Bible Text: John 5:24-29 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

Read John 5:24-29… Everyone who hears the gospel of Christ and believes Him receives forgiveness for sins and eternal life; those who reject Him will receive judgment. The truth is, everyone will live forever, either with the Lord in heaven, or apart from the Lord, in hell.

Before we confess our sins and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, we are considered by God to be spiritually dead in our sins. When we repent and believe in Jesus we are granted new life in Christ (see Ephesians 5:1-5).

Even though we are made spiritually alive in Christ, these earthly bodies will one day wear out and die; and so, we will receive new resurrection bodies. Jesus Christ will one day (Philippians 3:20-21), “transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”

Unbelievers will also one day receive resurrection bodies; but instead of bodies that are fitted for eternity in heaven, they will receive bodies that are fitted for eternity in hell (see Revelation 20:11-15).

The truth of resurrection is taught throughout the Bible; in Genesis 22:5, Abraham and Isaac are going up on the mountain, where Abraham will sacrifice his son Isaac; but as they depart those who had come with them Abraham says, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Hebrews 11:17-19, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.’”
Job 14:14, “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.”
Job 19:25-27, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes, I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
Daniel 12:2, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Jesus said (Matthew 22:31-32), “about the resurrection of the dead–have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [Exodus 3:6] He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” John 11:25, “Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”

When Paul was standing before Felix in Acts 24:15, he said his hope was in God, “that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”

Back to John 5:25-26… Jesus says, “a time is coming and has now come.” All of us who now belong to Christ, were dead in our sins before we received His forgiveness; that is the time that “has now come,” for our spirit has been granted eternal life in Christ.

Ephesians 2:6-7… This is the time that “is coming,” when our physical bodies will be raised [resurrected] as eternal bodies (see 1Corinthians 15:35-54).

Those without Christ are considered to be spiritually dead, although they are physically alive, as were all of us prior to salvation (Colossians 2:13-14), “When you were dead in your sins… God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code… He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

The apostle John (1John 3:14) says that Christians, “have passed from death to life.” God’s Son, Jesus Christ can give life (John 5:21), just as the Father gives life, because (John 5:26), “He has life in Himself,” meaning, He wasn’t created, He is the Creator; and therefore, He can grant life to whomever He chooses.
Read John 5:27-29… As the Son has authority to give life, He also has authority to execute judgment upon mankind. As the Son of Man [Jesus favorite designation for Himself], He is the only one sovereignly qualified to judge mankind (see Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-16).

God’s Son, fully God and yet fully man, is able to judge all of mankind, for He wore a body of flesh and was tempted as we are tempted, yet He did not sin; He suffered, yet not for His own crimes but for ours.

Notice again (John 5:28-29), “a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

Unlike the spiritual resurrection we receive at salvation, this is the future bodily resurrection of the righteous dead whose souls are in heaven with Christ (cf. 2Corinthians 5:6-8), and the wicked dead whose souls are in torment in Hades (cf Luke 16:22-23).

The bodies of everyone who has ever lived will be raised; like when Jesus commanded, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead are raised in a sequence:
1. When Christ returns in the air (1Thessalonians 4:16), the bodies of all true believers from Pentecost to the Rapture are raised.
2. Old Testament believers, and all those saved during the Tribulation will be raised at the end of the Tribulation (Revelation 20:4; Daniel 12:2).

3. Believers who die during the Millennium Kingdom will either be immediately given their resurrection bodies, or at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, the Bible isn’t clear.

Back to John 5:29b, it says that those who have done good [deeds] are resurrected to eternal life, and those who have done evil [deeds] are raised in condemnation [resurrection of judgment].

No one goes to heaven or hell by their own works or merits, for salvation is clearly the work of God (cf. Romans 3:10-12, 20-24, 28; 5:1-2, 8; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10); therefore “good” works are simply the evidence of salvation, “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:17); whereas, those who reject salvation through Christ are referenced in John 5:29b as those who have committed “evil” deeds.

Whatever pleases God is good, whatever doesn’t is evil. Believing in His Son is good, rejecting Him is evil.
1Timothy 2:3-4, “God our Savior …wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

2Peter 3:9, “The Lord is …not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

The premier chapter on resurrection (1Corinthians 15) ends with, “Therefore, my dear brothers [sisters, children of age], stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

The future hope we have is eternal life with God in heaven, new bodies that will never experience pain, decay or death (Romans 12:1), “Therefore, I urge you, brothers [sisters, children of age], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act [or service] of worship.

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 5:16-24 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

Read John 5:16-18… Last week I noted how Sabbath observance was at the top of priorities for the Jews of Jesus’ day. Which makes Jesus’ response, to those who are challenging Him for violating the Sabbath (verse 16), quite remarkable.

Jesus basically tells them that the Father doesn’t stop working on the Sabbath, and neither does He, for the constraint to cease working on the Sabbath doesn’t apply to God, it was made for man’s benefit (Mark 2:27), “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
See Genesis 2:1-3… “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.”

Notice that all of God’s work was (verse 1) “completed” by the end of the sixth day, and so (verse 2) God “rested,” meaning that God ceased creating, as everything was done.
Isaiah 40:28, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary.”

Although God doesn’t get tired or weary, men do, and so the Sabbath when God rested, was given as a divine example that man should rest one day out of each week (see Exodus 20:9-11).

God finished creating the world in six days, but He continues to sustain everything in and through Christ (Hebrews 1:3), “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word.”

When Jesus stated that He worked on the Sabbath just as the Father does, He was declaring that He was fully equal with God and (Matthew 12:8), “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Just like the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, continues to do good and to show mercy on the Sabbath; this is a rebuke to the Jewish religious leaders who had accused Him of violating the Sabbath by healing the man who had been an invalid for 38 years.

In verse 16 we read that the Jews were seeking to kill Jesus, not only for breaking the Sabbath (at least in their darkened minds), but for calling God His own Father, thus claiming to be equal with God.
Read John 5:19-21… For any man to claim equality with God was blasphemy. Jesus affirms (verse 19) the veracity and significance of what He said, “I tell you the truth” [lit. “Truly, truly” [amen, amen].

