SIGHT FOR THE BLIND
John 9:24-41
Sight for the Blind
John 9:24-41
"The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins."
~ Charles Spurgeon, “The Lesson of the Almond Tree”
2 Corinthians 2:15–16: For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
Main Idea: Jesus opens the eyes of the blind so we might worship him.
I. The Blind Who See
The Pharisees call and interrogate the blind man who was healed by Jesus for a second time. Two things in this conversation stand out that reveal his “sight” regarding Jesus:
His Undeniable Testimony: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (9:25b)
This man’s testimony of Jesus’ work in his life is a simple summary of what is true for all who have been saved by Christ (cf. Acts 26:18; Eph. 1:18). He knows that this is the work of God and God alone and could not possibly be performed by a “sinner.”
2 Corinthians 4:6: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
His Bold Freedom
This man’s confidence and freedom under the intense microscope of the Pharisees is surprising and a clear sign of his complete transformation. Unlike his parents (cf. 9:20-23), he does not fear the Jewish leaders and sarcastically sees through their charades. He points out that their unbelief in the face of this miracle is even more “amazing” than the miracle itself! (9:30)
II. The Seeing Who Are Blind
As the Pharisees continue to harden their hearts and seek evidence for their verdict regarding Jesus, two things stand out that reveal their blindness:
Their Prideful Unbelief
The Pharisees are sure to position themselves as the highest authority over and over again:
They force the man into an oath: “Give glory to God…” (cf. Josh. 7:19)
They continually emphasize “we know…” (9:24, 29; cf. 3:2)
They claim to be “disciples of Moses,” the true experts in the Word of God (9:28)
The Pharisees were not just physically blind to the true identity of Jesus Christ; they had darkened hearts that were hostile to the works of God (cf. 5:18; 7:1). Their sinful hearts and prideful posture led them to spectacularly wrong assumptions and assessments about Jesus, revealing the depth of their blindness.
Their Controlling Authority
Rather than using their authority to celebrate and promote the obvious “works of God” (9:3-4), they twist their authority toward unrighteous ends. In this interrogation, they “revile” the now seeing man (9:28), belittle his dignity (9:34a), and then ultimately “excommunicate” him from the synagogue (9:34b), cutting him off from the hub of religious, social, and political life in his community.
“The congenital blindness of this man will be interpreted by both the disciples (9:2) and by the authorities (9:34) as evidence of sin… [but] this man is simply representative of the entire human situation. The distinction is not between those who are blind and those who see; it is between those who know they are blind and those who claim they see. But this distinction cannot come to light except when the light comes.” ~ Lesslie Newbigin, The Light has Come: An Exposition of the Fourth Gospel
III. The Son Who is Worshiped
Jesus stands out over and against everyone else in this account that has turned from a wonderful, merciful miracle to an awful display of those who “loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (3:19). Though this man was “cast out,” Jesus goes out to find him, foreshadowing his own being “cast out” (cf. Heb. 13:12) to save lost sinners and bring sight to the blind (cf. Ps. 27:10).
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” is the essential question that confronts everyone. Jesus invokes the “Son of Man” to emphasize his authority and righteous judgments (cf. Dan. 7:13-14). Jesus graciously reveals that this man is seeing the Son of Man right before him (cf. 4:26); he “believes” and “worshiped him” (9:38), the right and proper response to Christ.
Though Jesus has come into the world to save and not to condemn (3:17; 12:47), the good news of the gospel is simultaneously bad news for those who reject him, blinded and darkened by their own sin and pride. Jesus comes in order “that those who do not see may see” and that “those who see may become blind” (cf. Isa. 6:10; 42:7; Mk. 4:12).
The Pharisees nearby rightly discern that Jesus is speaking of them, but their unwillingness to admit their need of Jesus means that their “guilt remains” (9:41); they think they can see, but they are blind (cf. Lk. 5:31-32; 18:10-14).
