Author: branches

This morning we’re continuing on in the story of the woman at the well…a great story about a nameless Samaritan woman…story recorded only in Gospel of John.

Over the next few weeks we’ll look at the stories of people who met Jesus face to face….to put a name on it you could call it “Conversations with Jesus” …some of the people you’re already familiar with like the story of Nicodemus and the woman at the well…while others will probably be new to you…these encounters are valuable for what they reveal about Jesus…and what they teach us about the common problems of life.

This story is about a woman who comes to draw water from a well…it was called Jacob’s Well…a well that had been dug some 2000 years earlier by the patriarch Jacob…the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Upon arriving at the well she sees Jesus sitting beside the well resting from His walk that day…so here you have a Jewish man and a Samarian woman alone at a remote well…two unlikely people from two different and adversarial backgrounds …each one’s families who were social, religious and political enemies of one another.

This simple interaction between this woman and Jesus may be the most dramatic and significant of any that occurred in Jesus’ entire ministry…two people who are confronted with multiple contrasts of race…religion…moral status…marital status…and social position.

Jesus begins a conversation with this woman that is the longest recorded conversation of anyone that had ever spoken with Jesus…including any conversation with any of his disciples.

Nothing happens by chance in this story… it’s no accident that this woman just happens to be at the well…every detail is presided over by God…this is the reason why Jesus is in Samaria…God in His providence arranged for Jesus to be at the well at the same time she was there.

Jesus was on a divine assignment (v. 4) …He was compelled to go…the text makes an emphasis on the fact that Jesus “had to” go to see this Samarian woman.…He ‘must’ go through Samaria.

The word ‘must’ in the Greek (δεῖ) has basically the same meaning in English…it means what was absolutely necessary…John uses this word extensively in his gospel… [7] ‘you must be born again’ … [14] the Son of Man must be lifted up.

John says [6] Jesus is sitting at the well waiting for her…it’s a divine encounter…a predestined meeting that had been scheduled millions of years in advance.

If you really believe that God is sovereign…then you’ll see this as not just a circumstance that just happened…but as God’s providence.

That’s also true with the people we meet…the circumstances in our life are not accidents…but are the result of divine opportunities to give glory to God by what we say and how we act.

Jesus engages in a discussion with her that relates to her spirituality…He makes statements that completely astonish her. [4:13-14]

From last week’s message we learned that Jesus makes an offer for her to drink from the living water He gives…the Greek text makes a clear distinction between the water from the well and the water He is offering.  

The woman asks Jesus for this ‘water so I will not be thirsty’ not realizing that she has failed to meet the conditions necessary to receive that water.

In fact…Jesus actually refuses her request…of ‘give me this water’ …so what’s the problem…problem is she doesn’t understand what He’s speaking of…or what she’s asking for…she’s not ready to receive it.

Jesus’ response to her is ‘If you knew’ …knew what? …really three things:

…ONE, ‘if you knew the gift of God.’ Eternal life is a gift from God.

…TWO, who it is you’re talking to

…THREE, that you have a need…you just haven’t realized it yet.

Having knowledge of all those are the conditions needed before Jesus can give her ‘living water’ …BUT…because she doesn’t know those conditions…conditions that haven’t been met yet…she cannot be saved.  

Jesus’ dialogue with the woman reveals three absolute truths about salvation:

Salvation comes only to those who recognize they are eternally lost.

Salvation comes only to those who confess and repent of their sin and desire forgiveness.

Salvation comes only to those who ask Jesus to be their Savior.

How many countless numbers of people will miss the opportunity in their life time for Salvation simply because they failed to know the simplicity of receiving eternal life…not realizing the conditions of: “If you knew… you would ask… and I would give.”

So far the conversation between Jesus and the woman has been talking about water and getting a drink…it’s apparent that the woman doesn’t understand what Jesus is saying on the spiritual level so He engages her attention in a different way.

¹⁶ “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.

On one level it appears that Jesus is being insensitive…why bring up anything about her past? …is Jesus trying to embarrass her…purposely making her feel bad…the answer is no.

His instruction to her to call her husband obviously made her uncomfortable…she doesn’t want to go into detail so she simply replies, “I have no husband.” Now that was true but it wasn’t the whole truth.

She knew she was hiding the truth but what she doesn’t know is that Jesus knows it too…and so he proceeds to reveal the rest of the story  

¹⁸ (fact is) ‘you have had five husbands, and the man you now                                   have is not your husband.’

It is important to understand that the Greek word (ἄνδρα-andra) can be translated as ‘husband, adult male, or man’ implying she has had 5 partners and she is currently in a relationship with a man who is not her husband.

AGAIN…is Jesus being cruel? …why this statement about her previous marriages …where does this come from…there’s an important spiritual principle at work here… without the conviction of sin there can be no conversion.

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin (John 16:8). What being convicted of sin is NOT:

 —it’s not simply a guilty conscience or feeling shameful about something you did.  —conviction of sin is not the sense of fear about God’s punishment.

—conviction of sin is not merely the acknowledgment I did something wrong.

To be convicted of sin is to experience the utter dreadfulness of it…coming to the

realization that I have offended God…without the conviction of sin there can be no salvation…. No one is saved apart from the Spirit’s convicting. 

God sees behind the mask…until we come to grips with our sin and our own willful disobedience to God we cannot be saved.

His object was to lead her to consider her own state of sinfulness…Him just telling her that she’s a sinner accomplishes nothing.

Pointing out someone else’s shortcoming in life…telling them all about themselves …how messed up they are…when in actuality you know nothing about them…or their situation…BUT they know how you’re living your life…is a bit contradictory.

Here’s how people perceive you…pointing out someone else’s shortcoming in life …when they know how you’re living your life…it only further convinces them that you’re the hypocrite…not them…goes back to making judgments about other people that you’re not in a position to make.

Jesus has delicately spoken to the woman’s conscience in such a manner as to give her the opportunity to view her lifestyle of sin…making her see that she’s a sinner by showing her that He knows her life.

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.

This is the manner in which Jesus leads her to perceive that He is the Christ…He proceeds to show her that He is acquainted with her life and with her sins without ever having previously met her…but…her reply falls short of revealing any moral fault.

She is almost but not quite saved…she is near the kingdom door but hasn’t quite crossed the threshold…Jesus has revealed what she thought she could keep hidden.

Though a stranger to her…Jesus has convinced her that He’s not some ordinary person she’s been having a conversation with…He’s not just some weary traveler as she first took Him to be.

Jesus has done with this woman the same exact thing the Holy Spirit does with every person who turns to Jesus as Savior…every person who desires salvation is always confronted with a similar command… ‘Go and bring’.

FIRST…go and bring those things from your life that you consider to be worthy of eternal life …everything you’ve done that you think earns you the right to have eternal life…and I will show you how worthless they are.

SECONDLY…go and bring those things you have harbored in your life that are contrary to God’s law…everything that lacks conformity to the moral character of God…I want you to bring them to Me.

What Jesus does here He does in every conversation He has with people…the command ‘go call your husband’ is given to every person…it’s symbolic of the full knowledge that Jesus is aware of their sinful condition in life.

That always makes sinners uncomfortable…knowing that God knows as much about you as you know about yourself…SO, she changes the subject.

The woman begins to use the tactics of every person who is presented with the Gospel…she begins to argue or question Jesus about insignificant stuff.

Jesus isn’t confronting the woman’s adulterous lifestyle…He’s not asking her, “Who have you been sleeping with?” Jesus is talking to this woman about spiritual things and her response is to focus on where the correct place is to worship.

²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Back when the Jews and Samaritans went their separate ways, they established their own centers of worship…for the Samaritans it was Mount Gerazim…for the Jews was Mount Zion…if the Jews and Samaritans were to be reconciled, one would have to come over to the other’s place of worship.

She is directing the conversation away from herself and her conviction of sin… instead she’s wanting to get into a debate on where’s the best place to worship.

Words of advice…don’t argue the Bible because it’s pointless…Jesus never argued the Bible with Satan or the Pharisees… Jesus was unconcerned with proving his deity…even when Satan or the religious leaders tempted him to do so.

Sharing the gospel with someone and having constructive conversation is good… but arguing and debating with them is certainly not.

She begins to engage in a theological debate…He’s a Jew and she’s a Samaritan… the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem and the Samaritans worshipped at Mount Gerizim…so she wants to know where’s the right place to worship…Jesus doesn’t bother debating with her.

Just as before when she attempted to derail the discussion on whether or not He was greater than Jacob…Jesus doesn’t condemn her faulty theology or say, “You’re stupid to worship at Mount Gerizim, you need to come over to Mount Zion” that wouldn’t go over well…and would probably have ended the conversation.

She has already perceived that ‘You are a prophet’ …slowly the truth is dawning on this woman…knowing that…Jesus says to her

²¹ “Woman believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

He tells her that a time is coming when geography won’t matter…it had long been a matter of dispute between the Jews and the Samarians where the correct place of worship should be…in Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim.

Up until now…even for the Jews…the worship of God had been confined to one place… Jerusalem had been the correct place to worship God.

Jesus is about to reveal to this woman what He had shared with Nicodemus…a totally new system of worship was coming…that the old dispensation is about to pass away… Jesus is saying…the hour is really here, but the knowledge of it has not yet been comprehended.

The worship of God would no longer be confined to a single place…to a building …the place of worship would have no significance at all…God may be worshipped anywhere.

Jesus takes this woman’s implicit question and inquiry about where the correct place to worship God is by defining the three kinds worship:

²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Three kinds of worship.

First, there was the ignorant worship of the Samaritans… [22] “You Samaritans worship what you do not know.” Nothing changed…people still worshiping what they don’t know…just like the Samaritan woman people get caught up in where they should worship…big churches make you feel more spiritual…hymn music brings you closer to God…not realizing true worship is God-centered worship.

Second kind of worship [22] … salvation is from the Jews. …meaning only the Jews possess the true knowledge of God…again…not my intent to speak ill of other denominations…but we see the same arrogance in the church today…those who want you to believe they are the true church:

Catholic Church is the only true church

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/catholic-church-only-true-church-vatican-says-1.669714

The LDS is the only true Church

 (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.164-165).

The Church of Christ is the one true church. http://www.netbiblestudy.net/church/

Finally, Jesus spoke of the new worship…the spiritual worship which He Himself came to introduce and to bring about…worshiping in spirit and in truth.  

²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Two truths emerge from this verse:

God is seeking true worshipers.

God is seeking worshipers who will bring him glory…not just for an hour on Sunday…but every day…through all their activities…throughout their whole life.  

True worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Here’s that word ‘must’ again…indicating that this kind of worship is not an option.

²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

Those who worship God must, of necessity worship Him in the spirit…true worship is engaging the whole heart…true worship is to worship God with all your HEART …with all your SOUL…and with all your MIGHT…Jesus expanded this to include ‘MIND’ and ‘STRENGTH’ [Mk. 12:30]

Unless there’s a real passion for God, with a desire to glorify him there is no worship in your spirit.   

This is one of the first truths of religion… [24] makes a clear point that God Himself is spirit…He is not simply a more complex physical being…or a limited creature… He’s without a body…invisible…not confined to time and space …not restricted to being in a single location like the false gods of most religions.

This is the first recorded instance in Scripture where Jesus defines who are the true worshipers and what true worship includes.

God hates…He hates a lot of things as a matter of fact…one of the things He hates is the misuse of religion…people “worshiping” out of obligation to God…He hates people who follow what Churches prescribe as worship but only out of custom and superstitions…he hates people who don’t want to change their lives…their habits… or to conform to God’s will. 

I’m not sure if John wrote this conversation down more for our benefit or for the Samaritan woman…I have no doubt this woman was completely overwhelmed by what Jesus said to her.

People today are still overwhelmed by what Jesus said…true worship is knowing Jesus and trusting in Him as Lord and Savior…not just acknowledging His existence.

To worship “in spirit and truth” can only be attained in and through Jesus alone…it is only through Him that the worship of God can be “in spirit and in truth.” for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

John 4:7,9-12 ⁷a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

This is a great story…the story of the nameless Samaritan woman at a well…a story recorded only in the Gospel of John…one most Christians believe they know and understand…but this morning I want us to revisit this story as though we are looking at it for the first time.

The story of the woman at the well follows on the heels of the account of Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus…let’s look together as to what makes this story about the woman at the well different than the story of Nicodemus.

John 3 gives the account of Jesus’ interview with the Pharisee, Nicodemus…a religious leader and a moral man…John 4 gives the account of Jesus’ encounter with an immoral Samaritan woman…two people as different as they could be.

…Nicodemus was a Jewish man; she was a Samaritan woman.

…He was educated in the Jewish faith; she was uneducated.

…He was an influential leader; she was a nobody.

…He was monetarily rich; she was lower class.

…He was morally upright; she was immoral.

…He sought out Jesus; Jesus sought her out.

It’s important to understand the thousands of years of history behind this encounter… following the death of Solomon the nation of Israel was split because of the judgement from God because of Solomon’s sins…his many wives controlled him leading him into the sin of apostasy and idolatry that characterized the later years of Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 11).

After Solomon died the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin collectively calling themselves Judah and referring to themselves as ‘Jews’ broke away from the 10 northern tribes.  

These two southern tribes were ruled by Solomon’s son Rehoboam whereas the ten northern tribes retained the name Israel and were controlled by Jeroboam who was actually a servant of Solomon.

The animosity between the inhabitants of the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom began immediately after the division because:

…Jeroboam established a counterfeit religion leading the northern 10 tribes into idol worship. (1 Kings 12:26-33)

…he established his own place of worship—Bethel (1 Kings 12:25-33)—encouraging people not to worship in Jerusalem which was in Judah

…years later one of Jeroboam’s successors…built a city…named it Samaria.

The name of this city became synonymous for the entire Northern Kingdom and thus the people who lived there became known as Samaritans.

Because of the bad influence of Jeroboam and his successors the Samaritans abandoned their faith…Scripture says, “They went after false gods and forsook all the commandments of Yahweh.” [2 Kings 17:15-16] …after repeated warnings God’s patience ran out…divine judgment came to the northern ten tribes by way of the Assyrians who defeated the Samaritans and scattered them.

After falling into the hands of the Assyrians…the king of Assyria, not wishing to let the land lie idle, repopulated the area with people from five different regions to occupy Samaria.

The result was the Jews who live there disobeyed God by intermarrying with these people who in turn, brought in their own gods…the Jews began worshiping these false gods, and so, they drifted even farther away from God.

This resulted is what the Jews referred to as a nation of ‘half-breeds’… a mix of Jewish and Pagan races that were utterly despised by a devout Jew (Ezra 9; Neh. 13)…they abandoned the true religion of Israel and became intermingled with heathen idolatry.

