True Or False
TRUE OR FALSE
John 6:22-27
Every one of us has at some time taken a “true or false test.” Is that true or false?
- If you have never taken a true or false test let me give you one.
First question: The letter H is between the letters G and J on a keyboard? True
- Camels have 3 sets of eyelashes? True
- There are 5 zeroes in one hundred thousand? True
- If you add the numbers on the opposite sides of a dice together the answer is always 7? True
- Potatoes are considered to be vegetables? T.
- Jesus Christ is alive and well in this bottle? F.
I stuck this last question in because most people think He is or at least they treat Him like He is a genie in the bottle. And let me tell you why.
Remember why John wrote this gospel? John 20:30-31: Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
- Do you see the reason for the miracles that Jesus performed?
- This is the purpose for the miracles. This is what they were intended for.
- And for a lot of people, and hopefully for all of us that is how we see the miracles.
But, that is not the way most people feel about the miracles. For most people the miracles draw them to Christ, but for all the wrong reasons.
- And we see that here in John 6. Look at the passage that was read.
In vs. 22 it says that “the next day”, that is the day after Jesus fed 20 to 25 thousand people who had followed Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
- And the verse says that that same crowd “stood on the other side of the sea.” They are still there. They are still on the eastern side of the sea. They have been there all night. Why?
- Why didn’t they go somewhere else?
John tells us. They are still there because “there was no other small boat there, except one. And Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone.”
If you remember, and you can read about it in the first 15 verses of this chapter, but Jesus had performed this massive miracle and fed everyone, and then He told His disciples to “get in the boat and go” and they did because that is what disciples do. They obey Christ.
- So they leave Jesus behind where the people are.
And the crowd knows that Jesus didn’t leave with His disciples.
- That is why they stayed all night!
But they wake up the next morning after the miracle the night before and Jesus is not there!
- And even more people are there now because vs. 23 says that “other small boats from Tiberias had come near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.”
So, why are there more people there?
- Apparently the word had gone around the sea about the miracle that Jesus had performed the night before and all these additional people came to be where they thought Jesus was.
Now, look at vs. 24: When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
- That sounds good doesn’t it? They are seeking Jesus!
- That is exactly what Jesus wants! All these people coming to Him.
Vs. 25: And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
- “Rabbi?’ “Rabbi?’ What does that say about them? Had they learned what they were supposed to from the miracles?
- The miracles were intended to show that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and not that He is just a Rabbi.
- They had seen this massive miracle the day before and they still didn’t believe.
- How about you and I? Have we learned who He really is from the miracles?
So, they ask this question and Jesus never answers it. He ignores it.
- He doesn’t tell them that He walked on water; He doesn’t tell them about the incident with Peter; He doesn’t tell them about the miracle of calming the storm and the boat immediately coming to the shore.
- He doesn’t tell these people any of that.
- And some people would say, “He should have told them! They might have believed who He was then.”
- If they didn’t believe who He is after the miracle the night before they aren’t going to believe any additional miracles that He has performed.
So, they ask Jesus, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” and instead of answering their question Jesus gets right to the point. Look at vs. 26:
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, (Here is the truth! Jesus is making a critical statement here) I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs (not because you saw the miraculous feeding and healing that took place and those things have convinced you that I am the Son of God. You are not here because you followed the signs that pointed to Me as Savior and Messiah and Lord).
You are here; vs. 26: because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.
- They only wanted the free food and the healing of their sick.
- They only wanted their desires met on the spot by Jesus; they wanted Jesus to give them whatever they wanted.
Out of all of these people apparently no one learned what the miracles were intended to teach them; that He is the Son of God and that by believing you can have life in His name.
- And this still goes on today. People still treat Jesus as though He is a genie in a bottle who is supposed to give them what they want when they want it.
- And what is sad is if He doesn’t give them what they want they are quick to leave.
- In fact, if you look at vs. 66 many of His disciples abandon Him.
I am sure that most of you have experienced this. And I don’t mean to be negative or critical about people. We often try to help people with the hope that they will come to know Christ but unfortunately the help we try to give them is not what they want.
I can’t tell you the number of times that someone has come to the office during the week and they want help; they need gas or food or help with their rent; or they need some place to stay.
- And they will almost always tell you that they “believe in Jesus” and they used to go to church in this town or that town.
- And they often ask about what time our services are and “Do you know brother Franklin who lives in Parkersville?”
- They think they are saying all the right things.
- So, we try to help them and in most cases we should to some extent.
But we know that they will probably never come to our services? Once in a great while you will have someone who will come once or twice. But it is rare for someone to consistently attend.
- But the only reason they come, is not to learn about Christ, not because they want to follow Him, it is because they want Him, through us, to give them what they want.
- And there have been times when they have gotten angry when we didn’t.
We have conducted a food pantry, a clothing room, and given money to Helping Hands and as far as I know we have not garnered anyone from those efforts.
- We don’t help because of who they are, we give because of Whose we are.
I am not against youth groups, or clothing rooms, or food pantries, or Bible camps, or other acts of fellowship and evangelism.
- As God’s people we should do what we can to try and bring people to Christ.
- But at the same time, in spite of our best efforts, the harvest may be rather small because people don’t want to follow Christ they just simply want Him to give them what they desire.
- They want a genie in a bottle.
Here in this passage this huge crowd of people didn’t come to Christ for the right reason. They came just to have their needs satisfied.
- And today there are a lot of preachers who misrepresent Christ this way.
- “Just come to Jesus and He will make you rich; He will give you financial security; He will make you well!”
- Well, Jesus does promise that; but not in this life. He promises the riches of heaven; the security of heaven and a new body that will never die.
And one thing we need to realize about this passage. Jesus knew what was really in their hearts and minds.
- Just like He knows what is in our hearts and He knows what our motive is.
- And He will not come to man on man’s terms.
So, Jesus knows what is in their hearts and minds; the only reason they are seeking Him is because they “ate the loaves, and were filled.”
Now, look at vs. 27: “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal.”
Now, don’t misunderstand. Jesus is not saying here that we shouldn’t “work for our food.”
- Jesus has told us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
- And the apostle Paul has said that if a “man will not work, let him not eat.” 2 Thess. 3:11.
- So, Jesus is not saying, “Don’t work for food; don’t work for what you need to sustain your life.”
- We must have food!
But just as Jesus has said, “If a man will not work, let him not work” Jesus also said, “That man shall not live by bread alone” and that is Jesus’ point here.
- What good is it if you have all this food to eat; you have fish and loaves; and for us we might have steak, and potatoes and chicken and dumpling and apple pie or German chocolate cake.
- But what good is it if you have all these wonderful foods but you don’t obtain eternal life?
Now, look at vs. 27 again: “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life…
- Where do you get this food that endures to eternal life?
Well, look at the rest of the verse: Which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal.”
- The only One who can give this food for eternal life is Jesus.
And this isn’t a hollow declaration. This isn’t a false claim. God has “set His seal” or authenticated Jesus as the source of this food that endures to eternal life.
- How did God authenticate Jesus and this promise?
- With the miracles. When Jesus took those 5 loaves and 2 fishes and fed all those people; when Jesus healed the sick and made the blind to see and the lame to walk.
- When Jesus saw His disciples straining at the oars even though they were 3 or 4 miles out on the sea after it was dark, when He walked across that water and calmed that storm; and when their boat immediately made it to shore.
- And when these people came to Him and He already knew what was in their hearts and in their minds; God authenticated Jesus as His Son and gave Him the authority to give the food which endures to eternal life.
And if you look at vs. 35 Jesus tells you what that food is; vs. 35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
- When you have Christ you have everything you will ever need for eternal life.
- He is the one that God has sealed; that God has authenticated.
- Some may tell you that need more or someone else; but Jesus has paid it all.
But, if you don’t have Christ you have no hope and that is what these people were doing; they were ignoring who Christ was and the eternal salvation that was in Him, all for a few fish and crackers.
- They were literally starving to death!
So, let me give you one more true or false question: True or False: Jesus is Lord and not you or I.
These people in John 6 thought they were Lords. They wanted Jesus to do what they; wanted and they were willing to settle for physical food.
- But, if you and I honor Him as Lord He will give us food that endures to eternal life.
- These people came to Christ for the wrong reason. Will you come for the right reason?
Heads Up
Heads Up
John 6:16-21
When someone gives you a “heads up”, what are they doing?
- Last night the National Weather Service gave us a “heads up” about the weather.
- You start to go on a trip and someone says, “I will give you a “heads up”, highway 183 is blocked.”
- Public health officials sometimes give us a “heads up” about a virus that is making its rounds.
- So, we know what a “heads up” is; it’s an advanced warning.
- And that is what we have here in this passage that was read.
When we were baptized, according to Acts 2:38, our sins were forgiven.
