Predestination

Romans 8:29-30


For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

At the very least we have to be very careful with these verses because this is talking about God and how He thinks and what He does. We are told in Isaiah 55:9 - As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. We have to make sure that as we read this we don’t read in to it more than is there and definitely guard against coming to the conclusion that we know all about God or any part of God from a couple of verses. With that said lets look at these verses a little closer.

For those whom He foreknew, - Who did God pre-know? Everyone. It would be silly for us to assume that God only foreknew those who would be saved. God foreknew everyone and the decisions that they would make. He is all knowing.

-He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, - What did God predestine? That it was His will for everyone that He knew beforehand to be conformed to the image of His Son. This does not say that God predestined who would be saved but rather that it was predetermined that God desired that everyone become like Jesus. How do we know that He intended this for everyone?
   
    I Timothy 2:3-4 - ...God our savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.
    II Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
    Romans 10:13 - For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
    Matthew 18:14 - Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
    I John 2:2 - He is the propitiation for the sins of the world.
    I John 4:7-10 - God sent His son to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.
    John 3:15-16 - whoever believes in Him will have eternal life, for God so loved the world
    I Timothy 2:6 - Jesus became a ransom for all
    II Corinthians 5:14 - one man died for all men
    Mark 16:15 - He sent His disciples into all the world
    Acts 17:30 - God is declaring that all men everywhere should repent
    Romans 5:18 - Jesus is the justification for all men.
    Hebrews 2:9 - Jesus tasted death for everyone
    And many others.

Obviously God’s desire is that everyone will become like Christ. But when sin entered the world it changed what God planned for everyone. How do we know He predestined us to be like Christ? Because this was the plan from the beginning, it was predetermined that man needed a way to be made right with God.

    Acts 2:23 - This man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
    Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  - God prepared beforehand that we were created by Jesus and in Jesus for good works. And it is God’s desire that we walk in those good works.
    Ephesians 1:4-5 - Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. - God chose for us that we should be Holy and blameless and He even determined beforehand that we should be adopted as sons through His son Jesus.  In other words God intended for us to be Holy and blameless but sin entered this world and our lives and God provided a way for us to be adopted back into His family through the sacrifice of His own son.
    II Thessalonians 2:13 -  But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. - God determined the plan by which man could be made righteous again before anyone was even born. And that plan involved man’s decision and acceptance of His son and man’s faith in the truth.

-so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; - Jesus here is referred to as the firstborn. Jesus was not the first to be born but rather the first born of those in Christ. And as such he has all the privileges of being the first born. He is first in rank or honor. He is seated on the right hand of God.  He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is the first and most important man.

-And whom He predestined - And who did He predestine? He predestined all to be conformed to the image of Christ.

-these He also called - And who did He call? Everyone. He determined beforehand that all should be conformed to be like Christ and then he called all to repentance and faith in Christ.

    Matthew 9:13 - "But go and learn what this means : 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
    Mark 2:17 - And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
    Luke 5:32 - "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
    Acts 2:39 - "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."
   
-and whom He called, these He also justified - Did God justify everyone? No He did not. So now there is a problem. And Jesus is the justification for that problem. The word  “justified” means to make righteous in the sight of God. Only Jesus’ blood shed on the cross can justify us before God. Only those that accept that by faith can be saved.  It is only those that accept the call by faith that are saved and only they are justified. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ’s atonement for our sins.

    Romans 3:28 - For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
    Romans 5:1 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Romans 5:9 - Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
    Galatians 2:16 - nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
    Galatians 3:11 - Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident ; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith."
    Galatians 3:24 - Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

-and whom He justified, these He also glorified. - God knows all things and knows who would be saved. He predetermined that they would be conformed to the image of Christ. God would call all men and it was predestined that for those who accepted Jesus Christ by faith they would be justified. And it was also predetermined that those who have faith in Jesus for justification would be glorified. Glorification is us no longer being conformed to be like Christ but actually being like Christ. Our glorification has not yet occurred but it was determined beforehand that we would be glorified if we have faith in Jesus for our justification.

    John 7:39 - But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
    John 12:16 - These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
    John 12:23 - And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

    So when was Jesus glorified? When He accomplished the work that God sent Him to do.

    John 17:4-5 - "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

    Jesus glorified God then God glorified Jesus and Jesus was in God and we receive our glorification because we are in Him.

