Matthew 26:31-35 --- Mark 14:27-31
 Luke 22:31-38 --- John 13:36-14:31

     The 35th U.S. President was born this day, May 29, 1917. He was awarded the Navy's medal for heroism for his service during World War II, and the Pulitzer Prize for his book Profiles in Courage. The youngest man ever elected President, he served three years before being assassinated. His name: John F. Kennedy. In his Inaugural Address, President Kennedy stated: "The same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe - The belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God."

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

It always strikes me,
and it is very peculiar,
that when we see the image
of indescribable and unutterable desolation
- of loneliness, of poverty and misery,
the end of all things, or their extreme -
then rises in our mind the thought of God.
--- Vincent van Gogh, Dear Theo: An Autobiography of Vincent van Gogh, 1937


To put one's trust in God
is only a longer way
of saying that one will chance it.
--- Samuel Butler, Note-Books

... from here, there and everywhere

Undisturbed relationship

     At that day ye shall ask in My name … The Father Himself loveth you. --- John 16:26, 27.

     “At that day ye shall ask in My name,” i.e., in My nature. Not—‘You shall use My name as a magic word,’ but—‘You will be so intimate with Me that you will be one with Me.’ “That day” is not a day hereafter, but a day meant for here and now. “The Father Himself loveth you”—the union is so complete and absolute. Our Lord does not mean that life will be free from external perplexities but that just as He knew the Father’s heart and mind, so by the baptism of the Holy Ghost He can lift us into the heavenly places where He can reveal the counsels of God to us.

     “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name …” “That day” is a day of undisturbed relationship between God and the saint. Just as Jesus stood unsullied in the presence of His Father, so by the mighty efficacy of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we can be lifted into that relationship—“that they may be one, even as We are one.”

     “He will give it you.” Jesus says that God will recognize our prayers. What a challenge! By the Resurrection and Ascension power of Jesus, by the sent-down Holy Ghost, we can be lifted into such a relationship with the Father that we are at one with the perfect sovereign will of God by our free choice even as Jesus was. In that wonderful position, placed there by Jesus Christ, we can pray to God in His name, in His nature, which is gifted to us by the Holy Ghost, and Jesus says—“Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you.” The sovereign character of Jesus Christ is tested by His own statements.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

     July 5 1940

Nought that I would give today
Would half compare
With the long-treasured riches that somewhere
In the deep heart are stored.
Cloud and the moon and mist and the whole
Hoard of frail, white-bubbling stars,
And the cool blessing,
Like moth or wind caressing,
Of the fair, fresh rain-dipped flowers;
And all the spells of the sea, and the new green
Of moss and fern and bracken
Before their youth is stricken;
The thoughts of the trees at eventide, the hush
In the dark corn at morning,
And the wish
In your own heart still but dawning-
All of these,
A soft weight on your hands,
I would give now;
And lastly myself made clean
And white as the wave-washed sand,
If I knew how.

Thomas, R. S. Selected Poems, 1946-68

     They had toiled all night and caught nothing; isn't that a description of many human lives? The World's Great Sermons, Volume 10 Drummond to Jowett, and General Index "Friends, haven't you any fish?" asks the quiet voice from the shore, and they answer, "No." All the heartbreak and disappointment of the world cry aloud in that confession. Oh, I could fill an hour with the mere recital of the names of great and famous people who have toiled through a long life and, as the last gray hour came over their dim sea of life, "brackish with the salt of human tears," have acknowledged with infinite bitterness that they have caught nothing. Surely here is some tragic mismanagement of the great business of living. Is it true of you that, after all the painful years, happiness is not yours? You have no meat, no food on which the heart feeds, no green pasture in the soul, no table in the wilderness, and the last gray day draws near and will find you still hungering for what life has never given you.

     Learn, then, that Christ knows more about the proper management of your life than you do. "Throw your net on the right side of the boat," speaks that quiet voice from the shore. And you know what happened. And it is so still. Just because Christ stands among the common things of life, he knows most about life, and, above all, he knows where the golden fruit of happiness is found and where the secret wells of peace.