Later the Jews of the Southern Kingdom of Judah were also taken captive by the Babylonians but unlike with the Assyrians they were allowed to maintain their racial and religious identity never compromising their Jewish faith.

So now there’s the Jews of the southern kingdom who do not accept the Samaritans of the north kingdom because they are not pure Jews but rather a mix of different people and religions…BUT to a foreigner—say a Roman soldier—there wasn’t much difference between a Jew and a Samaritan:

• Both Jews and Samaritans believed that they came from the seed of Abraham—that they are the Chosen People of God.
• Both groups worshipped the same God—the one true God.
• Both consider Moses the law-giver and prophet of God.
• Both were waiting on the coming of the Messiah.

But to the Jews and Samaritans there were 3 issues that kept them at odds with each other in addition to their lapse of racial purity:

…Wherever the Samaritans found it necessary to justify their religion they just modified the Law.

…Samaritans accept only the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) as Holy Scripture…they rejected all the other books and the prophets as sent by God.

…the Samaritans rejected the Talmud…a collection of Jewish laws and tradition written by Jewish rabbis.

Thus, the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans was definitely strained then to add further animosity and hostility between these two groups…after returning from their 70 years of captivity in Babylon the Jews began to rebuild their temple and the walls around Jerusalem.

The Samaritans, desiring to be friendly…asked permission to assist them in rebuilding them…the Jews refused the help thus further inflaming the relationship between the two people which never died out [Ezra 4:1-5].

SO…in this encounter with the woman at the well Jesus broke four Jewish customs –  not laws…but customs that had transpired over hundreds of years:

…First…He spoke to her despite the fact that she was a woman. A Jewish rabbi would never speak to a woman in public, even if she was his wife, daughter or sister.

…Second…she was Samaritan woman, and Jews traditionally despised Samaritans.

 …Third…He asked her to get Him a drink of water…using her cup would have made Him ceremonially unclean.

…Fourth…she was an outcast and looked down upon by her own people…a woman ostracized and marked as immoral by her own people.

The Bible says this encounter occurred in ‘about the sixth hour’ of the day…the sixth hour would have been around noon…it would have been the heat of the day when most people at that time would have been resting.

Most women came in the early morning or late evening to collect water…so you weren’t likely to find many women at the well at this time of the day…but here in the heat of the day…we see this woman approach the well for water.

As the story progresses, we learn this woman regularly comes to the well at this time of day…the obvious question is…why was Jesus even there in the first place?

Scripture indicates He was on the His way to Cana… [43]…it would have been easier for Him to travel up the Jordan River road to Cana…that would have been the easy route… but instead He travels a route that was both farther and more difficult to travel.

By the time He gets to Samaria He’s thirsty and tired…we see the human side of Jesus…He’s sitting at the well ‘wearied from His journey’…He got tired and thirsty just like we do…it had been a long walk that morning climbing out of the Jordan Valley.

It’s no accident that Jesus made the extended journey to Cana…the text emphasizes the fact that Jesus must go through Samaria…here we see the providence of God.

The word ‘must’ in the Greek (δεῖ) has basically the same meaning in English…it means what was absolutely necessary…notice Jesus uses that word in [7] ‘you must be born again’ …in [14] the Son of Man must be lifted up.

Also…it’s no accident that this woman just happens to be at the well…Jesus was on a divine assignment (v. 4) …He was compelled to go… the text makes an emphasis on the fact that Jesus “had to” go to see this Samarian woman.…He ‘must’ go through Samaria.

In fact John says [6] Jesus is sitting at the well waiting for her…Jesus was on His way to an divine encounter…a predestined meeting that had been scheduled millions of years in advance…if you really believe that God is sovereign…then you’ll see this as not just a circumstance that just happened…but as God’s providence.

That’s also true with the people we meet…the circumstances in our life are not accidents…but are the result of divine opportunities to give glory to God by what we say and how we act.

As the woman looks at Jesus and He at her, four invisible walls stand between them…there is a religious wall…a gender wall…a racial wall…and a moral wall. 

Jesus breaks the ice with a simple request.  “Give Me a drink” [7] …the woman amazed and bewildered…what? You a Jew asking me for a drink––me, a Samaritan?

Nothing happens by chance in this story…every detail is presided over by God…

this is the reason for the ‘divine must’ to go to Samaria…the Samaritan woman had free will…BUT God in His providence arranged for her to be at the well at the same time Jesus was there.

With the simple words of ‘give Me a drink’ …Jesus placed himself in the position of one requesting a favor…placing Himself on a social equality with her…a gesture which astonished her and led to the conversation that followed.

This simple interaction between this women and Jesus may be the most dramatic and significant of any that occurred in Jesus’ entire ministry…in this account we are confronted with multiple contrasts: of race…sex…religion…moral status…marital status…social position…ability…and wisdom…in this conversation we see the contrast between:

God and man.                                  man and woman.

wisdom and ignorance.                  the unmarried and the often married.

purity and immorality.                   Jew and Gentile.

The woman now begins to use the tactics of every person who is presented with the Gospel…she begins to argue or question Jesus about insignificant stuff.

Jesus is there talking to this woman about spiritual things and her response is: ‘you are not greater than our father Jacob, are You’ [12]

Words of advice…don’t argue the Bible because it’s pointless…Jesus never argued the Bible…with Satan or the Pharisees… Jesus was unconcerned with proving his deity…even when Satan or the religious leaders tempted him to do so…He instead lived his divinity through His convictions and works.

Sharing the gospel with someone and having constructive conversation is good… but arguing and debating with them is certainly not…is the Samaritan women asking a sincere question or is she expressing a degree of cynicism? …we really can’t discern the “tone” of her voice.

In her question ‘you are not greater than our father Jacob’

                     μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰακώβ

  she is suggesting a “NO” response from Jesus

Here’s something about Greek sentence structure…in the Greek the person asking a question can convey to the listener the response they are expecting…a ‘yes’ (οὐ) or ‘no’ (μὴ) answer from you…example

 Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?                 
     Διδάσκαλε, οὐ μέλει σοι ὅτι ἀπολλύμεθα)

the way that question is asked with the insertion of two Greek letters (οὐ) is suggesting to Jesus… ‘we’re looking for you to say yes you care.’

So, in her question to Jesus ‘you are not greater than our father Jacob’ the insertion of the two Greek letters (μὴ) is suggesting she is expecting a ‘no’ response to her question… as in … ‘no I’m not greater than our father Jacob.’ …thinking to herself…I thought so…leave me alone.  

BUT Notice Jesus doesn’t get into a debate with her

…He doesn’t get into an argument with her about His heritage

…He doesn’t attempt to use Old Testament prophecy to prove His existence

…He doesn’t lay out the genealogy from Abraham to Himself

Jesus continues to relate to her spiritually…He makes a statement that now completely astonishes her [4:13-14]

¹³“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In this conversation there are two different words for ‘well’ and two different words for ‘drink’ that are used.  

The women says the ‘well is deep’ …she uses the Greek word (φρέαρ 5421) that is in essence means a hole in the ground…Jesus used a different Greek word for well (πηγὴ 4077) [4:14] which means a spring or fountain.

What a striking contrast – a hole in the ground versus a bubbling spring…the word Jesus used (ἁλλομένου 242) is a picture of water springing up…as the Holy Spirit is the continual source of energy in the believer that is active and always flowing …there may be times of greater and lesser flow, but it never dries up.

This woman had already scoffed at Jesus for posing as someone greater than Jacob …now her response to Jesus’ statement about drinking the water springing up to eternal life is viewed a little less sarcastically…since Jesus is still speaking in mostly symbolic terms, she is probably still rolling her eyes at Him.  

Her response…OK…fine… ‘Sir, give me this water so I will not be thirsty or come up here to draw’ …she’s intrigued and to some degree is showing some level of respect by calling Him ‘sir’ …although still not quite sure what He means.

BUT… certainly this could be the answer to many of her problems…a way out of eliminating the physical task of having to continually climb this hill every day to fetch water…eliminating the distasteful confrontation with the other women.

BUT notice Jesus’s response…His reply in the next verse is critically important to understand because what she’s asking for is not what she’s ready for.  

¹³ “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,                                   ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.

Jesus uses two different tenses for drink… ‘everyone who drinks this water’ …whoever drinks this well water will be thirsty again…you will never be fully satisfied…it’s in the present tense…meaning you’ll be continually drinking.

But…in [14] referring to the person who drinks the ‘water I give’ is in the aorist tense… meaning the living water I give will satisfy forever.

Note the striking contrast between the ‘two drinks’ – here Jesus describes continually drinking from the world’s water, which can never fully satisfy…but just one drink of the water Jesus offers satisfies and gives life for all eternity!

In fact…Jesus actually refuses her request…of ‘give me this water’ …so what’s the problem…problem is she doesn’t understand what He’s speaking of…she’s not ready to receive it…for Jesus to say… ‘OK here you go, you’re saved’ would be exactly what we’re seeing in the church today…it’s what  Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls cheap grace.

It’s the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance…baptism without church discipline…communion without confession…cheap grace is grace without discipleship…without the cross…and without Jesus Christ.

Reflecting back on what Jesus initially tells her [10]:

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Two things are noted in [v10]:

FIRST… ‘If you knew’… knew what? …two things:

…1) the gift of God, and

…2) who it is that’s talking to you

If you knew those two things…you would have asked…BUT…because you don’t know who is talking to you which is a condition of Me giving you living water…a condition that hasn’t been met yet…without knowing Jesus you cannot be saved.  

That’s the SECOND problem with the world…not only with lost people but with Christians as well…1) not asking Him for it…2) but also not knowing there are conditions that need to be met.

With respect to salvation…thinking that somehow God owes it to me…or I’ve somehow earned it because I’m really a good person…doesn’t meet the condition that you have to ask Him…then ‘He would have given.’ 

With respect to heavenly gifts they must be asked for…God doesn’t just give out gifts because He has nothing to do…everything that is necessary for the spiritual and eternal good of His people must be inquired of…and sought after.

If you would have asked Him…He would have given you…this is the law of Heaven…prayer is a necessary link between God who gives and the human heart that receives…you do not have, because you do not ask.

‘He would have given you living water’ [10] …water is one of the most common symbols for the Holy Spirit in the Bible…since water is indispensable for human life, the phrase “living water” is an appropriate metaphor for the Spirit’s work in the human heart. 

With this encounter with the Samaritan woman we see two things:

FIRST…we see the common response of Jesus’ offer of salvation…this woman is representative of everyone who is exposed to saving grace…it shows how slow sinners are to understand the doctrines of religion…hence the need to be patient…not realizing what is required for spiritual transformation.

SECONDLY…we see the way in which Jesus approaches this woman is the way in which He approaches every sinner who has ever lived:

1. He seeks sinners who aren’t seeking Him. [Romans 3:11]

2. He offers all sinners the gift of eternal life. [John 3:16]

3. To receive His gift of eternal life you must ask for it. [ 4:10]

‘if you would have asked, I would have given it to you’

There are some verses in the Bible that are known much better than others…there are those verses that seem to have become a part of our culture…The 23^rd Psalm is one of these… “The Lord is my shepherd” and there are other verses that help us to work through difficult times. 

This morning we are going to look at what is arguably the most well known and most memorized verse in the Bible. John 3:16. 

It’s a great summary of the Christian message that tells of God’s love and what that love did for us in delivering us from Sin and all its consequences…it tells us how we are able to receive that love.

What an appropriate verse to preach on this morning because today we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper in two ways by…remembering His victory over death and resurrection…and proclaiming His coming again to earth at the end of the age. 

Whether it’s written on a sign or on a t-shirt John 3:16 is one of those scriptures that summarizes the entire Bible:

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

Remembering from last week the context in which this verse is set…it is from the discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus…Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish ruling council known as the Sanhedrin…probably the most respected teacher in all of Jerusalem…he represented the elite religious group of his day…he was a highly respected teacher of the Law…and a renowned Bible teacher.

Although Nicodemus is a qualified teacher of the Old Testament, he comes to Jesus seeking answers to legitimate questions regarding Jesus’ claim of being the Messiah and wondering “How can these things be?” with respect to being born again. 

This conversation is a continuation from chapter 2 where Jesus is doubting the sincerity of those who claimed to believe in Him…unfortunately for Nicodemus he’s made the example and is singled out because of his status as a teacher. 

We’ve talked in previous weeks about what it means to “believe in” Jesus…the meaning in the Greek is what’s important here and not our English word believe.

When translating, the Bible translators attempt to use one English word for one Greek word but the English word ‘believe’ doesn’t give the best sense of the Greek word believe. 

It’s important to realize that to believe in Jesus doesn’t mean we just accept some facts about His existence…believing in Jesus is;

…trusting in Him as your Savior (John 3:16) 

…believing Jesus is God in human form (John 1:1, 14) 

…believing Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21) 

…believing that the sacrifice of Jesus is the only acceptable payment for your sins (1 John 2:2; John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

What matters is that believing in those things I just mentioned…when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior our lives are changed…we are not living for ourselves anymore…it means following Him and submitting to Him…these are the preliminary steps for admittance into the Kingdom of God. 

The context of today’s passage is centered around Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus concerning that very thing…entrance into the Kingdom of God…Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus could be entitled ‘Entry into the Kingdom of Heaven 101.’ 

Entrance into the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with the fact that you tried to live a good life…or if you’ve tried to keep the laws of God…it doesn’t matter if you’ve been baptized…or if you’ve been going to church.

Jesus is laying the foundation for entry into the Kingdom of God…Nicodemus didn’t understand Jesus speaking of heavenly things…things that can only be believed in…things like…rebirth…the Spirit blowing like the wind…the Son of Man coming from heaven…he doesn’t understand how the new birth can happen …how it can gain a person entrance into God’s eternal kingdom. 

HISTORY LESSON…to the casual reader [v 14] may have very little importance.

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up

what Jesus is saying in that verse to Nicodemus is something that he would have immediately picked up on…it would have been more than obvious to Nicodemus because it’s a real event in the Old Testament…the story of Moses and the bronze serpent…so what does it mean? …what does that have to do with anything? 

Reader’s Digest version: after wandering years in the desert the people of Israel had had enough…they were starved and exhausted…if you were a child when Israel left Egypt you’ve seen your parents and possibly you grand-parents die…after years of wandering…there was little promise to Moses’s promise of a ‘Promised Land.’

Almost every family had buried someone along the way—including Moses’s sister Miriam (Numbers 20:1) and brother Aaron (Numbers 20:28) —now, they’re out of water…on the surface they had every right to complain and beg Moses, “Take us back to Egypt.”

“Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? There’s no seed, or figs, or vines  or pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.” (Numbers 20:3-5)

So…just as Moses had done so many times before…Moses prays for God’s mercy …and as always God answered his prayer and gave the people of Israel what they needed to continue on in their journey…water from a rock so the people and their animals could drink.

But they could only take so much water with them and they soon ran out…again, the people became impatient and began to complain:

Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water; (Numbers 21:5)

This time, instead of giving them a blessing God sent a curse…all of a sudden, the people looked around them and there were snakes everywhere…not just the garden variety snakes…these were poisonous snakes that if they bit you, you died.  

And that’s exactly what happened…the snakes began biting the people…men, women, children so that there were dead people piling up everywhere.

The people cried to Moses, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you…pray to Yahweh, to take away the serpents from us. 

So, Moses prayed to God…God told Moses to fashion a serpent out of bronze…put it on a pole and hold it up for the people to see…everyone who was bitten by a snake, if they looked up at the bronze serpent would live…everyone who looked was cured on the spot…so, once more, God showed mercy and saved them from their sin.

Now, fast forward a couple of thousand years…here’s Nicodemus…he comes to Jesus under the cloak of darkness in search of the meaning of life…and Jesus says, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 

Nicodemus had no idea what that meant, so he asked, “How can a man be born when he is old?” …so, Jesus took this strange story and applied it to Himself: 

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)

Now it’s clear…Jesus is drawing a parallel between Himself and the bronze serpent that Moses held up…by dying on the Cross Jesus paid the price for our sins…look up to the crucified and risen Christ, and you will have eternal life.

Here Jesus is telling Nicodemus that all who believe…all…everyone who believes on Jesus shall be saved from the condemnation of God’s anger…and be raised up to eternal life. 

Jesus is saying that God cannot just brush away sin…sin has to be dealt with… there is a penalty that must be paid…there’s that word propitiation again…God’s wrath must be satisfied…it could only be satisfied by the Son of Man who ‘must’ be lifted up to satisfy God’s wrath on behalf of sinners who believe in Him.

The word ‘must’ in the Greek is δεῖ has basically the same meaning in English…it means what was absolutely necessary…notice Jesus uses that word in [7] ‘you must be born again’ it is what is required to obtain eternal life. 

This is the first time in John’s Gospel that the phrase “eternal life” appears…John uses the phrase “eternal life” more than any other New Testament writer …the term eternal life is a central theme found in John’s gospel.

The very purpose of John’s gospel is that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:31; 1 Jn 5:13).

His emphasis is not on duration…because in reality…everyone who has ever been born has eternal life…no one ceases to exist when they die…everyone lives forever. 

It’s a mistake to view eternal life as simply an unending progression of years… eternal life is not really associated with “years” at all…it’s independent of time… eternal life can function outside of and beyond time, as well as within time.

The New Testament word for “eternal” (aiónios) carries the idea of quality as well as quantity…here’s the misunderstanding Christians have…eternal life can be thought of as something that Christians experience now…believers don’t have to ‘wait’ for eternal life…it’s not something that starts when they die. 

John uses present tense participles when describing eternal life…it’s a present-tense possession…it’s not something that begins when we get to heaven…eternal life begins the moment a person believes in Jesus.  

If the sole reason in asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins was so you wouldn’t perish in hell… (separation from God) …then you are missing out on blessing and joy of eternal life that is available right now.

If the sole reason in asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins was so you wouldn’t perish in hell…I want to talk about that for a minute…this is important…you can’t talk about God’s love without including God’s wrath.

What about this place called Hell…don’t like to give a lot of time to this discussion but it is a reality that is mentioned in the Bible…Hell is mentioned 167 times in the Bible…the Bible says more about Hell than it does about Heaven…we’re probably all familiar with the verses that describe Hell:

Matthew 25:46  eternal punishment

Matthew 13:50 weeping and gnashing of teeth 

Mark 9:48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched 

Revelation 14:10 They will be tormented with burning sulfur…And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night [Rev. 14:10, 11].

So here we have the verses that describe the place called ‘Hell’ …but does everyone go to the same place…NO…it’s important to remember that Jesus says that hell was originally “prepared for the devil and his angels” [Matt. 25:41].

Scripture seems to indicate that there are various degrees or levels of hell… Jesus Himself makes mention of this… [Luke 12:47-48] …He is saying that the more a person knows about Him and still refuses to do anything about it, the more they will be held accountable which is an indication that there are variations in the severity of punishment.

BUT…ultimately…here’s what hell is…it is separation from God [1 Thess. 1:9] …it is missing out on blessing and joy of eternal life that is available right now.

The emphasis of the Bible is not on the degrees or levels of hell…but on avoiding it altogether and helping others to avoid it as well…God went to great lengths to provide salvation for us through Jesus, including subjecting His own Son to a painful crucifixion…that is the emphasis of John’s gospel.

NOW…let me share with you some confusion that begins in [v 16] …starting in that verse John begins a commentary on what Jesus just revealed to Nicodemus…in this section is the most familiar verse in all of scripture…[Jn.3:16] which presents the clearest and simplest statement of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here’s what’s interesting about this verse…Jesus didn’t say it…most theologians agree that the interview with Nicodemus closed at verse [15] … [16-21] are not the words spoken by Jesus but are the words of John. 

It doesn’t take away from the fact that these words are the inspired words of the Holy Spirit…but most agree this section is John’s comments about Jesus’ words that ended at verse 15…here’s why:

1. In [John 3:16-21] much of the wording is in the aorist tense…past tense that is consistant in John’s writing…but unnatural for Jesus speaking.

2. The phrase “Only begotten” (mon-og-en-ace’) does not occur anywhere in the words of Jesus… Jesus often refers to Himself as the Son of Man but never as God’s ‘only begotten Son’…which is John’s way of referring to Jesus [John 1:14, John 1:18; 1 John 4:9]

3. Jesus does not refer to God as ‘God,’ but usually as ‘the Father’

4. The phrase ‘believe on the name’ is not used by Jesus but only in John’s writings (John 1:12 / John 2:23 / 1 John 5:13).

5. The phrase ‘practices the truth’ [3:21] occurs only in John’s writing [1 John 1:6].

Here’s what’s important about [vs. 16-18] John’s revealing a few things about God:

First…John tells us that Jesus is the Son of God…the things He did only the Son of God could do…and…being the Son of God He came to this world as a sign of God’s love.

Second…He’s a bit of a disciplinarian…He has defined certain things that people should do if they want to be accepted as His children…He set up rules for his people to live by and has consequences for those who don’t. 

Thirdly…He has provided a way for us to live eternally with Him…that is the reason “that He (God) gave his one and only Son” …He came into this world for a reason.

Fourth…God is a just God…He will judge every person on their own merit. 

BUT…at the same time…in [John 3:16] there arises some tension.

FIRST…the very wording ‘God so loved the world’ to a Jew would have been just plain shocking…maybe… ‘For God so loved the Jews’ or even ‘For God so loved sinful Jews’ because they knew they were God’s chosen people…BUT…God loves the whole ‘world’ …that was a stretch. 

SECONDLY…this verse adds to the Arminian/Calvinist issue concerning how God chooses who is and who isn’t going to be saved…this verse creates a debate in itself.

BUT…looking at John’s commentary [16-20] he reveals additional things about God…independent of any theological issues or debates:

1. People are in danger…by nature…of perishing.
2. There is salvation in no other…Jesus is the only source of salvation. 
3. Salvation is free to all…there are no special conditions. 
4. Salvation is easy. It’s not something you participate in…it’s a gift from God. 

So, John’ comment that ‘God so loved the world’ is inclusive…it is universal atonement…meaning any and all who believe in him shall not perish.  

Unfortunately, far too many people stop at [16] because [18] conveys a message that is not in agreement with most people’s understanding of God…I would be less than a Pastor if I failed to share with you what these verses mean…although they really need no explanation. 

¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

In [John 3:16] is one revelation of the nature of God…God’s love…but in [18] we also see God’s nature as well…in John’s summary of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus he’s saying…‘let me clear up a misconception’ …every person is guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23) …we have already been declared guilty (John 3:19) and deserve to be separated from God (Rom. 6:23). 

John is saying…people do not have to do anything to be condemned…[18] those who do not believe are “judged already,” that word is in the present tense meaning it’s happening right now…God has already judged us…we are automatically in a state of condemnation by just being born [Rom. 3:23] …we begin our physical life in a state of spiritual death. 

We’re all judged and declared guilty the day we were born…and if you’re an unbeliever you’ll remain condemned…BUT…in [18] John is saying there is a way to escape judgement.  

Because God’s love is so great, He provided a reprieve…a way for us to escape judgement [2 Peter 3:9]. 

There’s a difference between God’s mercy and God’s love for the world.

God’s mercy is that He doesn’t treat me the way I deserve to be treated.

God’s love was displayed in sending Jesus to be treated the way I should have been treated…thus Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. 

Because of that…and…our faith in Jesus as our Savior…we will not see judgment but eternal life…God’s mercy is found in His universal call to salvation whereby God gives all people the opportunity to repent…not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). 

For those who accept the invitation…He has a unique relationship with them…in addition to God not treating me the way I deserve to be treated (mercy) …God treats me better than I deserve to be treated (grace).   

However [18] is clear in that there is an alternative…not everyone will be saved (Matthew 25:46) …and it’s not because of a lack of God’s mercy and love…to ignore God’s merciful love is to reject Jesus and to deny Him as Savior.

Because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God [18] …for those who don’t believe in Jesus…they cannot…and will not find eternal life living in the Kingdom of God (John 3:36).

In these verses…and particularly in [John 3:16] we see the core of John’s gospel… that God sent His only Son into this world that we might have life through him… so people “might come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God” and “have life in his name.”

John 3:1-3, 9-10

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered him…unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”   ⁹ Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

Matthew 11:2-3

²When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

This morning I want to look at two individuals…Nicodemus and John the Baptist who are at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding who Jesus is…but who have remarkable similarities in their mis-understanding concerning Jesus’ ministry.

What is slightly eerie about the account of Nicodemus in [John 3] is that immediately following the Nicodemus encounter with Jesus [3:1-21] is John’s last public testimony about Jesus [3:22-36] where he repeats to his disciples the same concepts that Jesus just presented to Nicodemus.

Something else that should be noted–and it’s hard to pick up on it because of the break in continuity at the end of chapter two and the start of chapter three–the Nicodemus story is a continuation of the statement Jesus makes at the end of chapter two…that He was not trusting in people.

Immediately after that statement in chapter two is the story of Nicodemus that is supposed to complement that idea…but it gets lost in the chapter break.

Nicodemus was among the group in Israel known as the Pharisees…this group was supposed to be the shepherds of the people…however, rather than loving and caring for the people they were to be spiritually responsible for…instead they placed huge burdens on the people by taking God’s law and making it unbearably strict.

Because of his status most likely, Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish ruling council known as the Sanhedrin…a couple things become immediately evident regarding Nicodemus:  

FIRST…this account shows that if it was possible to achieve salvation through religion…through religious activities…by doing stuff…Nicodemus would have been the first to enter heaven…he represented the elite religious group of his day.

But in actuality…Nicodemus is like the people we talked about last week…that are spoken about in the preceding verse…those who saw the signs and miracles Jesus performed even believing in His authority…no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him…but not believing in the person.

Like many who chased after Jesus they lacked a saving belief…they saw the signs but they didn’t see the Savior…they were attracted to the miracles but not the man…as a result Jesus didn’t believe in them because He knew their hearts.

With respect to Nicodemus, while he may not have been yet fully convinced of Jesus’ divinity…he had seen the miracles Jesus performed…and by comparing what he knew from the Old Testament prophesies about the coming Messiah…he did realize there was something exceptional about Jesus.

Therefore, he made plans for a way to see Him…he came honestly seeking after Jesus…his response of ‘We know You are from God’ [2] showed he was inquisitive but lacked genuine saving faith.

SECONDLY…sometimes Nicodemus’s conversation with Jesus doesn’t give Nicodemus a fair shake…he is not some babbling skeptic…he is a highly respected teacher of the Law…and a renowned Bible teacher of his day.

The problem arises because of a couple reasons;

1) Jesus uses words with dual meanings…a fact that is not all that clear in the English translation…and

2) when Nicodemus asks; “how can these things be?” …he’s not questioning the possibility as in “that’s ridiculous how can these things be?” …the word “how” in the Greek is an expression of one seeking information and desiring to be taught.

Nicodemus has come seeking answers to legitimate questions…it’s difficult to believe that Nicodemus really though Christ was speaking about a physical second birth…a concept no one would entertain…his questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’ to Jesus is proof of his willingness to be taught.

The metaphor of ‘new birth’ referring to spiritual regeneration was a term he would have been familiar with…so when you read the story in the original language Nicodemus isn’t nearly as dumb as he seems in the English translation. Nevertheless, he is confused.

Throughout his gospelJohn uses the analogy of light and dark imagery…light to symbolize God’s presence and darkness as a figurative or spiritual meaning to identify those who do not know God.

Although Nicodemus is a qualified teacher of the Old Testament the fact that he comes to Jesus in the dark is a signal that Nicodemus…although being open-minded…does not yet understand who Jesus is and is not yet walking “in the light.”

Then there’s John the Baptist…sitting in prison…an unfortunate situation…it all came about because he called out King Herod for his immoral relationship with his brother’s wife…so he was thrown in jail.

In chapter 3 John is preaching about Jesus as the Messiah but [Matthew 11] John’s sitting in prison feeling a little perplexed…wondering what the delay is in Jesus  getting him out of jail… and questing if Jesus is the Messiah:  “Are you He who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

So what happened between John’s preaching about Jesus as the ‘lamb of God’ and John now asking…are you really the Messiah our people have been waiting for all these hundreds of years…or should we be looking for someone else.

In the Greek that word ‘another’ (ἕτερον) suggests “another of a different sort.” …implying that Jesus had not fulfilled John’s expectations…suggesting that Jesus is not the person he had hoped for.

Jesus responds to John’s question: Matthew 11:4-5

⁴“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have  leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,

Interestingly Jesus leaves one significant part out of His Old Testament prophecy… one that was of particular interest to John…that the Messiah would set the prisoner free and loose the captives [Is. 42:7] [Ps. 102:20].

Now we begin to see John’s problem…Jesus’ answer did confirm that He was the Messiah but really didn’t address John’s immediate situation of being in prison.

Day after day John stares at the dungeon walls…he begins to despair…he’s been cast into prison and Christ has made no effort to free him…as a result…his despair turns to doubt…why isn’t Jesus doing what I expect?

Why aren’t things working out the way I planned them…all of a sudden Jesus isn’t looking the way John wanted Him to look…He’s not acting in line with his expectations.

Ever happen to you…Jesus isn’t looking the way you want Him to look…not acting in line with your expectations.

