John Chapter 8, The Truth Will Set You Free

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53-8:11]
explanation for the verses John 7:53 through John 8:11 from The MacArthur Study Bible ESV page 1556.
"7:53-8:11 This section dealing with the adulteress most likely was not a part of the original contents of John.  It has been incorporated into various manuscripts at different places in the Gospel (e.g., after vv. 36, 44, 52, or 21:25), while one manuscript places it after Luke 21:38.  External manuscript evidence representing a great variety of textual traditions is decidedly against its inclusion, for the earliest and best manuscripts exclude it.  Many manuscripts mark the passage to indicate doubt as to its inclusion.  Significant early versions exclude it.  No Greek church father comments on the passage until the twelfth century.  The vocabulary and style of the section also are different from the rest of the Gospel, and the section interrupts the sequence of John 7:52 with 8:12ff.  Many, however, do think that it has all the earmarks of historical veracity, perhaps being a piece of oral tradition that circulated in parts of the Western church, so that a few comments are in order.  In spite of all these considerations of the likely unreliability of this section, it is possible to be wrong on that issue, and thus it is good to consider the meaning of this passage and leave it in the text, just as with Mark 16:9-20."


53[[They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Early in the morning he came again to the temple.  All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.  The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.  Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.  Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."  And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.  But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.  Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condenmed you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."]]

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  So the Pharisees said to him, "You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true."  Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.  In your Law it is written that the tesitmony of two people is true.  I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me."  They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father.  If you knew me, you would know my Father also."  These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin.  Where I am going, you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself, since he says, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"  He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."  So they said to him, "Who are you?"  Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.  I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him."  They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.  So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and the I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.  And he who sent me is with me.  He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him."  As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.  How is it that you say. 'You will become free'?"

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.  I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

They answered him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.  This is not what Abraham did.  You are doing the works your father did."  They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality.  We have one Father--even God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.  I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.  Why do you not understand what I say?  It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.  Which one of you convicts me of sin?  If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?  Whoever is of God hears the words of God.  The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.  Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.  Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."  The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.'  Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?  And the prophets died!  Who do you make yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.  It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God.  But you have not known him.  I know him.  If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.  He saw it and was glad."  So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."  So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple."  John 8  ESV

Explanation for John chapter 8 verses 8:14-18, 8:21-30, 8:23, 8:24, 8:31-36, 8:32, 8:34, 8:35-36, 8:51 From The MacArthur Study Bible ESV, pages1557-1559.

"8:14-18 These verses give three reasons why Jesus' witness was true: 1) Jesus knew his orgin and destiny while the Jews were ignorant even of basic spiritual truths, making their judgment limited and superficial (vv. 14-15); 2) the intimate union of the Son with the Father guaranteed the truth of the Son's witness (v. 16); and 3) the Father and Son witnessed harmoniously together regarding the identity of the Son (vv. 17-18).

8:21-30 Jesus revealed the consequence of the rejection of him as Messiah and Son of God, i.e., spiritual death (v. 24; cf. Heb. 10:26-31).  These verses reveal four ways that ensure people will die in their sins and, as a result, experience spiritual death:  1) being self-righteous (John 8:20-22); 2) being earthbound (vv. 23-24); 3) being unbelieving (v.24); and 4) being willfully ignorant (vv. 25-29).  The Jews who rejected Jesus displayed all four of these characteristics.

8:23 You are from below.  The contrast here is between the realm of God and that of the fallen, sinful world (i.e., "from below").  The world in this context is the invisible spiritual system of evil dominated by Satan and all that it offers in opposition to God, his word, and his people (see notes on 1:9; 1 John 5:19).  Jesus declared that his opponents' true kinship was with Satan and his realm.  By this domination, they were spiritually blinded (see 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:1-3).

8:24 unless you believe.  Jesus emphasized that the fatal, unforgivable, and eternal sin is failure to believe in him as Messiah and Son of God.  In truth, all other sins can be forgiven if this one is repented of.  See notes on 16:8-9.  I am he.  The word "he" is not part of the original statement.  Jesus' words were not constructed normally but were influenced by OT Hebrew usage.  It is an absolute usage meaning "I AM" and his immense theological significance.  The reference may be to both Ex. 3:14 where the Lord declared his name as "I AM" and to Isa. 43:10, 13, 25; 46:4; 48:12).  In this, Jesus referred to himself as the God (Yahweh--the Lord) of the OT, and directly claimed full deity for himself, prompting the Jews' question of John 8:25.  See note on v. 58.

