11.09.07
Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:43 am by Bryan Dunn
The Acceptance in Samaria (John 4:5-42)
Last week we left off with verse 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. There were other route Jesus could have taken, but He deemed it necessary to go through Samaria. Looking at His choices, He may have went this way to avoid territory ruled by Herod, but it seems more likely that Jesus HAD to go through Samaria because this was His Father’s will.
The journey would have began at sunup. The travel would have been in the cooler portion of the day (morning) and at noon they arrive in Sychar. Jesus, experiencing the same physical tiredness as all the other travelers, sits down near Jacob’s well while the disciples head into the village to purchase food. While there, a Samaritan woman comes to draw water.
Here’s an interesting scenario. There was more than likely another well closer to the village this woman came from. But this woman didn’t go there, she traveled a greater distance to keep away from the folks in the village. Jesus – being a practical guy, makes the initial approach to the woman asking her to give Him a drink. I mean, wells are deep, and Jesus had nothing to draw out water with.
This Samaritan woman immediately recognized that He was a Jew – not a Samaritan – and expressed her consternation at His request in verse 9 You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.). You see, Jews had rejected the Samaritans for hundreds of years as an impure race. Such a request coming from a Jewish man was the height of absurdity.
In verse 10 Jesus reveals that He is the gift of God who could supply living water. In dealing with Nicodemus He also referred to Himself as God’s gift. Now a Samaritan learned the same thing. The fact of the matter is, she recognized it would be a miracle for anyone to get living water, but this man couldn’t even get the regular stuff without some miracle – He didn’t even have a way to draw it! So – at a well that was Jacob’s gift to his children, would this man offer a greater benefit to her than the well provided? Jesus contrasts the temporary fulfillment or satisfaction of quenching thirst the water from the well would give to the water He offered that would permanently quench her thirst.
This caused a pause. After remembering and thinking about the daily burden of carrying water from the well to her home (again, thinking of the physical benefit), she says ‘sign me up!’ But, after creating the interest, the desire of the benefits this water provided, Christ needs to show more than just a desire – He wants to show the desperation of the need. So He tells her to call to her husband and come back.
This is a problem. The woman replies back with the fact of not having a husband. Christ then reveals his omniscience by reminding the woman that she had 5 husbands and the man she had now taken up residence with was not her husband. She hadn’t told the whole story, but didn’t need to – Jesus knew. You may argue she never intended to hide her life’s story from Jesus, but I would counter with the fact that she couldn’t hide it even if she tried.
The woman understood this was supernatural. In verse 19 she confesses that Jesus came from God in her recognizing that he was a prophet, but Jesus was much more than that. So – not being an unintelligent woman, she figures Jesus should be able to settle the issue that had divided the Jews and Samaritans for generations. We pick up on this in verse 20. She wanted to know what the proper approach to God was (where the Jews said it was or where the Samaritans said it was – the physical location).
Jesus replied that the conflict existed in part because of a misunderstanding of the nature of God. If God is corporeal (Having material or physical form or substance; Affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit), the He is confined to one place; and the place in which He dwells would be the only acceptable place of worship. If God is noncorporeal, then God may be worshipped anywhere. It’s not about the place, it’s all about the heart and the relationship to the Person of Christ.
It’s getting clearer for the woman. Verse 25 reveals that she knew the Messiah is coming. To her surprise, in verse 26 she is told that she is talking to Him.
So far this woman has had 4 great revelations given to her by Christ:
1. The revelation concerning new life (He came to give everlasting life)
2. He revealed the spiritual need of the woman (her immoral relationships with the man she lived with)
3. He revealed the nature of the Father (declaring God is spirit and can be worshipped in any geographical location)
4. He revealed Himself as the Messiah
Now the disciples return. What is our teacher doing conversing with a woman? A Samaritan woman at that? You see – Jewish men did not engage in conversations with women, this would make them ceremonially unclean. But, the disciples didn’t say anything TO Jesus about it. Then, they offer Him food (which He rejects). They are pretty certain He wouldn’t have eaten any food from others – that certainly would have made Him ceremonially unclean (wasn’t prepared to Jewish standards).
