Bible Text: Selected verses | Pastor: Pastor Mike |

04-01-2018

God the Son Demonstrates Eternal Life

Today is a Day of Good News, the Best News! Jesus Christ was crucified on a
Friday (paying the penalty for our sins, taking our punishment); and the following
Sunday, He rose from the grave (demonstrating His authority to provide eternal
life).
There have been more paintings, songs, and books produced about Jesus Christ
than any other person who has ever lived. Why all this attention given to a Jewish
carpenter from Nazareth?
The OT records hundreds of prophecies about Jesus [Christ, Messiah, Servant
Savior], most of these were written 500-1500 B.C., telling how He would be born
in a manger in Bethlehem, to a young Jewish virgin named Mary; yet His Father
was Almighty God; one prophecy was made in 4000 B.C., foretelling the birth of
Christ, His church [body] that He would be Head of, and His victory over Satan’s
dominion and authority (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20; Revelation 12:17; 1John
3:8).
The OT records that Jesus will die as payment for man’s sins, yet live again; His
people (the Jews) would reject Him; but Gentiles (non-Jews) would receive Him.
The NT records the fulfillment of these prophecies; the greatest of which, was
Jesus’ death and resurrection, which declared Him to be both God in the flesh and
sovereign Lord and Savior (see Romans 1:1-4).
Christianity stands or falls on the truth of Christ’s resurrection! If Jesus didn’t
rise from the grave, we have no hope of eternal life.
Let’s look at some of the evidence surrounding His resurrection and consider
whether or not it confirms that Jesus rose from the grave like He said that He
would. See John 19:31-37… [no bones broken, Exodus 12:46; the one they
pierced, Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7).
Dr. C. Truman Davis wrote an article in the Arizona Medicine Journal in March 1965,
vol. 22, pp. 183-87), Dr.”Apparently to make doubly sure of death, a soldier drove
his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the
pericardium and into the heart. That is, there was an escape of watery fluid from
the sac surrounding the heart (John 19:34, “bringing a sudden flow of blood and
water”), giving postmortem evidence that our Lord died, not the usual crucifixion
death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart
by fluid in the pericardium.”
Jesus died on a Friday afternoon and was placed in a tomb, by Sunday morning
His body was missing. If He did not rise from the grave, someone took His body.
See Matthew 28:1-15…
1. The Jewish Leaders didn’t want Christ’s body removed from the tomb; a
missing body would be perceived as a resurrected body, and that would look bad
for the Religious Leaders; so, they pressured Pilate to put a seal on the tomb and
place a Roman guard unit there (cf. Matthew 27:62-65), to keep the body in the
grave, for Jesus had said, “after three days I will rise again.”
2. The Roman Guards would have no reason to steal the body, they were
stationed there to make sure it stayed put; moving it or allowing it to be taken,
was punishable by death; therefore, they made sure Christ’s body remained in the
tomb, at all costs, against all foes, except for the mighty angels who rolled away
the stone.
3. Jesus’ Disciples wouldn’t dare move the body and falsify the resurrection of
their Lord; for if they knew Jesus did not rise from the grave, they had no hope of
eternal life, it would have been better for them to quickly and quietly get out of
town, change their names, and deny any prior relationship with this Jesus of
Nazareth.
Why would the Disciples continue to proclaim the risen Lord, if it indeed were
not true? And why did the Jewish authorities have to bribe the Roman Guard to
spread the “stolen body” story if it indeed were true?
The only reasonable explanation is the one that is repeatedly recorded in
Scripture: Jesus Christ rose from the grave, just like He said that He would.
Jesus told His disciples on several occasions, that He would be arrested, put to
death, and on the third day He would rise from the grave. He told them He would
go to the Father; but at a future time, He would come back to gather all Christians
to be with Him in heaven, forever; and all this would happen according to God’s
own sovereign plan and purpose.
Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 8:31; Luke 24:44-48 He said to them, “This is
what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written
about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then He opened their
minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is
written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and
repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
After His resurrection, before ascending back into
heaven, Jesus made appearances to His followers:
1. Mary and other women near the tomb (Mt 28:9-10)
2. 2 Disciples walking to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32)
3. Peter (Luke 24:33-34)
4. 10 Disciples, Thomas absent (John 20:19-25)
5. 11 Disciples Thomas present (John 20:26-31)
6. 7 disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-14, 25)
7. The Disciples just before Christ’s ascension back into heaven, Jesus gives His
last instructions to them (Acts 1:3-11).
8. 500 disciples (1Corinthians 15:6)
9. James (1Corinthians 15:7)
10. Paul (1Corinthians 15:8)
The Bible declares everyone guilty of sin (Romans 3:23), the penalty of which,
is death (Romans 6:23a); but God, in His mercy has provided forgiveness for sin
and eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24; 6:23b, 5:8; 8:1).
G R A C E is expressed in and through the sacrificial death and sovereign
resurrection of God’s One and Only Son (John 3:16-18; Ephesians 2:1-10).
If you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus’ death on the cross to provide
forgiveness for your sins, you will be saved. Paul writes (2Corinthians 6:2), “I
tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation,” (Romans
10:13), for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Christ’s resurrection demonstrates God’s sovereign power and authority over
sin, death, and judgment; for He sovereignly crushed Satan’s head (cf. Genesis
3:15).
1John 5:11-13, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this
life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
So, he who has the Son has eternal life. Do you “have” the Son of God? If you
are not sure, let me tell you how to “get” or “receive” the Son of God?
ASK God to forgive you, repent of sin (Acts 2:21), “everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved,” (Acts 2:38), “Repent… in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
BELIEVE Jesus died for your sins (Hebrews 9:26) “He [Jesus] appeared once
for all… to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” (Hebrews 10:10), “we
have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
CONFESS Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9) “That if you confess with your mouth,
“Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved,” (Philippians 2:9-10), “God exalted Him to the highest place and
gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
DEMONSTRATE your new life in Christ, by your obedience to God
(2Corinthians 5:17), “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old has gone, the new has come,” (Galatians 2:20), “I have been crucified with
Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me,” (John 14:23),
Jesus said, ”If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
In John 13 Jesus celebrates Passover/Lord’s Supper with His disciples for the
last time, telling them that one of them will betray Him and He will soon be taken
away from them; this brings great distress and despair to the 11, for Judas had
already gone to carry out his treachery, at which time Jesus said to them (John
14:1-3), “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In my
Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am
going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”
These same disciples were with Jesus when He visited Mary and Martha, after
the death of their brother Lazarus, when Jesus said (John 11:25-26), “I am the
resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and
whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” Jesus then went to the tomb
where Lazarus was buried (John 11:39) and said, “Take away the stone,” (John
11:43-44), Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came
out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
This was a preview of what Jesus would do for Himself on the Sunday morning
after His death on “Good” Friday.
In Paul’s instruction to us, about the Lord’s Supper, which was given to him by
Jesus Christ Himself, he writes (1Corinthians 11:26), “whenever you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” [as in,
until he comes back for us].
Jesus grants eternal life to everyone who believes in and follows Him, meaning,
all Christians, whether we die and go to be with Christ, or we are alive at His
return and are taken up by Him into Heaven, we will be alive with Him forever.
That is good news, good news, for you and for me: Jesus arose and He lives
don’t you see! Good news, good news, let’s tell it to others; that they too may
know of this wonderful Savior Who loves us all so.

Pastor Mike ~ <‘(((><

Bible Text: Matthew 21:1-17 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | 03-25-2018

Passion Week Begins!

