Truth Really Matters

Bonnie’s notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments — John 11

This is a real straightforward chapter, but fruitful. Doesn’t everyone love the story of the raising of Lazarus?

From all the scriptures that mention this household we can know a few things. Martha was the housekeeper (she received Jesus into the home in Luke) and Mary is her sister. Lazarus is most probably the younger brother. John puts Mary first perhaps because she was well known in the village as seen by the number of mourners who came to the funeral. It’s clear that this was a place where Jesus felt “at home.”

v. 1 — We know that Jesus stays and sleeps at this house of His friends (Luke 10:38 . . .).

v. 2 — See Mark 14:3-9 (not the harlot Mary of Luke 7) and Matt. 26:6-13 where the same incident is noted that is recorded later in this book (chapter 12). Mary is devoted to the Lord. He is very close to them as a family member would be. See verse 5 of this chapter. This ointment that she uses is the equivalent of a year’s wages. It’s safe to assume that they are a somewhat wealthy family.

v. 3 — Jesus is in the Judean wilderness — a day away by foot (v. 40 of ch. 10). He deliberately waits 2 more days. The body had to be buried within 24 hours of death. This period of time will assure that Lazarus is dead and the mourners are there. The phrase “he whom thou lovest” gives us another indication of the fondness Jesus had for this family. Closer relationships are usually those with whom we are more in sync or likeminded. They would be obedient and respectful to Him and eager to share and learn. The Lord has a closer relationship to two of the disciples also. The limitation of our relationship with the Lord is determined by us. If we are devoted to Him, we’ll be closer. He doesn’t force people. Until we get to heaven and see Him face to face, we share with Him in prayer. Prayer and praise should involve talking to the Lord as if He were sitting beside us. How very comforting it is to know that He is available 24/7 and we can talk to Him anytime, anywhere, and in any circumstance! Loss of personal liberty cannot take that away from us.

v. 4 — This was apparently a serious sickness because the sisters initially call for the Lord to heal their brother. Some sickness is unto death, but not here. In this case the sickness was for the glory of God to be shown to men. Jesus is rightfully claiming His own proper deity and glory. Bigger issues than just momentary discomfort are seen here because this show of power will result in some salvations.

Morris writes that “this is the first of 24 occurrences of the name “Jesus” in the 11th chapter of John’s Gospel. John especially wrote to show the deity of Christ (20:30-31), yet he used the human name “Jesus” more often than Matthew, Mark, or Luke, and more times here in this central chapter than in any of his 20 other chapters.” <:>

v. 5 — Why wait four days? There was an old superstition that the spirit hovered over the body wanting to make sure it was dead.

v. 7 — Judea was a place the disciples did not like to go. They exhibit a lack of faith and trust when Jesus says this is where they are going. Shouldn’t they know that Jesus knows what He is doing? Don’t we sometimes show this same lack of faith? It’s a natural human reaction, but they really miss the mark this time.

v. 9,10 — Jesus answers mysteriously. He knows what He is doing and why they must do it this way. He must work while He can — a good example for us as well. Walking in the night/dark means without the Lord. Jesus is the light of men (see John 1:4, 7-9). “Walk with Me. Trust Me. Don’t even think of going without Me.” You can’t get into trouble with the Lord on your side. What is the worst that can happen to you? You might die and go to heaven to be with Him. Also notice that walking in the dark is difficult because of the lack of light. John 3:19,20 tells us men hate the light. It’s because they do their evil deeds in the darkness when they think no one is noticing. Dark is often a type for evil. Light is a type for the Lord.

Even though the disciples thought it was dangerous for Jesus to go back into Judea, the Lord knew it was not yet His time and because He is the light, all was safe.

Morris sees this as a proverbial expression Jesus uses for His ministry. There was no danger as long as He (and the disciples with Him) were doing the Father’s will, walking in the light. The time was coming when He would have to walk in darkness but that was the Father’s will also. <:>

v. 11 — “Sleepeth” means death. Jesus knows that death is not serious for the believer — in fact, it’s just like sleep. Wouldn’t we like to be referred to as “our friend” by the Lord? Again, it’s an indication of the close relationship He had with this family and its members. Jesus also said to everyone that “ye are my friend if ye keep my commandments.” Lazarus and his sisters were friends with the disciples, too — like a big extended family.

By the way, truth trumps fellowship and is worth separating over. In today’s popular compromising ecumenical movement, people will give up a lot of truth to look like they are getting along with large numbers of people. We are called to follow truth and light, not cooperation. It can be a lonely experience sometimes.

v. 12 — The disciples don’t understand that when Jesus says sleep, He means Lazarus is dead. Perhaps they think he is on the road to recovery instead.

v. 14-15 — The Lord will be able to strengthen the belief and faith of the disciples in this experience. There are degrees of belief. They are still weaker than they should be after all they have seen and heard.

v. 16 — You’ve got to love Thomas! Here he is loyal — if the Lord is going back into the camp of His enemies then let’s go with Him and die with Him — but a real fatalist (lack of trust). He speaks his mind openly. I also take comfort in the thought that because Jesus knows everything about me on the most intimate level possible, I can be as open and honest as possible with Him. Rather than speak sharply or angrily to others, it is better to take the situation to the Lord in prayer and let Him help us deal with it. Many hurts have been healed or smoothed over in this way with His help. In fact, it may prevent a further situation/uproar with another person and no one is the wiser about the whole matter.

v. 18 — Bethany’s modern Arabic name means “The Place of Lazarus” — a little historical evidence that this incident really happened. It’s a town about two miles from Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, and on the road from Jerusalem down to Jericho and the Jordan River.

v. 19 — This was obviously a well known family, probably with lots of relatives. The fact that “many” came would imply some status or wealth. If they were rich, they would certainly be known. Later, Mary brought expensive ointment with which to anoint Jesus.

v. 20 — Martha comes to meet the Lord while Mary does the conventional thing and stays in the house. According to tradition, Martha should have stayed in the house, too. She is hurt and angry, yet believing in the Lord’s power, so she runs to meet Him. She immediately points blame at Jesus. Look at Luke 10:38-42 where she is instructed by the Lord to consider what things are really important. It’s quite possible that Martha is used to controlling situations and her sister to make sure things were just right. The Lord tells her (and us) to leave the “stuff” and do it later. Spend time with the Lord while you can and when He’s near. Here she has faith that He can raise Lazarus. She knows who He is and what He is capable of doing.

v. 23-24 — Martha is fully aware of the orthodox Jewish doctrine about the resurrection to come later.

v. 25 — Here is another of the “I AM’s.” Jesus is the source of life and has all power over it. “I am the resurrection and the life.” That “the” in the phrase shows exclusivity. “He that believeth in me (speaking of spiritual life), though he were dead (could be those who are already in the grave but in Christ), yet shall he live.” Both those that have gone before that believe in Christ (for example: Abraham in Gen. 15:6) and those who are now spiritually dead, but will believe, will see new life after the body dies. This refutes Calvinism because our Lord uses the words “whosoever” and “believest.” Arminianism is also refuted because it says whosoever believes will never die. Arminians think you can lose your salvation.

Sorenson says, “Death for a believer is only a brief dark portal. It opens on the other side to the brilliant light of eternal life.” <:>

v. 27 — Martha hits the mark and gets an “A.”

v. 28 — It’s not about the crowd. It’s a family thing. Not wanting to draw attention, Martha summons her sister secretly. However, there are mourners in the house and when they see Mary leave they follow. When she says “The Master” she uses it as “teacher” or “Rabbi” (in effect saying He is the Master Teacher). The veneration of modern day pastors violates this idea. Minister is properly a verb, not a noun. “Reverend” is used only in the Bible to describe God. In a survey of introductions to New Testament books, Paul always calls himself by name and uses “apostle” or “servant” to describe himself.

v. 30-35 — When Mary arrives to where Jesus is, she goes to His feet in an attitude of worship and adoration. You will remember in the other story of Jesus in their house, she sat at His feet while Martha tried to express her love by serving and became overwhelmed in it. If, in our service, we don’t take time for quietness, prayer, and meditation, we will not keep our strength up either. She is weeping as is natural in the circumstances. Jesus joins her in weeping, but for more than the family’s loss. 1 Cor. 15:26 — death is an enemy. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people in the city did not accept Him. The Old Testament tells us that there is no pleasure in the death of God’s creations. See Ezekiel 18:23. Jesus is weeping about sorrow, death, sin, destruction, and all that goes with it. He took their sadness on Himself and entered into their sorrow. However, He will soon wipe away those tears in restoring their loved one to life. God does enter into our sorrow. He cares more for us than any other being in the universe. He will make all things right — if not in the moment, surely in the future.

v. 36 — The Jews don’t understand but think of it as human loss only.

v. 37 — They think Jesus let Lazarus die when He could have done more. “He’s good but he’s not that good.”

v. 38 — The Lord is groaning again (a deep mournful sound uttered in sorrow or anguish or deeply sighing) — perhaps a continual burden He bore? He would always have been aware of the reason for the existence of death and the sin that causes it. This cave with a stone and a marker is a rich man’s grave.

v. 39 — Martha gets practical here, thinking of the consequences and not necessarily trusting the Lord to know what He is doing. We don’t have to remind the Lord that we don’t know what’s best for us. He knows that already! We pray equivocally,0 too. Fortunately, God understands His creation very well and is willing to hear our prayers. Check out Psalm 116:1,2 — one of my favorite passages.

Jesus asks the people to move the stone and then to unwrap the body. Did He need their help? No, of course not. He wants us to help Him with the work, then and now. Move the stone, unwrap the body, raise the dead. Which is the hard part? He still does the hard part today. We preach repentance and He still does the hard part of regeneration.

v. 40-42 — Perhaps Jesus called Lazarus by name because other dead people might have come out, too. It is interesting to speculate about that. He was bound, but defied gravity and stood up. How about that — Jesus is Lord of gravity too! This is another creation miracle that fixes Lazarus (rebuilding tissue and giving life, etc.), defies gravity, and restores the spirit of the man. How I would have loved to see the shock of the crowd (gleeful laughter)! That’s why He must give them instructions. Lazarus certainly could not have loosed the tight bindings that he was wrapped with. The good news is that he has life for a time, but the bad news is that he will have to die again! He’s a target now — living, walking proof of the miracle — a real slap in the face to the Pharisees and leaders. There is no further testimony of Lazarus given in Scripture from this point on. He certainly could have drawn big crowds with a story like that! Did Lazarus get a “heads up” or briefing about silence or divulging sensitive information about Paradise before the rising? Maybe. It would be hard not to talk about this whole experience.

v. 44 — If they had swathed Lazarus in the Egyptian fashion, the arms and legs would have been bound separately and he could have moved a little. He would certainly need help unwrapping!

v. 45 — Many got saved and the principle factor was Mary. She had built a lot of relationships with people and her life had brought them here at this time. No one else was ever resurrected 3 days after death except Christ. But note that only Jesus has been resurrected fully – to a glorified body. Lazarus was resuscitated for a time but certainly died again, as did others recorded in the Bible.

v. 46 — Some still did not come over to the right side after witnessing such a remarkable miracle. They felt it necessary to hurry to the Pharisees and tell them what had happened.

v. 47,48 — The chief priests in charge were the Sadducees, but now they pull together (which they almost never did) with the Pharisees on the council to act against Jesus. They are willfully rebellious and foolish here. They see that He “doeth many miracles,” and raises the dead and they still call him a mere man. The Romans already have the nation, but the religious leaders still don’t want to lose their little bit of puppet power against the mysteries of the universe and life after death. On the street, we talk to people about their souls and the punishment of an eternal hell, yet they still want to hang on to their sins (such as adultery, pride, self righteousness etc.) and pass on everlasting life.

v. 49-53 — Expedient means profitable. Here is an unintentional prophecy of the Lord by Caiaphas without him realizing what he was saying. Jesus just raised someone from the dead and you are going to put Him to death?! Such a plan could only work because it’s God’s will. These leaders are the puppets given over to their envy, hatred, and selfishness. It’s a similar situation to Pharaoh being used by God to fulfill His will.

v. 54 — There was lots of talking, speculating, analyzing — almost a foreshadowing of end times when people will turn in others to the authorities. Judas gets the payoff in this situation.

v. 55-57 — Many Jews were now traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. The throngs looked for Jesus knowing that He often came to the major feasts. The authorities were on the lookout, too, for they had issued a warrant for His arrest (the sense of the phrase “take him”). Things are heating up and coming to a close.

~~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s Notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments — John 10

This chapter is a continuation of the discourse begun in chapter 9. Morris says, “Jesus . . . intended it to be a symbolic use of the familiar scene of sheep tended by a shepherd, along with their sheepfold and its door. The sheep obviously represent the people of God and their sheepfold represents the place where they can rest in safety. At this time in history, the fold undoubtedly represented the covenant watch care of God over His chosen people Israel. Both the shepherd and the door are said by Christ to represent Himself (10:7,11) as the one who leads them into the fold and by whom alone they can enter the fold. Later, John clearly called all this a ‘parable’.” <:>

You will recall in John 9:41, that Jesus said the Pharisees claimed that they understood so they are accountable for their belief or unbelief. Scripture says every man is accountable for his belief or unbelief in the Lord.

Sorenson provides some historical background. In the first century A.D. in Judea, those who would shepherd sheep, often would build a fold adjacent to their house. It frequently was a part of the courtyard of the home. A wall or fence, forming the outer court of the house, also served as the sheepfold, particularly during the winter. At that time of the year, the shepherd would lead his flock into the fold (the courtyard of his house) at night. The gate (or door) was locked and all settled down for the night. Then in the morning, he would lead them out again to pasture. As in the old American West with its cattle rustlers, sheep stealers were not unknown in Biblical times. Their motive was simple — to steal sheep to be sold for butchering or resale. Such rustlers typically operated at night and came over the wall to steal sheep. <:>

There’s a picture here like John Bunyan’s allegory where the ones going to the Celestial City are on the proper path having gone through the wicket gate. Others join them on the path later, having climbed over a wall to enter it. It’s a good picture of tares among the wheat. There is only one right way to enter the kingdom of heaven and that is through belief in Jesus Christ.

v. 1 — This is a harsh statement. The Lord is warning against false teachers who wrong others in taking advantage of their position. The Bible is full of warnings against false teachers so we should take it seriously. Fifty years had passed since this Gospel was penned and Revelation was written. Could there have been error in the church? Most certainly!

v. 2-5 — Morgan has some nice insight into this portion.

“These two ‘I am’s,’ the Door and the Good Shepherd, are interlocked in a wonderful way in the light of Eastern life. It was once my privilege to cross the Atlantic with Sir George Adam Smith. I shall never forget the fascination of that voyage, as he talked of those Eastern lands he knew so well. One story he told me was this. He was one day travelling with a guide, and came across a shepherd and his sheep. He fell into conversation with him. The man showed him the fold into which the sheep were led at night. It consisted of four walls, with a way in. Sir George said to him, ‘That is where they go in at night?’ ‘Yes,’ said the shepherd, ‘and when they are in there, they are perfectly safe.’ ‘But there is no door,’ said Sir George. ‘I am the door,’ said the shepherd. He was not a Christian man, he was not speaking the language of the New Testament. He was speaking from the Arab shepherd’s standpoint. Sir George looked at him and said, ‘What do you mean by the door?’ Said the shepherd, ‘When the light has gone, and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door.’”

Sheep aren’t too bright. They need a leader. In Scripture, believers are sometimes characterized as soldiers ,but we should follow the Holy Spirit like sheep. He often teaches and leads through the Word. Without the Word there is no way to distinguish truth from error, feelings, or other information out there in the world. Jesus is the Word, therefore it is reasonable that the Holy Spirit leads by it as well. Be warlike when contending with the enemy. Don’t be warlike with fellow believers.

