Tag: Jesus

It has been six months since John’s last record of Jesus on the shores of Galilee (John 6). During that time, Jesus has been quietly teaching his 12 closest disciples.

Many events have occurred during these six months [6], but there were three significant events that happened in rapid succession. First, Peter confessed, on behalf of the rest of the 12 disciples, that they finally understood who Jesus truly is. He is the Christ (the Messiah) and he is God  (Matt 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21).

Secondly, Jesus delivered news to them that left them devastated. Jesus’ popularity had been growing, with the disciples had looking forward to the approaching kingdom of the Messiah. Instead, Jesus dismissed the crowds and had taken his disciples away to be alone. But then he delivered the most tragic news: He will be rejected. He will be arrested. He will be killed. He will rise again (Matt 16:21-26, Mark 8:31-37, Luke 9:22-25).

This was the first time Jesus told them that the was going to die. The disciples were deeply grieved by this news, and it may have been why Jesus brought his three closest disciples (Peter, James, and John) away to a high mountain. It was on that mountain that they see Jesus shining in brilliant glory and talking with Moses and Elijah (Matt 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36).

Jesus had taken the last six months to be apart with his disciples. He had taught them what would happen to him, and what they would need to expect in order to be his disciples. Now, the time has come to enter back into the controversy. Jesus would take them back to confront the crowds and to offer one more opportunity to believe in him.

Jesus headed South to Jerusalem. It had been at least a year since Jesus was back in Jerusalem (John 5), and now the leaders want to kill him. Their hatred had been festering for the past year, turning to murderous rage. The two opposite religious groups, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, united in their mutual hatred for Jesus.

The Feast of Tabernacles is at hand, one of the three great celebrations on the Jewish calendar (Passover and Pentecost are the other two). It is a time of tremendous joy and feasting as the Jews celebrate their harvest and spend a week in temporary shelters made of Palm branches.

Jesus was the main topic of conversation during this week-long feast, but few believed in him. Even his own brothers did not believe. The people privately debated who he really is, but all public discussion is forbidden. The Jewish leaders did not want any more debate about Jesus. They only wanted to kill him.

Jesus came down in the middle of this week-long feast, showing up in the temple and astonishing the people with his teaching. They were surprised that he taught with authority, yet he has not been trained in any of the rabbi schools. Jesus replied that his teaching is not his own, but it is from God.

In the eyes of the Jewish leaders, Jesus was a lawbreaker. He had healed a man on the Sabbath during his last visit to Jerusalem the previous year. But they were inconsistent with their own laws. Jesus uses circumcision as an example that there are some things which are higher than the Sabbath. 

Every day during this week-long celebration, the priest would leave the temple, fill a golden pitcher with water, and ceremoniously carry back the pitcher and pour the water on the altar. On the final day, the people would bring their palm branches and proceed with the priest as he gathers the water and brings it back to the temple.

It is during this time, on final day of the celebration, that Jesus breaks the silence of the crowd by shouting out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

Jesus has made one more appeal to this unbelieving crowd. The only way to eternal life is do believe in him. The opportunity to come to him will not last much longer. The results were mixed:

• Some wanted him dead
• Some think he has a demon
• Some think he is just a good man
• Some are in awe of him
• Some believe in him

This is a long chapter with several messages that you can personally apply. However, there is one outstanding message that I see across this entire chapter. Jesus was met with opposition through the entire week, yet he continues to offer the invitation. Believe. Believe. Believe in him.

But his invitation also has a warning. The time is short to accept his invitation and to believe in him. Soon, it will be too late. “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”

For those who do not believe in Jesus, I beg you to consider him before it is too late. A time will come where he will no longer keep prompting you.

For those who are enjoying a life of sin, I beg you to let go of the sin before it is too late. You will understand God’s teaching when you are ready to do what he says. But the time is short and soon, it will be too late.

Previous post: The Bread of Life

A farmer went out to sow seeds in his field. Some seeds fell on the path and were eaten by birds. Some seeds fell on rocky ground, where the young plants were withered in the shallow soil. Some seeds fell among weedy soil and were choked out by the weeds. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop. 

Jesus had told this parable to the crowds and then later explained its meaning to his disciples. The different soils were an analogy of how people respond to God’s word. Some refuse the word and with many people it is not possible for the word to grow in their hearts. But there are a few that will be the good soil — those who will take the word and grow. (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15)

John 6 shows an example of the different soils in real life. It starts with the pinnacle of excitement as Jesus had fed a massive crowd (probably about 20,000 people) and they all wanted him to be king. But they start to fall away when Jesus gave them a challenge. Sadly, it is only a few that remain to be the good soil. 

This passage can be best summarized by Jesus’ statement about himself:  “I am the Bread of Life.”