Matthew 21:1-17

Matthew 21:1-3… Jesus and the 12 approach Jerusalem, coming near Bethphage
[“house of unripe figs”], on the SE side of Olivet [Mt. of Olives], which is just east
of Jerusalem, a short distance from Bethany (home to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus).
Jesus sends two of His disciples into Bethphage to acquire a young donkey that
is there with its mother.
Matthew 21:4-7… The disciples find the donkey, untie it and bring it to Jesus.
The disciples, when asked why they were untying the colt, responded as Jesus had
told them to and received permission (v. 3) from the owner of the donkey to go
ahead and take it. The people in that area knew Jesus’ and His disciples and also
that He was referred to as Lord.
Matthew 21:5, “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle
and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'”
Matthew 21:8-11… This display on the part of the people was reserved for
royalty, an ancient practice of showing homage to a new king (cf 2Kings 9:12-13);
it would seem the people are recognizing Christ to be the Messiah, King of the Jews
(cf Matthew 2:1-2; 27:11).
The people are excited, throwing down their outer garments and fresh cut palm
branches (cf John 12:13), all this is symbolic of the people’s hope and desire for
the Messiah-King to come and liberate them.
The people are shouting (v. 9) “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Hosanna is a
contraction of the Hebrew words for “save” and “please,” the intent here is to
express exalted adoration, praise, and joy, for the Messiah has come!
Hosanna is a transliteration from Psalm 118:25-26, which says, “O LORD, save
us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.”
Jesus’ name means “God’s salvation.” The people call for God’s Son, the
Messiah, to save them.
The Jews were waiting for the Messiah to come and liberate them from Gentile
oppression, to prosper them, and to sit on the throne of David; they didn’t
understand that He was coming to free them from the penalty of sin!
No wonder (Matthew 21:10) the people ask, “Who is this?” And yet, they
seem to be aware (Matthew 21:11) that, “This is Jesus, the prophet from
Nazareth in Galilee.”
The OT gives many prophecies to be fulfilled during Passion Week, concerning
the suffering, death and resurrection of God’s Son, providing forgiveness for sins.
Zechariah 9:9 (500 BC)… Israel’s King will enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt.
Zechariah 11:12… He will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Exodus 21:32, the
price of a slave).
Psalm 22:16 (1000 BC)… His hands and feet will be pierced. 18… Lots will be
cast for His garments.
Psalm 69:21… He will be given vinegar to drink.
Exodus 12:46 (Passover lamb, 1400 BC)… None of His bones will be broken.
Isaiah 53:1-12 (700 BC)… He will be despised, forsaken, led like a lamb to the
slaughter; He will be pierced, put to death for our sins, yet He will live.
Zechariah 13:7… His friends will desert Him.
Psalm 16:8-11… He will rise from the dead.
Next Friday at 3 pm, we’ll study what the Bible says about the day of Christ’s
death; and on Sunday, what the Bible says about His resurrection from the grave.
But today, let us turn our attention to the Lamb of God, as He enters Jerusalem
for His last time before ascending back into heaven.
Matthew 21:12-13… Jesus enters the Temple and begins to clear out those
desecrating the House of God.
The outer court had become a market place and stockyard; worshippers who
came to offer sacrifices and pay their temple tax were forced to pay high exchange
rates, as Greek and Roman coins had to be exchanged for Jewish currency ; and
also high prices were being charged for sacrificial animals and birds (and no doubt,
the Priests were getting kickbacks from the vendors).
The Outer Court, where all this was taking place, was for the Gentiles; they were
not allowed to enter any other part of the Temple, and so, this area was set apart
for Gentile converts to Judaism to pray and worship.
It is here that these vendors, under the supervision of the Jewish religious
leaders, had turned a place of prayer and worship into a robber’s den, where
criminals were being protected by the Chief Priest and Teachers of the Law, who
should instead be arresting them and bringing them to judgment (Jeremiah 7:11),
“Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I
have been watching! declares the LORD.”
These Religious leaders belonged to the Sanhedrin (Supreme Court of Israel);
presided over by the High-Priest, it met in the Temple daily to pronounce judgments
in all matters of civil, religious, cultural and ancestral Law.
Jesus offended the religious leaders (Mark 11:18), “The chief priests and the
teachers of the law… began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him,
because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching,”
(Mark 1:22), “The people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught them
as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” True authority is from
God, Jesus came from the Father with full authority.
Matthew 21:14-16… The blind and lame came to the Temple to beg for money
and seek healing; most of the Jews considered their infirmities to be payment for
sins either they or their parents committed.
The religious leaders showed little, if any, mercy toward the poor and the
afflicted; and yet Jesus healed all who came to Him, even receiving praise from
children. This infuriated the religious elite and so, Jesus condemns these selfrighteous
hypocrites as enemies of God, using the OT against them in verse 16
(from Psalm 8:2), “From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise,”
but the Psalmist goes on to say this is “because of the Messiah’s enemies,” in order
to silence them.
God knew full-well that a majority of unbelieving Jews (along with the majority
of mankind) would reject His Son, and that the Jews would show contempt toward
Him, displaying the evil in their hearts by seeking to kill Him; but according to
God’s sovereign plan, Jesus would give His own life as payment for our sins, after
which He would rise from the grave to prove He is both Lord and Savior
(cf Isaiah 53:3-6; John 10:17-18; Acts 2:22-24).
The majority of the Nation of Israel did not receive Jesus as their Messiah, you
see, they expected Him to come riding on a white horse, as a Warrior-King who
would run the Romans out of Israel and free the Jews of all Gentile rule; but
instead, Jesus came humbly riding on a donkey, as God’s Servant, He who gave up
Himself to be captured, condemned and crucified, like a criminal.
The nation of Israel is still waiting for the Messiah to come – riding on a white
stallion, a conquering Warrior-King, and He will (cf. Revelation 19:11-16).
Matthew 21:17… Jesus came to offer freedom from the penalty of sin and
eternal life in heaven with God; but the Jews adamantly rejected Him.
At the end of the day, Jesus left the crowds and went out of the city, to Bethany,
where He would spend the night with some of His dearest friends, Mary, Martha and
Lazarus, for they genuinely loved and believed in Him.
Over the next few days of Passion Week, the Biblical record tells us that Jesus
poured His heart out to the nation of Israel, expressing deep compassion for them;
and yet, just five days from the day He entered into Jerusalem, with the people
shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David!” these same people would cry out for Him
to be crucified, and Jesus would voluntarily give up His own life, as the full and final
payment for all our sins.
God loves us so much that He gave His Son to take the punishment we deserve;
in order that we might be saved (cf. Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1).
Passion week is all about the love of God expressed toward us through Jesus
Christ the Lord. The real question today is, have you received the love of God
through Jesus Christ the Lord, and are you earnestly seeking to bring honor and
glory and praise to Him, with your life? If so, you can genuinely and joyously
proclaim, “Hosanna to the Son of David, to Him who comes in the Name of the
LORD!” Amen!

Bible Text: Matthew 3:1-2 | Pastor: Pastor Mike Hale | Due to technical difficulties there is a small part missing in the middle.

03-18-2018

Water Baptism: Why It Is Important?