8:31-36 These verses are a pivotal passage in understanding genuine salvation and true discipleship.  John emphasized these realities by stressing truth and freedom.  The focus in the passage is upon those who were exercising the beginnings of faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God.  Jesus desired them to move on in their faith.  Saving faith is not fickle but firm and settled.  Such maturity expresses itself in full commitment to the truth in Jesus Christ resulting in genuine freedom.  The passage has three features: 1) the progress of freedom (vv. 31-32); 2) the pretense of freedom (vv. 33-34); and 3) the promise of freedom (vv. 35-36).

8:32 the truth.  "Truth" here has reference not only to the facts surrounding Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God but also to the teaching that he brought.  A genuinely saved and obedient follower of the Lord Jesus will know divine truth and both freedom from sin (v. 34) and the search for reality.  This divine truth comes not merely by intellectual assent (1 Cor. 2:14) but saving commitment to Christ (cf. Titus 1:1-2).

8:34 Truly, truly.  See note on 1:51.  everyone who commits sin.  The kind of slavery that Jesus had in mind was not physical slavery but slavery to sin (cf. Rom. 6:17-18).  The idea of "commits sin" means to practice sin habitually (1 John 3:4, 8-9).  The ultimate bondage is not political or economic enslavement but spiritual bondage to sin and rebellion against God.  Thus, this also explains why Jesus would not let himself be reduced to merely a political Messiah (John 6:14-15).

8:35-36 The notion of slavery in v. 34 moves to the status of slaves.  While the Jews thought of themselves only as free sons of Abraham, in reality, they were slaves of sin.  The genuine son in the context is Christ himself, who sets the slaves free from sin.  Those whom Jesus Christ liberates from the tyranny of sin and the bondage of legalism are really free (Rom. 8:2; Gal. 5:1).

8:51 never see death.  Heeding Jesus' teaching and following him results in eternal life (6:63, 68).  Physical death cannot extinguish such life (see 5:24; 6:40, 47; 11:25-26).

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You for the gift of salvation.  The truth shall set you free is a wonderful gift from You Lord.  Thank You isn't enough to say for all You have done for us.  I lift up those reading the Book of John and I pray that You will reveal Yourself to them so that they can also find the truth and be set free.  In Jesus' name amen.

www.karenejklein.com

John Chapter 7--Rivers of Living Water

"After this Jesus went about in Galilee.  He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.  Now the Jews Feast of Booths was at hand.  So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.  For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly.  If you do these things, show yourself to the world."  For not even his brothers believed in him.  Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.  You go up to the feast.  I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.  After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.  The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?"  And there was much muttering about him among the people.  While some said, "He is a good man," others said, "No, he is leading the people astray."  Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.  The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?"  So Jesus answered them.  "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.  If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.  The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.  Has not Moses given you the law?  Yet none of you keeps the law.  Why do you seek to kill me?"  The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?"  Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it.  Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because  on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well?  Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." 

Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?  And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him!  Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?  But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from."  So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from?  But I have not come of my own accord.  He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.  I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me."  So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.  Yet many of the people believed in him.  They said, "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent the officers to arrest him.  Jesus then said, "I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.  You will seek me and you will not find me.  Where I am you cannot come."  The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?  Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me, and, 'Where I am you cannot come'?"

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  Now this he said  about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This really is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"  So there was a division among the people over him.  Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?"  The officers answered, "No one ever spoke like this man!"  The Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived?  Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.  Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?"  They replied, "Are you from Galilee too?  Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."  John Chapter 7 ESV

Explanation for verses in John 7:37-39, from The MacArthur Study Bible page 1555.

"7:37On the last day.  This suggests that this occasion occurred on a different day than the controversy in vv. 11-36.  If anyone thirsts.  A tradition grew up in the few centuries before Jesus that on the seven days of the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, a golden container filled with water from the pool of Siloam was carried in procession by the high priest back to the temple.  As the procession came to the Water Gate on the south side of the inner temple court, three trumpet blasts were made to mark the joy of the occasion and the people recited Isa. 12:3, "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."  At the temple, while onlookers watched, the priests would march around the altar with the water container while the temple choir sang the Hallel (Ps. 113-118).  The water was offered in sacrifice to God at the time of the morning sacrifice.  The use of the water symbolized the blessing of adequate rainfall for crops.  Jesus used this event an an object lesson and opportunity to make a very public invitation on the last day of the feast for his people to accept him as the living water.  His words recall Isa. 55:1.  thirsts. . . .come. . . .drink.  These three words summarize the gospel invitation.  A recognition of need leads to an approach to the source of provision, followed by receiving what is needed.  The thirsty, needy soul feels the craving to come to the Savior and drink, i.e., receive the salvation he offers.

