Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

 

But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.  --Luke 9:62

Thomas à Kempis was a 15th century German-Dutch Augustinian scholar and author of a Christian devotional The Imitation of Christ.  One famous quotation from this work is "And when he is out of sight, quickly also he is out of mind."  Another is, "If, however, you seek Jesus in all things, you will surely find Him."  He also wrote this: "O quam cito transit gloria mundi"--Oh, how quickly the glory of the world passes away.  This phrase has been suggested as the origin of the more popular phrase sic transit gloria mundi, or "So passes away the glory of this world."

As we continue our study of John chapter 6, we see a great falling away of the followers of Christ.  You will remember that the crowds wanted to make Him king because He had fed them all with a few morsels of bread and two small fish.  Jesus then told them to seek spiritual food, and not physical.  He went on to say that He was the bread of life, and that like bread is broken to be shared, so will His body be broken for them.  To the Pharisees he likened Himself to the manna that came down from heaven to feed their forefathers in the wilderness.  Jesus's teaching caused quarrels and divisions among the Jewish leaders, and caused many of His followers to turn away from Him.

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying: who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  --John 6:60-65

The majority of people were what we might call fringe followers.  They were interested in the miracles more than the message.  When the words of Jesus became difficult to listen to, they bailed.  It was as if to say, "Jesus, you've had your fifteen minutes of fame.  It's time for us to move on to the next big thing."

I find it interesting that those fringe followers said, "This is a difficult saying."  The Greek word translated "saying" here is logos, which in John 1 was translated "word."  John had already identified Jesus as the Word.  Now the people were discovering that the Word was difficult to hear, to understand, to follow.  This applies to us today, as well.  Calvary Church in Orlando, Florida has a blog calvaryorlando.org/blog and on March 23, 2025 they wrote this:

Many people assume following Jesus means simply believing in Him, attending church, or being a “good person.” But Jesus gives a much deeper and more challenging definition.  In Luke 9:23, Jesus says: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

They go on to say, "There’s a difference between admirers of Jesus and true disciples. A fan likes Jesus’ teachings but doesn’t commit to transformation. A follower lives out their faith daily, submitting every part of their life to Him."  Many of the people in Jesus's day were merely fans, and when Jesus's words became too hard to listen to or to put into practice, they fell away.  You may know of some people like that today.

Another blogger, Tim Shurfy, wrote in evenifiwalkalone.com this past June, 

Let me state the obvious: following Jesus is hard. If you think following Jesus is easy, my bet is you aren’t following Him in the manner His Word prescribes. It’s easy to say you follow Jesus. It’s even easy to place your faith in Him. None of that requires anything on your part, and you can take it back whenever that decision becomes inconvenient.

These so-called disciples found that following Jesus became inconvenient when He demanded more from them.  Jesus responded to them, "Does this offend you?  What will you do when you see Me in glory?"  If you are offended at this, Jesus said, what will you think when you have to answer to Me in judgment?  David Guzik writes, "Better to be offended now and get over it, than to be offended on that day."

Jesus knew from the beginning who would not believe, and who would betray Him.  He knew that Judas would betray Him over to be crucified.  Jesus still washed his feet.  I find this interesting.  Jesus preached against the enemies of the faith.  In Revelation 2, verses 6 and 15 He expressed hatred of the works of the Nicolaitans, who according to the Church fathers, cheapened grace by teaching that one did not have to repent of sin.  But this man Judas, a traitor, was welcomed to the same table as all of the other disciples, and was served by the same Savior.  I don't know why; maybe because Jesus knew that Judas was a vital link in the chain leading to His sacrificial death and the ultimate atonement for sin.  Paul said that "all things work together for good to them who love God, who are called according to His purpose."  All the other sinners with whom Jesus ate--the tax collectors and prostitutes--He challenged them to repent, to leave their lives of sin, to "go and sin no more."

Is this what He meant when He said, "No man can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father"?  God knows who will come into our lives, for good or for bad.  He also knows their motivation, and whether they will respond to the Gospel that they hear from us.  If they will not listen to the message of salvation, then Jesus told us to leave them, shaking the dust of their town off our feet (Matthew 10:14).  But if they follow you home, then they may just be a thorn in your flesh (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10) for the glory of God.

Let's read on.

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and to know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  --John 6:66-71

David Guzik's commentary says, "Speaking for the twelve, Simon Peter gave a wonderful statement of faith.

• He recognized Jesus as Lord.
• He recognized Jesus as the preferred alternative, despite the difficulties.
• He recognized the value of spiritual things, more than the material and earthly desires of those who walked away (the words of eternal life).
• He recognized Jesus as Messiah (the Christ) and God (Son of the living God)."

Jesus knew who Judas was, and called him a "devil".  Australian scholar Bruce said, "One of them was a diabolos — the Greek word means a ‘slanderer’ or ‘calumniator’ or ‘false accuser’, but it is probably used here as the counterpart to the Hebrew satan, ‘adversary’.”  Reformed theologian Boice wrote, "There are Judases among the apparent followers of the Lord in our day. They are in our pews, even in our pulpits, and they are sometimes undetected. They betray the Lord and the gospel by both their words and their actions.”

God will undoubtedly bring some Judas into your life from time to time, to test and refine you.  Your job is to be like Peter: to keep your eyes on Jesus lest you sink into sin and despair, and to confess Jesus as Lord, and to hold fast to Him despite the difficulties.  Keep the faith, no matter what the world says.

Worldly glory is fleeting, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.  The world may follow a watered down Gospel, but we must teach the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.  What is truth?  That Jesus is the Bread of Life.  As David Guzik puts it, 

• Seeing a loaf of bread on a plate will not satisfy our hunger.
• Knowing the ingredients in the bread will not satisfy our hunger.
• Taking pictures of the bread will not satisfy our hunger.
• Telling other people about the bread will not satisfy our hunger.
• Selling the bread will not satisfy our hunger.
• Playing catch with the bread will not satisfy our hunger.
• Nothing will satisfy our hunger and bring us life except actually eating the bread. He who eats this bread will live forever.

Hard to Swallow

 

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come--buy and eat.  Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight in abundance.  Incline your ear, and come to Me.  Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you. --Isaiah 55:1-3

I have a little quiz for you.

1. What does “swallow your pride” mean?
A) Eat too much at once
B) Say something mean
C) Admit you were wrong

2. If someone had to “swallow the news,” what would they do?
A) Eating quickly
B) Accepting the news
C) Yelling it out loud

3. “That story is hard to swallow” means:
A) It tastes bad
B) It’s hard to believe
C) It’s about food

Okay, how did you do?  We all know that these idioms are not really about food, right?  I could cite dozens more examples: she swallowed it whole; he was eating out of the palm of your hand; they really drank the kool-aid.  All of these American idioms use terminology consistent with consuming, but in context we know if is not really about eating or drinking.  

