Southern Christian University
Matthew, Mark,
Luke, & John
Class Session
13
James A.
Turner
Hello, students.
Please turn to the eighth chapter of the gospel of John. When our Class Session was up the last time,
we completed reading Matthew's gospel, and we turned and read nearly all the
parallels in Mark and Luke and some in John.
And I believe we said then that we would now pick up with the gospel of
John and continue reading from it what we have not read. Chapter seven of John closed with the Pharisees
of the Sanhedrin court criticizing Nicodemus, the one that went to Jesus by
night and said, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from
God for no man can do the things that
thou doest except God be with him.” Evidently
Nicodemus was not a full believer on Christ at this time, but he knew that they
were doing wrong. They had sent officers
of the court to take Jesus, but they came back without him. And they said, “never
a man so spake.” And they were afraid to try to take him. And then Nicodemus calls attention that they
were doing things unlawful. "Nicodemus
saith unto them, he that came to him before, being one of them, one of the
court. Doth our law judge a man except
it first hear from himself, and know what he doeth. They answered and said unto him, Art thou
also of Galilee. Search, and see that out of Galilee
arises no prophet. And they went every
man unto his own house." Jesus had gone to the
feast of the tabernacles, which was the last of the three annual feasts that
the Jews, according to the law, were to keep, and they were to go first at the
place where the tabernacle was, and that first place was at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). And Shiloh was a place of worship, for
a little more than three hundred years.
But in the days of David, he had carried the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. So since that time, Jerusalem had been the place of
worship. John 7:5, the brothers of Jesus did
not believe on him at this time, and he did not go up to the feast at first but
went there during the midst of the feast and went into the temple and started
teaching. And the chief priests and the
Pharisees sent officers to take him, but they went back without him. And notice verse thirty‑seven of
chapter seven, "On the last day, the great day of the
feast." The feast of the tabernacles was for a whole
week, and they were to live in booths during that feast in memory of the time
when they were in the wilderness and did not have houses to live in. And then they were to have a public assembly
on that last day of the feast (Leviticus 23:39-40; Deuteronomy 16:13).
John 6:37, "Now
it was on the last day, of the feast, that Jesus stood and cried, saying, If
any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."
So at least twice in the book of John, John emphasizes that Jesus is the
water of life and the bread of life. John
begins his gospel with, “In the beginning was in the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and then in John 1:14 “and
the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” And he is
the lamb of God, John 1:29 and 1:35, and then in chapter four he
talked to the Samaritan woman about he is the water of life. One of the characteristics of the gospel of
John is that it describes Jesus in so many different ways that the other
gospels do not describe him, and nearly everything in the gospel of John is
peculiar to his gospel. It looks like he
intentionally put in some things that he thought that ought to be there, John
wrote a number of years later than Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Chapter Eight of John
So picking up with verse one. "Jesus went out
into the mount of Olives. And early in
the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him;
and he sat down and taught them. And the
scribes and Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in
the midst, they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in
adultery, in the very act. Now the
law of Moses commanded us, to stone such: What then sayest thou of her?" If she was taken in the act of adultery, don’t
you think it was a little strange that they did not bring the man. They are bringing the woman as though the law
just applied to the woman, but the law applied to the man as well as the
woman. Turn to Leviticus chapter
twenty. Leviticus chapter 20:10, "And
the man that commiteth adultery with another man's wife, even he that
commiteth adultery with his neighbor's
wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. And the man that lieth with his father's wife
hath uncovered his father's nakedness: Both of them shall surely be put to
death. Their blood is upon them." There are a number of crimes listed in
chapter twenty of Leviticus that required the death penalty, and so it was a
strange that they did not bring the man.
I guess they had become so hard‑hearted and the men having such
authority over the women that they would be ready to stone a woman when they
would not think about stoning a man, much like the ruling authorities in
Afghanistan in recent days. But they bring
the woman, and evidently they think they have Jesus in big trouble. The Pharisees try many times to find some
basis on which they can condemn him, but Jesus always comes with a good
response that puts them to shame.
So verse three again, "And
the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set
her in the midst, they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in
adultery, in the very act. Now in the
law Moses commanded us to stone such." Actually
it was not Moses’ law, it was God’s through Moses. We know that the law was God's law, but given
through Moses. Please remember to give
the same illustration in regard to David’s throne that the throne was God's
throne, I Chronicles 29:23
David never actually had a throne, and it is spoken of as the throne of
David in the same sense that the law is spoken of as Moses' law. "Now in the law Moses
commanded us, to stone such:
What then sayest thou of her? And this
they said, trying him, that they might have whereof to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger
wrote on the ground." Now, some few preachers
can tell you all about what he wrote on the ground, but I have to confess I do
not know, because John does not tell us what he wrote on the ground. But evidently they must have paid some
attention to what he was writing. "But
when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He
that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Notice that he did not ask them why they did
not bring the man but he puts a sobering test to them. Let the man among you that is without sin cast
the first stone. Of course, the law as
we turned and read, commanded that both the man and the woman were to be stoned
to death. "And
again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, they went out, one by
one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last: And Jesus was left alone, and the woman where
she was in the midst. And Jesus lifted
up himself, and said unto her, Woman, where are they? Did no man condemn thee? And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee:
Go thy way from henceforth, and sin no more." Under the New Testament law, people are not
stoned to death for committing adultery.
Our population would not be nearly as many if there were such a law in
our land. It might be a little hard for
some communities to carry on a small business, but, anyway, it is still wrong! The Old Testament nearly closes with the
prophet telling about the people crying and weeping because God would not
accept their offerings and inquiring why.
And God told them because you have not been “faithful
to the wife of your youth, and concluding by saying I hate divorce.” That is in chapter two of Malachi and God
still hates divorce today like he hated
divorce then.
John 8:12, "Again
therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: He that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life." So Jesus is the light of the world, and as we
follow him we are to be lights to the world.
Do you remember how Jesus said to his disciples, in the Sermon on the Mount,
chapter five, ye are the light of the world a city that set on
a hill that cannot be hid. And neither
men lighteth a candle and put it under the bushel, but on the stand so that it giveth light to
all them that are in the house, even so let your light so shine before men that
they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven. So we need to be careful and follow the Lord
closely, and we will be a light to those around us. Paul said to the brethren at Philippi that they were to do
everything that the Lord had commanded, and work out their own salvation with fear and
trembling. By doing everything that the
Lord had instructed them to do, without murmuring and questioning, that “ye
may shine his lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” Our generation evidently is not very
different from that generation that those
Philippian brethren lived in. And we are
to do that which the Lord has instructed us to do. Whether we understand the why or not, we need
to understand that God is a kind and benevolent God, and that whatever he has
said to us, he said it for our benefit.
And so if the Lord has said it, then that should end the matter with us
and we should just rise up and do what the Lord has commanded. And when we do, we will shine as lights in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
John 8:13, "The
Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness
is not true." It took two or more witnesses under the law
to put a person to death. And so they
are accusing Jesus of you're the only one that's a witness in what you say. "Jesus answered and said
unto them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true: For I know whence I came, and whither I go;
but ye know not whence I come, or whither I go.
Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And if I judge, my judgment is true: For I am not alone, but I and the Father that
sent me." So Jesus is saying that the Father is always
with him in judging and in witnessing.
"Yea, and in your law, it is written that the
witness of two is true. I am he that
beareth witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of
me. Then they said therefore unto him,
Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye
know neither me, nor my Father: If ye knew me, ye would know my Father
also. These words spake he in the
Treasury, as he taught in the temple: And no man took him; because his hour was not
yet come." You see everything had been planned even
before God made man, that Jesus would be the sin offering for man upon the
cross of Calvary. And no man took him until it
was time for Judas Iscariot and that multitude sent from the chief priests and
elders to take him. And so they
attempted on a number of occasions to try to take him prior to that time. But each time they were not successful. Let us read the verse again. "These words spake he in
the Treasury, as he taught in the temple: And no man took him; because his hour was
not yet come." And that has to do not only
with his death but even the time that they would be able to take him.
John 8:21, "He
said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall seek me. And shall die in your sins: Whither I go, ye cannot come." Of course, he is talking to hard‑hearted,
unbelieving Jews. "The
Jews therefore said." And John usually uses Jews to
refer to members of the Sanhedrin court, to the ruling authorities of the day. "The Jews therefore
said, Will he kill himself? Then he
saith, whither I go, ye cannot come. And
he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: Ye are of this world; I am not of this
world. I said therefore unto you, that
ye shall die in your sins: For except ye believe that I am he, ye shall
die in your sins." John 8:24 is a good verse to call
attention to the fact that people must believe in the Lord in order to be
saved. I usually use verse twenty‑four,
the latter part, pressing the point that there are conditions of salvation. The
first is that a man must believe. And so
Jesus says here, “except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in
your sins.” And Hebrews 11:6 is also a very good reference
for that. "They said
therefore unto him, Who art thou? And
Jesus said unto them, Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the
beginning. I have many things to speak
and to judge concerning you: Howbeit he that sent me is true; and the
things which I heard from him. These
speak I unto you. They perceived not
that he spake to them of the Father.
Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then
shall ye know that I am he, that I do nothing of myself; but as the Father
taught me, I speak these things." John 8: 28 is the second time that
Jesus talks about his being lifted up on the cross of Calvary. The first time is John 3:14, when Jesus was talking
to Nicodemus. After Jesus talked to him about the new birth, he talked to him
about his coming death on the cross. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. And then in John 12:31, we will read again about
his being lifted up on the cross. Remember
chapter twenty of Matthew, how he detailed to his apostles when he was going to
Jerusalem for the triumphant entry, he took them aside and
told them that the chief priests and the elders would condemn him and deliver
him to the Gentiles and they would mock and crucify him. "And he that sent me is
with me: He hath not left me alone; for I do always
the things that are pleasing to him. And
as he spake these things, many believed on him.
John 8:31,
Jesus therefore said unto those Jews that believed on him, If ye abide in my
word, then are ye truly my disciples: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free." All of us need to be very
thankful that God is a God of truth. And
if we follow his instruction, then we will be going the way of truth in every
area of everyday living. "They
answered unto him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to
any man: How sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" They are lying there in verse thirty‑three
when they say we have never been in bondage to any man. The ten tribes were carried into Assyrian
captivity in 722 B.C. I believe that was
the six‑year of the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah. They were carried into captivity because of
their sins and primarily the sins of idolatry, and especially the matter of
their burning their children as sacrifices to their idol gods, to Baal. If you will turn to the 106 Psalms and begin
reading about ‑‑ I think it is around verse thirty‑six or
thirty‑seven, you will see that in that psalm, the psalmists calls
attention to the fact that they had done that.
And because of their shedding of so much blood in the offering of their
children in sacrifices, that the land was polluted with blood. And we need to think about how that our land,
is it not being polluted by blood, not only by such things as the ride by
shootings and all of the other forms of great violence in the land but also by
abortion. The land became so polluted
with blood, and God carried the ten tribes into Assyrian captivity in 722 B.C.(II
Kings 17:1-24). And then the final
carrying away of Judah, the southern kingdom, was
some hundred and thirty‑six years later in 586 B.C. They
were carried into Babylonian captivity essentially for the same reasons that
the northern kingdom had been carried into captivity, and now they are under
Roman authority.
They had not been actually free from the time that
they were carried into Babylonian captivity.
When they returned, they were under the authority of the Persian
government, and now they are under authority of the Roman government. They were looking for an earthly king who
would deliver them from the authority of the Roman government and bring the
people of Israel back to that state of great
prominence that it had during the days of David and his son Solomon. So they're lying here in verse thirty‑three. "They answered unto him,
We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: How sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" He had told them if you will continue in my
word, you will know the truth and the truth shall make you free. "Jesus answered
them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Everyone that commiteth sin is the
bondservant of sin."
Now, remember there is pleasure in sin.
When Moses made the choice that he would suffer ill treatment with the people
of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Sin can evidently be very pleasant for a
short season, but it is not long until man starts reaping what he has sown. He becomes the slave of his wrongdoing. Everyone that commiteth sin is the
bondservant of sin. Think of the people
today that have AIDS because of wrongdoing.
Now, not every person that has AIDS is guilty. Children are being born with AIDS because of
the sins of their mother or their father, but people just cannot continue in
sin over a long period of time without becoming the slaves of their wrongdoing.
God’s law of sowing and reaping is never cancelled, and it works both ways
(Galatians 6:6-10).
John 8:36, "And
the bondservant abideth not in the house forever. His Son abideth forever. If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed." Of course,
Christ is talking about himself as the Son.
He is going to be in God's house forever. And if I make you free, you will really be
free. Jesus is especially speaking of
being free from sin (John 5:24-25). "I know that ye are
Abraham's seed; yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath not free course
in you. I speak the things which I
have seen with my Father: And ye also do the things which ye heard from
your father. And they answered and said
unto him, our father is Abraham. Jesus
saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of
Abraham." Now, of course, Jesus knew that they were the
fleshly descendants of Abraham, as he has already stated. But they are not the kind of people that
Abraham was. Abraham was a man who had
great faith and trusted in God and did the will of God. And so Jesus said if you were Abraham's
children, you would do the works of Abraham.
"But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told
you the truth, which I heard from God: This did not Abraham. Ye do the works of your father, They said to
him, We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus saith unto them, If God were your
Father, ye would love me: For I came forth and have come from God:
For neither have I come from myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the
lusts of your father it is your will to do.
He is a murderer from the beginning. And standeth not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him." What is the real meaning of
verse forty‑four, that your father is the devil and the lust of your
father, it is your will to do "He was a murderer from
the beginning and standeth not in truth because there was no truth in
him." This refers us back to Genesis chapter three
when Satan, through the medium of the servant, appeared to our mother Eve and
the first lie was recorded.
