Category Archives: Jesus

Cleopas and the Third Day

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This is my second Third Day post and the reason for this one is Cleopas and his statement in Luke 24:21. It is Holy Week 2026, and I have been reading the last Chapters in Luke and the Songs of Ascent, more on that in another post. Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him and had been telling His disciples for some time. Cleopas heard and had his doubts so he was leaving Jerusalem and going the wrong direction; not towards Galilee. Jesus went and got him.

Cleopas, in his conversation with Jesus, reveals the perfect mix of knowledge, emotions, and paradigms that all of the disciples were dealing with. If I remove our well-written Bible, 2,000 years of study, and the Holy Spirit I can say I would be in the same position as His disciples were in. I believe Jesus wanted the disciples in Galilee so they would be safe and feel safe. Did the disciples have to stay in Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, no. Yes, Passover was a different story, but even the Children in Egypt were changing location after eating the lamb.

In doing this study I found another group of people who knew about the “Third Day”. The chief priest had gone to Pilate in Matthew 27:64 and had fears for the third day after He was sacrificed. Even with the story from the guards, they did not change.

The links make a good study for Jesus telling His disciples (all of them not just the Twelve) about His death and Resurrection. He also used the story of Jonah, check “three days” for that reference. These are NIV, so change the translation preference at the top, but they seem to share the same verses.

BibleGateway – Keyword Search: third day Luke

BibleGateway – Keyword Search: third day Matthew

He has risen! He has risen indeed!

John Recorded – See, Believe

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John’s purpose in this Gospel was to show Jesus as the Son of God by presenting His miracles. Somehow, well-meaning people picked just seven out of the many John recorded. See and Believe comes from 1:50 and 20:29. Both of these stories have a “miracle” in the story and two unique lessons about seeing and believing.

Nathanael – John records this man as Nathanael, else where he is referred to as Bartholomew. (See Matthew 10:2-4 and Acts 1:13) In John 1 he is just meeting Jesus and is very skeptical of Him. Because of a miraculous vision (Jesus saw) Nathanael recognizes (believes) Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel. (That sounds like what Peter said a few years down the road.)

After many Muse Moments, this is my take. There was a miracle, Nathanael believes because of the miracle, and is told he will see more. Jesus’ reference to Jacob’s vision in Genesis 28:12 still has me thinking, but for sure it refers back to verse 47 and Nathanael being a “true Israelite”.

Thomas – John is the only writer to call Thomas, Didymus or The Twin. No, I do not think it has anything to do with his statement in John 20; he had a twin. There is so much not recorded in the gospels:) By John 20, Thomas has seen many miracles, so this see/believe is a little different. This a good place to remember 11:16 and Thomas’ statement of fact that going with Jesus would be the death of them all.

My take for 20:29 – Thomas had seen many miracles, he sees another miracle with a challenge, and he believes. Jesus then speaks to Thomas’ “future fruit” as being blessed without having seen Jesus. That fruit is still in India in the form of active churches.

Agendas

Did Thomas touch or not. I was surprised to see this as a thing, and yes, some people have made a thing about something that is not recorded in the Bible. I think the touch was a happy hug.

Doubting Thomas. He has been labeled as a doubter. The Ten doubted the women. Peter and John doubted the women and had to run to the tomb instead of taking off for Galilee. Cleopas doubted and left for Emmaus instead of Galilee, Mark 16:13 and Luke. Some were still doubting at the ascension, Matthew 28:17. Luke 24:11-14 covers all kinds of doubt. I could say something about the love and faith of the women, and who was at the cross, and who went to take care of the Body of Jesus, but I hope you get the idea.

“See it to believe.” OR “Believe and you will see.” Jesus did miracles and commissioned ALL of His disciples to do them. I read that Jesus used both ideas in the Gospels, because both have their place in the life and faith of believers. Some people saw and acted on what they saw, but others did not.

An Extra – John used the words/ideas of seeing and believing more than the other Gospel writers. About 70 times for see and 80 times for believe. Check your favorite translation.

BibleGateway – Keyword Search: see

ὁράω | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com see

BibleGateway – Keyword Search: believe

πιστεύω | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com believe

If

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Matthew 8 tells the time Jesus cast out demons from The Man and they went into a herd of pigs; this narrative is also found in Mark 5 and Luke 8. Yes, the three writers approach this story from slightly different angles, so they are not word for word. One difference is the name of the area, you will find Gadarenes, Gerasenes, and the Ten Cities or Decapolis.

This is not the first time I have written about the “man” in the story, see The Man of the Gadarenes and Me and Me and the Man. But as I read Matthew this time one little word stuck out – If.

Now, “if” starts the second line of dialogue that the demons are saying. In Matthew the first conversation (8:29) is the demons questioning Jesus why He was there and was He going to torture or punish them before “the time”. I looked in the English translations in BibleGateway and the statement about time was consistent in them, which should tell you the demons know what their future is. The first part varied some by the translation, but that is okay.