Imagine, though, that you were from a different country with a different language, with different customs, and with different idioms.  What would they think if they heard you say, "I heard him talking, it was just hard to swallow the whole thing."  Would our foreign friend process the sentence in the same way, or might he think that you had placed the words in your mouth and chewed them insufficiently, causing you to gag or vomit?

When Jesus came teaching and preaching the truths of God to His people, the message was often received in such a way that it seemed as if He was speaking a different language.  Some of the people did not hear Him at all, they just saw His works.  Some misunderstood Him completely, or took His words completely out of context.  And some of His words often made people sick.  In the sixth chapter of John we see all of these reactions and more.

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone--however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks--when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  --John 6:22-24

You will remember that Jesus had just fed 5000 men (not including women and children--the total number of people could have been much higher).  He then had to withdraw, for the people wanted to make Him king.  He then sent the disciples across the sea to struggle in the storm, and He then walked out on the water to join them (but the crowds did not see Him walking on the water, only the disciples knew.)  The next morning, all the people were looking for Jesus, for they did not see where He went.  Not seeing Jesus there, they followed after the disciples, hoping Jesus would be there.  Sure enough, He was.

And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you are of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  --John 6:25-27

Jesus knew their hearts.  They were looking for a meal ticket, not for spiritual guidance.  They asked Him how He managed to get to Capernaum without their seeing Him leave.  Jesus ignores their question, and goes straight to their motivation.  "You think I will give you physical food," He told them.  "Don't worry so much about physical food, but eat up (consume, swallow whole) the Word of God."  Jesus wanted to give them words of life that would sustain them always, not morsels of food that would pass through them and leave them hungry an hour later.

Unfortunately, that's not what they heard.  They heard Him say labor, so they wanted to know what kind of work they had to perform in order to earn His favor and perhaps get their next meal. 

 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  --John 6:28-29

By this time the crowd had caught the attention of others, people who had not been present at the feeding of the 5000.  Some of them were Jewish leaders in the synagogue, and perhaps some Pharisees joined them, as well.  These devout Jews heard Jesus say, "believe in the One whom God has sent."  Realizing that Jesus was speaking of Himself, they asked for identification, for credentials, for proof.

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe in You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat'."  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  --John 6:30-33

The Jewish leaders asked for a sign like Moses gave them in the wilderness: when the people were hungry, Moses prayed and God sent manna for them to eat.  "Manna" literally means "what is it?"  The people in the desert did not know what they were eating, only that it satisfied their hunger and that it was provided for their long-term needs.  Jesus reminds them of this when He said that Moses did not provide them bread, but God in heaven.  In the same way, Jesus was sent from heaven by God like bread from heaven, to give them life.  Not just life in this physical world, but life everlasting.

Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."  --John 6:34-40

This passage is rich.  The people are still wanting physical food, much like the woman at the well in John 4 wanted water.  Jesus is telling them that all who believe in Him will never hunger or thirst, as He will supply all of their needs, both physical and spiritual.  He reiterates the message He had given to Nicodemus in John 3, that everyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life.  He also gives us that blessed assurance of our salvation, that if we are among those whom God has given to Jesus, that He will hold us to the end and our faith will not be in vain.  Just as bread is necessary to prolong and sustain physical life, so is faithful belief and obedience to Jesus necessary for our spiritual sustenance and our eternal hope of heaven.

The Jews, who were doggedly monotheistic and unyielding in their devotion to who they thought God was, took exception to Jesus identifying as a Messenger of God.  Jesus wants them to know His true nature--that He is not just a messenger or angel sent from God, but that He is Himself the same essence and nature of God. 

The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  And they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written n the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  --John 6:41-51

Jesus continues using the idiom that He is the bread of heaven, sent from God, the very bread of life.  Unlike manna, which they could not comprehend, He was there with them, in the flesh.  If they will swallow this truth, if they will eat this bread, then they will live forever.  He is willing to lay down His life by giving up His flesh to be broken like the bread.  This is foretelling of His death on the cross for us.  If we can drink this cup, we will be saved.

The second objection by the Jews centers on their literal understanding of the words of Jesus.  Much like the objection that Nicodemus had given when Jesus had said, "You must be born again."  Their literal interpretation of His words show that they can't quite grasp the true meaning, which has a spiritual basis.

The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.  --John 6:52-59

Jesus appears to have moved His discourse from the seaside to the synagogue.  John may be compressing many separate conversations into one long episode to highlight the point He was making.  The language becomes by degrees more scholarly and rabbinical, depending upon His audience.  To the common people, He would point to Himself and say, "He who eats this bread will live forever."  To the Jewish leaders in the synagogue, His language is more obtuse: "My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed."  This may have been to purposely confuse them, to keep Himself hidden from their eyes so that His words may be fulfilled--that His body would be broken, and that He would give up His life by their hand.

Unfortunately, many in the Church have taken His words out of context, or at worst interpreted His words in a hyper-literal fashion.  Many have superimposed these words with those spoken at the Last Supper, when Jesus said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you."  And also the wine, saying, "Take, drink, this is My blood which is poured out for you."  Thus they have elevated the Eucharist as more than a mere remembrance, as Jesus said He intended it ("Do this in remembrance of Me.")  Not only do they think it a requirement for salvation, but they also believe that the bread and wine supernaturally transform into the actual body and blood of Jesus.

With respect to my Catholic and Lutheran brothers, I submit that we can take Jesus's words literally without twisting logic and reason, and without opening ourselves up to worldly criticisms that we Christians are somehow barbaric or cannibalistic.  We must remember that Jesus did not speak English, and that 2000 year old Greek or Aramaic idioms may not translate well to the modern languages in which our Bibles are written.  We don't have to swallow "hook line and sinker" that Jesus meant His body and blood were to be physically consumed in order to earn eternal life.  Taken in context, we must only believe in Him (see verse 29).  We must believe that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (see John 1).   We must hear His words, and fully believe that He is the bread of life.

The world may think that we are out of our minds.  Most of the modern idioms about swallowing are negative in nature.  They may mock us for our "swallowing whole" the Gospel of Christ.  They may lambaste us for "swallowing the bait," or falling for the Savior "hook, line, and sinker."  And that's the point Jesus was making, I think.  Unless we give ourselves completely over to Him, we are dead in our sins.  In order to trust Him fully, we must swallow our pride and drink the kool-aid.

What's the plan?

 

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know.  --CS 2:22

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? --Hebrews 2:3-4

 In our fast-paced world, we may feel burdened and overwhelmed by evil.  Whenever we see random acts of kindness or even what may be called supernatural acts--miracles, if you will--we may think of them as just that: random.  We see good things happen all around us, but to what purpose?

The Apostle Paul answers that question for us in Romans 8:28, when he says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  In this world we see chaos, but God has ordered all things, and has a purpose for the works that He does in and through our lives.

