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TO BELIEVE IS TO LIVE

 

 

Jesus went to Tiberias and a great many people followed Him because of the miracles He was performing. While sitting with the disciples Jesus asked, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" John 6:5. He knew but He was testing Philip's faith. Philip's reply was there wasn't enough money to buy the food they would need. There was a lad nearby who had five barley loaves and two fish. Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." John 6:10. He took the loaves, gave thanks to the Father and began to distribute the bread and fish to the crowd. After they finished eating He told the disciples to pick up the leftovers, which filled twelve baskets. Upon seeing this miracle the people wanted to make Him king. Jesus did not want this to happen so He withdrew from the crowd to the mountains alone.

 

At evening time the disciples got into a boat to cross the sea to Capernaum. Jesus did not go with them. As they were crossing the sea the winds began to increase and frighten them. All of a sudden they saw Jesus walking on the water and He said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." John 6:20. As soon as He stepped into the boat they were immediately transported to the other side of the sea.

 

The next day the crowd found Jesus. They asked Him the time He arrived. He ignored the question (obviously of no importance) and told them they were seeking Him only because He fed them. He explained they should be seeking Him to do the work of God rather than worry about food. Upon asking Him what the work of God was, He answered, "This work of God is this; to believe in the one he sent." John 6:29.

 

The crowd wanted to have some proof of Jesus' claim and they told Him that Moses gave their ancestors manna (bread) in the wilderness to eat. Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven. He then tried to explain that He was the bread and He was sent from Heaven and anyone who would believe in Him would never be hungry (they would be saved). John 6:35 says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." Jesus used many metaphors to communicate, however at this time in addition to the metaphor, He told them in simple terms ("…even though see me you do not believe") He said He receives everyone the Father gives Him and never leaves anyone out. He explains the reason He came on earth was to give eternal life to all that believe Him, which was the Father's will. John 6:40 says, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.:

 

They continued to mumble about Him and their utterances of disbelief. They were asking themselves how this person, the son of Joseph, could possibly be who He says He was. Jesus then explains: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:44. Jesus reminds them of the writings of the prophets that it is written that those "…who listen to God the Father learn from Him" and will seek Jesus. He continues to elaborate on the issue of the need for people to believe that He is the Savior of the world, that salvation is the reason for His presence, that He is indeed the 'bread of life', (to believe this is to be saved in Jesus). The bread their ancestors ate did not give them eternal life. The disciples were having a difficult time understanding all this. So He repeated and I quote, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." John 6:65. Many of His disciples withdrew because of this statement. It was hard for them to accept it. Jesus looked at the 12 and asked them if they were going to leave Him also and Peter said to Him that they would not leave Him because they believed Him. Jesus then reaffirms that He has chosen them, "Have I not chosen you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil."

 

What is the teaching here? The first 21 verses assure me of God's provision and for anyone who believes. The miracle of the feeding the crowd is a sure sign of His provision. Verses 22-40 clearly teach Jesus knows the heart of man and He certainly knows and knew my heart the instant I was conceived in my mother's womb. I do not believe because He can perform miracles, I believe because I accept the facts of what He is saying in His Word as being the absolute, unequivocal truth. I am confident God knows my heart. The more I learn and pray, the deeper and stronger is my faith. It brings a joy and a smile to my being. It is indeed an exciting journey, especially when one knows the destination. Needless to say, God knows the phonies. Verses 41- 71 clearly demonstrate that God is not a fool, He is not going to draw anyone to Jesus who will not accept Him as the eternal Son of the eternal Father.  Please remember God is omniscient. He emphasizes this point again in verse 65. Jesus never gives up trying to teach the truth even though He knows who will and who won't. He gives everyone an equal chance. No one will ever be able to say he didn't know or have an opportunity. He does this with a love and patience that I find difficult to understand, but He does do it. He knows the hardened heart. A metaphor can sometimes be difficult to understand its true meaning and just about impossible with a closed mind and hardened heart. The disciples (12) understood because they believed in Him and His claim to be the Savior of the world and that He was sent from God.