“It is a very wonderful thing about the gospel that it is meant for people who think themselves most unsuited for it, and most undeserving of it, — it is a sight for those who see not... “Christ died for our sins,” not for our virtues. It is not your efficiencies, but your deficiencies which entitle you to the Lord Jesus. It is not your wealth, but your want; it is not what you have, but what you have not; it is not what you can boast of, but what you mourn over, that qualifies you to receive the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. O blind eyes… O souls that sit in darkness… I have good news for you — light for the blind, gladness for the despairing, and grace for the guilty.”
~ Charles Spurgeon, “Sight for Those Who See Not”
The Works of God Displayed
John 9:1-23
The Works of God Displayed
John 9:1-23
Main Idea: The works of God always point to Jesus and always point people to worshipping Him.
I. The Man Born Blind
John 9:1-5: As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
If you want to “work the works” of the One who sent Jesus into the world, make friends with vulnerability, with suffering, with disability, and with the needy. If you are among the “strong,” use your strength to attend to the weak.
James 1:27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
II. The Healing of A Man Born Blind
John 9:6-7: Having said these things, (Jesus) spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
People often think that if miracles like this were only happening today it would be much easier to believe in God. The facts of this story argue against this assumption. Bold miracles tend to confound and confuse.
III. The Man Who Heals Men and Women Born “Blind”
The prophet Isaiah had foretold a “day” when the eyes of the blind would be opened. He speaks of it beautifully, yet enigmatically. On the one hand, he speaks of a “day” in which “the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see” (Isaiah 29:18; 36:5-6). On the other hand, his very ministry would have the effect of “[Making] the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes” (Isaiah 6:10). He is sent to a people who are “blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf yet have ears” (Isaiah 43:8).
John’s eyes were opened and his ears unstopped the evening of the day Jesus rose from death. Luke records the event this way: “Then (Jesus) said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:44-47)
Rooted
Colossians 2:6-7
Rooted
Colossians 2:6-7
Main Idea: The deeper we are rooted in Christ, the more we will bear fruit and abound in thanksgiving together.
I. Rooted in Christ
Paul exhorts us that the way forward in the Christian life is not to leave behind or move past the gospel, but instead to press further up and further in to the good news of Jesus (cf. Gal. 3:2-3). Just as the Christian life begins by receiving grace and mercy through faith and repentance, we must continue down the same path holding fast to “Christ Jesus the Lord.”
“In our Christian life we never ‘get beyond the gospel’ to something more advanced. The gospel is not the first step in a stairway of truths; rather, it is more like the hub in a wheel of truth. The gospel is not just the ABCs but the A to Z of Christianity. The gospel is not the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom but the way we make all progress in the kingdom. We are not justified by the gospel and then sanctified by obedience; rather the gospel is the way we grow (Gal. 3:1–3) and are renewed (Col. 1:6). It is the solution to each problem, the key to each closed door, the power to take us through every barrier (Rom. 1:16–17).”
~ Tim Keller, “The Centrality of the Gospel”
Paul gives three pictures of how we “walk” or "continue living” in Christ:
Rooted in him, like a tree that is nourished, vibrant, and healthy (cf. Ps. 1; Jer. 17:5-8; Jn. 15:4-5)
Built up in him, like a structure laid on the solid foundation of Christ (Eph. 2:20-22)
Established in the faith, steadfast and immovable in the gospel we have been taught
II. Rooted Together
All of the “you’s” in this passage and throughout this letter are in the second-person plural. The Christian life is not a “solo” project; in order to grow up into maturity we must be rooted deeply together as brothers and sisters in Christ in the household of faith.
Colossians 2:1–3: For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
“The way to get assured understanding about the mystery of God, namely, Jesus Christ the treasure chest of wisdom, is to have your heart knit together in love with other believers. The deepest and most certain insights into the character of God and the wisdom of God come into heads that are attached to loving hearts.”
~ John Piper, “Guard Yourself with Gratitude”
“One cannot explain the explosive dynamite of the early church apart from the fact that they practiced two things simultaneously: orthodoxy of doctrine and orthodoxy of community in the midst of the visible church, a community which the world could see. By the grace of God the church must be known simultaneously for its purity of doctrine and the reality of its community. Our churches have so often been only preaching points with very little emphasis on community, but the exhibition of the love of God in practice is beautiful and must be there.”