Jesus is saying that the Father would have done the same thing concerning the invalid man; in fact, Jesus is only doing what the Father has shown Him to do, for the Son was always in obedience to the Father (John 10:30), “[He] and the Father are One.” Jesus said (John 14:9), “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

So, for the Jews to accuse Jesus of wrong doing is to accuse the Father who sent Him, for Jesus did what the Father wanted to be done (John 5:20), “the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does.” The word used for love here is the word phileo, meaning deep feelings and warm affection like that of a father for his own son.

Jesus then says that the Father is going to show Him even greater things than the healing of an invalid, as amazing as that was.

Jesus declares (verse 21) the Father has authority and power to raise the dead, to give life; and the Son also has the power to give life to whoever He desires to do so, even one who is dead!
John 10:17-18, “The reason my Father loves Me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Jesus, the Son of God, is equal to the Father, in that He can raise a physically dead person to life; but Jesus is also able to raise to life those who are spiritually dead, and to grant them eternal life (see John 6:37-40; 11:25-26, 39-44).

Jesus, God the Son, can not only raise one who was physically dead, He also provides spiritual [eternal] life to whomever He chooses.
Read John 5:22-24… Wow! Not only does the Son have authority to raise the dead; He also has been given (verse 22) authority to judge all people. This is an especially powerful statement, because Genesis 18:25 says, “God is the judge of all the earth.” And so, Christ’s judgement will be the very same as the Father’s judgement.

2Thessalonians 1:8-9, “He [the Lord Jesus Christ] will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.”

Acts 17:31, “For [God] has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead” (see Romans 1:1-4).

The Son of God will be sovereign Judge over the world, and so (John 5:23), the Son will be honored just as the Father who sent Him is to be honored. You see, the Father is actually honored more when the Son receives honor, for this was the plan and purpose of God from the beginning.

The divine, sovereign and eternal unity between the Father and the Son is incomprehensible, when One of them receives glory, the Other One also receives glory. In Isaiah 42:8 God declares, “I will not give My glory to another,” And yet, here in John 5, the Father declares that everyone will honor the Son.
John 6:28-29, The people asked Jesus, ”What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.”

Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore 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.”

Eventually everyone is going to give honor to Jesus Christ, for He came from heaven to show us the Father and to offer forgiveness for sins and eternal life, through His own sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection.

In John 5:24 Jesus reaffirms His authority to give eternal life; ”I tell you the truth,” [lit. truly, truly [ah-main, ah-main], declaring that those who hear His message [the gospel] and believe the Father who sent Him receive eternal life.

What did the Father say? When Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:17), “a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”

And when Jesus was on the mountain talking with with Moses and Elijah, while Peter, James and John were watching (Matthew 17:5), “a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

This is so awesome: Jesus says that he who hears His message (His death as payment for our sins; His resurrection to grant us eternal life) and also believes the One who sent Him (God the Father) “has eternal life and will not be condemned; for he has crossed over from death to life” (cf. Romans 8:1).

The claims of Jesus Christ are imperatives, in that every person must make a decision to either believe and receive Him or to reject Him, there is no middle ground, no neutral position; as Jesus said (Luke 11:23), “Whoever is not with Me is against Me.”

John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
John 6:40, “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.”

Jesus is the giver of life and He gives it freely to anyone who believes in Him as God’s Son, Lord and Savior, Creator and Judge over all; but to all who reject Him, He will one day pronounce judgement on them.
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.

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 5:1-18 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

Read John 5:1-9a… Notice it says “sometime later” [NASB, after these things], meaning after Christ’s ministry in Galilee was finished, He headed for Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Five other times in his gospel John refers to a feast of the Jews, but each time except for this one, he says which feast it is (cf. 2:13; 6:4; 7:2; 10:22; 11:55), three times – Passover, one time – Tabernacles, and one time – Dedication [Hanukkah].

John doesn’t tell us which feast it is , but seems to mention it as the reason Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Once there (verse 2) we find Him near the sheep gate (cf Nehemiah 3:1, 32; 12:39), by a pool called Bethesda (house of outpourings or mercies) that has five covered colonnades [NASB, porticoes] or porches.

There are many sick, blind, lame and otherwise disabled people laying around on the covered porches, waiting for the waters to be stirred (note: the pool was most likely fed by an intermittent spring; when the spring brought water into the pool it would appear to be stirred).

There was a man (verse 5) who had been an invalid for 38 years, (verse 6) Jesus noticed him and learned [lit. knew, supernaturally] that he had been this way for a long time, so Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well.

The man must have believed that when the water was stirred the first one into the water would be healed, but (verse 7) he had no one to help him get into the water, so someone else always got in first.

Perhaps Jesus would help him get into the water at the right moment, but Jesus then (verse 8) told him to “get up and pick up his mat,” at that moment (verse 9), the man was healed, so he picked up his mat and walked.

Interesting, this man had not professed any faith or belief in Jesus, in fact, he didn’t even know who the man was who healed him. God’s grace was often given to those who had not expressed faith in Him beforehand (cf. Matthew 8:14-15; 9:32-33; Mark 7:32-35; 8:22-25; Luke 14:1-4; 22:50-51; John 9:1-7). This is a good illustration of God’s unconditional love.
Read John 5:1-9b-14… We are told that this happened on a Sabbath, and some religious leaders (perhaps Pharisees of priests) notice the healing and confronted the man about carrying his mat on the Sabbath, totally unimpressed, evidently, with the healing that had taken place; more concerned with their man-made Sabbath rules and regulations (verse 10), “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

The man was fearful of the authorities and didn’t want to get in trouble with the religious leaders, so he said to them (verse 11), “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pickup up you mat and walk.’”

The Jews basically ask the man (verse 12), who is the one who told you to pick up your matt and walk. No doubt the Jews were thinking themselves, “who would dare to violate or challenge the traditions of the elders?”

The religious leaders’ legalistic obsession with their own man-made Sabbath laws was a constant point of contention between Jesus and Israel’s legalistic religious orthodoxy (cf. Matthew 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 6:1-11; John 7:21-23). The Teachers of the Law had become experts at substituting, even elevating, their own rituals, traditions and additional laws, in place of God’s commands.