- But, when we’re baptized, according to Matthew 28:18-20 we also became disciples or followers of Christ.
- And as a disciple of Christ we have been commissioned “to go and make disciples of other nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
- And just reading that it doesn’t sound all that difficult.
But, in John 6 and Mark 6 and Matthew 14 Jesus gives us a “heads up” when it comes to being a disciple which may cause some to think twice before following Christ.
- And this may be why some just want to be baptized for the forgiveness of sin and not be a disciple!
- Let’s look starting in vs. 15.
If you remember from last week Jesus has just performed a massive miracle when He fed a huge crowd from 5 loaves and 2 fish.
- And afterwards, in vs. 15, the people wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him king.
- They wanted Jesus to be what they wanted; they wanted to manipulate Him for their own selfish ends; much like most people want to do today.
- People want Jesus to permit what they want and justify what they want.
- They want a Jesus who will permit them to live an immoral lifestyle; permit then to be involved in an adulterous or perverted sexual relationship; who will allow them to cheat, lie, steal, be a drunkard.
- People often force Jesus to be what they want Him to be.
But the reality is Jesus comes to no man on man’s terms.
- He doesn’t give in to ever changing whims and fancies; He will not be a quick fix for felt needs.
- He calls on sinners to mourn for their sins, to be penitent, and to acknowledge Him as sovereign Lord and to be obedient to Him.
- And like He does here in vs. 15, He will always withdraw from the superficial crowd.
So, Jesus withdrew to the mountain away from this crowd that wants to force Him to be king.
- And now look at vs. 16. It says, when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. 17 And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
Now, in Matthew’s and Mark’s account of this they both say that Jesus “made” His disciples get in the boat!
- The KJ Version says that Jesus “constrained” His disciples to get in the boat.
- Why would Jesus “make” His disciples get in the boat?
Apparently there were some things that Jesus wanted His disciples to learn about being a disciple.
- So, what is it He wanted them to learn?
Listen, up to this point Jesus’ disciples have not personally experienced much in the way of difficulties; they have experienced some hardships while traveling with Jesus; some sore feet from walking; and in Matthew 10 when Jesus sent them out “to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand” He warned them that they would be rejected, and be hated, and perhaps even be persecuted.
But, telling is much different than showing.
- So, Jesus is going to show them what it is like to be a disciple.
- But up to this point in John 6 things have been relatively “smooth sailing” for them.
- So, to prepare them, to teach them, to train them and to test them, Jesus “constrains” them to get in the boat.
And they do. They get in the boat! And that is what Jesus wants us to learn: disciples obey even when they don’t fully understand.
Jesus “makes His disciples” get in the boat, it is dark, and “the sea began to be stirred because a strong wind was blowing.”
- The “smooth sailing” is over.
- And those of us today who are His disciples, if we have it in mind that following Jesus, obeying Jesus (He made them get in this boat and they did); if we have it in mind that obeying Jesus is always going to be “smooth sailing” for us we need to think again.
Look at vs. 19: When therefore they had rowed about 3 or 4 miles…
- Matthew says that their boat was being “battered by the waves for the wind was contrary.”
- So the disciples are battling the waves and the wind; and now look at what Mark says in Mark 6:47:
47 And when it was evening, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and He (Jesus) was alone on the land. 48 And seeing them straining (tormenting; painfully struggling) at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them,
- These disciples “strained at the oars” until the “fourth watch of the night”; that would put this somewhere between 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning.
- They have been battling these dangerous high winds and battering waves basically all night.
- And remember, Jesus made them get in this boat.
- And that is what we need to learn
Being a disciple of Christ, obeying Christ can lead us into some pretty scary circumstances; seemingly overwhelming circumstances, some discouraging circumstances all because you are doing what the Lord told you to do.
- There will always be strong winds against us; darkness does not like the light so some people will hate us; some will reject us; some will accuse us of things we would never do just like they did Jesus (a blasphemer; of the devil); and we will be criticized for things they think we should do but don’t.
There will always be “waves” to toss us; and batter us; and threaten us. (Doctrine; fads; opinions).
- And just like these disciples there will be times when it doesn’t seem like we are “getting anywhere.” We can teach and preach and we will have times when we wonder if we are doing any good. (Sabbath question). We will have times of discouragement.
- And we will always have to fight the forces of darkness; Satan is relentless; he will do anything he can to hinder and stop us.
- And there will always be times when we have to “strain at the oars” to make any headway.
For these disciples it was a struggle and it will be for us too.
- But notice, they didn’t quit; they didn’t give up; and they didn’t turn around and say, “Forget it. We will let the wind blow us where it wants us to go.”
- They continued with all of their might to do what Christ told them to do.
- That is what disciples of Christ do.
- Unfortunately, some disciples are “circumstance disciples” and quit as soon as things get a little difficult or don’t go the way they think they should.
So, the disciples are out on the sea, they are straining against the wind and the waves and in Mark 6:48 Mark tells us that “Jesus could see them straining at the oars.”
- Wait a minute. Vs. 19 here in John 6 tells us that they had rowed about “3 or 4 miles” and Mark tells us it was “the fourth watch of the night” how could Jesus see them?
Look at this in Psalm 33:18. The writer says the “Lord’s eyes are on those who fear Him and whose hope is in His unfailing love.”
- And here is Hebrews 4:13: And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
- Our Lord knew that these disciples were struggling and straining, and He knows when we are too.
And look at vs. 19 again in John 6. Jesus sees them struggling and look what He does.
When therefore they had rowed about three or four miles, they beheld Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.
- Jesus “constrained” these disciples to “get in this boat.”
- When they have done all they can do, did they think that Jesus was going to abandon them?
And the same is true for you and I.
- We as His disciples are obeying what He commands; and sometimes we find ourselves in a hard, difficult situation; perhaps even in a scary, dangerous situation; do we think that Jesus is going to abandon us?
Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. “
In Hebrews 13:5 the Lord said: “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
- Obeying His commands may cost us everything we have; perhaps even our lives; but He will never abandon us.
So Jesus sees them struggling; and He comes to them; and notice how He comes: Walking on the sea!
- The very thing that was threatening their lives is under His feet!
- It is under His dominion!
Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 right before He sent these same disciples out in what we call the “Great Commission?”
- “All authority has been given to Me.”
- That is His point here.
And the first thing you and I need to recognize as a disciple is when we find ourselves in a difficult situation because we are obeying what Christ has commanded is Who has dominion; Who is Sovereign over the circumstances that we are facing.
- Whatever is threatening you they are under His feet.
And then we must do what they did. Jesus walks on the sea; He draws near to the boat; they are frightened (Mark says they thought He was a ghost) and they cried out; and in vs. 20 He speaks to them and says, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
- And now vs. 21: They were willing therefore to receive Him into the boat;
I don’t know if it is pride or stubbornness or something else but far too often we face a difficult situation and we fail to let Jesus come into the boat. (Marriage; parenting; job; life)
- They won’t let Him do what really needs to be done.
And look at the end of vs. 21. They receive Jesus into the boat; and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
- Jesus made all the difference. It is amazing how when we get Jesus in the boat and problems disappear.
- Leave Him out and the struggle will continue on and on.
Now, John leaves out one of the most interesting parts of this story. In Matthew’s account found in chapter 14 starting in vs. 25 Matthew says:
25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”
- Doubt can sink anyone! Doubt what Jesus says! Doubt what Jesus commands!
- Individuals and whole congregations have fallen apart because of doubt.
- Doubt can cause us to abandon our faith and our Lord.
The Hebrew writer says in Heb 10:35: Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
- Peter was so confident in the Lord that he got out of that boat and walked on the water.
- But then he saw the wind and he became afraid and began to sink.
- The wind; and it can come in many different forms; doctrine; personal preferences; emotions; false beliefs; deceitful men) can destroy our confidence.
- We must stay focused on Jesus.
So, these are all things we learn in disciple school.
- Disciples of Christ always do what Jesus commands.
- And, following Jesus is not always smooth sailing.
- His commands can take us places that are scary, even dangerous as well as discouraging.
- And there will always be wind, and waves, and darkness beating against us.
- But we must continue to row; we can’t quit.
- We need to keep in mind that Jesus sees.
- And He will never abandon us.
- And it is important to let Him in the boat.
- Never doubt; be confident.
- Stay focused on Christ.
- Jesus is the Son of God.
Feeding of the Five Thousand
THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND
John 6:1-14
The verses that were read are commonly referred to as the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” and this is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible.
- For many of you this may have been the first story you ever heard in Bible School when you were a child; and some of you may be thinking, “Oh no, another sermon on the feeding of the 5000.”
Well it is. This is another sermon on the feeding of the 5000. But this story is important for several reasons.
