(In this poem, I have used iambic hexameter instead of the usual pentameter; I have attempted to paraphrase as accurately as I can in modern southern American idiom the literal teachings of Jesus Christ as contained in the NIV, John 6:33-59. I confess that some lines are added to aid the clarity and some omitted as demanded for space. By the way, I have indented the 13th and 14th lines of all my sonnets as is proper, but the publisher has omitted the indentations for his own reasons.)
There is this brief life in flesh as woman or man,
The average years of which are three score and ten;
Then there’s the everlasting life after this one’s ran,
In which there’s no gender, flesh, night, and no end!
You won’t want to live that life, if you’re sent to hell,
But that’s where you’ll be, if Jesus you now ignore!
You’ll live in heaven with great joy, if He you tell
You believe He came from God to die so you can soar!
Of eternal life, Jesus is the bread and drink;
He let Himself be nailed to the cross, so that we
Escape the fate which our sins led us to the brink
Of paying for, had Jesus not died on the tree!
He will raise us up the last day to be with Him;
Those drawn by the Father, Jesus will not condemn!
Jesus always spoke in parables, symbolic or spiritual language in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which made His teachings more difficult for the Jews, even His disciples, to understand. This was deliberate; it was a result of God’s judgment of imposed dullness of spiritual insight on the Jews (See Isaiah 6:9-10). The fact is, at the time of Jesus’ incarnation, it was more important that Israel reject Jesus and crucify Him (because this would be the only way God’s plan of salvation by grace could be implemented) than for them to believe en masse and make Him their earthly king. Here, the day after He fed the five thousand on five small loaves and two fish, Jesus was encumbered by the crowd’s stubborn following of Him; they were not there to learn, as were the disciples; or believe in Him as the Lord; they were there for more free food. He told them so, but still they hung on, asking Him to feed them the bread like the manna that God supplied to the Children of Israel in their desert wanderings.
Therefore, still speaking symbolically, Jesus used a take-off from the bread of the small loaves; He asked them, why did they work for bread that spoiled? After all, He was the “bread of life”; by which He meant that if they “ingested” Him by learning and following all He taught, and He gave His flesh and blood to die on the cross in atonement for their sins, then His “flesh and blood” would be the bread of eternal life; it would not spoil. It was a parallel to the admonition to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (See Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount). Yet, it was a hard and gruesome thing to say, even symbolically; it had the desired effect; many of the still-lost, disinterested, sickened by the thought of “eating His flesh”, deserted Him. Many of those today who accept Jesus for a little while, fall away when they learn what following Him really means!
There is controversy about whether Jesus was speaking seriously about eating His flesh or not. The Roman Catholic Church interprets Him seriously. In their “mass”, officially called the Eucharist, they believe that the wafer, when being held up and blessed by the priest, actually transforms itself from bread into the very real flesh of Jesus Christ. Catholic parishioners who eat the wafer are ingesting Jesus into their bodies. The wafers are kept in the “tabernacle”, a small ornamental box with a decorative key, which is kept locked when not in use. They speak of “Jesus being present in the tabernacle and in every mass held anywhere in the world. I may be wrong, but I can’t believe this; if Jesus spoke in spiritual, symbolic language the majority of His ministry, why would He use literal words in this one instance?
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Five Thousand Want More Free Food (J24)
The crowd that Jesus fed found Him next day,
And, of course, wanted Him to give them more;
They did not care to hear what He had to say;
Free food they wanted, like Moses of yore!
Knowing their hearts, He spoke plainly to them,
“Moses gave no bread; God gave it, ev’ry day;
Why work for bread that spoils? My bread’s from Him,
The bread of life I give won’t waste away!
You’re not here because of signs I’ve done,
But for bread that makes you hunger again;
For Him that sent me is why I have come,
To gather all that believe in my name!”
They grumbled, “Who does he think he is?
We know the parents and siblings that are his!”
“When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’ Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the work God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: To believe in the One he has sent.’ “ (John 6:25-29) (The complete text of this poem/commentary is John 6:22-32)
The crowd of five thousand that Jesus had fed on five small loaves and two small fish hunted Him down in Capernaum the next day. Their motive was not to hear the gospel and be saved, but to have Him feed them again. He did not want to spend His precious time talking to people who followed Him out of selfish or this-world’s reasons, so He told them plainly He knew they sought Him to be fed earthly food again, but He also took one last opportunity to seek belief. He explained the difference between real bread, for which they would hunger again, and the symbolic bread of life, which would endure to eternal life; this symbolic bread is for each to believe in the One that was sent from the Father.
They asked Him the most important question a person can ask in his lifetime: What “work” does the Father require for this symbolic bread that gives eternal life? Jesus’ answer is the best news any person can hear in his lifetime: Believe in the One sent by the Father. Salvation is yours that simply: Believe in Jesus as the Son of God and you will be saved. Put that in your memory bank; engrave it on your heart. You can be saved by it, even if the five thousand were not.
There are a good many people today who profess belief in Jesus for some selfish reason. It can be as simple as professing to satisfy an anxious parent; it can be by a political candidate who professes in order to increase his total votes; or a merchant who hopes to increase his volume of sales. There are a lot of selfish reasons that might induce a profession of faith, BUT you can be assured that Jesus Christ knows the truth like He knew what this crowd really were after. You will not be saved by that kind of profession: Count on it!
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
And, of course, wanted Him to give them more;
They did not care to hear what He had to say;
Free food they wanted, like Moses of yore!
Knowing their hearts, He spoke plainly to them,
“Moses gave no bread; God gave it, ev’ry day;
Why work for bread that spoils? My bread’s from Him,
The bread of life I give won’t waste away!
You’re not here because of signs I’ve done,
But for bread that makes you hunger again;
For Him that sent me is why I have come,
To gather all that believe in my name!”
They grumbled, “Who does he think he is?
We know the parents and siblings that are his!”
“When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’ Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the work God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: To believe in the One he has sent.’ “ (John 6:25-29) (The complete text of this poem/commentary is John 6:22-32)
The crowd of five thousand that Jesus had fed on five small loaves and two small fish hunted Him down in Capernaum the next day. Their motive was not to hear the gospel and be saved, but to have Him feed them again. He did not want to spend His precious time talking to people who followed Him out of selfish or this-world’s reasons, so He told them plainly He knew they sought Him to be fed earthly food again, but He also took one last opportunity to seek belief. He explained the difference between real bread, for which they would hunger again, and the symbolic bread of life, which would endure to eternal life; this symbolic bread is for each to believe in the One that was sent from the Father.
They asked Him the most important question a person can ask in his lifetime: What “work” does the Father require for this symbolic bread that gives eternal life? Jesus’ answer is the best news any person can hear in his lifetime: Believe in the One sent by the Father. Salvation is yours that simply: Believe in Jesus as the Son of God and you will be saved. Put that in your memory bank; engrave it on your heart. You can be saved by it, even if the five thousand were not.
There are a good many people today who profess belief in Jesus for some selfish reason. It can be as simple as professing to satisfy an anxious parent; it can be by a political candidate who professes in order to increase his total votes; or a merchant who hopes to increase his volume of sales. There are a lot of selfish reasons that might induce a profession of faith, BUT you can be assured that Jesus Christ knows the truth like He knew what this crowd really were after. You will not be saved by that kind of profession: Count on it!
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Jesus Walks Three Miles On Water (J23)
Jesus and the crowd needing not their care,
The disciples rowed from the eastern shore,
When darkness came; the rest would use “shank’s mare”*,
For they would walk when the sun rose once more!
The wind from the west blew at them harder;
The rowing grew to a fierce gasping fight;
They saw Jesus, walking on the water
Toward them; seeing Him brought them much fright!
Then He said, “It is I; be not afraid;”
They grew calm, and helped Him the wale** not miss;
The wind grew quiet; they rowed till they could wade;
And they wondered, what kind of man is this?
They knew not yet He was God, for sure,
Despite all they saw, and all He did cure!
“shank/s mare” means “by foot”; **wale means gunwale
“When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake where they got into a boar and set off across the lake for Capernaum/ By now it was dark and Jesus had not joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the water got rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid/” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were going.” (John 6:16-21)
I wonder what would have happened if they had remained terrified and would have tried to keep Him out of the boat? We must realize how difficult it would be for human beings like the disciples to believe Jesus was God, even though they had seen all the wonders He performed. It makes us realize how difficult it is to believe, really believe, that He was God today, for us and those we wish to convince. And yet, that is what it takes for us to receive salvation!