When I did the same study on 8:31 I was amazed that all of the translations had “If you cast us out…”. My NIV Bible is the 1984/1990 copyright, and I expected it to be different in other translations. The reason for that is I assumed that “if” was not a word by itself in Greek; I was wrong. It is ei, Strong: G1487, and see εἰ | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com. I was surprised. Now, before I studied deeper, I wondered if it was a challenge or were they trying to bargain with Jesus to stay where they were. O, the translation/meaning of εἰ comes from the words around it.

Paul, in Ephesians 6, talks about our struggles with spiritual forces. Jesus did many miracles and healings and some specifically mentioned demons/devils and evil spirits, or unclean spirits. Even Jude talks about demons leaving their authority and their home. Over my years as a Christian, I have seen the topic of demons create a wide range of reactions; from denying that they are a factor today to one is behind everything bad that happens. So, seeing Legion trying to negotiate is not surprising. (To be clear, my thinking is not IF, but WHEN Jesus would cast them out.)

I do not like giving the devil or his minions very much thought-time, but this is a study and it seemed good to know how much they were mentioned in the Gospels. Matthew and Mark had about the same number of references at 27 and 28. (This is from the NASB wordsearch in BibleGateway, I tallied all four categories.) Luke had the most at 39, this is not surprising given the that “Gentiles/Greeks” was his intended audience. John had only 9; these primarily were Jews saying Jesus had demons.

A rabbit-trail I went down briefly, was why are there three different groups of minions? At this point I did not find a good reason. Satan is in rebellion, but he still copies the Father’s plans because they work. So, there is some sort of hierarchy to his followers.

Jesus never was intimidated, nor did He retreat, or have to make a deal with the demons. In Matthew 8, I see a classic deflection tactic, it did not work. In His practices, promises, and prophecies, Jesus extends His authority to us His Church. Luke documents demonic activity in Acts, Paul had authority. It is part of the struggle, but we have victory in Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews included two passages that speak to a future and final end to this: 1:13 and 10:13. When He comes, not if, Jesus will put all of this rebellion under His feet.

Jesus in the Psalms – The Nations

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Well, this study started with Luke 2:32 where Simeon announced that Jesus would be a light of revelation to us Gentiles and the glory of Israel. Paul quotes this idea in Acts 26:23 in his trial before Festus. No, it does not come from Psalms, but is found in Isaiah 42:6, which is heavy on prophecy. I wanted to see how the Holy Spirit directed the prophets who Psalms to include us Gentiles coming to Jesus. So, I started a search with the word Gentiles in the Book of Psalms. That did not go as planned but opened up a lot of things I did not expect.

Translations and Phrases

The translation you use will determine what word you use in your search, on-line or with leaf and ink. An example – the King James seems to have followed the Geneva 1599 Bible in calling us heathen instead of Gentiles or nations. In Psalms many verses, in Hebrew, use the word gō·w·yim, and that is not the only word that is translated nation. A beauty of our God is the poetry and imaginative language He uses when speaking through His prophets and song writers. Between our God’s creativity and translators doing their job I only scratched the surface of all the verses in Psalms that have or show nations and how they relate to God. Here are several links that may help.

gō·w·yim

The reason for me using gō·w·yim as a point of reference is it appears in Psalm 2, 22, and 33, and they (in my opinion) all refer to nations coming to Jesus. Psalm 102:15 also mentions them coming to God. Now, this was not the only topic/idea that the Psalms have about nations relating with God and the future Jesus’ life and mission. There is a plethora of verses on God ruling and battling, and then the nations and peoples praising God. Israel as a nation is referred to many times and other nations and their gods also have several mentions.

Here is one example – Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. (KJV)

Initially, these posts were to be Christmas related. The Magi are the Gentile representation involved in the story. You will not find the term Magi in Psalms, instead think about kings and rulers as in Psalm 138:4 and 72:10-11. If you stretched real far in the other books of the Old Testament magic and magician might be grabbed, but that is very iffy. Since rocks can cry out, trees can clap their hands, and waves can roar; Psalm 97:6-8 can include the heavens proclaiming His righteousness and glory. These verses also suggest the angels were worshipping Him. Let’s include the star first mentioned by Balaam (Abraham’s seed, but not Jewish) in Numbers 24:17.

Time to vent my very active imagination. What else in the world joined the angels in singing that day when the Savior of all creation was born? Does Psalm 97 give other hints? Mary told Matthew and Luke what she knew and could see in Bethlehem. What about everywhere else; did the earth quake, volcanoes erupt, forests rustle, herds and flocks sing, clouds drop lightning bolts, and the seas make noisy waves? Alas, we may not find that out until Heaven, but I have to think a lot of praise happened that night for the birth of the Creator. Silent Night is a beautiful song, but I want to believe that there was a lot of rejoicing.  

