FLESH AND BLOOD – John 6:51-59

INTRODUCTION:

“THIS IS A TEST. THIS IS ONLY A TEST.” Have you heard those words before? Those words are a warning to all who are listening and watching, telling them that this is only a practice session, and informing them that, if this was an actual alert, instructions would be given to prepare each person for what was about to happen. As you listened to those words, were you trusting that the one who was speaking them was telling you the truth, and was speaking with authority?

Author C.S. Lewis made the following statement concerning belief and authority. He said, “Believing things ‘on authority’ only means believing them because you have been told them by someone you think trustworthy. Ninety-nine percent of the things you believe are believed on authority. I believe there is such a place as New York. I could not prove by abstract reasoning that there is such a place. I believe it because reliable people have told me so. The ordinary person believes in the solar system, atoms, and the circulation of the blood on authority – because the scientists say so. Every historical statement is believed on authority. None of us has seen the Norman Conquest or the defeat of the Spanish Armada. But we believe them simply because people who did see them have left writings that tell us about them; in fact, on authority. A person who balked at authority in other things, as some people do in religion, would have to be content to know nothing all his life.”

Since the very beginning of His ministry, the Lord Jesus has been speaking with authority, and this authority has been attested to by John the Baptist, by the voice of the Father from heaven at His baptism, and by the miracles He has performed. Let’s see how the Jewish leaders and the crowd respond when Jesus’ words seem offensive, and they don’t understand what He means by what He is saying.

TRANSITION:

Jesus is in the synagogue in Capernaum, and He’s been telling the people in the synagogue that He is “the bread of life”, and that whoever eats of this bread will not die but will live forever. The crowd is taking His words literally, thinking that He is talking about physical bread. They are bewildered by His words because they don’t understand how this can be physically possible.

I. REPETITION AND ADDITION (verse 51)

In chapter 6, verse 51 of John’s gospel, Jesus repeats this statement about Himself, but this time He adds a trailer at the end of it. He says, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Notice that Jesus did not say “my body”, but “my flesh”. The Greek word is “sarx”, and Jesus is going to use that word six more times before this conversation is over. As the saying goes, the Lord Jesus has “opened a can of worms” and there is going to be a repulsive reaction from the crowd. Get ready for some negative repercussions!

II. THE RESPONSE (verse 52)

How did the people react to those words? Verse 52 says, “The Jews, therefore, began to argue with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” They must have thought that Jesus was talking about some form of cannibalism. The Greek word translated “argue” literally means to “fight” or “quarrel”. They are “fighting mad” and are taking out their anger on each other in the presence of Jesus. Notice the words they use to refer to Jesus, calling Him “this man”. After all the things that Jesus has said and done so far in His public ministry, they refuse to consider Him to be any more than just a man. They’ve shut their eyes and closed their ears and their minds to everything they have seen and heard. Ironically, many of those present didn’t close their mouths to the free food that was miraculously provided for them on the previous day!

I used to wonder, “Why didn’t Jesus tell them He wasn’t speaking literally but figuratively, and then explain to them what He meant by those words? I now think that a more appropriate question is, “Why didn’t they ask Jesus to explain to them what He meant?” The answer to both of those questions is the same: the crowd didn’t want an explanation. What they were looking for was an excuse and an opportunity to kill Him. As John 5:18 says, “This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill Him . . .”. Maybe that’s why they were arguing so vehemently with each other – they may have been fighting about how they were going to kill Him and who was going to do it. We don’t know for sure, but we do know that those thoughts were in their minds.

The crowd may have missed the words “for the life of the world” because of the shocking words that preceded them. Jesus was saying that what He was offering them wasn’t for the Jews only, but for everyone. As the apostle John says of Jesus in I John 2:2, “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

III, EATING AND DRINKING – FLESH AND BLOOD (verses 53-58)

Rather than calming the angry crowd, Jesus makes a series of statements that are even more repulsive to His audience. He begins by saying, in verse 53, “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 yourselves.” In John’s gospel, we find that Jesus often uses the phrase “Truly, truly, I say to you”. He does so, not because He is telling the truth in this case, but because He is letting His listeners know that He has firsthand knowledge of what He is about to say, and therefore is speaking with authority. He is also implying that they should, therefore, pay close attention to what He is saying. because it is very important information that applies to them.

When Jesus said, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood”, what did He mean by those words? Why did He say them? There is a tendency to look for similarities between Jesus’ words to this crowd and the words He said to His disciples at the Last Supper. But Jesus was not referring to the Lord’s Supper (or Communion) in this conversation here in John 6. He did not intend His statement to be taken literally. He is using an analogy to communicate spiritual truths in the context of what they have already been talking about. This is one of the many times in John’s gospel where Jesus uses symbolism to communicate spiritual lessons. We have already studied Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, where Jesus compared the wind that was blowing that evening to the Holy Spirit and told Nicodemus that he must be born again of water and the spirit in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. In His conversation with the woman at the well, Jesus compared the water in the well to the living water He would give her, and if she drank from it, she would never thirst again but would have everlasting life. So what does Jesus have in mind on this particular occasion?