The Old Testament prohibited working on the Sabbath, but what God clearly had in mind was that the Israelites would not engage in their normal business or occupations on the Sabbath, but would cease from that work.

But of course the rabbis and religious leaders had added to God’s law over time, in fact they had made a list of 39 different categories of work, and on that list was carrying any burden or load – which should not apply to the man at the pool anyway, as he was not carrying on his normal work.

Isn’t it interesting that instead of being happy for this man who had been an invalid for almost 40 years and was now walking around, they were upset because they considered that he had broken one of their regulations!

But you know (verse 13) the man who had been healed had no idea who the one was who had healed him, and clearly Jesus wasn’t their in view but had slipped away into the crowd. The truth was, Jesus had engaged the man at the pool, then had healed him and yet Jesus never told the man His name.

Jesus often did His stealth get away routine, i.e., “now you see Me, now you don’t,” “catch Me if you can, oh by the way, you can’t!”:

John 8:59, “they [the Jews] picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”

John 10:39, “Again they tried to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.”
John 12:36b, “When He had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid Himself from

them.”

Read John 5:14-15… But Jesus finding the man later, said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

And what does the man do, he goes to the Jews and snitches on Jesus as the one who had healed him and told him to carry his mat on the Sabbath.

God’s Word is clear that illness is not always the result of personal sin, but we also know that unrepentant sin can bring God’s discipline, resulting in illness, even death (see Deuteronomy 28:58-61; 1Corinthians 11:30).

It would seem (John 5:14) that the man’s illness was a result of his own personal sin.

Jesus’ warns him, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you,” suggesting that the man needs to deal with his sin problem, or it could lead to death – and that would be death apart from salvation, i.e., eternal hell – much worse than 38 years as an invalid!

John doesn’t tell us this man was born an invalid, but that he had been one for 38 years, and we don’t know how old he is.

This man has been healed and given another chance at life and what does he do? He goes to the Jews and gives the name of the man who healed him.
Read John 5:16-18… It is hard to decide who is worse here, the man who was healed and yet would not head Christ’s warning or the Jews who seem to care less about the good deed done by Jesus in healing this man after 38 years of pain and suffering, and instead are consumed with the fact that He was doing this on the Sabbath.

Jesus showed no reverence or fear for the pseudo religious authority of the Jews who considered Jesus not only guilty of violating the Sabbath, but even worse, He had incited another Israelite to do the same by carrying his matt on the Sabbath, considered to be work in their deranged and self consumed minds.

The Jews were concerned that Jesus would continue to incite the people to not respect their religious authority and their laws concerning Sabbath keeping.

The religious leaders were supposed present honor, praise and worship to God, and yet, here stands God the Son before them, disrupting the religious hold they have over the people through burdensome laws and rituals; and not only that, He is calling God His own Father. How do they respond? With a hatred that drives them to want to kill Him.

They just don’t get it (see John 5:39-40). Jesus had come to offer them a personal relationship with God, but they preferred their religious prestige and authority.

Colossians 2:16-17, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 4:43-54 | Preacher: Pastor Mike | Series: John

Read John 4:43-45… Jesus stayed 2 days with the Samaritans at Sychar,

because they wanted to hear Him speak. Remember last week (verses 39-42), many came out to Him from town because of what the woman (from the well) had said, but after hearing Jesus, they remarked that they believed no longer because of what the woman had said, but because they had heard for themselves and now believed He was the Savior of the world.

Although the Jews were Jesus’s primary focus in bringing the gospel, He went out of His way to bring the gospel to these Samaritans, in preparation for when the gospel would go out to them, as Jesus told His disciples prior to His ascension back into heaven (Acts 1:8), “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Notice the proverbial statement that “a prophet has no honor in his own country.” As Jesus prepares to return to Galilee, the contrast is clear – the half- breed Samaritans received Him by faith as the Savior, but the Jews would continue to reject Him (John 1:11).

The Galileans now were not welcoming the Savior, but a miracle worker; only receiving Jesus because they wanted something from Him. They didn’t care who Jesus really was or why He had come to the earth. However, Jesus knew that their faith was not sincere and He did not entrust Himself to them.

Matthew 13:57, “And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”

Notice (John 4:45), it says that the Galileans welcomed [received] Him; but it was because of what He had done in Jerusalem. They had heard about the miracles, maybe even had seen some of them, and they now wanted Him to do miracles for them. Their welcoming Him was very shallow and superficial.

Read John 4:46-49… Jesus had now returned to the very place where He had done His first miracle, Cana in Galilee, where He had turned water into wine at a wedding, which was also attended by the disciples, Jesus’ mother and His brothers.

We are told about a royal official from Capernaum, a town in Galilee (about 16 miles from Cana). This official was probably serving as the governor of Galilee, under Herod Antipas (he was the one who had John the Baptist beheaded). Antipas was a son of Herod the Great (who had tried to have baby Jesus killed).

This official had come to find Jesus, (verse 47) he begged Him too come with him to Capernaum, in order to heal his dying son.

Jesus’ response about signs seems to be to all those who are listening, for He says to the official in verse 48, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.” The plural form of “you” is used here, i.e., the official is most likely a Jew, but unlike the others, he is not interested in having Jesus do just any miracle, he desires Jesus to come and heal his son.

Israel’s unbelief and constant demand for more miracles is recorded throughout the gospels, as is Jesus’ rebuke to them (Matthew 12:39-40), “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (cf Luke 16:19-31).

Back to John 4:49… Although this official, by the rights of his position in the Roman government, could have legally commanded Jesus to come with him; he instead addresses Jesus (verse 49) as “Sir,” showing respect to Jesus. It is also worth noting here, that the official isn’t expressing an interest in salvation for himself, but instead he is desperate to save his son from whatever ailment has befallen him, and he believes Jesus can heal him, “[please] come down before my child dies.”

Read John 4:50-52… Notice Jesus’ doesn’t say to the man, “okay, I’ll go with you,” but His response is simply, “Go, your son will live [lit. your son lives, i.e., he is healed]. The man evidently believed what Jesus said to him, and he went on his way to Capernaum. This man expressed real faith, i.e., he believed in Jesus before seeing the miracle happen.

