John 5:31-47, Testimony that Christ Has Told the Truth

Jesus made great, and important, claims: He is able to bring life to those who are dead, and He is the judge of all mankind.  Jesus anticipated what the Jews were thinking, and perhaps what you are thinking.  How do we know this is true?  His testimony about Himself wasn’t enough.  Even Jesus acknowledged this (v31).  He could be lying, or He could be crazy.  How can we know?  Because Jesus gave solid proof for His claims, bringing five witnesses to the witness stand. 

·       The Testimony of John the Baptist, 5:32-35.  This was important to the Jews but should be to us as well.  The Old Testament predicted a “forerunner” who would announce the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1).  John was that forerunner (John 1:6,33-34).  Of Jesus he said, “It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose” (Jn. 1:27).

·       The testimony of the works of Jesus, v36.  Jesus was referring to the miracles by which He revealed His glory.  We have studied some of these already: turning water to wine, healing the nobleman’s son, and healing the man by the pool of Bethesda.  We have seen how His miracles are a sign of who He is as the Son of God and how they encourage us to believe in Him.

·       The testimony of God the Father, v37-38.  The Gospels tell us about three times that God the Father spoke from heaven, honoring His Son (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 12:28).  Undoubtedly there were people in Jerusalem, as He said this, who had been with John the Baptist when Jesus came and was baptized.  The Father spoke for all to hear: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

·       The testimony of the Old Testament Scriptures, v39-40.  There are many prophecies recorded by the Prophets in the Old Testament, about the coming of the Messiah.  He would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14).  He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  He would be of the lineage of King David (2 Sam. 7:16; Psalm 2:6-9).  Jesus fulfilled all these and many more.

·       The testimony of Moses, v45-47.  Moses is part of the Old Testament, of course.  But Jesus singles Him out because the Jews held Moses in such high regard.  Moses predicted that Messiah would be descended from Eve (Gen. 3:15), then Abraham (Gen. 12:2-3), and the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10).  Moses wrote of the sacrificial system of worship, all of which predicted the Messiah who would be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Yet, the Jews were resisting Jesus; they did not believe what Moses said.

Why did they reject their Messiah?  In 5:41-44, Jesus gives the answer.  They did not really love God.  They did not seek to honor God.  They were more interested in honoring each other, but not God.  That is the bottom line for all who will not receive Christ.  They are unwilling to submit themselves to their Creator. 

John 5:19-30, Passing from Death to Life

Jesus claimed to be one with the Father, doing the same work, having the same ability to give life, agreeing in judgment, and sharing the same glory.  Why was it important for Jesus to present this to the Jews who were persecuting Him (v16)?  The reason is that Jesus is the essence of the gospel, the good news by which people can be saved.  What do we mean?

Look at 5:25-30.  Jesus speaks of the same things as He did in 5:19-23: He has life in Himself, as does the Father, and He has been given authority to judge.  But now He says these things in the context of resurrection.  A day is coming when the dead will hear His voice, the voice of Christ, and will live.  “All who are in the graves will hear His voice” (v28).  At that time, He will also exercise His authority to judge.  The result of His judgment will be that some will be raised to a resurrection of life and some to a resurrection of condemnation (v29). 

There are two things to note as to why Jesus is the judge of all mankind.  First, He has been given this authority by the Father because “He is the Son of Man” (v27).  Jesus is a qualified judge of mankind because Jesus became one of us.  Second, He sought and did the will of His Father while on earth.  In His earthly life He endured all the temptations that any person experiences, and He endured them all without sinning (Heb. 4:15).  He experienced death, our final enemy (1 Cor. 15:26.)  In all His sufferings, Jesus was perfected.  This means He completed the course His Father had for Him.  “Having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:8-9).

This should bring us to a question: since after I die, I am going to be resurrected, and I am going to stand before Jesus in judgment, how can I be assured that I will be raised to a resurrection of life and not of condemnation?  The answer to that question is in 5:24. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

In other words, there is good news.  The good news is all about who Jesus Christ was and what He did.  It took someone who could live this life without sin, so that in His death He could pay the price of the sins of everyone else.  This is what Jesus told Nicodemus (John 3:16) and the woman of Samaria (John 4:13-14).

In a previous paragraph we quoted from Hebrews: “Having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”  You may have wondered: what obedience must I give Him?  You and I, we cannot be perfect as He was because we are already sinners.  The obedience is this: “he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me.”  That one has received the good news of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

John 5:10-23, The Oneness of the Father and Son

You might have noticed that we were not told if the man who was healed at Bethesda also trusted in Christ as Messiah.  We do see that Jesus later ran into the man and uttered some interesting words: “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you (v14).”  What does this mean?  We know from a later story (Jn. 9:1-3) that bad things in our lives are not always the result of sins we commit.  On the other hand, pain is the result of the entrance of sin into God’s good creation in Gen. 3.  It may be that Jesus knew that this man’s malady had been the result of sin.  Or He may have been saying that this disease was God’s way of bringing the man to saving faith.  At the least Jesus is saying, “God has your attention; turn to Him so He doesn’t have to get it again.”  If an event in our lives gets us thinking about spiritual things, we need to be sure and consider our response to God in that event.