~ Francis Schaeffer, The Church Before the Watching World
III. Rooted to Bear Lasting Fruit
Our “abounding in thanksgiving” should extend to every area of our lives and our faith, including:
Growing Knowledge
Colossians 1:9-10, 12: ... we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Wholehearted Worship
Colossians 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Persistent Prayer
Colossians 4:2: Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
Joyful Witness (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15)
Colossians 4:5–6: Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Cheerful Generosity
2 Corinthians 9:6–8, 11, 15: The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work… You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God… Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
“In the Christian way, giving is never a matter of a tit-for-tat relationship with the Almighty. You can never out-give God. He has given his own dear Son. There’s a profound sense in which the last thing God wants you to do is give money, even generously, if you withhold your heart ... All of our response to him is first and foremost out of the overflow of recognizing his indescribable gift. We give out of gratitude. We serve out of gratitude. We pray out of gratitude. We walk by faith out of gratitude. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” ~ D.A. Carson, “Laughing All the Way from the Bank”
The Great I AM
John 8:48-59
The Great I AM
John 8:48-59
Main Idea: God’s children keep the Word of Jesus, the Great I AM.
I. When People Seem Big (8:48–50)
“1. We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us.
2. We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us.
3. We fear people because they can attack, oppress, or threaten us.
These three reasons have one thing in common: they see people as “bigger” (that is, more powerful and significant) than God, and, out of the fear that creates in us, we give other people the power and right to tell us what to feel, think, and do.”
~ Edward T. Welch, When People Are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man
1 Corinthians 3:19-20: For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
“That God may be better understood, and admired, and loved through our life …; that more hearts may be brought beneath His sway—be this our aim, at all costs to ourselves.”
~ F.B. Meyer
II. When Death Seems Near (8:51–55)
Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
“Those who believe in Jesus’ word already have eternal life; death is no longer facing them but behind them; when they pass away, they will not be handed over to death.”
~ Herman Ridderbos
2 Corinthians 4:17-18: For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
III. Because Jesus is the Great I AM (8:56–59)
Colossians 1:15-23: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
“As man, He fled from the stones; but woe to those from whose stony hearts God has fled.”
~ Augustine, Homilies on the Gospel of John
The Paternity Debate
John 8:31-47
The Paternity Debate
John 8:31-47
Main Idea: The children of God abide in the word of God because the Son of God has set them free.
I. Depart or Abide (8:31-32)
"It is probably significant that Jesus does not say "you will be," but "you are" disciples. He is not laying down a condition of discipleship, but telling them in what discipleship consists. When a man abides in Christ's word, then he is a true disciple."
~ Leon Morris, NICNT Commentary (John)
II. Slave or Free (8:33-36)
"At times a man's slave, worn out by the commands of an unfeeling master, finds rest in flight. Whither can the servant of sin flee? Himself he carries with him wherever he flees. An evil conscience flees not from itself; it has no place to go to; it follows itself. Yea, he cannot withdraw from himself, for the sin he commits is within. He has committed sin to obtain some bodily pleasure. The pleasure passes away; the sin remains. What delighted is gone; the sting has remained behind. Evil bondage!”
~ Augustine, Homilies on the Gospel of John
III. The Lovely Lord (8:29-30
“They voluntarily choose to do His will. "To do" is continuous and points to an attitude. Their difficulty was not primarily intellectual, but spiritual."
~ Leon Morris,“NICNT Commentary (John)”
1 Corinthians 2:11-14: For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
“One’s heart goes out to the children of such fathers, and those of us who are fathers ourselves know that we too are far from perfect. But God the Father is not called Father because he copies earthly fathers. He is not some pumped-up version of your dad. To transfer the failings of earthly fathers to him is, quite simply, a misstep. Instead, things are the other way around: it is that all human fathers are supposed to reflect him — only where some do that well, others do a better job of reflecting the devil.”
~ Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity
The Testimony of Jesus
John 8:12-30
The Testimony of Jesus
John 8:12-30
Main Idea: Jesus declares His identity and intends for us to believe in and follow Him.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Who does Jesus Christ declare Himself to be, and what are the implications He intends for me?