Here is some more history from Sorenson.

“The obvious truth is stated. The shepherd came and went by the door. A porter was a servant of the household who was charged with making sure the door was closed or open as the occasion required. He would take orders from the master of the house who also was the shepherd. Some have likened the porter to the ministry of the Holy Spirit who prepares and even opens hearts.
Jewish shepherds of the day often would give names to their sheep. The sheep knew not only their name, but they also knew the very voice of their shepherd. Pastors to this day know the phenomenon of their people instantly knowing their voice over the telephone. Notice also how a shepherd leads his flock. Because the sheep know, love, and trust their shepherd; they will willingly follow him. Cowboys will drive their herd. However, sheep will not be driven. They simply scatter. Shepherds who have built rapport, trust, and confidence in their flock rather lead and the sheep follow willingly.
At times, more than one flock was placed into a fold at night. However, in the morning when the shepherds would take their flocks out to pasture, each flock followed their own shepherd. They knew Him and recognized His voice. The stranger referenced here well may have been that of another shepherd. But the flock did not know him. Therefore, they fled from him because they did not know his voice.”

The porter makes sure the doors are opened or closed at appropriate times. We can be porters to teach the Gospel. The problem today is to get a good hearing about spiritual truth. We must work at creating interest in the part of the hearer. If we get a convert, we must be the shepherd and care for the spiritual needs of the new believer.

v. 6 — Jesus explains the parable showing us the exclusivity of Christianity. He is the door and the shepherd. There is only one path and only one fold. This is another of the “I AM” statements in John (also 10:9). The pasture is a prophetic reference as well. The final resting place is the promised land. See Ps. 23. Jesus is saying He’s the one these Scriptures are talking about. He is the shepherd.

Morgan explains the Christian life this way. “If men are coming after Me, they must enter into My enterprise, and they must go My way. Discipleship does not merely mean that it insures the salvation of the soul. It means fellowship with Him in the travail, and then in the triumph. Unless we are prepared for that, He says we cannot be His disciples.” <:>

v. 10 — The thief here is like a false teacher. There is no excuse for his behavior, not even his upbringing or his nature. He is willfully wicked. He knows right from wrong. He’s a real con artist. Behind it all is the battle against Satan — the god of this world. Jesus is the source of life as well as spiritual light and truth.

Morris says the “abundant life” does not consist in material wealth or possessions but in grace, abundance of good works (2 Co 9:8), consolation (2 Co 1:5), love (1 Th 3:12), work of the Lord (1 Co 15:58), and thankful “faith” (Col 2:7). <:>

v. 11 — See Is. 40:10,11 and Rev. 22. God is coming. He will complete His plan for the universe. The “Good Shepherd” will give His life for His sheep.

Sorenson illuminates more on this phrase. “In the New Testament, the word good reflects the epitome of virtue, integrity, decency, and love. There are few if any adjectives which describe a higher level of godly character than the simple word good. Jesus is not only our shepherd, He is the Good Shepherd. . . In the real world, of sheep and shepherds, even the finest of shepherds would not forfeit his life for a sheep. He might fight off a wild animal to protect the sheep. But in the final analysis, few if any would actually die for one of their sheep. But the spiritual superiority of our Lord here shines through with brilliance. He would so die, and did.” <:>

v. 12, 13 — The hireling is a paid worker. He does not care as much for the sheep as their owner does. Pastors today are often hirelings aren’t they? They may not even realize how dependent they are on the money and respect coming from their congregation which, when threatened, may be more important to them than the people’s spiritual growth and development. “Pastoring” has been a profession for hundreds of years. Though the Scripture says the laborer is worthy of his hire, there have been many laborers in the Lord’s work who did not treat it as a profession but as a ministry at high cost to themselves. Even Paul worked his own trade of tent making at various times so that he was not dependent on the giving of others.

v. 14-15 — The Father and Son know each other fully. In modern translations, the phraseology is different. Instead of “and know my sheep” the rendering is “they know me” or “my sheep know me.” Only the KJV allows for an inequality in types of knowledge of the Lord and the sheep. The sheep know the Shepherd in part, but not as completely as God and Jesus. For example, take Michael Jordan. We know some about him but not intimately. We’ll be developing knowledge of the Lord forever, but He knows us intimately already. Even knowing all about us, He is still willing to die for us! Modern versions also speak of the judgment seat of God rather than Christ. God the Father has given all judgment over to the Son. It’s just another way to degrade the deity and power of Jesus Christ.

v. 16 — The other sheep in this verse are the Gentiles. (Mormons consider American Indians to be the other sheep.) The concept of one fold and one Shepherd is prophetic. It can’t happen in this age where there is so much apostasy, as also predicted by Scripture.

v. 17, 18 — Here the Scripture says Jesus lays down His life and reclaims it. In Rom. 10:9, God raised Him. In 1 Pet. 3:18, He is quickened by the Spirit. It’s clear that the Trinity is a very important and distinctive aspect of God. Power is ability and authority. Modern translations use authority in place of power but it takes both (see Rom. 1:16) to accomplish something as wonderful as a resurrection. Again, the modern interpretations degrade the deity of the Lord. Look at Acts 4:12. Jesus is deity while being the perfect example of obedience for us.

“Jesus made it clear,” says Sorenson, “that His Father had granted Him (this “commandment have I received of my Father”) the authority to voluntarily lay down His life as well as the authority to rise again.” <:>

v. 19-21 — How about toleration and unity? Not here among this rebellious crowd! Jesus said many times He came to divide. Truth is often divisive. Those who want it are at odds against those who want it obscured. Sometimes those who are bright enough to understand the truth are against those who aren’t quite bright enough to grasp all of it.

[A special emphasis from Dr. Dave: Don’t use analogies to explain the Trinity. It’s too difficult and they tend to be similar to many heresies out there. Even with children, it’s not necessary to have a realistic earthly explanation for something that is difficult for adults to grasp. It’s okay to say we don’t fully understand things about God. Use the Bible itself to explain the doctrine in the Lord’s words.]

Another important truth here is that demons tend to be recognizable because there’s a difference between them and normal people. Jesus didn’t act and talk as the possessed people do.

v. 22 — How about this? It’s winter time and Jesus is out working the street. A good example for us.

v. 24 — Do they really want to know? What they want is to hear Jesus put into words something that would allow them to convict Him of blasphemy. Again they are mocking Him so He answers the question by reminding them of His previous examples and words — a direct and indirect answer. He is effectively saying, “You won’t follow Me so you won’t believe Me.” They act like He is keeping them in suspense but they just want Him to say clearly that He is the Messiah.

v. 27 — To follow Jesus is willful. The Calvinists do not like that idea!

v. 28, 29 — Salvation is a gift (not earned or forced upon us) given at the point of repentance and it lasts forever. “They shall never perish” sounds like everlasting life. Those who argue that eternal security is not Biblical must argue with Christ’s own words. Those who think you can lose your salvation, say nothing else can pluck you out of God’s hand but you can remove yourself. No way. See Rom. 8:38,39. The security is really triple. You have God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:12,13 and 4:30) keeping you in their hands. No one can break that, not even you. Remember that Peter denied the Lord three times and he did not lose his salvation. Eternal life is a present possession and no one can take it away.

v. 31 — The religious leaders knew and understood He was claiming deity. They rejected the claim and picked up stones.
v. 33 — Wouldn’t you think that they would know that the Messiah would be a man, born of a woman, and capable of sitting on a throne? These are all predicted in the Scriptures they had.

v. 34-38 — Look at Psalm 82:1,6. The generic term “law” was often understood to mean the entire Old Testament. God had derisively called into question these leaders in the past who had misused their power. The term “gods” here is referring to judges and leaders among the people. God had installed judges as authoritative figures to dispense justice and make decisions. We don’t usually call leaders gods because it tends to puff up those in control. This Psalm is a rebuke to them. They may think they are gods but they shall die as ordinary men. Jesus refers to it here because these are religious leaders of the people. “Why are you coming after me when Psalm 82 calls you gods? ‘The Word’ is come to you (in the form of Jesus in the flesh), standing before you and you want a sign? Just look.” He continues the rebuke of Psalm 82 against these accusers.

Morris adds, “Jesus is here basing His entire defense against the charge of blasphemy on one word, ‘gods,’ in a relatively obscure psalm. He comments that the ‘scripture’ — that is, the ‘writing,’ the word actually written down — cannot be broken. This constitutes a very important testimony by Christ to the verbal inspiration and authority of the Bible. The reasoning of Christ is very subtle, yet powerful, relying entirely on the use of this precise word in its context.” <:>

v. 39-41 — As before, it’s not His time to be captured. The cross will be coming in the Spring. John the Baptist did no miracles and yet it is recorded that he was the greatest man born of a woman. He was certainly one of the greatest preachers in the history of the world. All that John said about Christ was true, so many believed on Jesus because of John’s report. There is much fruit in John’s account because he plowed the ground that the Lord was harvesting. Sometimes we might get discouraged because we don’t see a lot of people coming to Christ. Since the reception is so cool, it may be that our ministry is to plow up the ground the first time for a later harvest. Keep doing the work no matter what!

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s Notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments — John 9

v.1 — Right away we see here an example of the Great Commission. Jesus is walking along, sees a blind man and takes the opportunity to talk to him. Every day we go about our work and life. We should be busy and not waste time. We should definitely look for or create opportunities to witness to people about what the Lord has done. As in John 5, sin can be the cause of some physical problems. The Jews seemed to routinely think this way. In this case, Jesus makes it clear that it is not the case. For this man’s blindness to have been caused by sin, he would have had to sin before his birth! Much disease is simply the result of this cursed world (which brought death and disease) and a genome weakened over time. Time does not make things get better as the evolutionist crowd would have us believe. Time brings degradation. The human race is falling apart genetically. There is no glorious sci-fi future.

v. 2 — Who sinned? This question doesn’t even make sense. What is sin? It’s the transgression of the Law. If the blindness had been a punishment for sin, it would have had to come later since he was blind at birth. Since that doesn’t really make sense, they ask if his parents sinned. This is a very self righteous attitude on the part of the questioner. The opposite side of that coin is “I’m not blind, therefore, I haven’t sinned.”

v. 3 — Jesus says the sin did not cause this blindness. Don’t take this like a lawyer. Situations can be complicated. God has often allowed suffering for reasons only He knows. This case is to show the works of God as the Scripture says. Jesus’ purpose was to seek and to save the lost. The healing was a tool to accomplish the Lord’s will. For the man to be saved, he had to repent and put his faith in Christ.

v. 4 — When can’t the Lord’s work be done? A modern day example would be a Chinese Christian in a solitary dungeon or when the rapture occurs. The Holy Spirit will be removed from the earth by the loss of the believers until people start to respond to the Gospel again. Through the two witnesses of the tribulation, and the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, some of the people left will come to salvation. When the rapture comes, the church age is effectively over. Now the mission of the church is to seek and save the lost as Christ did – so let’s get busy.

v. 5 — Here are two more “I AM’s.” The concept of Christ as light is found several times in John’s Gospel.

v. 6, 7 — Sorenson adds some information on Jewish custom at the time. He says, “It was a folk remedy of the Jews that saliva held curative powers for the eyes. However, it could never open blind eyes. Moreover, it was forbidden to be applied on the Sabbath. Jesus’ saliva likely held no therapeutic power. Rather, He evidently followed traditional custom in initiating supernatural healing.

In Galilee, Jesus healed long distance because someone asked for it. The friends of the lame man that let him down through the roof were asking for healing for their companion. This man has no one asking for healing on his behalf and may not be aware of who Jesus is, so the Lord tests him in a trial of obedience.

See II Kings 5 and the healing of Naaman, a general of the Syrian army. A young Jewish servant girl of his tells him there is a prophet in her country that can heal him from his leprosy. The king of Syria sends a letter to the king of Israel. He gets upset and when Elisha hears about it, he says, “Send the man to me.” Elisha doesn’t talk to Naaman but sends him a messenger to tell him what to do. Naaman doesn’t like the idea of dipping 7 times in the muddy Jordan river. He is full of pride and arrogance. His servants who do care for him implore him saying, “My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, ‘ Wash and be clean’?” He grudgingly begins the process. By the final dip the leprosy is gone and he is healed but there is no change until he completes the whole process. Jesus is fulfilling a type shown by Elisha, just as John the Baptist was like Elijah. Elisha asked for twice the power of his mentor Elijah and the Lord gave it to him. The Lord is certainly more powerful than John the Baptist, Elijah, or Elisha.

The instructions were given, the blind man obeyed, and he came back with his sight (the sixth miracle of creation described by John). His obedience showed his trust in the Lord and the faith was rewarded.

v. 8-10 — Some of the neighbors recognized the man and others didn’t. Remember the times when Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice?” Some hear and believe and many don’t.

v.11, 12 — The blind man calls Jesus a “man” at this point which shows that he hasn’t yet reached full understanding. He’s not claiming credit for the work that he did — as instructed — but is stating the facts. It’s obvious to him that the healing is a gift. We can “work” to believe as Jesus instructed but the resulting salvation is a gift that none can earn. Calvinists would claim that any willful obedience is a work. But the Bible is clear that salvation is not of works, yet sinners are commanded to willfully repent and believe.

The man testifies as to what happened to him. Any Christian can do the same unless he is a false convert. Sometimes this can defuse the argumentative people, since no one can argue with our own personal testimony.

v. 14 — Here is another Sabbath day opportunity. Is it an “in your face opportunity” to show the Pharisees what real godliness is like? Whatever Jesus violated on this day was not Old Testament Law but Rabbinical tradition. It certainly infuriated the religious leaders, though!

v. 15 — What Pharisee would not wash some mud out of his own eye on the Sabbath if he was so afflicted? It’s a real stretch here to make clearing your eye of something invasive defined as improper work on the Sabbath.

v. 16 — Just like John 7:13, Jesus’ teaching is causing division and controversy. The Christian will experience a lot of this if he/she is out there talking to people about their souls. Many in the crowd saw the clear working of God here, because a sinner could not heal someone. Therefore the Lord must be whom He claimed to be.

v. 17 — Normally the Pharisees are not interested in man’s opinions. Because they can’t pick on the Lord, they choose somebody else. Now they ask the man who he thinks Jesus is. Jews knew that Old Testament prophets sometimes healed people, so this is a reasonable answer. The formerly blind man is not fully understanding what has happened but he is progressing.

People should investigate the claims of healing that the Pentecostals make today. Studies have been done and demonstrated that claims are bogus. Yet the Pentecostal evangelists keep drawing crowds and money. If the Pentecostals or Christian Science people can heal why don’t they go clear out the hospitals and nursing homes? God still heals but He doesn’t do it now in the manner shown in this passage.

v. 18-23 — These parents are very careful about answering, not wanting to be excommunicated from their Synagogue. What a shame! There should be great rejoicing going on here, but it’s an inquisition instead. The parents fear the Pharisees. Look at Rev. 21:8 where the fearful are cast into hell for fear of obeying the Lord. They are on dangerous ground.