7:38 living water.  The water-pouring rite was also associated within Jewish tradition as a foreshadowing of the eschatological rivers of living water foreseen in Ezek. 47:1-9 and Zech. 13:1.  The significance of Jesus' invitation centers in the fact that he was the fulfillment of all the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, anticipated, i.e., he was the One who provided the living water that gives eternal life to man (cf. John 4:10-11).

7:39 he said about the Spirit.  The impartation of the Holy Spirit is the source of spiritual and eternal life.  See note on 16:7."

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus,  I pray that those who read Your Scripture will seek to receive You.  You are the living water and only You will quench our thirst forevermore.  Thank You so much for your gift of salvation.  I say these things in Jesus' name.  Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

John Chapter 6

"After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him. "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said. "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was in the land to which they were going.

On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has "set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent." So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”  They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How does he now say, “I have come down from heaven?”  Jesus answered  them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day.  It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God.  Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died.  Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”  Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”  But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?  Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  But there are some of you who do not believe.  (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)  And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”  Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve?  And yet one of you is a devil.”  He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.”  John Chapter 6 ESV

Some explanations for John Chapter 6 is from The MacArthur Study Bible ESV,  verses John 6:1-14, John 6:16-21, John 6:22-58, John 6:53-58.  Pages 1548, 1549, 1551.

“6:1-14  The story of the feeding of the 5,000 is the fourth sign John employed to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God.  It is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels (Matt. 14:13-23; Mark 6:30-46; Luke 9:10-17).  Since John most likely wrote to supplement and provide additional information not recorded in the synoptics (see introduction: Background and Setting), his recording of this miracle emphasized its strategic importance in two ways: 1) it demonstrated the creative power of Christ more clearly than any other miracle, and 2) it decisively supported John’s purposes of demonstrating the deity of Jesus Christ while also serving to set the stage for Jesus’ discourse on the “bread of life” (John 6:22-40).  Interestingly, both creative miracles of Jesus, the water into wine (2:1-10) and the multiplying of bread (6:1-14), speak of the main elements in the Lord’s Supper, or communion. (v. 53).”

“6:16-21  The story of Jesus’ walking on the water constituted the fifth sign in John’s Gospel designed to demonstrate the writer’s purpose that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God (20:30-31).  The miracle demonstrates Jesus’ deity by his sovereignty over the laws of nature.”

“6:22-58 Jesus’ famous discourse on the bread of life.  The key theme is v. 35, i.e., “I am the bread of life,” which is the first of seven emphatic, “I AM” statements of Jesus in this Gospel (8:12; 10:7, 9; 10:11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1,5).  This analogy of Jesus as “the bread” of  life reinforces John’s theme of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God (20:30-31).  Although John records Jesus’ miracles to establish his deity, he moves quickly to Jesus’ discourse on the spiritual realities of his person in order to define correctly who Jesus Christ was, i.e., not merely a wonder-worker but the Son of God who came to save mankind from sin (3:16).  This discourse took place in the synagogue at Capernaum (6:59).”

“6:53-58  eat. . . drink.  Jesus’ point was an analogy that has spiritual, rather than literal, significance: just as eating and drinking are necessary for physical life, so also is belief in his sacrificial death on the cross necessary for eternal life.  The eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood metaphorically symbolize the need for accepting Jesus’ cross work.  For the Jews, however, a crucified Messiah was unthinkable (cf. Acts 17:1-3).  Once again, the Jews, in their willful and judicial blindness, could not see the real spiritual significance and truth behind Jesus’ statements.  Moreover, Jesus’ reference here to eating and drinking was not referring to the ordinance of communion for two significant reasons: 1) communion had not been instituted yet, and 2) if Jesus was referring to communion, then the passage would teach that anyone partaking of communion would receive eternal life.”