Matthew 3:1-2

When a person is baptized, they confess Jesus as Lord and declare, by faith,
their trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (past, present, future) and for
the salvation of their soul (for all of eternity).
Baptism is an external physical washing by men, symbolizing an internal
spiritual cleansing by God.
Matthew 3:1-2 John the Baptist came, preaching and saying, “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is near.” 6, “Confessing their sins, they were baptized [Gk.
baptizo = fully immersed] by him in the Jordan River.”
John called people to repent [Gk. metanoeo – this means a deliberate change in
direction of one’s mind and will; from wrong to right, sin to salvation, self to God]!
John called people to confess their sins, preparing them to accept God’s cure
for the penalty of sin. He isn’t asking them to just feel bad about their sinful
condition, but to be changed [converted] into a totally different life, a new life,
because God was coming in the body of Jesus!
There had been 400 years of silence with no new or direct communication from
God. The Word to be given is a message of warning and rebuke to Israel.
Matthew 3:11, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come
one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
John made it clear that there was One coming after him who would baptize not
with water, but with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John didn’t consider himself even
worthy to untie this Coming One’s sandals, i.e., not even worthy to be his slave.
John contrasts his own water baptism, a baptism of repentance [confessing
their sins, they were baptized by John], with that of the Coming One [He will
baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire].
Water symbolizes a cleansed conscience, as we repent of sin and express our
desire to do that which pleases God.
The Holy Spirit symbolizes rebirth by the Spirit of God, Who places us into the
eternal family of God.
Fire symbolizes the eternal judgment that will come to those who do not have the
Holy Spirit of God..
Water baptism is immersion into physical water, confessing your own sinfulness
and desire to change your behavior to align with what is acceptable to God.
New Testament water baptisms: Acts 8:26-40 (Ethiopian Eunuch); 10:1-48
(Cornelius’ Household); 16:11-15 (Lydia); 16:22-40 (Jailer’s Household).
Spiritual baptism is the purging and purifying presence of God Himself in the a
person, by which that person goes from death to life spiritually, being born again.
Death came through Adam, life comes through Jesus Christ, enabling us to be
born from above by God’s Spirit, Who indwells every true child of God.
John 1:12-13, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name,
He gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
John 3:3, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is
born again.” 6-7, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You
should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”
Acts 2:21, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
38, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 6:3-5, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through
baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him
like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in his resurrection.”
Christ died for our sins, and when He died, He not only put to death the power
and influence of the old life we received from Adam, but He demonstrated the new
life we receive from God.
The baptism mentioned in Romans 6:3-4 is not water baptism, it is the
baptism of the Spirit, by which you are made a child of God; at the moment you
repent and believe, you are filled with the Holy Spirit, at the same time you are
placed in the Body of Christ, the Church, the Family of God
1Corinthians 12:13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body –
whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to
drink.”
1Peter 3:18-22, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive
by the Spirit, through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison who
disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark
was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and
this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt
from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—
with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him.”
Noah and his family were saved from drowning because they were in the ark;
they were saved from the curse of sin because they obeyed God and got into the
ark. Jesus is the ark of salvation for all who trust in Him; He alone can forgive sins
and bring us into heaven.
It was revealed to Paul, and therefor to us, that God’s desire was to live in us,
through God’s Spirit, made effectual by the death and resurrection of God’s Son.
Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ
lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave Himself for me.”
Dead people can’t sin! Physical death separates a person from physical life,
baptism symbolizes putting to death the old life of sin, to live the new life in Christ.
2Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old
has gone, the new has come!” 21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Water baptism is not essential for salvation, it is essential because of
salvation.
Water baptism declares that the change which has occurred inside the Believer,
through God’s Spirit, will now be clearly revealed in the life of the Believer, as he/
she continues to Love Christ by obeying God’s Word.
John 14:15-17, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the
Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.
But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. 21, “Whoever has My
commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be
loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” 23, “If anyone
loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to
him and make Our home with him.”

Pastor Mike
°°°>‘(((><

Bible Text: various | Pastor: Pastor Mike |

03-11-2018

So, We Are The Church of God

The Greek word [ekklesia] translated church in our Bibles, means “the called out ones,” this is speaking of the community, congregation, body or family of genuine believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

The word “church” might be used of a local group of God’s people, but it is clearly not talking about a physical building; instead it has a more supernatural and universal meaning, speaking of all those who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God, which is given to each one who, upon their personal confession of sin and belief in God’s Son as Lord and Savior, becomes a child of God, now and forever. Ephesians 1:13-14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory.”
Acts 2:38, “Repent… …in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
1Corinthians 12:12-14, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.” 18-20, “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” 27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Colossians 1:18 He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church.
Revelation 5:9 says, Jesus “purchased men for God from every tribe, language, people and nation, by His own shed blood.

Christians are chosen by God; in fact they are bought at the cost of the shed blood of God’s own Son, that they might be born of God, to live forever with Him. John 1:13-14, “Yet to all who received Him [Jesus], to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
John 3:3 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” [from above]. 8 “So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Christians, as members of the body of Christ, the church, of which He is the head, are indeed peculiar people; Peter says (1Peter 1:1) we are alien residents on earth, pilgrims, strangers in the world – for our true citizenship is in heaven.

1Peter 1:3-5, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1Peter 2:9-10, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful Light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Paul clearly lays out the problem between sinful humans and the Holy God of Creation (we are all sinners); but God also provides the sovereign prescription and cure, by which we can be healed of an otherwise terminal eternal illness, the remedy is found in Romans 3:10-12, 23; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1;10:9-10, 13. Ephesians 1:3-10, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
Ephesians 3:10-11, “His [God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

At the moment of heart repentance for sin and genuine belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God’s Spirit comes to indwell and seal you as the eternal possession of God. As a child of God, a member of God’s church, and as one whose sins have been forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, you should live differently from those who continue to reject God’s Son.

1Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men… …It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

2Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the
test?”

We are commanded (Colossians 3:16), ”let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” (Galatians 5:25), ”live and walk in the Spirit,” (Ephesians 5:15-17), “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is,” (Romans 12:2), “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

God’s Word tells us to live under the control of God’s Spirit, in obedience to God’s Word, exemplifying the character of God’s Son, bringing glory to God the Father.

The purpose of the church [all true believers and followers of Jesus] is to love Christ by obeying the Word of God (John 14:15), “If you love Me, you will obey what I command,” (verse 21), “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me,” (verse 23), “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.”

Love and obedience are synonymous: As you feed on God’s Word, applying it to your life, you are changed, being conformed to Christ through the Word of God, by the Spirit of God.
Romans 12:1, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”

Every Christian is a member of God’s church, of which Christ is the Head (Ephesians 1:22-23), “God placed all things under His [Christ’s] feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.”

Jesus loves His church so much He laid down His life for us (Ephesians 5:25), “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”

Jesus commands us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ the same way; for this distinguishes God’s people from the world’s people (John 13:34-35) “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love [agape – sacrificial, willful, unconditional] one another.”

Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

As individual believers we should seek to know God more intimately and honor Him more consistently, with our life, as we endeavor to encourage one another [in the church], where God’s Word is to be taught, obeyed and honored, as we proclaim the message of Jesus Christ, to all who will listen, so that people might be saved.

Paul’s love for Christ and His church is clearly and repeatedly expressed in the books of the New Testament.

Paul’s sincere and earnest desire for each member of God’s family to know the unconditional love and the incomprehensible presence, pleasure and power of God in their life, is exemplified in the following prayer:
Ephesians 3:14-21, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Pastor Mike >’(((><

Bible Text: John 8:21-30 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: John |

03-04-2018

Dying In Your Sins?

John 8:21-30

Read John 8:21-22… Jesus is going away soon, in fact, in about 6 months He will be put to death for our sins and He will be buried, but three days later He will come out of the tomb, alive, show Himself to His followers over a period of forty days, then He will go back into heaven to be with the Father.