What they didn’t get was that the one doing God’s will would be sustained by God’s grace. God wanted Jesus to minister to this woman, and He apparently felt no hunger will doing God’s will and work. In verse 38 the disciples are reminded that they were sent to reap! And while Christ was talking with the disciples, the woman was engaged in letting others know what she had experienced. She invited any and all to see for themselves without imposing her own conclusions on them. What a concept!
She testifies, and folks take her up on it – they want to see this Jesus. As a result, many believed. Their faith was based in part on the testimony of this woman. She bore witness to what she saw. Others believed because of the words of Christ.
This turn of events likely left the disciples all messed up. Jesus saying He was the Messiah-Savior of the Samaritans…and they RESPONDED to Him? Note they made no comment on the day’s events.
And us – will we testify? What if people respond? What would our response be?
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:42 am by Bryan Dunn
The Withdrawal From Judea (Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:14; Luke 3:19-20; 4:14; John 4:1-4)
Jesus had an influential ministry in Judea, now he changes direction and heads towards Galilee. Why? First, Jesus knew of the conflict the Pharisees wanted to stir up between His disciples and John‘s disciples. Division was not Christ’s goal here, His disciples and John’s disciples were on the same team. So, Jesus was going to travel to Galilee – a place John may not have ministered in (no doubt he had followers from that area though).
The second reason was because of Herod’s imprisonment of John. This was basically the same as rejecting Christ since they both were preaching the same message. It was the rejection of the message that kingdom was near, and a rejection of the call to righteousness. Why was John locked up? There were a couple of reasons – Herod marrying Herodias (his brother’s wife) and John denouncing this union; also the influence wielded by John in the area (which could lead to an uprising and revolt). Luke gives a third reason in 4:14 – Jesus was led by Holy Spirit. And in John 4:1 we perhaps see a 4th reason – With Jesus gaining influence, perhaps the Pharisees publicly announced their intention to silence Him. Since it was not yet time for Christ to give His all, He withdrew to Galilee.
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:40 am by Bryan Dunn
The Witness of John (John 3:22-36)
John had a nice ministry going, from the time he started he had the attention of lots of folks from all walks of life. Once John announced the arrival of the Messiah, his ministry did not cease, but it did decline. Both preached the same message of repentance – for the kingdom of heaven is near.
Matthew 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
And – both baptized. Don’t believe me? Look at verse 22.
In verse 23, we see why John chose the place – plenty of water. Water like springs or fountains.
You see, John was observing the OT requirements- for cleansing / purification you must have moving or running water, it can’t be stagnant. Seeing this as an opportunity to drive a wedge between John and Jesus, the attempt was made to discredit John because he did not follow the Jewish tradition concerning cleansing with water. And, if the movement that was united with these 2 leaders could be divided, then the Jews could use that friction for their own means.
John makes a consistent response. Look at verse 27. The position John filled was given to him by divine appointment – John did not ‘chose’ this ministry. John reiterated what he had stated earlier in that John never claimed to be the Messiah. So, he attempts to illustrate for them this point using the imagery of the bride and bridegroom in verse 29.
The friend attending the wedding feast should be praising the bride in song and word in order to exalt the bridegroom. He attends the bridegroom as his servant at the banquet and rejoices that the one whom he serves is honored. The friend should not seek honor for himself, but for the one he serves.
John states in verse 30 He must become greater; I must become less. Ah, if more were like that…
John goes on to testify about the superiority of Christ. Christ again takes the primary position as John states that He is superior to any earthly revealer, because He states heavenly truths and came directly from heaven to bring them to mankind. John acknowledges that Christ is greater than he was and that His ministry would be greater as well.
Note there are 2 possible responses to the message. First the positive – vs. 33 states some would accept the message, those that did so would believe Jesus’ word to be the word of God. That word was trustworthy because of vs. 34. Christ would reveal the words of the Father to me. The Son is loved by the Father, and all authority has been given to the Son (vs. 35).
On the other hand, some would reject the Son. Rejection would stem from unbelief concerning at least 5 truths:
1. that Christ was from heaven
2. that He knew the Father
3. that He had been sent by the Father
4. that He had the Father’s wo0rds
5. that He was empowered by Holy Spirit
The results of rejection would be these folks would never enter into eternal life. So John indicates that (again) He was not the Messiah, and pointed folks to Christ.