“6:60-71 These verses constitute the reaction of Jesus’ disciples to his sermon on the “bread of life.”  As with the crowds’ response in Jerusalem (ch. 5) and in Galilee (ch. 6), the response of many of his disciples was unbelief and rejection of him.  John lists two groups and their reactions: 1) the false disciples’ reaction of unbelief (6:60-66), and 2) the true disciples’ reaction of belief (vv. 67-71).  After this sermon, only a small nucleus of disciples remained (v. 67).”

Let’s pray:  Dear Lord Jesus.  I pray for those who are in the group of unbelief.  I pray that the truth will set them free.  I say these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Please pray for me as my mom has been ill and this has been a difficult time.  I haven’t been very consistent with posting my blog because of this. 

www.karenejklein.com

 

 

John 5

"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.  In these lay a multitude of invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed.  One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"  The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed and walk."  And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. 

Now that day was the Sabbath.  So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed."  But he answered them, "The man who healed me, that man said to me, 'Take up your bed, and walk.'"  They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well!  Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you."  The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.  And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.  For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.  20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.  And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.  21For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.  22The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.  Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.  24Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.  He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

(Explanation for verses John 5:19-24 from The MacArthur Study Bible, pages 1547.
"5:19 Truly, truly.  Cf. vv. 24-25 and 1:51.  This is an emphatic way of saying, "I'm telling you the truth."  In response to Jewish hostility at the implications of his assertions of equality with God, Jesus became even more fearless, forceful, and emphatic.  Jesus essentially tied his activities of healing on the Sabbath directly to the Father.  The Son never took independent action that set him against the Father because the Son only did those things that were coincident with and co-extensive with all that the Father does.  Jesus thus implied that the only One who could do what the Father does must be as great as the Father.
5:23 honor the Son.  This verse gives the reason that God entrusted all judgment to the Son (v. 22), i.e., so that all men should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  This verse goes far beyond making Jesus a mere ambassador whi is acting in the name of a monarch, but gives him full and complete equality with the Father (cf. Phil. 2:9-11).  honor the Father.  Jesus turned the tables on the Jewish accusation against him of blasphemy, instead, Jesus affirmed that the only way anyone can honor the Father is through receiving the Son.  Therefore, the Jews were the ones who actually blasphemed the Father by rejection of his Son.
5:24 passed from death to life.  This develops the truth of v. 21, that Jesus gives life to whomever he desires.  The people who receive that life are here identified as those who hear the word and believe in the Father and the Son.  They are the people who have eternal life and never will be condemned (Rom. 8:1; Col. 1:13).")

"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.  And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

30 I can do nothing on my own.  As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.   If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true.  There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.  You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.  He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.  But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John.  For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.  And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me.  His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.  I do not receive glory from people.  But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.  I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me.  If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.  How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.  There is one who accuses you:  Moses, on whom you have set your hope.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.  But if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words?"

(Explanation for verse John 5:30 from The MacArthur Study Bible page 1548
"5:30 the will of him who sent me.  In summarizing all he has said from v. 19 on about his equality with God, Jesus claimed that the judgment he exercised was because everything he did was dependent upon the Father's word and will (cf. vv. 19-20))"

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus,  I lift up all who are reading this today.  I pray that they will see the truth of who You are and why You came to die on the cross as You have spoken in the Bible.   I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

The Gospel According to John, Chapter 4

"Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.  And he had to pass through Samaria.  So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well.  It was about the sixth hour.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?"  (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)  Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep.  Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob?  He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock."  Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drink of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thristy or have to come here to draw water."

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."  The woman answered him, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.  What you have said is true."  The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusamlem is the place where people ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.  The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ).  When he comes, he will tell us all things.  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

Just then his disciples came back.  They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?"  So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.  Can this be the Christ?"  They went out of the town and were coming to him. 

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."  So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.  Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'?  Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for havest.  Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together.  For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps.  I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor.  Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of his word.  They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

After the two days he departed for Galilee.  (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)  So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast.  For they too had gone to the feast. 

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.  And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.  When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  So Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."  The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."  Jesus said to him, "Go your son will live."  The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.  As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.  So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live."  And he himself believed, and all his household.  This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee." John 4 (ESV)

Explanations for John 4: 1-26,  John 4:27-42, John 4:43-54 from The MacArthur Study Bible, pages1542-1545.

