Category: The Gospel of John

“So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true. Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” (John 8:13)

John 8 showcases an extensive dialogue between Jesus and the religious leaders who He encountered at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:45). As the final day of the feast featured a festival of lights, so Jesus used this occasion to preach and teach that He was the fulfillment of the feast by being the light of the world (John 8:12). The Jewish religious leaders, specifically the chief priests and the Pharisees, were not accepting Jesus’ testimony.

The Pharisees could not, and would not, accept Jesus’ testimony about Himself. They told Him that His witness was not legal under Mosaic Law and therefore was not true or acceptable. Their reasoning was based on the principle that at least two witnesses were needed in a legal setting to accept a claim or testimony (see Deuteronomy 19:15).

The Jews mockingly brought up Jesus’ own words from John 5:31. How does He meet this statement by His opponents? Jesus does not dismiss the human proverb that “self-praise is no praise,” but He affirms that He was an exception to the rule, or rather, that it did not apply to Him.  Remember also that Jesus insisted that John the Baptist gave witness to the validity of Jesus’ testimony (John 5:32-35 along with Jesus’ own works (5:36), God the Father (5:37-38) and the Scriptures (5:39-47).

In John 8:14-18 Jesus gives three reasons that His testimony about Himself was true. First, Jesus knew his origin and destiny while the Jews were ignorant even of basic spiritual truths, making their judgment limited and superficial (vv. 14–15). Second, the intimate union of the Son with the Father guaranteed the truth of the Son’s witness (v. 16). Third, the Father and Son witnessed together regarding the identity of the Son (vv. 17–18).

Puritan Matthew Henry writes, “Did not Moses and all the prophets bear witness of themselves when they avouched themselves to be God’s messengers? Did not the Pharisees ask John Baptist, What sayest thou of thyself? They overlooked the testimony of all the other witnesses, which corroborated the testimony he (Jesus) bore of himself. Had he only borne record of himself, his testimony had indeed been suspicious, and the belief of it might have been suspended; but his doctrine was attested by more than two or three credible witnesses, enough to establish every word of it.”

The credibility of Jesus’ testimony as to His identity is also aligned with the credible witness of His resurrection. I Corinthians 15:1-7 says, “ Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

The testimony of Jesus identity and ministry is overwhelming. We have a trustworthy Savior Who is Who He says He is and Who has done what the Bible says He has done.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Jesus said “I am the light of the world.” This is the second of Jesus’ seven metaphorical “I AM” statements contained in the Gospel of John.  The first was “I Am the Bread of Life” (John 6:20). The phrase “I Am” is from the Greek words ego eimi. This particular phrase is found 23  times in the Gospel of John (John 4:26; 6:20, 35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 18, 24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5; 18:5, 6, 8). It refers the reader back to Exodus 3:14 and is an explicit statement by Jesus that He is God. It is also here, as in John 6, that Jesus will join His “I Am” statement with a metaphor, or a comparison, which expresses His redeeming relationship to the fallen world.

It is important not to forget the immediate grammatical context in which we find John 8:12. We have noted that John 7:53–8:11 was more than likely not originally found in the location where it appears in most of our English translations of the Gospel of John. That additionally means that John 8:12–20 occurs right after John 7:52.

The importance of this observation is that Jesus’ “light of the world” discourse would have occurred at the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. During the seven day festival, except for the last day, the great candelabras in the temple were lit, resulting in much rejoicing under their light. By announcing that He Himself the light of the world, Jesus was pronouncing that He fulfills the Feast of Booths. He is the light under whom people can truly rejoice. He is the presence of God who guided the people of Israel in the wilderness, the journey that the festival commemorated (Ex. 13:21; Lev. 23:33–43).

The result of this declaration is a promise Jesus gives. “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” We see here a preceding causal statement (“Whoever follows me”), followed by two effects (“will not walk in darkness” and “but will have the light of life.”

The word follow, “ἀκολουθέω; akoloutheo, means to be a committed and exclusive follower to the one followed. The word contains the idea of a complete commitment and not a half-hearted one (Matthew 8:18-22; 10:38-39). It is to be a present and active act on the part of the disciple.