    Romans 8:16-17 - The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

These verses are a clear picture of God’s promise to us. God desired for all men to be like Christ from the very beginning. When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, Satan lied to Eve and told her surely you will not die. Surely God will not punish you for eating something that is good for food and something He placed in the middle of the Garden that He made for you. Go ahead and sin, go against what God told you not to do, it will be all right. And she listened to Satan and ate the fruit and gave it to Adam and he ate it as well. Sin first entered the world. As a result man from that point on was separated from God and the only way to be made right with God was provided by God. He determined beforehand that He would send His own son as a gift to die for mine and yours and everyone’s sins. Only those that accept that gift are saved. Everyone else stands before God at judgement and declare that they decided that they could get to heaven a different way rather than the one and only way that God provided. They will spend eternity in hell as a result. To suggest that these verses imply that someone goes to heaven because God predetermined who would go to heaven and who would go to hell is at the very least dangerous. Because now you are making God out to be a liar. When he said that He sent His son for the entire world or that He is not willing that any should perish how can you explain these many, many verses. Did He send His son for everyone or not? He was sent for everyone and each man has to make a decision to accept Him or reject Him and those that reject Him spend eternity in hell. These verses show us a part of what God does in salvation but these verses do not show us any of what man is responsible for. Each person determines their own fate but no man can save himself.  These verses do show a line of what God does, but man is given the free will to jump out of line at any point on this line. God calls all, some accept and some reject and those that reject are no longer going to be justified or glorified.

What was Paul's thorn in the flesh? Part 1

What was Paul's thorn in the flesh? Actually that is a very interesting question. Just do a search on the internet for this topic and you will find many different ideas and each of them believing they have it all figured out. I have read many works of many people thinking that they had surmised what the thorn in the flesh was for Paul. I have even heard people say that if it were important then the Bible would tell us plainly. Well the Bible does tell us plainly what the thorn in Paul's flesh was but unfortunately we choose to ignore what the Bible says, because it does not line up with what we think the Bible says. Confused yet? Well just hang on, it will get worse before it gets better.

What are some of the options for what the thorn was? A common one is that Paul suffered from some sort of vision problems possibly because of him going blind after seeing Jesus on the road to Damascus. In Galatians 4:13-15 Paul mentions a bodily illness and tells us that others were willing to pluck their own eyes out and give them to him.  Also  in Galatians 6:11 Paul tells us that he is writing with his own hand in large letters. Many determine that these verses are recorded because of his poor eyesight. We will look at these verses a little closer in just a minute.  Other people say that he had some sort of physical ailment like a speech impediment, migraines, malaria, epilepsy and still others say that it was the persecution that he endured. I am not saying any of these are wrong. God may have used all of these things in Paul's life. However, I believe the Bible is clear as to what the thorn was in this particular incident and it is a lesson that all of us can learn from. 

First lets look at the possibility that Paul's thorn was his eyesight since this is most commonly taught as a possibility because of the verses listed above. Paul had gone blind on the road to Damascus so his eyesight should obviously be a topic of consideration. This story is recorded in Acts 9:8 "And Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open he could see nothing;" Verse 9 tells us that he was three days without his eyesight. In verses 17-18 we are told that Ananias came to see him because the Lord Jesus had sent him "so that you may regain your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight and he arose and was baptized:" This was a healing from God and associated with his salvation experience. To suggest that the healing was not complete, total or was merely temporary does not line up with other healing experiences recorded in the scriptures.  An incomplete healing would make God look poorly in the eyes of those around Paul. Also Jesus on several occasions had referred to the Pharisees as leaders who were "the blind leading the blind" Matthew 15:4 and Luke 6:39 are two examples. Saul was a pharisee and for him to suffer with a permanent aliment such as blindness would make him appear to be the very one that the Lord had warned against. In my opinion this would create a situation where it would be more difficult for the Jews to accept the message that Paul was sent to give. 

So lets look at the two verses that I listed that appear to be good indicators that the thorn in Paul's flesh was his eyesight. Galatians 4:13-15 "But you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time; and that which was a trial to you in bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself. Where then is that the sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness, that if possible, you would have plucked your eyes and given them to me." So when was the "first time" that Paul preached to the Galatians? We find that answer in Acts 14. In Chapter 13 Paul had preached to the Jews and they rejected his message but some Gentiles heard and accepted it. So Paul decided to go to the Gentiles. In chapter 14 in verses 7-8 he traveled to the region of Galatia and visited the cities and surrounding areas of Lycaonia, Lystre, and Derbe.  In verse 19 we have some Jews who came and won over the Gentiles and stoned Paul and drug him to the dump and supposed him to be dead. But in verse 20 it says he got up and walked with Barnabus from Lystra to Derbe. There he preached and in verse 22 we are told one of the main themes of his preaching. It was "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." His body was obviously covered with bruises, cuts and his face was probably swollen to the point that it was hard for him to see. This explains the "bodily illness" or better translated "weakness of the flesh" and the reason that Paul mentions that the listeners should have "despised or loathed" his appearance. It also explains why those listening would be willing to "pluck out their eyes and give them to Paul." He must have been a pitiful sight and those looking at him felt sorry for him. I am sure he struggled to be able to see past his swollen, puffy eyes and they would have helped him if they could have. But they overlooked his appearance and actually received him as "an angel of light." I believe the problem that plagued him was merely temporary because he speaks of it in the past tense when he stated "that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time."