Why would the man not want to trust in Christ? That question leads us on in the story where we see that, sure enough, there were people who were not that receptive to Jesus and His ministry.  “The Jews” (v10) refers to the leadership of the Jewish nation.  This happened in Jerusalem, the seat of Judaism; and it was during a feast when religion was in the forefront.  The man, from what we can tell, was concerned about breaking the Sabbath rules and getting in trouble.  Thus, he gave Jesus’ name to “the Jews” as soon as he had identified Jesus as the problem.

Jesus’ response to the accusation or charge was not to make the Sabbath the issue.  He made Himself the issue, right from the start.  He admitted that, indeed, He had done this thing, and that it was not only His work, but the work of His Father.  In other words, Jesus not only told the man to work on the Sabbath; He also claimed He was working on the Sabbath, as was His Father.  Don’t miss this clear point: Jesus’ identification of Himself with His Father was a claim to deity.  He was not being “subtle” or “tricky.”  The Jews heard Him clearly.  And, the rest of John 5 is Jesus’ conversation with the Jews on this very claim.  As always, Jesus did not back down but, as we might say, He doubled down on this claim.  Jesus says that He and His Father are in perfect union on:

·       The work that Jesus has done and will do on earth, v19-20. 

·       The ability to “give life” to the dead, v21.  This is the “greater works” Jesus refers to in v20.  Later in His ministry, the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn. 11) would be a climactic event leading up to Jesus’ death.  His own resurrection would be the greatest evidence that He is the Son of God (Jn. 2:18-22; Rom. 1:4).

·       The judgment of all people, v22.  The Father has given all judgment to the Son.  In every future judgment, Christ will be the judge.  Even more, Christ will be the basis of the judgment of all people.  Review John 3:18-19 and you will see this.

·       The honor and glory of the Godhead, v23.  There is no thought of a greater and lesser God.  As Jesus said, and the Jews understood: He is equal with the Father.

John 5:1-9, Jesus Heals the Hopeless and Helpless

In the first miracle at Cana, we saw Jesus as Creator, instantly making wine from water.  Faith was seen as obedience; the servants did as Jesus commanded, even though it made little sense to them to take pots of water to the ruler of the feast.  The path to eternal life required a new creation, a change that only God can bring.  In the second miracle, we saw Jesus as the God who is everywhere present.  The nobleman believed because he took Jesus at His word.  We see in this that Jesus offered healing from sin’s fatal disease.  Now, we come to the third miracle recorded by John, the healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda.

In this story, Jesus was in Jerusalem for “a feast of the Jews.”  We don’t know which one, but apparently, it’s not important (or the Spirit would have made sure we did know).  The entirety of John 6 takes place at this time, and we learn that the healing of this man was on the Sabbath (5:9) not necessarily the seventh day of the week, but more likely a holy day associated with the feast).  What the feast does tell us is that there were a lot of people in Jerusalem at the time.  Thus, the miracle and related teaching of Jesus were witnessed by many people.

“Bethesda” means “house of mercy.”  It was near the sheep gate, and there is evidence that sheep were washed in the pool before being sacrificed on the nearby temple mount.  Having five porches means there were likely a lot of people there.  There is a question about verses 3-4 that say an angel came down to stir the waters, and that the first to step into the water was healed.  Older manuscripts do not have this part of the text.  However, v7 also refers to the stirring of the pool.  Whether or not it was an angel, the man’s difficulty was that he could not get to the water for whatever healing powers were available in the stirring.  He was in a hopeless situation, having the infirmity for thirty-eight years, helpless, unable to move himself, and without family or friends to get him there.

On this day, the Lamb of God came to the pool where the lambs were prepared for sacrifice.  Jesus saw the man, the one man out of the many at the pool.  He learned the man’s situation.  He didn’t ask him if he had faith, but simply said, “do you want to be made well?”  Then Jesus simply spoke the word: “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”  It happened immediately.

Again, this story speaks to us of Jesus’ offer of eternal life to all who believe in Him.  Our situation apart from Christ is hopeless.  As Paul put it, we are “without hope and without God in the world.”  We are helpless to save ourselves.  And likewise, no friends or loved ones can help us either.  The only one who can help is the Lord, and it only takes His word:  “… the gospel of Christ … is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).  Faith takes Christ at His word and immediately begins to walk in newness of life.

Psalm 136

First, let us note the simple outline of this Hymn.

·         136:1-3: the call to give thanks for God's eternal mercy.

·         136:4-9: thanks for God’s eternal mercy in creation.

·         136:10-22: thanks for God’s eternal mercy to Israel.

·         136:23-26: again, a call to give thanks to God for His eternal mercy.

