John 4:3-26
Jesus often used every day items and situations to teach a spiritual lesson. Here in John 4 He starts a conversation about physical thirst and turns it into a lesson on spiritual thirst. The discussions main point is answering the question “How do we satisfy our spiritual thirst?”
Verses 3-8 sets the stage. Jesus is traveling from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north as you can see in the map below. Most Jews who made this journey did so by crossing over the Jordan River to the east. This made the trip longer but they purposely chose not to take the direct route because that would lead them through Samaria. As we’ll see the Jews had quite a dislike for Samaritans.
Jesus became tired like any other normal person and stopped at Jacob’s Well at noon during the hottest time of the day. His disciples went on to buy food for the day and left Jesus alone. A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water and Jesus does something quite radical. He asks her for a drink.
At this time in history it was not socially acceptable for them to even talk. Read verses 9-14. What she probably expected from the encounter was just awkward silence so she was surprised Jesus spoke to her. Racism is not new. Samaritans were a mixed race. Their ancestors were Jewish but they had intermarried with other cultures and so most Jews looked down upon them as half breeds. In effect, Jesus said to her “You’re surprised I asked you for water? Well, if you knew who I was, you’d be asking me for living water!” She didn’t know who He was yet nor did she know about the free gift of God; that forgiveness is freely given.
She doesn’t understand what He’s getting at so she reminds Him that He has nothing to draw the water with. It took Jacob and his men lots of work to dig this well and now this Man thinks he was going to extract water with no tool whatsoever. Did He think He was greater than Jacob? She doesn’t realize yet that He’s not talking about normal water. The water He’s talking about is VERY satisfying. It is a constantly flowing fountain or spring that will feed a well in the human heart resulting in eternal life such that they will never thirst again.
To help her understand He directs her to her real thirst in verses 15-18; her spiritual thirst. She is beginning to see now that Jesus is talking about something out of the ordinary but she still thinks it has something to do with drinking water. She knows she would like never to be thirsty again because then she wouldn’t have to come out here to draw water anymore! Jesus draws her attention to her spiritual need by asking her to go and get her husband. He knew the lifestyle she had led, that she has had 5 husbands and is now living with someone. He was directing the conversation to her life of sin and need of forgiveness. Her real thirst wasn’t for water but for a life with God. Thankfully this is the drink Jesus is offering.
In verses 19-20 we see that she is starting to realize that Jesus is unique. She sees Jesus as a prophet, someone who gets direct revelation from God and passes it on to others. Then she asks Him a technical question. Some think this was a defensive strategy on her part to get the focus off of her sin while others see it as genuine concern of wanting to know how to worship correctly. We don’t know her true motives but regardless, Jesus takes the time to answer her question about worshipping in Jerusalem or Mt. Gerizim.
The Samaritans had different beliefs than the Jews. They believed only the first five books in the Bible, the ones written by Moses, were really from God. Of course they believed they were the “true” descendants of Abraham tracing their lineage through Joseph. Mt. Gerizim was very important to their worship because they believed Noah’s ark landed there after the great worldwide flood. They also thought the Ark of the Covenant, the container that carried the commandments written on stone tablets given to Moses, was buried somewhere on the mountain. There are still a few hundred Samaritans living in Israel even today.
Jesus answers her questions in verses 21-24 but quickly gets the discussion back to her sin and thirst for God’s forgiveness. He explains that God chose to bring salvation through the Jewish people. They are the chosen nation. God used Jews to write the Bible. Jesus was a Jew. All of His disciples were Jews. The Jewish race descended from Abraham was specially selected by God to be a light to the nations and through them the whole world has been blessed. See Genesis 12 for the origin of these promises to Abraham and Romans 9:3-5 where Paul lays out the special blessings given to the Jews.
Jesus also explains that soon it will make no difference where a person worships. The building is just an external. What we wear to worship is external. Whether we sit or stand when we pray is external. The food we eat is external. Having fellowship with God has nothing to do with external rituals. Sin it not removed by being in a special place or doing a special religious activity. God looks at the heart. And specifically to see if that heart is trusting Him alone. He wants people to worship in Spirit and Truth. God is a Spirit so He doesn’t reside only in a special building. Even though we like to call our churches “God’s house” the fact is there is nothing special or magic about the actual building we meet in for worship. We also need to worship God in Truth. Plainly said, there are things that are right and there are things that are wrong. We need to worship God according to what He’s told us is true, not whatever we think or feel is right.
Jesus’ comments spark the woman’s memory in verses 25-26. Even in her sinful lifestyle someone somewhere had planted seeds of God’s truth. She knew, probably from Deuteronomy 18:15-18, that God had promised to someday send a Messiah who would fully explain divine truth, and in so doing, rescue the world. Jesus responds so simply but so powerfully by saying “I who speak to you am He”.
