John 5:24- 6:29, What distracts me from my mission?

John 5:24-47 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.


28 "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out — those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.


31 "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.


33 "You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.


36 "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.


41 "I do not accept praise from men, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?


45 "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"


• What is Jesus' mission?
• To give eternal life to whoever hears and believes in the Father
• To give life to the physically dead (resurrection life) and the spiritually dead
• What are the results of believing?
• Eternal life
• No condemnation
• When do you receive eternal life?
• Eph 1:13-14 (NIV)  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, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory.
• We receive a guarantee of eternal life upon belief. No where in scriptures does it teach that one can lose their salvation. Hebrews teaches that it is possible to lose your physical life for unbelief, but not you eternal life
• Verse 28 and 29 seem to suggest works
• John 3:36 (NIV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
• What is the ultimate good we can do? Believe on him. Ultimate evil is to reject him
• What do good works show? A transformed life that has put their faith in Christ
• How is the mission validated?
•  Testimony of John
• How does Jesus view John's testimony? Human. A light that burned for a time
•  Testimony of the Father?
• How does Jesus view the Father's testimony? Weightier than any human
•  Testimony of the scriptures (to include Moses)
• The scriptures testify to Jesus
• It is interesting that Jesus references Moses, since the Sabbath requirement also came from Moses
• (implied by the context and mentioned in verse 19) the testimony of the miracles
• They just saw a man who had been an invalid for 38 years healed
•  What ministry of the Messiah were the Pharisees looking?
• They were looking for a political leader
• They were not looking for spiritual revival
• And yet which is more important? Spiritual revival
• APPLICATION: When we lose our focus on what is most important, we start seeking for the wrong things


John 6:1-15 (NIV) Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near.


5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"  6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.


7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"


8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"


10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.


12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."  13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.


14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.


• Key: Some time later
• John passes over a lot of time and events that the other gospels include
• Clearly, John has a purpose in his selection of events
• This story is one of a few that all four gospels include
• We know that the disciples and Jesus had just heard of John's beheading. They withdrew to the mountains to get away
• The crowds soon find him
• Only John records the detail that this happened on a mountainside
• Also John mentions the nearness of the Passover. Due to lack of time we won't cover the concluding aspect of this event, verses 32-35, where Jesus declares himself the bread of life, but we can notice the corollary between the bread Moses gave and the bread Jesus gives, his life
• Why does Jesus ask the question?
• Again, it is not because he lacked information
• He wants the disciples to think of the enormity of the task
• He wants them to recognize how impossible it would be to fulfill
• In today's term, to buy a $5 McDonald's meal for each person would have cost $100,000 (5K men plus 5K women plus 10K children @ $5 each)
• It was 8 months wages back then, actually much worse today (unless of course you made it yourself)
• Why does Andrew open his mouth?
• I think he opened his mouth first and then realized how stupid his comment seemed
• What did the people want to do? Why?
• The people wanted to make him a king (willing to force him to be king)
• They were looking for a political solution to their problem. If only we had a political leader who would give us bread to eat
• What does Jesus think of a political solution to their most pressing problems?
• There real problem was spiritual not political
• A political solution doesn't solve their problems
• How does a political solution fit with Jesus' mission?
• It takes him away from what was really important
• APPLICATION: What is really important in your life and what is taking you away from what is important?


John 6:22-29 (NIV) The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.


25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"


26 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."


28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"


29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."


• Not sure why a bunch of boats show up the next morning -- possibly the word had already spread about the bread
• It says that they went in search of Jesus. Why, what was their real motivation?
• They wanted more food
• They wanted a political leader who would make their life better
• Their focus was on earthly things (food that spoils), not spiritual things (food that endures to eternal life)
• Why do they ask about "doing the works God requires?"
• Maybe it's a new concept
• Maybe they thought they already were doing it (obeying the law)
• Most likely they were still looking for free food by doing ("the works") whatever God wanted them to do
• APPLICATION 1:
• A lot of Christians are really only interested in Jesus in terms of what they can get out of it -- healthy life, more money, more stuff, good job, other temporal & physical things (they call blessings) . . .
• What is your real focus?
• A healthy and wealthy life?
• What is your ministry?
• What distracts you from doing
• APPLICATION 2:
• Jesus didn't want to be a political leader because the real need of people is not political but spiritual
• I see a lot of political talk on facebook, but that's not our real need
• Life won't improve with another president but with changed hearts in the population

John 4:46-5:18, Be careful about prescribing how God should answer your prayer

John 4:46-54 (NIV) Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."

53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.

