At this point in Jesus’ discussion with his disciples, he makes a special reference to both his death and his resurrection, saying in a very short time the world will no longer see him, vis-à-vis he will be slain and buried, but they will see him. That is, he will rise from the dead and they will witness the fact that he arose from the dead, but the world will not be given that privilege (John 14:19). Moreover, Jesus also disclosed in what manner his disciples’ greater work (John 14:12) would be manifest to the believer. Because Jesus lives, because he was raised from the dead and declared to be the Son of God, they, vis-à-vis those who have believed him, will also live. Thus, Jesus pointed to their own resurrection or new birth (cp. John 3:3) in the spirit. Read the rest of this entry »
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John doesn’t mention anything about Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, except to record what immediately occurred afterward, while they were still in the upper room. The Synoptics don’t mention much else, except to document the passing of the bread and wine around the table, which was done at least twice, once before the meal began (Luke 22:14-20), and the second while the meal was in progress (Matthew 26:26-29). Moreover, the Synoptics record that Jesus announced he would be betrayed by one of the Twelve. He mentioned his betrayal, while they were eating, probably twice, but John’s Gospel records Jesus saying he’d be betrayed by one of them at least one time after the dinner was finished (John 12:18, 21). It is important, when studying what occurred in Jesus’ ministry to consider not only what one witness emphasizes in his own narrative, but what all four record. John is the only one of the four that documents Jesus’ long discussions with his disciples after the meal, and only here do we find Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Read the rest of this entry »
These are the final words the Gospel narrator has Jesus say to the public. Scholars don’t agree as to where they fit, or when they were said. Some even believe they are the narrator’s words but more or less accurately sum up what Jesus had said. The two best positions, I believe, are that they really belong with Jesus’ departure in verse-36 but are separated from Jesus’ other final words by the Gospel narrator’s commentary on how Jesus affected his hearers. The other position held by scholars that I believe also has merit is that these are Jesus’ words (John 12:44-50), but they were spoken at various times during his ministry, and the Gospel narrator chose them to sum up what Jesus preached publicly. They characterize believers (John 12:44-45), sum up the end of unbelievers (John 12:45-47) and impart the tenet around which both believers and unbelievers revolve (John 12:48-50).[1]Read the rest of this entry »
In the previous study we came to understand that the death of Lazarus was actually the result of Jesus’ prayer to the Father. I don’t mean to say Jesus actually prayed for his death, but most likely he asked God to let him raise a dead man to life. The reason behind this was, he considered many of the rulers who actually believe he was the Messiah and a teacher sent by God (John 3:1-2; cp. John 10:19-21), didn’t really believe his message of the Gospel of a spiritual Kingdom, one that cannot be perceived through man’s five senses (John 3:3; Luke 17:20-21). They waited for a righteous general of sorts who would rid Israel of their enemies. Their worldview was God intended to raise up such a physical kingdom, but who could embrace or respect a Kingdom they couldn’t see? What kind of kingdom is that among such powerful nations as Rome? It was in this context that Jesus prayed, prior to Lazarus’ sickness and death, and Jesus knew God always hears such prayers (cp. John 11:41-42) that would bring honor to him and the one, whom he sent (John 11:4). Read the rest of this entry »
In the previous study we considered a door or, as some translations have it, the gate to the sheep and a doorkeeper (or gatekeeper), and we found this was spiritually discerned as the heart (door) and will (doorkeeper) of the believer (John 10:2-3). However, in John 10:7 Jesus mentions another door or gate, and he claims that he, Jesus, is that Gate (or Door; John 10:7), but what does this mean? In the context of the parable being spiritual language about the Kingdom of God, a spiritual Kingdom (John 3:3), what would it look like to enter such a kingdom, where Jesus is its Gate (John 14:6)? Read the rest of this entry »
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Since John 7:14 to this point, we have been considering what the Lord said and did during the season of the Feast of Tabernacles, 29 AD. In fact, most of what is recorded by this Gospel narrator was said and done on the Last Great Day of those annual holy days occurring in the seventh month of that year.[1] The record continues without a break and without any reference to another day. Therefore, it is natural to assume what the narrator records in John 10:1 to 10:21 also occurred on the Last Great Day, during its closing hours (sunset to sunset). So, Jesus had been speaking to the Pharisees who were with him. They may have been among those who were willing to believe he was the Messiah, but were hesitant to accept everything Jesus taught (cp. John 9:40). Jesus had just said that he had come into the world to give light to the spiritually blind and to disclose that those who thought they were able to see, were, in fact spiritually blind (John 9:39). When the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ conclusion, he told them they continue to be blind, because they won’t admit that all men, including those who think they see, are really spiritually blind. Read the rest of this entry »
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An American attorney and author, Mike Godwin, is credited with what is known as Godwin’s Law, short for Godwin’s Rule of Nazi Analogies. The law or rule asserts: the longer the discussion (regardless of subject matter or gravity), the more likely a Nazi comparison becomes, and with long enough discussions, it is a certainty. Of course, Nazi’s didn’t exist in the first century AD, but the rule for an ad hominem slur did exist, though probably not known or understood. The longer the Jewish authorities confronted Jesus, the more often their discussions with him descended into ad hominem remarks, and this one was no different. In John 8:48 they accused Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a demon. Since they had no good reply to deny Jesus’ claims, they began to attack his character. This sort of thing had been done throughout history by weak minded folk, Godwin’s Law notwithstanding. Read the rest of this entry »
