Scripture Meditations

Jesus appears for the third time to His disciples by the sea of Tiberias. Before that, the disciples spend the night fishing, though unsuccessfully. In the morning, they see Jesus on the shore and He asks them if they caught anything, which they did not. Jesus then instructs the disciples to cast the net on the right side of the ship and they ended up catching 153 fish in the net. This incident is significant because 1.) Jesus obviously compelled the fish to enter the nets, since we see that nature obeys Him. 2.) This was a foreshadowing of the disciples' future ministry that would take place after Jesus' Ascension.   After the fish are caught, we also Jesus preparing and sharing a meal with His disciples. This is such a wonderful picture of Christ's intimate fellowship with His disciples.                                    St. Peter Later, Jesus asks Peter three times a very important qu...

  We read John's account of the Resurrection. The Angels encounter Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus and inform her that He is risen. Almost immediately afterwards, Mary encounters the Risen Christ and He tasks her with announcing to His disciples of His Resurrection. One of the disciples, Thomas, does not believe Jesus was resurrected and says that he'll only believe when He sees the nail-print hand of Jesus and His pierced side. Thomas sees and believes, but Jesus declares that those who do NOT see and believe are blessed. Jesus greatly desires and even commands us to have faith. Without faith, we cannot please God.  When Jesus first appears to His disciples, He says to them 'Peace be unto you.' The implications of this simple statement are huge. First, it reveals Jesus' mercy towards His followers. They virtually abandoned Him during His Crucifixion and Peter even denied Him. Yet, Jesus is not rebuking them for it or showing any anger towards them. Jesus has ob...

  Jesus is crucified. The Son of God is whipped, beaten, mocked and nailed to a criminal's cross. There are several things in this passage that majorly stand out to me.   First, Pilate informs Jesus of the power he wields that can save Jesus from His fate. But Jesus tells him that the power Pilate has was actually given to Him by God. Jesus was not a victim of circumstance. His fate was not controlled by the Roman government.  This brings me to my next point. John points out specific prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Christ's Crucifixion. There are about four prophecies in this passage alone. This shows that everything was done in accordance with God's will.  Lastly, verse 41 states that Jesus' tomb was located in a garden. This is huge because the garden is significant in the Old Testament. Eden (Paradise) was a garden. This was the place where God communed and fellowshipped with man. It's interesting that the very first place of worship was ...

  Jesus is arrested in the garden after Judas betrays Him. Something that really stood out to me about Jesus' arrest in the garden is when the officers, Pharisees and chief priests stated that they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus responds 'I am He.' And the men immediately fall backwards to the ground. This was so incredible! Jesus responding with 'I am' means that He was invoking His true identity: God Himself. These people were not just arresting a mere rabbi. They were encountering an authoritative Figure, whose has authority over Heaven and earth. Thus, they encountered His power.   Later, we see Peter deny his association with Jesus three times, just as Jesus predicted. Jesus is interrogated by both Jewish authorities and by Pontius Pilate, who finds no evidence of wrongdoing on Jesus' part. Pilate even offers to the Jewish people to release Jesus, but they prefer Barabbas (a robber) be released.    Reading this passage made me somewhat emotional....

  Jesus was a Man who communed with The Father. Because of this, Jesus was a Man of prayer. In verses 1-5, Jesus is praying to the Father to be glorified. He knows that His Crucifixion is at hand, and Jesus' desire of the people receiving eternal life and for God to get all the credit show forth Himself. Jesus also prays for the disciples. He understands that He'll be leaving the earth soon, but his disciples will remain to continue Christ's ministry. They will be advancing His Kingdom. So Jesus prays for their sanctification and consecration.   Finally, Jesus prays for His Church. He prays for the Church to be unified and that the love of God would be in them.  Jesus' prayers inspire me. They inspire me to seek the Kingdom and not follow or treasure the things of this world. They inspire me to love my brethren. They inspire me to pray for the Church and have their best interest at heart. Lord, let my heart and mind be cleansed and set apart for You. Amen!