Their discussion abruptly ends when the disciples return from getting food in verses 27-30. They were surprised to see Jesus was talking with her. Not only because she was Samaritan but also because it was improper for a man and a woman who were strangers to talk alone in public. She leaves the scene but immediately goes and shares her discovery with others. The fact Jesus knew all about her made an impact and she offered the suggestion this might actually be the Christ they had been waiting for. Instead of just bringing her “husband” as Jesus requested, she was bringing a large group from her town.
Meanwhile, in verses 31-34 Jesus explains to His disciples what was going on and why He was speaking with this Samaritan woman. They had returned from getting food and urges Jesus to eat. He told them He had food they didn’t know about. They were confused and thought maybe someone else had given Him some food. His disciples didn’t realize Jesus was again turning a common situation into a spiritual lesson. His food was to do God’s work.
He explains to them it is similar to a farmer’s harvest in verses 35-38. Most of their crops took around four months after planting the seed before it was ready to be harvested. Jesus was telling them they didn’t need to wait! Look, the crop is ripe for harvest now! People need to be reconciled with God whether they are Jewish, Samaritan, Asian, or American! It is obvious to see the spiritual hunger of the world.
The sowing or planting seeds here represents telling people God’s truth. Similar to how someone had planted seeds in the Samaritan woman’s life that she should look for a Messiah God would send. The reaping, gathering fruit, or harvesting represents being used by God to lead someone to a saving faith in Jesus as their Savior. God has promised great rewards for being willing to go out and gather in the harvest. Jesus also called this being fisher of men (Mark 1:16-18). Paul referred to it as being ambassadors for God telling people how they can be reconciled to Him through Jesus’ death on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Instead of a Grim Reaper, we are to be a Him Reaper!
As harvest was a time for great salvation, so can those who plant the seeds and those that help reap the harvest rejoice together over souls that are saved from sin. Jesus is sending His disciples to reap what others have sown. Moses, the Old Testament prophets, even the work this Samaritan woman is doing in her own village is all preparing the way for the disciples to go and lead people to a saving faith in Jesus. Ultimately of course it is God that does the planting, the watering, causes the growth, and receives all the credit when someone is born again (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). We are but privileged God would use us in this awesome process.
This story has a beautiful ending in verses 39-42. Jesus stayed with these Samaritans for a couple days. Many people came to believe in Jesus as their Messiah because of, at least at first, the woman’s testimony. But once they got to experience Jesus for themselves they said they didn’t just believe because of what she said anymore. They heard for themselves and were convinced Jesus is the Savior of the world. As for me personally, nothing convinces me more concerning the truth of Christianity than the character of Jesus. But don’t take my word for it, experience Jesus yourself!
Our spiritual thirst is to have a relationship with God. The Bible says that relationship has been broken because of our sin. The only way to satisfy our spiritual thirst is to be reconciled back to God but the question is how to remove that sin standing in the way. There is absolutely nothing we can do to clear our sin from our account. That was the purpose Jesus had in coming to earth, to die for your sins as a substitute in your place. Now He is offering this drink as a free gift without cost (Revelations 21:6-8). How do you drink it? It is by trusting in Jesus as your Savior that you drink of this eternal life giving water.
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ “
Apr 2, 2008
Feb 26, 2008
John 3:1-21
I have a riddle for you. How can I have two birthdays per year yet not age twice as fast? One is July 15th and the other is February 4th. The answer should become evident as we work through these verses.
In verses 1-2 we find Nicodemus coming to Jesus secretly at night.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
We know from 7:50-51 and 19:38-39 that he was one of the rulers that came to Jesus under the cover of darkness because he feared the Pharisee leaders. They hated Jesus because they were jealous of how the people followed Him. Nicodemus knew Jesus was unique but at this point didn’t realize how important He was. Little did he know his questions would prompt Jesus to reply with the most famous verse of the Bible. In this short discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus explains three things.
1. How to be reconciled with God
2. Where Jesus got this information from
3. God’s purpose in sending Jesus to us
First, in verse 3 Jesus tells Nicodemus how to be reconciled with God.
Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Sin separates us from God so the question for all of us becomes “how can my sins be removed so I can be reunited with Him?” The answer is simple. Jesus said you have to be born a second time. OK, fine, great, but what in the world does that mean? He’ll explain that soon, but for now, first realize this isn’t the normal way most of think about “getting to heaven”. We usually think about it as earning our way there, as doing something to impress God so that He’ll let us in. Often we think of getting into heaven by being nice or doing good things for others. Then we view heaven as a reward or accomplishment for what we’ve done. But Jesus said no, we simply must be born again.
If you’re confused, don’t worry, Nicodemus was too. Read verses 4-6.
