Archive for March, 2018


The Grands Letter (GLJ)

on March 31, 2018 7:31 am (CST)
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Dear Grands,

Luke 23:20-24, “And Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again,

21 but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!”

22 And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done?

I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; I will therefore punish Him and release Him.”

23 But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began

to prevail. 24 And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand should be granted.”

The Romans did not invent crucifixion. The learned it from north Africans. Originally, it was

employed simply as punishment; but eventually became a means of execution to-the-death.

It was among the cruelest forms of execution ever known to man. Crude metal nails were

driven through the wrists, as the wrists were considered part of the hands, and through the

feet. The legs of the one executed had to bear up his entire body weight in order to breathe.

When he could not longer uplift himself, his body sank, cutting off his breathing and leading

to his death. It was unsightly cruel and demeaning.

Jesus spoke seven times, as He was dying on the Cross. In the midst of His intense suffering,

He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” It was a cry for

the Father’s forgiveness of both the Romans and the Jews. Yes, the Jews provoked His

crucifixion, but the Romans carried it out. Thus, both Jews and Gentiles were guilty before

God.

Little is known of the two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus. One, however,

cried out to Him to save them all from this horrible death. The other looked to Jesus to

remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus replied, “Today you will be with Me

in Paradise.”

Mary, His mother and John were among those who stood beneath the Cross; and as Jesus

saw them, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” And to John, He said, “Behold

your mother!” From that day, John cared for Mary in his household.

As Jesus bore the spiritual weight of the sins of mankind, the Father turned His face away,

and Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” The Father could not bear

to behold the sin that was being laid upon His Son. Undoubtedly, this was a huge portion of

the meaning of Jesus’ prayer back in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a separation that

neither of Them had ever before encountered –and would never encounter again.

The enormous loss of blood from the scourging and now from the Cross prompted Christ to cry out, “I thirst!’ The soldiers gave Him some sour wine on a sponge. It was little comfort, but it signaled His awareness that all things the Scriptures had said were now fulfilled.

He then cried out ?????????? (tetelestai), “It is finished!” Everything the Scriptures had foretold of what Christ was to do on Earth, had been done, completed! He had, through His sacrifice on the Cross, satisfied the Father and provided for the forgiveness of the sins of every man, woman, and child who had ever lived or ever would live in the ages to come. It is now for mankind to believe upon Jesus’ sacrifice in order to be saved from the coming wrath of Almighty God!

Jesus’ final cry from the Cross were words spoken to His Father in Heaven: “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” And thus He died.

“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father” (Jn. 10:18 NAS).

We lovingly pray for you every 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.”

The Grands Letter (GLJ)

on March 30, 2018 8:15 am (CST)
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Dear Grands,

John 18:12-14; 28-30, “So the Roman cohort and the commander, and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, 13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people….”

28 “They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium in order that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

29 Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this Man?’

30 They answered and said to him, ‘If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.’”

The Romans were a harsh and cruel people. They were, however, legally quite just. There was a sense of

justice in the Jews, too, although they were not careful to follow their own rules when it was to their advantage

to ignore them. (See the attachment.)

After His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was led away to Annas and then to Caiaphas for trials that were preparatory to that of the Romans. The Jews wanted Jesus dead, but they were not allowed to administer

the death penalty. Only the Romans could do that; thus, they needed the Roman procurator, Pilate. Pilate

questioned Jesus, but found no evidence whatsoever of wrong in Him. Pilate sent Jesus to Herod and Herod

found no wrong in Him. Still, the Jews cried out tumultuously for Him to be crucified. The Scriptures tell us that

Pilate was determined to free Jesus, but the persistent shout of the Jewish crowd finally compelled him to order

Jesus crucified.

Even today, tumultuous shouts of multitudes in the streets prevail over justice. We have all been wronged (or will be some day) by the overthrow of justice in favor of the insane clamor of those who oppose truth and righteousness. Nothing has changed. Even the supercilious Jews –Anas and Caiaphas—who stirred up the crowd, avoided entering the Roman Praetorium themselves, so as not to defile themselves and be unable to partake of the Passover. What utter smugness!

Just remember: Jesus Himself prayed earnestly and fervently to be delivered from all of this, yet it was the

will of His Father that the Son’s death on the Cross was to be for our deliverance. And so it was. Now, it is for us to proclaim truth and justice to all who will believe upon Him for their salvation! Praise the LORD for His

unspeakable gift through His Son!

Our prayers filled with love are offered daily for each of you,

Nana & Dado III

NOTE: Don’t forget to read the attachment!

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

The Grands Letter (GLJ)

on March 29, 2018 8:48 am (CST)
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Dear Grands,

Matthew 26:46-52, “Arise, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, accompanied by a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I shall kiss, He is the one; seize Him.”

49 And immediately he went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.

51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.”

The temperament of individuals are often quite different. That leads to various expressions, such as love and

hate. Betrayal, too, takes various avenues. Judas Iscariot was known to have stolen money belonging to Jesus and His disciples (John 12:4-6). It was Judas, who arranged to deliver Jesus to the Jewish leaders for a price.