We have reached the fifth “miraculous sign” John included out of a total of only seven in his gospel. He selected this miracle, probably because “walking on water” is reminiscent of God, who the Bible says “rides on the clouds”. If the Creator of the world can’t find Himself at home any place in it, on water, on clouds, or even in the midst of the towering heat of gases at the center of the sun, how can we be sure that He created it all? In my last blog I wrote of His feeding of five thousand people on five biscuits and two sardines; what is strange about such a God walking 3 or 4 miles on top of the Sea of Galilee? Well, but His disciples were terrified to see Him doing it.
The Pharisees were able to “explain away” most of Jesus’ miracles in the other gospels, which may be why John wrote his so many years later. It came out about 90 A. D., while the others were first read within forty years of the crucifiction. They were stumped by John’s gospel, which may be why they waited until 90 to officially outlaw Christianity from Judaism. Until then, some small messianic (meaning they believed Jesus was Messiah) sects continued to meet under the cloak of Judaism. The apostle Paul was responsible for establishing Christianity’s gospel of salvation based on pure grace; had it been left to the 12 original apostles, much of the Mosaic Law, such as circumcision, would still encumber Christians today.
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
The disciples rowed from the eastern shore,
When darkness came; the rest would use “shank’s mare”*,
For they would walk when the sun rose once more!
The wind from the west blew at them harder;
The rowing grew to a fierce gasping fight;
They saw Jesus, walking on the water
Toward them; seeing Him brought them much fright!
Then He said, “It is I; be not afraid;”
They grew calm, and helped Him the wale** not miss;
The wind grew quiet; they rowed till they could wade;
And they wondered, what kind of man is this?
They knew not yet He was God, for sure,
Despite all they saw, and all He did cure!
“shank/s mare” means “by foot”; **wale means gunwale
“When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake where they got into a boar and set off across the lake for Capernaum/ By now it was dark and Jesus had not joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the water got rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid/” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were going.” (John 6:16-21)
I wonder what would have happened if they had remained terrified and would have tried to keep Him out of the boat? We must realize how difficult it would be for human beings like the disciples to believe Jesus was God, even though they had seen all the wonders He performed. It makes us realize how difficult it is to believe, really believe, that He was God today, for us and those we wish to convince. And yet, that is what it takes for us to receive salvation!
We have reached the fifth “miraculous sign” John included out of a total of only seven in his gospel. He selected this miracle, probably because “walking on water” is reminiscent of God, who the Bible says “rides on the clouds”. If the Creator of the world can’t find Himself at home any place in it, on water, on clouds, or even in the midst of the towering heat of gases at the center of the sun, how can we be sure that He created it all? In my last blog I wrote of His feeding of five thousand people on five biscuits and two sardines; what is strange about such a God walking 3 or 4 miles on top of the Sea of Galilee? Well, but His disciples were terrified to see Him doing it.
The Pharisees were able to “explain away” most of Jesus’ miracles in the other gospels, which may be why John wrote his so many years later. It came out about 90 A. D., while the others were first read within forty years of the crucifiction. They were stumped by John’s gospel, which may be why they waited until 90 to officially outlaw Christianity from Judaism. Until then, some small messianic (meaning they believed Jesus was Messiah) sects continued to meet under the cloak of Judaism. The apostle Paul was responsible for establishing Christianity’s gospel of salvation based on pure grace; had it been left to the 12 original apostles, much of the Mosaic Law, such as circumcision, would still encumber Christians today.
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Jesus Feeds The Five Thousand (J22)
Trying to find a quiet place in which to pray.
Jesus went across the lake to the east;
Five thousand followed Him late in the day;
There was no food on which the crowd could feast!
Andrew said, “Here’s a boy with a small lunch—
Five biscuit rolls and two small sardine fish.”
Jesus said, “Sit them twenty to a bunch;
Bring me the lunch; use each robe for a dish!”
He broke loaves till three hundred robes were full;
The same with the fish; two robes to each bunch;
All of them ate till their hunger was dull,
Thanks to Jesus and the boy with the lunch!
Jesus said, “Gather the food that remained,”
And twelve baskets for the poor were retained!
“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 'Surely, this is the Prophet that is to come into all the world.' Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” (John 6:14-15) (The “Prophet” cited here is found in a prophecy by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy.)
We have come to the fourth “miraculous sign” performed by Jesus that John included in his gospel out of a total of seven. This miracle is reminiscent of the loving care shown by God to the Israelite people during forty years they wandered in the desert. Manna from heaven helped to feed them; when Jesus fed the five thousand, the parallel must have been apparent to them, which is probably John’s reason for selecting it. Jesus often slipped away from His disciples and the crowds to pray to His Father alone. His fame was spreading so that it was becoming more difficult to become isolated. Some of those who gathered around Him did not believe, but were curious about His miracles.
You may be wondering why Jesus did not let them make Him king of Israel. The Jews misunderstood much of what God told them by the prophets. Furthermore, they were prophesying two comings of God to earth—the first was as Messiah, during which He would establish the Kingdom of God, using love and gentleness. The second coming of God is one of power, conquest, and retribution, as at the Battle of Armageddon. The Jews confused the first coming with the second. In fact, they don’t even look for a second coming today; they are still waiting for the first. They thought the Messiah would be a military conqueror like Alexander the Great, only better. They couldn’t imagine a Messiah that talked about obeying your masters, turning the other cheek, and loving others, even enemies; much less one that ended up letting Himself be crucified. Their prophets had told them what to expect, especially Isaiah and Zechariah. In Zechariah 4:6, God tells the people of Judea, “not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit”, meaning the Holy Spirit, who produces in a man Love, Kindness, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, and Self-control (See Galations 5). The kind of things Jesus said were opposite to what they expected. If Jesus was as they expected, He would let the five thousand make Him King; they would become His soldiers, along with thousands of other Jews, and they would defeat the Roman armies in Israel. Jesus was not anything like that.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Jesus went across the lake to the east;
Five thousand followed Him late in the day;
There was no food on which the crowd could feast!
Andrew said, “Here’s a boy with a small lunch—
Five biscuit rolls and two small sardine fish.”
Jesus said, “Sit them twenty to a bunch;
Bring me the lunch; use each robe for a dish!”
He broke loaves till three hundred robes were full;
The same with the fish; two robes to each bunch;
All of them ate till their hunger was dull,
Thanks to Jesus and the boy with the lunch!
Jesus said, “Gather the food that remained,”
And twelve baskets for the poor were retained!
“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 'Surely, this is the Prophet that is to come into all the world.' Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” (John 6:14-15) (The “Prophet” cited here is found in a prophecy by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy.)
We have come to the fourth “miraculous sign” performed by Jesus that John included in his gospel out of a total of seven. This miracle is reminiscent of the loving care shown by God to the Israelite people during forty years they wandered in the desert. Manna from heaven helped to feed them; when Jesus fed the five thousand, the parallel must have been apparent to them, which is probably John’s reason for selecting it. Jesus often slipped away from His disciples and the crowds to pray to His Father alone. His fame was spreading so that it was becoming more difficult to become isolated. Some of those who gathered around Him did not believe, but were curious about His miracles.
You may be wondering why Jesus did not let them make Him king of Israel. The Jews misunderstood much of what God told them by the prophets. Furthermore, they were prophesying two comings of God to earth—the first was as Messiah, during which He would establish the Kingdom of God, using love and gentleness. The second coming of God is one of power, conquest, and retribution, as at the Battle of Armageddon. The Jews confused the first coming with the second. In fact, they don’t even look for a second coming today; they are still waiting for the first. They thought the Messiah would be a military conqueror like Alexander the Great, only better. They couldn’t imagine a Messiah that talked about obeying your masters, turning the other cheek, and loving others, even enemies; much less one that ended up letting Himself be crucified. Their prophets had told them what to expect, especially Isaiah and Zechariah. In Zechariah 4:6, God tells the people of Judea, “not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit”, meaning the Holy Spirit, who produces in a man Love, Kindness, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, and Self-control (See Galations 5). The kind of things Jesus said were opposite to what they expected. If Jesus was as they expected, He would let the five thousand make Him King; they would become His soldiers, along with thousands of other Jews, and they would defeat the Roman armies in Israel. Jesus was not anything like that.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Jesus Appeals For Acceptance By The Jews (J21)
Jesus continued to the Pharisees,
“You study Scriptures thinking to receive
Eternal life, but fail to accept me,
The One who gives life to those who believe!