People are telling you Jesus can do this or that…but it doesn’t seem to be working in your case…or maybe for years you’ve had a certain image of God and how He works based off previous situations…or how God has worked in other people’s lives but doesn’t seem to be working the same in your life.

You’re waiting on Jesus to act in your situation …and He hasn’t …all of a sudden Jesus isn’t looking the way you want Him to look.

It wasn’t that God didn’t hear John’s prayers…nor…that He didn’t care…nor that He was insensitive to John’s needs…God’s silence is answered prayer.

I’m going to make FOUR profound theological statements:

FIRST– Silence was an indication that things would remain the same.

That’s not what we want to hear…that things are going to remain the same…HOLD IT…isn’t that what prayers are for…doesn’t prayer change things…God’s silence was the answer…John not being released from prison was an indication that John was to stay in prison…in other words: ‘John you’re not getting out of prison alive.’

SECOND – in one sense, prayer doesn’t change things because God is sovereign  ‘My purpose shall stand, and I will accomplish all that I have planned’ [Isaiah 46:10] …our prayers don’t alter God’s sovereign plans.

We find ourselves like John…having reservations about the truth of God’s promises…not realizing that part of God’s promises is…I have a plan and I have a purpose…they will come to completion…and it might not always be in line with your expectations…‘John you’re not getting out of prison alive.’

THIRD – there are times when God does not hear (ἀκούει) prayers [Jn. 9:31]

sounds awful of course…soften that up to He doesn’t listen…no…He doesn’t hear.

1. When choosing to hold on to sin, rather than repent and change Isaiah  1:15.

2. When we ask according to our own selfish desires James 4:3.

3. When what we ask is not in accordance with His will. First John 5:14.

4. When we do not ask in faith Mark 11:24.

Let me quickly go back to my first statement…in those times when He does hear …but nothing changes…it’s not because God hasn’t heard your prayers…it may be that the silence indicates that that things will remain the same.

At this point…in John’s case…Jesus isn’t really fitting the mold…He comes on the scene as one who proclaims the kingdom of God…calls on people to trust in Him…  He makes promises…but John’s not seeing them…sound familiar.

It’s little wonder that John…who’s sitting in prison, begins to question whether Jesus is the one to come…Jesus fits neither John`s expectations nor the Jewish Sanhedrin’s expectations.

John’s question [11:3] “Are you the one who is to come” …and Nicodemus’s question “How can these things be?” are legitimate questions…in reality there’s not much difference between Nicodemus…John the Baptist …and us.

We know what it’s like at times to doubt and maybe despair a little when Jesus doesn’t look the way you want…when:

…He hasn’t brought that loved one, who has strayed from church, back…or He hasn’t caused that lost person you’ve been praying for to accept Him as Savior.

…He hasn’t provided a moment’s reprieve from the financial pressure you’ve been feeling for what seems like forever.

…He hasn’t addressed the health issues you’ve been begging him to restore.

John’s statement [Matt. 11: 2-3] – “Are you the expected one, or shall we look for someone else?” he’s displaying doubt…John represents the doubts that we all at times experience.

You’re not alone in doubting and despairing…even the great heroes of faith had doubts and despair… we’ve all been there…at the end of our rope…for both Nicodemus and John…Jesus didn’t look the way they wanted.

These two men…Nicodemus and John the Baptist, display the difference between doubt and unbelief.

While John represents the doubts that we all at times experience…Nicodemus represents the unbelief that is in the church today…the superficial believers…this is the single biggest problem in the Church today…people who:

…Outwardly identify with Christ…like Nicodemus they acknowledge Jesus to be a teacher sent from God [3:2] but are unwilling to accept Him as their Savior.

…Cling to a false profession whereby they fool themselves into thinking they are saved but inwardly they have never been genuinely converted.

…Their self-deception is reinforced by well-meaning Christians who naively embrace them as true believers…even though their lives manifest no signs of spiritual fruit.

…They’re reluctant to admit like Nicodemus…that they are helpless sinners…that was unthinkable for a proud…self-righteous…religious elite member of the Pharisees.

There are many things in life that seem unclear and need explaining…the kind of questioning John the Baptist had concerning Jesus’ identity is not uncommon in the life of a Christian.

At the beginning of John’s gospel…John the Baptist seemed so confident in his preaching about Jesus as the one who was to come…so his question now seems at best a bit puzzling…SO…was John questioning if Jesus was the Messiah a sin?

God is not afraid of your questions…in fact…He welcomes them…asking them doesn’t disqualify you from having a relationship with Him…behind every believer is a doubter…whether we’re confronted with intellectual challenges about who Jesus is…or during those times when our lives are falling apart…. we all have questioned God.

KEY — there’s a difference between questioning God’s actions….and putting your finger in God’s chest and demanding an explanation.

John’s question wasn’t an expression of unbelief…but a request for reassurance … notice…Jesus did not rebuke John for asking…but gave Him reassurance.

There’s a lesson here that John needed to know about patience and trust…as to patience…God will answer in the perfect way…and at the perfect time…know what our job in that is…not to give up…keep on asking…keep on seeking…keep on knocking…until God answers.  (Lk.18:1-5, / Matt.7:7-8 / / Gal.6:9 / Heb.12:3).

As to trust, trusting in God’s plan and purpose even when things do not turn out the way we wanted.

The problem is there is no shortage of preachers wanting you to believe that all you have to do is trust in the promises of God…just ask and God’s going to accommodate you…and here’s where this verse gets abused:  

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:9–10)

There it is…the goose that laid the golden egg…the promise that we can ask for whatever we want…knowing that God only gives what is good for us…and never what is bad. [Luke 11:11–13].

But what about when it’s not good…when there’s no light at the end of the tunnel… when things aren’t going good…when it seems that God hasn’t heard your prayer

…talked about it before…we need to realize what the “good” is: we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him [Rom. 8:28] really is.

FOURTH statement…that ‘good’ sometimes is not meant for us at all…nor does it always work out for our good.

 KEY — it always refers to the good that brings glory to God.

There are those who want to assure you that everything will always work out for your good because it’s a promise from God…First…God has never promised that… I’m sure when John came to the realization that he was going to die…his response of ‘OK so then where’s the good in this’ was one of intense contemplation.

The ‘good’ in that verse is the belief that as a Christian I can take confidence in knowing that I am not under the control of life’s circumstances…BUT God’s.

Knowing that I can then rejoice in whatever situation I am in…because God is right there in it with me…John was fulfilling God’s purpose for his life…and God was right there with him…John says so himself ‘He must increase, I must decrease’ [3:31].

Look at Jesus’s response about John after He had sent John’s disciples away, He said something stunning about who John was: no one born…had ever been greater…this is right after John questioned who Jesus was.

Getting back to Nicodemus…Doubt as opposed to unbelief… (R.C. Sproul) doubt is open-minded uncertainty; unbelief is closed-minded certainty.

John’s questioning reflected honest doubt…uncertainty…when John had doubts… he didn’t turn away from Christ…he turned to Him.

Doubt is the result of difficult circumstances…worldly influence…incomplete information…inadequate knowledge…ignorance…unfulfilled expectations…God is this truly in your will for my life?

In his heart John did believe that Jesus was the Messiah and trusted Him as his Lord …John was not questioning Jesus’ Messiahship…he was asking for information… for confirmation …John was no different than Christians today.

Whereas…unbelief is the rejection of Christ…it’s a mind that’s made up against God…OH people may indicate they don’t reject Christ…but no matter what is said or done… they find fault…they’re cynical…their criticism is an excuse for their rejection… they use criticism and indifference to cover up their unbelief.

Those are some of the qualities we see in Nicodemus…the same qualities seen in unbelievers…worse yet…the qualities we see of those inside the Church… superficial believers.

What’s a superficial believer…TWO THINGS:

FIRST…if Sunday after Sunday there’s no difference between what people do or how they live their lives Monday through Saturday…its possible they’re a superficial believer.

SECONDLY…the thing that will keep many men and women from entering God’s kingdom is the very thing upon which so many people are relying on—their religion… Nicodemus reflected a life that might well be labeled “How to Be Religious Without Being a Christian.”

The contrast between John and Nicodemus posed to us is simply this: Are you a Christian, or are you merely religious?

John 2:23-25 

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

I’ve often said that the most crucial question that any person will ever answer is the one that Jesus asked His disciples [Matt. 16:15)] “Who do you say that I am?” …every person who has ever lived will one day have to give an answer to that question.

Now we can go into the endless discussion of how can someone who has never heard of Jesus answer that question…then because they don’t know…they’ll be denied entry into heaven…unfair–that’s the argument–here’s the short answer.

God sovereignly and universally makes Himself evident to all men [Ps 119] …the fact that God exists is more than oblivious…He has provided an abundant amount of evidence of Himself to every person through general revelation.

General revelation is reflected in His creation that gives an unmistakable testimony of Himself…this is described as the theory of “universal opportunity” that at some time during every person’s lifetime they will have an opportunity to be exposed to who God is through general revelation^[1] and make a response.

It’s a fact that everyone can see…that somehow everything had to be created…a creator does exist…His creation testifies to it…His testimony is universal.

Therefore, every person does have enough information and proof that God does exist…every person’s individual freewill choice to reject that revelation is the issue God’s claim is…I have given you more than ample evidence to prove my existence …that causes them to stand guilty before God “without an excuse.” [Rom. 1:20]

When Jesus asked that question to the Disciples… “Who do you say that I am?” Peter by divine revelation answered [Matt. 16:16], “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

If Jesus is who the Bible portrays Him to be…and if He is who He claimed to be…the Messiah…the Son of the living God…then the only sensible response is to trust Him as your Savior as the only person who can save us from sin and the judgment that will accompany it…that is why  “Who do you say that I am?” is the crucial question in life!

This is why John…inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes what he writes…remember the aim of John’s Gospel is that people might believe in Jesus…so that those who read this account…his Gospel…will believe in Jesus and have life eternal.

20:31 sums up John’s purpose for writing.

31 these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

Throughout his entire gospel John documents an abundance of the evidence to verify Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah…beginning in the first two Chapters John records evidence to give credibility that Jesus is who He claims to be.

In Chapter 1 he makes reference to John the Baptist [6]

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.

Then after the miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, John says, [John 2:11]

This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him. Then in [v. 19] Jesus makes a profound statement about Himself:

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up After Jesus’ resurrection the disciples remembered that Jesus had made that statement [John 2:22] When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

       John is writing with the purpose of showing people that Jesus is the Son of God.

In [v. 23] John says something that sounds like maybe people are starting to believe      Many believed in his name when they saw the signs that He was doing.

On the surface that sounds like a good thing…when you come to [v. 23] and read it you think…this is good…people are believing…then you read [v. 24] which starts off with the word ‘but’ that seems to paint a different picture.   

This goes back to last week…I shared with you two things:

FIRST…the importance of the word ‘but’ …what this little two letter Greek word (δὲ) that is used over 4000 times in the Bible means is important.

Should someone say to you…that’s a nice shirt…BUT…when that word ‘but’ is spoken you automatically forget what was said before the ‘but’ because you’re essentially waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Whenever you encounter this contrasting word ‘but’ in a conversation…you have to ask yourself what hurtful statement is this guy getting ready to make… because that’s exactly what the word ‘but’ implies…a contrast…that’s a nice blue shirt but it looks kinda foolish with your green tie.

In Scripture it’s the same principle…ask yourself what is the author preparing to contrast…the word ‘but’ is a hinge so to speak that is contrasting the belief that seems to be a part of the ‘many’ ‘who believed in His name’ against the doubt that Jesus had about their belief….here’s Jesus’ response to the many who believed.

But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting himself to them for He knew all men [2:24].

TWO THINGS:

What does ‘entrusting’ mean…I though entrusting was when you put something into someone’s care or protection…so what does it mean in this instance…why would translators elect to use the word ‘entrusting’ …it’s confusing.

Here’s why…the word ‘believe’ in [v. 23] many people saw the signs he was performing and believed ἐπίστευσαν …is the same word translated as entrusting in [v. 24] But Jesus would not entrust ἐπίστευεν himself to them. [24]

The problem is…in English there is no way to show the difference in meaning between the two identical words ‘believe’ …so translators use the word entrusting to show the sharp contract between the people’s belief in [23] and Jesus’ response to their belief in [24].

A more literal translation for [v. 24] is:

      But Jesus didn’t believe in them, because He knew all about people.

There’s two types of belief depicted here…one is described in [20:31] that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ…then there’s the kind of belief that Jesus doesn’t approve of and as a result…Jesus didn’t believe in them [24].

John is focusing on Jesus’ divine omniscience…when talking about the attributes of God…and Jesus as His Son…three attributes are unique only to them:

* Gods omniscience – He is all-knowing

* Gods omnipresence – He is all-present/all-seeing

* Gods omnipotence – He is all-power

In this verse John draws out the idea that when Jesus looked into the heart of those who claimed they believed…He sees something other than the kind of faith that makes you a child of God…many claimed to ‘believe in His name’ …but Jesus didn’t trust Himself to them.

This is the second thing I shared with you last week and I want to share it again… What is meant by ‘believing in His name’?

Believing in Jesus’ name implies that there is a truth inherent in His name…Jesus’ name has significant meaning…when the Angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph about his son, he told Joseph what to name the child…because there is truth in His name.  

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name

Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.” [Matt. 1:21]

There’s a message contained within His name…the Hebrew name “Yeshua” means salvation…saying Yahshua vs. Jesus doesn’t mean you’re showing disrespect…it means we have all been led to believe that His name is Jesus…and it’s not.

When they translated the Old Testament text into English, they changed the spelling and pronunciation…and when they translated the Greek text into English, they changed it again…so we have the name Jesus instead of Yahshua.  

Here’s what is important…when a person believes in the name of Yahshua, he is believing in what that name means—that Jesus is the Savior in human form.

He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [John 3:18]

When one does not believe in the Messiah…in Yahshua…in Jesus…he is not believing in the meaning of His name.

“He that rejects Me, rejects Him that sent Me. If you reject the Son, you are rejecting the Father that dwells within the Son” [Luke 10:16] …that is the exact meaning of: “… “that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” [John 14:11]

So what’s happening here…and this is important…John is telling us simply that not all belief is belief that saves…people saw the signs and miracles He performed and believed in His authority…but not in the person.

Jesus knows what’s going on in the heart of everyone…as a result…the word believe in [v. 23] changes in [v. 24] to a different Greek tense that signifies their belief was not the belief that saves.

The word believe in [24] is changed to the imperfect tense…that is why translators use the word ‘entrusting’ to emphasize the difference in wording.