Reading from chapter three of Genesis, "Now
the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had
made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?" Going back to chapter two, God had told them
that they could eat of every tree of the garden except the
tree of knowledge of good and evil. But if they ate of that tree,
that in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. That's chapter two, verses sixteen and
seventeen. "And
Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat. But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die." And so the tempter comes to mother Eve
probably with the fruit from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil in his hand eating it. "Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of any tree of the garden.
And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the
garden we may eat: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and
evil. And when the woman saw that the
tree was
good for food." Lust
of the flesh. "And that it was a delight to the eyes." That would be the lust of the eyes. "And that the tree was
to be desired to make one wise,
the vein glory of life.
She took of the fruit thereof, and
did eat, and she gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." So the serpent appealed to mother Eve through
all of the three avenues of temptation as given in I John chapter 2:15‑16, where John says,
love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,
For any one that loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. He is not
talking about the creation but the lustful things of the world. “For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of the life
is not of the Father but of the world.
And the world passes away. And the glory thereof, but he that doeth the
will of the Lord abideth forever.” And it is at the time of the
fall of man that the first promise of a Saviour is given, in verse fifteen,
that the seed of woman would bruise the head of a serpent. And Jesus came for that very purpose, Hebrews
2:14 and I John 3:8 to put to naught the power
of the devil and the works of the devil,
which things he did.
Some would be ready to say that the devil is right,
that the man did not die that day. Yes, but
the sentence of death was given, and Adam and Eve were driven from the garden
and the tree of life (Genesis 3:17-24)! Would that not be what he is referring to, that Satan was a
murderer from the beginning and a liar.
We see very clearly that he was a liar.
But the sentence of physical death is given, verse seventeen. "And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the
tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil
shaltthou eat of it all the days of thy life." Now
while Adam was in the garden, God had given him a little work to do that
evidently he had enjoyed doing. Genesis 2:15, "And
Jehovah took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to
keep it." The garden was a very beautiful garden, and Adam
must have enjoyed that work of dressing and keeping it. Like some of us, he must have wanted one
plant to grow this way and he trimmed that plant to make it grow the way he
wanted to, and did the kind of things that he enjoyed, but now he is going to
have to work for a living. "Cursed
is the ground for thy sake. In toil
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground;
for out of it wast thou taken: For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt
thou return."
Even though Adam lived to be nine hundred and thirty
years of age, the sentence of death was given then. “And God took animal skins
and made clothes for them and clothed them.” Prior to
that time, they were naked and not ashamed.
But now they have that knowledge of good and evil, and they need
clothing. And God made coats of skin and
clothed them, verse twenty‑one, and he drove them from the garden. Verse twenty‑two, "And
Jehovah God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and
evil: And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take
also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." So God would not allow them to eat of that
tree of life in that state of rebellion.
"Therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from
the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed
at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubims, and the flame of the sword
which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Would that not be what Jesus is talking about
here in verse forty‑four when he says, ye are of your
father the devil, and the lust of your father is your will to do? He was a murderer from the beginning, and
standeth not in the truth because there is no truth in him. "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own, for he is a liar. But because I
say to the truth, ye believe me not.
Which of you convicteth me of sine?
If I say the truth, why did ye
not believe me?" The idea that some few have
that if we just do our work properly as Christians that we will finally convert
the whole world, is not Bible. If the Lord himself could not convince people
that he was the Christ, surely we recognize there are going to be those we are
not able to convince that he is the Christ and that they should obey him. Further you remember how Jesus said in the
Sermon on the Mount, “give not that which is holy unto the
dogs. Neither cast your pearls before
the swine, lest they turn again and rend you.” The Lord
well knew that there are those who have no regard for God's truth and for
spiritual things and that we should not waste our time with such people.
John 8:46, "Which
of you convicteth me of sin? If I say
truth, why do ye not believe me? He that
is of God heareth the words of God: Ye hear them not, because ye are not of
God. The Jews answered, and said unto
him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a demon?" There was great enmity between the Jews and
the Samaritans. So these Jews say, You
are a Samaritan and hast a demon. And
you might want to remember that statement in regard to this point. Sometimes you have people to say, well, if it
is in the Bible, it is true. Well, it is
true that the statements were made, but there are many statements in the Bible
that are made by the devil's camp that are not true. "Jesus answered, I have
not a demon; but I honor my Father, and
ye dishonor me. But I seek not mine own
glory:
There is one that seeketh and judgeth.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never
see death. The Jews said unto him,
Now we know that thou hast a demon.
Abraham died, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my word,
he shall never taste of death. Art thou
greater than our father Abraham, who died, and the prophets died. Whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory
is nothing: It is my Father that glorifieth me; of whom
ye say, that he is your God." The Father had already
glorified him twice with the voice from heaven when he was baptized of John, and when he was transfigured before
Peter, James and John, Matthew17:1-9, and God is going to
glorify him again. “And if I should say, I know him not, I
should be like unto you a liar: But I know him, and keep his word. Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: And he saw it, and was glad. The Jews therefore said unto him, Thou art
not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am." Notice
that, “Before Abraham was born, I am.”
When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush that
person must have been the Lord Jesus Christ back there. (A brief recess was taken.)
When God wanted Moses to go to Egypt to lead them out Moses said,
“and
they ask me, What is his name? What
shall I say to them? God said to Moses, I
am who I am: And he said, say this to the people of Israel, I am hath sent me to you."
Chapter Nine
Chapter nine is about Jesus healing a blind man, and
this account is also peculiar to John's gospel.
. "And
as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who
did sin, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?" It looks like the people of that day had the
idea that any time a person had a physical defect, that it was because of the
person's sins or the sins of his parents, and in many cases that is true. Just like we mentioned, there are a lot of babies
being born with the AIDS disease because of the sins of their parents. Many people that are afflicted have brought
the affliction upon themselves, but that is not the case with every
person. There are some people that come
down with terrible diseases, and they are the Lord's people, but not because of
their sins or the sins of their parents.
But I guess we could say that either directly or indirectly that all
such things have come as a result of sin.
"Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor
his parents: But that the works of God should be made
manifest in him. We must work the works
of him that sent me, while it is day. The
night cometh, when no man can work." The
Lord knew that the night of his work was coming soon, and so he's emphasizing
to his apostles that we need to make the most of it. We must work the works of him that sent me
while it was day. The night cometh when
no man can work. We need to reflect on
that statement that Jesus made. We need
to be serving the Lord well every day.
We do not know when that night is coming for us. Tomorrow, with all of us, is but a promissory
note. We have no promise that we are
going to be able to do tomorrow. We may
be even taken by reason of death, and when you get to be an ancient like I am, you
do not know what day you may come down with a stroke or some terrible
affliction, of mind or body and may not be able to serve the Lord very much any
more, and so we need to be busy while it is day. “The night cometh when
no man can work.”
John 9:5, "When
I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of his
spittle, and anointed his eyes of the clay." We
wonder why Jesus anointed his eyes with that spittle and clay.. We know he could have just told the man, if
you believe you will see, and he would have been healed. But on this occasion, he made clay spittle
and put it on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. "And said unto him, Go,
wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is my interpretation, Sent.) He went away
therefore, and washed, and came seeing." Now,
notice what the people say about him.