When you are judged, I will not accuse you;
That will be Moses, in whom your hope lies;
He wrote of me*, said you would listen to;
You don’t listen like Moses testifies!
You sent to John Baptist; he told the truth**;
Yet, you would not accept that God sent me;
Look at all my works***, healings by God’s ruth;
They testify I have been sent by He!
The Father’s words do not dwell in your heart;
If they did, you’d know of Him I am part!
* Deuteronomy 18:18-19—“ ‘I [God said to Moses] will raise up for them [the people of Israel] a prophet [Jesus] like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I will call him to account.’ “ [Brackets added]
** John 1:24-27—“Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him [John the Baptist), ‘Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ ‘I baptize with water;’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ “ [Brackets added]
*** Isaiah 35:46—“say to those with fearful hearts [Israelites], ‘Be strong, do not fear, your God will come, … Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf be unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.’ “ [Brackets added]
This is the third poem/commentary on the invalid that Jesus healed at the Pool of Bethesda. It describes the last portion of the speech of Jesus to the Pharisees in response to their ticky-tacky interrogation due to the healing being done on the Sabbath and being called “work”. The words of Jesus in the poem are paraphrased; His meaning is retained. You can read His actual words for yourself in John 5:31-47 (NIV). It should be clear now why John selected the miraculous sign of the invalid’s healing as the third of only seven he put into his gospel book. Jesus is given a double opportunity: 1. That of preaching the gospel of salvation by acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God; and 2. An opportunity to needle the unbelieving Pharisees into hatred that will result in His rejection and crucifiction. A few of them did believe in Him, like Nicodemus, but they feared to let it be known by their peers. Jesus did not want them to fully accept Him, for that would ruin His mission, which was to die for all the sins of men. He gave them scriptural and testimonial evidence that He was the Son of God. It hardly seems credible that the Jews did not believe Him; their foolish pride would not allow their belief, because their own interpretation of scripture was so contrary to God’s intentions.
Old Testament scripture is littered with passages like Deuteronomy 18:18-19 and Isaiah 35:46 quoted above. These Pharisees were experts in Hebrew scripture, and their dullness seems ridiculous. Any objective research into the life of Jesus, especially at the time He lived, would have concluded that He was who He said He was, particularly if you add His resurrection from the grave to it, and yet Judaism today, in 2010, still awaits the coming of the Messiah, futilely of course.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
“You study Scriptures thinking to receive
Eternal life, but fail to accept me,
The One who gives life to those who believe!
When you are judged, I will not accuse you;
That will be Moses, in whom your hope lies;
He wrote of me*, said you would listen to;
You don’t listen like Moses testifies!
You sent to John Baptist; he told the truth**;
Yet, you would not accept that God sent me;
Look at all my works***, healings by God’s ruth;
They testify I have been sent by He!
The Father’s words do not dwell in your heart;
If they did, you’d know of Him I am part!
* Deuteronomy 18:18-19—“ ‘I [God said to Moses] will raise up for them [the people of Israel] a prophet [Jesus] like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I will call him to account.’ “ [Brackets added]
** John 1:24-27—“Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him [John the Baptist), ‘Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ ‘I baptize with water;’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ “ [Brackets added]
*** Isaiah 35:46—“say to those with fearful hearts [Israelites], ‘Be strong, do not fear, your God will come, … Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf be unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.’ “ [Brackets added]
This is the third poem/commentary on the invalid that Jesus healed at the Pool of Bethesda. It describes the last portion of the speech of Jesus to the Pharisees in response to their ticky-tacky interrogation due to the healing being done on the Sabbath and being called “work”. The words of Jesus in the poem are paraphrased; His meaning is retained. You can read His actual words for yourself in John 5:31-47 (NIV). It should be clear now why John selected the miraculous sign of the invalid’s healing as the third of only seven he put into his gospel book. Jesus is given a double opportunity: 1. That of preaching the gospel of salvation by acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God; and 2. An opportunity to needle the unbelieving Pharisees into hatred that will result in His rejection and crucifiction. A few of them did believe in Him, like Nicodemus, but they feared to let it be known by their peers. Jesus did not want them to fully accept Him, for that would ruin His mission, which was to die for all the sins of men. He gave them scriptural and testimonial evidence that He was the Son of God. It hardly seems credible that the Jews did not believe Him; their foolish pride would not allow their belief, because their own interpretation of scripture was so contrary to God’s intentions.
Old Testament scripture is littered with passages like Deuteronomy 18:18-19 and Isaiah 35:46 quoted above. These Pharisees were experts in Hebrew scripture, and their dullness seems ridiculous. Any objective research into the life of Jesus, especially at the time He lived, would have concluded that He was who He said He was, particularly if you add His resurrection from the grave to it, and yet Judaism today, in 2010, still awaits the coming of the Messiah, futilely of course.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Jesus Preaches Gospel To Pharisees (J20)
Jesus spoke much to a large throng of Jews,
“My Father works always*; so does the Son;
Greater things than those of which you accuse
Will I do; things that my Father has done!
My Father raises the dead, so will I;
I give eternal life to whom I may;
Believe me, and my Father honors you;
Believe not, and be condemned Judgment Day!
My voice will be heard in all graves on earth;
The dead shall rise; my Father made me judge;
The righteous to eternal life of worth;
The evil to torment, that none begrudge!”
Said the Jews, “Not just Sabbath does he break,
But equal with God he does himself make!”
*Meaning: God works 7 days a week, including Sabbath, to keep this world running
The words of this poem are just a paraphrase of part of what Jesus said to the Pharisees who accused Him of breaking the Sabbath after He healed the invalid at Bethesda Pool. I will finish His talk in my next blog. This poem/commentary concerns the scripture John 5:16-30.
“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working!’ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:16-18)
Although the poem’s quotes are paraphrased, they convey the accurate meanings of Jesus. Of course He was claiming equality with God, because He was God. He pulled no punches. This is John’s way of presenting Jesus, and his gospel book angered the Jews more than any other. These Pharisees were the experts on Mosaic Law given to Israel by God, and there are at least 340 prophecies about the coming of Jesus (Messiah) in Hebrew scripture, every one of which came true. These so-called “experts” on the Law should have checked them all out, found them true, and welcomed Jesus to His kingdom; they should have given Him a royal escort to the temple, put the crown that had been made for Him in Zechariah’s time (See Zechariah 5:8-15), and introduced Israel’s divine King. Instead, they tried to arrest Him for breaking one of their man-made rinky-dink rules because He healed a 38-year invalid on the Sabbath! Jesus told them clearly the gospel—believe and be resurrected to eternal life or disbelieve and be condemned.
However, at this point, Jesus did not want their friendship and support. God had decided in Jeremiah’s time (700 years before) to disallow His covenant with the Jews—rather, they had so broken their side, that God didn’t want them accepting Jesus (See Jeremiah 31:31)—that He had decided on the covenant of grace; that He would come to earth and be crucified in atonement for the sins of all people, scrubbing the Law as a means of salvation; which it never was, anyway. Humanity was unable to live righteously, so God made it possible for those who accepted Jesus to be saved by the righteousness of Jesus. What that means is, you can’t ever earn your place in heaven; you will always sin; but you can believe in Jesus and be saved, because He lived and died to give you that privilege! That is grace—the unearned favor of God!
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
“My Father works always*; so does the Son;
Greater things than those of which you accuse
Will I do; things that my Father has done!
My Father raises the dead, so will I;
I give eternal life to whom I may;
Believe me, and my Father honors you;
Believe not, and be condemned Judgment Day!
My voice will be heard in all graves on earth;
The dead shall rise; my Father made me judge;
The righteous to eternal life of worth;
The evil to torment, that none begrudge!”
Said the Jews, “Not just Sabbath does he break,
But equal with God he does himself make!”
*Meaning: God works 7 days a week, including Sabbath, to keep this world running
The words of this poem are just a paraphrase of part of what Jesus said to the Pharisees who accused Him of breaking the Sabbath after He healed the invalid at Bethesda Pool. I will finish His talk in my next blog. This poem/commentary concerns the scripture John 5:16-30.