Jesus had fed the crowd the day before and now the people want more. They had tried to make him king and were rejected. Now they have come back to try again. 

Jesus responded simply: they came back for the food, but what they need is eternal life. They need to be born from God.

The rabbis had taught the people that God sets his seal on the one who is truth. Jesus told them that God had sent him and had set his seal of truth on him. They did not need to work but to believe.

The Jews asked Jesus to validate his claims with a sign. According to their traditions, they believed that the true Messiah would provide manna for them, greater than even what was given by Moses. Jesus corrected them that the manna came from God, not from Moses. But manna was only temporary. They need the true bread from heaven which will give eternal life.

Jesus is the true bread. All you need to do is to come to him and believe in him for eternal life. He alone can give eternal life.

This would be simple to understand and believe. But Jesus takes the analogy further. He is the bread of life, and you need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. What does that mean?

The Jewish tradition held that the law and the commandments were the bread and wine for a believing Jew. They had achieved true wisdom when they depended totally on their law. Jesus was saying to this devout Jewish audience to stop looking to the law and their traditions for life, and to instead look to him. They will receive eternal life when they totally depend on him.

They understood it but they did not accept it. It was offensive to them. Given the choice between their traditions and Jesus, many of the disciples left Jesus for their traditions. 

“Here, then, we are at the parting of the two ways; and, just because it was the hour of decision, did Christ so clearly set forth the highest truths concerning Himself, in opposition to the views which the multitude entertained about the Messiah. The result was yet another and a sorer defection. ‘Upon this many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.’” [1]

Previous post: How do you respond to crisis?

Who is Jesus?

I started out this study of John’s Gospel account with this same question: “Who is Jesus?“.

In only five chapters so far, Jesus’ actions have demonstrated who he is:

• He has superior knowledge. He knows Philip, Peter. And Nathanael in John 1. He knows the Samaritan woman in John 4.
• He has power over natural elements in John 2.
• He has authority over the temple worship in John 2.
• He knows more than the greatest teachers in John 3.
• He is greater than John the Baptist in John 3.
• He breaks down prejudice and social stigma in John 4.
• His power is not confined by distance in John 4.
• He is above superstitions and religious rituals in John 5.

 Jesus has come with a specific message: There is a spiritual world beyond what we see here (John 3:1-15, John 4:7-15). Jesus is the Messiah and we need to believe in him (John 1:12, John 2:11, John 2:23-25, John 3:14-18, John 3:36, John 4:41-42, John 4:48, John 4:53).

But why should you believe in Jesus? Jesus takes the time in this chapter (John 5) to give one of the clearest and most direct reasons for why you should believe in him. He also warns you that if you don’t believe in him, you are separated from God and are headed for judgment.

Jesus has just healed a man and told him to “work” on the Sabbath. This draws an immediate response from the Jewish leaders, who are angered at him for breaking their Sabbath traditions. And what is Jesus’ response?

 He agrees with them. 

But Jesus then tells them that he can do what he wants on the Sabbath because he is God!

Jesus shows them in specific ways that he is equal to God. He then shows them the evidence of why they should believe him. He finally concludes by condemning them for refusing to believe, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

Jesus claims that God is his father. The Jews fully understood that this means that he is equal to God. Being the son does not mean that he is any less than God the Father. It means that they are “of the same essence”, or that they are equal. See below for more detailed examples showing that the son is equal to the father.

 It is important to note that this is a new concept to the Jews. They knew that God was one (Deut 6:4). Although God is referenced in the Old Testament in the plural (e.g. Genesis 1:26), the Old Testament Jews had no understanding of the Trinity. Even the disciples had trouble understanding this (Matt 16:16-17). Therefore, Jesus starts or by going into great detail how the Father and the Son are equal. The Father and the Son are distinct persons, yet they are equals and are completely unified:

• The Son is equal to the Father in his works.
• There are no secrets between the Father and the Son.
• The Son is equal to the Father in giving life.
• The Son is equal to the Father in authority and judgment. 

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Jesus interjects his talk on judgment with a final appeal to believe. Those who believe will be rescued from the coming judgment.

A time is coming when all people will be raised from the dead. Those who believe will be raised again to life. Those who do not believe will be raised again to judgement.

Jesus then gives evidence that what he is saying is true:

• John the Baptist spoke of him. They followed John the Baptist but refuse to believe when he spoke of Jesus Christ.
• Jesus’ miracles authenticated who he was. They all witnessed his miracles yet refused to believe his message.
• God the Father has himself spoken about Jesus through the Old Testament scriptures. They study the scriptures but they don’t know God because they missed his message about the Messiah.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Jesus delivers a final condemnation on the unbelieving Jews. They know the facts, but they don’t know God. They don’t love God because they are caught up with themselves. They have seen the evidence and they understand what Jesus is saying, but they simply refuse to believe!