     And to some of us whom God has called to be fishers of souls the issue is yet more solemn. We have the boat and the nets, all this elaborate organization of the church, but have we caught anything this year? Where is the catch of fish? Where are the women and men saved by our triumphant effort? Only lately have I found the right side of the ship; only lately have I discovered how easy it is to get the great catch of fish by simply going to work in Christ's way. Go for them—that is Christ's method. Compel them to come in. And if your experience is like mine, you will find that there is strangely little compulsion needed to bring people to Christ. I ask you whether you really want a great catch of fish, for you can have it if you want it. Christ knows the business better than you do, and if you will come out of the cloister of the church and seek the people in his spirit, I promise you that very soon you will not be able to drag the net for the multitude of fish.
--- William Dawson

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers (27). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

     Overview / Each of the Gospel writers speaks in detail of the last few days of Jesus' life. The Cross, with the Resurrection which followed, is clearly the focus of the Gospel story.

     Each of the Gospel writers adds details not included by the others. By studying the four accounts, we can know what happened almost hour by hour.

     For instance, we know that Jesus had not just one trial, but six! He was taken from court to court, examined (at times in actual violation of Jewish Law), and shunted off to another jurisdiction. Finally He was condemned by Pilate, the Roman governor, who alone had authority to pronounce the death sentence.

Jesus' religious trials

   Before Annas     John 18:12–14
   Before Caiaphas     Matthew 26:57–68
   Before the Sanhedrin     Matthew 27:1–2

Jesus' civil trials

   Before Pilate     Luke 22:66–23:7
   Before Herod     Luke 23:8–12
   Before Pilate     Luke 23:13–25

     While the Gospels tell the story of Jesus' death, we need to look to the Old Testament and to the Epistles to explain its meaning. How good to lead our group to sense once again the wonder of what Jesus did on Calvary for you and me. How great the price of our salvation.

     Commentary / If Jesus' prophetic picture of the kingdom's future has its roots in the Old Testament, what is about to happen has even deeper roots. All of revelation focuses on the events of the next few days: Millennia and centuries of time strain forward to it, while additional millennia and centuries find meaning by looking back to it.

     Matthew puts it in perspective as he gives us Jesus' words: "As you know, the Passover is two days away" (Matt. 26:2).

     Passover / The Passover marked the Jewish new year: it was the time of beginnings for Israel. The annual festival recalled a historic event which marked a true spiritual beginning for God's Old Testament people.

     Exodus 11 and 12 record the story. Great plagues had ruined the land of Egypt in Moses' day, but they had failed to move Egypt's ruler to let Israel, then a slave race, go. God then determined a final judgment. But He instructed each Hebrew family to select a lamb, to be kept in the home for four days. On the fourth day the lamb was to be killed, and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of each Jewish home. The lamb itself was to be roasted and eaten.

     The night this happened, God's death angel swept through the land of Egypt. Each home unprotected by the blood of the lamb suffered the loss of its firstborn son. But the homes marked out by the blood of the Passover lamb were safe.

     Impelled by the horror of the multiple deaths, Pharaoh released the Jews. Israel had been redeemed by death from slavery, to fulfill its destiny as the people of God.

     And God commanded the Jews, each year after this event, to commemorate it by reenactment. Fresh lambs were slain, fresh blood sprinkled, and each generation was taught again the lesson that freedom could come only through the shedding of the blood of the lamb.

     This Passover. This Passover, Jesus was about to fulfill the deepest meaning of the Old Testament celebration rite. Passover not only looked back to the Exodus; it looked forward to the Cross. "The Passover is two days away," Jesus said, "and the Son of man will be handed over to be crucified" (Matt. 26:2).

     John the Baptist had foreseen it that day back at the River Jordan. "Look," he said, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) For three to four years after this Jesus had been among the Jewish people, teaching, healing, caring. But then, when Passover came, like the lambs that represented Him, Jesus had to die. He had to die that through His death those who sprinkle His blood by faith on the doorposts of their hearts might know the ultimate freedom. Through the blood of Christ we are freed from sin and from sin's power—freed even from the fear of death.

     The culminating act of service and self-giving had been clearly taught in the Old Testament, even apart from the Passover symbolism. We see it, for instance, in Isaiah 53. The death of Christ and its meaning are so clearly portrayed in this passage that we can hardly believe we are reading words penned over 600 years before Jesus' birth!

     He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away. And who can speak of His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
--- Isaiah 53:2–12

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The Teacher's Commentary (323). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

     Like any ancient book, the NT has a strange feel about it. It reports unusual events as well as strange customs. This naturally raises the question of whether we can trust what it tells us. These six statements of fact affirm that the NT can be trusted.

