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Recap (John 7:1-36):
1. The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Ingathering) was one of three major festivals in Israel when all Jewish men were expected at the Temple in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). It celebrated the harvest and also memorialized God’s provision for Israel in the desert. The people lived in booths made of branches for seven days in remembrance of that occasion.
2. Opinions about Jesus were divided. As Dr. Charles Erdman has written: “There can be but two possible judgments passed: Jesus was either a good man or an imposter; but He could not have been ‘good’ unless He was the divine Son of God, for such He claimed to be.”
3. Jesus’ teaching was: not His own but God the Father’s (vs. 16); available to those who desire God’s will (vs. 17); not based on a desire for self-glory (vs. 18); true (vs. 18).
4. The world hated Jesus (and His teaching) because He came as Light to expose the deeds of darkness (sin, wrong values, wrong gods). The world has its religions, goals, and gods which serve them, but wants nothing to do with the truth.
5. “The Pharisees spent their days meticulously keeping the rules that they had surrounded God’s laws with. They created layer upon layer to avoid even accidental sin. These good intentions had gone wrong though. They had made their own rules more important than God’s law…We can spend our lives making lists of the dos and don’ts of God’s word, but our lives would be better spent focusing on the beauty of God. If we stay far, far away from temptation, we could be sure to avoid slipping into sin, but staying as close to God as we can is a better choice. If we’re always dodging sin, we remain focused on the sins we’re running from. But if we focus on God instead, we can see where we’re going.” (NLT One Year Study Bible)
Monday, April 23, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
To Whom Shall We Go?
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Recap of 4/15/12 (John 6:35-71):
1. In John 6:1-15 Jesus feeds the 5,000+, the fourth of seven sign miracles in the Book of John. In 6:22-71 Jesus explains the spiritual meaning behind the feeding miracle (in between 6:16-21 He walks on the Sea of Galilee to His disciples in the storm) to the crowds. Jesus corrects the crowds wrong priorities, wrong opinions of the Messiah, and wrong understanding of the Old Testament. Their priority should have been spiritual life/eternal life not just food that perishes. They were seeking the physical not the spiritual. Only Jesus could satisfy their deepest needs.
2. In John 6:35 Jesus calls Himself the “Bread of Life,” the first of seven “I am” statements in the book of John. They are significant because they are a clear claim of deity on Jesus’ part based on the Old Testament incident in Exodus 3:14. Jesus identifies Himself as the Old Testament “Yahweh,” a title of deity.
3. Jesus strongly affirms the security of the believer in this passage based upon the Father’s sovereign work in salvation and the repeated assertions that those who believe in Him will ultimately conquer death and be resurrected “at the last day.” The doctrine of eternal security is taught in other places in the Book of John and throughout the New Testament in passages such as: John 10:27-3,15:16; Romans 8:28-30, 31-39; 2 Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30; 2 Timothy 1:12; and Jude 1:24. The believer is kept secure by the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (especially the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit).
4. Ultimately the crowd, His “disciples,” turn away from Jesus as expressed by one commentator: “His rejecting their desire to make Him their political King; His demand for personal faith; His teaching on atonement; His stress on total human inability and on salvation as a work of God—all these prove to be unpalatable for many people. They gave up being His disciples.” (Dr. Ed Blum)
Recap of 4/15/12 (John 6:35-71):
1. In John 6:1-15 Jesus feeds the 5,000+, the fourth of seven sign miracles in the Book of John. In 6:22-71 Jesus explains the spiritual meaning behind the feeding miracle (in between 6:16-21 He walks on the Sea of Galilee to His disciples in the storm) to the crowds. Jesus corrects the crowds wrong priorities, wrong opinions of the Messiah, and wrong understanding of the Old Testament. Their priority should have been spiritual life/eternal life not just food that perishes. They were seeking the physical not the spiritual. Only Jesus could satisfy their deepest needs.
2. In John 6:35 Jesus calls Himself the “Bread of Life,” the first of seven “I am” statements in the book of John. They are significant because they are a clear claim of deity on Jesus’ part based on the Old Testament incident in Exodus 3:14. Jesus identifies Himself as the Old Testament “Yahweh,” a title of deity.
3. Jesus strongly affirms the security of the believer in this passage based upon the Father’s sovereign work in salvation and the repeated assertions that those who believe in Him will ultimately conquer death and be resurrected “at the last day.” The doctrine of eternal security is taught in other places in the Book of John and throughout the New Testament in passages such as: John 10:27-3,15:16; Romans 8:28-30, 31-39; 2 Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30; 2 Timothy 1:12; and Jude 1:24. The believer is kept secure by the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (especially the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit).
4. Ultimately the crowd, His “disciples,” turn away from Jesus as expressed by one commentator: “His rejecting their desire to make Him their political King; His demand for personal faith; His teaching on atonement; His stress on total human inability and on salvation as a work of God—all these prove to be unpalatable for many people. They gave up being His disciples.” (Dr. Ed Blum)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The Road from Doubt to Faith
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Recap of April 8, 2012, (Luke 24:13-35):
1. The disciples were not looking for the resurrection. They didn’t understand until after Jesus was resurrected what it was that Jesus was trying to tell them (John 2:19; Mark 8:31; 9:9; 9:31). They were in effect the first skeptics. He gave them many convincing proofs that He was alive from the dead (Acts 1:1-3).
