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
Eating is Believing
John 6:35-59
Eating is Believing
John 6:35-59
Main Idea: Jesus is the Bread of Life for today and tomorrow; therefore, come and eat.
I. Drawn by the Father (6:35-48)
“Jesus’ confidence does not rest in the potential for positive response amongst well-meaning people. Far from it: his confidence is in his Father to bring to pass the Father’s redemptive purposes: All that the Father gives me will come to me. Jesus’ confidence in the success of his mission is frankly predestinarian.”
~ D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (PNTC)
Summary of the section:
The Father gives a specific group of people to the Son.
The Son comes down from Heaven to do the Father’s will.
The Father’s will is for the Son to lose none of them but raise them on the last day.
These people come to the Son by looking at him and believing.
The Son gives them eternal life.
The Son will raise them on the last day.
No one can come to the Son unless the Father who sent the Son draws them.
II. Sustained by the Son (6:49-59)
John 6:40: For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:54: Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
“Yahweh is Lord of History, who orchestrates and arranges the world as he pleases. He is never faced with a world that is not of his own making, and so does not need to adjust to it. Rather, he arranges the world to be just the sort of world he wishes to speak into.”
~ Peter Leithart, Creator
“Throughout chapters 2 and 3, the author carefully monitors the man’s ongoing relationship with his Creator through the theme of eating. At first, God’s blessing and provision for the man are noted in the words: ‘from all the trees of the garden you may freely eat’ (2:16), recalling the good gifts in chapter 1 and the pronouncement that all was then ‘very good’ (1:31). Then, in chapter 3. It was precisely over the issue of ‘eating’ that the tempter raised doubts about God’s ultimate goodness and care for the man and his wife (3:1-3). Finally, the man and the woman’s act of disobedience in Chapter 3 is simply though thoughtfully described as ‘she ate it … and he ate it.’ It is no surprise, then, that the author calls attention to precisely the aspect of eating in his description of the judgment on the man: (vs. 17). Such a focus on eating. Which seems to dominate the author’s depiction of the Fall, is connected with the author’s interest elsewhere in the importance of eating and its association with humankind’s relationship to God.”
~ John Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative
Isaiah 55:1-3: Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Seek the Bread of Life
John 6:22-34
Seek the Bread of Life
John 6:22-34
Main Idea: Seek Jesus as the only one who can satisfy the hunger of your soul.
I. Are You Curious about Jesus? (6:22-24)
Colossians 1:16-17: 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.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
~ Augustine, Confessions
II. Are You Seeking Jesus? (6:25-27)
“They had not reflected on the spiritual significance of the sign they had seen…They were moved not by full hearts, but by full bellies.” ~ Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John
“It's called selfism, the fastest growing religion. They just dress it up and call it "Christian.” Don't be deceived by this funny biz. If you come to Jesus for money, then He's not your God, money is! Jesus is not a means to an end. The Gospel is He came to redeem us from sin. And that is the message, forever I yell. If you're living your best life now you're headed for hell!” ~ Shai Linne, “Fal$e Teachers”
“The Lord Jesus, we should never forget, is still the same….He reads the secret motives of all who profess and call themselves Christians. He knows exactly why they do all they do in their religion. The reasons why they go to church….all are naked and opened to the eyes of the great Head of the Church.” ~ J.C. Ryle Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, 3 Vols.
III. Do You Believe in Jesus? (6:28-34)
1 Peter 1:23: Faith does not come from seeing but believing the Word of God.
“We must read our Bibles, like men digging for hidden treasures. We must wrestle earnestly in prayer, like men contending with a deadly enemy for life. We must take our whole heart to the house of God, and worship and hear like those who listen to the reading of a will. We must fight daily against sin, the world, and the devil, like those who fight for liberty….This is “labouring”. This is the secret of getting on about our souls.”
~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John, 3 vols.
Philippians 3:8: Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Believe in the Bread of Life
John 6:22-34
Believe in the Bread of Life
John 6:22-34
Main Idea: We can only find true satisfaction by believing in Jesus and submitting our whole lives to Him in faith.
I. Seeking Satisfaction in the Bread of Life (6:22-24)
John 6:22-24: On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
"The Lord Jesus, we should never forget, is still the same.... He reads the secret motives of all who profess and call themselves Christians. He knows exactly why they do all they do in their religion. The reasons why they go to church ... are all naked and opened to the eyes of the great Head of the Church."
~ J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (Volume 1)
II. Finding Fullness in the Bread of Life (6:25-27)
John 6:25-27: When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Isaiah 55:2-3: Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
“Are you trying to live without Christ? You might satisfy your ego with success. You might satisfy your material needs with money or your desires with pleasure. But you will never satisfy the inescapable needs of your soul without Jesus Christ.”
~ Richard Phillips, John: Reformed Expository Commentary
III. Believe and Live by the Bread of Life (6:28-34)
John 6:28-34: Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
“The human mind is always flattered when it is conscious of doing something for God. What is more, for his doings man considers himself entitled to a reward. How pleased we should all be if we could only earn salvation! In that case we would have succeeded in bringing God into the humbling position of being in debt to us, and we would love it. But this is not the way of salvation.”