"4:1-26 The story of the Samaritian woman reinforces John's main theme that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God.  The thrust of these verses is not so much her conversion but that Jesus is Messiah (v. 26).  While her conversion is clearly implied, the apostle's focus centers on Jesus' declaration foretold in the Scriptures (v. 25).  Important also is the fact that this chapter demonstrates Jesus' love and understanding of people.  His love for mankind involved no boundaries, for he lovingly and compassionately reached out to a woman who was a social outcast.  In contrast to the limitations of human love, Christ exhibits the character of divine love that is indiscriminate and all-encompassing. (3:16)."

"4:27-42  These verses reinforce Jesus' acknowledgment that he was Messiah by offering proof for his claim.  John gave five genuine, but subtle, proofs that Jesus was truly Messiah and Son of God, which reinforced his main theme of 20:31:   1) proff from his immediate control of everything (4:27):  2) proof from his impact on the woman (vv. 28-30):  3) proof from his intimacy with the Father (vv. 31-34):  4) proof from his insight into men's souls (vv. 35-38):  and 5) proof from his impression on the Samaritans (vv. 39-42)."

"4:43-54  The episode of Jesus' healing of the official's son constitutes the second major "sign" of eight that John used to reinforce Jesus' true identity for producing belief in his readers (v. 54).  In this episode, Jesus chided the official's unbelief in needing a miraculous sign in order to trust in Christ (v. 48).  While some believe that this story is the same as the healing of the centurion's servant (Matt. 8:5-13; Luke 7:2-10), sufficient differences exist to demonstrate that it is different from the synoptic account; e.g.,   1) no evidence exists that the official's son was a Gentile;  2) the official's son, not his servant, was healed; and 3) Jesus was far more negative regarding the official's faith (John 4:48) than the centurion's (Matt. 8:10).  One may divide this section into three parts:  1) Jesus contemplation unbelief (John 4:43-45);  2) Jesus confronting unbelief (vv. 46-49);  and 3) Jesus conquering unbelief (vv. 50-54)."

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus,  I lift up those reading the Bible today.  I pray that they will seek Your living water.  I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

My Mormon Exit Story

Last March while I was waiting in line to see the movie, "God's Not Dead" my husband and I started talking to the couple in front of us.  My husband asked the man if he knew what the movie was about and the man said--Jack Mormons?  It turns out that this man and his wife were Mormons, but the wife had really left Mormon Church already.  The man was still thinking about leaving.  I gave them my card and told them about some websites (Sandra Tanner's website www.utlm.org .  I told them about Sandra Tanner and Lynn Wilder.  Both ex-Mormons now born-again Christians.  Lynn Wilder's book "Unveiling Grace" is about her journey out of the Mormon Church.  She was a professor at BYU and it is a fascinating story.  Lately, I have had people ask me about my Mormon background so I decided to post my Mormon exit story.  The long version.  I have been praying for this couple I met in line at the movie theater.  I hope they are doing well.  Here is my story:

From the time I was a small child I have always loved God.  I was raised in a Christian home and attended a local *Presbyterian Church during my childhood and as a young adult.  It was there that I became a born again Christian.  I was around the age of 16 and was in the church high school group.  One Sunday morning the youth pastor asked us if we wanted Jesus to forgive our sins and be our Lord and Savior and I really did so I asked the Lord quietly into my heart then.  I understood the Gospel and that I was a sinner and needed Jesus to save me.  I was passionate for Jesus and His saving grace.  That is when Satan went after me and challenged my faith in following God's will.  Now begins the battle.

The following summer I went to church camp and while there started to read the Bible regularly.  I read through the entire New Testament, underlining verses.  While at church camp the guest pastor spoke about Christ centered marriage.  He said that if God wanted you to marry you would--if not there was nothing you could do about it.  This upset me terribly because I had always wanted to get married and have a family.  I was frustrated with the "if it's God's will it will happen."  As a young teenager I really didn't understand what that meant.  Unfortunately, what that pastor said started me on a one sided fight with the Lord.  I was going to make absolutely, positively sure I would get married when I grew up.

Fast forward to my last year in college (1978).  I met a guy who was Mormon.  When he found out I didn't smoke, drink or do drugs he asked if I was a Mormon.  I said no.  We became friends and he gave me a Book of Mormon to read.  Then the Mormon missionaries came to my home and showed me their lessons about their church.  When I heard the Mormon missionaries say things like, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost, I can't remember which term they used) I was thinking of the Trinity--ONE GOD.  I did not realize that the Mormon missionaries were talking about 3 separate gods--one only in thought and purpose.  What the Mormon missionaries said sounded "Christian" and being a young Christian and wanting to take things into my own hands and marry a good Christian guy the Mormon Church was just the thing for me.  I had a wonderful time at those Mormon dances and went out on lots of dates with some nice guys.  I was baptized into the Mormon Church in June of 1978.  I caught a bad cold the day I was baptized a Mormon.