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Everyone is familiar with physical birth. It only happens once in your life, when you’re born from your mother. We’ve all experienced it even though we probably don’t remember much about it! But we’ve had children of our own, visited friends or family in the hospital after they’ve given birth, etc. It’s something we’re all familiar with. Jesus here isn’t talking about being born “physically” again. He’s using something we all know about to explain a deeper spiritual truth. He’s using the natural to explain the supernatural. He’s contrasting the physical birth (born from womb, water, flesh) with the spiritual birth (born of the Spirit, born from above).
This spiritual birth is mysterious because we don’t see it with our eyes. There isn’t a baby to hold in our arms as tangible proof that a birth really took place. Look at verses 7-8.
Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Just because we don’t see though, that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. It’s similar to the wind. We don’t see the wind itself but we do see its effects – bustling leaves, swaying branches, knocked over garbage cans! We don’t see the spiritual birth but we do see its effects – a changed life. See these other Scriptures where the new birth is likened to becoming a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:14-21) and results in fervent love for others (1 Peter 1:22-25).
Now who has the right to say how to get into heaven? Isn’t this just one person’s opinion? Where did Jesus get this information from anyway? Who gave Him this authority? These are the concerns Jesus tackles next. Even though Nicodemus is a religious teacher he still doesn’t get it yet. His comment here in verses 9-10 is kind of like a put off, in effect saying “Oh yeah, who says?” Jesus gently scolds him by explaining where this news comes from.
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”
Jesus was telling him the truth but Nicodemus didn’t fully trust Him yet. Jesus explains in verses 11-13 that this trust is paramount; that it’s the key to being born again.
Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
He told Nicodemus that if he wouldn’t believe what He said about things of this world that can be seen, then how could he trust Him concerning spiritual things? The world is full of different opinions on how to get to heaven. But isn’t it a bit unusual when people claim to be experts on a place they’ve never been? No one has gone to heaven to learn the way to get there. If left to our own devices no one would ever know how to be reconciled with God and spend eternity with Him. Thankfully, God came down to tell us how to go up! This isn’t just another person’s opinion, this comes from God Himself.
In verses 14-15 Jesus gives Nicodemus an example out of the Old Testament from Numbers 21.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
Shortly after God used Moses to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt, they complained about their poor circumstances out in the wilderness. As punishment for this, God sent an outbreak of deadly snakes. To teach them to trust in the Lord alone, God commanded Moses to take a bronze statue of a snake and set it up high on a pole. God promised that if they would but look at the snake they would be healed of their snake bite.
There was nothing magic or superstitious about the statue. It was a simple lesson for the people to learn how to completely depend upon and trust God. Jesus used this as an example of what He was about to do. Not long after this Jesus will be lifted up on a wooden pole and anyone that looks to Him will be freely given an eternal healing from their sin.
This is the very purpose Jesus came to earth. All of Christianity is summarized in this most famous of all verses – John 3:16.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
If you have children then you know the powerful love God has given parents for their offspring. Jesus was not birthed by God in the sense that He was created or had a beginning. Jesus is eternal and within the Trinity has always had a relationship with God the Father. But God uses the close bond between parent and child to describe the intimate love relationship between God the Son (Jesus) and God the Father. Again, this is something most people can relate to. Can you imagine willingly giving up your only child’s life for the benefit of people who hate you? That is what God did and He did it because He loved you so much.
This verse also tells us exactly how you can be born again. Whosoever believes in Him begins a new life that has no end. This believing isn’t just a flippant agreement to a few religious facts but a deep personal abiding trust. I believe facts about George Washington that I learned in school but I don’t trust him for anything. Every relationship begins with facts. When I first met my wife I was on a fact finding mission to learn everything about her I could. After I learned a great deal about what type of person she was I then chose to put my trust in her as my wife. Could it be you’ve known a great deal about Jesus your whole life but have never put your complete trust in Him yet? That would be a good description of my life before February 4th, 1994.
Is it too narrow to say trusting Jesus is the only way to Heaven? It might be narrow but isn’t God free to make the rules as He wants? He could have based forgiveness on many other things; how beautiful you are, how much money you have, what color your skin is, how smart you are, what family you come from, how good of a life you’ve lived, etc. If he based it on any of those things where would our hope be? I certainly wouldn’t have any! But no, He says whoever will believe.
God is not making this difficult. Read verse 17 and the first sentence of 18.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Jesus didn’t come to give us what we deserved; punishment for our sin. He was on a rescue mission to save that which was lost. The sad news is that many don’t want to be rescued. Continue reading verse 18 and continue through 21.
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.
If you won’t trust Jesus instead of yourself than you’ve been judged already. If you reject the only begotten Son than there is no other alternative except to bear the weight of your own sins. The Light came but many rejected it. Why? Because they loved the darkness. Some don’t want to come to the light because that would expose their sin and they’d have to admit they were living in error. This is the first step towards faith, admitting your sinfulness and need of forgiveness. It’s called repentance and it means changing your mind about your sinful lifestyle, whether you have a little sin or a lot!