I. Liar or Light? (8:12-20)
“At the close of the first Festival-day of the Feast they went down to the Court of the Women where they had made a great amendment. There were golden candlesticks there with four golden bowls on the top of them and four ladders to each candlestick, and four youths of the priestly stock and in their hands jars of oil holding a hundred and twenty logs which they poured into all the bowls. They made wicks from the worn out drawers and girdles of the priests and with them they set the candlesticks alight, and there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that did not reflect the light of the Beth ha-She’ubah.”
~ Colin Kruse, TNTC John Commentary
“Light, it seems to me, is like time: I know what it is until someone asks me, at which point I have absolutely no idea.”
~ Andrew Wilson, God of All Things
“Darkness, by contrast, has no existence of its own. It is not a thing; it is the absence of a thing, which instantly vanishes on the arrival of light. Consider the darkest place you can imagine: in a cave several hundred feet underground, inside a chest of drawers, at the far end of a black slipper. Now imagine introducing the faintest possible light source: a glowworm, an ember, the screen of an old mobile phone. Which wins, the darkness or the light? To ask the question is to answer it. The deepest darkness is powerless against even the faintest light.”
~ Andrew Wilson, God of All Things
Who does Jesus Christ declare Himself to be, and what are the implications He intends for me? (Repeated before each point)
II. Lunatic or Lifted? (8:21-28)
“When Jesus refers to himself as “I am” without a predicate, he connects his personal identity with the covenantal identity of Yahweh. In Exodus 3, God identifies himself to Moses as the “I am,” which becomes the unique and personal name for God in his covenant with Israel and with David. And in Isaiah 40-48, the prophet uses God’s Covenantal name to make the point that, as the one true and living God, Yahweh is unique and incomparable by nature. The “I am” is in a category by himself as the eternally self-existent being who alone is sovereign, omniscient, and omnipotent in contrast to the idols and false gods. The Old Testament reserves “I am” for Yahweh; by definition, this name cannot apply to any mere man.”
~ Stephen Wellum, God The Son Incarnate
Who does Jesus Christ declare Himself to be, and what are the implications He intends for me?
III. The Lovely Lord (8:29-30)
The identity of the Son in relation to the Father:
Light of the World: Isa 49:6
Judge: John 8:16
Testimony: John 8:18
Mission: John 8:18
Identity: John 8:19
Home: John 8:23
Message: John 8:26
Son of Man: Daniel 7:13-14
Proximity: John 8:29
John 20:21: Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
John 20:30-31: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Who does Jesus Christ declare Himself to be, and what are the implications He intends for me?
Streams of Living Water
John 7:25-52
Streams of Living Water
John 7:25-52
Main Idea: As the one sent from and returning to heaven, Jesus offers us the Spirit of life.
I. Where He Comes From (7:25-31; 40-52)
The crowds gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths begin to speculate: “Do the authorities know that Jesus is the Christ?” (7:26). However, they doubt Jesus’ qualifications on two levels:
The messianic tradition and literature of the day expected a “sudden” and unexpected appearance of the Christ (7:27; cf. Mal 3:1)
Jesus was known to be from Nazareth and Galilee, rather than Bethlehem and the house of David (7:41-42; cf. Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:1)After the seeming disappointment of the crowds leaving Jesus just a few months earlier (cf. 6:66), Jesus’ brothers (cf. 2:12; Matt. 13:55) see an opportunity for him to showcase his miracles and works out in the “open” and to the “world” as the crowds make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. However, this suggestion was from a place of “unbelief,” desiring worldly glory through worldly means (cf. 6:14-15, 26).
While the crowds argue about his earthly birthplace, Jesus challenges their understanding by asserting his true origins go back much further than his hometown. John 1:18:“No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” Those who do not know and recognize Jesus do not truly know God the Father who has sent him (cf. 8:19; Matt. 11:27).
