John 20:1-18
“Taken with Jesus”
Vs. 1-10 The empty tomb
Vs. 11-18 The risen Lord
Intro
If this was a normal biography, there would be no chapter 20 or 21, all of them conclude with the death and burial of the subject, this is the only biography that I have ever read that includes a resurrection. In the 20th chapter the events recorded for us span 8 days. The first day covers verse 1-23 and the 2nd day to the 8th day are to be found in verses 24-31. Now our central focus will be on two things and how they affected those that witnessed them.
- Vs. 1-10 The Empty tomb
- Vs. 11-18 The Risen Lord
If we piece together all the accounts we get a clearer picture of the chronological order of the events that morning: So early on Easter Sunday morning Mary started off with the other ladies for the tomb but in her eagerness to get there, she went ahead of the other ladies. Based upon the Matthew 28 passage before she got to the tomb there was a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord rolled back the stone from the door not to let Jesus out but to let others in which caused the guards to shake with fear. So when Mary came to the tomb she saw that the stone was rolled away, her immediate conclusion was that they had moved the body of Jesus so without waiting for the other ladies to get there, she ran to tell Peter and John that the body of Jesus was moved. It is after Mary leaves that the other ladies then arrive and when they get there they see two angels who told them Jesus had risen and to go tell the other disciples. In the meanwhile, Mary arrives at where Peter and John are staying and she tells them that Jesus’ body is missing (apparently it is this message that the two on the road to Emmaus hear). And as we shall see in this text Peter and John come to investigate, running together until John outruns Peter and it seems that Mary decided to come back to the tomb as well. But by the time she got back to the tomb Peter and John had observed, studied and believed then they left. Mary then comes back, not knowing the other ladies had seen the angels, and at this time she looks into the tomb, sees the two angels and then meets Jesus and clings to Him. That covers the chronological sequence of events now we move into the specific text as it relates to John’s account.
Vs. 1-10 The empty tomb
Vs. 1 There were according to the other gospel accounts perhaps as many as three other women that came with Mary Magdalene early that Sunday morning but Mary was the first to arrive and then ran back to tell Peter and John then came back with them. The first thing we realize in this story is that Mary was not hoping for a resurrection, she was looking for a body which she assumed had been stolen. The word in the Greek translated “early” in verse 1 is a word that means “4th watch”.
The Roman soldiers had set the night up into four watches:
- The 1st watch went from six to nine
- The 2nd watch went from nine to twelve
- The 3rd watch went from twelve to three
- The 4th watch went from three to six in the morning
So Mary left while it was still dark and made her way to the tomb with the other ladies at sunrise. One wonders why Jesus didn’t first appear to Caesar or Caiaphas but He first appeared to Mary. The rabbis have a saying, “It is better that the words of the Law be burned, than be delivered to a woman.” The woman who was part of those that were last at the cross is now first at the tomb. Of further prophetic significance is that this was the first day of the “Feast of first fruits” so Jesus became the first fruits of those who are to be raised from the dead.
Vs. 2-10 John again identifies himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” and it seems to me that John even 70 years after this time is aware that Jesus loved Him like no other and that is how all of us should feel His love towards us that He loves me like no other. I sometimes wonder if John is a bit competitive as he has to include that though they both started out running together he was faster than Peter. I find it interesting that John is with Peter who had denied Jesus in the courtyard and was not with him and the four women at the cross; I wonder if Peter would have come to the empty tomb if John had not sought him out after his failure. Saints that is what Jesus meant when in 13:34 He commanded that they love one another as He has loved us. Peter, disgraced in the courtyard absent at the cross, runs to the empty tomb because he was with John. Sometimes that is what it takes to get someone to the empty tomb, just hang around them and as verse 4 says, “run together with them” for a while to ensure that they make it.
In verses 5-8 the word “saw” appears three times but what is interesting to me is that though each time the word in English is “saw” the word in Greek is a different word.