Matthew Henry says, “The fear of man brings a snare, Proverbs 29:25, and often makes people deny and disown Christ and his truths and ways, and act against their consciences. The unlearned and poor, who are simple-hearted, readily draw proper inferences from the evidences of the light of the gospel; but those whose desires are another way, though ever learning, never come to the knowledge of the truth.”

v. 24-27 — “We know Jesus is a sinner,” say the Pharisees because He broke the Sabbath and all men are sinners. Jesus said you can’t honor God if you don’t honor the Son as well. Their praise of God here is empty because they have just accused His Son of being a sinner. See John 5:22-24. Their instruction to the formerly blind man backfired on them as he testifies to divine power in the healing. He already understands the issue and knows that Jesus is special. Even a beggar is not intimidated by these leaders because he knows what has happened to him.

v. 28 — Observing this, you would know who’s wrong even if you didn’t really know what has happened. Why do they assume that you cannot be Jesus’ disciple and Moses’ disciple at the same time? When the Pharisees choose Moses they are choosing the Law. However, Abraham clearly stated to have been saved by faith. See Romans 4:1-4. They are clearly unable to recognize the One of whom Moses foretold. When attacked and unable to answer the charge, they turn to attacking the messenger. Is the healed man one of Jesus’ disciples now? Maybe not yet but he will definitely investigate further.

v. 29 — They very well knew Jesus was from Galilee. They don’t believe He is from God because they do not really know God themselves.

v. 30-33 — What good preaching there is here! The “common beggar” is teaching them the sense of the Old Testament. The Pharisees have missed the big picture — God reaching down to man.

Sorenson paraphrases: “Here is an amazing thing. You guys are so smart that you are supposed to know everything, and yet you don’t even know where He is from. But He opened my eyes . . . If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.”

This man is being persecuted and it’s working. He begins to speak up with clarity about Jesus. There is nothing like persecution to make people think things through. In fact, the churches have always thrived under persecution, in contrast to the languishing of American churches in prosperity today.

Beware of seminaries and Bible colleges that put ideas into heads without a good foundation of Bible learning. Question everything you hear and analyze it by the Scripture because “untruth” is all around you. As the former blind man speaks, he gets stronger and stronger and more sure of his convictions.

v. 34 — The Pharisees now resort to a low blow by insinuating that his parents conceived him in immorality. How dare he try to teach them anything! By the standards of the Pharisees this man had little knowledge, but fortunately he had little or no false teaching. Better to be ignorant of much learning and search for the truth and wisdom only God gives. The Pharisees insult him and cast him out of the Synagogue. Now he will have to build a whole new life. Everything has changed since he now has his sight. He is a sharp and feisty guy. It will be interesting (in heaven) to see how his life progressed from this point.

v. 35, 36 — Jesus knows the man is ready to hear the truth now. He seeks him out and gives him more information. This is a good example for us in dealing with people in certain cases. Don’t overwhelm some people at the first visit, but keep giving more information in successive visits. It depends on how much someone is willing to hear. Jesus’ assumption is that he knows about the Old Testament and that a Messiah is to come. He begins teaching where He needs to.

Matthew Henry says, “Christ owns those who own him and his truth and ways. There is particular notice taken of one who suffers in the cause of Christ, and for the testimony of a good conscience. Our Lord Jesus graciously reveals Himself to the man.”

The man shows respect and desire in his question to Jesus. Sometimes today, people act as if they are doing the Lord a favor to “invite Him” into their life. They do not have the proper Scriptural attitude. Coming in contrition and brokenness of spirit is the requirement.

v. 37,38 — Jesus speaks very clearly here, unlike the way He speaks to the Pharisees, where He is more enigmatic. He rightfully accepts the man’s worship. Angels and disciples do not accept worship from others. Take a look at the so called “religious” leaders of our time. They crave recognition and praise and would probably accept worship if it was offered. The Pope certainly does!

v. 39 — There’s another “I AM” (for judgment) here. Consider the account in II Ki. 6. Elisha is a strong type of Christ. Elisha prayed to the Lord and He answered by striking the soldiers with blindness. Elisha then led them into the middle of the Israeli army. They were fed and sent back. They received a second chance and did not bother Israel for a season. That’s mercy. Mercy and grace were extended, not just to the blind man, but to the Pharisees repeatedly.

v. 40,41 — They are more accountable because they know more than the blind man. Prov. 26:12. A proper attitude is important to get the opportunity to learn and understand the truth. Luke 12:47,48. Everyone is accountable but those with more learning get more stripes (punishment). Matt. 11:25. A babe in understanding got knowledge with understanding because he sincerely wanted the truth.

Sorenson says, “The simple lesson was, if they were blind like the beggar had been, they too could have had their sin removed in trusting Him as he had done. However, in refusing to admit their spiritual blindness and falsely professing to understand spiritually, they remained in their sin. Pride blinds and it binds. The pride of the Pharisees blinded them to not only the truth, but also of their own wretched spiritual condition.”

Some references about the purpose of the Sabbath: Mt. 12:12 / Mk. 2:27 / Col. 2:16.

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s Notes on Dave’s Comments — John 8

First, some thoughts from Ray Comfort . . . Some challenge, “You are trying to make me feel guilty by quoting the Ten Commandments.” If you feel guilty when you hear one of the commandments, why do you think that is? Could it be because you are guilty? God gave us our conscience so we would know when we break His law. That’s the function of the law: to condemn. Some may say that we shouldn’t condemn anyone, when all the Law does is reveal to the sinner that he is “condemned already” (John 3:18). The Law shows him his danger and therefore his desperate need for a Saviour.

The first controversy here is from Chapter 7:53-8:11 which are not found in some modern texts. Apparently some ancients think a few theologians objected to this account as Jesus giving slack toward adultery, so some manuscripts were corrupted by deleting this passage. The majority include it. These verses do appear in the majority of Greek texts, especially in what we term the “Received Text,” the basis of the KJV. In short, trust your English Bible, the KJV.

These events took place following Jesus’ observance of the Feast of Tabernacles at Jerusalem. He returned to the Temple early the next day where He sat down and taught the common people.

v. 1-2 — The people came to Him. He didn’t need tricks to attract them. How unlike the modern churches that try all kinds of worldly entertainments to attract visitors!

v. 3-11 — Doesn’t it seem a great coincidence that the woman was caught in adultery right at this convenient time to exhibit her in the Temple? The charge is adultery, meaning she was apparently married or a prostitute having relations with a married man. The exhibition of this woman was unlawful. There were courts for these situations. It’s clear that the motive for the Pharisees was to trap Jesus. He is not the right person to bring her to. It is a test by the religious leaders. Look at Deut. 22:22. Where is the guy or the grieved spouse of either? It’s morning so it’s clearly a set up job. Maybe one of the participants is a Pharisee or Temple employee.

If Jesus says stone her, He’s in trouble with the Romans who rule. If He gives mercy, He’s going against Jewish law. He doesn’t even answer their query. Instead, He writes on the ground which is most likely made of stone. You will recall that the 10 Commandments were written by God’s finger on stone tablets. Morris says “It would have been profoundly significant to the woman’s accusers, as well as profoundly stirring and convicting, if Jesus also was seen writing out these Commandments instead of speaking. The account does not say what He wrote, of course, but this would seem to be the most probable suggestion.”

We don’t know what He wrote — maybe the Commandments, or maybe some of the sins of the questioners — but, we can use this technique too. To a challenge, “What about those hypocrites?” You might reply, “How about you and your sin?”

Here’s a common objection and Ray Comfort’s answer. “ [Someone says] ‘Jesus didn’t condemn the woman caught in the act of adultery, but condemned those who judged her. Therefore, you shouldn’t judge others.’ The Christian is not ‘judging others’ but simply telling the world of God’s judgment — that God (not the Christian) has judged all the world as being guilty before Him (Rom. 3:19,23). Jesus was able to offer that woman forgiveness for her sin, because He was on His way to die on the cross for her. She acknowledged Him as ‘Lord,’ but He still told her, ‘Go and sin no more.’ If she didn’t repent, she would perish.”

In fact, Jesus delegates judgment to us as well. For example, many laws on the books still are against adultery but not used or prosecuted. They should have been concerned to elicit the woman’s repentance. Even Achan in the Old Testament was allowed to repent before his death. In this case, the religious leaders want Jesus to sanction their laws. In effect they are testing Him by saying, “Moses said thus and such, what do you say?”

Matthew Henry points out that the Lord is about His greater work, that was, to bring sinners to repentance. His desire was not to destroy but to save. He aimed to bring the woman to repentance and to show her mercy.

In execution by stoning (the prescribed form of capital punishment according to Hebrew law), the eldest throws the first stone. Notice that the accusers left in order of age, the eldest leaving first. These men had enough conscience left to feel remorse/guilt. Jesus appointed the executioner to be “he that is without sin.” The eldest being convicted first, they begin the “exodus of the executioners” in order.

The woman says no man has accused her. Jesus knows she has sinned and that she has a changed heart according the Scripture because she calls him “Lord.” He tells her to go and do right. We see Romans 8:1-10 exhibited here.

Sorenson makes a good point here. “He [Jesus] understood that she was a pawn used to entrap Him. However, it is noteworthy though Jesus condemned sexual sin, He often was far more harsh in His condemnation of sins of the spirit such as pride, unbelief, hypocrisy, and hardness of heart. In Jesus’ eight-fold condemnation of sin in Matthew 23, not one of the eight woes were of sexual sin. They were all of spiritual sin. So often to this day we are willing to condemn one who has entered into sexual sin and ignore those who practice the less visible sins of the heart and spirit. Both are wrong but the evidence of the New Testament is that God views spiritual sins as the worse.”

v. 12 — Here is another “I am” — the light. See also Is. 60:1-3. Look at Is. 9:2. (All of chapter 9 is Messianic prophecy). Also Ps. 36:9 / Ps. 27:1 / Ps. 104:2. During the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a brilliant candelabra in the Temple court, commemorating the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Twice before in the book of John, Jesus is presented as the true light of God (Jn. 1:4-9 and 3:19-21).

v. 13-15 — The Pharisees object to the Lord’s statement. He accuses them of not knowing the truth. He is telling them they are lost. “I judge no man” [yet!] — it’s not time.
Sorenson says if He did decide to judge, it would be true. The reason he says this is that the Father bears witness with Him meeting the criteria of the law in that “the testimony of two men is true.” See also Jn. 5:37.

v. 19 — Paul says similar words in Hebrews 1. The only way to know the Father is to know Jesus. All things are in the hands of God and He decides the time of our departure. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” — Ecc. 3:1.

v. 21-24 — You are lost. “You cannot come” may mean the cross, His visit to Hades, His ascension etc. We can’t know for sure but we do know there is no entrance to heaven if you die in your sins. The cure is to believe He is the I AM (Jehovah).

Perhaps “beneath” refers to more than just earth but, these men are associated with hell. Being from above has the sense of being from on high. They are of the world and the world belongs to Satan. Hell was made for Satan and his followers, but if men don’t repent and believe, they will be there with him. He’s being strong here in His language. He doesn’t answer them the way they want. Neither do they determine what He will say. It’s a good lesson for us when we deal with people. Sometimes evasion of a profitless line of discussion is appropriate and keeping the conversation on useful spiritual things is important.

v. 27 — They just aren’t getting it. They are probably not wanting to or trying to understand that His reference to the Father is God.

v. 29 — Jesus is claiming sinless perfection which is doing the will of the Father always. This is also instructive to us on how to live and walk with God — do His commandments.

v. 30 — Many believed. Some believed to salvation but probably many more who would continue to check Him out further, having not made up their minds yet. It doesn’t look like many of the Pharisees or scribes believed.

Matthew Henry says it this way: “Christ spoke of spiritual liberty; but carnal hearts feel no other grievances than those that molest the body, and distress their worldly affairs. Talk to them of their liberty and property, tell them of waste committed upon their lands, or damage done to their houses, and they understand you very well; but speak of the bondage of sin, captivity to Satan, and liberty by Christ; tell of wrong done to their precious souls, and the hazard of their eternal welfare, then you bring strange things to their ears. Jesus plainly reminded them, that the man who practiced any sin was in fact, a slave to that sin, which was the case with most of them.” He had the power to free them from sin if they wanted “but often we see persons disputing about liberty of every kind, while they are slaves to some sinful lust. “

A. N. Martin said, “The moment God’s Law ceases to be the most powerful factor in influencing the moral sensitivity of any individual or nation, there will be indifference to Divine wrath, and when indifference comes in, it always brings in its train indifference to salvation.”

v. 31, 32 — Here’s a test for all believers. If you stay faithful then you prove you are a real disciple. The word “believe” has many meanings. Here it’s more than head knowledge and produces actions recognizable as obedience to Christ and His commandments. The truth will make you free of sin, not from bondage to other nations. Remember these Jews were looking for freedom from their Roman oppressor. The freedom Christ offers is to get out from under the penalty of sin — condemnation and eternity in hell. Sorenson says the word “know” in this verse “has the sense of experiential knowledge. That is, knowing the truth from personal experience. It is more than just an academic exercise. Continuing in God’s Word to the point it soaks into one’s heart, altering one’s living, is the level of truth which liberates one from sin. . . make free is a reference to being ‘set free from slavery’” referred to in verse 34.

v. 33 — This one is a lie! What about their bondage to the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans?

v. 34 — Sin is addictive. It’s an ongoing continual life pattern. By indulging over and over we become slaves to it. The truth holds whether we are talking about a specific sin or to sin in general.

v. 35 — Servants don’t inherit or own the place where they serve/live. A servant cannot be freed by another servant but, the lord of the household or the son of the lord could give him his freedom. A servant of sin will die and leave this body of sin. To be free forever, we must connect with the Son who has the authority to break the bondage. Even as a disciple, we can be free from the bondage of sin, different than we were before, a new creature.

v. 36 — How do you get to know the Son? The Word of God is so very important. Plays, ceremonies, special programs cannot be a substitute. So many churches today get distracted in performance and entertainment services that they are no longer teaching the Word. Therefore, they no longer know Christ. Nothing is as strong an influence as the written Word seen visually by the reader. Have you noticed how few people even take a Bible to church? The common practice is to put the verses up on a screen. Most churches who do this use multiple incorrect translations to be even more confusing. Visual aids can be a distraction to keep us from really thinking on our own.

v. 38,39 — See Eph. 2:1-3. We were all the children of wrath. In reality, the Pharisees are the children of Satan who is their father, even though they claim Abraham. It is interesting that they don’t do the work of Abraham who obeyed God in faith and believed such that it was counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). If they were truly Abraham’s seed they would have his same spiritual character. See also Gal. 3:29 and Rom. 4 which explain Abraham’s righteousness apart from the law. Anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ is the son of the devil and his crowd. There are only two teams. Make sure you are on the right one!

v. 41, 42 — The discussion heats up here. The people provoked Jesus to this toughness by their attitude. They accuse him of being a product of fornication so they obviously knew something of His background. At the same time, they show their understanding of His use of the word Father as meaning God. Jesus proceeds to tell them precisely where He came from, making it clear that when He uses the word “Father,” it means God. Unfortunately, the Pharisees are not listening with faithful or spiritual ears to learn truth. Notice the Lord’s manner when He speaks. He tailors His messages for the people and their attitude. When they are tough, He is tough. When they are gentle, He is gentle.

v. 44 — Volumes could certainly be written about this verse and all of its implications! Satan is a murderer from the beginning. He set up to kill the human race. Jesus says he is guilty. Satan will lie even when he doesn’t have to! Politicians are a good example of this. Lying has become their nature — a servant to that particular sin. Lying is addictive too.

Morris puts it this way. “As the father of lies, the devil deceived our first parents with the lie that they would become ‘as gods’ through obeying his word rather than God’s Word (Gen. 3:1-5). This lie of ‘humanism’ — that men and women, as the apex of the evolutionary process, are the true gods of the word — has been deceiving and drawing people away from the true God of creation ever since. It has assumed various forms in different times and places, but it is always essentially the same old lie of Satan, ‘which deceiveth the whole world’ (Rev. 12:9). Thus, he is the author of the great lie of evolution, seeking to understand and control the world without its Creator. He has thereby deceived himself first of all, convinced himself that both he and God had evolved out of the primeval chaos, as in all the ancient mythical theories which he must have taught his own earliest human children.”