- In this story Jesus performs another miracle. It is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded in all 4 gospels which tells me that there is something here that God wants us to learn.
And this miracle that Jesus performs is massive because of the sheer number of people who were participants of this miracle.
- When you consider vs. 10 says that there were 5000 men and when you add everyone up, the men, women, and children, you could have a crowd of between 20-25 thousand people.
- There is no other miracle that Jesus performs that involves more people. And those who were there didn’t just see it; they ate it.
- It is a miracle that was not debated. No one in this crowd of 20,000 plus people ever came back and said “This didn’t happen.”
This miracle has never been denied until more modern times when critics have decided that it really wasn’t a miracle at all. They say that what happened is a little boy gave up his lunch and said, “Wow, let’s all share.” And so everybody reached into their knapsacks and pulled out whatever they had and you had this great experience of sharing. (Mark 6:38)
- The only reason why critics would come up with that in their minds is to discredit the Bible and deny the deity of Jesus Christ.
- This miracle has never been legitimately denied.
All four gospel writers use this miracle of feeding of the 5 thousand to show and prove that Jesus is who He claimed to be.
- In fact, remember what John’s purpose is for recording the miracles found in his gospel, John 20:30-31:
Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
- So, like Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John records this miracle so that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
- That is why this story is here.
So this is a very familiar story; it is a massive miracle; it is an undeniable miracle; it is a very important story because is proves who Jesus is;
- But there is another reason why this story is so important. It is important because it is one of the most tragic and heartbreaking stories in the New Testament.
Now, in vs. 1, Jesus is no longer in Jerusalem like He was in chapter 5. He is now in Galilee and in this story He has gone to the “other side of the Sea of Galilee.”
- He has gone there for several different reasons.
One, He is very much aware that the Jewish leaders back in Jerusalem want to kill Him; He is also aware that John the Baptist has been executed (Matthew 14:13) so to avoid an untimely death He leaves Jerusalem and comes to Galilee.
- When He come to Galilee His home base is in Capernaum and while at Capernaum He has been very busy; He has been going around to the villages of Galilee and He has been healing and teaching and casting out demons and in the process He has been drawing huge crowds and so to get a break , to get some rest, He goes to the “other side of the sea.
- And Mark 6:30 tells us that His disciples had just returned from teaching and preaching and so Jesus wants to meet with them to rest and find out how they were doing.
- So, Jesus and His disciples go to the east side of the sea of Galilee and Matthew and Mark tell us that this area is a “desert” or “desolate place.”
And when they get there vs. 3 tells us that Jesus went up on the mountain and there sat with His disciples.”
And John says in vs. 4 that “the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.”
- And that is interesting because there seems to be some similarities in this story to the Exodus account that took place after the first Passover. For instance, Jesus and the people cross to the other side of the sea, they are in a desolate place, they need food, Jesus asks “Where are we going to buy food, that these might eat?” much like Moses did in Numbers 11:13, then Jesus provides food for them, much like God did when the Jews were in the wilderness. .
- So, there seems to be some similarities here of the Exodus in this story; perhaps to teach these people that Jesus is equal to God.
But, then in vs. 2, we are told that Jesus was being followed by a great multitude.
- And this is where the sad or tragic part of this story begins.
Notice in vs. 2 why these people are following Jesus: because they were seeing the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.
- That is why they were coming!
- Understand, this was a primitive world; it would be nearly 2 thousand years before a disease was ever properly diagnosed.
- People didn’t know what was wrong with them; pathology hadn’t been discovered.
- There were no true diagnoses of issues or illnesses so the people had no hope; there was no medicine.
- And just like it is today almost everyone had something wrong with them
So, if someone came along who could heal all their diseases; and then feed them too…
- Listen, the battle for daily bread was a lifelong battle in these days.
- They didn’t have supermarkets, or preprocessed foods; didn’t have refrigerators; it was a battle for every meal…
- So, if someone came along who could heal all their diseases and feed them too, what are you going to do? You are going to follow them.
So, that is what these people do.
Now, look at vs. 5: Jesus therefore lifting up His eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”
- What Jesus does here is he points out that the situation is impossible. You have all these people; it is a desolate place; how are we going to feed them?
- There are no stores; no place to buy bread; and not enough money if there was!
- And He doesn’t really want help from Philip anyway, look at vs. 6:
6 And this He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.
- Jesus is testing Philip’s faith.
- All of these months the disciples have seen what Jesus can do. They have seen Him heal a man who was sick for 38 years.
- They have seen Him turn water into wine; they have seen Him heal the nobleman’s son.
- They have seen all the miracles that Jesus has performed that prove that He is God.
- And they have heard His teaching.
- As God He had created all things; surely He can make supper for everyone here.
- Philip should have known that but instead, Philip says, “Two hundred denarii is not sufficient to buy them all food.”
- Jesus wants Philip and the rest of the disciples to realize how impossible this situation is!
- This is a situation that is more than man can take care of.
Look at vs. 8: One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”
- In Mark’s account, in Mark 6:38, Jesus has told the disciples to go into the crowd and see how many loaves they had.
- So, Andrew comes back and says, “There is a lad here who has 5 barley loaves and two fish.”
- That’s it! Not going to feed many with that! For man, this is an impossible situation.
So, in vs. 10 Jesus tells His disciples to have the people sit down. (In Matthew, Mark and Luke’s accounts the disciples wanted to send the people away.)
- But Jesus tells the disciples to have the people sit down. (That in itself is a miracle. How do you get this many people to all sit down?)
Then In vs. 11 Jesus takes the loaves and fish, gives thanks for them, then He distributed the fish and loaves to those who were seated; and they all had as much as they wanted.
- There was no fanfare; no voice from heaven; no lightning; no thunder; He just kept passing out crackers and fish;
- Fish that have never swam; fish with no mama fish; fish that never ate a bug.
And crackers that were never baked; 5 crackers in which the grain had never been crushed.
- 5 cracker had been baked and 2 of the fish had swam; but not the rest.
- Where did they all come from? Jesus created them!
- This miracle is a great creation miracle and confirmed to everyone that Jesus is God. (Did these people tell their grandkids about this later on? You would think so.)
And in vs. 12, when the people were filled, Jesus told the disciples to “Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost.”
- And in vs. 13 they gathered the fragments and filled 12 baskets with fragments from the barley loaves which were left over.”
- Who were these 12 baskets of fragments for? How many disciples were there?
This is a stunning miracle! How in the world could any of these people possibly exhibit any lack of faith in Jesus? He had healed their sick; He had fed them all; this was a massive miracle!
- How could they not possibly believe who Jesus claimed to be? How could they not understand who He was?
- That is what makes this all so tragic!
In fact, look at vs. 14: When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is of a truth the Son of God, the Savior of the world.”
No, they said, “This is of a truth God in human form; teach us and we will obey!”
Look at what it says: When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
And look at vs. 15: Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
- These may be some of the saddest words in the Bible.
- After seeing this massive miracle did no one say, “Please forgive my sin; I will deny myself and follow after you?”
- Was no one convinced to repent; to mourn over their sins; to realize how spiritually bankrupt they were?
- Did no one humble themselves; sacrifice their lives; take up their cross; pursue holiness; be willing to endure persecution for the cause of Christ?
Here in this story Jesus demonstrates His power to show that He is deity hoping these people would listen to and obey His word; but it seems that no one did?
Perhaps years later when some of these people saw this man who had fed them from 5 loaves and 2 fishes being crucified and then 3 days later be raised from the dead; maybe then they realized who He really is. I hope so. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t.
- Because people today through the word, see this same massive miracle that proclaims Jesus to be God and the Savior of the world, and they too refuse to listen to His word and obey.
- Do you and I?
Four Witnesses
Resurrection Day
RESURRECTION DAY
John 5:28-29
Last week I talked to you about what Jesus says here in these verses; we talked about the “last day” when the Lord will return and the final resurrection and judgment will take place and there will be a resurrection to life; and a resurrection to judgment (condemnation).
- Once again, those are the only two possibilities: heaven or hell.
- There is no indication from the scriptures that there is nothing beyond the grave.
- There is no indication that there is an in-between or an intermediate place of a final purification of the soul; no Purgatory as some teach today.
- There are no alternatives, only a resurrection to life or a resurrection to judgment.
- And once the final judgment takes place there will be no changing from one to the other.
So, we talked about those things last week but there are some other things that we need to learn or be reminded of when it comes to the final judgment and the two resurrections.
- There are several passages of scripture that speak of the final judgment and resurrection and so it seems that our Lord wants us to know about the coming final judgment so that we might be ready when it comes.
- So, for salvation’s sake let’s learn some more truths about the final judgment and resurrection.
