07/25/10

That disciple whom Jesus Loved

There are three disciples that I want to look at very closely 

1. Judas,  2. Peter  3. John

All three of these men had a unique revelation of Jesus. First of all let’s look at the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

 Judas: We can gain a lot of insight by starting with his name.

Judas Iscariot. His name was not a first and last name like we are used to in the US. His name, Judas Iscariot told of where he was from Ish referred to Ishmael Cariot was the place where he was from. There were two places in those days he could have been from with a name like this. One around southern Galilee then his name would have been called Judas Me-Cariot. And one on the Moabite side of the Jordan from there his name would have been Judas Ish-Cariot ! This tells you that Judas was from the Moabite side of the Jordan therefore he was of Arab decent, and was a stranger to the Jews. This is why when he died they buried him in a field for strangers.  What would attract a stranger to Jesus who was a Jew? It was money! Judas loved money. Judas whole life revolved around money. He had a revelation that money was attracted to Jesus!  When Jesus was born it is true that He was born in a stable in Bethlehem. But that was not because Joseph couldn’t afford a room there it was because the little town was jam packed full because Caesar had ordered that all the world should be taxed and every one had to report to their town of lineage to register for the taxation. There were thousands of people jammed into Bethlehem. Every room, shed, and back porch was probably rented.  There was no room in the inn (Hotel). Therefore Joseph rented the stable. At such a prosperous time for land owners it must have taken more than a little money to have rented that whole stable. Why was Jesus born in a stable anyway? One reason is that all sacrifices were born in one. Only the shepherds showed up that night at the stable the wise men didn’t show up for about two years.

The Wise men

These men were called Magi or stargazers, from Babylon.  They were kings they became believers as a result of Daniel and the children of Israel being there during the Babylonian captivity. They had gained access to biblical writings such as Isaiah who prophesied that the Messiah; The King of The Jews was coming. They had learned that He would be born of the virgin, so they studied the stars (The constellations) for a sign. It is said by some that while they were studying the constellations there appeared a bright star in the belly of Virgo the virgin and they said this is His sign that, He has been born! After this they loaded up a caravan laden with gold, myrrh and frankincense and headed out following the star towards Jerusalem. These men were kings very rich and very important! There were not just three of them like our Christmas cards teach us. It wasn’t one white guy one black guy and one oriental guy that set out across the desert on three camels alone with three little containers of gold, myrrh, and frankincense.  The desert was perilous, with bandits and thieves; they would have taken everything from them! Not to mention they could not have carried enough provisions on just three camels. We can learn that there was somewhere between 40 and 70 Magi headed across that desert and they had an army with them of probably around 400 men. This is why Matthew chapter 2 tells us that when they arrived in Jerusalem that Herod and all Jerusalem was troubled. There were so many and they were so powerful that even Herod didn’t challenge them for saying they were there to find the king of the Jews! Herod said he was the king of the Jews and he killed his own family if he even thought they were after his throne. If he had of killed these men there would have been a blood bath in Jerusalem. Herod figured it was more feasible to let them locate Jesus for him then he would go and kill him! Undoubtedly the star had disappeared before they got to Jerusalem because when they left Herod to go to Bethlehem they were exceedingly glad for the star appeared again! The scripture says that they followed it to the house where Jesus was with His mother.  

The point I’m making is, from the day Jesus was born extreme wealth started making its way to Him! You can find with just a little study that Jesus had about five houses. He had a fleet of ships. He employed at least 82 people (12 full time). He wore three garments only the very rich wore three garments. Yes Jesus was a wealthy man and this was extremely attractive to Judas Iscariot.

Judas attitude;

 John.12

[1] Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
[2] There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
[3] Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
[4] Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,
[5] Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
[6] This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
[7] Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
[8] For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

This ointment Mary brought in was very costly 300 pence was at least a years wages. Judas would have spotted this from the time it came through the door! This was some big money to put into the bag. No doubt Judas eyes danced with glee over this much wealth. But just as he was standing up to get it Mary did something unthinkable in his eyes, she knelt down broke it open and poured it on Jesus! This was more than Judas could take! Probably everyone else saw him set to get it and they probably noticed the look on his face when she poured a years wages on Jesus feet. Judas had to have an excuse fast so he barked out “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” But John records for us that he said this not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief! Judas carried the bag (The treasurer) and was stealing out of it!   

All that was on Judas mind was money, always money! Jesus was not The Christ to him, but a source of material only. Jesus wants you rich, He wants you prosperous, and He wants you blessed! Why, because He loves you? Yes, and so that you can be a blessing to others! He wants you to be able to lend to nations if need be! Glory To God! 

Matthew’s account of this tells us that as soon as Judas heard Jesus view of money to give into him, Judas was offended and went out to betray him!