Soon after I was baptized I met a Mormon guy (Mike) at a special dance.  He was going to UOP to become a dentist.  We dated from August to December and got engaged on Christmas Eve 1978.  My mother and I were busy planning the wedding.  I remember I used to pray to the Lord that my marriage would take place and that we would have a nice life.  I remember being in my room alone and talking out loud to the Lord about this when I heard His still small voice.  The Lord said to me, "No, Karen, I'm sorry, but no."  I asked again and heard Him say the same thing.  I remember getting mad at the Lord and said to Him, "What is the matter with You!?  Why do you keep saying no?"  I am so grateful that the Lord was loving and patient and never let go of me.  He was saying He was sorry to me when I should have been down on my knees saying I am sorry to Him.  I truly did not know at the time that the Mormon Church was not a Christian Church.

My fiance, Mike had gone to Utah for Easter break to see his family (1979) and while he was there we had a little agrument over the phone about polygamy.  I had asked him if I died first would he re-marry and be sealed to someone else in the Mormon temple.  He said if they had never been sealed before he would.  This did not sit well with me (I think this was the first crack in my Mormon "testimony").

When Mike came back to California after spring break he gave me a birthday gift from his parents.  It was my temple clothes that I would wear on my wedding day.  When I opened the box the first thing I saw was this green apron.  It was a matte satin green with stitching that looked like leaves.  I thought the way the stitching swirled around looked crazy--like the brush strokes of a Vincent Van Gogh painting.  If you don't know Vincent Van Gogh suffered from mental illness.  I didn't say anything about my thoughts to my fiance.  We went back to our Mormon ward for church.  Meanwhile, my parents came home and saw the birthday present on the coffee table.  When my mother opened the box and saw those temple clothes the Holy Spirit convicted her and she knew right away that the Mormon Chruch was not Christian.

Later that evening after Mike left to go back to his apartment, my mother and I were doing the dishes.  She has such a funny look on her face I had to ask what was on her mind.  At first she said that my fiance was a good man and that she didn't want to interfere.  Well, I don't know about you, but when your mother says something like that you just have to know what she means by not wanting to interfere.  Finally, she said, "Karen, Christ didn't just come for the "perfect people" He came for everyone.  That Mormon Church is not a Christian church because only the "perfect people" can go into their temples.  Your father and I can't go into the temple to see your wedding."  When my mother said that Christ didn't just come for the perfect people He came for everyone the Lord removed the blanket from my eyes and all these Bible verses that I had read when I was 16 came flooding into my mind.  "Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment."  Matthew 22:37-38.  "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17.  "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30.  It was really pretty amazing.  I remember my heart started to sink as I started to process this.  I said to my mother, "You're right! What should I do? Can I still marry Mike?  If I marry Mike will I be denying God?"  I couldn't deny the God of the Bible.  If I were to marry Mike and we had children and they were raised Mormon would I be condemning them to hell?  I couldn't knowingly raise my children as Mormons.  All this happened on a Saturday night--the next day was Easter Sunday.

I went to my Mormon ward on Easter Sunday because I had to teach 3 year old children Sunday school.   Mormons don't wear crosses and the cross is not displayed in the ward--ever. When I walked into the ward the fact that there was no cross stuck out like a sore thumb.  I listened to the different members of the ward give their Easter speech and they only spoke about the exaltation of man to godhood.  What the heck was that?  What godhood?  I went into my Sunday school class of 3 year olds and was so upset I couldn't teach.  I just asked them who they thought Jesus is.

After church I went home and so the conflict became bigger.  A few days later while I was at work, I called my mother, who volunteered at the local *Presbyterian Church office.  I asked her to ask the pastor there if it is ok if I married Mike.  When she called me back and told me that the pastor said the Mormons are not Christians I really just broke down and my boss had to have my mom pick me up and take me home.  When I got home I wept really hard.  I asked my mom to call the youth pastor and ask him about this.  She got him on the phone and I spoke to him.  He was really nice and told me that what I needed to do was to go into my room by myself and pray to the Lord.  Ask the Lord to direct me.  The youth pastor also said that the Lord has someone for me to marry and that also my salvation was assured.  He said that I was on the edge of a cliff ready to fall off and that I needed to pray and the Lord would save me from falling off that cliff.  The youth pastor said that if I did marry the Mormon and if I would raise my children in the Mormon Church they would not be saved.