What a wonderful Psalm.  The message is clear: give thanks to God for His mercy endured forever, a phrase repeated 26 times in 26 verses.  But the message of God’s faithfulness is even more profound if you consider the backdrop.

Mercy is the Hebrew checed.  It is translated sometimes as lovingkindness, favour, goodness as well as mercy.  At its root is the idea of zealous desire.  God only does good; He has a deep desire to do good.  Meditate on that for a moment.

Then there is olawm, forever.  The root of this term is hidden; it’s as if the clock is hidden.  There is simply no thought of time.  So that’s a definition.  But look at this word in the context of Israel and you will understand why this Psalm reflects on God’s zealous love in the particular historical events it mentions.

·         Gen. 13:15: God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants the land he had come to and it would be theirs forever (olawm).

·         Gen. 17:7,13,19: God promised Abraham that the covenant He made with him would be an everlasting (olawm) covenant.

·         Gen. 17:8: Again, God promised to give the land to Abraham and his descendants forever (olawm).

·         Gen. 21:33: For years Abraham did not own any of the land on which he lived, though God promised it to him.  But after many years there came a time when he made peace with the inhabitants of the land in the South (Negev area) and they recognized Beersheba as belonging to Abraham.  At that point Abraham a tree and there called on the LORD, giving Him the name El Olawm, the Everlasting God.  Note: he did not build an altar; he did that many times.  But he planted a tree, something in the land that would outlive him.

Psalm 136 recognizes God’s eternal mercy to Israel and to all flesh (v25)!  Meditate on this today, especially if you have entered into the New Covenant.  It also is a forever covenant.  Give thanks to God, and trust in His zealous love.

John 4:43-54, Eternal Life is a Miracle

What a powerful story.  This is the second of seven miracles recorded in John 1-12.  According to John 20:30-31, there are three purposes for these events:

·       To teach the nature of faith: “that you may believe.”

·       To teach the person of Christ: “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”

·       To teach the path of life: “that you may have life in His name.”

Let’s consider this story.  Jesus had spent two days in Samaria (v43) but then moved on to Galilee, the original destination (v3).  He went to Galilee because “a prophet has no honor in his own country.”  Luke’s Gospel tells us what this is about (Lk. 4:14-31).  Jesus had gone to His country, Nazareth, and preached in the synagogue.  His message was rejected and they tried to kill Him by pushing Him over a cliff.  They could not get past the fact that Joseph’s son, having grown up in Nazareth, claimed to be Messiah.  Thus, Jesus moved His ministry to Capernaum.

From there, Jesus went all around the Galilee area.  In this story He is back in Cana, about sixteen miles southwest of Capernaum.  We don’t know a lot about the nobleman.  The fact that he didn’t send one of his servants to Jesus but made the journey himself indicates the seriousness of the situation and his love for his son.

Jesus’ initial response might sound like He was frustrated (v48), but it’s quite possible He was just stating a fact.  Jesus’ words make clear why He was about to do what was asked.  It was not because of His love for the man or his son, even though we know that Jesus did have that love.  The event served a purpose for the people.  Three terms describe this event.  It was a sign, evidence of Jesus’ glory (deity).  It was a wonder because it defied human experience.  And it was a miracle, meaning “a powerful event,” because it demonstrated the power of God. 

The healing of the son from a distance proved the deity of Jesus.  God, by definition, is “immense,” meaning He transcends all spatial limitations.  As Jeremiah put it, He is a God near AND far off; He fills heaven and earth (Jer. 23:23-24; cf. also Psalm 139:7-12). 

We also see what it means to “believe.”  It is to take Him at His word.  The man believed his son was healed, even before the servants told him.  His faith was seen in the fact that he did not stay with Jesus to make sure.  His life was changed.

In addition, we see what it means to be “saved.”  It is healing for souls that are on sin’s death-bed.  But when we take Christ at His word, we are healed.  This is the life Jesus offers to all who believe in Him.  According to v53, the nobleman not only believed that his son was healed; he and his household believed in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. 

How about you?  Do you believe the testimony of Jesus?

John 4:27-38, A Lifetime Feast

Jesus’ disciples, who had gone into Sychar to the local “McFalafel” for some lunch, returned as the conversation was concluding.  They were surprised that Jesus was talking to a woman, but said nothing.  After all, they were the “disciples” and He was their Rabbi.  Or perhaps they were physically hungry and wanted to eat.  The one thing they did say to Jesus was, “Rabbi, eat!”  That’s all they needed to say for the “Rabbi” to turn the occasion into a teaching opportunity for His disciples.

For the woman, the subject was the “living water,” because she was coming to draw water.  For the disciples, the subject was “real food,” because they were thinking about lunch.  As with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman, the disciples had to transition from the earthly picture to the heavenly truth.  Jesus said, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”  The disciples wondered if someone had given him food while they were in town.  Jesus satisfied their curiosity:

My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.

