{"id":4861,"date":"2022-03-07T17:45:23","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T17:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/?p=4861"},"modified":"2022-03-07T17:45:23","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T17:45:23","slug":"thomass-confession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/thomass-confession\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas’s Confession"},"content":{"rendered":"

24\u00a0<\/sup>Now\u00a0Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0was not with them when Jesus came.<\/span>\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup>So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord.\u201d But he said to them,\u00a0\u201cUnless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

26\u00a0<\/sup>Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.\u00a0Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said,\u00a0\u201cPeace be with you.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup>Then he said to Thomas,\u00a0\u201cPut your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a028\u00a0<\/sup>Thomas answered him,\u00a0\u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d<\/span>\u00a029\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus said to him,\u00a0\u201cHave you believed because you have seen me?\u00a0Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

30\u00a0<\/sup>Now Jesus did many other signs\u00a0in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;<\/span>\u00a031\u00a0<\/sup>but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:24-31)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

It is reasonable that Thomas is most often referred to as \u201cDoubting Thomas\u201d because of this passage. But I would like us to consider this passage in a bit of a different way. While there are lessons galore, John\u2019s intent is not to moralize on the doubting of Thomas but to show us the glory of Christ. This passage isn\u2019t so much about Thomas as it is about Christ. But even in considering what we might learn from Thomas, which is right, we ought to walk away with much more than just ole doubting Thomas. Thomas doesn\u2019t stay doubting Thomas. Historical tradition tells us that Thomas ends up taking the gospel as far as India later in his life. In this passage, Thomas\u2019 confession in verse 28 far outshines the doubt, not because of Thomas, but because of what Christ revealed to Him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would rather refer to this passage as \u201cThomas\u2019 Confession\u201d rather than \u201cDoubting Thomas.\u201d Because it should be no surprise that sinful man sins. That doesn\u2019t justify it or make it right or make it okay, but it just shouldn\u2019t be surprising. When people sin, if it surprises us, it is because we forget how sinful the human heart is. It may be disappointing and sad, that is natural and good, it is disappointing and sad, but it shouldn\u2019t shock us as if it were not possible. The heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things. So the shocking thing about this passage is not that Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, essentially denied the resurrection and refused to believe for a time, rather, the shocking thing about this passage is that Christ came to Him and had mercy on Him and caused his lips to confess, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d The mercy of Jesus in the face of such denial is the thing that should floor us, not the fact that a disciple doubted.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our flesh we can read this passage and do nothing but look down on Thomas – how could he have such unbelief? And a wrong thing to do would be to walk away and think how much better than Thomas we are. We have failed to see Christ and understand the passage if that is the case. We ought to walk away from this passage enraptured with Mercy of Christ toward Thomas and so believe in the Merciful Christ, the Son of God, the enfleshed and risen Savior, for ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Missing Thomas, v. 24-25<\/b><\/p>\n

So, the first thing this passage tells us about Thomas is not that he was doubting, but that he was missing. In the previous verses we saw how Jesus appeared to His disciples as they were gathered together on the first day of the week, and then in verse 24 we told that Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them. If there is one lesson on doubt I want you to take away today it is this: that doubt so often starts with failing to meet together with God\u2019s people when we gather together for worship. Now the text doesn\u2019t tell us that Thomas was in sin for not being with the disciples at that time. It wasn\u2019t Lord\u2019s Day worship as we know it. He probably had a fine reason. But the point is that he wasn\u2019t there. This is the point for us. When we miss gathering with God\u2019s people, it lays the foundation for all sorts of sins, such as doubt, unbelief, general grouchiness, distrust of one another; and of course we can begin to feel disconnected, out of the loop, and turn inward only trusting in what we can verify for ourselves – in other words we can become an authority to ourselves. This is very dangerous, and many of us know that this can happen even when we have legitimate reasons why we could not be at church, like being sick for a month straight. That happens. My point is this: when we find ourselves by God\u2019s providence unable to gather with the Saints for legitimate reasons, we are to be sober-minded and alert to the particular temptations that generally accompany being absent from the assembly. When you are self-conscious to the fact that these are the ways which you will likely be tempted when you are absent, you will be more prepared to overcome these temptations and be more eager to return to the assembly when you are able.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is it that we are more vulnerable when we are absent from assembly? It is because when we gather Christ meets with us here. He is present with us in worship and we have fellowship together with Him by faith. We are spiritually nourished in the particular elements of worship ordained by God. And when you miss it, you\u2019re not missing nothing. You\u2019re missing something.<\/span><\/p>\n