"The neighbors therefore, and they which before
had seen him that he was blind said, Is not this he that sat and begged?" It looks like they are
not fully convinced that he was the same person, but they said it is not this
he that sat and begged. This man not
only was born blind, but the people had been seeing him, probably sitting at the
same place begging for a long time.
"Others said, It is he." So some were convinced that he had been made
to see. "Others
said, No, but he is like him: He said, I am he. They said therefore unto him, How then were
thine eyes opened? He answered, A man
that is called Jesus Now, this man did not know that
Jesus is the Christ at this time of his healing and he referred to him as a man
called Jesus. made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto
me, Go to Siloam, and wash: And I went away and washed, and I received my
sight. And they said unto him, Where is
he? He saith, I know not." Notice that they bring the man to the
Pharisees to let them put him to the test as to whether or not such a miracle had
actually taken place.
John 9:13, "They
bring to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath on that day when Jesus
made the clay, and opened his eyes." The
Pharisees had already accused his disciples of breaking the Sabbath day by
going through the grain fields and plucking the ears of grain and eating
them. "Again
therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. And he said unto them, He put clay on mine
eyes, and I washed, and I see. And some
therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, because he
keepeth not the Sabbath." According to
them it was a violation of the law to do good things on the Sabbath day. Do you remember how Jesus on one occasion was
healing on the Sabbath that he said to them when a sheep falls in a ditch you
get him out on the Sabbath day, and the priest did their work on the Sabbath
day. "This
man is not from God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath." And so that is another lie, but it is true
what they said. "But
others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such things?" Now, isn’t that a good question? "And there was a
division among them. And they say
therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, in that he opened
thine eyes! And he said, He is a
prophet." He first he referred to him as a man named
Jesus, but now he speaks of him as a prophet. He dtll does not know that he is
Christ, but by his healing he judges him to be a prophet. "The Jews
therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had
received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his
sight. And asked them, saying, Is this
your son, who ye say was born blind? How
then doth he now see? His parents
answered and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But how he now seeth we know not; or who
opened his eyes, we know not." They were
lying because they did not want to be put out of the synagogue. "Ask him: He is of age: He shall speak for himself. These things said his parents. These
things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: For the Jews had agreed already (the ruling authorities) that
if any man should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the
synagogue. Therefore said his parents,
He is of age; ask him. So they called a
second time the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give glory to God: We know that this man is a sinner. And he therefore answered, Whether he is a
sinner, I know not: One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind,
now I see. They said therefore unto him,
What did he to thee? How opened he thine
eyes? He answered them, I told you even
now, and ye did not hear: Wherefore would ye hear it again? Would ye also become disciples?" This fellow that was born blind had a much
greater sense of understanding than those Pharisees had. And so he is saying now, I have told you, but
if I tell you again are you going to believe?
Are you going to become one of his disciples? "And they reviled him,
and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God hath spoken unto Moses: But as for this man, we know not whence he
is. The man answered and said unto them,
Herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he opened mine
eyes. We know that God heareth not
sinners: But if any man be a worshiper of God, and
doeth his will, him he heareth." The man is
saying if he was a sinner, God would not perform through him. He has the same kind of reasoning that
Nicodemus had back there, that no man can do the things that thou does except
God be with him. But let me call
attention to the fact that back yonder, say, especially forty to sixty years
ago, some of our brethren went to a wrong, bad extreme, that God does not hear
an alien sinner's prayer. And they used
this reference. Actually it is good
reasoning on the part of the blind man, but he is still an uninspired man. We have already read tonight a number of lies
told by uninspired people, but, they used John 9:31 and Ephesians 3:3, and I Peter 3:12. Now, we will not take as much time as I would
like to take in talking about this. But
this was a matter of our brethren going from one extreme to the other. Back in that day the mourners bench was a
very popular thing. Alien sinners would
go to the mourners bench to be prayed for that they might receive, according to
that doctrine, receive salvation. They
would be saved by prayer only as it appeared according to what they say about
it. This was so very popular back then,
and our brethren knew that that was wrong, that men were not saved by prayer
only, but they went to the other extreme.
I think they had good intentions and were sincere, but they did not give
enough attention to what the Bible teaches on the subject.
Now, the Bible teaches plainly that God will not
hear the prayer of the man who turns away his ears from hearing the law of
God. If you will, turn to Proverbs 28:9. There are two good references that you need
to mark. 28:9, "He
that turned away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is a abomination
to the Lord." And I suggest that you write
down there by verse nine Psalms 32:5 and 66:18 and then also highlight
like Proverbs 28:13.
"He that covereth his transgressions shall not
prosper: But whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them
shall obtain mercy." Those are two good references, and whether a man is an alien sinner or a child
of God, if he turns away his ears from hearing the law, his prayer, is a
abomination to the Lord. If a man wants
to hold onto his wrong doing as though he has not done wrong, “he
that covereth his transgression shall not prosper. But whosoever confesses and forsaketh them
shall obtain mercy.” And in the thirty‑second Psalms, God's
hand was heavy upon David until he confessed that he had sinned and then the
Lord forgave him of his sins. And Psalms
66:18 reads, “If
I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.” So if a Christian wants to
continue in sin the Lord will not hear him.
Now, the Bible teaches very plainly that God did
hear the prayers of some alien sinners, but he did not save a single alien
sinner by prayer only. In Acts 10:31, Cornelius is rehearsing
to Peter what had happened to him and said that the angel told him “thy
prayer is heard
and thine ohms have gone up for a memorial before God. So God heard the prayer of Cornelius, and he
assisted Cornelius in the way of salvation by having him to send for Peter, who
told all those people gathered at his house words by which they were saved
(Acts 11:12-14). In Acts the sixteenth
chapter, you remember when Paul along with Silas and Timothy, wanted to go to Mysia, and they were forbidden by
the Holy Spirit to go there. They came
to Troas, and there was a man
standing over in Macedonia saying, come over and help
us, and Luke joined the company, and they went over to Macedonia. Where did they do their first teaching? Down by the riverside, where a prayer
services was held, and their first converts were made at that place of
prayer. Would not that mean that the
Lord, appearing to him in a vision in the night, in answer to their
prayers? Again, they were not saved by
prayer only, but the teachers went there, and the Lord opened the heart of Lydia and her household by
hearing the word of God, and they were obedient to the teaching.. And, again, think of Saul of Tarsus. After the Lord appeared to him and told him
to go on into the city to Damascus and there it shall be told
thee all things that are appointed for thee to do. God sent Ananias to him and said, “behold
he prayeth.” But neither the Lord nor Ananias rebuked Saul
of Tarsus for praying. I ask you a question,
think about it, “Do you suppose that most saved people did some praying before
they obeyed the Lord? So those sincere
brethren came with a wrong doctrine. There
is always the danger when you see one extreme to let the pendulum swing to
another extreme. Let us try to guard
against that. It is much better, if you
have not studied enough to really know the right answer, to say I need to study
this subject more. I really do not know
what the Bible teaches on this subject..