ἐπίστευσαν – Aorist Indicative Active – 3rd Person Plural [23]

ἐπίστευεν (episteuen) – Imperfect Indicative Active – 3rd Person Singular [24]

In [24] the imperfect tense of ‘believe’ is used…it means continuous action…it’s a belief that is always being undated…it’s never finalized…as a result…there’s never a firm commitment…if their faith was the faith that had no doubts…the word ‘believe’ would be in the perfect tense…describing a completed action.

Their faith was a faith that had not yet recognized Jesus as the Messiah…they may have taken great hope in his miracles…they may have said, “we want to go where He goes” …but their faith was not a true conversion faith.

That’s a rather unsettling statement…they saw the signs but they didn’t see the Savior…they were attracted to the miracles but not the man.

Jesus knew that when things looked differently…when things got difficult, they would not be numbered among his true followers…John describes this type of people [John 6:66] ‘many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.’ John’s gospel is a documentary of those saved and those who are not.

Nothing’s changed…human nature hasn’t changed in 5000 years…see it in the Old Testament with the nation of Israel and we see it in the Church today.

People who say they are committed…say they believe…and Jesus’ response is the same…Jesus didn’t believe in them…He knew their faith wasn’t real because He knew all about people [24]. We see Jesus’ omniscience in three statements:

FIRST… the general statement: “He knew all people.”

It means that there are no secrets in your life…you may have succeeded in hiding something all your life from everyone on earth…but you have not hidden it from Jesus.

SECOND…that He knows people’s private, inner life “He himself knew what was in man.” [2:25].

Jesus can see what is in every heart so He can see the kind of belief you have…is it seeking fellowship with Him and eternal life…or is it the belief that is not a saving belief?

THIRD… “He needed no one to bear witness about him” [2:25].

This goes back to my introductory statement regarding the most crucial question that any person will ever answer with respect to Jesus: “Who do you say that I am?”

The answer to that question reflects Jesus’ omniscient quality as God…He knows who has genuine faith—the kind of faith that really saves a person.

1.Saving faith is just not head knowledge, a mental conviction or an intellectual assessment.

It’s not just believing the fact that Jesus is the Savior of the world…it’s not just believing history that Jesus lived upon earth as George Washington once lived in the White House.

2.Saving faith is believing in Jesus, that He is the Savior and Lord of life.

It’s giving and turning your life over to Him…it’s casting yourself upon Jesus as Savior and Lord.

3.Saving faith is commitment—the commitment of your total being and life to Jesus.

It’s giving everything to Jesus…a total commitment of all you have…everything in your life…everything in the present…and everything in the future…it’s entrusting your whole life…and possessions into Jesus’ hands…it includes trusting Jesus in all areas and in every detail of life.

It’s trusting in the person whose judgment about you is the judgement that matters the most.

There is not the slightest part of your heart unknown to Jesus…He knows your deepest thoughts and feelings…your true and deepest motives at this hour, and every hour throughout your entire life.

We see this in Peter’s response to Jesus after His resurrection when Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” [John 21:15-17].

In Peter’s final response to Jesus… “you know that I love you.” John is revealing two words that describe how it’s possible for the Lord to know all things.

“Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

   Κύριε, πάντα σὺ οἶδας, σὺ γινώσκεις ὅτι φιλῶ σε.

Again…the same word is used in English in both statements ‘know’ but they have two separate meanings.

In Peter’s response; ‘Lord you know everything’ he uses the Greek word (οἶδας) that is alluding to Jesus’ divine omniscience…it means absolute knowledge…a knowledge of all things…and about all people…we see that in the statement—for he himself knew what was in man.

Then Peter says: ‘you know that I love you” …here the form of the verb ‘know’ (γινώσκεις ginosko) is different than the first ‘know’ …it means knowledge that is obtained by experience.

Here’s what Peter is saying…Lord you know all things because you are God… nothing is hidden from you…you are omniscience…that’s the first statement.

The second statement: you know that I love you…is the knowledge Jesus had about Peter from experience…living with him for over three years Peter had shown Jesus through experience…that he loved Him.  

One statement expressed Jesus’ omniscience…knowing all things…the second statement expressed Jesus’ knowing all things from His human side from experiencing them and watching.  

Jesus watches us every day of our lives…there is one person who knows your heart perfectly and knows it better than you do.

Knowing that should lead us to make the only sensible response…to trust Him as your Savior as the only person who can save us from sin and from the judgment that will accompany it…that’s the difference in having a belief that saves…and one that merely acknowledges that Jesus existed.

Here’s the tragedy in the verse…But Jesus didn’t believe in them…there will always be that contrast between the belief people have in Jesus [23] and the belief Jesus doesn’t have in them [24] “Who do you say that I am?” that is the crucial question in life!

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/he-knew-what-was-in-man

https://kevinpierpont.com/he-knew-all-people-john-2-23-25/

https://www.preceptaustin.org/john_2115-25_commentary

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[1] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2^nd edition, (Grand Rapids, MI., Baker Academic, 2009), 1026.

The Gospel of John

John 1:12 — ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

For the past two weeks we have looked at John’s description of Jesus as ‘Life’ and ‘Light’ … ‘Grace’ and ‘Truth’.

These four words define who Jesus is and what His ministry is;

Jesus is life, a life not limited by time nor hindered by death.

Jesus is light, the only exclusive source of spiritual light and eternal life.

Jesus is the manifestation of God’s grace who offers salvation.

Jesus is the truth incarnate…the Word of God made flesh.

I purposely skipped verse 12 because I wanted to highlight the words John used to describe Jesus’s ministry…life…light…grace…truth…I want us to back up a few verses to a verse that gives a condensed summary of the Gospel.

This morning I want to spend some time unpacking verse 12 because it is conveying the idea of what happens when we become a Christian.

One of the significant things about John 1:12 is that it starts out with the conjunction we translate as ‘but’(δὲ) …here’s what important about this little two letter Greek word that is used over 4000 times in the Bible.

Whenever you encounter this contrasting word ‘but’… ask yourself what the author is contrasting…it’s like the word ‘therefore.’

The word ‘therefore’ marks the transition from what was said and what the results or consequences are of what was said…whenever you see the word ‘therefore’ in the Bible ask yourself what is it there for.

Example…the first four chapters of Romans paints an ugly picture of humanity… according to Scripture there is not…nor has there ever been one single righteous person… everyone is guilty before God… ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ [3:24] …that includes everyone including Jews and Gentiles.  

BUT…beginning in [5:1] Paul says not all is lost… ‘Therefore, having been justified by faith we have peace with God thorough Jesus’ …the ‘therefore’ makes the transition from what was said…’we’re all doomed’ …to what the results are…

That we are justified by faith.

In this case the word ‘but’ is a hinge so to speak by contrasting the unbelief of those in v. 11 ‘He came to His own, but his own did not receive him.’ with the belief by the many in v. 12.

We know that when Jesus came into the world there were those who despised and rejected him, especially the scribes and Pharisees.

BUT…for those who did receive Him … ‘as many as,’ …unlimited atonement…no matter whether they be Jews or Gentiles…rich or poor…bound or free…illiterate or learned…all who receive Christ as their personal Savior to them is given the right to become the sons (better “children”) of God.

So…the word ‘but’ is contrasting things that are unalike…unbelievers vs. believers and by doing so it makes something sharp and clear by highlighting the differences.

For those who believed in Jesus…and receive Jesus into their hearts through faith, ‘He gave them the power to be the children of God.’

Four things about this phrase:

FIRST…the word ‘gave’ (1325 didomi) in Greek has the same definition as it does in the English…to freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone)  based on the decision of the giver to give something without any merit of the recipient.

The clear implication is that salvation is a gift of God’s sovereign grace…who freely gives us the right to be…or become…children of God.

That brings up the SECOND fact regarding the phrase ‘He gave them the power to become the children of God.’

The word ‘become’ is actually ‘to be’ …we have the right to be the children of God…here’s the significance in using the Greek word (1096 ginomai) ‘to be’ because it means to come into existence.

John 3:16 may be the most famous verse in the Bible…it is certainly the most-memorized verse in the Bible… ‘God so loved the world that he gave His—’one and only Son’…or ‘One of a kind Son’—which is a more accurate translation than “only begotten” because it captures the uniqueness of who Jesus is.  

Remember last week we said that Jesus is not God’s ‘begotten son’ …that John 1:14 and John 3:16 are mis-translated because the word ‘begotten’ in English implies that Jesus was created or born and therefore is not an accurate translation.

Jesus was not created or born…the Greek word μονογενοῦς (monogenes) translated as “only begotten” has nothing to do with being born…it means “one of a kind… unique,” …this is the wording that is reserved for Jesus.

This is opposed to the word γενέσθαι (ginoma) John uses in v. 12 which does mean born again…it’s the word John uses to describe our new life in Christ…the wording ‘to be’ means I come into being…I am born…I come into existence.   

Here’s what’s interesting about the word γενέσθαι (ginoma) ‘to be’ …it’s in the aorist tense…let me tell you the importance of that…the aorist tense conveys the idea that something occurred at a point in the past without specifying when this event occurred.

If you’re a Christian you made the decision at some point in the past to trust Jesus as your Savior…at that time you were given the right to be γενέσθαι a child of God.

See the difference between the word μονογενοῦς (monogenes) which defines Jesus as being unique or one of a kind…and the word John uses in v. 12γενέσθαι (ginoma) describing us as being born again when we accept Jesus as our Savior.  

1 Peter 1:3 puts this whole thing in perspective…Peter says that Jesus, because of His great mercy…has given us new birth…the word Peter uses in the Greek is a compound word (ἀναγεννάω an-ag-en-nah’-o) which includes part of the same Greek word γενέσθαι (ginoma) that John uses in describing us as being born again.

Here’s what Peter is telling us about how God works in the life of a Christian …the phrase in 1 Peter 1:3 has caused us to be born again is in the passive voice indicating we are ’…living a new life that was produced by a Source outside of the recipient…that Source is “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

THIRDLY…the word in Greek is not ‘sons’ υἱός…the word is children τέκνα.

Is it a big deal…no it’s not…These two words are used interchangeably throughout the New Testament…the use of these two words…sons and children…both describe our relationship to God.

Here’s what’s interesting…see how the writers of the New Testament used their own individual understanding of what it means to have a relationship with God…some describe us as being ‘sons’ of God while others use the word ‘children’ of God.

John’s choice of wording to describe the Christian’s relationship to God is the word children τέκνα…he never uses the word ‘sons’ when referring to Christians because John regards our position not as a result of adoption…but of a new life.

Paul…on the other hand…does use the term ‘adoption’ in describing our position in Christ from a legal standpoint…he describes us as being adopted.   

[Eph. 1:5] (NLT) ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.

John sees our relationship with God as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ… as children we inherit everything our Father has…which is what being adopted means as well…so… it’s not that John is correct and Paul is wrong in their description of our standing before God…it’s a matter of interpretation…both are correct.

As sons of God we are the children of God

1. Because we are “adopted” by Him, [Romans 8:15].
2. Because we are “like Him;” we have His Spirit [Rom. 8:9].
3. Because we are united with Christ, we are regarded by Him as His brethren [Matt. 25:40] and are therefore regarded as the children of God.

FOURTHLY…there are six words used for power in the New Testament…the word used in this instance for ‘power’ in the phrase ‘He gave them the power to be the children of God’ which implies doing something.

On the basis of being part of the family of God…God has given to us the power to be a child of God…this is described using the Greek term ἐξουσίαν (ex-oo-see’-ah) which can be translated as a ‘right’ or ‘privilege’.

God has bestowed upon us as believers the power or the ‘right’ or ‘privilege’ to be the children of God…and here’s what’s exciting about the word ‘power’…in the New Testament this word is referring to the authority God gives to His saints.

It is “delegated power” authorizing us to act to the extent they are guided by faith and His revealed word.

Want to share something with you for a moment…looking at the term delegated power…it’s what God gives to us so we can pray guided by His Word.

We pray for all kinds of things in our lives—healing… guidance in our lives…help with temptation…help with raising children—but have you ever asked God to help you not to be stupid?

When the Bible talks about stupidity, it’s not merely addressing lack of being book-smart or street-smarts…having a high I.Q… or knowing lots of information about a lot of things…you can be really smart and still be stupid.

In fact…God addresses being stupid…we just completed a six month study in the Sermon on the Mount…in this sermon Jesus is essentially telling the disciples not to pray stupid prayers…like the hypocrites and pagans do [Matt. 6: 5, 7].

What God is focusing on more than our stupidity is…our lack of wisdom—here’s the emphasis…think what it is we’re praying and praying about before we pray it.

A common question among Christians is; why doesn’t God answer my prayers? you know why…because some of them are stupid…God doesn’t do stupid things.

No matter how many times we say “please”.

No matter how much faith we have.

No matter how hard we pray.

God doesn’t do stupid things.

Does He do strange things…hard-to-understand things…hard to explain things…

even things that can seem totally messed up and even cruel things from our limited vantage point… YES He does.  But He never does stupid things.

I’ve come to believe that one reason for unanswered prayers is that we…I…keep praying stupid prayers…asking God to do stupid things.

I can hear some of your objections already. “There are no stupid prayers!” Yes, there are. I know. I’ve prayed some…people regularly ask God for stupid things.

• “Help me win the lottery”
• “Bring my cheating boyfriend back to me”
• “Help me lose weight while I eat whatever I want and never exercise”
• “Bless me now, even though I’ve been ignoring you for years”
• “Make me smart enough to pass the test I didn’t study for”
•  Praying for world hunger…world peace…or universal healing.
• “Give me a bigger ministry than the church down the street”

God has given to us the delegated power to be a child of God…here’s what’s exciting about that…God has bestowed upon us as believers the ‘right’ or ‘privilege’ to access the very throne of God in prayer.

As His child you have His listening ear whenever you need it…His throne is open to you because of the sacrifice of Christ…as such we can come before the Father boldly, bringing our needs and the needs of others to His attention…but everybody…don’t be stupid.

One more thing…God giving us delegated power to come before Him in prayer… it’s conditional …this verse specifies that this power (or right) is only extended to those who believe in His name.

Do you see the vastness of this single verse and when you dissect it how powerful it is with respect to what God has done…is doing…and is going to do in the future?

FIRST…God ‘gave’ us means He has freely transferred His possessions to us not based on something we did to earn them.

SECONDLY…God has caused us to be His children apart from anything we have done.

THIRDLY…As God’s children our relationship includes being heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. As children we inherit everything our Father has.

FOURTHLY…God has bestowed upon us as believers the ‘right’ or ‘privilege’ to be the children of God.

One of the most trite and worn-out expressions in the English language is in v. 12 “in His name” …what does it really mean? …all through our Christian walk we have uttered that phrase or a variation of it… “In the name of Jesus.” “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

We have learned to say these phrases watching and listening to others…coming to believe that it was important to say them…we end most every prayer that we’ve ever prayed with a form of “in His name” …we recite it almost as if it has some magical qualities that bring healing and comfort.