The Gospel of John shows us seven specific signs, meant to bring us to faith in Jesus Christ.  John explained this purpose in John 20:30-31: "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."  The seven specific signs in John's Gospel are: 

1. John 2:1-11 — Water into wine.
2. John 4:46-54 — Healing of the nobleman’s son.
3. John 5:1-15 — Healing at the pool of Bethesda.
4. John 6:1-14 — Feeding the 5,000.
5. John 6:15-21 — Jesus walks on water.
6. John 9:1-12 — Healing of the man born blind.
7. John 11:1-44 — Lazarus raised from the dead.

We've already looked at the first three (you can read about them in my prior posts on this blog).  Today I want to look at the fourth and fifth signs, quickly going over them and then sharing what they mean to me.  The interpretations are my own, and not necessarily supported in any of the commentaries that I read in preparation for this lesson.  I don't claim some special revelation--the Word of God stands alone.  However, if after you read this you see the Scripture illuminated just a bit more, then maybe God can use the little light I can shed from my own thoughts and experience.

Let's dive right in.

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the See of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test Him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is come into the world."  --John 6:1-14

 Notice that it says that Passover was almost upon them.  This may be why so many people were gathered there, traveling as pilgrims toward Jerusalem for the solemn feast.  Looking forward in our Gospel narrative, the next time the Passover is celebrated, it is with the Last Supper just before Jesus's crucifixion.  On this day, however, we see some foreshadowing.

Interestingly, only two miracles that John writes about are also described in the other four Gospels--the feeding of the five thousand here, and the account of Jesus walking on the water, which we will discuss a bit later.  When we read about Jesus feeding the five thousand in the other Gospels, they all say that He broke the bread; John simply says He distributed it to the disciples, who then passed it on to the crowd.  What is significant about Him breaking the bread?  Well for one thing, Jesus described Himself as the Bread of Life.  As the bread was broken, so was His body broken as a sacrifice for our sins.

In Jewish homes, when the Passover meal is shared, the bread was to be unleavened; in fact, they were commanded to cleanse the entire house of leaven before the Passover feast.  Leaven represented sin, and by purging all the leaven from the home up to seven days prior to the feast, it represented purging sin out of their lives.  Jesus, we know, was sinless His whole life.  If He is the Bread of Life, we know He is unleavened, or without sin.

But wait, there's more!  When a family eats the Passover meal, or seder, the bread is is placed in a bag called an echad, which means "one" in Hebrew.  Yet the bag is divided into three chambers or pouches, and one piece of bread is placed in each pouch.  The bread in the first pouch is never touched, never used, never seen; it represents God the Father.  "No one has ever seen God," the Scriptures say.  The second piece of bread is broken in half; one half is placed back in the echad pouch, and the other is placed on a linen cloth.  This second piece of unleavened bread could represent the Son, who was broken for our transgressions (see Isaiah 53:5-12); the linen cloth could represent His burial shroud.  The third piece of bread is used to eat the other elements of the seder plate.  This could represent the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us.  On the website https://www.gotquestions.org/Passover-Seder.html, under "How do the elements of the Passover Seder point to Christ?" it says: "Many Jews consider the three matzohs to represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they cannot explain why they break 'Isaac' in half or why they place half of the middle matzoh back in the echad and keep the other half out, wrapped in a cloth." Both Christians and Messianic Jews see a greater lesson here.

Of course, the meal that Jesus and the disciples shared with the crowd that day was not a Passover meal.  Notice that the bread the boy shared was made of barley.  Barley loaves were never used in a seder meal.  In fact, many people would not eat barley, as they thought it was fit only for animal feed.  This shows how poor the lad was, that his family would send him with barley biscuits or rolls.  That Jesus would use this type of bread to do His work speaks volumes about how He can use us in our lowly state to His great purpose.  He came to seek and to save the lost from every class or caste of people, not just to the wealthy.  Just as many of the wealthier people would not be caught eating barley bread, many would reject Jesus of Nazareth.  Again, referencing Isaiah 53:5-12, "He was despised and rejected of men."

Finally, we see that Jesus had the leftovers gathered, so that "nothing may be lost."  It is significant that the amount of food that was gathered up after the event was so much more than they began with.  If you plant a seed, the harvest will be plentiful.  If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will see great results.  I also think it is significant that twelve baskets were gathered.  Many of the commentaries I read said not to read too much into this, that it only means each of the twelve disciples went out to gather broken pieces, and each of them carried his own basket.  I, however, can't help but think that the twelve baskets represents the twelve tribes of Israel, and that they were gathered that "none would be lost."  A similar thing happened in the Decapolis during the feeding of the four thousand that we read about in Matthew 15:29-39.  At the end of that event, seven baskets of broken bread were gathered.  Seven is usually the number of completeness, and the fact that these participants were non-Jews signifies that Jesus came and His body was broken for the whole world, not just the Jews.

Let's look at the next miracle.

Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.  Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the Sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come with them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  They they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  --John 6:15-21

Other Gospel accounts say that Jesus compelled the disciples to leave Him, to get in the boat and start the journey to the other side.  The other Gospel accounts also mention that, though they started out about dusk, they did not see Jesus until dawn the next day.  That means it took them six to eight hours to row halfway across the lake.  Many of the disciples were fishermen, accustomed to operating a boat and experienced on the sea.  Imagine the frustration!  Their slow progress was underscored by Jesus being able to overtake them on foot.  When Jesus arrived and got into the boat, then not only did the storm abate, but they were immediately on the other shore, at their destination.  As we apply this to our lives, we know that sometimes Jesus asks us to perform nearly impossible tasks.  We may not see that we are making much progress, if any at all; but when we see Jesus, He makes our task infinitely easier.

We also see Jesus's mastery of the physical world.  The wind and the waves obey His voice, as the disciples knew full well.  In times of fear and frustration, we need only speak His Name.  When Jesus shows up in our lives, miracles happen.

Finally, I want us to notice that in the Bible, the accounts of rivers or seas are often associated with chaos.  In Revelation 21:1 says in the New Heaven and New Earth, there will be no more sea.  Why? Because the sea is unruly, chaotic, and dangerous.  Chad Bird writes:

In the remarkable psalm which concludes the book of Habakkuk, the Lord is described as a warrior who “rode on [his] horses, and on the chariot [merkava] of salvation” (3:8). Horses and chariots, ordinarily associated with Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea, are here linked with the Lord’s saving battle for his people as he defeats rivers and seas: “Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?” (3:8).
This is one of several places, in both the OT prophets and psalms, where the Lord wages war against rivers and seas. For instance, Isaiah says the Lord will utterly destroy the Euphrates River (Isa. 11:15) and rebukes the sea (Nahum 1:4). Habakkuk echoes this with the Lord’s anger and indignation against rivers and seas.
So, you might be wondering, what does the Lord have against seas? Why does he attack rivers? Why harness horses and ride in a chariot of salvation?
Rivers and (especially) the sea are, in the Hebrew mind, iconic of chaos and disorder in the world. Historically, they are linked with the Red Sea, where the Lord exercises his authority over those waters to rescue his people and destroy their enemies.
All this is in the background when Jesus walks atop the Sea of Galilee, during a storm no less. He marches over and amidst the chaos, as the great “I am,” Yahweh incarnate. Then by his word alone he brings calm. He curbs the chaos. What’s more, he brings his disciples to the other side of the sea safely, in a Red-Sea-crossing fashion.
Jesus doesn’t just walk on water to “wow” us. He walks atop the sea of chaos to reveal that he is the same Yahweh who rode on his chariots of salvation, and who now walks in our own flesh and blood.