This is the dichotomy of salvation being a free gift but yet coming with a cost. There are no conditions for forgiveness except a simple trust in Jesus BUT it will cost you your life. As we’ve seen, the Bible teaches that when you put your trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your life and changes you from the inside out into a new creature that is full of love for God and for others. Many do not want to give up their old life of selfishness and sin.
Now this doesn’t mean a Christian will always be perfect. Like a new physical life, the new spiritual life will be a process of learning to walk by power of His Spirit, learning to feast on the milk and then the meat of the Bible, learning to speak to God in prayer and ask Him for help. The new birth begins a process of becoming more and more like Jesus that won’t be complete until you are with Him in heaven.
Have you ever been born from again? Maybe you’ve tried to be “good”. Remember it’s not about you changing your behavior, it’s about Him changing your heart. He promises He will change you if you trust Him. Don’t understand? Don’t know for sure? Simply take Him at His Word and trust like a child trusts his parent.
Our natural inclination is to trust in the wrong solution to our sin problem. Most people agree they aren’t perfect and that “something” needs to be done in order for them to be reconciled with a perfectly holy God. What someone believes that “something” is shows what they’re trusting in as their ticket to heaven. This was driven home to me on February 4th, 1994 when a fellow High School student asked me this simple question.
“How would you answer if God were to ask you why you deserve to go to heaven?”
The beauty of this question is that how you answer reveals what your trust is in. If you answer that you’re going to heaven because you have long hair then it’s clear you’re trusting your long hair to remove your sin and make peace with God. If your answer is that you wear size 7 shoes then you’re trusting in your shoe size to make things right with God. These are silly answers no doubt, but some common ones include “I go to church, I haven’t committed any big sins, I try to be a nice person, I was confirmed, I keep Ten Commandments, I was baptized, I’ve done many good things and they will outweigh my bad ones”. Notice that with all of these answers the person’s trust is in themselves and what THEY have done. They are trusting in the wrong thing. John 3:16 says whoever believes in Him has eternal life, i.e. is forgiven of their sins and reconciled with God.
Maybe you have trusted Him, you’ve experienced the new heart He’s given you, you’re walking with Jesus by faith, but you don’t know exactly when your new life began. Knowing exactly when it happened isn’t important, as long as you’re confident your trust NOW is in Him alone. If we didn’t have parents and medical records we probably wouldn’t know when our physical birth happened either! God will tell you exactly when it happened some day, just be sure it has truly happened! Put your faith in Jesus alone today.
I have a riddle for you. How can I have two birthdays per year yet not age twice as fast? One is July 15th and the other is February 4th. The answer should become evident as we work through these verses.
In verses 1-2 we find Nicodemus coming to Jesus secretly at night.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
We know from 7:50-51 and 19:38-39 that he was one of the rulers that came to Jesus under the cover of darkness because he feared the Pharisee leaders. They hated Jesus because they were jealous of how the people followed Him. Nicodemus knew Jesus was unique but at this point didn’t realize how important He was. Little did he know his questions would prompt Jesus to reply with the most famous verse of the Bible. In this short discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus explains three things.
1. How to be reconciled with God
2. Where Jesus got this information from
3. God’s purpose in sending Jesus to us
First, in verse 3 Jesus tells Nicodemus how to be reconciled with God.
Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Sin separates us from God so the question for all of us becomes “how can my sins be removed so I can be reunited with Him?” The answer is simple. Jesus said you have to be born a second time. OK, fine, great, but what in the world does that mean? He’ll explain that soon, but for now, first realize this isn’t the normal way most of think about “getting to heaven”. We usually think about it as earning our way there, as doing something to impress God so that He’ll let us in. Often we think of getting into heaven by being nice or doing good things for others. Then we view heaven as a reward or accomplishment for what we’ve done. But Jesus said no, we simply must be born again.
If you’re confused, don’t worry, Nicodemus was too. Read verses 4-6.
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Everyone is familiar with physical birth. It only happens once in your life, when you’re born from your mother. We’ve all experienced it even though we probably don’t remember much about it! But we’ve had children of our own, visited friends or family in the hospital after they’ve given birth, etc. It’s something we’re all familiar with. Jesus here isn’t talking about being born “physically” again. He’s using something we all know about to explain a deeper spiritual truth. He’s using the natural to explain the supernatural. He’s contrasting the physical birth (born from womb, water, flesh) with the spiritual birth (born of the Spirit, born from above).
This spiritual birth is mysterious because we don’t see it with our eyes. There isn’t a baby to hold in our arms as tangible proof that a birth really took place. Look at verses 7-8.
Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Just because we don’t see though, that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. It’s similar to the wind. We don’t see the wind itself but we do see its effects – bustling leaves, swaying branches, knocked over garbage cans! We don’t see the spiritual birth but we do see its effects – a changed life. See these other Scriptures where the new birth is likened to becoming a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:14-21) and results in fervent love for others (1 Peter 1:22-25).