Jesus had a pre-occupation with His Father’s will.  That is not a bad thing.  It’s not being “too heavenly minded to be any earthly good,” as we are sometimes told.  We see it in the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:10) and at Gethsemane (Mt. 26:42).  Jesus wanted nothing but to please the One who sent Him (John 5:30; 6:38).  Jesus specifically tells us the Father’s will for the Son in John 6:39-40:

This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Jesus knows this because it is the Father’s decree from eternity past in which the Father promised to give the Son the nations as an inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession (Ps. 2:7-8).  For the nations to become the people of Christ, He must die for their sins so they can believe in Him; and He must defeat death in His resurrection so He can raise them up at the last day.  This is the work the Father gave Him and which He finished (John 17:4).  And note: this is the reason He had to go through Samaria (John 4:4).  He needed to gather some of those the Father had given Him.  And He needed to teach His disciples, then and today, to set aside their prejudices so they also could do the Father’s work.

Jesus opened the eyes of His followers to the harvest.  Some believe the “white” fields were the Samaritans coming out of the city to see the Messiah.  The “real food” for us is to be involved in bringing others to Christ by sowing and reaping.  The gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection must be sown in the world, and as the Holy Spirit does His work of regeneration, those who hear the gospel must be called to believe in Him.  Am I obsessed with the Father’s will?  Are you?

John 4:19-30,39-42, Gospel Bridges (Woman at the Well, 5)

Jesus, calling attention to the woman’s marital situation astounded her.  How Jesus knew this we don’t know.  Some think He may have overheard other women talking about her as she approached the well.  He may have known it by divine knowledge granted by His Father.  In our own attempts to build bridges to people around us, after a while it will not be uncommon for us to learn the things in their lives that cause guilt.  After awhile, she could see that this conversation was not about well-water but spiritual water.

Anyway, she immediately went to her basic spiritual foundation, the Samaritan religion of the people of Samaria.  I say it that way to point out that her religion was what was common in Sychar.  It’s not that she was devout or even knowledgeable.  It was what everyone did.  Devout or not, her religion was a stumbling block to meeting Christ because her religion did not have a place for the Jewish Messiah.

o   The need to reject false foundations, v19-24. 

One of the amazing things about this conversation is how short it is.  Jesus built the bridge, crossed over to the woman, and brought her back in what may not have been more than five minutes.  Our conversations with people may take much longer.  But sometimes they take a lot of time because we spend too much time debunking someone’s religion.  In v21-24, Jesus debunked her religion (“you worship what you do not know; … salvation is of the Jews”), and without giving her a chance to respond, brought her to the essence of true religion: worshiping the Father in spirit and truth!  He rejected her false foundation, but then immediately moved the conversation on from it.

Among other things, the Samaritan Bible consists only of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) and there are thousands of differences between their text and the one we are familiar with in the Hebrew Bible.  Jesus could have spent a year discussing all these things with this woman and she would have never come to Christ.  He gave a true and clear response, but did not linger on the details so He could get to her deepest need.  Jesus undoubtedly understood that, as with many people, her religious question was just a diversion. 

o   The need to meet Christ, v25-26.

Jesus met every obstacle raised by the woman.  She tried to get out of the conversation by proposing they wait for Messiah to show up.  Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, knew that now was the time to introduce Himself.  He did not start the conversation by announcing who He was; she wasn’t ready.  He didn’t delay and neither did she, as v39-42 indicate.  Immediately, she did what a saved person does: she told all her friends.  The living water was already springing up in her soul!

Today, it is the same.  As Jesus offered living water to all the Samaritans of Sychar, so He offers living water to all who hear His word and believe in Him.  “This is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

John 4:15-18; Luke 18:9-14, Gospel Bridges (4)

·       Bring others back across the bridge to life by meeting the deepest spiritual needs, v15-26.  Again, the work of the Holy Spirit is essential in this.  Like Nicodemus, the woman of Samaria also needed to be born again.  Jesus did not speak of that with her, but it is still true.  You must be born again (3:7).  Of course, Jesus did not tell Nicodemus about the living water.  The pictures are different.  And the two individuals are at different places spiritually. 

Yet, if you look at these deep spiritual needs, both had to come to grips with them: the need to acknowledge sin, to reject false foundations, and to meet Christ.  For Nicodemus, he came thinking he was generally a good person and not a sinner.  He rested on the false foundation of works in Judaism.  He did not meet Christ by faith on the night of his conversation with Jesus.  We think he did at a later time.  Now, let’s look at how the deepest needs of this woman were met by Jesus.

o   The need to acknowledge sin, v15-18.

If you ask someone, “would you like to go to heaven when you die,” you will likely get a “yes” answer.  Who wouldn’t want that?  The problem is, heaven is not just a place for dead people.  It is the ultimate experience of our relationship with God.  There can be no sin in heaven because sin separates us from God.

