Blindly Riding the Hobby Horse
November 27, 2019 at 10:48 am | Posted in Biblical Eyesight, John | Leave a commentTags: commentary on John, healing on the Sabbath, Jesus heals the blind, John 9, Pharisees, Sabbath, spiritual blindness, Sunday School lessons on John, the Lord of the Sabbath
They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
John 9:13
The reason that the man’s acquaintances brought him to the Pharisees after they saw that he had been healed of lifelong blindness was probably because such an astounding miracle required, they thought, some type of religious explanation. Of course, the Pharisees had a special hobby horse they liked to ride called “How many ways can people violate the Sabbath?”
And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
John 9:14-15
They were interested in the method of healing used because the Pharisees were experts at finding Sabbath-violations. If Jesus mixed water with dirt to make clay (mud) they could accuse him of “kneading” on the Sabbath, and people weren’t allowed to knead dough for bread on the Sabbath. It was a stretch, but they were already biased against Jesus and looking for a way to say that, even though He had miraculous healing powers, He couldn’t really be sent from God because He was a sinful Sabbath-breaker.
Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
John 9:16
No Christian has complete and total victory over sin in every single area of his or her life – at least not all the time. What’s more, many of us would admit to struggling with certain sins on a daily basis, and having some particular types of sins which have given us trouble for years. However, I’m guessing that there are at least a few categories of sin where God has given you significant victories, and possibly some where you never faced great temptation to begin with, and that you really can’t understand how some people can sin so egregiously in those areas. Perhaps people who are compulsive liars really get on your nerves (the 9th Commandment). Maybe it’s children who rebel openly against their parents (the 5th Commandment). What about people who steal other people’s property (the 8th Commandment)? Are they the ones who really get your goat (figuratively if not literally!)?
For the Pharisees who opposed Jesus during His earthly ministry, their “pet peeve” seems to have been people who were lax in their observance of the Sabbath day (4th Commandment). They were so keen to prevent the Sabbath commandment from being violated that they fashioned a bunch of additional cautionary rules around it to keep people from even coming close to breaking it. Maybe they originally had good intentions, but the problem was that, over time, they considered these man-made safeguards to be co-equal with the Law of God itself. In other words, they began to worship the Sabbath itself rather than the Lord of the Sabbath.
Let us not fall into this same trap. If you are exceedingly honest, you probably have a bias against liars. If you have worked hard to provide for your family, you probably have a strong dislike for thieves. And if you respect and honor your own parents, you might have little patience for rebellious, sarcastic, and disrespectful children. However, we must remember not to worship honesty, hard work, or filial respect. Instead, we worship the God of truth, provision, and authority, and, if He has communicated those attributes to us, we recognize them as gifts to bring Him glory, not as proud accomplishments with which to demean others.
The Pharisees found themselves in a quandary, though, because, if they claimed that sinners could not do miracles, then the fact of the miracle must mean that Jesus WAS NOT a sinner.
They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
John 9:17
The blind man had not yet come to saving faith in Jesus as the Son of God, but He clearly knew that Jesus was the “real deal” and had at least as much spiritual power as a true prophet from God.
But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
John 9:18
The Jewish religious leaders suspected that maybe the man had been able to see at some point in his life, so the healing was not really miraculous. Only his parents could testify that he had truly been BORN blind.
And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
John 9:19-21
This does not tells us the age of the man who had been healed, but it does tell us he was at least 13, because that was considered to be “of age” back then. A 13 year old boy/man could testify legally in court. His parents didn’t want to get in trouble with the Pharisees, but they did confirm that he was born blind before passing the buck by saying, “He can speak for himself about how it happened and what He thinks of Jesus.”
These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
John 9:22
This lets us know that the Pharisees were not only actively plotting the death of Jesus, but had instituted serious persecution against those who would worship and follow Him. Truly following Jesus has always been costly.
Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
John 9:23-25
The Pharisees then turned on the healed man again, trying to get him to denounce Jesus, but you can see he was starting to suspect their ulterior motives.
Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
John 9:26-27
This was a very sarcastic response because obviously the Pharisees did not want to be Jesus’s disciples, but it was like saying, “Why are you so interested in Him? Is it because deep down you know He might be the Messiah?” This made them very angry.
Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
John 9:28-30
It sounds like the healed man was really having fun with them now. They were claiming to be the representatives of Moses, but they didn’t even recognize that Moses testified about a greater Prophet who would be sent from God.
Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
John 9:31-34
This sums up the Pharisees’ biggest problem: the prideful denial that they were born in sins. All of us were born in sin, and Jesus will forgive us, but the condition is that we have to recognize that we are sinners and always have been, and therefore we NEED to be forgiven and saved. The Pharisees could not or would not do this, so they could not “see’ who Jesus really was.
Here’s Mud in Your Eye
November 13, 2019 at 5:04 pm | Posted in Biblical Eyesight, John | 2 CommentsTags: commentary on John, Father Abraham, Genesis 49, Jesus heals the blind, John 8, John 9, spit, spit in your eye, Sunday School lessons on John
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
John 8:28
Historically, there have been great blessings attached to being Jewish, tempered by great persecution. (Haman and Hitler are two obvious examples.) The Abrahamic Covenant or blessing has been their great claim to God’s favor. Christian children today are taught to sing, “Father Abraham has many sons,” and challenged with the question, “Are you one of them?” The Jewish religious leaders who confronted Jesus would have enthusiastically answered, “Yes, we are!” but were they really?
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
John 8:36-45
One of the things I often hear is that, “We are all God’s children,” or some similar sentiment. This is true only in the limited sense that all people are created by God and bear His image. Jesus, who often gets a bad rap these days as sort of a touchy-feely, mealy-mouthed, self-help guru, was, in reality, not averse to sharing some blunt truth when called for, and that’s what He did in John 8:44, telling the people who opposed His ministry that they were children of the devil!
Your conduct determines your spiritual paternity. Your freedom (from sin) determines your spiritual paternity. Whose Word you believe and obey determines your spiritual paternity.
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 8:58-69
There is no doubt Jesus claimed to be God, and His enemies knew it.
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
John 9:1-2
What is the relationship of sin to physical illness or lifelong infirmities?
1. They are not always related specifically in each individual case. A person’s illness or infirmity may not be caused by his specific sin.
2. Sometimes, though, they are directly related.
a. They may be related as a “natural” cause and effect. For example, fornication may result in syphilis or some other sexually transmitted disease, or chronic drunkenness may result in cirrhosis of the liver.
b. In other cases, someone’s illness or infirmity may be allowed or inflicted upon him supernaturally by God as a an act of chastening or punishment. As finite human beings, not privy to the secret will of God, we can not know when this is the case, so we do not diagnose a person’s illness or infirmity as God’s punishment or chastisement, even though we remain aware that it is a possibility.
3. In a larger sense, all illnesses and injuries and infirmities are “caused” by sin as a result of the Fall and Curse which God pronounced upon mankind after Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden.
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
John 9:6-7
Jesus made a mud pack from the dust of the earth (possibly reminiscent of the way God had used dirt to make Adam). Sometimes the mind makes strange connections. Years ago a singer named April March wrote an English translation of an old French song called “Laisse Tomber les Filles,” which means “Leave the Girls Alone.” It’s a song about a womanizer finally getting his comeuppance at the hands of the ladies he had used or mistreated. The English version has a line that goes, “You’re gonna see the reason why, When they’re spittin’ in your eye.” There is also a common expression heard in old movies from the 30s and 40s, in which characters about to throw back a shot of alcohol often propose an odd toast: “Here’s mud in your eye!” For some reason these weird references are what popped into my head when I was studying John 9:6.
Jesus, who had the power to heal with a mere word or touch, chose on at least three occasions in the Bible (including Mark 7:33 and 8:23) to heal people using His own saliva. In John 9:6 he combined it with dirt to make a mud mask. Why do you think that He did this, and what can we learn from it? We can ask the Holy Spirit to “illuminate” (open our eyes to) the Word and help us.