I went into my room and prayed and for the first time since this started I had peace.  I knew I had to make a choice--choose the Jesus of the Bible or choose Mike.  I chose Jesus.   "No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24.  I knew I had to break it off with Mike and leave the Mormon Church.  I called Mike and asked him to come over.  I told him I had lost my testimony.  I did not believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  I told him I thought the Mormon prophets were actually adulterers.  Mike got angry with me for saying that one.  I also said to Mike that he would not be a god nor would I for there is only one God and we are not Him.  Mike asked me why I did not want to be a god?  I said because it just is not the way it is--God is God and we are not--never will be.  I want to love and worship God, not be Him.  Mike said he thought I needed help and he wanted to help me.  I didn't need Mike's help so we broke up and I gave him back his diamond ring, temple clothes and fishing rods.  We said our goodbyes and never spoke to each other again.

I then had to tell my bishop.  He could hardly believe it.  Someone came and picked up my Sunday school lesson books.  Then so many people started calling me and showed up on my doorstep.  Answering machines were not the norm back in 1979.  This was really upsetting and harassing.  This eventually stopped when I told them I would get a lawyer and to please leave me alone.  My mother was praying for me and prayed that the Lord would bring a nice born again Christian man into my life.  The youth pastor at the *Presbyterian Church asked a young woman who was the wife of an intern at the *Presbyterian Church to befriend me and help me get back into Christain fellowship.  She was very sweet and I appreciated this very much.  I re-joined the Presbyterian Church.

In June of 1979 I was invited to a going away pool party BBQ for this couple because her husband was going to seminary school.  I was sitting on a porch swing at this party when this cute guy came up to me, sat on the arm of the porch swing and said, "Hi."  Scott is a born again Christian.  We started dating soon after and got married the following summer, July 1980.  We will be married for 34 years this July.  We also got baptized in a Christian church.  It was wonderful to be baptized as a believer in Christ in a real Christian church. It just washed away that awful Mormon baptism that happened 35 years ago.  I am so very thankful and humbled to the Lord for all His loving forgiveness and for never letting go of me even though I went off so wrong.  Through all this I learned that the Lord really does know best and it is better to wait on Him than make a mess of things like I did.  It is so easy for people to be deceived and it is so important to stand by the Bible alone.  The Mormons use many of the same words as born again Christians, but they have very different meanings behind those words.  If you are reading this and are a Mormon I would suggest that you to say a prayer and ask the Lord to show you the truth.  He will show you the truth.  The Lord taught me a lot through my Mormon experience.  How Satan can really appear as an angel of light, yet he is the prince of darkness.  It is important to gage everything according to the Bible and to spend time with the Lord in prayer.  If it conflicts with the Bible then forget it.  You cannot trust your feelings.  Feelings can deceive you.  The Lord Jesus is with you always.  When you have faith and believe in Him and His sacrifice for you on the cross He will never leave you or let you go. I give all the glory to the God of the Bible for getting me out of the darkness of Mormonism.

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the Gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again:  If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." Galations 1:6-9

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus,  I lift up those who are still in the Mormon Church.  I pray that their eyes would be opened to the truth found in the Jesus of the Bible.  I pray that those in darkness will ask You, Lord to show them the truth.  I pray that Your gift of salvation through Jesus, by grace will be received.  I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

*NOTE:  The Presbyterian Church was a very different church back in 1979.  I am no longer a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) or PCUSA.  I have not been a member for many years.  I do not endorse nor would I recommend joining the Presbyterian Church (USA) or PCUSA.  Please seek out a church that stands with the Bible alone. 

www.karenejklein.com

The Gospel According to John, Chapter 3

 

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.  Jesus answered him,  "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?  Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment:  the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing.  John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison).

Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look he is baptizing, and all are going to him."  John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.'  The one who has the bride is the bridegroom.  The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.  He must increase, but I must decrease."