“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working!’ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:16-18)
Although the poem’s quotes are paraphrased, they convey the accurate meanings of Jesus. Of course He was claiming equality with God, because He was God. He pulled no punches. This is John’s way of presenting Jesus, and his gospel book angered the Jews more than any other. These Pharisees were the experts on Mosaic Law given to Israel by God, and there are at least 340 prophecies about the coming of Jesus (Messiah) in Hebrew scripture, every one of which came true. These so-called “experts” on the Law should have checked them all out, found them true, and welcomed Jesus to His kingdom; they should have given Him a royal escort to the temple, put the crown that had been made for Him in Zechariah’s time (See Zechariah 5:8-15), and introduced Israel’s divine King. Instead, they tried to arrest Him for breaking one of their man-made rinky-dink rules because He healed a 38-year invalid on the Sabbath! Jesus told them clearly the gospel—believe and be resurrected to eternal life or disbelieve and be condemned.
However, at this point, Jesus did not want their friendship and support. God had decided in Jeremiah’s time (700 years before) to disallow His covenant with the Jews—rather, they had so broken their side, that God didn’t want them accepting Jesus (See Jeremiah 31:31)—that He had decided on the covenant of grace; that He would come to earth and be crucified in atonement for the sins of all people, scrubbing the Law as a means of salvation; which it never was, anyway. Humanity was unable to live righteously, so God made it possible for those who accepted Jesus to be saved by the righteousness of Jesus. What that means is, you can’t ever earn your place in heaven; you will always sin; but you can believe in Jesus and be saved, because He lived and died to give you that privilege! That is grace—the unearned favor of God!
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Pharisees Begin Persecuting Jesus (J19)
The man stood, well and strong, picked up his mat,
And walked; soon a hand stopped him with a jerk;
It was a Pharisee; “You cannot do that—
Toting your mat on the Sabbath is work!”
Jesus slipped away, not to debate here,
As the man answered, “The healer made me;”
“Who healed you? He broke the law without fear!”
“I don’t know,” he said to the Pharisee.
In the temple later, Jesus met the man;
He said, “Stop sinning, or you might get worse!”
“It was Jesus,” he told, soon as he can,
Which brought them against Him, like a vile curse!
The healed man did not believe in the Name,
God’s One and Only Son, from whom life came!
How far from the heart of God had the Pharisees strayed; they were Israel’s “most” righteous men, yet their man-made rules, called the “oral tradition” had become the strictest laws of the land. These laws so burdened the Jews that it was impossible for any to obey them all, yet the Pharisees paraded around forcing the common people to observe them or face fines or even imprisonment. There were two violations of ticky-tacky rules here: 1. The healed invalid had “violated” the commandment of not working on the Sabbath by carrying his mat; and, 2. Jesus had done the same by healing the invalid on the Sabbath!
The Pharisees had originated after most of the Jews were carried off to Babylon in 586 B. C., when Nebuchednezzar conquered Jerusalem and demolished Solomon’s temple. The Jews of the northern and southern kingdoms were scattered; the temple was gone; and even the copies of the Mosaic law were destroyed. So the self-appointed self-righteous Pharisees developed the “oral” rules to insure that Jews didn’t violate God’s law; but, in doing so, they perverted the spiritual meaning of God so badly that the very obedience of the Jews sent them to hell rather than to heaven. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) that unless a person’s righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees, Israel’s most righteous men (supposedly), that person would not enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the Pharisees became Jesus’ most bitter targets, and He became their most bitter enemy; they didn’t rest until they managed to have Him crucified.
The Bible scripture on which this poem/commentary is based is found in John 5:10-15. Please read it, to understand the context. I am continuing my series of sonnets in the gospel of John the apostle. This incident is in the aftermath of Jesus’ healing the invalid of 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. Now I can tell you why I believe John put this “miraculous sign” in his gospel; it was intended to instigate an audience with a large group of Judaism’s religious leaders in Jerusalem. Now that the unsaved (non-believing) man has told the Pharisees who it was that healed him on a Sabbath day, they have Jesus in their sights. He will have an opportunity to preach directly to Israel’s top religious leaders; some might believe in Him, like Nicodemus, but most will be so angry with Him that their rejection will result in His crucifixion and death. This, after all, is the reason He came to earth.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
And walked; soon a hand stopped him with a jerk;
It was a Pharisee; “You cannot do that—
Toting your mat on the Sabbath is work!”
Jesus slipped away, not to debate here,
As the man answered, “The healer made me;”
“Who healed you? He broke the law without fear!”
“I don’t know,” he said to the Pharisee.
In the temple later, Jesus met the man;
He said, “Stop sinning, or you might get worse!”
“It was Jesus,” he told, soon as he can,
Which brought them against Him, like a vile curse!
The healed man did not believe in the Name,
God’s One and Only Son, from whom life came!
How far from the heart of God had the Pharisees strayed; they were Israel’s “most” righteous men, yet their man-made rules, called the “oral tradition” had become the strictest laws of the land. These laws so burdened the Jews that it was impossible for any to obey them all, yet the Pharisees paraded around forcing the common people to observe them or face fines or even imprisonment. There were two violations of ticky-tacky rules here: 1. The healed invalid had “violated” the commandment of not working on the Sabbath by carrying his mat; and, 2. Jesus had done the same by healing the invalid on the Sabbath!
The Pharisees had originated after most of the Jews were carried off to Babylon in 586 B. C., when Nebuchednezzar conquered Jerusalem and demolished Solomon’s temple. The Jews of the northern and southern kingdoms were scattered; the temple was gone; and even the copies of the Mosaic law were destroyed. So the self-appointed self-righteous Pharisees developed the “oral” rules to insure that Jews didn’t violate God’s law; but, in doing so, they perverted the spiritual meaning of God so badly that the very obedience of the Jews sent them to hell rather than to heaven. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) that unless a person’s righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees, Israel’s most righteous men (supposedly), that person would not enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the Pharisees became Jesus’ most bitter targets, and He became their most bitter enemy; they didn’t rest until they managed to have Him crucified.
The Bible scripture on which this poem/commentary is based is found in John 5:10-15. Please read it, to understand the context. I am continuing my series of sonnets in the gospel of John the apostle. This incident is in the aftermath of Jesus’ healing the invalid of 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. Now I can tell you why I believe John put this “miraculous sign” in his gospel; it was intended to instigate an audience with a large group of Judaism’s religious leaders in Jerusalem. Now that the unsaved (non-believing) man has told the Pharisees who it was that healed him on a Sabbath day, they have Jesus in their sights. He will have an opportunity to preach directly to Israel’s top religious leaders; some might believe in Him, like Nicodemus, but most will be so angry with Him that their rejection will result in His crucifixion and death. This, after all, is the reason He came to earth.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Jesus Heals On The Sabbath (J18(
Bethesda Pool was surrounded each day
By the lame, blind, and ill, hoping for a cure;
When the water stirred, the first one in may
Be healed; so it was told, but none was sure!
One man had lain there thirty-eight years;
When Jesus’ tender heart led Him to ask,
“Do you want to be healed?” Through sudden tears,
“For me to get in is too great a task!”
Jesus, in Jerusalem for a feast,
Had inquired and learned how long he’d lain;
“Pick up your mat and walk!” The long wait ceased,
The man stood up, walked away, free of pain!
The healing was done on a Sabbath day,
Fanning Pharisees’ anger Jesus; way!
"Some time later Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda, and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool. When the water is stirred, while I am trying to get in, some one else goes down ahead of me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.” (John 5:1-9)
This is the third of only seven miraculous signs by Jesus that John selected to include in his gospel. Since there is quite an aftermath to the miracle that I intend to add to this poem/commentary, I won’t tell you at this time the significance of the healing to prove the deity of Jesus. However, there are a few lessons about this incident that are important.
The first thing that is shown by the healing is the tender heart of Jesus. Undoubtedly He would have healed everyone lying about the pool, if doing so would not have caused such an uproar among the Jews in Jerusalem. He inquired about this particular invalid and healed him, then slipped away into the crowd. It is not in our Savior’s heart that any of us, righteous and unrighteous. should suffer. This poor man was trying to do the impossible—to move his immovable body into the pool ahead of hundreds of others, and he had been trying to do so for thirty-eight years. Jesus solved his problem in an instant.
