Theology

"What is truth?"

That was Pilate's question.

It was a great question - too bad he didn't wait for an answer.

Pontius Pilate asked Jesus a number of things in John 18 - and was befuddled by Christ's responses.

We will consider their unique conversation in today's study.

Questions We'll Address:

A) Who was Pilate, and what was his background?

B) Why did the Jewish leaders take Jesus to Pilate?

C) Why did the people demand the release of Barabbas?

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Peter said that he loved Jesus.

Peter said that he'd die for Jesus.

But on the night of Christ's betrayal, Peter denied Him three times.

So, what do we make of Peter's failure?

What do we make of his weakness?

And how did Christ respond?

That will be the focus of today's study in John 18.

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Lanterns, torches and weapons.

The men who sought Jesus were heavily armed!

That's what rebels do - they arm themselves for battle.

Meanwhile, Jesus waited patiently.

In a sense, the events of John 18 are a microcosm of mankind's history.

Specifically, our history of rebellion against a loving and patient God.

We'll consider that rebellion (and Christ's response) in today's study of John 18.

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You are not alone.

You have a divine 'intercessor.'

And when life gets hard, the Son pleads your case to His Father.

But what does He say? What does He ask for?

That will be the focus of today's study in John 17. 

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Jesus, 1. The World, 0.

It wasn't even close.

Herod, Pilate, the devil, and all the Pharisees could not stop Christ's victory.

They didn't even delay it.

In John 16, Jesus said He had overcome the world - but what does that mean for you and I as believers?

That will be the focus of today's study.

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Can anyone stay neutral about Jesus?

No one is truly neutral about Jesus. In John 15:18-27, Jesus warns His followers that the world will hate them as it hated Him. Dr. Toby Holt explains why there is no spiritual middle ground. Because they belong to Christ, the disciples no longer belong to the world, which will treat them as it treated their Master. Holt takes apart the idea that people are born neutral "free agents"; the Bible says we are by nature turned from God until He changes our hearts. But Jesus promises the Helper, who testifies of Him.

Questions this study answers:

1. Is anyone spiritually neutral? No. The Bible teaches we are naturally turned from God until He changes us. Everyone is on one side or the other.

2. Why does the world resist the gospel? Because believers are fundamentally different, and that difference provokes hostility. Jesus said the world hated Him first.

3. What hope is there for those who face hostility? Jesus sends the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to Christ and strengthens His people to stand.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." — John 15:18 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.

What does it actually mean to "abide" in Christ?

In this study of John 15, Dr. Toby Holt takes up Jesus' image of the vine and the branches. A branch severed from the vine is dead and fruitless; joined to the vine, it lives and bears fruit. So it is with the believer — our spiritual life and every bit of our fruitfulness depend entirely on a living union with Christ.

To "abide," Dr. Holt explains, is not a mystical feeling but a real, sustained dependence: remaining in Christ through His Word, prayer, and faith, drawing life from Him as a branch draws sap from the vine. He presses the searching truth that we are "exactly as close to God as we want to be," calling hearers not to keep Christ at arm's length but to remain in Him.

Questions this study answers:

1. What is the vine-and-branch imagery teaching? That the believer has no spiritual life and can bear no fruit apart from an ongoing, living union with Christ.

2. What does it mean to "abide" in Christ? To remain in vital dependence on Him — through His Word, prayer, and faith — as the constant source of our life and strength.

3. Can we bear fruit on our own? No. Jesus says plainly, "Without Me you can do nothing." All genuine fruit flows out of union with Him.

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." — John 15:5 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Who is the Holy Spirit, and what does He do in you?

In this study of John 14, Dr. Toby Holt turns to the promise Jesus gave His fearful disciples on the night of the Last Supper: that He would send "another Helper" to abide with them forever. Dr. Holt insists that the Spirit is not an impersonal cosmic force but a divine Person — a Helper, Advocate, and Intercessor sent to dwell within God's people. He unfolds why Christ said it was to the disciples' advantage that He go away, so that the Spirit might come, and what the Spirit's indwelling means for believers today: comfort, teaching, assurance, and power. Between the intercession of the Son and the indwelling of the Spirit, the believer is upheld by the triune God.

Questions this study answers:

1. Is the Holy Spirit a force or a Person? A Person. Jesus calls Him "another Helper," the Spirit of truth, who teaches, comforts, convicts, and dwells with believers.

2. Why was it better for the disciples that Jesus depart? So that the Spirit would be sent to indwell them permanently, applying the presence and work of Christ within them.

3. What does the Spirit's indwelling do for us? He abides with us forever, assures us of God's love, leads us into truth, and empowers us to face whatever we must. "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth... for He dwells with you and will be in you." — John 14:16-17 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Fear overcame the disciples.

Huddled in the Upper Room, Jesus had talked about His coming death, the presence of a betrayer, and of the dark days to follow.

The men were shaken.

But, sensing their anxiety, Jesus gathered them close, saying "let not your heart be troubled." Dark days would soon give way to hope and victory.

If your heart is troubled today, then be encouraged by this study of John 14.

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Unthinkable.

In John 13, the Creator washed the feet of people that He created.

And moments later, one went out to betray Him.

The Lord Supper was filled with shocking moments like these.

We'll consider two of them in today's study of John 13:1-17.

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