The signal he had designed for identifying Jesus in the growing darkness of night was a kiss. Kisses are normally an indication of love, but this one was an indication of deceit. The most momentous betrayal in history is masked by a deceitful indication of love. Judas ultimately came to understand the evil he had done and took his own life in despair.

Peter, by contrast with Judas, immediately drew his sword and swung it at those who were seizing Jesus. In the

process, he cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest. Yet, later on, Peter betrayed Jesus by denying that

he knew Him. “Sometimes silence is golden; sometimes silence is yellow.” Peter’s “cursing and swearing” were not the vulgar expressions that those words mean today. Rather, they were his avowing in the strongest terms that he did not know or affiliate with Jesus in any way. Peter came to understand what he had done, and he repented.

Are we like Judas or like Peter? That question depends upon where we are in our Christian life. Judas appeared to love Jesus by kissing him. Peter appeared to love Jesus by defending Him with the sword. But, truth be told,

neither behaved as he had ought. Our behavior often varies with the circumstances of the moment. We laugh at something impure and keep silent when we ought to speak up. How can we be what we ought to be? Stay in the Word daily! Read and absorb the meaning of Holy Scripture, the Bible. Pray about every circumstance! You need not always pray aloud; just talk to the Holy Spirit in the silence of your mind and follow His direction. You will know immediately whether you are living as He would have you to live. God bless you abundantly!

Lovingly and prayerfully yours,

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.”

The Grands Letter (GLJ)

on March 28, 2018 7:35 am (CST)
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Dear Grands,

Luke 22:39-46, “And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.

40 And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’

41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,

42 saying, ‘Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.’

43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.

44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

45 And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,

46 and said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.’”

Jesus had long known His mission. He had willingly come from Heaven to Earth to die in the agony

of the cruel Cross. Having completed His ministry, the time had come. Now, for the last time, He came

to the Mount of Olives to pray. The comfort He might have felt from the company of His disciples was

not to be, however. His agony was His alone to bear. His only message to them was to pray that they

might not enter into temptation. That is His continual prayer for us. We are so humanly weak, that we

fall easily into what is wrong. We must avoid that wrong! And it is avoided only by prayer.

Jesus own prayer was a human prayer. He humanly wanted to avoid the agony of the Cross; yet, He

was willing to endure it if it be the will of His Father. But what was the agony that He faced? Despite

the physical and mental suffering of the crucifixion, He faced the greater experience of “becoming sin.”

He was indeed as human as He was divine; yet, He had never known sin. Becoming sin was His greatest agony.

The disciples had been warned to pray, yet they were found sleeping –sleeping from sorrow. When we

are in deep sorrow, we seek sleep –as an escape. It’s as if when we then awake, everything distasteful

would have passed. But sleep only evades sorrow for a moment. Jesus needed His disciples to pray

for Him in this agonizing moment. Still, they slept to escape His sorrow and theirs. Are we not like the

disciples? He needs us to pray about the sinfulness that pervades our world. But we choose to sleep.

“Wake up,” He says, “and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not

found your deeds completed in the sight of My God” (Rev. 3:2 NAS). Does what we are bother you?

We are lovingly prayerful for you every 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.”

The Grands Letter (GLJ)

on March 27, 2018 8:30 am (CST)
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Dear Grands,

Luke 22:15-20, “And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’

17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves;

18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.’

19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’

20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’”

Eating in Jesus’ day was more than allaying hunger. It was a ceremony to remember important things of the past. Passover was the remembrance of the Hebrews days in Egypt. As Moses was preparing the people for their exit, he instructed them how to prepare. He warned them of the LORD’s coming plagues upon Egypt, the final of which was the Death Angel’s entry into every house and taking the lives of the first-born male child. To prepare, so that they might be spared the Death Angel’s visit, the Hebrews were to sprinkle blood on the doorpost of their houses. When the Death Angel saw the blood, he would pass over the Hebrew houses and not enter in. Thereafter, the Hebrews always celebrated the Passover with a supper.

What is also quite significant in verses 19 and 20 above is that after the Passover, Jesus introduced what we

now call The LORD’s Supper. Some, mistakenly call it “communion”; but there is no communion with God in

the LORD’s Supper. Rather, it signifies the transition from the Old Covenant Law to New Covenant Grace.

The bread was an emblem of Christ’s body that would be broken on the Cross where He was shortly to die.

The “fruit of the vine” in the cup was the emblem of Christ’s blood that was soon to be shed on the Cross.

When we partake of the bread and grape juice in the LORD’s Supper, we should remember His death on the

Cross for our sins.

On my first trip to Israel, I met a retired Canadian Royal Airforce Officer, who took me to the Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried. Later that same day, I went back to the Tomb alone. No one was there, and I entered the Tomb and prayed. Now, when I receive the elements at the LORD’s Supper, I always reflect on that Tomb experience and the suffering of my LORD for my sin. Whatever sorrow you experience at the LORD’s Supper, will be quickly extinguished in the joy of knowing that He is soon to Return and take us to be with Him in Heaven!

Our prayers are offered for you every 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.”

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