All who die in their sins, i.e., without receiving forgiveness for their sins, will not go to heaven, where He is. Jesus had previously told these people (John 7:33) that He would be going back to be with the One who had sent Him (cf. John 1:14). Hebrews 1:3b, “After He [Jesus] had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty [God the Father] in heaven.”

Notice (John 8:22), the Jews remark, “Will He kill Himself?” The religious leaders’ sarcasm is telling, for they have been plotting to kill Jesus ever since they became aware of what He was doing and what was being said about Him, e.g., John the Baptist (John 1:34), Nathanael (John 1:49), Nicodemus (John 3:2)

Jesus Himself declared He was the Messiah (John 4:25-26), Son of God (John 5:25-27), giver of eternal life (John 6:38-40), acquitter of sinners (John 8:10-11), the Revealing Light of God (John 8:12).

In John 8:21 Jesus is clearly speaking about His own death. The Jews (John 8:22) imply that He is saying He is going to kill Himself, “Is that why He says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come.’” The Jews believed anyone committing suicide would go to hell, to “the darkest place in Hades” (Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, III, VIII. 5).

The self-righteous Pharisees believed they were going to heaven, because of their ancestral heritage from Abraham [their father]; therefore, of course they can’t, neither would they want to, go where this Jesus will end up if He kills Himself.

Jesus is going to die alright, and it will definitely be by His own authority (cf. John 10:17-18), but it will not be by His own hand (cf. Acts 2:23).

These religious leaders are not going to believe in or receive this Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah (cf. John 1:11). Jesus tells them (John 8:21), “I am going away, and you will die in your in sin; you will not be able to come where I am going.”
Read John 8:23-24… Jesus is from heaven, the scribes and Pharisees are of the earth, the world [Gr. kosmos], which here refers to all that opposes God, all that is controlled by the devil and by sinful flesh.
John 2:15-16, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world [kosmos] – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Everything in the world was created, but Jesus [The Word of God], is the Creator of all that has been made (cf. John 1:1-3).

Back in John 8:21 Jesus tells the Jews they will die in their sin. Here (John 8:24) Jesus tells them, the reason they will die in their sins is because they reject the Savior who came from the Father, i.e., the ultimate sin, bringing eternal judgment, is not believing in God’s Son (cf. John 16:9).
John 3:18, “Whoever believes in Him [Jesus] 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.” 36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

In John 6:28, the people asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Meaning, what must we do to be right with God, to be saved, to go to heaven? Jesus answers them in John 6:29, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”

Wow! In John 8:24, Jesus says to the crowd, “unless you believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins.”

The Hebrew theonym [name for God] is written with four letters [tetragrammaton], expressed in Latin as YHWH which is transliterated [spoken] as Yahweh. But most orthodox Jews would never pronounce this name, instead, they would substitute one of several Hebrew terms that are expressed in English as The Holy One, Blessed Be He, The Lord, The Name.

Everyone who rejects God’s Son will go to hell when they physically die; everyone who believes in and receives Christ as Lord, will go to heaven when they physically die (2Corinthians 5:8), “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
Read John 8:25-30… Jesus declared that those who reject Him, will die in their sins, condemned to an eternity in hell. The Jews ask Jesus, “Who are You?”
In the Pastor Mike version of this narrative, Jesus responds to the Jews saying, “You’re kidding, right? Haven’t you been paying any attention to the miracles I’ve done, to what I and others have been saying about who I am, since the very beginning?” See Luke 4:16-21…

These Jews have received more than enough proof that Jesus came from God the Father in heaven to do His will; in fact, Jesus repeatedly made it clear that what He says and does is in obedience to the Father.

But you know, these religious leaders (John 8:27) “don’t understand that [Jesus] is telling them about His Father,” even though Jesus just told them in John 8:16, 18 that the Father is the One who sent Him.

Scripture is clear, the Father’s plan was to send His Son to release us from sin’s penalty/condemnation.

John 3:16, “For God [the Father] so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus made full payment to the Holy God of Creation, so that we would not have to die in our sins, but instead be granted life eternal through Him.

2Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus says (John 8:28), “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am,” i.e., you will know that I am [who I have been claiming to be since the beginning], the One who came from the Father, to die for the sins of all people (Hebrews 9:26), “Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

All those who repent, believe and follow Christ, are granted spiritual life eternal, and even though they die physically, they don’t remain dead.
John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”

God provides temporary physical life [Gr. bios] to everyone on planet earth; He provides eternal spiritual life [zoe] to all who believe in His Son, those (John 1:13), “born of God,” (John 3:8), “born of the Spirit.”

The Son of God [The Word of God] is One with [equal to] the Father, yet He was submissive to the Father while in human flesh (John 8:29), Jesus says, “I always do what pleases Him [The Father].”

In John 8:30 we are told, “Even as He [Jesus] spoke, many [of those in the crowd] put their faith [belief] in Him.”

The truth is, we are all going to die physically, some day; but if you die as one who rejects Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you will die in your sin, and you will awake to face the judgement of God in Hell!

But, you know, there is a way to reconcile your sinful and lost nature with the Holy, Righteous, Loving and Just God of Creation, Who will render both Eternal Judgement and Eternal Reward; for Jesus turns no one away, He forgives everyone who repents of their sin and believes in Him for salvation.

Please, if you have never seriously considered your relationship with God, who created the heavens and the earth and everything that is within them, take the time to do that, right here, right now.

Jesus loves you and has a marvelous plan for your life, both as a temporary resident here on earth, and as an eternal resident of heaven.
Jeremiah 29:11-14, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your

heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

There is no reason for anyone to die in their sins (cf. Romans 3:10-12, 23; 6:23, 5:8; 8:1).

Admit to God that you are a sinner (we all are).
Repent [turn from your sins to God], ask Him to forgive you (He rejects no one). Confess Jesus Christ as your Lord, believing in Him as your Savior: He willfully

died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the grave on the third day, demonstrating His sovereign victory over sin, death and judgement, forever!

Read God’s Word daily and seek to obey what you understand, following Jesus as your example in this life.

Find and participate in a local Bible Believing, Teaching and Practicing Church, where you can serve alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ, in both word and deed, as if serving the Lord Himself, for He was crucified, buried, resurrected, lifted back up into heaven, and He is coming again, to take all those who belong to Him, to be with Him forever.

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 8:12-20 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: John |

02-25-2018

The Light of God Declared

John 8:12-20

Read John 8:12… The themes of “life” and “Light” permeate John’s gospel; the

Greek word zoe [English, life] refers to the life Jesus gives His true disciples, spiritual life or eternal life; this is differentiated from the Greek word bios is also translated “life,” but it refers to physical life, also given by God.

Jesus had zoe within Himself, because He is self-existent – He was not created, He is the Creator who is eternally existent, the great “I AM,” (Exodus 3:14).

Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

There was a time when the universe did not exist; but there was never a time when God did not exist. Jesus Christ, the Word [Logos], is God, He has always existed.

In Christ was the light and life of God (see John 1:1-4; 11:25; 14:6; 1John 1:1-7). Without the light there is only darkness. John 1:5 says the light shines in the darkness, but darkness cannot understand [lit. overcome] it.

The demons of darkness understand very well the judgment awaiting them in Christ (see Matthew 8:29; Mark 1:34; Luke 4:33-34; James 2:19). They have tried relentlessly to keep the Light and life of God from mankind (see 2Corinthians 4:4-6):

Throughout the OT Satan tried to destroy Israel so that Messiah [the Christ] could not be born.

Satan, through Herod, tried to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:16), by killing al the boys 2 and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.