 

Verse 29 should be singled out because it is the very basis of  Jesus' sacrifice for us. The 'work of God' is to believe in Jesus. This is all He demands of us. No sacrifices, no rituals, no working for salvation, nothing more than accepting and believing Jesus has paid the price 'once and for all.' As Jesus spoke His last words on this earth, "It is finished." He did it all on the cross. Believe this and I'll see you in Heaven.

 

The meaning of this chapter is very simple for me. I believe it all and will continue my life with the assurance and confidence provided to me through my believing and accepting Jesus as my personal Savior. I know that He will provide for me, as He already has, in accordance to His will, which I accept without any reservation whatsoever. I know that I am with Him, now and forever. I accept His teaching in this chapter, which is eternal life in Him.

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A FOOL WE SEE

 

 

It was a time of festivities as Jesus and His disciples went up to Jerusalem. There was a pool in Jerusalem where sick people would go to be healed. In certain seasons an angel of the Lord would stir up the waters and whoever would enter the pool would be healed. There was a man by the pool who had been there for many years and was unable to enter the pool because of his affliction. Jesus knew this and when He saw the man He asked, "Would you like to get well?" John 5:6. He said yes and he was healed instantly. The local Jews, however, were quite perturbed with Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath.

 

When Jesus entered the Temple, He was recognized by the man He had just healed. The Pharisees wanted to know who would do such a thing on the Sabbath, so the man told them it was Jesus. They began persecuting Jesus and His reply was that His Father was working through Him which infuriated them even more; now He is saying that God was His Father. John 5:17 says, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." Of course the Jews, whose hearts were closed, would not accept this fact.

 

Jesus continued and tried to convince them that he was the Son of God. He told them, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does." See John 5:19. They still refused to believe Him. He told them that anyone who believed in Him would not come under judgment and would have eternal life; John 5:24 which says, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." Believers, because they are not to be judged, escape the wrath of God because they have eternal life as a result of their belief. 

Jesus continues His discourse by telling them that the Father has Given Him the authority to judge, because He is the Son of God; "And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man." John 5:27. He told them not to be so surprised at His words; "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice." John5:28. He tells them that He can do nothing on His own initiative, but rather that of the Father. He reminded them that John vouched for His identity and even the Father is His witness. He explains His motivation in talking to them is that His hope is that they would listen and would be saved.

 

Jesus really lowered the boom on the crowd when He accused them of not knowing the true God and their refusal to believe in Him as the Son of God; John 5:37, "And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent." He further challenges them by reminding them that they diligently search the Scriptures, which tell of Jesus the Messiah, and they still refused to believe; "You diligently study the Scriptures…" John5:39. He continually accuses them of not knowing God or even having the love of God in them. He then challenges their position by informing them they more readily accept a stranger and not accept the true Son of God. Jesus tells them why He doesn't have to tell the Father of their disbelief, because Moses has and is the accuser in their very own Scripture. They read and do not understand what it is they are reading because of the hardness of their heart. His final blow to them was that if they don't believe Moses, then how on earth could they ever believe Him. "But since you do not believe what he (Moses) wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" John 5:47.

 

Meaning: The first nine verses demonstrate the love and compassion Jesus has for those who believe in Him. When one has faith, there is nothing that God wouldn't do for that person. It isn't so much the power of the miracle itself as it is the power of the faith in God that produces miracles. With enough faith we are able to 'see' or 'know' the mind of God, in that we can begin to get a glimpse of His love and willingness to want to bless us more and more. It is so easy to understand that God is love, if for no other reason then by His miracles and willingness to suffer for us even to the point of death.

 

Verses 10-18 teach of the ignorance of, and the closed mindedness of people. To accuse Jesus of committing an offense against God because He healed someone on the Sabbath is real ignorance. Throughout this entire chapter we see man at his deepest ignorance and faithlessness. What can one think of a person who would want to unmercifully torture and kill another person simply because he is doing good?

