Peter, turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” (John 21:20-22).

"What is that to you? You follow Me!" Jesus told Peter that what would happen to John was no concern of his. Peter's only concern was simply to follow Jesus.

Friends, how many of us are concerned about things that we have no business being concerned about? How many of us are prone to compare ourselves with others, how much more successful they are or how much more they make or how much happier they seem. We become secretly envious. We find ourselves driven by the desire to get what they have or to achieve something better than what they've achieved. 

In James we read,

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. YOu covet but you cannot get what you want , so you quarrel and fight (James 4:1-2).

The root of all conflict is a desire to get what belongs to somoene else. Jesus nipped such conflict in the bud when He forcefully told Peter to take his eyes off of John and fix it on Jesus: "You follow me!"

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we find peace. We become unconcerned with what's happening with this person or that person or how God is using our fellow believers. We can dispassionately celebrate the working of God's Spirit in other believers without the intruston of bitter envy and selfish ambition. We simply recognize that what God is doing through them is different from what God is doing through me.

When we focus on Jesus, we will not complain about our lot in life, that we only got one talent while another got ten. We will not despair because our calling is to the miserable poor while another serves among the lavish rich. We will simply welcome the privilege of serving the Lord in any capacity. We remember that this life is passing away and everything in it. What matters is heaven and eternity in His presence.

When the Jews tried to stoke envy in John the Baptist by pointing out that people were leaving him and going to Jesus, John gave the proper perspective: "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven" (John 3:27). We are simply responsible for being faithful. We do not get to choose our calling. We do not get to choose our gifts. We do not get to create our own outcomes. Solomon writes, "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

This is why we can genuinely celebrate the success of others. It is not that they are better off or that we are worse off, but God has granted them success. Don't get me wrong. We can still pray for health, prosperity and success; however, we understand God's sovereignty over these things and, as faithful believers, we align our interest with God's interest. So, Jesus prayed in the Garden, "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine" (Luke 22:42). Jesus certainly did not want to die, but He had to die to accomplish God's purposes in redemption. Jesus understood this and embraced His lot. We can do no less.

God's will be done on earth as it has been decided in heaven! Lord, help us to be faithful to our calling and to exercise the gifts you have given us to serve You. Help us not to complain or compare ourselves with others but to joyfully embrace our lot in life as we look forward to the eternal home you have prepared for us in heaven. Amen.

"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).

John records here the reason for his writing his Gospel. I believe this is the reason for every Gospel. It is not simply to tell a story or to give an account of the life of a good man. These Gospel writers gave their accounts for the purpose of providing a basis for faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.

I seem to be saying the obvious, but I am not. Most people go to the words and works of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, so that they might find a moral code or a model for living a life pleasing to God. It is important to understand that this was not the intent of the Gospel writers. Their intent was that people might perceive that the extraordinary life of Jesus was unique, without precedent and impossible to mimic, for He alone is the Messiah, the Son of God. 

I used to be upset with people, who would say when confronted with their character flaws in light of the life of Christ, "That's Jesus. I'm not Jesus." Now, I see how true this confession is. He alone is Jesus, sinless, completely and, from conception, full of the Holy Spirit, Messiah, the Son of God. Certainly, Jesus' life is one for every Christian to mimic in His devotion to God; however, let us be clear that the intent of the words and works recorded in the Gospels, especially the Gospel of John, was not for this purpose but that we might believe in the uniqueness of Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Son of God. He alone is Messiah. It should cause us to worship Him!

Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’” (John 20:17).

Verses like this can present a theological conundrum if improperly understood. How can Jesus, who is God, speak of "my God"? But this is not so hard to understand when one observes that during His earthly ministry, Jesus emptied Himself of His divine standing and privileges in order to perfectly identify with mankind so that He might become their substitute on the cross (cf. Philippians 2:6-7). So, in relation to man, He can speak of "your God" and "my God."

At the same time, it is noteworthy that He does not simply say "our God" but rather "My God" and "your God." There is still a significant, qualitative difference between Jesus' relationship to God and that of humanity's relationship to God. In the same way, Jesus never speaks of "our Father" but always distinguishes His relationship to the Father by speaking of "My Father" versus "your Father." There is a significant, qualitative difference between Jesus' relationship to the Father and that of believers.

Friends, you ought to be aware of these things, not simply to deepen your own understanding of God's Word, but also to be able to present a logical defense against those that would seek to deny the true deity of Christ. 

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” (John 20:21-23).

Did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit on this occasion or at Pentecost? For we read that Jesus told them before His ascension,

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised,“Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:4-5).