Here in verses 53-58, as the Lord Jesus uses those words several times with some alterations, get ready for a history lesson, a principle of philosophy, and another short course in Greek grammar in order to understand what He really means by those statements. Firstly, the differences between His words spoken here and those spoken much later at the last supper are much greater and more numerous than any possible similarities.

A. A HISTORY LESSON

When the Lord Jesus celebrated the Last Supper (the Passover feast) with His disciples, He did not say “This is my flesh”, He said, “This is my body“. He also did not say, “This is my blood”. Rather, He said, “This is the new covenant in my blood”. Luke 22:20 says, “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood’.” ‘The focus of His attention is on the cup and the new covenant. The Lord’s Supper (Communion) is not a sacrifice but a remembrance. The apostle Paul addresses this issue to the Corinthian church in I Corinthians 11 because of misunderstandings concerning the Lord’s Supper. Some members of the church at Corinth, along with many in churches today, mistakenly thought (or think) that eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord’s Table is essential for salvation, and that all who do so are guaranteed salvation. The apostle Paul quotes those words said by Jesus, and then, in verse 26, he summarizes by saying, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Rather than being a source of salvation, the Lord’s Supper is not only a remembrance, but also a proclamation.

Looking again at the context of Jesus’ words on the way to the synagogue and in the synagogue, Jesus uses this analogy of flesh and blood because that was the initial subject of the conversation. He was comparing Himself to the manna that their forefathers ate after fleeing from Egypt. The Jews listening to Jesus took pride in the manna, considering it to be heavenly food that extended one’s lifespan, and asked Jesus to give them a sign like the manna. Jesus addressed this belief of theirs by saying that He is the living bread. He is greater than the manna because the life He offers lasts forever.

Rather than look ahead to the Last Supper to find a reason for Jesus’ words, it would be better to look back in history to the night when the first Passover was celebrated. Before the manna, there was the Passover meal. Before God sustained His people with the manna, He saved them from their bondage in Egypt. In order for this salvation to occur, a price had to be paid: death for life. In Exodus 12, each household of the sons of Israel was told to slaughter a lamb, roast its flesh and eat it along with unleavened bread, and put the lamb’s blood on the two doorposts and the lintel of their home. When the death angel passed through Egypt that night, wherever he saw that blood he would “pass over” that house, and the firstborn would be spared from death. The people of Israel would also be delivered that night from the bondage of Egypt, and God would lead them to the land He had promised them and give them a new life there. So the flesh and blood of the lambs were the instruments used by God to bring salvation, deliverance, and a new life for His people as they believed and obeyed the word of the Lord given to them through Moses. I believe that the original Passover was the Old Testament event that Jesus may have had in mind as a basis for comparison when He spoke of eternal life and deliverance through His flesh and blood.

B. A PRINCIPLE OF PHILOSOPHY

A second evidence that Jesus was referring to salvation comes from one of the branches of philosophy called logic. It is the science of evaluating arguments and determining sound reasoning. A fundamental law of reasoning is the following: “Two concepts which are equal to a third concept are also equal to each other.” That sounds logical, doesn’t it? Let’s see what Jesus is saying in verses 53-58 and then add up the results that come from the “eating” and “drinking”: 1) If you don’t do so, “you have no life in yourselves” (verse 53). So Jesus’ command is absolutely essential for eternal life. 2) He “has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (verse 54). It’s a guarantee of eternal life and physical resurrection. 3) “He abides in Me and I in him” (verse 56). Jesus speaks of an eternal relationship with Himself. 4) “he shall live because of Me” (verse 57). Jesus is saying that He is the source of that life. 5) “he . . shall live forever” (verse 58). Once again, the result of doing so is eternal life.

In each of His statements, Jesus is equating “eating His flesh and drinking His blood” to having eternal life as a result, correct? If we look ahead to verse 63, we find that Jesus says, ” . . . the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Jesus is telling His disciples afterward that he was speaking to the crowd in the synagogue about spiritual things and was not to be taken literally.

Now let’s compare Jesus’ words in verses 53-58 with other statements He made recently on the topic of eternal life. Several times the Lord Jesus has spoken clearly about eternal life and what was necessary on man’s part in order to receive it. In His discussion with Nicodemus, He began to speak clearly and literally in John 3:14-16, where He said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.” 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.” The only other recourse given is that of perishing.

Later, in John 5:24, Jesus says, “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.” The only other option given is “judgment”.

Now, in the middle of this present conversation with the Jews, Jesus says, in verse 47, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”

As you can see from these three statements made by Jesus, eternal life results only from believing, The logical conclusion, then, is that “eating His flesh and drinking His blood” is the same as believing in Him, with an emphasis on His atoning work, since both concepts have the same result.