Satan used one of Jesus’ Twelve (Judas) to betray Him into the hands of the Jews (Matthew 26:21-25).

Satan thought he had won, when Jesus was nailed to the cross to die, but in reality, Satan brought about his own defeat and signed his own death warrant (see Acts 2:22-24; Colossians 2:15; 1John 3:8).

The Word of God is God’s Son, Lord and Savior.
John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have

seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Everyone who calls on this Jesus, the Word of God, God the Son, to forgive their sins by responding to the Light of God in Christ, receives eternal Life from God, becoming a child of God.
Read John 8:13… By declaring that He is the Light and through that Light He grants eternal life to all who believe, Jesus is clearly saying that He is God!

The Pharisees tried to discount Jesus’ testimony about Himself, for the Old Testament demanded at least two witnesses to establish a valid testimony (cf Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15).

But Jesus was not the only one testifying that He was the one who came from God the Father.

John the Baptist – John 1:6-9, 32-34

The Twelve – John 1:49; Matt. 14:32-33; 16:13-16

Nicodemus – John 3:2

Martha – John 11:27

God The Father – Matthew 3:17; 17:5

The religious leaders of Israel were not going to accept Jesus, no matter how much evidence there was.

John 12:37, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him.”
Read John 8:14-19… Jesus is the source of all Truth. Repeatedly in the Gospels Jesus declares, “I am telling you the truth!” When Jesus stood before Pilate, Jesus said (John 18:37c, NASB), “For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

See John 10:22-30… The Feast of Dedication (November-December) was about two months after the Feast of Booths, where we are presently reading in chapter 8. Notice that the conflict continues between the religious leaders and Jesus, but Jesus stays on point, He is the Light of God, bringing life from God to all those who repent, believe and follow Him, for He is God in the flesh and the fullness of God is declared in, by and through Him.

Back to John 8:14, Jesus’ testimony about Himself is true, for He is God and God cannot lie. Jesus knows where He came from and where He will return to (John 16:28), “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

The Pharisees don’t know where He came from or where He is going; they are ignorant of God, they judge according to their sinful nature, the flesh (cf John 8:15); their judgement is carnal, self-righteous and wrong, and they weren’t paying attention earlier, when He rebuked them (John 7:24), “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

It is interesting that Jesus says (John 8:15-16) He isn’t judging anyone, but if He does judge, it is both He and the Father who stand by that judgement. John 3:17 says, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

But in the future, as He already stated (see John 5:22-27), Jesus will judge everyone and everything.

In John 8:17-18 Jesus confirms that the Old Testament declares the testimony of two men is considered valid; then He validates that He has two witnesses, Himself and the Father. But this doesn’t satisfy the Pharisees, instead they mockingly ask (John 8:19), “Where is your father?”

These guys don’t have a clue who they are dealing with, as Jesus points out,

“You do not know Me or My Father,” for “If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”
Matthew 11:27, “All things have been committed to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

On the last night with His disciples, before His arrest and crucifixion Jesus said (John 14:6-7, 9), “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.”

Anyone, everyone, who rejects Jesus Christ as God’s Son, pronounces their own guilt before God the Father, for by rejecting the Son they also reject the Father; and in so doing, they remain in darkness apart from the Light of Christ.
2Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 6, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance [Greek, apaugasma = effulgence, J brilliance, brightness, illumination] of God’s glory.”

In John 8:12 Jesus declares, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life,” (John 1:4) “In Him [Jesus] was life, and that life was the Light of men.”

The Light or revelation of God has been clearly displayed and fulfilled in and through the life of Jesus Christ; therefore (1John 5:11-13), “This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

God has clearly revealed His Light through Jesus Christ; therefore no one has a valid excuse to not believe in Him. But all who reject Him remain in darkness apart from Life with God.

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 7:53-8:11 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: John |

02-18-2018

Jesus Exposes the Hypocrisy of the Pharisees

John 7:53-8:11

First of all, I want to make the point that most of the earliest and most reliable manuscripts omit John 7:53-8:11; those that do include it mark it, in some way, so as to indicate that John’s authorship is in question.

You may have this section of Scripture bracketed in your Bible, with a statement something like, Later manuscripts add the story of the adulterous woman, numbering it as John 7:53-8:11, or perhaps, it may simply say, this section is not found in the earliest manuscripts.

Many scholars believe this section was not an original part of John’s gospel, even though, they would probably say they believe the story is true and it really happened, but that it was added later and John didn’t write it.

Some of the later manuscripts insert the story of the adulterous woman in a variety of locations, some placing it immediately after John 7:36, or John 7:44, or John 21:25, and some placing it in Luke’s gospel, after Luke 21:37-38.

The consensus is, if the story was originally written by John and placed between John 7:52 and John 8:12, it wouldn’t be found transcribed in different locations in the various manuscripts.

There are a few issues with vocabulary and style that are not common to John’s writings, e.g., John 8:1-2 suggests that Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives for the night; but the Synoptic Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke] record that this only happened once, during Passion Week (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39), after the evening Jesus spent with His disciples, when Jesus changed the Passover meal to the Lord’s Supper, declaring that the New Covenant was made effectual through the shedding of His own blood for our sins.

Also, it is worth noting that although the Synoptics refer to the Mount of Olives many times (Matthew 21:1; 24:3; Mark 11:1; 13:3; Luke 19:29, 37; 21:37), John doesn’t refer to it anywhere except in John 8:1, which may not have been written by John.

Another vocabulary issue is that the Synoptics [Matthew, Mark, Luke] record many times that the scribes and Pharisees were paired together when confronting Jesus (Matthew 5:20; 12:38; 15:1; 23:2, 13-15, 23-29; Mark 2:16; 7:1, 5; Luke 5:21, 30; 6:7; 11:53; 15:2); but John’s gospel doesn’t put them together anywhere except in John 8:3, where it says the teachers of the law [scribes] and the Pharisees came together to bring an adulterous woman before Jesus.

Many scholars believe the text of John 7 should end at verse 52, and then begin again with what is recorded as John 8:12 (more on that next week).

Although John 7:53-8:11 is most likely not part of John’s original text, it is well accepted by the majority of scholars that this was an authentic historical event from Christ’s life, and it is possible that it was perhaps passed on by way of oral tradition. This section contains nothing that contradicts the rest of Scripture, while at the same time it presents a narrative of the Lord that is totally consistent with the character of the Son of God, who was also the Son of Man.

Read John 7:53-8:2… Luke 21:37-38, “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening He went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.” You can see how close these passages (Luke and John) parallel one another.

Jesus was in Jerusalem and when evening came He went to the Mount of Olives; then the next morning, early, He went to the temple and many people came to hear Him teach, so He sat down to do so.
Read John 8:3-6a… The Lord’s teaching is interrupted by the scribes [lawyers, experts at interpreting the Law] and the Pharisees. The Pharisees held great influence over the Jewish people concerning all things God and religious rituals.
The Pharisees were always hostile toward Jesus, except for Nicodemus (cf. John 3:1-2; 7:50-51; 19:39-40).

In this narrative, the religious leaders bring a woman before Jesus, and the crowd listening to Him, she had been caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees mockingly call Him “Teacher,” as the seek to have Him render a judgement, knowing that the Law (Exodus 20:14) states she is to be stoned to death, even though they don’t have the authority to carry out the death penalty under Roman rule.

Do you sense something is missing here? What about the man that was caught in the act with her? Why didn’t they bring him also? The Law demanded both the man and woman guilty of adultery to be put to death, and clearly the guilty man was known to them; since the woman was caught in the act, the man would have been there also.