It is not difficult to understand that Jesus' action, namely, breathing on the disciples, was symbolic of what the disciples would shortly thereafter receive. After all, He said right before this, "As the Father has sent me, I also send you," yet they did not, thereby, immediately go out and preach the Gospel. Both the commission and the endowment of the Spirit's power were connected. This is why Luke records the commission from Jesus in this way:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

The difficulty with the time of Jesus' conferring the Holy Spirit on the disciples probably stems from the very dramatic act in John's Gospel of Jesus' breathing on them: "He breathed on them and *said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" But what should be duly noted is that the word that we translate "breathed on" is a Greek hapax legomenon, which means that this is the only place in the entire Bible where this term is used. That makes the translation somewhat uncertain from the vantage point of biblical usage of the term. Therefore, we should not be hung up on our understanding of when the Holy Spirit was actually given on the basis of this term alone. 

Now, I sense a "so what?!" coming from some of you. Well, there is a somewhat important reason for having a proper understanding of this. Some Charismatics use this verse to argue for a subsequent baptism of the Holy Spirit for believers. They would argue that while a believer receives the Holy Spirit once at salvation, they need to receive another "baptism of the Holy Spirit" after salvation to receive power. I believe this is not what the Bible teaches. To the contrary, the Bible teaches that every believer receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit when they are saved:

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink (1 Corinthians 12:12-3).

I recently heard a good message by R.C. Sproul on this topic, particularly as it relates to the event of Pentecost in Acts 2. It was one of a number of messages given during the Strange Fire Conference led by Dr. John MacArthur. The message was called Undervaluing Pentecost.

“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” (John 19:10-11).

There is a misleading teaching that has been circulating among Christians for years, and it is that all sins are equal in the eyes of God. This is clearly wrong. Jesus here says that the sin of the religious leaders is greater than the sin of Pilate. 

I'm not certain of the origin of this misleading teaching, but perhaps it arose from a misunderstanding of this text from James:

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. (James 2:10-11)

James argues that you don't have to break all the laws to be a lawbreaker. You just have to break one. And it does not matter which one you break, for whatever law you break makes you a lawbreaker. While a thoughtful person would recognize that this does not mean that all sins are equal, it does mean that any sin makes a person a sinner (or a lawbreaker). 

Just as there are lesser and greater sins (or evils), there are lesser and greater goods. For instance, Jesus tells the religious leaders,

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23).

While acknowledging the need for obeying all the Law, Jesus deliniates certain aspects of the Law as "more important." 

We can find examples of the greater good/lesser evil teaching in the midwives, who lied to Pharoah to protect the Hebrew babies from Pharoah's command to kill them. It is also exemplified in Rahab the harlot, who saved the lives of the two Jewish spies by lying to the king of Jericho.

Another example is found in 1 Corinthians 8:13, where Paul writes, "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall." Paul has earlier declared that believers are free to eat anything, but they are not to exercise their freedom if it causes those with a weaker conscience to sin. So he writes, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak" (1 Corinthians 8:9). Therefore, the greater good is to suspend one's freedom for the sake of love for one's brother.

Oftentimes, the greater good/lesser evil teaching comes into play when two commands seem to conflict. For example, God commands His people to protect the defenseless against injustice, but in the Ten Commandments, there is also a command, "You shall not bear false witness (i.e. lie)." The midwives lied to Pharoah to protect the Hebrew babies. On the one hand, they lied; on the other hand, they saved lives. What is more, we learn that God blessed them for doing this (Exodus 1:20). In the same way, God blessed Rahab for protecting the Jewish spies by lying to the king of Jericho (Hebrews 11:31). Corey ten Boom, in the days of the Nazi SS, faced a similar dilemma. She lied to the SS soldiers to protect the Jews from the concentration camps. 

Now, in all of these examples, it is perhaps more accurate to say that God blessed them for their faith and for preserving life rather than for lying. However, there is no indication that God punished them for lying. They were only blessed for the good that they did. 

Now, some might argue that the midwives, Rahab, and Corey ten boom should have told the truth and just trusted God to intervene. While God may or may not have intervened, this would not free them from their responsibility to do the greater good in keeping with the knowledge that they had. In each instance God did not reveal to them that He would save, protect, or fight for them. If He did so, then it would be wrong for them to lie, taking matters into their own hands. In light of such revelation, they would be obligated to patiently wait on the Lord's deliverance. However, in the absence of such revelation, they did right in doing the greater good. 

Friends, it is true that we are all sinners needing grace, whether we have committed a few sins or many sins; however, it is a logical fallacy (non sequitur) to then argue that all sins are equal. Even in our civil society, we do not punish a petty thief the same as a murderer. They may be both penalized for their crime, but they are not punished to the same extent because one crime is far greater than the other. 

Even in the Mosaic Law, there is a principle called lex talionis, which means "punishment that fits the crime," so the Law commands "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" (cf. Exodus 21:23-25). Thus, even by looking at the various punishments one can see that there are degrees of sin.

When God pronounces judgment on Jerusalem (representing the Southern Kingdom of Judah), He declares that she is more depraved than her sister, Samaria (representing the Northern Kingdom of Israel):

Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom. You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they. As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done (Ezekiel 16:46-48).