The NIV doesn’t say it (verse 50), but the man was going “down” from Cana to Capernaum (which is about 700 feet below sea level). Verse 51 tells us the servants [bondslaves] of the official were on their way from Capernaum to find him, as he meets them on the road and is told that his son has recovered [he was healed].

The official asks them what time his son began to feel better and they said that at about the 7th hour [1 pm] yesterday, the fever left the child. The official knew that was the same time he had been talking with Jesus, not that people had watches or carried sun dials, but it was an hour or more past high noon.

It is likely we are talking about a time frame of from 1-3 pm, when Jesus had told the man his son would live; and now it was after midnight [verse 52, yesterday, the seventh hour].
Read John 4:53… Wow! When the man realized that when Jesus said to him “your son lives,” he genuinely believed that Jesus was the Messiah; and notice the influence of his testimony of belief upon his whole household [servants and family members]; this is representative of what happen to the people in the village of the Samaritan woman we studied last week. The official’s household also believed in Christ.

We find the salvation of whole families throughout the book of Acts: A prominent Gentile in Caesarea told Peter of an angel’s message (Acts 11:14), “He [Peter] will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.” Paul and Silas as prisoners set free by God’s angel, said to the jailer (Acts 16:31-34),

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God– he and his whole family.

Read John 4:54… This was the second miracle Jesus had performed in Galilee (the first at the wedding in Cana); and this is the second of the eight major signs that John records in his gospel, as proof that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.

This was not Jesus’ second miracle, for in John 2:23 we are told, “Now while He Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name” (see John 4:45).

Do you remember what Nicodemus [the Teacher of Israel] said about Jesus’ miracles?

John 3:2, “He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs You are doing if God were not with him.’”

John 20:30-31, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are 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.”

Jesus’ first miracle, in Galilee, didn’t seem to cause anyone to come to faith in Him as the Messiah; but His second miracle in Galilee, where a royal official came to Him seeking to save his own son from death, ended with the official and his whole household being saved from eternal death, by believing in Christ.

How wonderful is Jesus the Lord, God our Savior (1Timothy 2:4), “who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth,” (2Peter 3:9), “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance,” (Romans 6:23), “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 3:21-24), “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,” meaning (Acts 2:21), “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 4:1-42 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

Last week we looked at the encounter Jesus had with a Samaritan woman, at a

well near Sychar, at high noon. He asked her for a drink, then He led her through a discussion about living water, about her sinful life, about true worship of God in spirit and in truth, and then He revealed Himself to her as the Messiah.

Read John 4:27-30… The disciples return from town, where they had gone to buy some food and are amazed to find Jesus talking with this woman, but they remain silent! But the woman, leaving her water jar there at the well, goes back into town and begins to tell the people (v. 29) to come and see the man who knew all that she had done, “Could this be the Christ?”

It would appear that this woman, after having her sins exposed, realized who this was that was talking with her.

Look back at verse 10, where Jesus said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” And in verse 14, Jesus made it clear that this living water is the only thing that can satisfy a dry spirit, for it provides eternal life.

Somewhere between verses 26-28 this woman confessed her sins and acknowledged Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as Lord and Savior. Her life has been forever changed, and now she wants others to experience that transformation.

You have heard me say many times, that in order to be saved, a person must admit they are a sinner and repent of [turn away from] their sins; believe that Jesus’ death on the cross paid for their sins and that He rose from the grave on the third day; confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, and then demonstrate their new life in Christ, having been born of the Spirit of God (John 1:12-13), for they are now a new creation (cf 2Corinthians 5:17).

A new believer’s first impulse should be to go tell others about the Savior. Jesus had exposed her sins, and yet, she goes back into town to tell the people who know her… Think about it, this woman is living in sin and everyone know’s it; therefore she has to go out at noon to get water, instead of at dawn or dusk like the other women, because of her illegitimate relationship with the man she is living with.

But now she is calling out for the people who know her, to come and see a man who knows her sins, and yet He kindly and compassionately talked with her; she is ‘free’ from shame! Her guilt is gone! “Could this be the Christ?”
Read John 4:31-33… The disciples are dense, dull minded, clueless. They went to town to get some food, and now they approach Jesus and offer Him something to eat; but Jesus confuses them by saying, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” The disciples are thinking, did someone else give Him something to eat? Why in the heck did we go al the way into town and back if there was already food here?

Read John 4:34-35… Jesus’ response here is reminiscent of Deuteronomy 8:3, “that man doesn’t live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” [Almighty God = Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is within them].

Matthew 4:4, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (2Timothy 3:16-17).

Jesus is doing God’s will, and His food, or that which sustains Him, is to do God’s will; to obey the Father, for that is what truly satisfies, strengthens and sanctifies us! Jesus says to them, (v. 35) open your eyes so that you can see what is right in front of you.

Jesus saw these people ready to receive salvation, hungry and thirsty for the kingdom of God. The people who were coming from town (v. 30), were wearing white garments (everybody wore white, as white reflects the sun, so as to cool one’s body in hot climates); no doubt, the people looked like a field of grain ready to be harvested.

Read John 4:36-38… I believe that, even though this is early on in Christ’s public preaching ministry, Jesus is calling His disciples to do the work of evangelists, to reach out and harvest souls being prepared for the kingdom of heaven; for it is God who prepares the soul, plants the seed [the Word of God] and waters it, allowing it to take root, grow up and ultimately produce a crop, so that salvation might come to all who genuinely call upon and believe in Christ.

Acts 2:21, “Everyone who calls o the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sins] will be saved.”

Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for their is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” [only that of Jesus].

We must willfully allow God’s Spirit to work through us, always in submission to the authority of God’s Word, so that we might reach out with the Gospel of Christ to the lost, that they might be saved and that God might be glorified.

Read John 4:39-42… Do you remember the day when you met Jesus? The day you went from death to life, from condemnation to no condemnation, from eternal separation from God to eternal life with God? Did you go and tell anyone what had happened to you when you believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (see Romans 10:9-15).