54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

• So Jesus is back at where he had turned the water into wine. Obviously, having heard of a miracle, what might the talk in the town resemble?
• "I didn't see it, so I don't believe it"
• "I want to see a miracle …"
• Those in desperation, clinging to any hope at all, seek out Jesus

• Why does the man come to Jesus?
• He is desperate
• Is he looking for a miracle to believe?
• No, probably he only cares about his son. His response in verse 4:49 makes it clear that his only interest is in his son and his situation
• He might not even think of Jesus, except he has a need for relief from the great pain he is in. (And don't think the Father is not in as much pain as the child)

• Why does Jesus seem to rebuke the man since he doesn't seem to be the type person who is looking for signs?
• He is a result of the talk about signs
• He may have gotten many requests for signs, but he doesn't answer any of them until this one comes along

• The man's response is in contrast to another man, who will also request healing for his child. What is the other case and the difference?
• This man is Jewish and a royal official. The other man is Roman and a pagan
• The Jewish man requires Jesus presence, and does not suggest any belief, only hope ("if we make it in time"). The Roman soldier believes him at his word

• I wonder how the man felt when Jesus told him to go, that his child would live?
• Worried. Wondering about Jesus -- was he a charlatan? Why wouldn't he come?
• The passage says that he took Jesus at his word
• He questions his servant as to the exact time of the healing
• When he finds it was the exact hour of Jesus' word, then he believes

• APPLICATION: The father assumed that if Jesus went to his home, his son might be healed. The father had his own plan. He was looking for God to answer in a specific way. He was not expecting the answer he got. He might have even been surprised by the turn of events. When he finds out the details of the healing, it says he believed. What does it take for us to believe God at his word and to stop demanding he answer our prayers in our manner?

John 5:1-12 (NIV) Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie — the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."  9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."

11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"

12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"

• Why does Jesus ask the man if he wants to get well?
• Jesus knows the answer
• (duh) the crippled man is sitting at the Sheep gate where some fable has it of magical healing

• What does the man assume Jesus is asking?
• The man assumes Jesus might help him get into the pool
• The man doesn't know Jesus or probably know about the previous two miracles
• The man has in his mind a course of action and is not thinking that there might be another way to get what he so desperately desires?

• What was Jesus thinking when he asked the question? What was he not thinking?
• He was not thinking about getting the man into the pool
• He healed the man in a way the man never suspected

• Jesus tells the man to pick up his mat and carry it on the Sabbath. This disagrees with the oral tradition of the elders and causes the man to be questioned by others. At this point, the man still does not know the person who healed him

• APPLICATION: Sometimes we get so focused on the one way God can answer our prayer, we never notice when he really does answer

John 5:13-18 (NIV) The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."  15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."  18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

• The man didn't know who Jesus was

• The man was apparently not looking for Jesus
• But the man might have done one thing right before Jesus found him, what was it?
• He was in the temple worshipping
• He was thanking God for his healing

• The passage says that Jesus found him in the temple. Possibly Jesus was looking for him because he was not finished with him. Jesus says some things which add a lot of detail to the story. What does Jesus reveal?
• This man, who had been an invalid for 38 years, apparently was an invalid because of his sin
• This would make him at least 50 years old or more
• Jesus warns him about the sin, but doesn't reveal it. Jesus knows his sin because he is God

• One conclusion is that some suffering is the result of sin. Not all suffering is the result of sin, but sin very clearly can lead to suffering in a person's life
• This is one of a few passages that shows Jesus very clearly violating the tradition of the elders in regard to the Sabbath
• The commandment regarding the Sabbath is the only one of the ten not repeated in the NT. Additionally, there are many other rituals and requirements of the law that are not repeated
• Most moral laws are repeated, but the OT does not make a distinction on moral, ceremonial, and dietary
• The NT clearly says that we are not under the OT law
• Jesus obeyed the OT law, but he taught a totally different law. He had to obey the law in order to fulfill it and to ultimately terminate it on the cross. His teaching and that of the apostles clearly understood that we are no longer under the burden of the law

• APPLICATION: This was not what the Jews expected of the Messiah. They eagerly awaited the Messiah, but they had their own idea of what the Messiah would be and do. Consequently, they missed what God was doing, as the Father and the invalid almost do as well. We need to be careful in prescribing the answers to prayers. We need to be watchful to see how God answers our prayers

John 4:4-38, Twelve principles of evangelism

John records a long personal conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee, he now records another long conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan


John 4:4-10 (NIV) Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.


7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"  8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)


9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)


• There are a few similarities between this conversation and the previous -- what do you see?
• Personal and private
• Evangelistic
• Theme of water
• Witnessing occurs when Jesus is most tired (at the end of the day, night for Nicodemus; and the end of a long journey for the woman)
• The encounter is unusual for a number of reasons -- list some things.
• The woman is alone. Usually the women would travel together
• It is the middle of the day, toward the heat. Water is usually drawn near the end or early part
• Both of these latter points suggest she is shunne (avoided) or shamed (she avoided the other women)
• A Jewish man initiates a conversation with a Samaritan women
• A strict Jew would not have purchased food from the Samaritans. This is an example where the oral law went too far. Obviously, Jesus did not interpret the law so harshly as he sends his disciples to get food
• There are huge racial differences which are hard to understand, but they do not bother Jesus
• This passage gives us some great principles for sharing the gospel. What do we see?
• (First Principle of Evangelism (POE))Jesus makes himself available. He puts himself in a position to share. He could have stayed in his clique but he purposely separates himself from his comfort zone
• (Second POE) Jesus initiates the conversation
• Jesus uses a question. The question does not have to be spiritual
• Jesus uses a need or request of his own to start things. By asking for a drink for himself, the question is neutral, without any condemnation
• How does the woman's response strike you?
• It could be sarcastic, i.e., we Samaritans are scum of the earth to you Jews until you need something
• (Third POE) People may not respond kindly to your initial foray. Do not give up. Sometimes it is the very hurt in a person's life that causes them to respond as they do


John 4:10-15 (NIV) Jesus answered 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."