So, if you would look with me at Matthew 25 starting in vs. 31. In this passage Jesus gives a dramatic, symbolic description of the final judgment. Look at what He says:
“When…not “if” but “when.” We can count on this happening!
- In fact the apostle Paul says in Acts 17:31 that “God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world…
- A lot of people will still be alive when He comes!
In 1 Cor. 15 starting in vs. 35 the apostle Paul says that when the Lord comes again that “those who have died will be raised with an imperishable body…and we don’t know for sure what that will be like; 1 John 3:2…
- But then He says in vs. 50: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
- People will still be alive when the Lord comes again but they will be changed.
So, back to Acts 17: 31: God has fixed a day (it is set) in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
- The proof that on the last day there will be a resurrection to life and a resurrection to judgment is the empty tomb of Jesus.
- So, this “when” in Matthew 25:31 is not an “if”; it is an assured thing!
So in Matthew 25:31 Jesus says “When?”
- That is the question that everyone wants to know. “When” is this final judgment going to happen?
- Everyone wants to know “when” because if I know when it is going to happen I’ll make sure I am ready.
- “I will live an immoral, sensual, materialistic, lifestyle, a lifestyle that everyone says is so much fun; that the world says you must live if you want to be famous or powerful or rich; a lifestyle that consists of wild parties, drunkenness, and carousing and greed, and strife; I will live that kind of lifestyle and then just a few hours before the Lord comes in judgment I will repent and be baptized and squeeze through before it is too late!”
- So, that is what everyone wants to know: “When?”
But, look at what Jesus says in Matthew 24 starting in vs. 42: Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 “For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
- If you look at vs. 36 Jesus says that “no one knows the day or hour when the Lord will come again, not even the angels, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
- But what people do is they think “I have plenty of time to get ready” or like in 2 Peter 3:3 people think “He is not coming at all” simply because He hasn’t come back yet.
- Well, listen, “yet” does not mean “never” and those who have that kind of thinking are going to be very disappointed “when” He does come.
Now, vs. 45: “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 “Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and shall cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth.
- I think it is interesting that the “master” in this story assigns “the evil slave a place with the hypocrites” but isn’t that what an individual is who wants to live an ungodly lifestyle and then try to squeeze through at the last minute.
- A faithful Christian lives a faithful life all the time.
Look at what the apostle Paul says in 1 Thess. 5: 2-3 “the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night (you don’t know when He is coming). 3 While they are saying “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
- When I was a kid my parents would go somewhere and they would say, “We will be back in a little while. While we are gone you kids wash the dishes and clean the kitchen.”
- Do you know what we did? We went in and cleaned the kitchen because we didn’t know whether they were going to be gone 15 minutes or two hours.
- What we did know is we better have the kitchen clean when they got home.
So, no one knows when the Lord will come back again. And there is something else that no one knows. Look at James 4:13 says “no one knows what their life will be like tomorrow. We are like a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
- No one has a guarantee of tomorrow and if you or I are thinking that we will wait to the last minute to get ready for the judgment, we may not live that long; the judgment for us may come sooner than we expect.
- Every cemetery in the country reminds us of that.
So, everyone wants to know “when.” But no one knows “when” the judgment will take place except for God.
- And we can speculate.
- Just in the last 23 years there have been 30 predictions by notable scholars and religious leaders saying the world is coming to an end and yet we are still here.
- I have had people tell me that we must be near the end because people are so bad and immoral.
Well, we are nearer to the end than we were yesterday.
- And as far as people being so bad, listen things were pretty bad when our Lord walked on this earth. (Jesus said there were wars and rumors of wars.)
- And less than a hundred years ago things were pretty bad when the whole world was at war; and still the Lord didn’t come.
- The thing is, we can speculate but only the Lord knows when He will return and we must be ready when He does.
So, back to Matthew 25:31 and Jesus’ symbolic description of the final judgment:
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “And all the nations (all people) will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Now, look at vs. 41: “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
And now vs. 46: And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- So, again, there are only two possibilities: eternal punishment or eternal life.
- And once the judgment takes place there will be no changing it.
- And no one will be able to say, “Hold on. Give me just a few minutes to get ready.”
So, how do we or anyone make sure they are ready for the final judgment? How do we assure ourselves of being resurrected to life? Well, because God desires that all men would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 4:4) you can find the answer to that question in every book of the New Testament.
- But let me give you just a few verses that sum up what we must do in order to be assured of a resurrection to life.
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears (this is not just a general hearing. This is an effectual hearing; a hearing that causes a change in you; a transformation; it speaks of hearing and obeying His word: obeying whatever He commands) My word, and believes Him who sent Me,
- Notice Jesus doesn’t say “Believes in Him who sent ” Instead He says, “Believes Him who sent Me.” What is it they were to believe?
- Well, let me ask, “Why did God send Jesus?”
- He sent Jesus because of sin; sin has condemned us and caused us to be dead and we cannot save ourselves; we need a Savior!
- And the individual who “hears” Jesus’s word, and obeys that word, and believes that they are condemned by their sin and that only Jesus can save them; what does the rest of the verse say?
- That person has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
His word, the Bible, is not just intended to tell you how to be a good person. It does that for sure.
- But this book is primarily intended to tell you and I how to be resurrected to life!
- To deny it, to ignore it, to refuse it is to condemn oneself to a resurrection of condemnation.
Now, look at vs. 28-29: Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
- Do not get the idea from this verse that you can simply do “good deeds” and be resurrected to life.
- Romans 3 and Romans 5 and Galatians 3 and Eph. 2: 8-9 tells us that no one is justified by their works.
- You cannot do enough “good deeds” to save yourself.
But, once you have been saved by your faith and obedience to Christ, if you or I don’t do those things that are “good” in the eyes of God; if we continue to do that which is “evil” there will be no resurrection to life.
So, a day of judgment is coming, we don’t know when. But when it comes there are only two possibilities: a resurrection to life or a resurrection to judgment or condemnation.
- You and I can “pass out of death into life” if we will “hear and obey the words of Jesus”; believe that sin has condemned us and that only in Christ and through Christ can we find salvation; and once we have been washed clean by His blood at baptism we do that which is “good”in His sight.
Two Deaths Two Resurrections
TWO DEATHS TWO RESURRECTIONS
John 5:25-29
This is a very interesting passage of scripture because in these few verses Jesus speaks of two deaths, one that has already taken place for all of us with the exception of the young, and one which will take place for everyone.
- And He speaks of two resurrections, one of which has taken place for most of us here this morning and one that will someday take place for all of us.
- And the thing that is really interesting is that if you are not part of the first resurrection mentioned in this passage the second resurrection will not be good for you.
- So, you and I want to make sure that we are a part of the first resurrection.
So, to begin let me explain the first death and resurrection that Jesus mentions here.
Now, in the overall context of this chapter Jesus is telling these Jews who, in vs. 16, were persecuting Him for healing a man on the Sabbath who had been sick for 38 years.
- And in this discourse from vs. 18-47 Jesus tells these Jews that He is God.
- He is not saying that He displaces God.
- He is not saying that He is another God; or that He is a different God.
- He is telling them that He is God; that He and the Father are One.
- And if these Jews have any hope of salvation; if you and I have any hope of salvation we must believe that.
- Now, vs. 25 and the first death and resurrection mentioned in this passage.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you…
- Notice He once again says, “Truly, Truly.” What that means is He is fearlessly speaking the resolute truth! It is like He is saying, “Do you want to know the truth? Well, here it is!” “This is no joke!”
- “Truly, Truly” is an expression of authority.
So He says, “I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.”
Now, in this verse you might think that Jesus is talking about the final, end of the world resurrection of the dead when He returns someday.
- You might think that if it wasn’t for those two words “now is.”
- Those two words mean that He is not talking about the end of time resurrection; what He is talking about is happening now!
Look what He says again: “An hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.”
- The “dead” here is not talking about those who are physically dead. He is not talking about dead people in the physical sense. He is talking about people who are alive physically but “dead” spiritually; dead because of their trespasses and sin.
- And the only way that they “will live” is if they “hear His voice.”
And this isn’t a general hearing; this is effectual hearing of the heart; this is not just receiving information, this is receiving information that causes a transformation; that causes changes.
- Remember the Parable of the Sower when Jesus speaks of “seed that falls on the good soil” and when the people “heard the word they accepted it, and they brought forth fruit, 30, 60, a hundredfold.”
- That is the kind of hearing that Jesus speaks of here.
- When an individual who is spiritually dead because of sin, effectually hears His voice, that individual is resurrected so to speak, and is made alive.
- There is only One voice that can do that.
But, what if an individual is dead in their sins and does not “hear Jesus’ voice; does not hear His word; He refuses to hear; He refuses to let that word transform Him; what happens?”
- If he is never made alive, he is still dead.