If you come with one false doctrine to answer another false doctrine, it
might be that that false doctrine may turn out to be bad or worse than the one
that you are trying to show as a false doctrine. We just need to be good students and
especially preachers and leaders in the church and know the word of God well
enough that we can with a straight course tell the people what the Bible
teaches on any major subject of the Bible!
Back to verse thirty‑one, "We knoweth that
God heareth not sinners: But if any man be a worshipper of God, and
doeth his will, him he heareth. Since
the world began, it was never heard that anyone opened the eyes of the man born
blind. If this man were not
from God, he could do nothing." This man had
a lot more spiritual insight than these proud Pharisees and elders had. “They answered and said
unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out." So they cast him out of their synagogue. His parents were afraid that they would be
cast out, so they refused tell who had made him be able to see. So he is cast out of the synagogue, and that
was counted by the Jewish people as a terrible thing, for man to be cast out of
the synagogue.
John 9:35, "Jesus
heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Dost thou believe
on the Son of God? He answered and said,
Who is he, Lord." Remember he spoke of him
first as a man called Jesus, and then he decided that this man that made me see
is a prophet. And now Jesus comes to him
and wants to know “Dost thou believe on the Son of God.? And he answered and
said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen
him, and he is that speaketh with thee. And
he said, Lord, I believe. And he
worshipped him." So he is cast out of the synagogue, but he
has the Lord instead. "And
Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see;
and that they see may become blind.
Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said
unto him, Are we also blind?" I guess they
were expecting Jesus to respond. "Jesus
said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: But now ye say, We see; your sin remaineth." So they were not willing to confess that
Jesus had performed the miracle. The
response of Jesus may mean if you had confessed that you are blind and walking
in darkness, then you would be freed from your sins.
Chapter Ten
Chapter ten is about the sheepfold and the good shepherd,
and all of chapter ten is peculiar to the gospel of John. "Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but
climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice:
And he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out." The teaching is based on what was true of that
day. They had sheepfolds for the sheep,
and there might be a number of shepherds that put their sheep in that one big
sheepfold that had a fence of some kind around it to keep the wolves and other
devouring animals that would devour the sheep.
It was a place of protection, and
I believe they had some shelter for them too.
But at least they were fenced in, so they would not be devoured by
wolves and like animals. And so Jesus is
using what they understood very well. "But
he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep." By the door to the sheepfold. "To him the porter
openeth." And that would be the one at the door of the
sheepfold keeping the sheepfold, and, of course, he would let the shepherds
with their sheep in. "And
to him the porter openeth." To the shepherd of the
sheep. "And
the sheep hear his voice: And he calleth his own sheep by name,
and leadeth them out." And it is said that that was
really the case that the shepherds gave names to their sheep. And when they called that sheep by name, and that
sheep would go to them, like we call a dog by name and he comes. "When he hath put forth
all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: For they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will
flee from him: For they know not the voice of
strangers." I read the story about a traveler saying to
the shepherd, why it is not your voice that makes the difference, it is what
you are wearing. They know that you are
the shepherd from what you wear. The
shepherd said, if you think that is the case, let us just change garments and see,
and they changed garments. And the man
cried for the sheep, but they did not follow him. But the shepherd clothed in the traveler's
garments called the sheep and they started going to him. They knew the voice of their shepherd. A stranger will they not follow. "But will flee
from him: For they know not the voice of
strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto
them: But they understood not what things they were
which he spake unto them. Jesus therefore
said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the
sheep."
John 14:6 reads, Jesus said, “I
am the way, the truth and the light, no
man cometh unto the Father except by me.” So no man
comes to God and has salvation in Christ and in his church unless they go
through Christ. He is the door to the
sheepfold. Christ and his church is the
sheepfold, even though it says, “shall go in and out” "All
that came before me are thieves and robbers: But the sheep did not hear them." Jesus said in Matthew twenty‑four that
many false Christ would arise before the destruction of Jerusalem. "But the sheep did not
hear them." Well, he surely is not talking about faithful
Old Testament prophets or John the Baptist.
They were not robbers. "All
that came in before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear
them. I am the door: By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture." Some have reasoned the sheep fold could not
represent the church, because it talks about going in and going out. Well, remember Christ is the living
bread. He is the living water, and he
gives spiritual food to his people, and so it can be described here in that
figurative sense, going in and out and finding pastures. His word is sufficient to give us that
spiritual life and that spiritual strength.
"The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and
kill, and to destroy: I came that ye might have life, and have it
abundantly." There cannot be any more abundant and
meaningful life than to just be a simple New Testament Christian following the
Lord closely. There is where the
abundant life is. Jesus said, “I
came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
John 10:11, “I
am the good shepherd: The good shepherd layeth down his life for
the sheep. He that is a hireling,
and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf cometh,
and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: And the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth
them. He fleeth, because he is a
hireling, and careth not for the sheep." Now,
a hireling is not necessarily a man who receives pay for his work, because
every laborer is worthy of his hire, as plainly taught in I Corinthians the
ninth chapter and other references like I Timothy chapter five in verses seventeen
and eighteen. But a hireling would
represent one who is just working for pay only and he has no regard for the
sheep. But because he was paid, he
will claim to be a shepherd. But when
there is danger, when the wolf is coming, he is afraid the wolf will get him,
so he leaveth the sheep and fleeth. “And
so the wolf snatcheth them and scattereth them.
He fleeth because he is a hireling and careth not for the sheep.” And that relationship would represent any leaders
today that are in the church that are just working for the pay that they get,
but really do not care for their brethren or for the chief shepherd who is Jesus
(I Peter 5:1-5). "I
am the good shepherd, and I know mine own, and my own know me. Even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the
Father: And I lay down my life for the sheep." So we need to thank God through Christ that
not only was God willing to send his Son to die for us, but his Son was willing
to die for us. He did not have to die
that death on the cross. Remember as
given in Matthew chapter twenty‑six, when Peter drew his sword and cut
off the servant of the high priest's ear and Jesus restored his ear and told
Peter to put up the sword and that he that takes the sword shall perish with
the sword. And he said thinkest thou
not, that “I could even now call upon my heavenly Father
and he would give me twelve legions of angels.” But
he said, “how then would the scriptures be fulfilled?” Jesus came to fulfill all those Old Testament
scriptures about he would be the one that would lay down his life for the
sheep. And so here my Father loves me
because I lay down my life for the
sheep.
John 10:16, "And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: Them also I must bring, and they shall hear
my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd." Well, who are those other sheep? Those would be the Gentile people that would
be brought in later. The gospel was to
be preached first to the Jewish people and then to the Samaritans, and then to
the Gentiles (Acts 1:8). It
is usually estimated that it was about seven years before the gospel was
formally carried by the apostle Peter to those assembled at the house of
Cornelius, and so Jesus is talking about the future event of the bringing in of
the Gentile. He was to be a light to the
Gentiles as given in (Isaiah 42:1, 49:6, 49:8, 49:19-22, 51:4, 54:1-3, 54:13; John 6:45-46; Hebrews 8:11).. And so they were going to be brought in. "And other sheep have I,
which are not of this fold. Them also I must
bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one
shepherd." Do you remember from Ephesians chapter two
how that Jesus broke down the middle wall of partition, the Old Testament law,
taking it out of the way and made Jew and Gentile one in him, having made peace
by the blood of the cross, and came and preached peace to them that were afar
off, to the Gentile people and peace to them that are nigh?