The second verse often used to teach that the thorn in Paul's flesh was his eyesight is Galatians 6:11 "See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand." This is an interesting verse. Many translations say something a little different. Something similar to "See what a large letter I have written to you with my own hand." Kind of changes the meaning of the verse. One refers to the size of the individual letters and the other to size of the entire letter. So which is right? This is strictly my personal opinion but if Paul had been referring to the appearance of his handwriting he would have addressed that at the first of his letter not the end. If he is referring to the length of the letter then he would do that at the end of the letter, not the beginning. In this particular case he was wrapping up his letter and then makes the comment about the size or length of the letter.  The word that is used in the Greek for "letter or letters" is Gramma which can mean; that which is written, a letter of the alphabet or a book or letter.  So either translation could be correct when looking at this word. I don' t think scripture is clear enough to know for sure which way is correct and that is why it is often translated both ways. So at the very least this verse is suspect in using it for confirmation of what Paul's thorn in the flesh was.

As for the thorn in the flesh being some other type of physical aliment, I believe there is nothing in scripture that would support this possibility. There are a few things that may be hinted at here and there but certainly nothing that could be considered concrete. One example for this is that the thorn in the flesh was some sort of a speech impediment which is hinted at in II Corinthians 10:10 and 11:6. To accept this as the "thorn" in Paul's flesh, a person would have to draw a lot of conclusions. Clearly Paul was accustomed to making speeches before the Pharisees and seemed very comfortable in front of the Sanhedrin of which he may have been a member. Paul often preached for extended periods of time and on at least one occasion spoke all night. He spoke in front of both Jews and Gentiles and to leaders of both groups. He was very articulate, knowledgeable and capable of speaking to anyone. He communicated wonderfully through his writings and there is nothing to suggest that his perceived "unskilled speech" was anything that would have been a thorn in the flesh.

Some have argued that the term "thorn in the flesh" would have to be those that persecuted Paul. In the old testament, "thorns in the flesh" for the Israelites were those people groups that led them away from God. I believe this is close but not quite right.  There was something that was pulling Paul away from God but it was not people. Also, if Paul's persecutions and trials were his thorn in the flesh then we have a problem. Paul clearly had many persecutions and here is a list from Paul himself in II Corinthians 11:23-30 "I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches." Clearly he had his share of persecutions. The problem is this. If Paul prayed on three different occasions for God to remove his tribulations then it makes Paul out to be some what of a hypocrite. On several occasions Paul preached that tribulations or persecutions were not only necessary, expected, profitable but also an example that God loves us. As did other writers in the New Testament. Some examples are:


Acts 14:22 "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."


II Corinthians 1:5"For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ."


Philippians 1:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."


II Thessalonians 1:5 "This is plain indication of God's righteous judgement so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God,  for which indeed you are suffering."


Hebrews 12:6 For those whom the Lord loves he disciplines and He scourges every son whom He receives. 


Plus these scriptures from others:


II Timothy 3:12 "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."


I Peter 3:14 "But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed..."



I Peter 5:10 "And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you."


And there are many others.

I think this would be good stopping point for now. Next time we will look at what the thorn actually was that God did not remove from Paul. It is a very interesting study and one that is applicable to all of us.

Peter goes fishing but Jesus sets the hook

John chapter 21 tells us a very interesting story. In fact it is the one story that ties up all the loose ends we talked about last time. It is the story that shows us that the disciples, finally after several years of walking with Christ, understood who He was. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 we learn that He appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection but it was not until this event took place did Jesus ascend into heaven. Why was this event so important. This event took place probably about 3 to 4 weeks after his resurrection. In Acts 1:3 we learn that Jesus stayed on the earth after his resurrection for about 40 days. In John chapter 20 the Bible tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples and Thomas was not present. About 8 days later Jesus appeared to them again and this is when Jesus told Thomas to put his finger in the nail holes in His hands and to place his hand into the wound in Jesus' side. In Matthew it tells us that Jesus had told the disciples to leave Jerusalem and to wait for Him at the sea of Galilee. The trip from Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee was between 60 and 70 miles. No short distance to be traveled by foot. This trip alone would take several days. After they arrived they waited around for a time before this story starts to unfold. So what was this event. Let's take a look.

John 21:1-17

¹  After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.