Believing in His name implies that there is a truth inherent in His name…Jesus’ name has significant meaning…when the Angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph about his son, he told Joseph what to name the child, saying,

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.” [Matt. 1:21]

Hebrew names are prophetical…Jesus’ name in Hebrew is Yahshua.

HISTORY LESSON…the spelling and pronouncing of the name “Jesus” is relatively new…the name Jesus has only been in use for less than 400 years…even the original King James Bible did not use the name Jesus…it is a recent change of Jesus’ Hebrew name which is Yahshua.

In fact…if you directly translated Jesus’ name from Hebrew into English, it would be Joshua…that is the literal translation of the name Yahshua.

When they translated the Old Testament text into English, they changed the spelling and pronunciation…and when they translated the Greek text into English, they changed it again…so we have the name Jesus…which it really not His name.

Here’s the importance in knowing this…there is a message contained within His name…the name “Yahshua” is loaded with meaning because the name “Yeshua” means salvation…saying Yahshua vs. Jesus doesn’t mean you’re showing disrespect.

“Believing in His name…” when a person believes in the name of Yahshua, he is believing in what that name means—that Jesus is the Savior in human form.

He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [John 3:18]

When one does not believe in the Messiah…in Yahshua…he is not believing in the meaning of His name… “He that rejects Me, rejects Him that sent Me.” If you reject the Son, you are rejecting the Father that dwells within the Son…that is the exact meaning of: “… that I am in the Father and the Father is in me”.

SO…what’s the reason that some believe in Jesus and some don’t…is it because those who believe are by nature better than others? hearts are softer… kinder/gentler?

No—they were by nature just like others…the difference is revealed in v.13 …it is because they were ‘born of God’ …that is, of the Spirit of God…BUT…it also tells us what they were not born of.

not of blood. Being a descendant from Abraham, David or any other godly person does not make someone a child of God (Luke 3:8; Matt. 3:9 John 8:39,40; Gal. 3:6,7,29).

Nor of the will of the flesh. The best efforts and exertions of our own human hearts and natures can change us…can reform us…but they cannot save us (John 3:6).

Nor of the will of man. We are not begotten of God because we decided on our own that’s what we want to do.   

But of God. If we have been born of God it’s not because our parents were good …or because of our best efforts to be a good person…or because it was my desire to become one…or because of a minister or friend who made us believe…it was through the power of God.

See how powerful this one verse is…when I read this it is what convinces me that God inspired the Bible…how could John develop these ideas on his own…they are theologically so deep that they had to be inspired by God.  

People willfully everyday put off being a child of God…it is dreadfully true…that until we receive Him…until we believe in Christ, we are the children of Satan, and not the children of God.

John 1:15-17 (NIV)

¹⁵ John (the Baptist) testified concerning him… “This is the one I                      spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed              me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

After John’s detailed description regarding Jesus as being both the ‘life’ and the ‘light’ of the world…John now begins to focus on the mission of John the Baptist …notice how he describes John’s purpose as a man ‘sent from God’ [1:6] as opposed to Jesus who was ‘in the beginning with God’ [1:2].

The importance of identifying who John the Baptist is for two reasons:

FIRST…John is the introducer of a new dispensation…the dispensation of grace…

We now live in the time period known as the dispensation of grace.

History lesson…let me share with you some eschatological theology…eschatology is the science of last things…it is commonly believed that there are seven dispensations.

Dispensationalism is a method of interpreting biblical history…it divides God’s work and purposes into seven different periods of time…most theologians agree that we are living in the next to the last dispensation…the Dispensation of Grace.

The Dispensation of Grace started on the Day of Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit…that is what John is introducing here…we are living in the  “Age of Grace” or  the “Church Age.”

Here’s what’s unique about the dispensation of grace…John is proclaiming God’s intentions toward men…in this dispensation is the expectation of what had been anticipated in all the preceding dispensations.

In other words, everything that has been happening in the last 5000 years has been leading up to this…the age of grace…so far…this dispensation has lasted over 2,000 years…and no one knows when it will end.

BUT…we do know the event that will bring it to and end…the sixth dispensation ends with the Rapture of the church [1 Thess. 4] …when all born-again believers and all believers who have died will be taken from the earth to heaven to be with Christ.

Getting back to the sixth dispensation…what is special about this dispensation is that the Holy Spirit indwells in believers.

Prior to this the Holy Spirit only indwelt in certain people for a specific purpose …but in this dispensation…the dispensation of grace…the Holy Spirit…as the Comforter lives in the life of every believer. He lives in you until you die.

SECOND point in mentioning John the Baptist was to remind people that John was not the Messiah…the exact nature of John’s work needed clarification…he was only a witness to make known to people that the living ‘Word’ …the ‘Light’ has come into the world.

That is the intent [v. 15] in saying, “He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” In that statement John is declaring that

Jesus is the exclusive source of spiritual light…no other source of spiritual illumination is available to mankind.

In [v14] John says that the Word became flesh and took on human form…the Word was made a man…he then makes an interesting insight into Jesus’ incarnation when he says: ‘the only begotten from the Father.’

Does ‘only begotten Son’ indicate that Jesus is a created being? …that He was born…our English translation of this in Genesis adds to the confusion.

The reason is because the Greek word μονογενοῦς (monogenes) is not referring to the “begetting” or to the idea that Jesus was born.

The words ‘only begotten’ does not mean that Christ was created…John is saying… the ‘Word’ Jesus has always been the source of life…He has always existed…Jesus is uniquely God’s Son.

[Hebrews 1:2] says God created the universe through His “Son”—implying that Christ was the Son of God prior to the Creation…and explicitly to have existed “before all things” [Col. 1:17].

Therefore…the term ‘only begotten’ is not an accurate translation…it is misleading and leads to some misunderstanding because most Bible translations today don’t accurately translate the Greek word μονογενοῦς ‘only begotten’ correctly.

As a result…our Jehovah’s Witnesses friends tell us that Jesus is God’s only begotten Son in the sense that He was directly created by the hand of God.

(Aid to  bible Understanding, 1971, 918)

He is therefore a god…but a lesser god than God the Father because He was made…and they will use the word ‘only begotten’ as their source.

CORRECTING THE MISINTERPRETATION…we saw last week that John has clearly shown that ‘Jesus was in the beginning with God’…the word ‘was’in the imperfect tense denotes continuous, ongoing or repeated action in the past.  

The ESV Study Bible notes: The Greek word “only begotten” has nothing to do with being born…monogenes, means “one of a kind…unique,” …this is the wording that is reserved for Jesus.

Jesus is unique in every aspect of his being…He is unique in His person…birth… miracles…death…and resurrection…thus “One and Only” or ‘One of a kind’ is a more accurate translation than “only begotten” because it captures the uniqueness of who Jesus is. …the JW’s have made a gross theological error.

Since I’ve mentioned the Jehovah’s Witnesses let me tell you how our Mormon friends interpret the idea that Jesus was “the only begotten from the Father,” or as they view it…that Jesus was God’s first-born Son.

Mike Huckabee was criticized back in 2007 when he made the statement: “Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?”

The Mormon church was quick to condemn that statement…BUT…by their own admittance—[Robert L. Millet a professor of religion at Brigham Young University]] ]—-have stated: “Jesus was God’s first-born son—[error already…Jesus wasn’t born…He’s always been]—and everyone who came after that, including Satan, could be considered the siblings of Jesus.” TWO THINGS:

FIRST…second error…Satan was created…if created…how could Satan be a sibling of Jesus. Terrible theology.

SECONDLY…the definition of sibling is: one of two or more individuals having one common parent…so if they say Satan is a sibling of Jesus wouldn’t that in fact imply Satan is Jesus’s brother? How utterly ridiculous…and even blasphemous.

Let me just mention really quick something about cults…four things all religious cults have in common and how you can identify them:

First…cults will tell you that you can only be “saved” in their organization alone.

Second…they declare they have the Divine authority of the Bible but in reality… they manipulate the scriptures to suit their own purposes.

Thirdly… cults will tell you if you ever leave the “one true church” then you are going to hell.

Fourth…they all have their own translation of the Bible because the Bible has been corrupted.

So to answer the false teaching John is establishing the fact that as God’s Son…Jesus wasn’t created…He’s not God’s offspring…He’s not a sibling of Satan…He’s one-of-a-kind…He’s unique in His relationship with God.

This is the whole purpose of 1, 2, 3 John is to address the lies of the cults that had already sprung up in the first century.

Then John goes on to further describe Jesus as full of grace and truth…here’s what this means.

…Jesus’ GRACE offers love and compassion to guilty sinners (John 4:1-26).

…Jesus’ TRUTH sanctifies us…and warns us of God’s judgment.

Truth is a two-sided coin…people like the sanctification part…but don’t want to hear about God’s judgment… people don’t come to church to feel bad…to have to face the reality of their lifestyle.

BUT the Bible is clear on the fact that not everyone goes to heaven…All dogs (may) go to Heaven…that’s a movie…unfortunately…not all people go to heaven …let me share with you what happens when we ignore truth.

This is the problem in The United Methodist Church…it’s anticipated that in May the nation’s third-largest denomination in America is expected to split because they are blatantly ignoring Scripture.

They are ignoring truth…their split is the result of the contentious fight over same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy.

Nothing in Scripture bars someone who is LGBT from becoming a minister… actually there’s a short list of things that prohibits someone from becoming a pastor.

Fortunately, the Bible doesn’t have a list of the offenses that excludes someone from becoming a Pastor…if it did most of the Pastors in America wouldn’t be in the pulpit…including me.

BUT…there is a prohibition regarding same-sex marriage…and rather than obey the truth regarding this matter the Methodist Church has elected to ignore Scripture …not face the reality of sin…and split the church.

GOING DEEP…Grace and truth reached their culmination at the Cross where God’s propitiation was satisfied…Propitiation is a two-part act…the word propitiation carries the idea of appeasement specifically toward God.

Propitiation involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person…just so you know…God is offended.

BUT besides appeasement…propitiation also includes reconciliation…God’s wrath against sinners was placed on Jesus…Jesus got what I should have gotten.

That’s called mercy…God’s anger was satisfied in the death of the perfect Substitute…the sin that once separated us from God has been removed and we are restored back into perfect harmony with God…that’s called reconciliation.  

Because of God’s grace all those who trust in Jesus…are brought back into fellowship with God…BUT…that is only accomplished by believing in the ‘life’ and ‘light’ of the world…that allows you to experience God’s forgiveness.

Since Jesus is full of GRACE you can come to Him for forgiveness…and because He is full of TRUTH you can trust His promise that you are forgiven.

Then John makes a comparison between Old Testament grace and New Testament grace…in [v. 17]…he is in effect presenting a contrast between the Old Testament with all its regulations…sacrifices…ordinances…and ceremonies that was given through Moses…against the new era of salvation by grace through faith that has come through Jesus Christ.

Often times we view the Law in a way that is unfair…we see the law with all its demands and consequences as nothing more than an aggravation of trying to please God by works rather than through belief.

In [v. 17] there is a confusing phrase that seems to cast a division between The Law and grace and it’s not meant to: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” as if they are separate…one being replaced by the other.

BUT…that’s not what John is implying… John isn’t suggesting the time before Jesus was a time lacking in grace…rather just the opposite…God’s grace has always been evident.

John’s not painting the law in a negative light…he’s not saying it’s bad…rather the law was a gracious thing …the Law is described as the first grace that was offered.

Here’s what John is saying…especially to the Jewish believers who knew the Law with all of its burdensome demands and consequences that only caused aggravation by trying to please God by works rather than belief.  

John is introducing the ultimate grace and truth…Jesus…grace that has been added to the old grace…Jesus is not doing away with the grace the Law brought…the grace that Jesus brings has been added to the grace that the Law brought.

If you want an even more gracious demonstration of God’s covenant love and faithfulness…it’s found in Jesus… “If you thought that God’s gift of the law through Moses was a great thing (and it was), He has given us a greater gift now through His Son Jesus Christ.”

That’s what John is referring to in only three words in the Greek fully captures Old Testament grace with New Testament grace. χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος·

This phrase has been translated in a number of different ways because of the confusion surrounding the Greek word ἀντὶ

NIV: “grace in place of grace already given.”
ESV: NASB: “grace upon grace.”
KJV: “grace for grace.”
NLT: “one gracious blessing after another.”

So…the phrase can be correctly translated in a number of different ways and all be correct…the idea is that the law was a gracious gift but now God is going to introduce an even better gracious gift …it’s not to be thought of as the Law is outdated…that’s not what is meant. The Old Testament is still in effect.

John is saying that God has added ‘grace to grace’ …grace has been added to grace.

When we have a revelation of who Jesus is…why He came…how God intertwines Old Testament grace with the New Testament grace, then we can better grasp the four words that define who Jesus is and what His ministry is; that He is ‘life’ and ‘light’, He is ‘truth’ and ‘grace.’

Jesus is the life, a life not limited by time nor hindered by death.

Jesus is light, the only exclusive source of spiritual light.

Jesus is the manifestation of God’s grace who brings salvation.

Jesus is the truth incarnate…the Word of God made flesh.

John 1:4-5 ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it

Last week we began a study into the fourth Gospel…the Gospel of John…unlike the synoptic Gospels of Matthew…Mark…and…Luke…John’s gospel develops a Christology—an explanation of Christ’s nature and origin—while leaving out much of the familiar material that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all share.

The central theme in the Gospel of John is the divine “Logos” became flesh and dwelt among men in the person of Jesus.

John 1:1-2 ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²He was with God in the beginning.

In his opening statement John wants to tell us four things about Jesus:

(1) the time of His existence,

(2) the essence of His identity,

(3) His relationship to God, and

(4) His relationship to the world.

1. The Time of His Existence

John begins his gospel of Jesus at the same point the Bible begins in Genesis: “In the beginning” [Jn 1:1; Gen 1:1] …so right away John is telling us that Jesus was before time…before history…and before creation.

Using the phrase “In the beginning” was not an accident…the first thing John’s going to tell us about what Jesus did is that He created the universe… “In the beginning,” takes us back to Genesis 1:1, at the creation of heaven and earth.

It’s important to look at this verse in the Greek…the true meaning of what John is trying to impart clearly is revealed…the word ‘was’in the phrase “In the beginning was” …is in the imperfect tense…the imperfect tense denotes continuous, ongoing or repeated action in the past.  

The verb “was” indicates that at the beginning of the universe the Word already was in existence…it’s important that we know that Jesus was not created…He has always been with the Father throughout the trillions of years in eternity past.  