The testimony of the Samaritan woman impacts the whole village (she probably did not interact much with most of those in her village, as they would have looked down upon her for living with a man she was not married to); and yet, the change in this woman causes them to come and see Him in person, could He be the Christ? Notice (v. 40) the people ask Jesus not to go, and He stays two days with them, compassionately and earnestly proclaiming the message of salvation.

The Samaritan woman’s transformed life was a witness to those in her village. She didn’t put her head down and shuffle through the village. She felt good about herself; the lifestyle of sin she had been living had been exposed by Jesus and yet she felt clean, unashamed, for she was free from guilt, having received forgiveness and eternal life.

Many of the people (v. 39) believed in Christ because of her testimony about being lovingly confronted with her sin, and then offered a way to be cleansed, through the washing of the living water of God (1John 1:9), “If we confess our

sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify [cleanse] us from all unrighteousness.”

Notice (v. 41) “many more became believers” when they personally heard Jesus’ words. They had been brought to to the Savior and now they believed (v. 42) not because of the woman’s testimony, but because they had personally heard and responded to the message of Christ.

Everyone who comes to Christ must confront his or her own sin, realizing their only hope is to repent and receive forgiveness and eternal life through God’s One and Only Son.

This is important, in verse 42, the word translated “know” is from the Greek word oida [knowledge of fact that results in a settled conviction that is displayed in behavior as well as belief].

Why is this story is in the Bible? I believe it is so that we might learn from the Master evangelist Himself. Jesus uses a normal everyday encounter of life as an opportunity to expose an unbelieving Samaritan woman to God’s provision of forgiveness and eternal life; and her response to Jesus is clearly expressed by her actions to go and tell others about Him and to show what has happened to her because of Him (she is no longer sneaking around), she has been forgiven, she is a changed woman who wants others to know how they too can be made new.

We are to be messengers of this marvelous message, directing all those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty to the divine bread [the Word of God] and living water [eternal life] both symbolic of Jesus Christ the Lord!

And all God’s people said? Amen!

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 4:1-42 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

From a self-righteous Pharisee in Chapter 3 to a self-professed adulterous Samaritan woman in Chapter 4. What a contrast: Nicodemus, a wealthy Jewish religious leader of the highest social class, recognized Jesus. The woman, a poor Samaritan woman of the lowest social class, didn’t have a clue as to who Jesus was.

In the narratives about Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman, the Lord evangelizes from one extreme to the other, knowing what was in their hearts. And although the woman wasn’t a scholar like Nicodemus, she seemed ready to receive “the Messiah” as Savior and Lord.

Jesus moves from asking her for a drink in verse 7, to revealing Himself as the Messiah in verse 26. Jesus controls the conversation, not allowing her to change the subject or remain unaware of her deep spiritual need. He stays on track!

Think about conversations you’ve had with unbelievers, how they like to change the subject or focus on something else, whenever you bring up spiritual truth or the topics of heaven or hell.

If you aren’t having any of those conversations, you need to start having them; for Jesus says (Matthew 5:13), “ You are the salt of the earth,” (Matthew 5:14), “You are the light of the world.” We are here to bring the truth of God’s Word into every situation and conversation so that others might see the light of Christ in us and acknowledge their need to be forgiven their sins that they might receive salvation through Christ.

You are commanded (Matthew 22:37-40), to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”… And to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Not one or there other, but both; if we truly love God we will also love others. Jesus says there is no greater commandment than that.

Our obedience to this command is declared in Matthew 28:19, “Therefore [going] make disciples of all nations.” For you see, if we have received forgiveness and eternal life from God, it will show in our life as we obey God’s Word and reach out to love our neighbor [anyone who is in need – the greatest need is salvation]. Read John 4:1-6… Jesus leaves Judea and heads for Galilee, through Samaria, where He stops at Sychar (about 30 miles north of Jerusalem). Jesus is tired (v. 6), and about noon, He sits down by a well, Jacob’s well.
Note: Jacob (father of the twelve tribes of Israel) had purchased a section of land from the son’s of Hamor (Genesis 33:18-20), on which a well, at the place of a spring, was dug.

Read John 4:7-15… The disciples had gone into town to get some food, but Jesus remained at the well, where He asks this woman for a drink, catching the woman off guard (v. 9)! In those days, Jews did not associate with, let alone talk to Samaritans, as they considered them to be half-breeds, unclean and despised. The reason being, the ancient Jews had intermarried with people from Mesopotamia and Syria, even adopting some of their pagan religious practices.

Any orthodox Jew, especially a Rabbi [teacher], would despise Samaritans, but not Jesus; instead of responding to her concern, He speaks to her as if she is the one in need of a drink, a drink (v. 10) from His living water; no doubt, they only thing that will quench her dry soul.

She, in verses 11-12, is clearly thinking of literal water, but Jesus is patient and compassionate toward her need, and so He explains to her, in verses 13-14, that He is offering a kind of water that is out of this world, for it alone provides eternal life.

Look at John 4:15 again, notice, she is still confused! Evidently she is not ready for the ‘living water,’ and it will become clear in the next set of verses that she must first acknowledge her spiritual need and Christ’s ability to satisfy that need, before He will entrust His ‘living water’ to her.
Read John 4:16-20… Jesus gently confronts her sinful lifestyle, asking her about her husband; and she replies, in verse 17, somewhat truthfully [at least lawfully]. She didn’t really lie, but she didn’t tell the whole truth either; but Jesus knows what is in her heart and He reveals it to her, in verse 18, very compassionately.

And of course, none of you ever do that, right? Tell only a partial truth, or perhaps leave certain things out of your answer?

I can’t get over how patient and compassionate Jesus is with this woman; I mean, if you have to be caught in your sin(s), you want Jesus to be the One to point you to the straight and narrow.
Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The woman didn’t retort, “how dare you,” nor did she come up with some justification of her situation; but you can almost hear her saying, in verse 19, ”You are right!” “That’s me!” “What You said is true!” Jesus’ revealing the truth about her lifestyle becomes uncomfortable, so she basically says, “let’s not talk about me, let’s talk about religion.” And so, in verse 20, she asks a spiritual question in order to divert the Lord away from further revealing her sin.
See John 4:21-24… Jesus masterfully cuts through to the heart issue, declaring that it really doesn’t matter WHERE we worship… What is important is WHEN,

WHO, and HOW we worship! We are to worship now! We are to worship Him! And we are to worship spiritually!