Jesus says basically this same thing in vs. 24. Look what He says: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has (present tense) eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed (past completed action) out of death (spiritually dead because of sin) into life.
So, every one of us when we were old enough to know what sin is, when we committed that sin we were separated from God, we were spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1); but when we “heard His voice; when we heard the word and obeyed that word; and let that word transform us; we passed out of death into life.”
- We were dead (that is the first death mentioned in this passage) and we were made alive (that is the first resurrection mentioned in this passage).
Now, look at the second death and resurrection mention in this passage. Look at vs. 28.
“Do not marvel at this (this points back to vs. 26-27 where Jesus says that “His Father gave Him the prerogative of bestowing life to all things; and to have authority to execute judgment. Once again Jesus is saying that He and the Father are One.
So, He says, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Here is the second death and resurrection mentioned in these verses and this one is about the final, end of time resurrection and judgment.
- “Every person who has or will ever live on this earth will experience this.”
- When this fleshly body goes into the grave, or disappears into the sea, or is destroyed by wind or fire that is not the end. I do not profess to know how the Lord will do it, but everyone who ever lived on this earth will be raised from the dead.
- And the apostle Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 15:42-44 that when that resurrection takes place we will receive an “imperishable body”; a spiritual body.
- John tells us in 1 John 3:2 that “it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.” Only that we will be “like Him when He appears.”
So, we could discuss it all day long what exactly is that going to be like and what kind of body we will have; but what we do know for certain is “everyone who has or will ever live on this earth will be raised from the dead.”
- And from what Jesus says in vs. 29 when that resurrection takes place there are only two possibilities: a resurrection to life;
- 1 Peter 1:3 tells us what his is. He says: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Revelation 21:4 indicates that God Himself shall be there, 4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;
- We cannot imagine or comprehend what “the resurrection to life” will be like.
- That is the first possibility.
And the second possibility is a “resurrection to judgment”, a word that could also be translated “condemnation.”
- This would be a separation away from God; from His love; from His care; from His provision; a separation from heaven.
- Jesus in Matthew 22:13 uses descriptive terms like “outer darkness and the weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- And in Matthew 18:9 He speaks of a “fiery hell.”
- In Mark 10 He speaks of a place “where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.”
- In Philippians 3:19 the apostle Paul says that those who are “enemies of Christ will end in destruction.”
- I don’t know exactly what being “resurrected to judgment” literally means; will there literally be an unquenchable fire; will there literally be worms that never die; I don’t know.
- What I do know is “being resurrected to judgment” is so bad that no one should ever want to go there;
So the two possibilities that Jesus speaks of here in vs. 28-29 is a “resurrection to life, and a resurrection to judgment” and do you know what is going to determine which of the two it will be for you and I?
- It will all depend on whether or not we have heard His voice, heard His word and let that word transform us so that we have passed out of death into life.
If you or I are not raised to life in vs. 25, then we will not be raised to life in vs. 28-29 either.
So, I am going to ask each of you to hear the voice or word of Christ again and if your desire is to be resurrected to life, will you come afterwards.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Rom 10:9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
Acts 2:38-39 “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1 John 1:7 If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Jesus Is God
JESUS IS GOD
John 5:17-20
Up to this point in the gospel of John everyone and everything has declared Jesus to be God.
- In chapter 1 the Holy Spirit declared Him to be God
- John the apostle also declared Him to be God in chapter 1.
- John the Baptist declared Him to be the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world in also in chapter 1.
- His miracle at Cana in chapter 2 “manifested His glory” and proved He is God.
- His authority over the temple in chapter 2 proved that He is God.
- The fact that He knows what people think and He knows their history in chapter 3-4 indicates that He is God.
- And His ability to heal a royal official’s son in chapter 4 and a man in chpt. 5 who has had an illness for 38 years all says He is God.
- And now, in this discourse found in verses 17-42 our Lord Himself says that He is God.
And this discourse is here for two primary reasons. One: to confirm and bolster the faith that many of us already have.
- Events in life; hardships, false doctrines, human weakness are just a few of the tools that Satan will use to make us doubt and perhaps abandon our faith, but what Jesus says here is intended to reassure us that our faith is not misplaced.
The second reason for this discourse is to convince non-believers that Jesus is God; not just a man, not just a good man, not just a noble man or even a highly spiritual sensitive man, and not a lunatic or liar as some would have you believe, but God.
- And the reason why is it so important to believe that Jesus is God is because John the apostle says in Jn. 20:31 that anyone who denies that Jesus is God cannot have eternal life and will tragically die in their sins.
So, what Jesus says in this discourse confirms our faith and will hopefully convince others to believe.
- So, let’s look at what Jesus says.
When you come to vs. 16. Jesus has just healed a man who has had an illness for 38 years. And in vs. 16 the Jews are angered and are persecuting Jesus because He did this on the Sabbath.
- Evidently the miracle that Jesus performed doesn’t impress them.
- And obviously, they have no idea who Jesus is. So, He tells them.
- This is one of those, “Do you know who I am?” situations.
- Look at vs. 17:
17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
- Now, if you look at vs. 18 these Jews know exactly what Jesus is saying: “He makes Himself equal with God!
When Jesus says, “My Father…” this is not talking about being the physical offspring of God. Jesus is not saying that He is God’s child physically.
- That is the idea that causes most Muslims to hate Christianity because in their minds the idea of Jesus being God’s son is to say that God had an illegitimate relationship because God was never married.
And, Jesus is not saying what we say when we acknowledge God as our “heavenly Father.”
When Jesus says, “My Father” He is saying that He has a like nature, the same qualities as God.
- He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent.
- He is just, righteous, forgiving, eternal, loving; He is God!
He is not saying that He is another, different God.
- He is not saying that He displaces God.
- In John 10:30 Jesus says that “He and the Father are One.”
- As the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews 1:3, Jesus is “the exact representation of God’s nature.”
- The apostle Paul says that “in Jesus the fullness of deity dwells”; Col. 2:9.
- And John says in chapter 1 that Jesus is the Word incarnate; in Jesus we see “the full expression of God!”
These Jews who are persecuting Jesus, if they understood who He is would regret treating Him like they are and that will be true of anyone who denies Him today.
So Jesus says, “My Father is working until now…”
- That may have come as a bit of a surprise to these Jews.
- They didn’t think anyone was to work on the Sabbath.
- But Jesus says here, “God never stops. He never slows down. He doesn’t do light work. He doesn’t diminish His efforts. He is working – present tense- until now.”
- If He ever stopped, even for one day, the universe would collapse.
- God never rests from His government; from sustaining the physical world; from keeping everything in orbit and on its rotation.
- He never rests from His just judgments.
And then Jesus says shockingly, “And I Myself am working”.
- And what Jesus is saying here is that “My Father and I are working until now.”
- He is working on the same level as God.
As a man coming into the world He fulfilled the Law and obeyed the Sabbath.
- But in His deity, He never stops working!
Look at this, in Hebrews 1:3 we are told that Jesus “upholds (sustains) all things by the word of His power.”
- Just like God, He never stops. He never slows down. He doesn’t do light work. He doesn’t diminish His efforts.
- He never rests from sustaining this physical world; He keeps everything in its orbit and on its rotation…and anyone who rejects Him or denies Him is denying God!
If these Jews understood who He is they would regret treating Him like they were and that will be true of anyone who denies Him today.
So, in vs. 18 the Jews “were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
Now, look at vs. 19: Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
- Notice that Jesus says, “Truly, truly.”
- That means He is speaking fearlessly the resolute truth! It is like He is saying, “Do you want to know the truth? Well, here it is!” (“This is no joke!)
And look at what He says, “the Son can do nothing of Himself unless it is something He sees the Father doing;
- He can’t act independently from God.
- He is fully submitted to God’s will, and what He does is a perfect reflection of what He sees the Father doing.
- He does what the Father does the way the Father does it exactly.
In this situation with the Jews getting so upset about Him healing a man on the Sabbath, He did not do that on His own authority; He did it in complete submission to God the Father!
- If these Jews wanted to kill Him for that they also in essence want to kill God!
Theologians through the years have discussed whether or not it was possible for Jesus to sin, because in their minds they see a difference between God the Father and God the Son.
- The Son can do nothing but what He sees the Father doing.
- The Father cannot sin; the Father cannot do evil; to say that the Father can sin is blasphemy and to say that the Son can do evil is also blasphemy and that is in essence what these Jews were doing when they accused Jesus of committing sin by healing this man on the Sabbath.
- To accuse Jesus of violating the Sabbath is to accuse God of violating the Sabbath.
Look at vs. 20: “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel.
- The relationship between the Father and the Son is not one of master and slave or employee and employer, but Father and Son united in love; a love that never ceases to be.