Sorenson describes Satan as perverse. “. . . he is a pathological liar. His entire kingdom is built upon deceit. Throughout the book of Revelation, he is on seven occasions referred to as a deceiver. He deceived himself as recorded in Is. 14:12-14 in thinking he could be like God. He lied to Eve in the
Garden of Eden . . . he urged Cain to murder his brother . . . lied to Jesus in the wilderness . . . He is not only a liar but he father of all lies. That should give pause for concern when we are tempted to lie. It reveals the ultimate source of all dishonesty.”

v. 45-47 — He gets them coming and going in this verse. The challenge is “ if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? If I don’t say the truth, than refute it if you can.” They didn’t want to hear the truth. The Lord challenges them to think about their own motives. Those who are of God, hear His words. Others may hear the words, but it doesn’t register with them spiritually. To put it in scientific terms, they are not on the same frequency.

v. 48 — Here is another personal attack rather than answering the question. We typically avoid answering questions that will mean we would have to admit we were wrong. A Samaritan is not a real Jew so again they question his legitimacy. In fact, they know He is not a Samaritan, but this is a very serious insult so they hurl it at Him along with the accusation of being demon possessed.

v. 49 — Jesus won’t team up with those that dishonor God. Neither should we even if it would be to fight important causes.

v. 51 — This is referring to the second death for we all know that everyone dies at least once. The second death would be after the Great White Throne judgment.

v. 52-54 — Can’t you hear the venom in their voices here? They throw great insults at Him. Neither do they quote Him correctly. Red letters in some Bibles would be inappropriate here, since Jesus did not say these words (last part of verse 52). Jesus takes what they say and uses it against them. He says He is from God and they claim that God is their Father also. What is implied is that their claim is bogus. They may know about God but they do not know Him.

v. 55 — Faith and works together are the characteristics by which we can recognize true believers.

v. 56 — Saints in Paradise may have been aware of the Incarnation or maybe it means the times Abraham saw God in his life – the angels that visited him, the Lord going to Sodom and Gomorrah, when Melchisedek appeared to him.

Morris adds that “Abraham evidently saw ‘the day’ of Christ when ‘the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision’ (Gen 15:1). On that occasion, the Lord had said, ‘I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward,’ and this was the very first of the great ‘I AM’ statements of the Bible. This vision of the Word of the Lord was Christ, of course, in a pre-incarnate theophany.”

Some other references to the “I AM’s” are Ex. 3:14, John 8:58, Rev. 1:18.

v. 58 — Jesus speaks in the same language that Moses hears in Ex. 3. He reveals Abraham as the creature and Himself as the Creator. Matthew Henry says, “I AM, is the name of God . . . it speaks of his self-existence; he is the First and the Last, ever the same, Revelation 1:8. Thus he was not only before Abraham, but before all worlds, Proverbs 8:23; John 1:1. As Mediator, he was the appointed Messiah, long before Abraham; the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8.”

Sorenson: “There is further potent ‘play’ on words here. The Old Testament name Jehovah is the first person singular of the Hebrew verb ‘to be.’ This is precisely the same very conjugation Jesus used here though recorded in Greek. Jesus in effect equated Himself with Jehovah God. His incensed enemies did not miss the significance.”

v. 59 — Now there is no confusion! They pick up stones to throw. It is not His time and so He escapes into the crowd. Perhaps there was a miracle of “selective sight,” invisibility, or blindness so that none saw Him. He does not work at drawing crowds or influencing mass numbers of people. However, in His dialogues with people, He warns them as if their house is on fire and they need saving.

There are a lot of connections with things in this chapter and things that Paul says in his various epistles. The important things of Scripture are repeated for our benefit and worth knowing.

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s notes on DR. DAVE’S COMMENTS

Background info that will enlighten our understanding: An important event found in this chapter is the Feast of Tabernacles. There were three feasts that all Jewish males were to attend if possible and this is one of them. The other two were Passover and the Feast of Weeks.

The Feast of Tabernacles is described in Lev. 23:29-43. It is a thanksgiving feast to celebrate and acknowledge God’s provision for his people especially during the wandering in the wilderness. It was a happy and joyous time and occurred in early fall. The people were to build booths from tree boughs and dwell in them for 7 days. This was to commemorate God leading them out of the land of Egypt and their captivity.

Another part of the feast consisted in carrying water in golden vessels from the pool of Siloam which was then poured out in the presence of assembled worshippers in the Temple. This was done every day for 7 days while chanting parts of the Great Hallel (Psalm 115-118). The symbolism was twofold. God had supplied their need for water during the entire 40 years In the wilderness—a physical provision. Secondly, God had made promises in Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah that there would come a day when rivers of water should revitalize the desert land—a spiritual significance–and there would be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28) still to come in the future. On the last day there was no procession of the priests, no carrying of the golden vessels of water; and the omission was as significant as the observation of the bringing of the water had been. It was to show that (1) there was no need for supernatural supply of water anymore because they were no longer in the wilderness but in the land that was promised and (2) that the great promises of spiritual refreshment had not yet been fulfilled. [Have you seen pictures of the Holy Land today? You would certainly not call it a land of milk and honey. The ravishes of many years of abuse have turned it into a desert. Modern Israelis have worked hard to make some of it productive again but it will be utterly transformed when the Lord does His work on it in the future.]

(Bible Truth Website) For seven days they were to live in these booths as a vivid reminder of the days in the wilderness living in tents. Further when they came to the Temple they would be carrying an etrog, which was a citrus fruit, which symbolized the fruit of the Promised Land. The Jews also used a lulav, which was made of the branches of palm trees, myrtles and willows tied together with a golden thread. During the celebration in the Temple these lulav would be waved at certain times during the service.

While standing, the person picks up the lulav holding it so that its spine is toward them. The etrog is picked up in the left hand, next to the lulav, with its tip (pitom) pointing down. The blessings are said: “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and instructed us concerning the waving of the palm branch.” Then the shehekeyanu is said: “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, for keeping us in life, for sustaining us, and for helping us reach this day.” The etrog is then turned right side up and shaken with the lulav. Each day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the people in the Temple courtyard would hold their lulavs and make a circular procession around the altar. During the procession they would pray a prayer that came to be known as Hoshanos. It is a prayer for God’s blessing, ending each phrase of the prayer with the word hoshana (“Please save” or “save now!”). On the first six days they would march around the altar one time. On the seventh day they marched around it seven times. Traditionally, Psalm 27 is recited at the service of the Feast of Tabernacles. Bible prophecy tells us that people from the nations of the world will come up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with the Jewish people in Jerusalem. (This will be in the millennium.)

This last day was called the “Day of the Great Hosanan” (Hoshannah Rabbah). The word “Hoshannah” means to “save now” (Psalm 118:25-Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord)) and applied to the feast became “Hosanna” which looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. (The original prayer from the Psalms eventually became Hosanna meaning an exclamation of praise and asking for God’s blessing. It was transliterated into the KJV — meaning literal matching of a Hebrew letter with a corresponding English letter.)

This makes the event of Jesus entering the city in what is called the ‘Triumphant Entry” come alive for us as we understand its significance. John records in John 12:13 that as Jesus entered Jerusalem the people “ Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” They were crying “Save us, Son of David.” Matthew 21:15 records the chief priest and scribes became gravely upset because this greeting and prayer was reserved only for the coming of the Messiah. Mark records that the people also cried “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.” (Mark 11:10).

With this information in hand, we can look at John Chapter 7.

Events here are approximately 6 months after chapter 6 and about 6 months before the cross. Jesus is in Galilee north of Jerusalem, but He wouldn’t go to Judea because they sought to kill Him. It wasn’t His time. The people never killed Jesus anyway because He laid His life down willingly as the sacrifice required by God. The Feast of Tabernacles was to be celebrated, one of the obligatory feasts for all Jewish men to attend. It celebrates the Exodus and living in temporary tents in the wilderness when God made provision for them.

v.3 — Jesus’ brothers are going to Jerusalem to the feast. They are not “of His” because they say “thy” disciples. They had been with Jesus in Cana at the wedding and when His mother came to seek Him and He said, “Who is my mother and my brethren?” They might have been trying to get him to give up His work and go home. Now they seem to be urging Him to go to the feast and show His work if it’s all that important. II Cor. 5:7 The Jews were looking for signs and walking by sight, but Christians walk by faith. At this time He’s been away from Judea for about 18 months.

v.4 — The half brothers challenge Him to be more public, but this is really not the way He has chosen to work at this time. His mode is to be training His disciples. His fame grew because of His great compassion on the people and so He healed them and taught them. However, His primary work was to do the bidding of the Father, train the twelve, and prepare for the cross. His brothers say, “If thou do these things . . .” Does that remind you of anyone else? How about when Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness? Mt. 4:3 It’s almost implied when Satan says to Eve (If you do this thing) you won’t surely die . . .

v. 5 — Clear confirmation that His brothers don’t believe yet. They will later for the books of James and Jude are His (half) brothers writing as believers.

v.6 — Jesus knew the timing but his brothers were always ready to get along with the world because they belonged to it. As we watch Jesus’ ministry, we see that He picks and chooses when to interact with people. We can do that too when we witness to others. We must be careful not to let people waste our time while witnessing, but make sure we deliver the proper message and then move on if there is no interest.

v.7 — the world hates Jesus because He testifies that it is sinful. Those in the world didn’t hate his brothers because they were worldly too. When we carry the message to people they still hate the ideas because most people want to make their own decisions and enjoy their sin.

v.8 — the NASV leaves out the word “yet” here and so makes Jesus a liar because He does go up to the feast later.

v.9,10 — Why in secret? He wants to determine the time to talk to the people. His brothers just think He isn’t ready to leave yet. Jesus says His coming brings division to the world, which is unified under Satan. Others in our day accuse us of being divisive in how we adhere to Scripture. In the last 50 years, the debate has escalated because of the modern versions. They accuse their enemy of what they themselves are guilty of for they cause much confusion, while Biblicists try to stick to the Word as their foundation. No doubt the Jewish leadership was looking for Jesus thinking it likely that He would attend this feast. If He showed up, they were ready to confront Him. It was common for people going to Jerusalem to travel in large caravans so perhaps Jesus took a different, more quiet route through Samaria to arrive unnoticed.

v. 13 — The word “man” here does not include the disciples. The crowds had people in them that were aware of Jesus already and they buzzed about Him — some with favor and others thinking Him a great deceiver. Open discussion was probably not an issue because the people feared the power of the leadership.

v. 14,15 — What snobbery! Jesus wasn’t educated in either of the two main schools of Jerusalem so how could he debate so well about the theological issues of the day? People in our day aren’t any better. Knowledge of the Bible is the point, so don’t be intimidated by others who have lots of credentials. Read to make yourself knowledgeable on the important issues of the day. Morgan talks about how thankful we can be that Jesus did appeal to the literate and highly educated in His manner of speaking like a learned man. This made everyone sit up and take notice. We can almost hear them, “Really, this is most remarkable! This young fellow never went to Harvard (or BJU or Hyles-Anderson, etc.), but he seems to have the profundity of the scholars.” While they marveled at His delivery, we wonder if they sometimes missed the spiritual intent and moral value of what He taught.

v. 16,17 — A refutation of Calvinism—if any man will do His will. We can know doctrine because Jesus tells us we can and how. If we want to understand God, we must do His will. There’s plenty of explanation of what that is in the Scripture itself.

v.18 — If you are speaking of someone else and his glory you will not be speaking of yourself and, therefore, your credibility is greater. The opposite of this would be the TV preachers that laud themselves. We are to be ambassadors of Him. That means we take our instruction from Him and represent Him to the world.

v.19,20 — Their law says thou shalt not kill. He camps on their biggest sin. Many people knew the leadership was out to get Jesus, but would be careful about voicing it too loudly. They must have been amazed at His public speaking knowing that the leaders hated Him. There were many outsiders in Jerusalem at this feast who may not have known about Jesus’ earlier encounter with the rabbinical leaders, so to them this all sounds crazy. This may be what they mean when they accuse Him of having a devil. He had done one work of healing a man on the Sabbath, but they were regularly inconsistent.

v.21-24 — He accuses them of anger and that equals murder. The example of performing circumcision on the Sabbath violates their own laws yet they do it anyway (their law said no work was to be done on the Sabbath, yet the law of Moses said a baby had to be circumcised on the 8th day, and if that fell on the Sabbath, they performed the circumcision, thereby showing their own inconsistency of the rabbinical Jewish leaders.) They make up rules, but also exceptions. They had broken the law to keep the law. Jesus had healed a man, they had performed surgery. Why should they be offended when He made a man whole? Jesus later says in Scripture that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Here is an example of presuppositional apologetics. Jesus is arguing from the position that the Old Testament is true and the leaders believe so as well. They both have a common foundation. However, He also points out that their behavior in some ways is not consistent with that foundational belief. He tells them where they disagree and where they have stepped out of bounds. If they are really truthful, they would realize that they are wrong and not following the Word, and understand why He has a disagreement with them. We can use this technique when talking to people as well. Establish that we will be discussing things from the Biblical perspective and then challenge their beliefs that don’t line up with the Bible.

v. 25-27 — No secrets here! Notice that Jesus speaks boldly, not like the “sweet, loving” Savior a lot of people like to throw in our faces who would never judge harshly or be blunt with people. He is God in the flesh and speaks with authority. The people were puzzled. Isn’t this the man the leaders want? Are they not arresting him because they think he’s the Christ? Sorenson suggests this tone was like a modern “Yeah, right!” Their comment about not knowing the Christ may come from ignorance of the Scripture. There are several Old Testament passages clearly defining the birthplace of the Messiah (Micah 5:2) and what his background is — Isaiah 9:1-6. Morgan says the rabbis were teaching at this time that the Messiah would appear suddenly and no one would know where he came from. These contemporaries of Jesus could easily have found out His birthplace.

v. 28 — Jesus called out LOUDLY! He is accusing them of not being believers. He is telling them they are lost just like we must do. What good does the gospel do if a person does not understand his position before God — a sinner worthy of judgment? He is street preaching here! The most important thing we can tell people is that they are lost and need a Savior. Jesus made clear that (1)He came not for His own purpose but that of the Father, (2) He who sent Him was true — God the Father, and sadly, (3) the Jews did not know Him. Jn 17:3

v. 30 — This is clarity! They hated His message.

v. 31 — Many believed. When the Old Testament prophets did miracles, they never claimed to be the Messiah. Jesus clearly stated it on several occasions.

v. 32 — Satan’s first choice in dealing with the Lord’s work is violence. He loves to stir people up to act foolishly and irrationally. He prefers control and despotism. Secondly, he will use other seemingly innocent tactics like ecumenism, post modernism, New Age, and the proliferation of heresies.

v. 33,34 — When He ascends, He won’t be found. Jesus will soon be going to the Father and they will not see Him. Naturally the only way to eventually come to Him is through repentance and faith.

v. 35 — A good question! This was not the task of Jesus himself, but Paul and the Apostles took the gospel to all of the known world in their time.

v. 37,38 — (Now we get to the climax!) He waits for the last day of the feast. There is not a procession of bringing water from the pool of Siloam on this day because the feast remembers that the fullness of revitalization and the coming of the Holy Spirit in God’s people has not yet come. Jesus stood up as a herald and cried out His invitation as the living water. His timing is impeccable! And deliberate! When the people are looking forward to the blessing of God and new life, He offers it to them! Is. 44:3 Water symbolizes the Holy Spirit (v. 39 in Jn. 7) Is. 58:11 (thou shalt be like a spring of water) Remember the woman at the well (Jn. 4) Ezk. 47:1 — looking at the New Jerusalem on earth. Of course, Jesus is speaking spiritually here, not literally. When we get this living water that only Christ can offer, we can offer it to others and so the water continues to flow out and the gospel spreads and fruit is produced. Verse 38 is the great commission, is it not? Life flows from the Lord to us to others through Him and us.

v. 39 — Jesus is glorified at His resurrection. John knows that the Holy Spirit was introduced into the world and the believers at Pentecost. Of course Christ existed before, but at Pentecost His ministry is greatly expanded into the believers and the world. We see the Trinity here in verses 37-39.

v.40-43 — Here is confusion due to ignorance. They believe based on what they want. Jesus’ message is strong, but not everyone wants to give up his sin, so if they don’t want to believe He is the Messiah, they will reject Him. They knew he came from Galilee, but they don’t seem to be familiar with the prophecies in Isaiah and Micah. If any one of these people really wanted to know His background they could have found it out because, as we know, He was born in Bethlehem (David’s city) as prophesied so long ago. Similarly, if people really want to know the truth, they will go to great effort to find it.

v. 44-45 — The officers were sent to take Him while the council waited, but they didn’t have the heart to bring Him. They really can’t think of any more to say other than no one has ever spoken like Him. His boldness and authority must have really impressed them. Again, it wasn’t Jesus’ time to be taken so no action occurred.

v. 47-48 — Who is accountable? They that know more. The Pharisees ask the officers if they have believed Jesus. “We don’t believe him so why should you?” The natural tendency is to believe the big shots, not Jesus. Luke 12:51-53 says Jesus comes to cause division.

v. 49 — “this people” means the common folk, of whom the Pharisees are sometimes disdainful.

v.51 — This is fair but timid. Nicodemus may have a converted mind by this time but he won’t be bold about testifying. He does remind them of the law and to be careful in judgment.

v. 52 — Either the Pharisees here are showing disdain or great ignorance because Jonah, Amos, Nahum, and other prophets came from Galilee.