Notice, in verses 23-24, Jesus tells her she is to worship the Father in Spirit (through the inner person).
Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, 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. 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.”

Our spiritual worship includes what we think and do.
Read John 4:25-26… This woman is still confused about Jesus, but she is aware that the Messiah is foretold, and He will be coming; and when He does come, He will explain everything to her and her people.

She came to get water, but instead, she had her sins exposed and is challenged to become a ‘true worshiper’ of the living God, in both Spirit [being born from above, John 1:12-13; 3:6-7] and in truth [God’s Word, Ephesians 1:13; John 17:17].

She desires someone to make sense out of her confusion and lack of understanding, to which Jesus proclaims, “I am He! I am the One who was to come, it is I, Myself, right here before you.”

Christ revealed the Samaritan woman’s sinful heart and disclosed Himself to her as the Messiah. Next week we’ll look at how she demonstrates saving faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.

God turns no one away, as Peter declares (Acts 2:21), “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (10:34-35), “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.”
1Timothy 2:3-4, “God our Savior [who] wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

2Peter 3:9, “The Lord… …is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 3:22-36 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

Last week we finished up the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus,

recorded in John 3:1-21. Today we’ll study how John the Baptist’s ministry gives way to the public ministry of Jesus.
Read John 3:22-24… We now leave the events of Christ “cleansing the temple and His instruction to Nicodemus about being born-again [of the Spirit, from above].

Jesus leaves Jerusalem to spend time with His disciples and begin His public preaching ministry, which leads to many being baptized, after hearing and being convicted in their hearts of their need to repent and believe (Matthew 4:17) “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

True Christian baptism didn’t take place until after Christ had died and then rose again from the grave. One of the clearest instructions about water baptism is found in Romans 6:3-11, where our dying with Christ (being immersed) and then given new life in Him (being raised), is clearly illustrated.

So, we are told (John 3:22) that Jesus left Jerusalem to go to Judea “where He spent some time [a considerable amount of time] with them [His disciples], and baptized (Jesus never personally baptized anyone: John 4:2, “in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples).

During this time, John went north to Samaria where he was baptizing at a place called Aenon [meaning springs] (verse 23) “because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.”

Although Jesus’ ministry was increasing, many were still coming to John to be baptized. Notice 3:24 (This was before John the Baptist was put in prison.). Why did John record that? Perhaps because the Synoptics (Matthew 4:12; Mark 1:14; Luke 3:19-20) begin their narrative of Jesus’ public ministry after John had been arrested and placed in prison.

When John the apostle wrote his gospel, the Synoptics had already been circulating for many years, so in order to not cause confusion, John clarifies that Jesus actually began His ministry while John the Baptist was still alive, free and baptizing in Samaria.
Read John 3:25-30… During the time that Jesus was preaching and John was baptizing, there came about a discussion between John’s disciples and some particular Jew about purification. Note: Remember the large stone water jars in John 2:6, at the wedding in Cana, they were used for ceremonial washing [purification], and this was an important practice for orthodox Jews.

But it seems here, the concern of John’s disciples is much deeper than any discussion about purification; they are upset that many people are going to Jesus

(3:26), “that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan – the one you testified about – well, He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

They don’t even mention Jesus’ name, but complain that He was causing a decrease in John’s following, as if Jesus and John were competitors.

How did John’s disciples totally misunderstand the importance of John’s ministry, which was always to direct attention to the Messiah (see John 1:19-31).

John was not offended by his own decreasing popularity, this is what he expected to happen (see John 3:27-28). John made it very clear that he was the forerunner of the Messiah, as one “crying out in the wilderness, ‘the Lord is here!’” To see the attention going to Jesus brought great joy to John.

This is a great reminder that any ministry that does not focus primarily on Christ as the object of its worship and reverence, is way out of balance. This was and still is a definite problem in the “church,” as sometimes prominent pastors, leaders, authors and musicians in the church become very popular, and they may forget that they are not to be the object or focus of attention, but God and His Word are to be worshipped.

When people follow popular individuals in the church, instead of Christ, who is the head of the church, bad things happen, cults and false doctrines emerge and gain popularity, e.g., the seeker church movement, the emergent church, the word of faith and prosperity gospel movements with a wide cast of characters: Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, Benny Hinn, Paula White, TD Jakes, Beth Moore, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Fred Price, etc., etc.

It is bad enough that there are so many false teachers who deceive large numbers of so-called believers; but there are also those genuine Christian pastors and leaders who gain so much attention that Jesus is, sometimes, shamefully eclipsed by their popularity.

Paul put it this way (1Corinthians 1:12), “One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ,” (see 1Corinthians 3:4-8, 11).

John never wavered in his subservient role to Christ. In 3:29 John images himself as a friend [best man] of the bridegroom [Christ]. Before the wedding, the best man has many responsibilities concerning the details of the wedding, perhaps even bringing the bride to the bridegroom so the ceremony can begin; but once bride and groom are brought together, the best man’s work is done and the attention now moves to the bridegroom.

There was never competition between John and Jesus, in fact, proclaiming His coming, and directing the crowds to Him, was John’s greatest joy.

In 3:30 John expresses genuine humility saying, “He [Jesus] must become greater; I must become less.” John got Israel’s attention by proclaiming their sinfulness and their need to repent and seek forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Read John 3:31-34… John the Baptist contrasts the heavenly origin of Jesus, with his own earthly origin. John was a man sent by God, Jesus is God incarnate (Colossians 1:19), “God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him [for], “In Christ came the Light and Life of God (cf. John 1:4); and in fact (John 1:14), God lived among us in the body of Jesus, full of grace and truth, in order (John 1:18) to show us the Father, that we might believe His Son and be saved.

The majority of people in this world (John 3:32), will reject Christ, as John noted in the beginning of this gospel (see John 1:9-11).