The first effect, or promise, is that such a follower of Christ “will not walk in darkness.” To walk (περιπατέω; peripateo) means to live. Darkness (σκοτία; scotia) represents the evil and fallen world. Therefore, to walk in darkness means to continually live a life patterned by sin and rebellion to God. Those who follow Christ and possess His light of salvation, will live a life consistent with the light.

I John 1:5-7 says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

The second effect, or promise, is that such a follower of Christ “will have the light of life.”  Possessing salvation and blessing from God (i.e. light) is not the result of not walking in darkness but rather the cause of such. As such, there is a growing light of holiness which occurs in the soul of the believer.

The Apostle John explains it this way in I John 2:7-8: “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.”

The passing darkness and the shining light is not only in the world, but also within the soul of each believer who is fully committed in following the Lord and living for Him and for His glory. As each of us increasingly seeks to honor and live for Christ, the darkness within us, and by extension within the world, recedes a little bit more. Additionally, it only takes a little bit of light to cause darkness to flee.

John Calvin explains, “For when we learn that all who allow themselves to be governed by Christ are out of danger of going astray, we ought to be excited to follow Him, and indeed, by stretching out His hand, as it were, He draws us to Him. We ought also to be powerfully affected by so large and magnificent a promise, that they who shall direct their eyes to Christ are certain that, even in the midst of darkness, they will be preserved from going astray; and that not only for a short period, but until they have finished their course.”

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Live boldly for Christ today, beloved. Glorify Him by the light He has given you. Become an agent of light in a world of darkness.

Soli deo Gloria!

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Jesus said “I am the light of the world.” This is the second of Jesus’ seven metaphorical “I AM” statements contained in the Gospel of John.  The first was “I Am the Bread of Life” (John 6:20). The phrase “I Am” is from the Greek words ego eimi. This particular phrase is found 23  times in the Gospel of John (John 4:26; 6:20, 35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 18, 24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5; 18:5, 6, 8). It refers the reader back to Exodus 3:14 and is an explicit statement by Jesus that He is God. It is also here, as in John 6, that Jesus will join His “I Am” statement with a metaphor, or a comparison, which expresses His redeeming relationship to the fallen world.

It is important not to forget the immediate grammatical context in which we find John 8:12. We have noted that John 7:53–8:11 was more than likely not originally found in the location where it appears in most of our English translations of the Gospel of John. That additionally means that John 8:12–20 may occur right after John 7:52.

The importance of this observation is that Jesus’ “light of the world” discourse would have occurred at the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. During the seven day festival, except for the last day, the great candelabras in the temple were lit, resulting in much rejoicing under their light.

Dr. R. C. Sproul explains that this information, “gives us additional background for today’s passage, which records words that Jesus would have spoken on either the last day of the Feast of Booths or shortly thereafter. By proclaiming Himself the light of the world, Jesus was announcing that He fulfills the Feast of Booths. He is the light under whom people can rejoice truly, the presence of God who guided the people of Israel in the wilderness, the journey that the festival commemorated (Ex. 13:21; Lev. 23:33–43).

What does the word “light” biblically mean? The word “light” appears in the Old Testament as representing several different things. It is a metaphor for the salvation that the Lord provides to His people (Psalm 27:1). It also symbolizes the guidance the law of God offers (Psalm 119:105). Isaiah 42:5–9 uses light as a representation of Israel and, preeminently, the Servant of Israel, who are given to the nations for the sake of blessing.

All of these Old Testament usages for the word “light” are fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, as the light of the world, Jesus Christ is the only source of salvation, the only true guidance for His covenant people, and the only source of blessing to the fallen world.

John Calvin comments that, “It is a beautiful commendation of Christ, when He is called the light of the world; for since we are all blind by nature, a remedy is offered by which we may be freed and rescued from darkness and made partakers of the true light. Nor is it only to one person or to another that this benefit is offered, for Christ declares that He is the light of the whole world; for by this universal statement He intended to remove the distinction, not only between Jews and Gentiles, but between the learned and ignorant, between persons of distinction and the common people.”