Jesus offered the woman living water by which she would never again thirst.  She responded, “give me that water!”  Who wouldn’t want that?  But again, living water is a picture of the refreshing, abundant life of one who is in relationship with God, and it springs up within them, like a gushing spring of pure water, into everlasting life.  What Jesus is offering cannot coexist with a heart full of sin. 

The Bible is consistent on this subject.  Only those who are sick (i.e. who recognize their spiritual sickness) will desire a doctor (Christ, the Savior; Lk. 5:31-32).  Only one who knows how sinful they are and who has been forgiven by God will truly love God (Lk. 7:36-50).  Jesus’ three “lost” parables in Luke 15 (lost sheep, lost coin, lost son) make this point.  The Pharisees could not be “found” because they would not recognize they were “lost.”  Jesus told of two men praying: one who congratulated himself for his good soul and one who lamented his sinful soul; only the latter was justified (Lk. 18:9-14).  The rich ruler would not trust in Christ because he would not recognize the sin in his life when Jesus pointed it out (Lk. 18:18-30).  On the other hand, Zaccheus repented of his sin and guilt and Jesus rejoiced that salvation had come to Zaccheus’ house (Lk. 19:1-10). 

Does the woman desire living water?  Then there must be a thirst for this water.  This thirst will not be truly awakened unless there be a sense of guilt, a consciousness of sin.  The mention of her husband is the best means of reminding this woman of her immoral life.  The Lord is now addressing Himself to her conscience. (Wm. Hendriksen)

John 4:10-15, Gospel Bridges (Woman at the Well, 3)

First, Jesus established rapport (built a bridge for the gospel) by meeting basic human needs in the life of the woman of Samaria.  Then He crossed that bridge to the woman by meeting basic spiritual needs.  He created a curiosity for the gospel.  We need to add one thing to our thoughts in the previous post.  We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will do His work of conviction (John 16:7-11) as part of this.  This is what the Spirit does and we need to ask our Father to move in the life and soul of the person we want to speak with about Christ.

o   They need to understand the gospel, v10.  Jesus quite often shared spiritual truth by building on earthly truth.  With Nicodemus, it was being “born again.”  With the woman, it had to do with water.  Jesus also used bread, the door of the sheep, and, with Jewish people, He could use the sacrificial system or stories (such as the bronze serpent) from the OT.  The key in all of these is that they were true to the gospel.  Asking Jesus into your heart, or words like salvation, redemption or atonement can be hard for people to understand.  Remember: it is the gospel that is the power of God to salvation (Rom. 1:16).  Understanding the gospel is a basic spiritual need.

o   They need to hope in the gospel, v13-14.  Jesus did not go into detail about specific things this woman would experience if she put her faith in Christ.  But He did continue with the “water” illustration to tell her that this gift of God would be life-changing in a refreshing way, bringing eternal life.  Again, we see John 3:16, replacing death with life.  This woman likely was not a particularly hopeful sort of person, given the apparent “failures” of her life.  But, in case you didn’t know, this is the way it is about most of the people you know.  Apart from Christ, as Paul put it, life is hopeless (Eph. 2:12; 4:17-19).  Don’t be fooled by what people often say.  This is the Bible’s description.  Take some time in Ecclesiastes and you will see that the things that people typically strive for are, in the end, vanity (empty; all is empty)!  One thing you can count on is that the gospel is a message of hope.  It is a basic spiritual need to know that there is hope.

Jesus connected with this woman, having crossed the gospel bridge to meet with her.  She is now interested.  She understands that He has something to offer that is like a drink of cool water to a dry and thirsty soul.  And He has told her that drinking this water will be eternally satisfying.  We know this because of her request in v15: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.  She is on board, even though she is thinking in earthly ways.  But her request is an admission, by her, that her life is not satisfying and that she is open to Jesus’ offer.  She is now ready to walk with Jesus back across the bridge.

John 4:7-14, Gospel Bridges (Woman at the Well, 2)

How did Jesus establish a meaningful conversation with the Samaritan woman?  He met basic needs in her life, needs that every person has when it comes to Christ.  Someone needed to go to where she lived; she was not likely to go find Jesus in Galilee or Jerusalem.  Therefore, Jesus needed to get her attention.

o   The need to be needed, v7.  Jesus’ request, “Give Me a drink,” indicated to her that He was thirsty and she could help Him since she was there to fill a water pot.  Given what we find out about the woman later, this was likely quite unusual.  Having had several husbands (v18), she was likely often taken advantage of by men.  For the same reason, she was likely judged harshly by the women in town.  What Jesus asked for was not hard or harsh, and by doing it she would meet a need in His life.  People need to be needed. 

o   The need to be respected, v7-9.  Again, everyone needs this.  Our relationships with the people of this world can be filled with disrespect.  In disrespecting, we make people small.  We act like we need nothing, or that they are worth little or at least less than we are worth.  What Jesus asked for and the way He asked surprised the woman in a good way. 

We Christians can sometimes be quite proud and unwilling to submit ourselves to the “sinners” around us.  It is just too easy to come across as superior to others, forgetting that we also are sinners and as righteous as filthy rags apart from Christ. 