Unbelievers, either by direct disobedience or purposed negligence, reject the testimony of Jesus Christ and the revelation of God, therefore (Romans 1:18-20), “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Although the majority of people reject Jesus’ message, there are many (John 3:33) who accept it, believing that God is speaking eternal truth through the Word of God (John 17:17), “Your Word is truth.”

Jesus was one with the Father (John 10:30). See John 5:21-27. God the Father spoke from heaven (Matthew 17:5) saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” No wonder Jesus proclaims (John 14:6), “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. And then, expressing total oneness in authority, power and personhood, Jesus says (John 14:9), “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

The prophets of old were empowered and inspired by the Holy Spirit; John the Baptist was (Luke 1:15), “filled with the Holy Sprit while he was still in his mother’s womb,” but Jesus Christ was fully God, Immanuel [God with us] (Colossians 2:9), “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Read John 3:35-36… Because of the Father’s great love for His Son, He has given all authority to Christ in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”

John has fulfilled his sovereign mission, to proclaim and present God’s Son (see Matthew 11:1-19). Not long after this John was arrested and then beheaded by Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee (see Matthew 14:3-11).

John declares (John 3:36) that there are only two choices for men, women and children of age – believe in and obey Jesus (receiving eternal salvation), or deny Him, rejecting the gospel of Christ (receiving eternal condemnation).

The ultimate truth and reality is that God sent His Son to save us, but if we willfully refuse God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ, unwilling to repent, believe and follow Christ, we will experience an eternity of pain and torment in the lake of fire, forever shut out from God’s love, kindness, provision, pleasure and presence.
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.”

As Christians, our two-fold purpose is to live a life for Christ and to tell others abut Him, so they might believe, repent and be saved, now and forever, for (1Timothy 2:3-6), “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time.”

Pastor Mike <’(((><

Bible Text: John 3:13-21 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

Read John 3:13-15… The only one who can genuinely tell us about heaven and about the Father, is God’s Son (John 1:18), “No one has ever seen God, but

God the One and Only [Son], who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.”
John 6:41-42, “The Jews began to grumble about Him [Jesus] because He said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?’ How can He now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
John 6:46, “No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.”

When Jesus was in the upper room with His disciples (John 16:28), He said, “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” To the Father (John 17:5) Jesus prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.”

In 1Corinthians 15:47 Paul proclaimed to the church, “The first man [Adam] is of the dust of the earth, the second man [Jesus] is from heaven.”

We studied last week the sovereign significance of John 3:14-15, where Jesus illustrates how Israel was saved from the deadly bite of poisonous snakes when they looked to the bronze snake on Moses’ staff, believing God to save them. See Numbers 21:5-9…

In the same way, all those who look to [believe in] Jesus’ death on the cross (as payment for their sins), will be saved, (John 3:14-15) “for the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

This is the first of fifteen uses of the term “eternal life, in John’s gospel.” Eternal life is made effectual through our union with Christ, being born into the family of God, having the Holy Spirit take up residence in us, marking us as God’s eternal possession (cf. Ephesians 1:13-14).

John 17:3, Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the Only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”

Read John 3:16-18… John 3:16 is probably the most well known verse in the Bible, yet it is also one of the least understood. Notice, Jesus is still talking to Nicodemus here, and has been since verse 1.

Jesus has been illuminating the deep truths of Scripture for Nicodemus, about God’s righteousness and the salvation that comes only through Christ.

God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is (1Corinthians 9:15), “God’s indescribable gift” to the world. God loves the world (all of humanity) so much, He gave up His own Son, offering Him as the sovereign sacrifice for all sin, the Savior for everyone who believes in and follows Him.
2Corinthians 5:18-21, “All this (verse 17) is from God… …reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them… We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. For God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

John 3:16-17 is not teaching some kind of universal salvation for all men, women and children of age who live on this earth. Verse 18 makes it crystal clear that only those who “believe” in God’s One and Only Son [lit. one of a kind, unique] will be saved from an eternity in hell.
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 [only Jesus Christ].“
John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Read John 3:19-21… God’s Light and Life from God came through Christ (cf John 1:4-5). God’s Light reveals our sin, and when we repent and confess, trusting in Jesus, we are saved. Those who reject God’s Light remain in the darkness (verses 19-20), “men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
2Corinthians 4:4-6, “The god of this age [Satan] 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. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 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.”

Most people would rather remain in darkness, apart form God’s love, than to acknowledge their sins and repent, trusting Jesus for salvation; but genuine believers in Christ having nothing to hide from God, and therefore we have nothing to fear by allowing our sins to be exposed by God’s Light in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Jesus says (John 3:21), “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Those who genuinely belong to Christ have received forgiveness and eternal life, and will continue (Matthew 3:8), to “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

There is no response to the gospel by Nicodemus mentioned in John 3, but as we read last week (John 7:50-51), Nicodemus, later spoke up among the Pharisees who were rejecting Jesus as Messiah saying, “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?’”

And after Christ’s death we are told (John 19:38-39), “Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.”

I believe Nicodemus finally acknowledged and believed the truth that every man, woman and child of age must respond to, making a heartfelt decision, in order to be eternally set free from sin’s penalty, for only genuine belief in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, can save you!
Romans 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” 23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 10:9-10, “For 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. 13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sins] will be saved.”

God loves us so much, He went to the cross to take our punishment and pay our debt, setting us free from sins condemnation and granting us eternal life.

God’s Blessings,

Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 3:1-15 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John

Last week we studied what happened at the temple when Christ cleansed it, turning over tables and loosing animals and birds, admonishing the merchants and religious leaders, for they had turned God’s house into a marketplace.
Read John 3:1-4… Nicodemus was a Pharisee [from a Hebrew word meaning, “separated”].

Pharisees were legalistic adherents to the Law of Moses, representing the orthodox core of Judaism, they wee committed to a detailed following of the Law, and also the traditions passed down by the elders, often elevating their own traditions and manmade laws to the level of the Torah [the Law of God revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five Books of the Hebrew Scriptures].