After what things? After Jesus had appeared to the disciples and to all the others. He now will appear to the disciples one more time. This time for a different reason and the story we are about to read is how He did it. 

2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

So we have seven of the disciples. Peter, James, John, Thomas, Nathanael and two others. Why these two are not listed is interesting to me but I can find no reason in scripture for leaving their names out of the account. We have reason to believe all of the disciples were at the Sea of Galilee waiting on Jesus as they were instructed to do but these seven are singled out for this story. These seven are the ones that Jesus was not finished with. These seven needed something more from the Lord. Just like us, their faith needed a little boost. 

3 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.

This is one of the key verses in understanding this passage. Peter says to the others, "I am going fishing." It sounds innocent enough. After all they were fishermen, there was the largest fresh water lake in all of the land in front of them and they were just sitting around waiting on Jesus. Why not go fishing? This is one of the verses that is better explained by looking at the original Greek for a couple  of the words. "Going fishing" in the original text used a certain verb tense and the words chosen mean a continuous and repeated action. When Peter said, "I am going fishing," he did not mean I am going to do a little fishing he meant I am going back to fishing, the thing that I know. I am going to go fishing now and continuously and repeatedly. I do not know what else to do. Jesus has been crucified, He did rise from the dead but I can not just sit here any longer. I have to do something and the only thing I know to do is go back to fishing. His words carried enough weight that the six others opted to go along with him. They went and got into a boat and fished all night except for one problem. They did not catch anything all night. Sound familiar? In Luke 5: 1-11 we have the story of when Peter and his brother Andrew along with James and John were first called to follow Jesus. They had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. They were cleaning and mending their nets and Jesus tells them to go out to the deep water. They argue at first but then decide to do as He suggested. He tells them what side of the boat to throw their nets and they catch a load so big that the nets started to break. Jesus then tells them to follow Him and He will make them fishers of men. I think Jesus is setting up these disciples to get their full attention. He knows that was a memorable day in their lives and now He is going to bring that back to their minds.

4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.


5 So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." 

 Notice Jesus did not ask if they had any fish, He told them. You can almost hear the frustration in their answer. A short simple "No" was the answer. You have to wonder what are the disciples thinking at this point. Who is the genius on the shore? Wait how did he know we did not have any fish? Who is that? Jesus doesn't give them a whole lot of time to think about it.


6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. 

Now He has their attention and he has them thinking about when He first called them. The bait has been set. 


7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.

There are several things about this verse that are interesting. To start with it was John who figured out is was Jesus. Peter was not sure until he heard John say it. When John says, "It is the Lord." Peter does something strange. He puts on more clothes and then jumps in the sea to swim ashore. Most people would strip clothes off before jumping into the sea. But Peter put more on. Why? This is our second key verse in understanding the importance of this story. If a man were to be doing most labor or going into battle he would simply cinch up his outer garment and tuck it or tie it out of the way. He would gird up his loins. But if a man were to shed his outer garment he basically stripped down to his underwear and would do this to save his outer garment from being ruined or stained. He intended on doing serious work. Not just a relaxing time of all night fishing. I personally think he was embarrassed and he wanted to hide the fact that he had given up on Jesus and had gone back to fishing. I also think he jumped in the sea to hide from Jesus, not necessarily so he could get there faster. There are not too many swimmers fully dressed that can swim a hundred yards faster than a boat being rowed by six men.
 
8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

9 So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. 


When who got out on the land? Obviously, the other disciples. I believe Peter was still in the water. On this morning, Jesus picked the menu and it was not all fruits and vegetables. In fact it was fish and bread. Also, the menu was a good reminder of how Jesus had fed thousands on more than one occasion with nothing more than bread and fish. Remember it was after one of these events that Peter declared Jesus to be the Christ and Jesus said he would build his church on the foundation of Peter's belief and he also told Peter just a few seconds later to get behind me Satan. So fish and bread were instrumental in reminding of those key events. Jesus had taught this lesson before but this time it will be heard and understood, Jesus is who He claims to be.


I also think the charcoal fire was specifically used for Peter. A charcoal fire has a very distinct aroma and aromas can trigger very specific memories in our brain. The last time a charcoal fire had been mentioned Peter was warming himself and denying that he even knew who Jesus was.  John 18:18 Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. While standing there several different people began to say that Peter was with Jesus and he denied it and in Mark 14:71 he not only denied it he swore and cursed and said he did not even know this man they were talking about. At the very instant that he denied Jesus the third time, in fact while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. Luke 22:60 ...And immediately, while he was still speaking a cock crowed. Then verse 61 tells us that when this happened Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Luke 22:61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times. And Mark 14: 72 tells us that Peter began to weep. Peter was broken and knew that he had let the Lord down.  Since the crucifixion of Christ, I am sure Satan had been working Peter over pretty hard about how he probably should have felt like a failure, not worthy of being a disciple of Christ. Jesus has every intention of fixing this way of thinking. 