John 10:17, "Therefore
doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it
again. No one taketh it away from me,
but I lay it down of myself. I have the
power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father. There arose a division again among the Jews
because of these words. And many of
them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the sayings of one possessed with a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the
blind?" At least a few of them were doing some good thinking,
were they not? Can a demon open the eyes
of the blind? "And
it was the feast of dedication at Jerusalem." Now, the feast of dedication was not a God‑given
feast. We have talked about the three
annual feasts. But the feast of
dedication came into existence during the inter-testament period in the days of
the Maccabees. The Gentiles had gone
into the sanctuary and had offered a sow upon the altar, a swine on the
altar. Of course, a swine was an unclean
animal under the law. And so when they
got back in power again, they cleansed the temple, and had a dedication having
to do with the cleansing of the temple.
And so it is that feast that they are attending, but it was not a God‑given
feast. And I believe I read that that
feast came in December. And that would
surely fit with verse twenty‑three.
"It was winter and Jesus was walking in the temple
in Solomon's porch. The Jews therefore
came round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou hold us in
suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell
us plainly." Well, go back to chapter eight, how could he
have told them in any plainer way that
he had told them over and over.
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed
not:
The works which I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me." So the Lord is saying my works prove that I
am the Christ. "But
ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice." Now, notice
the qualifications of the Lord's sheep.
One, they “hear my voice.” "And
I know them." Christ knows every child of God by name just
like the good shepherd knew his sheep by name, and he knows the motive of each one's heart. "My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall
never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. And my Father, who hath given them unto me,
is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's
hand." In days gone by, when some people had enough
religion to at least try to stand up for the doctrine that they had embraced in
regard to that old false doctrine, once in grace always in grace, once a child
of God always a child of God. In public
discussion one of those fellows might draw two circles on the board and use
this passage and say, now this shows the impossibility of a child of God being
plucked out of God's hand. In order to get a child of God, you would have to tear down the power of God and the power
of Christ. Well, that is true except for
one little detail. And that goes back to
verse twenty‑seven, “my sheep hear my voice,
and they follow me”. Just as long as the Lord's
sheep, Christian people, hear and follow him the devil does not have the power
to take a child of God out of God's hand or out of Christ's hand. And we need to keep that before us, that
there is real conditional security in Christ.
But it is conditional security as the rest of the New Testament plainly
teaches. Remember that Paul said to
those Galatians that had followed those false teachers and had gone back under
the law, Galatians five and I think verse four, ye are severed
from Christ. Ye who would be justified
by the law, ye are fallen from grace. (A brief
recess was taken.)
Coupled with the security of John 10:27-29, we have the wonderful
promise of I Corinthians 10:13, and many other references
for that matter. But I Corinthians 10:13 is one that every child of
God should learn by memory. "There
is no temptation taken you, but such as is common unto man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to
be tempted above that which ye are able to bear; but will with the
temptation give a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." So there is real security in Christ. But it still depends on that free moral agency
of man. Just as long as a child of God
hears and follows Christ, the devil cannot reach him. And remember from Romans the fourteenth
chapter and around verse four, where Paul was talking about those who were weak
not having understanding that all meats had been cleansed and ate vegetables
instead. And he is telling those that
were stronger and knew that meats had been cleansed to receive them but “not
for a decision of their scruples.” And he
said, “who art thou that judgest the servant of another,
to his own master he standeth or falleth.”
And he
said, speaking of the weak brethren, “he shall stand, for
the Lord hath the power to make him stand.” So just as
long as a child of God wants to do right, the Lord has the power to make him
stand, and he will stand.
John 10:30, , "I
and my Father are one. And the Jews
took up stones again to stone him." When
John says, the Jews, he is usually speaking of the ruling group, especially those of the
Sanhedrin. "Jesus
answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of
those works do ye stone me? The Jews
answered him, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy." Because he said he and the Father were one. "Because thou,
being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered
them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" The quotation is from Psalms 82:6, where God said back there
of the rulers that ye are gods. "If
he called them gods, unto whom the word of the Lord came, and the scripture
cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Lord sanctified, and sent into the
world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe
me not." If my works are not evidence that I am from
my Father and that I am the Son of God, then do not believe on me, but I am
doing those works. "But
if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: That ye may know, and understand, that the
Father is in me, and I in the Father.
They sought again to take him: And he went forth out of their hand. And he went away again beyond the Jordan
into the place where John was at the first baptizing." On the east side of the Jordan. So he leaves Judaea and goes to the east side
of the Jordan. "And many came unto him,
and they said, John indeed did no sign: But all things whatsoever John spake of this
man were true. And many believed on him
there.
Chapter Eleven
Now a certain man was
sick, Lazarus, of Bethany,
of the village
of Mary
and her sister Martha." All three of the synoptic gospel writers recorded
about Mary taking the precious ointment and anointing Jesus for his burial, but
neither tells about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Some have suggested
that had they mentioned the name of Lazarus, that might have caused them to put
forth more effort to put Lazarus to death.
Remember they wanted to put Lazarus to death because Jesus had raised
him from the dead. John wrote a long
time after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the temple had been
completely destroyed, and that Jewish system of religion, as it had been
practiced, went by the wayside, John gives us the name of Martha and Mary's
brother.
John 11:2,
“And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet
with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou
lovest is sick." Jesus was very close to this
family, Lazarus and these two sisters, Martha and Mary. And so Lazarus is sick, and so they send the
word to Jesus. “he whom thou lovest is sick. “ And, of course, they were
expecting him to come immediately. They
had enough confidence if Jesus was present he would heal him. "But when Jesus
heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When therefore he heard that he was sick, he
abode at that time two days in the place where he was." So he did not
go immediately, he wanted to give time that there would be no doubt that
Lazarus had been raised from the dead.
"Then after this he saith to his disciples, Let us
go into Judaea
again." Note what the disciples say. "The disciples say unto
him, Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone thee, and goest thou thither
again?" It is too dangerous for you go back to Judaea. "Jesus answered, Are
there not twelve hours in the day? If a
man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth light of this
world. But if a man walk in the night,
he stumbleth." And, of course, he is talking
about the night meaning the way of darkness and sin. "He stumbleth,
because the light is not in him. These
things spake he: And after this he said unto them, Our friend
Lazarus is fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. The disciples therefore said unto him, Lord
if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Sleep in many cases can be
the very best thing for a person when he is coming down with some kind of
ailment or disease. The body has power to help fight against that disease
during good sleep. And so the disciples
reason if he is sleeping, he will recover from the sick bed. They had not recognized yet that Lazarus is
dead. "Now, Jesus
had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spake of taking rest in
sleep. Then Jesus therefore said unto
them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am
glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent that ye may believe;
nevertheless let us go unto him. Thomas
therefore, who is called Didymus, said unto his fellow disciples, Let us also
go, that we may die with him." So these disciples
are showing great faith. He is going
back to Judaea and they will kill him. But he
who had been doubting Thomas said, let us go with him. We will die with him. "So when Jesus came, he
found that he had been in the tomb four days already." It must have been that the news was carried to Jesus
at least five days before he got there.