What a message. You’re losing folks, and the leaders of the day have an angle to attack with. Will you respond in bitterness and take the bait? Or will you continue to point to the One who gives life?
John chose the latter path…what about you? When conflict or misinformation comes, what path do you choose?
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:37 am by Bryan Dunn
Acceptance in Judea (John 2:23-3:21)
Well…here we are – the first visit of Christ to Jerusalem for the Passover after the start of His ministry. What would He do? This was the opportunity to present Himself to the nation as Messiah. I don’t think that verse 23 intends to convey that these miracles were done to draw attention to Himself, instead I believe He intended these to call the people to consider the significance of the signs.
Note that we don’t have the details of the miracles. But we do know from the verse that the miracles were known by the people far and wide. Pentecost notes that the cleansing of the temple had brought Christ to the attention of the aristocratic Sadducees, and the signs brought Christ to the attention of the intellectual Pharisees. He also states that the acts of cleansing the temple and performing miraculous signs were dismissed by the Sanhedrin. And that was important, because this particular body had the responsibility to investigate such signs and claims and then make an official pronouncement to the people about the authenticity of these things.
And from this background, that of the Sanhedrin, that Nicodemus came from. John tells us that Nicodemus approached Christ (not necessarily as an ‘official’ representative of the Sanhedrin). This seems to be a personal inquiry since this came at night and not during the day. And even though Nicodemus had a lofty position, he approached Jesus without condescending. He addresses Him as Rabbi in verse 2. With this attitude, we see that Nicodemus puts himself in the position of a learner. This inquiry seems to be in response to the miracles, for there was no other explanation that he could find that didn’t lead to this conclusion. In fact, it looks like there was a split in what the Sanhedrin were concluding, as evidenced by the word after Rabbi – ‘we’. Some were probably attempting to say the miracles had a plausible explanation in nature, others were convinced that these miracles were nothing short of supernatural.
Now…don’t forget what was said earlier by Christ in verses 24/25. Jesus realized this was a sincere question from Nicodemus. He didn’t refuse the high praise Nicodemus offered Him by calling Him Rabbi. Now – knowing the heart of man, Jesus will cut to the heart of the questions Nicodemus may have been asking only to himself and no one else. Verse 3 – you must be born again.
This wasn’t a new concept to Nicodemus. He knew about proselytes who, when baptized from heathenism, were said to be ‘as a child newly born’. But…was this what Christ was talking about? I think from the questions Nicodemus asks it is clear that he knew this was more than baptism by John or a proselyte ritual. Jesus seemed to mean to become as a child. How can a man do this once he is old?
Christ responds in verse 5 that the man must be born of water and of blood. This has caused some discussions over the centuries!
Some have made them to mean baptismal regeneration, which is contrary to the general teachings of the NT. Some have declared that both baptisms mentioned refer to one act – the cleansing work of the spirit. The mention of water baptism in that case would seem superfluous. Others would understand contrast between natural birth and the spiritual birth, since Nicodemus had just inquired on that point, as to whether a second natural birth was possible. That is nearer the truth and a possible interpretation. In favor of that interpretation is the statement of Jesus immediately following (contrasting natural and spiritual).
Parents can transmit to their children only the nature which they themselves possess. Sine each parent’s nature, because of Adam’s sin, is sinful, each parent transmits a sinful nature to the child. What is sinful cannot enter the kingdom of God. In order to enter the kingdom a person must be sinless. This means that one must have a parent who can transmit a sinless nature. Only God could accomplish a birth that would transmit a sinless nature; so only He could make on eligible to enter the kingdom.
In verse 9 we see that Nicodemus had no idea at this point what Christ was trying to convey to him. Here he was, Israel’s teacher, and you don’t understand these things Jesus says in verse 10. Understand Christ wasn’t referring to Nicodemus in the sense that he should have known these truths, instead, because the New birth had not been revealed in the OT Nicodemus should have had a capacity to understand the new truth when Jesus revealed it to him.
Then in verses 11 and 12 Christ states something special. 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?. You see, Christ wasn’t teaching theory, He wasn’t speculating – Christ was teaching what He knew, and He asked Nicodemus to accept His authority as a qualified Teacher.