This whole bringing it to Jesus thing seems staged and suspect, in that, normally the guilty parties would be tried in the Jewish courts and Jesus was neither a judge nor a member of the Sanhedrin [ruling court of Israel].

Clearly the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus into going against the Law of Moses, rendering a judgment that would circumvent Roman rule, or perhaps they just hope to turn the people against Him.

These hypocritical Pharisees were continually coming to Jesus ill-equipped, but then, as we already studied so thoroughly, these guys just don’t get it! They think they are the premier authorities and rulers when it comes to all things God, boy are they mistaken.

Look, God is Holy and His Law is Holy, but where the Law is ineffective at showing mercy or granting forgiveness, God is sovereign and omnipotent.

Ezekiel 18:4, “For every living soul belongs to Me, the father as well as the son – both alike belong to Me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.”

Romans 2:12, “all who sin under the law will be judged by the law,” Romans 4:15, “because law brings wrath.”

The religious leaders seem unwilling to understand that God is able to forgive sinners who violate His holy law, this was accomplished through the sacrificial death

of His own Son, through whom God’s justice is fully satisfied and therefore sinners can be made righteous in God’s sight.

Romans 3:22-26, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
Hebrews 9:27-28, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”

1Peter 2:24, “He himself [Christ] bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” Read John 8:6b-8… The Religious Leaders of Israel were about to be confronted with their own hypocrisy. These guys were incapable of mercy and they were unwilling to acknowledge that they themselves were sinners, their misplaced self- righteousness had seared their consciences and hardened their hearts.

Think about it, these religious leaders had arrested a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, and they were now publicly exposing her sin to a crowd, ridiculing and humiliating her; she must have been terrified, thinking that she was about to be stoned.

At this point, Jesus begins to write something in the dirt with His finger. The Pharisees continue to pressure Jesus, but He pays them no attention. He then stands up and basically says to them, “if there is even one of you who is sinless, let that man pick up a stone and throw it at the woman.” Immediately Jesus bends over again and begins to write in the dirt.

How would you like it, if the next time you are pointing out someone else’s sin, Jesus shows up and starts writing down your sins, for everyone to see?
Read John 8:9-11… Jesus was unwilling to be used by or assist these hypocritical religious leaders. It would seem that they got the point, for they began to leave from that place, oldest to youngest [common sense tells us, the older men probably had more sins written in the dirt]. None of the Pharisees and scribes were without sin, and therefore none of them were qualified to pick up, let alone to throw, a rock, at the woman.

Notice (John 8:10), Jesus now stands up, the religious leaders evidently departed while He was still bent over, writing in the dirt. We don’t know if the crowd of people was still there or not, but the woman hadn’t moved, she was sanding there; and now, for the first time in this narrative, Jesus speaks to the woman (John 8:11a) saying, “where did all your accusers go? Who is here to condemn you?” The woman replied, “no one Lord.”

If you were brought into court for a crime you allegedly committed, and there is no one there to accuse you, you would be acquitted of the crime, free to go.

Jesus had told the Pharisees who had brought the woman to Him, that if any one of them was without sin, he should pick up a rock and throw it, basically an act of condemning her, for she was indeed guilty of adultery and must be punished.

Romans 2:1, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Paul is writing in that verse exactly what Jesus is saying in John 8. No one can serve as judge or executioner unless they are without sin, and no one is without sin (1John 1:8), “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (cf. Romans 3:23). But there is one who is without sin, Jesus Christ the Lord (Hebrews 4:14-15), “Jesus the Son of God… has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.”

God is not just a Loving God; He is a Just and Loving God, and therefore all sin must be punished. Jesus tells this adulterous woman, who is, without a doubt, guilty of sin (John 8:11b), “I don’t condemn you.”

The only one there that day who was qualified to pick up a stone and throw it at her, did not. This woman was forgiven by God’s Son, God’s Sacrificial Lamb, and although He had not yet gone to the cross, she had received forgiveness, she was acquitted and free to go. But notice, Jesus tells her, “Go now and leave your life of sin,” i.e., she is to live differently, as one who has received forgiveness.

Only God can forgive, Jesus is God; He came to die [to make full payment for] our sins, that we might live for Him (2Corinthians 5:15), “He [Jesus] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again,” (2Corinthians 5:21), “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Don’t be like the Pharisees who thought they were without sin, with no need for forgiveness. Instead, be honest with yourself, you are a sinner, I am a sinner, we are all sinners destined to be eternally judged and condemned to hell, apart from the salvation that comes through Christ.

The good news is, everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord, repenting of their sins and believing in Him for salvation, is acquitted of all sins (past, present, future), and will live forever in heaven with God, where (Revelation 21:4), “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The closing two verses in the Book of Revelation declares (22:20-21), “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 7:40-8:1 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: John |

02-11-2018

They Just Don’t Get it: Part Two

John 7:40-8:1

Read John 7:40-44… From the very beginning of John’s gospel account it has been clearly and repeatedly stated that it is belief in Jesus alone that brings us into a saving and eternal relationship with God.
John 20:31, “But [this is] written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

All those who believe in and trust God’s Son are given new birth into the family of God. This happens when God’s Spirit indwells us and places us in the Body of Christ at the moment of repentance and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (see John 3:1-8, 14-16, 36).

Look again at John 7:40-41a, the people are saying that Jesus must be the Prophet, or perhaps He is the Christ (see Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Moses; Acts 3:22:23, Peter).

One thing seems clear in our text today, many of the people, seem to believe that Jesus is from God. It would be those who believed who would no doubt take Jesus’ invitation seriously to heart (John 7:37), “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”

Read again John 7:41b-42… So, some say Jesus is the Prophet, some say Messiah, but there are others who are not convinced, basically saying (verse 41b), “the Christ can’t come from Galilee, check the Scriptures, the
Messiah is to be of David’s family (see Psalm 89:3-4;

132:10-11; Matthew 21:9-11; 22:41-42).
Also, the Christ must come from Bethlehem (see

Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:3-6). This crowd is confused, they don’t seem to know that He was born in Bethlehem. Verse 43 infers that the people were conflicted about Jesus, and some of them (verse 44) wanted to grab Him, but nobody does.

This is the third time since Jesus arrived at the Feast that there has been an attempt or expressed intention to seize or arrest Him (cf. verses 30, 32). But, it was not God’s appointed time for the Christ to be sacrificed.
Read John 7:45-46… Back in verse 32 we read how the Pharisees sent the temple guards to arrest Jesus. Here in verse 45 we are told that the guards returned to the Pharisees empty handed. Their reason is that (verse 46) “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”
Read John 7:47-49… In verse 12 we are told, some in the crowd were whispering that Jesus was a “good man,” while others were saying that He “deceives” the people. Here in verse 47, the Pharisees scold the guards, implying that they have been deceived by this Jesus.

The religious rulers (verses 48-49) allege that this crowd is made up of uneducated and simpleminded fools who don’t know the Scripture, and so they bring a curse on themselves! The Pharisees see themselves as the sovereign authority on all things religious, and they judge that Jesus is not the Messiah. Read John 7:50-52… Nicodemus is a Pharisee, he is the one who came to Jesus at night (chapter 3) and declared that Jesus must be from God, based on the miracles He was doing. Nicodemus now says to the religious leaders that they themselves are going against their own law, for no man should be judged and condemned before he has the opportunity to give an account of himself (see John 12:37-43; Acts 25:13-16).