~ James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John
“The works of God” touch every area of life (1 Corinthians 10:31; 15:58) and therefore our submission to God’s word and willingness to “hold fast” to what he commands has eternal significance and impact (Revelation 2:26).
“But we may think it strange that God approves of nothing but faith alone; for the love of our neighbour ought not to be despised, and the other exercises of religion do not lose their place and honour. So then, though faith may hold the highest rank, still other works are not superfluous. The reply is easy; for faith does not exclude either the love of our neighbour or any other good work, because it contains them all within itself. Faith is called the only work of God, because by means of it we possess Christ, and thus become the sons of God, so that he governs us by his Spirit. So then, because Christ does not separate faith from its fruits, we need not wonder if he make it to be the first and the last.”
~ John Calvin, Commentary on the Gospel according to John. Vol. 1
John 6:34: “Sir, give us this bread always.”
The King We Need
John 6:1-21
The King We Need
John 6:1-21
Main Idea: Jesus provides for our truest needs and his presence calms our greatest fears.
I. A Great Miracle (6:1-13)
Jesus and his disciples are followed by a “large crowd… because of the signs that he was doing on the sick” (cf. 2:23-25). The fact that the Passover was “at hand” is significant for this scene and throughout John’s gospel.
Jesus “tests” Philip and his disciples, seeing where they would turn with the obvious problem at hand, already knowing “what he himself would do.” In this moment, the disciples can only think in terms of earthly resources (cf. 2:19-20; 3:3-4; 4:10-11; 5:6-7), knowing they are short on money and the only food available is a young boy’s lunch. They feel the futility of their own resources and power to solve the hunger of the people.
“[Jesus] did not scorn the loaves because they were few in number, nor the fish because they were ‘small.’ How this tells us that God is pleased to use small and weak things!… Dear [Christian], perhaps He is ready to use you—weak, insignificant, and ignorant though you be.… But mark it carefully, it was only as these loaves and fishes were placed in the hands of Christ that they were made efficient and sufficient.”
~ A.W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John
As the miracle unfolds:
Christ has everyone sit down in the grass (cf. Ps. 23:1-2)
He gives thanks and distributes the loaves and the fish (1 Cor. 11:24)
The people had “as much as they wanted” and they had “eaten their fill” (cf. 1:3)
The disciples gather up leftover fragments in twelve baskets
II. A Great Misunderstanding (6:14-15)
Upon seeing this sign, the people rightly proclaim: “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (cf. Deut. 18:15-18). In this miracle, Jesus is reenacting the history of Israel and revealing himself to be a greater Moses (cf. 5:45-46).
However, the crowd tries to “come and take Jesus by force to make him king” (6:15). There was a gap from the king that they wanted vs. the king that they actually needed. The crowd was more interested in the bread that Jesus gives rather than the Bread of Life that Jesus is (cf. 6:26, 35, 41).
Deuteronomy 8:3: And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
“This is not faith but unbelief. They have not understood who Jesus is. Jesus will not be the instrument of any human enthusiasm or the symbol for any human program. To say ‘Jesus is king’ is true if the word ‘king’ is wholly defined by the person of Jesus; it is false and blasphemous if Jesus is made instrumental to a definition of kingship derived from elsewhere. Jesus has come to ‘proclaim liberty to the captives,’ but he will not become the mascot for a people’s movement of liberation. At the very moment when the cry ‘Make Jesus king’ is rending the air Jesus abruptly disappears, leaving both the crowds and the disciples with no visible goal for their enthusiasm … the crowds and the disciples are – in every sense – in the dark.”
~ Lesslie Newbigin, The Light Has Come
III. A Great Misunderstanding (6:14-15)
The disciples found themselves in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, in the dark, and without Jesus. Just as Jesus was “testing” them with the bread (6:6), he is also testing them in the midst of this storm as he looks down on them from the mountain (6:15).
As the disciples make it to the middle of the sea, Jesus walks on water to the boat; this is a clear sign of his divinity as the Son of God in the flesh (cf. Job 9:8; Ps. 65:5-7; 89:9) as well as a greater reenactment of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea (cf. Ps. 77:16-20).
Jesus meets his disciples in the midst of the storm and reassures them: “It is I” (lit. “I am”; cf. Ex. 34:6); therefore: “do not be afraid.” Jesus gives them the miracle of his presence in a place that seemed impossible for him to reach. After they receive Jesus into the boat, they “immediately” arrive at their destination, safe with their Savior.
Psalm 107:25-30: For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits' end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
These two signs invite us to see that there is a world of difference between coming to Jesus for the things you need vs. coming to Jesus as the thing that you need. “You don’t realize Christ is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” ~ Tim Keller, Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering
“Consider the situation when Jesus fed the five thousand: the needs surpassed the resources. What the disciples had in the moneybag was insufficient for their need. In the presence of Jesus, money is not the answer. Human innovation is not the answer. Leadership and initiative from the disciples were not what was needed. The situation called for Jesus. We are inadequate, and that is the point. He can make five barley loaves and two fish enough for five thousand, and he can make our stumbling inadequacy enough to meet the need.”
