Jesus submitted himself to the ultimate test. An enormous stone shut him away from the land of the living, but he burst out of the tomb in everlasting victory over sin and the grave, our purchase complete, to the praise and glory of his Father. And what was his supreme agenda after his early Sunday morning return from the grave? To reestablish connection with his closest followers, re-affirming his continuing love, having proven it as a brother who has laid down his life for his friends, and to quiet all remaining doubts about who he was and what he had done for his disciples, for us, for his Church.

John 20:1-18, Jer. 29:13, Genesis 16:14,15,19-21,24-29, Genesis 21:1-17

1. John 20:1-18 – Jesus saw ______________________________________________

2. John 20:19-21, 24-29 – Jesus saw ______________________________________

3. John 21:1-17 – Jesus saw ______________________________________________

God’s love, grace, and mercy were fully manifested in the person and ministry of Jesus. Plan ‘A’ was on startling display in His Son and was causing cheering, confusion and consternation. This was the inbreaking of God’s Kingdom, the establishing of the New Covenant, or, in theological language, Inaugurated Eschatology. Palm Sunday, as we call it, saw the clash between God’s Kingdom and Old Covenant traditions reach fever pitch. That day and the week to follow were awash in developments of eternal significance.

Luke 19:28-44

1. vv. 28-34 – Jesus, _____________________________________________________

2. vv. 35-38 – The humble crowd, ________________________________________

3. vv. 39,40 – The prideful Jewish leaders _________________________________

4. vv. 41-44 – Prideful Jerusalem’s ________________________________________

“Because he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience

by what he suffered, just as we do.”

Hebrews 5:8, MSG

God’s Plan ‘A’ included Jesus’ powerful demonstration that, not only was there resurrection after death but that he was ‘the’ Resurrection. Because one of the Jewish religious groups, the Sadducees, denied that there was a resurrection, indisputable evidence was needed. Enter: Lazarus, followed by intensified fear/hatred of Jesus by Jerusalem’s elite. And, of course, widely increased belief among the people that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah.

John 11:1-45

1. vv. 1-7 – Jesus _______________________________________________________

2. vv. 8- 16 – Jesus _____________________________________________________

3. vv. 17- 37 – Jesus ____________________________________________________

4. vv. 38 – 46 – Jesus ___________________________________________________

5. vv. 47 – 57 – Jesus’ ___________________________________________________

Jesus’ work was authored and directed by his Father. It led him into an indirect, although strategic, confrontation with the Pharisees by way of a miraculous healing of the eyes of a man born blind. It was a Sabbath healing! The healing also got a group of pious, disapproving, law-abiding, neighbors involved. What ensued was a clash of the established Old Covenant with the incoming New Covenant, just as surely as light clashes with darkness.

John 9:1-41

1. vv. 1-7 – Light streams ________________________________________________

2. vv. 8-14 – Light is rejected ____________________________________________

3. vv. 15-34 – Light is rejected ___________________________________________

4. vv. 35-39 – Light _____________________________________________________

5. vv. 40,41 – Light ______________________________________________________

Jesus’ work involved not just a spring dusting of the temple, but a deep clean, a full revelation of God’s unthwartable plan for Israel, his people. This included challenging some long-held idols, shining a light on the emptiness of much of the ritual being celebrated, and stripping away the power-strut of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. It also demanded a painful re-think of some prejudicial practices hindering the advance of the Kingdom of God.

John 4:1-42

1. vv. 1-8 – Stretching boundaries - _______________________________________

2. vv. 9-15 – Stretching boundaries - _____________________________________

3. vv. 16-26- Stretching boundaries, ______________________________________

4. vv. 27-42 – Stretching boundaries- _____________________________________

Jesus was, from birth, fully God, fully man (the theological term of the phenomenon is a fancy-sounding term, Hypostatic Union, meaning in simple English, two natures, one person). As an 8-day-old boychild, he was circumcised. As an adult male, he was baptized. As a man, he fasted and was tempted in the wilderness. As a man, with a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary man’s voice, he asked twelve men to follow him as apprentices. It was as his mother’s son and friend of the bridal couple he attended a wedding celebration in the nearby village of Cana.

John 2:1-11

1. vv. 1-3 – too early _____________________________________________________

2. vv. 4,5 – too early ____________________________________________________

3. vv. 6-10 – right time__________________________________________________

4. v. 11 – right time _____________________________________________________

From an outsider perspective, Jesus’ ministry appeared to be ill-fated – no formal training, no Jerusalem connection, randomly chosen, questionable students, no headquarters, no support. Add to this, angering, early on, the Jewish religious authorities. Eventually, even his closest followers and friends were confused at his failure to meet the expectations they had of him as the Messiah. And finally, against all wisdom, and knowing the great danger, he chose to go into Jerusalem and teach in the temple! It seemed his ministry was fast coming to a tragic end.

Matthew 3:13 – 4:11, Isaiah 52:13 – 53:6

1. Matt. 3: 13-17 – The road ___________________________________________

2. Matt. 4:1-11 – The road ____________________________________________

3. Isa. 52:13-53:6 – The road ___________________________________________

Although a Jew, he was raised and educated in Pharaoh’s courts as Egyptian royalty. Echoes of his people’s story haunted him, and seeing their treatment as slaves, caused buried passion to suddenly rise within him. In a split-second Moses went from prince of Egypt to enemy of the state, having killed an Egyptian. The very next day he was fleeing for his life as a condemned murderer, leaving behind the comforts and benefits of the court for an undetermined destination. There, for forty years, he would build a new life, in hiding, far from Pharaoh’s reaches.

Exodus 3:1-15, (11, 13) 4:1-4, (10, 13) 14-17

1. 3:1-15 – God ____________________________________________________

2. 4:1-4 – God _____________________________________________________

3. 4:14-17 – God __________________________________________________

The people of God’s choosing have always been sheltered by His plan that includes a total restoration of peace. Throughout Israel’s troubled history, that restoration had been reiterated multiple times. This, despite ongoing grievous disobedience in the face of God’s unfailing faithfulness, His abundant, miraculous provision, his tender watch care. We, now also chosen in Jesus, stand in the light of promise partly fulfilled in Jesus and partly yet to be completed.

Isaiah 11:1-9

1,2 – God’s __________________________________________

 

 

3-5 – God’s _________________________________________

 

 

6-8 – Creation’s _____________________________________

 

 

9 -  Eden’s Shalom ___________________________________

 

As the reality of Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah began to sink in, his disciples faced a new and challenging reality – Jesus voiced a deep desire to be close friends with them, his diamonds-in-the-rough band of brothers. This awareness highlighted another awareness – they were unworthy. How could they ever hope to be in sync alongside his divine stature? Their sinfulness, their disobediences, their impulsiveness, along with all their other less-than-desirable traits, made Jesus’ invitation hard to imagine as being feasible.

John 15:1-17

1-4 – Friendship as in ____________________________________

 

5-8 – Friendship as in ____________________________________

 

9-13 – Friendship as in ___________________________________

 

14-17 – Friendship as in __________________________________