Tag Archives: John 18: 28-40

The Kingdom of Heaven/God – IS LIKE

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The IS LIKE post continues my study of Kingdom. IS LIKE is the phrase that will be my focus, most verses with this declaration occur in Matthew. The word like and relate terms are numerous in the Gospels, so I have included some links to allow you to go further. I will be honest, add your leaf and ink concordance, my Strong’s/Vines Concordance gave me some thoughts that were not in the electronic versions. But I do enjoy the resources I have found on-line.

ὅς | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

ὅμοιος | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Strong’s Greek: 3666. ὁμοιόω (homoioó) — To make like, to liken, to compare

You find IS LIKE verses in Mark and Luke also, I may just reference them as many are repeats of the ones in Matthew. John did not have any that I could find, but he had a term that was great and I will talk about it. Some of this needs to be “repeats” so I will cover them now.

  • Matthew has the most references to kingdom. He uses “of heaven” the most, with just a few “of God” when the leaders were being addressed. I think this reflects his primary audience. I do not think that there is a difference in what he is talking about because the other writers use the same parables, they just use “Of God”. Look at the Lord’s Prayer.
  • Mark and Luke use “of God” when it is needed. Luke has many verses about the kingdom.
  • John does not have many verses with the word kingdom in them. That is probably because he was focused on the King and showing Him as the Son of God. He does use “my kingdom” when Jesus is talking to Pilate. See Chapter 3 and 18 for the times he brings kingdom into his Gospel.

In Matthew the first message about kingdom is “repent for it is near”, both John the Baptist and Jesus shared this word. Jesus added healing as a witness that He had come and was bring the kingdom.

Matthew 6 and Luke 11 have versions of The Lord’s Prayer; it is also known as The Our Father. The reason I bring this up is who the kingdom belongs to, and where it/He is located. Our Father is in Heaven and we are asking for His Kingdom to come. I found Psalm 9:7-11 as an Old Testament verse that lends itself to the Prayer’s terminology.

Parables, proverbs, and stories are very much a part of Hebrew literature, remember Proverbs and Judges 9. The thing I like about them are there is more than one level to them for us to ponder. Even the ones that Jesus explained to His disciples may have more in them. I like His explanations and don’t usually try to go deeper, most of the time I can barely absorb His teaching about them. But I have found that as you grow in the Lord, the more you may see. However, if your later insights cancel the simple ones, it may be time for more study.

These “IS LIKE” parables are very much like that. My Strong’s/Vines points out you may have to view or consider the whole and all the parts and characters to get the most out of them. I know I have added thoughts to many of them. Sometimes you need to really look at what the IS LIKE is talking about. An example is the humble or little child parables, looking at the circumstances for Jesus’ words are just as important as the little children.

Matthew 13 

  • 24 – a man who sowed good seed
  • 31 – mustard seed (See Luke 13:18+19)
  • 33 – yeast (See Luke 13:20)
  • 44 – treasure hidden in a field
  • 45 – merchant looking for fine pearls
  • 47 – net that was let down and caught all kinds of fish
  • 52 – owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom (teacher of the law)

Matthew 18

  • 4 – a humble child is the greatest in the kingdom
  • 23 – king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants

Matthew 20:1 – a landowner who is looking to hire labors to work in his field

Matthew 22:2 – king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. This was taught on the Temple Mount before the leaders and the people.

Matthew 25:1 – will be like ten virgins with their lamps going to meet the bridegroom. This was on the Mount of Olives to the disciples. (Sadducees asked a question about marriage while He was on the Temple Mount) This further enforces the Palm Sunday ride into Jerusalem was a part of a marriage contract for paying the bride’s price.

  • 14 – man on a journey

AS I REFLECTED ON THE ABOVE PARABLES IN MATTHEW, I NOTICED HOW THAT LIST WOULD ALSO SERVICE AS AN OUTLINE FOR JESUS’ LIFE AND MINISTRY HERE ON EARTH.

Mark

  • 4:26 – 29 – a man scatters seeds on the ground
  • 10:15 – the little child receiving the kingdom

Luke

  • 13:18 – a mustard seed planted in the garden (See Matthew 13:31+32)
  • 13:20 – yeast (See Matthew 13:33)
  • 18:17 – a little child receiving the kingdom

John – 3:3 born again God, 3:5 born of water and the Spirit God, 18: 36 Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (MY KINGDOM). He was talking to Pilate.

Logos – Truth

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Truth, the word, as part of the logos of John’s Gospel (KJV) is used by John, himself, questioned by Pilate, and given by Jesus.  In my Strong’s/Vines Concordance it is G #225 – Aletheia (truth) it signifies the reality lying at the basis of an appearance, the manifested, veritable essence of a matter. G #230 or “of a truth” (truly) is used by the disciples at the feeding of the five thousand when the leftovers were picked up (6:14), and the Jew’s at the Feast of Tabernacles (7:40).  

In the 2011 version of the NIV, John uses the word truth in forty-two verses, in his Gospel he used it in twenty-three verses, and in nineteen verses in 1,2, and 3 John.  The word truth is not used in Revelations.  This is in contrast to Matthew who uses it once in his Gospel. (Different translations will differ in the total number of uses.  These numbers are for the base word truth, so truthful, etc. is included.  True does come into play in some translations.) The New Testament uses truth 102 times, while the Old Testament has thirty-five uses of the word.

John using the word truth more than the other writers of the Bible makes sense because John is showing us that Jesus is the Christ and God’s Son.  There have been seven outstanding miracles highlighted in John.  This is a shame because more miracles are documented in the Gospel of John (See Plus One and +++).  The total number is not given because Jesus healed large numbers of people at various times in that Gospel. Truth is used a large number of times to highlight John’s purpose in declaring Jesus as the Son of God.

So, is truth a capstone, something to always be reaching for, or is it a foundation stone, something that you are built on and has always has held you up?  One will always have you looking and never finding your answer.  The other one you can rest on knowing it is there. If you go looking for it, it may still be hard to find, you may have to dig a bit, but you know it has always held you up.

Friday of Holy Week had Jesus being questioned by a man in John 18: 28-40.  These two men had very different views on what truth was.  Pilate’s question (vs 38), “What is truth” shows that he viewed it as a capstone, something that he was unable to reach or know.  Jesus’ statement in verse 37 has Him resting on His foundation so that He can testify to the truth even in His moment of trouble.

That precious “morning moment” when I woke up and those two choices played around in my mind made me realize I needed to choose one.  In fact, it has shown me that there are other foundation stones that I keep putting in the wrong place.  God’s love, grace, and the power of the Holy Spirit are a few things that I have put high into the air, to reach for, instead of realizing that they are what has always held me up as a Christian.

If truth has always been out of your reach, make the Logos of God your foundation by praying the pray in “Following Jesus” at the top of this post, or learn to rest on Jesus if you have prayed that prayer.