The first time in verse 5, the word in Greek means, “to look, at to see visibly” as John stopped at the entrance of the tomb and looked to see the linen clothes lying there.
Then in verse 6 Peter comes crashing in and sees linen clothes lying there but here the word in Greek is where we get our word “theory,” from which indicates that Peter studied the situation more intently than just observing it.
Finally in verse 8 we are told that John also went into the tomb after Peter did and here we are told they “saw and believed,” and the word used here in the Greek is where we get our word for “idea” which means “I get it”.
Do you see the progression friends? John started out making an observation, Peter moved from an observation to studying and came up with a theory, then finally John went from a theory to “getting it”. What they realized was that no one had moved the body but rather the body was gone and even though this had not yet been linked with the scriptures which indicated His resurrection it was still enough evidence for belief. What Peter observed was that it looked as though the body had vaporized leaving the linen strips in their original form only collapsed. Then John came in and believed what Peter observed. So far what we see is that they have proven an empty tomb but the disciples never spoke of an empty tomb they spoke a risen Lord.
Friends, may I make this suggestion as it relates to your personal devotion that starts out with making simple observations, keep studying your observations until you form a theory, then keep studying until you get it. These fellows didn’t get it at first and they didn’t depart from hanging around each other, they persisted and built upon what the other person did. Hang in there folks as we are told in verse 9 “as yet they did not know the Scripture” either, but they kept at it observing, studying until they got it.
In verses 5-7 the Greek wording makes it apparent that the linen burial wraps that were placed upon Jesus’ body by Joseph and Nicodemus were still there with the folds and spices only flattened.
What this suggests is twofold:
- The body was not tampered with by grave robbers as they would have just quickly removed the linen strips.
- That the body was resurrected, taken through the wrappings.
Whatever happened to the grave clothes? Is the Shroud of Turin for real?
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, states, “The evidence thus far indicates the probable conclusions that the shroud is ancient (perhaps from the first century), that it does not contradict the NT accounts, and that the image is not a fake. It may well be the actual burial garment of Jesus.” Results of the Shroud of Turin Research Project in October 1978 determined that the Shroud is not a painting or a forgery. They determined that its blood is real blood and the image seems to be some type of scorch, though they cannot account for how it was made. Furthermore, based upon the evidence of the Shroud the image is of a crucified male, bearded, 5’11″ in height, weighing about 175 pounds. His physique was muscular and well built, and he is an estimated age of 30-35 years. His long hair is tied into a pigtail and there is no evidence of decomposition on the cloth.
Vs. 11-18 The risen Lord
Vs. 11-14 I love Mary’s fixed devotion don’t you? She is outside the tomb overcome with grief and she peeks into the tomb. Now John gives a very picturesque description for us saying that she observes “two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.” Now as I read this account I’m taken back to Exodus 25:18-20 where Moses was instructed by God to “make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.” All of this reminds us of the Mercy seat where the sacrifice of a lamb’s blood was sprinkled upon the mercy seat.
Next we are told that Mary has a conversation with these two angels but is more interested in finding the Lord than hanging out talking with two angels. With all these supernatural things going on, Mary is bent on finding where “They have taken away MY Lord.” That tells us Jesus was personal to her. “I’m not interested in talking with angels, I’m into finding MY Lord”, oh what a great heart that is. So she turned away from the angels and in so doing saw Jesus even though she assumed He was the Gardner. Her eyes filled with tears, her heart broken, she can’t recognize Jesus though He is right in front of her. That is true with a lot of us at times as we are unable to see Jesus in the midst of our circumstances. “I’ll bring Him back” she says, she wasn’t looking for help she was looking for Jesus and even though this is misguided you have to appreciate her devotion.
When we are devoted to Jesus, indebted to Him because of what bondage and destruction He has delivered us from angels just aren’t enough as Mary turns her back on them to search for Jesus. The difference to me lies in the fact that Mary recognized that she was already a beneficiary of Jesus’ love, and having “once” been set free from the demons of the past she was forever indebted and devoted. I’m afraid today there would be far more folks wanting to talk to angels and get a few snapshots with them than there are those wanting to cling to Jesus.