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments—John Chapter 6

This is a favorite chapter of Roman Catholics and Calvinists—it shouldn’t be!

Jesus was not looking to attract crowds. His purpose was to do the Father’s will and train His disciples. Crowds had taken to following Him around during this part of His ministry. He had been teaching them all day concerning the “kingdom of God.” In fact, He had tried to get away from them and couldn’t. When he sees them coming and gathered, He is thinking ahead about their comfort. They need to be fed. In those days, a penny was a day’s wage so when Philip mentions 200 penny worth, he’s talking about a lot of money–200 working days worth!

The Lord doesn’t ask Philip if they should buy bread but asks him whence – namely, from what source or by what means. Philip evades that part. Being a very practical one, he is at least honest in answering that even if they knew where to get such meals, a lot of money would not buy enough for this size crowd. He is not exercising faith this day but just thinking as a normal human. How like us. We often depend on ourselves and our own strength. It’s not always apparent how the Lord could work in various situations.

I like Andrew. He must have a servant type of personality because he knows a little boy’s lunch is pitifully small but he wants to be of any help he can. It’s a start. We know there are at least 5,000 here but there could be many more if you counted women and children. Some have estimated as many as 20,000. I guess we’ll find out for sure when we watch the “replay” in the heavenly records. We really have to love this little boy, too. Andrew wouldn’t commandeer his lunch, the boy must have heard and offered it: another caring person who really wants to help. [Have you noticed that if we really care and want to help, the Lord will let us help in His work too?]

John tells us that Jesus already knew what He was going to do. His question to Philip was a test. What would you have said if you were in that position? This is also the only incident on record where Jesus asks someone’s advice. He had everything well under control. You wonder why they didn’t just ask Jesus what to do. (I probably would have said, “I have no clue, surely you know what to do, Lord! Just tell us and we’ll help.) You would have thought they had seen enough miracles by now to trust Him to act appropriately.

v. 10 — Everything is organized, done decently, and orderly. (Christians are not to be disorganized.) Jesus begins to instruct them on what to do. [My questions are, “Where did the baskets come from? Were they all the same size? Did the disciples carry around supplies with them just in case? When people were taking food out and the basket was less full, did new fish and bread appear just in time? Did that happen when one person was passing it to his neighbor so you didn’t exactly see it happen? Hmm?]

v. 11 — Jesus gave thanks, the food was distributed, and people took what they wanted. There’s a type here for us to consider. The key is in the word distributed. We need to share (distribute) the “bread of life” (the Gospel) with others. The Lord starts it and we help. There was no forcing of the crowd here, they took whatever they wished from what the disciples offered. We are not capable of forcing the Gospel on people anyway, but be sure that they know it fully and what the ramifications are if they choose against Christ.

v. 12 — All were filled. When a person becomes a believer in the full sense of the word, he is filled with the Holy Spirit as the Lord regenerates him. Indwelling is permanent, but “filling” with power for service is needed repeatedly. See the book of Acts and our notes on this. The disciples cleaned up after everyone. This was a quality job. Christians are not slobs. What kind of miracle is this one? One of creation (making matter) by the One who created the whole universe! It must have been the best tasting bread and fish these people had ever had!

v. 15 — The people want to make Jesus King, but they want a King who will free them from Rome, not from their own spiritual darkness. Jesus fulfills the Messianic prophecy in Deut. 18:15-19, but it is not His time to be King. He is to lead the people out of spiritual darkness, not into political freedom. Kingship will come later. Jesus does not need the help of the people to do His work. He is in ministry mode now and so we should be as well. This modern movement of ushering in the kingdom is inappropriate and impossible. The end times see only an increase in apostasy and wickedness – see 2 Tim 3:1-5, 3:13, 4:1-4 for example. The advent of the second coming of Christ comes in Revelation 19 and His timing will be perfect as it has been throughout Scripture. After a full day with people, Jesus needs some time with His Father so He sends the disciples on ahead and He goes off alone to commune with God.

v. 16-20 — These men were seasoned fishermen and they knew how to handle boats so it probably was a rather fierce storm. A furlong is about 600 feet. The sea was reportedly 40 furlongs across so they were a little over half way (25 furlongs). Most likely they saw Jesus walking on the water and thought Him a ghost or apparition. How comforting to hear Him say, “It is I; be not afraid.” Perhaps He came in this manner to encourage them. How comforting it is to us to hear Him say, “Don’t be afraid—I will never leave thee nor forsake thee — lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

v. 21 — As soon as they receive Him, the trouble is over. Do you remember how you felt when you properly settled things with the Lord? He will be with us to the end and make sure we get there. Here is another miracle indeed, for as soon as He enters the boat, their trip is accelerated and they reach the other side quickly. That’s the kind of flight or boat ride I’d like to have! He’s the Lord of time too!

Now we go to the next day. People on the other side had seen Jesus’ disciples depart without Him. They saw no other boats and wondered where He was. Other boats arrived and took them across the water where they see the disciples and the Lord. “How did He get there?” they wonder.

v. 24-26 — “Seekers” is used frequently today when churches say they are “seeker friendly” etc. There is no such thing as a “seeker” from a Biblical view. Until you repent, you’re a rebel!

Remember these people had wanted to make Jesus king the previous day just because He filled their stomachs! They aren’t really looking for the spiritual but the physical—they want the good life now. Curiously, Jesus doesn’t answer their question. He does rebuke them and tries to steer them in the right direction. We can use the same technique when witnessing. Avoid foolish questions and keep on the important issues. (Dr. Dave says sometimes it is good to answer a person’s question if you can tell that it will truly help him to understand but, a lot of the time, questions are asked to distract or satisfy mere curiosity, so avoiding them is appropriate.) Here, Jesus ignores the curiosity of the people and tells them what their motive is: to satisfy their present day appetites and not their future spiritual condition. He steers the conversation to what He knows is most important.

v. 27 — Be concerned about your spiritual condition, not the material wants of the day. Labor for salvation. This is like sitting in a difficult college course and using your mind to understand what you are hearing and seeing. It is intense mental work to interpret what the prof is saying, put it into your own words and put the ideas to practical use. By the same token, it is mental and spiritual work to humble yourself before God because you change your mind about things to conform to His truth. You turn your thoughts and attitudes to Christ and away from what you thought previously.

“Sealed” has the sense that God approves totally of His Son. Underwriter’s Laboratory has their “seal of approval” on various products they have tested. In the past, documents were sealed with wax and the one approving them pushed his ring into the wax imprinting it with his mark to show it was official. Jesus was approved by the Father at His baptism. He is the official representative of His Father. When we get converted and reborn, we are Christ’s representative.

v.28 — They pick up on this word labor rather than the urging to put their mind on spiritual things and ask Him what works are best. They are thinking of the Law and how they can do works to obey it. They want to know how to do right but Jesus tells them to believe on Him. Ephesians says salvation is by grace (God’s part) and faith (our part) and not of works lest any man should boast. God specifies what He wants and we succeed by obeying.

v. 29 — What work is God most interested in them doing? Believing in Christ. Jesus just said this is work (labor used as a verb form denoting action) so it’s a good refutation of Calvinism. A Calvinist accuses us of works salvation by explaining that if we choose to believe then we are doing a work. He would argue that you don’t have that choice. Because he says only the elect are saved and they can only believe if God irresistibly regenerates them, you can’t even make a decision of your own to believe. Changing your mind from old beliefs to new ones is certainly mental work or processing even though it’s not physical work. If Jesus says choosing to believe in Him is a work, then so be it.

v. 30 — What foolish Israelites! They want another physical sign! They just saw Jesus feed 5,000 less than 24 hours ago and now they want another miracle?! It is often said that seeing is believing but it is seldom true. “ Seeing is seeing. Believing is being sure without seeing — (Morgan).” The manna in the wilderness lasted for 40 years — can He top that? Surely the wilderness miracle is more heroic than one meal!

v. 32 — It wasn’t Moses that brought the bread, it was God. That bread was for physical nourishment as they wandered through the wilderness but not for eternal life. The bread that God sent down from heaven (Jesus) was for spiritual life everlasting and spiritual nourishment — far more important than material wants.

v. 34 — The people are still thinking physically.

v. 35 — Just as Moses learned that God was the “I AM,” meaning “always existent,” Jesus equates Himself with God by using the same terminology. It’s the same lesson as with the woman at the well. Take care of your spiritual condition and stop thinking on the earthly level.

The word believe here means more than a onetime acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord. The belief is ongoing throughout the life of a Christian. As a believer learns to live by faith, trusting Jesus day by day, he finds he will never hunger or thirst. Knowing that the future is secure in His hands satisfies like nothing else can. It gives hope where there was none. It allows us to give that hope to others as well.

v. 36 — Some believe fully but many do not. The manna in the wilderness was for everyone and so is Jesus. He offers the truth and His saving grace to anyone who repents and turns his faith toward Him. The individual must choose. How does anyone find out what the Lord means? Study His Word. John 5 just told us to search the Scripture.

The world is full of misconception and falsehood. To discern the truth takes much familiarity with the Bible. [Bonnie — I tell people, if God has designed a way for people to be reconciled with Him, don’t you think He would make it easy for them to find it? He did. It’s in His Word. Don’t listen to people tell you truth without testing it against what the Lord Himself says.]

v. 37 — The first half of the verse is a favorite Calvinist reference, but they somehow miss the second half and also don’t seem to notice verse 40 which uses the all inclusive “every one.” All the Father hath given me refers to the Apostles. See John 17:6, 12, (Jesus is instructing his disciples in this passage); John 6: 70,71; John 17:70 — “these alone” are the 11 disciples; John 15:16.19; and John 18:8,9. Therefore it is clear that the Lord is referring to His immediate disciples, and not making a universal reference to humanity’s salvation. The second half of the verse accounts for anyone that comes to Jesus who doesn’t happen to be among His immediate disciples in 30 A.D.

Rice says there are a number of words for the heart turning to Christ for salvation. One believes, or repents, or calls on the Lord, or obeys the Gospel, or takes the cup of salvation, or comes to Christ but all these statements refer to the turning of the heart from sin to trust in Christ for salvation. Come to Christ as in Is. 1:18; Is. 55:1-2; and Matt. 19:14.

Moody was right when he said “’the whosoever wills’ are the elect and the ‘whosoever won’ts,’ are the non elect. Man gets to choose to receive a free gift. That’s grace.

v. 40 — Here “every one” means anyone who believes in the required way will have everlasting life. See 1 Tim 2 and II Peter 3.

v. 42 — Now they aren’t confused, just resistant and murmuring among themselves rather than listening and trying to understand. They knew of Mary’s situation and the birth and can’t get beyond that scandal to figure out how Jesus could say He was from above.

v. 44 — Rice: A sinner may say, “I can get saved anytime I want to.” That is a foolish statement. One holding on to sin, hardened in his deliberate rejection of Christ, is in danger of death and hell at any moment.

It’s also clear that God draws on everyone, but some get more opportunities than others. An unsaved husband will have many opportunities to hear and respond to truth manifested by a godly wife. Those raised in a cult and marrying within that cult may not have so many chances. Then how sinful and foolish to reject when God calls!

No one has a guarantee that tomorrow he will feel convicted or will want to be saved. We regularly witness to lost people who get under some conviction, but then put off the opportunity. That can harden them against another Gospel witness. Jn. 12:32-33 proves that the Lord draws “all men.”

The call may be through creation (Rom. 1:19-20) or conscience (Rom. 2:11-16) or Scripture (Is. 54:13) or from personal witnessing by a believer (Matt. 28:19-20). At any rate, all are without excuse. Light responded to will draw more light.

Sorenson: The drawing here is as in a fishing net. It is not an allusion to some form of irresistible grace but refers to the simple truth that when Jesus is lifted up, His divine grace draws men to Him. Conviction comes by the Holy Spirit. No one can say he was not called.

v. 45 — See Isaiah chapters 2 and 54 and Micah chapter 4 which describes the millennium as a time of learning.

v. 46 — Jesus is claiming a special communion with the Father.

v. 48-57 — Jesus contrasts the physical with the spiritual. The manna was physical food and the people that ate it physically died. Belief in Jesus is spiritual food and yields eternal life after physical death.

The Roman Catholics like to leap in here and do their transubstantiation thing — meaning that they believe when the elements of the supper are transformed by an ordained RC priest, they actually become the body and blood of Jesus imbuing them with some kind of miraculous spiritual power and payment for sin. A careful reading of this whole passage clearly shows that to take the Bread of Life is to believe on Christ and trust in His work of redemption. Catholics teach that there is saving power in the Eucharist, that it’s a continual bloody sacrifice of Christ. In every mass they are repeating the sacrifice that Hebrews 9:28 says was “once offered to bear the sins of many” as well as Hebrews 10:16-18 . . . “now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” It is inexcusable to teach that Jesus meant salvation is in the mass presided over by a Roman priest.

Salvation is in personally recognizing our willful sinfulness, repenting from it and turning to Jesus in faith. Before Jesus gave up the ghost, He cried, “It is finished!” To claim to offer Christ as a repeated bloody sacrifice is blasphemous and an affront to God’s mercy.

The Jews He was talking to should have known the meaning of the showbread, the twelve loaves put on the table in the Holy Place in the Temple each week. As the candlestick pictured Christ as the light of the world, the showbread, like the manna from heaven, pictured Christ as the Bread of Life. Jesus restates it as eating His body and drinking His blood. Also remember that the Old Testament forbids drinking blood because the life is in the blood. Jesus would not go against His own Word — Lev. 17:10-12. It is clear that He is using figurative language here and the Lord’s supper is a memorial of what the Lord has done. It is not some supernatural mystical occurrence giving the participant special power. Jesus tells them that He will give His life for the life of the world.