Here are some possible reasons why He may have used spit:
1. To demonstrate His reversal of “curses.” Spitting on someone has always been seen as an extreme insult or way of cursing someone. Jesus is the One Whose blessing “reverses the curses.”
2. To show the Jewish religious leaders that His true purity did not care about their ceremonial taboos against bodily excretions.
After applying the mud to the man’s eyes, Jesus “sent” – as Jesus has been explaining that He was “sent” from the Father – him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is connected with the Old Testament prophecy of Christ as “Shiloh.”
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Genesis 49:10
Prophetic Foot Washing
October 30, 2019 at 9:08 am | Posted in John | Leave a commentTags: Christian service, commentary on John, foot-washing, humility, humility of Jesus, John 13, Judas, Psalm 41, Sunday School lessons on John
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
John 13:1-4
As Jesus disrobed and took on the appearance and attitude of the basest of servants – the lowliest of the low – He demonstrated humility to a shocking degree.
After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
John 13:5-7
The foot-washing demonstration by Jesus was done for many reasons, but chiefly it was a preview and illustrated sermon about what He would soon do to an even greater degree in His Curcifixion.
Secondarily, it was an example of how His disciples were to love and serve one another, but Jesus was not instituting a ritual or ordinance to be observed as a ceremony in the Church.
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
John 13:14-16
Jesus used a quote from Psalm 41:9 to let the Disciples know that Judas’s betrayal would not catch Him off-guard or in any way be a surprise to Him.
I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
John 13:18-19
As you study the prophetic demonstration whereby Jesus washed His Disciples’ feet, I hope you will see not only an encouragement to love and serve your fellow church members with humility, but that you will also have a greater appreciation for the amazing extent to which the Savior humbled Himself in His service on the Cross.
From Dark Death to Living Light
October 10, 2019 at 4:21 pm | Posted in John | 1 CommentTags: Biblical seeds, commentary on John, Ephesians 2, Exodus 20, good deeds, Jesus Christ, John 12, John 3, seeds, Sunday School lessons on John
Jesus, having learned of a contingent of gentiles who wanted an audience with Him as He made His way to Jerusalem with His followers and those waving palm branches, began to explain that His death would be the necessary fulfillment of all that He came to do.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
John 12:24
A kernel of wheat – a seed – must be buried away, in the dark, alone, in order to fulfill its purpose, and in its “death” it brings forth not only new life, but “much fruit.” This is a key New Testament theme, present in the Old Testament, but now revealed in a greater light. In order to bring forth fruit to the glory of God, followers of Jesus must die to self, both at the moment of salvation, and in ongoing service throughout our lives.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
John 12:25
It’s not that we hate life itself; it’s that we hate the life that our flesh considers “ours.” We receive a new kind of life – eternal life, “God life” – that is directed unto the service and glorification of God, and the service of others, not self-service. This way, people will recognize God’s greatness and goodness in deeds that He inspires and empowers us to do. This hearkens all the way back to John 3.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 3:19-21, emphasis added
It also foreshadows Ephesians 2’s great statement spelling out the distinction between working BECAUSE OF salvation, rather than working FOR salvation.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
John 12:27
This sounds similar to the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “If it be possible let this cup pass from Me, but nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done.”
Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
John 12:28 (emphasis added)
“Father, glorify Thy name.” This should be our prayer in even our most extreme trials.
God had already gloried His own name through Christ, primarily through His miracles, and, secondarily, through Christ’s perfect obedience and consistent attribution of His own actions and words as being the same as God’s actions and words. “I will glorify it again” points directly to the Cross.