10  Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." 

11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

 I still think Peter is trying to avoid Jesus here. Jesus told all seven of them to bring some fish. I think Peter was just coming out of the water and so he is the closest to the fish and he volunteers. It could not have been easy for one person to pull this large catch ashore. Also we get a real glimpse into the heart of a fisherman here because like all fishermen someone took the time to count the number of fish. One hundred and fifty-three to be exact. Or maybe Peter was just stalling.

12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord. 


13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 

14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. 

Notice that when Jesus said come have some breakfast, it was already prepared. In verse 9 it tells us that fish and bread was already on the fire. So why did Jesus want the fish that He asked for?  We are about to see exactly the answer to that question. Jesus was a master teacher and He is about to take these disciples to school.


15 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."  

I cannot help but wonder if that was a quiet breakfast.  "So, Lord, what have you been up to?" Just sounds a little lame. Of course if the conversation were important we would have been told about it. What was important was the conversation that took place after breakfast. Jesus now singles Peter out. Why Peter? Well, for several reasons. He was the one who denied Christ and regretted it and really never got to tell the Lord that. He was hurt, beat down and based on his actions a little ashamed. He was the one that was ready to give up on the Lord and go back to fishing and he was somewhat of a leader to the others.

But Peter is not alone, there are several other disciples there that need to hear the same lesson. Remember in Mark 16:14 when Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection He scolded them for their unbelief. After all, they had been through so much together. Had they forgotten everything He had taught them, already.  And afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and he reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
When Jesus singled Peter out He asked him a very unusual question. He said, "Do you love me more than these?" I have always read this and thought that Jesus meant the other disciples. Peter do you love me more than these disciples? But I think I was reading it wrongly. As we have pointed out before it goes against Jesus' earlier teachings to take one of the disciples and elevate him above the others. In fact Jesus made several points to teach the disciples to serve each other and that the least was the greatest. So to ask Peter if he loved Jesus more than the others does not line up with Jesus' other teachings. Could it be that now Jesus holds or points to the fish that Peter went to get and he says to Peter, "Do love me more than these? Do you love me more than these smelly old fish. Peter responds by saying "Yes, Lord; you know I love you. " Actually we have here another verse that is better looked at in the original Greek. When Jesus says to Peter, Do you love me, the word love was the word "Agapao" which means to love unselfishly to the point that you would be willing to sacrifice. That is the word for love used in John 3:16. Jesus is definitely wanting Peter to think about the last night before Jesus was arrested. Peter had said he loved the Lord and was willing to die for Him. To prove his willingness to sacrifice for the Lord he was the one that pulled out a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane and hacked off the soldiers ear and was ready to fight to the death. Jesus had stopped him and told him that was not the way to handle the situation and I am sure this confused Peter.  And then right after this, he denied Jesus three times. Peter is hurt, confused and not really sure what he believes. Jesus is skillfully bringing all of this back to mind so he can show Peter what He wants him to do. Peter does not understand that yet. So when he responds to Jesus' question, he says, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." But the word for love that Peter used was a different word. That word was "phileo" which means to be a friend or to have the interests as another. So Jesus asks do you love me unselfishly to the point you are willing to sacrifice for me and Peter answer yes Lord I love like a friend and you know we have similar interests. Jesus then tells him, "Tend my Lambs." Or another way of saying it would be then take care of the Babes, the helpless lambs, in Christ and give them the milk they need to grow in Christ.

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."  

The uses of the word love are exactly the same. Jesus says do you Agapao love me and Peter responds you know that I Phileo love you.  This time Jesus says to him, will then Shepard My sheep. Then lead the church. Shepard those that follow me.

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. 

So Jesus asks Peter one more time, "Do you love me?" This time Jesus changes the question. This time Jesus says, Peter do you "Phileo" love me? Do you really have the same interests as me? Are you really my friend? Peter is broken. The word "grieved" means to be distressed to be deeply hurt. It does not say that Peter was mad, aggravated or even upset but grieved. His heart is broken and for the first time he really sees Jesus for who He is. He really sees Jesus and all that He has done to woo and call Peter to follow Him. So Peter's response is different. This time he says, "Lord you know all things; you know that I love you." You are God, you are the messiah, you are all that you claim to be and you know that I completely and fully understand this now and you know that I really do love you. You truly are my friend and we do have the same interests. Peter understood that his love was not dependent on his actions but his heart. No longer did Peter have to prove his love by being the first to pull his sword but now he proved his love by what was in his heart and soul. So Jesus responds and says "Tend My Sheep." Peter if we really do have the same interests then do what I have called you to do. Take care of my sheep. Be their Shepard and lead them in the paths of righteousness for my names sake. Don't be a fisher of fish be a fisher of men. Be the foundation that I can build my church on.

