Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

“1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. 2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him , knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. 3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him , went forth and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ 5 They answered Him, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ He said to them, ‘I am He.’ And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when He said to them, ‘I am He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Therefore He again asked them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ And they said, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ 8 Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,’ 9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, ‘Of those whom You have given Me

  The Old Testament is filled with prophecy of a coming Messiah, much of it misunderstood by the Jew since the fullness of its understanding is seen through the lens of the New Testament. Maybe the greatest example of this misunderstanding relates to Isaiah 53. Until the Jew sees Jesus as the object of this chapter, he continues living under a veil (2Corinthians 3:14-16). The typical Jew of 2021 expects Messiah to be a coming king, taking charge of government and establishing His kingdom. Yet many prophesies of Messiah refer to Him as a suffering servant, particularly through Isaiah. Some Jews expect two different Messiahs, one like David (to be fulfilled in the Kingdom age) and another like Joseph, one who will be rejected. Some verses/passages speak of both comings, including Isaiah 61:1-2, partially quoted by Jesus Himself in Luke 4:18-19. He was telling the Jews of Nazareth that He was fulfilling His first coming in their midst (“ Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your h

4 "And you know the way where I am going."   5 Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’ 6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7 ‘If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." 8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?   10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”        John 14:4-10 Jesus had a great deal to teach His disciples the night before His crucifixion, and many of those teachings are revealed by John in chapters 13-17

  “3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, ‘Lord, do You wash my feet?’ 7 Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.’   8 Peter said to Him, ‘Never shall You wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’   9 Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.’ 10 Jesus said to him, ‘He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’   11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’

“15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love [agapao ] Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know [oida –intuitive ] that I love [ phileo ]You.’ He said to him, ‘Tend My lambs.’   16 He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love [ agapao ] Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love [ phileo ] You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’   17 He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love [phileo ] Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know [ginosko – experiential ] that I love [ phileo ] You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’”     John 21:15-17                                 So much of Jesus’s efforts during the last days and weeks of His life on earth was trying to prepare the disciples for life without Him physically there. In this exchange with Peter in verses 15-1

  “1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard , and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?’ 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, ‘Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.   8 ‘For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me .’"                     John 12:1-8 As Jesus approaches the fina