In verse 54, Jesus is referencing the sacrifices He will make. He will give his life (flesh, body, blood) for the world that whosoever believeth in Him will gain eternal life. In turn, we give him a sacrifice as well (Rom. 12:1-2) and die to self. These concepts are a real stumbling block for this crowd. They can’t get their minds turned from the physical to the spiritual. Jesus says in verse 63 that He is speaking in a spiritual context. In verses 57 and 58 — “not as your fathers ate manna” means the physical but the living bread is the spiritual.

Morgan: Unless you enter into the experience that comes by the way of the shedding of blood (death as payment for sin demanded by a righteous God), you have no life in yourselves.

v. 62 — He’s prophesying the ascension and alluding to His pre-existence in heaven. Then they will really know who He is and how powerful He is.

v.63 — “I’ve been teaching you spiritually. Life is in God’s words.” Jesus calls Himself the Word. How can you possibly doubt that He would preserve it?

v. 65 — God has a part in drawing people.

v.66 — There is no distinction between the term believer or disciple (disciple means follower) but if a disciple walks away, he is not a believer and does not belong to Christ. You are either in or out: saved or not saved. You can believe but not enough to be converted and therefore a true disciple of the Lord. These are the ones that walked away and followed Him no more. If you believe, that means you have changed your mind and your actions will reflect it.

v. 67 — Here is a real gutsy question! [I wish I could hear the tone of voice here!] Phil. 2:1-11 tells us how Christians should be. He may be down to the last 12 disciples now.

v. 68 — Peter really got it! He says “to whom” should we go. He recognizes that salvation is in a person, that person is Jesus Christ and the words are really important. Jesus is the only way.

v. 69 — Here is a good description of salvation – faith in the Christ described so wonderfully throughout the OT Scriptures.

v. 70 — Jesus is thinking of the one He’s going to lose like the shepherd who leaves the 99 and goes to look for the one that is lost. Judas was never saved. The word devil means adversary. He didn’t lose his salvation because he never had any to begin with. He lost his position of ministry to go to his own place (Acts 1:25). What an example of a hard heart! It’s almost inconceivable that he could spend three years with Jesus and still betray him.

The Jews to whom Jesus is speaking in this passage are just as hard hearted. They refuse to understand Him because the bottom line is that they want to be their own boss and have things their own way—the complete opposite of what it takes to be born again.

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s Notes on Dave’s Commentary — John 5

Matthew Henry says we are all impotent folk in spiritual things, blind, halt, and withered; but full provision is made for our cure if we attend to it. An angel troubled the water but only the first one to step in had the benefit of it. This teaches us to be careful, that we let not a season skip which may never return. Those long in affliction may comfort themselves that God keeps account of how long. Our Lord cares for this man even though he never asked for it. “Arise and walk!” God’s command, “Turn and live!” Make ye a new heart. The proof of spiritual cure is our rising and walking. Christ has healed our spiritual diseases. Let us go wherever He sends us, and take up whatever He lays upon us; and walk before Him.

v. 1 – 5 — There are 7 major feasts in the year. Jesus wants to spend time with numbers of people. They gather on these porches and in the Temple. Some think the pool at Bethesda may have been pentagonal in shape and perhaps covered for shade. There may have been steps leading into the water on each side. Even today, there are pools and springs around the world that are thought to have healing power. Some attribute it to the various salts or chemicals in the water or occasional bursts of gases that come up. The situation here was clearly miraculous, though.

Morris says that most modern versions have omitted the last part of John 5:3 and verse 4 because of what seems to be the unlikelihood of such a miracle. The problem is that John 5:7, which is in all the manuscripts, makes no sense without it. Furthermore, the great majority of the manuscripts do include all these verses. In short, trust your KJV. Whether the miracle seems unreasonable or not to the alleged “scientific minds” of skeptics, this phrase was certainly recorded by John in his original text and was later deleted in some manuscripts because of the skepticism of the copyists. There is nothing impossible about the miracle, no matter how unusual it seems. Miracles are, by definition, unusual. “Perhaps God, in view of the long absence of a prophetical voice in Israel, elected to maintain this continuing witness to His grace and power in Jerusalem, as a sort of perpetual messianic promise to be repeated regularly until Christ would come.”

Bethesda means ”house of mercy.” The modern critical text incorrectly omits the end of verse 3 and all of verse 4. There are miracles going on here. This particular man comes there to collect alms and perhaps have an opportunity to be healed. He doesn’t ask Jesus for healing. We are told that he had been diseased for 38 years so he could be even older than that (fifties or more?).

v. 6 — Jesus’ question may be physical and spiritual at the same time. We can use the same idea today in asking people if they desire to be forgiven and to be made whole spiritually. Salvation will not solve all of their problems and indeed it is prudent to make them aware of the things that will come. They may lose friends and family, their desires will change, they may have to give up associations and habits. It will cost something to follow Christ but the journey is well worth the trials.

The Pulpit Commentary puts it this way: “There are many who are not anxious for salvation, with all the demands it makes upon the life, with its summons to self-sacrifice and repression of self-indulgence. There are many religious imposters who prefer tearing open their spiritual wounds to the first passer-by, and hugging their grievances, [rather than to be] made into robust men upon whom the burden of responsibility will immediately fall.”

v. 7 — Here is another moment when we wish we could hear the voice inflection. He doesn’t seem to be whiny but just stating a fact. He calls Jesus “Sir” which definitely shows respect. He laments the fact that he has no one to help him get into the water. One wonders if he lived nearby and had to crawl to the pool every day. Perhaps friends brought him and left him to go off to their work. Who wouldn’t be desirous of healing in this situation? That’s why he lies next to this pool every day.

v. 8 — Jesus speaks with authority and gives the man three seemingly impossible things to do. Rise. Take up thy bed. Walk. The man recognizes that authority and acts upon it. We should speak God’s words authoritatively also. Notice the healing process wasn’t gradual here but instantaneous.

v. 9 — In faith and obedience, the man picks up his bed and walks. He’s not concerned that it is the Sabbath day. He was called by Christ to do that which was impossible and he did it. We look at others around us and say, “They are hard cases!” but God can do miracles still. Everyone of us was a hard case. Don’t you love the imagery here? The Lord speaks with power (not a touch as in some other cases) as a Spirit-filled evangelist and the man is instantly healed and made whole!

v. 10 — The intent of the Sabbath is to be a day of rest. The precedent is set by God Himself when he creates the universe in six days and rests on the seventh. Then He hallows (to set apart as holy) the Sabbath day. See Jer. 17:21. The intent is to rest from work and to honor God, be refreshed, fellowship with God etc. Most Jewish tradition along this line was sensible but eventually the rules were developed. Even the Rabbis had to make exceptions for cases that affected life and health (an example would be the birth of a baby) but even these cases had restrictions and rules. The common people knew not the intricacies of the rules, but just obeyed what the Rabbis taught.

It is easy to see that the religious authorities had their priorities all messed up. They were not impressed and joyful that the man was healed but focused instead on his disobedience to their traditions.

v. 11 — The man has a good answer. Surely one who can heal has power from God and is worthy of obedience.

v. 12 — They missed the big thing (the healing) and focused on the minutiae when they should be amazed at the healing itself.

v. 13 — “Wist” means to imagine, to suppose, to know. It is the verb form of wisdom. Wisdom is the practical application of things you know. “Know” is a verb and “knowledge” is a noun. Here wist may mean the man knew something of Jesus but not who He was in totality. Why does Jesus leave? He didn’t want to deal with questioners and others who wanted to be healed. Perhaps, more importantly, He needs to deal with the man about his sin and judgment but right now he is too thankful and joyful to be serious.

Matthew Henry remarks that “it is common for people, when sick, to promise much; when newly recovered, to perform only something; but after a while to forget all.”

v. 14 — You mean there is something worse than 38 years of hopeless wretchedness?! Jesus finds the man later and deals with the sin issue. It’s implied that his original condition had been the result of sin. However, not all sickness is from sin or chastisement. The Scripture uses the singular “thou” (you) showing that He is personally addressing the healed man. The Lord asks him to repent (perhaps from whatever caused the illness in the first place but as with all of us, repent specifically from sins and sinful behavior and turn to Christ). He speaks of judgment to come unless the man gets right. An eternity in hell is definitely worse than 38 years of illness.

v. 15 — The healed man now testifies to the Pharisees that it was Jesus that healed him. It is probably reasonable to think that he got saved here.

v. 16 — A good thing is criticized rather than given thanks for and Jesus is persecuted. Perhaps they followed Him around with the intent to kill Him because He had healed on the Sabbath day. You will remember that later the Lord said the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath — Mark 2:27. In Matt. 12:11-12, He tells of a man who lost a sheep and goes to look for it on the Sabbath.

Morris adds, that “the Sabbath Day was ordained to commemorate that fact [the work of creation]. But He then began His work of conserving what He had created. Thus, He is now ‘upholding all things by the word of his power.’ In addition, when sin entered God’s ‘very good’ creation, God also entered on His long work of redeeming His cursed and disintegrating creation (Ro 8:20-23). It was perfectly proper, therefore, for the Lord Jesus to ‘do good’ on the Sabbath Day.”

v. 17, 18 — The use of “hitherto” means in the past. God has been working all this time and now Jesus is here to continue the work. He doesn’t say “our Father” but “my Father.” Jesus stated a unique relationship with God. He isn’t lumping them in the group that respects God and now they are incensed. In fact He is making Himself equal to God which is great blasphemy to the Jews and they are fired up even more to hate Him. Jesus knew what He said, saw the reaction it elicited, and took no opportunity to correct it. Some few may have understood that Jesus was saying He had a special relationship with God.

A son has all the rights and privileges of the father. Think of a King and a Prince, for example. I guess they didn’t know His name was Immanuel meaning “God with us” — Isaiah 7:14.

v. 19-23 — Here is an indication of Jesus’ deity (more than a spirit-filled man). Today we would equate “marvel” with “wow!” or “awesome!” It does not necessarily mean saving belief. God’s creation and the details of it are marvelous indeed. This passage shows how intimately the Father and Son are tied together. Their work is the same and the Son gives perfect obedience to the Father. In turn, the Father gives judgment over to the Son. The concept of being of one mind as seen in the early church and Acts is so foreign to us today. You just don’t see it in modern day churches and yet we are all to have the mind of Christ — 1 Cor. 2:14-16. By verse 23, all are desired to be quickened meaning brought to spiritual life. Many scriptures talk of judgment by God but here it’s the Son because He was one of us and therefore no excuses can hold at the judgment seat.

The Pulpit Commentary: “He [Jesus] is in intimate and continuous and affectionate relations with the Father, who in this capacity has sent his Son to be the world’s Saviour. He sees the Father’s healing grace and omnipresent energy and ceaseless activity in regions where ‘the Jews’ fail to discern them. The incarnate Son does not set up a rival throne or authority. He moves, lives, has his being, from the Father and not from himself. “

There is only one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ. Be wary of people that you hear say “God” and talk about Him, but don’t mention the name of Jesus.

v. 24 — “Heareth” and “believeth” are more than just head knowledge but produce action and change what you do. The outside reflects what we are on the inside. You have eternal life now and it lasts forever. Don’t say “once saved, always saved” but “I have eternal (or everlasting) life” which is a Biblical phrase. II Cor. 5:17 and John 3:36

Morris: “Note that salvation is a present possession. Since ‘Christ died for us (Ro 5:8), there is ‘no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus’ (Ro 8:1). The believer is ‘passed’ from death to life. Thus, he already possesses eternal life.”

v. 25 — These are future phases of the resurrection including those that will be saved/converted under His ministry.

v. 26 — Remember in chapter 4 how Jesus is the source of life in the living water he offered to the woman at the well. All life comes from life. (It is the foolish skeptic who imagines – unscientifically – that life can arise by luck from random chemical processes.) Since the source of life is God, circumstances should not dictate who we are. We should be the way that God intends us to be. Jesus behaves perfectly knowing that He will die and be in agony. It’s not easy to live right but there is no other plan.

v. 27 — Look at Daniel 7:13. When Jesus identifies Himself with the Son of man in Daniel, the Jews knew what He meant.

v. 28,29 — The word “all” signifies that this is the Great White Throne judgment at the end of the Millennium. How you be (are) is what you do. The believer witnesses and does the Lord’s work with Him. The word everlasting applies to both heaven and hell but people don’t want to think of hell as forever. They seem to have no problem thinking heaven is forever! The resurrection of life happens 1,000 years before the resurrection of the damned. (see Re. 20:4-6)

Sorenson adds that the graves only contain dead bodies. Their souls and spirits are departed either to heaven or hell. As the resurrections come to pass, the bodies in the graves will be brought forth (the resurrection in this sense is universal) but how it happens and where the individual ends up vary according to whether one has repented and believed or not. The righteous get a glorified body that is perfect and ageless. The unsaved dead are raised for final judgment and get sentenced. They are then reunited with their body and cast into the lake of fire forever. See Rev. 20:11-15 and Matt. 25:41-46.

v. 30 — If someone does his own thing apart from God it is a false life. There are unlimited ways to miss the mark (think of a target with a bullseye) but the road to truth is narrow. There is only way to find it.

v. 31 — Jesus points out to His listeners that His witness is not the only one. If He were the only one they would think it unreliable but He has more.

v. 32 . . . — There are 4 witnesses here: (1) John the Baptist who prepared the way. At first the Jews were excited about him but that faded as many new ideas do. (2) The work that He does such as healings, miracles, turning tables at the Temple — these testify to Christ’s identity as sent from God and therefore Jesus’ credibility in claiming to be the Son of God. (3) The Father, v. 37 — through prophetic Scripture but more specifically the baptism of Jesus when God placed His blessing on Jesus. (4) The Scripture fulfillment of the Old Testament, which if studied, yields the truth about salvation.

Matthew Henry: “The Jews considered that eternal life was revealed to them in their Scriptures, and that they had it, because they had the word of God in their hands . . . It is possible for men to be very studious in the letter of the Scriptures, yet to be strangers to its power . . . Christ’s appeal is spoken to us, advising or commanding all Christians to search the Scriptures. Not only read them, and hear them, but search them; which denotes diligence in examining and studying them . . . They (the Jews) slighted and undervalued Christ, because they admired and overvalued themselves.”

v. 40 — Calvinists won’t cite this verse because it implies choice and action. The “ye” is plural.

v. 41 — We shouldn’t look for honor from men either. It’s a shame they didn’t revere Him but it was not Jesus’ purpose to win the adulation of men. He knew their hearts and that they didn’t really love God and so they wouldn’t love Him either.

v. 43 — Paul in II Corinthians 11:4 and 2 Tim 4:2-4 cites man’s inclination to run after false teachers. Such teachers are appealing because they avoid the whole counsel of God, opening the door for their followers to wallow in their favorite sins.

v. 44 — You have to choose. If you are going for the honor of men you won’t repent in humility and come to God. Think of well known popular preachers today. They rarely show a humble spirit. Compare Luke 16:15.

v. 45-47 — Jesus uses their respect for the Old Testament fathers against them. Look at Deut. 18:15. This is at the end of Moses’ life, soon to enter the promised land (especially v. 18) and the people need to be reminded of the law and prophets. This is a new generation and Moses must teach them. Jesus identifies Himself with the Prophet foretold here. The writings of Moses will be the accuser of the Jews who rejected Jesus. The Rabbis had hope in the Word of God but they really didn’t believe it enough to bring them salvation.