Remember that there were many disciples with Jesus at the time. Also, the healing occurred on a Sabbath day. Since the party of the Pharisees had arisen 500 years earlier, during the Babylonian captivity of Judah, these strictest of the strict had devised hundreds of ticky-tacky rules about what constituted “work” on the Sabbath. These rules were not part of the Mosaic Law given by God; they were offensive to God and burdensome to the Jews who were forced to obey them. Called the “oral tradition”, they were the chief reason Jesus excoriated the Pharisees more than any other group/ It is what He had in mind during the Sermon on the Mount, when He said, Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5-7). There will be more explanation of this in my next few blogs.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” (Romans 10:9)
By the lame, blind, and ill, hoping for a cure;
When the water stirred, the first one in may
Be healed; so it was told, but none was sure!
One man had lain there thirty-eight years;
When Jesus’ tender heart led Him to ask,
“Do you want to be healed?” Through sudden tears,
“For me to get in is too great a task!”
Jesus, in Jerusalem for a feast,
Had inquired and learned how long he’d lain;
“Pick up your mat and walk!” The long wait ceased,
The man stood up, walked away, free of pain!
The healing was done on a Sabbath day,
Fanning Pharisees’ anger Jesus; way!
"Some time later Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda, and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool. When the water is stirred, while I am trying to get in, some one else goes down ahead of me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.” (John 5:1-9)
This is the third of only seven miraculous signs by Jesus that John selected to include in his gospel. Since there is quite an aftermath to the miracle that I intend to add to this poem/commentary, I won’t tell you at this time the significance of the healing to prove the deity of Jesus. However, there are a few lessons about this incident that are important.
The first thing that is shown by the healing is the tender heart of Jesus. Undoubtedly He would have healed everyone lying about the pool, if doing so would not have caused such an uproar among the Jews in Jerusalem. He inquired about this particular invalid and healed him, then slipped away into the crowd. It is not in our Savior’s heart that any of us, righteous and unrighteous. should suffer. This poor man was trying to do the impossible—to move his immovable body into the pool ahead of hundreds of others, and he had been trying to do so for thirty-eight years. Jesus solved his problem in an instant.
Remember that there were many disciples with Jesus at the time. Also, the healing occurred on a Sabbath day. Since the party of the Pharisees had arisen 500 years earlier, during the Babylonian captivity of Judah, these strictest of the strict had devised hundreds of ticky-tacky rules about what constituted “work” on the Sabbath. These rules were not part of the Mosaic Law given by God; they were offensive to God and burdensome to the Jews who were forced to obey them. Called the “oral tradition”, they were the chief reason Jesus excoriated the Pharisees more than any other group/ It is what He had in mind during the Sermon on the Mount, when He said, Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5-7). There will be more explanation of this in my next few blogs.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” (Romans 10:9)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Jesus Heals Herod's Official's Son (J17)
Back in Galilee, Jesus’ fame had spread;
In Jerusalem, many had seen Him
Clearing the temple, and heard what He said;
Throngs gathered; He could barely move for them!
An official from Capernaum then came,
Asking healing for his lone dying son;
People pushed in, hoping to see His fame,
Another wonder by Messiah done!
“You people won’t believe without a sign,”
Jesus remarked; then He said to the one
Whose love and faith kept him fast in the line,
“You may go. Your son will live,” said the Son!
Many came only to see signs He’d done,
Not really to believe He was God’s Son!
“Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. ‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, ‘The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.’ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and all his house had believed.” (John 4:46-53) (The complete text for this poem/commentary is John 4:43:54.)
This is the second miraculous sign that John described in his gospel, but, of course, there were many more left undescribed. John chose to include only seven of the miracles done by Jesus, selecting carefully those which pointed to the deity of Jesus. The first, that of changing the water into wine, pointed to Jesus’ ability to control elements of the world by turning one kind into another—that is, water into wine; therefore, the sign pointed to His creation of the world. In this sign, it proved that Jesus can control events in the world from a distance—He healed the boy in Capernaum, though he was some sixty miles away.
There are several other lessons we can learn from this incident. It is obvious by His remark that Jesus would prefer people to believe in Him as God without having to see Him performing such wonders. Not that He objected to persons becoming convinced that He was God after seeing a miracle, because He said Himself in John 10:2 that the Jews should believe because of the signs and wonders, if not from His words, which were from the Father. He considered it possible that a person who believes only after seeing a miracle has a weaker faith than one who believes based only on words and testimonies. What about Christians of today, 2000 years after His ascension into heaven? We’re not likely to see an explicit miracle from God; our belief must be based on our faith in the Bible, testimonies by other Christians, or inner urgings of the Holy Spirit.
Another lesson for us is that the royal official was probably a Gentile. Herod was not a Jew; most of his associates were not Jewish either. In our last three blogs we learned that Jesus was concerned for Samaritans, not just Jews. Here, too, we see Him healing a Gentile boy, and that at a distance. He was making a point of showing his disciples that the gospel is for all nations and races. One of the Jews’ biggest misinterpretations of the Old Testament was that God (Yahweh) belonged only to the Jewish race. All others were considered inferior; they called them “Gentiles”, with “tiles” being a hiss.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
In Jerusalem, many had seen Him
Clearing the temple, and heard what He said;
Throngs gathered; He could barely move for them!
An official from Capernaum then came,
Asking healing for his lone dying son;
People pushed in, hoping to see His fame,
Another wonder by Messiah done!
“You people won’t believe without a sign,”
Jesus remarked; then He said to the one
Whose love and faith kept him fast in the line,
“You may go. Your son will live,” said the Son!
Many came only to see signs He’d done,
Not really to believe He was God’s Son!
“Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. ‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, ‘The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.’ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and all his house had believed.” (John 4:46-53) (The complete text for this poem/commentary is John 4:43:54.)
This is the second miraculous sign that John described in his gospel, but, of course, there were many more left undescribed. John chose to include only seven of the miracles done by Jesus, selecting carefully those which pointed to the deity of Jesus. The first, that of changing the water into wine, pointed to Jesus’ ability to control elements of the world by turning one kind into another—that is, water into wine; therefore, the sign pointed to His creation of the world. In this sign, it proved that Jesus can control events in the world from a distance—He healed the boy in Capernaum, though he was some sixty miles away.
There are several other lessons we can learn from this incident. It is obvious by His remark that Jesus would prefer people to believe in Him as God without having to see Him performing such wonders. Not that He objected to persons becoming convinced that He was God after seeing a miracle, because He said Himself in John 10:2 that the Jews should believe because of the signs and wonders, if not from His words, which were from the Father. He considered it possible that a person who believes only after seeing a miracle has a weaker faith than one who believes based only on words and testimonies. What about Christians of today, 2000 years after His ascension into heaven? We’re not likely to see an explicit miracle from God; our belief must be based on our faith in the Bible, testimonies by other Christians, or inner urgings of the Holy Spirit.
Another lesson for us is that the royal official was probably a Gentile. Herod was not a Jew; most of his associates were not Jewish either. In our last three blogs we learned that Jesus was concerned for Samaritans, not just Jews. Here, too, we see Him healing a Gentile boy, and that at a distance. He was making a point of showing his disciples that the gospel is for all nations and races. One of the Jews’ biggest misinterpretations of the Old Testament was that God (Yahweh) belonged only to the Jewish race. All others were considered inferior; they called them “Gentiles”, with “tiles” being a hiss.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Jesus And The Samaritan Woman III (J16)
What started as a one-hour lunch break,
Turned into a two-day revival fest;
A town of lost souls believers did make;
Jews were happy as Samaritan guests!
Had the woman and Jesus never met,
Or they stuck to the customs of the day,
The Kingdom of God these souls wouldn’t get,
Or the disciples not learned Jesus’ way!
For the incident at the well, thank God;
Sing Halelujahs to the Son of Man;
Had He not the paths of Israel trod,
Salvation of souls could not have began!
We should stay hungry to do Jesus’ will;
Winning souls is better than stomachs fill!
“Many of the Samaritans of that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans saw him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world/’ “ (John 4:39-42)
The meeting of the Samaritan woman with Jesus at Jacob’s well had a happy ending. The woman was saved, and there is no doubt that her life changed for the better. I wonder if she married the sixth man (the one she was living with unmarried when she met Jesus); left him and never lived with another; or perhaps she remarried her first or one of her other husbands. Also, many of her fellow townspeople were saved by her chance meeting with Jesus.