Now who has the right to say how to get into heaven? Isn’t this just one person’s opinion? Where did Jesus get this information from anyway? Who gave Him this authority? These are the concerns Jesus tackles next. Even though Nicodemus is a religious teacher he still doesn’t get it yet. His comment here in verses 9-10 is kind of like a put off, in effect saying “Oh yeah, who says?” Jesus gently scolds him by explaining where this news comes from.
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”
Jesus was telling him the truth but Nicodemus didn’t fully trust Him yet. Jesus explains in verses 11-13 that this trust is paramount; that it’s the key to being born again.
Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
He told Nicodemus that if he wouldn’t believe what He said about things of this world that can be seen, then how could he trust Him concerning spiritual things? The world is full of different opinions on how to get to heaven. But isn’t it a bit unusual when people claim to be experts on a place they’ve never been? No one has gone to heaven to learn the way to get there. If left to our own devices no one would ever know how to be reconciled with God and spend eternity with Him. Thankfully, God came down to tell us how to go up! This isn’t just another person’s opinion, this comes from God Himself.
In verses 14-15 Jesus gives Nicodemus an example out of the Old Testament from Numbers 21.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
Shortly after God used Moses to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt, they complained about their poor circumstances out in the wilderness. As punishment for this, God sent an outbreak of deadly snakes. To teach them to trust in the Lord alone, God commanded Moses to take a bronze statue of a snake and set it up high on a pole. God promised that if they would but look at the snake they would be healed of their snake bite.
There was nothing magic or superstitious about the statue. It was a simple lesson for the people to learn how to completely depend upon and trust God. Jesus used this as an example of what He was about to do. Not long after this Jesus will be lifted up on a wooden pole and anyone that looks to Him will be freely given an eternal healing from their sin.
This is the very purpose Jesus came to earth. All of Christianity is summarized in this most famous of all verses – John 3:16.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
If you have children then you know the powerful love God has given parents for their offspring. Jesus was not birthed by God in the sense that He was created or had a beginning. Jesus is eternal and within the Trinity has always had a relationship with God the Father. But God uses the close bond between parent and child to describe the intimate love relationship between God the Son (Jesus) and God the Father. Again, this is something most people can relate to. Can you imagine willingly giving up your only child’s life for the benefit of people who hate you? That is what God did and He did it because He loved you so much.
This verse also tells us exactly how you can be born again. Whosoever believes in Him begins a new life that has no end. This believing isn’t just a flippant agreement to a few religious facts but a deep personal abiding trust. I believe facts about George Washington that I learned in school but I don’t trust him for anything. Every relationship begins with facts. When I first met my wife I was on a fact finding mission to learn everything about her I could. After I learned a great deal about what type of person she was I then chose to put my trust in her as my wife. Could it be you’ve known a great deal about Jesus your whole life but have never put your complete trust in Him yet? That would be a good description of my life before February 4th, 1994.
Is it too narrow to say trusting Jesus is the only way to Heaven? It might be narrow but isn’t God free to make the rules as He wants? He could have based forgiveness on many other things; how beautiful you are, how much money you have, what color your skin is, how smart you are, what family you come from, how good of a life you’ve lived, etc. If he based it on any of those things where would our hope be? I certainly wouldn’t have any! But no, He says whoever will believe.
God is not making this difficult. Read verse 17 and the first sentence of 18.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Jesus didn’t come to give us what we deserved; punishment for our sin. He was on a rescue mission to save that which was lost. The sad news is that many don’t want to be rescued. Continue reading verse 18 and continue through 21.
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.
If you won’t trust Jesus instead of yourself than you’ve been judged already. If you reject the only begotten Son than there is no other alternative except to bear the weight of your own sins. The Light came but many rejected it. Why? Because they loved the darkness. Some don’t want to come to the light because that would expose their sin and they’d have to admit they were living in error. This is the first step towards faith, admitting your sinfulness and need of forgiveness. It’s called repentance and it means changing your mind about your sinful lifestyle, whether you have a little sin or a lot!
This is the dichotomy of salvation being a free gift but yet coming with a cost. There are no conditions for forgiveness except a simple trust in Jesus BUT it will cost you your life. As we’ve seen, the Bible teaches that when you put your trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your life and changes you from the inside out into a new creature that is full of love for God and for others. Many do not want to give up their old life of selfishness and sin.
Now this doesn’t mean a Christian will always be perfect. Like a new physical life, the new spiritual life will be a process of learning to walk by power of His Spirit, learning to feast on the milk and then the meat of the Bible, learning to speak to God in prayer and ask Him for help. The new birth begins a process of becoming more and more like Jesus that won’t be complete until you are with Him in heaven.