And these Jews were stunned by what Jesus did for and what He told this man who was sick for 38 years; but Jesus tells those Jews, “You haven’t seen anything yet!”
Look at vs. 21: For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
- These Jews who were persecuting Jesus have given very little or no thought to Jesus ability to heal that sick man; they simply focused on Jesus being a Sabbath breaker.
- What they should have given thought to, especially after what Jesus tells them here, is Jesus’ power to raise the dead and give life because in time they will be in need of that.
And notice where it says that “the Son also give life to whom He wishes.” That is simply saying that the miracle of giving life is not something that man commands; it is an exclusive power that only the Son has.
Now, let’s read verses 22-24: 22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.
- This should really have gotten the Jews attention. This was something new to the Jews.
- They held that the Father was the judge of all men and they expected to stand before Him on the last day.
- But now, Jesus tells them that the Father will exercise the prerogative of judging through the Son.
- And God does that for the express purpose of ensuring that all men give the Son the same honor as they give Him.
He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
- The whole purpose of this passage is to stress the unity of the Father and the Son and to point out that what is done to one is done to the other.
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
- Even when it comes to salvation there is unity between the two.
So, these Jews are persecuting Jesus which means they are persecuting God!
- And eventually they would, not only persecute Him, they would crucify Him.
- If and when they realized who He is what should they do?
- And if anyone today is or has been treating Him badly and they realize who He is, what should they do?
Well, we are told. Look with me at Acts 2:36: Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and [ai]Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Do Not Sin Anymore
DO NOT SIN ANYMORE
John 5: 1-9
When John wrote his gospel most people saw Jesus primarily as a “miracle worker” and that is why they followed Him. (See John 4:48)
- That holds true today. People follow Jesus today because they see Him primarily as a “miracle worker” and the two most common miracles they want Jesus to perform is healing or “make me rich”. And if He doesn’t grant their miracle they think He doesn’t love or care for them; and they no longer believe in Him.
But Jesus was not primarily a “miracle worker” and performing miracles was not the primary purpose of His ministry.
- Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” and the miracles were “attesting miracles” that “attested to who He claimed to be”; that “attested to what He taught”; and they were and are intended to convince us that “Jesus truly is the Christ, the Son of God; and by believing that we may have life in His name.”
And once again, that is what we have here in John 5; another miracle intended to convince us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. So, let’s look at the story.
Here in vs. 1 Jesus comes to Jerusalem; it is feast time (don’t know which feast it is. According to Deut. 16:16 the Jews were to observe 3 major feasts each year) and there by the “sheep gate” (this is the gate in which the sheep used for sacrifices were brought into the city) is a pool called Bethesda (means house of mercy).
- And because it is feast time there is a multitude of people gathered by this pool who are sick, blind, lame, and withered.
- And the reason they are there is because they believe that occasionally the water is stirred by an angel of God and whoever got in the water first would be healed.
Now if you look in your Bible you will see that vs. 3 and 4 are enclosed in parenthesis.
- The reason for that is some of the ancient manuscripts do not contain those verses, which means that those verses may have been added by a scribe at a later date.
- Therefore, some dismiss the idea that an angel stirred the pool
- But vs. 7 indicates that the waters did stir; so it is possible that an angel did stir the waters or that was at least what the people believed.
So Jesus comes to this place and in vs. 6 Jesus asks a question to a man that has been sick longer than Jesus has been alive! This man had been sick for 38 years.
- John does not tell us specifically what the man’s illness was but the indication from vs. 8 is that whatever it was it was debilitating.
- And verse 14 implies that his sickness may have been the result of sin.
- And in verse 7 the man tells Jesus how “hopeless and helpless” he is because of his illness.
Now, do not think that you or anyone else is sick because of some sin you have committed. These bodies are flesh and blood and they simply get sick.
- So, if you are sick or suffering from some infirmity, do not conclude that you are being punished for sin.
Remember also that there is another force that is active in this world and Satan will do anything to get you to curse God and die.
- And there are times when God allows an individual to experience health issues so that individual can prove their faith.
- So, do not conclude that you are sick because you have done something wrong.
However, it is true that sin can and sometimes does cause illnesses and injuries; (drinking {the number of lives lost every year because of drinking; marriages; financial ruin; addictions caused by drinking}, immorality {STD’s}, drugs, anger; hatred, jealousy, idolatry, greed – we seldom if ever realize how damaging sin is; it destroys lives; it destroys marriages; it destroys families; it destroys health; it makes people stupid; and ultimately it condemns one to be lost eternally).
- We all need to understand that sin always has serious consequences and that seems to be what happened to this man.
But, don’t conclude from this story that as soon as your sins are forgiven (if that is what Jesus did for this man. We are never told if Jesus forgave this man’s sins. But if Jesus did forgive this man’s sins) do not conclude that Jesus is going to miraculously take the physical consequences of your sins away.
- The Bible never teaches that; in fact, this world has been suffering from the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin from the time they were driven from the garden and it will continue to suffer until the Lord comes back again.
- And in some situations, the consequence of sin cannot be taken away (death; pregnancy, etc.)
- And, if Jesus took away the consequences of our sin as soon as your sins are forgiven, that would cause people to come to Christ for all the wrong reasons.
Remember again, the primary purpose of this story is to convince us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing that we may have life in His name. The primary purpose is not for people to seek Christ only to get a miracle.
So, Jesus sees this man lying beside the pool and He asks the man “Do you wish to get well?”
Now, vs. 7, look at this man’s response to Jesus: The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
- Now, evidently this man did want to get well and in fact, this man thought that his only chance for getting well was in this water!
Vs. 8: Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your pallet, and walk.” 9 And immediately the man became well, and took up his pallet and began to walk.
- When no one else could help this man; when no one else would help this man; Jesus did!
- And that is something we need to remember; not only can Jesus help but He is willing to help.
And you would think that everyone would be astonished and amazed, and excited!
- But, like it is today, there are those who refuse to like anything that Jesus does or anything His followers do.
- In fact, this event of Jesus healing this man is the trigger event that launches the persecution that will continue to escalate through the rest of John’s gospel.
- Look at vs. 9-10:
Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 Therefore the Jews (this would be the Jews who opposed Christ) were saying to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”
- God had given the Sabbath Law way back in Exodus 20 and repeated it a number of times in Exodus and Deuteronomy.
- And He gave the Sabbath as a time of rest, a time to recover, a time to spend with family, of doing good; it was to be a joyful day.
- The only thing you were not to do was the normal, regular work, the normal business, the normal jobs.
But the Jews had added dozens and dozens of restrictions and binding commands to the point that the Sabbath had become oppressive and people couldn’t keep it.
- For example, they said that a man can borrow another man’s jars of wine or oil, provided that he does not say of that man, “Lend them to me” because that would imply a transaction and a transaction would involve writing and writing was forbidden.
- Or, on the health side of things, a man could not put vinegar on his teeth to alleviate a toothache; but he may take vinegar with his food in the ordinary course of affairs.
- They perverted the Sabbath into the worst day of the week, the day of the most bondage.
So, these Jews are not happy for this man; they are not impressed with what Jesus has done; and they tell this man that he is violating the Sabbath.
11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Take up your pallet and walk.'” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your pallet, and walk’?” 13 But he who was healed did not know who it was; for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.
- These Jewish leaders could care less whether this man could walk and they could care less that he had been healed!
- They have nothing but contempt for this man and more importantly, they have contempt for the one who healed him and what they want to know is “who did it?” (He needs to be rebuked! )
Now, look at vs. 14: Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may befall you.“
- Did Jesus forgive His sin? Perhaps, the passage doesn’t say that.
- The passage does say that Jesus made the man well.
- But Jesus’ warning here is what we need to see. Jesus speaks to this man and says, “You’ve been made well, you have a new life. You have been blessed. Don’t go back to what caused your illness in the first place.”
- “Don’t go back to what basically destroyed your life for 38 years.”
- And what Jesus is saying to this man, and to all of us is, “Thirty-eight years of illness as a result of sin is bad, but it is nothing compared to what’s ahead of you if you don’t turn away from sin.”
- There is something much, much, much worse than being handicapped.
In Romans 6 the apostle Paul tells those who have been “baptized into Christ Jesus that they have been baptized into Jesus’ death and just as Jesus was raised from the dead, they too, having be buried with Him in baptism, are to walk in newness of life.” (They have a new life in Christ.)
- But some of those who had been baptized had the idea, “now that we have been baptized into Christ, now that we have a new life, let’s just go back to sinning again.”
- And Paul emphatically says, “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
Through Christ and in Christ those followers of Christ that Paul is speaking to have been given a new life, a new beginning. That is something a lot of people would like to have.
- How many times have you heard someone say, “I wish I could just start all over!”