There is also no doubt that her reputation in the town must have improved. It was bad enough that she went for the necessary water alone at the hottest part of the day; the custom was that all the other women would go for water together; obviously she was shunned before her meeting with Jesus; but, afterward, she had been privileged to be the town’s great benefactor, for her testimony had saved many souls. She probably made many new friends. After all, Jesus taught all Christians to love one another. Not one of us has a reason to boast, for everyone has sinned, and every Christian continues to sin after he or she believes and is saved. The other women of Sychar could not feel superior to the woman who met Jesus afterward, for they had sinned also; He taught that all had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The lives of the disciples had also undergone a great change. For the first time in their lives, they lived and ate with Samaritans. The Bible does not tell us whether they enjoyed their two-day stay in Sychar, and, though they could not do a complete turn-around in their lifelong prejudices in just two days, for the rest of their lives they would remember that Jesus had shown them how a Christian should rid himself of racial and ethnic bias. Most importantly, the gospel of Christ is for all people everywhere; that instruction was indelibly engraved in their minds.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Turned into a two-day revival fest;
A town of lost souls believers did make;
Jews were happy as Samaritan guests!
Had the woman and Jesus never met,
Or they stuck to the customs of the day,
The Kingdom of God these souls wouldn’t get,
Or the disciples not learned Jesus’ way!
For the incident at the well, thank God;
Sing Halelujahs to the Son of Man;
Had He not the paths of Israel trod,
Salvation of souls could not have began!
We should stay hungry to do Jesus’ will;
Winning souls is better than stomachs fill!
“Many of the Samaritans of that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans saw him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world/’ “ (John 4:39-42)
The meeting of the Samaritan woman with Jesus at Jacob’s well had a happy ending. The woman was saved, and there is no doubt that her life changed for the better. I wonder if she married the sixth man (the one she was living with unmarried when she met Jesus); left him and never lived with another; or perhaps she remarried her first or one of her other husbands. Also, many of her fellow townspeople were saved by her chance meeting with Jesus.
There is also no doubt that her reputation in the town must have improved. It was bad enough that she went for the necessary water alone at the hottest part of the day; the custom was that all the other women would go for water together; obviously she was shunned before her meeting with Jesus; but, afterward, she had been privileged to be the town’s great benefactor, for her testimony had saved many souls. She probably made many new friends. After all, Jesus taught all Christians to love one another. Not one of us has a reason to boast, for everyone has sinned, and every Christian continues to sin after he or she believes and is saved. The other women of Sychar could not feel superior to the woman who met Jesus afterward, for they had sinned also; He taught that all had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The lives of the disciples had also undergone a great change. For the first time in their lives, they lived and ate with Samaritans. The Bible does not tell us whether they enjoyed their two-day stay in Sychar, and, though they could not do a complete turn-around in their lifelong prejudices in just two days, for the rest of their lives they would remember that Jesus had shown them how a Christian should rid himself of racial and ethnic bias. Most importantly, the gospel of Christ is for all people everywhere; that instruction was indelibly engraved in their minds.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Jesus And The Samaritan Woman II (J15)
The disciples returned in time to hear
The last exchange between Jesus and she;
“When Messiah comes, there’ll be no more fear;”
“I, with whom you have been speaking, am He!”
The woman left in a rush; when she’d gone,
No one dared to say or ask anything
About Jesus and the woman alone;
They urged Him to eat the food they did bring;
He demurred, “I have food you know not of!
Open your eyes; look at the fields of white,
Ready for reaping; new souls for above;
My bread is to do my Father’s will right!”
His eyes were on the people approaching,
Disciples chastened by His reproaching!
“Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ [Messiah] They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile, his disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’ Then his disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought him food?’ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. … I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest.’ “ (John 4:27-35) [Brackets added] (The complete text for this second poem on “Jesus and the Samaritan Woman) is contained in John 4:25-36.)
The disciples visualized the Samaritan town of Sychar and Jacob’s well as a convenient place to eat lunch, take a break, and then to get out of as quickly as possible. Jesus looked at it as a field of lost souls, ready for winning to the Lord. Up till now, the disciples had thought that only Jews were eligible for salvation. Samaritans were partly Jewish, but since they worshiped a golden calf and had intermarried with Canaanites and other races, they were despised like Gentiles, who were also ineligible for salvation. What a shock did these Jewish believers have coming! God was the Creator of the world and all its people, and He loved Gentiles and Samaritans just as much as Jews; salvation was open to all the people on earth. God had told Israelites this fact many times, but they had thought of themselves as belonging to Yahweh, or rather, Yahweh belonging to them, and no one else need apply.
Notice, too, how literal and unspiritual the disciples remained, despite being with Jesus for at least a year. When Jesus said “I have food…”, they thought He meant real food—that someone else must have brought it to Him. He was talking about spiritual food; food that satisfies one’s inner soul, “to do the will of God”. That is a good lesson for the Christian of today. We should be more satisfied in doing the will of God than in meeting the physical needs of our bodies. Remember when the Pharisees asked Jesus what was God’s greatest commandment? He answered, To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind—if you love God that much, doing His will has a higher priority for you than does eating, or ANYTHING ELSE! (See Matthew 22:37)
The Samaritans were hungry to hear the gospel, as evidenced by their quick response to the woman’s invitation to come and see the man who told her all her past history. They were ready to believe that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). We will learn in my next blog just how strong their belief really was, and why Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman in the first place.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
The last exchange between Jesus and she;
“When Messiah comes, there’ll be no more fear;”
“I, with whom you have been speaking, am He!”
The woman left in a rush; when she’d gone,
No one dared to say or ask anything
About Jesus and the woman alone;
They urged Him to eat the food they did bring;
He demurred, “I have food you know not of!
Open your eyes; look at the fields of white,
Ready for reaping; new souls for above;
My bread is to do my Father’s will right!”
His eyes were on the people approaching,
Disciples chastened by His reproaching!
“Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ [Messiah] They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile, his disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’ Then his disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought him food?’ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. … I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest.’ “ (John 4:27-35) [Brackets added] (The complete text for this second poem on “Jesus and the Samaritan Woman) is contained in John 4:25-36.)
The disciples visualized the Samaritan town of Sychar and Jacob’s well as a convenient place to eat lunch, take a break, and then to get out of as quickly as possible. Jesus looked at it as a field of lost souls, ready for winning to the Lord. Up till now, the disciples had thought that only Jews were eligible for salvation. Samaritans were partly Jewish, but since they worshiped a golden calf and had intermarried with Canaanites and other races, they were despised like Gentiles, who were also ineligible for salvation. What a shock did these Jewish believers have coming! God was the Creator of the world and all its people, and He loved Gentiles and Samaritans just as much as Jews; salvation was open to all the people on earth. God had told Israelites this fact many times, but they had thought of themselves as belonging to Yahweh, or rather, Yahweh belonging to them, and no one else need apply.
Notice, too, how literal and unspiritual the disciples remained, despite being with Jesus for at least a year. When Jesus said “I have food…”, they thought He meant real food—that someone else must have brought it to Him. He was talking about spiritual food; food that satisfies one’s inner soul, “to do the will of God”. That is a good lesson for the Christian of today. We should be more satisfied in doing the will of God than in meeting the physical needs of our bodies. Remember when the Pharisees asked Jesus what was God’s greatest commandment? He answered, To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind—if you love God that much, doing His will has a higher priority for you than does eating, or ANYTHING ELSE! (See Matthew 22:37)
The Samaritans were hungry to hear the gospel, as evidenced by their quick response to the woman’s invitation to come and see the man who told her all her past history. They were ready to believe that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). We will learn in my next blog just how strong their belief really was, and why Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman in the first place.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Jesus And The Samaritan Woman I (J14)
For food, the disciples went into town,
While Jesus waited beside Jacob’s well;
Then a Samaritan woman came down;
Jesus spoke with her, the gospel to tell!
“May I have a drink?” He asked, speaking first;
“Why do you, a Jew, talk with me?” asked she;
“If you drank living water, you’d ne’er thirst;
I would give it to you, if you asked me!”
“Give it me! I won’t come back here again!”
“Go bring back your husband; I’ll give it you.”
“I have no husband,” said she, with some shame;
“There’s five; the man now, you’re not married to.”