To be clear, Thomas\u2019 sin was not that he wasn\u2019t with the disciples at that moment. It was that He would not believe that Jesus was risen from the dead when the disciples told him. It was in making such a foolish statement as saying, \u201cUnless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side I will never believe.\u201d It\u2019s not so much doubt as it is unbelief. With such a foolish and rash statement it is amazing that Jesus comes to Him and shows Himself in that way. It was clearly a grace that Thomas himself was completely changed by.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus Appears Again, v. 26<\/b><\/p>\n

Verse 26, \u201cEight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.\u201d So this sets the scene for Jesus appearing again to His disciples, this time with Thomas present. The first thing I would have you notice is John\u2019s mention that this is eight days later. This means that it is once again the first day of the week, the Lord\u2019s Day when the disciples are gathered together. We talked recently about how the eighth day is a day of death and resurrection. Or a day of fall and redemption. It is very possibly the day on which Adam fell in the garden, and being the first day of the week it is the day which Jesus rose from the dead. And here, John brings this detail out to us to once again show us the work of the redemption and new creation that Jesus is up to in His resurrection. It is very likely that the same day the disciples saw Jesus the first time was the day when they then went and told Thomas. So for Thomas, it would be the day he fell, and the day he was redeemed, the first day of the week, the day of resurrection, the day of new creation.<\/span><\/p>\n

So as we read about Jesus appearing again to His disciples, it\u2019s really a recreation of the previous week. The same scene is repeated. It\u2019s once again the first day of the week, they are once again in a room with the door locked, once again Jesus is not stopped by the lock door from standing among them, and once again Jesus comes speaking peace, preaching the gospel of peace to them. Last week we mentioned how the disciples\u2019 gathering was and presence of Jesus was a prototype of Lord\u2019s Day worship, and if that is the case, we see the principle here that is week after week which we gather and Jesus meets here. It is the first day of the week, beginning each week after week.<\/span><\/p>\n

So everything that the disciples told Thomas, happens again, exactly like it happened before. So Jesus comes speaking words of peace, then He turns to Thomas and tells him to see his hands and said and put his finger there, and to believe! What a startling moment this must have been for Thomas, even embarrassing. Jesus heard and knew what Thomas had said. One of the things John is showing us, as he has done throughout his gospel, is that Jesus is God. He is the Word made flesh. He is the Son of God, sent by Father, one with the Father. He knows what is in the heart of man. There is nothing that you can hide from Him. There are no thoughts you can think without Him knowing them all, so there are certainly no words you can utter which He does not hear. Boys and girls, that is something you need to know and always remember. Every word that you say and every thought that you think, Jesus knows it all. You cannot hide anything from Him. That means we are to obey Him with everything we think, say, and do. And it means that Jesus knows us better than anyone. He knows everything about you.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we meet with Christ in corporate worship, He knows everything we did the previous week. He knows all the sins we committed. Nothing is hidden from Him. This means we can\u2019t fool Him. We can fool our brothers and sisters and come to the Table when we shouldn\u2019t, but we can\u2019t fool Christ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is that, since Jesus knows all our sins, He can forgive all our sins. There is no sin in you that Christ does not know about it and that is good news because that means that if you are In Him, there is nothing that will be left unforgiven, nothing left that He didn\u2019t know He needed to shed His blood and atone for. He knew it all before you even did it. And He died for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercy of Christ Toward Thomas, v. 26-27<\/b><\/p>\n

When we see how Jesus comes to Thomas, the eyes of faith cannot help but see Christ as the great fountain of all mercy toward sinners. Jesus knows full well what Thomas said and He knows Thomas\u2019 unbelief, yet what are the first words that Jesus comes addressing Thomas with? \u201cPeace be with you.\u201d The first thing Jesus tells Thomas is the gospel. The way that Jesus deals with unbelief in one of His twelve disciples is by preaching the gospel to them. It is by telling him what He has wrought: peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is so desperately what we sinners need in our sin, and struggle, and unbelief, is to be reminded again of the blood of Jesus, to hear again the gospel of peace that tells us we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We need to hear every week that in Christ, God is not angry with us, that the enmity between us and God has been put away through the Son, and that in Him we have life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Notice how tender, kind, and merciful Christ is toward Thomas. He actually invites Thomas to put his finger in His scars, to feel for Himself. Herein we see that Christ was wounded for us. He was pierced for our transgressions. By His wounds we are healed. Thomas was healed by His wounds. Christ was wounded for the benefit of us His people. His wounds are to encourage our faith, to assure us of pardon, and to strengthen us in our endeavor to live holy lives unto God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas needed to be reminded of the sufferings of Christ. He needed to be reminded of the blood of Jesus that was spilled on His behalf. He needed to be reminded of the wounds where Christ was pierced for His people.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bloody wounds of Christ remind us that peace with God comes through bloodshed. Peace with God does not come through God simply telling us that our sins don’t matter, so He\u2019ll overlook it. Peace with God does not come through God ignoring our sin. Peace with God comes through bloodshed. The holiness and justice of God demands that our sins be properly dealt with. And the only way to have our sins properly dealt with and to also have peace with God is through the bloody sacrifice of God\u2019s Son. Christ had to suffer great violence and agony. He had to spill blood like none other and be put to death. There is no peace enjoyed without wrath satisfied. And Jesus faced it down like man, like none other could do. And He rose from the dead. And He bears the wounds on His hands and on His side to show that peace has been procured, that wrath is satisfied, that hostilities are ended because sins are dealt with and forgiveness is given to those like us, who do not deserve such grace.<\/span><\/p>\n