·       Cross the gospel bridge to life by meeting basic spiritual needs, v10-14.  Christ now had her attention.  The door was open.  But He still needed to go to where she was so that He might give her the good news of salvation.  He did this by meeting the spiritual needs that every person has.  For example …

o   They need to hunger for the gospel, v10.  Everybody needs Christ, but often (usually?) they don’t realize it.  Christ created a curiosity or hunger in her life by raising two issues: What is God’s gift? and Who is this man talking to me?

We need to give this some thought.  It is possible to offer people something that is not tied to the gospel.  We often offer something that is the result of having received the gospel.  “Would you like to go to heaven when you die?”  “Would you like an abundant life?”  “Would you like to have peace in your life?”  What Jesus used to pique her curiosity was the gospel itself.  Go back to John 3:16 again.  What is the gift of God?  It is His only begotten Son!  Who is talking to the woman?  It is the Son of God!  I cannot say what Jesus said because I am not who Jesus is.  But my desire is always to whet people’s appetite for the gospel.  I have actually found, on several occasions, that people respond to an offer to get to know the Bible so they can read it for themselves.  Sometimes a personal testimony that really exalts Christ can create curiosity in a person’s life.  Not one that concludes with what a great Christian I am, but one that focuses on Christ and His death and resurrection.

Psalm 135

To my family and friends: pay careful attention to this Psalm.  It is a Hillel Psalm, meaning it begins and ends with praise the LORD!  That in itself is not unusual as there are several of these in God’s Hymnbook.  It calls for praise from the Levitical servants who served in the temple, as did Psalm 134.  Thus you might say it was placed here after the Songs of Ascents because it sounds like someone who has made pilgrimage to the temple.  Again, that is not why we need to pay attention.

The reason is because this call to worship is to the faithful God, and the proof of His faithfulness is for a reason that has always been important to Israel but is also critical to all mankind, and especially in our day and in the days to come.  The layout of this Psalm is simple; it’s message profound.

·         135:1-4: The Call to Praise.  Those called are, as we noted, the servants of the LORD, you who stand in the house of the LORD.  The reason they are singled out is because of what we find about God at the end of the Psalm (v21): He dwells in Jerusalem.  The reason for this call is the goodness of God (v3), but specifically the fact that He chose Jacob to be His special treasure, God’s own description at Mt. Sinai when He first established this relationship with the nation (Ex. 19:5) and again when they prepared to enter the land He gave them (Deut. 7:6).

·         135:5-18: The God who is to be Praised.  Israel’s God is great and is above all gods.  In other words, He not only chose Israel; He is able to fulfill His plan to make them His special treasure.  Consider the nature of Israel’s God.

o   135:6-7: He is able to do whatever He pleases in heaven and earth.  He is the Creator and Sustainer of Creation.

o   135:8-12: Thus He was able to do what He needed to do with the nations in order to give Israel the land He promised, a land that was commensurate with them being His special treasure.  It was a good land, flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 33:3 and many others).  The LORD delivered them from bondage in Egypt by using His creation to bring Pharaoh to let them go.  When they approach the land the LORD gave them victories over Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites.  Then He gave them victories over the Canaanites.  God ordered the nations in such a way as to honor His special treasure Israel.

o   135:13-14: God’s enduring name and fame revolve around His goodness to Israel.  We believe this is still the case and will be the case in the future days of tribulation.  Through God’s faithfulness to Israel the nations will come to know Who is the true God (e.g. Ezek. 37:28; 39:21-29).

o   135:15-18: God’s greatness is set against the lifeless frailty of the gods men devise and in which they trust.  Idols means empty, vain; all other trusts are empty compared to the faithful, great God of Israel.

·         135:19-21: Thus all Israel and in fact all who fear the LORD are called to ascribe praise to God. 

Let us take this to heart.  Take it according to its interpretation: even today’s presence of a nation in the land, as imperfect as it may be, is something to note in terms of God’s faithfulness.  Then apply this truth.  God will be faithful to His word to each of us in our day by day situations.  This is His fame, that He is a God and the only God of whom this can be said.

John 4:1-9, Gospel Bridges (Woman at the Well, 1)

John the Baptist had no qualms about Jesus’ growing ministry.  But Jesus knew that the Pharisees would have many qualms (defined as a sudden, disturbing feeling).  Thus, He left Judea to return to Galilee.  Why?  Perhaps to protect His new and growing group of disciples.  Perhaps because He had a ministry of teaching and preaching to carry out before the time would come for the religious establishment to act on their hatred and fear of Him.

But that’s not all.  He left Judea because “He needed to go through Samaria” (v4).  He needed to!  Jesus needed to speak with a Samaritan woman, through whom many Samaritans would put their faith in Him.  You probably understand that there were all kinds of red flags in that last sentence.