 

Verses 19-47 demonstrate how man's ignorance is surpassed by his stupidity. Actually Jesus' discourse fell on deaf ears because these people, as Jesus said, 'refuse to believe in the one and only true God'. This is the God their very 'own' Moses in their Scriptures talks about. A hardened heart is just about the hardest thing on earth to crack open.

 

Verse 24 needs to be highlighted in that believers do have eternal life at the moment they accept Jesus as their personal Savior and they will not be judged because they are no longer under the Curse (death), but have life.

 

John 5 reminds me of man's foolishness. 'A fool does not believe in God' ( Psalm 14:1). Once I determine a person's heart is hardened, I know that all I can do for that person is to pray that God will have mercy on him. And I rest in the knowledge that God will have mercy if and when they believe that they are lost because of sin and need to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. As Jesus told His disciples when He commissioned them to go out into the world, 'when a town doesn't accept you, shake the dust from your feet and leave it', (paraphrase for Mark 6:11).

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A FOOL WE SEE

 

 

It was a time of festivities as Jesus and His disciples went up to Jerusalem. There was a pool in Jerusalem where sick people would go to be healed. In certain seasons an angel of the Lord would stir up the waters and whoever would enter the pool would be healed. There was a man by the pool who had been there for many years and was unable to enter the pool because of his affliction. Jesus knew this and when He saw the man He asked, "Would you like to get well?" John 5:6. He said yes and he was healed instantly. The local Jews, however, were quite perturbed with Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath.

 

When Jesus entered the Temple, He was recognized by the man He had just healed. The Pharisees wanted to know who would do such a thing on the Sabbath, so the man told them it was Jesus. They began persecuting Jesus and His reply was that His Father was working through Him which infuriated them even more; now He is saying that God was His Father. John 5:17 says, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." Of course the Jews, whose hearts were closed, would not accept this fact.

 

Jesus continued and tried to convince them that he was the Son of God. He told them, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does." See John 5:19. They still refused to believe Him. He told them that anyone who believed in Him would not come under judgment and would have eternal life; John 5:24 which says, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." Believers, because they are not to be judged, escape the wrath of God because they have eternal life as a result of their belief. 

Jesus continues His discourse by telling them that the Father has Given Him the authority to judge, because He is the Son of God; "And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man." John 5:27. He told them not to be so surprised at His words; "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice." John5:28. He tells them that He can do nothing on His own initiative, but rather that of the Father. He reminded them that John vouched for His identity and even the Father is His witness. He explains His motivation in talking to them is that His hope is that they would listen and would be saved.

 

Jesus really lowered the boom on the crowd when He accused them of not knowing the true God and their refusal to believe in Him as the Son of God; John 5:37, "And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent." He further challenges them by reminding them that they diligently search the Scriptures, which tell of Jesus the Messiah, and they still refused to believe; "You diligently study the Scriptures…" John5:39. He continually accuses them of not knowing God or even having the love of God in them. He then challenges their position by informing them they more readily accept a stranger and not accept the true Son of God. Jesus tells them why He doesn't have to tell the Father of their disbelief, because Moses has and is the accuser in their very own Scripture. They read and do not understand what it is they are reading because of the hardness of their heart. His final blow to them was that if they don't believe Moses, then how on earth could they ever believe Him. "But since you do not believe what he (Moses) wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" John 5:47.

 

Meaning: The first nine verses demonstrate the love and compassion Jesus has for those who believe in Him. When one has faith, there is nothing that God wouldn't do for that person. It isn't so much the power of the miracle itself as it is the power of the faith in God that produces miracles. With enough faith we are able to 'see' or 'know' the mind of God, in that we can begin to get a glimpse of His love and willingness to want to bless us more and more. It is so easy to understand that God is love, if for no other reason then by His miracles and willingness to suffer for us even to the point of death.

 

Verses 10-18 teach of the ignorance of, and the closed mindedness of people. To accuse Jesus of committing an offense against God because He healed someone on the Sabbath is real ignorance. Throughout this entire chapter we see man at his deepest ignorance and faithlessness. What can one think of a person who would want to unmercifully torture and kill another person simply because he is doing good?