He reminds us that He has accomplished peace. Peace is accomplished through the blood shed from His pierced hands, not from the work done by ours. Peace is accomplished through the blood that He spilt, not from the sweat of our brow. And so He says, \u201cdo not disbelieve, but believe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His wounds remind us that He is our sacrifice for sin, as His flesh was cut open and stretched upon the four cornered altar offering up a sweet smelling and pleasing aroma to God through which we are covered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tomas\u2019 Confession, v. 28<\/b><\/p>\n

Upon the Lord speaking to Thomas and showing His wounds, Doubting Thomas is no longer doubting, as He confesses, \u201cMy Lord and My God!\u201d A true profession of faith, not merely professing Christ to be Lord and God, but \u2018my\u2019 Lord and \u2018my\u2019 God. True faith does not merely acknowledge that Christ is Lord and God, but true faith appropriates Christ to oneself, \u201cHe is mine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is also a beautiful early confession of the deity of Jesus Christ. It is a proclamation of worship and Trinitarian theology. There is only one God and only God is to be worshiped and Jesus is God, so He is to be worshiped, yet He is the Son and He is not the Father, so we have distinct persons in the one God who are to be worshiped as such. This is not a fourth or fifth century development, this is such an early confession, just a week after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, from an apostle, Thomas, who uttered it in the presence of the risen Lord, who did not correct Him, but received this worship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed, v. 29-31<\/b><\/p>\n

Here in verse 29 our Lord rebukes Thomas for his unbelief. Notice how Christ is gentle yet firm; merciful yet disciplines. It was a good thing that Thomas believed and worshiped Christ when he saw the Lord. But, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Realize that Jesus let Thomas remain a full week without visiting him, after He first appeared to the disciples. Imagine how sad and difficult a week it was for Thomas. Yet, it did not have to be, Thomas could\u2019ve believed when the disciples told him and could\u2019ve had great joy that week. Unbelief robs our happiness and Jesus was teaching Thomas that blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now originally I was planning to preach verse 30 and 31 separately from the previous verses, but then I realized that John wrote verse 30 and 31 as a contrast to what Jesus says in verse 29 and His interaction with Thomas. Thomas believed because He saw, Jesus said, \u201cblessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d Then John tells us that Jesus did so many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book; \u201cbut these are written so that you may believe\u2026\u201d There may be someone who thinks, \u201chow am I supposed to believe if I haven\u2019t seen Jesus? How do I know that He rose from the dead? I haven\u2019t seen Him.\u201d Well, that\u2019s why God gave us this book. These are written so that you may believe, and Jesus said, \u201cblessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Christian religion is a religion of faith through the written word, not of sight. The testimony of Holy Scripture is warrant for us to believe. And the beautiful thing is that the vast majority of Christians who have ever lived, including you and I today, are those who have not seen, and yet have believed. They have believed the testimony of Holy Scripture and they are happy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is that we are no disadvantage to Thomas and the disciples. It is not harder for us because they physically met with the risen Christ and we have not. We are not at a disadvantage. Why? Because we have the written Word of God. And God says that what is written is sufficient for you to believe. You see, the fact that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book; but what is written is written so that you may believe shows us the sufficiency of Scripture. We are not lacking anything that is necessary for our faith. God has not withheld anything from us, that if we just knew, we would believe. He has given us His Word. To have the Word of God and to yet say to God, \u201cLord, I need a sign, please give me a sign\u201d is unbelief. True Christians love what is written. True Christians love the Scripture. Because through the Scripture they read, hear, and receive Christ. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specific Faith, v. 31<\/b><\/p>\n

Notice verse 31, these are written not just so that you may believe, but that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The Scripture is sufficient for you to believe that Jesus is who He said He is. He is the Christ, the Messiah. John has shown us the signs that Jesus performed and the suffering, death, and resurrection He accomplished as the Messiah on behalf of His people. And John has gone to great links to show us the deity of Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God. And it is on account of the written Word of God that we are to believe these things. To disbelieve the Word of God is to disbelieve God. And it is through believing that you have life in His name.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n