Truth about God does not originate with people as they philosophize about God. No person, however religious, can come to know God apart from divine revelation. This was Christ’s intent when He said that no one but Himself has gone into heaven to gain knowledge of God and returned to earth to disseminate that knowledge (13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man). The only one who can reveal God and His truth is Christ, who came down from heaven.
Then Christ reminds Nicodemus of the teaching in the OT, from Numbers 21:8-9. Judgment came to the people of God. God sent snakes among them (and you thought ‘snakes on a plane’ was as bad as it could get…). It got their attention, they begged Moses to intercede for them to God. Moses, the messenger of God, got the message and communicated it. In order for them to be saved from the wrath, they needed to believe the word of the messenger.
Then we hit the memory verse we all know. In the context of this discussion, who are the believing in verse 16? It’s the counterpart of looking at Numbers 21:8-9. Christ was directing Nicodemus’ attention to Himself and to His word. He was asking him to believe Him in order to have eternal life. The Jews equated having eternal life with entering the kingdom. Jesus asked that Nicodemus change his belief from going somewhere (the kingdom) and move it to someone (Himself). The object of faith should be a person, not a place. The same goes with us – it should be Christ, not heaven!
Love – for God so loved! Love expressed only in words provides little benefit to the one being loved. But when the love is translated into action, benefit goes out to the object of affection (and Christ loved US!). God not only declared His love – He demonstrated it in giving His one and only Son.
Also note in the verses that follow that Christ states the world is under condemnation. Not because Christ came to earth, rather because of the sin of Adam. Christ makes it plain that people are already lost. Yep, you may have heard it here first! People are already lost! They don’t become lost when they refuse to believe in Him. They are not born in some neutral state that they lose by willfully rejecting the message of the Gospel. They…we – are born lost. What must we do go get right? Believe in Him! In order to lift the condemnation of God, we must accept the Gospel message – that Jesus saves.
Light came into the world, but we acted like roaches instead of moths. WE scurry away because we like the darkness (sin). We’re accustomed to it…we don’t want to leave it. Christ was challenging Nicodemus not to draw away from the truth that He had brought. Instead, Nicodemus should respond to the message and come to the Light!
What about us…want to live in darkness? Or move towards the light? How do we respond?
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:36 am by Bryan Dunn
The Possession of the Temple (John 2:13-22)
Knowing that Christ lived a life of obedience, let’s take a leap of faith and think about the times that Jesus attended the Passover. We last saw Him there as a young lad of 12, becoming of age. Now, I have no problem thinking that He made it to every Passover in between. He was obedient. This would be the first Passover visit during His public ministry. Smith describes what He would have seen…
He took Himself to the Temple, and in the forecourt, the Court of the Gentiles, a strange scene greeted His eyes. In those degenerate days an unseemly practice prevailed in connection with the celebration of the Passover. Victims were required – lambs for the paschal sacrifice as well as the offering of purification, bullocks for the thankoffering, and doves for the poor folks, offering of purification; and the greedy priests had found here an opportunity for swelling their revenues. Ostensibly for the convenience of the worshippers but realy for their own enrichment they had instituted a cattle-market in the sacred court. It was as astute but disgraceful trick, securing them both price and purchase, since the victims which they sold in the court were presently returned to them at the altar. They had instituted also a money-market on a double pretext. Since many of the worshippers, Jews of the Dispersion, came from distant lands and had only heathen money, which was reckoned unclean, they must needs, ere they could purchase their offerings, exchange it into Jewish currency. And so the money-changers with there cash-boxes were there, exacting their agio. (temple revenue tax, see the last part of page 120).
God had instituted the temple of Jerusalem to be a place of meeting between Himself and His people. But this was now a perversion, and Christ made a whip out of cords.
In trying to imagine this scene, think of a righteously angry Christ. Taking what he found of cords on the floor in the area, He chases all from this area. Scatters the livestock out along with making a shambles of where the money changers were. He didn’t let the doves out, instead He instructed their owners to take them out.
It seems there was no opposition to this action. There was no outcry from the folks needing this service, perhaps they too felt this was wrong but conformed because everyone else had conformed. The immorality of these perversions must have felt out of place to the folks traveling a long distance.