Vs. 15-18 One wonders if there isn’t a gentle rebuke in Jesus’ words to Mary in verse 15, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Numerous times Jesus had told them that with His death would come His resurrection so why the tears, who are you seeking? Jesus is either who He claims to be or He isn’t, and since He is, dry up the tears and begin to rejoice. I’m not trying to discredit Mary as she is far too much like me; at times I’m far too prone to evaluate the emptiness of circumstances as a disaster outside of the promises of God, instead of realizing that they will fulfill them. I can’t help but wonder how many times you and I have been caught up in the moment running around weeping over a circumstance and missing Jesus who is right in front of us? Martin Luther once spent three days in a dark depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. “Who’s dead?” he asked her. “God,” she replied. Luther rebuked her, saying, “What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die.” “Well,” she replied, “the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!”
The Greek phrase of verse 17 means, “to stop an action already begun rather than to avoid starting it.” What this indicates is that Mary was holding on to Jesus and did not want to let Him go. This verse is interesting as it reveals that the glorified body is not a phantom or ghost but has a real body with physical properties albeit quite different from our own. The courts would not recognize the testimony of a woman, but it is clear that Jesus did. This also argues for the historic truth of this account. If someone fabricated this story, they would not make the first witnesses to the resurrection a woman, who were unfairly regarded as unreliable witnesses.
There is something about Mary Magdalene that challenges me, personally. Oh she doesn’t have all the right theology just as she set out while it was still dark she was still in the dark with regard to the resurrection. She came back to the tomb but not because Jesus had risen from the dead, she is still looking for the living among the dead. But she is determined to retrieve the body of Christ. She is so focused that she doesn’t seem at all interested in the angels, has a discussion with Jesus, but thinks He is a gardener and is willing to bring His body back all by herself. What speaks to my heart is that what drove her there that day was not right theology but rather indebtedness. You see it was this Mary who had seven demons cast out of her and she never lost her devotion because she remained so grateful. Friends I’m afraid we Christians forget how many demons Jesus cast out of us and our indebtedness turns into entitlement.
I personally think that is what is wrong with Christians today, we have the right theology but we have long ago forgotten what Jesus has done for us, what our lives used to be like and how He saved us from the things tormenting us and destroying our lives. I’m suggesting that we need to get to where we do what Jesus told the Church of Ephesus to do in Rev. 2:4-5 where He said, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place–unless you repent.” Mary Magdalene was in love and thankful and because of this she was determined to stay by Jesus even though her understanding was not right. One reason Mary need not cling to Jesus is because this was not going to be the last time she saw Him, in fact one day she would never be apart from Him. Notice Jesus says something very interesting as it relates to being near Him, “Go to My brethren and say to them I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”. That is, you will never be closer to Him than you are when you obey Him and serve Him! You say you aren’t feeling that close to Jesus, just aren’t experiencing His presence, well then start obeying His word and His Father will become your Father. So Mary became the first missionary sent to proclaim the resurrection to others, a woman whose testimony was not accepted in court, so what gave her that honor? Well I believe it was her devotion and sense of indebtedness.
John 20:19-31
“Life In His Name”
Vs. 19-23 Receive the Holy Spirit
Vs. 24-29 In plain sight
Vs. 30-31 Believing you may have
Intro
Here in this section we conclude the final event on the first Easter Sunday and then finish with days 2-8 in verses 24-31. In light of the events of the last few days it seems quite amazing that Jesus’ first words to these fellows locked up in the upper room was “Peace be with you.” I mean I think if I were Jesus I might have shown up in the room and said, “Where have you all been?” Except for John you will recall that all of these disciples fled and only John came to the cross, so you might have expected a rebuke from Jesus when He met up with them but instead He offered His peace. Remember what Jesus had told them in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” They were learning that Jesus was true to His words.