What is it that God has called me to do? What is it that God has called you to do? No matter what it is God will equip us to do it and will keep us on track when we stray. If we truly are His friend. If we truly have the same interests. If we truly love Him. How many times did Peter mess up? Too many to count. How many times do I mess up? Way too many to count. But Jesus didn't give up on Peter and He hasn't given up on me and He has a plan for my life. Tony of Hernando,  let me ask you one question. Do you love Me? How would you answer this simple question?

Peter, James and John: the troubled three.

Let me just start by saying I know this lesson is long. But, if you notice, it is mainly scripture references. I tried to condense as much as possible and I skipped many references but there are many more that could have been added to this list.

Almost every time a disciple is called by name it is either Peter, James or John. The only exceptions are when the twelve were called originally and near the death of Jesus. That's when we learn a little about Thomas and some of the others. In some cases the Bible may say a couple of the disciples did this or that but if they are called by name it is almost always these three. Why? I personally believe that these three struggled with their faith more than the others. James and John were brothers but so were Andrew and Peter. And strangely Andrew is almost never mentioned. Andrew is the one who found Jesus and brought Peter to see Him. Maybe Andrew's faith was stronger than his brother's from the beginning and Peter's had to grow a little. I think we often suppose that the disciples dropped everything the first time they saw Jesus and never questioned who He was again. That simply is not true. In fact, all of them struggled with their faith. Here are three examples: the first one was shortly after Jesus had called them to follow Him, the second only a few days before His arrest and the third was only minutes before His arrest.

Mark 4:38-41

³⁸Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" ³⁹And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" ⁴¹They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" 

Jesus clearly questions their faith and they are afraid. Afraid of what? Jesus? They then begin to wonder who Jesus is. They obviously did not know Him to be exactly who He was.

John 14:1-9 

¹"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. ²"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  ³"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴"And you know the way where I am going." ⁵Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" ⁶Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. ⁷"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." ⁸Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." ⁹Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Jesus is clearly frustrated or disappointed that the disciples still did not know who He was.

John 16:30-31 

³⁰"Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God." ³¹Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?

Jesus basically says, Do you finally believe?

  If the disciples struggled with their faith why should we be surprised when we struggle with our faith? After all, they walked every day with Jesus. Actually it is a little harder for us. Surprised? Jesus told the disciples that very thing in John 20:29.
 ²⁹Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

We are more blessed than the disciples if we believe that Jesus is Messiah the son of God because we have not seen Him with our eyes but believed with our hearts.

Let's do a little digging and look at these three disciples, Peter, James and John a little closer and their struggle with their faith. We are going to be looking at several passages but that is the only way to get the full picture. Last time we looked at a couple of the examples of how these three were singled out. Now let's look at several more and how much patience Jesus had with their unbelief and struggles.


In Matthew 16:16-23 we have two stories that we all are very familiar with. But have you ever noticed that they are connected? Jesus has just asked the disciples, "who do the people say that I am?" Peter gives his response in verse 16. Jesus responds by telling Peter He will build His church on this rock. And then we have the story of Jesus telling Peter, "get behind me Satan." How can these be connected? Is Peter the rock on which Christ will build His church or is he Satan?


¹⁶Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
 ¹⁷And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 

What did God reveal to Peter? That Jesus is the Christ. Only God working in our lives can reveal to us that Jesus is the Christ. Until a person comes to this realization they can not be saved. This is the basis for salvation. First we must realize that we are a sinner. A sinner who is not worthy of heaven and has no way to appease the God of the universe. Unless, we believe that Jesus is the son of God, and died in our place to make that appeasement. Only God can reveal to us that Jesus is the Christ. That is what Jesus tells Simon Peter. God reveals it to us and then we must accept or reject it. Each person has to make that decision.

