The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 21:15-17, “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord;

You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Tend My lambs.’

16 He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’

He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd

My sheep.’ 17 He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’

Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he

said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him,

‘Tend My sheep.’”

This passage always seemed strange to me –until I learned that Jesus and Peter

weren’t saying the same thing. Jesus’ word for love was different from Peter’s.

Jesus’ word was agape, of which Danker says, “having such an interest in another

that one wishes to contribute to the other’s well-being.” It’s a deep love, a love of

will and commitment. Peter’s word, however, was phileo, a devotion based on

emotion –an outward expression of affection. When a girl hears a boy say, “I love

you,” she needs to carefully assess what he means. The boy, too, needs to be careful,

so as not to mislead the girl. The Greeks avoided this difficulty by using the right word.

Our English language does not have this flexibility.

Peter was grieved (saddened and distressed) that Jesus had asked him the same

thing three times. Perhaps it was because Peter had denied Him three times. It’s

a good question for us, however. Are we saddened that the LORD has to ask us

whether we truly love Him? He has work for us to do, but we’re not prepared unless

we’re genuinely committed to Him and His will. BTW, what is His will for your life?

It commences with commitment.

We love and pray for you every, single day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

John 21:3-6, “Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’

They said to him, ‘We will also come with you.’ They went out,

and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach;

yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus therefore

said to them, ‘Children, you do not have any fish, do you?’ They

answered Him, ‘No.’ 6 And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the

right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch.’ They cast

therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the

great number of fish.”

Exactly why Peter decided to go fishing is not explained. A lot of

miraculous things had occurred over the past few days, so maybe

he just wanted to clear his head. Work does that. Peter was a

good fisherman, but as daybreak came his nets were empty. Jesus

spoke to them as His own, calling them “children” or “boys” –

those who as yet did not understand. They didn’t argue or make

excuses; they just did what Jesus told them, which was to cast

their nets on the other side –the right side of the boat. When

they did, their nets were so full, they were not able to haul it all in.

The late and inimitable Dr. Donald Barnhouse once said that the

miracle was not that they caught so many fish, but that Jesus had

kept the fish out of their nets all night long. Either way, the message

is that no matter how skilled and how practiced we may be in what-

ever we do, we will never be successful without Jesus!

I remember so well being excited about hearing a young Jewish

Christian friend, who was scheduled to preach on a Wednesday

night. He was energetic and made a great start, but for some reason

he looked at the clock on the wall and said, “Wow! Only three

minutes gone! We’re really going now!” And from that moment

everything went downhill. No matter how skilled we are at

anything, we will never be successful without Jesus!

May the LORD bless you mightily as you cast out your nets,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

John 20:11-15, “But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

14 When she had said this, she turned around, and beheld Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

Mary Magdalene’s experience at Jesus’ tomb is remarkable in every respect, there is

no substitute for the evidence of her love for her LORD Jesus Christ. One commentator

says, “In any kind of work, it is true that we cannot really interpret the thought of another

person, unless between us and him there is a bond of sympathy. It is at once clear, for

instance, when the conductor of an orchestra is in sympathy with the music of the composer

whose work he is conducting. Love is the great interpreter. Love can grasp the truth when

intellect is left groping and uncertain. Love can realize the meaning of a thing when research

is blind…. We can neither understand Jesus nor help others to understand him, unless we

take our hearts to Him as well as our minds.”

Try putting yourself in Mary’s place. Do you –do I—have for Jesus the love she had?

Mary’s love for Christ was derived from His redemption from her sin. Do we honestly

view ourselves as sinners? Are we aware of the horrendous price He paid to redeem

us from our sin?

Oh, what love that He should die for me;

Saving grace thus to supply for me;

Oh, what love! What love!

Evermore I’ll tell it! Oh, what love!

God is our Heavenly Father! He paid a tremendous price in sacrificing His Son

for us. What are we sacrificing that shows our love for Him?

We love you each and every one!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

John 19:6-11, “When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they

cried out, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves,

and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law,

and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate therefore heard this statement, he was the more afraid; 9 and he entered

into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him

no answer. 10 Pilate therefore said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know

that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus

answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from

above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin.”

Every verse in John 19 begs to be opened to our understanding. It is indeed a

rich treasure of truth that cannot easily be overlooked. First, the Jews cried out

for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate insisted that he could find no guilt in Him. The

Jews incriminated themselves when they admitted that they understood the

Mosaic Law. Pilate was not familiar with Jewish law and admitted it when he

said in John 18:35, “I am not a Jew, am I?” But, when he said to Jesus, “I have

authority to release You…,” Jesus replied that Pilate’s authority was subject

to the higher authority of the Father in Heaven. Then He said a strange thing:

“…he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin.” All sin is evil and wrong;

but some sins are infinitely greater than others, leading me to believe that Hell

has variations or degrees of eternal punishment. What is significant in this

passage is that Pilate had no knowledge of Jewish law, but the Jews did. They

pressed him in several ways that made him deliver Jesus for crucifixion.

In the current news, a teenage girl has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter

for aggressively urging her “boyfriend” to take his own life. She did not actually

kill him, but she was a significant factor in his death by her encouragement to that

end. Those who introduce others to sinful practices are guiltier, but those who

participate are guilty as well. We who know the Scriptures and their teaching

against sin will not escape God’s wrath. We belong to Him, and He punishes us

as a godly parent punishes his child.

We love you and pray that you may always be delivered from temptation,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

John 19: 4, “And Pilate came out again, and said to them, ‘Behold, I am

bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.’”

In Acts 3:13, Luke says that “Pilate…was determined to let (Jesus) go.”

Why Pilate was disposed to release Jesus is nowhere clearer than when

it was said that into Pilate’s “life there came Jesus, and suddenly he saw

what he had missed. That day he might have found all that he had missed;

but he had not the courage to defy the world in spite of his past, and to take

his stand with Christ and a future which was glorious” (Barclay).

That is an excellent assessment of what we need to do in our lives. Pilate

waited too long, and missed his opportunity. He knew Jesus was innocent,

but lacked the courage to make a stand for Christ.

I have an Iranian friend to whom I sent the paper, “As Simply As I Can Say It.”

I sent it in Farsi, because that’s her first language. This week, she told me she

received it, but would I send it again in English. I continue to be excited because

her request is an indication that the opportunity for her to come to faith in Christ

has not been missed. Just pray for my Iranian friend that she will be saved.

I am attaching the English copy. Feel free to use it as the LORD leads you.

We love and pray for you and your witness, too,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”