"He who comes from above is above all.  He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.  Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.  For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.  The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."  John 3  ESV

Explanation for verses in John 3:1-21, John 3:3, John 3:8, John 3:16, John 3:15, John 3:22:36, John 3:36 from The MacArthur Study Bible, pages 1540-1541

"3:1-21  The story of Jesus and Nicodemus reinforces John's themes that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God (apologetic) and that he came to offer salvation to men (evangelistic).  John 2:23-24 actually serves as the introduction to Nicodemus's story, since ch. 3 constitutes tangible evidence of Jesus' ability to know men's hearts and thereby also demonstrates Jesus' deity.  Jesus also presented God's plan of salvation to Nicodemus, showing that he was God's messenger, whose redemptive work brings about the promised salvation to his people (3:14).  The chapter may be divided into two sections: 1) Jesus' dialogue with Nicodemus (vv. 1-10); and 2) Jesus' discourse on God's plan of salvation (vv. 11-21)."

"3:3 born again.  The phrase lit. means "born from above."  Jesus answered a question that Nicodemus does not even ask.  He read Nicodemus's heart and came to the very core of his problem, i.e., the need for spiritual transformation or regeneration produced by the Holy Spirit.  New birth is an act of God whereby eternal life is imparted to the believer (2 Cor. 5:17); Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:3; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18).   John 1:12-13 indicates that "born again" also carries the idea "to become children of God" through trust in the name of the incarnate Word.  cannot see the kingdom of God.  In context this is primarily a reference to participation in the millennial kingdom at the end of the age, feverently anticipated by the Pharisees and other Jews.  Since the Pharisees were supernaturalists, they naturally and eagerly expected the coming of the prophesied resurrection of the saints and institution of the messianic kingdom (Isa. 11:1-16; Dan. 12:2).  Their problem was that they thought that mere physical lineage and keeping of religious externals qualified them for entrance into the kingdom rather than the needed spiritual transformation that Jesus emphasized (cf. John 8:33-39; Gal. 6:15).  The coming of the kingdom at the end of the age can be described as the "regeneration" of the world (Matt. 19:28, ESV footnote), but regeneration of the individual is required before the end of the world in order to enter the kingdom."

"3:8 The wind blows where it wishes.  Jesus' point was that just as the wind cannot be controlled or understood by human beings but its effects can be witnessed, so also it is with the Holy Spirit.  He cannot be controlled or understood, but the proof of his work is apparent.  Where the Spirit works, there is undeniable and unmistakable evidence."

"3:16 For God so loved the world.  The Son's mission is bound up in the supreme love of God for the evil, sinful "world" of humanity (cf. 6:32, 51; 12:47; see notes on 1:9; Matt. 5:44-45) that is in rebellion against him.  The word "so" emphasizes the intensity of greatness of his love.  The Father gave his unique and beloved Son to die on behalf of sinful men (see note on 2 Cor. 5:21).  eternal life.  See note on John 3:15; cf. 17:3; 1 John 5:20."

"3:15 eternal life.  This is the first of 17 references to "eternal life" in John's Gospel.  The same Greek word is translated in some versions as "everlasting life."  The expression appears in the NT nearly 50 times.  Eternal life refers not only to eternal quantity but divine quality of life.  It means lit. "life of the age to come" and refers therefore to resurrection and heavenly existence in perfect glory and holiness.  This life for believers in the Lord Jesus is experienced before heaven is reached.  This "eternal life" is in essence nothing less than participation in the eternal life of the Living Word, Jesus Christ.  It is the life of God in evey believer, yet not fully manifest until the resurrection (Rom. 8:19-23; Phil. 3:20-21)."

"3:22-36  This section constitutes John the Baptist's last testimony in this Gospel regarding Christ.  As his ministry faded away, Jesus' ministry moved to the forefront.  In spite of the fact that John the Baptist received widespread fame in Israel and was generally accepted by the common people of the land as well as those who were social outcasts, his testimony regarding Jesus was rejected, especially by the leaders of Israel (cf. Matt. 3:5-10; Luke 7:29)."

"3:36  This constitutes a fitting climax to the chapter.  John the Baptist laid out two alternatives, genuine faith and defiant disobedience, thereby bringing to the forefront the threat of looming judgment.  As John faded from the forefront, he offered and invitation to faith in the Son and clearly expressed the ultimate consequence of failure to believe, i.e., "the wrath of God."

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You so much for Your gift of salvation for us.  I lift up those reading the Bible today.  I pray that You will soften their hearts and minds so they will come to know You.  I pray that the truth will be made known.  I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Note about the painting:  This painting is called "The Wind". 

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