It is easy for us to know a lot of facts and details about Jesus Christ. We can learn a lot but our knowledge will never give us life. We need to believe in Jesus Christ and submit to him. That will give us life! 

Previous Post: Can You Have Too Much Faith?

“You just need to have faith!”

This is a common sentiment that we use when people are doubting, are in trouble, or are facing problems in their lives.  It is a “nice” and well-meaning thought.

But as I am studying through the life of Jesus Christ, I am struck by the fact that Jesus encounters people with too much faith!

What is the problem?  They have a lot of faith, but in the wrong object!

As we study the scene in John 5, we see that Jesus encounters two groups of people.  Both of these groups have too much faith in the wrong object.  Both of these groups are lost.

The first group of lost are the lowly, the outcast, and the hopeless.  You cannot consider these people without evoking pity.  They are the invalids with no hope of recovery.  The text says they consist of blind, lame, and paralyzed (John 5:3). 

They have placed their faith in a bubbling pool.

Their only hope is that when the pool bubbles, the first one in the water gets healed.  We have no record that this has ever worked.

The second group are the leaders and the teachers.  They are the pillars of society, like Nicodemus in John 2. They know the Old Testament scriptures and several more of their own laws.

They have placed their faith in their rituals.

Their hope is that God will think well of them for diligently observing their rituals.  They have hundreds of a laws for what they can and cannot do on a Sabbath.  They are so caught up in their rituals that they completely miss God as he walks by.  Instead, they want to kill him.

This is a turning point in Jesus’ ministry.  From now on, he will have an organized opposition wherever he goes.  This opposition will continue to grow until Jesus is crucified on a Roman cross, only two years from this point.

Jesus goes to the invalids at the pool and heals one man.  He then goes to the temple, among the leaders, and offers life to both the man and all of the people.

Having faith is good, but only if it is faith in the correct object.  Jesus’ words to the man who had been healed were to “stop sinning”.

“The warning was they his tragic life of 38 years was no comparison to the doom of hell. Jesus is interested in not merely healing a person’s body. Far more important is the healing of his soul from sin.” [4]

Previous post: What will it take to believe?

What will it take to believe?

It is easy to follow a celebrity or a famous person who seems to have it all together.  It is easy to listen to a speaker when they present a great argument.  But when do we truly believe? 

As it often happens in our lives, we find out the most at a time of crisis.

As I have been studying through Jesus’ life, he has just completed one of the most successful mission trips of his ministry.  Jesus has gone to a hated village of foreigners and spoken to an outcast of the town.  After two days, both the outcast woman and most of the town are believers in him.

Jesus now heads north to Galilee and is welcomed gladly.  He is the great celebrity who has come home! His popularity from Judea has only increased as he returns to Galilee.

But despite the crowds and the large welcome, Jesus knows that his popularity is based on excitement and not true belief in him. This is the same shallow belief that he encountered in Judea (John 2:23-25).

Jesus returns to the town of Cana.  Many would certainly have remembered his miracle at the wedding the previous year, where he turned the water to wine.  And there, in the evening, a royal official comes up the road from Capernaum, and starts begging.

This man, the royal official, has a young son who is dying.  None of the man’s wealth or power can help him now, and so he comes to this rabbi to beg for his son’s life.

Jesus, the one who loves the world and is the example of compassion, responds with a rebuke: “Unless you [all] see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

Why does Jesus make such an insensitive remark? There are three important points to remember here:

• First, Jesus does help the father. The father has very little faith, but his weak faith is in Jesus. Jesus meets the man in his weak state and pulls him up to something higher.

• Second, Jesus is about to show everyone that he is not limited by distance. This is completely unknown to the Jews (and the disciples), but Jesus does not need to be physically present to heal the boy.

• Finally, and most importantly, Jesus is showing that the spirit world is most important. This is the same lesson to Nicodemus and to the Samaritan woman. He can easily heal the physical sufferings of the boy, but the greater concern is their unbelief. 

The father pleads respectfully (“sir”), and Jesus tells him to go and that his son will live. The man heads back (either that night or the next morning). His servants meet him on the way reporting that the son is recovering.  They compare times to find out that the son recovered at the exact time that Jesus said he would get better.

The religious, devout people around him still refuse to believe in Jesus.  Yet this father has come face to face with the Savior of the World.  He believed in his works enough to seek him out and ask for help.  He believed in his words enough to trust him when Jesus told him to “Go; your son will live”.  But the man returned home believing in Jesus himself.  He believed in his person [2].

It is not enough to just believe his works.  It is not enough to just believe his words.  You need to believe in his person as the Son of God and Saviour of the world (John 20:30-31; John 4:41-42).

1 Corinthians 1:22-24
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Previous post: The Outcast