However Judas missed everything else! He saw the same miracles that everyone else saw and could have believed like Peter or John but he built it all on money. It made Judas a thief! It made him do more than deny Jesus he sold him to the highest bidder! You can see this in churches everywhere today. If the church is going to give to something, or expand, or spend money in any way, there is always someone who complains over the money. Oh they always have real religious reasons for the objection. This is the spirit of Judas! To have this revelation and no other will lead you to self-destruction, why? Because Love is all one sided where money is concerned. Money does not love you back. It has no soul, no conscious. Money will buy a blessing for you and the very same piece of money that bought you the blessing can go to someone else’s hand and they can use it to destroy someone! When the storm came Judas looked to his money for deliverance and found out too late that the love placed in money was one sided!  Judas became the treasure for the ministry; Judas had a revelation that money was attracted to Jesus.  If this is the only revelation a person receives then we can learn from Judas life what their life patterns are. They are:

• Obsessed with money
• Jesus is only a source of material substance to them
• They always want to be in control of where the money goes
• They’re not loyal

·         They find it easy to lie and steal

 Peter

Matthew 16

[13] When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
[14] And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
[15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
[16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
[17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
[19] And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
[20] Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
[21] From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
[22] Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
[23] But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Here in these passages Jesus uses the word Peter.  It is the Greek word Petro’s, it means fragment of a rock. Or solid. Peter just received from the Father the revelation that Jesus was the Christ! The Son of The Living God! What Jesus said to peter was, this revelation has made you solid, a fragment of a rock. Then Jesus used a different word for “rock” when he said, “ and upon this “rock” I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The word rock here is the Greek word Petra! It means huge boulder! a Gibraltar! The Petra He’s talking about here is revelation knowledge, but primarily the revelation that He is The Christ! The Anointed One! The Son Of The Living God!  Now this is the revelation that Peter received. This put him on solid ground. Enough that he would not completely wipe out in the storm. But it wasn’t enough to keep him from drawing back into a self-preservation mode. Peter the fragment of the rock looked mighty shaky when he began to curse and to swear and say he did not even know Jesus! This is the essential revelation that you must come to however if you stop there and this is the only revelation a person receives then we can learn from Peter’s life what their life patterns are. They are a:  

• Chronic backslider.
• Constantly depend upon they’re own might and ability.  In John 18 Peter cutoff Malchus ear.
• Follow Jesus from a distance. In Matt. 26 We find Peter following Jesus afar off.
• Find them selves sitting with the enemies of Jesus. Peter setting with the servants of the high priest.
•  Conform to popular opinion when confronted Peter denying he even knew Jesus.
• It’s hard for people to tell the difference between you and the world in your speech and actions.  Peter began to curse and swear.

 Even though this is the essential revelation the church must receive Jesus did not mean for us to stop at this revelation. He didn’t say I give you the key to the kingdom, He said keys! These keys are revelation knowledge. Start with this one and build your house on it. 

John

John was different than others. He thought different than the others. John was only about 17 when Jesus called him into the ministry. Peter was the oldest of the disciples, about 26, and Jesus was the oldest of them He was 30 when he began His ministry.

 When reading the book of St. John you’ll find a phrase mentioned often in John 13:23, 20:2, 21:7, 21:20, 19:26, in all these John calls himself  “That disciple whom Jesus Loved!”  I’ve read this my whole life and always drew the conclusion that John must have been someone very special above others to Jesus. However did you know that the only book of the Bible that John is referred in this way is in the book HE WROTE!  While Peter would say things like “I will never leave thee!”  Or  “I will die for thee though all others forsake thee!” Yet when the pressure was on, Peter denied he knew the Lord three times! What about John? When the others ran and hid John went and got Mary and took her to the crucifixion site.  While the others were hiding in a room from the Romans and the high priest John was at the crucifixion with The Master. What was the difference between John and the others? John didn’t go around talking about how much he loved Jesus, but rather how much Jesus loved him! John had a revelation of what Jesus thought of him that the others obviously didn’t have.  This revelation removed all fear from him. The man with only a revelation of prosperity when the storm came hanged himself. The man with the revelation that Jesus was the Christ The Son of the living God, when the storm came thought of himself. The man with the revelation of Jesus love for him went to Mary’s house and boldly took her to the trial then to Calvary! John stayed when the earth grew dark. He stood fearlessly with Roman soldiers all around while the others hid. The difference was in the revelations these three men had.

 John 21

[1] After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
[2] There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
[3] Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
[4] But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
[5] Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
[6] And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
[7] Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

Go to  verse 15 

[15] So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
[16] He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
[17] He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
[18] Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
[19] This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
[20] Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
[21] Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

[22] Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
[23] Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

Jesus starts giving Peter a lesson on Love! It grieved Peter because Jesus had asked him three times. The Greek word grieved means that Peter was grieved to the point of offence. This is what grieved Peter. We must remember that at this time peter was very ashamed of himself. He had denied the Master Himself! After Peter had denied Him the third time the rooster crowed and Jesus turned and looked at Peter, this was the look that was burned into Peter’s thinking. He probably went to bed and got up with this look etched into his thinking. After they had finished the meal they were eating I imagine Peter had been avoiding Jesus gaze throughout the whole meal. Then it happened! The moment Peter dreaded  Jesus spoke his name “Simon Peter” Do you Agape me?” As Jesus turned and looked directly into Peter’s eyes! This is the way the event went.