Despite the mounting opposition and an arrest warrant out for Jesus (7:32), “no one laid hands on him” (7:30a). John tells us a few reasons why:
The guards are struck by the wisdom and authority of Christ: “No one ever spoke like this man!” (7:46)
The Pharisees arrogance and pride (7:47-52) that blinded them to reality or an honest investigation (cf. 1 Cor. 2:6-10)
In God’s sovereignty, Jesus’ “hour had not yet come” (7:30b)
“We find here a striking example of the restraining hand of God upon His enemies. Their purpose was to apprehend Christ. They sought to take Him, yet not a hand was laid upon Him! They thirsted for His blood and were determined to kill Him; yet by an invisible restraint from above, they were powerless to do so. How blessed, then, to know that everything is under the immediate control of God. They could no more arrest Christ than they could stop the sun from shining… Until God’s foreordained hour struck, and the incarnate Son bowed to the Father’s good pleasure, he was immortal.”
~ A.W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John
II. Where He Is Going (7:32-36)
While the ‘muttering’ continues around Jesus, he intrigues the crowds further by speaking not only of his divine origins, but also his heavenly destination in his “ascension.” Like so many others in John’s gospel, the crowds interpret Jesus’ words in strictly “earthly” ways (cf. 2:19-20; 3:3-4; 4:10-11; 5:6-7; 6:51-52).
There is a deep irony in their misunderstanding; while Jesus was not speaking of going to the Dispersion and preaching to the Greeks, this is precisely what happens after his ascension into heaven, as the gospel goes forth “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) through the power of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7: I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
III. What He Offers (7:37-39)
As part of the Feast of Booths, the Jews observed a special “water-pouring ritual” that remembered God’s faithfulness to them in the wilderness, petitioned the God of the Harvest for abundant rains, and created expectation for the coming Messianic age (cf. Isa. 12:3), including the pouring out of the Holy Spirit (cf. Joel 2:28-29).
At the climactic moment of the feast (the “last” and “great day”), Jesus cries out: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (7:37b-38). Jesus presents himself as the fulfillment of what the water festival depicted, that we might believe and be saved and satisfied (20:30-31; cf. 4:13-14).
This ‘living water’ is the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is poured out on all of God’s people after the crucifixion (“glorification”) and ascension of Jesus (cf. Acts 2). The Holy Spirit and water are often connected throughout the OT (Isa. 44:3; Jer. 2:13; Zech. 13:1).
1 Corinthians 10:1–4: For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
“Moses struck the rock and water flowed to quench the people’s thirst. At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus offers living water to those who come to him. Jesus is the Rock. Jesus will be struck. Water will flow from Jesus, and Jesus will give the Holy Spirit to sustain his people on their journey to the Promised Land.”
~ Jim Hamilton, ESV Expository Commentary
Just as the Lord provided water from the rock that was struck (cf. Ex. 17) in the wilderness for a grumbling, unworthy people, so too will Jesus be struck and then provide “rivers of living water” for unworthy people. If we want to satisfy our spiritual thirst with this living water, we must “drink” and "believe" in Christ. He will cause the life-giving Holy Spirit to well up inside of us and overflow to the world around us.
Revelation 22:17: The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Craving for Glory
John 7:1-24
Craving for Glory
John 7:1-24
Main Idea: We must seek God’s glory rather than worldly glory if we are to believe in Jesus and trust his word.
I. Worldly Glory (7:1-13)
As the popular “Feast of Booths” (or “Tabernacles” - Deut. 16:13-15) begins in Jerusalem, the controversies and opposition surrounding Jesus have only continued to intensify. Public opinion was divided about Christ, with ‘muttering’ or ‘grumbling’ (7:12) among the crowds, and the “Jews” (religious leaders) were seeking to kill him (7:1; cf. 5:18).
After the seeming disappointment of the crowds leaving Jesus just a few months earlier (cf. 6:66), Jesus’ brothers (cf. 2:12; Matt. 13:55) see an opportunity for him to showcase his miracles and works out in the “open” and to the “world” as the crowds make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. However, this suggestion was from a place of “unbelief,” desiring worldly glory through worldly means (cf. 6:14-15, 26).
John 2:23–25: Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
Jesus rejects their suggestion for two reasons:
1. They are operating consistent with the “world” (cf. 1:10-11; 3:19).
1 John 2:15–16: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the word.
2. Jesus’ “time” has not yet come; his brothers want Christ to showcase his glory, but this will only come as Jesus is “lifted up” on the cross (cf. Jn. 12:23; 17:1).