C. A LESSON IN GREEK GRAMMAR (verse 53)

As you probably know, the Gospel of John, together with all the other books of the New Testament, was written in Greek. The English language, in this particular passage of Scripture, does not communicate the tense of certain verbs as clearly as the original Greek text because there are more tenses to Greek verbs than there are in English. In verse 53, Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” Those two verbs (“eat” and “drink”) are in the aorist tense, denoting a one-time action. It is not continued or repeated but is a once-and-for-all event. In passages of Scripture such as John 6;29, where Jesus asks people to believe in Him for eternal life or tells them that they do not believe, the aorist tense is used also. This is another proof that the words, “eat my flesh and drink my blood” are equivalent to saving faith because they are both once-for-all events, using the same tense of the verbs.

D. A SECOND LESSON IN GREEK GRAMMAR (verses 54-58)

This second lesson is a new insight for me. Below is the New International Version translation of verses 54-58:

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will
raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father,
so the one who feeds on me will live because of me, This is the bread that
came down from heaven. Our forefathers ate manna and died,
but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”

The words “eats”, “drinks”, and “feeds” are verbs in this English translation, but in the original Greek text they are not verbs, but participles. You may be thinking, “Would you refresh my memory? Just what is a participle and what does it do?” I will be glad to do so, having just refreshed my own memory! Participles are verb forms ending in “ing” which have the characteristics of both a verb and an adjective. To demonstrate that definition, let me write out for you verses 54-58 again, only this time you will see those verbs changed to participles. The words that I’ve enclosed in parentheses are implied in the Greek text.

The (one) eating my flesh and drinking my blood has eternal life and I will
raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
The (one) eating my flesh and drinking my blood remains in me, and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father,
so the (one) feeding on me will live because of me. This is the bread that
came down from heaven. Our forefathers ate the manna and died,
but the (one) eating this bread will live forever.

Does reading that literal translation give you a change of perspective? It did for me. The present participles put the emphasis on the believer rather than on believing. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is a one-for-all event, demonstrated by the use of the Greek aorist tense. Once a person takes that step of repentance, faith, and commitment to Jesus Christ, thereby becoming a Christian, a life-long process begins (as demonstrated by the use of the present-participles). It’s called the “doctrine of sanctification”. This process includes growing in our relationship with the Lord through spending time with Him in His Word and in prayer, as well as through fellowship with other believers. As verse 56 says, “(The believer) remains in me, and I in him.”). There is a closeness to God that becomes closer, and a fellowship with God that becomes deeper as the believer spends time with Him. It’s the abiding relationship that Jesus will later describe in John 15. There is also a deepening dependence upon God as the believer seeks to obey God, serve Him, and be a witness for Him. It’s the Father’s desire, and it should be our goal, to become more and more like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So verses 51-53 focus on the beginning of spiritual life – how a person becomes a believer, and verses 54-58 describe the believer’s spiritual growth until the day when God calls him home to be in His presence and enjoy Him for eternity. The once-for-all event of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, evidenced by genuine repentance for our sins and the surrender of our lives to His Lordship, then becomes a moment-to-moment fellowship with God, and obedience to our heavenly Father as His adopted children. When this life is over we will see God face-to-face and enjoy His presence and His love for eternity in heaven. Those are the three aspects of the doctrine of salvation: justification (the one-time event), followed by sanctification (the process of spiritual growth as His children), followed by glorification (with God for eternity in heaven).

IV. POINT OF REFERENCE (verse 59)

The apostle John ends this conversation of Jesus by letting us know where it occurred. We can’t say that this conversation didn’t happen because John documented it. John writes, “He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.” Our responsibility. as readers and students of God’s Word, is not to discount this conversation or overlook it, but to understand its spiritual meaning and apply it’s principles to our lives.

CONCLUSION:

Where are you today in relation to this conversation between Jesus and the Jews in the synagogue in Capernaum? Do you understand what it means to believe in Jesus Christ? Do you realize the price that Jesus, the Son of God and the Lamb of God, is going to pay to make that relationship with God possible? Are you ready to commit yourself to follow the One who wants to give you a new, and abundant life now and eternal life with Him in heaven? Whether you are ready or not, please read my “About Page” to understand what that decision involves and the Scriptures that declare it.

If you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your life bears evidence of that decision, are you growing daily as a result of your fellowship with Him? Are you enjoying His presence with you throughout your day, and learning to depend more and more on His strength and His faithfulness to supply your needs? Is it becoming more and more obvious to those around you that your faith is real and your joy is infectious? I hope so. That’s just part of God’s desire for His children, as revealed in His Word.

CONSTRUCTION SITE: COMPLETED

Welcome to this completed construction site. John 6:51-59 is a controversial passage of scripture with a number of viewpoints or interpretations. There can only be one correct interpretation, The Lord Jesus had a reason and motive for saying the things He said, and the apostle John was an eye-witness and wrote these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

EQUAL IN GIVING SPIRITUAL LIFE – John 5:24-25

Bible sermons, John 5:24, saving faith, saving faith - what is it?