The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
John 12:29-30
The people did not have ears to hear God’s voice. It sounded like thunder, reminiscent of God’s revelation at Mt. Sinai:
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
Exodus 20:18-19
This was also a fulfillment of several prophecies throughout Isaiah about God increasing the inability of people who would reject His servant to hear or understand His Words and His teachings, which prompted the Holy Spirit to cause John to close out Chapter 12 with a theological treatise on the cause of the people’s unbelieving response to three-plus years of Jesus’s hands-on in-person ministry, miracles, and manifestation among them:
But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
John 12:37, emphasis added
Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
John 12:44, emphasis added
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
John 12:46, emphasis added
The Door and the Good Shepherd
September 23, 2019 at 3:10 pm | Posted in John | 2 CommentsTags: Biblical shepherding, commentary on John, evil shepherds, Ezekiel 34, Jesus the Good Shepherd, John 10, Sunday School lessons on John, the I AM statements in John, the I AM statments of Jesus
John 10 focuses on the imagery of shepherding – literal shepherding, involving shepherds, sheep, and sheepfolds.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
John 10:1
Back then sheep were brought into an enclosed area at the end of each day. They could be inspected for injuries or illness or parasites. They could be counted. This area kept them safe at night, from wolves and from thieves.
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
John 10:2-3
The porter would only allow true shepherds into the sheepfold, but, even once inside, the shepherd would call his own sheep out from the other shepherds’ sheep, and his own sheep would recognize his voice. They would not follow another shepherd.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
John 10:4-5
This was a parable that Jesus taught, keeping in mind that He had just healed a man who was subsequently kicked out of the Temple by his former religious “shepherds.”
This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
John 10:6-9
This is the third of seven widely recognized “I AM” statement in John. Previously He had said, “I AM the Bread of Life” and “I AM the Light of the World.” Now He told them “I AM the Door.” He is the way by which His true sheep leave whatever worldly shepherd or system has been pretending to care for them and come to Him as their true Shepherd. He then leads them into a new “sheepfold,” His Church, and continues to lead them “in and out,” as He leads them into church to be nourished and equipped to serve, and to be cared for when they are sick or hurt, then leads them back out to serve Him in the world. They learn to recognize His voice and follow Him wherever He leads. He is the only “door” by which His sheep can get into Heaven.
The fourth “I AM” statement follows right after the third:
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10:11
Jesus is the ultimate paragon for what it means to truly be a shepherd. Unlike an earthly shepherd, He not only cared for, protected, nourished, cleaned, and faced danger for, His sheep, but He lay down His life for His sheep. He is a Shepherd that can not be truly emulated, but, just as the Old Testament prophecies foretold the necessity of the water-spirit birth, and the meeting of God and man in a greater Tabernacle/Temple, and the need for bread that did not merely sustain, but gave eternal life, and the need for living water that did not merely quench thirst, but became a well springing up into eternal life, so the evil shepherds of God’s people are contrasted with a “good” and great Shepherd who is WORTHY to be emulated by all who would care for God’s people spiritually.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Ezekiel 34:1-16
Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
September 9, 2019 at 5:30 pm | Posted in John | 2 CommentsTags: Catholic mass, commentary on John, communion, Eucharist, Feast of Tabernacles, John 6, John 7, Lord's supper, Sunday School lessons on John
Jesus’s statements in John Chapter 6 about eating His flesh and drinking His blood (vv. 51-57) are taken by some people to be literal rather than metaphorical. This leads them to the conclusion that what we call the “Lord’s Supper” or “Communion,” or what our Catholic friends call the “Eucharist” or “Mass,” should be considered a “sacrament” (something that infuses supernatural grace into the participants) or “sacerdotal” (something that requires a special blessing by a priest in order to be effective), and that the eating of bread and drinking of the fruit of the vine is an ex opere operato (literally, “by the working of the works”) experience, meaning that the ceremony itself carries its own spiritual power within it. The correct view of Jesus’s “I AM the Bread of Life” discourse is that He was using a metaphor rather than instituting a literal rite necessary for true salvation by a mixture of works and grace.
And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
John 6:65-66
Out of the 12 capital D Disciples, all 12 were chosen to literally “follow” Jesus, but only 11 would turn out to be truly given by God to the Son.