 

¹⁸"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 

We have to be careful with this story because it can easily be misinterpreted. In fact, I believe the Roman Catholic church has read this wrong for many years. They believe that the interpretation of this passage is that Peter was the foundation stone of the church, that he was more important than the other apostles, that he became Bishop of Rome, and that his preeminence was passed on to his successors, the popes. First of all to suggest that Jesus put any of the disciples ahead of the others goes against His own teaching. It was Jesus who said the first should be last and the last shall be first in Matthew 19:30 and Mark 10:31 among other places. It was also Jesus who washed the disciples feet and told them to do like wise, to serve one another. And talking to the disciples, Jesus said in Matthew 20:26-27 that whoever wishes to be great among them shall be a servant and whoever wishes to be first shall be your slave. So obviously Jesus did not encourage the disciples to strive to be greater than one another. To promote one above the others would not fit with his teachings. So first lets look at the play on words here. Peter, in the Greek is Petros, meaning "a rock" or pebble and the word that was used for "rock" in this story where it said "on this rock" is petra meaning bed rock. So the way this verse actually reads is, I say to you that you are a rock and upon the bedrock I will build My church. So what is the bedrock? The bedrock is the base or the foundation and Jesus just told us in verse 16 what the basis for salvation actually is. That is, God revealing to each of us that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. When we realize this we have to act on it and then we are saved. Even Satan and his demons know who Jesus is but they are not saved. Realizing and acting on it are two different things. Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 


Some say that Jesus is the foundation and I believe they are only partially correct. It is the believing in Him that is the foundation. He is not the foundation but the cornerstone. Ephesians 2:20 tells us that the prophets and the disciples were the first to believe and that Jesus is the cornerstone. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 

Also the work that was started by Christ as the corner stone and built up on the apostles and prophets continues to be built up on Christians today. But those that refuse to believe that Christ is the Messiah they will see Him as the rock of judgment. 1 Peter 2:4-8

¹⁹"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." 

This verse also has to be looked at closely. First of all, Peter is not given the keys to do whatever in heaven. Instead he will be given (future tense) the keys to understand how heaven works. When we understand how heaven works we know that we do not have authority on earth except that which is given to us from the King in heaven. What Jesus says here is, when you bind or loose something on earth you will only be able to do so when it was so decided in heaven first.

 ²⁰Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. 


At this point the disciples are not ready in their faith for what is about to happen. Jesus begins to explain to them what is going to happen and takes the next few months to do so. It is not until His death, for some not until His resurrection and for a few others not until even later before they really understand what it means to believe in Jesus being the Christ.


 ²¹From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.  ²²Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 


Obviously Peter did not fully grasp the thing that he had confessed just a few verses before. If Jesus is the Christ and He is the son of God then God is in control, knows the future and knows what must be done. But Peter actually rebukes Jesus and tells Him He must be wrong. God would never let this happen. By Peter's own words he does not really believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. He doubts here that Jesus is correct in saying that He must die. Could he say this and actually be saved? We don't know. He may have been saved when he was called. He may have been saved when he confessed that Jesus was the Christ a few verses earlier.  Or it may be that Peter still does not completely get it and may not until much later. We will look at that possibility next time.


 ²³But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." 

Here is the link between these two stories. Christ's response alone should be proof enough that Peter was not the greatest of the disciples. He refers to him as Satan. Peter is speaking purely from the flesh and is not considering the kingdom of God at all. Does Peter have the keys to the understanding of the kingdom of God that Jesus said that He would give him or is he simply having a weak faith moment? Obviously we don't know for sure but we do know Peter is not walking with Christ even though he is walking beside Christ at this moment. There are certainly times in my life when I merely walk beside Christ instead of walking with Christ. Often when I do, I say and do some pretty stupid things. Peter's name may have meant rock but no man could be the foundation for Heaven. Peter was not the rock but his understanding that Jesus is the Christ the son of God was the rock and that bedrock does not waiver, does not second guess and is the only way into heaven.

Right after these two stories are when the events occurred that we looked at last time.


Now we are going to simply list some of the events that occurred where at least one of the these three are named. In some of these cases, some of the disciples are singled out. The ones singled out are singled out many times to witness a miracle to strengthen their faith and sometimes to allow us to see them pull their foot from their mouth. Also, as you read these verses see if the person sounds like someone who is walking closely in spirit with Jesus and listening to His teachings or more like someone who is walking in the flesh. Also notice if Jesus' response sounds like a rebuke.


Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
 ²²Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 



Matthew 19:23-27
²³And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
 ²⁴"Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
 ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?"
 ²⁶And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
 ²⁷Then Peter said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?"

Mark 10:35-37
 ³⁵James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You."
 ³⁶And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
 ³⁷They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory."


Jesus then tells them that they do not even know what they are asking for and says they are not prepared to undergo what He will be undergoing.  He then goes on to explain that He is not the one to assign who will sit on His right and left. His words are so harsh that after this we read verse 41.


⁴¹Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John.


Luke 9:46-50


⁴⁶An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.
 ⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,
 ⁴⁸and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great."
 ⁴⁹John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us." 


Obviously John is still focused on who is the greatest, but now it is the 12 being greater than any others.  So Jesus responds.


⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you."



Luke 9:51-56


 ⁵¹When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;
 ⁵²and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
 ⁵³But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.
 ⁵⁴When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
 ⁵⁵But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;

 ⁵⁶for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And they went on to another village.