He had been buried for four days. "Now Bethany
was nigh unto Jerusalem,
about fifteen furlongs." The New American Standard and
The New Revised Standard Version read, “about two miles off” "And
many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their
brother.
John 11:20,
Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming went and met him: But Mary still sat in the house. Martha therefore said unto Jesus, Lord, if
thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died." She was very confident that if Jesus had been
there before his death that Jesus would have healed her brother.. And she said, "That
even now, whatsoever thou shall ask of God, God will give thee." But she was not expecting him to raise her
brother from the dead as shown by what she says later. "Jesus saith unto
her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection
of the last day." Notice that statement, “the resurrection of the
last day.” There is a last great day coming. And when that day comes, Jesus said, “Marvel
not at this the hour cometh when all that are in the grave shall hear his voice
and shall come forth, they that have done good to the resurrection of life and
they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation,” as we have read from this
book, John chapter five verses twenty‑eight and twenty‑nine. "Jesus said unto
her, I am the resurrection, and the life: He that believeth on me, though he die, yet
shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth on me
shall never die." So whoever believes on Christ is going to have
that spiritual life in Christ that he talked about as recorded in John 5:24‑25, that those who
are dead and hear his voice will have spiritual life. "And so whosoever
liveth and believeth in me, shall never die believest thou this? She said unto him, yea, Lord: I have believed that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, even he that cometh into the world. And when she had said this, she went away,
and called Mary her sister secretly,
saying, The Teacher is here, and calleth thee.
And when she heard it, she arose quickly, and went unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the village,
but was still in the place where Martha met him."
Mary had evidently learned that he was coming. "The Jews then who were
with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she
rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing, that she was going unto
the tomb to weep there. Mary therefore
when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, and fell down at his feet, saying
unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the
Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was
troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him?
They say unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept." So Jesus wept with
compassion because they were mourning over the death of their brother Lazarus
and other Jews, weeping with them.
John 11:46, "The
Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him.
But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him
that was blind, have caused that this man should not die?" Wasn’t that pretty good reasoning? If he could make a blind man see, who had
never seen before, he could have kept Lazarus alive. "Jesus therefore again
groaning in himself cometh to the tomb.
There was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of
him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time the body decayeth: For he hath been dead four days." That body is decaying. He is stinking. And if you take away the stone, there will be
that stinking smell. "Jesus
saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, if thou
believest, thou shouldest see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said,
Father I think thee that thou heardest me.
And I knew that thou heardest me always: But because of the multitude that
standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me."
And so Jesus is going to give them real proof
that he is the Son of God by raising Lazarus from the dead. He is calling upon God because of the
multitude that standeth around and said that they may believe that thou didst
send me. So Jesus is giving them every
opportunity that could be given for them to believe on him.
John 11:43, "And
when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." Some have suggested it is a good thing that
he called Lazarus by name or all of these in the cemetery may have come
forth. Well, at least the day is coming
when by the voice of the Christ all will hear his voice and shall come
forth. And so he raised that decaying
and stinking Lazarus from the dead. "He
that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: And his face was bound about with a
napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose
him, and let him go. Then many of
the Jews who came to Mary, and beheld that which he did, believed on him." And that is wonderful! Jesus wanted them to have everything, every
good reason to believe on him. "But
some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus
had done. The chief priests therefore
and the Pharisees gathered a counsel.
And said, What do we? For this
man doeth many signs." So they gathered their
counsel and said what are we going to do, for this man doeth many signs. "If
we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him:
And the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. But a certain one of them, Caiaphas." Caiaphas is at this time reckoned as high
priest by the Romans.
John 11:49, "But
certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said unto them, Ye
know nothing at all, nor do ye take account that it is expedient for you, that
one man should die for the people." He is
talking about Christ. We are going to
put him to death. Instead of all the
people suffering, we are going to put him to death. "That the whole
nation perish not. Now this he said not
of himself: But being high priest that year, he
prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; and not for the nation only,
but that he might also gather together in to him the children of God that are
scattered abroad. So from that day forth
they took counsel that they might put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among
the Jews; but departed thence into the country near to the wilderness, into a
city called Ephraim, and there he tarried with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews' was at hand: And many went up to Jerusalem
out of the country before the Passover, to purify themselves. They sought therefore for Jesus, and spake
one with another, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not
come to the feast? Now the chief priests
and the Pharisees had given commandment, that, if any man knew where he was, he
should show them, that they might take him.
Chapter Twelve
Jesus therefore six days
before the Passover came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead." And can you see at least the possibility that
that may be the reason why the other three did not mention it? Remember they wrote before the destruction of
Jerusalem. "So
they made him a supper there; and Martha served:
But Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat." And remember the other writers talk about it
being at Simon the leper's house, where they made the feast for him. "But Lazarus was
one of them that sat at meat with him.
Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and
anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: And the house was filled with the odor of the
ointment. But Judas Iscariot." And John is the only one that tells us that
Judas Iscariot was the first one that brought the criticism, and he did it not
because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief. "But Judas Iscariot, one
of his disciples that should betray him saith, why was not this ointment sold
for three hundred shillings and given to the poor?"
There are still evil men that are ready to put false motives on what
they are doing. He made out like he was
concerned about the poor, but he was a thief and took what was put in the
bag.
John 12:6, "Now
this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief and
having the bag, and took away what was put therein. Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it
against the day of my burying." I have emphasized
already, that we need to be careful and guard against wrong peer pressure, and
if a person is being criticized for doing something that is good and right,
that we ought to stand up for that person like Jesus stood up for Mary. "For the poor you
have always with you; but me ye have not always." And the poor have always been around. And according to the words of Jesus, we can
depend on them always be around. "The
common people therefore of the Jews learned that he was there: And they came not for Jesus' sake only, but
that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the
dead." Now, notice what the chief priests want to do
with Lazarus. "But
the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death;
because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on
Jesus. On the morrow a great multitude
that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
took branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and crying
out." I
believe we have read the rest of chapter twelve. I am very confident we did when we read the
parallels.
Come now to chapter thirteen. Remember that Jesus is going to die as the Passover
lamb. And we have already called
attention to how that John 18:28 shows that Christ kept
the Passover before the actual time to keep the Passover, and he died at the
very time they would be killing the Passover lambs. John's book is the only one that makes it
plain that Jesus kept that supper with his disciples before the actual time for
the Passover.
Chapter thirteen
I believe we all remember about how that Jesus after
the supper girded himself with a towel and started washing the disciples'
feet. When he came to Peter, and Peter
said, you are not going to wash my feet?