Next time we will discuss further how Jesus compares Himself with the manna of Moses.  He is truly the Bread of Heaven.  He is the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that led Moses and the Israelites across the Red Sea on dry ground.  He is God in the flesh.  That is the purpose of our reading about these two miracles together--because they had a significant back-story of significant importance to the Jews.   The New Testament narratives are encouraging to us, but even more so if we see the symbolism of the seder, and remember the deliverance of the Jews from Pharaoh's army.  Remember, the signs were given so that we would believe in Jesus.

The Court of Public Opinion

 

And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, "These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God."  --Revelation 3:14

We all seem to love a good courtroom drama.  The opening sets the stage, the narrative leads us to a certain conclusion, and then comes the twist--the witness at trial who proves an alternate version of the truth; or when we see a character that is not the accused who suddenly confesses to the crime. 

In reality, this almost never happens.  Every first year law student is taught that one never puts a witness on the stand unless one knows for certain what that witness is going to say.  The attorney's job is to use the witness statements to craft a narrative that will lead the jury to conclude that his theory of the case is correct, or at least compelling.  The prosecutor and the defense may have competing theories.  Indeed, they may believe with all their hearts and minds that their own version is correct.

In the fifth chapter of John we see Jesus present a beautiful defense of Himself and His purpose.  Unfortunately, knowing the hearts of His accusers, He stipulates to their unbelief.  His words are recorded for us, as if we ourselves were the jury.  We are each a jury of one, deciding for ourselves whether to believe in Jesus or in His accusers.

The Background

We have already seen early in this chapter that Jesus stands accused of profaning the Sabbath by healing a man who had been disabled for 38 years, and then telling him to pick up and carry his bedroll.  Both infractions--doing the work of healing on the Sabbath, and compelling another to labor on the Sabbath--were capital offenses.  Under strict Mosaic law, Jesus could have been taken out of the city and stoned to death.

In his opening statement, Jesus identifies Himself as the Son of God (thereby opening Himself up to a third charge, that of blasphemy).  He states that as a Son, He is following the directions of the Father.  Who dares to judge God?  Further, Jesus claims that God the Father has given Him authority to judge the world.  He concludes by saying, "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteious, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." (John 5:30)

The Case For Christ

His own Testimony

If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  --John 5:31-32.

Like anyone else, it was not enough for Jesus to simply claim things about Himself. There had to be outside and independent witness to His true identity and nature.  This principle is established by Deuteronomy 19:15, which says by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. Jesus explained to the religious leaders that even though He was God, His testimony alone was not enough.

So when Jesus says, “If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true,” it does not mean our Savior was a liar. It refers to testimony in a court of law. If I testify on my own behalf, the jury will take my testimony with a grain of salt, knowing that I may have reason to stretch/shade/spin the truth to make me look more favorable. In the same way, Jesus, if He testified about Himself in a courtroom, what He says must be true, but it is not undeniably true—one may discount His testimony because of prejudices against one’s veracity when one’s self-interest is at issue.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

You have sent to John, and He has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  --John 5:33-35

The Jewish leaders no doubt recalled the words of John the Baptist, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29).  Many of them had likely heard John preach, and some may have even submitted themselves to John's baptism.  John bore witness that Jesus was the Messiah, but they were not convinced.

Jesus pivots here, saying there are other witnesses, not just one man.  Notice He slips in here a word about His redemptive purpose.  He is not standing there speaking in order to save Himself, but rather "I say these things that you may be saved."  Here Jesus is speaking directly to the Pharisees, yes, but also to us.  How do you respond to His words?  Do you believe Him?  Do you believe in Him?

The Testimony of His Works

But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish--the very works that I do--bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  --John 5:36

In 1 Corinthians 1:22, Paul noted that miraculous signs were important to the Jews.  God had always manifested Himself through miracles.  They taught their children that God parted the Red Sea, that He provided Manna in the wilderness, and that He brought healing to the nation of Israel.  Jesus's own miracles spoke volumes on His behalf, if they would only believe.

Commentator David Guzik writes, "The majority of the miraculous works of Jesus were simple acts of compassion and mercy, done for simple and needy people. In this, these works... bear witness to the heart of God. The Jews looked for a miraculous Messiah, but they did not look for One who would express His miraculous power in simple acts of compassion and mercy. They looked for the Messiah to use miraculous power to bring military and political deliverance to Israel. Because Jesus’ miraculous works didn’t fit in with what they thought the Messiah would do, they didn’t receive this witness of Jesus’ works."

The Testimony of God Himself 

 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His words abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  --John 5:37-38

God had testified of His Son verbally when He spoke at Jesus's baptism.  God testified of His Son viscerally through signs and wonders, one of which was what started this whole thing in the first place.   God also testified of His Son in virtually every book of Scripture.

Sadly, They will not receive the testimony of the Father, because they do not have His word abiding in them. They can’t hear God the Father audibly, or see Him, but they have His word. They are guilty because they do not abide in the word that God gave them.

The Testimony of the Scriptures

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  --John 5:39-40

They studied Scripture diligently, but of no avail.  Australian New Testament scholar Leon Morris said, "They read them with a wooden and superstitious reverence for the letter, and never penetrated into the great truths to which they pointed.”  Commentator William Barclay wrote, "They read it not to search for God but to find arguments to support their own positions. They did not really love God; they loved their own ideas about him.”

The Expositor's Greek New Testament says this: The true function of Scripture is expressed in the words, ἐκεῖναί εἰσιν αἱ μαρτυροῦσαι περὶ ἐμοῦ (and they are the ones who testify about me, or they (the words) are that which testify of me): they do not give life, as the Jews thought; they lead to the life-giver. God speaks in Scripture with a definite purpose in view, to testify to Christ; if Scripture does that, it does all. But to set it on a level with Christ is to do both it, Him, and ourselves grave injustice."