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
John 6:67-71
John Chapter 7 describes Jesus’s attendance at the Feast of Tabernacles.
Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.
John 7:2
The Feast of Tabernacles was the most popular of the three yearly Jewish “pilgrimage” feasts. The other two were the feast of Passover (which celebrated the liberation from Egypt and the barley harvest) and the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (which conincided with the wheat harvest). The Feast of Tabernacles was at the time of the grape and olive harvest, in the fall of the year. People would travel to Jerusalem or Judea and build little tabernacles out of twigs and sticks. (Obviously they were not afraid of the big bad wolfthe big bad wolf – just kidding.) The feast would last for seven days, on the last of which a big ceremony would take place featuring the lighting of a lampstand and the pouring out of water. You can imagine the significance in John’s Gospel of Jesus’s parallels as the light of the world and the living water, but Jesus’s earthly brothers didn’t care about this. They challenged Him to go there and take advantage of the opportunity to show His power and gain followers – not believing at that time in His Deity, but seeing Him as an opportunist with His own (apart from God the Father’s) agenda.
His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
John 7:3
Jesus’s response to them was very similar to what He told Mary at the wedding in Cana when she suggested that He solve the wine shortage problem with His power.
Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
John 7:6
Jesus may have been chiding them to a degree in suggesting that they cared not for God’s timing, and, as ordinary and inconsequential unbelievers, they could do what they wanted when they wanted. Jesus never denied His Deity – although He often kept it on the downlow – but when challenged directly in a non-dangerous setting He would draw a clear delineation between acting at the request of men as opposed to acting only in strict accord with God the Father’s will… even when what He intended to do did happen to coincide with what was being requested.
When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
John 7:9-10
What follows in most of the rest of John Chapter 7 is a pattern of Jesus teaching in the Temple during the feast, the opposition or anger or confusion that His teaching caused, and the narrative of the Jewish religious leaders trying to figure how to put a stop to it.
Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
John 7:19
They acted as though the held Moses and the Law “he” gave (God actually gave it through Moses) in high regard, yet they neither understood it, nor applied it consistently, nor believed its true purpose: pointing to the Savior Who now stood in their midst. The Law said “thou shalt not kill” and they were actively trying to kill the personal embodiment of the Law itself. They were mad that Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and told Him to carry his mat, yet when a baby was scheduled to be circumcised (which was a law prior to Moses) fell on the Sabbath they did something more labor intensive than carrying a mat. Plus, the whole point of circumcision was to make the person a part of the Covenant family – to make him (ironically) wholly pure.
The people were starting to wonder, if Jesus was such a blasphemer, why didn’t the authorities go ahead and arrest him and put Him to death?
Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?
John 7:25-26
Not only were they not arresting Him, but they didn’t even appear to be trying to shout Him down or shut Him up: “Is it possible they are not so sure He’s a blasphemer, and that He really might be Who He says He is?”
Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
John 7:27
But the counterargument was: “Nah, the Messiah is supposed to show up out of nowhere, or at least remain hidden until He announces His arrival in Jerusalem, but we know Jesus! He’s just the ordinary son of a carpenter and His pregnant-before-marriage wife… Pfft, from Nazareth, of all places, too!”
Ulimately the Pharisees did attempt to arrest Him.
The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.
John 7:32
In response, Jesus messed with their heads, by telling them that He would go on the lam to a place where they could never find Him.
Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
John 7:33-34
This is classic Gospel-of-John irony. “Where would He be going that we can’t follow?” the Pharisees asked. Later He would tell His Disciples something similar, but then He would be talking about going to Heaven to prepare for their own reception. Here, though it escapes their comprehension, the Jewish leaders are being told that they can’t come where He is going because they are unbelievers and have no part with the God Who they were so proud of knowing in comparison to the gentiles/heathen.
Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?
John 7:35
Jesus will receive only those who “believe on Him” and Who He really is.