Hebrews 2:9-10: But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
“God will make a way to renew his commendation over us, restore his image in us, and reclaim lost greatness for us. But our reaching for glory will not bring about this transformation. No, God will come to us, and it will be his work, not ours. It is reaching that robbed us of this glory in the first place. Grasping for glory is the one sure way to miss it.”
~ JR Vassar, Glory Hunger
II. God’s Glory (7:14-24)
After Jesus eventually travels privately to the feast (in his Father’s timing), he begins teaching at the temple. Those listening “marveled” at his undeniable authority and understanding, despite his lack of formal rabbinical training (cf. Matt. 7:28-29).
Jesus responds to their question by asserting:
His teaching is directly from his Heavenly Father (7:16)
Only those who sincerely will to do God’s will are able to understand (7:17)
Those concerned with their own glory will inevitably be led to falsehood (7:18)
John 5:44: How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
“Our natural love for human glory makes it impossible to know and follow a person whose whole life is bent on emptying himself in order to glorify his Father and save sinners. To know him for who he is, we must be changed, not just in our ideas, but in our wills. This is why the Gospel of John puts such a clear emphasis on the need to be born again. We need to will God-exaltation more than we will self-exaltation. We need to love making much of God more than we love people making much of us. Being opposed to this is the greatest obstacle to knowing Jesus.”
~ John Piper, “Willing God’s Will as a Way of Knowing Christ’s Word.”
Jesus returns to a debate surrounding Moses and the Torah (cf. 5:39ff) to establish God’s will, to expose the religious leaders’ disobedience of the “weightier matters” (cf. Mt. 23:23) of the Law, and prove they have superficial “judgment” (7:24). Jesus rightly challenges that if it is right to circumcise on the Sabbath, then it is even more fitting to heal a man’s whole body (5:16); rather than transgressing against the Law, Jesus is fulfilling what the Sabbath ultimately points to.
“Jesus shows us the way to life. His invitation is to lose our life- to renounce our obsessive concern with ourselves & make the glory of God our consuming desire… When we, like Jesus, love what is most lovely, and value supremely what is supremely valuable, and glorify most what is most glorious, we will begin to experience freedom from the crippling concern of glorifying ourselves… This is what Jesus came to do for us and in us. Jesus came to win glory for us, securing a verdict and a status over us with the Father that can satisfy our every pang of glory hunger. Having glory that comes from the ultimate person, we are set free from needing glory from anyone else. And once we know the glorious Father, Jesus works in us to want glory for the Father.”
~ JR Vassar, Glory Hunger
All or Nothing
John 6:60-71
All or Nothing
John 6:60-71
Main Idea: As the Bread of Life, Jesus is all or nothing.
I. The Scandal of Christ (6:60-62)
As the crowd following Jesus continues to “grumble” (cf. 6:41, 61) about his teaching about flesh, blood, and belief, they conclude: “This is a hard saying… who can listen to it?” Jesus’ teaching is not “hard” because it is complicated but because it is difficult to accept in humility.
Hebrews 4:12–13: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus knows what’s going on and asks a pointed question: “Do you take offense at this?” The grace that Christ offers is a ‘scandal’ for two overarching reasons, because it tells us:
You cannot save yourself (cf. Naaman, 2 Kings 5)
Jesus is the only way to eternal life (cf. 14:6)
Jesus warns that if we are offended (‘scandalized’) by his words, what lies ahead on the road to his ascension back to heaven will be even more offensive (cf. 3:13-15; 8:28; 12:32). The cross is the ultimate scandal and offense (cf. Gal. 3:11; 1 Pet. 2:8).
1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-24: For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
II. The Spirit of God (6:63-65)
Jesus distinguishes two responses to the scandal of his grace. You can either work according to the…
“Flesh” by your own strength, power, and intellect, which is “good for nothing” (cf. 6:28)
‘Spirit” who brings us new life in Christ (cf. 3:5-8)
John 1:11–13: He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jesus continues to make clear that the only way to embrace the scandal of grace is if the Father draws those who belong to him (cf. 6:44). This “granting” is accomplished through the word of Christ and the regenerating, illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 16:14; Rom. 10:17).