Now think with me…you’re the country bumpkin Jew coming to the temple of temples, as you needed to do every year. In fact, you meet up with many others from your local synagogue to worship! Hey…if they are doing this in the temple, perhaps we need to start that ministry in our worship facility…well…I don’t want to go too far with this analogy, for I fear we borrow way too much from where God is working with others instead of trusting God to work in us in a way He sees fit.
Some might argue that this imagery of Christ (God gets angry in His own house!) outside of His character. You see, when the ideal was set up by God, and then mankind perverts it for his own gain, Christ honestly reacted to this perversion of what should have been holy. He was loyal to His Father, and upheld the highest standards.
The disciples and Jews who saw this event interpreted Christ’s actions as a show of messianic authority. Others – perhaps those who were hurt most by this outburst, demand some authority for this action in verse 18. Please notice that no one questioned the need for the purification of the temple. None questioned that the temple had been perverted from its intended use. There were no arguments about are we following traditions, or the law, or are we motivated by greed of money. The question was one of authority – did He have the authority to do what had needed to be done.
The answer was interesting. Jesus said the sign of His resurrection would be the proof of authority. He didn’t say it quite like that, but that is precisely what He meant. As a prelude of many more things that Jesus would say, it is fitting that many did not understand the response. All they could think about was the facility they were in. I don’t think for a moment the new disciples understood this either. The prophecy of Christ’s resurrection seems to have been erased from the collective minds of the Jews until after the Resurrection! And then,
John 14:26 came into play - But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Well, there is some provocative stuff in this lesson! How are we doing? Are we listening to God’s voice, and in obedience to His commands doing what we are told to do? Or are we doing what has been successful elsewhere, in some other temple?
I’m treading on thin ice here. But I need to be sure we’re not just in motion. Being in motion is not the same as moving forward. God – what would You have us do? Is it what we are currently doing? If not, who are you moving to gather the cords? Is it me?
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:28 am by Bryan Dunn
The Sojourn in Capernaum (John 2:12)
After the wedding feast, Jesus travels on to Capernaum with his mother, half brothers and disciples.
Looking at this verse, these folks stayed here a short period of time. Why Capernaum? Looking at the gospel accounts, it was a city of some importance. There was a tax office, the home of some high ranking government official (John 4:46), there was a Roman centurion with his detachment of soldiers that lived there, and there was a synagogue for the Jews that lived there. It even appears that Capernaum was the headquarters of Christ while He was in the area of Galilee.
Other than this, this time was spent with the new disciples. Next, we see Him leaving for Judea and His first great public ministry.
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:26 am by Bryan Dunn
The Belief Through the First Miracle (John 2:1-11)
It was at a wedding – one of those ‘rites of passage’ for us folks where all things are new again (or where many of our eyes started to become opened…) – where Jesus had the opportunity to present Himself as the Son of God. Looking at our passage today, we can surmise that the mother of Jesus was a close friend (or perhaps even a family member) of the family of the bridegroom. And, because Jesus was the son of Mary, He got an invite as well.
The occasion for celebration at a wedding was a bit different than we are use to. The wedding feast would last from between 2 to 7 days. The time frame was dependent upon the resources of the bridegroom. According to the writing of John, the wedding took place on the third day after John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus. Looking at the method and time for travel during that time period, it seems likely that the trip from Judea to Cana would take three days and Jesus would have arrived together with his newfound disciples.
Shepard describes the wedding feast: The marriage feast among the Jews was an occasion of great gladness and festivity but also of serious import. It was preceded by fasts in pious families. The betrothal of 12 months duration (or less) before the marriage, was effected through legal proceedings, and was considered as sacred and binding as the marriage ceremony itself. On the evening of the marriage, the bride was led from her paternal home to that of her husband, accompanied by music with the distribution of oil and wine among friends and nuts among the children, and led by the ‘friends of the bridegroom, who bore torches and lamps, myrtle branches and chaplets of flowers.’ The veiled bride on arrival was led to the bridegroom, the marriage formula pronounced, and the legal documents signed. This was followed by the washing of the hands, and finally the marriage feast, which might last a day and sometimes a week.
During the festivities, the supply of wine was exhausted. This would be quite an embarrassment to the bridegroom. The duty of hospitality in the East is an obligation taken very seriously. This would have mortified the bridegroom and his new wife, it would have been the height of disgrace to them.