I’m sure you remember these familiar words. Reflect on their truths, especially your former blindness and your need for the light which only Jesus brings.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,                                                                                         that saved a wretch like me.                                                                                                                I once was lost, but now am found.                                                                                              Was blind, but now I see.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11)

We return today to our study of the Gospel of John. In reviewing the scene we witnessed in John 8:1-9, the Jewish religious leaders either sought to force Jesus into denying the Mosaic law, or break with Roman law regarding capital punishment. They attempted to do this by bringing before Him a woman caught in adultery (John 7:53–8:5).

However, this was not an appropriate legal proceeding, for the Mosaic Law called for the execution of both the man and the woman in cases of adultery (Lev. 20:10). Jesus delayed the leaders momentarily in bending down to write something (we’re not sure what) in the dirt (John 8:6).

As the religious leaders continued to pressure Jesus for an answer they hoped would entrap Him, Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7).

Dr. R. C. Sproul explains, “His (Jesus’) response was masterful. He did not reject the Mosaic Law and its prescribed punishment, for He called for a stone to be thrown. But He did not claim for the Jews any right to contravene the laws of their Roman occupiers. If they were ready to enforce the law, the qualified accuser should go first.”

Dr. Sproul continues by saying, “Jesus was not saying that one must be perfectly sinless in order to bring a legal accusation against another person. In capital cases, witnesses had to be absolutely sure of the accused’s guilt; otherwise, if the accused were innocent, the accuser would receive the punishment the accused would deserve (Deut. 19:15–21). Given that the religious authorities here applied justice selectively and wanted only to trap Jesus, they almost certainly had not followed the process required in Jewish law to confirm what they had seen when they found the woman in sin. They were not without sin in this case, and if there were any doubt about the woman’s guilt, they ought to have refrained from stoning her lest the same punishment fall on them when it was discovered they had not followed procedure. So, the accusers all went away because they had all failed (John 8:8–9).

One of the truths illustrated in this story is that justice should always be balanced with mercy. When we encounter someone who has sinned against us, we must always remember that we ourselves are also sinners and in need of the same divine grace that hopefully we dispense.

When Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more, He was not denying the law. While execution was the stiffest penalty for adultery, it was not mandatory. A ransom price could be paid (Exodus 21:28-32). Likewise, while the wages of our sin merit death (Romans 6:23), Jesus paid a ransom to God the Father in order to secure our salvation (Mark 10:45). In fact, He Himself is our ransom.

Finally, when Jesus told the woman to go and “sin no more” He was not saying that she would then live a sinless life. He was not teaching that anyone could live a sinless life. Rather, the literal meaning to what He said was “Leave your life of sin.” This could very well imply that the woman was a prostitute.

I John 2:1-6 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

A true follower of Christ seeks to consistently live a life of holiness. God calls us to obey His commandments. When we sin, and we will, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. This truth should not diminish the seriousness of our sin, but rather elevate our thanks and praise to God for His gracious forgiveness.

As you confess your sins to God today (I John 1:8-10), thank Him for His gracious forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Soli deo Gloria!

“And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.” (John 8:7-9).

It should be noted at this time that John 7:53 – 8:11 is not found in the earliest manuscripts we possess of the Gospel of John. Dr. John MacArthur provides a very thoughtful explanation as to this portion of Scripture.

This section dealing with the adulteress most likely was not a part of the original contents of John. It has been incorporated into various manuscripts at different places in the Gospel (e.g., after vv. 36, 44, 52, or 21:25), while one manuscript places it after Luke 21:38. External manuscript evidence representing a great variety of textual traditions is decidedly against its inclusion, for the earliest and best manuscripts exclude it. Many manuscripts mark the passage to indicate doubt as to its inclusion. Significant early versions exclude it. No Greek Church father comments on the passage until the twelfth century. The vocabulary and style of the section also are different from the rest of the Gospel, and the section interrupts the sequence of John 7:52with 8:12ff. Many, however, do think that it has all the earmarks of historical veracity, perhaps being a piece of oral tradition that circulated in parts of the Western church, so that a few comments are in order. In spite of all these considerations of the likely unreliability of this section, it is possible to be wrong on the issue, and thus it is good to consider the meaning of this passage and leave it in the text, just as with Mark 16:9–20.”