She hurried back to town, issued the call,
“Come! Hear the prophet that has told me all!”
“Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour [noon]. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ … The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ … Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water,; “ (John 4:4-10) [Brackets added] (To understand the poem and commentary, please read the complete text in John 4:1-26.)
Not only did Jewish men avoid talking to any woman in public, the Jews despised all Samaritans; the Samaritan woman must have been very shocked by Jesus’ request. Of course, He saw an opportunity to spread the gospel to her and the townspeople. This is a perfect example to us; a Christian would show his love for others by ignoring customs and prejudices in all places and times. The greatest gift possible to give is eternal life in heaven.
Samaria was a region north of Jerusalem and south of Galilee; its eastern boundary was the Jordan River. Jews avoided walking through Samaria by going far out of their way to the eastern side of the river, going around Samaria, so that they would not happen to meet a Samaritan by chance. What Jesus did in opening the conversation with the woman at the well would have scandalized His disciples. He even showed willingness to drink from her utensil. I remember in my youth in the south when all drinking fountains were marked “colored” and others “white”. Jesus, if He had come through Mississippi would have faced the wrath of whites by drinking from the “taboo” colored fountains. How could we white Christians have so misinterpreted the Bible?
Jesus did not despise the Samaritan woman, not even when He told her she had had five husbands and was not married to the man she now lived with. He risked His own reputation by speaking with her in Christian love and showing how salvation is for all people on earth. This blog will be followed by others about Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
While Jesus waited beside Jacob’s well;
Then a Samaritan woman came down;
Jesus spoke with her, the gospel to tell!
“May I have a drink?” He asked, speaking first;
“Why do you, a Jew, talk with me?” asked she;
“If you drank living water, you’d ne’er thirst;
I would give it to you, if you asked me!”
“Give it me! I won’t come back here again!”
“Go bring back your husband; I’ll give it you.”
“I have no husband,” said she, with some shame;
“There’s five; the man now, you’re not married to.”
She hurried back to town, issued the call,
“Come! Hear the prophet that has told me all!”
“Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour [noon]. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ … The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ … Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water,; “ (John 4:4-10) [Brackets added] (To understand the poem and commentary, please read the complete text in John 4:1-26.)
Not only did Jewish men avoid talking to any woman in public, the Jews despised all Samaritans; the Samaritan woman must have been very shocked by Jesus’ request. Of course, He saw an opportunity to spread the gospel to her and the townspeople. This is a perfect example to us; a Christian would show his love for others by ignoring customs and prejudices in all places and times. The greatest gift possible to give is eternal life in heaven.
Samaria was a region north of Jerusalem and south of Galilee; its eastern boundary was the Jordan River. Jews avoided walking through Samaria by going far out of their way to the eastern side of the river, going around Samaria, so that they would not happen to meet a Samaritan by chance. What Jesus did in opening the conversation with the woman at the well would have scandalized His disciples. He even showed willingness to drink from her utensil. I remember in my youth in the south when all drinking fountains were marked “colored” and others “white”. Jesus, if He had come through Mississippi would have faced the wrath of whites by drinking from the “taboo” colored fountains. How could we white Christians have so misinterpreted the Bible?
Jesus did not despise the Samaritan woman, not even when He told her she had had five husbands and was not married to the man she now lived with. He risked His own reputation by speaking with her in Christian love and showing how salvation is for all people on earth. This blog will be followed by others about Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Monday, July 5, 2010
John Baptist Remains Faithful (J13)
The devil tried his best to start a fight,
By inducing John the Baptist to boast;
But John refused with Jesus to ignite
Harsh words over who had baptized the most!
John said, ‘I’m like a friend to the bridegroom,
Listening intently to hear his voice;
I have heard him; joy does my heart consume;
He has located the bride of his choice!
He is of heaven, and I am of earth;
He says the words of God; all who believe
Testify God is truthful, and is of great worth;
Those who disbelieve, won’t new life receive!
John was faithful in helping Jesus grow;
He would not compete or his numbers show!
Jesus went to the River Jordan in Judea to baptize believers (although His disciples did most of the baptizing).. It so happened that John the Baptist was also in the area and continuing to baptize. Some of his disciples came to him and told him that Jesus was baptizing nearby, and nearly all were going to Him for baptizing instead of coming to John. That is how Satan works; he tries to get conflict between Christian leaders started, thereby causing people to avoid coming to Christ. However, John remained faithful, reminding his disciples that he must decrease and Jesus must increase. His answer to his disciples is a classic; following is a small portion.
“To them John replied, ‘A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said He must become greater; I must become less.’ “ (John 3:27-30) [Brackets added] (The complete text of this poem and commentary is found in John 3:22-36.)
Jewish wedding ceremonies in the time of Jesus were very complex. One small part was that a friend of the bridegroom was obliged to wait near the nuptial night tent until he heard the bridegroom speak after the marriage was consummated. John was relegating this subordinate role to himself, while designating Jesus as the bridegroom. A part of the gospel plan is that the Son is going to become the bridegroom of the worldwide church when all believers find themselves in heaven at the end of time. I don’t know if John actually knew that prophecy or not, but his disciples certainly understood John’s loyalty to Jesus in naming himself a “friend” and Jesus the “bridegroom”.
John had much more to say than is quoted above. He had noticed that the Jewish leaders were mostly disbelievers, while the poor people were believing in Jesus. He included comments about Jesus being from heaven and speaking true words from God, words that many were not accepting as true. He supported the Messiah by saying that His words were true; that those who refused to believe them would be condemned. He also told his disciples that he was of the earth; he was telling them that it would be to their benefit to leave him and go to Jesus for their own good. He was certainly loyal to Jesus until the end. The end for him was fast approaching; he was soon imprisoned and beheaded by King Herod.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
By inducing John the Baptist to boast;
But John refused with Jesus to ignite
Harsh words over who had baptized the most!
John said, ‘I’m like a friend to the bridegroom,
Listening intently to hear his voice;
I have heard him; joy does my heart consume;
He has located the bride of his choice!
He is of heaven, and I am of earth;
He says the words of God; all who believe
Testify God is truthful, and is of great worth;
Those who disbelieve, won’t new life receive!
John was faithful in helping Jesus grow;
He would not compete or his numbers show!
Jesus went to the River Jordan in Judea to baptize believers (although His disciples did most of the baptizing).. It so happened that John the Baptist was also in the area and continuing to baptize. Some of his disciples came to him and told him that Jesus was baptizing nearby, and nearly all were going to Him for baptizing instead of coming to John. That is how Satan works; he tries to get conflict between Christian leaders started, thereby causing people to avoid coming to Christ. However, John remained faithful, reminding his disciples that he must decrease and Jesus must increase. His answer to his disciples is a classic; following is a small portion.
“To them John replied, ‘A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said He must become greater; I must become less.’ “ (John 3:27-30) [Brackets added] (The complete text of this poem and commentary is found in John 3:22-36.)
Jewish wedding ceremonies in the time of Jesus were very complex. One small part was that a friend of the bridegroom was obliged to wait near the nuptial night tent until he heard the bridegroom speak after the marriage was consummated. John was relegating this subordinate role to himself, while designating Jesus as the bridegroom. A part of the gospel plan is that the Son is going to become the bridegroom of the worldwide church when all believers find themselves in heaven at the end of time. I don’t know if John actually knew that prophecy or not, but his disciples certainly understood John’s loyalty to Jesus in naming himself a “friend” and Jesus the “bridegroom”.
John had much more to say than is quoted above. He had noticed that the Jewish leaders were mostly disbelievers, while the poor people were believing in Jesus. He included comments about Jesus being from heaven and speaking true words from God, words that many were not accepting as true. He supported the Messiah by saying that His words were true; that those who refused to believe them would be condemned. He also told his disciples that he was of the earth; he was telling them that it would be to their benefit to leave him and go to Jesus for their own good. He was certainly loyal to Jesus until the end. The end for him was fast approaching; he was soon imprisoned and beheaded by King Herod.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Saturday, July 3, 2010
For God So Loved The World (J12)
For God so loved the world, women and men,
He gave us His only begotten Son,
Who paid the grim debt we owed for our sin,
Though Jesus was innocent of sin done!
That whoever believed Him Son of God
Would not stay dead, but live, and live ever,
Imperishable, eternally to trod,
In heaven with God, perishing never!