Have you ever been born from again? Maybe you’ve tried to be “good”. Remember it’s not about you changing your behavior, it’s about Him changing your heart. He promises He will change you if you trust Him. Don’t understand? Don’t know for sure? Simply take Him at His Word and trust like a child trusts his parent.
Our natural inclination is to trust in the wrong solution to our sin problem. Most people agree they aren’t perfect and that “something” needs to be done in order for them to be reconciled with a perfectly holy God. What someone believes that “something” is shows what they’re trusting in as their ticket to heaven. This was driven home to me on February 4th, 1994 when a fellow High School student asked me this simple question.
“How would you answer if God were to ask you why you deserve to go to heaven?”
The beauty of this question is that how you answer reveals what your trust is in. If you answer that you’re going to heaven because you have long hair then it’s clear you’re trusting your long hair to remove your sin and make peace with God. If your answer is that you wear size 7 shoes then you’re trusting in your shoe size to make things right with God. These are silly answers no doubt, but some common ones include “I go to church, I haven’t committed any big sins, I try to be a nice person, I was confirmed, I keep Ten Commandments, I was baptized, I’ve done many good things and they will outweigh my bad ones”. Notice that with all of these answers the person’s trust is in themselves and what THEY have done. They are trusting in the wrong thing. John 3:16 says whoever believes in Him has eternal life, i.e. is forgiven of their sins and reconciled with God.
Maybe you have trusted Him, you’ve experienced the new heart He’s given you, you’re walking with Jesus by faith, but you don’t know exactly when your new life began. Knowing exactly when it happened isn’t important, as long as you’re confident your trust NOW is in Him alone. If we didn’t have parents and medical records we probably wouldn’t know when our physical birth happened either! God will tell you exactly when it happened some day, just be sure it has truly happened! Put your faith in Jesus alone today.
Jan 27, 2008
John 1:1-18
John 1:1-18
Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. If you were to look up “God” in the dictionary, an appropriate definition would simply be the word Jesus. As John begins his Gospel here in chapter 1 he describes Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God in three ways. The themes begun here are picked up and developed throughout the rest of John’s Gospel.
First, John will present Jesus as the Word. What are the purpose of words but to communicate and explain. That is exactly what Jesus does. He communicates and explains God to us. Next John describes Jesus as the light. Light illuminates and exposes the world around us so we can see and understand our surroundings. Jesus illuminates the truth of God to us. Lastly John discusses Jesus as a revealed gift that you will either receive or reject.
In John 1:1-3 first symbolizes Jesus as the Word.
1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Going back to the beginning of time, we find that the Word was already there. If there is any doubt John is referring to Jesus here, jumping ahead to 1:14 will completely remove it. See also John 17:5 in Jesus’ high priestly prayer. Not only was the Word with God, the Word also was God. Here we have an explicit reference to the Christian understanding of the Trinity. It consists of three persons eternally distinct yet one God. Something we can’t fully comprehend but is true nonetheless. We also see here that all things were made through the Word. He is not just another part of creation. Jesus is not a created being but the actual Creator. Even at the beginning of time Jesus was performing His role of revealing God by creating the world and nature. The Bible teaches nature itself is a declaration of who God is – Romans 1:19-20 and Psalm 19.
Next Jesus is portrayed as light in 1:4-9.
4-9 - In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
In Jesus was life and His life is the light that shines forth God’s character. His life illuminates God’s truth to mankind and shows us what God is like. In verse five most Bible translations say “the darkness did not comprehend it”. The original Greek word is katalambano which could be translated to English as “comprehend” or “overpower”, depending on the context in which it’s used. It’s difficult to know for sure which way it should be translated here since John is using so much symbolism. Some think John is saying that darkness is no match for the light. The darkness could do nothing to prevent the light from shining forth. Others think it is more connected to verses 10-11 in that most didn’t accept the light. Both concepts are true because the Bible teaches both of those things elsewhere. The question is “which concept is John referring to here?” That we don’t know for sure.
John the Baptist had been telling everyone that The Light was coming. His job was to tell people about this light so that all would believe in Him when He arrived. He repeatedly told people he was not The Light but was preparing the way for the true light that was soon coming into the world. This light is available to enlighten every person and in fact is offered to every man, woman, and child. But, as we’ll see in verses 1:10-13, this light is a gift that you either receive or reject. See 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 for an elaboration of the light concept.
In verses 10-13 all human kind is divided into two groups; those that reject this light and those that receive it.
10-13 - He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
All people have strayed from God since the first two people created by God disobeyed Him in the Garden of Eden. This singular event is the direct cause of the troubled world we live in today. The situation was so dire that when Jesus appeared on the scene His own creatures didn’t even recognize Him. Most of His own people didn’t even accept Him. John here is referring to the Jewish nation. God chose to work in a special way amongst these people who descended from Abraham as recorded in the Old Testament. Even these most privileged people, for the most part, did not receive the light.