 

Verses 19-47 demonstrate how man's ignorance is surpassed by his stupidity. Actually Jesus' discourse fell on deaf ears because these people, as Jesus said, 'refuse to believe in the one and only true God'. This is the God their very 'own' Moses in their Scriptures talks about. A hardened heart is just about the hardest thing on earth to crack open.

 

Verse 24 needs to be highlighted in that believers do have eternal life at the moment they accept Jesus as their personal Savior and they will not be judged because they are no longer under the Curse (death), but have life.

 

John 5 reminds me of man's foolishness. 'A fool does not believe in God' ( Psalm 14:1). Once I determine a person's heart is hardened, I know that all I can do for that person is to pray that God will have mercy on him. And I rest in the knowledge that God will have mercy if and when they believe that they are lost because of sin and need to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. As Jesus told His disciples when He commissioned them to go out into the world, 'when a town doesn't accept you, shake the dust from your feet and leave it', (paraphrase for Mark 6:11).

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THE SECOND MIRACLE

 

In this 4th chapter of John, the Pharisees were trying to create a controversy between John and Jesus based on the number of baptisms each group was performing. Jesus was not involved, as He was not performing baptisms. Because of this Jesus left the area and decided to go to Galilee. On His way He stopped at Jacob's well in Samaria, (Jacob dug this well and it was still functioning until that day. While He was resting a Samaritan woman came to draw some water from the well and Jesus asked her for a drink. She was quite surprised to hear Him speak to her, as the custom in those days was that Jews did not bother with Samaritans. She questioned Him about that and He replied, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." She missed the point entirely. The well produced water for quenching thirst, but the water Jesus referred to (His living Word) would provide eternal life to anyone who would ask. She then proceeded to ask Him for this water but I get the feeling she was thinking of physical water and not salvation at that point.

 

Jesus requested her to go back to town for her husband and return, and she said she didn't have a husband. Jesus, of course knew that, but He was testing her and He told her that she had five husbands and the one she was living with was indeed not her husband. She did go back into town and told the people what occurred and they all went to see for themselves; out of curiosity I'm sure. Just prior to her leaving to go into town they were discussing worshipping and Jesus told her that the day was coming and actually was already here when people would worship anywhere and not necessarily in a place of worship, like the synagogue or temple. This was a prophetic statement of His resurrection and the creation of the church period, which we are still in to this present day. This period will end when Jesus returns. Jesus explained to the people that they didn't know what or whom they were worshipping, whereas the Jews did know that worship was to be accomplished in the Temple. Please note that salvation at that time was through the Jewish faith only. He told her that God was Spirit and people must worship in Spirit and truth. She then said to Jesus that she was aware of the coming Messiah and Jesus told her flat out that He was the Messiah, verse 26, "I who speak to you am he."

 

After she had left, the disciples wanted Jesus to eat something and He told them that He had more important matters to which He must attend; His Father's will i.e., to save those in the world who would believe in Him. He was telling the disciples, metaphorically, that the world was ready for the 'Good News' of salvation and it was time to present the story to the world.

 

Many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus because of the woman's word, however when they heard Jesus they realized they no longer needed to rely on her excitement; they saw and heard themselves.

 

Jesus finally made His way to Cana and had a visit from a royal official whose son was dying at his home. He wanted Jesus to accompany him to save His son. Jesus told Him to go home and he would find that his son was living, verse 50, "You may go, your son lives." Indeed he got well at the instant Jesus told him that his son was alive. It was obvious that Jesus was a little perturbed with the man because he wanted to see a sign. Nonetheless Jesus saved his son because they believed. This was the second miracle Jesus performed.

 

The teaching in the first few verses demonstrates how man can use good and try to create divisions between friends, regarding the jealousy and rivalry the Jews were trying to create between John and Jesus. At the well we see a human side of Jesus because of His fatigue from travel. Verse 14 describes the permanency of the salvation Jesus gives us, providing of course, that one asks, "…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst." Verse 18 clearly teaches the omnipotence of God, when He told the woman she had 5 husbands; He knows everything about us, every detail of our lives and He still loves us and gave His life for us. This is truly amazing. Verses 21-24 teach the way of salvation before Christ was through the Jews, however a time was coming and actually was when salvation would be available to anyone, anywhere and at any time. Verse 34 is the mission of Jesus, to do the will of the Father. Verse 38 teaches our responsibility to preach the Word at any given moment under any kind of circumstance. Some of us will simply sow and some will reap, but we have one goal. We see the Lord healing when it is in His will for whatever purpose He has. Ours is not to question but to do.