Well, those followers of Christ in Romans 6 had a new beginning, and this man in John 5 had a new beginning, and those of us who have been baptized into Christ have a new beginning, and anyone who comes to Christ and is baptized will have a new beginning.
- But, in John 5:14 if we go back to a life of sin something much worse than being sick for 38 years may befall us.
Now, look at vs. 15: The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
- Did this man intentionally betray Jesus?
- As soon as he found out who it was that healed him, he goes and tells the Jews, those who oppose Jesus; those who will persecute Jesus.
- Many scholars believe that this man, after nearly 4 decades of terrible suffering, and after Jesus graciously healing Him, as soon as he finds who did it, he goes and tells the Jews who it was!
- Did he betray Jesus? The Jews could be pretty intimidating. So, did he give in to the intimidation? Or was he simply trying to tell them who was responsible for the miracle?
- If he did intentionally betray Jesus this is one of the most startling acts of ingratitude in the life of Jesus.
- There is no way of knowing.
But, the reality is, people, perhaps even some who are His followers today, betray Him every day in different ways. Is this man anymore ungrateful than people are today?
- And if he was intimidated, we as followers of Christ need to understand that a strong, genuine faith will stand up in the face of intimidation and remain faithful to Christ no matter what.
Now, vs. 16: And for this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
- Was Jesus intimidated by the Jews and their persecution? Look at vs. 17.
17 And He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 18 For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
So, is Jesus just a miracle worker? Is He a blasphemer? Or is He the Christ, the Son of God?
- Your life, what you say and do, will answer these questions.
- But, only one answer will give you life eternal.
Saving Faith
SAVING FAITH
John 4:46-54
Here in this passage we are told that Jesus “came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.”
- And we are going to see how the people responded when He did.
But for just a minute, how do you think people would respond if He came here to Brady?
- Would people be excited to see Him? Would the people surround Him like they often did when He entered a city in Israel?
- Would people shout “Hosanna” and mean it? Or would some, like this story in John 4, just want to see a miracle? Would they bring the blind, sick and lame to be healed?
- Would people be interested in what He has to say? Would they even care?
- Would some run and try to hide? Would some run home and get rid of some things in case, like Zacchaeus, He decided to “come to their house today?”
- Would some just ignore Him like they do now? Or would some who ignore Him now act like they have been His loyal friend?
- How do you think people would respond if He came here to Brady? How would you/I respond?
And you may be thinking, “That is a dumb question!” Is it? Because just like Jesus “came again to Cana” He will come back again, and 1 Thess. 5 says that He will “come like a thief in the night”; no one knows when He will come.
- And people will be saying, “Peace and safety!”, “Where is the promise of His coming?” and then destruction will come on them suddenly like birth pangs on a woman with child; and no one will escape.
- If Jesus were to come today would people be ready? Are you and I ready?
So, in John 4:46 Jesus “comes again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water to wine.”
- And there was a certain royal official, whose son was sick at Capernaum. (Capernaum was about 12-15 miles away.)
And in vs. 47 when this official heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Jesus, and was requesting Jesus to come down (to Capernaum: Cana was in the hill country; Capernaum was by the sea) and heal his son; for his son was at the point of death.
- This was a man who was an official of the king. At the time there was only one king or ruler in that region and that was Herod Antipas the Tetrarch, the man who was involved in the death of John the Baptist; so this man may have been running quite a risk here when he comes to Jesus.
- But, the thing is, he didn’t come to Jesus to acknowledge that Jesus was king over Herod.
- When this man comes to Jesus he is apparently like most of the people in Galilee.
In vs. 45 John says that the Galileans received Jesus, “having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast.” They received Jesus because of the miracles He had performed!
- So, this royal official didn’t come to Jesus because He believed in who Jesus was.
- He didn’t come because he believed that Jesus was the Son of God.
- He didn’t come to Jesus to be saved from His sin; this man came in desperation because his son was at the point of death and he came to Jesus simply because he saw Jesus as a miracle worker; as someone who could heal his son.
And that is what motivates a lot of people today to come to Christ: desperation; and it is often the only thing that will cause them to seek Christ.
- Would this royal official have come to Christ if his son wasn’t near death? No way to know.
But today desperation often causes people to seek after Christ: they are in a desperate situation because of their health; because of their finances (we often see this with benevolence); desperate because of their marriage; because of their family; or because a loved one is near death.
- They have little to do with Christ before but now they are desperate; so now they come to Christ; and often they come to Him because they have already tried everything else and He is their last resort.
But, if desperation is what causes them to seek after Christ, that is good; it may be that sometimes God allows people to go through desperate situations to get them to seek after Christ.
So, they come to Christ. But, what do they do when their desperate situation improves and they are no longer desperate? Have they only come to Christ because they too see Him as nothing more than a “miracle worker?”
And what do they do if Jesus doesn’t do what they want Him to do: the “son dies” anyway; their health only gets worse; their financial situation doesn’t get any better; their marriage doesn’t improve and falls apart; their family troubles persist?
- Do they get mad? Abandon Christ? (“I don’t believe in Jesus! He didn’t answer my prayer!”)
- Or do they stay faithful?
You see, this story isn’t about Jesus performing miracles. This story is about faith and the difference between a superficial, shallow, conditional faith that sees Jesus as nothing more than a miracle worker; and a real, unconditional, saving faith; a faith that sees Him as the Son of God and is steadfast no matter what happens.
So this royal official desperately comes to Jesus and asks Jesus to heal his son. Now look at vs. 48: Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”
- Sounds kind of harsh doesn’t it? But most of the people that Jesus has encountered in Galilee only sought after Jesus because of His miraculous powers and what Jesus seems to be saying here is, “Are you like everyone else? Are you only here for the miracle?”
- And that is a question for people today, perhaps even some of us, “Are you only here for the miracle? Are you here only for what Jesus can do for you?”
Do you remember what John said in chapter 20:30-31:
Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Jesus did not come to be a miracle worker. Jesus came to “save that which is lost” and He used His miraculous powers to confirm who He was and to confirm His message and He did so, so that people might believe in Him and obtain eternal life.
- And we should pray for our loved ones and ask God to heal them, and comfort them, strengthen their faith as they go through their struggles.
- And if they die, don’t get angry and abandon Christ because you didn’t get your miracle.
- Just like everyone else, those who are in Christ are going to die; so instead of getting angry and abandoning Christ, rejoice that your loved one has obtain life eternal because of their steadfast faith.
Let me ask you this: If Jesus actually performed miracles for people today, if He made the lame walk, the blind to see, removed the diseases, and raised the dead, would people be faithful to Him?
- Perhaps some would. But, John says in chapter 21:25 that Jesus performed so many miracles that “if they were written down in detail not even the world itself would contain the books in which they were written” and still, in spite of all the miracles, people rejected Him and crucified Him; and they still do today.
Does Jesus still work miracles today?
- Ask yourself that the next time you hold a new born baby in your arms?
- What about when the sun comes up, moves across the sky, and sets in the west? Col. 1:17 says that doesn’t happen by accident.
- A miracle happens every time someone is baptized: dead made alive.
- When a man breaks his neck and can still walk?
- When the word of God transforms a reprobate’s life?
People may reject these kinds of things as miracles but, I Thess. 4:16-18 tells us that there is one great miracle that will take place and everyone will see it.
1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
I do not believe that men have the ability to perform miracles. That time has come to an end; Acts 8:14-18; 1 Cor. 13:8.
- But, I do believe that Jesus still has miraculous powers and it is His divine prerogative how He uses them.
So, Jesus says to this royal official, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” “Are you only wanting a miracle like everyone else?”
Vs. 49: The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.”
Now, look at the second half of the verse: The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off.
- Without knowing for sure if his son was still alive, he starts off. That is real faith!
- At first He believed that Jesus was a simply a miracle worker; but now He believes Jesus’ word.
- This man moved from believing in the power of Jesus to believing in the truth of Jesus, the trustworthiness of what Jesus says.
- And that is essential it is the word that brings an individual to salvation.
51 And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed, and his whole household.
- Why did John tell us this story?
“So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
Are you or I only looking for a miracle worker? Or are we looking for eternal life?
- One only requires superficial, shallow conditional faith; the other requires a real, unconditional, saving faith; a faith that sees Him as the Christ, the Son of God, and remains steadfast no matter what might happen.
- If you sincerely believe that Jesus is the Son of God and through Him you can have life eternal; if that is what you sincerely believe won’t you come, confess Him as Lord, repent of sins, be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sin?