That’s affirmed in [v.3] …Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Jesus was in existence before creation…before there was any created matter, there was the Word, the Son of God.

John begins his Gospel by locating Jesus…the Son of God in relation to time, namely, before time.

2. The Essence of His Identity

At the end [Verse 1] John writes: “The Word was God.” …in these three words John gives us some heavy doctrine…but uses some very basic and simple Greek words in doing it…this could not get simpler and it could not get heavier.

John in essence is telling us the same thing we tell our AWANA kids…our kids in children’s church when they ask: “Where did God come from?” …we say… “God didn’t come from anywhere…He was always there…He never had a beginning…He was there before anything else was there…He made everything else…there was never a time when there wasn’t God.”

Then you can just about count on the next question being: “But how did He get to be the way He is?” ….and the answer is…whether you’re a Sunday school teacher or a PHD teaching seminary the answer’s the same: “He didn’t get to be that way…He’s always been that way…He is what He is…nobody made Him the way He is …He just is…that’s what it means to be God.”

It’s important to note that John brings this up for one purpose…to describe that the one thing that Jesus as the Son…and God as the Father is…is that they are life…they’re alive…they’re a living person…not a human person…but a divine person…as far back as you can go in eternity, forever and ever and ever there is one changeless reality—they are life.

The Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us, is the man Jesus who is God.

3. His Relationship to God

In [v. 1] “the Word was with God …the ‘Word’ who is Jesus…is God…again, the word ‘was’ is in the imperfect tense, denotes continuous, ongoing or repeated action in the past.  

From all eternity past…Jesus’ relationship to God is He is the fullness of deity in a distinct Person…He is the image of God…perfectly reflecting all that God is.

So we have seen:

• the time of his existence (before all time)
• the essence of his identity (“the Word was God”)
• His relationship to God (“the Word was with God”).

4. His Relationship to the World

Verses 3: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men”

For a few minutes I want us to look at what that means… “In Him was life” …what does it mean to say that Jesus is the source of life or that He is the life?

The first answer to that question is one that takes us…again…back to the opening pages of the Book of Genesis. 

The Word who became flesh…He who created the universe also gave ‘life’ to the entire world…what better proof that the Word was God…He is the creator of all things…He created everything without exception and everything includes our physical life as well.

John is saying…that all things that were made by him had life in them.

However, this is only the beginning of our understanding of what John intended by the use of the word “life” in the Gospel.

Back to Genesis…another part of creation consisted “in breathing into man the breath of life,” [Genesis 2:7] …God is declared to be “life,” or the “living” God because He is the source of life. This attribute is here ascribed to Jesus as well.

But…here’s the unfortunate part…not all life has in them the light which can guide them to heaven…therefore the expression ‘in him was life’ is not to be understood as simply having a knowledge of God by wisdom…because the world by wisdom does not know God [1 Cor. 1:21].

We live in a world that believes salvation…is just believing in God…it’s not…we live in a world that believes salvation is just believing in Jesus…it’s not.

…Muslims believe in Jesus: he’s considered a prophet in the religion of Islam. …Hindus believe in Jesus: he’s a great guru for them.

…historians believe in Jesus: He was a first century Jew who lived in Galilee.

…the demons in hell believe in Jesus…they have more sense than most of the people who claim to know Jesus…at least they tremble when they hear His name.

…When you don’t know what Jesus did…then you’re not saved.

…When you don’t know that Jesus is the Son of God…then you are not saved.

…When you don’t know why Jesus needed to die…then you are not saved.

…When you don’t know that Jesus rose from the dead…then you are not saved.

…If you think you can contribute to your own salvation…believing Jesus is not enough to save you…then you are not saved.

Merely believing in Jesus cannot save…this is the essence of John’s Gospel…here is how you know when believing in Jesus saves you.

⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it

It’s important to look at this verse in the Greek…the true meaning of what John is trying to impart clearly is revealed…as before…the word ‘was’in the phrase ‘in him was life’…is in the imperfect tense…the imperfect tense denotes continuous, ongoing or repeated action in the past.  

John is saying…the Word…Jesus has always been the source of life…this means that from all eternity ‘life’ resided in the Word…Jesus.

Then John switches from the imperfect tense ‘was’ to the present tense in the next phrase… ‘the light shines in the darkness’…the word ‘shines’ is in the present tense indicating a continuous ongoing action…there will never be a time when the light does not shine.

If I were to put a Peluso paraphrase on verses 4 and 5 it would read: ‘From all eternity past Jesus has been the source of life and He will continue to be the source of life throughout eternity.’

When reading this in the English translation that Jesus is ‘life’ and ‘light’ it’s easy to treat it as sort of ho-hum…not realizing that John is referring to something more than merely physical life and rays of sun light.

In Jesus we have the embodiment of both ‘life’ and ‘light’…life and light are two of the basic words on which the Fourth Gospel is built on.

They are two of the main themes which is the aim of the Gospel…throughout his gospel he will develop and expound on these two truths about Jesus.

Here’s the importance in knowing the languages so you can see the intensity in John’s desire for us to know what kind of life Jesus is offering us.

Here’s the importance of the word ‘life’ in the phrase ‘in Him was life’…in English there is only one word for ‘life’ that is ‘life’ …usually associating things that are alive from things that are dead…BUT…in the Greek there are three words for ‘life’ and they all mean something different.

One word for life is the word—βίος (bios)—in which we get the English word biology…it refers to the duration of life…as we think about what life means…the time between one’s birth…and one’s death…or it can refer to the necessities of life

such as…food, shelter, and clothing [Luke 8:14].

The second word for life is the word—ψυχή (psuché) (psoo-khay’)—from where we get the word physiology…referring to the mind…emotions…and will of a person.   

The third word is the word John uses for life is this verse…it is—ζωὴ (zoe)—it refers to life as God has it…a life not limited by time…nor hindered by death.

So…looking at all three Greek words for ‘life’ we see:

…in our natural birth as human beings we experience our physical (bios) life

…in our physical life we possess all the emotions (psuche) (psoo-khay’) of life

BUT John’s ultimate purpose is not for men to have physical life…everyone born has that attribute…John’s purpose is to go deeper than that…so for John…life in Jesus has a double meaning…it’s having a physical life…and it’s having life by being born a second time.

So John uses the third Greek meaning for the word ‘life’ (zoe) life which brings us back to God’s original intention for us.

Eternal life can be seen everywhere in the Bible…from the tree of life in Genesis to the same tree seen at the end of the Bible in [Rev. 22:14]…seeing the tree of life in both the first and last books of the Bible helps us see that the zoe life…is a life that shines in eternity past…that continues to shine today…and will shine in the future.

It is the life God originally intended for us…a life God is offering to every person who has ever lived…a life not limited by time nor hindered by death…it is the central theme in the Bible.

Looking at John 10:10 we can see the impact of having a zoe life…and understand the full meaning of ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’ …two things about this verse:

FIRST…we need to have God’s view as shown in the Bible of what a zoe life is…far too often this verse gets distorted and misused.

What we are talking about is the combination of both life and light…when you receive Jesus, you receive life…and when you receive life you receive light.

This is the biblical meaning of ‘and that life was the light of all mankind.’

SECONDLY…what this verse means is vastly different than what is being preached today…it doesn’t mean that Christ came so that we could have a better or improved human life…this is not what this verse is referring to.

Having the abundant life has nothing to do with your physical wellbeing…you having a better job…nicer car…bigger house…God is not focused on or concerned about the material things in your life.

SO…what John means when he says that Jesus…is life…is union with Jesus is everything.

[1 John 5:11–12] : “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”  

So if you have him, you have life. If you reject him, you reject life. [John 5:40]

[John 10:28]

So I think it’s clear that when John says in [John 1:4], “In him was life,” he means spiritual life…eternal life…life that saves from judgment….if you have the Son, if you have Jesus—He is in you and you are in Him…you have life forever …a vital union with Jesus is everything.

The second important word in [v. 4] is the world ‘light’ …Jesus Himself says“I am the Light of the world” [John 8:12].

In declaring Himself to be the Light of the world: Jesus is claiming that He is the exclusive source of spiritual light…no other source of spiritual truth is available to mankind.

In just 5 words “and the Word was God” (καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος)John destroys every other religion and cult in existence…no other religion or cult can make the claim that their founder is on an equal with God…no other religion or cult can show evidence that their founder had all the attributes and qualities of God…that in essence He is God.

Spiritual darkness is the state of a person who is living apart from God…living in rebellion to God which is equivalent to living in spiritual darkness…spiritual darkness means not having fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus.

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people: ‘I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.’

As Christians Jesus is speaking of the light of His Truth…the light of His Word… the light of eternal Life…those who perceive the true Light will never walk in spiritual darkness.

Hence the importance of ‘life’ and ‘light’ … ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

The good news is that Jesus brings light into the world…that He not only dwelt among us…but that He taught us…He healed us…He rebukes us…He loves us…and died for us.

His life-giving Spirit is the light that shines into the spiritual darkness of the sinner’s heart…He is the only One who can open the eyes of the blind…who can bring us out of spiritual darkness.

“In him was life” …only in Jesus is there eternal life because only through him can our deadness be replaced with life and our blindness be replaced with light.

God’s desire is that we focus on His divine…eternal…spiritual ‘zoe’ life…that we won’t focus on our ‘bios’ physical life…or (psuche) (psoo-khay’) emotions of life.  

In the first four verses of John’s Gospel…that really goes on for another 21 chapters… John has already made an invitation…come to Jesus…believe on Jesus…receive Jesus …and He will be your life and your light both now and throughout eternity.

The Gospel of John

¹Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.

 ² Οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν.

Some who deny that Jesus is God make the claim that Jesus never said that He is God…and that is correct…the Bible never records Jesus as saying the precise words, “I am God.” … however, it does not mean that Jesus never claimed to be God.

There are over 100 verses that support Jesus’ claim to be God…Jesus’ claim to divinity was often done in what we might call ‘a Jewish way’…a way that links Him to the Old Testament…something those who are unfamiliar with…or not knowledgeable of Old Testament prophecies would miss.  

Christians had a dilemma as soon as they declared that Christ was God…same problem we have in explaining who Jesus is today…if Jesus is God…and God the Father is God…doesn’t that make two gods?

And when you throw the Holy Spirit into the mix doesn’t that make three gods? …so aren’t Christians really polytheists? …if they insist, they’re monotheists…how can all three…Father…Son…and Holy Spirit all be God?

There are various ways of trying to explain this and one of the most popular ways is called modalism…it’s called modalism because it insisted that God existed in three modes — just as I am…all at the same time…I am a son to my mother and father… a brother to my two sisters…and a father to my two children…BUT…there’s still only one of me.

That’s what God is like…He manifests Himself in three persons…but there’s only one of him.

The Fourth Gospel…the Gospel According to John…describes the mystery of the identity of Jesus… it develops a Christology—an explanation of Christ’s nature and origin—while leaving out much of the familiar material that runs through the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Matthew, Mark and Luke are so alike in their telling that they are called the Synoptic Gospels…meaning “seen together” the parallels are clear when they are looked at side by side.

Mark begins his gospel of Jesus starting with the ministry of John the Baptist.

Luke begins his gospel of Jesus with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Matthew begins his gospel of Jesus with a genealogy going all the way back to David and Abraham.

The central theme in the Synoptic Gospels is the coming of the kingdom of God. John’s gospel is different than the other three…John does not include the same incidents or chronology found in the other three Gospels.

The central theme in the Gospel of John, is the divine “Logos” became flesh and dwelt among men in the person of Jesus.

John’s Gospel is filled with long discourses describing Jesus’s divinity. John takes us behind Jesus’s ministry, where we get a glimpse of what it means to believe in Jesus as God’s Son who came to earth in a human body.

As is the case with anything that has to do with Scripture the question is…who wrote John’s Gospel?

As easy a question as that may seem…it’s not…there are various persons credited with writing this gospel…some believe it was Lazarus… some believe it was Mary Magdalene…some argue that John Mark could have been the author of John.

Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors… however…the traditional view of the Church has been that this is the “Gospel according to John,” …John the apostle…John the son of Zebedee.

Want to give you a little history of what has been happening in the church since around the 16^th century…and it’s continuing today…some of the common beliefs we now accept as ‘true’ or Scriptural…are actually more the result of translations of the Bible that is the product of our Western heritage.

Talked about one last Tuesday at the Christmas Eve service…that Mary and Joseph were turned away because there was no room for them in the inn…didn’t happen.

Up until around 1790 it was universally held that the Apostle John wrote the Gospel that bears his name…that was never disputed.

Then the tide turned against John as the author…this occurred…not because the evidence supported a different outcome…but because of the Enlightenment.

The Enlightenment emerged out of a European intellectual and scholarly movement known as Renaissance humanism…where scholars reacted against traditionally held beliefs…one of those beliefs was the authorship of John’s gospel.

I believe Scripture gives clear evidence that the apostle John wrote the fourth book in the New Testament…John is described explicitly in this Gospel as one whom Jesus loved [John 11:3, 5 / 21:2 / 13:23].

John had a closer relationship with Jesus than any of the other disciples…Jesus and John were essentially “best friends”.

…Jesus entrusted John with the care of His mother

…Jesus gave John the vision of the transfiguration

…Jesus allowed John to witness His most amazing miracles

…Jesus gave him preferential seating at the table during the Last Supper

…John was given the Book of Revelation

All reflect not only honor but also the closeness of his position with Jesus…so it only makes sense that John’s gospel gives us more detail into who Jesus is.  

Why does John refer to Jesus as the “Word” …why didn’t he use Jesus, the Messiah or Lord? …why does John start this way?

You’re reading something that was written 2000 years ago….to an audience you’re completely unfamiliar with…in a language that you’re not a native speaker of…and trying to understand what John is saying…does anyone see a problem here.

John is the only gospel writer who refers to Jesus as the Word…because the statement “and the Word was God” (καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος) is the clearest statement of the deity of Jesus in the Bible

In only five words in both the English and in Greek is the clearest and most direct declaration of the deity of Christ found anywhere in Scripture.

In just 5 words John destroys every other religion and cult in existence…no other religion or cult can make the claim that their founder is on an equal with God…no other religion or cult can show evidence that their founder had all the attributes and qualities of God…that in essence He is God.

So, John’s point in this opening statement of describing Jesus as God…is to tell us that He is the eternal Word…the Creator of everything…John is making claims about Who Jesus is…about what He does and what He brings.

Essentially, what John is doing by introducing Jesus as the Logos is drawing upon a familiar word and concept that both Jews and Gentiles of his day would have been familiar with… and using that as the starting point from which he introduces them to Jesus.

The concept of the word “Word” …in the Greek it is λογος…which would have had meaning for both Jews and Greeks:

–To the Greeks…λογος was the reason and order in the universe… …to the Greek thinking the universe is an orderly place…what causes the universe to be orderly is reason (logos).