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s Notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments — John 4

Background: Judea — A geographical term that first appears in Ezra 5:8 where it designates a province of the Persian Empire. Since most of the exiles who returned from the Babylonian captivity belonged to the tribe of Judah, they came to be called Jews and their land Judea. Under the Persian Empire, Judea was a district administered by a governor who was usually a Jew. Eventually Judea became annexed to the Roman province of Syria but its governors were procurators appointed by the Roman Emperor.

Samaria — (From David Cloud’s Way of Life Encyclopedia) A city built by Omri, King of Israel, and was the capital of the kingdom of 10 tribes (1 Ki. 6:23-24). It was situated on the side of a hill, and adorned and fortified by the kings of Israel. It was besieged various times until the people were taken into captivity.

Samaritans — (Way of Life Encyclopedia) The people who inhabited the region of Samaria in central Palestine. They were a mixed race of Jews and foreigners (2 Ki. 17:24-41). For this reason, they were despised by the Jews. They had built their own temple on Mount Gerazim and worshipped there. The Jewish prejudice then was not just racial but also religious. The Jews viewed their religion as apostate. When Jesus was called a Samaritan it was to slander Him (Jn. 8:48). The Lord led a Samaritan woman to salvation and used a Samaritan in a parable (Lk. 10:30-37) to illustrate how to be a good neighbor. Of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, only the Samaritan one returned to thank Him (Lk. 17:11-19). In Acts 1:8 Jesus commanded that the Gospel be carried to the Samaritans.

v. 1 — This is the first time John uses the word Lord in his Gospel. Most likely, Jesus did not baptize but had his disciples do it to avoid the pride issue. Now Jesus is drawing more notice than John the Baptist. He is not so unusual in His manner. These disciples had been with John and were in effect continuing John’s ministry under Jesus in a greater way.

v. 3-9 — The Pharisees were noticing Jesus more. He apparently did not feel the time was right to confront them so He departed for Galilee.

Sorensen mentions that this is the last reference to any baptizing being done in Jesus’ name until the Great Commission. It may be that Jesus stopped it until after His resurrection rather than draw premature attention to His office of Messiah – but we can only speculate, since Scripture is not explicit.

Most Jews traveled around Samaria because they considered them an unclean people. However, Jesus had a divine appointment there. In Genesis 33:18-20, Jacob comes back, meets Esau, takes some land and buys a field (v. 19). There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel meaning “the God of Israel” or the God who was the God of Israel The Samaritans were proud of their ancestor Jacob.

Morris encourages us to follow the Lord’s example of personal soul winning. There is no room for ethnic prejudice in giving the Gospel. It is for all people.

Matthew Henry says we should not go into places of temptation except when necessary. [This was necessary so many could be saved.] Jesus was a poor man and so traveled on foot. Here we see Him weary in His humanity (as all men get sometimes) and so He rests for a moment on the side of a well.

The Hebrew 6th hour is noon. The Roman time is 6 p.m. John’s Gospel was written about 90 A.D., well after the destruction of the temple. His audience is more Gentile than Jew. The Roman clock will be in use in this Gospel. It was customary for water to be drawn late in the day after the heat of the sun. The disciples had gone to buy food, probably for supper. To draw water you must bring a container and a perhaps a rope and use the bucket that is at the well to bring up your share. The disciples had multiple opportunities to witness in town. The woman seems curt with Jesus since she used no title for Him at first, but we can’t know the voice inflection. She recognizes Him as a Jew probably by His clothing or His Galilean accent.

v. 10 — Sorenson relates that Jesus replies to the woman with a phrase full of hidden meaning. The phrase “gift of God,” appears 8 times in the New Testament. Seven of those are in reference to salvation. “Living water” is a term that makes reference to running water such as that coming from a spring which is more superior to well water. Jesus begins the conversation with a physical illustration and then turns it to the spiritual.

We ask for salvation with a repentant and broken heart and spirit. When the conditions are met, He gives the living water of eternal life.

v. 11, 12 — The woman wants to know how Jesus could draw water since He didn’t have the necessary tools for doing so. She is now using a term of respect because she calls him “sir.” Notice that Jesus never answers the question about being greater than Jacob. By the end of the discourse, the Samaritan woman knows the answer without it being spelled out. Someday she will have access to the river of living water found in Revelation 22:1. The waters of Eden (Gen. 2:10) were living water too.

v. 13,14 — The use of the word “whosoever” means salvation is available to all – another blow to the Calvinists. Salvation is everlasting like a continually bubbling spring and permanently quenches.

v. 15-18 – She gets the truth about half right. Says, Matthew Henry: “The carnal mind is very ingenious in shifting off convictions, and keeping them from fastening. But how closely our Lord Jesus brings home the conviction to her conscience! He severely reproved her present state of life.”

Jesus backs up to start dealing with her sin. This He knows from the Holy Spirit’s leading to touch on the husband issue. She is not completely forthcoming of the truth. If she will repent from this big infraction she’ll be okay with the rest of the commandments. All sin is the same but Jesus goes for the one that she’s hanging onto. Camp on the sinner’s big sin! That’s the Scriptural pattern for evangelism. It’s obvious that she comes under conviction, but as many others do, she tries to change the subject.

v. 20 — The woman brings up a theological argument rather than discussing her sin. The Lord uses it and takes the discussion from there. She may be referring to Mt. Gerizim where the Samaritans worship. To use modern vernacular she is saying, “You have your religion and I have mine.” People under conviction will often hide behind their religion. Notice the plural use of “ye” meaning all Jews not just Him.

v. 21 — Jesus did not get into debate with her on religions. He keeps on track rather than waste time on an irrelevant theological matter. The “hour cometh” refers to the cross. At that time the Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom signifying that access to God is only through Jesus Christ and no other.

v. 22 — Sorenson puts it this way: “Jesus’ reply might be rendered thus. ‘You know whom to worship, but you do not know Him.’ The Samaritans had rejected the prophets and the Psalms of the Old Testament and only maintained a rudimentary knowledge of God. They were like so many mainline and liberal churches which hold forth the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Yet they have a severely truncated understanding of God. Many have a general allegiance to God, but do not know Him or His Son, Jesus Christ. . . the phrase ‘salvation is of the Jews’” means from the Jews.

The Samaritans knew some truth but did not worship at the Temple and did not know how to worship. It can be dangerous to know some truth and not get the big picture. Too much topical preaching instead of verse by verse and book by book can lead to large gaps of knowledge.

v. 23-24 — The time is coming, He says when where the worship is done is not important but who the worship is given to. Truth is an important ingredient in worship. The Pharisees had the right doctrine but had no concept of spiritual worship from the heart. Because God is a Spirit, worship must be spiritual and according to the truth of the Bible, not manmade traditions. Our spirit has to be made alive and connect with God as shown in John 3 and Gal. 4:4-6. Because the Word is talking to her the Samaritan woman can worship correctly in the truth and the right spirit if she believes. The use of the word “must” shows exclusivity. How the world hates that concept and so tries to say there are many ways to worship. The Bible is clear on the subject.

Morris clarifies by saying that true worship and saving faith no longer are brought through types or require physical aids. Jesus brought salvation full and free. The truth in Christ, received through the Spirit by faith, is the worship that the Father seeks.

v. 26 — In most of the Lord’s ministry, He spoke to the Jews. Here, the Samaritan woman is effectively a Gentile and isn’t familiar with Scripture like the Pharisees. She really wants to know the truth. There is no such thing as a seeker. The Father seeks us. This “seeker sensitive” culture is incorrect. Seekers are lost people – rebels — and should be treated as such until they stop their rebellion. In plain language, Jesus tells this woman that He is the Messiah. With the Jews he was less open and veiled His identity.

v. 27 — Rabbis especially are not to talk to women on the street. Here come the disciples and see Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman and they are intimidated as well as amazed, yet they say nothing.

v. 28 — A woman witnessing to the men! She has eternal life and now she wants others to have it too. Her words were compelling and they came to check it out. We can work at challenging people the same way. Be sure and show excitement in your witnessing when you talk about Jesus! Let’s hope we never get over the thrill of conversion and what the Lord has done for us!

v. 32-34 — How do you feel when witnessing to someone who’s interested? See Ps. 40:8. Jesus is feeling this delight in the response of the Samaritans. To do the will of His Father was more important to Jesus than anything else, even the material needs of his body. The disciples are clueless about what is going on, thinking more of the daily needs and not seeing the importance of the spiritual. Jesus shows us what the priorities should be.

v. 35 – Jesus sees the people coming out to the well in their white clothing, looking like a field of grain ready to reap, and says the fields are ready to harvest. The crops weren’t ready yet but the people were. Open your eyes to it, and reap spiritual blessings as these people come to hear.

v. 36-38 — Compare Job 31:8 and Micah 6:15 which state the consequences of sin against God. In this passage, the Lord turns around the principle to make sowing and reaping a “team project” where all the workers are blessed. Reaching out to people with the Gospel is aimed at producing spiritual fruit. We should rejoice when someone is won but realize it is a joint effort that usually produces the fruit. We ought not to boast over seeing one of our own contacts come to Christ because others probably helped prepare him/her. Both the one who sows and the one who reaps will be rewarded for their work. All can rejoice in a lost one reconciled to God. Rejoicing with others is much more satisfying than rejoicing alone. 1 Cor. 3:5-9

v. 39, 40 — Many believed in this area and they asked the Lord to stay and teach them. He changes His plans and stays but doesn’t force. He stays where He is invited.

v. 42-44 — These Samaritans believed because they heard Jesus’ own words. The words reinforce our belief and it still works today. We have His own words in our Bible. How strange that so few people are willing to read them! Jesus departed and went into Galilee (His own country was Judea).

The Jews wanted a king. These Samaritans understand that Jesus is the Saviour of the whole world (not just the elect as the Calvinists would have us believe).

v. 45 — They received Him superficially but not as Saviour. The miracles attracted and intrigued them but they did not have heart repentance and faith.

v. 46 — This nobleman may have been a Herodian, a local magistrate, unencumbered with religious tradition and pride. The term denotes some power and under Rome’s dominion.

v. 47 — He’s thinking Jesus should come. It has not yet occurred to him that Jesus could do it without being physically present. The Lord places a test before him to see how serious he is. The title “sir” that he uses is usually translated as “Lord.” There is urgency in his request to prevent his child from dying.

v. 48 — Jesus is making a statement about the Jews, not the nobleman, when He says they will not believe without signs and wonders.

v. 49, 50 — The man believed, passed the test, and acted accordingly. He simply took Jesus at His word and trusted what He said. Then he acted in faith. Do you think he hurried home or took his time knowing that Jesus had done what he asked?

v. 51 — Notice that the servants say exactly what Jesus said. What wonderful words to the father’s ears!

v. 52 — The nobleman sees the healing as a process but Jesus heals immediately.

v. 53 — Like the Philippian jailer and Cornelius, one conversion can lead to a whole family or household coming to know the Lord. The odds are more likely that the whole group will get saved if the father comes to salvation first.

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s Notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments – John 3

What an important chapter this is! Probably one of the most quoted verses in the Bible is here – John 3:16 – and the wonderful conversation with Nicodemus. This is a chapter that is very appropriate to go through with a nonbeliever. The chapter tells us of the new birth, presenting perhaps the most concise Gospel message in the Bible, plus insight as to why men reject and hate the truth. We see the close of the ministry of John the Baptist as well.

Matthew Henry’s discourse on the chapter is beautifully stated. “Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, and therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many like Nicodemus. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and thereby taught us to encourage good beginnings, although weak. . . afterward he owned Christ publicly.”

Henry continues to describe the new birth. “Birth is the beginning of life; to be born again, is to begin to live life anew, as those who have lived much amiss, or to little purpose. We must have a new nature, new principles, new affections, new aims. By our first birth we were corrupt, shapen in sin; therefore we must be made new creatures. . . We must be entirely different than we were before, as that which begins to be at any time, is not, and cannot be the same with which it was before. . . It is a great change made in the heart of a sinner, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It means that something is done in us, and for us, which we cannot do for ourselves, and whereby such a life begins as shall last for ever. . . When we consider the holiness of God, the depravity of our nature, and the happiness set before us, we shall not think it strange that so much stress is laid upon this [regeneration]. . . the soul is brought to mourn for sin, and to breathe after Christ.”

v. 1 – Nicodemus is a Pharisee meaning he is a strict theological conservative of his day and Bible believing. He is a member of the Sanhedrin, the religious ruling body of the time. By the end of the Gospel he is a believer in Christ and helps bury Jesus. He comes to see Jesus at night and here we have the example of a one on one conversation – the formula that still works and has worked through the ages. Dr. Dave says there is no evidence that he wants to be sneaky. Many interpret him this way but perhaps he just wanted to see Jesus without great crowds around. Nicodemus thinks of Jesus as a prophet and a teacher. He does not think of Jesus as God in the flesh yet. He addresses him with great respect by using the word Rabbi which was a term reserved for the formally schooled Jewish teachers. Jesus was from rural Galilee so would not have been deserving of the term. However, He was validated by His miracles. Jesus gets right to the point with Nicodemus and says he must be born again.

v. 3 — The use of verily twice makes the point more important. Verily is translated from “amen” which derives directly from the Hebrew word “amen” which means ‘verily,’ ‘truly,’ or ‘so be it.’ When preceding a statement it has the sense “truly.” We could render it as, “Here is the truth!”

This verse could be used as a proof text for people going to hell because they will not see the kingdom of God (on earth). If you aren’t there, you are only in one other place and that would be hell. Only born again people can be there because God cannot dwell with evil.

Sorenson says the word “again” literally means “from above.” So Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born from above and that is just what the new birth is.

v.4 — We can’t know the inflection of Nicodemus’ voice so it could be that the question is argumentative more than just honest.

v. 5 — There are three basic positions that have formed over the years from this verse. (1) Baptism forms a part of salvation which is definitely not correct because salvation is by repentance and faith only. (2) Water is a veiled reference to the Word of God which has cleansing properties. There is no support for this idea in the context and Nicodemus was familiar with the Old Testament, the only Scripture at the time, in which God’s Word is never thought of as “water.” (3) The water in this verse refers to physical birth and verse 6 proves the meaning. Parents know that a baby is born in a sack of water called the amniotic fluid and the baby is born wet. The physical birth is the proper interpretation.

Why do we baptize in water then? Perhaps because real babies are connected with life by water so the representation of birth, death, and resurrection is done in it. Going down into the water signifies our death, and coming up out of it shows the resurrection to new life. I can’t think of any other element with which to show that as well. Let us not neglect the fact that Jesus Himself gave us the example and that alone should be proof of the proper method of baptism.

Here is a good place to differentiate between the two spellings of the word “spirit.” When written with a small “s,” it means our spirit – the part of us that can connect with God when saved. When written with a capital letter, it means the Holy Spirit.

v. 6 — Here we have the proof of the meaning of verse 5. The birth is spiritual and not physical.
Sorenson says it could be paraphrased as follows: “that which is born of the flesh is physical and that which is born of the Spirit is spiritual.”

V. 7 — Ye must be born again. He is saying, “You shouldn’t be amazed by this.” Many Lutherans that we have spoken to disagree with this because they were baptized as babies and therefore see no need for being born again. Technically, they and the Roman Catholic Church believe that baby baptism washes away original sin. We believe that every person sins of his own free will.

There is no proof that we have a so called “sin nature” and so can use that to excuse our behavior. We sin because we want to and it is direct rebellion against God. Psalm 51:5 is most often used as a proof text for the concept of sin nature, but beware. It is not proper to take a metaphor and use it for a proof text. The meaning in the verse is that sin is everywhere and in every one of us and all around us. The mother did not sin in the conception, but she is a sinner just as every human being is a sinner. It doesn’t take long for even little infants to exhibit their self-will. Although they are helpless, they are quite demanding and self absorbed. They are born apart from the presence of God and so start making choices on their own, rarely in a righteous manner. In the garden, Adam and Eve walked in the presence of God until they sinned. God withdrew His presence, and men/women/children have been making choices apart from the will of God ever since. That’s what sin – willful sin – is all about.