Already on the first day of the resurrection four individuals or groups have come forth having personally witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. Then word has gotten out that Peter has also seen the Lord when we find the ten in the upper room with the doors locked for fear of the Jews. I rather think that they were in the room discussing the testimonies the five groups (including Peter) had witnessed with regard to Jesus, they probably were all talking about things all at once when Jesus stands in their midst.
Vs. 19-23 Receive the Holy Spirit
Vs. 19 Based upon Luke 24 it was evening when Jesus left the two disciples in Emmaus and here we see that the same evening He appears to the 10 disciples gathered together with the door locked for fear of the Jews seven miles away. The first reaction to this according to the other accounts was fear and when He told them it was really Him their fear turned to gladness. Three times in this section Jesus greets the disciples with the customary greeting of “Shalom”. Is there anything more necessary in today’s world than this? This is the resurrection gift of Jesus to all those who place their continual trust in Him, PEACE. I’m so thankful that twice Jesus revealed His wounds to His disciples so that we know this wasn’t some hallucination, that what they saw really was the risen Lord. His body still bore the marks of His sacrifice for our sin and for all eternity it will so that we will forever be reminded of His loving sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus can conquer our greatest enemy “death,” and since He can and did, then surely He can handle everything else as well.
How did Jesus come into a room with closed doors without anyone noticing Him? Well we learn something about resurrection bodies and that is though being physical they are not limited to the same obstacles our own bodies are. It seems to me we can get some advantages of the resurrected body in comparison to our earth bound bodies and right off the journey seems to be made a lot easier, no more waiting in lines and no more worries about leaving early.
Notice they were gathering on the first day of the week, a practice that we will notice in the book of Acts as well as it seems that the early church began to switch the day they would meet from Saturday to Sunday but here at Calvary we have both. The seventh day of the week Saturday is called the Sabbath, commemorates God’s finished work of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). Ah but the Lord’s Day Sunday commemorates Christ’s finished work of redemption, the “new creation.” Someone has well noted that God the Father worked for six days and then rested and God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested.
Vs. 20-23 John tells us the main reason that He appeared to them that evening was not to comfort them but rather that they may receive the Holy Spirit and become indwelt, then in Acts they will be immersed in the Holy Spirit.
Just before this Jesus gave them His mission for ministry:
Means “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you”: The question is, “How did the Father send Jesus”? Well, He sent Him but was always connected to Him so Jesus is promising just that to us. Jesus was sent into a lost world to touch the broken lives of people — to heal, to recover, to open eyes and to set free — so we are to go with the word of the gospel, doing the same work that Jesus was sent to do.
Method “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” We have the same message as He did as well the proclamation of forgiveness to all who want it. Our whole ministry is centered on setting folks free from the things that have ruined their lives. How glorious is this that we get to liberate souls from guilt and shame? They had heard the testimony of the women, now they saw for themselves and were glad.
After offering them His peace, He reveals His presence to them, invites them to continue His mission and then breathes life into them. This breathing on them was a work of recreation as Paul spoke 2 Cor. 5:17 saying “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” With the commission came authority to announce the good news that forgiveness is available to all who will receive Him. The flip side of that is to warn folks as did Stephen in Acts 7:51 not to “always resist the Holy Spirit”, because in so doing people are shoving away the mercy and grace of God.
It is at this time they received the 2nd of the threefold relationship with the Holy Spirit and that is the indwelling. Next in Acts they will receive the “upon” experience for empowerment to be His witnesses. In John 14:6 Jesus had said with regard to the Holy Spirit that He shall be “IN” them which suggests that He wasn’t at that time and here we see Him breathing on them saying to them “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
Now notice the curious words in Vs. 21-22 as Jesus commissions them and then breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. These disciples were already following Jesus but they weren’t yet “Born Again” as He hadn’t before died for their sins but here they become born again. Now this reminds us of the passage in Genesis 2:7 where we are told ,“the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” In fact this is the same word they used when they translated this passage from Hebrew to Greek. What makes this interesting is that in Acts 1:8 when Jesus said, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So what were they baptized into? Well Jesus told them in Acts 1:8 when He declared that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The new relationship with Jesus by way of the Holy Spirit granted them the opportunity to proclaim forgiveness to those that have repented and received Jesus.