A Few Observations

  • Psalm 2 is a Father writing to His Son.
  • Psalm 22 I call the Jesus Psalm.
  • Psalm 33:10 -15 is about the people He chose for His inheritance.
  • 22 +33 have a mention of food and provisions.
  • Many times, nations and peoples are in the same verse or Psalm.

My takeaway. For the most part, the Psalms were written before most of the historical books in the Bible and before the Prophets. Besides the Law, the Prophets had the Psalms to read and reflect on. There is so much about the life and ministry of Jesus nestled in these songs, but how the nations will be treated are a major theme from beginning to end. Psalms proclaim just part of the message, but their voice deserves to be heard with the Prophets.

Another Look at I Am in John

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John wrote his Gospel so people would look to Jesus as the Messiah/Christ and the Son of I AM. He cited miracles as a proof of this, but in his writing, he said many things to back that up. He was an Israelite Jew who probably grew up speaking Hebrew and yet his thoughts and writings were in Greek.

God choose “I AM” as a name to introduce Himself to Moses and Abraham’s children living in Egypt. That phrase is used by John more than any other New Testament writer. I sorted and grouped that phrase in this post. Now, Jesus is not the only person to use it in the Gospel of John. Several people used it and I tried to include all of them, after all it is still a common phrase in our speech and language.

Teachers love to condense and simplify things to make and reinforce their lessons. Many only cite seven miracles being in John, that is not true, the Resurrection does not make most list. In the same custom they focused on a limited number of quotes from Jesus where He used “I am” to reveal something about Himself. I have heard seven or ten, my list has eleven. There is also a long list of where He refers to things He is doing. Believe me this varies by translations.

I put two word-search links for you to compare different translations. God bless translators who work to glorify God and His Word. Text analysis and other study materials help us make sense of translations and show us how they came to us from the original languages.  

All of these references are from the Book by John. The scrambled order came in when I started grouping similar thoughts and sayings and looked in more than one translation.

John the Baptist– I am Not Him – John 1:20,21, 27; 3:28. John the Baptist – I am one calling in the wilderness, 1:23.

Other People – I did use the NIV a lot so your Bible may have something different.

  • Samaritan woman 4:9
  • 5:7 man at the pool
  • blind man 9:9
  • Peter denying 18:17, 25

The Long List – This went through several forms, so it may be a little rough. All of these are about Jesus.

  • Jesus – 4:26, 8:24 I am He (Messiah)
  • 5:36 I am doing works
  • Jesus not going to the festival 7:8
  • 7:28, 29 not here on my own authority
  • 7:33, 34; 8:14, 21, 28; 13:33, 36 going to the One who sent Me
  • 8:16, 18, 14:28 I am going away and I am coming back to you, 16:5, 7, 10, 17, 28, 17:11, 13, 20:17 going to the Father
  • 18:38 He is not alone, 17:21 Father in Me and I am in you
  • 14:2, 8:23 I am from above, not of this world, 17:14,16
  • 8:46 I am telling the truth
  • 8:49 I am not possessed
  • 8:50 I am not seeking glory
  • 11:11 I am going to wake Lazarus, 11:15 I am glad I was not there
  • 12:26 where I am my servants will be, 14:3, 4, 17:24
  • 12:32 I am lifted up
  • 13:7 I am doing (washing feet)
  • 13:18 I am not referring to all
  • 13:19 I am telling you before it happens
  • 16:26 praying, 17:9
  • 16:32 I am not alone
  • Jesus agreeing 18:37 I am a king
  • 19:28 I am thirsty
  • 20:21 I am sending you
  • 14:10 I am in the Father and going there 12, 20

Where Jesus Identified Himself – I have no problem if you see it another way.

  • 6:35, 41, 48, 51 I am the Bread of Life
  • 8:12 I am the Light of the world, 9:5
  • 8:58 I am (before Abraham)
  • 10:9 I am the Gate
  • 10:11,14 I am the Good Shepherd
  • 10:36 I am God’s Son
  • 11:25 I am the Resurrection and the Life
  • 13:13 I am Teacher and Lord
  • 14:6 I am the Way and the Truth, and the Life
  • 15:1 I am the Vine
  • 18:5, 6, 8 I am Jesus of Nazareth

A thought I started working on, was to divide John into ministry sections. Then take these references and group them. It may still get done, but I had a problem deciding on the sections.

John is also important because he was the last writer of New Testament cannon. We all want Revelation to be the last book written and it may have been. What if John wrote the Gospel after Revelation just to reinforce the vision he wrote about. I am in the minority on that thought.

A Comparison of Thoughts on the Order of the New Testament

John’s Gospel may have been the last roadblock to heresies that were already taking root and about to show up. Arianism quickly gained ground in Christian churches. This doctrine wanted to change the Triune God. This doctrine spread so much that the Visigoths who sacked Rome were Arian Christians.