INTRODUCTION:

When we talk about the quality of physical life, we often use phrases like “in the prime of life”, “the good life”, “barely alive”, “in the peak of health”. When we answer the question, “How are you?”, we may have responded with words such as “fine”, “OK”, “still kicking”, “so-so”, “could be better”, “could be worse”, “hanging in there”, “not very well”, “fantastic”, “doing well”, and a host of other descriptions. There are many possible and reasonable answers to that question.

When we speak of physical death we sometimes use phrases like “deader than a door nail”, “deader than a doorknob”, “deader than a doormat”, “as dead as can be”. But think about that logically. When you’re dead, you’re dead, right? You can’t get any deader than that! If you’ve ever watched the movie, “The Wizard of Oz”, you may remember that Dorothy’s house fell on the wicked Witch of the East. After the Munchkin coroner examined her body, he gave his professional conclusion very clearly and succinctly.

“As coroner I must aver,
I thoroughly examined her;
And she’s not only merely dead,
She’s really most sincerely dead.”

I think he got the point across very clearly, don’t you? There aren’t degrees of physical death because it’s not a comparative term; it’s a once-and-for-all term, with a few rare exceptions given in the Scriptures. A mortician/embalmer may do such a masterful job of preparing the person’s body for viewing that everyone at the funeral service believes that the dead loved-one is only sleeping. But even a “total makeover” is not going to bring that person back to life.

This passage of Scripture we are studying deals with spiritual life and spiritual death. There is a basis for comparison here. A spiritually lost sinner is as spiritually lifeless and helpless as a dead person is physically. He cannot save himself and he cannot give himself spiritual life. In this passage of Scripture, the Lord Jesus is telling His listeners that He not only has the power to give physical life, but He also has the greater power to give spiritual life with all its benefits, and to remove spiritual death with all its consequences.

I. SPIRITUAL REGENERATING (verse 24)

Verse 24 begins with the words, “Truly, truly, I say to you.” Jesus is once again telling them that He is speaking from personal knowledge and experience, therefore what He has to say is true. To put it into our manner of speaking, Jesus is saying something like “Pay close attention to what I am about to tell you.” “It is very important information.” He continues by saying, “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.” This verse of Scripture has a lot to say to us.

The phrase “He who hears My word” is often misunderstood. In this case, as well as in many other New Testament scripture passages, the word “hear” conveys the idea of listening, being receptive, and responding in obedience. There were many who heard Jesus speak, in the sense that they were in “earshot” of Him and heard the words He said. There have been many over the centuries since that time who have “heard” the gospel message with their ears, but with no concern or response. It was “in one ear and out the other” so to speak. When correcting a child, a parent might sometimes use the words, “Do you hear me?”. Does the parent mean, “Did you hear the words I pronounced to you”? No! When I’ve heard those words spoken, the parent meant, “Are you going to do what I just told you or are you going to face the consequences!

There are some Old Testament scriptures that may give us a better perspective on this phrase, “He who hears my words”. You will find that I often go to the Old Testament to seek a basis for the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: how He said them, where He said them, to whom He said them, and why He said them. There is a reason why I spend a great deal of time seeking answers to those questions in the Old Testament scriptures. I am personally convinced that the Lord Jesus is often tying His words to the words God spoke to His people through the prophets. He is thus reminding them that this isn’t the first time that similar words have been spoken to them, He’s also implying that He is the “Prophet who is to come” – the Messiah. I think we miss much of what Jesus is saying to His people if we fail to make that connection.

In this case, when the Lord Jesus says, “He who hears My words”, scripture passages galore should have come to the minds of His listeners. Jesus is in Jerusalem, speaking to the leaders of His people, the Jews. Do the words, “Hear the Word of the Lord” sound familiar to you? If they do, imagine how familiar and convicting they would have sounded to the Jewish leaders standing before Him. Moses, the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and Micah, used those words when prophesying to the people of Israel and Judah, and usually those words were an indication of an impending judgment by God upon His people.

Here in verse 24, however, we have participles instead of verbs in the Greek text. The beginning of the verse is literally saying, “The one hearing My word and believing the One having sent Me”, and the result is positive rather than negative. It’s as if the Lord Jesus is showing them a contrast between those words of impending judgment, spoken by the prophets to their ancestors, and the words of pardon and eternal life that He is about to offer them.

Jesus refers to His Father as “the One who sent Me“. He used that phrase several times while He was on this earth. Does that sound impersonal to you – to refer to His Father in that way? It did to me at first, but after doing some research, I think I understand why Jesus uses those words at times when referring to His Father. Whom did God “send” in the Old Testament scriptures? He sent Moses to lead the people of Israel and be His spokesman. He sent the prophets to declare His words to His people and speak of things to come. He also sent “the Angel of the Lord” to protect and defend His people. Earlier in his Gospel, the apostle John said, in chapter 3, verse 17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” The apostle Paul says in Galatians 4:4, “In the fullness of time God sent His Son . . .”. By using the words “Him who sent Me”, Jesus is telling His listeners: “You can’t believe the Sender and not believe the One who was sent.” To put it another way, “You can’t believe in the One who sent His Son without believing in the Son Whom He sent.”