All this given free, no matter the sin;
Life comes through Christ, and is by God’s free grace;
Love like this cannot come from hearts of men—
Only from the heart of God—that is the place!
Jesus did not come to the world to condemn;
He came to save those who believe in Him!
“ ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.’ “ (John 3:16-18) (The complete text of the poem and commentary is John 3:9-21).)
Continuing our series in the gospel book of John the apostle, we resume with the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus the Pharisee at night. Jesus relates perhaps the most important scripture passage in the whole Bible. John 3:16-18 gives the clearest and most straightforward explanation of how a person is to be saved; also, how persons are condemned. It is known that Nicodemus believed in Jesus, for later he spoke up for the Savior when He was on trial before the Sanhedrin for His life. Doing so brought scorn on him from the Chief Priest.
These verses explain that God loved the people of the world so much that He sent His only Son here to live as a man, and that whoever believes that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God is saved to eternal life in heaven as a part of God’s family, and those who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God are condemned to live forever in torment, and must live without God. Jesus gave His life as a propitiation for our sins, although He lived innocent of sin. After three days in a tomb, He resurrected Himself and lives today as the Lord and King of the universe. To every person that believes in Jesus, God sends the Holy Spirit to indwell; The Spirit helps the believer to live without sin. However, we know that every believer continues to sin after he believes, and yet he continues to be saved despite his additional sins. God’s grace is freely given to make salvation sure for the believer.
“Believing in His name” means believing sincerely that Jesus lived as both man and God simultaneously; that He told the truth in the scripture above; that He was resurrected from the grave after three days; and that He continues to live today in heaven. If you believe this, you are saved already and your soul will go to heaven when you die.
"That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the grave, you sill be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
He gave us His only begotten Son,
Who paid the grim debt we owed for our sin,
Though Jesus was innocent of sin done!
That whoever believed Him Son of God
Would not stay dead, but live, and live ever,
Imperishable, eternally to trod,
In heaven with God, perishing never!
All this given free, no matter the sin;
Life comes through Christ, and is by God’s free grace;
Love like this cannot come from hearts of men—
Only from the heart of God—that is the place!
Jesus did not come to the world to condemn;
He came to save those who believe in Him!
“ ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.’ “ (John 3:16-18) (The complete text of the poem and commentary is John 3:9-21).)
Continuing our series in the gospel book of John the apostle, we resume with the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus the Pharisee at night. Jesus relates perhaps the most important scripture passage in the whole Bible. John 3:16-18 gives the clearest and most straightforward explanation of how a person is to be saved; also, how persons are condemned. It is known that Nicodemus believed in Jesus, for later he spoke up for the Savior when He was on trial before the Sanhedrin for His life. Doing so brought scorn on him from the Chief Priest.
These verses explain that God loved the people of the world so much that He sent His only Son here to live as a man, and that whoever believes that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God is saved to eternal life in heaven as a part of God’s family, and those who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God are condemned to live forever in torment, and must live without God. Jesus gave His life as a propitiation for our sins, although He lived innocent of sin. After three days in a tomb, He resurrected Himself and lives today as the Lord and King of the universe. To every person that believes in Jesus, God sends the Holy Spirit to indwell; The Spirit helps the believer to live without sin. However, we know that every believer continues to sin after he believes, and yet he continues to be saved despite his additional sins. God’s grace is freely given to make salvation sure for the believer.
“Believing in His name” means believing sincerely that Jesus lived as both man and God simultaneously; that He told the truth in the scripture above; that He was resurrected from the grave after three days; and that He continues to live today in heaven. If you believe this, you are saved already and your soul will go to heaven when you die.
"That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the grave, you sill be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
To See Heaven, Ypu Must Be Born Again (J11)
Jesus knows what is in ev’ry one’s heart;
When Nicodemus came to Him at night,
He meant both to receive and impart;
But ere he asked, Jesus answered with light!
“To see heaven, you must be born again.” 1
He declared at once to the Pharisee;
“Must one’s mother re-suffer labor pain?” 2
Asked the teacher, failing the truth to see!
“Born of flesh, then born of grace from above; 3
Dead in sin, the Spirit new life bestows; 4
Not by human will, but a gift of love, 5
A God-adopted child to heaven goes!
Nicodemus went away believing,
The old dullness gone, new life receiving!
1 “ ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God
unless he is born again.’ “ (John 3:3)
2 “ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked.
‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s
womb to be born?’ “ (John 3:4)
3 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through
Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:18)
4 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the
old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
5 “ ‘Yet to all who received him, to them who believes in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God—
children born not of … nor human will …” (John
1:12-13) (The complete text of this poem and
commentary is John 3:1-8)
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. Had a majority of that ruling council accepted Jesus as he did, He would not have been rejected and crucified. A very few of the other Pharisees accepted Him, also, but they kept their beliefs to themselves for fear of the scorn of the others. Jesus had continued performing healing miracles in Jerusalem, and Nicodemus had become a believer on account of the signs performed by Jesus. He was anxious to talk with the Savior face to face, but he came to Him at night for fear of becoming known as a follower. Nicodemus had hardly begun his conversation with Jesus when the Savior suddenly stated the thing that the Pharisee most wanted to ask. Out of the blue, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Because of the dullness placed upon all the Jews (especially their leaders like Nicodemus), he did not understand what “born again” meant. He heard the words literally, when Jesus meant them to be understood spiritually.
Being “born again” is a spiritual expression describing a person who has been “saved”; being “saved” is also spiritual; it means a person has believed in the name of Jesus and decided to follow His teaching. Another explanation of being born again is being “born from above”—the person is reconciled to God by receiving a gift of grace from above through Jesus Christ; to believe in Him is to change from one kind of life—being “dead” in sin—to a new life, living in love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, and self-control; living in the Spirit. Being saved by belief in Jesus is being adopted as an actual child of God, which means you are a spiritual brother of the Lord Himself. The Jews were caused to be dull to these spiritual truths because of their obstinate sins toward God; Gentiles were not dulled spiritually; they accepted these invisible truths much more readily than did the Jews.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9)
When Nicodemus came to Him at night,
He meant both to receive and impart;
But ere he asked, Jesus answered with light!
“To see heaven, you must be born again.” 1
He declared at once to the Pharisee;
“Must one’s mother re-suffer labor pain?” 2
Asked the teacher, failing the truth to see!
“Born of flesh, then born of grace from above; 3
Dead in sin, the Spirit new life bestows; 4
Not by human will, but a gift of love, 5
A God-adopted child to heaven goes!
Nicodemus went away believing,
The old dullness gone, new life receiving!
1 “ ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God
unless he is born again.’ “ (John 3:3)
2 “ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked.
‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s
womb to be born?’ “ (John 3:4)
3 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through
Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:18)
4 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the
old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
5 “ ‘Yet to all who received him, to them who believes in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God—
children born not of … nor human will …” (John
1:12-13) (The complete text of this poem and
commentary is John 3:1-8)
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. Had a majority of that ruling council accepted Jesus as he did, He would not have been rejected and crucified. A very few of the other Pharisees accepted Him, also, but they kept their beliefs to themselves for fear of the scorn of the others. Jesus had continued performing healing miracles in Jerusalem, and Nicodemus had become a believer on account of the signs performed by Jesus. He was anxious to talk with the Savior face to face, but he came to Him at night for fear of becoming known as a follower. Nicodemus had hardly begun his conversation with Jesus when the Savior suddenly stated the thing that the Pharisee most wanted to ask. Out of the blue, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Because of the dullness placed upon all the Jews (especially their leaders like Nicodemus), he did not understand what “born again” meant. He heard the words literally, when Jesus meant them to be understood spiritually.
Being “born again” is a spiritual expression describing a person who has been “saved”; being “saved” is also spiritual; it means a person has believed in the name of Jesus and decided to follow His teaching. Another explanation of being born again is being “born from above”—the person is reconciled to God by receiving a gift of grace from above through Jesus Christ; to believe in Him is to change from one kind of life—being “dead” in sin—to a new life, living in love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, and self-control; living in the Spirit. Being saved by belief in Jesus is being adopted as an actual child of God, which means you are a spiritual brother of the Lord Himself. The Jews were caused to be dull to these spiritual truths because of their obstinate sins toward God; Gentiles were not dulled spiritually; they accepted these invisible truths much more readily than did the Jews.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9)
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