ü Jews considered Samaritans as enemies and usually tried not to spend any more time in their territory than necessary.  Generally, trips between Judea and Galilee went around Samaria, going from Jerusalem to Jericho, then north along the Jordan River to the Beit Shean area, and finally to Galilee. 

ü In addition, men alone didn’t talk to women alone…

ü Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans…

ü And, in this case, a serious teacher of Judaism didn’t associate with women of “ill repute.” 

Yet, He needed to go through Samaria. 

Christ is again “building bridges” for the gospel.  Both Nicodemus and the woman at the well were on the wrong path to a relationship with the Creator. Jesus could be straightforward because Nicodemus built the bridge by seeking out Jesus to talk with Him. Jesus immediately challenged him and his dependency on works.  “You must be born again.”  But with the woman it was different.  She didn’t “come to Jesus” as Nicodemus did (3:2).  She ran into Jesus, so to speak.  He had her in mind, but she wasn’t thinking about Him as far as we know.  Therefore, Jesus built a bridge for the gospel (v1-9).  Then He went across to find her (v10-14), and brought her back to meet Him, her Messiah (v15-26).

·       Build gospel bridges by meeting basic needs, v1-9.  Here are four basic needs that must be met in order to have a gospel conversation with someone.

o   The need for a Christian presence, v4.  Jesus went through Samaria instead of avoiding “her and her kind of people.”  People need a preacher (someone to share the gospel, Rom. 10:14). 

o   The need to get a person’s attention, v7.  We may think that all we have to do is talk to someone and we have done our part.  Jesus did not think like this.  This woman would have just filled her water jug and started back to town.  We should understand that gospel conversations don’t happen by mere chance.  Jesus got her attention with a simple request: “Give Me a drink.”

John 3:22-36, The John the Baptist Principle

In today’s passage, Jesus and John were baptizing.  They were both serving God in a public ministry.  John was a prophet, calling people to repentance.  If you wanted to put your trust in John’s message, you were baptized by him or one of his disciples.  Jesus, of course, had been baptized by John, showing that Jesus agreed with John.  John also had an “agreement” with Jesus, that he was just preparing the way for Jesus.  He even said that Jesus was “He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”  (This baptism did not happen until after Jesus’ death and resurrection, cf. Acts 2:1-4; 11:15-17.)  This was how it was in Judaism.  Baptism was an expression of faith.

The problem in the story was not a question about baptism but a question about the “baptizers.”  The two ministries were concurrent for a period of time, until John was thrown into prison (v24).  That wasn’t a problem, unless either ministry had an attitude of competition.  John had no sense of competing with Jesus.  Maybe those who raised the question assumed John would be critical of Jesus’ ministry.  If they did, they were disappointed. 

John’s answer laid everything to rest.  There was no reason to be worried in John’s ministry because Jesus’ ministry was growing faster.  John said, He must increase, but I must decrease.  John understood the big picture.  He had a role of preparing the way for Christ.  He was like the “best man” at the wedding.  He was not the bridegroom.  Jesus was, and thus, the bride belonged to Jesus.  The “bride” was the people who came to put their faith in Christ.  John had a clear and strong understanding of who he was in God’s plan.  He who comes from heaven is above all (v31).  John knew this was Jesus, the Christ. 

John indicates that many were already struggling with Jesus’ ministry.  It was one thing for John to say the Messiah is coming.  People could get on board with that.  But when Messiah came, and made the bold and true claims Jesus made, pride made it hard to submit to Jesus.  John says, no one receives His testimony. But then he says, He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 

Note the ways John exalts Jesus.  Jesus speaks of heaven which He has seen; earthly teachers speak of earthly things (v31).  Some may have a measure of the Spirit, but Jesus has the fullness of the Spirit of God, given without measure (v34).  The Father loves the Son (v35; Lk. 3:21-22).  Your response to Christ is the difference between eternal life and having the wrath of God continue on you (v36). 

This “John principle” is fundamental to life.  After all, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).  The life that pleases God exalts His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  If I have not come to put my faith in Christ it means I am not living by this “John the Baptist principle.”  I am still living in death!  

He must increase, but I must decrease.

John 3:14-21, Gospel Bridges (Nicodemus, 4)

John 3:16 has a couple of things that most people, including Nicodemus, find objectionable.  One is that believing in God’s only begotten Son is as simple as “looking on” the bronze serpent.  Nicodemus assumed he needed to present his good works to God.  Most people think that way.  They find it “unfair” that God would condemn them as worthy of “perishing” when they are so much better than someone else.  Which leads to the second difficulty people have: poisonous snakes and eternal death seem to be a little (or a lot) excessive as punishment.  On one hand, too easy; on the other, too harsh.  Jesus answers these objections.

o   v17-18: “For” tells us 3:17 is connected to 3:16. Out of love, God gave His Son; the Son was God’s gift of grace to Mankind.  Then it says, God sent His Son: this was the Father’s plan for His Son and the Son was obedient to do it.  The very purpose for the Son was that He would be lifted up on a cross to die for our sins.  Jesus used this terminology when He was speaking with the Jews (Jn. 8:28, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He), and again when He knew the time to die was at hand (Jn. 12:32-33, ‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what death He would die.)  Again, what does this mean?