Learning of this embarrassment, Mary addresses her son in verse 3. This may have been a gentle rebuke because guests were expected to provide wine and delicacies to be enjoyed through the festivities as well. In fact, thinking this through, the disciples of Jesus may have been the cause for the wine to have run out! Mary was invited, and probably requested that Jesus (her son) attend. Jesus, having a newly acquired set of disciples, more than likely brought them along – and they didn’t’ have an invitation (they probably did not know the bridegroom). Had there been provisions for these guests? Knowing that these 6 men had just traveled 90 miles to get there over the last 3 days makes it probable that they did not come with the common Jewish custom of bringing wine and other provisions to contribute to this feast.
Jesus – being there and knowing if this was a pointed remark from His mother or not, responds as if Mary was asking for Him to make a public display of what He could do as Messiah. Now Jesus basically stops Mary’s maternal ‘rights’ to dictate to Him. In verse 4 Jesus lets her know My time has not yet come. Not that this was sin, or disobedience, but the blood relationship now needed to be subordinate to the spiritual relationship. Jesus was now acting as the World’s Redeemer! Note Jesus did not deny her request, instead He let her keep the hope she had (it was confirmed again) in the promise of the future. It is not yet time…
He didn’t deny He was the Messiah. He didn’t deny that He will provide for those in His kingdom. He did say it was not yet time. So, Mary may have been a bit perturbed, but she never gave up hope. In verse 5 she instructs the servants to do whatever he tells you. And Jesus tells them what to do. Fill the jars with water. These were the big jars, the ones for ceremonial washing, and with all these guests there would be a huge need to wash quite frequently for ceremonial purposes.
The servants did so, and brought the water to the master of the feast. This wasn’t just wine, it was the best wine!
Note here is where we can argue, was it fermented wine or unfermented. And in the book, there is considerable ink given to this discussion (pages 115-117). I’m sure we each have opinions on this, but I find the arguments (while interesting) a waste of time in the grand scheme of things. (Especially when we do it today, what if there were AA members taking communion and we served REAL wine, or what if we were to use it and that somehow taught our kids it was OK, etc.) Keep in mind the customs of the day and the intentions of Jesus and his mother. This was not something that was a huge debate to them for this occasion!
It was a miracle that took place. God worked through His Son, Jesus Christ, to provide in this need. This wasn’t some new science experiment (yeah, it was water and they stirred in some kool-aid stuff…), it was supernatural – a miracle.
Look at page 118. Miracles were designed by God to convey a message to the nation Israel. They occurred first in the Old Testament as the time of the Exodus. It was miracles that authenticated the ministry/message of Moses. These would convince Israel that they should obey Moses, forsake Egypt, and follow him into the desert. Miracles convinced Pharaoh that the Lord was the true God and that he should submit to His command and liberate the Israelites.
The second period of Miracles in the OT were in the days of Elijah and Elisha. The third period of miracles occur in connection with God’s program for Israel during the earthly ministry of Christ. The miracles of Jesus authenticate His person and message, the revealed the spheres in which He exercised authority.
Also, miracles show the condition of the Messiah’s rule. Everything in nature will be subject to His authority. And we’re promised to be with Him in a place where there is no more sickness, disease or death. What a great God we serve!
In verse 11 we see 2 results of this miracle. First, it revealed his glory. Second, his disciples put their faith in him. His cousin John had sent these folks to Jesus as the Messiah, now their faith was again confirmed. He was worthy of belief.
For us, what would we need for our faith, our belief in the person of Christ?
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:25 am by Bryan Dunn
The Authentication of the King: The Acceptance of His Person
The Belief by the First Disciples (John 1:35-51)
John had publicly fingered the Messiah just the day before (called Him out by name). The next day John repeats his identification in the presence of 2 of his disciples. What was the result? John lost 2 disciples!
So, when Jesus notices 2 new followers, He asks a question. What do you want? Note the respectful way these 2 new followers address Christ. Rabbi. It was the highest title of respect given by the Jews to those who were prepared to interpret the law to them. These guys wanted to put themselves under the tutelage of this Messiah. So they ask where Jesus is staying. The implication was one of more than wanting to be shown some level of hospitality for some short period of time. And, the answer may have been more than they expected. Jesus said to come on!