This is why, when the church gathers for worship today, we gather around the Word of God. It is through the Word that we meet with Christ. It is through the Word that the Church is built up in all knowledge, discernment, faith, and obedience. It is through the Word that we believe and are happy and have life in His name.<\/span><\/p>\n

So let us confess with Thomas, and the Church down through history, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d Do you believe that He is your Lord and God – not just that He is? You see, it is through His death and resurrection, through His suffering and wounds, through His rising and living today, that we have union with Christ, and by faith are able to say \u201cMy Lord and My God.\u201d It is through His suffering, death, and rising again that Christ gives Himself to His people so that they can truly say, \u201cHe is mine. I am His, and He is mine.\u201d Procured by His blood, marked by His wounds, Christ has given and bound Himself to His people, such that He is theirs. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Click HERE for sermon audio<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

24\u00a0Now\u00a0Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,[a]\u00a0was not with them when Jesus came.\u00a025\u00a0So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord.\u201d But he said to them,\u00a0\u201cUnless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":4863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1582],"tags":[274,311,382,1685,557,678,679,699,765,853,1114,1247,1686],"class_list":{"0":"post-4861","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sermon","8":"tag-christ","9":"tag-confession","10":"tag-disciples","11":"tag-doubting","12":"tag-god","13":"tag-jenkins","14":"tag-jesus","15":"tag-joshua","16":"tag-lord","17":"tag-my","18":"tag-sermon","19":"tag-thomas","20":"tag-thomass","21":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/st-thomas-icon-756.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4881,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/breakfast-on-the-shore\/","url_meta":{"origin":4861,"position":0},"title":"Breakfast On the Shore","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"After this Jesus\u00a0revealed himself\u00a0again to the disciples by\u00a0the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.\u00a02\u00a0Simon Peter,\u00a0Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of\u00a0Cana in Galilee,\u00a0the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.\u00a03\u00a0Simon Peter said to them, \u201cI am going fishing.\u201d They said to him, \u201cWe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/pescuireastmichaellouisville.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/pescuireastmichaellouisville.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/pescuireastmichaellouisville.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4804,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/jesus-appears-to-his-disciples\/","url_meta":{"origin":4861,"position":1},"title":"Jesus Appears to His Disciples","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"19\u00a0On the evening\u00a0of that day, the first day of the week,\u00a0the doors being locked where the disciples were\u00a0for fear of the Jews,[a]\u00a0Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,\u00a0\u201cPeace be with you.\u201d\u00a020\u00a0When he had said this,\u00a0he showed them his hands and his side. Then\u00a0the disciples were glad when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/kelly-sikkema-Wni6RtcNhU8-unsplash.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/kelly-sikkema-Wni6RtcNhU8-unsplash.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/kelly-sikkema-Wni6RtcNhU8-unsplash.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/kelly-sikkema-Wni6RtcNhU8-unsplash.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/kelly-sikkema-Wni6RtcNhU8-unsplash.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/03\/kelly-sikkema-Wni6RtcNhU8-unsplash.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4542,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-son-of-destruction\/","url_meta":{"origin":4861,"position":2},"title":"The Son of Destruction","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have\u00a0guarded them, and\u00a0not one of them has been lost except\u00a0the son of destruction,\u00a0that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12) Introduction If you did not hear last week\u2019s sermon on election and preservation,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/08\/Son-of-Destruction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4457,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/jesus-his-disciples-moses-and-elijah\/","url_meta":{"origin":4861,"position":3},"title":"Jesus & His Disciples, Moses, and Elijah.","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cI did not say these things to you from the beginning,\u00a0because I was with you.\u00a05\u00a0But now\u00a0I am going to him who sent me, and\u00a0none of you asks me, \u2018Where are you going?\u2019\u00a06\u00a0But because I have said these things to you,\u00a0sorrow has filled your heart.\u00a07\u00a0Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4412,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/to-keep-you-from-falling\/","url_meta":{"origin":4861,"position":4},"title":"To Keep You From Falling","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"26\u00a0\u201cBut\u00a0when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father,\u00a0he will bear witness about me.\u00a027\u00a0And\u00a0you also will bear witness,\u00a0because you have been with me\u00a0from the beginning. 16\u00a0\u201cI have said all these things to you to keep you from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/falling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/falling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/falling.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/falling.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/falling.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/falling.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3646,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/lord-of-the-waves-commentary-on-matthew-1422-33\/","url_meta":{"origin":4861,"position":5},"title":"Lord of the Waves: Commentary on Matthew 14:22-33","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Immediately he\u00a0made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.And after he had dismissed the crowds,\u00a0he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When\u00a0evening came, he was there alone,\u00a0but the boat by this time was a long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/11\/060404_walk_hmed_11a-grid-6x2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}