The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 27:22-25, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified!”

23 And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

24 And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”

25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

It was years ago, and I was flying out of Los Angeles to Sydney. I was in

evangelism and was reading our latest team paper. When I finished, I

handed it to a man, who was seated across the aisle. He was Jewish, and

he read it very carefully and thoroughly. Then he handed the paper back

to me and said in a rather gruff tone, “Why does everyone blame the Jews

for crucifying Jesus?” I had learned to reply to Jews in the same tone, so

I replied, “Because you did! –and so did I.”

Mob riots seem common today. People are at such unrest within themselves

that just about anything brings them into the streets yelling and complaining.

Two major groups are the objects of many of these riots: Jews and Christians.

Christians are hated for their support of Israel; and Israel is hated because of

the words of their ancestors to Pilate, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

One commentator writes: “If this man be innocent, and we put him to death as

a guilty person, may the punishment due to such a crime be visited upon us, and

upon our children after us! What a dreadful imprecation (curse)! and how literally fulfilled!”

Be careful always what you say. Words have a way of coming back to haunt

their speaker –even over centuries of time. What we are and say today affects

our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and on and on. So, be

extremely careful! Live in the Word! Let the Holy Spirit guide you! We have

no right to bring tragedy on future generations!

We love you and pray for you,

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,

Matthew 27:1-5, “Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death; 2 and they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor. 3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to that yourself!’ 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”

There’s a tragic story in today’s news. A 38-year-old mother and teacher died of

influenza because she believed the $116.00 to be too expensive for her medication.

She left behind a loving husband and two small children.

Judas’ tragedy was even worse. He was a member of Jesus’ discipleship group; yet

he betrayed Him. He changed sides! He reported Jesus’ whereabouts and gave

private information to His enemies! Then, after it was all done, he saw the tragedy

of his actions and “felt remorse.” He was sorry. He regretted his actions and he

tried desperately to undo what he had done –but it was too late!

Have you ever wished you could take back something you had done or said? But

“the cat was out of the bag.” You felt terrible! Your stomach churned within you.

Oh, if only— but the act was done, the word was said. There was no solution.

Judas’ reward for his betrayal was 30 pieces of silver. In today’s accounting, that

amounts to a paltry $13.64. Just Imagine! The One who came from Heaven to

die on the Cross for your sins. And you betray Him for about an hour’s worth of

money. Truly, Paul was right when he said, “The love of money is the root of all

kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). Now, what is Judas to do? The money burned in his

hands! He would just give back the money! Maybe with that he could squelch

the hurt and misery he felt. But, NO! The chief priests and elders would not

take it back. It was blood money; and those sanctimonious religious leaders would

now have nothing to do with it or with Judas. Oh, how like that is with us! Only Christ

can remove the remorse we feel for doing wrong!

In the end, Judas hanged himself. His physical and emotional problems were over,

but he now discovered the real severity of his deception. He was in Hell. And there

was no turning back.

We love you and pledge you no deception –only prayers,

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,

Matthew 26:69-75, “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a certain servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”

73 And a little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for the way you talk gives you away.”

74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a cock crowed.

75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a cock crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Whether we agree or disagree on anything often depends who is with us.

Peter was warming himself by a fire surrounded by men who were not of

his kind. Thus, when he was accused of being with Jesus, it was easier to

side with those around him than to tell the truth. Being in the wrong

company was Peter’s first mistake. When the second servant girl accused

him, he denied knowing Jesus, but the denial came a bit easier. When the

third accusation came, Peter denied even knowing Him; and he accompanied

the denial with cursing and swearing –probably, lapsing back into the language

of his pre-Christian life. Bad companions always produce bad language and bad

actions in us.

Silence is a form of denial, too. The failure to stand up for Jesus, even when

among non-believers, is denial. Sometimes we think silence is a form of escape.

If I don’t speak up, no one will know where I stand or what I believe, and I’ll not

be ridiculed for being a Christian. Sometimes silence is golden; sometimes

it’s yellow! Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leadership. Speaking up may not

make you popular with some people, but who is the more important? Christ

Jesus gave His Life for us! He is our sole Authority! Always honor Him!

His Love in us produces our love for you,

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,

Matthew 26:59-65, “Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death;

60 and they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward,

61 and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.'”

62 And the high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You make no answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”

63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy…”

Years ago there was a radio game show called Truth or Consequences. It was a

humorous show, asking contestants questions that were designed to produce

false answers, so consequences could be played out on the contestants. Something

like this was worked against Jesus –only there was nothing humorous in it. The

“religious leaders” simply wanted Him out of the way. His message was Truth, and

truth hindered their position and practices. These “religious” leaders were actually

looking for false witnesses to testify against Jesus. Remember Jezebel? She found

“two worthless men” to testify against Naboth (1Kings 21:10ff). The Law required

two witnesses, which is why she and Jesus’ adversaries required two.

Be careful! Everything you hear is not the truth. Well then, how do we know

when what we hear or read or are taught is or is not the truth? Everything false

always goes against Scripture! It may be “clouded” by law (e.g., abortion); it may

have been “legal” for a long time; but if it runs counter to Scripture, it is false!

All truly born-again Christians are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. He awakens us

against false teachings when we are living in the Word of God and being sensitive

to the Spirit’s alarms. There also may be times when you are alone in the stand

against evil. Don’t worry about that! Don’t worry about what others think! Do what

is right in the sight of the LORD. He and He alone is our ultimate Authority!

Our love for you drives our prayers for you,

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,

Matthew 25:1-13, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.

2 “And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.

3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,

4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.

5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.

6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’

7 “Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 “And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

9 “But the prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.

11 “And later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’

12 “But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Did anyone ever shut a door on you? Why would anyone do that? Why are doors

ever shut? Pretty easy to say, isn’t it? A door serves two purposes: it keeps out

people who are not wanted; and it keeps safely people who are on the inside. The

Old Testament Scriptures speak of opening and closing doors more than 240 times.

(Noah (Gen 6); Lot (Gen 19); Ehud (Jud. 3); Samuel (1 Sam 3) opened the doors;

Amnon ( 2 Sam 13) lock the door; Elisha (2 Kng 4 & 6 & 9) shut the door; Ahaz (2 Chr 28

& 29) closed & opened the doors; Nehemiah (Neh 6 & 7) close the doors; bolt the doors;

Esther (Est 6 & 7) close…bolt the doors; and many, many others.)

In our verses for today, Jesus is talking about His return. He is the Bridegroom. The

Church is His bride. Some have oil in their lamps: they are ready for His Coming! Others

lack oil: they are not ready for His Coming. As with the door to Noah’s ark, the door of Christ’s Coming was then shut. Those on the inside of the door are secure –they were ready for His Coming. Those on the outside of the door were not ready and will be left behind for judgment.

Our Junior Choir at church used to sing:

One door and only one,

And yet its sides are two;

Inside and outside,

On which side are you?

One door and only one,

And yet its sides are two;

I’m on the inside

On which side are you?

Those of us on the inside can rejoice; still, we have an obligation to

reach those, who do not know Him as LORD and Savior. Maybe the

attachment to this letter will help you to help others. The Internet

is a useful avenue for sharing the Gospel. God bless you!

We love you and pray daily for you,

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.”