~ Jim Hamilton, John: ESV Expository Commentary
Isaiah 43:2-3: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
See the Son, Believe the Word
John 5:19-47
See the Son, Believe the Word
John 5:19-47
Main Idea: See the Son. Believe the Word. Come and Live.
I. The Son’s Authority (5:19–30)
Perfect Union (5:19–20)
John 5:19: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
The Authority to Give Life (5:21, 24–25)
John 5:21: For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
In the Old Testament, the raising of the dead and the giving of life is a prerogative that belongs to God alone.
Deuteronomy 32:39: See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
1 Samuel 2:6: The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Authority to Judge (5:22–23, 27–30)
John 5:22-23: The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
Equal Honor (5:23)
John 5:23: ...that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.
To honor the Son is to honor God. To reject the Son is to reject God. There is no middle ground.
II. The Son’s Witnesses (5:31-37)
Jesus calls forward witnesses like a prosecutor in a courtroom. This is covenant lawsuit language, echoing Deuteronomy and the prophets. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses sets before Israel life and death and calls heaven and earth as witnesses. In Isaiah, God summons the nations and presents His case. And now Jesus stands in the dock fulfilling the Law and the Prophets - but as more than a prophet. He is the One to whom all the witnesses testify.
The Testimony of John the Baptist (5:31–35)
John 5:33–35: You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.”
The Testimony of the Signs (5:36)
John 5:36: ...the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.
The Testimony of the Father (5:37)
John 5:37: And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen.
The Testimony of the Scriptures (5:39–40)
John 5:39-47: You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
The Testimony of Moses (5:45–47)
John 5:45-47: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
The Tragedy of Missing the Point (5:41–44)
John 5:41-44: I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you... How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
See the Son. Believe the Word. Come and live.
The Great Physician
John 4:46-5:18
The Great Physician
John 4:46-5:18
Main Idea: Jesus is our Great Physician, and His words have the power to heal.
I. Healing that Leads to Hope (4:43-54)
“It was dependent on the wonder arising from their sight of the signs, not on a realization that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. Their very acceptance of him was thus in its way a rejection. They gave him honor of a sort, but it was not honor that was due to him.”
~ Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (TNICT)
“Jesus detects in the royal official a welcome and a faith that desires a cure, but that does not truly trust him. Indeed, the royal official, in Jesus’ view, exemplifies what is wrong with the Galileans as a whole.”
~ D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (PNTC)
II. Healing that Leads to Hostility (5:1-18)
“The rules of the rabbis were a misunderstanding of God’s design for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was not the means to God’s approval, as the rabbis seem to have suggested. The Sabbath was not merely a rule for humans, but a gift to humans. It was to be used to honor God and to benefit his people. More importantly, Jesus was the Lord of the Sabbath.”
~ John MacArthur, New Testamentary Commentary
“Let us leave the passage with grateful hearts, and bless God that we have such a Gospel and such a Savior as the Bible reveals. Are we ever sick and ill? Let us remember that Christ sees, and knows, and can heal as He thinks fit. Are we ever in trouble? Let us hear in our trouble the voice of God and learn to hate sin more.”
~ J. C. Ryle, Thoughts on John
The Divine Healer
John 4:46-5:18
The Divine Healer
John 4:46-5:18
Main Idea: The healings and words of Jesus reveal His compassion and divinity.
I. Seeking Jesus (4:46-54)
Parallels Between The Signs in Cana
A need is communicated (4:47 cf 2:3)
but he initially rebuffs the petitioner (4:48 cf 2:4)
When the petitioner responds in faith (4:49 cf 2:5)
Jesus gives a command that is obeyed (4:50 cf 2:7-8)
at which point the need is met (4:51-52 cf 2:9-10)
These are then identified as the first and second signs, in response to which people believe in Jesus (4:53-54, cf 2:11)
"If he leaves to return home without Jesus, there is probably not enough time to seek help from anyone else. If he does not believe Jesus can speak the word and the healing comes to pass, he will be inclined to stay and plead with Jesus to come to his son. He can depart in peace only if he believes Jesus can say the word and make his son well."
~ James Hamilton, ESV Expository Commentary
II. Sought by Jesus (5:1-9a)
“If John intends any symbolism, it may be along the following lines: just as the water from the purification pots of the orthodox could neither produce nor be mistaken for the new wine of the kingdom (2:1–11), and just as the water from Jacob’s well could not satiate the ultimate thirst of religious people who may have looked to genuine revelation but whose views were widely viewed as aberrant (4:1–42), so the promises of merely superstitious religion have no power to transform the truly needy”
~ D.A Carson The Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)
III. Stalking Jesus (5:9b-18)
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘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 up 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