11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"


13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."


15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."


• What can we learn from Jesus' response to the woman?
• He does not insult in kind nor does he take offense
• He responds directly to the woman's subjects -- drink and his identity as a Jew, and uses them as a conversation starter
• (Fourth POE) Jesus starts the conversation with a common need of both of them -- the desire for water
• (Fifth POE) Jesus moves the conversation by capturing her curiosity of a gift that was very valuable and free
• For Nicodemus, he talked about a new birth
• For the woman, he talks about living water
• How does the woman respond at this point?
• She uses his term "living water" in her response. She probably had no idea what he was talking about and could care less to find out
• She uses possibly two more barbs at Jesus
• One, she talks about their father, "Jacob," implying that she had the same father as the Jews and was no different
• Two, she challenges him if he was greater than Jacob, which is also a sarcastic response
• Now that Jesus has her attention, although mostly a sarcastic attention, he explains what he means by living water
• (Sixth POE) Jesus moves the conversation in a purposeful spiritual direction by explaining the difference between this water and living water
• How does the woman respond now?
• She is even more sarcastic. She challenges him to give her this water
• She obviously doesn't understand what the living water really is (and probably doesn't care) because she talks about no coming back to the well
• At this point, the woman has not been very helpful. She has ridiculed and sarcastically replied to every one of Jesus' statements
• Yet, at some point in the conversation her attitude changes very quickly, suggesting that despite her responses, she really was listening
• (Seventh POE) Antagonism and sarcasm are typical ways an unbeliever will respond to the gospel message, but it doesn't mean the person is not listening


John 4:16-26 (NIV) He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."


17 "I have no husband," she replied.


Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."


19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."


21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."


25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."


26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."


• Since she asks for the "living water," Jesus tells her to go get her husband. This is one place where Jesus does have an advantage, he knew the woman. We know that everyone struggles with sin, we just don't know the details
• How do you perceive her response to Jesus' request for her to get her husband?
• She still sounds belligerent. She says she has no husband without any explanation
• She is not being very helpful
• How does Jesus respond back to the woman?
• Jesus does not call her a liar, in fact, he says she is truthful
• He then tells her, her sin, in a gentle and factual manner --" You have had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband …"
• (Eight POE) Be gentle and respectful when sharing the gospel (1 Pet 3:15) even when the other person is not
• How does the woman respond now?
• She changes the subject
• She throws out a "red herring"
• (Ninth POE) When a gospel conversation starts hitting close to home, people will get uncomfortable and throw out questions which may or may not be significant. We need to discern those that are truly issues to address or just blockages to the message, so that we can get the conversation back on track
• Jesus does decide to address this question. What does Jesus' response tell us about his definition of "tolerance?"
• Does Jesus agree with the woman? (make need to review the history of the mountain)
• Jesus tells the woman that she is worshipping something she doesn't know
• Jesus tells the woman that salvation is from the Jews
• Jesus tells the woman that worshipping on this mountain has no value, but rather God wants worshippers who worship in Spirit and Truth (not on special mountains)
• A true definition of tolerance for the believer is not that all beliefs are true--they are not true. Tolerance means I will not force you to believe, but I also will not agree that your view has truth
• The woman now appeals to a higher authority rather than believe Jesus' statements about what is true or not
• Jesus's response is that he is the higher authority
• (Tenth POE) Our higher authority is the word of God. People can choose not to accept it, but we must at least point to it (or even better, quote it). God says his word is living and active. We don't have to convince people, but we have to share real truth with them -- it is their choice to believe


John 4:27-38 (NIV) Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"


28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"  30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.


31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."


32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."


33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"


34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."


• Clearly, Jesus' actions are not consistent with most male Jews. John feels compelled to offer a narrative about the disciples as they return
• A natural response of the new birth is a desire to tell others
• Even though the woman avoided people before, now she goes out of her way to tell them about Jesus
• What is the difference between Jesus and the disciples at this point?
• The disciples are focused on the temporal, their stomachs
• Jesus is focused on the eternal, people's souls and eternal destiny
• Consequently, the disciples do not understand what is going on
• Importance of "expectation" when we pray for opportunity and clarity
• [share example of the airplane flight and delays]
• (Eleventh POE) Keep your eyes open to what is happening around you
• Jesus explains to the disciples what is going on?
• He uses a food analogy (the harvest)
• As the people are coming up the hill, he says that the harvest is ripe
• In evangelism, they are sowers and reapers. Some do the hard work and some reap the benefits.
• APPLICATION: What are you? A sower or a reaper, or maybe not even working
• (Twelfth POE) It is always time to share the gospel (either sowing or reaping)