Vs. 24-31 In plain sight
Vs. 24-26 Thomas says, “Unless I see . . . I will not believe” which makes him not a doubter, but an unbeliever who will not accept the valid testimony of others. Is it not interesting that John records for us Jesus victory over sickness, sin, evil men, death sorrow and now He conquers unbelief and it is the faith of Thomas that is the climax of the gospel. As much as folks malign Thomas remember that:
- He refused to say he understood when he didn’t
- He refused to pretend to believe when he didn’t
- And when he does understand and believe, he goes all the way by proclaiming Jesus to be both Lord and God.
Thomas is a very practical guy. He is no nonsense all the way and he approaches things on that basis, I’m that way myself and so I rather appreciate it. When Thomas was faced with the possibility of death for following Jesus he said, “Alright then let’s go die with Him”. When Jesus had said to the disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them but that they knew where He was going Thomas belted out “No we don’t!” Thomas won’t say he knows if he doesn’t, he won’t say he is willing to die if he isn’t and he won’t say he believes unless he does, he is a real straight shooter. Now practical, straight shooting Thomas lost seven days because he would trust Jesus at his word which is something we ought to remember if we are brought to this as I am. So for seven days 10 of the fellows were rejoicing praising God, victorious but Thomas was bummed acting as if all was lost, hopeless that’s always the price for doubt.
Why was Thomas not with the other disciples on resurrection day? What we know of him is that he was a courageous fellow. Perhaps he was out in the open while the others were hiding for fear of the Jews? At any rate when the others tell him Jesus is alive he is persistent in his unbelief. Most call him “Doubting Thomas” but you will notice that Jesus doesn’t rebuke him for doubting, which suggests to us that he was not doubting instead Jesus speaks to him concerning his unbelief. The difference?
- Doubt is often an intellectual problem: We want to believe, but the faith is overwhelmed by problems and questions. Doubt says, “I cannot believe! There are too many problems!”
- Unbelief is a moral problem: We simply will not believe. Thomas would not believe the reports of the other Christians that Jesus Christ was alive. Verse 25 in the Greek says that they “kept saying to him” that they had seen the Lord Jesus Christ alive. Unbelief says, “I will not believe unless you give me the evidence I ask for!” In fact, in the Greek text, there is a double negative: “I positively will not believe!”
Thomas’ solution to this was to lay down conditions upon his belief and insisted Jesus prove Himself to him. He had been there when Jesus raised Lazarus, so why should he question our Lord’s own resurrection? And all of this happened to him because he was not there on the Lord’s day. Thomas has many twins in this I’m afraid and in fact I think we can all relate. But let’s give him credit for showing up the next week. The other ten men had told Thomas that they had seen the Lord’s hands and side so Thomas made that the test. How gracious our Lord is to stoop to our level of experience in order to lift us where we ought to be. There is no record that Thomas ever accepted the Lord’s invitation. When the time came to prove his faith, Thomas needed no more proof! Verse 29 indicates that Thomas’ testimony did not come from his touching Jesus, but from his seeing Jesus. When someone says, “I will not believe unless,” they are already admitting that they don’t believe and what they believe is in the validity of the test or experiment which they have devised! So folks find it easier to believe in their test than the Lord so that their faith is already rooted in themselves. You see, everyone has faith the only difference is what it is in.
