory of God as Jesus fulfills centuries-old prophecies about Himself.

Minister Aaron Hill, in his ongoing series on the gospel of John, points out that in John 19, Pilate tries over and over to get the Jews to abandon their pursuit of Jesus' death. Pilate doesn't believe that Jesus is guilty or deserving of death, but he is more concerned about protecting himself than in seeing that justice is served.  He says he finds no guilt in Jesus. He offers the Jews a chance to back out by offering to free someone in accordance with tradition. He tells them to crucify Jesus themselves. The Jews, however, have no pity. They insist Jesus has blasphemed their Law. They say they can't put Jesus to death themselves because the Romans have taken away that right. They say that Jesus is a threat to Caesar's throne. They demand Jesus' crucifixion.

The Jews believe they have the authority to make their demand. Pilate believes that he has the authority to free or to kill Jesus. They are both wrong. Jesus is in control. He is the only one who has the authority to make that decision. "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:18). Jesus' authority came from His Father, not from man.

Continuing his series on the gospel of John, minister Aaron Hill discusses Jesus' appearance before Pilate. Even though this is the week of Passover, the Jewish leaders have been up all night determining what to do with Jesus. Passover is a celebration of the Jews' deliverance from Egypt; they were to rest, yet instead, they work through the night toward their condemnation of Jesus. We see in this scene a battle between the Kingdom of Truth and the Kingdom of Lies. Pilate himself asks, "What is truth?" He should have asked, "Who is truth?" Truth stood before him. Jesus is truth.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, Paul writes, "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more." Guest speaker Danny Parrish from Southern Christian Home uses these verses as a launching point for challenging listeners to love better. He offers three ways that God teaches us to love: unconditionally, sacrificially, and courageously and applies the principles for how we can show these kinds of love in our marriages, our families, and in our churches. He reminds us that although we live in a fallen world and will fail at times to love in these ways, God will never fall short in His ability to love.

John 18 recounts Jesus' arrest. He has been in the garden praying, and Judas shows up with those who will arrest Jesus. Minister Aaron Hill points out that during the first twenty-seven verses of this chapter, Jesus affirms who He is, not by saying, "I'm Jesus," but by declaring "I AM." 

While Jesus affirms His identity, Peter denies, or abandons, Jesus three times. Though he had declared he would stand by Christ even if he had to die, he denies even knowing who Jesus is. In the garden he raises his sword against Malchus because he doesn't understand that this is not a physical fight. Peter wants to go down fighting, but Jesus says no. 

When Jesus was under pressure, He affirmed His identity. When Peter came under pressure, he struck out at a perceived enemy.  When responding physically was not possible, he denied any knowledge of the Lord. 

When we are under pressure, will we affirm or abandon? Do we even get to the point of pressure before we abandon? What is our response? Peter did abandon Jesus, but he didn't stay there! He turned back to Jesus. He grew, but he didn't grow in his own strength. He grew because of Jesus. 

In this section of Jesus' prayer in John 17, minister Aaron Hill points out the Jesus prays both for his disciples and for those who would come to know Him through those disciples. He talks about His desire for us to be one. He prays for unity. Note that He wants unity, not necessarily uniformity. Too often, we make that mistake. We are one because of the Lord's work, not because of what we do. The key is whom we TRUST because whom we TRUST will determine what we DO! 

Before time began, Jesus was one with the Father. Jesus will continue to make the Father known. If we see Jesus, we will see the Father. If we love Jesus, we will love the Father. If we know Jesus, we will know the Father. We are unified through what the Lord has done.

Minister Aaron Hill continues through Jesus' prayer in John 17. In this section, Jesus prays for His disciples. He knows they will have trouble once He goes back to the Father, but He prays that they may have joy, and He prays for their sanctification, their setting apart for holiness, saying, "Sanctify them in the truth, Your Word is truth" (vs. 17).  God's Word is both the message and the messenger made holy and pure by God. Though the world is evil, we cannot remove ourselves from it any more than the disciples could. Just as they were, we have been sent as a means through which people can be saved. We, too, must be sanctified in and by truth remembering that Jesus is the standard of truth.

Minister Aaron Hill continues this week focusing on Jesus' prayer in John 17, a prayer he calls "The Most Important Prayer." In this prayer, Jesus emphasizes the He and the Father are One. They are One in message, One in mission, and One in love.  

It will not be by our knowledge or our efforts that unity will be established. Only God can do that. 

In the second part of verse 11, Jesus prays "Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." When Jesus is glorified, the Father is glorified. 

May we daily seek to glorify the Father and the Son.