The Lord Jesus is telling His listeners, and each of us, the relationship between hearing and believing. Both knowledge and faith are involved in salvation. The apostle John’s thinking about faith is unique to the New Testament. Faith is based on the testimony of historical witnesses. At that particular point in time, Jesus was giving a testimony about Himself, and that testimony was authenticated by the Father. Eternal life was the result of listening to that testimony and choosing, by God’s enabling, to believe Him by putting their trust in Him as their Messiah, the Son of God, sent by the Father. At that moment eternal life began. The focus of Jesus Christ in verse 24 is on the object of one’s faith. The Lord Jesus has just been telling them that He is equal to the Father in working (verse 19), in knowing (verse 20), in resurrecting (verse 21), in judging (verse 22), in honor (verse 23), and now in regenerating (verse 24). They have received Jesus’ testimony concerning Himself. Now He is inviting a response from them. Only faith in Him as the Son of God and the Father’s Representative results in “eternal life, no judgment, and passing from death to life”. No One else and nothing else can bring those gifts as a result. Only Jesus Christ is equal to the Father in regenerating – giving spiritual life. As Jesus said in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand”. “Following” is the outward evidence of genuine belief.

You and I have saving faith when we understand what the Bible says about Jesus Christ, and when we act upon that truth by putting our trust in Him as our Lord and Savior. When that happens, events occur in heaven and in your lives. It will be a life-changing event, as the Lord Jesus begins to conform us to His image and as we take delight in spending time with Him in His Word and prayer. So the words “eternal life” also refer to a change in the quality of our lives while we are on this earth.

Dr. H.A, Ironside, the famous Bible expositor and pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago a generation ago, said that a friend of his preached on a similar passage of Scripture, John 3:36. At the close of the meeting, his friend went down to the church door to greet people as they were leaving. A lady who was troubled about her soul came by the door and the preacher looked at her and said, “Well, how is it with you tonight? How is your soul; have you been born-again? Are you saved?”

She said, “I don’t know, sir. I hope so.”

He said, “Well let me go over that text with you again. It says, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Do you believe in the Son?”

She said, “Oh yes, I do sir. I believe in Jesus Christ.”

He said, “Well, do you have everlasting life?”

She said, “I hope so.”

He said, “Well, let’s look at the verse again: he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Do you believe in the Son?”

She said, “Yes I do.”

“Do you have everlasting life?”

“I certainly hope so.”

“Well, read it again”

And so they went through the same thing again, and finally he said to her, “You know, when you were a little girl they spelled very differently from what they did when I was a boy.”

She looked at him and said, “What do you mean; I’m not so much older than you.”

He said, “Well, evidently when you were a girl, H-A-T-H spelled hope. When I was a little boy, H-A-T-H spelled hath.”

She said, “Oh! I see it! He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life!”

It makes you wonder how many truly born-again Christians are still hoping for something that they already have! I say that because, on the night I believed in Jesus Christ, after having the Gospel message presented to me, and all my questions answered, I memorized several verses on assurance of salvation, including John 5:24, before going to bed that night. The concept and the promise were so amazing to me that I needed to go over and over that realization in my mind so that I could remove all doubts and enjoy what was now mine.

The promise of the Lord Jesus in verse 24 not only includes the free gift of eternal life which we do not deserve; it also removes the judgment that our sins really deserve. The believer “does not come into judgment”. A poll conducted for the Times Mirror Company in 1993, revealed that more than four out of every five Americans agree that “we all will be called before God, at judgment day, to answer for our sins.” I was surprised to find that figure to be so high, only because I wasn’t expecting people to be so honest and willing to admit their own accountability to God.

Dr. H.A. Ironside said that one of the first illustrations that ever made a real impression upon his young heart was a simple story which he heard a preacher tell when Harry was less than nine years old. It was of pioneers who were making their way across one of the central states to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteading. They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was necessarily slow. One day they were terrified to note a long line of smoke in the west, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was evident that the dry grass was burning fiercely and coming toward them rapidly. They had crossed a river one day before but it would be impossible to go back to that before the flames would be upon them. One man only seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when the space was burned over, the whole company moved back upon it. As the flames roared on toward them from the west, a little girl cried out in terror. “Are you sure we shall not all be burned up?” The leader replied, “My child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has already been!”

What a picture of the believer, who is safe in Christ!

“On Him Almighty vengeance fell,
Which would have sunk a world to hell.
He bore it for a chosen race,
And thus becomes our Hiding Place.”

The fires of God’s judgment burned themselves out on Him, and all who are in Christ are safe forever, for we are standing where the fire has been.(H.A. Ironside, Illustrations of Bible Truth).