Dr. R. C. Sproul explains that, “We must note that whether John actually recorded this story is up for debate. Most biblical scholars do not believe this is a Johannine text because it is not found in many of the oldest New Testament manuscripts. Moreover, the manuscripts that do have the story do not all agree on where it should be placed. Some manuscripts have it in other places in John, while some even have it in the gospel of Luke. Nevertheless, it is an ancient story referenced in several of the earliest church fathers, and the church has long held that it records an authentic episode from the life of Christ. Thus, we agree with John Calvin that since the passage “contains nothing unworthy of an Apostolic Spirit, there is no reason why we should refuse to apply it to our advantage.”

All of that being said, the text records Jesus’ response to the continued badgering by the Sadducees and Pharisees regarding the woman. He finally responds by saying, ““Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

This is a direct reference to Deuteronomy 13:9 and 17:7. Both texts indicate that when an execution is about to begin, only those who were not guilty of the same crime or sin may participate in the execution.

Jesus once again bends down and writes on the ground. Perhaps this was a delaying tactic which gave the leaders time to think and consider their actions. However, after hearing Jesus’ words, one by one they began to leave the scene with eventually Jesus and the woman together while in the midst of the crowd at the temple.

John Calvin writes that, “Beginning from the eldest, even to the last, that according as each them surpassed the others in honorable rank, they were more quickly moved by His (Jesus’) condemnation. We ought also to observe how widely this conviction of sin, by which the scribes were affected, differs from true repentance. For we ought to be affected by the judgment of God in such a manner, that we shall not seek a place of concealment to avoid the presence of the Judge, but rather shall go direct to Him in order to implore His forgiveness.”

There is nothing better for any sinner to come to Christ in total surrender. If you need to be forgiven, and who doesn’t, flee to the forgiveness Christ provides for sinner and saint alike.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

“They said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.” (John 8:4-6)

The Sadducees and Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus while He was sitting and teaching in the Temple. No information is given as to how these religious leaders happened to catch the woman in the very act of adultery? Did they set up the whole scenario? We do not know. Additionally, where is the man she was with? No mention is made of him, either by John, the religious leaders or Jesus.

The religious leaders immediately wanted to know what Jesus would say about this situation. They referenced the Law of Moses that such women were to be stoned. The Old Testament references may have been Leviticus 20:10 and or Deuteronomy 22:22-24.

Leviticus 20:10 says, “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

Deuteronomy 22:22-24 says, “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

However, even the casual observer must note that in both Old Testament references, the law indicates that both parties engaged in adultery were to be put to death. In the case of the situation recorded in John 8, only the woman is brought before Jesus. Where was the man who committed adultery with her? His absence, and John’s editorial comment that this was all a test in order to arrest Jesus, reveals the utter hypocrisy of the Sadducees and Pharisees.

Pastor Burk Parsons comments that, “John 8:6 confirms that these leaders were not concerned with justice. They brought the woman to Jesus to test Him, asking whether they should execute her as the law demands. From a human perspective, this put Jesus in a predicament. If He were to deny that she deserved death, He could be accused of taking the law lightly and might lose much of His Jewish audience. If He were to call for her execution, the religious authorities could complain to the Roman government that controlled the Holy Land that Jesus was calling for the Jews to do something only the Romans could do in that day, namely, enforce capital punishment. Seeing their trap, Jesus crouched down and began writing in the dirt, making them wait for His answer (v. 6).

We do not know what Jesus wrote on the ground and it is unwise to speculate. John Calvin writes, “By this, Jesus stooping down and writing on the ground, He intended to show that He despised them. Those who conjecture that He wrote this or the other thing, in my opinion, do not understand this meaning. For Christ rather intended, by doing nothing, to show how unworthy they were of being heard; just as if any person, while another was speaking to him, were to draw lines on the wall, or to turn his back, or to show, by any other sign, that he was to attending to what was said.”

Calvin concludes by saying, “Thus in the present day, when Satan attempts, by various methods, to draw us aside from the right way of teaching, we ought disdainfully to pass by many things which he holds out to us.”

Pastor Burk Parson’s writes, “Deuteronomy 16:20 stresses that the judges in ancient Israel were to pursue justice and only justice. The religious authorities who brought the adulterous woman before Jesus didn’t care about justice, for they went after the woman only and not the man she was sleeping with as well. As God’s people, we must be concerned with justice, with making sure that the innocent are protected and the guilty held accountable.”