§  v17: That Christ did not come to condemn the world but to bring salvation.

§  v18: Therefore, believing in Christ brings salvation.  It means that the one who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.  The one who believes in Him is not condemned but has been saved, just like those who looked to the bronze serpent.  It is that simple because Christ is the only issue in salvation, the only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Ac. 4:12).

o   v19-21: Now, what about the punishment: is it too harsh?  No! Because there is no need to experience the punishment.  There is a solution for everyone. 

§  On the one hand, the condemnation is fair because of what people have done.  They have not only determined to live in sin before the Creator; they actually love the dark life they have chosen and they hate the light that God has sent.  The light is “uncomfortable” for men because it exposes what they really are.  Thus, if I try to argue that I’m not all that bad (and Nicodemus almost certainly had that attitude), I am really telling a lie. 

§  On the other hand, what if I come to the light?  What if I look in faith to Christ, acknowledging that He is the Son of God sent to bring salvation for the world?  His works will be clearly seen.  And I will be removed from condemnation and will live with eternal life (Jn. 5:24 says the same thing).

You may want to argue all of this.  But you should know this is what the Bible says, what Jesus Himself said.  This is the truth regarding your eternity. 

John 3:16; 1 Peter 3:1-7, How to Handle an Imperfect Spouse

Here are some more thoughts on “love,” relating to God’s love in our marriage.  By introduction, in the following chart, we are not talking about the cause of every argument.  We are talking about the spirit of a marriage, where the spirit of one or both is no longer “for” the spouse but “against.”

The “Spirit” of a Marriage

What causes the spirit of a husband to react to the spirt of his wife?

What causes the spirit of a wife to react to the spirit of her husband?

·       Resistance to his will. ·       Lack of confidence in his decisions. ·       Inflexibility to his priorities. ·       Resentments for his past failures. ·       Failure to build loyalty into the children. ·       Lack of a grateful spirit. ·       Inconsistency in discipline. ·       Attempts to correct him in public.

·       Awareness that she is not first place in his life. ·       Failure to recognize attempts to please him. ·       Unfavorable comparison with other women. ·       Lack of spiritual leadership. ·       Rejection of her opinions as important. ·       Lack of inner discipline. ·       Inadequate preparation for changes. ·       Inconsistencies in discipline. ·       Attempts to correct her in public.

When these and other pressures work to tear down the marriage, how can the husband and wife respond?

A.   BOTH: with godly love.  John 3:16. Since “the fruit of the Spirit is love,”  Christian spouses can be immensely helped by being filled with the Spirit.  He will produce the love of God in the life of the one He controls.  A good relationship with God is the key to a good relationship in marriage.

Having said this, Peter gives us a powerful demonstration of this “love” in speaking to wives about their “unbelieving” husbands.  It’s not that husbands don’t have this issue.  It’s more that wives have this issue and may feel powerless to do anything about her husband.  “After all, he’s the ‘man’ and I’m supposed to submit to him.  So, what do I do?  Just nag him all the time?”

B.   The wife: with Christ-like submission. 1 Peter 3:1-6.

a.                 3:1: “wives.”  A wife needs to remember who she is according to God’s perspective.  She is a gift from the Lord (Pr. 18:22; 19:14), given to her husband by God.  She therefore needs to yield herself to God (Rom. 12:1) and also commit her husband to God.  Her rule of life, as is her husbands, is “not my will but thine be done.”

b.                3:1b: “in the same way be submissive.”  The idea of submission permeates 1 Peter.  Prior to this passage Peter has reminded us of how it works in society and the market place, and how it was born out in the life of Christ (2:21-23).  The one in submission in a particular relationship in society has a goal to bless the one to whom they submit.  They seek to help them succeed.

c.                 3:1c-4: “won without a word” by “purity and reverence, a gentle and quiet spirit.”  The wife has tremendous power in God’s way of doing things, but only if she resists the temptation to take over her husband’s responsibilities.  In this way she appeals to his conscience, for which Rom. 12:17-21 has great advice.  Evil is overcome with good.  The “victim” (the world’s terminology, not the Bible’s) realizes she has a special opportunity to bring about the will of God in her difficult marriage.

d.                3:5-6: the illustration of Sarah.  Abraham and Sarah were not perfect, but the evidence is clear in Genesis that they both grew in faith.  Before the two most important times in Abraham’s life (Gen. 15 when he first believed; Gen. 22 when he offered Isaac, showing the maturity of his faith) there were two similar situations where Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife.  She could have resisted, but was submissive and God used each as a turning point in bringing Abraham to true faith.  Often in the Bible this is called “waiting upon the Lord.”  It is a critical aspect of faith when the wife gives God the opportunity to do His work in her husband’s life, when she waits for God to answer her prayers.