Shall we turn in our Bibles to the gospel according to John. The gospel of John was the last of the gospels that were written. It was written towards the close of that first century, written by John, for the purpose of convincing people that Jesus is the Christ, that by believing in Him they might have life in His name. John declares his purpose in writing these books. He said, "Many other things did Jesus which are not written, but these things were written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by believing have life in His name" . So there is a definite purpose in John's mind as he wrote this book. And because this is the reason for this book, it is the best book to encourage an unbeliever to read. Because John wrote, "That they might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by believing have life in His name." That's why he wrote it. And he's very up-front in telling you why he wrote it. And so it was written to counteract some of the false concepts concerning Jesus Christ, a lot of the heresy that had developed in the very first century. Now, Paul the apostle warned the Ephesian elders that, "After I'm gone, I know that there are going to be wolves that are going to come in, not sparing the flock of God, but seeking to draw men after themselves, and from your own group there will be those who arise who will even deny our very Lord." And before Paul was gone long from Ephesus, these things were already happening. The false teachers were moving in, perverting the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A system known as Gnosticism was one of the early systems of belief that permeated the church and began to draw people away into false concepts concerning Jesus Christ. The church wasn't very old before the Arian heresy arose, the denying of the deity of Jesus Christ, putting Him on the level of man. Gnosticism, with its concepts of Jesus and really confusing concepts of Jesus, part divine, part man, and yet, a sort of a phantom kind of a thing. They made up stories that as He walked on the sandy beach, He wouldn't leave footprints because He wasn't really real. And their idea was: anything that is real is evil, the world is so evil that God could not have created the world. And so, originally there was the pure holy God and emanations went out from this pure holy God, and finally, one of these emanations got so far from God that it no longer knew God; and it was from this emanation that created the world, and thus the world was created by an evil force and everything material is evil, and so Jesus could not have been a man, else He would have been evil. So, He was a phantom and a lot of weird things. And, so John wrote this epistle, or this letter, this gospel actually, in order to correct some of those early false teachings that have begun to permeate the church. Now, it is interesting that as the writers begin the gospels, they each one picked a different place to begin. And with the gospel of Matthew, he began with the generation or the genealogy of Jesus going back to Abraham. And when Mark began his gospel, he began it at the baptism of Jesus by John. When Luke began his gospel, he began it with the enunciation to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. But when John begins his gospel, he goes clear on back to the very beginning of time, which had no beginning. He goes back even further than Genesis. The book of Genesis is the beginning of creation, "In the beginning, God created..." But God existed long before He created. And so, in Genesis you go back to the beginning of creation, but before that, God was. God existed. So, John goes back to that infinite eternal past and declares, In the beginning was the Word , Now, the Greeks talked much about the Logos. And according to the Greek philosophy, everything pre-existed in a thought. Anything that you see existed in thought before it became form. In other words, this pulpit here began with a thought. Some craftsman had in his mind a design, an idea for a podium. And so, he drew it out on a piece of paper, but it was the expression of his thought. And so, before anything exists, it has pre-existed in a thought. So, to the Greek philosopher, the thought was the origin of things. Well, the Bible takes you one step further back. It said if there was a thought, then there had to be a thinker, because you can't have a thought without a thinker. So, in the beginning, God, "In the beginning, was the Word." And so, it actually goes back even before the thought, you have the existence of the One who thought, or the existence of God. So, "In the beginning, God," here, "In the beginning was the Word," He was existing then. and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . Powerful declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ. So plain, so straight, so forthright, that even a little child in reading it could not be confused. It would take a Jehovah Witness to confuse this passage of scripture. And they did, by the insertion of an article "the". "And the Word was a God." But they had to create something that doesn't exist in the original language in order to twist this whole thing around. John is starting out with the plain declaration that Jesus, the Word, is God. Just as straightforward, forthright as can be declared. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made . So, now he comes to creation. You see, John goes back before creation. In the beginning, before there was anything, there was the Word. He was with God, He was God, He was in the beginning with God. And then creation, "All things were made by him." In the account in Genesis, we read, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" . The word God in Hebrew there is Elohiym, which is a plural form. Now, there are those who say, "Well, the plural form was used for emphasis." But that appears to be an invention. Because God is also referred to as the singular, and if it is used only for emphasis, then it would be confusing to use the same term to refer to God in the singular. It is my opinion that when the God, El singular, is used that it is a reference to the Father. That the "Elohiym" is a reference to the tri-unity of the godhead, one God existing in three persons. "And God said, Let us make man in our image and after our likeness" . Who was God talking to? In the divine counsels there was that creation, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, in the divine counsel. "Let us make man in our image after our likeness." Here in John, the first chapter, Jesus is ascribed as the creator of all things. Paul, as he is writing to the Colossians concerning the pre-eminence of Jesus, declares that He is not only the creator, but He is the object of creation, by Him were all things made and for Him. So, He is not only the creator, but the object of creation. "All things were made by him," the universe around us and all of its life forms. and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; but the darkness comprehended it not [or apprehended it not, or could not lay hold of it] . Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that cometh unto me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" . Now, here it is declared that the light shineth in darkness. This is the reference to the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. Here He is, the light of the world shining in the darkness, but the darkness is not apprehended. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness , And twice we will read of John's witness. Here in chapter l, verse l5, "John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake." And then he also testified in verse John 1:34 , "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." That's the testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus Christ. So, There was a man who was sent from God, his name was John. He came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He [John] was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, the world was made by him, and the world knew him not . Can you grasp that one? Jesus, the Light...He came to shine in the darkness, the true light. He was in the world. We're already told that all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and yet, the world knew Him not. That is, the world of man. It would appear that there aspects of nature and of the world that did know Him. It is interesting that those who were possessed with evil spirits often cried out, "We know who you are!" Evidently, the winds and the waves knew who He was. For when He was standing in the little ship and it was about to sink, when He spoke to the wind and waves and said, "Peace, be still!" they obeyed His voice, they knew who He was. The rocks evidently knew who He was, because when the Pharisees were encouraging Him to rebuke His disciples on the day of His triumphant entry, He said, "I say unto you that if these should hold their peace, these very stones would immediately cry out." They knew who He was. But it was only the darkened minds of man that failed to recognize Him. He was in the world, the world was made by Him, and yet, the world knew Him not. Evidently, that little donkey knew who He was. No man had ever ridden on that little donkey before, and yet, I'm sure that when Jesus sat on him, he was just as docile as could be. He knew who He was. Someone has put words in the mouth of that little donkey; I think it was Chetterton. I don't know if I can recall it or not. It's coming, it's working, the juices are flowing and the circuits are coming together . . . "When fishes flew and forests walked and figs grew upon a thorn, some moment when the moon was blood, then surely I was born. With an ugly face and ears like errant wings, the devil's walking parody of all four-footed things. The ancient outlaw the earth with stubborn, tattered will. Mock me, scourge me, I am dumb, but I hold my secret still, fools. I also had my day, one fierce day in sweet. I heard the shouts around my ears and there were palm branches at my feet." The story of the donkey, I missed one line in there. I'll get it one of these days. "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." One step further, He came unto his own, and his own received him not . He said, "I am come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." His own; He was their promised Messiah. He came to His own, but they said, "We have no king, but Caesar." They said, "We will not have this man to rule over us." And his own received Him not, and the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled, He was despised and rejected of men. But, glorious good news! As many as received him, to them gave he the power and the authority to become the sons of God, even as many as believed on his name : So, here He is, in the beginning with God, the creator of all things, coming to His creation not being recognized, not being apprehended, coming to His own not being received, and yet, as many as would receive Him and sow the gospel of grace, as many as would receive Him to them He gave the power to become the sons of God. The Son of God becoming man in order that He might make each of us sons of God who would believe in His name. Which were born, not of blood , You cannot become a son of God through physical genealogy. I am not a son of God because my parents were Christians. My children are not Christians because I am a Christian. It's not of blood, it's not something that you can inherit from your parents or pass on to your children. This dynamic life as a child of God is not of the will of the flesh , It is not something that you can set your mind to and become. That is, "I am going to live this new dynamic life. I'm not going to walk in darkness any more; I'm going to live a generous, self-sacrificing life, the life that is the ideal that God has declared for man." You can't do it by the will of the flesh. nor is it by the will of man , It isn't by the force or coercion of others, or the encouragement of others. You cannot come into this new life because someone is pushing you or coercing you into it. This new birth can only come from God, born of God, as a child of God. So, I was born once by blood, by the will of the flesh and by the will of man, here I am. That was my physical birth. But my spiritual birth can't take place that way. The spiritual birth has to come from God. And so, I have been born again by the Spirit of God, the new life. And the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us , This is, of course, the tremendous swing of the pendulum, if you can follow it. In the beginning was the Word, He was with God, He was God, He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by Him. The divine, eternal creator. "And the Word was made flesh, and He dwelt among us..." This tremendous downward sweep from the area of the infinity into the realm of the finite, from the eternal into time. Surely our minds cannot grasp the scope of this. The disciples, as years passed, and they had an opportunity to really reflect upon Jesus and their acquaintance and their relationship to Him, I'm certain were more and more amazed and marveled at what actually transpired. As John begins his first epistle, he begins it much the same way as he declares, "That which was from the beginning, which we have seen, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes and gazed steadfastly upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life; (For that life was manifested, and we've seen it, and we bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us;)" . John is just reflecting on his relationship with Jesus. "That which is from the beginning, which we have heard..." And suddenly they realized, "When we heard Him talk, we were listening to the voice of God. When we looked upon Him, we were looking upon God. When we touched Him, we were touching God. That eternal life! We saw Him, we gazed, we touched." Oh, the wonder of it all! And, John stands in awe and wonder of that experience that he had had. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." When Philip said, "Lord, just show us the Father, and we'll be satisfied." He said, "Philip, have I been so long a time with you, have you not seen me? He who hath seen me has seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The works that I do I do not of myself: but the Father, he doeth the works. Now, believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake" . In other words, "I've been doing the work of God. I've been showing you the Father." We'll read in a moment, "No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has displayed Him." He has made Him known, He has declared Him. He that hath seen me has seen the Father. And so, do you want to know what God is like? Do you want to know the truth about God? Then you must look at Jesus Christ and study Him carefully, for He was God manifested in flesh. For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, in order that He might reveal the Father unto man. Because man had developed such wrong concepts of God. God has been maligned and lied against continually by Satan. And even today, Satan continues his work so that people have all kinds of grotesque, false concepts concerning God. One of the most common phrases in profanity is that God would damn certain things or certain people. And you hear it so often, as though God is just desiring to damn everything and everybody. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God himself declares, the Bible declares concerning God, "He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." And God cried to Israel and said, "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" saith the Lord, "Behold, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Turn ye!" People see God as fury and wrath and judgment and fire and thunder, when in reality, He has a heart that yearns after your love and your fellowship. How people misread the Bible even. In the book of Genesis when man first fell, and God came into the garden to commune with man and Adam hid himself, for he realized that he was naked, and God said, "Adam, where art thou?" Now, we have the words, but we don't have the tone of voice, and that's what people put into their own minds, the tone of voice. And so often, a person in reading that, puts in that tone of voice of an arresting officer holding the gun on the bank robber, "Hold your hands up, or I'll blast a hole through you!" "Adam, where art thou?!!" But, as I read the whole scripture, and I understand God through the whole revelation of Himself, I'm convinced that rather than the bark of an arresting officer, to hear the voice correctly, you will hear it as the sob of a heartbroken Father. "Adam, what have you done? Adam, where are you?" Just that broken heart of God over the failure of man. And this is what Jesus shows to us as He weeps over Jerusalem. "Oh, Jerusalem, if you only knew your possibilities, if you only knew the potentials, if you only knew the things that belong to your peace! But you don't. They are hid from your eyes, and as a result of your ignorance, devastation is going to come." And we see His chest as it is heaving, and we hear Him as He is sobbing, as He cries over Jerusalem, and the terror that will come because of their blindness, because of their ignorance. "If you only knew, if you only knew." And He weeps as He looks at the city and He knows the impending doom that is coming because of the path that they have chosen. And there you see the broken heart of the heavenly Father as He is weeping over the lost estate of man. Jesus came to reveal God. The Word became flesh and He dwelt among us in order that we might know the truth about God. There was a publisher of a newspaper who declared himself an agnostic. And yet, every year his wife, who was a Christian, and the children would go to church for the Christmas Eve service and, because it was Christmas Eve and a family celebration, he went yearly with them, as the children would give their recitations and their programs and sing the carols. But this one particular year he decided that he wasn't going to make his annual pilgrimage to the church because he saw it as an act of hypocrisy. He said, "I do not believe in the incarnation, I do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. For I don't see any reason why God would have to come in the flesh. And therefore, I'm not going to be a hypocrite any longer. I'm not going to church with the family on Christmas." And despite all of the persuasive efforts of the wife, he could not be dissuaded from his position. And so, on Christmas Eve he saw the family leaving in a blizzard to go to the church to celebrate the Christmas Eve program, as he sat by the fire, got out a book and began to just sort of settle in to his reading. Before long, a little bird tried to fly into the window, attracted by the light of the fire inside. And suffering outside in the blizzard, this little bird started flying up against the window, beating itself against the windowpane trying to come inside. It distracted him from his reading, and he thought, "Well, little bird go away!" But it wouldn't, it kept trying to fly in. And so, he finally decided, "Well, I guess I'll have to do something about it." And so, he went down to the barn and opened up the door and turned on the light, so that the little bird would be attracted to the light in the barn, hoping that it would see the light and fly on down and find the shelter there in the barn from the blizzard. Walking back up to the house, he found the little bird on the outside still trying to fly into the window. By now, it had begun to bloody itself from just flying up against the pane of glass. So, he tried to show the bird that there was the light on in the barn, and there was a place down there for it to go and to get warm and to be sheltered from the storm. And he started to sort of "Shoosh!" at the bird and swing at it a bit, but the more he did, the more frantic the little bird became in trying to fly into the glass and began to injure itself even more. And he found himself talking to the little bird. He said, "Little bird, I don't hate you, I'm trying to help you, don't you understand little bird? I'm your friend. I don't mean you harm, I want to help you. Poor stupid little bird, don't you know?" And then the thought came into his mind, "Oh, if only I could become a bird for a moment to communicate to this poor little creature that I don't hate it, I'm trying to help it." And suddenly, the light flashed! God became man because man so misunderstood God. He didn't hate man, He wasn't trying to harm man. He wanted to help man. He went into the house, got his overcoat and everything and headed off for church and met the family. He saw the reason for the incarnation, that God might communicate to us the truth about Himself, the truth that had been lost in the garbled concepts man had created of God. So, the Word was made flesh, and He dwelt among us, (and we [John said] beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) We are sons of God through faith, but we have been begotten again through our faith, we've been born again. But there is only one begotten Son in the sense that Jesus was begotten of the Father and we beheld Him as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth . Now, John. There was a man sent from God; his name was John. He wasn't the light. He came to bear witness of the light. And John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me; for he was before me . Now, John was, by physical birth, a cousin to Jesus. However, John was born before Jesus was born. Probably in about the sixth month of Mary's pregnancy when John was born. Yet, John is saying of Him, "He is preferred before me: for He was before me." So, he is talking about that pre-existence of Jesus prior to His incarnation. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ . Now, when God made man, God made man for fellowship. That was the purpose of God creating you, that He might receive just that praise and glory and all from your fellowship with Him, that He might enjoy and just receive that joy and blessing of just fellowshipping with you. You say, "Well, that sounds sort of selfish to me." Well, perhaps it was. Nothing I can do about it. That's why God created me. That's the only reason why God created me, really, that I might have fellowship with Him. That's the primary purpose, that we might have fellowship with Him. Now, if you are not fulfilling that primary purpose of your life, then your life is bound to be empty, unfulfilling and ultimately frustrating. Because you're not fulfilling the basic purpose for which God created you. You're not answering to that basic need and necessity in man of worshipping God, fellowshipping with Him. But man did not live on this planet long before he broke that fellowship with God by disobedience, sinning against God in his disobeying of the commandment of God. And the net effect of sin is always that of severing fellowship with God. "God's hand is not short, that He cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that He cannot hear: but your sins have separated between you and God" . Sin always has that effect of separating a man from God. God said to Adam, "In the day that you eat you will surely die." That is, the death of the consciousness of God within the heart of man. The death of the life of God, that Spirit of God and that life of God within man. It happened. Adam ate and that death took place, that spiritual death. Now, God still longed for fellowship with man, but that fellowship had been severed by man because of man's sin. Now in order that man might have fellowship with God, something first had to be done about man's sin. And so, God sent Moses and God gave to Moses the law, the law of the sacrifices, the covering of sin, making possible the restoration of fellowship with God. And in part of the sacrificial offerings were these offerings that were just fellowship offerings. The communion offerings, the meal offering, in which I just would just sit and eat with God and fellowship with God after the sin offering; then, that offering of consecration, the burnt offering, and then, the peace offering, the fellowship offering, where I just sit down and eat with God and fellowship with Him, but that could not be until first of all the sin offering. I had to take care, first, of the sin. And so, under the law and under Moses, the covenant of God through Moses, there was that provision for the covering of sin so that sinful man could be restored into fellowship with God and could sit and commune and eat with God. But these offerings of the bulls and goats could not put away sin. All they could do was cover sin, and they could point to an offering that God Himself was going to make, by which the sin of man could be put away so that the fellowship between man and God could be totally and completely restored. And so, the law came by Moses. This is not looking at the law in a derogatory sense. This is looking at the law as God intended it as a tool by which man could come into fellowship with God, but an imperfect tool because of man's failure. There's nothing wrong with the law, it was good, it was holy. But man was still sinful, and thus, the necessity of year after year the offering of the sacrifices for sin. So, God has established now through Jesus Christ a new covenant of grace and truth. By the law, Moses' covenant with God, but now through Jesus Christ a new covenant, a new covenant that is established on the grace of God and the truth of Jesus Christ. So, "The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." No man has seen God at any time ; Of course, people immediately say, "Well, what about Moses?" When God said to Moses, "What would you like?" He said, "Lord, I'd just like to see you." And God said, "You can't see Me and live." But God said, "I'll tell you what, you get there in the rocks and I will pass by and then you can see the afterglow." It says "the hinder part," but it's actually the afterglow of God having passed by a spot and then Moses looking at the radiation of the afterglow. And he became irradiated in looking at that. His face began to shine so that when he came back to the children of Israel they couldn't look at his face. They said, "Cover it, man, you're shining. We can't stand to look at your face." But no man has seen God at any time. Your physical body just couldn't handle that. It'd be like trying to stand in the sun; you'd be consumed. Now, God has promised that the pure in heart shall see Him, but not in this body. We're going to have to have a change of body. Paul said, "This corruption must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality" . One day I expect to see God, but not in this body, in my new body. This body is designed for the earth of the earthy, designed for the environmental conditions of the earth. My new body, far superior, designed for the heavenly environment. And in that new body, I can behold the face of the Lord and I can sit and worship at His feet. What a glorious day that will be! No man has seen God at any time; but the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath manifested him . Declared Him, demonstrated Him, brought Him forth into full revelation, He has revealed Him to us. And this is the record of John [the Baptist], when the Jews sent the priests and the Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? John was baptizing, we read, in the wilderness, and multitudes of people were going out, being attracted by this man. And so in Jerusalem, the religious leaders got upset, "This guy's out there baptizing and we didn't send him out there and he doesn't have our authority." And they sent the priests and Levites out to ask the guy, "Who are you anyhow?" And this is the record of John. He confessed, and he did not deny; but he confessed, I am not the Messiah . And that was really, "Who are you? Are you saying that you are the Messiah? Are you pretending?" He said, "I am not the Messiah." And because the word Christ is Messiah, so you've got to remember that. "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, Are you then Elijah? Now, the prophecy said that Elijah would first come and turn the hearts of the children to the fathers before the coming of the great day of the Lord. And so, "Are you Elijah?" The Jews even to the present day at their Passover services, in their home at their Passover celebrations, have the chair, the empty chair. The door is open, waiting for Elijah. "Are you Elijah, forerunner of the Messiah?" And he said, I am not . Now, this brings confusion to some people because in Matthew's gospel, about the seventeenth chapter, Jesus talking about John said, "This is Elijah, if you're able to receive it." But John said, "I am not." That is, he is not the full complete fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah. He came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. Going back to Luke's gospel, chapter l, when Gabriel the angel appeared unto Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, as he was ministering during his course in the temple. And when Zacharias saw the angel standing there at the right side of the altar, he was greatly afraid, and he said to Zacharias, "Fear not, I am Gabriel, I am standing in the presence of God and I have been sent unto thee to let you know that your wife Elizabeth in her old age is going to conceive and bear a son and thou shalt call his name John, and he shall go forth in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers." And he began to tell him of the ministry of his son, John the Baptist. "He'll go forth in the spirit and the power of Elijah." But when they asked John plainly, "Are you then Elijah?" he said, "No." And they said, Are you that Prophet? Now Moses promised, "And there shall come a prophet like unto myself; and to him shall you give heed" . "Are you that prophet that Moses spoke about?" And he said, No . Twenty questions! And they then said unto him, Who are you? that we may give an answer to those who have sent us. What do you say of yourself? And he said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as was predicted by Isaiah the prophet. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why do you baptize then, if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet? And John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there is standing one among you, whom you do not know; He it is, whose coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe latchet I'm not worthy to untie. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. And the next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and he said, Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! Oh, what a tremendous statement concerning Jesus: the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. How did the Lamb of God remove the sin? By a sacrificial substitutionary death. That was just deeply imbedded in their mind as a result of their culture and their worship and their religion. How then is Jesus to take away the sin of the world? By His substitutionary death. "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." This is he of whom I said, After me there comes a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore I am come baptizing with water . Now, "I knew Him not" and then we have a new phrase, "But that He should be made manifest to Israel, I have come baptizing with water. That's why I'm here, in order that this Man might be made manifest to Israel. He's my cousin, I didn't realize who He was. I knew Him; I didn't know who He was. I didn't know that He was the One. I know that God sent me to prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight His paths, but I didn't know who He was. But the purpose of my being here is that He might be made manifest to Israel. And I knew Him not, but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore I am come baptizing with water." And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Spirit . So John said, "I didn't know Him until I saw the Spirit like a dove coming and resting upon him, and I know that the one who told me to go out and baptize also told me that the one that you see, the Spirit descending and staying upon, that is the one who is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit." And John said, I saw and I bare record that this is the Son of God . John was sent as a witness of the light. What is John's witness concerning Jesus Christ? He is the Son of God. Now the next day after this John was standing with two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God! Again, he had said earlier, "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Now he just says, "Behold, the Lamb of God." As John is writing the book of Revelation, the book of Revelation centers around the Lamb of God. To understand the book of Revelation, you've got to see the Lamb. And our first view of the Lamb of God, of course, is in the first chapter of Revelation, as he describes Christ in His glory. But then, as he gets into the heavenly scene, chapter five, when he was weeping, sobbing convulsively, because no one was found worthy to take the scroll or loose the seals and the elders said unto him, "John, don't sob. Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah hath prevailed to take the scroll and loose the seals. And I turned and I saw Him as a Lamb that had been slaughtered. And He came and He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him that sitting upon the throne. And when He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him sitting upon the throne, the twenty-four elders came forth with their little golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints, and they offered them before the throne of God. And they sang a new song saying, 'Worthy is the Lamb to take the scroll and loose the seals, for He was slain and has redeemed us by His blood'" "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." One day, by the grace of God, we'll be standing in that heavenly scene and we'll see Him as He comes and takes the scroll and we'll hear there, "Behold, the Lamb of God who has taken away our sins, the sin of the world." So, John is now with two of his disciples and John is saying to his disciples, they're standing there talking, he says, "Behold, the Lamb of God." And the two disciples heard what John said, and they followed Jesus . Now, John's testimony of Jesus is, "Hey, you know, I'm only an attendant to the bridegroom, and I'm honored when the bridegroom is honored, and He must increase, I must decrease." So, John is now pointing his own disciples to Jesus. And one of those disciples happened to be Andrew, the brother of Peter. And so, these two disciples started to follow Jesus and, Jesus turned, and he saw them following him, and he said, Who are you looking for? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is, being interpreted, Master,) where do you live? And Jesus said, Come and see. And they came and saw where he was living, and they stayed with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour . It was getting late in the afternoon, four o'clock. One of the two which heard John speaking, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother . Now, Andrew, we're not told too much about. He's Simon Peter's brother, but it is interesting that in the New Testament we always find Andrew bringing people to Jesus. That seemed to be his ministry, just bringing people to Jesus, but what a beautiful ministry that is! It was Andrew who brought the little boy to Jesus with the five loaves and two fish. And you'll see him bringing people to Jesus. So, Andrew, first of all, found his own brother Simon, and he said unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ . So, there you see the Christ is Messiah. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, You're Simon the son of Jonah: and you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone . "You're Simon, the son of Jonah, but you're going to be called Cephas, the stone." The following day Jesus came forth into the area of Galilee, and he found Philip, and he said unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, which was the same city where Andrew and Peter originated . Actually, Andrew and Peter evidently moved from Bethsaida to Capernaum because Peter had a house in Capernaum where Jesus stayed. But Bethsaida was probably their hometown on up about five miles from Capernaum around the Sea of Galilee and up near where the Jordan River comes into the Sea of Galilee. Now, Philip found Nathanael, and said unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph . "We found Him, the one that Moses wrote about, the one the prophets have written about--Jesus of Nazareth." And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said unto him, Come and see . Nazareth evidently didn't have too good of a reputation. And so, Philip's answer was just a good answer, "You just come and see." So Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and he said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! You're a straight shooter. And Nathanael said unto him, How did you know me? And Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called you, when you were sitting there under that fig tree, I saw you. And Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; you're the King of Israel. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? [Stick around,] you're going to see greater things than that! And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, After this you're going to see the heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man . Where do we find that in scripture? The heaven opened and the angels ascending and descending. Remember when Jacob was running from his brother Esau and he came to Bethel and he was tired and he was scared and he got a rock for a pillow, and he went to sleep and dreamed. In his dream he saw the Lord of heaven standing at the top of the ladder, and the angels of God were ascending and descending. And God spoke to him and said, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." And in the morning when Jacob got up, he said, "Truly the Lord is in this place and I knew it not." Now, Jesus, in essence, is saying, "I am the ladder. I am the access by which man can come to God. I'm the One who ties heaven and earth together. You're going to see heaven open. You're going to see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." So, the Son of man is the ladder by which heaven is joined to earth. When one of Job's friends counseled him, "Look man, just get right with God and you'll be over with your problems," he said, "Thanks a lot, you bag of wind! You tell me get right with God. You think you're helping me? Who am I that I can plead my case with God? God is so vast, I look for Him and I don't see Him! I look to my right, I look to my left, I look behind me, and I can't see Him." And he said, "There is no daysman between us who can lay his hand on us both. God is so vast. He fills the universe. I can't see Him. How can I plead my case with Him when I am just so nothing and God is so great, and there's no one between us that can touch us both. Heaven is so high, how can I ascend? How can I plead my case before God?" But Jesus is the answer to that cry of Job. The daysman who stands between God and man, who touches God and who touches me. The daysman between us. He is the ladder that has bridged from the infinite to the finite, from eternal to the time. " Shall we turn in our Bibles to the gospel according to John. The gospel of John was the last of the gospels that were written. It was written towards the close of that first century, written by John, for the purpose of convincing people that Jesus is the Christ, that by believing in Him they might have life in His name. John declares his purpose in writing these books. He said, "Many other things did Jesus which are not written, but these things were written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by believing have life in His name" . So there is a definite purpose in John's mind as he wrote this book. And because this is the reason for this book, it is the best book to encourage an unbeliever to read. Because John wrote, "That they might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by believing have life in His name." That's why he wrote it. And he's very up-front in telling you why he wrote it. And so it was written to counteract some of the false concepts concerning Jesus Christ, a lot of the heresy that had developed in the very first century. Now, Paul the apostle warned the Ephesian elders that, "After I'm gone, I know that there are going to be wolves that are going to come in, not sparing the flock of God, but seeking to draw men after themselves, and from your own group there will be those who arise who will even deny our very Lord." And before Paul was gone long from Ephesus, these things were already happening. The false teachers were moving in, perverting the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A system known as Gnosticism was one of the early systems of belief that permeated the church and began to draw people away into false concepts concerning Jesus Christ. The church wasn't very old before the Arian heresy arose, the denying of the deity of Jesus Christ, putting Him on the level of man. Gnosticism, with its concepts of Jesus and really confusing concepts of Jesus, part divine, part man, and yet, a sort of a phantom kind of a thing. They made up stories that as He walked on the sandy beach, He wouldn't leave footprints because He wasn't really real. And their idea was: anything that is real is evil, the world is so evil that God could not have created the world. And so, originally there was the pure holy God and emanations went out from this pure holy God, and finally, one of these emanations got so far from God that it no longer knew God; and it was from this emanation that created the world, and thus the world was created by an evil force and everything material is evil, and so Jesus could not have been a man, else He would have been evil. So, He was a phantom and a lot of weird things. And, so John wrote this epistle, or this letter, this gospel actually, in order to correct some of those early false teachings that have begun to permeate the church. Now, it is interesting that as the writers begin the gospels, they each one picked a different place to begin. And with the gospel of Matthew, he began with the generation or the genealogy of Jesus going back to Abraham. And when Mark began his gospel, he began it at the baptism of Jesus by John. When Luke began his gospel, he began it with the enunciation to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. But when John begins his gospel, he goes clear on back to the very beginning of time, which had no beginning. He goes back even further than Genesis. The book of Genesis is the beginning of creation, "In the beginning, God created..." But God existed long before He created. And so, in Genesis you go back to the beginning of creation, but before that, God was. God existed. So, John goes back to that infinite eternal past and declares, In the beginning was the Word , Now, the Greeks talked much about the Logos. And according to the Greek philosophy, everything pre-existed in a thought. Anything that you see existed in thought before it became form. In other words, this pulpit here began with a thought. Some craftsman had in his mind a design, an idea for a podium. And so, he drew it out on a piece of paper, but it was the expression of his thought. And so, before anything exists, it has pre-existed in a thought. So, to the Greek philosopher, the thought was the origin of things. Well, the Bible takes you one step further back. It said if there was a thought, then there had to be a thinker, because you can't have a thought without a thinker. So, in the beginning, God, "In the beginning, was the Word." And so, it actually goes back even before the thought, you have the existence of the One who thought, or the existence of God. So, "In the beginning, God," here, "In the beginning was the Word," He was existing then. and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . Powerful declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ. So plain, so straight, so forthright, that even a little child in reading it could not be confused. It would take a Jehovah Witness to confuse this passage of scripture. And they did, by the insertion of an article "the". "And the Word was a God." But they had to create something that doesn't exist in the original language in order to twist this whole thing around. John is starting out with the plain declaration that Jesus, the Word, is God. Just as straightforward, forthright as can be declared. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made . So, now he comes to creation. You see, John goes back before creation. In the beginning, before there was anything, there was the Word. He was with God, He was God, He was in the beginning with God. And then creation, "All things were made by him." In the account in Genesis, we read, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" . The word God in Hebrew there is Elohiym, which is a plural form. Now, there are those who say, "Well, the plural form was used for emphasis." But that appears to be an invention. Because God is also referred to as the singular, and if it is used only for emphasis, then it would be confusing to use the same term to refer to God in the singular. It is my opinion that when the God, El singular, is used that it is a reference to the Father. That the "Elohiym" is a reference to the tri-unity of the godhead, one God existing in three persons. "And God said, Let us make man in our image and after our likeness" . Who was God talking to? In the divine counsels there was that creation, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, in the divine counsel. "Let us make man in our image after our likeness." Here in John, the first chapter, Jesus is ascribed as the creator of all things. Paul, as he is writing to the Colossians concerning the pre-eminence of Jesus, declares that He is not only the creator, but He is the object of creation, by Him were all things made and for Him. So, He is not only the creator, but the object of creation. "All things were made by him," the universe around us and all of its life forms. and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; but the darkness comprehended it not [or apprehended it not, or could not lay hold of it] . Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that cometh unto me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" . Now, here it is declared that the light shineth in darkness. This is the reference to the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. Here He is, the light of the world shining in the darkness, but the darkness is not apprehended. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness , And twice we will read of John's witness. Here in chapter l, verse l5, "John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake." And then he also testified in verse John 2:34 , "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." That's the testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus Christ. So, There was a man who was sent from God, his name was John. He came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He [John] was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, the world was made by him, and the world knew him not . Can you grasp that one? Jesus, the Light...He came to shine in the darkness, the true light. He was in the world. We're already told that all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and yet, the world knew Him not. That is, the world of man. It would appear that there aspects of nature and of the world that did know Him. It is interesting that those who were possessed with evil spirits often cried out, "We know who you are!" Evidently, the winds and the waves knew who He was. For when He was standing in the little ship and it was about to sink, when He spoke to the wind and waves and said, "Peace, be still!" they obeyed His voice, they knew who He was. The rocks evidently knew who He was, because when the Pharisees were encouraging Him to rebuke His disciples on the day of His triumphant entry, He said, "I say unto you that if these should hold their peace, these very stones would immediately cry out." They knew who He was. But it was only the darkened minds of man that failed to recognize Him. He was in the world, the world was made by Him, and yet, the world knew Him not. Evidently, that little donkey knew who He was. No man had ever ridden on that little donkey before, and yet, I'm sure that when Jesus sat on him, he was just as docile as could be. He knew who He was. Someone has put words in the mouth of that little donkey; I think it was Chetterton. I don't know if I can recall it or not. It's coming, it's working, the juices are flowing and the circuits are coming together . . . "When fishes flew and forests walked and figs grew upon a thorn, some moment when the moon was blood, then surely I was born. With an ugly face and ears like errant wings, the devil's walking parody of all four-footed things. The ancient outlaw the earth with stubborn, tattered will. Mock me, scourge me, I am dumb, but I hold my secret still, fools. I also had my day, one fierce day in sweet. I heard the shouts around my ears and there were palm branches at my feet." The story of the donkey, I missed one line in there. I'll get it one of these days. "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." One step further, He came unto his own, and his own received him not . He said, "I am come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." His own; He was their promised Messiah. He came to His own, but they said, "We have no king, but Caesar." They said, "We will not have this man to rule over us." And his own received Him not, and the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled, He was despised and rejected of men. But, glorious good news! As many as received him, to them gave he the power and the authority to become the sons of God, even as many as believed on his name : So, here He is, in the beginning with God, the creator of all things, coming to His creation not being recognized, not being apprehended, coming to His own not being received, and yet, as many as would receive Him and sow the gospel of grace, as many as would receive Him to them He gave the power to become the sons of God. The Son of God becoming man in order that He might make each of us sons of God who would believe in His name. Which were born, not of blood , You cannot become a son of God through physical genealogy. I am not a son of God because my parents were Christians. My children are not Christians because I am a Christian. It's not of blood, it's not something that you can inherit from your parents or pass on to your children. This dynamic life as a child of God is not of the will of the flesh , It is not something that you can set your mind to and become. That is, "I am going to live this new dynamic life. I'm not going to walk in darkness any more; I'm going to live a generous, self-sacrificing life, the life that is the ideal that God has declared for man." You can't do it by the will of the flesh. nor is it by the will of man , It isn't by the force or coercion of others, or the encouragement of others. You cannot come into this new life because someone is pushing you or coercing you into it. This new birth can only come from God, born of God, as a child of God. So, I was born once by blood, by the will of the flesh and by the will of man, here I am. That was my physical birth. But my spiritual birth can't take place that way. The spiritual birth has to come from God. And so, I have been born again by the Spirit of God, the new life. And the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us , This is, of course, the tremendous swing of the pendulum, if you can follow it. In the beginning was the Word, He was with God, He was God, He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by Him. The divine, eternal creator. "And the Word was made flesh, and He dwelt among us..." This tremendous downward sweep from the area of the infinity into the realm of the finite, from the eternal into time. Surely our minds cannot grasp the scope of this. The disciples, as years passed, and they had an opportunity to really reflect upon Jesus and their acquaintance and their relationship to Him, I'm certain were more and more amazed and marveled at what actually transpired. As John begins his first epistle, he begins it much the same way as he declares, "That which was from the beginning, which we have seen, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes and gazed steadfastly upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life; (For that life was manifested, and we've seen it, and we bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us;)" . John is just reflecting on his relationship with Jesus. "That which is from the beginning, which we have heard..." And suddenly they realized, "When we heard Him talk, we were listening to the voice of God. When we looked upon Him, we were looking upon God. When we touched Him, we were touching God. That eternal life! We saw Him, we gazed, we touched." Oh, the wonder of it all! And, John stands in awe and wonder of that experience that he had had. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." When Philip said, "Lord, just show us the Father, and we'll be satisfied." He said, "Philip, have I been so long a time with you, have you not seen me? He who hath seen me has seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The works that I do I do not of myself: but the Father, he doeth the works. Now, believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake" . In other words, "I've been doing the work of God. I've been showing you the Father." We'll read in a moment, "No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has displayed Him." He has made Him known, He has declared Him. He that hath seen me has seen the Father. And so, do you want to know what God is like? Do you want to know the truth about God? Then you must look at Jesus Christ and study Him carefully, for He was God manifested in flesh. For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, in order that He might reveal the Father unto man. Because man had developed such wrong concepts of God. God has been maligned and lied against continually by Satan. And even today, Satan continues his work so that people have all kinds of grotesque, false concepts concerning God. One of the most common phrases in profanity is that God would damn certain things or certain people. And you hear it so often, as though God is just desiring to damn everything and everybody. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God himself declares, the Bible declares concerning God, "He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." And God cried to Israel and said, "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" saith the Lord, "Behold, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Turn ye!" People see God as fury and wrath and judgment and fire and thunder, when in reality, He has a heart that yearns after your love and your fellowship. How people misread the Bible even. In the book of Genesis when man first fell, and God came into the garden to commune with man and Adam hid himself, for he realized that he was naked, and God said, "Adam, where art thou?" Now, we have the words, but we don't have the tone of voice, and that's what people put into their own minds, the tone of voice. And so often, a person in reading that, puts in that tone of voice of an arresting officer holding the gun on the bank robber, "Hold your hands up, or I'll blast a hole through you!" "Adam, where art thou?!!" But, as I read the whole scripture, and I understand God through the whole revelation of Himself, I'm convinced that rather than the bark of an arresting officer, to hear the voice correctly, you will hear it as the sob of a heartbroken Father. "Adam, what have you done? Adam, where are you?" Just that broken heart of God over the failure of man. And this is what Jesus shows to us as He weeps over Jerusalem. "Oh, Jerusalem, if you only knew your possibilities, if you only knew the potentials, if you only knew the things that belong to your peace! But you don't. They are hid from your eyes, and as a result of your ignorance, devastation is going to come." And we see His chest as it is heaving, and we hear Him as He is sobbing, as He cries over Jerusalem, and the terror that will come because of their blindness, because of their ignorance. "If you only knew, if you only knew." And He weeps as He looks at the city and He knows the impending doom that is coming because of the path that they have chosen. And there you see the broken heart of the heavenly Father as He is weeping over the lost estate of man. Jesus came to reveal God. The Word became flesh and He dwelt among us in order that we might know the truth about God. There was a publisher of a newspaper who declared himself an agnostic. And yet, every year his wife, who was a Christian, and the children would go to church for the Christmas Eve service and, because it was Christmas Eve and a family celebration, he went yearly with them, as the children would give their recitations and their programs and sing the carols. But this one particular year he decided that he wasn't going to make his annual pilgrimage to the church because he saw it as an act of hypocrisy. He said, "I do not believe in the incarnation, I do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. For I don't see any reason why God would have to come in the flesh. And therefore, I'm not going to be a hypocrite any longer. I'm not going to church with the family on Christmas." And despite all of the persuasive efforts of the wife, he could not be dissuaded from his position. And so, on Christmas Eve he saw the family leaving in a blizzard to go to the church to celebrate the Christmas Eve program, as he sat by the fire, got out a book and began to just sort of settle in to his reading. Before long, a little bird tried to fly into the window, attracted by the light of the fire inside. And suffering outside in the blizzard, this little bird started flying up against the window, beating itself against the windowpane trying to come inside. It distracted him from his reading, and he thought, "Well, little bird go away!" But it wouldn't, it kept trying to fly in. And so, he finally decided, "Well, I guess I'll have to do something about it." And so, he went down to the barn and opened up the door and turned on the light, so that the little bird would be attracted to the light in the barn, hoping that it would see the light and fly on down and find the shelter there in the barn from the blizzard. Walking back up to the house, he found the little bird on the outside still trying to fly into the window. By now, it had begun to bloody itself from just flying up against the pane of glass. So, he tried to show the bird that there was the light on in the barn, and there was a place down there for it to go and to get warm and to be sheltered from the storm. And he started to sort of "Shoosh!" at the bird and swing at it a bit, but the more he did, the more frantic the little bird became in trying to fly into the glass and began to injure itself even more. And he found himself talking to the little bird. He said, "Little bird, I don't hate you, I'm trying to help you, don't you understand little bird? I'm your friend. I don't mean you harm, I want to help you. Poor stupid little bird, don't you know?" And then the thought came into his mind, "Oh, if only I could become a bird for a moment to communicate to this poor little creature that I don't hate it, I'm trying to help it." And suddenly, the light flashed! God became man because man so misunderstood God. He didn't hate man, He wasn't trying to harm man. He wanted to help man. He went into the house, got his overcoat and everything and headed off for church and met the family. He saw the reason for the incarnation, that God might communicate to us the truth about Himself, the truth that had been lost in the garbled concepts man had created of God. So, the Word was made flesh, and He dwelt among us, (and we [John said] beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) We are sons of God through faith, but we have been begotten again through our faith, we've been born again. But there is only one begotten Son in the sense that Jesus was begotten of the Father and we beheld Him as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth . Now, John. There was a man sent from God; his name was John. He wasn't the light. He came to bear witness of the light. And John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me; for he was before me . Now, John was, by physical birth, a cousin to Jesus. However, John was born before Jesus was born. Probably in about the sixth month of Mary's pregnancy when John was born. Yet, John is saying of Him, "He is preferred before me: for He was before me." So, he is talking about that pre-existence of Jesus prior to His incarnation. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ . Now, when God made man, God made man for fellowship. That was the purpose of God creating you, that He might receive just that praise and glory and all from your fellowship with Him, that He might enjoy and just receive that joy and blessing of just fellowshipping with you. You say, "Well, that sounds sort of selfish to me." Well, perhaps it was. Nothing I can do about it. That's why God created me. That's the only reason why God created me, really, that I might have fellowship with Him. That's the primary purpose, that we might have fellowship with Him. Now, if you are not fulfilling that primary purpose of your life, then your life is bound to be empty, unfulfilling and ultimately frustrating. Because you're not fulfilling the basic purpose for which God created you. You're not answering to that basic need and necessity in man of worshipping God, fellowshipping with Him. But man did not live on this planet long before he broke that fellowship with God by disobedience, sinning against God in his disobeying of the commandment of God. And the net effect of sin is always that of severing fellowship with God. "God's hand is not short, that He cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that He cannot hear: but your sins have separated between you and God" . Sin always has that effect of separating a man from God. God said to Adam, "In the day that you eat you will surely die." That is, the death of the consciousness of God within the heart of man. The death of the life of God, that Spirit of God and that life of God within man. It happened. Adam ate and that death took place, that spiritual death. Now, God still longed for fellowship with man, but that fellowship had been severed by man because of man's sin. Now in order that man might have fellowship with God, something first had to be done about man's sin. And so, God sent Moses and God gave to Moses the law, the law of the sacrifices, the covering of sin, making possible the restoration of fellowship with God. And in part of the sacrificial offerings were these offerings that were just fellowship offerings. The communion offerings, the meal offering, in which I just would just sit and eat with God and fellowship with God after the sin offering; then, that offering of consecration, the burnt offering, and then, the peace offering, the fellowship offering, where I just sit down and eat with God and fellowship with Him, but that could not be until first of all the sin offering. I had to take care, first, of the sin. And so, under the law and under Moses, the covenant of God through Moses, there was that provision for the covering of sin so that sinful man could be restored into fellowship with God and could sit and commune and eat with God. But these offerings of the bulls and goats could not put away sin. All they could do was cover sin, and they could point to an offering that God Himself was going to make, by which the sin of man could be put away so that the fellowship between man and God could be totally and completely restored. And so, the law came by Moses. This is not looking at the law in a derogatory sense. This is looking at the law as God intended it as a tool by which man could come into fellowship with God, but an imperfect tool because of man's failure. There's nothing wrong with the law, it was good, it was holy. But man was still sinful, and thus, the necessity of year after year the offering of the sacrifices for sin. So, God has established now through Jesus Christ a new covenant of grace and truth. By the law, Moses' covenant with God, but now through Jesus Christ a new covenant, a new covenant that is established on the grace of God and the truth of Jesus Christ. So, "The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." No man has seen God at any time ; Of course, people immediately say, "Well, what about Moses?" When God said to Moses, "What would you like?" He said, "Lord, I'd just like to see you." And God said, "You can't see Me and live." But God said, "I'll tell you what, you get there in the rocks and I will pass by and then you can see the afterglow." It says "the hinder part," but it's actually the afterglow of God having passed by a spot and then Moses looking at the radiation of the afterglow. And he became irradiated in looking at that. His face began to shine so that when he came back to the children of Israel they couldn't look at his face. They said, "Cover it, man, you're shining. We can't stand to look at your face." But no man has seen God at any time. Your physical body just couldn't handle that. It'd be like trying to stand in the sun; you'd be consumed. Now, God has promised that the pure in heart shall see Him, but not in this body. We're going to have to have a change of body. Paul said, "This corruption must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality" . One day I expect to see God, but not in this body, in my new body. This body is designed for the earth of the earthy, designed for the environmental conditions of the earth. My new body, far superior, designed for the heavenly environment. And in that new body, I can behold the face of the Lord and I can sit and worship at His feet. What a glorious day that will be! No man has seen God at any time; but the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath manifested him . Declared Him, demonstrated Him, brought Him forth into full revelation, He has revealed Him to us. And this is the record of John [the Baptist], when the Jews sent the priests and the Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? John was baptizing, we read, in the wilderness, and multitudes of people were going out, being attracted by this man. And so in Jerusalem, the religious leaders got upset, "This guy's out there baptizing and we didn't send him out there and he doesn't have our authority." And they sent the priests and Levites out to ask the guy, "Who are you anyhow?" And this is the record of John. He confessed, and he did not deny; but he confessed, I am not the Messiah . And that was really, "Who are you? Are you saying that you are the Messiah? Are you pretending?" He said, "I am not the Messiah." And because the word Christ is Messiah, so you've got to remember that. "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, Are you then Elijah? Now, the prophecy said that Elijah would first come and turn the hearts of the children to the fathers before the coming of the great day of the Lord. And so, "Are you Elijah?" The Jews even to the present day at their Passover services, in their home at their Passover celebrations, have the chair, the empty chair. The door is open, waiting for Elijah. "Are you Elijah, forerunner of the Messiah?" And he said, I am not . Now, this brings confusion to some people because in Matthew's gospel, about the seventeenth chapter, Jesus talking about John said, "This is Elijah, if you're able to receive it." But John said, "I am not." That is, he is not the full complete fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah. He came in the spirit and the power of Elijah. Going back to Luke's gospel, chapter l, when Gabriel the angel appeared unto Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, as he was ministering during his course in the temple. And when Zacharias saw the angel standing there at the right side of the altar, he was greatly afraid, and he said to Zacharias, "Fear not, I am Gabriel, I am standing in the presence of God and I have been sent unto thee to let you know that your wife Elizabeth in her old age is going to conceive and bear a son and thou shalt call his name John, and he shall go forth in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers." And he began to tell him of the ministry of his son, John the Baptist. "He'll go forth in the spirit and the power of Elijah." But when they asked John plainly, "Are you then Elijah?" he said, "No." And they said, Are you that Prophet? Now Moses promised, "And there shall come a prophet like unto myself; and to him shall you give heed" . "Are you that prophet that Moses spoke about?" And he said, No . Twenty questions! And they then said unto him, Who are you? that we may give an answer to those who have sent us. What do you say of yourself? And he said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as was predicted by Isaiah the prophet. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why do you baptize then, if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet? And John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there is standing one among you, whom you do not know; He it is, whose coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe latchet I'm not worthy to untie. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. And the next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and he said, Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! Oh, what a tremendous statement concerning Jesus: the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. How did the Lamb of God remove the sin? By a sacrificial substitutionary death. That was just deeply imbedded in their mind as a result of their culture and their worship and their religion. How then is Jesus to take away the sin of the world? By His substitutionary death. "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." This is he of whom I said, After me there comes a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore I am come baptizing with water . Now, "I knew Him not" and then we have a new phrase, "But that He should be made manifest to Israel, I have come baptizing with water. That's why I'm here, in order that this Man might be made manifest to Israel. He's my cousin, I didn't realize who He was. I knew Him; I didn't know who He was. I didn't know that He was the One. I know that God sent me to prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight His paths, but I didn't know who He was. But the purpose of my being here is that He might be made manifest to Israel. And I knew Him not, but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore I am come baptizing with water." And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Spirit . So John said, "I didn't know Him until I saw the Spirit like a dove coming and resting upon him, and I know that the one who told me to go out and baptize also told me that the one that you see, the Spirit descending and staying upon, that is the one who is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit." And John said, I saw and I bare record that this is the Son of God . John was sent as a witness of the light. What is John's witness concerning Jesus Christ? He is the Son of God. Now the next day after this John was standing with two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God! Again, he had said earlier, "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Now he just says, "Behold, the Lamb of God." As John is writing the book of Revelation, the book of Revelation centers around the Lamb of God. To understand the book of Revelation, you've got to see the Lamb. And our first view of the Lamb of God, of course, is in the first chapter of Revelation, as he describes Christ in His glory. But then, as he gets into the heavenly scene, chapter five, when he was weeping, sobbing convulsively, because no one was found worthy to take the scroll or loose the seals and the elders said unto him, "John, don't sob. Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah hath prevailed to take the scroll and loose the seals. And I turned and I saw Him as a Lamb that had been slaughtered. And He came and He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him that sitting upon the throne. And when He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him sitting upon the throne, the twenty-four elders came forth with their little golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints, and they offered them before the throne of God. And they sang a new song saying, 'Worthy is the Lamb to take the scroll and loose the seals, for He was slain and has redeemed us by His blood'" "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." One day, by the grace of God, we'll be standing in that heavenly scene and we'll see Him as He comes and takes the scroll and we'll hear there, "Behold, the Lamb of God who has taken away our sins, the sin of the world." So, John is now with two of his disciples and John is saying to his disciples, they're standing there talking, he says, "Behold, the Lamb of God." And the two disciples heard what John said, and they followed Jesus . Now, John's testimony of Jesus is, "Hey, you know, I'm only an attendant to the bridegroom, and I'm honored when the bridegroom is honored, and He must increase, I must decrease." So, John is now pointing his own disciples to Jesus. And one of those disciples happened to be Andrew, the brother of Peter. And so, these two disciples started to follow Jesus and, Jesus turned, and he saw them following him, and he said, Who are you looking for? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is, being interpreted, Master,) where do you live? And Jesus said, Come and see. And they came and saw where he was living, and they stayed with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour . It was getting late in the afternoon, four o'clock. One of the two which heard John speaking, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother . Now, Andrew, we're not told too much about. He's Simon Peter's brother, but it is interesting that in the New Testament we always find Andrew bringing people to Jesus. That seemed to be his ministry, just bringing people to Jesus, but what a beautiful ministry that is! It was Andrew who brought the little boy to Jesus with the five loaves and two fish. And you'll see him bringing people to Jesus. So, Andrew, first of all, found his own brother Simon, and he said unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ . So, there you see the Christ is Messiah. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, You're Simon the son of Jonah: and you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone . "You're Simon, the son of Jonah, but you're going to be called Cephas, the stone." The following day Jesus came forth into the area of Galilee, and he found Philip, and he said unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, which was the same city where Andrew and Peter originated . Actually, Andrew and Peter evidently moved from Bethsaida to Capernaum because Peter had a house in Capernaum where Jesus stayed. But Bethsaida was probably their hometown on up about five miles from Capernaum around the Sea of Galilee and up near where the Jordan River comes into the Sea of Galilee. Now, Philip found Nathanael, and said unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph . "We found Him, the one that Moses wrote about, the one the prophets have written about--Jesus of Nazareth." And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said unto him, Come and see . Nazareth evidently didn't have too good of a reputation. And so, Philip's answer was just a good answer, "You just come and see." So Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and he said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! You're a straight shooter. And Nathanael said unto him, How did you know me? And Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called you, when you were sitting there under that fig tree, I saw you. And Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; you're the King of Israel. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? [Stick around,] you're going to see greater things than that! And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, After this you're going to see the heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man . Where do we find that in scripture? The heaven opened and the angels ascending and descending. Remember when Jacob was running from his brother Esau and he came to Bethel and he was tired and he was scared and he got a rock for a pillow, and he went to sleep and dreamed. In his dream he saw the Lord of heaven standing at the top of the ladder, and the angels of God were ascending and descending. And God spoke to him and said, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." And in the morning when Jacob got up, he said, "Truly the Lord is in this place and I knew it not." Now, Jesus, in essence, is saying, "I am the ladder. I am the access by which man can come to God. I'm the One who ties heaven and earth together. You're going to see heaven open. You're going to see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." So, the Son of man is the ladder by which heaven is joined to earth. When one of Job's friends counseled him, "Look man, just get right with God and you'll be over with your problems," he said, "Thanks a lot, you bag of wind! You tell me get right with God. You think you're helping me? Who am I that I can plead my case with God? God is so vast, I look for Him and I don't see Him! I look to my right, I look to my left, I look behind me, and I can't see Him." And he said, "There is no daysman between us who can lay his hand on us both. God is so vast. He fills the universe. I can't see Him. How can I plead my case with Him when I am just so nothing and God is so great, and there's no one between us that can touch us both. Heaven is so high, how can I ascend? How can I plead my case before God?" But Jesus is the answer to that cry of Job. The daysman who stands between God and man, who touches God and who touches me. The daysman between us. He is the ladder that has bridged from the infinite to the finite, from eternal to the time. " Have we got a message for you tonight from the Word of God! John chapter 3 and 4, oh my, how rich! How blessed! There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews . We know a few things about him; we know that he must have been very wealthy, for he came with Joseph of Arimathea to embalm the body of Jesus after the crucifixion. And he brought these costly spices, about a hundred pounds, that only a very wealthy person could afford. A ruler of the Jews means that he was one of the seventy Sanhedrin, and, according to Jesus, he was a teacher of the Jews. He said, "Art thou a teacher of the Jews and knowest not these things?" Finally, he was a Pharisee. The Pharisees numbered about six thousand men who had dedicated their entire life to keeping the codified law. They recognized that the first five chapters of the Old Testament were God's inspired Word to man. Now, the scribes had sought to interpret those first five books and their codifying of the law, and this was called the Mishna. Now, for instance, the law said, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." But in the Mishna there were twenty-four chapters written to qualify what that meant. Now, God said it very simply, just, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And in six days you should do your labor, and the seventh day you shall rest and not do any labor on that day." But it took them twenty-four chapters to constitute what it meant and what the limitations and all were, the Mishna. Now, the Pharisees sought to keep the whole Mishna, the codified law, or the explanations in the writings in the codified law. Now, on top of the Mishna, they then wrote the Talmud, which was a commentary on the Mishna. And so, the things just continued to expand and expand. But the Pharisee was one who sought, and the primary purpose of his life was the keeping of the codified law. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews: He came to Jesus at night , Now, if anyone had it made by works or by the law, it would have been Nicodemus. If anyone could present their righteous credentials before God, it would be a Pharisee. They spent their entire life endeavoring to keep every aspect of God's holy law. If there were righteousness through the law, then the Pharisees surely would have achieved it. If a man could be righteous before God by his works, then surely the Pharisees would be accounted righteous. If there was anybody who didn't need to be born again, it would have been the Pharisees. But though he was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, a teacher, he was drawn to Jesus, much like perhaps that rich young ruler who came to Jesus and fell on his knees before Him and said, "Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life, or to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said, "Keep the commandments." And he said, "Which?" And as Jesus rattled off for him the first six commandments, or the second six actually, he said, "All of these have I kept for my youth, what lack I yet?" There was a realization that just the keeping of the law was not enough. There must be something more. Evidently, Nicodemus had this same awareness: there must be something more! Recognizing in Jesus a special quality, recognizing a special mission. for he said to Jesus, Rabbi [Master], we know that thou art a teacher who has come from God : He recognized, though the other Pharisees did not recognize, he did recognize the divine authority by which Jesus spake. "We know that you are a teacher that has come from God," for no man can do these miracles which you do, except God be with him . So, he had made this acknowledgement and had this recognition that was not acknowledged by the other Pharisees. And yet was a tremendous witness and testimony to Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself called His disciples to believe because of the witness of His works. He said, "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake" . Again He said, "My works, they do testify of Me" . Nicodemus acknowledged this, "We know that You're a teacher come from God, because no man can do the miracles that You have done unless God was with him." Now Jesus knew all things and He knew what was in the heart of Nicodemus and He knew foremost in the man's heart was, "How can I enter into this kingdom of God?" And so Jesus came directly to the issue that was upon the heart of Nicodemus, and He said unto him, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God . Now Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, said to His disciples, "Except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" . Now, as I said, the Pharisees spent their entire life endeavoring to keep the codified law of God, not just the Ten Commandments, but all of the Mishna, the codified law by which the Ten Commandments were explained and amplified and interpreted. And yet, Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you're not going to enter the kingdom of heaven." Now He is saying to this Pharisee, the ruler of the Jews, "Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter, he cannot see the kingdom of God." So Nicodemus said, How can a man be born again when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? And Jesus answered, Verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. For that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of Spirit is spirit . Now Nicodemus was interested in being born again, but the process, "How can it happen? There's no way that I can return to my mother's womb and be born again." And I do not believe that he was being facetious, I think that he was just really curious as to, "What do you mean, born again?" And then Jesus said, "Unless a man is born of the water and of the Spirit." Now, what does He mean water and Spirit? We know what it is to be born of the Spirit. What is He referring to being born of the water? There are those who declare that He is talking about water baptism. Unless you have been baptized in water, you're not going to see the kingdom of heaven, and that born of the water refers to water baptism. I do not believe that Jesus is referring to water baptism here, because I believe that there are people who have gone through the ritual of water baptism who are not going to see the kingdom of heaven. It was only a ritual. There are those who say the water refers to the Word of God. As Peter in his first epistle, chapter l, verse John 3:23 , said that we've been "begotten unto this living hope through the Word of truth." And so, we've been born again through the Word of God. And Jesus said in John l5, "Now you are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you." And so it is being born of the Word of God. And, the theological giants have taken their positions and there are those who say water baptism and those who say born through the Word God, and they write their commentaries and their ideas and thoughts and blast each other's ideas. But, it would seem to me that being born of the water would be a reference to our natural birth, as the fetus is in that water sac being protected, and then there is the water bursting and the child is born. To be born of the water would refer to the natural birth, because in context then, Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which born of the Spirit is spirit." And so, He's talking about the two births: born of the water, and born of the Spirit. And that the born of the Spirit is referring to the new birth, the spiritual birth that we have, where born of the water would refer to the fleshly birth. Now, I don't intend to make any brief for this position. If you want to believe that it refers to water baptism, you're welcome. If you want to believe that it is referring to being born by the Word of God, you're welcome. And if you want to believe it is being born of the flesh, you're welcome. You can take whatever position you want and it's not going to alter your relationship with God one iota. But there are these positions that people take, and sometimes they get very argumentive with them, but I have no argument. We do know that that which is born of the flesh is flesh. You were born once, naturally, of the flesh. You are not a child of God by natural birth, you are a child of God by the spiritual birth. Paul the apostle, talking about your life before Christ, said, "And you, hath He made alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins; who in times past walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, that even now works in the children of disobedience: among whom you all once lived, according to the lust of your mind, and the lust of your flesh; and you were by nature the children of wrath" Not the children of God, the children of wrath. It is only by a new birth that I become a child of God. So that which is born of the flesh is flesh. A person apart from the new birth lives a life that is dominated by his fleshly desires. His body rules over his soul and spirit. In fact, his spirit is dead. That's what comes alive when a person is born again, the spiritual birth, that is when my spirit comes alive. Prior to that, I am living in the flesh and after the flesh, and my mind is dominated by the flesh, and thus, I have what the scripture terms the mind of the flesh, which is death. My chief concern is what I'm going to eat, what I'm going to drink, what I'm going to wear. My fleshly needs, my body needs. These are the things that occupy my mind. But when a person is born of the Spirit, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Then, the spirit becomes alive and begins to rule within my life, and now my mind is occupied with the things of the Spirit, with how I might please God, in the worship of God, in the opening up of my life and my heart unto the things of God and of His Spirit, and these are the things that now dominate my mind. A mind dominated by the Spirit is called the mind of the Spirit, which is life and peace and joy. So Jesus said, Don't marvel when I said, you must be born again . The word must, again, is one of those words you've got to pay careful attention to, because there, you're coming to the heart of the issue when a person says, "I must." When God said, "You must," it is something you need to pay careful heed to, and He said, "You must be born again." There is no one who will enter the kingdom of heaven who is not born again. He's talking about if you want to come into the kingdom of heaven, you must be born again. You cannot come into the kingdom apart from being born again. God's divine imperative for any man who will come into the kingdom is that spiritual birth, you must be born the second time, born of the Spirit of God. In the first chapter of the gospel of John we read, "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" . Born again by the Spirit of God. Now, the wind bloweth where it listeth, and you hear the sound thereof, but you cannot tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit . There is that mysterious working of God's Spirit within our lives and we cannot fully comprehend it or understand it, we just know it. We can see the effects of it. My mother used to ask me when I was a child, "Can you see the wind?" And I said, "Oh, yes, I can see the wind." She said, "No, you can't." "Oh, yes, I can, I can see it out there. Look, it's blowing the dust." She said, "You're seeing the results of the wind. You don't see the wind." I can see the results of the Spirit. I believe it, I know that the Spirit exists. I have never seen Him, but I can feel His effect upon my life, it's very real. I can see His effects in the lives of those around me, it is very obvious. And so are they who are born of the Spirit, there is that mystic work of God's Spirit that I can recognize, I can feel, I can see that work of God's Spirit within me. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Now, he has asked two questions. Number one: "How can a man be born again?" and then, "How can these things be?" Jesus doesn't immediately answer the question, but chides him now. He said, Are you a teacher of Israel, and don't you know these things? Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am speaking of those things that I know, and I am testifying of those things that I have seen; and you do not receive my witness. If I have talked to you about earthly things, and you did not believe, how will you believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? "If I can't bring to your understanding a faith in these earthly things, how can I ever elevate you to a higher place? You're a teacher, you ought to know these things?" Now He then turned and answered the question, "How can these things be? How can I be born again?" Having chided him for his not believing, not receiving the witness that Jesus said I know is true. He then said to him, For as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up . Here Jesus is talking about His cross. Notice again the word must. "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up." If there is to be the possibility of redemption, if there is to be an experience of being born again, it can only be by the Son of man being crucified, so must the Son of man be lifted up. He uses a very interesting example out of their history in the Old Testament found in Numbers 2:1-34 l, where the children of Israel, after their failure to enter into the land, and Moses began to take the route around towards Edom up through Moab and Ammon, coming into the land from the east, the people began to murmur and complain against Moses, saying, "Why did you bring us into this wilderness to die, where there is no bread or water, and our souls loathe this manna? We're sick of it." And the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people of Israel, and God sent these little serpents into the camp, fiery serpents, deadly serpents. They began to bite the people and the people began to die as a result of the bites. And they came to Moses and they said, "We have sinned against you and against the Lord by our murmuring. Pray unto God for us that we might be delivered from this plague of serpents." And Moses prayed unto the Lord and the Lord told him to make a serpent out of brass and to put it on a pole, and to stand it up in the middle of the camp. And it shall come to pass that whenever a man is bitten by one of these fiery serpents, if he will just look at the pole in the middle of the camp, he will be healed, he will live. And so Moses made a serpent of brass, put it on a pole, set it up in the middle of the camp; and it came to pass that whosever was bitten by this serpent, when they looked upon that serpent on the pole, they were healed, they did not die. Therein you find the basis for that little symbol that the doctors use, the serpent on the pole, for healing. But brass in the scripture is always a metal that is symbolic of judgment, and the serpent is always symbolic of sin. So, the brass serpent on the pole was a symbol that God had judged their sins. And by looking at that, they were healed. They did not die. Now, this is an interesting provision that God made, and by what process looking upon the serpent could save a person's life. You know, there's no physical or scientific explanation for this. It was just God's covenant! God's provision. And He said, "All you have to do is look and you will live." Now, I can imagine that there were some hard heads there in Israel, lying on the ground convulsing as a result of the snakebite, about to die. And their friends say, "Hey, in the middle of the camp Moses set up that pole of the brass serpent. Just look at it and you'll be healed." "Don't tell me that, man, that's ridiculous. I can't make sense out of that. How can looking at that do anything for me? Don't you see, I'm dying, man! I need help!" "Yah, but just look!" "Ah, come on, how can that help?" And I can see him arguing and dying because he can't understand how looking would help. People are foolish. Unless they can understand all the processes by which God is working, they won't accept it. I can't explain to you how that believing in Jesus Christ can cleanse you of your sin and cause you to be born again and become a child of God. All I can tell you is it will. It works. That's what God has ordained. Jesus, hanging on the cross, was bearing the judgment of God for your sins. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we turn, everyone of us, to our own ways. And God has laid on Him the iniquities of us all" . "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up. " And Jesus, hanging there on the cross, was there taking the judgment of God for sin, dying for our sins, dying in our place. And even as those in the days of Israel looked at the serpent and lived, so we, by looking at the cross in faith and in trusting in Jesus, live. We have eternal life. And so, it was quite an interesting parallel, symbolism that God had established. How can a man be born again? How can these things be? They are the result of simply believing in Jesus Christ. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life . God's provisions given to us through faith. Like the wind, you may see the effects, you may see the results and feel the effects; though it's a mystery, you can't tell whence it comes or where it's going, so is that man born of the Spirit. The process is of God's Spirit; we can't fully understand, we just know they exist. How can a man be born again? How can these things be? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life . Again, the key is believing in Jesus. That's the provision that God has required for those to be born again. You are born again when you, by faith, believe in Jesus Christ, that He bore God's judgment for your sins in His death upon the cross, and you receive Him into your life. You are then born again by the Spirit of God and have become now a new creature in Jesus Christ, a son of God, a child of the King. Believing in Him, that is the key. Then Jesus went on to declare to Nicodemus, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved . I do not know why we always seem to picture Christ as condemning us. Well, I guess it's because we're so guilty all the time. But we always are thinking of Him in that posture of condemning. "You," you know, "you're doing it again!" And we're always thinking of Him in that posture of condemning. But Paul the apostle asked the rhetorical question in Romans 8:1-39 , "Who is he that condemneth?" And then he answers, "Not Jesus! For He died for us; ye, rather is risen again and is even at the right hand of the Father making intercession." God didn't send Him into the world to condemn the world. Jesus hasn't come to condemn you. Jesus has come to save you. "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." He didn't need to come to condemn, because the world is already condemned. Now, He that believeth in him is not condemned : Oh, did you hear that? Do you believe that? "He that believeth in Him is not condemned." What a glorious message of God's grace to us tonight! That ought to thrill your soul beyond measure! "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who believe in Jesus Christ" . Isn't that what it says? Do you believe it? Why is it that we are always going around condemning ourselves? Why is it that we are always going around feeling so defeated and so discouraged, when there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus? For he that believeth in Him is not condemned; however, he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God . What is His name? Yeshua, the Lord is salvation. Jesus came to save. That's what His name implies. "Thou shalt call His name Yeshua, for He shall save His people from their sins" . He didn't come to condemn, He came to save. His name implies His mission. Jesus declared it plainly. He said, "I have come to seek and to save that which was lost" . Now, "he that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." And what is the condemnation? that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be manifested. But he that doeth the truth comes to the light, that his deeds might be made manifested, that they are wrought in God . What is the condemnation? That men won't come to the light. Now, God forbid, but if you will in the future, if you are standing with that throng in Revelation 20:1-15 before the great white throne judgment of God, and the books are open, and you are to be judged out of the things written in the books; and when your name is finally called and you have to stand before God naked, open, and God opens the books and the indictment is made against you, there will only be one charge. There's not going to be going down the list of every lie you told or everything you stole or every wrong thought or action or deed you ever had. There's only going to be one indictment: your failure to come to Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the light of the world." Light has come into the world, but men won't come into the light, and that's why they are condemned. "He that believeth not is condemned already." You don't need that Jesus should condemn you, you're already condemned. He didn't come to condemn you. He didn't need to. You already are condemned. But now, the issue is not so much the evil that you have done, but your rejection of the provision, the only provision that God has made whereby men might come to Him. Whereby men might have the forgiveness of their sins. So, there will only be one indictment against man. Jesus said when the Holy Spirit is come, He's going to reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment. Of sin, because they didn't believe in Me. You see, that's the only sin that's going to damn your soul. Any other thing you may have done is forgiven. Christ died for the sins of the world. God laid upon Him the iniquities of us all. His death satisfied God completely for the sin of all humanity. There's only one charge and indictment that God will make against a man, his failure to come to the light, his failure to receive God's provision. Now after these things came Jesus and his disciples to the land of Judea ; So, they had come down to the area around Jerusalem. and he tarried there with his disciples, and baptized . So it would seem that the disciples of Jesus were at this time beginning to baptize people. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was a lot of water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and they said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with you beyond Jordan, to whom you bore witness, behold, the same is baptizing, and all men are coming to him . So they came to John, and they said, "That one that you bore witness to, you said 'the Lamb of God and all.' He's baptizing now and everyone is going to Him." And John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it is given to him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: and this my joy therefore is fulfilled. For He must increase, and I must decrease . Beautiful humility of John in taking his rightful place. He said, "You bear witness that I testified of him. Now, look, He's the bridegroom and I'm just the best man. It's the bridegroom that takes the bride. But His best man rejoices when he hears Him. And herein, I rejoice because of the bridegroom's voice, and my joy, therefore, is fulfilled." How? In bringing honor and glory to Jesus. "For He must increase and I must decrease." So say we all! He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: but he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that is what he testified; and no man received his testimony . This is pretty much what Jesus said to Nicodemus. "No man has descended into heaven but he which came down from heaven, even the Son of man which was in heaven. And I've told you earthly things and you believe not. How would you believe if I've told you of heavenly things?" So, he speaks of Jesus coming down from heaven, but no man receiving His testimony. And he that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true . When you receive the testimony of Jesus Christ, there is sort of a seal, a stamp in your heart you know that is true. The Spirit of God has born witness to my own heart of the truth of God. There are things I just know are true. You say, "How do you know they are true?" I just know they're true. There is that seal, the Spirit just bears witness to the truth. And you just know it! The oetus, the . . . just intuitive knowledge. For he whom God hath sent speaks the words of God: for God did not give to him the Spirit by measure [or just apportioned out] to him . But the fullness of the Spirit dwells in Jesus Christ, not just measured out, but that fullness. And the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him . So, this is the final witness of John the Baptist concerning Jesus Christ. He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life. But if you believe not, you have not life. You'll not even see life, but conversely, the wrath of God abides upon you. " Chapter 4 Now when the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (though Jesus himself baptized none, but his disciples,) Now this can mean one of two things. Jesus baptized not, but His disciples, or, He only baptized His disciples; or, He didn't baptize at all, it was only His disciples who were baptizing. So, you have a choice. But when Jesus heard that the Pharisees had heard these things, He left Judea , The Pharisees had heard now that He was baptizing even more than John, so He left the area of Judea, the area near Jerusalem, where most of the Pharisees hung out. and he departed and went again into the area of Galilee . From Judea, on into Galilee. And he had to go through Samaria . For Samaria lies between Judea, Jerusalem and the Galilee. The area of Samaria lies between the two, through the middle part of the country. Now, He came to a city of Samaria, which was called Sychar [or Shechem], near a parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat on the well: for it was about noon. And there came a woman of Samaria to draw water: and Jesus said unto her, Give me a drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then said the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that you, being a Jew, are asking me for a drink, for I am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that said unto you, Give me a drink; you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. And the woman said unto him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: where are you going to get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his children, and his cattle? And Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. And the woman said unto him, Sir, give me some of this water, so I will never thirst again, and I won't have to come out here and draw water everyday . Now, up to this point, this woman is being rather saucy with Jesus, sort of pert and cute. She's not a very upright woman. In fact, she's sort of a low-moral character. She's probably very well known in Shechem because of her not-so-illustrious past. She's got a bad reputation. She's probably known as a flirt and available. And probably that kind who is pretty worldly-wise and able to handle men pretty well, and that type which...every man is sort of a challenge. So, when she came to draw water and saw this person sitting there, and He said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" rather than just obliging and giving Him a drink without saying anything, she has to open up the door and ask him, "How come you're asking me for a drink? You're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan, and we're not supposed to have dealings with each other." And Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God and who it was that was asking you for a drink, you would have been asking Him for a drink." Now, I'm sure that her motives in talking to Jesus at this point are far different from His. But she continued on in saying, "Why would I ask you for a drink? That well is deep and you don't have anything to draw it with. " She said, "Where are you going to get this living water? Are you greater than Jacob who gave us this well?" Jesus said to her, "Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again." When Jesus is talking to this woman about water, about living water, she did not understand what He was talking about, even, I'm sure, as Nicodemus did not fully understand what Jesus was talking about when He first said, "You've got to be born again." You know, he got this mental picture of his going back into his mother's womb. Jesus was talking again about spiritual things and she was thinking only of material things. But Jesus said to her, "If you drink of the spiritual water, the living water, you'll never thirst again." "Oh, I'd like some of this water so I don't have to come out here and drink again, so I don't get thirsty any more." Now, the statement, "He who drinks of this water shall thirst again," there Jesus is referring to that physical water in the well. Carrying it one step further, Jesus, in talking about thirst, spoke not of physical thirst but of spiritual thirst. Man is a threefold being: he is body, mind and spirit. And there are physical thirsts, there are emotional thirsts, and is a spiritual thirst. Jesus said to the woman, "If you're going to drink of this water, you're going to thirst again." That can be said of every physical experience that you might possess or seek or find. There are always those who feel, "If I could just..." and you fill in the blank. "...then I would be happy and satisfied." What's in your blank? "If I just had blank, I would be satisfied and happy!" It seems that man is always setting out a goal or a thing whereby he feels that, "If I could just achieve, if I could just attain, if I could just have, then I would be satisfied. I wouldn't be thirsty any more!" Jesus said, "Not so! You drink of this water and you will thirst again." Now, you ought to be able to prove that in your own mind, because surely in times past, you have set those temporary goals that you felt, "If I could just have a new bicycle I wouldn't want anything again as long as I live." I know there was a time when I lusted after a bicycle. And I thought, "If I could just have that bicycle, oh, I would just be so happy. I would never want anything again as long as I lived." And, I got that bicycle. But it wasn't long before..."If I just had a speedometer on this bicycle, I wouldn't want anything again, you know." And then, "If I just had a headlight with a generator, oh, I would never want anything again." So, there have been those intermediate goals that I have achieved and attained, but you know what? I thirsted again. They didn't fully satisfy me. As Jesus said, "Drink of this water, you're going to thirst again." And it has been true in my life, as I have achieved those goals, those intermediate goals that I had established, and I thought, "Oh, if I could just have," and I then had, but it didn't satisfy. I thirsted again. But Jesus said, "If you drink of the water that I give, you'll never thirst again. It'll be like a well just springing up inside of you." The woman said, "Sir, I'll take some of that water." And Jesus said, Well, first go call your husband. And she said, I don't have any husband . I'm available. And the Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband: for you have had five husbands; and you've finally just moved in with a man without marrying him . Now, notice the whole switch of her attitude. No longer is she a cute little flirt. Her mask has been ripped off. You know, a lot of people go around wearing masks. They have a cute, clever exterior. "I can handle myself, I know how to get around, I don't need any help, I've got it made." But when that mask has been removed, underneath there is a great thirst and a great need, and the thirst and the need that man has is for God, every man, no matter who they are. You may try to pretend that you don't need God. "That's for weak people! I don't need to commit my life to God, I don't need God, I can handle it, I'm able to make my way in life. The battle is for the strong and I'm strong. I don't need help." And you may put up a very tough, formidable front, a mask. But deep down inside every man's heart is crying out for God. No matter what kind of a front you may be putting up. And when Jesus took away her mask, when suddenly she realized she wasn't kidding this fellow, "He's looking right inside of me and He knows what is inside of me. He knows the truth about me. I'm not fooling Him at all." The mask was gone. Her spirit was open and naked and revealed; and she knew it. And so, suddenly, the whole attitude and tenor changes, and what is her question? Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and you say, in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship . The question was, "Where do I find God? Our fathers said we find God in this mountain, you say we find God in Jerusalem. Where can I find God?" And down deep inside of every man there is that haunting question, "Where can I find God?" Because we all need God, no matter what kind of a front we may be putting up to others. Down deep inside all of us need God, and there is that cry of our hearts, "Where can I find God?" And so her whole attitude changed, "Sir, I perceive you're a prophet." "Our fathers say we are to worship God in these mountains," that is in Mount Gerizim, which is there in Samaria, the mountains upon which the tribes of Israel stood on the top and pronounced God's blessings when they came into the land, opposite to Mount Ebal, where the curses were pronounced. And so, the Samaritans, those people who inhabited the northern province after the Syrian captivity, those who were not accepted into Judaism when the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, because they could not prove the purity of their lineage, who had intermarried with the people brought into the land by the Assyrians, sort of half-breeds, were called Samaritans. And because they were not allowed by the Jews in Jerusalem to help with the temple or to enter into the worship there, they began to establish their own worship center on Mount Gerizim, making their own sacrifices there and creating quite a breach between the Jews and the Samaritans, not dealing with each other. And they began to say that it was on Mount Gerizim that Abraham had offered Isaac. And they also affirm that on Mount Gerizim, Solomon had built the temple, that this is the place to worship God. And they would discourage the Samaritans from going to Jerusalem to worship God. God is found in this mountain, God is worshipped in this mountain. Now even to the present day, the Samaritans, and, of course, they have dwindled, there are only about twelve hundred Samaritans left in the world. And they are fast passing off the scene, because of the inbreeding, most of them are sort of on the lunatic fringe, because they won't marry outside of that close knit group, and so the intermarriages are too close and there's not been the infusion of outside blood, so you've got idiocy going among them now. And they are fast passing away. But to the present day, they still offer a sacrificial lamb on Gerezim to the present day. They still affirm, those Samaritans that are left, that Gerizim is the place where men find God. But basically her question is, "Where can I find God?" and that's the question that burns in the heart of every man. Jesus said, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming, when you will neither in this mountain, nor at Jerusalem, worship the Father . And then He said something that is very revealing. You do not know what you worship : How true that is of so many people today. They really don't know what they are worshipping. He said, we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and even now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship him. For God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth . Where's God found? He's found wherever you are. He surrounds us. God is not localized, nor can you localize God. So often in our minds we make that mistake of localizing God. How glorious it is to gather tonight in the presence of God here in the sanctuary. Well, that's true in a sense, but yet, in another sense, God doesn't just dwell here in the sanctuary. God dwells in your car as you're driving to the sanctuary. God dwells in your house as you're yelling at your kids getting ready to go to the sanctuary, because they're not getting dressed fast enough. We need to become more conscious of the all-prevailing presence of God wherever I am. God is a spirit; I am surrounded by Him. For in Him we live and we move and we have our being. And you cannot localize God...in Gerizim, or Jerusalem, or in any other locality. He doesn't dwell there any more than any other place. God dwells in the hearts and in the lives of every child of God, and He surrounds us all. In Him we live, we move, we have our being. God is a spirit, and if you want to worship Him, you've got to worship Him in spirit. That's spiritual worship of God and in truth. So the woman said unto him, I know that when the Messiah comes, which is called Christ : The word Christ is a Greek word. It is the translation into Greek of the Hebrew word Messiah. And so, you have the Greek word Christ, but it is a word that is the translation of the word Messiah. So John points that out here. "I know that when the Messiah comes," which in Greek is called Christ, Christos. when he is come, he will tell us all things. And Jesus said unto her, I who speak unto you am he . Can you imagine what she must have felt at that moment? "I was flirting with Him?" "I who speak unto you am He." And upon this the disciples returned, and they marveled that he was talking with the woman: yet none of them said, What are you seeking? or, Why are you talking with her? And the woman then left her waterpot, and went her way unto the city, and said to the men , The women probably wouldn't talk to her. Come, and see a man, which told me everything I ever did: is not this the Messiah? And they went out of the city, and come unto him. And in the meantime his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat that you don't know about. Therefore said his disciples one to another, Has someone brought him something to eat? And Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work . And interesting, the phrase "to finish His work." The work of redemption was not yet finished. Later, on the cross Jesus will cry, "It is finished." But God's work of redemption was not yet complete. And so, "I came not to do my own will, I came to do the will of Him who sent Me." Jesus was a man on a mission, sent by the Father to finish the Father's work, the work of redemption of mankind. And then He said, Don't say, There are four months, and then the harvest will come? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields ; Now at this point, the men of Shechem were coming out through the fields to the well where Jesus was. And most of them wore these white turbans, and so, as you looked on the fields you saw these white turbans, all of them, descending from the city towards the well. And Jesus said to His disciples, "Don't say four months and the harvest will come. Look unto the fields right now." behold they are white unto harvest . Hungry souls searching for God. Where can you find God? He that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit unto life eternal: and both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One sows, another reaps . Paul said, "One plants, one waters. God gives the increase." I sent you to reap whereon you bestowed no labor: other men labored, and you are entered into their labors. And many of the Samaritans believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me everything I ever did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they begged him that he would stay with them: and so he remained there for two days. And many more believed because of his own word; then they said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of what you said: for we have heard him ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Now after two days he departed from there, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet has no honor in his own country. And when he was come into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all of the things which he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. So, he came again to Cana of Galilee , Now Cana was a little village there in the valley as you're coming from Nazareth, up over the top of the hill, you drop into this little valley and Cana sits there in the valley, and it's on the road from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. So, as He came to Cana, it's probably twenty miles from the Sea of Galilee to Cana. And so, He came unto Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum . Now Capernaum was at least twenty miles from Cana. And when he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea back to Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: because he was at the point of death . He's asking Jesus to go from Cana down to Capernaum, twenty miles, to heal his son. Of course, if you've got a son that's dying and you're the dad, you're going to be desperate. You're going to do your best if you feel that, "Here's a man that can help my dying son." And Jesus said unto him, Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. And the nobleman said unto him, Sir, come or my child is going to die. And Jesus said unto him, Go your way; your son lives. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken to him, and he went his way . He believed the word so much he didn't even go home. He just believed it. Because, the next day As he was going down, his servants met him, and said, Your son is alright. And he inquired and he said, At what hour did the change take place? And they said, At about one o'clock in the afternoon. And he knew that that was exactly the time that Jesus said, Your son lives : Now you see, if it were one o'clock in the afternoon and he was really concerned for his son, he would have taken off for Capernaum and probably could've made it there by evening on a fast jog. But he wasn't worried any more. He believed the word of Jesus. And so the father knew it was the same hour in which Jesus said unto him, "Your son lives." and himself believed , That moment Jesus said it, and he believed it and it was. and his whole house believed. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did [that is in Cana], when he was come out of Judea into Galilee . Now, in chapter 5, we leave Galilee and we go back to Jerusalem and to the pool of Bethesda and the events that were there. And John concentrates the most of his gospel with the ministry of Jesus around Jerusalem. It tells little about the ministry in Galilee, where the other gospels concentrate most on the Galilean ministry. So, John doesn't leave us long in Galilee before we go back to Jerusalem to the feast of the Jews there in Jerusalem. And so, we'll get into that next week, as we continue chapters 5 and 6 next week of the gospel according to John. May the Lord be with you and bless and keep you in His love, and may your life be enriched daily this week as you study the Word and as you worship God in spirit and in truth. For God is seeking such to worship Him. May your life in Christ grow, be enriched and developed more and more, day-by-day, that you might come to that fullness that God would have you to experience, the fullness of His grace and love towards you through Jesus our Lord. So, may the Lord bless and keep, strengthen and guide, and give you just a totally beautiful week, walking in the Spirit and the love of Jesus Christ. " Shall we turn in our Bibles to the fifth chapter of the gospel of John. John has just recorded in the fourth chapter the ministry of Jesus in the Galilee when He was at the city of Cana and the nobleman came to Him concerning his son, who was sick. And Jesus spoke the word and some twenty miles distance the Spirit of God did a work and healed the nobleman's son. So after this, that would be after His ministry there in Cana, and the healing of the nobleman's son, There was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there He's at Jerusalem by the sheep market at a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. And in these there lay a great multitude of impotent folk, blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: and whosoever then first after the troubling of the waters stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty-eight years. And when Jesus saw him lying there, and he knew that he had been a long time in this case, he said unto him, Would you like to made whole? And the impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I'm trying to get in, another steps down before me. And Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up your bed, and walk . So John is now giving us another little scene in the ministry of Jesus. We remember that the gospel of John is selected pictures. In the nineteenth chapter of John he tells us that Jesus did many other things which are not recorded. But these were recorded that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by believing have life in His name. So John is telling you that he's just selecting certain things out of the life and the ministry of Jesus to demonstrate to you the fact that He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. That by your believing in Him you might have life in His name. When John closed his epistle he said there are so many things that could be written about Jesus. That I suppose if someone tried to write them all, all of the libraries in the world could not hold all that could be written about Him. Well, surely we are proving that today with a multitude of books that are being published concerning the Bible and concerning Jesus, and yet, we have not nearly exhausted all that could or perhaps should be said. This is another little insight. The pool of Bethesda, inside it said of the sheep gate, today it lies inside of what is known as the lion's gate, the sheep gate no longer exists in the walls of the city of Jerusalem. But inside the lion's gate, in their excavations they have found the pool of Bethesda where the five porches where Jesus ministered to this lame man. There were many people around there blind, lame and all, for a tradition had been developed about the pool. That whenever the waters began to move whoever was the first one into the water would be healed of whatever disease they had. So all of these people who where lame, blind, maimed, or whatever, would lie around this pool just waiting for the water to be troubled. Can you imagine what a pitiful sight that must've been? To see this pool of water with these five porches and all of these grotesque creatures lying around it just waiting for the water to be troubled and then the mad scramble and the blind person was, of course, was disadvantaged because he can only hear the rustling of people and then realize what must be going on and trying to get in, and everyone trying to get in first, and the first one in was healed of whatever disease he had. You say, "Well, how can you explain that, that the first one in could be healed?" We know there is tremendous power in faith. Jesus said if you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. How many times Jesus said to people by faith has made you whole. Faith is a tremendous power. It can activate the work of God in your behalf. And people oftentimes need a point of contact for releasing their faith. Many times faith is rather passive. Our faith in God is often passive, but should not be. I'm not advocating this, I'm just making a statement of fact. But passive faith really doesn't do much. I believe that God can. I believe that God created the universe, so I know that God can do anything. I have the passive faith to believe that God could replace an amputated arm. I say the passive faith to believe that because I don't have the active faith to believe that. You say, "Well, do you believe that God created the world?" Sure. "Do you believe God can do anything?" Sure. Then if God can do anything, sure He can put a new arm upon a person who had his arm amputated. I believe He can. I don't believe He will. You see, that's the difference between the passive faith and an active faith. An active faith believes He will. Now many times we need some kind of a place, a point, an experience where we turn our faith from a passive faith which does little, to an active faith that will accomplish a lot. And oftentimes the point of contact is extremely valuable. Now with these people a point of contact have been developed to where, whenever the water became troubled they believed that the first one into the water would be healed of whatever disease or malady they had. And because they believed this to be so, the first one into the water, his faith was immediately activated and he believed God is going to heal me. And because he believed that God was going to heal him, he was healed. His faith became active. Much as the woman who in her heart said, "I know the moment I touched the hem of His garment, I would be made whole of this plague." And so she made her way through the crowd until she got close enough to reach out and touch the hem of His garment, and the moment she did, she released her faith. It became active and God's power ministered to her as the virtue went out from Jesus, because God responds to our faith. Your faith can be a hindrance or a blessing. What I believe is very important. If I believe that God can't or won't do a certain thing, then it usually follows that God doesn't. If I believe that God will do a certain thing, then it usually follows that God does. When I was a child, unfortunately, there was a lot of negative preaching. And many people became victim of the negative preaching. I heard many sermons against a lot of things. And one of the favorite subjects of attack by those ministers was smoking cigarettes. And I heard over and over as a child that if you smoke a cigarette, God will not, you cannot be a Christian, you cannot be a child of God and smoke a cigarette. And I heard this. Now there were many of my companions who also heard this teaching and this preaching and they believed what they heard. So that when they began to experiment and smoke cigarettes they believed, "Well, God can't save me. I'm a sinner because I smoke a cigarette, and I can't be saved as long as I smoked this cigarette." And because they believed that they could not be saved smoking a cigarette, it became true. They could not be saved, they could not believe that God could save them while they were bound by a cigarette habit. Because what you believe becomes the reality in that case. And unfortunately, many people have been destroyed through negative preaching. I had a man in Tucson who said, "Chuck, I would like to be a Christian. I would like to come to church, I would like to live for the Lord. I used to be the youth director in our church when I was growing up. And I was serving the Lord and I was happy and all and I would like to do it now, but my job gives me a lot of stress. And when I get home in the evening after a stressful day on the job I love to sit down and relax and have a can of beer. And so I can't be saved." I said, "Eddie, who told you that you can't have a can of beer?" I said, "That isn't the issue." Just to shock him I said, "I drink all the beer I want; I don't want to drink any." But many people are kept away from God because they have become entangled into habits or into patterns that they can't break. They've tried to break them, they've been told as long as they were doing that they can't be a child of God. And so they've tried to quit smoking, but they can't quite smoking, and so they think, "Oh, God, I wish I could be saved. Oh, I wish I can be a child of God." And they long and desire to be, but they're bound; they can't quit smoking. What they're trying to do is get the cart before the horse. You give your life to Jesus Christ, and He'll take care of those things in your life as the Spirit of God conforms you into the image of Jesus Christ. We so often in our endeavor to be righteous before God are trying to work from the outside in, but that is always a difficult, if not impossible, project. The Spirit of God works from the inside out. He brings to pass those changes within me which have their expression on the outside. So our faith, what I believe to be, becomes a reality in my life. But there is that possibility of activating faith, and oftentimes, the point of contact is valuable in doing that. If there are any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church, and let them anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord shall raise them up. Now, as the elders come and anoint with oil and lay hands in the name of Jesus and pray for that person, it gives the point of contact to release the faith. "I know as soon as the elders get here and anoint me with oil and pray for me in the name of the Lord I'm going to be healed. Oh bless God, I can hardly wait for them to come. Oh praise the Lord." You know, and as the doorbell rings, "Oh, they're here bless God. I'm going to be healed now in just a few moments, the moment they lay their hands on me and anoint me with oil in the name of Lord." And because I believe the promise of God and I believe the Word of God, the moment they lay their hands on me in the name of Jesus and they pray for me, I'm healed. Why? Because I've now triggered or activated the faith. It is no longer if God can heal me, but God is healing me now at this moment, and it is that activating of faith. So these people sat around the pool waiting for the waters to be troubled. Because it created the point of contact with their releasing their faith for that work that God was wanted to do in their lives. But this man had been lame for thirty-eight years. And he had been lying around here for a long time. But he was so crippled that whenever the waters began to stir, by the time he could get his body into the water someone else had already gotten there in front of him. And thus, he remained in his crippled condition, hoping and waiting that some day he might be the first one in. And as his case was, he didn't have any friend to help him. You know, those who were just there beside him and holding him and as soon as the waters troubled toss him in. So he was there in that hopeless state, and Jesus said would you like to be healed? And he brought up his problem to Jesus, "Of course I would like to be healed, but there's no one to help me. When the waters are troubled someone always get there in front of me." And then Jesus commanded him to do the impossible. Jesus said unto him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." I love the way Jesus is always giving to people impossible commands. Because whenever the Lord gives you an impossible command then you are faced with one of two choices. The first choice is you can obey the command that Jesus gave you, or you can argue with the command. Now this man could have said, "Who are you trying to kid, mister? I told you I don't have anybody to help me, the waters aren't troubled now. You think that if I could carry my bed away from here I'd be lying here all this time. I've been thirty-eight years like this, man, there's no way I can stand up." And he could have argued with the command of Jesus and remained impotent. But he made a wise choice, he chose to obey the command of Christ. And we read, And immediately the man was made whole, and he took up his bed, and walked : He chose to obey the command of Christ, though he knew it was an impossible command. Now many times the Lord gives to us commands that, to us, seem like an impossible command. Maybe there is an area of weakness in our life that we have struggled with for years. It has kept us in a defeated state. And the Lord said, "Alright, now don't do that again." We say, "Oh, Lord, you don't know how I would like to quit. Oh, you don't know how miserable I am when I do this. I don't get any joy out of this." And we argue with Jesus and we tell Him all the times we tried. We tell Him of all of the programs that we've been on. All of the books we've read. All of the money we spent trying to change our behavioral patterns and I'm still the same. And we are arguing with Him, rather than willing to obey. Now, one thing we must learn and that is, though Jesus gives to us what seems to be an impossible command, that Jesus never commands us to do anything, but if we will, but will to do it, He will in that moment give to us all of the capacity all of the power and all of the ability to do it. Don't argue with Him and say, "Yes, Sir," and do it. Because if you will will to obey the command of Christ, immediately you will receive all that is necessary to obey that command. So many times we look and we say, "That's impossible, Lord." Not anymore, because He told me to do it. And by virtue of the fact that He told me to do it, He will give me the capacity to do it. So this man was made whole, he took up his bed and walked, but they weren't looking at the calendar. the same day was the Sabbath . And he didn't get very far until some of these black robe men with black hats and long curls said unto him that was cured, It's the Sabbath day: it's not lawful for thee to carry thy bed . It's interesting to me the tradition that man can acquire, but really what amazes me most is how deeply ingrained tradition can become in a person's life. You know, I think one of the hardest things to be freed from is tradition. It's just awfully hard to shake ourselves from tradition. Unfortunately, into the church there has come a lot of tradition, church tradition, which has its roots in the mystery Babylon in religion. But it has become a part of church tradition. But because it is tradition, it has become so deeply ingrained that when Martin Luther sought to make his break and did make a break, it wasn't a truly clean break from all of the abuses. For he brought into the Protestant Reformation much of what was tradition brought in from the mystery Babylon religion systems. So that as Jesus wrote to the church of Sardis, the Protestant Reformation, He said, "I have not found your work complete before God. You still got a lot of these trappings that belong to the mystery Babylon religion that have no place in the body of Christ." But traditions are very difficult to throw off. They are so deeply ingrained within a person. They had certain traditions that had developed concerning the Sabbath. They sought to interpret the Sabbath law. They had what was known as the Mishnah. The commentaries on the law of Moses. And in the Mishnah some twenty-three chapters were devoted to the interpreting of the law of the Sabbath day. How God just said, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, six days shalt though labor and do thy work, but the seventh day is the day of rest." So just remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy. Now they began to try to interpret this particular law, and in twenty-three chapters of the Mishnah you find interpretation of the law. What constitutes bearing a burden on the Sabbath day. Now the other day when we were in Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, our bus was going down the street, and there was this little Jewish boy, looked to be ten or twelve years old, with his black robe and black hat and long curls. And as the bus went by, he was incensed that the bus should be traveling on the Sabbath day, and he made all kinds of faces at us. Finally he stuck out his tongue at us because we were daring to ride in a bus on the Sabbath day. Now it was lawful, I guess, to stick out his tongue but... There were certain areas of the city of Jerusalem that we could not drive the bus. Certain areas that had barricades near the area known as the Miasherim. And should we have tried to drive the bus by that area, though it was unlawful to bear any burdens on the Sabbath day, they would have stoned us. This man was nailed; he's carrying a bed on the Sabbath day. "Hey, fellow, it's the Sabbath day. It's not lawful to carry your bed." And he answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up your bed, and walk . Now they, no doubt, knew this man. Jerusalem did not have that many people, but what a man that have been around lame for thirty-eight years became sort of a public figure, and people knew him, recognized him. And so he calls to their attention the fact that he was cured. "Surely, anybody that can cure me after thirty-eight years of lameness must have some word of authority, and so He told me to take my bed and walk." And they asked him, Who is it who said to you to take your bed and walk? And he who was healed didn't know who it was: for Jesus had just conveyed himself away, because there were a lot of people in that place. So afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and he said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, less a worse thing come upon thee . Now in this particular case, it would seem that Jesus related the man's illness to some sin in his life. "Sin no more less a worse thing come upon thee." There can be a relationship between sin and a particular malady. But it would be very wrong to generalize and say that any sickness or malady is directly related to some sin. This is the mistake that Job's comforters made, and it is a mistake that often people make even subconsciously in their mind when a person is quite sick or afflicted, and unfortunately, there are those evangelists today who would sort of foster that false concept. "If you just had enough faith, you could be healed. Just get your life straightened up; God wants to heal everybody. And if you're not healed, it's because there's something wrong in your life, something wrong with your faith." And all they are doing is heaping heavy burdens upon the poor sick people that they don't need. Making them feel guilty or even worse in their condition. God has a special judgment, I'm sure, for such comforters. This man did not know who Jesus was until Jesus found him in the temple. And his condition had a relationship to some sin in his life, and Jesus just warned him, "Go your way and sin no more, less a worse thing come upon." Jesus taught that when an evil spirit goes forth out of a man, he goes through dry places seeking a house to inhabit, and in finding none he'll come back to the house from once where he was driven. And if he finds it all slept in garnish he will go out and get seven other spirits that they might come and make their abode in that house. So that the last state of the man is actually worse than his first. We are told in the scriptures that it would be better for a man to never have known the way of truth than to know it and to walk away from it. If you've had a work of God wrought in your life, you then have certain responsibility towards God. If you come to God for some work in your life then you do have a definite responsibility towards God. And not just opening, your life to God's work, but opening your life to God Himself. And so the man departed and [finked on Jesus] he told the Jews it was Jesus, who had made him whole . And this was something that the Jews never forgave Jesus for. This is what eventually brought Jesus to the cross. His violation of their traditional interpretation of the Sabbath day. Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day . Now to them their traditional keeping of the law was more important than the healing of a man. Jesus said to them one time, "Which of you if you had an ox or a donkey, if it falls in a ditch on a Sabbath day won't you lift it out? Now if you're that concerned with your dumb animals, don't you think God is concerned with a person who is needing help whether it be the Sabbath day or not?" So they sought to persecute Jesus because He had done this on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, and said, My Father works today, and I work . Aren't you glad the Father works on the Sabbath day? What if God took off every Sabbath day? Think of all the mess the world would be in, trying to recover from God taking a rest every Sabbath day. He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. God doesn't take any day off. God is working in the lives of His people all the time. And so Jesus said, "Look, my Father works, and so I work." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but he said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God . Now there are those today who say, "Well, Jesus never claimed to be God. That this was something that others build up around Him, the aura and all of divinity." These people studying the records today read this, or get this understanding as they study the records today. Those people that Jesus talked to knew exactly what He was meaning and what He was saying. They didn't have any mistaken ideas about what He was claiming. Because if He was saying He was the Son of God, they knew that He was making Himself equal with God and they were wanting to kill Him for it. Then Jesus said unto them , And He begins to talk to them now, emphasizing what He's saying with these words verily, verily. And the repetition of the word is for emphasis, it's, "Alright, now hear this." I mean, it's really calling their attention to what I'm about to say. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what thing soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise . And so Jesus is claiming here that His works are the work of God. That they are not His works. That He is showing to them the work of God and doing the work of God. "I've brought this healing to the man, but it was God who brought the healing. I don't work apart from God. I'm working in total harmony with God. You're finding fault with Me for working on the Sabbath day, but this is the work of God that was wrought on the Sabbath day. Can't you see that?" But they couldn't because traditions have blinded their eyes. For the Father loveth the Son, and he shows him all things that himself does: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel . God is going to continue to work and even do greater works just that you might marvel at what He does. For as the Father raises up the dead, and makes them alive; even so the Son will make alive those whom he will . And so, as we follow on in the ministry of Jesus, we find Him raising to life the son of that widow in the city of Nain, Jairus' daughter there in Capernaum, and finally Lazarus, who have been dead. Because God can make alive even those who are dead, and the Son, doing the work of the Father, will give life to those whom He will. For the Father judges no man, but he has committed all judgment unto the Son : I'm acting in accord to the Farther in harmony with Him doing His work. That all men should honor the Son , And this is what God is desiring, that we should honor the Son. Now, one of the marks of a false cult is the failure to honor the Son. There are three things that Satan is constantly attacking: the Word of God, the divinity of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit. He's attacking the Godhead. He attacks God's Word. Hath God said, and he still attacks the Word of God. He attacks the divinity of Jesus Christ, and you find this in every false cult. Try the Spirits to see if they be of God, and if their testimony of Jesus Christ where it really reveals itself. And he attacks the work of the Holy Spirit. So God has wrought these works through Jesus, That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. And he that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which have sent him . There's so many people say, "Well, I believe in God, but I don't see the necessity for Jesus. I really don't know about Jesus." Jesus is here declaring, "Look, if you don't honor Me, you're not honoring the Father." And so the Jehovah Witnesses, and these who fail to really honor Jesus, though they claim to be Jehovah Witnesses, they are not really honoring the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life , Believing on the word of Jesus, believing in the Father who sent Him. and he shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life . "He that hears my word," that is, hears in the sense of observing, keeping my word, and believing on God, you have eternal life. You will not come into condemnation, but you have passed from death to life. Now look at how man has interpreted this through the church history and how many regulations and requirements we put on a man in order to say, you know, "Your sins are absolved and you're a child of God, if you do this and this and this. Keep these rules and read these regulations and follow this, you know, and pay your tithes, and all this kind of stuff." And we lay all these heavy burdens on them. Where Jesus said, "Look, if you just hear my word and believe in Him who sent Me, you have everlasting life. You're not going to come into condemnation, you passed from death to life." It is Satan's work to condemn the child of God. And he is very adept at it. He never ceases. The angels in the Book of Revelation cry out, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitors of the earth, for the accuser of the brethren is cast out who accuses them before God day and night." "The accuser of the brethren," one of the titles of Satan. And how he accuses us, but if you hear the word of Jesus and believe on God, you have everlasting life. You won't come into condemnation, but you passed from death to life. Verily, verily I say unto you, [the third verily, verily] The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live . Jesus will soon be going down into hell and preaching to those souls in prison. That He might deliver them from their captivity. The hour is coming, it's upon us almost where those that are dead are going to hear the voice, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself ; Jesus said in a little while as we get into John, "No man takes My life from Me; I give My life. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again." Even as the Son have that self-generating, even as the Father has life within Himself, so the Son has that life within Himself, and power to give life, the authority, and He has given to Him the authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Now marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice , Jesus is talking about that ministry that He's going to have very soon to those faithful, who with Abraham were waiting the fulfillment of the promise of God. Those who died in faith, not having received the promise, but seeing it afar off were embracing it, holding on to it, waiting for that redemption to be completed. And they shall come forth; they which have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they which have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. And I can of my own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which sent me . He again is declaring that He is working in perfect harmony with the Father. Later on He will tell Philip, "The works that I do I do not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." The same witness that He's giving here. "What I'm doing, I'm only doing because I've seen the Father do it. I'm doing the works of the Father in your midst." And if I bear witness of myself , And now He's going to talk about the witnesses of Him, but He said if I bear witness of Myself, the witness is not true . Not that it wouldn't be a true witness, but they would not accept the witness if He would witness of Himself. And so there is another that bears witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. For you sent unto John, and he bore witness of the truth. But I do not receive testimony from man [or the witness of man]: but these things I say, that you might be saved. For he was a burning in the shining light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light . So I, if I would witness of myself, it would be acceptable. But John bore witness of Me, and you went out and you heard him and you were satisfied to walk in the light that he brought. But he said, "I do not even except the witness of John as the final proof of who I am." But I have a greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me . And so Jesus is appealing to the miracles and to the works that He wrought as the witness and the testimony of His authority and of His origin. Now Nicodemus came to Him and said, "Rabbi we know that you are a teacher that came from God, because no man can do the works that You do unless God was with him." And Nicodemus recognized this as a valid witness when he came to Jesus. Philip said to the Lord, "Lord, just show us the Father and it suffice with us." And Jesus said, "Have I been so long in time with you, Philip, and have you not seen Me? He that hath seen Me has seen the Father. Why do you then say, 'Show us the Father'? Believeth thou not that I'm in the Father and the Father is in Me? The works that I do I do not of Myself but the Father that dwells in Me, He does the work. Now believe Me that I'm in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the very works' sake." He calls as a witness of His authority the works that He was doing, for He was doing the works of God. And they are a powerful witness of who He is. And to deny that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God is to deny the miracle and the works that He has wrought. Now you will always find those liberals who are seeking to do just that. Rationalizing all the miracles. And as we get into the next chapter and Jesus feeds the multitude with the five loaves and the two fish, they'll tell you that in those days everybody carried their lunch in their long sleeves which were tied at the wrist. And they were all so selfish that none of them were willing to share their food with others that may have forgotten to bring theirs. And they all sat there in their selfishness, not wanting to eat their own food in front of others, but still not willing to share--until finally one sweet little boy came forth and said, "Here, Jesus, I'll give you my lunch." And they were all so moved and touched by the beautiful example of this child, that a miracle took place. They all untied their sleeves and shared their lunch so that when they gathered up the fragments they have given more than twelve baskets full, you know. Isn't that sweet and wonderful the example of a child leading the congregation to generosity? And so the lesson that they would teach is that an example of a child being able to lead us into benevolent acts. Jesus really wasn't walking on the water, He was walking around the shore, and the disciples were almost at the beach already, they just didn't realize that. And so, He just waded out and got in the boat, and they were at the shore, you know, there's no problem. Too bad Peter was so dumb he didn't realize it and started to sink and had to cry for help. Isn't it... Figures don't lie but liars sure can figure. So Jesus is declaring, "I could testify of Myself, but you wouldn't receive that. John testified of Me, but I don't ask you to believe that. The works, they are the witness, but even more than the works." And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath born witness of me . "The Father is witness of Me." When Jesus was baptized, God spoke from heaven and said, "This is My beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased." "The Father is born witness of Me." But Jesus wasn't referring to that, He was referring to the Old Testament scriptures. Where in the Old Testament, God bore witness of His Son who He would send into the world. "The Father hath born witness of Me." But you have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape . "You don't know the Father, you've never heard the Father. For you do search the scriptures." Now this is often misinterpreted. People think that Jesus is saying, "You go home and you search the scriptures." He's not saying that, He's saying you do. Search the scriptures [you have searched the scriptures]; for in them you think you have life: but really they are testifying of me . Peter in his epistle said, "We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we declared unto you the glory of the Lord. But we were actually eyewitnesses of His glory on that most holy mountain. But we have a more sure word of testimony in prophecy. I saw it with my own eyes, but I'm not even asking you to believe what I saw with my eyes, we've got something that is more sure than what we have seen. We've got the Word of God and the witness of God in the Old Testament scriptures, and if you really search the scriptures, you will find that they testify of Jesus Christ." The whole Old Testament was bearing witness of that One who was to come. As Jesus said, "I have come in the volume of the book it is written of Me to do thy will Oh Lord." Declaring that the volume of the book, the Old Testament, was written about Jesus. Now He saying to them, "You haven't really heard the voice of God. You search the scriptures because in them you think you have life. But in reality you haven't heard God's voice because those scriptures testify of Me." But you will not come to me, that you might receive life. [Now He said] I do not receive the honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. For I have come in My Father's name, and you have received me not: but there's another who is going to come in his own name, and him you will receive . The reference here is to the antichrist who will soon be coming on the scene. And though the Jews rejected Jesus Christ, they will embrace this man who will come on with a great deception, a program of peace and prosperity. If you talk to the orthodox Jew today, they will tell you that they will recognize their Messiah, for He will come and bring them their temple. And they are looking for the rebuilding of the temple today, but they're looking for some man to lead them in the rebuilding of the temple. And whoever that man is will be hailed by them as the Messiah. And that is the sign that they are looking for, whatever man will bring to them the rebuilding of their temple. But because they are in unbelief of the Son of God they will be deceived, and the man who is going to lead them into the rebuilding of their temple is the antichrist, who will becoming in his own name. But Him, Jesus "came in my Father's name and My Father's authority but you didn't except Me." This man is going to come in his own name and you're going to receive him. And the prince of the people that shall come will make a covenant with the people, but in the midst of the week, he will break the covenant and he will establish the abomination which cause desolation. He's going to come into the temple after three and half years declaring that he is god and demanding to be worshipped as god. And through his blasphemy he will trigger the great wrath of God which will be poured out at that time upon the Christ-rejecting world. How can you believe, you who are receiving honor one of another , One of the most sickening things to me is that building up of other men's egos. In the bestowing of honor and glory and the heaping of praises upon man. When I was within a denomination, one of the most sickening things that I had to go through were the convention. Where the men would get up and honor each other. The introduction of the speakers were a pain to endure. As they began to tell of the great mighty, marvelous instrument of God. That God is sent to us in these days to be a blessing and honor and glory, and then the guy when he gets up to start to speak has to give honor to the guy who gave him such a glorious introduction. Who, "I thank God for brothers like this who has stood and all was for God," and they go on and just patting each others' back and exalting each other and lifting up men. Jesus said as long as you're lifting up men, how can you hear the voice of God? The voice of God seeks to exalt Jesus Christ. John said, "He must increase, I must decrease." And so says every true child of God. Rather than seeking the honor and glory of man, He is seeking the honor and the glory of God. And Jesus said, "How can you believe when you receive honor one from another," and you seek not the honor that comes from God only? But don't think that I'm going to accuse you to the Father: I'm not going to accuse you, Moses, the one you [love and] are trusting in . He's the one that's going to accuse you. Now the law came by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I didn't come to condemn the world, but that the world through Me might be saved. And he that believeth is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already." Moses is accusing you. Moses laid out the law. Moses told you how God would have you to live. And you haven't lived up to that standard, and thus the law stands as the accuser of man. Not the Redeemer, not the Savior. The law cannot save you, it cannot make you righteous. The law condemns you and accuses you, cause it shows you how far short you have come from what God would have you to be. "Don't think," Jesus said, "I'm going to stand up there and accuse you before the Father. The one you're trusting in is the one that is going to accuse you. Moses, he is going to accuse you. For you believed Moses." If you have believed Moses [he said], you would have believed me: because he wrote of me . So go back in the first five chapters, you'll find, as Jesus said, "You do search the scriptures; in them you think you have life, but they are actually testifying of Me." And you go back and truly understand the first five books, you'll find Moses is talking about Jesus all the way through as he deals with the sacrifices and the various types of sacrifices and all. He is talking about Jesus who is to be the great sin offering that would be offered for the men of the world. But if you don't believe his writings, how are you going to believe My words? Because actually, Moses was declaring My word. Jesus here is claiming the authorship of the books of the Old Testament. " Now we have an indeterminate rate of time. Jesus was in Jerusalem when He was saying these things, they were as a result of this blind man...or the lame man, rather, who was healed there at the pool of Bethesda. And the controversy that was stirred over that. And so John spends a whole chapter in that little picture, but it gives us marvelous insight into Jesus, showing how that He equates His work with the Father and He is working in harmony with the Father. He is actually here doing the Father's work. and the works themselves testify of Him as well as the word of the Old Testament testifies of who He is. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now after these things An undetermined period of time. We don't know how long it was after, but John takes us back up to the Sea of Galilee now. He's left Jerusalem, what events others there transpired, we don't know, but back in the area of the Galilee. Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias [also known as Gennesaret]. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased . And so by His miracles Jesus was attracting a great multitude of people. People are drawn and attracted to Jesus for various reasons. Some of them legitimate and some of them not so legitimate. But Jesus has an appealing force and power. He always has had an appealing force. And it's interesting to me how that Jesus appeals to people in all walks of life. It appears...it is interesting to me how that Jesus appeals to people of all cultures. It's interesting to me how Jesus appeals to people of all ages and how little children are attracted to Jesus. In fact, that to me is one of the most beautiful things in the world, the attraction that even a child has for Jesus. Probably a stronger and greater attraction than we who have become so complex and mixed up in our thinking processes. Oh, the beauty of Jesus that attracts men, but men are attracted by different reasons. These people were attracted because of the spectacular the miracles that Jesus was doing on people who were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover feast was drawing nigh. And when Jesus lifted up his eyes, he saw a great company that were coming unto him, and he said unto Philip, Where are we going to buy enough bread, that these people may eat? And this he said to prove Philip: for he knew what he was going to do. And Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone might just take a little . So where are we going to buy the bread? Oh boy, I don't know . . . ah two hundred penny worth. Now, a penny was a day's wage for a laboring man. If we had two hundred penny worth of bread, I don't think that would be enough to give everyone a little. And one of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said unto him, There's a lad here, which has five barley loaves, and two small fish: but what are they among so many? I mean, I'm sorry I said it because, you know, what's that with this big crowd? And so Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was a lot of grass in that place . Passover time, springtime in the Galilee. Beautiful, absolutely glorious. The Galilee in the springtime has to be one of the most beautiful places you could ever see. Grassy fields, filled with yellow daisies, red and white, and purple anenomies, lupines, prodias, just fabulous the beauty of the wild flowers and all around Passover time. There in the springtime in the Galilee, lot of grass in that area. So Jesus said, "Have the men sit down." So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were sat down; and likewise the fish and they ate as much as they desired. And when they were filled , The word in Greek is glutted, when they were stuffed. he said unto his disciples, Now gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be left or lost. And therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over [which was over and above] that which they had eaten. And then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that Prophet which should come into the world . That is a reference to the prophecy of Moses that declared, "And another prophet, liken to Myself, shall come and to Him shall you give heed." And so they were looking for that other prophet liken to Moses. And when they saw this miracle they said, "This is the One Moses, no doubt, was talking about. That other prophet that should come." And they recognized that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Now they wanted to then make public acclamation. They wanted to take Him and to force Him to be the King. To establish now the Kingdom. But this was not according to God's plan. Jesus, rather than stepping in with the popular movement at this point, just slipped away from them and went into the mountain alone. He did not allow them to prematurely acclaim Him as their King. God had a special day to present His King to the nation. That special day we call today Palm Sunday, for it was the Sunday that preceded His crucifixion. And that was the day and the hour that God had prepared and had prophesied when His promised Redeemer would come. And that day Jesus set up carefully. Having the disciples go into the city to get the donkey that He might ride into Jerusalem on the donkey and, thus, fulfill the prophesy of Zechariah. That day He allowed the disciples to cry out that Messianic Psalms 118:1-29 , "Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of Lord. Glory to God in the highest." And He allowed them to cry out that Psalm. In fact, when the Pharisees objected, He said if they would at this time hold their peace, these very stones would cry out. That was the day He wept over Jerusalem and said, "If you had only known the things that belong to thy peace in this thy day, but they are hid from your eyes" . So here was a premature attempt to establish Him as King by the people. This was a movement of the people; Jesus rejected it because He was working in God's time schedule and not man's. Oh, God help us to learn to work in God's time schedule rather than our own. It seems that we are always desiring to prematurely do things. God never seems to work quite as fast as we would like Him to work. We would like to speed up the program of God. If I can only have my way the Lord would have come couple of years ago, but some of you would be in bad trouble had He. So you can be thankful He's running things and not me. So when Jesus perceived that they were going to try and force the issue, and to make him king, he departed into a mountain by himself. And when the evening was now come, his disciples went down to the sea of Galilee, and they entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And when the sea arose by reason of a great wind. And when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty furlongs [three or four miles], they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the ship: and they were afraid. But he said unto them, It's me; don't be afraid. And they willingly [eagerly] received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was on the land where they were going . They docked immediately at Capernaum. Now the following day, when the people would stood on the other side of the sea [that is where He had fed the multitude,] saw that there was no other boat there, except the one wherein the disciples had entered, and that Jesus was not with his disciples when they went in the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; (However there were other boats that had come from the area of Tiberias near to the place where they did eat bread:) and when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither with his disciples, they also took shipping, and they came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, how did you get here? And Jesus answered and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you , Now He didn't tell them how He got there, He just said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you," You seek me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled . "You are seeking Me for the wrong reasons. You are seeking Me for the wrong motives. You are only seeking Me because you had your stomach stuffed with bread and fish, and that's not the reason to seek Me." Jesus would not really accept those who were seeking Him with wrong motivations. There are many people today who seek Jesus with wrong motivations. There are many ministers who encourage people to seek Jesus, encouraging them with wrong motivations. Encouraging people to do the work of God with wrong motivations. "Now we're going to give a bicycle to the one who brings the most new members into the Sunday school in the next five months." And so we're motivating all these little kids with carnal motivations, teaching them to do the work of God through the carnal rewards. God help us, how far we've come from the straight and narrow. He said, Don't labor for that meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures to everlasting life , Don't labor for the material things, don't strive for material things, but strive for spiritual things. The spiritual is superior to the material, that was the constant claim that Jesus made. And that is what men are constantly challenging today. And we in our own minds oftentimes have the challenge. Is indeed the spiritual life superior to the material life? And Satan is constantly holding up to us the glitter and glory of the material realm and saying, "Look, wouldn't you like this?" And the Lord is constantly saying, "Hey, don't strive, don't labor for the meat which perishes, but for that which is life eternal, for the spiritual things, that which endures to everlasting life. For the Son of Man shall," which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then they said unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? This is a question that people oftentimes asks when they become conscious of the spiritual dimension. But what can I do to do the works of God? We remember the rich young ruler that came and fell before Jesus and said, "What good thing must I do to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven? Good Master, what shall I do?" And I'm always looking for some work that I might do for God. Jesus answered [in a paradox,] for he said unto them, This is the work of God, that you might believe on him whom he had sent . Isn't that interesting? What work can you do to be pleasing to God? The only work you can do is just believe in Jesus. That's what pleases the Father. This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign will you show us then, that we might see, and believe you? what do you work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven . Moses didn't give you the manna, My Father sent it, by My Father is now giving to you the true bread from heaven. Your fathers ate of that manna and they died. For the bread of God is he which comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world . This is the bread of God. He who came down from heaven and gives His life unto the world. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: and he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst . These people had just eaten the day before and were stuffed, but they were hungry again. They had eaten of the bread of this world. And though you can eat today and you can be so stuffed, and I've eaten that pita bread with those delicious sauces and salads and all until I was so stuffed, I thought I can't eat another bite. I get so upset with the cleaners nowadays that shrink my coats so dreadfully. This polyester has one problem: it just shrinks. But, though I push myself away from the table and groaningly stand on my feet and say I never want to eat again as long as I live. The bus isn't very far down the road until someone says, "Can't we stop for some ice cream?" Yea, sounds like a great idea. Hungry again. It just doesn't satisfy, does it. But Jesus said, "I'm the bread of God, I come down from heaven. If you eat of Me, you'll never hunger again. And if you believe in Me you'll never thirst again." There is that area of man's life that seems to never be satisfied, that always is crying out for more, more, and more. And though a person pursues after the pleasures, the excitements, the thrills of the world, one thing about them is that they're just not lasting. It isn't long before you're thirsting again. But Jesus said, "I'm the bread of heaven. God has sent Me. And if you eat of Me you'll never hunger again, and if you believe in Me you'll never thirst again." What glorious good news! But I said unto you, That you have seen me, but you don't believe. All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out . What a glorious word of Jesus to our trembling, hesitating souls. Because you see, Satan says to me, "Look, there's no sense you going to God. He doesn't want anything to do with you; you're a failure, man. Your life is a mess. God doesn't want anything to do with you, there's no sense you going because there's no way He's gonna open the door for you." And he would plant unbelief in my heart, and if I believe that God won't receive me, then God won't receive me because I won't come. But Jesus said, "Whoever comes to Me I will in no wise cast out. All that the Father has given Me are Mine; they'll come to Me. And him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." What encouraging, glorious words to your troubled spirit tonight. You who Satan has been hassling for so long, trying to tell you that you're not worthy, that God doesn't want you, God isn't interested, let me tell you something. If you just come to Jesus there's no way, no way He will cast you out. For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me . "The works that I do, I do not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works. I didn't do . . . come down to do My will," Jesus said, "but the will of Him who sent Me." And this is the Father's will Ho, ho, that's what I've been wanting to know, what's God's will? that all which he hath given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise them up in that last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on him, shall have everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day . Those whom the Father has revealed the truth of Jesus Christ and who believe in Him, it's God's will that He saves you and raise you up in that last day. Praise God for His glorious will for our lives. And the Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I'm the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus , Isn't this Joshua or Yeshua the son of Joseph [or Yosef], whose father and mother we know? how is it that he says, I came down from heaven? And Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Don't murmur among yourselves. For no man can come to me, except the Father which have sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day . Here's an interesting statement by Jesus, one that we need to make note of. No man can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. Now that takes the pressure off of me and my witnessing. Because I sometimes get discouraged when I witness to a person and I can lay out the truth of Christ and I would think that even a child could understand and they just, you know, don't accept it. It doesn't do anything, and I tried to argue and convince and impress, and nothing happens. Well, no man can come except the Father draw him. You say, "Well, I don't know if that's fair." Well, did the Father draw you? "Well, yea." Well then, why you worried about it? It also follows that whosoever will may come and drink the water of life. There are the two sides to the coin. You can't come unless the Father draws you, but anyone who comes can receive eternal life. The door is open for all men. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, comes to Me . God has taught us; He's laid it upon our hearts. Not that any man hath seen the Father, except he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life . Notice these radical claims that Jesus is making concerning Himself. Testifying now of Himself, making radical claims. "I am that bread of life." They said, "How can He say He came down from heaven? He's Joseph's son." He said, I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and they are dead. But this is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die . Not hunger, not thirst, not die, for, I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world . He took the bread and He broke it, and He said, "Take, eat; this is My body broken for you" . "The bread is My flesh that I will give for the life of the world." And the Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them , You having trouble fellows? I'm going to make it a little harder. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you . You're dead; you're dead in your trespasses and sins. You don't have life in you. Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed . And Jesus took the cup and He said, "Take, drink; this is the blood of the new covenant which is shed for the remission of sin" . "Eat of My flesh, drink of My blood, partake of Me, that you might have life. For My flesh is meat indeed My blood is drink indeed." And He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. And as the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me. And this is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat the manna, and are dead: for he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. And these are the things he said to them as he was teaching them in the synagogue, in Capernaum . And you that have been in that synagogue of Capernaum can now sort of put it together in your mind. He was there in the synagogue at Capernaum teaching them these things. Now many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, [Man,] These are tough sayings; who can hear it? And when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Does this offend you? What and if you will see the Son of man ascending up where he was before? What if you don't see the kingdom established right now? What if you see Me ascending up and going back to the Father? It is the Spirit that makes alive; the flesh profits nothing : Now we're coming back, "You've eaten of the bread, and that's why come. Your stomachs were filled. But don't seek that bread which perishes, but that bread which is everlasting life." And so again coming back to that thought, "It is the Spirit that makes alive, the flesh profits nothing." Underline that. The flesh profits nothing. the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life . The word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. The word of God is Spirit and the word of God is life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who would betray him. And he said, Therefore I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father . Again, declaring, "Look, the only way you can come is that the Father draws you. You can't come unless the Father does draw you." Now from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him . Couldn't handle it, too much. When He starts talking about the denial of the flesh, when He starts talking about the life of the Spirit and the partaking of spiritual things. Too much for some people, they can't handle it. Many of them were following Him because they were desiring that He establish the kingdom now, that He overthrow the Roman yoke of government. And that He bring to pass a kingdom of plenty, where everybody would eat and drink to their full. Every man eat his own vine and fig tree, would eat and not be afraid. And they were wanting that kingdom of material prosperity. And He is denouncing it as secondary. The primary thing is the spiritual kingdom, partaking of Me. Finding that life that comes from Me. The life of God imparted to man through Jesus Christ. "The flesh will profit you nothing, but the words that I speak, they're Spirit; they're life." And so they couldn't handle it. They went back and they walked no more with Him. One time John sent a messenger and said, "Are you the one that we should look for or shall we look for someone else?" These people despaired because Jesus was talking of the importance of the spiritual man rather than the physical. Can handle it. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou has the words of eternal life . Oh, blessed Peter. You know he had the pro . . . he had a problem. He could get in trouble so much with his mouth. And yet, he could also say some of the most appropriate things. The heart, the Christ, the Son of the living God, "Oh blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood did not reveal this unto you, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say unto you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" . Then you're going to see the Son of Man betrayed and turned to the hands of sinners. And they're are going to crucify Him and slay Him, but on the third day He will rise again. "Oh, Lord, be that far from thee." And Jesus said, "Oh, get thee behind Me, Satan: you're an offense unto me: you don't understand the things that are God, the things that are men" . No, Peter. He could go so fast from the top to the bottom. But here, one of those grand moments in Peter. When Jesus turns to the twelve and says, "Well, are you going to leave, too?" And, "Lord, where can we go? You have the words of life." Jesus said, "My word is Spirit; My word is life." Peter is testifying, "Yes, Lord, that's true; You have the word of life." We believe and we are sure that you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen you twelve, and yet one of you is a devil? And he was speaking of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, and he was one of the twelve . Interesting that Jesus says of Judas he was the devil. Paul no . . . Peter refers to him as "the son of perdition." We will read in a few weeks where Satan entered him and he went out and did his dastardly deed. And we'll get into Judah Iscariot as we move on in the gospel of John. But from the beginning Jesus knew who it was that would betray Him. Jesus said, "I may not chosen twelve of you, yet one of you is the devil." So next week we move on into chapters 7 and 8 and some very interesting. Oh, don't you love John? I just love the gospel according to John. And these insights that he gives us into Jesus. The insights which show and prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. In order that you might believe and have eternal life. Father, we thank You for Your Word. It is Spirit, it is Truth; it is life to those that believe. Now may the entrance of Thy word bring life and light to us, and may we walk in that light. In Jesus' name. Amen. " Shall we turn now in our Bibles to the seventh chapter of the gospel according to John. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him . At this point John begins the record of the last six months of Jesus' ministry. And so you'll notice how much time and attention John spends in the last six months of his ministry. Pointing out the fact that Jesus is no longer walking so openly in the area of Judea among the Jews. In fact, from the other gospel records, we know that at this point Jesus went first up to the area of Tyre and Sidon with His disciples. Then on over the hill to Caesarea of Philippi, which is at the base of Mount Hermon. Up in the Mount Hermon where He was transfigured. And of course, there at Caesarea of Philippi, Peter's great confession. Now He is again in the area of Galilee, and He stays pretty much away from Jerusalem except for the record that we will receive here in chapter 7 through chapter 10, when He goes down for the Feast of the Tabernacles and then when He goes down for the final visit, the Feast of the Passover, six months later when He is crucified. So at this point we're entering into the final six months of the ministry of Jesus before the crucifixion. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand . The Feast of Tabernacle was the feast in which they remembered God's preservation of their fathers through the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. They could not have survived. The million people could not have survived forty years in the desert. There's no way the desert could support that number of people who were at the point nomads except the Lord have provided. But God did provide, He guided them by day with a cloud, by night with a pillar of fire. And He provided them with quail. He provided them with manna. He provided them with water out of the rock. And so it was the time of the celebration of God's miraculous provisions for their fathers in keeping them through that forty years of their wandering in the wilderness. And so this Feast of the Tabernacles, which took place in the tenth month of our calendar, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, was at hand. And his brothers said unto him, Why don't You depart from here, and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that You do? The brothers here, no doubt, refer to the actual half brothers of Jesus: James and Jude, Simon. And they have appeared another time in the story when they came with Mary to rescue Him from the crowds. And at this point they do not believe in His claims. But they are saying, "Why don't you go down to Judea that they might see Your works and believe?" For there is no man that does any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If you are doing these things, show Yourself to the world . And so this encouragement from His brothers. For neither did his brothers believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time [or My season] is not yet come: but yours is already here . Jesus talks now much about His hour. When He talks of His Hour, He is talking of the cross itself. Now He's talking about just the season that is the season of being revealed. They're saying, "Why don't You go down and reveal Yourself rather than hiding out in secret? Show Yourself openly." And He's saying, "The season has not yet come, but yours is already here." And the world cannot hate you; but it hates me, because I testify of it, that it's works are evil. So you go up unto this feast: and I will not yet go up to the feast; for my season is not yet fully come. And when He had said these words unto them, he stayed there in Galilee. But when his brothers were gone up, then he also went up to the feast, but not openly, but as it were in secret. And then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was a lot of murmuring among the people concerning him : For there was a sharp division among them. some said, He's a good man: and others said, No; he is deceiving the people. Howbeit no man spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews . So already there was the threat of the leadership against Jesus. It was already declared that if anybody should acknowledge that He was the Messiah they would be put out of the synagogues. And this division, a lot of people have been touched and healed by Jesus. And so they were saying, "He's a good man." And the others are saying, "Oh no, He's a deceiver. He's deceiving the people." And so this controversy had arisen, and Christ became a very controversial feature. And it was sort of the buzz at the Feast of the Tabernacle. Everybody was talking about Him, everybody was wondering about Him. And it was just a real buzz among the people who had gathered. Now in about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught . He wasn't there, evidently, at the beginning of the feast, or didn't at least show up until about the middle of the feast, after about three days. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knows this man letters, having never learned? [gramatta] "How does this man know the accent of the learned," is what they're saying. They had in those days, too, that sophisticated accent of the intellectuals, much like we hear from the Harvard boys. There was that certain accent of sophistication that was sort of exclusive in the university ranks. And here Jesus began to talk with them with that accent of the intellectuals, and they said, "How did He learn that accent not having gone to the university? How knoweth this man the letters, having never learned?" And Jesus answered them, and then said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me . "You want to know how I learned? The doctrine isn't Mine, it's His who sent Me." And Jesus, again, is declaring, "I have been sent here." If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory: but he that seeks his glory that sent him, the same is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him . Now Jesus is making some pretty dramatic claims here. He's saying if I came and I started speaking of Myself, it would be because I'm seeking my own glory. Because that's what a person who's seeking glory does. He talks about himself, he boasts of himself. But if I come seeking the glory of Him who sent Me, then the same is true, that witness is true. He's not seeking glory for Himself; He's seeking glory for the One that sent Him and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Now in a little while Jesus is going to challenge them as they get into this dispute, and He said, "Which of you can convince Me of sin? Which of you can point out a sin that I ever committed?" Oh I . . . no way that we could say that, is there? No way could we can make this kind of claim: there is no unrighteousness in me. And so these are pretty radical claims that Jesus is making before the people. He said, "Did not Moses give you the law and yet none of you keep the law, so why are you going about to kill Me?" Interesting thing, they were accusing Him, of course, and the thing is still festering. The last time He was down there, you remember, He was at the pool of Bethesda and He told the lame man to take his bed and walk. And the lame man took his bed and started to walk, and the Jews caught him and said, "Sabbath day, how come you're carrying your bed?" And he said, "The guy who healed me told me to take my bed and walk." And they said, "Who was it?" He said, "I don't know." And so Jesus later found the guy in the temple, and He said, you know, "Go your way and sin no more." And he ran and told the Jews it was Jesus. And from that time they sought to kill Him because He had done it on the Sabbath day. And that is still festering in the Jewish leadership. This fact that He violated their Sabbath law. So He said, "Look," Moses gave you the law, and yet none of you keep it, so why are you going about to kill me? We were in Israel about three years ago and there were some young people, Jewish young people, up in the northern part of Israel, who had received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And they were having Bible studies and worship in their homes in one of the little areas there in the northern Galilee. And they were under severe persecution from the Jewish community. In fact, while we were there, some of the young people of the Jewish Defense League came in, or from one of the communities, came in and tore up their house. Beat them up, took an ax and broke their refrigerator, broke up all of their furniture, and just made shreds of their house because they were Christians. And as far as the Jews were concerned, they were traders; having left Judaism according to their thinking, and received Jesus Christ. So we had heard of these Christians and we had invited them to come and to share with our group. We had some guides who were all sweet and smiles and talking about Jesus and, "Jesus did this, and the Lord did this," and all. And they were very sweet and personable guides. And some of the people on the tour even thought that they were close to salvation. And when this young man got up to speak to our group about being a Jew, having accepted Jesus, he first of all said, "Before I speak to you and share with you my love for Jesus as my Messiah, I would first like to say something to my friends here." And he began to speak in Hebrew. And the moment he began to speak it was like ice water was poured over the Jewish guides. It was like a mask was suddenly pulled off and their smiling faces turned and there was hatred, there was gnashing of teeth, there was bitterness, it was really tense. In fact, they were ready to rip their clothes almost and grab stones and stone the kid. And I thought, "What in the world is he saying to them that is creating such a reaction?" This one man, who at that point was the head over the Israeli Defense Forces in northern Israel, and a dear friend of ours, who really is an easy going kind of a guy and not at all religious, though he's a Jew he's not at all religious. Great big ole guy and a very respected leader there in northern Israel. He was with a group of the men from the Caboots And as this young man was talking to them in Hebrew, these men from the Caboots became so incensed they started saying among themselves, "Let's kill him when he leaves here tonight. Let's kill him." And they were really ready to kill him. And this friend of ours, Yorum, said to them in Hebrew, "You guys keep Sabbath?" They said, "No." "Are you guys religious?" "No." "Well, then why do you want to kill this guy, just because he says he believes that Jesus is the Messiah?" And he was able to talk them out of killing him. Because he showed them that they weren't really religious, what's the big deal? What's your problem? Why do you want to kill him, you're not at all religious. The guy was just on a religious kick so what's your problem? But it's interesting here, Jesus said, "Look, Moses gave you the law but none of you are keeping it. So why are you trying to kill me? Because you think I violated your Sabbath day law? You're not keeping the law yourself." And so the people answered and said, You have a devil: who's going about to kill you? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto to you circumcision; , It actually preceded Moses. It came from Abraham. but it was of the fathers;) That is, it came from the father Abraham. and on the sabbath day you circumcise a man . Now he's referring back to this miracle on the Sabbath day. You see, "I've done one miracle, one marvel, among you and you're all upset because it was on the Sabbath day." He's referring back to the incident at the pool of Bethesda where they determined at that point we're gonna kill him. Because He did it on the Sabbath day. So He said, "Look, Moses gave the law of circumcision not because of it is really of Moses, it came from Abraham, but if the eighth day is the day that the child was to be circumcised happened to be the Sabbath day, you'd go ahead and circumcise him anyhow, even though it is the Sabbath." So if a man on the sabbath day receives circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are you angry at me, because I have made a man completely whole on the sabbath day? I've done a work of God on the Sabbath day. You do the work of God of circumcision on the Sabbath day, why are you so upset with me for healing a man completely on the Sabbath day? Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment . That's good advice. How many times we are guilty of judging by appearance. Oh, I have made such horrible mistakes judging by appearances. I have judged so wrongly judging by appearances. In fact, I've been very unrighteous in some of judgments because I was judging by appearances. He said, "Don't judge by appearances, judge righteous judgment." Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they are seeking to kill? But, look, he's speaking boldly, and they are saying nothing to him. Do the rulers indeed know that this is the very Messiah? Have they come to believe that He is the Messiah? Howbeit we know this man where he came from: but when the Messiah comes, no man knows where he is coming from . That was a tradition that they had developed. That with the Messiah was just gonna suddenly appear, just out of nowhere. Sort of like superman, just out of the sky--it's a bird; it's a plane. No, it's the Messiah, and suddenly He's standing here in your midst. And they feel that that idea probably developed from the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, which said, "And who shall declare His generation?" That is, "Who's gonna tell of His parentage and all? Who can declare His generation?" He's just suddenly is here on the scene, no one knows where He came from, but here He is suddenly in the midst of us. And so they said, "You think that the rulers are coming to believe He is the Messiah? Hey, we know where this fellow came from, and when the Messiah comes no one will know where He came from." Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, You both know me, and you know where I came from: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom you do not know . You may know Me, you may know that I grew up in Nazareth, but you don't know the One who sent Me. But I know him; for I am from him, and he hath sent me . Notice over and over Christ declaring the fact that He had been sent, He was here on a mission. Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come . This is the first time we read this phrase, except that Jesus in the first part said to Mary, "My hour has not yet come." But here is the beginning now of many, many times where we're gonna be reading, "His hour was not yet come." That is, the hour of crucifixion, six months or so down the road. And many of the people believed on him, and said, When the Messiah comes, will he do more miracles than these which this man has done? And the Pharisees heard that the people where murmuring such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priest sent officers to take him . They felt that this is the time we've got to do something. And so they sent officers to arrest Him. Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while and I am with you, and then I'm going to him that sent me. And you will seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, you cannot come . Now He's talking in all kinds of tenses. Notice the different tenses that He's talking in here. And the reason why He's talking in so many tenses is because He transcended time. He was living always in the eternal. And because of His transcendency of time He talked in many tenses. And Jesus said, "Yet a little while," and, "I am with you," and then, "I go to Him that sent Me. You will seek Me and shall not find Me, you will seek Me, shall not find Me." And, "Where I am, you cannot come." Speaking, "You're gonna seek Me and find Me, but where I am you cannot come." You see the different tenses here? "For I am, I am in the eternal." Then said the Jews among themselves, Where's he going, that we can't find him? Is he gonna go to the dispersed among the heathen, and teach [the heathen] the Gentiles? What kind of saying is this that he said, You will seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, you cannot come? What's He talking about? And then in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any many thirst, let him come unto me, and drink . The last day, the great day of the feast would have been the eighth day of the feast. For the Feast of the Tabernacles lasted for eight days. On the last day, the great day of the feast, no doubt, there on the temple mount, thousands of people assembled for this feast. It was one of the three major feast days in the Jewish calendar when all of the adults, males, were required to come and present themselves before God. According to the historian Josephus, as many as two and a half million people would gather in Jerusalem for these feasts during the time of Christ. And so you can imagine the large multitude of people on the temple mount. Now there was a significant symbolic action that took place each day of the feast. As the priest would fill the water jugs at the pool of Siloam, and singing the Hallel Psalms, ascend the steps from the pool to the temple mount area, and before the people pour out these jugs of water letting them splash upon the pavement. To remind the people that when their fathers were dying in the wilderness God preserved them by the miraculous, giving of water out of the rock when it was smitten by Moses. And so, water had a very important symbolic part to the Feast of Tabernacles. They realize that their fathers were about to be exterminated, but God preserved them and saved them by the water out of the rock. And so Jesus on His last day, the great day of the feast, cried, "If any man thirst let him come to Me and drink." The thirst that Jesus is referring to is not a physical thirst, or an emotional thirst, but that deep thirst in the spirit of man for God. Way down deep in every man there is that thirst, that need for a meaningful relationship with God. And I don't care who you are or what your background is, or where you are, every man deep down inside has the thirst for God. There are people who try to cover it. They try to cover it with a facade. They try to put on show, an act, a display. They try to put on a grandiose kind of a front, like, "I've got it made, there's no problems. I don't need any help. I can do it on my own." But down deep inside there's a cry for a meaningful relationship with God. Classic example is that little gal at the well there in Samaria who was so smart and chic and clever in her answers with Jesus, until finally He removed her mask. And He said to her, "Yes, you've told the truth when you say you don't have a husband, because in reality you have had five husbands and the man you presently living with you never did bother to get married to him." And He had ripped off her mask, and she said, "Sir, I perceive you're a prophet. Our fathers say we're to worship God in these mountains and You say in Jerusalem, but where can I find God?" Hey, down deep in every heart that's the question. Where can I find God? Man is thirsting in his spirit after God. Now we try often to fill this thirst with physical things, but it never works. The reason behind the pleasure mania in the United States today is that people is trying to somehow satisfy the deep spiritual thirst within. People try to satisfy it with emotional experiences, and really that's one of the big causes of the drug abuse. It's one of the causes of alcoholism. It is interesting that Paul the apostle associates alcoholism with being filled with the Spirit. He said, "Be not drunk with wine where in excess, but filled with the Spirit." And he associates the two, why? Because there is a definite relationship. What is a man searching after when he turns to the bottle and becomes an alcoholic? What is he looking for? He's looking for some kind of inner satisfaction of peace. A peace of mind. He's looking for the capacity to cope. What does a man find when he is filled with the Spirit? He finds a peace of mind. He finds the capacity to cope. He finds a fullness and a satisfaction. And so it is only proper, and quite proper that Paul would relate those two things, which on the surface seems so diverse, but when you get underneath you're dealing with the same issues--man's thirst. One man though has a misdirected attempt to fill his thirst. So Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink." And there you have the gospel in its simplest terms. That's it. That's what the gospel is all about. For that man who is seeking in his spirit for a meaningful relationship with God he can find it when he comes to Jesus Christ. You have a thirst deep inside. You need God. I understand your need, come unto Me and drink. And then Jesus went on to explain, He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water . "Come to Me and drink because I will fulfill that need in your life. I will fill that thirst. Not only will I fill the thirst, but I will cause your life to become an overflowing cup." You know there are times, and they're getting more frequent, maybe I'm getting old and senile, but they seem to be getting more frequent. Times when God begins to impress me with His love and with His goodness, and He begins to pour out on my heart and upon my life of His Spirit and of His love, until I say, "Oh, God, I can't take it; it's too much, Lord. You're too much, Lord, you better turn it off, God. I can't handle any more, Lord. I'm full, Lord." You know, and He just keeps pouring. "Lord, I'm running over, can't handle it, Lord." And He just keeps pouring. Oh man, and I just get so caught away in the glory of God, and His goodness and His love and His . . . I can hardly handle . . . . Well, I just can't handle it. I just, you know, I just gotta pssst, you know, you get wiped out. What a wonderful thing to be wiped out in the Spirit. Just that neat wipe out. Spiritual wipeout. Oh man, it's glorious. As you just, you know, you just . . . well, what can you say? "Out of His innermost being there will flow rivers of living water." Now in John, adds his commentary. So we have John's commentary on the gospel of John. As he explains to us what Jesus was talking about. And his explanation comes after years of observation. He didn't know at the moment what Jesus was referring to. But later on when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church. And John began to have those overflowing experiences of God's power and love, then he understood and knew what Jesus was referring to. And because he wrote after the experience of the Holy Spirit, after Pentecost, he is now able to give the explanation of what Jesus was referring to. And he said, (This spake he of the Spirit, that was to be given to those that believed upon him: for the Spirit was not yet given ; So, John makes reference then, or makes a commentary, that Jesus was actually referring to the Holy Spirit. And what was He declaring of it? That it would be like a river or a torrent of living water gushing forth out of a person's life. Now, can you say that that is your relationship to the Holy Spirit? In the scriptures I see a three-fold relationship of the believer to the Holy Spirit, and it is designated by three Greek prepositions. There is the first preposition para, for Jesus said to His disciples that, "I will pray to the Father and He will give you another comforter, even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him for He dwells with you" , para. "And He shall be in you," the Greek preposition in, so a twofold relationship there. He is with you. Prior to our conversion the Holy Spirit was with us. It was the Holy Spirit that convicted us of sin. It was the Holy Spirit that pointed out that Jesus was the answer. And it was the Holy Spirit that drew us to Jesus, because no man can come except the Spirit draw him. And when the Holy Spirit had drawn me to Jesus and I open my heart and invited Jesus to come into my life, the Holy Spirit came in and began to reside in me and the Holy Spirit began to indwell me. So He was with me prior to conversion, drawing me to Jesus, and then He came into my heart the moment I received Jesus. And He began His work of teaching me all things. He began His work of conforming me into the image of Christ. He began that glorious work in my life. But yet, I read in the scripture of one further relationship that the believer can have to the Holy Spirit. And that is found in, first of all, the commandment of Jesus to His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem. And to wait for the promise of the Father. For Jesus said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you" and here is the Greek preposition hepi, which means upon, over, or, I like, overflows. When the Holy Spirit begins to overflow your life. The dynamic of the Spirit flowing forth. And this is what Jesus is referring to here. That third relationship. When the Spirit has accomplished His work within me and now that object of work of the Spirit as the Spirit of God begins to flow forth from my life and others around me, then begin to receive of the benefit of that work that God has done in me. God has to work in me first. That's primary. But God is never satisfied with just the work in me. God desires that my life be an instrument through which He might work through me. Or a channel through which He might flow from me, His dynamic love and power to a needy world. So, this He was speaking of the Holy Spirit. What? He will gush forth from your life like a torrent of living water. Years ago I was working with a man who had been on a weekend retreat as a counselor to a youth group. And as we were working on Monday he said, "You, I had some trouble this weekend at this camp where I was a counselor." I said, "What was the problem?" He said, "Well, one of the speakers was talking to the kids there and saying, 'Now while you're here in camp you're getting marvelous experiences of drawing close to God and you're being filled with God's Holy Spirit,' he said, 'but when you go back from this camp,' he said 'your mom is gonna tell you to do something and you're gonna say, "Oh, I don't want to do it," and he said, 'Your attitude, because of that attitude, a little bit of the Spirit is gonna leak out. And then maybe you'll tell a lie or something and little bit more of the Spirit is gonna leak out. And after a while all of the Spirit would have leaked out and then you're gonna have to be refilled with the Spirit.'" He said, "Now that just didn't sound right to me." He said, "But I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong." I said, "Well, I don't know of any place in the scripture where it refers to the Spirit leaking out of your life." I said, "But I know of a scripture that declares it's gonna flow forth or it's gonna gush out of your life like a torrent of living water." That's the relationship I want. I want my life to be just overflowing. I want God's Spirit to just come flowing forth from my life, like a torrent of living water. Now many of the people . . . and the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.) Jesus said, "The Spirit can't come until I go. Now when I go, I'm gonna pray the Father and He's gonna give you another comforter." And so the Spirit was to come after Jesus was glorified and ascended to the Father and, of course, when the day of Pentecost was fully come and Peter was explaining to the people what had happened, he said, "This same Jesus hath God raised and is now there in heaven with God and hath sent forth this, which you see." So the proof that Jesus came to the Father was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church. Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of the truth this is the Prophet . That is a reference to the prophecy in Deuteronomy where Moses said, "And another prophet shall arise like unto myself and to Him shall you give heed." Moses promises there were gonna come another prophet. Now the interesting thing today is that you talk to many of the Jews, most of the orthodox, and they will say to you that they do not believe that the Messiah will be the Son of God. But the Messiah will be a man just like Moses was a man. And they say that because Moses said, "And there shall arise another liken to myself and to Him shall you give heed." So he's gonna be just like Moses, they will tell you, who was a man that God anointed to lead them out of their captivity. So God is going to anoint another man, and we're looking for a man. And what will be their sign? "We're looking for a man who will rebuild the temple." They believe that when the Messiah comes, He's gonna help them rebuild their temple and that's how they're gonna recognize Him, a man helping them to rebuild a temple. "This is the prophet," they said. That is, the prophet that was to referred in Moses' prophecy. Another said, This is the Messiah. But some said, Shall the Messiah come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That the Messiah is coming of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? Evidently they didn't know that Jesus came from Bethlehem. That Mary and Joseph had traveled there, of course, to be enrolled because he was at the house and lineage of David and, of course, as Luke traces Mary's genealogy we find that she also was of David. So He was of David and born in Bethlehem. But there was a division among the people because of Him. And this is always true, Jesus is always dividing men. He was deliberately dividing men. He would say radical things which would divide men. He said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and if you live and believe in Me, you will never die. Do you believe this?" Heh, you see, He said this radical thing and then He immediately challenged it, "Do you believe this?" Now by asking the question, "Do you believe this," He was deliberately creating a division. And even tonight people are divided: those who believe, and those who do not believe. So the division that He was creating then is the division that carries on to the present day: those who believe, and those who don't believe. Those who have eternal life; those who do not have eternal life. Those who have a hope; those who have no hope. Jesus is always making the division among men, and so they were divided because of Him. And some of them would have taken him ; That is, to arrest Him and all. but no man laid hands on him. And so the officers of the chief priests and the Pharisees came back; and they said unto them, Why have you not brought Him? And the officers answered, Never a man has spoken like this man. Then they answered the Pharisees, and the Pharisees said to them, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on him? But these [stupid] people who don't know the law are cursed. Now Nicodemus, (the one who came to Jesus at night, being one of the Pharisees,) said to them, Does our law judge any man, before it hears him, and knows what he is doing? And they answered and said unto him, Are you also of Galilee? In other words, "Are you in league with Him?" Search, and look: for out of Galilee arises no prophet. And so every man went to his own house . Chapter 8 Now Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again to the temple , Now the feast is over, but Jesus is returning to the temple on the next day. and all of the people came on to him; and he sat down, and taught them . I told you this morning that the rabbi always sat when he talked. And the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto him a women taken in adultery; and when they sat her in the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act . We caught her in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what do you say? And this they said, tempting him, that they might have an occasion to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he did not even hear them. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and he said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they were surded, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the women standing there in the midst . Now, I have a couple of...well, I have one problem with this, and then a comment. The problem: where was the man? Because they caught them in the very act. And according to the law of Moses they were both to be stoned. Why did they only bring the woman if they were caught in the act? So there was an injustice at the very onset, in their own judgments. They should have brought the man too. The question: what was Jesus writing there in the sand? Now, of course, the scripture doesn't tell us, so we can guess. My guess is that starting with the oldest of those Pharisees in the crowd, who were really pushing Him and challenging, "Our law says stone her, what do you say?" you know. And here was ole Levi, the old man, pressing the point, and so Jesus probably wrote in the sand the name Levi. And then, "Last Tuesday at two in the afternoon, why were you," and started writing out what Levi was doing the other day at two in the afternoon. And Levi said, "Hmm, I think my wife wanted me to pick up a loaf a bread. I better get home, you know." And he split. It says they were one by one convicted. So Levi's gone, so he writes "Simon". And He begins to write one of Simon's sins of the previous day or so. Simon gets all embarrassed and flustered and he takes off. And so down the line from the oldest to the youngest, Jesus begins to write their names and write the things they have been doing. Because they were, all of them, convicted one by one in their own conscious. And they went out one by one, beginning from the eldest even to the youngest, until there was no one left but the woman. And when Jesus had stood up again, He just put His head down and just started writing. Finally, When he stood up again, he saw no one but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, what happen to your accusers? hasn't any man condemned you? And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more . That's an important thing. "Go," but don't forget the last, "and sin no more." It's not just a license. Jesus said, "God did not send Me into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through me might be saved. And he that believeth is not condemned" . So here's a woman caught in the act of a capital sin according to the Mosaic Law, but Jesus is saying to her, "I don't condemn you." Because He didn't come to condemn, He came to save. And there He demonstrated His glorious ministry: seeking and saving that which was lost. She didn't need to be condemned, she needed to be saved. We don't need to be condemned, we need to be saved. Now as we move on in Romans 8:1-39 on Thursday nights, we're soon gonna be getting to that interesting rhetorical question, "Who is he that condemeth?" It is true that Christians live under much condemnation. But who is he that condemns? If you as a child of God are living under condemnation, is it because Jesus is condemning you? God help us to be freed from this stereotype picture of God that we have of just waiting for us to do something wrong so He can rub us out. We so often sort of transpose the image of Santa Claus over to God, as though God is a Santa Claus and, you know, all of our prayers are just to get the good gifts from Him. Tell me what you want today. What do you want for Christmas little boy? And so prayers just to get all the things from God that we want. But in carrying that image over, we also see Him making out a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty and nice. And because we know that we've been naughty and we feel guilty over our sins, we feel that God is condemning. Who is he that condemns? Paul does not declare who condemns. He only declares negatively who isn't condemning. He said, "It is Christ who has died, yea rather is risen again, and is even at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us" . He's not condemning us. He's interceding for us. And Jesus did not condemn the sinner. To this woman He said, "Neither do I condemn you. Just go and sin no more." Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: and he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life . He said, "I am the bread of life." Now He is declaring, "I am the light of the world." He is making radical claims. "If a man follows Me, he will not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." And the Pharisees therefore said unto him, You are bearing record of yourself; and so your record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know from whence I came, and where I'm going; but you cannot tell from whence I've come, or where I'm going. You judge after the flesh; and I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me . And again pressing the claim, "The Father sent me." It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me. Then they said unto him, Where is your Father? And Jesus answered, You neither know me, nor my Father: for if you had known me, you would of known my Father also. And these words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins: for where I go, you cannot come. Then the Jew said, Is he gonna kill himself? because he says, where I go, you cannot come. And he said unto them, You are from beneath; and I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that you will die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins . Notice again what heavy radical statements Jesus is making. I mean, He's laying things now straight on the line. He's declaring very plainly to them the truth, and what is the truth? If you don't believe in Him you're going to die in your sins. For God has made provision for the forgiveness of our sins, but that provision is believing in Jesus Christ, and if you don't believe in Him then there is no provision and you will die in your sins. And if you die in your sins you are lost. And so Jesus is just squaring off with these fellows now. He's saying "You're from beneath, I'm from above." Then they say unto him, Who are you? And Jesus said unto them, The very same one that I told you from the beginning. And I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. And they understood not that he was speaking to them of the Father. And then said Jesus unto them, When you have lifted up the Son , And, of course, that term lifted up is the term that refers to the cross. So He's actually saying, "When you have lifted Me up on the cross, or, when you have crucified the Son of man," then shall ye know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: and the Father has not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him . What a remarkable statement to be able to make!! Oh, I wish that I could make that statement. After just one day I wish I could make that statement. "I do always those things that please Him." Now the Father testified that, he said, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Jesus said, "There's no unrighteousness in Me, I do always those things that please Him." And in a little bit He's gonna to say, "Which of you can convince Me of sin or show Me a sin that I have done?" "I do always those things that please Him." Now as He spoke these words, many believed on him. And then Jesus said to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then you are my disciple indeed ; Now you believe on Me, now just continue in My Word, and if you do then you are really my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And so they answered him and they said, We are Abraham's seed, we were never in bondage to any man : Right at the present moment they were in bondage to Rome, but they didn't recognize that and that was one of their problems. They continually rebelled against the Roman authority and finally in 70 A.D. the nation was completely wiped out because of this attitude, "We are in bondage to no man." And that attitude brought the destruction of the nation...in the revolt of 70 A.D. when the Romans sent Titus with his legions and they came and just wiped out the nation itself. But it's interesting the spirit of these people. "We are Abraham's seed, we're in bondage to no man." Jesus said, you know, "You shall the truth, the truth shall make you free." How do you say you will be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is a servant of sin . You say you're free, but if you commit sin you're a servant of sin. The Bible tells us that whomsoever we yield ourselves servants to obey, his servant we become. Whether of sin unto unrighteousness or of obedience unto eternal life. Now it is interesting how quickly a person can become a slave of sin. It's interesting how quickly sin can get a hold upon a person's life and begin to control them. If you yield yourself, your body to sin, it can get such a hold upon you that you become its slave, and we have seen people enslaved by sin. And Jesus is here declaring that if you commit sin you become the servant of sin. You say you are free . . . oh no you're not; you're the servants of sin. And the servant who abides not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever. And if the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed . How I love my freedom in Jesus Christ. How I love my liberty that I have in Him. In fact, I love it so much that I carefully guard it. Now one problem that a lot of people have is that they don't appreciate their freedom and they don't guard it. The freedom that I enjoy is the freedom not to. Not necessarily the freedom to. I have the freedom to, but I enjoy the freedom not to. Because many times if I exercise the freedom to, then I no longer have the freedom not to. So it's important how you exercise your freedom. Thank God I don't have to drink. Thank God I don't have to do these things. Some people are compelled. Some people have no control. Some people are slaves. I'm free; I don't have to. I have the freedom not to because I've been set free by the Son. And I tell you, Paul the apostle spoke about guarding that freedom. He said, "All things are lawful for me." Man, I am free. But he said, "I will not be brought under the power of any." If I exercise my freedom in an activity that in itself can bring me under its influence or power, I'm sacrificing my freedom and I'm no longer free--I'm now under the influence of the power of this habit of whatever it is that I have done. I've become controlled by the...I'm now the servant or the slave of sin. But when the Son set you free, you're free indeed. And thank God He can set you free from any binding power of sin that you might have in your life. He can set you free from drug addiction. He can set you free from alcoholism. He can set you free from any power of sin that might be holding you tonight. You need not be a servant of sin, because Jesus Christ can set you free tonight from whatever it is that is binding your life and holding you under its influence and power. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Oh, how I revel in it and enjoy my freedom. "I know that you are Abraham's seed." Now they said here earlier, "We are Abraham's seed, we're not in bondage to anybody." Jesus said, I know you're Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. And I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father. And they answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father . And Jesus said, "Oh, no." How is it they are Abraham's seed and Abraham is not their father? Because Jesus is talking both about the physical and the spiritual. Being of the seed of Abraham does not make you a child of Abraham. For Abraham was the father of those who believed. He was actually the progenitor of many nations, from Abraham came for the Ishmaelites. They were Abraham's seed, but they weren't Abraham's children by promise. So He's talking about the spiritual children and the physical seed of Abraham, and there is a vast difference. And even to these Jews He's acknowledging, "Yes, you are of Abraham seed, but he's not really your father." You see, spiritually you're not a child of Abraham because you don't believe, and He was making that distinction. So, "I know that you are Abraham seed, you've descended from him, but you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you and speak that which I have seen and all." They answered and said unto Him, "Abraham is our father." And Jesus said unto them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you truth, which I have heard of God: and this did not Abraham . Abraham didn't try and kill Me; he believed God's works, and that's what God accounted to Him for righteousness. Now I'm telling the word of God and you're trying to kill Me. That isn't Abe...you're not doing Abraham's work when you're trying to kill Me. You do the deeds of your father. And then they said unto him, We're not born of fornication ; This could be a reference to the virgin birth. They could be here declaring your mother bore you out of wedlock. "We're not born of fornication." And it could be that the story of Mary had gotten around. That Joseph wasn't really the father of Jesus. And they did not believe that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and so they are accusing Him of being born out of wedlock. Now the Bible asserts that Mary was a virgin and that the birth of Christ was a divine miracle because the power of the Highest came upon her, and Jesus was the Son of God. Born through the work and agency of the Holy Spirit impregnating Mary. Here it seems to be a low blow at Jesus, challenging the virgin birth. There is an interesting conclusion that can be drawn from this. In the accounts in the scripture, the accounts of Mary, the mother of Jesus, we do find that she is one of the most remarkable women who ever lived. Surely the most blessed woman who ever lived. When she visited her cousin Elizabeth there in the hill country of Judea, she said, "Blessed art though among women. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And from hence forth all generations shall call you blessed." Why? Because God gave to her the highest honor and privilege that any woman could ever have. God chose her as the instrument to bring His Son into the world. What an honor. But, God, in making that choice, made the choice wisely and, no doubt, chose a young girl of highest character and virtue, and this is demonstrated in what is called the Magnificat of Mary in Luke's gospel, chapter 2, where her...in chapter 1 there, where we hear her declaring, "My soul that magnify the Lord and my spirit that rejoice, for He has regarded the lowest state of His handmaid . . . " and goes on and just in glorious, rapturous praises unto God, expressing a depth of character in soul that is just absolutely marvelous. And all the way through, the accounts where Mary is brought into the picture it's always in a very admirable way. Except here. "We're not born of fornication." You know your mother bore you out of wedlock. Now, being this admirable character that Mary was, and knowing the psychology of a mother's love for her child, there's nothing, it seems, in the world that quite excels that mother's love for a child. That natural God-given love. When Jesus was being tried to be crucified, Mary could have put an end to the whole procedure, very quickly, very simply. When she saw that things were going against her son, that He was being condemned to be crucified, she could have stepped before Pilate and said, "Hold on, wait a minute. I'll name the man who did it." And she could have named the father of Jesus, had there been an earthly father. And I'm sure, had there been, she would of, knowing a mother's love. But she couldn't, she was helpless. And she had to see Him die because there was no way that she could free Him by naming an earthly father because He was born of God. And that is one of the powerful arguments for the virgin birth of Jesus; it's one of the psychological arguments of the virgin birth. The fact that Mary could not free Him from condemnation by naming an earthly father because He had no earthly father, He was born of God. But here it seems that they're sort of casting this aspersion at Him. We're not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. And Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent Me . Now He's been telling, you know, "He who have sent Me...He who have sent Me." Now He's telling them plainly Who it was that sent Him. "If God were your Father you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God." A plain declaration of Jesus that He proceeded forth and came from God. There are those who say, "Well, Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God." Wait a minute. Right here He is proclaiming and declaring plainly to them, "I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of Myself. I didn't come on My own, He sent Me." And why do not understand my speech? even because you cannot hear my word. For ye are of your father the devil , They said, "We have Abraham for our father." And then they said, "We have one father even God." And Jesus said, "Oh, no. God is not your father, but ye are of your father the devil." and the desires of your father you will do : Satan's desire to destroy Jesus, you're gonna do it. he was a murderer from the beginning , You're gonna murder Me. he abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. And when he speaks a lie, he's only speaking of his own nature: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you can convince me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God hears God's word: ye therefore hear them not, because you are not of God . Now this is a very heavy thing. Because as you are here tonight, are you hearing God's word or is this just all gobbly gook? You're saying, "Ah well, you know, get over with it, will you, man. I wanna go home." Are you really...does God's word speak to your heart? Do you receive it? Does it strike your heart? Is it warming your heart? Is it ministering and feeding you, or is it just something that you just are sort of shoving aside? You can very quickly tell who your father is. "He that is of God hears God's words. You therefore hear them not because you are not of God." Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Did we not well say that you're a Samaritan, and you have a devil? And Jesus answered, I don't have a devil; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. And I seek not my own glory: there is one who seeks and judges. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keeps my sayings, he shall never see death . Oh, Jesus is not gonna let them off the hook. He's just gonna put the knife in deeper. I mean He's ready for controversy. You guys want to hear it? Alright, go . . . let's go for it, you know. And now this radical statement, "If a man keeps My saying he shall never see death." Then the Jews said unto Him, "Now we know that you have a devil. For Abraham is dead and the prophets, and you say if a man keeps my saying he shall never taste of death." Jesus often was misunderstood because Jesus spoke of spiritual things and these people could only think in terms of material things. And there is a biblical definition of death and a material definition of death. And from a human material definition, death is the separation of a man's consciousness from his body. If they put the EKG on a person, and they get a flat reading, there's no motion at all, and twenty-four hours later they again put the EKG on and there is still a flat reading, if they then, which they often do, pull the plug and watch the EKGs if there still remains a flat movement, the person is clinically dead. It means that there is no activity in the brain at all. The brain or the consciousness of the person has departed, there's no brain activity. He is dead, his consciousness is now separated or has left his body. Now a spiritual definition of death is the separation of your consciousness from God. So that, the Bible says if a person is living only for pleasure they're dead while they're still living. You see, if pleasure is your god, if pleasure is your chief goal, if you're living simply for pleasure, then your consciousness is separated from God, thus you are dead. Even though you may still be alive from a physical standpoint, yet you're dead because your consciousness is separated from God. God is not in your conscious the Bible says. So Jesus, making reference to that spiritual definition, "If a man keeps My sayings he will never see death." I will never consciously be separated from God. Hey, my consciousness may leave this old body, but I will not be dead. I'll be more conscious of God then than ever, because I'll be right in the presence of God. Very much alive. "He that keeps my saying will never see death," I believe that. I believe that completely. I believe that one day my consciousness will leave this body and people will read in the paper "Chuck Smith died." That's poor reporting, inaccurate to say the least. To accurately record they must write "Chuck Smith moved out of a decrepit worn-out tent into a beautiful new mansion." I won't be dead, I'll be very much alive their in the presence of God in His eternal kingdom. For we know that when this earthly tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So then we who are in these bodies do often groan earnestly desiring to move out. Not to be an embodied spirit, but that I might move in to that new body which is in heaven. For I know that as long as I'm still living in this body I'm absent from the Lord. So I would rather be absent from this body and to be present with the Lord. So one day I'm gonna move out of the tent into the house. Not dead, just moved. The Jews said unto Him, "Now we know that you have a devil, for Abraham is dead and the prophets, and you say if a man keeps my saying, he shall never taste of death." Now they made a wrong assumption of Abraham. You remember, Jesus when He was talking to the Sadducees, and He asked them the question...they, you know, they were the ones that didn't believe in resurrection or spirits or angels. Jesus said, "How come when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He said, 'I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob'?" He's not the God of the dead, but of the living. They made a wrong assumption when they said Abraham was dead. Abraham was very much alive at that point. In fact, he was comforting all of those who were awaiting the Messiah. Luke, the sixteenth chapter, and the poor man was taken by the angel into Abraham's bosom where he was comforting those who were waiting. So are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets which are dead: who do you make yourself? And Jesus answered, If I honored myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honors me; of whom you say, that he is your God: Yet you have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I don't know him, I would be a liar just like you: but I know him, and I keep his sayings . You see, Jesus is not really mincing words with these guys now. I mean, He's laying it on them. And then He said, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. And the Jews said unto him, You're not even fifty years old yet, and have you seen Abraham? And Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am . This is it. This is His open plain declaration of His divinity. Using now that name of the eternal God. When Moses said, "Whom shall I say sent me?" "Say I Am that I Am hath sent thee." The name that expresses the eternal nature of God. "You're not fifty years old. You mean that Abraham saw You?" And Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." Now they understood what He said because, They took up stones to throw at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so he passed by . Now when did Abraham see Him? "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." When did Abraham see Him? It is quite possible that this is a reference to Melchizedek in the Old Testament. For when Abraham came back from the victory over the five kings, there came out the King of Salem, the King of Peace, and met Him and gave Him bread and wine or communion. And Abraham gave tithe of all that he had to Him, or give Him a tenth of all of the spoils. Now this priest of the Old Testament, Melchizedek, was called the priest of the Most High God. Honored by Abraham, by Abraham giving of his substance to Him, of tithe of all that he had. And it is quite possible that Melchizedek was what is known as a theophany, the appearance of God in the Old Testament in the form of Jesus Christ. "Before Abraham was, I am. And that Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he saw it." There is other evidence that shows that Melchizedek could very well have been none other than Jesus Christ. It is said there is no record of his genealogies. He did not come from the Levitical priesthood, because Levi wasn't even born. Levi was a descendent of Abraham, from which the priest...the family of the priest came. So it is quite possible that Melchizedek was actually an appearance of Jesus to Abraham in the Old Testament. There is one other possibility, and that is, when the angel of the Lord was on his way to destroy the city of Sodom. As you read the text carefully, Abraham was talking with Jehovah, or Jesus Christ. As he was interceding for the cities of Sodom/Gomorrah. "What if there are fifty righteous people, will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Shouldn't the Lord be fair?" And as you read that, you'll find that Abraham is addressing Jehovah and Jehovah is answering Abraham. So it is possible that that is where Abraham saw Jesus and rejoiced to see His day. But Jesus existed from the beginning and was manifested during the Old Testament period. So this is an interesting sidelight. Next week, chapters 9 and 10. May you be blessed of the Lord as you go your way. Strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life. Filled to overflowing with God's love as you go out as a light shining in the darkness, to bring that light to those who sit in darkness that they may have hope in a day of great darkness. In Jesus' name. " Chapter 8 Now Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again to the temple , Now the feast is over, but Jesus is returning to the temple on the next day. and all of the people came on to him; and he sat down, and taught them . I told you this morning that the rabbi always sat when he talked. And the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto him a women taken in adultery; and when they sat her in the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act . We caught her in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what do you say? And this they said, tempting him, that they might have an occasion to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he did not even hear them. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and he said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they were surded, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the women standing there in the midst . Now, I have a couple of...well, I have one problem with this, and then a comment. The problem: where was the man? Because they caught them in the very act. And according to the law of Moses they were both to be stoned. Why did they only bring the woman if they were caught in the act? So there was an injustice at the very onset, in their own judgments. They should have brought the man too. The question: what was Jesus writing there in the sand? Now, of course, the scripture doesn't tell us, so we can guess. My guess is that starting with the oldest of those Pharisees in the crowd, who were really pushing Him and challenging, "Our law says stone her, what do you say?" you know. And here was ole Levi, the old man, pressing the point, and so Jesus probably wrote in the sand the name Levi. And then, "Last Tuesday at two in the afternoon, why were you," and started writing out what Levi was doing the other day at two in the afternoon. And Levi said, "Hmm, I think my wife wanted me to pick up a loaf a bread. I better get home, you know." And he split. It says they were one by one convicted. So Levi's gone, so he writes "Simon". And He begins to write one of Simon's sins of the previous day or so. Simon gets all embarrassed and flustered and he takes off. And so down the line from the oldest to the youngest, Jesus begins to write their names and write the things they have been doing. Because they were, all of them, convicted one by one in their own conscious. And they went out one by one, beginning from the eldest even to the youngest, until there was no one left but the woman. And when Jesus had stood up again, He just put His head down and just started writing. Finally, When he stood up again, he saw no one but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, what happen to your accusers? hasn't any man condemned you? And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more . That's an important thing. "Go," but don't forget the last, "and sin no more." It's not just a license. Jesus said, "God did not send Me into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through me might be saved. And he that believeth is not condemned" . So here's a woman caught in the act of a capital sin according to the Mosaic Law, but Jesus is saying to her, "I don't condemn you." Because He didn't come to condemn, He came to save. And there He demonstrated His glorious ministry: seeking and saving that which was lost. She didn't need to be condemned, she needed to be saved. We don't need to be condemned, we need to be saved. Now as we move on in Romans 8:1-39 on Thursday nights, we're soon gonna be getting to that interesting rhetorical question, "Who is he that condemeth?" It is true that Christians live under much condemnation. But who is he that condemns? If you as a child of God are living under condemnation, is it because Jesus is condemning you? God help us to be freed from this stereotype picture of God that we have of just waiting for us to do something wrong so He can rub us out. We so often sort of transpose the image of Santa Claus over to God, as though God is a Santa Claus and, you know, all of our prayers are just to get the good gifts from Him. Tell me what you want today. What do you want for Christmas little boy? And so prayers just to get all the things from God that we want. But in carrying that image over, we also see Him making out a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty and nice. And because we know that we've been naughty and we feel guilty over our sins, we feel that God is condemning. Who is he that condemns? Paul does not declare who condemns. He only declares negatively who isn't condemning. He said, "It is Christ who has died, yea rather is risen again, and is even at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us" . He's not condemning us. He's interceding for us. And Jesus did not condemn the sinner. To this woman He said, "Neither do I condemn you. Just go and sin no more." Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: and he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life . He said, "I am the bread of life." Now He is declaring, "I am the light of the world." He is making radical claims. "If a man follows Me, he will not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." And the Pharisees therefore said unto him, You are bearing record of yourself; and so your record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know from whence I came, and where I'm going; but you cannot tell from whence I've come, or where I'm going. You judge after the flesh; and I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me . And again pressing the claim, "The Father sent me." It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me. Then they said unto him, Where is your Father? And Jesus answered, You neither know me, nor my Father: for if you had known me, you would of known my Father also. And these words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins: for where I go, you cannot come. Then the Jew said, Is he gonna kill himself? because he says, where I go, you cannot come. And he said unto them, You are from beneath; and I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that you will die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins . Notice again what heavy radical statements Jesus is making. I mean, He's laying things now straight on the line. He's declaring very plainly to them the truth, and what is the truth? If you don't believe in Him you're going to die in your sins. For God has made provision for the forgiveness of our sins, but that provision is believing in Jesus Christ, and if you don't believe in Him then there is no provision and you will die in your sins. And if you die in your sins you are lost. And so Jesus is just squaring off with these fellows now. He's saying "You're from beneath, I'm from above." Then they say unto him, Who are you? And Jesus said unto them, The very same one that I told you from the beginning. And I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. And they understood not that he was speaking to them of the Father. And then said Jesus unto them, When you have lifted up the Son , And, of course, that term lifted up is the term that refers to the cross. So He's actually saying, "When you have lifted Me up on the cross, or, when you have crucified the Son of man," then shall ye know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: and the Father has not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him . What a remarkable statement to be able to make!! Oh, I wish that I could make that statement. After just one day I wish I could make that statement. "I do always those things that please Him." Now the Father testified that, he said, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Jesus said, "There's no unrighteousness in Me, I do always those things that please Him." And in a little bit He's gonna to say, "Which of you can convince Me of sin or show Me a sin that I have done?" "I do always those things that please Him." Now as He spoke these words, many believed on him. And then Jesus said to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then you are my disciple indeed ; Now you believe on Me, now just continue in My Word, and if you do then you are really my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And so they answered him and they said, We are Abraham's seed, we were never in bondage to any man : Right at the present moment they were in bondage to Rome, but they didn't recognize that and that was one of their problems. They continually rebelled against the Roman authority and finally in 70 A.D. the nation was completely wiped out because of this attitude, "We are in bondage to no man." And that attitude brought the destruction of the nation...in the revolt of 70 A.D. when the Romans sent Titus with his legions and they came and just wiped out the nation itself. But it's interesting the spirit of these people. "We are Abraham's seed, we're in bondage to no man." Jesus said, you know, "You shall the truth, the truth shall make you free." How do you say you will be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is a servant of sin . You say you're free, but if you commit sin you're a servant of sin. The Bible tells us that whomsoever we yield ourselves servants to obey, his servant we become. Whether of sin unto unrighteousness or of obedience unto eternal life. Now it is interesting how quickly a person can become a slave of sin. It's interesting how quickly sin can get a hold upon a person's life and begin to control them. If you yield yourself, your body to sin, it can get such a hold upon you that you become its slave, and we have seen people enslaved by sin. And Jesus is here declaring that if you commit sin you become the servant of sin. You say you are free . . . oh no you're not; you're the servants of sin. And the servant who abides not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever. And if the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed . How I love my freedom in Jesus Christ. How I love my liberty that I have in Him. In fact, I love it so much that I carefully guard it. Now one problem that a lot of people have is that they don't appreciate their freedom and they don't guard it. The freedom that I enjoy is the freedom not to. Not necessarily the freedom to. I have the freedom to, but I enjoy the freedom not to. Because many times if I exercise the freedom to, then I no longer have the freedom not to. So it's important how you exercise your freedom. Thank God I don't have to drink. Thank God I don't have to do these things. Some people are compelled. Some people have no control. Some people are slaves. I'm free; I don't have to. I have the freedom not to because I've been set free by the Son. And I tell you, Paul the apostle spoke about guarding that freedom. He said, "All things are lawful for me." Man, I am free. But he said, "I will not be brought under the power of any." If I exercise my freedom in an activity that in itself can bring me under its influence or power, I'm sacrificing my freedom and I'm no longer free--I'm now under the influence of the power of this habit of whatever it is that I have done. I've become controlled by the...I'm now the servant or the slave of sin. But when the Son set you free, you're free indeed. And thank God He can set you free from any binding power of sin that you might have in your life. He can set you free from drug addiction. He can set you free from alcoholism. He can set you free from any power of sin that might be holding you tonight. You need not be a servant of sin, because Jesus Christ can set you free tonight from whatever it is that is binding your life and holding you under its influence and power. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Oh, how I revel in it and enjoy my freedom. "I know that you are Abraham's seed." Now they said here earlier, "We are Abraham's seed, we're not in bondage to anybody." Jesus said, I know you're Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. And I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father. And they answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father . And Jesus said, "Oh, no." How is it they are Abraham's seed and Abraham is not their father? Because Jesus is talking both about the physical and the spiritual. Being of the seed of Abraham does not make you a child of Abraham. For Abraham was the father of those who believed. He was actually the progenitor of many nations, from Abraham came for the Ishmaelites. They were Abraham's seed, but they weren't Abraham's children by promise. So He's talking about the spiritual children and the physical seed of Abraham, and there is a vast difference. And even to these Jews He's acknowledging, "Yes, you are of Abraham seed, but he's not really your father." You see, spiritually you're not a child of Abraham because you don't believe, and He was making that distinction. So, "I know that you are Abraham seed, you've descended from him, but you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you and speak that which I have seen and all." They answered and said unto Him, "Abraham is our father." And Jesus said unto them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you truth, which I have heard of God: and this did not Abraham . Abraham didn't try and kill Me; he believed God's works, and that's what God accounted to Him for righteousness. Now I'm telling the word of God and you're trying to kill Me. That isn't Abe...you're not doing Abraham's work when you're trying to kill Me. You do the deeds of your father. And then they said unto him, We're not born of fornication ; This could be a reference to the virgin birth. They could be here declaring your mother bore you out of wedlock. "We're not born of fornication." And it could be that the story of Mary had gotten around. That Joseph wasn't really the father of Jesus. And they did not believe that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and so they are accusing Him of being born out of wedlock. Now the Bible asserts that Mary was a virgin and that the birth of Christ was a divine miracle because the power of the Highest came upon her, and Jesus was the Son of God. Born through the work and agency of the Holy Spirit impregnating Mary. Here it seems to be a low blow at Jesus, challenging the virgin birth. There is an interesting conclusion that can be drawn from this. In the accounts in the scripture, the accounts of Mary, the mother of Jesus, we do find that she is one of the most remarkable women who ever lived. Surely the most blessed woman who ever lived. When she visited her cousin Elizabeth there in the hill country of Judea, she said, "Blessed art though among women. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And from hence forth all generations shall call you blessed." Why? Because God gave to her the highest honor and privilege that any woman could ever have. God chose her as the instrument to bring His Son into the world. What an honor. But, God, in making that choice, made the choice wisely and, no doubt, chose a young girl of highest character and virtue, and this is demonstrated in what is called the Magnificat of Mary in Luke's gospel, chapter 2, where her...in chapter 1 there, where we hear her declaring, "My soul that magnify the Lord and my spirit that rejoice, for He has regarded the lowest state of His handmaid . . . " and goes on and just in glorious, rapturous praises unto God, expressing a depth of character in soul that is just absolutely marvelous. And all the way through, the accounts where Mary is brought into the picture it's always in a very admirable way. Except here. "We're not born of fornication." You know your mother bore you out of wedlock. Now, being this admirable character that Mary was, and knowing the psychology of a mother's love for her child, there's nothing, it seems, in the world that quite excels that mother's love for a child. That natural God-given love. When Jesus was being tried to be crucified, Mary could have put an end to the whole procedure, very quickly, very simply. When she saw that things were going against her son, that He was being condemned to be crucified, she could have stepped before Pilate and said, "Hold on, wait a minute. I'll name the man who did it." And she could have named the father of Jesus, had there been an earthly father. And I'm sure, had there been, she would of, knowing a mother's love. But she couldn't, she was helpless. And she had to see Him die because there was no way that she could free Him by naming an earthly father because He was born of God. And that is one of the powerful arguments for the virgin birth of Jesus; it's one of the psychological arguments of the virgin birth. The fact that Mary could not free Him from condemnation by naming an earthly father because He had no earthly father, He was born of God. But here it seems that they're sort of casting this aspersion at Him. We're not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. And Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent Me . Now He's been telling, you know, "He who have sent Me...He who have sent Me." Now He's telling them plainly Who it was that sent Him. "If God were your Father you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God." A plain declaration of Jesus that He proceeded forth and came from God. There are those who say, "Well, Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God." Wait a minute. Right here He is proclaiming and declaring plainly to them, "I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of Myself. I didn't come on My own, He sent Me." And why do not understand my speech? even because you cannot hear my word. For ye are of your father the devil , They said, "We have Abraham for our father." And then they said, "We have one father even God." And Jesus said, "Oh, no. God is not your father, but ye are of your father the devil." and the desires of your father you will do : Satan's desire to destroy Jesus, you're gonna do it. he was a murderer from the beginning , You're gonna murder Me. he abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. And when he speaks a lie, he's only speaking of his own nature: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you can convince me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God hears God's word: ye therefore hear them not, because you are not of God . Now this is a very heavy thing. Because as you are here tonight, are you hearing God's word or is this just all gobbly gook? You're saying, "Ah well, you know, get over with it, will you, man. I wanna go home." Are you really...does God's word speak to your heart? Do you receive it? Does it strike your heart? Is it warming your heart? Is it ministering and feeding you, or is it just something that you just are sort of shoving aside? You can very quickly tell who your father is. "He that is of God hears God's words. You therefore hear them not because you are not of God." Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Did we not well say that you're a Samaritan, and you have a devil? And Jesus answered, I don't have a devil; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. And I seek not my own glory: there is one who seeks and judges. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keeps my sayings, he shall never see death . Oh, Jesus is not gonna let them off the hook. He's just gonna put the knife in deeper. I mean He's ready for controversy. You guys want to hear it? Alright, go . . . let's go for it, you know. And now this radical statement, "If a man keeps My saying he shall never see death." Then the Jews said unto Him, "Now we know that you have a devil. For Abraham is dead and the prophets, and you say if a man keeps my saying he shall never taste of death." Jesus often was misunderstood because Jesus spoke of spiritual things and these people could only think in terms of material things. And there is a biblical definition of death and a material definition of death. And from a human material definition, death is the separation of a man's consciousness from his body. If they put the EKG on a person, and they get a flat reading, there's no motion at all, and twenty-four hours later they again put the EKG on and there is still a flat reading, if they then, which they often do, pull the plug and watch the EKGs if there still remains a flat movement, the person is clinically dead. It means that there is no activity in the brain at all. The brain or the consciousness of the person has departed, there's no brain activity. He is dead, his consciousness is now separated or has left his body. Now a spiritual definition of death is the separation of your consciousness from God. So that, the Bible says if a person is living only for pleasure they're dead while they're still living. You see, if pleasure is your god, if pleasure is your chief goal, if you're living simply for pleasure, then your consciousness is separated from God, thus you are dead. Even though you may still be alive from a physical standpoint, yet you're dead because your consciousness is separated from God. God is not in your conscious the Bible says. So Jesus, making reference to that spiritual definition, "If a man keeps My sayings he will never see death." I will never consciously be separated from God. Hey, my consciousness may leave this old body, but I will not be dead. I'll be more conscious of God then than ever, because I'll be right in the presence of God. Very much alive. "He that keeps my saying will never see death," I believe that. I believe that completely. I believe that one day my consciousness will leave this body and people will read in the paper "Chuck Smith died." That's poor reporting, inaccurate to say the least. To accurately record they must write "Chuck Smith moved out of a decrepit worn-out tent into a beautiful new mansion." I won't be dead, I'll be very much alive their in the presence of God in His eternal kingdom. For we know that when this earthly tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So then we who are in these bodies do often groan earnestly desiring to move out. Not to be an embodied spirit, but that I might move in to that new body which is in heaven. For I know that as long as I'm still living in this body I'm absent from the Lord. So I would rather be absent from this body and to be present with the Lord. So one day I'm gonna move out of the tent into the house. Not dead, just moved. The Jews said unto Him, "Now we know that you have a devil, for Abraham is dead and the prophets, and you say if a man keeps my saying, he shall never taste of death." Now they made a wrong assumption of Abraham. You remember, Jesus when He was talking to the Sadducees, and He asked them the question...they, you know, they were the ones that didn't believe in resurrection or spirits or angels. Jesus said, "How come when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He said, 'I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob'?" He's not the God of the dead, but of the living. They made a wrong assumption when they said Abraham was dead. Abraham was very much alive at that point. In fact, he was comforting all of those who were awaiting the Messiah. Luke, the sixteenth chapter, and the poor man was taken by the angel into Abraham's bosom where he was comforting those who were waiting. So are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets which are dead: who do you make yourself? And Jesus answered, If I honored myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honors me; of whom you say, that he is your God: Yet you have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I don't know him, I would be a liar just like you: but I know him, and I keep his sayings . You see, Jesus is not really mincing words with these guys now. I mean, He's laying it on them. And then He said, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. And the Jews said unto him, You're not even fifty years old yet, and have you seen Abraham? And Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am . This is it. This is His open plain declaration of His divinity. Using now that name of the eternal God. When Moses said, "Whom shall I say sent me?" "Say I Am that I Am hath sent thee." The name that expresses the eternal nature of God. "You're not fifty years old. You mean that Abraham saw You?" And Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." Now they understood what He said because, They took up stones to throw at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so he passed by . Now when did Abraham see Him? "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." When did Abraham see Him? It is quite possible that this is a reference to Melchizedek in the Old Testament. For when Abraham came back from the victory over the five kings, there came out the King of Salem, the King of Peace, and met Him and gave Him bread and wine or communion. And Abraham gave tithe of all that he had to Him, or give Him a tenth of all of the spoils. Now this priest of the Old Testament, Melchizedek, was called the priest of the Most High God. Honored by Abraham, by Abraham giving of his substance to Him, of tithe of all that he had. And it is quite possible that Melchizedek was what is known as a theophany, the appearance of God in the Old Testament in the form of Jesus Christ. "Before Abraham was, I am. And that Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he saw it." There is other evidence that shows that Melchizedek could very well have been none other than Jesus Christ. It is said there is no record of his genealogies. He did not come from the Levitical priesthood, because Levi wasn't even born. Levi was a descendent of Abraham, from which the priest...the family of the priest came. So it is quite possible that Melchizedek was actually an appearance of Jesus to Abraham in the Old Testament. There is one other possibility, and that is, when the angel of the Lord was on his way to destroy the city of Sodom. As you read the text carefully, Abraham was talking with Jehovah, or Jesus Christ. As he was interceding for the cities of Sodom/Gomorrah. "What if there are fifty righteous people, will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Shouldn't the Lord be fair?" And as you read that, you'll find that Abraham is addressing Jehovah and Jehovah is answering Abraham. So it is possible that that is where Abraham saw Jesus and rejoiced to see His day. But Jesus existed from the beginning and was manifested during the Old Testament period. So this is an interesting sidelight. Next week, chapters 9 and 10. May you be blessed of the Lord as you go your way. Strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life. Filled to overflowing with God's love as you go out as a light shining in the darkness, to bring that light to those who sit in darkness that they may have hope in a day of great darkness. In Jesus' name. " Shall we turn now in our Bibles to the gospel according to John, chapter 9. Jesus had been having a dispute with the Pharisees in the temple at the time of the Feast of the Tabernacles, six months or so before the Passover in which He was crucified. And in the eighth chapter it records His conversations with them, with His declaring unto to them, "Before Abraham was I am." And so the last time we saw Jesus they were taking up stones to throw at Him, and He passed by them and left the temple precincts. And as Jesus passed by , The ninth chapter opens so that's the background. They just have taken up stones to throw at Him because of His claim of deity, "Before Abraham was, I am." And as He passed by, he saw a man which was blind from biRuth . As far as the gospel records, and only as far as the gospel records, surely there are others. But the gospels only record this instance where Jesus healed a person of which the scripture declared his malady came from birth. Now in the Acts, there are a couple who had their conditions from birth, and no doubt Jesus healed many with congenital ill...type of illnesses, but this is the only one in the gospel that is recorded distinctly as a condition that existed from birth. And so his disciples ask him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Now there were those who taught prenatal sin. That a child could sin while he was still in the womb. And there were those who sort of held to this belief. And because this was being taught by some of the people, some of the rabbis, perhaps this is why the disciples said, "Who did sin, that he was born blind?" Well, if he was born blind and if he sinned, it meant that he had to sin some time before he was born. At this time in the history of the Jews, the rabbis had also adopted from Plato the idea that people preexisted as spirits and were waiting for bodies. And some of them were good spirits and some of them were bad spirits. But men preexisted as spirits waiting for bodies. The teaching of Plato which, of course, is also the teaching of the Mormons, that we all preexisted as spirits in the heavenly king . . . bodies were given to us that we might go through this trial period on the earth to find out whether or not we will discover the truth of Mormonism, and thus, could be elevated to godhood in the next world and have our own little planet and our own little system and go on as gods. But the preexistence as spirits receiving our bodies for our testing upon the earth. So the question, "Who did sin, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" Is this God's judgment upon his parents for some sin they did? It is interesting to me that quite often we have that kind of a thought of a direct retribution from God when calamity comes to us. God is punishing me for something that I have done, or something that I did. And thus, this hardship or this difficulty or this painful experience is coming to me as God's judgment upon me because of some wrongdoing. If that were so, I wouldn't be here tonight. You see, if God brought that kind of a direct cause/effect judgment upon people, then God would have to be fair in His justice system. And thus, every person who did the same kind of a deed would have to receive the same kind of a judgment for it. There is not that cause and effect type of judgment at the present time, there will be and God will be just when He judges. Because it will be completely equal judgment. But right now God is seeking to draw men to Himself. And Jesus said, "I didn't come to condemn the world, but that the world through Me might be saved" . And so their question reflected the constant attitude that people have had. That attitude that was expressed by the men who came to comfort Job in his affliction. "You must have done something horrible, man. Just confess to God and get it over with. Why are you going on in your misery? Don't try and tell us you're innocent. No one would suffer like this unless he were an evil person." And yet, the whole story of Job, seeing the whole picture as we have that opportunity in the Bible, we understand that it was not God's judgment upon Job for some sin that he had done. Satan was afflicting him in order to prove to God that Job would fail. Who did sin? Jesus answered, Neither this man, nor his parents : Now, I believe at this point the translators made a mistake in punctuation. And I think instead of a colon here they should have put a period. I think that Jesus answered their question, period. "Neither of them." That's the answer. And I think then He goes on in making a statement that is not really related to the question. The question is, "Who did sin, the man or the parents that he was born blind?" Jesus said, "Neither the man nor his parents." But that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night is coming when no man can work . Jesus passed off the question saying, "Neither of them, but I must do the work of My Father and in order that I might do the work of the Father that sent Me." He went ahead and healed the man, to do the works of the Father, but His answer to the question was neither. Now, I do not believe that it is proper to interpret this that God allowed this man this period of blindness just in order that Christ might do a work in him. In other words, that it was all preset by God in that sense that he was born blind in order that God might do a work of healing him. I think that is the wrong interpretation and that interpretation comes by the colon instead of a period. In the Greek text there are no punctuation marks. This the translators did in order to try to give us an understanding. And at this point, I would prefer to put a period after Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents" period. And then bringing in a new idea, "But that the works of God should be made manifest in him, I must work the works of the Father." "In order that God's works might be manifested, I've gotta do the work of the Father for as long as I am in this world, you know, the night is coming, but while I'm here, I'm the light." While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And when he have thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay . Now, why do you suppose Jesus did that? I'm asking a question, I don't know the answer. Why did Jesus do the things? I don't know, but it's interesting to me because I know that Jesus could have just spoken the word. Because He did speak the word to other blind men, to Bartimaeus down at Jericho. He said, "What would you like?" He said, "Lord, that I might receive my sight." Jesus said, "Go thy way." And his eyes were opened and he could see. Another blind man Jesus touched his eyes. And then He said, "Now can you see?" And he says, "A little bit, men look like trees walking around, you know it's very fuzzy." Jesus touched his eyes again, and when he opened them he could see clearly. Now Jesus, rather than just speaking, or rather than laying His hands on his eyes, does something quite interesting. Maybe He is trying to create further controversy with the religious leaders who were on His case for violating the Sabbath day by healing the lame man at the pool of Bethesda months earlier. Because you see, it was against their law, traditional interpretation of it, to make clay on the Sabbath day. That was against the law. In fact, you could not wear shoes on the Sabbath day were the soles were fastened with nails, because that constituted bearing a burden if the soles were fastened with nails, that's a little bit too heavy. And they had all of these weird interpretations of the law, and to make clay on the Sabbath day was against their law. So His spitting in the ground and stirring it with His finger and making clay out of it was a definite violation of their Sabbath day law. And when He made this clay, He rubbed it in the guy's eyes. And he said, Now, go down to the pool of Siloam, and wash your eyes out . And so the fellow made his way down to the pool of Siloam, stuck his head in and washed his eyes out. And when he had washed his eyes out he could see. And his neighbors, and those which before had seen him begging, said, Is not this the blind man who sat there and begged all these years? And some of them said, Yes, it is: and others said, It sure looks like him: And he said, I'm me . Is this the fellow that was blind that was begging? Sure looks like him. Yea, it's me. They said, How is it that you can now see? And he answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight . Now notice the progressive revelation of Jesus is to this man. At this point, he just knows Him as a man who is called Jesus. "How is it that you can see?" "Well, a man who is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said unto me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' And I went and washed and I received my sight." A man who is named Jesus. Then they said unto to him, Where is He? And he said, I don't know. And so they brought the man to the Pharisees. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes . Actually it violated two Sabbath laws. It was not lawful to heal on the Sabbath day. You could do nothing towards the healing. If you sprang your ankle, you could not run cold water on it because the cold water had a healing effect, so you just had to suffer with the pain until the Sabbath day was over and then you could start running cold water on it. But then it was too late, the swelling had already begun. But you could do nothing towards healing, you could save a life, do whatever you have to to save the life, but nothing towards curing on the Sabbath day. So there's two counts against Him: He made clay and He healed him. And again the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. And he said unto them, He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I can see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he doesn't keep the sabbath day. And others said, Well how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them . They were arguing among themselves. And they said unto the blind man again, What do you say of him, the one that opened your eyes? And he said, He is a prophet . So, he began his, "A man who is named Jesus." Now he is declaring, "He is a prophet." And the Jews did not believe him, that he had been blind, until they called his parents. And they asked his parents, saying, Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? We really don't believe that. How is it that he can see if he was born blind? How is it that he can see? And the parents answered and said, We know that this is our son, we know that he was born blind: but how it is that he can see, we don't know; why don't you ask him, he's of age : Now they were fearful because the rulers had already determined that if anybody had confessed that Jesus was the Messiah they would...gonna be thrown out of the synagogue, and they didn't want to be kicked out of church. And so they were afraid to answer them, and that's why they said, "He's of age, why don't you ask him?" So again they called the man that was blind, and they said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. And he answered and said, Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know: but one thing I do know, whereas I was blind, now I could see. And they said unto him again, What did he do to you? now how did he open your eyes? And he said, I told you already, and you didn't listen to me: why do you want to hear it again? do you want to be one of his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke unto Moses: but as for this fellow; we don't even know from whence he's coming. And the man answered and said unto them, Why here's a marvelous thing, that you don't know from whence he is, and yet he has opened my eyes. Now we know that God hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and does his will, him he hears . Now, a lot of people have taken this particular verse as doctrine and as Bible doctrine. We know that God does not hear sinners. This verse in and of itself cannot be used as a basis for a Biblical doctrine that God doesn't hear the sinner's prayers. Because this is only part of a conversation between a blind man, who at this point who isn't even saved, and the Pharisees. And he is expressing just a common belief among the people, but not necessarily a Biblical doctrine and yet, many people have taken this and you hear often people say, "Well, God doesn't hear sinners when they pray." That is not necessarily so. And the scriptures surely does not confirm that as Biblical truth. Because this is only the statement of the blind man to the Pharisees in response to their interrogations. Does God hear sinners when they pray? How did you get saved? You see, if God didn't hear sinners when they pray, none of us would be saved. God does hear sinners, and that's part of the grace and the mercy of God. However, if I, as a child of God, am regarding inequity in my heart when I pray, then the Lord doesn't hear me, that's what David said. Isaiah said, chapter 59 that, "God's hand is not short that He cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that He cannot not hear, but your sins have separated you from God." And sin can separate you from God. It can separate your communion with God. But to just say God doesn't hear sinners when they pray, is not true. God does hear sinners when they pray. Jesus said, "...and the man who was a sinner went into the temple and bowed his head and would not even so much as lift his head towards God, but just smote on his breast and said, 'Oh, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.'" And He said, "And that man went to his house justified because God heard his prayer." Now, we do read that the ear of the Lord is open to the righteous and He hears their cries. But God, His ears open also to the sinners when he is calling out to God for mercy and for help. God is a gracious God. Since the world began [he said,] was it not heard that if any man open the eyes of one that was born blind . You know, if a man can open up the eyes of a blind man, this is something quite unique. If this man was not of God, he could do nothing. And they answered and said unto him, Thou was altogether born in sins, and then you're trying to teach us? Now they made the assumption that Jesus said was not true, that the blindness was the result of this man's sin. "You were born in sins." But Jesus said "No, no." That when the disciples asked, "Who did sin, this man was born blind?" Yet they made that assumption because of his blindness from birth. And they cast him out . He got kicked out of the synagogue. So Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Do you believe on the Son of God? And he said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, You have both seen him, and it is he who is talking to you . This takes us back to chapter 4, when Jesus was talking with a woman at the well in Samaria. And she said, "I know that when the Messiah comes He's gonna teach us all things." And Jesus said, "I who speak unto thee am He." "You believe in the Son of God?" "Who is He, Lord, that I believe Him?" "You've both seen Him and He's talking to you now." He said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Jesus . So we see this interesting case of a man who was put out by organized religion. They put him outside the fold. They cast him out, but Jesus found him and took him in. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and they said to Jesus, Are we blind also? And Jesus said unto them, If you were blind, then you would have no sin: but now you say, You can see, therefore your sin remains . There is a saying, "There are none so blind as those who will not see." That was the condition of the Pharisees. They said they could see, they claim to have superior understanding of the scriptures, and yet, they refused to see. None so blind as those who will not see. Jesus said, "If you were really blind then you can be forgiven, but because you say you see, you're in big trouble." A man will be held responsible for that knowledge that he has. They had the knowledge, they saw the light, they would not walk in that light. " Chapter 10 So chapter 10, it would seem to be as just a continuation of this whole movement here of the blind man receiving his sight, being put out by the organized religious system, being taken in by Jesus Christ. And so Jesus said, Verily, verily I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber . Now later on He said, "I am the door." If a man tries to come by any other system, by any other way, he's a thief and a robber. Jesus said, "I'm the way, I'm the door. There's one way into the sheepfold, that's through the door. I am the door." Try to climb over the walls or whatever, that's the action of a thief, of a robber. If you try to enter the kingdom of heaven by your good works, if you try to enter the kingdom of heaven by being religious, you'll never make it. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me." Doctor Adam Smith, who traveled extensively in the Holy Land for years, getting the insight into the culture of the people, has written a fascinating book giving biblical background and color by the understanding of the culture of these people. And he relates of talking with a shepherd one day as the shepherd was pointing out this walled enclosure. And explaining to him how that they would drive the sheep into that enclosure at night or lead them into the enclosure, and there in the enclosure the sheep would be safe. And Doctor Smith said to him, "Well, you don't have any door, how do you keep the sheep from going out?" And he said, "I am the door." He said, "Once I have all of the sheep in, I lie across the opening here, and this is where I sleep. And no sheep can get out or no wolf can get in except to cross over me." Now he wasn't coming from any kind of a biblical thing, in fact, he probably didn't even know the scriptures. But just, "I'm the door, I'm the one, you've got to come over me to get in, and you've got to come over me to get out." Now Jesus is talking about this kind of a sheepfold that they have over there. The walled-in enclosures, where the sheep were driven in at night. And He said, He that enter in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. And to him the portal openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and he leads them out . So in the evening, when they would drive them into these enclosures for safety, in the morning when they were ready to leave there would be several herds driven into these enclosures. And during the night they would mingle, but in the morning when the shepherd was ready to lead them out to the fields for pasture, he would go to the door and he would call, and his sheep knew his voice. They would come out of the herd and follow him. And you can try to mimic that call, but the sheep would never follow you. They know the voice of the shepherd, they respond to him. And so he said, "The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." And so it's a very colorful picture that was very familiar to those people in that culture, unfamiliar to us in our culture. But the idea is, is that the shepherd knew his sheep, for there were sheep that were his and there were sheep that were not his. And in carrying that over into the spiritual allegory tonight, the world is comprised of two kinds of people: those that are His sheep, and those who are not His sheep. Two classes in the world today. You're His or you're not His. He knows His sheep. He calls them by name. Now, to me every sheep looks alike, basically. I mean, I can't tell the difference between sheep. I've watched them flock a sheep on the hillside, to me they all look alike. But you go up to the shepherd that's watching those sheep and you'll say, "Hey, there's one of your sheep that's straying away." And he'll call it by name. "Oh, I have trouble with that Joe you know." He's a miserable sheep, you know, I . . . you'll call him, "Joe, get back here!" Maybe you'll let out a whistle and his dog will go out and start yipping and drive him back into the herd. He knows his sheep, he calls him by name. So the Lord the knows you if you're one of His sheep, He calls you by name, knows your characteristics. And they know his voice. Now when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and his sheep follow him: for they know his voice . So He calls His own sheep, they hear His voice and they follow Him. Though all of the sheep hear the voice, only His sheep respond. A week from Thursday night we will be dealing in Romans, chapter 8, with that interesting passage, "for whom He did foreknow He did also predestinate that they should be conformed to the image of His Son." And we're gonna be talking about predestination and those whom He foreknew He also chose, and those He chose He called. And He calls, and though all hear His call only His sheep respond. And how do you know you're His sheep or not? By whether or not you've responded to His call. And if you had responded to His call you are His sheep. If you haven't responded to His call, then you're not His sheep. Just that simple, and yet, it isn't so simple when you start getting into it. "My sheep, they hear My voice and they follow Me." A stranger [He said] they will not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. And this parable spake Jesus unto them: but they did not understand the things of which he was speaking unto them . And so He began to explain it. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them . Now He's not referring to Moses and Elijah and the prophets when He said, "All that came before Me are thieves and robbers." But He is referring to the decadent religious system that Judaism had degraded into. Trying to make another way to God. Trying to bring men to God through works, through the foolishness of the Pharisees and their endeavor to keep the traditional aspects of the law. "But the sheep did not hear them." I am the door: by me if any man will enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture . "I'm the door." Jesus said. "You've got to come...you've got to enter by Me. The religious system of Judaism isn't going to make it for you, you've got to enter by Me." Now the thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy : And that's exactly what false religious systems will do for you. They will steal from you. They will rob you and ultimately they'll destroy you. But Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly . What a contrast to the religious systems and to Christianity. Unfortunately, Christianity is often ranked as one of the religions of the world. Christianity is far from a religious system as I study and analyze religious systems and make a comparison to Christianity. The basic difference lies in that religions are all man's endeavors to reach God. And so if I were to draw a cartoon to represent religion, I would draw a circle, the earth, and because of my artistic ability, I'd put a little stick man on the circle with hands lifted up trying to reach God. Man's starting at its earth base. I'd put him on his tiptoes trying to reach heaven, trying to reach infinity, trying to reach God. The religious systems are man trying to build a bridge to God. But no matter how tall he may stretch you cannot bridge from the finite to the infinite. It's an impossibility. If I were to draw a picture of Christianity, I would have the round circle, the earth, and hands coming out of heaven towards that little man on earth. For Christianity is God's endeavor to reach man. When Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau, and he came to Bethel, and he found a rock, he used it for his pillow, and because of his exhaustion went to sleep. As he was sleeping he had a dream, and in his dream he saw a ladder and it was planted on earth and it went up to heaven and the Lord was standing at the top of the ladder. And the angels of God were ascending and descending on this ladder from heaven to earth. And when he awoke in the morning he was filled with this sense of awe, and he said, "Truly the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. Last night when I arrived here frightened, tired, weary, sore I had no consciousness of the presence of God. A barren, rocky, desolate place, I knew it not, but I know it now. Truly the Lord is in this place and I knew it not" . Notice the tenses. The Lord is here. I didn't know it last night, I sure know it now. That ladder between earth and heaven. Now religion tries to build that ladder from the earth to reach up to heaven. The finite trying to reach the infinite, but with Christianity the infinite has reached the finite. Now, I can accept that the infinite can reach down and touch the finite, that's no problem for the infinite God. And so with Christianity I have no problem and all, with religion I have tremendous problems because you have the finite trying to reach the infinite. How can it happen? It can't. Now Jesus, interestingly enough, declared to His disciples when He was first calling them, He said, "You gonna marvel at this, just because I said I saw you in the fig tree? Hey, stick around, you're gonna see a lot more than this man. From now on, you're gonna see the heavens open and the angels of heaven ascending and descending on the Son of Man" . What is He saying? "I am Jacob's ladder. I am the access to God. You're gonna see heaven open for man, for God is reaching down, God is building the ladder, and I am the ladder that God has made where by man might come to God." So the vast difference between Christianity and religion, the religious system will rob a man. They'll destroy a man, for as Christianity will bring a man life, and that more abundantly. The religious systems all have their little formulas, the works that you must do in order that you might be accepted by God. And they have all of these little work trips that you've got to accomplish in order that you might be accepted by God. Christianity says there's not a single work that you can do that God would accepted, they're like filthy rags in His sight. To be accepted by God, you must believe. Not by works of righteousness which we have done but by faith will God accept a man. Religions say you have to be good enough and worthy enough for God to accept you, Christianity say there's no way you can be good enough or worthy enough that God will accept you. The only way God can accept you is in His Son. So he that has the Son has life and he who has not the Son has not life. So we see the contrast between the religions which Jesus said were thieves and robbers. Trying to bring man into the sheepfold by another way and the door whereby a man may enter into the sheepfold. One system is based upon works, the other system based upon faith. Now Jesus said, "I've come that they might have life and they might have it more abundantly." How Satan has lied to men about the Christian experience. You see, it was Satan's ploy to make Christianity a religion. And unfortunately, he was quite successful. And so, in many places Christianity became a religion and whenever that transition was accomplished, it died. True Christianity died. And it became a form. And even in the biblical times, Paul spoke of those who had a form of godliness but no power, no life. The religious systems points and says, "Now that's the way you ought to live if you want God to accept you." But it gives you no assistance to live that way. Jesus points and says, "Now this is the way and you can't do it, but as you believe in Me, I'm gonna come and I'm gonna indwell you. I'm gonna take over, and I'm gonna make you a new person, and I'm gonna give you the power to do what you can't do. Because I want you to have this abundant life of fellowship with the Father." And He does for us what we can't do for ourselves, by the indwelling. You see, no religious system gives you the power to abide by its concepts. Only Christianity is the infusion of God's power to live the life that God would have you to live, that more abundant life in Christ. Jesus then went on to say, I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees; and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep . So Jesus points out the contrast between the shepherd, the true shepherd, and the hireling. A young minister came to me, for he had been invited by a church to be its pastor. And he went to the church and preached a sermon, that the people enjoyed, and he met the board. And the board laid down for him his salary, his duties, and also the restrictions that they sought to put upon him. They gave him quite a list of what he could do and what he couldn't do. And he came to me because he was wondering whether or not he should accept the invitation to become their pastor. And I encouraged him not to accept it. I said, "They're really not looking for a shepherd, they're looking for a hireling. They're gonna hire you to be their minister. To say the things they want to hear. To do the things they want done, but they're not really looking for a shepherd, they're looking for a hireling, and I wouldn't be a hireling for anybody. My services are not for sale." The hireling really doesn't care for the sheep, the shepherd does. The shepherd knows the sheep, he loves the sheep, he would give his life for the sheep. The hireling, danger comes, he'll run, because he's only a hireling. What more do you expect? But the shepherd will hazard his life; he'll lay down his life if necessary for his flock because he loves them. Jesus said, "I'm the Good Shepherd. The other religious system, they're hirelings, they'll run, they'll leave you to the wolves who will rip and scatter the flock, but I'm the Good Shepherd, I'll lay down my life for the flock." The hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and doesn't really care for the sheep . Now, unfortunately, today there are many men in the ministry who are hirelings, they're professionals. They really don't care for the sheep because they're hirelings. And their only concern is to fleece the flock of God, and there's a bunch of guys out there seeking to fleece the flock of God. They sit up nights figuring new ways to extract money out of people. "Now, if we write this in a letter, and . . . " You know, they spend, well, they spend thousands of dollars having professionals write these letters with the gimmicks. All designed to fleece the flock of God. They're hirelings, they really don't care for the flock of God. Though in the letters it often says, "Oh, I've been thinking about you today, Charles. Is everything alright? The Lord brought you to my mind when I was in prayer this morning and how I would love to come to your house there in Costa Mesa and sit down and talk with you, but I know you're so busy, you probably wouldn't have time for me to come. But why don't you write to me your request and please enclose an offering, because our ministry is facing, you know, ahhhhhhh..." Hirelings, fleecing the flock of God. The shepherd's concern is to feed the flock of God. Bring them in to good pasture, food that they might grow. Jesus said to Peter, "Feed My sheep." Peter wrote, "Feed the flock of God which is among you." And the shepherds seeks to feed the flock, they might be strong and healthy. God has blessed us abundantly in many ways. God has blessed investments that we have made and has prospered us far beyond anything we'd ever dreamed. And because of God's blessings, I thank the Lord that I'm able to return over half of my salary to the church each year. My son said to me, "Dad, why do you keep preaching, why do keep going on, man? You could retire, cause you give most of your salary back anyhow, why don't you just retire, Dad, and take it easy, you know. Why are you, you know, you're still pushing so hard when you don't have to anymore?" And I just smile and said, "What would I do? You know it's my heart. It's my love. It's my life, feeding the flock of God. I love it." You don't really realize this, but you could cut off my salary and I'd still be here, because I love it. It's just to me a glorious thing to see God work and to have this privilege. It's wonderful when people call for me to come and speak in various areas. And they say, "What honorarium do you charge?" And it's the thrill to be able to say, "Well, I have a very wealthy Father, and He has underwritten all of my expenses, I don't charge anything, He covers for me." Oh, how glorious it is to have received freely so that we can give freely. I thank God for the position that He has put me in. That as Paul, I'm really chargeable to no man, I'm responsible to God. To be His servant, to do His work. Not a hireling, you can't hire me. But I want to be His undershepherd, feeding His sheep. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known of mine . That beautiful relationship that we have with Him. He knows me, I know Him. He loves me, I love Him. And I have this beautiful relationship with the Good Shepherd. And as the Father knows me, even so I know the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep . Now He said earlier that He gives His life for the sheep, now He says, "I lay down My life for the sheep, And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold : And, of course, He's talking about the Gentiles. Those who would believe in...He's talking about you. You're a part of the other sheep that were not of that fold. them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd . And so in Christ there is neither Jew, nor Greek, Barbarian, cythian, bond or free, we're all one together in Him. There's neither status, rank, whatever, we're just all common, one in Jesus Christ. Long hairs, short hairs, coat, ties, doesn't matter. We're one in Jesus Christ, that common denominator who has broken down every barrier that man has built up to divide himself from others. One of the sad byproducts of existential philosophy is the way it divides man and isolates man into an island all by himself. There is no universal base of truth according to these philosophers. It is only as you personally experience it and interpret it that it becomes truth to you. But it is only truth to you and not necessarily to the one next to you, you're isolated, you're alone. And so you look at modern art, which is an expression of existential philosophy. And you see these colors, just like someone stood back at ten paces, picked up a ball of red paint and threw it at the canvas, and you get this splattering effect, and then you picked up a blue ball and threw it and then he puts a title underneath, "Sunset under the Grand Canyon." And you look at that thing and you study it and someone standing next to you and they say, "Oh, isn't that beautiful, isn't that glorious?" And you think, "Man, what are they seeing?" You know and the critics acclaim that as marvelous art. "There's an eye here, there's a toe down here, and a hand out over here," and "Oh, classic art." But for the life of me I can't see it, but that's the whole idea. You have to interpret it. In these stories where it really leaves the end of the story hanging, the guy is walking down the road and you don't know if he's gonna pull out his forty-five and blow his brains out and that's the end. Or you don't know if he's gonna be reconciled to his wife and live happily ever after. They leave you hanging. You've got to put the end on yourself, because that's an expression of existential philosophy. Every man must interpret it for himself. So you've got to put your own interpretation on the story. What did it really say? What did it mean? Man, I don't know, I think that it's really oftentimes an excuse for the senility of the writers; they don't know what they're trying to say either! But it appears very profound because nobody could understand it, you know, and so everybody acclaims it, "Oh, marvelous, nobody can understand it, that's glorious." But what it does is isolates us. Puts me on this little island all by myself, I'm alone in a great big world. And no one really shares my same feelings, no one really shares my same thoughts, and I feel this horrible isolation. Man has a way of building up walls between himself and others, but Jesus has the way of breaking down those walls. And He brings us all together and He makes us one and He declares, "I am the truth." And He gives us a universal base for truth, He is that universal base for truth. So together in Him, we are brought together. The walls are down and so as Paul said, "He has broken down that wall of partition that used to exist between us and has made us all one." "Other sheep have I, who are not of this fold, I've got to go out and call them too that there might be one fold and one shepherd." Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again . So here He is prophesying both His death and resurrection, which at this point are about five months away. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father . Jesus testified, "I have the power to lay My life down." He demonstrated it on the cross. "No man takes My life from Me." They did not kill Jesus on the cross, they hung Him on the cross, but He dismissed His Spirit. He robbed them of the opportunity of killing Him. They couldn't have killed Him. He dismissed His Spirit. He said, "Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit," and it says, "and He dismissed His Spirit." He gave His life, "No man taketh My life, I give My life. I have the power to lay My life down, I have the power to take it up." He proved He had the power to lay it down, and then three days later He proved that He had the power to take it up, and He rose from the dead. And we'll be celebrating that. The tomb is empty, He has power to take it up again. Now there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. Many of them said, He has a devil, he's mad; why are you even listening to him? And others said, These are not the words of [a mad man or] a man that has a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And so there came at this point a very sharp division among the people. Now time lapse. And between verse John 10:21-22 there is time lapse from October to December. The things in verse John 10:21 were taking place during the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem in October. Now John tell us, And it was at Jerusalem the feast of dedication , Also known as the Feast of Lights, which took place on the twenty-fifth of December. This Feast of Dedication was their celebration of the cleansing of the temple by Judas Maccabeus after it has been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian leader or leader of Syria, he was a Greek. And this was the celebration of that cleansing again of the temple by this brave warrior. And Jesus was again in Jerusalem and it was winter, December. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. And the Jews gathered around him, and they said unto him, How long do you leave us in doubt? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered them, and said, I have already told you, but you did not believe : He had already told them, "before Abraham was, I am." And so He said, "I've already told you." They wanted Him to say plainly, "I am the Messiah." And He would not give them that satisfaction. Earlier Jesus said to His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" And Peter said, "Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said, "Blessed art thou Simon, flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you, but My Father which is in heaven." He acknowledged it before the disciples. To the woman of Samaria who said, "I know that when the Messiah comes, He's going to teach us all things." He said, "Woman, I who am speaking to you am He." But yet, He had not plainly said it to the Jews and they were wanting this plain declaration. "How long do You leave us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly." And Jesus answered them and said, "I've told you. And you believe not." now the works that I do in My Father's name, they are bearing witness of me . The opening the of eyes of the blind, the healing of the man that was lame for thirty-eight years, these miracles that He was accomplishing. Said I..."You don't need that I tell you plainly, these works testify of who I am." And if you go back in the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Messiah, chapter 61, you'll find these things written of Him. But you do not believe me, because you are not my sheep , Interesting statement, we'll get into that when we get into predestination. as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me : Now it's three months later and He's coming right back to the last thing He was talking to them about, His sheep following Him. So those...there's been a lapse of time, Jesus brings them right back to this same subject that He was talking to them about earlier. Now, He is making some very interesting statements between...concerning His sheep, and listen carefully. "My sheep hear My voice, I know them, they follow Me." And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand . You know when I read that, it makes me so thankful that I am one of His sheep. What a glorious assurance that brings to me tonight. To be one of His sheep, to have heard His voice, to have responded, to follow Him, to have received that eternal life, realizing I will never perish and no man can pluck me out of His hand. He said, My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one . You want me to tell you plainly, how plain do you want it? "I and My Father are one." That's plain enough. They took up stones to stone him . We've got the message; it's plain enough. Jesus is here claiming what is rightfully His claim, equality with the Father. In Philippians, the second chapter, we read, "That He who was in the beginning with God and thought it not robbery or something to be grasp to be equal with God" . "I and the Father are one." Claiming the equality with God, claiming deity. They understood the claim. To them it was blasphemous, and they were ready to stone Him according to their understanding of the law for blasphemy. People say, "Well, Jesus never claimed to be God." They never read the scriptures. "I and the Father are one." How plain can you get? Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; now for which of these works are you gonna stone me? Are you gonna stone Me because I opened up the blind man's eyes? Or because I healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda? Which of My works are you gonna stone Me for? And they said, We're not stoning you for the good works; but for blasphemy; because that you, being a man, make yourself God . They understood exactly what He was saying when He said, "I and the Father are one." You being a man are making Yourself God. And Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said , "Notice in your law that I said," here He is claiming the authorship of their law, "have you not written in your law, that I said," Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father had sanctified, and sent into the world, You blasphemist; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I'm not doing the works of my Father, then don't believe me . Again, calling His works as a witness. Now, what does He mean "those to whom the Word of God came were called gods?" This we find quoted in Psalms 82:6 ,and you might look at it there, in fact, you might put a little note in John, Psalms 82:6 ,so that when the Mormons come to your door and try and prove that they have every right to claim an ascendancy to God and to become gods, this is the basis, because He said, "Ye are gods." And in Psalms 82:6 ,it said, "I have said, 'Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.'" Now, notice He is quoting there, "I have said." He's quoting the scripture. What scripture is He quoting? Put in Psalms 82:6 ,Exodus 22:8-9 ,and now you have your own chain reference Bible. In Exodus 22:1-31 , God is now laying down His law that the judges were to enact upon the people. And when these things would happen, this kind of a condition existed, this is how the judges were to rule in those cases. And so the Word of the Lord is coming to the judges over Israel that they might enact upon Israel the laws of God. So in verse John 10:8 , as He's talking about a situation of a thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges. To see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor's good. For all manner of trespass, whether it is for an ox, or an ass, or sheep, or raiment, or for any matter lost thing, which another challenges to be his. The cause of both party shall come before the judges and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double his neighbor. Now, you're missing your jacket, and you look all over the house and you can't find it, and you go down to the store and you see your neighbor wearing your jacket. And you say, "That's my jacket, that's been missing out of my house." "Oh, no it's not, it's my jacket I bought it at Buffums." And so you've got this dispute going. The man denies that he stole it from you. So you come before the judges, and the judges then are to make this decision. The cause of both parties brought before them. Now, the interesting thing is that the word translated judges is the Hebrew word elohim, which is the word for gods. So that the judges are as gods over the people in that they are controlling the destiny of these people as they meet out their judgment. They are acting in God's place, and so those whom He called gods were actually those judges who were enacting God's laws upon the people. It was not a doctrine that, you know, if you're a good Mormon, you and your wife can be god and have your own earth someplace. But it is just declaring that the judges were called gods because of the responsibility they had of enacting God's judgments upon the people. And so, to whom the word came, the judges, the rules came to them, they were then called gods. And so, Jesus said, "Is it not written in your law, that you're gods, I said you're gods." So He's not really referring to Psalms, but He's referring directly back to the book of Exodus, chapter 22, verses John 10:8 , and John 10:9 . While we're on the Mormons, I had a couple of young boys come to the door this past week, and desired to engage me in conversation. And I told them that somehow we didn't believe in the same God. Though they use a lot of the same terms that I use and they talk about Jesus and they talk about God, and they talk about salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and through faith in His blood that was shed for our sins. And to talk to them it seems that they believe very fundamentally much as I believe. But I said, "The problem is, when you talk about God, you're talking about a different god than the God that I believe in. Because, I do not believe that Adam is my God. He is not the god that I am worshipping and serving. Though your prophet, whom you acknowledge as a prophet, Brigham Young, did state that Adam is our god and the only god with whom we have to do." He said, "Well, you don't really understand what the prophet was trying to tell us." I said, "Well, I don't know, I've read the sermon several times and I have read all of his defenses of the sermon and the magazine articles in the Morning Star that followed." And I said, "In reality, don't you believe that you're going to be god?" And he said, "Yes." I said, "If you remain faithful to your Mormon beliefs and faithful to the church that you can ascend and you can be god and you can have your own planet and all?" "Yes, we believe that." I said, "Then in reality, what Brigham Young was saying is in perfect consistency of what you believe. You're taking it one step ahead. You say we're gonna ascend, we're going to be god, we'll have our own planet." He took it back one step and he was saying that Adam somewhere in some other world achieved this level of perfection, became god and brought one of celestial wives, Eves to the earth, and started the whole thing here on the earth. So he only took the Mormon doctrine back a step instead of forward a step. And if the forward step is a logical step, then the backward step would be a logical step. So Brigham Young was correct in his interpretation of your doctrine that you're going to be god, only taking it backward a step instead of forward a step. Because this progression must of been going on through eternity." And I said, "And you talk about believing in Jesus Christ and salvation through your faith in Him, but the Jesus you believe in, is he the brother of Lucifer?" And he said, "Yes, we believe he's the brother of Lucifer." And I said, "Well then, he's not the same Jesus that I believe in. You're talking about another Jesus Christ. I don't know the Jesus you are talking about. Because the Jesus that I believe in is not the brother of Lucifer, because that would make Lucifer a Son of God. But the Jesus that I believe in is the only begotten Son of God; He's not a created being, and Lucifer is a created being of God. And if you believe that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer, then you brought Jesus down. Jesus said, 'I and the Father are One.' So the Jesus I believe in is not a brother of Lucifer, but is one with the Father. And so we believe actually in different gods and in different Jesus.'" Poor boys were stunned. And they walked away shaking their heads and I'm praying for them. I'm praying for them very seriously. They were sweet young men. I didn't like devastating them, but I felt that it was important that they see that the Jesus they are proclaiming to believe in is actually a different Jesus than the One who is my Shepherd, whose voice I have heard and am following. Because the Jesus I believe in is one with the Father. He can say "I and the Father are one." So this business, "You are gods" is a reference to the judges who are enacting God's laws upon the people. If He called them gods unto whom the Word of God came, the scripture cannot be broken, "Say ye of him whom the Father have sanctified." Now Jesus said, first of all, "The Father has set Me apart and has sent Me into the world, and you're saying to Me that I am blaspheming because I say I'm the Son of God. And if I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me." Again, He's calling the works. These are the testimony. Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and we'll be satisfied." And He said, "Have I been so long a time with you, Philip, have you not seen Me? He that seeth Me hath seen the Father. How sayeth thou then, 'Show us the Father'? Believeth thou, that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the very works' sake." The works are testifying, no man can open the eyes of the blind, no man can do these works except God is with Him, as Nicodemus recognized in chapter 3. But if I do, though you believe not me, believe the works ; If I do not the works of My Father, don't believe me, but if I do the works of My Father, then, you don't believe Me, at least believe the works. that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him ; They were gonna arrest Him, but His hour had not yet come, and thus, He escaped out of their hand. They had Him surrounded, but he escaped out of their hand, and so now he went away again beyond Jordan unto the place where John at first was baptizing; and there he stayed . Stayed until He made His final trip back Jerusalem at the call of Mary and Martha to raise their brother Lazarus from the dead, and then to be arrested at the Passover and to be crucified. So now He's now down by the Jordan River, near the area where He began His ministry with John the Baptist. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man are true. And many believed on him there . People lived in the area who had heard John's ministry said, "There's one coming after me, mightier than I, the latch of whose shoes I'm not worthy to stoop down and unloose." They said, "Everything John said about this Man is true." And many believed on Him down there by the Jordan River. And He spent the next couple of months, actually from December, January, February, March until the month of April, He spent down there by the Jordan River before making His journey back to Jerusalem. Now in chapter 11, we get Him coming back to the area of Bethany to Lazarus and that marvelous miracle, again, "the works, if you don't believe Me, believe the works," and now He is showing works that are indisputable as He raises Lazarus from the dead, and we enter into the final aspects of the life of Christ prior to His crucifixion. So chapters 11 and 12 for next Sunday. Again, we pray that the Lord will just give you a marvelous week. May He strengthen you, may He give wisdom to you, may He bless you on your jobs and your various activities. May He open up opportunities of service and of witnessing. And may He use your life as an instrument to do His work in this needy world. May His Spirit rest upon you in a very special way, and may, as you celebrate the resurrection, you just be filled with that joy and that power of the Spirit. That same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, as He dwells within you. Making you alive unto God and to the things of God, all to the glory of Jesus our Lord. " The gospel according to John, chapter 11. Now we remember that John is carefully picking out certain incidents in the life of Jesus by which he might prove that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, bringing people to a faith in Him, as such, that through that faith they might have the life of Christ imparted to them. And he testifies there were many other things that Jesus did which he did not record, but these he recorded that you might believe. And so John is writing from a slant, trying to encourage faith. At the end of the epistle, he again declared that if all of the things were written that should be written, all of the libraries could not hold the books that should be written on the subject of Jesus Christ. So, he is carefully choosing certain events, and he has been pointing out different types of miracles that Jesus did. And in our last study, we studied the miracle of the man who was born blind. And the proof that it offered, that no man can open the eyes of the blind, except he is from God. Now, he comes to one of the most powerful proofs of the deity of Jesus Christ and of His Messiahship, as we come to the raising of Lazarus from the dead. There was a certain man who was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany , Bethany is just a little village just over the top of the Mount of Olives on the eastern slope toward the Judean wilderness away from Jerusalem. It's just adjacent there to Jerusalem. And it is called here, interestingly enough, the town of Mary Which gives us just a little insight into Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary was a special kind of a person that, when you think of Bethany, you think of Mary. She is that kind of a sociable person, so friendly, so sociable, that everybody knew her and it was just her town. It was just the town that Mary just sort of had captivated, no doubt, by her friendliness and sociability and all. It was just the town of Mary. You say, "Oh, Bethany? Yeah, that's the town of Mary." She was very devoted to Jesus, was sitting at His feet just drinking in and learning, when Martha, her sister, said, "Lord, make her come and help me. It's not fair." And Jesus said, "She's chosen the better part, Martha. You're always so busy, wanting to make sure everything is set just right, and all, and everything is just so, but Mary has really chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her" . And, of course, she was the one that anointed the feet of Jesus with the costly perfumes. So the town of Mary--very special. I'm looking forward to meeting Mary. I'm certain that she's just a special kind of a person that you'll just like knowing. Her sister Martha was also a very outstanding person, but of a different temperament than was Mary. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) So, John is identifying for us that it's Mary, because actually, in the New Testament there are probably four Mary's that are involved around the story of Jesus. Of course, his mother, and then Mary Magdalene, and then Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and then there was a Mary who was the wife of Cleopas. There at the cross there were: Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Cleopas. And so, you have at least four Mary's in the New Testament record. And so, John felt it necessary to identify that Mary. Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick . It is interesting to me that they did not make any demands that Jesus heal him. All they did was inform Him, "The one you love is sick." And they knew that Jesus would respond, respond to the need because of that relationship they had with Him. And so, they didn't feel it was necessary to tell Him how to respond or to demand the response. Just to declare, "Lord, the one you love is sick." So, when Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby . Now, there was a purpose. God had allowed this sickness in order that God might demonstrate His power through Jesus Christ in the raising of Lazarus. Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. And when he heard therefore that he was sick, he abode for two days still in the same place where he was . So John felt it was necessary to point out that Jesus really loved them. It wasn't a lack of concern, but there was a deliberate waiting of Jesus for two days. At this point, Jesus was down at the Jordan River, about twenty miles from Bethany. And in those days, you figured with travelling with a group that you make about ten miles a day. And that was just an average day's journey. So, just about every ten miles along wherever you were going you would come either to a village, or if there were no villages in that span, then they would have the inns, the enclosures where you could stay. And inasmuch as it's pretty barren between Bethany and Jericho, no villages at all, about halfway there is an inn. This is what was quite common in those times. If no villages, then the establishing of an inn, so you make your ten miles. Your goal is to get the ten miles to the end where you go into the courtyard. And an inn isn't like a hotel or a motel, either one. All it is is a walled-in area with a little house where the innkeeper stays, and there is a well, usually, in the center of the courtyard. But you could just get next to the wall and be sheltered from the wind. It was just a place to spend the night, get water. They provided no food. Just a shelter was all that it was, not even a covered shelter. And so, being at the Jordan River, He was a two-day journey from Bethany. So they sent the message to Jesus. It took two days for the messenger to get from Bethany to the Jordan River. And after He received the message, He stayed two more days at the Jordan River before He began His two-day journey back to Bethany. So, you have about six days involved here. Or, if the messenger, say, ran all the way in one day, the fact that He stayed an extra two days and then made the two-day journey, you've got between five and six days from the time that the message went out to Jesus and Jesus' arrival at Bethany. But we notice that it was a deliberate delay on the part of Jesus. And during this deliberate delay, Jesus knew exactly what was going on in Bethany. "So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed for two days at the same place there at the Jordan River." After that he said to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again . That is, into the area of Jerusalem. His disciples said unto him, Master, the last time you were there the Jews sought to stone thee ; You remember, it was when Jesus was there and they said, "Tell us plainly if You're the Messiah." And Jesus again asserted His relationship with the Father, and they took up stones to stone Him. So they said, "Hey, Lord, the last time you were there, they tried to stone You. What do You want to go back for?" So, Jesus said, Are there not twelve hours in a day? That is, twelve hours of light. And He's talking about what we call, well, the daytime, twelve hours of light. So, just the daytime. If any man walk in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him . So, it's "I've got to do My work while it is yet day" is what He is basically saying. These things he said: and after that he said unto them, Our friend Lazarus is sleeping; but if I go, I may awake him out of his sleep . Now, what happens to a child of God is different from what happens to a person who is not a child of God in what we call death. And because there is a vast difference, the Bible did not use the term death to signify the departing of a believer's soul from his body. They just called it sleep. You remember when Jesus went to heal Jarius' daughter, and when He got to the house, the people were all wailing because she had died. And Jesus said, "She's not dead, she's only sleeping." And they laughed Him to scorn, and so He put them out. Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians, said, "Now, concerning those that are asleep in Christ; I write to you that you sorrow not as those who have no hope" . And so, it was a term that was used, and yet, not an accurate term, because there are those who have taken the idea of sleep then and created a doctrine of soul sleep. Your soul is asleep until the resurrection according to the soul sleep doctrine. But the Bible does not teach that. As we pointed out this morning, the Bible teaches that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. So, in order that we might distinguish, though, the difference between a believer and a non-believer, as far as death is concerned; to the believer the term sleep was often used. And Jesus used it here of Lazarus. He said, "He is sleeping." Now, His disciples did not understand Him, and they thought sleeping like we think of sleeping. So, they said, "Well, if he's sleeping he ought to be getting better." Jesus was speaking of his death. So Jesus said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent that ye may believe ; Now, as John said, these things that he recorded were recorded in order that they might believe. And so Jesus is now again calling upon His works as a witness to His deity. "Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake" . "The works that I do," He said, "they do testify of Me." Now, "I'm glad for your sakes I wasn't there..." Because had He been there, He would have healed him from his sickness. That would have been a glorious miracle, but He wanted even a more glorious miracle. He waited until Lazarus had died. In fact, He waited until he was buried. And they usually bury the person the same day, because they really didn't practice embalming in Israel to any great extent at all. And they would bury the person the same day that they died. And so, Jesus said, "I'm glad for your sakes that I wasn't there that you might believe when you see this miracle. You might really know and believe who I am." So, "Nevertheless, let us go unto him." Now Thomas probably didn't understand completely what was going on at this point and felt he had to say something, and usually when you say something not knowing really what to say, you say something stupid. Someone said, "It's better to keep your mouth shut and let people think that you're a fool than to open it and dispel all their doubts." Thomas, which is called Didymus, said unto his fellow disciples, Let us go also, that we may die with him . Now, he probably...you remember they said, "Lord, why do you want to go back there? The last time you were there they tried to stone you." And he's probably saying, "Lord, it's fool-hardy for you to go back there. They're going to kill you." And so, he's saying, "Well, if He wants to go back, well, let's all go back and die with Him." In other words, "We're heading towards our death," in a sense. When Jesus came, he found that he had been in the grave for four days already. Now Bethany was near to Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off : A furlong is about an eighth of a mile, so it's just about two miles from Jerusalem over to Bethany. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house . Now, Bethany is up near the top of the Mount of Olives on the eastern slope, and you can see from Bethany all the way down to the Dead Sea. And you can see the road coming from Jericho for miles, as it winds on up the hill towards Jerusalem. So, as you're looking out from Bethany, you can see them coming from a long distance. And so, they saw a company of people coming and they realized it must be Jesus and the disciples. And so, Martha left the people that had gathered to mourn and she came out on the path and met Jesus before He ever got to Bethany. And then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died . Bitterness in her voice, no doubt, disappointment at least. "Lord, where were you? Why didn't you respond?" It was really sort of a rebuke of Jesus. "Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died. Why didn't you come, Lord, when we called you? Don't you realize it's been six days?" But I know, that even now, whatsoever you will ask of God, God will give it to you . Now there's a tremendous expression of faith, but I don't think that Martha was anticipating the resurrection of her brother. But yet, here is a very remarkable statement of faith, and maybe a hint, "Lord, you know, maybe--who knows? Whatsoever You ask of the Father, I know He'll give it to You." And it may be that she is suggesting at this point that He raise him from the dead. However, when they came to the tomb and He said, "Roll back the stone," they said, "Oh, he's been there for four days. He smells by now." But it could be that Martha somehow had that kind of faith, "Lord, I know that anything you ask the Father, He will give it to You." And Jesus said unto her, Your brother is going to rise again. And Martha said unto him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. And Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: and he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And he who lives and believes in me shall never die. Believest thou this? A very radical statement that Jesus would not dare to make unless He were the Son of God. This statement is so radical, no man could dare make this statement without immediately being classified as a lunatic, a madman. For someone to stand before you and say, "I'm the resurrection and the life. If you live and believe in me, you'll never die." The guy's got to be diluted, or he has to be the Son of God. And in this case, He was the Son of God. And then Jesus said, "Believest thou this?" Jesus always demanded a "yes" or a "no." You could not be neutral. He said, "He who is not for Me is against me. You're not neutral. If you don't have a positive attitude towards Me, then you're against Me." Now, when He said, "Do you believe this?" you can either answer "yes" or "no." "Yes, I believe that; no, I don't believe that." And you can't move to a middle position. There is none. I either believe it or I don't believe it. It's a radical statement that marks Him as the Son of God, or as a raving madman. And you believe it or not. If you believe it, then you have the hope of eternal life; if you don't believe it, you have no hope for eternal life. There is no other hope, there is no other way. And so Jesus challenged Martha on her faith, and she responded, Yes, Lord: I believe that thou art the Messiah, the Son of God, which was to come into the world . Now, because of this statement of Jesus, we realize that He said in the previous chapter concerning, "My sheep hear My voice," verse John 11:27 , "and I know them and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish." Now, you see how inconsistent it would be to say that someone who had eternal life died. It's a total inconsistency of terms. "Oh, he has eternal life. Yes, he died yesterday." No, if you have eternal life, you can't die. And this is the record that God has given unto us life, eternal life. This life is in the Son, and he who has the Son has life. "I'm the resurrection and the life." So then, what happens to the child of God that we say died? What has happened is that he has his spirit, which is the real me, has moved out of the tent, the temporary abode that God has made for my spirit, into the house, the building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. This tent in which I am living is only a temporary measure for me. You never think of a tent as a permanent residence. It's always transient; we're moving on. It's interesting that in the Holy Land today there are still the Bedouins, a nomadic people who live still in their tents, and they move their tents from place to place. They keep their sheep and their goats and all, and they'll let them sort of work out a pasture area and then they'll fold up their tents--the ladies will, the men don't know how to handle tents--and they will move to another place where the ladies will set the tents up again. They are nomadic people. Now, it is also interesting that the Bedouins are, some of them, beginning to settle in areas, and when they start to settle in an area, when you know that the Bedouins have decided this is where they're going to settle, they move from tents into little shacks that they make. They start to build a houses. And so, God has a new body for me. It's a body that's designed for the heavenly environment. It is a body that is my eternal abode; it is a body that cannot and will not age. It is a body that cannot know pain or suffering. It is a body that can't be incapacitated by a virus or disease or whatever. It is a body that won't get tired, and won't have a bulge in the middle. The new body, the building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now I am living in this body that is designed for the environment of the earth. God has a new body for me designed for the environmental conditions of heaven. For me to come into the heavenly scenes, I have to have a metamorphosis, the change of a body. And we think of the little caterpillars, which go through a metamorphosis. Their body is designed for the ground. They have all those little legs, and they go crawling through the fields. And as they get to the highways, they crawl across the highways. And you get into some places, there are so many caterpillars and all going across the highway, it's dangerous to drive, it gets slick. And as they are crossing those highways, the black asphalt during the fall of the year, I can imagine the little caterpillar thinking to himself, "Oh, it's rough having all these hot dirty feet, coming out of the field to the highway. Oh, I wish I could fly. This is hot! If I could only fly." But the poor little caterpillar, his body is not designed to fly. It's designed only to crawl on the ground. The aerodynamic design isn't there; it's designed for the environment of just crawling on the ground, not for the environment of flying through the air. But one day that little caterpillar crawls up the wall of your house, exudes a little glue, sticks himself under your windowsill and spins a chrysalis around himself. And if you take that chrysalis and you pop it, you'll find just juices come shooting out. But, if you let that chrysalis go, after a period of time you'll see the thing begin to wiggle a lit bit. And you want to keep watching it, because it'll begin to wiggle more and more, and then get sort of convulsive kind of jerks. Then that chrysalis will pop open and two beautiful golden black wings will emerge, and the tiger-swallow tail butterfly will sit perched on the chrysalis for just a moment, as the wings just seem to expand and then it starts flying around the yard. Pretty soon it flies over the fence, across the fields, away. No more hot dirty feet. It has had a metamorphosis. It has now a new body, designed for a new environment. It can now exist where it used to not be able to exist. Had the little caterpillar tried to fly, he had had a real problem. If he had climbed up on a tree and out on a twig and jumped and wiggled himself as fast as he can, his body isn't designed for flying. It's only going to plop on the ground. But once it is gone through the metamorphosis, now flight is very natural. We, too, the Bible says, are to be changed. We, too, will experience a metamorphosis. I look around and I see the world in which we live. I see the corruption. I see the hurt, the pain. I see the child abuse. I see the threat of the holocaust. And I say, "God, I'm so tired of hot dirty feet. I wish I could fly." And one day there's going to be a metamorphosis, for we shall be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. For this corruption must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. I'm going to get a new body; I'm not going to die. Oh, people may say, "Oh, Chuck Smith died." No, not so. I've just moved into the new body, the building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So, the metamorphosis, I have the new body now designed to exist in a whole new environment. And I dwell now, as David said, in the house of the Lord forever. So, "He who lives and believes in me," Jesus said, "shall never die. They shall not perish. I have given to them eternal life, eternal LIFE." And it is impossible that one with eternal could die, else it isn't eternal life. All it is is a change for the better, to be sure. From the tent to the house. From the temporary to the permanent. From the restricted to the unrestricted. It'll be fascinating indeed for us to discover what that new life and body will be like with Jesus. I have a brother who was a great tinker, who went to be with the Lord. I'm anxious to see him, because I'm sure he's got a lot of things figured out that other people haven't yet. He was one who pressed his body to its limits. He had no fears, and he was always pushing his body to its limits. And I'm just anxious to see what he can do in that new body of his. "The building of God not made with hands eternal in the heavens." So, the glorious hope. "Do you believe this?" Jesus said. Martha said, "Yes, Lord: I believe." And when she had said this, she went ahead, and she called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master has come, and he's asked for you. So as soon as Mary heard that, she arose quickly, and came to Jesus. Jesus was still at that place outside of the village, where Martha had met him. And the Jews which were with her in the house, who were comforting her, when they saw Mary rise up hastily and going out, they followed her, saying, Oh, she's probably going to weep at the tomb. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother would not have died . So, He's getting the accusation now from the other sister. You see, Martha said the same thing, "Lord, where were You? Why didn't You respond? If You'd only have been here, things would have been different." And He's getting it again now from Mary. And when Jesus therefore saw her weeping , He realized the grief, the pain she had gone through, and He loved her, He loved Martha, and He saw the pain. The pain of human limitations. Jesus groaned in his own spirit, and was troubled , It bothered Him to see the pain of humanity. And he said, Where have you laid him? They said, Come and see. Jesus wept . Now, there are those who suppose that Jesus wept, they say, because His friend Lazarus was dead. That's ridiculous. Why would He weep because Lazarus was dead? He knew that He was going to raise him from the dead in a few minutes. Don't you remember that Jesus said to His disciples down there at the Jordan River, "I must go to wake him out of his sleep"? And He said, "This is happened that the Son of God may be glorified, and I go that I may awake him out of his sleep." And then He said, "He's dead. I'm going to raise him from the dead." So, those commentators who say that Jesus was weeping because His friend was dead haven't really read the whole text. He was weeping when He saw the pain and the sorrow of humanity, when He saw the pain that His friends Mary and Martha were experiencing as a result of death. And He wept for their grief. Jesus is moved by our infirmities; we have such a great High Priest, who is touched by our weaknesses. He sees us in our frailties. He sees us in our griefs. And He's touched by our feelings of grief and sorrow, by our weaknesses. He's just a loving and compassionate Lord, and One who is moved by our own sorrow and grief. And so, He wept for them. It is interesting that in death, in reality we usually weep not for the person who is gone, but for those that are left. When my father and brother were killed, I didn't weep for them, I wept for me. I lost the greatest supporter any man could ever have when my dad was killed. And I'd just lost a fabulous brother when they were killed together. I experienced a tremendous loss, and I wept for me. A little upset that they were going to get there so far ahead of me and get a head start, envious for them. But I've lost so much loving support, a companion with my brother. We always had a great time together. We purchased boats together, skied together, and did everything together, and we had a great time together; though he was several years younger than me, we just had a neat bond between us. And I knew I was going to miss them, I knew I was going to miss all their input. And I wept for me. It was a selfish weeping. "That dirty guy...he's going on and leaving me here!" I was weeping, though, for me. Jesus wept not for Lazarus. You don't weep for the dead if they are in the Lord. If they're not in the Lord, then that's a different thing. "Them we sorrow as those who have no hope." Then said the Jews, Oh, look how he loved him! They misunderstood completely His weeping too. And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind , Referring to the last notable miracle there in Jerusalem, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man would not have died? And Jesus again just groaning in himself came to the grave. It was a cave, and there was a stone there upon it. And Jesus said, Take away the stone . Now Martha, you remember, said, "Lord, I know that anything you ask God, He would do." And it was Martha who said, Oh, Lord, by this time he stinks: he's been dead for four days. Jesus said unto her, Didn't I tell you, that, if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I know that you always hear me: but because of the people which stand by I'm saying it, that they may believe that you have sent me . "Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me....the works that I do I do not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me, or else believe for the works' sake," Jesus said. Now He's giving another great proof that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father, that He is one with the Father. He's offering now another great proof. "And so, I'm only saying this, Father, not for My sake, but for the sake of the people that are here; that they may believe that You have sent Me." And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come foRuth . One commentator said that had He just called "Come forth," the whole graveyard would have been resurrected. So He said, "Lazarus, come forth!" And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes; and his face was bound with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their way to the Pharisees, and told them what Jesus had done. And so, there gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and they said, What are we going to do? for this man is doing many miracles. And if we let him alone, all of the people will believe on him; and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and our nation . Now, John gives us here a little bit of the insight to the conspiracy to put Jesus to death. It was that these religious leaders were fearing their position. You know, "We won't be the big shots any more. We'll loose our jobs. And we'll loose our position. What are we going to do? We've got to do something. If we don't, our jobs are threatened." And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, You know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, that the whole nation perish not . Now, John is saying he didn't understand what he was saying fully. He was the high priest, and because of that position, he was now prophesying that one man should die for the nation--a very interesting prophecy. The high priest later offered a prophecy when Jesus was hanging on the cross. He said, "Others He saved, Himself He cannot save." Very true! If He saved himself, He couldn't save others...you can't do both in His position. Had Jesus come down off the cross, He could not save us. So he said, "Others He saved, Himself He cannot save." Very interesting statement, and yet, very true because he was a high priest speaking prophetically. Here now, speaking prophetically as the high priest, "Don't you realize it's necessary that one man die that the whole nation perish not?" Die for the people in order that the whole nation perish not. And so, John points out that he was not really saying this of himself: but being the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation; And not for the nation only, but that also that he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took council together to put him to death. Therefore Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews; but went from there unto the country near to the wilderness, unto a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with his disciples . So Jesus went back down towards the Jordan River, did not stay around Jerusalem after the raising of Lazarus. And the Jews' Passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves . Now, it was necessary to go through the purification rites in order to participate in the Passover. And you would go up to Jerusalem and you'd take a vow before the Lord and you'd go through these purification rites. You remember when Paul returned to Jerusalem, there was a feast coming that Paul was desiring to get to Jerusalem for this feast. And so, when he arrived, because he wanted to participate in the Jewish feast, he was going through the purification rites. And that's when someone from Asia spotted him and said, "Hey, isn't that the guy that's been preaching to the Gentiles everywhere?" And they raised a big ruckus over Paul when they saw him in the temple going through purification rites. And so, many of the Jews would go early in order that they might go through these purification rites, in order that they might participate then in the feast. And so, They sought for Jesus, and they were talking among themselves, as they were standing in the temple, [and they said,] Do you think he's going to come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he was, they should let them know, that they might arrest him . " Chapter 12 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead. They made him a supper; and Martha served [typical of Martha]: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very expensive, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the aroma of the ointment . Typical of Mary, worshipping; Martha, working...it takes all types. God has built into our characters these very qualities. Martha, busy serving; Mary, busy worshipping. Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, Why didn't they sell this perfume for three hundred pence, and given the money to the poor? Actually, it was very expensive. A pence was a day's wage for a laboring man. So you've got almost a year's wages involved here that this perfume could have been sold for. This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and he held the purse, and he was stealing out of the money in the purse . Now, it's unfortunate that in the betrayal of this whole scene in "Jesus Christ, Superstar" they try to make Jesus a very lavish kind of a person, living in opulence, no care for the poor. And Judas turns out the hero; he's the social reformer and the man who's concerned for the poor and all. And they don't really do justice to the text, and that, you have to assume, is deliberate. Because it's right there. Judas didn't really care for the poor, as he would be made out that marvelous man with social concern. He was a thief. He was holding the purse and had been stealing the money out of the purse. That's the only reason he wanted the perfume sold and the money put in the purse. He was not that kind of a person that they tried to portray him. Then said Jesus, Get off her case: against the day of my burying has she kept this. For the poor always you will have with you; but you will not always have me . So He made Judas leave her alone. Many of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not only for Jesus' sake, but they wanted to see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests And notice how evil men they are. they consulted how that they might put Lazarus to death also; because by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus . So they're going to try and destroy the evidence by killing Lazarus. The next day many people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches off the palm trees, and they went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that comes in the name of the Lord . And so, knowing that Jesus was going to be coming from Bethany, having to come down from the Mount of Olives, they went over to the path that comes from Bethany, down the Mount of Olives, into the Kidron valley to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was coming, they greeted Him, waving the palm branches. And so, we have Palm Sunday, the Sunday before the crucifixion. And they were crying the 118th Psalm, "Hosanna!" "Save now" is what the word means in Hebrew. "Blessed is the King of Israel that comes in the name of the Lord!" Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it was written, Fear not, daughter of Zion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him . Now, John is very honest and very frank here. He said, "You know, we didn't think about it until after He was glorified, and then we thought, 'Oh, wow, remember how we waved the palm branches and He was riding on a donkey? Isn't that what Zachariah said? "Rejoice greatly, O daughters of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh unto thee, but he is lowly, he is sitting on a donkey, the foal of an ass." Wow!'" In other words, he is saying, "We weren't trying to deliberately set the stage. We didn't say, 'Now what does the Bible say is supposed to have next? Let's work it out this way.'" It wasn't a deliberate conspiracy to set the stage. It was something they just did, and afterwards they realized, "Wow! We were fulfilling prophecy." And the realization came, but not until after Jesus was glorified. So it wasn't a deliberately staged event as far as the disciples were concerned. And the people therefore that were with him when he called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead, they bare record . They were telling everybody about it. For this cause the people also met him, for that they had heard that he had done a great miracle . I mean, it had really been buzzed, this miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. And so everybody was excited. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Hey, do you realize how we're not prevailing? the whole world is going after him. There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast : They could worship from the court of the Gentiles; they could not come in. And the same came therefore to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and they desired of him, saying, Sir, we would like to see Jesus. And Philip came and told Andrew: and Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit . What a beautiful picture! You have a little grain of wheat. You set that little grain of wheat here on the pulpit, and you can come back a year from now, and it's still one little grain of wheat sitting there on the pulpit. Come back ten years from now, still one little grain of wheat sitting there on the pulpit. But if you put that little grain of wheat into the ground, it dies. But out of the death comes a new form, a new body, comes the stalk, comes the new kernel or corn of wheat, they call it. And many wheat seeds. And the potential of one wheat seed is tremendous. I read somewhere that if you would take a kernel of corn and plant it, and then take from that one kernel of corn all of the seeds that came off the kernels that grew from the one, plant them. I think it is in ten years that you would have enough corn seed to plant every acre of ground on the face of the earth with corn. Just each year planting everything that came from the one. You see, when God created the plants and all, He said, "Be fruitful, multiply. Fill the earth." And surely, the potential is there. And so, Jesus is using a neat little illustration here, referring to His death. "Look, unless it dies, it stays by itself. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit." Talking of His death. Through His death, He was going to bring forth much fruit. You included, tonight. Part of the fruit. And he that loves his life shall lose it; but he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal . He had said earlier, "He who seeks to save his life will lose it; he who will lose his life for My sake, the same will find it or save it." Much the same, loving life. You're going to lose it anyhow. But if you are looking forward to that new life, life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour . You remember He kept saying, "My hour is not yet come, My hour is not yet come"? Now He's approaching the hour. And as He's approaching the hour, He's beginning to go through this inner turmoil. "My soul is troubled; what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'?" He's already beginning to enter into some of the agony of the garden. These are the last days; He knows it. In the garden He prayed, "Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Thy will be done." Now, even before then, He's going through that turmoil. "Father, save Me from this hour. Yet, it's for this hour that I came into the world. For this cause, that's why I'm here." Father, glorify thy name . Oh, this is just as powerful as the prayer in the garden when He said, "If it is possible, let this cup...nevertheless, not My will, Thy will be done." How glorious it is when we submit our ways to God. "God, save Me from this hour; but yet, not so, Lord, You just glorify Your name." There came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. And the people therefore that were standing around, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, No, an angel spoke to him. And Jesus said, This voice did not come for my sake, but for your sake . I don't need this kind of a spectacular demonstration to make Me believe. It wasn't for My sake that this voice came, it was for your sakes. But now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of the world be cast out . You see, they'd just been saying, "Save now," and He says, "No, it's the judgment of the world; for the prince of the world himself is going to be cast out. He is to be despised and rejected of men." And I, if I be lifted up The corn of wheat died, it will bring forth much fruit. If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." This he said, signifying what death he should die . When He said, "If I be lifted up" He was talking about, "I'm going to be lifted up on a cross. I'm going to die on the cross." And the lifting up was only signifying death on a cross. Unfortunately, many ministers and Christians take this term, "If I be lifted up" as meaning exalting Jesus. "If we just hold Jesus up before people, if we just exalt Jesus, if we just lift Him up before people, He's going to draw everyone unto Him. So, what we must be doing is exalting Jesus before the people and lifting up Jesus before the people, so that all the people will be drawn to Him." That's not what Jesus is saying! And there's even some chorus that is almost blasphemous if you think of it. And it's, "Let's lift Him higher, let's lift Him higher, that all the world might see." You know, He's only talking about death on the cross. The corn of wheat falling into the ground, that it might bring forth much fruit. And not exalting Jesus or lifting Him up before the world. Not referring to that at all, and that's an unfortunate understanding many people have taken, because they didn't read the next verse. They just take this statement of Jesus, "If I be lifted up, I'll draw all men unto Me." "Oh, well then, let's lift Jesus up." No, He's talking about the cross. If I say, "Well, let's lift Jesus up," I'm saying, "Well, let's put Jesus on the cross." So, This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, Now we've heard out of the law that the Messiah abides forever: how come you are saying that you've got to be crucified? who, then, is the Son of man? You say, "I'm going to be crucified." Wait a minute! The scriptures say that the Messiah is going to abide forever. "For unto us a child is given, unto us a Son is born, the government shall be upon His shoulders. And the name shall be called 'Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace;' and of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, the Messiah abides forever." Upon the throne of David to order it and establish it in righteousness and judgment, from henceforth, even forever. For the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall perform this. How come you say you're going to be crucified if the Messiah abides forever?' And Jesus said unto them, For a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness does not know where he's going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. And these things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them . Now the Pharisees are out to get Him for sure. But yet, He is in control of the events. The crucifixion must take place on Passover in order that He might fulfill in His sacrifice all of the symbolisms of the Passover; the blood of the lamb slain in Egypt on the doorpost, bringing life for those condemned to die. So, it was necessary that the crucifixion take place on Passover, and thus, He hid Himself. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they did not believe on him : Now, there is a common misconception that if a person could just see a miracle, surely they would believe. Not so; they saw many miracles and they did not believe. In fact, it was a little worse than that. We are told in verse John 12:38 they could not believe. That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Then there in thirty-nine, Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, that I should heal them. These things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spoke of him . So, Isaiah prophesied that he would be despised and rejected. "A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." "Therefore they could not believe." Why could they not believe? That's an interesting statement: "Therefore they could not believe." Even though they saw the miracles, they could not believe. Jesus warned in the other gospels concerning the unpardonable sin, that of the continual rejection of the Holy Spirit's conviction upon your heart. A person can reject Christ so many times that believing becomes an impossibility. There is a certain law of metaphysics. Our brains are an interesting instrument, and we can create brain patterns, so that a repeated action can create such a pattern in our brain that it's difficult and, at times, impossible to change the pattern that you've established there. You watch a woman learn to knit and the needles just seem to go everywhere and it's slow, it's tedious. But as she continues to persist, you find that what's happening is you're patterning the brain, you're establishing grooves up here. Until finally, if you've worked with the needles long enough, you see the needles just flying. And she can be talking, watching television or something, and the needles will just be flying. Because the grooves have so planted in the brain that she doesn't really have to think about it. She can just turn on the mode up there..."knit one pearl, two"...and it just goes, and the pattern is set. And so with many things that a repeated action creates the pattern in the brain, and it becomes a very simple thing. Now, that's why some of you old people have such a problem with Pac Man. You know, you're just too old to get any new grooves going. But you take this little kids--my little grandson, man is he a whiz at Pac Man! You know, he just sits there and he can . . . and I won't even put a quarter in the thing for myself, I give him the quarter and watch him do it. But I'm lousy at that game. But his, I mean, is just automatic response, that little guy's come down and the little Pac Man is going and he can just turn that little guy around and in, and his reflects are just tremendous. The brain has been patterned so well for that stuff. You watch these kids, and it becomes an automatic kind of a response that they have. I mean, they just get into the machine, almost, into the whole thing. And you can pattern your brain so that it gets established in a set. Now, unfortunately, a person can do that in regards to believing in Jesus Christ. You see, the first you were faced with the claims of Jesus Christ, and you thought, "I wonder, could this be true? Could He really be the Son of God? Can I really have eternal life by believing? Well, I don't know." And it was a tough decision. I mean, it wasn't easy to say "no" to Jesus. It was a very hard decision for you to make. But ultimately, you said, "Well, no, I don't think so, not tonight anyhow." Now, the next time you were faced with it, you see, by your saying "no" you started a groove. You planted that in your brain and it becomes a permanent part. So the next time you were faced, it was a little easier to say, "Well, I don't think so, not tonight." The groove got a little deeper. And every time you said "no," the groove became deeper and deeper and deeper, until you can be faced now with indisputable evidence, but you can't overcome that brain groove. This is the condition the Pharisees were in. Here's a man raised from the dead. Evidence they can't deny. They might try to get rid of it by killing him, but they can't deny it. But yet, they could not believe; they had gone too far. They couldn't reverse it at this point. It is extremely significant that nine-tenths of the decisions that are made for Jesus Christ are made when a person is a teenager. You see, before you get that groove set too deep. Nine-tenths of the decisions are made during the teen ages. As you get older, that old brain groove gets deeper and deeper until, actually, salvation, statistically, becomes an impossibility. But God is a God of grace, and so, we see many times these eighty or ninety-year-old people coming to Jesus. That's a miracle! Statistically, it's impossible, but God isn't bound by statistics. Mathematically, you can show the impossibility of a seventy-year-old person accepting Jesus Christ. But that happens, what can you say? God is a God of miracles. Salvation is a miracle. "But they could not believe." Now, you remember when Pharaoh hardened his heart. Then finally, God took over and He hardened his heart. God will confirm you in your position. And so, God confirmed them in their positions. They wanted to blind their eyes, they didn't want to see; alright, then God blinded their eyes. They didn't want to believe; alright, then God made firm their decision, He hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts and be converted, and that they should be healed. So, "These things said Isaiah when he saw His glory and he spoke of Him." Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess, lest they should have been put out of the synagogue : And here is a tragic verse of scripture, For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God . That has been the nemesis of many a person. What a tragedy when it is said of a person, "Well, he loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." You know, "They might not understand me at the club if I spoke out for Jesus Christ." And they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. What a sad, sad commentary on many people's lives. "I'm more concerned with what people will think of me than I am what God will think of me. I'm more interested in man patting me on the back than I am God patting me on the back. I'm more interested that men should praise me than that God should praise me." They love the praise of men more than the praise of God. That is a very sad case to be in. And Jesus cried and said, He that believes on me, believes not on me, but upon him who sent me. And he that sees me sees him that sent me . Philip said, "Lord, just show us the Father, we'll be satisfied." And Jesus said, "Philip, have I been so long a time with you, have you not seen me? He who has seen me, has seen the Father. How is it that you say, 'Show us the Father'?" We'll get that next week. "He that sees Me sees Him that sent Me," or sees the Father. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me, should not abide in darkness . Now, Paul the apostle said, "You are not the children of darkness that the day of the Lord should take you as a thief by surprise, but you're children of the light, therefore walk as children of the light" making reference to the statement of Jesus here in John, chapter 12. If any man hear my words, and believe not, I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world . How many times has He said this? "He that believeth not is condemned already. I didn't come to condemn the world, but that the world through Me might be saved." Now, He's referring again. That was at the beginning of His ministry, to Nicodemus in John, the third chapter. "God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. And he that believeth is not condemned." . "I didn't come to judge the world. If a person doesn't believe in Me, I don't judge him. I didn't come to judge, I came to save." Oh, His glorious mission. Not to bring condemnation, not to bring judgment, but to bring salvation to men. Now, He is coming again, and when He comes again, it will be to judge. But His first coming, the mission was salvation. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one who judges him: and it is the word which I have spoken, the same will judge him in the last day . When you are judged, you will be judged by the Word of God. Your not believing it, that's what is going to judge you. God has given the witness; you didn't believe it, so the Word of God will judge you. Jesus said, "I'm not going to judge you, the Word that I have spoken, that's what is going to judge you." For I have not spoken of my own; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak . So, "My words that I have spoken, they have come from God, they are going to be the things that judge you. I know that they're true; I know that God has given to me life everlasting." And that's what is going to judge you; you'll be judged by God's Word. Next week we'll go on into chapters 13 and 14. The fourteenth chapter, in my estimation, is one of the most important chapters in the Bible. Years ago when I was in seminary, I had a professor who said that the fourteenth chapter of John was perhaps one of the most important chapters in the Bible. He said, "You all memorize it." So, I went home and memorized it. And it is an outstanding chapter, and you should commit it to memory. And it's one that's just so full, so rich. We'll be getting into that next week. And now, may the hand of the Lord be upon your life, to watch over you, to guide you, and to strengthen you for the things that you'll be facing this week. May you just again be open to the things of the Spirit, that God might lead you in His way of righteousness and truth. May the blessings of the Lord be upon you through all of your activities, as you walk with Him in an ever-increasing faith, fellowship and love. In Jesus' name. " Let's turn to the thirteenth chapter of the gospel according to John. We have come into a new section of the gospel of John, which carries us through chapter 17. And chapters 13 through 17 cover a period of approximately thirty-six hours or so. Probably more like a twenty-four hour period is covered in these next five chapters. So, this is beginning the night that Jesus was betrayed. And, His prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John is offered sometime prior to the Garden of Gethsemane experience, some twenty-four hours later. So we're actually covering a short period of the life of Christ. But this is such an important period, that John devotes almost one quarter of his gospel to this twenty-four hour period. So, we realize the importance of this period of the life of Jesus Christ in the attention that John gives to it. In the overall record, he spends about one quarter right within this twenty-four hour period. And so, it is well for us to look carefully at these things that are recorded in this particular period of time, and surely we are now being exposed to the very heart of Jesus. The book of Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ, but this unveils Him to us, surely, as we get this fabulous insight into the heart of Jesus. Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world going back to the Father, having loved his own which we were in the world, he loved them unto the uttermost . He loved them unto the completion; He loved them unto the end. Telos is the Greek word, and it means unto the completion; that is, unto the completion of their redemption. He loved them to the point that He was willing then to complete their redemption, which cost Him His own life. "Loved them to the uttermost." In a couple of chapters we're going to read where Jesus said to His disciples, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man will lay down his life for his friends" . That's love to the uttermost, and that's how much He loved His own. Now, it's glorious to realize that we are numbered among His own. How much does He love you? He loves you to the uttermost; He loves you to the completion of your redemption. And so, this is just before Jesus is going to observe the Passover feast with His disciples, knowing that the hour was come. Now, you remember from the beginning of the gospel of John, we've been dealing with the subject, "My hour is not yet come, My hour is not yet come"? When they were by force going to make Him king, He hid from them for His hour was not yet come? That hour was always a reference to the hour when He would make that supreme sacrifice for your redemption. That was the hour in which He was to be glorified. Glorified by His submission to the Father by going to the cross and dying for our sins. Now the supper being ended , That is, the Passover supper itself, it's over. They've gone through, no doubt, the traditional Jewish Passover with His disciples. and the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and was going to God; he rose from the supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself . So now the Passover supper is over. Satan has entered the heart of Judas Iscariot. And Jesus, knowing that this is it, this is the last time He'll be sharing a meal with the disciples, He took a towel and He girded himself with it. A man girded with a towel was a bond slave. This was the sign of a slave, a slave of the lowest order. And Jesus took this towel and girded Himself with it. The disciples did not understand what He was doing. Why would He gird Himself with this towel? That's what a slave did. And after he poured water into a basin, he began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel. And when he came to Simon Peter: Peter said unto him, Lord, do you wash my feet? And I think the emphasis is on the pronouns. "Hey, wait a minute! You think that YOU'RE going to wash MY feet?" Peter realized how totally incongruous this was, that the Lord should be washing his feet. It's much like when John the Baptist was approached by Jesus for baptism. And John said, "Hey, no way! I should be baptized by You." And Jesus said, "Allow it to be. Go ahead, it's right that I fulfill all righteousness." So, Peter was sort of alarmed by this and Jesus answered and said unto him, What I am doing you do not know now; but you will know in a little while . "You don't understand what I'm doing right now, Peter, but just hang on a minute and you'll understand." Peter said unto him, You will never wash my feet . You know, that's just something that Peter felt was so totally inconsistent. And Jesus said to him, If I do not wash you, you really have no part with me. And Peter said unto him, Well, Lord, don't only wash my feet, but wash my hands and my head . I like Peter, he doesn't understand too much, but he's all gung-ho for it, you know, whatever's right is right, "Let's go for it, Lord." And Jesus said unto him, He that is washed needs not save to wash his feet, and he is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all . Now, the washing of the feet was a common practice in the Roman baths. After they had left the bath and returned to the dressing room, they would pick up dirt on their feet walking through. And so, they would always wash their feet when they got back to the dressing room before they got dressed and left. That would be their first act in returning to the dressing room, to remove the dirt picked up on the bottom of their feet, walking from the bath to the dressing room. They were totally clean, they had just been in the bath for maybe an hour or two, but they did pick up some dirt or defilement walking from the bath to the dressing room. So, what Jesus is in essence saying is that as we walk this path through the world, we may pick up some defilement just from the contact walking through the world. But that defilement is only surface; it isn't in the head, it isn't in the mind, it isn't in my life, it's just washing the feet. As long as your feet are washed, that's all you need. Your heart is already clean. Your mind is already set. Just get rid of that defilement. And coming to church is that kind of an experience. We've been mixing with the world all week long; we've heard the filthy language. We were sitting in a restaurant today, and there was the crudest, most foul-mouthed woman at another table. I hope she's here tonight, just so that she'll know how disgusting her language was. But she was loud! She was brash! And if you're saying those kind of words, you'd think you'd want to whisper them. I felt like, "Oh, Lord, you know, wash my ears, wash my mind. Just purge out the junk, the pollution that was coming out of her mouth." And we face it walking through the world. There is that surface defilement, and it's just good to come and just to sit back in the presence of the Lord. Jesus said, "Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." And just let the Word of God just sort of wash us, you know, and feel that cleansing of God's Word, as we just gather together in the sanctuary. And so, Jesus said, "No, it's not a matter of physical cleanliness now. I told you; you don't understand what I'm doing, Peter." Jesus said, "You are clean, but not all of you." For Jesus knew who it was that would betray him; that is why he said, You are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and he had taken his garments, and had sat down again , You see, He had set aside, in order to gird Himself with the towel and take the place of a slave, His garments. And so, now He had taken on His garments again, and He sat down. and he said unto them, Do you know what I have done unto you? Now, I'm surprised Peter didn't say, "Yes, you washed my feet." But he would have missed the whole point. Jesus said, You call me Master and Lord: and that is correct; for that is what I am . You're right in calling Me Master and Lord; I am your Master and Lord. And if I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done unto you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them . Now, because of this, some churches have practiced the ritual of washing feet. And there are some churches that have regular foot-washing services on sort of a regular basis as one of the church rituals. And I have no case against them; if they want to have foot-washing services, that's fine. It doesn't bother me. On occasion, I've had some rather strange individuals who came and who wanted to wash my feet. They used cold water; I would have appreciated it had they used warm water. But, it's something that I can handle. But I think that in having the ritual of having foot-washing services, people are really missing the whole lesson. The whole lesson is that of serving one another. Now, in those days, serving another person was demonstrated by washing their feet. Now, we don't live in the days of slavery anymore, and we don't live in the days of open sandals and dirt footpaths. So, washing a person's feet isn't a general kind of a practice at all in our culture. You might better fulfill this by going over and mowing your neighbor's lawn, or washing out his garbage pail. It's whole thrust is that I am not so great, but what I cannot serve you in your needs. And I should be willing to take the place of a servant to serve my brothers for the Lord's sake. I'm not too big to serve you. And, it's just taking that place of, "Hey, I'm not too big to do that." Now, my father came from an aristocratic family. My grandfather was the Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railway, and my father grew up in prep schools, with servants always in the home, and things of this nature. And thus, my father had certain ideas about certain things. And a Smith would never do dishes, he would never scrub a floor, he would never meddle in mechanics, he would never mow a lawn. That was beneath the Smiths to do. And that was just the way he grew up and that's the way he was acculturated. Scrubbing a floor was just beneath him. Now, my mother became a Smith, but somehow it didn't work that it was beneath her. But I mean, this was just something that was ingrained in him. There were just certain things that he would not do, because that was beneath his dignity. He always wore a suit and a tie; every meal, always had to have a white linen napkin. You know, and the rest of us were using paper towels and all, but my dad was just different. Now, Jesus, in essence, is saying, "Look, no task is beneath you. Serve one another. Take the attitude of a servant towards each other. Be willing to give yourself to serve another person's need. Don't put yourself on pedestals. Don't exalt yourself. Don't get so high and mighty that you begin to demand people to serve you. Look, I've set for you an example here. The example that I have set is for you to take the place of a servant." Now, basically, He is talking to His disciples who were to be the first ministers in the church. And as a minister, you're not to get a glorified, exalted opinion of yourself in thinking that people ought to start waiting on you, because, after all, you're the minister. They ought to bring you a cup of coffee when you come in, they ought to come over and ask if they can do something for you, you know, and make you comfortable. And after all, "I'm the minister." And unfortunately, many ministers get that kind of a mindset, that, "Because I'm the minister, I should be waited upon and taken care of." Not so. That isn't what the word minister implies at all. The word minister is the word servant. And what it means is that I am the one that should be bringing you a cup of coffee, and bringing you a chair and taking care of you, making sure that you're comfortable. And whenever I think that I'm so high and mighty that you've got to wait on me, then I need to get into some other business. When I'm not willing to serve, and to take care of someone else's needs, then I've become bigger than my Lord and then I'm in big trouble. I don't have the same attitude as my Lord, and thus, I'm not His true representative. And so, this attitude of a servant. Jesus said, "Do you see what I've done? Now, if I, being your Lord and Master, and you call Me Lord and Master, and that's right, but if I being your Lord am willing to serve you, then you ought to be serving one another. Don't set yourself up on a pinnacle, don't set yourself up where you're waiting for men to serve you. You get out and you serve the needs of the world." God help us; we need more ministers who are servants. That's the true minister of Jesus Christ. "Now if you know these things," He said, "happy are you if you do them." Not if you know them, because knowing isn't enough. James said, "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" . The joy of serving one another in the body of Jesus Christ is a great joy indeed. Now I admit that there are times when I don't find it so much joy. Some of the service that I have done, I have griped and I will frankly admit it. I always feel guilty after I gripe, but I do gripe occasionally. Mainly when I have to pick up the cigarette butts around the church. That's one task I just detest, and that's again, from the time when I was a kid my mom told me, "Never touch a cigarette." And I feel like I'm disobeying every time I pick one up. I hate to touch 'em. And so, quite often, as I'm picking up cigarette butts, I will be grumbling a bit. Until the Lord speaks to me and says, "Who are you doing that for?" And I say, "I'm doing it for You, Lord, and nobody else." And He says, "Then why are you griping?" "I don't know. I'm sorry, Lord. Forgive me." But most generally, I find it a joy to serve. For Jesus said, "Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it to me" . So, I'm serving the Lord by serving my fellow man. Whatever I do for others, I'm really doing for Him. I'm His servant, that He has commanded me to serve the body of Jesus Christ. So, in being His servant I'm only obeying His orders as I serve the body of Christ; and in serving the body of Christ, I'm really serving Him. So, you can't really separate it, it's all tied up together. I speak not to all of you: for I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. Now I am telling you before it comes, that, when it is come to pass, you might believe that I am . And He is using here that name of God in the Old Testament, "You might believe that I am." Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receives me; and he that receives me receives him that sent me . So the chain: if you receive one that the Lord has sent, you're receiving the Lord; if you're receiving him, you're receiving the Father. When Jesus had thus said this, he was troubled in his spirit , Though He knew that Judas was going to betray Him, and though He had chosen Judas, and when He chose him, knew that that was the lot of Judas...knowing that the scriptures had to be fulfilled, He chose him because the scriptures said, that, "He who ate bread with Him would lift up his heel against Him." But yet, it still troubled Jesus that Judas would do this after having been with Him. And so, "Jesus was troubled in His Spirit," and he testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked at one another, wondering who he was talking about. Now there was one of the disciples And, of course, John is talking about himself now in an abstract way, but it was John, who was leaning on Jesus' bosom, [and John said,] and he was one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved . John was, no doubt, a very loving person. It's brought out in his writings themselves. He speaks in very loving tones always, and speaks of love so much. And so, Simon Peter beckoned to him, that he should ask who it was that Jesus was referring to . You know, he'd be next to him saying, "John, go ahead and ask Him who it was Jesus was talking about." He then who was lying on Jesus' breast said unto him, Lord, who is it? And Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon . The dipping of a sop and handing it to a person in those days was equivalent to toasting a person. Now today, sometimes at functions and all, they'll give a toast to somebody. It's a gesture of friendship. And in those days, the dipping of a sop and handing it to the person was equivalent to the toasting of a person. It was a gesture of friendship. I think that Jesus, even at this point, was saying, "Judas, if you want out, you can get out. You don't have to go through with it, even though you've already been into the high priest and made a deal and have bargained with them; I would still like to be your friend." And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, What you do, do quickly. So, no man at the table knew that this is what Jesus was referring to. Some of them thought, because Judas was the treasurer, that Jesus was sending him out to buy supplies; or, maybe to give something to the poor, [inasmuch as this was Passover.] And he then, having received the sop went immediately out; and it was night. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him . "The hour is come, I'm going to be glorified." How? Strangely enough, by being crucified. Little children , And this is the only time Jesus has used this term, and it's a very tender term. John uses it in his other epistles; teknon, the little children. yet a little while and I am with you. You will seek me; and I said unto the Jews, Where I go, you cannot come; so I say it now to you . In just a little while, you're going to seek Me, but where I'm going you cannot come. And a new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another . The new commandment. The new commandment is an all-inclusive kind of commandment because you don't have to worry about, "Thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not commit adultery." You don't have to worry about all of those if you obey this commandment, "Love one another, even as I have loved you." Now, that is supreme love. That is self-sacrificing love. That is giving love. And that's the kind of love He wants us to have for each other. And by this sign will the world know that we are truly the disciples of Jesus Christ, when we have this kind of love. I do not believe that we do have this kind of love. We see it in small measures here and there, we see demonstrations of it now and then; but for the most part, we've got a long way to go. Because His love for us was supreme love. It was a self-sacrificing love. He gave Himself for us, because He loved us. And that's the kind of love we're to have, as He has loved us. John, when writing his epistle, said, "We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren." So, our love for each other is, first of all, a sign to the world by which they may know that we are His disciples. But secondly, it becomes a sign even to us. I know that I have passed from death unto life, because of this love that God has put in my heart for the family of God. May God work in us and may our hearts be open for that work that we might love more and more. Not in words, but in deed, in our deeds towards one another, and thus, in truth. Oh, God, work in our hearts. In fact, let's just open our hearts right now and just ask God to allow that Holy Spirit to work in our hearts tonight. For the fruit of the Spirit is love. And we need this kind of love, as a witness to the world around us that we are truly His disciples. I fail so much in this area. So many times I'm looking out for myself when I should be looking out for others. I'm interested in taking care of my needs, when I should be interested in taking care of the needs of others. And I need that God will just really work this love in my heart tonight. Let's just for a moment, all of us, just sort of open our hearts and ask God, by His Holy Spirit to work in us tonight this kind of love. That even as He has loved us, so may we love one another. Father, we pray now for that special work of Your Holy Spirit, planting this kind of love in our hearts. We realize, Lord, that we don't have the capacity to manufacture it. It's more than a human emotion, it is a divine God-given capacity. And Lord, we want it. We want this love. We want our lives to be marked by this kind of love. Jesus, work in us now. Let Your Holy Spirit, Father, just fill us now with Your love, that we might indeed love one another, even as You loved us. Thank You, Lord, for Your work tonight. Continue Thy work, until Your love is perfected in us. In Jesus' name. Amen. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, where are you going? And Jesus answered him, Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow me afterwards . Right now, Peter, you can't follow Me. Later on you will. Peter said unto him, Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Will you lay down your life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto you, The cock shall not crow, until you have denied me three times . In just a little while, some twenty-four hours, Jesus will be saying to Peter, "Peter, pray with Me. I really feel in need of help. Pray with Me." And when Jesus comes back to Peter, He's going to find him asleep. And He's going to say to Peter, "Oh, Peter, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And that's the case here. I believe that Peter was totally sincere when he said, "Lord, I will lay down my life for You." I believe that Peter meant that. I do not at all question Peter's love, devotion and sincerity towards his Lord. The spirit indeed was willing, but his flesh was weak. Unfortunately, I find myself often in that category, where my spirit indeed is willing to do the right thing. Now, there are times when my spirit isn't willing to do the right thing, too. But there are times when my spirit is willing to do the right thing, but my flesh is weak. When I have been hasty in saying something about someone and I know that I owe them an apology, then is when my spirit isn't willing. 'Cause I sort of feel that they deserved having said about them what I said. And the Lord begins to speak to my heart, and say, "Hey, even so, that's wrong. Now, you ought to go and ask their forgiveness." "Uuuuhhh, I don't want to, Lord." My spirit's not willing. So part of the time, that's my problem. And some of the times, as God is laying things on my heart, I have to say, "Lord, I am not willing to do that. And You're just going to have to make me willing to be willing, because I'm not willing." But then, there are other times where my spirit indeed is willing, but my old flesh cringes. It's weak. Peter was sincere. His love for the Lord was genuine. His commitment was real. And Peter really felt that he could lay down his life for Jesus. And I wouldn't be a bit surprised but what he could have. But many times, it's harder to live for Jesus than it is to die for Jesus. You know, the chips are really down when someone is pointing a gun at you, and they say, "Hey, deny the Lord, or we're going to blow your head off!" You say, "Hey, fire away. I'm willing to die for Jesus, be with Him in glory." The problem, oftentimes, is living for Jesus! And sometimes that's much harder than dying for Him. That's what Peter found out. Standing up for Him, when the crowd was against him, when these little girls came up and said, "Oh, you're one His; I saw you with Him." "What are you talking about? I don't know Him. I'm just here warming my hands by the fire." "Surely, I saw you with Him; you're one of them." "No, I don't know Him." You see, living for Jesus was the problem for Peter; dying for Him was another thing. In the garden, he was willing to pull his sword and swing away and go down swinging. But many times, the Lord is calling us not to die for Him, but to just live for Him. "Lord, I'm willing to die for You." "Peter, you're going to fail." " Chapter 14 Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled : Now, they were troubled because He had been saying these things. "I'm going to go away; where I go you cannot come." He's been talking about His death; He's been talking about His betrayal. He's been saying things that are very troubling to them. And yet, He said unto them, "Let not your heart be troubled." The cure for it is, believe in God, and believe in me . "Ye believe in God..." and that is either a question or it's a statement. "Ye believe in God, believe also in me." For in my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I'm going to prepare a place for you . The word mansions is abiding places. "In my Father's house are many abiding places. And I'm going to prepare a place for you." If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Where I go you know, and the way you know . Now, for many years I heard this scripture interpreted as beautiful mansions that God has up in heaven for us. So, when we arrive in heaven, Peter will meet us at the gate and take us through the city of heaven, down Glory Lane, and there, in this beautiful forest of blossoming trees, stands one of these beautiful colonial-type mansions, with the verandas and the porches and the stream running pass and all, and the Lord says, "There you are, check in." But, as time has passed, I've come to believe that what Jesus is referring to is not some beautiful home, English Tudor or Southern Colonial, that He has built up in heaven for me. But I believe that He is referring to the new body that I'm going to receive when I move out of this old tent. And Paul the apostle in II Corinthians, chapter 5, says, "We know that when this earthly tent, the body in which we presently live, is dissolved, that we have a building of God that is not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So then, we who are in these bodies do often groan, earnestly desiring to move out of them, not to be unembodied spirits, but that we might be clothed upon with the body which is from heaven." Now, God has a whole new body for us, far superior to the present body in which we live. The present body in which we live is compared to a tent; a temporary place to dwell, contrasted with the building of God, not made with hands, that is eternal in the heavens. The present body in which we live has marvelous features, but yet it also has features that aren't so marvelous. The present body in which we live has an aging process that takes its toll, so that we grow old. And as we grow old, the capacities of the body diminish. And we are not always able to do all of the things that we want to do or would like to do. And sometimes we foolishly get out and try to do some of those things that we used to do, and find that age has taken its toll upon the body. The body deteriorates; the body is subject to sickness, to disease, to weaknesses. Now, God has a new body for me. It's far superior to this body, in that it will not need sleep for recuperation. Thus, if I had a mansion in heaven, I wouldn't need a bedroom in it. Because the body won't need that period of recuperating its strength. You probably wouldn't need a kitchen, because the body will probably be nourished by other types of foods that the body will use completely...so I probably won't need a bathroom. So, when the Lord talks about in heaven, He's going to prepare a place for us, I believe that He's talking about that new body that He's gone to prepare for us. "The building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." And there in the kingdom of God, in that perfected state, we will dwell, live and dwell with Him forever. Now, His promise is, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." So, the Lord kept His promise to His disciples and He came and received each of them to Himself, and they are dwelling with Him now in His kingdom. He kept His word. And He'll keep His word to us. One of these days He's coming to receive us unto Himself, that where He is, there we may be also. And there's come that time in life when leaving this body to be with Him is far preferable to remaining in this body, when the Lord comes to receive us to Himself. "Now where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said unto him, Lord, we don't know where you're going; and how can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me . Now, here again is one of those radical statements of Jesus Christ. Last week He said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. He who lives and believes in Me shall never die" . Radical! Now He's making another radical statement. "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me." Here, Jesus is declaring that He is the only way by which a man may come the Father. There are those people who declare, "All roads lead to God. All religions lead men to God. All roads go to God." Not so! There's only one road that leads to the Father and that's Jesus Christ. "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father..." Now, people may try to find other gods and serve other gods, but they don't serve the true and the living God, except through Jesus Christ. "No man," He said, "comes to the Father but by Me." A couple of Mormon boys came up to the door the other day. And I said, "The problem is you talk like I talk, but you don't believe as I believe. Your words are like mine. You say that you believe in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ in His death for you." "Yes," they said, "that is true. We believe that Jesus died for our sins and we're saved by our believing in Him." I said, "Yes, but the Jesus you believe in is a different Jesus than I believe in. For the Jesus that I believe in is not the brother of Lucifer. And you believe that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer, don't you?" And they said, "Yes, we believe He's the brother of Lucifer." I said, "Then, he's a different Jesus than the one that I believe in. Because the Jesus I believe in is not the brother of Lucifer, but the only begotten Son of God. And if He were the brother of Lucifer, Lucifer being a created being, would make Him a created being and would put Him on a whole different level than that level in which God's Word declares that He is, 'who was in the beginning with God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God.' So, you say you believe in Jesus, but it's a different Jesus. You're preaching a different Jesus than what the Bible reveals. And as far as that goes, you're also preaching a different god. For the God that I believe in is not an ascended man, nor do I believe that you're going to be a god. And you believe in a god that was a man ascended, just as you are ascending to a godhood state." I said, "So, though you may use the terms, 'god' and 'Jesus,' they're a different god and Jesus than what I trust in." And so, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me." That is a radical statement! A lot of people wish that Jesus had not made that statement. We are accused as Christians as being too narrow. "You need to become more broadened in your outlook on life. Surely God would not restrict the path to Him by just one way." Well, you've got to then set aside the claim of Jesus Christ. And if you say, "He was wrong when He said this," then you're saying He is not trustworthy, His Word is not trustworthy. You see, one thing about Jesus making these radical claims, man, He forces you to a decision. Either He is the way to the Father, the only way to the Father, or there are other ways to the Father. And if there are other ways to the Father, then Jesus was not telling the truth. If He was not telling the truth, then how can you trust Him on anything else that He said? So, call me narrow, call me what you wish. Jesus made this radical claim, and you either believe it or not. If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from henceforth you know him, and have seen him. Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. And Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long a time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me has seen the Father ; What a radical statement! Jesus is getting down to the end of the road, and He's just making one radical statement after another. "He that hath seen Me . . . " Do you want to see the Father? "Look, you've been around Me for a long time. If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. For," he goes on to say, "the works that I do I don't do of Myself, but the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. That words that I speak are not My words, but the Father who sent Me. I'm here representing the Father, and if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." Now, God would appreciate it if all of us could make that statement, but I don't think that any of us can. I am to be God's representative in the world. I am here to do the works of God. I am here to speak the Word of God. But unfortunately, many times I'm doing my own works and speaking my own words. So it's impossible that I could say, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." In some situations, yes; but not in all. But with Jesus it was consistent all the way through His entire life. He was a perfect representation of the Father; in all of His works, in all of His words, in all of His deeds, He represented the Father. And so, do you want to know what God is like? You can look at Jesus Christ. For the purpose of His coming was to manifest the Father to man. "God, who in sundry times and in diverse manners spoke to our Fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His own dear Son" . God revealed Himself in times past through the prophets, but now He has revealed Himself in the perfect revelation through His own Son. And if you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. And so, what kind of a God has He revealed to us? A loving God, a compassionate God, a God who is concerned for the needs of man, a God who is weeping over the failure of man, a God who desires to redeem lost man. For He has said, "I have come to seek and to save that which was lost" . What a beautiful God He has revealed to us through all of His life and ministry. And that is the God that we know and we worship and we serve, the God revealed to us by Jesus Christ. "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." Now, in a sense, we are also God's representatives upon the earth. And even more so, we who have taken the position of teachers of God's Word. We stand here to represent God and to declare God's truth to you, but what an awesome responsibility that is. Because standing here as God's representative, God is concerned that I represent Him in truth. Now, Moses got into big trouble because he failed to represent God rightly. When they came to the wilderness area and they were out of water the second time, and the people began to murmur and complain unto Moses, and Moses went in and said, "God, I'm sick of it. I'm tired of it. I can't stand it any more! I didn't give birth to all of these people, and I'm tired of carrying their load. Here they are murmuring again. God, I'm so sick of it." And God said, "Hey, cool down, Moses. Go and out and just speak to the rock and they'll get water." But Moses went out and he was angry. And he said to the people, "Must I smite this rock again and give you water?" And he took his rod and he smote the rock in anger. And God, in His love and grace, gave water, but He said, "Moses, come here, son." He said, "Moses, you really misrepresented Me before those people. You went out in anger. You smote the rock. I told you just speak to it. And now, they are thinking that I'm angry with them, I'm upset with them. I'm not angry or upset with them, Moses. But they think I am because you were representing Me to be that way. Moses, I don't like being misrepresented." I wonder what God thinks about all these people who represent Him as being broke. Bankrupt and almost out of business! "Poor God, bail Him out quickly, friends! Get your letter in, or God's going to be in the bread lines next week, and His work is going to fail." What a poor representation of God. And so, God said, "Moses, because you failed to represent Me there at the waters of Meribah, you cannot go into the Promised Land." Hey, that's serious business. Your lifelong dream is shattered. Why? Because you failed to properly represent Me before the people at Meribah. God's representative. Oh, God, help me to always realize that awesome responsibility of being His representative. So, if ever I look like I'm ever angry with you, I'm not representing God. Because He's not angry with you. He loves you. If I look like I'm really upset and out of sorts, I'm not really representing God, because He's not upset and out of sorts. God has such great patience and compassion and love towards you. And to be His representative, we must also have great compassion and mercy towards one another. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." What marvelous words. "How do you say then, 'Show us the Father'?" Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? the words that I speak unto you I don't speak them of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he is doing the works. Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake . All the way along, Jesus was saying, "The works that I do, they bear witness of Me. I claim to be the Son of God, and the works that I am doing bear witness that My claim is true. I am doing the works of God." What were the works of God? The healing of the sick, the lifting of those that were fallen. This is God's work in a needy world. "I'm doing the work of the Father, or else believe Me for the very work's sake, for the witness they are to you." Verily, verily, I say unto you, That he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also ; We are to do those same works that Jesus did, of showing compassion and love and tenderness and concern and care. And greater than these shall he do, because I go to my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it . Now, those are two promises for prayer that are absolutely so broad that they are staggering. Jesus is saying, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." Broad, broad promises. But to whom are the promises made? He's not talking now to the multitudes. He's not standing in the temple court crying out, "Ask anything in My name, and I'll do it!" He's talking with those men who have forsaken all to follow Him. He's talking to His disciples. And what constitutes a disciple? Jesus said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" . To whom is this broad promise of prayer made? To that man who first of all has denied himself. So, his prayer isn't going to be one for his own glory, for his own wealth, for his own enrichment. Jesus isn't saying here, "Just ask for a Cadillac, and I'll give you one. Ask for a Mercedes, ask anything, I'll give it to you!" "Oh, alright," you know. And I start making out my list of all of those things that I want for me and for my flesh. No, no, no; you've got it wrong. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself." And that's the first qualification to a man who has this broad promise. Secondly, "let him take up his cross." By that, submitting himself totally to the will of the Father. "Not my will; Thy will be done." And that man who has totally submitted his life to the will of the Father, who has denied himself, who is following Jesus Christ, he has a glorious broad promise from the Lord, "Whatsoever you ask in My name, I will do it." Because whatever I am asking will be according to the will of God, because that's what I desire to see. Now, there are some people who put down the prayer, "Not my will; Thy will be done." But I think that's almost blasphemous to put down that prayer, because Jesus was the one who offered that prayer. "Lord, Your will be done." They say, "Oh, that's a lack of faith." No, it isn't. It's greater trust than anything else. It's greater trust than demanding that I have my way done in this matter of which I know so little about. I'm so stupid in the overall program and purposes of God. I see things one way today, but I see them differently tomorrow. And it would be a shame if God would answer every little whim that I had and change of mind, "Oh, no, Lord, remember yesterday? No, please, no; that was wrong, Lord. This is really what I need." These broad promises of prayer are glorious, but they are to the disciples. They are restricted. If you love me, keep my commandments . What is His commandment? That we love one another as He has loved us. In John, again, in writing his epistle, speaks about keeping His commandments. But then, he says, His commandment is that we should love one another, even as He gave His commandment. "If you love me," Jesus said, "keep My commandment." So, I show my love to Him by loving you. Yes, I love Him. And for that reason, I love you. Because that's what He has commanded. But, fortunately, it's very easy because you're so loving. Isn't that neat? And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter , "Parakletos," one to come alongside of you and help you. that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth ; So here we have the Trinity. Jesus is saying, "I'm going to pray to the Father. He's going to give you another Comforter, the Spirit of truth, that He may abide with you forever." And so, the Father, the Son and the Spirit. whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knows him; but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you . And so here we see a twofold relationship of the disciples to the Holy Spirit. Number one: He is dwelling para, with you...the same "parakletos," but this is just para, the preposition, "He's dwelling with you, alongside of you." "But He shall be in you." He's going to come on in. Now, prior to your receiving Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit was dwelling with you. It was the Holy Spirit that caused you to realize that you were a sinner and you needed help. It was the Holy Spirit that pointed out Jesus Christ as the answer to your sin problem. It was the Holy Spirit that drew you to Jesus Christ and caused you to come and say, "Oh, Lord, come into my life and take over." That was the work of the Holy Spirit with you, to bring you to that place of surrendering your life to Jesus Christ. And the moment you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit came in you and began to indwell you. "Ye know him," Jesus said, "this Spirit, because He is with you, but He is going to be in you. He's going to come and indwell in your life." Paul said, "Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you? You're not your own; you've been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body and your spirit, which are His" . So, the Holy Spirit; the twofold relationship, dwelling with me to bring me to Christ, and then, now dwelling in me now that I have received Jesus Christ. But, as we move on to the book of Acts, we find one further relationship, where Jesus, in Acts 1:8 ,said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes epi, upon you." And so, there is that empowering of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, which we will touch on when we get to the book of Acts as soon as we finish the book of John. So, here we find a twofold relationship. There is a threefold relationship, but Jesus isn't making mention of that here. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. But yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you see me: because I live, ye shall live also . Now, He's been talking about going away, "Where I'm going you cannot come." He's been talking about His death, but He's also talking about His eternal life. "I'm going to go away; the world is not going to see Me any more, but you see Me. And because I live, you shall live also." So, my hope of eternal life is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If Christ is not raised from the dead, then my hope is in vain, my preaching is in vain, and I'm a very miserable person. But because Jesus is risen from dead, Peter said, "Thank God we have a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, which fades not away, which is reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith" . So that glorious living hope that we have, "Because He lives, we too shall live." At that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you . What a glorious relationship that we have now with God! Christ is dwelling in the Father; we are dwelling in Christ; Christ is dwelling in us; the Father is dwelling in us. How beautiful it is! He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him . To whom? The one that is keeping His commandments. Judas said unto him, not Iscariot, [he's already gone,] Lord, how is it that you will manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? And Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him . Man's relationship with God must be through obedience to the Word, the commandment of Jesus Christ, demonstrated and manifested in our love. And so, if we love Him, we'll keep His words and the Father and Christ will come and make their abode. They will come and dwell with us. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, said, "that Christ might dwell in your hearts through faith." That word dwell is the same word here, abode. And it literally means, "just settle down and make himself at home in your heart." Has your heart become Christ's home? Does He feel comfortable there? Does He feel at home? Or does the art on the wall sort of bother Him? What's in your heart, you see? What kind of an imagine or pictures are there on the wall of your heart? As Jesus is relaxing in the lounge and He looks at the wall, what kind of a picture does He see, observing? When I first invited the Lord in my heart, I went in and I could see that He was very uncomfortable, and I said, "What's the matter, Lord?" And He said, "Oh, the pictures on the wall, I can't take them. You're going to have to get rid of that art!" I said, "But Lord, that's costly stuff!" He said, "Get rid of it. Can't take it." What is in your heart? Oh, that Christ might just be at home there. That my heart might be Christ's home, that He might feel perfectly at home within my heart. "He that loves me keeps my words. The Father will love him, will come and will settle down and make our home with him." And he that loves me not will not keep my sayings: but the words which you hear are really not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, [the parakletos,] which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name , Again the Trinity, "the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name," he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you . And so here's the promise of that help that the Holy Spirit would give to us by teaching us all things, and by quickening our recall, bringing to our remembrance those things that He has said. And then, the beautiful bequest of peace, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid . And so, to a frightened bunch of troubled disciples, Jesus is saying, "Look, My peace I give to you." That kind of peace that He had when the boat was sinking and He was sleeping. That peace that comes through perfect confidence that the Father is in control of everything that surrounds my life. God's in control. The peace. "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." You have heard how I said unto you, I am going away, and I am coming again. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said, I am going to the Father: the Father is greater than I . Interesting statement. Jesus said, "If you loved Me, you would rejoice. I'm going to die, I'm going to go be with the Father. Now, if you loved Me, you would rejoice." You know, isn't it interesting that when our loved ones die, we cry? If we really loved them, we would rejoice, because they have gone to be with the Lord. It's because we love ourselves that we cry. I would bring them back to this miserable old earth. I would bring them back to the decrepit old bodies. I would keep them from that glory of dwelling with God in His kingdom, in that new body, in that new glory with Him. Oh, I would keep them from that. I would bring them back to this old decrepit body and sit them there so that they can still give input to me. I've said it before, and I say it again; if the Lord should see fit to take me, and a group gathers around and says, "Oh, Lord, don't let him die, bring him back, Lord," when I get back, watch out! I'll bust ya! Jesus said, "If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I'm going to the Father." Oh, how glorious to be with the Father! You see, it's only because we don't have a true concept of what heaven is like. We think, "Oh, earth is so wonderful. Life is so glorious. He's so young, what a shame that he had to die so young." Oh, what a blessing, he doesn't have to do through all the misery of this sick world. You just have the wrong concept of heaven. You don't realize how glorious it is. And that's why Paul prayed, "that the mind of your understanding might be enlightened by the Spirit that you may know what is the hope of your calling" . If you only knew what God has in store for those that loved Him. If you only knew what a glorious inheritance there is for those saints in light, you wouldn't be praying, "Oh, God, bring them back." You'd be praying, "Lord, Your will be done." In the final days my mother was with us, and the ministers used to come and pray, "Oh, God, heal her," and all. When they'd leave, she'd smile and she'd say, "I wasn't agreeing with them in prayer. I don't want to be healed; I want to go and be with the Lord. Why don't they just let me go and be with the Lord instead of praying, 'God heal me'? So, I just wasn't agreeing with that prayer." Boy, if we only knew the glory of God's kingdom. And Jesus said, I have told you before it is come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, you might believe . He said this back in the thirteenth chapter, the nineteenth verse; and this again is one of the purposes for prophecy in the Bible to make a believer out of you. Telling things in advance before they happen, so that when they happen, you will believe. Yes, He knew what He was talking about. And so Jesus is calling upon this prophecy as a pillar for faith. "I've told you before it comes to pass, so that when it does come to pass, you might believe. Remember that I told you and you'll believe that I am in control. I know what I'm talking about. It's all happening according to plan. Things are not out of hand." Hereafter I'm not going to be able to talk much with you: for the prince of this world comes , And Jesus is soon going to go out into the garden to face the prince of this world. He's going to go out into the Garden of Gethsemane and fight against every force and power of hell. "The prince of this world comes," but he has nothing [Jesus said] in me . But there in the garden a tremendous battle was waged. And Jesus sweat, as it were, great drops of blood, falling to the ground, as there He was fighting this tremendous spiritual warfare as He was facing the cross. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let's go . And so, with His disciples He now arises and He makes His way with them towards the Garden of Gethsemane. And chapter 15 is a discourse on the way to the Garden to Gethsemane, probably as they were passing by some vineyards. And He is now teaching them of that glorious relationship that they are to have with Him, as the vine and the branches. So next week, chapters 15 and 16. And now, may the Lord plant His Word in your heart tonight. And may the Spirit bring it to your remembrance. And may He enable you this week to love as God would have you to love, even as Christ loved us. And may our lives be open and yielded to that work of God's Spirit, and may we each one be very concerned that we keep His commandment to love one another. And may God give us opportunities to show that love to each, by serving one another in love as His children. God bless you and help you as you put into practice His Word this week. In Jesus' name. " Tonight let's turn now to John's gospel chapter 15, as we follow Jesus in His last hours prior to the cross. Jesus had been at the last supper with His disciples there in the upper room somewhere in Jerusalem. The fourteenth chapter of John ends with the words, "Arise, let us go hence." So, at that point, they left the upper room. And they began their journey which would ultimately lead them to the Garden of Gethsemane. And whether or not they went through the temple courts or whatever, we don't know. The gospels do not trace the steps of Jesus. It is possible that they went on in through the temple gates, because they were left open all night during the Passover season, so that anyone who wanted to come and pray could come and pray at any time. And those gates had upon them the carved clusters of grapes, by which God declared His purpose for the nation Israel, that it be a fruitful vine and bear fruit for God. And it could be that as they were passing through the gates with these clustered grapes, the symbol of the nation, the vine, that this prompted Jesus to make this statement to His disciples found here in the fifteenth chapter of John where He said, I am the true vine , In the Greek it reads, "I am the vine, the true." And though, you say, "Well, what is the difference? It sounds the same to me," there is, I feel, a subtle difference here. "I am the vine, the true." Throughout the Old Testament God had used the vine as a symbol of the nation of Israel. Many of the prophets refer to Israel as the vine, as do the Psalms. It was the national symbol of Israel. But Isaiah the prophet, in chapter 5, speaks of the nation as a vine, and how God planted it, hedged it, put it about, put in a winepress. But when the time came to gather fruit, there was nothing but wild grapes. And so he allowed the vineyard to just go back to nature, allowed the brambles to come in and just discarded, actually, the vineyard as far as ever endeavoring or hoping to receive the fruit from it. Now, in the twenty-first chapter of Matthew's gospel, Jesus gives a parable that the Pharisees understood correctly to be addressed against them. And in this parable, He speaks of the lord who had a vineyard. And when the time came for fruit, he sent his servants that he might receive from his vineyard. But the husbandmen that he had left in charge of the vineyard beat the servants and sent them away empty. And so he sent other servants to them which they also beat, and some they stoned. And finally, he said, "I will send my only son; surely they will honor him." But when the husbandmen saw the son coming, they said, "Look, this is the son and the heir. Let's kill him and then the vineyard can be ours." So, Jesus said, "What will the lord of the vineyard do when he comes? Surely he will take the husbandmen and cast them out and give the vineyard unto others." Now, with that as a background, the vineyard, the nation Israel having failed. The religious leaders at that time were the husbandmen who were overseeing the vineyard, and when Jesus came, they said, "Look, He is a threat to us and to our positions. We'd better get rid of Him." And so they destroyed Him. What will the Lord do? He will take the vineyard and He will give it unto others. And so, Jesus is saying, I am the true vine, and my Father is now the husbandman . And in that, He is saying, "You are the ones to whom this vineyard is given," or, "You are now the vineyard, the true vineyard of God. You are the ones who are to bear fruit now for God. The nation Israel failed. In God's purposes for it, it did not bring forth the fruit that God was desiring. And so, now God is giving to you that privilege, the church, that it might become now God's vineyard and bring forth fruit unto Him. I am the vine, the true, and My Father is now the husbandman." And so, He is the one that is overseeing the vineyard directly. He no longer has it under the authority of the priesthood or of the religious leaders. He has taken away their authority and He is taking upon Himself that position of the husbandman overseeing the vineyard. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch in me that beareth fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit . So every branch that doesn't bear fruit, He takes away. There is that pruning process that goes on within the church, as the Father cuts off the unfruitful branches. But then, there is also that cultivating of those branches that are bearing fruit. He washes them. Now, in Israel many of the grapes that are grown are grown actually on the ground. As you go through the Eshcol valley and the areas around the Eshcol valley where the finest grapes are grown, you will see these huge trunks of the grapevines. And they are maybe six feet long, and you'll see them lying on the ground, propped up on one end by a rock. And so, they're just lying across the ground, only propped up by a rock on the one end. As they produce the fruit, the fruit actually is lying right there on the stony ground of the vineyard. But as the fruit is developing, as it is getting ripe, the vinedressers will go through the vineyard and they will pick up these great bunches of grapes and they will wash them and clean off the dirt and all. And they'll cleanse them in order that the fruit might ripen to perfection. And, I'll tell you, the grapes that are grown there are truly delicious grapes, table grapes, that are grown through that valley. Now, Jesus is taking a picture that is very familiar with the people, as they had seen the people out there washing the branches and washing these bunches of grapes that they might produce more fruit. If you're not bearing fruit, cut off. You are pruned. If you're bearing fruit, you're purged, that you might bring forth more fruit. And what is that which God uses to cleanse the church? His Word. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you . What tremendous cleansing power there is in the Word of God! "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, O Lord, that I might not sin against thee" . "Wherewithal shall a young man take heed of his ways? By giving heed to the Word of God" . The great cleansing power of the Word. My father-in-law, an old Swede, had in his Bible, "This book will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from this book." And it is true; there is that cleansing power of the Word. It will keep you from sin. "Now you are clean, through the Word which I have spoken unto you." Abide in me , "I am the vine, the true. Ye are the branches." And the importance of the branch abiding in the vine, and this relationship, is going to be stressed here by Jesus Christ in the next few verses. That important relationship and the necessity of abiding in Him. And He declares, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me . You cannot bring forth any worthwhile fruit unto God apart from that indwelling power of Jesus Christ. Anything that you endeavor to do for God apart from Jesus Christ is worthless. It is as wood, hay, and stubble that will burn when the day of judgment comes. The only lasting fruit is that which is produced as the result of the relationship with Jesus Christ. And here again, the idea of fruit indicates to us the method of God. The fruit that comes forth from our lives is a very natural thing; it's not forced. That apple hanging on the tree is not out there struggling and striving and pushing and doing its best to get ripe. All it has to do is just hang in there and it's going to ripen. And it's going to come to maturity. And I just need to hang in there, just to abide in Christ, and the natural result of abiding in Christ is my life is going to bring forth fruit. One of the problems in the church today is this endeavor of forced fruit. "Now, you ought to be doing this for the Lord..." And you're being pushed into all kinds of activities, not really directed by the Spirit. And this can become worthless expenditures of energy, unless God is behind it and God is guiding it and God is directing it. Unless you're abiding in Him, you cannot bear fruit of yourself. You cannot sit down and say, "Now, this is what I'm going to do for God this year. And these are the projects that I'm going to endeavor. And this is my plan by which I intend to fulfill this goal." That bearing fruit that God desires is the most natural thing that can happen to you as you abide in Christ. It's just a natural function. And so, "Abide in me. You can't bear fruit of yourself." I am the vine, ye are the branches. And he that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit ; Now this is really progression and this is growing. I start out as I receive Jesus Christ. I am grafted into the vine; I become a part of it, I begin to take nourishment from Him. And as my life begins to bring forth fruit, then His World cleanses me that I might bring forth more fruit. And as I abide in Him, then I begin to bring forth much fruit. And herein is my Father glorified; this is what my Father wants, that my life bear much fruit for Him. So, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit." for without me you can do nothing . I've got that underlined with a bold underline in my Bible. Because I have tried to do so many things on my own and failed. I wonder, "When will that truth really sink into my heart?" That I might realize that apart from Jesus, I can do nothing. It's futile for me to even try. Any service towards God not directed by the Spirit is worthless. "Apart from me, you can do nothing." Now, I have here a reference to another verse that Paul declared in Philippians 4:13 ,"For I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." So they go together. Apart from Him, I can do nothing. Through Him, I can do anything. Nothing is too hard. I can do all things through Christ, but apart from Him I can do nothing. And so, If a man abides not in me , This brings up an interesting consideration. Is it possible for a man not to abide in Jesus Christ? If it were not possible, why would Jesus even bring up then the prospect? You see, if it weren't possible for a man not to abide in Jesus, He would not have even brought up the prospect. But the fact that He brings up the prospect means that there is that possibility. "If a man abides not in me," he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gathered them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned . Cut off from the vine, withered. It was Ezekiel that tells us the worthlessness of a grape branch. It's not strong enough to make a nail out of it, and you can't use it for any woodworking project, because of its texture and makeup. A grape branch is only good for one thing, and that's to produce grapes. And if it doesn't do that, it really isn't good for anything else; it's not good firewood. It's like a punk, it just smolders and smokes, but it doesn't really burn well, and it's not good for any woodworking project. It's good for only one purpose, and that's to produce fruit. I hate to tell you this, but you're good for only one purpose, and that's to bear fruit to God. And if you don't do that, you're just as worthless as a punk. I mean, there's no value to you. So Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and if you don't, cut off your withered and then gather them together and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you . Now He brings up here the subject of prayer. And in the subject of prayer, He makes here a very broad promise. "Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." But who is He addressing this broad promise to? Those who are abiding in Him and those who have the Word of God abiding in them. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, then...under those conditions you can ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples . And so, God called the nation of Israel to bring forth fruit; they failed. Now God is giving out the vineyard to others. The church becomes the instrument of God to bear God's fruit in the world today. "And if God spared not the natural branches, but cut them off, take heed, lest He not spare us" . If we fail in the purposes of God to bring forth fruit, then God will raise up others to bring forth fruit unto Him. I believe that I am eternally secure, as long as I abide in Jesus Christ. No power can wrest me from his hand. I have no doubts or qualms at all about my eternal security and my salvation. I don't worry about, "Oh, is God going to save me or not, or will I make it in the last day?" I know I will. Because I have no intention of ever doing anything but abiding in Jesus Christ, and as long as I abide in Him, I am eternally secure. You say, "But what if you don't abide in Him?" That's your problem, not mine. You see, that doesn't even enter my mind. I'm like Peter, "Lord, where can we go? You have the words of life." These people get all hung up on eternal security and all. That's too bad, because I am eternally secure as long as I abide in Him. And I have no intention of doing anything else. Jesus said, As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love . Now He's beginning to talk about the fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. This is what God is seeking from His church: love--the expressions of love. He wants verbal expressions, but He also desires deeds that express. Just like our wives want the verbal assurance, but then also, they want the deeds. The verbal assurance doesn't mean much unless there are deeds, and the deeds don't mean much unless there are words. Somehow they want it verbalized. And she says to me sometimes, "Honey, do you love me?" And I say, "Of course I love you. Don't I bring the food home for dinner? Don't I provide for the house? Sure I love you." Well, she just needs verbal assurance. And God wants that verbal expression of our love, and God wants us to love and to show our love by our deeds. And this is the fruit that God is seeking from His garden, from the church. Oh, that we might express our love to God more fully, more completely. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full . Now this is the first time the gospels mention anything about the joy of Jesus Christ. "These things have I spoken unto you that My joy..." There are many people who picture Jesus as a very sad and sorrowful person, and they make note that the gospels record many times His crying, but they never record any place where He laughed. I do not believe that silence is evidence or proof of anything. I personally am convinced that Jesus laughed a lot. The fruit of the Spirit is love, and the characteristic of love is joy. And for too many years there was that kind of a unwritten code in the church that the more sorrowful you looked, the more holy you were. And so the ministers used to try and look as mournful and sad and sober, never cracking a smile, because that would be a sign of getting in the flesh and carnality, you know. And so, it was always even a somber voice, "Gooood mor-ning bre-thren. We're ga-thered here to-day..." You know, it took on this somber kind of a, you know, you felt like you're coming under a dark cloud, coming into the presence of God. But, "In His presence," the Bible says, "is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore" . Jesus here speaks of His joy, but it is interesting that He speaks of His joy just before He's coming to the cross. And in Hebrews we read, "Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame" . But then He talks about the fullness of joy that His disciples should receive. "That my joy might remain in you and that your joy may be full." There's a vast difference between joy and happiness. The world today is in a mad pursuit for happiness, but happiness is an experience of the emotions, where joy is an experience of the spirit. Because happiness is in the realm of emotions, it's a variable. And a person can go from great happiness to tears in just a hurry. Have you ever noticed how akin our emotions are? If our emotions really get to working, and I'm really getting emotional and laughing hard, it's just a little tilt and you can be crying. You know, I've watched this with the grandchildren. They'll be laughing and just screaming with gales of laughter, and then suddenly, they'll look real sober, their little lip will go out, and they'll begin to puddle-up and cry. And you wonder, "Well, what happened?" They seemed to be so happy and giggling and having so much fun, and suddenly, they're crying. But that's because it's in the realm of emotions, and our emotions are variable and they can change so quickly. That's why the Lord doesn't promise happiness; it might not last. He promises joy. Because that is an experience of the spirit, deeper than the level of the emotions. It's an abiding joy. It's not the variable. And though the outward circumstances of my life may change drastically, because it's joy, it doesn't vary with my outward circumstances. It's a constant. You see, you might come to me and say, "Oh, Chuck, I'm really desperate; I need ten thousand dollars right away to pay off these bills, because they're going to foreclose on me." And I might sit down and write you out a check for ten thousand dollars and hand it you and say, "Here!" And you go away just so happy, saying, "Oh, oh, oh, great," laughing all the way to the bank, until you try to cash the check. And then you would become very sad when they say, "He doesn't have enough money in his account to cover that thing!" And so, you see how your happiness can change to sorrow in such a hurry, because of the change of the outward circumstances, and not the joy. And the Lord wants your joy to be full. And twice here in this final discourse with His disciples, He speaks about this fullness of joy. And in this case, the fullness of joy is related to your prayer life. Oh, the joy of being able to spend time in prayer with the Father! And to see God working in answer to prayer. What joy, what full joy it brings to us to see God's answers to prayer! And so, related here to our prayer life, "that your joy may be full." This is my commandment , Now, Jesus had said, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love." What is His commandment? That you love one another, as [He said,] I have loved you . Just one commandment, but it isn't simple. Just one commandment: that I love you as He loved me. Now this love, as I said, is the fruit that God is looking for, and Jesus said, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." And for you to try to manufacture this fruit, this love, is an impossibility, and you just can't do it. It is the result of that relationship with Him. As I abide in Him, His Word abides in me. As I am washed and cleansed by the Word, then my life begins to produce much fruit. And God's love begins to pour forth through my life to touch the lives of those around me. But it isn't something I can do in my own struggle or effort; it is something that is the natural result of just abiding in Jesus. His love begins to flow forth from my life to others, and that really is the sign and the evidence that Christ is truly indwelling me, that I am really one of His disciples, that we have this love. So, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." And then He declared, For greater love has no man than this, than a man will lay down his life for his friends . That's the kind of love I have for you. I'm going to lay down My life for you to prove My love. And this is the way I want you to love one another, with a self-sacrificing, giving love, where you will lay down your life for each other. You are my friends, if you do what I command you . The commandment is that we love one another. Henceforth I do not call you bondslaves; for the bondslave does not know what his lord is doing: but I have called you friends; for all things have I heard of my Father I have made known unto you . It is interesting, though Jesus declared this new relationship no longer bondslaves, but friends, that each of the writers of the New Testament took the phrase bondslave to describe their relationship to Him. "Paul, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, by the will of Christ..." "Jude, a bondslave..." "Peter, a bondslave..." "James, a bondslave..." And though the Lord said, "I'm calling you friends," yet there was that awareness and consciousness that true life is only discovered when I submitted totally to Him, to serve Him. Now Jesus declares, You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you , That, to me, is such an exciting thing, that God chose me. When did God choose me? In Ephesians, we read we were "chosen in Him before the foundations of the world" . Now, it is interesting that in so much of our evangelism, we are emphasizing that a person choose Jesus Christ. When in reality, Jesus said, "You haven't chosen me, I have chosen you." As Paul begins to list the spiritual blessings that he has in Ephesians, chapter 1, "Thanks be unto God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ in heavenly places." When he begins to make a list of these spiritual blessings for which he is thanking God, what does he put at the top of the list? The fact that God chose him! Actually, that should be at the top of all of our lists. Because if God didn't choose us, then none of the rest of the benefits would be there. But because God has chosen us, then all of the rest of the benefits follow, having been chosen of God. Does it upset you that God chooses people? Surely if you've been chosen, it doesn't. I'm blessed that God chose me! Now, my mind immediately begins to take this truth and race with it and say, "Wait a minute! If God has chosen some, then that isn't fair to the others. And shouldn't God be fair? How can God be fair when He has chosen those that are to be saved?" In the book of Acts we read, "And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed" . Jesus said, "I've chosen you and ordained you that you should be My disciples." And so, in the book of Acts, "And as many as He ordained unto eternal life believed." That sure takes the pressure off, doesn't it? It's God's work. Salvation is of the Lord. "Except the Father draw a man, he cannot come to Jesus Christ. God has chosen us in Christ before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love, bringing Him forth this fruit that He desires." Now, on what basis did God make His choice? You see, don't find fault with God yet. Don't judge God too quickly. God made His choice on the basis of the fact that He knows everything. On the basis of His omniscience and His foreknowledge. Now, because God has all knowledge, omniscient, it is impossible for me to think how God thinks. How do you come to a problem when you know everything from the beginning? You know how it's all going to work out, you know what the end result is. I can't even think of how it would be to be able to think that way. Surely, if I could think that way, I would make different decisions than I often make. I would never botch things up. If I knew everything, then I could always make the right decision. And I would make my decisions predicated upon what I knew; it would be dumb not to. So God, knowing those who would respond to His love and grace, chose them on the basis of His foreknowledge, that they should be in Christ. So I'm thankful that God chose me. Spurgeon made an interesting statement on this. He said, "It's a good thing that God chose me before I was born, because He never would have chosen me afterwards." That, I'm sure, he said in jest, because when God chose him before he was born, God knew him completely then. And God knew the end results of this man's life, as God knows us. And knowing everything about us, He chose us anyhow. Isn't that neat? The grace of God. So, Jesus said to His disciples, "You have not chosen Me. I've chosen you." Now, I was encouraged to choose Jesus. And I did. And as soon as I did, He said to me, "You didn't choose Me, I chose you," and I ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain ; This is something that concerns me greatly. Not that I just bring forth fruit, but that I bring forth lasting fruit. A lot of people fault me because I do not make strong appeals for salvation at the end of the sermons. I do not stand and cry and plead with people to receive Jesus Christ. That I just tell them that if they want to be saved, they can go through that door and talk and pray with a pastor. And we don't make big emotional appeals, and some people fault us for this. If God's Spirit is working in a person's life, they will respond. I can't do anything to enhance that. Salvation is God's work; I recognize that. Rather than having a lot of people respond on an emotional appeal so that I can put a bunch of notches in my belt and say, "I had twenty people accept Jesus last night, because I pled with them and begged them and continued." The problem is, I want to know one year from now, how many of those same people are going on with the Lord? Lasting fruit, that your fruit should remain. There was a little fellow that used to be here in the Costa Mesa area who used to do a tremendous amount...he spent his whole life witnessing. But he was often very forceful, and as a result, very obnoxious. And I watched him one morning when I was sitting in a restaurant. And he came in, and he started going from table to table loudly witnessing to everybody about the Lord. And you could see the people getting embarrassed and all. And he said, "Wouldn't you like to go through the sinners prayer?" And just to get rid of him, they'd say, "Yes," you know, and they'd go through it. And then he'd put his notches on his belt, going from table to table, "I led so many people to Jesus today." Well, very little of the fruit was lasting fruit. It was a forced kind of a thing. The guy was very forceful. There was an interesting study made after Moody's campaigns. In some of the cities where he had tremendous campaigns, five years after the campaign, the survey team went around and surveyed people that had gone forward in the Moody meetings and made a profession of Christ during the Moody meetings. It was discovered that eighty-five percent of the people that had gone forward in the Moody meetings five years later were not going on in their Christian walk. They were back in the old practices, living in the world, and not continued in the Christian faith. Now, you who have read Moody's sermons or know anything about his ministry, know how that he would generally conclude his evangelistic sermons with a real tearjerker type of a story. Where he would talk about this little boy dying in his daddy's arms and the last words were, "Daddy, will I see you in heaven?" And the daddy there gulping, saying, "Yes, son, you'll see me in heaven." And the little boy dies, you know, with a smile on his face. And so, every daddy's heart is touched, you know. "I want to be with my child in heaven." And so, "Come forward if you want to see your child in heaven." And they were touched with emotions. But it wasn't very deep. It wasn't always abiding fruit. In contrast with that, Dr. Finney had a very powerful ministry through the Word of God. He was a lawyer before he became a minister, and he was able to set forth the scriptures in a very logical order and sequence. And those people and thousands of people came forward in the Finney services and in the Finney revivals. Five years after his meetings, in the various communities, they made the survey of those that had gone forward in the Finney meetings, and it was discovered that eighty-five percent of them were still going on with the Lord. Their faith was not based upon an emotional appeal or an emotional moment, but was based upon facts of God's Word, and the faith was established in the fact of God's Word. And it was lasting fruit, that your fruit should remain. Now, I believe that God ordained Moody, and I believe that God ordained Finney. And I believe that God had Moody reach people that Finney could not reach, and Finney reach people that Moody could not reach. And certainly, Dwight Moody was one of the greatest evangelists that God has brought along in the American history. But God uses different methods to reach different people and different instruments to reach different people. But my desire is that I not only bring forth fruit, but that the fruit remains, lasting fruit. And so, I'm not so much interested in the quantity of the fruit as I am the quality of the fruit that is developed through my ministry. That's why we spend so much time in the study of the Word of God, that we might be clean through the Word which He has spoken to us, that we might bring forth more fruit. And that we might bring forth much fruit, and that the fruit should remain. And Jesus then said something quite interesting. that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you . Now again, He comes back to the subject of prayer and prayer to the Father in His name. I do believe that prayer should be addressed to the Father in the name of Jesus. I think that Jesus established this pattern for us. In the fourteenth chapter He said, "If you ask the Father anything in My name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Again, He said, "Now, I've ordained that whatsoever ye should ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you." Not "He shall." And therein is the big issue in this verse, and the thing that you want to take note of. He doesn't say that the Father "shall" give it to you, but that the Father "may" give it to you, indicating that the Father is desiring to give it to you all the time and prayer opens the door, that the Father may do for you what He is wanting to do the whole while. Too many people think that prayer is an information time, where I'm going to inform God of all of my difficulties that He doesn't know about. And then, I'm going to present to Him my solutions that I want Him to work out for me. Because I've dealt with these problems so long, I've got it all figured out how it could come to pass. And so, I begin to pray that the Lord will start working here and working there, and put this together, put this together; and I'm directing God on just how to work out my problems. Now, oftentimes as I am praying, I am not offering to God direct prayers. I'm not praying directly for the need. But because I've worked out the way by which God can answer this need, I'm praying direction prayers as I'm directing God in how to answer my problem, because I've got it all figured out. This is the best way. Now, many times I get frustrated with God because He doesn't follow my directions. He doesn't always do it my way. And I think, "Oh, God doesn't listen to me when I pray. You know, because I've asked God to work it out like this and I've shown Him the way it should...it would all come to pass real well if God would just do this and this and then I could work it all out. And so, I've given Him directions and He's not following my directions." And sometimes I get upset with God because He doesn't follow my directions. And then one morning I wake up and found out that He's already done it; He did it by a much wiser way than I hadn't thought of. Pretty smart! Wow! That's alright, Lord! And He really answered the real prayer. He just didn't follow my directions. And so, I think that it's important that when we pray, we come to the heart of the issue. Rather than trying to direct God on just how to work things out, just lay the whole things before Him and say, "Lord, I know that You're much wiser than I am. You just work it out however you see fit, Lord." I'm opening the door that God may do for me the things that He is desiring to do. Prayer is consenting to God and to the will of God, for Him to do those things that He is wanting to do. I am at total disagreement with those persons who say that you've got to give detailed instructions for God or He doesn't know how to answer your prayer. One minister has written in a book that he was praying for God to give him a bicycle. And he prayed for a long time for this bicycle and God didn't give him a bicycle. And finally, one day he said, "Lord, I've been praying so long for a bicycle. Why haven't you given me the bicycle?" And the Lord said, "You didn't tell me what kind you wanted. You know, there are ten speed bikes, there are cruisers, and there are all kinds of bikes." Poor God didn't know the kind of bike the fellow needed. And so, he had to wait for the fellow to tell him, "I want a ten speed Schwinn, green with silver stripes." I don't accept that! Jesus said, "Your Father knows what you have need of before you ever ask Him." And every right thing I have ever prayed for, God had determined to give it to me before I ever asked. My asking only opened the door that God might do what He was wanting to do the whole time. "That your Father may," not shall, "your Father may give it to you." Your Father wants to bless you. Your Father wants to answer your prayers. Your Father is wanting to do some wonderful things for you. But He has given to you that capacity of choice and He will not violate your choice, and He will not work against your will. Prayer is consenting for God to do what He is wanting to do, that God may give to me those things that He desires. Now again, Jesus emphasizes the importance of love. These things I command you, that you love one another . We read so much about keeping His commandments. It gives us confidence in prayer. For we know that we receive whatsoever we ask of Him if we keep His commandments. What is His commandment? That we love one another. That's the fruit that God is looking for from His vineyard, that love flowing in and through our lives from Him to each other. That God would just bind our hearts together tonight in the glorious love of Jesus Christ. That we would have that kind of self-sacrificing, understanding, forgiving love for each other. That God would erase all of the bitterness or animosities or hard feelings or whatever we might feel towards our brethren in the Lord, and that we would be obedient tonight to the commandment of Jesus Christ, and truly love one another even as He loved us. God help us. Oh, may the fruit of God's Spirit just really spring forth in our lives as we abide in Jesus and as He abides in us. Now Jesus tells them of the problems that they are going to experience in a world that is alien to Him. "He came into the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came to His own and His own received Him not." He was an alien on the planet Earth. He never did settle down as a citizen of the world community, but was an alien. And Jesus said, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you . Don't be surprised at the reaction of the worldly person, if they hate you because of your love for Jesus Christ, because of your relationship to Him. Just know that they hated Him before they ever hated you. Now, if you were of the world, the world would love you; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you . We are told, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, for he who has the love of the world in his heart has not the love of the Father" . And so, we are told not to love the world, but we are also being told here that the world isn't going to love us. If you were of the world, if you were a part of its system, then they would love you because they love their own. But you're not of the world. That's pretty heavy, and it should cause each of us to sort of examine the attitude that the world has towards me. Do they hail me as a great fellow? Do they pat me on the back and say I'm doing a good job? If they do, I'd better go in my closet and repent and ask God to forgive me! Because if you were of the world, then the world would love you. But because you're not of the world, it hates you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my sayings, they will keep yours also . You're not greater than the Lord; if they hated Him, they're going to hate you. If they persecuted Him, they're going to persecute you. But all these things will they do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know him that sent me . Jesus said, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you" . Now, if you are persecuted by the world, or ridiculed by the world, make certain that that persecution is coming for Christ's sake. Not because you're just an obnoxious person. One of the most obnoxious persons I ever knew was in college at the same time I was. And she was a character, and that's complimentary. She was a very loud-mouthed woman. She had trained for opera and had a voice I'm sure that came close to Enrico Caruso's as far as volume. And I used to ride the streetcar home from work in the evening, and every once in a while, she would get on the same car that I was on. And if she would spy me in the back of the car, with this loud operatic voice, she would say, "Praise the Lord, brother!" And everybody would turn to see who she was talking to, including myself. But somehow you know that everybody knows it's you. And this woman was guilty of disrupting more classes. When a joke was told and they would all be laughing, she would laugh louder than all the rest. I mean, she was just loud. And so, one day I was embolden to take her the scripture, "Let the women keep silence in the church, and learn in silence and subjection." And she went walking away saying, "Thank you, Lord, for the persecution." And I knew then that there was no use! But I wasn't persecuting her for righteousness sake, or for the Lord's sake, but because she was just a plain obnoxious person. And persecution that comes for being a bore or brash, or whatever, there's no reward or special benefits for that. But, if it is truly for Christ's sake, then know that you are bearing His suffering. And if you suffer with Him, you will also reign with Him. So, Jesus said, "If they've persecuted me, they will also persecute you. But, all of these things will they do to you for My name's sake because they have not known the One who sent Me." If I had not come and spoken unto them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin . A man is held responsible for that which he knows. A man is not held responsible for that which he does not know. And when God judges, people will be judged according to the knowledge that they have received. With knowledge comes responsibilities to act upon that knowledge. The Bible says, "It would have been better for them to have never heard than to have heard and turned away." You say, "Well, then it would be better if I had never heard." Well, it's too late for you. You are now responsible, having heard. And knowledge brings responsibility, always. Jesus said, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they would have no sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin." He that hates me will hate my Father also. And if I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they would have had no sin: but now they have both seen and hated both me and the Father . What an indictment He is making against those people who are now sinning against the light that God has given to them! But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me [without a reason] without a cause . And as you analyze the hatred people have towards Jesus Christ, it is hatred without a reason, without a cause. But it is interesting how many people are unreasonable in their hatred for Jesus. You know, there are people that can talk to you rationally on every subject in the world except Jesus. And they become irrational. They became heated, they become violent. Normal rational people; but yet, they have such a hatred. And yet, you ask them, "Why do hate Jesus so much?" And they can't tell you. They hate Him without a cause; they don't know why, but it is just something that is there. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth , Again, notice that how often Jesus in these last words with His disciples is tying together the relationship with the Father, the Son and the Spirit, and is making reference to the three. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name..." And here, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth," which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me : Look how it's just intertwined. The Father, the Son and the Spirit. The Holy Spirit being sent from the Father by the request of Jesus, coming and bearing witness then of Jesus Christ, "testifying of me." And ye also shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning . So, talking to His disciples, He declares that they, along with Spirit, will be bearing witness of Him, "because you have been with Me from the beginning." Now, of those...and how many there were that were disciples following Jesus, we do not know. Of those that were disciples He named twelve of them apostles, but there were many others that were following Him. And later on, when Peter stood up before the assembled disciples, he said, "It is important that we choose one of us who has been with Christ from the beginning, that we might choose him to take Judas's place, who by his transgression and has gone to his own place. But we need to replace him in the board of twelve here. And so, we need someone who has been with us from the beginning who can testify of these things, and also bear witness of the resurrection, that he might be placed as an apostle in the place of Judas Iscariot." So, it is interesting that one of the requirements was those that had been with Christ from the beginning. Now He is saying, "You are my witnesses, you're going to bear witness of Me, because you have been with Me from the beginning." That is, the beginning of His earthly ministry. Well, we got one chapter tonight. Next week, we'll take sixteen and seventeen. Chapter 17; spend a lot of time in that chapter in meditation this week. We talk about the Lord's prayer. "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name..." that is not the Lord's prayer. That is a model prayer for the believers. It has been called the Lord's Prayer. But the seventeenth chapter of John is truly the Lord's prayer. This is His prayer that He is offering to the Father. And I would suggest that you spend a lot of time this week meditating on the Lord's prayer in the seventeenth chapter here in John's gospel. It will do so much for you. May the Lord help us now to be doers of the Word and not hearers only, lest we deceive ourselves. Speaking of His commandment to love one another, may God enable us this week to show that love, one to another. And may we love each other even as He loved us, so much that He gave Himself for us. May we truly abide in Jesus Christ. May we spend more time in the Word; less time with television and other fleshly distractions, and more time with Him, learning of Him, receiving from Him, growing in Him. And may we allow the Word of God to do its work in our heart of cleansing us, that we might bring forth much fruit that the Father might be glorified through our lives. Oh, may God bless you this week, and may God use you this week in a very special way to show forth His love to the needy world in which we live. In Jesus' name. " Shall we turn to John's gospel, chapter 16. Now, these words in the sixteenth chapter have to be understood with the background as Jesus has been in the upper room with His disciples. He has told them as He had the Lord's supper with them that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine until He drank it anew in the kingdom. After supper, He has washed their feet, giving to them an example of what the ministry is all about; it's that of a servant. And then there in the upper room He speaks to them of that beautiful relationship that they would have with the Father and with the Son, through the Holy Spirit; that He is going away, but He's going to come again. And He's going to the Father. And then they leave the upper room. Now, the cross is in front of Him. At this point He knows it. They're not sure. But He realizes that this will be His last chance to just really talk with them of the things that are in His heart. And so, in the fifteenth chapter, somewhere between the upper room and the Garden of Gethsemane, maybe while they're walking, Jesus is talking to His disciples, declaring that He is the vine, the true vine, the Father, the husbandman, and that God's purpose for their lives was that they might bring forth fruit. And that fruit that God is looking for is love. He wants us to love one another even as He loves us. And this emphasis upon bearing fruit, bringing forth that love one for another. Now in chapter 16 Jesus said, I'm telling you these things, so that you'll not be offended . Telling them, actually, of the things that are going to happen to them. "When you go out into the world, they're going to persecute you. They're not going to receive you. If you are of the world, then they would receive you and accept you, but you're not of the world. Now, I'm telling you this," Jesus said, "so that you won't get wiped out when you are not received by the world." It is interesting how that somehow in our minds we are idealists and we're prone to think if a person lives an honest, righteous kind of a life, everybody will respect them and appreciate them. But if you ever read of the hassles that these people have to go through who find money and turn it in, and are honest enough to turn it in, how that they get all kinds of hate mails, threatening...a lot of them have just had to move from their neighborhoods. Their neighbors were so totally upset with them for being honest. Harassed them, called them fools and harassed them, because of their honesty. And so, Jesus said, "Look, I'm going to tell you this before it happens, telling you these things now, so that you won't be offended." For they're going to put you out of their synagogues: yes, the time is coming, when whoever kills you will think that he is doing God's service . This was surely true with Paul the apostle when he was a zealous Pharisee. And as they were stoning Stephen, Paul said, "I consented unto his death." Paul was holding the coats of those that were throwing the stones, urging them on, no doubt, in the stoning to death of Stephen. Declaring in Philippians chapter 3 that it was a part of his zeal towards God was persecuting the church. He thought he was doing God's service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me . Interesting that these people who were so steeped in traditions of the Hebrew religion. Jesus said of them, "They really don't know the Father." I believe that it is possible to become steeped in the traditions of Christianity so much so that you don't really know the Son. You know all of the traditions. You know all of the church traditions and you're bound up and caught up in the traditions. But it is possible to be very religious in a Christian sense as far as attendance in church and all, and be very religious, but not really know Jesus in a true and intimate way. And we've got to guard against that. That we don't get caught up in religion, but we get caught up in Jesus Christ, in the relationship, the personal relationship with Him. And many times, becoming religious is a real barrier to that relationship. God, keep us open! God, keep us flexible! Not rigid in a religious system and, God, prevent that we should ever devolve into a religious system and lose the real relationship with Jesus. Jesus said, "They're going to do this thinking they're doing God a service when they kill you, but it's because they really don't know the Father, nor His Son." But these things I have told you, that when the time shall come, you will remember that I told you them. And these things I did not tell you in the beginning, because I was with you . "I was there to shield, I was there to take their buffeting and to answer their charges, and I didn't tell you this at the first because you had me with you. But I'm going away now. You're going to be on your own. And now they're going to be persecuting you for My sake, because of what you're going to be doing in My name." And truly, as we read the book of Acts, we find out that this did indeed happen. They were persecuted for the name of Jesus Christ, and for their ministry in His name. But now I am going my way to him that sent me ; Going back to the Father. and none of you have asked me, Where are you going? Now, Jesus said to the disciples in the fourteenth chapter, "I'm going away, and if I go I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there you may be also. And where I go you know and the way, you know." And Thomas said unto Him, "Lord, we don't know where You are going and how can we know the way?" He didn't say, "Where are You going?" He just said, "Lord, we don't know where You are going." None of them asked, "Well, Lord, where are You going?" He kept saying, "I am going away." But they didn't say, "Where are You going?" And He said, But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow has filled your heart . "Now, I said, 'I'm going,' and you're all sorry, but you haven't asked, 'Where are you going?'" If they'd asked, "Where are you going?" and they knew that He was going to the Father and, of course, it's revealed here in the seventeenth chapter, then they would not be so sorry for Him. In fact, they would rejoice for Him, though they would still probably be sorry for themselves. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; [It is necessary,] it's expedient for you that I go away : This is necessary. for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you . Now, when Jesus took on a human body, of necessity He took on certain limitations of a human body. And one of the limitations of a human body is that of locality. Your body can only be in one place at one time. Now, that is frustrating at times. There are times when I wish my body could be two or three places at the same time, but as long as I am in this body I can't be. Now, there are sometimes my body is one place and my mind is another. And that happens to you sometimes when you're sitting here. I see your bodies, but sometimes I wonder, "Where are you?" But the body is limited to locality. Now, they are soon to be dispersed. They're to take the gospel into all the world. And it would be impossible for Jesus to be with them all if He were still in the body. When Paul was heading out for Cypress and for Ephesus and all, if the Lord went with Paul, He couldn't be with Peter and John back in Jerusalem. So, the fact that they were now to take the gospel and go out with it, it was necessary that Jesus leave them and go back to the Father, back to the spiritual state no longer limited by the body, in order that He might send the Holy Spirit who can be with them wherever they go, because He is not bound to locality. And Jesus now in the Spirit is not bound to locality. So He said to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world . . . the end of this age. But it's necessary in order to be with you in this manner that I go away to be relieved from the limitations of this body." In order that again, as God, He might be omnipresent. And so, in order that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, might come. "When I depart," He said, "I will send Him unto you." He said, "I'm going to pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth, that He may abide with you forever." And so here again, the promise of the Spirit. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment : Now Jesus at that point, amplifies what He said the reproof of the Holy Spirit would be and, to me, the amplification is very interesting because it's not at all what I would think in just reading of the Spirit reproving the world of sin. When He reproves the world of sin, I think of all the horrible things that men are doing. I think of the murders, the cheating, the lying and all of these things. But Jesus said, Of sin, because they believed not on me ; Interesting statement. Because you see, there is only one deadly sin, and that is the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ. I care not what you have done; it isn't necessary that I know what you have done, what your past may hide. I know this, that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses a man from all sin, no matter what's there. There is only one sin that really condemns a man when they stand before God, and that is the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ. "He will reprove the world of sin because they believed not in Me." Jesus said to Nicodemus, "For I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through might be saved. And he who believeth is not condemned, but he who believes not is condemned already" . Not because he's a cheater, a thief, an adulterer, a murderer; he's condemned already seeing he hath not believed on the only begotten Son of God. This is the condemnation. Light came into the world, but men would not come to the light. So that thing for which God will bring you into judgment is your not believing in His provision for your salvation through Jesus Christ. He will testify of righteousness. Now, it would seem to me that the testimony of righteousness to us would be saying, "Now, this is the way a person should walk. You should walk in love, you should walk in truth, you should walk in mercy, you should walk in honesty..." and all of these things, showing us the right path and the right relationship that we should have to each other, testifying or reproving the world of righteousness. But, Jesus said, Of righteousness, because I go unto the Father, and you see me no more ; Interesting statement. What Jesus means by that is that we have many varying standards of righteousness that men have established today. And even within the church body, there are different standards of righteousness. In some church bodies, it is very unrighteous for a woman to wear any kind of makeup or try to make herself look halfway decent at all. I'm glad I don't belong to those churches. But, to them that constitutes unrighteousness. Oh, the guys dress flashy, to be sure. But they try to put the women in very dull and unattractive garb and hair pulled back in a bun and so forth. And that to them is righteousness. It is interesting to me that overall the church here in the United States is opposed to drinking any alcoholic beverage. I personally am. But in Sweden, the Christians there see nothing wrong with drinking beer, and when we were in Sweden and we were out to dinner with the ministers and all, they always said, "Do you want a beer?" And I always was shocked by that. But some of them were very shocked that my wife drank coffee. "Oh, my! Brother, we'll pray for you. What a poor witness, your wife drinking coffee!" While they were drinking their beer! So, there are different standards of righteousness that quite often are cultural. The morals of a particular society and the standards of righteousness by which men set are usually standards of comparison. When I think of a righteous standard, I look around and I say, "Well, I'm better than he is. I wouldn't do that." And by looking at the faults of others, I can sometimes feel very smug and self-righteous. "Father, I thank you that I am not like other men, because I don't do the things they're doing and I do this, Lord." But Jesus said, "You do err when you compare yourself with men." Because I don't care how righteous you are, or how righteous I am, unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we're not going to enter the kingdom of heaven. And as far as outward righteousness and as far as a righteousness according to the law, they were so far beyond anything we ever dreamed of being, they practiced their whole lives trying to obey the finest points of the law, interpreting them and obeying the finest points of the law. And Paul the apostle was able to testify of his own experience as a Pharisee concerning the righteousness which is in the law. He said, "I was blameless." Jesus, though, said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you're not going to enter into the kingdom of heaven" . Don't you know that that blew the mind of the disciples? And caused them to say, "Well, pooph, what's the use? Let's go back fishing again. No way we're going to make that. I give up!" If you think that's tough, Jesus ended that message by saying, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" . That does it, I'm through! Washed up! Hate to admit it, but I'm not perfect. And you don't have to take my word for it. My wife will be glad to confirm that. Now, if my righteousness must exceed the scribes and the Pharisees, if I can't create a standard looking around at men, where is the standard of righteousness that God will accept? If He won't accept that rigid standard of the scribes and Pharisees, what standard will He accept? And Jesus said, "The Holy Spirit will reprove the world of righteousness because I go to the Father." Now, Jesus, ascending into heaven unto the Father, the Holy Spirit bears witness by that that this is the righteousness that God can accept. So, the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is imparted to us by our faith in Him. And so, when Paul talked of the righteousness of the law being blameless, he then said, "Yet those things which were gain to me, this righteous standing I had as a Pharisee, blameless, those things which were gain to me I counted loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ; for whom I suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may know Him and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of Christ through faith" . The righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, and the righteousness that the Father will accept. If I want the Father to accept me, if I want to enter the kingdom of heaven, I must enter in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Nothing less will do. Now that, for the moralist, once and for all declares that no matter how moral, honest, good a person, benevolent, charitable you may be, you cannot make it on your own. We all need Jesus Christ. We all need to believe in Him. For believing in Him, my sins are forgiven. I'm no longer condemned. Believing in Him, I now have the righteousness of Christ imputed unto me. And, Of judgment , Jesus said. Now, I read in Revelation that there is a great white throne judgment where God sits upon the throne to judge the world. "And the nations, small and great, will stand before Him. And death and hell will give up the dead which are in them; the sea will give up the dead which are in them, and all the small and great will stand there before God to be judged out of the things that are written in the books. Whosoever's name is not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake burning with fire, and this is the second death" . That's not the judgment that the Spirit is testifying about. Well, there's another judgment. There's the judgment seat of Christ, before which all of the Christians have to appear to receive the things done in their bodies, whether good or evil. Where our works are to be judged by fire and whatever remains will be rewarded for, what sort of works we have done. There will the motives of the hearts be tested. Jesus said, "Take heed to yourself, that you do not your righteousness before men to be seen of men. For I say unto you, you have your reward." If you're only doing it for a show so people can look at you and say, "Oh, my, isn't he sweet, isn't he wonderful? Isn't he good?" And if that's your motive in doing it, those plaudits and applause and all that you receive from men is all the reward you'll ever get. We are to do our righteousness before God in such a way as to not try to draw attention to ourselves. "Let your light so shine before men, that when they see your good works, they will glorify your Father which dwells in heaven" . And so, we will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. And there we will be rewarded for the way that we have run the race. But that isn't the judgment that the Holy Spirit is speaking about. "Of judgment," Jesus said, because the prince of this world is judged . Interesting. He doesn't talk about our judgment, but He talks about the prince of the world being judged. And where was the prince of the world judged? He was judged upon the cross. Paul tells us in Colossians, chapter 2, that Jesus spoiled those principalities and powers, which are rankings of evil spirits. He spoiled them there on the cross, making an open display of His victory, triumphing over them through the cross. Therefore, let no man judge you. The prince of this world has been judged. There on the cross Christ defeated Satan. Satan has tremendous power. When God created the world and placed man upon it, God gave to man the dominion over the world. God said unto Adam, "You're to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, over every living and moving and creeping thing; for I have given it unto you." But man, in the Garden of Eden, gave it unto Satan. So that man was no longer the ruler of the world, but Satan became the ruler over the world. And we see today the disastrous consequences of Satan's rule, in the wars, the suffering. All of these things, disastrous consequences of Satan's rule. We pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven." But you do not see that yet. As in Hebrews, we read God has put all things into subjection unto Jesus, but we do not yet see all things in subjection unto Him. We still see a world in rebellion against God, and we still see the fruit of that rebellion in this world in which we live. One day, by the grace of God, we will live in a world that God intended. And there are marvelous descriptions of that world in the Old Testament, where the lion will lie down with the lamb, and a little child will lead them, and the deserts will blossom like a rose, and there will be streams in the deserts and rivers in dry places, and the lame will leap for joy and the dumb will be singing praises unto God, and the blind shall behold the glory of our Lord. No physical maladies, for the former things will be passed away and all things become new. And there'll be no sorrow or suffering, for you'll see the world in harmony with God, and you'll see the world as God intended it and wants it to be. But right now, we see a world in rebellion. And we see men under Satan's control. The Bible tells us that Satan has taken them captive even against their wills. Paul said "that we might take them from the captivity of the enemy, who has taken them captive against their wills" . Paul tells us that the God of this world has blinded their eyes that they cannot see the truth. There are men today who cannot see the truth; they are bound by Satan's power. They are blinded by him. We see men in bondage of corruption, bondage of sin. We see it holding men in its power and we've seen the vain futile struggle of man to try and free himself from that power of darkness. Now, the Holy Spirit is reproving the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment because the prince of this world was judged. What that means is that you don't have to be under Satan's power. You don't have to be under the bondage of corruption. But because of the cross of Jesus Christ, His victory over Satan there at the cross can become your victory. And through the power of Jesus Christ, you can have complete victory and power over the world, the flesh and the devil. You don't have to be under his power. Actually, what Satan holds today, he holds by what is called "usurped power and authority." It's not really his. He still usurps it. You remember that when God rejected Saul from being the king of Israel, because of his disobedience, God said to Samuel, "How long are you going to grieve for Saul? Let's move on. Go down to the house of Jesse and anoint one of his sons to be the king over Israel." So Samuel snuck down to the house of Jesse for fear of Saul. And he said to Jesse, "Would you bring your sons before me?" And the first son Eliab came in, a big guy and handsome, and Samuel thought, "Alright, this surely is the one that God has chosen for the king." And God said unto Samuel, "Samuel, don't look on the outward appearance. For I don't look on the outward appearance, I look on the heart." Eliab's not the one. So, one by one the sons of Jesse marched in and marched past Samuel, and each one the Lord said, "No." Finally, Samuel turned to Jesse and he said, "Don't you have any other sons?" "Oh, yeah, I have one more, but he's just a kid, he's out watching the sheep." "Well, call him in." And when David came in, this ruddy little kid, the Lord said to Samuel, "That's the one." And he took his oil and he poured it over David's head, and anointed him as king of Israel. Now, as far God was concerned, David was the king. God anointed him as king. However, Saul didn't believe that. And we read in the next few chapters how that Saul did his best to destroy David and to hang on to the kingdom which God had taken away. "Because you have rejected God from ruling over you, God has rejected you from the kingdom," the prophet had told him. But he did his best by force to hold on to that which God had taken away. Now, the same is true today in the lives of people. Jesus, you see, has died for the world. But Satan still holds people under his power, but it is like Saul; it's usurped power, it's no longer legally, rightfully his. Jesus has purchased them by His blood. And therefore, we can enter into that victory of Jesus over Satan, and we can also lay claim to lives that Satan is holding, that we might take them from the captivity of the enemy who has taken them captive. And I can bring these people before the Lord, case by case, and I can say, "Now, Lord, I claim the power of Jesus Christ and His victory over the power of Satan that is holding them and blinding them. Lord, deliver them from the power of the enemy and from the blindness." Now, I can't save them through my prayers, but I can at least bring them to the freedom of choice. We talk about free moral agency, and it's almost a misnomer. There is no way you can say of a sinner that he is a free moral agent. He's the most bound person in the universe. His eyes are blind and he's being held by the power of Satan. How can you say he's a free moral agent? He's a slave unto the tyranny of the enemy! But through prayer, I can make him a free moral agent. Through prayer, I can break the bondage in which he is held by Satan's power, and through prayer, I can open his eyes to the truth. At that point, being a free moral agent, he can then choose, without this oppressive work of Satan blinding his eyes and twisting and perverting his logic. And so, that really is the thrust of prayer towards the sinner, is that of setting them free from this bondage of Satan, because Satan was judged at the cross and he has no legal rights over them any more. And we can claim the victory of Christ life after life, setting them free from the bondage of darkness. Jesus said, I have many things to say, but you can't bear them now . They're not ready for them. So, when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth: for he will not speak of himself ; Talking of the Holy Spirit, He declares that He will be a guide for us into all truth, and He will not testify of Himself, for whatsoever shall he hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He will glorify me : So, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not to exalt Himself. And I do think that when as a church we start making a big emphasis upon the Holy Spirit, we are placing an emphasis where God hasn't placed an emphasis. For the emphasis of the Holy Spirit is upon Jesus Christ. He doesn't testify of Himself, but He glorifies and seeks to glorify Jesus Christ. "And He will tell us things to come." Paul the apostle was directed by the Holy Spirit in his ministry. And he was shown by the Spirit the things that were going to happen in his life. I have had a very marvelous experience of having the Holy Spirit lay out for me the things that God had in store and was planning to do in my life. And the Holy Spirit will testify of things to come and will glorify Jesus Christ. for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you . In other words, "He will receive from Me and reveal to you." All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore I said, that he shall take of mine, and will show it to you. A little while, and you will not see me: and again, a little while, and you shall see me, because I go to the Father . Now He's talking about the cross and about His death. "A little while and you're not going to see Me, but yet, a little while and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What in the world is he trying to say to us, A little while, and you will not see me: and again, a little while, and you will see me: Because I go to the Father? And they said therefore, What is this that he is saying, A little while? I don't know what he's saying. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do you inquire among yourselves of what I said, A little while, and you will not see me: and yet a little while, and you shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That you are going to weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice ; Talking again of His crucifixion. "You're going to weep, you're going to lament, and the world around you is going to be rejoicing." and you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy . Can you imagine the joy of Easter morning? The resurrection, when they saw the risen Lord? Their sorrow turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour has come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world . And so, Jesus uses this as a graphic illustration of what He was about to go through; the travail of His soul, the anguish of the cross. But in order that men might be born into the kingdom, all of the pain and the suffering and all is so quickly forgotten when you're swallowed up in the joy of the birth of a new child. You forget. They say that it is one of the hardest pains to bear, and one of the easiest to forget. A child has been born into the kingdom. "And for the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross though He despised the shame" . And so, He's talking really of Himself, the anguish that He was to go through. But for the joy of those being born into the kingdom He was willing to do it. Ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man can take from you . You're going to go through this time of sorrow, but, oh, you're going to rejoice because I'm going to see you again. And in that day you will ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you . "You're not to ask Me, your prayers are to be unto the Father. They are to be in the name of Jesus Christ." And our prayers today should actually be addressed to the Father in the name of Jesus. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name: ask , In the Greek it's imperative, "Please ask..." intensive. and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full . So, the Lord is saying, "If you'll ask in My name, you will receive." And through this prayer life, receiving, brings such fullness of joy to the life of the believer. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time is coming, when I will no longer when I will no longer speak unto you in proverbs, but I will show you plainly of the Father. And that day you will ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God . And so our prayer is to the Father. We have direct access to the Father. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might make our needs known before God. In the name of Jesus, I can approach the Father, and yet, I really fear and tremble for those who think that they have direct access to the Father apart from Jesus Christ. They have lost the consciousness of the holiness of God. The Jewish people today say, "We do not need Jesus. We can go directly to the Father." They forget that their fathers did not go directly to the Father, but they came through much sacrifices through the priests. And the priests went to the Father for them. Jesus said, "I'm not going to say that I'm going to ask the Father for you. You can go directly to the Father." If I can go directly to the Father, then surely I don't need to go to Mary to ask Jesus to go to the Father for me. Or any of the other saints. And prayers to Mary and the saints are church dogma and tradition without scriptural foundation. There's no value in praying to Mary. In fact, I would be a little hesitant to do so, lest Jesus said, "Who is my mother?" For when Mary was outside and could not make her way to Jesus because of the crowd, she sent a message in and said, "Tell my son I'm out here...his mother is out here with his brothers." And Jesus, when they brought the message, "Your mother's outside, she wants you," He said, "Who is my mother? Who is my brother?" Now, if I was going to Mary in heaven and said, "Dear Mary, intercede for me," and Jesus would say, "Who is my mother?" I would be in trouble. I don't have to go through Mary. I can come directly to the Father through and in the name of Jesus. I came forth from the Father, and I am coming to the world: again, I am leaving the world, and going to the Father . "I came from the Father, I came into the world." "He who was in the beginning with God thought it not robbery to be equal with God" . "In the beginning was the Word," . "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" . "I came into the world . . . " "The world was made by Him, but the world knew Him not. He came to His own, His own received Him not." " . . . but I am going back now to the Father." You see, He said, "You haven't asked Me where I'm going." Now, He's telling them, "I'm going back to the Father." His disciples said unto him, Lo, now you are speaking to us plainly, and not in a proverb. Now we are sure that you know all things, and you need not that any man should ask you: by this we believe that you came forth from God . You see, they were asking among themselves, "What is He talking about, 'You're going to see Me in a little while'?" And then He says, "Why is it that you're inquiring among yourselves what am I talking about when I say this?" And they said, "Hey, we don't know what's going on, and you don't need that any man should ask thee." Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, yes, is now come, when you're going to be scattered, every man to his own, and you're going to leave me alone : Here they are affirming, "Lord, we believe." And Jesus said, "Well, yes, but in just a little while you're going to be scattered. Your faith is going to be tested like you can't believe. And you're going to leave Me alone." And Jesus said, yet I'm not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that ye might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world . And so, Jesus said, "I'm telling you these things because I want you to have peace. In the world, you're going to have tribulation." Now, He is not saying here that the church is going through the Great Tribulation. And there's a vast difference between the tribulation that I experience as a child of God and the Tribulation that the world is going to experience as a rebel against God. "In the world you will have tribulation." Why? Because you're not of the world. Where does the tribulation originate against the child of God? From Satan. From the world itself. Where does the Great Tribulation originate? Its origin is God, as God comes to judge the world for the rejecting of His Son. So there's a vast difference between the tribulation that the church faces in the world and the Great Tribulation that the world will face when God has removed His righteous remnant out of the world, and then begins to judge it for its rejection of His Son. X " Chapter 17 These words spake Jesus, and he lifted up his eyes to heaven , Now He is finished with His disciples and He turns now to the Father. He said, "I am not alone; the Father is with Me." And conscious of the Father, He now offers what should be titled the Lord's Prayer, for this is indeed the Lord's Prayer. He gave to the disciples a model prayer, which is often called the Lord's Prayer. But this is the true Lord's Prayer. "He lifted up his eyes to heaven," and he said, Father, the hour is come ; When He began His ministry in Cana of Galilee, and Mary came to Him and said, "Son, they have run out of wine," He said to his mother, "What's that to Me? My hour is not yet come." And, all through His life, He was conscious of His movement towards a definite hour, a definite time. And this was always, from the beginning of His ministry, the movement was towards this hour. Many times we read, "For His hour was not yet come." He was always conscious of the hour that was coming. And now He has come to it. And He declares, "Father, the hour is come." glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee : The hour is come, but how is the Son to be glorified? By being lifted up on the cross. And so here, Jesus is talking to the Father about the cross and saying, "Let's go on with it, glorify Thy Son," that in and through the cross He might glorify God. As you have given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him . How is the Father glorified? By Jesus granting to you eternal life, citizenship in the heavenly kingdom. "Father, the hour is come; now glorify Me. Let Me go ahead and bear the cross, let Me die in order that through My death I might grant eternal life to those who will believe, as many as You have given Me." Interesting term. In Acts we read, "And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do . Jesus said that He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Now He declares His work is finished. On the cross it was complete. He cried out His last words before commending His spirit to the Father, "It is finished." What? The work of redemption for man. The path back to God is complete. Man does not have to live alienated from God any longer. Man can now walk in close communion and fellowship with the Father once again. His work of redemption is finished. Provision for man's sin is now made. And that which has separated man from God can be put away and man can live in fellowship with God. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was . Now this is moving on from the first. The first was talking about the cross. Now He's talking about that glory in the heavenly kingdom. "Now, Father, the work is finished. I'm going to the cross; it's finished. Now glorify Me with the glory that I had with Thee before the world was." "He who was in the beginning with God and thought it not robbery to be equal with God..." "Now, Father, I want to enter back into that glory that I had with You before the world ever existed. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which You gave Me out of the world. Thine they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word." Now, what does Jesus mean? I have manifested thy name unto the men which you gave me out of the world : God is not His name; God is His designation. Lord is not His name; that is His title. His name is Yahweh, or Jehovah. And how did Jesus manifest His name? The name Jesus itself is a contraction of the Hebrew "Yahovah-shua" or "Yashua," which is Jehovah is Salvation. Jesus said, "I have manifested Your name." He bore the name of the eternal God, the name Yashua, Jehovah is Salvation. "I have manifested Thy name unto the men which You have given to Me out of the world." thine they were, you gave them to me; and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which you gave me; and they have received them, and have surely known that I came out from thee, and they have believed that you did send me . And so, Jesus, in the first part of His prayer, is praying concerning this little company of believers, the disciples that are with Him. And in this first part, His prayer is centered around them. "You have given them to Me. I have manifested Your name to them. They are Yours, but You have given them to Me, and I have given to them Your words. And things are now complete because they believe that You have sent Me." And I pray for them: I don't pray for the world , At this point. He's not praying for the world; He's praying for this special group, the disciples. but for them which you have given to me; for they are yours. And all that is mine is yours, and yours are mine; and I am glorified in them . "Oh, that Christ might be glorified," Paul said, "in my body whether by life or by death." And that should be the desire of each of us; "Oh, God, glorify Thy Son in and through me." "I am glorified in them." Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, I'm coming to thee. Holy Father, keep through thy own name those whom thou hast given me , Now He commits the keeping of their lives unto the Father Himself. "Holy Father, keep through Thy own name..." What a beautiful prayer of intercession! It lets us know a little bit of what's going on in heaven. The Bible says that, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ who has died, yet rather, is risen again, and is even at the right hand of the Father making intercession" . In Hebrews 7:25 we read, "Wherefore He is able also to save unto the uttermost all who will come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us." And this is a good example of the intercessory ministry of Jesus, as He is praying to the Father for His disciples. And what a fabulous prayer! "Holy Father, keep through Thy own name those that You have given to Me," that they may be one, as we . And now, this is the prayer for His disciples, this unity, "Lord, that they may be one." And as we read this prayer of Jesus, and as we almost feel like we're eavesdropping, you know. You feel a little embarrassed and a little ashamed because it's such an intimate, personal pouring out of His heart to the Father that we're given an insight here to. Absolutely beautiful! I love to just meditate on this seventeenth chapter of John, as I read this ministry of Jesus for His disciples, and then later on, for me. And His prayer for them? That they may be one. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou hast given to me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled . "I kept them, Father, all but the one, the son of perdition..." That's quite a title given to Judas Iscariot. Another time we read the same title is given to the Anti-Christ; he is called the son of perdition. There are some who believe that Judas Iscariot will be the Anti-Christ. There are indications that this is possibly so; this is the strongest, and the strongest argument that they can present, the fact that both of them are called the son of perdition. I personally do not believe that Judas Iscariot is the Anti-Christ, but there is that possibility. And I don't deny the possibility. If you want to say, "Yes, he is," I won't argue with you, because I don't know. I don't feel that he is. I feel that evidence points to another, but I wouldn't argue with you and I would say, "Well, it's possible that you are right, because it IS possible that you are right." It is possible that Judas Iscariot could be the Anti-Christ. And I believe that on the basis of the them being called the son of perdition. Jesus said, And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves . Now, here Jesus is talking about His joy right in the face of the cross, "that they might have My joy fulfilled in them." Jesus said, "My peace I give unto you, not as the world give I." We have His peace, we have His joy, we have His love. These are those things that He imparts unto us. No other religious system does this. Buddha didn't say, "My love I give to you; abide in my love." They couldn't say that, but Jesus does. He is saying, "Look, it's My joy being fulfilled in you." And so, it is the peace of Christ which passes understanding that keeps our hearts and our minds. His peace, His love, His joy. You see, I cannot in myself fulfill the divine idea. God wants me to love as He loved. I can't. But I can be an instrument through which His love flows. God wants me to have His peace, but I get upset. I can't in myself just mesmerize myself into a placid state. But I have experienced that glorious peace of Jesus Christ in the midst of the most wild situations, the most tense situations. Suddenly, that peace of Christ just comes down and fills my heart and my life; and hey, it's alright, we're going to be okay, we're going to make it. Because the peace of Christ has just filled my life. And again, that joy that is indescribable; it's full of glory, that joy of seeing God work. "My joy fulfilled in themselves." I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I don't pray that you take them out of the world , I wish He had sometimes! Sometimes I look at what's happening; I see the deterioration of our nation and I see the rising taxes, and I see the attempt of the schools and the government to totally divorce the thought of Jesus Christ and all from our public life. And I see the rulings of the courts and I see so many just plain stupid iniquities. And I get out my atlas, and I start looking for some island in the South Pacific, and I dream of just selling out and saying, "Come on, let's go. I found this island out there in the South Pacific; it's uninhabited, but it's got plenty of fresh water, good clean air and we can just go there and we can build a new world, a new society, you know. And we can start over again, just like our forefathers had the opportunity when they came to the United States." But Jesus said, "Father, I don't pray that you take them out of the world." Oh, that means that I've got to stick around. but that you should keep them from the world . "Don't take them out, Father, but keep them from it." The Christian is like a ship which is made to float in the water. As long as it's floating in the water, it's alright. The only danger is when you get the water in the ship. The ship is to be in the water, but you get water in the ship and then you get into trouble. The Christian is made to live in the world. But you start getting the world in the Christian, you get into trouble, like getting water in the ship. You're going to sink. So, "Father, I don't ask You to take them out of the world, but do keep them from the world." What a beautiful prayer! God, keep me from the world. The pressures sometimes are so great to conform to the world, to the worldly patterns. We become accused of all kinds of things; but, Oh, God, keep us from the world. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. But sanctify them through thy truth : That is, "Separate them." And the word sanctify is to separate, to set apart. "Set them apart, Father, through Thy truth." for thy word is truth . "Keep them from the world, separate them from the world, Father, through Your truth; for Your word is truth." And as you have sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself [or, I set myself apart] that they also might be set apart through the truth. Neither do I pray for these alone , Alright! Now He's expanding His prayer beyond the realm of the disciples who were with Him at that moment, and He expands it right on down to you and to me. And now, enter in to that beautiful place...I feel like taking my shoes off, I'm on holy ground, as my Lord now intercedes for me. And what does He pray for me? "Neither pray I for these alone," but for them also which shall believe on me through their word ; You see, I've come to believe on Jesus Christ through the Word, through the words in the New Testament. And because I have come to believe on Jesus Christ through the Word, I am included in this prayer that Jesus was offering to the Father there in John 17:1-26 . And what does He pray for me and for you? Again, that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me . Jesus' prayer for the church is that of unity, that we might be one. And I think of how tragic it is and what a poor witness to the world that the church is so divided and so fractured. Now, that is not an indictment against denominations. I see the purpose of denominations; I have no problem with that. The only problem I have is when people get denominational, when they cannot see the whole church and the whole body of Christ, but they see their own little segment only and exclude the rest. That's contrary to the prayer of Christ. Someone brought to my attention this morning a letter that they had received from their pastor, who was all shook because they were going to Calvary Chapel. He said, "That name does not exist in the Bible; thus, it's a sin for you to go to a church with that name. And I can document from scripture that it's a sin to go to a church that isn't called the church of Christ." And as I read it, my heart ached for the narrowness, the shortsightedness. He is actually going against the very prayer of Jesus when He was praying, "Lord, may they be one." May God free us from the narrow sectarianism and kind of a thing that would say, "Well, I'm from Calvary Chapel." May we not identify with a particular system or whatever, but may we be able to identify with just the body of Christ and say, "I am a child of God; I'm a Christian," and let that be our identity. And if someone else says, "Well, I'm a Christian," praise the Lord, I'm one with you. "Oh, but I'm a Baptist!" I don't care. "Well, I'm a Presbyterian!" I don't care. You love my Lord? I'm one. Divisions may come, but God help us not to be any part of the division when it comes. If people want to divide themselves, that's their problem. God help us not to become any part of a division of the body of Christ. For when his body is divided, he is the one who bleeds. I don't want to go against the prayer of Christ in any way. I want to be open to accept as brothers in Christ anyone who has truly received Jesus Christ as their Lord. And I don't care if they baptize forwards or backwards or they sprinkle or whatever! I don't want to divide over those issues. It's tragic, the things that have divided the church of Jesus Christ, the divisions that have come. And they're contrary to the very thing that Jesus was praying. May God help us to be so broadened in our view of the church, that when one member suffers we will suffer with him; when one is exalted we'll be exalted with them. That we'll not become jealous because we hear that a fellowship over here is growing rapidly and they've got this and that and the other. "Well, they're this and..." God help us, keep us from that nasty mouth of putting down the body of Christ because they don't go along with us. "Lord, we saw some casting out devils, and they didn't want to come with us. And so we stopped them." Jesus said, "No, you shouldn't have done that. If they are doing it in My name, they can't very well be speaking against Me." "Lord, they don't want to receive us over there. Do you want us to call down fire from heaven and destroy them?" He said, "Wait a minute! You don't understand the nature that you're to have." And so, His prayer is that we would be one. And the glory which you gave to me I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, you in me, that they may be made [complete] perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, as you have loved me . Now Jesus is saying that this unity should come to pass for a witness to the world. "That the world may believe that You have sent Me." And I believe that there are many people that have been turned away from Jesus Christ because of that terrible faction and party spirit that exists in Christianity, as people have put up their denominational barriers and confined themselves. You know, "We are..." And people look at the church fighting and competing among itself. They see the bitternesses that arise and the church is not that witness that Jesus would have us to be. Father, I will that they also, whom You have given to me [this that I love], that they may be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which you have given to me: for you loved me before the foundation of the world . "Father, those that You have given to me, I want them to be with Me in that glory, that they might see Me in My glory." Oh, how I long to behold Jesus in His glory! How I long to see Him there sitting upon His throne, to see Him in that glorified state. How I long to be a part of that company in the book of Revelation that sings, "Worthy is the Lamb, because He was slain, and He has redeemed us by His blood out of all of the nations, tribes, tongues and people, and has made us unto our God kings and priests." And we will reign with Him upon the earth. Worthy is the Lamb to receive glory and honor and dominion and might and power and authority. To see Him in that glory, I long for that day. Now, the thing that thrills me is that I'm certain that if anybody's prayers are effective, they are the prayers of Jesus Christ. When I've got Him praying for me, I tell you, I can't lose. I'm certain that His prayers are powerful and effective, and that the Father is going to answer His prayers. I have all of the assurance in the universe that I'm going to be there, to see Him in His glory. He asked the Father that that might be so; and surely, the Father will not deny His request. Isn't that exciting! O righteous Father, the world has not known you: but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. And I have declared unto them your name, and I will declare it; that the love wherewith you have loved me may be in them , You see, it's going to be in you. You're to love as He loved. He'll put His love in you. He'll do it for you. "That the love wherewith You have loved Me might be in them," and I in them . Christianity, different from religion, because Christianity is a dynamic, it is the dynamic of the Author who has come to dwell within me to take up residence within my life, and to do in me what I cannot do in and for myself. Through the power of the risen Christ, I have the power to live the life that He has asked me to live. And so, we have just made a cursory study of the seventeenth chapter. I would encourage you before you go on to eighteen and nineteen to go back and read it over two or three more times, just to meditate upon it. Read it a verse at a time, and just stop and think about it and let the Spirit of God minister the truth to your heart. And let the words just sink in, the prayer of Jesus on your behalf. And then, we'll go on next week to chapters 18 and 19. You see, the eighteenth chapter begins, "Now when Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook of Kidron, where there was a garden..." So, this was spoken somewhere between the upper room and the garden, before He came to the Garden of Gethsemane. And so, now we'll enter into the garden with Him, and this experience unto the cross in our next study. May the Lord be with you this week, working in your life His glorious work. May this be a time of spiritual growth, as you get into the Word and as you study and as you yield your life to God, that His love might be manifested through you. That His joy might be fulfilled in you. And that His peace might just keep your heart, your life, your mind. And may you just begin to experience more and more that beautiful work of God's Spirit in your life, as He conforms us daily into the image of Jesus Christ. And so, God bless you, fill you with the Spirit, keep you in His love. In the name of Jesus. " Shall we turn to John's gospel, chapter 18. Jesus has finished His prayer, which we mentioned last week should properly be entitled the Lord's Prayer. And now, from wherever this prayer was offered, maybe it was on the temple precincts itself, as the temple gates were open all night during the time of Passover so people could come at any time and worship God. But having finished His prayer, He now crosses the Brook Kidron with His disciples that He might go over to a place on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus went often with His disciples into a garden known as Gethsemane. In those days, the wealthy people of Jerusalem had private gardens on the Mount of Olives. It could be that one of these persons who liked Jesus had given Him the key to the gate of his garden, and that Jesus had access to this particular garden there on the Mount of Olives. And He went there often with His disciples. Chapter 18, verse John 18:1 : When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where there was a garden, into which he entered, with his disciples . So, the wording and the phraseology here would indicate that it was one of these private gardens within a gated area that Jesus entered. The interesting thing is, He crossed the Brook Kidron at this point. During Passover season, there on the temple mount, for the Passover there would be slain thousands of lambs. In fact, some thirty years later than this, the Roman government sought to take a census. They could not count the people, because the Jews were opposed to a census of the people ever since the time that David took the census and the nation was judged for David's sin. So, from that time, they would never count people. In fact, the orthodox today, if you're at a party and you have to count off for a game or something, they won't count people. They'll say, "Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five." But, in the taking of the census, what they did was count the number of sheep that were killed for the Passover. Because they were curious to find out how many people were gathering in Jerusalem for these Passovers. Now, the Passover lamb had to be eaten by no fewer than ten people. And so, at the particular census made mention by Josephas, there were two hundred and fifty-six thousand sheep killed for that one Passover feast, indicating the number of people in Jerusalem at somewhere around two and a half million people gathered for the Passover. So, when they would kill the lambs, the blood would go in a little rivulet that was created on down to the Brook of Kidron. And there it would mingle with the water of the Brook Kidron and it would be bloody-looking water flowing down the stream. And as Jesus crossed it with His disciples, filled with the blood mingled with the water of the stream, which, of course, washed it on down, thinking of all of those lambs that were sacrificed for Passover, Jesus was no doubt thinking of the lamb that was to be sacrificed this Passover. "The Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world." And so, to Him, it was probably a very touching moment as He crossed that stream with His disciples, seeing it flowing red with the blood of the Passover lambs. Judas also, who betrayed him, was familiar with this garden where Jesus often went. Having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, they came out with their torches and lanterns and weapons . The band, that word in the Greek indicates a Roman contingent of either what was known as a cohort, six hundred and fifty men, or they also had an enlarged cohort, which was a thousand men comprised of two hundred and seventy cavalry men, plus the footmen, or at the least two hundred men. Now, it is interesting that they would bring such a large number of Roman soldiers along with the officers of the temple to arrest Jesus with His twelve. Why they thought they needed that many is interesting. Jesus therefore, knowing that all things should come upon him, went foRuth , He came on out of the garden. They came with their torches. Now, it was full moon; they really didn't need torches during the full moon over there. But perhaps they thought that He would be lurking somewhere in the bushes or hiding, and so they came with their torches and weapons. But Jesus came right on out to meet them. and he said unto them, Who are you looking for? And they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. And he said unto them, I am You'll notice that the word he is in italics, which means that is was added by the translators. Jesus just said, "I am." That divine name of the eternal God. When Jesus said, "I am," there went forth, no doubt, a blast of power, divine power. And as he said unto them, I am, they fell backward to the ground . Now, at that point, Jesus could have just walked off and left them lying there. It is interesting that Jesus is in control of the whole situation. He is the Master. And though they have come to arrest Him, He is the one that is giving the orders. Notice, He asked them again, Who are you looking for? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I told you that I am: if therefore you are seeking me, then let these others go : He ordered them to let the disciples go, which they did. He was in control; He was calling the orders at this point. Perfect command of the entire situation! That the scripture might be fulfilled, which said, Of them which you gave me I have lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and he smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus . Simon had been in a deep sleep. He had tried to stay awake and pray with the Lord, but he just couldn't do it. He was tired. And so, when Jesus said, "Sleep on now. Take your rest," and then He said, "Arise, the hour is come." When Peter arose out of the deep sleep, he was probably still pretty groggy, looked around, saw the crowd, pulled out his sword and began to swing. And Malchus can be glad that he was sleepy. He only caught his ear. He was trying for his head, no doubt. It is interesting the last healing miracle that Jesus performed, He performed to cover the bungling act of one of His disciples. For Jesus healed the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest. Now, Peter is one that we are prone to fault, because in just a moment he will be denying his Lord. In spite of his strong protestations earlier that he would never deny Him, that he would die for Him. Soon he will be denying Him. And we're prone to fault Peter for his cowardess, but wait a minute! Here are at least two hundred Roman soldiers plus the officers of the temple, and I'll tell you, Peter is ready to stand them all off to defend Jesus Christ. That's not cowardess, that takes some kind of a man. And so don't be too harsh on Peter. He was a man's man. He was ready to stand off the whole band. Then said Jesus to Peter, Put up your sword into the sheath: the cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Now, just a little earlier in the evening, as Jesus was in the garden, praying, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, Your will be done;" at that point, Jesus was facing the cup reluctantly. It was at that point He was submitting His will to the Father's. It wasn't something He wanted to do, desired to do. This was an act of submission to the Father. But that commitment was made. Once it was made, there was no turning back. Jesus said to His disciples, "Don't you realize that at this moment I could call ten legions of angels to deliver Me? I don't need your help, Peter. If I wanted out of this, I could get out of it very easily. But the cup that the Father has given Me to drink, shall I not drink it?" He had made His commitment, there is no turning back. Then the band and the captain and the officers took Jesus, and they bound him , How ridiculous that they should bind Him! But let me tell you, whatever they used, the ropes or whatever to bind Jesus, did not bind Jesus. Jesus was bound by something else much more powerful than the ropes. He was bound by His love for you and for me. That's what caused Him to submit to this. Not that they tied Him and were taking Him as a captive. He was not their captive, He was a captive of love. His love for you, His love for me...that's what bound Jesus to go ahead to face the cross. And they led him away to Annas first; for he was the father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year . Annas had been the high priest from the year five to the year sixteen. Annas was probably one of the most influential, powerful, wealthy men in the city of Jerusalem. At this particular time, the high priesthood was a political kind of an appointment by the Roman government. And it was secured by a bidding kind of a process. They paid and bribed for the privilege of being the high priest. It was extremely corrupted at this point. Annas was the high priest, and being the patriarch of that family, was recognized still as the power behind the office of the high priest. Five of his sons, at various times and for various periods, held the position of high priest. At this particular time, his son-in-law Caiaphas had the official Roman sanction as high priest. But Annas was still considered by the people the high priest, and he was the power behind the throne. And that is why they brought Him to Annas first. Annas was the man who had so corrupted the priesthood. He was the one who owned the booths in the temple courtyard where they sold the animals for sacrifices, where the moneychanger tables were. For he was the one extorting from the people the high prices for the sacrificial animals. You could buy a dove out on the street for about twenty cents to offer as a sacrifice. But the sacrifices had to be without spot or blemish. So, if you bought a dove out on the streets and brought it for a sacrifice, the priests would examine it carefully and they'd find some little blemish. They'd say, "I can't offer this to God. Look, it's got a blemish here. You better go over to the table over there and buy a dove from them." And of course, this was a concession owned by Annas. And they were charging ten or fifteen dollars for a dove. But if you wanted to offer a sacrifice, you had to have one the priests would accept, and these were already accepted. There were no question about these that Annas was selling in his concessionaires there. And that was thing that Jesus saw that upset Him so much, that He made a whip and He drove them out of the temple. And He overturned the moneychangers' tables and He said, "My Father's house is to be called the house of prayer, and you've made it a den of thieves, merchandising the things of God." How God gets angry at that! And I think that it would be wise for a lot of these evangelists and healers and all around the country today to realize how angry God gets when people try to merchandise the gospel, or to put in the way of men barriers to their coming to God. People who try to enrich themselves off of the gospel would do well to study the anger of Jesus when He found this going on within the temple courts. Annas had it in for Jesus ever since He had overturned his little business. Naturally, they put things right back together again. But it galled him that Jesus would have the nerve to upset his extortion racket. And so, He was first brought to this man, an extortioner, a wealthy man, a Sadducee. And there He was first tried before Annas, then to Caiaphas, and then to Pilate. So, they brought Him to Annas, the father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was the high priest that same year. So that's why there were two high priests, Annas the patriarch, the old man, recognized by the people; but the Roman government had appointed politically Caiaphas as the high priest. Now, this Caiaphas was the one who said, "Look, it's necessary that one be killed for the whole nation." And Simon Peter followed Jesus , Now, again, this is admirable. The rest of the disciples, with the exception of John, had fled. Simon got into trouble because he wasn't going to leave Jesus. He continued to follow Him. the disciple which was known unto the high priest, and went with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door . Now, this other disciple is no doubt John, referring to himself. "And he was known to the high priest." Now, how do you suppose it was that John was known to the high priest? According to the stories, John's father, Zebedee, was a very wealthy fish merchant. He had his fleet of ships...actually that was an Israeli slip. When you're there in Israel, they'll say, "Look at all of these sheeps." And they'll be talking about the sheep on the hillside, and they call them ships, and so, "See all the ships over there." So Zebedee had his fleet of fishing boats up on the sea of Galilee...(Only a fool falls in the same dish twice, and watch me fall in that one in just a minute to prove it!) And, it was impossible to get fresh fish to the market in Jerusalem. So they would salt the fish, and salted fish was one of the great delicacies. And according to the stories, and in fact today, there's a little coffee shop still in the old city of Jerusalem. And under this coffee shop there are arches and they declare to you that these arches were actually the fish market of Zebedee. And that he sold the salted fish to the high priest. Now, if this were so, as John was growing up, he probably was a delivery boy and had been there in the high priest's home many times delivering the salted fish. And this is how it is believed that John knew the high priest. At any rate, he knew him. And so, he went on in, but Peter was outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, spoke to the her that was keeping the door, and he brought Peter on in. Then the damsel said to Peter, the one keeping the door, Are you not one of this man's disciples? And Peter said, No, I'm not. And the servants and the officer stood there, who had made a fire of coals, for it was cold; and they were warming themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself . I might at this point just say: be careful whenever you seek warmth at the enemy's fires, you're in dangerous territory. The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine . Now, this was a violation of Jewish law. They had a fifth amendment kind of a thing where no man could testify against himself. You were not required to testify against yourself. There was the fifth amendment, and it was illegal to ask a man to witness against himself. So, when the high priest was asking Him the question, Annas asked Him about His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus is actually answering, saying, "Look," I spoke openly to the world; and I was always teaching in the synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews always resort; and I have said nothing in secret. So, why do you ask me? That's illegal. ask them which heard me , Bring forth your witnesses, that's the legal thing to do. Those which heard Me, and let them tell you. what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I have said . So, it was a technical, legal point that Jesus was calling the high priest on. But when he said that, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, and he said, Do you answer the high priest so? And Jesus said to him, If I have spoken evil, then you bear witness of the evil: but if well, why are you smiting me? Now, evidently, this guy standing by the high priest like to hit the prisoners. Paul had the same kind of an experience later on. When the high priest asked Paul a question and Paul challenged it and the guy hit Paul, and Paul turned and said, "God will smite you; you whited sepulchre!" He was a little more gentle than Jesus. I think of this, though, in the context of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, "And if a man smites thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." We've got to understand that particular scripture in its context. For Jesus did not really turn the other cheek. He just said, "Look, if I've said, then bear witness of the evil, and if I've brought point forth an honest point of the law, then why did you strike me?" And He challenged the man for striking Him illegally. Now Annas bound him again and sent him to his son-in-law Caiaphas . And John does not tell us about His trial before Caiaphas, but the other gospels, Matthew and Mark tell us about the trial before Caiaphas. Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Are you not also one of his disciples?' And he denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative to Malchus, the guy who's ear was cut off by Peter, said, Did I not see you in the garden with him? And Peter again denied; and immediately the cock crew . One of the other gospels tells us that at this point Jesus turned over and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the words of the Lord, and he went out and wept bitterly. It was a very hard experience for Peter. The stories tell us that in years to come, people, to bug Peter...those enemies of the gospel...would make the sound of a rooster crowing whenever they would see him. Constantly reminded of his failure. It's terrible how that people will take advantage of a weakness or the failure of the man and try and hold him down, rather than to lift him again. Such should not be the case within the family of God. If a man be overtaken in a fault, then ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, as we consider ourselves, lest we also be tempted and we also fall. As you would that men should do unto you, then do ye likewise also unto them. If I make a mistake, I want people to be patient and tolerant and considerate. Thus, I should be patient and tolerant and considerate. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." I used to tell that to my seminary professors every test time. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the hall of judgment : Now He is being brought before Pilate. and it was early; but they themselves would not go into the judgment hall , You see, it was the area of the Gentiles. And if they went into there, they would be defiled; and they couldn't celebrate the passover. So Pilate went out unto them , Interesting, how corrupt and evil they were, and yet, meticulously religious. It's a terrible thing how meticulous a person can be within the rituals of a religious system, and yet, so totally inwardly corrupt. "Oh, but I can't do that, because it's against my religious principles to eat meat on Friday, or something." Of course, that's been dropped now. But it's amazing how that we get into these little traditional things. And, as Jesus said, "You strain at a gnat, but you swallow a camel." And this is so true of people to get all bound up in the traditions of religion. They begin to strain at the littlest things, but they overlook. He said, "You pay tithe from your spice gardens as you're counting out your little anise seed, you say, 'Nine for me, one for the Lord, nine for me, one for the Lord,' counting out these little black seeds, make sure the Lord gets His tenth. And you pay tithe of your mint, your cumin, your spices; but you have omitted the more important things of righteousness and of judgment and of mercy." Now, we've got to guard ourselves against traditions and meticulous adherence to traditions, but yet, overlooking some of the more important things that God is interested in. And so, here they were, they didn't want to come in because they didn't want to defile themselves. And yet, they were engineering the crucifixion of God's Son. What a whole paradox here! So Pilate went out to them, and he said, What accusation do you bring against this man? Now, Pilate was appointed by the Roman government as a procurator of Judea. When Herod the Great had died, he divided his kingdom to his three sons. But Herod Archilles, who was over the area of Judea, began to extort such heavy taxes from the people, that they complained to the Roman government, and were granted by the Roman government to become a province of Rome under a procurator. And Pilate became the procurator over Judea. Now, the Roman headquarters in that area was in Caesarea, not Jerusalem. But the procurator had to visit every major city at least once a year, and they would usually come up for the feast days to Jerusalem because they knew that that's when all of the people would be gathered. And if there was to be any civil movement against Rome, it often occurred during these feast times. Now the first time Pilate came from Caesarea with the Roman legion into the city of Jerusalem. On the tops of the flags of the Roman legions they had these little busts of the Caesar, who was a god to the people. The Caesars took the position of gods. And so, the Jews objected to the Roman's coming in with these flags with a little golden bust of the Caesars on the top. And the other procurators had acquiesced to the Jews and had not had these little busts on the top of their gods. But Pilate was not ready to give in to their superstitions, and so, the Roman soldiers under Pilate marched right into Jerusalem with these little standards on the top of their flags. And it so incensed the Jews that they started just bugging him for this action not to do it again. And they followed him back to Caesarea and continued to bug him. And so, he commanded that they all gather into the arena there in Caesarea and he had them lock the gates. And then he said, "Alright, now you quit bugging me, or I'm going to kill you. I'll have the soldiers kill you. I don't want you to bug me on this issue any more." And the Jews all leaned over and they pulled their collars off of their necks, and they said, "Go ahead and kill us. We don't want you doing that again." Well, even as cold as Pilate was, he couldn't just have these fellows slain like that, defenseless. And so, he capitulated and he gave in on this issue. But then again, Pilate just didn't have patience with their traditions. And again, he violated some of their traditions and they appealed to the emperor and the emperor went along with the people and overruled Pilate. According to the Roman senate, they wanted the procurators to keep the provinces as peace as possible. But Pilate wasn't that kind of a personality to just bow or acquiesce. And so he was having problems, and one more report to the emperor would not be good for his record. "So Pilate went out and he said, 'What accusation do you bring against this man?'" And they said unto him, If he weren't a criminal, we would not have delivered him up to you. Pilate said unto them, Then take him, and judge him by your own laws . I mean, Pilate didn't want to be bothered with this; if they don't want to make actual charges. Now, their charge against Him was blasphemy. You remember the priest said, "Art thou then the Son of God?" And He said, "Thou sayest it." And he said, "What need we of any further witnesses? We've heard Him say it with His own mouth. Blasphemy! What do you say? He's guilty of death!" But they couldn't bring this charge of blasphemy before Pilate. So, before Pilate they had to bring other charges. He is inciting people to rebel against Rome. But Pilate really didn't have any love for these people; they had burned him already. And he didn't have any patience for their religious feelings. And so, when they said, "If He weren't a malefactor, we wouldn't have brought Him." Pilate then said, "Then you go ahead and try Him according to your own laws." He's not going to be playing games with these guys. The Jews therefore said unto him, It isn't lawful for us to put any man to death : Now, this right of capital punishment had been taken away from the Jews just a couple of years previous. According to the Talmud, the Roman government took away the right of capital punishment forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, which was destroyed in 70 A.D. Which means that in 30 A.D., the right of capital punishment was taken away from the Jews by the Roman government. When...and this is just two years before the crucifixion of Jesus...when the right of capital punishment was taken away from the Jews, many of the leaders put on sackcloth and ashes on their head and they went mourning through the streets of Jerusalem. And they said, "God has failed His promise and His word." And they had mourning over the failure of God to keep His word. For God had promised through the prophet of Jacob that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until the Messiah comes. And when, in 30 A.D., the Roman government took away the right of capital punishment, that was equivalent to removing the scepter from the people. And they mourned and they said, "God failed His promise." What they didn't realize, God had kept His promise. He was living among them at that very moment. The Messiah had come; they just didn't recognize Him. There was no need for their mourning processions; God had kept His word. But the right of capital punishment was taken away in 30 A.D. by the Roman government. And so they said, "We don't have the right. It isn't lawful for us to condemn a man to die." Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and he called Jesus, and he said unto him, Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus said, Do you want to know this for yourself, or did others tell you about me? "Is this really something you want to know, or is this just something that you've heard?" You know, there are a lot of questions that people ask, that they really don't want an answer; they only want an argument. There are honest questions and there are dishonest questions. I'll take all day to answer an honest question; I have no time for dishonest questions. And there are those who come up with dishonest questions all the time. And I have no patience with dishonest questions. People don't really want an answer to their question; they just want an argument. And there are certain pat questions that I have asked of me that I know that are only designed to bring an argument, and I know exactly where they're coming from. After they've asked the second or third question, I know exactly where they're coming from. And I can become very much like Romaine very quickly when I get a dishonest questioner. Jesus was asking Pilate, "Do you really want to know? Or do you want an argument? Did someone else tell you this of Me, or are you really asking?" Pilate said, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you unto me: what have you done? Jesus answered me, My kingdom is not of this world : You ask me if I'm a King? Yes. But my kingdom is not of this world. if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from here. Pilate therefore said unto him, Are you then a king? And Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king . Or more literally, "You said it, I am a king." To this end was I born, and for this cause I came unto the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. And every one that is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said unto him, What is truth? I'm sure at this point Pilate was very cynical after his encounters with the Jews and the problems that he had faced as the procurator of this area. And I think that it was a question of cynicism, "What is truth?" And when he said this, he went out again to the Jews, and he said unto them, I find no fault in him. But you have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will you therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber . So, here is Pilate's first attempt to release Jesus. Because of the custom of the Passover, for the Roman government to show favor unto the people, he was to release a prisoner. And so, he tried to release Jesus as the Passover prisoner. But they cried for Barabbas. So Pilate sought the second time for releasing Jesus by having Him scourged, hoping that the horrible, brutal punishment of the scourging would suffice the thirst for blood that these people had. " Chapter 19 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him . The scourging was a whipping that was done to examine the prisoners. It was a third degree technique of the Roman Empire. They did not have amnesty in those days, or human rights. They had a third degree that was totally unmerciful. They would tie a prisoner to a post so that the back was stretched out. And then with a cat of nine tails whip, a leather whip with little bits of glass and lead imbedded in it designed to rip the flesh, they would lay the whip across the back of the prisoner thirty-nine times. Forty is the number of judgment, thirty-nine the number of mercy. So, judgment must be tempered by mercy, so they would lay thirty-nine stripes. As they would lay the stripe across his back, the prisoner would cry out a crime that he had committed. And every time he would cry out a crime, the lash would be a little less severe. Until by the time the thirty-ninth stripe came, they would just sort of lay the whip across his back. But, if the prisoner would not confess a crime, then every stripe would be harder and harder and harder, until he would be forced to scream out in sheer agony the crimes that he had committed. Imagine Jesus in this plight, nothing to confess. And so, "and as the sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth" . And they laid upon Him the full force of the thirty-nine stripes, and they scourged Him. There's not much said about that, but we cannot imagine the agony. Many times prisoners died as the result of these scourgings. Before the thirty-ninth stripe was laid upon them, they were already dead from the loss of blood and just from the extreme pain. But Jesus bore that suffering. Now, the question; inasmuch as all of this is a part of God's plan, these stripes being laid upon Him were a part of God's predetermined plan. It was prophesied in the book of Isaiah, so God knew it in advance. If He knew it in advance, He planned it in advance. As Peter was talking to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, he said, "You, according to the predeterminate council and foreknowledge of God, with your wicked hands have crucified and slain Him. According to the predeterminate council and foreknowledge." Now why would God, in His predeterminate council, determine that Jesus should not only die that horrible death of the cross, but also be scourged, receive the stripes? Going back to the prophecy of Isaiah, "He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes we are healed" . Jesus was there, definitely, making provision for healing for His people. I believe that that healing goes beyond the spiritual healing. I do not believe that you can deny that also there is physical healing involved through the suffering of Jesus. Matthew's gospel, chapter 8, "And they brought to Him many who were sick and afflicted with diverse, various kinds of diseases. And He healed them all, that the scripture might be fulfilled which declared, 'He bore our suffering in His own body.'" So that when Paul was writing to the church concerning their taking of the Lord's supper, he said unto them, "There are many of you who are weak and sick because you do not understand the Lord's body. Jesus took the bread and He broke it, and said, 'This is My body broken for you.'" Those in Corinth, many of them were sick because they did not understand the provision that God had made for them through the scourging of Jesus. "And he scourged Him." And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and they put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. They said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands . Now, Jesus had already experienced a tremendous buffeting in the house of Caiaphas. There, they put a covering over His head. And with this bag over His head, they began to hit Him. Now, that's vicious. We are fearfully and wonderfully designed, and we are designed to have automatic reflex actions. And when we see a blow coming, we automatically reflex to protect ourselves from that blow by fainting and going with the blow, thus cushioning it. And as long as you see the blow coming, it's amazing what you can absorb. As long as your body can see it coming and you can then compensate and cushion and relax and flow with it. You see these quarterbacks, you know, these big ol' tackles come in and just massacre them, and you think, "Oh man, he'll never get up," and he jumps up back to his feet and he runs to the huddle. He saw the guy coming. Where they really get hurt is when they get blind-sided. They're not able to prepare themselves, and that's where your ribs get broken, where your collarbone gets broken. That's where you really get hurt, is when you get blind-sided, because there your body is not responding. You don't have this opportunity of reflex action. You can step off a curb and break your leg if you don't know the curb is there. Because you haven't set your body to react for that height. And just the height of a step, you can break your leg by just going down hard, not knowing that the step is there. So by covering Jesus' eyes, by covering His head, and then buffeting Him, no chance to faint or to respond, and you take the full force of the blow, you don't know it's coming, Wham! That hurts! He'd already taken that kind of abuse. It's amazing how that animals will pick on one that is already down. You've heard of henpecking. If there's one that is sick or small or scrawny, they'll all peck it until they kill it. It's just a part of animal nature. And man without God is no more than an animal. Man recognizes that. And those men who are without God talk about the highly evolved form of animal life. And they look at the monkey and tip their hat to their ancestor. Because they naturally relate to the animal kingdom, because they live like animals apart from Jesus Christ. Until that spiritual dimension of your life is open through Jesus Christ, you are no more than an animal. And these men, as animals, seeing Jesus already battered, were not satisfied, but continued this ungodly persecution of a righteous man. His face already bruised, swollen, bloodied by the blows from Caiaphas, they continued the abuse by smiting Him, putting on the crown of thorns, mocking Him. There is a horrible mob psychology, where people lose all of their natural inhibitions and restraints and act as a mob and like an animal. And it's always shocking the things that people can do in the anonymity of a mob. The true vicious nature of man, sinful nature of man is revealed. Pilate therefore went forth again, and he said unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him. And Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate said unto them, Behold the man! I think that Pilate was saying this in awe of Jesus. He had just seen Him take thirty-nine stripes without a word. He had heard other men in that condition screaming out in agony. He had heard others as they cried out their crimes, the shrieks, the curses; and yet here, He takes it all without a word, without a whimper. And I'm sure that at this point, Pilate was so totally impressed; the kingly nature of Jesus, how He stood up to the buffeting, to this whole horrible scene. And I'm sure that Pilate's heart was filled with awe and reverence. And he said, "Behold, the man!" And I'm sure that Pilate thought, "I have never seen a man like that in all my life. Behold, the man, every bit the man!" The epitome of manhood was found in Jesus Christ our Lord. He is one that every man can look up to as a model and seek to follow that role model. Every inch a man! Therefore, When the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate said unto them, Do you want to take him, and crucify him? I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate heard that saying, he was all the more afraid; And he went again into the judgment hall, and he said to Jesus, Where did you come from? But Jesus did not answer him. Then Pilate said unto him, Don't you answer me? Don't you know that I have the power to crucify thee, and I have the power to release thee? Jesus then answered, You could have no power at all against me, unless it was given to you from above: therefore he that delivered me unto you has the greater sin . Pilate, you have a sin, but they have a greater sin. From that time Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: for whosoever makes himself a king is speaking against Caesar . Uh-oh, he's already lost one bout to Caesar; the next bout will cost him his kingdom. Pilate's past is catching up with him. And so, When Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, sat down at the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, in Hebrew, it is Gabbatha. It was preparation for the passover, and it was about the sixth hour : That is about nine o'clock in the morning. and he said to the Jews , That is, in the Roman calendar. Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. And Pilate said unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar . I'm sure that that took Pilate back. He knew what rebels they were against Rome, but to hear the chief priests say, "We have no king but Caesar;" it was that subtle intimation, "If you let this man go, a report is going directly to Caesar, and it's your job, buddy!" Here's a man claiming to be a king. He can't be a friend of Caesar's. And so, " Pilate delivered him to be crucified. And they led Jesus away . Pilate had a very difficult decision to make. He knew in his heart what was right, but he was being pressured by the crowd into a decision he knew was wrong. That's always a hard position to be in, when in your heart you know what you ought to do. In your heart you know what is the right thing, but there's the pressures pushing you to do the wrong thing. And what a tragedy when a person succumbs to those evil pressures and does that which is a violation of his own conscience, his own knowledge of what is right. Sad, always, to violate your own conscience and do that which in your heart you know is wrong. Pilate had the power to crucify Jesus or to release Him. Pilate knew that the right thing to do was to release Him. There was no fault. If He would take the scourging without crying out any crimes, He had to be innocent. Pilate asked them the question, "What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They cried, "Crucify Him!" "Why? What evil has he done?" They just cried louder, "Crucify Him!" No argument, there's no real reason, just the loud cries of the crowd. And Pilate succumbed to those, and he delivered Him to be crucified. That question that Pilate faced is a question that each of us must face. What am I going to do with Jesus who is called the Christ? You see, every one of us are in Pilate's position. This is just not a recorded fact of history; this is relevant to you tonight. Each one of you must make the same decision that Pilate had to make, what will I do with Jesus who is called the Christ? And you can either believe in Him or not believe in Him. But as many as believed on Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to those that believed upon His name. Or you cannot believe. You can confess Him or you can deny Him. "And if you will confess Me before men," Jesus said, "I will confess you before my Father which is in heaven. But if you deny Me before men, I'll also deny you before the Father in the presence of the holy angels." You can receive Him or reject Him. What will you do with Jesus who is called Christ? Now, there's an interesting paradox here. As I told you, Jesus was the one that was in control of the whole scene. Pilate was supposedly the judge; Jesus was the plaintiff. In reality, Pilate was the plaintiff. His decision was not affect Jesus at all, because what God had pre-ordained was going to take place. Pilate's decision did not affect Jesus. What Jesus had to do, He had to do. What He did, He did. Pilate's decision affected his destiny. His own destiny was determined by the decision he made. And even so with you. Though in a sense you must make your judgment, "What am I going to do with Christ?," your decision does not at all alter the destiny of Jesus Christ. What He is, He is. Where He is, He is. That cannot and will not change, no matter what you believe. You may go on saying, "I don't believe that two and two is four." That doesn't change the fact. It only makes you a fool. What you do with Jesus Christ doesn't alter Him, but it does determine your own destiny. And thus, you are the judge of your own fate, as you face the question, "What will I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" The destiny of your own eternal future is in your hands. Then he delivered him to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth to the place called the place of a skull, in the Hebrew it is Golgotha : In the Latin it is Calvary. Where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side, and Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF THE KING OF THE JEWS . Now, when the sentence of crucifixion was given by the Roman judge, immediately the prisoner was surrounded by four Roman soldiers. He was given his cross and he was to bear his own cross. They would take the longest route through the city. In front of the prisoner would march another Roman soldier with the accusation against the prisoner the crime for which he was being crucified. And as they would go through the streets, it would be a warning to all of the people who would see this man on the way to his death. "This is the crime that he committed against Rome, and this is why he is being crucified." And it would put fear in the hearts of the people to rebel against Rome. And so, the soldier going in front with that accusation, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," parading through the streets of Jerusalem, out the Damascus gate, over onto the top of Mount Moriah, there above the area that looks like a skull, to be crucified. Crucifixion was such a horrible, awful death, that it was ruled by Rome that it could not ever be administered to a Roman citizen; it was too horrible a death. And yet, Jesus, the Son of God, condemned to crucifixion. This title read many of the Jews; for the place where Jesus was crucified was near to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin . From the city wall above Herod's gate, you can look right across at Calvary, Golgotha. It's within a stone's throw. And the people there on the wall of the city looking over and seeing the three prisoners could hear the cries and watch the agony in that horrible scene. Then the chief priests of the Jews came to Pilate and they said, Don't write, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am the King of the Jews . But Pilate had no patience with these fellows. And he said, What I have written I have written . Get lost! Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part ; One took His sandals, one took the girdle, one took the inner robe. But the outer robe, the coat that Jesus wore, was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said among themselves, Let's not tear it, but let's cast lots for it, whose it shall be : Now, Psalms 22:1-31 , it said, "They parted my garments among them, but for my vesture they did cast lots." Actually, what they would do is gamble. They had dice, and they would throw the dice to see who would get the sandals, throw the dice to see who would get the inner coat and the various articles. And when they got to the outer coat, they're gambling, as Jesus was dying, over who would get the robe. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene . So, the three Mary's there at the cross. And when Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son! No doubt, indicating John. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour that disciple took her into his own home . A beautiful bond between Jesus and His mother Mary. She had born a secret for a long time, the secret of the incarnation. She knew that the child was a special child. The angel of the Lord had told her that before she ever conceived Him by the Holy Spirit. "He shall be great, He shall be called the Son of the Highest. And of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end." And Mary buried that in her heart, wondering, "Oh my, what kind of child is this going to be?" And when Joseph and Mary brought Him into the temple to be presented unto the Lord, this ancient man Simeon, a godly man, and the Lord had said unto him, "Simeon, you're not going to die until you have seen the Messiah." And as Mary and Joseph came with the child, he took Him up in his arms and he said, "Oh God, now let your servant depart in peace, for I have seen Your salvation." But he turned to Mary and he said, "There's going to be a sword that will pierce your soul." And right now, Mary was understanding what he was talking about as that sword of grief pierced her soul as she saw her son there on the cross. Mary standing there close by the cross to see the end. "If I were hanged on the highest hill, oh mother of mine, oh mother of mine, I know whose love would follow me still, oh mother of mine, oh mother of mine." And there was Mary, standing. And Jesus, though in this period of agony, great pain, took care to take care of her. "Woman, behold your son!" Indicating John. "John, behold your mother!" And John took her into his home from that time on. No doubt Joseph was already dead. And the brothers of Jesus at this point did not believe in Him. There is a closer bond always created in the family of God than even in our natural families, if they are not also in God. "Behold your mother!" "Behold your son!" After this, Jesus Having taken care of His mother, this is it. Having done this, knowing that all things were now accomplished , As we told you, this word teleo is accomplished or paid or finished, "...knowing that all things were now accomplished," that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. And when Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished : Teleo, it is accomplished, it is paid! God's work is complete! "I came not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. I have come to do the will of the Father, and to finish his work. It is finished!" God's work of redemption for lost man is a finished work wrought by Jesus Christ upon the cross, and there's nothing you can add to it by your good works to be accepted by God. All you can do is receive that finished work of Jesus. Any endeavor on your part to improve on the righteousness that God has already accounted to you is only going to mar things, it's not going to help. It's finished, God's work of redemption is complete. And you can receive the greatest benefits with the simplest act of faith, just believing. and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost . Or dismissed His Spirit, delivered up His Spirit. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the body should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day , Notice John says, (for that sabbath day was a high day,) Within the Passover feast, the first and the last day of the Passover feast were called high days, extra Sabbath days. So, this was not necessarily the Sabbath Saturday. And there is where we get a confusion; how could Jesus be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth if He were crucified on Friday? So, the high day Sabbath was probably the Thursday, so they had a double Sabbath day. And Jesus was probably crucified during the day on Thursday. And then, the Sabbath day on Friday, actually, and then the Sabbath day on Saturday; the double Sabbath on Friday and Saturday. And then early the morning of the first day of the week they came and found the empty tomb. But John, notice, tells us that this was a particular ceremonial Sabbath day in regards to the Passover; it was the high day. But because it was coming and they were preparing for it and they could not do any work and all, when it started they begged Pilate that the legs might be broken in order that they might hasten the death and get the prisoners down off the cross. Now, crucifixion was begun in Persia. Because the Persians considered the ground sacred, if a man was evil enough to be crucified, they felt that his body shouldn't be placed in the ground. So, they were hung on a cross. And after they died their bodies were then eaten by the vultures, and thus, their bodies did not spoil the ground. Most generally, they did not bury those who were crucified, but they left them to the vultures and to the dogs. And the Jews, however, did bury those that were crucified. But the Romans generally did not, the Carthegians did not, nor did the Persians who originated crucifixion, but left them just hanging there until they were consumed by the vultures and the dogs. Now, they wanted to break the legs so they could hasten the death and take them down before the Sabbath. And the soldiers came, and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and they broke not his legs : Jesus had said earlier, "No man takes My life from Me. I'm giving My life. I have the power to give it, and I have the power to take it up again." So, He gave His life; He dismissed His Spirit before the soldiers ever got there with the spear. He was already dead. They marveled that He was already dead. And so, they did not break His legs. That was important from a prophetic standpoint, for the scripture said, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken." You see, He was dying as a sacrificial Lamb of God. Now, they were not to offer a lamb that had any blemish or any spot or any broken bone. God didn't want an old sick lamb. You say, "Well, it's got a broken leg and it's going to die. Let's make a sacrifice unto God with this thing." God says, "No way, don't give me your hand-offs, or your cast-offs." And so, under the law they couldn't give a lamb that had a spot or a blemish. They couldn't give a lamb that had broken bones. God knew the nature of man, how we're apt to just cast anything off on Him, save the best for ourselves. And God says, "Not so!" And so, with Jesus, in order to fulfill the type of the sacrificial lamb, could not have a broken bone. And it was prophesied, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken." Now, had one of those soldiers just, you know, swung the sledgehammer and broke His leg anyhow, then we would have to say, "Well, we better look for another Messiah. Jesus cannot be the Messiah. His bones were broken." Oh, God was there to protect from such an accident. And instead of breaking His bone, he took his spear and put it into His side in order that the scripture that might be fulfilled that spoke about His side being pierced. No broken bones, but they pierced His side. And thus, the prophecy was fulfilled. And we need look no further for a Messiah. Jesus indeed fulfilled all of the prophecies. It is accomplished, performed, paid, fulfilled! One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and there came forth blood and water. And he that saw it , That is John, "I was standing there, I saw it..." he bears record and his record is true; and he knows what he is saying, that it is true , "And I'm writing it," he said, that you might believe . John said, "Look, I was there. I saw it. I know what I saw, I bear record of the truth of what I saw and I'm writing it to you that you might believe." For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture says, They shall look on him whom they pierced . That particular prophecy, "They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced," it's a different Hebrew word than the word used, "They pierced His hands and His feet." It's a piercing with a sword. "And they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced." The fact that blood and water came forth indicates that if an autopsy were performed, they would have discovered that Jesus died of a ruptured heart. For when the heart ruptures, a watertight substance fills a sack around the heart. And when they put the spear into His heart and pulled it out, the water and blood indicates death by a ruptured heart, or you might say a broken heart. A heart that was broken over the sin of the world. And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews , There's a lot of secret disciples today, I guess, for fear of the guys at work will make fun of them and all; but I always like it when the disciples come out of the closet. and they besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him permission. And he came therefore, and he took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, that one that came to Jesus by night, and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. They took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as is the manner of the Jews to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never a man yet laid. And there they laid Jesus because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was near . And handy really, it was right there close by. Now if you will go today to Jerusalem, and you see the skull on the side of the mountain at the top of Mount Moriah, just adjacent to it there is a lovely garden that is an ancient garden, because you can see the cisterns that are still there from ancient days that were used for the watering of that garden. And there happens to be in that garden, a very interesting tomb that has a little trough in front of it that shows that at one time, there was a stone rolled along that trough to cover the door of that tomb. I am of the personal deep conviction that that is the very tomb where Jesus' body lay. What happened to the stone? Probably was chipped off and sold for souvenirs through the years. But, thank God this is not the end of the story. Continued next week, as we come into the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we will finish the gospel of John next week. And then we will enter into that exciting book of the Acts of the apostles, as we continue our journey through the Word of God, studying to show ourselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. How important that we know God's word! And so, continuing on through the Word, next week, finish the gospel of John. May the Lord be with you and watch over you this week. May you just have a beautiful encounter with God. Even as God's love was manifested to us through the death of Jesus Christ, may God manifest His love to you this week in special ways. That you'll just get that beautiful warmth from the realization, "Hey, God loves me! He knows all about me!" And that from that recognition there will come that automatic, natural response, "Oh, God, I love You." And may you come into a deep loving relationship with God, as you walk with Him this week. In Jesus' name. " Shall we turn in our Bibles now to the gospel according to John, chapter 20. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and she saw the stone was taken away from the sepulchre. Then she ran, and came to Simon Peter, and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we don't know where they have laid him . Now, the other gospels tell us that Mary came with several of the women. And there is no need to think a discrepancy, nor to think that Mary did not come with several women early to the sepulchre. John makes mention of Mary because she is the one that ran to his house and brought Peter and him the news of the empty tomb. But notice what she said when she brought the news. "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre and we..." not, "I know not," but, "we know not," inferring indeed that the other ladies were with her, as the other gospels relate. And they came to the sepulchre and found the stone rolled away. And so, this account is not contradictory to the other gospels as some people would suppose. There are differences in the accounts of the resurrection morning and of the events that happened which can all be harmonized very easily. But some people see insolvable differences and, of course, the Bible critics like to play up the differences in the various accounts that are given. Instead of proving that the Bible is not the Word of God, it definitely proves that the writers did not get together in collusion, and say, "Alright, let's keep our stories straight, fellows! This is the way we've got to tell it." And if every story was exactly the same and all of the details, then there would be great cause to question whether or not there was not collusion in the writing of the story. But because we get it from different angles, it precludes collusion. So, Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple [who we know to be John], and they came to the sepulchre . Now, Mary, no doubt, was there at the home of John when Mary Magdalene came with the news, because John took her to his house, the nineteenth chapter, and she stayed with him. So Peter and John went running to the sepulchre to find out just what had happened. They ran both of them together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter , Now, I don't know that John needed to add that to the record, but perhaps a bit of boasting there. He was a younger man, and so he did outrun Peter. and he came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying there; yet he did not go in. When Peter following him, went into the sepulchre, and he saw the linen clothes lie , Now, the Greek construction indicates that the linen clothes that were wrapped around Jesus were still lying in a circular form as though a body were in them. And the napkin, that had been about his head, was folded in a corner by itself . So that they could see that there was no body within the linen wrappings. This, of course, brings up the question of the shroud of Turin, as to whether or not it was actually the shroud that was wrapped around Jesus Christ. And there are many who do believe that it was indeed the shroud wrapped around Christ. I have difficulty with that, inasmuch as John's gospel tell us distinctly that the linen cloth that was about His head was folded and over in a corner by itself. And in the shroud of Turin, it has the entire form including the head. And so, that it was indeed the shroud that was around Jesus, I seriously question myself. I think that the Lord has deliberately allowed all of those relics that involve the life and the ministry of Christ to be lost in obscurity through the years. Because He knows that tendency of man to worship an object. And God doesn't want us worshipping objects; He wants us worshipping Him. And so, the silver chalice of Antioch, which they say was the very cup that Jesus drank from, or the disciples drank from at the last supper--Jesus did not drink from it--I question its authenticity. For years they sold splinters from the cross, and you could purchase little splinters from the cross. Of course, this was a practice that began around the year 400. When they had finally sold enough splinters, putting them together, you could have built a good-sized house. Someone was now pointing out the fact that there were enough splinters now to make a house, and so the church developed the dogma of the miraculous multiplication of the cross. And so, according to this dogma of the miraculous multiplication of the cross, every time they took a splinter out a new one would form, so that they could keep selling them. It is tragic that man has such difficulty worshipping the unseen God and needs an object, which so easily becomes an idol. Or idolatry. And that is the worship of any object, is idolatry. And that is something that is forbidden by the scriptures. But it is something that man is so prone to do. And because of man's penchant towards idolatry, I do feel that the Lord deliberately just X'd out all of the stuff that related to Jesus Christ. Things that He may have touched, the coin that Peter took out of the fish's mouth, and all of these kind of things. And I believe that the Lord just deliberately has removed these artifacts to keep us from idolatry. Now, whenever a person begins to worship an artifact, there's always a twofold revelation. Number one: it reveals that that man has lost the consciousness of the power and the presence of God in his life. The moment I am worshipping some artifact, it means I have lost that vital consciousness of God's presence. It means that I am somehow longing for that which I lost. And so, I have a reminder of what God had done. But idolatry, any idolatry, always speaks of a degraded state of spiritual experience. Well, of course, just the very way that the shroud of Turin is treated as an artifact of which great reverence and all is placed upon, is just a classic indication of why the Lord, I think, allowed all of the things to deliberately be lost or discarded. Now, the other disciple [after Peter went in], also went in to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed . So, John bears record of his own belief. When he saw the clothes lying there, he realized that Jesus must have risen. For as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. And the disciples went away again unto their own homes . Probably back to tell Mary what they had discovered. That is, Mary the mother of Jesus who was staying at John's house. To me, it is interesting; "for they did not yet know the scripture." And yet Jesus had told them that He would rise again the third day. Yet, they just did not still fully comprehend this. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping : Now, John and Peter had run to the sepulchre. They went in, saw the grave clothes lying there, and went on back to John's house. Mary, after telling them that the sepulchre was empty, made her way back again to the sepulchre, this time alone. and as she was there weeping, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and she saw two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they said unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? And she said unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus . Now, it is interesting to me how that Mary wasn't interested in the angels. These two men sitting there in white, saying, "Why are you weeping?" Now, what would be your response if you saw angels? I'm sure we would be very fascinated. We'd be intrigued. But you know, when your heart is longing for Jesus, even angels won't do! And she was longing for Jesus; she was wanting Jesus. And angels are not even a decent substitute when your heart is yearning after Jesus. And so, she turned away from the angels, not really interested in angels. "I want my Lord." And Jesus was standing there and she did not recognize Him. Now, it is interesting how that there did seem to be a certain difficulty in recognizing the risen Christ, and the difficulty, it would appear, was on the part of the beholder. We read that the two fellows were on the road to Emmaus and Jesus joined with them, but they did not recognize Him. It said, "For their eyes were holden that they could not see." In other words, there was an actual spiritual thing involved here, where the recognition of Him was something that was held back by God. And it was not until He had broken the bread and they probably saw the nail prints in His hands that they recognized Him. When we get into the next chapter of John's gospel here, when Jesus had prepared the fish for them on the shore, again it said, "And none of them dared ask Him, 'Who are you?,' knowing that it was Jesus." So, there was probably a difference in His physical appearance, enough in His resurrected body that He was not easily identifiable by just the appearance alone. Now, Mary did not know that it was Jesus. She thought maybe He was the gardener standing there. It is possible that it was early in the morning, and because she had been weeping so much that her vision was distorted by the tears in her eyes. Though she did not recognize that physical form, she sure did recognize the voice. But first of all, He said unto her the same thing that the angels had said, Woman, why weepest thou? who are you looking for? Now, I heard a fellow the other night say that Jesus did not know everything while He was in this body on the earth, therefore He asked questions. For He really didn't know the answers. I heard that on channel 40. And just be careful what you hear on that channel; it isn't always sound biblical doctrine. The Bible says, "Prove all things and hold fast that which is good." I think that it is very presumptive for a person to make that declaration, and I think that it borders on blasphemy of Jesus Christ. Do you think that Jesus said to Mary, "Why weepest thou?" because He didn't know why she was weeping? Of course He knew why she was weeping! Questions are often used in teaching methods; not so that the teacher can find out the answer, but so that the person can find out what they know or can express what they know. And it is a very common teaching practice to ask questions, not because you don't know the answers, but you want people to start thinking. Our minds are lazy oftentimes, and if someone asks a question, they think, "Well, what is that?" And it starts you thinking, and it starts drawing out from you. And it's a very common teaching practice. In fact, I heard of a little kid who went home from kindergarten. And his mother said, "Well, how was your first day of school?" He said, "It was terrible, I'm never going back to that place again. That teacher is the most stupid person in the world." And the mother said, "What do you mean?" He said, "All day long all she did was ask questions. 'What's one and one?' She doesn't know anything!" And to say, "Well, Jesus asked questions because He didn't know" is absolutely wrong. That is an assumption that is not correct. In fact, it's unbiblical because John told us that Jesus didn't need for any man to testify to Him about other men, because He knew men and He knew what was in men. And when Jesus the third time said, "Peter, do you love Me?" Peter said, "Lord, you know all things." Yet Peter had just been asked a question. Peter recognized that Jesus wasn't asking the question for His own benefit; He was asking it for Peter's benefit. "Lord, you know all things." And so, to suggest that Jesus was asking questions in order that He might gain information is unbiblical and manifestly wrong. "Woman, why weepest thou? Whom are you seeking?" He knew good and well why she was weeping and who she was looking for. She, supposing him to be the gardener, said unto him, Sir, if you have born him away from here, if you'll just tell me where you have laid him, I will take him away . In this I see the strength of love. We're all familiar with the picture of the little guy carrying the boy in his arms, and he's looking up to the man and saying, "He ain't heavy, mister. He's my brother." The power of love, the strength of love. I imagine that Jesus was a fairly robust person physically. And a limp, dead body is hard to lift. But yet, Mary says, "Hey," and I don't suppose she was that big, she said, "If you'll just tell me where you've taken Him, I'll carry Him away." And I'll bet she could have. The strength of love. Jesus said unto her, Mary . Now, there were many Mary's that followed Jesus. There was His mother Mary. There was that other Mary mentioned at the cross. There was Mary Magdalene. And with all of these Mary's around, it could get confusing. In our household it was confusing because of Chuck Jr. So, someone called, "Chuck," and oftentimes both of us would answer. So, I imagine that Jesus had a certain way of saying "Mary" in a personalized way for each of them. So that when He would say "Mary" or "Ma-r-y," that they would recognize from His intonation which Mary He was talking to. And I imagine that He had a way of saying "Mary" that was just specially and specifically for Mary Magdalene, this woman out of whom seven devils had been cast, who became a fervent disciple. And He said, "Mary!" in such a tone that she knew exactly who it was that she cried, "Rabboni! Master!" And Jesus said unto her, Touch me not ; Now, here again the Bible critics have a field day, because in the other gospels it tells us that the women came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him. And later on in this chapter, He is going to say to John, "Take your finger and put it into My hand. See if it isn't Me. Put it there in the prints. You say you won't believe until you see the prints and the scar in My side, go ahead! Do it, Thomas." So, the fact that the one gospel says the woman held Him by the feet and worshipped Him, and in John's gospel Jesus said to Mary, "Touch Me not." "Naturally the Bible can't be the Word of God; it's just the confused writings of men." If you'll look more carefully at what Jesus said in the Greek language, He said to Mary, "Mary, don't cling to Me." I can imagine that when Jesus said "Mary" and she cried out "Master!" that she fell upon Him and grabbed Him around the neck in a chokehold, as if to say, "You got away from me once, but You'll never get away from me again. I'm not letting go." And thus, He said, "Mary, don't cling to Me." I'm not yet ascended to my Father: but go and tell my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and to your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her . Now, though Mary had come and told the disciples, "I've seen the Lord. He talked to me, He told me to come and tell you that He hasn't yet ascended to the Father," I would imagine that they must have just passed it off as the hysterics of an excited woman. At this point, Thomas was not the only doubter. They were, all of them, pretty much still doubting at this point. In fact, the two disciples, you remember, who took off for Emmaus, according to Luke's gospel, and who were walking on the road to Emmaus. When Jesus joined with them, and He said unto them, "Hey, fellows, why do you look so sad?" Oh, here He is asking questions again. Doesn't He know anything? "What's wrong with you fellows?" They said, "You must be a stranger around here if you don't know the things that have been happening lately in Jerusalem." And again, Jesus asked a question, "What things?" You really don't think Jesus didn't know what had happened in Jerusalem? And they said unto Him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people." Both His deeds and words, a mighty prophet. "And how the chief priests and our own rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death and have crucified Him, but we had trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, it's the third day since these things were done. Yes, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, who went early to the sepulchre. When the found not His body, they came, saying that they also had seen a vision of angels which said He was alive. These ladies, they have visions of angels, and said He was alive! And certain of them which were with us," that is Peter and John, "they went to the sepulchre and found it even so as the women had said. But they didn't see Him." And he said unto them, "Oh, fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" You see, you still hadn't believed, though the women came and said, "Hey, we saw the angels," they said, "He's alive." Peter and John went; they found the tomb empty, but, you know, "no one's seen Him." Of course, at this point, they didn't have Mary Magdalene's story. They had taken off for Emmaus. That same evening , Earlier in the afternoon, He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And it is interesting to me the very first person Jesus appeared to after His resurrection was a woman. And He appeared to her who loved ?Him so much. Jesus said, "He who is forgiven much, loves much." And His response to Mary's weeping, His response to her love, was that she was the first one that He appeared to. Then to the other women who held His feet and worshipped Him. And then to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And now it's the evening. Jesus made a quicker trip back from Emmaus than the other two disciples, though I imagine that they were pretty fast getting back. "Then the same day at evening," being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you . The typical Jewish salutation of peace, shalom. When he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side . Now, Jesus at this point still is bearing the marks of the cross. He showed them His hands, His side. "It's Me." When He is in heaven, He will still be bearing the marks of the cross, for in Revelation chapter 5, when the scroll is in the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne and the angel proclaims with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals?" And John is weeping because "no one is found worthy in heaven and earth under the sea to take the scroll, or even to look thereon." The elders said unto John, "Behold, weep not, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has prevailed to take the scroll and loose the seals." And John said, "I turned and I saw Him as a lamb that had been slaughtered." Still the marks of the cross. Isaiah in chapter 52 tells us that all that look upon Him will be astonished, shocked, because His face has been so marred, you can't recognize Him as a human being. In the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, he tells us that "we, as it were, hid our face from Him." The idea being that His appearance was so shocking that you can't really stand to look. But then he goes on to say, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities." Now, when Jesus returns, He will still be bearing the marks, "for they shall look on Him whom they have pierced." How long will He bear these marks? I don't know; surely not all of eternity. For John sees Him in the book of Revelation in chapter 1 in that glory of the kingdom, and he describes that glorious vision of Christ in Revelation, chapter 1. But for a time, and I'm sure, as a shocking reminder to us of just what He was willing to endure in order to bring us salvation, your first view of Jesus is apt to be a very shocking experience. Just be prepared for it. So often, we think, "Oh, to look upon the face of Jesus," and we behold a perfect face. The Rose of Sharon, the Lilly of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star, fairer than ten thousand. But your first view is apt to be very shocking, as shockingly you are reminded how much God loves you, as you see what He was willing to endure to bring you salvation. So, Jesus showed them His hands and His side. And then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then Jesus said unto them again, [Shalom] Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you . "The Father sent Me." To what? "To serve, to give my life for others, so send I you." How? For what? To serve and to give yourself for others. I cannot abide that teaching that declares that it is God's will that all of us be prosperous and healthy and, you know, "If you're not driving a Mercedes, it's because you lack faith. That it is never God's will for His children to suffer. God is never glorified by His children suffering." That is a denial of Jesus Christ and the cross. Surely it was God's will that He suffer for our sins. And Peter, writing his epistles said, "And those who suffer according to the will of God, just commit your souls unto Him as a faithful creator." But he speaks of suffering according to the will of God. Such a thing is indeed possible. And that doctrine that is being taught is scriptural garbage. "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you." To give yourself, to serve; not to lord over people, but to give yourself. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit : "He breathed on them." It is interesting to me that the word for spirit in Hebrew is ruwach, which is the same Hebrew word for breath. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma, which is the Greek word for air. Pneumatic tires means tires that you fill with air. Pneuma--air. But it also the Greek word for spirit. So, in the Old Testament, when God formed man out of the dust of the earth, He breathed into man. Now, when the Hebrew scholars translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, which is known as the Septuagint, it's a translation of the Old Testament into Greek, done by seventy scholars some 200 years before Christ. When they made this Septuagint translation, the Greek word "breathed into man, and he became a living soul," is the same word that John uses here and it's the only place it's used in the New Testament. "Jesus breathed on them." Even as God breathed into that shell that He had formed out of the dust of the earth and man became a living spirit. But that spirit, you remember, died when man sinned and man lost fellowship with God. Now Jesus is restoring that which was lost by Adam, as He breathed in them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit, that life of God, that Spirit of God, that spiritual life." And so, that which was lost by Adam is now restored by Jesus Christ. The life of God within man, that God had breathed into man in the beginning now restored. Jesus had said to His disciples just four nights earlier, "I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you." And I believe that when Jesus breathed on them, and they became, at that point, once more living spirits, restored as was Adam in fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden. And I believe that that was the point when the Holy Spirit came into their lives. Now, Jesus is going to be telling them, "Now you wait in Jerusalem, for in a few days the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you. You're going to be empowered now by the Spirit, empowered now for your service for God. Now you wait until you get this endowment of power for service." But I believe, at this point, when He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit," that there was the born again experience. There was where God's life was again placed into man, the Spirit of God. And man came by that Spirit into the union and fellowship with God. Then Jesus said, Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained . Does this mean that Jesus gave His disciples the power to forgive sins? When they had brought to Jesus a man who was bedfast as the result of palsy, you remember they tore up the roof and let him down in the midst of the room in front of Jesus? And Jesus said unto him, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." And the Pharisees among themselves said, "Oh, that's blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God?" They were correct in that statement. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus was only proving to them that He was God. They didn't recognize that. But their assumption was correct, only God can forgive sins. You remember in the fifty-first Psalm, that penitent Psalm of David, after he had been faced by Nathan the prophet because of his sin with Bathsheba. "Have mercy unto me, Oh Lord, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out Thy transgression and hide this sin from my sight. For against Thee and Thee only have I sinned and done this great iniquity in Thy sight. Against Thee, Oh God, have I sinned." Sin is against God, and thus, God is the only one who can forgive sins. Then what did Jesus mean when he said to His disciples, "Whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted; whose soever sins you retain, they are retained"? I think that one of the most joyful experiences that a child of God has is to lead a person through the sinner's prayer. To me, it's always a joy to have a person who is come and says, "I want to receive Jesus Christ." And I'll say, "Alright, follow me in this prayer." And as we prayed that God would forgive our sins, and as we pray that the Holy Spirit would come and begin to indwell our lives, and that we might now have this new relationship with God as we just invite Him to come in and take over, in Jesus' name; when they say their "Amen," it's always a joy to me to be able to look them square in the eye and say unto them, "God has nothing against your account; you're completely forgiven, every sin you've ever committed." Oh, how I love to say that! What a thrill that gives to me to be able to say that to a person! Now, on what basis do I say that? Because here I am, I have the power to say, "Hey, it's alright! Cancelled, man!"? No way! I make that statement on the basis of their confession by faith, that Jesus Christ is the Lord and they've invited Him to come in and be the Lord of their life. And upon the basis of what they have confessed with their mouths, and knowing that if we ask God anything in the name of Jesus, it will be done. And because they've asked the Lord in Jesus' name to forgive them and cleanse them of all of their sins, I can say according to the Word of God, "Your sins are forgiven!" Now, if someone comes and says, "Well, I don't like Jesus Christ. I don't want to have anything to do with Him. He might cramp my style," I can't say to them, "That's alright, your sins are forgiven anyhow. I'm going to forgive them." No way! But to that person I can say, "Friend, one day, if you do not receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you're going to have to stand before God and answer for your sin. And your sins are going to condemn you. You're still in your sin." And even if a person comes and says, "Well, I've done so many good deeds. Now, I know that I did some pretty bad stuff, but I've made up for it for all the good deeds that I've done." I say unto them, "Look, all of your good deeds cannot put away your guilt of sin; you're still guilty before God." "Well, I meditate and I go through my little thing." "You're still guilty before God. Until you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you're still guilty." And so, "Whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted; whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained." But I only do that on the basis of what they have done or declare. Now, there's a lot of times that people who have even gone through the sinner's prayer are still reluctant to believe the Word of God. "Oh, but I'm such a horrible wretch; I can't believe that God can just forgive me just that easy, just that simply. Surely there's something that I've got to do, because I was so horrible." But it's glorious to be able to just say, "No, there's nothing you can do, except what you've already done, and that is just to believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him as your Lord. Your sins are forgiven." And many times that word of faith to them is the thing that triggers their faith, and causes them to realize. I went down one night to a lady who had come forward to receive Jesus Christ. And I said to her, "How do you feel now?" And she started crying and she said, "I still feel miserable. I still feel all of my guilt and I still feel miserable." And so, I went through, "Now have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your heart?" "Oh, yes." "Did you ask Him to forgive you of your sins?" "Oh, yes." I said, "Then, your sins are forgiven. God has nothing against you. Now, if I should suddenly come and give you a glorious, fabulous gift, what would be your response?" She said, "Oh, I would thank you." I said, "Alright. God has just given you a glorious, fabulous gift of eternal life. Don't you think you ought to thank Him?" And as she started thanking the Lord, hey, the old burden of sin rolled off and the joy of the Lord and the power of the Spirit just came upon her life in such a glorious way. Your sins are forgiven. I can declare that to a person on the basis of the Word of God and the confession of their faith. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin , Didymus is twin, so Thomas evidently had a twin brother. was not with them when Jesus came . Now, Thomas was a very practical sort. He was never one to pretend to believe something that he did not really believe. For instance, when Jesus was talking to His disciples that final night, He said unto them, "And if I go away, I'm going to come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there ye may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." And Thomas said, "Wait a minute, Lord! We don't know where You're going and how can we know the way?" You see, he was never one to pretend to know something he doesn't really know, or believe something he doesn't really believe. When Jesus was with His disciples down at the Jordan River, and they received word of Lazarus's illness and finally Jesus said, "Let's go that I might awake Lazarus out of his sleep." And the disciples said, "Lord, if he's sleeping, he's probably getting better." Jesus said, "No, he's really dead. But I'm glad for My sake I wasn't there, that you might really see the glory of God." And Thomas said, "Well, let's go and die with him." Now the disciples said, "Hey, we've see Him. He showed us His hands, His side. We've seen Him. He's alive; He's risen." Thomas said, Unless I see his hands in the print of the nails, and I put my finger into the print of the nails, and I thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe . "I've got to see it for myself." Now, you'd think that he would trust these guys. He had been around them for a long time. But Thomas was just the kind that's from Missouri, "You've got to show me." After eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas was with them : Now, notice after eight days, they had gathered together on the first day of the week. Eight days later they were gathered together, which would have been the first day of the week again. And, it is believed that here is where the practice of gathering together on the first day of the week for worship actually began, right after the resurrection. That's how early Sunday became the day that the disciples gathered to worship the risen Lord, and thus, the church meets today on Sunday, rather than the Sabbath day, which is Saturday. The first two gatherings of the disciples were on the first day of the week. Eight days later would be the Sunday again, the first day of the week. They were gathered together again. This time, the doors were shut, and Jesus stood in the midst of them, and said, Peace be unto you. Then he said to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing . This indicated that when Thomas was expressing his doubts, Jesus was right there listening to his expressions. For the first thing Jesus said, "Hey, Thomas, okay, you want to do it? Go ahead." Now, what Jesus was actually seeking to train the disciples at this point was that He was present with them even as He said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That He was present with them even though they did not see Him, and that is the consciousness He wants us to develop, the presence of Jesus with us. Though we do not see Him, He is with us always. And He wants us to be aware, to be conscious of His presence at all times. And so, He's training the disciples now in this very way that they will realize that He is present with them, though they don't see Him. Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God . Thomas acknowledged Jesus as his God. John acknowledged Him as God, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God" . Paul acknowledged Him as God, "For we look for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" . And even God Himself acknowledged Him as God, for in Hebrews we read that God declared Him, actually, to be God. Speaking of Him, He said, "But unto the Son He saith, 'Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness, the scepter of Thy kingdom" . Now, the Jehovah Witnesses do not want to acknowledge Him as God. But if Thomas says, "My Lord and my God," and John said He is God, and Paul the apostle speaks to Him as God, and if God Himself calls Him God, then who am I to believe, the Jehovah Witnesses? I would rather believe God. Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed . That's good, you see and you believe, that's alright. But hey, blessed are they who believe without seeing. Now many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; and that believing you might have life through his name . So, John was writing his gospel with a definite purpose in mind, and that is to make believers out of people. That's why this gospel was written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, or the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and by believing might have life in His name. That is why the gospel of John is the best thing you can put into the hands of a sinner to read. Encourage them to read the gospel of John, because God's Word will not return void. This gospel was written to convince people that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, in order that by their believing they might have life through Him. " Chapter 21 Now after these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and this is how it happened. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus [the twin], and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee [James and John], and two other [unnamed] disciples. Simon Peter said unto them, I'm going fishing. They said unto him, We'll go with you . Now, here's a classic example of human leadership. Simon was evidently a natural leader, and he said, "I'm going fishing." And they all said, "We'll go with you." In a sense, Simon is going back to the old life. He had been a fisherman before he ever met Jesus. That's the way he made his livelihood, that's the life he knew and no doubt enjoyed. He was fishing when Jesus called him to leave his nets and to follow Him. "And I will make you to become fishers of men." Jesus had told the women to tell the disciples to go up to Galilee, He would meet them up there. And they had, no doubt, come up to the Galilee, but Jesus hadn't shown up yet. Peter, being the impetuous, impatient person that he was, when the Lord didn't show, he said, "Well, I'm going fishing. This is probably all over. It was a great time; it was a marvelous experience, it was an exciting life. But, hey, we can't live forever in memories; we've got to get on with living. I'm going back fishing. I'm going fishing." They said, "Well, we'll go with you." And so, they got into the ship and they fished all night and caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples didn't know it was Jesus. And Jesus said unto them, Did you catch anything? Typical question to ask fishermen. And they answered him, No. He said unto them, Cast your net on the right side of the ship, and you will find . Notice how sure Jesus is. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it in for the multitude of fish. And therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, [John] said unto Peter, It is the Lord. When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and dove into the sea and swam to shore . They were only about a hundred yards out. And the other disciples came in a little ship, (for they were only about a hundred yards away,) and they were dragging the net with fishes . They had fished all night and caught nothing; they weren't going to let this catch go, dragging the net with fish. And as soon as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and there were fish laid thereon, and bread. And Jesus said unto them, Bring the fish which you have now caught. And Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fish, a hundred and fifty-three: and for all there were so many, yet was the net not broken . Now, you remember the last time that Jesus told them to cast the nets on the other side, there were so many fish as they tried to draw them in, the nets began to break. But now, they draw it in, and though there was all of these great fish in it, yet the net was not broken. Now, why the number one hundred fifty-three? I'll leave Chuck Missler to deal with those issues. It is interesting how that the mystiques always look for some significance in the numbers. And Augustine worked out a formula for the hundred and fifty-thee. And his formula is interesting in that he puts together: ten is the number of something and seven is the number of something, so you get seventeen. And you take all of the numbers from one to seventeen and add them up, and you get a hundred and fifty-three. You can play with numbers all kinds of ways and get all kinds of ideas out of them. But just why a hundred and fifty-three, I personally don't know. And I don't really put much stock into this juggling of numbers, and say, "Now, the real mystery here is..." I leave that for other fellows. I'm just too practical. I just say, "Hey, a hundred and fifty-three, that's interesting! I wonder why they counted them." Someone has suggested that that is the symbolic number of the church. Now, we do know that there are symbolic numbers; that seven is the number of completion. Seven days in a week, seven notes on the scale. And seven is called the perfect number, the number of completion. Whereas eight is the number of new beginning. Because if you come to a complete seven, then the next note would be the eighth note, but you're beginning a new scale. Or you come to seven days, a complete week; and the eighth day is the beginning of the new week, so you come to a new week. And so, the number of new beginning is the number eight. Now, significantly because Jesus is a new beginning for men, every name of Jesus in the Greek language, when the numeric value of the letters of the name are totaled, they are always divisible by eight. The Christos, the Curios, the Jesus and all...when you total the numeric value of the letters, they're always divisible by eight. We know that thirteen is the symbolic number for Satan. And all of the names for Satan in the New Testament, when you add the numeric value of the names, they are always divisible by thirteen. There are those who have written some very interesting books on this particular subject. One of them is "Biblical Numerics" by Pannon. And more recently, Jerry Lucas has written one called "Theomatics." But again, I leave it to others to get involved in these number kind of things. Forty, for instance, is the number of judgment. Twelve is the number of human government. Twelve apostles, the twelve tribes...though there were actually thirteen, but always referred to as twelve tribes...the number of human government. Six is the number of man, imperfection. And the numbers do have a symbolic meaning. And one-fifty-three, they say, is the symbolic number of the church, which I find to be interesting. That the net was full, and yet it didn't break. Jesus said, "All that the Father hath given Me are Mine. No man can pluck them out of My hand." Now, in the earlier net-breaking thing, you have maybe the evangelism, where you're gathering in all kinds, and you don't hold onto them all. But once they are truly in, no man plucks them out. "The net, yet for its number of great fish, yet it didn't break." I find it interesting that what they could not all do in their own efforts out in the boat when they tried to pull the net into the boat, Peter was able to do by himself because Jesus told him to do it. Jesus said, "Now go draw the net," and Peter, because Jesus had commanded it, was able to do it by himself though all of them weren't able to do it earlier. The strength of the commands of Jesus. The very fact that He has told me to do it, if I will just endeavor, I can do it. Because He gives me the ability to obey any command that He gives to me. And so, service offered to the Lord. You see, we can sometimes go out and try and do things on our own and are totally unsuccessful. "I'm going fishing." "We'll go with you." Human energy, human effort. They knew how, they knew how to throw the nets. They knew where the fish usually were. But going out on their own, they were totally unsuccessful. Jesus comes along, and He says, "Hey, cast it over on the right side and you'll find." Now their service is directed by the Lord. And notice the difference; when you're doing something that the Lord is directing you to do, rather than just doing something out of your own impulses. Service directed by the Lord is so totally rewarding, you can't even pull in the nets. And I often, when I go out and talk to people who want to hear about what God has done here at Calvary Chapel, I say to them, "Look, when the nets get so full, you can't pull 'em in any more, you know there's only one reason for it. Like John said, it's the Lord! It's just service directed by God, and it is always fruitful; it's always productive. It's the Lord! It isn't man's genius. It isn't some fancy program that we have. It isn't our great and glorious organ that we paid $500,000 for that has the largest pipes in the world. It isn't our marvelous choirs. It's the Lord!" People have a difficult time understanding this. But it's God-directed service. Jesus is the head of the body, the church, and directing the activities. They are fruitful. Jesus said unto them, Come and eat. None of the disciples dared to ask him, Who are you? knowing that it was the Lord. Then Jesus came, and he took the bread, and he gave it to them, and the fish likewise . He had done this before, divided bread and fish among them. Now this is the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples, after he was risen from the dead . So, John records the first three times. Jesus did appear on other occasions after this, but this was the third time in order. When they were through eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? The word love here is agapas. It is a Greek word of deep love used of God's divine love. It is a supreme love. It is a giving love. "Lovest thou Me?" Agapas, divinely, fervently, more than these. What were the "these"? Maybe the one hundred fifty-three fish still flopping in the nets over there. "Do you love Me more than your livelihood? Do you love Me more than the greatest success in your chosen profession? Having the height of success in your chosen field, do you love Me more than that, Peter? How much do you love Me? Do you love Me more than these?" Or the "these" could be referring to the other disciples whom Peter had avowed that he loved the Lord really more than them in an off-handed way. For Jesus had said to His disciples, "All of you are going to be offended tonight because of Me." And Peter said, "Lord, though they may all be offended, I will never be offended." In essence saying, "Lord, I am more faithful, and I love You more than the others." And Jesus said, "Peter, before the cock crows, you'll deny Me three times." "Impossible, Lord. If they would slay me, I would never deny You." But he did. And Jesus could be recalling that failure when He said, "Peter, lovest thou Me more than these?" And He could be referring to the other disciples there. We don't know the "these" because we weren't there to see what Jesus was looking at, or beckoning or motioning towards. Peter said, Yes, Lord; you know that I phileo you . Now, he did not use Jesus' word for love, but he used another Greek word, which is a word of fondness, or affection. "Lord, you know I am fond of You." Jesus didn't say, "Peter, are you fond of Me?" He said, "Peter, do you love Me...divinely, fervently?" Peter said, "Lord, you know that I am fond of You." And Jesus said unto him, Feed by lambs . "You're not to be out here fishing, Peter. I told you to leave your nets and to follow Me. I'll make you to be fishers of men. Now, feed My lambs." The Lord is interested that His lambs be fed. Jeremiah said that, "The Lord will give them in that day pastors after His own heart, who will feed them with knowledge and understanding." That would be the knowledge and understanding of God. When I read that passage in Jeremiah after having been a pastor for many years, I realize my failing. And I repented before God. And I determined from that day on I wanted to be a pastor after God's heart who would feed the flock with the knowledge and the understanding of God. "Feed My lambs," Jesus said. "Do you love Me? Feed My lambs." The second time Jesus said unto him, Simon, son of Jonas , Lovest--using the same Greek word as He did before, agapas, lovest thou me [divinely, fervently]? And he said unto him, Yes, Lord; thou knowest that I phileo you . I am fond of you, Lord. And he saith unto him, Feed my sheep . The word feed here is a different Greek word, and it literally means "to tend my sheep, or to watch over my sheep, to be a shepherd over my sheep, take care of my sheep." And he said unto him a third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? And this time Jesus used Peter's word, phileo. "Peter, are you fond of Me?" And Peter was grieved because this third time, Jesus used his word and said, "Are you fond of Me?" It hurt Peter deeply that Jesus had reduce Himself to Peter's level. God will always meet us on whatever level we will meet Him. But it is tragic when we bring God down to our level, rather than our rising to His level. But God will meet us on whatever level we will meet Him, and He will do His best for us on that level. I'm convinced that we often limit that work of God in our lives, because we won't rise to the level that God wants us to dwell upon. God made concessions for the children of Israel. God wanted to be their King. He wanted them to be unlike all of the other nations, in that they would not have any visible king; but that the world would know that God ruled over these people. But they didn't want that. They came to Samuel and they said, "Appoint a king over us like the other nations." And Samuel was grieved. And the Lord said unto Samuel, "Don't grieve because they haven't rejected you, they have rejected Me from being king over them. And now, you anoint the one that I will show you to be the king." You see, God is now making a concession. He's coming down to their level. It's sad, though, when we bring God down to our level, rather than rise to His level, because we're not living then on the highest plane. And God would have us to live life in the highest plane. He'd draw us to His level if we would only but do so. But Jesus came down to Peter's level. "Peter, are you fond of me?" And Peter was grieved because the Lord had to come down to his level. And he said, "Lord, you know all things." Despite what TV preachers say on Channel 40. "And you know that I am fond of You." He wouldn't come up, because he couldn't come up. He would love to, I'm sure. But Peter was always guilty of speaking impulsively and getting rebuked for it. When Jesus said, "Who do men say that I am?", Peter said, "Well, thou art the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood did not reveal that unto you, but my Father which is in heaven." And I'm sure Peter puffed up and said, "Hey, fellows, you hear that? Revelation! I'm tuned in! You heard that, didn't you fellows?" And Jesus at that point, began to tell His disciples how that He was going to go to Jerusalem and be turned over to the hands of sinners and they would crucify Him and slay Him. And on the third day, He would rise again. And Peter said, "Oh, Lord, never, never, be that far from you!" And Jesus said, "Get thee behind Me, Satan. You're an offense unto Me. You can't tell the difference between what comes from God and what comes from man." His foot in his mouth, speaking impulsively! "All of you are going to be offended this night because of Me." "Oh, Lord, though they're all offended, I'll never be offended." "Peter, before the cock crows, you'll deny Me three times." "Though they kill me, I'd never deny You." Speaking impulsively, having to eat his words. Now, Jesus had said, "He that hath My commandments, he it is who loves, agapas, Me." With a divine, fervent love. How is it shown? By keeping His commandments. Peter wasn't keeping His commandments. "I'm going fishing." Jesus didn't say, "Peter, go fishing." He said, "Wait in Galilee. I'll meet you there." He said, "Leave your nets and follow Me." And he was in the very act of disobeying the command of Christ, going back to the nets. And therefore when Jesus said, "Agapas, do you love Me divinely, fervently?" he could not say, "yes," because Jesus would then have said, "Then what are you doing out there in that boat leading these other fellows on this fishing venture when I didn't tell you to?" And Peter knew that he was trapped, and he knew that he couldn't say, "I love you divinely, fervently." And so, he had to use that lesser Greek word, "I'm fond of You," and tragically had to bring Jesus down to that level. And it hurt. Jesus said, "Feed My sheep!" This is the word feed again. So, you have "feed My lambs, take care of My sheep, and feed My sheep." "Do you love Me?" This is what the Lord would have you to do. This is His command: feed the sheep. And then He said unto him, I tell you the truth, when you were young, you girded yourself [you dressed yourself], and you went wherever you wanted: but when you are old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will gird you, and they'll carry you where you won't want to go. And this Jesus was speaking, signifying by what death he should glorify God . He was telling Peter that He's going to be crucified. "When you were young, you dressed yourself and you went where you wanted, but one of these days others are going to dress you and they're going to take you where you don't want to go." They're going to take you to a cross. And sure enough in years to come, when Peter was in Rome, he was sentenced to die on a cross. And Peter said, "I have one request. Please crucify me upside down; I'm not worthy to die as did my Lord." And he was crucified upside down. But it is interesting to me that Jesus here tells him by what death he's going to die. And immediately after telling him what death he's going to die, he said, Follow me . "You can go back fishing, but follow Me. It's going to be tough; it's going to be a cross. You're not going to drive a Rolls Royce. You're not going to live in a fancy mansion. It's not going to be easy, Peter. But follow Me." Then Peter, turning about, seeing the disciple whom Jesus loved following; ...he said unto him, What about him, Lord? Peter, back in the same old position, speaking out of turn again. "What about him, Lord? What shall this man do?" And Jesus in essence, said, "Peter, that's none of your business. I'm talking to you about you. You worry about yourself. Don't worry about him." If I should will that he lived until I come again, what difference does that make? "You just hope, Peter. You're going to be crucified." "Oh, but what about him, Lord?" Jesus said, "Hey look, Peter, you take care of yourself, your relationship with Me. If I will that he should live until I come again, what's that to you? What difference does that make to you?" You follow me . Now, the Lord always wants to deal with each of us personally, and that personal relationship with us. The Lord will talk to me and tell me about me, and the Lord will talk to you and tell you about you. I put very little stock in people coming up to me who say, "The Lord told me to tell you..." I wonder when He forgot my number. "What about him, Lord?" "No, Peter, I'm talking about you. It doesn't matter what I've intended for John. You follow me." Now, because Jesus said, "If I will that he remain till I come," many picked up that statement and misinterpreted it. And they said Jesus said that He was going to come before John died. But John is careful to correct that misunderstanding. And John points out that is not what Jesus said. Jesus only said, "If I will that he should tarry till I come." And so, John seeks to correct that common mistake that had gone out within the early church, "Oh, the Lord is going to come before John dies." John said, "No, no, that's not what He said. He said, 'If I will that he tarry,' but he didn't say he will tarry." but, If I will that he tarry, what is that to you? Now John tells us that he knows that the things he is writing are true because he witnessed them himself. And then he goes on to tell us that there are so many other things that actually happened, that could have been related. As he said earlier, "Many other things did Jesus which are not written in this book." And now he says, There are a lot of other things that happened, and I suppose that if you would write down everything that could be written about Jesus, that the whole world could not contain the books that should be written on the subject . It's a subject that is so vast that we will never fully comprehend it on this side of eternity. But it is a subject that is so vast, it'll take all eternity to comprehend it. I look forward to eternity as a growing experience, a learning experience. As Paul tell us in Ephesians, "And God, through the ages to come, shall be revealing unto us what is the exceeding richness of His love and grace and mercy towards us in Jesus Christ" . God's love for you and His mercy towards you is so vast, He's going to take all eternity to reveal its fullness. Throughout the ages to come, we'll be learning of how much God does love us. So, impossible to write it all in a book, or in books. The world isn't big enough to contain the libraries that should be written on the subject of Jesus Christ. It's an ever-enlarging revelation to our own hearts, that work of God's Spirit, that work of God's love in our lives. Shall we pray. Father, we thank You, for all that You are and all that You've done. We thank You for sending Your Son who died and rose again, and who lives tonight making intercession for us. Lord, bless us we pray, as we learn of Thee and as we learn of Your love. And as we grow in this grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In whose name we pray. Amen. May the Lord be with you and give you a beautiful week. May you just sense His presence to such an extent that you won't need any kind of an artifact or relic to remind you that the Lord is with you. But may you come to that consciousness and awareness of His presence by the things that He is doing in Your life. May things happen in such a way that you realize, "Ooh, the Lord is here with me." That's always a neat flush when you get that, ooh!...you know? The Lord is here. May you experience that this week, as you walk with Him in an ever-deepening and enriching fellowship through His Holy Spirit. "