Soli deo Gloria!

“Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst.” (John 8:2-3).

The contrast between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders continues to be John’s focus as the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel continues. Following a night of presumed prayer on the Mount of Olives, early the next morning Jesus comes once again to the temple. The people, like the sheep they symbolically were, flocked to Him. Jesus, like the Good Shepherd He is, sat down and taught them.

On the other hand, following a night of presumed plotting and renewed efforts to arrest Jesus, the Scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and placed her in the midst of the crowd and Jesus. No information is given as to how they discovered this woman’s adultery or where the man was who committed adultery with her. The religious leader’s intention will become clearer as the text unfolds.

Dr. R. C. Sproul explains, “Right away, astute observers will notice that something is amiss. It takes two people to commit an act of physical adultery, and if the woman was caught in the act, a man would have been caught as well. Where is he? The text does not say, but the very fact that only the woman is charged shows that these religious leaders were not concerned with the law. Both the man and the woman were to be punished when they were guilty of adultery (Lev. 20:10), but the scribes and the Pharisees sought to condemn only the woman.”

While Jesus is sitting down to teach the people the Word of God, the religious leaders place a woman in their midst who they condemn as having broken the Word of God. Jesus is concerned with teaching, while the religious leaders are only interested in condemning: the woman and Jesus. While Jesus is the embodiment of justice, the Sadducees and Pharisees embody injustice.

Who do we most identify with? Of what people group from this text do we most compare ourselves? Do we identify ourselves with Jesus in seeking to be Christ-like in all we do? Or what about the people who listened to His teaching? Are we more like them?

Are we like the adulterous woman? Are we in need of God’s forgiveness and restoration? Or are we more like the religious leaders: condemning other people by our own self-righteousness while at the same time ignoring our own sinfulness?

Our personal answers to these questions will impact our understanding and application of this text. There is much more to come from the account of the Woman Caught in Adultery. I trust you will make every effort to continue to join me each day as we study His Word.

Soli deo Gloria!

“They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.” (John 7:53-8:1).

As indicated yesterday, the Feast of the Tabernacles came to its conclusion. So too, for the time being anyway, did the Sadducees and Pharisees conclude their efforts to arrest Jesus. Today’s text refers to the religious leaders going back to their respective homes. You get the impression that they went to their homes thinking that tomorrow was another day in which to plot and plan anew their intent to arrest and kill Jesus. As we will witness in John 8:1-11, it would not take them long.

Jesus, however, went to the Mount of Olives. We may observe a contrast concerning Jesus and the religious leaders.

First, they went to their respective homes. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. He had no physical home or house in which to spend the night.

Second, it can be speculated that the religious leaders spent the night plotting their next effort to trap Jesus in order to arrest Him. John 8:2-11 will support this conclusion. In contrast, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives presumably to pray. Luke 21:37-38 indicates that this was His common practice.

Dr. John Walvoord explains that, “It might have been the Lord’s ordinary custom from the beginning to leave the brilliant misery of the city every night, that so He might compose His sorrowful and interceding heart, and collect His energies for new labors of love; preferring for His resting-place Bethany, and the Mount of Olives, the scene thus consecrated by many preparatory prayers for His final humiliation and exaltation.”

Today’s text may also be a contrast between the false shepherds of Israel, the Sadducees and Pharisees, and the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Why were people who were so religious at the same so intent on destroying the very One who was the fulfillment of their religion? The Prophet Ezekiel shares the possible answer in Ezekiel 34:1-11.

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them. “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.”

The LORD’s stinging rebuke of Israel’s kings through the prophet may also be applied to Israel’s religious leaders during Jesus’ days of ministry. The Sadducees and Pharisees true identity as false shepherds is in contrast to Jesus’ true identity as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-16). Their desire to kill Him is in contrast with Jesus’ desire to die on behalf of sinners like them.

Jesus gave His own warning against false shepherds. In Matthew 7:15-20. He said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

What was true in Ezekiel’s and Jesus’ day remains so in our own. There are many so-called spiritual leaders who are in reality false shepherds. They are only interested in preying upon believers in Christ, instead of praying for them. They are only interested in feeding themselves instead of feeding the flock of God’s people. Jesus said we will know them by their fruits.