The Savior of the World
THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD
John 4:27-42
I want you to notice vs. 42 again. When John wrote this gospel account some 40 years after Jesus was crucified this verse, this declaration must have shocked and horrified the Jews! Look at what it says:
And they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John the Baptist had told the Jews this when he said in chapter 1:29 that “Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
- And then in John 3:16 we are told that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
So, you have John the author of the gospel and an apostle, and John the Baptist, a prophet, declaring Jesus as the Savior of the world and we are not surprised by that!
- And since the Messiah was to come through the Jews and since they had the oracles of God we wouldn’t be surprised if they said this. But the Jews didn’t say this!
Here in vs. 42 you have a group of people from a village in Samaria called Sychar…
- This is a group of people who are alienated from Israel; who are a by-product of mixed marriages between Jews and idolatrous Gentiles…
- They are a group who have a limited knowledge of God because they only recognized and accepted the first 5 books of the Old Testament…
- This is a most obscure gaggle of Samaritan villagers, not a group from Judea or Jerusalem as you might expect, but they are from Samaria, and they make this monumental declaration that Jesus is “indeed the Savior of the world!”
- And some 40 years after they crucified Jesus and rejected Him, this must have horrified them!
Now, I mentioned that this is a monumental declaration. Let me tell you why. You can put the emphasis of this declaration two ways.
- First, that Jesus is the Savior of the whole world in that He will redeem people from every part of the world—from every tongue, tribe, nation, and people.
But there is another emphasis to be made from this declaration and that is: for the whole world there is only one Savior!
- He will save many people from all parts of the world but there is only one Savior for the whole world…there is no other! See John 14:6; Acts 4:12.
- Which means that unless you come to Christ, and trust in Him for the forgiveness of sin, you will die lost in your sins; John 8:24; 1 Cor. 16:22.
And, what that means is, all religions of the world that do not point you to salvation in Christ are, boldly put, Satanic deceptions; all of them!
- You hear so much today about being politically correct; that we need to give equal honor and respect to every religion in the world.
- Well, we need to love the people just as God does; but there is only one Savior for the world, and only one way of salvation; and that is by faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ.
- He and He alone is the “Savior of the world” and that is why this is a monumental declaration.
So, how is it that this hated group of Samaritan villagers with whom vs. 9 says that the “Jews have no dealings with”, how is it that they are the ones who make this declaration that Jesus is the Savior of the world and not the high priest of Judaism, or the chief priest of the Sadducees, or the Pharisees?
- Well, it all started with one Samaritan woman who had a questionable past and her encounter with Jesus.
- So, let’s go to vs. 27 and learn some things from this passage.
Now, there is something here in vs. 27 that I want you to notice. It seems that there is an ongoing process in all of this that causes these Samaritans to declare that Jesus truly is the Savior of the world.
- 27 says: “And at this point…” The NIV says, “Just then.”
- In the Greek that is very specific; “at this point; at this specific moment.” It indicates a critical juncture.
- You wouldn’t use this phrase unless you were trying to make a point of precise timing that was going on here.
Listen, Jesus has walked about 20 miles; He arrives at exactly the right moment to encounter this woman who, oddly enough, comes at the 6th hour to get water and she comes when His disciples are gone!
- And then Jesus has this conversation with this woman; and then the disciples finish their business in Sychar; it took whatever time it took to do whatever they needed to do to get the food and walk back.
- And they return to the well at the very moment that Jesus declares who He is in vs. 26.
If the disciples arrive earlier Jesus’ conversation with this woman gets interrupted and perhaps this woman doesn’t go back into Sychar to tell the people there.
- If they arrive late, they don’t even know about the conversation.
- The timing is perfect: they are not too early and they are not too late.
- And when they arrive, this woman leaves her water pot; which indicates she was anxious to go tell others; and she goes into the city.
So, what is taking place here, is God working everything, every moment, every detail, everything to converge exactly the way it did to fulfill His divine purpose.
- The good news of Jesus Christ was to come through the Jews; vs. 22.
- But when the Jews didn’t take the good news to the world, God turned to these hated Samaritans.
- And so what you have in this situation is a subtle but magnificent look at divine providence.
- God will use these Samaritans for His glory to tell all the world that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
- And that, along with the receptiveness to the word of God, is how these Samaritans make this amazing declaration.
Now, look again at vs. 27. The disciples come and they marvel that Jesus had been speaking with a woman, and yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or “Why do You speak to her?”
- What Jesus is doing here is completely out of bounds in Jewish society and yet, the disciples keep silent! Why?
Even though they are new disciples and even though they haven’t been with Jesus very long, they are learning what all disciples of Christ, including us, need to learn and that is trust.
- We may not understand at times; things may not go the way we think they should; and sometimes what He commands may not make sense (baptism; money in the plate; elders are to be men); but as disciples we understand that He is sovereign; that He has all authority; and that He is working out His will and our prejudices and our ideas are not important.
- As disciples of Christ we too must learn to trust just as these disciples did.
So in vs. 28 when the disciples return the woman leaves her water pot, and goes into the city and speaks to the men.
- And that too is amazing! She is not the kind of woman who rushes up to men without those men backing off for fear their wives might be looking.
But she comes to the men and in vs. 29 she tells the men of the city “Come, see.”
- It may be that the providence of God is working here again because if this woman would have said to these men, “Gather up. I have got to tell you that I just met the Messiah” they would have mocked her and ignored her; especially since she is a woman and especially because of her background; and these men would have never gone to meet Jesus.
- But she doesn’t do that. Instead, she calls them to “come see” for themselves and decide if they think He is the Messiah.
- Again, it seems as though God is working every detail to fulfill His purpose.
So in vs. 30 “the men of the city go out to meet Jesus.”
And notice how vs. 31 begins: In the meanwhile…
- All of this seems to be providentially coordinated.
Vs. 31: In the meanwhile the disciples were requesting Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about. 33 The disciples therefore were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.
- Do you think that Jesus knows what is about to happen?
- If He knew the woman at the well’s past; it is certain that He knows that the men from the city are coming out to see Him.
- Is that why He doesn’t sit down and eat?
And if He did sit down and eat, and the men from the city show up, how would it go if He told the men from the city, “You guys just hold on, I will be with you in about 20 minutes. I have to finish eating?”
- Jesus knew what was important, and in this situation, eating came in second and that is the lesson that His disciples needed to learn; and it is the same for us.
- Yes, we need to eat; but there are times when doing what God wants us to is more important.
So, Jesus continues to teach His disciples, look at vs. 35: “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
- When it comes to farming, the farmer plants the seed and then waits for the harvest.
- But Jesus says that is not true when it comes to spiritual matters especially those pertaining to conversion.
- When it comes to people coming to Christ his disciples must always be ready to harvest the crop when the opportunity arises and, for these disciples the opportunity is now.
- The men of Sychar are coming from the city and “they are white for harvest.”
36 “Already (the NIV says “Even now.” The harvest is now. Don’t wait. Don’t delay.) “Even now he who reaps is receiving wages, and is gathering fruit for life eternal; that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
- Few things are more joyful than bringing someone to Christ; and the one who sows the seed that brings one to Christ shares in the joy of the one who actually harvests them.
37 “For in this case (in this situation where the men from Sychar are coming) the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’
- Who did the sowing in this story? The woman? Jesus Himself? What about Moses?
- Last week we had a baptism? Who did the sowing in that situation? Her mom, dad, brother, teachers, friends here at church? Who did the reaping? The whole process usually involves more than just one individual. It involves those who sow, and the one who reaps.
38 “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
Many times I have heard this passage taught that this is talking about the world as a whole and that the world is “white for harvest” and Christians have been disappointed because they go out and try to bring others to Christ with the idea that they will have a lot of success.
- I don’t believe that is what Jesus is saying. There are many instances where He sent His disciples out only to have them be rejected; and that is especially true of the apostle Paul.
- In this passage, Jesus, knowing that the men from Sychar are coming out, and Jesus knowing what is going to happen, tells His disciples to take advantage of the opportunity and reap what another has sown.
- And they do. Look at vs. 39:
39 And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” (Who sowed seed?)
- You never know when what you say will bring forth fruit for harvest..
40 So when the Samaritans came to Him, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His word;
- Did you know that this never happened in a village in Israel? In fact, the disciples were getting tired of going into villages and proclaiming Christ only to be rejected and mistreated. And Jesus never stayed two days in a village in Judea; He was always told to leave.
- This never happened in Judea. What happens here is a very significant event because it is the only time a town is converted.
- And look again at what they say.
42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
The Jews didn’t believe this. They still don’t today. Do we?
- One woman planted the seed and the whole town came to Christ.
- You never know what will result when you or I plant the seed.
And always be watchful for those who are ready to be harvested. In fact, it may be that someone here this morning is ready to come to Christ, to confess Him as Lord and be baptized into Him for the forgiveness of your sins, and to put away the old self and walk in the light as He is in the light.
© Sunset Ridge Church of Christ 2024