Verse 24 ends with the words, “but has passed out of death into life”. The Lord Jesus is saying that those who believe in Him immediately pass from spiritual death and judgment into spiritual life, never to be condemned. The only way this could be possible would be for Jesus to be judged in our place and pay the penalty Himself, which He would accomplish on the cross of Calvary (Philippians 2:5-8). For those of us who have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, our judgment is now in the past, paid-in-full, and God the Father has signed off the debt. It’s written in blood – the blood of His Son. A change of reservations was made. Your reservation for hell was immediately canceled and your reservation for heaven was immediately written down in the book compliments of the Owner (your Heavenly Father). You have first-class accommodations awaiting you, and you will be treated like family forever because you’re a child of God!

Looking at verses 24-29, I personally observe five resurrections mentioned by Jesus. In each case, the resurrection came to pass as a result of the words of Jesus. In verse 24, we have already looked at the first resurrection – the spiritual regeneration and resurrection of all who hear Jesus’ words and believe. At the moment of genuine belief in Him as Lord and Savior, one has eternal life, release from the condemnation for one’s sin, has passed from spiritual death to spiritual life, and has a changed life. The second resurrection is given in verse 25. I believe that Jesus is referring to the physical resurrections from the dead that He is going to perform while on this earth. At that point in time the Lord Jesus hadn’t performed any resurrection miracles yet, but they were soon to come. There were three of them recorded in God’s Word, and in each case, the resurrections occurred at the voice of Jesus. The third resurrection is given in verse 26, and I believe that Jesus is referring to His own physical resurrection from the dead in fulfillment of His words. The fourth resurrection, in verses 27-29a is the resurrection of life – the call of believers to the judgment seat of Christ. The fifth resurrection, mentioned at the end of verse 29, is the resurrection of unbelievers to judgment and condemnation. In this sermon, we are studying the first two resurrections and will save the other three for the next construction project. There is much yet to learn from verse 25.

II. RESURRECTIONS TO PHYSICAL LIFE (verse 25)

In verse 25, the Lord Jesus makes the same oath again, saying “Truly, truly, I say to you”. I take those words to mean that Jesus is about to say something different; that He is attesting to something else that He is going to do. He says, “An hour is coming and now is.” There are things that are going to be happening, and they are just about to happen. What is it that’s about to occur? The Lord Jesus continues, “when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.” My conclusion is that Jesus is talking about those people whom He is going to physically raise from the dead while He is here on this earth. He has not performed any physical resurrection-miracles yet, but it’s going to start happening very soon.

Before we look at the resurrection-miracles of Jesus, let’s first look at the physical resurrection-miracles in the Old Testament so that we can use them as a basis of comparison. In I Kings 17, the son of the widow at Zarephath dies, and we see Elijah’s response and God’s answer: “Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child’s life return to him’. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived.” (I Kings 17:21-22). The restoration to physical life came as an answer to prayer. God was the One Who resurrected the child, not Elijah.

The second resurrection-miracle is found in II Kings 4:32-35. The Shunammite’s son dies and Elisha’s response is similar to that of Elijah. “So he entered and shut the door behind them both, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child . . . and the flesh of the child became warm . . . and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes.” Once again God restored life in answer to prayer.

By contrast, when Jesus raised the dead, He didn’t pray or apply “life-saving techniques”. He spoke or gave the command and the person was instantly restored to life. “Talitha Kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” (Mark 5:41). “Young man, I say to you, arise!” (Luke 7:14). “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43). They came back to life as a result of hearing His voice. God alone can do that – give life and restore life by just saying the word! In the account of creation in Genesis, we find God saying, “Let there be” , . . “and there was”. Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.” The patriarch Job said, “The breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Jesus’ resurrection-miracles, and the way in which they were performed, were irrefutable proof that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. The people who watched those miracles occur could come to no other rational, logical, or Scriptural conclusion! They already believed that God is the Creator, and the only Creator and Controller of the universe. Therefore Jesus Christ must be God.

The Jewish leaders, as well as all of the Jews, revered Elijah because of his amazing miracles, especially the raising of the widow of Zarephath’s son. But as you can see, the Lord Jesus is infinitely greater than Elijah, and Elijah would wholeheartedly agree.

CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION:

Jesus claimed the power to raise people from the dead. Did you notice that the dead always responded to the voice of the Lord? What about the living? How did they respond? That’s a different story, isn’t it? Very few of those who heard the words of Jesus and saw His signs, even His resurrection of people from the dead, responded in faith, and followed Him. But did that stop Jesus from continuing to declare Who He was, or from explaining God’s plan of salvation? Not at all!