The Pharisees had a strong influence over the people who wrongly associated their religious piety and zeal with God’s righteousness. Pharisees were fanatical about law-keeping, and had, in fact, added hundreds of their own laws to God’s Law, e.g., it is ok to eat an egg laid by a chicken on the Sabbath, but the chicken must then be killed the next day for violating the Sabbath. Swallowing vinegar is ok on the Sabbath, but gargling it constituted labor and was forbidden.

Nicodemus [lit. “victor or conqueror over the people”] was a respected leader of the Jews and a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin [their Supreme Court], made up of 71 prominent Rabbis who judged both civil and criminal cases in Israel.

Nicodemus was aware of Jesus’ teachings and His miracles, so he came to Jesus under cover of night, not wanting the other religious leaders to know of his visit. He acknowledged that Jesus must be from God because of the miraculous signs (there had been no prophet for 400 years, then John appeared, pointing to Jesus).

Nic says (v. 2), “We know that you are from God,” but Jesus doesn’t acknowledge his statement; instead, He confronts Nic about his lack of understanding about spiritual truth (v. 3), “no one can see the kingdom of heaven unless he is born again [lit. born from above].

Nic is perplexed and asks (v. 4), “How can a grown man be born again?” Rabbis often used symbols, figures of speech and contrasts to teach spiritual truth; and so, I believe Nic wasn’t talking about being physically born again, but most likely he meant, “it’s too late for me to change my religious system of belief and practice, it is my whole life, all I know and believe in. How can I discard that and start all over again?”
Read John 3:5-8… Jesus answers Nic, basically, telling him he will not go to heaven unless he is “born of water and of Spirit,” for “flesh gives birth to flesh, and Spirit gives birth to Spirit.”

What is Jesus talking about? Some possibilities:
1. physical birth [water], spiritual birth [Spirit]: twice born
2. John’s baptism with water was for repentance (but couldn’t save anyone);

Spirit = Jesus’ baptism by the Spirit brought salvation and eternal life into the family of God (see Mark 1:4-5, 8).

3. “Water” when used in conjunction with “spirit,” figuratively refers to renewal or spiritual cleansing (see Titus 3:4-6).

You must be spiritually cleansed, purified and reborn! Obeying the Law and engaging in religious rituals cannot provide or produce eternal life!
Note: Pharisees believed they would enter God’s Kingdom because of their Jewish heritage and law keeping. They produced external acts of piety, but were internally and eternally void of God’s righteousness.

Christ challenged Nic to forsake all he believed about becoming acceptable to God through acts of pious law keeping, pointing out that righteousness can’t be earned or acquired by human effort. Nicodemus represents the proud orthodox Jews of his day, they may of had good intentions but were ignorant concerning God’s Truth.

Jesus says (v. 7), “You shouldn’t be surprised at my saying ‘You must be born again’” Nic was a leading Pharisee and a teacher of Israel — he of all people should understand this method of teaching truth.

Jesus tells Nic (v. 8), “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

So, the new birth is like the wind. It cannot be seen, but the effects are clearly visible, e.g., kites flying high in the sky, windmills turning, ships driven by full sails, the destruction caused by hurricanes and tornadoes. This new birth is spiritual, it cannot be seen, but the change in behavior it causes can be clearly seen.

This new birth is from death to life, darkness into light. From the moment of conception (in the womb), a baby exists in total darkness, receiving sustenance in that environment; then at birth, that baby is brought into the light and must now be sustained and nourished in his new environment. That child can never go back into the womb, and although he will ultimately die, he can never become unborn.

Likewise, a spiritually born child of God can’t become spiritually unborn (Romans 11:29 says this new birth, new life from God, is irrevocable).
Read John 3:9-10… This is upsetting and very unsettling to Nic, he can’t believe what he was hearing, ”How can these things be?”

Jesus admonishes “the” Teacher of Israel, saying, ”and you don’t understand?” Christ’s rebuke illuminated how little Nic (and the other Pharisees) really understood from the scriptures they diligently studied and ‘taught’.

See John 5:39-40… Knowledge of the Scriptures, so-called righteous acts, religious rituals and rigid living will not earn favor with God, let alone will it secure salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven!

This new birth is the work of God. We must trust Him completely, believe in Him implicitly, and put our faith in Him absolutely. Every person who confesses their sins, trusting and believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior receives this birth, which is: spiritual, invisible, immortal, incorruptible and eternal.

We can do nothing of our own merit to earn this acceptance by God. Any works of righteousness that we think we have accomplished — apart from Christ — are nothing but rank and decaying sewage (Isaiah 64:6), “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Read John 3:11-13… No one has access to God the Father except God the Son. No one has been to or come from heaven, only the Son of God, and only He can reveal heavenly wisdom and truth.
Read John 3:14-15… Jesus sites a story from the OT to illustrate genuine righteousness, based not on works, but on God’s GRACE through Christ.

In Numbers 21:4-9, a grumbling and rebellious people are dying, until they finally repented! They were told, if they were bitten by the poisonous vipers, to look to the bronze snake lifted up by Moses, trusting in God, and they would be healed (physically), i.e., saved!

This was a prediction of the coming death of Jesus Christ, for He also was going to be lifted up! He would be elevated above the earth and executed [crucified] for the sins of mankind (see John 8:24-25, 29; 10:30; 12:32-34); only those who turn to Christ to save them will receive eternal [spiritual] life.

Nic knew this story, but he didn’t ‘understand’ the spiritual nature of its meaning,

i.e., that forgiveness and eternal life cannot be earned this is the gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Nicodemus came to Christ in darkness; but did he ever come into the Light of Christ (John 1:1-5)?

John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So, what happened to Nicodemus?

John 7:32, “The chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus.” 45-50, “the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees,

who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?” “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards declared… Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?”

John 19:38-39, “Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.”

It goes on to say, “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.”
1Corinthians 4:6, “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.”

Ephesians 5:8, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”

Colossians 1:13-14, “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

I believe we’ll see Nicodemus in heaven, because I am confident Nic came out of the darkness into the Light of Christ, confessing his sins and believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Romans 10:9-13, “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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

In His Grip, Pastor Mike <‘(((><

Bible Text: John 2:13-35 | Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: John