2. Two of these first skeptics were the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus appears physically and bodily to them, alive from the dead, though His identity was divinely hidden from them.
3. They were downcast because, while they believed Jesus was a prophet, they had hoped that He was the Messiah who would deliver Israel from sin and from the domination of Rome. His crucifixion and death seemed to believe that.
4. Jesus showed them from the Old Testament that the Messiah had to suffer before He would enter His glory. Some Old Testament passages would include Psalms 2, 16, 22, 110; Isaiah 53.
5. The evidences for the resurrection include: the empty tomb, the presence of the guard, Jesus’ many appearances to more than 500 people, the change in Peter and others from being fearful and discouraged to being bold and triumphant, lack of any challenge on the Day of Pentecost (less than two months after the crucifixion and resurrection), the change to Sunday worship, the reliability of the gospel writers, mentions in secular historians. (see Robert J. Morgan, Beyond Reasonable Doubt).
Recap of April 8, 2012, (Luke 24:13-35):
1. The disciples were not looking for the resurrection. They didn’t understand until after Jesus was resurrected what it was that Jesus was trying to tell them (John 2:19; Mark 8:31; 9:9; 9:31). They were in effect the first skeptics. He gave them many convincing proofs that He was alive from the dead (Acts 1:1-3).
2. Two of these first skeptics were the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus appears physically and bodily to them, alive from the dead, though His identity was divinely hidden from them.
3. They were downcast because, while they believed Jesus was a prophet, they had hoped that He was the Messiah who would deliver Israel from sin and from the domination of Rome. His crucifixion and death seemed to believe that.
4. Jesus showed them from the Old Testament that the Messiah had to suffer before He would enter His glory. Some Old Testament passages would include Psalms 2, 16, 22, 110; Isaiah 53.
5. The evidences for the resurrection include: the empty tomb, the presence of the guard, Jesus’ many appearances to more than 500 people, the change in Peter and others from being fearful and discouraged to being bold and triumphant, lack of any challenge on the Day of Pentecost (less than two months after the crucifixion and resurrection), the change to Sunday worship, the reliability of the gospel writers, mentions in secular historians. (see Robert J. Morgan, Beyond Reasonable Doubt).
Monday, April 02, 2012
Are You Satisfied?
Click here to download the sermon as we continue in John 6:22-40.
Recap of 4/1/12 (John 6:22-36):
1. The crowds which had been fed by Jesus the previous day in the feeding of the 5,000+ went looking for Jesus, not seeking Him for spiritual food, but for another meal. “Jesus had worked this mighty miracle as a setting for plain talk on His true mission to the world. While He had spent much time ministering to men’s bodily needs, the real purpose of His coming into the world was to save men’s souls.” (Henry H. Halley)
2. Jesus chides the people because of their lack of perception; they missed the meaning of the meal; they were seeking the physical not the spiritual. He challenged the people to get their priorities straight, to desire spiritual food which leads to eternal life, rather than physical food which would leave them hungry again.
3. Once more they missed His meaning thinking they could gain God’s favor through some kind of good work. Jesus again corrects their misconception teaching them that the only thing God requires or accepts is faith in God the Son. A person cannot gain merit (favor) with God through good works (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5)
4. Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life (the bread which is the source of life). He gives life which satisfies (real, abundant, lasting, spiritual). “Faith centers in a Person. It is not the acceptance of a creed or the performance of a ritual, but consists in the surrender of self, in devotion and trust, to a personal, present, loving Savior.” (Erdman)
Recap of 4/1/12 (John 6:22-36):
1. The crowds which had been fed by Jesus the previous day in the feeding of the 5,000+ went looking for Jesus, not seeking Him for spiritual food, but for another meal. “Jesus had worked this mighty miracle as a setting for plain talk on His true mission to the world. While He had spent much time ministering to men’s bodily needs, the real purpose of His coming into the world was to save men’s souls.” (Henry H. Halley)
2. Jesus chides the people because of their lack of perception; they missed the meaning of the meal; they were seeking the physical not the spiritual. He challenged the people to get their priorities straight, to desire spiritual food which leads to eternal life, rather than physical food which would leave them hungry again.
3. Once more they missed His meaning thinking they could gain God’s favor through some kind of good work. Jesus again corrects their misconception teaching them that the only thing God requires or accepts is faith in God the Son. A person cannot gain merit (favor) with God through good works (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5)
4. Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life (the bread which is the source of life). He gives life which satisfies (real, abundant, lasting, spiritual). “Faith centers in a Person. It is not the acceptance of a creed or the performance of a ritual, but consists in the surrender of self, in devotion and trust, to a personal, present, loving Savior.” (Erdman)
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