Closing Arguments

I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses your--Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?  --John 5:41-47

John bore testimony of Jesus, but he was just a man.  God bore testimony of Jesus, but they did not believe God.  They would rather follow false teachers who speak eloquently or have a charismatic personality, but are not sent from God.  They did not even believe the words of Moses, whose books were contained in their Torah.

In Deuteronomy 18:15  Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.  You must listen to him."  Jesus was saying that Moses was speaking these words about Him--not about Joshua, or Elijah, or Daniel--and they did not believe.

What about you?  Do you believe?

The Deliberations

The Jewish leaders did not pick up stones to kill Jesus right there.  They let Him live.  However, I am certain that they went back to the Sanhedrin and deliberated among themselves as to whether He was the Christ.  Later, when they brought down an indictment and had Jesus arrested, He did not make any defense.  Why? Because He had made this defense, but also to fulfill the scripture.  Isaiah 53:7 says, "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth."

In the court of public opinion, Jesus was a good man, maybe a good teacher.  In the eyes of the Jewish leaders, He was a heretic, a blasphemer who needed to be executed for violating the Law of Moses.  In Christian belief, He was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

What is your verdict?  You have the evidence in front of you.  Jesus made His defense.  It is up to you whether you believe Him or not.  If you do not believe in Him, you may spend eternity separated from Him in a place prepared for the devil and his demons.  If you do believe in Him by faith, then repent and follow His commands.  It's that simple.

Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Holiness

 

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren.  He who does not love his brother abides in death.  --1 John 3:14

Billy Graham once said, "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets of our society."  Hedy Lamarr said, "I am not ashamed to say that no man I have ever met was my father's equal, and I never loved any other man as much."  Keith Urban said, "I only hope when I have my own family that every day I see a little more of my father in me."

These quotes, of course, were all said in praise of earthly fathers.  Whenever Jesus speaks of His Father, though, we get a glimpse of God for ourselves.  When the Pharisees and keepers of the Law accused Jesus of blasphemy, as we saw last time in our study of the first half of John 5, He started talking about His Father.  We left off with verse 18, "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."  The following verses expand on this connection that Jesus had with the Father.

Jesus was at risk of the Jews stoning Him to death.  Everyone was looking to Him, to see how He would give an answer for Himself.  I'm sure you could hear a pin drop.  Jesus spoke with the authority of a Rabbi, sharing three points that all start with the same phrase.  In Greek, that phrase was amen, amen.  We are taught to say "amen" after our prayers, meaning "may it be so."  Many times Jesus doubled the word for emphasis.  Most Bible translations render the phrase, "Truly, truly I say to you."  When Jesus says the double-amen three times in short succession, you can bet there is a message there that we should listen to.

What the Father does

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can to nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  --John 5:19 - 21

When the Pharisees gave Jesus the floor, ready to hear how He would defend Himself, Jesus starts talking about father/son relationships.  "Like father, like son," is a popular saying now, and this concept would have been familiar to the people to whom Jesus was speaking.

Bible Scholar FF Bruce wrote, "C.H. Dodd discerned an ‘embedded parable’ in verses 19 and 20: Jesus draws an analogy from his own boyhood experience in the carpenter’s workshop, when he learned to imitate the things he saw Joseph doing, thus serving his apprenticeship.”  Indeed, when the Jewish leaders heard Jesus start speaking in this way, many may have assumed that He was talking about how He was brought up in the house of Joseph, the man who raised Him.  Joseph was a carpenter, a trade that he would have taught Jesus.  A child would not know how to build a structure unless he saw his father do it first.  A loving father will gently correct the child's mistakes, and show them the proper way to carry out the task.

Then Jesus takes a hard turn, one that must have made the other rabbis' ears perk up.  He started talking about the Father raising the dead.  He was clearly not talking here about Joseph taking dead pieces of lumber and raising a house or a barn for living things.  He was referencing the Old Testament, where God raised the dead.  Three times in the Old Testament we read of the dead being raised.  1 Kings 17:17-22 tells of Elijah raising from the dead the son of the Zarephath widow.  In 2 Kings 4:32-35 we read of Elisha raising the son of the Shunammite woman.  And 2 Kings 13:20-21 tells of an unnamed man killed in battle; instead of taking time to bury him, the soldiers threw his body into the grave of Elisha; as soon as the body touched the bones of Elisha, the man revived.

We know from our study of the life of Jesus that He raised three people from the dead: He raised the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-15), He raised the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:41-55), and He raised Lazarus (John 11).  The Pharisees in this story did not know this as the events had likely not yet occurred.  Jesus was foreshadowing how He would do as His Father had done, and show His power over physical death.  Linguistically, there was also a bit of a double-meaning, as His ministry was specifically to raise the spiritually dead to new life in Him.

How the Father gives life

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  --John 5:22 - 24

David Guzik writes, "Jesus used the work of judgment as an example of a division of labor between the Father and the Son. It is before God the Son that people will stand on the Day of Judgment. Even during His earthly ministry, Jesus was something of a judge among humanity."  He goes on to say:

i. Just being in the presence of Jesus led one to know, “I’m not like Him.” Jesus looked at the rich young ruler, and he was judged. He looked upon Simon Peter, and he was judged. Those were not looks of anger; they were looks of love. Yet when they saw the face of Jesus they knew a love was extended to them that they were not worthy of.

ii. “Wherever Jesus was, there was the element of judgment… there was always self-reproach where Jesus was. Men were ashamed of themselves, they knew not why. His life was an unceasing act of love, and yet it was an unceasing act of judgment.” (Morrison)

This concept was already made clear to Nicodemus in John 3:16-18, and it is the second "Amen" statement Jesus makes to these religious leaders.  God loves the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  God didn't send His Son into the world to condemn us, but to bring us salvation.  So if we believe in Him, we are not condemned; but if we don't believe, we condemn ourselves to life apart from Him because we do not believe. 

Who the Father gives authority for life and death

Most assuredly I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.  I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  --John 5:25-30

This is the third truth bomb, the third "AMEN" statement Jesus makes in these verses.  Jesus, who spoke creation into existence (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2, and 11:3) will speak life to those spiritually dead, and eventually to those already in the grave, at the resurrection.  The same Father who has the power of life in Himself granted the power of life to the Son also.  Not only that, but the Father granted the Son the authority to execute judgement--calling us all to Himself, then separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46).

The voice of the Son of God - The voice is that by which we give command. Jesus raised up the dead by his command, or by his authority. When he did it he spoke, or commanded it to be done. Mark 5:41, "He took the damsel by the hand, and said, Talitha cumi." Luke 7:14, "and He came and touched the bier, and said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise." John 11:43, "He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." So it is by his command that those who are dead in sins are quickened or made alive, John 5:21.  And so at the day of judgment the dead will be raised by his command or voice. (Barnes' Notes on the Bible)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says this:

Our Lord declared his authority and character, as the Messiah. The time was come when the dead should hear his voice, as the Son of God, and live. Our Lord first refers to his raising those who were dead in sin, to newness of life, by the power of the Spirit, and then to his raising the dead in their graves. The office of Judge of all men, can only be exercised by one who has all knowledge, and almighty power. May we believe His testimony; thus our faith and hope will be in God, and we shall not come into condemnation. And may His voice reach the hearts of those dead in sin; that they may do works meet for repentance, and prepare for the solemn day.