Verse 15: The first time Jesus ask “ Simon Agape thou me?” Do you love me with the love of God, unconditionally? Peter being a fragment of the rock said Yes Lord thou knowest that I love (Philo you), approve of you and treat you affectionately.  Jesus answered Feed my lambs! (Little lambs, children ) Verse 16/ The second time Jesus ask the same thing Peter still responds the same way I love you approve of you and am fond of you, Jesus says feed my Sheep (all who is hungry) Verse 17/ The third time Jesus said to him Simon son of Jonah lovest (Phileo) Thou me? Do you approve of me are you fond of me? This grieved Peter to the point of offense, he said Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that this is the way I love you! Jesus said, feed my sheep.  Then watch what happened next, [18] Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
[19] This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.  Jesus told Peter you will never deny me again. When you are old you will die before you will deny me. (Jesus got rid of his guilt)  This will be the glory of your death! If Peter continued without this revelation of Agape The only glory he would glorify God with is that He would never deny Him again and he would live to be old.

 To get this revelation of Love in him Jesus told Peter to FEED MY LAMBS AND MY SHEEP! Get others on your mind reach out to them love them the way I love you! And then He told Peter to follow Him. (Join Him as His attendant) Operate the way He does! Giving Himself for others! Glory to God! Then in verse, [20] Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?

John was following (Joining Him as an attendant) John was already doing it but Peter was learning to do it. 

[21] Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

Peter said what shall this man do, how will he glorify God in his death? 

[22] Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. 

He was telling Peter this walk is personal you concern yourself with you and not him! If he was to live till I return what is that to you? He was telling him develop your love walk.
[23] Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

John lived to be older than any other disciple! They tried to boil him in oil but he wouldn’t boil, they couldn’t kill him so they dropped him out on the island of Patmos to die and there he wrote the book of The Revelation!  He left that island and toured at least 2 more years preaching! It is said that in his old age he was close to 100 that he heard that one of his disciples had backslid so John jumped on a horse and rode it for miles to get to that one. You can guess where he learned that from.  Another report of Johns last days and hours said that he couldn’t talk above a whisper and his disciples would come in to him and ask him “Tell us before you die some great revelation that we can know? It is said Johns answer was always “My little children love one another!” John died of old age. John with a revelation of Agape ended up with everything Judas wanted, and everything Peter wanted. Like we’ve established Jesus was very wealthy and since we know He perfectly pleased the Father, the we know He fulfilled the commandment to Honor your father and your mother. This commandment did not mean that you didn’t curse them it was more along the lines that you were not supposed to neglect them. This meant that you were to lay up a bank account for them so that when they got old that could retire. We see Jesus doing this from the cross.  He told Mary his mother concerning John, Woman behold thy son, then He told John, son behold thy mother. Right here He turned over all His wealth to John to take care of His mother for the rest of her life!

What Judas tried to sell Jesus for, Jesus gave to John freely! John was solid He never denied Jesus, and remained stone solid always. He had the revelation of Jesus love for him. The things that John taught in St John 1 can stagger the human mind! His revelation was deep and intimate. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by Him and without Him was anything made that was made! He goes on to teach about in him was life and the life was the light of men and then in verse 14 he declares “AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY THE GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER!  No other Apostle wrote like this only the one with the revelation of Agape Love! Glory to the living God!

Please read closely

 God is not disappointed in you my brother and sister, if he was disappointed in you as one man said, He would be no bigger than you are. Therefore everyday begin to declare Jesus loves me! I am that disciple whom Jesus loves! Prosperity is drawn to this kind of Live, solidness in God exist in this kind of Love. When someone has this kind of revelation we can learn from John life what they can look forward to.

 ·        John had a revelation of Jesus Love

·        They always want to be close to Jesus. (the John was leaning on Jesus bosom)

·        John could recognize The Lord when He spoke (When they were fishing after the resurrection John was the only one who recognized the Lords voice)

·        Love outruns all other revelations (John outran Peter to the shepulchre)

·        Love takes you there first

·        Jesus turns over the most precious things to the person with this revelation (Jesus entrusted the care of Mary to him)

·        He turned over the wealth he possessed to John (Woman behold thy son, son behold thy mother)

·        This revelation brings deep intimate revelation of God

·        This revelation does battle with death (John lived longer than any other disciple)

This revelation carries with it Long Life!

We must begin to develop this great revelation of love within us. How do we do it? By Feeding Lambs and Sheep! As partners to this ministry we’ll be praying over you tonight! And regularly. God bless our partners for as you give to this ministry we are constantly feeding The Lambs and Feeding The Sheep! Greater love has no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends. Everytime you give financially into this ministry you are doing just this, you are laying down your life for your friends. You’ve worked all week or month and exchanged part of your life for the offering you sent to us and we do not take it lightly. Money is drawn to you, becoming stable in Jesus comes to you. And great love and success is drawn to you!   God bless you partners for your great love for us and we declare ours for you! Please send us your prayer request so that we can take them before our prayer team.

Remember,

God Is Absolutely Good!

 Robin D. Bullock

Coming is our partner report on our international office to Israel! Be Looking For it!