But those who do receive Him become the children of God. Contrary to many bumper stickers, we aren’t all God’s children by default. But we can BECOME His child by receiving, believing, trusting in Jesus. Are those that put their faith in Jesus better people than those that don’t? Absolutely not. The is because faith is not a way to earn forgiveness and a place in heaven. If you could earn God’s forgiveness by doing good things, being nice, or obeying the 10 commandments; then someone could boast about an accomplishment like that.
But faith in Jesus isn’t like that; it’s not a work that we do to earn God’s love but a way to receive His love as a free gift. Faith means putting your trust in Jesus as your personal Savior; that He lived a perfect life for you and then died in your place taking the punishment that you deserve. When someone does this John says here they are then born of God spiritually into His family as His child. John contrasts this “spiritual birth” with the normal “physical birth” we’re familiar with; it’s not of blood, the will of the flesh, or the will of man. It is of God.
In the last five verses of this section, 14-18, John ties these three analogies together to show how Jesus reveals God’s nature.
14-18 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
God became a man and lived among us. When people physically saw Jesus and how He lived His life, they were seeing the glory of God. Not that there was a visible shine around His head like the old paintings show. The glory they saw was His grace and truth; how He treated others, what He taught, the things He did, His unselfish love that took Him to the cross to die for your sins. Jesus is also the light that John the Baptist said was coming. He’s greater than John the Baptist because He existed before him. As we saw, He was already in existence at the beginning of time. He is eternal.
John contrasts Jesus with Moses who gave us the Law. The Law is most commonly known nowadays by the 10 Commandments. These ten moral commands are actually just a summary of almost 700 laws God gave to Moses. Besides providing legal structure for the newly formed Jewish nation, the Law is a teacher that instructs and leads us to Jesus. This is because the 10 Commandments (or the Law) put you in a bad spot. No one can keep all of the Law all of the time. The Pharisees during Jesus day thought they could but it was just an outward conformance, not an internal purity of heart. For example, in Matthew 5 Jesus explains it’s not good enough to never commit adultery physically. He says whoever looks at someone with lust has already committed adultery in their heart. The Law condemns us ALL.
The Law is the perfect standard of righteousness that shows us our hearts are not perfect. It condemns us as falling short of God’s requirement. This condemnation is what turns many off from Christianity. We don’t like to be told we are in error, that we are sinners. When Christianity is presented only as rules to follow most people reject it because it isn’t long before they realize they just can’t do the right thing all the time – it’s impossible. But this is exactly the purpose of the Law handed down to us by Moses. It’s supposed to bring us to the point where we cry out “God, I can’t do this, I need help!”
This is where God’s grace through Jesus Christ comes in. Now that the Law taught us that we have made mistakes and need God’s forgiveness, He offers it freely through simple faith in Jesus. That is the very definition of grace; love and mercy we don’t deserve. Read Galatians 3 to see where this line of reasoning is fully played out.
Jesus reveals, declares, and explains completely who God is. He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:1-4). No one has ever seen God. The Bible says some have been given visions of God but no one has ever fully seen Him or fully comprehended His essence. Jesus, God the Son, was sent from God the Father to reveal Him to us. Jesus was able to show us who God was because He had something much better than just a vision. He had an intimate eternal relationship with God the Father from which to explain Him to us.
Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. If you were to look up “God” in the dictionary, an appropriate definition would simply be the word Jesus. As John begins his Gospel here in chapter 1 he describes Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God in three ways. The themes begun here are picked up and developed throughout the rest of John’s Gospel.
First, John will present Jesus as the Word. What are the purpose of words but to communicate and explain. That is exactly what Jesus does. He communicates and explains God to us. Next John describes Jesus as the light. Light illuminates and exposes the world around us so we can see and understand our surroundings. Jesus illuminates the truth of God to us. Lastly John discusses Jesus as a revealed gift that you will either receive or reject.
In John 1:1-3 first symbolizes Jesus as the Word.
1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Going back to the beginning of time, we find that the Word was already there. If there is any doubt John is referring to Jesus here, jumping ahead to 1:14 will completely remove it. See also John 17:5 in Jesus’ high priestly prayer. Not only was the Word with God, the Word also was God. Here we have an explicit reference to the Christian understanding of the Trinity. It consists of three persons eternally distinct yet one God. Something we can’t fully comprehend but is true nonetheless. We also see here that all things were made through the Word. He is not just another part of creation. Jesus is not a created being but the actual Creator. Even at the beginning of time Jesus was performing His role of revealing God by creating the world and nature. The Bible teaches nature itself is a declaration of who God is – Romans 1:19-20 and Psalm 19.
Next Jesus is portrayed as light in 1:4-9.