Notice (verse 52), the Pharisees come back very hard against Nicodemus, “Are you from Galilee too? Look into it and you will find out that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

To associate Nicodemus with the crude, uncultured and uneducated Galileans was a major putdown and insult to Nicodemus’ character and his position as a Pharisee, religious authority and ruler, in Jerusalem.

The Pharisees continue to demean Nicodemus for his overt challenge to their high position and authority, calling them into account for the way they are conspiring against Jesus without giving Him the opportunity to speak on His own behalf. They mockingly imply that Nicodemus doesn’t know what the Scriptures teach, basically alleging that he doesn’t know the writings of the prophets, for if he did, he would surely know that there is no prophet who comes out of Galilee.

But in reality, it is the Pharisees who are showing their ignorance and elevating their own self imposed importance; for the Scriptures do not bear out what they are saying. In fact, the Old Testament Scriptures tell us that Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Hosea, Elijah and Elisha were from the area of Galilee.

I don’t think we can know from the Scripture what influence Nicodemus had on any of the other Pharisees or the other self-righteous religious leaders. But one thing is quite clear in the Scripture and that is that Nicodemus continued to be a student of the Truth (see John 7:16-17; 14:6-7; 19:38-42).

Read John 7:53-8:1… This chapter ends and the next begins with people going to their own homes, probably because the sun was going down, the end of the day.

Jesus was not from Jerusalem, He may have later gone to stay with Mary and Martha in Bethany, but for now, He goes Mount Olivet, most likely to a Garden there, named Gethsemane [lit. oil press, for it was here that very large stone blocks were used to squeeze oil from the olives grown on this mountain].

Gethsemane is where Jesus would be arrested (in about six months), soon after which, He would be beaten and His own people, the Jews would cry out for Him to be put to death by crucifixion.
John 1:11-12, “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

When Jesus stood up, during the last day of the Feast of Booths, and said (verse 37), “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink,” the majority of those who were there that day, either didn’t know what He was talking about, didn’t care, or they knew and were angered at His audacity to equate Himself with God.

I have been a believer and follower of Jesus Christ since August 1, 1978 and I have never looked back; for who in their right mind would climb out of a cesspool, step into a cleansing hot shower, put on fresh clean clothes, and then step back down into that cesspool.

I want to make sure that you clearly understand what this passage is saying.

Hebrews 9:26 declares that Jesus “has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13).

Please, check your heart, be sure that you are not like the majority of those in the world today, nor like the unbelieving Jews of Jesus’ day who just didn’t get it! John 3:14-16, “…the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Do you get it?
1Corinthians 15:3-4, “Christ died for [your] sins according to the Scriptures [bringing forgiveness for sin], He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” [demonstrating the eternal life that He grants to everyone who believes in Him].
Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
John 20:31, “…[this is] written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 7:37-39 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: John |

02-04-2018

Thirsty? Come to Jesus and Drink

John 7:37-39

Last week in John 7:25-36, we read how there was confusion among those in

the crowd, where Jesus was openly speaking at the temple. Some thought Him to possibly the Messiah, because of the miracles He had already done and was, evidently, known for.

He turned the water into wine…
He healed an invalid of 38 years, so he could walk…
Jesus walks on water, across the lake…
Jesus commands the storm to cease, it obeyed…
Jesus transports the boat He and the disciples were in, from the middle of the

lake, to Capernaum, several miles away, instantaneously…
Read John 7:37-39… Last week our text dealt with the middle of the Feast week, today we look at the last day of the Feast, the Great Day of the Feast, most likely referring to the seventh day of the Feast of Booths.

The Feast of Booths [Tabernacles, Tents, Shelters], which we studied about in the opening verses of chapter 7, was one the three major feasts of Israel. According to Josephus (1st Century historian), it was the most popular among the people.

The celebration was massive, those who lived in Jerusalem would build their booth or shelter on their roof, or in the street; whereas visitors from outside the city would construct their booths in the open areas around Jerusalem.

The Israelites would eat their meals in the booths for the week, and those who came from outside the city, some even from outside of Israel, would most likely sleep in their booths also.

There were daily activities commemorating God’s provision for the Israelites after leaving Egypt and entering the desert. Each day during the Feast, a water ritual was performed, and although these rituals were not set forth in the Old Testament, they had become tradition in the centuries before the time of Jesus.

These rituals commemorated God’s miraculous provision of water for Israel during their time in the wilderness (cf. Numbers 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 8:15; Psalm 105:41; Isaiah 48:21).

During the Millennial Kingdom, the Feast of Booths will again be celebrated to honor the Messiah’s dwelling with His people, when all the nations will be gathered into His earthly kingdom (cf. Zechariah 14:16-19).

In John 7:37-38 Jesus cries out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

Everyday during the Feast, the High Priest would go out to the pool of Siloam and fill a golden container with water; he would then carry it back to the temple, with a procession of priests and levites. When they reached the Water Gate (south side of the inner court) a shofar (a trumpet made from a ram’s horn) would sound

three blasts to signify the occasion; and the people would recite Isaiah 12:3, and although I’m sure it sounds better in Hebrew, in English it says, “With joy you will draw water from the well of salvation.”

On the seventh day of the Feast, the High Priest would march around the altar in the temple seven times, while the temple choir sang the Hallel (Psalms 113-118), after which the water was poured out as an offering to God.

So, the priest is getting water from the Pool of Siloam, plains it in a gold container, and then carrying it into the temple while the people are loudly proclaiming, “With joy you will draw water from the well of salvation,” and all this is going on when Jesus stands up and loudly cries out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”

Notice in John 7:37, there are three very important words that describe the Lord’s invitation for a person to be saved: thirsty, come, drink.

If a person isn’t aware of their thirst, they will not seek a drink; just as a sinner, who doesn’t acknowledge his sin, won’t seek forgiveness for his sins. A person who is aware of their need for water, must do more than recognize they are thirsty; they must find water. And once they have come to a source of water, they must now drink from that, in order to satisfy their need.

Do you see analogy here? A person must realize they are a sinner [spiritually thirsty] and that they are going to die in their sins [die of thirst], unless they come to the only source of hydration [forgiveness], Jesus Christ, from whom they must drink [believe in and receive Him].

Notice again in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” To genuinely believe in Jesus Christ is synonymous with being refreshed and rehydrated [but instead of later going into stomach] what Jesus is offering, forgiveness and eternal life, goes into heart.

There are examples in Scripture of those who come to Jesus aware of their need, but they don’t accept or partake of what Jesus offers them, instead, they go away thirsty and still in need (see Mark 10:17-22).

John 7:39a makes it clear that the “streams of living water” (v. 38c) that will flow from within a person who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, is speaking of the Holy Spirit, through whom salvation is made effectual and ”those who believed in [Jesus] were later to receive.”

Anyone who heard Jesus, and was spiritually thirsty, would have received salvation that day, at the very moment they believed in Him [came to Him and drank]; for although the personal receiving of the Holy Spirit was future, the Spirit had been active, as God’s agent of repentance and power for regeneration, throughout the Old Testament and up to that time (cf. Genesis 6:3; Psalm 51:11; 143:10; Isaiah 30:1; Ezekiel 11:15).

See John 7:39b again. Those who believed in Jesus, although they have received forgiveness for sins, they would not receive the Spirit until after Jesus was glorified. When did that happen? Not until Jesus had accomplished all He had come to do, after which He would return to the Father and to the glory He had before coming to earth to save us.
John 17:4-5, “I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.”

Forgiveness was made effectual at the cross, when Jesus said, “It is finished!”

But the indwelling of God’s Spirit would not happen until Jesus ascended back into heaven. In John 14, Jesus’ last night with His disciples, He tells them He is going away, but He is going to ask the Father to send to them the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells them they know God’s Spirit for He has been with them, but He will soon be in them.

The Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, the day the Church of God, the Body of Christ was birthed. Fifty days after Jesus rose from the grave, God’s Spirit came and indwelled all those who genuinely believed in Him (see Acts 1:1-8; 2:1-4, 38-39).

Ever since the Day of Pentecost, anyone who calls on Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, believing in Him as Lord, trusting Him as Savior, immediately receives the Holy Spirit, confirming that they have eternal life.

Perhaps you are here today and you find yourself to be unsure concerning what will happen when you die, where will you spend eternity? Are you right with God? The Message of Jesus Christ is called the Gospel, meaning “Good News.” And it is good news (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13), “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

If your heart is troubled, if you are in need of forgiveness, come to the Savior, He turns no one away.

Admit you are a sinner, we all are…

Believe that Jesus can save you, He is the only means of salvation, the only Way…

Confess your sins to Him and He will forgive all your sins: past, present, future…

Demonstrate the new life you have received in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17)… How do you demonstrate new life in Christ?

Read the Bible daily and seek to obey what you understand.

Pray – talk to God throughout your day, asking Him to guide and strengthen you, to give you opportunities to serve Him…

Fellowship and serve in a local God-honoring church where the Bible is taught, obeyed and lived out…

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 7:25-36 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: John |

01-28-2018

They Just Don’t Get It: Part One

John 7:25-36

If you will recall, last week we found Jesus in a confrontation with the Jews. He

warned them (v. 24) not to judge according to how things look or, the way things seem to be; but instead, we are to judge according to the way God says things are, according to the truth, aligning with the will and the way of God.
Read John 7:25-27… Remember, this takes place during the Feast of Booths, the population of Jerusalem has swelled with travelers from all over Israel and from outside of Israel, from Gentile regions.

The crowd (v. 20) that had alleged that Jesus was demon possessed for having said the Jews were trying to kill Him; now we read that some of the locals (vv. 25-26) are asking, “Isn’t this the man they were trying to kill? Here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to Him. Have the authorities really concluded that He is the Christ?”

It seems the crowd is wondering, what do the religious leaders know. Maybe they aren’t sure whether Jesus is speaking the truth or speaking lies; perhaps they aren’t sure if He is or is not the Messiah.

Notice the “we” here (v. 27) this refers back to verse 25, “some of the people of Jerusalem,” seem to know that Jesus is from Nazareth in Galilee, where He had grown up; but apparently, they don’t know that He was born in Bethlehem, for then they say, “when the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.”

So, some of the local Jews are saying they know where Jesus comes from, but it won’t be that way when the Messiah comes; He will just show up out of nowhere.

Micah 5:2 tells them, and us, that the Messiah will come out of Bethlehem. Why are they confused about this? Well, it could be because there was a widespread misguided belief among the people that the Messiah would just one day show up at the temple, and no one would know where He had come from.

Malachi 3:1, “‘Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

Tradition had it that the Messiah wouldn’t be known or recognized until He showed up at the temple, without warning, unexpectedly, for the purpose of redeeming Israel, i.e., bringing salvation to Israel.

Remember, this is October in Jerusalem, the Feast of Booths is being celebrated; Jesus will return to Jerusalem in about six months, when He will ride into town on a donkey’s colt, pour His heart out to the people for several days, after which, He will offer up Himself as God’s Sacrificial Lamb (see John 12:1, 12-15).

Back to John 7:28-29… Jesus raises His voice [lit. yells] to get the people’s attention, and then it seems He uses a little sarcasm, basically saying, “sure, you know Me and where I come from, sure you do.”

Think about it, Jesus is fully God and fully man, He is from heaven, where He was with God the Father before entering the womb of Mary, to be born in Bethlehem.

Honestly, the Jews don’t have a clue as to who Jesus is or where He came from (John 8:19), “Then they asked Him, ‘Where is your father?’ ‘You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

And yet, as Christians, we do know who He is and where He came from (see John 1:1-4, 14, 18, 29, 34); Jesus came to serve His Father by making the Father known to us, so that all who believe [love and obey] the Son, will be saved!
Read John 7:30-31… It would seem that some of the Jews didn’t care for His irony and so they attempt to grab Him, but to no avail; perhaps those who thought Jesus to be a good man (verse 12) were protecting Him from being apprehended by those who thought Him to be a deceiver (verse 13).

Notice (verse 31) that many of those in the crowd believed in Him, expressing their affirmation that Christ Himself wouldn’t do more miracles than Jesus has already done (water into wine, an invalid of 38 years now walking, thousands fed from one boy’s lunch, walking on water, calming the wind and the waves, teleporting the boat with the 12 disciples in it to Capernaum).

So, what would the devout Jews of that day have known about the coming of God’s Servant, God’s Son, the Messiah Savior (see Isaiah 29:18-19; 42:6-9; 61:1-2)?
Read John 7:32-36… The religious leaders hear some of the crowd making the case for Jesus being the Messiah, this makes them angry, so they send for some of the temple guards to come and arrest Jesus. And what does Jesus do? Run and hide? Not hardly…

Jesus continued to proclaim God’s truth, in fact, these dull minded Jews weren’t even aware that Jesus is telling them of His future arrest (at Passover), followed by His crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension back into heaven to be with the Father.

Clearly, Jesus is saying that they will not be able to find Him or go where He is going, i.e., all those who reject Him as God’s Son, the Savior, will never enter into heaven where He will be.

These Jews are so unwilling to believe in and come to God’s Son; instead, they mock Him saying (verse 35), “where does this man intend to go that we cannot find Him? Will He go to the Greeks [Gentiles]?”

The very thought of the Messiah going out among the Greeks was an abomination. The NIV renders verse 36 as, “where our people live scattered,” whereas the NASB translates it as “the Dispersion” [lit Diaspora] which refers to the Jews who are living outside of the Nation of Israel, living among Gentiles.

This mocking questions by the Jews in verse 35 is more like a statement revealing a self-fulfilling prophecy; the Nation of Israel will reject Jesus as the Messiah, and the Gospel will then be preached to the Gentiles [Greeks].

Romans 1:16-17, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written (Habakkuk 2:4): ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

You know, it was always God’s plan for Salvation to be offered to everyone, not just the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (See Galatians 3:22-29).

Isaiah 49:6 says it was always God’s plan for salvation to come to the Gentiles through Israel’s Redeemer, God’s Son, the Messiah, and this salvation would go out to the ends of the earth.

Reread John 7:35-36… These Jews really don’t get it, for they are pious hypocrites, devout and orthodox they would never have contact with Gentiles, whom they consider to be unclean.

So, if Jesus went out among the Greeks, these self-righteous Jews would never go there, so, in their deluded minds, they couldn’t go look for Him there and so, He would not be found by them.

But that is not what Jesus is saying, instead, as Isaiah divinely proclaimed (Isaiah 55:6), “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” And as Paul writes (2Corinthians 6:2b), “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Turn to John 13:33, 36; 14:3-6… Do you see? The reason the Jews wouldn’t be able to find Jesus or go to Him is because they didn’t believe in Him and they wouldn’t come to Him for forgiveness and eternal life; instead, the Jews as a nation rejected Him, as we will see next week in Part Two:“They Just Don’t Get It!”

John 1:11 tells us that Jesus came to His own, the Jews, the people of His family, culture and ancestry, but they rejected Him.

John 1:12-13 tells us, “to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God,” born from above, born of God’s Spirit into an eternal relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Mike <‘(((><