According to the Gospel of John, Jesus stood up on the last day of the feast, the Great Day of the feast, and declared that, if a man thirst, he should come to him. The thirsty should come to Jesus, because out of his (Jesus’) innermost being would flow living waters to him that believes (John 7:37-38). This is very close to what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well. In other words, whoever drinks of the water Jesus offers shall never thirst, because it, vis-à-vis the Fountain/Christ in us (cp. Colossians 1:27), shall be a well in him (the believer), springing up to everlasting life (John 4:13-14). Read the rest of this entry »
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If there is no challenge, everything remains the same. If no one challenges the leader in a sport competition, the champion remains uncontested. The same would be true in the political arena; a party that never undergoes a challenge will never be defeated, and the existing state of affairs would continue, as long as everyone is satisfied with the status quo. Similarly, whatever one accepts as true, remains as one believes it to be, as long as it goes unchallenged by the critic. Things change only when whatever is accepted is contested. Read the rest of this entry »
The Gospel of John focuses on seven signs or miracles[1] that would prove Jesus is the Messiah, whom he claimed to be. As the writer of John builds upon each sign, he describes how they were received by those who witnessed them. Some believed, but others either misunderstood and didn’t believe or disregarded the sign and rejected him on the ground of the Mosaic Law, or more accurately how they interpreted that law. The first sign occurred in Cana, where Jesus changed water into wine, and there followed belief and unbelief. Next there was the healing of the nobleman’s son over some distance, followed by the healing of the man who was paralyzed for 38 years. The fourth sign was the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 in Bethsaida, and now we come to the fifth sign, which is the healing of the man born blind in chapter nine, but John begins this record in chapter seven with a discussion about whether or not Jesus should go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10). Read the rest of this entry »
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The first time it is recorded that the people murmured against Moses, after he led them out of bondage, was at Marah, almost immediately after he had led them through the Red Sea (Exodus 15:24-25). They murmured against him, because they had no water, for the water there was bitter. Therefore, Moses sweetened the water. Next, they murmured, because they were hungry and had no food, so the Lord rained bread (manna) from heaven (Exodus 16:2-4, 15; cp. John 6:31). A little later they murmured against him, once again, at a place in Rephidim, which Moses called Massah and Miribah, meaning strife, because the people had no water. Therefore, the Lord had Moses strike a rock in Horeb, and immediately drinking water came forth (Exodus 17:3-7). So, the people murmured over the lack of food and water to sustain life. Whenever they believed their lives were in danger, they murmured against Moses. Read the rest of this entry »
At this point in John’s Gospel, we have discovered that John the Baptizer had been slain, and Jesus had fed a great multitude of folks in Bethsaida, the other side of the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum. Jesus had been conducting his ministry by sending his disciples out two by two, preaching the Gospel and healing the sick throughout the cities of Galilee. Herod had heard of what Jesus had been doing in his realm and wanted to see him. However, presently, his interest in Jesus was merely one of curiosity. Nevertheless, the great multitude, composed of about 5000 men, was made up largely of John’s disciples, and they wanted Jesus to avenge John’s death and punish Herod. In other words, they accepted the idea that Jesus was the Messiah. After all, John had pointed to Jesus, identifying him as such, but now they wanted Jesus to behave like their savior by avenging John’s death. The problem facing Jesus at this point was many folks were willing to believe he was the Messiah, but for the wrong reasons. They expected the Messiah to do things Jesus had no intention of doing. Read the rest of this entry »
When folks read John 5:22, they usually think of the so-called last judgment, but Jesus isn’t speaking in those terms, and, in fact, never really does. We formulate opinions of what Jesus says, and then we go about proving those opinions, rather than simply believing what Jesus really says. Jesus is the Image of God, and we are supposed to be his, vis-à-vis Jesus’ images, which, if we are, we would reveal the Father, as well. Nevertheless, we often have trouble saying and doing what we see Jesus saying and doing, because the word of God spoken out of context, is no longer the word of God. If the word of God is used by men to say or do something the Lord never really intended, how does that reflect or image what the Lord said or did? Hence, although we quote the text accurately, we are not applying it accurately. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the tragedies I’ve discovered and had to deal with in my walk with Jesus is that many folks, even good respectable people, don’t seek the truth. Instead, they take comfort in believing they already know the truth, and they don’t wish to be confused with the facts. Folks simply want to believe they’ve been taught the truth as a child or as an adult by folks they love and respect. They don’t want to believe that **they** could possibly believe a lie and have come under the influence of false doctrine. Perhaps, one of the most enlightening and life changing experiences for me was to discover my faith was overcome by a man, and, indeed, I did fall for his false doctrine: hook, line and sinker. I know how easy it is to believe a lie and how difficult it is to embrace the truth in the wake of persecution. Read the rest of this entry »
In John 5:6 Jesus asked an impotent man if he wanted to be made whole. Why wouldn’t the man wish to be made whole? However, Jesus’ question goes much deeper than a simple question. The man was crippled for 38 years. He claimed he had no one who would help him (John 5:7), but obviously his basic needs were met by someone. Therefore, Jesus asked: “Do you want to be made well?” He was pointing out that wholeness would bring with it the new responsibility to care for oneself. Wholeness would bring with it great and probably unanticipated changes. “Do you want this, or are you content with others caring for you?” Jesus’ question can be turned inward: “Do I want to be made whole, for I am the man! Read the rest of this entry »
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