 

The meaning to me is that I don't always have to know why something is, why it happens and to whom, but I do know that I must always accept the fact that God is in complete control and knows every detail of my life and knows what is best for me

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WATER AND SPIRIT

 

John 3: One evening, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, approached Jesus and acknowledged that He was from God because of all the miracles He was performing, but he did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus explained to him that a person must be born again to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, verse 3, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" to which Nicodemus asked how it was possible to be put back into the Mother's womb? Jesus repeated His statement and then explained in verse 6 that a person must be 'born of flesh and then be born of the Spirit' (born from above; born of the Spirit). Jesus then told him not to be so surprised; that there are many things that he is aware of and doesn't understand. When Nicodemus persisted for an understanding, Jesus told him that he wouldn't understand Heavenly things because he couldn't even understand earthly things.

 

At this point Jesus tells Nicodemus of His coming crucifixion, but of course he didn't have a clue of what He was saying. Jesus continued and told him that anyone who would believe in Him would have eternal life. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus also informed him that He did not come into the world to judge it but to save it. Verse 17-18 says, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

 

Later, Jesus and His disciples went to Judea and were baptizing people. John the Baptist's followers went to John to question what Jesus was doing and he enlightened them about some things; he told them 'a man can receive only what is given him from heaven.' He also told them that he was not Jesus, that he was a friend and was delighted to be so. He informed them that Jesus must become more prominent than he, as he must become less and less important. He told them that God sent Jesus and Jesus speaks the words of the Father. The Father has given all things to Him and he that believes in Him has eternal life, whereas the non-believer shall not see life but they will see the wrath of God.

 

A most profound aspect of this chapter is that a person must be born from above (from the Spirit of God.) Accepting Jesus as personal Savior is another way of saying the same thing. Please note that a person's position or qualifications in this life doesn't necessarily mean anything; Nicodemus is a good example of a ruler of the people ruling them in complete ignorance; a member of the Sanhedrin at that. He didn't understand because He didn't believe Jesus and he saw Him face-to-face. It is a matter of the heart, folks. Think about this for a moment: we haven't seen Him and yet we believe because our heart is right with God; whereas Nicodemus didn't believe Jesus because his heart wasn't right with the Father.

 

Verse 14 is a prophecy of the crucifixion fulfilled on the cross: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up." Verse 18 is really something to meditate on: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." If believers are not to be judged because they accepted Jesus while they were on this earth, then what happens to the non-believers when they die and find themselves before the judgment seat of God? There is no judgment as they have already been judged while on the earth and therefore there is no reason to judge a guilty person, is there? This is the time for sentencing and we know what that is. Make no mistake about what the Bible says; there is no second chance; Romans 9:27 says, "Just as destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." A person must change his natural destiny and choose Jesus' way. We are not to boast of our position in the family of God, but we should pray for more people to accept Jesus. And as John the Baptist so wonderfully says, 'we should boast of Him'.

 

This chapter has special meaning to me because I believe God showed me the way through His written word where I was in life; a lost soul, trapped in a prison of religious bureaucracy for all of my life, a prison without bars, without locks on doors. By the grace of God I stepped out of the prison of religiosity in faith and accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. And I continue to enjoy the joy of knowing and growing in the Lord.

 

My heart goes out to all who have yet to take the step of faith that is prerequisite to salvation, to those who for whatever reason choose to stay imprisoned. It is so simple to tell Jesus that you are a sinner and you want Him to come into your heart. He already knows everything about you so you won't be telling Him anything new. Please rid your selves of the chains, free yourself in Jesus, and look forward to an eternity of joy with Him. God bless you all.