And Jesus said to him, you do not have part nor lot with me unless I
wash your feet. And then Peter wanted
him to wash not only his feet but his hands and his head. I guess he is saying, if that be the case,
wash me all over. Well, Jesus was not
instituting a ceremony of washing of feet.
Some have come with foot washing as a religious ceremony. I can remember not far ‑‑ I guess
about five miles from our house, there was a church building in days' past
where they had big foot washings. The
people of that church counted Jesus as instituting it as a a religious
ordinance, but Jesus did not institute it as a religious ordinance. It was the pattern of the day for the host of
the house to at least furnish water for people to wash their feet. They wore sandals, and their feet would be
dusty. There are places like that in a number of places in the east, and so
Jesus just showing the disciples that they ought to serve, and that was the
purpose of him girding himself with the towel and washing their feet.
John 12:12, "When
he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and sat down again, he
said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Teacher and Lord: And ye say well; for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher have
washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that ye also
should do as I have done to you." And, of course, the point is
that you are to serve others(Matthew 20:28), not only from the
standpoint of such common courtesy as washing the feet of those who come to
your house. "Verily,
I say unto you, a servant is not greater than his Lord; neither one that
is sent greater than he that sent him." And,
of course, they were his servants, so they were not greater than he was, and he
washed their feet. And they were to
serve others like he served others. "And
if ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them." If ye do as I have done and minister to the
needs of other people you will be happy.
"And I speak not of you all. Judas Iscariot was not among that
number. I know whom I
have chosen: But that the scripture may be fulfilled, He
that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me." That reference is from one of the psalms of
David, and evidently it was first against one of David's chief advisors. When
his son tried to take the kingdom away from David, David’s chief adviser,
Ahithophel was for Absalom (II Samuel 15:12-15, 15:30-31, 17:23). The statement first referred
to Ahithophel, but the second reference is that Judas would betray Jesus.
Ahithophel hanged himself (II Samuel 17:23) and so did Judas Iscariot.
“From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that,
when it come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me." The
Lord is going to send his apostles, and those who would receive Jesus would
receive them. The same thing holds true today.
When faithful men go out teaching and preaching the gospel of Christ,
those that would have received Christ will receive them, those men who would have
rejected Christ reject faithful teachers today.
"And he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent
me. When Jesus had thus said, he was
troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, that one of you shall betray me.
The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. There was the table reclining in Jesus' bosom
one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved." And,
of course, that one is John the writer of this book. "Simon saith therefore
beckoning to him, and saith unto him, tell us who it is of whom he
speaketh. He leaning back as he was on
Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
And Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I have shall dip
the sop, and give it to him." The
other writers identified Judas as the
one that would betray him. "So
when he had dipped the sop, he taketh it
and giveth it to Judas the son of Simon
Iscariot. And after the sop then entered
Satan into him. Jesus therefore saith
unto him, What thou doest, do quickly." Jesus knows
exactly what he is going to do, so he says unto Judas, you do your work
quickly. Get it over with. "Now no man at the
table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some thought because Judas had the bag,
that Jesus said unto him, Buy what things that we have need of for the feast;
or, that he should give something to the poor.
He then having received the sop went out straightway: And it was night." And it was the night of sin and despair for
Judas Iscariot because of his wrong work. "When therefore,
he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is
glorified in him. And God shall glorify
him in himself, and straightway shall he glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with
you. Ye shall seek me: And as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye
cannot come; so now I say unto you.
John 13:34,
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; even as I have
loved you." And remember as he stated in John the tenth
chapter, my Father loves me because I lay down my life for the sheep. And no person had ever loved like that before.
Jesus laid down his life for all sinners, laid down his life for all. "Even as I have loved
you, that ye also love one another. By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another." So if members of the church love one another
as they ought, the world about them will see that they are Christian
people. They do not need to go out with
the name Christian written on them or carry a cross around their neck. But they can tell by the way that they love
one another, “by this shall all men know me that ye are my
disciple!”. "That ye are my
disciples if ye have love one to another.
Simon Peter said unto him." You know Peter is that
fellow that has got to speak. "Lord,
whither goest thou? Jesus answered,
Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me
afterwards. Peter saith unto him,
Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now?
I will lay down my life for thee." And
so Peter was very confident that he was ready to die for the Lord, as we called
attention to in Mark's account. Mark
said, “But he spake exceedingly vehemently (Mark 14:31). So Peter got real mad
when Jesus told him that he would deny him. "Jesus answered,
Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me
thrice."
Chapter Fourteen.
In this chapter Jesus tells them again that I am going
to go away, and where I go, you cannot
follow me now. You can imagine that the
apostles must have been sorrowful, because he had told them that he was going
to go away and you cannot follow him now.
So the first part of chapter fourteen, he is trying to soothe their
sorrow some. "Let
not your heart be troubled: Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions:
If it were not so, I would have told you.
For I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive
you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Where does the Bible say that Christ is
now? Of course, the answer is at the
right‑hand of God, and that he stay there until he puts all his enemies are
made the footstool of his feet (Hebrews 1:13; I Corinthians 15:21-26). "And whither I go ye know
the way. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we
know not whither thou goest; how know we the way? Jesus
said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
No one cometh unto the Father, but by me." So
Jesus is the way of spiritual life. No
man can enter into heaven who does not go through Christ. And remember those who had died under the
patriarchal dispensation and Jewish dispensation, they were not cleansed completely
until Christ died on the cross. Hebrews 9:15, “for
death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions of those that
were under the first.” So no one can come to God
except they go through Christ. "No
one cometh unto the Father but by me. If
ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: From henceforth ye know him, and have seen
him." So Jesus came in person to demonstrate his
Father. And as stated in verse two or
three in the first chapter of Hebrews, “he is the effulgence of
his glory and the very image of his person.
John 14:8, "Philip
saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long
time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;
how sayest thou, Show us the Father?
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not
of myself: But the Father abideth in me doeth the works.
Believe me that I am in the Father, and
the father in me:
Or else believe me for the very works sake.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that
I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall
ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If ye ask anything in my name, that
will I do. If ye love me, ye will
keep my commandments." Again, a
person can know whether he loves the Lord or not. If he is keeping the commandments of the Lord,
then he loves him. But if he is not
keeping the commandments, then he does not love the Lord. "I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another Comforter."
He is talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles
which came upon them on that first Pentecost.
"That he may abide with you forever; even
the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, for it beholdeth it not;
neither knoweth him: Ye know him: For he abideth with you, and shall be in
you. I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you." So Jesus is saying, I am not going to leave
you alone, I am going to send the Holy Spirit to you. I am going to send you a Comforter. "Yet a little while, and
the world beholdeth me no more; but ye beholdeth me, because I live, ye shall
live also. In that day ye shall know
that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. And he that hath my commandments and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth me." And I see that our time is
just a few seconds away from being up.
Let us count John 14:21 our beginning place for the next Class
Session. We will plan on finishing the
reading here from John, and then we will begin and start dealing with the
parables in the gospel of Luke in our next Class Session, if the Lord
willing. Thank you for your good
attention.