Amen, Amen! 

Hey! Eyes Up Here, Buddy

 

He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  --Psalm 121 3b-4

In our study of John's Gospel, we have seen that the Apostle has woven together several threads that color the life of our Savior.  Jesus was described as the Word of God, the Light of the world, and the Lamb of God.  We see Him work in very intimate and personal ways: 

• He turned water into wine without the bride or bridegroom knowing about it; 
• He met with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and teacher of the Law, explaining that he must be born again;  
• He met with a Samaritan woman at a well and changed her life; and 
• He met with a member of king Herod's court who begged Jesus to come heal his son, when Jesus showed His power extends beyond time and place.  

Not only did Jesus meet people on an individual basis to meet their specific needs; He also had a very public ministry where He performed many signs and wonders: 

• He chose His disciples and took over the ministry of John the Baptist, having His disciples baptize many; 
• He cleansed the Temple; 
• He created a following that demanded more signs and more wonders, much to His consternation.

In the fifth chapter of John we see that Jesus' private ministry and His public ministry intersect.  He starts with a private conversation that leads to an individual healing.  We read about it in verses 1 - 9

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  --John 5:1-9a

The need to shift our focus

When I was in middle school, I was confused and bewildered.  Going through puberty, getting picked on at school, starting to notice girls--all the things one goes through at that age.  I didn't think my parents would understand, so I didn't want to talk with them about it.  I was a preacher's kid, so I couldn't go to my pastor. I thought I needed help, so I made an appointment with the middle school guidance counselor.

It took several days, but when they finally called me out of class to go see the counselor, it was not at all what I expected.  The man with that title apparently had other responsibilities in the school: he was in charge of attendance, of getting substitute teachers when needed, and also of replying to requests to change classes.  When I arrived in his office, he told me to take a seat, that he'd be with me in a moment.  His mind was laser-focused on what he was furiously writing in a 3-ring binder.  This was before computers (yes, I am that old), and his desk was filled with files, binders, and loose sheets of paper.

When he finally turned his attention to me, he did not look up.  "So, Mr. Stewart, I assume that you want to drop Basic Math and sign up for Intro to Algebra?"  I could only stammer, "I...guess so."  Here I was, a young person in crisis, with questions about Life, Love, and Longing; and here was a "counselor" who was focused on class sizes, class schedules, and classifying students in his myriad binders.  "The class you are dropping is third period," he said, "but Mr. Short's class that meets at that time is full.  You'll have to switch your fourth period class.  Do you mind switching to the early lunch?  I think we can make this work."  I could only nod my head, as it dawned on me that I would not get my real questions answered on this day.

This is how I see the sick man's response to Jesus's questions.  He had been ill longer than Jesus had been alive on this earth, yet I imagine him to be laser-focused on the water.  Like an avid fisherman not averting his gaze from the line, I imagine he barely looked at Jesus as He approached and tried to engage the man in conversation.  I could be wrong, but his answers seem rote to me--he was sick of having to tell the same story over and over, and he didn't want to miss an opportunity to rush down to the mineral water when the pool started bubbling up.

"Do you want to be made well?"  Those words seem foolish to us.  The man had been in that condition for almost four decades, and he was in a place where there was some hope of healing, however small.  "Don't You see I'm trying?" the man responds.  "I'm here by myself, with no one to help me.  So when the opportunity arises I try with all my might, but the prize always goes to another."  You can hear the frustration, the angst.

Jesus heard him. 

You may go to church every Sunday.  You may read your Bible and pray regularly.  If Jesus spoke to you audibly, and asked you, "Do you want to be made whole?" or "Do you want to be delivered and set free?" what would your answer be?  "I come to church every time the doors are opened," you might say in response.  "I volunteer for the choir, serve on the benevolence committee, and teach a children's Sunday School class.  But sometimes it seems like my prayers never get past the ceiling, and my efforts leave me frustrated and unfulfilled."

Jesus hears you.

Fittingly, the name of the pool where Jesus met the man was called Bethesda, which means House of Grace.  Jesus doesn't give up just because the man was not giving Him his full attention.  "Get up, pick up your bed, and walk," Jesus commands.  That, I think, is when the man actually looked up and saw Jesus.  Suddenly, he felt strength he hadn't felt since he was a kid.  He was energized, motivated, and obedient.  He picked up his bed and looked for Jesus, perhaps so he could thank Him.  Jesus had slipped away, disappearing into the crowd.

The plot thickens

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk'." Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward, Jesus found him in the Temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His father, making Himself equal with God.  --John 5:9b-18

Not being able to thank Jesus directly, the man went directly to the Temple to thank God for his healing.  As he approached the Temple grounds, he was stopped by some Jews, probably religious leaders, maybe even Pharisees.  They gave the man a stern warning.  "Hey, you," they said, "don't you know you're not supposed to do any work on the Sabbath?"

Sabbath Regulations

The fourth commandment is to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  This command is followed by commentary in Exodus 20:9-11, "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.  In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that was in them, and rested the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."  Further, Moses said in Exodus 31:14-15 that anyone who does any work on the Sabbath shall be put to death, or at the very least cut off from his people.

Those are some pretty severe consequences, and therefor the Pharisees over the years had many discussions about what constitutes work.  Not wanting to break God's command or be in danger of being cut off or even put to death, they had traditions that became pretty ridiculous in the extreme:

• “The Rabbis of Jesus’ day solemnly argued that a man was sinning if he carried a needle in his robe on the Sabbath. They even argued as to whether he could wear his artificial teeth or his wooden leg.” (Barclay)
• The absolute devotion to the traditions of man surrounding the Sabbath can’t be understated. For example, Deuteronomy 23:12-14 tells Israel to practice good sanitation when their armies are camped. Ancient rabbis applied the same principle to the city of Jerusalem, which they regarded as “the camp of the Lord.” When this was combined with Sabbath travel restrictions, it resulted in a prohibition against going to the bathroom on the Sabbath. (David Guzik)
• This devotion to the rabbis’ interpretation of the Sabbath law continues in modern times. An example is found in an April 1992 news item: Tenants let three apartments in an Orthodox neighborhood in Israel burn to the ground while they asked a rabbi whether a telephone call to the fire department on the Sabbath would violate Jewish law. Observant Jews are forbidden to use the phone on the Sabbath, because doing so would break an electrical current, which is considered a form of work. In the half-hour it took the rabbi to decide “yes,” the fire spread to two neighboring apartments. (Guzik)

THAT'S what you heard?