As there are degrees of sin, there are degrees of sinfulness and, therefore, greater and lesser sinners. Even in the final judgment, Jesus suggests that there are degrees of punishment:

The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (Luke 12:47-48).

There are more examples and Scriptures that can be given to demonstrate that the greater good/lesser evil teaching is biblical, but I hope that what I've given is sufficient to make the case.

Now, why is having a correct view of this relevant? Well, first, you will not be afraid to lie to save life. Second, you will not invoke a straw-man argument that you are trusting God to intervene (when He has not revealed it) to escape responsibility for choosing the greater good or lesser evil. One might even apply this to voting for one presidential candidate over another (e.g. as lesser of two evils). Third, you will not give the devil a foothold by holding to the wrongful notion that God treats all sins equally, thinking that you can commit great sins and be punished as if they are the same as little sins. Remember, Jesus even spoke of an "unpardonable sin."

We are at the end of the Gospel books. The book of John concludes with the trial of Jesus, and Jesus condemnation once again of the Jewish teachers and leaders.

Below we see the Jewish leaders pressuring Pilate to crucify Christ.

(John 19:7-11)

7 The Jewish leaders insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"

11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

What struck me as I read through the gospels was the utter corrupt nature of the Jewish leadership (teachers) and Jesus contempt for them. Over and over throughout the Gospels was the condemnation of Israels teachers.

From Christ' birth the prayer of Simeon prophesized that Jesus would be the fall of many in Israel (revealing their hearts), and throughout Jesus ministry He calls out the Pharisees hypocrisy time again, he points to their false piousness - showy displays that are for their own glory not Gods. Jesus talked about the tax collector being more righteous. He says they 'rob' the widows and have no compassion for the poor, and sick. We also read that Caiaphas (high priest of Israel) prophesied that Jesus was sent as the messiah of Israel and all nations - despite this they chose to protect their positions of power rather than follow Christ.

And here in the end as Jesus is prepared to be crucified he says in verse 11 to Pilate that real guilt is not on him (as Roman governor) but on those that handed him over (the Pharisees and teachers of the law).

Its quite astonishing if you really think about this in context to the old testament where God pursued Israel over and over, despite their constant transgressions. God finally sends a messiah, prophesized throughout the old testament, to save Israel once and all from themselves (and their sin). Yet we read that those that knew Gods law the best, those that were responsible for teaching it to all of Israel were in the end most corrupt. Its no wonder that Jesus judged them so harshly. Interestingly, Jesus teaches that we need to be like children to enter the Kingdom of God. Maybe this is in contrast to the experts in the law that either were to prideful or too corrupt to surrender to Gods messiah. In the end what God wanted was just child like faith in His provision - of a savior.

Friends, there is a confusing passage in John 20:23, where it appears, as Roman Catholics believe, certain powers were given to the Eleven to forgive and to condemn: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” However, this may be a misreading of the text, and there is nowhere else where this kind of authority is exercised by any of the apostles. Let us consider the context and the grammar of the text:

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “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” (John 20:21-23).

This occasion follows Jesus' resurrection. This parallels Jesus' other statements of commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-166; Luke 24:46-49). When we examine each of these parallel passages, we notice that all of them have to do with preaching the Gospel.

Also, in each commission, including the one in John, there is the giving of authority, whether from the Father, Jesus or the Holy Spirit.

Only Luke and John refer to the remission of sin, and Luke connects it to repentance and the death and resurrection of jesus Christ. Throughout the Book of Acts, the remission of sins is consistently related to faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 5:31; 13:37-38). This connection is also validated in John's First Epistle (e.g. 1 John 1:7,9; 2:1-2). This connection is also validated in Paul's writings (e.g. Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1;14). Even in James, forgiveness is connected to faith and repentance (James 5:13-16).

This examination of the context reveals that the authority to forgive and condemn is not so much a power in the apostles themselves but very much connected to the preaching of the Gospel. It is an authority that rests ultimately in the Godhead, and is intimately related to repentance and faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, consider the grammar of John 20:23. Without dissecting every word, the key grammatical insight is that the words "they are forgiven them" and "they are retained" are in the Greek perfect tense. The NASB brings this out best:

If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.

In other words, whatever forgiveness or retaining of sins the apostles exercise, it would already have been decreed beforehand. This sense is captured in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." In other words, what happens on earth will have been first decreed in heaven. This is consistent with Jesus' words, "As the Father has sent me..." (John 20:21) and Jesus' testimony that He does nothing of Himself but just what the Father has decreed (John 5:19).

In Matthew 16:19 we find a parallel to this grammatical construction:

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Again, in Matthew 18:18,

Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church is wrong in conferring unilateral authority of forgiveness and condemnation to the Popes (as successors of the apostles, and particularly Peter) from these passages. The context and grammar teach otherwise. The authority to forgive and condemn is connected to the authoirity God exercised through the disciples in the preaching of the Gospel of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.