Luke 22:8-13


 ⁸And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it."

 ⁹They said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare it?"

 ¹⁰And He said to them, "When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters.

 ¹¹"And you shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'

 ¹²"And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there."

 ¹³And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover. 


It appears the whole point of this story is for the benefit of Peter and John to see the miracles that Jesus performs and His command of future events.


John 6:45-46


 ⁶⁴"But there are some of you who do not believe " For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
 ⁶⁵And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."


Notice this verse said that Jesus knew from the beginning who they were, plural, more than one, who did not believe.  Jesus has just told many of his disciples, more than the 12 only, that unless they eat His flesh and drink His blood they will have no eternal life. Several found this statement troubling and left Him as a result. It was after this that Peter made his confession of Jesus being the Christ the Son of God that we talked about earlier. Peter makes this confession but we still do not know if Peter has made this a personal confession or merely a statement. But we will know for sure in our next lesson.



Luke 8:41-42, 49-56



 ⁴¹And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus' feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house;
 ⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him. 


⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, "Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore."
 ⁵⁰But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, "Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well."
 ⁵¹When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother.
 ⁵²Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, "Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep."
 ⁵³And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.
 ⁵⁴He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!"
 ⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.
 ⁵⁶Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.


I find this story especially interesting because Jesus singles out the three disciples. Raises a child from the dead and tells them and the family not to tell anyone. Yet, in the story right in front of this one Jesus casts out demons from a man in front of all the disciples and tells the man to go tell everyone. I believe that Jesus wanted the three, Peter, James and John in this story to see this extra miracle but also knew that they were still not ready to follow Him completely. Their witness of this event was to help strengthen their faith. The family members of the little girl obviously were going to talk because the whole town knew that she had died. It had already been told in the streets, verse 49. How could they not talk about it. So the warning about not telling anyone appears to have been directed at the three disciples. I have just always wrongly assumed that Jesus was talking to the parents since it was in the same sentence.


John 13:5-11


⁵Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
 ⁶So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?"
 ⁷Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter."


Peter does later come to understand the symbolism and importance of Jesus being the one who served. 


 ⁸Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."


If you don't let me do this then you really still don't get it and will not get it.


 ⁹Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head."
 ¹⁰Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
 ¹¹For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."


John 13:36-38


³⁶Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later."
 ³⁷Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You."
 ³⁸Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.

It was Peter James and John who went deeper into the Garden of Gethsemene with Jesus on the night of His betrayal and it was these three that Jesus rebuked for sleeping.

It was Peter who cut off the soldier's ear and Jesus rebuked him and told him to put his sword away because did he not know that Jesus could call a legion of angels to defend Him. How could Isaiah 53:7 be fulfilled if He had allowed His followers to fight?

It was Peter who denied Christ three times before the cock crowed.

It was Peter and John who went to the empty tomb.


It is interesting that Peter, James and John are usually the ones listed throughout scriptures. It is just as interesting to note the scriptures go out of the way so as to not name some of the other disciples? Here is one example.

John 18:15-16

¹⁵Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest,
 ¹⁶but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.

Overall this lesson should gives us a huge amount of reassurance that Jesus has a tremendous amount of patience with us, as we struggle on a daily basis.  We struggle with unbelief that God is not able to handle our little problems and our constant struggles with our own personal sins. Praise God! He never gives up on us no matter how much we hurt Him. We can always come back to Him.

We all grow in our faith. The instant we are saved we are given all that we need as Christians. Our faith, however, grows within us as trials and tribulations come and God gives us a little more faith to trust Him each time. For some reason these three seemed to need a little something more and Jesus took the extra time with them to make sure they completely understood who He was. We will look at them one more time next time as we look closer at the three denials of Christ by Peter and of Christ's reappearing to the disciples at the lake. It is easy for us to look at these three and for that matter all of the disciples and say, why did they not get it. In reality we do the same thing when we doubt God's ability to handle our little problems, when we forget to treat Him with the honor and respect He deserves, when we neglect to study what He teaches us, when we refuse to grow because we are happy with where we are. But God in His infinite wisdom sends trials our way to force us out of our comfort zones to grow our weak faith and draw us closer to Him. As a result we talk to Him in prayer and study His word becoming more like Him. We are just as bad about not "getting it" as the disciples and for me many times even much worse but Jesus is just as patient with me. If you have ever struggled with feeling like you have hurt God too much to be saved, take heart and read these verses again. Some of His closest followers hurt Him often and His patience with them and His desire to see them have true fellowship with Him never wavered.

Feeding the 4000

Instead of making a whole new post I simply added a paragraph to the feeding of the 5000. It actually fits better there and I should have put it there to start with.