Before we are too hard on Thomas about missing the meeting I’m afraid there are far too many Christians that don’t show up to the meeting and end up not seeing Jesus. Thomas missed church, he missed Sunday service and because of this he went through a week of doubt and despair while the others were glad. Thomas wanted the evidence to be what he wanted it to be and Jesus’ word was not enough.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20 that “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” So in a real sense when we get together in Jesus name on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays to worship Him and open up His word to hear from Him He is right here with us. Folks can say well I can stay at home and worship Jesus but notice that Jesus didn’t show up where Thomas was, no He made Thomas come back and gather together where the rest of the believers were together. Thomas has always had the rap of being called doubting Thomas but few realize that it was Thomas who said in John 11:16 “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” Thomas was a fellow who was willing to go for it and while all the other fellows were huddled together in a room with locked doors “for fear of the Jews” (verse 19), Thomas was out in the open boldly walking around. Oh he may have wanted to make sure of the resurrection but don’t associate that with him not being willing to stand up for Jesus. Isn’t it great that the other disciples went out and found Thomas to tell Him about seeing Jesus? Folks, that is what evangelism is truly all about, “people who have regularly been in the presence of Jesus telling others who haven’t that they have seen and been with Jesus”. All the more important that you and I spend time together hanging out in His name so that He will be in our midst.
Thomas had shattered expectations that the person who he followed was dead and he didn’t want to trust again as he was afraid that his hopes might be shattered. Hey, friends, does that sound a bit familiar to you? Have you pulled back, afraid to dream any more because you don’t want to be disappointed? Don’t give up for Jesus’ sake, remember what Paul wrote in Ephes. 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Seeing that it was 8 days later that Jesus appeared to them again and wondered if they drug Thomas around with them to make sure he didn’t miss seeing Jesus the next time He showed up. Saints, sometimes that’s what it takes for us to just keep hanging around those who are hurting and have lost hope and sooner or later the Lord will show up and reveal Himself to them.
Vs. 27-29 Pay attention folks to what Jesus says here to Thomas in verse 27 “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.” Now go back a few verses to verse 25 and remember that Thomas said those words when he was with the other disciples but you may have noticed that there was no mention of Jesus being there when Thomas said them but here we see a powerful truth that Jesus was there all along. Friends, doubt and a lack of trust doesn’t keep Jesus from us, it keeps us from seeing Jesus! Thus Jesus’ words were to all of them, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” What a great word not only for the Thomas out there but for all of us gathered together in His name and that is that even when we don’t sense His presence, even during our times of doubt He is right next to us. Open your hearts to Him He is here, He is as close as your breath to you. Now notice Thomas’ conclusion as he said, “My Lord and My God!” I suggest to you that it was not only the physical evidence that caused that affirmation but rather when Thomas realized that when he had said those words Jesus was there. There are those who say that Jesus isn’t God and that He never accepted worship but you notice here that Jesus didn’t say, “Knock it off Thomas, I’m a man just like you, I’m an angel not God!” No he went on to admonish Thomas for coming to the right conclusions albeit through sight and not trusting His word.
Vs. 30-31 John concludes the book with a summary and then in chapter 21 he will give us an epilog. The first thing John admits is that his account is incomplete, he makes no statement that this was a full account of all Jesus did and said instead he asserts that it was incomplete deliberately so that it would fulfill his purpose. And that purpose is that the reader would believe and that in believing they would gain life in Jesus name. On my book shelves are many biographies and in them all the information one can gather because when someone has died that is all that remains of them is the memories. Ah but when someone writes about a living person it is only to introduce one’s readers to Him and the rest will be discovered in a personal relationship with Jesus which will continue on throughout eternity.
Finally along that same thought, John reminds us that he has only given us a small taste of all the evidence that points to Jesus but what he gave us is ample proof that Jesus is who He claimed to be. Furthermore, the evidence if believed will lead to “life in His name”. So how about it? Are you ready for life, tired of walking around void of life unable to see that Jesus is right next to you hearing your every word knowing your every thought, desiring to carry your burdens? So why not right now this very moment “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God”. John wrote those words 70 years after the events and nothing had changed his position, he gained no financial reward for this, he got no royalties from his book yet with this simple truth he let’s us in on the greatest opportunity any person will ever have and that is to become a child of God. Anybody who will believe it, and ask him to enter his life, will receive life:
Life that produces the beauty of holiness
Life that masters sin
Life that issues in peace