     1. The books of the NT were recognized through a careful sifting process. The process stretched from the first to the fourth century. The catalysts for the formation of the NT were the use of Scripture in worship, the rise of false teaching (which necessitated identifying the authentic works), and persecution (which called for the burning of holy books—so one needed to know which those were!). The books included in the NT were those regarded as giving evidence of divine authority. Was it associated with an apostle? Was it in line with other authentic biblical books? Was it widely used and received? These were the questions used to identify the trustworthy and authoritative books of the NT.

     2. The NT is based on reliable sources carefully used and faithfully transmitted. The Bible is both like other books and unlike them. Luke explained that he used sources (Lk 1:1–4). Jesus taught that the Spirit would help these apostles recall what Jesus taught them (Jn 14:25–26). To argue that the Bible is inspired by God does not dismiss the human elements that make up the book. What are the sources and how were they handled? The texts surrounding Jesus stress the role of eyewitnesses as the root of the tradition (see Lk 1:2). An apostolic association ensured the account's credibility.

     The distance between event and recording is not great—less than a lifetime, a small distance of time by ancient standards. For example, the first-century Roman historians Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus were centuries removed from many of the events they chronicled. Judaism depended on the ability to pass things on with care from one generation to the next, recounting events with care. This does not exclude some variation, as is obvious by comparing the Gospel accounts or parallel accounts in 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Judaism, and the Christianity that grew out of it, was a culture of memory. People memorized long liturgical prayers and more often than not worked from memory rather than from a written page. Anyone who has read a children's book again and again to his child knows that the mind is capable of absorbing vast amounts of wording and retaining it.

     Finally the biblical text we have today basically reflects the text as it was originally produced. The NT has far better manuscript evidence than any other ancient document. Where most classical works, such as those of Plato, Herodotus, and Aristophanes, have from one to 20 manuscripts, the NT has about 5,400 Greek manuscripts that we can compare to determine the original wording, not to mention more than 8,000 ancient Latin manuscripts.

     3. Assessing trustworthiness means understanding history's complexity. Differences in accounts do not necessarily equal contradiction, nor does subsequent reflection mean a denial of history. Events can be viewed from different angles or perspectives without forfeiting historicity. Thus the differences in the four Gospels enrich our appreciation of Jesus by giving us four perspectives on Him—Jesus in four dimensions, so to speak. Neither is reflection a denial of history. Sometimes the significance of a historical event, such as a football play, becomes clear only when we see successive events. History involves both what happened and its results. Trustworthiness simply affirms that the assessed account is an accurate portrayal of what took place and a credible explanation of what emerged, not that it is the only way the events in question were seen.

     4. Trustworthiness demands not exhaustive but adequate knowledge of the topic. Sources are selective even when they are accurate. The Bible makes this point in John 21:25: "There are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written." When people call Scripture trustworthy, they are arguing that its testimony is not contrary to what happened and is sufficient to give us a meaningful understanding of God and His work for us (2 Tm 3:16–17). Speaking accurately is not the same as speaking exhaustively.

     5. Archaeology teaches us to respect the content of Scripture. Archaeology seldom can prove that events took place. What it can show is that the details of an account, some of them incidental, fit the time and culture of the text. Archaeology also shows that we should be cautious in pointing out errors in the Bible merely because only the Bible attests to something.

     For example, there was once debate about the description in John 5:2 of a pool with five porticoes in Jerusalem, called Bethesda or Bethsaida. Many questioned its existence despite its wide attestation in ancient tradition. Different spellings of the locale in the NT manuscript tradition added to the tendency by many to reject the claim. In 1871 a French architect, C. Mauss, was restoring an old church and found a cistern 30 meters away. Later excavations in 1957–1962 clarified that it consisted of two pools large enough to hold a sizable amount of water and people. Today virtually no one doubts the existence of John's pool.

     6. The Bible's claim for miracles are plausible when one considers the response to resurrection claims. The events of the Gospels were recorded within the lifetime of several of those who claimed to have observed them. Perhaps the greatest evidence for the resurrection is the change and reaction of those who testified to it. They disciples openly admitted that they had no formal training and for a long period were shockingly inept at responding to Jesus. Yet they become courageous leaders. They stood firm in the face of the threat of death and rejection by the Jewish leaders who resisted them. This did not involve one or two people but a whole host of leaders who left their mark on history, notably the former chief persecutor of the church, Paul. Both Peter and he, along with others such as the Lord's brother James, died for their belief in Jesus' resurrection.

Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, The Apologetics Study Bible: Understand Why You Believe