I may have shared a principle with you before, but it bears repeating because I have observed that Jesus followed this principle during His ministry on earth. Here is the principle: “Expose people to as much truth over as long a period of time as they will allow you.” It’s important that we understand the first word in that quote. The rest of the words are evident. The word “expose” means to communicate, not only by our words but also by our lives. People are looking for truth, and most of them not only want to see it in writing and hear it spoken but also to observe it being lived out in a person’s life. People want truth that will set them free from their hopelessness and emptiness, and bring purpose, meaning, joy, and direction into their lives. If we are truly Christians, indwelt and empowered by the Spirit of God, our lives will be evidenced by a love for God and His Word, a love for people, a hope for the future, and joy in spite of circumstances. Is that a description of you? If so, don’t become discouraged in your witness. Keep growing in your walk with the Lord and faithfully being a witness for Him by word and by life. The Spirit of God is working in the lives of people. Many of those who may be silently watching you and questioning the things you are saying, may later want what you have and be ready to know the Giver of life eternal. Nothing we do in obedience to the Lord is without reward in this life and the next.

If you are not a Christian, are you willing to give more thought and consideration to the One who raised the dead by just saying the words? If Jesus Christ can have such power over physical life and can give eternal life, imagine what He can do in your life if you put your trust in Him.

CONSTRUCTION SITE: COMPLETED

There are also over 100 completed sermons on this website and it’s always “Open House” here. Please take a look around the block! There are sermons from Philippians, James, Jonah, the Gospel of John, and other seasonal and assorted messages. Thanks for taking a look, and may the Lord bless your time in His Word.

BEHOLD YOUR GOD – Background and Survey of the Gospel of John

Bible sermons, Gospel of John - background and survey, the Word of Life, Uncategorized

FORWARD:

This study through the Gospel of John is going to keep us busy for over a year, and possibly over two years. The apostle John says in I John 1:1, “From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in – we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! (The Message).

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to see the Lord Jesus face-to-face, to hear His voice, to hear Him call you by name, to embrace Him, to watch the expressions on His face, and to observe all the things He said and did while He was on this earth? Does thinking about that fill your hearts with joy and excitement? My desire is to try to imagine and simulate that first-hand experience as I study the text. I plan to incorporate more of the Old Testament scriptures and the other three Gospels into the study, where appropriate, so that we might see Him in as much detail, and with as much clarity as possible.

I. INTRODUCTION:

Was there ever a time in your life when you asked yourself the question: “Which book of the Bible should I read first?” Has anybody ever asked you that same question, seeking your advice? A question that is often asked by Bible translation teams is “Which book of the Bible should we translate first?” The answer to those two questions is often the same: the Gospel of John.

William MacDonald made this observation: “The Gospel of John is the most familiar and perhaps the best loved book in the Bible. Charles R. Erdman says of this Gospel: “It has induced more people to follow Christ, it has inspired more believers to loyal service, it has presented to scholars more difficult problems, than any other book that could be named.”

II. WHY ARE THERE FOUR GOSPELS?

That’s a commonly asked question also: “Why are there four gospels?” Actually, there is one gospel, written from the perspective of four different men who were moved by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote.

Matthew, formerly named Levi, was a Jewish tax collector who became a follower of Christ. His purpose in writing was to demonstrate to his fellow-Jews that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the “anointed One”, whose coming was prophesied in the Old Testament scriptures. He begins his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus going back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. Matthew also quotes from the Old Testament scriptures more often than any other gospel-writer. His intention is to show that Jesus fulfilled the prophesies that were written concerning the coming Messiah.

Mark, also called John Mark, focuses on the Lord Jesus as a servant. A theme verse is Mark 10:45 where Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His live as a ransom for many.” (NIV) We find no genealogy in Mark’s gospel, but we see Jesus involved in the lives of people.

Luke is writing to the Greeks, and looks at Jesus as a man. Many of the Greek gods and goddesses had a pretty-sordid history and didn’t relate well to people. The genealogy in Luke’s gospel goes all the way back to Adam, showing that Jesus was truly a member of the human race. Luke also gives more insights into the birth and childhood of Jesus than any other gospel writer.

John looks at Jesus as God. He focuses on the deity of Christ. John’s gospel contains no details about the birth or the childhood of Christ. It also contains no parables, no temptation scene, no Gethsemane, and no mention of scribes, publicans, lepers, or demoniacs.

III. WHO WAS THE AUTHOR?

The writer of this account of the life and teachings of Christ was John, the son of Zebedee. He and his brother James were fishermen along with their father. While James and John were mending their nets, Jesus came by and called out to them, asking them to come and follow Him (Mt. 4:21-22; Mk. 1:19-20; Lk. 5:9-11). They both immediately left their nets and followed Him. John outlived the other disciples and wrote three letters. He also wrote “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” while living as an exile on the island of Patmos. In this writing, John gives a message to each of the seven churches in Asia and writes down a description of the visions he received from God

IV. WHAT WAS JOHN’S PURPOSE?

We find John’s purpose for writing his gospel near the end of his book. John 20:30-31 says, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” (NIV) John’s purpose was to provide the answer to these two questions: First, “Who is Jesus Christ?” And secondly, “What is to be our proper response to Him on the basis of who He is?”

Since John’s Gospel was the last to be written, and the others were already being copied and distributed, it makes me wonder whether Matthew, Mark, and Luke might have met with John concerning certain events which were not included in their accounts. If so, the apostle John did a good job of “filling in the blanks” as well as focusing his attention on the deity of Christ!