One of these guys was named Andrew, and he was the brother of Simon Peter. We don’t have the identity of the 2nd one written down, but if we had to guess here, and I was a gambling man, my money would be on the author of the book – John. He often spoke of himself without using his name, but by some phrase like ‘the other disciple’.
They spent all day with Jesus. Andrew was convinced that John was right, this was the Messiah. What does he do? Find his brother Simon and tell him! Simon wants to see for himself, follows Andrew to Jesus. Without introduction (showing His omniscience), Jesus says You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas. The name Simon means ‘a hearer’ or ‘one quick to hear’. The Aramaic name Cephas and the Greek name Peter mean ‘rock’ or ‘a hiding place’. Knowing what you and I know about Peter, he was quick to hear, but he didn’t always respond correctly with the information he had just heard. He would, however, become a rock, stable and unmovable. So the 2 original disciples were convinced they were in the presence of the Messiah and began to testify to others of this fact.
The next day Jesus heads out to from Judea towards Galilee. The first person Jesus meets here is Philip, and He speaks 2 words to him “Follow me”. There was no hesitation. And it didn’t take long to utterly convince Philip this was the real deal. Philip goes and finds Nathanael and tells him. And the response was interesting! 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. Philip sounded like he was from Missouri (the show me state). But what Nathanael said revealed the popular attitude towards those who dwelt in that town. And what we need to get out of this is that Christ’s authority was not based in a particular town, and today it isn’t based in a particular denomination, locality, or church facility!
So, Nathanael follows Philip. Christ knew the conflict going on internally. Christ addresses him as if He knew him intimately. Nathanael didn’t ask for this authentication, this sign…it was a bit freaky. But it was all that Nathanael needed to know Christ was the real deal. Nathanael confessed that Jesus was the Messiah. How could he not say that? Jesus was omniscient (knowing all things)! Jesus lets him know that he will also know He is omnipotent (having unlimited power) as well! 51 He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Christ is referring to Jacob’s experience.
During his flight from the wrath of Esau, Jacob was given the revelation of a stairway set up on earth whose top reached to heaven on which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12). This tied in to the reaffirmation of the covenant with Abraham.
Genesis 28:13-14 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. NIV
With this going on, Christ seems to be saying that He is that One and had come to bless Abraham’s seed by providing salvation from sin and deliverance from their oppressors in verse 51.
So Jesus was awaiting the same response from the nation of Israel that He initially received. Confessing faith in His person, work and office. He was going to try and persuade the nation that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior who was here to redeem.
Well…that’s 5 disciples. What a start! Over 2000 years ago, and looking around the room this is still bearing fruit…so, how did Jesus call you? Did you obediently follow (no questions asked)? Well, let’s skip the ‘that was then’ questions…what about now? Are you obediently following?
Personal note here – I highly recommend the book Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur for further study on the selection / character of the disciples.
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:24 am by Bryan Dunn
The Testimony of John to Christ (John 1:29-34)
The day after John made his disclaimer to being the Messiah to the religious leaders, he makes his first announcement to the nation of Israel that Jesus is the Messiah.
There are 2 parts to the message. The first is eschatological (Of or relating to or dealing with or regarding the ultimate destiny of mankind and the world) - the kingdom of heaven is near (Matt. 3:2). The second is soteriological (The branch of Christian theology that deals with salvation as the effect of a divine agency) – repent (Matt. 3:2) and Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Repentance – as far as the OT went, had everything to do with acknowledgement of sin. Folks knew they needed something that would be acceptable to God for forgiveness for sin, some acceptable sacrifice, that way they would be restored to fellowship with God.
So…what could be offered? Isaiah told the nation of the true sacrifice in Isaiah 53. John now introduced the One Isaiah described. Edersheim writes:
(John…) was not dominated by the current messianic conception of a magnificent temporal king. His idea was that of a sin-bearer led like a lamb to the slaughter…John saw more deeply than the Rabbis and understood Jesus to be the Paschal Lamb of Isaiah’s prophecy. He views sin as a totality, constituting a barrier between God and humanity. Jesus was taking away the collective sin of the world of mankind. The only way He could as the Paschal Lamb take away the sin of the world was by being sacrificed. John saw in Jesus the vicarious sacrifice pictured in Isaiah 53.