Witnesses to the Light
August 1, 2019 at 5:04 pm | Posted in John | 4 CommentsTags: Biblical light, commentary on John, deity of Christ, deity of Jesus, Jesus the Light, John 8, Light of the World, Sunday School lessons on John, witness testimony
At the Feast of Tabernacles the Lord Jesus preached and taught among the people, while dealing at the same time with the Pharisees’ attempts to have a death warrant executed against Him. It’s not hard to imagine the drama and suspense that surrounded Him during those seven or eight days. Everything He said must have carried tremendous impact (John 7:46). The feast culminated with a big ceremony in which a pitcher of water was poured out and a big lampstand was lit. Jesus used these poignant signs to describe Himself as the Living Water (John 7:37-38) and the Light of the World.
How bright or how dark has your life been lately? Are you seeing clearly as you walk with the Savior, or are you stumbling about, alternately depressed, disoriented, discombobulated, dumbfounded, and discouraged, as if your spouse rearranged the furniture in your house without telling you just before the electricity went out?
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 8:12 (emphasis added)
This is the second of the recognized I AM statements in John. It hearkens back to John 1, which teaches us that Jesus is the life-giving and truth-revealing light of men. People prefer darkness, though, because their deeds are evil. They are willing to put up with blindness and deceit if it allows them enjoy the delusion that their sin is hidden – or at least not so bad as to offend an all-seeing God.
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
John 8:13
The Pharisees tried a different tack, using the Old Testament law requirement of two or three witnesses to testify in agreement in order to establish the truth claims of a legal dispute. Jesus would answer them based on their assertion, but pause for a moment to consider how offensive it is to accuse the Truth Himself of being a liar.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
John 8:14
Jesus could call the greatest witness of all: the One Who commissioned Him to come here from Heaven and speak the Truth.
And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
John 8:16-19
No doubt they did not perceive the capital F that Jesus meant when He said “Father.” They counted Joseph of Nazareth as totally unworthy of supporting such a claim to Deity, and they would have had a point, except Jesus had His real Father in mind.
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
John 8:21
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
John 8:24
Jesus did not sugarcoat the consequences of rejecting His claims and the grace He offered, but this confirms that they were not on the same page:
They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
John 8:27
Jesus had the ultimate authority to back up His claims.
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed on him.
John 8:28-30
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
December 3, 2019 at 4:45 pm | Posted in John | 1 CommentTags: commentary on John, division, Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus Christ, John 7, living water, Nicodemus, Sunday School lessons on John
Jesus continued teaching at the Feast of Tabernacles.
John 7:37
This may have been the eighth day of the feast, but most likely it was the seventh day when the lampstand was lit and the water offering was poured out.
John 7:38-39
He continued using water to illustrate the eternal life that He grants, and now He associated the Living Water that only needs to be drunk once and then becomes an everlasting well in the drinker with the Holy Spirit Who would indwell believers after Jesus’s Ascension.
The response to this teaching was great speculation, conjecture, controversy, and confusion about Who exactly this Jesus was. Was He the Prophet from Deuteronomy 18:15, or was He the Messiah, the heir of David?
John 7:43
This was very common throughout Jesus’s earthly ministry, not only in John’s Gospel, but in the synoptic Gospels, too. Jesus came to divide between the true and the false, the real and the fake, light and darkness, the devil’s kingdom and His Father’s Kingdom. Here, it provoked a decision to arrest Jesus.
John 7:45
These Levitical police officers were not Roman centurions. They were unaccustomed to using force in public, especially when the alleged perpertator could actually be the Messiah, or at least a bona fide prophet from God.
John 7:46
Of course, Jesus was no “mere man.”
John 7:47-49
The common people were looked down upon by the Pharisees for their lack of religious training or knowledge.
John 7:50-51
Nicodemus was at least in favor of searching the Scriptures to gauge the truth of what Jesus was teaching. As Christians today, we have access to a fuller revelation of God in our Scriptures than Nicodemus did in his, and we must be even more scrupulous in applying them.