4-9 - In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
In Jesus was life and His life is the light that shines forth God’s character. His life illuminates God’s truth to mankind and shows us what God is like. In verse five most Bible translations say “the darkness did not comprehend it”. The original Greek word is katalambano which could be translated to English as “comprehend” or “overpower”, depending on the context in which it’s used. It’s difficult to know for sure which way it should be translated here since John is using so much symbolism. Some think John is saying that darkness is no match for the light. The darkness could do nothing to prevent the light from shining forth. Others think it is more connected to verses 10-11 in that most didn’t accept the light. Both concepts are true because the Bible teaches both of those things elsewhere. The question is “which concept is John referring to here?” That we don’t know for sure.
John the Baptist had been telling everyone that The Light was coming. His job was to tell people about this light so that all would believe in Him when He arrived. He repeatedly told people he was not The Light but was preparing the way for the true light that was soon coming into the world. This light is available to enlighten every person and in fact is offered to every man, woman, and child. But, as we’ll see in verses 1:10-13, this light is a gift that you either receive or reject. See 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 for an elaboration of the light concept.
In verses 10-13 all human kind is divided into two groups; those that reject this light and those that receive it.
10-13 - He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
All people have strayed from God since the first two people created by God disobeyed Him in the Garden of Eden. This singular event is the direct cause of the troubled world we live in today. The situation was so dire that when Jesus appeared on the scene His own creatures didn’t even recognize Him. Most of His own people didn’t even accept Him. John here is referring to the Jewish nation. God chose to work in a special way amongst these people who descended from Abraham as recorded in the Old Testament. Even these most privileged people, for the most part, did not receive the light.
But those who do receive Him become the children of God. Contrary to many bumper stickers, we aren’t all God’s children by default. But we can BECOME His child by receiving, believing, trusting in Jesus. Are those that put their faith in Jesus better people than those that don’t? Absolutely not. The is because faith is not a way to earn forgiveness and a place in heaven. If you could earn God’s forgiveness by doing good things, being nice, or obeying the 10 commandments; then someone could boast about an accomplishment like that.
But faith in Jesus isn’t like that; it’s not a work that we do to earn God’s love but a way to receive His love as a free gift. Faith means putting your trust in Jesus as your personal Savior; that He lived a perfect life for you and then died in your place taking the punishment that you deserve. When someone does this John says here they are then born of God spiritually into His family as His child. John contrasts this “spiritual birth” with the normal “physical birth” we’re familiar with; it’s not of blood, the will of the flesh, or the will of man. It is of God.
In the last five verses of this section, 14-18, John ties these three analogies together to show how Jesus reveals God’s nature.
14-18 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
God became a man and lived among us. When people physically saw Jesus and how He lived His life, they were seeing the glory of God. Not that there was a visible shine around His head like the old paintings show. The glory they saw was His grace and truth; how He treated others, what He taught, the things He did, His unselfish love that took Him to the cross to die for your sins. Jesus is also the light that John the Baptist said was coming. He’s greater than John the Baptist because He existed before him. As we saw, He was already in existence at the beginning of time. He is eternal.
John contrasts Jesus with Moses who gave us the Law. The Law is most commonly known nowadays by the 10 Commandments. These ten moral commands are actually just a summary of almost 700 laws God gave to Moses. Besides providing legal structure for the newly formed Jewish nation, the Law is a teacher that instructs and leads us to Jesus. This is because the 10 Commandments (or the Law) put you in a bad spot. No one can keep all of the Law all of the time. The Pharisees during Jesus day thought they could but it was just an outward conformance, not an internal purity of heart. For example, in Matthew 5 Jesus explains it’s not good enough to never commit adultery physically. He says whoever looks at someone with lust has already committed adultery in their heart. The Law condemns us ALL.
The Law is the perfect standard of righteousness that shows us our hearts are not perfect. It condemns us as falling short of God’s requirement. This condemnation is what turns many off from Christianity. We don’t like to be told we are in error, that we are sinners. When Christianity is presented only as rules to follow most people reject it because it isn’t long before they realize they just can’t do the right thing all the time – it’s impossible. But this is exactly the purpose of the Law handed down to us by Moses. It’s supposed to bring us to the point where we cry out “God, I can’t do this, I need help!”
This is where God’s grace through Jesus Christ comes in. Now that the Law taught us that we have made mistakes and need God’s forgiveness, He offers it freely through simple faith in Jesus. That is the very definition of grace; love and mercy we don’t deserve. Read Galatians 3 to see where this line of reasoning is fully played out.
Jesus reveals, declares, and explains completely who God is. He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:1-4). No one has ever seen God. The Bible says some have been given visions of God but no one has ever fully seen Him or fully comprehended His essence. Jesus, God the Son, was sent from God the Father to reveal Him to us. Jesus was able to show us who God was because He had something much better than just a vision. He had an intimate eternal relationship with God the Father from which to explain Him to us.
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