…To the Jews…the word of the Lord was the expression of divine power and wisdom…creation took place through God’s speech (Gen 1; Ps 33:6) …by God’s word He gave Israel the Ten Commands…John presented Jesus to his Jewish readers as the incarnation of divine power.

To speak of the Word (logos) in relation to the beginning of creation would make sense to both Jews and Greeks

In his opening statement John wants to tell us four things about Jesus:

(1) the time of His existence,

(2) the essence of His identity,

(3) His relationship to God, and

(4) His relationship to the world.

1. The Time of His Existence

John begins his gospel of Jesus at the same point the Bible begins in Genesis: “In the beginning” [Jn 1:1; Gen 1:1] …so right away John is telling us that Jesus was before time…history…and before creation.

Verse 1: “In the beginning was the Word.” The words “in the beginning” are identical in Greek to the first two words in the Greek Old Testament.

Using the phrase “In the beginning” was not an accident…the first thing John’s going to tell us about what Jesus did is that He created the universe… “In the beginning,” takes us back to Genesis 1:1, when God created heavens and earth.

The verb “was” indicates that at the beginning of the universe the Word already was in existence…it’s important that we know that Jesus was not created…He has always been with the Father throughout the trillions of years in eternity past.  

That’s what he affirms in [v.3] …Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. …Jesus was in existence before creation…before there was any created matter, there was the Word, the Son of God.

John begins his Gospel by locating Jesus…the Son of God in relation to time, namely, before time.

Two Interesting questions…when did time start…AND how long has man been on the earth?  

FIRST…cosmologists believe with the Big Bang time was created…that time didn’t exist before the Big Bang because well, the Big Bang created time…that is the starting point of time.

Jude exults in this truth in his letter… “To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. [Jude 1:25].

SECONDLY…both liberal and conservative scholars generally agree that Abraham was born about 2,000 years before Christ…and Adam was born 2000 years before Abraham…we are now in the year 2020, so this is another 2,000 years or so after the birth of Christ.

When we add the 2,000 from Adam to Abraham, the 2,000 from Abraham to Christ, and the 2,000 from Christ to the present day, we end up with about 6,000 years since man was created by God.

I’m not saying that the earth is only 6000 years old…I’m saying that God created man…Adam and Eve…6000 years ago…again…here’s where Christianity gets sideways with Science and it doesn’t need to…the age of the earth verses the age of humanity.   

Ever heard the expression… “the Bible says it…I believe it…that settles it” …here’s how the belief in this saying leads to problems.

When you do that the problem is how do you know if the Bible really says what you think it says?  …what if it means something different than what you think it means…or what you’ve been taught it means?

Then what happens is…without even realizing it…you’ve based your entire understanding of the rest of the Bible to accommodate your false understanding… without realizing it you have suddenly contributed to the meaning and authority of the Bible..

Here’s the example…how old is the earth…Bible implies it’s 6000 years old based on our ability to trace human genealogy back to Adam…but scientists claim the earth has been in existence for millions of years…how do you explain the disparity.  

Here comes the importance in knowing Biblical languages…I’m certainly not an expert…actually…more like a novice when it comes to Biblical languages…but just a little personal research will reveal the problem with the wording of ‘day’ in Hebrew…as in “the evening and the morning were the first day” [Gen 1:5].

For one thing…it does not mean…although it can mean…a twenty-four-hour period of time…so based on that premise the Hebrew word for ‘day’ …‘yom’ does not specifically mean a time period of twenty-four hours [Gen 29:14; Lev. 25:8: Josh. 24:7; 2 Chron. 15:3].^[1]

To take the position that creation occurred in six twenty-four-hour days and therefore the earth is only 6000 years old is to embarrassingly deny the scientific proof regarding the Cambrian rock that evolutionists believe is between 600 and 500 million years old.^[2]

This all comes down to the questionable translation of the Hebrew word “day” several examples in Scripture show ‘yom’ meaning an extended period of time [Gen 2:4 / Joel 1:15 / Zech. 12:3].

SO…the probability may have been that each day was NOT twenty-four hours long therefore concluding that “morning” and “evening” could signify longer periods of time [Ps. 90:5-6 / Jer. 6:4] 

A belief I have had for years is what is known as the “framework hypothesis” …that says what we think of as “days” are not time periods but literary devices to teach theological truth.

That creation may not have been accomplished in six days…it is a way for interpreting the length of time needed to justify the age of the Cambrian rock and our galaxy’s expansion.

Let me just say one more thing before you organize a committee to get rid of the Pastor…something I’ve said before…something profound I learned during my years in Seminar…sometimes it’s OK to say… “I don’t know because the Bible doesn’t say.”

Genesis One could refer to a series of creative acts…or it could refer to periods of time…So how old do I think the earth is…all that is said is creation was a six-day event with no certainty on whether those were 24-hour days or a progressive creation separated by longer periods of time: so I DON’T KNOW.

Paul says in [2 Tim. 1:9] that God gave us grace in Christ Jesus “before the times of the ages.” …so before there was any time or any matter, there was the Word, Jesus the Son of God…that is who we will meet in this Gospel.

You see the complexity of Scripture…we have talked this morning about just the first verse of John’s Gospel…we read the Bible not realizing that God has packed it full of proofs regarding His existence.

Do you see what this means for our series on the Gospel of John? It means that we are going to spend some time in getting to know God…as we get to know Jesus… …let me ask you this morning…do you want to know God?

Let me invite you to come with us…and invite others to come and meet God as we meet Jesus.

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[1] Bruce A. Demarest and Gordon R Lewis, Integrative Theology Vol. 2: (Grand Rapids, MI., Zondervan, 1990) 41, 44. 

[2] Alex McFarland, The 10 Most Common Objections to Christianity, (Ventura CA., Regal Books 2007) 59.

At this time of the year families come together to share in their Christmas traditions: …decorating the Christmas tree… hanging stockings…traveling to visit family and friends…going to candle light service…many people enjoy driving around the neighborhood looking at the lights decorating people’s homes.

As you drive around you inevitably come across various nativity scenes displaying the birth of Jesus…most families put up Nativity scenes in their house… we have one in our foyer.

The cast of characters associated with the story of Jesus’ birth is colorful and memorable …there is the obvious cast of characters…the baby Jesus…Mary… …the angels …the assorted animals—donkeys, cows, sheep—the wise men…you can always tell who they are because they’re the ones carrying gifts and wearing crowns.

Then there are the shepherds of various ages and sizes…but just as it is with most Nativity sets there are some extra figures that no one knows exactly the identity of…these extra figures just add to the confusion of…which one is Joseph?

Is he the old man leaning on his staff…the more romantic souls in the family said Mary wouldn’t want a crotchety old man like that so he must be the young shepherd with broad shoulders…problem is…Joseph wasn’t a shepherd…he wouldn’t be carrying a staff…so the debate is…which one is Joseph?

In reality Joseph is the forgotten man of Christmas…he’s silent…surprisingly Joseph doesn’t say a word in Scripture…he’s like an extra…like one of those characters in a movie that gets a credit in the cast of characters…but no one has ever considered him central or significant to the story.

It shouldn’t be that way with Joseph…because he is a significant part of this story…it’s said that actions speak louder than words…if that’s true Joseph’s actions spoke so loudly that he should be recognized for something.

In the midst of the story of the miraculous birth of Jesus, we find an ordinary man…many of us don’t view biblical characters as ordinary…many times we attribute to them almost super-human powers…giving them Hollywood celebrity status…but that’s not the case…they were just ordinary people.  

They had problems – fears – doubts – worries – just like you and me – yet God was able to use them….in fact that is a major theme of the Bible.

God uses ordinary people to do EXTRAORDINARY THINGS.

Take a good look at who you were when you got called into the Christian life… for most…we were just going through life…think about those you know who are Christians:

…I don’t many who are influential people

…not many from high-society families

…not many who have notable recognition

God at times…deliberately chooses people who culture overlooks to complete His purposes…in this case…Joseph is remarkable in what he was willing to do…without saying a word in doing it…which is just the opposite from most of the other cast of characters associated with the story of Jesus’s birth.  

We recognize these characters by their unique speaking parts …the archangel Gabriel makes three appearances…one to announce to Zacharias that Elizabeth would be having a son…to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior…and to joseph to announce the Child’s name and his role as the earthly stepfather.

Mary in turn offers a hymn of thanksgiving [Luke 1:16-48].

The Angels announce the birth of the Savior, singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14).

The wise men, desperate in their search to find the newborn King, say: “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.”

The shepherds became the early evangelists…after the announcement of the angelic choir and upon finding Jesus, Luke says, “And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child” (Lk 2:17).

SO…Gabriel brings the news of the upcoming births…Mary sings a praiseful solo…the angels bring heavenly greetings…the wise men worship…shepherds preach…and as worthless as King Herod was…even he had a speaking part… BUT… Joseph is silent.

All it says of Joseph was “he was a just man” …he has no speaking part…no notable lines are attributed to him…no sound bites…no quotes…only silence …in fact…if we search the Gospels, they do not contain even a single word uttered from the mouth of Jesus’ earthly father.

He appears on the stage of history for a few moments and then disappears…he is the lone and often forgotten silent member of the cast.

He becomes engaged to a young girl…he’s worked hard to establish an income to support his new bride and begin a family…he’s in love…he’s committed to Mary…he believes she loves him until the news that his bride is pregnant.

Joseph did have options…heart-broken and betrayed he could have responded by publicly shaming her…admittedly…her explanation of the pregnancy that God did it is a little unbelievable.

Joseph could have turned her over to the authorities to be stoned on one of two charges…adultery…or she could have been stoned on the charge of blasphemy.

In a society where adultery and prostitution came with a high price it would have been easy for Joseph to just put away Mary…we live in a society where doing the right thing…most of the time is the unpopular thing to do.

If Mary had been a typical American teenager Joseph could have paid $200 to get an abortion…it’s easy…it’s quick…it’s cheap…and just like that, you can make the problem go away…half-million teenage girls take that option every year.

However, Joseph chooses the path of mercy…he was “a righteous man and unwilling to put her to shame,” so not wanting to make a spectacle out of her… he “resolved to divorce her…not openly…but quietly.”

In Matthew’s account [1:19-25] of the birth of Jesus nowhere in those verses do we hear Joseph’s voice…He was a man God could trust to be strong in the midst of crisis…despite the social stigma of Mary’s pregnancy…Joseph remained committed to do the right things…in other words he was a man of honor.

Joseph is irreplaceable in the story of Jesus’ birth…his importance cannot be overstated…he did exactly as he was instructed:  

[24] When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the

angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,

Through his silent actions, Joseph teaches us three lessons.

The first lesson is…Forgive rather than avenge

Even before Gabriel appears to him in a dream…before receiving any divine explanation…Joseph had already chosen mercy…certainly he could have asked a lot of questions here: “How could you do this to me? Who’s the father?” …But no words are recorded, only tenderness.

Remember Joseph and Mary both had family in Bethlehem…that’s why they’re there… “to register for the census, each to his own city” …don’t think that drew some conversation from his family…friends…and relatives when Joseph rolls into town with his pregnant girlfriend.  

Joseph was sensitive…he would not hurt Mary no matter what he thought she had done to him…he treated Mary with extreme kindness, not wanting to cause her further shame, when he could have demanded a bitter sentence…he chose to forgive rather than avenge.

That is the meaning of the statement that Joseph was a righteous man…He was a person who would fulfill his obligation to Mary…to not only do what was right… but also to care for her in the context of his relationship to her.

There is much we can learn from Joseph’s example of being righteous…maybe you’ve never been in a position quite like Joseph’s…but we’ve all been wronged by other people…we all know what it is like to be hurt or offended.

How do you react when you are wronged? …if we are truly righteous, then we will do right by others, even when they have done us wrong.

A second lesson that we learn from Joseph is…obey God and trust Him fully

[Matt. 1:24] ~ Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife…with Joseph, there is no hesitation …he understood clearly what God expected of him and was ready to obey.

In Joseph’s situation it would have been easy to follow what his heart dictated and act on human reasoning…after all, he had all the valid reasons to put away Mary and even punish her for her perceived betrayal.

He would obey in spite of the fact that this child of divine promise would be born under a cloud of adultery… Joseph believed God and obeyed Him…he would take Mary to be his wife…being sensitive to her shame…suffering the remarks of having a wife pregnant prior to their wedding.

Most people would never accept that kind of challenge… in a time when he was confused…and a lot of uncertainty may have been bothering him…he just obeyed God and put His trust…not in himself…or in somebody else…but in God!

That is the type of obedience that we must all have as Christians…though things might not seem to make sense…we can have the confidence that God is always in complete control.

We may not know what the future holds…but God does…He is the One who will direct the path of a righteous person.

The third lesson we learn from Joseph…It takes courage & faith to obey God

Christianity is not for the weak…it’s a way of life that demands lots of courage and faith…Joseph possessed both those qualities.

Joseph knew that following God’s command would damage his reputation and credibility as a man…then in addition to the embarrassment of Mary’s pregnancy after Jesus’ birth…Joseph is told to take Mary and the infant to Egypt…what???

Leave behind an established carpenter’s trade and business…leave family and friends to go to a foreign country where no one knows you…this gets crazier as it goes along…BUT…Joseph did as he was commanded.

Here’s what Christian obedience is…it’s doing what God has said…it’s not doing what others say…or doing what others say God has said to do…or doing what you wish God has said… obedience is having the faith to trust that God knows what He’s doing.

As Christians we are not called on to do the easy things…we are called to do the right thing…make the right decision …the right choice in Joseph’s case was to follow the instruction of God.

Joseph was a man who responded to God in obedience despite being just an extra character in the nativity scene…having never been recorded as saying a single word in Scripture…next to Mary…Joseph was rewarded as the greatest figure in the life of the Son of God.

Truthfully, Joseph is the unsung hero of Christ’s early life…it’s vital to believe in God, but unless we are ready to obey Him, then our belief is useless…we just completed a six-month study of the Sermon on the Mount…and that sermon can be summed up in a single sentence:

How to live a life that is dedicated to and pleasing to God, a life free from hypocrisy, full of love…grace…wisdom…and discernment.

Joseph exhibited all those qualities…he put himself in a position to be used by God and God used him…the life of Joseph poses some serious questions to us…are you a righteous person? …Do you treat others with kindness…mercy …and forgiveness even when you think you’ve been mistreated?

Are you living a life of obedience? …do you know God’s Word and His will for your life? …more importantly…are you willing to follow His will no matter what the cost?

Throughout this season and throughout the rest of your life, I pray that you will take with you the lessons learned from a simple carpenter.