There are three key words in John 20:30-31, and they need a bit of an explanation:

“Signs” – John recorded six miracles that are not recorded in the other gospels: the water changed into wine (chapter 2), the nobleman’s son healed (chapter 4), the paralyzed man healed (chapter 5), the healing of the man born blind (chapter 9), the raising of Lazarus from the dead (chapter 11), and the second great catch of fish (chapter 21). Each one of these miracles, or signs, demonstrates Christ’s deity and authority. These signs were performed on other people or for the benefit of other people.

“Believe” – is the response that these signs were intended to produce. The word is used 98 times in John’s gospel and refers to a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. We find in John’s gospel that those who believed in Jesus Christ became His followers, whereas those who refused to believe became His opponents.

“Life” – refers to the result that belief brings. In John 5:24 Jesus said, “i tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (NIV) Eternal life begins at the moment that we invite Jesus Christ to come into our lives and be our Savior and Lord. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus said that we can have an abundant and fulfilling life right now if we belong to Him.

V. WHAT WERE JOHN’S METHODS?

John records the testimonies of seven eye-witnesses:

John the Baptist – “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me. . . . And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:30-34)

Nathanael – “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49)

The Samaritan woman – “Come, see a man who told me all the things I have done; this is not the Christ, is it”? . . . 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.” (John 4:29, 39).

Peter – “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.” (John 6:68-69).

Martha – Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” (John 11:27)

Thomas – “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God’ “. (John 20:28).

John – “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God”. (John 20:31)

Each of these people had personal conversations with Jesus and proclaimed that Jesus was God.

John also records the seven “I am’s” of Jesus, (Jesus reveals Himself seven times using the words “I am”).

“I am the bread of life” (chapter 6)

“I am the light of the world” (chapters 8 and 9)

“I am the door” (chapter 10)

“I am the good shepherd” (chapter 10)

“I am the resurrection and the life” (chapter 11)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (chapter 14)

“I am the true vine” (chapter 15)

In each of these descriptions of Himself, Jesus points to His deity, and thus His ability to meet their deepest needs. Also, each time Jesus uses that format to describe Himself, He is bringing to their minds the question that Moses asked the voice that was coming from the burning bush, and the answer he received. In Exodus 3:!3, Moses said to God, “behold I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, ‘the God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ “Now they may say to me, ”What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” In verse 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you. That was God’s covenant name to the Jewish people, and Jesus is using it to refer to Himself (YHWH, usually pronounced as Yahweh or Jehovah).

Finally, John records 27 personal interviews with Jesus. Some of them were extensive and some were very brief. The Lord Jesus wanted people of all belief systems and all walks of life to know who He really is, and that He cares for them.

If the things that John is saying about Jesus Christ are hard for you to believe at this point in your life, you are not alone. John will be giving more and more evidence to verify Jesus’ claims. Please continue to study this book with me and give it some thought and reflection. I have personally observed that many people, including myself, have had an unclear concept of Jesus Christ and His teachings. The Gospel of John, more than any other New Testament book, cleared my mind and changed my heart. That is one of the reasons why I want to study it again.

It’s time to move on to the next construction site: John 1:1-3. I hope to see you there!

IT’S A NEW YEAR!

Bible sermon, death, heaven, hedonism, Joy, Matthew 5, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, old age, overworked?, People, Worried?

Are you in the habit of making New Year’s resolutions? One dictionary defines a resolution as “a firm decision to do or not to do something”. Another dictionary says: “a serious decision to do something.” From those definitions, I get the impression that resolutions are choices that we commit ourselves to do. What are you looking forward to in this new year? What are you dreading? What do you hope to find? What choices did you make last year? Are you satisfied with those choices? The search engine Google put a short film on U-Tube entitled “What Did The World Search For This Year.” It focused on personal and world events that made life worth living in 2013. At the end of the film are written these words: “Search On“. I hope that you have come to this site to gain an eternal perspective on life, and to seek God’s wisdom to guide you on your continuing search for answers and meaning to life. The Bible tells us that there are only two things in this world that are going to last forever: God’s Word and people. In Matthew 24:35 the Lord Jesus told the parable of the fig tree, and said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” In I Peter 1:24-25 the apostle Peter quotes from Isaiah 40 when he says: “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever.” The other entity that lasts forever is people. They will live forever in one of two places: heaven or hell. In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My words, and believes in Him who sent Me, has eternal life. He will not come to judgment, but has passed from death to life.” By contrast, the apostle John records in Revelation 20 what he saw in a vision: “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it. . . . And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. . . . And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” The wonderful and exciting thing about heaven is that it lasts forever. The terrible and terrifying thing about hell is that it lasts forever. Each year brings you closer to death, and also to eternity. May you choose to have a joyful eternity by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Savior and Lord. Then every day and every year until eternity will be filled with joy, inner peace, and unfading hope.

Thank you for visiting, and a happy New Year to you!