III. The Words of Life (6:66-71)
What began as a crowd of 5,000(+) following Jesus now dwindles further as “many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” Jesus is unimpressive with the crowds and he seems unbothered by the leaving of these so-called disciples (cf. Matthew 13:1-9, 24-30).
With only the twelve remaining, Jesus asks them: “Do you want to go away as well?” Every part of Peter’s answer is correct:
“To whom shall we go?”
“You have the words of eternal life”
“We have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God”
While Peter responds correctly, Jesus continues to invite him (and all of his true disciples) to a posture of humility: “Did I not choose you?” (6:70; cf. Matt. 16:16-17). The twelve can’t take credit for their position nor should they presume upon being part of the “inner circle” of the disciples, since one of them was to betray Jesus.
“Jesus has chosen and called them, but they are free – free to be with him or to leave him. Jesus will never cast out any who come to him. But neither will he cajole, persuade, or bribe anyone to remain. His company will therefore always include those who do not believe and who will in the end betray. To believe is to have been brought to the place where you know that you have to rely completely on Jesus, and on Jesus alone.”
- Lesslie Newbigin, The Light has Come
Come, Eat, and Live
John 6:35-59
Come, Eat, and Live
John 6:35-59
Main Idea: Jesus is the satisfying, sovereign, and sustaining bread through His sacrificial life to all those that come to Him.
I. Satisfying Bread
John 6:35: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
“The crowds are ready to believe that Jesus can give them what they want but they have not yet seen that He is what they need.”
~ Lesslie Newbigin, The Light Has Come
“Many follow Christ for loaves, but few for love; many follow him to be useful, not to be precious.”
~ Thomas Brooks
Jesus is satisfying bread because:
There is no other bread like Him
He’s bread given from the Father (v. 32)
He is the true bread from Heaven (v. 32)
John 6:36: But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
II. Sovereign, Gracious Bread
John 6:37: All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
John 6:44: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
There are 2 impossibilities in 6:44
No one can come to Jesus apart from God drawing
Jesus failing to raise up on the last day every person that God draws to Him
Genesis 37:4: But when his [Joseph’s] brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated Joseph and could not speak peacefully to him.
John 6:45: It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
“I asked for questions. One lady, in particular, was troubled. She said, "This is the most awful thing I've ever heard! You make it sound as if God is intentionally turning away men who would be saved, receiving only the elect!" I answered her in this vein: "You misunderstand the situation. You're visualizing that God is standing at the door of Heaven, and men are thronging to get in that door. And God says to various ones, 'Yes, you may come, but not you, or you, or you—yes, you may come, and you, and you, but not you, etc.' The situation is hardly this! Rather, God stands at the door of Heaven with His arms outstretched, inviting all to come. Yet all men without exception are running in the opposite direction towards Hell as hard as they can go. So God, in election, graciously reaches out and stops this one, and that one, and this one over here, and that one over there, and effectually draws them to Himself by changing their hearts, making them willing to come. Election keeps no one out of Heaven who would otherwise have been there, but it keeps a whole multitude of folks out of Hell who would otherwise have been there! Were it not for election, Heaven would be an empty place, and Hell would be bursting at the seams!" That does put a different complexion on the thing, doesn't it?”
~ Mark Webb, What Difference Does It Make?
III. Sustaining Bread
John 6:37: ...whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
“They have been given over to Christ, and committed to His charge and care.”
~ George Hutcheson, Exposition of John
Jesus will not lose but keep:
1. The quantity of every soul and body of the believer
John 6:50: This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
2. The quality of our souls
IV. Sacrificial Bread
John 6:51: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
Isaiah 53:5: But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities.
Revelation 7:9-10: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Hebrews 2:13: Behold, I and the children God has given me.
“And when the census shall be read of all the children of the living God, not one of the blood-bought and blood-washed shall be absent. They shall all come to Christ in heaven as they all come to Christ on earth”
~ Charles Spurgeon