Hi, friends. I'm Annie F. Downs. Let's read the Gospels. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the stories of Jesus Christ's life on earth, the friendships, the parables, the sacrifices, the meals, the miracles. So here is how it works. I'll read three chapters to you. You can listen or read along in your own Bible or online, and then I'll pray, and that's it. So today is day 30, and I'll be reading John chapters 19 through 21. And for the last time this month, I am reading from the CSB version. John 19. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head and clothed him in a purple robe. And they kept coming up to him and saying, Hail, King of the Jews, and were slapping his face. Pilate went outside again and said to them, look, I'm bringing him out to you to let you know I find no grounds for charging him. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, here's the man. When the chief priests and the temple servants saw him, they shouted, crucify, crucify. Pilate responded, take him and crucify him yourselves since I find no grounds for charging him. We have a law, the Jews replied to him, and according to that law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever. He went back into the headquarters and asked Jesus, where are you from? But Jesus did not give him an answer. So Pilate said to him, do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you know that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you? You would have no authority over me at all, Jesus answered him, if it hadn't been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin. From that moment, Pilate kept trying to release him. But the Jews shouted, if you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge's seat in a place called the Stone Pavement, but in Aramaic, Gabbatha. It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about noon. Then he told the Jews, here is your king. They shouted, take him away, take him away, crucify him. Pilate said to them, Should I crucify your king? We have no king but Caesar, the chief priests answered. Then he handed him over to be crucified. Then they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had a sign made and put on the cross. It said, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this sign because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Don't write the King of the Jews, but that he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate replied, What I have written, I have written. When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts apart for each soldier. They also took the tunic which was seamless woven in one piece from the top So they said to one another let not tear it but cast lots for it to see who gets it This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that says they divided my clothes among themselves and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, Woman, here is your son. Then he said to the disciple, Here is your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home. After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, I'm thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was sitting there. So they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished. Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a special day. They requested that Pilate have the men's legs broken and that their bodies be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. Also, another scripture says, they will look at the one they pierced. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus's body. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took his body away. Nicodemus, who had previously come to him at night, also came, bringing a mixture of about 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes. They took Jesus' body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the fragrant spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews. There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden. No one had yet been placed in it. They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby. John 20 On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, They've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they've put him. At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths, but was folded up in a separate place by itself. The other disciple who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying. But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she was crying she stooped to look into the tomb She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus body had been lying one at the head and the other at the feet They said to her woman why are you crying Because they've taken away my Lord, she told them, and I don't know where they've put him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. Woman, Jesus said to her, why are you crying? Who is it that you're seeking? Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, Sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've put him and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, Rabbani, which means teacher. Don't cling to me, Jesus told her, since I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and she told them what he had said to her. When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, Peace be with you. Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side, so the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. After saying this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. But Thomas, called twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were telling him, we've seen the Lord. But he said to them, if I don't see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will never believe. A week later, his disciples were indoors again and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don't be faithless, but believe. Thomas responded to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said, Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 21. After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas, called twin, Nathaniel from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples were together. I'm going fishing, Simon Peter said to them. We're coming with you, they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. Friends, Jesus called to them, you don't have any fish, do you? No, they answered. Cast the net on the right side of the boat, he told them, and you'll find some. So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, it is the Lord. When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord he tied his outer clothing around him for he had taken it off and plunged into the sea Since they were not far from land about a hundred yards away the other disciples came in the boat dragging the net full of fish When they got out on land they saw a charcoal fire there with fish lying on it and bread. Bring some of the fish you've just caught, Jesus told them. So Simon Peter climbed up and hauled the net ashore full of large fish, 153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Come and have breakfast, Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? Because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said to him, you know that I love you. Feed my lambs, he told him. A second time he asked him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, he said to him, you know that I love you. Shepherd my sheep, he told him. He asked him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, do you love me? He said, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Feed my sheep, Jesus said. Truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don't want to go. He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, follow me. So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, Lord, who is the one that's going to betray you? When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about him? If I want him to remain until I come, Jesus answered, what is that to you? As for you, follow me. So this rumor spread to the brothers and sisters that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die. But if I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. That is John chapters 19 through 21, the end of the book of John in the CSB version. Let's pray together. Jesus, as we finish this month, as we finish another lap of the gospels, I'm just thankful that all this was written down for us. As it says in chapter 20, that we have these words written down so that we would believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, and that we would have life in your name. And so thank you that you have made a way where there was no way. You've made a way for us. And it's written down for us to read and to read again and again and again. Thank you for this month. Thank you for these words. Thank you for the people who worked really hard to make this version of Scripture. And we are just really thankful. So we love you. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you.