When the man was confronted with doing unlawful work on the Sabbath, he explained that he had been infirm and bedridden for 38 years, but that he had been healed that very day, and the Man who healed him told him to pick up his bed and walk.  This shifted the rabbis' focus, but not in the way you would think. Lightfoot writes, “Whosoever on the Sabbath bringeth anything in, or taketh anything out from a public place to a private one, if he hath done this inadvertently, he shall sacrifice for his sin; but if willfully, he shall be cut off and shall be stoned.”  On the other hand, “Inciting others to break the law (as they understood it) was worse than breaking it oneself. Therefore they launched a campaign against Jesus which was not relaxed until his death some eighteen months later.” (Bruce)

So instead of rejoicing with the man that he had been miraculously healed after decades of being unable to walk, let alone work, the rabbis started investigating who had made this outlandish demand of the man.  This is one reason I think the man never really looked at Jesus.  If he had, he would have known, as Jesus was well-known in Jerusalem.

Jesus finds the man and begins to disciple him

There were tens of thousands of visitors to Jerusalem for this feast (we don't know which feast it was--it's not important to John's story here).  The chances were low for two people to randomly meet someone in the Temple area that they had seen outside the Temple.  However, Jesus somehow finds this gentleman and greets him.  Notice He does not make small talk.  He doesn't say, "How's it going?  Legs working okay for you?"  Instead, Jesus gives the man instructions in life and righteousness.  "It's good you are at the Temple, for it was God who made you well.  Now make sure you live a life of repentance, so that God's work in you was not in vain."

Jesus seeks us out after we receive a blessing, to make sure we are continuing to walk in His grace.  Jesus warned the man that something worse may befall him if he fails to live a life of repentance.  What could be worse than being disabled for 38 years?  I don't think Jesus was threatening hell, although that would certainly be a fate worse than sickness.  It would be a tragedy for someone to be miraculously healed then not trust Jesus as Savior and Lord.  Another outcome that might be worse than a lifetime of illness would be to be graciously healed then fail to share that grace with others.

Having seen Jesus and recognizing Him as the One by whom he was healed, the man goes to tell the Rabbis.  I don't think he was intentionally betraying Jesus to the authorities, but was rather acting as a witness of Jesus's grace and power.  Unfortunately, the Jewish leaders did not see it that way.

The Pharisees start building a case against Jesus

In the view of the Rabbis, Jesus had profaned the Sabbath.  Not only that, He had directed someone else to break the Sabbath.  They knew that Jesus already had a sizable following--not only the Disciples, but the throngs of people who followed Him and hung on His every word.  If they all started playing fast and loose with the Law of Moses, they feared a spiritual insurrection.  Sure, they may have feared for the peoples' safety, as the Law proscribed death as a penalty for profaning the Sabbath.  They may have been concerned for the peoples' spiritual condition, for ignoring one part of God's commands is a slippery slope--once you start questioning the Sabbath regulations, how long before you start breaking the other commandments with impunity?  More likely, however, was that the Pharisees enjoyed their position of power, and Jesus threatened their elevated position.

Jesus starts poking the bear

In verse 17 Jesus gives the Pharisees an answer that He must surely know will infuriate them.  "My Father," He says, "has been working until now, and I have likewise been working."  A venerated rabbi, Philo of Alexandria (who was a contemporary of Jesus and of whose teachings the Pharisees in Jerusalem would have been familiar) wrote, "God never ceases working; but as to burn is the property of fire, and to be cold is the property of snow, thus also to work is the property of God, and much the more, inasmuch as He is the origin of action for all others”

 Moses said in Genesis that God "rested" on the seventh day during the work of creation.  However, God's "rest" was for us to use as an example, but it does not mean that God ceases all of His work on the seventh day.  Without God exercising power and working His will in the universe, the entire Creation would spiral out of control.  The Jewish leaders knew this, and they understood it.

What really made them mad, however, was not the assertion that God worked on the Sabbath, but that Jesus said He does His Father's work as well.  Just who did Jesus think He was?  Was He equating Himself with God Almighty?  This was worse than breaking the Sabbath; this was blasphemy.

As I was researching this passage, I read this from Barnes' Notes On The Bible:

The answer of Jesus was suited greatly to irritate them. He did not deny what he had done, but he "added" to that what he well knew would highly offend them. That he should claim the right of dispensing with the law, and affirm that, in regard to its observance, he was in the same condition with God, was eminently suited to enrage them, and he doubtless knew that it might endanger his life. We may learn from his answer:

1.  that we are not to keep back truth because it may endanger us.
2.  that we are not to keep back truth because it will irritate and enrage sinners. The fault is not in the "truth," but in the "sinner."
3. that when any one portion of truth enrages hypocrites, they will be enraged the more they hear.

Whenever we have an opportunity to speak truth to power, we should follow the example Jesus gave us.  There may be consequences, but we should be willing to suffer them for the sake of the truth.  Today in many large cities in the United States, protesters will hold political rallies.  Their rallying cry will be "No Kings."  They believe that they are speaking truth to power, as they perceive the current President as usurping Constitutional limitations.  I wonder, though, whether any of them would support a counter argument: No King But Christ.  Sadly, I feel that if a preacher were to find himself in one of these rallies, upholding Christ as King, he might be shouted down.  Worse, he may be persecuted for speaking this truth to the counter-culture.  Should this threat of persecution deter the preacher?  No, not if he wants to be like Christ.  He should call people to re-focus, to not look to the right or to the left, but to look up.  We should encourage folks to turn their eyes toward Jesus, to look full in His wonderful face; then the things of earth will turn strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. 

Interpreting signs, unwinding wonders

 

For the Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."  --1 Corinthians 1:22-24

 The story goes that a prisoner was transferred to a new prison.  On his first night there he was sitting in his cell and he hears another inmate down the hall shout out, "Number 23!"  He hears a few chuckles up and down the ward.  Someone else says, "Number 31!"  A bunch of the men on the ward laugh out loud.  Another shouts, "Number 17!" and the entire cell block erupts in laughter.  The newbie asks his cellmate what was going on.  He explains that the prisoners have all told the same jokes for so long, that whenever one of them wants to tell a joke, he just shouts out the number.

The new prisoner, wanting to fit in, takes his shot.  "Number 14!" he shouts.  This is met with dead silence.  Again, the new prisoner is puzzled.  He asks his cellmate why nobody laughed.  The old-timer shrugs his shoulders.  "It's all in the delivery," he says.

When we read our text today in John 4:43-54, it may seem to us that something might be missing.  Let's take a look together.