Mary the mother of Jesus recognizes her need for a Saviour as noted in Luke 1:46-47. And Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” She has just been told she will bear the baby Jesus and He will save His people from their sin. The Catholics are wrong to say she is without sin and to pray to her as an intermediary or redemptrix.

V. 8 — The word “listeth” means “leans or inclines.” We can see the effects of the wind and so can we see the effects of regeneration but not the process itself. Sometimes we may not be aware of the exact moment of regeneration but time will reveal whether it occurred or not. The Lord uses a subtle example of repentance here. You see the “change” but not the invisible work of the Holy Spirit.

Sorenson adds that the Spirit of God is invisible but powerful. To anyone having experienced the new birth, its effect is obvious. The new birth is a spiritual transaction, not physical. It does not produce physical feelings. It is not sensational in the sense that our physical senses are stimulated. But it is very real nevertheless and like the wind in that we can’t see it but can know that it’s genuine.

v. 9 — Nicodemus is admitting he is clueless and not arguing. He is knowledgeable about the Scripture. Take for example, Ezekiel 36:24-27, 27:1-28, which connects the re-gathering of Israel to the salvation of Israel. Nicodemus should be familiar with the concept of new birth. When Jesus came the first time, in principle the Jews could have received Him as their Messiah and been born again. Since they rejected Him, individuals can be born again, but the salvation of the nation must wait for the second coming. Look at Isaiah 44:3, a promise of the spirit and salvation. Nicodemus knew much extra-biblical writing, plus the rules and regulations of the religious leaders, but seems to have lost the real substance. He is stuck like so many others in thinking or working out his own righteousness rather than understanding grace and faith.

v. 11 — The “we” is Jesus and John the Baptist and perhaps a prophetic look toward us and all Christians who “preach” the Gospel to the lost.

v. 12 — Jesus counts new birth as an earthly thing because it happens here. This is the simple earthly stuff but many more amazing heavenly things will come. Trust Him now on the simple and then be “wowed” later with things we couldn’t even conceive.

v. 13 — Enoch was snatched from this life and never died. Elijah was carried off in a chariot of fire. These were taken and not ascended. Jesus is on earth and in heaven at the same time. We didn’t come from heaven but Jesus had to come down from there to be born. See Num. 21:4 . . .The people are complaining against God so the fiery serpents were sent to punish them. They got the message and repented. Those who chose to look at the fiery serpent were “saved.” This is a type of Jesus on the cross. It reminds us of the old hymn, “Look and live, my brother, live. Look to Jesus now and live.” The “red” fiery serpent is a type or picture of Jesus’ blood. We can take Jesus at His word because He was in heaven and knows what He is talking about. We cannot ascend there as He can but we can become born again in the proper Biblical way and then taken to heaven upon our death.

Sorenson says in each case, the words “lifted up” are translated as referring to Christ on the cross (8:28, 12:32, 34). Perish means lost. The phrase “eternal life” is used 16 times in John’s Gospel and 6 times in his first epistle. It has the sense of “ageless life,” beginning now, and continuing on forever. It is entering into and sharing with the life of God through Christ.

v. 14 — Here is the fulfillment of the type of the serpent of 1500 years before.

v. 15 — Whosoever means anybody and believeth is a willful act which includes taking Him at His Word. In John 12, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead with a word. Many witnesses saw it and yet they did not believe in Him.

v. 16 — You could write volumes on this one verse! In the narrative, it seems the conversation with Nicodemus is at its climax. Perish means the second death. It is eternal, a parallel to everlasting life. So is the great love that Jesus has for people. It’s not just great love but so great that He is willing to take our sins on Himself and die in our place. “So loved” means a giving of one’s self for another. “He gave.” Salvation is a gift, not earned by works. “Begotten” refers to the incarnation (when Jesus became a man). “Whosoever” is an all inclusive word meaning any individual that comes to Christ in the Biblical way will be received by Him. It is heretical for Calvinist to teach that only a predetermined elect can be saved. If God did not offer salvation to all, I would not be a Christian. He is ultimately just and fair and merciful. The Calvinist false god is arbitrary, cruel, and unjust.

Sorenson puts it this way. The key to eternal life is believing, which means relying exclusively on Jesus Christ – total dependence on Him. There are lesser degrees of faith such as “head knowledge,” but that is not sufficient to save. There is a temporal faith in seeking God’s help in a time of crisis but that does not save. Only total reliance on Christ as the only hope of salvation saves an individual.

v. 17 — His first coming was for salvation. He will judge the next time. He didn’t come to heal or to rule or to fix social injustice. Those he raised from the dead died again physically.

v. 18, 19 — We start out condemned – “dead men walking.” There is only one sensible choice. Get out of condemnation. The name Jehovah means “God is Salvation” – See Is 12:2-3.

Sorenson clarifies this by saying that unsaved people are condemned “now” — present tense. Not only unsaved, they are, even as we speak, under the condemnation of God. They need do nothing else. They are already condemned.

Why? They willfully love darkness. Evil deeds are done in the dark so they can’t be seen. It is a willful act to choose works of darkness. Jesus is connected to light. Light reveals, shows things, chases away darkness. Believing in means agreeing with Him. Believing about Him does not mean agreeing and is head knowledge. Demons believe too but they are not born again and going to heaven. In fact they were cast out of heaven because they rebelled. Hell was made for them but condemned men who do not believe in Christ will join them there in their place of torment. There are only two teams and you decide which one you are on.

Sorenson points out that light is the antithesis of darkness. In physics, darkness is the absence of light. Throughout Scripture, darkness is a metaphor for evil. As God’s light entered the world, men comprehended it not (John 1:5). They want nothing to do with the light. In fact, sinful humanity loves darkness because of their evil deeds.

v. 20 — Even our politicians do evil and try to hide it because they have a conscience. God does the reproving. No one wants correction so they hide what they are doing. “Doeth truth” – if you believe in Christ it changes what you do and what you want to do. Look at Luke 8:17 and Ecc. 12:12-14. Sin avoids light, but those desiring righteousness and truth look for more light for further guidance and encouragement.

v. 22 — John’s baptisms that he conducted were Christian too. Those who were baptized by John were identifying with his message of the Saviour. Those who were baptized by Jesus’ disciples identified with the Saviour. All are Christians.

v. 23 — Much water shows that the proper form of baptism is immersion. John went to a place that had much water which is difficult to find in the dry season of Israel. He shows the importance of the entire dipping of the individual, not sprinkling. Sprinkling is not substantiated anywhere in Scripture.

v. 25 — Ceremonial washings were big in Judaism. They were usually associated with purification. The disciples may have been asking questions like, “How does it fit in?” or “Is theirs better than ours?” The debate may have been over whose baptism was right. Christian baptism doesn’t include the idea of purifying or cleansing from sin but to the Jewish mind it may have seemed that way.

v. 26 — The disciples here don’t even mention the name of Jesus but they are obviously jealous and concerned about His ministry.

v. 27-29 — John is saying that anything of any real, spiritual value comes from the Lord. John knew his ministry would decrease. Think of the best man who organizes everything for the wedding and the groom. He gathers everyone together and gets the bride for the ceremony. The bride is the church and the bridegroom is Christ. John the Baptist is a type for us too. We are to bring people into the family. Our work is important and essential, but the real work of changing the life of a sinner so that he is re-born is done by the Lord. How wonderful of Him to let us help in the ministry of reconciliation!
John’s ministry was to bring people to Christ and so it is our ministry as well. John knew that his own work would fade as Jesus Christ came into His ministry. We should point only to Christ and not to any man or church facility or religion.

v. 30 — Look at 1 Thess. 2:19,20. The Thessalonian believers are Paul’s glory and joy.

v. 31-36 — John the Baptist continues and says in exaggerated fashion that Jesus testifies of what is in heaven and no man receives it. Eyewitnesses are usually considered the best source for any report. In this case, there is a spiritual battle going on for the souls of men. Even today, people do not want to hear of spiritual things. All humans have a difficult time admitting they are wrong and humbling themselves. A broken spirit and a contrite heart are the requirements for salvation (Ps. 51).

v. 33 — Sorenson describes the practice of seals thus: “In ancient times, a seal usually was placing hot wax on a document and then placing a signet ring into the still plastic wax, leaving the ‘signature’ of the ring. It essentially was a mark of ownership. In the case of official government matters and the Roman seal, it conveyed the power and authority of the government. It also could have the sense of a stamp or mark of approval. That is the sense here. Those who received John’s testimony of Jesus had placed their stamp of approval upon God’s truth concerning Him. They had placed their seal as truth upon the testimony that Jesus was the Messiah.”

v. 34 — “By measure” means there was no partial filling. Jesus had the total fullness of the Holy Spirit upon Him.

v. 36 — A wonderful verse of eternal security. Christianity is binary. There are only two teams. You are in or out, there is no in between. Notice the present tense here. Those of us who are saved are already starting our eternal life and those who are not are already under God’s condemnation.

Sorenson says it this way, “. . .for those who will not turn to Christ, God’s righteous wrath is already operative. It is already impending. The word abideth has the literal sense of remaining, dwelling, or continuing. Unsaved people usually do not realize how precarious their situation is. They are literally a heartbeat away from the righteous wrath of Almighty God. It is already above them as a great thundercloud. They need not do anything else. They already are under the wrath of God. They are already lost. They are already on their way to hell. “

~~Bonnie

Bonnie’s Notes on Dr. Dave’s Comments — John 2

The wedding at Cana. It may be assumed that Joseph is no longer alive at this point as we don’t see any mention of him. It may be that God doesn’t want any confusion about who Jesus’ Father is during the ministry of Christ. The wedding would probably have some connection to Mary and the family and maybe she was even involved in the preparations for it. During the course of the wedding the wine ran out.

Sorenson tells us that the Jews of that time had a way of producing a fine wine that was not fermented. “Though the Greek word . . . commonly translated as wine, can refer to alcoholic wine, it can also refer to non-fermented wine. Context is the basic determinant. It is totally incongruous to assume our Lord participated in an ongoing drunken party, much less providing even more alcohol. Without question, the wine drank and produced here was unfermented.”

Mary is most often featured at the Incarnation (when the baby Jesus was implanted in her womb). The Roman Catholics even exalt her above Christ. Based on the amount of coverage in Scripture, you would think they’d exalt John and Paul not Peter and Mary. Maybe a distraction from what is featured in Scripture? John and Paul’s writings clearly refute the Catholic church more than others. Roman Catholics don’t camp on Peter’s epistles either for that matter. They don’t seem to like Revelation much either.

Here Mary asks Jesus to figure out how to solve this problem. Is she looking for a miracle? We don’t know but Jesus responds as though she is. He sometimes does that anyway. Chris made the point that her own conception was the greatest miracle of all so maybe she did expect something special. The worst commentary in the Morris study Bible is on this point. This was not a drunken party. Wine means the fruit of the vine. Jn. 17:1 (upper room) “the hour” is the cross in this context. The Lord will reveal Himself when it is time. At the wedding, His mother asks Him to help out and He says it is not time to reveal Himself yet. The response He gives her is somewhat mysterious to us. Some think He is being quite rude especially in calling her woman. In our day it would be equivalent to “my lady” or “dear lady” so it’s not as harsh as it seems. What is interesting is that He gives her no more special elevation than he would give to any other lady. This tends to annul the status that the Roman Catholic Church gives her. The Lord does do as she asks even though He says it is not His time to reveal Himself to the world. If she hadn’t asked, He wouldn’t have complied. In modern terms, He is saying something like, “My lady, this really isn’t important.”

Sorenson adds, “According to the Levitical practice of washing of hands prior to eating, six, large, stone water pots were at hand for the use of the wedding guests. These vessels could contain as much as twenty gallons. They were not full. Therefore, Jesus ordered them filled to the brim. Whereupon He instructed them to draw out and serve the ‘governor of the feast.’ The ‘governor of the feast’ would be the equivalent in modern terms of being the head waiter, or caterer. He was in charge of actually serving the guests.” The servants drew water but it turned into wine while being carried to the governor. He did not know where it had come from so he complimented the bridegroom on the quality of the wine.

v.10 — This is a miracle of creation. It would be the best tasting grape juice imaginable because it had been made by the One who created the world.

v. 11 – “His disciples believed on Him.” This event reinforced their belief in Jesus. Scripture tells us that the Jews were looking for signs.

v.12 – He is traveling with His physical siblings not cousins. Mark 6:3 names the Lord’s brothers for us.

v. 15 – This is the first time Jesus rails against the moneylenders and sellers. He does it again at the end of His ministry. Why were they selling oxen, sheep, doves etc.? Deut. 14:24 gives permission for people to buy the offering (especially those that must come a long way to offer a sacrifice and find it difficult to bring it along). What the Lord was incensed about were the exorbitant prices and the fact that sellers were getting rich on the system. What began as a service became extortion. Prices were greatly inflated and money changers charged high fees. The outer courts were for the Gentiles and selling should have been done outside the Temple.

Sorenson tell us that each male was to pay a Temple tax each year. Many were living outside of Israel and did not carry Hebrew coinage so bankers were allowed to set up money exchanging services. It’s likely that by this time in history, the area was more like a bazaar since the word merchandise is used. We get our word emporium from the Greek word here.

v. 17 – Ps. 69:7-9 “Thine house” is God’s house. In verse 8, another reference is made to Jesus’ physical brothers and sisters (mother’s children). The resurrection converted Jesus’ brothers and sisters ( at least some of them) to belief in Him. Because Jesus and God are one, to reproach Jesus reproaches God and vice versa.

v.18-21 – They just missed a prophesied sign. (The disciples missed it initially and remembered it later). Jesus is accused at His trial in a distorted way of wanting to destroy the Temple (Mark 14:58 and Matt. 26:61) but here He is not talking about the building. This is the precursor to believers being temples. The resurrection is a key point making Christianity different from all other world religions and on which all believers focus their hope. If Jesus’ body is destroyed, He will bring it back. In Scripture there is reference to all three persons of the Trinity in the resurrection. Jn. 10:17-18 (Jesus) / 1 Pet. 3:18 (Holy Spirit) / 1 Thess. 1:10 (God)

v. 22 – It’s important to believe the words of Jesus. A good way to test “professors” of Christianity is to test their acceptance and belief in key doctrines. It’s all or nothing with Christ. You can’t pick and choose what to believe. The belief of the Christian is so strong that it changes his life, his behavior, his thinking, his desires. Intellectual shallow belief is not enough to be reborn into a new creation.

v. 23 – When we repent and believe and turn to Christ, then He can commit to us. In fact, He will regenerate us in a way that cannot be undone. The Lord knows His creation fully. Signs and miracles don’t convert. Their belief on seeing the miracles was not enough to produce a repentant heart and new birth. Miracles make people say, “Oh, my!” instead of “Oh, me!” The pentecostals don’t get this either. Their emphasis on miracles, new prophecy and prosperity is very misleading and unscriptural.

Matthew Henry says “Our Lord knew all men, their nature, dispositions, affections, designs, as we do not know any man, not even ourselves. He knows his crafty enemies, and all their secret projects; his false friends, and their true characters. He knows who are truly his, knows their uprightness, and knows their weaknesses. We know what is done by men; Christ knows what is in them, he tries the heart. Beware of a dead faith, or a formal profession: carnal, empty professors are not to be trusted, and however men deceive others or themselves, they cannot deceive the heart-searching God.”

~~~