Of note, here in the fourth Gospel, you will not that John’s preaching becomes sweeter in tone. No unsparing Judge, axe or fan in hand, hewing down the fruitless tree, burning the chaff. In this gospel we get to see John after he has known Christ, being changed into a meeker, sweeter, nobler man, softer in speech and in spirit, with a diviner notion of the Messiah, a more hopeful and helpful word for man (as noted by Fairbairn).
In verse 31 we see John’s explanation for baptizing – so that Christ might be revealed to the nation. In verse 32-34 we see even more ID (if that was needed). The sign to the nation of the descending dove that identified the Messiah (the sign that liberated John from the silence that had been imposed on him in announcing who the Messiah was).
While John knew from his parents teaching the promises concerning the coming and identity of the Messiah, his introduction was not based on such human authority. John had a testimony of the fact through the signs God gave him!
So, how do you know God is real? That the Messiah has come? That He is at work in your life? How do you testify to this reality?
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Posted in Bible Study, Bryan Dunn at 10:23 am by Bryan Dunn
By His Herald – Testimony of John before the Leaders (John 1:19-28)
The ministry of John had drawn huge interest from a far reaching area (Mark 1:5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him). But it was more than commoners…it was the religious leaders as well. The time was ripe for the coming of the Messiah, and John was not the first to make such a proclamation. Perhaps that is why in earlier lessons we listened to John making his case, as he does in verse 20 did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” John didn’t want to add to the confusion, he blatantly stated that he was not the Messiah.
But, knowing that something was different…genuine…with his message, the religious leaders press on him, asking in verse 21 if he is the return of Elijah. Why would they ask that? The OT had closed with a promise that God would send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. The understanding of the Jews was that Elijah would either be resurrected or reincarnated as a forerunner of the Messiah.
If you recall, Zechariah had been made a promise by an angel in Luke 1:17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” So it’s important to note a distinction here. John was not refuting the angelic promise of his mission, he was, however, refuting that he fulfilled the Jewish expectation of a reincarnated Elijah.
Hum, curious response, so they took another shot at it. Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. John again denies that he is this fulfillment of Scripture. So…not having an answer the leaders asked the open ended question – in verse 22. I mean, if John wasn’t the ones that they knew of in Scripture, he must be the forerunner of some false messiah!
Then John tells them who he is. It comes from Isaiah, and it identified John with the true Messiah – but John deflects the focus of being a prophet (basically an office or official title) and focuses instead on his message “I am the voice”.
OK, good questions from priests and Levites (representatives of the Sadducees). They were concerned about John’s person and his relationship to Scripture. Next up (vs. 24) were Pharisees, who were concerned with tradition. And note the question. This had to do with ceremony, with tradition. They were offended by John’s baptism because they considered it to be an invasion of their exclusive ceremonial domain and privilege. What presumptuousness – John imposing his baptism of repentance and confession on all the people alike! The Pharisees were not unclean and needed no such baptism!
John answers them saying I baptize with water. The first thing he points out is that there is a big difference in what he is doing and what the coming Messiah will be doing. All John can do is administer the sign (water); Messiah – him alone – can be stow the thing signified (giving the Holy Spirit). Then John says this Messiah is standing in their very midst! He is in their generation, he is about to begin his public work! But – they don’t even know him. In fact, they don’t even seem to care much about him. They were eager to expose the false messiahs, to unmask and beat them down. But in focusing their energy that way, they ignored the true Messiah.
So…what about you and me? I know I get this … strange joy by debunking falsehood. I love shows like Mythbusters, where strange tails we take for fact are scrutinized, and often the tails fall far short of being able to come close to any reality. I enjoy debunking many of those squirrly e-mails I see (but so many folks have stopped sending them to me…or any other mail once they see I check things out!). I go to Snopes.com and look for the facts. Bill Gates isn’t giving money away by tracking e-mails, I won’t be getting millions from someone in another country, and most every old lady or helpful male stranger begging a ride at a shopping mall turns does not out to be a crazed killer in disguise.
But is that were I should focus all my efforts and energy? Do I take time to look for the Lord in anticipation and awe? Or do I only rear up to do battle as needed?
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