Pray for and encourage pastors and religious leaders who are truly doing the work God has called them to do.

Soli deo Gloria!

“They went each to his own house,” (John 7:53).

As the Feast of the Tabernacles came to its conclusion, so too, for the time being anyway, did the Sadducees and Pharisees plot to arrest Jesus. Today’s text refers to the religious leaders going back to their respective homes. You get the impression that they went to their homes thinking that tomorrow was another day in which to plot and plan anew their intent to arrest and kill Jesus. As we will witness in John 8:1-11, it would not take them long.

Why were people who were so religious at the same so intent on destroying the very One who was the fulfillment of their religion? Jesus will answer this directly in John 8. His answer may surprise you.

For the time being though, let’s ponder the words of pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards. His sermon, God’s Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men, is based upon Romans 9:18 which says, “Therefore He has mercy on whom He has mercy, and who He will he hardens.”

Pastor Edwards, in addressing the particular theological point that God exercises His sovereignty in the eternal salvation of men, writes that God’ sovereignty is “His absolute, independent right of disposing on all creatures according to His own pleasure.” This pleasure is in opposition to any constraint, is not under the will of another, and is not under any other obligation.

What God’s sovereignty implies, Edward’s stated, is that “God can, without any prejudice to the honor of any of His attributes, bestow salvation on any of the children of men, or refuse it.”  The implication of such a bestowing is that God may give salvation to the meek and lowly and deny it to the wise and great.

I Corinthians 1:26-28 says, “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,”

Edwards explained that God will sometimes bless weak means in producing astonishing effects when more excellent means are not utilized. Edwards writes, “Sometimes some, who have eminent means of grace, are rejected, and left to perish, and others, under far less advantages, are saved. Thus the scribes and Pharisees, who had so much light and knowledge of the Scriptures, were mostly rejected, and the poor ignorant publicans saved. The greater part of those, among whom, Christ was much conversant, and who heard Him preach, and saw Him work miracles from day to day, were left; and the woman of Samaria was taken, and many other Samaritans at the same time, who only heard Christ preach, as He occasionally passed through their city. So the Jews, who had seen and heard Christ, and saw His miracles, and with whom the apostles labored so much, were not saved. But the Gentiles, many of them, as it were, but transiently heard the glad tidings of salvation, embraced them and were converted.”

The reason people who were so religious but also at the same so intent on destroying the very One who was the fulfillment of their religion were so because their religion was of the devil and not of God. This is what we will see in John 8.

This is what we witness in our own day and age. As the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Take time today to thank God for saving your soul and resolve to live in gratitude to Him for His extravagant gift.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7:50-52).

Psalm 1119:1 says, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!”

Proverbs 2:6-8 says, “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.”

Proverbs 10:9 says, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.”

You have to respect Nicodemas. He was a man of integrity. He followed the evidence where it took him. He witnessed the works of Jesus and concluded that He must be from God (John 3:1-8). He witnessed the behavior of his fellow Pharisees and concluded they were violating the law. The law they so strictly enforced upon others, they themselves were ignoring.

The Sadducees and Pharisees already had Jesus tried, judged and convicted. They wanted Him dead (John 5:18). However, Nicodemas pointed out a technical point to the rule of law: Jesus had not yet been heard in the court of Jewish law. Jesus must testify before He is judged before the law as either guilty or innocent of a crime. Additionally, Jesus had not been charged with a crime.

The religious leaders did not directly respond to Nicodemas’ convicting point of law, but remarked, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Rather than consider what Nicodemas had to say, they also arrogantly dismissed him. They concluded the Jesus could not be, for example, a prophet of God because no prophet came from Galilee.

Once again, the religious leaders ignorance of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:1-7; John 7:40-44) was apparent. So also was their understanding of the Old Testament. Dr. John MacArthur explains that, “The real ignorance lay with the arrogant Pharisees who did not carefully search out the facts as to where Jesus was actually born. While they accused the crowds of ignorance, they too were really as ignorant (v. 42). Furthermore, the prophet Jonah and Nahum did come from Galilee.”

Sometimes people make confident assertions about the Bible and what it teaches without ever having read what they so confidently assert. We are to walk humbly before God and other people. Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

May it be said of us.

Soli deo Gloria!