Context Clues

Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  --John 4:43-45

Let's stop here for now. At first glance, it looks like John is glossing over some events without giving any context.  This is probably because John's Gospel was written last, and his readers would be familiar with the story of Jesus's first attempt at teaching in Nazareth (in the Southern region of Galilee) as told in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Here is what Matthew's Gospel records:

Jesus's first sermon in Nazareth

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  --Matthew 13:53-58

Mark 6:1-5 recounts the same scenario almost word-for-word, with the addition of, "And He marveled because of their unbelief."  Luke, however, goes into the most detail.  He reminds us that Jesus grew up in Nazareth.  When He spoke at the synagogue there, Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah, reading a passage that indicated God had sent Him and anointed Him "to preach the gospel to the poor," and to "heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

The response was underwhelming.  The people asked one another, "Is this not the carpenter? Isn't this Joseph's son?  Don't we know His mother Mary, and all His brothers and sisters?"  Jesus answered them by saying, "You will surely say this proverb to Me: 'Physician, heal yourself!'  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country." 

Then He said, "Assuredly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.'  So all those in the synagogue, when they hear these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  --Luke 4:24-30

What a traumatic response to His message!  Not only would the people of Nazareth not listen to Him, but they tried to kill Him right then and there.  

Jesus goes back to Galilee, not expecting much

We looked at the background of Jesus having visited Galilee before.  We saw the context of the phrase, "Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country."  Moving on in our text in John 4, we see in verse 45 that when He went back the second time into Galilee, He was well received--not because of who He was (the Son of God) or that they believed, but that they had seen him perform many signs and miracles down in Jerusalem.  To them He was a source of entertainment, a carnival side-show.

Now, remember last time we saw that He was accepted in Samaria for His words alone.  There was no miracle done there--no turning water into wine as He had done in Cana of Galilee, no signs and wonders as He had done in Jerusalem.  How He must have longed for His words to have the same effect in His hometown of Nazareth, and throughout all of the region.  How He longed for people to believe in Him without His having to perform signs and wonders.

Jesus had the blues

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." -- John 4:46-48

Was Jesus feeling used?  Did it seem that His sermons were like preaching to a brick wall?  We see from the passage in Isaiah that Jesus had quoted to them the first time He was there what His purpose was on earth. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," He read, "because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19, quoting Isaiah 49:8-9)

The people needed to hear good news, because they were poor in spirit.  They needed their broken hearts mended, not just their broken bodies.  They needed freedom from the oppression of sin, not political freedom from the oppression of Rome.  The year of Jubilee had come, and they couldn't see it.  All they could see was their physical situation--their hunger, their sicknesses, their political servitude.

One man's troubles

So there was this man, described in the text as "a nobleman" who lived in Capernaum, about 20-25 miles from Cana.  Some commentaries say this man may have had a Jewish upbringing, and that he may have served in Herod's court, since Herod was the Tetrarch (sometimes translated "king") of Galilee.  This man had a son who was on his deathbed.

When the man heard that Jesus was in Galilee, he made the seven-hour walk (uphill, I'm told) to Cana to ask Jesus for help.  We don't know what words he used to try to convince Jesus to "come down (to Capernaum) and heal his son."  He may have admitted, "Listen, Jesus, I don't know what magic incantations or potions You use; I don't understand the voodoo that You do.  I just know that if You come and lay Your hands on my son, he will be healed."  To this, Jesus responded "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."

Painting with a broad brush

Jesus may have lumped this man in with everyone else, or He may have had a larger audience listening to Him there.  We do know that the Greek word He used for "you" is plural.  In certain regions of the U.S., He might have said "you guys."  In the South, He would be translated "all y'all."  He wasn't picking on this one man so much as issuing an indictment to all who saw Him there, expecting Him to do those signs and wonders they saw Him do in Jerusalem.

We see this happen in other times in Jesus's ministry.  Later, we read in John 6:30, "Therefore they said to Him, 'What sign will you perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?'"  Even after His resurrection, when Thomas witnessed His resurrected body and believed, Jesus told him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

CS Lewis once wrote, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."  If we are distracted by signs, we miss the point entirely.  We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved."

Jesus would not always physically be around to be at their beck and call.  Did they believe in Him enough to pray to Him after He had ascended?  Is the Jesus that you believe in powerful enough to heal from heaven?

The man gets good news

Not understanding Jesus's words, the nobleman reiterates his purpose, and in his statement we see his heart.  "Sir," he says earnestly, "come down before my child dies!"  Jesus doesn't answer him the way he expected.  John Piper preached a sermon on this passage; you can read it here desiringgod.org/messages/go-your-son-will-live.  Here's what Piper had to say:

Verse 49, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Neither Jesus nor John comments on the man’s sincerity. Jesus simply gives him a gift. Verse 50: Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” John says (still in verse 50), “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” What is remarkable about this is that the man had asked Jesus to come with him. But when Jesus simply spoke, “Go; your son will live,” the man obeyed without a question. He believed and went. He did not insist on seeing the miracle. He did not complain that Jesus would not come with him. And amazingly, he simply left, John says, believing. I’m inclined to think that in that moment of seeing Jesus speak so sovereignly in spite of his accusations, something awakened in the man. He saw something more than a miracle-worker.

The man believed Jesus, and went on his way.  He even spent the night in Cana: rather than rushing home, we see that the man met his servants on the road the next day.  "Your son lives!" they exclaimed when they saw him.  The man's response contained more than just joy that his son was healed.  It reveals a true belief in Jesus.  "What time did he recover?" he wanted to know.  The servants were undoubtedly confused by this question.  They probably looked at each other and shrugged.  "About the seventh hour," they answered.  

The nobleman knew that this was the time that Jesus had spoken.  Jesus spoke healing.  He did not have to come down, or lay His hands on the boy.  If He could do that with a word, He could certainly speak the world into existence. From that moment on, the man was changed.  He believed, and his whole household followed.  Why? Because the man bore witness of the power of Jesus.  Jesus speaks, sickness disappears.  Jesus speaks, the wind and waves obey Him.  Jesus speaks, and God has come down to man to forgive us and cleanse us and give us new life.

I found a fellow blogger named David McLemore.  He writes "Jesus, the gospel, and things of the sort."  He writes on this passage:

Maybe you’re coming to Jesus for a better life in some way. Jesus wants you to think that through. We all want relief, but do we even know what relief is possible in him? Are we, as C.S. Lewis once said, playing with mud pies in a slum when Jesus offers us a holiday at sea? What if there is a greater miracle Jesus can do in us? Maybe we don’t have a sick son that needs healing, but we all have some need only Jesus can meet. And I hope you’re asking him to help. But how are you asking? Are you even asking? Or are you demanding? What limits are you putting on Jesus? This man wanted Jesus to come to his house, but Jesus had another way to heal. He wasn’t even aware of that category. Are you like that? Will you allow Jesus to deal with you on his own terms? Will you trust him to handle things his way?

We read in Hebrews 2;3-4, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?"  What will your response be to Him?